USA > Ohio > Logan County > The historical review of Logan County, Ohio > Part 75
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On the 17th of December. 1868. in Harrison township, Mr. Miller was united in marriage to Miss Hannah Beal. who was born in that township. April 13. 1850, a daughter of Elijah and Hannah ( Colley) Beal, natives of Fayette county, Pennsyl- vania, where they were reared and mar- ried. After the birth of two of their chil- dren her parents came to Ohio in 1835 and for a time lived north of Bellefon- taine, where Mr. Beal bought land. Later he removed to Bellefontaine, where he was engaged in the tanning business for a number of years, and then located on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Harrison township which he had pur- chased. It was there that Mrs. Miller was born, the youngest in a family of ten chil- dren. seven of whom grew up and mar- ried : Benjamin, who lives in Bellefontaine ; Sarah, who married Milton Mahan and lives in Nickerson. Kansas: David, a resi- dent of Dayton. Kentucky: Malinda, who married David Nevin and died in South Bend, Indiana ; Calvin B., who served for three years in the Civil war and is now an inmate of the Soldiers' Home in Sandusky ;
Mrs. Miller and her daughter are mem- bers of the Missionary Baptist church, and the former takes an active part in the Mis- sionary Society. Mr. Miller has been a life-long Democrat and cast his first presi- dlential ballot for Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, but he has never sought or desired political office. preferring to devote his entire time and attention to his business interests. He represents a worthy family that from pioneer days has been actively and honorably identified with the history of Logan county, and is held in high re- gard by all who know him.
DR. JOSEPH CANBY.
Dr. Joseph Canby was one of the pioneer physicians of Logan county, whose name is connected with the early history of this sec- tion of the state. He came here in IS26 and throughout his remaining days was a prac- titioner of medicine in this locality. He was born in Loudoun county. Virginia. April 14. 1781. His father. Samuel Canby, was a native of the Old Dominion and the moth- er of our subject was born in Kent county,
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that state. Their marriage, however, was at that time, but the Doctor found that they celebrated in Warren county, Ohio. The were better in paying their bills than the representatives of the Canby family in white settlers. One Indian brought him a deer with the remark "Medicine man no pay no come." America are all descendants of Thomas Can- by, who came to this country with William Penn. He was married three times and The Doctor built up a very large prac- tice which was continued up the time of his death. When he was unable to leave his own bed patients were brought to him on cots that he might diagnose their case and prescribe for them. He was a deep and earnest student of his profession and kept abreast with the progress that was made by the medical fraternity during his day. reared nineteen children. The Canbys are also lineal descendants of the Dutchess of York, Mary Canby having become the wife of the Earl of Clarendon. In religious faith the Canbys were Quakers, and Joseph Can- by, the subject of this review, was the first to leave that church, identifying himself with the Swedenborgian denomination. One of the distinguished representatives of The Doctor was also a very progressive citizen interested in everything pertaining to the welfare and improvement of his com- munity. The cause of education found in him a warm friend and he sent his children away to school that they might enjoy better educational facilities than were afforded in the community. This caused considerable talk and jealousy among his neighbors. His political support was given to the Whig party and fraternally he was connected with the Masonic order. having been made a Ma- son at Lebanon, Ohio. He was also a mem- ber of the Swedenborgian church. the family was General E. R. S. Canby, who was killed by the Modoc Indians, and to his memory a monument has been erected in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was a cousin of Dr. Canby of this review. Dr. Canby had three brothers and two sisters, namely : Samuel and John, who follow farming near Indianapolis: Israel, now deceased. who was a resident of Crawfordsville. In- diana, and served as secretary of that state: Sarah, who died in Missouri at the age of eighty-six years; and Beulah, who died in Ohio.
The Doctor pursued his literary educa- tion in the schools of Loudoun county, Vir- ginia, and was afterward graduated in the oldest medical institution of Philadelphia. In early life he assisted his father who was engaged in the milling business in Kentucky. Subsequently he removed to Lebanon. War- ren county. Ohio, where he remained for a short time and then went to Piqua, Ohio, coming thence to Logan county in 1826. Here he resumed the practice of medicine amid pioneer conditions that made the fol- lowing of his profession a difficult task. There were many Indians in Logan county
Dr. Canby was twice married. On the roth of January, 1808, he wedded Lida Ped- rick and they became the parents of three children. Richard Sprague, the eldest, served as a member of congress from the eight Ohio district and was also a judge at Springfield, Illinois, for one term but would not accept a second term on account of hav- ing consumption. . He died in Olney, Illinois, at the advanced age of eighty-six years. Anna C. became the wife of Edward Kitch- en. and died in Bellefontaine. Hannah mar- ried Dr. John Evans, who was the founder of Evanston, Illinois. On account of his
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health he removed to Colorado, and was til August 7, 1862, when she, too, was called there elected governor of the state. He to her final rest. The Doctor's name is in- separably connected with the early history of Logan county. He came to this portion of the state in pioneer days when all was wild and was soon recognized as the loved family physician in many a pioneer house- hold. The practice of his profession neces- sitated the endurance of many hardships and trials at that period when there were few roads and when homes were widely scattered, but he never failed to respond to the call of suffering humanity and did a beneficent work in Logan county during this early epoch. died about 1900. Having lost his first wife Dr. Canby was again married on the 4th of September, 1817. his second union being with Margaret Haines, of Warren county. Ohio. They had eight children. of whom one died in infancy. The others are as fol- lows : Robert II. died in Bellefontaine. Feb- ruary 22, 1897. He was the father of Ed- ward Canby, the multi-millionaire of Day- ton. Ohio, who with his family is now mak- ing a trip around the world. John, who died in 1893. was superintendent of the Big Four Railroad Company for fourteen years. Mary became the wife of Henry Drake. Sarah B. died in 1860. Israel was a mem- ber of the legislature in Michigan for one term, but would not consent to again be- REV. CHARLTON H. WELSH. come a candidate. Noah H. is now pro- prietor of a fruit farm near Toledo, Ohio. Lydia C. resides at the home of her brother John's widow in Bellefontaine. Edward Canby, before mentioned as a multi-million- aire of Dayton, is a most generous and be- nevolent man, and at the present time is providing college educations for ten young men. Lydia C. Canby is one of the principal stockholders in the Bellefontaine National Bank, and also of the Union Telephone Company, of Logan county. Mrs. Canby. the wife of Dr. Canby, resided upon the line of the Big Four Railroad at an early day and was the only one between Bellefon- taine and Sidney who would give the rail- road men anything to eat. In consideration of her kindness in this regard. the company bought her a farm of nine hundred acres and gave her a life pass over their lines.
Dr. Canby passed away February 19. 1843, and was laid to rest in the Bellefon- taine cemetery. His wife survived him un-
Rev. Charlton H. Welsh. who is now largely living retired in Belle Center, was through the years of his active business ca- reer connected with agricultural pursuits and the ministry. He is a native of Logan county, his birth having occurred in Pleas- ant township. January 26, 1843. The Welsh family is of Irish descent. The first American ancestor was John Welsh, who came to American when about nineteen years of age with the first Irish colonists. This was long prior to the Revolutionary war. He settled in Maryland and secured from the English government a tract of land a mile square, for which he paid a shilling per acre. Thereon he lived and died. His oldest son was John Welsh, who was born in Maryland and became the fa- ther of Nicholas H. Welsh, the grandfather of our subject.
Rev. Welsh is a son of Howard G. and Rachel A. (Fleming) Welsh. The father
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was a native of Maryland and came to Ohio in 1837, when a young man. He settled in Champaign county, Ohio, where he resided for a year, following the occupation of farming. In 1838 in Pleasant township. Logan county, he purchased eighty acres of land, upon which he located, and then cleared it and there made a home for himself and family. He gradually added to this farm until he had eight hundred and eighty acres of land, all in Logan county, besides property in other counties. His life was most industrious, his business interests ca- pably controlled and thus he won prosperity and an honorable reputation. He died up- on the homestead in Logan county, at the age of seventy-eight years. At the time of his death he was a member of the Quaker church, but prior to that time had been a Baptist. He voted with the Republican party, took an active part in political work and interests and filled some of the offices in his township. His wife, who was also born in Maryland, came to Ohio with her parents prior to her marriage, the family settling in Cincinnati in 1829. She was a Presbyterian in her early religious faith but joined the Quaker church with her husband. Her death occurred when she was about seventy-six years of age, and both parents were buried in the cemetery in Pleasant township. In the famiy were eight chil- dren, of whom four are living. The family record is as follows : Caleb, who died at the age of thirty years; Nicholas Dorsey, who died at the age of twenty-seven; Ruth P., who died at the age of twenty-two years ; Charlton H. : Matilda, the wife of the Rev. J. P. Stewart, of Lewisburg, Ohio; Rachel Ellen, the wife of William M. Mitchell, of Maplewood, Ohio; Milton, who died at the age of thirty-two years ; and John, a farmer of Paris, Illinois.
Rev. Charlton II. Welsh pursued his education in the district school near his boy- hood home and during his school days as- sisted his father upon the home farm, where he remained until nineteen years of age. When the country became involved in war- fare because of the difficulties arising from the slavery question, Mr. Welsh enlisted, August 11, 1862, as a member of Company E. Forty-fifth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers and served until the close of hostilities, being discharged by order of the war de- partment, June 12, 1865. He took part in battles in Kentucky during the first year. Then the regiment was mounted and was in the Morgan raid, capturing that noted Con- federate leader in Ohio. With his command Mr. Welsh then went to eastern Tennessee and took part in a number of engagements there while later he was assigned to Sher- man's army and actively engaged in the bat- tle of Nashville and remained in Tennessee until mustered out.
After his discharge Mr. Welsh returned te this county and remained upon the home farm for a number of years, following that business until ISSo, when he put aside agri- cultural pursuits and entered the ministry. He was an itinerant minister of the United Brethren church for seven years, laboring largely in six counties in Ohio, and he still holds a local relation to the United Brethren church of Belle Center.
On the 3Ist of December. 1865. Mr. Welsh was united in marriage to Miss Ma- lissa J. Stewart, a daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth ( Haftsock) Stewart. Her father was a native of Kentucky and came to Ohio in 1835, first settling in Logan county, where he followed farming throughout the residue of his days. He died at the age of seventy-one years, and his wife at the age of sixty-four. They were long members of
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the United Brethren church. Throughout much of his life Mr. Welsh has devoted his energies to the betterment of liis fellow men, laboring in the interests of humanity upon southern battlefields and in the church. His influence has ever been on the side of right and justice and his labors have been far- reaching in their effect.
WILLIAM E. STEWART.
William E. Stewart deserves great credit for what he has accomplished in life for he is entirely a self-made man and the success he has achieved is the merited re- ward of his own labors. He was born in Shelby county, Ohio. December 10, 1857. and is a son of Robert and Elvira Stewart. the former a native of Virginia and the lat- ter of Ohio. The father was held as a slave in Petersburg. Virginia, until nine- teen years of age, at which time he was brought with several other colored people to Auglaize county, Ohio, by Theodric Grigg, their owner, who then set them free. Mr. Stewart is now deceased. but his widow is yet living, her home being in Troy, Ohio.
William E. Stewart, the second of their family of eight children, pursued a public school education in Lima and in Troy. Ohio, and then entered the Wilberforce University, where he pursued the seien- tifie course. While in college he was se- lected by President B. F. Lee of the uni- versity, now bishop of the African Metho- dist Episcopal church. as advance agent for a concert company, traveling in the in- terest of the institution, which position he held until, at his own request, he gave it
up to resume his studies at Wilberforce. He engaged in teaching school in Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio and was principal of the school for colored people in Belle- fontaine for twelve years. He took up his work as an educator when eighteen years of age and taught for a period of twenty years.
In 1896 when colored schools were merged into the general public schools in compliance with the Arnett, Mr. Stewart was appointed a director on the infirmary board to fill the unexpired term of John Day, deceased. and in November, 1896, he was elected for a full term and so capably did he discharge the duties of the position that he was re-elected in November. 1899, and for seven years he was clerk of the infirmary board. his term expiring in Janu- ary. 1903. He is now engaged in the gro- cery business and has a good patronage.
In 1877 occurred the marriage of Mr. Stewart and Miss Florence E. Street, who died in 1879, leaving one child. Florence, now the wife of Elmer G. Brannon. Mr. Stewart has since married Cornelia B. Peterson and they have one child. named Roberta B.
In 1890 Mr. Stewart was appointed census enumerator and in 1900 was made special agent for the collection of manu- facturing statistics. He has been placed on the programs of the state annual con- ventions of infirmary officials of Ohio and the annual meetings of the state board of charities, and the papers read before them have received special notice from the press and been published in the minutes of the conventions. In 1897 Mr. Stewart was one of a committee of five appointed by the annual convention of infirmary officials to recommend to the Ohio legislature and
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endeavor to secure their passage. such re- vision of old laws and passage of new ones as was felt necessary for the guidance of infirmary officials and township trustees in the discharge of their duties; these are the laws now in force in the state. In 1900 Mr. Stewart was sent as a delegate to represent Logan county in the national convention of charities and corrections in session at Cincinnati. He belongs to the Knights of Pythias Lodge and is a man whose upright character has gained him the confidence and good will of the entire public. In educational and charitable cir- cles he has done effective work and as a business man is most reliable and trust- worthy.
ROBERT M. FULWIDER, M. D.
Dr. Robert M. Fulwider has an ex- tensive practice which is an indication of his high standing in the profession. He was born in Champaign county, Ohio, four miles from West Liberty. December 9. 1854, upon the homestead farm of his par- ents. David and Elizabeth (Mayse) Ful- wider. The origin of the Fulwider family can be traced back to Bavaria, Germany. while the Mayse family comes of Puritan ancestry. John Burgess, one of the great- grandfathers of our subject on the ma- ternal side, was a soldier of the Revolu- tionary war, while Abram Armstrong, a great uncle, also fought with the conti- nental troops for American independence. William Mayse, the maternal grandfather. was a soldier in the war of 1812 and two brothers of the Doctor rendered valiant aid to their country in the dark days of the Civil war.
David Fulwider, the Doctor's father. was a native of Greenbrier county. Vir- ginia, and was a tanner by trade. Coming to Ohio in 1828, he located a homestead farm in Champaign county, where he re- mained until his death. That farm is now owned by his heirs and occupied by his son. George Fulwider. He married Miss Elizabeth Mayse, who was known as the pioneer woman of her locality, having been brought by her parents on horse- back from Virginia to Ohio when a babe of only a few weeks old in the year 1812. The family lived in a block house in the midst of a frontier region. the country all around being wild and entirely unim- proved. Frequently the settlers would stand in their cabin doors and fight wolves. It was amid such pioneer surroundings that Mrs. Fulwider was reared. She was. a woman of marked personality, broad sympathy and genuine worth and was greatly loved by all who knew her. She possessed the dauntless. resolute and brave spirit of the pioneer woman, was charitable and kindly, and her influence for good was widely felt. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Fulwider were born ten children; nine of whom are yet living. the only one that has passed away being Henry, who died at the age of seventy-one years. The father's death occurred March 3. 1886, and the mother. surviving until August 20. 1900, died at the very advanced age of eighty-eight years.
Dr. Fulwider spent his youth upon the homestead fatm. and. desiring to ex- change agricultural life for a professional career. he took the initial step in this di- rection by becoming a student in the U'r- bana University, in which he was gradu- ated in the class of 1877 with the degree of
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Bachelor of Science. In 1879 the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by the same institution and then he pre- pared for the medical profession as a student in the Columbus Medical College, in which he was graduated in 1881. The same year Dr. Fulwider opened his office in West Liberty, where he has continued uninterruptedly with an extensive prac- tice almost from the beginning of his con- nection with the profession. Ere entering college he had studied to some extent un- der the direction of Dr. B. B. Leonard of West Liberty. He has ever been an ear- est, thorough and discriminating student and has kept abreast with the times through reading and investigation. He has broad and comprehensive knowledge which he accuratetly applies to the needs of suffering humanity and no man has higher regard for the ethics of the pro- fession that has Dr. Fulwider. His pat- ronage is an extensive one and of an im- portant character and through his capa- bility and skill he has gained a success- ful practice.
In 1880 occurred the marriage of the Doctor and Miss Minnie E. Miller. a daugh- ter of O. S. and Laura Miller of West Lib- erty. They now have two sons : Robert M. and Harry T. The Doctor belongs to the Masonic fraternity and to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has been prom- inent in public affairs of his city. He served as a member of the school board, is now its treasurer and for one term was mayor of West Liberty following its in- corporation. His attention, however. is largely claimed by the demands of an ex- tensive practice and his rank in the medi- cal fraternity of Logan county is among the foremost.
WALLACE W. ROACH.
In a history of the men whose enter- prise and public spirit have contributed to the business development. the material ad- vancement and the political upbuilding of Logan county. Wallace W. Roach deserves prominent mention, and he is also deserving of recognition as a representative of an- cestry prominent in the founding of the state. He is descended from those who first made their way into the dense forest re- gions of Ohio and planted the seeds of civ- ilization upon hitherto virgin soil. At the present time Mr. Roach is serving as post- master of Bellefontaine, to which position he was appointed by President Roosevelt, entering upon the duties of the office on the TIth of January, 1903.
Mr. Roach was born in Washington county, Ohio. March II, 1850, a son of Daniel M. and Susan ( Hanson) Roach. The father was born May 12. 1825, on the same farm where our subject's birth oc- curred, his father. Daniel Roach, Sr .. hav- ing leen one of the pioneers of Washington county. He was born near Alexandria, Virginia, a son of William Roach. who came from the Old Dominion to Ohio and spent his remaining days in Washington county. Daniel Roach. the grandfather. was reared to maturity in the state of his nativity and as a young man came to Ohio, but this was in 1798 and the state had not then been organized but formed a part of the Northwest Territory. He located in what was later Washington county and there spent his life as a farmer. He was also largely interested in boating on the Muskingum and Ohio rivers and was one of the most important freight handlers of his time. He married Amy Sprague, who
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. was born in a blockhouse at Fort Frye on the Muskingum river. her father, Wilber Sprague, having been one of the leading frontiersmen of Ohio. He made his way to the site of Marietta in 1788, being a mem- ber of the Ohio company that made the first settlement there. He had previously resided in Massachusetts and. proceeding into the interior of the country, he aided in reclaiming it from the dominion of the savages. On one occasion lie was wounded by the Indians at Fort Frye. Both Daniel Roach and his wife died in Washington county.
Daniel M. Roach, the father of our sub- ject, spent his boyhood days amid pioneer surroundings and the wild conditions of the frontier were familiar to him. He obtained his education in the primitive schools of Washington county and later learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed throughout his business career. He was one of the successful and respected men of his community and bore his part in carry- ing forward the work of development and progress which had been begun in Ohio by his grandfather and continued by his fa- ther. He married Miss Hanson, who was born in Washington county. in October. 1824. a daughter of Ephraim Hanson, who went there when a young man from the vicinity of Boston, Massachusetts, and while living in Ohio he enlisted for service in the war of 1812. In times of peace he devoted his energies to farming. He mar- ried Ellen Waller, a daughter of Jesse Waller, who was one of the heroes of the American Revolution and removed to Ohio, settling among the earliest pioneers. about 1789 or 1790, and it was in this state that his daughter Ellen was born.
Daniel M. Roach and his wife became
the parents of six children, of whom Wallace W. was the third. In religious faith and membership they were Baptists. and in politics Mr. Roach was first a Whig and afterward a Republican, but while he took an active interest in local politics and school affairs he was never an aspirant for office or political honors. He spent the greater part of his life in Washington coun- ty, Ohio, put for a time was a resident of Hardin county this state, and later removed to Indiana, dying near Hartford City, in September. 1902. His widow still sur- vives and is a resident of Bellefontaine.
W. W. Roach received the educational advantages afforded by the schools of the county, and on the 18th of February, 1865, before he was yet fifteen years of age. he enlisted for service in Company C. Eigh- teenth Ohio Volunteers. Leaving home at eight o'clock one evening he walked all night in order to reach the recruiting office in Marietta, where he enlisted early in the morning. He was then sent to his regiment, which at that time was stationed at Chat- tanooga and formed a part of the Army of the Cumberland under command of General Stedman, of Toledo. He remained with his regiment during the reconstruction period. or until October 11. 1865, when he was mustered out near Augusta, Georgia, and honorably discharged at Columbus, Ohio.
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