USA > Ohio > Clark County > Springfield > Century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens 20th > Part 109
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Maryland, and after more than two years there, he returned to Wheeling. For the three succeeding years he was superin- tendent of transportation for the Wheel- ing & Elm Grove Railroad. He then went to Newark and for one year was superintendent of the Newark & Gran- ville Street Railway, and for two years superintendent of the Indianapolis & Martinsville Interurban Railway. In 1903 Mr. Loftus came to Springfield and for the past three years has occupied his present responsible office. His long con- nection with railroad affairs in different sections has given him expert knowledge and a business acquaintance extending through many states. In 1892, Mr. Loftus was married to Christina Herman, of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and they have three children-Frank, Joseph and Ruth. Mr. Loftus and family belong to St. Ra- phael's Catholic Church at Springfield.
WILLIAM S. VALE,* a life-long resi- dent of Clark County, Ohio, trustee of Bethel Township and owner of two hun- dred and twenty-five acres of fine farming land situated in Clark and Miami Coun- ties, was born January 18, 1860, a son of Peter and Sarah (Shull) Vale.
Peter Vale was born in Pennsylvania and when a young man of nineteen came to Ohio, first locating near Carlisle, Clark County, where he worked for some time on various farms. Here he married Sarah Shull, a native of Clark County and later bought a farm in Bethel Township, where they passed the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in 1894 when he was sixty-two years old. His wife died
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in 1898 at the age of sixty-five years. They had but. one child, William S., the subject of this sketch.
William S. Vale passed his boyhood days on the farm, remaining at home un- til his marriage May 13, 1880, to Mary Johnson, a daughter of Rev. E. R. and Julia (Colton) Johnson. They have one child, Chester, who is engaged in seed growing. Mr. Vale resides in New Car- lisle and always devoted his time to agri- cultural pursuits, until 1906, when he gave up farm life, and is now engaged in buying and selling stock, most of which is disposed of in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Vale is a Republican and has served as town- ship trustee for the past nine years. He is fraternally associated with the Masonic Lodge of New Carlisle, and the I. O. O. F. of New Carlisle.
Rev. E. R. Johnson, father of Mrs. Vale, came to Ohio with his wife in 1841. His education was obtained at the Lane Theological Seminary of Cincinnati and he had charge of the Presbyterian Church of New Carlisle for twenty-one years, passing away in that village in 1862. He was instrumental in organizing the church at Addison, Tippecanoe, and at Osburn. His wife died in January, 1907, aged eighty-eight years. Rev. Johnson was the father of the following children: Laura, who died young; Frances, who married A. N. Mitchell; Emily, who mar- ried Oliver Turner; Janet, who married Robert Stafford; and Mary, who is the wife of William S. Vale.
ELMER C. HARTMAN,* senior mem- ber of the firm of Hartman & Morgan, well known dealers in hardware and farm
implements at Sugar Grove, Clark Coun- ty, Ohio, has been a life long resident of the county. He was born in German Township, Clark County, May 11, 1873, and is a son of Gideon and Barbara (Snell) Hartman. His mother died when he was eleven years of age, and his father is now living in Pike Township.
Elmer C. Hartman was ten years of age when his parents moved to Pike Town- ship, and there he grew to maturity. He engaged in farming until he moved to Sugar Grove and engaged in business. In 1905, he erected the Hartman Block, opposite the Ohio Masonic Home, a large two-story brick building with three store rooms on the first floor. Here he em- barked in the general mercantile business, carrying a comprehensive line of dry goods, groceries, queensware, hardware and farm implements. In 1906, he dis- posed of all but the hardware and im- plements department of his store, which he moved in an addition he had built on to the block. On February 1, 1908, he formed a partnership with Mr. John E. Morgan, and the business has since been carried on under the firm name of Hart- man & Morgan. They carry a large stock of general hardware, and in farm imple- ments make a specialty of McCormick binders, corn planters, and International Manure Spreaders. The second floor of the Hartman Block is used to display their line of carriages and buggies. They enjoy the patronage of this vicinity al- most exclusively, and during the summer months are kept busy day and night.
In 1897 Mr. Hartman was joined in marriage with Christina Busch, a daugh- ter of Ludwig Busch, and they became parents of four children, three of whom
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are living, namely: Ludwig C., Lucille M., and Louise. A daughter, Christina, died at the age of two years. Fraternally Mr. Hartman is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
COLONEL MILTON CHENEY,* one of South Charleston's highly respected and influential citizens, who is living in retirement after years of unceasing ac- tivity in agricultural work, is a native of Madison Township, Clark County, Ohio. He was born in 1850 on the old home place three miles south of South Charles- ton, is a son of Jonathan and Matilda (Harpole) Cheney, and a grandson of William Cheney.
William Cheney was a native of Vir- ginia, where he was reared and followed farming for a number of years. After his marriage to Rebecca Orr, also a native of Virginia, he settled in Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio, and engaged in farming the remainder of his life. Nine children were born to the grandparents of our subject, all of whom are now deceased. Jonathan Cheney, the father, was born near Mechanicsburg and spent his early boyhood days on his father's farm. At the age of sixteen he went west and en- gaged in the cattle business, and drove cattle from Illinois to Harrisburg for a period of five years, after which he came to Clark County, and purchased the pres- ent farm of his son, Milton, consisting of three hundred and twenty-five acres, three hundred acres of which are located in Madison Township, Clark County, and the remaining twenty-five acres in Madi- son County, just across the county line. Here he followed agriculture until his
death, which occurred March 18, 1865. Jonathan married Matilda Harpole of Greene County and to them were born three children, of whom two are living, Milton, the subject of this notice; and Rebecca (Young) of Los Angeles, Cali- fornia.
Milton Cheney was reared on his father's farm and attended the district schools of the township for a short time. He was but eleven years old at the out- break of the Civil War, and is practically self educated, as his services were early required on the farm. Mr. Cheney has been engaged in agricultural pursuits on the home farm since 1867. He married Ada Sprague, a daughter of L. B. Sprague of Harmony Township, and to them have been born five children: Molly (Mrs. Hicks); Harriet; Pearl (Mrs. Sprague) of Clark County; Howard, who married Anna Hostetter of Dayton; and Scott.
Col. Cheney has always been an ardent supporter of the Republican party. He has served twelve years as township trustee, was for six years county commis- sioner, thirty-two years a member of the Madison Township School Board and also served as a member of the Agriculture Board. Col. Cheney is also prominent in fraternal circles, being a member of the Masonic order and the Odd Fellows, in- cluding the Mad River Encampment, at Springfield, of which he is Past Grand and Past Chief Pater.
GEORGE F. JOHNSON,* a represent- ative citizen of German Township, resid- ing on his farm in Section 19, is a veteran of the Civil War. He was born in York-
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shire, England, October 14, 1841, and is a son of Mark and Esther (Firth) Johnson. Mr. Johnson was five years old when his parents came to America. The father had previously been a school teacher, but after locating in New York, he followed farming until 1852, when he started with his family for Clark County, Ohio, landing at Spring- field on New Year's Day, 1853. He soon rented a farm in Green Township and there the family lived for some years.
George F. Johnson attended school in the neighborhood of his home, as he was afforded opportunity through his boyhood. The family was living in Green Township when he enlisted for service in the Civil War September 4, 1861, entering Com- pany F, Forty-fourth Regiment Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry, for three years. His regiment was connected with the Twenty- third Army Corps, Army of West Vir- ginia. After about one year in the Vir- ginia mountains, during which period Mr. Johnson participated in the battles of Lewisburg, Charleston and Cotton Moun- tain, in October, 1862, the regiment was sent to Kentucky and during the year spent there he participated in the battle of Duncan's Hill. At that battle, the in- fantry being mounted, he had a fall from his horse, which caused him some suffer- ing. During the greater part of the time in Kentucky the regiment was given fron- tier duty-some of the most dangerous work in the service-and after leaving Kentucky the regiment went to Knoxville, Tennessee, where it had three weeks of steady fighting. From August, 1863, un- til Jar 4. 1864, Mr Tabuson was in i : ... .
at Strawberry Plains, entering the Eighth Regiment Ohio Cavalry, in which he con- tinued until the close of the war. He was taken prisoner at Beverly, West Virginia, but was immediately paroled. This was his second capture, the first one having oc- curred also in this vicinity, but before he and his companions could be marched away, the Union forces recaptured them. Thus Mr. Johnson most fortunately es- caped the horrors of a Southern prison and after his honorable discharge, at Clarksburg, West Virginia, July 30, 1865, returned to Ohio, practically un- harmed. During his absence in the army, Mr. Johnson's people had moved to Springfield and when he returned home he went to work in the Springfield flax mill. In 1867 he moved to German Township and has resided here ever since. He has a good farm and he has erected all the farm buildings since locating here.
On April 15, 1866, Mr. Johnson was married to Leanah Overholser, who is a daughter of Moses Overholser, and they have five children, namely: Ida C., who married Harmon C. Fisher, and has eight children; Grant C., married, who has three children; Ella, who married Ora Stafford and they have one child; Elmer; and Es- ther, who married David McAllister, has one child. Mr. Johnson has always taken an active interest in township affairs and for fifteen years served as a member of the Board of Education. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic.
STEWART ALBERT MUFF * a well Jialer in
and i.n-
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been a resident of Clark County, since 1897. He was born June 7, 1871, on his father's farm in Milford Township, But- ler County, Ohio, and is a son of John and Rachel (Antrim) Muff.
John Muff was a native of Germany and when a lad of ten years came to this country with his mother, and after reach- ing manhood went to California where he worked in the gold mines until 1865. He then came to Butler County, Ohio where he was married and there followed farming and operated a grist mill for many years. He died in Butler County in 1904 aged about seventy years, his wife's death hav- ing occurred ten months previous when in her sixty-first year. John Muff and wife were the parents of three children: Ed- ward C., of Butler County, Ohio; Stewart Albert, subject of this sketch; and Sarah Antrim, who is the wife of Edward L. Tracy of Butler County, Ohio.
Stewart A. Muff was about six years old when his parents moved to Somer- ville, Ohio, where he was educated in the public schools and he is a graduate of the high school of that village. His leisure time was spent in his father's grist mill. At the age of twenty-one he began deal- ing in stock at Somerville, and later es-
tablished a grain business in connection with stock buying, continuing at this until 1897. He then sold out and came to Clark County, locating at New Carlisle, where he operates a grain elevator and deals in farming implements. Ten months later he removed to his present location on the Big Four Railroad. In 1903 he bought a grain elevator at Me- chanicsburg, Ohio,from W. H. Hodge, and operated this in connection with his other business for four years, when he sold to H. M. Conger. In 1904 he purchased the Wigwam building in Springfield, where he has since been dealing in farming imple- ments with much success. He also con- templates establishing a business of that nature at Enon, Ohio. Mr. Muff owns a fine farm of three hundred and ten acres in Butler County.
Mr. Muff was united in marriage De- cember 25, 1905, to Minerva Clark, a daughter of W. Scott Clark of Ross Coun- ty, Ohio, and they reside at No. 705 N. Fountain Avenue, Springfield. Political- ly Mr. Muff gives his support to the Dem- ocratic party and when a resident of Butler County took a very active interest in the affairs of that party. His frater- nal connection is with the Masonic Order.
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