USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Century history of Delaware County, Ohio and representative citizens 20th > Part 121
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Charles Otis Little was educated at Ken- yon College and had as a classmate and friend, Colonel James Kilbourn, of Columbus, who belonged to the same fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon. He studied law and was admitted to the bar of Delaware County, but never prac- ticed his profession. He was for many years a director and cashier of the Delaware Sav- ings Bank. He was secretary and treasurer of one of the early building and loan associa- tions which was successful and paid out. He also was cashier of the Delaware Savings Bank for a year or two from its organization, but resigned on account of ill health and spent the last eight years of his life in various parts of the country, seeking such relief as changes in climate and environment would bring him.
Mr. Little enlisted, January 16, 1863. as a private in Company H. Ninety-fifth Regu- lars, O. V. L .; was promoted to sergeant, March 5, 1864; on July 22. 1865, was trans- ferred to Company E, Seventy-second Regu- lars, O. V. I., and was mustered out August
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16. 1865. He was never injured, though on one occasion a shell burst at his feet, killing a horse near by. He was a fine penman and of superior education, and this fact was taken advantage of by Colonel William L. McMil- len, whose dissipated habits were well known. After doing a private's duty all day, Little was kept in the headquarters figuring and writ- ing . until the small hours of the morning. Though of frail constitution and anything but rugged. he bore the imposition without a murmur, losing sleep at night and doing a soldier's work every day. This proved too much for his comrades' sense of justice and they started a movement which resulted in his being detailed to duty at Washington. He was a member of George B. Torrence Post. G. .A. R., at Delaware.
October 23. 1879. Mr. Little was united in marriage with Miss Julia Griswold Howard. who comes of pioneer Delaware County families on both sides of the house. She is a daughter of Henry Howard and Catherine ( Thomson ) Howard, and a granddaughter of Caleb and Electa ( Griswold) Howard. Caleb Howard. the grandfather, came from New England and settled at Worthington. Ohio, at an early date. In 1823 he and Anthony Wal- ker formed a partnership and engaged in the mercantile business, but continued only a short time. It was he, who, with Judge Hosea Wil- liams, in the spring of 1838. purchased the old Houring mill and water-power privileges at Stratford. They built a fine stone dam and on October 1. 1839. began operating a paper mill. In the fall of 1844. he sold out to Hiram G. Andrews. He was a member of Hiram Lodge. No. 18. F. & AA. M .. and in 1854 be- came a charter member of Delaware Chapter. No. 54. R. A. M., of which he was first excel- lent scribe. Caleb Howard was joined in marriage with Electa Griswoldl. a daughter of Ezra Griswold.
Ezra Griswold, maternal great-grandfather of Mlrs. Little, was born in Connecticut and accompanied his father's family to Worthing- ton. Ohio, in 1803. He died in 1863, at the age of 71 years. At an early date he estab- lished a paper at Worthington, which he later
removed to Columbus, and the present Ohio State Journal is the outgrowth of this paper. He sold this publication and in partnership with Judge Smith established The Monitor ; he soon sold out to his partner, but being a practical printer continued to work at the case in the same office for some time. We next find him back in Worthington where he estab- lished the Columbian Advocate and Franklin Chronicle, the first issue of which appeared January 7. 1820. After the issue of Septem- ber 24. 1821, he removed the paper to Dela- ware, where the next issue was dated October 10. 1821, under the name of the Delaware Patron and Franklin Chronicle. In an edi- torial Mr. Griswold says : "The reasons which have induced us to move are many ; but the most important one is the fact that our business in this place has been so small that we do not realize money enough to purchase the paper on which we print, and have been compelled to draw from other sources a con- siderable portion of the expenses of the es- tablishment. We expect. by blending it with other business, to proceed with less embarass- ment in Delaware." He had the same year purchased of Colonel Byxbe what became the famous old Griswold Inn, which was located on Sandusky Street, the present site of the Donovan Hotel. He carried on the business of publishing his paper in the hotel until 1822. then moved across the street, and in April, 1824. moved into a building on the southwest corner of Sandusky Street and West Central Avenue, which had been erected for a hotel and was used for that purpose for many years by Mr. Griswold. Later the name of the pa- per was changed to the Delaware Patron and Sandusky AAdvertiser, and appeared under this title until May 13. 1830, when it was changed to the Ohio State Gazette and Delaware County Journal. The following January, Mr. Griswold sokl the paper to Win. Milliken & Co. who changed the name of the paper to the Delaware Journal, but he continued as its edi- tor. Evidently the sale was not finally consum- mated. as Mr. Griswold remained with the paper and on December 27. 1834. sold it to G. W. Sharpe, retiring at that time from the
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field of journalism. Ile was elected associate judge of the Common Pleas Court of Dela- ware County by the Legislature in 1832. and filled the office until 1842. In 1846 Judge Griswold made an addition to Delaware of 26 lots, located between Franklin and Liberty Streets, through the center of which Gris- wold Street passes. Fraternally, he was a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M. ; and in 1853 was a charter member of Dela- ware Chapter, No. 54, R. A. M., of which he was the first most excellent high priest.
llenry Howard, father of Mrs. Little, was born in the old Griswold Inn, at Worthington, Ohio, and died October 21, 1807, at Cuyahoga Falls. Ohio, aged 85 years. In his youthful days he attended the common schools and later Kenvon College, at Gambier, Ohio. He went to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, and engaged in the manufacture of paper until the mills there were destroyed by fire, after which he went on the road as a traveling salesman. He mar- ried Catherine Thomson, a daughter of Wil- liam Thomson, of Delaware. The genealogy of the Thomson family is traceable back to one of the ancient clans of Scotland. Seven children bless this union, six of whom grew to maturity, namely: Mary. of Cuyahoga Falls; Catherine, now deceased, formerly wife of J. H. Smith, a hardware merchant of Co- lumbus : Julia Griswold ( Little ) : Fannie, wife of Charles Howland, of Cuyahoga Falls ; Elizabeth, who became the second wife of J. Il. Smith; Jessie, who died in infancy; and Charles llenry, who resides at the old home in Cuyahoga Falls. Religiously, all were mem- bers of the Episcopal Church at Cuyahoga Falls. When Mrs. Little's father enlisted in the Civil War, he left a wife and seven chil- dren behind him. His wife, a woman of faith. plucky and very capable, and withal a woman of very attractive appearance, upon learning of her husband's determination to go to the front. remarked : "All right ; if it is the Lord's will. it must be so." He sent home all his pay, and during his absence she not only provided for the young and growing family, but saved money enough to buy a house and lot on Broad Street, one of the most beautiful resi-
dence streets in Cuyahoga Falls. After liv- ing in this home for 40 years, they had the misfortune of being burned out, but the house was immediately rebuilt.
Charles Otis and Julia G. ( Howard ) Lit- tle became parents of three sons, as follows : John Howard, now a resident of Columbus ; Charles Stanley, a member of the Class of 1910, in Ohio Wesleyan University ; and Wil- liam Henry, a student in the Class of 1912. Religiously, our subject was a devout member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, of which he was junior warden for a period of 25 years. A man of the highest Christian character he observed the strictest interpretation of the word "honesty" in his business dealings, and he was not only held in highest esteem, but we may safely say he was without an enemy in the world. Mrs. Little. a woman of culture and charming personality, resides in a beauti- ful home on West Winter Street.
ON. EARLY FRANKLYN POP- PLETON. in whose death, which occurred May 6, 1899, Delaware lost one of the most distinguished men who ever claimed that city as home, was a man of exceptional ability as a lawyer and statesman. He had a very extensive prac- tice during the 38 years of his professional career in that city, and was called upon to rep- resent the people in the Ohio State Senate, and later in the halls of Congress.
Mr. Poppleton was born at Belleville, Richland County, Ohio, September 29, 1834, and was a son of Samuel and Julia A. ( Smith ) Poppleton. He came of a prominent New England family of English extraction, the history of which is traceable back to Sir Wil- liam Poppleton, who fought at Marston Moor. There is also a town near York, named Pop- pleton. Samuel Poppleton, great grandfather of our subject. came from the North of Eng- land to America some time during the colonial days. He was a soldier in the Revolution- ary War and was standard bearer with Ethan Allen at the taking of Ticonde-
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roga. He was in the battles of Crown Point and Quebec, and at the surrender of Cornwallis. Eight times he went out as a minute man and participated in eight of the battles of the war. He was buried at Belle- ville, Ohio. Daniel Poppleton, grandfather of our subject, came from Vermont to Richland County, Ohio, where he was among the early settlers. He was a farmer by occupation. He and three brothers were soldiers in the Conti- nental Army during the Revolution.
Samuel Poppleton, father of Hon. E. F. Poppleton, was born in Vermont, July 7. 1793. and made the most of a farm boy's educational opportunities. In his younger days he united with the Methodist Church, in which he was subsequently ordained a minister. He enlisted for service during the War of 1812, and at its close moved to New York State. There he was united in marriage with Parthenia Stein- beck, who died early in life. He later came to Ohio, locating in Richland County, where his father had settled: he served as local preacher in the M. E. Church and also traveled about considerably. In 1839 or 1840. he em- barked in the mercantile business with his son-in-law. F. W. Strong, at Mansfield, Ohio. and for many years was identified with the business interests of that city. Then, in order to give his children superior educational ad- vantages, he removed to Delaware, Ohio, where his death occurred on September 23. 1864. His second marriage was with Miss Julia A. Smith. February 3. 1828. she being a native of Canada, where she was born February 1. 1808, of New York parents. Six children were born of their union : Emery, who for a period of 25 years was secretary of the Cleveland & Mahoning Railroad: Cora. wife of Judge Lake, of the Supreme Court of Ne- braska: Zaida ( Linnell), who died at Elyria : Parthenia. deceased wife of Judge Stevenson Burke, of Cleveland: H. H. Poppleton, a prominent lawyer of Cleveland, and for years general attorney for the Big Four Railroad System : and Early Franklyn.
Early Franklyn Poppleton received a pre- liminary educational training in the schools of Belleville and Mansfield, Ohio. supple-
mented by a course in Ohio Wesleyan Univer- sity at Delaware. Ile read law under the pre- ceptorship of Judge Burke, of Elyria, and was admitted to the bar there, in September. 1858. In 1861, he came to Delaware and opened an office for practice, and for many years there- after was identified, either as attorney for the plaintiff or defense, with most of the import- ant litigation tried in the courts of Delaware County. Possessed of a keen, perceptive mind. a logical reasoner and eloquent speaker. he was quick to discern a salient point in an op- ponent's case and in forcible language drive home a telling blow. He was accredited with having the greatest native ability of any law- ver who ever practiced at the bar of this county. Ilis brilliancy in professional work brought public recognition and he was fre- quently called upon to serve in official capacity. He was for six years a member of the City Council of Delaware, most of that time as president of that body. In 1870 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate, and in 1874 to the United States Congress, his work in both bodies evidencing the highest order of states- manship. He was highly esteemed as a man of true worth, and his rugged honesty and genial nature made him popular with all classes.
Mr. Poppleton, in early life, was married to Miss Adaline Chase. of Detroit, who died in 1868. Mr. Frank Chase Poppleton, of Pros- pect, being their eldest son. He was married the second time to Mary R. Miller, of Dela- ware. They have two sons-William Miller and Early Samuel.
ILLIAM LITTLE, president of the West Side Dime Savings Bank of Columbus, Ohio, is well remem- bered by the citizens of Delaware. Ohio, as a resident of that city. where he was prominently identified with the banking interests for a period of thirty years. He was born in Columbus. July 5. 1851, and is a son of Dr. John .A. and Caroline M. ( Wil- liams) Little.
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Dr. John A. Little was born in Delaware, Ohio, December 7, 1825, and came of a prominent old family of that city, the early history of which is given in another part of this work. He was educated in the common schools and at Kenyon College, after which he read medicine under the directions of Dr. Jones, of Columbus, He attended lectures in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia, and subse- quently at the Louisville Medical College. He began practice at Sandusky, Ohio, where he continued a few years, then moved to Column- bus. He practiced in that city until April, 1865, at which time he again took up his resi- dence in Delaware. Ile enjoyed a large and remunerative practice and continued to reside there until his death, which occurred January 13. 1877. He was a member of the Order of Odd Fellows at Columbus. He was joined in marriage with Caroline M. Williams, a daugh- ter of Judge Hosea Williams, and they were parents of six children, four of whom grew to maturity, as follows: William; Carrie, wife of Charles Converse of San Francisco; Anna, wife of Fred H. Avery, of New Lexington. Ohio; and Mary, wife of W. Linton Pettibone, of Cleveland. Religiously, Mrs. Little was a member of St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Delaware.
William Little attended the public schools in Columbus, and after the removal of his parents to Delaware attended Ohio Wesleyan University. Hle entered Delaware County National Bank March 1, 1870, beginning at the lowest round of the ladder in the bank business: but by close application to business he mastered the details of banking and rose step by step until January 13, 1883, he was made cashier of this institution. Courteous and accommodating. but withal a conservative and practical man, his success in that position was assured and he filled it with credit to hin- self and the institution until August. 1900. In the latter year he returned to Columbus and assisted in organizing the West Side Dime Savings Bank, of which he became cashier and a director. It was eminently desirable that a man of his great experience le at the helm in
the launching of this new venture, and the success of the institution from the first was a justification of his selection. He served as cashier until March 7, 1906, since which time he has filled the office of president. During his long career in business he has been identified with numerous enterprises, and is at the pres- ent time a director of the Sun Manufacturing Company, a thriving business enterprise en- gaged in the manufacture of novelty goods. show cases, coffee mills and lawn furniture. among other things.
Mr. Little was united in marriage, March 9. 1882, with Miss Rose Olds, a daughter of Joseph H. Olds. M. D., of Cireleville, Ohio. They have two children-Bessie and William. Religiously, Mr. Little and his family belong to the Trinity Episcopal Church of Columbus. In politics he is a Republican but has never sought political preferment.
HOMAS WELANT, justice of the peace, residing on his valuable farm of 58 acres, in Kingston Township. is a leading citizen of this section. He was born in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, May 23, 1835, and is a son of Henry and Mary ( Sigenfoose ) Wei- ant. The father of Mr. Weiant was born in Prussia-Germany, and the mother was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They were farming people in comfortable circumstances. Their family consisted of three sons and four daughters.
Thomas Weiant is a self-made man. He had no school advantages whatever. The fifth member of his parents' family, he re- mained on the home farm until he was 19 years of age, when he and his brother William decided to strike out for themselves. They had no capital and it is doubtful if they had the approval of their parents, but they were young, brave and hopeful, and started on the long tramp to Licking County, Ohio, with few possessions except their guns. The youths were 19 days on the road and reached Jacksontown, Licking County, December 31.
AARON S GOODRICH
MRS. SARAH H. GOODRICHI
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1854. For three years Thomas Weiant re- mained with his brother, engaged in farm work, and then hired out to a farmer near U'tica, Ohio, where he remained until his mar- riage. August 25. 1870.
This first marriage was to Mary McKin- ley, who was born in Trumbull County, Ohio. .At death she left three children, namely : Robert, residing in Kingston Township : Alice. who married William Dwinnell, residing in Kingston Township; and Ida, who married Eugene Williams, also residing in Kingston Township. Mr. Weiant was married secondly. in 1872, to Rebecca Mckinley, his sister-in- law. who was born in Williams County. Ohio. There was no issue to this marriage and Mrs. Weiant died March 10, 1907. Her burial was in the old Eden cemetery at Green Mound. Mr. Weiant subsequently contracted a third marriage with Catherine ( Brewer ) Campbell. a daughter of Richard Brewer of Erie County. Ohio, who originally came from New York State, where he was engaged in farming. He died May 6, 1890, at the remarkable age of 108 years. The mother was 87 years old at the time of her death. Mrs. Weiant and James Brewer, of Erie County, are the only survivors of 12 children.
When first married, Mr. Weiant purchased one acre of land, on which he lived until 1865. when he bought 15 acres in Radnor Township. Delaware County. Here he lived until he moved to Bowling Green Township. Marion County, where he purchased 50 acres of unim- proved land, as an investment. which proved a wise one, as in four years he sold out, mak- ing $1.000 on the deal. He then purchased SI acres in the vicinity, for which he paid $18 an acre, and this, too, proved a good bargain. as eight years later he sold the property for $43 an acre. Mr. Weiant then came to Kings- ton Township and purchased the farm on which he has lived ever since. Although Mr. Weiant had no advantages in his youth equal to those he has given his own children, he is a well-informed man, alert in business and in- Anential in his neighborhood. In politics he is a Democrat and on that ticket was elected justice of the peace, an office he has filled to
the satisfaction of his fellow-citizens. Ile is a member of Olive Green Lodge, No. 798. Odd Fellows.
A LLISON EBENEZER GOODRICH, a prosperous agriculturist, and one of the leading citizens of Liberty Township, Delaware County, was born on his present farm, August 17. 1851. son of Aaron S. and Sarah ( Hardin ) Goodrich. He is a grandson, on the paternal side, of Ebenezer Goodrich, born in Farming- ton, Connecticut, in 1780. who married. in 1813. Elizabeth Dixon, a daughter of Abel Dixon.
Ebenezer Goodrich came to Worthington. Ohio, in 1803. with Col. James Kilbourn, grandfather of the present Col. James Kil- bourn, of Columbus, and in 1805 be settled on the present Goodrich farm, situated ten and a half miles south of Delaware, in the southeast corner of Liberty Township, and on the Olen- tangy River. This section was at that time an unbroken wilderness, inhabited only by wan- dering Indians. Mr. Goodrich built a log cabin and set to work to clear a tract of land. He suffered the usual hardships and inconven- iences of pioneer life. but being industrious. brave and persevering, he stuck to his task. and in course of time was repaid by seeing his tract of wild land gradually begin to assume the appearance of a homestead. The log house was replaced by a more comfortable frame residence, and this in turn gave place to the fine and commodious residence now occupied by his grandson, which was erected in 1867. Ebenezer Goodrich was a prominent man among the early settlers. He served against Great Britain in the War of 1812, and soon after his return home was elected or appointed a justice of the peace. About this time he married, as above noted. He died October 15. 1846, at the age of sixty-six years .. He and his wife were the parents of eight children- four sons and four daughters-all of whom were born on the farm now occupied by Mr. Allison E. Goodrich. The sons were: Aaron
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S., Edward, William, and Highland; the daughters. Adeline, who married Hiram Payne, and died in Morrow County, Ohio; Orvilla, who married Minor P. Tone, and died 1 in Liberty Township: Minerva, who was the wife of Samuel Menthorn and lived and died on the Goodrich farm, and Sarah, who died when young. sertion of a silver plate, and this memento of his campaign he was obliged to wear to the end of his life. Ile was the father of a good old- fashioned family of nine children, whose names were respectively ( including the marriage names of the daughters ) : James Hardin. Mary Patton. Isaac Hardin, Mahala Conway, Nancy Cronkleton, John Hardin, Lydia Rich- mond, Sarah Friend and Samuel Hardin.
Aaron S. Goodrich, son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth ( Dixon) Goodrich, was born on the parental homestead. October 8, 1814. Such literary education as he possessed was ob- tained in the district school, but though the seed was scanty. it fell upon good soil, for he was naturally endowed with a high share of intelligence, and had both the will and capac- ity to make the best of his opportunities. The knowledge he obtained in the old log school- house was supplemented in later years by read- ing. for to the end of his life he kept in touch with current events, and he had an abundant share of that more practical knowledge which comes from mingling with one's fellowmen in the daily walks of life, the interchange of ideas and individual opinions, and from the faithful performance of life's practical duties. More- over, he had not only this superior knowledge : he had also what was of much more import- ance- character. In all that pertained to the moral nature, he was a man of high ideals based upon the principles of the Christian re- ligion. and his virtues as a neighbor and citi- zen caused him to be widely esteemed through- out the township. He died February 21. 1896. when in his eighty-second year, on the farm on which he was born, and to the cultivation and improvement of which he had devoted his active life. Ile was a member of Liberty Presbyterian Church.
Indian War, in which he served under Brad- dock, and also of the Revolution. In the for- mer of these wars he had received a severe wound in the head which necessitated the in-
Mrs. Sarah ( Carpenter ) Hardin, mater- nal grandmother of Mr. Goodrich, was a daughter of Captain Nathan Carpenter, who settled in Liberty Township, Delaware County, on May 1, 1801. He was born at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in 1757, and took an active part in the Revolutionary War, fighting for the independence of the colonies. Ile served at Bunker Hill, where he was wounded, and where his brother was killed ; also at Saratoga and Monmouth. After the battle of Mon- month he returned home and married Miss Irene Reid. He subsequently rejoined the army under Washington and fought to the close of the struggle. After coming to Dela- ware County, he and his wife went through the usual pioneer experiences, including an occasional adventure with Indians. Their family in time numbered ten children, who as they grew up. became mutually helpful, and as other settlers kept coming and the popula- tion increased, they were in time placed within reach of most of the comforts and conven- iences of civilized life. Capt. Carpenter died in 1814, at the age of fifty-six years, his death being the result of an accident. While re- turning from Delaware one night on horse- back, by the river road, he was swept from his horse by the over-hanging branch of a tree and fell on the rocks below, sustaining fatal in- juries. He was highly esteemed and his un- timely demise was regarded as a great loss to the community.
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