USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 19
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Three sons and three daughters were born to Mr. and Mrs. Joe M. Ward, five of whom are living, namely: Sarah F. is deceased; Laura A. married W. W. Stockbridge, of Croton, Licking county, Ohio: John E. is married and is living in Mt. Vernon ; Mary J. married M. J. Clutter, of Mil- ford township; Herman is married and is living in Miller township; William L. of this sketch.
William L. Ward was reared on the home farm, where he assisted with the general work about the place when he became of proper age, and he received his education in the public schools of the township. For a time prior to his marriage he was engaged in the coal business in Mt. Vernon.
On July. 8, 1899, Mr. Ward was united in marriage with Anna Belle Graham, daughter of DeWitt C. and Rebecca ( Behanna) Graham, of Miller township, but natives of Pennsylvania, a highly respected family. Four children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : Lucy E., Charles G.,. Louie Cladys is deceased ; Wilma Beatrice.
Mr. Ward began his married life on the home farm in Miller township, where he remained two years, then went to Hunt's Station, where he en- gaged in the grain, hay and coal business for a period of seven years, and
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for about four years of this period he operated in this vicinity for the J. S. McConnell Company of Mt. Vernon. He soon built up an extensive trade in this line and met with much success. In 1907 he came to Mt. Vernon and engaged in the livery business and here he has remained, enjoying an ever-growing patronage. He has a large, well-stocked barn, good horses and modern equipment, everything kept up to date, in fact, he spares neither pains nor expense in rendering the public prompt and efficient service. . Mr. Ward is also the owner of a fine farm a half mile west of Mt. Vernon, which is well improved and under a high state of cultivation and which he supervises in a general way.
Politically, Mr. Ward is a Democrat and he has served his township as clerk and he has been clerk of the board of elections for two years in Miller township. He takes much interest in local party affairs. In his fraternal relations he is a member of the Knights of Pythias, the Mt. Vernon lodge. and he also belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees. He and his wife are members of the Baptist church and have long been active in church and Sun- day school work, he having been superintendent of the Sunday school and a deacon in the church.
Mr. and Mrs. Ward are pleasant people to meet, and they have many friends throughout the county.
HARRY HOLMES.
Agriculture has been the true source of man's dominion on earth ever since the primal existence of labor and has been the pivotal industry that has controlled, for the most part, all the fields of action to which his intelligence and energy have been devoted. In a civilized community no calling is so certain of yielding a compensatory reurn as that which is culled from a kindly soil, albeit at times the husbandman is sorely taxed in coaxing from mother earth all that he desires or even expects; yet she is a kind mother and seldom chastens with disappointment the child whose diligence and frugality she deems it but just should be rewarded. One of the farmers of College township, Knox county, on whom the aforesaid Mother Nature seems to have been unsparing in her largesses is Harry Holmes, who was born one mile north of Gambier in Monroe township, and who has spent his life in his home community. He is the son of Josiah and Sarah (Wasson) Holmes. The father came to Monroe township with his parents when he was seven
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years of age and here he was reared, residing on the same farm until his death. Lemuel Holmes, grandfather of the subject, came from Baltimore, Maryland, to Coshocton county, Ohio, in an early day and there settled on a farm. Grandfather Wasson was also a farmer all his life. Josiah Holmes, mentioned above, was one of the most progressive farmers of his township and one of the first to make an effort to improve his live stock, especially horses, and he bought the first Percheron stallion for that purpose and did much to improve the breed of horses in this county. He was one of the substantial and highly esteemed men of his community. He was a Repub- lican in politics and his religious faith reposed with the Episcopalians, though a few years prior to his death he united with the Methodist Episcopal church. His death occurred in April, 1892, his wife having preceded him to the grave several years. She was a native of Delaware county, Ohio.
Harry Holmes, of this sketch, spent his childhood and youth on the home farm and there assisted with the general farm work, attending the dis- - trict schools in the winter, in Monroe township and in the town of Gambier, also Kenyon Military Academy.
Mr. Holmes was married on August 16, 1883, to Celestie Wolfe. daughter of Jacob and Mary Ann (McArtor) Wolfe, a prominent family of Harrison township. The Wolfe family came from Pennsylvania, John Wolfe, Mrs. Holmes' grandfather, having been one of the pioneers of this country. One daughter has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Holmes, Ethel R., who married Jasper F. Walker. The latter is associated with the subject in farming and is a young man of much promise. He is extensively engaged in raising American thoroughbred Delaine sheep and his flocks are regarded as among the best in the country, in fact, are not surpassed in the state. His sheep find a market in all parts of the country for breeding purposes. He is an exhibitor at county and state fairs, also at the National Stock Exhibit at Chicago, and he has won many prizes wherever he has shown his fine stock. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have two children, a son and a daughter, Ruth M. and Harlow H.
After his marriage, Harry Holmes turned his attention to farming on his own account, which he followed several years, then became steward for three years at the Harcourt Seminary at Gambier. Following this he en- gaged in the grocery business in Mt. Vernon for three and one-half years. But he was never fully satisfied away from the farm, so he returned to hus- bandry. In connection with general farming he raised thoroughbred sheep. In 1907 he and Mrs. Holmes left the farm and moved to a fine home in Gambier, attractively and modernly finished, surrounded by spacious, well-
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kept grounds. His farm contains two hundred and seven acres of fertile and well kept land. under a high state of improvement and cultivation. The grounds surrounding his Gambier home consist of thirteen acres of valuable land. Mr. Holmes spends considerable time raising chickens, and his brown Leghorns are much admired by all who see them.
Mr. Holmes is a Prohibitionist and was mayor of Gambier in 1911, the (luties of which office he discharged in a manner that reflected much credit upon himself and to the satisfaction of all concerned. He has served on the Gambier board of education. He is thoroughly in touch with public matters and lends his support to all measures having for their object the general good of the people of his community. He and his family are mem- bers of the Disciples church, and he is an elder in the same. Mrs. Holmes is a refined and cultured woman and they are prominent in the social life of the community, their friends being numbered only by the limits of their acquaintance.
CHARLES W. COE.
The popular citizen and enterprising business man whose name furnishes the heading of this review needs no formal introduction to the people of Knox county. Long identified with the agricultural and business interests of the community, he has taken an abiding interest in the welfare of the same in all phases of its development, and has forged to the front ranks as a man of affairs, besides earning an honorable reputation as a man of integrity and wholesome ideals. He represents a sterling pioneer family.
Charles W. Coe, well known president of the Building and Loan As- sociation of Centerburg, was born on December 25, 1848, in Washington township, Licking county, Ohio, and is the son of Charles H. and Eliza Ann (Conard) Coe. The father came to Licking county when three years old with his parents. Joshua and Mary (Burgone) Coe, from Maryland in 1826, and the grandfather, Joseph Conard, came here from Virginia in 1805, settling in what is now Morgan township when the country was a wilderness, and here he remained a number of years, finally selling out and moving to what is now Washington township. Licking county, settling where the town of Utica now stands. He was a farmer and he established the first tannery in the locality. When the father of the subject married he also engaged in the tanning business, following the same for many years, later turning his attention to farming, finally giving up the tanning business. He was a soldier
l. M. Com
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in the Civil war, a member of the First Ohio Independent Sharpshooters. He was an exceptionally good shot, and prior to this service of about two years he was a recruiting officer. While in the service he was captain of a company of the sharpshooters and was attached to different regiments at various times, and he saw some hard service with the different armies. After the close of the war he came to Hilliar township, Knox county, Ohio, in 1865 and en- gaged in farming, in which he prospered, both as a general farmer and a sheep raiser. He died December 20, 1911, at the age of eighty-eight years, on his fine three-hundred-and-fifty-acre farm, a half mile north of Center- burg. His first wife died in December, 1873, she being the mother of the subject, and the father married again, his second wife surviving at this writ- ing. Four children, two sons and two daughters, were born to Charles H. Coe and his first wife, namely: Alice, now the wife of George Rinehart, her husband being now deceased; Charles W., of this sketch; Jennie mar- ried Joseph Sutton, a farmer of Hilliar township; and Judson C., of Center- burg, all living.
Charles W. Coe grew to manhood on the home farm and his first activ- ities were in his father's tannery. He attended the public schools and one year in the normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, also attended Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, then spent one year at Michigan University at Ann Arbor. Thus well equipped for his life work, he left college and began life by clerking in a drug store in Springfield, having taken the course in phar- macy at Ann Arbor, Michigan, for one year. After spending a year at Spring- field, he returned to the home farm, undertaking the management of the same, and for a period of twenty-seven years he operated the same in a most suc- cessful manner, carrying on general farming and stock raising, making a specialty of sheep. During the latter years of his farming operations, in 1893, he moved to Centerburg for the purpose of making his future home, but retained his farming interests. He was one of the organizers of the Building and Loan Association and after two years he became president of the same, which position he still holds, having discharged the duties of the same in a manner that reflects much credit upon himself and to the eminent satisfaction of all concerned, in fact his judicious management has been largely due to its large success. It is one of the most successful of its kind in the state. In 1901 Mr. Coe became associated with the Centerburg Bank, and was made vice-president of the same and has filled this position with rare ability ever since. The bank has since been reorganized and is now known as the Centerburg Savings Bank Company, under the state laws. Mr. Coe is
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also interested in the Johnston & Croton and the Patalaska & Hebron Tele- phone Companies, being one of the promoters of each and he has been a director in these companies from their organization. He is also the vice- president of the Centerburg Gas Company, president of the Little Sandy Oil and Gas Company, operating in Licking county, and vice-president of the Farmers Fertilizer Company, of Columbus, Ohio. He is president of the Capitol Limestone Company of Columbus. All the above named corpora- tions are at present in a prosperous condition. He is also interested in the Louisa Coal Company, of Louisa, Kentucky, and is a stockholder in various other corporations, and is thus a very busy man of affairs. He also has valu- able farming interests in Knox and Licking counties. He is by nature an organizer and promoter, a man of keen discernment, sound judgment and rare business acumen, possessing the foresight to see with remarkable accu- racy the future outcome of a present transaction. Few business men of the county are more widely or favorably known in business circles of this part of the state, and none are more deserving of their success.
Mr. Coe was married on December 25. 1880, to Belle L. Riley, a lady of culture and refinement, and the daughter of John and Susan (Curtis) Riley, a prominent and highly esteemed family of Hilliar township, both parents being now deceased.
Fraternally. Mr. Coe belongs to the Masonic order, the chapter and commandery, at Mt. Vernon and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine at Columbus. He and his wife belong to the Methodist Epis- copal church, he being a trustee of the same.
Mr. and Mrs. Coe have spent considerable time in travel, visiting Florida, Cuba and the Isle of Pines, where he has business interests. Politically, he is a Republican and is a local leader in the party, always active in its affairs, though he has never been an aspirant for public office, preferring to devote his attention exclusively to his large business interests. He has been a fre- quent delegate to various conventions of his party, in all of which he has made his influence felt for the good of the same and his community.
Personally, Mr. Coe is a refined, genteel, broad-minded gentleman, pro- gressive in all that the term implies, obliging and straightforward in his dealings with his fellow men, a man whose word is as good as the bond of most men and whose life has been so exemplary and praiseworthy that he has always enjoyed the good will and confidence of those with whom he has come into contact. Public-spirited, charitable and unassuming. he merits the high esteem in which he is universally held.
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GEORGE P. LAPORTE.
Examples that impress force of character on all who study them are worthy of record. By a few general observations may be conveyed some idea of the high standing of George P. LaPorte, the popular publisher of the Danville Herald, and one of the public-spirited and representative men of Knox county, whose interests he has at heart and which he seeks to promote, advocating such measures as have for their object the material, civic and moral good of the locality, and as a result of his many commendable char- acteristics he is held in high esteem by all classes, irrespective of party alignment.
Mr. LaPorte was born on September 19, 1875, in Coshocton county, Ohio. He is the son of Wallace B. and Amy B. (Ganson) LaPorte, both natives of Ohio. The father devoted his life to carpentering and many of the best buildings in various sections of Coshocton and Knox counties stand as monuments to his skill. He went to Riverside, California, in 1904, where he has since resided, engaged in carpentering and contracting. The mother has been long deceased, having passed away in October, 1879.
George P. LaPorte. of this review, spent his early life in Kansas where he was taken when one year old by his parents. The family returned to Ohio in 1883 and settled in Ashland county, where the father resumed his trade, and there the subject received his education in the public schools. Later the family moved to Richland county where they remained four or five years, and in the fall of 1889 they moved to Danville, Knox county, and here the subject has since resided.
George P. LaPorte earned his first dollar by working for his uncle, J. W. Kirk, of Richland county, and after coming to Danville he worked at what- ever he could get to do and finished his education in the Danville high school. after which he entered the office of the Danville Herald to learn the printer's trade. He went to Akron, Ohio, in 1900 and worked for the Werner Print- ing Company for a period of seven years and in February, 1908, he returned to Danville and worked for the Danville Herald again, this time as foreman. It was then owned by Paul Welker. In February, 1911, Mr. LaPorte pur- chased the paper and has since been editor, proprietor and publisher. He has increased the circulation of the same, improved its mechanical appearance and rendered it a valuable advertising medium and an influential factor in shap- ing and molding local public opinion, its prestige being gradually on the in- crease. The Herald is independent in politics and it stands for the develop- ment of Danville and vicinity along all lines. Its columns teem with the
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best, latest and most important news, succinctly and crisply set forth, and its editorials carry weight, whatever the topic under consideration. Mr. La- Porte also conducts a job printing department which is thoroughly equipped with modern machinery and appliances such as insure prompt and high-grade work.
On March 18, 1900, Mr. LaPorte was united in marriage with Genie Van Horn, daughter of R. and Mary ( Hess) Van Horn, an influential family of Danville, early settlers of this vicinity. Two sons and two daughters have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Bernard R., Ralph T., M. Arline and Frances E.
Politically, Mr. LaPorte is a Republican, but he has never been very active in public affairs and never an office holder. He belongs to the Knights of the Maccabees, the Masonic order and the Modern Woodmen of America. He and his wife are members of the Christian church, in which he is a trustee and they are active in church and Sunday school work.
Mr. LaPorte has other business interests aside from his newspaper and job office, and is a very busy man and one of the leaders of eastern Knox county. Personally, the subject is obliging, a good mixer and is always ready to do his full share in furthering the interests of his town and com- munity.
CHARLES C. LOGSDON.
When the evening shadows of old age lie about us, it is quite the usual thing for a person to look back over his life to find out whether the world is any better for his having lived. It must be a gloomy retrospect in- deed when no good can be found upon such an examination. On the other hand, what a delightful satisfaction it must be to any one to know that his life has been an example of excellence for the guidance of youth and for the congratulation of age. How many old persons who read these lines can truthfully hold up their heads and declare that the world is better for their having lived. It is a pleasure to chronicle the events in a career of a man who has the highest respect of all his acquaintances, such as Charles C. Logsdon, long a well-known business man of Danville, Union township, and one of the worthy pioneer sons of Knox county, which he has lived to see advance from the wilderness to one of the foremost communities in the great Buckeye commonwealth, and none has been happier in its phenomenal progress than he.
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Mr. Logsdon was born in Union township, this county, on May 31, 1839. He is the son of David and Rebecca (Uhl) Logsdon, both born in Maryland. The Logsdons were Scotch and emigrated to America with Lord Baltimore and settled in Maryland and Kentucky. The Uhls were of Ger- man blood and they, too, came to the United States in an early period. The parents of the subject were married in Maryland and came to Knox county, Ohio, about 1825 when the country was sparsely settled and practically a vast forest. They first settled in Danville and later moved to a farm in Union township and began to clear the land for farming. They underwent the usual hardships and privations incident to pioneer life and in due course of time they became very comfortably fixed through their industry and frugal habits. The elder Logsdon was a man of fine intelligence and upright char- acter and he was influential in the affairs of his community. He was born in 1809 and his death occurred in 1876. His wife was born in 1808 and her death occurred in 1885.
Charles C. Logsdon was reared on the farm and when of proper age he assisted his father in the fields and he received such education as the early country schools afforded. He remained under his parental roof-tree until he was twenty-one years of age, then worked at farming for his neighbors for some time. He was slow in learning the English alphabet, but learned spell- ing phonetically and got to be the champion speller in school of all ages, al- though he did not know a letter in the alphabet. Later he learned the mil- lers' trade and operated the mill at Gambier for six years and then moved to a farm which he purchased, near Monroe Mills, in Monroe township, and there he remained fifteen years. In 1883 he moved to Independence, Kansas, and engaged in the shorthorn cattle business and farmed extensively, pros- pering through close application and good management and becoming an ex- tensive land owner and one of the substantial men of that locality.
Mr. Logsdon was first married in September, 1867, to Amelia Hayes, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Hayes, of Harrison township, Knox county, Ohio, and to this union two sons have been born, Carey L., now in the railway mail service, but recently admitted to the bar, and expects to follow the law, and Clemen J., of Osborn, Greene county, Ohio. The wife and mother passed to her rest in July, 1887, while living in Kansas, and she was brought back to her old home in Union Grove, Knox county, Ohio, for interment. In September, 1890. Mr. Logsdon was again married to Alice G. Critchfield, daughter of Hiram and Harriet Critchfield, of Knox county, an early pioneer family. This union has been without issue.
After the death of his first wife, Mr. Logsdon returned to Buckeye
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City, Knox county, Ohio, and lived a retired life for several years, then moved to Columbus for the purpose of educating his sons in the Ohio State University, and that city was his home for a period of eight years, while his sons were attending school. Then he returned to Buckeye City and engaged in the cement business, manufacturing cement building blocks, ornamental work and monuments and he met with a large measure of success in this field. He has a fine modern residence of cement block, delightfully located, com- manding a beautiful view of the surrounding country, in fact, his is the finest residence in Danville and Buckeye City. Mr. Logsdon is now living a retired life, enjoying the fruits of his former years of endeavor. He has been very successful in a business way and has large interests and a com- petency.
Politically Mr. Logsdon has always been a Democrat, but has never been active or held anything but township offices, such as trustee and assessor. He belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He and his family are members of the Catholic church and are devout people, standing high in all circles of the community.
CLINTON M. RICE.
An enumeration of the enterprising men of Knox county, Ohio, who have won recognition and success for themselves and at the same time have conferred honor upon the community, would be incomplete were there failure to make mention of the popular gentleman whose name initiates this review. Clinton M. Rice, of Danville, holds worthy prestige in business circles and has always been distinctively a man of affairs and wields a wide influence among those with whom his lot has been cast, having won definite success and shown what a man of lofty principles, honesty of purpose and determi- nation can win if properly controlled, as his have evidently been, and because of his industry, integrity and courtesy he has always stood high in the estima- tion of the people and merits in every way their esteem.
Mr. Rice was born on November 6, 1857, on a farm in Brown township, this county. He is the son of Ephraim and Mary M. (Porter) Rice. The father was born in Bedford county, Pennsylvania, and the mother in Knox county, Ohio. The father came to Knox county with his parents, Isaac and Cordelia (Longsworth) Rice, in 1826 and settled on a farm in Union town- ship where they remained two years, and in 1828 they moved to Jefferson township in which they spent the remainder of their lives engaged in agricul-
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tural pursuits. The father was a progressive, public-spirited man of affairs and he became a large land owner in Brown township. In connection with general farming he raised horses of excellent breeds. Politically, he was a Democrat and active in public affairs, and he filled various offices in his township. He was a member of the Methodist church. His death occurred in April, 1888; his widow, a woman of many estimable attributes, still survives, being now advanced in years.
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