History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 120

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207

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Martin W. Schryver was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, on October 12, 1848. He was reared on the farm, and after attending the district schools came to Mt. Sterling and began teaching school. He is proud of the fact that he was one of the first teachers in the school. He was successful in that vocation and remained connected with the Mt. Sterling schools for several years, serving as superintendent of the schools there in the years 1869 and 1870.

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MARTIN W. SCHRYVER.

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Martin W. Schryver came to Mt. Sterling in August, 1800, and brought the first printing press to the town in 1871, and established the Mt. Sterling Review, afterward changed to The Husbandman. He was a member of the council and clerk of that body from 1873 to 1877, during which incumbency he drew the plans and specifications, and supperintend the building of the stone culvert on South Columbus street, a mammoth undertaking at that day. He was a member and clerk of the school board from 1878 to 1885, during which time the high school department was added to the common course. Mr. Schryver organized the Mt. Sterling Building and Savings Association, 1869, and was secretary most of the time during its eleven years of existence, and in 1871 organ- ized the Mechanics' Building and Loan Association. After a few years this association fell into incompetent hands and failed. Mr. Schryver was appointed receiver, and by husbanding the scattered assets, closed the business up with but little loss to the stock- holders. In connection with several other public spirited citizens he aided in organizing the Mt. Sterling Building and Loan Company, in 1889. This was succeeded in 1898 by the "Security," for which Mr. Schryver drew up the constitution and by-laws, and which is still in successful operation. He was a member of the board of directors of that company from its organization, and was secretary from 1891 to 1898 and again served as organization for several years from 1905.

In addition to the foregoing, it should be stated that upon quitting the newspaper business, with which he had been associated for ten years, Martin W. Schryver started the first and only book store in Mt. Sterling. Later, he moved to Columbus, looking for a more lucrative field, but a year later, he returned to Mt. Sterilng and, in partner- ship with his son, the subject of this review, started a general merchandise business. After he retired from business he went west and became interested in a large tract of land near Spokane, Washington. Since then he has traveled extensively and is now located at South Mansfield, Louisiana, where he has a plantation of a thousand acres. His wife, who died in 1891, was the daughter of Robert Campbell and was born in Westfall, Pickaway county, Ohio, in 1851. Martin Schryver was the son of Jacob How- ard Schryver, a native of Pennsylvania, who later became a farmer in Pickaway county. Ohio, and then, through his interest in politics, became county clerk of the county in . which he lived.

In the public schools and high school in Mt. Sterling, Robert H. Schryver received his education. When he was eighteen years old he began farming on twenty-five acres of ground which his father had bought at the edge of Mt. Sterling. He finally left the farm and engaged in the mercantile business with his father. Later he sold out to his father and became interested in the building and loan association, and also in fire insurance and real estate. In 1905 he sold half of his fire insurance and real-estate business to C. M. Neff. With O. W. Loufborrow, in 1904, he bought the telephone plant at Mt. Sterling, of which he became president after its organization into a company. Following the organization of the telephone company, his rise in the affairs of Mt. Sterling was rapid. He became vice-president of the First National Bank, the largest bank in Madison county, in 1905, and two years later he became president.

One who, though engaged in the active affairs of business, still devotes part of his time to improving and beautifying the city in which he lives, leaves an indelible mark upon its history. For the betterment of a greater Mt. Sterling, Mr. Schryver, in 1913, saw the need of adding more lots to the town, because of its ever growing population, and with his associates formed a company (of which he is president) and laid out lots in "Maplewood Addition," which was added to the corporation of Mt. Sterling.

In New York City, on the 21st of April, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Robert H. Schryver to Lida E. Henkle, who was born in Fayette county, Ohio. in 1873. (51)

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She is a daughter of Curren and Caroline (Bryan) Henkle, both of whom were born in Ohio, where the former was a minister and farmer in Fayette county, until 1892, when he came to Mt. Sterling and engaged in the lumber business with his sons. After his death, which occurred in 1894, his wife continued to live in Mt. Sterling. Mrs. Schryver is a graduate of the Washington county high school and also of Hillsboro College, Hills- boro, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Schryver became the parents of six children: Alfred, who was graduated from Culver Military Academy, at Culver, Indiana, and is now attending school at the University of Pennsylvania, at Philadelphia ; Harold, who died in infancy; Bar- bara, who died in her tenth year; Caroline, Martin and Naomi are still at home.

Well qualified for leadership in public affairs and distinctively a man of action, Mr. Schryver has taken part in county politics as a member of the Republican party. He has contributed largely to the support of the Methodist church, of which he is a member. He is also identified with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of the blue lodge, the Scottish Rite and the Mystic Shrine, at Columbus, Ohio. Mr. Schryver is also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows; the Knights of Pythias, at Mt. Sterling; and the Farmers Grange.

CHARLES A. DORN.

In this review of the life of Charles A. Dorn, resident in Range township, Madison county, Ohio, the reader will at once perceive that he is a man whose strength of character has been unusual, and whose life of constant effort has been crowned with more than ordinary achievement. Born on February 8, 1868, on his father's farm, in Ross county, Ohio, he was early taught that thrift and well-directed energy were the necessary attributes for the completion of a worthy career. Limited to the district schools of Range township, Madison county, and to those of Pickaway county for his book learning, his practical education was given an impetus through his chosen voca- tion of husbandry and broadened rapidly under the pressure of every-day necessity.

Until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-four years of age, Charles A. Dorn remained at home with his parents, Peter and Katherine (Uhrig) Dorn, and assisted his father in the cultivation of the home place. For seven years after his marriage he rented land from his father and during that time his accumulations were such that he was able to purchase ninety-seven acres, thus being qualified to follow his agricultural pursuits independently.

Charles A. Dorn, among other improvements, erected a six-room house, with bath, in the year of 1900. Fourteen years later a barn, thirty-eight by eighty, which he planned himself, was built, several wells were dug and adequate tiling laid to insure proper drainage. The original farm of ninety-seven acres of unimproved land, has been added to until, at the present time, it consists of three hundred and fifty acres, entirely protected by fencing, and upon which nine thousand dollars' worth of improve- ments have been made. The breeding of Duroc-Jersey hogs is a specialty on this well- regulated farm, of which Charles A. Dorn is the scientific manager and owner.

On June 22, 1892, Charles A. Dorn was united in marriage to Jessie D. Field, who was born on March 10, 1873, in Sedalia, Ohio, and who is the daughter of Dr. Orestes G. and Josephine (Dille) Field. Jessie D. Field was the first pupil to graduate from the school at Sedalia, Ohio. Dr. Orestes G. Field, her father, was born on January 19, 1832, in Gorham. New York, and was the son of Dr. Able W. Field, who left New York state when his son. Orestes, was only five years of age, and settled in Darby Plains. Madison county, Ohio. A few years later the family removed to Plain City. Ohio, and it was there that Orestes G. began the study of medicine in the office of his father. In 1858 he was graduated from the Starling Medical College, and the same year began the

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practice of medicine, in connection with his father, in Big Plain, Ohio. While in Range township, school teaching was combined with his medical practice. On March 19, 1862, he received his commission as an army surgeon, at Columbus, Ohio, and served in that capacity until the close of the Civil War.

Returning to Sedalia, Ohio, this highly-educated man, beloved and cherished by a host of friends, remained until he passed to his abode in the silent city, in the year of 1895. His marriage to Mrs. Josephine (Dille) Latham occurred in 1866. She was born on January 1, 1848, near Washington C. H., Fayette county, Ohio. Her education was received in the Circleville Academy, at Circleville, Ohio. The Latham family were very aristocratic, being direct descendants of the old Kentucky family. of that name. Each member of this family received a splendid education, and the only child of Mrs. Josephine (Dille) Latham, Mrs. Lillian (Latham) Clawson, of Range township, was a school teacher for several years previous to her marriage.

Dr. and Mrs. Orestes G. Field were the parents of two children: Jessie D. and Francis Floyd, a graduate of the Starling Medical College, who graduated in 1898 and is now located at Newton Falls. Ohio, where he has a fine and growing practice. He was graduated from the high school at Sedalia, Ohio, on May 22, 1894. Francis Floyd Field also organized and was president of the Groveport Bank, in Franklin county, but has resigned.

To the union of Charles A. and Jessie D. (Field) Dorn have been born four children, whose names follow : Howard F., born on May 8, 1893, and who is a graduate of the high school at Sedalla, Ohio, also of the Ohio State University, at Columbus, Ohio, and is now at home assisting his father ; Josephine, born on May 28, 1901; and Evelyn and Elenor Mae, twins, born on January 17, 1910.

The mother of these children is a woman of talent and charm and a worthy help- meet and mother. She is endowed with the gift of oratory and won a gold medal in an oratorical contest, given by the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Charles A. Dorn is a Republican, and is a member of the Presbyterian church. An honored mem- ber of the Free and Accepted Masons, surely Charles A. Dorn is well blessed with all a man can wish and now. in the prime of life, can view with satisfaction the work of his past efforts and gain inspiration for future achievements in the blessings of today.

CLOYD D. LOOKER.

There is no calling fraught with greater potentialities for the future than that of an instructor of youth, for "as the twig is bent the tree will grow." During compara- tively recent years the subject of the needs of childhood has been so generally dis- cussed and methods for the training of children in home and school have been so altered, that it is not too much to say that the men and women of the coming generation will enter on their duties and responsibilities with a much better equipment, physically, mentally and morally, than any previous generation has ever done. One excellent result of this awakaned interest in child life is the closer bond which is coming about between parents and teachers; parents beginning to realize that they owe much of their child's character and ability to the man or woman who has him in charge for the greater part of the day throughout the greater part of the year. One of the popular younger teachers in Monroe township. Madison county, Ohio, is Cloyd D. Looker, the subject of this sketch. Mr. Looker resides in Plumwood and served Monroe township as superintendent of its schools from 1911 to 1915, in addition to being principal of the Plumwood school.

Mr. Looker was born in Fayette county, this state, at Yatesville, on August 19, 1880, a son of Levi and Abbie (Durflinger) Looker, the former being a son of Joseph Tooker, who was one of the early school teachers of that section. Levi Looker was

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for the most part of his life a farmer and truck gardener and lived for a good many years in the southern part of the county near Sedalia. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served for three years as a private in Company G, Fifty-fourth Regiment. Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was with the western division of the army under Grant and was with him at Shiloh. Levi Looker was twice married, the children by his first marriage being Byron (deceased) ; Howard, residing in Fayette county, this state; and Laura, wife of Will Hume, of London, this county. To his second marriage were born, William, a farmer in Fayette county; Nettie, wife of C. F. Douglas, of Mount Sterling; and Cloyd, the immediate subject of this sketch. Levi Looker was for a number of years a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in the tenets of that faith he carefully reared his family of children.

Cloyd Looker received his elementary education in the district schools near his home, and was graduated from the Sedalia high school. He then went to Lima for more advanced education, attending college at that place for one year, followed by studies at Wittenberg and Oxford. His first position in his chosen field of endeavor was filled in Range township, this county, after which he was superintendent of the Monroe township schools for four years. Mr. Looker is now a student at Ohio State University, taking a four-year course in the college of arts and education.

On July 26, 1911, Cloyd D. Looker was united in marriage with Hazel Groves, daughter of J. M. and Myrtle (Brown) Groves, both born in Fayette county, the former descended from sterling old English stock. There were three children in the Groves family, Mrs. Looker being the eldest. The others are Forest (deceased) and Mabel, wife of Edward Heath, a farmer of Sedalia.

Mr. Looker's fraternal affiliation is held in the Knights of Pythias, through Even- ing Star Lodge No. 736, at Sedalia. He votes independently in politics, his choice falling on the candidate himself rather than any party platform which he may repre- sent. Mr. Looker holds his church membership with the Methodist Episcopal church. in the faith of which he was reared by his conscientious father.

Mr. Looker is regarded as one of the promising young men of this section, and having kept so fair a record in the past, he gives promise of still greater influence for good and a still fuller and broader manhood, as the years pass over him. Realizing fully the importance of the life work he has chosen, and bending his best energies to his task, he is well worthy of the high degree of esteem in which he is held throughout the township.

COURT M. NEFF.

The Neff family are among the descendants of those Hollanders who figured 80 distinctly in the making of early American history, and in Court M. Neff, the reader finds a true type of those sturdy pioneers, who first chose their homes in the East and South; but who later, as the trend of population moved westward, were as quick to see the opportunities of the vast new land and became active in the work and preparation of future homes as were those of other nations. The grandparents of Court M. Neff, Jacob W. and Elizabeth Neff, were natives of Virginia. George W. Neff, son of Jacob and Elisa- beth Neff, was born near Parkersburg, Virginia, January 5, 1823, but left there when twenty years of age.

George W. Neff came to Pickaway county, Ohio, where he engaged in farming until 1871, removing thence to Madison county, Ohtio, where he purchased eighty-one acres of land in Pleasant township. He was married to Elizabeth Marshall, who was born on September 12, 1825, in Bedford, Pennsylvania, and of this union eight children were born, six of whom are now living to mourn the loss of their father, which occurred in 1900.

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COURT M. NEFF

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Elizabeth (Marshall) Neff, was the daughter of Rev. James M. and Sarah (Murray) Marshall; the father a native of Ohio and the mother a native of Ireland. Elizabeth (Marshall) Neff taught school in the early days of Pickaway county, Ohio. Mra. Neff died on December 10, 1906. Both husband and wife had been great workers and sup- porters of the Methodist church.

Court M. Neff, one of their eight children, was born on February 21, 1869, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and was reared on the farm in Pleasant township, Madison county, Ohio. He attended the district schools for a time, completing his schooling by attending one year in Delaware and two years in the schools of London. After conclud- ing his days as a student, he began teaching, first in the district schools of Madison county, where he taught for eight years, and later teaching for six years in Fayette county and resigned and then served as rural mail carrier, the first carrier on rural route No. 2, out of Mt. Sterling.

Subsequently, Mr. Neff became connected with the Security Building and Loan Asso- ciation, in which company he served as clerk for three years. In 1800 he became a stock- holder of the company and an insurance agent with Robert H. Schryver. Mr. Neff is now secretary of the Security Building and Loan Association, also a stockholder and director of the grain company. Mr. Neff is now a property owner in Mt. Sterling and one of the representative citizens of this thriving town.

Mary E. Anderson, daughter of William P. and Lucina (Young) Anderson, both natives of Pleasant township, Madison county, Ohio, became the wife of Court M. Net in 1894. Mrs. Neff was born on April 8, 1874, at the home of her parents in Pleasant township. The union of Mr. and Mrs. Neff was blessed with one child, Mary L., who was born on April 18. 1902. Mr. Neff is chorister of the Christian church, of which he is an active member. He holds a membership in the Knights of Pythias, also in the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His political sentiments are with the Democratic party and his progressive ideas make him a most likable gentleman and valuable help to both church and state.

NATHAN GILLESPIE.

The complex requirements necessary to the modern farmer of the present age demand a more liberal education than was essential in the days of the forefathers. Each decade rapid advancement in agricultural lines is noted, as well as in other pro- fessions and trades. In agricultural lines the heavy and extremely laborious tasks have been largely supplanted by scientific methods, employing machinery with its various uses, and the soil, once replete with all its virgin richness, has become depleted of its many necessary ingredients, and prolific harvests now require a scientific rotation of crops and a knowledge of what and how much is deficient in the land. The raising of graded stock demands study and experience.

The old log school house has gone and it has been replaced with the convenient, well-built school buildings of the present day, in which the farmer's children are advanced from grade to grade, with minute calculations for their fitness to undertake their labors in the future. The obligations devolving upon the parents on the farm, in this age, are numerous and most essential to the welfare of their children and the prosperity of their respective communities. 1

Nathan Gillespie, born on November 15, 1856, in Range township, Madison county, Ohio, procured for himself a broad, liberal education, which has been so essential in his duties as a father and a citizen. He is a man of vigorous mentality and is endowed with a strong, unbiased judgment, which is responsible for the full confidence of his fellow citizens bestowed upon him.

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Living on the farm and of Scotch-Irish descent, Nathan Gillespie, son of Joseph and Sarah H. (Shepherd) Gillespie, who are referred to in the sketch of Isaiah Gilles- pie, attended the district schools and later the National Normal College at Lebanon, Ohio. After completing his studies at Lebanon, he took a commercial course at the business college. In 1878 Nathan Gillespie removed to his father's farm and became a tenant, and from this beginning, with his vigorous activity, he soon emerged as the owner of one hundred and ten acres of land deeded to him by his father. On this farm are found all the modern improvements, which are the result of the handiwork of Nathan Gillespie, who has added to the original acreage of one hunred and ten acres and is now the owner of two hundred and fifty-six acres of well-improved land. The raising of graded stock has become a specialty on this farm.

During the year 1878, which marked the start of his successful life in the agricul- tural line, Nathan Gillespie was united in marriage to Josie E. Counts, who was born on July 24, 1855, in Range township, Madison county, Ohio. She is the daughter of Peter and Susan (Popejoy) Counts.

The father, Peter Counts, was born in Ross county, Ohio, and came to Madison county, Ohio, where he herded cattle and devoted himself to farming until about the time of his death, which occurred in 1877, at Danville, Ohio. Susan (Popejoy) Counts, the mother, was born on November 2, 1812, in Ross county, Ohio, and died on June 18, 1915, at the remarkable age of one hundred and three years.

From the union of Nathan Gillespie and Josie E. Counts, four children have been born : Earl N., who married Lena Richardson, is a farmer living in Range township, Ohio; Effie is at home; Lelia M., who married W. A. Anderson, lives in Tennessee; William Paul, who is living on the home farm, is married to Louise Blaugher, formerly of Paint township, Ohio.

In his political life, Nathan Gillespie is a Democrat; in church affairs, a Meth- odist, and in his fraternal relations, he belongs to the Free and Accepted Masons In educational affairs he has been an untiring worker, having served as a member of the school board, in Range township, for nine years. Personally, Nathan Gillespie is a most affable gentleman, honest and sincere in his business relations, wholesome and clean in his domestic and social life, with a sense of honor and uprightness which commands for him a position as one of the most influential citizens of Madison county, Ohio.

BURTON B. CRAWFORD.

The truest aristocracy is unselfish, conscientious service to one's family and to one's fellow men; the best claim to respect is that of sincere effort, along worthy avenues of endeavor, and the surest road to success is the selection of work which is best suited to one's ability and education. So, in the annals of Range township, Madi- son county, Ohio, appears the name of Burton B. Crawford, one of twelve children born to William and Sarah (Blizzard). Crawford, six of whom are now living.

Burton B. Crawford, born on February 26, 1853, in Paint township, Madison county, Ohio, chose for his life work that which he was best adapted for, the vocation of husbandry, and in this special sphere has met with more than ordinary success.

William Crawford, born on February 14, 1799, in Scotland, was the son of George and Amelia (Blizzard) Crawford, natives of Scotland, who removed to Virginia, where they remained until their deaths. He came to Madison county, Ohio, from Virginia, when a young man, and began teaching school in Range township, which occupation he followed for several years. Reaching the decision that a salary, no matter how large. was not a true recompense for the denial of pleasures to be gained through honest effort for himself, he purchased one hundred and forty acres of land, in Paint town- ship, Madison county, Ohio, and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death, which

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occurred on February 4, 1875, in London, Ohio. The wife of William Crawford, Sarah (Blizzard) Crawford, was born on October 11, 1811, in Range township, Madison county, Ohio, and was the daughter of Burton and Amelia (Willoughby) Blizzard, natives of Virginia. Her death occurred on April 24, 1888. The parents of Sarah ( Blizzard) Crawford, Burton and Amelia (Willoughby) Blizzard, came to Madison county, Ohio, in the early days, and purchased land from the government for fifty cents an acre. This land consisted of nearly fourteen hundred acres and covered part of the area known now as Range township, and this unimproved wilderness, populated entirely by savage Indians, became the home of the Blizzard family. They were the first white people to settle in Madison county, Ohio, and their nearest market was Chillicothe, Ohio. They drove from Virginia in a covered wagon, subsisting on game and wild fruits gathered by the way, and after they were settled in this new wild life, spun and wove the material from which they made their garments. They became the parents of eleven children, none of whom are living. Burton Blizzard was born on August 7, 1781, and died on April 11, 1860. Amelia (Willoughby) Blizzard was born on January 18, 1788, and died on October 2, 1881, at the age of ninety-three years.

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History of Madison County Ohio: Its People, Industries and Institutions, Part 120

Author: Chester E. Bryan Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1207

Author: Chester E. Bryan
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1207