Biographies
(Transcribed by Sharon Wick)

Source:
 A Portrait and Biographical Record of
Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio
Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Prominent and Representative Citizens,
together with Biographies and Portraits of all the
Presidents of the United States
and Biographies of the Governors of Ohio
CHICAGO: A. W. BOWEN & CO.
1896

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	ALVIN LACY, one of the most prominent and influential citizens of Franklin township, Mercer county, Ohio, is a native of the township in which he lives, and was born Sept. 13, 1855.  He attended the common schools, and there secured a good education.  He is a son of William and Amelia (Beauchamp) Lacy, the former of whom was born in Hamilton county and was a son of Thomas Lacy.      Thomas Lacy came from Pennsylvania to Ohio at an early day, bringing with him his family (wife and one child), on horseback, and he had but one horse.  The Lacy family was of Scotch-Irish descent, emigrated from Ireland, and intermarried with Dutch people, so that now the ancestry is traced back through the Irish and Dutch races to the English.  William Lacy, the father of the subject, was twelve years old when he came to Mercer county in 1836.  His father brought a tract of government land, enough for a farm for each of his children.  After getting well started in life in this state, his farm well improved, a comfortable house built, and other valuable improvements made, he died in 1852, leaving his wife and three sons.  When he and his family came to this county but little had been done in the way of clearing up the forests, and there were but few of even the earliest of the settlers here.  The father of the subject secured his education in the common schools before coming to the county in 1836 - that is, before he was twelve years old, though afterward he pursued certain studied by himself, and by his own industry in this way before much more than an ordinary scholar for those days.  He began teaching school in his neighborhood when he was but little more than thirteen years old and taught for eighteen years, being in reality the only competent teacher in the locality in which he lived.  He was one of the best mathematicians in the county.  Before teaching school in the winter season, he assisted in teh summer in clearing off the timber and in improving his father's farm.  At the age of nineteen he was married, and settled down on a piece of eighty acres of land his father had given him.  After some time spent in improving his land he sold it and bought 120 acres, all heavily timbered.  This he improved and lived on many hears.  At length he sold this, and in 1888, moved to Dakota, where he still lives.  From the time he became a voter to the time of leaving Ohio he was almost constantly in office, having been elected first to the office of township clerk.  Then he was elected to other offices and so on up to county commissioner.  He was one of the most useful and public-spirited men of his day, always ready to help any other pioneer or to aid any public improvement that needed his assistance.      He married Miss Amelia Beauchamp, who was born in Clark county, Ohio, Sept. 13, 1826.  She was a daughter of William Beauchamp, of South Carolina, and is of English descent, though in all probability of ancient French ancestry, judging from the orthography of the name.  Previous to his removal to Ohio he married in South Carolina.  He came to Mercer county about 1832, and entered the land where Montezuma now stands, cleared up a farm and laid out the town.  He was the means of securing a post-office for Montezuma, and was appointed first postmaster, holding the position for many years.  At the same time he kept an old-fashioned tavern, bar and grocery store for many years.  There he reared his family, though they are now scattered throughout the western states.  At length, after his family became thus scattered, he broke up his home, and lived among his children, being at the home of a daughter in Madison county when he died, in 1867.  Originally he was a whig, but later became a republican.  Among his other qualifications, he was a practicing physician for many years.      He and his wife reared a family of thirteen children, ten of whom grew to mature years, the mother of the subject of this sketch being the youngest child.  One of his sons, Noah, was the first to die in the neighborhood, and as there was no saw-mill, nor lumber to be had, one of the neighbors, Lot Trim, cut down a black walnut tree, hewed out the lumber and made the coffin.  The names of most of the ten Beauchamp children are now forgotten.  When the family first settled on the present site of Montezuma there were plenty of wild animals in the woods, and also of Indians.  One day the mother of the subject of this sketch discovered a mulberry tree near the cabin, full of bees, which her father afterward cut down and cut up into sections for beehives.  For twelve feet up the hollow the tree was full of honey.  The locality of this been tree was in what is now the center of Main street, Montezuma.  To the marriage of Mr. Lacy and Miss Beauchamp there were born ten children, viz:  William B., a rancher of North Dakota; Thomas W., who died in Indiana; Francis M., of North Dakota; Lavina, deceased wife of W. H. Carter; Mary A., wife of Henry Long, a farmer of Indiana; Alvin, the subject of this sketch; George W., of North Dakota; Homer, died at the age of seventeen; Dora E., wife of Charles A. Burdge, a farmer of Franklin township, Mercer county, Ohio, and Kate, widow of Joseph Walkup, of Dakota.      Alvin Lacy married Miss Mahala C. Long, a native of Franklin township, born Nov. 29, 1857, and a daughter of Daniel Long.  Daniel Long removed to Mercer county from Hamilton county, about 1859, purchased a farm and became a very prominent man.  He held many of the offices in the township and was a viewer of the first turnpike in the county.  He served as land appraiser and filled many other important positions.  Mr. and Mrs. Long were the parents of twelve children, ten of whom grew to mature years.  The names of the twelve are as follows: William, John S., Miles K., Clemency, Mary E., Henry, George, Susan, Mahala C., wife of the subject; Frank, Robert and Joshua.  The parents of these children were members of the Christian, or Disciples', church.  Mr. Long died January 1, 1881, and the widow still survives.      Alvin Lacy, by his marriage to Miss Mahala C. Long, became the father of four children, viz:  One that died young; Mellie, born Aug. 11, 1886; George M., born June 9, 1888; and Dora A.,  born Nov. 30, 1893.  Mr. and Mrs. Lacy are members of the Disciples' church.  He is a democrat and takes great interest in public affairs.  He was first elected justice of the peace in 1886, and is now serving his third term.  He is also superintendent of two turnpikes - the "Short pike" and the "Preston pike."  He is also a member of the board of education for his township, and was the main instrument in securing the erection of the first brick school-house in the township.  He has been chairman of the democratic county central committee, is one of the most public-spirited citizens of the county, and always takes an interest in its prosperity and improvement.  He has assisted in viewing many of the turnpikes throughout the county and is in every way a most useful and honored citizen. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 402
	FORD LEWIS, a prominent photographer and ex-school teacher of Mercer county, was born in Clermont county, Ohio, near Goshen, Oct. 20, 1848, and is a son of JAMES S. and Nancy (Bone) LEWIS, the farmer of whom was a native of New York state, and the latter of Ohio.  James and Nancy Lewis were the parents of twelve children, of whom the subject of this sketch was the seventh in order of birth.      Ford Lewis received his primary education in the district schools of Butler and Clinton counties, and afterward he attended the National university at Lebanon, Warren county, Ohio, one year.  At the Western Normal school, at Ada, Ohio, he took a scientific course of study, completing his education there and graduating in the summer of 1876.  In the meantime he had taught school five terms, and upon leaving the school at Ada he gave his entire attention to teaching school, and taught six years in Van Wert county, at the end of which time he returned to Ada and there took a review course of study during the summer of 1884.  Then going to Wyandot county he took charge of the public schools at Wharton, and resided there one year.  From Wharton, and resided there one year.  From Wharton he went to Nevada, Wyandot county, and there had charge of the public schools one year.  In 1886 he turned his attention to photography, purchasing a gallery at Nevada and remaining in the  business there one year.  In 1887 he removed to Celina, opening a new gallery at that place and has continued in the business of a photographer there ever since.  In 1894 he met with the misfortune of having his entire stock destroyed by fire; but in 1895 he erected a new block, a beautiful brick building, two stories high, and 50x22 feet on the ground.  The lower story is used for offices and the upper one for his own photographing business, he having the finest and best equipped gallery in this pat of the state, his instruments being of the latest and most improved designs.      Fraternally, Mr. Lewis is a Knight of Pythias and is a member of the Royal Arcanum.  Politically, he is a republican.  In 1890 he started the movement which resulted in the organization of the Northwestern Ohio Photographers' association, the organization being effected at Lima, and Mr. Lewis being elected president.  He held this position until a re-organization was effected at Columbus, Ohio, in 1891, and then he was re-elected president of the organization, the name of which was, however, changed to the Photographers' association of Ohio (P. A. of O.), and he has been re-elected president of the association two times since.  As such president he has been instrumental in bringing the order to a very high degree of efficiency and has made it of great benefit to all photographers of the state.  Since the organization of this Ohio association nearly every state in the Union has a similar one, showing how rapidly a good idea is acted upon by the American people.      Mr. Lewis was married Mar. 14, 1878, to Miss Alice Sylvania Clippinger, who is a daughter of Samuel and Johanna (Valentine) Clippinger and was born July 10, 1855.  Mr. and Mrs. Clippinger have been for many years residents of Van Wert county, in which county Mr. Clippinger was a prominent farmer.  Mrs. Lewis, previous to her marriage, was for six years a teacher in the public schools of Van Wert county, and she has taught several terms since.  Both she and her husband are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Lewis being native and interested in the work of his church.  Both are excellent people, not only in a religious sense, but also in a general sense, standing high in social circles and having many friends among all classes of people. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 407
	JAMES G. LOUGHRIDGE, a leading member of the Celina bar, and a member of the well known law firm of LeBlond, Loughridge & Schlosser, was born in Washington township, Mercer county, Ohio, Dec. 29, 1839.  He is a son of William C. Loughridge, one of the pioneer of Mercer county.  He was born in Wilmington, Del., Nov. 10, 1813.  The Loughridge family originated in Scotland, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch being the youngest of seven sons, all of whom emigrated to the United States, though they came direct to this country from Ireland, having some time previously to their emigration hither gone to Ireland from Scotland.  The grandfather of the subject settled first in Wilmington, Del., where he remained about four years.  He then came to Ohio, settling either in Jefferson or Harrison county, in both of which he at different times resided.      William C. Loughridge was reared in the above named counties until about 1835, and then, after spending a few months in Cincinnati, he removed to Mercer county, settling on land in Washington township, and there he resided and followed farming until his death, which occurred Sept. 6, 1887.  In 1837 he was married in Mercer county to Miss Elizabeth Ann Grimes who was born ten miles north of the city of Baltimore, Md., in 1821.  She is a daughter of James Q. Grimes and Charlotte (Towson) grimes, both natives of Baltimore county, Md.  She and her mother, the latter being the grandmother of the subject of this sketch, were both born in the same house, viz: Towson House, in Lime Kill bottom of Baltimore county, Md.  The town of Towson was laid out by an uncle of Charlotte Towson and was named in his honor.  She is now residing on the old home place in Mercer county,  and is in her seventy-fourth year.  Of the eleven children born to her and her husband, nine, four sons and five daughters are now living, two daughters having died.      James G. Loughridge is the oldest of the family.  He was reared on the home farm in Mercer county, and obtained an excellent education in the common schools of Fort Recovery, St. Mary's and Celina.  At about the age of seventeen years he began teaching school, first for a term two miles west of Macedon, and afterward in Macedon.  He also taught one term at Montezuma, and then went to California, via New York and the Isthmus of Panama, landing in Aug. 17, 1863.  He remained in California about twenty months, eleven months of which time he was bookkeeper for the Saint Nicholas Hotel in Marysville, and agent of the Marysville and Downieville stage line, with his headquarters at Marysville.  After that he taught school eight months at Camptonville, Yuba county, near the summit of the Sierra Nevada mountains, eighteen miles from Downieville.  He then returned to the states, stopping at San Francisco, and coming by way of the Nicaragua route, landing at New York in 1865.      Mr. Loughridge read law for about eighteen months in the office of T. J. Godfrey, in Celina, and in 1866 went to Cincinnati and there entered the law office of the late Bellamy Storer, where he read law and at the same time attended lectures at the law school of the Cincinnati college, and was graduated from this institution Apr. 17, 1867.  On  the same day he was admitted to the bar by Judge Jacob Brinkerhoff of the supreme court of Ohio.  After being admitted to the bar he formed a partnership with John R. Perdue, and engaged in practice at Portland, the county seat of Jay county, Ind.  Remaining there about one year, he then located in Celina, Oct. 29, 1869, and for about six months afterward was in partnership with John Protzman.  He then formed a partnership with D. J. Callen, the firm name being Callen & Loughridge.  This partnership was in existence about six years.  In 1876 he removed to Independence, Kans., where he practiced law and ran a hotel, which was known as the Independence House.  There he remained a little less than three years, when he returned to Celina, arriving there Feb. 14, 1879.  Soon after his return to Celina he formed a partnership with Willis Conklin, which lasted about three months.  He then formed a partnership with F. C. & C. M. LeBlond, the firm being known as LeBlond, LeBlond & Loughridge.  This firm continued until October, 1888, when C. M. LeBlond withdrew and removed to Cleveland, Ohio.  The Celina firm then became LeBlond & Loughridge, and so continued until June 19, 1891, when John M. Schlosser became a member thereof, and the firm name became that of LeBlond, Loughhridge & Schlosser.      In July, 1870, Mr. Loughridge was appointed school examiner for Mercer county, a position which he filled for six years.  In July, 1895, he was appointed by Judge Mooney, of the common pleas court, in connection with Christian Schunck and Henry V. Hinton, a committee to investigate the books, papers, and accounts of the auditor's and treasurer's offices of Mercer county.      Mr. Loughridge was married Nov. 12, 1871, to Miss Mary J. Nickel, who was born in Mercer county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Benjamin and Julia A. Nickel, pioneers of mercer county, then locating in that county in 1836, emigrating from McVeytown, Mifflin county, Pa.  To this marriage there have been born three children, as follows:  Myrtle M., and William Benjamin, both born in Celina, and James Leslie, born in Independence, Kans.  Mr. Loughridge and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, are of high standing in the church and equally so in general society. Source: A Portrait & Biographical Record of Mercer and Van Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 412

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