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 78
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 78
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 78
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The father of our subject married Elizabeth Will- iams, who was likewise a native of Virginia, and
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her parents, John and Mary Williams, were also early settlers of this region, locating in Paint Township, this county, where the mother of our subject grew to womanhood and was married. Af- ter marriage, the Florences settled on a farm in Paint Township, and in their pioneer home their son of whom we write was born. The father died on the old homestead in his eightieth year. The aged mother is still living there, and is now eighty- one years oldl. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom seven grew to maturity, and six are still living: E. R., William, Fanny, John, Charles and Edwin.
John Florence of this sketch is the seventh child of the family. His boyhood days were pleasantly passed on the old farm that is his birth- place. Ile was a good scholar, and was given ex- cellent educational advantages. attending first the district school, and then the public school and academy at London, finally becoming a student at the Ohio University at Delaware, where he pursued a fine course of study. Thus well equipped for the battle of life, he returned to the farm and gave his father valuable assistance in its manage- ment for some years. In 1877, he located on the farm in Monroe Township that he has ever since owned and occupied. It comprises two hundred and twenty acres of rich and well-tilled land, and is in a fine condition generally as to improvements and all that goes to make up a good farm. Mr. Florence devotes it to mixed husbandry, and has it well stocked. Ile keeps from one hun- dred and fifty to four hundred sheep all the time. and has a goodly number of cattle and horses of high grades. He is an active, wide-awake, indus- trious man, who looks carefully after his in- terests, and is eminently deserving of the success that has crowned his labors, placing him among the substantial men of the county. He stands well as a man and a citizen. his neighbors always find- ing him pleasant and obliging, and he favors all things likely to benefit the township. Ile was formerly a Democrat, in politics, but he now votes the People's ticket, being keenly interested in po- litical matters.
Mr. Florence was married. September 16, 1875, to Miss Blanche Morgridge, the second daughter of
J. B. and Harriet (Tuttle) Morgridge. She, too, is a native of Madison County, born in Darby Town- ship, December 4, 1854. She is finely educated, having been a student in some of the best schools of this, and a neighboring State. She first attended the district school in her native town, was then sent to Marysville, Ohio, from there to Ridgers Seminary, of Springfield, whence she went to In- diana to pursue a course in Earlham College, at Richmond, and she was subsequently a pupil at the university at Delaware. Her marriage with our subject is a congenial union. and they have estab- lished a home that is the centre of true culture and refinement, in which they dispense a delightful hospitality to their numerous friends. They have two children, Walter and Mary. The son is at home. while the daughter is attending school at St. Mary's Convent, at Columbus, Ohio.
ESSE TUMBLISON is a retired farmer, who has been a factor in the development of Madison County's agricultural interests, and is now quietly passing the declining years of a long and well spent life in his pleasant home on West High Street, London. A native of Ohio, his birthplace is nine miles south of Chil- licothe, in Ross County, and he was born October 28, 1816. His parents, Jesse and Elizabeth (Soders) Tumblison, natives respectively of Pennsylvania and Kentucky, were married in Ross County, and began their wedded life there amid pioneer sur- roundings. The father was a bricklayer, and he built up a prosperous business in Chillicothe as a con- tractor and builder, employing a good many men, and he was thus engaged throughout life.
Our subject is the only surviving member of the family. He lived in Ross County until nine years old, and then his mother removed to Picka- way County with her family. and he was there reared on a farm. He remained at home with his mother until he was twenty-one, attending the local schools in his boyhood, and at that age lie went to work as a farm hand, continuing thus em- ployed for some six years. At the expiration of
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that time, he had gathered together enough to en- able him to marry and make a home, and he was wedded to Miss Mary McKinney, of Pickaway County, daughter of Samuel and Margaret ( Lewis) MeKinney. Her parents were also natives of Pickaway County, born there in the very earliest days of its settlement, and her father was num- bered among its practical farmers until his death.
After marriage, Mr. Tumblison rented a farm in Pickaway County for several years, and then an- other for ten years. After that, he purchased one hundred acres of that same farm, which he operated a year and then he sold it. Ile next bought a farm of one hundred and sixty-seven acres, which he disposed of at a good price after living on it five years. Coming then to Madison County, he car- ried on agriculture on rented land the ensuing nine years. He then invested in a farm of one hundred and fifty-four aeres in Union Township, which is still in his possession. It is provided with fine buildings, is highly cultivated, and is one of the best farms in the township. Our sub- ject lived on it ten years, but as his wife died in 1886, he rented it, and has since made his home in London, the income that he enjoys being the fruit of his diligence and practical skill in agri- cultural pursuits. Ile is a man of high principles and unswerving rectitude in thought and act, and wherever he has lived has always been regarded as a very desirable citizen, one who could be de- pended upon to fill places of public trust with fidelity, and to aet honorably in all the relations in which he stood toward others. He has held the offices of Supervisor and School Director, and in both capacities served the township well. In his younger days, he belonged to the old Whig party, but of late years he has been a Republican. So- cially, he is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Religiously, he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also his wife of sainted memory, who was well beloved for her many virtues.
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Our subject has seven children: Frank, who married Ella Reed, and has five children: Charles, Merda, Harry, Blanche, John; Baxter E., who married Ann Hunter, and has three children: Ethel, Ada and Edna; Marcus, who married Liza
Woodhouse, and has four children: Willie, Ilow- ard, Mary, and Thomas; Fletcher, who married Kate Weaver, and has two children: Bessie and Claude; Marinda, Mrs. Albert Botkin; Martha; Dema, who married Samuel Hunter, and died May 1, 1892, leaving two children: Charles and Flor- ence.
6 HOMAS CARTMILL. It has been the privi- lege of Mr. Cartmill not only to watch much of the growth of Madison County, but to also materially aid in its advancement as a commercial center. He is possessed in a rare degree of those sterling qualities which mark him as a man of up- rightness of character, while his unassuming kind- ness has won for him the esteem of his fellow- citizens. The political issues of the times are al- ways interesting to him, and he gives his uns werv- ing allegiance to the Republican party. For many years the proprietor of a large gristmill in West Jefferson, our subject is now living retired from active business, and makes his home in a comfort- able residence with his only daughter and child.
The original of this sketch is the son of William and Isabel (Ferguson) Cartmill, the former of whom was born in Virginia in 1779. The parents came to Ohio in 1825, and made their home for a number of years in what is now Oak Run Town- ship. Madison County. Later removing to Pike Township, they spent their last days in that lo- cality, and were ranked among the pioneers who did much toward opening up this section of country.
The parental family of Mr. Cartmill included seven children, of whom he was the eldest, his birth occurring in Bath County, Ky., October 23, 1808. He accompanied his parents on their re- moval to this county in 1825, and grew to matur- ity in Oak Run Township. When ready to estab- lish a home of his own. he was married in January, 1829, to Sarah Ann Postle, who was born in this county, April 23, 1815.
Mr. Cartmill continued to reside with his father in Oak Run Township until reaching his twenty-
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fourth year, when he came to Jefferson Township and worked at the carpenter's trade for about fif- teen years, and in 1849 came to West Jefferson. Six years later, he erected the flouring mills at this place, which he operated in a most profitable man- ner until 1881, since which time he has lived a re- tired life. He is the proprietor of an estate which includes three hundred acres, together with a nice residence in West Jefferson.
Our subject makes his home with his daughter, Emerica, widow of William P. Reddick, by whom she became the mother of three children, namely: Sarah, now Mrs. Marion Kimberlin; Catherine, the wife of A. Colvin and Jennie, Mrs. A. Karns. Mrs. Sarah A. Cartmill departed this life in Indiana, August 21, 1867.
Our subject is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and regarding other issues of the day, manifests the true public spirit which he manifests in the affairs of his neighborhood.
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HARLES A. FOSTER, M. D., President of the Board of Pension Examiners for Fay. ette County, and one of the oldest practi- tioners of Washington C. II., was born in Wind- ham County, Vt., February 21, 1842. His parents, Charles and Lavina (Thompson) Foster, removed to Ross County, Ohio, in 1854, and there Charles A. completed his education at Kingston Academy. For ten years, he followed the profession of a teacher, for which his breadth of knowledge and imusual tact as a disciplinarian admirably qual- ified him.
While Superintendent of Schools at Cardington, Morrow County, our subject employed his leisure hours in reading medicine with Dr. Wetherby, a prominent physician of that village. Afterward, he entered the medical department of Columbia College, from which he was graduated in 1870, having acquired not only a good theoretical knowledge of therapeutics, but added to it an ex- tensive practical experience in hospital work. At once, after completing his college course, he lo- cated in Circleville, this State, where he entered
into partnership with Dr. Turney, a connection which continued until he came to Washington C. H., in the fall of 1872.
Immediately after establishing himself in this city, the Doctor entered upon a lucrative and ex- tensive practice, which ineluded a large number of patients in the city besides a wide range of coun- try practice. His reputation is established as a successful physician, public-spirited citizen and honorable-minded man. The Fayette County Medical Society has called him to the Presidency of their Association, and he is likewise closely identified with the State Medical Society. May 10, 1892, the Doctor was elected to the Chair of Ophthalmoscopy in the medieal department of the Ohio Medical University, at Columbus. Although he has never mingled in the political life of the county, he has the public welfare at heart and gives his influence and assistance to projects of material value to the community.
In his social connections, the Doctor is numbered among the active members of Fayette Lodge, Fayette Chapter, and Garfield Commandery. He is also identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His marriage, December 2, 1875, united him Miss Mary A., daughter of William Bauder, a retired citizen of Cireleville. Mrs. Foster was there born in 1852 and was reared to womanhood in the parental home, which she left to enter that of her husband. Her amiable dispo- sition and kindliness of heart win friends wherever she goes, and she is prominent in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which she has been a member for many years.
Dr. Foster was appointed a member of the Board of Pension Examiners by President Hayes and served until the election of President Cleveland. He was re-appointed during the administration of Benjamin Harrison, and is now President of the Board. IIe has always made a specialty of Opthalmology and gives special attention to fit- ting glasses in a scientific manner, in which he has been remarkably successful.
The family of which our subjeet is a member consisted of the following children: Charles A., of this sketch; Alson, a resident of Pickaway County; Highland and George, who make their home in
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Ross County; and Elizabeth, who lives in Ross County and is caring for her aged mother. The father of the family resided in Ross County until he died at a good old age, mourned by a large cirele of friends and remembered with affection by his children, who owe to his influence and training much of their success in life.
C APT. B. II. BOSTWICK, an attorney-at- law of Circleville, was born in Canfield, Mahoning County, Ohio. August 21, 1835, and comes of an old Connecticut family. His grandfather, Gersham Bostwick, was born in that State and afterward became a farmer of Vermont, where he spent fourteen years. Subsequently, he became a resident of Portage County, Ohio, where he remained until his death, at the age of sixty- eight.
Joseph R. Bostwick, father of the Captain, was born in New Milford, Conn., learned the trade of a carpenter and followed that pursuit some years. Ile married Ann Maria Hunt, who was born in Wilkesbarre, Luzerne County, Pa., and was a daughter of William Hunt, a native of Connecticut. He removed from Pennsylvania to Mahoning County, and his last years were spent in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Three years after their marriage, Mr. Bostwick removed with his family to Ashta- bula County, where, in connection with his trade, he followed farming. He had served in the War of 1812, and was a Whig in politics. Ile helped raise the first log barn in Cleveland, Ohio, and was otherwise identified with the history of the State. Ile died at the home of our subject at the age of eighty-four years, and his wife passed away when seventy-nine years of age. They were highly re- spected people, and the lady was a member of the Christian Church. They had three children: Charles B., who served throughout the late war, and is now a broker of Omaha, Neb .; B. II., of this sketch; and Perry G., an attorney of Cireleville.
Our subject was reared in Hart's Grove, Ohio, from his third year. At the age of seventeen, he began teaching, and in that way procured the
money to pay his tuition in college. When twenty years of age, he entered the Western Reserve Col- lege at Iliram. In the fall of 1857, he engaged in teaching in Circleville, then returned to college. In 1858, he went West to Kansas and Iowa, spend- ing about a year in travel. In 1859, he returned to Circleville, where he again taught school.
In 1861, on the first call for troops to crush out the rebellion, Mr. Bostwick joined Company D, Nineteenth Ohio Infantry, was mustered in at Camp Chase and sent to West Virginia. Ile was made Orderly Sergeant, and after serving three months was mustered out in Columbus, August 30, 1861. He then proceeded to assist Capt. John Brown, JJr., in raising a company, and was mus- tered in again at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., as First Lieutenant of Company K, Seventh Kansas Cav- alry. He participated in many important battles, including the engagement on the Little Blue, the battles of Independence, Neosha, Corinth, Holly Springs, Oxford, Water Valley, Coffeyville, Salem, Tupelo, Ripley, Guntown, Buzzard's Roost, Pine Creek, Florence, Hamburg Landing, Savannah, Swallow Bluff, and many others. He was com- missioned Captain of the company September 4, 1862, and his own bravery and daring inspired his men with courage and made them do their best. At Little Blue, he was shot in the head, and his horse was killed at the same time. At Corinth, his horse fell with him and four of his ribs were broken. At Wyatt, a horse was shot from under him and one at Sandy. The regiment in which Capt. Bostwick enlisted was known as the ".Jay- hawkers." Their motto was "Union and Laws,"and their banner bore the words "Flag of the Free." He was mustered out at Ft. Leavenworth, Septem- ber 29, 1865.
Immediately after the war, Capt. Bostwick re- turned home, and in 1866 came to Circleville. The same year he married Miss Hattie A., a daughter of Jeremiah Hall, and a native of Ross County. He then returned to Ashtabula County, where he en- gaged in farming one year, but his health was so badly impaired by his army life. that he had to abandon that work. He then began the study of law under Mr. Hall, his wife's father, and was ad- mitted to the Bar in 1869. He at once began
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practice, and the law firm of Ilall & Bostwick was formed, the partnership continuing until 1885, when Mr. Hall removed to Lancaster, Ohio, where he now resides. Capt. Bostwick has won excellent success in his chosen profession. In the early part of his practice, he dealt considerably in real estate, but on account of his increased patronage, was forced to abandon that business. His skill and ability have won him an enviable position, and he is one of the best-read lawyers in Circleville.
The Captain and his wife have a pleasant home on the corner of Pickaway and Mound Streets. Their union has been blessed with four children: Ninnie B., who graduated from the Circleville Iligh School, is now Mrs. J. C. Zinser, of Joliet, III .; Bir J., a graduate of the Circleville High School and the Cincinnati Law School, was ad- mitted to the Ohio Bar, November 12, 1891; Mabel chied at the age of two years and three months, and Linck C. is a student in the High School.
Capt. Bostwick is a Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Commandery. He is also a prominent member of Groce Post No. 156, G. A.R., and was Trustee of the Memorial Hall building. In politics, he is a stalwart Republican, unflinching in support of the party principles. Ile served as a member of the State Central Committee, was Chairman of the County Central Committee, and has been Delegate to the county. congressional and State conventions. He was nominated as Prosecuting Attorney and as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, but as his party is in the minor- ity, he failed of election. Capt. Bostwick may well be proud of his army record. He was a brave and faithful soldier and is a true and valued private citizen, highly esteemed throughont the com- munity.
AUL SOLT, late of Walnut Township, with whose agricultural interests he was closely identified for many years, until death re- moved him from the scenes of his useful- ness, was a pioneer of Pickaway County, who was greatly respected by the people among whom he
lived and labored for more than half a century. Hle was born in Pennsylvania, December 27, 1807, and was a son of Conrad and Elizabeth (Nagle) Solt, both of whom were of German extraction.
Our subject's educational advantages were com- paratively limited, but he later in life made up for his early deficiencies in schooling by intelligent reading, and he was endowed with those sturdy mental characteristics that led him to prosperity. Hle also had his own fortune to make, as he had no means with which to begin life. When he was seventeen years old, he came to Ohio with his mother, his father having died in Pennsylvania, and for several years they lived in Fairfield County. Early in the '30s he came to Pickaway County to settle among its pioneer environments, and from that time until his death he was a val- ued citizen of Walnut Township.
With the active co-operation of his capable wife, our subject built up one of its most comfortable homes, and redeemed a farm of two hundred and twenty-five acres from the wilderness, improving it extensively, so that it compares favorably with the best in its vicinity in every respect. He lived a long and honorable life, and had passed his eighty-third milestone on the journey from the cradle to the grave, when, on that summer day, the 25th of June, 1891, he closed his eyes in the sleep that knows no waking, dying lamented not only by his wife and children, to whom he had been a loving husband and a tender father, but by the entire community, where he was known as a kind and obliging neighbor and steadfast friend. llis honesty was proverbial, all who knew him placing perfect trust in his word, and his life was guided by true Christian principles, as he was a most worthy member of the Lutheran Church. Socially, he was a member of the Masonic order. Politically, he was a Democrat, and he was in favor of whatsoever would promote the growth of the county or advance its higher interests. He was Assessor of Walnut Township eleven years, and discharged the duties thus incumbent upon him with strict integrity.
Mrs. Solt, the wife of our subject, still resides on the home farm in Walnut Township, and in her deelining years is enjoying the fruit of a life
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spent in well-doing. She is a consistent Christian, as is shown by her everyday life, and in her the Lutheran Church has one of its most faithful mem- bers. Her maiden name was Rebecca Brown, and she was born August 27, 1819. She is a daughter of William and Rebecca Brown, who came to Wal- nut Township in the early days of its settlement, and founded a new home in the forests. The mar- riage of our subject and his wife, which took place June 9, 1835, and endured fifty-six years, was blessed to them by the birth of these nine children: Elizabeth; John R .; William; Sillanthia, wife of Henry Brown; Thomas; Eveline, wife of David Heist; Charles; Rufina, and Sarah A., deceased.
E NOCH F. COFFLAND. Both as a success- ful farmer and a prominent Democratic politician, this gentleman is well and fav- orably known, not only in Wayne Township, where he resides, but also in Pickaway County. A man of great energy and untiring industry, it was nothing unusual for him, when operating as a renter, to farm as much as three hundred and seventy-five acres in corn, and he is now the owner and manager of three hundred and thirty-five acres of splendid land, the soil of which is black sandy loam and exceedingly fertile.
Early in the '40s, John Coffland, father of our subject, removed from West Virginia, where he followed the trade of a miller, to Ohio, where he located in Monroe County, but subsequently re- moved to Morgan County. Ile operated a grist- mill and also followed farming pursuits, being successful in both vocations. For a time he oper- ated a farm in Hocking County, which he owned, and thence, about 1865. removed to Marshall County, Kan., where he resided upon a tract of land purchased after his location there. His death occurred in the Sunflower State in 1876, when he was sixty-eight years old.
A prominent member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, John Coffland was Class-leader for many years and took an active part in religious services, which were often held in his house. He
was also the incumbent of the office of Justice of the Peace, and served his fellow-citizens with etli- cieney in various positions of honor. Ilis wife, whose maiden name was Mary Fowler, belonged to one of the F. F. Vs., and died in Kansas in 1883, passing away in the faith of the Methodist Episco- pal Church, of which she had long been an earnest member. Grandfather James Coffland was born in Germany, whence he crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and, settling in Virginia, followed agricultural pursuits until his death.
Three of the nine children comprising the paren- tal family still survive, Mr. Coffland being the fourth in order of birth. He was born near Wheel- ing, W. Va., April 9, 1837, and gained a limited education in the schools of the early years of this century. When he was fourteen years of age, he started out to earn his living and secured employ- ment on a farm at $13 per month. He continued in that way until he reached his majority, when he began farming for himself in Ilocking County, Ohio, and two years later removed to Pickaway County, locating in Salt Creek Township, one mile from Leistville. Two years afterward, he removed to Jackson Township and there engaged in farm- ing for twenty-two years, removing thence in 1885 to Wayne Township, where he still resides.
In 1858, Mr. Coffland was married to Miss Mary A. Hoekman, of Hocking County, Ohio. Mrs. Coffland is the daughter of Noah and Catherine (Bucher) Hockman, natives of Virginia and Ohio, the mother now residing in Hoeking County, the father having died in March, 1892. Eleven children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Coffland, namely: Theodore, Elmira. Electa, Benjamin, Samuel, Dan- iel, Ilarry, Courtney, Franklin (deceased), Nelson and Ida. Samnel attended college at Lebanon, Ohio, and is now engaged in the grocery business at Tulare, Cal.
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