USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vo. II > Part 3
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. In the year 1865 Judge McCauley was elected prosecuting at- torney of Seneca county, and the best evidence of his able and satisfactory administration of this office was that given by his re- election as his own successor in 1867. so that he continued incum- bent of this position for four consecutive years. In 1874 he was elected a delegate to the convention called to revise the state con- stitution. In 1879 there came further recognition of his sterling character and distinctive eligibility in that he was elected to the bench of the court of common pleas for the Tenth judicial district of Ohio, a district comprising the counties of Wood. Hancock. Hardin and Seneca. Concerning his career from this time for-
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ward the following pertinent statements have been written and are well worthy of reproduction in this article : "After three years upon the common pleas bench he resigned the office in order to accept the position of member of the supreme court commission. to which he was appointed by Governor Charles Foster in April. 1883. His duties in this capacity were no less arduous and impor- tant than were those of the supreme court judges. and he served faithfully as a member of this commission until his work was finished. in 1885. when he resumed the practice of his profession. Ilis knowledge of law being comprehensive and profound he was well qualified for the important duties which devolved upon him and he was accredited with strict fairness and impartiality in his rulings on the bench. He fully sustained the dignity of the office. permitted no contention or wrangling among the council and dis- patched the business of the court with remarkable facility. His appointment to the supreme court commission was generally recog- nized by members of the bar as one of peculiar fitness and at no time did his course fail to justify the confidence and esteem reposed in him by his professional confreres. His advice has been freely and constantly sought by the younger members of the bar and to them his admonition and counsel have been generously given. He has been remarkably successful in practice. is master of dialectics and thus is powerful in his presentation of cases before court and jury. He marshals his points in evidence with great skill and with marked accuracy applies to them the principles of law hearing upon the subject."
In politics Judge McCauley has ever given a stanch allegiance to the cause of the Democratic party and. while he has sought no public office aside from those directly in line with the work of his profession. he has given efficient service in behalf of his party. He is identified with no religious or fraternal organizations but, as has been said. "He is guided by a high moral sense and by broad human- itarian principles." Understanding fully the well springs of human thought and action, he has naught of intellectual bigotry but is tolerant and kindly in his attitude toward all classes and con- ditions of men, the while his sympathy has been ever one of help- fulness, shown forth in practical and well directed aid to those in need or distress.
In the year 1864 Judge MeCauley was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Lockwood. a daughter of Dr. Alonzo and Merinda (Newcomb) Lockwood. of Fostoria. Ohio. Judge and Mrs. Mc- Cauley became the parents of five daughters. all of whom are living except one, who died in infancy.
JESSE N. SELLERS .- Some one has said that "the farmer is king of the earth." and this has never suffered contradiction. Of this "Royal" company. whose independent, wholesome existence has a charm for all right minded men. is Jesse N. Sellers. who owns and operates the old Sellers homestead in Pleasant township and is to be numbered among the progressive and prominent. farmers of the locality. He was born January 4, 1859. upon the very homestead upon which he now resides, his parents being Fred and Hannah
,
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(Scheidler) Sellers, who were natives of Germany. The father. who was only three years of age when his parents bade farewell to old ties and sailed across the Atlantic to a land of independence and opportunity, first located with them in Stark county and when grown to manhood's estate, came on to Pleasant township, where he became the possessor of a one hundred and seventy acre farm. This he improved and built upon several different situations before he found the one he considered ideal. The elder Mr. Sellers was a God-fearing man and of the Dunkard faith, taking an active and prominent part in the affairs of the church of that denomination. When it was purposed to build a church he and his son. the sub- ject of the sketch, quarried the stone and hauled the lumber to the chosen site. Jesse, then a lad of fourteen years. hauled one of the first load of rock for the erection of the foundation of this house of worship. Before the completion of the church the Sellers family furnished the barn in which to hold temporary services, and during love feasts were wont to entertain people for several weeks at a time. The father was a Republican. and was well informed upon all those questions which effect good citizenship. He was the friend of education and assisted in the work of building schools. The mother. Hannah Scheidler, was a native of Stark county, a daughter of Jacob Scheidler. The subject is the eighth in order of birth in a family of nine children.
Mr. Sellers received his education in the district schools, and resided with his parents until his marriage in the year 1881. He lived at one time in Sandusky county, cultivating a farm for eigh- teen months. but was drawn to the old scenes and returned to Pleasant township, where he has ever since made his home. He engages in general farming. having in his possession seventy-eight and one-half acres. In his political faith he is a Republican and his connection with public affairs is represented by a service of three years on the school board. He and his family attend the United Brethren and Dunkard churches.
The wife and helpmeet of Mr. Sellers was previous to her mar- riage Lydia MeCowen, born March 6. 1861, to Daniel and Emma (Palmer) McCowen. natives of Ohio. Coming here at an early day, they took up land and brought it to a state of improvement.
Mr. and Mrs. Sellers are the parents of a family of six chil- dren. Maud, the eldest. is the wife of Jesse Roderick, her birth having occurred June 28. 1882, in the city of Cleveland; Charles, who was born September 1, 1886, was educated at Old Fort, taught in the schools of Seneca county for two years and now resides in Cleveland, where he is engaged in the dairy business : Gladys. born January 4. 1890; Harvey F .. born January 25. 1895, and educated at Tiffin ; Roy J., born May 31, 1897; and Glen, born April 24. 1899, are all at home.
GEORGE P. KING .- The homestead of George P. King. consist- ing of many acres of the choicest quality and adorned with a hand- some, modern and commodious residence, unsurpassed by any in Pleasant township, is well known throughout Seneca county. and the name of King is one to which esteem attaches. The family
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has been known in Ohio since the subject's grandfather. Jacob King, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1792, and his wife, Cathe- rine Moyer, of Virginia, born in 1797, came to Sandusky county in the year 1832. Jacob King was one of a family of nine children and he had eight children, all of whom are deceased with the ex. ception of Mrs. Thomas Durbin and Mrs. R. S. Leon. In the new location the head of the family bought land and conducted a tavern. in a cabin that had formerly been occupied by the Indians, who had been decidedly troublesome in that section. The maternal grand- parents, Greenbury and Marcella Sheets, both of Maryland, the former born January 22, 1803, and the latter in 1811. came to the Buckeye state about the year 1831. The former died in 1854 and the latter in 1877. Mr. King's mother Angeline Sheets, was born in Frederick, Maryland.
Thus Mr. King's parents, Phillip and Angeline (Sheets) King. were natives of Ohio and Maryland, respectively. The mother born July 3, 1826, came to the state when about five years of age. The father was about seven years the elder of his wife, his birth date having been March 20, 1819. The birth of Mr. King occurred September 10, 1851, near the town of Old Fort, and it was upon the farm of his father that he passed his youthful days and attended school. He resided with his parents until his marriage to Flora Keenan, the same being celebrated December 10. 1874. Mrs. King was born April 24, 1854, and is a daughter of Peter and Nancy Keenan, the father born in 1809 and a native of Perry county, Ohio, and the mother, born in 1817, and of Fairfield county. this state. Peter Keenan was the son of James and Catherine ( Yost ; Keenan, who were old settlers in Wyandot county, later removing to Seneca county, where they lived out the residue of their days. Mrs. King's brother. J. P. Keenan, lives in Pittsburg and a half sister, Mrs. Adaline Doll. resides in Columbus, Ohio.
To Mr. and Mrs. King have been born three children. one dy- ing in infancy. Ralph P., born November 30. 1876, is now located in the state of Washington, where he follows the vocation of : teacher. £ He received his preliminary education in the district schools and afterward attended Stanford University in California and a school at Lebanon, Ohio, from which institution he received his degree. He has graduated in mining engineering and at the parental home has some collections of quartz. Dorothy E .. born July 27, 1884, was educated in the common schools and is at pres- ent at home, in Greenspring. She is the wife of W. H. Rule and they have one little daughter. Florence Josephine. The family
are of the Reformed faith. The handsome residence is built entirely of hard wood and is the center of a gracious hospitality.
Mr. King is independent in politics, as many of his well in- formed brethren seem to be, and believes in supporting the best man and the best measures, no matter what party they represent.
HELEN V. MARCHA .- On nothing. in all generations, has Seneca county's strength been more securely founded than on her brave and noble womanhood. In days long past the mothers and wives faced the perils of pioneer life shoulder to shoulder with the
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men, and surmounted difficulties which made the burden of Atlas seem light in comparison; when the long lowering Civil war cloud broke at last and plunged this part of Ohio, with the rest of the country, into mourning and devastation, the women bore their lot with fortitude not less in degree than that of the boys who faced the cannon on the field of battle; today Seneca takes the same richly deserved pride in the daughters and grand-daughters of those who have gone before, and esteems them the fairest flower of her later development. A representative member of this fine young womanhood of Seneca county is Helen V. Marcha, who was born April 21, 1888. in Pleasant township, near Old Fort, on land bordering on the Sandusky, her parents being John and Emma (Nichols) Marcha. The birth dates of the parents are August 29, 1862 and July 7, 1862. respectively.
The mother's parents were Robert and Jane (Brandeberry) Nichols, who, to quote from an old chronicle "were considered and received a prize consisting of a cook stove as being the most hand- some and finest dancers in or near Tiffin." The grandfather came here from West Virginia, his native state, in the year 1825, when a lad seven years of age, his birth having occurred in 1818. Ilis parents were born in the Old Dominion. At the time of the exodus to Ohio from West Virginia, Robert was suffering from a broken arm, but the plucky little fellow walked almost the entire distance, assisting in driving the cattle. The family located south of Tiffin and secured land upon which they farmed in a crude sort of fashion for a while. but they subsequently removed to Tiffin, and soon winning the confidence of his associates Robert Nichols came to play a prominent part in the affairs of the town. He held the offices of marshal and jailer and at the early age of twenty-five years was elected to the office of deputy sheriff, which he filled in the most capable and acceptable manner. Later he was in the government service and carried the mail from Fremont. to Tiffin, driving a stage coach over the route. He was, however. a mechanic by trade. He divided his time between this and ad- joining counties and was widely mourned at the time of his demise. which occurred in the month of October, 1908. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Tiffin.
Miss Helen Marcha's mother. Emma, was the second in order of birth of the children of Robert Nichols and his wife. She was born at Tiffin and received an excellent education. being graduated from the high school of her native place and later from Heidel- berg College. She engaged in educational work and she can look back over a gratifying career as a teacher in the schools of Seneca and adjoining counties of six years duration. She was married August 2. 1883, and moved to the farm where the subject was born soon after that happy event. She is a public spirited woman, who, although she is the most faithful of wives and mothers, yet has some interest beyond the narrow confines of the household. She belongs to the Memorial Society of the township and was one of those who instigated the movement which resulted in the erec- tion of a monument to the soldiers.
On the paternal side Miss Marcha is a granddaughter of
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Andrew Marcha, a Frenchman. He was a Parisian and spent some years of his life in that interesting city before coming to America, some time previous to the middle of the ninteenth cen- tury. He first located in New York, but a little later came on to Stark county and settled on a farm with his parents, John and Catherine Marcha. In his native land John Marcha had been a brewer, but upon coming to America he took up farming and con- tinued his new occupation until the time of his death. which oc- curred about thirty years ago. John Marcha resided with his parents until about a year previous to the attainment of his majority, and then began upon an independent career in the useful capacity of a thrasher, his services being employed by numerous
agriculturists in this vicinity. He had been in Seneca county about three years when he married, the young woman to become his bride being Anna Scheidler, and their union being celebrated April 21, 1861. Her birth date was October 16, 1834, and she was the daughter of Jacob and Agnes Huford of Maryland, good citi- zens who came to Stark county in the early days and later removed to Pleasant township in this county, where their daughter was reared to womanhood, the Scheidler estate being located near Watson station. To this union were born two children. The elder was John, the father of the subject, and the younger Erve, born October 6, 1872, in this township. The latter is now located in Toledo.
John Marcha is one of the progressive men of the township. He received his educational discipline in the district schools and at Heidelberg College and 'is now one of the up-to-date exponents of the honorable calling of agriculture. He has had no small or unimportant experience in public life, having been assistant bill clerk of the House of Representatives from this district for about fifteen years. This long term of service speaks highly both of his moral and mental powers. He is a Democrat, giving his heart and hand to the men and measures of that party. He and his wife are the parents of five children. The eldest. Robert. born October 25. 1884, is located in the state capital, Columbus, where he has a position in the state bindery. Hazel, now the wife of Neal Reitsman and residing at West Park, Cleveland, was born October 23, 1885. She is remembered as one of the efficient teachers, having taught for eight years in this and adjoining coun- ties. Miss Marcha was the third child. The two younger children, Honore, born March 20, 1898, and James, born July 24, 1900, are both at home with their parents.
Miss Marcha's grandparents on the Marcha side are among the respected people of Pleasant township. For two or three years after their marriage they resided on rented land, but sub- sequently purchased land near Old Fort, the tract consisting of about one hundred and sixty acres, a part of this now being in the hands of their son John. About fourteen years ago they re- moved to Old Fort, where they are held in high regard. They have deep affection for the county which has been the scene of the important events of their lives and those of their children and grandchildren. For years they have kept in touch with county
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and township affairs through constant perusal of the Tiffin Adver- tiser, published by E. S. Myers, one of the editors of this volume whose object is the perpetnation of the life histories of the worthy people of this county.
Helen V. Marcha was reared upon her father's homestead and received an excellent education in the schools of Old Fort and in Heidelberg College. After being graduated from these institu- tions she entered upon a career as a teacher. for which she is eminently well qualified by natural ability and training. Although still young in years, she can look back over a record of six years as an instructor in neighboring schools. It is a matter of regret that with the beginning of the school year of 1910 she transferred the scene of her labors to the Rocky River schools of Cleveland.
Miss Marcha's grandfather Marcha has had numerous interest- ing adventures, some of these being incident upon his identification with pioneer life. While living in Stark county he frequently carried a bag filled with two bushels of wheat to a mill two and a half miles away. carrying his burden across his shoulders. H was hired by Smith & Miller of Tiffin to teach them how to make beer, and received for divulging the secret of the process the sum of three dollars. Upon one occasion of crossing the ocean (it being his third) he saw a fish called the Mermaid fish. a rarely observed variety. This had a growth of hair upon its head some two feet long. The captain allowed him to look through the glass at this queer creature and also at a whale. But although he had a good view of the former, he could not by a long stretch of imagination see that it resembled a human face. The Mermaid followed the boat for three days. There were eleven hundred people aboard on this voyage, and not one of the number died or was lost in crossing, an unusual record. The voyage took seven weeks.
BURTON W. CROBAUGH .- Prominent among the foremost citizens and ablest business men of Seneca county is Burton W. Crobaugh, of Tiffin. who has been a resident of this city for up- wards of thirty-five years, during which time he has been actively identified with its advancement in industrial. financial and social lines. He has gained distinctive recognition as a leader in the establishment of beneficial projects and organizations, his capacity for the successful conduct of large enterprises rendering him an important factor in the upbuilding and betterment of the city and of the county. A son of the late Samuel Crobaugh, he was born November 26, 1856, in Attica, Seneca county, Ohio. Samuel Crobaugh, a native of Seneca county, New York. married Lucy A. Hathaway, who was born and educated in Geauga county. Ohio. and settled in Seneca county, where both spent the remainder of their days.
Making rapid progress in his studies while in the common schools, Burton W. Crobaugh completed the high school course. being graduated with the class of 1872. The following two years he attended the Cleveland Commercial School. at his gradua- tion from that institution being thoroughly equipped for a business
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career. He remained in Cleveland as a bookkeeper for a short time, and then located in 1874 in Tiffin. £ Entering the employ of John M. Naylor, as general salesman and bookkeeper, Mr. Cro- baugh performed his duties so well and showed such aptitude for the business that in 1892 he became a partner with his former em- ployer, the firm name being John M. Naylor and Company. In 1898 Mr. Naylor retired from the firm, and the business has since been conducted under its present firm name. Crobangh & Dahm. This firm carries on the most extensive and lucrative hardware business in northwestern Ohio outside the cities of Cleveland and Toledo, and is one of the longest established in the state. Mr. Crobaugh has occupied his present building since 1874, and is widely known as one of the most prosperous and progressive men of his times.
A man of varied resources, Mr. Crobaugh has been a leading spirit in the inauguration of beneficial enterprises and is officially identified with many of them. He is a stockholder and a director in the Tiffin National Bank, secretary and director of the Citizens' Building and Loan Association. a position that makes him the general manager of the organization; is vice president of the Tiffin Commercial Club; treasurer of the Electric Railway and Power Company. and is actively identified with other enterprises. A natural business man and a promoter. he has contributed in many ways to the betterment of the city, being known as a man who does things rather than as a dreamer.
Mr. Crobaugh married. in 1878. Laura F. Weller, a daughter of John L. and Maria (Metcalf) Weller. She was born and reared in Seneca county, receiving her education in the Tiffin schools. Five children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Crobaugh, namely : Bertha, a graduate of the Tiffin High School, is the wife of George D. Liles, of Youngstown. Ohio; Lucy, who was also graduated from the Tiffin High School; Irene, a graduate of the Ursuline Convent ; Burton N .. who was graduated from the Tiffin High School with the class of 1910; and Clarence, a pupil in the same school.
Mr. Crobaugh and his family are valued members of Saint Paul's Methodist Episcopal church. in which he is an active worker, being a member of its official board and one of its board of trustees. Fraternally Mr. Crobaugh belongs to the Benevolent and Protec- tive Order of Elks. In national politics he is a Republican. but in the management of local affairs he casts his ballot in favor of the best men and measures, regardless of party prejudice.
OTIS T. LOCKE .- It is most consonant that in this publication be accorded recognition to this well known and highly esteemed citizen of Seneca county. for he has done much to further the best interests of the community. not only in a personal way, but through the agency of his newspaper enterprises. He is at the present time serving as postmaster of the city of Tiffin and is senior member of the firm of O. T. Locke & Son, publishers of the Daily Tribune and Herald and the weekly Tribune at Tiffin. papers that have conceded standing as among the best of their order in the entire state.
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Otis T. Locke was born in Killawog, Broome county, New York, on the 27th of February, 1842, and is a representative of a family, of English origin, that was founded in New England in the early Colonial epoch of our national history. His paternal great-grandfather was a colonel in the British army in the Colonial days. His grandfather, John L., was a member of the patriotic band of fifty men who formed the historic "Boston Tea Party," on the 16th of December, 1773, and who subsequently served as a valiant soldier of the Continental line in the war of the Revolution.
Nathaniel Reed Locke was a native of Vermont, which state he represented as a soldier in the war of 1812, and later he settled in Cortland county. New York. He was a tanner and shoemaker by trade and also became a successful farmer in the old Empire state. His wife's maiden name was Taft. In 1882 they came to Ohio, where they continued to reside until their death.
Otis T. Locke was reared to adult age in his native state and is indebted to the common schools for his early educational training. At the age of eighteen years he came to Ohio and entered upon an apprenticeship to the printer's trade in the office of the Bucyrus Journal, at Bucyrus, a paper that was then published by his brother, the late David R. Locke, who attained national fame under the nom de plume of Petroleum V. Nasby and who later became the owner and publisher of the Toledo Blade. The subject of this sketch completed his apprenticeship in Bucyrus and in 1863 he entered into partnership with his brother, the late Charles N. Locke, with whom he became associated in the purchase of the Findlay Jeffersonian, at Findlay, this state. They continued to publish this paper until 1868, when they, in company with the late William G. Blymer, purchased the Tiffin Tribune. With the publication of this paper Otis T. Locke has been identified during the long intervening years-more than forty years. The brothers event- ually purchased the interest of Mr. Blymer and the paper was published under the firm name of Locke & Brothers until 1893, when Otis T. Locke and his son John P. purchased the interest in the business held by the widow of Charles N. Locke, since which time the enterprise has been continued under the firm name of O. T. Locke & Son. Since 1898 the subject of this sketch has taken no active part in the editorial and business management of the two papers published by the firm, and his son and partner is the active manager of both these departments.
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