USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 96
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Lafayette Mellroy was born October 20, 1855, on the farm where he is now living. His parents, Zachariah and Catherine ( Heminger) McIlroy, were born in Harrison county and Tuscarawas county, Ohio, respectively, and both of them came with their parents to Union county, Ohio, in their childhood days. They were married in Union county and located in Liberty township, and resided there until their death. They reared a family of eight children, six of whom are still living: George F., a farmer of Liberty town- ship : Jacob F., of Oregon ; Lafayette, with whom this narrative deals; Susan, the wife of C. W. Shirk: Cassie B., the wife of Frank Shirks, and May, the wife of Lewis Taylor. The two oklest sons, John M. and James W. died in childhood.
Lafayette Mellroy was reared on his father's farm and educated in the district schools of Liberty township. He remained at home until his mar- riage in 1878, and at once located on the home farm, where he has since resided.
Mr. Mellroy was married March 2, 1878, to Laura Hubbard, the daughter ter of J. R. and Elizabeth ( Sterling ) Hubbard. Mrs. McIlroy was born
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in Liberty township, January 28, 1857. Her parents were married in Lick- ing county, Ohio, and came to this county in 1850 and located on a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard had four children: Emeline, the wife of John M. Mellroy ; Lucy, Columbus, Ohio: Mary, the wife of Clarence Mellroy; Mrs. Laura Mellroy. Mrs. Hubbard died in July, 1884. Mr. and Mrs. Mcilroy have one son and three daughters: Clarence H., who married Eva Shawan, and is now a train dispatcher on the Big Four railroad with head- quarters at Bellefontaine, Ohio: Hazel K., who is unmarried and still at home: Lucy B., the wife of Paul M. Downs, of Van Wert, Ohio; Fannie MI., who is single and still living with her parents.
Mr. Mellroy is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons No. 249, at Raymond, and also holds his membership in the Knights of Pythias at the same place. In politics, he has always been identified with the Republican party, and has taken an active part in local political matters.
BERNHARD J. BISHOP.
A worthy descendant of one of the early German settlers of Union county, Ohio, Bernhard J. Bishop, ranks as one of the most progressive and enterprising farmers of Paris township. The Bishop family came from Germany in 1837 and located in Paris township, in this county, in the same year and became large land owners in the county. Mr. Bishop has always taken an active part in the civic life of his community and has been prominent in political circles. He measures up to a high standard of Ameri- can citizenship, and has always so conducted his affairs as to win the esteem of his fellow citizens to a marked degree.
Bernhard J. Bishop, the son of John G. and Barbara ( Loschky ) Bishop, was born July 10, 1877, on the farm where he is now living in Paris town- ship, about two and one-half miles south of Marysville. His father was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to America with his parents, Bernhard and wife, in 1837. Two children were born to Bernhard Bishop and wife, John G., the father of Bernhard J. and Mrs. Anna Burns, the daughter being born in Union county. John G. Bishop was a successful farmer and one of the largest land owners of the county, owning over seven hundred acres of good farming land at the time of his death. He and his wife reared a family of seven children: Anna, deceased; Bernhard J., of Paris town- ship: Mrs. Lina Troetchel, who has two children, Freda and Jeannetta ; Mrs.
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Elizabethi Scheiderer, who has one son, Homer; Anna; Fred, deceased, and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Bishop received a good education in the district schools of his home township, and also spent some time in the German school in Darby township. He remained at home with his parents until his marriage and then lived in Marysville for about eight years, after which he moved on his present farm of one hundred and seventy acres. He is an extensive stock raiser and has found that this is the most profitable part of farming.
Mr. Bishop was married October 16, 1901, to Elizabeth Mader, the daughter of Andrew and Elizabeth (Scheiderer) Mader, and to this union three daughters have been born, Lucile, Elizabeth and Clara L.
Mr. Bishop and his family are all loyal and consistent members of the Lutheran church. Politically, he has always been identified with the Demo- cratic party since reaching his majority, and has been one of the leaders of his party in local politics for many years. At the present time he is serving as president of the school board of Paris township, in which capa- city he has the opportunity to advance the educational interests of his com- munity. He is deeply interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his fellow citizens and favors all measures which he feels will make his com- munity a better one in which to live.
WILLIAM M. BROWN.
The three score and ten years which have elapsed since the birth of William M. Brown he has spent on the farm where he is now living. The Brown family have been residents of Union county, Ohio, since 1822, and during this long period of time have contributed in no small measure to the advancement of the county. William M. Brown has been a life-long farmer. He has always so conducted himself as to merit the high esteem in which he is held by everyone.
William M. Brown is the son of J. K. and Angeline (Lyon) Brown, and was born May 31, 1845, on the farm in Dover township, where he now resides. His father was born in Connecticut in 1798, and came to this county about 1822, having spent the previous year in Huron county, this state. Ten children were born to J. K. Brown and wife: Anna E., Elijah W., Clarenda. John K., D. H., Adelia V., Sarah M., Alpheus W., William M. and Mrs.
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MR. AND MRS. WILLIAM M. BROWN
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Mary L. McIntire. All of these children are now deceased with the exception of John K., William M. and Mary L.
Angeline Lyon, the mother of William M. Brown, was the daughter and only child of Daniel and Deborah (Moe) Lyon. Daniel Lyon came from Connecticut and settled in Union county. Ohio, in an early day, and here he spent the remainder of his days. He was the son of Peter Lyon, an early settler in America. Peter Moe, the father of Mrs. Lyon, was born August 5. 1750, and his wife was born May 20. 1752. Eight children were born to Peter Moe and wife: Charlotte, born May 2, 1779; Hester, born January 24, 1783: Peter, born February 22, 1785; Rufus, born January 3, 1787: Deborah, born March 4. 1789: Clonda B., born July 6, 1793, and Isaac, born January 10, 1796, together with one other who died in infancy.
William M. Brown was educated in the old log school house at Mt. Hermon, and later went to a select school at Ostrander, where he completed his education. Before reaching his majority he worked with his brother, John K., who was a civil engineer, and at the age of twenty-two, he began renting land from his father. Eventually he bought out the other heirs to the old home place and for more than half a century has farmed the land where he worked as a boy.
Mr. Brown was married February 27, 1867, to Rosa A. Carr, the daugh- ter of Benjamin and Elizabeth (Crane) Carr, natives of Virginia, and early settlers in Union county. Benjamin Carr is the son of Solomon Carr, who brought the family from Virginia to Delaware county. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of four children : Frank W. and Willa H. are both deceased and are buried in Oakdale cemetery at Marysville. Leroy, the only son liv- ing, has been twice married, his first wife being Mary Rittenhouse, and after her death, he married Nellie Dunn. He has two children, Minetta and Frank. Floy, the only daughter living, is the wife of William Maugans, and has one daughter-Wilma Ruth.
Fraternally. Mr. Brown is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he has been a member of this order for the past forty-five years. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church for the past thirty- five years, and during all that time, has been actively interested in everything pertaining to its welfare. Politically. he has long been identified with the Democratic party, and has filled various official positions in his township. He has served as township clerk, and was on the school board for a number of years. He served as justice of the peace for thirteen years, during which (63)
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time he married thirty-seven couples. Mr. Brown has lived a successful and honorable lite, and has exercised those qualities of generosity, hospitality and loyalty to friends with the result that he is a man who is esteemed by all with whom he comes in contact.
PEARL TOSSEY.
One of the earliest pioneer families of Union county, Ohio, was the Tos- sey family, whose ancestors were prominent in the early history of Connecti- cut. Pearl Tossey, a worthy scion of this honored family, is the third in direct line bearing this name who has been born in Union county. During all of the years which have elapsed since the first member of the family made his home in the wilderness in Mill Creek township, the Tossey family have been prominent factors in everything pertaining to the welfare of the county.
Pearl Tossey, the son of William and Eliza (Lowe) Tossey, was born June 27, 1880, in Dover township. William Tossey, who was the son of Philemon and Judith (Graham) Tossey, was born in Mill Creek township, where his father, Philemon, was born before him. Philemon Tossey was the son of Aaron Tossey, a genuine Connecticut Yankee, who came to this county early in the nineteenth century and entered government land when practi- cally the whole county was covered with primeval forests. William Tossey lived all of his life in this county, died in 1912, and is buried in the Oakdale cemetery. Five children were born to William Tossey and wife, Iro, Pearl, Frank, Pride and Ruth.
The education of Pearl Tossey was received in the schools of Mill Creek township, the school known as the Watkins school. He worked on his fa- ther's farm during his boyhood days, and at the age of twenty-one began farming on the home place on the shares. Later he bought his present farm of eighty acres on the Watkins road about five miles east of Marysville. In addition he rents one hundred and sixty acres and lives on the farm which he rents. He is an up-to-date farmer in every respect and keeps well abreast of the latest advances in agriculture. He divides his attention between the raising of live stock and grain and feeds most of his grain to live stock.
Mr. Tossey was married September 26, 1900, to Effie Dodge, the daugli- ter of John R. and Ella (Boring) Dodge, both of whom are now living in Marysville. Mr. and Mrs. Tossey have two children, Paul and Clarice, both of whom are now in school.
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Mr. Tossey and his wife are loyal members of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Dover, and Mr. Tossey is a trustee of his denomination. Politi- cally, he is a Democrat, and has been one of the leaders in local politics in his party for several years. He has served as clerk of his township for two terms, and is now a member and the president of the Dover township school board. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, holding his membership at Dover. Mr. Tossey has tried to measure up to the standard of correct citizenship, and his township is proud to number him among its progressive and representative residents.
JOHN HENRY HUSH.
There are many citizens living in Dover township, Union county, Ohio, who have spent all of their lives within its limits. This fact speaks well for the township and also for the stability of its citizens. It shows that they have been satisfied with life in this township and that they have been able to make a comfortable living for themselves and their families in the town- ship where they were born. One of the many citizens of Dover township, who has spent his whole life here, is John Henry Hush, who was born in this township nearly sixty years ago.
John H. Hush. the son of Peter and Louisa ( Bell) Hush, was born Sep- tember 1, 1857, in Dover township, and has never been seized with a desire to roam from the community where he was reared and where he has since maintained his home.
Peter Hush was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Valentine Goldsmith and Martha ( Blackburn) Hush, and came to Licking county with his parents early in the history of the county. Peter Hush married Louisa Bell and later came to Union county. Peter Hush and wife had eight children, Basil, Val- entine, Ninion, Henry, Harriett, Alfred B., George B. and John Henry.
John H. Hush received a limited common school education in the Buck- skin school house in his own township. At the age of sixteen he began farming for his mother and has since devoted all of his life to this honored occupation. He continued working on the home farm until his marriage in 1888 and some time after that, moved on his present farm of ninety-two acres in Dover township, about one mile east of New Dover. Here he has engaged in general farming and stock raising and has been very successful in his efforts.
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Mr. Hush was married in 1888 to Molly Stewart, the daughter of Alex- ander and Margaret (Savage) Stewart. To this union has been born one son, Henry Alfred, who was born November 26, 1899, and is now attending the public school at Dover.
The father of Mrs. Hush was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, near Brownsville. Alexander Stewart was the son of John Hamilton and Alcy ( Hardin) Stewart, and the grandson of Joshua Stewart. The Stewart family was prominent in the history of colonial Pennsylvania, as was the Savage family. The Savage family was of English and Welsh descent and first settled in Baltimore, Maryland, and from there moved westward.
Fraternally, Mr. Hush is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically, he is a Republican, but has confined his activities to the casting of his ballot at election time. He is interested in everything pertaining to the welfare of his community and lends his hearty support to all worthy measures.
WATT R. SHARP.
A large land owner and a prosperous farmer of Dover township, Union county, Ohio, is Watt R. Sharp. He owns two hundred and eighty-two acres of fine land on the Hinton mill road, about two miles southeast of Dover. He was born and reared in this same township, and his father before him was a native of this same county, so that the Sharp family have been identi- fied with the history of Union county for many years. His grandfather was a large land owner, and his father a veteran of the Civil War, and an influential man in the community where he lived.
Watt R. Sharp, the son of Russell B. and Melissa ( Ritchie) Sharp, was born September 22, 1872, on the old Ritchie farm in Dover township. His father was born in this county, the son of Robert Sharp, and lived here most of his life. Robert Sharp came from Pickaway county, Ohio, and became a large land owner in Union county. Russell B. Sharp was a member of the Sixty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served throughout the Civil War with distinction. He was twice married, his first wife being Me- lissa Ritchie, and Watt R. was the only child of this union. After the death of his first wife he went west and married Julia MeAllister. Melissa Ritchie. the mother of Watt R. Sharp, was the daughter of Joseph K. and Nancy (Longbrake ) Ritchie. Joseph K. Ritchie was a prominent citizen of Union
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county and a large land owner. Seven children were born to Joseph K. Rit- chie and wife, Adam, Jay, Leonard, George, Mrs. Melissa Sharp, Mrs. Mary Loveless and Mrs. Lida Turner. All of these children are now deceased with the exception of Jay and Lida.
Watt R. Sharp was educated in the schools of Hardscrapple and Dover in his home neighborhood. He was reared by Mr. and Mrs. William Love- less after his mother's death. After his marriage in 1900 he moved to his present farm of two hundred and eighty-two acres, and has been living here ever since. He divides his energies between the raising of live stock and the tilling of his fields with a success which stamps him as one of the most pro- gressive farmers of his township.
Mr. Sharp was married January 25, 1900, to Myrtle Robinson, thie daughter of Alfred and Jane (Rittenhouse ) Robinson, natives of Virginia and early settlers of Union county, Ohio. Mr. Sharp and his wife have two sons, Max Richard and Curtis Howard.
Politically, Mr. Sharp is affiliated with the Republican party, but has never taken an active part in its councils. He and his wife are loyal and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose welfare they are deeply interested and to whose support they are liberal contributors.
JOHN HARTSHORN.
The oldest resident of Raymond. Union county, Ohio, is John Harts- horn, who has lived in this village since 1851. When he came here from his home in New Hampshire the village was then called Newton, and it was not until several years afterwards, that it was rechristened Raymond. The sixty-four years which have elapsed since Mr. Hartshorn came to this state have all been spent in this village with the exception of the time he spent in the service of his country during the Civil War. He has been engaged in carpentering most of his life, although he has also followed house-moving and is still able to do a good day's work. He has an extensive acquaintance throughout the county and is one of the grand old men whom every one de- lights to honor. He is an honored and an honorable citizen, and is held in the highest esteem by all who know him, having always been conscien- tious, honest and upright in all his dealings. He has seen Union county grow from a wilderness and remembers well when deer, turkeys and wild game of all kinds were in generous abundance. He has killed all kinds of
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game on the present site of Raymond and has seen wild pigeons in the sky so numerous that they obscured the sun. In those days before the war, the boys used to take their girls to the circus in a lumber wagon, or on horse- back and they enjoyed themselves fully as well as the young men do today with their fancy painted buggies or automobiles.
John Hartshorn, the son of John and Susanna (Curtis) Hartshorn, was born in New Hampshire, at Lineboro, January 30, 1830. His parents were natives of New Hampshire and lived all of their lives in that state. They reared a family of seven children : Susanna, who married Rodney Hutchin- son ; Mary, who died at the age of seventeen ; Serepta, who married Rodney K. Hutchinson ; John, of Raymond, and three who died in childhood. Mr. Hartshorn's father was a carpenter and died in Mount Vernon, New Hamp- shire, at the age of ninety-four. His wife died at the age of fifty-two.
John Hartshorn was reared in Mount Vernon, New Hampshire, on a farm and lived there until 1851. In that year he came to Ohio and settled in Raymond. and here he has remained ever since. He came for a visit to his uncle. Sewell Hartshorn, who induced him to remain, and gave him work as a carpenter. This trade he has followed most of his life, although he clerked in a store two years before the war. This store, which was torn down in August, 1914, was owned in the early days by P. Manchester, who used to make a trip to New York once a year to buy goods. It would take months to haul them here, as that was in the days when there were no rail- roads wending their way to Raymond. At the time Mr. Hartshorn came to this county there was only one buggy in the township, and the women, as well as the men, always came to market on horseback. Mr. Hartshorn has built some of the finest buildings in Union county, and has also moved many large buildings.
Mr. Hartshorn enlisted during the Civil War as a member of Company F., Thirty-first Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served nearly two years. While in the service he was elected second lieutenant, and did not know that he was being considered for the position until notified that he had been elected. He was in many of the hardest fought battles of the war. and was with General Sherman on his famous march through Atlanta to the sea. At the close of the war he returned to Raymond in Union county, and here for more than half a century he has been following the trade of a carpenter and house mover, and is still at work. It is probably true that there is no man of his age in the county can do as good a day's work as Mr. Hartshorn, and this speaks well for his rugged constitution and the exemplary life he has led.
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Mr. Hartshorn was married in 1855 to Sarah Hammond, the daughter of Ezekiel and -- (Brooks ) Hammond, and to this union six children were born: John C., clerk of the court in Union county ; Kittie, the wife of Chester Evans, of Bokes creek, this county; Bessie, the wife of Carman Wil- son, of Raymond : Zura, better known as "Sweet" who married Joseph Titus, and lives with her father, and two, the first born, who died in infancy. Mr. Hartshorn's wife, and the mother of these six children, was born in Raymond and lived here all of her life. She died in 1900. Mrs. Hartshorn had three sisters and a brother.
Mr. Hartshorn has been a stanch Democrat since the war. He has served as township supervisor, township trustee, school director and as one of the selectmen of his village. For many years he was sexton of the Ray. mond cemetery. He owns a house and lot in Raymond and has accumulated a comfortable competence for his declining years.
FRED ORMEROD.
It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs who makes the real history of a community and his influence is hard to estimate. It is doubtless true that the self-made man usually takes a more active interest in the life about him than does a man who was not compelled to start in life dependent upon his own resources. A man essentially self-made, who has been a resi- dent of Marysville, Ohio, since 1897, is Fred Ormerod, the present marshal of Marysville. He has been successful where his efforts have been directed and enjoys the friendship of the representative men of his community. He is a man who merits the name of a good and true American citizen.
Fred Ormerod. the son of Henry and Martha (Critchley) Ormerod. was born in Spencer, Medina county, Ohio, May 27, 1870. His parents, both of whom were natives of Manchester, England, reared a family of ten chil- dren, four now living: Dr. Henry V., of Niles, Ohio: Dr. George, of War- ren, Ohio; Fred, of Marysville; and Lizzie, the wife of William M. Owens. of Medina county, Ohio.
Henry Ormerod was reared in England and first learned the butcher's trade. Later he learned the blacksmith's trade, serving an apprenticeship of six years. Upon coming to America with his wife in 1856, he first located in Sing Sing, New York, and in 1860 moved to Rochester, Ohio. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Henry Ormerod enlisted in Company H. One
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Hundred Twenty-fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served for four years at the front. After his return from the army, he and his family located in Spencer, Ohio, where he followed the trade of a blacksmith for twenty-five years. He died February 10, 1890, at the age of sixty-four and his wife survived him twenty years, passing away February 28, 1910, at the age of seventy-nine years, four months and twenty days. Henry Ormerod and his wife were both devout members of the Methodist church. His wife was a deeply religious woman and was an ardent Methodist for sixty-five years. She had a natural, persuasive eloquence in prayer and her last faint breath was given in an audible prayer and thanksgiving to God. She and her husband were members of the same church and they always attended church and prayer meeting despite the inclemency of the weather. They held in a marked degree the love and high esteem of the entire community where they lived.
The paternal grandparents of Fred Ormerod were natives of England and lived there all of their days, rearing a family of several children : Henry, Mrs. Charlotte Squires. Richard and others of whom no record has been presented. The maternal grandparents of Fred Ormerod were also lifelong residents of England.
Fred Ormerod was reared in Spencer, Ohio, and received his education in the public schools of that place. When twelve years of age, he began working at farm work during the summer season while continuing his edu- cation during the winter months. He worked upon farms until he was twenty-two years of age and then went on the road as a commercial traveler for a poultry food house. He came to Marysville in 1897. For fourteen years he worked as a canvasser, then eighteen months at the Adams Husker factory and following this worked nine months as an employee of the Stand- ard Stamping Company.
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