USA > Ohio > Ashland County > History of Ashland County, Ohio > Part 81
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101
Not only as an agriculturist but in other lines Mr. Latimer became well known. He had himself been educated in a log schoolhouse and he assisted in raising the first log schoolhouse in Mifflin when he was but eighteen years of age. He was always active in the Methodist church and after coming to this county attended services at Hayesville, whither he rode on horse-back, a distance of six miles. After the birth of two of his children he and his family attended services in a log church three miles west of their home in Richland county. He is now a member of the Methodist church of Widowville near the site of the old log schoolhouse where he first attended.
It was in 1839 that Mr. Latimer was married to Miss Sarah Nutter, who was born in West Virginia in March, 1814. She came to Crawford county, Ohio, with her parents as a young lady and resided there until her marriage. Her death occurred April 14, 1885, when she was seventy-one years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Latimer were born nine children. James, the oldest, who enlisted for three years in 1861 as a member of the One Hundred and Twentieth Ohic Volunteer Infantry from this county under Captain Mckinley, died while in the service in Vicksburg in February, 1862. Elizabeth, who acquired her early education in the common schools, afterward attended Vermillion Institute and Ashland College and successfully engaged in teaching for three or four years. She was first married to J. M. Tawney, a soldier who had been wounded in the service. After being thus injured he returned home but reenlisted and died a year and a half after they again came to the north, his death being the result of his injuries. Having lost her first husband Elizabeth became the wife of Mathew Neely. She is again a widow and for the past thirteen years has devoted her time to caring for her aged father. Nancy Jane, the third of the family, died February 13, 1897, at the age of fifty-four years, five months and eleven days. Harriett is the wife of Henry Sigler, a resident of Columbia Station, Lorain county, Ohio. John is living in Noble county, Indiana. William and Zachariah are both residents of Mifflin township. Sarah died at the age of three years. Amanda is the wife of Alfred Thomas and resides in Brookings county, South Dakota.
739
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
In his political views Mr. Latimer was originally a whig and voted for William H. Harrison. He has never failed to vote at each succeeding presiden- tial election since that time. On the dissolution of the whig party he joined the ranks of the new republican party with which he has since been affiliated. The only office he has ever held was in connection with the schools and the cause of education has ever found in him a stalwart champion. While in his ninety- fifth year he is as straight as an arrow and walks about without the aid of a cane unless he is going some distance. His mind is clear and his memory good. He was able to do a hard day's work when seventy-five years of age and he is today the oldest man in Ashland county, a venerable citizen who is honored by all who know him.
WILLIAM SHIDLER.
William Shidler, prominent in the affairs of Ashland, who has served as county treasurer and is now devoting his attention to general farming and stock raising, was born in Orange township, this county, September 2, 1847, a son of Jacob and Rebecca (Wise) Shidler, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania and came to this county with their parents in childhood. The father passed away here October 23, 1866, and the mother February 5, 1877. They reared two children, namely: Jane Ann, the wife of Hugh Merry, residing in this county ; and William.
On his father's estate William Shidler was reared, engaging in agricultural duties during the summer months and in the winter season acquiring his prelimi- nary education in the village schools. Subsequently he completed a course at Savannah Academy and remained upon the home farm until he became of age, at which period of his life he rented the homestead for two years. He then purchased eighty acres of land in Orange township, which he occupied for two years, and then sold and established himself in the livery business in the village of Ashland, in which enterprise he continued for a couple of years. On selling out he returned to the old home farm, which he purchased and upon which he remained until 1893, when he disposed of the estate and engaged in the hardware business in Ashland but, after conducting this enterprise for two years and find- ing it unprofitable, he sold out the business. Becoming interested in politics he was elected to the office of county treasurer, which he held for four years, and at the expiration of that term he bought a farm containing eighty-four acres, upon which he built a nice residence, a substantial barn and other out- buildings and put it into such shape as to make it one of the finest farms in Montgomery township. He took possession of the property in 1900 and has since resided there in the pursuit of general agriculture, giving some attention to stock raising.
On November 2, 1872, Mr. Shidler wedded Miss Elizabeth Myers, a native of Somerset county, Pennsylvania, who when two years of age located in this county with her parents, John B. and Barbara Myers, both of whom are deceased. They reared a family of thirteen children, nine of whom are living. To Mr.
740
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
and Mrs. Shidler have been born, Maud and Lloyd J., both deceased; Charles J., who is married and resides at home ; and Etha May, the wife of C. G. Helbert, residing in Barberton, Ohio.
Mr. Shidler is a stanch supporter of the democratic party, in the affairs of which he has been very active, and he was elected assessor of Orange township in which capacity he served for six years. At present he is one of the county commissioners. He belongs to Ashland Lodge, K. P., and to Lodge No. 151, A. F. & A. M., meeting at Ashland. Mr. Shidler attends divine services with his wife at the Progressive Brethren church, of which she is a member and a liberal supporter. He is a man of admitted administrative ability, able to handle public affairs and courts the respect and esteem of his neighbors, both for his industry and excellent qualities of character, and is numbered among the influential and substantial citizens of the county.
HENRY H. MAURER.
Henry H. Maurer is a well known and respected representative of the farming interests of Ashland county. He now lives on section 12, Green town- ship. He was born in Lake township on the 19th of June, 1856, and is a son of Samuel and Mary Jane (Stowe) Maurer and a grandson of Henry and Hannah (Lautner) Maurer. Henry Maurer was born in Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1792, and in 1830 became a resident of Ashland county, set- tling on a farm in Lake township, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits throughout his remaining days, owning and cultivating one hundred and sixty acres. For nearly forty years he filled the office of justice of the peace and his decisions were strictly fair and impartial. He was also township trustee, clerk and treasurer and discharged his official duties in a most prompt and capable manner. His political allegiance was always given to the demo- cratic party. In 1856 he lost his first wife, who died in early womanhood and in 1862 he wedded Mary A. Smith. His death occurred in 1864. He was the father of nine children : Jacob, John, Daniel, Samuel, Mrs. Sarah Dillier, Mrs. Rebecca Metcalf and Mrs. Hannah Wyatt, all born of the first marriage; and David and Mrs. Jane Robinson, who were children of the second marriage.
Samuel Maurer, a native of Pennsylvania, was born December 16, 1831, and was therefore very young when his parents removed to Ohio, so that practically his entire life was spent on a farm in Lake township. He always lived quietly, devoting his attention to the tilling of the soil, and at his death he owned one hundred and sixty acres of good land. His wife, who was born July 23, 1832, in Holmes county, Ohio, died May 1, 1906, at the old home in Lake township, and Samuel Maurer survived only until the 14th of September of the same year. They were the parents of five children: Anna, the deceased wife of B. F. Paullin, who was at one time a county official of Ashland county; Henry H .; Isabelle, the widow of Luther Smith and a resident of Loudonville; John, who married Ella Raney and lives in Wooster, Ohio; and George who married Isabelle Garst and is living in Palmer county, Texas.
MR. AND MRS. HENRY H. MAURER
743
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
Henry H. Maurer was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, no event of special importance occurring to vary the routine of the work of the fields for him in his youthful days. At the time of his marriage he removed to his present home in Green township and has here resided continuously since 1879. His life of well directed thrift and industry has made him one of the men of affluence in the community and that he has attained success is indicated in the excellent appearance of his farm, in the midst of which stands a fine home, which he erected in 1906. He has also remodeled the barn and has built commodious sheds and cribs for the shelter of grain and stock. He now owns seventy-seven acres of land on section 6, Lake township, where he was born, in addition to his home farm of ninety acres on section 12, Green township, and he cultivates both tracts of land.
In 1879 Mr. Maurer was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Covert, who was born in Monroe township, Richland county, Ohio, near Perrysville, Octo- ber 10, 1855, and successfully engaged in teaching school prior to her marriage. She is a daughter of Esley and Elizabeth (Byers) Covert, natives of Lake town- ship and Green township respectively. The father died in April, 1894, at the age of seventy years, while the mother resides in Stayton, Oregon. They were the parents of eight children, all of whom have now passed away with the ex- ception of Mrs. Maurer and Mrs. Alice Clow, who is with her mother in Oregon. Five of the children became successful school teachers and three died in early life. Mrs. Covert was a second cousin of James G. Blaine. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Maurer have been born nine children : Beryl, the wife of William A. Simms, of Lake township; Blanche; Evelyn; Samuel Grover; Eugene; Anna; Ruth; Mary; and Ida.
Mr. Maurer has always voted with the democracy and is a stanch advocate of the principles of the party, but not an aspirant for office. He belongs to the Royal Arcanum and also to the Modern Woodman camp, of Loudonville. He has a wide acquaintance in this county, where his entire life has been passed and where his many substantial traits of character have won him the good will and friendship of many with whom he has been brought in contact.
H. E. ZIMMERMAN.
H. E. Zimmerman, editor of the Loudonville Advocate, was born June 2, 1873, in the village which is still his home and in which he has spent the greater part of his life. He is a son of Leonard and Mary Ellen (Cowel) Zimmerman, who were natives of Wayne county, Ohio, both having been born, reared and married in that locality. Leonard Zimmerman was the eldest son of David and Susan (Hiner) Zimmerman, and was born near Springdale, Ohio, August 6, 1840. When a young man he learned the trade of wagon-making, which he followed for a number of years, pursuing the occupation in Shreve and in Perrysville. In 1871, he located in Loudonville where he conducted a wagon- making shop for three years, and in 1874 removed to a farm west of the town, making his home thereon during the last thirty-four years of his life. He was
744
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
one of the most highly respected citizens of Hanover township, a man of irre- proachable integrity, straightforward in all his dealings and not only upright but also a gentleman of kindly manner and genial disposition. He was married on the 15th of October, 1862, to Miss Mary Ellen Cowel, and to them were born five sons and three daughters, who are all yet living. The death of Mr. Zimmer- man occurred February 21, 1908, and the county lost thereby a valued and representative citizen, one who had always been loyal to the interests of the community and whose worth as a citizen and business man went unquestioned.
H. E. Zimmerman was only a young lad when his parents removed to the farm about two and one half miles west of the town. There he was reared attending the district schools in his youthful days, while later he pursued a course in the Loudonville high school, from which he was graduated with the class of 1896. He taught school for thirteen consecutive years and during the first two terms he carried his high-school work while teaching. His connection with educational interests as a teacher was mostly in Hanover township and in his work he always held to high standards. In 1905, he turned his attention to journalism through the purchase, on the 19th of August of that year, of the Loudonville Advocate, of which he has since been editor, manager and publisher.
On the 10th of October, 1898, Mr. Zimmerman was united in marriage to Miss Lottie E. Smith, a native of Ashland county, Ohio, and a daughter of J. G. and Mary Ellen (Goon) Smith, who are now residents of Ashland county. Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman have one daughter, Vera Marie. They are well known in Loudonville and this part of the county where they have long resided, and it is well known that Mr. Zimmerman is a stalwart champion of all those move- ments and measures which feature in good citizenship and general progress.
BYRON W. HILEMAN.
Byron W. Hileman, who for many years has been prominently associated with the agricultural and stock-raising interests of Sullivan township, this county, is a native of Troy township, where his birth occurred April 3, 1858. He is a son of Heron B. and Nancy S. (Shank) Hileman, his parents having come from Wayne county to Ashland county in the year 1854, settling in the township where he was born. There his father was an extensive landowner and engaged in general farming and stock raising until he departed this life in November of the year 1900 and is still survived by his widow. In the family were eight children, seven of whom are now living.
Byron W. Hileman, the second of the family, spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, actively engaged in the pursuit of agriculture and in the winter season attending the district school, where he acquired his education. He remained under the parental roof until he was twenty-one years of age, when he left home, and after his marriage he settled on a farm in Huntington town- ship, Lorain county, where he engaged in farming and stock raising for thirteen years. In 1892 he removed to Sullivan township, Ashland county, settling on the farm on which he now resides. His land embraces two hundred and twenty-
745
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
six acres, all of which is of the best quality of soil, thoroughly drained, under a high state of cultivation and provided with all necessary improvements with which to pursue the occupation of farming. His dwelling is of a modern type while his barn and other buildings are substantial and in addition he has plenty of machinery to carry on his work. In fact the farm is supplied with every modern convenience. Everything about the place is indicative of thrift and progress and in every particular his farm is one of the most desirable in the community. Aside from producing general crops such as hay, oats and wheat, he also pays some attention to all kinds of stock, keeping on hand a number of head of the best specimens of horses, cattle, sheep and hogs and at the same time engages to some extent in the dairy business. He is one of the most progressive farmers in the township and, having made a study of soils and of the adaptation and rotation of crops, he is usually successful in deriving from his fields the maximum yield per acre.
In February, 1883, Mr. Hileman wedded Miss Ella M. Smith, a daughter of Gustavus and Effie Smith, of Troy township, and they now have three children, namely : Alta, who became the wife of Charles Chapman; Blanch, wife of Clayton Arndt; and Edith.
Politically Mr. Hileman is a republican who takes an active interest in the affairs of the party and has frequently been chosen as a delegate to county, district and state conventions. He is decidedly a man of affairs, ready to further any matter devised for the advancement of the community, being es- pecially an advocate of good roads and general public improvements, and is serving a second term as township trustee. He is also officiating as a member of the school board. He belongs to the Maccabees and with the members of his family attends divine services at the Congregational church in the village of Sullivan. Mr. Hileman is one of the aggressive men of the community, whose industry has done much for the general betterment of the township and whose upright life has always merited him the confidence and respect of his neighbors.
ALONZO SHAMBAUGH.
Alonzo Shambaugh is a representative of agricultural and financial interests in the southeastern portion of Ashland county. Since 1874 he has resided upon the farm in Green township which is still his home and he is also the vice presi- dent of the Perrysville Banking Company. He was born in Green township on the 10th of January, 1843, and is a son of John and Lydia (Lepley) Sham- baugh, both of whom were natives of Snyder county, Pennsylvania, the former born in 1821 and the latter in 1823. They came to Ohio with their parents in childhood days, arriving about 1830, and were married in Ashland county, where the remainder of their lives were passed as farming people. Mr. Shambaugh was a son of John and Katharine (Walters) Shambaugh, both of whom were natives of Pennsylvania but became pioneer residents of Ohio and died in Ash- land county. Mrs. Lydia Shambaugh was a daughter of Henry and Phoebe (Hynes) Lepley. Her parents, too, were natives of Pennsylvania who cast in
746
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
their lot with the early settlers of Ashland county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. John Shambaugh there were born three children : Alonzo; Curtis, who is now living in Mansfield, Ohio; and Emma, the wife of Frank Snyder, who occupies the old Shambaugh homestead in Green township.
Alonzo Shambaugh was seven years of age when his parents removed from his birthplace to a farm in Monroe township, Richland county, there residing for about six years. On the expiration of that period they returned to Green township and he continued to assist his father in the development and cultivation of the farm until after the outbreak of the Civil war when on the 9th of August, 1862, at the age of nineteen years he responded to the country's call for troops, joining the boys in blue of Company C, One Hundred and Twentieth Ohio Vol- unteer Infantry under Captain McKinley. He took part in the battle of Vicksburg and subsequently was taken ill and sent to the hospital at Memphis, Tennessee. When he had sufficiently recovered he rejoined his regiment at Plaquemine, Louisiana, took part in the Red River campaign and at Snaggy Point, Arkansas, was taken prisoner on the 3d of May, 1864. He was held until the 17th of May, 1865, being incarcerated at Tyler, Texas, until after the close of the war when the victory won by the Union arms led to the release of the northern men who were confined in southern prisons.
Mr. Shambaugh was a faithful and loyal supporter of the old flag and the cause it represented, fearlessly defending the Union interests in various hotly contested battles. When the war was over he returned home and resumed farming with his father, continuing to cultivate the home place until his mar- riage. In the spring of 1874 he bought his present farm which comprises one hundred and forty-four acres of good land adjoining the corporation limits of Perrysville and about twenty acres within the boundaries of the village on Third street. On this farm he has a large fine residence and substantial out- buildings for the shelter of grain and stock. All were erected by Mr. Sham- baugh and stand as monuments to his thrift, enterprise and progressive spirit. His fields are carefully tilled so that he annually gathers good crops and he also augments his yearly income by his sales of stock. He has been the vice presi- dent of the Perrysville Banking Company since the bank was owned by home capital and is a man of keen business discernment, rarely, if ever, at fault in matters of judgment relating to the management of his agricultural and financial interests.
In October, 1874, Mr. Shambaugh was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Ann Harlan, who was born in Vermillion township, November 12, 1842, and is a daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Latimer) Harlan, who were natives of Virginia but spent their last days in Ashland county. They had six daughters and five sons, including Mrs. Shambaugh, who by her marriage has become the mother of two children : Montrose H., now of Perrysville; and Daisy, the wife of Ira Gorhan, of California.
In his political views Mr. Shambaugh is a stalwart democrat, unfaltering in his support of the party principles. He has been township trustee for two terms, was treasurer for seven terms and has also been a member of the village board of education and served for several terms on the jury commission. He belongs to the Baptist church in which he is a trustee and he was a member of
1
747
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
Ziegler Post, No. 512, G. A. R., of Perrysville until it was disbanded. He is today as loyal to his duties of citizenship as when he followed the old flag on southern battlefields and takes just pride in what he has accomplished in the village for its substantial upbuilding and improvement.
GEORGE L. MILLER.
George L. Miller, whose spirit of enterprise constitutes an important factor in the business activity and consequent prosperity of Perrysville, is now serving as postmaster of the town and is also identified with several business interests. He was born in Salona, Clinton county, Pennsylvania, November 8, 1858, and there spent the first ten years of his life, on the expiration of which decade he came with the family to Ohio. He is a son of Henry T. and Jane (Herr) Miller, who were also natives of Clinton county, Pennsylvania, the former born August 6, 1818, and the latter on the 6th of January, 1820. They were married in the county of their nativity and resided there until 1868, when they moved westward to Perrysville, arriving on the 6th of November. They both spent their remaining days here, and the father, who had previously given much of his attention to general agricultural interests, devoted his time and energies to the livery business and to the conduct of a meat market in Perrysville. He
was twice married and had two daughters by the first union. His second marriage was to Jane Herr and their family numbered two sons, the brother of our subject being Harry Edmund, who was born in Clinton county, Pennsyl- vania, January 28, 1861, and died February 9, 1909. The mother passed away August 15, 1874, and the father's death occurred October 15, 1892. In tracing the ancestry farther back it is found that the Miller family is of Irish lineage. The grandfather of our subject was John Miller, a native of the Emerald isle, who served as the first sheriff of Clinton county, Pennsylvania. He had two sons who died unmarried, and Henry T. Miller was the only one who married and reared a family.
In taking up the personal history of George L. Miller we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely and favorably known in Perrysville and throughout this part of the county for his sterling traits of character com- mend him to the friendship and regard of all with whom business or social re- lations bring him in contact. Since the family home was established in the village, in 1868, he has here lived. The father owned a farm adjoining the town on the east and there resided for seven years, after which he spent two years in the village and then traded for a farm a mile west of the town comprising one hundred and thirty acres, which is now the property of George L. Miller, who resided thereon from February, 1878, until November, 1892. At the latter date he again took up his abode in the village and became engaged in the imple- ment business, which he carried on for three years. In July, 1906, he was appointed postmaster of Perrysville and is now filling that position, at the same time conducting a shoe store in which he carries a large and well selected line of goods. He is, moreover, a stockholder in the Perrysville Pottery Company
748
HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY
and is actuated in all that he does by a spirit of enterprise that is bringing to him substantial success.
On the 1st of December, 1886, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Miller and Miss Bertha Ross, who was born in Morrow county, Ohio, June 20, 1862. She was a resident of Shreve at the time of her marriage and her parents, Daniel and Nancy Ross, still reside there. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have many warm friends in Perrysville and throughout this part of the county and their own home is justly celebrated for its warmhearted and gracious hospitality. In politics Mr. Miller has been a life-long republican who studies the questions and issues of the day and is therefore able to give strong reason for his political faith. He has served for many years as a member of the village council and exercises his official prerogatives in support of various measures for the public good. He has done active work on the board of education during the three years incumbency in the office and he withholds his cooperation from no move- ment which is deemed of value in promoting the best interests of the community. That he is a popular member of the Knights of the Maccabees is indicated by his relation as commander of the local tent. He also belongs to the Presbyterian church and is a man of genuine personal worth whose life has been straight- forward and honorable in all of its varied relations.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.