OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS - Marion Co., Ohio

Source:
A History of Northwest Ohio
A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress and Development
from the First European Exploration of the Maumee and
Sandusky Valleys and the Adjacent Shores of
Lake Erie, down to the Present Time
By Nevin O. Winter, Litt. D.
Assisted by a Board of Advisory and Contributing Editors
ILLUSTRATED
Vol. I & II
The Lewis Publishing Company
Chicago and New York
1917

	HON JOHN A. KEY of Marion, present congressman from the Eighth Ohio District, is a man of exceptional qualifications for the post of honor he now enjoys and for the responsibilities devolving upon every member of Congress. He was born at Marion December 30, 1871, a son of George and Margaret (Davidson) Key. He is of pure Scotch ancestry. His grandfather, Henry Key, spent all his life in Scotland. George Key was born in Forfarshire, Scotland, December 30, 1838, and died December 8, 1898. He came to Ohio in 1866, locating at Akron, Ohio, where he followed his trade as a blacksmith for some years. While living in Summit County he married Miss Davidson, who was born in Dundee, Scotland, June 18, 1844, and is still living. In 1871 they removed to Marion, Ohio, where the father conducted a blacksmith shop until his death. He and his wife were Scotch Presbyterians and fraternally he was affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a charter member of Lodge No. 32 Knights of Pythias, and a member of the Royal Arcanum. In politics he was a democrat. He was a man of substantial character and made comfortable provision for his family through his industrious work. Of his six children three are living: John A.; George F., a horseshoer who lived in Marion for some years; and Amy V., wife of J. C. Turner, a hardware merchant at Continental, Putnam County, Ohio. John A. Key graduated from the Marion High School with the class of 1889. He then began a practical journeyman experience in newspaper work and was employed on the Star, the old Marion Mirror, now the Tribune, and the Marion Independent. He left newspaper work to become city letter carrier in Clarion, which position he held from 1897 to 1903, and then went into the office of county recorder, to which he was elected two terms. Mr. Key's first experience in Washington was as private secretary to the late Congressman Carl C. Anderson of Fostoria. In 1912 Mr. Key was elected member of Congress from the old Thirteenth Congressional District. After the redistricting of Ohio he was re-elected this time from the Eighth District in 1914, and 1916 again received a handsome endorsement for a third term. Mr. Key is foreman of the committee on pensions and has served on a number of important committees in Congress. He has long been a force and power in the democratic party in the county and was formerly chairman of the county committee. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church and is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, having served as chancellor of the latter, and also belong to Lodge 864, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. July 10, 1906, Mr. Key married Cora M. Edwards, daughter of William and Mary Edwards, who formerly lived at Columbus, where Mrs. Key was born, but who now reside in Clarion. Mr. and Mrs. Key have two children, John C. and Mary M., both of whom are attending school. Source: History of Northwestern Ohio - Vol. III _ Publ. 1917 - Page 2262
	JAMES ANDREW KNAPP has been one of the live and enterprising business factors at Marion for many years. He is a native of that city, and represents an old and tried and true family of this section of Northwest Ohio. He was born at Marion January 19, 1853, a son of John R. and Lydia (Lybarger) Knapp. His grandfather, William Knapp, served in the Revolutionary war from the Province of New York. Jacob Knapp, brother of William, was a member of that gallant company under Ethan Allen which made the historic capture of Ticonderoga. Jacob and five of his sons were soldiers in that struggle for independence. In the maternal line Mr. Knapp is a grandson of Andrew Lybarger, who was born in Pennsylvania and took his family to Coschoctou County, Ohio, in 1807, his being the fifth family of white people in the county. He was a tanner by trade, conducted a tannery at Coshocton, and subsequently conducted a similar business in Knox Comity, Ohio, which was first operated by him and later by his son. Andrew Lybarger married Naomi Thompson, daughter of James Thompson, who was born in the North of Ireland, came to America, settled in New Jersey, at Morristown, Morris County. James Thompson enlisted as a private, Captain James Maxwell's Company, Colonel Israel Shreve's Second Regiment, New Jersey Continental Line, February 1, 1777; taken prisoner May 26, 1780; received pension of five dollars per month beginning April 10, 1783, for disability (loss of an eye) received while serving in the Second Regiment, New Jersey Continental Line. Received from the United States land Warrant No. 8776, dated June 2, 1797. John R. Knapp, father of James A., was born in Canandaigua, New York, July 27, 1787, and died March 8, 1864. His wife was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1807, and died January 23, 1896. They were married in Knox County, Ohio. John R. Knapp came to Ohio in 1835 and followed his trade as blacksmith at Big Island and about 1840 moved to Marion. For a number of years he held the office of postmaster and justice of the peace at Marion. He was postmaster there when Marion was connected with the outside world only by stage coaches. He had seen active service during his early youth in the War of 1812, with a company of New York state troops commanded by Captain Noble. In matters of religion he was a Hard Shell Baptist, was a Mason and a democratic voter. His wife was a Methodist. They had ten children, three daughters and seven sons. Two of the sons, Jacob and William, were Union soldiers, Jacob being major of artillery and William captain of cavalry. One of the sons, John R. Knapp Jr., established the Mirror newspaper at Marion and also the Crawford County Forum, the latter still retaining the name given by its founder. The name of the Mirror was subsequently changed to the Tribune. This John R. Knapp was also clerk of courts, was a leading democrat, had served in the Civil war in Company H of the Fourth Ohio Infantry as assistant quartermaster, and he died at Washington while an employee in the pension department. Another son, Russell, was long an active newspaper man. James Andrew Knapp, the only surviving child of his parents, grew up and received his early education in the public schools of Marion. While attending school he also carried the weekly newspaper issued in the town and spent several summers working on a farm. His parents were not wealthy people and he began life on his own responsibility at an early age. He was only eleven years old when his father died. As he looks back over his experiences he finds the hardest work he ever did was one summer spent in a brickyard, where there was no modern machinery or equipment and nearly everything was done by hard manual toil. During that summer's work he carried 3,000 brick every day. After that he learned the harness making trade and worked at it sixteen years in the shop of Thomas Jefferson McGruder. Another ten years he was employed by William Fies in the undertaking business, and rom that he engaged in business for himself as an insurance man with M. and J. Waddell under the firm name of Waddell & Knapp. In 1907 he bought out the interest of Mr. John E. Waddell and in 1911 bought the interest of the other partner, and his office is now under the firm name of James A. Knapp & Sons. They handle all the departments of insurance, including life, accident, fire liability, automobile, bonding, etc. It is one of the leading general insurance agencies in Marion County. In 1876 Mr. Knapp married Rosetta Tavenner. She was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, a daughter of George and Elizabeth Tavenner, who on coming to Ohio settled first in Hardin County and afterwards in Knox County, where her father was a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. Knapp have a family of seven children, very capable young people, all of them rising "in the world. The daughter Mary, the oldest child, is the wife of Frank C. Hughs, a clothing merchant at Marion, and they have one daughter, Mary. James William, the oldest son, is in the furniture business at Zanesville, Ohio, and by his marriage to Anna Lincoln, has three children named James Lincoln, William Andrew and Elizabeth Ann. George B., business partner with his father, but now at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, holds commission of Captain of Battalion of the 330th Regiment of Infantry. He married Edna DeWolf and has a daughter, Virginia. Frank M., also in business with his father, married Bessey Peavey. Rosetta is the wife of Frank Elliott, a draftsman at Barberton, Ohio. Lydia Elizabeth is the wife of Walter S. Guthrie, a bookkeeper for the firm of Knapp & Sons. Their two children are Mary Elizabeth and John Andrew. Wallace Leroy, the youngest child, is employed by a firm of contractors for the building of elevated railways in Brooklyn, New York. He married June Wagner. The mother of these children died in September, 1903. The family are members of The Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Knapp is prominent in Maasonry, his affiliations being 0with Marion Lodge No. 70. Free and Accepted Masons, Marion Chapter No. 62, Royal Arch Masons, Marion Council No. 22, Royal and Select Masters, Clarion Commandery No. 36. Knights Templars with Scioto Consistory of the Scottish Rite and with Aladdin Temple of the Mystic Shrine and Achbar Grotto No. 31. He is past master, past high priest, past thrice illustrious master and past commander in the different Masonic bodies at Marion. Politically Mr. Knapp is a stanch republican. For a number of years he was actively connected with the Marion Fire Department, part of the time as assistant chief and afterwards as chief, and for two years was director of safety of the city. Many years of hard work have brought him a most desirable degree of business prosperity. He has employed some of his means to indulge his fancy for travel, and has been all over the United States, having spent several winters in California, Florida and Cuba, and part of one summer in the Canadian Northwest. Source: History of Northwestern Ohio - Vol. III _ Publ. 1917 - Page 2241

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