USA > Ohio > Wayne County > History of Wayne county, Ohio, from the days of the pioneers and the first settlers to the present time > Part 62
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D. L. Kieffer, second child and oldest son of Adam Kieffer, who was one of the earliest pioneers, was born in Greene town- ship, Wayne county, Ohio, May 12, 1829. In the summer of 1854 he was married to Miss Rebecca Spangler, of Wayne town- ship, by whom he has one son, George, a promising lad of twelve years. From his youth up Squire Kieffer showed an ardent desire for mental culture. After going through the common-schools he attended Canaan Academy, under Professor Notestine ; also Prof. Foster's school of Seville, and the College at Edinburg, under Prof. Hill. He is an architect of ability, a noted master of civil engineering, a man of considerable literary acquirements, and we are indebted to him for the material facts in relation to Greene township.
John B. Eberly, son of Peter and Sarah Eberly, yet living in the vicinity of Smithville, was born in Cumberland county, Pa., February 5, 1837. With his father he removed to Wayne county
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in 1840, and remained with him until the age of 19, when he re- solved, come what would, to devote himself to the first ambition of his life-to be a scholar and a teacher. For three years he at- tended the Fredericksburg school, under Prof. B. C. Smith. In 1862 lie entered Mt. Union College, remaining there three more years, from which, in June, 1865, he graduated with honor in the classical course. In August of the same year he organized the Smithville High School, since which over 4,000 students have at- tended it.
Mr. Eberly was married October 28, 1869, to Miss Isiphine Moore, of Applecreek, Miss Isi E. Eberly being their only child.
The Smithville High School is a creation of Prof. Eberly, although it may be said to have sprung from the wants of the com- munity ; hence there was correspondence in the popular demand and his comprehension of it. Its very life and its boldest features are original with him, and the powerful and stimulating effect it has had upon the young men and women who have patronized it has largely shaped the educational character of the entire com- munity.
Professor Eberly is opposed to an education that crams with theories, languages and words, and does not unfold faculties or de- velop forces. The ancient languages are to be perused rather as a means than an end; either for the knowledge that is locked up in them, or the discipline which their study affords the mind, or for the entire mastery which the acquisition of a foreign language com- pels us to obtain of the whole compass of our own. For these purposes he yields to no man in his esteem for the ancient lan- guages. His advice to the students is that of Horace to the Pisos:
" Let classic authors be your chief delight,
Read them by day-read them again by night."
He recognizes the central and seminal fact, that the county asks for scholars, not scholastics; practical men, not perambulating ab- stractions; men whose minds have been strengthened, not over- whelmed by learning. He has an agile, quick, mechanical mind; loves order because he was born to love it, and out of the harmo- nious play of his faculties springs the government of the school- room. His mind is intuitive, grasping, productive, re-productive; e sees an idea, comprehends it, then pounces on it like a falcon, when he forever holds it. He has, morever, the capacity of not simply understanding things, but of making others understand
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them. He is a thinker and worker. There is no emotion or gush about him. His mind moves in a region of realities, facts, figures and objects. In conversation he is fluent, elastic and sar- castic. As a public speaker he ascends to the regions of thought, divesting himself of all badinage and the gallantry of declamation. He is one of the foremost educators of Wayne county.
Orrville, a creation and product of the railroad, and the inevita- ble genius which surrounds and pursues such corporations, is fast approaching the proportions of cityhood. Concerning her enter- prise, sagacity, foresight and quick identity with what best pro- motes her welfare, we need distill no pen-praise or eulogy. She has two railroads - one more than Wooster -and has petitioners for other ones, and as petitioners always should, she "will ever pray." Her people are wide-awake, gritty, self reliant, and full of life. Despoil her of her energy, if you please, and her situation renders her existence and success compulsory. A junction, cross- way and point of distribution of railways, she must thrive. With communication direct to Cleveland, and her proximity to the coal regions, both east and south, she combines the elements that in- sure her permanence and stability and impart to her the qualities of a rival.
Surrounded by excellent farms, carefully cultivated by the most frugal and industrious farmers in Wayne county, she is girt with a zone of wealth, the central figure of which she is to stand.
Her commercial population is progressive, alert and enterpris- ing. Her massive and beautiful business blocks will challenge comparison with any town of its age and size in the State. Her churches are solid and substantial structures, and some of them, in point of design are architectural beauties. Her hotels are com- modious and in their appointments surpass those of older villages. Her school building is a capacious and costly edifice, and with the additions and improvements recently made, and which are largely due to the action of Hon. William M. Orr, it has become in its appointments and accommodations the equal of any in the county. In general manufactures she has taken the lead of Wooster, and in the course of twenty-five years, estimating from her past rapid growth, she will rival the county-seat in population and in trade.
Orrville is situated partly in Greene and partly in Baughman township, the dividing line of which runs through, but east of, its center, and was named in honor of Hon. Smith Orr. The
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lands on which the town was located in 1852 belonged to Robert Taggart, C. Brenneman and C. Horst. Mr. Orr, then living a mile south, got the railroad company to establish a water-tank, and prevailed on Robert Taggart to lay off ten acres into town lots. He then bought out C. Horst, David Rudy and Peter Per- rine. Jesse Straughan made the first plat of the town, and named it Orrville, in honor of Judge Orr. The first house built in the village was jointly by William M. Orr and William Gailey, and which was intended for a saw-mill, and to do work for the railroad company. William Bowman was the mill-wright. The lots on the Taggart ten acres were principally the first upon which build- ings were constructed; they lay north of the railroad, east of Main street, and were all located in Baughman township. Mean- time some houses were being built across the line in Greene town- ship. Judge Orr purchasing some land south of West Market street from Christian Brenneman, and some north of West Market street from C. Horst and William Vankirk, laid out a number of lots. Her population at this time borders closely upon 2,000.
Its incorporation was granted by the Commissioners of the county May 9, 1864, and the first election held was at the office of William M. Gailey, February 22, 1865. The following are the officers since that date :
1865. Mayor-William M. Gailey ; Recorder-D. G. Horst; Trustees-A. S. Moncrief, J. W. Steele, J. F. Seas, John McGill, James Evans, Sr.
1866. Mayor-William M. Gailey ; Recorder-D. G. Horst ; Trustees-John McGill, James Buttermore, D. W. Steele, A. S. Moncrief, J. F. Seas ; Treasurer- T. D. McFarland.
1867. Mayor-William M. Orr ; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Trustees-D. G. Horst, William M. Gailey, John McGill, S. D. Tanner, James Buttermore ; Treas- urer-T. D. McFarland.
1868. Mayor -- A. S. Moncrief ; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Trustees-James Buttermore, J. B. Taylor, Abe Gift ; Treasurer-T. D. McFarland.
1869. Mayor-A. S. Moncrief ; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Treasurer-T. D. McFarland ; Trustees-D. G. Horst, D. L. Trout, J. F. Seas, Kirk Johnson, L. S. Piper.
1870. Mayor -- A. C. Miller ; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Treasurer-T. D. Mc- Farland ; Councilmen-D. G. Horst, R. G. McElhenie, D. L. Moncrief, M. C. Rouch, Benjamin Steele, Hiram Chaffin.
1871. Councilmen-C. L. Hoils, David Frick, John Snavely.
1872. Mayor-M. C. Rouch ; Clerk-John A. Wolbach; Treasurer-S. T. Gailey ; Councilmen-Isaac Schriber, W. M. Conp, I. C Grabill.
1873. Councilmen-A. C. Miller, Jacob Brenneman, James Snavely.
1874. Mayor-William M. Gailey ; Clerk-John A. Wolbach ; Treasurer-S.
T. Gailey ; Councilmen-Isaac Schriber, W. M. Coup, J. F. Seas.
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1875. Councilmen-H. H. Strauss, Daniel Grady, Joseph Snavely, D. G. Moncrief.
1876. Mayor-J. F. Seas ; Clerk-A. J. Heller; Treasurer-John A. Wol- bach ; Councilmen-Solon Boydston, J. B. Heffelman, J. Snavely.
1877. Councilmen-Joseph Snavely, Isaac Schriber, F. Dysle, D. L. Mon- crief.
Judge Smith Orr was born in Tallord, near Strahan, in County Tyrone, Ireland, on the 23d of November, 1797, and was the youngest child of Samuel and Sarah Orr. He had five brothers and two sisters, all of whom are dead. His mother died on the day of his birth, and his father landed, with the other members of his family at New Castle, Delaware, in the month of August, 1801. After a residence of a few years in the East, they removed to Applecreek, East Union township, Wayne county, in the spring of 1812.
There Mr. Orr continued to live until the death of his father, in 1818. He then had but the choice of meeting the world for himself without means, assistance or friends. From that time until about the age of twenty-five he labored at grubbing and rail- splitting for others, when, having accumulated a small sum, he married Maria, youngest daughter of David Foreman, a soldier of the Revolution, who settled in Wayne county at a very early period, and who died there.
After their marriage they purchased and settled on a half- quarter of land in the woods on Apple creek, where they lived about three years, and then bought and removed to within one-half mile south of Orrville, and there resided over four years, and then purchased and removed to the tract of land known as the "Home Farm," one mile south of Orrville, and owned by him at his death. There he continued his residence until 1850, when the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad being located, he purchased land in and around where the village of Orrville is situated, and whither he immediately removed and continued to reside until his death, which occurred April 23, 1865.
His wife, Maria Orr, was born in Ligonier Valley, Pa., March 10, 1799, and when a small girl immigrated with her father, David Foreman, grandfather of Enos Foreman, former editor of the Wooster Republican, to the neighborhood of Economy, on the Ohio river, from which place she came with her father to what is now known as Baughman township. Her mother having died a very short time before their immigration to the country, she assumed entire household management of her father's house in the thirteenth
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year of her age. On the Ist of February, 1821, she became the wife of the subject of this memoir, residing with her husband from that time in East Union, Baughman, and from the spring of 1851 until her death in the village of Orrville, Greene township. During her married life, in addition to her own son, Hon. William M. Orr, she became the foster-mother of ten orphan children, four boys and six girls. She was plain in her manners, kind and affable, and but little disposed to visit or leave home; her greatest enjoyment consisting in receiving and entertaining friends and neighbors at her own house, where she was almost constantly to be found. It may be said of her, as Logan said of himself, " Who ever entered her cabin hungry and she gave him not meat?"
In the fifteenth year of her age, she embraced religion and united with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she remained a member until about one year after her marriage, when she united with the Presbyterian church, at Applecreek, of which her hus- band was a member. From that congregation they were transfer- red by certificate to the Presbyterian church at Dalton. She died as she had lived, a believer in revealed religion, expressing a firm and unfaltering hope and confidence in Jesus, her Savior.
Our pen has neither the cunning nor the ability to describe or analyze the parts which entered into the mental and physical com- position of Judge Orr. Entering the county, then a dense wilder- ness, when he was but fifteen years of age, he became, like the oaks surrounding him, a very child of the woods.
The spirit of poesy, which is said to hover over the forests, awoke no inspirations in his breast. If, as Byron says,
"There is society, where none intrudes,"
Then he could love "nature more," if "not man the less." The approach of the bear, the howl of the wolf, the alarm signal of the rattlesnake, the yell of the wild Indian, constituted the sources of his early fears. Nature, however, may have tried to delight and instruct him, and if the barn was not built for the swallow and the hedge-row not set for the thrush, the wild singers of the woods serenaded him with music. He could watch the lithe deer bound- ing through the thickets, catch design and beauty in the woodland blossoms, and take lessons in philosophy, as nature, blending storm and sunshine, drew God's promise on the cloud.
We can imagine that the life of Judge Orr, at that time, was characterized by more fact than fancy, and that, instead of having
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
margins of poetry, it was filled out to the rim in solid and serious prose. There were no school laws in Ohio then, and school- houses and school-teachers but faintly glimmered in dream-land. He may have learned the alphabet in the old family Bible, and studied his arithmetic leaning over his knees at the cabin-fire. Under the circumstances which did exist he acquired an education, not such as is'attainable at the college or university ; but his heart, feelings, soul, mind, brain, susceptibilities, all were disciplined in the school of self-denial and experience. It drilled and fitted him for a useful life, made him a benefit and blessing to his fellow-men, who turned to him in adversity for help, and who also sought his counsel and advice when "the winds down the river were fair."
Such a man as Judge Orr could not well have grown up in any country but his own. He was made what he was under divine guidance, solely by his own irresistible will and the inexorable cir- cumstances surrounding a pioneer. He was an original, modeled himself after no pattern, imitated no man's manners, but with strong practical common sense convictions of what a high-minded Chris- tian gentleman should be and do, he struggled perseveringly with fearless, unquailing, mighty will and arm and a warm, heroic heart and faith to be it and to do it. With an ear ever inclined to hear a tale of sickness, suffering or misfortune, and a hand and head ever ready with aid and counsel in need, his purpose was to do everything well that he undertook, however humble the task.
He was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace at an early day, and repeatedly re-elected, through all party malignities and asperities, holding the position for over a quarter of a century. He was elected in the year 1846 by the General Assembly of Ohio as one of the Associate Judges of the Common Pleas Court, which place he honorably and with signal ability filled until the adoption of the new Constitution in 1853, which abolished the office. Besides many other public positions which he occupied with credit, it may be mentioned that he was many times chosen by his political party-the Clay Whigs-as a candidate for election to responsible public positions, when the party in his locality was in the minority.
He was a member of the Union Convention which met in Bal- timore in 1864 and renominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency, casting his first vote for him, and upon the vote for Vice-President in the convention Judge Orr and the Hon. Harrison G. Blake, by their votes, decided the vote of the Ohio delegation in favor of
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Andrew Johnson as the candidate, and the vote of Ohio nomi- nated Governor Johnson over Governor Hicks, now deceased.
He was Land Surveyor for forty years, and throughout the en- tire eastern part of the county his services in this respect were of incalculable value to the citizens. During the war of the rebel- lion he held no middle ground, but was decided, outspoken and pronounced in his sympathy and support of the Government. When Cincinnati was threatened by the Confederate forces he placed himself at the head of a company (being then sixty-six years of age) of Squirrel Hunters, and succeeded in reaching the city, an achievement of which a majority of the companies could not boast.
His patriotism was intense, ardent and glowing. Convince Judge Orr that he was right, and legions of armed men could not prevent an effort to perform it. Stir up the lion in the old man's breast, and the hot blood which he imported from the rarest island of the seas rose to its ebb, and if it was to smite a wrong he would dash forward, regardless of opposition. What he under- took to do he did with all his might.
His motto was-
"Act-act in the living present ; Heart within and God o'erhead !"
Yesterday is past, to-day we will be wiser, and if to-morrow comes, better. He had an indomitable perseverance and will, and believed, with Richelieu, that-
" In youth's bright Lexicon there's no such word as fail."
He was possessed of a wide benevolence, a clear and compre- hensive understanding, and an unflinching persistency and tenacity of aim. He was a thoughtful and discriminating student, an ex- cellent historian, and with the political literature and transactions of the country, enjoyed the utmost familiarity. He was a fluent and convincing speaker, indulging in fact, detail and narration, sel- dom ornamental and never speculative.
He was a Presbyterian of the old school and faith, and belonged to the class of which Rev. T. A. McCurdy speaks in his history of the Wooster (Pres.) church, who "had in them the ring of the true metal, and blue was their color." Aside from his public duties and labors Judge Orr, by his own unaided individual energy and skill, out of nothing acquired, built up and managed an estate suf- ficiently large to gratify any ordinary and reasonable ambition.
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
But that which he acquired in his life, above all things to be admired and emulated, was the good name he left among men. To merit this in a sincere, earnest and Christian-like way was, whilst he lived upon earth, his chiefest ambition.
He died in the full faith of the resurrection and the eternal morning after the night of the grave, "sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust " in Him whose death was not only the world's example, but its sacrifice and life. Of his own issue surviving him are one son and three grandchildren.
ORRVILLE MANUFACTORIES AND ENTERPRISES.
Orrville contains quite a number of industrial establishments and other enter- prises, of which we note a few of the most prominent. Askins' Glass Coffin Com- pany-This is a joint stock company, with a capital of $210,000, engaged in the manufacture of Askins' glass coffins, a new and superior article, patented January 22, 1877. Fifty operatives are employed. Directors: C. Brenneman, William M. Orr, Joseph Snavely, Joseph Askins, James Buttermore, James A. Taggart. Offi- cers: President, William M. Orr ; Treasurer, D. G. Horst ; Superintendent, Jacob
L. Askins; Secretary, A. Taylor. . . Orrville Planing Mill was organized in 1867 by a joint stock company, with a capital of $20,000, and after passing through different hands, is now owned and run by Joseph Snavely.
Champion Thresher and Agricultural Implement Shops .- Work in these shops was commenced in Orrville in the spring of 1875, by W. M. Koppes & Co., employing from ten to fifteen hands, and were not able to fill half their orders for the thresher last year. Hand Rake and Fork Manufactory, Boydston & Ramsey, pro- prietors, was founded in January, 1871, manufacturing hundreds of these im- plements annually. . Orrville Pottery was established in 1862, by Amos Hall and Robert R. Cochran. Peter Eckert and Jacob Flickinger purchased the pottery in 1877, and manufacture an extensive variety of crocks, jugs, fruit jars, etc. Orrville Tannery, established in 1864, by Ludwick Pontius, and was the first tannery in the place. Now owned by F. Dysle & Bro. . . . .. Marble Works, established four years ago, C. Banhoff, proprietor.
The Central Ohio Fair, held annually at Orrville since 1867, is the best in some respects of any in all the surrounding counties. The grounds contain forty acres. Thousands attend it every year, until the " Orrville Fair" has become a popular in- stitution with the masses. Present officers : President, Hon. John Ault; Vice President, Daniel Holzer; Treasurer, Joseph Snavely ; Secretary, H. M. Wilson ; General Manager, Joseph Snavely. . . . . . Company E, Ninth Ohio National Guards, was organized in Orrville, on June 5, 1876, and is a fine military company of forty- five members. Officers : Captain, A. H. Postlewait; First Lieutenant, T. B. My- ers; Second Lieutenant, Thomas Carney ; Orderly Sergeant, John A. Wolbach . . . . . The First Fire Company was organized in 1873, with a hand engine called " Dot," and in 1874 this company merged into a new organization of sixty-four members, with another engine called " Monitor ; " Foreman, E. Fogle.
Exchange Bank .- This monetary institution was organized in 1868, by Jacob Brenneman and David G. Horst, the former retiring from it in April, 1877, since which time Samuel and Levi Brenneman have taken interests, the style of the bank being Brenneman & Horst.
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SECRET SOCIETIES.
I. O. O. F .- Orrville Lodge, No. 490, was instituted July 26, 1871. Charte members : H. P. Hugus, A. W. Bombarger, A. E. Clark, Isaac H. Krieble, Har rison Bowman, John Dunn, J. C. St. John. Present officers : R. Chaffin, N. G. A. Arich, V. G .; Jacob Holzer, R. S .; A. Gift, P. S .; John Miller, Treasurer ; J H. Krieble, P. G.
Orr Lodge Knights of Honor was instituted July 9, 1875. Officers: Rev. J. C Kauffman, Dictator ; William M. Orr, Past Dictator; S. N. Coe, Vice Dictator ; S D. D. Tanner, Assistant Dictator ; J. S. Evans, Guide ; A. J. Heller, Reporter ; J G. Hartman, Financial Reporter; John Coffey, Treasurer ; Rev. J. M. Jenkins Chaplain ; Guardian, George Ream ; Sentinel, Solon Boydston.
D. L. Moncrief, M. D .- The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was born in Scotland, his father in Carlisle, Pa., from where he removed to near Cannonsburg, Washington county. Here the Doctor was born, September 23, 1823, and lived on the farm until fifteen years of age. He attended Jefferson College, and at twenty-two began the study of medicine with Dr. Israel Moore, of Cannonsburg, with whom he remained three years a student, and then removed to Western Ohio. In 1853 he concluded his medical course at Cincinnati. From Mercer county, Ohio, he came to Orrville in March, 1857, at once entering upon a success ful practice of his profession, residing there until the present time. He was thrice married, the last time on March 20, 1876, to Miss Marian Morton, an English lady, who accompanied Dr. A. C. Miller on his return from England. He is a member of the Wayne County Medical Society, and was made Postmaster of Orrville in 1860 by Abraham Lincoln, serving eight years. He is a member of the United Presbyterian church at Dalton.
Dr. Moncrief is a scholar in his profession, and the best type of a refined and cultivated gentleman. Truthfulness, energy, te. nacity and firmness in conviction of right are special traits of his character. A man of enlightened mind, he appreciates the value of education, and as a consequence encourages and aids its gen- eral promotion. He is ever identified with the best interests of his town. He has carved out his own destiny ; acquired compe. tence and wealth, and by his worth, stability and courtesy, has won the deserved confidence and respect of all good men.
Hon. William M. Orr .- William M. Orr, only child of Judge Smith Orr, deceased, was born in Baughman township, January 7, 1826. He was raised on the farm, and with his father remained until he was sixteen years of age, when he commenced teaching
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school. He attended the Dalton and Wadsworth Academies, and in the year 1846 entered the junior class at Washington and Jeffer- son College, from which he graduated in 1847.
In this class were John LeMoine, now member of Congress from Chicago; W. S. Moore, late member of Congress from Washington, Pa. ; James G. Blaine, member of Congress for many years, late Speaker of the House of Representatives, and present United States Senator from the State of Maine, and other men of mark.
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