USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 78
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Cleveland Asylum for the Insane, he began practicing medicine at Canton, Ohio, and is now in successful practice at South Whitley, Indiana. Ulysses G., the youngest son, graduated from Adelbert College in 1886 and is now in active business in the oil industries at Whiting, Indiana. Of the daugh- ters, Adeline married Henry G. Ziegler, now deceased; she is the mother of a large family, one of her sons, Harley H., being for many years the pro- prietor of the American House at Wooster, Ohio. Isabella married M. H. Murdock, now deceased, late of Rittman, Ohio; she is now living at Barber- ton, this state. Ellen S. married C. Blankenhorn, an educated and thrifty farmer living near Creston, Ohio, in whose home "Grandma" Swartz re- ceived the kindest of care during the last years of her life, after several years spent in Wooster and elsewhere in the homes of her children. Sarah is the wife of Rev. L. B. Harris, of Belton, Missouri. She completed her education at Granville, Ohio.
Samuel Swartz lived to see all his children converted and members of Baptist churches, and took great comfort in their progress. The mother lived to see thirty-six grandchildren and thirty-nine great-grandchildren.
In politics Samuel Swartz was a life-long Democrat of the Jeffersonian school and impressed his political faith upon every one of his children. He had no taste for the follies of life, and having never sown any "wild oats," he had no bitter crop to reap, and thus handed down in the very lives of all his children the happy fruits of a well-spent life. He was converted at an early age and united with the Dunkard church, the cardinal doctrines of which faith he ever stoutly defended. He differed from his brethren upon some matters of dress and education and so drifted from them, but not from the hope of the gospel, and as his children grew up and united with the Baptist church, he with his good wife united with this denomination at Sterling, Ohio, in 1870, and he was chosen deacon. It was his custom to close every day with family prayer, and he was a truly devout and consecrated man. He was impatient that sin in any form should enter the household of faith. He forgave and forgot all personal wrongs, and died at peace with all the world, his serene and gentle spirit passing to its rest, after a lingering illness of three years, which he bore with great patience and forti- tude, on October 15, 1885, in his seventieth year.
Thus lived and died one of that noble band of pioneers whose strong and brave hearts "made the wilderness to blossom as the rose." All who knew him remember him as one who loved integrity and hated iniquity; a good-natured, cordial, honest man, whose worthy career should be emulated by the youth who desire to leave behind them successful records and win
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the hearty approbation of all with whom they come into contact. His faithful helpmeet survived him nearly a quarter of a century, answering the summons that all that is mortal on earth must answer, February 5. 1909. after a brief illness, at the advanced age of eighty-four years, seven months and four days. She was ever a most devout and active Christian and the memory of her long and beautiful life will rest like a loving benediction upon all who came within the large circle of her personal influence, and her good works will follow her, a precious heritage to her large family of one hundred and eleven children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, includ- ing their husbands and wives now living, and to the generations following.
DEWITT HOWARD McMILLEN, M. D.
Rising above the heads of the masses are many men of sterling worth and value, who by sheer perseverance and pluck have conquered fortune and by their own unaided efforts have risen from the ranks of the commonplace to positions of eminence in the professional world, and at the same time have commanded the trust and respect of those with whom they have in any way been thrown in contact. Among the earnest men whose depth of character and strict adherence to principle excited the admiration of his contemporaries Dr. D. H. McMillen was prominent. He was widely recognized as one of the leading physicians of Wayne county and in his death the community suffered a distinct loss.
De Witt H. McMillen was born at East Greenville, Stark county, Ohio. on October 12, 1848, and was the son of John and Rebecca ( Nappenberger) McMillen. Both h's ancestral families were prominent and well known in Stark county. The Doctor was reared under the paternal roof and secured his elementary education in the common schools. He afterwards attended the Smithville Academy and then, deciding to make the practice of medicine his life work, he entered the office of his uncle, Dr. Alexander McMillen, under whose direction he studied awhile. Subsequently he matriculated in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Cincinnati and after his gradua- tion there he entered upon the active practice of his profession at West Leb- anon with his uncle, Dr. Alexander McMillen. He remained in the practice there a number of years, gaining a wide-spread reputation as an able and successful physician, and in 1890 he removed to Orrville, with a view of se- curing a broader field for his practice. Here he immediately took a fore-
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most place in his profession and for many years was considered the leading physician in this part of the county. He enjoyed a large and remunerative practice and handled successfully many difficult and apparently hopeless cases of disease. In private life he was a man whom to know was to admire. Genial in disposition, courteous in manner and generous in his attitude to- ward others, he won and retained a host of warm personal friends.
In his religious belief, Dr. McMillen was affiliated with the Orrville Methodist Episcopal church, of which he was a stanch and liberal supporter, being a member of the official board at the time of his death. His fraternal relations were with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, of both of which bodies he was an appreciative member. His death occurred on the 15th of December, 1901, and at his funeral the remark- ably large attendance was a notable tribute to the standing he occupied in the community.
On January 1, 1876, Doctor McMillen was united in marriage to Alma J. Braden, the daughter of John and Mary Braden, of Sugarcreek town- ship, this county, where she was born and reared. This union was a most happy and congenial one and was blessed in the birth of a son, Clyde Braden McMillen, who is now married and residing in Chicago, Illinois.
JOHN McSWEENEY, JR.
For the high rank of her bench and bar Ohio has ever been distinguished, and it is gratifying to note that in no section of the commonwealth has the standard been lowered in any epoch of its history. To John McSweeney, Jr., one of the representative attorneys of the northern part of the state, we may refer with propriety and satisfaction, for his record has been one of which any community might well be proud. He prepared himself most carefully for the work of his exacting profession and has ever been ambitious and self- reliant, gaining success and securing his technical training largely through his own determination and well-directed efforts. He not only stands high in his profession, but is a potent factor in state and national politics, his advice being often relied upon in the selection of candidates and party policy, and he has led such a career, one on which not the shadow or suspicion of evil rests, that his counsel is often sought and heeded in important movements in the county and state. By reason of numerous innate qualities, together with his pleasing address, his honesty of purpose and loyalty to his native community.
MEELES 4.9
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Mr. McSweeney has reached a conspicuous elevation in his chosen field of endeavor, and justly merits the high esteem in which he is held by all who know him.
John McSweeney, Jr .. was born in Wooster, Ohio, August 1, 1854, the son of John and Kate (Rex) McSweeney, each representatives of fine old pioneer families. The paternal grandparents of the subject of this sketch were John and Jennie (O'Connel) McSweeney, who came from Cork; Ire- land, in 1824, and settled at Blackrock, New York, later moved to Navarre, Stark county, Ohio. They were the parents of seven children. The entire family, with the exception of one child, died of cholera at Navarre, Stark county, Ohio, in 1828, John, the youngest, being the sole survivor. He was taken by Mrs. Grimes, attended school, and was sent to St. Xavier College at Cincinnati. When about fifteen years of age he selected John Harris, of Can- ton, Ohio, as his guardian, who removed him to the college at Hudson, Ohio. John's father left him about eighteen hundred dollars in money, with which I was educated and became the great orator and lawyer. In 1849 John mar- ried Kate Rex. The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, on the mother's side, was Jacob Rex, and his great-grandmother, whose maiden name was Phillips, were born in England but with an admixture of German blood. They came to America and settled at Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, the town being named after the great-grandmother, Phillips. The maternal grandpar- e. ts of John McSweeney. Jr., were Jacob and Cathrene (Witton) Rex, and were born in Phillipsburg. Their children were George, Jacob, John and Cathrene (or Kate), who married John McSweeney at Wooster, Ohio, George and Kate living here at that time.
Six children were born to John and Kate (Rex) McSweeney, namely : Two died in infancy, and Mary, aged nine years, died in Wooster; John, of this review, and Kate and Jennie survive.
John McSweeney, Jr., while yet a boy decided to follow in the foot- steps of his father in the legal profession, and he succeeded to his office, his library and his practice, and he has been assiduous in his business, animated by the spirit and lingering presence of a distinguished and able sire, a man who needs no Tuscan urn to contain his ashes as a reminder of what pro- found learning and forensic eloquence may achieve. He assiduously prose- cuted his studies in the local common and high schools, graduating among the first from the latter, and when twenty-one years of age, a time when most young men are only getting well launched in their school work, he was grad- uated from the University of Wooster, where he had made a brilliant record.
(46)
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He then began studying law very earnestly in his father's office and later took a course in the Boston Law School, and he was admitted to the bar in 1879, and ever since that date his practice has been growing until he now has a clientele second to none in Wayne county. He was soon singled out by party leaders for public positions owing to his general popularity and recog- nized ability, and from 1879 to 1883. and immediately upon his admission to the bar, he was city solicitor of Wooster, and from 1883 to 1889 he very cred- itably filled the office of prosecuting attorney of Wayne county, both respon- sible positions having illustrated the vigilance and prudence of a conscientious public official.
The harmonious domestic life of Mr. McSweeney began in the spring of 1884, when he formed a matrimonial alliance with Ada Mullins, in education, refinement and temperament and in Irish descent, like himself, and in this old homestead of his parents, with their boys, this congenial association illustrates the sanctity and perpetual serenity of a beautiful domestic life. This union has resulted in the birth of the following children: Rex. James, John, and Averil, the last named dying in 1894. The maternal grandparents of these children were James and Hannah (White) Mullins, Mr. Mullins being a native of Dublin, Ireland, who came to America in an early day and was suc- cessful here in his life work.
Mr. and Mrs. McSweeney made an extensive tour of Europe in 1895, viewing, at Dublin, the ancient seats of the Mullins and McSweeneys, where Sween, the Norwegian king, guided his leaking hulk and tattered sails, in the storms of the northern seas, to found a race of immortal genius; they later visited England. then to Germany, France and other interesting places on the continent.
John McSweeney, Jr., was born, educated and reared to manhood under the most propitious environment, and his parentage was prophetic of the per- sonal graces and mental versatility which characterizes his manhood. In his father he enjoyed as brilliant an example as any Greek pupil ever found in his great master, and he carried in his blood the eloquent suggestiveness, critical wit, and conversational eloquence of the most perfect life of his time in these respects. But a German realism and common conservativeness predominated and moulded the Irish and elegant effusiveness of his father into the more steady illumination and persistent rationality of the German mind. A strange combination to produce an infrequent genuineness of characteristics of which he is the residuary legatee. Inheriting this genius of one unsurpassed in the accomplishments of eloquence, wit and logical endurance of mental power, as
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was his father, so may he rejoice in the sanctification of virtue, prudence and good sense which marked the Rexes and which were possessed by his mother and illustrated by his uncle, Hon. George Rex.
Mr. McSweeney is a scholarly man and has a fine library of choice and standard literature, of which he is an appreciative student; however, his legal work necessarily requires the major part of his attention, owing to its increas- ing volume of recent years. As his industry and vigilance as city solicitor and as public prosecutor elicited the hearty commendation of every one, so the evolution of greater qualities obtained him the nomination for judge, and, though a Democrat, the appointment by two Republican governors of trustee of a state institution is a criterion of his high standing in public life; and be- cause of his public spirit, his honesty in all his relations with his fellow men, his generous and kindly nature, he has won and retained a host of warm per- sonal friends throughout northern Ohio. ,
As members of the Episcopal church, John McSweeney and his wife, also their children, early attracted by the literary beauty of the Book of Common Prayer, and the elegant and ancient form of worship, are consistent in the observance of the general principles of religious ethics. Without pro- fanity, severity of piety or intrusive appearance of devotion, they are amiable citizens. The criterion of loving our neighbors is finely illustrated in John McSweeney. He has the dignity of a commoner. He is a kind, generous laborer in the pursuits of men; possessed of a liberal ancestral estate, he is loyal to it; he labors for a living, and in his office as at the bar his nervous forces play in the dramatic anxieties of legal analytics and in the forensic and flowery combinations of logic and art and rhetoric. He displays an intel- lectual avidity among the occult themes of his profession. He contests his own thoughts with the interrogation of an inquisition. He is an orator in his high moments of rationalistic imagination and eloquent self-forgetfulness. Born and cradled among the leaves of the classic and the philosophic, he suckled the thoughts and the poesy and the spiritual enthusiasm of immortal authors, and his memory is a sarcophagus of the living images, and musical cadences, and fantasies, of every genius. Thus in the evolution the drama of the books was to play among the hereditary fibers, and attune the strings, with orphean melody. Presupposing that the inheritance of wealth is an enervating element in the life of a genius,-a disease called aristocracy,-the younger McSweeney is not more aristocratic than the elder who coined this competency out of his genius, or than the mother whose prudential ability saved it. The honor of it all is in the benevolent proprieties, in its appropri- ation to taste and learning and in many generous alleviations of necessity,
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one of the crowning virtues of the subject of this sketch. To him belongs a democratic simplicity in hereditary purity, the tact of meeting mankind with an open face, and a sparkling eye, and a shining cascade of glittering thoughts -beatitudes of providence. Of hospitality, the monopoly is his; of invited guests, and public men, the club-house is his home, and lunch and social chat and entertainment wear away to the meridian of night. Perfectly temperate, the life of intellectual anniversaries, the toastmaster at banquets, scattering his classical quotations and allusions in the abandon of crowding imagery and reckless phantasy, he stands immaculate as his own original. To the critic of occasional dramaticism in his mental manifestation, it yet remains that John McSweeney in general magnificence of mind, in demonstrative, conversa- tional enthusiasm, in the light of his expression, in the spontaneity of his man- ner and gesticulation, in the appositeness of his quotations, in the memory of quaint oddities of literary life and illustrative biography, all accompanied with good sense, philanthropy, and the power of analyzing occult distinctions, has no counterpart in the writer's knowledge of contemporaries.
ROBERT L. LUPOLD.
Back to stanch old German stock does Robert L. Lupold trace his line- age and that in his character abide those sterling qualities which have ever marked the true type of the German nation, is manifest when we come to consider the more salient points in his life history, which has been marked by consecutive industry and invincible spirit, eventuating in his securing a high place in the confidence and respect of his fellowmen. The subject's paternal great-grandfather was a native of Germany, but emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania, where Samuel Lupold, the subject's grandfather, was born and reared. His son, Samuel, the subject's father, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, but when a mere boy came to Ohio, settling in Holmes county. He learned the trade of a carpenter, at which he became a proficient workman, and he built many of the best homes and business houses in Holmes county. He lived in that county continuously up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1901, at the age of sixty-five years. He married Susan Wheaton, who was born in Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, and her death occurred about thirty-five years ago, at the age of forty-four years. To this worthy couple were born six children, namely : Lenora, the wife of Joseph Mitten, of Millersburg, Ohio; Robert L. was
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the next in order of birth; Rebecca is the wife of Howard Mast, of Millers- burg; Joseph is deceased; Samuel Henry, who has been in the regular army for more than twenty years and is now stationed at Washington, D. C .; Vic- tor, who resides at Mishawaka, Indiana.
Robert L. Lupold was reared and educated in Holmes county, residing there until about 1889, when he removed to Orrville. He was at that time a farmer, which vocation he followed up to about 1904, when he came to Orr- ville to live, since which time he has followed the contracting business. He was a progressive, enterprising and successful farmer and the general condi- tion of his property indicated him to be a man of good taste and sound judg- ment. For thirteen years he was also engaged in the dairy business, in con- nection with his agricultural work. He is equally successful in the contract- ing business and has performed many contracts in and about Orrville, as well as other parts of Wayne county. He is a careful and painstaking super- visor of his work and employs none but responsible workmen, so that his name to a contract is a sufficient guarantee of its faithful performance.
In December, 1880, Mr. Lupold married Mary Imhoof, a daughter of John M. Imhoof, of Mount Eaton, where she was born and reared. To this union four children have been born, namely: Howard Allen, of Orrville; Ida May, who died in infancy; Harry G., of Orrville, Ohio; Jessie Bell, who is bookkeeper in the office of the Orrville Courier.
In matters political Mr. Lupold gives an earnest support to the Demo- cratic party, and has served two years as assessor of Greene township. So- cially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Knights of the Macca- bees. In religion, Mr. and Mrs. Lupold give their support to the Lutheran church, of which they are both members and in the activities of which they are both interested. As a public-spirited and progressive citizen he has ever given his influence in the furtherance of good government, educational and religious interests, and all that conserves the general welfare, while to him- self is accorded the fullest measure of confidence and esteem. The family occupy a position of prominence in the social life of the community and the attractive home is a center of cordial hospitality.
JOSEPH WILLIAM HOOKE.
In one of the most exacting of all callings, the subject of this sketch attained distinction, having been recognized for a number of years as one of the most successful educators in the county of Wayne, and his success
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in the business circles of the city since then has been no less gratifying. He is a well-educated, symmetrically developed man, and his sterling qualities of character, as well as his versatile ability, gained for him an enviable stand- ing among those who know him.
Joseph W. Hooke is a native son of the old Buckeye state, having first seen the light of day on a farm in Logan county, August 6, 1868. His par- ents were Lewis J. and Lucy A. (Moomaw) Hooke, the former a native of Rockingham county, Virginia, and the latter of Botetourt county, the same state. Lewis J. Hooke was reared and educated in his native state, and when old enough he learned the trade of miller, in which line he was engaged at the outbreak of the Civil war. Though at that time a sympa- thizer with the Union, and being also exempt from military service because of his occupation as a miller, he enlisted in the Confederate army as a sub- stitute for his employer, who was a married man. He served a short time as a private, and at the age of twenty-one years he was captured by the Union soldiers and soon afterwards was released on parole.
Joseph W. Hooke received his elementary education in the public schools, supplementing this by three years' attendance at Mount Morris Col- lege, Illinois. He then engaged in teaching district schools until 1892, when he went to Bucyrus, Ohio, where he had charge of the commercial branches, and as supervisor of drawing and writing in the public schools, until 1894. He then had seven years of business college work, in which he met with uni- form success, and in 1902 he joined the faculty of the Wooster high school as principal of the commercial department and supervisor of writing and drawing, which departments he established. He demonstrated in no uncer- tain manner his ability as an educator and his thorough familiarity with the subjects under his charge, and he occupied a high position in the esteem of faculty and pupils. After giving three years' faithful service in this capacity, he resigned his position in order to accept that of secretary of the Peoples Savings and Loan Company, which position he still holds. In this responsible position Mr. Hooke demonstrated the possession of business abilities of a high order, and his relations with the public were always of the most agreeable and pleasant nature.
Politically, Mr. Hooke is a stanch Democrat, but is in no sense an aspirant for public office of any character. Religiously, he is a member of the Church of Christ, in which he has taken a most active part, having been honored with all the offices within the gift of the church. His support
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and influence are always given unreservedly to all movements for the ad- vancement of the highest interests of the community, and he is numbered among the city's best citizens.
On the 20th of June, 1894, Mr. Hooke was united in marriage to Bertha E. Morrison, the daughter of William F. and Elizabeth (Chambers) Mor- rison, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and to them have been born two children, namely : Delia E., born December 23, 1895, and Mildred A., born June 30, 1905. Mrs. Hooke is a lady of culture and refinement and their attractive home is the center of a large social circle. Mr. Hooke is a man of strong social instincts, and holds fraternal relations with the Knights of Pythias. exem- plifying in his life the beneficent principles of this order.
MICAJAH MILO MORLAN.
There is little that interests one more than to observe how different men begin and continue the duties of life. Some commence in hesitation and seem to hesitate at every obstacle they encounter. Others begin boldly, but after a time they show by some defect in execution that they have not prop- erly mastered their tasks. Still others commence with steady grasp of the situation, and show by their subsequent accomplishments that they have compassed the problem of life : to the last class success always comes, and they are the men to leave behind them good names and large properties honorably won in life's struggle. Their children are left to reap the harvests of good actions. Among such talented and enterprising men is Micajah Milo Morlan, who has for many years shown himself to be a master of at least two lines of endeavor, winning much more than local reputation both as an artist and an oculist, and at the same time establishing an enviable record as a higli- minded, whole-souled citizen whom to know is to admire and respect because of his genuine worth, his integrity and his courteous demeanor. He is well known to the people of Wooster, where he maintains his office and his resi- dence.
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