SOME LANCASTER MECHANICS.

Page 325 -

CHRISTOPHER WEAVER.

     Mr. Weaver came to Lancaster very early in the century.  He and his wife were of the few who organized the Methodist Church in 1812.  His wife was a daughter of Frederick Arnold and sister of Henry Arnold, the merchant.  He was one of the contractorswho built the first Presbyterian church.  He was a carpenter by trade and a good workman.  In 1825 he was elected one of the commissioners of Fairfield County.  He built the fine three-story brick dwelling now known as the Hillside.  It was not completed at the time of his death, which occurred July 5, 1829.  He and Judge Sherman were near neighbors and intimate friends.  They both died the same summer, leaving large families of young children.

Page 326 -

JOHN U. GIESY.

     Mr. Giesy came to Lancaster from Germany in the year 1804, and worked for John Schurr acquiring the baker's trade.  He soon established a bakery of his own and it was not long until he kept a tavern in connection with his bakery.  He built a handsome frame house on the south side of Main Street, which was long known to Lancaster people as Giesy's Hotel.  It was torn down a few years since to make room for the Phil. Bauman Block.  His brick buildings adjoining on the west became the property of his daughter, Mrs. H. Williard.
     Mr. Giesy was an industrious man, attentive to business, and a good landlord.  As a result, he accumulated a handsome estate.
     In his old age he retired to his fine farm south of town.  Two of his daughters married clergymen, Rev. C. Spielman and Rev. H. Williard.  One of his sons is an Episcopal minister; two of them were attorneys.  His son, H. H. Giesy, of the Forty-sixth Ohio was killed in battle before Atlanta.  Emanuel Giesy was for years a prominent citizen of Lancaster.  His son Daniel was for a time a merchant of Lancaster.  He married a niece of H. H. Hunter.  H. H. Giesy, Jr., son of Daniel, is an enterprising young man, industrious and full of energy.
     John U. Giesy was one of the original members of the German Reformed Church in Lancaster.

JACOB BECK, SR.

     Mr. Beck came from Switzerland to Lancaster in 1810. He was delayed in Pennsylvania a year or two.  He purchased lots on Columbus Street and erected his

Page 327 -
dwelling and a blacksmith shop. The houses of Dr. Beery and Mrs. G. G. Beck are on the same lots. Mr. Beck was an industrious, public-spirited citizen, and continued his business for more than twenty years.
     A part of this time he kept one of the old-fashioned pioneer taverns called the Buck, at least he so advertised it in the Ohio Eagle of 1819. He was one of the original members and founders of the Lutheran Church and gave the lot upon which the church building was built.
     His wife was a sister of the father of Dr. J. H. Goss, of this city.  Mr. Goss learned the trade of a black smith with Mr. Beck.  In good weather he worked hard in the shop all day, and in the evening rode to his clearing several miles and burned logs and brush so that he might have land for corn the coming spring.  Wm. Hutton's father had contracted to supply Beck with charcoal. On a Saturday he learned that Beck was out of coal and on Sunday morning he and his son took each a bag of coal on the horse before them and delivered it to Beck, very much to his surprise.
     Jacob Beck, of Hocking, ninety-three years of age, is his son.  The late George G. Beck was a son.  Mrs. Bury and Mrs. Orman were daughters.  Mr. Beck died in the year 1839.

GEORGE BECK. SR.

     Mr. Beck came from Switzerland to Lancaster in 1810, with his brother, Jacob Beck, Sr.  His business was that of a rope-maker, a good trade at that period.  He was one of the original members of the Lutheran Church.  He was, like his brother, a worthy and industrious pioneer, respected and esteemed by his neigh-

Page 328 -
bors.  He died in the year 1839, the same week in which the death of his brother Jacob occurred.  His sons were Jacob F. Beck, the merchant, George Beck, of Lithopolis, and Martin Beck, of Lancaster.  His only daughter married Matthew Myers, the merchant.  Jacob F. had a family of five sons and two daughters.  Fred. Beck, the merchant, and George W. Beck, the cashier of the Lancaster Bank, are his sons.
     Matthew Myers sold out his store and moved to Indiana, where he was accidentally killed.  George Myers, late the probate judge of Hancock County, is his son, and resides in Findlay.

MARTIN BECK.

     Martin Beck was a rope-maker and at one time kept a grocery store.  He was born in Switzerland, and died in Lancaster, Mar. 2, 1868, at the age of sixty years.  His sons are J. F. Beck, shoe merchant, Melanchthon, the butcher, Frank H., a clerk, Amos M., a railroad agent at Green Springs, Ohio, and Daniel J., railroad agent at Bellevue, Ohio.

FREDERICK A. SHAEFFER

     Mr. Shaeffer came to Lancaster from Lancaster County, Pa., and opened a tailor shop in the year 1811. 
     In a few years he abandoned his trade for hotel keep ing.  He located where John Sweyer had kept hotel for several years, on the corner of the public square, long known as Shaeffer's corner.
     He kept a fine hotel and made a handsome fortune.  In his old age he moved to his fine farm west of town, where he spent the evening of his days.
     F. A. Shaeffer reared a large family, seven sons and

Page 329 -
four daughters.  Charles F. was a Lancaster attorney and U. S. Revenue Assessor under Abraham Lincoln.  Jacob was a tanner by trade. John was an accomplished horseman, horse dealer and farmer, and withal an elegant gentleman. Gilbert, the youngest, was for some years county treasurer, and a farmer at the old homestead west of town.
     Frank, Frederick, and William were stock dealers and ranchmen in the West.
     His daughter Susan married Dr. P. M. Wagenhals.  His three daughters by his second wife are married and are residents of the far West.

JACOB SHAEFFER

     Jacob Shaeffer, brother of F. A., came to Lancaster in 1809, and commenced the saddle and harness business.  He built a two-story block on Main Street, one room of which he occupied.  His old age was spent on his farm south of town.

TOLE McMANAMY

     Mr. McManamy was a brick-mason and plasterer.  He was one of the pioneers and a good citizen.  He was accidentally killed in the year 1830.  He was the father of James McManamy.

PETER TITLER

     Mr. Titler was a carpenter and came to Lancaster from Pennsylvania in 1817.  He returned to Pennsylvania for a short time.  Coming again to Ohio he spent three years in Franklin County, arriving in Lancaster the second time in 1826, where he died at an advanced age.

Page 330 -

THOMAS FRICKER

     Mr. Fricker was a native of Berks County, Pa., and came to Lancaster from the city of Reading in the year 1802, as is stated in his Bible.
     He was a hatter by trade and followed his business in his own room that stood on the lot where the McSweeny Block now stands.  He invested in Lancaster
property and was at one time considered wealthy; but endorsing for friends swept away his fortune.  He served as a justice of the peace for several terms.
     In 1822 he subscribed five dollars to the new Presbyterian Church, payable in hats.  This was a common thing in those days, the contractor accepting the trade offered in this way.
     He gave the lot on which the first Catholic church was built on Chestnut Street near Front, and also a subscription in addition.  He was a member of the Catholic Church, but his children by his second wife are Protestants.
     Later in life he moved to his farm southeast of and adjoining the Brasee farm on the Hamburg road, where he died.  His sons, George and John, reside in Lancaster.

DANIEL ARNOLD

     Mr. Arnold came to Lancaster from his farm north of town in 1830, where he had been a farmer for thirty years.  He came to the county in 1800.  In 1830 he established a tannery in Lancaster.  This he carried on, in connection with his sons, many years.  He was the father of Mrs. Geo. H. Strode.

Page 331 -

JACOB EMBICH.

     Jacob Embich came to Lancaster from Hagerstown, Md., in the year 1815.  He carried on the boot and shoe business for a number of years, but, being elected a justice of the peace, he gave up his shoe trade.  He was the father of Wm. and P. B. Embich.

PHILIP EMBICH

     Philip Embich came to Lancaster from Hagerstown, Md., in 1816.  He was a dyer by trade, to which he added carpentry. He remained only a few years, returning to the East.

JESSE WOLTZ

     Mr. Woltz came from Hagerstown, Md., to Lancaster in the year 1815, in company with Samuel Herr, who paid his expenses.  He was a cabinet-maker by trade, and first worked for Samuel Herr.
     In 1816 he began business for himself.  He was an ingenious mechanic, and besides many other things that he did, manufactured several pianos and organs.  Late in life he kept an ice cream saloon on Wheeling Street.  His son, Jesse, went to Chillicothe and followed the trade of his father.

JOHN STULL

     Mr. Stull was a carpenter and came to Lancaster in 1801. He made the window sash for John Baldwin's house, a famous old landmark on the Newark road.  He planted the sycamore trees in front of his lot on Broad Street, where Will Thimmis now lives, and which once belonged to him. The present house was erected by John Lyons.  To his trade he added that of plas-

Page 332 -
terer.  He was a devoted disciple of Izaak Walton and spent much of his time in fishing.  He died in 1846.

STEPHEN SMITH

     Mr. Smith came to Fairfield County in the year 1810.  In the year 1822 he acquired the blacksmith trade in Lancaster. He then spent two years in Pennsylvania and a year working in Cincinnati, Nashville, and New
Orleans.
     Returning to Lancaster in 1829, he opened a shop for blacksmithing.  He was a well-known character.  He was a splendid workman in iron and a very industrious and honest man.  He was a great favorite of John T. Brasee, who admired his skill and his quaint independent manners.  He lived to old age and left an interesting family and a modest estate.

FREDERICK IMHOFF

     Mr. Imhoff came to Lancaster in 1813, and beganhis business of coverlet weaver.  He moved from Lancaster to Newark, Ohio, many years since.

SAMUEL HERR

     Mr. Herr was born in Hagerstown, Md., and came to Lancaster in 1815.  He devoted himself to his trade, that of a cabinet-maker, and an undertaker.  He retired from business in 1858.  Mr. Herr served as county commissioner more than one term, was city treasurer for two years, and township trustee two or three terms.

ISAIAH VORYS

     Mr. Vorys was a carpenter and came to Lancaster in the year 1823, antedating his competitor, Henry

Page 333 -
Orman, one year.  He first worked for Christopher Weaver.
     In 1825 he married a Miss Wachter, who still survives him (1897). In that year he commenced business for himself.  He died in the year 1866.  His three sons, William, Isaiah, and Charles carried on his business.  William and Charles have joined him over the river.  Isaiah still continues a builder.  His grandson, A. I. Vorys, is one of the prominent young attorneys of Lancaster.  He built the present Mumaugh house and John Creed's residence on Broadway, now the Dr. White property.

DANIEL HARD

     Mr. Hard was a native of England, and came to Lancaster in 1822.  He was a shoemaker and a Jack-of-all-trades, and was marshal of Lancaster for eight years.

ISAAC STORTZMAN

     Mr. Stortzman was a wagon-maker.  His shop was on Wheeling Street.  The date of his coming to Lancaster is not known, nor the time of his removal to Bellefontaine, Ohio.

JAMES LAFEARE

     Mr. Lafeare came to Lancaster in his youth and acquired the carpenter trade under Christopher Weaver.  In 1827 he was a partner of D. Sifford.  In 1829 he was appointed superintendent of the County Infirmary.  He died of cholera in Wood County, Ohio, in 1852.

WILLIAM RICHARDS

     Mr. Richards came to Lancaster in 1817.  He was a shoemaker by trade.  In the year 1822 he married a

Page 334 -
daughter of Daniel Arnold.  He lived to a good old age.

DAVID COWDEN

     Mr. Cowden was a brickmaker and a brick-mason.  He came from Frederick, Md., in 1817.  He did the brickwork of the Methodist Episcopal church.  He died at an advanced age in the year 1897.

ROBERT R. CLASPILL

     Robert R. Claspill came from Virginia to Lancaster in 1833.  He was a famous ploughmaker in his time.  All old farmers remember the Claspill moldboard.  He was long an honored citizen of Lancaster and a leading member of the Methodist Church.  Two of his daughters married Methodist clergymen.  He died in the year 1847.

GEORGE W. CLASPILL

     George W. Claspill, son of Robert R., was born in Virginia and came to Lancaster in 1835.  He was a silversmith by trade and good on every kind of delicate mechanical work.  He lived a long and honorable life in Lancaster.

JOHN GEBELEIN

     Mr. Gebelein came to Lancaster from Verdin, Hanover, Germany, in 1832.  He was a good cabinet maker.  He was for a number of years a trustee of Hocking Township.  He made one false step and ruined his hitherto good reputation.

ROBERT REED

     Mr. Reed was a boot and shoemaker and came here in 1837.  He soon became a partner of Joseph Work.  From 1831 to 1840 he carried on his trade alone, but

Page 335 -
in 1840 John Pearce became a partner.  In 1843 the firm became Reed & Baughman.  In 1853 John Baughman retired from the firm.  Mr. Reed was one of Lancaster's popular citizens.  No man of Lancaster was ever more highly esteemed.

JOHN C. SMITH

     Mr. Smith was a native of Germany and arrived in the city of Baltimore in 1833.  He lived in Columbia and Lancaster, Pa., and in Newark and Cincinnati, Ohio.  He came to Lancaster in the year 1843, and carried on the business he had learned in the East, that of confectioner.  His partners for a short time were John H. Reed and A. L. Hunt.  Smith was a quiet, industrious, modest man.  His store and workshop were models of neatness, and he was a very competent caterer.  He died at an advanced age, leaving his family in good circumstances.  His wife was a daughter of George Meyers.  Two of his sons are English Lutheran ministers.

WALTER McDONALD

     Mr. McDonald came to Lancaster from Washington, D. C, in 1816.  He served in the war of 1812, and was at the battle of Bladensburg, and ran with the rest of his comrades in the Bladensburg races.  When he first settled in Lancaster he was a chair maker, but in later years he was a butcher.  For forty years he was a familiar figure in the "amen corner" of the Methodist Church.   His daughter, Ann, married George W. Beery, for many years an attorney and banker at Upper Sandusky.  His son practiced medicine in the same
town.

Page 336 -

HIRAM HANSON

     In 1821 Hiram Hanson came to Lancaster.  He was a shoemaker by trade and prominent in the early
years of Lancaster. In 1830, with a Mr. Keltner as partner, he opened a grocery store.  He died in 1832.

JAMES WEAKLEY

     Mr. Weakley became a resident of Lancaster in 1817.  He was a carpenter by trade and followed this business thirty years.  He was one of the builders of the first Presbyterian church and in connection with Isaac Church built the second Presbyterian church.  This church was ornamented with a fine, well-proportioned tower and steeple, designed by Isaac Church.  Mr. Weakley built the fine large residence of General William J. Reese.  He built many other handsome and substantial dwellings.  He was long an honored elder of the Presbyterian Church.

CHRISTOPHER LOCHMAN

     Mr. Lochman was known by the nickname of "Judge."  He was a tailor in Lancaster in 1822 in partnership with M. Walter.  He was a partner of Geo. H. Smith in 1837.  Jacob Hite worked for Lochman two years when a young man.  Lochman moved to Indiana many years ago.

CHARLES MYTINGER

     Mr. Mytinger was in Lancaster as early as 1830.  He was a tailor by trade and reputed to be a good one.  He was the father of Mrs. James Weaver.  Late in life he moved to Portsmouth, Ohio.

Page 337 -

BALTZER SHAEFFER

     Mr. Shaeffer was a tailor by trade and carried on his business in Lancaster for many years.  He was an odd character and many amusing stories are told of him.  He was a brother of F. A. Shaeffer.  In old age he moved to his farm south of town, where his son, Charles, now resides.

ISAAC COMER

     Isaac Comer was a tailor by trade.  He was an honest man and a good citizen.  Where he came from or when he died we cannot ascertain.
     Isaac had the advantage of his competitors, for 'tis said that it was not necessary for him to take a man's measure.  He looked at a customer and cut a coat to fit him.  He was a long time employed by Reber, Kutz & Co.

GEORGE HOOD, SR.

     Mr. Hood came to Lancaster from Maryland with Isaac Church, in 1816.  He was a painter by trade and followed the business all of his life.  He was a man of good reputation, honest and industrious.  He reared a large family of children.  He died in the year 1839.  His sons, George and Charles Hood, after his death, continued the business of painting.  They were industrious, honorable men.

JOHN GIBBS

     John Gibbs came to Lancaster in 1824 and opened a gunsmith shop.  In later years he took up the business of house painting.  He was a good fifer and was in demand on militia days or Fourth of July parades.  He lived to an advanced age.  His wife was a daughter of Geo. Hood, Sr.

Page 338 -

AMOS HUNTER

     Mr. Hunter was born in Pennsylvania and with his father came to Fairfield County in 1799.  In 1810 he came to Lancaster to learn the blacksmith's trade with James Hardy.  In 1816 he went to Pittsburgh, where he married.  He returned to Lancaster in 1819, and commenced business.  In 1821 he became a partner of Thos. Edingfield, which partnership continued until 1838, when Edingfield was elected sheriff.  In 1845 his son Andrew became his partner, and so continued until his death.  He was one of the honored pioneers and for a long period a member of the Methodist Church.

DAVID FOSTER

     David Foster was born in Lancaster and learned the chair-making business with Joseph Grubb. In 1831 he began work for John B. Reed and continued with him for ten years.  He also worked ten years for Geo. Smith.  He commenced business on his own account in 1854.  He was the best tenor drummer of the town.  He was a staunch Methodist.

GEORGE SMITH

     George Smith came to Lancaster from Virginia, in what year we cannot ascertain.  He was a chair-maker and followed his trade in Lancaster.  He made chairs for many years, and about the year 1855 was a partner of George L. Eckert, conducting a shop and a general furniture business.  When he and Eckert dissolved, he moved to his farm east of town on the George Smetters section.  His wife was a daughter of George Smetters, a famous old wagoner of pioneer times and the strongest man of Fairfield County.

Page 339 -

JOHN PEARCE

     John Pearce was a shoemaker, and, for a time, a partner of Robert Reed.  Leaving Reed he began work for Joseph Work and remained with him eighteen years, when he worked two years for Crook & Brumfield.  Later, in partnership with his son, Robert, he continued the business for a number of years.  Robert in the meantime served during the war as a Union soldier.

JESSE ANDERSON

     Jesse Anderson was born in Pleasant Township in 1816.  He served an apprenticeship to Henry Orman and learned the carpenter trade.  In 1838 he began the business for himself and continued it until 1847, when he engaged in the stock business.  In 1851 he became a butcher and pork-packer.  Late in life he moved to Kansas City, where he died a few years since.

JOHN GUSEMAN

     John Guseman was born in Berkeley County, Va., and arrived in Lancaster in 1817, where he began making nails by hand and keeping a stock of iron.  He finally used horse power in his shop.  His son, John, made a trip to Pittsburgh on foot to buy iron.  The Gusemans were a hardy set of men and good work men.

JACOB GUSEMAN

     Jacob Guseman was the son of John Guseman and worked for his father until 1824, when he and his brother John became partners. They dissolved the partnership in 1825.  Jacob Guseman worked at his blacksmith trade all of his life and died more than three score and ten years of age.  His wife still lives

Page 340 -
a widow (1897) at the age of ninety-six years, the oldest inhaitant of Lancaster.

ADAM GUSEMAN

     Adam Guseman worked in his shop on the corner of Columbus and Wheeling Streets for many years.  He was a member of the city council several years.  He was a good citizen, a clever man, and a prominent local Democrat.

GEORGE GUSEMAN

     George Guseman was a carpenter.  He was an apprentice of John Leonard.  He spent his last days with his brother, Adam.

JAMES GEISER

     James Geiser came from Baden, Germany, and arrived in Lancaster in 1817.  He was a carpenter and millwright.  He ceased work in 1844.

WM. GEISER

     Wm. Geiser was the son of James Geiser.  He was a carriage maker and commenced business in 1840.  In 1844 he opened a shop of his own, five miles east of Lancaster.  In 1851 he moved his shop to Lancaster.  In 1866 his brother, John, became a partner.

MARTIN KINDLER

     Martin Kindler was a locksmith and in 1826 had a shop south of the Methodist Church.  He moved onto a farm in 1829.  He has been dead many years.

WM. BODENHAMER

     Wm. Bodenhamer came to Lancaster in 1817 as a wheelright.  In 1837 changed to gunsmithing.  He

Page 341 -
proved to be an accomplished gunsmith, having genius for it.  He introduced the first long range rifle and the first globe sights seen in Lancaster.  He died long ago, sometime in the fifties.

GEORGE WORRELL

     George Worrell was a native of Pennsylvania.  He came to Lancaster in 1827.  His first employment cannot be given.  He was known as an industrious man.  He was for six years marshal of Lancaster.  He died in the year 1856.

GEORGE MEYER

     George Meyer was born in Germany.  He arrived in Lancaster in the thirties.  He first sold Yankee clocks.  He made candles, and was for four years engaged in brewing.  He was a grocer and chandler as late as 1860.  About this time he retired from business.  He is long since dead. He was the father of Mrs. Jno. C. Smith.

JUSTUS YOUNGHANS

     Justus Younghans was born in Germany.  He arrived in Lancaster in 1834.  He was a cooper by trade, and was the partner of Henry Bell from 1835 to 1845, when, with Wm. Zink, he engaged in the brewing business.  He was councilman for one term.  He now lives in Circleville.

JACOB HITE

     Jacob Hite was born in Pleasant Township.  He came to Lancaster in 1834 and worked two years with Christopher Lochman.  In 1836 he began business for himself as tailor.  He continued in business in Lancaster sixty years, longer than any other man in

Page 342 -
continuous merchandizing business.  He was several terms a member of the city council and of the school board.  He still lives in Lancaster, an honored and respected citizen.

ROBERT SHANNON

     Robert Shannon came to New York from Ireland in the year 1830.  He was an honest brick-mason who came to Lancaster in 1838, where he worked at his trade.  He died Aug. 15, 1865, leaving a good name.  His son, Robert, was a soldier of the 1st Ohio, Company A, of Lancaster.

EDWIN WRIGHT

     Edwin Wright was born in Pennsylvania and came to Lancaster as a printer in 1831. He worked for thirty years on the Ohio Eagle, when he retired to his farm, where he died a few years since.

JOHN C. RAINEY

     John C. Rainey was a chair-maker and came to Lancaster from Zanesville in 1832.  He gave up his trade, was elected constable several years and then justice of the peace.  Under James K. Polk he held a position in Washington.  He was superintendent of the Hocking Canal for several years.  In 1857 he was elected clerk of the court of common pleas of Fairfield County, and served two terms.  He died about the age of seventy, leaving a large family.  He was a good local politician.

JOSIAH WRIGHT

     Mr. Wright came from Pennsylvania to Lancaster in the year 1839.  He was a carriage maker by trade and in 1841 formed a partnership with Wm. H. Shutt which continued one year.  He next associated with

Page 343 -
Mr. Deitz as partner.  This partnership terminated in the year 1846.  From 1846 to 1849 the firm was Wright & McCall.  This partnership being closed, James Selby became his partner and continued as such from 1850 to 1857.  The principal business was the manufacture of wheat drills, with Thos. D. Webster as traveling salesman.  Selby withdrew in the year 1857 and removed to Peoria, Illinois. In this same year Wm. Pursell became Wright's partner and the business was continued for two years. In the year 1861 Wright rented his shop to Pursell, retired from business and purchased the George Ring farm, making it his home.  In a few years he made a trade with Colonel Steele, who owned the Ewing farm in the valley.  Here he spent his old age in quiet retirement.  He died a year or two since, leaving his sons, John and Thomas, in possession of his fine farm.  Josiah Wright was an intelligent man, industrious and honest.  He was a man of decided convictions and, once he had deliberately formed an opinion, could not be shaken.  He was a Democrat of the old school, and might be properly termed an aggressive politician, neither asking nor giving quarter.

WILLIAM PURSELL

     Mr. Pursell was born in Huntington County, New Jersey.  He first came to Lancaster in 1856 with a stock of threshing machines and during that year sold nine of them.  In the year 1857 he moved his family to Lancaster and formed a partnership with Josiah Wright for the manufacture of wheat drills.  This partnership continued two years.  During these years his son, Joseph, was his assistant in the shop.
Leaving Wright, he dealt in implements and horses

Page 344 -
until the year 1861, when he rented Wright's shop and operated it until it was destroyed by fire in 1863.  He then fitted up the Benadum warehouse, which stood where Orman's shop now stands, and continued the manufacture of drills during the years 1864, 1865 and 1866.  Early in 1867 he purchased the Devol machine shop and fitted it up for manufacturing agricultural implements.  His son, John, was here in 1862 and 1863.  During the years 1864, 1865 and 1866 his four sons were associated with him in the business and continued with him in the Devol building.  In October, 1868, Wm. Pursell closed his earthly career.  Mr. Pursell was a very energetic, industrious man and honorable in all of his dealings. He left three sons who inherited his good qualities and continued his business.  During his business career Thos. D. Webster was the salesman in the country.  In 1870 F. C. Whiley and Samuel Whiley joined the Pursell brothers and organized the Eagle Machine Co. with F. C. Whiley, president, Samuel Whiley, secretary, and P. Pursell, superintendent.  This has been a well managed and prosperous plant, a credit to Lancaster and its owners.

D. K. FISCHEL

     D. K. Fischel came to Lancaster in 1842 from York, Pennsylvania.  He was a carpenter by trade.  He married the sister of George and Charles Hood.

THOS. G. DODSON.

     Thos. G. Dodson was born in Philadelphia.  He was a cabinet maker.  He married a Hood and worked for some time with his brother-in-law, Mr. Shultz, father of Judge Wm. A. Schultz, who was a cabinet-

Page 345 -
maker.  In 1849 he bought out Schultz and continued the business until 1865, when he began work in the railroad shops.  He died in Steubenville.  In his best days Mr. Dodson was a prominent Democratic politician in Lancaster, and could intelligently discuss political topics.

STEPHEN DECATUR WOLFE

     Stephen Decatur Wolfe was a native of Bern Township.  He spent some years in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and came to Lancaster in 1859 as a brickmason.  He was an honest, patriotic man of decided
anti-slavery principles.  Two of his sons were in the army, of whom one was killed at Mission Ridge.

F. A. STECK

     F. A. Steck was born in Germany and came to Lancaster in 1830.  He kept hotel until 1845, in two or three localities, the last being the Giesy Hotel.  He was for years captain of a well drilled German rifle company, giving his commands in German.  After he ceased to keep hotel, he became a butcher, which occupation he followed to old age.

JOHN B. REED

     John B. Reed was a native of Fairfield County and was born in 1809.  He learned the business of chair-making with Joseph Grubb.  He worked with or was a partner of Grubb's until 1831.  In 1840 he devoted himself entirely to sign and ornamental painting, in which he excelled.  He was a good amateur painter and with proper instruction would have become distinguished in that line.  He was, near the close of his life, elected and served as a justice of the

Page 346 -
peace.  He married a Miss Matlack, sister of Mrs. H. H. Hunter and Mrs. Geo. H. Smith, Sr.

SAMUEL CANNON

     Samuel Cannon came to Lancaster in 1806 and learned the business of chair-making with Walter McDonald.  With James Cranmer he was for a while in the grocery business.  In two years they sold out to Jerry Massie.  He was one term marshal of Lancaster and for several terms a trustee of Hocking Township.  He died December, 1866.

JAMES CRANMER

     James Cranmer was a saddler, having learned his trade with John Matlack.  Under President Tyler he
was postmaster of Lancaster.  He died in the month of November, 1866.  He was the father of Mrs. John D. Jackson.  One of his sons has for many years resided in New Orleans.

JACOB YOUNG

     Jacob Young became a resident of Lancaster in 1824.  He followed the business of a tobacconist.  In 1836 he sold out to John C. Klotz.  He removed to Cincinnati, where he died.

JOHN MATLACK

     Matlack was born in Kentucky and at an early day was engaged as clerk for W. & C. King.  In 1819 he purchased the harness business of Colonel John Noble.  His brother, Samuel, became his partner.  In 1821 they dissolved partnership, each conducting his business alone.  In 1833 John N. Little became a partner of Matlack.  He died in 1834.

Page 347 -

JOHN N. LITTLE

     John N. Little was the successor of Jno. Matlack.  In 1835 Nicholas Young became his partner, but retired in 1838. In 1852 John Matlack, Jr., became his partner and so continued for three years.  Nick. Little was one of the well-known and popular men of Lancaster.
     Few men ever lived in Lancaster better known or more universally liked than Mr. Little.  He was the father of John, the young soldier killed by John See.

SAMUEL MATLACK

     Samuel Matlack was born in Kentucky, came to Lancaster with his brother, John, and was engaged with him in business.  For a short time George Bentley was his partner.  In 1838 he sold his business to Nicholas Young.  He removed to Indiana, where he died one year later.

NICHOLAS YOUNG

     Nicholas Young was born in Virginia.  He was a saddler by trade and commenced business with John N. Little in 1835.  Mr. Young spent many years as a journeyman workman, and in his old age went south and made his home with his son.  He died recently.  Mr. Young was a very intelligent man and well-in formed upon all subjects.  He was for years the president of Lancaster city council.

THOS. EDINGFIELD

     Thos. Edingfield was born in Fayette County, Pa., and became a resident of Lancaster in 1821.  He was for many years a partner of Amos Hunter.  He was

Page 348 -
elected sheriff of Fairfield County in the year 1837.  In 1845 he moved to Newark, Ohio.

SAMUEL LITTLE

     Samuel Little came early to Lancaster and worked at the hatter's trade.  He had a well-established business in 1832, when Robert Fielding came here.  He was in business as late as 1839.  He finally read medicine and moved to the western part of Ohio and practiced his profession.  He closed his career as a Methodist preacher.

SAMUEL BAXTER

     Samuel Baxter lived in Lancaster in 1832 and worked at his trade of hatter.  His wife was a daughter of Isaac Meason, of Greenfield Township.  While working at his trade he studied law with William Medill.  After his admission to the bar in 1838, he moved to Lima, Ohio, then a small town in the woods.  Here he practiced his profession and acquired some of the cheap property to be had at that time.
     In his old age he married for his second wife Miss Annie Meason, daughter of John Meason.  His son, Dr. Samuel Baxter, is a prominent citizen of Lima.

WILLIAM MUNLUX

     William Munlux was a resident of Lancaster as early as 1837.  He was a stone-mason.  He worked several years on the locks of the Ohio and Hocking Canals.  He served as a soldier in the Union Army.

JACOB HOLT

     Jacob Holt was born in Philadelphia and came to Lancaster in 1834 as a cabinet-maker.  He was a col-

Page 349 -
lector on the canal, and for three terms of four years each was employed in the county auditor's office.  In 1840 he was a partner of Henry Schultz in the cabinet business.  He was a good man and the first Odd Fellow of Lancaster.

ISAAC BUTTERFIELD

     Isaac Butterfield was born in Lancaster.  He worked for different parties until 1854 when he opened a cigar shop.  This business he continued to follow until 1862, when he became lieutenant in the 114th Ohio Regiment.  After the war, in 1865, he resumed his old business.  A few years since he moved to Fostoria, Ohio, and since his residence there, has become a very devoted member of the Methodist Church.

WILLIAM H. SHUTT

     Shutt came to Lancaster May 12, 1839.  He was a carriage maker by trade and in 1841 he formed a partnership with Josiah Wright, which lasted for one year.  Mr. Shutt carried on the carriage business for a number of years, but finally failed and moved to Columbus.

JOHN H. PRICE

     Mr. Price was a miller and was for some time manager of the Canal Mill.  In 1837 he was a partner of H. Harvey in the milling business.  This partnership continued until 1840, and after its dissolution Price continued to run the mill for different parties for a few years.  During the administration of Governor Wm. Medill in 1855 and 1856 he was in charge of the State-house at Columbus, Ohio.

Page 350 -

MARTIN BAUMAN

     Martin Bauman was a gunsmith by trade.  He came to Lancaster in 1820. In 1834 he moved to Missouri.

GEORGE BENTLEY

     George Bentley came to Lancaster in 1815 and lived there a few years.  He did not pursue any regular occupation, but was the lucky winner of a lottery prize of $5000.  He removed to Tarlton, Pickaway County, where he spent the remainder of his life.

ADAM SHORT

     Adam Short came to Fairfield County in 1806.  His trade was that of a brick-mason.  He lost an arm by the explosion of a cannon on a Fourth of July occasion.  He moved to Cincinnati, where he died of cholera the last time it visited that city.  In 1840 he was marshal of Lancaster and cemetery trustee.

OLIVER P. WEAKLEY

     Oliver P. Weakley was for many years a well-known citizen of Lancaster.  He lost an arm at New Salem by the premature discharge of a cannon while celebrating the election of General Zachary Taylor.  His son is a traveling salesman for Ulrich & Cless of Columbus.

DENNING & PARKER

     Denning & Parker were for some years extensively engaged in the milling business in Lancaster.  Their mill was destroyed by fire.  In 1857 they purchased John S. Snyder's sawmill and converted it into a flouring mill.  Joseph Parker was the active manager of the business.  He finally failed, sold out and moved

Page 351 -
to Illinois and thence to Vanceburg, Ky.  For a few years Mr. Parker was quite prominent man in Lancaster.

JOHN M. MILLER

     John M. Miller was born in Wittenberg, Germany, October, 1812.  He came to America in 1832 and settled first in Columbus, Ohio, where he lived two years.  He also lived in Harrisburg and Gahanna, Franklin County.  He came to Lancaster in the year 1843 and carried on his business of shoemaking.  He was an industrious man and one of the leading German citizens.  He was a member of the city council for several years.  He also served on the board of equalization.  He died in October, 1879.

GEORGE D. SITES

     Mr. Sites came to Lancaster about the year 1815, and worked as a blacksmith until 1828, at which time he was elected sheriff of Fairfield County, serving four years.  His death occurred in Pleasant Township.

JOSEPH GRUBB

     Mr. Grubb was a chair-maker, sign-painter, and late in life, a portrait-painter.  He came to Lancaster about the year 1820.  He married a daughter of Jacob Claypool, who died early.  Grubb married for his second wife the widow Smith, sister of Dr. White.  In 1832, in partnership with Joel S. Parsons, he opened a dry goods store.  This partnership did not last long, as both men were poor merchants. 
     Grubb went to Baltimore, Md., and became a dentist.  He returned to Lancaster in his old age and died in
1860.  His son, Jacob Grubb, was one of the large

Page 352 -
farmers of Fairfield County, and for thirty years one of the largest of Ross County's farmers.

WILLIAM UPFIELD

     Mr. Upfield was born in England and was by trade a shoemaker.  He settled in Lancaster in 1829.  He was an intelligent but a somewhat visionary man.  He was at one time a member of the school board.  He died at his home on Broad Street at an advanced age.

HENRY DRUM

     Mr. Drum was a cooper by trade and followed the business as early as 1822 in Lancaster.  He at one time kept a tavern.  He took an interest in local politics and was elected a justice of the peace.  He was at one time deputy sheriff of Fairfield County.  During President Jackson's second term he was appointed postmaster of Lancaster, which position he did not enjoy long, for death came in about one year.  His widow was a friend of the family of John Brough, and she was the first one the governor asked for when he came to Lancaster in 1863.  He met her at the great mass meeting of that year and renewed old acquaintance.  Dresbach Drum, of Greenfield Township is a son, and Mrs. John N. Little, a daughter.  Mr. Drum was highly esteemed in Lancaster.

CONRAD WINTER

     Mr. Winter was born in Alsace, Germany.  He came to Lancaster when a young man and spent his life here.  He was one of our most respected and useful German citizens.  During the greater part of his life he followed his trade, that of cabinet-maker.  For several years prior to his death he was the teller and book

Page 353 -
keeper in the First National Bank of Lancaster.  Frank X. Winter, the hardware merchant, is his son.  Mr. Winter was well and favorably known, and highly esteemed as a man and neighbor.

HENRY W. BRINK

     Mr. Brink was a native of Haverstown, Kreis Minden, Prussia.  He was born May 7, 1824.  He came to Lancaster in 1852 and engaged in the coopering business, which he carried on extensively for ten years.  When coopering became unprofitable, he became a  watchman at the starch factory; and when that company ceased to do business, he became watchman for the Hocking Valley Manufacturing Company.  He
was a quiet, honest, unassuming man.  He died in the year 1877.  His son, Henry W. Brink, is the accomplished drug clerk for G. G. Beck & Son.

JACOB BAUMASTER

     Jacob Baumaster came to Ohio and Lancaster from Baden, Germany.  He was a stone-mason for many years. He died in the year 1864.

CHARLES BAUMASTER

     Charles Baumaster came with his brother to Lancaster and they were workers together for many years.  They were both good representative German citizens.

WILLIAM FISMER

     Mr. Fismer was born in Prussia and became a citizen of Lancaster in the year 1841.  His first work was for F. J. Boving.  He was a blacksmith in the Deitz shop in 1846.  He and Henry Snyder were for a time partners.  For quite a number of years he was the engi-

Page 354 -
neer and a partner in the Magnolia Mills.  Here he lost the savings of his life in Lancaster.  Of late years he has been court constable.

JAMES POOL

     Mr. Pool was a native of Pennsylvania.  He commenced the marble and monument business in Lancaster in October, 1866.  He continued the business for a few years and then purchased the old Bank farm, where he resides at this writing.

GEORGE H. STRODE

     Mr. Strode, in his early life, lived two years in Lancaster.  He was born January 19, 1799, in Berkeley
County, Va.  He came with his father, Edward Strode, to Fairfield County in 1804.  Sept. 6, 1829, he married Rebecca Arnold, daughter of Daniel Arnold.  In 1830 he moved to Lancaster and entered the tanyard of his father-in-law and learned the tanner's trade.  This tanyard was on the lots now occupied by a frame row on Wheeling Street, long known as the Maccracken row.  After two years apprenticeship, he moved to his father's farm in Hocking Township, where he sank a tanyard and carried on the business in connection with his farm.  His son, Thomas Strode, was born in Lancaster.  Geo. H. Strode was a good citizen, an intelligent, well-read man, and a model gentleman in every respect.  He was a good business man and especially endowed with good common sense.  He was a Christian, from childhood a member of the Methodist Church.  His mother was called a "saintly woman" by Bishop Asbury, who preached at her house.  Mr. Strode reared a large family of chil-

Page 355 -
dren, who honor his memory and profit by his example.  He died Feb. 5, 1876.

MYERS & GETZ

     Messrs. Myers and Getz for several years conducted a boot and shoe store in the Rising Block.  They were good merchants and did a thriving business.  Captain Getz is now the manager of the first shoe factory established in Lancaster.  Myers is engaged in the shoe business on Columbus Street.

WENDELL STRENTZ.

     Mr. Strentz was a native of Germany and came to the United States and to Lancaster in the year 1832.  He was a stone-cutter by trade and he opened and operated one of the first stone quarries on a large scale near town.  His quarry was on the Koontz farm south of town, near the corner of the Zane section.  The Logan pike now passes over the spot.  From this quarry came the stone for the Lancaster Bank building and for the stone columns on most of the Main Street fronts.  Also, the stone for the high walls on upper Main Street.
     Mr. Strentz laid out the East Lancaster addition to Lancaster.  He died in 1848.  His son, John W. Strentz, resides in Logan, and is an esteemed citizen of that town.

SAMUEL WILHELM

     Mr. Wilhelm was born in Berkeley County, Va., in March, 1811.  He came to Lancaster in 1834 and carried on a chair and furniture establishment until 1852, when he moved to his farm in Pleasant Township.  He was an honest, industrious man, and accumulated a handsome property. For many years he has been a

Page 356 -
leading member of the English Lutheran Church of Lancaster.  He lives a quiet life upon his farm, respected and honored by all who know him.  Rev. Martin L. Wilhelm, of Wooster, O., is a son.  His son James is a prominent real estate and loan agent of Columbus, O.  One of his daughters is the wife of David Ewing, a son of one of the pioneers.  Ewing's father was one of the founders of the Presbyterian Church of Lancaster.  Mr. Wilhelm's old home on Broad Street somewhat remodeled is still used as a dwelling.

HENRY DUBBLE

     Mr. Dubble came to Lancaster at an early day.  He was by trade a coverlet and carpet weaver.  He was an intelligent, public-spirited citizen.  He was a friend of the public schools,, and in 1830 with General Sanderson and Samuel Carpenter constituted the first board of school directors.  One of his granddaughters, daughter of Kate Dubble, is the wife of Lieutenant Henry Hunter of the Regular Army.  Captain John A. Dubble, a former river captain and hotel keeper at Cincinnati and now at Washington City, is his son.  His son, Henry, was a merchant at Galveston, Texas, and, also, a soldier of the Rebel Army and a prisoner at Camp Chase.  A sister of Henry Dubble, Sr., was the wife of Jacob Shupe, of New Salem Ohio.

JOHN STALLSMITH

     Mr. Stallsmith came to Lancaster in 1816, and in connection with Henry B. Joy carried on the butchering business.  In time he commenced shoemaking, his regular business, and continued in it many years.  He served the people of Hocking Township as constable and as justice of the peace.  He once undertook to

Page 357 -
stop a drove of cattle on Main Street, by shaking his apron in front of the leaders, but was knocked down and the entire herd passed over him without further harm to him.  He lived in the house where John Bletzacker now lives, on Main Street.  He was decided in his religious convictions and was a Universalist.  He lived to an advanced age.

HENRY B. JOY

     Mr. Joy came from Maryland in 1816. In 1817 he was jailor under General Sanderson, the sheriff.  He also served under Colonel William Crook, who succeeded General Sanderson. He was a butcher by trade and subscribed five dollar's worth of meat to ward the building of the first Presbyterian church.  He moved from Lancaster to Circleville.

CHARLES SCHUR

     Mr. Schur was a native of Germany and came to this country with Captain Witte in 1830, for the purpose of superintending the erection of Captain Witte's dwelling, steam mill, and distillery.  He spent the year 1833 in Germany.  On returning to Lancaster he opened a fine restaurant, and in two years' time, in 1836, took the Giesy Hotel, where he remained until 1840, the date of his removal to Indiana.  He was celebrated for the good meals he furnished, especially his Sunday dinners.  He was a brother of Mrs. Dr.
Boerstler.

KOEHLER & MYERS

     Messrs. Koehler and Myers were both natives of Germany.  They were partners in the boot and shoe business in Lancaster in the year 1864.  Koehler is dead and Myers is still in the business.

Page 358 -

JOHN YOUNGKIN

     Mr. Youngkin came to Lancaster as a tailor in 1817.  He worked at his trade in Lancaster for many years,
and late in life moved to Findlay, Ohio.

ISAAC CHURCH

     Mr. Church was one of the early settlers of Lancaster, where he came in 1816.  He was a fine carpenter and always in demand.  He was a fine draftsman and well-read upon architectural subjects.  He designed the spire of the old Presbyterian church.  He was one of the founders of the old Baptist Church and, late in life, was an occasional preacher.  In his old age he was partially blind, and as a necessity he opened a grocery on south Broad Street, to which his family gave attention.  One of his daughters was the wife of Josiah Wright; another, of Jacob Ulrich; another, of Lieutenant W. H. Pugh, of Cincinnati; and another, of the elder Butterfield.  His son, James, died in Chicago.

COLONEL CHARLES SAGER

     Colonel Sager came to Lancaster in about the year 1837, from Mt. Vernon, Ohio.  He rented the Swan Hotel and conducted it for two or three years.  His hotel was famous for good meals, and he for being a very clever landlord.  James Weaver was his chief clerk.
     In April, 1839, he purchased a plot of ground and laid out a town that he called Oakland, on the new Maysville turnpike.  Here he built a hotel and kept it for several years.  He was there as late as 1855.  From there he moved to Washington C. H.   H. D. Overholtzer & Sons succeeded him in the Swan Hotel.

Page 359 -

     In Mt. Vernon he was engaged in the tinning business.  His wife was a Smith, a cousin of the late Robt. Smith and Mrs. John Creed.  Her brother, James Smith, Jr., studied law with Hon. John T. Brasee and moved to Minnesota, where he became an able lawyer and a wealthy man.  Her brother, Dr. V. Smith, also lived in Minnesota and attained distinction.  He died there a few days since.

GEORGE CANODE

     Mr. Canode came to Lancaster in 1800. He married one of the four famous Arnold sisters, who were among the founders of the Methodist Church.  He was a shoemaker by trade, but varied the monotony by dealing in horses for the Eastern market.
     Late in life he moved to Baltimore, Ohio, where he died.  He had passed his eighty-ninth year.

FERDINAND WAGNER

     Mr. Wagner came to Lancaster at an early day and opened a tailor shop.  In later years he kept a small grocery.

FRANK LILLY

     Mr. Lilly came to Lancaster from Frederick, Md., in the year 1834.  He carried on a large tailor shop.  In 1850 Lilly was elected county treasurer, and served four years.  Retiring from office, he moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

CHRISTIAN ANANDT

     Mr. Anandt was a brick-mason, and in 1826 was the leading one of the town.  He instructed David Cowden in the business.  He died while yet in the prime of life.

Page 360 -

WILLIAM E. WILLIAMS

     Mr. Williams came from Hagerstown, Md., where he was born in 1804.  He landed in Lancaster in 1836.  He entered the employ of Geo. Ring in his woolen factory and continued there until the year 1838.  In the year 1839 he kept a small grocery on Broad Street.  He then purchased the Broadway Hotel and ran it until 1848, when he purchased Geo. Ring's woolen factory. He sold the factory in 1852.
     In the year 1855 he moved to Vinton, Iowa.  One of his sons married a daughter of Robert Fielding.

GENERAL J. A. STAFFORD

     General Stafford was born in Bladensburg, Md., Aug. 26, 1830, and came to Lancaster in 1852 as a shoemaker.  In 1860 he was captain of an independent military company.  When Lincoln called for volunteers, this was the first company to respond to the call, and they were in the first battle of Bull Run.  Febary, 1862, he was promoted to major of the First Ohio.  October, 1854, he was appointed colonel of the One Hundred and Seventy-eighth Ohio Regiment, and in 1865 made brigadier-general by brevet.  He died a few years since in Chicago.

JACOB WALTER

     Mr. Walter came from Germany to America in 1831.  He first lived at York, Pa., and in 1834 he came to Lancaster.  For two years he attended Terry's mill, near Crook's schoolhouse.  He came to Lancaster as a baker, but soon opened the William Tell Hotel, which he kept until 1853, when he retired to his farm, where he spent the evening of his days.

Page 361 -

JOEL SMITH

     Joel Smith was born in Virginia in the year 1799.  He came to Lancaster in the year 1826 and built and operated the first foundry in Lancaster.  He operated this foundry for a number of years. T. D. Webster rode the horse that moved the power for the bellows, and George Bitler acquired the trade in his foundry.  In course of time he took John Arney as partner under the name of Smith & Arney, corner of Columbus Street and Broadway.  In the year 1845 John Arney traded Smith his farm in Liberty Township for his half interest in the foundry.  In this year Smith moved his family to his farm, where he continued to reside to the time of his death in August, 1869.  He, with most of his family, lies buried near the grave of his friend, General Sanderson, in Elmwood Cemetery.  Joel Smith built the iron fence that encloses the lot where he and his friends are buried.  His son, Amos J. Smith, was a soldier of the 17th Ohio and on his way home, after being discharged, was killed in a rail road accident at Columbia Station, the same accident that caused the death of his comrade, George Kutz.  John Arney, who succeeded him in business, came to Lancaster at an early day and was a well-known and prominent citizen. In the early days he built and operated an oil mill five miles south of Lancaster.

GILBERT DEVOL

     Mr. Devol came to Lancaster in 1829 from Marietta.  He was born in his father's "block house" (a pioneer fort) at Marietta in the year 1800.  Soon after his arrival here, he built his foundry and machine shop at the foot of Main Street.  He purchased a fine old-fashioned residence on Wheeling Street.  He con-

Page 362 -
ducted this shop and foundry until about the year 1867, when he sold out to Wm. Pursell, and spent the remainder of his days in retirement.  One of his daughters married Captain Fisher, an old time Ohio River steamboat captain.  Another married Prescott Devol, a nephew, who also was a river captain.  He was a fine singer, and in the Whig campaign of 1848 he, with Wm. Cox, son of Tunis Cox, attended the mass meetings and sung glorious songs to the great delight of all who heard them.  Captain Devol for some reason visited the far East and engaged in the service of the King of Siam in command of one of his vessels.  While engaged in this service he sickened and died.  His son, Harry Devol, is the only survivor of the Devol family of this city.
     Gilbert Devol was an intelligent, quiet, honest, unobtrusive citizen. His father was Captain Jonathan
Devol, an enterprising pioneer of the "Ohio Company."

GEORGE J. BITLER

     George J. Bitler, who learned his trade with Joel Smith, built a foundry on the canal at the north end of town in 1843, which he operated for a number of years.  He then, in connection with Christian Beery, opened a stove and tin store on Main Street.  They did not make a success of it and soon closed up, and Beery lost the farm he put into the business.  Both have been dead some twenty years.

WM. BRUMFIELD

     Wm. Brumfield was born in Virginia and came to Ohio in 1817.  We cannot state the year he became a resident of Lancaster, but it was at an early period.  He is credited with operating the first good brewery

Page 363 -
in Lancaster.  David Reese had operated one upon a small scale as early as 1804.  The wife of Mr. Brumfield was a Peters, sister of Gideon Peters, the tanner.  Joseph Kurtzman is of the opinion that he was in the brewery business as early as 1832 and as late as 1840.  Abandoning this business, he retired to his farm west of town.  At the time of his death he lived upon and owned the Joseph Hunter farm.  His death occurred Aug. 29, 1873.

GEORGE MYERS AND JOHN WHITMILLER

     George Myers and John Whitmiller ran a small brewery along in the thirties on the Snyder corner on the canal.

WILLIAM MOERLEIN

     William Moerlein was a brewer on a small scale for a few years on the rear of his lot on south Columbus Street.  He abandoned it, however, before his death, which occurred a year or two since.

JOSEPH KURTZMAN

     Joseph Kurtzman was a native of Alsace, France.  He came to Lancaster in 1838 and was employed by Myers, Green & Martin, contractors on the Hocking Canal. In the year 1840 he entered the service of Gilbert Devol and was employed making flasks and patterns.  When Devol sold out, he remained in the old shop for a few years with the Eagle Machine Co.

GEORGE CARTER

     George Carter was born at Canton, Ohio, and came to Lancaster in 1830.  He was a carpenter by trade.  Among other good jobs, he did the carpenter work of the Myers and Collins building.  This concern failed

Page 364 -
and paid him one per cent of his claim.  He, with Wm. E. Price, conducted a hat store in the sixties.  Price, after their business was closed up, moved to Washington, D. C. Carter's wife was a sister of the late Stephen Smith.  He died in 1895 at an advanced age.

ROBERT O. CLASPILL

     Robert O. Claspill was a son of Robert R. Claspill and came with his father from Virginia.  He learned his father's trade and carried on the business of blacksmithing and plough-making on Columbus Street.  His shop stood where the English Lutheran Church now stands.  He was a good citizen and a leading member of the Methodist Church.  He died in 1844.

GIDEON PETERS

     Gideon Peters was a son of Robinson Peters of Amanda Township and brother of Robinson J. Peters.  He carried on a tanyard for a number of years near the Hocking bridge on West Main Street.  He was a substantial and influential citizen and a leading member of the Methodist Church.

JAMES M. PRATT

     James M. Pratt succeeded Maccracken and Thome in the tanning business at the foot of Broad Street.  He continued the business up to the time of his death.  His second wife was the widow of George Creed.  She was a Clements.
     Mr. Pratt was an honorable and upright man, a respected and influential citizen, and for many years conducted an extensive business.  He was connected by marriage with one of the oldest and most respected

Page 365 -
families of the town.  Lancaster had no more worthy citizen in his time than James M. Pratt.

JAMES HERMAN

     James Herman was a carpenter by trade.  He married Lucretia Arnold, daughter of Daniel Arnold.  She is said to have been a very handsome woman.  Herman died in Lancaster about the year 1843.  His widow married Thos. Rhoades, who was a son of Mrs. Sherrick (a daughter of Daniel Arnold) by her first husband.  Thomas Rhoades went to Texas (his wife followed later), but in a few years she returned to Lancaster and died here.  Rhoades is still living in Texas.  Herman superintended the building of the Methodist Episcopal church.

SIMEON DENTON

     Simeon Denton came to Lancaster in the forties from Rockingham County, Virginia.  He was a carpenter by trade and when he ceased building, engaged in the lumber business.  His second wife was the Widow Manson, a sister of Daniel Sifford.  He was a plain, old-fashioned Quaker style of man and always attracted attention.  He was a well-known visitor at the old "Coon Box", where Dr. Wagenhals made every man welcome regardless of his politics.

W. B. PEARCE

     W. B. Pearce was born in Allegheny County, Pa., in 1806.  He came to Ohio in 1811 and to Lancaster in 1832.  He was a carpenter by trade and followed his calling until 1859, when he moved to his farm in Berne Township.  He returned to Lancaster in a few years and spent the remainder of his days in quiet

Page 366 -
retirement.  He was a member of the city council for six years.  His first wife was Louisa Shellenbarger; his second, a daughter of George Crook.
     Mr. Pearce was a man of decided convictions and a Democrat of the strictest standard.

JOHN D. SCHLEICH

     John D. Schleich was born in Frederick, Md., December 3, 1799.  He came to Lancaster in the year 1S17.  He was a carpenter and followed his trade here, building many good houses.  In 1840 he moved to the country and spent the years of old age upon his farm.  He was the father of Colonel N. Schleich, late of Lancaster.  He died June 1, 1880.

HENRY SCHULTZ

     Henry Schultz came to Lancaster from Pennsylvania at an early day. He married a daughter of Geo. Hood, Sr.  He was a cabinet-maker, and a well-known and highly-respected citizen.  He died in the prime of life.  His son, W. A. Schultz, is now the probate judge of this county.  In 1840 he was a partner of Jacob Holt.

JOHN C. FLOOD

     John C Flood was most of his life a worthy and highly-esteemed citizen of Lancaster.  He was a blacksmith by trade and followed that occupation all of his life.  He was a leading member of the Methodist Church for many years.  He was an honorable man in every relation of life and esteemed by his neighbors.

WM. CASSEL

     Wm. Cassel spent the greater part of his life in Lancaster.  His parents lived near Somerset, O.  His

Page 367 -
mother was a sister of William and Christian King.  Wm. Cassel was a carpenter by trade and pronounced a fine workman.  He did the inside work of many good houses in Lancaster.  He assisted Henry Orman in raising the great Whig pole on the public square in 1840 and 1842.  He was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, and lived a consistent Christian life.  He left a family of industrious boys of good habits.

HENRY BELL

     Mr. Bell came to Lancaster from Baltimore, Md., while yet a young man.  He was a cooper by trade. At that time the coopering business was a desirable trade in Lancaster.  He married a daughter of Baltzer Rutter, a prominent citizen of that day of Pleasant Township.  He followed his trade until about the year 1850, when barrels manufactured by machinery began to encroach upon hand work.  From 1835 to 1845 he was in partnership with Justus Younghans. 
     He was a volunteer soldier of 1861 and a member of Company I, Seventeenth Ohio Regiment.  He took sick when near Danville, Kentucky, and his wife was sent for.  She reached his bedside and succeeded in bringing him home, but he did not long survive, dying in three weeks after reaching home in the year 1863, aged fifty-six years. 
     He left his widow with a family of young children, but she was a brave woman and equal to the emergency.
She educated her boys and brought them up to habits of industry, and now, in her old age, they care for her. 
     Her son, U. R. Bell, was a merchant, a member of the old Reber & Kutz firm, and later a partner of J. C. Ulrich, both in Lancaster and Columbus.

Page 368 -

HENRY F. BLAIRE AND WM. KINKEAD

     Messrs. Blaire and Kinkead came to Lancaster from Maryland, along in the thirties.  They were partners in the stone-cutting business.  They plied their trade here for many years, until old age claimed them and death closed their eyes.  They were high-minded, honorable men, and esteemed by all who knew them.  Numerous stone walls and the foundations of our best buildings attest their skill.  They were outspoken men as politicians and citizens, and honest in their convictions.  They sleep their last sleep in old Elmwood Cemetery, made sacred by the dust of the eminent men of Lancaster.
     Side by side they pursued life's journey, side by side they rest from their labors.  Kinkead's father built the great stone bridge famous for its arches at Smithfield, Pa., on the National road.  One of his daughters is the wife of ex-Attorney-General Robert M. Clarke, of Nevada.

WILLIAM GUY BLAIRE

     Mr. Blaire came to Lancaster from Maryland, along in the thirties.  He was a carpenter by trade, which employment he followed during his life.  He was a good citizen, prudent, industrious, and honest, and much respected.  He was a brother of Henry F. Blaire and of Louis A. Blaire, the old school-teacher and county auditor, the only candidate who ever secured a nomination for a county office by manfully walking from home to home presenting his claims, because he was too poor to go otherwise.

Page 369 -

JAMES F. O'DONNELL

     Mr. O'Donnell was born in the county of Mayo, Ireland.  He came to Lancaster about the year 1862, and
engaged in the marble business.  He was a good citizen and a very fine man.  He married Clara, daughter of John Jackson, one of the best farmers of Perry County.  She was a sister of Colonel Jackson, of New Lexington, Ohio.  O'Donnell met with a terrible accident in 1870, on the C. & M. Z. Railroad, by which he lost a leg.  The shock was too much for him and he died in a few days.  James F. O'Donnell died in the prime of life, and just when he had become permanently established in business, with bright prospects before him.  No man in so short a time ever made a better impression upon the people of Lancaster, than this warm-hearted young Irishman.

PETER G. DRINKLE

     Mr. Drinkle was a native of Berks County, Pa., and was born in the year 1818.  He came to Lancaster while yet a young man and acquired the trade of a tailor, which business he followed during his life-time.  He died in the prime of life in the year 1850.  He was the father of H. C. Drinkle, and also of Charles Drinkle, who met an untimely death in a deplorable accident on the corner of Broad and Columbus Streets, a few years since.  The Republicans in the midst of an exciting campaign undertook to raise a pole at that point, but the appliances did not work well and the pole, when about half way up, fell to the ground, crushing the life out of young Drinkle.
     Two young men named Charles Hoffman and Geo. Fink were killed at the same time and in the same man

Page 370 -
ner.  George E. Martin barely escaped with his life.  This accident occurred in the year 1876. The Hon. B. S. Wydman, of Cincinnati, is a grandson of Peter G. Drinkle.

JOHN H. WRIGHT

     Mr. Wright was born near Martinsburg, Va., in May, 1801.  He came to Lancaster in the year 1825.  He was a printer by trade, and was the printer and publisher of the Lancaster Gazette in 1826, under the original proprietors, Sanderson and Oswald.  From 1826 to 1867 he was in some capacity connected with the Gazette.
     For a year or two subsequent to 1838 he was jointly interested in the paper with Benjamin Moehler.  In 1850 he was the publisher under the editorial management of George Weaver.
     He was during his long life an industrious, honest, unassuming man, known to all of the leading men of Lancaster, and much respected by them.  His old age was a quiet, peaceful one, spent in the quiet of his family and in the society of his most intimate friends.  He died August 16, 1883, aged eighty-three years.

COLONEL CHRISTOPHER HUBER

     Mr. Huber spent three weeks in Lancaster in 1810.  He then commenced farming in Pleasant Township. In 1831 he located at Ft. Jennings, in Putnam County, Ohio, and was justice of the peace, and commissioner of Putnam County.  In 1845 he was receiver of public money at the land office at Upper Sandusky.  In 1852 he returned to Lancaster, having lost his farm and the earnings of a life-time.  He was, in 1846, elected constable and retained the office several years.

Page 371 -

CHRISTIAN RUDOLPH

     Mr. Rudolph became a resident of Lancaster in 1815.  He was first employed as stableman by John Sweyer, and then by Jacob Green. He soon became a stage driver on the Wheeling line for R. M. Johnson.  He also drove for John L. Dugan, Johnson's successor.  He continued to drive stage until 1826, when he purchased the coach and four and carried passengers through to Cincinnati and back by way of Columbus.  He occasionally varied this by going from Cincinnati or Columbus to Sandusky or Portland, as it was then called.  In later years he ran a livery stable in Lancaster.

JOHN SWILER

     Mr. Swiler was in Lancaster as early as 1812.  No one knows where he came from.  He enlisted in Captain Sanderson's company.  He was the "boss bummer" and supplied the boys with extra rations, in which poultry formed no insignificant item.  He was a great drinker, a great fighter, and always had money for his simple wants.  No man more clearly earned the title of "deadbeat" than John Swiler.  He was a long-winded fighter and generally came out best.  His only redeeming quality was his humor, which the men he wronged enjoyed.

JACOB GASTER

     No man ever worked harder, drank harder, or more cruelly exposed himself in all weather than Jake Gaster.  It is said that he drank whiskey enough in his life-time to float a canal boat.  His constitution was as tough as a pine knot.
     As a laboring man he was popular, as he was honest and a faithful worker.  He lived beyond three score

Page 372 -
and ten years.  Everybody knew Jake Gaster, drunk or sober he was a "hale fellow well met."

HENRY MIERS, JR.

     Mr. Miers was born in Virginia in 1798, and came with his father to Lancaster in 1809.  He had capital and managed it well.  He owned the present state farm at one time, on which he cultivated tobacco.  He sold his farm of about 1,000 acres to the state of Ohio in 1856 for fifteen dollars per acre.  He was for some years superintendent of the Zanesville pike, was stock holder in the Savings Bank, and a stockholder and director of the starch company.  He died in 1862, aged sixty-three years.

JAMES MIERS

     James Miers was a native of Lancaster and was born in 1812.  In 1842 he was constable of the township.  In 1849 he journeyed to California, where he remained some years, but did not succeed in business.  He returned to Lancaster and spent the remainder of his
life with his sisters.

SALMON SHAW

     Mr. Shaw was born in New York State, Nov. 24, 1794.  He came to Ohio in 1817.  He was first a school-teacher in the country, and later taught in Lancaster academy. In 1836 he was elected county surveyor, and was for some years city engineer.  He was a member of the Ohio Legislature in the years 1846 and 1847.  He was the father of Virgil E. Shaw.  He died Oct. 11, 1854.  He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity and was honored with a Masonic burial.

Page 373 -

JAMES CUTCHALL

     Mr. Cutchall came to Lancaster from Maryland.  He was all his life a fine stage-driver.  A man had to be a fine driver with four high-spirited horses at full trotting speed.  He drove into Lebanon the day that Judge Sherman died in that town.  James was one of D. Tallmadge's favorite drivers.

SAMUEL RUDOLPH

     Mr. Rudolph was born in Berks County, Pa.  He came to Lancaster in 1817 with his brother, Christian.   He drove stage nine years for Wm. H. Beard.  In 1833 he opened a small livery-stable, which he conducted thirty years.  He more than once made the trip to Philadelphia with passengers in his private coach.

ROBERT COOK

     Mr. Cook was born in Wiltshire, England, and came to Ohio in 1836.  He was first employed by Neil, Moore & Co. at Zanesville, Ohio.  He came to Lancaster in 1838.  In 1840 D. Tallmadge appointed him stage agent at Lancaster.  This position he retained as long as Tallmadge ran coaches.  Robert was well known and well liked.  He had great confidence in any news brought by the "stige".  He was the uncle of Mrs. Henry Giddings.

JOHN S. SNIDER

     Mr. Snider was a carpenter and came to Lancaster in 1832.  He moved to the country in 1844, where he remained ten years. In 1854 he returned to Lancaster and built a large steam sawmill on the canal, which he sold to Joseph Parker in 1855.  Parker converted it into a flouring mill.  He built the flouring mill at the

Page 374 -
foot of Broad Street, afterwards owned by Jno. R. Mumaugh.  1857 to 1861 found him engaged selling a patent head block for sawmills.  He owns about sixty acres of vineyard, which he planted years ago; also large wine cellars and presses under his dwelling in Lancaster, where he manufactures large quantities of wine.  He still lives at fourscore years of age.

CAPTAIN WM. F. FERGUSON

     Captain Ferguson was a bricklayer and worked for many years in Lancaster.  He was at one time captain of one of the military companies of the town.  In 1849 he went to California, where he spent the remainder of his life.  He was always a popular character, and his name is often mentioned by old citizens.  He was the captain of the second company that went from Lancaster to the Mexican War.  He did the brickwork of the Collins block, now the Mumaugh, Kirn, & Martens block.

ABRAHAM PITCHER

     Mr. Pitcher came with his father, Abraham Pitcher, to Lancaster in 1801 or 1802.  He married Elizabeth Cassel, sister of Wm. Cassel, the carpenter.
     Pitcher was not engaged in any regular business, but often acted as an auctioneer.  By some means he raised the money and built a frame house on the north east corner of High and Main Streets, since owned and occupied successively by R. M. Ainsworth and P. B. Ewing.  Maccracken's house is now on the lot.  In the thirties he deserted his wife, and she returned to her old home in Perry County.  Pitcher went to New York and 'tis said got into trouble and finally into the State Prison. In 1856 he sent to General George Sanderson an oak cane made of the wood taken from the

Page 375 -

house once used by General George Washington as his headquarters at Newburgh, N. Y.  This is the last heard of him.

DR. MICHAEL BUECHLER

     Dr. Michael Buechler was born, educated and practiced medicine in Germany.  He came to Lancaster, an old man, in the year 1840 and died at an advanced age in 1866.

PERRY STEINMAN

     Perry Steinman, son of G. Steinman, was born in Lancaster in 1821.  In the year 1844 he was a confectioner's clerk in Lexington, Ky.  In 1845 he was elected constable of Hocking Township.  In 1847 he was made second lieutenant of a company and enlisted for the Mexican War.  He returned to Lancaster in 1848, and again was elected constable.  In 1849 he went to California, where he remained about ten years.  There he accumulated some capital.  Returning to Lancaster, he opened a livery-stable, which he carried on until his death.  He married the daughter of Robt. Fielding.

ALVAH PERRY

     Alvah Perry came with his father to Ohio and settled at Lithopolis.  He came to Lancaster in 1844, as deputy sheriff, and was deputy postmaster under John C. Cassel.  In 1846 he enlisted in the Second Ohio Regiment for the Mexican War and was made second lieutenant.  Returning to Lancaster, he dealt in stock.  In 1862 he enlisted in the 90th Ohio and served during the war, being elected captain of his company.  In 1866 he was deputy U. S. marshal.  Later he was sergeant-at-arms of the Ohio senate.  His wife was the daughter of Samuel Foster, a pioneer citizen and brother-in-law of Judge Graybill.  Samuel

Page 376 -
Foster was a son of the Rev. Foster, the first Lutheran missionary to preach in Lancaster.  He was the father of Colonel Sam. Foster, late of Columbus, Ohio, and of George W. Foster, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

OLD BILLY PETERS

     When Robert and Daniel Smith left Virginia in 1810, they purchased Billy and his wife, Hannah, and brought them to Fairfield County, where they set up for themselves.  They were industrious and frugal, and very popular.  Billy's business was quarrying stone, in which he lost his life, a stone crushing one of his feet.  Nearly every business man in Lancaster attended his funeral.  He was held in high esteem.

REV. CHARLES PETERS

     Peters was born in Virginia in or near Winchester.  He was sexton of a church there when Rev. Abram Reck was the pastor.  Long years afterwards they met in Lancaster.  Rev. Peters was the first colored man to cast a vote in Lancaster.  The colored people assembled at the polls and agreed that he should cast the first vote.  He was a good old man, honest, sincere, and a zealous Christian. Rev. Reck once said that Father Peters was a sensible man and had a very clear comprehension of the plan of salvation, and that he had great faith and confidence in him.

JOHN AMPY JONES

     John Ampy Jones was a well-known colored man of the period of 1840 and 1850.  He was an honest, faithful man, industrious, and always a man of his word.  He had the respect and confidence of all who knew him and his friends were legion.  His principal busi-

Page 377 -
ness was digging and cleaning wells, in which occupation he lost his life at an age when there seemed to be many years of usefulness before him.  He was a courteous, unassuming man and led a quiet, peaceful life.
     Like most of the early colored residents of Lancaster, he had been a Virginia slave.  His youth was clouded by this "relic of barbarism," but the air of freedom made him a man, and he walked the earth, not as a chattel, but as one proud of his manhood.

COLONEL WILLIAM HAMILTON

     Colonel William Hamilton came to Lancaster as county surveyor in 1855.  He had up to that time been a prominent farmer in Clear Creek Township.  Colonel Hamilton was a man of fine ability and one whose influence was felt in the community in which he lived.  He was a good mathematician and made a very capable surveyor.  His daughter, Mary, was for many years a very competent teacher in the public schools.  She is now the wife of S. J. Wolfe.

SALEM WOLFE

     Salem Wolfe was for many years a substantial and prosperous farmer of Madison Township.  As a citizen he was highly esteemed.  He was one of the successful farmers of the famous Clear Creek Valley.  He came to Lancaster or, more properly, to the Judge Irvin farm near town, late in life.  This he sold in a few years and moved to town.  Here he spent his old age quietly and peacefully, respected and honored by his neighbors.  His youngest daughter was the first wife of H. W. Griswold.  His son, John, is the present competent city engineer.

Page 378 -