USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 86
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Jacob M. Gum was reared in Logan county, Ohio, and was a merchant tailor at West Liberty, and his death occurred in 1850 in Iowa, where he died of the cholera while looking up a location in that state, and was only twenty-eight years of age at the time of his decease. His wife, who never remarried, still survives him, and is now past her ninety-second birthday. She is remarkably well preserved for a woman of her age and is still a steady reader. She enjoys the society of young people as well as she ever did. She has been a loyal and consistent member of the Methodist church all her life, as was her husband.
The paternal grandparents of George R. Gum were George and Eliza- beth Gum, pioneers of Logan county. Ohio. The name "Gum" was for- merly spelled "DeGomme," and shows the French ancestry of the family. George Gum, grandfather of George R. Gum, had a family of four children. Jacob M., John W., Helen and Mary.
The maternal grandparents of George R. Gum were George and Hannah ( Wall) Martin, natives of Kentucky, of Scotch-Irish ancestry. It is interesting to note that Wall street, in New York city, was named from one of the heads of this family. George Martin was a millwright and came to Champaign county, Ohio, in his early manhood, where he married Han- nah Wall. George Martin was married three times. By his first marriage he had eight children, Rachel. Mary, Ellen, George. Elizabeth, Hannah. Daniel and Benjamin. Hannah is still living and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, and, although she is eighty years of age, she still enjoys remark- ably good health. Longevity has been one of the chief characteristics of the Walls and Martins. In the Wall family there were fifteen children. all of whom lived to maturity, and in the Martin family there were ten children. whose ages before the death of any of them aggregated eight hundred and twenty years, an average of eighty-two years each. The great-grandfather of George R. Gum on his mother's side was a soldier of the Revolutionary War.
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George R. Guin was reared in Logan county, Ohio, and received a limited common school education in the district schools of his neighborhood. As has been before stated, he enlisted in the Civil War at the tender age of thirteen, but failed to get mustered in on account of his age. He enlisted six times before he was fifteen, but it was not until January 20, 1864, that he was finally mustered into the service, as a member of the Tenth Ohio Independent Battery of Light Artillery. He was mustered in at Todd's Barracks, at Columbus, but on May 28, 1864, he was discharged on account of his age. It was through no fault of his that he failed to serve his country, for it is probably true that no other lad in the state of Ohio of his age tried as hard to serve his country as did George R. Gum.
This fifteen-year-old boy returned home after having been told that lie was too young for the service, and found work on a farm in Logan county, leaving this place to enter the employ of Gen. A. Sanders Piatt in a sawmill, where he remained for two years. He then went to work again on the farm and a year later went to Indianapolis, Indiana, to learn the trade of plumbing, heating and gas fitting. A year afterwards he returned to Ohio and went to work in a woolen factory in East Liberty. In the spring of 1870 he came to Richwood, in the employ of Loveless & Howe, dealers in wool, hides and furs, and afterwards became a partner in the firm. For the next thirty-five years Mr. Gum followed this business, but in 1905 he was compelled to retire on account of deafness.
Mr. Gum is a stanch Republican in politics and has been frequently honored by his party. For six years he was a member of the village council and for four years was treasurer of Richwood. Since September, 1902, he has been clerk of Claibourne township and has administered the onerous duties of this office to the entire satisfaction of the citizens of the township, irrespective of their party affiliations.
Mr. Gum was married January 20, 1872, to Jennie E. Moore, the (laughter of Thomas H. and Elizabeth (Boyd) Moore, and to this union two children have been born, Donn, who died in infancy, and Inez Victoria, the wife of Dr. W. D. Cheney, of New Boston, Scioto county, Ohio.
Mrs. Gum was born in Licking county, Ohio, September 16, 1849. Her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, of English descent, and early pioneers in Licking county, Ohio. Both died in Richwood after reaching the age of seventy. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Moore, Sarah A., Jennie E., Franklin and Willis S.
The maternal great-grandparents of Mr. Gum were Benjamin and
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Mary ( Vertner ) Martin. He was born in Pennsylvania and she was a native of Germany.
Mr. and Mrs. Gum are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Gum has the honor of being the only living charter member of Rising Sun Lodge No. 71, Knights of Pythias. When the lodge was instituted there were nineteen members who signed the first charter, and they have passed away one by one until Mr. Gum is the only one left. He is a man of irreproachable character and has so lived as to win the high esteem of the citizens of his community.
JOSEPH EMBREY.
For the past thirty-six years Joseph Embrey has been engaged in the jewelry business in Richwood, Union county, Ohio. His father was a jew- eler before him and all of the sons followed the same trade. Mr. Embrey has been engaged in the jewelry business for a total of forty-three years, and has been in the same building in Richwood for the past twenty-six years. He has the honor of conducting the oldest continuous business in Richwood, a fact which speaks well for his stability as a business man and his upright manner of dealing with his customers.
Joseph Embrey, the son of Lewis and Margaret ( Bell) Embrey, was born in East Liberty, Logan county, Ohio, July 1, 1855. His father was a native of Virginia, while his mother was born in Scotland. They came to Licking county, Ohio, in 1837, were married in Brownsville in 1842 and in 1844 removed to East Liberty. Lewis Embrey was a watchmaker and jew- eler at East Liberty, and lived there until his death, in 1887, at the age of seventy-nine. His wife died in 1904, at the age of eighty-three. Lewis Embrey was a member of the famous "Squirrel Hunters" brigade in the Civil War. Six children were born to Lewis Embrey and wife: George, deceased : Maggie, who is living in the old home at East Liberty; John, deceased : Victoria, deceased, who was the wife of Doctor Emmons, of Lew- isburg, Ohio; Joseph, of Richwood, and Robert, deceased.
The paternal grandparents of Joseph Embrey were George and Eliza- beth (Walker) Embrey, natives of Virginia, and pioneers in Licking and Logan counties, Ohio, the grandmother being a daughter of Solomon Wal- ker, who served seven years in the First Virginia Regiment in the Revolu- tionary War. George Embrey died at the age of sixty, and his wife passed away in middle life. Several children were born to George Embrey and
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wife, among them being Samuel, Ephraim, Newton, Jane and Enoch. The maternal grandparents of Mr. Embrey were John and Margaret (McGhie) Bell, natives of Scotland, and early settlers in Licking county, this state, Margaret being a daughter of John McGhie, of Highton Hall. John Bell died in Licking county, and his wife's death occurred in Logan county. They reared a family of seven children, James, Andrew, John, Robert, Alexander, Margaret and Catherine.
Joseph Embrey was reared in East Liberty, Ohio. Before beginning to learn the watchmaker's trade at the age of sixteen, he had spent three years working in a woolen mill. He learned the watchmaker's and jeweler's trade with his brother George in Morrow, Ohio, and has made this his life- long occupation. He arrived in Richwood May 29, 1878, and established a watchmaking and jewelry business on the west side of Franklin street, at the northwest corner of Ottawa street. He moved to his present place on the east side of Franklin street in 1888.
Mr. Embrey was married November 11, 1883, to Clara Bowers, a daughter of Lewis and Emma (Butler) Bowers, and to this union two sons have been born, Morrow Lewis and Edward Maxwell. Morrow L. is a mechanical engineer in Milwaukee and superintendent of a power plant in that city. He married Ina Killips and has one daughter, Jean Margaret. Edward M., the younger son of Mr. and Mrs. Embrey, is a watchmaker and works for his father.
Mr. and Mrs. Embrey are valued members of the Methodist Episcopal church and have always taken a deep interest in all church work. Mr. Embrey was church trustee and treasurer for fifteen years. He belongs to Mount Carmel Lodge No. 303, Free and Accepted Masons, and to Marion Chapter No. 62, Royal Arch Masons. He is also a member of the Rising Sun Lodge No. 71, Knights of Pythias.
Politically, Mr. Embrey has been a life-long Republican, but has never been active in political matters. The family have a beautiful home on East Ottawa street, which Mr. Embrey erected in 1895.
Mr. Embrey has so conducted his business affairs in Richwood as to win the esteem and warm friendship of a large circle of friends and acquaint- ances. It is probably safe to say that he is the best known business man in the community, and the years of his residence here have but served to make him one of the most highly respected and honored citizens of the community. His daily life has been such that it should be an inspiration to those who are entering upon life's work, for his whole career has been marked by the exercise of industry, honesty and uprightness in everything.
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JOHN R. WILE.
Within the last few years stock raising has become a prominent industry among the farmers of Union county and it has proved to be a very profitable industry, adding a very considerable revenue to the products of the farm re- ceived from other sources. A farm well stocked with fine cattle, sheep, hogs and other animals is an evidence of the intelligent and progressive spirit of the owner. It is evidence that the farmer realizes that the grazing of stock adds to the producing value of the land and furnishes consumption for products of the farm that otherwise would be a waste or of little value. The farmer also finds that feeding stock is the most convenient and profitable way to market his farm products, and so it is not strange that so many of the up- to-date, progressive farmers have turned their attention so largely to stock raising. It is not strange that stock raising is largely the occupation of the farmers of Union county, a county in which the progressive farmer is es- pecially in evidence.
A list of the progressive farmers of Union county, who are engaged in farming and stock raising extensively, and who have made a success of the business, would not be complete without the name of the gentleman whose sketch is the subject now undertaken.
John R. Wile was born February 7. 1859. in Ashland county, Ohio, and is the son of Christian and Elizabeth ( Garn) Wile. The father of the subject was born in West Virginia, and came with his parents, John and Mary Wile, to Ohio, and settled in Wayne county. The elder Wile purchased land in that county and engaged in farming, which he continued during life. He lived to the extreme age of ninety-four years, being the oldest citizen of the county at the time of his death. He reared a family of seven children, namely: Jacob: Samuel; John; Philip; Christian, father of the subject ; Elizabeth, who married Mr. Nave; Susan, who married Dentler. Chris- tian, the father of the subject, was educated in Ohio. He was a large land owner and engaged in farming and stock raising in Wayne county, Ohio. His family consisted of the following named children : Morgan, Howard, John R., Elza, Harvey, Myron, and Jennie, who became Mrs. Hawk.
John R. Wile received his early education in the school in the country, which he attended in his younger years, but the most of his education was received at the Bunker Hill school, in Wayne county. Like the average country boy of his time, his attendance at school was somewhat irregular on account of his services being required on his father's farm. But his
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schooling was sufficient to give him a fundamental education, which he sup- plemented with intelligent reading and study, and applications to the practi- cal affairs of life. He worked on the farm until he was twenty-two years old and then began work at the carpenter's trade. He followed this trade continuously for nearly twenty-two years, working in his home county for about six years ; he then went to Wyandot county, where he worked for about two years, and then to Sydney, Ohio, where he remained for about fourteen years. He then came to Union county and bought a farm and went to farm- ing and stock raising.
In 1882 Mr. Wile married Lottie Peters, who died a few years later and was buried in the cemetery at Reedsburg, Wayne county. Ethel, the one child born to this union, married Freeman Van Wagner, and has three children, John, Lottie and Bertha. Mr. Wile was married the second time, in 1892, to Jennie Scott, daughter of Absalom and Elenor Jiams, of Au- glaize county, Ohio. The two children born to this union are Walter, who married Nellie Moore, and Mildred, at home. Mr. Wile owns a fine farm of two hundred and fourteen acres, located on the Newton road, about two miles and a half northwest of Marysville. On this farm is a fine house, fur- nished with everything that will contribute to the comfort and convenience of a home. His commodious and conveniently arranged barns and other farm buildings, his neatly kept fields and fences, and everything about the farm, are indicative of the enterprising and progressive spirit of the owner.
Mr. and Mrs. Wile are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are actively interested in things pertaining to its welfare and in every cause that has for its object the uplift of humanity and the betterment of the com- munity. Mr. Wile holds a membership in the Odd Fellows order, of Sidney. Ohio, and his political affiliation is with the Democratic party.
CHARLES D. HOOPES.
In the early history of Ohio, when this state was young and thinly settled, the riches of the earth seemed inexhaustible. After the arduous labor of clearing away the grand old forests which covered so much of the ground was accomplished, the pioneer farmer found the land fallow and fertile, ready to produce bountiful harvests without the necessity of special- ized training in farming. Gradually, however, the magnificent tracts of forest land became more and more scarce, and as population increased, more
MR. AND MRS. CHARLES D. HOOPES.
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was demanded of the soil. Agriculture has now become a science in itself, and men of high intelligence and broad education find here a profession worthy of their utmost efforts. An enterprising and progressive farmer of Dover township, Union county, Ohio, is Charles D. Hoopes, who has been successfully tilling the old Nathan Hoopes estate of one hundred and forty- three and three-quarter acres in this township for the past twenty years.
Charles D. Hoopes, the son of Nathan and Elizabeth (Todd) Hoopes, was born January 10, 1862, in Morgan county, Ohio. His father was a native of Harrison county, Ohio, the son of Joseph and Abigail (Cope) Hoopes, natives of Chester county, Pennsylvania and Loudoun county, Vir- ginia, respectively.
Nathan Hoopes moved to Morgan county, Ohio, with his parents when he was a small boy. learned the gunsmith trade, and worked at this occupation for a number of years. After following the carpenter trade for several years he went to Kansas and worked for the Santa Fe Railway Company. Later he located in Champaign county, Ohio, with his son. Charles D., and operated a blacksmith shop for two years. He next went to Oregon, where he re- mained a short time, but finally returned to Union county and located with his son, Charles D., where he lived until his death. Six children were born to Nathan Hoopes and wife, William, Rachel, Susannah, Lydia, Charles D. and Arthur. Of these children Susannah and William are deceased, while the others are still living. Lydia is the wife of William Epps.
Charles D. Hoopes received a good common school education and worked on the farm during his earlier boyhood days. After leaving school he learned the trade of a blacksmith with his uncle in Morgan county, and soon became an expert horseshoer. He worked at this trade from the time he was nineteen until he was thirty-four, a period of fifteen years, most of which time he had a shop of his own in Marysville, Ohio. In 1895 Mr. Hoopes came to Dover township and settled on his father's farm of one hundred and forty-three and three-quarter acres of fine land on the Thomp- son pike, about a quarter of a mile from New Dover. After the sale of the old homestead recently, Mr. Hoopes bought forty-seven acres just east of New Dover.
Mr. Hoopes was married July 2, 1896, to Sarah N. Shuler, the daugh- ter of Daniel and Mary ( Loring) Shuler. Mr. Shuler was a blacksmith in New Dover and an influential man of the village. His father was one of the first settlers in New Dover. Mr. Hoopes and wife are the parents of four children, Helen, Cecile, Martha and Rachel.
Fraternally. Mr. Hoopes is a member of the Knights of Pythias and (57)
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has held all of the chairs of his lodge in New Dover. He is also a member of the Patrons of Husbandry. Politically, he is a Republican, and has always been active in local political matters. He has been constable and a member of the school board. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at New Dover. He is well deserving of the success which has attended his efforts, having started in with nothing and risen to his present position of affluence solely through his own unaided efforts.
EDWARD F. SOUTHARD.
A man who has been long connected with the business and commercial interests of Marysville, Ohio, is Edward F. Southard, a merchant, banker and landowner who has taken a prominent part in the business life of the county for many years. He has spent most of his life in this county, his father coming here when a small lad with his parents. The father of Mr. Southard was a veteran in the Civil War, and one of the highly respected citizens of Marysville, where he now resides.
Edward F. Southard, the son of John Wesley and Elizabeth ( Penhor- wood) Southard, was born in York township, this county. His parents reared a family of four sons, Edward F., Sylvester F., Burleigh J. and Mil- ton A. John W. Southard was reared in York township, this county, as was his wife. He was a merchant in early manhood and later engaged in farm- ing. For many years he was superintendent of the county infirmary. At the opening of the Civil War John W. Southard enlisted in the One Hun- dred and Twenty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served for two years, being mustered out of the service on account of disability arising from sickness. After his marriage in 1865, John W. Southard moved to Wellington and later to Summerville, Ohio, where he engaged in the mer- cantile business for several years. He moved from the farm to the county infirmary and at the expiration of his term of office moved to Marysville, where he has since resided.
The maternal grandparents of Edward F. Southard were Sylvester and Rebecca ( Tilton ) Southard, natives of New Jersey, of English descent. He was a farmer, teacher, stock buyer and Methodist Episcopal minister. They were pioneer settlers in Union county, Ohio, and lived there until their death. Sylvester Southard and wife reared a family of several children: Mrs. Mary Stamates, Mrs. Emily Lanstaff, Frank, John W., Mrs. Caroline Reams, Leonidas H., Mrs. Martha Hicks, Mrs. Annabel Duffy, Mrs. Elizabeth Se-
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ran, and one who died in infancy. The maternal grandparents of Edward F. Southard were John and Elizabeth ( Lyle) Penhorwood, natives of Eng- land and early settlers in Union county, Ohio. They had the following chil- dren : John H., Elizabeth, William, Mary, Anna and Ida.
Edward F. Southard was reared on his father's farm in York town ship. Union county, and attended the district schools, where he received his elementary education. He later attended the graded schools at Lewisburg, and finally completed his education by taking a business course at Dela- ware, Ohio.
After finishing the course at the business college at Delaware Mr. South- ard went to work in the shoe store of Mr. McCampbell in Marysville, and later entered the employ of Colonel Robinson. He and his brothers now own the store of Colonel Robinson, although he did not buy an interest in it until several years afterwards. After buying the store of Colonel Robin- son he remained here several years, then interested his brothers in this busi- ness and then went to Columbus, Ohio, and became interested in the Wolf Brothers Shoe Company, and remained there for ten years. Before leaving the company he was vice-president of it and left it to join the Columbus Mer- chandise Company as president. He is also president of the Union Banking Company, of Marysville, and the Deposit Bank, at Raymond. The Marys- ville store of Mr. Southard is a large department store.
Mr. Southard was married June 26, 1906, to Anabel Schoedinger, the daughter of Philip and Catherine ( Krabil) Schiedinger, and they have three children, Frances, Catherine and Margaret.
Mrs. Southard's parents were natives of Ohio and now live in Colum- bus. where her father is a bookkeeper. Mrs. Southard has one brother, Rus- sell. The paternal grandparents of Mrs. Southard were Philip and Eliza- beth (Lintner) Schoedinger, of Columbus, Ohio. Philip Schoedinger and wife were the parents of several children, George, Philip, Elizabeth, Ed- ward, Lena, Oscar, Albert and Frederick. All of these children are still liv- ing with the exception of Edward and Frederick. Philip Schoedinger was the owner of the Ohio Furniture and Undertaking Company at Columbus. The maternal grandparents of Mrs. Southard were Jacob and Mary ( Ma- thias ) Krabil, natives of this state, and the parents of eight children, Louis, Margaret, Caroline, Catherine, Henry, Elizabeth, lda and Jacob.
Politically, Mr. Southard is a Republican, but his extensive business in- terests have been such that he has never been an active participant in political matters. He and his wife are consistent members of the Methodist Episco- pal church.
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EMERY M. COE.
The Coe family. worthily represented in Union county, Ohio, by Emery M. Coe, have an unbroken history of the family running back to the year 1596, a period of time covering eight generations. The family have been residents of the United States since 1634 and some members of the family were living in Ohio before the end of the eighteenth century.
Robert Coe, the first member of the family concerning whom definite information has been preserved, was born in 1596 in Long Milford, Suffolk county, England. His first wife, Anna, was born in England in 1591 and died some time prior to 1674. There were at least three sons born to this union of whom something is known: John, Robert and Benjamin.
Robert Coe sailed from Ipswich, England, on the last day of April, 1634, and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in June, 1634. The records show that he was made a freeman on the 3d of the following Sep- tember. He settled first in Watertown near Boston and in the following spring removed to the present site of Wetherfield, Connecticut. and was the first settler in the village. Here he lived until April. 1641, when he went to the present site of Stamford. Connecticut, and was the first white man to locate on the site. In Stamford he took a leading part in the civic life of the community and became the assistant judge and deputy to the general court at New Haven. Robert Coe seems to have been of a roving disposition, for we next find him a resident of Hempstead, Long Island, New York, where he appears as the first English settler in the spring of 1644. Before finally locating in Jamaica, Long Island, he lived for a time at Newburn on Long Island. Some time later he removed to Jamaica, Long Island. New York, where he appears on the records as a citizen in the spring of 1656 and in this place he lived until his death. He took a prominent part in the life of community and held various official positions. He served as magistrate and high sheriff of the riding, which consisted of Long Island, Staten Island and Westchester county, holding the latter position from 1679 to 1682. He was also a judge of the local court and a deacon in the church. His sec- ond wife was probably Jane Smith, although there is some doubt of this. She may have been his third wife since there are three Coes appearing in the records who seem to have been his children, Andrew, Hannah and Mar- garet. The reason for supposing that these children are by a second wife whose name has been lost is the fact that they were well advanced in years before he married Jane Smith. Robert Coe died after 1687, at which time
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