Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 3

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 3
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 3
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 3

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After his marriage he continued his resi- dence on the farm until 1846, when he re- moved into Marysville, which has ever since been his home.

In the spring of 1843 Mr. Snider was elected Justice of the Peace in Darby town- ship, an office to which he was re-elected in the spring of 1846. In October of the same year a still more notable official pre- ferment was accorded him, in his election to the office of Sheriff of Union county, to which he was re-elected as his own successor in 1848. In 1860 he was again chosen to the shrievalty of the county. In the pre- mises it is interesting to note the fact that Mr. Snider is the only Democrat who has ever held the office of Sheriff of Union county, and the only individual who has filled the office for three terms. In his po- litical proclivities he has been a life-long Democrat.

January 19, 1849, Mr. Snider purchased an interest in the dry-goods business con- ducted at Marysville by the firm of Castle & Kinkade, succeeding to the interest of the former. The firm title thereupon became P. Snider & Company, and still later Snider & Kinkade, which name and association con- tinued in force until 1878, when our subject secured the entire control of the business, which has since been conducted under his individual name. The line handled in the salesrooms comprises a complete assortment of dry goods, carpets, hats, caps, etc., the establishment being recognized as one of the representative mercantile places in the county. In August, 1890, Mr. Snider assisted in the organization of the Union Banking Company, of Marysville, being chosen at the inception as president of the corporation, -an office which he has held consecutively up to the present time. He

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

is the heaviest stockholder in the institution, controlling fifty shares of $100 each.

Mr. Sider has contributed in a conspicuous degree to the substantial upbuilding and im- provement of the little city of which he hasso long been an honored resident, having erect- ed several business blocks and other struct- ures devoted to semi-public purposes. He still retains an interest in and connection with agricultural pursuits, owning an excel- lent farm of 114 acres in the vicinity of the town. His career has been attended by a full measure of sucess and it is beyond cavil that this is the direct result of his own efforts, his well directed industry, native talent and unswering integrity, since he started out in life with nothing save willing hands and a stout heart and has realized his fondest hopes in making for himself an honorable and useful place in the world. He was made a member of the I. O. O. F. at the first meeting of the Marysville lodge, which was organized in 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Snider have been members of and intimately identified with the Presbyterian Church since 1842.

In the final paragraph of this sketch we shall refer briefly to the six children of our subject: John F., died in 1885, leaving a widow and four children; Henry L., deceas- ed, served for two years in the late war, mak- ing three enlistments, the last with Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry; Adam is associated with his father in the store: he married Miss Anna R. Hopkins, a native of Portsmouth, Ohio, and they have four children: he also served in the war of the Rebellion, enlisting June 22, 1863, in Company B, Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and being mustered out at Cleveland, February 10, 1864: he re- enlisted, February 13, 1865, and was mus- tered out at Macon, Georgia, January 20,

1866; Louisa C. is the wife of J. B. F. Smart, of Marysville; Charles W., who is connected with his father's mercantile estab- lishment, married Miss Susan E. Bower- smith, a native of Delaware county, Ohio, and they have six children; Mary is the wife of Rally Howard, of Marysville, and is the mother of three children. The attractive family home of our subject is located on North Main street.

R EV. FREDERICK MERRICK, D. D. L. L. D., who for many years was connected with the Ohio Wes- leyan University, of Delaware, and who was one of the best known figures in that city; was born in Wilbraham, Massa- chusetts, January 29, 1810, and was reared on the farm, his father being a New Eng- land farmer. During a portion of each year he attended the common schools of the neighborhood, and later secured a position in a mercantile establishment, becoming one of its proprietors ere he had attained his majority. Soon after, feeling that he was called to a different vocation, he commenced a course of study preparatory to entering the Christian ministry. His studies were prosecuted in the Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and the Wes- leyan University, at Middletown, Connecti- cut. Upon leaving the university he was elected principal of the New York Confer- ence Seminary, located at Amenia, Dutchess county, New York, and after spending three years at that place, he accepted a professor- ship in the Ohio University, at Athens, Ohio, where he remained until 1842. Then for one year, he was pastor of a church in Marietta, Ohio, after which he was appointed Mr. Williams need The & chips

a me Thi Du Mervida. He was. Hive, tall, good looking and I Nonde fick, eauxalecs

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DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO. 15

agent for the Ohio Wesleyan University and continued his connection with the same until his death. He served for two years as agent, fourteen as professor, thirteen as president, and during the remainder of the time was lecturer on natural and revealed religion.

As a citizen of Delaware he was con- nected with all those interests calculated to aid in the upbuilding of the city and with everything conserving the progress of the county. His first plan, when abandoning mercantile pursuits, was to enter the minis- try, and this he did, but educational work seem to be his special forte and in that field of labor he was most successful. It was largely through his instrumentality that the Ohio Wesleyan University was placed on a solid financial basis and made to rank with the leading schools of the State. . It was also largely through him that the cause of Methodism grew to its present standing. His labors have been untiring and the lives of many men and women throughout the country attest his Christian and helpful in- fluence.

Doctor Merrick was married in April, 1836, to a lady whom he first met as a fel- low student in Wilbraham Seminary, Miss Fidelia Griswold, of Suffield, Connecticut. Their married life of nearly fifty years, was uneventful but very happy, and together they traveled life's journey until July, 1883, when the loved wife was called to the home beyond. Alone the husband walked until March 5, 1894, when the summons came to him and he went to rejoin the companion with whom the greater part of his early career was passed. He left behind an unsullied reputation, and in the hearts of his many friends the memory of his good deeds will long linger as an encouragement in times of prosperity and of help in days of adversity.

EV. WILLIAM G. WILLIAMS, LL. D., Professor in the Ohio Wes- leyan University, Delaware, Ohio, was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, February 25, 1822. His parents, Samuel Williams, and Margaret (Troutner) Will- iams, were both natives of Pennsylvania, but came with their parents to Ohio early in the century. The father was appointed clerk in the General Land Office, at Wash- ington, about 1812, and, when the capitol was burned by the British in 1814, he was instrumental in saving the records of the office. Subsequently, before the close of the war, he served in two campaigns in Ohio. A few years later, his friend, Gov. Tiffin, of Chillicothe, was appointed Sur- veyor General of the Northwestern States and invited Mr. Williams to become his chief clerk. This position Mr. Williams held under many administrations for nearly forty years; and in this time planned and superintended the Government surveys in Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. From his long services, he became the best informed man in the country on all matters connected with the United States surveys in these States; and his testimony was sought in cases of doubt or litigation. In 1828 the office was moved to Cincinnati, whither Mr. Williams accompanied it, and where he died in 1859, aged seventy-three years. His widow lived to the advanced age of ninety-three, and when she died, of an accident, in Springfield, Ohio, in 1883, her faculties were still unimpaired.

The subject of this sketch was a boy of six years when the family moved to Cincin- nati. Here he lived till 1844. For some years he was a clerk with his father in the Surveyor General's office, under General Robert T. Lytle, the father of the late Gen-

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD OF

eral William H. Lytle, with whom the young Williams was for years a playmate and intimate companion. The young clerk's salary and earnings by extra work more than paid his way through college. In 1844, at the age of twenty-two, he graduated at "Old Woodward," a school which com- manded respect for the character of its fa- culty and the excellence of its teaching.

The year of his graduation he was elect- ed to a professorship in San Augustine Col- lege, Texas, and also to the principalship of the preparatory department in the Ohio Wesleyan University. The latter position he accepted, and in November of that year came to his new home in Delaware. Here he has since lived, now fifty years, in one continuous service, in the Ohio Wesleyan University. He is now, in 1894, the only member left of the first faculty in the ser- vice of the institution. His colleagues, Dr. Frederick Merrick and Dr. L. D. McCabe, both older men than himself, came to the university one year later. These three venerable teachers, respectively eighty-four, seventy-seven, and seventy-three years of age, stood side by side, in this university, for forty-nine years, -an instance of long co- service in college work without a parallel, perhaps, in any Western college. Doctor Merrick died in March, 1894.

In 1847, Mr. Williams was elected to the adjunct professorship of languages, and in 1850 to the full professorship of the Greek and Latin languages. Later he gave regu- lar instruction, for many years, in Hebrew, and also, for a time, in German. In 1864 the Latin language was separated from his chair, which was thence forward styled "The Wright Professorship of the Greek Language and Literature;" and in 1872 he was appointed acting " Chrisman Professor

of Biblical Literature." These chairs bear the honored names of John R. Wright, Esq., of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Eliza Chrisman, now of Topeka, Kansas, who severally en- dowed them. The duties incidental to both these chairs he has since performed.

In 1873 Mr. Williams, unexpectedly to himself, was elected to a chair in the new Ohio State University at Columbus, at a much larger salary than he was receiving in Delaware. While he was holding the ac- ceptance under consideration, Mr. Wright generously increased the special endowment of the Greek chair, and negotiated for his release from the State University.

Mr. Williams has been secretary of the Board of Trustees of the university for nearly fifty years, and was treasurer of the University for thirty-five years. He was a member of the Delaware City School Board for twenty-one years, and for about the same length of time he was one of the Board of County School Examiners. He also served for three years as one of the State Board of School Examiners. His merits as a scholar and an educator have not been un- recognized in his own State. In 1847 he received the degree of Master of Arts, in cursu, from Woodward College, and the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Miami University. In 1872 the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws was conferred up- on him by Baldwin University. During the last twenty-five years his summer vacations have been largely devoted to work in teachers' institutes in the various counties of the State. In institute work his favorite topic is English grammar, to which subject he has given unremitting study during his whole professional life. His presentation of the subject is entirely original, his methods logical, and his conclusions clear and cer-

DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.

tain. In 1887 he published an English grammar, embodying his teachings, and this text book has received most favorable men- tion from many of the foremost scholars of the country.

Mr. Williams became a member of the Central Ohio Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1856, and for twenty- eight years filled the office of Secretary of that body, and until he declined further re- election. The minutes of the conference edited by him during that time fill seven large octavo volumes.

When Governor Brough, in 1864, offered the Government 40,000 of the Ohio Volun- teer Infantry for an "hundred-days' service" Mr. Williams went out as Chaplain of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Regiment. The regiment was posted at Arlington Heights, opposite the city of Washington. It was during this summer that the famous Arlington Military Cemetery was opened on General Lee's place; and in the noble forest where the first graves were dug Mr. Wil- liams conducted his first services as Chaplain.

Soon after Mr. Williams came to Dela- ware he bought a tract of several acres on the western border of the town, along side of the place of hislife-long friend and neigh- bor, Dr. Merrick. This lot then had no house between it and the college campus; but is now quite within the city, which has grown far to the south and west of it. Here at a distance from the street, he built his house, and planted a large fruit orchard as a screen from the street. In this quiet retreat his family has been reared; here he has passed through the various vicissitudes of joy and sorrow incident to the experi- ences of a life of fifty years.

In 1847 Mr. Williams married Miss 2

Mary Ann Davis, of Cincinnati, Ohio, a woman of rare personal charms, and always a social favorite. Three sons and three daughters were the fruit of this union, of whom all have left the family home, and are all happily engaged in the work of life, ex- cept the second daughter, who died in 1891. Seven grandchildren have been added to the family roll. Mrs. Williams died of a linger- ing illness in 1872. In 1877 Mr. Williams was married a second time to Miss Delia A. Lathrop, of Syracuse, New York, at that time principal of the Cincinnati Normal School. Two sons have been born of this marriage. Mrs. Williams has for twelve years been engaged in the work of instruc- tion in the university. She is widely known also as an active worker and speaker in the Woman's Home Missionary Society, of the Methodist Church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the William Street Methodist Church; and both have for many years been workers in the Sunday school.

The year 1894 was the Jubilee of the university, and of Mr. Williams' services, which began at the organization of the insti- tution. This fiftieth anniversary of the un- iversity was celebrated by a great concourse of its friends, including several hundred of its alumni, some of whom, now themselves old men and full of honors, came across the continent to join in the celebration. Exer- cises appropriate to the occasion extended through commencement week. The senior professors, Dr. McCabe and Mr. Williams, received many congratulations for their long service, including a special vote of thanks from the Board of Trustees. On Memorial Day Mr. Williams delivered a historical address, which was published in full in the college and city papers. Since then, at the request of the trustees and the faculty, he

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

has written a full history of the University. This history is published in the Tenth Quin- quiennial Catalogue of the university.

In personal appearance Mr. Williams is of medium height, some what stout in build, of light complexion and blue eyes. He is now quite bald and his beard is snowy white. In disposition he is quiet, gentle, unaggressive and reticent; but where princi- ple is concerned the mountains themselves are not more firin. He is especially notable for an ardent attachment to his friends, for extreme caution in the adverse criticism of people, for personal integrity and upright- ness of character, for perfect fearlessness of consequences in matters of duty, and for his hospitality. He is never so happy as when his friends are at his fireside or seated at his table. He seldom leaves home after his day's duties are done. His library, which is large and well chosen, is to him the most attractive of places. His reading habit makes him an unusually well-informed man, in current topics as well as in general literature.

As a writer his style is clear, direct, and logical. When he writes it is because he has something which he wishes to say, and ne says it in the most concise manner. He has been a life-long student of the Greek Testament, and has written much on Bibli- cal topics.

As a teacher he is thorough, exacting, rapid, and while he gives no quarter to lazi- ness or shamming, he is patient and pains- taking to the last degree with students whom he believes to be faithful and earnest. He is feared by the superficial and careless in his classes; but thoughtful pupils have only words of praise for the man who never allows a mistake to pass uncorrected. Mr. Williams loves the work of teaching, and

has often said that Chaucer's description of the schoolmaster well describes his own at- titude to his work: "And gladly would he learn and gladly teach."

He is still vigorous, young in heart, firm of step and of will; and there is every pros- pect that he has before him years of excel- lent service for the institution he has served so long, and for the world.

ON. JAMES W. ROBINSON .- The specific and distinctive office of biography is not to give voice to a man's modest estimate of him- self and his accomplishments, but rather to leave the perpetual record of the verdict stablishing his character by the concensus of opinion on the part of his fellow men. That great factor, the public, is a discrimin- ating factor and takes cognizance not of ob- jective exaltation nor yet objective modesty ; but delves deeper into the intrinsic essence of character, strikes the key-note of indi- viduality and pronounces judiciously and unequivocally upon the true worth of the man, invariably distinguishing the clear resonance of the true metal from the jarring dissonance of the baser.

Thus, in touching upon the life history of the subject of this review, the biographer would aim to give utterance to no fulsome encomium, to indulge in no extravagant praise, -for such would ill comport with the innate and honest simplicity of the subject's character,-yet would he wish to hold up for consideration those points which have shown the distinction of a true, pure and useful life, -one characterized by indomita- ble perseverence, broad charity, marked ability, high accomplishments and well- earned honors. To do this will be but to

Jord Robinson

DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.

reiterate the dictum pronounced upon the man by his fellowmen.

There is still another element, which lends additional interest to the career of James W. Robinson, this being the fact that he is a native son of Ohio and of the county in which practically his entire life has been passed. (The history of the Rob- inson family has been intimately linked with that of the Buckeye State from the early pioneer days and is found in incidents and episodes which touch upon that epoch which marked the settlement of the commonwealth and the inceptive steps taken toward its de- velopment to its present prosperous status. )

Our subject was born, Noveinber 28, 1826, in Darby township, Union county, Ohio, the place of his nativity being the paternal farmstead, which stretched along the rich bottom-lands of Darby creek. His agnatic ancestry is of Scotch-Irish deriva- tion, the assimilation of the marked indi- vidual characteristics of which dual strains has eventuated in the evolution of a well defined type, familiar in the annals of American history as one possessing the per- sistency, strong integrity and deep-seated patriotism of the Scotch, conjoined to the spirit, dash and quicker mentality of the Irish element. The father of our subject, John W. Robinson, was a son of Rev. James Robinson, who was a Presbyterian clergyman, and a man of no little promi- nence in western Pennsylvania, where he labored for many years, subsequently iden- tifying himself with the work of his church in Central Ohio, in whose early history he stood a conspicuous figure, zealous in the service of the Master, and with honor as un- flinching and unbending as his Presbyterian faith, which had been that of his ancestors for many generations preceding. John W.

Robinson married Elizabeth Mitchell, a daughter of Judge David Mitchell, who came from York, Pennsylvania, to Ohio in the last year of the eighteenth century, lo- cating in Union county, where he attained to distinguished preferment, having been one of the first associate Judges of the county. He reached a venerable age, and in his death the county lost one of its most useful, talented and honored public men. John W. Robinson died in 1853. He was a man of inflexible integrity, careful and methodical in his habits, just and honorable in his intercourse with his fellowmen and of much native ability in an intellectual way. His education was not a broad one, but was above the average that obtained in that period and locality. The respect and confidence in which he was held in the com- munity is shown in the fact that he filled the offices of Justice of the Peace and County Commissioner. His entire life was devoted to farming, and in this vocation, which ever demands arduous toil and a cer- tain self-abnegation, he attained to consist- ent success. Like his fathers he was devoted to the Presbyterian Church, and for many years he was an Elder in the same. His widow entered into eternal rest September 18, 1872, her life having been one of signal purity and Christian grace.

John W. and Elizabeth Robinson left surviving them eight children, and of this number only one is deceased at the present time. We incorporate at this juncture a brief record concerning the family: David M. is one of the successful farmers of Union county and resides on the old homestead in Darby township; James W. is the imme- diate subject of this review; John W. is a farmer, and resides near Marysville; Colonel Aaron B. was for many years one of the

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

most prominent merchants of Marysville, but has now retired: he is a lawyer by pro- fession and is an ex-member of the State Legislature; Robert N. is a farmer, and re- sides near Marysville; Martha A. is the widow of the late William H. Robinson, a hardware merchant of Marysville; and Emily J. is the wife of Hon. Beriah Wil- kins, ex-member of Congress from the seventeenth Ohio district, and still a resi- dent of Washington, D. C., where he holds a position of national prominence and in- fluence as editor and publisher of the Washington Post. Mrs. Wilkins is a woman of marked intellectuality and talent, and has gained a distinguished position in the social life of the capital; it is worthy of particular note in this connection that she was associated with Mrs. John A. Logan as representative of the District of Columbia on the Board of Lady Managers of the World's Columbian Exposition held at Chi- cago in 1893.

There has been nothing esoteric in the life of James W. Robinson, -it has been as an open book, from which "he who runs may read." His youthful days were passed on the farm, amid those sturdy duties which develop independence, integrity, a vigor of constitution and the while quicken ambition to the point of action and consecutive effort. He was not slow in learning the truth of the statement made by the Greek philosopher, Epicharmus: "Earn thy reward, the gods give naught to sloth." His boyhood was typical of what his entire life has been; it was not one of idleness, -he had no time for futile dreams, but bent him to the bur- den of hard and unremitting toil, offering no protest, but willingly doing his share. Such opportunities as were granted him in an educational line he seized with avidity, be-

ing enabled to attend the district schools a portion of each winter until he had attained the age of fifteen years. At this time his fondness for books and study and his delicacy of health conserved to bring about a parental decision that he was not adapted to farm work, and accordingly provision was made for allowing him to follow his natural inclina- tions. Near Milford, this county, a school was maintained by one Robert Wilson, an Irishman of eccentric character, but of fine education, and at this institution our subject became a student. Wilson was a success- ful teacher, was particularly strong in math- ematics and had a wide reputation at that period. Young Robinson entered into his work with eager zest and enthusiasm and showed by his progress that the opportunities afforded him were fully appreciated. He was most desirous of taking up the study of Latin. and as there were then in that part of the State but few residents who were at all conversant with that classic tongue, he was somewhat at a loss as to how he might attain his desideratum. Finally he learned that at a point some thirty-five miles distant there lived "a man who could teach Latin," and, after due conference with the authorities, he set out on horseback to interview this won- derful individual and to secure him as teacher of the local school. He was successful in the object of his mission, and in due time could indulge in the mystic declensions and conjugations to his heart's content.

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Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 3

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