USA > Ohio > Logan County > The historical review of Logan County, Ohio > Part 34
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from Scotland to Londonderry. Ireland. whenee his sons, Robert, John and David. came to Philadelphia in the spring of 1708. All located in Camden, New Jersey. but John afterward removed to Georgia. It is from David that our subject is de- scended. his grandfather James Kerr. be- ing a son of David. John Kerr, our sub- ject's father, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1777. and there married Rachel McKee. who was also a native of that state and of Scotch deseent. After their removal to Ohio, she died in Harrison county, this state, and there he was again married, his second union being with Martha Wiley. In 1836. in company with his brothers. James and William. the father came to Logan county, where he died on the 15th of August. 1842. in the sixty-fifth year of his age. He was a Whig in politics and for forty-four years had been an active and faithful member of the Presbyterian church, to which his wife also belonged for almost half a century. She departed this life November 8, 1842. at the age of sixty- eight. All of these children, eight in num- ber, were by the first union, and were as follows: Thomas. James, John. Andrew, Clarissa. Mary, Jane. Susan and Nancy.
During his boyhood Mr. Kerr, of this review, attended the district schools of Harrison county, conning his lessons in a log school house. lighted by greased paper windows and heated by a huge fire place. The furnishings were of the most primi- tive character. seats being made of slabs with wooden pins for legs. After complet- ing his education our subject assisted his father in the operation of the home farm. On the latter's death he purchased the in- terests of the other heirs. the place having been left to the children, and to the culti-
vation of that farm he devoted his energies for many years. it being now the property of his sons. John L. Kerr and William C. Kerr.
On the 13th of October, 1853. on Main street. Bellefontaine, Mr. Kerr was mar- ried by Rev. Gregg to Miss Mary Ballard. who was born in Rutledge. Grainger county. Tennessee, October 31. 1820, and comes of good Revolutionary stock, her grandfather. Wiley Ballard, having served for seven years in the war for inde- pendence. There was a scar upon his head where he was hit by an English sol- dier, and there were also scars upon his feet where they were eut by the ice during that memorable winter at Valley Forge. The family was also represented in the Civil war by Alexander Kerr, a son of Thomas, who was a nephew of our sub- ject. Rev. William Ballard, the father of Mrs. Kerr, was born in Virginia, within four miles of Richmond, and in early man- hood married Rosana Cottener, who was born on the farm in Tennessee. where their marriage was celebrated. They re- sided upon a farm in that state until 1822, when they removed to Ohio and lo- cated near Harveysburg, making their home there for some time. From there they removed to Indiana and later came to Logan county. Ohio, where both died. their remains being interred at Palestine. Shelby county. Mr. Ballard was a Jack- sonian Democrat in politics. and both he and his wife were active members of the Metho:list Episcopal church. In their fam- ily were four children-Mary. Jane, Mar- iln ard Silas, these still living being Mary and Martha.
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kerr were born three sons, as follows: Thomas M., a
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resident of Bellefontaine. married Ruth Trammel, of Indiana, and has one daugh- ter, Maud. John L. is represented else- where in this work. William C., a resi- dent of Buffalo, New York, married Helen J. Elliott, of Canada, and has one daughter. Helen B.
In his political affiliations Mr. Kerr was a Democrat, and although he always refused to hold office. he took a most act- ive interest in all that pertained to the public welfare, and was often called upon to settle estates and in other ways aid his fellow citizens. He cast his first presiden- tial vote for William Henry Harriso.1 in 1836, and was one of the first subscribers to the old Logan Gazette. For many years he held membership in the Presby- terian church, and was very active in its work. After a useful and well-spent life he passed away on the 6th of September. 1899, and was buried in Bellefontaine. He was a man of strict integrity and sterling worth, who was true to his religious pro- fessions, and though quiet and unassum- ing in manner. he made many friends and 'commanded the respect and confidence of all with whom he was brought in contact. His widow still resides on the old home- stead with her son, John L., and is a bright, intelligent old lady, who reads a great deal and is loved and respected by all who know her.
JOHN L. KERR.
John L. Kerr, a milk dealer of Belle- fontaine, and a reliable business man. whose energy and perseverance are bring-
ing to him success, was born January 5, 1857, in Logan county. His parents were John C. and Mary (Ballard) Kerr, whose sketch is given above. At the usual age our subject entered the public schools and therein continued his studies until he reached the age of sixteen. He, too, be- came familiar with farm work in his youth. for he assisted his father from an early age. and was actively identified with agricultural pursuits. In 1897 he em- barked in the milk business and now keeps a large number of cows for dairy purposes. This enterprise is bringing to him cred- itable success and enables him to provide a good home and comfortable living for his family. Indolence and idleness are ut- terly foreign to his nature and he has worked earnestly and effectively to gain a comfortable competence.
On the 11th of October. 1882. Mr. Kerr was united in marriage to Miss Rosa Eskey, who was born April 14. 1857. and they began their domestic life upon the farm where he has always lived. it being his birthplace. Their marriage has been blessed with two children-Bertha N .. born November 22. 1883. and Katie, born July 22, 1891. Mrs. Kerr is a daughter of Henry Eskey, who was born in Germany in 1820. He spent his youth in the father- land and when a young man came to America. Here he was married January II, 1853. to Ursula Neth, who was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1826. and came to this country when a young woman of twenty years with her uncle. They became the parents of four children : Eva. Rosina, Mary and Dora. Dora became the wife of Peter Holfinger, a farmer residing in Miami county, Ohio, and Mary is also a resident of that county,
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where she is acting as matron of the Mi- home with Mr. and Mrs. James L. Crain ami County Infirmary.
Mr. Kerr votes with the Democracy. and in this respect he has followed in his father's footsteps. He keeps well in- formed on the questions and issues of the day, as every true American citizen should do, but he has never been a seeker for political office or preferment. His religi- ous faith is that of the Baptist church, and he attends its services and contributes to its support.
JUDGE LEWIS E. PETTIT.
Judge Lewis E. Pettit has long been an active and honorable representative of busi- ness interests in Logan county, where his entire life has been passed. He was born at West Liberty, May 20. 1858, a son of Rudolphus E. Pettit. who was a prominent resident of West Liberty and for fourteen years served as superintendent of the schools of that place. He was also prominent in political affairs, serving as councilman. as city clerk and assessor. At one time he was engaged in the boot and shoe trade there, and when elected probate judge of Logan coun- ty, he removed to Bellefontaine, where his remaining days were passed. His death occurred November 21. 1898. Mr. Pettit has one brother. Andrew H., of Buffalo, New York, and a half sister, Miss Hattie Pettit, who is a milliner, and makes her home with her brother Lewis.
Judge Pettit was only two and one-half years of age at the time of his mother's death. His father afterward remarried and when he was in his twelfth year his step- mother died. He then went to make his
and attended the district schools until nine- tcen years of age, when he came to Belle- fontaine, and began clerking in the Logan House for J. M. Dickinson. Later he acted as clerk for Thomas Miltenberger, who owned the hotel now known as The Ingalls. After serving in that capacity for three and a half years, Judge Pettit became deputy clerk of the probate court under his father, who was then serving as probate judge of the county. He filled the office for one term under his father and for two terms under Thomas Miltenberger, after which he was elected to the position of probate judge and acted in that capacity for two terms, enter- ing upon the duties of the office in February, 1891, and serving until February, 1897. He then gave some attention to real estate op- erations in a small way, but he had no active business connection until 1900, when he re- moved to Mount Vernon and purchased a laundry, which he operated successfully for a year. He then sold out and returned to Bellefontaine, where in 1901, he took charge of The Ingalls, which he conducted under his own name from the 22d of January. 1901. until the 8th of September. 1902, when he sold out. He is a stockholder and one of the incorporators of the Bellefontaine and Sidney Electric Railroad, and is its treas- urer. He owns city property and is a man of marked enterprise and capability, whose control of various affairs has resulted in bringing to him a comfortable and well-mer- ited competence.
On the 24th of November. 1891, Mr. Pettit was united in marriage in Bellefon- taine to Miss Cora D. Allen, born in this city. November 3, 1865. Her parents are both deceased. but she has five brothers : Chester S., of Bellefontaine; George H.,
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who is mentioned elsewhere in this work: skill and promptness that the railroad com- Banner M .. of Mount Vernon: Willis S .. of Chillicothe. Ohio: and Henry, of Se- attle. Washington. The home of Judge and Mrs. Pettit has been blessed with one son. Frank Todd. born November 27. 1897. The Judge holds membership in Timon Lodge, No. 45. of Mount Vernon, Ohio, and Elks Lodge. No. 140, of Mount Vernon. In politics he has always been an unswery- ing Republican and for one term he served as a member of the city council. With his wife he attends the Presbyterian church and he is a gentleman of social qualities and genial disposition whereby he has become a favorite in his native county. The circle of his acquaintance is a large one and during the years of his residence here he has gained many friends.
HON. LUTHER H. POOL.
Hon. Luther H. Pool, whose influence is widely felt in political circles. and is a leading farmer and stock breeder of Logan county, was born June 20. 1854. in Miami township. about two and a half miles south of where he now lives, on the farm belong- ing to his maternal grandfather. Daniel Strayer, who bought the land of the original patentee. The paternal granfather of our subject was Robert Pool, who married a Miss Wilkinson, and among their children was William R. Pool, whose birth occurred in Shelby county, Ohio, September 20. 1819. In the place of his nativity he was reared to manhood. and learned the carpen- ter's trade. He was married in Logan county to Eleanor B. Strayer. Later hic built a mill at Pemberton, and such was his was also a member of the school board, who
pany offered him a position as foreman of their shops at Chicago, but he refused to accept it. For some years he spent his time in Shelby and Logan counties, as his work called him first to one and then to the other. He purchased land in the former, and su- perintended his farm. in addition to his car- penter work. He would buy a piece of land, clear it. build upon it, and then selling it, would again buy and carry on the same process. On removing to Logan county he purchased land in Miami township. He made his home. however, with his wife's people. and carried on the home farm. thus living until he eventually became the owner of the old Strayer homestead. upon which our subject was born. There the father re- sided until 1868. when he removed to the place upon which his son Luther now makes his home. He had purchased one hundred and thirty-five acres of land in 1865. and he made his home thereon from 1868 until December, 1877. when he took up his abode int Bellefontaine, where he died April I. 1902. His wife had passed away in Janu- ary. 1873. In their family were seven children. six of whom reached adult age: Daniel S., a retired farmer of Bellefontaine, who has three children: George T., who lives in Miami township, and has two chil- dren : Benjamin W., a farmer of DeGraff. who has two children: Mary, who died in childhood: Isaac A., who married Rebecca Daily, and died. leaving three children; Luther H., and Emma A., the wife of W. Ambrose Badger. of Harrison township, by whom she has three children. In public af- fairs William R. Pool was quite prominent. and was a staunch Republican. He served for several terms as township trustee. and
L. H. POOL.
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did effective service for the improvement of the schools of his district. In the Metho- dist Episcopal church he was an active and prominent worker. served as class leader during the greater part of his life, and was also trustee and steward. For a time he held membership in Quincy Lodge, F. & A. M., later transferred his membership to Boggs Lodge, and afterwards became a member of the Masonic Lodge of Bellefon- taine. He had but common school privi- leges, but became well read, and was a man of unusual ability, who would have been a leader had he had opportunity in his youth.
Luther H. Pool acquired a fair com- mon school education, and on attaining his majority started out in life for himself. When nineteen years of age, however. he had begun teaching, which he followed for four years. When he became of age he be- gan farming on his father's land, and desir- ing a companion and helpmate for life's journey. he chose Miss Lenora Eveline .Al- exander. They were married October 26, 1876. in Harrison township. near Silver Lake. She was born in that township. Feb- ruary 17, 1855. a daughter of John and Lu- cinda ( Inskeep) Alexander. The former was a native of Pennsylvania and a son of William Alexander.
Since his marriage Mr. Pool has made his home in Miami township, where he now lives. In 1879 he purchased eighty acres of his father's land, and he now owns all of the original farm, while within the bound- aries of his place are comprised two hundred and thirty-one acres, and in addition to this he has forty-five acres in Champaign coun- ty. Mr. Pool is a progressive agricultur- ist and stock breeder, and there are splendid improvements on his farm, while his well-
tilled fields yield golden harvests, and in his pastures are seen high grades of stock.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. Pool was blessed with eleven children, but five died in infancy. Those living are as follows: Estella is the wife of Lewis J. McColly, of Miami township, and has four children- Homer. Laura. Mary Evelyn and Lucile ; Daisy E. is a graduate of the De Graff high school of the class of 1894 and was not only the youngest member of the class but also carried off the honors. She was graduated in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, in 1902 and is now teaching in the public schools of De Graff : Earl B. completed the course in the high school of De Graff with the class of 1901; Nellie also graduated from the De Graff high school with the class of 1901 and is now in the Ohio Wesleyan University, a member of the class of 1905: Edna C. and Lester Britton are still with their parents.
In his political views Mr. Pool has been a stalwart Republican since casting his first presidential ballot in the centennial year for Rutherford B. Hayes and he has always been active in politics. In 1899 he was nominated for the legislature and ran ahead of the vote give i the governor in this district by two hundred votes. He served so capably that he was re-elected in 1901 and is therefore serving for the second term. During the first session he was a member of the committee on county affairs, agriculture and dairying and food products. He introduced the township centralization bill which became a law and helped to formulate several bills which were introduced by others. During the second term he was chairman of the com- mittee on elections and a member of the
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committee on agriculture and public printing. He introduced the library bill giving to cities certain public library priv- ileges, and several other bills which he in- troduced were also passed. He introduced a bill to place township schools on the same basis as the village and other high schools, but this measure was defeated. His legislative work. however, has been beneficial to his district and the state at large and his influence has ever been pre- eminently: on the side of progress, reform and improvement.
Mr. Pool has also been active in affairs pertaining to the moral development and progress of his community. He is a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, was one of its class leaders and is now a steward and trustee. He has been super- intendent of the Sunday school and is .now treasurer of both the Sunday school and church. His wife and children are also members of the same church. In 1879 Mr. Pool was made a Mason in Boggs Lodge. No. 292. F. & A. M .. in which he has filled all the chairs, and he belongs to the chapter of Bellefontaine and the commandery at Sidney. In 1889 he was elected a member of the agricultur- al board of the county and by re-election was continued in the office for eleven years, during which time he served for two terms each as vice president and presi- dent. During his incumbency the present race track was made. being a great im- provement over the old one and in fact it is one of the best in the state. Many buildings were also added to the county fair grounds. Mr. Pool has also been president of the De Graff Farmers' Insti- tute. He served for nine years on the school board and the cause of education
found in him a warm friend. In fact, Mr. Pool is always on the side of advancement along material. social. intellectual, po- litical and moral lines and as a friend, as a private citizen or a political leader he is ever loyal and true.
THOMAS HUBBARD.
For more than sixty years Thomas Hubbard was closely identified with the newspaper and literary life of Logan county. He was a man of strong personal traits and warm personal friendships. He was gifted as a writer and journalist and was in many respects one of the most ac- complished newspaper men, not only of the earlier but of the later day. Quiet, unostentatious and sincere. he made not only friends, but in some instances used his peculiar wit and sarcasm to strike stinging blows at his adversaries. He was endowed with a tender and touching poetic temperament. and had he devoted himself exclusively to literature or poetry, would have become famous in either of these pursuits.
The writer, who knew him for so many years, and was during all of that time upon terms of the closest personal friendship, can testify to the frankness of his character, and to the loyalty and sincerity of his personal regard for those whom he held in friendly esteem. He permitted neither religious nor political differences to interrupt or disturb the friendly relations which had been formed in earlier years or more the outgrowth of his later life. It is a curious fact that although, like all editorial writers, he necessarily became somewhat
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acrimonious. he never permitted it to in- terfere with his social or personal rela- tions, and many of his closest and lifelong friends were formed among those who were politically opposed to him.
He was born at West Liberty, in Lo- gan county, on the 6th of January, 1826. and died in Bellefontaine on the 28th of April. 1902. Thus for three-quarters of a century he had been closely identified with the growth and development of Logan county. He had seen it transformed from a wilderness to one of the richest and most prospering of all the counties in the great northwest. His father, Orin Hub- bard, was a millwright and carpenter, two occupations which in those earlier times were most important in the development of the country. He was a man of exact- ing and scrupulous honesty, and instilled into his children the highest estimate of personal integrity. Of old New England stock, he brought with him into the wil- derness from his Connecticut home the same intense devotion to home and kin- dred that had been a part of his earlier life and teaching. \ most fortunate inar- riage joi :ed him for life to one of the most estimable of women and Margaret Newell became the mother of his children. She had come from Kentucky with her broth- ers as early as 1806. She was the sister of Hugh, Samuel and John Newell, all of whom became most prominent in the new settlement.
Thomas, the son. was originally in- tended for a millwright. but at the age of twelve years, in 1838, he came to Belle- fontaine to learn the trade of a printer with Hiram B. Strother, at that time edit- ing and printing the only paper of the county seat. For nearly two years he con-
tinued in the printing office, performing all the duties from that of the beginner to that of pressman: but he finally deter- inined to abandon the "art preservative of all the arts" and go back to the bench of the millwright. For the next two years or until he was sixteen years of age, he worked as an apprentice at the trade of millwright. The earlier inclination for the printer's trade, however, prevailed, and in 1841 he again took his place at the cases of the Logan County Gazette office under William Penn Clarke, one of the most brilliant of all the writers that ever occupied the editorial chair in Logan county.
From that time forward Thomas Hub- bard's life was a part and parcel of the newspaper life of Logan county. In con- nection with his brother, William Hub- hard. in 1847. at the age of twenty-one. he became one of the owners of the Lo- gan County Gazette. They conducted the paper from 1847 to 1854, when they dis- posed of it to Judge William H. West. It. was at a time when political parties were passing through the kaleidoscopic experi- ence of their existence. The Gazette un- der Clarke and the Hubbards had been an ardent Whig paper. They had supported Harrison in 1840 and Clay in 1844. with the utmost enthusiasm. The old and long- despised doctrines of the free soilers and the abolitionists were coming into greater favor and prominence and the parties were changing front and forming new lines of political action. It was about this time that the Republican party sprang into ex- istence. boldly asserting its principles to be free soil and announcing its deter- mined opposition to the further extension of human slavery. The Whig party,
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which had been carefully conservative, midst of the earlier struggles of the pio- went to pieces, and its adherents found homes in other party organizations. Many of them espoused the cause of the Repub- licans and others went into the Demo- cratie party.
The Hubbards bought back the Logan County Gazette. and in 1856 joined the Democratic party and supported Buch- anan for the presidency. They continued to issue a Democratic paper until 1863. when it was discontinued and Thomas for a time was connected with the Daily Em- pire. In 1865 the Gazette was again is- sued and continued until 1870, when it was sold to William P. Cotter. but was shortly afterward repurchased by Thomas Hubbard, who changed the rame to the Examiner, which has continued its issues until this time.
In 1868 Mr. Hubbard was nominated by the Democratic party of Ohio for sec- retary of state, but was defeated at the election following. During the first ad- ministration of Grover Cleveland as presi- dent Mr. Hubbard was appointed post- master of Bellefontaine and served until his successor was chosen under the suc- ceeding Republican administration.
In 1851 Mr. Hubbard married Miss Sarah, daughter. of Captain J. B. Miller. a distinguished soldier of both the Mexi- can and the Civil wars. His home life was an ideal one. and perhaps no more perfect family circle was ever formed than the one that for fifty years continued unbroken until the head of the household was called away. He left a devoted wife and six children-Edgar O., Horace K., Mary Jo- sephine, Ada A .. Thomas A. and Frank K., to whom he was devotedly attached.
Thomas Hubbard was born in the very
neers. He came to younger manhood through the hardships and experiences of the frontier and was a part and parcel of the growth of this outlying part of the republic. He saw it develop from a wil- derness until it became one of the fore- most of all the portions of the northwest. He came to Bellefontaine when it was a village of some four hundred souls, with- out improvements, with unpaved streets. with roads still in the timber, with log houses and without any of the refinements and culture of later-day opportunities, but there was a strong and courageous man- hood and womanhood in those early set- tlements that brought the blood of the older settlements of the east to add to the upbuilding of this western civilization ; and it was with such as these that the sturdy blows and the rude knocks of the frontier were made to form and fashion the great characters that were to be de- veloped in this wilderness, and to become a part of its after strength and power. It was in such a school that the Hubbards were educated: and the log school- houses of the earlier day often held those whose names were to fill the land with fame and renown. Thomas Hubbard lived to see the village which he had selected as his future home become famed for its dis- tinguished men-leaders in many fields of greatness and renown. He lived to see it become one of the most beautiful cities of his native state, with paved streets and splendid public buildings, with roads lead- ing to every section second to none in Ohio. He lived to see the log school- houses and the rude temples of worship replaced by splendid structures, and to witness the evidences of its wealth, pros-
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