JOHN
SHAW, deceased, was born in Stark county, Ohio, on the
seventeenth day of June, 1820, a son of GEORGE
and Dorcas (Smith) Shaw. George, the father, was
born in Franklin county, Ohio, made his way to Stark county and
there married Dorcas Smith, by whom he became the father of
eleven children, of whom eight lived to maturity and were named as
follows: John (whose name opens this biography);
George, Lewis, Thomas and Charles, all deceased; Mary;
Elizabeth, now of Ottowa, Ohio, and Jane, of
Hancock county. George Shaw removed from Stark county
to Hancock county, some time after marriage, and there made his home
until his deceased in the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church,
of which he and wife had been life long and honored members.
In politics Mr. Shaw was a stanch democrat, and his social
standing was with the best and wealthiest agriculturists of his
county.
John Shaw, the subject proper of this sketch,
was reared to manhood on the home farm in Hancock county, remaining
with his parents until twenty-one years of age, when he began the
study of law and civil engineering. Oct. 26, 1843, in Findlay,
Hancock county, Ohio, he married Miss Eleanor Day, and Jan.
1, 1844, came to Van Wert county, and for the first few years was
employed in surveying; he was elected county auditor in 1853, filled
the office for three consecutive terms, and then in 1856 and elected
state representative from Van Wert county, and served one term, with
great credit to himself; in 1857 he bought a farm in Tully township,
Van Wert county, and engaged in buying and shipping live stock until
1881, when he returned to Van Wert city and assisted in the
promotion of the construction of the Cincinnati, Jackson & Mackinaw
railway, securing the right of way through means of township bonds;
in 1883 he was appointed postmaster of Van Wert and served three
years, when ill health compelled him to resign the office, after
which he lived in retirement until May 29, 1893, when he passed
away, mourned alike by his extensive family connection and the
community at large. Mr. Shaw was a gentleman possessed
of considerable property at his demise, had always been an active
and useful citizen, and had led a consistent christian life; in
politics he was a democrat. He was a Mason and Odd Fellow and
Patron of Husbandry, and was interred with Masonic honors.
Mrs. Eleanor (Day) Shaw was born in Fairfield
county, Ohio, Jan. 22, 1823, a daughter of Ezekiel P. and
Margaret (Barr) Day. Mr. and Mrs. Day were natives of New
York and Pennsylvania respectively, but were married in Fairfield
county, Ohio, where Mr. Day engaged in coppering and where he
and family resided until 1832 and then moved to Hancock county,
Ohio, where Mr. Day died in October, 1856, his widow
surviving until Mar. 5, 1877. Mr. and Mrs. Day were the
parents of ten children, of whom Mrs. Eleanor Shaw is
the eldest, and who is herself the mother, by her union with the
late John Shaw, of seven children, as follows: James B.,
deceased; Frances, widow of William Engleright, and
the mother of three children - Harry, a grocery merchant,
Anna, wife of H. H. Hill, and Eleanor S. wife of
G. H. Center; Melville D., ex-senator, a very prominent
citizen and statesman, and now a residents of Wapakoneta; Elva,
deceased; Emma J., the wife of John Redrup; Stephen
A., a fruit merchant of Arkansas City, and John J.,
deceased. Mrs. Shaw's years are filled with honor, and
no one in the county is more highly respected as a lady and a
christian like member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
-Source: A Portrait and biographical record of Allen and Van Wert
Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co., 1896 - Page 672 |
NELSON SHAW.
One of the best improved and most productive farms in the northern
part of Van Wert County, is situated in section 34, Hoaglin
township, and comprises the 170 acres owned by Nelson F. Shaw,
who is widely and favorably known throughout this locality. He
was born in Morrow County, Ohio Oct. 3, 1859, and is a son of
Francis M. and Nancy (Dunkelbarger) Shaw. The father, now
deceased was also a native of Morrow County, but moved to Van Wert
County some time in the '70's and died here many years ago. He
was a Republican, a man of strong character and a friend to
everyone, who was an acquaintance. He married Nancy
Dunkelbarger, who was a native of Marion County and was born in
1837. Mrs. Francis M. Shaw is now a resident of Hoaglin
township. Seven children now surviving, viz.: Nelson F.;
Lydia M. (Mrs. Joseph Hoaglin), of Van Wert; Jacob R.;
Grant, of Paulding County; and Isaac V. W.; Florence Y.
(Mrs. Delmar Roby) and Harry, of Hoaglin township.
Nelson F. Shaw attended district school in
Hoaglin township, and then turned his attention to the subject of
agriculture, an occupation in which he has been very successful.
On Nov. 8, 1885, he was married to Clara A. Ferguson, who was
born Nov. 22, 1866, in Champaign County, Ohio, and is a daughter of
Enos M. and Arminda V. (Jett) Ferguson. Both her
parents were natives of that county, but in 1868 moved to Columbia
City, Indiana, which was their home for many years. There the
mother passed away when Mrs. Shaw was a child of 12 years,
the father surviving her until Mar. 23, 1896, when he died at Fort
Wayne, Indiana. On Sept. 16, 1861, Enos M. Ferguson
enlisted at Mechanicsburg, Ohio, serving under Captain Stou
until the close of the Civil war. Mrs. Shaw came to Van
Wert County early in 1885. Mr. and Mrs. Shaw have one
child, Estella M., who was born Mar. 28, 1901. They
count their friends by the legion and are among the most popular
families in their locality. While not a member of any church,
they are willing contributors to the cause of religion, and may
safely be relied upon to lend a helping hand and where aid is
required for any worthy object. Views of the Shaw home
and the farm buildings accompany this sketcy.
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 - Page 541 |
JOHN
F. SIDLE, ex-county treasurer of Van Wert County, Ohio, and
at present a prominent business man of the city of Van Wert, is a
son of JAMES and Elizabeth (Julien ) Sidle,
and was born in Hocking County, Ohio, November 31, 1851. James
Sidle was born in Maryland in 1826 and was a son of Daniel
Sidle, a farmer who came from Maryland to Ohio and located in
Fairfield county, where he resided until 1872, when he came to Van
Wert county with his son, James, and here expired in 1875,
the father of seven children, viz.: Harriet, John, Eliza,
Henry, Jane, Isabella, and James, who was the father of
John F. Sidle, our subject and was reared on the home farm
until eighteen years of age, when he began learning the carpenter's
trade, which he followed until 1865, when he re-engaged in farming,
settling in Van Wert county, where his decease occurred Sept. 19,
1885. His wife, Elizabeth, was a native of Piqua, Ohio,
a daughter of Richard Julien and bore her husband twelve
children, as follows: Caroline, Zelda Jane, John F.,
Catherine, Mary, G. W., Malinda, Jacob, Charles, Josephine, Lucy
and Hattie. The father of this family was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics was a democrat.
He died possessed of a very comfortable fortune, and was a highly
respected gentleman. The mother and companion was a member of
the German Reform church.
John F. Sidle passed his early years in the
usual training for the life of a farmer. He was educated in
the district schools, and at the age of twenty-one years left the
parental roof and for three terms taught school in Liberty township,
Van Wert county; then married and engaged in farming in Pleasant
township for a year on a lease of land in the woods given him by his
father; then rented a tract known as the Johns Farm, which he
occupied eight years; he next purchased eighty acres of timber land,
which he cleared and cultivated, and on which he made his home until
1888, when he was elected by the democrats as treasurer of Van Wert
County by a majority of 185, and so great was the satisfaction given
by him in executing the duties of the office, that he was
re-elected, in 1890, by a majority of 700 votes. On the
expiration of his second term as county treasurer, Mr. Sidle,
in company with S. Balyeat, engaged in the furniture business
at Van Wert under the firm of J. F. Sidle & Co., and in
his trade he has met with the most flattering success, the stock
invoicing at about $7,000. Mr. Sidle is also the
secretary of the Van Wert Building & Savings company, one of the
most prosperous in the state; he also owns 135 acres of finely
improved land in Van Wert county, beside valuable city property, the
result chiefly of his own industry and skillful management.
The marriage of Mr. Sidle took place Oct. 30, 1872, in
Pleasant Township, Van Wert county, to Miss Sarah Edson, who
was born in Portage county, Ohio, and who is a daughter of John
and Sarah (Atwater) Edson, and by this marriage four children
have been born and named Harry, Charles, Mabel, and Norma.
Mr. and Mrs. Sidle are members in the Presbyterian Church, and
in his fraternity relations he is a knight of Pythias and a member
of the National Union, and also of the Grange. He is a genial
and popular gentleman, is practically self-made, and is prominent in
all his relations with his fellow-citizens.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
680 |
DAVID
SMITH, one of the pioneer farmers of Willshire township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was born in Washington county, Pa., June 5, 1826.
His grandfather, NICHOLAS SMITH, came from
Holland when a boy, lived several years near Philadelphia, and then
settled in Washington county, Pa., where his death occurred.
His son, John A. Smith was born in Washington county, Pa.,
Apr. 23, 1798, and was reared on his father's farm. Apr. 19,
1818, he married Mary Zedeker, daughter of Lewis and
Catherine (Smith) Zedeker, and by this marriage became the
father of the following children: Sarah A. Lewis
(deceased), Margaret, David, John, Elizabeth and
Catherine. In 1838 the family came to Ohio and lived for
some time in Franklin County, but later, about 1847, came to Van
Wert county and settled on eighty acres in Willshire township.
Here the mother died, Oct. 29, 1854, and the father died Jan. 7,
1870, both in early life having been members of the Presbyterian
church, but later becoming associated with the United Brethren.
David Smith, subject of this sketch, was
twenty-one years of age when he came to Van Wert county with his
parents, and here he has since been identified with the agricultural
interests of Willshire township, besides having rendered for some
years his services as an educator. In February, 1849, he
married Mary Hartzog, daughter of Solomona and Catherine
(King) Hartzog, originally from Pennsylvania, but later pioneers
of Fairfield county, Ohio, and finally settlers of Van Wert county.
To David Smith and his wife were born the following children:
Mrs. Mary L. Walters; John H., a minister of the
Methodist Episcopal church; Wilbur P., deceased; Mrs.
Eliza H. Harrod; Emma J., deceased; Mrs. Clara A. Johnson
(her husband being an assistant professor in the Ann Arbor (Mich.)
Law school, and also ex-representative in the Ohio legislature);
Jesse M., deceased; and the remaining two are King B. and
Barda M. Soon after marriage our subject and wife
settled on his present farm of 160 acres, which is now well
improved, but which he wrenched from a state of wilderness.
Mr. Smith had the misfortune to lose his wife Aug. 15, 1876, and
after his children, who felt disposed to do so, had married, Mr.
Smith took for his second wife, Apr. 21, 1892, Mrs. Sarah A.
Byer, widow of George Byer, and daughter of Peter
Fisher. In politics Mr. Smith is a republican, and
for three terms has served as township trustee; for fifty years he
has been a class leader in the Methodist church, in which he has
been a class leader in the Methodist church, in which he has taken
great interest since the days of his youth. He is one of the
oldest pioneers of Van Wert county, and stands very high in the
estimation of his fellow citizens.
~ Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
685 |
JAMES
B. SMITH, organizer of, and the junior partner in, the Leeson
Cooperage company of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Saint Catherines,
Canada, July 15, 1838, a son of JOHN
and Ellen (McDermott) Smith. The father, John
Smith, was born in Ireland, came to America in 1832, and at
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1835, met and married Ellen McDermott,
also a native of Ireland and who also came to America in 1832.
Immediately after marriage they located in Lockport, N Y., where
Mr. Smith followed his trade of cooper until 1837, when he moved
to Canada, worked there until 1840, then returned to Lockport, N.
Y., remained until 1850, and worked there until 1840, then returned
to Lockport, N. Y., remained until 1850, and then moved to Jackson,
Mich., and followed his trade until his death in 1860. His
widow then removed to Kalamazoo, Mich., where her death occurred in
1892. They were the parents of five children, viz: James
B., or subject; George C., a cooper of Kalamazoo, and
Stephen B., Marie and John C., all three deceased.
The parents were Protestants, and in politics the father was a
democrat.
James B. Smith, was educated in the schools of
Jackson and Albion, Mich. and for four years was himself a
school-teacher. He lived with his mother until 1851, when he
married, and Sept. 24, of that year, located in Hamlin, Mich., where
he followed his trade of cooper for about a year, and in 1862 moved
to Kalamazoo, Mich., where he worked until 1865; thence he went to
Plainwell, Mich., followed his trade until 1868; and then went to
Wayland, Mich., where, in company with W. P. Manly he engaged
in hotel-keeping until 1871; he that year went to St. Louis, Mo.,
and until 1883 was superintendant of the cooperage establishment of
Jaynes & Co.; he then came to Van Wert, Ohio, and was here employed
as book-keeper and office man by George H. Marsh, and then,
in the fall of 1887, organized the Leeson Cooperage company, of
which he is at the presentthe secretary and manager - the firm now
doing in business of $80,000 per annum.
The date of the marriage of Mr. Smith was Sept.
21, 1861. His bride, Eunice Whitcomb, was born in Eaton
county, Mich., and is a daughter of Luther and Louisa (Pierson)
Whitcomb, natives of New England. This union has been
blessed with three children, viz: Ella L., at home;
Byron J., superintendent of the Mill Shoals (Ill.) Cooperage
company, and Burton L. In politics, Mr. Smith
is a democrat, and fraternally he is a knight templar Mason;
socially, the family enjoys the acquaintanceship of some of the best
people in Van Wert.
~ Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
730 |
JOHN
A. SMITH, late a prominent resident of Liberty township, Van
Wert county, Ohio, was a native of Germany and came to the United
States after his father's death in 1832, in company with his mother
and a brother, Adam Smith, all three of whom stopped for some
time in Pennsylvania. Within a short time, however, Mrs.
Smith and her sons moved to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, which was
their home for seventeen years, when she moved to the county of
Richland. From the latter county Mr. Smith came to the
county of Van Wert, in 1848, and entered eighty acres in Liberty
township, upon which he placed his mother. Mr. Smith
then went to Piqua, where he worked at his trade of blacksmith; then
went to California, in 1849, where he spent four years in gold
mining and other business, when he returned to Piqua and engaged in
the blacksmith business. In 1856 he settled upon his farm in
Liberty township and engaged in blacksmithing, and added to his farm
160 acres. He raised the first sorghum cane and made the first
syrup in the county. He purchased a saw mill in 1868, but was
burnt out in 1871, and rebuilt in 1872. He was one of the
organizers and one of the principal stockholders and directors of
the Clover Leaf railroad. He was a justice of the peace from
1858 to 1867, and later was county infirmary director. In
politics he was a republican. He died Aug. 9, 1890.
John A. Smith was married Sept. 27, 1854, to
Rebecca Hardenbrook, daughter of Peter and Mary (Wagner)
Hardenbrook, and became the father of the following children:
Lucinda J., born in 1857; Cora L. born in 1860; Ralso
L., born in 1865; Celia G., born in 1867; and Roscoe
G., born in 1869, and died in infancy. After their
marriage Mr. and Mrs. Smith spent one year and a half in
Piqua, Ohio, and settled on the present home farm, Liberty township,
in the year 1856. At that time the country was but sparsely
settled, a few log cabins, at remote distances from each other,
being the only residences in the neighborhood, and the country was
covered with a dense forest grove, interspersed with swamps and
quagmires. To rid the ground of these incumbrances
required patient and persistent toil, but in due time the task was
accomplished, and a fine home of 240 acres developed. This is
one of the best places of the township, and contains a large
two-story residence, and other improvements usually found on all
first-class and well cared-for farms.
Peter Hardenbrook, father of Mrs. Smith,
was a native of New Jersey, but early moved to Hamilton county,
Ohio, where he married Mary Wagner. He then emigrated
to Iroquois county, Ill., where his wife died; thence he returned to
Ohio, settling in the county of Miami. He was a successful
farmer, a substantial citizen, and left to his family an untarnished
reputation. The following are the names of the brothers and
sisters of Mrs. Smith: John G., deceased; Phoebe,
deceased, wife of a Mr. Kuhl; Mrs. Leah Buckles, deceased;
Mrs. Mary A. Eisley deceased, and Laura. Peter
Hardenbrook, some time after the death of his first wife,
married Susan Merit; he was a well known and highly respected
man in Hamilton and Miami counties, and his life was one of great
industry; he devoted himself to the interest of his family, and
while not wealthy, always gave liberally of his means to worthy
charities. James Hardenbrook, father of Peter,
was also a native of New Jersey, where he married Phoebe Smith;
he was one of the first settlers of Hamilton county, Ohio, where he
spent the greater part of his life in clearing up farms and
following the pursuit of agriculture.
~ Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
729 |
| RICHARD E. SMITH
History of Van Wert County, Ohio - Publ. by Richmond &
Arnold - Chicago, Illinois - Publ. 1906 - Page 445 |
CAPT.
TOM M. SMITH, of company D, Second Ohio state infantry,
(Gilliland Guards), was born in Van Wert, Sept. 30, 1866, and is a
son of Dr. William Smith, whose
biography appears in close proximity to this sketch. Tom
M.. Smith was educated in his native city, in the high-school,
and when but eighteen years of age, while yet a student, began his
business life as a n assistant to A. W. Scott in the grocery
trade during vacations, continuing in this employment until July,
1881. Leaving school in 1884, he engaged as clerk with G.
W. Sidle in the restaurant and grocery business, with whom he
remained until July 14, 1886, and then clerked for S. K. Ream &
Co., in the grocery line of trade, until 1888, when he entered
the store of his brother-in-law, G. M. Hall, a dry-goods
merchant. July 22, 1884, Mr. Smith began the study of
military tactics under Capt. D. M. Boreland of Van Wert.
In eight months after entering Boreland's company he was promoted
from private to corporal; in 1886 he was elected second lieutenant,
and as such served two terms, and on July 14, 1889, was elected
captain. He has proven to be an efficient disciplinarian as
well as tactician, and is, withal, very popular with his company and
in general military circles. The marriage of Capt.
Smith took place Oct. 16, 1889, in Van Wert, to Miss Hannah
Brenner, who was born in Willshire township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, July 13, 1871, a daughter of John and Mary (Kreiselmeyer)
Brenner, the fruit of the happy union being one son - Roy B.
Capt. Smith is a member of lodge No. 130, Knights of Pythias,
also of the National Union, and with his wife, is a member of the
German Lutheran church. He has a large side interest in the
poultry business, and resides in a pleasant residence on West Main
street, where he and wife enjoy to the fullest extent the respect of
their neighbors.
~ Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
684 |
WILLIAM
SMITH, M. D., of Van Wert, Ohio, and one of the oldest
practitioners in the county, was born in Washington county, Pa.,
Feb. 28, 1822, and is the fifth of a family of twelve children born
to WILLIAM and Mary (Lyle) Smith the
former born Nov. 5, 1788, and the latter Feb. 1, 1794, and married
in Washington county, Pa., June 23, 1814, where they resided until
the summer or fall of 1822, when they came to Ohio and located in
Richland county, near Mansfield, where the father was chiefly
engaged in milling and farming until 1844, when he sold his farm of
120 acres and his mill and retired to Mansfield, where his death
took place May 5, 1846, at the age of fifty-seven years and six
moths; the widow continued her residence in Mansfield until 1856,
after which she made her home alternately with our subject and her
daughter, Mrs. Sarah Ann Clark, near Mansfield, dying at the
home of the latter, Oct. 3, 1876, at the age of eighty-two years and
eight months. Her remains were interred beside those of her
husband in Mansfield cemetery. The seven sons and five
daughters of the deceased were born in the following order:
James, Feb. 7, 1815, married Ellen Hammer of Mansfield,
emigrated to California in 1853, died in Sacramento Aug. 9, 1863,
leaving a widow and one son- Charles Ray Smith; the widow
subsequently married but is now deceased; Sarah Ann
(deceased), born Apr. 1, 1816, married James Clark of
Mansfield Nov. 14, 1850, and had two children - Allen E. and
Anna M.; Robert Lytle, third child of William and Mary
Smith, was born Apr. 1, 1816, married James Clark of
Mansfield Nov. 14, 1850, and engaged in business with Weister &
Co., of San Francisco, traveling most of the time on the Pacific
coast; Mary Jane, born Mar. 4, 1826, died Aug. 29, 1828;
Ebenezer, born Aug. 1, 1829, was a school-teacher and printer,
emigrated to California in the spring of 1850, and died in San
Francisco May 23, 1861; Robert Ray (deceased), born Oct. 9,
1831, emigrated to California with his brothers, David and Ebenezer,
in 1850, his brothers, David and Ebenezer, in 1850, remained
there until 1853, when he returned to Mansfield, Ohio, and cast his
first vote, which was for John Sherman for congress.
Mar. 9, 1858, he married Esther Ann Grant, of Mansfield, who
has borne four children, viz: George Ray, born Mar. 7, 1859,
a blacksmith; May Elizabeth, born Nov. 3, 1861; Eleanor
Eureka, born Nov. 29, 1865, and Robert Grant, born Sept.
1, 1877. After the birth of his first child, Robert Ray
Smith revisited California, returned to Mansfield, Ohio, Oct. 2,
1862, and followed his vocation of sign painter and stencil cutter
until death. Samuel Lyle (deceased), the eleventh child
of William and Mary Smith was born Dec. 26, 1833, near
Mansfield, came to Van Wert county in 1856 and engaged in milling
until the breaking out of the Civil war in 1861, when he enlisted in
the Sixth Ohio battery and served throughout the entire struggle,
and on his return, in 1865, resume milling, which he followed until
his death, Nov. 17, 1874; he had married, Nov. 12, 1860, Citney
Ann Saltzgaber, who bore him four children, viz: Emma
Gertrude, born Oct. 10, 1861 - died Apr. 25, 1878; Saphronia
Grace, born Dec. 13, 1865 - died Feb. 10, 1877; Manona Lyle,
born Feb. 1, 1868, and Samuel Saltzgaber, born Jan.
11, 1871. The mother of this family died in Van Wert June 4,
1886. Issabelle, the youngest child of William and
Mary (Lyle) Smith was born May 18, 1836, and died Mar. 29, 1837.
In May, 1846, on the first call for volunteers for the
war with Mexico, our subject and his eldest brother, James,
enlisted at Mansfield, Ohio, James being at that time engaged in the
photograph business, and William, our subject, in the study
of medicine and its practice with his preceptor, Dr. A. G. Miller
of Mansfield, who gave him strong letters of recommendation to
Gov. Bartley, of Ohio, and Gen. Curtis, for the position
of assistant surgeon, but these letters were not used, as, on its
organization, his company elected him their second lieutenant, and
he stayed with them until mustered out at New Orleans, June 30,
1847; James acted as assistant in the commissary department.
The doctor and his youngest brother, Samuel L., both enlisted
at the breaking out of the great rebellion in 1861, Samuel L.
attaining the rank of sergeant in the Sixth Ohio battery, and the
doctor entering with the rank of second lieutenant, and advancing to
captain, major and lieutenant-colonel in the Forth-sixth Ohio
volunteer infantry. In this last war the doctor carried the
same saber that he wielded at Buena Vista, and still has it in his
possession.
To revert to the medical career of this
soldier-physician, it may be stated that, on his return from Mexico,
he resumed his study of the science and attended lectures at
Cleveland, Ohio, and after graduation located in the village of
Ganges, Richland county, Ohio, where he practiced his profession
from the first day of Apr., 1848, until April first, 1856, when he
came to Van Wert. While a resident of Ganges the doctor wedded
Miss Almira Mulford, of New Haven, Huron county, Ohio, Dec.
5, 1848, died July 4, 1892, the result of this union being eight
children, viz: Mary Eveline, born Dec. 14, 1849; she was
married to George W. Clark, July 21, 1870, and their only
child, Emma Georgianna, was born Dec. 27, 1872, and died Apr.
7, 1873. Mr. Clark died Dec. 12, 1872, of pulmonary
consumption; his widow then made her home with her parents until
June 20, 1883, when he married Henry Butler a manufacturer of
staves, at Van Wert. Harriet Loretta the doctor's
second daughter, was born Mar. 18, 1852, and married George
Martin Hall, May 28, 1873; Mr. Hall is a dry-goods
merchant of Van Wert and he and wife are parents of six children,
viz: Eva Barbara, born Apr. 9, 1874; Jessie Lucille,
born Sep. 29, 1878; Grace Mulford, born Mar. 8, 1883, and
Mabel Loretta (deceased), born Jan. 17, 1885; Erma Joyce;
Raymond Richards; Mira Bell, the doctor's third daughter, was
born Nov. 18, 1854; she married, July 3, 1880, Aaron Lewis Doram,
a stave manufacturer of Van Wert. William Mulford, the
doctor's eldest son, was born July 19, 1857, studied medicine,
graduated in the spring of 1880, and on Nov. 18, 1880, married
Harriet Lucretia Harnley; they have two children, Roxana Burt
Smith, born Dec. 1, 1881, and Donald Harnley, born Jan.
4, 1891. Wilbur Simpson Smith, the doctor's second son,
was born May 5, 1859, and died of brain fever, May 3, 1860.
Ida May, the fourth daughter of the doctor, was born Nov. 26,
1864, and married Charles W. Webster, June 26, 1895.
Thomas Morton Smith, the third son, was born Sept. 30, 1866 -
married Hannah Brenner, Oct. 16, 1889, and has one son,
Roy Brenner, born Nov. 16, 1890. Zora Lyle Smith,
the fifth daughter and youngest child of the doctor, was born Feb.
14, 1871, and is still at home, unmarried.
~ Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
682 |
SERGT.
JOSEPH C. SPRAY, of Washington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a veteran of the late Civil war who lost his good right arm
in the service. He came from an old North Carolina family of
English-Irish extraction, and was born in Shelby county, seven miles
south of Wapakoneta, in Auglaize county, Ohio, February 4, 1842.
JAMES SPRAY, father of Sergt.
Spray, was reared a farmer in Warren county, Ohio, his father
having first emigrated from North Carolina to western Pennsylvania,
and thence came to Ohio, being among the pioneers of Warren County.
James was still a young man when he went to Auglaize county,
Ohio, and there married Nancy Lucas, daughter of Ebenezer
Lucas, to which union were born five children, of whom two died
young and three reached adult age - Ebenezer, Hester and
Naomi. Mrs. Spray died in Auglaize county, and Mr.
Spray took for his second wife, in the same county, Jane Huey,
daughter of John Huey, a native of Scotland, and this union
was blessed with two children - James M., and Joseph C.
Mr. Spray was one of the original pioneers of Auglaize
county, and settled four miles south of Wapakoneta, when the country
thereabout was all a wilderness, and assisted the United States
authorities to remove the Indians west. He was an expert
marksman and hunter, shot many a deer and wild turkey, and enjoyed
life in the forest. The United Brethren church was the first
religious denomination in Auglaize county, and Mr. Spray was
one of the earliest converts. He ardently espoused its cause,
eventually became an ordained minister, and for twenty-two years was
an itinerant preacher of acknowledged eloquence and power. The
second wife of Mr. Spray was also called away by death, and
his third marriage was with Harriet Givens, of Hardin county,
Ohio, to this marriage were born four children - Jane, Mary,
Nancy and Helen.
Mr. Spray gave three sons to the service of his
country during the Civil war, who served as follows:
Ebenezer L., three years in company G, Seventy-first Ohio
volunteer infantry, returned without wounds but with shattered
heath, and died in November, 1876, as a result; James M.,
served four months and ten days in company K, Fifteenth Ohio
volunteer infantry, and then three years in company G, Seventy-first
regiment, then veteranized for three years, Feb. 1, 1864, and was
honorably discharged in June, 1865; was shot through the right hip
Dec. 16, 1864, and died July 3, 1883, near Wapakoneta, from the
effect of the wound. The father himself died Dec. 25, 1860, at
the age of fifty-five years, on his farm, in politics a Jacksonian
democrat and a greatly respected citizen.
Sergt. Joseph C. Spray was educated in an old
log cabin frontier school-house, learned to read, write, became
quite thorough in arithmetic, and was reared on a farm. At the
age of about nineteen years he enlisted at Wapakoneta in company K,
Fifteenth Ohio volunteer infantry, for three months, under Capt.
George W. Andrews, served four months and ten days, and was
honorably discharged Aug. 28, 1861; he re-enlisted at the same place
Sept. 1, 1861 - this time in company G, Seventy-first Ohio infantry,
under Capt. John W. Moody, for three years or during the war,
filled out his term and was honorably discharged and mustered out at
Gallatin, Tenn., Feb. 1, 1864, and veteranized the same day for
three years longer, or during the war, and was finally again
honorably discharged May 17, 1865, at Cincinnati, with the rank of
duty sergeant. During this long and faithful service,
Sergt. Spray took part in the following principal engagements
which list is not entirely completed: Red House, W. Va.; Columbus,
Ky., 1862; Shiloh; Fort Donelson; Clarkesville, Waverly, Tenn.;
several fights with Wheeler's cavalry; the second fight at
Fort Donelson, 1863; Flin Lick, Hartsville, Tenn.; all
through the Atlanta campaign, being nearly four months under fire;
Dalton, Resaca, Big Shanty, Snake Creek Gap, Atlanta, Jonesboro,
Lovejoy Station, on the march to Nashville with Gen. Thomas;
at Columbia, Spring Hill, Franklin, Nov. 30, 1864, then for two
weeks on a skirmish around Nashville, and then the siege, Dec. 15,
and 16, 1864, and on the 16th was shot through the right arm while
carrying the regimental colors as a volunteer, two of his comrades
having already fallen while performing his duty, and, after our
subject fell, his own brother, James M. Spray, fell shot
through the hip, with the flag in his hands. Sergt. Spray
was confined in Cumberland hospital two weeks and in the hospital at
Louisville, Ky., two and a half months, and here the arm was twice
amputated before it would heal, the second amputation being made
Jan. 22, 1865, close to the shoulder.
The marriage of Sergt. Spray took place, while
he was home on a furlough, Mar. 6, 1864, near Wapakoneta, to Miss
Tamzon Catherine Shinn, who was born in Warren county, Ohio,
Nov. 17, 1844, a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Roberts) Shinn.
The father was a farmer in Warren county, moved to Auglaize county,
in 1848, and settled on 160 acres in the woods, and died June 19,
1855, aged abut thirty-seven years, the father of the following
children: Robert, Franklin, Tamzon C., Martha, Ruhamie, Adrew,
and George. Mrs. Shinn, the mother, lived to be
over eighty years of age and died at the home of our subject.
The son, Franklin Shin, served in the Civil war in
company G, Seventy-first Ohio volunteer infantry, and also in the
Seventeenth Indiana volunteers making a total of four years.
After the war Mr. and Mrs. Spray settled in Spaulding county,
on thirty acres of land, all in the woods, resided there eleven
years, the sergeant teaching school thirty-seven months of the time,
and then came to Van Wert county, in August, 1879, and bought a home
in Middlepoint and other valuable real estate in the town.
The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Spray has been
blessed with seven children, now living, and named as follows:
Arthur A., Jane, Martha G., Emma, Laura, Joseph S., and
Blaine. Mr. and Mrs. Spray are conistant members of
the United Brethren church, in which he is a trustee, and in
politics he is a republican. He is very popular with his
party, and under its auspices has served as mayor two terms, and
town marshal, six years as city councilman, and as president of the
school board for six years; also as assessor two years, and is now a
notary public. He also served four years as postmaster of
Middlepoint under the Harrison administration. He was one of
the charter members of the Zeller-Hamilton post, No. 260, G. A. R.,
has served as post commander two and one-half years, and is now
filling the office of quartermaster. As a citizen, the
sergeant holds a most enviable position in the esteem of the
community, and his military record shows that he was one of those
grand soldiers never to shrink from duty in time of action, and his
bravery at Nashville will make him for all time an honored man.
A Portrait and
Biographical Record of Allen and Van Wert Counties, Ohio
-
Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page 733 |
CHARLES
F. STEWART, the popular liveryman of the city of Van Wert,
was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, Mar. 28, 1855, and is a son of
Ebzon and Elizabeth (Capper) Stewart, the former of whom is a
native of Carroll county, Ohio, where he was engaged in farming, and
where he was married. On coming to Van Wert county he located
in Harrison township, where he entered 160 acres of land, which he
cultivated and made his home until 1869, when his wife was taken
away. His home being thus broken up he removed, in 1871, to
Ridge township and bought 470 acres, where he resided until his
death. The children born to these parents were sixteen in
number, of whom thirteen were named, Edward, Mary (deceased),
Ellen, Jane (deceased), Charles F., Alonzo (deceased),
Amanda (deceased), Milton, Newton, Emma and two twins,
unnamed. The parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal
church, and in politics Mr. Stewart was a republican; he held
the office of township assessor and trustee, was an organizer of
grange No. 72 and died worth at least $20,000.
Charles F. Stewart was reared and educated in
Ridge township, and at the age of twenty-one years hired out for two
years as a farm laborer; he then married and engaged in farming on
the old homestead until 1880, when he bought ninety-five acres in
Harrison township, but at the end of the year sold out and purchased
seventy-eight acres in Ridge township, on which he lived until 1865,
and then, in 1866, returned to the old home farm; shortly afterward
he again bought a farm of small dimensions in Ridge township, on
which he made his home until 1892, when he moved to Washington
township, Paulding county, and purchased a farm on which he resided
until 1894, when he came to Van Wert city, in which month of
September, and bought his present livery stock and barn on North
Market street, which he has successfully conducted to the present
time.
The marriage of Mr. Stewart took place in Ridge
township, Van Wert county, May 22, 1877, to Miss Julia B. Hill,
who was born in the same township May 11, 1824, a daughter of
Harrison Hill, the result of this union being two children -
Homer F. and Viola Pearl. the parents are
members of the Methodist Episcopal church, in politics he is a
republican. He is the owner of eighty-four acres of good land
in Paulding county, and his livery and feed barn in Van Wert, which
is the most popular establishment of the kind in the city.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
700 |
DAVID
STEWART, a prudent and sagacious farmer of Ridge township,
was born in Van Wert county, Ohio, Feb. 25, 1849. His father,
Ebgon Stewart, was a native of Carroll county, born Mar. 6,
1818, and there married Elizabeth Capper, who was born in the
same county in 1824, the union resulting in the birth of sixteen
children, viz: Mary, who died at the age of forty-four years,
the wife of H. H. Hudspeth; Edward, married to Adelaide
Zimmerman and residing in Wisconsin; Martha, wife of
John F. Leathers, of York township, Van Wert county, Ohio;
Ellen, married to J. S. Baxter, also of York township;
Jane, deceased wife of M. H. Mullen; David, subject of
this sketch; Mahlon, who wedded Nettie Baxter, but who
is now deceased; Amanda, deceased wife of William Knittle;
John, who died in infancy; Charley, the husband of
Belle Hill; Alonzo, who died in infancy; Milton,
who married Ida Crates and now resides in Gas City, Ind.;
Emma, wife of P. M. Ireland, of Lima, Ohio; Newton,
of Putnam county, Ohio, and married to Mattie Hill;
also there were born to this union twin daughters, who died unnamed.
In the fall of 1841 Mr. Stewart came to Van Wert county and
located on land in Harrison township that had been entered by his
wife's father, Mr. Capper, and there Mrs. Stewart
died in 1868; for his second wife Mr. Stewart married
Harriet Boyer, and in 1870 removed to Ridge township and
purchased a farm of 300 acres, on which he resided until his death,
which occurred Jan. 28, 1887. In religion Mr. Stewart
was a Methodist, and in politics was a republican.
David Stewart, the subject of this sketch, was
reared on his father's farm, also received the full benefit of the
local schools, and for a time attended the Van Wert high-school,
becoming well qualified as a teacher, and for six terms followed
that vocation. In 1871 he wedded Miss Malissa Gilliland,
the only living child of Hugh Gilliland, of whom an extended
notice is given elsewhere in this volume. To the marriage of
David and Malissa Stewart have been born four children, viz:
Nannie, wife of A. B. Osborn, a book-keeper of Van
Wert; Hugh G., Oscar D. and Clyde M. In 1882
Mr. Stewart purchased his present home of eighty acres in Ridge
township, on which he has made many modern improvements and placed
under a fine state of cultivation. Mr. Stewart is a
member of lodge No. 218, F. & A. M., of Van Wert, and in politics is
a republican. He is held in great esteem by his neighbors in
Ridge township and by his friends in Van Wert, and is regarded as an
enterprising farmer and useful citizen, who will in the near future
stand forth as a leader among the residents of the county.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
741 |
PHEBE
STEWART, widow of Samuel P. Stewart, and daughter of
John and Nancy (Spence) Boyd, was born in Hancock County,
Ohio, on the present site of the city of Findlay, in the 1827.
Her father was born in Pennsylvania, near old Lancaster, in 1799,
the son of David Boyd, who was a descendant of a well-known
Scotch-Irish father of eminent respectability, which settled in the
Keystone state at a very early period of its history. David
Boyd married Phebe Clark and became the father of four
children, two sons and two daughters. John, the eldest,
received a good education in his native state, early learned the
blacksmith trade, and in 1826 was united in marriage with Nancy
Spence, above mentioned. This marriage was blessed with
the birth of three children: Phebe, whose name introduces
this sketch; William, a resident of Kansas and Joseph
of Lawrence county, Ohio. The mother was born in 1794, grew to
womanhood on the country home of her parents, was a consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and died in 1830.
Subsequently Mr. Boyd married Mary Foglesong, of
Richland county, Ohio, who bore him eight children, whose names are
as follows: Ruth, deceased; Mrs. Matilda J. Wilkins,
deceased; David J., deceased; Mrs. Mary F. Wright; Mrs.
Harriet A. Hughes; Sarah F.; Emma, and James E., who
lives in Michigan. The mother was born in Richland county,
Ohio, in 1814, and is still living.
In 1826 Mr. Boyd brought his young wife to
Hancock county, Ohio, where he purchased a forty-acre tract of land,
which he subsequently improved, and to which, from time to time, he
made additions, in the meantime working at his trade. About
1830 he moved to Richland county, thence several years later to
Michigan, in which state he spent the remainder of his life, dying
in April, 1881. In religion he was a member of the Adventist
church, and politically was first a democrat and later, on account
of his intense opposition to slavery, became a republican, remaining
a member of that party from its formation until his death. He
is remembered as quite a successful business man and upright and
honorable citizen, highly esteemed by all with whom he came in
contact.
Phebe, eldest daughter of John Boyd,
received a fair English education in the common schools, and in her
twenty-third year was married, in Richland county, Ohio, to
Samuel P. Stewart. Five children were born of this union:
Perry E., who died in infancy; George W., an artist of
Montpelier, Ind.; William L., deceased; Edward E.,
killed in a railroad accident in March, 1890, and John L.,
who lives on the old home place.
Samuel P. Stewart was a native of Ohio, born in
the county of Richland, September 9, 1825, the son of
Samuel and Hannah (Perry) Stewart. In early life he
learned the carpenter's trade, and after his marriage worked at the
same very successfully for a period of seven years, or until his
removal to the county of Van Wert, in 1857. On coming to this
county he located on a farm which he had previously purchased, and
which, through his untiring industry, was cleared and brought to a
successful state of cultivation. At intervals he worked at his
trade in the neighborhood, and in May, 1864, entered the army, as a
member of company I, Twenty-ninth Ohio volunteer infantry, for the
100-day service. He was sent to the army of the Potomac, and
did guard duty until Aug. 19, 1864, at which time his death
occurred. Mr. Stewart was highly respected in the
community where he resided, was a strict member of the Baptist
church, and contributed liberally of his means toward the
advancement of all moral and religious movements. Politically
he was a republican, but, while an earnest supporter of his party,
never sought nor desired official preferment at the hands of his
fellow-citizens.
John L. Stewart, who resides on the home place
in Pleasant township, was born Oct. 14, 1862, and received his
education in the country schools of V an Wert county. Like
many other sons of Ohio, his early life was passed amid the
uneventful scenes of the farm, and he grew to manhood possessed of a
rugged vitality and sterling honesty, factors necessary to
successful citizenship. Early deprived of the father's care,
he assumed the management of the farm, in which he displayed wise
fore-thought, and soon became one of the intelligent and progressive
agriculturists of the township. He has given his whole
attention to farming, believes in the nobility of his calling, and
belongs to that large and intelligent class of people who, in a
quiet way, have done so much toward developing and building up our
great western country. Mr. Stewart and Margaret E.
Callendine, daughter of George and Samantha (Bodkin)
Callendine, of Van Wert county, were united in marriage in the
year 1889, and to them have been born the following children:
Adessa, Verda, Royal P. and Ruth. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart
are members of the Baptist church, and take an active part in the
work of their home congregation.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
699 |
ZACHARIAH STEWART, a practical
and progressive farmer of Washington township, Van Wert county,
Ohio, is a native of the Buckeye state and was born in Fairfield
county, Aug. 15, 1840. His father, also named Zachariah,
was born in Ireland, and came to America while still a young man.
He located first in Fairfield county, Ohio, and there married a lady
of Pennsylvania-Dutch ancestry, and later came to Van Wert county
and settled on the land in Washington township now occupied by his
son Joseph, and here died at the age of about sixty years.
Zachariah Stewart, whose name opens this sketch,
was but a small boy when brought to Van Wert county by his father.
Reared on a pioneer farm he had but few opportunities for schooling,
but by self-exertion attained sufficient knowledge for the
prosecution of the ordinary business in life. In 1862, at
Lima, Ohio, he enlisted in company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer
infantry, for three years or during the war, but his actual
service comprised but eighteen months - nine months under his
enlistment, being them honorably discharged on account of sickness;
later on he was drafted, and after another experience of nine months
of army life, was again discharged for the same cause. He took
part, however, in the siege of Nashville, was in many skirmishes and
did a great deal of hard marching. He was confined in hospital
at Louisville, Ky., with chronic diarrhoea, and was also stricken
with measles during his service, and came very near death, and was
so badly disabled by disease in doing his duty to his country that
he has been granted a pension of $10 per month by the government.
Mr. Stewart is now the owner of a good farm of forty acres,
which he has cleared up from the woods of Washington township, from
which he is deriving a fair income and on which he makes his home.
He is an upright, hardworking man and is respected by all who know
him, and in politics he is a democrat.
A. J. Stewart, a brother of Zachariah,
our subject, also enlisted in company H, Fifteenth Ohio volunteer
infantry, for three years, then veteranized, and served until the
close of the war- taking part in many battles and doing the full
duty of a soldier. He is now a prominent citizen of Jackson
township, Van Wert county, and at one tie served as infirmary
director.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
901 |
ORLANDO D. SWARTOUT,
a popular young business man of Van Wert, Ohio, was born in Clifton
Park, Saratoga, N.Y., Dec. 27, 1843, a son of DEPEW
and Anna M. (Sherman) Swartout. The father, Depew
Swartout, also a native of Saratoga county, N. Y., was born Dec.
30, 1809, a son of John and Jemima (Rosencrans) Swartout, the
former of whom was a son of an immigrant from Holland, who settled
in Dutchess county, N.Y., as a farmer. John Swartout
was born in Dutchess county in 1781, was there reared, and in early
manhood moved to Saratoga county, where, in 1802, he married, and
had born to him ten children, viz: Sarah, Henry, Depew,
Caroline, John, Amanda, Benjamin, Amelia, William, and Richard -
all deceased save Depew and Amelia, now of Washington, D. C.
Orlando D. Swarthout, when a lad, changed the
spelling of the family name from the original, Swartwout, to
its present form, which has been adopted by the family ever since.
Depew was reared in Saratoga county, and was there married, in
1839, to Ann M. Sherman, who was born in Rensselaer county,
N. Y., in July, 1816, a daughter of Zebullon and Mary (Phillips)
Sherman , and to this marriage of Depew and Ann M. have
been born three children - Sherman, of New York city,
Orlando D., our subject, and Richard, a wholesale dealer
in notions at Grand Rapids, Mich. Depew Swartout and
wife still reside in Saratoga county, where the former followed his
calling of carpentering and building for many years, but is now
retired; he is a republican in politics, and he and wife are highly
respected members of the Baptist church.
Orlando D. Swartout was educated in the common
schools of Saratoga county, N.Y., and in addition attended, for
eight months, the business college at Poughkeepsie; then for two
years held a clerkship in the office of the inspector general, of
New York state, and then, in 1867 came to Van Wert, Ohio, and
accepted a position as deputy probate judge under Andrew McGavren,
with whom he remained fifteen months; he next became bookkeeper in
the Van Wert County bank, then became assistant cashier, and them
cashier, his term of service running from 1869 until 1877; he next
engaged in the insurance business in company with I. R. Beery
for two years, since when he has carried on the business for his
sole account; he has also enacted as secretary for the Building &
Loan association, and as secretary of the Agricultural society of
Van Wert county since 1880; was formerly secretary of the Citizens'
Gas company and is the present secretary of the Van Wert Natural Gas
company; he is also book-keeper for the Oil Well Supply company,
limited, and is one of the park commissioners, all of which
positions he has filled with marked ability and to the unbounded
satisfaction of all concerned. Mr. Swartout was
married in Van Wert, Sept. 18, 1872, to Miss Mary A. Swineford,
a native of Crawford County, Ohio, born in 1850, and a daughter of
Simon Swineford, and this happy union has been crowned by the
birth of three children - Alice M., Ella and Rachael.
Mr. Swartout is a thirty-second degree Mason, and is a knight
templar, and at present is captain-general of Ivanhoe commandery,
No. 54; also a member of the Royal Arcanum. His military
experience was varied and brilliant, as will be seen by the
following narration. He enlisted in July, 1862, in company H,
One Hundred and Fifteenth New York volunteer infantry, for a period
of three years, or during the war, and was sent direct to Harper's
Ferry, where 10,000 men were taken prisoners, and was paroled, and
soon after exchanged; then was sent to the South Carolina and
Florida campaign and sea service in Olusta, Fla., and numerous other
engagements; he was wounded at Olusta by a rifle-ball in the hip,
and was sent to Buford hospital, in South Carolina, and was there
confined from February 18, to May 10, when he again went to the
front at Petersburg, Va., and was almost constantly in battle until
wounded at Deep Run in the shoulder, and for four months was
confined in the Hampton, Va., hospital. Prior to this he was
in front of Petersburg, and participated in that struggle and was
present at the explosion of the mine. After discharge
from the Hampton hospital he was detached from his regiment and
placed in charge of the discharge department in the general office
at Hampton, Va., where he remained until the close of war.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
744 |
SIMEON SWINEFORD.—The record of a busy
life, a successful life, must ever prove fecund in interest and profit
as scanned by the student who would learn of the intrinsic essence of
individuality, who would attempt an analysis of character and trace
back to the fountain-head the widely diverging channels which mark the
onward flow, the constantly augmentive process, if we may be permitted
the phrase, of such individuality. All human achievements, all human
weal or woe—in short, all things within the mental ken—are but
mirrored back from the composite individuality of those who have
lived. "The proper study of mankind is man," said Pope, and
aside from this, in its broader sense, what base of study and
information have we? In entering a memoir to one who has played well
his part in life and who I has ended his earthly career with a full
quota of honors and tangible rewards does biography exercise its.
highest function, and in this connection we may well take satisfaction
in adverting to the life history of this honored pioneer of the city
of Van Wert.
The subject of this review was one of the best known and most
prominent business men of Van Wert for a course of many years, having
been intimately concerned in all that concerned the development and
material prosperity of the community and having here conducted a
mercantile enterprise which was representative in that line of
industry. He was born in Snyder county, Pa., July 10, 1819, securing a
common-school education, and in his youth being apprenticed to learn
the trade of chair making, to which he devoted his attention for a
number of years in his native state. In 1839 he removed to Ashland
county, Ohio, and there engaged in the business of his trade,
continuing in this line of enterprise, at this point, for five years.
He then located at Ashland, in Crawford county, where he secured
employment as a salesman in a dry-goods store, retaining this
incumbency for seven years. The year-of 1852 represents the date of
our subject's advent in Van Wert, and upon his arrival here he became
associated with the industrial activities of the place by engaging in
the chair and furniture business, in which he continued for some time,
and then entered the employ of Judge A. W. Baker, with
whom he remained, in a clerical capacity, until he formed a
partnership with Alonzo Conant, in the mercantile
business, which association continued for a number of years, after
which Mr. Swineford engaged in business for himself.
Locating at the corner of Main and Washington streets, he there
engaged in the grocery business and continued this enterprise most
successfully for a long period of years and until the time of his
death, securing a representative patronage and retaining the
confidence and good will of the entire community. He was a man of
scrupulous honor and integrity, was careful and conservative in his
business methods, and was animated by a broad spirit of humanity and
charity. Distinctly individual and with strong and well defined
convictions, he never swerved from the strict path of that which he
considered his duty, but against him there has never been charged an
unkindly deed or a disregard of the rights of others. When this
honored pioneer was summoned into the life eternal, on November 30,
1874, the community mourned the loss of a valuable citizen, and an
honest and noble man. To him came a full measure of success in the
material affairs of life, and this none could be begrudging. He was
one of the original stockholders of the First National bank of Van
Wert, and for many years served as a member of its board of directors,
and as vice-president.
In political adherency, Mr. Swineford was an
uncompromising republican, but the extraction of his active business
affairs rendered it inexpedient for him to aspire to political
preferment, though it must be said that he ever manifested a signal
reluctance to securing notoriety in any way, and had no desire to
become a candidate for public office.
December 22, 1840, was solemnized the marriage of the
honored subject to Miss Rachael Clayburg,
daughter of Isaac Clayburg, of Ashland, Ohio, he having
been a native of York county, Pa. Mrs. Swineford was
born in that county of the old Keystone state and accompanied her
father on his emigration to Ashland county, Ohio, where Mr.
Clayburg attained prestige as one of the pioneer settlers and most
honored citizens of that section. Mr. and Mrs.
Swineford became the parents of five children, viz: Benjamin
C.; Lawrence R.; Mary A.; wife of Orlando D.
Swartout, of Van Wert, and Charles M., whose death occurred
in infancy, and Henry, deceased. Mrs. Swineford
survives her husband and lives to hold in perpetual regard and honor
the memory of the one whose name she bears and who represented in his
domestic life the truest virtues and the utmost devotion to those who
placed dependence upon him. High upon the scroll of the honored
pioneers of Van Wert will ever be inscribed the name of Simeon
Swineford; Mary A.; wife of Orlando D. Swartout,
of Van Wert, and Charles M., whose death occurred in infancy,
and Henry, deceased. Mrs. Swineford survives her
husband and lives to hold in perpetual regard and honor the memory of
the one whose name she bears and who represented in his domestic life
the truest virtues and the utmost devotion to those who placed
dependence upon him. High upon the scroll of the honored pioneers of
Van Wert will ever be inscribed the name of Simeon Swineford.
Source: A Portrait and Biographical Record of Allen and Van
Wert Counties, Ohio - Publ. Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co. - 1896 - Page
8 |
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