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	ALBERT CHENEY.    Having been successful as a general farmer and stock raiser, Albert Cheney is now spending his declining years in the quiet of his cosy home in Mechanicsburg.  He was born in Union township, this county, Aug. 8, 1841, and here he has been content to spend his life, having lived to see many important changes "come over the face of the land" since he was a boy.  He is a son of Jonathan and Rachael (Williams) Cheney, the latter a native of Maryland and the former of Vermont, they having removed to Champaign county single, with their respective parents, in their youth.  The Williams family located in Goshen township, among the early settlers and the Cheney family in Union township.  It was in that neighborhood that the parents of the subject of this sketch were married and established their home on the farm.  Both the Williams and the Cheney families became well and favorably known in their respective communities.  The older members of these families spent the rest of their lives in Goshen and Union townships.  B. F. Cheney, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Vermont.  Jonathan Cheney, mentioned above, devoted his active life to general farming in Union township.  His death occurred at the early age of forty-seven, but his widow survived to the age of seventy-three.  She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.  To these parents ten children were born, namely: William, a soldier in Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War, becoming captain of his company, and who died a few years after the war; John, also deceased; James Henry, who served in the war between the states in the same company and regiment with his brother William, and who also is now deceased; Albert, the subject of this sketch; Edwin D., deceased; Rachael Ann. deceased; Emily, deceased; Jonathan M., deceased; Austin, who is having in Springfield. Ohio, and Minerva J., deceased.      Albert Cheney received a common-school education and lived at home until he was twenty- four years old.  In May, 1864, he enlisted in Compan A E, One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which his brother William was captain.  He was sent into Virginia and served under General Butler, seeing service on the James river and at Cumberland, Maryland.  At the close of the war he was honorably discharged and retvirned home, operating the homestead in Union township for two years, then rented a farm a year, then bought a farm of forty-seven and one-half acres north of Mechanicsburg, on which he lived for six years, at the end of which time he sold out and bought one hundred and fifty-seven acres in Clarke county.   After living there five years he bought ninety-three acres, a part of his father's old farm in Union township, Champaign county, where he continued farming with his usual success until 1883, when he moved to Mechanicsburg and has since looked after his farm and the live-stock business.      Mr. Cheney was married in Clark county, Ohio, to Ruhamah Bumgardner, who was born and reared in that county.  Mr. Cheney is a stanch Republican.  He belongs to the local post of the Grand Army of the Republic at Mechanicsburg.  He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church there, of which he has served as trustee, and has long been active in church work.  He is well and favorably known throughout the county. Source:  History of Champaign County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. 1917 - Page 853
	W. H. CHENEY.      W. H. Cheney, president of the common council of the city of Mechanicsburg, one of the most active and progressive residents of that city and the owner of a line farm of five hundred and twenty-six acres in Goshen township, not far from the city, was born in Mechanicsburg and has lived there all his life, one of the best-known citizens of that part of Champaign county.  He was born on Nov. 28, 1875, son of James H. and Beatrice S. (Tullis) Cheney, both members of old families in this county, whose last days were spent in Mechanicsburg.      James H. Cheney was born on a pioneer farm in Union township, this county, Dec. 1, 1839, son of Jonathan and Rachel (Williams) Cheney and grandson of Benjamin and Sarah (Cochran) Cheney, the latter of whom came from their native Virginia to this part of Ohio in 1808 and settled on a tract of "Congress land" in Union township, this county.  Benjamin Cheney was one of the most forceful and influential pioneers of Champaign county and at the time of his death in 1834 had accumulated land holdings here in excess of two thousand acres.  He and his wife were the parents of seven children and the Cheney family is thus largely represented in this part of Ohio in the present generation.      Jonathan Cheney, one of the children of Benjamin, was born on that pioneer farm in Union township in 1816.  For upward of twelve years he represented this district in the Ohio state Legislature and for an equal period of time acted as justice of the peace in and for his home township.  He became a man of substance in the community, living there until his death on Mar. 6, 1864.  In 1836 he married Rachel Williams, also a member of one of the pioneer families of Champaign county, a daughter of John W. and Eleanor (Duval) Williams, and to that union were born eleven children, eight sons and three daughters.  James Henry Cheney, one of the sons of this union, grew to manhood on the Cheney farm and was living there when the Civil War broke out.  He enlisted for service as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Thirty-first Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and in later years was an active member of Stephen A. Baxter Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at Mechanicsburg.  In 1860 James H. Cheney married Beatrice S. Tullis, also a member of one of Champaign county's first families, a daughter of Ezra C. and Sarah E. (Edmonston) Tullis, natives, respectively, of this county and of the state of Maryland, the latter having come to Champaign county when a child of four years with her parents, who settled on the farm in Goshen township now owned by the subject of this sketch.  In 1875 James H. Cheney moved with his family to Mechanicsburg and there he and his wife spent the remainder of their lives.  They were active members of the Methodist Episcopal church, he for years being a member of the official board of the same and she for many years a singer in the choir.  They were the parents of four children, of whom the subject ol this sketch was the last-born, the others being E. E. Cheney, a well-known lawyer at Urbana; Brooks E., who died in 1890, and Elizabeth, wife of Marion Burnham, mayor of the city of London, county seat of the neighboring county of Madison.      W. H. Cheney was reared in Mechanicsburg and upon completing the course in the high school there took a supplementary course in Ohio Northern University at Ada.  From the days of his young manhood he has been attentive to the affairs of the farm and is now the owner of a well-improved and profitably cultivated farm of five hundred and twenty-six acres in the neighborhood of Mechanicsburg, in Goshen township, operating the same from his established residence in Mechanicsburg.  Mr. Cheney has always given his earnest attention to local civic affairs and to such movements as are designed to advance the general welfare of his home town and the community at large and is one of Mechanicsburg's most public-spirited "boosters."  For the past twelve years he has been a member of the common council from his ward and for the past six years has been president of the same, giving to his official duties his most thoughtful and intelligent attention.  He is a Republican and has long been regarded as one of the leaders of that party in that section of the county.      One June 18, 1902, W. H. Cheney was united in marriage to Agnes Alberta Hodge, who was born in Union township, this county, Oct. 23, 1875, daughter of Samuel and Amanda Hodge, and to this union three children have been born, but one of whom is now living, a daughter, Isabel, born on Feb. 2, 1906.  Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have a very pleasant home in Mechanicsburg and take an interested part in the general social activities of their home town.  Mr. Cheney is a member of the local lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons and takes an active interest in Masonic affairs. Source:  History of Champaign County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. 1917 - Page 932
	IVAN CLEM.     A farmer of progressive ideas is Ivan Clem of Salem township, Champaign county, in which township he was born, Oct. 17, 1883.  He is a son of David and Romelia (Peery) Clem, the father a native of this county and the mother a native of Virginia.  David Clem was born in Johnson township, Sept. 30, 1836.  He and his wife are both of German descent.  His great-grandfather emigrated from Germany to America the latter part of the seventeenth century.  He was the father of David Clem, the grandfather of David Clem, father of the subject.  Isaac Clem was the father of David Clem, father of Ivan Clem.  Isaac Clem came to Champaign county, Ohio, in 1829, among the earliest pioneers, and located on land in Johnson township where, by hard work and close application he developed a farm from then wilderness.  He continued to reside here until in 1853, when he sold out and bought a place west of St. Paris on which he spent the rest of his life.  He married Rebecca Crabill, a native of Virginia.      David Clem, father of the subject of this sketch, received his education in the early-day school he worked out by the month for some time, then learned the shoemaker's trade in St. Paris, Ohio, at which he worked for about six years, then bought a farm in Johnson township, near Millerstown, where he lived about nine years, then bought one hundred acres in Johnson and Adams townships, which he farmed for four years, then sold out and moved to Caldwell county, Missouri.  He later bought a farm in Daviess county, that state, but after remaining there only a short time, sold out and returned to Champaign county, Ohio, buying one hundred and thirty-five acres in Urbana township, which he operated five years, then moved to Salem township and bought three hundred acres, where he farmed on an extensive scale until he retired from active life, moving to Urbana where he has since made his home.  He was very successful in a business way and at one time owned over one thousand acres of valuable land.  He started out as a poor boy and forged to the front unaided and through his own perseverance and good management.  In 1876 he married Romelia Peery, a daughter of George and Margaret (Hensley) Peery, and to their union six children were born, namely: Joseph, Samuel, Pearl, Ivan, Blanche and Grace, who died in infancy.      Ivan Clem grew up on the home farm where he worked hard when a boy, and he received his education in the public schools of Salem township, mostly at the Lippincott school.  After leaving school he took up farming with his father with whom he remained until his marriage, then rented a farm in Concord township, but a year later moved to the farm where he is now residing and where he is successfully engaged in general farming and stock raising, owning a productive and well improved place of two hundred acres.  There is no more up-to-date farmer in his township.      Ivan Clem was married, June 2, 1912, to Madrid Bates, a daughter of Theodore and Clara Bates, and to their union two children have been born - Beatrice and Ruby.  Politically, he is a Democrat. Source:  History of Champaign County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. 1917 - Page 595
	SAMUEL CLEM.     Samuel Clem, one of Salem township's best-known and most substantial farmers, is a native son of Champaign county and has lived here all his life.  He was born on the farm one-half mile south of where he now lives, a part of the large estate his father accumulated there, Jan. 24, 1879, son of David and Romelia (Peery) Clem, the former of whom was born in this county and the latter in the state of Virginia, who are now living retired in Urbana.      David Clem was born on a pioneer farm in Johnson township, this county, Sept. 30, 1836, son of Isaac and Rebecca (Crabill) Clem, who came to this county from Virginia in 1829 and settled on a farm in Johnson township, where they remained until 1853, when they moved to a farm west of St. Paris, where they spent the remainder of their lives.  Isaac Clem was a son of David Clem, who was born in Virginia, son of a German immigrant who came to this country in the latter part of the eighteenth century.  The second David Clem grew up in Johnson township, receiving his schooling in the local schools and after farming for awhile took up the shoemaker's trade and for six years was engaged in that trade in St. Paris.  He then bought a farm near Millerstown, in Johnson township and about a year later bought a hundred-acre farm lying in Johnson and Adams townships, where he remained for four years, at the end of which time he sold out and moved to Missouri and bought a farm in Davis county, that state.  Not finding conditions to his liking there he sold out and returned to Champaign county and bought a farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres in Urbana township, five years later buying a farm of three hundred acres in Salem township, where he established his home.  As he prospered in his affairs he added to his land holdings until he became the owner of over one thousand acres of land, continuing his active operations until his retirement and removal to Urbana, where he and his wife are now living.  In 1876 David Clem was united in marriage to Romelia Peery, who was born In Virginia, daughter of George and Margaret (Hensley) Peery, and to this union six children were born, those besides the subject of this sketch being Joseph, Pearl, Ivan, Blanche and Grace, the latter of whom died in infancy.      Reared on the home farm in Salem township, Samuel Clem was educated in the public schools and supplemented the same by a course in the Lima Business College, after which he returned home and renewed his farming operation association with his father.  After his marriage in 1911 his father set off to him one hundred and sixty-six acres of the home place and there he established his home and has continued to reside, being the proprietor of one of the best-kept and most profitably cultivated farms in that neighborhood.  In addition to his general farming Mr. Clem feeds about fifty head of hogs annually and is doing very well in his operations.  His farming is carried on along modern lines and his place is equipped with up-to-date appliances for the most successful agriculture.  Mr. Clem is a Democrat and takes a proper interest in local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office. Source:  History of Champaign County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. 1917 - Page 69
	CHARLES H. CURL.    Charles H. Curl, an honored veteran of the Civil War and a resident of North Lewisburg since 1872, now living retired in that Pleasant village, is a native son of Ohio and has lived in this state all his life.  He was born in Greene county on July 7, 1844, son of William and Hannah (Borden) Curl, the former a native of Virginia and the latter of New Jersey, who became residents of Greene county in the days of their youth and were there married.      William Curl was a son of James Curl and wife, the latter of whom was a Brown, who early came to Ohio and settled in Greene county, where their last days were spent.  They were the parents of eight children, live sons and three daughters.  James Curl was a cooper and his son, William, learned that trade and followed it until he was thirty-one years of age, when, in 1854, he became a brakeman on the Panhandle railroad between Xenia and Dayton and while thus employed was killed by a train the next year 1855.  He left a widow, who was Hannah Borden, and four children.  Of these children the subject of this sketch was the first-born, the others being as follow: Franklin, a painter, now living in Florida; Emma L., wife of Edward Inskeep, of North Lewisburg and Phoebe Ann, wife of John Holycross, of North Lewisburg.  The Widow Curl married, secondly, Adam Beltz, of Union county, and to that union two children were born. Janet, wife of William Hoffman, of Urbana, and Joseph, who joined the regular army and whose present whereabouts are unknown to his family.       Charles H. Curl was about eleven years of age when his father was killed on the railroad and at the age of twelve he was taken to rear by a family in Greene county and was a member of that household until he was eighteen years of age, when he began farming on his own account and was thus engaged when, in the fall of 1863 he enlisted at Cleveland for service in the Union army during the continuance of the Civil War, as a member of Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-eighth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served until the close of the war and was discharged at Camp Chase on July 13, 1865; most of his service having been performed with his regiment at Baltimore.  Upon the completion of his military service Mr. Curl returned to Ohio and located at Zanesville, where he learned the trade of plasterer and where. in 1867, he married, remaining there until 1872, in which year he moved to North Lewisburg, this county, where he since has made his home and where he is now living retired.  He built the home in which he is living and he and his family are very comfortably situated there.  Mr. Curl is a Republican and has ever given his close attention to local political affairs, but has not been a seeker after public office.      It was in 1867, at Zanesville, that Charles H. Curl was united in marriage to Elizabeth McKinney, of that place, who was born in West Virginia, daughter of John and Lucinda (Curl) McKinney, the former of whom was killed by a boat explosion on the Ohio river, near Parkersburg, and the latter of whom spent her last days at Zanesville.  John McKinney and wife were the parents of five children, of whom Mrs. Curl was the next to last-born, the others being as follow: Alexander, who died in 1916; Sarah, who is living at Zanesville; John, who died in 1868. and James, of Zanesville.  To Mr. and Mrs. Curl seven children have been born, namely:  Belle, deceased: Louisa, wife of Jefferson Goof, of Indianapolis; Dora, widow of James R. Thompson, who is now making her home with her parents; Walter, who died at the age of eighteen months; Edward, of Cleveland, Ohio; Ralph, who died at the age of seven years, and William who is engaged in the barber business at North Lewisburg.  Mr. Curl is an active member of John Briney Post No. 193, Grand Army of the Republic, at North Lewisburg, and takes a warm interest in the affairs of that patriotic order.  He is the oldest Odd Fellow in North Lewisburg, having become a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows on July 2, 1873, at North Lewisburg, and Mrs. Carl is a member of the local lodge No 320 of the Daughters of Rebekah, both taking a warm interest in local Odd-fellowship. Source:  History of Champaign County, Ohio, Vol. II - publ. 1917 - Page 276

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