USA > Ohio > Knox County > Past and present of Knox County, Ohio, Vol. II > Part 43
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829
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
JOHN MARION COCHRAN.
One of the farmers of Jackson township, Knox county, who believes in adopting the best and latest methods in agriculture in so far as they are consistent with local conditions is John Marion Cochran, a man who has depended upon himself for what he has, believing that life is very largely what we make it, and being too independent to permit others to do the work that he himself should perform. He has not aspired to be a leader in any relations of life, merely exercising the rights of good citizenship and spend- ing his time in looking after his farm and his family. To the contemplative mind such a life is the most desirable.
Mr. Cochran was born in Butler township. Knox county. November 8, 1850, and is the son of Sydner and Margaret ( Hammel) Cochran. The paternal grandparents, Elijah and Susan (Messer) Cochran, were natives of Virginia and they came to Ohio about 1830 and located in Muskingum coun- ty. There they became very comfortably established on a farm, which he literally hewed out from the forest, the country then being new and sparsely settled, and there he lived until his death; his wife also died there. The maternal grandparents, John Hammel and wife, emigrated to America in an early day and located in Knox county ; she was a native of Ireland and it is believed that that country was also his birthplace. Here they worked hard and in due course of time had a good home.
The mother of the subject was born in Knox county and the father in Virginia, in 1820. They were married in this county and here they began life on the farm which they purchased. They had a family of ten children, three of whom died in infancy, and seven grew to manhood and womanhood. The parents were members of the Disciples church. The father's death oc- curred on October 5, 1895, and the death of the mother on November 16, 1906.
John M. Cochran, of this sketch, was reared on the home farm and there he worked when a boy and in the winter months attended the common schools in his locality. Early in life he took up farming and in 1874 bought seventy- two acres in Jackson township, and he is now the owner of eighty-two acres which he has placed under excellent improvements and on which he has made a very comfortable living as a general farmer and stock raiser. He has a very cozy home.
Politically, Mr. Cochran is a Democrat and he takes considerable inter- est in the affairs of his locality and has held a number of the township offices, always with much credit and satisfaction. Both he and his wife belong to the Disciples church.
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KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
Mr. Cochran was married on September 23, 1874, to Frances E. Mur- ray, who was born in Knox county, where she was reared and received her education. She is the daughter of James and Charlotte (Elliott) Murray, a well known family of this part of the county.
Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cochran, namely: Ara E. is at home; James V. married Elizabeth Riley and they live in Danville ; Cleveland Dale married Olga Hall, of Bladensburg, and they live in Jackson township, Knox county.
ROBERT C. ANDERSON.
Among the men of Knox county who have appreciated present-day op- portunities and have profited by ingenuity and persistency in the business world as a result of the favorable conditions existing in the splendid locality of which this history treats, the name of Robert C. Anderson, well known contractor of Mt. Vernon, is deserving of special mention, a man who has been alert to grasp situations leading to ultimate success and whose life has been led along conservative and honorable lines so that he has ever enjoyed the confidence and esteem of all with whom he has come into contact, wheth- er in a business or social way.
Mr. Anderson was born on October 31, 1850, in Clinton township, Knox county, Ohio. He is the son of David McCord Anderson and Hannah Jane (Hamill) Anderson. The father came to Knox county, Ohio, with his mother and two sisters, his father having died in 1844 when David M. Ander- son was a young man. They had come from near Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pennsylvania. David M. Anderson's maternal ancestry, the Hay and McCord families, were of Scotch blood and they emigrated to America in the old colonial days and some members of these families participated in the Revolutionary war. The father of the subject was born in the historic year 1812. The mother's people, the Hamills, came from Chester county, Penn- sylvania, to Muskingum county, Ohio, in 1821. Grandfather John C. Hamill was a blacksmith and farmer and he followed his trade while living in Muskingum county. It was about 1825 when they came to Knox county and settled on a farm on the Columbus road, three miles south of Mt. Ver- non, and engaged in farming. Grandfather Hamill was a soldier in the war 'of 1812 and he is described as a man of sterling qualities. His death occurred in February, 1845, having been a man of great activity, intelligence and much influence among the people of his community.
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831
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
The parents of Robert C. Anderson, of this review, were married in 1844 at the home of John C. Hamill, the ceremony being performed by Rev. James Scott, pastor of the Presbyterian church. These parents began their married life on the Hamill farm, three miles south of town David M. An- derson was a successful farmer and a man of much resource and his charac- ter was ever above cavil. Because of his ability and public spirit, he was called upon to fill numerous responsible public offices. His death occurred on April 14, 1897, his wife having preceded him to the grave on May 10, 1881, and they are buried in the Mt. Vernon cemetery. They were faithful members of the Presbyterian church. Politically, he was a Democrat and was always active in public matters. Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. David. M. Anderson, three sons and two daughters, namely: Anna Adeline, who makes her home with her brother, Robert C., of this sketch, he being the fourth in order of birth ; John H, of Mt. Vernon, was the sec- ond child ; and Thomas M., who is farming on the old home place, was the third; Sarah E., who married Wiley Bell, a farmer of Knox county, is the youngest child.
Robert C. Anderson was educated in the district schools of Clinton township and for six years he taught school very successfully during the winter months, working at the carpenter's trade in the summer time, alter- nating these occupations until he was twenty-five years of age. He was mar- ried in December, 1877, to Alice E. Wilkins, daughter of Francis and Eme- line (Williams) Wilkins, of Mt. Vernon. To the subject and wife three children have been born, namely : Walter S. married and is living in Mt. Vernon; Clarence H. and Stella M., twins, both live at home. The wife and mother has passed to her rest.
In 1870 Mr. Anderson moved to Mt. Vernon and continued carpenter- ing, contracting and building and he has engaged in this business to the present time, having met with a large measure of success. Many of the best business blocks, public buildings and private residences of this locality stand as monuments to his skill as a builder. One of his most recent im- portant jobs was the erection of the alumni library building of Kenyon Col- lege, at Gambier, Ohio, costing fifty thousand dollars He is universally regarded as the foremost contractor and builder of Mt. Vernon. For sev- rral years he was in the bridge building business and for two and one-half years he was superintendent of the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company. This was in addition to his general contracting business and for two years he was a traveling salesman for various bridge companies, being recognized as an expert man in his line. Politically, he is a Democrat, but has never found
832
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
time to take any special part in public affairs, and during 1908 and 1909 he was a member of the city board of public service, and has also been city build- ing inspector, but he has never been an office seeker. He is a progressive, enterprising citizen, interested in progress along all lines and a valuable cit- izen to the community.
For some time Mr. Anderson's sons have been interested with him in business, contracting and building. under the firm name of R. C. Anderson & Sons, the sons assuming much of the active work of the firm.
Personally, Mr. Anderson is an intelligent, broad-minded, congenial gentleman, a man whose opinions and judgment are highly regarded.
CHARLES R. YOUNG.
This is an age in which the farmer stands pre-eminently above any other class as a producer of wealth. He simply takes advantage of the fertile soil, the refreshing rain, the sunshine and by the Creator's help and by virtue of his own skill in handling nature's gifts he creates grain, hay. vegetables and live stock, all of which are absolute necessities to the inhabitants of the world. The commercial system has come to recognize his importance at last and has surrounded him with many conveniences and utensils unthought of a century or even fifty years ago. The inventor has given him the self- binder, the riding-plow, the steam thresher and many other labor-saving devices. And the farmer has not been slow to take advantage of these blessed improvements. He everywhere has utilized them and made them add to his wealth and his comfort. It has been thus with Charles R. Young, one of the well known farmers of Monroe township. Knox county, who stands among our modern tillers of the soil, for he has been an advocate of the latest and most approved methods in this field of endeavor.
Mr. Young was born on March 12, 1870, on a farm in Monroe town- ship, this county. He is the son of Silas and Catherine ( Davis) Young, the father a native of Geauga county, Ohio, and the mother of Knox county, this state. The father devoted his life to farming, coming to Knox county when . about fourteen years of age, and here he became a large landowner and pros- perous farmer and stockman, dealing extensively in live stock of all kinds. He was a man of prominence and influence in his community, always inter- ested in public matters, and a loyal Democrat, but he was never an office seeker. His death occurred on April 28, 1910, and that of his wife on September 16, 1902.
833
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
To Mr. and Mrs. Silas Young ten children were born, namely: Sher- bon is deceased; Jacob, late of Springfield, Illinois, now deceased; John S. is also a resident of that city; Elizabeth A. married C. A. Lafever and they live in Clinton township, this county; Alice Y. is deceased; Mary married Walter Steele, of San Benito, Texas: Carrie married D. H. Painter, of Minneapolis, and she is now deceased; Dee is deceased; Charles R., of this sketch ; Catherine married Walter Spittle, of San Benito, Texas.
Charles R. Young was reared on the home farm and there he assisted with the general work when he became of proper age, and he received his education in the country district schools. He remained with his parents until he was married, on June 17, 1896, to Blanche Welshymar, daughter of William H. and Sarah A. (Sacord) Welshymar, of Mt. Vernon, and to this union three daughters have been born, namely: Ruth A., Helen A., and Virginia L., all at home.
Mr. Young began his married life on a farm one mile east of Mr. Ver- non, on the Coshocton road. He is the owner of one hundred and fourteen acres of fertile and valuable land which he has kept well improved and well cultivated. Here he carries on general farming and stock raising, keeping a good grade of live stock. He has a beautiful home, modernly furnished.
Politically, Mr. Young is a Democrat, but not an active party man, though he always takes an active interest in public matters. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, and he and his family hold membership with the Methodist Episcopal church, and the family is prominent in the social life of the community.
CLEMENT E. DURBIN.
The people who constitute the bone and sinew of this country are not those who are unstable and unsettled, who fly from this occupation to that. who are continuously moving from one place to another, who do not know how to vote until they are told, and who take no active and intelligent inter- est in affairs effecting their schools, churches and property. Knox county, Ohio, is today fortunate in having so many citizens who have lived here from their birth, whose parents and grandparents spent their lives here, or the ma- jor part of them. It shows that this is indeed a favored country and that the first settlers were content to spend their lives in our midst and that they have laid good foundations for the descendants, who are today enjoying, in a way, the fruits of their labors. One of these old and highly respected
834
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
families is that represented by Clement E. Durbin, farmer of Union town- ship, who was born on August 16, 1863, on a farm in Howard township. Soon afterwards his parents, Benjamin and Margaret ( McNamara) Durbin, moved to Union township, where the subject was reared and where he has since resided. The father was born in Belmont county, Ohio, and the moth- er in the state of New York, she being of Irish descent, her people having come to America from Ireland only a short time before her birth. They located for a time in New York, later coming to Knox county, Ohio. Grand -. father Baptist Durbin brought his family to Knox county, Ohio, in 1830, when Benjamin Durbin, father of the subject of this sketch. was only two years of age. Here the family became well established and here the sub- ject's father grew to manhood, received his education in the common schools and spent his life engaged in agricultural pursuits, becoming a large land- owner and one of the influential and highly respected men of his county. Politically, he was a Democrat and always interested in good government and very creditably filled a number of township offices, though he never sought official preferment. He and his family were members of the Catholic church and faithful in their support of the same. The death of Benjamin Durbin occurred on October 19, 1906, his wife having preceded him to the grave on February 6, 1883 They were the parents of eight children, four of whom died in infancy : those surviving are: Clement E, of this review : Selora A. married Albert Logsdon, of Champaign county, Ohio; Mary J. married Thomas B. Durbin, of Union township; Olive Bertha married Will- liam Grassbough and they live in Union township.
Clement E. Durbin was reared on the farm and when a boy he assisted with the general work on the place, attending the common schools in the winter time, in Danville, until he became of age, thereby receiving a good education.
Mr. Durbin was married on April 11, 1888, to M. Catherine Durbin, daughter of John C. and Margaret (Colopy) Durbin, of Howard township. and to the subject and wife seven children have been born, namely: Alice G. is teaching in the Danville schools; Pauline C. is teaching in the schools of Union township; Bernadette A. is a graduate of the Danville high school; Justin L. is a student : Beatrice T., Mary M., Ignatius Q.
Mr. Durbin and his wife began housekeeping on the farm where he now resides, the old Banbury homestead. This place, which consists of one hun- dred and sixty-five acres, he has kept well improved and under a high state of cultivation, and in recent years he has erected a modern and commodious dwelling and has convenient and substantial outbuildings. In connection
835
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
with general farming he pays much attention to the raising of good live stock, and he has been very successful in whatever he has undertaken, farm- ing along modern lines of soil adaptation and crop rotation.
Politically, Mr. Durbin is a Democrat, and he is a member of the Cath- olic church and active in the work of the same. His daughters are well educated and prominent in the social life of this part of the county ; they are very successful as teachers, and they are decidedly musically inclined, being splendid performers on the piano and violin and frequently sought in public performances of a musical nature.
JOHN C. WINTERRINGER.
One of the best known pioneer families of Knox county, one whose va- rious members have done their full share of the work allotted to them in furthering the work of transforming the primeval forests into a fertile, pro- ductive country, equal to any in the great Buckeye state, is that worthily rep- resented in the present generation by John C. Winterringer, of Buckeye City, Union township. His useful and industrious life has been spent in his home community, for he had the sagacity to foresee a great future for the same and he knew that for him no better opportunities were to be found in any other section of this or any state, so he has been content with home, which, most people will agree, is the best place after all.
Mr. Winterringer's birth occurred here on February 7, 1840, on a farm three miles southeast of Buckeye City. He is the son of Jesse B. and Rhoda (Workman) Winterringer, both natives of this part of Ohio, both these fam- ilies having been early pioneers of the same, coming here in 1816 when the land was covered with far-reaching forests and still the abode of Indians and all kinds of wild beasts common to this latitude. They endured the hard- ships and privations incident to life in such an environment, and, not discour- aged by obstacles, they went to work with a will, built log cabins and cleared the land, finally owning comfortable homes. The Winterringers were orig- inally from France and the hardy blood of their sterling ancestors stood them well in hand after taking up their abode in America. They first settled in Maryland, later coming to Jefferson county, Ohio, and on to Knox county with the first settlers. Upon arriving here the family first found shelter under wide-spreading limbs of a hugh oak tree, and under such a canopy a brother of the father of the subject of this sketch was born.
836
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
Jesse B. Winterringer, mentioned above, devoted his life to farming. his work being necessarily arduous, but he persevered in the new country and became a large landowner and a prosperous farmer, one of the substantial and influential men of his community. He was a life-long Democrat and more or less active in the affairs of his party. Religiously, he belonged to the Presbyterian church, to which his family also belonged. He lived to a good old age, dying on October 5, 1897, after a successful and honorable career, having survived his wife a number of years, she having preceded him to the spirit land about 1889. Jesse B. Winterringer was born on September 13, 1813, and his wife was born in 1818. They were the parents of ten children, four sons and six daughters, namely: Eliza, now the widow of Joseph Hauger : Julidia is deceased; John C., of this review ; Martin L. lives in Union township: Edith married Lyman Welker, of Butler township, this county ; Martha married Jacob Parsons, of Union township; Joseph lives in Mt. Vernon ; Mary married David Welker, of Mt. Vernon: Alexander and Hulda died in infancy. The parents of these children are buried in the Workman cemetery near Buckeye City.
John C. Winterringer was reared on the home farm where he assisted with the general work about the place during his boyhood days, attending the old-time public schools in the winter months, also the Millwood Academy. "When he was a young man the Civil war was in progress and, like many of his public spirited neighbor boys, he proved his patriotism by enlisting early i11 1861 in Company E. Twentieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which he served very faithfully until after the battle of Fort Donelson. About this time he was attacked by typhoid fever and after his recovery he was dis- charged on account of disability. He was such a splendid soldier that he was given the rank of corporal. Returning home from the army, he en- gaged in the mercantile business at Millwood, but remained there only a short time when he moved to St. Louisville, Licking county, Ohio, and there sold dry goods for three years. He was making a success as a merchant, but the freer life of the country drew him back to Union township. Knox county, and here he took up farming. However, having for some time felt that his true bent was along the line of the medical profession, he began to study such medical books as he could procure in his community, and later attended medical lectures in Cleveland, where he made rapid progress. Thus becoming well equipped for his life work, he came to Buckeye City in 1874 and engaged in the practice of medicine, soon building up a very lucrative patronage and here he has continued to reside to the present time. He con- tinued practicing until 1892 with marked success, when he was appointed
837
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
postmaster at Buckeye City, and about the same time he started a drug busi- ness which he continued for some time.
Doctor Winterringer was married on December 27, 1864, to Almeda Critchfield, daughter of Hiram and Harriet ( Porter) Critchfield, an influen- tial family of Union and Howard townships, prominent there since the pio- neer days, and here Mrs. Winterringer grew to womanhood and was edu- cated. Three children have been born to the subject and wife, namely : Gertrude, who married C. B. Purcell, of Buckeye City; Charles E., who is married, is city passenger agent of the Pennsylvania lines entering Colum- bus west of Pittsburg. He lives at Columbus. Rolland I. Winterringer is private secretary to the vice-president ( Herman Hoster) of the Columbus Lithograph Company and lives in Columbus, Ohio.
Politically, Mr. Winterringer is a loyal Democrat and he has long been active in party affairs. He has served as mayor of Buckeye City, in an able and acceptable manner. In fact, he has been incumbent of this office from the time the city was incorporated to the present time, with the exception of only a few years, having served as mayor fourteen years in all. During this period he did much for the general upbuilding of the place; in fact, no one man has done more, and he has the hearty thanks of the entire com- munity for his fidelity to the trusts reposed in him. He was postmaster for four years and also served in the village council. For several years ht has been a notary public. For a number of years he was one of the most active members of the Democratic county central committee, and he has been a frequent delegate to party conventions, where he has always made his in- fluence felt for the good of his people and the party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Masonic order, and he belongs to the Progressive Brethren church, his wife being a consistent member of the Catholic church. Person- ally, he is a man of the highest sense of honor and his course has been such as to inspire in others confidence and esteem.
GEORGE W. TULLOSS.
This well-known citizen is an excellent representative of the better class of farmers of the United States. He comes from an ancestry that dis- tinguished itself in pioneer times. When the country was covered with an almost interminable forest of large trees and the woods filled with wild ani- mals, his people came here and began to carve from the primeval forests. build schools and churches, and introduce the customs of civilization in the
838
KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
wilderness. They were genuine pioneers, willing to take the hardships that they might acquire the soil and the homes that were sure to rise, and it would seem that many of their commendable traits have outcropped in the subject, for he has been a man who has not permitted untoward circumstances to thwart his purposes when once he determined upon a certain course.
George W. Tulloss was born on March 21, 1856, on a farm in Morgan township, this county. He is the son of John J. and Caroline (Smith) Tul- loss, both natives of Morgan township, this county, and here they grew to maturity amid pioneer conditions, received such educational training as the old-time log school houses afforded and here they were married and began life on the farm, the father becoming one of the successful tillers of the soil in his part of the county and known as a man of excellent principles. They were the parents of eight children, namely: Emily, deceased; Byron L. lived in Columbus, Ohio; John J., deceased ; Reece P. was a resident of Put- nam county, Ohio, for many years, when he died after raising a family, one of which, a son, Reece E., is pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran church at Constantine, Michigan : Benjamin F., who was next in order of birth, went to Texas in 1877 and has not been heard from since 1881; George W., of this review; Cynthia A. and Carrie C. are single and living on the old home- stead in Morgan township, which place they own and operate. The death of the father of these children occurred in April, 1902, his widow surviving until in March, 1905. They were buried in Fairview cemetery, Miller town- ship, near the old home. The father was a life-long Democrat and a public- spirited citizen, but never an office seeker, though he served as township trustee for many years, also was a member of the local school board for many years. He and his family were members of the old-school Baptist church and he was a devout churchman.
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