USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne County, Ohio, Volume II > Part 44
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
In politics Mr. Sheppard gives an unqualified support to the Republican party and has occupied a number of offices of responsibility. He was at one time clerk of Congress borough and a school director, and he also served as president of the board of education for three successive years. He was elected in November, 1900, trustee of Congress township and was ap- pointed on the board of health. Socially he is a member of the Masonic order. being affiliated with the West Salem Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, West Salem Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and the Wooster Commandery, Knights Templar.
(83)
1314
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
On the 6th of September, 1883, Mr. Sheppard wedded Eliza Crater, of Wayne county, the daughter of Peter and Sarah Crater, who were natives of Prussia, coming to the United States in a very early day. They located in Wayne county, where they reared their family of eleven children, all of whom are living, and of whom Mrs. Sheppard is the seventh in order of birth. The parents are both dead, the father passing away several years ago, while the mother's death occurred in November, 1908. To Mr. and Mrs. Shep- pard four children have been born, namely: Pansy V., the wife of Martin H. Barnard ; they are the parents of two children, Elizabeth, born December 4. 1908, and Catherine, born February 8, 1910; Florence Isidore died in infancy ; Ruby Marie was educated in the Wooster Conservatory of Music, and is now engaged in teaching that art and is organist of the Presbyterian church; R. Paul. Mr. Sheppard is a worthy representative of an honored family, one who, by reason of his sterling personal worth, deserves and is generally accorded that esteem which comes to those whose lives are in close touch with all that assists in advancing the community in which they live.
AI RYLAND.
A well-known resident of Plain township, where he has spent his entire life, is Ai Ryland, who was born July 15, 1856, on the farm where he now lives. This farm was entered nearly a century ago, 1812, by his grand- father, Henry Ryland, who came with his family from Vermont, making the long, toilsome journey in wagons. He was of Irish descent and a hardy pioneer, a New Englander of the most sterling qualities, to whom the western wilderness, with all its red men and wild beasts, had no terrors. Upon reaching this locality he at once cleared a spot and erected a log cabin. He was a hatter by trade and he made a good living by buying furs from the Indians, from which he made hats and sent them back to Eastern cities, where they found a ready market. There were five boys and several girls in his family. The girls busied themselves by raising flax and making it into cloth. They also carded wool and made clothing, raising large droves of sheep for this purpose. William, one of the sons of Henry Ryland, was one of the most famous and successful deer hunters in this country. This family lived for the most part on game, fish and vegetables. When they came here the city of Wooster had only three dwellings. One hundred and sixty acres were entered from the government, which the sons cleared when they became
1315
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
old enough to swing the axe. Henry Ryland, the father, reached the advanced age of eighty-two years, dying on the land he entered from the government when he first came to this state. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch was John Eagle, of English descent, who came to Wayne county, Ohio, from near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1836 and settled near Reedsburg, Plain township, with his family. He was a mason by trade, and he served as a drummer in the war of 1812, also in the Mexican war; his son, William, was also in the Mexican war; they both survived, the father dying in Reedsburg.
Henry Ryland, father of Ai Ryland, was two years of age when he came to Wayne county, and his youth was spent on the farm where the subject now lives, which the former assisted to clear. He finally bought out the heirs and lived here until his death, becoming one of the leading farmers of the community. One of his sons, William Henry, was a soldier in the Civil war for a period of three years.
Ai Ryland received his education in the common schools of Plain town- ship. He began farming early, but later learned the cooper's trade, also the mason's trade, but neither of them seemed to appeal to him as strongly as farming; consequently he returned eventually to agricultural pursuits, buying out the heirs of the home place, and he has thus followed farming on the home place nearly all his life, having so skillfully managed his crops that, although the place is very old, it has retained its fertility and is yet very valuable.
Mr. Ryland was married on November 22, 1877, to Laura Otto, daughter of Michael Otto, mention of whom is made in the sketch of M. D. Otto on another page of this work. To Mr. and Mrs. Ryland two children have been born, John Wilson and Otto Brant.
Mr. Ryland was married the second time on March 22, 1899, to Mrs. Eliza Chesrown.
Politically. Mr. Ryland is a Democrat and fraternally a member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He has kept untarnished the good name borne by his forebears and is highly respected by all who know him.
JULIUS MOINE.
An old and highly respected citizen of Wayne county, Ohio, is Julius Moine, father of Charles R. Moine. The former was born on the farm he now owns in Milton township. August 18, 1837, the son of John P. and Mary (Schwan) Moine, both natives of Belford, France, having come to
1316
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
America in 1833, making their way direct to Wayne county, Ohio, where they began farming, purchasing eighty acres, all timbered. This they cleared and developed into an excellent farm which in recent years has been added to.
Julius Moine was a member of a family of nine children. He was edu- cated in the early schools of Milton township, assisted his father with the work on the farm until he was eighteen years of age, then worked at the car- penter's trade for four years. He had a natural talent for architecture and when only twenty-one years of age built the Catholic church near his home. During a part of the four years specified he was in Indiana and Iowa and turned some big jobs. In 1859 he purchased the home farm of eighty acres, later adding eighty acres more, and, after making quite a success at farming, sold the place in 1899.
Mr. Moine was married January 5, 1860, to Mary Petit, daughter of John Peter and Margaret (Qulosquin) Petit, both natives of Verdenal, county Blamant, France. They came to America in 1842, settled first at Marshall- ville, Wayne county, Ohio. Joseph Petit, father of John Peter Petit, came to Marshallville in 1832, coming by canal and wagon, and there purchased forty or fifty acres of land, cleared it and made a home.
To Julius Moine and wife the following children were born: Addie, John, Emma, Edward, Matilda E., Clara Jane, Lora Katherine, Arthur (deceased), Charles Raymond, George Alfred, Pear Clementine, Agre Min- erva, Lewis Delbert and Melvin Theobald (deceased).
Julius Moine and wife and their children are members of the Catholic church. The father is a Democrat, and he has been township assessor and supervisor. He and his family are highly respected in this county or wherever they are known.
CHARLES EMBREE THORNE, M. S. A.
The record of Prof. Charles Embree Thorne, director of the Ohio Agri- cultural Experiment Station, and who is too well known to the people of Wayne county to need an introduction through this history, is that of a man who has worked his way from a modest beginning up to a position of con- siderable prominence by his persevering and practically unaided efforts, which fact renders him the more worthy of the praise that is freely accorded him by his fellow men. His life has been one of unceasing industry and perse- verance, and the notably systematic and honorable methods he has followed
CHARLES E. THORNE.
1317
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
have won the unbounded confidence and regard of all who have formed his acquaintance. Such strong, earnest characters of a people are always public benefactors. Their usefulness in the immediate specific labors they perform cannot be defined by metes and bounds, but the good they do through the forces they put in motion and through the inspiration of their presence and ex- ample is immeasurably an infinite gauge or standard of value. Professor Thorne is a man of this type. Although well known and highly esteemed, he is by nature conservative and averse to any notice savoring of adulation and prefers to let his achievements rather than the fulsome praise of the chronicler speak for him.
Professor Thorne was born in 1846 on a farm in Greene county, Ohio, and was educated in a country district school, supplemented by one term in 1866 at the Michigan Agricultural College, and four terms, in 1868 and 1869. at Antioch College. He was an ambitious youth and applied himself very assiduously to his text books and made a splendid record in the above- named institutions. Always fond of agricultural pursuits, he took up the life of a husbandman after leaving college, and from 1870 to 1876 farmed successfully in Greene county, Ohio. He very ably filled the responsible position of farm manager in the Ohio State University from 1877 to 1881. His prolific pen began to produce articles of more than ordinary interest and value to the agricultural world and he eventually became associate editor of Farm and Fireside at Springfield, Ohio, ranking thus from 1881 to 1887. He is a lucid and forceful writer, entertaining in style and, being profoundly versed in the themes he chooses for publication, he is always sure of an appre- ciative audience. Since 1887 he has been director of the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station, where he is carrying on a very commendable work and giving eminent satisfaction to all concerned. Being an original thinker and investigator, his experiments and theories have been of much practical value. The Ohio State University, recognizing his ability, has conferred upon him the honorary degree of Master of the Science of Agriculture. Since 1892 he has resided in Wayne county.
JOHN A. RAUDEBAUGH.
This venerable and highly honored citizen of Wayne county. Ohio, was an interesting man to talk to, for he could tell of the wondrous transforma- tions he had witnessed in this locality since the pioneer days, he himself taking no small part in the material development of his community, and his
1318
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
life, having been honorable and usefully spent, is worthy of conspicuous men- tion in this history.
John A. Raudebaugh was born in Juniata county, Pennsylvania, in 1826, the son of Solomon and Martha (Bell) Raudebaugh. The parents of the latter, who came from Ireland, were Richard and Mary Bell, who first set- tled in Pennsylvania, where Martha Bell was born. Neither she nor her husband ever came to Ohio. The paternal grandparents of the subject were Jacob and Elizabeth Raudebaugh, who spent part of their days in Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Raudebaugh and their four children made the trip from Pennsylvania with a five-horse team, there being no railroads in those days. They bought one hundred and twenty-two acres in Plain township, the place having been nearly all woods, as were most of the farms in Wayne county at that time. They worked hard and soon had a good start in their new home.
After his marriage, John A. Raudebaugh lived on the home place, which he had helped to clear in his boyhood days, for a period of sixteen years, and he built every fence on the farm, making numerous other substantial improvements. He then moved to Ashland county, this state, where for one year he lived on an eighty-acre farm belonging to his father. After that he lived in Mercer county, Ohio, for two years, then returned to Chester town- ship, Wayne county, where he bought eighty acres. Later he sold it and bought one hundred and twenty-three acres northeast of Overton in the same township. There he farmed very successfully until 1903, when he retired, moving to Overton and purchased a home here, where he spent his declin- ing years in the midst of plenty as a result of his former years of thrift and industry. His death occurred there on January II, 1910.
Mr. Raudebaugh was married in 1847 to Susan Soliday, who came to this county from Pennsylvania with her parents, Jacob and Elizabeth (Rose) Soliday. They entered land in Plain township which they cleared, living there the remainder of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Raudebaugh the follow- ing children were born, seven sons and four daughters: Mary Elizabeth, Jacob Winfield, Henry (deceased), John Ford, Solomon Emery, Evert Lin- coln, Bertha, Charles, Elmer, Hattie and Effie. The parents of these children were blessed by a harmonious wedded life of sixty-three years. No person in this part of the county was held in higher esteem for his kindly and generous nature than Mr. Raudebaugh, being honored especially by the young people. He was a member of the United Brethren church, to which Mrs. Raudebaugh belongs. Politically, Mr. Raudebaugh was a Republican ; he at one time very
1
1319
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
ably served as justice of the peace of Plain township, and he was trustee for two terms in Union township, Mercer county, Ohio. He was always ready to do his part in any public function that would assist in furthering the general good.
JOSEPH B. GREGORY.
Well-directed efforts in the practical affairs of life and honorable dealing with his neighbors have won for Joseph B. Gregory, a progressive farmer of Sugar Creek township, Wayne county, the success in life which he rightly deserves and also the high esteem of his fellow men. He comes from ex- cellent Pennsylvania stock, he himself having been born in Mifflin county, that state, November 15, 1863. the son of Robert and Nancy (McCartney) Gregory, the former a native of Stone Valley, Pennsylvania. He came to Ohio about 1879. He was a man of influence in his community and made a success in life, being a man of energy and good common sense.
Joseph B. Gregory was reared on the farm in the old Keystone state, which he worked during the crop seasons and attended the common schools during the winter months. In early youth he began working on a farm for the meager sum of five dollars per month, and when he was twenty- one years of age he was receiving twenty dollars per month. Turning his at- tention to railroading, having long desired to become an engineer, he began learning the same, in a short time familiarizing himself with its many phases. and for a period of sixteen years he had charge of a locomotive, rendering very efficient service, possessing the required faculties for this line of work to a marked degree. However, finding that the more wholesome and less strenuous life of the agriculturist had greater attractions than the precarious existence of the engineer, Mr. Gregory, after saving enough money to buy a farm, purchased an excellent piece of land, consisting of sixty-three acres in section II, Sugar Creek township, where he now resides, carrying on gen- eral farming. He also buys, feeds and sells heavy draft horses, always having some very fine ones about the place and, owing to the excellent quality of these animals, he has no difficulty in disposing of them, handling about thirty annually, no small part of his income for many years having been derived from this source. The horses he handles are admired by all who see them, and he has become generally known throughout this part of the county as a horse dealer.
1320
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Gregory was married on October 15, 1885, to Alice Johnson, who was born and reared in Stark county, Ohio, the daughter of a highly re- spected family. To Mr. and Mrs. Gregory one child was born, Nancy, who lived to be nine months and nine days old. They are rearing one of Mr. Gregory's sister's daughters, Irene Jones.
Mr. Gregory is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Dalton, this county, and is one of the trustees of the same; he is also superintendent of the Sunday school, serving in his fourth year in this capacity. He has done much for the local congregation, having made a large increase in the Sunday school since he began active work in the same. Politically, he is a Democrat, but not an office seeker, though he takes considerable interest in the affairs of his county, politically and otherwise.
DAVID C. CURRY.
There would be a regrettable deficiency in this or any other historical and biographical compendium of Wayne county if an extended mention of the Curry family and their extensive interests should be omitted, for it is safe to say that few if any families have contributed more to the material and general advancement of this locality's interests from the pioneer epoch to the present, and a worthy and commendable as well as one of the best- known members of this enterprising household was the late David C. Curry, for many years senior member of The Curry Lumber Company of Wooster. the oldest substantial manufacturing establishment in the city. He was born in Holmes county, Ohio, in 1841, the second son of James Curry, founder of this company. The latter was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, October 17, 1816, the son of David Curry, a carpenter and builder, in which pursuit he brought up his son, James. When he had completed his trade, at the age of eighteen years, James Curry left home and worked as a journeyman for two years, then came to Ohio, locating in Washington township, Holmes county, where he followed his trade until re- moving to Wooster in the spring of 1853, and he at once entered vigorously into business, establishing a lumber yard where the Snowflake mills were later built ; remaining there one year, he purchased a better site of E. Quinby, Jr., at East Liberty and Beall avenue. Here the main building was erected in 1857. In 1854 he placed in use the first planing mill brought into Wayne county, and from time to time he and the members of the family that suc-
- هـ
D.G. Curry
I321
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
ceeded him introduced new and labor-saving machinery, of the latest de- signs required in the skillful manufacture of doors, sash, blinds, mouldings. brackets, making a specialty in later years of church furniture, such as pews. pulpits, etc., finding ready sales in many states and distant territories. Thus from this small beginning, as time went on, his shops and yard became an extensive establishment, the largest in the county, until, from doing a busi- ness in 1854 of one hundred thousand feet of lumber, the trade increased to four million, and often much more, feet of lumber annually.
James Curry was the first large dealer in pine lumber in Wooster, where it was comparatively little used before he established his shops and imported building material in large quantities from the pineries of the North and the walnut woods of Indiana. His sons, who grew up in the business, became valuable assets to him. As they came to manhood's years he gave each an interest, until this became widely noted as "the lumber family." In the fall of 1867 James Curry and his three oldest sons, Jolin, David and Welling- ton, purchased the machinery, grounds, areas, etc., of Stibbs. Spink & Com- pany, which was conducted under this arrangement until October, 1874, when the copartnership was dissolved, the sons retaining the new yard on North street, under the style of D. C. Curry & Company, the father resum- ing sole charge of the old plant on East Liberty street. In February, 1876, the plant was burned out, the loss being twenty thousand dollars. They im- mediately rebuilt, but several destructive fires since then have caused heavy losses.
The father erected a substantial three-story brick building adjoining the old shops and in connection with lumber and house building, established a furniture factory, which grew to large proportions, including at one time undertaking. In May, 1877, he took as a partner his fourth son, James Mil- lard Curry, and Robert Cameron, the firm doing business under the name of Curry, Cameron & Company, and they continued to do a large business.
The following are the dates of birth of James Curry's children : John. born in Holmes county, Ohio, February 18. 1839, married Elizabeth Lau- bach; David C., of this review ; Marguette, born in Holmes county October 7, 1843; Wellington, born in Holmes county, May 27, 1845, married Mary E. Vanhouten, January 9, 1866; James Millard, born in Holmes county. August 27, 1849; Mary, born in Wooster, July 20, 1853: Jerome. born in Wooster, April 5, 1856.
The death of James Curry occurred June 9, 1884. His wife, Elizabeth. was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1814, and she died on May 1, 1874.
.
1322
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
David C. Curry was twelve years old when his parents brought him to Wooster, and he received his education in the schools of this city. In 1857 he began serving an apprenticeship as a printer, working as a com- positor for nearly four years on the old Wooster Republican. The breaking out of the Civil war changed his career, and upon the first call for troops to suppress the rebellion he was one of the first to respond, enlisting, on April 23, 1861, in Company G, Sixteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, three-months service. Upon the reorganization of the regiment he enlisted for three years, October 5, 1861, in Company H, commanded by Capt. A. S. McClure, and after sharing the vicissitudes of the famous Sixteenth Regi- ment in campaign and battle, he was honorably discharged October 31, 1864, having served his country faithfully for a period of nearly three years and a half. On April 19, 1863, he was wounded by a fragment of a shell strik- ing him in the left arm and in the stomach, at the first assault on Vicksburg.
Returning to Wooster, Mr. Curry at once took the position of engineer in his father's planing mill and later owned and controlled this business until his death, on January 7, 1910. the end coming suddenly while on a visit to his daughter, Mrs. Robert Esterly, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He had long been president of the firm here and had managed its affairs in a manner that stamped him as a man of unusual business acumen, foresight and judg- ment. The firm was incorporated on June 20, 1901, with a capital stock of thirty thousand dollars, with the following officers: David C. Curry, presi- dent ; Charles Curry, vice-president ; W. R. Curry, secretary and treasurer. Since Mr. Curry's death the officials are W. R. Curry, president and treas- urer; R. A. Curry, vice-president ; Charles Curry, secretary.
On December 24, 1868, David C. Curry married Jennie J. Yergin, which union resulted in the birth of five children, four of whom survive, namely : Charles Y., of Wooster; Blanche married Robert Esterly and is living in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cora B. died in 1875; William lives in Wooster; Rowland is a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. Mrs. Curry also survives.
Mr. Curry was long a stockholder in the Quinby Opera House of Woos- ter, of which he was the contractor. He was the owner of considerable valu- able property and one of the leading men of the county in business and other circles. He was always a Republican in politics and active in local party affairs. He was twice elected to the city council from the second ward, but resigned his position before the close of the second term. He was also an active lodge worker and a member of the following orders: Masonic. Knights of Honor, Knights of the Maccabees and Given Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
I323
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Personally, Mr. Curry was straightforward in his dealings with his fel- low men, courteous, genial and a man who made friends readily and who had no trouble in retaining their good-will. His beautiful and well-appointed home was frequently the gathering place for his many warm friends and those of the family, and they never failed to be hospitably received.
BENJAMIN F. SWINEHART.
Benjamin F. Swinehart, well-known farmer of Chester township, Wayne county, is one of those whole-souled, large-hearted individuals who are con- stantly adding to the number of their friends by their disinterested kindness and their genial natures. He was born in 1844 near where the Experiment Station is now located, the son of Ephraim and Barbara (Stoner) Swinehart, both natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. His paternal grandparents were Daniel and Elizabeth Swinehart, who lived and died in the old Key- stone state. In that state Ephraim Swinehart, father of Benjamin F., was bound out. When eighteen years of age, 1836, he ran away and came to Apple Creek, Wayne county, Ohio. The maternal grandparents of the sub- ject of this review were John and Elizabeth Stoner, who came to Wayne county, Ohio, in 1836, Mr. Stoner following the trade of basketmaker in connection with farming. Here the father of Benjamin F. worked on the farm for Jacob Kurtz, and while employed there he became acquainted with Barbara Stoner, who was at that time working for Mr. Kurtz also, and they were there married, soon afterwards buying a farm in Medina county, Ohio. Later he bought near Lattasburg, Chester township, Wayne county. Ephraim Swinehart followed farming all his life, making a success of agri- cultural pursuits.
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.