USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 77
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Edwin H. Gunnett, the son of Joseph and Christina ( Shannon) Gunnett. was born in Franklin county, Ohio, in 1875. His father was born in 1846 and was the son of Samuel and Matilda ( Henderson ) Gunnett. Samuel Gunnett was born in Beaver county, Ohio, in 1820 and was the son of Joseph and Mary ( Miller) Gunnett. They came from Germany to America in 1818 and settled in Beaver county, Pennsylvania. Christina Shannon, the daugh- ter of Neil and Jennie ( Blackwood) Shannon, was born in 1848. The
EDWIN H. GUNNETT.
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Blackwood family was of Scotch Irish descent and the father of Jennie Blackwood was a nobleman in Scotland and prominent in the Scotch Wars. Lord Blackwood was in command of a ship under Lord Nelson in the battle of Trafalgar in the French Revolution. Joseph Gunnett and wife reared a family of eight children, Ora D., Mary, Jennie, Edwin H., H. C., Agnes, Eliza M. and one who died in infancy. Jennie married Clark Cline and has four children, Maynard. Marie, Howard and Harry. H. C. is a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church and a man well known throughout the state. Agnes became the wife of Harry Dody. Eliza M. married Sammel Glick and has one daughter. Helen.
Edwin H. Gunnett went to the common schools in Franklin county until he was eight years old at which time his mother died and he went to live with his uncle, John Gunnett, in Pickaway county, Ohio, and attended school in the immediate neighborhood. He then went to Duvall where he stayed with his grandmother. Matilda Henderson, for a time and attended school near her home. His next schooling was received in the high school at Circleville, Ohio, and still later he was in attendance at the high school at Ashville. He then went to the Northern Ohio Normal School, at Ada, and prepared himself for the teaching profession. He taught school in the rural school districts of Pickaway county, eventually became superintendent of the Harrison township schools in that county and retained this position for five years. He then returned to the normal school at Ada and took the law course, but did not graduate. He also read law under Judge Courtright at Circleville, Ohio. He was not admitted to the bar and, deciding to continue in the school room, went to Madison county where he taught school for several years. In 1912 Mr. Gunnett came to Union county. Ohio. and bought the elevator at this place from H. Hall and has since been successfully man- aging it.
Mr. Gunnett was married October 8. 1904, to Nora Prose, the daughter of Alexander and Margaret (Dilion) Prose. To this union have been born three children, Margaret, Josephine and Nellie. Mrs. Gunnett's father died about one year ago.
Politically, Mr. Gunnett is affiliated with the Democratic party and has always taken an intelligent interest in its welfare. While living in Madison county, he served as trustee of the township in which he lived and gave eminent satisfaction to his fellow citizens. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Unionville Center and contribute gener- ously of their means to its support.
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WILLIAM C. MORSE.
The Morse family, worthily represented by William C. Morse, have been residents of Union county, Ohio, since April 17, 1838, at which time the grandfather of William C. Morse came to this county to make his permanent home. Mr. Morse is a man of excellent education and is one of the many farmers of this county who has had college training. It is a hopeful sign of the future that so many of our young men are returning to the farm after their college days. There can be no more independent existence than that of the farmer.
William C. Morse, the son of John P. and Mary J. ( Mitchell) Morse, was born November 25. 1887, in Union township, Union county, Ohio. His parents were also born in Union county, Ohio. John P. Morse was the son of Ray G. Morse, who was born in Kent county, Rhode Island, November 16, 1808, and drove into Union county on the 17th day of April, 1838. Ray G. Morse was a blacksmith by trade and started a shop in Milford Center, where he worked under Colonel Fairfield for a number of years, when he moved to the farm now occupied by William C. Morse. Ray G. Morse married Sarah Parthemore and to them were born six children : Will- iam A., a farmer of Madison county, Ohio: George Nelson, who died in Union township in 1874: Clara J., deceased, the wife of David McCloud; Joseph, of Santa Ana, California ; John P., deceased, and Ray G., of Marys- ville. The father of these children died December 10, 1893, at the age of eighty-five years and twenty-four days.
John P. Morse, the father of William C., was married November 28, 1870, to Mary J. Mitchell and to them six children were born, five of whom are now living : George M., a farmer of Union township: Renua, the wife of Fred Burns, of Darby township; Dr. John, of Resaca, Ohio; Ruba A., the wife of Thomas Kreamer, of Union township: William C., of Union township; and one who died in infancy. John P. Morse enlisted June 22, 1863. in Company B. Eighty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until February. 1864, when he was honorably discharged from the service. He at once enlisted in the first Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served until the close of the war. John P. Morse learned the blacksmith's trade from his father and carried on farming with his blacksmithing until his death, June 20. 1913.
William C. Morse was educated in the schools of his home county and then took the course at the Ohio Northern University at Ada. Although
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he was amply qualified to engage in teaching, yet he preferred to return home and follow farming. He started for himself at the age of twenty-one and has since been operating his own farm of eighty-five acres in Union township.
Mr. Morse was married December 19, 1911, to Esther Kezerta, a daugh- ter of Clay and Alice ( Merriott) Kezerta, both natives of Union county. To this union has been born one son, John Clair, born October 1, 1914.
Politically, Mr. Morse is a stanch Republican, but so far has not taken an active part in political matters. He is still a young man and has a long and prosperous career before him.
JOHN LEONARD BLISS.
The Bliss family have been residents of Union county, Ohio, for many years, and have taken a prominent part in advancing the general prosperity of the county. John Leonard Bliss was born in this county thirty-five years ago and has spent his entire life here.
John Leonard Bliss, the son of William D. S. and Emma A. ( Rhyneer ) Bliss, was born August 17, 1880, in Union county, Ohio. His father was born in Darby township. August 10, 1850, and was a son of Leonard and Levisa (Spore) Bliss, who were natives of Vermont and Ohio respectively. Leonard Bliss came to Union county early in its history and was married in this county. Five children were born to Leonard Bliss and wife: Mary J., deceased, who was the wife of S. Woolford; Julius, who died at the age of nineteen: William D. S., who is now living with his son, John L., and two who died in infancy. Leonard Bliss died at the age of eighty-two. William D. S. Bliss and Emma Rhyneer were married May 2, 1858, and to them were born two children, John Leonard and Jessie May, who was born May 6, 1882, and on April 5, 1903, was married to John M. Knock. The mother of these two children died March 20, 1907.
John Leonard Bliss was educated in the schools of Darby township and remained at home until his marriage, after which he began to manage the homestead farm of eighty-five acres, four miles northwest of Plain City.
John L. Bliss was married April 22. 1903, to Ella Perry Martin, and to this union have been born four children, three of whom are living : Ogreta R., born March 29, 1905: Marcelle A., born April 17, 1907: Julius L., born January 30, 1909; Helen, born November 6, 1911, died in 1912.
W. D. S. Bliss is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, of
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Unionville Center. John G. and his family are loyal and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church of the same place. He is a Republican in politics, but has never taken an active part in political affairs. The place has always been in the hands of the Bliss family and all the improvements were made by them.
HON. CORNELIUS S. HAMILTON.
Among the revered and well-remembered citizens of Union county who are numbered among the deceased is this gentleman, whose tragic death is still vivid in the minds of many. He held numerous high positions in state and nation, as well as in county affairs, where his influence was always for the right. He was the first person to be sent from Union county to Congress, where his career was cut short by a sad tragedy. He was born in 1821 in Muskingum county, Ohio, and, with his parents, removed to Union county in 1839, where he assisted in 'subduing a fifteen-hundred-acre farm from out the forests. He attended Granville College eighteen months. He was a student of history and good literature. . Even while working hard on the father's forest farm he pursued his readings of great authors. When twenty-one years old he was a fine English scholar. He read the Bible and believed in its teachings. In 1850 he was elected a member of the con- stitutional convention for Ohio. He was soon after admitted to the bar and engaged in law practice. At about that date he also became the editor of the Marysville Tribune. In 1856-7 he represented his county in the Ohio Senate. He spoke well and wrote forcibly. He was appointed by President Lincoln as internal reventte assessor in 1862 and, as he opposed Andrew Johnson, who succeeded the martyred President, he was removed from that office, but the following year, 1866, was nominated and elected to a seat in Congress, from the eighth Ohio district.
While thus engaged in his public duties Mr. Hamilton was killed by being hit on the skull by his son. He had come home for the purpose of taking this unfortunate and suddenly reason-dethroned son to an asylum. He loved the son with all the heart of a kind father and, while he knew of his mental weakness, was not on the guard when the son struck him with a strip of plank, causing instant death. Hon. William Lawrence, of Ohio, an- other member of Congress at the time, spoke thus of his colleague :
"Thus passed away in the prime of manhood, by a sad calamity, just as
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he had entered upon an enlarged sphere of usefulness, one among thie useful and able men of the nation, honored and beloved by all who knew him. Few men in Ohio wielded an abler pen, or wielded it from higher convic- tions of duty than did Mr. Hamilton. When the thirty-ninth Congress commenced the discussion of the great work of reconstruction, Mr. Hamil- ton had published a masterly pamphlet in favor of extending suffrage to men in all the late insurgent states, regardless of race or color. It attracted wide attention and produced a deep effect on the public mind, being at the time of its publication in advance of public opinion. He has passed from earth to the sublimer views of another and better world, which Christianity has unfolded with such inexpressible glory-where this corruptible shall put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality. Men pass away. but the lofty spirit that can conceive and from right motives execute good works here : these cannot perish." Here the Congressman offered a set of resolutions on the life of Mr. Hamilton, which were passed and spread on record in Congress.
HON. JAMES W. ROBINSON.
Among the few men who had the honor to represent this district in Congress was the late J. W. Robinson of Union county. He was a lawyer of much ability ; studied under Otway Curry ; graduated at the Law School of Cincinnati in the spring of 1851. The same season he was admitted to the bar in London, Madison county, immediately forming a law partnership with Mr. Otway Curry, the same continuing until the death of the latter in 1855. except about one year. Thien after a few years alone he took for his part- ner his brother, Col. A. B. Robinson. In 1869 Leonidas Piper was admitted to the firm, and after that it was known far and near as one of the ablest firms in law in central Ohio.
In 1851 Mr. Robinson was elected prosecuting attorney. in 1858 was elected to a seat in the State Legislature and re-elected in 1860. In 1864, up- on the resignation of A. J. Sterling, he was elected to fill the vacancy caused by that officer's resignation. In 1872 he was elected to Congress. served two years and was a candidate in 1874 for re-electon, but that was an "off year" with Republicans in Ohio and he was defeated. After his return from Washington his health became impaired and he did not press his law business with his usual vigor.
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MATHIAS FLADT.
Any person who will investigate the facts in the case will be surprised to learn of the great number of people of Germanic birth now living in the United States. Unquestionably, the greatest number of emigrants reaching the shores of the New World have come from Germany and statistics will show that. next to English blood, there is more German blood in the United States than that of any other nation. This being a fact, it is easy to account for the prosperity and morality of this country and, not only that, but it will afford an explanation for the love of learning shown by the people of this nation. Germany is famous the world over for its remarkable universities, for its educated men, for its poets and philosophers and for the industry, patience. intelligence, morality and sturdiness of its citizens. One of the citizens of Union county, Ohio, descended from German ancestors is Mathias Fladt. a prosperous farmer of Darby township.
Mathias Fladt, the son of Mathias and Anna ( Renner) Fladt, was born July 1, 1861, in Franklin county, Ohio, near Columbus. His father was born in Germany and came to this country with his parents, Mathias and Barbara (Luch ) Fladt. Mathias and Barbara (Luch) Fladt were the par- ents of four children : Mathias, with whom this narrative deals: Mrs. Mary Horch. deceased: Jacob, deceased; and Mrs. Barbara Renner, deceased. Mathias Fladt is still living in Norwich township, Franklin county. Ohio, his wife having died in 1911. They reared a family of twelve children, Stephen, Margaret. Mathias, Lena, Mary, deceased, Mary, John, George, Anna. Elizabeth. Jacob and Caroline. Five of these children, Margaret, Mary, Anna, Elizabeth and Jacob, are deceased.
Mathias Fladt, Jr., was educated in the schools of Franklin county and remained at home until he reached the age of twenty-five. He then married and began renting land in his own county and rented there for nineteen years. In the year 1907 Mr. Fladt came to Union county and bought his present farm of two hundred and eighteen acres in Mill Creek, Jerome and Darby townships. He has made extensive improvements upon his farm since ac- quiring it and now has one of the most attractive farms in the county. He is a general farmer and stock raiser and has rapidly approached the front as one of the leading argiculturists of the county.
Mr. Fladt was married December 22, 1886, to Matilda Seibert. the daughter of Carl and Amelia (Poppe) Seibert, both of whom were natives
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of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Seibert are now living near Columbus, Ohio. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Fladt: Leo, Arthur, Cor- nelius, Anna, Martin, Laura, Meta, Lillian and Emmett. Leo married Laura Rausch and has two daughters, Lillian and Lucilla. Cornelius married Louisa Scheiderer. All of the other children are still single and living with their parents, with the exception of Lillian, who is deceased.
Politically. Mr. Fladt is identified with the Democratic party, but, be- yond taking an intelligent interest in everything pertaining to good gov- ernment, Mr. Fladt has not been active in political affairs. He has never been an aspirant for a public office, preferring to devote all of his time and energy to his agricultural operations. He and has family are loyal members of the Lutheran church, in whose welfare they are deeply interested and to whose support they are generous contributors. Mr. Fladt is a successful, self-made man and, although he has been in this county but a comparatively short time, yet he has already won a host of friends in this county.
JUDGE JOHN CASSIL.
This pioneer was an associate judge in Union county when that office was in vogue. He was the son of Alexander and Mary (Gray) Cassil, natives of Pennsylvania and Scotland respectively. He was born in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, in 1803, and moved with his family when a mere boy to Jefferson county, Ohio, where the parents and family settled, but later moved to Greene county where they died. After the marriage of Judge Cassil he engaged in the woollen factory industry at Steubenville, Ohio, re- moving to Union county in 1833. Here he farmed ten years, then took up his residence at Marysville, where for some years he edited the Marysville Tribune, then known as the Argus.
In 1842 he was elected clerk of the courts, and later served as county anditor and was associate judge a number of years.
At the breaking out of the Civil War he recruited Company F, Sixty- sixth Ohio Regiment, and was its first lieutenant but was promoted to cap- tain, and in 1862 he resigned. He was wounded at Fort Republic and. though the wound was not serious, he did not recover for many months. At the date of his death he was justice of the peace and mayor of Marysville. In early life he associated with the Christian church and was widely known
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and highly respected by all. He died in Jasper county, Missouri, in 1869. He was the father of thirteen children. It was such characters that have made Union county and Ohio what they are today.
ROBERT F. ELLIOTT.
A self-made farmer of Leesburg township, Union county, Ohio, is Robert F. Elliott, who has been a resident of this county since 1881. His father died when he was only five years of age and when only twelve he started out to make his own way in the world. He had a very meager edu- cation and when a mere youth was thrown on his own resources. He started working on a farm in Marion county, Ohio, before reaching his majority and later located in Leesburg township, in Union county, where he bought the one hundred and six acres on which he is now living.
Robert F. Elliott, the son of James and Sarah Jane (Houser) Elliott, was born in Harrison county, Ohio, May 16, 1853. His father was born in Ireland, came to the United States with his parents when a small boy, and located with them in Harrison county, Ohio. Here James Elliott was reared to manhood and married Sarah Jane Houser, a native of Pennsylvania, and to this union three children were born, two of whom are living, Robert F. and Mary, the wife of W. T. Robinson, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. James Elliott was a blacksmith and followed this trade until his death in 1858. His widow survived him until 1905.
Robert F. Elliott was able to attend the common schools only a short time, since his father died when he was five years of age and seven years later he started out to make his own way. He moved from Harrison county to Marion county, Ohio, and remained there about eight years, marrying while in the latter county. He farmed in Marion county until 1881, and then brought his family to Union county and purchased a farm in Leesburg township, near Claibourne. He has made extensive improvements upon this farm and now has one of the finest country homes in this county. He has an excellent barn and other outbuildings and everything about the farm indicates that he is a man of thrift as well as of taste. Since 1897 he has been engaged in the buying and shipping of live stock, and has added no small amount to his yearly income in this way.
Mr. Elliott was married to Flora I. Owen, the daughter of Perry and Mary ( Warner ) Owen. Mrs. Elliott's father was born in Marion county,
٠٠٠
لاتت شب
RESIDENCE OF ROBERT F. ELLIOTT.
MR. AND MRS. ROBERT F. ELLIOTT.
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Ohio, August 22, 1830, and died July 30, 1869. Mary Warner was born September 30, 1830, and died September 12, 1860. The parents of Mrs. Elliott were married September 13, 1855, and to them were born two chil- dren, Flora 1., born September 5. 1856, and Charles S., born July 29, 1858. Charles S. Owen, with his wife and one child, lost their lives in the Iroquois fire at Chicago.
Mr. and Mrs. Elliott are the parents of nine children : Charles F., born February 6, 1880, and now at home: Mabel M., born June 5, 1881, died September 18. 1909: William I., born March 4, 1883; Irwin O., born May 23. 1886, now living in Dover township: Eula D., born August 17, 1888. the wife of Charles Stickel, of Richwood; Robert M., born January 23, 1890, died November 6, 1892; Frank H., born September 11, 1892, still at home ; Mary Lela, born July 13, 1894, and died May 23, 1895 : Floyd E., born April 25, 1901, and died September 20, 1901.
Mr. Elliott is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and the Knights of the Maccabees, holding his membership in both lodges at Rich- wood. The family are members of the Christian Advent church of Claibourne. In politics, Mr. Elliott is a Republican, but has never taken an active part in political matters. He is essentially a self-made man, having started in with nothing and attained to his present degree of prosperity solely through his own unaided efforts. He is well known in his township and is held in high esteem by a wide circle of friends and acquaintances.
OSCAR N. BELL.
The Bell family is worthily represented in Union county, Ohio, by Os- car N. Bell, who came to this county in the forties, and the members of the family have been prominent factors of the various communities in which they have settled. Oscar N. Bell was an engineer for many years and trav- eled extensively throughout the United States, following his trade. Later he settled in Leesburg township, Union county, where he was born and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, and has made this his work for several years. He has made a reputation as a stock raiser and is ranked among the best stock raisers of his county.
Oscar N. Bell, the son of E. A. and Naomi (Richards ) Bell, was born in Leesburg township, Union county, Ohio, on June 8, 1858. His father was a native of New York state, his grandparents on his father's side both
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being natives of Scotland. Naomi Richards was born in Seneca county, Ohio, and E. A. Bell and wife were married in Union county, and here they reared their seven children, five of whom are now living: Arthur C., of De- Witt county, Illinois; William, who died at the age of one and one-half years : Oscar N., of Leesburg township; Mary Orlin, deceased, who was the wife of C. G. Cantrell; Joseph, a farmer of Taylor township, this county ; Bruce Edwin, now living in California, and Nora May, the wife of H. C. Gabriel, a farmer of Leesburg township.
E. A. Bell came to Union county with his parents when a boy and lo- cated on a farm one mile west of Pharisburg. Mr. Bell farmed until 1868, and in that year he and his father took a trip to New York state, where the grandfather of Oscar N. Bell died the same year. The grandmother died in 1898. E. A. Bell died in 1897 and his widow passed away in 1910.
Oscar N. Bell received a good common school education in the schools of Leesburg township, and after leaving school learned the engineer's trade. For several years he traveled extensively throughout the United States and Canada, where he pursued his trade. After his marriage he located in Lees- burg township on a farm of eighty acres, and has since devoted himself to general farming and stock raising. His farm, known as the Maple Dell farm, is well improved, and since acquiring it Mr. Bell has built a large barn and other outbuildings to accommodate his stock. He raises full-blooded French draft horses and registered Duroc-Jersey hogs, as well as a high grade of cattle. In fact, no farmer in the county raises better stock than Mr. Bell, and he is recognized as being one of the leaders in the stock-raising .
industry in the county.
Mr. Bell was married August 16, 1888, to Nancy Shisler, a daughter of John and Lacy (Darling ) Shister, natives of Ohio. Mr. Shisler was a life- long farmer and died June 9, 1879, his widow passing away in 1905. Mr. Bell and his wife are the parents of three children, two of whom are living : Leo Day, born September 22, 1889, now lives in Chicago, where he is em- ployed by the Baldwin Piano Company. He married Marie Bringle, of Jacksonville, Illinois, and has one son, Paul Newton, born September 18. 1914. Chester Edwin Bell was born January 18, 1891, and now lives in Marysville, where he is filling the position of assessor of Leesburg township. He also owns an interest in the Huffman AAutomobile Company, of Marys- ville. He lately sold out and is taking up the study of osteopathy.
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