History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I, Part 89

Author:
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1162

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In 1878 Mr. Shisler married Emma E. Stutzman, who was born in Smithville, and to this union have been born eight children, namely : Elias: Effie, the wife of Lawrence K. Miller; Frank S .. Mabel, Edwin, Adrain. Grace and Ada. In religion Mr. Shisler is a member of the radical branch

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of the United Brethren church, of which he has served as a trustee. In politics he is a Democrat and is the present assessor of Greene township, in which office he has served several terms, rendering also efficient service as a member of the school board of the township.

Mr. Shisler is a man of keen foresight and sagacity, and has made invest- ments which returned to him a good profit. He is energetic, enterprising and reliable, and therefore has won and retains the confidence of the residents of the locality in which practically his entire life has been passed.

STEPHEN M. HENRY.

Among the worthy and honored old pioneer families of Wayne county, Ohio, is that of Henry, members of which came here in the early days when this section of the state gave little promise of the wonderful progress and development which now characterizes it. They were a sturdy class, those early frontiersmen who, disregarding personal inconvenience and sacrifice of many kinds, bravely went to work and laid the foundations for a later and more advanced civilization. The members of the Henry family who came to Wayne county were counted among the leading and influential men of their day and in each succeeding generation they have occupied honorable positions among their fellow men. The history of the county would be incomplete were there failure to make specific mention of this family.

In the old family Bible in possession of members of the family now living is the following record: "Stephen Henry, born November 23, 1761, died August 24, 1850. His wife, Mary M., born September 3, 1757. died Sep- tember 25, 1836." Stephen Henry was born in Cecil county, Maryland, and was descended from ancestors who came from the North of Ireland and who were second cousins of Patrick Henry, the noted Virginian patriot and states- man. From Maryland, Stephen Henry and his family moved to Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, making the trip in a two-wheel ox cart. After remaining some years in that location, they started for Ohio in the spring of 1815, locating in Wayne county near where the brewery is situated just east of the city of Wooster. In 1831 he sold this farm and moved two miles farther east to the location of the Henry Mills, the locality prior to that time having been called Euclid. After some other changes in his residence, Stephen Henry died on the mill property August 24, 1850, his wife having died some years before. To this worthy couple were born the following children : John,

Stephen 16 Henry

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born March 14, 1786, died October 21, 1843; Joseph, born March 29, 1788. died February 18, 1862; Ann ( Mrs. Keslar), born July 3, 1789, died April 20, 1855; Stephen, Jr., born October 26, 1790, died February 23, 1853; John- son, born June 8, 1792, died July 1, 1856; Mary, born March 7, 1794, died December 25, 1855 : Elisha, born July 20, 1797, died in California October 28. 1862; Elizabeth ( Mrs. Kelley ), born April 17, 1799, died June 9, 1832.

Of these children. John was the father of Stephen M., who was born September 8, 1825. He was reared on the home farm and received his education in the common schools. Because of the comparatively primitive type of the schools of that day his education was necessarily somewhat limited, but he was a close and discriminating reader and a keen observer of men and things, and in his mature years he was considered a well- informed man, being a man of prominence and marked influence in the com- munity. After attaining the proper age he went to work in the Henry mills and was also engaged in farming until April 1, 1854. He was the owner of one hundred and seventy-four acres of land and was an enterprising and progressive man in his operations. He was a Democrat in politics and took an active part in local public affairs, having served six years as a member of the board of county commissioners and thirty-three years, or a third of a century, as justice of the peace, being elected in 1855 without any solicita- tion on his part. In 1865 he was elected to the office of commissioner of Wayne county, serving two terms, six years. During his incumbency in that office he inaugurated a system of bridge building that has done more good for the public of Wayne county than any other pre- vious system. He was one of the board of commissioners when the present county offices were built, and their construction is largely due to his superior judgment and qualification as an officer. With unfaltering fidelity to duty he, regardless of sacrifice to himself, filled every position of trust and re- sponsibility in which he had been placed by the public. He was honest. true, capable, broad-minded and generous. He was progressive in thought and pronounced in the expression of his opinions, being a Democrat of the old Jacksonian school. His death occurred on the 23d of February. 1906, and in his passing away the community suffered a distinct loss. His was that sturdy. dignified and stalwart character which in any community conunands at once unbounded confidence and respect.

Stephen M. Henry married Delilah Burnett, who was born April 27 1829, and died November 9, 1857. To them were born the following chil- dren : Mary Jane, born December 13, 1850, died August 29. 1908, was the wife of John Schaaf, and they had a daughter, Florence E., who is the wife

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of J. C. Patterson, of Franklin township, and the mother of five children, those living being Mary Delilah, Stephen John, Edith and Myrtle; Stephen John, born April 13, 1855. On March 31, 1858, Stephen M. Henry entered into a second matrimonial alliance, this time with Catherine Burnett, who was born November 23, 1832, on a farm adjoining her present residence. She is a daughter of John and Eliza (Kizer) Burnett. Her father was born April 28, 1804, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, a son of Isaac Burnett. The family came to Wayne county in 1808 and settled in what is now Wooster township, where the father entered land, also entering land in Holmes county. John Burnett received a limited education, but was a man of energy and good judgment and attained a good repute among his fellow men. On attaining his majority he moved onto the Franklin township farm, which his father had entered, and there he successfully carried on agricultural operations until his death, which occurred May 4, 1854. His wife died October 22, 1871, and their remains lie in the cemetery at Moorland. They were affiliated actively with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mrs. Burnett was one of the earliest members here. He was a Republican in poli- tics and was prominent and influential in the councils of his party. They were the parents of the following children: Jane, born July 22, 1831, now deceased, was the wife of Robert Scott, of Clinton township; Catherine (Mrs. Henry ) ; Isaac, born July 27, 1834, residing in Franklin township; Lucinda, born February 1, 1836, became the wife of Marion Dodd, and both are now deceased; Peter, born November 1, 1838; Hester, born February 15, 1841, became the wife of George Schaaf and both are deceased.

ARTY C. SAURER, D. V. S.

Among the honored professional men in Wayne county stands Dr. A. C. Saurer, who is located in the attractive and prosperous town of Apple Creek and who is known as one of the native sons of the county and a member of one of the sterling pioneer families of this section of the old Buckeye state. His ability and his profession has gained him marked prestige, while his per- sonality is such as to have gained to him a host of warm friends in the com- munities where he has practiced his profession.

Arty C. Saurer was born in Saltcreek township, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 28th day of August, 1885, and is a son of E. S. and Lena (Sauvain) Saurer. The father was for a number of years a well known teacher in the

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public schools and later a successful and prosperous farmer, but is now en- gaged as a manufacturer of tile brick at Maysville, Ohio. He is a man of marked ability in any line to which he applies himself and is a man of splen- did reputation in the circles in which he moves. E. S. and Lena Saurer are the parents of four children, namely: Arty C., Lester, Zona and Lewis.

The subject of this sketch was reared on the farm in Saltcreek township and was early initiated into the secrets of successful agriculture. . He attended the common schools and also the school at Maysville, receiving a good prac- tical education in the common branches. He had from boyhood evinced a fondness for animals and was also of a studious, technical turn of mind, these elements resulting in the eventual determination on his part to take up the practice of veterinary medicine and surgery. To this end he matriculated in the noted Veterinary College at Toronto, Canada, in 1905, and took a full course, graduating at that institution in the spring of 1907 with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Surgery. He at once entered upon the active practice of his profession at Maysville, Ohio, but, desiring a larger field for his opera- tions he moved, in the spring of 1909, to Apple Creek, where he is now estab- lished. In connection with his professional work, he is also running a livery and feed barn, in which he is meeting with gratifying success. Though young in years, Doctor Saurer has already demonstrated in an unmistakable manner that he possesses a broad and comprehensive knowledge of his professio- and he has handled successfully a number of very difficult and apparently hopeless cases. He is enjoying a patronage that is increasing rapidly and he stands today one of the best known men in his profession in this part of the county.

In politics Doctor Saurer gives his support to the Democratic ticket, in the success of which he displays a healthy interest. Fraternally he is a member of Apple Creek Lodge, Knights of Pythias. Quiet and unassuming in his demeanor, Doctor Saurer has made many friends and all are united in their high regard for one who is living an honest, industrious and upright life in their midst.

MATTHEW BEAZELL.

This venerable and highly honored citizen of East Union township. Wayne county, is deserving of special mention in a work of this character owing to his long, useful and upright life and the interest he has taken in the development of this community. He was born in Westmoreland county, Penn-

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sylvania, January 8, 1825, the son of John and Sarah (Shepler) Beazell, also natives of the last named place. John came to Stark county, Ohio, settling near Navarre, where he owned a good farm and where he spent the remain- der of his life. He lived quietly and cared nothing for public display. He was a firm believer in the Bible and the principles of the Presbyterian church, and he took a great interest in schooling his family. He was very successful financially, owning a well improved farm of one hundred and sixty acres ; he earned all his competence by his own efforts. He and his wife were the parents of eleven children, namely: Matthew, Rachael, Michael F., Mary, Harvey, William, Sarah, Harriett C., Noah H., Clara and James.

Matthew Beazell was reared on the home farm, where he remained until he was twenty-one years of age. He attended the common schools and re- ceived a fairly good education for those early days. He turned his attention to teaching, which profession he followed very successfully for a period of ten years, teaching two village schools. He later studied at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. He was regarded as an excellent teacher and his services were in great demand.

Mr. Beazell was married on March Tut 24, 1859, to Hannah Cunningham, who was born in Saltcreek to. - township, September 11, 1834, the daughter of James and Hannah (T. 'tfinley ) Cunningham, the former born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania

in ° Hahn 1797. He married there and they came to Ohio and located ofBaltcreek township, southern part of Wayne county, when that section was practically a wilderness. He was a stock raiser and farmer and in that neighborhood he spent his entire life. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church for many years. He and his wife were the parents of the following children : William, Nancy, Elizabeth, Jane, Violet, Rebecca, Eb. Robert and Hannah; two children died at the age of two and one-half years. The others grew up on the farm. in Saltcreek township. Hannah Cunningham was reared on the farm and here she attended the district schools, receiving a good education. After their marriage they moved to a farm in East Union town- ship where they lived for forty-five years, or until they moved to Apple Creek in April, 1904. They began life in a one-room log cabin in which they lived for six years, when it was replaced by a good frame dwelling. Being hard workers, they soon had a start and their farm of one hundred and sixty acres made them a comfortable living and a competency that renders their old age free from want, giving them all the luxuries their needs require. They started with ninety-five acres in East Union township and they now own two hundred and forty acres of excellent land.

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To Mr. and Mrs. Beazell six children were born: James Harvey, born February 12, 1860; Albert, born June 26, 1861, died when twenty-one years of age ; Clarissa J., born June 5, 1864, died in August, 1864: William S., born August 7, 1867; Frank R., born February 22, 1869; Emma S., born Novem- ber 16, 1876. James H. graduated from Ann Arbor University and is a teacher; Albert graduated from the primary department of the University of Wooster.

Mr. and Mrs. Beazell are members of the Presbyterian church, Mr. Beazell being an elder in the same; they have long been active workers and liberal supporters of the church. In politics Mr. Beazell is a Republican. He and his wife are very pleasant and they are highly esteemed by all who know them, being generous, affable, religious and hospitable. They celebrated their fiftieth (golden) wedding anniversary on March 24, 1909, which was a nota- ble event to the family and many relatives and friends.

WILLIAM CASKEY.

This highly esteemed and popular citizen, who since 1906 has been the efficient sheriff of Wayne county, is of Ohio birth and a descendant of one of the early settlers of Wayne township, the farm on which the family originally settled having been purchased from the government by his great- grandfather and held in the Caskey name ever since. John Caskey, the sub- ject's grandfather, a native of Ireland, came to America with his parents when sixteen years old and grew to maturity on the farm in Wayne town- ship referred to above. In due time he succeeded to the ownership of the place and there reared his family, among his children being a son, William Caskey, who was born and reared on the family homestead, and who after- wards became a well-to-do farmer and representative citizen of Wayne town- ship. He married, in young manhood, Elizabeth Criets, who was born in the above township, and became the father of nine children, of whom the fol- lowing survive : Mrs. Mary Mackey, of Smithville, Wayne county ; Mrs. All- tena McGlenen, of Creston, Ohio; Mrs. Ida Conn and Elmer E., of Wayne township, and William M. Caskey, whose name appears at the head of this review. The father of these children died about 1889; the mother, an aged lady of eighty-three years, has been living for some time in the town of Madisonburg, this state.

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William M. Caskey, whose birth occurred in Canaan township, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 9th of April, 1862, was reared to agricultural pursuits, received a fair education in the public schools and remained with his parents until attaining his majority, when he became a tiller of the soil upon his own responsibility. Later he operated a mill in connection with his agricultural interests and for about twenty-six years ran a threshing outfit with which he threshed much of the grain raised in his own and other parts of the county In 1898 he was elected trustee of Wayne township and so ably and judi- ciously were his official duties performed that three years later he was chosen his own successor, his majorities in both elections being much larger than those of any other candidate on the Democratic ticket.

Mr. Caskey's honorable record as trustee, together with his active inter- est in behalf of his party, led to his nomination in 1906 for the office of sheriff. In the ensuing election he defeated his Republican competitor by one thou- sand four hundred and seventy-seven votes, the largest majority ever given a candidate in the history of Wayne county, and two hundred and .> more than any other man on the ticket, a fact of which he has ever since felt deservedly proud, as demonstrating his popularity with the people regard- less of political ties. Making charge of the office January 1, 1907, he ad- dressed himself amit Habeit to his duties, which he has since discharged in an able and satisfactory manner, proving a capable and popular official and a terror to evil doers within his jurisdiction, many of whom he has arrested and brought to the bar of justice, while not a few, fearing his determined course to reduce crime to the minimum, have taken counsel of their better judgment by seek- ing safer quarters in other and distant parts. In 1908 Mr. Caskey was re- elected and his second term will expire on January 2, 1911. He has been faithful to every trust and in his official capacity stands high in the esteem and confidence of the people of the county and in point of efficiency and faithfulness his administration compares favorably with that of any of his predecessors.

On November 17, 1892, Mr. Caskey entered the marriage relation with Blanche Geyer, of Wayne township, his friend and companion ever since they attended the same school in childhood and youth. Four children have been born to this union, viz .: Ruth, aged fifteen; William Paul, deceased ; Florence and Raymond, aged twelve and five years, respectively. Mr. Cas- key owns a highly improved and valuable farm in Wayne township and by industry and thrift and good management has accumulated a sufficiency of this world's goods to place him in independent circumstances. He has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows for eighteen years, also

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belongs to the Knights of Pythias and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is a regular attendant of the Lutheran church, with which his wife holds membership, and is a liberal contributor to its support. Generous in all the term implies, with a large body and a heart in keeping therewith, he enjoys the confidence of his fellow men to a marked degree and it goes without saying that he is pre-eminently one of the most popular and highly respected citizens of the county with which his life has been so closely identified.

WILLEY SYLVESTER OLDMAN.

It was once remarked by a celebrated moralist and biographer that "there has scarcely passed a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not have been useful." Believin Vic truth of this opinion, ex- pressed by one of the greatest and » n, the writer of this review takes pleasure in presenting a few facts in the freer of a gentleman who, by industry, perseverance and close application i worked himself from an humble station to a successful business man and won an honorable position among the well-known and respected men of the city in which he resides.

Willey Sylvester Oldman was born at Homerville, Medina county, Ohio, June 22, 1872, where he spent his childhood. Prior to his ninth year he at- tended school at Homerville, receiving the rudiments of an education which he has since supplemented by general reading and by coming in contact with the world at large. At that tender age it became necessary for him to go out and support himself, and, being a brave-hearted lad, he was soon successfully battling his way in the world of men. Working at various occupations, earn- ing an honest dollar any way he could until he was seventeen years of age, he went to Cleveland and, having long desired to enter the railroad world. he sought and secured employment on the Conneaut railroad, where he re- mained for a period as fireman and various occupations during a period of some six years. He was also employed by the Van Cleve Glass Company, to which he gave very faithful service.

Mr. Oldman was married on June 12, 1901, to Bede Rice, daughter of William and Mary Rice, of Spencer, Ohio, where Mrs. Oldman was reared and educated, her birth having occurred at Sarinac, Michigan, on June 30. 1875. She graduated from the high school at Spencer, and taught school in Spencer twelve years. To this union one child was born, Kenneth Rice Oldman, November 15, 1908. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rice are affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church.

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Soon after his marriage Mr. Oldman purchased a farm of ninety-six acres which he worked very satisfactorily until 1909. On August 15th of that year he came to Wooster and organized the Wooster Vacuum Cleaning and Rug Weaving Company and he is now enjoying a very satisfactory patronage. The vacuum cleaner which he operates is a large portable ma- chine run by a gasoline engine, with a hose attached, fitted with sweepers. Only the hose is taken into the house where carpets are cleaned, first-class work being guaranteed at five cents per yard. Upholstered furniture, bed- ding and mattresses are also cleaned by suction of air without raising a speck of dust or removing the furniture from the room. It removes all dust and moths from carpets and from beneath carpets and rugs without taking them off the floor. It is a remarkable modern invention. Mr. Oldman also weaves rugs from old ingrain and Brussel

i carpets, making this line of work a spe- cialty and one of the princi- . departments of his business.

.1 . has

IUEL BROWN EASON.

It is the progressive, wide-awake man of affairs that makes the real history of a community and his influence as a potential factor of the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples such men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting, even in a casual way, to their achievements in advancing the in- terests of their fellow men and in giving strength and solidity to the institu- tions which make so much for the prosperity of the community. Such a man is Judge Samuel Brown Eason, of Wooster, Ohio, and as such it is proper that a review of his career be accorded a place among the representa- tive citizens of the city and county in which he resides.

Judge Eason represents one of the best known and most highly honored pioneer families of Wayne county, having been born at the old Eason home- and Susan ( Brandsteter) Eason, the father born in Wooster and the mother near Hagerstown, Maryland. The Judge's paternal grandfather was Robert Eason, who was among the earlier pioneers of Wayne county. He was of English and Irish descent, his father, Samuel Eason, having emigrated from Ireland, and his mother, Anna Marshall, from England, several years before their marriage on Pine creek, Lycoming county, Pennsylvania, where Robert was born, December 10, 1795. When the latter was nine years old

Samuel B Eason

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his father died, and two years thereafter his mother married Edward Taylor. Soon after this second marriage the Eason-Taylor family removed from Lycoming to Erie county, Pennsylvania, and during their residence there the war of 1812 was fought. In this struggle Robert Eason took part, being in active service during a regular term of enlistment in a Pennsylvania regi- ment then stationed with other troops at Fort Erie. He was also detained to work as a carpenter on ships then building near the fort for service in Com- modore Perry's fleet. For this service, in addition to the regular pay as a soldier, he lived to receive from the United States government a warrant for one hundred and sixty acres of land, but his death occurred before the passage of the act of Congress granting pensions to all who had served in the second struggle with England for American independence.

After the war closed the family moved to Chester township, Wayne county, Ohio, on April 14, 1816. The mother and step-mother Taylor brought all the children with them, viz: Robert, Alexander, Mary and Anne. The family first settled on a tract of land in the northeast quarter of sec- tion 31, where they built a cabin and cleared land. A year after this Robert married Beulah Sooy, daughter of Noah Sooy, who had settled two years previously in Chester township, having emigrated from Lafayette county, Pennsylvania. Robert and his young wife then commenced housekeeping in "cal backwoods style, near Wooster, at the Stibbs mill. Here Mr. Eason lived for six years, when, by the aid of his good friend, Joseph Stibbs, he purchased a small farm in the wilds of the Muddy Fork of the Mohican, to which he moved with his wife and three children, Samuel, Joseph and Benjamin, taking up their residence in a cabin in the woods on a quarter section of land in Perry township, then Wayne, now Ashland county. Robert Eason was a natural mechanic. Besides clearing land and farming, lie worked at almost every branch of various trades required by the primitive settlements-was wagonmaker, plowmaker, weaver, blacksmith, cabinetmaker, gunsmith, millwright, shoemaker and general utility man in the line of me- chanics for his neighbors.

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History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume I, Part 89

Author: Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen Number of Pages: 1162

Author:
Publication date: 1910
Publisher: Indianapolis : B.F. Bowen
Number of Pages: 1162