USA > Ohio > Morrow County > History of Morrow County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vol. II > Part 22
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Educated in the district schools and acquiring a practical knowledge of the seienee of agriculture while young, Byron H. Osborn subsequently assumed the management of his father's farm, of which he had charge until 1871, three years after his mar- riage. Lured then to the fertile fields of the west, he spent a year in Illinois, but not at all satisfied with his prospects in the Sucker state he returned in 1872 to Ohio, and located on his present fine estate in South Bloomfield township. Mr. Osborn has one hun- dred and seventy-six acres of highly productive land, which he has placed under excellent tillage and on which he has made sub- stantial improvements. He makes a specialty of stock growing and raising, breeding Short-Horn Durham cattle from the registered stock of John Lyle. On October 16, 1861, Byron H. Osborn, then a lad of fourteen years, enlisted as a drummer in the Forty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until honorably dis- charged in 1862. In 1864 he enlisted, in the same eapacity, in the One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was at the front in the battle of the Wilderness, in the engagement at Coal Run and at the seige of Petersburg. For fifteen years he was engaged in the lumber business, but has sinee confined his atten- tion to farming. A staneh Republican in politics, he has served on the local school board, and he is a member of Joe Hooker Post, No. 21, (. A. R., at Mount Vernon, Ohio.
Mr. Osborn married, October 24, 1867, Emma Brokaw, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, November 28, 1847. Her father, Henry Brokaw, born February 10, 1814, died December 12, 1897, and his wife, whose maiden name was Louisa Coffin, was born August 30, 1816, and died October 13, 1875, her birth having occur- red in Pennsylvania, and his in New Jersey. They became the
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parents of thirteen children, as follows: Joshua, born May 11, 1836, died April 13, 1870; Johanna, born June 11, 1840, died June 14, 1876; Marie, born December 13, 1841; Mary G., born Oetober 28, 1843; William II., born September 11, 1845; Emma, wife of Mr. Osborn ; Jackson C., born August 7, 1849; Jane A., born Feb- rnary 9, 1851 ; Effie E., born April 13, 1853; Abraham, born March 30, 1855; Charles B., born February 28, 1857; Frank, born June 27, 1858; and Delmar, born January 25, 1863.
Ten children have blessed the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Osborn, namely: Burton A., born October 9, 1868; Lola G., born January 27, 1870; Laura T., born October 24, 1872; Eugene Alphonse, born Mareh 11, 1875; Maud L., born April 18, 1878, died May 15, 1892; Mary L., born September 26, 1881; William D., born May 7, 1883; Estella L., born September 18, 1886; Ben J. H., born October 18, 1888; and Clarence R., born April 16, 1892. Mrs. Osborn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and takes an active interest in its work.
SAMUEL BISHOP .- A prominent and successful agriculturist of North Bloomfield township. Samuel Bishop has spent his entire life within its boundaries and holds a high position among the active and progressive men who have contributed largely towards the development of its industrial interests. Ever interested in local affairs, he has served ably and faithfully as township trustee, and is now filling the office of township treasurer with characteristic ability. A son of James Bishop, Jr., he was born in North Bloom- field township March 12, 1845, coming of substantial Irish ancestry. His grandfather, James Bishop, Sr., was born, reared and married in Ireland. Emigrating a full century ago to this country, he located first in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where all of his children were born. Deciding to make another ehange of resi- dence, he loaded all of his worldly goods into a wagon and started with his family for the Buckeye state, finding his way through the almost trackless roads by means of blazed trees. He bought a tract of wild land in what is now North Bloomfield township, five and one-half miles from his nearest neighbor, his purehase con- sisting of two hundred and forty acres of timber. Clearing a space, he began the erection of a log eabin, living in the meantime in the wagon until the cabin was completed. In common with the few inhabitants of Morrow county, he endured all the privations of pioneer life, and on the farm which he redeemed from the wilderness spent the remainder of his years. His wife came with him from the Emerald Isle as a bride. She survived him, attain- ing the remarkable age of one hundred and one years.
James Bishop, Jr., was born in Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, and as a boy came across the country with his parents to Morrow county, Ohio. At the age of fourteen years he began team- ing on the pike. Industrious and thrifty, he accumulated money
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and embarked in farming on his own account, improving the estate now owned and occupied by his son Samuel. On April 4, 1844, he married Elizabeth Henton, and to them eight children were born, as follows: Samuel, the special subject of this brief personal record; Mary E., wife of Craig Logan; Eliza J., wife of Hiram Keeler, of Galion; James, of Congress township, married Alice Hiskey; John, married Elizabeth Scrafield, of Kansas; William, married Ida Baldwin, of Toledo; Archibald, living in the west; and Arkenson, of Troy township, married Mollie Fultz.
Brought up on the farm where he now lives, Samuel Bishop attended the district school regularly until eighteen years of age, since which time he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. His farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres is pleasantly. located two and one-half miles south of Blooming Grove, and the improve- ments which he has placed upon it are of a good, practical and substantial character .. Mr. Bishop is a man of superior business qualifications, earnest and thorough in his work, wise in his judg- ments and well merits the esteem and respect accorded him by all neighbors and friends.
On September 3, 1868, Mr. Bishop was united in marriage with Mary Schenefield, who has proved a true helpmate to him in every sense implied by the term. She was born September 28, 1846, in Pennsylvania, and at the age of ten years came with her parents, Henry and Elizabeth (Painter) Schenefield, to Morrow county, where she was brought up and educated. Mr. and Mrs. Bishop are the parents of nine children, namely: Irvin, born March 30, 1872, is a resident of Mansfield, Ohio; Myrtle, born August 29, 1873, is the wife of Webster Garverick; Melvin, of North Bloom- field township, was born May 9, 1875; Earl L., is a mechanical engineer in Rock Island, Illinois; Clarence, born November 1, 1879, is foreman in the Twist Drill Works, in Cleveland; Floyd, born August 5, 1881, is in the employ of the Baxter Stove Works, in Mansfield; Elizabeth, born October 24, 1882, is the wife of H. S. Kelley, of Franklin townhip; Mabel, born September 28, 1884, married J. K. Appleman, of Troy township; and Grover, born August 29, 1886, lives at home. Politically Mr. Bishop is a straight- forward Democrat, and takes an intelligent interest in local mat- ters. His farmstead is known as "The Pleasant View Farm."
HENRY LEPP, who is ably filling the office of county commis- sioner of Morrow county, Ohio, is a native son of the fine old Buckeye state and he is descended from stanch German stock, both his parents having been born and reared in Germany, where was solemnized their marriage and whence they emigrated to America in 1843. Henry Lepp was born in Tully township, Marion county, Ohio, on the 16th of January, 1864, a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Eichhorn) Lepp, the former of whom was born June 12, 1830, and the latter April 14, 1840. After their arrival in the United
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States Mr. and Mrs. Lepp located in Crawford county, Ohio, and they became the parents of ten children, four of whom are now deceased. Those living are: Elizabeth, who is the wife of S. B. Messmore, of Edison, Ohio; Maggie, who married Leopold Long, of Crestline, Ohio; and John, Henry, George and William, all of Edison, Ohio. The father of the above children is now living in virtual retirement at Galion, Ohio, and the mother was summoned to the life eternal on the 21st of September, 1910.
Henry Lepp, the immediate subject of this review, passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm and his educational training was completed with a course in the high school at Galion, Ohio. When twenty years of age he left school and turned his attention to general farming. In 1885 he went to Kansas, where he was employed as a clerk in a general store for the ensuing three years, at the expiration of which he returned to Ohio, where he purchased a fine farm of one hundred and thirty acres, eligibly located five miles north of Edison, in Morrow county. He has been eminently successful in all his business ventures and at the present time, in 1911, is an extensive stockholder in the Peoples Savings Bank at Mt. Gilead, besides which he is also a stockholder in the Citizens Telephone Company at Edison. In politics he accords a stanch allegiance to the principles and policies of the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has been an active factor. For three years he was a member of the board of trustees of Washington township and in 1907 he was given further mark of the confidence reposed in him by his fellow citizens in that he was then elected to the office of county commissioner of Morrow county. On the 8th of November, 1910, he was reelected to this office, the various duties of which he has discharged with the utmost efficiency.
On October 1, 1894, at Beloit, Kansas, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Lepp to Miss Clara Sponsler, who was born and reared in Kansas. She is a daughter of Charles and Mary E. (Haight) Sponsler, both of whom are now residents of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Lepp have three children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here incorporated: Oscar, January 5, 1897; Inez, March 24, 1899; and Mary, August 15, 1901. Mr. Lepp is a devout member of the German Reformed church, in which he is a trustee, and Mrs. Lepp belongs to the United Brethren church. In a fraternal way Mr. Lepp is affiliated with Iberia Lodge, No. 561, Knights of Pythias. He is a man of marked business ability and good judgment. As a citizen he has never been lacking in public spirit and loyalty but has always been a leader in all mat- ters projected for the general welfare.
JOSIAH F. SHUMAKER .- A man of broad and enlightened views, taking an intelligent interest in local and general affairs, Josiah F. Shumaker stands high among the substantial and well-to-do citizens of North Bloomfield township, where he is prosperously en-
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gaged in agricultural pursuits, his farm lying three and one-half miles from Galion and three miles from West Point. He was born June 24, 1852, in Crawford county, a mile and a half northwest of Galion, on the farm occupied by his father, Daniel Shumaker. He is of thrifty German ancestry, being a direct descendant of one of seven Shumaker brothers that emigrated from Baden, Germany, to America in 1742, locating in Berks county, Pennsyl- vania, from whence their descendants have scattered to various parts of the Union.
A son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Van Hogenshell) Shumaker, Daniel Shumaker adopted farming as his chief occupation, locating not far from Galion, in Crawford county, where he was actively engaged as a tiller of the soil for many seasons. He - married Elizabeth Beltz, a daughter of Christopher Beltz, whose father was born and bred in Germany, from there coming to the United States when young. Four children were born of their union, as follows: Eli, engaged in farming near Bourbon, Indiana, married Lizzie Smith; Sarah, wife of George Burger, of Crawford county, Ohio; Josiah F., the special subject of this brief personal review; and Simon, who married Mary Seif, and is carrying on general farming near Defiance, Ohio.
Brought up on the home farm in Polk township, Josiah F. Shumaker received a practical education in the district schools, while at home he was trained to habits of industry and economy. At the age of twenty-one years he began life on his own account, and has since been busily employed in agricultural pursuits, finding both pleasure and profit in his chosen occupation. Mr. Shumaker's farm, lying in North Bloomfield township, as above mentioned, contains ninety-eight and one-half acres of rich and fertile land, which he is managing in a systematic and scientific manner, raising the cereals common to this section of the country and growing stock, making a specialty of raising hogs, an industry which has proven especially renumerative. For upwards of twenty-five years Mr. Shumaker has owned and occupied his pres- ent farm, having come here in 1884, and during that time has won the respect and esteem of the community, and has faithfully per- formed his duty as an honest, law-abiding citizen. He is inde- pendent in polities, voting for the best men and measures, regardless of party restrictions in local affairs, although he sustains the principles of the Democratic party in national elections and has served to the satisfaction of all concerned as township trustee and as a member of the local school board.
Mr. Shumaker married, November 2, 1875, Catherine E. Seif, who was born February 22, 1856, in North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, where her parents, Michael and Elizabeth Seif, settled on coming to this country from Germany, their native land. Mr. and Mrs. Shumaker have four children living, namely : Della, wife of Webb W. Seif, of Bloomfield township; Grover M., of
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Marion, Ohio, is cashier in the office of the American Express Com- pany ; Mary, living at home, and James J., also at home, is a bright lad of twelve years. Mr. Shumaker is a licensed exhorter in the Free Methodist church, and with his family belongs to the church of that denomination at West Point and is superintendent of its Sunday school.
ANDREW J. KELLER .- A skilful and practical farmer of North Bloomfield township, Morrow county, Andrew J. Keller is meeting with excellent success in his operations, his agricultural labors being systematic and thorough, insuring the best possible results. A native of Morrow county, he was born November 29, 1864, in South Bloomfield township, and was there reared on a farm. His father, Peter Keller, served as a member of the One Hundred and Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war, and died about four years after its close. He married Eliza A. Everts, who was born in Knox county, Ohio, and died in Morrow county in 1907. Four children were born of their union, as follows: Belle, wife of Joseph Mills; Jesse C., of Kansas City, Missouri, married Eva Stromborg; and Anna M., twin sister of Andrew J., is the wife of C. E. Buckingham, of Galion, Ohio.
Spending his boyhood days in South Bloomfield township, Andrew J. Keller obtained his early education in the Red Hill district, attending the winter terms of school until sixteen years old, when he began working for wages. Two years later he began farming for his Grandmother Everts, having charge of her estate for about four years. Coming to North Bloomfield township in 1889, Mr. Keller has since been advantageously engaged in agri- cultural pursuits, his farm of one hundred and forty-three acres being one of the best-managed and most productive in the township. It is pleasantly located about three and one-half miles southeast of Galion, and is devoted to the raising of grain and stock, profitable industries.
Mr. Keller has been four times married. He married first, December 28, 1886, Ora Howard, a daughter of Morgan and Mary (Potts) Howard, of Bennington township, Morrow county. She died May 8, 1888, and their only child, Mary D., died in infancy. Mr. Keller married second,, November 16, 1889, Mrs. Mary (Love- land) Cronenwett, who was born in Kansas August 9, 1869, a daughter of Lafayette and Sarah (Southert) Loveland, natives of IIuron county, Ohio. She passed to the life beyond October 9, 1901, having borne him five children, namely: Howard J., born December 11, 1890; James P., born October 31, 1892; John L., born November 27, 1895; Anna M., born March 6, 1900; and Lafayette, born October 2, 1901, died October 7, 1901. On Novem- ber 26, 1902, Mr. Keller married for his third wife Mrs. Mary (Van Buskirk) Long, who was born in Huron county, Ohio, in 1872, and she died in March, 1905, leaving no children. Mr.
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Keller married on August 19, 1908, Miss Carrie Holman, who was born in Crawford county, Ohio, July 15, 1872, a daughter of John and Hannah (Brown) Holman, and they have one child, Edna L., born July 27, 1909. Mrs. Keller's father, John Holman, was born in Ross county, Ohio, November 7, 1828, and subsequently settled in Crawford county, Ohio. To him and his wife five child- ren were born, as follows: Lucilia, deceased, was the wife of Ed- ward Norris; J. B. Holman, of Findlay, Ohio; Guy C., deceased ; Carrie, now Mrs. Keller; and Mertie, wife of Allen Shoup. Mr. and Mrs. Keller are trustworthy members of the United Brethren church of Galion. They belong to the Polk Grange at Galion, also being active and interested members. Politically Mr. Keller casts his vote irrespective of party relations, being independent.
IIENRY C. LYMAN, who is ably filling the office of treasurer of Canaan township, Morrow county, Ohio, is engaged in the general merchandise business at Climax, where he has resided since 1902. He was born in Canaan township on the 6th of September, 1864, and is a son of Luke C. and Mary A. (Garsler) Lyman, both of whom are natives of Ohio. The parents now maintain their home at Edison, where the father is living in virtual retirement after a strenuous business life devoted to the shocmaking line of enter- prise. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman became the parents of six children and of the number Henry C., of this review was the first born.
To the district schools of his native county Mr. Lyman is indebted for his early education. He continued to attend school until he had reached the age of sixteen years, at which time he as- sumed the responsibilities of life by becoming a farm hand, work- ing out by the month. He saved his spare money and in 1883 he became a clerk in the general store of Iden Brothers at Denmark, Ohio, where he was employed for a period of about twenty years. Thereafter he was a partner of M. M. Iden at Caledonia, Ohio, for seven years, at the expiration of which he disposed of his interests in that place and came to Climax. Here he purchased the general store of David White and is now the proprictor of the thriving business known under the name of H. C. Lyman.
On the 30th of September, 1896, was recorded the marriage of Mr. Lyman to Miss Anna Shipman, of Franklin township, Mor- row county. She is a daughter of Coleman and Editha Shipman, representative citizens of Morrow county. To this union has been born one child, Gladys, whose birth occurred on the 25th of Sep- tember, 1897. She is enrolled as a student in the high school at Edison, in which she is a member of the senior class.
In his political convictions Mr. byman endorses the cause of the Republican party and he has always evidenced a deep and sincere interest in all matters touching upon the general welfare of the community. While a resident of Caledonia he was treasurer of that place for two years and in the fall of 1909 he was elected
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treasurer of Canaan townhip, in which office he is giving a most efficient administration of the fiscal affairs of the township. In the time-lionored Masonic organization he is a member of Oliver Lodge, No. 477, Free and Accepted Masons, besides which he is also affiliated with Denmark Lodge, No. 760, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he is past noble grand; and Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 195, Knights of Pythias. He and his wife both hold a high place in the confidence and regard of their fellow citizens.
S. THOMAS HICKS .- A representative of the worthy agricultur- ists of Morrow county and an honored and respected citizen of South Bloomfield township, S. Thomas Hicks ranks among the more skilful and prosperous agriculturists of central Ohio, his farm being well improved and amply supplied with substantial buildings and all the necessary appliances for carrying on his extensive operations. A son of John Hicks, he was born, December 22, 1844, at Gambier, Knox county, Ohio.
John Hicks, in 1812, in England, immigrated when a young man to the United States, and soon after coming to Ohio found em- ployment in Gambier, on the College farm, with which he was afterwards connected for many years, serving long and well as its superintendent. While at the College he married Letitia Banbury, who was born in Cornish, England, in 1812, a daughter of Thomas Banbury, their union being solemnized in 1840. To them four children were born, namely : Martin W., who died May 12, 1910; S. Thomas, the special subject of this brief personal record; Mary. wife of Wesley Throckmorton, deceased; and Henry.
Martin W. Hicks, the oldest son, served as a soldier in the Civil war, being a member of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He became well known as an educator, having taught in every school building in Hillyar township. He became an extensive landholder, and for a long time was president of the First National Bank of Centerburg. He married Mary Ann Rogers, and his five daughters all became successful school teachers.
Mary Hicks, who married Mr. Throckmorton, was also a teacher when young, and of her four children two became teachers. One of her daughters died in early life, and as a memorial to her she placed a very handsome window in the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta.
Henry Hicks taught school as a young man, but has since traveled extensively in different parts of the world, and for some time was in the mercantile business, representing the O'Brien Land Company.
Obtaining a good common school education in the district schools, S. Thomas Hicks became thoroughly acquainted with the various branches of agriculture while living with his parents, and chose for his life work the independent vocation of a farmer.
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After his marriage he settled in South Bloomfield township, on the farm which he now owns and oecupies, and has since been profitably engaged in agricultural pursuits. His plaee contains one hundred and twenty acres of rich arable land, well improved and judiciously cultivated, his annual vield of crops being large and remunerative.
On January 12, 1868, Mr. Hicks married Eva Conway, who was born in Bloomfield township, Morrow county, July 6, 1850, a daughter of Joseph Conway. Mr. Conway came from Virginia, his native state, his birth occurring there September 25, 1816, to Bloomfield townhip, Ohio, when eleven years of age, and here spent the remainder of his life. He began life with no other capital than strong hands, a willing heart and high ambition, and by dint of industry, energy and wise forethought became the owner of a fine farm of three hundred and fifty aeres, which he managed with excellent pecuniary results. The maiden name of the wife of Mr. Conway. to whom he was married in 1842, was Melvina Sanford. She was born in Ohio, June 21, 1823, a daughter of William San- ford, the first school teacher in this part of Morrow eounty. Joseph Conway was one of the original members of the first Meth- odist Episcopal church established in his township, was a well known teacher, and was for many years a leading man in public affairs. To him and his wife six children were born, as follows : Benson Conway, born in 1843, served as a soldier in the Civil war, enlisting at the age of eighteen years and he died the following year; Melville, a farmer in Morrow county, was born in 1848: Eva wife of Mr. Hicks; William, born in 1853, died in Cleveland, Ohio ; Olie B., born in 1858; and Wesley G., born in 1860, is engaged in the real estate business in Columbus, Ohio. All of these children were well educated, and one taught school several years.
Mr. and Mrs. Hicks have two children, namely : O. J., born October 27, 1871, and Earl H., born October 27, 1881. O. J. Hicks, who was educated at Sparta, Centerburg and Columbus, is now state agent for the Page Fenee Company, and has the distinetion of being the best-paid agent in Ohio, his salary being one hundred and fifty dollars a month. Earl H., who is likewise finely educated, is engaged in business at Fredericktown, where he is a manufac- turer of steel gates and fencing.
Mr. Hicks is a prominent member of the Republican party, and has held various township offices. He was a member of the first County Fair Board for twenty-seven years, over one quarter of a century, and a member of its first Building Committee. He is a member of the Masonie Lodge, No. 422. F. and A. M., of Chesterville, in which he has passed all the chairs; and of Sparta Lodge, Knights of Pythias, in which he has held a few of the offices. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hicks are active and consistent mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal church at Sparta.
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