USA > Ohio > Ashland County > History of Ashland County, Ohio > Part 78
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the work done being of a thorough and practical character. After he had
taught his first term he commanded the highest price of any teacher in the township. Putting aside the work of the schoolroom, however, he concentrated his energies upon farming and milling. For three years, however, he had an
interest in a tannery in Mansfield in association with the lumber. Hle was at one time the owner of one hundred and forty acres of the old homestead which comprised one hundred and eighty acres of land, being made up of parts of three quarter sections in Pleasant township on the north side of the village of Mifflin.
Mr. Staman now has a fine home and good outbuildings upon his farm, his residence being situated on a hill which is a natural. building site and com- mands a fine view of the surrounding country. With his own hands Mr. Staman aided in the erection of all of the buildings, for he is a natural mechanic and can do almost anything in wood or iron work. . His life has been a very busy and useful one, in which there have been few leisure moments. He has made every hour count to the utmost and his place bears evidence of the care and labor which he has bestowed upon it. This is indeed one of the most beautiful spots in the county and during the past thirteen years Mr. Staman has entertained people from all parts of this country and has also had visitors from England, France, Switzerland and Holland, and no one has ever been dissatisfied with the accommodations afforded.
In 1869 Mr. Staman was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Graybill, who was born in this county in 1847, and is a daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Graybill. Her father was a Swiss Mennonite, who went to Germany and thence came to the new world. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Staman has been blessed with five children : Annie, the wife of Harry Lemon, of Ashland; Clara D., at home ; Willard G., living in Mifflin ; Frank K., who died at the age of twenty-three years; and Ray M., at home.
In his political views Mr. Staman is a stalwart republican. The family were originally whigs but all voted for Fremont, espousing the cause of the new republican party on its organization. Mr. Staman of this review has voted the state and national ticket since that time, never missing an election, for he believes that its principles contain the best elements of good government. He
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well remembers when William Henry Harrison visited this district during his presidential campaign, although he was but a little lad of seven years at the time. He has held school offices during the greater part of his life and the cause of education finds in him a warm and stalwart champion, for he recognizes the value of intellectual training as a preparation for life's practical and responsible duties. Religiously he is connected with the Lutheran church of Mifflin. He has now reached the age of seventy-six years and is still an active factor in the business interests of the township in which he has always lived. His record is indeed a creditable one, winning for him the confidence and good will of all who know him.
JAMES B. CHASE.
James B. Chase, superintendent of the Ashland county infirmary, in which connection his service has been entirely satisfactory to all concerned, was born near Navarre, in Stark county, Ohio, August 27, 1856. He is a son of Hon. James E. and Jane (Doty) Chase, natives of Vermont and Ohio respectively. Both spent their last days, however, in Ashland county, where Mr. Chase died in 1900 at the age of seventy-six years, while his wife passed away in 1888 at the age of sixty-six years. He had taken up his abode in Stark county, Ohio, during his childhood days, accompanying his parents on their removal to this state, and there he was reared to farm life. He not only was prominent as an agriculturist but was also active in political circles and did not a little to mold publie thought and opinion. For two terms he served in the state legislature as the representative from Stark county and after the Civil war broke out he represented Ashland county in the general assembly, his first election being fol- lowed by his selection for the position for a second term. It was in February, 1862, that he removed to this county and spent his remaining days upon a farm
in Jackson township. He held a number of township and other local offices and was a life long democrat. His chief political service, however, was as a member of the Ohio assembly, where he gave earnest support to various valua- ble measures that are now found upon the statue books of the state. He was
actuated in all that he did by a desire for the public good and his loyalty and patriotic service stood as an unquestioned fact in his career. Unto him and his wife were born seven children. Mary and Ellen were twins, the former now the widow of J. J. Moore of Effingham county, Illinois, while the latter is the widow of David Wise and resides in Polk, Ohio. Samantha A. is the wife of P. A. Myers, of Ashland. James B. is the fourth, in order of birth. Orlin D. is living in Cleveland. Sherwood M. is a resident of Columbus, and Nelson H., is residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
James B. Chase was five years of age when his parents removed to Ashland county, settling on a farm two miles south of Polk. There he was reared, his experiences being such as usually fall to the lot of farm lads. His early edu- cation, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in the Polk high school and in the Lodi Academy and the Vermillion Institute at Hayes-
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J. B. CHASE
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
ville. His education was all acquired in this county and after teaching for one term in the county, he spent five terms as a teacher in the schools of Effiing- ham county, Illinois, and three terms in Dakota territory. While in that section of the country he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of land in Spink county, began the improvement of the place and resided thereon for nearly five years.
Mr. Chase was married while in Illinois, the lady of his choice being Miss Fannie L. Landenberg, who was born near Frankfort, Kentucky, in 1858, and was a daughter of Aaron and Susan (Foster) Landenberg, who were natives of Kentucky but died in Illinois. It was on the 4th of January, 1883, that their daughter Fannie gave her hand in marriage to Mr. Chase. While they were living in Dakota the wife's health failed and they returned to Ashland county in 1887. Mr. Chase then engaged in farming in Jackson township until appointed to his present position as superintendent of the Ashland county in- firmary. His appointment was made on the 22d of October, 1903, and on the 1st of January, 1904, he assumed the duties of the position, in which he has since continued by annual reappointment.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Chase were born two sons: Don L., a student in the Ohio State University, where he is pursuing a civil engineering course; and Fay E., who resides on his father's farm of fifty-three acres in Montgomery township. He married Dora Long, a daughter of David Long. The wife and mother passed away February 17, 1890, and on the 27th of April, 1892, Mr. Chase was again married, to Miss Lilly V. Landenberg, a sister of his first wife.
In his political views Mr. Chase is a democrat, always giving stanch sup- port to the party. For two years he was appointed county infirmary superin- tendent when the board had a republican majority. While living in South Dakota he was clerk of the school board for three years, the board having charge of two civil townships. During his incumbency four schoolhouses were built and nineteen hundred dollars worth of bonds were sold. For the past twelve years he has been a member of the Knights of the Maccabees and is also a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of Ashland. Throughout his entire life he has commanded the confidence and good will of all who know him and his personal worth as well as his business ability entitles him to the position which he is now filling in a most creditable manner.
MAURICE FRINK.
John and Mary Frink, remote ancestors of the subject of this review, came to this country from England in 1631, on the sailing vessel Lion, and settled in Massachusetts. The family is remarkable from a military point of view, having representatives in many of the country's wars, the great-great-grandfather, John Frink and four of his sons having participated in the struggle for American independence, in which conflict Thomas Frink, one of the sons, was fife major, the fife he played also being used by his son Thomas in the strife with Great Britain in the war of 1812, and again by a relative during the Civil war. It is
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a prized heirloom and highly treasured by Mrs. Trimble, a relative, as an evidence of the valuable services which her ancestors have rendered this country. The great-great-grandfather and great-grandfather of Maurice Frink were with General Washington at the battle of Saratoga, in which they acquitted themselves with bravery and distinction.
Maurice Frink's mother's people came from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in the early '30s, settling in Orange township, this county, his paternal ancestors having also been pioneers of this part of the country, both families having engaged against the great odds of pioneer days with other settlers in their struggle to place themselves in circumstances favorable to their subsistence. Perry W. Frink, his father, wedded Mary A. Ling. He came with his parents from Madison county, New York, in 1836, and settled near Wellington where they remained for a year, subsequently removing to Sullivan township, which at that time was a dense forest. Mr. Frink later applied himself to his trade of shoemaking, conducting a shop until the year 1856, his business prospering to such an extent as to require the employment of several hands, this number being required since in those days, there being no machinery for the manufacture of boots and shoes, these products had to be made solely by hand. In this business he acquired considerable means and finally gave up the occupation and resorted to farming, having purchased a tract of valuable land, on which he pursued agriculture until his death, February 1, 1903, and he was buried February 4, of that year on his eighty-third birthday anniversary, his wife departing this life October 13, 1892. Of their family those surviving are: Maurice; Jennie M., widow of A. S. Clarke, residing in Bradford, Pennsylvania; and Edwin P., who for many years was a railway mail clerk on the Pennsylvania lines but is now engaged in the real-estate business in the state of Washington.
Maurice Frink was employed on his father's farm, where he spent his boyhood days and youth, in the meantime acquiring his preliminary education in the district schools and subsequently pursuing a course of study in Oberlin College, after leaving which institution he taught in the district schools, of Medina county for four years during the winter term, working on the home farm the remaining months of the year. Following his marriage which occurred in 1879 Mr. Frink continued the pursuit of agriculture until 1892 when he established himself in the hay and grain business in Sullivan in company with his brother-in-law, George C. McConnell, continuing in this business until 1907, when he withdrew from the concern and now confines his energies to performing the duties of postmaster, to which station he was appointed in 1896.
On December 10, 1879, Mr. Frink wedded Miss Addie C. McConnell, daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Miller) McConnell, her father being a prominent farmer and influential citizen of Jackson township, and to this union were born two children: Clara M., who passed away in 1900 in her seventeenth year and who had been graduated from the Sullivan high school and was esteemed for her rare attainments; and Leon M., who wedded Lulu, daughter of Ernest A. and Ina Johnson, residents of South Dakota, the young couple having two children, Yvonne and Enid A. Mr. Frink has served Sullivan township in a number of political capacities, having been assessor for three years and justice of the peace for nine years, declining to serve longer in the last named office
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
and aside from being a notary public, the duties of which office he has been performing for a long season, he is clerk of the township and of the board of education. In politics he is a republican, active in the affairs of his party and is an ardent supporter of measures purposing the betterment of the conditions of the community. Being a public spirited citizen, who desires the business progress of the community, he has engaged in promoting a number of enterprises and was active in the organization of the Sullivan Telephone Company, which has developed into a strong local concern, of which he is secretary, being a man of excellent executive judgment, he has been successful in all his business under- takings, having by his industry and enterprise accumulated a comfortable fortune and is now living in retirement as a substantial citizen of this place, justly meriting the reputation he courts as a leading and worthy citizen.
NATHANIEL McDOWELL COE.
Nathaniel McDowell Coe was numbered among the honored veterans of the Civil war and was a citizen whose influence was always given on the side of progress, reform and improvement. He had long been connected with agri- cultural interests and was thus identified with the business affairs of the com- munity, his home being located on section 33, Green township, where he owned and cultivated one hundred and sixty acres of land. He was born near Dalton, Wayne county, Ohio, May 26, 1834, a son of James and Maria (McDowell) Coe, natives of Jefferson county, Ohio, and Washington county, Pennsylvania, re- spectively. The father died on the old home farm in Hanover township, this county, while the mother afterward spent eight years in the home of her son, Nathaniel, and then passed away. They were the parents of ten children, of whom one son, Joseph, was mortally wounded at the battle of Chickamauga and died a few days later.
Nathaniel M. Coe, whose name introduces this record, spent the first eleven years of his life in the county of his nativity and the work of the farm in all of its various phases became familiar to him. In 1845 the family removed to Ashland county, settling in Hanover township upon a farm bordering Clear Fork. There Nathaniel Coe remained until his marriage, when he purchased the farm that now belongs to his widow, making his home thereon until his death. He was an enterprising, practical and progressive man, his place of one hundred and sixty acres, situated on section 33, Green township, a mile and a half south of Perrysville, being a well improved property. He brought the fields under a high state of cultivation, erected good buildings upon his land, divided the place into fields of convenient size, had well kept fences and secured the latest improved machinery to promote the farm work. He taught school in early life but otherwise gave his attention entirely to general agricul- tural pursuits throughout his business career.
There came an interruption to his work, however, in his service in the Civil war for in May, 1861, Mr. Coe responded to the country's call for troops, enlisting as a member of Company E, Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, at
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
the call for seventy-five thousand men to serve for three months. On the ex- piration of that term he reenlisted on the 10th of October, 1861, becoming a member of Company E, Sixty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served until December 4, 1864. He then again offered his services to the gov- ernment, veteranizing as a member of Company H, Sixth Regiment of United
States Veteran Volunteer Infantry on the 22d of March, 1865. Under this enlistment he served until the 21st of March, 1866. He was sergeant during his three years' term of service and did clerical duty in the adjutant general's office during his third enlistment. He was three times wounded and on other occasions his clothing was pierced by bullets. At the battle of Chicka- mauga he sustained a wound in the leg and fell into the hands of the rebels but was exchanged on parole on the 28th of September, 1863. He returned to the regiment which, in the following May, participated in the Atlanta campaign, and he was wounded in the battle of Franklin, but not severely. That was the most hotly contested engagement in which he participated throughout the war and he was in the thickest of the fight. He continued on military duty until almost a year after the surrender of General Lee and his record was that of a brave and fearless soldier who never faltered in his allegiance to the old flag and the cause which it represented.
Following his return from the war Mr. Coe was married in 1867 and not long afterward purchased a farm, turning his attention to general agricultural pursuits. He also gave his attention to other pursuits, having in 1888 purchased the Perrysville mills, which he operated until 1894. As stated it was in 1867, that Mr. Coe was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Letitia Jane Tanne- hill, who was born August 24, 1838, on the farm where she now resides and which has always been her home. Her parents were Melzar and Sarah (Oliver) Tannehill, the former born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1801, while the mother's birth occurred in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, May 8, 1797. He was a son of Melzar and Eleanor (Lyle) Tannehill. The Tannehill family is of Scotch lineage and was founded in America by John Tannehill, the father of Melzar Tannehill, Sr., who, with two brothers, came to America about 1745. He married Rachael, a daughter of John and Rachael Adamson, who were
natives of England. Mr. and Mrs. John Tannehill had eight sons, of whom Adamson, Josiah and Bazil, the three oldest, served in the Revolutionary war, the first two holding official rank. The last named died on board the old Jersey prison ship. Adamson Tannehill was born June 23, 1750, in Maryland, and was the first to volunteer for service in the war for independence. He enlisted from Maryland in 1775 as a duty sergeant in a company commanded by Captain Price and in September following he was promoted to the third lieutenancy in the same company while before. Boston, and soon afterward was commissioned with rank of first lieutenant and later Captain. He was present at the capture of the Hessians at Trenton and was also at Princeton when the enemy abandoned that place. The remainder of the campaign was spent in the enemy's lines with a special command from General Washington. In 1777 he joined the celebrated Partisans Rifle Corps (sharpshooters) under General Daniel Morgan and acted as his body guard on the day on which Burgoyne surrendered his troops to Morgan at Saratoga. Subsequently he marched
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
to Frederickstown with a detachment of prisoners taken on that occasion and was later ordered to Fort Pitt with the remainder of Rawling's regiment which he commanded after the reorganization of the American army. At the close of the war he was breveted lieutenant colonel, spending his remaining days in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. At the time of the second war with England he again offered his aid to the country and served as a brigadier general in the war of 1812. He was a very prominent and influential man in his part of the state and was twice elected to represent Allegheny county in congress. He died December 23, 1820. The other two; brothers, although perhaps less dis- tinguished, were no less faithful to their country in the time of peril. Melzar Tannehill, Sr., another son of the same family, having arrived at years of maturity, was married to Miss Eleanor Lyle, who was born September 10, 1767, in Ireland and in her girlhood days went to Pennsylvania with her parents, Charles and Letitia (Campbell) Lyle. They established their home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 1774 and afterward went to Pittsburg. They had three daughters and one son, including Mrs. Melzar Tannehill, Sr. In 1810 Melzar Tannehill, Sr., came to this county and entered from the government a farm upon which his granddaughter, Mrs. Coe, now resides. In the following spring he removed his family to the place and established his home in the midst of the western wilderness, Two of his sons, Charles and Bazil, had come ahead of the family, had cleared a field, planted some corn and built a cabin, so that some preparation had been made for the other members of the household upon their arrival. Mr. and Mrs. Melzar Tannehill, Sr., spent their remaining days upon this place. They had a family of ten children, one of whom died in Pennsyl- vania, while the others came to Ashland county. During the spring after his arrival Mr. Tannehill set out an orchard which was propagated by seed given by that well known philanthropist who realized what it would mean to future generations to have orchards planted throughout the country, so largely dis- tributing free seeds that he was called throughout the west "Johnnie Appleseed."
His son, Melzar Tannehill, Jr., was but ten years of age when the family arrived in Ohio and here he was reared amid the wild scenes of frontier life. Having arrived at adult age he wedded Sarah Oliver, a daughter of Allen and Elizabeth (Kinney) Oliver. Her paternal grandparents were Daniel and Mary Oliver, who removed from New Jersey to Washington county, Pennsylvania, after the Revolutionary war. Her maternal grandparents were Louis and Mary (Brower) Kinney, natives of New Jersey, who removed to Washington county, Pennsylvania, and afterward to Ashland county, Ohio, where their last days were passed. Their daughter Elizabeth was born in New Jersey, Novem- ber 9, 1762, and in early womanhood gave her hand in marriage to Allen Oliver, who was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, in May, 1759. They became the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Coe. Mr. Oliver died near Perrysville, Ohio, September 28, 1823, and his wife died in the same locality October 13, 1828. It was their daughter Letitia Jane who became the wife of Mr. Coe. She was one of a family of five children. Elizabeth became the wife of James A. Van Horn and after his death married Wilson Enos. Her death occurred in 1900. Charles Lyle, the second member of the family, died February 12, 1908,
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HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
at Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he spent the greater part of his life. Nancy Eleanor resides with Mrs. Coe. Mary died in 1884. Mrs. Coe is the youngest and by her marriage became the mother of seven children : Stella Grace, Eleanor Winifred and Anna Louise, all at home; Mary Leila, the wife of H. M. Doty, residing in Reading, Pennsylvania; Sarah Letitia, the wife of L. F. Ayers, whose home is about a mile west of Loudonville; and Olive Maria, at home. The only son of the family, J. Willard, died in infancy.
In his political views Mr. Coe was a stalwart republican and his fellow townsmen called him to serve in several local offices. He filled the position of township trustee and was also officially connected with the schools. He was deeply interested in the intellectual and moral progress of the community and was a devoted and consistent member of the Presbyterian church of Perrysville, in which he served as an elder for twenty-four years and as a trustee and treasurer for many years. He belonged to Zeigler Post, G. A. R., of Perrys- ville, and was very active in temperance work, and in fact supported every movement which he believed would aid in uplifting humanity and promoting the moral progress of the community. In matters of citizenship he was as true and loyal to his country as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields. Friendship was to him no mere idle term. He was always loyal to those in whom he reposed confidence and he judged men, not by their position, but by their character worth. He left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and in Ashland county those of his household who survive him are proving themselves, as he ever did, worthy citizens of the community. After a useful and well spent life he passed away February 15, 1897.
SOLOMON HOHENSHIL.
Eighty years ago Chester township was an almost unbroken portion and in the midst of a heavily wooded district stood a little log cabin in which Solomon Hohenshil was born, his natal day being January 6, 1829. His parents were Conrad and Barbara (Painter) Hohenshil, both of whom were natives of West- moreland county, Pennsylvania. Both the paternal and maternal grandparents came from Germany and settled in the Keystone state prior to the opening of the Revolutionary war. The grandfather Hohenshil acted as teamster for the colonial army during the progress of hostilities and when away from home the British troops made a raid upon his place and burned the house.
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