USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 62
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 62
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 62
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1852 until 1883. In 1883 he removed to Marysville, where he spent the closing years of his life in retirement from active busi- ness. His grandfather, the great-grand- father of George M., was born in county Donegal, Ireland, and was the first of the family to come to America. Another branch of our subject's ancestry originated in Scotland, and thus he is of Scotch and Irish descent. The family have been repre- sented in the various wars of the country. William H. and Elizabeth McPeck had a family of six children, namely: George M .; Margaret J., wife of William M. Haines, of Marion county, Ohio; Isabelle A., wife of W. J. Drake, of Logan county, Ohio; Ste- phen, Union county, Ohio; Sarah A., wife of William Deihl, Marysville; and Mary E., wife of John Reuhlen, Logan county.
George M. was reared on his father's farm and was educated in the district schools. At nineteen he began teaching school. This was during the first year of the war, and about the time he opened his school a company was being made up in his neighborhood; so, after teaching only three days, he left the schoolroom and joined the Union army. He enlisted De- cember 2, 1861, in Company H, Eighty- second Ohio Volunteer Infantry; was mus- tered out July 24, 1865, at Louisville, Ken- tucky; and received his discharge at Colum- bus, Ohio, July 29. He had veteranized January 1, 1864, in the same company and regiment, and served in the same command from the first to the last of the war, going in as a private and coming home with the rank of First Sergeant. To give a detailed account of his army life would be to write a history of the greater part of the civil war, which, of course, is not our purpose in this work. Suffice it to say that he was in many
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of its most important engagements, and that prominent among them were those of second Bull Run, Gettysburg, Mission Ridge, Resaca, the siege of Atlanta and the march with Sherman to the sea; thence on up into the Carolinas, and finally participat- ing in the Grand Review at Washington. In all his service he was never captured by the enemy, but on two occasions he was wounded, -first, in the second battle of Bull Run, where he was wounded in the right thigh, from the effects of which he was con- fined in hospital four months; second, at Gettysburg, this time receiving a gun-shot wound in his right arm, which unfitted him for duty until the latter part of August, when he again joined his command. A braver, truer soldier than George M. McPeck never entered the Union ranks.
After his return from the army, Mr. McPeck felt the need of a better education, and spent two years in attending school at Marysville and Milan and also Oberlin College. Then until 1872 he was engaged in teaching. In 1872 he invested in some land, buying sixty-three acres in York township, to which he subsequently added seventy-six acres, and he farmed this land and also operated his father's farm, devoting eleven years to agricultural pursuits. He still owns a farm of 223 acres and gives it his personal supervision. In the meantime he began to take an active interest in politics, being a stanch Republican, and in 1883 he was elected to the office of Auditor of Union county, which important position he filled for six years and ten months. While the incumbent of this office he became associated with Mr. Zwerner in the establishment of the electric-light plant in Marysville, to which enterprise he has since given much attention. Later they
put in the water-works. This excellent light and water service is of inestimable value to the citizens of Marysville, and to the enterprise and perseverence of Messrs. McPeck and Zwerner may be attributed its success.
As has already been stated, Mr. McPeck has for years been active in political affairs. He served as Chairman of the County Re- publican Committee, and has on various occasions been a delegate to State, Con- gressional and county conventions. And in fraternal circles he is also prominent and active. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and is Past Com- mander of his post; belongs to the Masonic and Odd Fellow orders, and both he and his wife have received the Rebekah degree.
Mr. McPeck resides on West Fifth street and has a pleasant home and an interesting family. He was married May 15, 1877, to Miss Rachel E. Rowe, daughter of David and Catharine Rowe, her native place being Pickaway county, Ohio. They have had five children,-Winfred C., Margaret E., Wilber G., Herbert E., and May Bell. All are living except Margaret E.
Mrs. McPeck is a member of the Pres- byterian Church.
J. SLOUGH .- Success in any line of occupation, in any avenue of business, is not a matter of spon- taneity, but is the legitimate off- spring of subjective effort in the proper utilization of the means at hand, the im- provement of opportunity and the exercise of the highest functions made possible by the specific ability in any case. In view of this condition the study of biography
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DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.
becomes valuable and its lessons of prac- tical use. To trace the history of a success- ful life, be it in the electrical world of business, where competition is rife; in the intellectual field, whose devotees open up the wider realms of knowledge; in a public sphere, where is directed the course of gov- ernment and the policies formed that sway nations; or in the calm and peaceful pur- suits which have to do with the source of all supplies, the base of all human achieve- ment, -the calling forth from mother earth her benefices and goodly returns, -must ever prove profitable and satisfying indul- gence, for the history of the individual is the history of the nation; the history of the nation that of the world.
Under the last element of this category may we direct attention to him whose name initiates this review,-a man who has not been denied a full measure of success; whose military record is one of honor, and whose private life has not been unworthy of emulation.
A native of Delaware township, Dela- ware county, Ohio, Mr. Slough was born October 15, 1844, the son of Joseph and Sarah (Trout) Slough, the former of whom was born in Berks county, Pennsylvania, December 15, 1810, his wife being also a native of the old Keystone State. Joseph Slough came to Ohio in 1831, locating in Delaware county, where his marriage was consummated soon after. The mother of our subject died in 1848, leaving four chil- dren: Mrs. Sarah A. Baker, of Toledo, Ohio; Mrs. Harriet E. Webster, of Chicago; C. J., subject of this review; and Jonathan, a resident of Chicago. The father after- ward married Mary A. Nye, who survives him, his death having occurred in 1872. He was a Republican in his political views
and was an official in the Methodist Episco- pal Church.
Our subject grew to maturity in Dela- ware county, securing such educational ad- vantages as were afforded by the schools in the vicinity of his home and assisting in carrying on the work of the paternal farm- stead.
February 12, 1862, at the age of eight- een years, Mr. Slough enlisted for service in the late war, entering Company I, Eighty- second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and serv- ing until the close of the war. Under General McDowell he participated in the battles of Port Republic, Cross Keys, second battle of Bull Run; was wounded at Gettysburg, again at Chancellorsville, and finally, at Canfield, received such serious wounds in the left thigh and right hip as to necessitate his confinement in the hospitals at Balti- more and Falmouth for a period of five months. During his term of service Mr. Slough walked more than 2, 500 miles. He was discharged May 20, 1865, as First Sar- geant, and then returned to his home in Delaware township, where he remained until the spring of 1872, when he took up his residence on his present farm in Berlin township, the place comprising 600 acres. In 1891 he erected a handsome modern res- idence, at a cost of $4,000, the same being one of the finest country homes in the county. Mr. Slough pins his faith to the principles and policies advocated by the Re- publican party, and he has held the town- ship offices of Trustee and Clerk. Frater- nally he retains a membership in the Union Delaware League and the Knights of Pythias.
October 1I, 1871, was celebrated the marriage of our subject to Miss Cynthia R., a daughter of George and Mercy (Andrews) Ridgeway, the former of whom was a na-
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tive of Putnam county, New York, where he was born October 8, 1823; the latter, who was the daughter of Timothy Andrews, was born in Berlin township, this county. George Ridgeway was the son of Isaac and Martha (Adams) Ridgeway; he came to Delaware county at the age of twelve years, and eventually became one of the promi- nent stockmen of the locality. He and his wife were the parents of two children: Cynthia R. and Josephine R. The mother died in 1859, and the father survived her a number of years.
Mr. and Mrs. Slough had two children: Myrtle J. and Carrie B. Mrs. Slough was called to eternal rest October 15, 1888, mourned by a large circle of devoted friends. October 22, 1891, Mr. Slough wedded Josephine Ridgeway, sister of his deceased wife. They have one child, Mildred Eveline.
J UDGE BERTRAND ANDREWS, Mount Gilead, Ohio, is one of the prominent lawyers in this part of the State. Of his life and ancestry, we present the following brief sketch:
Judge Andrews is of Scotch origin. His grandfather, Philemon Andrews, was born in Scotland, and shortly after the Revolution- ary war became a citizen of the United States. His son, Erastus Andrews, the Judge's father, was born in Vermont in 1793, and for fourteen years was in the United States Navy, where he held the rank of Lieutenant. He was promoted to the office of Commander about the time he re- signed. He was wounded in the war of 1812. At Truxton, Cortland county, New York, Erastus Andrews married Miss Polly Freeman, who was born at Colerain, Massa- chusetts, February 22, 1800, daughter of
Rev. Rufus Freeman, a Baptist minister. Rev. Freeman was for eight years in the Revolutionary war, three years as a private, and the rest of the time as Chaplain, and at the battle of Monmouth was wounded. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Andrews settled in Cortland county, New York, where they resided six years, at the end of that time removing to Westfield, Chautau- qua county, same State, and in 1826 coming from the latter place to Ohio, and settling on a farm in Medina county. At that time there were only two other families in the township. He died in 1846, and she in 1869. They were the parents of eight chil- dren, six of whom are now living, viz. : Sophia Haskins; Bertrand, whose name heads this article; Phœbe Howell; Augusta Durand; Eliza A. Watt, wife of Dr. Watt, of Iowa; and E. E., a veteran of the civil war, and now proprietor of the Chippewa Lake resort, Medina county, Ohio. The eldest son, Rev. Dudley Andrews, died in 1861 at Hebron, Licking county, Ohio. Rufus S., who died August 1, 1893, was surveyor of the port of New York during President Lincoln's administration; he was present at the death of President Lincoln.
Judge Andrews was born at Westfield, Chautauqua county, New York, October 21, 1822, and grew to manhood on his father's frontier farm in Medina county, Ohio, receiving his education in the district schools, Wadsworth Academy and Granville College. He began the study of law at Wooster, Ohio, and completed his law course under the instructions of C. A. Lake, of Medina county. June 6, 1848, he was admitted to the bar and immediately there- after entered upon the practice of his profes- sion in Medina county. In June of the fol- lowing year he came to Morrow county and
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located at Mount Gilead, where he has since resided. During all these years he has been a prominent factor in the town. He has served on the City Council and the School Board, and for a number of years he was Mayor of Mount Gilead. For two terms, beginning in 1863, he was Prosecuting At- torney of Morrow county. In 1892 he was appointed Probate Judge, and was elected for the short term of 1893. Always a stanch Republican, he has taken an active interest in political matters, frequently serving as delegate in county and State conventions and doing much as a campaign speaker for his party.
Judge Andrews. was married September 8, 1844, to Rachel Hand, a native of Wayne county, Ohio, and daughter of Sam- uel H. Hand. She was born July 6, 1824, and was educated at Wooster, Ohio. They are the parents of six children, of whom five are living, namely: Samuel H., a vet- eran of the civil war, he having enlisted when he was seventeen; Mary J., wife of R. P. Miller, has four children; Ida S., wife of D. D. Rodgers, of Youngstown, Ohio, has one child; Fredericka I .; and Walter O.
The Judge and all his family are mem- bers of the Baptist Church, he being an official in the church. He is also identified with the Knights of Pythias. His son, Walter O., is Chancellor Commander of the Knights of Pythias and also holds next to the highest office in the Encampment, I. O. O. F.
ORTON REED, who stands as one of the prominent and popular agri- culturists of Union county, is a native of this county, having been born on the old paternal homestead, on Big
Darby creek, July 5, 1836. The identifica- tion of the Reed family with the history of Union county traces back to the early pioneer days, the father of our subject, Samuel K. Reed, having also been a native of the county, where he was reared to man's estate.
Samuel K. was the son of David Reed, who settled on the rich bottom lands of the Big Darby in the first year of the present century, the county at that time being still a forest wild, with settlers few and far be- tween. The wife of David Reed was of Irish extraction. In the primitive old log school-house, with its slab seats and meager equipments, Samuel K. Reed received his educational discipline, which was limited in extent, but which served as the effectual basis for the broad practical education which he gained in the experiences of life. Attain- ing mature years, he married Amanda Hale, daughter of Oxford Hale, one of the early pioneers of the county. The issue of this union was thirteen children, of whom ten lived to attain maturity, namely: Newton, Norton, Oxford H., Ross, David, Adolphus, Josephus and Josephine (twins), Samuel and Alpheus. David was a member of an Illinois regiment during the late war, and met his death in the battle of Chickamauga.
Samuel Reed was a farmer all his life and he lived to attain the advanced age of three-score and ten, his death occurring in Shelby county, Illinois; it is a noteworthy fact that his widow died at the same age, having been a resident of Shelby county, Illinois, at the time of her demise. The father of our subject was an old-line Demo- crat and was a prominent worker in the party ranks, having served one term as a Representative in the Legislature. He was a man of high intelligence and utmost recti-
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tude of character, and was a popular and honored citizen.
Norton Reed, the immediate subject of this review, was reared on the old home farm in this county and was accorded such educational advantages as the place and period afforded, attending the district schools of that favored section known as Darby Plains. At the age of twenty-three years he went West and passed some few years in Illinois and Iowa, after which he returned to his native county and resumed his con- nection with the agricultural industries of the same. He located on his present farm in 1860, and has since devoted himself to its cultivation and improvement. The place comprises 170 acres, and the land is most productive, has a good dwelling house and other permanent improvements of excellent order, while there is evidence on every side of the discriminating care given to its opera- tion, the work being carried on according to progressive methods, showing the applica- tion of brain as well as brawn.
At the age of twenty-three years our sub- ject was united in marriage to Miss Selina E. Porter, daughter of that prominent pio- neer of the township, the late William Por- ter, and a sister of H. W. Porter, a sketch of whose life appears on another page of this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Reed became the parents of the following named children: S. M., who is a carpenter at Milford Centre, this county; Lulu, wife of Charles E. Mooney, of Pickaway county, Ohio; Frank, at home; and Carrie, who died in early child- hood.
Politically our subject lends his influence and support to the Democratic party, and stands high in the local councils of the same. He has served his township as Trustee for the past sixteen years, -a circumstance
which perfectly attests the ability which is his and the respect and confidence in which he is held in the community. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, retaining a membership in Lodge No. 274, of Milford Centre. Mrs. Reed is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
S MITH N. McCLOUD. - Occupy- ing a conspicuous official prefer- ment, wielding an unmistakable in- fluence upon the political affairs of the county, and closely identified with the industrial life of the vital little city of Marysville, Ohio, there is a special propri- ety in directing particular attention to the ca- reer of him whose name initiates this para- graph.
Turning, then, a retrospective glance back to the nativity of our subject we find that he first saw the light of day in the same State of which he is now an honored resi- dent, the date of his birth having been De- cember 9, 1845; the place, Madison county.
His parents, people of intelligence and honest worth, were Charles and Mary J. (Carpenter) McCloud, the former of whom was of Scotch lineage, the latter of Irish extraction. The father is deceased and the mother is living at Plain City, Ohio.
Smith N. McCloud was reared in his na- tive county, attending the public schools until he had attained the age of about eight- een years, after which he completed the course in the high school of Marysville. This preliminary discipline complete he at once entered upon the active duties of life, showing no inclination to stand back with folded hands to await the golden opportun- ity, but choosing, rather, to make his own opportunity. Accordingly, he became con-
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nected, in a clerical capacity, with a drug business at Plain City, Ohio, and was thus retained until 1865 or '66, when he engaged in the same line of enterprise upon his own responsibility, opening an establishment in the town where he had been employed and thus continuing until 1871, when he re- moved to Marysville, where he succeeded to the drug business previously conducted by Dr. H. McFadden, and continued this en- terprise successfully for a full score of years, the establishment holding precedence as one representative in its line.
In August, 1891, Mr. McCloud disposed of the stock and business, after having given the same his personal supervision during all the time the same had been under his con- trol, the only outside issues which called for a division of his attention being those in- cidental to his labors in behalf of his polit- ical party. He has taken distinctive inter- est in general and local political matters, has been stanchly arrayed in the support of the Democratic party, and has long been a most powerful factor in the councils of his party adherents in Union county. Almost immediately after his arrival in Marysville he gained recognition as a valuable acquisi- tion to the party ranks, zealous and inde- fatigable in his efforts, logical in his deduc- tions as to policies, and effective in directing affairs toward the goal of success. He became a member of the Democratic Cen- tral Committee of Union county in 1872, and was continuously identified with said organization until 1885, receiving, in July of that year, the appointment as Postmaster of Marysville, -an office which he continued to hold until 1890, proving a most capable and popular executive and aiming to insure to the people of the community the most ef- fective service possible to be secured. After
an interim, which marked the Republican administration, he was again appointed Postmaster, in April, 1894, the incumbent under the second régime of President Cleve- land.
As evidence of the respect and esteem in which Mr. McCloud is held in Marysville, it is apropos that we mention the fact that he was a member of the Common Council of the city prior to his first appointment to the office of Postmaster, and that during his inter-regnum of four years he was again called upon to act in this capacity, -a cir- cumstance the more noteworthy for the reason that the political complexion of the city is strongly Republican.
Reverting to his efforts in connection with his official duties as Postmaster, we find that, within the time of his first ad- ministration, he brought about the removal of the postoffice to its present spacious and convenient quarters, and that the fine, modern equipment now in use was intro- duced largely through his personal and well- directed efforts.
In his fraternal relations Mr. McCloud is prominently identified with the F. & A. M., Palestine Lodge, No. 158; Marysville Chapter, No. 99; also with the I. O. O. F., Marysville Lodge, No. 87; with the Knights of Pythias, Marysville Lodge, No. 100, holding in the same the office of Special Deputy Grand Chancellor of Union county, and having represented his lodge at the sev- eral meetings of the Grand Lodge.
Our subject was united in marriage to Miss Nora E. Filler, a native of Spring- field, Ohio. They are the parents of seven children, of whom we make brief record as follows: Charles F., who married Miss Ethline Peck, is a resident of Marysville, and has charge of the bottling works in
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connection with the mineral springs oper- ated by his father, as noted further on in the context; Imogene, wife of Charles Schwartz, of Marysville, but in the employ of a Cincinnati house as traveling salesman; Lena, who assists her father in the post- office; John J., who is preparing himself for the practice of medicine; May, who is a graduate of the Marysville high school, as are also those older; Nellie, and Erdean.
In considering the business career of our subject there are several matters which call for specific mention as bearing upon the in- dustrial activities of the city and as evidence of his progressive spirit and executive abil- ity. In 1886 Mr. McCloud organized a company and enlisted capital for the sinking of a gas well. The venture as put to the test failed to yield the desired results in the striking of gas, and the enterprise was aban- doned in so far as the original project was concerned. However, the well developed a pure, perpetual stream of water, clear as crystal, of alkaline nature, and showing upon analysis a very interesting chemical combination of remedial agents. Additional stock was issued to develop the well upon its medicinal valuation. In this connection a copartnership was formed and a commo- dious and nicely appointed bath-house erected. This has been in constant opera- tion from the time of its completion and has gained an excellent patronage, the value of the water in the treatment of rheumatism, skin diseases and allied complaints having been thoroughly tested and proved. Of this enterprise our subject assumed full control in 1888, and at the present time the waters are in demand and are shipped to divers sec- tions of the Union. The well produces two waters of different constituency: the "Sa- line," which is pumped to the surface, and
the natural-flowing issue. The bath-house is under the supervision of Charles F., the eldest son of the proprietor.
Mr. McCloud was one of three individ- uals who established in Marysville the Kee- ley Institute for the cure of inebriety, and after having placed the enterprise in good running order he disposed of his interests in the same. He is president of the Newhouse Manufacturing Company, of Marysville, or- ganized for the purpose of manufacturing and placing on the market the Newhouse patent horizontal ice-cream freezer, a new and original device of unique order and one that is destined to supersede all other mechanisms in the line, by reason of its un- mistakable superiority as shown by most exacting tests. In addition to this the com- pany will also manufacture the Newhouse criculating air purifier and heater, designed for use in both public and private buildings, and bearing the highest recommendations by reason of its effective agency in a sanitary way, in the saving of fuel and in facility of operation. The enterprise is one that will prove of marked value to the commercial status of the city.
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