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Source:
A Centennial Biographical History
of
Richland and Ashland County, Ohio
- ILLUSTRATED -
A. J. Baughman, Editor
Chicago
The Lewis Publishing Co.
1901
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)
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1901 BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX >
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ELZA SHEETS
is one of the prosperous farmers of Richland county, now
being in charge of the Kling farm. He was
born in Ashland county, Ohio, Jan.28, 1856, and is a son
of Samuel and Emaline (McCready) Sheets.
His grandparents, Joseph and Nancy Sheets, came
to the Buckeye state from Virginia after their marriage
and took up their abode in Ashland county, where the
grandfather purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty
acres. Upon that place the city of Ashland has
since been built. He was successful in his
business affairs and his energetic prosecution of his
farm work brought to him a very desirable competence.
He became one of the influential residents of Ashland
county and was a active member of the Presbyterian
church, in which for many ears he held office. All
who knew him respected him for his sterling worth.
He honesty was proverbial and he bore an unassailable
reputation. The father of our subject was born in
Ashland county in 1828, and was there reared and
married, after which he began farming on his father's
land. About 1867 he removed to Richland
county, purchasing the old Patrie farm of
one hundred and sixty acres in Mifflin township.
There he made his home for ten years, when he sold that
property and removed to Cleveland, where he lived
retired for four years. Then he returned to
Richland county and bought forty-five acres of the old
Lambright farm in Monroe township, having
since that time made it his place of residence. In
his political views he has long been a Republican and is
a member of the Presbyterian church. He married
Miss Emaline McCready, who was born in
Ashland county, Ohio, about 1835, a daughter of
John and Sarah (Carter) McCready, who came to
Ohio from Pennsylvania and were among the early settlers
of Ashland county. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheets
were born four children, all of whom are yet living,
namely: Elza; John, at home;
Loren S., who is engaged in the flour and feed
business in Cleveland, Ohio; and James, who is a
partner of his brother Loren.
Elza Sheets, whose name forms the caption
of this review, spent his childhood days with his
parents, and to the common-school system of his native
county he is indebted for the educational privileges
which he received. On attaining his majority he
came to Richland county, where for three years he was
employed as a farm hand. In 1879 he was united in
marriage to Miss Alice Kling, daughter of
Ephraim and Lucinda Kling, and soon afterward he
took charge of the Kling farm, which he
has since successfully managed and operated. His
business methods are progressive and commendable and in
all his dealings he is strictly honorable. He is a
member of the Lutheran church and in his political
affiliations is a Republican. He belongs to Pomona
Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, and enjoys the high
esteem of all with whom business or social relations
have brought him in contact.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 652 |
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HENRY E. SHEETS.
Of the "art preservative of arts," Henry Engene
Sheets is a representative, being the well-known
proprietor of the Shelby Republican. He was born
in Ashland, Ohio, on the 18th of March, 1860, and is a
son of Solomon and Christine (Weisinstein) Sheets.
The first named is a photographer, with a studio in this
city, and J. C. is engaged in the practice of
dentistry here.
Mr. Sheets, of this review, completed his
public-school education in the high school of Ashland,
and afterward continued his studies at Wooster (Ohio)
University. Since 1887 he has been connected with
the newspaper business. In 1890, at Great Falls,
Montana, he began the publication of a paper known as
the Industrial, and continued as its editor and
proprietor for four years when he sold out. He
then became identified with the Pittsburg Dispatch, of
Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, but after a year he came to
Shelby and purchased the old Richland County Republican,
which was published by William Tait. He
became its owner in December, 1896, and changed its name
to the Shelby Republican. the paper has a
circulation of about fourteen hundred and upholds the
principles of the grand old party. Mr. Sheets
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to
Ashland Lodge, No. 151. He is well known in
Shelby, where he is recognized as an earnest advocate of
all measures calculated to prove of benefit to the city
along any of the lines that contribute to the welfare
and happiness of men.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 484 |
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JOSEPH SHEETS,
a prominent farmer residing on section 15, Montgomery
township, is one of Ashland county's native sons and a
representative of one of her oldest and most honored
families, whose identification with her his tory dates
from the earliest development of the county. He
was born on the farm where he now resides Nov. 15, 1841,
and is a grandson of Joseph Sheets, Sr., a native
of Steubenville, Ohio, and one of the first settlers of
Ashland. He was a tailor by trade, but bought the
South Ashland farm and turned his attention to
agricultural pursuits. He became widely and
favorably known throughout the county, and was an elder
in the Presbyterian church, in the work of which he took
a prominent part. He died at the age of seventy
four years. His ancestors were originally from
Germany.
William Sheets, the father of our
subject, was the first white male child born in Ashland
village, his birth occurring Jan. 1, 1818. He grew
to manhood on the frontier and was educated in the
schools of Ashland. In 1840 he located on the farm
now owned and occupied by our subject, and followed
farming there until his retirement from active labor,
his present home being in Albion, this county.
During the Civil war, in November, 1861, he enlisted in
Company H. Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, which
was President Garfield's regiment.
He was detailed as assistant quartermaster and remained
in the service three years. Although he
participated in many hard-fought battles, he fortunately
was never wounded, and at the close of his term of
enlistment he was honorably discharged at Camp Chase,
Columbus, Ohio. He is now an honored member of the
Grand Army of the Republic, and is a stanch supporter of
the Republican party. He, too, is an active worker
and prominent member of the Presbyterian church. and is
held in high regard by all who know him. In early
life he married Miss Mary Swinford,
a native of Union county, Pennsylvania, who came to this
county when young and died at the age of seventy-seven
years. Her father, Jacob Swinford,
was a native of Union county, Pennsylvania, and a farmer
by occupation.
Joseph Sheets is the oldest of a family
of seven children, six sons and one daughter, all of
whom are still living, the others being Alford M.,
a resident of Ashland; Almon, of Mansfield, Ohio;
Eli. of Albion, Ohio; Charles, of Van
Wert, Ohio; John, of Claypool, Indiana; and
Emma, wife of Orlando Mancherman, of
Montgomery township, Ashland county.
Our subject has spent his entire life upon the old
homestead where he now lives, and was educated in the
district schools of the neighborhood. He early
acquired an excellent knowledge of all kinds of farm
work, but his labors were interrupted during the Civil
war by his enlistment, in February, 1865, in Company A,
One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
with which he served until the close of the war, being
honorably discharged at Camp Chase. He has since
purchased the farm of his father, and in its operation
has met with excellent success. It consists of two
hundred and forty acres, mostly under cultivation and
well improved. Mr. Sheets is also
engaged in stock-raising, and is a stockholder in the
Ashland canning and preserving factory and the
Montgomery clay plant located on the farm of D. H.
Foss. He is an energetic and progressive
business man, and is thoroughly reliable in all
transactions.
In June, 1864, Mr. Sheets was married, in
this county, to Miss Anna C. Shreffler, who was
born in Center county, Pennsylvania, in June, 1842, and
was nine years old when brought to this county by her
parents, William and Christina (Hainter) Sheffler,
also natives of Center county. Pennsylvania.
Her father was a cabinetmaker and undertaker, but in
this county he followed farming, making his home in
Orange township. He had two daughters. but the
younger, Mrs. Susan Crivling, is
now deceased, and Mrs. Sheets is the only
member of the family now living. To our subject
and his wife were born five children, namely: John,
at home; Ida, the wife of William Grinemyer,
of Ashland: Bertha, deceased; Minnie
Zimmerman and Laydoit, both at home.
Mr. Sheets and his family hold membership
in the Congregational church, and he is now serving as a
trustee of the same. The Republican party has
always found in him a stanch supporter of its
principles, and he is a member of Andrews Post, No. 132,
G. A. R., of Ashland, Department of Ohio. He is a
man of recognized ability and stands high in the
community where he has always made his home.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 732 |
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SAMUEL SHEETS
has passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey
and receives the respect which should ever be accorded
to one of advanced years whose life has been
straightforward and whose actions have been manly and
sincere. There is much in the career of Samuel
Sheets that is worthy of emulation, and as one of
the leading and influential residents of Monroe township
he well deserves mention in this volume.
A native of Ashland county, Ohio, he was born on the
16th of May, 1827, and is one of the seven children of
Joseph and Nancy (Harker) Sheets. The
father was born- in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1790, and in
early life learned the tailor's trade. On leaving
the place of his nativity he removed to western Virginia
and thence came to Ohio, locating in what is now Ashland
county, but was then a part of Richland county.
Here he purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land,
on which the town of South Ashland has since been built.
He erected the third residence in Ashland county and was
one of the honored pioneer settlers who aided in laying
broad and deep the foundation of the present prosperity
and progress of this section of the state. He
purchased the land for a dollar per acre and sold it for
two hundred dollars. Upon the farm which he
developed and improved he spent his remaining days and
acquired a handsome competence through the conduct of
his business affairs. He voted with the Republican
party, believing that its principles contained the best
elements of good government and that their adoption
would greatly promote the welfare of the nation.
He was a member of the Presbyterian church, took an
active part in its work and in that faith died in 1866.
Four of his seven children are yet living, namely:
William, a farmer of Ashland county; Martha,
the widow of S. S. Southerland, of Ashland
county; Sarah, the wife of Michael
McLaughlin, of California; and Samuel.
The last named spent his boyhood days in the usual
manner of farmer lads, being early trained to habits of
industry and economy and to the work of the fields.
The common schools afforded him his educational
privileges, and at the age of nineteen he joined the
Argonauts who started for California in search of the
golden fleece. The journey was made overland, and
for two years he remained upon the Pacific slope,
returning by way of the isthmus route.
In 1852 Mr. Sheets was united in marriage
to Miss Martha E. McCreedy, a native of Ashland
county and a daughter of John and Sarah McCreedy.
He then purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land a
mile and a half northwest of Hayesville and devoted his
time to farming there until 1864, when he became the
owner of the Royer farm of one hundred and
sixty acres in Mifflin township. Upon that place
he resided for fourteen years, when he disposed of the
property and removed to Cleveland, where he was engaged
in the flour and feed business for about five years.
He was successful in that undertaking and established a
good trade, but his health failed him and he turned over
the business to his sons, while he again sought a home
in Richland county, purchasing a small farm of
forty-five acres, upon which he now resides. He is
practically living retired, enjoying a rest which he has
truly earned and richly deserves.
Mr. and Mrs. Sheets became the parents of four
children: John, at home; Loren. who is in
the flour and feed business in Cleveland: Elza. a
farmer of Monroe township; and James, who is
associated with his brother in Cleveland. Mr.
Sheets is an advocate of Republican principles,
having voted with that party since its organization.
He belongs to the Presbyterian church and his life has
been guided by his Christian belief. He is one of
the well known men of the county, respected for his
sterling qualities, and he deserves great credit for his
success in life, as it is the result of his own efforts.
His enterprise, strong determination and careful
management have been the means of enabling him to
overcome obstacles, and he has worked his way upward
until he is now numbered among the substantial citizens
of his community.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 541 |
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AARON SMITH.
Among the pleasantest rural homes of Monroe township is
that of Aaron Smith on section 5. In all
its appointments his well-improved and highly cultivated
farm indicates the progressive spirit, enterprise and
good business ability of the owner, who is justly
numbered among the most skillful and thorough
agriculturists of his native township.
Mr. Smith was born on the farm where he now
resides, May 23, 1847, a son of Jacob and Margaret (Barkheimer)
Smith, natives of Bedford paternal grandfather,
Henry Smith, was one of the prominent farmers of
that county, where he spent his entire life, his father,
a native of Germany, having located there at an early
day. In the county of his nativity Jacob Smith
was reared and married, and about 1830 came to Ohio in
company with Samuel and David Barr, who had first
choice of the three quarter-sections of land bought by
them, leaving to Mr. Smith the farm now
owned by our subject. Later it proved to be the
one he would have selected, as it had plenty of water
and other advantages. To the improvement and
cultivation of his place he devoted his energies until
called from this life, and in his labors met with most
excellent success. Besides his property here he
owned two quarter-sections of land in De Kalb county,
Indiana, where some of his sons settled after attaining
their majority. Religiously he was a member of the
Dunkard church, and died in that faith July 6, 1863,
while his wife died Aug. 27, 1877. In their family
were nine children, those living being Fannie,
the widow of Jonathan Smith, of Ashland
county; Henry, a farmer of De Kalb county,
Indiana; Mary, the wife of Jackson
Balliet, a farmer of the same county; Levi,
a resident of Madison township. this county: Aaron,
our subject; John and Frederick, both
farmers of De Kalb county, Indiana; and Susannah,
the wife of Hiram McCreary, a gardener of
Hudson, Michigan.
Aaron Smith is indebted to the common
schools of Richland county for his educational
advantages. He remained at home, aiding in the
work of the farm until twenty-one years of age, when he
apprenticed himself to the carpenter's trade, which he
followed until 1874, when he purchased the old homestead
and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.
In I884 he built his present substantial brick
residence, and has made many other valuable and useful
improvements upon the place, converting it into one of
the model farms of the community. He purchased the
Willis Hunt farm of one hundred
acres in Mifflin township, in 1899, and now owns both
places.
In 1864 Mr. Smith was united in marriage
with Miss Lavinie Ohl, a native of
Ashland county, Ohio, and a daughter of Stephen
Ohl, who came to this state from Pennsylvania
with his parents when a boy, and was one of the
prominent farmers of Ashland county. The five
children born to Mr. and Mrs. Smith are Ursula,
the wife of A. W. Darling, a farmer of Monroe
township, this county; Givannah, a farmer of the
same township;
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 473 |
| |
DANIEL SMITH
owes his success in life to his own efforts; he had no
inherited fortune nor influential friends to aid him,
and all that he has acquired has come to him in return
for his labor. He now follows farming in
Worthington township. A native of Stark county,
Ohio, he was born in September, 1834. His father,
Henry Smith, was probably a native of
Pennsylvania, but was reared in Stark county, and about
1840 came to Richland county, where he purchased a farm
of forty-one acres, located in Hanover township.
He afterward exchanged that property for eighty acres in
Indiana, and upon the latter spent his remaining days,
his death occurring when he had attained the age of
eighty-three years. His political belief was in
harmony with Democratic principles. His wife bore
the maiden name of Susan Smith, and she, too, was
a native of Stark county, where she was reared and
married. Her death occurred at the home of her son
Daniel, when she was eighty-eight years of age.
She was a consistent Christian woman, holding membership
in the Lutheran church and by her marriage she became
the mother of eleven children, Daniel being the
fourth in order of birth.
He was only a small boy when his parents came to
Richland county. He assisted in the work of the
home farm and remained with his parents until nineteen
years of age, when his father gave him his time and he
began to earn an independent livelihood. He
engaged in clearing land and in chopping wood for
several years, after which he and his brother conducted
a rented farm for several years. In 1873 he bought
his present home of eighty acres, contracting an
indebtedness of three thousand dollars, and as the
result of his industry he was enabled to meet the
payments and now owns a good property.
On the 12th of September, 1860, Mr. Smith
was united in marriage to Miss Charlotta,
a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Rutesville)
Harter. She was born in Worthington township
June 10, 1836, but her parents were natives of
Pennsylvania and became pioneer settlers of Richland
county, entering land from the government. Her
mother died in early womanhood, but her father reached
the ripe old age of seventy-seven years. He was a
stanch Democrat and he and his wife were members of the
Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have
become the parents of three children: Sarah Alice,
the wife of Louis Snyder, a farmer of
Worthington, township; Jacob A., who died at the
age of six years; and Anna A., the wife of
William McCready, who is engaged in the implement
business in Butler. Mr. Smith
exercises his right of franchise in support of the men
and measures of the Democratic party, but his attention
has been given exclusively to his business affairs, and
he has gained the success which he well deserves.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 597 |
H. R. Smith |
HIRAM R. SMITH.
Honored and respected by all, there is no man in
Mansfield who occupies a more enviable position in
financial circles than Hiram R. Smith, not alone
on account of the brilliant success he has achieved but
also on account of the honorable, straightforward
business policy he has ever followed. Though he is
now practically living a retired life, as a capitalist,
he is connected with a number of different enterprises
which have been of material benefit to his town and
county.
Mr. Smith was born in Huron, Ohio, Jan. 7, 1813,
and is the only survivor of a family of seven children,
whose parents were Asa and Hannah (Richmond) Smith,
the former a native of Long Island, New York, the latter
of Rhode Island. They married in New York and made
their home in Waterloo, that state, until their removal
to Huron, Ohio, before steam navigation was used upon
the lakes. The father died when our subject was
only two years old, after which the mother sold the farm
and moved to Sandusky City, where her death occurred.
There the remains of all the family have been interred,
the father's body being removed form Huron.
Hiram R. was the youngest of the children.
William B., who died in Sandusky at about the age of
eighty-three years, built the first frame dwelling, also
the first brick house in that city; the latter is still
standing. He also engaged in merchandising.
Sallie married Silas Dewey, a distant
relative of the Admiral, and both died in Clyde, Ohio,
near Toledo. Nancy married Amos Fenn
a native of Massachusetts, as was also Silas Dewey
and a prominent early settler, manufacturer and farmer
of Clyde, where he served as a justice of the peace for
thirty years and where both he and his wife died.
Clarissa became the wife of Hugh McFall,
one of the first merchants of Mansfield, where both died
and where two of their sons recently died.
Frederick spent his life in Sandusky. Susan
married James P. Bowman and lived in
Mansfield many years. She died here, but her
husband's death occurred at Bucyrus, Ohio.
At the age of eleven years Hiram R. Smith came
to Mansfield, which city has been his home for
seventy-seven years. In this he enjoys the
distinction of having lived longer than any other of its
citizens with one exception, and he has witnessed its
growth from a country hamlet to a prosperous city of
nearly nineteen thousand inhabitants. He attended the
pioneer schools of Mansfield, his principal instructor
being Alexander Barr, a prominent educator
of his day. He finished his education under the
tutorship of Judge Stewart, the father of
Mrs. John Sherman.
Mr. Smith began life on his own account
as a clerk in the mercantile establishment of his
brother-in-law, Mr. McFall, and in 1839 he
embarked in the same line of business for himself,
carrying on merchandising very successfully until 1870.
In early days he shipped his goods from Philadelphia by
teams and he has crossed the Alleghany mountains in a
canal boat. After his retirement from mercantile
business he erected the Smith block on
Main street, which is one of the most valuable
properties in the city, as well as one of the most
beautiful pieces of architecture. In dimensions it
is seventy by one hundred and eighty feet and four
stories in height. The entire ground floor is
occupied by one mammoth mercantile establishment,— that
of R. B. Maxwell & Company; the second story is
used for offices, and the third is a public hall.
Mr. Smith purchased the lot in 1840 and for a
period of sixty years it has produced regular annual
rentals. He was one of the first directors of the
Richland Mutual Insurance Company, of which he is now
the president, and he is the oldest director of the
Farmers' National Bank and the vice-president of the
same. He is also a director of the Mansfield
Cemetery Association.
Mr. Smith has been twice married, first
in 1839 to Miss Ann C. Leiter, a native of
Leitersburg, Maryland, and to them were born four
children, but all are now deceased, with the exception
of Richmond, who is the secretary and manager of the
Richland Mutual Insurance Company. The wife and
mother died in 1850, and four years later Mr.
Smith married Miss Ann Ward, a native
of Richland county and a daughter of Joseph and Mary
Ward, early settlers of the county. By this
union two children were born: Ward, who died in
August, 1899, at the age of forty-three years, leaving a
wife and two daughters; and Rena, the wife of
E. B. Caldwell, a druggist of Mansfield, by whom she
has two sons.
Mr. Smith has been a lifelong Democrat,
but he has never sought public office, though he has
been called upon to serve his city in various official
positions. Among other things he has done much for
Mansfield, having been instrumental in securing the
reformatory here. He and his family are all
members of the Congregational church. Having never
inherited a dollar, his success in life is due to his
own unaided efforts. As a business man he is
energetic prompt and notably reliable, and carries
forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
His career proves that the only true success in life is
that which is accomplished by personal effort and
continued industry.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 600 |
| |
JOSEPH E. SMITH.
Joseph Edward Smith, the foreman of the paint
department of the Aultman-Taylor Machinery
Company, of Mansfield, Ohio, is a man well known in this
city, where he has lived for many years and where his
thorough-going, honest, upright life has won for him the
respect of all who know him. A brief record of his
life is herewith given.
Joseph E. Smith was born in Canton, Ohio, in
1846, a son of Anthony Smith, who was a native of
Alsace, Germany. In 1868 our subject moved from
Canton to Bucyrus. and in 1869 he became connected with
the Aultman-Taylor Machinery Company, of
Mansfield. Since 1871, for a period of thirty
years, he has occupied his present position of foreman.
From time to time the factory has increased its capacity
and labor, in 1868 employing two hundred hands and in
1900 eight hundred hands. With this large increase
in business Mr. Smith's duties and
responsibilities have increased. At this writing
he has under his immediate charge thirty men.
During the long time Mr. Smith has been
identified with this concern he has been almost as
steady and regular as clock work. Only one week in
thirty years has he been absent from business on account
of sickness.
Mr. Smith has lived in the sa1ne house,
No. 396 Spring Mill street*, since 1874. That year
he was married to Miss Minnie R. Alonas, of
Mansfield, who was born in his own native town, Canton.
They have four children, namely: Rose P., Lester,
Anna Blanche and Eva Maria,—all at
home. The son is a graduate of the Mansfield high
school, with the class of 1899; and the youngest
daughter is still in school.
In his views on religion Mr. Smith is
broad and liberal. Politically he is what is known
as a Union Reformer, and is one of the leaders of this
party in Mansfield, having carried the party banner in
several campaigns.
An active, intelligent citizen, interested in public
affairs, always striving to do what he believes to be
right. Joseph E. Smith is valued for his
true worth and is held in high esteem by his fellow
citizens.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 347
*Please Note: This house is still standing however it is
in disrepair (click
here) |
| |
PETER SMITH,
one of the prominent farmers of Sharon township, whose
farm is a part of section 36, and whose postoffice is
Crestline, was born in a log cabin standing on the
identical spot where he now lives, Dec. 25, 1842.
He is a son of Martin Smith, who was born in
December, 1807, near Heidelberg, Germany, and who was a
son of Jacob Smith, of the same place.
Jacob Smith was a man of wealth and when he entered
the service of Napoleon furnished his own outfit as a
member of a regiment of cavalry. His family
consisted of his wife and three sons, viz.:
Martin, the father of the subject of this sketch,
and Jacob and Philip. The latter are
still in Germany, if living. The father of these
three sons died at the age of eight-four, surviving his
wife, who was the daughter of a minister of the gospel.
Martin Smith was liberally educated in Germany,
was reared to an agricultural life and was married in
his native country to Catherine Weidner in 1836.
In 1838 they emigrated to the United States, landing in
New York city in what was then considered a remarkably
short or quick voyage, of thirty-six years. At the
time of coming across the sea he had considerable
capital and made his first purchase of land in the fall
of 1838, consisting of eighty acres of land, now a part
of the farm of Peter Smith, the subject of this
sketch. Upon this first purchase he spent the
remainder of his days, engaged in farming and enjoying
the respect and confidence of his neighbors and friends.
His family consisted of seven children, - four sons and
three daughters, - as follows: A daughter that
died in German; Martin, and three daughters, - as
follows: A daughter that died in Germany;
Martin, now living at Vernon Junction, a merchant in
business and the postmaster of the place; Phillip,
living in New York city, carrying on the business of a
commission merchant; a daughter that died in infancy;
Julius who died in Richland county, Ohio, at the age
of fifty-two years; Peter, the subject of this
sketch; and a daughter that died in infancy. The
father of these children died in September, 1871, and
the mother in the autumn of 1878, at the age of
sixty-three years.
Peter Smith was educated
in the common schools, receiving as thorough a course of
instruction as they could then supply, being given his
time at the age of eighteen, as were the other sons of
the family. For three years thereafter he managed
the home farm on shares, and then for some time worked
for Abraham Farrington in the egg-packing
business. In 1868 he went to Chicago, where he was
employed by his two brothers in the commission business
for four years. For the four subsequent years he
was located in Vernon county, Iowa, engaged in the
business of packing eggs. Next he returned to the
old farm, in 1877, where, on Dec. 30, 1878, he was
married to Margaret Krishbaum, who was born Mar.
16, 1864, in Sandusky City, Ohio. She is a
daughter of Jacob and Kate (Mathias) Krishbaum,
the latter of whom died at the age of seventy-five,
leaving five children, and the former of whom is now
seventy-five years of age, a widower and following
farming for a livelihood.
Peter Smith and his wife lived on their present
farm ever since their marriage, eighty acres of which he
purchased in 1892, which added to the original eighty
acres. For the eighty acres Mr. Smith paid
three thousand, four hundred and seventy-five dollars.
The brick house in which he now lives was erected by his
father in 1858. Mr. Smith carries on a
general farming business, raising mainly wheat and corn,
- from seven to eight hundred bushels of wheat and about
one thousand bushels of corn each year, besides keeping
about twenty head of cattle and five or six horses.
He is one of the most industrious men of his part of the
state, and one of the most practical and successful
farmers. Politically he is a Democrat, and has
served on the school board for twelve consecutive years.
He is a member of the local Grange, of which he has
served as a director. All the above items, taken
together, are an indication of the confidence placed in
him by his fellow citizens.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have three children, viz.:
Katie, wife of William Klaun and the mother
of a fine baby boy named Jacob Klaun; Amy
Amanda, a young woman at home, sixteen years of age,
well educated and with great practical common sense.
She is one of the industrious young women of the
neighborhood, devoid of false pride, willing to work
wherever there is work for her to do, in the house or in
the field, and has a fine musical education and tastes.
The other child is named Phillip Leroy, a
fine, manly little fellow of eleven years. The
family of Mr. and Mrs. Smith have always stood
high in the estimation of their neighbors and friends.
and are most excellent people.
Source: A
Centennial Biographical History of Richland and Ashland
County, Ohio - Publ. 1901 - Page 668 |
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