BIOGRAPHIES

Source: 
History of Allen County, Ohio
And Representative Citizens
Edited and Compiled by
Charles C. Miller, Ph. D.
Assisted by
Dr. Samuel A. Baxter
Lima, Ohio
Published by Richmond & Arnold
George Richmond; G. R. Arnold
Chicago, Ill
1906

	HON. JOHN E. RICHIE, formerly judge of the Court of Common Pleas and now the senior member of the well-known law firm of Richie & Leland of Lima, was born in Crawford County, Ohio, Mar. 28, 1838, and is a son of Mirabeau F. and Sarah (Eaton) Richie.      Mirabeau F. Richie was born in Pennsylvania but came to Ohio when he was but 12 years of age, and settled in Columbiana County, removing in 1839 to Van Wert County.  His family consisted of 10 children, seven of whom still survive.      John E. Richie was a babe of one year when his parents settled in Van Wert County.  He was a student in the first schoolhouse ever built in Harrison township and in youth attended school when not engaged in work upon the farm.  He completed the school course before he was 18 years old, and thereafter, until he reached manhood. he continued to assist his father on the home farm in the summer season, while in the winter he taught school.  Arriving at manhood’s estate, he began the study of the law, his reading being done under the supervision of Edward A. Ballard, now of Denver, Colorado, a well-known former attorney of Allen County.  He was admitted to the bar in 1867 and prior to coming to Lima practiced law for six months at Bluffton.      Since locating in Lima, the subject of this sketch has become one of the leading practitioners before all the courts and has filled offices of responsibility.  For three years he served as justice of the peace, and was elected city solicitor when the village was given its city charter.  In the fall of 1888 he was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas and served in that position from February, 1889. to February, 1899. Since retiring from the bench, Judge Richie has given his attention to a large and important practice in partnership with F. F. Leland.      In 1861 our subject was married to Margaret J. McCoy, a native of Van Wert County, Ohio.  To this union were born five children, as follows: Idumea, wife of F. F. Leland, his present law partner; Willis A., a prominent architect of Spokane, Washington, who was architect of the State Capitol of Washington and all the court houses around Puget Sound; Walter J., junior member of the firm of Richie & Richie; Bertha, wife of Hugh L. Harrod, a traveling salesman, with home in Lima; and Frank, deceased at the age of two years.      The second marriage of Judge Richie was contracted with Mrs. S. Louise (Van Arsdale) Wyker, who by her first husband had one daughter. Lilian.  Judge Richie with his family attends the Presbyterian Church.  The beautiful family residence is situated at No. 541 West Wayne street, while Judge Richie’s offices are in the Holland Block.      Politically, Judge Richie is identified with the Democratic party.  Fraternally he is associated with the Knights of Pythias and the Odd Fellows.  He has long been looked upon as one of the city’s most public-spirited men; one proof of this attitude was his gift in 1892 of a tract of 10 acres for the use of Lima College.  His portrait accompanies this sketch. Source:  History of Allen County, Ohio, Publ. by Richmond & Arnold, Chicago, IL - 1906 - Page 429
	J. C. RILEY, one of Lima's prominent business men, an extensive oil producer, and organizer of the "International Fire Alarm System" in Ohio, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1865, and is a son of the late Michael Riley who for many years was interested in the large contracting firm of Smith & Williamson, of Cincinnati.  Mr. Riley is a nephew of John Charles Riley, a very prominent politician of that city, ex-postmaster and a member of the wholesale firm of McHenry & Company.      Our subject was reared and educated at Cincinnati and there began his business career with the wholesale men’s furnishing goods house of Liebunan & Schloss.  After four years with this well-known house, he entered the traffic department of the old Cincinnati Southern Railroad for a period of five years.  Following this preparation, his promotion to the positions of chief clerk and later to general superintendent of the traffic and transportation departments of the C., H, & D. Railway was rapid.  For 12 years, he had entire charge of the loss and damage claim department.  Early in April, 1889, he came to Lima to take charge of the Lima terminals, having the title of general agent, and he continued with this railroad until June 1, 1893.      At the above date Mr. Riley became traffic manager for the Manhattan Oil Company and continued with them until their sale to the Standard Oil Company, in 1900.  Since then he has been engaged almost exclusively in the oil producing business.  He is associated with J. R. Keenan, of Marion, Indiana, and they have 45 oil-wells in operation in Grant County, Indiana.  He has been much interested in the new magnetic system of fire alarms, has acquired the patents of an automatic system and has just organized a company for its introduction.  He is a man of great business enterprise and possesses a vast amount of American push and energy.      Mr. Riley was married on June 27, 1898, to Mrs. Peter Smith, who is a daughter of John E. McMaher, one of the early contractors of Chicago, who built one of the first tunnels under Lake Michigan to the cribs and had the contract for almost all of the early brick paving done in that city.  Mr. Riley is a member of the Elks and of the Knights of Columbus. Source:  History of Allen County, Ohio, Publ. by Richmond & Arnold, Chicago, IL - 1906 - Page 429
Hon. Theodore D. Robb	HON. THEODORE D. ROBB Source:  History of Allen County, Ohio, Publ. by Richmond & Arnold, Chicago, IL - 1906 - Page 469
	FRANKLIN ROUSH, owner and proprietor of the "Clover Leaf Farm," which is situated in section 28, Bath township, was born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, Oct. 1, 1838, and is a son of Henry and Elizabeth (Morehead) Rouse.      The Roush family originated in Germany.  George Rouse, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Union County, Pennsylvania.  There his son Henry was born Dec. 25, 1803.  He died here at the age of 78 years.  During a few years of his early manhood he followed the trade of blacksmith, but the remainder of his life was spent in agricultural pursuits.  He was at one time captain of a company of State militia.  Politically he was a Democrat; in religion, a Lutheran.  He was a hard-working man, honest and upright and left 100 acres of good land to his family.  He married Elizabeth Morehead, who belongs to a Pennsylvania-Dutch community.  She died when our subject was only four years old, the mother of these children:  George, of Michigan; John, of Lima; Joseph, of Macon, Georgia; Katherine (Copeland) of Lima; William, who died in Kansas; Henry, of Iowa; Franklin, of this sketch; Philip, of Allen County; and Jacob, of Illinois.  The father married again and the children of his second union were:  Theodore, of Lima; Jane (Boose), deceased; Emma (Roberts), of Bath township; and Ephraim, of Bath township.      Franklin Roush remained in Pennsylvania until his father moved to a farm in Bath township, about 1851.  Being 13 years old at that time, he was able to give considerable assistance about the farm, where he remained until he was 17 years old.  He then went to Iowa where he stayed one year.  At that time a large part of the present populous State was nothing but a wilderness and where he stayed while in Iowa was so secluded that it could only be reached by ox teams.  It took him a month to make the trip over the 1,000 miles of road.  He worked in the wilderness for one year and then turned eastward and proceeded as far as Illinois, where he took the cars and came home.  Two years he spent here and then went back to Illinois and spent a summer, and in the following spring, when the Civil War broke out, he was one of the first in his neighborhood to offer his services to his country.      Mr. Roush enlisted in April, 1861, from Greenville, Darke County, Ohio, entering Company K, 11th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., under Captain Newkirk.  During his four months of service he was not out of the State, but before he was discharged he assisted in the building of Camp Dennison.  He was then taken sick and for a whole year he was in poor health, or he would have immediately re-entered the army.  He farmed for a time but in the spring of 1865 he again enlisted, this time in Company D, 192nd Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., under Captain Lybrand. and was sent with his regiment to guard Harper’s Ferry.  He was mustered out on Sept. 1, 1865.  For the following 12 years Mr. Roush lived at Lima, working at first for others; but later establishing a business of his own in the manufacture of wood stirrups and saddle trees.  For three years he was in partnership with Messrs. King and Day, and the business was prosperous, furnishing employment for 29 hands, 1876 being the banner year.  Subsequently Mr. Roush bought out his partners and continued the business alone for a number of years.      After disposing of his interests at Lima, he removed to the homestead farm which he operated for two and a half years.  In 1880 he bought his present farm of 142½ acres in section 28, Bath township.  He named his farm “Clover Leaf” and for six years he ran the “Clover Leaf Dairy.” building up a great reputation for his products.  His land is very valuable for all purposes.  Oil has been found here, and of the 10 wells that have been sunk six are in active operation.  He is engaged in general farming and stock-raising, but also enjoys an income from a fine stone quarry on the place and runs a crusher to prepare stone for road purposes.  He is a man of a great deal of energy and understands how to turn all his advantages to excellent account.      In 1862 Mr. Roush was married to Mahala Harvey, of Allen County, who is a daughter of George and Nancy Harvey, and they have a fine family of children, named as follows:  Willis, living at home; John F., of California, who has one son; Bertha Ellen, who married Charles Mumaugh, of Bath township and has six children; Araminta, living at home; William, a traveling salesman, who has one child; Mary, living at home; Alanson George, of Cleveland; Oliver S., of Lima, who has one child; James Delbert, of Cleveland, who has two children; Ina Pearl, who married Harry Lewis and has one son; and Grace May, living at home.  The last named, the 11th member.  of the family, shares this distinction with both her mother and grandmother.      Mr. Roush has always been a Democrat.  and on numerous occasions he has been elected to office.  He has been township trustee for six years and has been assessor, councilman and a school official in Lima and in Bath township.  He is one of the comrades of Mart Armstrong Post, No. 202, G. A. R., at Lima.  For a member of years he has been a member of the Christian Church, of which he is one of the deacons.      Mr. Roush is a man of sterling character and is truly representative of the best type of Allen County farmers and first-class citizens. Source:  History of Allen County, Ohio, Publ. by Richmond & Arnold, Chicago, IL - 1906 - Page 473
	W. E. RUDY, the veteran automobile dealer of Lima, was born in Allen County 38 years ago and has been a resident of the city of Lima for the past 15 years.  Mr. Rudy established a new line of business for Lima when he opened his garage and entered into the sale of automobiles, bringing the first machine to this county. He carries, in addition, a complete line of bicycle sundries and a good line of bicycles.      Mr. Rudy grew to manhood in Allen County and enjoyed the advantage of a college education, having taken the scientific course in the Ohio Normal University at Ada, from which he was graduated.  Two years of practical work in teaching followed, when he became a "knight of the grip" and for five years was salesman for a bicycle company, traveling over Ohio, Pennsylvania, and a part of New York in his eastern Territory, and through Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma in the West.  In 1890 he settled in Lima and engaged in retailing automobiles and bicycles, his business growing to such an extent that it necessitated enlarged quarters, when he erected his garage, a large building 100 by 50 feet, which is located on Elizabeth street, near the Postoffice—a splendid site and a splendid business.      Mr. Rudy was married in 1892 to Anna Doolittle, of Pennsylvania, by whom he has two bright children—Mildred and Marcus.  Mr. Rudy is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church while his wife is a Presbyterian, was a member of the Lima City Council for two years and is always ready to lend his hearty support to any movement of utilitarian import.  Fraternally, he is connected with the Elks, the Red Men and the Odd Fellows. Source:  History of Allen County, Ohio, Publ. by Richmond & Arnold, Chicago, IL - 1906 - Page 580

NOTES: