USA > Ohio > Clark County > Springfield > Century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens 20th > Part 103
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raising poultry and has many very fine specimens of the Plymouth Rock variety.
Mr. McClintick was married, first, De- cember 28, 1876, to Alice Wilkinson, who died October 16, 1896. She was a daugh- ter of Wesley and Martha Wilkinson. They had three children, namely: Dora F., born September 19, 1878, who mar- ried M. Dye, of Champaign County and has two children-Paul and Leroy; Carl, born February 7, 1884, who resides at Springfield; and Bessie Carrie, who was born April 12, 1887. On December 1, 1897, Mr. McClintick married, for his sec- ond wife, Alice A. Curl, who is a daugh- ter of John and Tilitha (Longbrake) Curl. The father of Mrs. McClintick was born in 1847 and died in 1896. In 1871 he was married to Tilitha Longbrake, who was born in 1847 and died in 1881. They had five children-Venilla, who died when an infant, Alice A., Charles, George and Marion.
Mr. McClintick is a member of the Junior Order of American Mechanics and is connected with Lodge No. 167, at Catawba, of which he is a trustee. He is also a member of the Junior Post As- sociation, which is a higher branch of the former organization and has served in all of the offices in this body.
HUGH RUSSELL, who has been a prominent business man and citizen of Springfield, Ohio, since 1867, former- ly head of the firm of Russell Bros., one of the oldest and most reputable contract- ing firms in the city, was born in Cree- town, Scotland, January 12, 1846, and is a son of Hugh and Elizabeth (Conning) Russell.
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Hugh Russell, Sr., moved with his fam- ily to the United States in 1866, having been preceded to this country some five years by two of his sons, Anthony C. and William. He located first at Xenia, Ohio, and later at Springfield, where he died on October 3, 1902. His wife died in 1898. They were parents of seven children. An- thony C., who for many years was asso- ciated with his brother Hugh as a mem- ber of the firm of Russell Bros., was born in Galloway, Scotland, in 1844, and came to the United States in 1861 with his brother William. On October 3, 1862, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Tenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infan- try, as a private, and served until May 16, 1865, participating in many of the hottest engagements of the war, among them the battle of the Wilderness, in which he was severely wounded. Febru- ary 15, 1883, he became a member of Mitchell Post, G. A. R. His death oc- curred July 7, 1901, at the age of fifty- seven years. William, the second son of Hugh and Elizabeth Russell, also enlisted in the army and, it is presumed, was killed in battle, as he never returned. Hugh was the third of this family. James and Michael live in Springfield. Mrs. William McCullough, a daughter, resides in Springfield, and Mrs. Andrew Burnett, deceased, was a resident of Wichita Falls, Texas.
Hugh Russell, Jr., spent his boyhood in his native land, but at an early age left school to follow a sea-faring life. He continued on the water four years, then returned home and became apprenticed to a stonecutter at Creetown. He was twenty years of age when he accom- panied his parents to the United States
and with them located at Xenia, Ohio, where he followed his trade. He subse- quently went to Lima, Ohio, where he as- sisted in the construction of the jail, and in 1867 moved to Springfield, Ohio. Here he formed a partnership with William Mowett, under the firm name of Russell & Mowett, and engaged in stone contract- ing. After one year Mr. Mowett was suc- ceeded in the firm by Hugh Russell, Sr., and later Anthony C. Russell became a member of the firm, which for a period of ten years was known by the title of Rus- sell & Sons. Mr. Russell, Sr., then retired and the style and title became Russell Bros., which continued until 1903, when our subject continued under his own name, Hugh Russell. The business prospered and continued without interruption until in April, 1898, when Mr. Russell was elected to the board of public service in Springfield, necessitating his entire time to be devoted to the discharge of his pub- lic duties. However, upon the death of his brother in 1901, he resumed charge of the business of Russell Bros., as his term of four years in office had nearly expired. The firm has done an extensive business in stone work and is a pioneer one in cement work. Mr. Russell has been em- ployed in the construction of many churches, school-houses, public buildings and residences throughout this section of the State, and the character of the work has been such as to give the firm an en- viable reputation.
In 1879, Hugh Russell was joined in marriage with Miss Helen Sheets, a native of Delaware County, Ohio, and a daugh- ter of Daniel and Malinda (Lake) Sheets, who were farmers. They have five chil- dren, as follows: John Sherman, who is
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now identified with the business of Hugh Russell, his father, was for a time en- gaged as bookkeeper at Jamestown, N. Y., and also served in the Spanish-American War; Anna W., who is the wife of Byron W. Riffell of Springfield; Carrie S .; Ella S .; and Earl S., the latter of whom died at the age of eight years. Mr. Russell is a member of the Free Presbyterian Church, has served on the board of trus- tees many years and is at present a dea- con. While on a visit to Scotland in 1874 he was made a Master Mason, and at the present time is a member of Anthony Lodge No. 455, F. & A. M .; Springfield Chapter No. 48, R. A. M .; Springfield Council No. 17, R. & S. M .; Palestine Commandery No. 33, Springfield. With Mrs. Russell he has made six voyages to the old country, and in February, 1908, visited his mother lodge in Scotland, where he spent seven weeks, going over on the Muritania and returning on the Lusi- tania.
JACOB VOLLMER, one of Harmony Township's leading citizens, the owner of forty-eight acres of excellent land near Harmony and also of town property, has been engaged in farming and wagon-mak- ing in this vicinity since the close of the Civil War, in which he earned the title of veteran soldier. Mr. Vollmer was born December 11, 1840, and is a son of John and Susanna (Eberle) Vollmer.
The grandparents of Mr. Vollmer lived out their lives in Germany. His father, John Vollmer, was born in Germany in 1800 and died in Clark County, Ohio, in 1876. He came to America in 1828 and resided in Pennsylvania until 1835, when
he settled in Springfield, Ohio. Here he remained a few years and then moved to Zanesville, Ohio, and resided there until 1851, when he returned to Clark County, where he died. A brother, Andrew, and a sister, Maria, came also to America, but after staying a short time, returned to their native land. In 1830, John Vollmer married Susanna Eberle, who lived in the city of Reading, Pennsylvania, and they had nine children born to them, the earlier ones dying in infancy. Those who sur- vived were the following: John, born in 1833, resides in Clark County; George, born in 1837, died in 1864; Jacob, subject of this sketch; Mary, born in 1844, mar- ried Sigmond Kember, residing in Clark County, and they have four children; and Amelia, born in 1849, married Frederick Fiosel, residing in Clark County and they have six children.
Jacob Vollmer was a sturdy young man of twenty-two years when he entered the army in 1862 and was broken down in health, with a body racked with pain when he escaped the tortures of the southern prisons, and, a mere shadow of himself, crept back to those who loved him. From these hardships he has never entirely re- covered. In 1862, at Springfield, Ohio, he enlisted in Company A, Ninety-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and took his part in all the battles and marches of his regiment, courageously performing all the duties of a soldier. In September, 1863, at the terrible battle of Chickamauga, he was captured by the Confederates and from that time until April 28, 1865, he remained a prisoner of war. He was taken first to Belle Isle, where he was confined for two weeks, be- ing transferred from there to Libby
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Prison, Richmond, where he was in- troduced to hardships and to surround- ings that the young man had never im- agined in all his free young life before. In spite of the chill weather, the prisoners slept unprotected on the ground, with scarcely any food provided, and from there they were taken to quarters just as bad at Danville, Virginia. In the dungeon where the Federal prisoners were herded, some of the Germans had been ingenious enough to discover the possibility of mak- ing a tunnel by which they could hope to reach liberty. Only German prisoners had the confidence of the workers and Mr. Vollmer was made a guard for the work. Of its difficulties and dangers no one could have a conception unless he was permitted to hear the story from the lips of a participant, but it may be here briefly stated that the tunnel was successfully bored and through it sixty-two imprisoned men escaped. It is sad to have to relate that very few of them succeeded in reach- ing liberty and Mr. Vollmer, with three companions, were recaptured two weeks later. They had been succored by the negroes, but in spite of this, and their own efforts, in their exhausted condition they were unable to escape their enemies and they were recaptured and taken back to prison to Richmond. In the latter part of February, they were introduced to the kind of treatment accorded the unfortun- ates who were sent to Andersonville, which celebrated prison was not entirely completed when Mr. Vollmer and his com- rades were placed within its stockade. When General Sherman was on his vic- torious march to the sea, in the follow- ing September, Mr. Vollmer and his un- fortunate companions were taken to
Savannah and kept in a stockade there until December, when he was removed to Camp, Lawton, farther in the interior where he was kept for a short time. When General Sherman's forces had ap- proached that point, the prisoners were hurried to Thomasville, Georgia, near the present fashionable winter resort, and were concealed in the woods for a few weeks, after which they were marched fifty-six miles to a railroad that ran to Andersonville and they arrived there on Christmas day, 1864. In that place Mr. Vollmer was confined until the following April. All the prisoners who were left, were then taken to Florida, and there turned loose. During the larger part of this time of hardships, Mr. Vollmer was sick and it is no wonder that he still feels the effects of those dreadful years. After finding themselves free, the Federal sol- diers hastened as fast as their enfeebled condition would permit, to the nearest Union forces at Jacksonville. There they shipped on a steamer that con- veyed them to Annapolis, Maryland, and from there Mr. Vollmer soon reached Columbus, where he was discharged.
After the close of his military service Mr. Vollmer returned to his home in Clark County and in 1866 he located on his pres- ent property. By trade he is a wagon- maker and this industry he continues to be engaged in together with general farm- ing. He is considered one of the town- ship's substantial citizens. He has al- ways taken considerable interest in pub- lic matters since permanently locating in Harmony Township and has been elected to office on numerous occasions-on the Democratic ticket to the office of town- ship trustee-and has a record of being
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the only member of that political party to serve three terms in that office. Mr. Vollmer would make a good public official under any party's wing and at present he is identified with the Prohibition party. He has served also as a school director and has been liberal in his contributions to public-spirited enterprises in his sec- tion.
In 1870 Mr. Vollmer was married to Olive (Laybourn) Stevens, who was the widow of Henry Stevens and a daughter of Joseph and Anna (Kirkley) Laybourn. Mrs. Stevens had one daughter, Hattie, who was born in 1864. She married Frank Mark and they have one son, Maurice. Mr. and Mrs. Vollmer have had four children: George, Charles, John and Daisy. The eldest son, George, was born in 1872, was well educated and now occupies the responsible position of cash- ier of the Germania Bank, at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Charles, the second son, was born in 1874 and died in 1894. This bril- liant young man was a student at Witten- berg College, at Springfield, and was pre- paring for the medical profession. John, the third son, was born in 1878, married Lida Baird, and they have two children, Paul and John H. Daisy, who was born in 1879, remains at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Vollmer are members of the Methodist Protestant Church, of which he is one of the trustees.
Christian Laybourn, the great-grand- father of Mrs. Vollmer, was born in Eng- land in 1745. He was there married in 1777 to Margaret Newlove, who was born in 1758. They came to the United States in 1794, bringing with them six children. They remained in New York state for a period of eighteen years, during which
time he served as mayor of New York city two years. In 1812 they came to Ohio and settled in Harmony Township. He died in 1842 on the farm now owned by his son Amos and grandson Joseph Laybourn, the father of Mrs. Vollmer. Joseph Laybourn continued to reside on the old home place until his death, which occurred in January, 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Laybourn had seven children, five of whom are still living, Mrs. Vollmer being the second in order of birth.
JOSEPH D. TROUT, a prominent farmer of Harmony Township, residing on his fine farm of ninety acres, was born in German Township, Clark County, Ohio, December 1, 1855, a son of Philip and Sarah (Baker) Trout. His parents were natives of Virginia and Maryland respec- tively. Philip Trout came to Clark Coun- ty with his father, David Trout, when a child. Here he met Sarah Baker and they were married in 1839. They settled on a farm in German Township and there they lived and died. Philip Trout was a Demo- crat. Religiously, he and his wife were Methodists, while his father David was a Dunkard and was a preacher of that faith. Philip Trout and his wife had four- teen children, of whom nine are still liv- ing. They are: Mary (Conard), residing in Springfield, Ohio; Lydia (Huffman), residing in Iowa; Rev. Philip, a Meth- odist Episcopal minister of Waynesville, Ohio; John F., of Springfield Township; Joseph D., subject of this sketch; Cassie (Bevitt), residing in Springfield; Carrie (Callison), whose husband is a farmer of Pike Township; Stephen A., a farmer of German Township; and Jacob B., also a
MR. AND MRS. JOSEPH D. TROUT AND FAMILY
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farmer of German Township. Those de- ceased are: William Edward, Eliza, Sarah and an infant daughter. Philip Trout, the father, died at the age of eighty-four years. Mrs. Trout died at the age of seventy.
Joseph D. Trout received his education in the local schools and was graduated from the German Township High School in the class of 1877. He taught school for eight years, since which time he has been engaged in farming.
In 1878 Mr. Trout was married to Em- ma E. Stephenson, a native of German Township and daughter of James and Sa- bina (Overpeck) Stephenson, both of whom were natives of Clark County. Mr. Stephenson, who was a farmer and stock dealer of German Township, was born September 23, 1824. His wife was born September 12, 1823, and they were mar- ried in 1847. They had eleven children, of whom six survive, namely: Harvey, William, Nancy (Bowers), Mary (Nis- sley), Emma E., and Sallie (Hartman).
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph D. Trout have had a family of ten children, of whom nine now survive, namely: Orval, who mar- ried Laura Cotrel, lives in Springfield, and has one daughter, Dorothy; Maud, who is the wife of Albert Frantz, of Royal Center, Indiana; and has three children -Roger, Russell, and Irma; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Clarence Heath, of Day- ton, Ohio, and the mother of two chil- dren-Sherman and Alta; Daisy, who is the wife of Crawford Minter of Dayton, and has one son, Ronald; the others being, Elza, Jessie, Harvey, Russell and Loyd. The one deceased was Roger, who died at the age of nine months. The children who are single are all at home.
Mr. Trout is a Prohibitionist in politics. Religiously, he is a Methodist and is a local preacher in the Methodist Church, having supplied the pulpit at Vienna Cross Roads, Ohio, for two years.
CHARLES F. WISE, a prominent citi- zen of Green Township and a prosperous farmer, residing on a quarter section of land lying about ten miles southeast of the city of Springfield, Ohio, was born in Springfield Township, and is a son of Lewis and Melinda (Hatfield) Wise.
Lewis Wise was born near South Charleston, in Clark County, in 1829, and died in February, 1906. He was a son of Jesse Wise, who came from Virginia about one hundred years ago and located near South Charleston. He followed farming all his life and died near Selma at the age of sixty-eight years. He first married a Miss Strong, and of their three children, one was Lewis, the father of Charles F. His second union with Muriel Hann resulted in the birth of six children. Lewis Wise lived under the parental roof until he was married, at the age of twenty- six years, then moved on the Hatfield farm, in Springfield Township, where Charles F. Wise was born. Lewis Wise followed farming through his active years. He married Melinda H. Hatfield, a daugh- ter of James Hatfield, an early resident of Clark County, whose family came orig- inally from Wales. They settled first in Pennsylvania, then went to Virginia, and then to Kentucky, later coming to Ohio. Six children blessed this union, three of whom are now living.
Charles F. Wise was reared on the home farm and attended the district schools
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during his early days. He remained with his parents until his marriage, then set up housekeeping in Harmony Township, where he carried on farming about one year, returning then to the old home place. After conducting this farm for one year he purchased his present property, consisting of one hundred and sixty acres situated in Green Township. He follows general farming and stockraising and success has attended his efforts.
Mr. Wise was joined in the holy bonds of wedlock with Miss Minnie A. Schicke- dantz, a native of Clark County, and a daughter of Christopher Schickedantz, who was a farmer and stock dealer near South Charleston. They have three sons : Blaine C., Clarence L. and Jesse C. Po- litically, Mr. Wise is a Republican and is now serving his township most efficiently in the capacity of township trustee. He is also a member of the School Board, having been appointed to serve out an un- expired term. He belongs to the Patrons of Husbandry. With his family, he is con- nected with the Baptist Church.
JOHN M. MILLER, who resides in Springfield Township, Clark County, Ohio, is a successful business man, who in addition to farming maintains stall No. 42 in the Springfield market. He has a fruit farm of thirty-three acres in Spring- field Township, on which he has 600 bear- ing cherry trees, besides a large number of apple, peach and plum trees. During the winter he butchers and dresses poul- try for the market. He also rents and farms the Bitner place of 100 acres in Springfield Township. £ Mr. Miller was born on his father's farm in Franklin
county, Pennsylvania, September 11, 1861, and is a son of Emanuel and Anna (Ken- dig) Miller, and grandson of Emanuel Miller.
Emanuel Miller, father of John M., was one of ten children and was born on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At the age of eighteen years he came west to Ohio with a party of men on horseback, Clark County being at that time largely forest land, but he soon returned to Penn- sylvania, and followed farming in Frank- lin County until his death in June, 1890, when aged seventy-two years. He mar- ried Anna Kendig, who was born in Penn- sylvania and is now living there with her oldest son, at the advanced age of eighty years. They had fourteen children, ten of whom grew up, as follows: Jacob K .; Melinda, wife of H. Frantz; Jerry, who died at the age of thirty-four years; Bar- bara, wife of John C. Miller; Abraham; Benjamin F .; John M .; Susan E., wife of George Geltzinger; Martin R .; and Harry.
John M. Miller was reared on the home farm and attended the common schools. When nineteen years old he began learn- ing the trade of a machinist, and for three and a half years was in the employ of Frick & Co. in their engine and boiler works at Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. He subsequently followed the trade of a tool maker. In 1886 he came to Springfield, Ohio, and worked for the William N. Whiteley Company continuously until 1890, except for a short time spent at Dayton, Ohio, and from 1890 until 1892, for the Rogers Iron Company, now the William Bailey Co., of Springfield. In 1887 he purchased ten acres of land in Springfield Township, from Henry
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Frantz, upon which he moved on March 1, 1888, removing from there to his pres- ent location in October, 1899, having pur- chased this place in the fall of the same year. He was always considered a skilled machinist and has also been successful in agricultural work and his business under- takings.
Mr. Miller was married December 5, 1886, to Anna L. Bair, who was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Daniel H. and Barbara (Weber) Bair, the latter of whom died after the birth of the following children: Benjamin W., Mary, Anna L., Martha, and Elizabeth. The father of Mrs. Miller formed a second marriage with Clara A. Resh, by whom he has a son, Daniel I. Mr. Bair is living at the age of seventy- two years. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are par- ents of five children, namely : Arthur R., Mary A., Harvey D., Harrold L., and Oscar B. The family belong to the Men- nonite Church.
DANIEL KIBLINGER, a substantial farmer and highly respected citizen of German Township, residing on a fine farm of 145 acres, situated just north of Law- renceville on the Ballentine Road, was born September 25, 1838, in Pike Town- ship, Clark County, Ohio, and is a son of Jacob M. and Elizabeth (Pence) Kiblin- ger.
River. Daniel at one time owned three farms, and gave the one in Pike Township to his son, Jacob M., the father of our sub- ject. Jacob died on our subject's farm in 1897 at the age of eighty-three years, and was survived by his widow until 1904, when in her eighty-fifth year, she died.
Daniel Kiblinger was reared in Pike Township, and in 1855 came to his present farm with his parents and has been a resi- dent of German Township ever since. Mr. Kiblinger has made many improvements on the farm, including the erection of a fine brick residence. He was married in February, 1868, to Elizabeth Littrell, who is still living, and who is a daughter of Henry Littrell. They have had five chil- dren, as follows: Amy, who married Wil- liam Michael and has one child; Clara, who married Elmer Overholser, and has two children; Scott, who is married to Blanche Greist, and has four children; Nettie, who lives at home; and Mary, who died at the age of fourteen months. Mr. Kiblinger is a member and an elder of the Reformed Church of Lawrenceville.
THOMAS EDWARD HARWOOD, who was prominently identified with the printing and publishing business at Springfield for forty years, was born May 26, 1846, at Cincinnati, Ohio, and died February 13, 1906, after a short illness, at the home of his son, Frank C., who is president of the Gazette Publishing Com- pany, of this city. Mr. Harwood was of Virginia ancestry, a son of Francis Lee and Mary (Coffman) Harwood.
Jacob M. Kiblinger was a son of Daniel Kiblinger, who, with his wife and family, came from the Shenandoah Valley, Vir- ginia, to Clark County, Ohio, at a very early period and bought farms in German In boyhood Mr. Harwood learned the and Pike Townships, but settled on the printer's trade at Newark, Ohio, and land in German Township on the Mad - after working as a journeyman, came to
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Springfield in 1865. Thoroughly under- standing all the practical details of the making of a newspaper, he soon displayed also a facility in editorial work, and in the course of time became city editor of the "Weekly Gazette," a journal he bought in 1873 and continued to issue weekly until 1876, when he founded the Daily Gazette. Later he admitted his son, Frank C., to partnership, and in 1898, when the business was incorporated, Mr. Harwood became president, and the name of the T. E. Harwood Printing and Pub- lishing Company was assumed. Later the name was changed to the Gazette Publish- ing Company. This enterprise was suc- cessfully conducted until the death of Mr. Harwood, when his son succeeded to the presidency, continuing the policy of the old organization. The Gazette is the leading Republican organ of this section of the State. Mr. Harwood was a man of recognized ability, public spirited to a large degree, and with disinterestedness fostered many of the city's useful enter- prises. For a number of years he re- sided in a beautiful home on South Foun- tain Avenue.
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