USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 34
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 34
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68
Father Venneman has been quite an ex- tensive traveler, having visited Mexico, Cali- fornia, and the European continent. He
243
DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
attended the great International Exposition at Paris, and subsequently made an extended tour through the southern part of the con- tinent. A man of courteous bearing, genial in manner, and a fluent and interesting conversationalist, he bears his years lightly, appearing a full score of years younger than he really is. He is still an assiduous student, and maintains a high interest in literature, having devoted his time, while in educational work, principally to teaching the languages and literature. His private library is one which shows his fine literary tastes, and is very comprehensive and admirably selected. A man who is true to his faith and chari- table in all his dealings with his fellow men, Father Venneman holds not only the love of his own parishioners, but has the respect and esteem of all who know him.
DGAR E. NEAL, editor and pro- prietor of the Morrow County In- dependent Cardington, Ohio, is a son of one of the early settlers of this State.
Mr. Neal's grandfather Neal came from the Emerald Isle to this country at an early day and settled in Maine, where he married a native of England. Their son, Daniel B., the father of Edgar E., was born in Maine, February 15, 1815. He came West to Ohio and here, in 1849, married Mary L. Bing- ham, a native of New York State, born March 1, 1830, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Hagar) Bingham. Her parents moved to this State in 1836 and settled one mile north of Mount Gilead, where they passed the rest of their lives and died, he being eighty-six at the time of death and she seventy-three. Four of their children are now living, viz .: Mrs. Freeman Tabor,
of Kendallville, Indiana; D. C. Bingham, of Gilead township, this county; Mrs. C. W. Carpenter, of Gilead township; and Mrs. Neal, of Mount Gilead. After their mar- riage Mr. and Mrs. Neal settled on a farm in Canaan township, this county, and two years later removed to Mount Gilead, where he carried on the business of gunsmith for a number of years. He was a veteran of the Mexican war, and in politics was a Repub- lican. He died in the West, in 1878. Of their five children, we record that Johnson B. married Libbie Smith, née Work, and was in partnership with our subject until December 7, 1892, when he died, leaving a widow and child, Harold; Edgar E. was the second born; Dr. C. H. is given personal mention elsewhere in this work; C. C., of Cardington, married Sadie Campbell and has two children, Edna L. and Howard Kent; and Inez, who resides with mother at Mount Gilead.
Edgar E. Neal was born April 23, 1852, at Mount Gilead, and was reared and edu- cated here, being a graduate of the high school with the class of 1869. He served an apprenticeship in the printing business at Mount Gilead, and afterward worked for six years in various places, principally Cleveland, St. Louis and Kansas City. Then for three years he had charge of his mother's farm. In 1882 he came to Card- ington and took control of the Independent, which he is still conducting successfully, his home, however, being at Mount Gilead.
Mr. Neal was married December 24, 1889, to Mrs. Emma (Bunker) Doty, a na- tive of Cardington township, Morrow coun- ty, born August 17, 1853, and educated at Cardington and Ada. For some years she was a popular and successful teacher. She has two children, both by her first marriage,
244
MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
namely: Frances and Harley. Doty. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, while he is a Universalist. Frater- nally he is connected with the Masonic order at Cardington and the I. O. O. F. and Knights of Pythias at Mount Gilead. In politics, he has been a Republican all his life, and he has always taken an active in- terest in political affairs, this year, 1894, serving as Secretary of the Republican County Convention.
J OHN MCCRACKEN, a farmer of Morrow county, is a son of Joseph McCracken, born in Bengal town- ship, Washington county, Pennsyl- vania, August 8, 1800, a son of John and Hester McCracken. The father, of Scotch- Irish descent, was one of the early pioneers of Pennsylvania, and remained there until his death. Joseph McCracken was a har- ness-maker by trade, and remained in his native place until 1836, when he came to Ohio, locating on a farm in Holmes county. From 1840 to 1850 he lived on a rented farm in Chester township, now Morrow county, spent the following ten years on a farm in Harmony township, and then re- turned to Chesterville. His wife died there in 1874, and since that time he has made his home with his daughter one mile south of Chesterville, aged ninety-four years. Mr. McCracken was married in Pennsyl- vania to Elizabeth Weirich, born in Wash- ington county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, a daughter of Christopher and Sarah Weirich, of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. Joseph McCracken and wife had ten children, all of whom grew to years of maturity, namely : John, the subject of this sketch; Christopher,
of Chesterville; Sarah, deceased; Samuel, a resident of Michigan; Wilson, deceased; Simon, of Centerburg, Ohio; Isaac, of Newark, Ohio; George, also of Centerburg; Hettie, wife of Sampel Stilly, of Chester township; and Charlotte, wife of Benjamin Wilson, of Centerburg, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. McCracken were members of the Methodist Church.
John McCracken, the subject of this sketch, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, December 22, 1824. When twelve years of age he came to Ohio, at- tending school two winters, and worked on his father's farm until seventeen years of age. He learned and followed the black- smith's trade in Chesterville until 1873, and since that time has followed agricultural pursuits. He now owns 300 acres of the best farming land in the county.
In April, 1861, Mr. McCracken enlisted for service in the late war, entering Com- pany G, Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was appointed Corporal, and served until the expiration of his three months' term of enlistment. In May, 1864, he entered Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was appointed Sergeant, and served his term of enlistment at Alexandria, Virginia.
In 1846 our subject was united in mar- riage with Elizabeth Meredith, born in what is now Morrow county in 1825, a daughter of William and Mary (Farmer) Meredith, early pioneers of this locality, but both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. McCracken had two children : Weirich, deceased; and Mary, wife of Phineas Squires, of Chester- ville, and they have four children. Mrs. McCracken departed this life in 1890. In the following year our subject married Sarah J. (Blakeley) Meredith, born in Bel-
245
DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
mont county, Ohio, March 4, 1829, and educated at Mount Gilead. She is the daughter of John and Jane (Talbot) Blake- ley, natives of Loudoun county, Virginia, the former born in 1801, and the latter in 1800. They came to Ohio at the age of seventy years. The paternal grandparents, William and Letitia (Russell) Blakeley, were natives of Virginia, of Scotch-Irish descent. The maternal grandparents, Thomas and Ruth (Ferguson) Talbot, were also natives of Virginia. John Blakeley and wife had six children, viz : Ruth, wife of John Newson; Letitia, widow of Nathan Coe; Sarah J., wife of John McCracken; Nancy Livenspire, of Mount Gilead; Mary Miller, deceased; and Susan Corwin, also of Mount Gilead. Mrs. McCracken is a member of the Baptist Church.
John McCracken is a member of the Masonic order at Chesterville, having been the first to take the third degree in Ches- ter Lodge, No. 236, and is at present the oldest in membership in the lodge. He has served as Junior Warden, Treasurer and Trustee of the order. In political matters he affiliates with the Republican party. He has served as Trustee of Chester township six years; in 1886 was elected County Com- missioner for three years, and refused to serve longer. He has been constantly a delegate to conventions, in which he has always taken an active and leading part. He has settled several estates, having been assignee of two large firms, which were settled satisfactorily to all parties con- cerned. One of the old-time blacksmiths of Chesterville was Sanford Modie, now de- ceased. He and Mr. McCracken were part- ners in the business here for thirteen years, they never having had a word of disagree- ment during the entire time,
ILLIAM H. CURL, of Cardington township, Morrow county, is a son of William Curl, who was born in Clarke county, Ohio, Au- gust 9, 1807. His father, Jerry Curl, was one of the early pioneers of that county, and died there in 1826. William Curl, Sr., was married in Clarke county, March 1, 1827, to -Margaret Arbagast, born on the banks of the Potomac, in Virginia, January 14, 1808, a daughter of Peter Arbagast, of Pennsylvania Dutch descent, who moved to Clarke county, Ohio, about 1816. He was a soldier in the war of 1812. In 1835 Will- iam Curl and wife came to what is now Cardington township, Morrow county, locat- ing on a heavily timbered farm three miles west of Cardington, which he cleared and improved. Mr. Curl was first a Whig, later a Republican, and died a Prohibitionist. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for fifty-eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Curl had five children, namely: Jane, wife of John Sellars, of Cardington township; Henry W., of Card- ington city; Emily, who has been married three times, and is now the wife of Reuben Aldrich; William H., the subject of this sketch; and Mary, widow of Enos Welch, of Cardington. The father departed this life in April, 1887, and his wife survived until September 9, 1889.
William H. Curl was born in Clarke county, Ohio, August 20, 1834, and was only one year old when brought to Morrow county. He has followed agricultural pur- suits here a number of years, but since 1882 he has been practically retired from active labor. He is a director of the First Na- tional Bank of Cardington, is a member of the City Board of Education, has been a member of the City Council, and has served
246
MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
as Supervisor and School Director. In po- litical matters he is identified with the Re- publican party, but also works with the Prohibitionists.
April 27, 1854, Mr. Curl was united in marriage with Rebecca Johnson, born in Cardington township, Morrow county, Feb- ruary 2, 1832, a daughter of William John- son, deceased, a prominent pioneer of this county. To this union were born three children, -P. N., born January 30, 1855, and a graduate of Sharp's Business College, married Mollie Mckibben, resides in New Albany, Indiana, and has two sons and two daughters; Sarah Lusena, born September 11, 1856, was the wife of Charles F. Ossing, and died October 27, 1887, leaving two daughters; Lemuel Otho, born May 10, 1858, married Eva Beatty, resides in Card- ington township, and has two sons and one daughter. Mrs. Curl departed this life May 9, 1864. September 14, of that year, our subject married Susannah Shaw, born in what was then Marvin township, Delaware county, Ohio, February 21, 1841, a daugh- ter of Jonathan and Mary Ann (Barry) Shaw. Mrs. Curl was reared and educated in West- field township. She taught school one term in Marion county and eight terms in Morrow county. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Curl, as follows: Jonathan, born March 22, 1866, was killed by a team, attached to a mower, running away September 8, 1877; William H., born May 29, 1868, resides in Forest, Ohio; Mar- garet O., born March 25, 1873, is the wife of C. W. Myers, of Cleveland, Ohio, and they have one son, Gilbert H .; Ellis Ray, born November 26, 1879; Troy Walters, September 3, 1881, and Stella Flossie, born March 21, 1885. Mrs. Curl is a member of the Ladies' Aid Society, and the Lady Mac-
cabees, Mr. Curl is a Class-leader and teacher of the Bible class in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his wife is also a inember of the same church.
The Curl family reunion for this year was held at the residence of our subject, on South Marion street. There were present four generations of the family, about 100 in all. The yard was beautifully decorated, ta- bles groaning beneath the load of good things to eat were spread, and the appetites of those present were ample testimony of the ex- cellence of the viands and the cookery. William H. Curl was master of ceremonies, and presided with grace and ease. Henry Curl made an address of welcome which was full of good thoughts. Revs. Hinton, Strug- gles and Brown made short speeches ap- propriate to the occasion. All present en- joyed the day and pronounced the occasion a delightful one.
ENRY EDWARDS was born in Harlem township, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 27th day of February, 1859, and is a son of John and Elizabeth (Cockerell) Edwards. He was reared under the parental roof and to his father gave the benefit of his services until twenty years of age. At that time he was married, the lady of his choice being Miss Emily Love, of Harlem township, daughter of John and Clarsie Love, and by their union were born two daughters and a son, Jessie and Gracie, and the son not named. The mother died after the birth of the last child in 1882, and on the 10th day of Sep- tember, 1885, Mr. Edwards was again mar- ried, his second union being with Miss Mary Catherine Chandler, daughter of William S. and Mayleaf D. (Brown) Chandler. On
247
DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
attaining his majority, Henry Edwards rented his father's farm and successfully managed and operated the same until 1894, when by inheritance he came into possession of his present farm, comprising 131 acres of good land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation.
In politics he is a supporter of the Re- publican party and its principles.
0 R. C. H. NEAL, a prominent phy- sician of Cardington, Ohio, forms the subject of this article. Dr. Neal dates his birth in Mount Gilead, Morrow county, Ohio, July 10,
1854. His father, Dr. Daniel B. Neal, was born in Oldtown, Maine, where he spent the first thirty years of his age. He then came to Ohio and settled in Knox county, from whence he subsequently re- moved to Mount Gilead, where he carried on the business of gunsmith for many years. During the latter part of his life he was a practicing physician. He died in Joplin, Missouri, at an advanced age. The Neals are of Irish origin. Dr. Daniel B. Neal married Miss Mary Bingham, a native of New York State, who came with her par- ents to Mount Gilead, Ohio, when she was seven years of age, where she was reared and educated and where she still resides. She is of English and German descent. They had a family of five children, namely: Johnson B., deceased; Edgar E., an editor of Cardington; Dr. Charles H., whose name appears at the head of this sketch; Clinton C., and Inez R.
Dr. C. H. Neal was reared and educated in his native town. For ten years he was engaged as a printer, four years of which time were spent at Cleveland, to which
place he went in 1877. He began the study of medicine under the instruction of Dr. W. J. Scott and Dr. J. H. Lee, of Cleveland, and attended lectures at the medical col- lege of that city. For one year he was in the Charitable Hospital, and he also spent one year at the.Lying-in Hospital in Cleve- land. In 1885 he came to Cardington and entered upon the active practice of his pro- fession, and here his efforts have been at- tended with success, now having a large and lucrative practice.
Dr. Neal was married April 11, 1889, to Elma Sharp, a native of Morrow county, and a daughter of Addison Sharp, who was reared in this county and who is a repre- sentative of one of the early pioneer fami- lies of Morrow county. They have one child, Carl.
Dr. Neal is a member of the Cuyahoga County Medical Association and of the Mystic Circle of Cardington. His political views are in harmony with the principles advocated by the Republican party, and to this party he gives his support. At this writing he is a member of the Board of Health. Both as a physician and citizen, he stands high in the estimation of the peo- ple of Cardington.
HEADORE REYNER, one of the respected citizens of Liberty town- ship, Union county, Ohio, was born in a log cabin on the farm where he now lives, and has spent all his life in this county. The date of his birth was August 1, 1839.
Mr. Reyner's father, David Reyner, de- ceased, was a pioneer of this township and for many years was one of its most promi- nent citizens. He was born near Philadel-
248
MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
phia, Pennsylvania, September 4, 1803, the youngest of the six children of John Reyner and his wife. John Reyner was one of the brave soldiers of the war of 1812. He died in 1819, his wife in 1814. David spent the first sixteen years of his life on his father's farm. Then he learned the trade of wagonmaker, at which trade he worked for six years, becoming an expert workman in wood. In 1834 he came to Ohio, first stopping in Columbiana county, and the following year coming to Union county and settling on the farm on which his son Theadore now lives, where he spent the residue of his life. He owned 108 acres at the home place, eighty-three acres a mile and a half southeast of here, and fifty-nine acres in York township, and in all his farm- ing operations he met with prosperity. He was married in 1825 to Eliza Mann, daugh- ter of Mathias and Elizabeth Mann, who came to this country from England and who are honest and industrious people; they resided in Pennsylvania previous to their removal to Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. David Reyner had six children, four of whom are living, namely: John, a resident of Peoria, Ohio; Sarah, wife of Isaac Skid- more, of Liberty township; Theadore, whose name heads this article; and Vianna, who resides with her sister, Mrs. Skidmore. The mother was born in February, 1799, and died March 15, 1879. The father died March 21, 1889, aged eighty-seven years. He was a man of the highest integrity and was as much respected as he was well known.
Theadore Reyner spent his early life very much as did other farmer boys in Ohio at that time. All the schooling he ever re- ceived was in his home district. There he acquired a love for books, has always been
a great reader, and in home study and read- ing has gained a broad and general informa- tion. Books are still his favorite compan- ions. For several years he lived a mile and a half south of the old home and has re- sided there since 1889. This farm com- prises 108 acres of choice land, is well watered by Mill creek, and has nice im- provements in the way of buildings, fences, etc. The frame residence is built on the " Southern plan and is located back from the highway, an avenue bordered with hedge leading up to it. The old house in which Mr. Reyner was born is now used as a re- pair shop.
He was married March 29, 1879, to Sarah Grubbs, who was born in Logan coun- ty, Ohio, April 7, 1851, daughter of Atwell and Polina (Wheeler) Grubbs, her father a resident of Logan county, her mother de- ceased, Sarah being her mother's only child. Mr. and Mrs. Reyner have five children, namely: Mary Edna, born January 1, 1880; Charles A., June 27, 1882; Jessie Eliza, December 8, 1884; William C., April 14, 1887; and Polina Carrie, September 26, 1 889.
Mr. and Mrs. Reyner are members of the Disciple Church. Politically, Mr. Rey- ner is a Democrat.
ON. HUGH G. ROGERS, a farmer of Morrow county, also proprietor of Rogers Lake, was born in Cam- bria county, Pennsylvania, August 15, 1833. His father, George Rogers, was born in Wales, and came to America with his parents when a boy, locating in Cambria county, Pennsylvania, where his father died. Our subject's mother, née Catherine Rees, was a native of South Wales, and came to
249
DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
America with her parents in 1801, locating in Indiana county, Pennsylvania, where her father, Hugh Rees, also a native of that country, subsequently died. Mr. and Mrs. George Rogers were married in Pennsyl- vania, where the former remained until his death. The mother departed this life in Ohio, and was buried in Chester cemetery.
Hugh G. Rogers, the tenth of eleven children, was six years of age when he came with his parents to Ohio. On reaching his sixteenth year he returned to Pennsylvania, where he attended the Ebensburgh high school, and from there he went to Philadel- phia and learned stair building and joiner work. At the age of twenty years he went to Altoona, Blair county, and worked on the first building in the town, for the Penn- sylvania Central Railroad Company; spent three months in Davenport, Iowa; was en- gaged in contracting and building with David Randolph, at Mount Vernon, Ohio, three years, and then came to Morrow county. Mr. Rogers' first work here was on the resi- dence of Benjamin Evans, and next he fin- ished the Methodist Episcopal Church at Chesterville, but lost money on that ven- ture.
In 1862 our subject enlisted for service in the late war, entering Company C, Nine- ty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was soon promoted to Sergeant. He was with General Sherman at Vicksburg and at Arkansas Post, and on account of sickness was then sent to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, and honorably discharged. Return- ing to Morrow county, Mr. Rogers located on fifty acres of land in Harmony township, to which he afterward added fifty acres more. He then sold that property and pur- chased and located on 1123 acres in Chester township, remaining there seventeen years,
and in the meantime purchased the William McCracken farm in the same township, where he now resides. The place contains 236 acres. On that property is located the Rogers Lake, comprising seven acres, and is well improved and fitted for a summer re- sort. Mr. Rogers was elected to represent Morrow and Marion counties in the Legisla- ture of 1893. . In his social relations, he is a member of the G. A. R., in which he has served two years as Post Commander.
He was married July 4, 1855, to Rachel Evans, of Welsh descent. They had three children: George, Thomas (deceased in young manhood) and Olive. The latter was the wife of Cassius Brown, and at her death left two children, Daniel H. and Grace M. The wife and mother died November 11, 1870. For his second wife Mr. Rogers married Eliza Bruce, a native of Morrow county, a daughter of Joel Bruce, a native of Virginia, but an early settler of this county. No children have been born to this union ..
a EPTER STARK is a native of Kingston township, Delaware coun- ty, and one of its representative farmers. He was born April 14, 1830, and is a son of Oliver and Eliza (Patrick) Stark. His mother was the first white child born in Kingston township, and now resides on a farm adjoining our subject, at the age of eighty-four years. Oliver Stark claims Pennsylvania as the State of his nativity, and there he remained until he had attained his majority, when he came to Ohio, locating at what is known as Stark's Corners. He made his first purchase of land in Porter township. Two sons and three daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs.
250
MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
Stark, namely: Sarah, now deceased; Mary, wife of James Sherman, an agriculturist of Delaware county; Angeline, wife of De Lacy Walton, a resident of Kingston town- ship; Joseph, of the same township; and the subject of this sketch, who is the eldest of the family.
Cepter Stark received but limited school privileges, but his training at farm labor was not meagre. As soon as old enough he commenced following the plow, and at the age of eighteen years began trading in stock and buying wool. He has since carried on the latter pursuit, sometimes buying as high as 600,000 pounds of wool in one season. He has also given considerable attention to agricultural pursuits, and at this writing owns more than 2, 100 acres of rich and valuable land.
As a companion and helpmeet on life's journey Mr. Stark chose Miss Sylvia Ben- ton, and their marriage, which was cele- brated in 1864, was blessed with a family of two sons and three daughters: Charles, now deceased; Grace; Ethel, who is en- gaged in teaching; Blanche, and Bert. The mother of this family was called to the home beyond in January, 1883, and in Oc- tober of the same year Mr. Stark was again married, his second union being with Miss Nina Ross, a granddaughter of John Ross, one of the oldest settlers of Delaware county, and a daughter of William and Ellen (Whitney) Ross. They had a family of nine children: Charles, who now resides in Delaware; Nina, wife of our subject; Madge, wife of Henry Baker, of Delaware; Wilch, deceased; Lake, wife of Frank Boyle, of Columbus, Ohio; Samuel and Tad, both of whom are located in Delaware; Allen, a resident of Columbus, Ohio; and Claude, who makes his home with his sister,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.