USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 64
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Quartz Hill Mining Company, all in Colorado; and the Golden Chief Mining Company, of Rhyolite, Nevada. All of these are being operated, Mr. Bolen owning five hundred thousand shares in them.
The domestic life of Mr. Bolen began in 1892, when he married Jessie H. Starbuck, a lady of culture and refinement and the representative of an honored and influential family. This union has been graced by the birth of two children. Edward and Uda.
Politically, Mr. Bolen is a Democrat, and fraternally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Improved Order of Red Men.
Mr. Bolen is a splendid specimen of well-rounded, symmetrically devol- oped, virile manhood, with a commanding presence and a strong personality, being six feet in height, having a keen eye and a dignity of bearing, moving among his fellows as one born to leadership. He is companionable, genial, a hale and hearty spirit, whose presence inspires good humor. With duties that would crush the ordinary man, he has his labors so systematized that he experiences little or no inconvenience in doing them. He is a vigorous as well as an independent thinker, a wide reader, and he has the courage of his convictions upon all subjects which he investigates. His career as an attorney and in business has been strikingly original and fearless, prosecuting his researches after his own peculiar fashion, and, measured by the accepted standard of excellence, his career, though strenuous, has been eminently hon- orable and useful, and his life fraught with good to his fellows and to the world.
O. C. WILLIAMS.
O. C. Williams, who is engaged in the livery business in Wooster, ranks among the more enterprising and progressive business men. The prosperity of any community, town or city depends in a large measure on its commercial activity, its industrial interests and its trade relations, and therefore the real upbuilders of a town are those who stand at the head of the leading enter- prises. Mr. Williams has, by his progressive methods and enterprising spirit, been a definite factor in the advancement of Wooster's business interests.
The subject was born in Holmes county, Ohio, on the 19th of January, 1861. His father, Stephen R. Williams, was a native of Pennsylvania, born February 17, 1817, but has lived in Holmes county since he was two years old, and, what is more notable, has lived all these years on the same farm. His antecedents were Welsh. On April 30, 1830, Mr. Williams married
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Jane Hague, who was born in this country, March 5, 1822, but whose parents were born at The Hague, Holland. Stephen R. Williams owns a splendid farm of two hundred and fifty acres and, despite his advanced age, he still maintains an active supervision over its operation, being still in vigorous health and as strong mentally as when in his physical prime. On April 30, 1910, he and his wife celebrated their seventieth wedding anniversary. To their union were born the following children : Rev. Albert B., of Mount Ver- non, Ohio; Nancy, the widow of Lewis Everhard, deceased; Mary, the wife of George W. Burkett, of Lincoln, Nebraska; Ruth, the wife of Rev. J. T. H. Stewart, of Welcome, Ohio; W. V., of Winfield, Kansas, where he was in the hardware business for twenty-two years, but is now in the real estate busi- ness; and O. C., the subject of this sketch. Three sons, James, Aaron and John, are deceased.
O. C. Williams was reared on the parental farmstead in Holmes county and remained there until 1884. In that year he went to Harper county, Kan- sas, and engaged in the general merchandise business, in which he continued for twelve years, meeting with fair success. He then returned to his native state and went to farming in Holmes county, in which he was occupied for about ten years. On May 1, 1905, he came to Wooster and took charge of his present business, that of liveryman, in which he has been very successful. The barn was established in 1887 by his brother-in-law, Lewis Everhard, now deceased, and is a large and commodious structure, capable of accommodating one hundred and fifty head without undue crowding. This barn bears the distinction of being the first ten-cent barn in the state of Ohio and the second in the United States. It is run on practically the European plan, every horse getting an enclosed stall. The barn is equipped with a ladies' waiting room and toilet, as well as other conveniences, and from the start the insti- tution has met with the approval of the public, it being accorded a liberal and constant patronage, especially by the farmers, by whom it is duly appreciated.
On June 20, 1895, Mr. Williams was married to Mary Alice Wishard, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Wishard, the family being of sturdy Scotch ancestry on both paternal and maternal lines. Mary Wishard was born in Danville, Hendricks county, Indiana, and received a good education in the public schools of her native state, the high standard of which is a matter of national reputation. To Mr. and Mrs. Williams have been born two children, Horace Williams, born February 5, 1897, and Elizabeth Jane, born October 15, 1908.
Fraternally, Mr. Williams is a Freemason, belonging to the lodge at Millersburg, Ohio, With his wife, he is a member of the Christian church,
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to which they both give a loyal and generous support. In politics he is a stanch supporter of the Republican party, though he has no inclination for public office. Mr. Williams has many friends in Wooster, where his character as an honorable and upright man is well known. He is pleasant and agree- able in manner, and both he and his estimable wife delight to offer the hospitality of their pleasant home to their many friends.
WILLIAM HERBERT BLISS.
The record of Mr. Bliss is that of a man who by his own unaided efforts worked his way from a modest beginning to a position of definite standing in the business circles of Wooster, where he is now engaged in the grocery business. His life has been of unceasing industry and perseverance and the systematic and honorable methods which he has followed have won for him the unbounded confidence of his fellow citizens.
Mr. Bliss was born at Bloomville, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 16th of March, 1869. His paternal grandfather, who was a native of New York state, was a successful merchant there, and met his death by accidental drown- ing after removing to Ohio. The subject's father, Edson P. Bliss, was also born in the state of New York and was brought to Ohio when a baby, his parents settling in Seneca county. After receiving his education and reaching years of maturity, he engaged in the dry goods business, and was so engaged for twenty-nine years. During the first years he was a business partner with Henry M. Flagler, of Standard Oil fame. Mr. Bliss died in November, 1886. He married Elizabeth Killey, who was born in Maryland and who died when the subject of this sketch was but four years old. To Mr. and Mrs. Bliss the following children were born: Melvin O., of Bloomville, Ohio; Malcolm E., also of Bloomville ; Ginnela, who is the wife of Clinton C. Leyda, ticket agent at Shreve, Ohio; the subject of this sketch is the youngest of the family.
William H. Bliss spent his boyhood in Bloomville, and attended the pub- lic schools, graduating in due time from the Bloomville high school. Desir- ing to secure a more complete education he then entered Heidelberg Univer- sity, at Tiffin, Ohio, where he remained two years, and then spent two years in Wooster University. In 1888 Mr. Bliss located in Wooster and established himself in the grocery business in 1895. From a modest beginning, his busi-
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ness has grown until it is now of large proportions and realizes to Mr. Bliss a handsome annual net income. He carries a large and well-selected stock of everything usually to be found in an up-to-date grocery and his efforts to please his customers have been rewarded by constantly increasing business.
On the 6th of October, 1895, Mr. Bliss was united in marriage to Lillie May Siegenthaler, daughter of Albert J. Siegenthaler, of Wooster, where she was born and reared. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and are interested in advancing its work in the community. In politics Mr. Bliss is a Republican, but takes no very active part in public matters, preferring to give his undivided attention to his business interests. He is Democratic in his tastes and has made many warm personal friends since locating in Wooster, who esteem him because of his sterling qualities. He is a self-made man and is eminently entitled to representation in a work of this character. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss have a pleasant home at No. 55 East Larwill street.
WILLIAM L. LONG.
In the daily laborious struggle for an honorable competence and a solid career on the part of a business or professional man there is little to attract the reader in search of a sensational chapter ; but to a mind thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are noble and imperish- able lessons in the career of an individual who, without other means than a clear head, strong arm and true heart, directed and controlled by correct prin- ciples and unerring judgment, conquers adversity and finally wins, not only pecuniary independence, but, what is far better, the deserved respect and con- fidence of those with whom his active years have been mainly spent. To this latter class belongs the subject of this sketch, who is recognized as one of the leading contractors and builders in Wayne county.
Mr. Long was born in Wooster on the 8th of October, 1871. His par- ents are Jacob and Sarah (Ketker) Long, the former of whom was born in Paradise, Wayne county, Ohio, where he was reared to the life of a farmer Subsequently he was employed as a stone mason, and later lived at Cleveland. Ohio, in retirement, having removed to that city in 1905, his death having occurred recently. His widow is now making her home with her son. Jacob Long had lived in Wayne county all his life up to the time of his removal. His family is of German extraction, his father, Barnhart Long, having been a native of the Fatherland. He came from Germany in young manhood,
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settling first at Goshen, Indiana, but removing to Wayne county, Ohio, in an early day. He was an expert gunsmith and a highly respected man. His death occurred in 1901. The subject's mother was born in Toronto, Canada, but in young girlhood was brought to the United States by her parents, who settled in Wayne county, where she lived all her life up to the time of her removal to Cleveland. Jacob and Sarah Long were the parents of the fol- lowing children, thirteen in number: Shannon, deceased; Dora, the wife of Irwin Stevens, of Cleveland, Ohio; William L., subject of this sketch ; Jen- nie, the wife of Edward Gibbons, of Columbus, Ohio; Ethel, the wife of Clem Langell, of Cleveland, Ohio; Alice, wife of Hugh McAnnaney, of Fort Lupton, Colorado; David, of Cleveland; Earl, who died at the age of twenty- five years; Goldie, the wife of Charles Smith, of Cleveland: Karl, of Cleve- land; Frank, of Wooster; Hazel, wife of Charles Wheaton, of Columbus, Ohio; Nellie, deceased.
Though the subject of this sketch was born in the city of Wooster, he went to live with his father on a farm at ten years old, and worked there until fourteen years old. His parents were poor, and his father was compelled to support his large family by day labor. After the father rented the little farm out from the city and moved there, things did not materially brighten, as the land was poor and the combined efforts of father and boys could not make it produce enough to keep the family in comfort. William became discouraged at the outlook and told his father he was going to Wooster and hunt work, that he might provide his mother with money, as she had not seen a ten-dollar bill since they had moved to the farm. The boy soon found employment, and. being possessed of a rugged constitution and a willing disposition, he was soon enabled to command fair wages. He first learned the stone-mason's trade and then that of a brick mason, in both of which he became a proficient workman. By thrift and economy he was enabled to save money and in 1891 he went into the contracting business on his own account. In this line he has achieved a success far beyond his early dreams and has built up a business second to none in this section of the state. He has accumulated considerable material wealth. being worth, at a conservative estimate, fifty thousand dollars, all of which has been gained by hard work and the exercise of sound judgment. Mr. I.ong constantly employs a large number of workmen and has performed some of the largest building contracts ever let in this county. Among the buildings constructed by him, the following may be mentioned: The Wayne county jail, the university chapel, part of the Kauke hall, the Severance hall, the university power house, the addition to the Frick Library at the university, the Holden hall, these including the principal buildings at Wooster Univer-
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sity, the Wayne County Building and Loan Association building, the Gersten- slager Buggy Company factory, Wooster high school building, J. M. Gitner's garage, the Wooster brush company's new factory, and many other of the best class of buildings in the community, besides a large number of the best residences. Everything Mr. Long undertakes is done well and he has long had an enviable reputation because of the quality of his work. His property interests include a beautiful home, in which he takes a justifiable pride. He also bought a fine piece of farming land, and his father and mother lived on this place for a while, but subsequently moved to Cleveland, where so many of their children were living. Mr. Long is also a stockholder in the Wayne County National Bank and in the Gerstenslager Buggy Company, both of them leading institutions of their kind in this city, and a splendid farm of one hun- dred and forty acres located two and a half miles east of Wooster.
In 1894 Mr. Long was united in marriage to Elizabeth I. Whitcomb, a daughter of David Whitcomb, and born in Haysville, Ashland county, this state. To this union four children have been born, namely : Edna V., Hugh J., Donald, and one that died in infancy unnamed. Their home, on Pitts- burgh avenue, is a charming place, where all visitors meet with a hearty and spontaneous welcome and where the latch-string ever hangs on the outside. In his social relations, Mr. Long is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America. In politics he is a stanch Republican and takes an active interest in the success of his party, but though frequently importuned to accept nomination for public office, he has steadfastly refused to do so, preferring to devote his attention to his business interests and his family, to which he is devoted. However, he is giving effective service as a member of the board of public safety. Nevertheless he is essentially alert and public-spirited in his attitude and his interest in all that conserves the public welfare is unabating. Because of his courteous manners, genial disposition and genuine worth, he has won and retains a host of warm personal friends. Since above was written Mr. Long's father died. His mother makes her home with her son.
ALBERT GERLACH.
Among the enterprising citizens of Wooster, Ohio, is Albert Gerlach, who is engaged in the meat business, managing one of the oldest, best known and extensive shops in the city, while he maintains a very comfortable home here, and the years of his residence have but served to strengthen the feeling
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of his fellow citizens, for he has shown what rightly directed principles, coupled with honesty and industry, can accomplish toward definite success. As the name indicates, this family is of German origin. Frank C. Gerlach, father of the gentleman whose name introduces this sketch, was a native of the province of Prussia; when a young man he joined a large colony of Ger- mans and they came to the United States, most of them locating in Ohio, young Gerlach making his way to Wooster, where he decided to remain, finding that Wayne county offered exceptional inducements for a man of his temperament. He engaged in the meat business, thus founding the well known establishment of which the subject is now the manager and owner. He was a successful business man and built up a very lucrative trade here. He took considerable interest in local politics and at one time served in a very creditable manner as township trustee. He lived in Wooster continuously until his death, in March, 1885. Frank Gerlach married Johanna Kaltwasser, a native of Prussia who came to America when a young woman. She died on December 27, 1909. She was a kindly, generous and honest lady whom everybody respected. By her marriage with Frank Gerlach she became the mother of four children, Albert, Will, Frank, Jr., and Julius.
Albert Gerlach was born in Wooster, Ohio, March 29, 1861, and he has lived here all his life. He received a very practical education in the local schools, and when a mere boy assisted his father in the meat business. He very naturally decided to follow in the latter's footsteps and follow the same line of work for a livelihood ; this he has done in a manner that stamps him as progressive, alert and honest in all his dealings with his fellow men, having been taught by his honored parents the old-time adage that, "Honesty is the best policy." His father taught him the "ins and outs" of the meat business and gave him a share in the shop, which he is still managing in the same systematic and careful manner as always characterized the methods of the elder Gerlach, having not only been able to retain the old trade but also a con- stantly growing new list of good customers. By his thrift and able manage- ment he has won large success, accumulating a substantial competency and ranking with the progressive business men of Wooster.
Mr. Gerlach has never assumed the responsibilities of the married state. Fraternally, he belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in politics he is a Democrat, but not a partisan. His church membership is with the English Lutherans, of which he is a liberal supporter and in which congregation he is held in high favor.
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DANIEL S. STOUT.
Daniel S. Stout needs no introduction to the citizens of Wayne town- ship. Wayne county, for his long and eminently useful life has been spent here, with the exception of his service in the army, for he was one of the loyal sons of the North who sacrificed so much for succeeding generations, undergoing the trials and privations, to say nothing of the dangers to life and limb, during the stormy days of the early sixties. To such as he all honor is due. As indicated, Mr. Stout was born in Wayne township, this county, near Madisonburg, August 2, 1839. He is the son of Daniel Stout, a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, who married Catherine Oberlin, a native of Lancaster county, that state. He came as a single man to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1825, with his parents. His father was Matthias Stout, who mar- ried Susan Gable, a native of Pennsylvania. They came to Wayne county, Ohio, and purchased a small place near Madisonburg, on which Mr. Stout lived until his death, his widow surviving and dying in Illinois.
Daniel Stout, father of Daniel S., of this review, was educated in the common schools. His father. Matthias, was a well-educated man and a teacher of German for some time. Daniel learned the bricklayer's trade, which he followed for several years, devoting the latter part of his life to farming. He first secured land in Mercer county, Ohio, and in 1854 or 1855 he bought seventy-four acres where the subject now resides in Wayne township. There was an old log house on the place at that time, but he improved the place. His first wife died in 1882 and he married a second time, his last wife being Rebecca Aultman, a native of Orrville, Ohio. Daniel Stout was the father of thirteen children by his first wife and three by his second. Those living by his first wife are, Daniel S., subject of this sketch : Jacob O., of Lima, Ohio: Simeon, a bricklayer at Mechanics- burg, this county : Susan E., living at home ; Catherine, also at home; James F., of St. Marys, Ohio: Anna B., living at home. The following are the children by Daniel Stout's second marriage: Cora, living at East Palestine, Ohio; Isa, of Orrville, Ohio; the other child by this marriage is deceased. Daniel Stout held the office of trustee of his township, also other offices within the gift of the people. He was a Democrat and a member of the Lutheran church. His death occurred on May 3, 1896.
Daniel S. Stout, of this review, received only a common school educa- tion, and he lived at home until he was twenty-two years of age, when he enlisted his services in defense of the flag during the Civil war, serving with
Daniel & Stort
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credit for a period of four years. His enlistment occurred in October, 1861, in Company B, McLaughlin's Squadron, which was organized at Mansfield, Ohio. The regiment was sent to the Big Sandy river in eastern Tennessee and was in that valley for one year; thence they ascended the Ohio river and returned to the Big Sandy river country ; spent two months in Covington, Kentucky ; then went to Knoxville, Tennessee, and were there when the place was besieged by Longstreet. Mr. Stout then went home on thirty days' fur- lough, after which he returned to Lexington, Kentucky. In March, 1864, he went across Tennessee to Georgia and took part in the Atlanta campaign and was captured on July 31st, sent soon afterward to prison at Anderson- ville, also sent to the Florence prison, and after five months he was paroled and exchanged. Then he came home again on a thirty-day furlough, return- ing to his command in North Carolina, remaining with the same until his discharge in November, 1865, after which he came home. Three of his brothers were also in the Union army, John, of the One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, became a captain: Jacob, who became a second lieutenant in the company with Daniel S., served three and one-half years, and he, too, was taken prisoner; William was also in the same company with the subject of this review and died in Mellon prison. Georgia.
After his army career, Daniel S. Stout launched into the butter and egg business at Mechancisburg, this county ; but after spending two years there he went to Jackson county, Missouri, where he remained for two and one- half years, then returned to Ohio, locating in Creston, Wayne county, and was engaged in the butter and egg business for two years. Since that time he has been on the old homestead, where he is carrying on general farming very successfully, having a nice home and a well-managed place. He has been a trustee of Wayne township for two terms, also served as school di- rector. He votes the Democratic ticket. The Stout family are supporters of the Evangelical Lutheran church of Wayne township.
ELMER S. LANDES.
Men possessed of genius, of business capacity, force and intelligence need no factitious introduction to the public attention. The positions of honor. influence and power in commerce, in statesmanship, in fact in any field of pub- lic activity, are not always occupied by men of the greatest resources or the
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highest character, intellect or ability. Men who possess the best and most valuable attainments, and who are qualified for the highest service, pass quietly along, almost unrecognized, unhonored and unsung. An accident frequently thrusts elaborations and exalted position upon an individual, or the independ- ence of accumulated wealth, although he may be too small to fill the measure of his luck. He who makes himself strong, and a factor,-a living, acting, ac- complishing entity in his community,-whether a young man or not, who makes himself felt as a progressive personality by his tact, foresight, enter- prise, energy and judgment, is a greater and more valuable citizen than he who goes "whistling to the air" in perfumed hammocks, knitted and woven by the deft spiders of circumstance.
The beginning is more than doing a thing in time. It orders a con- tinuance. It implies action, choice, purpose, courage, self-reliance, progress. Some lives are diligent but unproductive, because they swing down into the easiest place and go around, but never up and forward. Others appropriate all their strength in pretense in appearing, not being. We conjecture that with Mr. Landes the only sane philosophy of life comes through action.
The subject of this sketch is a native of Wayne county, as indigenous to the soil as its wild flowers or its forest trees, and was born in Madison- burg, Wayne township, October 24, 1867. He is a son of Thomas Allen and Martha Jane Landes, of Wayne township, both of whom were born the same year, 1846, in this township; his mother was also born at Madisonburg, where she has lived continuously since her birth, or for sixty-three years. His parents were united in marriage in 1866, and to this wedded union four children, three sons and one daughter, were born, all of whom, save the daughter, are living. His ancestral stock, both on the paternal and maternal line, is strongly interfused with the old territory blood, albeit on the latter or on the mother's side there is a healthy interjection of the red blood of the Celts, the irrepressible Mishenaw that lives immortally in song and eloquence, and who has glorified many a battlefield from Drogheds to Boyne Water. His father was an upright, industrious citizen, the owner of considerable real estate which he cultivated, in connection with which he engaged in train- ing, a quite profitable vocation, and such other work as came within the range of his ability and equipment to perform, his sons materially assisting him in his farm work and other fields of labor in which he may have been engaged.
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