USA > Ohio > Knox County > The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography > Part 7
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CHARLES W. HENLEY.
Charles W. Henley has for many years resided in Knox county, where he is well- known as a leading and enterprising farmer, his home being in the northwestern part of Jefferson township. He was born in Tay- lorsville, Muskingum county, Ohio, Febru- ary 3, 1848. His father, Gregory Henley, was a native of Germany and when seven- teen years of age came alone to America, landing at New York. He made his way
to Buffalo and thence to Muskingum coun- ty, where he was married and took up his abode in Taylorsville. He was a cooper by trade and also learned the shoemaker's trade in Germany. The year 1852 witnessed his arrival in Knox county and he located on the farm where our subject now resides. His death there occurred at the age of sev- enty years. He was a member of the Cath- olic church, being identified during his last years with Saint Luke's parish, his remains being interred in Saint Luke's cemetery, near Danville. His political support was given the Democracy, and for a number of years he served as township trustee. He married Barbara Bosehart, also a native of the fath- erland, her birth having occurred on the river Rhine in the kingdom of Baden. She was fourteen years of age when she came to Amercia with her parents, who located in Taylorsville, Ohio, and at the age of forty years she was called to her final rest. This worthy couple were the parents of seven children who are now living and seven who have passed away.
Charles W. Henley was the sixth of this family and is the fourth in order of birth among the surviving children. He was only four years of age when brought to Knox county and upon the home farm where he now resides he was reared. His education was obtained in the common schools and from the time he was old enough to handle the plow he was an active worker in the fields, assisting in the planting and in the harvests. Throughout his entire life he has carried on agricultural pursuits. He was married February 8, 1872, to Miss Frances E. Giffen, who was born near New Castle, Coshocton county, Ohio, April 26, 1849, a daughter of Calvin and Lydia (Darling)
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
Giffen. For six months after their mar- riage they resided on the Jacob Ross farm in Union township, and while there Mr. Henley aided in digging the first cellar in Buckeye City. He afterward removed to the John Statts farm in Jefferson township, where he lived for one year and then pur- chased forty-four acres adjoining the old homestead. On the tract which he bought he made his home until his father's death, when by purchase he became the owner of the old place upon which his childhood days had been passed. He has here two hundred and two acres, all under cultivation, and is successfully engaged in general farming. For about thirty years he followed school teach- ing through the winter seasons in Hanover township, Ashland county, and in Howard and Jefferson townships in Knox county He was well known as an educator of abil -. ity, being able not only to maintain discipline but to impart clearly and concisely to others the knowledge he had acquired.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henley were born nine children, of whom seven, five sons and two daughters, are yet living, namely : Ber- tha M., who married Joseph Peters, of Rich- land county, Ohio; Gregory P., who resides with his wife, Nora Peters, in Howard town- ship, Knox county; John O., who married Elizabeth Doup, who is now deceased; Ber- nard, who married Nellie Wolfe; William and Leo F .; and Florence, at home. Two others died in infancy, a son and a daugh- ter.
In his political affiliations Mr. Henley has always been a stanch Democrat and for many years has served as school director, the cause of education finding in him a warm friend. He and his family are mem- bers of Saints Peter's and Paul's Catholic
church, in Loudenville, Ohio, and through- out the community where they reside they are widely and favorably known, having many warm friends.
WILLIAM HARRISON FRASHER.
One of the most prominent representa- tives of insurance interests in Knox county, is William H. Frasher, yet his efforts have not been confined alone to his business af- fairs, for he has ever been accounted one of those progressive citizens whose labors are of marked benefit to the communities with which they are connected. He endorses ev- ery measure advanced for the general good and his influence in behalf of education, of material and moral improvements has been most marked.
Mr. Frasher was born in Brown town- ship, this county, on the Ioth of June, 1854. On the paternal side he is of Scotch lineage, his ancestors having come to America at an early period in our country's history. His grandfather, Randolph Frasher, was a na- tive of Pennsylvania, whose mother was a sister of John Randolph, of Virginia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence. Randolph Frasher resided near Mer- cer, Pennsylvania, and emigrating westward cast in his lot with the pioneer settlers of Holmes county, Ohio, and there engaged in farming. His son, Henry Frasher, the father of our subject, was a native of Middletown, Holmes county, Ohio, where his childhood and youth were passed. In early manhood, however, he came to Knox county and took up his abode in Jelloway, which was then known as Brownsville. He established a
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A CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
tannery, which he conducted successfully from 1850 until 1864, when his life's labors were ended in death. He passed away at the age of forty-two years. He was a pub- lic-spirited citizen, doing everything in his power for the general good, yet he never sought or desired political office as a re- ward for party fealty. He was a stanch Republican who warmly endorsed the prin- ciples of the organization, but left office seeking to others. In Ashland county he wedded Miss Mary Buzzard, a native of Nashville, Holmes county. She was of Irish and German descent and in the prim- itive schools of her native township she pur- sued her education and afterward engaged in teaching in a log school house, such as was common at that early time. She died at the age of sixty-six years, leaving many friends to mourn her loss. Mr. and Mrs. Frasher became the parents of two sons and four daughters, all of whom are yet living, the eldest being W. H. Frasher, of this re- view. The other members of the family are: Jubilee, a resident of Ashland, who married Sarah Long, a daughter of Francis Long; Dora, the wife of George Rogers, of Licking county, Ohio; Ella, the wife of J. D. Swacick, of Canton, Ohio; Celesta, wife of George Watson, of Brown township; and Henrietta, who resides with her brother, W. H. Frasher. All were born in Jelloway, Brown township, and the members of the family have become important citizens of various communities.
William H. Frasher, of this review, was reared and educated in Jelloway, where he still resides. No event of special importance occurred to vary the routine of his life dur- ing the period of his minority. He became identified with the insurance business in
1876, as a representative of the Farmers' Home Insurance Company at Jelloway and has since continued in this line of activity. He acted as local agent until 1880, and the following year was made general agent for the company, serving in that capacity until 1885. During the three succeeding years he resided in Van Wert, Ohio, where he was in partnership with J. Q. Augustine, in the in- surance business, representing fourteen dif- ferent companies, including one life, two accident and eleven fire insurance companies. In 1889 he returned to Jelloway on account of ill health, and he now represents the Co- lumbia Insurance Company, of Dayton; the Insurance Company of the State of Illinois; The Central Manufacturing Mutual Com- pany, of Van Wert; the Ohio Farmers In- surance Company ; the American Accident, of Chicago; and is district agent of the Aetna Life. He has written a large amount of insurance and his business in this direc- tion is annually increasing. He has the en- tire confidence of the companies which he represents and is regarded as one of their most capable and trusted representatives in this portion of Ohio. He also has charge of two farms, one in Brown township, Knox county, and the other in Ashland county, aggregating two hundred acres and consti- tuting the Frasher estate.
Mr. Frasher is classified among the lead- ing citizens of his native county and is es- pecially prominent in behalf of the best in- terests in Jelloway, where he is now serving as a member of the school board. In con- nection with Mr. Hyatt, he was instrumen- tal in establishing the public school system at this place and has ever taken an active part in advancing the cause of education here. He is a charter member of the
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
Knights of Maccabees in Jelloway, and in his political views he is a stanch Republican. His value as a man and citizen is widely ac- knowledged, and in many ways he has left the impress of his individuality for good upon the public welfare of his native town.
MILTON M. CUNNINGHAM.
M. M. Cunningham is a prominent old settler of central Ohio now living on section 12, Pike township, Knox county. The fam- ily is of Irish lineage and was founded in America by Mathew Cunningham, who was born, reared and married in the Emerald Isle, after which he made a home in the new world. His son, Mathew Cunningham, Jr., the father of our subject, was also born in Ireland and when a small boy accompanied his parents on the voyage across the broad sea, the family locating in Penn- sylvania, where he was reared. When a young man he removed to Wayne county and there wedded Ary Minta Glas- gow, a native of the Keystone state, who with her parents removed to Wayne county. Both the husband and wife were born in the same year and died in the same year, at- taining the age of seventy-five. They began their domestic life on the farm in Wayne county, and about 1840 removed to Holmes county, locating near Nashville. Subse- quently they came to Knox county and set- tled upon the farm where our subject now lives, there spending their remaining days. They were consistent members of the Pres- byterian church, taking an active part in its work, and Mr. Cunningham served as one of its elders. Politically he was a life-long
Democrat, and for twenty-one years served as justice of the peace in Knox township, Holmes county. While in Knox county he filled the same office, discharging his duties in a most faithful and impartial manner- a fact thus indicated by his long continu- ance in the position. He was also township trustee and assessor, and over the record of his public career and his private life there fell no shadow of wrong or suspicion of evil. His wife, in the more quiet circles of home life, exercised an influence no less po- tent for good. She reared her family of three sons to become honorable and upright mien. They are: Eli, who now resides in Pike township; Allen, who is living in Mar- ion county, Iowa; and the Squire, who was the second in order of birth.
Squire Cunningham was only five years of age when the family removed to Holmes county, and when a young man he came with his parents to Knox county. His prelimin- ary education, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in the Nashville select school, and at the time of his marriage he located on the farm where he now lives and where he has since de- voted his energies to the cultivation of the soil. He has one hundred and forty-two acres of rich land and annually the fields return to him a golden tribute in reward for his care and labor. In his farming meth- ods he is progressive and enterprising, and his efforts have gained for him a richly merited competence.
Mr. Cunningham was married Novem- ber 3, 1861, to Miss Jane Armstrong, a na- tive of Brown township, Knox county, and a daughter of James and Ann (Dunbar) Armstrong. Their daughter is Ary Minta, the wife of Squire Fletcher, a prominent
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A CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
farmer. They reside upon a part of her father's farm and they now have four inter- esting children, two sons and two daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham hold member- ship in the Presbyterian church, and fratern- ally he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In politics he is a Democrat where state and national ques- tions are involved, but at local elections, he supports the man whom he thinks best quali- fied for office regardless of party affiliations. In 1891 he was elected justice of the peace and has since served in that capacity. He is most true and loyal to the public interests reposed in him, and his official record is one without blemish. For almost forty years he has resided upon the farm which is yet his home, and throughout the community he is widely known as a gentleman of sterling worth and unimpeachable integrity.
REV. L. W. MULHANE.
Rev. Lawrence William Mulhane is the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul's Catholic church, of Mount Vernon, and during the sixteen years of his connection with the parish his labors have resulted greatly to the benefit of the spiritual welfare of his parishioners and to the growth of the church and the extension of its influence. A native of Massachusetts, he was born February 21, 1856, and is the eldest child of Dennis and Mary Mulhane. He was but a boy when his parents removed to Ohio, lo- cating in Marietta, where the family have since resided. He pursued his education in the common schools until twelve years of age and then entered Marietta Academy in
order to prepare for admission to Marietta College. He was but fourteen years of age when he matriculated in the latter in- stitution, being the youngest student that ever entered the freshman class of that his- toric college. In 1871 and again in 1872 he was honored by a place upon the list of public declaimers, receiving, at the age of fifteen the second college prize for oratory.
Rev. Mulhane began preparation for the Catholic ministry in September, 1872, when on the invitation of the late Bishop Rose- crans he entered St. Aloysius Seminary, in Columbus, Ohio, then presided over by Dr. Gallagher, now bishop of Galveston. Here he remained for four years, taking a one year's course in philosophy and three in theology. In 1876 he became a member of Bishop Rosecrans' household, and by private study began to prepare for admis- sion to the famous college, Propaganda de Fide, in Rome, Italy. The death of his friend, the bishop, changed his plans and not being yet of the required age for the priesthood he remained at the Episcopal house, in the meantime writing for the Catholic Columbian until November 7, 1879. when he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood by the late Archbishop Purcell. He was immediately assigned to duty as assistant rector of St. Joseph's Cathedral, in Broad street, Columbus. The following year, 1880, when Bishop Watterson was ap- pointed bishop of Columbus, Father Mul- liane was chosen by him as secretary and chancellor of the diocese, a position of much care and responsibility. He held this office for five years. On the Ist of October, 1885, he was appointed to take charge of St. Vin- cent de Paul's parish of Mount Vernon. He found the finances of the parish in a
L. r. Mulhans.
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
critical condition and at once began the task of paying off the debt. This he accom- plished by the generous aid of the parish- ioners in exactly seven years. On the Ist of October, 1892, all of the old debt, incurred previous to his coming, amounting to nearly twenty thousand dollars, was wiped out. Besides this he improved the church to the value of three thousand dollars and has car- ried on the work untiringly along many lines, so that it has become a very strong church, taking a leading position in the diocese.
The town of Mount Vernon was found- ed in the year 1805 and four years later the first Catholic resident took up his abode here. The first mass ever said in Mount Vernon was celebrated by Bishop Purcell, May 23, 1834, at the house of David Mor- ton, a zealous advocate of the faith. The next visit of the bishop was made in the year 1836 and was held in what was known as the Banning church. Judge Anthony Banning, who was also a Protestant minis- ter, erected a small chapel or church on his
land. He was an extremely liberal man and while he held tenaciously to his religious views he accorded to others the same right, and when the churches and even the court- house of the town was closed to Bishop Pur- cell he offered his church, and Catholic ser- vices were therein held and the first Catholic sermon preached in the town. For many years after this mass was said in the home of David Morton by the priest who occasion- ally visited the growing flock. The number of Catholic families here steadily increased, and priests who visited Danville also came to Mount Vernon until Father Lamy was appointed pastor of St. Luke's in Danville, in the fall of 1839, with charge of Mount
Vernon, and was urged by the Bishop to begin a church here as soon as feasible. In July, 1842, the telegraph announced "that the church at Mount Vernon is in course of erection, Rev. Lamy in charge." It was a small brick edifice and had been roofed and plastered when a fire broke out there, de- stroying everything but the bare walls, which were partially damaged. After a time work was resumed, and the new church of St. Vincent de Paul was dedicated Sun- day, October 14, 1849. The pastor at Dan- ville also had charge of the church of Mount Vernon until September, 1851, when Rev. Julius Brent was given charge of the mis- sions of Knox county and here he labored until his death, a period of nearly thirty years. He was pastor of both Danville and Mount Vernon until 1874, at which time he gave up St. Luke's church and devoted his remaining years to St. Vincent de Paul's. In 1855 the present brick parochial residence was built, in 1862 an addition was made to the church and in 1872 a neat two-story frame school house was erected and a par- ochial school opened there in September, 1873. From the death of Father Brent in 1880 until September, 1885, Father Lane was pastor and was then succeeded by Father Mulhane, whose service here now covers more than sixteen years, taking charge on the Ist of October, 1885. His work, carried on unceasingly, has been of a nature that has greatly extended the in- fluence of the church. In addition to the material improvements he has made in the church property that have already been men- tioned, he erected, in 1890, the new school building at a cost of ten thousand dollars, complete with all modern equipments and having an enrollment of more than two hun-
3
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A CENTENNIAL BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
dred pupils. There are over one thousand parishioners, one hundred and seventy-five families and seven hundred communicants. The different societies of the church are in good working order and Father Mulhane has the love and co-operation of his par- ishioners in an unusual degree. As a speaker he is clear and logical and his pow- ers of oratory are of a high order. He is also a writer of merit and ability and has contributed largely to church and periodi- cal publications. Over fifteen years he has made a study of leprosy and the work of the church in behalf of those afflicted people. In 1896 he published a book on the subject, which attracted wide attention. He has la- ibored earnestly to induce congress to es- tablish a national home for lepers and in January, 1900, he visited Cuba and spent a month there, making a special study of leprosy. The result of his investigations was given to the world in an article in Don- ohue's Magazine, which was largely read and commended. He has also written works on the life of General Rosecrans and also of Hon. Frank Hurd, a native of Mount Vernon and a distinguished Ohio states- man.
HON. JOSEPH C. DEVIN.
On the judicial and political history of Knox county Joseph Chambers Devin has carved his name deeply and it is interwoven with records which indicate the high- minded and patriotic statesman, the loyal citizen, the capable lawyer and the man of upright principles. More than half a cen- tury has passed since he arrived in Mount Vernon and for fifty years he has been a member of the bar of Knox county.
Mr. Devin was born in Waterford, Washington county, Ohio, a son of Michael and Harriet (Chambers) Devin, the former a native of Maryland and the latter of Penn- sylvania. His mother was a sister of Da- vid Chambers, who at the age of seventeen years carried dispatches from General Lee to General Washington in the Revolutionary war. He afterward resided at Zanesville, Ohio. In the year 1830 the parents of our subject removed to McConnellsville, Mor- gan county, this state, where he attended school until 1836, when the family went to Medina county. When a youth of fifteen he entered Norwalk Academy, at Norwalk, Ohio, where he pursued his studies for two years, after which he entered his father's store and served there as salesman for two years. In 1846 he matriculated in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, the school being then under the presidency of Bishop Edward Thompson, of the Metho- dist Episcopal church. In 1848 he was graduated in Tundry's Commercial College, in Cincinnati, and in the winter of 1849 en- gaged in teaching a commercial college in Seville, Ohio.
It was in the year 1849 that Mr. Devin began the study of law in Mount Vernon, under the direction of Columbus Delano and William R. Sapp, and after continuing his reading for about two years he was admitted to the bar in 1851. The following year he began practice in this city, in partnership with Hosmer Curtis, a pioneer legal prac- titioner at this place, with whom he was con- . nected until 1857, when Mr. Curtis removed to Keokuk, Iowa, and the relationship was accordingly terminated. In 1858 he entered into partnership with Samuel Israel. At a later date he was associated with his brother-
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OF KNOX COUNTY, OHIO.
in-law, Henry L. Curtis, and the firm gained marked prestige among the leading lawyers at the Knox county bar.
Mr. Devin was reared in the faith of the Whig party, his father being an advocate of its principles, and as he neared his majority, he, too, endorsed its platform, but when its strength was on the wan and new issues gave rise to the Republican party he joined its ranks, became one of its leading represent- atives in Ohio and was a delegate to the national Republican convention in Philadel- phia, which nominated Fremont for the presidency in 1856. In 1863 he was elected to represent his district in the state senate. In 1862 this district, comprising Knox, Mor- row, Wayne and Holmes counties, had given a majority of thirty-two hundred against the Republican party, but in the interval which had elapsed its strength had been greatly augmented and the personal popularity and the confidence reposed in the ability of Mr. Devin were also strong elements in the vic- tory of 1863. He served on a number of important committees in the senate and was chairman of the committee on benevolent institutions. A ripe scholar, a good speaker and above all a patriotic citizen, he proved a very valuable member of the upper house of the Ohio assembly. For a number of years he advocated on the public platform his party's interests in Knox and other coun- ties during eaclı campaign.
In 1859 Mr. Devin was married to Miss Ella I. Curtis, a daughter of Hon. Henry B. Curtis, now deceased, whose sketch ap- pears elsewhere in this volume. They have two surviving children, Henry C., a well- known attorney of Mount Vernon, and Eliz- abeth D., the wife of William H. Pratt, general manager of the structural depart-
ment of the Illinois Steel Company, in Chicago.
Such is the brief history of one whose career has been a long and useful one. Mr. Devin is now the oldest living meinber of the Knox county bar, but he has retired from the active practice of his profession.
HENRY CURTIS DEVIN.
Much has been written concerning the power of environment and of heredity in shaping the course of the individual and while both may have had their effect upon the career of Mr. Devin in his choice of the legal profession as a life work, yet no mat- ter what one's inherited tendencies or tal- ent, such at best is merely a latent element and must feel the awakening touch of effort to be of avail in this busy world. Although surrounded by a legal atmosphere and with the example of an illustrious grandfather and father to stimulate him, Henry Curtis Devin has nevertheless had to place his de- pendence upon his intellectual power, stead- fast application and unremitting study to secure success-and he has secured it, being now recognized as one of the strong mem- bers of the Knox county bar.
He was born in Mount Vernon, March 27, 1868, a son of Joseph Chambers and Ella I. (Curtis) Devin, of whom mention is made on a preceding page. In the pub- lic schools he obtained his preliminary edu- cation, which was supplemented by a course in Kenyon College, in which he was gradu- ated with the degree of Bachelor of Philoso- phy in 1888, and after taking post graduate work his alma mater conferred upon him
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