BIOGRAPHIES
History Union County, Ohio
Publ. By B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis,
Indiana
1915
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E. F. Sawyer |
EMORY FULTON SAWYER,
Source: History Union County, Ohio
- Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 555 |
John H. Schoneberger |
JOHN H. SCHONEBERGER
Source: History Union County, Ohio
- Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 616 |
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JOHN L. SELLERS.
Each man who strives to fulfill his part in
connection with human life and human activities is
deserving of recognition, whatever may be his field
of endeavor, and it is the function of works of this
nature to give an authentic outline of the career
and individual character of persons represented in
these pages. These personal sketches are in
the nature of pen portraits of those represented,
and the effort has been to throw a well-focused
light on John L. Sellers and to bring into
proper perspective the salient points of the
individual traits of character that have marked his
life. It is the character of the individual
that establishes the character of the community, and
there is no one, however humble his sphere in the
community. who does not in some measure
contribute a part to the character of citizenship.
A history of a county or state without a personal
history of representative citizens composing that
county or state would be incomplete. This may
not appear as an important omission to the
present-day reader, but a history worthy of the name
is not written and published solely for the interest
of the present-day readers.
The foregoing observations are not to be understood as
an explanation or an apology for the introduction of
John L. Sellers, who is the subject of this
brief review. He needs no apology nor
introduction to the readers of this volume, much
less is there need of explanation or apology for
classing him among the representative citizens of
his town and county. He not only has an
honorable record as a citizen, but bears a record of
honor and distinction as a soldier in the
Spanish-American War. He can also take pride
in a patriotic ancestry, his father having served as
a soldier in the Civil War and a grandfather in the
War of 1812, of whom further mention will be made as
we proceed with this sketch.
John L. Sellers was born in Marysville, Ohio, Nov. 11,
1858, a son of George L. and Eliza (Snodgrass)
Sellers. The father was a native of
Maryland and the mother of Ohio. Their two
children were John L. and Effie, the wife of
Charles Smalley, of Washington, D. C.
In his early life George L. Sellers was a
farmer in Maryland, where he grew to manhood.
In the meantime he learned the tanner's trade and
was engaged in that line of business for some time
while living in Maryland. When he was
twenty-one years of age he came to Marysville and
engaged in the tanning industry for a number of
years in partnership with Josiah Morelock.
It was about the year 1871 when he disposed of his
interest in the tannery and engaged in the retail
grocery business, in partnership with the late
Mr. Cartmell. This partnership continued
for several years, when Mr. Sellers bought
his partner's interest and took his son, John L.,
our subject, into the business, under the firm name
of G. L. Sellers & Son. While engaged in business
under this firm name the senior Sellers
assisted in the organization of the Union Banking
Company at Marysville and became the cashier of this
institution. Later he became president of the
bank and continued in this position for several
years. He retired in the fall of 1913 and died
Feb. 13, 1914.
In 1861 George L. Sellers followed the example
of thousands of other patriotic young men of Ohio
and enlisted in the service of his country which was
threatened with disruption by the rebellion of
Southern states. He enlisted in Company E,
Eighty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, a regiment
that bore a conspicuous part in the several battles
in which it was engaged. Mr. Sellers
followed the fortunes of his regiment through the
war as a faithful soldier and was promoted to the
position of first lieutenant of his company.
At the close of the war he returned home and took up
the duties of a citizen in civil life. He was
an active and influential member of Ransom Reed
Post, No. 113, Grand Army of the Republic. His
wife died in 1908, aged seventy years. For
many years they were faithful and consistent members
of the Presbyterian church and actively interested
in church affairs. Politically, Mr. Sellers
was an advocate of the principles of the Democratic
party. The paternal grandfather of John L.
Sellers was John Sellers, and his wife
was Elizabeth (Weaver) Sellers, both natives
of Pennsylvania. They died in their Maryland
home well advanced in years. They had a large
family, John H., George L., Noah,
Catherine (wife of Richard Osler),
Lizzie and Ellen (wife of Henry Grove).
The grandfather, John Sellers, served in the
War of 1812, as a commissioned officer. The
maternal grandfather was Thomas Snodgrass,
one of the old settlers in Marysville, where he and
his wife lived to celebrate their golden wedding and
where they both died at an advanced age. Their
children were Margaret Rebecca,
Eliza, Mary, Sarah, Josephine
and Eugene.
John L. Sellers was reared in Marysville and
received his elementary education in the public
schools, supplemented by a course in a business
college at Cleveland, Ohio. He then found
employment by a course in a business college at
Cleveland, Ohio. He then found employment in
his father's grocery store and after a time became a
partner with him in the business. When his
father went in the banking business he continued to
manage the grocery for several years. He sold
his interest in the grocery and for several years
was engaged in the wholesale business he continued
to manage the grocery for several years. He
sold his interest in the grocery and for several
years was engaged in the wholesale cigar business.
In 1898 the Spanish-American War came on and Mr.
Sellers, being an officer in the National Guard,
was called into the United States service. He
served as major in the Fourth Ohio Volunteer
Infantry, going with his regiment to Porto Rico,
where it remained in the service until the close of
the war. He then returned to Marysville and
embarked again in the grocery business, in which
business he is still engaged. In the meanwhile
he has been engaged in other lines. For four
years he was traveling salesman for a wholesale
grocery house in Columbus, and for another four
years was sales agent for the John Wildi
Evaporated Milk Company, with headquarters at
Columbus. The past year he has remained with
his grocery business in Marysville.
Mr. Sellers was united in marriage with
Dorothy E. Cole, daughter of Judge P. B. Cole
and Dorothy (Witter) Cole, Oct. 9, 1883.
To this union seven children have been born,
Edward, Cornelia, George, Paul, William, Elizabeth
and Frederick. Edward is
superintendent of the gas and electric
company at Frankfort, Kentucky. He married
Marie Carmean. Cornelia married Walter
A. Sawyer, of Marysville, state agent of the
Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, and has one
daughter. Cornelia, and one son,
Emory. George is manager of the
Kryptok Lens Company, of Chicago. Paul
and William are students in the University of
Minneapolis. The other children are at home.
Mrs. Sellers was born in Marysville, Ohio, and
her parents were also natives of Ohio. Her
mother is still living at the remarkable age of
ninety four years, and still more remarkable is the
fact that her memory is very clear concerning things
that occurred in the distant past. The father
of Mrs. Sellers died several years ago, at an
advanced age. The children of this family were
Ulysses, James B., Cornelia, Edward, Jessie
and Dorothy. The paternal grandfather
of Mrs. Sellers laid out the town of
Marysville and was one of the first sheriffs of
Union county. Cornelia C., a sister of Mrs.
Sellers, was the wife of former Vice-President
Charles W. Fairbanks, of Indianapolis.
Mr. and Mrs. Sellers are members of the
Presbyterian church. He is vice-president of
the financial board and has served in that position
for several years. He is a teacher in the
Sunday school and an active worker in all
departments of the church. In fraternal
affairs, Mr. Sellers is a member of
Palestine Lodge, No. 158, Free and Accepted Masons,
and of Marysville Lodge, No. 100. Knights of
Pythias. Politically, his affiliations are
with the Democratic party. He served one term
as a member of the city council and one term as a
member of the school board. This is the extent
of his service for the public in official capacity,
but his service as a private citizen in every
endeavor for the promotion of the best interests of
the city and community has been unceasing.
Source: History Union County,
Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 557 |
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CHARLES
W. SMITH.
The year 1835 marks the advent of the Smith
family, of which Charles W. Smith is a
member, into Union county, Ohio. At that time
he was only two years of age and here he has spent
his whole career since then, which is more than
eighty years. Mr. Smith served
throughout the Civil War and has been farming for
the past half century in York township, where he
settled after returning from the war. His
career has been devoted to the services of his
fellow citizens and for sixteen years he served as
trustee and county commissioner. He has always
been active in church work, his father being a
charter member of the Methodist Episcopal church at
Raymond.
Charles W. Smith, a highly respected citizen o
York township, was born in Harrison county, Ohio,
Mar. 31, 1833. He is a son of Charles and
Sarah (Godfrey) Smith, natives of Virginia and
Pennsylvania, respectively. His father went
from Virginia to Pennsylvania and there married
Sarah Godfrey and shortly after their marriage
they moved to Harrison county, Ohio, where nine of
their ten children were born. In 1835
Charles Smith came to Union county and located
in Liberty township in the woods. He cleared
away a spot, built a rude log cabin and lived on
this farm until his death, in 1859. Of the ten
children born to Charles Smith and wife, two
are now living, Charles W., and Eliza,
the widow of Sol Cleason, of Missouri. Charles
Smith was one of the pioneer settlers of the
county and his first cabin had only three sides, the
fourth side being exposed to the weather. He
and his wife attended church four miles away.
They were deeply interested in the welfare of the
first church organized at Raymond and were prominent
factors in its early history. He worked at
Kings Creek plains for sixty-two and one-half cents
a day and at that time had to pay one dollar a
bushel for corn to feed his family. He owned
the first wagon in Liberty township.
Charles W Smith was only two years of age when
his parents moved from Harrison county, Ohio, to
Union county. He received a meager common
school education in the subscription schools of his
boyhood days and early in life learned to swing the
axe and handle the rifle. He remained at home
helping his father until he was twenty-five years of
age and then began working for himself. At the
opening of the Civil War he enlisted in Company D,
One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment, Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and served until the end of the
war. Before the close of the war he was
promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and was
holding this rank when he was mustered out of the
service. Mr. Smith belongs to the
Ranson Reed Post, Grand Army of the Republic, at
Marysville.
At the close of the war, Mr. Smith returned to
Union county and settled down to the life of a
farmer in York township, where he has since
continued to reside. He has a well improved
farm, although he has now retired from active farm
work.
Mr. Smith was married to Caroline A. Hathway,
the daughter of E. and Almira (Loring) Hathway,
natives of Massachusetts. To this union have
been born three children: Emily, who was a
student at Delaware College, at Delaware, Ohio, and
now the wife of Clyde Bitzer;
Nannie. the wife of John McCloud, and
Charles H., who was educated at Delaware College
and is married to Eleanor Tallman.
Charles H. was married June 23, 1904, and he
and his wife have three sons: Charles,
James and John. The wife of of
Charles H. Smith was a daughter of James and
Rebecca (Sager) Tallman, of London, Ohio.
Charles W. Smith and his wife were active
members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Raymond
and have been active in all church and Sunday school
work. Mr. Smith was superintendent of
the Sunday school for a period of twenty years.
He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and
the Knights of Pythias, and is a past chancellor and
a member of the grand lodge of the Knights of
Pythias. In politics he has given his support
to the Republican party since its organization, in
1856. He has served as trustee of York
township for nine years and as commissioner of Union
county for a period of seven years. He
appraised the land in York township in 1870 and
1880. Mr. Smith is one of the grand old
pioneers of Union county and is one of the very few
citizens of the county who have lived here more than
eighty rears. His whole career has been one of
usefulness and honor and it seems eminently fitting
that his life history be recorded in this volume.
Source: History Union
County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 1092 |
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EDWARD P.
SMITH.
One of the best
known men of Milford Center, Ohio, is Edward P.
Smith, who, after spending nearly a quarter of a
century on the road as a traveling salesman, has now
retired to Milford Center in order to look after his
extensive farming interests. He is a genial
and whole-souled man, who delights to entertain his
friends at his beautiful country home near this
village.
Mr. Smith has recently fitted up a fine picnic
grounds and club house on one of his farms, where he
entertains his friends. In the spring of 1914
he built a fine log cabin with a cement floor on his
grounds and has equipped it with furnishings and
curios, such as hunters and sportsmen enjoy.
His club house and grounds make an ideal place in
which to while away many happy hours, and it is a
treat to be allowed to visit the place. Mr.
Smith built the cabin with his own hands and
takes pride in the fact that he was able to do so.
He has cooking utensils and all of the paraphernalia
necessary for ministering to the inner man and also
various amusements whereby his visitors can enjoy
themselves. The grounds are situated in a
beautiful grove, furnished with comfortable seats
and a splendid flowing well of fine drinking water.
Darby creek runs through the grove a sort distance
from the cabin, and here boating and fishing, in
season, makes one forget the hot days of the summer.
Altogether this park of Mr. Smith is a
romantic and inspiring place. No more ideal
place could be found in the county for an outing.
Edward P. Smith, the son of Ira and Rose (Nickeson)
Smith, was born in Union township, Union county,
Ohio, one mile east of Milford Center, Sept. 23,
1872. His father was born in Union county and
his mother in Wheeling, West Virginia. They
were the parents of three children: Durward B.
of Columbus, Ohio; Edward P., of Milford
Center; and Lena, who died at the age of
twenty-two.
Ira Smith was reared on a farm in this county
and was always a farmer and stock raiser. He
owned a farm of two hundred twenty-one acres in
Union township, which he improved and on which he
lived most of his life. He died in Milford
Center in November, 1907, at the age of sixty-three.
His wife died in August, 1912, at the age of
sixty-four. She was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. Ira Smith was a
soldier in the Civil War and served for six months
as a private. He was a farmer and an
influential man in his township, serving as township
trustee and supervisor and in several other minor
positions.
The paternal grandparents of Edward P. Smith
were Orson and Irene Smith, natives of
Vermont and pioneer settlers of Union county, Ohio.
When Orson Smith came to this county from
Vermont he bought several hundred acres of land and
lived here most of his life. He died in
Delaware county, at the advanced age of ninety-three
and his wife passed away in Hardin county at the age
of seventy-five. There were four children born
to Orson Smith and wife, Caroline.
Alvira, Maria and Ira, father of
Edward P. Smith. The maternal grandparents
of Mr. Smith were natives of West Virginia.
His grandfather, on his mother's side, was a minor
by occupation and lived all of his days in West
Virginia, where he and his wife reared a family of
six children, Rose, Carrie, Alice, Martha, Harry
and John.
Edward P. Smith was reared on his father's farm
until he was sixteen years of age. He was
educated in the country schools and completed his
education in the Milford Center public schools.
At the age of sixteen, he went to Salt Lake City and
traveled for Z. C. M. & I. general co-operative
house, remaining with this firm until 1893. He
then spent two years at home in Union county, after
which he was traveling salesman for George
Wiedemann Brewing Company of Newport, Kentucky,
remaining with this company until March, 1914.
In the spring of 1914 he decided to leave the road
and devote all of his time to his property interests
in Union county. He owns two good farms in
Union township, comprising about two hundred and
fifty acres of as fine land as can be found in the
company. He also owns a fine home in Milford
Center.
Fraternally, Mr. Smith is a member of the
Newport Lodge. No. 273, Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, of Newport, Kentucky, and also holds
his membership in the Champion City Council, No. 23,
United Commercial Travelers of America.
Politically Mr. Smith is a Republican, but on
account of the nature of his business he has not had
a chance to engage in political matter.
Mr. Smith has a host of friends in the village
and community and his kind-heartedness and generous
disposition make him welcome wherever he goes.
He is very charitably inclined and with an
unostentatious hand helps those who are less
fortunate than himself. He scatters sunshine
wherever he goes and his optimistic spirit makes him
a man who is well liked by everyone he meets.
Source: History Union County,
Ohio - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 579 |
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PERCY
MONROE SMITH.
A representative farmer and stock raiser of Darby
township, Union county, Ohio, is Percy Monroe
Smith, who is known as one of the alert and
successful agriculturists of this section of the
Buckeye state. His grand parents were early
settlers of this county, having located here more
than seventy years ago.
Percy M. Smith, the son of Rev. David and
Alvira (Andrews) Smith, was born in Bourbon
county, Kansas, in 1887. His father was a
minister in the Methodist Episcopal church and
during a long and active career preached in many
different states. At one time he had charge of
the Methodist church at Milford Center, Ohio, but
during his latter years lived in Missouri and died
in that state. David Smith was a
son of Robert and Sarah Smith and was the
father of three children, Mrs. Tinnie Jefferson,
Mabel and Percy M.
The maternal grandparents of Percy M. Smith came
to Franklin county in 1844 and settled in the
wilderness. Grandfather Andrews became
a substantial farmer and followed that occupation
until his death, in 1887. If Andrews
and his wife reared a family of eight children:
Anson. who died in the army of typhoid fever;
Elizabeth, who is living with Percy M. Smith;
Ira, deceased; Alvira, the wife of the
late Rev. Smith and the mother of
Percy M. Smith; Edgar, deceased; Sarah,
the wife of B. L. Robinson; Lucinda,
deceased; Arilla, deceased.
The education of Percy M. Smith was received in
the schools of Unionville Center, Ohio, and Ohio
State University at Columbus. After leaving
the university, he began to farm on his present farm
of one hundred and sixty-four acres.
Source: History Union County, Ohio - Publ. by B. F.
Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 -
Page 1090 |
Walter M. Staley |
WALTER M. STALEY
Source: History Union County, Ohio
- Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 976 |
Mr. & Mrs.
French G. Stillings |
FRENCH G. STILLINGS
Source: History Union County, Ohio
- Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 716 |
Mr. & Mrs.
William Stillings |
WILLIAM STILLINGS
Source: History Union County, Ohio
- Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Ind. - 1915 - Page 720 |
NOTES:
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