USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 23
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Mr. Struble was married on May 10, 1866, to Anna E. Cummings, daughter of James and Christena (McMillen) Cummings, a well known
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family of Fredericktown. They have one daughter. Christena, who is living at home.
The subject is a member of the Masons at Fredericktown, also the chapter at Mt. Vernon ; he belongs to the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic. In his father's family there were nine children, only three of whom are living. Daniel, a prominent banker and real estate owner at Fred- ericktown; William, at Cincinnati, and David W. of this review. The Struble family has been prominent in the development of this community for the past eighty years, as intimated at the beginning of this sketch, and they yet control large interests and are active in the business and civic affairs of the county,-in fact, few names are more prominently associated with the financial interests and material progress of this locality. They have ever sought to do their full duty in all the relations of life and have tried to keep the honor of the family name untarnished.
HARRY S. BUNN.
Conspicuous among the representative business men and public-spirited citizens of Mt. Vernon, Knox county, is Harry S. Bunn, who has spent most of his life in his home community, where he has made his influence felt for good, as has his father before him, the history of the Bunn family being closely interwoven with that of the county for many decades, whose efforts have always been for the advancement of the same as well as for the social and moral uplift. He has led a well regulated life, thereby gaining the respect and admiration of all his fellow citizens, and he is therefore eminently eligi- ble for representation in a biographical work of a scope intended in the present volume.
Mr. Bunn was born in the city of Mt. Vernon on August 4. 1870. He is the son of Ogden S. and Ella ( Crandall) Bunn, the father a native of Mt. Vernon also. The Bunn family is of English origin, and they came to Knox county from New Jersey in the pioneer days. The Crandalls were also an early pioneer family and both prominent in the early development of the same, living to see its wonderful growth from the primeval woods to one of the foremost sections of the Buckeye state.
Ogden S. Bunn was a well known painter and decorator contractor, as was also his father. the paternal grandfather of the subject, in fact, the Bunns have long been known as a family of skilled painters and decorators. The
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father was a soldier in the Civil war and he had an enviable record as a de- fender of the national union. His death occurred in 1875, his widow sur- viving until 1890. The father was a Republican in politics and an intelligent and highly respected citizen.
Harry S. Bunn, of this review, spent his childhood and early youth in Mt. Vernon and here he attended the public school. receiving a fairly good education, which has later in life been supplemented with a wide range of miscellaneous reading. In the year 1880 he and his mother moved to Em- poria, Kansas, where they made their home for a period of three years, when they moved to Kansas City. His mother died in Kansas City in 1890. He there began the trade of painter and decorator, following thus in the foot- steps of his father and grandfather before him. In 1893 he moved to Chicago and there remained during the Columbian Exposition, probably the greatest world's fair ever held. He returned to Mt. Vernon in 1894. Here the subject worked at his trade with his uncle, G. W. Bunn, and the latter's son until they went out of business in 1907, in which year the subject em- barked in business for himself and he has since continued alone. Having won a wide reputaion as a skilled painter and decorator, his services have been in great demand and he is kept constantly busy. He does general con- tracting in this line and frequently handles some big jobs, his work always being not only adroitly but conscientiously done, so that he has the confi- dence and good will of all, his work taking him to many surrounding towns as well as Mt. Vernon.
Mr. Bunn was married on June 25, 1897, to Flora Lease, daughter of William and Mary (Allen) Lease, a highly respected Mt. Vernon family, which originally came from Newcastle, Coshocton county, Ohio. This union has resulted in the birth of one son, George.
Politically, Mr. Bunn is a Republican and, while he takes a good citi- zen's interest in public affairs, he has never been an office seeker.
FRANK L. BENNETT.
In placing Frank L. Bennett, well known hardware dealer of Mt. Ver- non, in the front rank of Knox county business men, simple justice is done to a biographical fact, recognized throughout this locality by those at all familiar with his history. A\ man of rare judgment, sound discretion, keen discernment and business ability of a high order, he has managed with tact-
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ful success important enterprises and so impressed his individuality upon the community as to gain recognition among its leading citizens and repre- sentative men of affairs.
Mr. Bennett was born April 17, 1864, in Groveport, Franklin county. Ohio, and he is the son of Thomas B. and Anna J. ( Patterson) Bennett, both natives of Ohio, the father devoting his life to farming in Franklin county. never becoming a resident of Knox county ; they are both now deceased.
Frank L. Bennett lived on the home farm until he was fourteen years of age, and there attended the district schools, then went to Springfield, Ohio, entering the shops of William H. Whiteley, remaining there six years ; he then went to Columbus, Ohio, and for four years was in the employ of the Columbus Buggy Company, then after having become very proficient as a mechanic, he went to Galloway, Franklin county, and took charge of the carriage shop of Edward Courtright, and remained there five years, giving his usual high-grade service. He came to Mt. Vernon in 1896 and engaged in the hardware business with A. B. Henderson, under the firm name of Henderson & Bennett. In December, 1901, he sold his interest and in February, 1902, engaged in business for himself at No. 314 South Main street, where he built up a very satisfactory trade and remained until March, 19II, when he moved to more commodious quarters at No. 307 South Main street. He has a neat and attractive store, in which is tastily arranged a large, choice and carefully selected stock of all kinds of hardware, farm im- plements, tools, plumbers' supplies and builders' supplies, except lumber. He carries on a very extensive and lucrative trade, which is constantly growing. his customers coming from all over the county, for they here find goods of excellent quality, reasonable prices and honest and courteous treatment.
Mr. Bennett is a stockholder in the Mt. Vernon Ice Company, and as a business man he has been very successful. Politically, he is a Republican and is always active for reforms and improved conditions whenever possible. He has never sought office, but has taken an interest in public matters, regard- ing it as every man's duty to vote and uphold what he believes to be right. Fraternally, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the encampment and the Knights of Pythias, being treasurer of the encamp- ment and the Odd Fellows.
Mr. Bennett was united in marriage on March 22, 1890, to Anna D. Martin, daughter of Dariah and Margaret (Webb) Martin, of Troy, Miami county, Ohio. Both parents are deceased. The modern, pleasant and neatly kept home of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, on East Hamtramck street, has been blessed by the birth of one child, an interesting daughter, bearing the name Bernice, who is still a member of the family circle.
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Mrs. Bennett belongs to the Baptist church, while Mr. Bennett affiliates with the same, being a liberal supporter and a regular attendant, but not a member. Since coming to Knox county he has won a vast circle of friends among whom he intends spending the balance of his days.
LESTER L. WILLIAMS, M. D.
The county of Knox numbers among its citizens many skillful physi- cians, lawyers of state repute, well known manufacturers and business men of much more than local reputation, and she is not lacking in men who have achieved distinction in almost all callings requiring intellectual abilities of a high order, and she is proud of them, as she should be. Among the first class mentioned Dr. Lester L. Williams, of Mt. Vernon, occupies a conspicuous place.
Doctor Williams was born on January 15, 1858, near Croton, Licking county, Ohio, on a farm, and he is the son of John W. and Sarah (Scott) Williams, both parents being of Scotch descent, the father having been born in Ohio and the mother in Pennsylvania. About 1869 the family moved to Milford township, Knox county, where the father engaged in farming and also followed threshing grain for many years; he became well established there and was a man whom everybody respected ; his death occurred in 1882, after which the widow and family moved to Mt. Vernon, where the widow and mother passed to her rest in 1905.
Doctor Williams spent his youth on the home farm, where he assisted with the general work when not attending the district schools. After coming to Mt. Vernon he attended the city schools and the high school for a time, but did not graduate. Having long cherished a strong desire to study medi- cine, he entered the office of Doctor Robinson, a prominent physician of Mt. Vernon. In 1879 he took the course at the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, where he made a splendid record and from which he was graduated in 1882. Soon afterwards he located at Reedtown, a village in Seneca county, Ohio, for the practice of his profession, and he remained about eight years, building up a very satisfactory and lucrative practice, when, seeking a broader field for the exercise of his talents and desiring to return home, he came back to Mt. Vernon upon the death of his old preceptor, Doctor Robinson, and here established himself in the practice with his resi- dence and office at the corner of Gay and Gambier streets, at which location
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he has remained to the present time, having built up a very large general practice and few men in the profession in this section of Ohio stand higher than he, in the estimation and confidence of the people. He keeps well ad- vised on the newest discoveries in the medical world and he is frequently called in consultation with other physicians on important cases throughout this locality.
Politically, the Doctor is a Republican, but, while active and interested in public matters, he has never been an office seeker, preferring to devote his undivided attention to his profession. Being deeply interested in educa- tional matters, he served nine years as a member of the board of education at Mt. Vernon. He is a member of the Masonic order and active in lodge work, being a member of the Knights Templar and the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
WILLIAM MILD.
Prominent in the business life of Knox county and as a citizen whose influence extends throughout the locality, the name of William Mild, of Mt. Vernon, stands out conspicuously. Characterized by breadth of wisdom and strong individuality, and in all his enterprises and undertakings actuated by noble motives and high resolves, his success and achievement but represent the result of fit utilization of innate talent in directing effort along those lines where mature judgment and rare discrimination lead the way.
Mr. Mild was born June 11, 1850, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he is the son of Christian and Fredrica ( Rettig ) Mild, both natives of Germany, from which country they emigrated to AAmerica as young people, first settling in St. Louis, Missouri, where they were married. The father proved his loyalty to his adopted country by serving through both the Mexican and Civil wars, serving in a very faithful manner in the latter for three and a half years in the Twenty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was a baker by trade and followed that line of endeavor for many years in the city of Cincinnati, later moving to Hamilton, Ohio, and there he and his wife both died and are buried there.
William Mild was educated in the public schools of Cincinnati and at College Hill. When a young man he learned steam engineering and was a stationary engineer for ten years in Cincinnati. He then moved to Hamilton. Ohio, where he was, for three years, engaged in the galvanized iron business,
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which he sold out and became an employe of the Niles Tool Works in that city. He traveled for them through the South and East, establishing ma- chinery, remaining with that firm five or six years, then went with the H. C. Frick Company of Pittsburg, selling ice plant machinery and remained with them eight years, traveling through the Southern and Eastern states. Upon leaving this concern he engaged with the Platt Iron Works of Dayton, Ohio, manufacturers of ice plant machinery, as supplemental of the ice machinery department of their works and he remained with them until 1900, when, owing to ill health, he returned to Hamilton and was retired from business two years. He had given the above named firms, all well known throughout the United States, eminent satisfaction in every respect and he stood high with the officials of the same. In 1902 he came to Mt. Vernon and bought the Quail flour mill, known as the Mt. Vernon Milling Company, which he oper- ated for one year, then sold out and built the Mt. Vernon Ice and Cold Stor- age Company's plant, of which he was a large stockholder and manager, and he has continued to the present time. Under his able and judicious manage- ment the plant has been very successful and has grown rapidly and a large and ever increasing business is carried on. The plant has a capacity of twenty tons per day and has been operated to its full capacity from the first. The plant is modern in every detail and substantial, equipped with the best and latest designed machinery. Mr. Mild gives his undivided attention to the business, and he has the good will and confidence of the business men throughout the locality owing to his courtesy and his honorable methods in all relations of life.
Politically, Mr. Mild is a Republican and, while he is not an office seeker, he keeps well informed on public matters and is interested in his party's wel- fare. He is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge No. 140, Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks.
Mr. Mild and his associates, in connection with their ice plant, conduct an extensive coal business, handling all kinds of domestic and steam coals and they have a very large trade in the same. They ship large quantities of their ice to other places, their output being beyond the consumption of Mt. Vernon.
The domestic life of Mr. Mild began on January 16, 1872, when he was united in marriage with Louisa Klinkle, a lady of culture and education, the daughter of George and Elizabeth (Imhoof) Klinkle, a prominent family of Hamilton, Ohio. They are the parents of eight children, five sons and three daughters, namely: Charles L., of Mt. Vernon; William E., of Dayton ; Edwin G., of Mt. Vernon; Alvin and Irvin, also of Mt. Vernon; the daugh-
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ters are Lena, who is at home; Emma married Timothy Osborn, and they live at Mt. Vernon; Clara is a member of the family circle. The pleasant and attractive home of the Milds is at No. 110 East Chestnut street, in one of the best residence districts in the city.
Mr. Mild is an energetic business man of wide experience and of great capacity, which enable him to quickly grasp a situation and make the most of an opportunity. - He is a pleasant, kind and obliging gentleman who makes friends readily.
WILLIAM McGEE.
The record of William McGee, of Mt. Vernon, Knox county, is that of a man who has worked his way from a modest beginning up to a position of considerable prominence by his efforts, which have been practically unaided, which fact renders him the more worthy of the praise that is freely accorded him by his fellow men. His life has been one of unceasing industry and per- severance, and the notably systematic and honorable methods he has followed have won him the unbounded confidence and esteem of all who have formed his acquaintance, and in looking over the list of Knox county's business men who have succeeded in their life work, especially those whose place of resi- dence is in the picturesque city of Mt. Vernon, the biographer deems none more worthy of representation in a work of this nature than that of the gen- tleman whose name appears above.
Mr. McGee was born on January 20, 1847, in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. He is the son of John and Catherine (McCutchin) McGee. who came from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Nova Scotia, after a tedious voyage in an old-time sailing vessel, landing on the shores of the western hemisphere on June 29, 1845. The father was a linen weaver by trade in the old country, but after coming to Canada he engaged in farming. His death occurred on July 1, 1880, his widow surviving until in August, 1892. They never came down to the States.
William McGee, of this sketch, was reared on his father's farm and there he assisted with the general work. He had little opportunity to obtain an education, but, a student by nature, he became self-educated, his parents, who were fairly well educated, assisting him. When he grew to young man- hood he was employed in the lumber camps and quarries of Canada. In 1875 he came to the United States, first settling at Manchester, New Hamp- shire, and worked in the lumber camps during the winter months. In the
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spring of 1876 he went to Barre, the great granite country of Vermont. The granite industry was then in its infancy and Mr. McGee became one of the pioneer developers of that great business, which grew to such magnitude as to overshadow all other industries of the commonwealth, giving it the sobri- q11et of the "Granite state." He went into the quarries with a determination to learn all there was to be known about granite formations and its suscepti- bility of being worked, remaining there for some time. He then went into the manufacturing department and learned the cutting and designing end of the business, becoming very proficient in this line. He engaged in business for himself with both a quarry and a factory and became thoroughly identified with the industry. In 1904. on account of climatic conditions, he sold his interests in Vermont and came west, locating in the month of April, 1905, at Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and opened a factory on South Main street. On Novem- ber 6th of that year he lost his plant by fire, every dollar's worth of property he had in the world going up in flames. But, nothing daunted, the sterling mettle of his Scotch ancestry (he having inherited many of their sterling at- tributes ) asserted itself ; he was not to be thwarted by a seemingly untoward circumstance, although his stock of granite, machinery, horse, wagons- everything-was gone, so he forged ahead, and, having in the few months of his residence here won the good will and confidence of the people, he was encouraged to go to work with a will to win, and they made it possible for him to re-establish himself in business. He accordingly opened a new shop and factory on North Main street, near Mound View cemetery, and his business grew rapidly from the first, and he prospered to such an extent that after eighteen months he found it necessary to find a new location, one con- venient to the railroad for better shipping facilities and he accordingly moved to West Gambier street on the Baltimore & Ohio and the Cleveland. Akron & Columbus railroads. There is no better equipped granite monument plant in the state, and it is the present intention of the subject to make it one of the best in the United States. He has installed all modern machinery and devices for rapid and skilled work. He has everything under a superb sys- tem and understands the business from the quarries to the designing, manu- facturing and selling. Many of his up-to-date granite-working machines are of his own designing. His firm is known as the McGee-Starr Granite Com- pany, of which William McGee is president; Charles Colville, vice-president ; Walter Starr, secretary and treasurer ; William H. Robinson, manager. The following are also members of the company: Dr. Robert Colville, Charles Colville, John Colville, of Pittsburg; and A. D. Stokes. This is a strong company of representative men.
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Only the most proficient artisans and most adroit granite workers are employed by the firm, hence the superior grade of the work turned out by this company. The granite is obtained in the rough from the quarries, the origi- nal designs being closely followed and the cutting, polishing and lettering is all done in the home shop The business of the company covers a wide area, the well known high-grade quality of the work done here bringing the com- pany orders from all over Ohio, and from New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana and as far west as Nebraska.
William McGee was married on October 12, 1892, to Elizabeth Patter- son, a member of an English family of the province of Quebec, Canada. This family later moved to Barre, Vermont. To Mr. and Mrs. McGee four chil- dren have been born, two sons and two daughters, namely: Naomi, Ruth. William and Herold, all living at home.
Fraternally, Mr. McGee is a member of the Masonic order and the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and while living in Canada he belonged to the Orangemen. Politically, he is a Republican and a loyal supporter of our government and institutions. Religiously, he and his family belong to the Presbyterian church and they are active in the work of the same. The family home is at No. 716 North Main street.
Mr. McGee is a man of fine characteristics. Born and reared in an humble but honorable and industrious family, he is a man of fortitude, cour- age and self-reliance, an obliging, friendly gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet.
EDWARD C. BEGGS. D. D. S.
Among the earnest men whose professional skill, enterprise and depth of character have gained a prominent place in the community and the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens is Dr. Edward C. Beggs, a man of de- cided views and laudable ambition, his influence having ever made for the advancement of society and the general public and in the vocation to which his energies are devoted, he ranks among the leading dentists of Knox county and this section of the Buckeye state.
Doctor Beggs, who for a number of years has successfully practiced his profession at Mt. Vernon, is a native of Vinton, Gallia county, Ohio, and he is the son of George WV. and Taphena (McMillin) Beggs, both natives of Ohio, and both of Scotch and English descent, their progenitors having come to America in the sixteenth century. The father was a newspaper man and he
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edited and published a newspaper in Gallipolis and Vinton, Ohio, and Charles- ton, West Virginia, and became well known to the newspaper fraternity. He served in the Civil war, in Company B, Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted in 1861 and he served as a private until the close of the war. He was wounded during a skirmish while on picket duty on Gauly mountain, West Virginia. He saw much hard service, participating in forty-eight bat- tles and skirmishes, some ranking as the greatest of the war, and he was a very faithful soldier through it all. Returning from the army, he resumed newspaper work. His death occurred in April, 1877, his wife having pre- ceded him to the grave in May, 1875; they are buried in the cemetery at Vinton, Gallia county.
Dr. Edward C. Beggs, of this review, grew up in a newspaper environ- ment and he was educated in the public schools of Gallia county, Ohio, also attended Ewington Academy there, later attending the Lebanon Normal Col- lege at Lebanon, this state, from which he was graduated in 1888. Then he began life for himself by clerking in a hardware store in Jackson, Ohio, where he remained three years. He then began the study of dentistry with Dr. J. W. Jackson, of Jackson, Ohio, then entered the Ohio College of Dental Surgery at Cincinnati, from which he was graduated in 1892 with an excellent record. Soon afterwards he located in the city of Columbus and worked at the dental office of Houghton & Price for three years. In Novem- ber, 1894, he came to Mr. Vernon and opened an office and has been success- fully engaged in the practice here ever since, maintaining a well equipped and neatly arranged office in the Columbia building for the past fourteen years. Everything in his office is thoroughly up-to-date, for he has been a close student and has kept abreast of the times in everything pertaining to his profession, and he has been very successful, his patients coming from all parts of the country and numbering many hundreds.
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