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 31
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Mr. Fonst traces his lineage to the German, as his grand- father came from Germany, and the original spelling of the name was "Faust."
JOHN C. HOSKINS, president and general manager of the Hoskins & Rush Manufacturing Company at Mt. Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, is an energetic business man of the type that no amount of opposition can phase. He is a man of quick percep- tion and keen business ability and in his particular line of enter- prise is building up an important industry in this place. He was born in Toledo, Ohio, on the 4th of February. 1872, and is a son of William H. and Mary L. (Johnson) Hoskins, the father now de- ceased and the mother is living in Toledo.
Mr. Hoskins was enrolled as a pupil in the public schools of Toledo until he had attained to the age of sixteen years, at which time he left school to become paymaster for the Woolson Spice Company at Toledo, with which concern he was connected in that capacity for a period of five years. Thereafter he and his brother William H., became ticket bookers at Toledo, following that line of enterprise for the ensuing six years, at the expiration of which John C. Hoskins became interested in the manufacture of telephones at Orville, Ohio. Two years later in 1906, he dis- posed of his interest in the telephone buisness and came to Morrow county, locating at Cardington, where he was in the wood-working business and in the manufacturing of furniture. There he organ- ized a company and there he continued to reside until 1909, in which year he came to Mt. Gilead, where he organized the Hoskins & Rush Manufacturing Company, the same being dealers in wood specialties and wholesalers in hardwood lumber. Associated with him in business as a member of the Hoskins & Rush Manufacturing Company is M. M. Hoskins, who is treasurer of the concern. The company was incorporated under the laws of the state in 1909, with
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a capital of ten thousand dollars, Mr. Hoskins being the principal and the largest stock holder.
At Monroe, Michigan, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Hoskins to Miss Mary M. Hanson, of Toledo, Ohio. To this union have been born three children, namely : Severina, born August 25, 1893, is a student in the Mt. Gilead High School; John C., Jr., born February 1, 1902; and Homer, born May 20, 1905.
Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins are zealous members of the Presbyterian church, and he is a stalwart supporter of the cause of the Republi- can party in his political convictions. The beautiful Hoskins home on West High street is owned by Mr. Hoskins and is renowned for gracious and generous hospitality. Mr. Hoskins is one of the prominent and influential business men at Mt. Gilead and is widely esteemed for his straight forward methods and sterling .integrity of character.
BYRAM LEVERING, whose years have lengthened the thread to the golden time of life, is one of the prosperous and prominent citizens of Morrow county, Ohio. He is now living virtually re- tired on his fine estate of one hundred and sixty acres in Perry township, Morrow county, where he is the owner of a beautiful residence. He has the satisfaction of knowing that the farm, the improvements and the good buildings have all been wrought by his own plans and oversight and that the success in life attained by him is largely the outcome of his own well directed endeavors. At
one time he was the owner of some five hundred acres of most arable Buckeye lands but he has generously divided most of this land among his children. He and his wife are recognized for their genial, hospitable ways and they command a high place in the confi- dence and esteem of their neighbors and friends.
At Woodbury, Perry township, Morrow county, Ohio, on the 9th of June, 1842, occurred the birth of him to whom this sketch is dedicated and he is a son of Morgan Levering, who was born and reared in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, whence he accompanied his parents to Morrow county, Ohio, in the year 1816. William Levering, grandfather of Byram Levering, was likewise born in the old Keystone state of the Union and after his immigration to Ohio he entered a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of govern- ment land in 1812. He then returned to Pennsylvania, where he resided for the ensuing four years, at the expiration of which he removed, with his family and all portable goods to Ohio, settling on the land previously entered by him. He was identified with farming operations during the remainder of his life and he lived to attain to the venerable age of eighty-five years. Morgan Levering was a child of but eight years of age at the time of his arrival in Morrow county, Ohio, and he was reared to maturity under the invigorating influences of the home farm, his preliminary educa- tion having consisted of such advantages as were afforded in the
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public schools of the locality and period. After reaching man's estate he became a clerk in a store at Belleville, Ohio, remaining at that place for some four years. He then married and came to Woodbury, in Perry township, this county, where he began opera- tions in general merchandising and where he continued to reside during the residue of his life. He was summoned to eternal rest on the 25th of January, 1860, and at the time of his demise was worth as much as twenty-five thousand dollars, all of which he had acquired through his own thrift and industry. At the time of his settlement in Perry township, in 1836, he was the owner of seventy- five dollars but as the result of his fine executive ability and admir- able business instinets he made of success not an accident bnt a logical outcome. He was the father of five children, two of whom are living in 1911, namely: Byram and Robert B., the latter of whom now maintains his home at Mt. Vernon, Ohio.
Byram Levering was reared to adult age in his native place of Woodbury, where he attended the public schools and assisted his father in the work and management of the store. He was a youth of but eighteen years of age at the time of his father's death and he then purchased the farm on which he now resides. With the passage of time he accumulated a landed estate amounting to five hundred acres of most arable land in Morrow county and when his children grew up he divided the land amongst them, retaining for himself only the original homestead of one hundred and sixty acres. He constructed his present beautiful and substantial brick house in 1872 and everything about his place is indicative of that thrift and prosperity which characterizes the practical, well-to-do farmer of the modern day. While he is now living retired from the active responsibilities connected with running the farm, he still gives to the same a general supervision. Associated with him in the manage- ment of the homestead is one of his sons, who devotes considerable attention to general agriculture and the raising of high grade stock.
On the 6th of April, 1865, Mr. Levering was united in marriage to Miss Leah Ruhl, who was born and reared in Perry township and who is a daughter of Henry Ruhl, long a prominent farmer and representative citizen in this county. Mr. and Mrs. Levering became the parents of five children, concerning whom the following brief data are here incorporated : Nora, is the wife of J. H. Webb and they maintain their home in Perry township; Orpheus D., is a machinist in Columbus, Ohio; Alfred Il .. remains at the parental home; Morgan is deceased; and Hylas A., is now a resident of Congress township, Morrow county.
Mr. and Mrs. Levering are devout members of the Lutheran church, in the various departments of which they have ever been active and helpful workers and in which he has given most efficient service as deacon and elder. He is a liberal contributor to all charitable and benevolent institutions and is widely renowned as a man whose charity knows only the bonnds of his opportunities.
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He is a man who takes a great interest in the advancement and welfare of the county and for nine years he served in the capacity of township trustee. In his public record, as in his private life, one sees the same stanch care for the interests of the people as he displayed for his own private business. In his political convic- tions he endorses the case of the Democratic party and in a fraternal way he is affiliated with various representative organiza- tions of a local nature. His wisdom and ability are commended by those who know him and as citizens he and his wife command the highest esteem of their fellow citizens. They are known throughout the county for their affability, and their spacious, com- fortable home is recognized as a center of most generous hospitality.
FRANK SHIVELY .- Among the generous, whole-souled, public- spirited citizens of Chesterville and its vicinity must assuredly be numbered Frank Shively, who in the useful capacity of a skilled blacksmith has contributed his share to the prosperity and progress of the community in which he is situated. He was born November 30, 1852, near Johnsville, Ohio, and is the son of Jacob and Adaline (Lamb) Shively, the former a native of Franklin county, Pennsyl- vania, and the latter of Ohio. The subject is one of a family of five children, the other members being John, who died in infancy ; Martha; and two half brothers, Ben and Lew.
In the year 1889 Mr. Shively was united in marriage to Miss Mary B. McCausland, a daughter of John and Henrietta (Smith) McCausland, of Chesterville. The MeCausland family consisted of nine children, three of whom were sons and six daughters, the following being an enumeration: David L., who died in infancy, B. Frank, Arthur V., Mary B., Izola, Gladys, Edith, Wastella and Anna K. In youth Frank and Arthur McCansland were employed as clerks, and they now reside in Harney county, Oregon, where they have homesteaded three hundred and twenty acres of land. Anna and Gladys became trained nurses, Marion being the scene of their activity. The latter married Arthur Seffner and makes her home in Marion.
Mr. Shively was reared in this vicinity and received his educa- tion in the schools of Richland county. At an early age he en- barked in the blacksmithing business, and when marriage had placed upon his shoulders new responsibilities he continued in the same field and chose for his permanent location Chesterville, in whose many-sided life he has ever since taken an active and useful part. His geniality and kindliness have served to make him popu- lar here and his thrift and industry have crowned his labors with prosperity.
Mr. and Mrs. Shively share their pleasant and hospitable home with one daughter, Edith Franceine, now aged seventeen years, one of the admirable young women of the place, who with her father
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and mother enjoys the goodwill of their many friends and neighbors.
In his political affiliation Mr. Shively gives heart and hand to the policies and principles of the Democratic party, which since his earliest voting days he has supported. He is interested in all measures likely to result in benefit to the many and can ever be depended upon to give his support to the same.
WALTER S. EMERSON .- A man whose splendid success in life has been on a parity with his fine initiative power and marked exe- cutive ability is Walter S. Emerson, who is president and general manager of the Mt. Gilead Tile & Pottery Company. As a penni- less youth he began life and through persistent application and earnest devotion to duty he so shaped his course as to make all count for good, with the result that today he has not only gained a competency but has also secured a high place among the repre- sentative business men of Morrow county. Mr. Emerson is a native son of Mt. Gilead, his birth having here occurred on the 22nd of May, 1871. Both of his parents, whose names were John W. and Sarah (Purcell) Emerson, are deceased, the former having died on the 22nd of September, 1910, at the venerable age of eighty years and eight months, and the latter having passed away on the 29th of August, 1876.
John W. Emerson was born at Leesburg, Loudoun county, Virginia, on the 22nd of January, 1830, and in the Old Dominion commonwealth was reared to maturity. There, on the 9th of October, 1851, occurred his marriage to Miss Sarah E. Purcell, and soon after that event he and his wife came to Mt. Gilead, Ohio, where two of his sisters, Mrs. Craven O. Van Horn and Mrs. David Sanders, resided. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson became the parents of seven children, all of whom were born in Ohio and two of whom died in childhood. The other five still survive and concerning them the following brief data are here incorporated: Mrs. Hicks Mosher is a resident of Cardington, this county; Mrs. J. R. Seitz, Mrs. Frank Kline and Walter S. Emerson, of this review, all maintain their homes at Mt. Gilead; and Mrs. John Nulk resides
at Columbus, Ohio. As previously noted, the mother was sum-
moned to the life eternal on the 29th of August, 1876. When the dark cloud of the Civil war obscured the national horizon Mr. Emerson came loyally to the front and tendered his services in
defense of the Union. On the 14th of June, 1861, he enlisted for a term of three years in Company E, Twenty-sixth regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, one of the most heroic Ohio regiments and one which took part in nearly all the battles in the department of the Cumberland, from Shiloh to Nashville. He was always ready and eager for duty and participated in thirty-two battles, some of the most sanguinary in the war. On the 1st of January, 1864, he re-enlisted as a veteran for another term of three years and
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served thereafter until the close of the war, being finally mustered out of the army on the 21st of October, 1865, at Victoria, Texas, after a period of four years and four months in the service. Dur- ing his active business career Mr. Emerson was identified with the butchering line of enterprise.
On the 7th of September, 1881, Mr. John Emerson was again married, his second wife being Miss Susannah Heidlebaugh. To this union were born seven children, namely: Harry, of Galion, Ohio; Howard, of Akron, Ohio; Lloyd and Ralph, of Mt. Gilead ; and three who are deceased. Mr. Emerson's death was a cause for widespread grief in the county in which he so long made his home. He was a great sufferer in the last years of his life and received the tenderest of care from his wife and children. Besides ·his widow and children and many grandehildren, sixteen great-grand- children mourn his departure. The funeral services were eon- ducted under the auspices of Hurd Post, Grand Army of the Republic, on September 30, 1910, and his remains were laid to rest in River Cliff cemetery at Mt. Gilead. Mr. Emerson was a man of straightforward and honorable principles, one who recognized his duty and did it unwaveringly. IIis was a just and upright mind and he left as an heritage to his children a fair and untarnished name.
Walter S. Emerson was a child of but five years of age at the time of his mother's death. He attended the graded schools of Mt. Gilead until he had attained to the age of fifteen years and he then turned his attention to farm work. Two years later he went west to Iowa. where he worked on a farm by the month for the en- suing three years, during which time he managed to save as mueh as four hundred dollars. In 1890 he returned to Mt. Gilead, where he purchased a dray and engaged in the transfer business for a period of six years, during which time he gained capital enough to pay for a tract of one hundred acres of most arable land in the vicinity of Mt. Gilead. IIe began to save by putting a quarter of a dollar in a box each day, later raised the sum to half dollars and finally to dollars. After purchasing his farm he disposed of the dray line and gave his time to agricultural pursuits, in which he was engaged for a period of six years, at the expiration of which he sold his farm and purchased another in Franklin township which he sold to the same party. He thus made six hundred dol- lars and bought one hundred and seventy acres in Congress town- ship. Thereafter he became interested in practical business affairs and in 1902 came to Mt. Gilead, where he engaged in the grocery business, following the same for six years, when he disposed of his stock and went to Florida for the winter season. In October, 1909, he bought seventy shares out of one hundred and fifty in the Mt. Gilead Tile & Pottery Company, of which he was elected president and general manager. This concern was organized and ineor- porated in 1906, with a capital stock of fifteen thousand dollars
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and it is one of the most important industries in this section of the fine old Buckeye state. Mr. Emerson has other interests of broad scope and importance in Mt. Gilead. He owns a half interest in the Kline & Emerson Bakery and has considerable real estate of high value. He has a half interest in a general store at Edison, Ohio, the same being known under the title of Edison & Greenfield, and he owns a fine farm of one hundred and seventy acres in Con- gress township. He is also interested in the horse and mule busi- ness, in which he is an extensive breeder.
On the 29th of May, 1891, Mr. Emerson married Miss Anna B. Taylor, who is a daughter of Martin Taylor, of Ohio, and who was reared and educated in Morrow county. To this union were born four children, namely : Mary, Ralph, who died September 25, 1907, Gertrude and Howard. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson are devoted members of the First Baptist church of Mt. Gilead and they are most ardent church workers.
Politically Mr. Emerson is a stalwart Republican and he has always manifested a deep and sincere interest in all matters con- ducive to the general welfare. He is a member of Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 196, Knights of Pythias, in which he is past chancellor, and he is also affiliated with L. H. Breese Camp, Sons of Veterans.
JAMES BENDER is one of the flourishing agriculturists of Mor- row county and, better yet, one of its broad minded citizens whose support has ever been given to all measures likely to result in bene- fit to the whole of society. He can say what it is given to few people to say, that he was born on the very farm upon which he lives at the present day. The date of the birth of Mr. Bender was May 15, 1851, and he is a son of George and Elizabeth (Reath) Bender. The family came to the Buckeye state from Pennsyl- vania, the father of him whose name initiates this review having been born in Cumberland county of the Keystone state September 1, 1799, and he lived nearly to reach the psalmist's allotment, his demise occurring April 19, 1868. His father was John Bender, who took for his wife Barbara Coke.
In glancing at the maternal ancestry of Mr. Bender we find that the Reath family is of Irish origin. Adam Reath, the grand- father of Mr. Bender's mother, was born in Erin and came to the United States in 1801, to seek out the bettered fortunes he hoped to find for himself and his descendants in "the land of the free and the home of the brave." He was twice married, first to Polly Door, who died in 1814, and second to Peggy Campbell. They were well along in life when they came to Ohio, the year being 1840, but Adam was to have only a few months in the Buckeye state, for he was killed on the following Christmas. Elizabeth Reath was born April 12, 1807, in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, and was united in marriage to the subject's father July 14, 1832.
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The following children were born to them: Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Thompson; Sarah J., wife of Peter Ballmer; and James, (the above being those who survive) ; and those now deceased, Mary, wife of Henry Bardman; Margaret, wife of J. S. Ross; Barbara, who died at the age of fourteen years; David R., who married Anna M. Stull; and George W., who married Sarah Haldeman.
The scenes amid which James Bender resides are very dear to him, for here he was born, here reared and here have come to him the principal events which make life significant. He received his education in the district school and early came to the conclusion to adopt as his own the honorable calling of his fathers-agriculture. His energy, thrift and integrity have brought him success and he owns one hundred acres advantageously situated in Troy- township, the village of Steam Corners being situated on the southwest corner of his farm and ten miles southeast of Galion, Ohio.
Mr. Bender laid the foundation of an exceptionally happy home life when on March 15, 1883, he was united in marriage to Elizabeth Yost. To them were born five children, of whom two are living at the present time. Clark Y, is engaged in farming, he married Edna Meckley, and they have one child, Mary Elizabethı ; Mande M., is the wife of William F. Ench, and they have one child, James Edward Ench; Elena B., born May 12, 1891, died August 11, 1891 ; Boyd J., born July 12, 1894, died in infancy ; George V., born March 14, 1897, also died in infancy. Mr. Bender's first wife was called to her eternal rest May 18, 1901. On March 16, 1905, he took as his wife Jennie Coldwell, who was born in Spring- field township, Richland county, January 10, 1862, the daughter of Jonas and Jane E. (Calvert Coldwell. Jonas was the son of James and Jennie (Williams) Coldwell, and Jane E. Calvert was the daughter of Joseph and Catherine Calvert.
Interested in all the good causes of the community, Mr. and Mrs. Bender are found as zealous members of the Methodist Epis- conal church and the former holds the office of steward. They are also pupils in the Sunday School. ' In politics Mr. Bender gives his heart and hand to the men and measures of the Republican party and he is not unfamiliar with the duties of public life, having served as one of the township trustees. Both Mr. and Mrs. Bender are widely and favorably known.
Mrs. Bender's father, Jonas Coldwell, was born in Springfield township, Richland county, and her mother, whose maiden name was Jane E. Calvert, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsyl- vania, in the year 1837, the date of her birth being that upon which American independence was born, namely July 4. The Coldwells and Calverts have been men and women of high citizenship and enjoying general respect.
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LUCIANA SNYDER, who is a popular and successful teacher in the public schools at Liberty Center, Morrow county, Ohio, was born in Congress township, Morrow county, Ohio, on the 17th of April, 1888, and she is a daughter of George T. and Juliana (Steffey) Snyder. The father was born in Ohio and he is a son of John and Mary (Clay) Snyder, both of whom are deceased, the former having come to the fine old Buckeye state as a pioneer from Pennsylvania. George T., married Juliana Steffey, a daughter of George and Luciana (Bartner) Steffey, also of Pennsylvania. To this union were born five children, concerning whom the follow- ing brief data are here incorporated: Obel, is the wife of John Henry, who is engaged as a laborer at Mt. Gilcad; Lola, is the wife of Carl Snyder, an agriculturist in the vicinity of Tabor church; Luciana is the immediate subject of this review; and Harold Clay and Lyrra both remain at the parental home. George T. Snyder is a farmer by occupation and he owns a fine little estate of forty acres in Congress township, the same being in a high state of culti- vation. In politics he is a staneh advocate of the policies promul- gated by the Prohibition party and he and his family are devout members of the Williamsport United Brethren church.
To the public schools of her native place Luciana Snyder is indebted for her early educational training and the same was later supplemented by an effective course of study in the Johnsville High School, in which she was duly graduated as a member of the class of 1909. She received her teacher's certificate on the 3rd of April, 1909, just prior to her graduation from high school, and she inaugurated her efforts in the pedagogic profession in the en- sning September by taking charge of the schools at Liberty Center, Morrow county, this state.
She attended a session of summer school at Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, in the summer of 1910, and she is rapidly gaining headway and prestige as an able and successful teacher in this section of the county. Miss Snyder is exceptionally well read for one of her years, is studious by nature and has an excellent future in store for her in her chosen vocation. She is decidedly popular and is very prominent in the best social activities of the community.
BENJAMIN F. RINEHART is a prominent farmer and stock raiser in Washington township, Morrow county, Ohio. He owns a finely improved farm of one hundred and two acres and the same is in a state of high cultivation. Mr. Rinehart has been identified with various lines of enterprise and in all of them has achieved eminent success as the result of well applied energy. He was born in Perry township, Morrow county, Ohio, the date of his nativity being June 3, 1848. He is a son of Joshua and Salome (Shafer) Rinehart, the former of whom was a son of Jacob Rinehart a daughter of Conrad Shafer. The Rinehart family traces its an- cestry back to stanch German stock and the name was originally
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