USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 106
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services, and saved most of his money. Later he rented a farm of one hun- dred acres and lived on it for a time, after which he bought an acre and a quar- ter for one hundred and twenty-five dollars and lived in a shack for a time. Gradually he and his wife saved enough money to invest in more land, and today his farm of three hundred and twenty-nine and eighty hundredths acres, known as the "Maple Villa Farm," is a glowing tribute to his successful career as a farmer. His farm lies three and one-half miles southwest of Ray- mond, Ohio, and is recognized as one of the best farms in Liberty township. He is essentially a self-made man in every particular, and he and his good wife richly deserve the success which has attended their efforts.
Vincent M. Willoughby was married in November, 1875, to Ella Buss- ard, a native of Clark county, Ohio, and to this union have been born two children, only one of whom, Grace, is now living. She was born September 12, 1890, and is the wife of Robert Stone, a farmer of this county. Mr. Stone bought the old Evans farm in Liberty township on October 30, 1913, and is already making many improvements upon this place.
CHARLES W. SMITH.
The year 1835 marks the advent of the Smith family, of which Charles W. Smith is a member, into Union county, Ohio. At that time he was only two years of age and here he has spent his whole career since then, which is more than eighty years. Mr. Smith served throughout the Civil War and has been farming for the past half century in York township, where he settled after returning from the war. His career has been devoted to the services of his fellow citizens and for sixteen years he served as trustee and county commissioner. He has always been active in church work, his father being a charter member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Raymond.
Charles W. Smith, a highly respected citizen of York township, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, March 31, 1833. He is a son of Charles and Sarah (Godfrey) Smith. natives of Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. His father went from Virginia to Pennsylvania and there married Sarah Godfrey and shortly after their marriage they moved to Harrison county, Ohio, where nine of their ten children were born. In 1835 Charles Smith came to Union county and located in Liberty township in the woods. He cleared away a spot, built a rude log cabin and lived on this farm until his death, in 1859. Of the ten children born to Charles Smith and wife, two
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are now living, Charles W., and Eliza, the widow of Sol Cleason, of Mis- souri. Charles Smith was one of the pioneer settlers of the county and his first cabin had only three sides, the fourth side being exposed to the weather. He and his wife attended church four miles away. They were deeply inter- ested in the welfare of the first church organized at Raymond and were prominent factors in its early history. He worked at Kings Creek plains for sixty-two and one-half cents a day and at that time had to pay one dollar a bushel for corn to feed his family. He owned the first wagon in Liberty township.
Charles W. Smith was only two years of age when his parents moved from Harrison county, Ohio, to Union county. He received a meager common school education in the subscription schools of his boyhood days and early in life learned to swing the axe and handle the rifle. He remained at home helping his father until he was twenty-five years of age and then began work- ing for himself. At the opening of the Civil War he enlisted in Company D. One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until the end of the war. Before the close of the war he was pro- moted to the rank of first lieutenant and was holding this rank when he was mustered out of the service. Mr. Smith belongs to the Ranson Reed Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Marysville.
At the close of the war, Mr. Smith returned to Union county and settled down to the life of a farmer in York township, where he has since continued to reside. He has a well improved farm, although he has now retired from active farm work.
Mr. Smith was married to Caroline A. Hathway, the daughter of E. and Almira ( Loring ) Hathway, natives of Massachusetts. To this union have been born three children : Emily, who was a student at Delaware Col- lege, at Delaware, Ohio, and now the wife of Clyde Bitzer ; Nannie, the wife of John McCloud, and Charles II., who was educated at Delaware College and is married to Eleanor Tallman. Charles H. was married June 23, 1904, and he and his wife have three sons: Charles. James and John. The wife of of Charles H. Smith was a daughter of James and Rebecca ( Sager ) Tallman, of London, Ohio.
Charles W. Smith and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Raymond and have been active in all church and Sunday school work. Mr. Smith was superintendent of the Sunday school for a period of twenty years. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and is a past chancellor and a member of the grand lodge of the Knights of Pythias. In politics he has given his support
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to the Republican party since its organization, in 1856. He has served as trustee of York township for nine years and as commissioner of Union county for a period of seven years. He appraised the land in York township in 1870 and 1880. Mr. Smith is one of the grand old pioneers of Union county and is one of the very few citizens of the county who have lived here more than eighty years. His whole career has been one of usefulness and honor and it seems eminently fitting that his life history be recorded in this volume.
F. W. PERKINS.
York township, Union county, Ohio, contains several farmers who were born in this same township, and among them F. W. Perkins occupies a promin- ent place. His farm, known as the "Eureka Sheep Farm," consists of one hundred three and one-half acres, located two miles east of West Mansfield and from this farm he has shipped American Merino Sheep to various parts of the United States and as far away as south Africa. He ranks among the leading sheep raisers of Ohio and has exhibited his sheep at many state and county fairs.
F. WV. Perkins, the son of William and Caroline M. (Rea) Perkins, was born on the farm where he is now living, June 28, 1855. His father was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and his mother in Logan county and both came here before their marriage. His father came to Union county with his father, John Perkins, and located on the farm south of where E. W. Perkins is now living. Later John Perkins moved to Indiana, where he died. Will- iam Perkins grew to manhood in this county and he and his wife reared a family of three children: F. W., of York township; French W., deceased : and Jennie A., who died at the age of seven. William Perkins was a pron- inent man in this county for many years. He enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was dis- charged from the service December 15, 1864.
F. W. Perkins was reared on his father's farm in York township and educated in the district schools in his home neighborhood. He married at the age of twenty-five and at once settled down to the life of a farmer and with a success which has stamped him as one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of his county. In fact, he has made a reputation as a sheep raiser which extends far beyond the limit of his own county and even of his own state. As a breeder of American Merino sheep he has won a national reputa-
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tion and is now the vice-president of the Vermont, New York and Ohio Merino Sheep Association, an honor which came to him because of his suc- cess as a breeder of this particular kind of sheep. He has exhibited his sheep at many state and county fairs and has won numerous prizes. He has made no less than six shipments of his prize sheep to South Africa for breeding purposes.
Mr. Perkins has been twice married. He was first married to Ella Votaw. November 1, 1880, and she died March 20, 1883. To this union one daughter was born, Bertha B., in 1881. Bertha died July 29. 1901. leaving one son, Carroll W., who was born July 14, of the same year. The second wife of Mr. Perkins was Flora J. Riley, his second marriage occurring December 26, 1891. She was born in Ashland county, Ohio, November 22. 1861, and was educated in the schools of her home county. There were no children to this second marriage.
Mr. Perkins and his wife are active members of the Church of Christ at West Mansfield and Mr. Perkins is a deacon and trustee of his church. Mrs. Perkins is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society and also vice-president of the Farm Women's Club of her township. Mr. Perkins is a member of the Protective Association of Union county, Ohio. Politically, he is a Re- publican and has served as a member of the school board of his township for the past twenty-one years. Mr. Perkins and his wife are well known throughout the county and have many warm friends who admire them for their many good qualities.
LEO JOHN McCOY.
A prominent young business man and banker of Richwood, Ohio, is Leo John McCoy, who has been connected with the First National Bank of Rich- wood since its organization in 1908. He is a young man with a college educa- tion and has rapidly forged to the front as a successful banker. Mr. McCoy and I. N. Lair, cashier of the Citizens National Bank of Wilmington, Ohio, organized the First National Bank in 1908 with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dollars. The officers of the bank are as follows: H. J. Brooks, president : Edward .A. Schambs, vice-president : Leo J. McCoy, cashier. So rapidly has the business of the bank increased that the capital stock has since been increased to forty thousand dollars, and within the short space of seven years the bank has grown until it has more than two hundred and fifty thou-
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sand dollars on deposit all the time. This phenomenal growth is due to the confidence which the people of the community repose in Mr. McCoy and the directors of the bank, and to the courteous treatment Mr. McCoy, as cashier, gives its patrons.
Leo John McCoy, the son of Hugh and Margaret (Oren) McCoy, was born in Wilmington, Ohio, December 17, 1883. His parents were natives of Ohio, and they have reared a family of five children, Oliver, Ethel, Leo J., Elsie and Arthur. Elsie is professor of Latin in Wilmington College. All of the children, with the exception of Leo J., are living in Wilmington.
Hugh McCoy was reared in Clinton county, Ohio, and has always been a farmer. He is a director of the Citizens National Bank, of Wilmington, but still resides on his fine farm of four hundred acres. He and his wife are members of the Friends church.
The paternal grandparents of Mr. McCoy were Robert and Sarah ( Fife) McCoy, natives of Fifeshire, Scotland, the county being named after the original head of the family. Robert McCoy and Sarah Fife came to America before their marriage and lived in Philadelphia and were married in that city. Both were of Presbyterian stock. Robert McCoy brought his family later to Ohio, and located in Clinton county, among the first settlers. He cleared the land, built a log cabin and developed a farm near Wilmington, where he and his good wife reared a family of seven children, Hugh, David, Maxwell, Charles, William, James and Maggie.
The maternal grandparents of Leo J. McCoy were John A. and Johanna ( Bailey) Oren, natives also of Clinton county, Ohio. They died in High- land county, this state, at an advanced age. Six children were born to John A. Oren and wife, Sarah, Susanna, Margaret, John, Alfred, James and a daughter who died in childhood. The Oren family history in this county dates back to John Oren, Sr., the son of Jesse and Abigail (Kirk) Oren. John Oren, Sr., was born in Yorktown, York county, Pennsylvania, in 1765, and was the father of sixteen children and lived to have one hundred and five grandchildren. He afterwards moved to Greene county, Tennessee, where he united with the Friends church and the family have continued in that faith ever since.
Leo John McCoy was reared on his father's farm in Clinton county, Ohio, and, after finishing the common schools, entered Wilmington College, from which excellent institution he graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1906. He then engaged in the fire insurance business for a short time, but within a year became bookkeeper in the Citizens National Bank, of Wilmington. Two years later he assisted in the organization of the
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First National Bank, of Richwood, and has since been the cashier of that bank.
Mr. McCoy was married June 5, 1912, to Elizabeth King, the daughter of Charles E. and Lucy ( Finch) King, and to this union two children have been born, Elmore King and Gertrude Ellen. Mrs. McCoy was born in Richwood, as was her father. Her mother was a native of lowa. Her par- ents are now living in Richwood, where her father is engaged in the grocery business. Mrs. McCoy is the only child of her parents.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. McCoy were Dr. Elmore Y. and Elizabeth ( Rogers) King. Charles E., the father of Mrs. McCoy, was the only child. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. McCoy were Peter and Marilla ( Wort ) Finch.
Mr. and Mrs. McCoy are earnest and consistent members of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. Mr. McCoy is church treasurer and teaches a class in the Sunday school. He is a member of the county committee of the Young Men's Christian Association. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He gives his support to the Republican party, but has never been active in political matters.
HARRY A. TAYLOR.
One of the youngest farmers of Dover township, Union county, Ohio, is Harry A. Taylor, who is now farming two hundred acres of the Taylor estate with a success which speaks well for his ability as an agriculturist. Born and reared in this county, as was his father before him, he has a wide circle of friends and acquaintances throughout the county and is known to everyone as a young man of high character and painstaking industry. The success which has attended his efforts thus far indicate that some day he will be classed among the substantial men of his community. He is now at the very threshold of his career and has a long and prosperous future before him.
Harry A. Taylor, the son of Adrian and Lou ( Riteman) Taylor, was born November 16, 1887, on his father's farm in Dover township. Ilis father was born in the same township and after a long and successful career on the farm is now living a retired life in Dover with his wife. Adrian is the son of Andrew Taylor and wife, and he and his wife have reared a family of seven children, six of whom are still living: Etta, the wife of Will Gomble : Oscar ; Harry A., of Dover township; Hattie, the wife of S. Miller ;
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Mattie, the wife of C. Dillon; Harrison, deceased: and Lucile, who is still making her home with her parents.
Harry A. Taylor attended the common schools until he was sixteen years of age and worked on the farm during the summer season while attending school. At the age of seventeen, he commenced renting land from his father and after his marriage, at the age of nineteen, he took charge of the Taylor estate in this township, which he has been successfully managing since that time. He is progressive and enterprising in his methods and is meeting with unusual success in all of his agricultural operations.
Mr. Taylor was married April 11, 1906, to Gertrude Weaver, the daugh- ter of George and Clara ( Fish) Weaver. To this union have been born three children, Edwin, Berenice and Pearl.
Politically, Mr. Taylor has not taken an active part in political affairs. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and belongs to the lodge at Dover. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Taylor is a man of practical and sound intelligence and is alert to everything relating to his interest and, in fact, with all that concerns the advancement and prosperity of his community. Because of his fine personal characteristics and his genuine worth, he enjoys the confidence and esteem of all who know him and has an unusually wide and varied acquaintance throughout the township and county.
CYRUS STAMETS.
The "Maple Grove Stock Farm" of two hundred and fifty-eight acres in York township is the home of Cyrus Stamets, who was born in this township more than seventy years ago. He is one of the pioneer farmers of the county and a member of one of the first families to locate in Union county. He is a veteran of the Civil War and one of the most highly respected citizens of the township where he has made his residence for more than three score and ten years.
Cyrus Stamets, the son of John and Ally ( Koons ) Stamets, was born in York township, Union county, Ohio, December 6, 1842. His father was born in Pennsylvania, the son of George Stamets, who was a son of Philip Steinmetz, a native of Prussia and who settled in the United States at the opening of the American Revolution. Philip Steinmetz served under General Washington and was captain of a light horse company from the state of
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Pennsylvania. He was wounded three times during the Revolution, receiving one of his wounds at the battle of Germantown, October 4. 1777. . After the close of the Revolution, Philip Steinmetz settled in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, where he lived the remainder of his days. He owned five hun- dred acres of land at the time of his death.
George Stamets, the grandfather of Cyrus and the son of Philip, who served in the Revolutionary War, was reared to manhood in Pennsylvania and came to Muskingum county, Ohio, about 1815, where he lived the re- mainder of his life. He was the father of John Stamets, the father of Cyrus. John Stamets came to Muskingum county when a lad with his parents and married Ally Koons, a native of Licking county, Ohio. On April 11, 1831, John Stamets and family came to Union county, Ohio, where he and his wife reared their family of eight children, five of whom are now living: H. S .. of Washington township: Matthew, of Richwood, Ohio: Malchus F., a farmer of Union county: Sarah, the wife of William Hamilton ; and Cyrus.
Cyrus Stamets, who is a twin brother of Sarah, was reared in York town- ship and received such education as was given by the rude district schools of his boyhood days. He was a member of Company .\, First Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered into the service in August, 1863, and served until he was discharged, in July, 1864. He participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge. Lookont Mountain, Kenesaw Mountain and many others of the war.
Immediately after the close of the war. Cyrus Stamets returned to his home in York township, in this county, and settled down to the life of a farmer. He received nine hundred dollars from his father's estate and with this as a nucleus, he has become one of the most substantial farmers of the township. His two hundred and fifty-eight acres is one of the best improved farms of the county. He has been an extensive stock raiser and a man who has always worked hard and is well deserving of the success which has come to him because of his persistent efforts.
Mr. Stamets was married January 1, 1873, to Margaret Fish, the daugh- ter of C. E. and Elizabeth Fish. His wife was born and reared in Union county. To this marriage two children were born, Carrie, the wife of George Williams, of Marion county, Ohio, and May, the wife of Rolla Linn, a farmer of Claibourne township, in Union county. The mother of these two children died .April 19, 1909, and on September 7, 1910, Mr. Stamets married Mrs. Margaret (Ross) Parsons. She was the daughter of William and Elsie Ross and was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, September 27. 1844. She was a school teacher in Union county for many years and was the youngest child of
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twenty-seven children born to her father. Her father was twice married, having twelve children by his first wife and fifteen by his second.
Mr. Stamets and his wife are members of the Baptist church and active workers in all church work. He is one of the trustees of his church and has been a faithful attendant of the church for more than half a century. In politics, he has always given his support to the Democratic party but has never taken an active part in its councils. Mr. Stamets is a liberal supporter of the church and of all benevolent and public-spirited enterprises. He is a whole-souled, big-hearted man, charitable to the needs of his neighbors and has so conducted himself and his affairs as to win the high esteem and regard of all who know him.
GEORGE G. SPANGLER.
A well improved farm of York township, Union county, Ohio, is the "North View Stock Farm." consisting of one hundred acres, five miles east of West Mansfield. The farm is owned by George G. Spangler, who has been one of the most enterprising farmers of York township for many years. Mr. Spangler came to this county in 1891 and lived in Washington township for ten years, since which time he has been living on his present farm.
George G. Spangler, the son of Alexander and Minerva (Huffman) Spangler, was born in Pleasant township, Franklin county, Ohio, February 24. 1856. His father was born in Pickaway county, Ohio, the son of Adam and Rachel (Tanquary) Spangler. Minerva Huffman was the daughter of John and Sarah (Doe) Huffman, and was a native of Pickaway. Adam Spangler came to Franklin county about 1826 and entered six hundred acres of land, three miles west of Harrisburg, where he lived the remainder of his life. The Huffman family came into Franklin county, Ohio, and settled in the same locality. Alexander Spangler and Minerva Huffman were married in that county and to them were born seven children, three of whom are now living: John R., a farmer of Pleasant township, Franklin county, Ohio; Rachel A., the widow of J. W. Gray, of Harrisburg, Ohio; and George G., of Union county.
George G. Spangler was reared on his father's farm in Franklin county, Ohio, and educated in the common schools of his home neighborhood. After leaving school, he took up farming with his father and remained at home until his marriage. He continued farming in Franklin county after his mar- riage until 1881, when he came to Union county and purchased sixty acres in
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Washington township, on which he lived until 1901. In that year he bought his present farm of one hundred and forty acres in York township, on which he has placed many extensive improvements. He built a fine barn in 1910 and in various other ways his increased his farm and made it more valuable. He is a general farmer, dividing his attention between stock raising and grain raising.
George G. Spangler was married September 12, 1883, to Susan M. Lewis, a daughter of Rev. I. E. Lewis, a Christian minister of Pickaway county. Mrs. Spangler was born in Pickaway county May 22, 1865, and remained at home until her marriage to Mr. Spangler. To this union have been born three children : Ora May, the wife of O. M. Andrews, of West Mansfield, Ohio; Clarence E .. who married Martha K. Staley, a daughter of A. T. Staley, of Richwood, Ohio: and Marietta, the wife of Dale Staley, a son of Frank Staley.
Mr. Spangler and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at York. The Republican party claims the hearty support of Mr. Spangler, although he has never taken an active part in its deliberations in this county. Mr. Spangler is essentially a self-made man and his present farm is a direct result of his industry and good management.
SILAN H. POLING.
The Poling family have been residents of Union county, Ohio, since 1860 and Silan H. Poling, whose history is here presented, arrived in this county with his parents on his eighteenth birthday. Mr. Poling has been a lifelong farmer and now has one hundred and sixteen and one-half acres in Allen township, to which he has given his attention for many years. He has followed general farming with a success which speaks well for his efforts. while at the same time he has taken an active part in the various phases of his community's life.
Silan II. Poling, the son of Joseph and Phoebe ( Mckinney ) Poling. was born in West Virginia, September 27, 1842. His father was a native of Maryland and at the age of six months came with his parents to Barbour county, West Virginia, where he grew to manhood and married. In the fall of 1860 Joseph Poling decided to come to Union county, Ohio, and ar- rived in this county on September 27, of that year, and at once located in' Allen township, where he lived until his death. Eight children were born to
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Joseph Poling and wife, Jane, Jesse B., Catherine, Silan H., Sarah E., Sa- vannah, Jeremiah and James D. All of these children are still living with the exception of Catherine.
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