USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 77
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determined purpose, laudable ambition and well-directed effort, for the posi- tion that he attained in life was won entirely through his own efforts.
Raymond F. Christy was a native son of the old Buckeye state, having been born in Canaan township, Wayne county, on the 20th of March, 1852, and his death occurred on the 9th of April, 1909, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. In his veins flowed Irish and Norwegian blood, his father, James Christy, having been a native of the Emerald Isle, while his mother, whose maiden name was Roxanna Severcool, was born in Norway. The subject was reared under the parental roof and attended the common schools. This education he supplemented by attendance at Smithville Academy and the old Canaan Academy. He engaged in teaching school, which vocation he fol- lowed about four years. At the age of twenty-two years, in 1874, he engaged in the clothing business at Orrville, and in this enterprise he met with suc- cess from the start, and for many years up to the time of his death he was the leading clothier in that city. He also had stores at Wooster, Doylestown and Cleveland, his store on Euclid avenue, in the latter city, being one of the fine stores of that city. He took a keen interest in his home town and erected the Christy block, one of the best business blocks in the city. He was also a valued member of the Board of Industry of Orrville, a very practical and efficient organization of the business men for the purpose of aiding the com- mercial and industrial development of the city. He also for seven years con- ducted a very successful shoe business in connection with his clothing store in Orrville. He sold the shoe business, however, in 1907, and in 1908 he disposed of the clothing business. Mr. Christy, during his commercial life, suffered a number of severe losses, through fire, robbery and other causes, but in spite of these reverses, he forged ahead and acquired a comfortable competency. Though highly regarded because of his business ability and suc- cess, his high standing in the community was attained because. of higher qualities than mere commercial ability. He possessed those sterling quali- ties of character which enabled him to exercise a sympathy and generosity of spirit which endeared him to all who enjoyed his acquaintance. Broad- minded and straightforward, he allowed nothing to swerve him from what he considered the right and he occupied a high position in the hearts and minds of those who knew him best. His death was considered a distinct loss to the city in which so many of the best years of his life were spent.
Mr. Christy was thrice married, first to Anna Hoy, of Wooster town- ship, of a well-known family in Wayne county. Her death occurred two years after their marriage, and subsequently Mr. Christy married Elizabeth
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Gayner, who died five years later. On June 4, 1900, he wedded Florence May Geyer, the daughter of Samuel and Lydia (Lehman) Geyer, of Woos- ter. where she was born and reared. A sister is Mrs. William Caskey, of Wooster, where other relatives also reside. Mrs. Christy was a successful teacher for six years prior to her marriage. She is well educated, having supplemented her public school education by attendance at Smithville Acad- emy, Wadsworth Academy, Wooster University and Bixler's Business Col- lege at Wooster. She is a lady of rare culture and attainments and pos- sesses a business ability above that of the average woman.
Mr. Christy was a valued member of the Presbyterian church, of which he was an active and generous supporter. He readily gave his endorsement and support to every movement having for its object the moral, educational or material advancement of the community and because of his faultless honor, fearless conduct and stainless integrity he commanded uniform regard and the love and esteem of his friends.
MAX J. LEICKHEIM
History generally treats of those who have attained eminence in poli- tics or statecraft, in military circles and to some extent in the field of letters and art, but has little to do with that sturdy class of citizens upon whom the real prosperity and progress of the nation depends. It is left to specific biog- raphy to perpetuate the record of the law-abiding citizens who, in the midst of the active affairs of the work-a-day world, stand forth in integrity of pur- pose, loyalty to friends and native land, and in that enterprise and industry which make for the well-being of their respective communities. To this class belongs Mr. Leickheim, who is of stanch old German lineage and who is one of the progressive and successful business men of Orrville, where he has gained prosperity through his own well-directed effort, the while com- manding the unequivocal esteem of the community.
Max J. Leickheim was born in Millersburg, Holmes county. Ohio, on the 2d of July. 1865, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (Swigert) Leickheim. The father, who is now an honored and respected citizen of Orrville, was born in Germany in 1827, and received a fair education in the schools of his native land. In 1852 he came to the United States, landing at the port of New Orleans, from which place he traveled up the Mississippi river to Cin- cinnati. He was a cooper by trade and during the next three years he fol-
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lowed the cooperage business at Cincinnati. At the end of this period he removed to New Bedford, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, where he was engaged in a like manner for six years, following which he spent seven years in busi- ness at Millersburg, this state. In 1870 he came to Wayne county, locating at Apple Creek, but three years later he came to Orrville, where he followed the cooperage business until his retirement from active labor, about twenty- five years ago. He married Elizabeth Swigert, who also was a native of the Fatherland, where she was born in 1825. She was reared, educated and married in her native land, and her death occurred at Orrville in 1890. To John and Elizabeth Leickheim were born the following children: Mary was the wife of John Althen, of Elgin, Illinois, where her death occurred in 1907 ; the next four children in order of birth died in their infancy; D. J., of Orr- ville; Anna, of Orrville; Henry P., and the subject of this sketch.
Max Leickheim was eight years old when the family removed from Mil- lersburg to Orrville, and in the schools of the latter place he secured his education. After completing his education he was employed about a year in the cooperage department of the Orrville Milling Company, where his father was also employed. In 1881 Mr. Leickheim accepted a position as clerk in the grocery store of Barrett & Leickheim, and has been connected with the grocery business continually since, including one year spent as a clerk in a grocery store at Larned, Kansas. He went west in 1887 and returned to Orrville in 1889, resuming work in his brother's store. On March 20, 1901, he and W. H. Krieter purchased the store of his brother, this business rela- tionship continuing about a year, when John Groher purchased Mr. Krieter's interest. Two years later the subject bought out his partner and has since continued the business alone. He has been governed by correct business principles and has succeeded in building up a large and lucrative trade. He makes a special effort at all times to please his customers and carries a large and well-selected line of groceries and the side lines usually found with a stock of groceries.
In July, 1891, Mr. Leickheim was united in marriage to Anna E. Krick, daughter of Philip and Sophia ( Whitmyre) Krick, the former of whom was born in Germany and the latter in Fulton, Stark county, Ohio. Mrs. Leick- heim was born and reared in Orrville and in the schools of that city she se- cured a good education. To this union has been born one daughter. Helen A., who is at home with her parents.
Religiously Mr. and Mrs. Leickheim are faithful members of Christ Reformed church, to which they give an earnest and generous support. Da-
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vid Swigert, father of Mrs. Leickheim, was a carriage builder and veterinary surgeon to the King of Bavaria and lived in the palace of the king. His wife was a woman of superior attainments, having received exceptional edu- cational advantages in her native land. The subject of this sketch is a man of many fine personal qualities of character and occupies a deservedly high position in the community in which he lives.
HIRAM B. SWARTZ.
Wayne county, Ohio, has been especially honored in the character and career of her public and professional men. In every township there are to be found. rising above their fellows, individuals born to leadership, men who dominate not alone by superior intelligence and natural endowment, but also by force of character which minimizes discouragements and dares great undertakings. Such men are by no means rare in this section of the great Buckeye state, and it is always profitable to study their lives, weigh their mo- tives and hold up their achievements as incentives to greater activity and higher excellence on the part of others just entering upon their struggles with the world. Such thoughts are prompted by a study of the life record of Hiram B. Swartz, attorney at law and ex-probate judge, living at Wooster. He has long been one of the prominent figures of Wayne county whose interests he has ever had at heart and sought to promulgate. His career has been char- acterized by untiring energy. uncompromising fidelity, and devotion to a "sim- ple life." He is quick of perception, forms his plans readily and executes them with alacrity, at the same time winning and retaining the high esteem of all with whom he comes into contact by the honorable course which he has pursued.
Judge Hiram B. Swartz is a Wayne county product, having been born in Milton township, May 27. 1846, the son of Samuel and Mary M. ( Miller) Swartz, natives of Pennsylvania and Ohio. respectively. A complete record of the subject's parents and immediate relatives will be found on another page of this work under the caption, "The Swartz Family."
To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Swartz twelve children were born, an equal number of boys and girls, of whom Hiram B. was the fourth in order of birth. He was reared on the home place and when he reached the proper age he began work in the fields, alternating farming with schooling in the district schools. His parents were sturdy pioneer stock. plain. honest and kindly disposed. and
Hranidura Tz
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the wholesome environment of their home is clearly reflected in the lives of their children. When sixteen years of age he left the common school and, being actuated by a laudable ambition to gain a higher education, he entered the academy at Seville, Ohio, where he spent two school years. He was a close student and made rapid progress. In the winter of 1864-5 he was the teacher in the old home school, known as Oakgrove, and gave eminent satisfac- tion. In December, 1865, he went to Granville, Ohio, entering upon the preparatory course of Denison University, where he completed the freshman . year of the classical course. His health then requiring a change and rest, he gave up study for a time, but in the fall of 1868 he entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. having decided to devote his talents to the legal profession, and he there pursued his studies for one year, when he determined to complete his original course in the classics, and in January, 1869, entered the literary department of that University. By his untiring zeal and close application, he successfully carried the work of both departments within the period of four years, and so graduated from both in 1872, by special permission of the faculty, as such a thing as graduating from two departments the same year was, up to that time, without a precedent in that institution.
Thus well fortified for the duties of his profession, Mr. Swartz, in the fall of 1872, began the practice of law at Newark, Ohio, in partnership with his brother, John M., then also a beginner at the bar, but who afterwards was elected prosecuting attorney of Licking county, and later, circuit judge of the fifth judicial circuit. In the fall of 1875 he removed from Newark to Woos- ter, opening his office with Hon. H. K. McBride, and subsequently with Hon. T. Y. McCray.
Taking an active interest in politics, Mr. Swartz. in the spring of 1877. was elected mayor of Wooster, and was re-elected in 1879, serving four years with great popularity and acceptance. During this period he codified the criminal ordinances of the city, from the original record, was successful in establishing the fifth ward, so as to secure better school facilities in that part of the city, secured the regulation of hacks for passengers at the depot and began the work of cleaning up the public square, which had long been used as a place for unhitching and feeding, thereby enhancing the beauty of the city. During his first term the water works of the city were completed and the systematic sewerage of the city was commenced. He also succeeded in break- ing up the tramp nuisance by applying the "Ball and Chain" under the super- vision of Marshal Dice, and established the city prison system on a better basis than formerly, and successfully enforced the first saloon-closing ordinance.
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His administration of the mayoralty was noted for its dignified trials of misdemeanors, its efficient public service and high moral tone, and marks the beginning of the public improvements for which the city is now distinguished.
When his last term as mayor closed in 1881, he resumed the exclusive practice of law, which he followed very successfully until 1888, when he was elected probate judge of Wayne county, and was re-elected in the fall of 1891, serving two terms with the utmost satisfaction to all concerned and having thoroughly exemplified the doctrine that "Public office is a public trust." At the close of his second term in this office he once more resumed the practice of law and has continued with unabated success to the present time.
An interesting chapter in the life history of Judge Swartz is that bearing on his domestic life, which dates from October 8, 1872, when he was united in marriage with Martha J. Davies, of Granville, Ohio, in which community her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Davies, were long influential and highly respected citizens. Mrs. Swartz is a woman of pleasing personality, wherein good housekeeping, culture and refinement are harmoniously blended. She and her husband are the parents of five children, of whom four, two boys and two girls, are living, all noted for their high attainments and integrity. ^ They are graduates of the various educational institutions of Wooster. The oldest daughter, Mary D., taught several years in the Wooster high school. She then took a graduate course at Granville, Ohio, and another at Mechanics" Institute at Rochester, New York, in domestic science, and then spent three years in teaching the same at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. She then took a post-graduate course and graduated at Yale with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1909, and is now in the faculty of Teachers College, Columbus University, New York City, having charge of the department of nutrition. Wayne graduated in the regular classical course of Wooster University, and during the past nine years has been engaged as teacher of English and history in the high schools of Coshocton and Chillicothe, Ohio, and later of Bridg- port, Connecticut, where he now resides. Paul and Esther L. are also gradu- ates of Wooster University. The former was distinguished for his rapid advancement in the natural sciences, and the latter for her genius in mathe- matics and her love of the modern languages. Paul, who was assistant at the chemical laboratory for two years under Doctor Bennitt, took a post-graduate course at Boston Technical Institute, from which he was taken into the active service by the Boston city commission and spent two years in the construction of the sub-ways of that city. He then had charge of the construction of an electric line from Annapolis to Washington, and afterwards served as one of
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the constructing engineers of the new tunnel under the Detroit river at De- troit. From there he was called into the United States government service as engineer of construction at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and is now assistant engineer in the department of maintenance of way of the Missouri Pacific railroad, with headquarters at St. Louis, Missouri. Esther has been a teacher of mathematics and the modern languages at Plano, Illinois, and is now lo- cated and engaged in that work in the high school at Wakefield, near Narra- gansett Pier, Rhode Island. All these children, though still young, are occupy- ing positions of responsibility, and are doing credit to their parental home and training and to the beautiful city of Wooster, Ohio, and her educational and religious institutions. Mrs. Swartz has also contributed much for the ad- vancement of religious and missionary interests and towards uplifting the general social tone of the city, being greatly interested in public improvements. cleanliness and thrift, and a woman who numbers her friends only by the large circle of her acquaintances.
Mr. Swartz is a man of intense energy and application. He goes into court with his case completely in hand. The labor of preparation is not con- sidered. Everything depends on work and study-the study of men, as well as books. In counsel he is inquisitive, exacting and exhaustive, wanting to know the truth and the facts. As an advocate he is earnest, honest, resolute and persuasive, seldom drawing upon his powers of forensic flights when the plain facts are of greater value in presenting his argument. He is a peace- maker by instinct, and settles many controversies. He is industrious and un- tiring in his profession, and it is a rare thing to find him when not busy and in action. He is regarded by all classes as one of the county's enterprising. progressive, public-spirited citizens, quick to see, to seize, to act and aid in any project that means prosperity and growth to Wooster, and cherishing a deep interest in the work of the churches and Sunday schools and in educational advancement. Pleasant and impressive in address, he is kind, generous, con- genial and companionable. He is also the author of a valuable law book en- titled "How to Settle an Estate in Ohio," published by Waring Company at Norwalk, Ohio, and has in preparation another work on "Magistrate's Prac- tice," and has invented and patented a number of useful articles, among the most important of which is an Australian ballot voting machine, which prom- ises to do away with election frauds and the long and wearisome counting of ballots at elections. He has achieved an honorable record in his profession. and, in fact, all other circles, and he is esteemed for the many qualities that go to make up the inherent and finer qualities of a refined gentleman.
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THE SWARTZ FAMILY.
From the days of the wilderness and wild beast to the opulent present, the name Swartz has been a familiar and highly esteemed one in Wayne county and without exception they have played well their parts in the county's affairs and have always stood in the front rank of her citizenship. One of the worthiest of this name was Samuel Swartz, who was born in Union county, Pennsylvania, June 3, 1816, and when three years of age his parents brought him to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1819, his father, John Swartz, set- tling in Canaan township, and his wife, nee Blocher, and their seven children starting life in a log cabin in true pioneer fashion. In 1834, at the age of eighteen years, Samuel Swartz first came to his homestead and hired out to John Miller, who recently had bought the tract from the government. He continued thus to work as a hired hand at clearing the then almost unbroken wilderness in company with his brother John until 1839, when he was married to Mary M. Miller, the daughter of his employer, then scarcely sixteen years of age, who had lived upon that farm from the age of six years, and whose happy companionship he there enjoyed for more than fifty years. She was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, July 1, 1824. In 1830 she came with her parents, John and Mary (Welday) Miller, to find a new home among the then dense forests and bushy swamps of Milton township, and located upon a quarter section of land near the center of the township upon the beautiful spot where she continued to reside for nearly sixty con- secutive years. Here, in their small cabin home, surrounded by almost impenetrable woods, her young life found happiness in the open clearings and in the horseback riding and neighborhood gatherings, until, to this wil- derness home, in 1834, came one, Samuel Swartz, whose youthful life, unit- ing with her own, turned both into that new channel which widened as the years gradually ripened them for the better land. He was then a clean, stalwart woodsman, always strong and robust, a hard and inde fatigable worker. After the death of John Miller in 1840 Mr. Swartz purchased the farm and began the erection of new and larger buildings. Under the ringing blows of his ax, which he could wield with marvelous skill, the dense forest on his land was swept away and by the careful culture of later years his farm became noted as one of the finest in the county. He was a model farmer, taking the lead in husbandry of every kind. He was enterprising and thrifty, and prosperity constantly waited upon him and crowned his honest toil. His young wife shared with him in all his enterprises, often assisting him in the fields and clearings when household cares permitted, and was no less distinguished than he for her many virtues. Samuel Swartz
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was a man of strong will and determined convictions of right and duty and while these traits sometimes produced some friction in his dealings with others, his honesty and integrity no one could question. He was a generous and helpful neighbor and true friend, and was remarkably free from every vice and had but little charity for any form of it in others. Of pure thought, he never uttered a profane word or indulged in slang or vul- gar speech of any kind. He was plain in dress and living and strictly tem- perate in all his habits; tobacco and strong drink of every kind he held in special abhorrence, and forbade the use of them upon his premises. Under the daily inspiration of such an example it is quite consistent that every member of his large family grew to maturity free from every one of these common vices. He was public spirited and was at different times elected to offices of public trust, which he filled very creditably. By industry and economy, at the age of forty years he was free from debt, and most of his subsequent earnings he expended in the education and culture of his chil- dren, to every one of whom he gave every opportunity in his power to ob- tain a good education. He was greatly assisted in this through the care and self-denial of his faithful wife, as her warm heart and active hands were unceasingly engaged in making provision for their support and clothing, at home and at school, and her gentle enthusiasm thus gave purpose and direction to their young lives. Their family consisted of twelve children, an equal number of boys and girls, of whom all the sons and four daughters grew to maturity and are living at this writing. All of the sons and ser- eral of the daughters obtained an academic education, and all of the former pursued graduate courses in universities of their choice. John M., the eldest son, graduated at Granville, Ohio, in 1869, and became a prominent lawyer at Newark, Ohio, and was at one time prosecuting attorney of Licking county, and afterward circuit judge in the fifth judicial district of Ohio. Hiram B., whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work, graduated from the literary and law departments of Michigan University in 1872 and is now one of the leading members of the Wooster bar, having been mayor of the city from 1877 to 1881 and later probate judge of Wayne county. Franklin P. graduated from Denison University at Granville, Ohio, in 1876. and from Rochester Theological Seminary in 1878, and for many years was pastor of the Baptist church at Loudonville, and later the First Baptist church of Kings Mills, Ohio. Samuel E. graduated at Granville in 1879 and for many years was principal of the Newark schools, and is now pro- fessor of chemistry and principal of the academy at Fairmount College. Wichita, Kansas. Dr. Douglas A. was graduated from Adelbert College. Cleveland. in 1884, and after a year or two of service as steward in the
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