ABNER McCOY.     John McCoy, the father of our subject, came to Ohio in 1806 in company with his parents, Joseph and Milly McCoy, and first located at Zanesville.  but the following winter removed to Virginia township, Coshocton county, where a cabin was built in midwinter.  Upon that farm the family made their home for ten years and it is now owned by William McGee.  The boys of the McCoy household spent most of their time playing with the Indians as there were no schools to attend.  In 1817, at the age of twenty-two years, John McCoy entered a tract of land in Virginia township, consisting of four hundred acres, and since that far-distance date the McCoy farm has changed hands but once, that being from John McCoy to Abner, the subject of this sketch.
     Abner McCoy did his full share in the development and improvement of a tract of land of four hundred acres and it was only during a few weeks of the winter months that he was permitted to attend school, therefore his advantages in that direction were very limited.  Mr. McCoy began life on his own account on the farm which has always been his home, this being one of the largest and most productive tracts of land in Coshocton county.  In addition to doing general farming he also raises stock on quite an extensive scale, keeping only that of the highest grades.
     Mr. McCoy was married on the 18th of October, 1871, to Miss Elizabeth Meek, a daughter of Asa and Virginia Meek, residents of Virginia township.   Their union was blessed with seven children, three sons and four daughters.  The sons are George F., Asa and William A., while the daughters are:  Virginia, the wife of Harvey Cox; Sarah J., the wife of Edward Dickinson; Margaret B.; and Mable V.  The wife and mother passed to her final reward Feb. 26, 1908, and thus the community lost one of its most highly esteemed women and the household a devoted and loving wife and mother.
    Mr. McCoy gives his political support to the democratic party and in 1887 was elected a member of the board of county commissioners, serving for two terms, or six years.  He brought to the office sound judgment and good business sense, and in political circles is held in high esteem.  He also served as school director for several years and at the present writing is a member of the township board of education.  He is a public-spirited citizen, whose worth well merits the high regard in which he is uniformly held.
Source: Centennial History of Coshocton County, Ohio - Vol. I - Chicago - The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. - 1909 - Page 459

WILLIAM MIZER.  The field of opportunity is limitless in this land, which is unhampered by caste or class, and the man who has determination and energy may carve out his fortune to suit himself.  Recognizing this fact Mr. Mizer has steadily worked his way upward undeterred by obstacles or difficulties and today he occupies a prominent position as one of the leading representatives of fire insurance in Ohio.  The Mizer family, of which William A. Mizer is a representative, founded in Pennsylvania at an early period in the history of this country and during the pioneer epoch in the history of Jefferson county, Ohio, representatives of the name settled in Germano near Jefferson County, Ohio.  The family is noted for longevity, one of its members dying at the advanced age of one hundred and two years, while the sister of his paternal grandmother reached the age of ninety-seven years.
     Philip Mizer, the grandfather of our subject removed to Shanesville, Ohio, and became a prominent and influential resident of that community.  He was a cabinetmaker by trade and also engaged in making coffins.  For thirty years he served as justice of the peace and was well known throughout the district as Squire Mizer.  He was a handsome man, well proportioned and the strength of his character made him one of the leading citizens of his community.  He was married at Germano to Margaret Schultz.  Their son, George P. Mizer, was born at Shanesville, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and voted his life to farming, in which business he was quite successful.  He was a man of intensely patriotic spirit and did everything in his power to promote the best interests of his county, state and nation.  In 1846 he married Miss Catherine Hagen, a native of Ohio by her parents, the family home being established near New Comerstown.  The death of George P. Mizer occurred June 30, 1886, but his widow still survives at the age of eighty-one years.
     Upon the home farm William A. Mizer was reared and when not busy with his text-books as a district-school student he aided in the work of the home farm, assisting in the cultivation of the fields form the time of early spring planting.  His preliminary education as supplemented by study in a select school at New Comerston, which he attended through two winter seasons.  At the age of nineteen years he began work in the country store and in early life he was inured to hard labor and learned the value of untiring industry and perseverance.  On the 9th of September, 1865, he began clerking for the firm of Mizer & Ley for five dollars per month.  His duties were manifold and included the janitor work in the store and the currying of the horses, besides making sales. That he proved capable and faithful is indicated by the fact that he was frequently entrusted to conduct the business in the absence of the proprietors and at one time five thousand dollars was left in his care.  He remained in that store for three years and while there learned the German language, for there were many German speaking people in the neighborhood.  He afterward became a salesman in the employ of J. W. Pierce and subsequently, as a result of his diligence and economy, he was enabled, in connection with John H. Lovelace, to purchase this store which he conducted for three years.  Selling out on account of his health he afterward engaged in the sale of farm implements for one year and on the 3d of Jan., 1873, he became connected with the insurance business, accepting the agency of Coshocton county for the Farmers Insurance Company of Leroy, Ohio.  He also represented the interests of the company in Holmes county, Ohio, and is still engaged in the business, controlling today the largest fire insurance agency in Coshocton.  Prior to his removal to this city he lived in Bakersville until Sept. 1, 1890.  He has done business in this county for the past thirty-five years and has a wide acquaintance throughout its border.
     Mr. Mizer has always been active in politics and is a stalwart advocate of democratic principles.  On the 9th of November, 1899, he was elected clerk of the courts of Coshocton county and served for three years.  In 1803 he was again chosen for that office and continued in the position until 1906.  Otherwise he has never sought political preferment but has been content to do his duty as a citizen in private relations, giving his aid and influence to every measure calculated to prove of public benefit.  He has been president of the Citizens Building & Loan Association since 1894 and is proving an excellent executive officer, at the same time carefully controlling his insurance business, in which connection he represents about twenty companies.
     On the 22d of November, 1870, Mr. Mizer was married to Miss Helen M. Pierce and they now have three children: Frency V., born July 16, 1875; Blake V., born Feb. 13, 1880; and Audrey V., Mar. 8, 1888.  Mr. Mizer is a Royal Arch Mason, and is loyal to the teachings of the craft and is in hearty sympathy with its principles of mutual helpfulness and brotherly kindness.  His reliability in business, his consideration for the rights and interests of others, his activity in support of progressive community affairs and his faithfulness in the discharge of every obligation that devolves upon him, have made him one of the popular and respected citizens of Coshocton.
Source: Centennial History of Coshocton County, Ohio - Vol. I - Chicago - The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. - 1909 - Page 450