USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 36
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
John C. Schultz was born September 18, 1861, on the family home- stead in the township of East Union and spent his early life amid the active duties of the farm. Reared to habits of industry and frugality, he grew up strong and rugged and while still a mere youth became familiar with the labor in wood and field, and in almost any kind of manual employment could keep pace with the ordinary work-hand. In due time he entered the district school, which he attended at intervals until finishing the usual branches, the training thus received being afterwards supplemented by a course in Smithville Academy, where, under the efficient instruction of Prof. J. B. Eberly, a teacher of high repute, he made commendable progress in the higher branches of learning. Quitting that institution while still in his teens, he turned his attention to teaching and was engaged in that profession until attaining his majority when, in March, 1883, he accepted a clerkship
1235
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
with the hardware firm of Kinney & Cooley of Wooster, which he held during the eight years ensuing. At the expiration of that time he became a member of the firm, and in 1891 the stock was moved to the building on the south side of West Liberty street, where the business has since been conducted under the firm name of the Wooster Hardware Company.
Purchasing a third interest in the enterprise, Mr. Schultz addressed himself to the task of building up the business, in which he succeeded most admirably. Increasing the stock from time to time, it was not long until the establishment was the largest and most successful of the kind in the city. In 1905 Mr. Cooley turned his interest over to his son Albert and Mr. Kinney sold out to Walker G. Christy and they turned over a small interest to Albert S. Sauer after buying out Albert Cooley. In addition to a large and com- plete stock of all kinds of hardware, the firm also handles agricultural im- plements and machinery, and lead all competition in the various lines of goods represented in their immense establishment. The two buildings in Wooster, which contain thirty-five thousand square feet of floor space, com- prise one of the largest and most complete hardware stores in northern Ohio, and in connection therewith the company operates a branch establish- ment at Orrville, which also has a growing patronage. Everything in the hardware line demanded by the trade is handled by the firm, and while cater- ing especially to their retail business, which has steadily increased in vol- ume and importance, they also command a lucrative wholesale trade which has added much to the reputation of the house throughout the state.
Aside from his large hardware interest, Mr. Schultz is identified with various other important business enterprises, notable among which is the Wooster Machine Company, a corporation doing a general manufacturing and repair business and of which he is president. For several years he has been a director of the People's Building and Loan Association, and as a member and first vice-president of the Wooster Board of Trade he has done much to promote the material advancement of the city and give it publicity as an important business center and safe place for the investment of capital. He is now chairman of the new industry committee of the board and for a period of seven years was a member of the city board of education, during the greater part of which time he served as president, and it was while holding that office that the handsome school buildings on Beall and Walnut aventies were erected. The various benevolent and humanitarian movements of the city have found in him a warm friend and liberal patron, and as one of the trustees of the Children's Home, which position he has held for several years, he has done much to arouse and keep alive an interest in that commendable enterprise.
1236
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Schultz on May 8, 1884, was united in the bonds of wedlock with Sarah Johnson, who was born and reared in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, being the daughter of Isaiah Johnson, a well-known and highly esteemed citizen of that part of the state. This marriage has been blessed with two sons, Clarence, born in 1886, and Wallace, whose birth occurred in the year 1895, the former being traveling salesman for the Oliver Chilled Plow Company of South Bend, and is now running the branch at Orrville; the latter is pursuing his studies in the schools of his native city.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Schultz holds membership with the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and in politics votes the Democratic ticket, but is not an active partisan. With his wife, he belongs to the English Reformed church and for twenty years has been a deacon and elder of the local congregation with which he is identified, also an active worker in the Sunday school, which he served nine years as superintendent. Mr. Schultz occupies a prominent place among the most enterprising and successful busi- ness men and public-spirited citizens of Wayne county and in every walk of life he is recognized as a courteous, high-minded gentleman of perfect integ- rity and genuine moral worth. He has acted well his part in life, and while primarily interested in his own affairs he has not been unmindful of the interests of others, as his efforts to advance the public good and promote the welfare of his fellow men abundantly attest.
GEORGE JACKSON.
A worthy and substantial representative of the British Isles is George Jackson, who, like most of our "cousins across the pond," has proven to be a citizen of the highest type since casting his lot among us, and has been loyal to our institutions, never neglecting his duties to his neighbors. while advancing his own interests. He was born in Lancashire, England, May 9, 1844, the son of James and Martha (Argraves) Jackson, who became well- known citizens of that county. The paternal grandparents of George Jack- son were John and Sarah Jackson, who lived and died in England, Mr. Jackson having been a foreman in the cotton mills of Manchester. The maternal grandparents were also natives of England, where they spent their lives. James Jackson was born in England, March 3. 1822. He married Martha Argraves, a native of his own country. They married there and in
GEORGE JACKSON
I237
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
1850 came to America, and making their way westward, they located in Doylestown, Wayne county, Ohio. James Jackson was a locomotive engineer in England, but he was employed as machinist in this country, working many years in the reaper and mower works in Doylestown. He and his son, George, also engaged in the livery business for some time here. He lived a quiet and retired life, giving his attention very largely to his own work. He and his wife were the parents of five children, all dying in infancy except George, of this review, who was the oldest; three of the children were born and died before the family came to America. The death of James Jackson occurred in 1904 and that of Mrs. Jackson over a half century earlier, in 1851.
George Jackson was educated in the common schools and learned the millwright's trade when young in years, having hardly finished his appren- ticeship at the outbreak of the Rebellion, which caused the cessation of that line of work, so young Jackson went to Wooster and entered a machine shop where he remained one year. When the Sixteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteers was being raised, he tried to enlist, but was not permitted to do so, but in August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Twentieth Regi- ment Volunteer Infantry, and served in the same until November, 1865. Just after the siege of Vicksburg he had typhoid fever; he participated in the following battles: Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, Thompson's Hill (Mississippi), siege of Vicksburg, Big Black River, Jackson ( Mississippi). He was on the transport "City Belle" when it was fired and was in the cam- paign that resulted in the surrender of Mobile. After the war he returned to Doylestown and worked in the machine shops for a number of years. He entered the hotel business, which he conducted successfully for a period of thirteen years. For the past twenty years he has been agent for the American Express Company, first, then the United States Express Company. He was postmaster under Harrison's administration, and on August 6, 1897, he was appointed postmaster by President Mckinley and has held the position ever since, proving to be one of the best officials the office has ever known and his services have been highly satisfactory to all concerned-in fact, he is a man who makes a success of whatever he undertakes. Politically he is a Repub- lican, and he very ably served the people of Doylestown as mayor for one term, having been the first Republican mayor of the town. In public or private life he has shown himself to be a man of rare soundness of judgment and always discharged his duties in a faithful and conscientious manner. Fraternally he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also of Wadsworth Lodge, No. 385, Free and Accepted Masons. Mrs. Jackson is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
1238
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Jackson was married on November 8, 1866, to Anna M. Galehouse, a native of Wayne county, Ohio, the daughter of Samuel and Dorothy Gale- house, old settlers and a highly respected family here. To Mr. and Mrs. Jackson the following children have been born: William H., Millie, Martha, James S., Dollie (died at the age of eight and one-half years), Della and Florence.
HON. THOMAS W. ORR.
Prominent in the professional life of Wooster, pre-eminently distin- guished for his splendid ability in carrying to completion important public enterprises and enjoying marked prestige in many things, aside from his pro- nounced legal talents, far beyond the limits of the community honored by his citizenship, Hon. Thomas W. Orr stands out a clear and conspicuous figure among the successful men of a part of the great Buckeye state noted throughout the commonwealth for its high order of intelligence and business and professional talent. Characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong in- dividuality, his achievements but represent the utilization of innate talents in directing efforts along lines in which mature judgment, rare discrimination and a resourcefulness that hesitates at no opposing circumstances, pave the way and ultimately lead to great achievements. It is not the intention of the biographer in this connection to give a detailed history of his busy, influen- tial and interesting life, but rather to note, incidentally, his connection with various phases of the development of Wayne county and his long and worthy practice of the law and to show the marked influence he has wielded in ad- vancing the material interests of this locality by his strict adherence to the Golden Rule and his desire to promote the general good.
Hon. Thomas W. Orr is of Scotch-Irish and German ancestry and was born February 18, 1861, in Salt Creek township, Wayne county. He is the son of John and Agnes (Lisle) Orr, the latter the daughter of Robert Lisle, the mother dying when Thomas W. Orr was nine years of age. From the age of thirteen he was compelled to fight his own battles of life. His father was very solicitous regarding the future welfare of his son, but did not have the necessary means to assist him, and in such a school of discipline, hard and regrettable, he learned the enduring lessons of fortitude and courage that have stood him so well in hand in later life. He worked on the farm during the summer months in order to obtain means, and he attended the common schools during the winter months. He was ambitious to "leave
1239
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
his footprints on the sands of time," and consequently was a persistent student. He attended the high school at Fredericksburg, also the Smithville Academy, and finally took a course in the Normal Academy at Ada, Ohio. When nineteen years of age he had obtained a sufficient education to enable him to begin teaching, which he did, alternating the same with going to school until he had finished the course. He taught in Wayne, Salt and Sugar Creek townships, and for a time was principal of the schools at Ster- ling. The last year of his school work was spent in North Dakota, as prin- cipal of the St. Thomas schools, in Pembina county, Red River valley. He won an excellent reputation as an educator and his services were in great demand, and had he continued in this profession he would doubtless have be- come one of the noted educators of the state. But he had long desired to win a name at the legal profession, and when he returned from the West he entered the law office of Messrs. Critchfield & Critchfield, in Wooster. and there completed his elementary studies of the law, which had been un- dertaken some years previous, he having devoted some of his spare moments to a perusal of Blackstone prior to his going to North Dakota. In March, 1895, he was admitted to the Ohio bar, and in the spring of that year he opened an office in Orrville, Wayne county, and for a number of years was actively and successfully engaged in the practice of law at that place until elected to the office of judge of the probate court, which brought about his removal to Wooster, where he has devoted his energies to the duties of that office. While living in Orrville he was a member of and clerk of the board of education of the town for six years, and for a period of five years he was employed as solicitor of it, performing the duties of each with a char- acteristic fidelity that has marked all his public and professional acts, stamp- ing him as a man of unquestioned ability and integrity.
Mr. Orr was married, in 1890, to Emma J. Smith, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus Smith, of Paint township, the representative of an old and highly honored family there. This union has been blessed by the birth of the following children : Maynard S. (deceased), Lucil. Walter S., Ruth and Paul S.
At an early age Mr. Orr was thrown upon his own resources and the undeveloped forces within him, and was compelled to work, act, think and depend upon himself. His circumstances made it essential that he should conquer and this could only be done by labor, study, resolute and heroic action. He obeyed the commands of industry from the beginning, and his persevering methods, fixing his energies on a steady, unalterable and honor- able purpose-that of attaining success in his profession, and dignifying it by observing the canons of morality, honesty and integrity, by which it can
I240
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
only be exalted. As a result of his training, his application, his industry and the fiber of his mind he is necessarily logical, never aiming at brilliancy or aspiring to be ornate; always lucid in his style of expression, and yet not infrequently skirting the Olympus of eloquence and exhaling the perfumes of rhetoric. His exemplary habits, his probity of character and pleasant social manners have won for him the undivided respect of all with whom he has come into contact and he is certainly deserving of the high esteem which all accord him, considering his early struggles and final triumphs.
Fraternally, Judge Orr is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias.
WILLIAM F. KEAN.
The career of William F. Kean at the Wayne county bar has been em- phasized by persistent industry, strict attention to business, unswerving in- tegrity, the closest application and study, and a degree of care, prudence and promptitude in the disposition of responsibilities intrusted to him, worthy of imitation. Punctuality he observes as a professional maxim. With him, appointments once made become debts. He always aims to do things at their right time. When engagements are made, he does not want to be waited for, or wait. And thus, it is punctuality by which men testify their personal respect for those whom they are called upon to meet in affairs of business. This and other commendable qualities have formed the key-note to his suc- cess.
Mr. Kean was born in Plain township, Wayne county, February 9, 1855. He is the son of a farmer, Dewitt C. Kean, now a resident of Woos- ter, but formerly of Plain township, where he lived and prospered as an agri- culturist for a period of over sixty years. In his early years he was a teacher, his equipment having been very good, indeed, for those days, being thorough and painstaking. He enjoyed the highest respect of the people in the south- western portion of the county where he was so well known and where he did such effectual work. He was always regarded as a man of unshrinking integrity, strict honesty, technical in his definitions of morality and unbending in his fidelity to them. His life was a busy and useful one and he owned a beautiful home in Plain township and had one of the model farms there, which he managed in a most masterly manner, yielding him rich results.
William F. Kean grew up on the home farm, which he worked when he became of proper age, attending the neighboring schools during the winter
-
W. F. KEAN
1211
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
months. He later studied at the Smithville Academy, also went to school at Shreve and later entered the University of Wooster, graduating from that institution with the class of 1881, having made a splendid record there. He early decided to devote his talents to the legal profession and accordingly studied law in the office of McClure & Smyser, and, having made rapid strides in the same, he was admitted to the bar in June, 1886, and soon thereafter opened an office in Wooster. He soon had an excellent patronage. which has increased with the advance of years until he has long since been numbered among the most worthy of the local bar, always busy in the local courts, his name having been connected with the trial of most of the important cases here for at least two decades, and the manner in which he conducts a trial wins for him the approval of client, his fellow colleagues and the trial judge, to say nothing of his influence over a jury. Mr. Kean has served as referee in bankruptcy for twelve years in the counties of Wayne and Holmes, his administration having been most acceptable to litigants as well as attorneys.
Politically Mr. Kean is a strong Republican and religiously he holds membership with the Methodist Episcopal church. As a church member he has been most liberal in his support, giving much time, thought as well as money to the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ and for five years was the efficient superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sabbath school of Wooster. By his observance of fundamental rules of business based upon honesty, rectitude, and fidelity to trusts and confidences reposed in him, he has won the public esteem, achieved professional success and fixed his star in the ascendant. As a practicing lawyer, he is courteous and cordial in his friendships, cautious, temperate, ambitious, zealous, consistent, moral and circumspect in all the affairs of life.
Mr. Kean was married October 24, 1883, to Alice A. Smith, daughter of Daniel and Roseana Smith, of near Hayesville, Ashland county, Ohio, who was engaged in the milling business. Her mother died in 1889 and her father now lives in Akron, Ohio, being retired. Mr. and Mrs. Kean have had five children, three dying in infancy ; those living are: Clara Estella, born January 26, 1889, is now a junior at Ohio Wesleyan University ; Frances Gertrude, born June 25, 1895. is attending high school at Wooster.
EMANUEL H. WENGER.
A man who has contributed largely to the material welfare of the community and township where he resides and who has shown himself to be one of the strong, sturdy characters that constitute the high order of
1242
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
citizenship for which Wayne county is noted is Emanuel H. Wenger, who was born in Sugar Creek township, March 3, 1856, the son of Emanuel E. and Martha ( Hess) Wenger, both natives of Lancaster county. Pennsylvania, the former having been born there on June 13, 1828. In 1853 he married Martha Hess, daughter of Christian and Barbara Hess, of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. She was born March 15, 1833. She came to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1853 and her death occurred April 12, 1878. She married Mr. Wenger in 1853.
To Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel E. Wenger seven children were born, namely : Benjamin H., born December 9, 1854: Emanuel H., of this review, was next in order of birth; C. H., of Clinton, Ohio, was born November 5, 1857; M. H. was born February 25. 1860; Henry H. was born November 23, 1861; Amos H., of Massillon, Ohio, was born August 22, 1866, and David H. was born March 22, 1864. (See his sketch on another page of this work.)
The parents of these children were members of the Mennonite church and persons of excellent standing in their community ; the father passed to his rest on July 4, 1900, after a long and useful life.
Emanuel H. Wenger was reared in Sugar Creek township and when he arrived at the proper age he worked on the home farm during the summer months and attended the district schools during the winter, receiving a good common school education. He left the farm when he was twenty years old. Turning his attention to merchandising, he began clerking in a general store in 1876 in Burton City. He later purchased the store and remained in business there for four years, then he was employed as shipping clerk and weighmaster for the Fox Lake Coal Company, of Cleveland, for a period of fourteen years, during which time he was regarded by this company as one of their most trusted employes. He then severed his connection with the above named concern and took a position with the White Oak Coal Company as secretary and paymaster, remaining with them for three years, giving his usual faithful services. He had saved his money and was enabled to gratify a desire of long standing by moving onto a farm and leading the freer life of a husbandman. He has since remained on the farm and has made a great success, now owning two of the best farms in Baughman township, consisting of one hundred and eighty acres. They are well improved and have been so skillfully managed that the soil has retained its original fertility, bounteous harvests being reaped from the fields annually, by reason of Mr. Wenger's able management. He has an excellent residence and is well fixed to enjoy life. He keeps various kinds of good stock and is an admirer of good horses.
Mr. Wenger was married in 1880 to Alice Rudy, who was born October
I243
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
5, 1858, the daughter of Daniel Rudy, a prominent citizen of this part of Wayne county. This union has resulted in the birth of four sons, namely : Clarence R., born February 17, 1882, is farming; Ivan H., born April 12. 1885, is cost clerk for the Brown-Hoisting Company of Cleveland, Ohio; he was educated at Canal Fulton, this state; Justice F., a farmer, was born July 27, 1887; Daniel O. was born July 27, 1891, and is a student in the Orrville high school.
Mr. and Mrs. Wenger are members of the United Presbyterian church at Dalton, this county. In politics Mr. Wenger is a Republican, being an ac- tive worker in the party. He has very ably served both as treasurer and clerk of Baughman township. He is regarded by all who know him as a hustler, a man who takes a delight in the progress of his community, and while looking after his own interests he does not neglect his duty to his neighbors, but is generous, obliging and always trustworthy, according to those who know him best.
TILLMAN O. BECHTEL.
When the Bechtel family left their comfortable homes in the state of Pennsylvania and came to the then new country of Wayne county, Ohio, they found conditions quite different from those they left behind, but they were men of courage, inured to hard toil and could stand privations un- flinchingly, if need be ; they liked the prospect here, the far-stretching woods and the fresh, strong soil, so they set to work with a will and soon had better homes than they left. However, it took much work and they had to do without many of the conveniences they formerly enjoyed. One of the best known of the present generation of this family is Tillman O. Bechtel, who was born in Pennsylvania on May 21, 1841. He is the son of Jacob B. and Elizabeth (Ridenour) Bechtel, both natives of Pennsylvania.
The paternal grandparents of the subject were George and Elizabeth (Barton) Bechtel, who came to Wayne county, Ohio, in an early day and settled in Wooster township, remaining there until their deaths. Grand- father Betchel was a successful farmer, having cleared and developed the land he purchased here. The maternal grandparents of the subject were George and Elizabeth Ridenour, both natives of Pennsylvania. Mrs. George Ride- nour re-married and moved to Seneca county, Ohio, where she died. Her second husband, Joseph Stever, was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.