USA > Ohio > Guernsey County > History of Guernsey County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 22
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the building committee. Personally, he is a man whom it is a pleasure to meet, friendly, kindhearted, generous and unostentatious, and one of the solid and substantial men of his county, and his modern, commodious and attrac- tive home is a place of hospitable welcome to the many friends of the family, and the friends of both Mr. and Mrs. Trenner are limited only by the circle of their acquaintances.
JAMES A. SKINNER.
The prominence of James A. Skinner, publisher of the Byesville Enter- prise, in the journalistic field of southeastern Ohio is such that he is recog- nized as one of the leading editors and citizens of Guernsey county, being progressive and public spirited in all that these terms imply. The apparent ease with which he has mounted to his present commanding position in the public eye. marks him as the possessor of talents and a close and critical student of men and affairs, so he experiences no difficulty in maintaining the high reputation he has gained in all circles.
Mr. Skinner was born at Marietta, Ohio, on December 20, 1858, and he is the son of Samuel and Adeline (Legett) Skinner, the father being the son of William Skinner and wife. The Skinner family is an old and honored one, and came to the Buckeye state from Maryland, being among the very earliest settlers of the Northwest Territory, braving the dangers incident to pioneer life, in the days of the hostile red man, and settled near Marietta, Ohio.
James A. Skinner spent the major part of his boyhood on the farm which he worked when old enough, near Marietta, and during the winter months he attended the common schools there. About 1890 he bought the New Matamoras Mail, having turned his attention to the journalistic field early in life, having been endowed by nature with marked talents in this direction. He successfully operated his paper at New Matamoras for a period of five years. The following five years he maintained a job office in Marietta and built up a very satisfactory business. In 1900 he came to Byesville. Guern- sey county, and purchased the Byesville Enterprise, which was then owned by D. S. Burt. He built the paper up and had a good patronage from the first ; and in 1905 he sold out, but fourteen months later he bought it back and has since managed it continuously. It is one of the best papers of its type in this section of the state, being a newsy, entertaining and well edited paper, its editorials strong, trenchant and convincing, its mechanical appearance second
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to none, and it has been rendered very valuable to advertising patrons, its circulation having rapidly increased.
The plant has always been kept abreast the times, being operated by a gas engine, and has all modern equipment, including a junior linotype type- setting and casting machine.
From 1878 to 1883 Mr. Skinner was a soldier in the United States army, a private in Company F, Fourth Infantry. Most of the time he was stationed at Fort Russell, Wyoming, also Forts Sanders and Bridger ; he also spent ten months at Camp Meeker, Colorado, following an Indian massacre there. The town of Meeker is now located at that point. While in the army he received a splendid education in the military schools which, together with his varied experiences, were of inestimable value to him. According to his commanding officers, he made a very faithful and efficient soldier. Mr. Skin- ner is a member of the Knights of Pythias in his fraternal relations.
On January 13, 1884, Mr. Skinner was united in marriage with Adelia L. Cooper, who was born and reared at Woodsfield, Ohio. She is the daughter of highly respected parents, William and Mahala (Steed) Cooper. The mother, a woman of remarkable vitality, Christian fortitude and generosity, is still living, being nearly ninety years of age, and is still doing her house work.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Skinner, namely : Leon B., who has followed in the footsteps of his father in a business way, is now employed on the Enterprise ; Bessie is the wife of Fred Schumaker, of Cleve- land, Ohio; Jim, the youngest son, is at home with his parents.
WILLIAM H. BROWN.
When an individual applies himself to his chosen vocation with the fidelity that has characterized the labors of William H. Brown, well known citizen of Fairview and Oxford township, Guernsey county, he is eminently deserving of the large success that he can today claim his own, for it seems to be a law of nature that success comes to the deserving.
Mr. Brown was born August 6, 1867, on a farm in Wills township, Guernsey county, Ohio, the son of James H. and Josephine (Wilkin) Brown. Both parents were born in Guernsey county, and the mother is still living on their farm in Belmont county, Ohio, near Fairview and the Guernsey county line. The Brown ancestry are of Scotch-Irish descent, the great-grand- father, George Brown, coming to America in 1810 and entered land in Ox-
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ford township, Guernsey county. His son, Joseph, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was then only eight years of age. The Browns were farmers in those early pioneer days, when neighbors were few and the for- ests filled with all kinds of wild animals and game and the Indians were even yet disputing the title to the lands, and when heroic characters were neces- sary. These pioneers possessed all the necessary characteristics of the early frontiersmen. James H. Brown, the father of the subject of this sketch, after growing to young manhood on the farm, engaged in the mercantile business in Middleton, six miles west of Fairview on the National pike, and at that time a busy commercial point. During this time he was married and soon after the Civil war opened he enlisted in the army as a member of Com- pany A, Ninety-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, serving through the war in the Army of the Cumberland, his regiment participating in most of the battles of that army. Twice he was wounded and his wife obtained permission from the government to go to the army hospital and nurse her husband, and where she remained for some time doing general hospital work.
After returning from the army Mr. Brown returned to Oxford township and engaged in farming, where he remained until 1882, when he sold his farm in Oxford township and purchased his present farm in Belmont county, adjoining Fairview, and where he died October 30, 1910, an honored and respected citizen. He and his wife have two sons and three daughters as follows: Hattie; William H., the subject of this sketch; Kearney B., who has served in the regular army and seen service in the Philippines, and who is now located in St. Louis, Missouri; Mary M., now Mrs. F. A. Kupfer, of Scio, Ohio; and Myrta I., an elocution teacher in the Statesville Female Col- lege at Statesville, North Carolina.
William H. Brown spent his childhood and youth on the home farm, assisting in the general farm work and attended the country schools. He later attended Ohio University at Athens. Leaving college, he read law in the office of Hon. Charles Townsend, an eminent attorney of Athens, and was admitted to the bar March 4, 1894. He began the practice, maintaining for a time offices both in Fairview and Cambridge, but in 1900 he was appointed deputy probate judge of Guernsey county, and after two years in the probate office, returned to the practice, maintaining his office in Fairview. He is a Republican in politics, as were all his ancestry, and an active participant in party affairs. He has served and is now a member of the Republican county central committee and has served as a delegate to county, district and state conventions, and also as a member of the county election board. Has been
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mayor of Fairview and justice of the peace of Oxford township, which office he is now filling.
Mr. Brown was married October 4, 1898, to Augusta Rodocker, daughter of Capt. M. D. and Mary ( Plattenburg) Rodocker, of Fairview. The Brown home is one of the most pretentious in the town of Fairview and is prominent in the social life of the community.
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and active in church and Sunday school work. Mr. Brown is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and venerable consul of the Fairview camp.
Mr. Brown may also be very properly termed a farmer, as in recent years he has conducted his father's home farm, and is engaged in general farming and stock raising, and in addition to his profession and offi- cial duties is a thoroughly competent and up-to-date farmer.
CHARLES M. AULT.
Success has been worthily attained by Charles M. Ault, of Fairview, Guernsey county, for his methods have ever been those of the man of the hour and while laboring for his own advancement he has not been unmindful of his obligations to his neighbors and fellow citizens and has done much for. the promotion of those movements looking to the general good.
Mr. Ault was born on September 19, 1864, in Fairview, Ohio, the son of Daniel and Mary (Cranson) Ault; the father was born in Belmont county, near St. Clairsville, and the mother was born in Oxford township. The Aults are of German extraction and grandfather John Ault came with his family to Ohio in the early pioneer days. Daniel Ault came to Oxford town- ship, Guernsey county, in 1841, from the home and farm of his parents, to begin life for himself. He learned the trade of a tanner, then an important industry, and soon engaged in the business for himself, operated a large tannery and was very successful. In later years he engaged in the mercantile business in Fairview, then a most unimportant commercial point on the Na- tional road, and also engaged extensively in the saw-mill and lumber busi- ness, in all of which he was successful. On the completion of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad he was also one of the very foremost promoters of building at Quaker City, building a planing and saw-mill and other enterprises. He was decidedly a man of great activity and his interests were many and widely
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diversified and invariably successful. It was said of him that his enterprises and holdings covered more ground with roof than any other man's in Guernsey county at that time, operating extensively in Oxford and Millwood townships. Later in life he gave up these activities and devoted most of his time by looking after his farm interests, always maintaining his residence in Fairview. His home was a large and pretentious brick residence for its time and it yet remains one of the most conspicuous residences of the town. He was a Democrat in politics and very active in public matters, believing this to be the duty of all good citizens. He filled various offices and was a justice of the peace for many years. He was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran church and liberal in the support of Pisgah congregation, near Fair- view, to which he belonged. He was three times married, his first two wives being sisters named Bratton. By his first marriage there were five children, and by the second marriage one child. From his third marriage to Mary Crauson three children were born, of whom Charles M., the subject of this sketch, is the only one living. Of the children of the two former marriages there are living, John W., of Fairview; George W., of Marion, Ohio, and Ella, now Mrs. R. E. Cowgill, of Belmont county. Ohio.
The son, Charles M. Ault, of this review, was born and spent his entire life in Fairview and obtained his education in the Fairview public schools. He has been and is yet engaged in farming, his farm being in Oxford town ship. He has engaged in the livery business in Fairview for twenty-five years, and for eighteen years in the undertaking business, all of which he still continues. He has other interests, too, that require considerable atten- tion, and Mr. Ault is a very busy man. He is always a booster and with his time and his means he is always willing and ready to assist in every worthy effort that has for its object the development of the locality and benefiting the people. He was one of the moving spirits that conceived a way for get- ting a railroad to tap the rich, undeveloped coal fields of the locality. A careful estimate of the field was made and the matter was presented to per- sons connected with railroad building and extension. There were many dis- appointments in this effort, but he persisted and the results were the organiza- tion of the Marietta & Lake Railroad Company, with a contemplated road from the river to the lake, with Fairview and the adjacent coal lands on the line. Four miles of this road is now built, from Lore City to Washington, and the necessary preliminary activity is going on all along the line, and much of this effort and the work already accomplished is due to the perception and foresight of Mr. Ault, to whom much credit is given.
Mr. Ault is a Democrat in politics and an active party member, in fact,
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it is impossible for him to be a drone in any organization with which he is connected. He is a member of the Democratic county central committee and has served in the capacity of delegate to county, district and state conventions. He has filled various township offices, including justice of the peace and treas- urer, most of the village offices and member of the board of education. He is a member of the Masons, Barnesville Lodge, and was made a Mason the night he was twenty-one years old. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Ault was married February 8, 1887, to Mary L. Stevens, daughter of John and Mary ( Coltrap) Stevens, a prominent family of Oxford town- ship. To this union one daughter was born, Ann G., now Mrs. Thomas R. Reed, who resides with Mr. and Mrs. Ault, and there has been a little grand- daughter born, named Lillian L. Reed.
Mr. Ault and family occupy the old Ault home in Fairview and are prom- inent in the social life of the community. Mr. Ault has for many years been one of the boosters of the Pennyroyal Reunion, a member of the executive committee and secretary of the organization. He retains his membership in the Evangelical Lutheran church and was a member of Pisgah congregation until the congregation was dissolved. Mrs. Ault is a member of the Method- ist Episcopal church and Sunday school, and is an active worker in both, as is Mr. Ault a liberal supporter.
ISAAC E. STUBBS.
The name of Isaac E. Stubbs carries a great deal of weight in legal, po- litical and civic circles of Guernsey county. He is one of the most popular citizens of Quaker City, being known as a careful, cautious, painstaking law- yer in his office work, and in his trial of causes in court he devotes his entire energies to his claims in the contention, and with all his power and forces in a deliberate, firm, conscientious way seeks to maintain them. He is deserving of a great deal of credit for what he has accomplished, for he started in life as a poor boy, coming up from the soil, and he has worked his way through the world unaided, proving himself a young man of exceptional ability, and best of all, he has proven himself to be possessed of a sterling character.
Mr. Stubbs is the scion of an excellent old Belmont county family, and he was born on September 26, 1870, in that county, on a farm, east of Barnes- ville. He is the son of James and Elmina (Wood) Stubbs, both having been
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born and reared in Belmont county. The father was a farmer and during the Civil war he proved his patriotism by enlisting in Company F, Thirtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, for three years, and later he re-enlisted and served until the close of the war in a very faithful and gallant manner. His three years' service was with the Western army and the Army of the Cumberland. He was present when Col. E. E. Ellsworth was killed at Fredericksburg during the early months of the war and he was with Grant at Vicksburg, was through the Chattanooga campaign and was in the battle of Atlanta, being wounded in the last named engagement, and was thus prevented from going with Sher- man on his march to the sea. He returned home after the war and followed farming the rest of his life, his death occurring in 1907. His widow is now living in Quaker City. Like her husband, she has always been admired for her kind, noble traits of character.
Isaac E. Stubbs spent his youth on the home farm and participated in the general farm work during the crop seasons, attending the country schools in the wintertime, graduating from the Barnesville high school in 1892. He was an ambitious lad and studied hard, laying a broad foundation for higher learning in later years. He began life as a school teacher, and for several years he taught successfully in the common schools, studying law between terms, for early in life he was actuated by a laudable ambition to be a lawyer. He studied law with C. J. Howard, of Barnesville, and later attended the law department of the Ohio State University at Columbus, and was admitted to the bar with high honors in March, 1898. In the fall of that year he opened an office in Quaker City, where he has since remained, having enjoyed a very liberal patronage from the first. He practices in the courts of Guernsey, Noble and Belmont counties, in fact, he practices in all the state courts and has a large and rapidly growing clientele.
Politically, Mr. Stubbs is a Republican and active and influential in the councils of the party, and has served as a member of the party advisory com- mittee. He was mayor of Quaker City for one term and he administered the affairs of the office in a manner that won the hearty approval of all con- cerned. He is now, and has been for some time, a member of the Quaker City school board, of which he is clerk, and he is an active advocate of ad- vanced education. He is a man of literary tastes and a lover of books and he is familiar with the world's best literature. His office is located in the Quaker City National Bank building, and he has an admirably appointed suite of rooms, his office being well equipped with law books, and he keeps in touch with modern decisions and progress of general jurisprudence. He now prac- tices alone, but formerly he was in partnership with F. B. Doudna. under the
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firm name of Doudna & Stubbs. In 1910 he was a candidate for prosecuting attorney of Guernsey county, and his candidacy was looked very favorably upon from the first announcement, owing to his universal popularity.
Mr. Stubbs was married September 26, 1901, to Inice Gregg, daughter of Lindley and Mary M. (Lingo) Gregg, of Belmont county. She is a woman of fine attributes and comes of an excellent family. This union has been graced by the birth of four children, namely: Ellsworth G., Mildred M., Theodore J. and Ruth E.
Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Mr. Stubbs is assistant superintendent of the Sunday school and a teacher in the same.
WILLIAM N. BRADFORD, M. D.
It is interesting to note from the beginning the growth and development of a community, to note the lines along which progress has been made and to take cognizance of those whose industry and leadership in the work of ad- vancement have rendered possible the present prosperity of the locality under consideration. One of the citizens of Cambridge who deserves specific men- tion along this line is Dr. William N. Bradford, who holds high rank among the leading medical men of eastern Ohio and who is one of the representative citizens of Guernsey county. He was born February 14, 1867, in Highland township, Muskingum county, Ohio. He is the son of Harvey N. and Eliza Jane (Noble) Bradford. The father was a native of Muskingum county and the mother was born in Ireland, from which country she came to America with her parents when only four years of age, settling first in Canada, and a few years later, in 1848, they came to Muskingum county, Ohio, and here the parents spent the remainder of their lives. Henry Noble was a shoemaker and a most worthy citizen, who established a good home and was successful in his business life. Grandfather John Bradford came with his parents from Virginia about 1804 and settled in the woods when the Indians were still in- habitants of Highland township, Muskingum county, Ohio, and he became well known among the pioneers there. The great-grandfather, also named John Bradford, entered government land and cleared it for agricultural pur- poses, becoming prosperous and influential in the early pioneer days. The Bradfords trace their ancestry back to William Bradford, one of the "May- flower" Pilgrims, coming from a distinguished English family. Harvey N. Bradford was a farmer in Highland township, Muskingum county, this state,
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all his life being spent there. He was a man of quiet disposition, deeply interested and informed in public matters but taking no active part in public affairs, preferring to devote his time to his farm; he was one of the estimable gentlemen of the old school and was highly respected by all who knew him. He was a Democrat in politics, and for many years he and his wife were de- vout members of the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred in August, 1903, and his wife died on May 30, 1887; they are buried in the Bethel church cemetery in Highland township, Muskingum county. They were the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, namely : Dr. Andrew A., a practicing physician at Bremen, Ohio ; Henry H. is a lawyer in Columbus, Ohio; William N., of this review; Etta May, deceased; Clara M. is single and is living in Columbus, Ohio; Amaziah B. is farming in Edgar county, Illinois; Calvin R. is an iron worker in Zanesville, Ohio; Mattie C. married Edgar H. Baker, an attorney of Zanesville.
William N. Bradford, of this review, was reared on the home farm and he attended the district schools. When fourteen years of age he began work as a farm hand for a neighbor at four dollars per month and board and worked thus for six months in the summer and attended school during the winter. He later spent two years at McKorkle College at Bloomfield, Musk- ingum county, and when only eighteen years of age he obtained a certificate to teach school, but did not do so. After leaving college, he was married, on January 1, 1891, to Mary L. Hutcheson, daughter of William and Eunice (Ramsey) Hutcheson, of Knox township, Guernsey county, Ohio. The father was a farmer and this family were pioneers here, well known and well established. Both parents are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Bradford one child, Winona J., has been born, and is a student in the Cambridge public schools. After his marriage Mr. Bradford farmed in Knox township, this county, for two years, during which time he began the study of medicine with Dr. J. Ira Bradford, of Otsego, Muskingum county, this state, these gentle- men being cousins. After two years of farming and study, the subject entered Columbus Medical College at Columbus, Ohio, and the following year he entered the medical department of the University of Louisville, Kentucky, and was graduated therefrom in 1893 with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thus well equipped for his life work, he immediately began practice in Otsego with his preceptor, Dr. J. Ira Bradford, and he remained there one year, then went to Indian Camp, in Guernsey county, where he remained two years, coming to Cambridge in 1896 and he has practiced here ever since, building up a large and lucrative practice and taking rank among the leading medical men of the county. In 1904 he took a post-graduate course in surgery in the
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University of Louisville, and he has been unusually successful as a surgeon in connection with his regular general practice.
Politically, the Doctor is a Democrat and while always interested he has never been in any sense an office seeker. In 1905 he was nominated against his wishes as the Democratic candidate for mayor of Cambridge, and, al- though the city is overwhelmingly Republican, he was elected and assumed the office January I. 1906. So successful was his administration that he was renominated for a second term, in 1907, and again elected, serving with the utmost satisfaction to all concerned until January 1, 1910, having refused to be a candidate for a third term. He was mayor in fact as well as in name and his administration stands indorsed by good citizens of all parties. It was a strong administration for good government and law enforcement.
The Doctor is a member of the Masonic order and also belongs to the Cambridge Commandery ; he belongs to Cambridge Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and the Encampment ; he is a member of Cambridge Lodge No. 448, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Bradford is a most estimable woman, devoted to her family and home. The Bradford residence, an attractive and neatly kept one, is located at No. 132 East Eighth street, and the Doc- tor's office is at No. 123 West Eighth street.
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