USA > Ohio > Muskingum County > Zanesville > Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio > Part 103
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No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of farm life for Gottlieb Harsch in his youth. He attended the public schools and worked with his father until twenty-one years of age, when he started out upon an in- dependent business career, renting land from his tather on which he engaged in gardening. He worked earnestly and persistently and by the careful husbanding of his resources he gained the capital that enabled him, in 1880, to pur- chase his present farm, on which he has since resided. He has one hundred and thirty acres on the river front and this being rich bottom land is well adapted to the raising of fruit and vegetables, which he produces in large quan- tities and which find a ready sale on the market. This is a fine farm, lacking in none of the mod- ern improvements which indicate the progressive agriculturist whose experience and observation have taught him how best to use his land.
Mr. Harsch was married, in February, 1869. to Miss Mary Rehl, a native of Springfield town- ship and a daughter of Jacob Rehl, who was born in Germany and was a miller and farmer. Emigrating to the new world he became an early settler of Springfield township, where he owned eighty acres of land and where he con- tributed in substantial measure to the material progress of the county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Harsch have been born seven children, of whom six are living : Ed. J., who is farming in Wayne township: Mrs. Louisa Starr, living in Zanes- ville : Amelia, the wife of James Galigher, of Zanesville: John and Frederick, who are upon the old home farm; Bertha, at home: and Frances, deceased. The family home is situated
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about six miles from the courthouse in Zanes- Mary, James and Rebecca, twins, Emily and Ze- ville. Mr. Harsch is a member of the Lutheran lida. church, while his ballot endorses democratic principles. His business career is creditable and in his life desire has prompted indefatigable ef- fort and effort has wrought accomplishment, so that he is now one of the men of affluence in his locality.
IRA WILCOX.
Ira Wilcox, who is filling the position of mayor of Dresden and, also United States gauger for the eleventh Ohio district, and who is the popular proprietor of the Wilber Hotel, has long been known in Muskingum county. His paternal grandfather, James Wilcox, was of English lin- eage and was an early settler of Maine. The great-grandfather was a sea-captain and was op- posed to his son James coming west with a col- ony, so that the latter left home without the con- sent of his parents and never communicated with them afterward. Some years later he was attend- ing a trial in Philadelphia where he met a lawyer, who, noticing the name Wilcox inquired about his family and found that it was James Wilcox, of Maine. After this letters passed between the relatives but James Wilcox never returned to his old home in Maine. He had but limited educa- tional privileges but he realized the value of ed- ucation and gave to his children good advan- tages. He was a lad of but seventeen years when he joined the colony of adventurers and settlers bound for the great west, their destination being the back-woods districts of Ohio. This was in the vear 1796 or 1797. James Wilcox journeyed with the party to Marietta, Ohio, and after a short residence there came to Muskingum coun- ty, where he leased land on the Wakatomika creek near Dresden. He married Miss Rebecca Campbell, a native of Virginia, and for a few years lived on Wakatomika creek, after which he took up his abode on the bank of Wills creek, being the first settler of the locality. He became a devoted and consistent member of the Baptist church and his home was always open for the en- tertainment of the worthy preachers of the gospel who were sojourning in the wilderness. He ser- ved for a short time in the war of 1812. He en- tered three hundred acres of land from the gov- ernment in this county and in the midst of the wilderness hewed out a farm, continuing its cul- tivation until as the years passed he became pros- perous and was accounted one of the leading agriculturalists of his locality. He died in his eighty-eighth year. Unto him and his wife were born the following children : George, who died in childhood, Charles; William, John, Jesse,
John Wilcox, son of James Wilcox, and the father of our subject, was born in Adams town- ship, Muskingum county, in 1812, and was ed- ucated in the pioneer schools of the times, the schoolhouse being built of logs and furnished in the most primitive manner. His training at farm labor, however, was not meager for he early learned to perform the labors of the fields and to cut the timber in the forests and clear the land for cultivation. He remained upon the home farm until the time of his marriage, which oc- curred when he was about forty years of age. It was in September, 1852, that he wedded Sarah Crumbaker, a daughter of John and Catherine (Kalor) Crumbaker. Her father was of Ger- man descent and removed from Ohio to Loudoun county, Virginia, where he followed agricultu- ral pursuits and also worked at the wagon- maker's trade. He came to Ohio in 1829, set- tling on a farm in Adams township, and here he spent his remaining days, assisting materially in the pioneer development. He, too, was a soldier of the war of 1812. He had ten children: Jones K., Maria D., John, Johanna, Sarah A., William A., Elizabeth E., Amanda C., Andrew Jackson and Oliver J. After his marriage John Wilcox settled on the old homestead farm where he re- sided up to the time of his death. Both he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episco- pal church and they were the parents of four children as follows: Ira ; Alice, who died at the age of twenty-four years; James M., who died in infancy ; and John W., who died when six years of age. The father of this family departed this life in 1860 and his widow still survives at the age of eighty-five years, her birth having oc- curred March 21, 1820.
Jacob Kalor, the maternal grandfather of Mrs. John Wilcox, was a school teacher of Ger- many and came to this country as a soldier with the Hessian Army at the time of the Revolution- arv war. He afterward engaged in teaching school in Loudoun county, Virginia, being one of the first representatives of the profession there.
Ira Wilcox, whose name introduces this re- view, was born April 21, 1853, on the old home- stead on Wills creek and pursued his educa- tion in the public schools. When fifteen years of age he went to Wills Creek, where he served a three years' apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade under William Rollers. He afterward conducted a carriage and blacksmith shop for five years at Mohawk and later was engaged in business at Wills Creek for sixteen years. He continued to follow blacksmithing until 1888. when, owing to ill health he disposed of his busi- ness in that line and the following year turned
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his attention to the hotel business. He conducted the Grand Hotel in Dresden and afterward was proprietor of the White House. In 1900 he was appointed to the office of government storekeeper and gauger for the eleventh Ohio district and still fills that position. In 1902 he was elected mayor of Dresden and filled the office for a year when a change in the town charter caused another elec- tion and he was again chosen for the office, so that he is now discharging responsible official du- ties in addition to the management of his busi- ness affairs. He is now proprietor of the Wilber Hotel, which contains thirty-eight sleeping rooms in addition to the office, parlors, dining-rooms, etc. He conducts his hotel in accordance with modern ideas and has a liberal and well merited patronage.
Mr. Wilcox was married September 13, 1874, to Miss Josephine Smith, a daughter of Finlev and Elizabeth (Hawk) Smith. To them was born a daughter, Nora E. The wife and mother died after a happy married life of four years and on the 7th of April. 1883, Mr. Wilcox was again married, his second union being with Charity E. Knoff, a daughter of John and Mary Knoff. There are four children by this marriage: Ber- nice. Alice, Florence and John W.
Mr. Wilcox gives his political support to the republican party and is recognized as a leader in its local ranks, his opinions carrying influence in the party councils. He belongs to Wakato- mika lodge, No. 186, T. O. O. F., and is promi- nent, socially, politically and in business circles. He has many estimable qualities and is known as a man of reliability as well as of social genial nature and the circle of his friends is constantly broadening.
ALEXANDER McDONALD.
No history of Muskingum county would be complete without mention of the MeDonald fam- ilv, for the name is interwoven with the annals of this section of the state from pioneer times down to the present. Alexander McDonald is a typical representative of modern progress in the business world and is now successfully con- ducting a general mercantile enterprise at Muse- ville. He was born in Blue Rock township, July 21. 1854, and is a son of Samuel and Anna M. ( Buchanan) McDonald. In the paternal line he is descended from Trish ancestry. His grand- father, Joseph McDonald, was born in County Down, Treland. near Belfast, and crossed the At- lantic to America, settling in the vicinity of Pitts- burg. Pennsylvania. where he remained for a number of years. He was there united in mar- riage to Miss Margaret Forsythe, who was also a native of Treland, and through farming opera-
tions he provided for his family. He came from Warren, Pennsylvania, to the Buckeye state, traveling by wagon, for at that time there were no railroads across the country. The journey was made by slow tedious stages, for the roads were very poor, oftentimes being little else than a blazed trail through the forest. At length the family reached New Concord, Muskingum county, where they resided for a brief period and later took up their abode in Blue Rock town- ship, where Joseph McDonald bought a tract of land. It was entirely destitute of improvements and not a furrow had been turned or a stick of timber cut, but his earnest labors through suc- ceeding years wrought great changes and where once stood the forest almost so dense that the sun's rays could hardly penetrate were soon seen fields of waving grain. The first and best oil well in the county was found on his farm. Joseph McDonald continued a resident of this county up to the time of his death, which oc- curred near Rural Dale when in his ninety-sev- enth year. It is said that in the early pioneer times he kept his money in a box which he placed under his bed, laving the family Bible upon it. One night a thief entered the room and attempted to get the box, removing the book from the top. but he was scared away before he secured the currency. Any authentic picture of pioneer life with its hardships and privations, its pleasures and its joys would give a correct history of the conditions which existed in the McDonald home in early days. The grandfather aided in laying broad and deep the foundation for the present prosperity and progress of the country, for he belonged to that class of representative pioneer settlers whose labors proved helpful for all time.
Samuel McDonald, father of Alexander McDonald, was born in Pennsylvania, October 15. 1828, and his youth was passed amid the scenes common in a frontier settlement. He assisted in the difficult and arduous task of re- claiming the wild land and when he had reached man's estate he began farming on his own ac- count. He always carried on general agricultu- ral pursuits and he reached the advanced age of seventy-six years, passig away December 19. 1904, his remains being interred in Blue Rock cemetery. In carly manhood he had wedded Anna M. Buchanan, who was born May 10. 1834. in Canada, a daughter of Alexander and Mary (Clark) Buchanan, who were carly and prominent farming people of Blue Rock town- ship. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald had a family of thirteen children : Alexander, Margaret J., Eliz- abeth E., Sarah A., Emma M., George J .. Ted- idiah B., Mary Alice, Calista P., Amanda. Min- nie, Lnlu and John.
Alexander McDonald, the eldest of the fam- ily, spent his boyhood days in the usual manner
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of farmer lads of the period and in his earlier manhood was identified with general agricultural pursuits. He has since 1884 been engaged in commercial life as a general merchant, conduct- ing a store at Museville. He has now one of the largest stores of this character in the county, carrying an extensive and carefully selected line of goods, such as is in demand by the general public. He makes his purchases with due regard to the wishes of his patrons and in his sales he is always found reliable and trustworthy, never tak- ing advantage of the necessities of his fellowmen in any business transaction. He is likewise the owner of his father's old farm, which is situ- ated in the same neighborhood and is devoted to general agricultural pursuits and stock-raising. It is splendidly improved and carefully con- ducted and he also has one of the best oil wells of the county.
On the 12th of September, 1883, Mr. McDon- ald was united in marriage to Miss Elvina Leas- ure, a native of Meigs township and a daughter of John and Sarah ( Seright ) Leasure, while her grandfather was Jesse Leasure. The family is an old one in Muskingum county, its identifica- tion therewith dating from early pioneer times. Mr. and Mrs. McDonald have become the par- ents of five children : Clarence, Estella, Elda F .. Ralph E. and one who died in infancy. Estella is now the wife of G. F. Roberts, a resident farmer of this county and they have two children : Ivan M., and Ethan D. The family have a beau- tiful residence, attractive in its exterior adorn- ment and in its comfortable arrangement and furnishings. It is one of the fine country homes of the county and is justly noted for its warm- hearted hospitality. Mr. McDonald votes with the republican party and although never an aspir- ant for office keeps well informed concerning the issucs and questions of the day. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church, to which his wife and family also belong and the members of the household occupy an enviable position in so- cial circles.
JOHN H. BEEM.
John H. Beem, who has been active in the de- velopment of the gas industry in Muskingum county and is also a dealer in real estate, resides in Roseville, where he has invested quite exten- sively in property and has contributed in large measure to the improvement of the town. He is a native son of Newton township, Muskingum county, born April 12, 1842, and is a son of James M. and Margaret ( McFarland) Beem. His paternal grandfather, John Beem, was a native of Pennsylvania and served his country
as a soldier of the Revolutionary war. He came to Ohio in the early period of the development of this state and entered land in Newton town- ship, Muskingum county, where he developed a farm. His son, James M. Beem, was born in Newton township on January 18, 1813, and was reared upon the old farm homestead. While in the public schools his education was acquired. He was a carpenter by trade and was identified with early building interests, thus proving an active factor in the development and improvement of his locality. He also owned a farm near White Cottage and prospered in his business undertakings. His po- litical allegiance was given to the democracy and he filled a number of township offices with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. He married Miss Margaret McFarland, who was born in Newton township, Junc 4, 1819, and was a daughter of John McFarland, a native of Scot- land, who on coming to America, established his home in Newton township, Muskingum county, at an early day in its development. James M. Beem died at the advanced age of eighty-eight years and thus passed away one of the honored pioneer settlers of the state.
John H. Beem, the only living member of his father's family, was educated in the public schools of Newton township and resided upon the home farm until 1861, when at the age of nineteen years he responded to the country's call for aid, enlisting under Captain G. B. Weaver of the Eighty-eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He went to the front as first sergeant and becoming ill with fever he was afterward discharged and returned to his home. In 1864 he went to Cali- fornia by way of the Isthmus of Panama and there in the Golden state his health was restored. He spent three years in Nevada county, Califor- nia, and in 1868 returned to Ohio by way of New York. On again reaching Muskingum county he engaged in coal mining in Newton township. where he purcased coal lands and developed a number of mines. He formed a company for this purpose and although he afterward sold his in- terest he later purchased it again and he now owns valuable coal lands in Muskingum county and has opened up the Muskingum Valley coal mines. He leases this property and receives a good income therefrom. Various other interests have claimed his time and attention and his ca- pability has been shown in the successful control of important business concerns. For nine years after his marriage he engaged in merchandising and then turned his attention to the pottery busi- ness but afterward sold out to the Roseville Pottery Company. He then assisted in organ- izing the Ohio Pressed Brick Company of New- ton township and was a contractor in this until 1897. when he sold out and organized the Oval
JOHN H. BEEM.
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Ware & Brick Company of Newton township. When he had disposed of his interest in that en- terprise he engaged in the oil and gas business and now has wells of both kinds in Noble and in Muskingum counties. He is in partnership with W. H. Harkness and they now own a gas well that yields three quarters of a million cubic feet of gas per day. This well is located in Brush Creek township, Muskingum county. He is also in the real estate business and since 1895 has laid out Beem City, which is on his father's old home- stead farm, about a mile north of Roseville. This town will be supported by a brickyard, employ- ing one hundred and twenty-five men and a pot- tery which furnishes employment to seventy- eight people. It is located on the Cincinnatti & Muskingum Valley Railroad and also the Wabash Railroad and the Hissey electric line will pass through the town. Beem City is being built with all modern improvements and will long be a monument to the enterprise and keen business foresight of its founder.
Mr. Beem was married in 1870 to Miss Eliz- abeth O. Stokeley, a native of Clay township. Muskingum county, and a daughter of B. P. Stokeley, of Newton township. His father, David Stokeley, was a pioneer of the county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Beem have been born two children : Olive M., now deceased ; and Onia C., the wife of John Rider, of Roseville. Mr. Beem has resided continuously in Roseville since 1860 with the exception of three years passed in Cal- ifornia. He has been active and influential in its public affairs, giving his support to all meas- ures for the general good, and has served as city councilman of Roseville. He gives his polit- ical allegiance to the democracy and at one time was his party's candidate for county treasurer but was defeated by seventeen votes-a fact, however, which is indicative of his personal pop- ularity because the county is strongly republican. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and with the Grand Army of the Republic. The place which he has won in busines circles is accorded to him in recognition of his skill and ability and the place which he oc- cupies in the social world is a tribute to that gen- uine worth and true nobleness of character which are universally recognized and honored.
ERNEST B. SCHNEIDER.
Ernest B. Schneider, a traveling salesman for the Bailey Drug Company of Zanesville and a leader in democratic circles in Muskingum county, is a native of Ohio, having been born in Dayton in 1868. His father, Adolph Schneider, was a native of Germany and came from that
country to America in 1853, settling first in Con- necticut, where he remained for a few years, en- gaging there in teaching his native language. He was a man of superior education, being a grad- uate of Heidelburg University, and upon his re- moval to Dayton he accepted the position of pro- fessor of languages in the high school, to which work he devoted his energies for many years. He then came to Zanesville and established the Zanesville Post. a German newspaper, which he conducted for twenty-one years, retiring about two months prior to his death. The paper, how- ever, is still in existence, being conducted at the present time by Mr. Shyrock. Mr. Schneider was a man of broad, general culture and strong native intellectuality and was accorded a prom- inent position in educational circles in Ohio. while connected with the public school system of Dayton. He married Ernestine Hickethier, who was born in Germany, their wedding being cele- brated in Dayton. His death occurred in 1896. when he was sixty years of age. and Mrs. Schnei- der is still living. They were the parents of eight children, six sons and two daughters, of whom four are living: Hugo, who is manager of the United Brethren Publishing Company. at Dayton, Ohio: August, who is a printer and newspaper reporter in Alaska : Ernest B., and Emily, the wife of J. G. Mueler.
Ernest B. Schneider is indebted to the public schools of Zanesville for the educational privi- leges he enjoyed in his youth. After putting aside his text-books he learned the printer's trade in his father's office and followed that vocation for four years, when he became connected with the Bailey Drug Company, being first employed as a salesman in their retail house. He afterward took
a state examination which he suc- cessfully passed and which enabled him, there- fore, to compound prescriptions. He then went upon the road for the Bailey Drug Company and has been traveling representative of this house in southeastern Ohio for sixteen years. He has secured many regular patrons and has attained a business which makes his services profitable to those whom he represents and himself, enabling him to command an excellent salary.
Politically Mr. Schneider is prominent as a rep- resentative of the democratic party in Muskin- gum county and in 1902 and again in 1904 he re- ceived the democratic nomination for congress. receiving the largest vote given to any democrat. At the last election he ran over eight thousand ahead of his ticket, a fact which indicates his personal popularity with those who know him. He is also very popular upon the road and has made many warm friends through his business and political as well as social connections. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, the Knights of Pythias, the United Commercial Travelers, the
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Elks and the Modern Woodmen. He is held in high esteem by a host of friends and all who know Mr. Schneider speak of him in terms of high praise.
NOAH BAUGHMAN.
Noah Baughman, who is engaged in general agricultural pursuits in Jackson township, and also in the operation of a stone quarry upon his farm, was born in this township, May 13, 1850 and represents one of the old families of the county. His paternal grandfather was Henry Baughman, who came from Baltimore, Maryland, to Ohio and in this state engaged in farming. His son, David Baughman, was born in Cass county in 1817 and was reared amid the wild scenes of pioneer life, for in the period of his boyhood days few settlements had been made, the forests were largely uncut and the homes of the frontiersmen were mostly log cabins. Hav- ing arrived at years of maturity he purchased forty acres of land in Cass township and began farming on his own account, while later he sold that property and in 1853 invested in eighty acres of land in Jackson township. Through- out his remaining days he carried on agricultural pursuits and he placed his farm under a high state of cultivation. He kept in touch with mod- ern progress along agricultural lines and added to his place the equipments and accessories which are found upon a model farm. He was married to Miss Matilda Farrell, a daughter of William Farrell, of Jackson township, and they became the parents of eleven children, but ony four are now living, namely: Noah, George, Jane and John. The father died in 1901 and the mother departed this life in 1902.
Noah Baughman was a student in the district schools of Jackson township wherein he mastered the branches of learning that qualified him to carry on business interests. He received prac- tical training in farm work on the old homestead. where he resided until twenty-one years of age. when he started out in life on his own account. He has always carried on farming and in 1879 he purchased forty-two acres of his present farm in Jackson township, to which he has since added a tract of twenty acres. He has placed much of his land under cultivation and the well tilled fields return him good crops. In 1898 he opened a stone quarry on his farm and he now takes out a high grade of sandstone which is not only used for building purposes, but also in the manufac- ture of glass. He ships two hundred carloads of stone each year, which is used for the bridge work on the railroad and this branch of his business adds not a little to his income.
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