USA > Ohio > Huron County > History of Huron County, Ohio, Its Progress and Development, Volume II > Part 24
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were comfortably located in their new home in Greenwich, William Mitchell, our subject's grandfather, removed to Macksville, where he worked in the mill and dis- tillery of Ezra Smith, being a miller by trade. He spent seven years in that lo- cality and then came to Greenfield township, where he purchased a farm which at that time was covered with timber with the exception of two acres that had been cleared and a log house erected thereupon. He made that dwelling his home until a more substantial log house could be erected. He continued to reside upon this farm until 1860, devoting his time to clearing the land and cultivating the fields, and then returned to Macksville where he lived retired for some time. He died in Fairfield township in September, 1890, honored and respected by all who knew him. For several years he filled the office of township trustee and was a deacon of the Baptist church, both in Peru and Fairfield township, assisting in removing the church from the former township and donating the land upon which it was located.
His son, Elias Mitchell, the father of F. P. Mitchell, has lived in Greenfield and Fairfield townships all his life, carrying on agriculture. He was born on the home farm December 30, 1839, and received his education in the district schools. He became one of the prominent citizens of this locality. served for eighteen years as a trustee of Fairfield township, held several offices in Greenfield township and was one of the directors of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company of Huron county. He is at present living in North Fairfield, in comparative rest from toil. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Miss Cornelia Place, was born October 26, 1842, in New York city, but was very young when she came here with her mother and her step-father, in 1855. Her own father had died in 1847, and her mother married James L. Coit, Sr. To Mr. and Mrs. Elias Mitchell, have been born three children : Grant, who died at the age of one; F. P., the subject of this sketch ; and Bertha, who died at the age of twenty-six, leaving a husband, Robert Reeder, of North Fairfield, and three children : Ray, Dana, deceased, and Nelson.
F. P. Mitchell has always lived on his present farm, and in his youth, he at- tended the district schools, from which he gleaned such an education as they were able to impart during the few months they were in session and to lads who were compelled to give their first thought to the farm and its work. However, they would seem to have afforded a good training for life, for Mr. Mitchell has been very successful in the farming he has practiced and in the live stock business, he has carried on. He is also interested in the wool market. He has had other in- terests outside his farm, perhaps the principal one being in the schools. For a period of fifteen years, he served as a member of the board of education, is at present president of that body, and has held other offices within the gift of the people of his township. He is the secretary of the Farmers Mutual Insurance Company, a stockholder and one of the directors of the North Fairfield Savings Bank and of the North Fairfield Telephone Company, of which latter concern he is also treasurer.
On the 21st of November, 1888, Mr. Mitchell wedded Miss Catherine Ryerson, a daughter of George M. and Catherine (Edsel) Ryerson, of Peru township. Mrs. Mitchell was born there, whither her parents had come from New York state in the early days. She was one of a family of nine children, the others being : Sarah, the wife of Charles H. Burg, of Patterson, New Jersey ; Price V. and Edsel, of North Fairfield, Ohio; Esther, the wife of Adelbert S. Roe, of Peru township;
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George E., of Fairfield township; Catherine, the wife of our subject ; Delno P., of Norwalk, Ohio ; Dora, the widow of F. M. Mitchell, and a resident of Columbiis, Ohio; and Grace, the wife of Henry T. Graham, of Fairfield township. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell have had three children: Donald, born January 2, 1894 ; C. Philip, born October 2, 1896; and Cornelia, born January 27, 1900.
By hard and diligent labor, Mr. Mitchell has won success in his business opera- tions, and because of the strong qualities of his character, he has won the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens. He is one of the men who make for the pros- perity and stability of Greenfield township.
WARREN SEVERANCE.
A man versed in the laws of the country, as distinguished from the business man or politician, has been a recognized power for many years. He is depended upon to conserve the best and permanent interests of the whole people, and with- out him and his practical judgment, the efforts of the statesman and the industry of the business man and mechanic would prove futile. The reason is not far to seek, for the professional lawyer is never a creature of circumstances. The pro- fession is open to talent, and no definite prestige or success can be attained save by indomitable energy, perseverance, patience and strong mentality. One of the leading representatives of the bar of Huron county is Warren Severance, of Chi- cago, Ohio, who is a man of long and varied experience and deep learning. He was born in Sandusky county, Ohio, October 9, 1836, being a son of Elisha and Phebe B. (Tracy) Severance.
Elisha Severance was born in Shelburn, Massachusetts, while his wife was born in Bridgewater, Vermont. He came to Ohio in 1819, locating at Milan, Erie county, where he lived for a number of years, later removing to Sandusky county, Ohio, and thence to Huron county, where he died October 13th, 1892. He first worked at his trade of coopering exclusively, but later, he began farming in the summer, confining his work at his trade to the winter. His first wife was Mar- tha Bangs, a daughter of Captain Bangs, who commanded a lake boat. She bore him one son, that lived to maturity, Samuel M. The second wife was Phebe B. Tracy and by this marriage, there were the following children: William M., War- ren, Byron, and one son that died in infancy.
Warren Severance attended the Maxville school in Peru township, Samuel F. Newman being one of his teachers. When he was twenty years old, he left school and like so many young men of his days who cherished ambitions, he began teaching. For nine years he continued as an educator in the schools of Huron county, but never relinquished his determination to enter the legal profession, and in 1876 he was able to begin his law studies. In 1878, he was admitted to the bar and immediately thereafter located in Chicago, Ohio, which has been his home ever since, having firmly established himself in the confidence of the peo- ple. On March 16, 1896, Mr. Severance was admitted to the supreme court in Washington, D. C.
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Mr. Severance was married February 9, 1860, to Philinda Shepard, a daughter of Israel and Nancy ( Brown) Shepard, who were the parents of the following named children : Hannah, who married D. B. Kroh; Mary, deceased, who mar- ried James McDuell : Israel, also deceased; Mrs. Severance; Lucinda, who mar- ried J. Z. Woodworth ; and Eva, who married W. B. Keefer. Mr. and Mrs. Sev- erance became the parents of two children: E. W .; and Clara M., who is the widow of C. A. Weatherford. Mr. Severance mourns the loss of his wife, who passed away May 10, 1904.
He has been very prominent fraternally, and belongs to Chicago Lodge No. 748, I. O. O. F., at Chicago, Ohio. He is local counsel for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company, having held this position since 1891. While a republican, Mr. Severance has not sought public office. A consistent member of the Presbyterian church, he is much interested in its good work, and has been one of its elders since the establishment of the church in Chicago, also acting as one of the church trus- tees. For many years, he has practiced in all of the courts and has been con- nected with much of the legal business of his locality, his sound and ripe judg- ment, conservative views and thorough knowledge of his profession making him one of the best attorneys Huron county has ever possessed.
R. M. CHERRY.
One of the prosperous young farmers of Greenfield township is R. M. Cherry, who owns the one hundred and forty-five acres of land on which he makes his home. He was born in this township, September 29, 1873, and is a son of Eu- gene and Augusta (Turney) Cherry. The paternal grandfather, Reuben Cherry, was one of the old settlers of this county. He was reared and married in New York state, but in 1823 came to Ohio alone, settling at Hanvil's Corners, Fairfield township. After working here for a time, he returned home to get his wife, com- ing back to this state which he made his home until 1857, when typhoid fever caused his death. His widow, who before her marriage was Miss Brilla Snow, lived to be eighty-eight, and until 1893, the year of her death, made her home with her son Eugene, the youngest of her family of nine. Among the others were Eunice, who married M. Taylor, both now deceased; Eudolphia, the deceased wife of T. F. Hildreth ; and Lucinda, the widow of Philander Mitchell.
Eugene Cherry, the father of R. M. Cherry, has spent all his life in this county. He was born March 20, 1846, in Fairfield township, and began his education in the old log school house there. He was not privileged however, to receive much of an education, for his father's early death compelled him to give all his time to the management of the farm. To the cultivation of the soil he devoted himself assiduously until 1905, when he removed to Norwalk to live in retirement and enjoy the fruits of his labor. His wife was born in Connecticut, but came at the age of thirteen to this state to live with an aunt. Later, Mrs. Cherry re- turned to her native home for a while as her father, Cyrus Turney, never became a resident of Ohio. Her mother had died when she was but a young girl. To Mr. and Mrs. Cherry were born three children : Jessie, at home ; R. M., of this review ;
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and Floyd, who married Miss Rose Sisinger and lives in Arizona, the father of one child, Carlton E.
R. M. Cherry has always lived in this locality, and has worked on the farm from his boyhood. He attended the district school of the township, but could never be said to have received an education for when his father's health failed, as the re- sult of a sunstroke, he was compelled to give up his lessons and devote himself, mind and body, to the conduct of the farm. The hard work he has put into the field tell; his crops are bountiful; and the condition of the buildings shows that their owner is thrifty and a good manager. He has found by experience that his soil is best adapted to general farming and the progressive methods he employs bid fair to make him one of the most prosperous men of his township in a few years.
On the 19th of April, 1905, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Cherry and Miss May Hartman, the daughter of William and Alice (Crebs) Hartman, of New London, Ohio. Mr. Hartman was born in Ashland county, Ohio, July 14, 185I, and his wife in Huntington county, Indiana, July 25, 1854. Both are still living. They had a family of five children : Ira ; Charles ; Nina, deceased ; May and Sylvia.
Mr. Cherry is a member of the Methodist church of North Fairfield, is in regu- lar attendance at its services and contributes generously to its support. He is a member of the younger generation of farmers, to whom the township will look for her future prosperity and advancement, and her best expectations will not be disappointed, if we are to judge by the past years of Mr. Cherry's life.
WILLIAM ERF.
William Erf, devoting his time and energies to farming and dairy pursuits in Lyme township, is meeting with a substantial measure of success which entitle him to rank among the prosperous and progressive agriculturists of his town- ship. He was born in Peru township, Huron county, May 7, 1857, a son of Philip and Dorothea (Heymen) Erf, both natives of Germany. The father was born in Freien Dietz in 1821, where he was reared to the age of twenty years. Rumors had come to him concerning the superior opportunities for advancement offered in the new world and he decided to try his fortune on this side of the Atlantic. Consequently, he sailed for the United States and made his way direct to Huron county, Ohio, settling in Peru township, where he worked by the month for sev- eral years. When, by hard labor and careful saving, he had accumulated sufficient money, he purchased a few acres of land in that township and directed his ener- gies toward cultivating and expanding this property. As he prospered, he added to his holdings until at the time of his death, he had become the owner of two hundred and fifty acres in the home farm and about two hundred and fifty acres in other parts of the county. He was well known and esteemed in the community in which he lived and served for several years as trustee of Huron county. His death occurred in 1894, but his wife still survives him at the age of seventy years. In their family were four children: William, of this review; Lydia, the deceased
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wife of A. P. Horn; Lewis; and Oscar, the professor of agriculture at the Ohio State University at Columbus.
William Erf has always made his home in Huron county, residing in Peru township until twenty-six years of age, while in the meantime, he attended the district schools of that township and also studied for a short time at Monroe- ville, Ridgefield township. Having been reared to agricultural pursuits, he wisely chose this as his life work and is now numbered among the prosperous and repre- sentative farmers of his county. The year 1883 witnessed his arrival in Lyme township, where he purchased his present farm of one hundred and fifty-three acres from his father in 1893. He has made many improvements upon the place, erecting a fine large residence and commodious and substantial barns and out- buildings. Aside from his farming interests, he is also proprietor of the Chestnut Ridge Dairy and this branch of his business is proving an important factor in his present success. He is president and director of the Star Creamery Company of Monroeville and is also a director of the Hess Hardware Company of that place. His business is conducted with keen discernment and is most carefully managed, so that he receives therefrom most gratifying returns.
Mr. Erf was united in marriage March 8, 1883, to Miss Minnie A. Scheld, a daughter of Philip and Wilhelmina Scheld, natives of Germany. Her birth oc- curred in Peru township and she was the fifth in a family of six children, the others being: Bertha, Lewis, August, Amelia and Lydia. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Erf has been blessed with four children : Norma, Cora, Elzy and W. P., all at home.
Mr. Erf is a member of the Evangelical church and his life at all times has been in keeping with its teachings. He has served as a member of the school board for some time and is at present clerk of the board, while at all times he is deeply and helpfully interested in all matters pertaining to the material, intellectual and moral welfare of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Erf are among the most highly respected and prosperous citizens in the community.
F. WILLIAM BISHOP.
F. William Bishop, who carries on general farming in Peru township, is one of the enterprising and progressive agriculturists of the community. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of rich farm land, and it was upon this place that he was born May 26, 1859. His parents were Arsineus and Tracy (Schaefer) Bishop. The father was born in Baden, Germany, and when a young man came to the United States, settling in Huron, Ohio, where he worked at the shoemaker's trade, which he had learned in Germany. He lived there until about 1845, when he bought the farm upon which our subject now makes his home. The improvements upon the place were of a very primitive character. consisting of a log house and log barn, and the land was nearly all covered with timber. With resolute spirit, such as was shown by the pioneers who faced the hardships and privations of frontier life, Mr. Bishop began clearing the place, cutting away the trees, grubbing up the stumps and clearing away
MR. AND MRS. F. WILLIAM BISHOP
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the brush until he transformed the land into productive fields. From time to time he made substantial improvements and his property became one of the excellent farms of the locality. At all times he was progressive in his citizen- ship and cooperated in many movements for the general good. He died in 1884 at the age of seventy-two years and the community mourned the loss of one of its highly respected and worthy citizens. His wife in her girlhood days had come to Huron county with her parents, F. W. and Elizabeth Schaefer, and had settled at Monroeville about 1840. Subsequently they removed to Seneca county. Mrs. Bishop died in 1902 at the age of seventy-four years. By her marriage she has become the mother of six children: Frank J., now deceased; Elizabeth C., a resident of Crawford county, Ohio; F. William; J. R., who is also living in Crawford county ; Maggie, deceased; and Alfred P., likewise a resident of Crawford county. The father had been married twice and by his former marriage had two children: Joseph, who died in the army ; and Thomas, who is living in Fairfield township.
F. William Bishop spent his boyhood days in the usual manner of farm lads of the period and locality. He remained on the home place until twenty-six years of age and was then married, after which he removed to Auburn, In- diana, being employed in the shops at that place. He also worked along in- dustrial lines at Garrett, Indiana, securing a situation in the railroad shops at that point, and later he went to Fostoria, Ohio, where he was employed in the glass works. Subsequently he removed to Tiffin, Ohio, and worked in the Stove foundry for about eleven years. During that period his wife died and he re- turned to Huron county to take care of the farm and of his mother, remaining with her until her demise.
Mr. Bishop had wedded Miss Helen Hipp, a daughter of Henry and Eliza- beth (Koppler) Hipp, of Seneca county, Ohio. The marriage was celebrated April 29, 1884, and they became the parents of four children : Fred V., Martin J., Isabelle F. and Linus D. Mrs. Bishop, who was born in Seneca county, Ohio, in June, 1858, died in Tiffin, Ohio, September 27, 1899, her remains being interred in St. Joseph cemetery at that place. Mr. Bishop is now living alone with his two sons and carries on general farming, working diligently and persistently to secure the success which is the merited reward of all honorable labor. He belongs to the Catholic church of Peru township, and is well known as a representative citizen of the community.
ROBERT H. AND BUSHNELL R. REYNOLDS, M. D.
Two of the highly esteemed physicians of Greenwich township are Drs. Rob- ert H. and Bushnell R. Reynolds, father and son. Not only are they able prac- titioners, but they are also public-spirited men, who have contributed their share to the advancement and progress of the community. Robert H. Reynolds was born April 25, 1846, in Greenwich township, in a house constructed for the greater part of walnut timber, that is still used for a dwelling, though it has been moved
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to the village. He is the son of Dr. Henry and Harriet ( Marble) Reynolds, both of whom were born and reared in the state of New York, the latter in Oswego county. Dr. Henry Reynolds was married in Cooperstown, New York. In 1839, he went to Tennessee, where he remained a year, and then came to Huron county, Ohio, taking up the practice of his profession, for which he had prepared him- self before leaving the state of his nativity. He was the father of nine children : Angeline, Russell N., Esther, Lavilla, Hannah, William B., Harriet E., Cornelia A. and Robert H., all of whom with the exception of Harriet E., who died in in- fancy, grew to maturity before he was called to his last resting place, at the age of seventy-eight. His wife had died six years before, in May, 1874, and but three of the large family now survives, Russell N., of Chicago Junction; Cornelia, the widow of Julius H. Hulburt, of Plymouth, Huron county ; and Dr. Robert H. Dr. Henry Reynolds was a man interested and active in public affairs. He was a republican in politics, was an ordained elder in the Methodist Episcopal church, and in the course of his long and busy life, was widely known and highly re- spected.
Robert H. Reynolds was educated in the public schools of Greenwich town- ship, later attending the Maumee City Academy. He received his medical train- ing in the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1872, and he entered upon the practice of his profession almost immediately, coming to Greenwich township, which has been the scene of his labors continu- ously since, save for the year 1883, spent in Taylor county, Texas. He went there with the intention of establishing himself in profession, but the climatic condi- tions were so unfavorable, that he was compelled to return to Ohio. While his duties as a physician have kept Dr. Reynolds very busy, he has taken an active interest in public affairs and has found some time to give to the service of the public. At three distinct times, he acted as coroner for the county, was twelve years justice of the peace, and for the space of four years, was a member of the school board, of which he was president for a time. In politics, he is an ardent republican, and in 1900 was given the nomination for state senator from Huron, Erie, Ottawa and Sandusky counties. This is a strong democratic locality, but Dr. Reynolds reduced the majority of his opponent to something less than two hundred, which is a slight evidence of his strength before the people.
On the 8th of July, 1873, was solemnized the marriage of Dr. Reynolds to Miss Helen M. Washburn, the daughter of Charles A. and Mary E. (Griffin) Washburn. The families of both parents came to Ohio from New York, and the father had the distinction of having been the second white child born in Green- wich township. The mother, however, was seventeen years of age when her par- ents came here, and for two years before her marriage taught in the schools of the township. Both parents have now been dead for a number of years, but in the days of his activity, Mr. Washburn was a successful farmer and stock raiser. Dr. and Mrs. Reynolds have been blessed with a family of five children: James C., who died in infancy ; Bushnell R., a practicing physician of Greenwich; Rhena H., de- ceased; Glide A., a student at the Ohio State University ; and D. Chauncey, still in school and living at home.
Dr. Reynolds belongs to several fraternal organizations, and others that are connected with his profession. He is a member of Greenwich Lodge, F. & A.
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M. ; a charter member of the O. K. Lodge, Knights of Pythias ; Greenwich Lodge, No. 640, I. O. O. F .; and with his wife belongs to the Eastern Star and the Daughters of Rebekah. In all of these societies he takes an active interest, and has frequently represented the different lodges at the grand meetings of organi- zations. He belongs to the Ohio State Eclectic Medical Association ; is president of the special board of pension examiners located at Chicago Junction. He is very active also on the county pension board, which aims to take care of the needy blind. In the councils of the republican party, he has played some part, having been a member of the republican county central committee and frequently a delegate to district county and state conventions. In matters of religion, he and his wife give their support to the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work they are both sincerely interested. In short, Dr. Reynolds is a man of great public spirit, who favors public improvements, such as contribute to the credit and material prog- ress and comfort of the community, and has not been averse to doing his share to- ward bringing these things to pass.
Bushnell Ray Reynolds, the son of Dr. Robert H. Reynolds, was born De- cember 1, 1875, in Greenwich village. He was graduated from the Greenwich high school in 1894 and from there went to the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, remaining there two years. He then went to the Eclectic Medical In- stitute of Cincinnati and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1899, entering the same year upon the practice of his profession in Greenwich. In the ten years that he has ministered to the physical wants of the people here, he has attained for himself a notable success and a high reputation; for not only is he endowed with the qualities of an able practitioner, but he also makes every effort to keep abreast of the advances made in his profession. He is a constant student by predilection, and in the winter of 1907-8, took a postgraduate course in the school from which he received training. Like his father, he is a republican and interested in public matters, though he has never sought an office at the disposal of the people.
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