The history of Hardin county, Ohio, Part 118

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1076

USA > Ohio > Hardin County > The history of Hardin county, Ohio > Part 118

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

A. S. HOON, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born in Columbiana County, Obio, April, 1823. He is a son of John C. and Elizabeth (May) Hoon, both natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. His father came to this county in 1834, and settled in Marion Township, where he was a farmer and also fol- lowed his trade of a tailor. Our subject, the ninth of a family of eleven, re- ceived his education from the common schools, and learned the trade of a cabi- binet-maker. He worked at Kenton at his trade, fifteen years, and for nine years more at the carpenter's trade. In 1872, he came to Liberty Township, and came into possession of sixty acres of land, by a gift from his brother. on Section 28, on which he farmed successfully. In 1844, he married Miss Jeannette Monroe, daughter of Isaac Monroe, of Ross County. They have three children living-Mary, wife of J. B. Fletcher, a tailor in Kenton ; Albert, tailor in Kenton, and Rachel Naoma, wife of George R. Moore, Jr., a hardware merchant in Kenton. Mr. and Mrs. Hoon are members of the Pres- byterian Church in Kenton. In politics, he is a Republican. Mr. Hoon owns town property in Kenton worth $4,000. He has some property left him by his brother, John Hoon, who died at the age of seventy-three years, in 1880, the owner of 130 acres of land ; the latter was a bachelor, a Democrat in politics, and was greatly respected by all his friends.

JEROME HOON, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born in Pennsylvania in 1851. Heisa son of George and Anna Maria Hoon, both natives of Pennsylvania and of German descent. His mother, whose maiden name was Winters, died in Pennsylvania. His father followed teaming the greater part of his life, but also learned the trade of a blacksmith. He came, with Jerome, in 1869, to Hardin County, and settled in Liberty Township ; he is now living with his son. Our subject re- ceived a common school education and learned farming, which has been his occupation through life. He was married, September 8, 1881, to Amanda Newman, a daughter of Eli Newman. They have one child-Ned F. Mr. and

1006

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :

Mrs. Hoon are members of the Evangelical Church. He has been Steward and a Superintendent of the Sabbath school. In politics, he is a Democrat.

WILLIAM HOY, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born July 2, 1820, in Penn- sylvania, and is a son of John S. and Margaret (Gordon) Hoy, the former from New Jersey and of English, and the latter from Pennsylvania and of English and German descent. His father moved with his family, in 1830, to Perry County, Ohio, where he followed farming; he died at the age of eighty-seven years. The mother of our subject died at the age of eighty years. Our sub- ject received his education from the common schools and learned farming in his youth, which occupation he has since followed. He worked for his grand- father Gordon, on the farm, for six years, during which time he was married. In 1849, he came to Liberty Township and settled on Section 31, where he commenced with eighty acres of land, which he cleared himself, and is now the owner of 160 acres of valuable land. He has spent most of his time in rearing sheep, which he finds very profitable. He married Miss Priscilla Guyton, a daughter of Benjamin Guyton, of English descent. Six children blessed this union, five of whom are living-Rebecca E., wife of Eli Anspach, a farmer ; John, a farmer in Kansas ; James, a farmer in Liberty Township ; Margaret, wife of Albert Long; William, deceased ; and Susannah. Mr. Hoy is an advo- cate of temperance and, in politics, is a Democrat.

A. B. HUFF, a dealer in sewing machines, Ada, was born October 17, 1840, in Harrison County, Ohio. He is a son of Reuben and Henrietta (McAdaw) Huff, the former a native of Ohio and German descent, and the latter a native of Pennsylvania, and of Irish descent. Reuben Huff came to Hardin County, Ohio, in 1842, and settled in Kenton, where he lived until 1848, then moved to Huntersville, same county, and kept hotel until 1860. Our subject was brought up in a hotel, and received a common school education; he chose the carpenter trade for his occupation, and worked at it continually from 1862 to 1871. Since 1871, he has been a dealer in sewing machines. In 1861, he married Ellen J. Souder, a daughter of William and Margaret Souder. Her father is of German and her mother of Irish descent. Mr. Souder came to Hardin County in 1861, and engaged in tanning. Mrs. Huff is a member of the Presby- terian Church ; she has had eight children, of whom there are five living-Mary E., John, Earl, Robert P. and Anna. V. In 1862, Mr. Huff enlisted in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry, but was discharged the same year for disability. Mr. Huff is a member of the Odd Fellows society, has held the office of Town Councilman, and has been Marshal of Ada. In politics, he is a Republican.

ROBERT HYNDMAN, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born in Ireland in 1804. His younger days were spent in the old country, where he received his education, and followed farming, and, in 1834, he emigrated to America, and went to Pennsylvania, where he made his living at burning lime. Four years after, he came to this county, and settled on Section 20, in Liberty Township, where he is still residing. He owns eighty acres of land that is now worth $80 per acre, which at the time he bought it, would bring only $2 an acre. In 1841, he mar- ried Martha Kirkland, by whom he had five children-Mary J. ; Rebecca, at home ; John, a plasterer, who served eighteen months in the Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company G, and is now married and living in Ada ; Eliza and R. J. Mrs. Hyndman died in 1864. Mr. and Mrs. Hyndman were mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church, where the former has been an Elder for thirty- six years, and was a Commissioner at the time it was built. Mr. Hyndman was also the Superintendent of the Sabbath school. He is politically a Demo- crat, and has served twelve years as Treasurer of the township, and several years as School Director

WILLIAM IRVINE, carpenter, P. O. Ada, was born in Licking County, Ohio, October 1, 1834. His mother, whose maiden name was Esther Kirk-

1007

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.

land, was born in 1808, in Zanesville. She is the daughter of Samuel Kirkland, who settled in Ohio in 1792, and served in the war of 1812. The father of our subject, Thomas Irvine, was born in Ireland in 1808, and emigrated to America in 1828, settling in Pennsylvania, where for four years he worked in the iron mines. In 1832, he came to Ohio, and settled at first in Licking County, and finally, in 1835, moved with wife and fam- ily to Hardin County. He and his wife are still living, and have a fam- ily of eight children, five of whom are living, and are all married, except. William, the subject of our sketch. William was brought up on a farm, and attended the common schools of his neighborhood, which were common, indeed, so far as the architecture of the school buildings were concerned, which consisted of round logs, greased paper windows, and a fire-place across one end of the building. He also attended, in 1858, two terms at Geneva College, Logan County. He learned in Ada his trade of a carpenter, builder and contractor, and now ranks very high in the business, and also operates, occasionally, in the business of discounting notes, etc. He has lived in Ada the past twenty years, and resides with his parents. John A. Irvine, brother of our subject, was in the Thirty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company K, and was killed in the battle of Chickamauga September 19, 1863. William Irvine is a Republican in politics, and was Councilman of Ada at one time.

AMOS JOHNS (deceased), late cabinet-maker, Ada, was born September 25, 1819, in Ohio, and was a son of George and Mary (Myers) Johns, both na- tives of Pennsylvania, and of German descent. Our subject was educated in the common schools of Kenton. He learned the trade of cabinet- maker, and followed it as his occupation through life. He married, May 16, 1844, Miss Mary Hoon, daughter of John C. and Elizabeth (May) Hoon, both of Pennsylvania-Dutch extraction. Six children have resulted from this union-Margaret J. (deceased), Rachel M. (deceased), Mary E. wife of N. High, Martha E., wife of Henry Phillips, a farmer in Liberty Township; Emma J., wife of Lewis Long, farmer in this county, and Ida L. (deceased). Mrs. Johns is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Johns was a Democrat in politics, and a successful man of business. He died January 12, 1866, deeply mourned by his family.

A. L. JONES, Ada, is a commercial traveler for Butterworth & Co., 28 West Pearl street, Cincinnati, Ohio.

J. W. KECKLER, P. O. Ada, was born in Pennsylvania May 30, 1836. He is a son of Michael and Elizabeth (Stout) Keckler, both natives of Pennsylvania. His parents came to Ohio in 1844, and settled in Marion Coun- ty, where his father followed farming. Our subject was brought up on the farm, and attended the common schools ; he learned farming in his youth, and has pursued that occupation ever since. He was married, in 1858, to Mary Alnord, by whom he had two children-Lennis A., a farmer, and Addison, a. farmer. Mrs. Keckler dicd in 1861. In 1866, Mr. Keckler took for a second wife, Hannah Pumphrey. She is the daughter of John W. and Tacy Pumphrcy. Her mother, whose maiden name was Morrison, was a native of Pennsylvania. Two children have blessed this union-Tacy and Michacl. Mr. and Mrs. Kcckler are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which the former is a Steward, Class Leader and Trustec of the Sabbath school. In 1863, Mr. Keckler enlisted in the Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in Company D. He fought in cleven battles, one of them the noted battle of Resaca, in Georgia, May 15, 1864. He was discharged in Texas November 24, 1865. Mr. Keck- ler has now retired from all business, and lives in Ada.

1008

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES :

ANDREW S. KELLY, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born in Pickaway County, Ohio, January 14, 1830. He is a son of Joseph and Sarah (Shaw) Kelly, the former a native of Ohio and the latter of Pennsylvania. His father followed farming, and had a family of five children, four of whom grew up. Our sub- ject spent his youth on the farm, attending the common schools of Pickaway County. His early years were devoted to teaching music in the schools, but he afterward learned farming, and has since followed it as his occupation. In 1862, he enlisted in Company F, Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served to the close of the war. He was a non-commissioned officer and was with Gen. Sherman on his march to the sea. Mr. Kelly was married, March 27, 1856, to Miss Susannah Yates, who was born in 1836 in Hancock County, Ohio, and is a daughter of Samuel and Margaret Yates. This union has been blessed with ten children, nine of whom are living, viz .: Ira N., George, Margaret E., William H., Sarah B., Samuel M., Joseph A., J. E. and an infant not named. Mrs. Kelly is a member of the M. E. Church. In politics, Mr. Kelly is a Democrat.

JAMES KINDLE, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born March 10, 1854, in Hardin County, Liberty Township. He is a son of Joshua and Rosana (Derry) Kindle, both natives of Perry County, Ohio, and of German and Irish descent. The grandparents on both sides were natives of Virginia. Joshua Kindle, father of our subject, came to Hardin County, when a boy, and followed farming. Our subject received an ordinary education at the common schools, and, for his oc- cupation, learned farming. He is the owner of fifty acres of land on Section 18, in Liberty Township. In 1877, he was married to Eliza Jackson, a daughter of John and Catherine Jackson, of Irish and German descent, who came to this county in 1828. Her father is in good circumstances, and is a prominent farmer near Kenton. Our subject has had three children by this union- Catherine A., Io Maud and Nancy Luetta. Mrs. Kindle is a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Kindle is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Grange association.

AMOS KLINGLER, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born in Perry County, Ohio, July 12, 1842. He is a son of D. A. and Sarah (Brosius) Klingler. Both parents are natives of Ohio, and are of German lineage. . His father came to Hardin County in 1848, and settled in Liberty Township, which at that time was all a wilderness, where he followed farming the rest of his life. Our sub- ject was brought up on the farm, and received a limited education from the common schools. In his youth he chose the occupation of farmer, and has pur- sued it ever since. He now owns a farm of eighty acres of well-improved land. In 1862, he married Lucinda M. Greenawalt, a daughter of John and Mary Greenawalt, the former a prominent and wealthy farmer of Allen County. Mr. and Mrs. Klingler are both members of the Reformed Church. Mr. Klingler is a Democrat in politics. In 1879, he was the President of the board that drained Hog Creek Marsh. He is a Trustee and Deacon in the church, in which he is also a Sabbath school teacher. He is a member of the Grange society, No. 909, of Liberty Township.

R. H. KLINGLER, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born in Perry County, Ohio, May 23, 1844. He is a son of David and Sarah (Proshia) Klingler. Our subject, the second child of a family of eighteen, received his educa- tion in this county and learned farming for his occupation. He also worked at the shoe-maker's trade, but only continued at it for a year and a half. He enlisted in 1862 in the One Hundred and Eighteenth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company A, and served till the close of the war. He was always ready for duty, fought in fourteen battles and was discharged at Salisbury, N. C. In 1868, he married Margaret Fisher, a daughter of

1009

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.

David Fisher, of German lineage. They have six children, viz., Rosetta, William L., David E., Charles E., Elva L. and Cora E. Mrs. Klingler is a member of the Lutheran Church and Mr. Klingler of the Reformed Church, in which he has been a Deacon. He is a member of the Grange Association, a Democrat in politics and is a successful business man.

HENRY KRIDLER, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born February 24, 1833, in Trumbull County, Ohio; his mother, whose maiden name was Thorn, was born in Virginia. His father, Andrew Kridler, was born in Pennsyl- vania and was of German descent. His grandfather on his father's side - emigrated from Germany and settled in Pennsylvania, where he followed farming. The father of our subject was also a farmer, and came to Ohio in 1838, settling in Washington Township when the latter was all a wil- derness and abounded in deer and wild turkeys. For a long while the fam- ily had a struggle for existence, the only article of food for days and weeks being potatoes. Our subject was reared on the farm and received a limited education. He learned farming in his youth, and has followed it for his occupation. In 1856, he married Mary Jane Beard, born in the year 1836, in Washington Township, Hardin County. She is the daughter of Sidney Beard. and is of English lineage. They have two children, Margaret Jane, now the wife of A. M. Barlow, a farmer, and Rachel Ann. Mr. Kridler is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Grange association.

CHARLES D. LANDON, farmer, P. O. Ada, was born December 10, 1847, in Portage County, Ohio. He is a son of James and Ruth (Dudley) Landon, both natives of Connecticut and of English descent. His father, a carpenter and farmer, came to Ohio in 1852 and settled in Liberty Town- ship. Our subject received his education at the common schools, and se- lected the occupation of farmer, which he has followed through life. In 1868, he went to Michigan, but returned in 1870. He was married in 1875 to Sarah M. McElroy, a daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Morrison) McElroy, the former of Irish and the latter of Scotch and Irish descent. Two children have blessed this union-Eva L. and Grace A. Mr. Landon is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In politics, he is a Re- publican. He is the owner of a fine farm of thirty acres, and a house and three lots, all secured by his own exertions.

HENRY S. LEHR, President of the Northwestern Ohio Normal School, Ada, was born March 8, 1838, in Weathersfield, Trumbull County, Ohio. His father, George J. Lehr, was a native of Pennsylvania. His mother, Saloam Lessig Lehr, was a native of the same State. In 1836, his father moved to Trumbull County, Ohio, with his family of ten children, and on his arrival found his cash account to be three shillings. This state of penury had been brought about by his kind-heartedness and the rascal- ity of his neighbors. He had been a man of considerable property, but had lost it all by bailing. Hearing his father recount his sad fexperience seemed not to harden young Henry's heart against the appeals of his neigh- bors, and he has suffered loss in the same way. Thus reduced, the father of our subject began life in Ohio. Finding but little work of a remunera- tive character, and sickness overtaking his family, hardships followed, but with his strong power of will, and being naturally ambitious, he struggled against poverty. Not finding sufficient work here, he removed, first to Stark, then to Wayne County, where he set up a loom and began weaving as a trade, with Henry his spool boy. Thus employed, Henry was unable to attend school, until he was twelve years of age, and then attended very irregularly, and, not being able to speak a word of English, made but

1010

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES:

little progress. He now began to exercise a well-directed economy and shrewd business tact, which he has maintained throughout. Here, too, his indomitable will, which has borne him up through poverty and, finally, to such an exalted position, began to show itself. He resolved to educate himself, and with the money earned by gathering chestnuts, he purchased some books, and in the next four years got about the amount of schooling that one year's steady work would have given him. At the age of sixteen, we find him teaching school at $14 per month, and boarding around. In the spring of 1855, he attended the Union School at Salem, Ohio. In the fall, he engaged a district school and taught five months, at $18 per month. In the spring of 1856, he entered Mount Union College, where he continued until 1863, teaching in winter and attending the college in summer. He boarded himself, often living on mush alone. He did his own washing and ironing-his irons are now to be seen in the Normal Museum. His poverty and energy led him to overwork himself, often sleeping but two hours out of the twenty-four. This kind of working he has kept up all his life, and it will take from us at a comparatively early age one of the brightest educators the country has known. In 1861, he twice offered to enlist in the Union army, but was each time refused by the Surgeon. His patriotism was so great that here again we find his will exerting itself, when he a third time applied and was received into the Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served four months and was honorably discharged. He subse- quently enlisted in the One Hundred and Seventy-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was appointed Orderly Sergeant of his company, took sick and was sent to the hospital, where, after he recovered, he remained in the capacity of Hospital Steward until the close of the war. The struggle for the Union having closed, we find our subject at the age of twenty-seven, with the great problem- What shall my life work be? staring him in the face. Medicine was the choice of his father, and in obedience to his wishes, Henry commenced that study. Had he followed that course, Har. din County could not to-day boast of the largest school in Ohio. But, for- tunately, after eighteen months' study he decided to reject it and follow the inclinations of his mind and make teaching his life work. His main objection to teaching as a profession was the same that has driven much of the brightest talent from the teaching profession, that of being, under a local board and subject to removal at the caprice of unscrupulous men, who allow their private feelings, rather than the common good, to govern them. But our subject, after mature deliberation, decided to avoid this condition by founding a school and managing it according to his own ideas in which a private school should be conducted. To do this required, first, money; second, a good location. In March, 1866, he began his travels for the purpose of meeting the second requirement.

After traveling over nearly all of Northern Ohio and Indiana and Southern Michigan, he con- cluded to locate at Ada, Ohio, then Johnstown. At that time it was but a very small village, what is now the central portion of town being then a farm. Here he engaged to teach the village school at $3 per day, with the privi- lege of the house free of rent, to conduct a select school when not in public use. On October 30, 1866, he was united in marriage to Miss Albina J. Hoover, of Stark County, Ohio. He now bought property in Ada and de- termined to make it his home. He chose it as the location to found a school, for to him quite satisfactory reasons, among which were the purity of the air and salubrity of the climate. His ability as a teacher was so marked that this then new and wild country began to send her rough and untutored

1011

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.

students by the score. Soon the schoolhouse was entirely too small to accom- modate the many who were seeking instruction at his hands, and the citizens of Ada and vicinity agreed to assist in erecting a building suitable for conducting a normal school. In the fall of 1870, Prof. Lehr made a proposition to the citizens that if they would give $5,000 for a suitable building he would give a like amount. The citizens accepted the proposition, and on the 23d of November the contract was closed. In order to meet the amount he had agreed to pay, Prof. Lehr admitted as partners in the school J. G. Park and B. F. Neisse, each of whom had some capital. In July, 1871, having passed the required examination of Mount Union College, he had conferred on him the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and the 14th of August, 1871, the normal school was formally opened with an enrollment of one hundred and forty-seven students. . The first year, Prof. Lehr superintended the Union School, did most of the teaching in the normal, was President, Secretary and Treasurer, and did more real estate business than any other man in town. The school steadily increased, until he was compelled to give up the Union School. When the writer first knew him in the spring of 1877, he was filling the office of President, Secretary and Treasury, teaching ten hours a day and doing quite a good deal of garden farming. He would rise at 4 A. M., work in his garden until 6:30 and then teach until 9 P. M. He would then see after some business, go home and answer correspondence or work on catalogue, often until 1 A. M., the writer having corrected proof with him at that hour. Thus he has worked through his whole life, and being a man of slight physique, very nervous temperament and suffering from spinal affections, that we have seen him stricken down in the class room and have to be carried home, is it strange that to-day, at the age of forty- five years he should be failing fast? Stranger that after all this, he should still be able to manage a school with an annual enrollment of over 2,000 different students and an average attendance of 1,000, manage successfully a farm of over 300 acres and still find time to perform his duties as a citi- zen and Christian man. In the winter of 1877-78, he proposed to the cit- izens of Ada to erect an additional building, as the one in use was too small to acommodate the number of students then occupying it and the growing wants of the school. Legislation was secured, authorizing the citizens to tax themselves to the extent of $20,000, providing three-fourths of the le- gally qualified voters accede. The vote being taken, stood 329 for the tax to twenty-three against it. On the 22d of June, 1878, the contract was awarded and the building, a most magnificent structure, was completed in August, 1879. For the next two years, the school increased 40 per cent on the pre- vious year and the third year 30 per cent, so that at the present writing, April 23, 1883, there is an enrollment of over 1,000, with an annual en- rollment of 2,200. The accommodations are again inadequate, and the con- tract is already let for a third building, to be completed the coming Octo- ber. Thus Prof. Lehr, by his hard work and self-sacrificing spirit, has built up the largest and most prosperous school in the State. Until within the last four years, the school yielded but a meager income, sometimes scarcely being self-sustaining; yet by hard work, economy and good trad- ing he has succeeded in accumulating considerable property. He is con- mon in dress, courteous and jovial in social relations, always witty and making many humorous speeches to the students; he never scolds, but con- trols that vast assembly of students from all parts of the country, and nec- essarily some bad ones, by kindness and has the profound respect of all. He is liberal in his views, a brilliant conversationalist, never forgetting a

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

The history of Hardin county, Ohio, Part 118

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1076

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1076