USA > Ohio > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 55
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Sir Philip Sidney's definition of a gentle- man "High erect thoughts, seated in a heart of courtesy," might well be applied to him. He possessed keen Irish wit and quiet hu- mor' in a marked degree. Mr. Work was fond of all kinds of out of doors pleasures and particularly hunting, it was from con-
tinuous exposure, while indulging in this sport that he contracted sciatica, from which he suffered for several years, before his death-at which time and for several years previous, Work & Bro. had carried on suc- cessfully, the plumbing business, which was then new in Lancaster. Mr. Work died January 6, 1900. He left one son, Rodger M. Work.
WILLIAM W. BOPE, building con- tractor and farmer in Walnut Township, Fairfield County, O., owns 124 acres of well improved land, situated on the Balti- more and Thurston turnpike road, about one-half mile west of Thurston, and belongs to one of the old pioneer families of this section. He was born September 23, 1849, and is a son of Jacob Bope and a grandson of Abraham Bope.
Abraham Bope came to Ohio from Rockingham County, Va., making a pros- pecting trip on horseback before he came with his family to locate permanently. In those days it required considerable courage to start out almost unprotected into an un- known expanse of prairie and forest. In the present day of rapid and easy transpor- tation a journey from one coast to the other does not seem a formidable undertaking, but when the Bope family came into what was then the tangled wilderness of Fair- field County, it was after weary weeks of travel in the primitive conveyances of that time and even after they had reached Lan- caster, then a settlement of but two cabins, they were obliged to cut their way through to Pleasant Township, where their selected tract of land lay. This was in December, 1802, winter had already fallen on the for- ests and they had no opportunity to make more than a temporary shelter. Probably
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from their Indian neighbors the family learned how to construct a tent of brush- wood, with a fallen tree as a background, in which the winter was spent. This rude and insufficient shelter they located near a spring or lick and when deer came to slake their thirst, Abraham Bope made use of his trusty rifle and thus provided the family with meat. In the spring a cabin was built and land cleared but the trials of the first winter were never forgotten. The wife of Abraham Bope was as hardy as himself and when she was sixty-seven years of age, carried her butter and eggs six miles to Lancaster to market them. Five sons and one daughter were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bope. The parents died on the old farm, which is the Freeman place, in Pleasant Township, and their burial was in the Ziegler graveyard.
Jacob Bope was two years old when his parents came to Fairfield County and he spent the rest of his life in this state, dying in 1887, at the age of eighty-seven years. He grew up on the pioneer farm and later bought and then sold it, but devoted the larger part of his life to carpentering and building. As a builder he became known all over the county and with his large force of men erected fifty-two churches in addi- tion to public and private buildings. He also made furniture and engaged in under- taking, making more than 800 coffins, many of them being constructed of walnut and all being made by hand. He was thrice married, first to a Miss Boory, sec- ondly to Maria A. Essex, and thirdly to Christina Dahn. The first union resulted in the birth of nine children-Philemon, Sarah A., Maria, Amos, Jacob, Caroline, Victorine, Perry F., and Perry M .- four of whom yet survive, namely: Sarah A., Amos, Victorine and Perry M. Four chil-
dren were born to the second marriage- William W., James, Lorenzo A., deceased, and Naomi. To the third marriage five children were born: Christina, Mildred, August, Frank and Mary M. The last named is deceased. Mrs. Bope still sur- vives.
William W. Bope spent his boyhood on the old home farm and went to the district schools in the winter time. He was not yet very old when he began to assist his father in the carpenter shop and gradually developed so much aptness that his father took him as an apprentice and taught him the principles of the trade and he completed his apprenticeship with the firm of Vorris Bros., at Lancaster, with whom he re- mained for thirteen years. He moved then to his present farm and for a long time fur- nished railroad ties for the T. & O. C. Rail- road from here to Toledo, and the Scioto Valley Railroad from Portsmouth to Iron- ton. Mr. Bope then went into building con- tracting and along this line is probably as well known throughout Fairfield County as any other man. Among the many substan- tial buildings that he has erected have been fifty schoolhouses, the last one being the handsome High School building at Lan- caster, which was a $45,000 contract. He also built forty of the attractive railroad stations along the line of the T. & O. C. Railroad. His work is distinctive in char- acter, substantial, and perfectly adapted to the purpose for which it is constructed.
On September 25, 1870, Mr. Bope was married to Miss Virginia Lamb, who was born and reared on the present farm. Her father was the late John Lamb, who was an early settler in this section. To this marriage eleven children have been born, namely: Minna, Herbert, Edgar, Oscar,
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Nettie, Mabel, William, Oliver, Frances, Edna and Neola, all of whom survive with the exception of Nettie. Mr. Bope is a well informed citizen. He has been too busy a man to be very active in politics but be- lieves in the principles of the Republican party. He is an Odd Fellow and belongs to the lodge at Lancaster.
PHILIP J. O. KEMMERER, general man- ager of the Carroll Telephone Company, at Carroll, O., is one of the prominent and en- terprising business men of Greenfield Town- ship, Fairfield County, where he is interested in the saw-mill industry and owns an im- proved farm of 165 acres. He was born in the above township, April 5, 1854, and is a son of Philip and Mary M. (Zeigler) Kem- merer.
Philip Kemmerer was born in Lehigh County, Pa., where the early Kemmerers had settled when they came from Germany, and there he grew to manhood and then came to Fairfield County and shortly afterward was married to Mary M. Zeigler. She belonged to an old and wealthy family of Pleasant Town- ship, her grandfather having come from Ger- many to Fairfield County where he entered 640 acres from the Government. Philip Kemmerer died when his son, Philip J. O., was a child of six years. The latter has one sister, Minnie J., who is the wife of Joseph Yencer, of Basil, O.
Philip J. O. Kemmerer attended school in District No. 1. Greenfield Township and early commenced his business activities. Broad- minded and public spirited he early became in- terested in the telephone business and was one of the promoters of the Carroll Telephone Company which was organized in 1905, since which time he has been its president. His interest in other public spirited ways
has been noted and it was mainly through his efforts that the rural free delivery mail route No. 2, was founded, the convenience and advantages of which can scarcely be over-rated by his fellow citizens in Green- field Township.
Mr. Kemmerer was married to Miss Cora A. Weasner, a daughter of John and Rebecca Weasner, of Liberty Township. While not a member of any religious body. Mr. Kemmerer is a liberal contributor to all worthy causes and is generous in his support of the Zeigler Church in Pleasant Township. He belongs to the Odd Fellows at Baltimore, O., and the Red Men at Amanda.
AUSTIN LEE GUTHRIE, M. D., who has been established in the practice of medi- cine, at Lancaster, O., since January, 1909, has proved a worthy addition to a very able body of professional men whose home is this pleasant city. He was born January 14, 1883, at Higginsport, Brown County, O., and is a son of Dr. D. S. and Lou E. (Daugherty) Guthrie.
Dr. D. S. Guthrie was born in Warren County, O., and died in 1897, at the age of seventy years, having been for forty consecu- tive years a medical practitioner. To his first marriage four sons and two daughters were born and two of the sons survive. His second marriage was to Miss Lou E. Daugherty, who resides at Lancaster with their only son, Aus- tin Lee.
Austin Lee Guthrie attended the public schools at Mt. Oreb, O., from which he en- tered Antioch College. In 1904 he graduated from the academic department of the Univer- sity of Cincinnati and in 1907, from the med- ical department of the same institution. Dur- ing 1907 and 1908 he occupied the position of house surgeon in the Cincinnati Hospital. Dr.
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Guthrie then came to Lancaster and opened his office in the Kirn Building and through professional ability has built up an excellent practice, limited to diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. He has made a specialty of these branches of his profession, and keeps fully abreast, through literature and study, with all the advances made in medical science. He is a member of the Fairfield County Medi- cal Society, the Lancaster Medical Research Club, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association. In 1905 Dr. Guthrie married Miss Ida M. Hamilton, a daughter of James and Mary Hamilton, of Dayton, O. He is identified with the Elks.
GEORGE W. FROMM, owner of fifty- nine and one-half acres of fine farming land lying in Section 29, Walnut Township, Fair- field County, O., is one of the well known and representative citizens of this part of the county. He was born on his father's farm in Perry County, O., September 6, 1841, and is a son of John and Mary (Feller ) Fromm.
John Fromm was born in Center County, Pa., and died in Perry County, O., in April, 1891, at the age of seventy-one years. His parents were Frederick and Mary (Klingler) Fromm, who came to Ohio when he was one year old and settled in Perry County, where both died. They had seven children: John, Fred, Samuel, Emeline, Catherine, Peggy and Polly, all of whom are now deceased. John Fromm followed farming all his life. He was married first to Mary Feller and secondly to Catherine Winegardner. His eleven children were born to his first marriage, namely: La- vina, David, George W., Martha (was one of twins, one of whom died in infancy), John, Mary, William, Levi, Hannah and Mandelia.
George W. Fromm grew to manhood on
his father's place in Perry County and con- tinned to live in that county until 1880, when he came to Fairfield County and for nine years afterward lived on a rented farm near Canal Winchester. He then bought his present farm from Charles Lamb, finding it in much need of improvement. He not only has enriched the soil but has erected new and substantial buildings and is successfully carrying on gen- eral farming, raising also enough stock for his own use.
On February 5, 1865, Mr. Fromm was married to Miss Mary Stickel, one of a fam- ily of thirteen children of Daniel and Cather- ine (Staffenger) Stickel. They came from Germany and at first lived at Washington, D. C., and then moved to Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Fromm have had six children, namely : Leroy, who died when aged twenty-one years; Harry, who married Juliet Kenny and has three children-Clarence, Harold and Margaret ; Charles, now deceased, who married Jennie Edwards; Zoe, who is the wife of William Friesner of Pleasant Town- ship, and has three children-Frances, Pearl and Claude ; Arthur, who died at the age of nineteen years; and Emma, who died when aged four years. Mr. Fromm and family are members of the Reformed church. In politics he is a Democrat and fraternally he is an Odd Fellow, belonging to both the subordinate lodge and Encamp- ment at Pleasantville.
JOHN SMALLWOOD, a highly re- spected citizen of Greenfield Township, Fairfield County, O., and a veteran of the great Civil War, was born in Morgan County, O., in December, 1845, a son of John E. Smallwood, who was born in Vir- ginia but spent many years of his life in
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Morgan and Muskingum Counties, O. He served as a soldier in the Civil War. His death occurred in his eighty-seventh year.
John Smallwood of Greenfield Township, had comparatively few advantages in his youth. When the Civil War broke out he decided to enter the army for the preser- vation of the Union, and in the fall of 1861 enlisted in Co. I, 65th O. Vol. Inf., which became a part of the 4th Army Corps but later was consolidated with the 14th Army Corps, the division commander being Gen. Thomas Woods. Mr. Smallwood took part in the battles .of Stone River, Mission- ary Ridge, Chickamauga and many others and in innumerable skirmishes, but sur- vived through three years and fifteen days without serious injury, and after his hon- orable discharge returned to Muskingum County. About twenty-five years ago he settled on his present farm in Greenfield Township and has lived in Fairfield County almost the entire time since the close of the war, four years having been spent in Cherokee County, Kansas.
Mr. Smallwood was married first to Miss Matilda Garrett, and she left two children : Maggie, who is now deceased; and Ber- tha L., who is the wife of Lincoln Miller of Zanesville. Mr. Smallwood's second marriage was to Mrs. Margaret Wasum, widow of Charles Wasum, formerly of Fairfield County. They are members of the Greenfield Presbyterian Church. Mr. Smallwood is a member of the G. A. R. Post at Carroll, O.
THURMAN T. COURTRIGHT, pros- ecuting attorney of Fairfield County, O., and a leading member of the Lancaster bar, is a native of Fairfield County, born October 16, 1873. He is one of a family of seven chil-
dren born to his parents, who were Thomas H. and Minerva Courtright, farming people, the former of whom was born in Fairfield County in 1842.
Thurman T. Courtright was educated in the public schools and after passing through the high school entered upon the study of law in the office of Judge John G. Reeves. At a later date, Mr. Courtright attended the Ohio State University and was admitted to the bar in 1900, after which he taught school for one year, beginning the practice of his profession at Lancaster, in 1902. There are certain elevated and responsible offices in the legal profession that probably every ambitious young lawyer desires to fill, but few attain to the dignity of prosecuting attorney in so short a time as did Mr. Courtright, his election to this office taking place in 1908 and his assump- tion of its duties in January, 1909. He has proved a very acceptable and able attorney and has become popular with the people of Fair- field County irrespective of party affiliation, on account of his vigorous and capable adminis- tration of his office. He is a leading factor in Democratic politics in this section. He is identified with both the Masonic and Knights of Pythias fraternities, belongs to the Royal Arch Chapter in the former, and is captain of the Uniform rank in the latter.
Mr. Courtright was married to Miss Hazel K. Richards, a daughter of John A. Richards, of Lancaster, O., and their attractive home is situated at No. 429 E. King Street, Lancaster. They are members of the Presbyterian church.
FRANKLIN P. SHERRICK, who owns a fine farm of 158 acres, situated in Green- field Township, near Carroll, was born in Berne Township, Fairfield County, Decem- ber 31, 1856, and is a son of Samuel and Annie (Nye) Sherrick.
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Samuel Sherrick was a son of John Sher- rick, who was one of the early settlers in Berne Township. Samuel Sherrick spent his long life of seventy years here and was a leading citizen. He was elected town- ship treasurer and also was township trus- tee and in every public office he held proved his integrity and public spirit. He was a pillar of the Methodist Episcopal church, a regular attendant and a liberal supporter of all its religious work. He married Annie Nye and of their children the fol- lowing are living: Sarah E., who is the wife of S. P. Seifert, of Bremen, O .; John, who lives at Lancaster; Franklin P .; Wil- liam J., who is a resident of North Berne; and Simon L., who resides at Lancaster.
Franklin P. Sherrick obtained a district school education in Berne Township and afterward worked on the home farm. In 1894 he came to his present place in Green- field Township and here carries on gen- eral farming and stock raising bearing the reputation of being one of the most success- ful agriculturists of the township. In poli- tics he is a Democrat but is no seeker for office, his own business and his family, to- gether with his ordinary duties as a citizen, sufficently taking up his time.
On February 12, 1891, Mr. Sherrick was married to Miss Mary E. Emde, a native of Berne Township, and a daughter of the late Lewis Emde, a shoemaker and general merchant. Mr. and Mrs. Sherrick have six children, namely: Robert L., Goldie M., Florence M., Frank, Carrie and Edith. Mr. Sherrick and family attend the Methodist Episcopal church.
DAVID MILTON KNODE, who is part owner of the old Knode farm, a fine property of 100 acres which lies in Wal-
nut Township, Fairfield County, O., resides at New Salem, O., where he successfully conducts a general blacksmith's business. He was born in Walnut Township, Novem- ber 27, 1869, and is a son of Ozias and Sarah Knode.
David M. Knode spent his early life on the home farm and attended the Walnut Township schools. After the death of his older brother, William Knode, he managed the farm until 1893, when he went to Bal- timore, O., and there remained one year in the blacksmith shop of his brother-in-law, the late Milton Jenkins. He then returned to the farm for another year, after which, with John Johnson, he engaged for a short time in business at New Salem. In 1895, in partnership with B. F. Andrews, he started a blacksmith business at New Salem, and they continued together for a time, when Mr. Knode became sole owner. In 1900 he purchased his present location from John Johnson, a building on a lot with dimensions of 28x130 feet. Here he carries on all kinds of general repair and black- smith work, making a specialty of horse shoeing. He is a well known citizen and can generally be found at his place of busi- ness. In politics he is a Democrat and is a member of the Democratic Central Com- mittee.
Mr. Knode was married October 15, 1893, to Miss Edna Speaks, a daughter of Butler and Helen (Crow) Speaks. They attend the Presbyterian church. He is identified with the order of Maccabees at New Salem.
GEORGE WALTER ROLLER, M.D., who, for 13 years has been engaged in the practice of medicine at Lancaster, O., and is numbered with the representative citi-
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zens of this place, was born in Loudoun son of George H. and Caroline R. (At- wood) Roller. the Keokuk Medical College at Keokuk, County, Va., February 21, 1860, and is a la., where he was graduated with the class of 1891. Dr. Roller spent his first five years of practice in New Concord, Muskingum County, O., going then to Jacksontown, in Licking County, where he resided for three years, and coming to Lancaster in 1898.
Dr. Roller is of German ancestry on the paternal side, although several generations removed from the immigrant ancestor of the family, as his grandfather, Frederick Roller, was born in Pennsylvania in 1790, and died in Loudoun County, Va., aged eighty-five years. The name of his wife was Rachel and she died in 1872, aged seventy-three years. She was Frederick Roller's third wife. On the maternal side the grandfather of Dr. Roller was William Atwood, who was born in 1788 and died on his farm in Maryland, in 1853. His wife was named Priscilla and she died in 1878, aged eighty-seven years. Late in 1860 George H. Roller moved with his family from Virginia to near Zanesville, O., and in this state followed his trade-that of stone-cutter-during the rest of his active life, dying at New Concord, Muskingum County, January 31, 1911, at the age of eighty-two years. His widow survives, being now in her 80th year. She is a de- vout member of the Baptist church, to which her husband also belonged. Four children composed their family, namely : William Franklin, who is in the real estate and insurance business at Norman, Okla. and who married Maggie Clapper ; Florence E., who is the wife of Thomas McCourt, of Spencer, Medina County ; Howard, who died when aged two years; and George Walter, who is the second born of the family.
George Walter Roller was reared near Zanesville, O. He was educated in the public schools and at Dennison University and for thirteen years was engaged in the profession of teaching. He then entered
Dr. Roller was married first to Miss Annie Steers, in 1883, who died three years later, being survived by one daughter, Mabel M. She is the wife of Warren B. Baughman, editor and proprietor of the New Concord Enterprise, and is a very talented and capable woman. Dr. Roller was married secondly in 1892, to Miss Clara Fleming, a daughter of William and Mary Fleming, of Newark, O., and they have one son, Dwight E., who was born in 1901, and is a bright student in the city schools. Dr. and Mrs. Roller are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is a Republican and fraternally is con- nected with Newark Lodge No. 13. Knights of Pythias. Formerly he took con- siderable interest in the Fairfield County Medical Society. He resides at No. 215 N. Columbus Street, Lancaster, and main- tains his office there.
BENJAMIN F. COFFMAN, a respected and substantial retired farmer who has resided at Carroll, O., since 1907, still retains the ownership of his excellent farm of 160 acres, which is situated in Bloom Township, Fair- field County, O. He was born in Bloom Township, November 4, 1842, and is a son of Samuel and Jane ( Allen) Coffman.
Samuel Coffman was born in Virginia, a son of John Coffman, who was born in Rockingham County, Va., of German parents, and was an early settler in Fair- field County and owned a farm in Berne Township. Samuel Coffman carried on
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farming for many years in Greenfield town- ship, in which he was a justice of the peace and for a number of years was a trustee of Bloom Township. Early in his political life he was a Whig but later became a Republi- can and at all times was a worthy and honest man. During his later years he was a member of the Methodist Epis- copal church. He married Jane Allen, who was born in Franklin County, Pa., and of their children seven survive, namely: Henry, of Bloom Township; Benjamin F .; Louisa, wife of David Hummel, of Pulaski County, Ind .; Laura, wife of Nathan Rawn, of Pulaski County; Jesse, a farmer in Pulaski County ; Lafayette, a resident of Greenfield Township; and Ida, widow of Wilbur Eldridge, residing at Chicago, Il1.
Benjamin F. Coffman attended the district schools near his father's farm and assisted in caring for the land and stock, preparing for his future posssession of farming land of his own. He was nineteen years of age when the President of the United States sent forth his call for defenders of the Union and he was one who responded, enlisting in June, 1861, in the Ist O. Vol. Inf., which became a part of the Army of the Cumberland. Before Mr. Coff- man again took up peaceful pursuits he had passed through many terrible battles and had covered hundreds of miles on foot in the marches which took the long line of soldiery from one State to another. He participated in the memorable battles of Munfordsville, Stone River, Bowling Green, Pittsburg Land- ing, Huntsville, Murfreesboro, Iuka, Corinth, Perryville, Bridgeport, Shelbyville, Chatta- nooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Taze- well, Buzzard's Roost, Altoona Pass, Picket Mills, Marietta, Kenesaw Mountain, Chat- tahoochie River and Siege of Atlanta, these not including minor engagements. He was fortunate in escaping injury as he was ever a
brave and daring soldier. His honorable dis- charge came in August, 1864, when he re- turned to Fairfield County. He then became proprietor of Spring Grove nursery located in Bloom Township, which he owned and man- aged untl 1874, this being the first nursery in Central Ohio, his father having established it in 1845 and conducted it until his son, Benjamin F., became proprietor.
Mr. Coffman was married December 29, 1869, to Miss Rebecca Halderman, of Hock- ing Township, Fairfield County, a daughter of George and Eliza (Williamson) Halderman, the former of whom was born in Lancaster County, Pa., and the latter in Rockingham County, Va. Mr. and Mrs. Coffman have had four children: Arthur A., residing in Bloom Township; Ralph W., also in Bloom Township; Zaidee B., wife of Harry Brandt of Carroll, O., and one who died in infancy. Mr. Coffman is a Republican and he belongs to Ezra B. Ricketts Post No. 246, G. A. R., at Carroll, of which he has been commander for two years. This post was organized in 1882, the first in Fairfield County. He was one of the promoters and organizers of the Farmers and Merchants Bank Company, an important financial institution at Carroll, and is still in- terested therein.
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