USA > Ohio > Huron County > History of Huron County, Ohio, Its Progress and Development, Volume II > Part 45
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born two children : Margaret, born November 4, 1895 : and Marion, born on the 13th of November, 1904.
Politically Mr. Washburn is a republican, doing all in his power to further the influence of that party throughout the community and he is loyal and public- spirited in his citizenship. His has been a life of continuous activity in which has been accorded due recognition of honest labor, and few men in Huron county can more justly claim nor more richly deserve the proud American title of a self-made man.
JACOB P. HEYMAN.
Jacob P. Heyman is numbered among the large landowners and substantial citizens of Sherman township, where he owns a valuable farm of two hundred and twenty-one acres, which, with the assistance of his sons he is now operating. Mr. Heyman is a native son of this township, his birth having occurred on the farm which is still his home, January 6, 1864, his parents being John George William and Elizabeth (Longscheid) Heyman, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father came when a young man with his parents to the new world, the family home being established at Hunt's Corners in Lyme township, Huron county. There the father spent the most of his remaining days and died at the home of his son Daniel in 1903. He was at that time seventy-seven years of age, for his birth occurred in 1826. He was a very influential man in the community in which he made his home and took a helpful part in the upbuilding and improvement of the locality in which he lived. He assisted materially in the erection of the Reformed church at Hunt's Corners, in which he served as an official for many years. A democrat in politics, he served as township trustee, as road supervisor and as a member of the school board and in many other ways gave support to public interests. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Eliza- beth Longscheid, accompanied her parents, Christian and Katharine Longscheid on their emigration from Germany to the new world, their home being estab- lished in Sherman township. She died in 1887, at the age of fifty-nine years. She became the mother of ten children: George, deceased; Emeline, the wife of August Scheid, of Peru township; Daniel, who makes his home in Lyme town- ship, this county ; Thomas, also of Lyme township; Mary, who has passed away ; Jacob P., of this review ; Philip and Mary, both of whom are deceased ; William, who lives in Lyme township; and Albert, who makes his home in Sherman town- ship. There is also one son, Charles, of Sherman township, who was born of the father's former marriage.
Jacob P. Heyman has spent his entire life in Huron county and acquired his education in the district schools. He has made farming his life work and that his labors have been attended with success is evidenced by the valuable farm of which he is today the owner, his place comprising two hundred and twenty-one acres, located in Sherman township. He has made many improvements on the place in the way of a good residence, substantial barn and outbuildings, has fenced the fields and uses the latest improved machinery to facilitate his labors.
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That the soil is rich and arable is indicated by the fine crops which he annually gathers and altogether he is one of the substantial farmers of Huron county. In addition to this property Mr. Heyman is a stockholder, treasurer and one of the directors of the Sherman Oil & Gas Company and is likewise a stockholder. of the Herman Hess Clothing & Shoe Company at Monroeville.
Mr. Heyman was married December 23, 1888, to Miss Katharine Williams, a daughter of Alton and Clara (Longscheid) Williams, residents of Norwich township. Mrs. Heyman was born in Germany, and was brought by her parents to the United States in 1872, their home being established in Norwich town- ship. Both the parents are now deceased, the father passing away May 4, 1896, at the age of seventy-one years, while the mother preceded him to the home beyond, her death occurring April 10, 1889, when she was sixty-two years of age. Their family numbered six children, as follows: Minnie, the wife of Wil- liam Miller, a resident of Minnesota; John, who makes his home near Center- ton, in Huron county ; Elizabeth, who became the wife of William Popp but is now deceased ; Charles W., residing in Seneca county, Ohio ; Mrs. Heyman, and August, of Sherman township.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Heyman has been blessed with eight children : Claud, who was born October 21, 1889; Carl, whose birth occurred December II, 1891 ; Earl, February 19, 1894; Orlan, who was born November 25, 1896: Ivan, October 18, 1898; Guy, born December 13, 1900; Myron, July 28, 1903 ; and Sylvan, whose birth occurred May 28, 1906.
Mr. Heyman gives his political support to the democratic party and on that ticket has been elected to a number of township offices, including that of trustee and road supervisor, while he has likewise served on the school board. He is a member of the Reformed church at Hunt's Corners and has been an official in the church. His success has come to him through energy, labor and persever- ance, directed by an evenly balanced mind and by honorable business principles. In manner he is quiet and straightforward, and his word has become a synonym for business integrity.
WILLIAM RIDDLE.
Scientific farming today is very different from that which was done half a century ago, for modern methods and machinery have revolutionized agricul- tural life and made of the farmer an extremely important factor in the life of the country. William Riddle, who resides upon his fine farm of two hundred and forty-seven acres of land in Richmond township, is an example of the best class of progressive and thoroughly modern farmers. He was born in Knox county, Ohio, September 12, 1863, and is a son of John and Amanda (Thornton) Riddle, They came to the farm of Mr. Riddle in 1865, when he was a mere infant, and spent the remainder of their lives upon it, the father dying here in 1890. and his widow in 1893. In early manhood the father taught during the winter months, while in the summer he operated his farm. He continued to teach in the district schools for eighteen years and was well known throughout the county as a good
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and conscientious educator. He also taught two years in the graded school at Bellville, Ohio. John Riddle and wife were the parents of the following family : Lydia, who married John W. Miller; Archibald, who is deceased; Sybal, who married W. F. Miller : Philander J., John J .; Lunetta, who married George Hatch ; and William, who was the youngest.
William Riddle attended the district school during the winter until he reached manhood's estate, and helped his father in the summer. After the latter's death he bought the farm and ever since has been devoting himself to its further im- provement until he has one of the best farms in Huron county. Among other improvements, he built a new barn, remodeled the house, which is a beautiful one, and put in about five hundred dollars worth of tile. Prior to his father's death, five hundred dollars more were expended in the same manner, so that the swamp land has been thoroughly redeemed.
On January 18, 1886, Mr. Riddle married Addie A. Keesy, a daughter of John and Margaret (Johnston) Keesy, who were farmers of Richmond town- ship. The mother died in December, 1901, and the father in September: 1907. They were the parents of the following children: Addie A., who was the eldest ; Orline, who married Chris Kelper; Estella, who married E. I .. Bech- man ; and Miranda, who married William Beelman. Mr. and Mrs. Riddle have had two children, namely: Leroy, born in November, 1890; and Margaret, born in June, 1901.
Like his father, Mr. Riddle is a republican, and his devotion to his party has been rewarded by election to the office of township trustee for two terms, to that of school director for two terms, and that of road supervisor for one term. Both he and his wife belong to the United Brethren church. Mr. Riddle is a man who has the welfare of the community at heart, and is ever ready to lend assistance in advancing public improvements he believes will prove beneficial, but his common sense and excellent judgment keep him from rushing blindly into anything before he has thoroughly tested its advisability.
ALBERT T. GAMBER.
Albert T. Gamber, of Wakeman township, the son of William F. and Eliza- beth (Reynolds) Ganiber, was born in Fayette, Fulton county, Ohio, October 29, 1865. His father was a pioneer of Fulton county, removing there from New York in 1845. The town of Fayette was founded by his father, Henry Gamber, and named for his native village in New York. A well educated man and a teacher, he took special interest in matters educational, and was progressive and active in all public matters. As a democrat he stood for the principles of his chosen party, always keeping thoroughly informed in regard to things political. In 1878, he removed to Huron county and four years later located in Townsend township, where he became one of the substantial farmers of the county, strong in his many good qualities and excellent citizenship. His death occurring April 15, 1909, at the age of seventy-six, he was laid to rest in the cemetery of Fayette,
MR. AND MRS. A. T. GAMBER
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ยท which town his father had founded many years before. His wife preceded him several years, having died in 1871. Of the family of four sons, Fordyce D., Clem- ent, Edward L., and Albert T., the last named is the only survivor.
Albert T. Gamber grew to manhood on the farm of his father with only the privilege of a district-school education. At an early age engaging in farm work by the month, he acquired the experience he needed for the success of his later years. On July 10, 1886, he married Miss Nettie Sly, a daughter of Robert and Jane (Draper) Sly, both families being pioneers of the county. The father came from New York. Mr. and Mrs. Sly still residents of Townsend township, are people of eminently high character and are held in great esteem. To Mr. and Mrs. Gamber six children have been born, three of whom are living: Fordyce A., a student at Oberlin college ; Robert F., a student at Wakeman high school ; and Clara E. Two children died in infancy and Clare L., died at the age of two and a half years.
After his marriage, Mr. Gamber accomplished the feat of boarding himself and keeping his family, for one year on the two hundred dollars wages received for farm work. The following year, he rented a farm on Hartland Ridge, where he re- mained for two years and then removed to Townsend township, where he con- tinued renting for nine years. Concluding he could do better in another state, he removed to Michigan, expecting to invest in a farm, but he rented for two years instead, that he might become better acquainted with the soil. However, Huron county, Ohio, seemed to hold attractions not to be found in Michigan and back to Townsend township the family moved, where the farm of one hundred and fifty acres on which they now live was purchased. From a stock farm very much run down, Mr. Gamber has built up the place until it is now one of the finest farms in the county.
Always interested in sheep, in 1893 he began the breeding of the Delaine Merino variety, and from a small exhibitor at the county fairs, the business has grown until he has become one of the foremost breeders of the world. Exhibit- ing at the Omaha exposition, he gained all first prizes, not including any of the special prizes, of which he captured a large number. The same year he entered at five state fairs for a possible fifty-seven first prizes and secured fifty-two of them. Mr. Gamber's flocks consist of only thoroughbred animals and are shipped all over the world, some going as far as South Africa. They command the high- est prices, occasionally bringing five hundred dollars for stud rams and for car- load lots twenty-five to thirty dollars per head. Mr. Gamber is a recognized au- thority on his particular breed of sheep and has made a wonderful success of the business. It is of record that Ring Leader, a ram, is one of the greatest sires in the United States, many of his sons and daughters going to South Africa at fancy prices.
Though sheep breeding demands the entire attention of the owner, the nec- essary general farming is carried on in a very methodical manner. The sheep barns are arranged for the proper care of the sheep in all kinds of weather, and each animal is as carefully looked after as a fine horse. Mr. Gamber estimates that his success is due to his genuine love for sheep, his careful study of grades and the great care taken of them, during the entire year. His flock run up into the hundreds. Aside from his business and personal affairs, he still has time to
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be interested in public matters and is an advocate of progress in all things, es- pecially good roads, educational advantages and beautifying the county.
A standing monument to a man is his home and its surroundings, and this home of the Gamber family is no exception, for it is beautiful, with its sub- stantial and well lighted buildings, well kept lawns, and furnace heated house. The members of the family are Congregationalists, and active in both church and Sunday school, Mrs. Gamber being especially interested in education and Christian work. She is also a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and of the Ladies' Aid Society of the church. Her home, to which she is devoted. is well supplied with good literature, and she adds to this a refined and healthful influence.
Mr. Gamber. though not an active worker in politics, is an intelligent sup- porter of republican principles. Of other organizations, he is a member of Lodge 301, F. & A. M., and Wakeman Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. He is also a member of the American Delaine-Merino Record Association, being one of the pedigree committee, and of the National Wool Growers Association, of the United States.
FRANCIS E. SCOTT.
Francis E. Scott, a traveling nurseryman of Fairfield, Ohio, was born in Union county, Ohio, in 1862, and is a son of Charles and Helen (Southwick) Scott. He was the eldest in a family of six children, the other members being Ida, Cash, Nathan, George and Charles. Francis E. Scott acquired his education in the common schools of Ohio and remained under the parental roof until he had attained years of manhood, when he entered business life on his own account. He is now identified with the nursery business as journeyman, making his head- quarters at Fairfield, Ohio, purchasing various kinds of trees which he in turn sells throughout Huron and adjoining counties. He is alert, enterprising and industrious, these elements forming the salient characteristics in the success which he is enjoying in his chosen work.
In 1897 Mr. Scott was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Hoyt, who was born in 1866 in North Fairfield, and is the only child of Icabod and Elizabeth (Godfrey) Hoyt. The former was the eldest child in a family of three children born unto Walter and Caroline (Benson) Hoyt, the others being Elmon and Mercy, while his wife was the second child in the family of Andrew and Rachel (Wing) Godfrey, their family consisting of Elizabeth, Zerah, and Michael. The Hoyts were among the earliest pioneer settlers of Fairfield township and were well known and prominent in the community in which they resided. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Scott has been blessed with one son, Hoyt Southwick, who was born on the 6th of September, 1898, and is the light and life of the household.
Mr. Scott has given his allegiance to the republican party since age con- ferred upon him the right of franchise, and he is most loyal in his citizenship, at all times being deeply interested in all matters pertaining to the general wel-
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fare of the community. He is highly esteemed in the vicinity where he has made his home for some time, and as an enterprising, energetic and prosperous busi- ness man well deserves mention in this volume.
SILAS E. CRAWFORD.
The life record of Silas E. Crawford is that of a successful manufacturer and business man yet the range of his activities and the scope of his influence have reached far beyond this special field. He belongs to that public-spirited, useful and helpful type of men, whose ambitions and desires are centered and directed in those channels through which flow the greatest and most permanent good to the greatest number. As a business man his activities were such as to promote general prosperity as well as individual success, and he remained for many years a well known manufacturer of this city, but he is now living retired, his activity being confined to the supervision of his invested interests.
A native of Ohio, Mr. Crawford was born in Richland county, September 20, 1842, a son of David and Margaret (Miller) Crawford. The father was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, January 8, 1810, while the mother's birth oc- curred at Ellicott's Mills, Maryland. The father came to Ohio with his parents, John and Mary Crawford, and settled in Richland county, becoming identified with agricultural interests there. In that locality David Crawford was reared and on attaining his majority he engaged in teaching school for many years. He also learned the shoemaker's trade, which he followed to some extent. In the late '40s he removed to Huron county, Ohio, where he worked at this trade until his death. Both he and his wife are now deceased. In their family were ten children, of whom three were born in Huron county.
In the public schools Silas E. Crawford pursued his education, but his parents were in limited financial circumstances and at an early age he had to start out in life on his own account as it was necessary that he provide for his own maintenance. Having learned the trade of carriagemaking, he came to Norwalk in 1877 and began business for himself in company with others. He afterward sold out and took up the manufacture of pumps in 1876, continuing in that field of activity until 1900, when he retired from active business. In the twenty-four years in which he devoted his energies to manufacturing lines he became widely recognized as a man of keen business discernment, careful in formulating his plans and determined in their execution. He learned to utilize every force to the best advantage and as year by year passed he so used his op- portunities that success resulted. Moreover, in all that he did his course con- formed to a high standard of commercial ethics. In 1888 the Home Savings & Loan Company was organized and he became the vice-president, with Mr. Gallup as president, and he is still officially connected with the company in that capacity.
In the midst of arduous business cares demanding close application and un- faltering perseverance, Mr. Crawford has yet found time to aid in the promotion of public affairs which have had for their object the betterment of the com-
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munity. His interest therein has been manifest in various substantial and tangi- ble methods, and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his devotion to the public good, twice elected him a member of the city council, of which he served for one term as president. He was also for four years mayor of the city, and his adminis- tration was businesslike and progressive, resulting in the introduction of various needed reforms and improvements. In 1908 he was elected to represent Huron county in the seventy-eighth general assembly, being the first democrat ever chosen to the office from his county. His position on any important public question is never an equivocal one. He does not hesitate to announce his opinion or to support his honest convictions and his course has ever commandedi the confidence and admiration of his fellowmen.
In 1869 Mr. Crawford was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Harrington, with whom he traveled life's journey for more than thirty-five years. They were separated in death in 1903 and in 1905 Mr. Crawford was again married, his second union being with Martha W. Wightman, a native of Hastings, Michigan.
Fraternally Mr. Crawford is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and other societies. He has long occupied a position of leadership in this county, his native talents, his acquired ability, his patriotic citizenship and his devotion to the public welfare winning him a place of prominence and securing for him the unqualified confidence and respect of the public at iarge. His rare aptitude and ability in achieving results have made him constantly sought and have often brought him into a prominence from which he would naturally shrink were less desirable ends in view. He has, however, always felt a hearty concern for the public welfare and has been helpful in bringing about those purifying and wholesome reforms which have been gradually growing in the political, municipal and social life of the city. During the dark days of the Civil war he manifested his patriotism by enlisting in Company C, One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for four months, and later became a member of the One Hundred and Ninety-second Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served as first lieutenant for eight months.
ROBERT C. PARKER.
Robert C. Parker, a progressive young farmer of Fitchville township, Huron county, was born on the 21st of April. 1877, near Monroeville, Ohio, and is a son of John and Ann (Clark) Parker, both of whom are natives of Lincolnshire, England, and are still living. The mother was but a young girl when she came with her parents to this country, and the father was only fifteen when his family emigrated. Both the Parkers and the Clarks came direct to Monroeville, Ohio. and there John obtained work, at first as a laborer. He later engaged in farming in Fitchville township and became a prosperous man.
Robert C. Parker was reared at home, spending his youth on the farm. He received his early education in the district schools of the county and then entered the Fitchville high school, from which he was graduated in 1895, a member of
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the first class issuing from that institution. For several years he continued farm- ing with his father, but after his marriage, in 1908, he purchased the place which has since been his home and the scene of his endeavors. It is a tract of one hundred and fifty acres, all excellent land, which Mr. Parker has brought to a high degree of productiveness, for he is an intelligent farmer who goes about his work on a scientific basis, giving especial consideration to the subject of rotation of crops and the composition of the soil, that he may receive the best products of his labor. He pursues a diversified farming and raises a good deal of stock, and is accounted a successful man.
On the 9th of April, 1898, Mr. Parker was united in marriage to Miss Daisy Simmons, a daughter of Elbridge G. and Mary (Weed) Simmons, of Lorain county. One son, Claude R., has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Parker.
Mr. Parker is an up-to-date young man who takes an active interest in public affairs and keeps himself well informed upon the questions that are before the people. He affiliates with no party, however, preferring to vote for men and measures as seems best to him. Nor has he filled any office in the township, though many times urged to accept one by men who discern in him great ability and the strength of purpose that would not let him be swerved from what he believed to be right. Successful in his business and progressive in his ideas, it is hoped that he may soon overcome his reluctance to public life, that others may profit by his life and work.
CHARLES McCLAVE.
Charles McClave needs no introduction to the readers of this volume for he is known throughout the entire country as the owner of the Linwood Poultry yards at New London, Ohio, and as a breeder and raiser of some of the finest poultry that has been produced in the United States. His birth occurred June 21, 1859, in the town where he still makes his home. The father, Chester McClave, came with his parents from the state of New York to Ohio when a boy of less than five years, arriving in 1832 and spent the remainder of his life upon the farm where his son Charies now resides, his death occurring Decem- ber 12, 1893. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Matilda White, was born in Ruggles, Ashland county, Ohio, and is still living. Chester McClave was a farmer throughout his entire life and dealt quite extensively in cattle.
The district schools afforded Charles McClave his educational privileges. In 1874 he made his initial venture in the poultry business, raising and breeding thoroughbred poultry and in the intervening years he has continued in this field of labor with excellent success. He has developed the Linwood poultry yards, now widely known throughout America, and is extensively engaged in the rais- ing of twenty different varieties of fine poultry, giving particular attention, how- ever, to Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes. He raises the Barred Plymouth Rocks, White, Golden and Silver Wyandottes, Partridge, Black and Columbian Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, White and Brown Leghorns, Rose Comb White Leghorns, Black Minorcas, Light Brahmas, Dark Brahmas, Partridge Cochins,
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