BIOGRAPHIES
†
Source:
Portrait and Biographical Record of Marion and
Hardin Counties, Ohio
Containing Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Prominent
and Representative Citizens of the Counties
Together with Biographies and Portraits of all the Presidents
of the United States
Published: Chicago: Chapman Publishing Co.
1895
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HARRY EDSELL.
Through one of the youngest, this gentleman may also with
justice he called one of the most successful, newspaper men of
Hardin County. Possessing natural ability for journalistic
work, as well as more than ordinary intellectual acumen and
discernment, he is thoroughly fitted for the occupation he has
chosen, and will undoubtedly in future yeas gain a position of
prominence among the journalists of the state. He assisted in
starting the Kenton Daily News in 1889, and has since been
closely identified with the growth and prosperity of this
popular paper, in addition to which he is one of the publishers
of the Graphic News.
The Edsell family has been identified with the
history of Ohio for several generations, and its members have
been known for probity of character and energy of disposition.
Nor was the father of our subject, Harry Edsell, Sr., an
exception to the rule, for he, too, was a man of lofty
principles of honor and justice, and his early death was a lost
to his community. He was born in Greenville, Ohio, where his
parents were well-to-do farmers, and in his youth he received
fair common-school advantages, which he later supplemented by
self-culture. It was his ambition to become a physician, and he
studied medicine, gaining a thorough theoretical knowledge of
the profession, but the condition of his health would not permit
the exposure incidental to practice. For a umber of years he
taught school in Columbus and Dayton, and from this state he
removed to Topeka, Kan., where his death occurred at the age of
about twenty-eight.
In 1869 Mr. Edsell married Miss Lydia A.
Hatch, who was born in Delaware County, Ohio, and by their
union one child was born, the subject of this notice. Mrs.
Edsell was a daughter of T. B. Hatch, who was born in
New York State in 1814, and died in Ohio in 1883, his occupation
throughout his entire active life being that of a farmer.
In 1848 he married Miss Eliza J. Sutton, who was born in
England, accompanied her parents to New Hampshire, and died in
Ohio at the age of sixty-four years.
The birth of Harry Edsell, Jr., occurred in
Delaware County, Ohio, June 1, 1871. His education, which
was an excellent one, was commenced in the common schools of
Kenton, and has been supplemented by practical observation of
men and things, and thoughtful reading of historical and current
literature. In boyhood he learned the printer's trade, and
from a lowly position has worked his way upward to success and
prosperity. There is no department of the business with
which he is not thoroughly familiar, and his tact and skill are
brought into daily requisition in the many details connected
with the publication of the paper. As already stated, he
assisted in establishing the Kenton Daily News, which has
the distinction of being the first successful daily in Kenton.
He is still associated with it as one of the publishers, and is
also connected with the Graphic News, a county weekly.
Mr. Edsell is well known as a member of the Ohio
National Guards, and at Present holds the rank of Lieutenant of
Company I, which he as a Presbyterian and holds membership with
the church of that denomination in Kenton. From boyhood
his political preferences have been toward the Republican party.
As a citizen he advocates, both personally and through the
press, such enterprises as will most rapidly promote the growth
of Kenton, and secure the greatest good to its residents. |
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WILLARD
C. EMERY, M. D. A position of prominence in the
medical fraternity of Kenton is held by the subject of this
notice, who began in the spring of 1884, and has since had a
large and remunerative patronage. He is a following of the
homeopathic school, and is ability and success have done much
toward gaining popularity for that system among the people of
this locality. In the diagnosis of intricate and
complicated cases he displays an accuracy and skill that prove
his thorough knowledge of the profession in its every
department.
The Emery family originated in Germany, but has
been represented in America for many years, and three
generations have been residents of Ohio. Peter H. Emery,
the father of our subject, was a native of Pennsylvania, whence
he removed to Ohio Early in the 40s, and with his brother
started the first carriage factory in Bellefontaine. His
death occurred in that city in 1865. The lady whom he
married, Mary Ann Anderson, was of Scotch-Irish ancestry,
and her father, Matthew Anderson, was one of the pioneers
of Logan County, his home being on a farm near West Liberty.
During the last twenty years of his life he was totally blind.
One of his sons was a member of the Wisconsin State Legislature
and State Senate, and now makes his home in that state.
Mr. Mary A. Emery survives her husband, and now resides in
Bellefontaine.
At the time of the death of Peter H. Emery, his
wife was left with four small children dependent upon her.
Of these the eldest, W. C., was born in Bellefontaine, Logan
County, Ohio, April 16, 1856. His three sisters are
Jennie, who resides with her mother at Bellefontaine;
Sallie, wife of E. W. Patterson, a well-to-do
stockman of Bellefontaine; and Mamie, wife of Dr.
Frank Griffin, a dentist of Bellefontaine. The subject
of this sketch received his literary education in the common and
high schools of his native city, and in 1876, when twenty years
old, commenced to read medicine with Dr. J. H. Wilson, of
Bellefontaine. Later he attended lectures at the Pulte
Medical College of Cincinnati, from which institution he was
graduated in the spring of 1879.
Forming a partnership with his former preceptor, Dr.
Emery remained in Bellefontaine until 1884, when, as above
stated, he came to Kenton. He was united in marriage, in
1884, with Miss Emma May Kerr, the daughter of an
extensive and successful commission merchant of Buffalo, N. Y.
Unto their union there have been born two sons and two
daughters, named as follows: Hazel, Marguerite, Horace
Clayton and Willard Sprague. The religious
connections of Dr. and Mrs. Emery are with the
Presbyterian Church, in the welfare of which he takes a deep
interest. In political affairs he advocates the principles
of the Republican party, and is well informed concerning matters
pertaining to local and national prosperity. His
residence, an attractive house recently erected, is situated on
North Detroit Street, and is one of the most cosey and pleasant
homes in the city.
Source: Portrait
& Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895
- Page 386 |
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THOMAS ESPY,
President of the Kenton Milling Company and President of the
Kenton Gas and Electric Company, was born in Beaver County, Pa.,
May 12, 1837. He is the son of John Espy, a native
of the same county, born in 1812. The original progenitors
of the family in America were two brothers who came hither from
the North of Ireland in Colonial times, one settling east of the
Alleghany Mountains, near Philadelphia, and the other making his
home on the west side of the mountains.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was born in
Beaver County and there engaged in farm pursuits. He had a
large family of children, among whom were two sons, John and
Thomas. The latter went to North Carolina, married,
and became a prominent minister in the Presbyterian Church.
The two brothers were separated, and nothing was heard of
Thomas for many years. About the time of the outbreak
of the Rebellion, our subject went to North Carolina to learn if
any trace could be found of his uncle. He discovered that
he was dead, and that his only child, Harriet Newell, was
the wife of United States Senator Vance In this way
the cousins became known to each other, and Senator Vance
and his wife visited the family at Kenton on several different
occasions. Mrs. Vance died in North Carolina in
1877.
The father of our subject, who was a miller by trade,
came to Hardin County, Ohio, in 1838, when Thomas was a
child one year old. Settling on a farm, he remained there
for two years, but in 1840 located in Kenton, where, in1845, he
built the first steam flouring mill in Hardin County, on the
present site of the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad Depot.
During the remainder of his life he was engaged in milling and
farming in Kenton, and through his industrious efforts and
excellent management became the possessor of a fortune. He
passed away in 1878, in the faith of the Universalist Church, to
which he had belonged for some years.
The maternal ancestors of our subject were of Scotch
origin. His mother, Jane Anderson, was born in
Beaver County, Pa., and makes her home with her only child, our
subject. Though seventy-six years of age, she retains her
mental faculties and physical strength, being as keen of
intellect as many twenty years her junior. The subject of
this sketch received his primary education in the schools of
Kenton, after which he spent two years in a college at
Northwood, Logan County. In 1856 he attended a commercial
college in Cincinnati, and in 1861 entered the Cincinnati Law
School. The following year he was admitted to the Bar, but
never engaged in the active practice of his profession,
preferring to take up a business life. In 1864 he became
associated with his father in the milling business, in which he
has since engaged.
In company with William Ochs, in 1866, Mr.
Espy erected the mill now owned by the Kenton Milling
Company, of which he is President. When a mere lad of
eleven years, he commenced to keep his father's books, and
during his school life attended to this branch of the business.
In 1855 he became Deputy County Treasurer, and occupied that
position for four years. For some time prior to 1874 he
was interested in a private bank which was owned by Joseph
Paulucci and others, and for two years afterward held the
position of cashier with the Hardin Savings Bank, in which the
former institution had been merged. At the organization of
the First National Bank in 1878 he became one of the Directors.
Believing that increased transportation facilities
would rapidly enhance the prosperity of Kenton, Mr. Espy
in 1868 became connected with a projected railroad to run from
Pittsburg, via Kenton and Huntington, Ind., to Chicago. In
1881 the road was completed and was called the Chicago &
Atlantic. Mr. Espy was one of the first Directors,
and so continued until the line was sold to the Erie system.
In the mean time, in connection with the late General
Robinson, he built the connection, twenty-six miles, between
Kenton and Marion. In 1886 he assisted in the organization
of the Scioto Natural Gas Company, of which he was elected
President. This enterprise has been extended from time to
time, penetrating the Hancock County fields, until now it has
thirty miles of main pipe. In 1891 this was connected and
consolidated with the Kenton Gas and Electric Company.
Mr. Espy was one of the first Board of Directors
of the County Infirmary, and for twenty years as Treasurer of
Buck Township. While serving as one of the first pike in
Hardin County. Altogether he has been one of the most
active business men of this county. Socially he has been a
mason since 1858. In politics he has always adhered to
Democratic principles.
The marriage of Mr. Espy, in 1870, united him
with Miss Sallie Johnson, of Madison County, Ohio, who
prior to her union with our subject was a teacher in the Kenton
schools. They are the parents of three living children,
two sons and a daughter. The latter, Anna, by name,
is being educated in Auburndale Seminary, near Boston, Mass.
The sons, Frank and Jesse, are students in the
union school of Kenton.
†Source: Portrait &
Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 -
Page 387 |
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BENJAMIN
P. EULINE, an honored resident of Cessna Twp., Hardin
Co., has lived on the farm which he now cultivates for the past
twelve years. The estate comprises one hundred and twenty
acres, in addition to which Mr. Euline owns a two thirds
interest in his father's old farm. He is a practical and
enterprising business man and has been very successful in the
varied undertakings.
Benjamin Euline, grandfather of Benjamin P.,
was born in Virginia, but took up his abode in Pennsylvania at
an early day. Later he moved to Coshocton County, Ohio,
and about 1830 drove across the country to Hancock County, and a
year afterward became a citizen of Washington Township, this
county. He bought eighty acres of Government land, praying
therefore $1.25 per acre.
John P., son of Benjamin Euline, Sr., was
born in Columbus, Ohio, July 18, 1818, being one of eight
children. His mother bore the maiden name of Elizabeth
Wolford. He was set to work at an early age, and
when in his nineteenth year started out on his own account.
At the rate of $10 per acre he cleared ten acres of the land on
$10 per acre he cleared ten acres of the land on which Dunkirk
now stands, and also worked on the canal running through
Columbus. After his marriage he engaged in operating a saw
and grist mill near Huntersville for a few years.
Subsequently he purchased land in Washington Township, and
cultivated the same until 1862, when he came to this locality,
buying one hundred acres on section 12. There he departed
this life Mar. 1, 1887, and his remains were interred in Grove
Cemetery at Kenton.
He was a good Republican, and held numerous local offices, among them
being Trustee and Constable. In 1842 he married
Elizabeth Lynch, who was born in Coshocton County, Aug. 7,
1825. She became the mother of three children: Hannah
E., born in 1844, the wife of George W. Darst,
ex-Sheriff of this county, and now policeman at the State House
in Columbus; Benjamin P., of this sketch; and
Emma E., born Sept. 15, 1849. The last mentioned, who
was the wife of Conrad Reynolds, died in 1867. The
mother died May 22, 1891.
Our subject was born in Marion Township, Oct. 26, 1847,
and was reared on a farm. When about fifteen years of age
he came to this township and here grew to manhood. When he
was twenty-four years of age he purchased eighty acres of land,
and continued to manage the old farm in conjunction with his
later acquisition. In 1883 he removed to his present home.
Nov. 7, 1872, Mr. Euline married Rachel O.
Cessna, who departed this life Mar. 10, 1875. Their
only child, Cora E., died in infancy. On Christmas
Day, 1878, Mary E. Smith, a native of Fayette County,
Ohio, became Mrs. Euline. They have no children of
their own, but have taken a little girl to care for, who came to
them when one year old.
For the past two years Mr. Euline has been
Chairman of the Republican party of Cessna Township, and has
held the office of Constable for a like period. He was
also Assessor for one year and Town Clerk for three years,
besides holding different school positions. Religiously
Mr. and Mrs. Euline are Methodists, and the former is
Superintendent of the Sunday school. He has been a
Class-Leader and Steward in the congregation, and is always
liberal in his donations to worthy charities.
†Source: Portrait &
Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 - Page 558 |
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THOMAS P. EVANS owns a
valuable homestead in Buck Township, Hardin County, and has been
engaged in farming here since he started out to make his own
livelihood. For many years he has been very successful as
a buyer, seller and shipper of live stock. His experience
as an agriculturist covers about half a century, forty-five yeas
of which have been passed on the farm referred to.
The father of our subject, David Evans, was born
June 20, 1813, in Wales. When he was three years old he
was brought by his father, Thomas Evans, across the
Atlantic on a sailing-vessel, the voyage taking six weeks.
They landed at Baltimore, whence they proceeded to Gallia
County, Ohio, and later to Delaware County. There the
father purchased two hundred acres of land in the unbroken
forest, on which he built a log cabin, 18x20 feet in dimensions,
and containing only one room. He was killed in 1818, and
his brother took charge of the place. His wife lived until
1859. David Evans married Lovina Price, who
was born in Union County, Ohio, September 11, 1816.
Thomas P. Evans was born Mar. 20, 1845, in
Delaware County, Ohio. Of his brothers and sisters we
mention the following: Elizabeth, who was born in
1837, married James Bailey, of Pleasant Township, who
died in 1888; they had seven children. Margaret,
born in 1839, married P. K. Sieg, and died in November,
1888, leaving nine children. Bathena married
Rev. Ira Richards, of Silver Creek, and is the mother of two
children. Mary became the wife of Thomas J.
McMcElree, who died Jan. 2, 1895. Nancy married
Edward Moy, who died in April, 1889, leaving two
children. Phoebe is the wife of Charles White,
a farmer of Allen County, Ohio. Maria died in 1867,
aged nineteen years. William H., a farmer of Taylor
Creek Township, married Mattie Wiser, by whom he has five
children. Maud married John Jackson, a
farmer of McDonald Township, and has three children; and four
children died in infancy.
In March, 1867, Mr. Evans married Laura Tyler,
who was born Mar. 7, 1846, and is a daughter of John H. and
Salome (Gates) Tyler. The father was born Nov. 2,
1793, in Rutland, Vt., and the mother Aug. 13, 1814, in Orleans
County, N. Y. They were married in 1844, and had three
children, of whom Mrs. Evans is the eldest.
Lydia was born in August, 1847, and married Morris
Mansfield, to whom she has borne four children.
John J. was born Mar. 2, 1850. John H. Tyler
died Aug. 1, 1856, and his wife departed this life Feb. 14,
1881.
To Mr. and Mrs. Evans were born six children.
Salome, born Dec. 14, 1867, was married, Dec. 24, 1892,
to J. E. Hannah, a farmer of this county; Arthur T.,
born Feb. 7, 1869, married Avice Gary, and lives in Buck
Township; Loah was born Jan. 2, 1871; Asher was
born Aug. 17, 1872; Gertrude, born Sept. 11, 1874, died
Apr. 16, 1888; and Alta Maude was born Aug. 7, 1880.
Soon after his marriage Mr. Evans began farming
on eighty acres of this had been cleared of timer, and from time
to time he has added more land to his original farm. In
1880 he purchased forty-two acres, which were partially cleared;
late in 1882 he bought forty acres more; and seven years later
purchased an additional two hundred and ten acres. Of
three hundred and seventy-two acres which he owns, all but fifty
have been cleared. During the quarter of a century in
which he has been extensively engaged in the shipping of horses
and cattle, he has become widely known.
Though interested in the success of the Republican
party, with the welfare of which he is associated, he has never
been desirous of holding public office, and has never served in
a public capacity Mr. Evans belongs to the
Methodist Episcopal Church of Kenton.
†Source: Portrait &
Biographical Records of Marion & Hardin Counties, Ohio - 1895 -
Page 545 |
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