USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time > Part 47
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Judge Martin Welker was married on the 4th of March, on the day of President Harrison's inauguration, to Miss Maria Armor, of Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, sister of Professor S. G. Ar- mor, of Brooklyn Medical College. She is a lady of great refine- ment, sweetness of disposition and excellent culture, and was highly esteemed by her many friends and acquaintances in Wash- ington City. At the close of his term of Judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas, and in the spring of 1859 he removed to Woos- ter, where he has permanently resided ever since, though his judi- cial duties demand his presence in Cleveland and Toledo. In recognition of his abilities, the University of Wooster has confer- red upon him the title of LL. D.
He has been, in the loftiest sense and most comprehensive meaning of the term, a public man, and among a galaxy of dis- tinguished citizens of Ohio, has exerted a great influence in the development of his native State, and in his quiet, unobtrusive, but effective way, has contributed largely in shaping her political des- tiny.
JAMES D. ROBISON, M. D.
James D. Robison was born April 23, 1820, on the corner of Buckeye and North streets, Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio. His early years were spent with his father, Thomas Robison, Esq., during which time he attended the village schools, procuring such education as the limited opportunities of that day admitted. At the age of seventeen he hired as a clerk to Robison & McCune, where he remained until he was twenty, at which time, and in ac- cordance with an intention previously resolved upon, he com-
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menced the study of medicine. He entered the office of Dr. Samuel Norton Bissell, in February, 1840, continuing with him until October, 1841, when, during the fall, he proceeded to Phila- delphia, that winter availing himself of a course of lectures at the Jefferson Medical College of that city, soon thereafter taking ad- vantage of a course of clinical instruction at the Brooklyn Hospital.
The summer of 1842 he spent in Cincinnati, in pursuit of his professional work, in the office of Dr. William Wood, simulta- neously attending lectures at the Medical College of Ohio and a clinical course at the Commercial Hospital of Cincinnati.
In the fall of 1842 he returned to Philadelphia, where he grad- uated, and received his diploma in March, 1843. He returned to Wooster and remained there during the summer, the same au- tumn, however, removing to the Queen City, locating there and actively engaging in the practice of his chosen profession. Here he met with signal success in his profession, and here he contin- ued until the 3d of July, 1846, and until the breaking out of the Mexican war.
At the solicitation of S. R. Curtis, Colonel of the 3d O. V. I., he was made Surgeon of said regiment, leaving Cincinnati that day (July 3) for Mexico. Arriving at New Orleans on the 9th, he spent a day or two in the city, when he proceeded to Brazos de Santiago, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, arriving August 6 at "Camp Curtis," opposite the old city of Matamoras.
On the 9th of December he was assigned by General Patterson as Surgeon to the 3d Illinois regiment, commanded by Ferris Foreman, which being ordered by General Zachary Taylor to Victoria, arrived there January 4, 1847. January 15 Patterson's Division, of which his (Robison's) regiment was a part, was ordered to join General Winfield Scott at Tampico, and on March 8 they were ordered to sail for Vera Cruz, whither they arrived on the 15th, the Mexican forces surrendering seventeen days there- after, the United States soldiers taking possession of the city.
On the 10th of April, 1847, on account of sickness, Dr. Robison resigned his commission and returned to Wooster, and in October of the same year formed a partnership with J. P. Coulter, M. D., for the practice of medicine, which continued to the fall of 1853. Here he intermitted his professional labors for about a year, mean- time going to New York and visiting the hospitals and medical in- stitutions there with a view to keeping abreast with the progress and discoveries of the profession. He again returned to Wooster
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in the autumn of 1854, opening an office and engaging in the prac- tice until 1861, when the war of the Rebellion was inaugurated. He immediately offered his professional services to the government, which were as promptly accepted, being assigned to the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he was identified throughout the three months' service. He was in the battle of Phillippi, one of the earliest collisions of the Rebellion, and had the honor of am- putating the first leg of the war, that of a Confederate soldier. He was promoted to the rank of Brigade Surgeon in July, 1861, and assigned to the command of General Rosecranz. After the battle of Carnifex Ferry he was ordered to locate and organize hospitals along the Kanawha, and assume charge of the one situated at Gali- polis. He was with General Lander at Paw-paw Tunnel, who died the second day after his arrival.
He accompanied the army of General James Shields down the Valley of the Shenandoah and participated in the first battle of Winchester, Virginia, March 23, 1862, which resulted in the dis- comfiture of the forces of Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson. He next assumed supervision of hospitals, and continued to act in that capacity until General N. P. Banks was driven from the Valley. He was afterwards sent to the Peninsula with the forces under General G. B. McClellan, being attached to the 6th army corps, commanded by General Franklin, as an inspecting surgeon, retaining said posi- tion until after the battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862.
He was next ordered to Washington City to take charge of the Patent Office Hospital, where he remained until he was compelled to resign on account of the illness of his wife. On his return home he was appointed Surgeon of the Board of Enrollment for this dis- trict, which position he held during the war. Since then he has been engaged in practice.
Dr. J. D. Robison has been twice married.
A retrospect of the life of Dr. Robison shows it to have been an intensely active, zealous and positive one. From the very out- set in 1840 it has been a vigorous battle, not a long skirmish line, with here and there a faculty employed, but a compact and con- centrated movement against the opposing forces of the world. Diligence and speculative research were characteristic of him in his rudimentary professional years. He was practical and observant from the very outstart of his studies.
He is one of the able and popular physicians in the county, and is seen every day with the harness on. He is not an idler,
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and even if he were so inclined, his professional duties would give him no time for recreation. There has always been a fascination in his chosen science. He toils in it because it delights him. Its duties may be depressing and discouraging at times, but then they have their rewards. It may be the ministry of pain, but it is likewise the ministry of blessing and love. At the bed of sick- ness he is non-excitable, candid and undeceiving, full of encour- agement and expectation.
He is naturally of a cheery, spring-like and hopeful disposition. He believes, with one of the old poets, that we should hope for everything that is good, because there is nothing which may not be hoped for, and nothing but what the gods are able to give us. Surely it is a cardinal and robust virtue in man. It imparts habitual serenity and good-humor. It is a kind of vital heat in the soul that cheers and gladdens it. It makes pain easy and labor pleasant.
As a skillful practitioner he takes high rank, having an expe- rience possessed by few of his rivals-active professional service during two wars. As a patriot all that can be said of Dr. Robison must be expressed in the language of eulogy. In the Mexican campaign he was one of the most popular of the surgeons and won a reputation as an eminent and successful practitioner. In politics he is a Republican, but has made it a life-rule to avoid its tumults and strifes. Had he ventured upon this field he could not well have been kept out of Congress. In this direction he had special qualifications. He prefers to look at the sunlight to the twilight side of human nature. He is a man of marked mental and physical equi- librium-calm and self-possessed. He is genteel, plain and unaffected. In the social circle he is at home and causes all to feel the same way. He is a fluent talker, the gravity of his conversation at times being often enlivened with wit and humor. In fact, he is such a man and his demeanor such as to be equally distant from constraint and negligence, and he will com- mand your respect while he lays seige to your heart. The Doc- tor, though slightly past his fiftieth year is yet hale and stout, hav- ing the prospect of years of usefulness and enjoyment.
He still sparkles with his youthful vivacity ; is as full of fun as a spring rivulet is of water. If his hair is snowy, it covers a warm head, for "where the snow-flakes fall thickest there's nothing can freeze."
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF WOOSTER.
The people of Wooster, intelligent themselves, have always taken an interest and pride in making their children intelligent. In the years 1853 and 1854, each of the four wards of the city built a school-house of its own, and for a few years thereafter each had a school conducted independently of the others. They were finally united under one management, and Mr. John Brinkerhoff was appointed general Superintendent, a position he held until 1870.
The school accommodations becoming insufficient, in 1867 the citizens voluntarily taxed themselves to build the best school-house in the State. It was completed in 1870, the building, with grounds, furniture, etc., having cost $113,000. It is located on West Bowman street. While its great size renders it the most conspicuous building in the city, its architectural beauty fascinates the eye of every beholder. Beauty in architecture is a great edu- cator of popular taste. The Greeks and Romans were better aware of this fact than many of our money-getting generation.
On each floor of the High School building there is one large study room, having a seating capacity for two hundred and forty pupils. Four recitation rooms are attached to each of these. The Principal gives her undivided attention to discipline and the super- vision of the studying, while the Assistants hear all the recitations. This plan secures a highly advantageous division of labor.
All the rooms are tastefully finished and ornamented to some extent with pictures, plants, etc., to give them a pleasant, home- like air. High commendation is due to those who have not over- looked the fact that children have an aesthetic nature that should be gratified and cultivated. It would be a cruel economy that would place refined teachers and impressible children in dingy, unattractive rooms. A keen sense of beauty, harmony and order are as essential to happiness and usefulness in life as a knowledge of arithmetic and grammar. Moreover, pleasant surroundings make dispositions pleasant, and thereby render discipline easy.
There is a library of three hundred volumes, a geological cabi- net and eight hundred dollars worth of philosophical and chemical apparatus. These aid greatly in the work of instruction.
The school is divided into three departments, viz: Primary, Grammar, High School. There are four grades in each depart- ment, all the pupils of a grade having the same studies. It requires
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one year to complete the work of a grade, and promotions are made regularly from one to another every June.
In 1874, vocal music was introduced as a regular branch of study in all the grades. The results obtained have exceeded the fondest expectations of its most ardent advocates. In September, 1877, drawing was given a place in the course of study, and a spe- cial teacher was appointed for that branch. These are indications of progress in the right direction. Since education is the due and harmonious development of all the powers of man, educate the heart and the hand as well as the head.
The Superintendent holds a meeting for all the teachers once a month. After his suggestions and instructions have been given, one or two of the teachers present carefully written papers on sub- jects relating to their work in the school-room. The thoughts pre- sented are then discussed by the teachers. In the intervals, fre- quent grade meetings are held for special instruction in the meth- ods of conducting the work of each particular grade. That the pres- ent Superintendent and teachers are zealous and progressive is indicated by the fact that they have, at their own expense, fur- nished a reading-room and supplied it with the best educational and scientific periodicals.
The public schools of Wooster now rank among the best in the State. The course of study is thorough and complete ; the best methods of instruction and discipline are in use; and a competent corps of teachers is employed. A large number of non-resident pupils are now in attendance, which shows that the schools are popular.
The School Trustees are performing their duties zealously and intelligently. The following is the present organization of the schools :
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
John Zimmerman, Jacob Frick and J. W. Baughman.
SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTION.
W. S. Eversole, A. M.
BOARD OF EXAMINERS.
Superintendent, W. S. Eversole; Professor S. J. Kirkwood and Colonel Ben .. Eason.
TEACHERS.
High School .- Principal, Jennie A. Boyd; Assistants, Mary E. Parsons and Susan Given.
A and B Grammar School .- Principal, William L. Brothers; Assistants, Ada Given, Maria E. Abbott and Carrie V. Kramer.
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C and D Grammar School .- Principal, Flora Miller; Assistants, Mila Barrett, Ella J. Milligan, Loretta S. McMonigal and Mary E. Gordon.
First Ward .- Principal, Ettie E. Jackson; Assistants, Ella J. Eckenroth and Eunice Clark.
Second Ward .- Principal, Kate L. Barnes; Assistants, Frankie J. Clark and Nettie M. Gasche.
Third Ward .- Principal, Emma E. Weirich; Assistants, Emma Flattery and Ella F. Mark.
Fourth Ward .- Principal, Amelia Kemmerlein ; Assistant, Ella D. Shively. Teacher of Music, N. L. Glover.
Teacher of Drawing, S. G. Steele.
JOHN ZIMMERMAN.
John Zimmerman immigrated to America in the year 1845, having been born in Richen, Grand Duchy of Baden, now under the Prussian Government, April 1I, 1829. His father, Paul Zim- merman, was a farmer, in moderate circumstances, a representative of the middle class, with whom the possession of large farms or estates was a very unusual affair. He had ten children-nine boys and one girl-his son John being the youngest of the family. His mother died when he was seven years old.
Having an older brother living near Canal Dover, and having heard of the rare opportunities of money-getting in the United States, he resolved to make them a visit, which he did, reaching New York, June 25, 1845. His steps were immediately directed to Canal Dover, where he found his brother living on a small tract of land about a mile from said village. His name was Frederick Zimmerman, and now lives in Bloomville, Seneca county, Ohio. With Frederick he remained six weeks, when he proceeded to Canton, Ohio, going into the drug store of C. C. A. Wittings as a clerk, with whom he remained two years, employed chiefly in the laboratory and experimenting with chemicals.
In 1847 he went to Massillon, was employed two years as clerk in a drug and book concern, returning to Canton in 1849, and en- tering the drug store of Dr. R. H. McCall. In 1850 the doctor went to California, leaving Mr. Zimmerman in charge of his busi- ness, during which year he was married to Miss Barbara Held, of Massillon, Ohio. Dr. McCall returned from California in 1852, Mr. Zimmerman still in possession of the store. Forming a part- nership now, on the 5th of July of this year, he came to Wooster and rented a room in the east end of the old Exchange Hotel, where he engaged in the sale of drugs, books, etc. This part-
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nership continued until the fall of 1855, when Mr. Zimmerman purchased the interest of his partner. Continuing business here for three years, he next rented the room now occupied by Messrs. Roller & Wilson, where he conducted trade for ten years.
In Febuary, 1867, he bought 42x180 feet of the Exchange Block, removed the old building immediately, and proceeded at once to erect a new one, which was completed about the middle of March, 1868. That spring he assumed possession of it, taking into partnership with him for a term of five years Lewis P. Ohliger, an active and reliable young man who had been in his employ for over ten years.
His building is a superb brick, three stories high, fronting on West Liberty street, with a depth of 175 feet. His business oc- cupies the whole length of it, the wholesale department being to the rear. A commodious cellar underlies the whole building. On the second floor are the rooms of the Wayne County Democrat office, besides two of the best public offices in the city. On the third floor is a fine hall, 58x26.
Mr. Zimmerman has been frequently promoted to offices of public trust since he came into the county, having been elected County Treasurer in 1857 and re-elected in 1859, besides holding several of the most important municipal offices of Wooster. He is a special champion of education, subscribing liberally to the University, and particularly devoting his energies to the advance- ment of the public schools of the city, he being at the present time President of the Board of Education. In every respect Mr. Zimmerman has shown himself to be a very valuable citizen, having the welfare of the city and county at heart, as is manifest at all times by his zeal in every department of public enterprise.
REV. BENJAMIN POPE.
Rev. Benjamin Pope was born near Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, May 6, 1815, and was the youngest of seven children. He was educated at the Seminary of the Joint Synod of Ohio, under the charge of Professor Schmidt, of Columbus, now called Capital University. After entering upon the ministry he located near Steubenville, Jefferson county, Ohio, continuing in the service of the profession until enfeebled and incapacitated by affliction. He died June, 8, 1864.
Elizabeth M. Hippee, to whom Rev. Pope was married Sep-
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tember 14, 1843, is a native of Canton, Stark county, Ohio, where she was born September 14, 1823. Having qualified herself for the duties of teaching, at an early age she engaged in the profes- sion, teaching at Delaware, Ohio, for two years, and until her health seemed to be failing.
In the spring of 1849 she became the successor of Mrs. McKee-wife of the Seceder minister of the long-gone-by-she transferring to Mrs. Pope her pupils, numbering five or six, whom she instructed about two months. In October she opened the session, assisted by Miss Sarah Hippee, with between thirty and forty pupils upon the roll. This term was taught in the house now owned and occupied by O. F. Jones, Esq.
In the spring of 1853 she took possession of the old Academy building, and continued her labors as Principal of the institution until 1865, establishing for herself and her school a reputation that made the name of "Mrs. Pope's Seminary at Wooster" popular throughout Wayne and neighboring counties.
CAPTAIN GEORGE U. HARN.
" Whether on the scaffold high, Or in the battle's van, The noblest place for man to die, Is when he dies for man."
George Upton Harn was born in the city of Baltimore, July 30, 1820. He was the son of John and Charlotte Harn, and was the oldest of a family of fourteen children. In his journal he says, "I have but little to say about my parentage, for I am unapprized of anything worthy of notice except it be, that my genealogy on both father's and mother's side could not be impeached with anything short of common honesty, so far as I am acquainted."
His great-great-grandfather was the first of the name in Amer- ica, and he came from London, and was of Cymbro or Welsh descent. He spent the first two years of his life in Baltimore with his mother, while his father was in Frederick county working at his trade, which was that of house-joiner. After this the family moved to this county and purchased a plantation. When he was ten years old his father took him to Baltimore to attend school, and placed him in charge of his grandmother. He remained in the city but a few months, when he returned home.
After this he was sent to a subscription school in the neighbor-
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hood, and it was here and at the debating society where he first acquired a taste for study and his disposition for public speaking first manifested itself. In the year 1838, being then eighteen years of age, he made a profession of religion. In August, 1839, he was immersed, and on the same Sunday announced that on the follow- ing Sunday he would preach. His father declared his opposition to this movement, but notwithstanding this, on the appointed day he delivered his first sermon, taking for his text portions of the first chapter of James.
He obtained permission of his father to attend a camp-meeting at Big Pipe creek, near Tawnytown, about sixteen miles from his home, which was to commence on the 4th of September, but when the time came his father refused to let him go. Mr. Harn remon- strated and said he had promised to go and that he must go, when he was met with the answer that if he did he should never enter the family mansion again. The next morning was Sunday, and he again asked leave to go, and was once more refused. There being now no chance of getting a horse to ride he started afoot through a storm of rain. He left home at 9 A. M. and arrived at his destin- ation at 3 P. M., making the distance of sixteen miles in this time, traveling bare-footed occasionally to save his shoes that he was fear- ful might give out before he got there. Arriving at the camp-meet- ing he found himself in the midst of entire strangers, but soon found plenty of friends, afterwards returning home, notwithstand- ing the uttered prohibition of his father.
In 1841 the Pennsylvania Eldership of the churches assembled at Mt. Joy, Lancaster county, licensed him as a regular minister, and immediately appointed him to a circuit. When he was twenty- four years old he turned his attention to Greek, not, however, be- ing assisted by an instructor. Combined with his good English education, he attained proficiency as a German, Latin, Greek and Hebrew scholar, having made considerable progress in the study of French.
In 1846 he published a small work entitled " A Sermon on the Ordinance of Feet Washing," which was issued from the Church Advocate office, the organ of the Church of God in the United States. This book elicited a sarcastic review from a contributor of the Methodist Protestant, published in Baltimore. The article, how- ever, was firmly met with a caustic reply, by Rev. Harn, as might well be expected, for the lion of his nature could howl through his pen.
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In the summer of 1847, becoming restless, he made an exodus for the then far west, going down the Ohio and up the Mississippi, above St. Louis, when he left the river, and traveled on foot, preaching along the road wherever he could find suitable places, and in his course visiting Mt. Carroll, Freeport, Dixon, Galena, etc., in Illinois. During the winter of 1847-48 he taught school and preached in Mt. Carroll and neighboring places.
In the spring of 1848 he returned east, by the way of Chicago, and by Lake Erie, to Cleveland, and thence by stage to Wooster. Here he was hospitably entertained by Rev. Archibald Megrew, who was then pastor in charge of the Church of God in Wooster, and here, on the 30th of April, 1848, he preached his first sermon in Wooster. His stay in Wooster, this time, was brief, it being only a visit, and on the IIth of this month he started eastward.
In the latter part of 1848 he began preaching in Philadelphia, and in June, 1850, he followed "the course of Empire" west again, accompanied by Elder John Winebrenner, and arrived in Wooster on the 8th of this month, the same evening preaching in the Bap- tist church. This trip was continued on to Iowa, when he re- turned to Pennsylvania, and thence back to Wooster, where he arrived about April 12, 1851, this time to take charge of the church, where he remained but a year, having been appointed to the pas- torate of the church at Lancaster, Pa., in May, 1852, where he remained two years. He next took charge of the church at Ship- pensburg, in that State, where he remained until April, 1855, when he once more retraced his steps to Wooster, becoming pastor of the church for several years.
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