G. J. Eblin, M.D. |
GEORGE
JOSEPH EBLIN, M. D., one of the most talented physicians of
Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Vevay, Switzerland county, Ind., Sept.
22, 1852. His father, DAVID EBLIN, was
born in Virginia in 1806, and was quite a child when taken to
Switzerland county, Ind., where he was educated in the pioneer
schools and reared to manhood - his first business for himself being
brick-laying and farming. For some years later he was engaged
in merchandising at Vevay, where he resided until 1882, and died
while on a visit to Christiansburg, Ky., in the fall of 1882.
His marriage had taken place in Switzerland county, Ind., in 1830,
to Miss Sarah Buchanan, and to this union were born eight
children, viz: Sarah, deceased; James, Elizabeth, John
Lawson, Nettie, Fletcher, deceased; George J. and
Charles, deceased. The mother, Mrs. Sarah Eblen,
died in1858; she was a member of the Christian church, and was known
as a lady of many admirable traits of mind and heart. For his
second wife, Mr. Eblen chose Mrs. Mary Sachwell, of
Ghent, Ky., who bore him one child - Laura. Mr.
Eblen was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as
republican in politics and a man of considerable prominence in the
community where he resided.
George Joseph Eblen, at the age of ten years,
abandoned the parental domicile, and sought a home with John B.
Gordon, a farmer in Switzerland county, Ind., with whom he lived
until nineteen years of age, attending in the meantime the district
school and studying assiduously and profitably, so that, when at the
age mentioned, he made application for a license to teach, and
secured at the examination the best rating of any applicant in
Switzerland county - that of ninety-three and a fraction. He
thus secured a license to teach for twenty-four months. He
next attended Bryant & Stratton's business collage at
Louisville, Ky., for a year, graduated in 1873, and then taught a
year in the same institution. He was similarly employed a year
in Hollingsworth & Johnson's business college in the same city; and
then returned to Switzerland county, Ind., and taught school until
1875, when he attended a course of lectures at the Kentucky School
of Medicine, at Louisville, Ky. Subsequently, he pursued his
professional studies at Cross Plains, Ind., with Dr. J. M. Sweezy,
for five years, teaching school in the interim, and then attending
lectures at the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, from
which he was graduated in 1880. Dr. Eblen began the
practice of his profession in the town of Shasta, Van Wert county,
Ohio, and for six years met with marked success; in 1886, he
effected a copartnership with Dr. W. H. Christopher, at Van
Wert, for one year, and since then has been alone in the practice.
Dr. Eblen's professional career presents a
series of continued successes, and his reputation as a practioner
is of the highest order of excellence. He brought to the
practice a mind well fortified with intellectual and professional
training, and he possesses a presence and sympathetic nature which
at once gains him the confidence of his patients, and skill mark him
as a true friend of suffering humanity. In the sick room he is
a typical family physician, and his conscientious fidelity to duty
and principle has won for him the love and confidence of all with
whom he comes in contact as a medical advisor. The doctor,
while engaged in the general practice, makes a specialty of female
and rectal diseases, and his reputation in the department of surgery
is regarded as second to that of no other practitioner in the city
of Van Wert.
Dr. Eblen belongs to the Ohio State Eclectic
Medical association, and in 1890 added to his professional knowledge
by taking a post graduate course in the Polyclinic of New York city.
The doctor and commanding presence, both of which have contributed
not a little to his professional success. Fraternally he is a
member of the Masonic and Odd Fellows' orders, and also of the Royal
Arcanum and National Union, and financially has been quite
fortunate, owning valuable property in Van Wert and the city of
Cincinnati.
Dr. Eblen was united in marriage in Cincinnati,
Dec. 7, 1881, with Miss Carrie Niles, of that city.
Mrs. Eblen is a native of Cincinnati, born Jan. 19, 1854, and is
a lady of culture and refinement, moving in the best social circles
of Van Wert. The Eblen home on South Washington street
is the abode of a genuine, open-hearted hospitality, and the genial
nature of the doctor, and the affable manners of his amiable lady,
add new charms to the pleasant domicile. Dr. and Mrs. Eblen
belong to the Methodist church, being esteemed members of the Van
Wert congregation.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. -
1896 ~ Page 224 |
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FRANK
P. EDSON, eminent as an attorney of Van Wert was born in the
city, Apr. 22, 1858, and is a son of George F. and Elizabeth
(Slater) Edson, of whom a biographical sketch immediately
precedes this notice. Frank P. Edson attended the
schools of his native city until he had attained the age of eighteen
yeas, when he entered the Cincinnati Law school, from which he
graduated with honors in 1881. He immediately entered upon the
practice of his profession in his native city, and assiduously
followed it until 1888, making a decided mark through his abilities
as a lawyer. He then accepted the position of deputy county
auditor under L. A. Harvey, the duties of which position he
performed in a most satisfactory manner for six years, when he
resumed the practice of law, having his office with H. G. Richie.
While in the auditor's office Mr. Edson went to Columbus and
represented Van Wert county, before the state board of equalization,
and succeeded in having the county assessment largely reduced
In 1892 he secured the passage of a bill through the state
legislature, by which the money collected on the bonds of the county
was transferred to the tax inquisitor, and thus saved the people of
the county $32,000. So efficient an diligent was he in the
performance of his duties as deputy county auditor, that he received
the nomination by the democrats for county auditor, in 1893, but the
republican party was too powerful, and he met the general fate of
his own party.
Mr. Edson was happily married, in Van Wert, Feb.
22, 1893, to Miss Elizabeth Baird, who was born in Jennings
township, Van Wert county, July 26, 1873, a daughter of Jesse
Baird, a sketch of whose life will be found elsewhere in this
volume; one child, Helen B., has blessed this union.
Mr. Edson is a knight templar Mason, and as a citizen is
considered as progressive and useful, while his reputation as a
lawyer is widespread and solid; his merit as a statesman is
universally recognized, and there can be no doubt that he will
frequently be charged with the best interests of his fellow-citizens
in the offices of the highest responsibility.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. -
1896 ~ Page 151 |
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GEORGE
FOX EDSON, deceased, was born July 28, 1827, in New York, a
son of Hon. CHARLES P.. and Caroline
Edson, and when a mere child in arms was brought by his parents
to Portage county, Ohio, where he grew to manhood and learned the
trade of a tinner. In 1846, he accompanied his parents to Van
Wert, where he followed his trade as an assistant until 1855, when
he united with G. W. Day in the tinware and stove trade, the
partnership lasting until 1861, when Mr. Edson withdrew from
the firm and engaged in the livery business, and subsequently in
various other vocations and lines of trade, being an energetic and
enterprising man in all respects. He was very popular as a
citizen and equally popular as a democrat. He served as deputy
sheriff under Sheriff ____ and also under Sheriff Stith, in
all four years; he was next route mail agent on the Pittsburg, Ft.
Wayne & Chicago railroad, from Crestline, Ohio, to Chicago, Ill.,
for a year; was next deputy postmaster at Van Wert under Samuel
Neel for two years. He was an investigator of
Spiritualism, and with his wife attended the services of the
Spiritualists at their hall. The marriage of Mr. Edson
too place in Van Wert, Ohio, Mar. 29, 1857, to Miss Elizabeth
Slater, who was born in Liberty township, Van Wert County, Ohio,
Feb. 7, 1840, and who is a sister of Mrs. O. W. Rose, whose
genealogy on another page will show that of Mrs. Edson, and
to this union were born two children - Frank P. and Emma
C. Mrs. Elizabeth (Slater) Edson is a firm believer
in Christian Spiritualism, is being developed in one of the many
phases of mediumship, and takes an active part in the building up of
the church and in the demonstration of the truth of its doctrines.
She enjoys the esteem of the community and has a pleasant home,
comprising four acres, at the corner of Main and Burt streets.
Hon. Charles P. Edson, father of the late
George F. Edson, was born in Vermont, in 1809, and lived there
until he was nineteen years of age, when he went to New York state
and Shortly after came to this state. After the usual course
of reading, he was admitted to the bar in 1843. After 1846 his
permanent residence was in Van Wert. He represented Van Wert
and Mercer counties in the state assembly two terms, was appointed
by Gov. Bishop to fill the probate judgeship of Van Wert
county made vacant by the death of A. W. Baker, and filled
other positions of honor and responsibility with honor to himself
and satisfaction to his constituents. Aggressive in politics
and firm in his convictions, he took an active interest in the
democratic party, whose cause and principles he warmly espoused to
his latest day. His death occurred February 22, 1885, at the
age of seventy-six years, one month and twenty days, and his remains
were interred in Woodland cemetery.. Resolutions of respect
and honor to his memory were passed by the members of the Bar
Association of Van Wert on his demise, and his loss was deeply
deplored by the entire community.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. -
1896 ~ Page 150 |
David W. Wilson |
DAVID W. EVANS
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 - Page 441 |
Mr. & Mrs. William Thompson Exline |
WILLIAM THOMPSON EXLINE, now
retired and residing on his large estate of over 452 acres of land,
his home being in Section 17, Liberty township, is one of the
representative men of this locality and one who has had much
practical experience in the development of that great source of
wealth - the oil fields in his vicinity of Ohio City. He was
born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, Sept. 22, 1837, and is a son of
Rev. Valentine and Evaline (Thompson) Exline.
The Exline family is of Swiss extraction and
the name can be traced centuries back to the period when the
Protestant Swiss were persecuted on account of their religious
opinions. History tells of an early martyr - an ancestor of the
present family - whose name was written Excellent Axline, and
who suffered at the stake on account of his religious convictions.
The first member of this old family to come to America was
Christopher Axline or Exline, as the name came to the
generally spelled, who located his home in Virginia. There his
son Adam was born, who married and reared his family near
Winchester, in the Shenandoah Valley. There was born
Bernard Exline, the grandfather of William T., and then
the family seems to have branched out, one section settling in
Pennsylvania. Valentine Exline, father of our subject,
was born in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, Apr. 4, 1809, and was one
of four sons who received a farm from his father. John
Axline, brother of Adam, was of the family branch that
remained in Virginia, following the old ways and retaining the old
spelling of John Axline moved to Muskingum County, Ohio,
where they still cling to the old Swiss spelling.
The Taylor family, with which the mother of our
subject was connected (John Taylor being her maternal
grandfather), is well-known to be one of the oldest in Virginia, and
it has produced one President of the United States, as well as many
noted statesmen and political heroes. She was a daughter of
William Redman and Sarah (Taylor) Thompson, both of old Virginia
families, and was born in 1814 and died in June, 1894.
In 1846 Rev. Valentine Exline, who was a
minister in the Lutheran Church, moved from Tuscarawas county to
Allen County and settled on a rented farm. As early as 1837 he
had entered 316 acres of wild land in Liberty township, Van Wert
County. In 1850 he built a log cabin here, in the midst of a
wilderness, and in 1851 planted wheat on his land, but did not
settle on it until May, 1852. For many years he was concerned
in the work of the ministry and was one of the early and well-known
pioneer preachers. His death occurred Jan. 5, 1887.
William Thompson Exline was nine years old when
his parents settled in Allen County and was 15 when they removed to
Van Wert County. Here he assisted his father to clear up the
land - a might task in those days when little machinery was used to
do the hardest part of the work. His education was the best
that the times and localities afforded. When he was 18 years
old, he was teaching school, being thus employed for five winters
preceding the Civil War. On Aug. 5, 1862, at Lima, Ohio, he
enlisted for the Union service in Company A, 99th Reg. Ohio Vol.
Inf., and remained at his post of duty until the close of
hostilities. At the storming of Lookout Mountain he was severely
wounded, being first sent to a hospital at Bridgeport, Alabama, and
later to the officer's hospital at Nashville, Tennessee. As
soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he was given a furlough of 30
days and came home to recuperate. For bravery and gallantry on
the field of battle, Mr. Exline received well merited
promotion. Upon entering the service he was made 2nd
lieutenant of his company, and in November, 1862, was promoted to be
1st lieutenant. At the battle of Stone River, the company lost
heavily and when its captain, the lamented W. C. Scott, fell,
Lieutenant Exline assumed command and was mustered out as
captain of Company A, 50th Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf., reaching home July
22, 1865. Two days later, as a mark of public appreciation of
his loyal services. Captain Exline was nominated for
the position of auditor of Van Wert County, to which he was
subsequently elected and served with efficiency through one term of
two years. In 1878 he was again elected county auditor and
served for three years. The election was something of a
Republican triumph, as he had a strong Democratic opponent. He
was re-elected in 1881 for a second consecutive term of three years.
At one time he also served as township treasurer, holding that
office in Liberty township for five years. For many years he
was a very prominent factor in politics throughout his section of
the county but of late has contented himself with simply casting his
vote.
For eight years Mr. Exline was superintendent of
the Ohio Wheel Works at Delphos, a position he resigned in order to
give his attention to oil development. He is familiar with all
the practical working of an oil field, and more than any other, he
was the man who was instrumental in opening the oil field in the
vicinity of Ohio City. His own land is rich in oil, and at the
present time he has seven producing wells. Recently, with
other heirs of Rev. Valentine Exline, he sold 160 acres of
farm land to James M. Dull, who paid the sum of $12,000 in
cash. He still retains over 452½
acres of land, which is really made up of three valuable farms.
From some time he has lived retired from any active agricultural
operations, having a capable farmer as a superintendent.
On Dec. 21, 1865, Mr. Exline was united in
marriage with Esther Scott, who is a daughter of Richard
and Margaret Scott, then of Putnam, but formerly of Warren
County, Ohio. Richard Scott died in 1884, but Mrs.
Scott, now in her 88th year, still survives and resides with
Mr. and Mrs. Exline. The latter have reared a family of
seven children, these being: Eva May, who married Joseph
Augustus Foor and resides in Denver, Colorado; Scott
Leroy, a prominent and wealthy citizen of Cleveland, Ohio, who
married Sarah Roberts; William Grant, who married
Della Nothnagle and resides in Cleveland, where he is the
assistant manager of the Exline Publishing Company, an
important business enterprise; and Margaret, Estella, Ethel
and Georgia, who all reside at home. Mr. Exline
is a well-read, intelligent man, and has given all his children many
educational advantages, fitting them to acceptably fill the business
and social positions to which his prominence as a man of affairs has
assisted them.
For many years Mr. Exline has been one of the
leading members of the Lutheran Church in Liberty township, of which
he is a trustee, the local organization belonging to the General
Synod of the Lutheran Church. His life has not only been
marked by unusual business enterprise, but he possesses the esteem
of those with whom he has come in contact because of his adherence
to honorable methods. A picture of Mr. and Mrs. Exline
accompanies this sketch.
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 ~ Page 450 |
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