Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 7

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 7
USA > Ohio > Morrow County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 7
USA > Ohio > Union County > Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio > Part 7

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Mr. Stanley passed ten days at home and then reported at Camp Morton, Indian- apolis, Indiana, and was exchanged just in time to take part in the capture of General Morgan, capturing twenty of his men on a little island below Cincinnati, following along the river to keep Morgan from re- crossing, and thus continuing until the noted raider was captured. Our subject then returned to Camp Morton and was as- signed duty in guarding these prisoners until they were transferred to Chicago. Our subject was taken sick and was confined in the hospital at Indianapolis for six months, and during the major portion of the time that he was thus incapacitated for active service at the front, he had charge of one of the hospital wards. Finally he went to Nashville, Tennessee, and was assigned gar- rison duty at Fort Negley, subsequently being

sent to assist in guarding railroad lines in northern Alabama, his regiment as yet having few commissioned officers. October 1, 1864, he was again detailed as nurse or attendant, entering the hospital at Decatur, Alabama, being there placed, with only 300 men, at the time General Hood surrounded the city, their escape being effected by a strate- gic ruse. Mr. Stanley then went to Steven- son, Alabama, and there remained for a time, late in 1864. He rejoined his regi- ment at Paint Rock, that State, where an almost constant guerilla warfare with bush- whackers was kept up for three months, sev- eral being killed on both sides during these minor engagements. He remained there until his discharge, July 8, 1865.

After his discharge our subject returned to the North and took up his residence on a farm in Morrow county, this State, remain- ing there until the spring of 1867, when he purchased a farm in Lincoln township, two miles east of Cardington, remaining there until 1886, when he removed to Cardington, where he was engaged in the hardware bus- ness for four years. He then came to Edi- son and effected the purchase of his present general merchandising business, which is one of the representative enterprises of the thriving village, the business having been greatly widened in scope and in amount of stock carried and the annual sales having reached the notable aggregate of $12,000. In addition to his general mercantile line, Mr. Stanley also handles farming machin- ery and implements.

The marriage of our subject was con- summated October 23, 1867, when he wed- ded Miss Sarah . Ann Hicklen, a half sister of Dr. J. H. Jackson, of Edison, concerning whom individual mention is made elsewhere in this volume. Mrs. Stanley was born in

DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.

Columbiana county, this State, October 20, 1847, and completed her education in the Friends' Academy at Damascus, Ohio. They are the parents of three children, namely : Mary Elizabeth, wife of Rev. E. H. Curtis, of Gravity, Iowa; John Milton, and Sarah Frances. After the war Mr. Stanley made his home among his uncles for some time. He became a member of the Quaker Church in 1867, and in 1872 he was acknowledged as a minister in the orthodox Friends' Church, having ever since continued to exer- cise his clerical functions and having traveled much in the work of his church, visiting Kansas, Indiana, Michigan, and Iowa, and also laboring zealously in this State. He has filled all the official posi- tions in his church, having been a pioneer in the revival work of this simple and noble religious organization, with which he has been so conspicuously identified. He has been president of the Ohio Mission Board, and clerk of the quarterly and monthly meetings.

While on the farm Mr. Stanley was greatly interested in the the breeding of fine stock, and at the present time he is secre- tary of the Ohio Spanish Sheep Breeders' Association, having been one of its incor- porators and having served as secretary since 1886. Since 1882 he has been con- nected with the Ohio State Wool Growers' Association, having formerly been one of its directors.

He has been an active politician, and in 1871 he identified himself with the Prohibi- tion party, lending his- aid and influence to the cause for a full decade, after which he decided that the sought-for reforms could better be secured through the medium of one of the old parties, and he accordingly espoused the Republican cause, and has

been a valued and active worker in its local ranks. He was a candidate for Probate Judge, in 1890, but met defeat in the Democratic land-slide of that year. He was Morrow county's candidate for Congress before the fourteenth district convention, held at Mt. Vernon, June 21, 1894. In a local way he has been a member of the Board of Education, acting as its treasurer, and has served as a member of the Com- mon Council. Fraternally he retains a mem- bership in James St. John Post, No. 82, G. A. R., of Cardington, having been Past Commander, and holding the rank of Colonel in the district organization. He is also identified with the Mt. Gilead organi- zation of the Union Veterans' Legion, being Chaplain of the same. He is also a promi- nent member of the order of Knights of Pythias, being Past Chancellor Comman- der, and being the local representative of the Grand Chancellor. He has also held pre- ferment in the order as Master of the Ex- chequer and as Treasurer. He has been prominently identified with temperance work and has been a member of lodges of the Good Templars and the Sons of Temper- ence, -an active organizer in both.

BRAM THOMSON .- In northern Maryland, at the village of Taney- town, Abram Thomson was born, on the 15th of October, 1814. In this tranquil, old-time village, which was drawn, in spite of itself, into the turbulent current of history, Abram Thomson spent the first seventeen years of his life. He was the second son of Hugh Thomson, who was an officer of the Maryland forces, ac- tively. participated in the defense of his na- tive State and its commercial metropolis

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

against the British invasion; and at the time of the birth of our subject, was absent with his command at the front, and very shortly after that event was sent home wounded from the scene of conflict. His opportuni- ties for education were meager. There being no public schools at that time in Maryland, he could attend only the private schools, which were very inferior. In these he re- ceived a mere rudimentary training; beyond that he was self-taught. Having a passion- ate fondness for reading, he was naturally drawn to the village printing office, in which at the age of fifteen he accepted an opportunity to learn the business of print- ing. He accompanied the office on its re- moval to Frederick, and from thence, at a later date, to Westminster. From that place he emigrated, at the age of eighteen, to New York city, where he was employed as a compositor in some of the leading print- ing offices, including that of General James Watson Webb's daily Courier and Enquirer, which was then the leading commercial newspaper of the country, and was absorbed in what is now the New York World.

By diligent use of the opportunities which he thus obtained, the young Marylander be- came thoroughly proficient in his craft. He acknowledged no superior as a compositor, and was particularly expert in the manage- ment of difficult manuscripts, among which he had to deal with the hand writing of Hezekiah Niles and Horace Greeley, both of whom were then a chirographic terror to ordinary type-setters.

Summoned by the illness of his father, he returned from New York to his native village and after a brief stay there, in Sep- tember, 1834, at the solicitation of George Sharp, who then published the only paper in that place, The Gazette, he went to Dela-

ware, Ohio. Went into partnership with Mr. Sharp and after a short continuation of the connection it was terminated by the sale of Mr. Sharp's interests to Judge David T. Fuller. Two years later Mr. Thomson purchased Judge Fuller's interest, and be- came sole proprietor, which he has remained from that time to this excepting a period of six years, from 1865 to 1871, during which a one-half interest was held by Mr. Alfred E. Lee.

In politics he was first a Whig and then a Republican. In 1847-8 he repre- sented Delaware county in the lower branch of the Ohio Legislature, and in 1849-50 represented the district composed of the counties of Franklin and Delaware in the State Senate. Was a member of the Whig State Central Committee, when, in 1854, it assembled at the capitol and finally dis- banded the organization, merging it into the Union party, which soon after took the name of Republican. In 1860 he was one of the Presidential Electors and with his colleagues cast the vote of the State for Abraham Lincoln. In 1861 he was ap- pointed Postmaster of the city of Delaware, and was reappointed in 1865, both appoint- ments being made by President Lincoln. Since retiring from that position, which he filled with honor to himself and benefit to the public service, his time and attention have been absorbed by his duties as editor and proprietor of the Delaware Gazette, of which, for several years past, he has issued semi-weekly and daily editions.

In local affairs Mr. Thomson has borne a conspicuous part. The movements and efforts which brought about the construction of the Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railway had his active participation. Dur- ing the war of the Rebellion he not only

DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.

performed excellent service through the medium of his paper in supporting the prosecution of the war, but gave ready heart and hand to the comfort of the sol- diers in the field and their dependent friends and families. On several occasions he has served in the town council, as an officer of the township in which he resides, and as a member-usually chairman or secretary-of the Whig and Republican County Central Committee.

When the State Industrial Home for Girls was established in 1869, Mr. Thomson became, by appointment of Governor Hayes, a member of its first Board of Trustees. Mr. Thomson served as member and secretary of this board continuously for nine years-1869-1878.

Mr. Thomson comes of a long-lived ancestry. He is one of a family of nine children. At Delaware, on the 17th of December, 1839, he married Miss Delia Storm, who died March 7, 1848, leaving three children-two sons and a daughter. On the first of December, 1852, he was married at Urbana, Ohio, to Miss Sallie M. Wright, of which two sons were born, who with their mother, and the children of the first marriage, are all yet living.

For the science and practice of horti- culture Mr. Thomson has always had great fondness. Such have been his. aptitude for this subject and the attention he has paid to it that for many years he has been recognized as a standard authority on horti- cultural matters. In the development of the new varieties of flowers and fruits he has not only had infinite pleasure but marked success. Within the narrow limits of a town lot he has been able to produce at one time as many as eighty different species of pears-mostly on dwarf trees-of which he

made a specialty. His grapery has been noted for the rarity, beauty and luxuriance of its products. The so-called Delaware grape, which has acquired fame both in this country and Europe as an unsurpassed hardy variety, owes its discovery, develop- ment and introduction to him.

Such, in brief, is the story of this useful life. It inculcates many valuable lessons and sets forth many claims to our respect, but none, perhaps of weightier import than that which is expressed in the words once uttered in the presence of the writer by a distinguished citizen of Delaware, now no more: "Abram Thomson is the soul of integrity."

EVI L. BENSON, M. D .- One of the most highly honored citizens of Cardington township, Morrow county, Ohio, and one whose life has been devoted to good works, is he whose name initiates this review. Dr. Benson was born in Harford county, Maryland, Septem- ber 17, 1829, the son of Levi Benson, who was born in Frederick county, that State, February 9, 1783, and whose death occurred February 10, 1865. He was a son of Ben- jamin and Hannah (Scott) Benson. Our subject's mother, Rachel (Lancaster) Ben- son, was a native of Harford county, Mary- land, where she was born May 27, 1790, the daughter of Jesse and Mary Lancaster, both of whom were of English descent. Her demise occurred March 28, 1886. Both parents were members of the Society of Friends.

The marriage of our subject's parents was celebrated in Harford county, Mary- land, and soon after they located on a farm in that county, where they remained until

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHIICAL RECORD OF

1837, when they removed to Guernsey county, Ohio, where the father died, the mother dying in Belmont county, this State.

Levi Benson was twice married, the is- sue of the first union having been four daughters, namely: Hannah, deceased ; Sarah, widow of William A. Harlan, re- sides in Chester county, Pennsylvania; Mary Ann, died early in life; Pamelia, married Caleb Harlan and both are now deceased. By the marriage to the mother of our sub- ject there were six children, namely: Eliza- beth, widow of John E. Lee, of Belmont county, this State; Emily became the wife of Knowis Doudna, of Guernsey county, and both are now deceased; Jesse is deceased; Julia is the wife of James Carter, of Card- ington township, Morrow county; Rachel L. is the widow of Jesse Doudna, of Quaker City, Guernsey county; and Levi L. is the subject of this review.

Dr. Benson, who was the youngest of the children, was but seven years of age when his parents removed from the East to Guernsey county, this State, and his first schooling was received prior to this removal, and after arriving in Ohio he attended the public schools of Guernsey county. In his twentieth year he went to Maryland and was a student in the Oakland high school for a brief period, after which he returned to Guernsey county and remained at the paternal home until the time of his mar- riage, in March, 1855, when he was united to Miss Elizabeth Sharp, a native of Card- ington township, this county, and a daugh- ter of Thomas and Sarah Sharp, pioneer settlers in Morrow county. The former died in Muscatine, Iowa, at the venerable age of ninety-seven years. The wife of our sub- ject passed into eternal life June 20, 1856, leaving one son, Thomas L., who now re-

sides at Marble Cliff, near Columbus, this State, being Postmaster of the town, where he also carries on a thriving grocery busi- ness.

The second marriage of Dr. Benson was consummated August 12, 1862, when he was united to Minerva H. Boggs, who was born in Morrow county, February 23, 1840, the daughter of Rev. William and Frances Boggs, early settlers in the c. unty, the father having been for many years a prominent clergyman in the Methodist Epis- copal Church. Our subject met a second bereavement in the death of his cherished and devoted wife on the 24th of March, 1894. She was the mother of four children, of whom we make brief record as follows: Horace W., born May 16, 1863, married Nettie Hulse and they have four children; Frances M., born January 1, 1866, remains at the paternal home; Emily E., born June 29, 1868, is the wife of Henry R. Raub, a mechanic, of Bucyrus, Ohio; and Merrick L., born November 26, 1870, was drowned in Olentangy river, near Columbus, April 20, 1891.

While in his 'teens our subject began the study of medicine in a somewhat desul- tory way, and in 1856 he took up a regular course of professional study under the pre- ceptorship of Doctor Jones, of Loydsville, Belmont county, and he thus continued his reading for two years, after which he located near Spencer Station and there remained in practice until 1859, when he came to Morrow county, locating in Card- ington township, where he was a successful and honored practitioner for a full score of years. For many years while in the prac- tice of medicine he was also engaged in ministerial work, though not yet ordained, and for the past twelve years, being in full

DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.

standing as a minister in the Society of Friends, he has devoted his entire attention to this noble cause, traveling from Illinois to New York, and his earnest and devoted efforts have been fruitful in good results and in the furtherance of the interests of the true and simple religion of which he stands as an exponent.

Dr. Benson is a man of unassuming manners, is sympathetic and charitable, and is honored for his spotless life as well as for his marked intellectual and professional ability.

The appending poem from the pen of our honored subject was contributed to a recent number of the United Friends, and is entitled "He Leadeth Me, Oh, Blessed Thought:"

In all this world, through all its cares, Its fleeting hours of pain or grief, From all life's seeming ills, O Lord,

Thy constant presence brings relief.

No labor now, no pressing fears, No heavy laden task to bear,

To battle on with false ideas

Is now made light beneath Thy care.

Thy hand to lead, Thy Truth Divine A standard on my pilgrim way,

Thy promised Life shall never cease To turn all darkness into day.

I ask no higher boon; I crave No greater privilege than this,

To walk with God, to know, to feel My hand, my life secure in his.

L. BAKER, Mayor of Delaware, Ohio, is one of the self-made men of Delaware, and his position as chief officer of the city is evidence of his great popularity. Personal mention of him is appropriate in this work.

Henry L. Baker was born in Orange township, Delaware county, Ohio, October

30, 1841. Early in life he was thrown upon his own resources and the success he has attained is due to his own efforts. In the year 1863, he married Miss Mary A. Angle, a native of New Jersey. After their mar- riage they located on a farm in the neigh- borhood in which he was born, where they remained one year, whence they re- moved to Worthington, Franklin county, Ohio. A year later they took up their abode in Westerville, same county, where he engaged in the grocery and provision business, in partnership with Mr. H. Foos, and where he remained two years. His next move was to Lewis Center, Delaware county, and for nine years he was employed there as agent for what is now the Big Four Railroad Company. In 1876 he came to Delaware, and until 1878 remained with the Big Four, having charge of construction trains. It was during that time that he built his property at the corner of Railroad and Sandusky streets, where since that time he has been engaged in the grocery and coal business.

Mr. Baker has been elected to office by the Democrats, and is alike popular with both parties. He has served three terms as as Councilman of Delaware and is now serving his third term as Mayor of the city, having been elected Mayor the third time in . 1894. For twenty-two years Mr. Baker has been identified with the I. O. O. F. and he is also connected with the Masonic fra- ternity, having taken all the degrees up to and including the thirty-second.

Mr. and Mrs. Baker have three children, viz .: William Frederick, who is in railroad employ at Tarlton Springs, Florida; Sue E., wife of T. C. Jones, son of Judge Jones; and Laura Etta, wife of Clifton W. Sears, of Delaware.

MEMORIAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF

EV. F. W. C. WIECHERS, pastor of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, of Marysville, Ohio, has had this charge since September, 1892. Before proceeding to a sketch of his life, we give a brief history of the church.

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Marysville was established in the year 1878 by the consolidation of two organizations. In 1882-3 its present church edifice, the finest in the city, was erected at a cost of $18,000, and its present membership is 300 communicants, while its usual congregation is nearly twice that number. This church is connected with the Joint Synod of Ohio and other States. Its first pastor, Rev. F. Zagel, was succeeded by Rev. J. M. Koep- plin, now of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, who filled the charge for nine years, and who in turn was succeeded by Rev. J. E. A. Dærman. Rev. Dærman officiated here most accepta- bly for five years, and upon his removal to Washington, D. C., where he is now located, the subject of our sketch was called to the pastorate of the church.

At the time this church was established a parochial school was also organized. It start- ed with twenty pupils, has kept pace with the growth of the church and other advance- ments in the city, and at this writing it has 122 pupils enrolled. At first the pastor was its teacher and he continued as such for three years. Then J. F. Bergener was em- ployed, and is still retained, and in 1893 the school had increased to such an extent that it was necessary to divide it and employ another teacher, and Carl Schaub, of South Chicago, was called to fill the place. These gentlemen are proficient teachers and under their able management the school has at- tained a marked degree of excellence.

Rev. Wiechers was born in Hanover,

Germany, December 18, 1854, son of Lud- wig and Mary Elanora Wiechers, members of the Lutheran Church and people of the highest respectability. His father was a manufacturer of umbrellas. Young Wiechers attended the graded and afterward the high school in Hanover up to the time he was sixteen, when, on account of his father's failing health, he was obliged to drop his studies and take charge of the business. After his father's death, which occurred May 16, 1871, he remained with his mother un- til 1873, when he came to America. Here he at once entered Capital University, Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated with the theological class of 1878, and in August of that same year he entered the ministry. His first charge was at Patricksburg, Owen county, Indiana, which he filled for four years. Then he was pastor at Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio, eight years, and for two years and nine months was at Coving- ton, Ohio, being called from the latter place to his present charge, where for two years he has served most acceptably.

Rev. Wiechers is eminently a self-made man. He worked his way through college by teaching during the vacations. While in Covington he officiated as a member of the Board of Education, and here in Marysville he is on the Board of Health. His mother followed him to this country in 1874 and is now a resident of Columbus, Ohio.

Mr. Wiechers was married December 31, 1878, to Miss Catharine Heintz, a na- tive of Columbus, Ohio, and a daughter of Adam and Mary Heintz, and they have an interesting family of five children, -Herbert A. W., Mary Leonora, Clara Catharine, Oscar Fredrick and Flora Caroline. They lost one child by death, namely, Leo Mar- tin.

Yours truly Rob. F. Bartlett

DELAWARE, UNION AND MORROW COUNTIES, OHIO.

In his political views, Rev. Wiechers is in harmony with the principles advocated by the Democratic party.

OBERT FRANKLIN BART- LETT, to whose ancestral and personal history we now direct at- tention, is one of the representa- tive lawyers of Morrow county and retains a residence at Cardington. His father, Ab- ner Matthews Bartlett, was born April 16, 1816, in Kingston township, Delaware county, Ohio, and was a school-boy with Gen. W. S. Rosecrans, John Hall and other natives of that township. He was a son of Abner and Obedience (Mix) Bartlett, the former of whom was born in Catskill, Greene county, New York, November 16, 1787, and the latter at Farmington, Hartford county, Connecticut, April 24, 1785. They were the parents of ten children, namely: Tim- othy Mix, born January 27, 1810, is a resi- dent of Mount Vernon, Ohio; Sarah Ann, born August 10, 1811, died in Morrow county, Ohio, April 27, 1872; John De Mott, born September 18, 1813, died at Fredericktown, Knox county, Ohio. Abner Matthews was the father of our subject; Polly Maria, born June 14, 1818, is the wife of John Barler, of Gilead township, this county; Wealthy, who was the wife of the late David B. Blue, died in this county; Joel Root died, in December, 1863, in McDon- ough county, Illinois; Mary Jane, widow of David M. Fredricks, lives at Lima, Ohio; Abel Weed is a resident of Eden, Delaware county, this State; and Loruhamah, de- ceased, was the wife of Alvin Kasson.

Abner Bartlett was a son of John and Loruhamah (Matthews) Bartlett. The gen- 4

ealogy of the Bartlett family is traced back to Adam Barttelot, a follower of William the Conqueror, and of Norman extraction. A descendent of Adam B., Sir Walter B. Barttelot, now lives on the original estate which was granted to Adam Barttelot by William the Conqueror, in 1066, for mili- tary services at the battle of Hastings, said estate being located at Stopham, in Sussex, England. The name has undergone many changes, being. now spelled "Bartlett " by all the family, both in England and Amer- ica, except by Sir Walter B., afore men- tioned, who retains the original orthography.

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Memorial record of the counties of Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio, Part 7

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