BIOGRAPHIES
Source:
History of
Wayne Co., Ohio
Vol. I
Illustrated
Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana
1910
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JESSE R. SHILLING.
This is an age in which the farmer stands pre-eminently above any
other class as a producer of wealth. He simply takes advantage
of the winds, the warm air, the bright sunshine and the refreshing
rains, and applying his own hands and skill to nature’s gifts he
creates grain, hay, livestock, etc., all of which are absolute
necessaries to the inhabitants of the world. The commercial world
has come to recognize his importance and has surrounded him with
many conveniences not thought of one hundred years ago. The
inventor has given him the self-binder, the riding plow, the steam
thresher, and many other labor-saving devices. And the farmer
has not been slow to take advantage of the improvements thus
invented and offered. Among the up-to-date farmers of this
county is the subject of this brief sketch, who was born in Canaan
township, Wayne county, Ohio, on June 25, 1876. He is
descended from sturdy Pennsylvania stock, his paternal grandfather,
John Shilling, having migrated from that state to Ohio at an
early date and taken up a tract of government land. He was a
prominent member of the United Brethren church and died at the age
of eighty-five years. His son, Adam Shilling,
the subject’s father, was born Oct. 25, 1839, in Canaan township,
and was reared on the home farm, where he spent practically his
entire life. He himself acquired the ownership of one hundred
and eighty-four acres of land in this county and was accounted one
of the county’s representative citizens. He was an ardent
Republican. His death occurred in 1899. He married
Maria Richie, who was born in Medina county, Ohio, in
1843, her death occurring in 1897. Jesse R., the
subject of this sketch, was the only child.
Jesse R. Shilling secured a fair education in
the district schools and was reared to the life of a farmer, which
honorable calling he has followed all his life. He remained as
his father’s assistant until the latter’s death, when, as the only
child, he assumed possession and control of the property.
Mr. Shilling is an energetic worker, being noted for the great
amount of which he can accomplish in a given time, and he devotes
his energies wholly to the operation of the farm. He is
up-to-date in farming methods and is maintaining the farm at the
very highest standard of excellence. He carries on general
farming, raising all the crops common to the section, and he has
been rewarded with bountiful crops in return from the labor he has
bestowed.
On Jan. 7, 1903, Mr. Shilling wedded
Minnie Swartz, who was born at Red Haw, Ohio, the
daughter of Esly Swartz, a successful farmer of Medina
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Shilling have been born four
children, namely: Clyde, born in 1904; Ralph, born in
1905; John, born in 1907, and Gertrude, born in 1909.
Mr. Shilling is a Republican in politics and takes a
keen interest in the success of that party, though he is not in any
sense an aspirant for public office. Not only as a farmer and
business man is he considered representative, but in all that
constitutes nobility of character and good citizenship he has long
occupied a conspicuous place in the community.
Source:
History of Wayne Co., Ohio - Vol. II - Illustrated - Publ. by B. F.
Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana - 1910 - Page 1166 |
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BENJAMIN H. SMITH.
One of the most straightforward, energetic and successful
agriculturists of Wayne county is Benjamin H. Smith. He
is public-spirited and thoroughly interested in whatever tends to
promote the moral, intellectual and material welfare of his
locality, and for many years he has been numbered among its most
valued and honored citizens.
Benjamin H. Smith was born in Lehigh county,
Pennsylvania, on the 29th of September, 1857, and is a son of
Henry L. and Sarah A. Beisel. On the paternal side the
subject is descended from English ancestry and on the maternal side
the line is traced to German antecedents. Both families were
early and prominent pioneers of Lehigh county, the subject's
paternal grandparents having emigrated to that locality from
England, while his maternal grandparents were former residents of
New York state. Henry and Sarah Smith were married in
Pennsylvania and about two years after the birth of the subject of
this sketch they came to Ohio, locating in Wayne county. The
father was a millwright and machinist by profession and he has
worked at these lines practically all his life. Both of these
parents are still living, though the father is now retired from
active labor. In politics he is a Democrat, though he has
never been an office-holder, nor has he had any desire for public
preferment of any nature. During the Civil war Henry L.
Smith enlisted in Company B, One Hundred and Sixty-ninth
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which command he served about
five months. This regiment was sent to Washington to assist in
the defense of the nation's capital, but was not sent to the front.
Mr. Smith has long occupied an enviable position in the
estimation of his fellow citizens, his sterling qualities of
character winning for him the sincere respect of all who know him.
Benjamin H. Smith received his elementary
education in the district schools, supplementing this by attendance
at the Northwestern Normal University, at Ada, where he took a full
business course. He learned the trade of a carpenter and
machinist and was steadily employed along these lines until 1897,
when he purchased the splendid farm which he now occupies and which
he has since engaged in operating. The farm comprises one
hundred and twenty acres and is eligibly located in Congress and
Chester townships. On this place Mr. Smith has made
many valuable and permanent improvements, including the erection of
commodious and well-arranged buildings and the laying of about five
miles of tiling, besides many minor improvements, all of which have
tended to appreciate the value of the place, which is today
considered one of the best farms in the locality. Here Mr.
Smith conducts general farming, raising all the crops common to
the section of country in which he lives, and in connection
therewith he gives considerable attention to the breeding and
raising of live-stock, in which he has been very successful.
He is progressive and enterprising in his methods and has achieved a
distinctive success in his undertaking. He is now taking life
a little easier than during his younger years, leaving most of the
active labor of the farm to younger men, but still maintains a
personal supervision over the general operations conducted on the
place.
In matters political, Mr. Smith has always given
his support to the Democratic party and has taken a deep interest in
local public affairs, having held several township offices in
Congress and Chester townships, including those of constable, school
superintendent and assessor. In all these positions he
discharged his official duties to the full satisfaction of his
fellow citizens. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are earnest and
faithful members of the Presbyterian church, in the workings of
which they take a deep interest and to which they give a generous
support, being numbered among the leading members of the society.
On the 8th of January, 1880, Mr. Smith was
united in marriage to Sarah L. Howey, a native of Wayne
county and a daughter of John and Nancy Howey, early settlers
of Wayne county. Mrs. Smith’s paternal
grandfather, George Howey, was one of the pioneers of this
township and was a man prominent in the public affairs of the
township in its formation period. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith
has been born one son, George, who is now married, his wife’s
maiden name having been Ida Billheimer.
That Mr. Smith has lived and labored to goodly
ends is clearly indicated in the position which he holds in the
confidence and regard of his fellow men and in the success which has
crowned his efforts in the great basic art of agriculture. He
is a business man of much more than ordinary ability, and his
unremitting toil and close attention to business throughout his
active career have been the means of winning for him the comfortable
competence which today is his. He is a man of genial
disposition and kindly manners, and these qualities, together with
his well-recognized sterling worth, have won for him the friendship
of all who know him.
Source: History of
Wayne Co., Ohio - Vol. II - Illustrated - Publ. by B. F. Bowen &
Company, Indianapolis, Indiana - 1910 - Page 1148 |
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CYRUS D. SMITH.
As a native son of Wayne county and a representative of one of the
early pioneer families in this section of the Buckeye state.
Mr. Smith is eminently entitled to representation in a
compilation which has to do with those who have been the founders
and builders of this commonwealth, while such is his personal honor
and integrity of character and such his standing as one of the
successful and progressive men of the county that this consideration
is all the more compatible.
Cyrus D. Smith was born in Canaan township,
Wayne county, on the 20th day of September, 1852. His
antecedents were Scotch, from which blood come many of the sturdy
qualities which characterize him. His paternal grandfather.
James Smith, was born about 1770 and followed the pursuit of
agriculture during his active years. He came to Wayne county
about 1820, his having been the fifth family to settle in Canaan
township. Here he entered land from the government, and among
a number of interesting and valuable old relics in the possession of
the subject of this sketch, there is the following tax receipt,
thought to be the oldest tax receipt in this county “Received of
James Smith $1.80, taxes on 160 acres of land. Sept. 14,
1821.” James Smith died about thirty years ago,
never having removed from the farm which he entered from the
government. Among his children was Adam Smith,
father of the subject, who was a native of Pennsylvania, but who was
brought to Ohio with his parents when he was but an infant. Adam
Smith too followed farming during his life and died at the
Canaan township homestead about forty-two years ago, at the age of
forty-six years. He married Tabitha Barnes, who
was a native of Canaan township, her family having removed to this
state in about 1830, coming from West Virginia. Her death
occurred about eleven years ago. By her union with Adam
Smith, she became the mother of the following children:
Cyrus D., the immediate subject of this sketch; James, of
Silver City, Idaho; one that died in infancy unnamed; Ada,
who died at the age of twelve years; Mary, who died at ten
years of age; Andrew, who lives on the old home farm in
Canaan township;
and Ella, who makes her home with her brother Andrew.
Cyrus D. Smith spent his boyhood days on the
parental farmstead and secured his education in the common schools
of the township. At the age of twenty-two years, he went into
the sawmill and lumber business at Creston, in which he was engaged
about a year. Then going to Orrville, he went into the same
line of business, which he followed for thirteen years, meeting with
fair success the meanwhile. On the first day of January, 1893,
he came to Wooster and entered upon the discharge of his duties as
sheriff of Wayne county, to which position he had been elected in
the autumn of the previous year, as the nominee of the Democratic
party. Mr. Smith served two years in this position,
giving the office his faithful and painstaking attention and
retiring from it with the commendation of all. After
relinquishing his official position, Mr. Smith engaged in the
coal and transfer business in this city, in which he has since been
continuously occupied, meeting with splendid success. While
living at Orrville. he had given efficient service to his township
as trustee and also served as a member of the Orrville city council.
In every position in which he has been placed he has faithfully
performed his part and has won and retains the high regard of all
who have known of him and his work.
In 1874 Mr. Smith married Sarah E. Whonsetler,
who was born and reared in Canaan township, the daughter of
Philip Whonsetler. To this union five children have been
born, as follows: Frank E., deceased; William M., who
is associated with his father in business under the firm style of
C. D. Smith & Son; Charles C., who is the proprietor of
the London Tea House and Grocery at Wooster; Maud, who is the
wife of Fred Shook, of Alliance, this state; Edith,
who is the wife of Wallace H. Smith, of this city.
Politically, Mr. Smith is a stanch and
uncomprising adherent of the Democratic party and gives it an active
and influential support, being considered one of the wheelhorses of
the party in this county. Fraternally, he is a member of the
Knights of Pythias, which order he joined in 1885 and in which he
has passed through all the chairs of the subordinate lodge, Mr.
and Mrs. Smith are well and favorably known and enjoy the warm
regard of many friends.
Source:
History of Wayne Co., Ohio - Vol. I - Illustrated - Publ. by B. F.
Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana - 1910 - Page 574 |
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ROBERT J. SMITH.
A most exemplary citizen and an honored hero of the war of the
Rebellion is Robert J. Smith, who conducts a successful coal
and transfer business in the city of Wooster, Ohio. During his
army career he was ever found faithful to the duties imposed upon
him, thus winning the confidence and high regard of his comrades and
superior officers, while in his business life and social relations
he has ever manifested the same justice, integrity and reliability,
because of winch he has won and retains the high regard of all who
know him.
R. J. Smith is a native son of the Keystone
state and is of Irish antecedents. His birth occurred in
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 16th of August, 1847, he
is the son of John M. Smith, also a native of the same
county. In his native county, the father lived his entire
life, following the honorable pursuit of a tiller of the soil, and
there he died in 1901, in his eightieth year. He married
Nancy Matthews, also a native of Westmoreland county, and her
death, in her eightieth year, occurred two years before that of her
husband. They were the parents of the following children;
Hiram M., who lives in the state of Colorado; Robert J.,
subject of this sketch; William M., who resides in Kansas;
Jennie (Mrs. Johnson), residing at Greensburg,
Pennsylvania; James H., of Seattle, Washington; Edward J.,
who resides at the old family homestead at New Florence,
Pennsylvania; Sarah Agnes, also residing at New
Florence; Thomas Watson and Mary Ellen are both
deceased. The subject's paternal grandfather. Robert
Smith, came to America from Ireland in 1801. He had
married before emigrating and on arrival here he and his wife
settled on land in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, which he
cultivated for many years, dying at a ripe old age.
Robert J. Smith remained on the home farm with
his mother until he was twenty-six years old. Then, feeling
that larger opportunities for an ambitious man lay farther to the
west, he came to Wooster, Ohio, arriving here in 1874. He here
engaged in the milling business, in connection with which he also
dealt in ice, and these two industries he successfully carried on
until 1894. In that year he sustained a heavy loss in the
destruction of his mill by fire, but he at once went to work to
recoup his finances and engaged in the coal and ice business, which
he continued until 1907, when he sold the ice business, since which
time he has confined his attention to the coal and transfer
business. He has been fairly successful in his business
affairs and is today considered one of the substantial business men
of Wooster, where he has been identified with business interests for
so many years. During recent years he has been assisted by his
son Robert, who is an able and efficient business man.
It would be unjust to complete this sketch without
making specific mention of the service which Mr. Smith
rendered to his country in the hour of its extremity. In
February, 1864, he enlisted in the Fourth Regiment Pennsylvania
Cavalry and thereafter took part in a number of severe engagements,
one of the most sanguinary of which was the battle of the Wilderness
on May 6, 1864. He was with General Grant in all
his campaigns up to White House Landing, and at the battle of St.
Mary’s church, June 26, 1864, he received a severe gunshot wound in
the left leg. From the effects of this wound he was confined
in hospital until August of the following year, when he was
discharged and returned to his home. Because of his military
service, Mr. Smith is now an honored member of the
Grand Army of the Republic.
On the 28th of December, 1868, Mr. Smith
was united in marriage to Elizabeth H. Pollock, who was born
and reared in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, do this union were
born three children, namely; Arnett Pollock, who died
at the age of two years; Thomas Watson, who died at
the age of seventeen years, and Robert H., who is associated
with his father in business. He married Vina L. Mackey
and they have two children, Elizabeth H. and Lucy.
Mr. Smith is an ardent and enthusiastic
supporter of the Republican party and has taken a somewhat active
part in public affairs. On that ticket he was elected mayor of
the city of Wooster, serving from 1898 to 1902, and he was also
trustee of Wooster township for fifteen years, being re-elected
continuously for eleven years. In religion, he belongs with
his wife to the United Presbyterian church and they are faithful
attendants and generous supporters of that society.
Source:
History of Wayne Co., Ohio - Vol. I - Illustrated - Publ. by B. F.
Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana - 1910 - Page 580 |
Wesley Spangler |
WESLEY SPANGLER. The
well-remembered and honored ex-county commissioner of Wayne county,
Wesley Spangler, was a native of Pennsylvania, having
been born near Carlisle, Cumberland county, in 1825, and during his
long and useful career he noted many wondrous changes, playing well
his part in whatever phase of the country’s development he was in
touch with, Yost Spangler was the name of the pioneer
of this family in America. He was born in Germany and, when
eighteen years of age, in 1769, left his native land and came to the
United States. He settled in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and
there engaged in surveying; the country being new and many settlers
coming in, he was kept busy at his profession. He was twice
married, having wed two Weinholt sisters, by whom he
became the father of eight children, those by his first wife being:
John, Philip, Samuel, Peter, Mary
and Barbara; those by the second were Hannah and
Yost. From Berks county, Pennsylvania, this old pioneer
moved to Lancaster county, that state, later to Cumberland county,
where he followed farming for a number of years previous to his
death. Peter Spangler was the fourth son born to
Yost Spangler, his birth occurring in 1791 in
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; he married Susan Zinn, and to
their, ten children were born. In 1829 Peter
Spangler, wife and five children came to Wayne county, Ohio, and
purchased fifty acres of land, formerly owned by A. McMonegal.
He finally became the owner of one hundred and thirty acres of land.
Peter Spangler was a cooper by trade and he followed
the same for a period of forty years in connection with farming.
His death occurred in 1863, when he was seventy years of age.
Peter Spangler’s son, Wesley, of this
sketch, was educated in the public schools and the Canaan Academy,
and he early in life decided to devote himself to agricultural
pursuits. He was married in 1854 to Malinda Stair,
and to this union three children were born, namely: Viola and
Arabella, each of whom became teachers, received their
education at the Smithville Academy and Ada Normal; the other child
is Charles W., who is engaged in farming.
Mr. Spangler resided in Chester
township from the spring of 1859 to June, 1893, when he purchased
the farm where his family now resides, consisting 'of one hundred
and fifteen acres. He was very successful as a farmer and
stock raiser and in his old age he found himself surrounded by
plenty as a result of his active life and good management.
This excellent citizen was called to his rest on June
12, 1893. He was elected county commissioner in the fall of
1881 and re-elected in 1884; this was a rare thing for a Republican
to do in those days, for the county was strongly Democratic, but it
showed the excellent standing of Mr. Spangler among
his constituents. He was also justice of the peace in Chester
township for twelve years. He and his family were all members
of the Methodist Episcopal church at Congress. He continued to
be actively engaged in farming until his death. He was known
as a good neighbor, kindly, generous, honest and obliging.
Source: History of Wayne Co., Ohio
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Vol. II - Illustrated - Publ. by B. F. Bowen & Company, Indianapolis, Indiana -
1910 - Page 1024 |
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