USA > Ohio > Clark County > The history of Clark County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men, V. 2 > Part 48
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JAMES WALLINGSFORD, auctioneer, Springfield. Mr. Wallingsford owns a farm of 100 acres where he lives, two miles south from Springfield, on the road leading south from the Charleston Pike. Mr. Wallingsford devotes his attention chiefly to auctioneering, and those wanting a good, reliable man to sell property, both personal and real estate, should call on Mr. Wallingsford. He was born in this county in 1826. In 1855. he opened a store in Vienna, this county; after running the store some five years, he sold out, and has since then devoted his time to his present occupation. Mr. Wallingsford is the leading auctioneer of Clark County; he is a man of good judgment, and keeps himself well informed in prices, and the record he has made as a salesman entitles hiro to the rank of the "best auctioneer in the county." He was married, in 1847, to Percy H. Sprague, daughter of James and Mary (Bailey) Sprague; they have two children-Nannie J. and Gilkey J. Mr. Wallingsford is the son of Richard and Fannie (White) Wallingsford; Richard, the father of James, was a native of Kentucky and died in this county in 1842; Fannie, his mother, was born in this county, and departed this life in 1872; her (Fannie's) father was a native of Canada, and her mother of Massachusetts. The Wallingsfords were among the early settlers of this county. James, our subject, is a
member in good standing of Ephraim Lodge, No. 146, I. O. O. F .; he was in- structed in the mysteries of said order and became a member of said lodge in 1856; when he moved to Vienna, he took his card from Ephraim Lodge, and was one of the charter members of Vienna Lodge, No. 345; of said lodge he obtained the rank of Past Grand; be has, since leaving Vienna, again removed his membership to Ephraim Lodge.
MRS. CATHERINE WARD, Springfield; was born in Moorefield Town- ship in 1810, and grew to womanhood in the pioneer days, and was familiar with the flaxbrake, spinning-wheel, and other useful pioneer treasures. She was mar- ried, in 1827. to Charles Ward, and raised a family of seven children, five of whom are living, all residents of Springfield. Mr. Ward was a son of William Ward, one of the early settlers of Moorefield Township: after "their marrige, they began domestic life in Moorefield Township, and resided on the same farm until Mr. Ward's decease, which occurred in 1847. After her husband's death, Mrs. Ward remained on the farm with her children until after her father's death, in 1863, after which, her youngest child being nearly grown, she removed to
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Springfield, where she has a handsome residence on High street, and has resided here since; she also owns a large tract of land in Moorefield Township, which formerly belonged to her father. She is now in her 71st year, enjoying very good general health, and, notwithstanding she has had a very laborious life, is still in possession of all her faculties.
WILLIAM H. WEBB, Pastor Second Presbyterian Church, Spring- field. If there are any, the recollections of whose lives and personal asso- ciations will awaken in the hearts of the rising generations at some future day more pleasurable emotions than others, they must be their Pastors, whose ministrations, pleadings and exhortations served to keep them clear of the temptations that so thickly and persistently beset the unwary in the spring- time of life; his words of reproof, warning and counsel from the pulpit, of con- solation at the death-bed, and of good cheer and encouragement in social inter- course, will live in the mind and memory, when the recollection of cotempo- raneous happenings and acquaintanceships have grown dim. To this revered and beloved class belongs the subject of this sketch, the Rev. William H. Webb, present Pastor of the Second Presbyterian Church of Springfield, which pulpit he has filled, in the most satisfactory manner, for seven years. Mr. Webb was born June 7, 1833, in Homer, Courtland Co., N. Y. On May 9, 1861, a little after the first gun of the great civil war had been fired, he married Miss Har- riet Elizabeth Prince, of Auburn, N. Y., their only living child being a son of S years, they having lost two sons and one daughter by death. Mr. Webb graduated from Hamilton College, in 1858, and Auburn Theological Seminary, N. Y., in 1861; he had a charge in Adrian, Mich., nine years just preceding his coming here. Mr. Webb is a minister of the earnest, persuasive sort, con- verting by pleas rather than threats, preaching the doctrine of infinite love to reward rather than infinite power to punish; his sermons are replete with graceful metaphor, aptly drawn simile, and happy illustration, and he has the faculty of holding his congregation well in hand, and keeping their attention closely to the last: his impression on strangers is immediately favorable, and by his congregation, as well as the community at large, he is held in the highest esteem and affection, as. is his excellent wife, whose thorough gentility and refinement are apparent at a glance. The Second Church commenced its sepa- rate existence eighteen years ago, and is in a most flourishng condition, num- bering among its members some of the oldest, best and wealthiest of Spring- field's citizens. Long will the memory linger in the mind of his congregation, of that most feeling. pathetic and plain discourse delivered on Sabbath night of Oct. 31, 1SSO. from one of the most prolific themes ever used as a text, the words of the Master as recorded in John, viii, 11: "Neither do I condemn thee; go and sin no more."
PHILIP WEIMER, merchant tailor and dealer in clothing and gents' furnishing goods. Springfield. Among the business men of Springfield who deserve a more than passing notice, is Mr. Weimer; he is a native of France. born in Woeth in 1834: came to the United States in 1849; learned the tailor's trade in New York City: he first engaged in business for himself in Jefferson. ville. Fayette Co., this State; after doing business there about ten years, re- moved to this city, and has been a leading and reliable business man for the past fifteen years: being a practical tailor of long experience, he has secured a large patronage in custom made work, while his extensive acquaintance with the trade, enables him to get all possible advantages in the selection and purchase of his goods; he carries the largest stock of ready-made clothing to be found in the city, and his straightforward style of business has enabled him to build up a valuable reputation and profitable trade. He married, in 1857, Miss Mary J. Creamer, of Jeffersonville; she having died, he married again, in 1861,
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Miss Sarah J. Honey, also of Jeffersonville; they have three children. Mr. Weimer's residence, No. 304 East High street, is a handsome property, im- proved and built by him; he is member of the Masonic fraternity, and an active, enterprising business man and respected citizen.
WILLIAM WHITE, Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Spring- field. The hardy growths of nature are those that battle the storms, the fiereer the conflict the more robust becomes the trunk, and the deeper down do the roots descend. Man is but a part of nature, and he who has endured the storms of life from childhood, mounting, step by step, the rugged path leading to sue- cess, winning recognition by his talent and force of character, until he has reached one of the highest positions in the gift of his adopted State, is the strong growth, the man of mark. In every generation, a few such men come to the front, and the people recognize thein; they make our laws, mold our insti - tutions and free the minds of the masses from that ignorance that would other- wise trammel its intellectual development. In the foremost rank of this class of men can be safely placed the Hon. William White, Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, who was born in England Jan. 28, 1822; his parents having died when he was quite young, he came to the United States with his uncle, James Dory, in 1831, who took up his residence in Springfield; when William became 12 years of age, he was apprenticed to a cabinet-maker for nine years; after serving six years, he obtained a release from his master, giving his notes for a considerable amount, which he paid by working at his trade in Spring- field; he was instilled with a laudable desire to obtain an education, and to secure the necessary means for this purpose, he devoted all his energies to his trade, working during vacation, and such other spare time as he had: his prin- cipal education was obtained at the Ohio Conference High School, under the tutorship of Chandler Robbins; on completing his studies, he was encouraged by the late Williani A. Rodgers to read law, which he did, managing to earn sufficient means to defray his expenses by teaching school at intervals and serving as night clerk in the post office; in 1846, he was admitted to the bar and immediately taken into partnership by his preceptor, Mr. Rodgers; this relation continued to exist until 1851, when the latter was elected Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Mr. White was elected Prosecuting Attorney at the Octobor election of 1847, and continued to hold that office eight years, receiv- ing large majorities at each succeeding contest; in 1855, without solicitation on his part, he was put in nomination as an independent candidate for the Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, by the members of the bar of his subdivision, embracing the counties of Clark, Greene, Warren and Clinton, and was elected by a large majority over the nominee of the dominant party, his own county giving him an almost unanimous vote; in October, 1861, he was re-elected: on the resignation of Judge Hocking H. Hunter, Judge White, at the request of the bar of his district, was appointed, by Gov. Brough, Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio. in February, 1864, and in October of the same year was elected to the unexpired term; in October, IS68, he was re-elected, and again in 1873 and 1878. At the latter election he received in the county 2392 majority, bo- ing about double the usual party majority; his vote in the State was also the highest of any candidate on the State ticket. He has always been devoted to his profession and regarded as a pre-eminently safe Judge; his reported deci- sions (see Ohio State Reports, Vols. 14 to 26 inclusive, and Vols. 29, 31, 34 and 35, are distinguished for clearness and accuracy, and are justly held in high estrem by his cotemporaries. He married, Oct. 21. 1847, Miss Rachel, daugh- ter of Charles and Margaret Stout. Her family were old residents of Spring- field, and her mother, now upward of $6 years of age, resides with Mrs. J. Warren Keifer, who is also a daughter. Mrs. White is a member of the Second
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Presbyterian Church, and a pleasant, intelligent lady. Of their six children. three are living-Charles R., Mrs. Robert Rodgers and Nora R., all of whom have received the advantages of a liberal education.
W. J. WHITE, Superintendent Springfield Schools. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is the Superintendent of the Public Schools of this city, and by virtue of his position, is one of those who have much to do in the education of the pupils under his supervision. In his department there is a large amount of work, occupying wholly his time, as the 2,266 students in the different schools and the teacher of each department are visited frequently dur- ing each week. Mr. White was born in Muskingum Co., Ohio, April 1, 1844; until his 17th year his education was limited to what the common schools afforded; in the fall of 1861, although a mere boy, he enlisted in the O. V. I .; for five long years he served under his country's flag, during which time he was in every battle in which his regiment was engaged, and was at no time excused from duty during his entire term of service; after his discharge from the service, he took a four years' classical collegiate course in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, graduating in 1870: he married, in the same vear, Miss Bertha A. Butterfield, of Bucyrus, Ohio, who graduated in the class of 1870 from the Ohio Wesleyan Female College, Delaware, Ohio; they removed to M'ana, til., in Isi0, where he was engaged as Principal of the high school, and afterward Superintendent of the schools; in 1874, returning to Ohio, he became connected with the schools of Springfield as Principal of the high school, in which capacity he served one year, when he was elected Superintend- ent of the schools, and has filled this position since with credit and honor. At the last election, June. 1880, he was unanimously elected for two years, thus adding additional luster to his name as an efficient worker in the educational interests of the people. Since his connection with the schools, the enrollment of names has been nearly doubled and the efficiency greatly increased, due, largely, to the untiring efforts of Prof. White and his excellent corps of teach- ers. During the whole of the time since his connection with the schools of this city, he has been County Examiner, and has examined, probably, 2.000 teachers; his efforts have ever been to elevate the standard of the teachers of the county, necessarily increasing the efficiency of the county schools; for six vears he has been a member of the City Board of School Examiners: he is Mas- ter of Clark Lodge, No. 101, A., F. & A. M., and a member of Palestine Com- mandery, and, for a number of years, Sabbath School Superintendent of High Street Methodist Episcopal Church.
ANDREW WHITELEY; resident of the city of Springfield; was born in Harrison Co., Ky., May 31, 1812; his parents were natives of North Carolina and Kentucky: the father. John Whiteley, was born in the former State. and the mother. Christiana Hall, in the latter: the father, though born in the State of North Carolina. was reared in Virginia, going to Kentucky in early manhood; the ancestrial lineage was English on the side of the father, and likewise Eng- lishi on the mother's side, the more remote ancestors. however. on the father's side have been traced back to France. Ireland and Germany, and those of the mother to France. Scotland. Wales. Germany and Spain. The father was married to Christiana, daughter of William Hall, at the house of the latter, some five miles east of Springfield. Ohio (now owned by William Wilson), in the year 1811, and returned to Kentucky, where they remained until 1814. when they came to the Reid neighborhood. some three and a half miles east of Springfield, where he was occupied for two years in teaching school. then permanently located in the vicinity of the Hall farm. He was a man of con- siderable prominence, having been for some years County Commissioner and a Justice of the Peace. The subject of this sketch was united in marriage with
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Nancy C. Nelson, of New England parents, Sept. 24, 1833, to which union there were born six children, viz. : William N., Amos N., Eliza J., Nancy C., Caroline and James B .. all of whom are married and have children. William N. mar- ried Mary McDermett: they have two children; Amos married Josephine E. Ferrell, and has two children: Eliza married Johnson Morton, and has one child; Nancy married W. T. Stillwell, and has one boy; Caroline married Edward Myers. and has one child, and James married Maggie Johnson, and has one girl. Until the year 1852, Mr. Whiteley had devoted his entire attention to farming; then, for the next five years, in connection with farming, he was engaged with his son, William N., in the invention of the reaping and mowing machine, which, as it were, has been wafted by the four winds of heaven to all parts of the civilized globe, and the genius of the inventor heralded to every clime. Since that period, Mr. Whiteley has given his attention to inven- tions. principally, in the line of the same machines- improving the reaping and mowing machines, and the automatic and spring binder; taking out and re-issuing patents, etc., etc. Many of his best inventions are found in the Champion reapers, mowers and binders. The father of our subject was a strong Whig. in whose footsteps his son trod, and on the coming of the Republican monty, hecame an advocate of its principles, to which he adhered until the close of the war. In 1872, he voted for Horace Greeley; in 1576, for Samuel J. Tilden, and in 1880, for Weaver, who, in his opinion, was an npholder and respector of the rights of the laboring classes.
WILLIAM WHITELEY, Springfield. Throughout Clark County the name of Whiteley is a household word, and there are few families more widely known over the State. in fact, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and wherever machinery for farm labor can be utilized, there the product of the inventive genius of the Whiteley family have found a lasting welcome. They come of English stock, who settled in Virginia before the Revolution, William's grand- father, Joseph, with his brother, John Whiteley, serving throughout that strug- gle. for liberty, the latter yielding up his life in that great cause. Joseph raised a large family, John, the father of William, being one of the number, he being born in North Carolina while his parents were on a visit to that State, but always claiming Virginia as the State of his nativity. In 1804, John Whiteley came from Kentucky to Ohio on a prospec ing tour, and again, in 1810, made a like trip, and in the spring of 1811, was married in what is now Clark County, to Christiana Hall, a native of Virginia. of English, German and Scotch extraction, whose parents came to this portion of Ohio at an early day. John and wife went back to Kentucky where he engaged in teaching school, being a man of good education, and there they remained until 1814, when they returned to Clark County, where he continued school-teaching, being one of the early educators in the neighborhood of "Fletcher Chapel;" they raised a fam- ily of seven children, four sons and three daughters, as follows: Andrew, Free- love, William, Abner, Joseph, Nancy and Sarah, the eldest being the father of William N. Whiteley, head of the Champion Works, and the leading spirit iu their growth and development. John and wife lived and died in this county. having done their duty well in the building up of the moral and material inter- ests of the neighborhood, in which they were honored and respected people. The subject of this sketch was born in the eastern part of Springfield Town- ship Jan. 18, 1815, and grew to manhood, working on the home farm; but the whole family being natural inventors, they early turned their attention to the invention and improvement of farm machinery. Beginning in a small way on the farm in the manufacture of plows, and later, mowers and reapers. which have developed into the gigantic manufacturing interests known far and wide as the Champion Company, the history of which will be found in this work.
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William was married. in 1848, to Mary Ann Stickney, daughter John and Sarah Stickney, natives of England. Mrs. Whiteley was born in this county, and has had one child, Mary E., and the family are members of the Methodist Episco- pal Church. Mr. Whiteley has been identified with nearly every manufacturing interest that Springfield can boast of to-day, and has been prime mover in many of them; his time and money have ever been devoted to all classes of public benefits, and few men have done more, according to his means, for the material welfare of his native county, than William Whiteley; charitable and benevolent to all, his generosity in helping his neighbor has been the cause of much financial trouble to himself. vet he has gone on in this path and his indefatiga- ble industry, coupled with his great natural inventive genius, has again attained for him a competency: politically a Republican, he has filled many positions of trust and confidence, and his only desire through life has been to do his duty, benefit his fellow-man, by helping to build up the moral and material interests of his native county, and thereby merit the respect of all good citizens, as well as leave to his family an unsullied character.
WILLIAM N. WHITELEY, manufacturer, Springfield; is a son of Andrew and Nancy (Nelson) Whiteley; was born near Springfield, Aug. 3, 1835. NOTE .- Mr. Whiteley needs no biography for the citizens of Clark Co., his history is synonymous with that of Springfield and its best and greatest inter- ests. His native modesty moved him to request that no personal mention be made of him.
AMOS WHITELEY, manufacturer, Springfield; is a native of Clark County; was born near Springfield in 1838; he spent his boyhood on the farm with his father, Andrew Whiteley, but like his brother, William N. Whiteley, early gave mechanical pursuits nearly his entire attention, spending most of his time in the same workshop, serving an apprenticeship, and thus rendering valuable service to his brother, and assisting in producing the first Champion machine; from the formation of the firm of Whiteley & Fassler and Whiteley, Fassler & Kelly, he was the principal business manager (the firm devoting most of their time to the improving and perfecting of the Champion machines), having charge of the accounting department and traveling salesman, until 1867, when. the Champion Machine Company, the history of which is fully given elsewhere in this work, was organized with Amos Whiteley at its head, since which he has held the office of President of this company; he is also the Treasurer and the General Ticket Agent of the Springfield Southern Railroad Company, hav- ing entire charge of the accounting department; his rare energy and business ability, the economy of his management and the value of his systematic meth- ods, are fully demonstrated by the prosperous condition of the immense inter- ests under his supervision: he is one of the foremost citizens in all public enter- prises; is President of the City Council, and one of the men to whose progres- sive energy and industry is due the development of Springfield. from a country village to one of the leading manufacturing cities of the country; he married, in 1860. Miss Josephine Ferrell. daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Ferrell. She has borne him two children, both of whom were boys, and are receiving a thorough education at Wittenberg College.
WASHINGTON WILSON, retired farmer; P. O. Springfield; son of Michael and Temperance (Judy) Wilson; was born in Greene Co., Ohio, near Fairfield, Oet. 18. 1811; his father was in the war of 1812. came home, took sick and died from disease contracted while in service. Shortly after his death, the mother, with her two children, Washington and Josiah, moved to Clark Co., Ohio, and settled in Harmony Township, where Michael, the youngest child. was born; she was again married; this time to James Turner; she died, in 1850, at the age of 92 years. Washington spent his boyhood days working on the farm
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in summer, and attending school in winter; he taught one term of school when about 20 years old, for $10 per month; he was married, May 22. 1836, to Mary Ann Foreman, daughter of William and Nancy (Johnson) Foreman: they have ien children, viz .: Michael, William J., George W .. Harrison, John J., Addison. Nancy T., Harriet. Mary Ann and Flora. all of whom are married except Addison and Flora. and well-to-do. Mrs. Wilson was born in this county. Feb. 9, 1820; her parents came from Kentucky, and settled in Clark County at an early day. When Washington was 21 years old. he and one of his brothers purchased 500 acres of land, at $3.60 per acre, and afterward, 300 acres more. at $5 per acre; and so on, from time to time. bought different portions of land. ranging in price from $10 to $50 per acre; he was one of the Trustees of Har- mony Township for twelve years, and a member of the School Board of that township some six or eight years; he has, mainly through his integrity and good management, acquired his handsome fortune; he moved to Springfield in IS68, and is pleasantly located. corner Washington and Factory streets. where he and his good wife enjoy the fruits of their labor. Mr. Wilson, his sons and sons-in-law, in ISSO, gave to James A. Garfield ten straight, solid votes. Mr. Wilson has been a life-long Republican.
WILLIAM S. WILSON, Treasurer, Springfield. Mr. Wilson was born in Moorefield Township. Clark Co., Ohio, in 1836; removed to the city of Springfield in 1851; in 1861, enlisted as private in the 71st O. V. I., and re- eulisted in 1864, when the regiment was veteranized; he was promoted, from time to time, through all the intermediate grades, to the office of Captain: he served on the staff of Maj. Gen. Rosseau as Provost Marshal of the District of Middle Tennessee; also on the department staff of the the Department of the Cumberiand as Commissary of Musters: he resigned in October, 1865, holding the last-named staff appointment. In 1880, he was elected Treasurer of Clark County, receiving a larger majority of votes than any of the candidates for the different offices on either the State or county tickets.
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