USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 52
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Mr. Curry was never married. Politically, he has always been identi- fied with the Democratic party, but has never had any desire to be a candi- date for a public office. He is a man of genial disposition and his long service in the school room as a teacher has given him a wonderful insight into human nature. He takes an active part in all public spirited measures and is always found on the right side of every question which comes before the people.
JOHN WESLEY SOUTHARD.
All honor is due the gallant veterans of the Civil War who are still living today. They are fast answering the last roll call and within a few years they will all have passed away, leaving nothing but the memory of their heroic lives spent for the love of their country. When the news of the fall of Fort Sumter was flashed across the country the hearts of the North were fired by patriotism which augured well for the nation. No Northern state had a more patriotic governor than Ohio and no other state furnished better or braver men. In every engagement in which the troops from Ohio partic- ipated they were never found lacking in that fine enthusiasm which is con- ducive to victory. Whether upon the battlefield or in the camp, whether in the prison pens of the South, they were always found faithful and loyal to the country which supported them. \ gallant veteran of the Civil War now living in Marysville, Ohio, is John Wesley Southard, who has been living a retired life for several years after a successful career as a farmer and mer- chant.
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John Wesley Southard, the son of Sylvester Fowler and Rebecca ( Til- ton) Southard, was born in Licking county, Ohio. April 17, 1845. His father was a native of Licking county, Ohio, and for many years taught school, later entering the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church. He traveled a circuit on horseback and preached over a wide extent of territory. Ilis health failing, he went to farming and continued at this occupation until his death, November 12, 1862, at the age of forty-eight. His wife, Rebecca Tilton, was born in New Jersey, as were her parents. The Tiltons came from New Jersey to Licking county, Ohio, and there Rebecca Tilton married Syl- vester F. Southard and lived the remainder of her days, her death occurring at an advanced age. Rebecca Tilton had two brothers and a sister, William, Nehemiah and Sarah Ann. Nine children were born to Sylvester F. South- ard and wife, Mrs. Mary Stamants, Mrs. Emily Langstaff, Francis H., John Wesley, Martha Jane, Leonidas H., Mrs. Priscilla Callie Reamis and Mrs. Elizabeth Seran. All of these children are still living with the exception of Martha Jane and Elizabeth.
The paternal grandparents of John W. Southard were Francis H. and Elizabeth ( Hoyt) Southard, natives of New Jersey, and pioneer settlers of Ohio, where they died. Francis H. Southard was a soldier in the War of 1812. His father, William Southard, came from New Jersey to Licking county, Ohio, and lived to be more than one hundred years of age. Francis H. Southard and wife reared a family of eight children, Sylvester F .. Levi, James, Leonidas H., Mrs. Mary Ann Denman, Mrs. Emily Wear. Mrs. Caroline Cochran and Mrs. Priscilla Bruner.
John Wesley Southard lived in Licking county, Ohio, where he was born, until he was six years of age and then came with his parents to Union county, Ohio. He grew to manhood on a farm and received such education as was afforded by the district schools of that time. At the age of seventeen he enlisted for service in the Civil War as a member of Company A. One Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served only one year of his enlistment, due to the fact that his health failed, and was hon- orably discharged on account of total disability. He was in the battle at Perrysville. Kentucky, October 8, 1862.
After leaving the army, Mr. Southard returned to Union county and bought a farm of eighty-two acres in Allen township, to which he later added eighty-three acres, so that he had a farm of one hundred and sixty-five acres, which he improved and brought to a high state of cultivation. He lived on this farm until 1895. although during much of this time he operated a general
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store in Somerville, Ohio, in connection with his farming. He started this store in 1876. From 1886 to 1901 Mr. Southard was superintendent of the county infirmary. He is now living a retired life in Marysville, but still keeps a close supervision over his farm.
Mr. Southard was married October 25, 1865, to Elizabeth J. Penhor- wood, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Lyle) Penhorwood, and to this tinion four sons have been born, Edward F., Sylvester F., Burleigh J. and Milton A. Edward F. married Annabel Schoetinger and has three children. Frances, Catherine and Margaret. The history of Edward F. Southard is presented elsewhere in this volume. Sylvester married Ora Church and has two daughters, Ruth C. and Elizabeth. Burleigh married Minnie Turner and has five children, Lawrence, Mary, Martha, Charles and Dorothy. Mil- ton A. married Effie Taylor and has four children living, Mildred, Alonzo, John Wesley and Anna.
Mrs. Southard was born in Locke, Knox county, Ohio, November 6, 1844. Her parents were natives of England, pioneers in Knox county, Ohio, and early settlers in Union county. Her father died in 1888, at the age of about seventy-five years, and her mother passed away in 1893, at the age of ninety-two. Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Penhorwood, John H., Elizabeth J., Mary S., William, Rebecca, Ella and Ida.
The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Southard were John and Jennie (Caldwell) Penhorwood, natives of England. They came to America, lo- cated in Knox county, Ohio, and died near Gambier, in that county, at an advanced age. They reared several children, John, William, Mary, Francis, Grace, James, Rebecca and Thomas. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Southard were John and Susan Lyle, natives of England, and early settlers in Knox county, Ohio. They are buried at Rich Hill. John Lyle and wife had four children, John, William, Elizabeth and Ann, the last named dying in England.
John W. Southard and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Southard has been a loyal member of this denomination since he was fourteen years of age and has been a member of the official board of the church for more than half a century. Politically, he is a loyal Re- publican, but has never held any official position other than that of superin- tendent of the county infirmary. He belongs to the Ransom Reed Post, No. 113, Grand Army of the Republic, and has served as post commander for two terms.
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CHARLES CARROLL ARMSTRONG.
One of the largest manufacturing establishments of Marysville, Ohio, is the Standard Stamping Company, of which Charles Carroll Armstrong is treasurer and general manager. Mr. Armstrong has been engaged in busi- ness in Marysville for the past thirteen years and during that time has made an excellent reputation as a business man. He has that rare foresight and good judgment which characterizes the successful business man, and while devoting himself primarily to his own interests, has also taken a prominent part in the life of his community.
Charles C. Armstrong, the son of Francis and Amanda S. ( Harker ) Armstrong, was born in Columbus, Ohio, June 21, 1874. He is one of four children, the others being Martha B., of London, Ohio, and Richard D. and Frank H., both of Marysville.
Francis Armstrong was reared in Miami county, Ohio, and was a hardware merchant in Columbus for about fifteen years. He then returned to Miami county and spent the rest of his days on the farm, his death oc- curing there in 1884, at the age of fifty-two years. His wife died in 1904. Francis Armstrong and his wife were both loyal members of the Pres- byterian church. He was in the hundred-day service during the Civil War, serving as a private.
The paternal grandparents of Charles C. Armstrong were Richard and Electa ( Rumsey ) Armstrong, natives of Pennsylvania, and early settlers in Miami county, Ohio, where they lived the remainder of their days. Ten children were born to Mr. Armstrong's grandparents: Elliott B., Albert, William Howard, Francis. Truman B., Evelina. Fidelia, Nancy Maria, Henry Clay and Richard Martin. The maternal grandparents of Mr. Armstrong were John M. and Elizabeth ( Boileau ) Harker.
Charles C. Armstrong moved from Columbus with his parents when he was a child and was reared in Troy, Miami county, Ohio. After leaving school he clerked for a short time in Troy, and then started to learn the trade of metal spinning in Columbus, Ohio, and followed this trade for twelve years. He then organized the Standard Stamping Company in Co- lumbus and operated it there for about two years. In 1902 he removed his plant to Marysville and changed the name from the Admiral Lamp Company to the Standard Stamping Company. The company was originally incor- porated with a capital stock of seven thousand dollars, which was increased successively to thirty thousand, fifty thousand and seventy thousand, its pres-
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ent capitalization. The company manufactures hardware specialties of various kinds and covers the entire United States and Canada in the sale of their goods. Seventy people are now employed in the manufacture of the prod- ucts of the company. Its present officers are H. W. Morey, president ; Waldo T. Guy, vice-president ; D. G. Scott, secretary, and C. C. Armstrong, treasurer and general manager.
Mr. Armstrong was married in October, 1899. to Mary Lee Cady, the daughter of Norman W. and Anna ( Mott) Cady, and to this union two children have been born, Catherine Alice and Charles Carroll.
Mrs. Armstrong was born in Miami county, Ohio, and her parents were both natives of this state, and are now living in Troy, Ohio. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Cady, Zella, Nettie. Mary, Harriet, Alice. Elfie and two who died in childhood. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Arm- strong were Parley R. and Sophronia (Grandy) Cady. Her grandfather, on her father's side, died at the advanced age of ninety-four. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Armstrong were Josiah and Mary Ann ( Scobey ) Mott.
Mr. Armstrong and his wife are members of the Congregational church and are interested in all church and Sunday school work. Mr. Arm- strong is now superintendent of the Sunday school in his church. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and in politics gives his earnest allegiance to the Republican party.
CHARLES S. CHAPMAN.
Charles Stansberry Chapman was born in Raymond, Union county. Ohio, November 15, 1846, and this county has been his home nearly all the time from that date. While he is not yet in the class of the oldest inhabitants he has lived in the county a sufficient number of years to have seen a won- derful growth and development in the county during the past half century. The improved farms and improved methods of farming, the modern im- provements in farmers' homes and manner of living, the modern conveniences for transportation and communication, the automobile, telephone, electric light and electric power, and innumerable other things have all come within the memory of persons of less number of years than has been lived by Mr. Chapman.
Mr. Chapman is a son of Albert S. and Nancy Evelyn (Couch) Chap- man; the father was a native of Franklin county, Ohio, and the mother of
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le 1. Chapman
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Connecticut. They had three children : Charles S .: Frank, who died in in- fancy ; and Minnie Mary, deceased, who was the wife of Augustus Reichert. The father of our subject was reared in Franklin county, Ohio. He came to Union county in 1845, and in 1864 moved to Jerome township and engaged in farming for several years. In 1870 he came to Marysville and engaged in the agricultural implement business in which he continued until 1873, when he disposed of this business and went into the lumber and planing mill business. He continued in this business for several years, when he re- tired. He and his wife died here at an advanced age. They were members of the Episcopal church at Worthington and later identified themselves with the Congregational church at Marysville.
The paternal grandfather of Charles S. Chapman was Roswell Riggs Chapman and his wife was Phoebe ( Stansberry ) Chapman. They were natives of Connecticut and pioneers of Franklin county, Ohio. He died at Natchez, Mississippi. when a comparatively young man . his wife died in Marysville well advanced in years. They had quite a large family of chil- dren, the most of whom lived to the age of maturity. The grandfather was a soldier in the War of 1812. and participated in some of the important battles of that war. In one of these engagements he was taken prisoner by General Hull. The maternal grandparents were natives of Connecticut and he died at his home in that state. The widow and children came west to Ohio and found a home in Springfield. She died in Logan county, Ohio, at an advanced age. The children of this family were Nancy, Evelyn, Mrs. Caroline Coles, Elizabeth Channel and Frank. The grandfather. Isaac Marsh, held the rank of general in the War of 1812 and rendered conspicuous service as a soldier in the cause of his country.
Charles S. Chapman spent his younger years on his father's farm near Worthington and was accustomed to all the ordinary work that falls to lot of the farmer boy. His elementary education was received in the schools at Worthington and he then became a student at Kenyon College. After leav- ing college he taught school in Union county for one year. He then assisted his father in farming and lived at home until he was grown to manhood. In 1870 he came to Marysville and was employed for about three months by O. M. Scott in the agricultural implement business. He then bought Mr. Scott's interests and continued the business for himself for three years. On April 1. 1874. he organized the Peoples' Bank with a capital stock of twenty thousand dollars. This proved to be a successful enterprise and has become one of the established financial institutions of the county. . At the organ-
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ization of this bank, Mr. Chapman was made cashier and served in that capacity for many years. For the past three years he has been president of the bank.
On December 1, 1870, Mr. Chapman was married to Anna Theresa Kin- kade, a daughter of James and Hannah (Cassil) Kinkade. There are three sons in the family, Frank Thomas, Max and Albert K. Frank Thomas is a music teacher and is at the head of the Conservatory of Music in Pacific University, at Forest Grove, Oregon. He graduated from the Chicago Col- lege of Music and studied abroad in London, and after his marriage to Pauline Miller, also a singer of note, they spent a year in Berlin. He has written a book on harmony and is one of the prominent educators in music of the Pacific coast. His children are also musically inclined, especially Harmon. He and his wife have three children, Harmon, Anna Katherine and Miller. Max is a farmer and stock raiser and lives two miles west of Marysville on the "Maxwellton Stock Farm." He is one of the most promi- nent Rambouillet sheep breeders in the United States. "Bernice" was a fine specimen of the Rambouillet breed of sheep and never equaled nor defeated at the prominent state fairs. She was the champion prize ewe of the breed at the Pan-American Exposition. "Lady C" was another wonderful ewe raised by the Chapman family. She was the champion ewe of the Rambouillets at the Seattle Exposition and sold for three hundred dollars before the award- ing of the prizes. He raised a young ram, "Fashion," which made an ex- cellent animal and sold for five hundred dollars. He married Effa Seeley and they have two sons, Charles Seeley and Donald Seeley, both of whom are now in the Marysville high school. Albert Kinkade lives at home and is at present a member of the graduate school of Princeton University, where he is to receive his Doctor of Philosophy degree. He secured his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees at Ohio State University. He has had conferred on him the honors Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Psi. His great- grandfather, Rev. Benjamin Chapman, graduated from Princeton in 1754.
Mrs. Chapman was born in Marysville September 26, 1847, attended the public schools of that place and graduated from the Springfield Seminary for girls. For history of her family ( Kinkade), see the sketch of J. H. Kin- kade elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles S. Chapman are members of the Presbyterian church and Mr. Chapman is a ruling elder in this church. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are charter members of the Marysville Musical Club, which is twenty-nine years old. Mrs. Chapman is also a member of the Parliament
E. F. SAWYER
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Club, which is twenty-five years old, the Art History Chib and numerous church societies. Fraternally, Mr. Chapman is a member of the Palestine Lodge No. 158, Free and Accepted Masons. Politically, he is a Republican. He is interested in everything for the uplift of the community. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman reside in their fine brick home which was built in 1887.
EMORY FULTON SAWYER.
For the past thirty years Emory Fulton Sawyer has been actively identi- fied with the business interests of Marysville, Ohio, and during practically all of this period he has been the secretary of the Citizens Home Savings Bank. This company was organized in 1889 with an authorized capital stock of half a million dollars, which has since been increased to two million dollars. Mr. Sawyer was the chief organizer of the bank and the only original officer or director who has been connected with it since its organization in 1889. He is essentially a self-made man and the success which has attended his efforts in banking circles speaks highly for his ability as a financier. While he has been primarily devoted to his own private interests he has not neglected to take his full share of the burdens of community life, and consequently is highly regarded as a public-spirited citizen in Marysville and throughout Union county. To his labors and energy is largely due the improved condi- tion and paving of Marysville's streets, he being the first to take the initiative in that line.
Emory Fulton Sawyer, the son of Amos and Laura ( Harbaugh ) Saw- yer, was born in Piqua, Miami county, Ohio, June 21, 1855. His father was born in Dayton, Ohio, and his mother in Fredericktown, Maryland, and to them were born five children: Amos H., of Columbus, Ohio: Emory F., of Marysville: Charles M., of Columbus; Jessie R .. the wife of Samuel R. Hamill, of Terre Haute, Indiana, and Laura, the wife of George Atkinson, of New York city.
Amos Sawyer was reared in Dayton, Ohio, and moved to Miami county. Ohio, some time in the forties and located at Piqua, where he became inter- ested in the manufacture of linseed oil, and subsequently in the wholesale and retail grocery business, following this dual line of activity until his death in 1885 at the age of sixty-two. His widow still survives him and is now mak- ing her home in Columbus. She is now past eighty-one years of age. Amos Sawyer and his wife were both members of the Methodist church. He took
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an active interest in the improvement of Piqua and was treasurer of the city for a number of years.
The paternal grandparents of Emory F. Sawyer were Uriah and Sarah Sawyer, natives of Massachusetts and early settlers in Dayton, Ohio, where he followed the trade of a grocer. Uriah Sawyer and his wife died in Piqua at an advanced age, after having reared a family of five children, John, Ruth, Sarah, Julia and Amos, the father of Emory F. Sawyer.
The maternal grandparents of Mr. Sawyer were Washington and Louisa Harbaugh, natives of Maryland of German ancestry. The Har- baugh family came overland from Maryland to Piqua, Ohio, and became pioneer settlers in that place. Mr. Harbaugh was a dry goods merchant and followed this line of activity until his death at an advanced age. Mr. Har- baugh and wife reared a family of four children, Laura, Julia, Washington and John.
Emory F. Sawyer was reared in Piqua, Ohio, and graduated from the high school of Piqua in the spring of 1874. He immediately began to work for his father in the grocery store and followed this business for several years. He moved to Marysville in 1885 and for the first two years after coming here was bookkeeper for O. M. Scott & Brother. He then became interested in the fire insurance business, which he still continues. In 1889 he organized the Citizens Home and Savings Bank and has been secretary of this company since its organization. This bank is one of the soundest financial institutions of its kind in the state, and has done a large and ever- increasing business since its organization more than a quarter of a century ago.
Mr. Sawyer was married January 15, 1878, to Sarah E. Morgan, the daughter of Thomas and Emily ( Williams) Morgan. To this union have been born four children, Fulton M., Walter A., Elwood E. and Nina E. Fulton M. married Edith Breese and is a prosperous farmer in Leesburg township. Walter A. is state agent for the Fireman's Fund Fire Insurance Company and makes his home in Marysville. Walter married Cornelia Sel- lers and has one daughter, Cornelia, and one son, Emery Fulton, Jr. Elwood E. is now a student of the Ohio State University at Columbus, while Nina is a student in Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware.
Mrs. Sawyer was born in Mechanicsburg, Ohio, her father being a native of London, England. and her mother of Maryland. Both of her parents are now deceased. \ large family of children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, Mary F., John T., Edward D., William A., Mina J., Magnus C., Walter M., Sarah E., Nina, Lenna and Emily W.
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Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Marysville and deeply concerned with its various activities. Fra- ternally, Mr. Sawyer is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, the Royal and Select Masters, Raper Commandery, and the Aladdin Temple. Nobles of the Mystic Shrine He also holds his membership in the Knights of Pythias and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Marysville. Mr. Sawyer has taken an active interest in the welfare of the Republican party and served as a member of the council of Marysville for seven years. He was also on the school board for a number of years. He is a director in the Marysville Cabinet Manufacturing Company.
JOHN L. SELLERS.
Each man who strives to fulfill his part in connection with human life and human activities is deserving of recognition, whatever may be his field of endeavor, and it is the function of works of this nature to give an anthen- tic outline of the career and individual character of persons represented in these pages. These personal sketches are in the nature of pen portraits of those represented, and the effort has been to throw a well-focused light on John L. Sellers and to bring into proper perspective the salient points of the individual traits of character that have marked his life. It is the character of the individual that establishes the character of the community, and there is no one, however humble his sphere in the community, who does not in some measure contribute a part to the character of citizenship. A history of a county or state without a personal history of representative citizens com- posing that county or state would be incomplete. This may not appear as an important omission to the present-day reader. but a history worthy of the name is not written and published solely for the interest of the present-day readers.
The foregoing observations are not to be understood as an explanation or an apology for the introduction of John L. Sellers, who is the subject of this brief review. He needs no apology nor introduction to the readers of this volume, much less is there need of explanation or apology for classing him among the representative citizens of his town and county. He not only has an honorable record as a citizen, but bears a record of honor and dis- tinction as a soldier in the Spanish-American War. He can also take pride in a patriotic ancestry, his father having served as a soldier in the Civil
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War and a grandfather in the War of 1812, of whom further mention will be made as we proceed with this sketch.
John L. Sellers was born in Marysville, Ohio, November 11, 1858, a son of George L. and Eliza ( Snodgrass) Sellers. The father was a native of Maryland and the mother of Ohio. Their two children were John L. and Effie, the wife of Charles Smalley, of Washington, D. C. In his early life George L. Sellers was a farmer in Maryland, where he grew to manhood. In the meantime he learned the tanner's trade and was engaged in that line of business for some time while living in Maryland. When he was twenty- one years of age he came to Marysville and engaged in the tanning industry for a number of years in partnership with Josiah Morelock. It was about the year 1871 when he disposed of his interest in the tannery and engaged in the retail grocery business, in partnership with the late Mr. Cartmell. This partnership continued for several years, when Mr. Sellers bought his part- ner's interest and took his son. John L., our subject, into the business. under the firm name of G. L. Sellers & Son. While engaged in business under this firm name the senior Sellers assisted in the organization of the Union Bank- ing Company at Marysville and became the cashier of this institution. Later he became president of the bank and continued in this position for several years. He retired in the fall of 1913 and died February 13. 1914.
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