History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 10

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry
Publication date: 1921
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 678

USA > Ohio > Harrison County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 10
USA > Ohio > Carroll County > History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio > Part 10

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FRANK B. HOSTERMAN, manager of the Bow- man-Hosterman Company, manufacturers of aluminum ware and toys at Carrollton, has been vigorous and resourceful in the development and upbuilding of the prosperous industrial en- terprise conducted by this company and is one of the staunch and progressive business men of his native county. He was born in Loudon Township, Carroll County, June 1, 1863, and is a son of Peter and Rebecca ( Hibbs) Hoster- man, the former a native of Harrison County and the latter of Carroll County, where her parents were early settlers. Peter Hosterman was a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Winnings) Hosterman, both of whom were born in the state of Pennsylvania and the former of whom became one of the pioneer settlers in Harrison County, Ohio, where he established his residence in 1805 and became one of the substantial farm- ers of German Township. There he died Au- gust 8, 1850, the date of his birth having been December 20, 1782. He was a democrat in poli- tics, and he and his wife were communicants of the Lutheran Church.

Peter Hosterman was reared under the con- ditions of the pioneer period in the history of Harrison County and in his youth he learned the blacksmith's trade. He was a young man when he came to Carroll County and engaged in the work of his trade, and he also became actively associated with farm enterprise. He was one of the sterling citizens of Loudon Town- ship at the time of his death, in 1881, and his second wife, mother of the subject of this re- view, died in 1887, their children having been one son and two daughters, Nora and Ellen. Eight children were born of the first marriage of Peter Hosterman. He was a republican in political allegiance and held to the faith of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Frank B. Hosterman gained his early educa- tion in the public schools at Kilgore, Loudon Township, and after attaining to adult age was for some time engaged in independent farm enterprise in his native township, where he conducted operations on a farm of 100 acres. At the age of eighteen years he entered upon an apprenticeship in the woodwork department of the carriagemaker's trade, and to his trade he devoted his attention about six years. For nearly a score of years thereafter he followed the carpenter's trade, and he then became iden- tified with the manufacturing of toys and nov- elties at Carrollton, the outgrowth of this en- terprise being the substantial manufacturing industry now conducted under the title of the Bowman-Hosterman Company, Mr. Hosterman being one of the owners of the substantial busi- ness, of which he assumed individual control in 1917. His only son, Faber, is actively associated with him in the management of the business, the company being incorporated under the laws of the state.

Politically Mr. Hosterman is found aligned in the ranks of the republican party, is affili- ated with the Knights of Pythias, and he and his family hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 1885 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hosterman to Miss Mary McIntyre, likewise a native of Carroll County, who died in 1902, leaving three children. Faber, who is associated with his father in business, as previously noted, married Miss Lena Price, of Akron, she having been born in Henry County, Missouri, and they have one son, Franklin Boliver, born Septem- ber 8, 1920. Freda is the wife of Forrest Mar- shall, of Carrollton, and they have two chil- dren, Dean and Mary. Donna is the wife of Homer Algeo, of Carrollton, their one child being a daughter, Mary. In 1904, Mr. Hoster- man married Emma Dehoff, of Carroll County.

JOHN B. STEWART is a representative of the fourth generation of the Stewart family in Car- roll County, with whose history the name has been identified for an entire century. Mr. Stew- art is now one of the principals of the Stewart Company, which conducts a substantial general dry goods business at Carrollton, and is one of the vital business men of the younger genera- tion in his native county. He was born in Perry Township, Carroll County, January 8, 1882, and is a son of Alfred A. and Laura B. (Vasbinder) Stewart, the former of whom was born in Perry Township June 4, 1858, and the latter was born. at Jewett, Harrison County, April 27, 1861, their marriage having been sol- emnized October 16, 1879.

Alfred Anson Stewart passed his entire life in Carroll County and was long numbered among the successful and influential farmers of Perry Township, his death having occurred January 25, 1916. His widow is now a resident of Car- rollton. In earlier years he was actively asso- ciated with the operation of the tannery owned by his father, but the basic industry of agri- culture received the major part of his time and attention throughout his active career. He was a republican in politics and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as is also his

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widow. Mr. Stewart was the owner of one of the finest farm properties in Perry Township, and was loyal and liberal in connection with all community interests. Alfred A. and Laura B. Stewart became the parents of five children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here noted: Ella May, August 12, 1880; John Buchanan, January 8, 1882; Ralph Melville, January 19, 1884; Homer Arthur, June 21, 1886 (died February 24, 1887) : and Harry Ross, De- cember 18, 1887. Miss Ella May Stewart was graduated in the Carrollton High School in 1901, and thereafter was employed as a clerk in the local mercantile establishment of the Sheherd & Balzer Company, besides which she held a position at Alliance, Stark County, for two and one-half years. In 1915 she became associated with her mother and brother John B. in the general merchandise business at Carrollton, and in January, 1919, the business was removed to the present location, on the south side of the Public Square, the building having been pur- chased by the Stewart Company and having long been known as the Baker Block. The store of the company is 30 by 120 feet in dimensions and is modern in equipment in every department, the while the concern controls a large and rep- resentative trade.

John B. Stewart continued his studies in the public schools until he had completed the work of the junior year in the Carrollton High School. and thereafter he took an effective course in a leading business college in the city of Cleve- land. For a time he was employed as a book- keeper in Cleveland, Ohio. He next spent six years as salesman for the Canton Hardware Company, thereafter was for six years with the Alliance Hardware Company. and for a time he was similarly associated with the Klein-Heffel- man hardware establishment at Canton, Ohio. In January, 1915, he returned to Carrollton and became associated with his mother and sister in purchasing the stock and business of Harry Butler, since which time the enterprise has been successfully continued under the title of the Stewart Company, general dry goods, with Mr. Stewart as general manager.

Mr. Stewart gives his support to the cause of the republican party, and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He and his wife hold membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church. August 4, 1906, was marked by the marriage of Mr. Stewart to Miss Elizabeth Kelly, of To- ronto, Jefferson County. The two children of this union are: Arthur, born October 12, 1908; and Ethel. born January 3, 1910.

Ralph M. Stewart, next younger brother of the subject of this review. likewise is a member of the Stewart Company. He married MINS Mary Tope, of Carrollton, and they have one child. Helen. Harry R. Stewart, youngest of the brothers, died at the age of fourteen years.

Edward Stewart. grandfather of he whose name introduces this review. was long one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Perry Township, where he owned not only a valuable farm but also a tannery, which he operated for many years. He was born in Perry Township February 21, 1826, of staunch Scotch- Irish lineage. His grandfather, Edward Hill

Stewart, was born and reared in Maryland and he and his wife, whose maiden name was Su- sannah Clay, were pioneer settlers in Jefferson County, Ohio, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Edward Stewart was a son of Mahlon and Elizabeth (Park) Stewart, who be- came residents of Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1804, and who came in 1820 to what is now Carroll County, where Mr. Stewart secured a tract of wild land in the present Perry Town- ship. Here he reclaimed a farm from the for- est and was one of the honored pioneer citizens of the county at the time of his death, in 1879, when nearly ninety-two years of age, his wife having passed away in 1871. He assisted in the organization of Carroll County and owned the land on which the present village of Perrysville stands, he having laid out that village in 1835. He was influential in public affairs in the county, was originally a whig and later a re- publican in politics, and both he and his wife held membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, though Mrs. Stewart was a birthright member of the Society of Friends.

Edward Stewart was reared under the con- ditions of the pioneer days and assisted in the reclamation and improvement of the home farm. In 1847 he wedded Miss Martha Ann Davis, of Harrison County, and they became the parents of eleven children. Mr. Stewart was owner of one of the finest farm properties in Perry Town- ship at the time of his death and was one of the county's progressive and influential citizens, with secure place in popular confidence and es- teem. As a republican he was elected county commissioner, in which office he served with characteristic efficiency and acceptability, and he and his wife were zealous members of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church at Perrysville. Both were venerable in years when they passed from the stage of life's mortal endeavors.

JOHN C. STUBBINS, of Cadiz, Harrison County, was born in Cadiz on the 15th of December, 1844. He is a son of Mordecai and Mary (Crozier) Stubbins, the former of whom was born in Bal- timore County, Maryland, and the latter in Ire- land. Mordecai Stubbins was a son of Rev. Henry Stubbins, the family name of whose wife was Parrish, and they were numbered among the pioneer settlers of Harrison County, to which state they made the long overland jour- ney from Maryland with teams and wagons. Rev. Stubbins was one of the pioneer clergymen of the United Brethren Church in this section of the Buckeye State, and he and his wife con- tinued to reside at Cadiz until their death.

Mordecai Stubbins was reared to manhood in Harrison County, and as a skilled wagonmaker he was for many years engaged in the work of his trade at Cadiz, where both he and his wife died when well advanced in years. Of their children the first-born, Henry, died in infancy : Margaret became the wife of Thomas Brooks: Amanda married John Bayless; John C., of this review, was the next in order of birth and the youngest of the family, he being now the only survivor. The parents were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years prior to their death.

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John C. Stubbins is indebted to the pioneer village schools of Cadiz for his early education, and as a young man he here learned the trade of shoemaker. He was working at his trade and was about sixteen years old at the outbreak of the Civil war, and his youth prevented him from entering forthwith into military service. His patriotism was not long denied such recog- nition, however, for in February, 1864, he en- listed as a private in Company K, One Hundred and Seventieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, his term of enlistment being for one hundred days. He proceeded with his command to the front, and on the 18th of July, 1864, took part in an engagement at Snickers Ferry, Virginia, besides participating in the battle of Winchester, that state, on the 24th of the same month, and taking part in many skirmishes. He made an excellent record as a gallant young soldier and received his honorable discharge September 10, 1864. He returned to his home at Cadiz, and for twelve years thereafter he here continued to work at his trade. He was then appointed city mar- shal, of which office he continued the efficient and valued incumbent for the long period of twenty-two years. Since 1901 Mr. Stubbins has served as bailiff of the court and is one of the popular officials at the county building. He is a republican in politics, is an appreciative and honored member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic, the ranks of which have been greatly thinned by the one invincible foe, death, and he is identified also with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church.

On the 17th of July, 1872, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Stubbins to Miss Leora Houser, who was born and reared in Harrison County, a daughter of the late Wilson L. Houser, who was born at Cadiz April 1, 1828, a son of one of the early pioneer families of Harrison County, Ohio. Wilson L. Houser continued his residence at Cadiz until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Stuh- bins have no children.

ORLANDO K. MARTIN. In reviewing in this his- tory the records of the time-honored families of Harrison County it is specially gratifying to note that Orlando K. Martin and his only brother, William H., are associated in the own- ership and work of the fine old homestead farm in Cadiz Township, on which they were born and reared, in the management of which they have been constantly allied from the time when their honored father became incapacitated by blindness. William Hamilton Martin, the older brother, was born on this farm, May 17, 1855. and has remained a bachelor, his home having been maintained with his brother continuously since the death of their parents. They own. in addition to the old homestead which comprises 120 acres, another tract of fifty acres in the same township, and they are numbered among the substantial and representative agriculturists and stock-growers of their native county. The birth of Orlando K. occurred July 23, 1857.

George Martin, father of he whose name in- troduces this review, was born on the farm later owned by Aaron Ross in Cadiz Township, and the date of his nativity was March 1, 1817.

He was a son of Arthur and Margaret (Ury) Martin, the former a native of Ireland and the latter of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Fif- teen days after the birth of their son George the parents removed to the farm now owned and occupied by their grandsons, and there they passed the remainder of their lives, as honored pioneer citizens of the county. In a previous publication, issued prior to the death of George Martin, appeared an appreciative estimate that is worthy of reproduction, with slight para- phrase, in this connection :

"George Martin was a young man whose jol- lity and lightness of spirits contributed largely to the merrymakings of the early days in Har- rison County, and he grew to manhood much as did the other farm boys of those early days. On the 3d of January, 1853, he married Miss Rachel H. Kennedy, daughter of John and Ma- tilda Kennedy and a native of Tuscarawas County, Ohio. In February following their mar- riage they came to the home which was to be theirs during the remainder of their earnest and worthy lives, the loved wife and mother having passed to the life eternal January 17, 1881, at the age of forty-nine years. In 1877 Mr. Martin lost the sight of his left eye, and soon the other eye became sympathetically affected. Though he went to the medical department of the cele- brated University of Michigan for consultation and treatment, in spite. of all that could be done, his sight gradually became dimmer, until at last the flickering spark of day went out, leaving him to grope his aged way in midnight dark- ness. His farm is cared for by his sons. George Martin's work is finished, but he is sustained and comforted by the fillial devotion of his chil- dren and by the affectionate regard of his many friends." This venerable pioneer passed away August 14, 1895. at the age of seventy-eight years, and he is held in affectionate memory in the county that was his home during his entire life. Of the three children the eldest is Angelina, who is the wife of Rev. A. B. Conwell and who now resides at Colorado Springs, Colo- rado. William H. being the second and Orlando K. the youngest of the children.

Orlando K. Martin, like his brother, gained his early education in the schools of his native township, and his entire active career has been marked by association with the work and man- agement of the old home farm, which is endeared to him by many gracious memories and associa- tions. He and his brother are staunch repub- licans, and he has served three terms as trustee of his native township. At the November elec- tion of 1920 he was elected sheriff of Harrison County on the republican ticket. Ile and his wife, as also his brother, hold membership in Asbury Methodist Episcopal Chapel, and he is affiliated with the lodge of Knights of Pythias at Cadiz, the county seat.

On the 23d of July, 1884, was solemnized the marriage of Orlando K. Martin to Miss Emma E. Carson, who likewise was born and reared in Harrison County, a daughter of David L. and Ella ( Wells) Carson. Mr. Carson was born in Nottingham Township, this county. November 24. 1842, and his wife was born in Cadiz Town- ship on the 2d of October of the same year. a daughter of Charles and Mary (Day) Wells, her

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father having been a pioneer settler and influ- ential citizen of Cadiz Township and having served two terms as county commissioner. Mr. Wells died January 19, 1901, at a venerable age. His children were four in number-Sarah Mar- garet, Mary Ellen, Amanda Elizabeth and La- ticia Isabel. William Carson, father of David L. Carson, was born in Nottingham Township, a son of John and Hannah (Rogers) Carson, who were born and reared in Maryland, where their marriage was solemnized and whence they came to Harrison County, Ohio, about the opening year of the nineteenth century, to become very early settlers in Nottingham Township, where Mr. Carson reclaimed a farm from the virgin forest and where he and his wife passed the remainder of their lives. William Carson and his wife, Elizabeth, became the parents of three sons and five daughters. David L. Carson, eldest of the children, continued as one of the repre- sentative farmers of Cadiz Township until his death, which occurred March 6, 1808, and his widow passed to eternal rest on the 3d of Octo- ber, 1912. They became the parents of the fol- lowing children : Emma E., Charles, Margaret, Minnie, Clara, Walter, who resides at Gales- burn, Illinois; Harry, deceased; Reid, a resident of Illinois; Ernest, residing at Columbus, Ohio; and George, likewise a resident of Columbus. Mr. and Mrs. Orlando K. Martin have but one. child, Clara B., wife of Halbert B. Heastan, a teacher in the public schools of the city of Passaic, New Jersey.

S. FRANK GROVES. Farming and stockraising engage the undivided attention of a large pro- portion of the substantial men of Washington Township, where may also be found many of ' Harrison County's most intelligent and reliable citizens. As a rule they are quiet, hard-working, unassuming men, who go about their important duties in a practical, sensible way, and through their labor and agricultural knowledge contrib- ute their full proportion of food for the world. There are an unusual number of well-kept es- tates in this section, but there are few that excel in any way the finely cultivated and well-im- proved farm of S. Frank Groves, who has owned and operated this place since 1895.

S. Frank Groves was born in Rush Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio, October 9, 1865. His parents were James and Nancy (Fleming) Groves, both of whom were born in Harrison County and were married in Washington Town- ship. Shortly afterward James Groves removed to Tuscarawas County and settled in Rush Town- ship, where the rest of his life was passed as a general farmer. He owned two valuable farms, one containing 260 acres in Tuscarawas County, and the other comprising 116 acres lying in Washington Township, Harrison County. His death occurred January 4, 1904, and that of his wife on July 13, 1902. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They were the parents of four children, namely : Alfretta, Emma Laura, Violinda Allen and S. Frank, all living except Violinda.

S. Frank Groves had excellent educational privileges in the public schools of Rush Town- ship, and as the only son of the family remained with his father until his own marriage, follow-

ing which he began farming on his own account in Rush Township, Tuscarawas County. He had been well trained in farm work from boyhood, and, furthermore, took a deep interest in his farm and stock and prospered accordingly. In 1808 he came to his present place in Washing- ton Township, Harrison County, and this has continued his home ever since. He owns 131 acres in his home farm and forty-five acres of the old homestead in Tuscarawas County. The fine improvements and substantial buildings on his Washington Township farm have all been placed here by Mr. Groves. He is a progres- sive and enterprising farmer, carrying on his undertakings with the aid of modern machinery and according to approved methods.

In 1890 Mr. Groves was married to Miss Anna Bell Boyd, daughter of George and Eliza V. (Markie) Boyd, and they have two children : Nellie B. and Franklin Eugene, both of whom. have been well educated and both are at home. Mr. Groves has always taken a good citizen's interest in public affairs but has never been particularly active in politics. As a good · farmer, fair-minded neighbor and reliable citi- zen, Mr. Groves is held in regard by all who know him.

RICHARD H. LEE has long held prestige as one of the representative civil engineers in north- eastern Ohio, has been actively concerned with important railway construction work in a pro- fessional capacity, and though he has now . passed the psalmist's span of three score years and ten, he continues to give effective service in the profession which he has followed from his . young manhood. Mr. Lee is an honored representative of one of the oldest and best known families of Carroll County, where Lee Township was named in honor of his paternal grandfather, and he maintains his home at Car- rollton, the judicial center of the county.

Carroll County was organized in 1833, and it was more than a quarter of a century prior to that year that Alexander Lee, grandfather of Richard H., established himself as a pioneer set- tler within the borders of this county. He was born in County Donegal, Ireland, and was a young man when he established his home in. Somerset County, Pennsylvania, where was sol- emnized his marriage to Martha Hammell. Within a few years after their marriage the young couple came to Ohio and located in Jef- ferson County, whence, in 1806, they came to what is now Carroll County and settled in the midst of the virgin forest that then marked Lee Township. Here Alexander Lee reclaimed a pro- ductive farm, endured the full tension of pio- neer life and did well his part in the initial civic and industrial development of the county, both he and his wife having remained on their old homestead until their death. They were earnest members of the Presbyterian Church. They became the parents of six sons and three daughters, and of the number Ezekiel R., father of the subject of this review, was the eighth in order of birth.

Ezekiel R. Lee was born on the old pioneer homestead, in Lee Township, in the year 1813, and here he passed his entire life, as a substan- tial and successful exponent of agricultural in-

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Richard Henry Lee

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dustry. He died November 23, 1860, in the prime of his strong and useful manhood, and in all of the relations of life he had well upheld the high honors of the family name. It may be noted that his father, the founder of the family in Carroll County, had gone back to Pennsylvania for a visit, and that he died while thus absent, the pioneer conditions having been such as to make transfer of news slow and in- adequate, with the result that his family never learned where this honored pioneer was laid to rest after his death, when well advanced in years. As a young man Ezekiel R. Lee married Jane Ann Bebout, who was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, June 17, 1827, and who survived him by more than half a century, she having been eighty-nine years of age at the time of her death, on the 16th of February, 1916. She was a daughter of John and Re- becca (Howey) Bebout, the former a native of New Jersey and the latter of Pennsylvania, where their marriage occurred and whence they came to Carroll County, Ohio, in 1836, their home being established on a farm in Washing- ton Township, where Mr. Bebout passed the re- mainder of his life, his widow having passed the closing years of her life in the home of her daughter Jane A., wife of Ezekiel R. Lee, and both having been active members of the Presby- terian Church.

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History of Carroll and Harrison Counties, Ohio, Part 10

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Number of Pages: 678

Author: H. J. Eckley, William T. Perry
Publication date: 1921
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 678