USA > Ohio > Auglaize County > Portrait and biographical record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the Presidents of the United States > Part 54
USA > Ohio > Logan County > Portrait and biographical record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the Presidents of the United States > Part 54
USA > Ohio > Shelby County > Portrait and biographical record of Auglaize, Logan and Shelby Counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the Presidents of the United States > Part 54
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Dr. Harbour is the eldest of a family of five children. The only daughter died at the age of three years. The rudiments of his education were acquired in the common district school, and in 1877 he entered the Ada (Ohio) Normal College, devoting his attention to the academic course. Having determined upon the profession of medi- eine as his future calling, he entered the Miami Medical College at Cincinnati in 1880. and there spent four years preparatory to his professional life. After a most satisfactory course, in which he applied himself most diligently, he graduated in 1885. During the last year spent in college, our sub- jeet was permitted to practice in a special district in the city under the directorship of Prof. W. N. Taylor and Prof. U. P. Dandridge. This was pe- enliarly advantageous.
Immediately after finishing his medical course, the Doctor located at Anna, and has since engaged in a very satisfactory practice. In 1883, he was married to Miss Ora E., daughter of Judge Davis Bowersacks, a native of this county, and educated in the Sidney High School. Her father is a na- tive of Germany. He has for many years been a prominent citizen of this county. They have one child, whose name is Georgia. Dr. Harbour is a stanch Republican, and a member of the Village Couneil. He is a Mason, and also belongs to the Knights of Pythias. His membership with the Shelby County Medical Society is both pleasant and profitable to him.
UGHI JELLY. Our subject is a prominent and successful farmer, who has a most hon- orable ancestry of Scotch and Irish mix- ture. lle was born March 4, 1824. His parents were Ilugh and Mary (MeCouless) Jelly, the former a native of Ireland and the latter born three miles from Glasgow, Scotland. The family emigrated to America in 1828, and after a voyage on a sailing-vessel lasting for thirty weeks. they
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located four miles out of Baltimore upon a farm In 1838, they moved to Dayton, Ohio, and one year later proceeded to Shelby County, and set- tled in Van Buren Township, where the father purchased land. He died in 1859, at the age of eighty-eight years. Our subject's mother passed away in 1845.
The original of this sketch was one of eight children born to his parents, only three of whom live at the present time. Ile is the seventh in order of birth, and was a eluld of four years of age when his parents crossed the ocean to make a home in the Union. Ile was reared on the farm near Baltimore, and in his boyhood days was obliged to go three miles in order to reach school. The subscription schools were then in order, and it cost his father 83 for each of his ebildren for three months' schooling. After coming to Ohio, he prosecuted his studies in a little log selioolhonse with slab benches.
At the age of twenty, Ilngh Jelly learned the blacksmith's trade, and was employed in it at Hardin, Lockport, and Tippecanoe. He also worked in St. Louis in 1850. On the breaking out of the war, he enlisted in August, 1862, in the Ninety-ninth Ohio Infantry, and was a par- ticipant in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Resaca, Nashville, Boonesbore, and At- lanta, besides in minor engagements. He received his discharge in 1865, but not until he was badly crippled, as a result of exposure and hardship. Ile was detailed to duty as Director of the black- smithing department, and often had a dozen hands working under him. After the war, he resumed his farming operations, continuing the work of improving his present place.
Mr. Jelly was married in 1856 to Eliza Ann Taylor, who was born on the farm where they now live. and a daughter of William and Maria Taylor. Three children have been born to our subject and his wife. They are William A .. James, and Annie. The eldest son is married, and lives on the old farm. In his political predi- lections, he is a Democrat, and both he and his wife are members of the Christian Church. He served on the committee that took charge of the building on the erection of the new church. Mr.
Jelly is the owner of three hundred and seventy acres of land, which is for the most part on sec- tion 26 and some on section 35. He has a very comfortable and pleasant residence, which is built of brick upon his farm. Here he raises all kinds of stock, in dealing in which he has been very successful.
LOUGH BROS. The large tile mannfactory, situated one-half mile north of the thriving village of Rushsylvania, is owned and op- erated by Clough Bros., wide-awake, thorough-go- ing business men. They started this business on a very small capital, but the superior quality of their tiling soon became apparent, and they are now doing a thriving and paying business.
The father of these brothers, David Clough, was born in Wayne County, Pa., in 1812, and was a tanner by trade, although his principal occupation was farming. His father, John Clough, was a na- tive of New Hampshire, but when about eighteen years of age, he went to Pennsylvania and located in Wayne County, where he passed the closing scenes of his life, dying at a good old age. David Clough married Miss D. King, a native of Wayne County, Pa., born in 1808, and the daughter of Benjamin King, Esq., who was originally from Rhode Island. Mr. King was supposed to be a de- scendant of Scotch ancestors. After their mar- riage, which occurred about 1835. Mr. Clough and wife settled in their native State, became prominent and respected citizens, and there died, the mother in 1852 and the father in 1872. They were the parents of five children, three sons and two daugli- ters: Malinda M .. deceased; Robert C .; Henry H., of Wisconsin; Ann, wife of Alfred Long, of Find- lay, Ohio, and Benjamin F.
Robert C. Clough, the second child and eldest son, like many of the prominent citizens of Logan County, Ohio. was born in Pennsylvania, in Wayne County, December 12, 1838, and there received his education in the district schools. He remained
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with his parents until twenty-one years of age, but when about eighteen years of age, he commeneed working in a sawmill and continued at this until the year 1867. when he was married in Wayne County, Pa., to Miss Julia E. Dix. She was born in Preston Township, Wayne County, Pa., in 1841. and was the daughter of David Dix, also of that county. After marriage. our subject and wife re- mained in their native county, where the former followed farming until 1868. when they were tempted to try their fortune in the Buckeye State. They first located at Woodstock, in Champaign County, and Robert C. worked in a tile factory for David Kenfield one year. After this, he came to Logan County, this State, and started the tile fac- tory which he and his brother now own. They have been in the business for twenty-two years in the same place, and are honorable. reliable men of business. Mr. and Mrs. Clough have no children of their own, but they took the little daughter of Benjamin Clough, a brother of our subject, and she is now a bright little girl of five years. Her name is Ilettie Julia.
Benjamin F. Clough. in partnership with his brother, and the youngest of the family, was born in Wayne County, Pa .. September 30, 1850. IIe was educated in his native county and was mar- ried there the first time, December 31, 1874, to Miss Hettie M. Spencer. also of Wayne County, Pa. lle and his wife subsequently located on a farm in their native county, and there made their home until 1879, when they came to Logan County, and Benjamin F. worked for his brother in the tile factory by the month for three years. He then became a partner in the business and has since con- tinned in that capacity. His first wife died in Logan County, Ohio, in 1886, leaving three children, two daughters and a son: Anna K .. Raymond E. and Hettie Julia. Mr. Clough took for his second wife Miss Effie M. Ensley, a native of Ohio, and they have one child. Leroy.
Robert C. Clough is a member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows, is also a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is Trustee. and is a strong Prohibitionist in his political views. Benjamin F. is also a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is
Superintendent of the Sunday-school at Rusbsyl- vania. Ile is also a strong Prohibitionist, and while residing in Pennsylvania he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The factory belonging to these brothers is thought to be the largest and oldest in the county. They burn twenty-six kilns per season and ship to all parts of the country. The kiln is situated on forty acres of land, owned by these brothers, and Robert C. owns and carries on a farm of eiglity aeres, in addition to his tiling business. Their works have a ca- pacity of about six thousand per day.
J. N. ENGLISH, attorney and solicitor of Government claims at Wapakoneta, Ohio, was born in Stark County, this State, on the 22d of May, 1847, and has spent the principal part of his days right here. During this time he has not only won an enviable reputation in the legal fields, but as an honorable, upright citizen, he has gathered around him a host of warm friends.
Ilis immediate progenitor, Daniel S. English, was a native of New Jersey, and was married to Miss Elizabeth Severn, who was originally from Maryland. At an early date, the fertile soil of Ohio tempted them to settle within its borders, and in 1837 they located in Stark County. There the father cultivated the soil and passed the re- mainder of his days. Ile was one of the repre- sentative men of the county and was universally respected, being enterprising and progressive. Ile died in 1864. Ilis wife died in Columbiana County, Ohio, in 1877. They were the parents of thirteen children. six sons and seven daughters.
The immediate subject of this sketch grew up to sturdy manhood upon terms of familiarity with all kinds of farm labor, and was receiving a liberal education when the toesin of war sounded to arms. In 1861, he enlisted in the three-months service, Company H, Nineteenth Ohio Infan- try, and at the expiration of his term of
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enlistment he re-enlisted in Company I, Nine- teenth Ohio Infantry, and served faithfully and creditably until the 23d of June, 1865. lle participated in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, and was in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign. He was wounded at the battle of Chickamauga by a bayonet, and again severely at Lovejoy, September 1, 1864, by a gunshot. After receiving his discharge, he re- turned home and engaged in railroading on the Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad. This he followed for about two years and then began running a notion wagon, which he contin- ued for two years.
In 1869, he came to Auglaize County, Ohio, and for eleven years was engaged in school-teaclı- ing at St. Jolm's, this county. In April, 1880, he embarked in his present business, and has been very successful in prosecuting all claims that came to hand. lle has never aspired to oflice, bnt adheres closely to his business affairs and has made a success of whatever he has undertaken. He is a man possessed of good sound judgment, excellent business acumen, and the success which he has achieved has been due in a large measure to his energy and perseverance. He was married in 1872 to Miss Cynthia E. Miller, and six children have been born of this union. Mr. English is a worthy member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
NDREW MADER. It is a source of inspir- ation to brave-doing and endurance to learn the history of those who have, through hardship and privation, won for themselves a home in this Western world. and we delight in telling the story of Mr. Mader. who is one of the prominent. intelligent and worthy pio- neers of Loramie Township, Shelby County. He was born in Germany, November 25, 1826, of the union of Frederick C. and Anna M. (Kruspe) Mader, natives of the Ohl Country. Our subject remained
in his natur - country until 1844, or until eighteen years of age, when he sailed for America, preced- ing his parents to this conntry about two years. A revolution was threatened in Germany at that time, and as he did not care to be detained there, no telling how long, if war actually broke out, he determined to leave for the "Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave." and make his fortune there. Although he had some difficulty in secur- ing a pass, he was finally successful, and took pass- age at Bremen.
The parents of our subject crossed the ocean to America in 1846, and located in the woods of Lor- amie Township, Shelby County, where they pur- chased eighty acres of raw land, built a rude log cabin and began their career as pioneers. On this farm the father died, in 1878, when eighty-two years of age. lle had always been a very strong man, and was sick only two days. He served in the German army eight years, and took part in the war between France and Germany in 1813. While a resident of his native country, he followed farm- ing, and after coming to the United States was perfectly satisfied to remain here. lle was a mem- ber of the Lutheran Church. His wife died in 1872, when sixty-two years of age. Six of the nine children born to them are now living.
Andrew Mader, the eldest of these children, passed his boyhood days in assisting his father on the farm and attending school. After passing his fourteenth birthday he worked on a farm, and in 1844 concluded to come to the United States. After an ocean voyage of sixty-seven days, he landed in New York City, but shortly afterward came to Sandusky, Ohio, where he remained eigh- teen months. In 1846, after the arrival of his par- ents, he came to Shelby County, and for a few years worked out, receiving about $10 a month for his services. In 1857, he bought twenty acres of partly cleared land, and began clearing and im- proving. Deer and other animals were still quite plentiful, and Mr. Mader killed a good many. Hle has resided on his present farm since the spring of 1846. and any one viewing his well cultivated and productive fields could hardly realize that it was at one time covered with a forest and that filled with wild animals.
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RESIDENCE OF ANDREW MADER, SEC. 24., LORAMIE TP., SHELBY CO.,O.
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RESIDENCE OF A. A. SMITH , SEC. 9., ST. MARYS TP., AUGLAIZE CO., O.
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In 1857, Elizabeth Barbara Brehm, a native of Shelby County, Ohio, and whose parents were na- tives of Germany, became the wife of our subjeet. Mr. and Mrs. Mader are the parents of ten children as follows: Frederick W., Mary Elizabeth, Edward C., Matilda A., Minnie R., Emma C., John A., Franklin A., Harrison N., and Clara I .. respec- tively. Mr. Mader is independent in his political views, and votes for the best man irrespective of party. He was Assessor for four years, Land Ap- praiser in 1890, Trustee for three years, and has been Sehool Director for many years. In religion, he and Mrs. Mader are members of the Lutheran Church. He owns one hundred and twenty-four acres on section 24. all improved, on which he has a fine new house and barn. lle raises all kinds of stoek, has been as successful in this as farming, and is a man of excellent judgment. well liked in his community. A view of his homestead will be notieed on another page.
ARON A. SMITHI is a farmer of more than ordinary practical ability and progressive- ness, who has kept well abreast of the times in his calling, and has one of the best managed and finest improved farms in all this region, pleasantly located on section 9, St. Mary's Township. within the corporate limits of the city of St. Mary's, and valuable alike for its fertility, and as the site of some half dozen oil wells, of which five are good producers. A view of this estate is elsewhere shown. Both our subject and his estimable wife are among the earliest native- born citizens of Auglaize County. their parents be- ing among its very first settlers, and they them- selves are elas ed with its pioneers, who have been potent in its upbuilding and in advancing its in- terests socially, morally and religiously by the ex- ample of upright Christian lives.
Mr. Smith was born December 14, 1824, in one of the first pioneer homes established in the town- ship of St. Mary's, that of Henry A. Smith. a na-
tive of Delaware, who came to Ohio with his mother when a boy, and lived near Cincinnati until his marriage. In 1821. he came to Auglaize County and settled at St. Mary's among the In- dians, and thus was one of the very first to settle in the county. He had to cut his way through the country, which was new, with scarcely a white in- habitant within its borders, when he selected a suitable location for a farm. lle was a skillful hunter, and killed many a deer, wild turkey and bear to supply the family larder. Ile cleared con- siderable land, and bought and sold several tracts, being a man of much enterprise, and with a good faculty for making money. He endured numerous hardships incidental to the times, but struggled bravely and cheerfully with all obstacles to success, and was doing fairly well financially when death terminated his busy career in 1843, at the age of forty-four years, while his life was still in its prime. Ile was a religious man, and one of the prime mov- ers in establishing the Methodist faith in his com- munity. Ile had one of the largest dwellings in the neighborhood, and divine worship was gener- ally held in his house.
The mother of our subjeet bore the maiden name of Elizabeth A. Hinkle, and was born at Mill Creek, near Cincinnati. She was a daughter of Asa Hinkle, who was Captain of a company of sol- diers during the War of 1812, and with his com- mand visited the present site of St. Mary's at some time during that period. Ile was so much pleased with the country that he bought considerable land in this locality. which he afterwards gave to his children, and later in life settled here, making it his home from that time until his death. The mother of our subject died in 1850, aged fifty-three years. She was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. and actively co-operated with her husband and their fellow-pioneers in its up- building. She was the mother of eleven children, of whom seven are still living. The eldest child, Asa II., was the first white ehild born within the limits of this county, so far as known.
Aaron A. Smith. of whom this biography is written, is the third child of the family. 1Ie is familiar with every phase of pioneer life. and can well remember when the country was scarcely
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more than an unbroken wilderness, and when there were few or no roads, the people traveling mostly on horseback over Indian trails or bridle paths through the woods from place to place. Those early settlers were home-livers, subsisting on what they could raise from their land and on the game that was so abundant, and even the very clothes that they wore were of home-spun, manufactured by the wives, mothers and daughters from flax grown at their doors, and from wool from their sheep. In his boyhood and early manhood, our subject farmed with the clumsy implements of the olden times, turning the sod with wooden mould-board plows, and stirring the soil with wooden teeth harrows. Ile helped his father clear his land and sow and reap the harvests, and in the winter time went to school, which was only open then, and was conducted by subscription. The schoolhouse was a rude structure of logs, primitively furnished with slab seats, and a slab placed against the wall served as a writing-desk for the scholars, while an old-fash- ioned fireplace, extending across one end of the room, served for heating purposes, the large boys being required to bring in a big back-log to be used for the fire the succeeding day.
The Indians, who formerly owned this section of the eonntry, had their homes here until Mr. Smith was ten years old, when they were removed further Westward by the Government. Our subject re- lates an incident which occurred within half a mile of his present residence. A man named Murray, who traded with the Indians in an early day, sold them whisky, and the result was that they became intoxicated, and one Indian cut the throat of a comrade; another cut his throat, and he in turn was killed in the same way by the chief. An eye- witness of the seene saw the three lying side by side, dead.
In 1832. the father of our subject went to New Bremen to live, and was a resident of that place two years. When there, the cholera broke out among the Germans who had just emigrated to that locality from the Old Country, and a number of them died, and in this emergency the elder Mr. Smith kindly gave the planks from the loft of his honse to make coffins for the victims. During the eholera epidemie of 1849. both our subject and his
wife suffered from the dread disease, and were among the few who recovered.
Mr. Smith was married, in 1815, to Miss Rachael Smith, who was born and reared in the same neighborhood, and was one of his schoolmates. Their families were not related, although bearing the same name. Her parents were Charles and Elizabeth Smith, who were born, respectively, near Dayton and in Virginia. His people came from New York, and his father kept the first store at St. Mary's, being one of the first pioneers of this section. Mrs. Smith's father died in 1830, and her mother died in 1849, aged fifty-three years. They were the parents of six dangbters and one son, and five of their children are still living.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith began housekeeping on sec- tion 27, St. Mary's Township, building a hewn-log house, in which they dwelt in comfort thirty-five years. Their furniture, especially in the kitchen, was of the plainest kind. The cupboard was made of clapboards that had been split, and the shelves were so warped that the dishes would not stand level. In the fall of 1880, Mr. Smith removed to their present farm on section 9, within city limits, and in 1890 he built the fine frame residence now occupied by the family. Ile takes great pride in keeping his farm in the best possible condition, has his fields carefully tilled, under a good system of drainage, fences always in repair, buildings neat and well-appointed, and he is constantly making valuable improvements. llis example has also wrought a change in the neighborhood, as his neighbors have caught the same spirit, and have greatly improved their places since he settled among them. He has one hundred and seventy- two and one-half acres of land, which lie in the oil belt, and the first well on his place was bored February 28, 1891. Mr. Smith devoted his farm to dairy purposes for ten years. selling milk in the city, but for the past year has abandoned that business. For two years he burned brick on his farm, and also engaged in the manufacture of mo- lasses several years, making ten thousand gallons.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are blessed with six chil- dren. namely: Charles, who is married and lives on a farm near by; Jane, wife of Charles P. McKee, a farmer in this neighborhood; Elzy, who lives at
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home with his parents; Mary, wife of J. C. Dowty, a resident of Middletown; Loretta, at home with her parents; and Flora. wife of L. J. Berry, who lives at Troy, Ohio. Both our subject and his wife are very influential members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church at St. Mary's, of which he is Trustee. Mr. Smith is a firm ally of the Democratic party. Ile has borne an active part in the administration of local affairs as Trustec of St. Mary's Township for several years, and in whatever position in life he has been placed has always fulfilled his duty man- fully.
REDERICK SPECKMAN. a retired mereli- ant, but formerly one of the most successful and prominent grain and pork dealers in New Bremen. has accumulated all his wealth by industry and good management and by shrewd, practical business principles, for he started out on his own responsibility with very little means. No man in the town is better respected or more highly estecined than Mr. Speckman and he has a very pleasant and comfortable home here. Ile was born in llanover, Germany. October 28. 1824, and comes of very long-lived families on both sides of the house, the longevity of some of his ancestors being remarkable. ITis father, Henry Speckman, lived to be ninety-four years of age, the grandfather was ninety-seven at the time of his death, and our subject's maternal grandmother lived to the very unusual age of one hundred and five years. The mother of our subject died at the age of seventy years.
The parents were originally from Germany and both were members of the Lutheran Church. They were the parents of seven children, only two of whom are now living. The eldest son. Henry, is now residing in the Fatherland and is engaged in cultivating the soil. lle is very successful in this occupation and is now seventy-four years of age. Our subject and one sister were the only ones who
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