Biographies Source:
Memorial Record of the
Counties of
Delaware, Union and Morrow, Ohio
- Illustrated -
Publ: Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company,
1895. <
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J.
D. WHITE - One of the well-known and popular
officials of Allen township, Union county, Ohio, is the
subject of this review, who holds the preferment as Justice
of the Peace. He has been a resident of the township
for the past seventeen years, and his place of nativity was
not far distant from his present home as he was born in
Brown township, Delaware county, near the little old hamlet
of Eden, Nov. 15, 1846, the son of Samuel White, a
prominent and honored pioneer of Delaware county. The
maiden name of our subject's mother was Rosanna Devore.
Her death occurred in July, 1877, at which time she had
attained the age of sixty-three years.
Samuel and Rosanna White became the parents of
six children, of whom we are enabled to offer the following
record: Mary E. is the wife of Henry Fegley of
Allen township; Catherine is the wife of John
McWilliams of Buchanan county, Iowa; Sylvanus W.
is a veterinary surgeon in Virginia; Leah R.is the
wife of E. P. Black, of Champaign county, Ohio; J.
Devore, subject of this review; and William W.,
who resides on the old homestead in Delaware county. A
complete sketch touching the life of our subject's venerable
father, who is now nearly ninety years of age, appears
elsewhere in this volume, in the sketch of W. W. White.
J. Devore White was reared to farm life and work on
the old homestead in Delaware county, completing his
education in the Ohio Wesleyan University, in the city of
Delaware, he having been a member of the same class as was
ex-Governor J. B. Foraker. Leaving college in his
junior year, he engaged in teaching, and has devoted his
attention to pedagogic work for fully thirty years, having a
natural penchant for the vocation, and having proved a
successful and popular instructor, - one whose interest in
educational matters has ever kept pace with the advances
made.
In 1880 Mr. White took up his residence on his
present fine farm of sixty-three acres, the place being
situated five miles west of the county's official center,
Marysville. The family residence is an attractive
frame structure, and is most eligibly located, while the
other permanent improvements about the place are of
excellent order.
Mr. White was married, April 7, 1880, in this
township, to Miss Josephine Hurd, daughter of
Thomas and Ruth (Turner) Hurd, who now reside in
Ellsworth county, Kansas. The issue of this marriage
had been three children, namely; Charles E., born May
30, 1881; Luamy, born Mar. 3, 1883; and Ivolee,
born Nov. 30, 1889.
The greatest loss and bereavement of our subject's life
was that which he was called upon to bear Nov. 8, 1892, when
his beloved and devoted wife was summoned into eternal rest.
She was a woman of beautiful character, and was beloved by
all who knew her.
Mr. White votes with the Republican party, and
has held public offices of trust and responsibility, having
at one time served for several years as Township Clerk in
Delaware county, and having been elected to the office of
Justice of the Peace in April, 1890. Fraternally he is
identified with the Grange and with the Masonic order, being
a member of Blazing Star Lodge, F. & A. M., of North
Lewisburg, Ohio. He is a man honored alike for his
ability and his earnest devotion to the clearly defined
ethics of life.
~ Page 293 - Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and
Morrow, Ohio - Illustrated - Publ: Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1895. |
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DR. WILLIAM FREDERICK
WHITE.
––Holding marked prestige among the professional men of
Union county, enjoying high popularity, and maintaining a
representative position as identified with the business life
of Marysville, it is manifestly consistent that in this
connection attention be directed to the more salient
features in the life history of him whose name initiates
this review.
Dr. White is a native of Toronto, Canada, where
he was born November 1, 1855, a son of Frederick and
Elizabeth (Hull) White, the former of whom was born in
Germany, the latter in the Dominion of Canada. The mother
is deceased, but our subject’s venerable father is still
living, his home being near London, Ontario, where he
conducts a fine farm. In his early manhood he studied the
science of architecture and became quite renowned for his
ability in this line. He was a child of about twelve years
when his parents came to America and took up their residence
in the New World province of the English throne. They came
from Nurtlingen, Germany, having a large family of boys,
most of whom now reside in the vicinity of Niagara Falls.
The father of our subject has been a man of no little
prominence in the Canadian dominion, being a staunch
Reformer and having taken a somewhat active part in public
and semipublic affairs. His children were nine in number,
of whom two died in infancy and of whom six are still
living. We offer the following brief record in regard to
those who lived to attain maturity: Tillie, who
became the wife of Dr. G. H. Gilbert, of Cleveland.
Ohio, is deceased; David is a resident of Canada,
where he is engaged in farming; Anna is the wife of
Dr. Ira Patterson, of Detroit, Michigan; William F.
is the subject of this review; Charles A. is a
physician of Cleveland; Carrie remains at the old
home; Addie is the wife of Dr. D. C. McTaggert,
of Bryan, Ohio.
Our subject was reared on the paternal farmstead and
received his literary education in the public schools of
Canada and in the normal school at St. Thomas, Ontario,
where he graduated in 1871, the youngest member of his
class. He at once turned his attention to teaching in the
public schools, which vocation he followed successfully
about three years, when, in 1875, he went to Ann Arbor,
Michigan, where he matriculated in the medical department of
the famous university of that State, remaining one year,
after which he entered Pulte Medical College, at Cincinnati,
Ohio, where he graduated with the class of 1877. This
professional training had been but the practical carrying
out of plans which the Doctor had formulated in his boyhood
days, and he thus realized his ambitions. Indeed, he began
his medical studies when but sixteen years of age, pursuing
a course of reading under the direction of Dr. Leonard
Luton, of St. Thomas, Ontario, one of the distinguished
physicians of the dominion. The ambition and enthusiastic
energy of our subject is shown in the fact that this line of
study was followed in connection with the onerous duties
incidental to his work of teaching.
After his graduation at Pulte, Dr. White located
at Nevada, Wyandot county, Ohio, where he displayed his
“shingle” with due solemnity and entered upon active
practice, remaining there for a period of six years and
securing a representative support in his professional
efforts. Within this time there entered into his life a new
element, and one that was destined to have a marked
influence upon his career in the way of devotion and
encouragement. He met, wooed and won Miss Lula Agnew,
the daughter of J. K. and Jennie (Bibbler) Agnew,
their nuptials being celebrated October 1, 1878.
James K. Agnew, father of Mrs. White, was
an attorney by profession, but never followed this vocation
by reason of enfeebled health. He was for some years
cashier of the Nevada Deposits Bank, receiving this official
preferment at the time the bank was organized. He served
during the war of the Rebellion and was retired with the
rank of Lieutenant. He enlisted with the Thirty-sixth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, which was subsequently consolidated with
the Fifty-first regiment. He was in active service during
the entire term of conflict and was mustered out, at
Columbus, as First Lieutenant. He died February 12, 1874,
being at the time only thirty-eight years of age. He left
surviving him a widow and four daughters. The eldest
daughter, Lula, is the wife of our subject; Nina
is the wife of J. A. Williams, cashier of the Nevada
Deposits Bank; Esther is at home with her mother, as
is also the youngest daughter, Marie. Mr. Agnew
was an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party,
and had served as Mayor of the city of Nevada. He was
intimately identified with the Presbyterian Church, with
which his widow, who is still a resident of Nevada, is still
connected. Mr. Agnew was a cousin of Dr. D. Hayes
Agnew, of Philadelphia, one of the most celebrated
physicians in the Union.
Reverting to the fact that Dr. White remained in
practice at Nevada for about six years, we find that at the
expiration of this time he removed to Marysville, leaving a
large and lucrative business, which he established by reason
of his high professional ability, his honor and his
fidelity, ––attributes which never fail of objective
appreciation. During these years of active labor the Doctor
had been devoting himself to special study and investigation
in regard to diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat, and
to the most approved methods of treating such disorders.
This special work had never been made to take the precedence
of his general practice, however, until he located in
Marysville, when he announced himself as ready to give
special attention to such classes of disease. The propriety
of specialism in medical practice has engrossed the
attention of many of the greatest minds in the profession,
and to-day this phase of practice is recognized as expedient
and as ultimately imperative. Dr. White has been
particularly successful in his special work, has studied
carefully and conscientiously and finds that in connection
with his general practice this special feature comes in for
manifest appreciation on the part of those afflicted. With
a view to keeping fully abreast of the advances made in this
particular branch of the medical science, he has taken
special post-graduate courses of study in the Eye and Ear
Polyclinic, at Chicago.
Our subject was alone in his professional work until
1890, when he associated with himself Dr. H. A. Rodebaugh.
This association continued until May, 1891, when Drs.
White and Rodebaugh became identified with the
introduction of the Keeley cure for inebriety into
Ohio, the third coadjutor in this enterprise being Mr. S.
N. McCloud, the present postmaster of Marysville. An
institution for the treatment of dipsomania, according to
the Keeley method, was opened in Marysville, and for
some time our subject and his associates gave their
attention to carrying on this creditable work. Dr. White
finally resigned his active connection with the operation of
the institution and resumed his general practice in
partnership with Dr. C. D. Mills, with whom he is
still associated.
Aside from his professional endeavors, the Doctor is
identified with certain important enterprises of Marysville,
being a stockholder in each the Davis Chair Company,
the Robinson & Curry Manufacturing Company, and the
Bank of Marysville. In 1892 he disposed of his interest in
the Keeley institute, and in September of the
following year lie became greatly interested in a new method
of treatment for tuberculosis; finding, upon careful
investigation, that the method had pronounced and
unmistakable merit, he identified himself with the
enterprise and fitted up suitable quarters in Columbus, for
the bringing of the same before the public and for the
treatment of consumption and allied disorders. The
treatment has proved its efficiency in cases where the test
has been of the severest order, and the results have
transcended the most sanguine expectations of the
promoters. Satisfied of the wide field of benefice and
usefulness which the treatment would fill in the behoof of
suffering humanity, Dr. White effected the
organization of a stock company in June, 1894, and this
company has been duly incorporated under the title of the
Pulmonary Chemical Company, the official headquarters being
located on North High street, Columbus, where our subject
has the general superintendence of the operations. Some
marvelous cures have been effected, and the projectors have
unlimited confidence that their method offers a permanent
cure for the dread disease, consumption, in a large
proportion of cases. To enter into details concerning the
treatment would be both incongruous and impossible in this
connection, but a few words as defining the natural and
scientific methods employed may not be malapropos. The
specific remedial agency is that offered by a continuous
inhalation of an antiseptic, balsamic atmosphere, which
brings about an inhibition of the growth, propagation and
dissemination of the bacillus tuberculosis, and which, being
taken into the circulation through the medium of the lungs,
ramifies into all parts of the system, reaches diseased
tissues wherever located and aids nature in regaining
control and perfecting a cure, ––all that any system of
medication can claim to do. The salutary change effected in
patients undergoing treatment is evidenced in many
symptomatic indications: a marked increase in appetite,
cessation of enervating perspiration, allaying of cough,
restoration of refreshing slumber, ease of expectoration,
alleviation of chest pains, and the resumption of deep and
grateful respiration, etc. All this is attended with a
gradual disappearance of the bacillus from the sputum.
Dr. White visits the institute about twice each
week. For the benefit of those who are unable to attend the
sanitarium, from financial or other reasons, a home
treatment has been prepared.
Our subject is an ardent Republican and is at the
present time a member of the city Common Council.
Fraternally, he is identified with Palestine Lodge, No. 158,
A. F. & A. M., and with Marysville Lodge, No. 100, Knights
of Pythias. In the Masonic order he has advanced to the
thirty-second degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite. He is also a member of the Musical Society of
Marysville, of the Married People’s Choral Union and of the
Literary Society.
Dr. and Mrs. White have two children: Carroll,
aged fourteen, and Rietta aged nine (1S94). In 1892
the Doctor erected a very handsome modern residence on West
Fifth street, and here he and his wife dispense the most
grateful hospitality to their large circle of friends.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware,
Union & Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co.,
1895, pp. 64-67
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
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ALONZO J. WHITNEY,
president of the People’s Bank, of Marysville, Ohio, must be
accorded particular recognition within these pages, standing
as he does as one of the representative financiers and
business men of Union county. On the 23d of November, 1829,
our subject was ushered into the world, in Susquehanna
county, Pennsylvania, the son of Evart and Julia
(Merriman) Whitney, both of whom were natives of.
Connecticut, and of Puritan descent. The paternal
grandfather was a stalwart patriot in the days when
patriotism implied great personal self-abnegation, and
history records that he was an active participant in the war
of the Revolution. The parents of our subject are both
deceased, the death of the father occurring in the year
1887, and that of the mother in 1874.
The early life of Alonzo J. Whitney was passed
in his native State. He received his education in the common
schools and while still a mere youth became concerned in
mercantile operations. The first year after he had attained
his majority he worked on a farm, receiving as wages for the
year the sum of $100, his effective services and fidelity
securing to him for the second year an increase to the
amount of $125. A young man of marked individuality, he soon
sought employment that would afford a little more latitude
to this characteristic attribute, securing a position as
assistant in operating one of the notion wagons, which at
that period were a distinctive feature of the mercantile
trade of the section, the familiar and heavily loaded
vehicles traversing the districts throughout the State and
supplying the merchants with the innumerable necessaries and
conveniences demanded. After one year’s service as
assistant, he was assigned to the charge of a wagon and
continued in this line of enterprise for a period of five
years, after which he engaged in business for himself,
having been frugal and economical in his habits and having
thereby been enabled to save a goodly portion of the wages
he had earned upon the farm and in the notion trade. He
accordingly opened a small general store at Susquehanna,
Pennsylvania, conducting this enterprise successfully about
four years, when, in 1859, he brought his stock of goods to
Marysville, and here opened an establishment, which in the
course of time became one of the leading mercantile
enterprises of the town. For some little time Mr. E. S.
Payne had been associated in business with our subject
and in the centennial year the latter closed out his
interests in the enterprise to his partner.
In the year 1873 Mr. Whitney was prominently
identified in the projection and organization of the
People’s Bank of Marysville, having been one of its foremost
promoters. The institution opened its doors for the
transaction of a general banking business in April of the
succeeding year. The bank was incorporated under the
provisions of the legislative act authorizing the
establishment of private or individual banking houses, and
as a private institution the enterprise has been most
successfully conducted up to the present time. Mr.
Whitney was made its first president and has filled this
executive office continuously, being the present incumbent.
The bank bases its operations upon a cash capital of
$20,000, the efficient cashier of the institution being
Mr. C. S. Chapman. The bank transacts a general and
representative business in its line and is ranked among the
most solid and reliable institutions of the country.
In 1864 Mr. Whitney erected a fine business
block in which were fitted up spacious and convenient
offices for the accommodation of the business of the bank.
In 1884 our subject added still further to the attractions
and conveniences of the business quarter of the little city
by the erection of a fine business block of three stories,
the same being located opposite the bank block. His handsome
residence, located on Sixth street, was also erected by him,
and is one of the most attractive houses in the town.
It is almost tautological at this point to state that
Mr. Whitney has ever maintained a position as one of the
most progressive and public spirited citizens of Marysville,
for the fact is evidenced by even the meagre details already
mentioned. To him and his well directed efforts have already
been largely due the consecutive growth and development of
the town, and he has ever held himself in readiness to lend
both influence and tangible assistance to all enterprises
and projects which gave promise of conserving the best
interests of the place and the local public. A distinctive
type of the self-made man, he has attained to a high degree
of success in temporal affairs, has shown a marked capacity
for the conducting of business enterprises and directing
them to the goal of maximum success, his efforts having been
characterized at all times by those essential principles of
conservatism, industry and politic economy. As a result he
occupies to-day a position as one of the most honored
residents and representative capitalists of Union county. He
gives his personal attention to his business affairs, also
directing the operation of his fine farm of 567 acres,
located two miles northwest of Marysville.
Reverting briefly to the domestic life of Mr.
Whitney we find that he has been twice married. In
February, 1858, he was united to Miss Rubie Tuttle,
who became the mother of three children, all of whom died in
infancy. Her demise occurred in 1870 and two years later
Mr. Whitney married Miss Kate Peck, of Milford,
Connecticut, the issue of this union being three children,
of whom only one survives. This is a son George. who
is a student at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware,
Ohio, and a young man of much promise. The family are
identified with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr.
Whitney has long been one of the officials in the local
organization.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union &
Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp.
26-28
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
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REV. F. W. C. WIECHERS,
pastor of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. of
Marysville, Ohio, has had this charge since September, 1892.
Before proceeding to a sketch of his life, we give a brief
history of the church.
Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Marysville was
established in the year 1878 by the consolidation of two
organizations. In 1882-3 its present church edifice, the
finest in the city, was erected at a cost of $18,000, and
its present membership is 300 communicants, while its usual
congregation is nearly twice that number. This church is
connected with the Joint Synod of Ohio and other States. Its
first pastor, Rev. F. Zagel, was succeeded by Rev.
J. M. Koepplin, now of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, who filled
the charge for nine years, and who in turn was succeeded by
Rev. J. E. A. Doerman. Rev. Doerman officiated
here most acceptably for five years, and upon his removal to
Washington, D. C., where he is now located, the subject of
our sketch was called to the pastorate of the church.
At the time this church was established a parochial
school was also organized. It started with twenty pupils,
has kept pace with the growth of the church and other
advancements in the city, and at this writing it has 122
pupils enrolled. At first the pastor was its teacher and he
continued as such for three years. Then J. F. Bergener
was employed, and is still retained, and in 1893 the school
had increased to such an extent that it was necessary to
divide it and employ another teacher, and Carl Schaub,
of South Chicago, was called to fill the place. These
gentlemen are proficient teachers and under their able
management the school has attained a marked degree of
excellence.
Rev. Wiechers was born in Hanover, Germany,
December 18, 1854, son of Ludwig and Mary Elanora
Wiechers, members of the Lutheran Church and people of
the highest respectability. His father was a manufacturer of
umbrellas. Young Wiechers attended the graded and
afterward the high school in Hanover up to the time he was
sixteen, when, on account of his father’s failing health, he
was obliged to drop his studies and take charge of the
business. After his father’s death, which occurred May 16,
1871, he remained with his mother until 1873, when he came
to America. Here he at once entered Capital University,
Columbus, Ohio, where he graduated with the theological
class of 1875, and in August of that same year he entered
the ministry. His first charge was at Patricksburg. Owen
county, Indiana, which he filled for four years. Then he was
pastor at Cardington, Morrow county, Ohio, eight years, and
for two years and nine months was at Covington, Ohio, being
called from the latter place to his present charge, where
for two years he has served most acceptably.
Rev. Wiechers is eminently a self-made man. He
worked his way through college by teaching during the
vacations. While in Covington he officiated as a member of
the Board of Education, and here in Marysville he is on the
Board of Health. His mother followed him to this country in
1874 and is now a resident of Columbus, Ohio.
Mr. Wiechers was married December 31, 1878,
to Miss Catharine Heintz, a native of Columbus, Ohio,
and a daughter of Adam and Mary Heintz, and they have
an interesting family of five children, —Herbert A. W.,
Mary Leonora, Clara Catharine, Oscar Fredrick and
Flora Caroline. They lost one child by death, namely,
Leo Martin.
In his political views, Rev. Wiechers is
in harmony with the principles advocated by the Democratic
party.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union &
Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp.
48-49
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
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W. H. WILLS, M. D.
—We are now permitted to take into review the life
history of one of the representative and honored
professional men of Union county, Dr. Wills, who is a
resident of Milford Centre, where he is engaged in the
practice of medicine and surgery and where he retains a most
representative supporting patronage.
The Doctor is a native of the Buckeye State, having
been born in Franklin county, February 6, 1850, the son of
John Wills, who was born near Zanesville, this State,
and who is now a resident of Columbus, his lineage tracing
back to Germany. He has reached the venerable age of
seventy-five years but retains a virile strength of both
mind and body. The mother of our subject, née
Elizabeth Compton, was born near Reynoldsburg, this
State, daughter of Ezekiel Compton, one of the
pioneers of that section, and a native of the old Keystone
State.
John and Elizabeth Wills became the parents of five
children, namely Jennie, deceased; W. H.,
subject of this review; Caroline; Charles, a
prominent business man of Columbus, Ohio; and Emma.
The venerable father was successfully engaged in farming
until the time of his retirement from active business life.
He has been a stanch Republican for many years, and is a
devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Dr. W. H. Wills was reared on the old homestead
farm and was given exceptional educational advantages,
completing his more purely literary education at Delaware,
where he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University. He engaged
in teaching district school before he had attained the age
of fifteen years and for some time he bore the appropriate
sobriquet of “the boy teacher.” He early determined to
prepare himself for the practice of that profession in which
he has attained so marked success, and he commenced the
study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr.
Frankinburg, a prominent and able physician. He finally
matriculated at Starling Medical College, in the capital
city of the State, where he completed the prescribed course
and graduated with high honors, as a member of the class of
1879. He established himself in practice at Columbus,
immediately after his graduation, and there remained for a
period of four years, after which he came to Milford Centre,
where he has since devoted himself to professional work and
where he has built up a large and representative practice,
being held in the highest esteem in the community, both as a
man and a physician. The Doctor is an avidious student and
keeps constantly in touch with the advances made in medical
science and surgery.
In politics the Doctor pins his faith to the Republican
party, and he has been a most active worker in the local
organization of his party, having served as chairman of the
county committee, and having wielded no little influence in
the party councils. Fraternally he retains a membership in
Darby Lodge, No. 636, I. O. O. F., in which he has filled
all the chairs, besides having served as District Deputy of
the order. He is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church and has been closely identified with church,
Sunday-school and temperance work for many years. He
organized Sunday-schools and became a teacher in the same
while he was still a boy in his ’teens, having also been a
superintendent for many years. A man of strongest integrity
and of broad sympathies, he has gained the esteem of the
community and the confidence and affection of those to whom
he has ministered in the dark hours of sickness and
distress.
The marriage of Dr. Wills was celebrated June 6,
1883, when he led to the hymeneal altar Miss Ada Butler,
a young lady of culture and true refinement. She was born in
Hocking county, Ohio, the daughter of John Butler,
now deceased, receiving an excellent education at
McConnellsville [sic] and Adelphi, this State.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union &
Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp.
430-431
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
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J. D. WOOD, one
of the well known and representative agriculturists of Allen
township, Union county, Ohio, was born on the old homestead
farm in this county, Jan. 5, 1848, his father, W. C. Wood,
having also been born on the old homestead, Dec. 5, 1829,
his father, Luther Wood, having been one of the
pioneer settlers in this county. Luther Wood
was born in the vicinity of Fredonia, New York, and came of
a prominent and patrician New England stock.
W. C. Wood, father of our subject, became one of
the leading and representative men of his native county,
where he was reared and educated and where he passed the
entire span of his life. He married Maria
McWilliams, a woman of much refinement, the daughter of
Alexander McWilliams, who was born near Wheeling,
Virginia (now West Virginia). She has passed nearly
her entire life in this county, and is now a resident of
Milford Centre. After his marriage Mr. Wood
settled on eighty acres of land in Allen township and then
set himself the task of clearing the same of forest trees
and bringing to it a state of cultivation. He was
industrious and honorable, possessed a most discriminating
judgment, and his efforts were ultimately crowned with
success. He accumulated a nice property before his
death, which occurred in 1886. In politics he was
originally a Whig, but upon the organization of the
Republican party he transferred his allegiance to the same
and ever after supported its principles and policies.
He was a most zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church of Milford Centre and for many years was one of the
officials of the organization. Honored alike for his
unswerving rectitude of character and his intelligence and
executive ability, his death was deeply deplored in ten
community where he had passed his life and to whose
interests he had ever been devoted. The members
of his family are adherents of the Methodist Church.
W. C. and Maria Wood became the parents of five
children, four of whom are living: Alice is the
wife of Stanton Marsh, of Allen township; J. D.
is the subject of this review; Luther A. is a
resident of this township; Anna is the wife of M.
D. Coe, of Union township; and one child died in
infancy.
J. D. Wood was reared on the old homestead and
early became inured to the sturdy duties incidental to its
cultivation. His theoretical educational discipline
was that which the public schools afforded, but the later
years, with their practical duties and demands, have rounded
out his knowledge in a most symmetrical manner. He was
enabled to attend the public schools in Marysville for a
time and profited duly by the opportunities thus afforded
him.
Mr. Wood's landed estate in this county
comprises 314 acres of choice land, a large portion of the
same being situated on the rich bottom lands of Big Darby
creek. The entire farmstead is under a most effective
system of cultivation and gives evidence that its operation
is one in which enterprise and progressive methods are
brought to bear. The permanent improvements include a
very commodious and handsome residence of modern and
attractive architecture, the same having been erected, in
1887, at the cost of $4,000. The home is delightfully
situated and is surrounded with attractive lawns. Two
large barns and other buildings are of substantial order and
neatly kept, and a modern windmill supplies water for both
domestic and farm purposes. Mr. Wood has a
large number of excellent horses and denotes considerable
attention to general stock-raising. On the place is a
maple orchard of 1,500 trees, which is one of the most
extensive in the county and from which is derived a large
annual output of sugar.
Jan. 6, 1870, our subject was united in marriage to
Miss Addie Wilber, a lady of much refinement, who was
born, reared and educated in Allen township, her parents,
James and Sarah Wilber, having both died in this
township, where they were prominent and honored residents.
Mr. and Mrs. Wood have had three children,
namely: Ida May, who graduated from Marysville high
school in 1891; Lillie Estelle, who graduated at the
same school in the class of 1892; and one child who died in
infancy.
In politics Mr. Wood votes with the Republican
party, and in his fraternal relations he is identified with
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, retaining a membership
in Darby Lodge, No. 636, of Milford Centre, and Encampment
No. 114, of Marysville. He and his wife and daughters
are devoted members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at
Milford Centre, and Mr. Wood is one of the Trustees
of the organization. He is a man who is honored by all
who know him and one whose influence in the community is
ever directed along the line of all that is good and true.
He has been a most active worker in advancing church and
educational causes, and has taken a prominent part in
temperance work.
~ Page 253 - Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and
Morrow, Ohio - Illustrated - Publ: Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1895. |
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LUTHER A. WOOD,
one of the prosperous and honored farmers of Allen township,
Union county, is a native of this county, his birthplace
having been the old homestead which has been in the
possession of the family since the early pioneer period of
the county’s history. The date of his birth was December
19, 1851, and his parents were William C. and Maria
(McWilliams) Wood. The father, who is now deceased, was
a prominent early settler and honored citizen of the county,
and the venerable mother is still living, a resident of
Milford Centre. They had five children of whom our subject
was the third in order of birth.
Young Luther passed his boyhood days on the
paternal farmstead and familiarized himself in a practical
way with the duties incidental to clearing and improving the
farm, working in both Allen and Jerome townships. His
theoretical education was secured in the district schools
and has been well re-enforced by his connection with the
practical affairs of life. For nine years he operated a
threshing machine throughout this section, utilizing steam
power for a period of three years. In this line of
enterprise he attained a distinctive popularity and a wide
acquaintanceship, and carried on the same successfully until
impaired health compelled him to abandon the work.
In 1879 he took up his residence on his present farm,
which comprises 190 acres of the prolific alluvial bottom
lands of Darby creek, the same being particularly eligible
for the raising of cereals and stock, in both of which
departments of farm work he has been successful in his
operations. He has given particular attention to the
raising of pure-bred Galloway short-horn cattle and draft
horses, and his discrimination and good judgment have been
such as to yield the best of results and consistent
financial returns. The family residence is a substantial
and commodious frame structure, and the place has one of the
best barns in this section of the county.
Mr. Wood has been thrice married, his first
union being consummated April 12, 1877, when he wedded
Emma P. Irvine, daughter of the late Leckey and Nancy
(Maxwell) Irvine, and by this union he had one child,
who died in infancy. The death of Mrs. Emma P. Wood
occurred January 31, 1884; she was a consistent member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. March 19, 1885, Mr. Wood
was united in marriage to Sarah A. Spain, daughter of
Washington and Sarah Spain, both of whom are now
deceased. The only child of this union, William C.,
died at the age of seven months and sixteen days, and the
mother passed into the life eternal April 19, 1886, having
been a zealous member of the United Brethren Church. Mr.
Wood married his present wife April 17, 1887, her maiden
name having been Eliza L. Holycross. She comes from
one of the old and honored families of the county, and was
here reared and educated. She is a daughter of Pierson
F. and Jane S. (Wilson) Holycross, of this township, and
is a woman of marked intelligence and refinement. Mr.
and Mrs. Wood have two children, namely: Leroy Edson,
born August 18, 1888; and Hetty Fern, born April 9,
1891.
In politics our subject casts his franchise with the
Republican party, and fraternally he affiliates with the
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, retaining a membership in
Darby Lodge, No. 636, of Milford Centre, and Encampment No.
114, of Marysville. Both he and his estimable wife are
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Milford Centre.
Mr. Wood is one of the representative farmers of
this section and is honored for his ability and upright
character, enjoying an unmistakable popularity in the
community.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware,
Union & Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co.,
1895, pp. 436-437
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
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JOSEPH F. WOODS.
––Union county, Ohio, contributed to the Federal army many a
brave and valiant soldier during the late Civil war, and
among those surviving at the present time, ––when the ranks
of the Grand Army of the Republic are being disintegrated by
the one invincible foe, death, ––stands the subject of this
sketch, who was loyal to his country in her hour of peril,
and who now stands as her staunch supporter in these “piping
times of peace.” Mr. Woods is one of the
representative farmers of Union township, and is a native
son of the county, having been born May 29, 1837, on the
paternal homestead, lying in this township, along the course
of the Big Darby creek.
His father, John P. Woods, was born in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1806, being the son of
Rev. Samuel and Margaret (Power) Woods, who came from
Pennsylvania in the early pioneer days of 1807, the father
having been one of the first Presbyterian clergymen in this
section of the State. He was a man of simple piety and
marked ability, and his labors must ever be held in lasting
regard. He died in 1815, leaving a widow and five
children. We are enabled to offer the following brief
record concerning the children: John P. was the
father of our subject; Eliza, the only daughter,
married Rev. Benjamin Dolbear. Samuel was
born August 26, 1819, and died March 3, 1880; James F.
was born near Milford Center, Ohio, June 21, 1812, was a
prominent attorney of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, and died
December 10, 1893; Judge William Woods, deceased, was
a prominent man in the county, having been Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas, and having been the founder of the
Bank of Marysville.
Our subject’s father, John P., was reared and
educated in this county, and here was consummated his
marriage to Miss Jane M. Finly, who was born in the
old Keystone State in 1810, the daughter of Joseph Finly,
who was a native of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and
who was an early settler in Union county. The maiden name
of his wife, who was born in Pennsylvania, was Frances
Moore. John P. and Jane M. Woods became the
parents of five children, namely: Joseph F., who is
the subject of this sketch; Harlan P., who
participated in the late war as a member of Company I, One
Hundred and Twenty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, is now a
resident of Plain City, Ohio; Frances is the wife of
S. W. Robinson, of Kenton, this State; Isadore
died at the age of fourteen years; and Theodore J.,
is a resident of Taylor township, this county. The father
died March 6, 1851, at the age of forty-four years, and the
mother survived to attain the advanced age of seventy-eight
years, her death occurring in 1888. In politics, John P.
Woods was a Whig and an ardent Abolitionist, and
religiously was a leading adherent of the Presbyterian
Church, in which he was a most zealous worker.
Our subject, Joseph F. Woods, was reared to farm
life on the old homestead and received his educational
discipline at Bridgeport and Delaware, this State. August
30, 1861, he enlisted for service in the late war, as a
member of Company D, Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with
which he participated in the battles of Chickamauga and
Lookout Mountain, besides several other conflicts of minor
sort. He was finally detached from his regiment and was
placed on duty at Columbus, Ohio’s capital city, where he
assisted in the taking of recruits to the front. He was
honorably discharged from the service, September 14, 1864,
as Sergeant of Company D.
In 1874 Mr. Woods took up his
residence on his present farm, which is known as the old
Judge Gill homestead, and which is one of the very best
farms in the township, comprising, in Darby and Union
townships, 135½ acres and being under a most approved system
of cultivation. The family residence, which was erected by
our subject in 1882, is one of the attractive rural homes of
this section, being commodious and of modern and symmetrical
architectural design. Other permanent improvements on the
place are of a character consonant with progressive and
enterprising methods which Mr. Woods brings to bear
in the cultivation and management of his farming industry.
The place shows a goodly array of live stock of all kinds,
and no little attention is devoted to this department of the
enterprise.
September 12, 1867, our subject was united in marriage
to Miss Belle Martin, a woman of culture and gentle
refinement, and one who attained distinctive popularity in
Darby township as a successful teacher. She was born in
Darby township, this county, May 14, 1841, the daughter of
James and Edith (Penrose) Martin, both of whom were
natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and both of whom
are now deceased. They were prominent and honored residents
of Darby township, this county, for many years, and were the
parents of six children, namely: Amelia, wife of
J. C. Robinson, of Darby township; Joseph P., of
Darby township; Keziah, who died at the age of
eighteen years; Belle, wife of our subject; Mary,
deceased; and Maria, wife of James Anderson,
of Ringgold county, Iowa.
Mr. and Mrs. Woods have had three children,
namely: Zella, who died at the age of two years,
three months and five days; Nellie and Carrie.
The surviving daughters are both successful and popular
teachers and are members of the Presbyterian Church, of
which their mother also is a devoted adherent.|
Our subject lends his ballot and influence to the
support of the Republican party. He is a man of marked
intellectual power, and in his personality is frank and
genial, while his honor and probity are beyond cavil. To
him has been accorded the respect and esteem of the entire
community in which he lives.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware,
Union & Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co.,
1895, pp. 140-142
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
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DR. JAMES N.
WRIGHT, one of the prominent members of the medical
profession of Union county, Ohio, has been located at
Raymond's since 1882.
Dr. Wright was born at Johnstown, Licking
county, Ohio, Aug. 6, 1858, son of James N., Sr., and
Effie (Willison) Wright, both natives of that county,
born respectively in the years 1818 and 1822, and both still
living on a farm near Johnstown. The Doctor's
grandfather, Simeon Wright, was born near Rutland,
Vermont, and was by occupation a farmer. He came with
his family to Ohio in 1816, and settled in Licking county,
which was at that time nearly all dense forest. Here,
while in the prime of life, he met his death by a runaway
team. He was a veteran of the war of 1812, having
served all through that war was a Major, under Ethan
Allen. His sons all became farmers, and were among
the best people of Licking county; all were stanch
Republicans, and one served in the State Legislature.
The subject of our sketch is one of a family of seven
children, he being the sixth. His boyhood was passed
on his father's farm, and his education was received in the
Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and at Wooster
(Ohio) College. He began the study of medicine in the
office of Dr. T. J. Williams, of Sunbury, Ohio, and
took a three years' course in the Michigan State University,
at Ann Arbor, where he graduated in June, 1882. In
August of that year he came to Raymond's and entered upon
his professional career, and here he has met with merited
success, winning the confidence of the people from the very
first, and now having a practice of considerable magnitude.
Both as a physician and financier he is a success. He
owns a fine farm of ninety-three acres adjoining Raymond's
the management of which he superintends.
Dr. Wright was married at
Johnstown, Ohio, Oct. 18, 1882, to Miss Florence L. Hill,
daughter of A. J. Hill, and they have an interesting
family of five, namely: James W., Helen E., Miles L.,
Donald M. and Gladys R.
The Doctor and his wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is a Steward and
Trustee. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons
and the Knights of Pythias, being Master of the Masonic
Lodge at Marysville, and Vice Chancellor of Raymond's Lodge,
No. 657, K. of P.
~ Page 443 - Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union and
Morrow, Ohio - Illustrated - Publ: Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1895. |
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THOMAS FERMAN
WURTSBAUGH. —The
man who by his own efforts and as the result of industry and
perseverance not only receives a good education, but widens
the field of his usefulness and influence, deserves to be
given full credit for his labors. This Dr. Wurtsbaugh
has done. He is essentially a self-made man, as the story of
his life which follows will disclose.
Dr. Wurtsbaugh was born in Keene township,
Coshocton county, Ohio, June 8, 1845, a son of David
Harrison and Lucinda (Spiva) Wurtsbaugh. His father was
born near Dresden, Licking county, Ohio, April 21, 1819, and
was of German descent, his parents coming to America from
that country. He died of servile gangrene May 27, 1889, at
the age of seventy years. He was one of sixteen children,
seven of whom are still living. He followed farming during
his life-time, was a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and in politics was first a Whig and afterward a
Republican. The mother of our subject, who resides on the
home place, three miles southwest of Richmond, was born in
Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1824. She is descended
from an old New England family, being the daughter of
John and Harriet Spiva, who came to Ohio at an early day
and settled in Coshocton county. Mrs. Wurtsbaugh has
two half-sisters living, —Elizabeth, wife of Henry
Van Aukin; and Sarah, who married William
Banto. They both reside near Richmond, Wisconsin. Mr.
and Mrs. Wurtsbaugh had twelve children, —Sarah,
John, Thomas, Emanuel, Samuel M., Hannah, James, David,
Nancy, Frank, Mary, and Laura. Sarah
married a farmer named Ross Dougherty, and they
reside in Coshocton county; they have six children. John,
who married Sarah Babs, is a farmer two miles
northeast of Richmond; he has five children, —Alice,
Della, Jennie, Bessie, and May; Alice and
Della are married, the former to Howard Kinney,
a farmer near Richmond, and the latter to Vestus Grindall,
a blacksmith of Mount Victory, Hardin county, Ohio; the
remainder of the children reside at home. Emanuel
died in infancy, in Coshocton county. Samuel M. was
killed at Fort Buford, Montana, in 1874; he was serving as
First Sergeant of the Seventh Regiment, United States
Infantry, when he was murdered by a fellow-soldier named
Wilson, who was tried for the crime, found guilty, and
sentenced to be shot, but the sentence was afterward changed
to imprisonment for life in the penitentiary at Columbus,
Ohio, by President Grant. Harriet married
Isaac Smart, a prosperous farmer four miles south of
Richmond; they have two children living, —Lawrence,
who is a cripple for life, the result of necrosis of the
tibia; and Laura, a well-educated lady, who has for
several years been a successful and popular school teacher.
James died of typhoid fever at the age of twenty
years. David is a carpenter by occupation, but his
present residence is unknown. Nancy is the wife of
Benjamin Reed, a resident of Bucyrus, Ohio. Frank,
a farmer by occupation, married Jennie Mulvane, and
they reside one mile west of Richmond. Mary has been
twice married; her first husband, Perry Bacon, died
at his home four miles south of Richmond in 1891, about a
year and a half after his marriage, leaving one child; her
second husband is Malcolm Cameron. Laura died
in infancy.
When Thomas F. Wurtsbaugh, the subject of this
sketch, was two years of age his parents moved to Union
county, settling on fifty acres of land seven miles south of
Richmond, where his father remained until his death, in
1889. During his boyhood Thomas attended school but
very little, and at thirteen years of age he began work as a
farm hand. In July, 1864, being then nineteen years old, he
enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-fourth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, in which he served as a private. He was
in the engagement near Decatur, Alabama; at Overall creek,
near Murfreesboro, December 4, 1864; ten days later,
December 7, participated in the battle of the Cedars; and
was discharged from the service May 31, 1865, at Camp
Dennison, near Cincinnati. After returning home he was an
invalid and threatened with consumption. After partially
recovering his health, Mr. Wurtsbaugh entered the
academy at Ostrander, which he attended four terms; next
became a student at the Richmond high school, after which he
taught school nineteen terms, teaching during the fall and
winter, and farmed during the summer, a part of the time on
rented land, and for four years on his own place of
thirty-six acres four miles west of this city. He next
entered the Eclectic Medical Institute at Cincinnati, taking
the regular course, and graduated June 1, 1886. Before
entering the latter institute, he began practice under the
preceptorship of Dr. W. B. Duke, of Richmond, and for
six years after graduating he practiced at Claiborne. From
that time until 1888 he followed his profession at North
Louisburg, when he came to Richmond and formed a partnership
with Dr. W. B. Duke. This firm continued three years;
it was dissolved by mutual consent in 1891, and Mr.
Wurtsbaugh then opened his present office. The Doctor is
a member of the Ohio State Eclectic Medical Association and
of the Ohio Central Eclectic Medical Association. He holds a
special diploma from Butte Medical College, as a graduate in
ophthalmology and otology, also holds certificate of
preceptorship from the Eclectic Medical Institute of
Cincinnati, in which he filled the chair of anatomy in
1885-6. Politically the Doctor is a Republican, and is a
member of the Board of Health of Richmond. Socially he is a
member of Richmond Lodge, No. 443, I. O. O. F., also of the
Encampment of Mount Carmel Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and of the
National Fraternal Union.
Dr. Wurtsbaugh was married October 30, 1870, to
Miss Abigail F. Wilson, born in Delaware county,
September 12, 1847, a daughter of Joseph and Mary Wilson,
both now deceased. Mrs. Wurtsbaugh has one sister and
brother: Henrietta, who married Thomas Onion,
and they reside in Ostrander; and Henry, who married
Emily Riley, and resides in Richmond. They have three
children. Doctor and Mrs. Wurtsbaugh have two
children: Ferman, horn February 22, 1873; and
Howard, born December 17, 1876. Ferman will
graduate at the Nada Pharmaceutical School in December,
after which he will enter the Eclectic Medical Institute at
Cincinnati, to fit himself for the medical profession.
Howard is attending the Richmond high school.
Source: Memorial Record of the Counties of Delaware, Union &
Morrow, Ohio; Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1895, pp.
427-429
Contributed by a Generous Genealogist. |
NOTES:
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