History of Madison County, Ohio : its people, industries and institution with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families, Part 124

Author: Bryan, Chester Edwin
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : Bowen
Number of Pages: 1150

USA > Ohio > Madison County > History of Madison County, Ohio : its people, industries and institution with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families > Part 124

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Madison county, blessed already by the leavening influence of these beautiful lives, will have reason, as the years go on, to realize more and more how much this whole devoted Coover family loved this community, for, truly, "their works do follow them."

The will by which Bertha Coover left the Coover lands and money to Madison county was an expression of her father and mother and sister's wishes, also. In this, as in every plan and thought throughout their lives, the sisters and parents were as one. They had discussed as a family, while in health, the needs of the community and how those needs could best be met. The Coover residence and its twelve acres of land on North Main street was given to Madison county as a site for a county hospital,

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a sanitarium, an old ladies' home or other similar benevolent institution as the county commissioners may deem best. One hundred and seventy acres of land, including the old home place, was given to be occupied by the county as an experiment farm. Seven thousand dollars were given to the Federation of Women's Clubs of Loudon, to buy, furnish and equip a building for a club house. (This has already been purchased on North Main street.) The organizations to which Bertha and Esta belonged, in which they were interested, or which may be for the general welfare of the community, are to use the club house as a meeting place under proper restrictions. The Ohio State Woman's Suffrage Association received one thousand dollars. The London Woman's Elective Franchise Association ; the London Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolu- tion : Madisonia Lodge No. 725 of the Daughters of Rebekah; the Universalist church ; Trinity Episcopal church; Methodist Episcopal church; First Presbyterian church; and Lutheran church of London were also remembered.

Thus passed from our community these two rare and sweet-souled women. Measured by years their time with us was short, but in the hearts of the people they will live; and the good they have done, by their lives and by their thoughtful and loving bequests, will bring to them that immortality which comes to him who loves and serves his fellow man.

THE COOVER SISTERS-AN APPRECIATION. By Sallie Dooris.

From the breezy, wholesome life of a country home, they came with their parents to the village of London in 1876. Two slender slips of girlhood, somewhere in their teens, possibly sixteen and fifteen years of age. Bertha, tall and willowy, a brunette, with wide-open brown eyes. Esta, the younger, flower-faced and slender; with pink coloring, blue-eyed, flaxen-haired. Just the two girls, without other sister or brother.

Companions from babyhood, only something like a twelve-month difference in their ages, they ought have been twins. They were twins in sisterly love, in tastes, studies, occupations. It would be hard to say which was the elder. At school, Bertha was just a step or two ahead: but Esta caught up so fast, they kept well together. Together they read the same books, sang the same sweet melodies; in all things one was the complement of the other.

It is such a little way from girlhood to womanhood, and the time in crossing over so swift, that, ere one knew, the sisters had reached the line where life broadened and the outlook on things became more real, more earnest. The girlish tastes gave way to womanly interests; and the welfare of humanity was one that occupied their thoughts.

As the years passed. marriage sought and found the younger sister; but Bertha's nature seemed so rounded out and perfect, there was neither time or thought for matrimony. There are such women. Had she married and been the mother of chil- dren, she would, as in all other conditions, filled well her sphere of usefulness and motherhood. The Father of all had other uses for her.

Prohibition was a paramount topic in their parents' home. The daughters entered heart and soul into the spirit of the work. So. too, in agricultural affairs. Though they had left the farm, it was crops and herds and soil values that kept the house-fires alight and the two sisters, with keen enthusiasm, were members and workers in farm- er's clubs, reading essays, singing their sweet ballads at harvest festivals, getting signatures for road improvements and in all things co-workers with their parents.

Universalism as a religion appealed to them. In the church at London, they were found Sunday after Sunday in the choir. They visited the sick and aged and com- forted the sorrowful. In the intellectual ventures of the town they had their share and did their part well.

Their parents were tended and cared for by loving watchfulness, and, when laid

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side by side in their last, long sleep, the sisters' lives grew, if anything, a little nearer and dearer and Bertha became a member of her sister's and brother-in-law's home.

Feeling handicapped in their multifarious work by the lack of the ballot, they worked indefatigably for the cause of suffrage for women.

It is hard to write of such women as Bertha Coover and Esta Coover Harvey. So much ought to be said one feels unequal to the obligation of saying all adequately. The sudden passing of Esta, in 1912, was a blow from which Bertha never rallied. Life's cares and interests, hitherto shared with her sweet sister, became a sorrowful burden, too heavy to bear, and two years later, gladly, thankfully, she joined "the choir invisible." She was the last of her line.

Having no needy relatives or immediate descendants, the bulk of the Coover fortune was devised to London and Madison county. What may be called "the joint will" of the sisters was expressed in part, as relating to London and the county, as follow : "In the name of the Benevolent Father of all, I, Adal Bertha Coover, of London, Madison county, Ohio, do hereby make my last will and testament. * * *

"Item 4 .- I give and devise to Madison county. Ohio, for the uses and purposes hereinafter stated, the following described real estate. * The same to be man- aged and controlled by the county for the following public uses and purposes ; primarily. as a site for a county hospital; but if the commissioners should at any time find and decide that it would be for the best interests and welfare of the county to use a part or all of said premises as a site for an old ladies' home or for a sanitarium or other similar benevolent institution or institutions, then in that event it may be used by the county for any or all of such purposes."

* *

Item 5 provides that certain farm lands are to be used by the commissioners of Madison county for establishing and equipping an experiment farm. * * *

Item S .- I give and bequeath the sum of seven thousand dollars to the London Federation of Women's Clubs, of London, Ohio, to be used to purchase, furnish and equip a building for a club house for the said the London Federation of Women's Clubs: provided, that one room in said club house be set apart and used as a relic room, under the supervision of the Daughters of the American Revolution ; and provided further. that the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Woman's Elective Franchise Associa- tion, the Humane Society and other organiations for the general welfare may also use said club house, as a meeting place, by paying to the said the London Federation of Women's Clubs a reasonable compensation as their respective proportionate shares for the upkeep of said premises." * * *

There is a stated mansion in London, compactly built of brick and granite, standing on a commanding site on North Main street. 'Round its walls, and in and out its many rooms, Miss Bertha Coover wove magic dreams. She admired and commended the work of the club women of her town; their efforts to gladden the hearts of little children at Christmas time; the beautifying of the streets and gardens; the inculcation of civic pride, and she wished that that especial house might some day be a club home for women ; that from its roof-tree thoughts would be born and efforts issue for the better- ment of the town she loved so well. Was it a coincidence, or something higher, that impelled the London Federation of Women's' Clubs to purchase the very spot the testator dreamed of.

Standing at the portal of this stately club house, one can almost see, a little way to the north, the roof and chimneys of the old Coover homestead, devoted to the purposes of the Health and Welfare League of making sick people well again. Westward, a few miles from London, is the spot where the Coover sisters were born, the broad, well-

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cultivated acres to be used as an agricultural experiment farm. The Protestant elmrches of the town and societies to which the sisters belonged have not been forgotten in their last will and testament.

It is not in the transitory world of fashion and passing show, these two noble women will be remembered. They will live for all time in the town of London and county of Madison. They have joined the Immortals. The name of Coover will live forever. Bertha and Esta Coover have taken their "place in the sun."

JOSEPH A. LONG.

Madison county has no business institution of which it is prouder than the White Cliff Mills, of which Joseph A. Long is proprietor. Born at Athens, Tennessee, he comes from a family of millers, his grandfather having operated a mill at Athens as far back as the forties and his father having later succeeded in the business of his grandfather. It is no wonder. therefore, that Mr. Long is a practical miller, nor that he has made a phenomenal success of this business. Both he and his brothers, T. J., J. R. and W. Z. Long, with whom he was associated in business for many years, were trained in the milling business at Athens. At the age of eighteen years, having some fear of punish- ment by his father because he wanted to play baseball, J. A. Long ran away from home and finished his apprenticeship as a roller-mill operator in a mill at Morrow. Warren county, Ohio. During the next eighteen years he worked at Morrow, rising gradually trom floor sweeper to head miller, in 1897. In partnership with his brother, Mr. Long rented the mill at Morrow during 1897. and the next year came to London, Madison county. In the autumn of 1894, he, also in partnership with his brother, purchased the old buhr mill at Athens, Tennessee, in which was installed a fairly modern roller pro- cess of making flour. Two younger brothers were taken into the business at the time.

Since coming to London. Ohio. Mr. Long's rise to fame and fortune in a business way presents an unbroken record of success. Like many Southern boys, Mr. Long at the outset of his career was possessed of pluck, energy and ambition. His quick intelli- gence and ardent application soon made him a first-class miller. No sooner had the Long brothers purchased the old mill at London than new and modern machinery was installed, and the flour manufactured was properly and scientifically milled. Mr. Long called it White Cliff (named for White Cliff springs, in the eastern Tennessee mountains), and so famous has it become that a local poet has-proclaimed its stability in this verse:

"An author wrote a book, Called 'The Man of the Hour,' A miller ground wheat Into White Cliff flour. The author and his book Have both had their day ; But White Cliff flour Has come here to stay."

The output of the London mill has grown steadily from a capacity of sixty barrels a day to one hundred and seventy-five barrel capacity. The plant is also equipped with a complete corn meal roller outfit, which uses a carload of corn every day, the product being manufactured for both feed and table use. The table meal is made of white corn. produced mostly in Madison county. A car load of wheat is also used every day. The White Cliff Mills use approximately seventy-five thousand bushels of wheat. purchased of the farmers of Madison county and vicinity. They also buy and ship large quan- tities of corn, oats and rye, and employ from eight to twelve men the year round. White Cliff Mills manufacture, as principle brands, White Cliff and London Cream flour. The

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market for the product is largely local, but carload shipments are made to the remote sections of Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia, as well as to the far Eastern market. This flour is carried by most of the local merchants and is sold in great quantities. Local deliveries are made with a large Kelly-Springfield truck, which replaced four lorses.

T. J. Long retired from the mill in 1900, going to Mechanicsburg, Ohio, where the Long brothers own the electric light and ice plant, in connection with a flour-mill. They also own an electric light plant in Tennessee, and operate the old mill at Athens under the name of the Long Manufacturing Company. The flour-mill at Mechanicsburg and the flour-mill at Athens, Tennessee. each has a capacity of approximately the same as that of the London mill.

The London inill enjoys the distinction of being on a level with the surrounding ground, a fact of great significance to farmers who haul heavy loads. The old-style elevation process is eliminated and farmers drive in on the level and dump their grain into the elevator below the road. Hence the mill on the "level dump" is very popular. This is an innovation, due to Mr. Long's genius, and it is noteworthy that his competitors have followed the same plan.

Mr. Long was married in September, 1889, at Morrow, Ohio, to Carrie Stubb, a mem- ber of one of the original Quaker families of Warren county. Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Long have had two children. Leslie is a student at Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio. Bessie was educated in music at the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Long and family live in a modern home, attractive from the exterior and beautifully furnished. The family are popular socially in London and Madison county, and take a lively interest in all the affairs relating to this county. Mr. Long is popular and prominent in fraternal circles. He is a blue-lodge and chapter Mason and is a member of the London Club and formerly was a member of the Board of Affairs. Ile belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he takes a deep interest, being a member of the official board. Since coming to the great Buckeye state, he has formed a keen affection for this state and for its people.

ORLA H. TOOPS.

The man whose name appears at the head of this sketch is a prominent farmer of Pleasant township. Madison county, having been born on the farm on which he resides, April 24, 1886, and is the son of Frederick and Eliza (Stone) Toops. Frederick Toops was a son of John and Ann (Bountz) Toops, natives of Ohio, and was born on April 6, 1847, in Pickaway county, Ohio. Migrating to Madison county with his parents he at first tilled the soil which he rented for a number of years. By 1875 he had been able to earn enough to buy his present farm of one hundred and thirty-nine acres: unimproved. and on this he built a one-story and a half house and rail pen, two years later con- structing a log barn. It was not long before he was able, by his industry, to place extensive improvements on his farm, including a large and commodious barn, which unfortunately, was destroyed by fire. In 1911 it was replaced by a more modern struc- ture, forty by sixty feet and twenty-eight feet high. At this time also he remodeled and enlarged his house.

Mrs. Eliza ( Stone) Toops, who is now living with her son, Orla H., is a native of Madison county, Pleasant township, having been born there on April 16, 1851. She is the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Jones) Stone. mentioned elsewhere in this work. Her father was a native of Ohio. A large family of children blessed the domestic life of this worthy couple. These children are: John W., a farmer of Range township: Mrs. Bertha Morain, of Pleasant township; Armour G., of Pickaway county. attendant of the state farm; Mrs. Bernice Rice, deceased; George N .. a farmer of

MADISON COUNTY, OHIO.

Paint township, Madison county ; Raymond, deceased; Orla HI. ; and Creswell, a student of a medical college at Columbus, Ohio, preparing to be a physician and surgeon.

With the exception of one year, during which time Orla II. Toops was employed on another farm, he has remained on the farm which is his present home. In 1910 he began the management of his mother's country place, and the same year exhibited his corn at the Mt. Sterling fair. Like his father, he has always been interested in high grade stock, and there has never been a time when he did not own a number.

In 1912 Orla H. Toops was married to Golda Tope, a native of Pickaway county, being born there on February 27, 1890. Her parents are Francis and Margaret (Immel) Tope who are descendants of German ancestry. They are well-known farmers in Madi- son county. Mr. and Mrs. Orla H. Toops are the parents of two children, Kenneth, born on May 8, 1913, and Frederick Orla, May 3, 1915.

Politically, Mr. Toops exercises the right of individual choice, for in spite of the strong party lines of his county he has remained an independent voter. He is a church attendant, and a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge.

That Mr. Toops has been enterprising in his agricultural operations is evidenced by his present possession. In all of his dealings he is actuated by the principal of honesty and his relations with his fellow men have been such as to gain their confidence and good will, and once having gained these he retains them.

GEORGE A. BOICE.

With a proper realization, at an early age, that success later on in the mercantile world could only come from beginning at the lower round of the ladder and working up, step by step, until master of the business. George A. Boice, of Mt. Sterling, Ohio, fitted himself with this end in view and then became the merchant and not the employee. His birth took place on November 23, 1875, in Gallia county, Ohio, he being second in age of three children born to Melvin and Mina ( Mauck) Boice, as follow : Burt, deceased; George A. Boice, of Mt. Sterling, Ohio, and Mannie (Lyle), of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.

Melvin Boice, the father of these children, was born on February 25, 1845, in Gallia county, Ohio, and he was reared on the farm. In August, 1861, at the tender age of sixteen, he responded to his country's call and enlisted at Cheshire, Ohio, in Company HI, Fifty-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After a faithful service for nearly three years, he was wounded at Kenesaw Mountain, on June 27. 1864. His wound was in the left arm and he was discharged from the hospital at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1865. Following his discharge he returned to the farm and assumed his former occu- pation of tilling the soil. This farm is located one mile from where he was born and on this property, consisting of one hundred and ninety-five acres, he is still living.

Mina Mauck was born on May 16, 1849, in Gallia county, Ohio, and is the daughter of James and Barbara (Rothget) Mauck, natives of Virginia. She is still living.

George A. Boice was reared on the farm and attended the district school. When only eighteen years of age, with his mercantile career in view, he left home for the West and in 1893 secured a position as clerk in a general merchandise store at Spring- hill. Kansas. After serving in that capacity for some time he returned to Cheshire, Ohio, where he clerked in a general merchandise store until 1899. His experience then having fitted him to conduct his own affairs in his chosen profession, he purchased a store in Rio Grande, Ohio, which he sold in 1903, removing to Mt. Sterling, Ohio. Constantly but carefully advancing, he purchased a store at Mt. Sterling and soon had it stocked with general merchandise. He is the owner of the building in which his business is located and at this time he is erecting a substantial home.

George A. Boice was married, in 1900, to Bessie Fargo, who was born on October 14,

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1879, at Cheshire, Ohio. She is the daughter of J. E. and Viola (Smith) Fargo and a woman of exceptional attainments. Before her graduation from school she taught one year and after graduation taught in the high school. She has been highly honored by the women of her state, having served as grand worthy matron of the Eastern Star lodges of Ohio, and in 1914 was elected grand secretary of the same order, now travel- ing over the state as her duties call her. No children have blessed this union.

George A. Boice is a Republican and is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He attends the Methodist church, of which his wife is a member.

CHARLES W. HODGES.

Charles W. Hodges was born on August 1, 1859, at Circleville, Ohio, son of William J. and Julia ( Walker) Hodges. He was one of thirteen children born to them. The names of these children follow in their order: Charles W., William J., Jr., Edward B., Mrs. Florence Alderson (deceased), Mrs. Margaret Smith (deceased), Mrs. Minnie Moor, Thomas A., Mrs. Belle Smith (deceased), Mrs. Nellie Bazler, Paul, Richard, Harry and Mrs. Ada Morgan.

Two of these children felt that the trade their father followed was good enough for them, Charles W. and Thomas, who is a blacksmith at Columbus, Ohio. Harry, second to the youngest child, is inspector at the Buckeye Malleable Works, Columbus, Ohio. Mrs. Ada Morgan lives at Youngstown, Ohio. William J., Jr., is a salesman living in the state of Iowa. Mrs. Minnie Moor lives at Farmland, Indiana. Mrs. Nellie Bazler, a widow, resides at Youngstown, Ohio. Paul represents the North- western railroad and resides at Toledo, Ohio. Richard Alderson makes his home in West Virginia. Edward B. became a painter and is employed by his brother, Charles, in the business at Mt. Sterling, Madison county, Ohio, where they both reside.

William J. Hodges, Sr., was born on February 22, 1832, at Staunton, Virginia, where he was a blacksmith and resided until 1857, at which time he removed to Darby- ville, Ohio. There he followed his trade until 1862, when he enlisted as a soldier in Company A, Ninetieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which company he served as sergeant. During the war he was wounded and while at the hospital, in 1865, received his discharge, returning to Darbyville, Ohio, where he resumed his work as a blacksmith until 1871. He then removed to Mt. Sterling, Ohio, where he worked as a blacksmith until his retirement in 1882. He died on June 8, 1SS9.

Julia Walker was born on October 11, 1840, in Lancaster, Ohio, and is the daughter - of Josiah and Eliza (Ginder) Walker, both natives of Pennsylvania. She lives with her daughter, Mrs. Ada Morgan, at Youngstown, Ohio.

Charles W. Hodges was reared in Mt. Sterling, where he received his education in the public schools. He was taught his trade in his father's shop, assuming full charge of the same when his father retired from the business. He is an expert mechanic and takes delight in his chosen profession. Mr. Hodges built his present shop in 1892.

In 1882 Charles W. Hodges was married to Eliza Leech, who was born on Novem- ber 7. 1861, at Mt. Sterling, Ohio, and is a graduate of the Mt. Sterling schools. She is the danghter of William T. and Elizabeth (Bostwick) Leech. To the union of Charles W. and Eliza (Leech) Hodges, have been born five children: May, deceased ; Mrs. Gladys Von Loyd, of Columbus, Ohio; Leo, deceased; Fredrick, deceased; and Sherman, who is at home with his parents.

Charles W. Hodges is a Democrat, and the respect in which he is held by his fellow citizens is demonstrated by the fact that he has served as a member of the city council at three different times. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, also of the Knights of Pythias. Mr. Hodges owns a modern home on No. 10 West Main street.

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ZEBULON D. FISHER.

People of all climes are filled with admiration for the man or woman who has ambition and the perseverance to accomplish things worth while in life, and it matters not whether they were of. lowly birth or whether today they are of differing social classes, they are honored for their achievements regardless of nationality or creed. To Zebulon D. Fisher, of Mt. Sterling, Madison county, Ohio, falls the approbation and praise for having earned the respect and esteein of his fellow men. Zebulon D. Fisher was born on November 13. 1873, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and received his education in the district schools of Pickaway county. After leaving school in 1893, he served as a teacher in the schools of Monroe township, Pickaway county, Ohio. He followed this vocation for seventeen years, and in connection with his work took up the study of law, with attorney Irvin F. Snyder, of Circleville, Ohio.

Difficult as is the teaching of school, demanding as it does much time outside of school hours, Mr. Fisher succeeded in his study of the law and in 1897 he was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in 1910. at Mt. Sterling. Madison county, Ohio, where he is also interested in the grocery business.

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History of Madison County, Ohio : its people, industries and institution with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families, Part 124

Author: Bryan, Chester Edwin Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : Bowen Number of Pages: 1150

Author: Bryan, Chester Edwin
Publication date: 1915
Publisher: Indianapolis, Ind. : Bowen
Number of Pages: 1150