USA > Ohio > Ashland County > History of Ashland County, Ohio > Part 40
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firm style of Kauffman & Beer, but in September, 1893, Mr. Beer died, after which Mr. Kauffman was alone for a time. Three years after his partner's death he purchased his interest from the estate, becoming sole owner, when the style of the firm was changed to the Kauffman Manufacturing Company. In 1898 he gave each of his sons an interest in the business which, after the father's death, was reorganized as a stock company, the stock being owned wholly by the family. The officers are Fred Edwards, president; J. E. Kauffman, vice- president and superintendent and H. S. Kauffman, secretary and treasurer. The dimensions of the present factory are fifty-five by one hundred and seventy- five feet, and the building is three floors and basement. The firm manufactures bed springs, cots, cribs, folding tables and folding chairs and are extensive shippers of parlor tables and iron beds. The business has been incorporated for seventy-five thousand dollars and is enjoying an extensive trade, this being one of the large business concerns of Ashland.
John E. Kauffman was educated in the public schools of Ashland and received his business training in the Oberlin Business College. At an early age he began working in his father's factory and in 1894 took a contract in building chairs in the factory, with which special line of work he was identified until a removal was made to the present extensive plant in 1902. He was then chosen superintendent of the entire factory, and after his father's death became the vice president of the company. His practical knowledge of the business enables him to capably superintend the work that is being carried on in the different departments and he is thus proving himself a most able manager.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Kauffman was married April 14, 1897, to Miss Clara A. Shissler, of Perry township, Ashland county, a daughter of Townsend Shissler, a prominent farmer of that township. Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman have two children, Portia Elizabeth and John Jacob. The parents are members of the Disciple church and Mr. Kauffman gives his political en- dorsement to the republican party, while in fraternal relations he is connected with Mohican Lodge, No. 85, I. O. O. F. Close application, a thorough under- standing of mechanical principles and a knowledge of the materials which are used in the workshop, combined with good capacity for management, have been the factors which have made Mr. Kauffman's business career a sucessful one.
WALTER W. COOPER.
Walter W. Cooper, who occupies a prominent and influential position in the commercial circles of Ashland as a leading book dealer and stationer, is a native of Ashtabula, Ohio, born November 16, 1879, his parents being George and Josephine H. (Hubbard) Cooper, also natives of that state, where they were reared, educated and married, there spending their entire lives. The elder Mr. Cooper was among the prosperous butchers of his native city, in the politics of which he took an active interest, having served several years as a member of the city council and also for several terms as mayor of the municipality. After a life, during which he aided much in promoting the welfare of the city in which
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he was born, he passed away in 1881, leaving many friends to mourn his depar- ure. His wife survived him until the year 1899. Both were well known and highly respected and were faithful adherents of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the affairs of which they were leading factors.
After receiving his preliminary education in the common schools, Walter W. Cooper completed a course of study in the Ashland high school, from which institution he was graduated with the class of 1897. In the spring of that year he secured a position in a shoe store in Ashtabula, remaining in the employ of the firm for five years, during which time he acquired a thorough knowledge of the various departments of the shoe business, and in 1902, upon being offered a position as manager of a shoe house in Canton, Ohio, went to that place where he remained for three years, and upon resigning his position in 1905, located in Ashland. Here he at once established himself in the book, stationery and art business, carrying many side lines such as art china and wall paper, and being of a genial disposition and ever courteous, he has since succeeded in building up a large and lucrative trade. From the outset he was successful in his enterprise, his years of excellent training enabling him to manage the business to his ad- vantage and it has since grown to such proportions as to be ranked among the leading enterprises of the city.
In December, 1900, Mr. Cooper was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ricketson, a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The couple have one son, Wallace R. Politically Mr. Cooper gives his support to the republican party, being a warm believer in the fundamental character of its principles and, con- vinced that the policy of the republican party is adequate to insure the perma- nent prosperity of the nation and place its finance upon a firm foundation, he is loyal to its principals and during campaigns is always on hand with his vote and influence in behalf of its candidates. He belongs to the Masonic order, holding membership in Ashtabula Lodge, and is also a member of the Ashland Commercial Club. Amid the pressure of his business affairs. Mr. Cooper never loses sight of his religious obligations, deeming their performance a man's highest duty, and in the Methodist Episcopal church, to which he belongs, he. is an active worker. Since coming to this city he has worked untiringly to enlarge the border of his business, all the while exhibiting those qualifications which cannot help but insure success in the commercial world. The enterprise which he has established is one of the most considerable in the city and its proprietor stands high in the city's business circles.
JACOB BRUBAKER.
Jacob Brubaker is the oldest man in Ashland in point of continuous con- nection with commercial interests of the city. He is, moreover, one of the native sons of the county and the attractiveness of this section of the state as a place of residence is indicated by the fact that many of the native sons have remained here, feeling that the opportunities and advantages here offered are equal to those afforded in other sections of the United States. The birthplace
JACOB BRUBAKER
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of Mr. Brubaker was about four miles south of the county seat and his natal day was October 19, 1843. His parents were John and Katharine (Dissinger) Brubaker, both of whom were natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where they were reared and married, coming thence to Ashland county in the early '20s. David Brubaker, the grandfather, was also a native of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and in the year 1832 arrived in Ohio, after which he lived retired. He was twice married and John Brubaker, a son of the first marriage, was the father of our subject. He was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1792, and at the time of the war of 1812, being then twenty years of age, he joined the American army and fought for the independence of this country. He married Miss Katharine Dissinger and unto them were born eight children ere their migration to Ashland county, Ohio, in 1826, of whom three are now living. John Brubaker was at that time thirty-four years of age. He entered a farm four and a half miles south of the village of Ashland comprising eighty acres of heavily timbered land. The family slept in the covered wagon in which they had traveled westward until a log house could be built, several weeks passing before this primitive home was completed. With characteristic
energy John Brubaker began the development of the new farm, working earnestly and persistently to bring his fields under cultivation. He continued to follow farming until 1845, when he sustained an injury that unfitted him for hard manual labor, but he had previously learned the trade of shoe making and took up that line of work, continuing to follow the business until he retired
from active life. Like most of the pioneers of the times, his educational ad- vantages were limited, but he was rich in industry and perseverance and those qualities constituted the foundation upon which he builded his prosperity, making for himself and family a home of comfort. His death occurred in 1869. Unto him and his wife were born the following children, namely: Joseph, who died at the age of fifty-eight years; Henry, who died at the age of fifty-nine years; John, who died while serving in the Civil war and was buried in the soldiers' cemetery at Chattanooga; Mrs. Catherine Hickman; David F., a representative business man of Ashland; and Jacob of this review.
Jacob Brubaker was reared amid the environments of rural life, early be- coming familiar with the duties and labors that fall to the lot of the agricultur- ist as he assisted in the plowing, planting and harvesting. Through the winter months he attended the public schools and thus acquired his education to the age of sixteen years, when he began his career as a farm hand. Two years later, however, thinking to find commercial pursuits more congenial and profitable than the work of the farm, he came to Ashland and entered a mercantile estab- lishment as a clerk for J. Cahn. There he laid the foundation for his later success in the mercantile world, gaining thorough knowledge of business methods and an understanding of the requirements of commercial success. Ambitious that his labors might directly benefit himself, at the age of twenty-one years he became a member of the firm of J. P. Graham & Company, continuing active in its management from 1863 until 1866, when he withdrew from that partner- ship and, in company with his brother David F. Brubaker, purchased the store of Thomas Hughes. They then conducted the business under the firm style of Brubaker Brothers and continued in that field until 1870, when W. G. Heltman
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bought into the firm, after which the store was conducted under the style of the Brubaker Brothers & Heltman. This partnership continued for two or three years when Mr. Heltman sold out and W. W. Moore came into the firm, the name becoming J. Brubaker & Company. There is possibly not a man in Ashland that has been so closely identified with the business interests of the city nor a man who has done more to develop its commercial activity and consequent prosperity. Mr. Brubaker has always closely studied the public taste as well as the market and has ever carried a large and well selected line of goods, while his business methods are such as neither seek nor require disguise. In all his undertakings he has manifested tireless energy, keen perception and the ability to plan the right thing at the right time, joined to everyday common sense.
In his religious faith Mr. Brubaker is a Methodist and takes an active interest in the church to which he belongs. In politics he is a democrat and served for one term in the '80s as mayor of Ashland, giving to the city a public- spirited, business-like and progressive administration. In all matters relative to the general welfare he takes an active interest and his cooperation can always be counted upon to further movements for the city's good. No merchant of Ashland is better known and none more fully deserves or receives the good will and confidence of their fellowmen.
WILLIAM KECK.
The growth and upbuilding of the community depend not so much on the machinery of government or the men who occupy the public offices, as upon the enterprise and well directed activity of the representatives of business life. In this connection William Keck deserves mention. for he is well known in commercial circles in Ashland, being proprietor of the leading jewelry store of the city. His business career has been characterized by unfaltering industry, undaunted perseverance and energy that never flags. His birth occurred in the city of Hamm. in Westphalia. Germany. September 7. 1842, his parents being Christopher and Christina (Kneer) Keck. both of whom spent their entire lives in that city, where the father figured prominently in community interests as superintendent of the Royal Academy for fifty-seven years. His entire life was given to work of that character and he was one of the best known educators in the province of Westphalia, his labors proving a potent element in the intellectual development of the community. He lived to the venerable age of eighty-seven years and enjoyed in full measure the confidence and respect of all who knew him.
William Keck was reared at home and acquired his education in the Royal Academy, from which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1858. His education began when he was four years of age, at which time he was so small that, sitting on the benches, his feet would not touch the floor. During the latter part of his college course he was also learning the jeweler's trade in the store of an uncle in the city of Hamm. and after completing his apprenticeship he traveled through the leading cities of Europe, working at his trade as was then
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the custom for those who had just completed an apprenticeship, winning for them the name of journeymen. At the age of twenty years he enlisted in the army of King William, later emperor of Germany, and served for three years, participating in four of the most important engagements in the Prussian and Austrian war-the battles of Koenigsgratz, Langensalze, Achaffenburg and Helmstadt. Mr. Keck was known to have done more reconnoitering and spy work for the regiment than any one in the command and for the valuable services rendered he was given a medal which he has every reason to prize highly, for few win the honor.
After serving his time in the army Mr. Keck journeyed through the leading cities, working at his trade, until 1868, when the thought of obtaining better opportunities in the new world led him to cross the Atlantic to the United States. He landed at New York on the 4th of July, and for six months remained in the eastern metropolis, after which he went to Bridgeport, Connecticut, for a short time. In 1869 he made his way westward to Gallipolis, Ohio, where he was employed at his trade for four years. In 1873 he came to Ashland where he arrived in February, accepting a position here with H. F. Van Tilburg, one of the leading jewelers of the town at that time. He was associated with him until 1887 and during the latter years of their connection Mr. Keck was a partner in the business. In 1887 he purchased Mr. Van Tilburg's interest and since that time has continued the enterprise independently. He is a man of sterling integrity and there are no merchants in Ashland who have a wider circle of close friends and warm admirers. As a consequence he has built up a large and prosperous business and is today proprietor of the leading jewelry estab- lishment of the city.
It was on the 11th of May, 1874, that Mr. Keck laid the foundation for a happy home life in his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Wentz, of Mansfield, a daughter of Jacob and Charlotte (Knoutz) Wentz, both of German extraction, their parents coming to the United States from Bavaria. Mr. and Mrs. Keck have two children : Albertina, the wife of Raymond Pancoast, of Ashland, Ohio, by whom she has one child, Frances; and Helen, deceased.
Mr. Keck is a member of the Catholic church. He also belongs to Mohican Lodge, No. 85, I. O. O. F. He has never had occasion to regret his determina- tion to come to the United States for he has here found the business opportunities he sought and in their management has reached an important position in trade circles of the city, while his strongly marked characteristics have gained for him the respect and confidence of all with whom business or social relations have brought him in contact.
CHARLES L. SELLERS.
No history of commercial activity in Ashland would be complete without mention of Charles L. Sellers, the senior partner of the firm of Sellers & Good, who are conducting a large and profitable trade in dry goods and carpets. Throughout his connection with business interests Charles L. Sellers has made
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steady progress prompted by a laudable ambition. Regarding no position as final, he moves on from each to a more advanced one and every forward step brings him a broader outlook and wider opportunities. He was born in Fayette county, Ohio, September 15, 1863, and is a son of Albert and Charity Sellers, both of whom were natives of the Buckeye state. The father spent his active life as a farmer in Fayette county and on retiring from business in 1880 he removed to Washington C. H., where he resided until 1886, when he became a resident of Springfield, Ohio, there making his home until his death in 1893. He was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal church and his entire life was in harmony with his professions. His widow survives and is yet a resi- dent of Springfield, Ohio.
Reared on his father's farm, Charles L. Sellers, acquired his early education in the district schools and afterward attended the high school of Washington C. H. In early life, he, together with two brothers, being thrown on their own resources, secured employment in a grocery store in Washington C. H. For two years he was identified with that line of trade and then turned his attention to his chosen commercial line, the dry-goods business, securing a clerk- ship at the nominal salary of three dollars per week. He spent seven years with that firm, during which time his increasing usefulness and business enterprise won him promotion after promotion in position with increases in salary. He afterwards spent four years with another firm as buyer and manager of their dress goods and carpet department, and during the eleven years of his clerkship saved from his earnings a sum sufficient to enable him to engage in business on his own account, engaging in the dry goods and carpet business in Indiana, disposing of the business there after two years. He then opened a store in London, Ohio, and met with success in his undertakings there, from the start, being a representative of mercantile interests in that place for ten years, or until 1903, when he disposed of his business in London and came to Ashland, where he purchased the interest of Christ Kunkel in the firm of Kunkel & Good, pro- prietors of the leading dry goods store of Ashland. In the ensuing six years Mr. Sellers has been at the head of the business and is recognized as a prominent representative of commercial interests here. He is a splendid type of the self- made man, who at the outset of his career, started at the lowest round of the ladder, and by close application to his chosen business, formed the nucleus of his capital that in after years brought success in the commercial world. Round by round he has climbed the ladder of success and now stands on the plane of affluence. For more than twenty-six years, with the possible exception of about ninety days, he has been closely connected with mercantile interests and his acquaintance with the wholesale and manufacturing trade of the country is a broad one. He possesses a most progressive, determined spirit, believes that there is always opportunity for going ahead and in all his business relations he has been found reliable, never incurring obligations that he has not met nor making engagements that he does not fill.
Pleasantly situated in his home life, Mr. Sellers was married in 1885 to Miss Flora M. Price, of Washington C. H., and they have two children : Charles Wilbur, who is attending the Ohio Wesleyan College at Delaware, Ohio; and Elizabeth Pauline, a high school student in Ashland. The family reside at No.
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26, Sandusky street and are prominent in the social circles of the city. They attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Sellers is a member and he is also identified with the Commercial Club of Ashland, with Ashland Lodge, No. 151, A. F. & A. M., Ashland Chapter R. A. M., and Confidence Lodge, No. 265, K. P., of Washington C. II. While he does not claim for himself any superiority by reason of what he has accomplished, it is well known that com- paratively few make such continuous progress in the race of life or win their success by more honorable, straightforward methods.
THORNTON P. CROWELL, M. D.
Dr. Thornton P. Crowell, who for more than forty years has been numbered among the successful medical practioners of Ashland county, was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 24th of November, 1845, his parents being George E. and Mary Ann (Sampsel) Crowell, who came to Ashland about the year 1853. The father was a brick mason by trade, engaged in the building and contracting business and became very prominent in that line of activity, most of the large and best residences and business blocks of Ashland having been erect- ed by him. For a time he was also engaged in the manufacture of brick and re- mained an active and successful representative of the building interests of the county seat until called to his final rest.
Thornton P. Crowell supplemented his preliminary education, acquired in the schools of Ashland, by attendance at the Ohio Wesleyan University at Dela- ware. Determining upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he began studying with that end in view but at the time of the Civil war he put aside all personal considerations and enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of Company A, One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He continued as a soldier until the close of the war, seeing active service with the Army of the Cumberland and the eastern army, but returned home unscathed, having neither received a wound nor been taken prisoner during his entire term of enlistment. When the country no longer needed his aid he continued his preparation for his chosen calling, reading under the direction of Drs. Sampsel and Glass of Ashland, while later he attended the Western Reserve Medical College of Cleveland, which institution conferred upon him the degree of M. D. in 1867. In that year he located for practice at Olmstead Falls, Cuyahoga county, but in the following year came to Nankin, in Orange township, Ashland county, where he has since prosecuted his profession. That he has been successful and progressive in the practice of both medicine and surgery is indicated by the large and ever increasing patronage that has been accorded him and also by the excellent results which have attended his efforts. He owns a well improved and valuable farm in the vicinity of Nankin and in its supervision finds both recrea- tion and pleasure.
Dr. Crowell has been married twice. On the 16th of October, 1875, he wedded Miss Emma J. Sharick, a daughter of John and Margaret (Fluke) Sharick, representatives of two of the most prominent and earliest pioneer
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families of Orange township. By this union there was born a son, Clarence P., who is married and is engaged in the jewelry business at Mineral City, Ohio. Mrs. Emma J. Crowell passed away in January 1890, and on the 14th of July, 1892, Dr. Crowell was again married, his second union being with Miss Eliza C. Sharick, a sister of his first wife. Unto them have been born two children, Leon H. and Margaret L., both of whom are attending school in Nankin and living at home with their parents.
In politics Dr. Crowell is a stalwart democrat and his cooperation can be counted upon in every movement instituted to advance the general welfare. For a number of years he served as treasurer of Orange township and at the present time is a member and treasurer of the board of education, the cause of public instruction ever finding in him a stanch champion. For many years he has been on the board of trustees of the Presbyterian church, to which the members of his family also belong, taking an active and helpful interest in church and Sunday school work. His life is exemplary in all respects and he has ever supported those interests which are calculated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of highest commendation.
GEORGE YOUNG.
Loudonville numbers George Young among the retired farmers who now live within its borders. He was well known for a number of years as a leading, practical and progressive farmer of Hanover township and in fact spent his entire life on the farm up to the time that he took up his abode in the village. His birth occurred October 27, 1857, in Holmes county, his parents being Adam and Barbara (Hamm) Young, both of whom were natives of Alsace, Germany, the former born October 10, 1822, and the latter on the 8th of March of the same year. They were married in their native country in 1849, and came to the United States in 1853, settling first in Holmes county and then came to Hanover town- ship, Ashland county, about a mile and a half south of Loudonville. They spent their remaining days in this township, Adam Young giving his attention to general agricultural pursuits for a long period but a few years prior to his death he removed to Loudonville, where he spent his last days. He was the owner of an excellent farm of one hundred and eighteen acres and also his residence in the village and his possessions were the visible evidence of his life of well directed thrift and industry. His political allegiance was given to the democracy and he held membership in the 'Trinity Evangelical church in Loudon- ville. He died January 21, 1890, after which his widow resided on the old homestead with her son George until her demise on the 15th of August, 1906. They were the parents of five children : Barbara, who married Valentine Lemmel and had two children, while following his death she became the wife of William Graf, by whom she has three children; Adam, who married Barbara Heffel- finger, and died leaving a widow and seven children; Katharine, who became the wife of Martin Yarman, and died leaving five children ; George of this review ; and John, who died at the age of fifteen years.
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