USA > Ohio > Tuscarawas County > Portrait and biographical record of Tuscarawas County, Ohio > Part 10
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was at the normal at Cambridge, and on leaving there he was given a certificate to teach. This oc- cupation he followed only a short time, however, as September 2, 1869, he was married, and there- after gave his attention to milling, which business occupied his entire attention for fifteen years. At the end of that time he sold his interest in the mill, and gave his whole attention to farming. The lady whom our subject married was Martha R., a daughter of Andrew and Nancy B. Clark, of Cen- tre Township, this county. She was born in Jeffer- son Township, Guernsey County, February 7, 1849, and in girlhood was given the privilege of a good education. After her union with Mr. Armstrong, the young couple located at Guernsey Mill, where their nine children were born, namely: Mary B., William R., Addie L., Martha E., John C., Abraham C., Harry O., Charles O. and Ira P.
The parents of Mrs. Armstrong came from Penn- sylvania. Andrew Clark, the father, was a son of William and Elizabeth (Baird) Clark, who emi- grated to Ohio from Washington County, Pa., about 1815, and located in Jefferson Township about 1817. Andrew Clark was born in Jefferson Township, September 23, 1820. Nancy B., his wife, was born in Liberty Township, this county, Octo- ber 10, 1821, and was married August 25, 1846, after which she and her husband located in Jeffer- son Township, where their children, Eliza Ann, Sarah Jane and Martha Rebecca (Mrs. Armstrong), were born.
The great-grandparents of John W. Armstrong, Abraham and Florence Armstrong, who established this branch of the family in America, were natives of Scotland and Ireland, respectively. The great- grandmother came to Guernsey County at an early date, probably about 1813, and is buried in Pleas- ant Hill Cemetery in this township. The grand- father and grandmother, John and Susannah Arm- strong, in 1813 moved to section 21, Jefferson Township, where the grandfather died in 1852, and the grandmother in 1870. The former built a gristmill in 1815, and operated it in addition to carrying on a farm. The old mill has been twice re-built, the last time in 1850.
The father of our subject, Abraham Armstrong, was born March 2, 1810, in Pennsylvania. Ile was
well educated, and for a number of years engaged in teaching school, after which he succeeded his father in the milling and farming business. In 1844 he was elected Auditor of Guernsey County, and in 1871 was elected to the Legislature, serving in that position for two terms. November 4, 1845, he married Miss Elizabeth Walker, who was a daughter of James Walker, and was born May 20, 1820, in Allegheny County, Pa. She died within two years of her marriage, leaving one child, John Walker, our subject, an infant of three weeks. He was at once taken into the home of his grand- parents, John and Susannah Armstrong, who reared him until the age of thirteen, as above stated. This old couple were pioneers of the county, and en- tered the land from the Government which the family now occupies.
Our subject has been prominent in public affairs of his township, and the confidence which is re- posed in him is shown by the fact that he served in the capacity of Township Clerk, Treasurer and Justice of the Peace. In 1890 he was elected Census-taker of Jefferson Township, and is now Notary Public. He is a working member of the United Presbyterian Church, to which his wife and six children also belong.
OSEPHI PENIN, a well-to-do and enterpris- ing farmer of Franklin Township, has owned his well improved homestead for the past thirteen years. This farm, known as the Jonas Bair Place, contains ninety-one acres of land, well adapted for general agricultural purposes. The name which our subject bears is variously spelled by other members of the family, the usual form being Pennick, and the founder of this branch in America was a native of Ireland.
The earliest ancestors of whom our subject has authentie record are his grandparents, James and Matilda Penix. Their son William was born in 1827, in Navarre, Stark County, this state. In his
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early days he drove a team, and later learned the carpenter's trade. Soon after reaching his majority he turned his attention to farming, in which he made a distinct suecess. At the age of twenty- three years he married Sophia King, daughter of Michael King, who was one of the early settlers in the vicinity of Beach City. Soon after his mar- riage William Penix leased a farm south of Sugar Creek Falls, on the Strasburg Road. There he lived for five years and then for eleven years resided near Winesburg. For some time he was a resident of Wayne Township, but finally removed to Franklin Township, settling on lot 16, range 3, and here he spent the remainder of his life. Ile owned one hundred and twenty-nine acres in his home place and sixty-cight acres in Wayne Township. At his demise, which occurred February 4, 1892, he was nearly sixty-five years of age. His son Harvey now owns the old homestead. The house was built in 1840 and was rebuilt by the late owner.
William and Sophia Penix had ten children. Franklin died at the age of twenty-two years; Lu- cinda is a resident of Winfield Township; Alfred lives with his brother Harvey; Joseph is the next in order of birth, and the others are Charles and William. Wesley, a son of William Penix by his second marriage, is now living in Clinton County, Mich., and married Lovina Stephens. The other children of this union were Sarah, Watson and Francis, all of whom died in infancy. Harvey
married Ollie, a daughter of Elijah and Susan (Shutt) Gurber, and has one daughter, Gertrude Della, who is now the wife of William Hurst, of New Philadelphia. William Penix was a Repub- lican in politics, but was not interested as an of- fiee-holder. Religiously he was a member of the United Brethren Church. He enjoyed the friend- ship and respect of his neighbors, among whom he bore an enviable reputation for honesty and up- rightness of character.
Joseph Penix in his boyhood received common- sehool advantages, and during the same period be - came intimately acquainted with agricultural pur- suits. After reaching his majority he continued for some years to live with his father. In 1882 he purchased his present farm, on which he has made substantial improvements. Ilis large barn was destroyed by lightning, and in its place the owner has erected a handsome and well arranged structure on modern plans. It is 38x68 feet in dimensions and supplied with all conveniences. In politics Mr. Penix is an ally of the Republican party, and to the best of his ability endeavors to discharge the duties of citizenship.
November 20, 1881, Joseph Penix married Mary E. Smith, a daughter of John P. and Catherine (Shroy) Smith, old residents of Wayne Township. Mr. and Mrs. Penix are members of the United Brethren Church, and are active in all benevolent enterprises.
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JOHN NAGELY.
PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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JOHN NAGELY.
OHIN NAGELY is the proprietor of the lead- ing planing-mill and lumber-yards of New Philadelphia. To the progress and growth of this place he has added to no small ex- tent, and is accounted one of her most worthy citi- zens. The business which he conducts is constant- ly increasing in volume, and the firm of which he is a member is held to be one of the substantial ones of the state.
The birthplace of our subject was in the canton of Berne, Switzerland, and the date of the event `February 12, 1832. His father, Casper Nagely, a native of the same place, and a son of Melchoir Nagely, was a farmer by occupation, and a promi- nent man in the community wherein he dwelt. He had been educated in the schools of Guttanen, and followed teaching to a certain extent success- fully. At one time he served as Town Clerk of Guttanen, in which place his death occurred in the year 1858. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Streun, survived her husband but a few years. They were both devoted members of the Reformed Church, and were well known for their noble characters. Of their six children, Casper was the eldest; our subject was next in order of birth, and the others were Catherine, Margaret, Mag- dalena and Verena. Margaret and Catherine are deceased.
John Nagely's early years were passed quietly under the parental roof. He was given good edu- cational advantages np to his seventeenth year. At that time he began learning the trade of cabi- net-making at Burgdorf, where he spent four years. Subsequently he pursued his vocation and also en- gaged in farming more or less. While learning
his trade he attended night school, and there ob- tained a practical business training. Believing that the New World afforded better opportunities for a young man of perseverance. Mr. Nagely set sail for the United States. Arriving at his destina- tion, New York City, in 1861, he at once proceed- ed westward to Sullivan County, N. Y., where he spent about a year and a-half.
In the fall of 1862 our subject first came to New Philadelphia, and as the war was in progress, he found but little to do in the line of his trade. Until 1865 he worked at various employments, then taking up his former calling. For a few years he was foreman of the Champion Planing- mills, and in 1870 was admitted as a partner in the concern. Later he sold out his interest in the business, and was again given the position of fore- man. In this capacity he served until 1878, when he purchased an interest in the mill. In 1880, in company with William H. Crisweil, he bought out the other partners, and continued to operate the mill until the death of Mr. Criswell in 1888. For a short time Mr. Nagely then conducted the busi- ness alone. In January, 1892, his son, Charles A., was admitted to the firm, which has since been known as John Nagely & Son.
July 4, 1861, our subject married Elizabeth Von Bergen, who was a native of the same town as her husband, and who made the journey to the United States the year of her marriage. Her parents were John and Barbara Von Bergen, whose early lives were passed in the canton of Berne, Switzerland. The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Nagely: John W., who wedded Mary Hochstetler, daughter of Cornelius Hochstetler, and is foreman
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in the mill for his father; Charles A., who mar- ried Anna M., daughter of James B. Waddington, residents of Rosemond, Ill .; William II., a resident of Uhrichsville; Emma E., the wife of William II. Mccullough, of Cambridge, Ohio; Lena L., wife of John Hammond, of New Comerstown; and Flora, Edward and Walter. The older members of the family are all connected with the Reformed Church.
Fraternally Mr. Nagely, together with his sons John and Charles, is a member of Schoenbrun Lodge No. 430, I. O. O. F. Ile uses his right of franchise in favor of the Democratic party. The firm of John Nagely & Son has a general planing- mill for the manufacture of sash, doors, mould- ings and similar lines. They are also contractors and builders, and afford employment to some fifty men. A large and well selected stock of shingles, lumber, lathi and other building material is con- stantly kept on hand, and the business transacted by them is proving very lucrative. Their supplies are purchased in all parts of the Union, and the products of their mill are shipped to many points outside of this immediate vicinity.
Charles A. Nagely, the son of our subject, be- sides being an Odd Fellow, belongs to the follow- ing-named orders: Philadelphia Council No. 390, R. A .; Lodge No. 69, A. O. U. W .; Court No. 1540, I. O. F .; and the German Relief Society. His wife is the granddaughter of Henry Zimmerman, an early settler of Tuscarawas County, who died April 30, 1884. A member of the Lutheran Church, she is ever ready to assist in the support of the good work in which this religious body is engaged.
OL. JOSEPH DANNER TAYLOR, of Cam- bridge, is one of the most prominent men of southern Ohio, and for many years has been engaged in the practice of law in the district, circuit, state and supreme courts of Ohio and the United States. He was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States upon the motion of the late President Garfield, then Con- gressman. Politically he has been prominently
identified with the Republican party for a number of years, but has never been a candidate for office since 1865, except for Congress. However, he has frequently served as a delegate to national con- ventions. All movements which have been started with a view to benefiting this locality he has warmly supported. In the spring of 1872 he was instrumental in the organization of the Guernsey National Bank, of which he was at once tendered the presidency, a position which he has since held. Being elected to fill the unexpired term of Jona- than T. Updegraff, of the Sixteenth District, in the Forty-seventh Congress, he so ably represented his constituents that he was re-elected to the For- ty-eighth, Fiftieth, Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses, his term of office expiring in 1893.
Colonel Taylor, third son of Alexander D. and Sarah (Danner) Taylor, was born in Goshen Town- ship, Belmont County, this state, November 7, 1830. When he was two or three years of age, his parents removed to Oxford Township, of this coun- ty, and for nineteen years he hved upon his fa- ther's farm, assisting in the work and studying hard during the winter months in order to obtain an education. After mastering the rudimentary branches taught in the district school, he prepared for college under the instruction of several of the local leading educators of the day. During his vacations he taught a district school to obtain the necessary funds for his further education. Be- ginning in the summer of 1854, he attended Mad- ison College, and took the entire course with the exception of Greek. Ile subsequently taught in the Laughlin and Center distriets, and later con- ducted the Fairview High School, which was at- tended mainly by teachers preparing for their fu- ture work. The course of study embraced a com- plete academic course of study, including the higher mathematics, surveying, engineering, etc. Ilis assistant was Prof. L. J. Crawford. Though proffered the superintendency of several promi- nent union schools, he refused, preferring to teach a select school.
The goal of young Taylor was for years the le- gal profession, and his spare time was devoted to a course of reading with that end in view. While he was teaching, he was twice elected County Sur-
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veyor, but resigned before the close of his second term, owing to other business interests. In the winter of 1857-58 he was admitted to the Cincin- nati Law School, from which he was graduated in 1860, and in the fall of that year began practice in Cambridge. At the breaking out of the late war, he was School Examiner of Guernsey County, but he resigned when he went into the army. In the fall of 1861 he purchased the Guernsey Times, then the only Republican journal in the county. Associated with him in this enterprise was W. H. F. Lenfestey, who took charge of the business de- partment, while he assumed the editorial work. No one can estimate the immense importance of a paper of the strict Republican type in those days of doubt and vacillation. The Times steadfastly upheld Lincoln's administration, approving the Emancipation Proclamation, and in every way boldly meeting the opposition of Southern sympa- thizers and "copperheads." Neither then or at any time since has Colonel Taylor ever faltered in his allegiance to the principles of Republicanism. Each week large numbers of copies of the paper were 'sent to every regiment in the front which con- tained an Ohio man, and thus thousands of dol- lars' worth were contributed freely and gladly by the owners to the cause of liberty and union among the people who needed such encourage- nient.
When the late war broke out, Colonel Taylor was appointed by the Governor of Ohio a member of the County and District Military Committees, and he rendered efficient service in organizing troops and supplies and forwarding them to south- ern battlefields. In the spring of 1863 he was his party's candidate for Prosecuting Attorney of this county, but prior to the canvass occurred Morgan's famous raid into Ohio, and Governor Todd called for troops to defend the state. Mr. Taylor raised a company for the Eighty-eighth Ohio Regiment, and at the end of ten days was chosen Captain by the unanimous vote of the company. The regi- ment was placed on duty at Camp Chase, then filled with rebel prisoners. Captain Taylor was among the officers of this regiment who petitioned the general government to send them to the front, and an order came to that effect. The order was
countermanded upon the demand of General Rich- ardson, who declared that the regiment could not be spared from Camp Chase, and they were aceord- ingly remanded to the monotonous, though im- portant, duty of guarding the many thousand prisoners held there. While in camp our subjeet was sent on several important details with picked men, where clearness of judgment and coolness of nerve were required, and was eminently successful in all these undertakings. Ile was placed in com- mand of the Camp Chase troops at the time of the Dayton riot, and was Judge Advocate of the mili- tary court which tried the murderers of John B. Cook in Cambridge, Ohio. Soon after entering the service, he was detailed on special duty, and remained on detached service until the close of the war, serving as Judge Advocate of court mar- tials and military commissions in Cincinnati, In- dianapolis and other places. In the latter part of 1864 he was appointed Judge Advocate of the dis- trict of Indiana, with headquarters at Indianap- olis. As previously stated, he was at the same time Prosecuting Attorney of Guernsey County, and at intervals had to return to Cambridge in order to meet the duties devolving upon him in that office. He was twice breveted for valuable services to the Government, on recommendation of officers of the regular army, who appreciated his judicious and conscientious administration of duty. The brevets being duly confirmed by the United States Senate, he received the commission, and has ever since passed among his acquaintances by the military title of Colonel. After the war, and after being mustered out of service, he was appointed Special Judge Advocate, and retained in his official capac- ity in Indiana, as the Government had two special cases to prosecute, in which several hundred thou- sand dollars were involved.
In December, 1866, Colonel Taylor married Eliz- abeth A. Hill, who died in April, 1887. In No- vember, 1889, he married Caro M. Palmer, of China, Me. He continued as Prosecuting Attor- ney of this county until the year 1867, and so vigorously enforced the law that when his term of service closed there was not an open saloon in the county limits. He continued as an editor of the Times until 1871, when he sold out his inter-
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est in the journal. In the practice of his profes- sion he has been very successful, and has been re- tained as counsel in various noted cases, not the least of which was that of the state versus Kennon, for the murder of Benjamin F. Sipe, the opposing lawyer being Allen G. Thurman, of Columbus, Ohio. In 1872 he received eleven or twelve votes for Congress in the convention which nominated IIon. Jolin A. Bingham for Ins last term. In 1876 he was a delegate to the Cincinnati convention that nominated Hayes, and in 1880 went to Chi- cago as an avowed Sherman man, but ultimately and gladly gave his vote for James A. Garfield.
From 1870 to 1877 Colonel Taylor was Presi- dent of the Cambridge School Board. During that time the Union School Building was erected, one of the finest structures in eastern Ohio. He was a leading promoter of and was interested in securing the organization and location of the Marietta & Pittsburg (now the Cleveland & Mari- etta) Railroad, and liberally contributed to the en- terprisc. His congressional record was marked by the same fidelity and untiring efforts on be- half of the public which have always been one of his marked characteristics. He was then particu- larly interested in matters concerning the old sol- diers and pensioners of the late war, and also in the wool industry, which closely concerned his constituents; and his services were so highly ap- preciated that his majority was largely increased at each election.
For more than forty years Colonel Taylor has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a liberal supporter of its various departments of activity. While engaged in teaching at Fair- view, lic was Superintendent of the Sunday-school, and later was for seven years in a like position in the Methodist Episcopal Sunday-school of this city. In 1880 he was one of two lay delegates from east- ern Ohio to the general conference at Cincinnati, and was a delegate to the Ecumenical Conference held in Washington, D. C., in 1892. During the four weeks of the General Conference and the two weeks of the Ecumenical Conference our subject was never absent from his place during a single session. It has been one of his cherished purposes to assist worthy young men to gain a foothold in
honorable business callings, or in obtaining an education. Ile has been able to do this in many instances, even when his own income was sinall.
Colonel Taylor has always been a very busy man. He is at the present time Trustee of three colleges, Seio and Mt. Union, in Ohio, and Alle- ghany College in Pennsylvania; President of the Ohio National Bank, and the Washington National Building and Loan Association in Washington, D. C., in addition to other positions of trust and responsibility. As receiver, trustee, administra- tor and executor, he has settled in a most satis- factory manner a number of large estates, where heavy bonds were required, in his twenty-five years of law practice. In his three years as Judge Advocate, four years as Prosecuting Attorney, seven years as President of the School Board, and nine years in Congress, his record is without a stain or even a complaint.
ILLIAM COURTNEY BROWNE was. born on a farm in Colerain Township, Belmont County, Ohio, owned by his father, Barnard Davis Browne. He has no distinct remembrance of his birthplace, as his parents re- moved while he was young to Guernsey County, locating at Middletown, then a small village on the National Road, mid way between Wheeling and Zanesville. At that time, about 1829, the county was but sparsely settled, and only a small portion of the native forests had been cleared away. His boyhood days, however, bring sweet memories of a pleasant home, with such surroundings as usually attended the dwelling-place of the early settlers.
Mr. Browne in his youth spent several months of each year in the schoolroom, which was built of logs placed one upon another, the roof made of long shingles or clapboards, which were not nailed. but kept in place by poles lying upon them, and extending the length of the cabin. The furmsh- ings were in character with the building. A huge fireplace in one end of the room had a large log in the background, while smaller ones graced the
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front. Seats were made from the first cut, or slabs, taken from the logs, and were upheld by four stout wooden supports. On one side of the room pins of wood were driven into the wall, on which were hung the hats and hoods of the pupils. In one eorner was placed the old oaken bucket, which was filled from a spring which flowed from a hillside and sparkled as it fell from the rock on its way to the meadow below. To this bucket, with its little dipper, all would repair to assuage their thirst. Directly opposite was a bundle of birches, cut and ready at all times for emergencies, and one teacher had seemingly imbibed the idea that "in union there is strength," for they lacked not in number. Mr. Browne tells of one teacher, an Irishman, who taught in one of the schools which he attended, and of whom all the scholars were very much . afraid. IIe was the possessor of a very excitable disposition, as well as a good muscular develop- ment. Ilis will was law, of the Mede and Per- sian order, and he exercised it without limit. When in session, the eyes of the scholars, if staring away from their books, were casting sly glances at the professor, who for common usage carried a short-handled hickory, to which were fastened three heavy thongs, and when used by him it dispensed with any further necessity for more blistering. On one occasion a class was called to recite in spelling, which had in it a boy of large growth. The teacher, or "master," as he was called, gave him the word "peg" to spell. The boy, through fear, hesitated for a moment, but in time respond- ed "p-e-g, peg." "It wasn't pag, but peg, I told you to spell," said the teacher with emphasis. Again the boy's lips opened and closed without a sound in his endeavor to work out the problem, with the result that nothing else than p-e-g could be made to spell peg. The man with the sandy hair, fixing his eyes upon the boy, where they rested for a moment, said, "I'll give ye one more chance and if ye don't spell it right, I'll teach ye," at the same time going to the corner of the room and taking therefrom a stout hickory, three feet or more in length. It was growing quite hot, though a win- try day, and the boy was wishing for another jacket to keep out the heat, but thinking that all depended upon this final effort, with trembling
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