The history of Champaign county, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory etc, Part 115

Author: Ogden, J. W. (John W.); Beers (W.H.) & Co., pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 926

USA > Ohio > Champaign County > The history of Champaign county, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory etc > Part 115

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C. K. CLARK, physician, Mechanicsburg; was born in Coshocton Co. in Feb- ruary, 1831, and is the son of John and Miriam (McCibben) Clark. The former was born, March 27, 1777, near Martinsburg, Va., and was a farmer by occupation. He emigrated to Ohio quite early, and to this county in 1859. Here he died in June, 1861. Miriam McCibben was his second wife, and was a native of Pennsylvania ; she died in this county in 1853. Our subject is the thirteenth of a family of fifteen children-ten by the first wife and five by the second marriage. His minority was passed on the farm, assisting in its duties and attending the district school. In 1857, he began the study of medicine under the tutorship of Dr. H. C. Pearce, of Urbana, Ohio. He at- tended his first course of lectures in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Cincin- nati, Ohio. In the following spring, 1860, being in limited financial circumstances and dependent upon his own resources, he began practice in Clark Co. He continued there till the fall of 1864, when he moved to his present place, where he has since resided. In the ensuing winter, he took a course of lectures at the Starling Medical College of Columbus, Ohio, graduating in the spring. Since then, he has been engaged in his pro- fessional labors in this place, and in the enjoyment of the respect and confidence of a community who recognize in him a reliable and skillful physician. His political senti- ments are found in the Republican party, but he is no politician. He is a member of Champaign County Medical Society, Knights of Honor, and the Methodist Episcopal Church. He married Miss Mary E. Hendricks, of this county, in the spring of 1852. Of the ten children born to this union, two have died.

JOSEPH COFFEY, farmer ; P. O. Mechanicsburg ; another of the native-born citizens of Goshen Township, was born within sight of his present place in 1838, and is of English-Scottish descent. His father, Tatom, was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., March 15, 1800, and his mother, Rebecca Rubart, was born in Clark Co., Ohio, whither her parents had moved in a very early day. Tatom was only 2 years old when his par- ents, Joseph and Sarah Coffey, became the second settlers in Pleasant Township, Clark Co., and the daughter was the first white child born in the township. Their settlement

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there dates May 6, 1802, and the remainder of their days were passed there. Tatom was a farmer by occupation, and at the age of 20 was married, and, in 1829, moved to Cham- paign Co., Goshen Township, residing here till his death, March 31, 1877, a period of nearly half a century. Thus we record the death of one of the early pioneers of this county, and an honored and respected citizen. He had two sons and seven daughters, two daughters of whom have died. Our subject is the youngest of the family, and farming has been his life-calling, in which he has been signally successful. His resi- dence has always been in this township. During the late war, he responded to his country's call for men, and enlisted in Company I, 66th O. V. I. He participated in the following engagements, besides numerous skirmishes : Port Republic, Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville, second Bull Run, Dumfries, and was then transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and engaged in the fight at Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, Atlanta campaign, including Kenesaw Mountain, thence to the sea with Sherman, and was honorably discharged at Savannah Dec. 22, 1864. After returning home, he resumed farming, combining with it the manufacture of cheese for ten years. He married, April 13, 1865, Lydia A. Moody, a native of Madison Co., by whom he has five children. He finds a political home in the Repub- lican party, and is a member of the F. & A. M. of Mechanicsburg.

JACOB CREAMER, manufacturer of Mole Ditching Machines, Mechanicsburg ; was born in Fayette Co., Ohio, in 1809, and is the son of Michael and Mary (Gray) Creamer, both of Virginia. Michael was a farmer by occupation, and emigrated to Fayette Co. in 1805, where the remainder of his life was passed. His death occurred at an advanced age, and that of his wife in 1865. He had twelve children, ten of whom grew up to maturity. Our subject was the seventh child, and was reared and schooled in his native county, where he resided till the fall of 1871, when he became a resident of this county. He located first for two years in Urbana, and then moved to his present place in Mechanicsburg. He followed the calling of his father, and has made farming his principal occupation. He served as County Surveyor of Fayette Co. for nineteen years, and nine years as Justice of the Peace; has given considerable attention to carpentering, and, for the last twenty years, has been engaged in operating a "Mole Ditching Machine," of which he is the patentee. It is a contrivance by means of which a secret ditch is cut any depth up to four feet, making a cheap and durable drainage. It can be regularly graded as the machine passes along, and the capstan, by means of which it is propelled, is mounted on wheels, thereby economizing time. From 100 to 300 rods can be cut per day. We think it destined to become the mode of under-draining on account of its proficiency and cheapness, not costing more than one- fifth as much as ordinary ditching. Mr. C. finds his political creed in the Republican party, and religious in the M. P. Church. He takes an active interest in the temper- ance cause, and puts himself in sympathy with all temperance movements. He mar- ried Elizabeth Benson, of Fayette Co., in 1835, by whom he has had six children, all living.

WILLIAM CULBERTSON, carriage manufacturer, Mechanicsburg; one of the well-established business men of Mechanicsburg, was born in New York State in Sep- tember, 1833; he is the son of James Culbertson, who is a native of Ireland, and emigrated to America about 1830. He located first in New York State, where he remained until about 1835, when he moved to Warren, Trumbull Co., Ohio, where he resided till about one year ago, and has since been living with our subject. He is in his 87th year, and was married to Margaret Bratton, of Ireland. She died Dec. 22, 1878. They reared six children, of whom our subject is the fourth child. He was reared and schooled in Warren, Ohio, where he learned carriage-marriage under Mc- Neal & Belden. There he resided till 20 years old, when he came to Mechanicsburg. Here he has since resided, and followed his occupation for a time as a journeyman, and since 1856, on his own account, a period of twenty-four years, making him one of the oldest business men of the place. In connection with the shop he ran a livery for four-

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teen years, but abandoned it about seven years ago. His shop is located on East San- dusky street, and is known under the firm style of Culbertson & Barr. They make all kinds and styles of carriages, buggies and spring wagons, and do all kinds of general repairing in their line. They have the reputation of turning out substantial and honest work, which fact has secured them the confidence and patronage of the public. He was formerly a Republican, but now finds his politics in the Prohibition party, and has several times been placed upon the ticket for county office, but, the party being largely in the minority, he was defeated. He is a faithful member of the following orders : I. O. O. F., K. of H., and the M. P. Church, the former of which he has been a member of for twenty-five years. He married Miss A. E. Henderson, of Marion Co., Ohio, in 1858, by whom he has two sons and three daughters.

B. F. CUMMINGS, farmer; P. O. Mechanicsburg ; was born in this township in 1828, and is one of the early pioneers. His parents were Joseph and Nancy (Wells) Cummings. His paternal grandfather, Joseph, was born in Massachusetts, and married Sallie Porter of the same place. In 1790, they emigrated to Western Pennsylvania, and, five years after, to Marietta, Ohio, thus constituting one of the pioneer families of Ohio. Mr. C., while here, became intimately acquainted with Kerr and Weitzel, pio- neers of historic fame. He remained in Washington Co. till 1806, when he pioneered his way with his family to this county, locating in Goshen Township, on the north side of " Little Lake," where his death occurred in 1813, and that of his wife some years after. At his location here, his family consisted of one son and three daughters, one son being born after moving to Goshen Township. These five children grew up, reared families, and the youngest still survives, living in Douglas Co., Ill. Joseph, Jr., was the oldest of the family, was born in Pennsylvania in 1791, and was a lad of only 4 sum- mers when his lot was cast in the wilderness of the Northwestern Territory, and of 15 summers when he located in Goshen Township. His early life was that of a pioneer, beset with all the privations, hardships and experiences of such a life. The sons of the " bow and arrow" were his early companions, and, in the stirring events of 1812, he took an active part. He joined Hull's army at Dayton, Ohio, as a member of Finley's militia, and was taken prisoner at his surrender at Detroit, but was immediately paroled and sent to Cleveland, whence he made his way home through the wilderness. The death of his father prevented him from taking any more active part in this war. He resided in Ohio till 1844, when a desire to shift his location again to the frontier induced him to move to Van Buren Co., Iowa; there he lost his wife in 1853, and, in 1856, removed to Nebraska, Ind., where he resided with a daughter till his death, in January, 1867. Thus we briefly record the life and death of one who must be accorded a prominent place in the annals of the pioneers of Champaign Co. He married Nancy Wells in 1813; she was a native of Maryland, and came to Goshen Township with the family of John Rhodes in 1806. Our subject is the sixth child of a family of four sons and three daughters. His early life was passed in this and Union Co., obtaining the limited education which that time afforded. At the age of 16, he moved to Iowa with his parents, and, in the spring of 1857, returned to his native place, where he has since resided, engaged in the pursuit of agriculture. He served about eighteen months in the late war, as a member of the 32d O. V. I., Co. B; participated in Millroy's campaign in West Virginia ; at Cross Keys, under Fremont; and the battle of Harper's Ferry, where the regiment was surrendered ; were paroled and sent to Chicago, where they were exchanged in the following February, Mr. C. being at this time honorably discharged on account of physical disability. He was married on Christmas Day in 1866, to Sarah, daughter of John Stone; she is a native of Goshen Township. One son and two daughters-twins-were born to this union, all of whom died last April with the scarlet fever. Mr. C. is a Republican in politics, and has filled besides others the office of Township Assessor.

ALANDRAS DARROW (deceased) ; was born in Goshen Township in 1815, and is the son of James Darrow and Sarah Willard. James was a native of Vermont,

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coming from near Lake Champlain to this State as early as 1811, pitching his cabin in the northern part of Goshen Township, then in the wild state and inhabited by the red man. To locate a family here at that time required no little courage, as well as the endurance of many hardships and privations, but, by dint of hard labor and persever- ance, he established for himself and family a permanent home, where he passed the re- mainder of his days, his death occurring in about 1837-38. He had an encounter in early life with a bear on Lake Champlain, which well nigh proved his destruction, but, by his courage and perseverance, he came out victorious. The parents of Sarah Wil- lard, his wife, were early pioneers here; she died in 1847-48. Thus we record the death of two more of the van-couriers of civilization in this county. He had three sons. and three daughters, who grew up, and five of them reared families ; two daughters still survive and reside in Union Co. Alandras was the third of the family and oldest son. Except a two years' residence in Union Co., his entire life was passed on the homestead, his death occurring in March, 1875, leaving ten sons and three daughters- Andrew, who died in infancy ; Jane, George W., James (deceased), Jonathan, Zachary T., who enlisted in the late war, March 7, 1864, as a member of Company A, under Capt. E. D. House, 60th O. V. I., and was shot through the head and killed, May 9, 1864, in the battle of Nye River, Va .; Sylvester and Sylvanus, twins, the former de- ceased ; Alandras and Alonzo, twins, the latter deceased ; Phebe E., Alice and Will- iam. Mr. Darrow was married in 1835, to Phebe H. Colwell, a native of Ohio, and since 5 or 6 years old a resident of this county. He left at his death an estate of 360 acres, which now belongs to his family.

SYLVANUS DARROW, farmer; P. O. Mechanicsburg ; a native-born citizen of the county ; was born in Goshen Township in 1849, of Yankee ancestors. Alandras and Phebe H. (Colwell) Darrow were his parents, whose sketch appears in .this volume. Of thirteen children our subject is one of twins, and the seventh child. His occupation is that of a farmer, to which he was brought up. His education, so far as books were concerned, was such as he could obtain during his winter months, in youth, from the district school. He lived at home till he grew to maturity, doing farm labor, and, with the exception of a few months' residence in Illinois, has always lived in the vicinity of the homestead. Politically, he adopts the sentiments of the Republican party, and, re- ligiously, the doctrines of the Methodist Protestant Church, and is a member of the I. O. O. F. of Mechanicsburg. He married, in 1872, Emma O. Smith, a native of Rush Township, this county.

S. C. DAVIS, farmer; P. O. Mechanicsburg ; a prominent citizen of the township; born in Bath Township, Greene Co., Ohio, in 1817; of Scotch-Welsh extraction, his paternal grandfather being a native of Wales. His father, Jonathan, was born in New Jersey, in 1776, and his mother, Piety Maxon, was also a native of New Jersey, and of Scotch descent. Jonathan moved first with his parents to Virginia, thence to Hamilton Co., Ohio, in about 1806; then to Greene Co., and, in 1826, to Champaign. He was thus a pioneer of Ohio, and experienced all the hardships and privations incident to such a life. A soldier in the war of 1812, he scouted over this country when civilization had but a meager existence here. He married in Virginia, and had a family of four sons and seven daughters, eight of whom grew up to maturity, and two of whom yet survive. He died on the farm where our subject now resides, March 22, 1845, and his wife, March 19, 1847. The subject of this sketch was the ninth child, and was only 9 years old when he came to his present place with his parents. Here he has since lived, a period of fifty-four years. His occupation has been that of a farmer, and for half a century he has been contributing his share to the improvement of the country, and now, past the meridian of life, he happily reflects upon the years gone by as being spent in industry and usefulness. He is most desirably located, about one mile south of Mechanicsburg, surrounded by beautiful oak groves. He married, in 1837, Jane Britton, who was born in the township, and is the descendant of pioneers. Three sons and six daughters were the issue of this union, one son and four daughters.

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still survive. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are members of the Baptist Church, and he is a member of the Republican party.

SAMUEL ENGLE, farmer ; P. O. Mechanicsburg; another prominent citizen of Goshen Township, was born in Jefferson Co., Va., in 1811, and is the son of John and Hannah Engle, both natives of Virginia. John was a farmer by occupation, and had a family of nine children; was married three times, and had two children by his first two marriages and seven by his third wife, Hannah. In 1831, he emigrated to Ohio with his family, which then consisted of his wife, two sons and two daughters. He located in Clark Co., where he lived the balance of his life, his death occurring in 1845, in his 81st year. Our subject is the eighth child of the family, and, being brought up on the farm, has made farming his principal occupation. In April, 1852, he became a resident of Goshen Township, Champaign Co., where he has since resided, with the exception of a five years' residence in West Jefferson, Madison Co., Ohio. During four years of this time, he was engaged in the hotel business. At the end of this time, April, 1880, he moved to his present place in Mechanicsburg. He owns and operates a farm beautifully located just south of Mechanicsburg. He married, in 1845, Eliza J. Jones, of Champaign Co., Ohio. Five sons and four daughters have been born to this union. Since 1857, Mr. Engle and wife have been worthy members of the Bap- tist Church.

J. H. FREEMAN, farmer ; P. O. Mechanicsburg ; another of the native-born citizens of Goshen Township ; was born on the place where he has always resided, in 1839 ; he is of English descent and is the son of John and Huldah (Bay) Freeman, the former a native of New York State, and the latter of this township; her father, Hugh Bay, was a native of Pennsylvania, whence he moved with his parents to Ken- tucky when about 5 years old, and, in 1796, located in Cincinnati, then consisting of only a few rude houses, little foreshadowing the present great city. From there he came with his parents to this county, as early as 1808, locating, in 1822, on the place where our subject now resides, and where he had his residence till his death, which oc- curred Nov. 8, 1878, a few days past 92 years old. He was one of the early pioneers of Champaign Co., and served about six months in the war of 1812, under Capt. Abner Barrett, as a teamster from Urbana to Sandusky. He was married to Mrs. Mary Moore, née Miss Mary Willard, of Vermont, and an early settler of this county. John Free- man became a resident of this township in 1838, and died in the spring of 1839, when our subject was only about 6 weeks old. He was married twice ; first, before coming to this State, to Miss Bliss, by whom he had one son, now living in Arkansas. Our sub- ject is the only child by the second marriage ; he was brought up and inured to farm labor, his educational opportunities being limited to the district schools, but so well did he improve his time and advantages that he was early prepared to enter the role of a teacher. This he followed some fifteen winters. Farming, to which he was reared, has been his principal occupation. In politics, he is a Republican, and an arduous worker for the party ; he has held the office of Township Trustee, besides School Director, Supervisor, etc. He married Miss Emiline Romine, in 1859. She was born in Mad- ison Co. and reared in this township. Of the four daughters born to this union, two have deceased.

PETER M. FUDGER, Mechanicsburg; one of the early settlers and prominent citizens of the county ; was born in the State of New Hampshire in March, 1816, of English descent on his maternal and Irish on his paternal side. His parents, Edward and Sallie (Sprague) Fudger, were also natives of New Hampshire, and emigrants to Ohio in the fall of 1816. They halted for one year in Madison Co., and then pur- chased the farm on which our subject now resides, where they lived the remainder of their lives, his death occurring in about four years after locating in his new home, and hers in 1851. Four sons and six daughters were born to them, all of whom have died but our subject and one daughter in Illinois. Peter was the seventh child, and only about 2 years old when he located upon his present place. Here he has since resided,

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except a two years' residence in Mechanicsburg and the West, a period of sixty-two years; he bore a creditable part in bringing this county from a wilderness to its present condition. He is a self-made man, beginning in a small way with nothing but an honest name and willing hands, he has, by his industry and economy, accumulated a large tract of land, his farms consisting of 478 acres, under the best of modern improve- ment. He is identified with the Republican party. He has been married twice; in 1843, to Esther Davis, of this county, a descendant of early settlers and Vermonters ; she only lived six years, when her death occurred, leaving two sons and one daughter ; one son has since died. In 1852, he married Sophia Perry, of Franklin Co., Ohio, by whom he has two sons and one daughter.

FRANKLIN SHERMAN FUSON was born near Cable, Champaign Co., Ohio, April 10, 1851. His father, William E. Fuson, son of Isaiah Fuson, married Miss Elenora Keller, daughter of George Keller, a hatter of Uniontown, Md. F. S. Fuson is the second of a family of seven children, five of whom are living. He began teach- ing a district school when 17 years of age at $30 per month, boarding at home, work- ing nights and mornings for his board. The money thus earned he invested again in education at the new normal school, Lebanon, Ohio. This being exhausted, he taught two years in Madison Co., Ohio, and a term of four months in Woodstock, Ohio, the proceeds of which enabled him to take the degree of B. S. in the "old normal " in the summer of 1872. He began to teach and superintend the public schools of North Lewisburg, Ohio, the same fall, remaining there until the summer of 1879, when he was elected to the superintendency of the Mechanicsburg Public Schools. In the fol- lowing spring he was appointed one of the County Examiners by Judge Todd. He married Miss Nannie Hill, of North Lewisburg, Ohio, one of his former pupils, in the summer of 1877.

JOHN GOUL, farmer; P. O. Mechanicsburg; a native-born citizen of the county, was born in Union Township in 1832, and is the son of Christian and Ruth (Lawson) Goul. The former was born Sept. 6, 1804, in Rockbridge Co., Va., and died in this county Sept. 6, 1879, aged exactly 75 years. He was brought to this county by his parents when about 13 years old, and remained a useful citizen of the same until his death. He married Ruth Lawson in March, 1828, and, in March, 1878, they cele- brated their golden wedding, J. R. Ware, who had married them, being present and officiating. Mrs. Goul is the daughter of Thomas Lawson, who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in an early day, and two years subsequently became a pioneer of Champaign Co., locating on the place where our subject now resides. Adam Goul, grandfather of our subject, was a native of Germany, and came to America in an early day. He was married in Philadelphia, Penn., to Elizabeth Leetz, a native of the same place. He was for a time a teamster in the Revolutionary war, and was a shoemaker by trade, being careful to teach each of his four sons the same trade. Christian G. was a shoe- maker by trade and a farmer by occupation, and was one who contributed his life's labors to the development and improvement of this county. He had three sons and four daughters, all of whom still survive. Our subject is the second child of the family, and was reared a farmer. He remained at home assisting in the duties of the farm till he grew to maturity. He located in this township when 2 or 3 years old, and has had his residence here most of the time since. Farming and stock-dealing are his pursuits. He was a soldier in the late war, as a member of the 134th O. V. I., and served 100 days, most of the time on picket duty at the siege of Petersburg, Va. In politics, he is a Republican, and is a member of the I. O. O. F., and, for twenty years, has been a member of the M. E. Church. He has two farms under the best of modern improvement, one of 150 acres, on which he lives, and the other of 84 in Union Town- ship. He married, in 1854, Susan F. Coffenbarger, a native of Maryland, and, since 9 years old, a resident of this county. Of the two sons and three daughters born to this union, two daughters have died.

G. W. GROVS, farmer; P. O. Mechanicsburg; was born in Fairfield Co., near Lancaster, in 1840, and is of German descent. His parents were George and

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Elizabeth (Kulp) Grovs, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Ohio. George, Sr., was brought to this State by his parents when quite a small boy. He descended from honest tillers of the soil, and was himself a farmer by occupation. He was three times married, first to Miss Keller, secondly, to Elizabeth Kulp, and thirdly, to Catherine Kulp, who still survives. He moved to this county, locating near Mechanicsburg in about 1850, and there passed the remainder of his life, his death occurring in November, 1878, and that of his wife Elizabeth in 1854. He had four- teen children by his three marriages. Our subject is the sixth child by the second mar- riage. He was about 10 years old when he made his advent into Goshen Township, and except a year's residence in the West, has since resided here, engaged in agricult- ural pursuits. He married, in October, 1859, Sarah E., a daughter of Thomas Wren. She was born and raised within one mile of their present residence, which is about 2} miles south of Mechanicsburg. One adopted son, 12 years old, constitutes their family. Mr. G. is a Republican in politics, and an ardent supporter of the temperance cause, fully realizing the enormous evil of intemperance.

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The history of Champaign county, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory etc, Part 115

Author: Ogden, J. W. (John W.); Beers (W.H.) & Co., pub Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 926

Author: Ogden, J. W. (John W.); Beers (W.H.) & Co., pub
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : W.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 926