USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 30
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Mr. Grubbs has been twice married. As noted above, it was in 1866 that he was united in marriage to Mary Norvall, of Union county, who died in 1880. To that union one child was born, a daughter, Frances A., who died at the age of seven years. On August 27, 1882, Mr. Grubbs married, secondly, Hester Good, who was born at North Lewisburg, this county, May 25, 1843, daughter of Dr. Thomas and Elizabeth (Moore) Good, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of Pennsylvania. Dr. Thomas Good was for years one of the best-known physicians in the northeastern part of this county and had a wide practice throughout the North Lewis- burg neighborhood. He and his wife were the parents of four children, those besides Mrs. Grubbs being Sarah, Clark and Emma. After the death of Doctor Good his widow married Jesse Reems and to that union two children were born, Harris and Lydia. To Benjamin and Hester (Good) Grubbs one child has been born, a son. Clark C. Grubbs, of Dayton, Ohio. a traveling salesman for Bolding & Company, who married Imo Waymire and has three children. Paul. William S. and Mary Hester. Benjamin Grubbs
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and wife are earnest members of the Methodist church and have ever given proper attention to local good works, helpful in all movements having to do with the advancement of the best interests of their home town and of the county at large.
JOSEPH C. BUCKWALTER.
Joseph C. Buckwalter, head of the Buckwalter Hardware Company at North Lewisburg and one of the most enterprising and progressive young merchants of that thriving village, is a native of the state of West Virginia, but has been a resident of Ohio since the days of his infancy, and of Cham- paign county for the past ten years or more. He was born on a farm in Hampshire county, West Virginia, July 23, 1881, son of D. W. and Ellen L. Buckwalter, both natives of that same state, who came to Ohio in 1882 and located in Greene county. D. W. Buckwalter was a farmer and upon moving to Greene county established his home on a farm there and there spent the remainder of his life.
Reared on the home farm in Greene county, Joseph C. Buckwalter received his schooling in the public schools of that county and after completing his studies became engaged in farming and was thus engaged for several years, at the end of which time he left the farm and became a bookkeeper for a mercantile firm at Ottawa, in Putnam county. Shortly afterward he was transferred to a store owned by that same firm in Xenia and after a sometime further service as a bookkeeper there he went to Dayton, where he was similarly engaged for four years, at the end of which time his services were engaged by the Standard Oil Company and he was sent back to Ottawa, where he was employed in the interests of that company for six months. He then came to Champaign county and from 1906 to 1910 was employed with a hardware firm at Mechanicsburg. It was in 1910 that Mr. Buckwalter located at North Lewisburg, where he formed a part- nership with G. E. Jordan and engaged in the hardware business there, under the firm style of Buckwalter & Jordan. In 1914 Mr. Jordan retired from the firm and Mr. Buckwalter formed a company and incorporated the same as the Buckwalter Hardware Company and under that corporate title has since continued to carry on the hardware business at North Lewisburg and has done very well, the business annually assuming greater proportions. Mr. Buckwalter's store occupies two floors of a building twenty by seventy- five feet in dimensions, with an ample warehouse for storage purposes for
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farm machinery maintained in connection with the same. The store is well stocked and the business is conducted in accordance with modern and up-to- date methods, Mr. Buckwalter's long experience in the mercantile busi- ness giving him exceptional advantages in that direction.
In 1905 Joseph C. Buckwalter was united in marriage to Clara Unken- holz, daughter of Frederick Unkenholz and wife, and to this union two children have been born, Joseph H. and Frederick C. Mr. and Mrs. Buck- walter are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and take an active interest in the various beneficences of the same, Mr. Buckwalter being a member of the board of trustees of the church. Politically, he is a Repub- lican, giving his earnest attention to local political affairs, and, fraternally, he is connected with the local camp of the Modern Woodmen of America. in the affairs of which he takes a warm interest.
ASA G. HOPKINS.
Asa G. Hopkins, a veteran of the Civil War and the proprietor of a dairy farm on rural route No. 4 out of Mechanicsburg, on the Urbana pike. one and a half miles northwest of Mechanicsburg, in Goshen township, this county, is a native son of Ohio and has lived in this state nearly all his life. He was born on a farm in the neighboring county of Union on January 22, 1847, son of George and Sarah ( Bates) Hopkins, the former a native of that same county and the latter a native of the neighboring county of Logan. George Hopkins was a son of Benjamin Hopkins, a native of England, whose early manhood was spent as a sailor and who, upon his retirement from the sea, came to this country and settled in Union county, this state, where he established his home and where he spent the remainder of his life. George Hopkins grew to manhood and there married and established his home. remaining a life-long farmer. He and his wife were the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch was the second in order of birth.
Reared on the home farm in Union county. Asa G. Hopkins received his schooling in the schools of that neighborhood and was living there when the Civil War broke out. Though but sixteen years of age at that time. his heart was stirred by the appeal to arms and he wanted to go to the front. but had to wait. Later, however, he was able to enlist as a member of Company H. One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Vohm-
HAROLD M. HOPKINS.
JAMES R. HOPKINS
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teer Infantry, and served with that command until the expiration of the war. Upon the completion of his military service he returned to his home in Union county and shortly afterward went to St. Petersburg, Pennsylvania, where for twelve years he was engaged in the oil business. In the mean- time, December 31, 1874, he married and not long afterward bought the farm on which he is now living, in Goshen township, this county, and there has made his home ever since, he and his family being very comfortably situated. Mr. Hopkins has for years given particular attention to the dairy feature of his farming and has one of the best-equipped dairy farms in the county and a fine herd of Jersey cows, the general management of which of late years has been under the direction of his younger son, Harold M. Hopkins, one of the best-known dairymen in this county. Mr. Hopkins is the owner of two hundred and seventeen acres in the home farm and he and his son have an excellent farm plant. In addition to his farming and dairying interests, Mr. Hopkins also gives considerable attention to the gen- eral interests of the community and is a member of the board of directors of the Farmers Bank of Mechanicsburg.
On December 31, 1874, in the neighborhood of Irwin, close to the tri- county line, Asa G. Hopkins was united in marriage to Nettie C. Miller, who was born at what then was known as Liverpool, in Madison county, daughter of James and Emaline (Burnham) Miller, who in 1861 moved from there to the vicinity of Irwin, where they established their home. James Miller and wife were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living, Mrs. Hopkins having two brothers, John B. and Frank C. Miller, who are living on the old home place in the neighborhood of Irwin. Two sisters died in childhood, Emma Z. at the age of two years and Clara E. at the age of seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins have two sons, James Roy, born on May 17, 1877, and Harold M., the latter of whom is unmarried and is making his home on the old home place, managing the dairy and also giving his attention to the affairs of the Home Dairy and Standard Ice Cream Company, of which he is a stockholder and manager of the creamery and ice plant and also of the ice cream department.
James Roy Hopkins, an instructor in the Art Academy at Cincinnati, has had a distinguished career as an artist and his name is widely known in art circles both in this country and in Europe. Following his graduation from the Mechanicsburg high school, he entered Ohio State University at the age of nineteen and, after two years of attendance there. began to specialize in his art studies at the university. Presently he entered the Cincinnati Art school and it was not long until his work began to attract special attention.
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He later went abroad and his work was exhibited in both London and Paris, the young artist thus attaining international fame. Three years ago he was made a member of the faculty of the Cincinnati Art Academy and now occu- pies that position, one of the best-known artists in that city. His wife, who was Mrs. Edna ( Beachboard ) Boies, and whom he met at Cincinnati, also is an artist of international reputation, her pictures hanging in some of the most noted art galleries in the world. She was born in Michigan and her education in art was completed in Paris, in which city she made her home for some years. Her specialty is wood block printing. They make their home in Cincinnati.
Asa G. Hopkins and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Mechanicsburg and have for years taken an earnest interest in the various beneficences of the same. Mr. Hopkins being a member of the board of trustees of that church. Mr. Hopkins is a member of the local lodge of the Masons at Mechanicsburg, as is his son, Harold, and both he and his wife are members of Caroline Chapter No. 39, Order of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Hopkins being past worthy matron of the same, and all take a warm interest in local Masonic affairs, as well as in the general social activities of the community in which they live, helpful in promoting all agencies having to do with the advancement of the common welfare thereabout.
Mr. Hopkins is a Republican and was township trustee about twelve years, being always active in politics.
SETH M. WEST.
Seth M. West, an honored veteran of the Civil War and a well-known and substantial retired farmer of Logan county, now living at North Lewis- burg, which has been his place of residence since 1896, is a native son of Ohio and has lived in this state all his life. He was born in the neighbor- ing county of Union on. February 16, 1844, a son of Frederick R. and Eliza ( Norvall) West, the former a native of the state of Massachusetts and the latter, of Ohio, whose last days were spent in Union county, this state.
Frederick R. West was born at Lee, Massachusetts, and there grew to manhood, later coming to Ohio and settling in Medina county, presently moving up into Union county, where he married Eliza Norvall, a member of one of the pioneer families of that county, and there he remained for some years, at the end of which time he moved on up into Logan county,
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where he spent his last days, becoming a substantial farmer. He was a Republican and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Protestant church and their children were reared in that faith. There were eight of these children, namely Henry D., who is a farmer in Kansas: Seth M., the subject of this biographical sketch; Alonzo P., deceased; William Allen, of Kings Creek, this county; David L., a Kansas farmer; two who died in youth, and Olive L.
Seth M. West grew up on the home farm, receiving his schooling in the local schools, and in September, 1861, he then being but seventeen years of age, he enlisted for service in the Union army during the continuance of the Civil War, a member of Company C, Seventeenth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He enlisted at Middleburg and from Camp Dennison went with his regiment to Kentucky, thence to Tennessee and then on into Georgia, where the command was attached to General Thomas's command, Fourteenth Army Corps. The first engagement in which Mr. West par- ticipated was the battle of Wild Cat, Kentucky, and in quick succession fol- lowed the battles of Perryville, Jonesboro, Hoover's Gap, Tennessee, and then on into the thick of the Atlanta campaign, and was thus serving when, on March 26, 1863, he received his discharge on a physician's certificate of disability, a severe attack of rheumatism having incapacitated him from further service. He then spent the following summer at home recuperating and in September of that same year, 1863, re-enlisted in his old company and rejoined his regiment, which later took part in the Atlanta campaign. under General Sherman, and was with Sherman on his march to the sea and later on up through the Carolinas and on to Richmond. Mr. West participated with his regiment in the Grand Review at Washington at the close of the war and upon being mustered out returned to his home in Ohio. resuming there his place on the farm. He was married in the spring of 1872 and continued farming in Logan county until in November, 1896, when he retired from the farm and moved to North Lewisburg, where he since has made his home and where he is very comfortably situated. Though long retired from the active labors of the farm, Mr. West continues to retain a close personal interest in farming and gives considerable personal atten- tion to his well-kept farm up in Logan county.
Seth M. West has been twice married. It was on April 12, 1872, in Logan county, that he was united in marriage to Lucetta Inskeep, who was born in that county, a daughter of Joel Inskeep and wife, and who died on March 12, 1885, leaving one child, a son, Marshall C. West, now an automobile dealer in Detroit, Michigan, who married Maude Mason and
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has one child, a daughter, Helen. Sime time after the death of his first wife Mr. West married Anna Waugh, who was born in Washington county, this state, daughter of William S. and Rebecca (Graham) Waugh, natives of Pennsylvania, who were married in that state and later came to Ohio, locating in Washington county, where they remained until 1880, when they moved to North Lewisburg, this county, where they spent their last days, Mr. Waugh being engaged there as a photographer and in the undertaking business. William S. Waugh and wife were the parents of four children, of whom Mrs. West was the second in order of birth, the others being James G., Deborah (deceased) and William E. (deceased).
To Seth M. and Anna (Waugh) West one child has been born, a daughter, Rebecca Jane, who married John R. Wilson, Jr., and is living in Logan county. Mr. and Mrs. West have a pleasant home in North Lewis- burg and take a warm interest in the general social activities of their home town. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. West is a class leader and a member of the board of stewards of the church. He is an active member of the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic and a member of King's Lodge No. 54, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in the affairs of both of which organizations he takes a warm interest.
JAMES RAWLINGS TODD.
James Rawlings Todd, one of Champaign county's best-known and most substantial retired farmers and dairymen, former trustee of Union town- ship and for years actively interested in the public affairs of the community, is a native son of this county and has lived here all his life. He was born on a farm on Pretty Prairie, in Urbana township, March 9, 1863, son of Thomas Mitchell and Mary Martha ( Rawlings) Todd, the former of whom was a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of this county, prominent resi- dents of the Pretty Prairie neighborhood.
Thomas Mitchell Todd was born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1827. son of David and Sallie Todd, who came to this state from Pennsylvania in 1846, locating first in Warren county and coming thence, in the spring of 1847, to Champaign county and settling in Urbana town- ship, where they established their home and where they spent the remainder of their lives. Thomas M. Todd was twenty years of age when he came to this county and on March 12, 1857. ten years later. he married Mary Martha
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Rawlings, who was born in Urbana township on December 25, 1831, daugh- ter of pioneer residents of the Pretty Prairie section. After his marriage he established his home on a farm five miles southeast of Urbana, where he developed a fine piece of farm property and where he and his wife continued to make their home until in April, 1896, when they and their daughter, Alma, moved to Urbana. There Mrs. Todd died on December 1, 1905. Mr. Todd died in October, 1911. They were the parents of seven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: Susanna, born on March 18, 1858, who died on December 14, 1862; David Solon, born September 8, 1860, who after years of successful farming in Union township, moved to Urbana, married Florence Engle, De- cember 24, 1884, and had two children, Herbert E., born on June 29, 1886, and Wilbur M., born January 6, 1890; Alma, born October 9, 1864, who is now making her home in Urbana ; Henry William, born August 7, 1867, who died on July 16, 1883; Thomas Rawlings, born March 27, 1870, a well- known Champaign county farmer, who, on November 14, 1895, married Laura V. Swinley; Pearl C., born November 18, 1872, who died at San Antonio, Texas, March 20, 1909, leaving a widow, Eveline (Cartmell) Todd. to whom he was married on September 16, 1902, and one child, a daughter, Margaret L., born on March 23, 1904: the widow and her daughter now living at Urbana.
James R. Todd was reared on the home farm on Pretty Prairie, a valued assistant to his father and brothers in the labors of improving and developing the same, and received his early schooling in the neighborhood schools, supplementing the same by a two-years' course in Oberlin College, after which he returned to the old home place and there continued engaged in farming for about three years, at the end of which time he began farm- ing on his own account and later became a landowner in Union township. establishing his home there after his marriage and continued farming there. his farm being a part of the old Todd farm, and there continued to make his home until 1912, when he moved to Urbana township, where he remained, operating a dairy farm, until in March, 1917, when he retired from the farm and moved to Urbana, where he and his family are now living and where they are very comfortably situated. During Mr. Todd's long residence on the farm he was quite extensively engaged in the raising of cattle and horses. in connection with his general farming, and did very well in his operations. He is a stanch Republican and for twelve years served as trustee of Union township. He also served for six years as director of the county infirm- ary and in other ways has given his personal attention to local public affairs.
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It was on October 6, 1892, that James R. Todd was united in marriage to Kate A. Preston, of Mutual, this county, who was born in Nelsonville. over in Athens county, this state, daughter of Dr. H. S. and Charity (Hushi- owa) Preston, who became residents of Mutual in 1876, where the Doctor is still engaged in the practice of his profession. Doctor Preston was born in Columbus, this state, and is a graduate of Sterling Medical College in that city. It was in March, 1876, that he located in Mutual, where he ever since has made his home, engaged in practice and in the mercantile business. He and his wife had four children, those besides Mrs. Todd being William (deceased), Abba, wife of Frank Stone, of Springfield, this state, and Charity, wife of E. A. Baker, of Springfield.
To James R. and Kate A. ( Preston) Todd two children have been born, Elise Alma, wife of Harry Carnahan, head chemist for the Caldwell & Bloos Company, of Mansfield, this state, and Imogene, who is at home with her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Todd and their daughters are members of the Pres- byterian church and have ever taken a warm interest in church affairs, as well as in the general social activities of the community, helpful in numerous ways in advancing such movements as are designed to advance the common welfare. Mr. Todd is a Mason and a member of the local lodge of the Knights of Pythias, and in the affairs of these popular organizations takes an active interest.
ALFRED L. YODER.
Farming in the good, old-fashioned way has been a good enough occu- pation for Alfred L. Yoder, of Salem township, Champaign county ; he has been at it since a boy. He was born in Holmes county, Ohio, September 8, 1875. He is a son of David J. and Susanna (Garber) Yoder, both natives of Holmes county, this state, where they grew up, at Wallen Creek, German township, and there they were married and established their home on a farm, where they remained until 1892, when they removed to Champaign county and located on the place on which the subject of this sketch is now making his home. The father bought sixty acres in Salem township, which he oper- ated until 1907, when he retired from active life and is now making his home among his children, of whom there were five, named as follow: Joas D., A. D., Elizabeth, one died in infancy, and Alfred L., of this sketch. David J. Yoder, the father, was a son of John and Katherine ( Miller ) Yoder, both
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natives of Pennsylvania, from which state they came to Ohio in an early day, settling in Holmes county.
Alfred L. Yoder, of this sketch, grew to manhood on the farm, where he worked with his father when he became of proper age. He received his education in the rural schools of Holmes county. He continued farming there until 1907, when the family moved to Salem township, Champaign county, at which time he began farming for himself on the home place, his father retiring at the time, and here he has continued raising a general line . of crops and live stock of various grades, renting the land from his father. He makes a specialty of fattening horses for the market, handling about twenty-five head annually, also many hogs.
The mother of Alfred L. Yoder died in 1900.
Mr. Yoder was married in 1905 to Elizabeth Kenegy, who was born in 1880. She is a daughter of Levi Kenegy and wife, natives of Logan county, Ohio.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Yoder, namely: Clara Belle, Laura Ellen, and Lavina Catherine.
Politically, Mr. Yoder is a Republican. He belongs to the Mennonite church at Oak Grove.
JAMES ROBINSON.
Another of the painstaking farmers of Salem township, who is con- tented to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, is James Robinson, who was born in Coshocton county, Ohio. July 20, 1854. He is a son of George and Lucinda (Bailey) Robinson, both natives of Virginia, from which state they moved to Coshocton county, this state, in an early day, where they spent the rest of their lives, devoting their active days to general farming. They had three children, namely: Elizabeth, who married Michael Fox: Nannie. who married I. S. Williamson, and James, of this sketch.
James Robinson received a limited education in the rural schools of his native community, leaving school when fifteen years old, and began life for himself as a farm hand, which work he continued until he came to Cham- paign county, in 1881, first renting sixty-five acres in Wayne township, later took charge of the Cowgill farm of six hundred acres, which he conducted successfully and on an extensive scale for a period of thirty-one years. In 1914 he bought his present farm of sixty-one acres in Salem township, known as the old Seth Thomas place, and here he intends to make his future
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home. He has made up-to-date improvements in general and his home is pleasantly located.
On September 3, 1885, Mr. Robinson was married to Alice Metz, a native of Wayne county, Ohio, and a daughter of Samuel and Eliza Metz. who resided in Champaign county after the Civil War.
To Mr. and Mrs. Robinson four children have been born, namely : Sam- uel Milroay, who married Mary Breedlove, lives in Wayne township; George Frederick, Edith and Mabel, all three live at home with their parents, and are unmarried.
Politically, Mr. Robinson is a Democrat, but votes independently, en- deavoring always to put the best men in office, regardless of their party affiliations.
ABRAHAM L. GLENDENNING.
There are few families in Champaign county better known or more widely represented hereabout than the Glendenning family, which was estab- lished in this county in 1829 and has ever since been prominently represented in the life of the county. James Glendenning was the founder of the family in Champaign county. He was a native of Scotland and was but two years of age when he came to this country with his parents in 1795. the family settling in Harrison county, Virginia, in that part of the Old Dominion now comprised within the bounds of West Virginia. There he grew to manhood and married Mary D. Van Horn, who was born in Pennsylvania about 1793. After his marriage he continued to make his home in Virginia until 1829. when he drove through with his family to Ohio, arriving at Mechanicsburg in December of that year. Not long afterward he settled on a farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres on Brush lake, in Rush township, this county. and there established his home and spent the rest of his life, living to the advanced age of eighty-two. His wife died at the age of seventy. They were the parents of eight children, a list of whom is set out elsewhere in this volume, where extended mention is made of the Glendenning family in this county.
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