USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107
In 1861 George L. Sellers followed the example of thousands of other patriotic young men of Ohio and enlisted in the service of his country which was threatened with disruption by the rebellion of Southern states. He en- listed in Company E, Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment that bore a conspicuous part in the several battles in which it was engaged. Mr. Sellers followed the fortunes of his regiment through the war as a faithful soldier and was promoted to the position of first lieutenant of his company. At the close of the war he returned home and took up the duties of a citizen in civil life. He was an active and influential member of Ransom Reed Post, No. 113, Grand Army of the Republic. His wife died in 1908, aged seventy years. For many years they were faithful and consistent members of the Presbyterian church and actively interested in church affairs. Politi- cally, Mr. Sellers was an advocate of the principles of the Democratic party.
The paternal grandfather of John L. Sellers was John Sellers, and his wife was Elizabeth (Weaver) Sellers, both natives of Pennsylvania. They died in their Maryland home well advanced in years. They had a large family, John H .. George L., Noah, Catherine (wife of Richard Osler), Liz- zie and Ellen ( wife of Henry Grove). The grandfather. John Sellers,
559
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
served in the War of 1812, as a commissioned officer. The maternal grand- father was Thomas Snodgrass, one of the old settlers in Marysville, where he and his wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding and where they both . died at an advanced age. Their children were Margaret Rebecca, Eliza, Mary, Sarah, Josephine and Eugene.
John L. Sellers was reared in Marysville and received his elementary education in the public schools, supplemented by a course in a business col- lege at Cleveland, Ohio. He then found employment in his father's grocery store and after a time became a partner with him in the business. When his father went in the banking business he continued to manage the grocery for several years. He sold his interest in the grocery and for several years was engaged in the wholesale cigar business. In 1808 the Spanish-American War came on and Mr. Sellers, being an officer in the National Guard, was called into the United States service. He served as major in the Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, going with his regiment to Porto Rico, where it remained in the service until the close of the war. He then returned to Marysville and embarked again in the grocery business, in which business he is still engaged. In the meanwhile he has been engaged in other lines. For four years he was traveling salesman for a wholesale grocery house in Columbus, and for another four years was sales agent for the John Wildi Evaporated Milk Company, with headquarters at Columbus. The past year he has remained with his grocery business in Marysville.
Mr. Sellers was united in marriage with Dorothy E. Cole, daughter of Judge P. B. Cole and Dorothy ( Witter) Cole, October 9, 1883. To this union seven children have been born. Edward. Cornelia, George, Paul, Will- iam, Elizabeth and Frederick. Edward is superintendent of the gas and electric company at Frankfort. Kentucky. He married Marie Carmean. Cornelia married Walter .A. Sawyer. of Marysville, state agent of the Fire- man's Fund Insurance Company, and has one daughter, Cornelia, and one son, Emory. George is manager of the Kryptok lens Company, of Chicago. Paul and William are students in the University of Minnesota, at Minnea- polis. The other children are at home.
Mrs. Sellers was born in Marysville, Ohio, and her parents. were also natives of Ohio. Her mother is still living at the remarkable age of ninety- four years, and still more remarkable is the fact that her memory is very clear concerning things that occurred in the distant past. The father of Mrs. Sellers died several years ago, at an advanced age. The children of this family were Ulysses, James B., Cornelia, Edward. Jessie and Dorothy.
560
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
The paternal grandfather of Mrs. Sellers laid out the town of Marysville and was one of the first sheriffs of Union county. Cornelia C., a sister of Mrs. Sellers, was the wife of former Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks, of Indianapolis.
Mr. and Mrs. Sellers are members of the Presbyterian church. He is vice-president of the financial board and has served in that position for several years. He is a teacher in the Sunday school and an active worker in all departments of the church. In fraternal affairs, Mr. Sellers is a member of Palestine Lodge, No. 158, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Marysville Lodge, No. 100, Knights of Pythias. Politically, his affiliations are with the Democratic party. He served one term as a member of the city council and one term as a member of the school board. This is the extent of his service for the public in official capacity, but his service as a private citizen in every endeavor for the promotion of the best interests of the city and community has been unceasing.
JUDGE JOHN M. BRODRICK.
The history of John M. Brodrick, the present judge of the common pleas court of Union county, Ohio, has been closely interwoven with the history of his county for more than half a century. Throughout the years of his life his career has been marked by untiring activity and has been crowned with a degree of success which speaks well for his ability. Years of conscientious work as a lawyer have brought with them not only increase of practice and reputation, but also that growth in legal knowledge and wide and accurate judgment which constitutes marked excellence in the profes- sion. He achieved a splendid record at the bar at an age when most men are merely starting out on their life work, and from the beginning he has been intensely methodical and unswervingly persistent in search of the true light and the essentials of the sources of legal conception and thought. As a judge he possesses all of those qualities of legal erudition, wise discrimina- tion and absolute integrity which mark the successful man of the bench, and it is altogether fitting that the history of his county contain a resume of his life.
John M. Brodrick, the son of Isaac and Sarah P. ( Hoff ) Brodrick. was born on May 19, 1854, in Allen township, Union county, Ohio. There he remained through his boyhood days, attending the country schools and
JUDGE JOHN M. BRODRICK
561
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
taking advantage of every possible educational opportunity. Early in life he decided that he wanted to follow the legal profession and began studying to that end.
Judge Brodrick was admitted to the bar in 1875, and since November. 1876. has been in the active practice of his profession in Marysville and vi- cinity. He was admitted to the practice of his profession in the United States courts in 1886. Ilis first official position was that of city clerk of Marysville, while he has also served as a member of the council of Marys- ville. While still a young man he was elected prosecuting attorney of Union county and filled this office with satisfaction to the people and credit to him- self. He has served his county six years as probate judge, making a record in this office for careful and conscientious service in the discharge of his official duties. Later he was nominated by the Republicans of Union county, and also served as an independent candidate, for judge of the common pleas court of the third subdivision of the tenth judicial district of Ohio. He was first elected in 1906 and such was his excellent service on the bench that he was re-elected by an increased majority in 1912. His judicial record is marked with fairness, as well as great learning in the law, and he enjoys the confidence of the people of his county and the members of the bar who come in contact with him.
Judge Brodrick was married on April 15, 1878, to Narcissa M. Benton, of Delaware county, Ohio, and to this union have been born three children : W. F., who has served as city clerk and secretary of the board of agricul- ture for several years: Ferne, the wife of H. H. Stephens, of Columbus, Ohio, and Adda, who is still single and living with her parents.
Fraternally. Judge Brodrick is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and has attained to all the degrees in the Scottish Rite, including the thirty-second. He is also past eminent commander of the Knights Templar. He also holds his membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. He is past grand master of the state of Ohio in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and past grand representative to the sovereign grand lodge of that order. He and his family are all con- sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church and Judge Brodrick is now president of the board of trustees of his denomination. He is genial and considerate of the feelings of others, and he has as large a circle of friends as any man in the county. His whole life has been spent in this county, and it can be truly said that he is one of Union county's most rep- resentative citizens.
(36)
562
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
JOHN H. KINKADE.
The whole career of three score years of John H. Kinkade, the present city attorney of Marysville, Ohio, has been spent in Marysville. The Kin- kade family are of Scotch lineage and located in America after a few years' residence in the northern part of Ireland. The first member of the family to come to America was James Kinkade, who located at Red Stone, Penn- sylvania, upon his arrival in this country.
John H. Kinkade, the son of James and Hannah (Cassil ) Kinkade, was born in Marysville, Ohio, June 29, 1853. His parents, who were natives of Virginia and Ohio, respectively, reared a family of four children: Anna, the wife of Charles S. Chapman, of Marysville: John H., the city attorney of Marysville : James F., of New York city ; and Drusilla, the wife of W. K. Liggett, of Columbus, Ohio.
James Kinkade was reared in Delaware county, Ohio, and came to Marysville when a young man and engaged in the dry goods business and general merchandise business in this city from 1843 to 1877. He was an influential man in the history of Union county and served as clerk of the court at one time, as well as town clerk of Marysville. He was a charter member of the Odd Fellow's lodge, which was organized at Marysville early in its history.
The paternal grandparents of John H. Kinkade were John and Isabel (Adams) Kinkade, natives of Virginia and of Scotch-Irish descent. John Kinkade was in the War of 1812 and fought under General Andrew Jackson. John Kinkade, who died in Virginia of typhoid fever when a comparatively young man. had three children, James, John T. and Isabel.
The founder of the Cassil family in America was Alexander Cassil, who came from the northern part of Ireland and located in eastern Penn- sylvania and lived there until the close of the Revolutionary War. He then moved to Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he passed the remainder of his life. The maternal grandparents of John H. Kinkade were John and Drusilla (Gladden) Cassil, natives of Ohio and early settlers in Union county, where they located in 1837, after their marriage. In 1839 John Cassil and his wife moved to Marysville, where he became one of the most prominent men in the city. He was prominent in the Civil War and was the founder and editor of the Marysville Tribune. He served as judge of the court and held the office of mayor of Marysville for two or three terms. Mr. Cassil was the last president of the Springfield, Delaware & Mt. Vernon
563
UNION COUNTY, OIIIO.
Railroad Company. In addition to his other interests he was a large land holder in the county and was extensively engaged in farming. lle was a charter member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows lodges in Marysville and . always took a great deal of interest in their welfare. Both John Cassil and his wife died in Marysville, his wife being eighty-four years of age at the time of her death. A large family of children were born to John Cassil and wife, Gustavus A., Joseph G., Alexander, Hannah, Mary, Gray, Samuel, Mary J., Reuben, Edward, James M., Martha E., David J. and Drusilla.
John H. Kinkade has spent all of his life in Marysville. After com- pleting the course in the Marysville schools, he graduated from Wooster University and then began the study of law in the office of James W. Robin- son. He was admitted to the bar in 1875 and has been practicing his pro- fession in Marysville since that year. He has been a Democrat most of his life, but for the past six or seven years has been independent in his politics. He has served as mayor of Marysville for three terms and was special exam- iner of the United States pension bureau at one time, with headquarters in Marysville He has served as a member of the board of education for one term and has been city attorney off and on for thirty-odd years. During all of this time he has been engaged in the practice of law and has met with pronounced success in all the cases which he has handled.
Mr. Kinkade was married June 16, 1880, to Clara A. Moxley, the daughter of Dr. Nathaniel K. and Sophia ( McConnell) Moxley. To this union five children have been born. James N., Walter MI., Alice, Robert C. and Marie. James N. died at the age of six months and Marie passed away at the age of two years. Walter graduated from the Marysville high school and later from the State University and is now on the staff of the Portland Oregonian. Alice is a graduate from the Marysville high school. Glendale College and the State University at Columbus. She then entered the Grant Hospital at Columbus and graduated from the course provided in that in- stitution for nurses and later took a post-graduate course. For the past two years she has been in California. Robert C., the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Kinkade, graduated from the Marysville high school and then took work in the Ohio State University. He is now clerking in Los Angeles, California. Robert C. married Edith Reemsnyder and has one daughter, Natalie.
Mr. and Mrs. Kinkade have always taken a prominent part in the work of the Presbyterian church at Marysville. Mr. Kinkade is now an elder in the church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons
564
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
and is past master of his lodge. He also holds his membership in the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows and is a charter member of the Knights of Pythias lodge of Marysville. While in college he was a member of the Greek letter fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi.
Mrs. Kinkade was born in Ironton, Ohio. Her father came from Ver- mont, being born near Tunbridge. Dr. Moxley studied medicine under Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and graduated from Dartmouth College. Doctor Moxley's wife was born in Ohio, at Wheelersburg, and after her marriage lived at Ironton. Doctor Moxley died in 1895, at the age of seventy-seven, and his wife passed away in 1906. at the age of seventy-six. Six children were born to Doctor Moxley and wife, four of whom are now living, Alice, Clara A., Nathaniel King, Jr., and Lucy M. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Kinkade were Rev. John and Asenath ( Flint) Moxley, natives of Eng- land, and later settlers in Vermont, where they lived to a good old age. Rev. Moxley's wife passed away at the age of ninety-two. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Kinkade were John and Lucy ( Lawson) McConnell. A sister of Mrs. McConnell, lley Lawson Hill, died in California in Febru- ary, 1913, at the age of one hundred and four, and was a real Daughter of the American Revolution. She was given a gold spoon in honor of the fact that her father was a soldier in the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. John McConnell, the maternal grandparents of Mrs. Kinkade, reared a family of several children, Robert, Sophia, Benjamin, Virginia, Thomas and two sons who died after reaching maturity.
MILTON WILBUR LADOW.
The present recorder of Union county, Ohio, is Milton Wilbur LaDow, who has been administering the duties of this important office since the fall of 1911. He has been a resident of Union county since 1881 and actively interested in everything pertaining to its welfare since that time. That he is a citizen of high character and sterling integrity is shown by the fact that he held the office of assessor of Claibourne township for no less than seventeen years, which speaks well for his efficient service. In the office of county recorder he is painstaking in the discharge of his duties and is giving eminent satisfaction to all the citizens of the county, irrespective of their political affiliations.
Milton W. LaDow, the son of Seley and Mary (Cummins ) LaDow, was
565
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
born in Wyandot county, Ohio, October 9. 1862. His parents, both of whom were also natives of Ohio, reared a family of twelve children, nine of whom lived to maturity : Nelimma. deceased, who was the wife of Wesley Mc- Conahay : Rilla, who died unmarried: Libby, the wife of W. H. Spore, of Toledo, Ohio: Jefferson: Frank. deceased: Catherine, the wife of J. S. Styer, of Marion, Ohio; Nettie, deceased, who was the wife of John McNeal; Milton W., of Marysville, and James.
Seley LaDow was a farmer and was reared in Richland county, Ohio. Later he moved to Wyandot county and came from that county to Union county about 1881, and located at Somerville, on a farm in York township. There he bought fifty acres of land and farmed for several years, after which he moved to Claibourne and operated a stationary saw mill until his death, at the age of seventy-one. His widow died in 1910, at the age of eighty-two. She was a member of the Christian Advent church.
The paternal grandparents of Milton W. LaDow were Jesse LaDow and wife, early settlers in Richland county, Ohio, where he died at the age of seventy-five, and his wife at the age of fifty. Seven children were born to Jesse LaDow and wife. Harry. Seley. Amos, Emma. Amza, Lovina and James. The maternal grandparents of Milton LaDow were William Cum- mins and wife. They died in Richland county, Ohio, where they reared their family of five children, Nancy, Mary, Morgan, and two others, who died in childhood.
Milton W. LaDow was reared in Wyandot county, on his father's farm. He attended the district schools and made such progress that he decided to enter the teaching profession. He secured a license to teach in the schools of his county and for three years followed this occupation with excellent success. He then engaged in the general merchandise business in Claibourne township for three years, and after the death of his father took charge of the saw mill which his father had operated for several years. He managed the saw mill successfully for about ten years, and in the meantime served as postmaster at Claibourne for five years. He then operated a barber shop in Marion for one year, afterwards returning to Richwood, where he was en- gaged in barbering for three years. In 1910 he was elected recorder of Union county and moved to Marysville to take charge of the office in Sep- tember, 1911.
Mr. LaDow was married on March 1. 1886, to Vinnie M. McCamey. the daughter of Leroy and Martha ( Armstrong) McCamey, and to this union five children have been born, Wilbur Carl. Leroy Albert, Ruby Dell.
566
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
Maxwell and Lottie. Wilbur Carl is a traveling salesman, with headquar- ters at Lima, Ohio. LeRoy Albert, a barber of Marysville, married Helen Robinson and has two children, John and Seley. Ruby Dell is the wife of Clarence Howison and lives in Columbus, Ohio. The other two children, Maxwell and Lottie, are living with their parents in Marysville.
Mrs. LaDow was born in Licking county, Ohio, as were her parents. Her father died many years ago and her mother is still living. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. McCamey. Vinnie M .. Charles. Bert. Sidney, Otto and Nye.
Politically, Mr. LaDow has been a life-long Republican and has always taken an active interest in the welfare of his party. As has been before stated, he served for seventeen years as assessor of Claibourne township and in this position made a record for faithful and efficient service. The record which he made in this position undoubtedly led to his nomination by his party for the office of county recorder. He is giving this office the same conscientious and painstaking attention which he gave to the office of town- ship assessor. Fraternally, he is a member of the Marysville Lodge, No. 1130. Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
JOHN C. HARTSHORN.
The register of Union county officials shows a splendid body of public servants, all of whom are doing faithful and conscientious work in the in- terests of the citizens and taxpayers of the county. John C. Hartshorn, the clerk of the courts of the county, has been a life-long resident of Union county and was a public school teacher here for more than a quarter of a century. He is a man of good education and has exhibited marked ability in the office which he is now holding.
John C. Hartshorn, the son of John and Sarah ( Hammond ) Hartshorn, was born at Raymond. Ohio. June 16, 1865. His parents, who were natives of New Hampshire and Ohio, respectively, reared a family of five children in this county: John C .. of Marysville: Kitty, the wife of Chester Evans. of York township: Bessie, the wife of C. S. Wilson, of Raymond; Zura, the wife of M. H. Titus, of Raymond ; and one who died in infancy.
John Hartshorn. Sr., was reared in New Hampshire and learned the carpenter's trade as a young man. He came to Union county about 1850 and located near Broadway before he reached his majority. In that neigh-
567
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
borhood he followed his trade as a carpenter for many years and is now making his home in Raymond. His wife died in 1900. He was a soldier in the Civil War and was second lieutenant in Company F. Thirty-first Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
The paternal grandparents of John C. Hartshorn were John Harts- horn and wife, natives and life-long residents of New Hampshire. The maternal grandparents of John C. Hartshorn were Ezekiel and Theresa (Darrow ) Hammond, natives of Rhode Island and Ohio, respectively. Ezekiel Hammond was an early settler in Champaign county, Ohio, and came to U'nion county early in its history, where he died at an advanced age. There were three children born to Ezekiel Hammond and wife, Mary, Sarah and a son, who died in childhood.
John C. Hartshorn was reared in Union county, in the village of Ray- mond, and attended the public schools of that place. Later he was a student in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio, where he completed his edu- cation. He began to teach in the public schools of this county early in his life and for twenty-five years was a prominent factor in the educational life of the county. Among other positions which he held, he was teacher in the high school at Pharisburg for five years and superintendent of the township schools. For three years he hield the same position in the schools at New Dover.
Mr. Hartshorn was married on November 28, 1889. to Minnie Crowder. the daughter of William and Margaret ( Rea) Crowder. To this union four children have been born, Ursel, Dana L., Marie Mary and Ruth D. Ursel is the wife of J. O. Manley, of Washington township, and the other children are still single and living with their parents.
Mrs. Hartshorn was born in Union county and her parents were also natives of this state. Her father died in 1893 and her mother passed away in 1888. Mr. Crowder and wife were the parents of six children, Rina, Debbie, Minnie, Cora, Mary and Louis. William Crowder had been pre- viously married to Lucinda Herd, and to his first union there were four children born, Warren, Pearl, Charles and Phoebe.
Mr. Hartshorn is a member of the Congregational church and his wife holds her membership in the Christian church. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and was a charter member of Raymond Lodge. No. 657. He has been a life-long Democrat and served as clerk of the town- ship and justice of the peace before becoming clerk of the county court. In 1910 he was elected clerk of the courts, re-elected in 1912 and is giving imi- versal satisfaction in the discharge of the duties connected with this office.
568
UNION COUNTY, OHIO.
LEONIDAS PIPER.
The career of Leonidas Piper extends over a period of nearly eighty years, all of which has been spent within the limits of Union county, Ohio. Throughout the years his life has been one of untiring activity and it has been crowned with a degree of professional success attained by comparatively few aspiring to eminence in their chosen calling. He has filled various offi- cial positions and has administered the duties connected with them in an able and conscientious manner. He was a soldier in the Civil War and although at the front but a short time, yet was never found derelict in his duty. By a straightforward and honorable course, Mr. Piper has built up a large and lucrative legal patronage, although he has now practically retired from the active practice of his profession. He achieved a splendid record at the bar at an early age and has served as probate judge of his county. His long career in this county has been filled with good deeds and no citizen is more deserving of inclusion among the representative men of his county.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.