Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 24

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 570

USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 24
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 24
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 24

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The father of our subject, Judge Stephen T. Cunard, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, February 3, 1803. He grew to manhood in his native county, re- ceiving a somewhat limited education; he worked at the carpenter's trade in his early life. He was a son of Edward and Edith (Thacher) Cunard, both of whom were na- tives of the Old Dominion State, the former of whom was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812, in which service he offered up his life. He witnessed the entrance of the British troops into the national capital, and was an

observer of their impious depredations. He had been a civil engineer. Edward Cunard was the son of Edward, Sr .. who was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. The family traces its origin back to the Hirsts, of Yorkshire, England, the first representatives of that line having settled in the American colonies as early as 1680, and the original of the branch to which our subject traces his lineage having located near Baltimore, Maryland.

The mother of Ludwell M. Cunard was Vashti B. (James) Cunard, who was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1805, the daughter of David and Charlotte (Bradfield) James, who left the Old Dominion and be- came pioneers of the State of Ohio, whither they came at a very early period. Stephen T. Cunard and Vashti B. James were mar- ried, in their native State, November 26, 1826, and in 1835 they came to Ohio and settled in the woods of Lincoln township, in that part of Delaware county which was later made a part of the present county of Morrow. At that time the section was an almost unbroken forest, with here and there the rude cabin of a hardy and courageous settler. In 1836 there were twenty-eight votes cast at the general election in Lincoln township, and Judge Cunard was one of that number. At the time of his death, in 1881, there were just three of this original num- ber of voters still living, and the last sur- vivor was gathered to his fathers in 1891, namely Christian Stovenour.

When Stephen T. Cunard started out from his native State on the eventful jour- ney to the frontier forests of Ohio, he brought with him his wife and. two children, and all their earthly possessions. The means of transportation employed was an old-fashioned carryall, in which the devoted

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wife rode in state, with her infant son (the subject of this sketch) on her lap, and his sister, who was somewhat his senior, by her side. This sister is still living, the widow of the late Orman Kingman, of Lincoln township, and to her specific refer- ence is made elsewhere in this volume. In this primitive equipage the little family was transported from Loudoun county, Virginia, to their destination in this county, their route being along the line of the old national turnpike road as far as Wheeling, West Virginia. The entire financial resources of the family were summed up in $50., which the devoted wife and mother carried in her pocket, the father having walked the entire distance and cared for his dear ones with utmost solicitude.

Reaching their destination the father prepared a habitation for the family, erect- ing a little log cabin, 16 x 20 feet in dimen- sions, at a point five miles south of the pres- ent flourishing town of Mt. Gilead, which , place was named by Daniel James, an uncle of the mother of the subject of this sketch. The father secured 100 acres of wild land and at once essayed the task of clearing and im- proving the same. This he did in time, and as he was careful, methodical and a good manager, success attended his efforts, and he became one of the prominent and substantial farmers of the section. He was originally a Whig in politics, but upon the organization of the Republican party he gave to it his support, taking an active in- terest in the work of the local organization and keeping in close touch with the issues of the day.

At the time Morrow county was organ- ized, in 1848, he was appointed Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, under the old constitution, and later on he was a

member of the State Board of Equalization for the senatorial district comprising the counties of Knox and Morrow. During the progress of the late civil war he maintained an earnest interest in the Union cause, and lent effective aid in many ways. The death of our subject's mother occurred May 6, 1871, and that of the revered father March 3, 1881.

Stephen T. Cunard and wife became the parents of four sons and two daughters, of whom we offer the following brief rec- ord: Mary C. is the relict of the late Or- man Kingman, of Lincoln township, whose memoir appears on another page; Ludwell M., subject of this review; Henry E., de- ceased; Thomas C. married Hannah Wise- man, and resides near Fulton, this county; Alexander H. is deceased; Amanda E. is the deceased wife of Dr. A. E. Westbrook, of Ashley, Delaware county, and was the mother of three children. The mother of our subject was a devout member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The father stood high in the fraternal order of Masonry, and his influence was always on the side of morality and true Christianity. He was a man of noble impulses, a true patriot, an indulgent father and a kind husband. All of his sons were soldiers in the late civil war. Our subject and Alexander were members of the Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and the latter suffered an extreme exposure at the battle of Stone River. From the effects of this exposure the'dread disease of pulmonary consumption was su- perinduced, and as a result of this malady he died, in 1886, leaving a wife and two children. Henry E. was Captain of Com- pany I, Third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, and was killed in the battle of Perry- ville, October 8, 1862. Thomas C., was a

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MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

member of the One Hundred and Forty- eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Ludwell M. Cunard, the immediate sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, December 31, 1834, and was an infant when his parents came to Ohio. His educational discipline was gained in the primitive log school house, which nestled in the beech forests of Lincoln town- ship, this county. He remained on the pa- ternal homestead until he attained his ma- jority, lending a willing hand to the clearing and improving of the farm.

December 6, 1854, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary M. Rose, daughter of James and Nancy (Gordon) Rose, both of whom were natives of Perry county, Ohio, in which county they were married in 1832. They settled near Fremont, San- dusky county (then Lower Sandusky), in the "Black Swamps," now the finest part of the State. Here they developed a good farm. In 1853 they removed to Lincoln township, this county, and settled on a farm, which Mr. Rose subsequently sold and then retired from active business, taking up his abode in Cardington, this county, where he died January 17, 1890, his widow pass- ing away on the 13th of the following Feb- ruary. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom we make mention as follows: David Calvin Rose, was Captain of Company E, Thirty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died December 26, 1861, while on duty with his company, leaving a widow and two children, all of whom are now deceased; James M., was a member of the same company, and is now Probate Judge of Chase county, Kansas; Henry N., was also a member of Company E., and is now a resident of Nebraska; John M. was a member of the Tenth Ohio Cavalry, and

is now a resident of Miami county, Kansas; Edward L., also a member of the Tenth Cavalry, is deceased; Charles J., a soldier in the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, lives in Florida; Alonzo J., who served in the Third Cavalry, is a resident of Delaware county; Mary M., is the wife of our subject; Martha A., is the wife of Geshem H. Mosher, of Delaware county; Eliza S., is the wife of Elizy S. Curl, of Cardington township. The par- ents were members of the Methodist Church, and the father served as Justice of the Peace for a full quarter of a century and as Commissioner of Sandusky county four terms, being an ardent Republican and a public-spirited man.

Mrs. Cunard was born in Sandusky county, December 1, 1835, and received her education in the district schools of that locality. After his marriage our sub- ject rented of his father a farm of 600 acres and worked early and late in its cultivation, his efforts being attended with success.

In August, 1861, he enlisted as a mem- ber of Company E, Thirty-first Ohio Volun- teer Infantry, in which command he served for two years, being mustered out as Second Lieutenant. After the war he returned to his home and formed a partnership with his father in the operation of their extensive farm, -this association maintaining until 1878. In the meanwhile our subject had secured in his own right a farm of 225 acres, and on this place he continued to reside un- til 1881, when he purchased his present at- tractive residence in Mt. Gilead, and retired from active business life.

Mr. and Mrs. Cunard are the parents of three children, namely: Millard Fillmore, married Eva Ensign, has two children and resides at Granville, this State; Nancy Crit-

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tenden is the wife of J. F. Gardner, of Lincoln township, and has eight children; Rosecrans M., is the wife of Dr. A. E. Westbrook, of Ashley, Delaware county. Mr. and Mrs. Cunard are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was made a Master Mason in 1861, in Mt. Gil- ead Lodge, No. 206; and in 1882 he took the Chapter degrees and is a member of Gilead Chapter, No. 59, being Past High Priest of the same. He holds a certificate of honorable membership in American Union Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M., the same stat- ing that the preferment was granted him "for distinguished Masonic services in behalf of American Union Lodge, No. 1." He is a charter member of James St. John Post, No. 282, G. A. R., of Cardington, and also a charter member of Hurd Post, No. 114, of Mt. Gilead, being a Past Commander of the order. In politics Mr. Cunard is a stanch, uncompromising Republican, sup- porting his party in every instance, even those of minor sort. During the later years of his life he has devoted some of his leisure time to literature. He has written several poems for publication, two of which we take pleasure in inserting in this sketch of one who has not only a delicate sense of the sublime, but also a taste for genuine irony, as the two following poems are evidence: .

A DAY DREAM. BY L. M. CUNARD.

To-day, in pleasing reveries, I lived o'er My childhood's happy hours ; Methought I played 'round father's cabin door, And gathered sweet wild flowers. I thought I saw again my mother's face, That same sweet smile was there, And, as of yore, I saw so plain the trace Of toil and anxious care.

I saw again our play-house, doven the lane, Just as in olden time,

And then I fancied that I heard again The cow-bell's evening chime.

I heard the plaintive song the whip-poor-will At sunset used to sing,

And saw the oak tree, as of old, there still,

(The one we called "the King.")

The same old well, the windlass, rope and chain, I saw in my day dream ;

I heard the old clock calling off again The miles from life's swift streamn.

The wide old cabin fire-place-sight so grand- The children all were there,

I felt the gentle touch of mother's hand ; (Why starts this blinding tear ?)

I looked above the old log cabin door, And saw the robins' nest,

Then heard a song I'd often heard before; Life's cares my soul oppressed.

I will not, can not, now that song repeat, A charm is in each word ;

It soothes my heart with melody inore sweet Than ancient shepherds heard.

O, pleasing day dreams, happy reveries, Sweet solace of my life,

Brood o'er my soul; such holy memories Obscure these scenes of strife.

In these day dreams I am a child again, And mother smiles on me ;

New life seems pulsing through each sluggish vein,

A joyous ecstacy.

A REPROBATED INFANT ON REVISION.

Listen, O ye Synods, hear me on revision, I have somewhat on that subject to declare, And I pray you, ere you hand down your decision, Hear a voice which comes from regions of de- spair.

I was once a blue-eyed infant, and my charms Were a doting mother's pride, so oft she pressed Fondest kisses on my cheeks, while loving arms Folded her own darling's image to her breast.

I was fated by those blest "decrees eternal," With the "reprobated angels" to be damned ;

"For the glory of the Father," the infernal Regions are with infants not a span long crammed.

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MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

And from year to year "the sinoke of our tor- ment"-ing

Is ascending, incense sweet before the Lord. We're a seething mass of "non-elect" fermenting In this lava-bed, a hopeless, howling horde.

And our "number is so certain ;" (hear the story), In God's councils long before your world was mnade,

Our Creator thought he'd "manifest his glory." And the prank "predestination " somehow played.

I know it seems unrighteous and unfeeling To be "foreordained to everlasting death,"

But remember, don't forget it, there's no healing

For the soul when God uncorks his bottled wrath.

When two summers o'er my head had sweetly vanished

I was destined, or decreed, I know not which,

From the joys of earth and heaven to be ban- islied

Where 110 hope, nor love, nor mercy cannot reach.

Here I mingle with the reprobated luggage,

Dumped together in accord with the "decrees ;" The last arrival was one Davis and his baggage, From his quarters in a southern diocese.

My dear mother, to eternal bliss elected, Up in glory, over yonder, looks on me ;

Heaven's beauty, heaven's grandeur is reflected To augment, a thousand fold, my misery.

Wisdom, mercy, love so boundless, in ordaining Those for bliss, and these for endless pain and woe,

Was to teach the creature God intends maintain- ing His "sovereignty" while ages come and go.

For the glory of "the Father of all inercies" Here we languish while eternity shall roll, Not a reprobated creature ever here sees Nor feels a moment's pleasure in his soul. Profound pleasure hath Jehovah in our wailing,

And complacently He smiles when He looks down,

To behold another reprobate come sailing To abide eternally 'neath Satan's frown.

So "unchangeably designed" from the beginning, And "particularly" fixed by the "decrees,"

Is our portion, that to think thus late of winning An amendment is a species of disease Akin to that of Saul, when he went killing

The Amalikitish infants. Simple Saul, With his appetite for mutton, was unwilling

To slaughter Agog's sheep, so saved theni all.

God and Samuel both were wroth with such be- havior,

Saul's mistake was in amending God's decree ; When the cranky king assumed to be a Saviour, He transcended all the bounds of decency.

And when Samuel heard the lowing of the cattle, And the bleating sheep and lambs beyond the gate,

He gave Saul a good sound cursing, for the battle Was of God; the orders, "kill, annihilate."

So I charge you, yes, I warn you, use discretion ; Do not tinker with "God's fixed eternal laws;"

Pray don't meddle with the sacred old "Confes- sion,"

Hands off, Elders, don't attempt to patch a clause.

Think of Saul,-hist, here comes Satan, I ex- pect he

Heard ine talking non-revision ; if so be, He'll order Pluto, with his imps, to inject me

Full of brimstone ; good-bye, Elders, pity 111e. -[L. M. C.

p RESLEY CURTIS, who has long been concerned with the agricul- tural industries of Cardington town- ship, Morrow county, Ohio, has passed his entire life in the Buckeye State, and his memory traverses the long years in- tervening between the pioneer days and this end of the century period.

His father, Samuel Curtis, was born near Leesburg, Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1794, a son of Barnabas Curtis, who is thought to have been a native of Massachu- setts. The latter was one of seven brothers who settled along the Ohio river, and their history from that time is obscure, no records concerning them being extant. The father of our subject was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Melinda Sinclair, who was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1789. Their marriage was consummated in

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Belmont county, Ohio, where they settled and made their permanent home. Prior to his marriage, the father had learned the cooper's trade at Elliott's Mills, Virginia, and he followed this line of occupation for some time, after which he purchased a six-horse team and engaged in transporting goods to the West, as Ohio was then known, before the national turnpike road had been built. After his marriage he settled in Kirkwood township, Belmont county, Ohio, the date of such location having been 1824. Here he had purchased land of the Government, the farm being heavily wooded, stony and entirely unreclaimed. Our subject has in his possession the original deed of this land, the same having been signed by President Andrew Jackson. The father cleared and improved the farm, and was a quite extensive land owner at the time of his death, which occurred in 1868. His widow, who had been a cripple for seventeen years, died in 1872.

They were the parents of seven children, `five of whom are now living, namely: Mary Jones, of Hendrysburgh, Belmont county, Ohio; Isaac, of Harrison county, this State; Margaret Ann Forman, of Belmont county; Presley, subject of this review; and Samuel, a resident of Belmont county.

Presley Curtis was born in Kirkwood township, Belmont county, Ohio, May 24, 1830, and there remained until he had at- tained man's estate. In January, 1856, he was united in marriage to Harriet H. Ro- mans, who was born in Flushing township, Belmont county, January 25, 1834, the only daughter of Harrison D. and Louisa (Haynes) Romans, pioneer settlers in that county. They also became the parents of one son, Harvey A. Romans.

After his marriage our subject settled on his father's farm, where he remained for

seven years, after which he purchased a farm in Flushing township, the same county, devoting himself to its cultivation for three years. February 14, 1864, he enlisted as a private in Company H, One Hun- dred and Eighty-fifth Ohio Volunteer In- fantry, and accompanied his regiment to Kentucky, where they were assigned duty in guarding railroad lines. He served in this way until October of the same year, and then returned home, sick. As a result of his service his health was quite seriously im- paired for a year after his discharge.

Mr. Curtis came to Morrow county in April, 1866, and settled on his present farm, which comprises 125 acres, all under effect- ive cultivation and devoted to mixed farm- ing. Our subject has given special atten- tion to the raising of stock, and has been very successful in this line of enterprise. He has dealt largely in live-stock, and drove cattle into the leading markets before rail- road transportation was to be had.

Mr. and Mrs. Curtis became the parents of three children, two of whom are living, namely: Alva E., who married Ada Frye, lives in Cardington, this county, and has two children; and Rev. Emmet H., who married Lizzie, the daughter of F. C. Stan- ley, whose sketch appears on another page of this volume, is a resident of Gravity, Iowa, and has one child. Mrs. Curtis is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Fraternally our subject is identified with James St. John Post, G. A. R., of Carding- ton.

Mr. Curtis was a school teacher in early manhood, and he has ever maintained a lively interest in educational work, giving his children exceptional advantages. He has been School Director for many years, hav- ing held this preferment in Belmont county.

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MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

In politics he supports the principles advo- cated by the Republican party, and has been quite an active worker, though in no sense an office seeker.

HEODORIC S. WHITE, who is one of the representative attorneys of Morrow county, and whose an- cestral history is one of long iden- tification with this section of the Buckeye State, has practically passed his entire life in Morrow county, and has grown from boyhood to attain a position of prominence and usefulness in the line of his profession and as a man among men.

His father, Howland R. White, was born in the vicinity of the village of Peru, Clin- ton county, New York, the date of his na- tivity having been July 1, 1816. His par- ents were William and Margaret (Banker) White, both of whom were natives of the old Empire State.

The original American ancestor of the White family was " William, the English- man," who left his native land at that time when Lord Jeffreys was urging his infamous persecutions, proceeding from the west of England, along the Welsh border, and even- tually making his way to the New World. He had intended to make settlement at New Amsterdam, which was the nucleus of the present metropolis of the nation, New York city, but he crossed the river and settled at Salisbury, Connecticut, later on removing to Dutchess county, New York, whence repre- sentatives of the family in time became scattered throughout the Union.

William White, the grandfather of our subject, was an active participant in the war of 1812, going forth with the troops from his native State. In 1830 he came with his

family to Ohio, and settled in what is now Lincoln township, Morrow county, where he remained for a term of years and then sold out and removed to Cardington town- ship, settling on a tract of land lying one mile east of the present village of Carding- ton, on the Chesterville road, where he re- mained until the hour of his death.

Our subject's mother, whose maiden name was Valeria A. Schenck, was a native of Fauquier county, Virginia, where she was born in October, 1822, the daughter of John D. and Gillian (Lloyd) Schenck, both of whom were natives of the Old Dominion State, the former being of German extrac- tion, and the latter of Welsh-English. They came from Virginia to Ohio about 1838, and settled in ÆEtna township, Lick- ing county, where they remained for a time, after which they removed to Harrison town- ship, where the father died. At the time of the attack on Washington within the pro- gress of the war of 1812, he assisted in de- fending the city.

The parents of our subject were married, in Licking county, in 1851, and thereupon took up their abode on the farm one mile east of Cardington, where they resided until about 1858, when they came to Cardington, where they have ever since maintained their home. Two of their children are now liv- ing, namely: Theodoric S., subject of this review; and Gillian Lloyd, who is at present in the public schools of Cardington. Both parents are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, the father's ancestors having been Friends, or Quakers. In politics he was originally a Whig, but since the organ- ization of the Republican party he has ren- dered to it an unwavering allegiance.

Theodoric S. White, the subject of this sketch, was born on the paternal homestead

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DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO ..

one mile east of Cardington, on the 3d of October, 1854, receiving his education in the public schools of Cardington, and graduat- ing at the high school. He had early mani- fested a desire to take up the study of law, and even before leaving his school-room he had made many incursions into the pages of Kent and Blackstone, being afforded this privilege in the office of Judge Thomas E. Duncan, of Cardington, who acted as our subject's preceptor when the latter took up the reading of law in good earnest, - soon after his graduation from the high school.

Mr. White was admitted to the bar, at Mt. Gilead, in 1876, being at the time some- what past his twenty-first birthday anniver- sary. He then entered upon a professional partnership with his former preceptor, Judge Duncan, and this association maintained for a number of years. Since its dissolution our subject has practiced alone. Politic- ally, Mr. White has been a stanch and un- `compromising Republican, and has been a most active worker in the party ranks, hav- ing served as delegate to divers conven- tions of the organization. He was Prose- cuting Attorney of Morrow county from 1880 until 1885, and has also been the in- cumbent as City Solicitor.

Fraternally our subject is prominently identified with the Masonic Order, retaining a membership in Cardington Lodge, No. 384, F. & A. M., of which he has served as Secretary; in Mt. Gilead Chapter, No. 59, R. A. M .; and in the Royal Arcanum, in which he has held the office of Regent.

May 1, 1892, Mr. White was united in marriage to Miss Florence R. Smith, M. D., a native of Marion county, Ohio, and a daughter of Senaca A. and Dorothy (West) Smith, who are now residents of Lincoln

township, Morrow county. Mrs. White re- ceived her literary education in the public schools of Cardington, and in 1884 gradu- ated at the Homeopathic Medical College, of Cleveland. She is a most able physician, and retains a representative patronage in Cardington and vicinity: She is a member of the Homeopathic State Medical Society.

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Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 24

Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 570

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 570