USA > Ohio > Huron County > History of Huron County, Ohio, Its Progress and Development, Volume II > Part 2
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On the 21st of October, 1897. Mr. Scheid was united in marriage to Miss I cuisa Boehler, a daughter of William and Mary Boehler, residents of Monroe- ville, Ohio. She was the eldest in a family of eight children, her brothers and sis- ters being as follows: Anna, who has passed away ; August; Minnie, who is like- wise deceased : Amanda ; Edith ; Karl, and Elmer. Mr. and Mrs. Scheid now have four children : Mabel, who was born in 1897; Ada, whose birth occurred in 1899 ; Marion, born in 1904 and Olive, in 1905.
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
Mr. Scheid gives his political support to the men and measures of the republi- can party and has served as road supervisor, in which position he proved a most capable and faithful incumbent. He and his family are all members of the Luth- eran church. His life has been one of continuous activity, in which has been ac- corded due recognition of labor, and today he is numbered among the substantial citizens of his community. His interests are thoroughly identified with those of Huron county and at all times he is ready to lend his aid and cooperation to any movement calculated to benefit this section of the country or advance its wonderful development.
ED. L. YOUNG.
Ed. L. Young, editor of The Bee Hive national organ of the Knights of the Maccabees of the World, was born in New Haven, Huron county, Ohio, Jan- uary 19, 1864, his parents being Morgan and Amelia (House) Young. The father was born March 9, 1819, and the mother's birth occurred April 20, 1823. The father, Morgan Young, for a time attended the old Norwalk Academy, in which school his future wife was at the same time a student. They were mar- ried on the 29th of November, 1846, and established their home at North Mon- roeville, Ohio, where Mr. Young engaged in general farming ; they moved to New Haven, Huron county, some years after. Unto him and his wife were born eight children, namely: Lucy, who was born October 5, 1847; Louisa, October 22, 1848; Mehetta, December 15, 1852; Julius N., November 7, 1854; Albert, March 10, 1857 ; Clara, who was born June 5, 1861, and died September 6, 1863; and Ed. L. and Edna, twins, whose birth occurred January 19, 1864. The death of the husband and father occurred September 24, 1884 in Ripley township; the mother is still living.
In the common schools, Ed. L. Young mastered the early branches of Eng- lish learning and subsequently engaged in teaching. He has always been of a stu- dious nature and his reading and research have covered a wide range. Leav- ing the teacher's profession, he entered the field of journalism in Norwalk and was with The Chronicle for eight years, four of these as editor. He became state manager for the Knights of the Maccabees of the World in 1892, and in 1901, became the national editor of the order, retaining position as manager for Ohio also. When he assumed the office of manager the order numbered four thousand in Ohio and thirteen thousand in the United States. Now there is a membership of thirty-seven thousand in Ohio, with three hundred thousand in the country, representing three hundred and fifty million dollars in insurance, protection of members in five thousand tents. Mr. Young's advocacy of the order through the columns of the paper has done not a little to further its inter- ests and he is widely and favorably known among the representatives of the fraternity in this country.
On the 20th of March, 1884, Mr. Young was married to Miss Carrie M. Houfstetter, a native of Ripley township, Huron county, and a daughter of Jacob M. and Rowena (Carpenter) Houfstetter, who were pioneer residents of
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
this county. Her grandfather, Rev. Orson Carpenter, was one of the early Bap- tist preachers of this part of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Young have become par- ents of two children : Ethel M., who was born March 10, 1885, and died April 2, 1891 ; and Arthur F., who was born July 31, 1889, and is now a law student in Western Reserve University.
Mr. Young is identified with several other organizations in addition to the Maccabees, being now affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the Knight Templar degree. He is a man of good business ability, who is now bending his energies to administrative direction and executive control as manager of the paper which has the support of and is the expression of the best interests of the Knights of the Maccabees.
D. W. RUMBAUGH, M. D.
Dr. D. W. Rumbaugh, president of the Huron County Medical Association, who has successfully practiced in Huron county since 1878, opening his office in Chicago Junction in 1891, was born in Wayne county, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1846. His father, Isaac Rumbaugh, was a native of Northampton county, Pennsylvania, born December 23, 1815, and in 1819, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Chester township, Wayne county, Ohio. The mother of the Doctor was Mrs. Mary Rumbaugh, who was born in Westmoreland county, Penn- sylvania, and arrived in Green township, Wayne county, Ohio, in 1835. On the 8th of March, 1838, she gave her hand in marriage to Isaac Rumbaugh and they have become the parents of five children. The father lived and died in Wayne county, passing away in 1888. He had long survived his wife who died in 1851. Tracing back the ancestral history of the family, we learn that the first Rumbaughs in America, were located here in 1764, in which year three brothers sailed from Germany and settled in Connecticut. Of these Henry and Solomon Rumbaugh served as loyal soldiers of the American army in the Revolutionary war, while the other brother, David Rumbaugh, went to Canada and was never heard from again. In 1797, Henry Rumbaugh settled in Northampton county, Pennsyl- vania, and was the father of twenty-five children, all of whom married and reared families.
Dr. Rumbaugh, a decendant of that family, was educated in the public schools, continuing his studies until he was graduated from the Smithville (Ohio) high school. Eventually, he pursued a course in the university at Canton, Missouri, and then, taking up the study of medicine, attended lectures and studied at Cin- cinnati College of Medicine and Surgery. He was graduated from the medical department of the University of Wooster at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1873, and com- menced practice in Polk, Ashland county, where he remained for five years. On the expiration of that period, he opened an office at Greenwich, Huron county, where he remained from 1878 until 1891. In that year, he came to Chi- cago Junction and has in the intervening years, sustained an enviable reputation as one of the leading practitioners of the county. His patronage is continually
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Dll, Kumbaugh M. L.
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
increasing, for he has given proof of his ability to successfully cope with the in- tricate problems that continually confront the physician. In the diagnosis of his cases, he is very careful and his professional brethren entertain high respect for his judgment. Moreover, he closely conforms to a high standard of professional ethics. In addition to his private practice, he is acting as surgeon for the Balti- more & Ohio Railroad Company and he belongs to the Association of Baltimore & Ohio Railway Surgeons, to the International Association of Railway Surgeons, to the American Medical Association, to the Ohio State Medical Association and to the Huron County Medical Society, being president of the last named.
On the 23d of March, 1871, Dr. Rumbaugh was married to Miss Sarah A. Jones, who died in 1883 and in 1888, he was again married, his second union being with Jennie Graham, a native of Greenfield township, Huron county, and a daughter of Alexander Graham, one of the earliest settlers of this part of the state. There were three children of the first marriage : Hattie O., now the wife of Thomas McMahon ; Samuel C .; and Bertha M., now Mrs. Keith Van Horn, of Chicago, Ohio.
Dr. Rumbaugh has always been an active democrat and has ever taken a help- ful interest in party work, doing everything in his power to promote the growth and insure the success of the party. While living at Polk, he served as a member of the board of education and also of the town council. He rendered similar service at Greenwich and at Chicago Junction and has likewise served as a member of the board of public affairs in this place. His work has at all times been of a beneficial nature, being actuated by a public-spirited devotion to the general good. Fraternally Dr. Rumbaugh is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is a Mason of high rank, belonging to Golden Rule Lodge, No. 562, F. & A. M .; Golden Rule Chapter, No. 167, R. A. M .; Norwalk Commandery, No. 18, K. T .; and Lake Erie Consistory and is also a director in the Chicago, Ohio Temple Company. He is in thorough sympathy with the beneficent spirit of the craft, which is based upon mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness and in practice, he utilizes the opportunities to bring its principles into active play.
ASHER M. COLE.
Asher M. Cole is the sole owner of the beautiful homestead property of one hundred and twenty-five acres just outside of the city limits of Norwalk whereon the Cole family has lived for many years. He is one of the best known citizens of Huron county, respected and honored wherever known and most of all where best known. In tracing the ancestry of the family we find that the first authentic rec- ord is of one John Cole, who was born in England in 1670. His son and namesake, born in the same country in 1705, came to America in colonial days and spent the latter portion of his life in Connecticut. He was twice married, his first wife be- ing a sister of Benjamin Franklin, while his second wife, bore the maiden name of Mary Brown. John Cole was the father of six children, two sons and four daugh- ters, the eldest of whom was John, while the second was named Thomas. The lat-
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
ter was born in Windham county, Connecticut, August 25, 1735, and on the 7th of December, 1757, he married Miss Miriam Kinne, by whom he had the following children : Silas, Amos, Spencer, Levi, Thomas, Jeremiah, Samuel, Mary, Eunice and Marion. The descendants of this family are very numerous and are scattered throughout many portions of the United States.
Levi Cole, the fourth son of Thomas and Miriam ( Kinne) Cole, was born No- vember 30, 1766, in Windham county, Connecticut, was married November 25, 1790, and died in Norwalk, Ohio, February 11, 1820. His wife, Hannah Kinne, was born in Windham county, Connecticut, July 24. 1770, and died at Norwalk, Ohio, February 27, 1840. They had seven sons and two daughters, namely : Jere- miah, born March 7, 1795, came to Ohio in 1815 and died July 30, 1818; Asher, born April 23, 1797, came to Ohio in 1816 and died November 4, 1830; James, who was born April 25, 1799, and came to Ohio in 1816, was married January 15, 1824, to Miss Philena Johnson, who was born October 4, 1802, and they had four sons and one daughter : Albert, born October 2, 1824 ; Bryan, who was born March 7, 1828, and died May 10, 1863 ; Starry H., who was born March 6, 1831, and died October 30, 1876, after having served for ninety days as a soldier of Company B, One Hundred Sixty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with the rank of second lieutenant ; George W., who was born February 22, 1835 and died January 6, 1893, after having served for three years in the Third Ohio Cavalry ; and Maria, who was born August 13, 1841, and died January 1, 1892. The father of these children died December 26, 1881, and the mother passed away on the 30th of April of the same year. Levi Cole, Jr., son of Levi Cole, Sr., was born March 23, 1801, came to Ohio in 1816, and died in Richfield township, Huron county. Miner, born July 26, 1803, came to Ohio in 1816 and died in Norwalk. Manley K., born Feb- ruary II, 1807, came to Ohio in 1816. Lyman, born March 10, 1810, arrived in this state in 1816 and died October 10, 1853. The daughters were Hannah, who was born March 11, 1792, and died August 24, 1795 ; and Ardelia, who was born December 4, 1811, and died May 8, 1812.
In 1813 Levi Cole, Sr., was living in Herkimer county, New York, where he met with financial reverses after his marriage and in that year, in company with Ma- jor David Underhill and Timothy Baker, he came to Ohio to look at lands owned by Mr. Underhill in Richfield township, Huron county. The land and prospect suited him and he arranged for the purchase of a tract adjoining the farm of Sid- ney Brown, after which he returned home. In 1815 he again came to Ohio ac- companied by his son Jeremy, by Horace Morse, Dr. Joseph Pierce and David Un- derhill. He at once erected a house on his land, began clearing away the timber and otherwise prepared for bringing his family the next year. In the fall, leaving his son Jeremy to look after the place and continue the improvements, he returned home. During this visit, on the 16th of July, 1815, Levi Cole, with Major Under- hill and Dr. Joseph Pierce, brushed out a trail, or road, from Abijah Comstock's place to the Sand Ridge, now Norwalk. At night they returned to Mr. Com- stock's home and the next day started out and completed their work through the Underhill place on the 17th. This was the first highway labor done on Main street. They followed the old Indian trail, which came out on the Ridge road somewhere between Main and Chatham streets. In January, 1816, Mr. Cole and Major Un- derhill started with their families and such goods and supplies as they might re-
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
quire in their new homes, with six teams and sleighs, three to each family. The party contained twenty people. After spending six weeks on the road, including a five days rest at Avery, the old county seat, they reached Major Underhill's place on the 22d of February, 1816. The Huron river was then so high that Mr. Cole could not cross with his family and teams to his own house, so he took them to the home of Dr. Pierce and soon afterward purchased the place and remained there as long as he lived. In 1818 Mr. Cole took a prominent part in the movement which culminated in the removal of the county seat to Norwalk. On February 9, 1820, Mr. Cole was engaged in hauling a large saw log and one of his legs, owing to an accident in unloading, was caught between the logs and so terribly crushed that he died two days afterward.
Levi and Hannah Cole had several children, of whom the following is a brief record : Colonel Asher Cole, the second son, was married January 6, 1828, to Nar- cissa Lawrence and they had a son, Asher, who was born November 12, 1828, and on October 19, 1859, married Miss Sarah J. Purdy. He died May 29, 1885, leav- ing a widow and seven children.
Miner Cole, the fifth son, was born July 26, 1803, in Herkimer county, New York, where he received his school training. In 1816 he came to Huron county, Ohio, with his father, making his home on a farm of one hundred acres in Norwalk township. In addition to his elementary education he attended Norwalk Academy for one term and further improved his mind by home study and close observation of men and events. On July 30, 1840, he married Miss Mary A. Allen, of Rip- ley township, born November 7, 1819, a daughter of Hiram Allen, of near Utica, New York. After his marriage Miner Cole continued to engage in general agri- cultural pursuits until his death, which occurred August 20, 1885. He was a re- publican in politics and served his township faithfully as a trustee.
Asher M. Cole, the only son of Miner Cole, was born November 19, 1843, on the farm in Norwalk township which he now owns and occupies. He attended the public schools of the neighborhood and at the same time was trained to the work of the farm under his father's direction. He was twenty years of age when in re- sponse to the country's call for troops he offered his services to the government and was mustered in on the 15th of May, 1864, as a member of Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was first engaged on gar- rison duty at Arlington Heights, where he remained until September of the same year when his term of enlistment expired and he was honorably discharged. Prior to joining the United States Volunteer army he served for some time with the Home Guards.
On the 5th of March, 1869, Asher M. Cole was married to Miss Louisa E. Channing, who was born in Somersetshire, England, November 21, 1846, and at the age of five years was brought to Huron county, Ohio, where her youthful days were spent upon a farm. They had one child, Miner A. Cole, born August 26, 1880. During the same year they adopted a bright little boy of six years, named Orill Allen, a distant relative. Miner A. Cole, the son, was married May II, 1902, to Miss Elizabeth M. Fisher, whose birth occurred May 2, 1886. They have a charming little daughter, Verna Louise K. Cole. Orill A. Cole, the legally adopted son, married Miss Carrie Cassady, who was educated at Akron, Ohio. She is a daughter of Frank and Sarah Cassady, and has two children, Winfred Elizabeth
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
and Allen Cassady. Orill A. Cole occupies a fine position in Toronto, Canada, and is making steady progress in the business world.
With the exception of the time which he spent as a soldier in the Civil war, Asher M. Cole remained upon the home farm with his parents until he reached his majority, at which time his father gave him a team and some farming tools, and he then began operating the old homestead. He was there busily employed in carrying on general agricultural pursuits until 1881, when he rented a farm, pay- ing five hundred dollars per year, for a term of five years, and also taking care of his father in his declining days, or until the father's demise. After the expiration of his lease Asher M. Cole became sole owner of the beautiful homestead prop- erty of one hundred and twenty-five acres, lying just outside the corporation limits of Norwalk. His son is now operating the farm and living at home with his parents.
Mr. Cole has always been interested in the cause of education and for several terms has acceptably served as a member of the school board. He has been a suc- cessful farmer and a most useful and well known representative of Huron county's broad minded citizens. Both he and his wife are members of the Universalist church and he gives his political allegiance to the republican party. His life has at all times been an upright one and he is justly accounted among the most honored and respected citizens of Norwalk township.
HARRY H. AND WILLARD E. MARSH.
Harry H. and Willard E. Marsh are successfully engaged in the conduct of a dry goods establishment in Norwalk under the firm style of The Marsh Com- pany. Their paternal grandparents were Abram Reynolds and Sarah L. Marsh, the former born at Rahway, New Jersey, on the 8th of July, 1800, while the latter's birth occurred in Orange, New Jersey, March 8, 1802. After coming to this state Abram R. Marsh made his home for many years on a farm in Ridge- field township, Huron county, and was more than ninety years of age when called to his final rest. For a long period he acted as an elder in the Presbyterian church, the teachings of which he exemplified in his daily life, his upright and honorable career winning him the regard and admiration of all with whom he was associated.
The maternal grandfather of H. H. and W. E. Marsh was Jonas Hinkley, who was born in Elizabethtown, Essex county, New York, September 21, 1816, and accompanied his parents on their removal to Huron, Ohio, in 1841. He and his brother, Philander Hinkley, were awarded the contract for the construction of the first railroad through Huron and he was also engaged in mercantile pur- suits there for several years. The year of 1859 witnessed his arrived in Nor- walk and during the period of his residence here he devoted his time and energies to perfecting a number of practical and useful inventions which had long occu- pied his attention and which he eventually succeeded in patenting. He was a man of considerable inventive genius and one of the most expert mechanics in the country and was the originator of a sewing machine which was afterward
Charles G. Harsh
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
manufactured in Norwalk by the firm of Hinkley & Wildman. He realized quite a fortune through his invention of the first knitting machine for the knitting of hosiery-a machine that was manufactured at Biddeford, Maine. Many other useful, valuable and original devices were the outcome of his mechanical skill and ingenuity, including a carpet sweeper. He was a great reader of books and papers bearing upon mechanics and sciences and his wonderful mind was wholly absorbed in study and investigation along these lines. Though quiet and retiring in disposition, he was very entertaining in manner and speech and his genial, kindly nature made him popular with a large circle of friends. His demise oc- curred when he had reached the ripe old age of seventy-five years.
Charles E. Marsh, the father of the gentlemen whose names initiate this review, was born in Coshocton, Ohio, on the 28th of August, 1840, and was one of a large family of children. In 1860 he made his way to Norwalk, securing a clerkship in the dry goods house of Beardsley & Brother, with whom he con- tinued until 1862, when he enlisted for service in the Union army as a member of the One Hundred and First Ohio Infantry. His health failing, however, he was eventually honorably discharged on account of physical disability. Return- ing to Norwalk, he again entered the employ of Beardsley & Brother and sub- sequently worked in a clerical capacity for Watson & Lovrien and Wooster & Pat- rick. In 1872, feeling that his training and experience in mercantile lines justi- fied him in starting out in business life on his own account, he established a dry goods store in association with Mrs. S. B. Pease. In 1880 the style of the firm was changed to Marsh & Jackson and in 1887 became known as Marsh & Blox- ham, thus continuing until the death of the partners, Mr. Marsh passing away on the 21st of June, 1906, while A. T. Bloxham died in the following November. Mr. Marsh was probably one of the best salesmen and judges of dry goods in the country. He established his mercantile enterprise on borrowed capital but as the years went by won a most gratifying measure of prosperity as the result of his well directed and untiring energy, guided by sound judgment and keen discrimination. Brooking no obstacles that honest effort could overcome, he steadily worked his way upward until he gained a place among the leading mer- chants of the county. His personal characteristics, too, were such as commanded the admiration and respect of all with whom he came in contact and in Norwalk, where he made his home for almost a half century, he was well known and highly esteemed as one of its most honored residents.
On the 7th of February, 1866, Charles E. Marsh was united in marriage to Miss Ellen A. Hinkley, a daughter of Jonas Hinkley, who was of Scotch de- scent. The birth of Mrs. Marsh occurred in 1844, and by her marriage she became the mother of four children, all of whom obtained their preliminary edu- cation in Norwalk. Harry H. is the eldest son of the family. Charles R., who attended business college at Poughkeepsie, New York, and also a military school at Roslyn, Long Island, is now a manufacturer of wire specialties in Cleve- land. As a companion and helpmate on the journey of life he chose Miss Alice Widlar. Willard E. is the next in order of birth. Lewis C., the youngest son of Charles E. and Ellen A. (Hinkley) Marsh, was called to his final rest in 1898.
Harry H. Marsh completed his education in a private school at Buffalo and is now at the head of the extensive dry goods enterprise established by his father,
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HISTORY OF HURON COUNTY
the business being at present conducted under the name of The Marsh Com- pany. The house enjoys an extensive and profitable patronage, owing to its straightforward and reliable business policy. In 1891 was celebrated the mar- riage of H. HI. Marsh and Miss Clara C. Poor, a daughter of Richard D. Poor, of old New England stock. By this union there are two children, Richard C. and Irene C.
When a lad of sixteen years Willard E. Marsh took up the study of photog- raphy and for thirteen years remained a successful representative of that art. Since the death of his father, however, he has been associated with his brother in the conduct and management of the Marsh dry goods establishment and, like his brother, is recognized throughout the community as a most substantial, enterprising and progressive business man and citizen. On the 26th of October, 1906, he wedded Miss Bessie M. Watts, a daughter of Joseph Watts, of Oak- harbor, Ohio. They have a little daughter, Asenath R., born June 24, 1908.
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