Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, Part 20

Author: Chapman Brothers
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 894

USA > Ohio > Fayette County > Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 20
USA > Ohio > Madison County > Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 20
USA > Ohio > Pickaway County > Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States > Part 20

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October 28, 1869, the original of this sketch was married to Miss Kate, daughter of Adam Zinn, one of the old settlers of Franklin County. The lady was born in Columbus, in October, 1843. and contin-

ued to reside with her husband on the old home- stead in Monroe Township, which he had purchased, until 1875, at which time they came to West Jeffer- son. Here Mr. Bradley engaged in the grocery business for eighteen months, when he sold out, and in 1878 established a drugstore, carrying on a very paying business until August 1, 1890, when he disposed of his stock and has since lived retired from active work of any kind.

Mr. Bradley has taken an active part in local affairs and has been chosen by the citizens of the township to hold many offices of trust, among which was Township Clerk and School Director. Being a Grand Army man, Mr. Bradley is a member of Wilson Burrows Post No. 389, and as an Odd Fel- low is connected with West Jefferson Lodge No. 412. Ile is always interested in measures which tend toward the upbuilding of his community, and during elections invariably casts a Republican vote. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have one daughter, Elta, who with her parents is a member of the Bap- tist Church.

u RBAN G. CREAMER. A conspicuous po- sition among the attorneys of Fayette County is held by this gentleman, who is actively engaged in professional duties, and who, through well-directed efforts, has gained success in his calling. Although he has resided in Washing- ton C. H. for a brief period only, having located here in 1889, he has already secured a permanent place in the regard of the people, and his wide knowledge of the law renders his opinion valuable and often sought.

The early years of the life of our subject were passed amid rural seenes on his father's farm near Jeffersonville, Ohio, where he was born July 25, 1851. For further facts in his paternal history, the reader is referred to the sketch of A. R. Creamer, presented elsewhere in this volume. He passed the summer seasons in farm work, and in the win- ter diligently applied himself to his studies in the distriet school. At the age of eighteen, he com- meneed to teach and was thus engaged during

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winters for five years, his summers being devoted to agricultural labors. For a few years he worked exclusively on a farm, having charge of the old homestead where he was born.

At the age of twenty-eight, Mr. Creamer was elected Justice of the Peace and served with effi- ciency in that capacity for six years. Meanwhile he read law whenever opportunity offered, and at the expiration of his term of service as Justice, he left Jefferson ville and proceeded to Williamsburgh, Clermont County, where he studied law for one year entirely under his own direction. March 1, 1888, he was admitted to practice at the Bar of the State of Ohio, and located for the practice of his profession at Williamsburgh, where he remained until he came to Washington C. H., in February, 1889. Since that time, he has gained a good prac- tice and devotes his attention closely to the de- mands of his professional duties. In the spring of 1892, he was elected .Justice of the Peace at Washington C. H.

The marriage of Mr. Creamer to Miss Laura McLean. of Williamsburgh, was celebrated January 21, 1889, and their pleasant home in Washington C. H. is brightened by the presence of one child, a son, J. Byron. Religiously, Mr. Creamer is iden- tified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and socially, is a member of the Cernean Scottish Rite, F. & A. M., which includes the Blue Lodge.

AMES B. SPRAGUE, M. D., of London, who first won distinetion as assistant surgeon in - the army during the war, is a man of rare personal worth, of wide experience as a physician, and stands high in professional and so- cial circles in Madison County, where he is well known and honored.

Dr. Spragne was born in Clarke County, June 15, 1821, and his parents were James and Polly (Bailey) Sprague, who were natives respectively of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and were fine representatives of the old New England stock that has borne such an important part in the up-

building of the great Commonwealth of Ohio. Hither the father came in 1812, and resumed his occupation as a farmer on the rich virgin soil of Clarke County, where he purchased three hundred and twenty acres of land. Ilis first work was to build a log house for the shelter of his family, which he replaced later in life by a handsome brick residence. He was a man of fine physique, stand- ing six feet and two inches in his stockings, and he was gifted with great strength. Ile possessed good mental ability, was a clear-headed business man, and was one of the wealthy citizens of his county. He was a Democrat, with an intelligent comprehension of the political situation in his day. He lived to danee with his grandchildren, and was of a ripe old age when he died. Ilis children were eight in number, and six of them are yet living: Leonard B., Mrs. Orisa Rice, James B., Mrs. Percy Wallingsford, Mrs. Maria McMahon, and Mrs. Mary E. Cameron.

The subject of this life record spent the first twenty years of his life on his father's farm. His early education was obtained in the district schools of his native county, and he subsequently became a student at the Springfield High School, attend- ing there three years in all, teaching at intervals to get money to pay his expenses. His father dying. he was appointed one of the administrators of the estate, and left school to attend to his duties, liv- ing on the farm until the estate was settled. IIe sold his share of the property to his brother Leon- ard, as he had determined to prepare himself for the medical profession, toward which his tastes in- clined him. He entered upon his studies with Dr. Robert Rodgers, of Springfield, and was with him three years. By that time he was so well up in his studies that he at once took high rank in his classes when he entered the Ohio Medical College at Cin- einnati, from which he was graduated in March, 1851. He established himself at Vienna Cross Roads in his native county, and remained there until June, 1862. Ile was then offered the posi- tion of assistant surgeon of the Twenty-seventh Ohio Infantry, and for three years he labored in- cessantly among the siek and dying soldiers on Southern battle-fields, doing all in his power to allay suffering and to stay the hand of death, and

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many a poor boy had cause to thank him for a life saved or a death-bed robbed of its pain. But such devotion to his duties told severely on his own health, and he utterly broke down, so that he was discharged and sent home on a bed. He subse- quently returned to the South in the same eapac- ity, under a contract with Col. Lathrop, of Cin- einnati, and was absent two months.

Although obtained at such a terrible cost, our subjeet's experience as an army surgeon has been in valuable to him in his subsequent practice, and he has risen to greater prominence in his profession by reason of it. Ile continued his practice in his native county until 1871, when he sold out there and came to London to make his future home. ITis residence is on South Oak Street, and he has his office in the same lot. Ile is the oldest practi- tioner in the village, whither his fame had pre- ceded him, and he has all the patients that he can attend to, both in the village and in the country. He is as devoted to his profession as when he first entered it with all the vigor, high hopes and am- bitions of early manhood, and has kept pace with the times in regard to the progress made in the medieal world by means of new discoveries and in- ventions. He has been singularly successful in dealing with difficult and dangerous cases. It is said of him that in forty years' practice he has had more cases of obstetrics, in all probability, than any other physician in the county, and yet he has never lost but one patient, whom the Doctor thinks was poisoned by an attendant.

Dr. Sprague was married, in 1843, to Miss Sarah Chamberlain, of Clarke County, and a daughter of Isaac and Polly (Harriman) Chamberlain. They were natives of New Hampshire, and came to Ohio in the early years of its settlement. They kept a hotel for some years, and later lived on a farm until death, always making their home in Clarke County after coming to this State. They had six children, two of whom are living: Mattie and Mrs Sprague. The marriage of our subject and his wife, which has been a union of true felicity, has been hallowed to them by the birth of two children: Mrs. C. F. Wragg, of Clarke County, who is the mother of four children: Frank, Eher, Leona and Charles; and Milton C., a physician

and surgeon of Madison County, who married Miss Alice Hurd and has two children: Clarence and Annie.

Our subject and his wife are regarded as valu- able acquisitions to the community, and in them the Universalist Church has two devoted members. The Doctor is prominent in medical circles as one of the Examining Board of Physicians for Pen- sions, appointed thereto by President Harrison, and as a leading member of the State Medical So- ciety, in which he has held all the offices. He be- longs to Lyon Post No. 121, G. A. R., of which he is surgeon; and he is also an Odd Fellow and a Mason, being the oldest Mason in London, a Scot- tish Rite member, having taken the thirty-second degree in Masonry. Politically, he is a Democrat.

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C HANNING VLEREBOME is one of the most successful and most extensive grain- dealers in Perry Township, Pickaway County. He was born on the 9th of August, 1865, in New Holland, this township, and is a son of George and Marinda (Chaflin) Vlerebome. The father was a native of New York, and came to Cincinnati, Ohio, when fourteen years of age, where he remained and worked four or five years as a clerk in a clothing store. He then went on the road as a traveling salesman for a firm, which position he held a number of years, and was one of the most successful, receiving a salary of $2,500 per year, which was at that time the highest paid. The father of our subjeet was married at New Holland, in 1859, and engaged in the grocery business at New Ilolland until the spring of 1886, when, his health failing somewhat, he retired from business. In 1876, he started in the elevator busi- ness, and in the year 1883 his elevator and grocery store were entirely destroyed by fire, which re- sulted in a net loss of over $20,000. Ile was a stanch member of the Republican party, and be- longed to the Masonic order.

Of the five children born to the worthy parents of our subject, he is the youngest, and received

SAMUEL M. OWENS

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his early education in the common schools, which was supplemented by a course in the business col- lege at Delaware, Ohio. In July, 1888, Mr. Vlere- home engaged in the elevator business at New Holland, and soon afterward associated with him Mr. George MeCrea, the firm now being known as McCrea & Vlerebome. They handle annually over two hundred thousand bushels of wheat, and about the same amount of corn, and receive most all the custom of the township. Our subject is a member of the Knights of Pythias Lodge, and is one of the most highly respected young men in the com- munity, admired by all for his sagacious judgment and square dealings.

S AMUEL M. OWENS. Amid the numerous changes which fall to the lot of mankind, it is the happy fortune of but few to pass nearly three-quarters of a century upon the same homestead, endeared to them through its associations with the events of their youth, man- hood and old age. Such, however, is the history of Mr. Owens, who resided upon his farm in Wayne Township, Pickaway County, for a period of al- most seventy years. As may be imagined, he was known alike to old and young for miles around his home, and wherever known was highly esteemed. He died at his home, May 13, 1892.

At one time the owner of about one thousand acres, Mr. Owens was still a large land-owner at the time of his demise, having in his possession between eight hundred and nine hundred acres, all of which are located in Wayne Township, with the exception of a farm in Jackson Township, this county. In connection with general farming, he was always greatly interested in stock-raising and had a large number of cattle, hogs and horses on his place. Ile was always a great lover of fine horses and for nearly twenty years engaged as a breeder of draft horses, making a specialty of Normans. He also raised cattle for thirty years, and was a successful and judicious stock-raiser.

About the year 1815, William Owens brought his family from Montgomery County, Md., to Ohio.

the journey being made in an okl-fashioned two- wheel cart drawn by two horses. Locating in Jackson Township, he rented a tract of land and built a log cabin which remained his home for some time. Subsequently, he removed to Wayne Town- ship, where he purchased land when the surround- ing country was new and wild game was plentiful, especially deer and turkeys. His family consisted of his wife and two children: Samuel M., who was born in Montgomery County, Md., August 21, 1808, and Mary, widow of Samuel Campbell, who died about 1884 in Circleville, this State.

The removal from Maryland to Ohio was made when our subject was a lad of seven years, and his education was gained in the schools of Jackson Township, which were of a primitive character, both as to mode of instruction and furnishings. When about twenty-two years old, he was united in marriage with Miss Eliza, daughter of Aaron Sullivan, who settled in Ross County, Ohio, at an early day. The worthy couple lived together in happiness, sharing the trials and hardships of pio- neer life and industriously working their way to independence and prosperity, until April 6, 1875, when Mrs. Owens was called from time to eternity. She was a faithful Christian, and for many years identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Eleven children were born of the union of our subject and his wife: Massie Ann is the wife of Frank Brown, a farmer of Jackson Township; Wil- liam (deceased) married Martha Rector, and they became the parents of seven children; Sallie became the wife of Henry Caldwell and died at Ashville some years ago; Ellen married Daniel R. Knowles, a farmer of Wayne Township; Mary was united with Samuel Reigle and is now deceased; Ann M. is the wife of Daniel L. Knowles, a resident of Washington; Nancy is single and lives at home; Samuel married Mary Stevens and makes his home in Wayne Township; Mareus B. married Nina Jones and resides in Burlington Junction, Mo. Two died in infancy.

Reared an old-line Whig, Mr. Owens cast his first Presidential ballot for Henry Clay in 1832, and was a firm Republican after the organization of that party, although he did not take an active part in politieal affairs. As the years passed by, he

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placed additional improvements on his place and in 1852 replaced the old log cabin which had been his home with an attractive and commodious resi- dence in which his closing years were passed. Hard- working and persevering, he gained success and was numbered among the most prominent eitizens of the county. His friends will therefore be pleased to read this sketch of his life, and will also notice with interest the accompanying portrait.

W ILLIAM BAUDER, who died in Circleville, May 10, 1892, was one of the early set- tlers of Pickaway County, and was born three miles east of Schenectady, N. Y., in the year 1813. His grandfather was a farmer, descended from a high German family. His father, Peter Bauder, was a native of Herkimer County, and was a self-made man. He served as a teamster in the War of 1812. Ile engaged in farming until 1818, and then removed to Albany, where he re- mained until 1826, when he removed to West Troy. He afterward kept hotel in Albany and died in Jefferson County, N. Y., at about the age of seventy-four. For some time he was a member of the Methodist Church but afterward joined the Evangelical Association. He married Eliza Grace, who was born on the Isle of Man, and was a daughter of William Grace, a native of Ireland. On coming to America, he located in Albany, N. Y., where he spent the remainder of his life. After her husband's death, Mrs. Bauder went to Illinois and made her home with some of her chil- dren. She died in Naperville, that State, but was buried in Montgomery.

In the parental family were fourteen children, twelve of whom grew to mature years. Those still living are Peter, a retired merchant of Clinton, Iowa; Hon. Cyrenus, who served his district in the State Legislature and resides in Lee County, Iowa, near Ft. Madison; James, a farmer of Madison County, N. Y .; Gerald of Nashua, Iowa; and Jane and Allen, both of whom also reside in Nashua.

The subject of this sketch began his education in Albany, where the Lancasterian system of edu-

cation was taught, there being four hundred scholars in one room. He there remained until thirteen years of age. Ile then began earning his own livelihood. When seventeen years of age, he was apprenticed to a carriage manufacturer under Amos Kendall, serving a term of three years. His employer was a skilled mechanic, and, under his instruction, Mr. Bauder advanced rapidly in the line of his work. He afterward bought out his employer and carried on a successful business for some time. In connection with his brother, he afterward engaged in the manufacture of wheel- barrows and again prospered in this line of work. In 1838, he came to Ohio, and built a shop in Dresden, but business did not pay in that place, and he removed to Circleville. He afterward en- gaged in business as a manufacturer of carriages and wagons and built up an excellent trade. The first buggy he made was for ex-Sheriff Wolfley. He had many hardships and difficulties to over- come, but by his enterprise and skill worked his way upward, acquiring, an excellent patronage.

In 1839, in Zanesville, Ohio, Mr. Bauder was united in marriage with Miss Ann Fleming, who was born in New Jersey, and is a daughter of Abner Fleming, a farmer of Zanesville. Nine children were born of their union: Alex died at the age of seventeen years; the four next younger died in early life; Edson B. graduated from the High School and from Ann Arbor University of Michigan, has received the degrees of A. B., A. M. and LL. D., and is now a practicing attorney of Cleveland; George W. is engaged in business in Circleville; Mary is the wife of Dr. C. A. Foster, a prominent physician of Washington Court House; and William H. is Superintendent of the Edison Electric business in the Rocky Mountain district, and makes his home in Denver, Col.

Mr. Bauder returned to the East in 1843 and, with a capital of $3,000, embarked in the hotel business in Pine Wood, Madison County, N. Y. A year later, he established a carriage factory, which he carried on until 1846, when he returned to Circleville with only $2,000. He again worked at his trade in Circleville, and afterward bought a lot and built a carriage factory at the corner of Watt and Court Streets. For a number of years

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he engaged in the manufacture of fine carriages and other vehicles and built up a most excellent trade, meeting with signal success. Ile invented two patents. In 1874, he took his son, George W., into partnership and ten years later sold out to him, since which time he has lived a retired life, devoting his attention to the care of his prop- erty. His carriages were sent all over the country. IIe employed from ten to twenty hands and did an extensive business. He built a great many residences, a number of which he still owns, in- cluding two dwellings on Pinkney Street. He also was interested in real estate in Iowa. He started out in life empty-handed, but by his own industrious efforts and perseverance he had ac- qinred a handsome competence.

In politics, Mr. Bauder was a Democrat until the election of Lincoln, after which time he was a stanch Republican. He served as Township Treas- urer, School Director and School Treasurer. So- cially, he was an Odd Fellow and for years had been Treasurer of his lodge. He belonged to the Methodist Church, of which he was Trustee. Mr. Bauder was one of the oldest settlers in the city, and was a genial, jovial man and one who was held in high regard by his many friends throughout the community.

R ICHARD M. JOHNSON. Among the varied and numerons occupations by means of which men seek fame and fortune, there is certainly none more free from worry and vexation of spirit than agriculture. In the coun- try, surrounded on every side by waving fields of grain and all the beauties of nature, man's soul is possessed in calmness and he does not wear himself out as do the busy people who reside in the city. The subject of this sketch is numbered among those who enjoy the freedom and peace of farm life and makes his home in Fairfield Town- ship, Madison County, where he is ranked among the wealthy farmers.

The parents of our subject, Thomas B. and Aletha (Reed) Johnson, were natives of Mont-

gomery County, Md. In 1835, they emigrated to Ohio and located in what is now Oak Run Town- ship, this county, soon after which they removed to Range Township. After a residence there of a short time, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson returned to Oak Run Township, where the former died in 1842; the mother departed this life September 9, 1863, in Fairfield Township.

The parental family inchided nine children, of whom our subject was the fifth child and fourth son. He was also born in Montgomery County, Md., his natal day being July 4, 1824. He was a lad of eleven years at the time of his parents' re- moval to this county and here grew to man's es- tate, remaining under the parental roof in Oak Run Township until 1857, when he took up his abode on the place where he is at present residing.

Mr. Johnson of this sketch was married in Summerford Township, this county, November 1, 1860, the lady of his choice being Miss Sarah Jane, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary (Patrick) Griffin, natives respectively of Ohio and Virginia. The parents of Mrs. Johnson were married in this State, after which they located on the line between Champaign and Madison Counties, where the mo- ther died, August 31, 1864. The father, who sur- vived her many years, departed this life m Macon County, Ill., Angust 10, 1880. Mrs. Johnson, who was born in Van Wert County, this State, January 12, 1834, was the fifth in order of birth of the par- ental family of nine children.

Of the two children born to our subject and his wife, one died in infancy and Imo passed away when two years old. Farming has been the life work of our subject and he is thoroughly informed regarding the peculiar qualities of soils, the best methods of fertilizing, and the rotation of crops which will produce the most desirable results. Ilaving prospered, he is surrounded with all the comforts of life, and upon his estate will be found a complete line of buildings and the various improvements which might be expected of a man of progressive ideas. He is the proprietor of about twelve hundred acres of land and is one of the most prominent farmers and stock-raisers in Madi- son County.

Mr. Johnson takes an active interest in local

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affairs and belongs to the Republican party, taking sufficient part in politics to keep well informed re- garding the issues of the day. IIe has been Town- ship Trustee, in which position he gave entire satis- faction to his fellow-citizens. With his wife, he is a member in good standing of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, giving liberally and cheerfully of his means for its support.

A. CLARK, a druggist of Mt. Sterling, has been engaged in this business for several years. Ile is considered one of the enter- prising and progressive business men of the place and a valued citizen. He was born in Mt. Sterling, January 6, 1858, and is a son of Alex and Lydia (Adkins) Clark, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Their marriage, however, was celebrated in this State. The father is a blacksmith and re- sides in Madison Mills, Fayette County. The fam .. ily numbered thirteen children, eleven of whom grew to mature years, but Mrs. J. S. Smith died at the age of thirty-seven years, leaving four children. William is an attorney of Mr. Sterling; J. M. is en- gaged in the grocery trade in Mt. Sterling; J. N. is a physician of Madison Mills; J. S. is a blacksmith of Buena Vista, Fayette County; Mrs. Emma Craw- ford makes her home in Columbus, Ohio; Mrs. John Adams is living in Greenfield, Ohio, where her husband is engaged as a grain dealer; Mrs. W. M. Fulton is living on a farm in Range Township, Madison County; Mrs. Charles Snyder makes her home on a farm in Highland County, and Mildred is still with her parents.

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Portrait and biographical record of Fayette, Pickaway and Madison counties, Ohio : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, Part 20

Author: Chapman Brothers Publication date: 1892 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Bros. Number of Pages: 894

Author: Chapman Brothers
Publication date: 1892
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Bros.
Number of Pages: 894