USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 27
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Joseph Workman, Jr., father of Lyman Workman, the immediate subject of this sketch, was the first child of this large family to be born after coming to Knox county. He grew up amid pioneer conditions and worked hard on the home place, in fact, he devoted his life to farming. married Christine Ross, who was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, from which the Ross family came to Knox county, Ohio, about 1835.
To Joseph, Jr., and Christine (Ross) Workman four sons and two daughters were born to grow to maturity, others dying in infancy : those who survived were Elizabeth, now Mrs. Irvin Armstrong: Solomon R., of Brown township, this county : Lyman, of this review ; Marilla married Jobe Grant, of Pike township: Channing lives in Seattle, Washington. The parents of these children are both deceased, the father having died in August, 1881, and the mother at an earlier date, in October, 1864.
Lyman Workman, of this sketch, was born in Brown township, Knox county, Ohio, on July 16, 1845, on the home farm four miles north of Dan- ville, and there he grew to manhood. assisting with the general work about the place, and he received his education in the common schools during the time that he was not assisting with the crops on the farm. He was married on November 15, 1874, to Victoria Vincent, daughter of S. M. and Rosanna (Lybarger) Vincent, a highly respected family of Brown township, this county, and this union has resulted in the birth of four children, namely :
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William V. is married and lives on the home farm; Myrtle is now Mrs. Albert J. Young, of Akron, Ohio; Samuel J. lives in Brown township, this county ; Charles is single and is living at home.
Early in life Lyman Workman learned the carpenter's trade and this he has followed to the present time, being one of the most efficient and popular carpenters and builders of this part of the county. Most of the best farm residences and large barns, also many public buildings in this locality, stand as monuments to his skill as a builder. He is one of the busiest contractors in the county. He also has a farm four miles north of Danville, where he has always resided, overseeing the operation of the same, which is a valuable. productive and well improved place, and here he has a substantial and pleas- ant home.
Politically, Mr. Workman is a Democrat and he has long manifested an interest in public affairs. Something of the confidence in which he is held by the people of his community may be seen from the fact that he served as trustee of Brown township for a period of twenty years. He was also a member of the township school board for many years. His friends have frequently urged his candidacy for county commissioner, but he has per- sistently refused. He is a progressive citizen, favoring all legitimate public improvements in so far as they are consistent to the public good.
JOHN J. PFOUTS.
Optometry has become within the past two or three decades a distinct and, indeed, an indispensable branch of science and those who have selected it as their life work and have taken the proper pains to prepare themselves for its successful application are meeting with gratifying results and are to be found in nearly every city. We of the present generation seem to be much more in need of their services than were our fathers and grandfathers. Young people in the days of the early settling of this country had no trouble, gen- erally or abstractly speaking, with their eyes, but for various reasons, which we would be presumptuous to attempt to explain or to account for here, the human race, as a whole, is not blessed with the perfect sight known in former epochs.
A man of marked capacity and capability in this special profession is John J. Pfouts, of Mt. Vernon, Knox county. He was born on April 9. 1883, near Wilmot, Stark county, Ohio, and he is the son of John and Samantha (Beidler) Pfouts, both natives of Stark county, and there they
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grew up, were educated in the early schools and were married and there they spent their lives engaged in agricultural pursuits, both being now deceased.
Doctor Pfouts grew to maturity on the home farm, where he made himself useful in his boyhood days, and in that vicinity he attended the dis- trict schools. He was a very assiduous student and mastered the various branches quickly and easily, so that at the early age of sixteen years he began teaching school. Later he attended Wooster University at Wooster, Ohio, for two years and there made an excellent record, after which he resumed teaching, which he followed successfully for six years in all, and he ranked high among his contemporaries in this field of endeavor; but finally, tiring of the school room, he entered the Bradley Polytechnic Institute at Peoria, Illinois, from which he was graduated in optometry in 1907, with an ex- cellent record. He then went to Pittsburg. Pennsylvania, where he was em- ployed in a jewelry and optical store for one year, at the expiration of which he came to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, and opened jewelry and optical parlors at No. 6 Vine street, where he has a neat, attractive and thoroughly and modernly equipped place of business. He gives his special attention to optical work and is a recognized expert and he has a large and rapidly growing clientage, his patrons coming from remote distances. His work has proven eminently satisfactory in every respect.
Mr. Pfouts is a member of Mt. Vernon Lodge No. 140, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He was married on September 28, 1910, to Susie Willaman, the accomplished daughter of J. S. and Sarah (Shick) Willaman, of New Berlin, Stark county, Ohio, where the father is one of the commun- ity's prosperous and highly respected farmers. The mother is also still living.
Mr. Pfouts is a young man of pleasing address, makes and retains friends easily, is highly educated and is always a student, especially in the branches that pertain to his profession and he has won the respect of a large circle of acquaintances and friends since casting his lot in Mt. Vernon.
SAMUEL H. ISRAEL.
Prominent in the business life of Mt. Vernon and this locality, pre- eminently distinguished for his splendid ability in carrying to completion im- portant enterprises and enjoying marked prestige in many things, aside from his pronounced financial talents, far beyond the limits of the community honored by his citizenship, Samuel H. Israel stands out a clear and conspicu-
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ous figure among the successful men of a part of the great Buckeye state noted throughout the commonwealth for its high order of intelligence and business talent.
Mr. Israel is the scion of one of the leading and most influential pioneer families in Knox county, and his birth occurred in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, on December 16, 1846, in the same house where he has ever since resided, for he has never cared to leave "the roof that heard his earliest cry" for any other place of abode, knowing well that "home is best." Here, at No. 208 North Main street, long lived his parents, Samuel and Elizabeth ( Harper) Israel, and a brother of James Israel, a complete sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work.
Samuel H. Israel was educated in the public schools of Mt. Vernon and soon after leaving the school room he was engaged with his father in securing rights-of-way for the extension of the Cleveland, Akron & Columbus railroad from Millersburg, in Holmes county, through Mt. Vernon to Columbus. When these rights-of-way had been secured and the building of the road made possi- ble, he was engaged in contract construction work of the line, which work occupied him for two or three years, from 1871 to 1873, inclusive. Following this he was one of the promoters and organizers of the Knox County Savings Bank in 1873 and he became its first cashier, in which position he continued successfully until 1906, when he succeeded to the presidency of the bank. which position he now fills, and it is safe to say that the widespread popu- larity of this safe and conservative institution has been due very largely to his able and judicious management, until today its prestige stamps it as one of the sound financial institutions of this part of the state. From a rather small beginning it has grown to one of the leading banks in Knox county. It was first located at No. 8 North Main street, and there it continued to do business until 1906, when it moved to its present handsome and commodious quarters at No. 26 Public Square. A general banking business is carried on under the latest and most approved methods and its patrons are constantly increasing.
Mr. Israel has also been treasurer of the Home Building and Loan Com- pany, another of the popular, solid and successful financial institutions of Mt. Vernon, he having held this position continuously since its organization in 1885. With the growth, development and successful management of these two institutions Mr. Israel has been connected in a leading capacity since their organization and they have had his entire business attention and best thought and ability. He is known to be a careful, conservative and energetic business man, his methods always consistent with best banking methods. He
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is by nature an organizer and promoter, a man of keen discernment and wise foresight, straightforward and honest to the letter in all his dealings, con- sequently he has ever enjoyed the confidence and good will of those with whom he has come into contact.
Mr. Israel was born and bred a Democrat and he did not depart from his raising until 1896, when he voted for William Mckinley for President. He has never been an active partisan, but is well informed on public topics and campaign issues, and has always stood ready to lend his support to all measures looking to the general advancement of his county and state. While .not a member of any church, he has always affiliated with the Episcopal church, the choice of his parents.
Mr. Israel has never married. Personally, he is a man of pleasing ad- dress, genial, generous and a good mixer, always unassuming.
CHARLES K. SALISBURY.
One of the most evident things to the thoughtful men of affairs is that life at no stage is a bed of roses. There are thorns, and many of them, along the pathway of every one, and the lucky ones are those who are pierced by the fewest and avoid the most. It will probably not be disputed that all persons should keep in view the important duty of pulling out the thorns from the feet of those who are less fortunate. They may thus not only lay up treasures for themselves, but help strew the pathway of some less fortunate mortals with roses. After a short time this important duty will become a pleasure and then the whole world, in all its harshness and with all its thorns. will begin to blossom in real earnest. Charles K. Salisbury, well known real estate, loan and insurance dealer of Mt. Vernon and one of the progressive and public-spirited citizens of Knox county, is one who believes in the motto, "Live and let live." He does not care to rise if he has to trample over the rights of others to do so. He believes in honest emulation and fair competi- tion and is willing to march side by side with his fellow creatures and take his chances with the rest, giving them their dues and taking his own. And because of these and other commendable attributes he has won and retained the unlimited confidence and respect of all with whom he has come into con- tact. either in a business or social way.
Mr. Salisbury was born in Morrow county, Ohio, in 1875. He is the son of Judson A. and Nora D. Salisbury, a highly respected family of that
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county, and successful farmers. The subject spent his early boyhood on the home farm, where he assisted with the various chores in the summer and at- tended the district schools in the winter, remaining on the farm until he was fifteen years of age. Then his father died and the mother and rest of the family subsequently moved to Mt. Vernon, Knox county, where they have lived since about 1890.
In 1903 Mr. Salisbury engaged in the real estate, loan and insurance business in Mt. Vernon, and this has been his chief line of endeavor ever since, having built up a large and ever-growing business. He is. well in- formed on the values of real estate in Mt. Vernon and Knox county and he is kept very busy with his various lines of work.
Mr. Salisbury was married in June, 1899, to Nellie M. Robinson. She was born in Mt. Vernon, where she grew to womanhood and was educated. She is the daughter of William S. and Mary E. (Lane) Robinson. Three children have been born to the subject and wife, namely: Mary E., Charles W. and Louise D.
Mr. Salisbury is a member of the Baptist church and his wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church. Politically, he is a Republican and takes an active part in public affairs, lending his support to all measures looking to the good of the community whose interests he has at heart. He is a member of the Mt. Vernon city council.
LEWIS B. HOUCK.
Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial development, it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a success- ful life, whatever the field of endeaver, is none the less interesting and profitable by reason of existence of this same uncertainty. One of the well known citizens of Mt. Vernon, Knox county, who deserves distinctive prestige among the enterprising men of affairs is Lewis B. Houck. He has earned the right to be called one of the progressive men of this locality, having fought his way onward and upwards to a prominent position in the circles in which he has chosen to move, and in every relation of life his voice and influence are on the side of right as he sees and understands the right.
Mr. Houck was born on April 19, 1867, in Bladensburg, Knox county,
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Ohio. He is the son of Washington and Avaline ( Bebout) Houck. Grand- father William Houck was a resident of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, and was a Revolutionary soldier. His son, Washington Houck, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in that county and in 1822 he came with the early settlers to Knox county, Ohio. locating in Jackson township, having made the entire journey from his old home in the Keystone state on foot. Here he became very well established, and later laid out the town of Bladens- burg on his farm and built the first home there. In connection with general farming Mr. Houck conducted a general store in Bladensburg for a number of years, being regarded as an enterprising and public-spirited citizen of that community, filling many offices of trust and responsibility there. In 1822 he organized a Disciples church in his own home in Bladensburg, which was the first Disciples congregation in Ohio, and he was later made an elder in that church. His uncle, Jacob Houck, laid out the town of Centerburg, Knox county, in 1817, and thus the family was active and prominent in the progress and development of this locality. Mrs. Houck's parents, Lewis and Elizabeth Bebout, came from Greene county, Pennsylvania, to Clay township, Knox county, in 1826.
Lewis B. Houck, of this review, spent his childhood and youth in his native village of Bladensburg, and there attended the public schools, later entering the nomal school at Martinsburg, then Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio. With this broad and liberal foundation, he took up the study of law in the office of H. D. Critchfield at Mt. Vernon, who afterwards became general counsel for the United States Telephone Company at Cleveland. In 1892 Mr. Houck was admitted to the bar and immediately opened offices in Mt. Vernon. Well grounded in the principles of jurisprudence and with an industry which knew no bounds, he immediately began to acquire a good practice, his clientage soon embracing those whose business was of most important character and his practice extending to all the courts of the district and state. A safe counselor and an able advocate, he has won many notable cases, has kept fully abreast of the times in all matters pertaining to his profession and won a place in the front rank of the legal lights of this section of the state, being an earnest, painstaking, far-seeing and cautious lawyer who always has the interests of his clients at heart and spares no pains in furthering their interests.
Before Mr. Houck began his career as an attorney he engaged success- fully in teaching in the district schools of the county for a period of eight years, and for nine years, from 1888 to 1897, he was a member of the county board of school examiners for Knox county, this being a longer time
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than that of any other official in the same office. In 1898 he was elected to the Mt. Vernon city council and was re-elected in 1890 and 1892. He has always been active in the Democratic party, making his influence felt in local and state politics. He served on the county central committee and as chair- man of the executive committee of the county and for years he has rendered efficient service to the Democratic cause. He was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1903 and while a member of that distinguished body he made his influence felt for the good of his native community and the state in general. He served on many important committees, including the judiciary, taxation, labor, fees and salaries and various others, eleven in all. It was during his term that the Ohio state sanatorium for tuberculosis patients was authorized and its location secured for Knox county. In the state campaign of 1905 he was nominated by his party as its candidate for lieutenant-governor, and while John M. Patterson, the candidate for governor, was able to overcome the great Republican majority, the remainder of the Democratic state ticket was defeated. When Governor Patterson was inaugurated he selected Mr. Houck as his private secretary, which responsible and difficult position he filled with such ability and fidelity that it brought much credit to himself and the hearty commendation of the governor, continuing his duties in this capacity until after the death of his chief, who was succeeded by Lieutenant-Governor Andrew L. Harris, a Republican, and Mr. Houck retired.
In fraternal circles Mr. Houck is a member of the various Masonic bodies and he is past chancellor of Timon Lodge No. 45, Knights of Pythias ; past grand of Quindaro Lodge No. 316, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and he is regent of Mt. Vernon Council No. II, Royal Arcanum. He served as grand master of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in 1908 and 1909, and has been representative to the grand lodge of both the Odd Fellows and Royal Arcanum. He is also a member of the Improved Order of Red Men. He has long been prominent in fraternal circles of this section of the state.
Few men are more generally known throughout the state than Mr. Houck through his fraternal and political acquaintances, and he has won the con- fidence and esteem of all who know him.
In religion Mr. Houck's views are in harmony with the doctrines and teachings of the Disciples church, in which he was reared.
Mr. Houck was married on December 12, 1894, to Arla B. Nicholls. the refined and talented daughter of Daniel and Caroline ( McCamment) Nicholls. Grandfather Thomas Nicholls was a soldier in the war of ISI2 and he came from Brooke county, Virginia. to Knox county. Ohio, in the (44)
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very early history of this county, about 1810. The maternal grandfather, John S. McCamment, was also a pioneer here, having come from Greene county, Pennsylvania, in the early years of the last century and here both families became well established and known. The elder McCamment took considerable interest in public affairs and served as county commissioner in the early days and for three terms as infirmary director. For thirty years he was a justice of the peace in Jackson township and won high regard for his equity and justice.
One son has been born to Mr. and Mrs. Houck, Lewis Daniel, now thirteen years of age and a pupil of the Mt. Vernon high school, where he is making a splendid record.
Mr. Houck has won an enviable place among men, a leader in his pro- fession and in the political party to which he has ever been loyal, also in fraternal and social circles. He has little time for leisure, always being busy with some important matter. He has been faithful to every trust reposed in him, is systematic in his work, painstaking and untiring, accomplishing what would astonish many men. He is pronounced in his views, always having the courage of his convictions, but is fair and considerate to his opponents. His pleasant, hospitable home is one of the most imposing in the city, located at No. 107 North Main street, and here the many friends of the family frequently gather, never failing to find here good cheer and old- time friendliness.
DR. CHARLES KINSEY CONARD.
Doctor Conard was born on April 19, 1865, at Utica. Licking county, Ohio, and is the son of Cyrus M. and Sarah (Kinsey) Conard. The family name is of German origin and was originally spelled Conrad. Early in the sixteenth century, the traditional three brothers of this name emigrated from Holland and located in Germantown, Pennsylvania, where one of the number, Cyrus M. Conard's great-grandfather, was killed by Indians. Nathan Con- ard, grandfather of Doctor Conard, came from Virginia to Ohio in 1808. He made a business of dressing mill-stones. On one of his mill-stone expedi- tions to Mt. Vernon, he saw his first saw-mill, which had just started and he carried home a sawed board on horse-back, a distance of thirteen miles, as a curiosity. He located near Utica, where he established a home, became prominent among the pioneers, and was the owned of a large tract of valuable land and he gave farms to all of his children. One of his grandchildren
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has the original farm that has been in the Conard family over a hundred years.
The mother of Cyrus Conard was a Butcher and her people came from England. The Kinsey family settled in the eastern part of Knox county at what was called Rochester, below Millwood. The ancestors of the subject figured prominently in the early history of the county, and from the pioneer epoch to the present the name has been an honored and well known one. The Doctor grew to maturity on the home farm where he assisted with the general duties about the place during the crop seasons and attended the public schools at Utica, and then, turning his attention to the art of healing; he began studying medicine under Dr. M. F. Cole. He then attended the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College at Cleveland, Ohio where he made a splendid record and from which he was graduated in 1890. He came at once to Mt. Vernon, where he has been successfully engaged in the practice, enjoying a wide and ever-increasing patronage. Always a student, he has kept well abreast of the times and has been very successful. Since locating here he took post-graduate courses at the New York Post-Graduate Medical School and also at the New York Polyclinic School.
Doctor Conard married Eva B. Jackson, daughter of Isaac L. Jackson, a well known citizen living northwest of Mt. Vernon, their wedding occurring on June 27, 1889, and this union has resulted in the birth of two children, Carroll D. and Cora Marie. The son, now twenty years old, is attending the medical college at Cleveland from which his father was graduated; the daughter is a student in Mt. Vernon.
Fraternally, the Doctor is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Ben Hur, and he and his family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is medical examiner for several insurance companies and fraternal organiza- tions. The family lives in a picturesque and historic old building which was used for the Mt. Vernon postoffice in 1835.
ELLSWORTH W. BREECE.
So much in excess of those of success are the records of failures or semi-failures, that one is constrained to attempt an analysis in either case and to determine the measure of causation in an approximate way. But in studying the life record of Ellsworth W. Breece, well known business man and public spirited citizen of Mt. Vernon, Knox county, we find many quali-
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ties in his makeup that always gain definite success in any career if properly directed, as his has evidently been done, which has resulted in a life of good to others as well as in a comfortable competence to himself.
Mr. Breece was born in Fredericktown. Knox county, Ohio, on January II, 1867. He is the son of Edson J. and Ruth (Snow) Breece, the father born in Knox county and the mother in Lake county, Ohio. The father of the subject was a painter and paper-hanger and he spent all of his active life in Fredericktown, spending the last few years of his life in Mt. Vernon, his death occurring there on September 15, 1907. His widow died April 2. 1910.
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