History of Champaign County, Ohio, its people, industries and institutions, Volume II, Part 91

Author: Middleton, Evan P., ed
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1338

USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, its people, industries and institutions, Volume II > Part 91

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stall continued to live at Urbana until after the birth of their son early in 1874, when they moved to Dayton, maintaining a home thereafter both there and at Christiansburg, and since the death of her husband, Mrs. Shofstall has been making her home at the old McCrea home in Christians- burg, where she is very comfortably situated. Her son, Rollin McCrea Shofstall, who was born on February 6, 1874. married Stella Roberts of Dayton, and he and his wife make their home in Denver, Colorado.

GEORGE COWLES.

The late George Cowles, for many decades a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of Champaign county, was a product of pioneer times. spending his boyhood in the early environments of the frontier, and he lived to see and take part in the wondrous changes in this locality, doing what he could toward the general upbuilding of the county.

Mr. Cowles was born in Wayne township, this county, November 27, 1831. He was a son of Solomon B. and Mary (Crowder) Cowles. The father was a native of Connecticut, but he left New England for what was at that time known as "the West", coming to Ohio between the years 1810 and 1815, and locating in Wayne township, this county, three miles west of the present site of North Lewisburg. The country then was sparsely settled and he began life in true pioneer fashion, through hard work and perseverance carving out a home and a farm from the wilderness. His family consisted of the following children: Sarah, who died in young womanhood, unmarried; Melissa, who married George Millice and is now deceased; Levi, who was next in order of birth; Solomon B .: George, the subject of this sketch, and Osiah.

George Cowles grew to manhood on the home farm and there he assisted with the general work when a boy, attending the rural schools of the early days during the brief winter terms. He remained with his parents until he was nineteen years old. On April 3, 1851, he married Elizabeth C. Spain, only daughter and youngest child of Willis and Nancy E. Spain. She was born August 3, 1831, near what is now North Lewisburg, and there she grew to womanhood and attended the rural schools. Her parents, who came to Champaign county from Virginia in 1805, were among the earliest pioneer settlers in this section of the state, which was then a vast wilderness, the domain of the Indian and wild beasts. The Spains settled in what is

GEORGE COWLES

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now Rush township and later lived in Wayne township. They cleared a farm from the wilderness and by hard work and perseverance they estab- lished a comfortable home and spent the rest of their lives on a farm here, Mr. Spain dying at the age of eighty-five years. Their family consisted of the following children: Henry, Wright, Newton, Lemuel and Elizabeth C.

After his marriage George Cowles located in Rush township, where he cleared and improved a good farm, and there he continued to carry on gen- eral agricultural pursuits until 1862, when he moved to North Lewisburg and bought a tract of land. There he engaged in mercantile pursuits with success for a number of years. His death occurred on May 8, 1908. Politi- cally, he was a Republican. His wife died on October 10, 1905.

To George Cowles and wife four children were born, namely: Nancy E., born on January 7, 1852, who married Frank Wehe in 1875, and died on January 9, 1917, leaving two children, Linna and Frances; Sarah Jane, who has always lived at the old home in Rush township; Melvin, a Rush township farmer, who married Fannie Hyatt and has one son, George Hyatt, also a farmer of Rush township, who married Zola Harshfield and has one son, Milton, and Fletcher, born on February 2, 1863, who remained on the home farm near North Lewisburg, with his sister, Sarah Jane, and is keeping the farm under a fine state of cultivation and improvement. He is unmar- ried. Miss Cowles is a member of the local Methodist Episcopal church and she and her brother take a warm interest in the general good works of the community.

JAMES OUTRAM.

The late James Outram, of Wayne township, was for many years one of the highly respected and representative citizens of Champaign county. He was born on August 23, 1846, near Urbana, Ohio, a son of Robert and Mary (Hubbard) Outram. The father was born in England, where he spent his boyhood, being sixteen years old when he came to America, with his parents, Timothy and Mary Outram, the family locating near Cable. this county, with an old friend, a Mr. Pickrel. Timothy Outram later bought a farm near Urbana, on the ridge in Wayne township. About 1870 he went to live with his daughter, who lived north of Urbana and he and his wife died there. Their children who came to America, were Thomas, Robert and Mary. Thomas, who lived north of Urbana, married first. a Miss Clark and later a Miss Budd. Robert was also twice married ;

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first, to May Hubbard, and later to Mrs. (Downs) White. Robert was an engineer. Mary married Robert Singleton, and they established their home north of Urbana. The following children were born to Robert Outram and wife: Timothy, who was a soldier in the Civil War, and died while in the service; James, the subject of this sketch, and John, who married Della Russell and died in Urbana. For many years John Outram was one of the well-known teachers in the public schools of this county, and was for some time principal of the Woodstock schools. His widow now lives in Salem township.

James Outram grew to manhood on the home farm and was educated in the Urbana public schools. He made his home on a farm in Salem town- ship, north of Urbana, until his marriage, which took place on March 19, 1874, to Mary E. Nincehelser, who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of John and Hannah (Longabough) Nincehelser, natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where they grew up and were married. The Nince- helsers lived in Reading, Pennsylvania five years, then located in the city of Scranton. Mr. Nincehelser was foreman of railroad shops and superin- tendent of car shops at Scranton. In 1857 he moved with his family to Dubuque, Iowa, where he took a position in the car shops, on construction work for the Pacific railroad. On May 10, 1859, he located on a farm one mile south of Cable, this county, and there he engaged in farming until 1896, when he retired from active life and moved to Cable. His wife died in 1885. To these parents three children were born, namely: Mary E., who married Mr. Outram, the subject of this sketch; George, who married Rachael Diltz, and is farming in Wayne township, this county, and Dr. O. .A. Nincehelser, who resides in Mechanicsburg.

After his marriage James Outram lived in Urbana two years. He engaged in farming until 1876, and he also devoted a number of years to teaching school, in which work he gave eminent satisfaction.

To James Outram and wife the following children were born: Mrs. Bertha Thomas, who lives in Marion, Ohio, and has two children, Eugene O. and George Watson Thomas; Oran R., a carpenter and contractor. living in Wayne township, this county, who married Alga Taylor and has three children, Elizabeth, Robert and Oran, and Charles W., a farmer, of Wayne township, who married Hattie Swisher and has three children, Al- leyne, James and Stanford.

James Outramı was a Republican. He was a strong advocate of teni- perance and did what he could in furthering the cause of prohibition. He

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was a member of the Methodist Protestant church and took an interest in the affairs of the same. His death occurred on August 23, 1896, on his fiftieth birthday. After his death Mrs. Outram continued to reside on the home farm in Wayne township until 1912, managing the place successfully. She then bought a cosy home in the village of Cable, where she has since resided, but she still owns her farm of sixty-five acres.

JOHN P. DETWEILER.

John P. Detweiler, a careful farmer of Salem township, was born in Allensville, Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1872. He is a son of Eli B. and Rachael (Greer) Detweiler, both of whom grew to maturity and were married in Mifflin county, and there the father worked at the carpenter's trade and as a bridge builder until he moved, in 1885, to Ohio, locating in Salem township, Champaign county. During the first year of his residence here the father worked out as a farm hand. In 1889 he moved to near Kennard. After working in that vicinity for a short time he located on a farm near Kings creek, in Salem township, where he established his home. There his wife died in June 29, 1909. Shortly afterward he went to Pennsylvania on a visit to his old home and died there on October 3, of the same year. He was a son of Jonathan Detweiler, wlio devoted his life to farming in Pennsylvania. Fourteen children were born to Eli B. and Rachael Detweiler, eight of whom are living at this writing, namely : Rufus, of Salem township; John P., the subject of this sketch; William, of Marysville, Ohio; David, a farmer of Salem township; Orin, who also lives in Salem township; Anna, wife of Harry Cooper; Margaret, who married Clint Boyer, and Ella, wife of Marion Gaul.

John P. Detweiler spent his early boyhood in Pennsylvania, where he attended school. He also attended school after moving with the rest of the family to Champaign county. In 1888 he left school and began working out as a farm hand for William J. Carson, of Salem township, with whom he remained three years, then worked at different things for some time. After his marriage he located at Kings Creek and worked at the trade of hanging wall paper, also at carpenter work, continuing these trades until 1907, when he turned his attention to farming, buying a farm of thirty- two acres, but later sold it and owned different farms until he bought the tract of one hundred and twenty-three acres which he now operates and

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which he has greatly improved by expending about seven thousand dollars on the same. He is making a success as a general farmer and stock raiser, feeding about one hundred and fifty hogs for the market annually. and also runs a small dairy. He has two large silos of seventy tons each. a large barn and other convenient outbuildings.

Mr. Detweiler was married in 1892, to Rose Taylor, a daughter of Job and Henrietta ( Woodruff) Taylor, and to their union eight children have been born, namely: Ruth, wife of Watson Russell; Naomi, Clara. Mabel, Warren, John, Henrietta, who died at the age of one year and six days, and Grace, who died at the age of five days.

Mr. Detweiler has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church since 1889 and has been superintendent of the Sunday school for fifteen years. He also has filled the offices of steward, treasurer and trustee in his church and has long been active and influential in church affairs. Politi- cally, he is a Republican. He has been very successful in life, considering the fact that he started out with nothing and has had to forge his own way to the front.

ALFRED JOHNSON.

Alfred Johnson, farmer, of Wayne township, this county, was born in the vicinity where he still resides, July 5, 1884, and while still a young man has won a definite degree of success in his chosen life work. He is a son of Otho and Laura (Thomas) Johnson. Otho G. Johnson, a retired former of Wayne township, has spent his life in Champaign county. He was born near Mingo, October 23, 1859, and is a son of Alfred and Eliza- beth (Stone) Johnson, the former of whom was born on the same place as his son, Otho G., his parents having been among the earliest pioneers in this section of Ohio. Alfred Johnson, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Jacob Johnson, who came to Champaign county from Maryland in 1805, and settled in the woods in Wayne township. In- dians still were plentiful in this locality at that time. He and his sons cleared and developed a good farm, which is still in possession of the Johnson family after a lapse of more than a century. Jacob Johnson and wife were parents of four children, Hiram, Nelson, Polly and Alfred. Reared on the home farm in Wayne township, Alfred Johnson established his home there after his marriage and there spent the rest of his life, becoming one of the leading general farmers in the township. His family consisted of seven

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children, of whom Otho G., father of the subject of this sketch, was the third in order of birth, the others being as follow: Thomas L., a lawyer, of Cleveland; John B., who is farming in Florida; Martha, who makes her home at Marion, Ohio, and is the widow of Daniel W. Strayer; Charles N., who formerly was connected with the stockyards at Kansas City, Mis- souri, and is now farming in Salem township; Fred, formerly a conductor on the Wabash railroad, who was killed in a wreck in 1913, and Merton R., who makes his home at Mingo.

Otho G. Johnson grew up on the home farm and attended the schools of his neighborhood. He worked with his father on the farm when a boy and learned the various phases of agricultural and stock raising pursuits. When twenty-one years old he married and located on a portion of the home farm, remaining there until 1910, when he left the farm and moved to the village of Mingo, but continued to engage in the live-stock business and there he has since resided. For over twenty years he has been engaged in buying and shipping live stock, shipping mostly to the Cleveland yards, and has made a specialty of raising on his farm Poland China hogs and Percheron horses, long having been regarded as one of the leading stock- men in the eastern part of Champaign county. He and his brother, Thomas I .. Johnson, own more than five hundred acres of excellent farming land.

In 1880 Otho G. Johnson married Laura Thomas, who was born and reared in Salem township, a daughter of Josephus and Jane (Downs) Thomas, and to this union four children have been born, namely: Nellie, wife of Arthur Johnson, of Bellefontaine, Ohio; Alfred, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch; Lulu May, wife of Edward Warye, of Salem town- ship, and Mary, who married Blaine Watkins, a farmer, who is living on a part of the old Johnson home place.

Alfred Johnson grew to manhood on the home farm in Wayne town- ship and received his education in the district schools of his home com- munity, at the old Johnson school house. After finishing school he took up farming with his father until he was married, March 10, 1909, to Ruth Gilbert, a daughter of George and Emma Gilbert, to which union two chil- dren have been born, Claude G., and Otho G.

After his marriage Alfred Johnson began farming for himself by rent- ing the B. R. Tallman place and has remained there ever since. The farm consists of one hundred and seventy-four acres. He raises considerable grain, which he feeds to live stock, preparing large numbers of cattle and hogs for the market. Politically, he is a Republican.

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HERMAN H. CARR.

A skillful tiller of the soil in Salem township, this county, is Herman H. Carr, who was born, April 9, 1867, near Bellefontaine, Ohio. He is a son of Joseph E. and Nancy (Douglas) Carr, natives of Pennsylvania and of West Virginia, respectively. As a boy Joseph E. Carr came with his parents to Logan county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and married. He bought a farm there and spent most of his life there. He lived at Kings Creek, Champaign county, for awhile, owning the mill there, but farming was his main occupation throughout his active life. His death oc- curred at the age of seventy-six years. His wife died at the age of sixty- five years. They were members of the Lutheran church. He was a Demo- crat. They were parents of ten children, two of whom, Edith and Laura, died in early life, and eight of whom are still living, named as follows: Josephine, who married Henry Anstine, and lives in Logan county, Ohio: Samuel E., who is farming in Hardin county, Ohio; Mary Ellen, who mar- ried Lewis Curl and lives in Logan county; Arthur F., who is farming in Logan county ; Lucy, who married Abraham Moore, a farmer of DeGraff. Ohio; Earl Douglass, a traveling salesman, with headquarters in Columbus, Ohio; Herman H., the subject of this sketch, and George, a salesman, who lives in Columbus.

Herman H. Carr grew to manhood on the farm, where he worked during the summer months when he became of proper age, and in the winter time he attended the rural schools in his vicinity. Later he operated the home farm for his parents. He was married in October, 1892, to Mary Elizabeth Askern, who was born in Auglaize county, Ohio. She was a daughter of David and Mary E. ( Negley) Askern, the latter of whom was born in Marion county, Indiana, the daughter of the Rev. George Negley, a pioneer Methodist minister. David Askern was a native of Logan county. Ohio, a son of Rev. John Askern. a pioneer Baptist minister. David Askeri learned the trade of cabinetmaker, but after his marriage followed farm- ing. He was a youth when his parents moved to Auglaize county, Ohio. He later worked at his trade in Urbana and at Indianapolis, where he met and married his wife. He lived there two years more and then re- turned to the Askern homestead in Auglaize county. David Askern lived there until he died in 1874. His widow is still living at the age of eighty years, residing in Bellefontaine, Ohio. David Askern had seven children, namely: Mrs. Ida Ellen: Martin, who lives at Aztec, New Mexico: James

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Negley, who lives at Herford, Texas; Mrs. Hattie L. Brubaker, of Man- chester, Georgia, wife of Doctor Brubaker; John Edwin, who died at the age of twenty-four years; Mary Elizabeth, who married Mr. Carr; Mrs. Georgia Grace Carr, of Columbus, Ohio, and David W. Askern, a very suc- cessful wholesale fruit and produce merchant, of Bellefontaine. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Carr, namely: Herbert A., who completed a two-year college course at Denison University and is now a traveling salesman and lives at Bellefontaine; Joseph Trueman, Herman Wesley and Mary Ellen, at home.

After his marriage Herman H. Carr located in Logan county, Ohio, four miles from Bellefontaine, and there he engaged in farming for seven years, at the end of which time he moved to Champaign county and bought one hundred and twenty-seven acres in Salem township, where he has since resided. He has made many important improvements on the place and has been successful as a general farmer and stock raiser. Politically, Mr. Carr is a Democrat. Fraternally, he belongs to the Knights of Pythias at West Liberty, Ohio. He and all the family belong to the church at Mt. Tabor. He takes an active interest in public affairs, and for a period of nine years served as a member of the local school board, also as a member of the county board of education.

JOSEPH STEINBARGER.

Champaign county has been quite a good enough place for Joseph Steinbarger to spend his life in, the wanderlust spirit having never lured him away to seek his fortune in other lands, and he has lived to see and take part in many changes during his life of over three-score years here.

Mr. Steinbarger, who is farming in Urbana township, was born in Mad River township, this county, September 4, 1845, a son of Alfred and Margaret (Myers) Steinbarger. The father was born on the old Abe Shocky place in Mad River township, where his parents settled in early pioneer days. The mother was born in Ross county, Ohio. Alfred Stein- barger grew to manhood in his native township, on the home farm, and attended the early day schools. When a young man he turned his atten- tion to the milling business, in partnership with his father, the old Stein- barger mill being well known all over this and adjoining counties, draw- ing its customers from remote sections of the country. In 1858 he moved

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to Urbana township and bought one hundred acres, the place on which his son Joseph now resides, and there he carried on general farming ui his death, which occurred in February, 1882. His widow survived until 1897. Alfred Steinbarger was a son of John and Elizabeth (Pence) Stein- barger, both natives of Virginia, where they grew up and married, coming to Ohio shortly thereafter and settling on a farm on Nettle creek, in Cham- paign county, buying a tract of land. including the Abe Shocky farm. The elder Steinbarger improved his land, put up a mill, operated by water power and conducted it many years; later moved farther down Mad river, where he built a large mill, which became popular all over this locality. There he remained until his death, which occurred in 1852. To Alfred Steinbarger and wife eight children were born, four of whom are now living, namely : Jennie, who married James Perkins; Joseph, the subject of this sketch ; Sallie, widow of the late Joel C. Andrews, and James M.

Joseph Steinbarger grew up in Mad River township and attended the common schools there and in Urbana township. He farmed with his father until the latter's death, then began farming for himself, but has continued on the same farm to the present time.

In March, 1898, Mr. Steinbarger was married to Mrs. Virginia (Hedges) Shellenbarger, a daughter of Newton and Eliza ( Todd) Hedges. To this union one child has been born, a daughter, Ruth, who is now attend- ing high school. Politically, Mr. Steinbarger is a Republican. He was at one time road supervisor. He is a member of the Hickory Grove Baptist church and was the first person baptised in that church.

ANSON BAUGHMAN.

Anson Baughman, one of Salem township's progressive farmers and stockmen, now farming the Clayton farm, and the owner of a fine farm over in the neighboring township of Harrison, was born in the adjoining county of Union, but has been a resident of this county for the past fifteen years or more and during that time has gained a wide acquaintance throughout the northern part of the county. He was born on July 31, 1865, son of John and Anna (Lehman) Baughman, the former a native of Fairfield county, Ohio, and the latter of Virginia, whose last days were spent in Union county.

John Baughman came from his native county of Fairfield when he was a young man and settled in Union county, where he presently married and established his home. For some time after coming to Union county he

MR. AND MRS. ANSON BAUGHMAN.

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engaged in the manufacture of potash and later took up farming, spending the rest of his life on a farm. He lived to be ninety-two years of age. He was born in 1813 and died in 1906. His wife had preceded him to the grave many years, she having died at the age of sixty-six. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the last-born, the others being as follow: Elizabeth, deceased; William, deceased; Bar- bara, who married James Gray, living in Union county ; Kate, who married John E. Bright and is also living in Union county ; Lydia Ann, deceased; John, who is now living in Marion county, this state; Leroy, deceased; Sam- uel, who died in youth; Joseph, of Marysville, this state, and Samantha, wife of Perry C. Converse, of Plain City, in the neighboring county of Madi- son.

Anson Baughman was reared on a farm in Union county and received his schooling in the common schools. He remained on the farm until his marriage in the fall of 1890, after which he made his home in Marysville, county seat of his native county, where for eleven years he was engaged in the employ of the Robinson, Curry & Rousch Manufacturing Company. In March, 1902, he came over into Champaign county and located on the Samuel D. Clayton farm in Salem township, where he is now living and where he ever since has made his home. Mr. Baughman is farming there two hundred and twenty acres and is carrying on his operations on a some- what extensive scale. He feeds all he raises, besides buying considerable hay and grain for his live stock and has done well as a stockman. He is the owner of a farm of one hundred and twenty-two and one-half acres in Harrison township and is recognized as one of the substantial farmers of his neighborhood. He is "independent" in his political views, believing that in local affairs the voter should be guided by his desire to see only the fittest men in office.

On September 9, 1890, Anson Baughman was united in marriage, in Union county, to Hattie M. Robinson, who also was born in that county, daughter of John Mordel and Harriet E. (Taylor) Robinson, the former of whom also was born in Union county and the latter at Kings Creek, this county, both now deceased. John M. Robinson was a substantial citizen and a well-known merchant, farmer and stockman in Union county. Mr. and Mrs. Baughman have one child, a daughter, Madeline, who married Carl Dorman and lives in Urbana. They also had a son, Hugh Taylor, who died at the age of three months on January 3, 1893. The Baughmans are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Baughman is a member of the fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias.

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History of Champaign County, Ohio, its people, industries and institutions, Volume II, Part 91

Author: Middleton, Evan P., ed Publication date: 1917 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1338

Author: Middleton, Evan P., ed
Publication date: 1917
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1338