USA > Ohio > Guernsey County > History of Guernsey County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 12
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Squire David Linn and his wife are well known in the county, and by their geniality and hospitality and the worth of their character have gained hosts of friends. The Squire is recognized as a man of more than ordinary intelligence and culture, perfectly square in all his dealings, and ever willing to assist a fellow in need.
J. MARSHALL BROWN.
The reputation of J. Marshall Brown, well known implement and real estate dealer of Cambridge, has been that of a man who is imbued with mod- ern twentieth-century methods in both business and public life, and whose relations with his fellow men in a social way have ever been wholesome, so that he is in every respect deserving of the high esteem which is accorded him by all classes. He is the representative of one of the old and highly honored families of Guernsey county.
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Mr. Brown was born May 1, 1855, on a farm in Liberty township, Guernsey county, Ohio, the son of Joseph and Margaret (Frame) Brown. His father was the son of William Brown, who came from Ireland in the early pioneer days and settled in Adams township, but died a few years after coming to this locality. His son, Joseph, the father of the subject, grew up under conditions requiring self-denial and industry. When grown to man- hood he learned the tanner's trade with his brother, William, who operated a tannery at Claysville. This brother was a man of large business operations and active in public matters, serving as county commissioner for nine years. Joseph, after learning the tanner's trade, built the Liberty mill, on Wills creek in Liberty township, one of the early mills of the locality, and ope- rated the grist mill and sawmill for some years. Associated with him in this business was Joseph McClarey, and William Frame, his brother-in-law. After leaving the mill he owned a farm and farmed in Liberty township for a few years, when he bought a tannery in Cambridge, which he operated for a few years prior to and during the Civil war. About 1870 he sold his tan- nery and bought a farm one mile west of Cambridge to which he moved and where he spent the remainder of his life. He died in October, 1890, and his wife still survives at the age of eighty-eight years. Mr. Brown was a Republican of the old school, while his wife was a Democrat of the same old school. He was not an office seeker and, though always interested in public affairs, never held public office. He and his family were members of the United Presbyterian church, and he was a devout churchman and always in his place on the Sabbath day, and active in all church work. In the father's family were five sons, one of whom died in infancy. Those living are : Wil- liam C., of Columbus; Samuel M., a farmer, living on the home farm; J. Marshall, the subject of this sketch: Joseph E., of Columbus.
J. Marshall Brown spent his childhood and youth on his father's farmi and was educated in the public schools of Cambridge. He was married on September 30. 1885. to May Ferguson, daughter of Hiram C. and Amanda (Baldridge) Ferguson, a prominent family of Cambridge township. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are deceased.
To this union have been born three children: Margaret T., at home; Homer, deceased, and Amanda, deceased. Until the spring of 1901 Mr. Brown was engaged in farming one and one-half miles west of Cambridge, and was engaged in general farming, stock raising, etc .. in which he was very successful. He handled all kinds of stock, and was an extensive operator, as were his father and brother.
In 1901 he sold his farm and became a resident of Cambridge, and has
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been engaged in the buggy, wagon and farm machinery business. He also deals in real estate, both farm and city property, and is a business man of wide experience and successful operation. In 1904, he, with M. W. Hutchison, added the Brown & Hutchison addition to the city of Cambridge on the north side, now the best residence section of the city. He has been a large and successful operator in the real estate business and has been in the forefront of Cambridge's advancement and growth.
Mr. Brown is a Republican in politics and has always been an active party worker. He has served as a member of both the county and central exec- utive committees, also served as city councilman at large for six years, and in 1910 was nominated by the Republicans of Guernsey county for member of the county infirmary board, and elected to this office. He is always active in every movement calculated to benefit and build up the county and city. He is a member of the Cambridge lodge of Elks. He and his family are members of the Second United Presbyterian church of Cambridge, and he was a member of the building committee when the new church was built a few years ago. The Brown home, at No. 1021 Beatty avenue, is in a desir- able residence section of the city. Mrs. Brown is a woman devoted to her home and family, and she and her daughter, Margaret, are prominent in the social life of the city.
RICHARD C. GRAHAM.
Conspicuous among the representative business men and public-spirited citizens of Guernsey county is the well known gentleman whose name forms the caption of this article. He has made his influence for good felt in the city of Cambridge, where he ranks as a leading merchant and a man of af- fairs. Though a gentleman of unassuming disposition, he has, being a man of genuine worth, been closely identified with the affairs of this city, and his life has been closely interwoven with the history of the community in which he resides. His efforts have always been for the material advancement of the same, as well as for the social and moral welfare of his fellow men, there- by gaining the respect and admiration of his fellow citizens, and he is enti- tled to representation in a biographical work of the scope intended in the present volume.
Richard C. Graham was born February 7, 1871, in Caldwell, Noble county, Ohio, and he is the son of Richard and Orpha (Wehr) Graham. Both parents were natives of Noble county, the father being of Scotch de-
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scent, and the grandmother Clymer on the father's side of the house, of Revolutionary times, was of a family one of the members of which signed the Declaration of Independence. He lived in New Jersey. The mother was of German parentage. The Graham and Wehr families were both pioneers in this section of Ohio and were active in the early affairs of the locality. Great-grandfather Wehr built the first brick house containing glass windows in Williamsburg, now Batesville, Noble county. Both the Graham and Wehr families were of sturdy character and progressive energy, and were success- ful in their life work, especially in mercantile lines and as farmers. The grandparents reached ripe old ages and were prosperous. Grandmother Har- riet Clymer died at the age of ninety-one years. Richard Graham, father of Richard C., of this review, was a merchant of Coldville and Sarahsville, Noble county, and his death occurred in 1871, being survived four years by his wife. After the death of his parents, Richard C. Graham made his home with his grandmother Wehr. He found employment of various kinds and attended the public schools at Caldwell. He left school within a few weeks of graduation to enter business as a clerk in the grocery store of L. H. and P. H. Berry, receiving seven dollars and fifty cents per month and boarded himself. He remained with this firm two and one-half years with a gradual increase in salary. He then entered the employ of his uncle, James Wehr, in a general store and remained with him three years, then, in 1906, he came to Cambridge. He had mastered the "ins and outs" of the mercantile business during these years of somewhat trying experience.
Mr. Graham was married on March 3, 1895, to Hattie L. Hutchinson, daughter of James Hutchinson, of Toledo, Iowa. Her mother being de- ceased, Miss Hutchinson was making her home with her sister, Mrs. Clyde Wright, of Caldwell. To Mr. and Mrs. Graham five children have been born, two daughters and three sons : Ruth L., Catherine L., Robert W., James R. and Joseph J. These children are receiving good educations and are being carefully trained.
Upon coming to Cambridge Mr. Graham clerked three years for E. A. Davis, two years for the Cambridge Grocery Company and one year for W. T. Miller. In 1902 he engaged in the grocery business for himself under the firm name of Graham & Warne, their partnership lasting six months, then the style of the firm was Graham & Wilson for six months. Since 1903 Mr. Graham has been engaged in business for himself and alone, his store now being located at No. 947 Wheeling avenue, one of the best locations and best appointed grocery stores in the city. Here he has built up a very satisfactory business, which is rapidly growing, and he has a neat and well
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managed store, always carefully stocked with an excellent grade of staple and fancy groceries.
Politically, Mr. Graham is a Republican and he always attends caucuses and conventions and takes a great interest in elections and all public mat- ters, but he is not an office seeker, nor has any member of his family ever been. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, his ancestry being among the early adherents of this denomination in the United States. He is a teacher in the Sunday schools, having a class of fifty young men, and he is active in all church and Sunday school work and is a steward in the church. He is an ardent advocate of athletics of all kinds, and this, no doubt, is one of the secrets of the excellent standing he has with the young men of the church.
The Graham home is at No. 434 North Eighth street, Cambridge, in the best residence district of the city, and he has an attractive and commodious dwelling and here the many friends of the family find a cordial welcome. He is regarded as a public-spirited citizen and a progressive merchant.
JOHN A. BOSTWICK.
The pedigree of the Bostwick family is traced back to the time of Ed- ward the Confessor, of England-not a single link in the chain is missing or in doubt, all given explicitly from records of each generation, from Major Nathan Bostwick back through Ensign John Bostwick, who served in the American Revolution in the Seventh Regiment, Connecticut line, under Col. Charles Webb. Ensign John Bostwick was descended from Major John Bostwick, who was a major of the militia of the colony of Connecticut in 1739 and also held several other civil offices and was a landed proprietor. Major John Bostwick was descended from Arthur Bostwick, a native of Tarperly, Cheshire, England, a Puritan who came to America between 1620 and 1640 and settled in Connecticut. Back in England the family is traced without a break through the centuries, through lords and knights to an an- cient Saxon of the time of Edward the Confessor, who owned a large amount of land in Cheshire, England, when even that country was sparsely settled. The family coat of arms is well known and bears a motto which means "Al- ways ready to serve."
John A. Bostwick, a leading business man of Cambridge, Guernsey county, Ohio, was born at Mt. Vernon, Knox county, this state, in 1853.
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He is the son of Nathan and Adeline ( Beardsley ) Bostwick. The father, a major in the Union army during the Civil war, had a record which is well worth reproducing here and which proves his sterling characteristics. When the rebellion began in 1861 he was engaged in farming in Licking county and an active member of the county agricultural society. His farm was well stocked with an excellent grade of cattle, horses, hogs and sheep. He was not subject to military duty, but, having the blood of patriotic ancestors in his veins, he could not stand idly by in such a crisis and he enlisted his sym- pathies with the federal government. One of his sons was of military age. another was not, but both joined the company raised by their father for the Twentieth Ohio Volunteers. He received a sunstroke at the battle of Cham- pion's Hill, from which he never fully recovered. He was captured by the Confederates at the battle of Atlanta. His sad experiences from then on in Southern prisons and his suffering during a month in the mountains ef- fecting an escape, read like a horrid romance. Immediately after his 'capture he was shot, a bullet striking the corner of one eye, making an ugly and pain- ful wound. He had just received a new outfit of expensive clothing and a Confederate started to take his twelve-dollar boots. Major Bostwick fought him, but was about to be killed when he gave the Masonic grand hail of dis- tress and his life was spared. It was ten days before the lead was removed from his eye socket. He and other prisoners were starved till the third day, then given a tin cup of meal. After two weeks at Griffin he was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, and put in the old workhouse, where his rations were mouldy cakes of rice and bad pork. He had a siege of bilious fever. Nearly three months later. October 6, 1864, he and others were put in cat- tle cars that had not been cleaned and started for Columbia, South Carolina. He sat against the side of the car, sick all day and all night. Next morning they were left in a field in a pouring rain under guard of a provost marshal. The following day he could not walk, and his guards cursed him and goaded him with their bayonets in an effort to make him walk. He was a mere skeleton and almost eaten up by lice. He had lung fever and a surgeon ar- rived who gave him much-needed medical attention and he finally was able to walk. He and others escaped and took to the country. They traveled only by night, often nearly starved, in danger of discovery at every step. At Tyger's river at Saluda, they found a guard of three men on the bridge, captured the guard and took them away and bound them to trees to prevent punishment. Later they were pursued by a number of bloodhounds, and killed two. They waded in the streams to throw others off their track. One night at Henderson a rain mixed with snow fell to a depth of three inches
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and in this Mr. Bostwick lay out all night. Later he came upon a member of the "underground railroad" and was piloted to safety through more hard- ships and dangers until he reached the Union lines.
John .A. Bostwick, the immediate subject of this sketch, grew to maturity at Mt. Vernon and spent most of his boyhood on the farm. He began learn- ing the jewelry business with his brother when he was about seventeen years old, at Coshocton, where he remained about three years. He then went to Newark, where the brother had a store, and John A. remained there until the fall of 1875, then returned to Coshocton and went into business for himself and remained there until 1882. On April Ist of that year he came to Cam- bridge and opened a jewelry store on the south side of Wheeling avenue, above Eighth street. In May, 1890, he moved to his present location, No. 539 Wheeling avenue, where he has remained in business for over twenty years, being now the oldest jeweler in Cambridge, in point of years of con- tinuous business. He has a neat, well stocked and up-to-date store and car- ries an excellent line of goods at all times and he has enjoyed a good trade, which has gradually increased with the years. He is an expert watch man and work is sent to him from many other cities, from Niles, Martin's Ferry and even Pittsburg. He is especially an expert on watches of foreign make, having spent a full year of his apprenticeship on foreign watches exclusively.
Mr. Bostwick is a Republican in politics. Some years ago he was urged very strongly to run for the office of membership on the board of education in Cambridge ; he consented reluctantly and was nominated by an overwhelm- ing majority, then ran against a strong Democratic candidate, who made a house-to-house canvass, aided by a number of women. Mr. Bostwick made no effort whatever, asked no one to vote for him, but the votes rolled in and he was elected by the largest majority ever before or since given a candidate for this office. His straightforwardness, frankness and courage of convic- tions won him support and he was made president of the board. During his incumbency the fourth ward school was built and the educational system here given a great impetus.
Mr. Bostwick was married in 1874 to Ella B. Ritter, of Newark, Ohio, the daughter of John and Sarah ( Horne) Ritter. This union has resulted in the birth of two children: Pearl, wife of Stewart Cowden, lives in Cam- bridge and has one child, Olita ; Mayme is living at home with her parents,
Mr. Bostwick is a charter member of Lodge No. 448, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Straightforward methods, both in speech and action, have characterized the Bostwick family throughout. They say what they mean and have the courage of their convictions.
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MILTON H. SIENS.
The name of Milton H. Siens stands for progressive citizenship and he is known to all classes as a man of industry, integrity and possessing those principles and characteristics that always make for success and high-grade American manhood. He was born on September 17, 1863, in Jackson town- ship. Guernsey county, Ohio, and he is the son of William M. and Mary Eliza- beth (Wiers) Siens. The father was born in Preston county, Virginia, and the mother was also born in the Old Dominion, each being representative of fine old Southern families. Both came to Guernsey county when young people and were married here. The father came to this county with his parents about 1825 and the mother's family also came about that time. William M. Siens was a farmer and lawyer, being a large land owner and was for years prominent at the bar. Most of his land was in Jackson township. He was an influential man in the public, professional and business life of the com- munity. His death occurred on October 17, 1907, at the advanced age of ninety-one years. His wife preceded him to the silent land by a few days, being called to her rest on the 9th of the same month, at the age of eighty- seven years. They were a grand old pioneer couple, and spent many useful and success-crowned years in this locality, winning scores of warm personal friends and doing what they could toward making the world better and brighter. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom are now liv- ing, namely : Mary M., the wife of J. H. Ringer, of Byesville; Nammie, deceased; Hettie A. has remained single; Austin, deceased; Lester M., de- ceased ; Elmer E., of Cambridge ; Alice C. married Leander Collins, of Ma- rion, Ohio; Clara M., deceased ; Milton H., of this review.
The subject of this sketch grew up on his father's farm and assisted with the general work on the place, attending the district schools during the winter months, and he spent two years in the Cambridge high school. After leav- ing school he followed the painter's trade for a few years, then returned to the farm and followed agricultural pursuits for ten years, then, in 1902. en- gaged with the Summers Coal Company as weighmaster at the Black Top mines. He remained with this company for four years, and then was en- gaged by the Wells Creek Coal Company in the same capacity, remaining with the latter company, giving his usual high grade service and eminent satisfaction until May, 1909, when he resigned to accept the position of in- spector of workshops and factories, the appointment coming from Governor Harmon of Ohio, and, owing to the well-known ability, genuine worth and popularity of Mr. Siens, the appointment was looked upon with universal
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favor. This district comprises the counties of Guernsey, Belmont, Noble, Monroe and Washington, which is one of the most important districts in the state.
In politics, Mr. Siens is a Democrat, having been reared in this policy, and he has been active in political matters, defending and advocating his party's platforms, and he has been regarded as a local leader for some time and has aided in the nomination and election of many a good man to the local offices. He has been a member of the Democratic county committee for a long time, and he has frequently been a delegate to county, district and state con- ventions. His present position is his first office holding. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and Cambridge Lodge No. 53, Knights of Pythias.
On December 21, 1887. Mr. Siens was married to Ella E. Jeffrey, daugh- ter of Thomas and Mary Jane ( Brown) Jeffrey, of Westland township, this county, of which county both parents are native. Both were of Scotch-Irish descent and were early pioneer families, Mr. Jeffrey being an early settler here and a man of prominence. Both parents are deceased, the mother having died in March, 1880, and the father in March, 1885.
To Mr. and Mrs. Siens one son, Converse Vincent, has been born. He is an iron worker in the Guernsey works. Mr. and Mrs. Siens are members of the Baptist church and active in church and Sunday school work. The present cozy home of the Siens is at No. 228 Dewey avenue, Cambridge, and it is often the gathering place for the numerous friends of this highly respected and well liked family.
BENJAMIN B. JOYCE.
The record of Benjamin B. Joyce, well known citizen of Cambridge, has shown what an honest, earnest, hard working man can accomplish, al- though he had to hew his own fortune from the obstacles that beset his way, for he started in life with no great aid from any one. But he has been in- dustrious and economical, so that a large measure of success has attended his efforts and today, although yet a young man, he has considerable valuable property and a comfortable competency, and he can look forward to an old age of comfort and quiet.
Mr. Joyce was born October 7, 1870, in Washington, D. C., and he is the son of James and Martha Joyce, of that city. The father was a me-
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chanic in the United States navy yard there for a number of years and was a very skillful workman. Both he and his wife remained in the East and died there.
Benjamin B. Joyce was educated in the public schools of Washington City. He was an ambitious lad and not afraid of work, and his first em- ployment was driving a water wagon for the government Elizabeth hospital in his native city, following this for about one year. He next found employ- ment as coachman for Congressman Joseph D. Taylor when the latter repre- sented the fifteenth Ohio district in Congress, and he has been with the Tay- lor estate ever since, having accompanied Mr. Taylor to Cambridge, Guern- sey county, when he left Congress, remaining in his employ as coachman. Since Colonel Taylor's death. several years ago, Mr. Joyce has been retained by Mrs. Taylor as manager of the estate, looking after the rental of proper- ties and all matters pertaining to the business affairs of the Taylor estate. which is one of the largest in the county, and he has given the utmost satis- faction in this respect.
Mr. Joyce is a Republican in politics and he has long been active in public matters. He is patriotically interested in all temperance movements and otherwise active on the side of the "drys" in local option contests. He is frequently a delegate to the Republican county conventions where he never fails to make his influence felt. Fraternally, he is a member of Guernsey Lodge No. 28, Knights of Pythias, and has filled all the chairs ; he is a past chancellor of the same and by virtue of this fact he is a member of the grand lodge. He is active in lodge work. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a trustee in the local congregation, be- ing a successful Sunday school worker.
Mr. Joyce has been successful in a business way and by industry and economy has acquired several pieces of valuable property in the residence district of Cambridge. He also owns and operates the well known Spring Lake dairy, a very successful business venture, having operated the same dur- ing the past seven years. The products of this dairy find a very ready market owing to their superior quality. These interests are in addition to the care of the Taylor estate. He has also been extensively interested in other busi- ness enterprises and has been eminently successful. He is deserving of a very great amount of credit for what he has accomplished, considering the fact that his early environment was none too favorable and that he has been com- pelled to hew his own fortune from the obstinate "quarry of life."
Mr. Joyce was married on April 8, 1896, to Anna Jenkins, of Charlottes- ville, Virginia. She is the representative of a very old Southern family and
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is herself a woman of many estimable traits. To this union four children have been born, namely : Manilla, Emma, Clara E. and Benjamin B., Jr. By a former marriage there are also four children, James E., Margaret L., Mc- Kinley and Minnie, all living at home.
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