USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 22
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John Hofacre's education was somewhat limited, having been secured in the old log cabin school house of the period, supported by subscription, much of which was taken out in board by the teacher. The school houses were rude in construction, the interstices between the logs being plastered with mud, while in the windows greased paper often served instead of glass. The rude benches were often so high that the feet of the younger pupils did not reach the floor. At one end of the building was a big fireplace, from which the smoke was conducted through a mud-and-stick chimney. The teacher's badge of official authority was a long and ofttimes not too light hick- ory rod, sometimes very coercive in its tendency. Under such conditions as these many of our most prominent early citizens of the county received their
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rudiments of knowledge, among these John Hofacre. The latter remained at home with his parents until he was about twenty-five years old, at which age he was married. He received about sixty acres of land from his father and devoted all the years of his active life to farming, in which he was highly successful. He was energetic and enterprising and was considered one of the leading agriculturists of his section. Of late years he has relinquished the active work of his farm to other lands and is now spending the golden sunset years with his children, visiting each of them in turn. He is a welcome vis- itor wherever he goes, being a man of genial disposition and bright mentality. In 1864, John Hofacre was married to Sarah Wearstler, a native of Stark county and a member of one of the early prominent families of that county. Her death occurred in 1899. John and Sarah Hofacre became the parents of six children, namely : Samantha, deceased: Malissa, who married a Mr. Har- tel, of Wayne county ; Alonzo; who is referred to in preceding paragraphs : Sophia married Mr. Brown and lives in Saltcreek township, this county ; Mary, Mrs. Johnson ; Martin Oliver. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Hofacre has always taken a live and commendable interest in public affairs, and was during his active years an important factor in local affairs, but he has never been an aspirant for the honors of public office. Religiously, he is a member of the Reformed church, of which he has long been a consistent and generous supporter. He is a man whose fine personal qualities have won him a host of warm personal friends throughout the county.
WILLIAM ALBERT CRAMER.
It is always pleasant and profitable to contemplate the career of a man who has made a success of life and won the honor and respect of his fellow citizens. Such is the record of the well-known farmer whose name heads this sketch, than whom a more wholesouled or popular man it would be diffi- cult to find within the limits of the township where he has his home. A life of honorable and well-directed labor in the time-honored vocation of agricul- ture, a valiant and faithful record as a soldier in defense of his country's in- tegrity, and a private life consistent in every respect with its possibilities, has brought to him the well-deserved confidence and respect of all who know him and he is entitled to representation in a work of this character.
William A. Cramer is a native of the county in which he now lives, hay-
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ing been born near Fredericksburg, Wayne county, on the 3d of February, 1847. He is the son of Bertram and Matilda (Woodruff) Cramer. The father was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and at the age of eighteen years he came to Wayne county, Ohio, walking all the way from his native lo- cality. He first located at Fredericksburg, where he pursued his trade of a blacksmith, which he followed practically all his life. After a few years at Fredericksburg, Mr. Cramer bought a farm located about one and a half miles west of Fredericksburg, and at once entered upon its operation, establishing also on his place a smithy, which was operated successfully in connection with his farming operations. Mr. Cramer was a strong Republican in politics, but made no effort to get into office. He had an important part in the early de- velopment of this section of Ohio, as at the time he came here there had been but little improvement, the country being densely covered with the primeval forests, through which there were no roads, rough trails answering the pur- pose. Massillon was then the nearest trading point of any importance and to that point practically all grain and produce was taken for sale and exchange. Mr. Cramer was twice married. His first union was to Matilda Woodruff, who was a native of Holmes county, Ohio, her parents having been among the first settlers in that section. Her uncle, Andrew Woodruff, built the first house at Apple Creek, he having been a blacksmith by trade. To Bertram and Matilda Cramer were born four children, namely: William A., the subject of this sketch : Charles, deceased; Bertram, who is a blacksmith at Fredericks- burg ; Sara, deceased. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Cramer wedded Mary Woodruff, a sister of his first wife, and to them was born one child, Elizabeth. Bertram Cramer was seventy years old at the time of his death. He had been a prominent and well-known man and was universally respected and esteemed by all who knew him.
William A. Cramer secured a limited education in the old district school, but his school days were cut short by the necessity of his giving his time to work. At the age of ten years he went to work in a tan-yard at Fredericks- burg, where he was employed until he was sixteen years old. He then worked on the home farm about a year, when his labors were interrupted by the out- break of the great Southern insurrection, which fired the blood of every North- ern patriot. At the age of seventeen years he enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-sixth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, being assigned to Com- pany G, with which he served his first enlistment period, four months, and at the end of that time he re-enlisted. this time in Company C. One Hundred and Eighty-fourth Regiment, with which he served until the close of the war, being mustered out at Edgefield, Tennessee, in 1865. During his first enlistment
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Mr. Cramer was with the Eastern Army, but during his last he was in the Southern Army. He saw much hard service and bore a splendid reputation for valor and courage.
After completing his military service Mr. Cramer returned to Fredericks- burg and took up farming, which pursuit he followed continuously and with eminent success until ill health caused his retirement from active labor a few years ago, since which time he has lived quietly at home, practically retired. In his farming operations Mr. Cramer was energetic and progressive and was considered one of the leading agriculturists in this section.
On February 12, 1867, Mr. Cramer married Margaret Thompson, a daughter of Joseph Thompson, who with his wife came from Pennsylvania. Mrs. Cramer was born on the 31st of December, 1845, and is a most estimable woman, possessing many fine qualities of character, which have won for her the love of all who know her. To Mr. and Mrs. Cramer have been born seven children, briefly mentioned as follows: Minnie is the wife of Henry Parker, of Mount Hope, Holmes county, and they have one child; William married Tottie Barnes, by whom he has two children, and the family live at Millers- burg, Holmes county ; Rilla is the wife of Alvin Gindel, of Holmes county, and they have three children; Hiram, who lives in this county, married Mary Slutz and they have three children; Jessie married Clarence Richards, of Fredericksburg ; Maud is the wife of Charles Hinkle, of Millersburg ; Clemons died at the age of two years.
Mr. Cramer has been a lifelong adherent of the Republican party, in which he has taken a live interest, but he has never been persuaded to accept public office of any nature. Socially he is a member of Fredericksburg Post, Grand Army of the Republic. Mrs. Cramer is a member of the United Pres- byterian church at Fredericksburg. Mr. Cramer is not a member of the church, but gives the society his generous support. Mr. Cramer occupies a prominent place in the esteem of the people of the community and is univers- ally respected for his high character as well as for his many deeds of kindness as a neighbor, friend, and citizen. He has lived to a good and useful purpose and the high position he occupies in the community has been honestly and well merited.
JOSEPH PETER MARTHEY.
Agriculture has been an honored vocation from the earliest ages and as a usual thing men of honorable and humane impulses, as well as those of energy and thrift, have been patrons of husbandry. The free outdoor life
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of the farm has a decided tendency to foster and develop that independence of mind and self-reliance which characterize true manhood and no greater bless- ing can befall a boy than to be reared in close touch with nature in the health- full, life-inspiring labor of the fields. It has been the fruitful soil from which have sprung the moral bone and sinew of the country, and a majority of our distinguished men in all lines of accomplishment were born on the farm and are indebted to its early influence for the distinction which they have gained. Among the enterprising and successful agriculturists of Wayne county is Joseph P. Marthey, who owns and operates a fine farm in Saltcreek township. He was born in Holmes county, this state, on the 4th of May, 1844, and is a son of Stephen and Augustine (Grosjean) Marthey. Stephen Marthey was the son of Peter Marthey and the members of the family were all natives of France. In 1833 Stephen Marthey accompanied the family to the United States, landing at the port of New York, whence they went to Cleveland. Ohio. From there they took the Cleveland and Massillon canal to Wayne county, where they stopped. The father bought one hundred and ten acres of land in Saltcreek township, and he at once entered upon the task of clearing this land and rendering it fit for cultivation. There was on the place a small water saw-mill, which he operated in connection with his agricultural opera- tions for a number of years. The country at that time was thinly settled and the early settlers were compelled to endure many privations and the lack of many conveniences. Eventually the country became more thickly settled, the land increased in productiveness and value, and the Martheys took rank as leaders among their co-workers in this great work of reclamation. Stephen Marthey was married to Augustine Grosjean in Stark county. The Gros- jeans too were French, Mrs. Marthey being quite young when her family came to the United States and settled in Stark county, Ohio. To Stephen and Au- gustine Marthey were born eleven children, namely : The first born was Joseph P., the subject of this sketch; Mary, who married a Mr. Marillet; Margaret. who married a Mr. Walter ; Elizabeth married a Mr. Brun ; Louisa is deceased ; Eliza married a Mr. Stutz; Josephine married a Mr. Deveau; Rosile is de- ceased : Philip is deceased ; August, of Saltcreek township; Paul, of Saltcreek township. After Stephen Marthey was married he went to Missouri in 1852 and remained there until 1860, when he brought his family back to Wayne county, Ohio, and bought the farm in Saltcreek township, where he and his wife lived during the remainder of their lives, the father dying there at the age of sixty-four and the mother at the age of sixty-eight. The father had been a successful and well-known farmer and stood high in the community. He was
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a Democrat in politics, but had no inclination for office holding or public pre- ferment. He was a member of the Catholic church, and his father, Peter Marthey, was one of the organizers of the St. Jenivile Catholic church in Holmes county, while Stephen Marthey was a member of the committee which erected the new church there in 1868. The sons and daughters of this worthy man are all members of that church.
Joseph P. Marthey secured his education in the common schools, having attended at the old Frease school house, but, being the oldest of the children, his services were required on the farm and his education was in consequence much abbreviated. He remained with his father until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty-nine years old, at which time he went to black- smithing and followed that occupation for about eighteen years, since which time he has confined his attention mainly to the tilling of the soil, although he still maintains a smithy on his farm and works at the forge when necessary. Although past middle age, Mr. Marthey is able bodied and still makes a good hand at any work to be done on the farm. He has been progressive and energetic in his efforts and has been prospered in a commensurate degree.
In 1873 Mr. Marthey was united in marriage to Flora Merillat, a daugh- ter of Joseph Merillat and belonging to one of the prominent French families of the county. To the subject and his wife have been born four children, namely : Louis J., born in 1876; William, born in 1880, married Betsy Seigler, by whom he has two children, Katherine and Helen, and they live in Wooster; Paul J., of Akron, was born in 1882, is married and is the father of three children, Pauline, Dora and Francis; Frank A., born in 1887. In matters political Mr. Marthey gives his support to the Democratic party, and, though not a seeker after political honors, he has served two terms as supervisor of his township, giving efficient service to the office. He is a member of the Catholic church in Holmes county, to which he gives a liberal support. Mr. Marthey's sterling qualities of character have commended him to the con- fidence of all who know him and throughout the township of his residence he is held in the highest esteem ..
DAVID P. MOSER.
The Moser family has long borne an honored name in Wayne county, especially Sugar Creek township, being among a sturdy Swiss element that has done so much for the development of the same, one of the best known
D. P. MOSER
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members of this worthy family being David P. Moser, who was born April 27, 1859, in this county, the son of Peter and Anna (Beer) Moser, the for- mer born in canton Bern, Switzerland, April 28, 1809; the birth of the latter occurred in February, 1814. Peter Moser came to America with his step- father and mother when he was sixteen years of age, the date of their landing on our shores being 1825, having made a tedious voyage across the Atlantic in an old-fashioned sailing vessel. In that early day they penetrated to the interior and selected as a site for their future home a farm in section 15, Sugar Creek township. Wayne county, Ohio, and began hewing a living from the primitive conditions they found here. The elder Moser was a shoemaker by trade, at which he worked until he could purchase a farm. Prospering as a farmer, he remained in this vicinity the rest of his life. He was the father of eleven children, nine of whom lived to maturity, namely : John, Abraham, Catherine, Lizzie, Jacob, Peter, Anna, Barbara, Levi, Daniel P. and David P. These children assisted on the home place, which required a great deal of hard work, considering the fact that this country was unde- veloped when they came here. Peter Moser lived a long and useful life, dying June 13, 1907, his wife having preceded him to the grave on June 30, 1901. They were members of the Mennonite church and were plain honest people, whom everybody liked.
David P. Moser was reared on the home farm and here he worked dur- ing the crop seasons, attending the neighboring schools in the winter until he was fourteen years of age, when he began active farming. He remained under the parental rooftree until he was twenty-one years of age, assisting his father, but at that time he took charge of the farm and successfully man- aged it.
Mr. Moser was married on February 15, 1890, to Katie Hoffstetter, who was born in East Union township, October 12, 1865. When she was two and one-half years of age, her parents moved to Sugar Creek township. where they secured a good farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Moser four children have been born, namely : Bertha, December 7, 1891 ; Calvin, February 9, 1900; Ruth, June 15, 1902 ; Glen, September 14, 1905. Mr. and Mrs. Moser were reared in the Mennonite faith and they attend the local church.
Mr. Moser has been a hard-working man from his youth and he has suc- ceeded by reason of this, now owning a fine farm in section 15, Sugar Creek township. It is a part of the old Moser farm and contains ninety acres, which has been so carefully worked that, although the soil was first broken many decades ago, it has retained its fertility and bounteous crops are produced.
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Mr. Moser has always been a general farmer and stock raiser. He and his wife made a Western trip in October, 1902, enjoying a much-earned rest: they remained in California nearly a year, returning the latter part of Septem- ber, 1903.
JAMES B. POWER.
The following is a brief sketch of one who, by close attention to busi- ness, has achieved marked success in the world's affairs and risen to an honorable position among the enterprising men of Wayne county with which his interests have long been identified. It is a plain record, rendered remark- able by no strange or mysterious adventure, no wonderful and lucky acci- dent, and no tragic situation. James B. Power, of Wooster, is one of those estimable characters whose integrity and strong personality must force them into an admirable notoriety, which their modesty never seeks, who command the respect of their contemporaries and their posterity, and leave the impress of their individuality upon the age in which they live.
Mr. Power was born in Wooster township, this county, November 7. 1819, and now, in the golden Indian summer of his years, he can look back- ward upon a life well spent and duty well performed, with no compunction of conscience for wrong thoughts entertained and evil designs perpetrated, for he has ever kept the even tenor of his way and has won and retained the high regard and friendship of those who have had occasion to know him. Coming to us from the pioneer days, his reminiscences of the times when this favored section of the great Buckeye state was wild and the red man's foot-print still to be seen in the forest mold, are indeed interesting. He is the son of Neal and Nancy ( Blackmore) Power, the former born in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, November 4, 1778, and the latter in the same county and state on April 17, 1782. They were married on January 13, 1801, in their native community, and twelve children were born to them, an equal number of sons and daughters, James B. of this review being the only living one today. The mother was a direct descendant of the noted Blackmore family in England. James B. Power's parents moved to Holmes county, Ohio, when he was ten years of age and remained there until 1841 when he returned to Wooster and here he entered the dry goods business with his brother, Neal Power, in a building on the corner of Buckeye and Liberty streets, where the Nolle block now stands, and they continued successfully in business together until the death of his brother, Neal, then James B. went
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in business with D. I. Liggett and remained with him five years. As a merchant and general business man during his active business career here he was very successful, being a man of sound judgment and progressive in his ideas, also honorable in all his dealings with his fellow men so that he had their confidence and good will.
James B. Power married Martha Cameron Riley, the only child born to David and Jane (Cameron) Riley, her birth occurring in Wooster, Ohio, May 20, 1824. Her family came from the north of Ireland in an early day. However, her mother was born in New York city, but the father's birth oc- curred in the fair Emerald Isle. David Riley was the first Mason buried in Wooster. Mr. and Mrs. Power were married in Jeromeville, Ohio, October 5, 1847. Martha Cameron Riley was only six weeks old when her father died, and she was a teacher in the seminary at the time of her marriage. Her mother was a missionary among the Indians at Upper Sandusky.
Four children were born to this union, two sons and two daughters, one son dying in infancy ; they were, Alice Gertrude, who lives at the old home ; Fred Riley, who is making his home in the city of Chicago; Etta Corinne married James B. Minier, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this volume; Charles Emmett; the second child died in infancy.
James B. Power talks interestingly of the days when he and his family attended church when ox teams were used to drive them thither. Sometimes the preacher would begin his sermon at ten o'clock in the morning and preach until sundown. They traveled to New York in coaches drawn by four horses, taking dinner at Dalton and supper at Canton, breakfast at New Lisbon, Smith's ferry for the second noonday meal; there they would wait for the boat and then reach Pittsburg the next morning by nine o'clock, then take a stage there at one o'clock, reaching Greensburg for supper, then would spend all night on the stage and all next day until twelve o'clock at night in order to get to Chambersburg. From there they would take the little "wagon-tire" railroad to Harrisburg, thence to Philadelphia by rail, the road being owned at that time by the state. In the year 1852, when the World's Fair was held in New York, the route led from Philadelphia to South Amboy, from which place a boat was taken up the bay to New York.
James B. Power always took an abiding interest in politics and he served as township trustee for three terms, discharging his duties in a very capable manner and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. However, he was op- posed to public office and never aspired to any political or public office. Mr. Power has only moved once in his life, having lived forty-seven years at his cozy and neat home on Spruce street.
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GEORGE D. BARNARD.
The subject of this review is a gentleman of high standing to whom has not been denied a full measure of success. He is distinctively one of the representative citizens of Congress township, and has long been a recognized factor of importance in connection with the agricultural interests of the county of Wayne. Mr. Barnard has been conspicuously identified with the growth and prosperity of the community and his life is closely interwoven with the history of the county where he has lived for many years. Mr. Barnard's family has long been identified with this county, his parents, John L. and Anna (George) Barnard, having been natives of Canaan and Congress town- ships, respectively. The subject's paternal grandfather, Jacob Barnard, came from the state of Pennsylvania in a very early day and located in Canaan township, but in 1880 he moved to Medina county, this state, and there spent his remaining days. The maternal grandfather, Joseph George, and his wife, Mary, were also natives of the old Keystone state and located in Wayne county, Ohio, in a very early day. About 1861 they moved to Hancock county, Ohio, where they lived until their deaths. The subject's parents were both reared in Wayne county, and the father learned the trade of shoemaking, which he followed uninterruptedly until his death, which occurred in 1870. . He was a stanch Republican and always took the keenest interest in the suc- cess of his party. He and his wife were the parents of four children, three of whom are living. The mother died in 1874. These parents were worthy and active members of the United Brethren church and in their daily lives they exemplified the teachings of their Master.
George D. Barnard was reared in the home of his parents and as soon as old enough he took up the work of the farm. He was educated in the schools of Canaan township. In 1885 he bought a farm of fifty acres in Medina, which he operated until 1893, when he sold that and came to Con- gress township and bought a farm of one hundred and fifty-five acres, which he still owns. Mr. Barnard has made many permanent and substantial im- provements on this place and today it is excelled by few farms in the county. The soil is of excellent quality and under Mr. Barnard's discriminating man- agement it is made to return handsome profits to its owner. In addition to carrying on general agriculture, Mr. Barnard also gives considerable atten- tion to the breeding and raising of livestock, pure-bred Jersey cattle being his specialty. He is enterprising and progressive in his methods and has been prospered to a gratifying degree. He is a man of splendid business qualifi- cations and has served acceptably as administrator of a number of estates in the neighborhood of his home.
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