USA > Ohio > Muskingum County > Zanesville > Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio > Part 98
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At the time of his father's death A. F. Vest took charge of the home farm and throughout his business career has carried on agricultural pur- suits. He came to Muskingum county in 1876 and has since engaged in tilling the soil here. He now has fifty acres of rich land, pleasantly and conveniently located within two and a half miles of the Zanesville postoffice, and his place is well improved. It is devoted to the raising of fruit and vegetables and his products annually re- turn to him a good financial harvest.
On March 8, 1881, Mr. Vest was united in marriage to Miss Eolia Story, a native of Wayne township and daughter of Robert G. Story, a a prominent agriculturist of Wayne township, living across the road from Mr. Vest. He was born in this township, June 29, 1832, a son of Isaac C. Story, whose birth occurred in Wayne
township in 1810 and who died in 1884, while his father, Thomas Story, was a native of Penn- sylvania and came to Ohio in 1808, casting in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Muskingum county. He was the founder of the family in this locality and since that lay his descendants have been classed with the citizens who have up- held the political and moral status of the com- munity and promoted its material progress. Isaac Story wedded Miss Mary Burris, who was born in Blue Rock township. Robert G. Story was with his father until twenty-one years of age, when he started out in life on his own ac- count. He was married November 8, 1858, to Miss Mary Carter, whose birth occurred in Wayne township, January 27, 1832, a daughter of Benjamin Carter, a native of Pennsylvania. Mr. Story purchased his farm in 1859 and con- tinued its cultivation until 1864, when he en- listed in Company E, One Hundred and Fifty- ninth Ohio Regiment. under Captain Fox and Colonel Munson, serving until the expiration of his term of one hundred days, in August, of the same year. His farm comprises nineteen acres of very rich and productive land, devoted to gardening, and is about two and three quar- ters miles from the courthouse in Zanesville He is a stanch republican, casting his first vote for Fremont and his last vote for Roosevelt. He belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic and to the Baptist church and is still active in both. Mrs. Vest is his only child. His wife also belongs to the same church.
Mr. Vest holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and in his political views is a republican. Mrs. Vest is a member of the First Baptist church of Zanesville. His life his- tory is one which will bear close investigation and because of his personal worth, as well as from the fact that he is a representative of hon- ored pioneer families, he deserves mention in this volume.
WILLIAM J. MASSEY.
William J. Massey, attorney at law, is a native of Morgan county, Ohio. His paternal grandfather, William Massey, a native of Ches- ter county, Pennsylvania, was one of the pioneers of the Muskingum valley, having entered gor- ernment land in Morgan county in 1816. Wil- liam Massey married Sarah Gay, daughter of Asa Gay, who was one of the first settlers in Muskingum county, where he founded the town of Gaysport. William Massey was a Quaker. He reared a family of three sons and three daughters, all of whom were noted for honesty and uprightness of character.
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John Massey, second son of William Massey and Sarah (Gay) Massey, was the father of the subject of this sketch. He was born in Morgan county in 1825. He married Mary Crawford, daughter of James and Abigail ( Vest ) Crawford, natives of the state of Delaware, who settled in the Muskingum valley in 1808. John Massey spent his entire life (except a period during the Civil war when he served as a member of the One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteers) on a farm in his native county, where he died in 1901.
William J. Massey, eldest son of John and Mary (Crawford) Massey, was born May 18, 1850. His boyhood days were spent on his father's farm. At the age of eighteen he began teaching in the public schools in Morgan county. He completed a collegiate course at Muskingum college, after which, until the year 1884, he was engaged in teaching. As a teacher he attained high rank, being one of the most successful and progressive teachers of his day. Professor Massey, as he was then called, was specially adapted to normal school work and many teach- ers of a later day attributed their success to the training received in normal schools conducted by him. The last four years of Mr. Massey's school work was as superintendent of the pub- lic schools at New Concord, Ohio, during which time he also served as mayor of the village.
Mr. Massey was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1884, and in November of that year opened an office in Zanesville, where he has since engaged in the practice of law. As a lawyer, he enjoys the confidence and esteem of the people generally. He is a safe counsellor and able barrister. He entertains a high standard of legal ethics and always upholds the dignity of his profession. While true to his client's interests, he ever re- fuses to resort to any unfair or questionable means in his dealings with court or counsel. As a citizen, he commands the respect and confidence of all who know him, his record being that of a man of high principles and true to every duty that devolves upon him.
Mr. Massey has been married twice, first in 1872, to Mary E. McKittrick, a native of Mor- gan county, who died in 1886. Two children were born of this marriage : Bertie B., in Mor- gan county ; and Bayard B., in New Concord, Ohio. Bertie is now the wife of Judge A. J. Andrews, Jr., of Zanesville. Bayard died in 1903. At the time of his death he was one of the ablest and most successful young attorneys at the Muskingum county bar, where he had been practicing law in partnership with his father since his admission to the Ohio bar in 1901.
Mr. Massey's second marriage was to Ardelia Clark, in 1889. She was a native of Zanesville, daughter of Samuel and Jerusha (Williams)
Clark, mentioned elsewhere in this work. There are four children by the second marriage : Myra C., Anna A., John W., and Crawford, all born in Zanesville.
CHARLES L. GRIMM.
Charles L. Grimm, who is following farming in Falls township, was born in Baden, Germany, October 23, 1848. He is a son of Louis Grimm, whose father, Michael Grimm, was a French Hu- guenot and at the time of the exile when people of that denomination were driven from France he made his way to Denmark and later to Ger- many, whence in 1852 he and his son Louis and the latter's family, including our subject, emi- grated to the United States. They were seventy- two days upon the Atlantic but at length landed safely at New York although the ship, Sagwin, had been given up as lost. The Grimm family pro- ceeded westward to Cleveland and in 1854 came to Zanesville on the Ohio canal. Louis Grimm was a carriagemaker by trade and was regarded as an expert workman. In fact had attained such proficiency in the line of his chosen vocation that he was paid the highest wages of any trim- mer in the town-seventy-five cents per day. He was employed by the government from 1864 until 1865, during which time he contracted an illness which undoubtedly hastened his death. Following the close of the war he was engaged in business for himself in Zanesville, conducting a wagon shop, until his life's labors were ended in 1872. He was thus closely associated with the industrial life of the city and his capability in the line of his trade enabled him to secure a liberal patronage. In his political views he was a republican, while socially he was a Druid and in religious faith was connected with the Evan- gelical church. He died in 1872, at the age of fifty-seven years, while his wife passed away at the age of seventy years. She bore the maiden name of Catherine Miller and was also born in Baden, Germany. They were the par- ents of six children, of whom three are now liv- ing, namely : Charles L. ; Mrs. Catherine Farrell. of St. Louis, Missouri ; and Mrs. Louise Grimm, of New York state.
Charles L. Grimm was a very young lad when brought by his parents to the United States and was but six years of age when the family home was established in Zanesville. He was then sent to the public schools wherein he acquired his education and during the periods of vacation he worked at the rolling mill. After completing his education he went to Boston but after a year and a half he returned and for three years en- gaged in business in Zanesville as carpenter.
CHARLES L. GRIMM.
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PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
brakeman and baggageman for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He was then appointed a mem- ber of the fire department of the eighth ward and acted in that capacity for five years, while under the direction of Charles Pond he superin- tended the installment of the fire line boxes in Zanesville. Subsequently Mr. Grimm was en- gaged in the dray and express business in the county seat for fifteen years and then leaving the city for the farm he located at his present home in 1892 and has since been engaged in general agricultural pursuits and in dairying. The place which he now owns and occupies is the old Hollingsworth farm and comprises seventy- five acres of valuable land near the city limits. He has recently erected a modern country home which is an attractive residence, tastefully fur- nished.
In 1871 Mr. Grimm was united in marriage to Miss Mary C. Swingle, a daughter of George Swingle, one of the pioneer families of this county, living in Brush Creek township. Her mother bore the maiden name of Miss Dozer. They have five children : William, Mrs. Hattie Fritz, Mrs. Daisy Talley, Minnie, wife of Clar- ence Everitt ; and Mabel, at home.
In his political views Mr. Grimm is an earn- est republican and is a Druid and Odd Fellow, connected with the various branches of the fra- ternity. He has prospered in his undertakings and is a self-made man, who realizing that labor is the basis of all success, has placed his depend- ence upon the substantial qualities of energy and perseverance. His farm is now a valuable one and he may well be classed among the repre- sentative agriculturists of his community.
MATHEW ASHMORE.
Mathew Ashmore, who owns and operates one hundred and fifteen acres of good land in Spring- field township, was born in Licking township. Muskingum county, in 1840, and is of Irish lin- cage. His father, William Ashmore, came from the Emerald Isle to the new world and established his home in Licking township, Muskingum county, Ohio, where he purchased a farm. There he lived for several years, devoting his energies to the cultivation of the soil but later he rented his farm and took up his abode in Zanesville, where he remained for two years. On the expi- ration of that period, however, he returned to the old homestead, which continued to be his place of abode until his death in December, 1864. His wife bore the maiden name of Eliza Cooper, and they became the parents of four children : Mrs. Christina Kennedy, who is living in Delaware county, Ohio; Mathew; Mary, whose home is
on North Belknap street in Zanesville; and James McCann, who was killed through the accidental starting of a sawmill while he was cleaning away the sawdust in the mill.
Mathew Ashmore's early education, acquired in the district schools of Licking township, was supplemented by study in Zanesville, and in his youth he worked upon his father's farm, con- tinuing at home until 1865, when he enlisted as a member of Company F, Ninety-seventh Ohio Infantry. He served with that command until the close of the war, being with the troops under Phil Sheridan. When hostilities were over and the country no longer needed his services he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits and throughout his entire life he has carried on farm- ing. He lived upon the home farm for a year after his marriage and then purchased ninety acres of land in Springfield township on the Cooper Mill road, where he conducted a dairy farm for thirty years but in 1904 he abandoned that business and has since engaged in general agricultural pursuits, owning and operating one hundred and fifteen acres of land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation and on which he has made many modern improvements.
In October, 1871, Mr. Ashmore wedded Miss Ellen Andrews, a sister of S. J. Andrews, of Zanesville, and unto them were born seven children, of whom one died in infancy. The fam- ily record is as follows: A. J., who is employed in the railroad mail service and is a thirty-third degree Mason ; Nellie, deceased; W. A., who is traveling for the Townsend Company; George C., who resides in Pueblo, Colorado; Clarence M., who is also traveling salesman for the Town- send Company; Cora Helen, who is teaching school; and Grover C., at home.
For a year after his marriage Mr. Ashmore lived upon the old homestead and then purchased his present farm. He is a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, having for twenty years been identified with the lodge at Irville. In politics he is a democrat. His life has been quietly and uneventfully passed but in the management of his business affairs he has ever displayed strong purpose and consecutive endeavor that has re- sulted in gaining for him a comfortable compe- tence, and the appearance of his farm is an in- dication that he is one of the progressive' agri- culturists of his community.
JOHN W. MARTIN.
Among those practicing at the bar of Zanes- ville with a good clientage that is an indication of capability and merit as a lawyer is numbered Jolun W. Martin, one of Muskingum county's
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native sons. He was born October 25, 1842, his parents being George and Elizabeth (Huff) Martin. The grandfather, Peter Martin, was a native of Virginia and was of English descent. His father was Cavilier Martin. Peter Martin married Elizabeth Heberling, a native of Vir- ginia, and they became the parents of eight children, as follows: Luther, who died in Athens county, Ohio, in 1864; John, who became a well-to-do farmer and died in 1898, at the age of ninety-four years; Jacob; Nancy Sarah ; George; William and Jessie. The father was born in Jefferson county, Virgina, July 29, 1816, and throughout his entire life followed the occu- pation of farming. His wife was born in Wash- ington township, Muskingum county, Ohio, and is a daughter of George Huff, who was one of the pioneer settlers of this state, removing from the old Dominion to Ohio when it was largely an unimproved district. George Martin was called to his final rest in 1895, in the eightieth year of his age and is still survived by his wife, who has reached the advanced age of eighty- three years, her birth having occurred on the 3Ist of January, 1822. They were the parents of eight children, of whom seven are now liv- ing: John W .; Elizabeth, the widow of Hugh Byron Brown and a resident of New York city ; Evan H., who wedded Mary Brown, pastor of an Episcopal church in Rochester, New York ; Arny C., who married Emma Sandal, of Mus- kingum county and is a minister of the Lutheran church ; Martha J., the widow of Charles E. Haun ; Charles S., a farmer who married a Miss McKnight and after her death wedded Emma McDow ; and Oswell L., who married Hester Ferry.
John W. Martin supplemented his early educa- tional privileges by study in Denison University and while a student there in 1864 he responded to the call for troops to serve for one hundred days and became a member of Company A, One Hundred and Sixtieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On the expiration of that term he re-enlisted and was enrolled with the boys in blue of Company A, Sixty-sixth Ohio Regiment, thus serving un- til the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged, July 14, 1865. Following the close of hostilities he resumed his studies, becoming a pupil in the Washington & Jefferson College, while afterward he attended the University of Rochester, New York, from which he was grad- uated with the class of 1870. He taught school for six years after leaving college and during that time he devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, being admitted to the bar on the Ist of May, 1877, at Columbus, Ohio, after suc- cessfully passing the required examination. He has since practiced in Zanesville, gradually work- ing his way upward. Advancement in law is
proverbially slow and results from individual merit, comprehensive knowledge of the princi- ples of jurisprudence and their correct applica- tion to the points in litigation. It necessitates close attention to each wearisome detail as well as a force and power in the presentation of a case before court or jury. Mr. Martin has stead- ily developed along all these lines and his prac- tice is now large and of an important character.
On the Ioth of December, 1885, occurred the marriage of John W. Martin to Miss Emma J. McCashland, who was born in Washington township, Muskingum county, a daughter of William D. and Sarah (Bagen) McCashland. She was born in Zanesville, which is also the birthplace of their four children: Sarah L., John C., Raymond B., and William L. Mr. Mar- tin is a republican in his political views and fra- ternally is conected with the Grand Army post of Zanesville and thus maintains pleasant rela- tions with his old army comrades. His entire life has been passed in Muskingum county and the fact that many of his warmest friends are those who have known him from his youth to the present time is an indication that his has been a straightforward and honorable career ..
OSCAR W. TANNER.
Oscar W. Tanner, who is extensively engaged in farming in Falls township, is a native of Licking township, Muskingum county, born on the 23d of February, 1844. He is the son of William F. Tanner, now deceased, whose sketch is given on another page of this work., In 1848 the father removed to Falls township and since that time Oscar W. Tanner has resided in this locality, so that he has a wide acquaintance here and he is held in the highest esteem where best known. In 1876 he was united in marriage to Miss Minerva Jane Moore, who was born in Nashport, Ohio, and is the daughter of James Moore, who was a bridge contractor employed by the state. He was superintendent at the time of the construction of the locks on the canal and he did much important service in the line of his chosen vocation. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Tanner was blessed with four children: Grace M. : Ed W., who is living in Cleveland, Ohio ; Anna M., and John Raymond, both at home.
The home farm contains three hundred acres and Mr. Tanner also owns another tract of fifty- three acres near here and two hundred acres north of this place. He likewise has three hun- dred and twenty acres near Newton, Kansas. His landed possessions are extensive and in the management of his property he displays excel- lent business ability and executive force. He
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devotes his land to general agricultural pursuits and to stock-raising and he has upon the farm two hundred and fifty head of sheep beside a large number of cattle of high grades. His buildings are modern and well improved and everything upon the place is kept up in excel- lent condition. Mr. Tanner is a democrat and has served as township trustee and member of the board of education. His business success, making him one of the representative citizens of Muskingum county, has been attained en- tirely through his well directed efforts and his life record shows that prosperity is ambition's answer.
JOHN BLANKENBUHLER.
John Blankenbuhler is accounted one of the representative business men of Zanesville and belongs to that class of representative American citizens, who, while promoting their individual success, also contribute through their activity and energy to the general prosperity and the welfare of the community. He was born at Mc- Connelsville, April 25, 1854. His father, George Nicholas Blankenbuhler, was born in Germany in 1815 and came to the United States in 1844, when a young man of twenty-nine years. He located first in Baltimore, Maryland, after- ward removed to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and subsequently to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he worked at the baker's trade. He became a resident of McConnelsville, Ohio, in 1850, and after being employed as a journeyman baker for a time he invested his savings in a business of his own. He remained a resident of McCon- nelsville for about thirty-four years and in 1884 came to Zanesville, where the remaining three years of his life were passed, his death occurring in 1887. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted at McConnelsville in the Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for four years and during that period he made bread for the troops. He was a most loyal adherent to his adopted country and no native-born citi- zen had a truer love for the stars and stripes. His political support was given to the democracy prior to the war and afterward to the republican party, while his religious faith was indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church. In. carly manhood he wedded Mary K. Shorr, a na- tive of Germany, who is now living in Zanes- ville at the age of seventy-six years. They have five children, of whom Anna and Elizabeth are deceased, as are William and Lawrence. John is the only surviving member of the family.
John Blankenbuhler is indebted to the public- school system of McConnelsville, Ohio, for the
educational privileges he enjoyed. He put aside his text-books at the age of fourteen years and spent the summer months in working on a farm. In May, 1870, he came to Zanesville and entered the bakery of Stulzerbach and continued there for three years and eleven months. He thus learned the baker's trade and in the spring of 1874 he and Fred Ehrman established a bakery on Main street, between First and Second streets. They continued in this business until January, 1876, when the partnership was dissolved and Mr. Blankenbuhler was alone in business at the corner of Seventh street and Fountain alley. He began there in 1876 -and remained there for ten years. In the spring of 1881 he opened a bakery at No. 99 Main street, where he con- tinued business until August, 1903. Thus he extended his efforts and he became a factor like- wise in other business enterprises. In 1885 he bought the mill property on Third street at the bridge and in connection with William Beau- mont operated this mill until 1888. For a time he was associated in the bakery business with his brother Lawrence. They were together in the Main street store in 1883-4 and in 1888 the part- nership of Blankenbuhler Brothers & Beaumont was formed for carrying on a milling business and for the manufacture of crackers, bread and ice cream. In 1891, however, this partnership was dissolved, the cracker factory being sold to the United States Baking Company, which has since become a part of the National Biscuit Com- pany. John Blankenbuhler bought out his part- ner's interest and closed out the business. He sold his business on Main street to his brother Lawrence and the mill to Mr. Beaumont and then retired from active life, but after ten months his brother died and he then purchased the business which was left by Lawrence Blank- enbuhler. In 1896 he built an ice plant at the mill block and began the manufacture of ice cream for the wholesale trade. He has to- day one of the best ice cream factories in the state of Ohio and is now carrying on that busi- ness on an extensive scale.
Mr. Blankenbuhler was married May 27. 1875, to Louisa Werner, a daughter'of Hart- man and Mary (Jockers) Werner. Her father was a shoe merchant. Mrs. Blankenbuhler was born in Zanesvsille, March 21, 1852, and died September 9, 1808. She was a member of the German Lutheran church, to which Mr. Blank- enbuhler also belongs. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he has never been an aspirant for office. The prosperity of any community, town or city depends upon its commercial activity, its industrial interests and its trade relations, and therefore the real up- builders of a town are those who stand at the head of the leading enterprises. In this con-
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nection Mr. Blankenbuhler deserves mention and he is one whose business career demands ad- miration and respect for he has so carefully managed his interests as to win success along lines of honorable endeavor.
ALEXANDER C. SMITH.
Alexander C. Smith, who is now practically living retired, having invested his capital in real estate which returns him a good rental, is num- bered among the native sons of Zanesville, his birth having occurred in this city November 22, 1831, in a brick house on Market street. His parents were James B. and Margaret ( Philbe) Smith. His paternal grandfather was Major Joseph Smith, who came from Virginia to Ohio and settled in Guernsey county in pioneer times. He afterward removed to the vicinity of Zanes- ville, where he owned and operated four hun -. dred acres of land. He married Charity Har- desty, who was born near the Muskingum river, and there lived on a farm belonging to Jerome Zane, who belonged to one of the old historic families of the county and the name of the county seat honors its early members. James B. Smith was born in Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1802. For many years he followed the occu- pation of farming and he was always prominent and influential in the moral development of the community, being an active and faithful mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he served as steward for a number of years prior to his death.
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