USA > Ohio > Allen County > History of Allen County, Ohio and Representative Citizens > Part 16
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own interests, however, are still important. He purchased the business block on the corner of Main and Second streets, first the south one-half and later the north, and this is known as the Fisher Block. He also owns and con- ducts a neat cigar and tobacco store on the block located on the banks of the canal. He is a director of the Delphos Foundry Company and has other. considerable interests.
The death of Mr. Fisher's first wife oc- curred in December, 1899. She was a lady much admired and beloved, a popular teacher and an active church worker. Of the four children, two sons survive, viz: Arthur, his father's business successor, who lives in Van Wert County; and Orville D., of Lima. An adopted daughter, Nellie M. Fisher, resides with our subject. Mr. Fisher's present wife, formerly Mrs. Margaret Ward, had two child- ren by her first marriage: May, who is a teacher, and Dana, who is in business with Mr. Fisher.
Throughout his life Mr. Fisher has been actively identified with the Democratic party, and in 1894 was elected sheriff of Allen Coun- ty, giving four years of active effort to the hon- est enforcement of the law. The record of this period is one of loyal faithful service to his fellow-citizens. At the close of his term he visited the West, mainly in the hope of restor- ing his wife to health, but these efforts proved unavailing. After his return, he built a fine livery barn on West Spring street, Lima, which is 50 by 200 feet in dimensions-one of the largest establishments of its kind in the city.
Mr. Fisher is serving his second term on the City Council at Delphos. He is chairman of the fire committee, and a very useful mem- ber of the improvement and of the sanitary and sewer committees. He has been sent as the representative of his party to many county and congressional conventions and was honor- ed with the appointment of sergeant-at-arms at the Democratic National Convention at Chi- cago when President Cleveland was nominated the second time. He is a member of the Ma- sonic bodies from the Blue Lodge to the Mystic Shrine, attending the lodges of the higher branches at Dayton, Ohio; he is also connected with the order of Elks.
5 EORGE P. CONNER of Lima, one of the leading Masons of the United States,is a native of Armstrong Coun- ty, Pennsylvania, born in 1858, and is a son of James A. Conner. The father was also born in the Keystone State, where he died some 40 years ago, being a steamboat pilot on the Alleghany River nearly all his life.
Our subject left Pennsylvania in 1876. In boyhood he had moved to Philadelphia where he was educated and later mastered the busi- ness of sign painting. In the year mentioned he located in Ada, Ohio, and four years there- after (1880) in Lima, two years later remov- ing to Topeka, Kansas. He followed his pro- fession in that city for 13 years, and then spent some four years traveling in the interest of the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company and Carter's White Lead Company. In 1902 he returned to Lima, and this city has been his place of res- idence ever since.
In 1880 Mr. Conner was married to Fan- nie L. Funk, a daughter of Randolph M. Funk, and they have two daughters-Rhea Lillian and Mabel Pauline. The former married Charles R. Lingo, a locomotive engineer re- siding at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he is at pres- ent manager for P. F. Collier & Company. The latter resides at home. Mr. Conner and family attend the Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Conner enjoys the distinction of being one of the most competent cryptic Masons in the Union, and is probably one of the most widely known members of the fraternity in the United States. He has a national reputation as an expounder of the Masonic work. In 1893 he was the exemplifier of cryptic rite work be- fore the General Grand Council of the United States at Topeka, Kansas, and is thrice illus- trious master of Lima Council, No. 20, R. & S. M .; is the grand representative of the Grand Council of Kansas near the Grand Council of Ohio.
In this fraternal connection is quoted the following extract from the proceedings of the M. I. Grand Council of Royal and Select Mas- ters of Kansas, at their 37th annual assembly, held in the city of Wichita, Kansas, February 13-14. A. D., 1904, A. Dep. 2905 :
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C. C. BLISS, M. D.
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"It has been my pleasure during the year to issue a commission to Ill. Comp. George P. Conner, now of Lima, Ohio, and formerly a member of Zabud Council, No. 4, Topeka, Kan- sas. Comp. Conner, with his usual energy and devotion to the work of Cryptic Masonry, be- came interested in Lima Council and in the Grand Council of Ohio. When Comp. Brom- well, our Grand Representative near the Grand Council of Ohio, became acquainted with Comp. Conner, he immediately insisted that he should resign and that the Grand Master of the Grand Council of Ohio should recommend the appointment of Comp. Conner, which was ac- cordingly done, and a commission issued to Comp. Conner. We are pleased to be able to enroll his name among the Grand Representa- tives of this Grand Council."
Great pleasure is also taken in quoting from the proceedings of the Grand Council of Royal, Select and Super-Excellent Masters of Ala- bama, held in the city of Montgomery, as fol- low's :
"One of the most interesting gatherings in the Masonic history of Montgomery and indeed in the State, was in the Odd Fellows' Hall which had been kindly tendered for the occa- sion, last evening, when Montgomery Council of Royal and Select Masters received 26 candi- dates into the beauties and mysteries of Cryptic Masonry. Companion George P. Conner, of Zabud Council, No. 4, Topeka, Kansas, one of the brightest and most intelligent Masons of the Union, had kindly consented to be present and assist in the work. To him the greatest credit for the success of the assembly is to be accorded."
e C. BLISS, M. D., mayor of Delphos, whose portrait is herewith shown, is one of Allen County's most promi- nent citizens and comes from a fam- ily which has been connected with the important events in this section of the country for more than a half century. Dr. Bliss was born at Lima, Allen County, Ohio, and is a son of Col. Lester and Aldulia (Curtis) Bliss, grandson of Dr. David Bliss and great-grand-
son of Samuel Bliss, a patriot of Revolutionary fame whose ancestry was both English and Dutch. Early records make Samuel Bliss a man of note in peace as well as in war.
Dr. David Bliss was born in Vermont and married Mary Van Trees, who came from an old Holland family that became established in New York at an early date. Dr. David Bliss was one of the pioneer physicians of Sparta, Morrow County, Ohio, and there he practiced his profession until his death in 1846, at the age of 60 years. He was a man of local prom- inence outside his profession, and served as a justice of the peace for very many years. The children of Dr. David Bliss and wife were: Morgan L., a physician; and Maria, Mason, Mahala, Porter, Lester and Mary A., who have passed off the scene of life's activities.
In Col. Lester Bliss, the father of our sub- ject, Ohio possessed a man of intellectual ver- satility, one who attained wide repute as a law- yer, soldier and statesman. The sixth child of his parents' family, his birth took place at Cooperstown, New York, August 10, 1817. His education was the most liberal that the time and locality afforded, his literary training being secured at Gambier, in Knox County, Ohio, and at Granville, in Licking County. At an early age he turned his attention to the study of the law. pursuing his studies under Hon. Henry B. Curtis, a leading attorney. While a resident of Lima, he was also interested for a time in a store and foundry business.
When Colonel Bliss removed to Delphos, he transferred his business to his new location and it was continued here for a number of years under the firm name of Bliss & Hover, his part- ner being a connection through his first mar- riage. In 1850 Colonel Bliss was elected the first mayor of Delphos and administered the af- fairs of the town to its benefit and became so generally popular with his fellow-citizens that in 1852 he was elected to the Legislature under the new State constitution. In 1853 he was nominated for the office of Lieutenant-Gover- nor of Ohio, but before the final contest came he withdrew his name in the interest of party concord. It was during this memorable cam- paign that he lost his wife, who was the mother
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of our subject, a lady to whom he was devoted- ly attached and one upon whom he greatly de- pended for advice and counsel. Her death had much to with his loss of interest in political ad- vancement.
Later Colonel Bliss accepted the position of superintendent of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad now a part of the Pennsylvania system, which position he filled for several years. In 1859 he disposed of his business at Delphos and moved upon a farm west of the city, on which he lived for some years, subsequently trading it for a beautiful property of 312 acres situated along the Auglaize River, some five miles south and east of Delphos, which he secured while at home on furlough from his duties as an officer in the Civil War.
When the 118th Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., was recruited in 1862, Colonel Bliss was dele- gated to visit Governor David Tod in order to make arrangements for its efficiency in the field and the Governor immediately appointed Colo- nel Bliss as quartermaster, with rank of major. One year later he was commissioned lieutenant- colonel and with the regiment was sent to serve with General Burnside in the East. He took part in the siege of Knoxville and in many other engagements of a more or less serious character and continued in the service until his health, caused by army hardships, compelled him to resign in 1863. He returned to the quietude of his country home and resided there in retire- ment until his death in 1898.
Colonel Bliss was thrice married: first, in 1844. to Belinda Hover, who was a daughter of Emanuel and Caroline ( Adgate) Hover, of Shawnee township, Allen County. At her death in 1847, Mrs. Bliss left two sons, viz : David M., of Lima, who is associated with the Western & Southern Life Insurance Company ; and Lester LeGrande, a veteran of the Civil War, who died at Fort Scott. Kansas. Colo- nel Bliss married, second, Mrs. Aldulia Ken- nedy, who was a daughter of William Curtis and the widow of a prominent early attorney of Lima. The most estimable, beloved and ad- mired lady passed away as above stated, leaving an only child, C. C. Bliss, of this record. The third marriage of Colonel Bliss was to a sister
of his first wife. Mrs. Bliss still resides at Del- phos. For many years Colonel Bliss was very active in the Methodist Episcopal Church and filled the greater number of the offices in the local church at Delphos. In political sentiment he began his political career as a Democrat; at the opening of the war he became identified with the party known as War Democrats; but in later years he became affiliated with the Re- publican party. He was a very prominent mem- ber of the G. A. R. Post at Delphos and, as he would have chosen, his funeral was conducted with military honors.
C. C. Bliss came to Delphos in boyhood and first attended the public schools here and enjoy- ed still better advantages at Mount Vernon, in Knox county. Determining to become a phy- sician, he studied and worked for three years under Dr. H. P. Wagner, of Delphos, as pre- ceptor and in 1874 was graduated from the Bellevue Hospital, Medical College, of New York. His preceptor was a graduate of the same college, had enjoyed post-graduate work in Europe, was one of the censors of the To- ledo Medical College, and came to what is now Delphos in 1847, settling in what was then known as "Section 10." After the death of Dr. Wagner, Dr. Bliss opened an office of his own and continued in practice for four years and then was interested in a paper mill which he purchased and operated for a time. Later he resumed practice for a short period, after which he engaged for some years in farming. In February, 1883, he again took up profession- al work and also entered into a drug business with J. W. Evans.
Dr. Bliss has always been active in politics and in 1899 he was elected, on the Republican ticket, mayor of Delphos. After serving two years in this position, he was succeeded by G. W. Wilson for one year, was then re-elected in 1902 and is still the incumbent. In his official life he has ever shown that he has the best in- terests of the community at heart and has dem- onstrated that he is a true friend of education, culture and progress.
Dr. Bliss was married to Sophronia O. Her- rick, who was born at Mount Gilead, Ohio, and is a daughter of Simeon and Tirza ( Nichols)
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Herrick. Fraternally Dr. Bliss is a Mason of very high degree and has filled many official positions. He is a director of the Commercial Bank at Delphos and secretary of the Delphos Building and Loan Asociation.
m INOR T. LONG, one of the promi- nent citizens and substantial, reli- able and representative men of Al- len County, residing in his com- fortable and attractive home on his farm of 350 acres, located in sections 28, 33 and 34, Marion township, was born August 24, 1845, in Clermont County, Ohio, and is a son of Jacob and Rebecca A. (Westerfield) Long.
The Long family is a typical American one, the record of past generations showing loyalty to country and good citizenship in upholding her laws. Jacob Long, the grandfather of Minor T., and a son of Jacob, removed with his first wife, Elizabeth Carlinard, from Fay- etteville, North Carolina, to Hamilton Coun- ty, Ohio, settling with the pioneers on the site of the present city of Cincinnati. He had done good service in the War of 1812. After some years of residence at Cincinnati, he decided to press still farther into the wilderness, much of which was then almost unknown territory, and after making his decision shipped the house- hold effects from Cincinnati to Clermont Coun- ty, and in the spring of 1852 he came by canal- boat to the neighborhood of Delphos, and set- tled on 73 acres, which comprise a part of our subject's farm. The land is beautifully sit- uated, sloping gently to the Auglaize River, and has every advantage of location and fer- tility to make it one of the most valuable es- tates in this section of Ohio. On this land, en- gaged in clearing and tilling, in looking after the interests of his family and paying attention to the welfare of his community, Grandfather Long spent the rest of a long, useful and wor- thy life, dying May 6, 1869, aged 87 years, 2 months and I day. His second wife, Mrs. Minerva (Free) Westerfield, who was the widow of Jacob Westerfield, died seven years later, on November 25, 1876, aged 76 years, 8
months and 19 days. Their remains rest in Walnut Grove Cemetery, a marble slab mark- ing the spot. In close proximity rest the ashes of their son, the father of our subject, and here in his memory has been placed one of the most beautiful granite monuments of the "City of the Dead."
For a number of years these venerated pioneers lived in a primitive log cabin, sur- rounded by the forest, and they passed through many of the hardships which early settlers so courageously faced and endured. They wore homespun clothes, they made by hand almost all of the necessary household implements, and they labored from rise to set of sun; but they also found time to build up those civilizing in- fluences which have always attended upon worthy living, throwing open their cabin to the traveling preacher and securing instructors for their children. Mr. Long was a better edu- cated man than many of his neighbors and na- turally was consulted by them on public ques- tions. All over the county this venerable couple were known and their virtues were ap- preciated.
Jacob Long, father of our subject, was born in Ohio and died in Allen County on July 31, 1895, aged 71 years. 8 months and 30 days. He married Rebecca A. Westerfield, whose death occurred at the age of 64 years, I month and 8 days. They both were worthy and in- terested members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being connected with the Morris Chapel congregation at Delphos. They were the parents of four children, namely: Minor T., of Marion township; Marianna, who mar- ried Theodore Culp, of Van Wert, Ohio, and has a family of children ; F. E., who is a farmer living in section 22, Marion township, married and has reared a family; and Minerva, who is the wife of Samuel W. Wright, a member of the Board of County Commissioners of Allen County-he resides in section 29, Marion township, his farm being on the Lima turn- pike road.
The father of Mr. Long followed agricul- tural pursuits through life, farming in section 28, Marion township. During the Civil War he followed the example set him by his father, and became a soldier when his country needed
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his services. He enlisted in a company of the 33rd Regiment, Ohio Vol. Inf., which came to constitute a part of the army of General Sher- man and with him made that glorious "March to the Sea." He was one of that victorious company which participated in the Grand Re- view at Washington.
After the close of the war, Jacob Long put aside his sword, figuratively turning it into a pruning-hook, and returned to the peaceful pur- suits from which he had been called by the dan- ger of the dismemberment of his country. He was elected by his fellow-citizens to a number of the local offices, including that of trustee of Marion township, and during his whole life there were numerous evidences shown of the high esteem in which he was held by his neigh- bors. He was a man ever ready to forward every movement of public value and his hand was open to the call of charity.
Minor T. Long, our immediate subject, is a most worthy representative of ancestors whose honorable lives have been pictured above. He was reared among conditions which were still more or less of a pioneer character, and he re- members well the old log schoolhouse, with its slab seats for benches and its great open fire- place, where he first received instruction. Be- fore his school days were ended, however, a neat frame building took the place of the log structure, and many improvements were intro- duced.
From early boyhood Mr. Long had duties to perform about the farm. He now reaps the benefit of his boyhood labors. Few farmers have met with more pronounced success than has Mr. Long, in cultivating his land; but he has given more attention in later years to the raising of Shorthorn cattle and fine Percheron horses. He is a fine judge of stock of all kinds and is a familiar figure at agricultural fairs. He has had the satisfaction of bearing off the blue ribbons for his fine Percheron stock at sev- eral expositions, notably the Allen County and the Putnam County fairs, for several years.
In the fall of 1867 Mr. Long was married to Nancy J. Tucker, who was born in Perry County, Ohio, and is a daughter of G. W. Tucker. Her father was a pioneer of Allen
County. Mr. and Mrs. Long have four chil- dren: Cora E., wife of E. E. Truesdale, as- sistant postmaster at Delphos; Dane D., who was married in June, 1905, to Hazel Bradley; Dawn C., unmarried, who assists on the home farm; and Charles Clifford, also at home. Mr. Long and family belong to Morris Chapel and he is one of the board of trustees.
During the Civil War, our subject, like his ancestors, gave loyal service to his country. He was a member of Company B, McLaugh- lin's Squadron, and was all through the Atlanta campaign, marching with Sherman's forces to the sea. He is a member of the Reul Post, G. A. R., at Delphos, and has been commander. Mr. Long has served as trustee of Marion township for two terms; after having been connected with the School Board for a long period, he is now serving as its president. He is also president of the Mutual Insurance Com- pany of Allen County, which carries nearly $3,000,000 of risks. He is also treasurer of Walnut Grove Cemetery, which, without doubt, is one of the most beautiful and well-arranged burial places in the county. As one of the officials Mr. Long gives close and careful at- tention to the constant improvement and beau- tifying of this spot.
R L. BATES, who is prominently identi- fied with the oil interests of the State, has been a resident of Lima since 1886. He was born in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, February 3. 1852, and is a son of the late Norman R. Bates, who was a well-known oil producer.
R. L. Bates was educated at the well-known Walkill Academy, at Middletown, New York, and at Flushing, Long Island. He was first introduced to the oil business at Titusville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, Almost from the beginning of his business life he has been associated in some way with different oil fields, including Bradford, Pennsylvania, and other points. He came to Lima as agent of the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, which was or- ganized and incorporated in April, 1886. The present local officers of this company are:
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LOUIS F. LAUDICK, M. D.
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John O'Brien, general superintendent; M. Moran, assistant general superintendent, and R. L. Bates, agent. This office is the Lima branch of the great transportation and storage oil company, and their pipe lines run through the Ohio and Indiana oil fields. Mr. Bates is also agent for the Indiana Pipe Line Company, of Indiana, which operates in the oil field of that State. In addition to carefully looking after the interests of these great companies, Mr. Bates is interested in other enterprises and still finds time and takes pleasure in furthering com- mendable public movements, and is a factor in social, political and fraternal life. In political sentiment he is a Democrat. Prior to leaving Pennsylvania, he was a member of the Demo- cratic Central Committee of Mckean County and was chairman of the Democratic City Com- mittee, of Bradford.
Mr. Bates was married December 15, 1874 to Evelyn Hazzard, who is a daughter of the late Hiram Hazzard, at one time the leading merchant at Titusville, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Bates have one daughter, Mrs. George A. Straw, who is in the telephone business at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The family belong to the Protestant Episcopal Church.
Mr. Bates is prominent in Masonry and be- longs to the Blue Lodge, Council, Chapter and Commandery at Lima. He has been a mem- ber of the board of directors of The Masonic Hall Company since its organization, and was a member of the organizing board of directors which conceived and carried to completion the building of the stately Masonic Temple here. He continues to be secretary, treasurer and superintendent of The Masonic Hall Company. His intelligence, business acumen and public- spirit have been brought to bear in cooperating with other financiers and men of affairs, and the result has been of large benefit to Lima.
L OUIS F. LAUDICK, M. D., one of the leading medical practitioners of Lima, with well-appointed and convenient offices at No. 491/2 Public Square, stands very high in this city, both per- sonally and professionally. He was born in Wayne township. Allen County, Ohio, and is a
son of Louis and Clarissa J. (Miller) Laudick.
The paternal grandfather of Dr. Laudick was John Laudick and the maternal grandfath- er was John Miller, both men of character and of substance. Louis Laudick, father of Dr. Laudick, was born in Pennsylvania, where he learned the trade of a carpenter and followed the same for a time, but subsequently became a farmer in Allen County, Ohio, where he died March 6, 1869. He reared a family of 10 children.
Dr. Laudick was educated in the public schools of Allen County and was graduated at the Lima High School. In this city he studied medicine under the tutelage of well- established physicians, and then entered the Ohio Medical College, Cincinnati, where he was graduated March 6, 1890. He located at Lima, which has since been his home almost continuously, the period interrupted only by three years of travel in Colorado and Utah. The year, of 1893 was spent at the great Mor- mon city of Salt Lake, and 1895 at Cripple Creek. He has established a large and lucra- tive practice at Lima and ranks with the coun- ty's best physicians and surgeons.
Dr. Laudick was married to Nettie Mc- Clure, who is a daughter of James A. Mc- Clure. They have a very pleasant home at No. 525 West Market street.
Dr. Laudick is very prominent in fraternal life, being a Mason of high degree, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council at Lima, and to Syrian Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., Cincinnati. He is also an Odd Fellow. He keeps closely in touch with modern medical thought, having membership in the Allen County Medical Society, Ohio State Medical Society, Northwestern Ohio Medical Associa- tion and American Medical Association. His portrait accompanies this sketch.
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