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BIOGRAPHIES
Source #3
Commemorative Biographical Records
of
Northwestern Ohio
including the counties of
Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.
Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co.
1899
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JOHN MILTON KILLITS.
Mr. Killits, who is prosecuting attorney for Williams county, is
one of the most talented lawyers of this section, and his
success in his difficult and responsible position and in general
practice furnishes convincing evidence of his ability. His
preparation for his work was thorough, and his keen and active
intellect enables him to grasp the most abstruse legal
principles, and to apply them effectively to the complicated
problems that come under his notice. His gifts as a speaker are
of a high order, making his presentation of a case both forceful
and pleasing, and his many friends look forward with confidence
to a bright future for him.
The Killits family is of German origin,
the name having formerly been spelled Killitz, and for
many generations our subject's ancestors made their home near
Hamburg, North Germany. In 1805 his grandfather, John
Killitz, then a young man, came to America and located at
Womelsdorf, Berks county, Pennsylvania, where he married, and
established his permanent home. He prospered in business, and
was also prominent in public affairs, being especially well
known for his able service as ''State armorer'' for the entire
militia of Pennsylvania. This position he held for many years
previous to his death, which occurred in 1847 from violence, his
murderer robbing him and throwing his lifeless body into the
Susquehanna river, from which it .was not recovered for some
time. His widow died in 1849, and the remains of both were
interred in the cemetery at Womelsdorf. They had seven children,
of whom our subject's father, Andrew Welser
Killits, was the youngest. The other children were as
follows: Frederick, married Margaret Arnold;
Eliza, married Frederick Clous, of Reading,
Pennsylvania;
Charles; Henry; Levi; and Caroline, now Mrs. Bash,
of Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
Andrew Welser Killits, the father
of our subject, was born in 1836 in Berks county, Pennsylvania,
where he attended school in early boyhood and later found
employment in a cigar factory. In 1855, when about nineteen
years old, he came to Ohio and located at Lithopolis, Fairfield
county, where he was employed in a dry-goods store until 1861.
During this time he was married at Lithopolis to Miss
Clarissa Crumley., and in 1861 he removed with his family to
Findlay, Hancock county, where for a time he clerked in a
dry-goods store. In 1862 he removed to Kalida, then the county
seat of Putnam county, and established a dry-goods business on
his own account, but in 1867 he settled at Bryan and engaged in
a similar enterprise which he conducted successfully for
fourteen years. He then retired from mercantile life and engaged
in agricultural work, continuing for about nine years; but in
1890 he removed to Chicago and again became interested actively
in business. As he had always been an ardent supporter of
Republican principles and had been a valued adviser of the local
organization wherever he had resided, he naturally took an
active interest in partisan work in his new home in Illinois.
His business relations threw him into companionship with many
prominent Republicans of that State, who quickly recognized his
superior executive ability, and in 1896 he was appointed
superintendent of the Illinois Industrial Home for the Blind, a
position which he resigned after a year to go into business.
Our subject is the eldest of five sons, the others
being: Charles C, Miner L., George H., and Arthur C,
all of whom reside in Chicago.
The Crumley family originated in South Germany,
the ancestral home being in the Kingdom of Wurtemberg. At an
early date members of the family, including the
great-grandfather of Mrs. Clarissa Killits, came to
America and became pioneer settlers in eastern Pennsylvania,
while their descendants moved gradually west as the frontier
line was pushed in that direction by the advancing tide of
civilization, many of them locating in central and western
Pennsylvania. They were chiefly engaged in agriculture and
Mrs. Killits' father, the late Daniel
Crumley, was a well-to-do farmer in Fairfield county, this
State, where he was also prominent in local affairs, serving as
justice of the peace for many years. He was married in Fairfield
county, in 1827, to Miss Jane Betser, and both died there
some years ago. Of their fourteen children only five lived to
adult age, viz.: Israel, who married Celia
Baugher; Clarissa, our subject's mother;
Martha, wife of
C. J. Arnold; Emma, wife of William Stahlsmith,
and Miner, who married
Miss Lillie Ballentine.
Our subject was born October 7, 1858, at Lithopolis.
Ohio, and his elementary education was obtained in the common
schools of the various localities in which his parents resided
during his boyhood. He has always been an earnest student,
making the most of every opportunity for advancement, and at
the age of sixteen entered the preparatory department of Oberlin
College. In 1876 he matriculated at Williams College,
Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he was graduated in 1880 with
the degree of A. B., ranking among the best in the class. In the
same year he went to Red Oak, Iowa, to engage in journalism,
purchasing the plant of "The Red Oak Express," a daily and
weekly newspaper of Republican proclivities. In this venture he
succeeded, but his strong inclination toward the legal
profession led him to return to Bryan in 1883 in order to begin
his studies under the direction of the well-known firm of
Pratt & Bentley (the latter being lately
Judge Bentley of the Ohio Circuit Bench). In March, 1884,
Mr. Killits was appointed to a clerkship in the War
Department at Washington, D. C, and this position he held until
October 31, 1887, when he resigned. Washington offered special
advantages to a student of law, and on going there he lost no
time in entering upon a course in the Columbia University Law
School, where he received the degree of LL. B. in 1885. Not
content with this he took a post-graduate course in the same
institution, preparing himself for the higher branches of the
profession. In 1886 he was admitted to the Bar of the District,
and in December, 1887, having returned to Ohio, he was admitted
at Columbus, to practice before the Supreme Court of this State.
On February 1, 1888, he began the practice of
his profession in Bryan, where he has steadily made his way
upward, gaining a large and lucrative business. He has never
ceased to be a student, his professional reading covering an
unusually wide range, and no task seems too arduous in the
pursuit of his chosen calling. In 1892 he was nominated, by the
Republicans of Williams county, for the position of prosecuting
attorney, and was elected by a majority of only fifty-one votes;
but so acceptably did he perform the duties of the office during
his first term that on his renomination in 1895 he was chosen by
a majority of one thousand one hundred and twenty-five votes.
His administration has been marked by some important cases which
were prosecuted by him against a formidable array of legal
talent, including the best lawyers of northwestern Ohio, but he
has always succeeded in enforcing the demands of justice. One of
the most notable of these cases was that of the State vs.
Plummer, in which he secured a verdict of murder in the second
degree; and another was that of the State against Elkins, for
the murder of Arthur Brown, in which a similar
verdict was obtained after a trial lasting twenty-two days and
requiring the examination of one hundred and seventy-eight
witnesses. In all his dealings Mr. Killits has
shown a high sense of honor, and this, united with a most
courteous and pleasing address, has brought him an enviable
popularity. He is connected with various social orders, being an
active member of the K. of P., and of the Masonic fraternity,
being high priest of Northwest Chapter, R. A. M., at Bryan.
In 1887 Mr. Killits married Miss Alice
N. Stuart, of Washington, D. C, and two bright and
interesting daughters have blessed the union: Alice
Milton, born March 28, 1888, and Edith Stuart, born December
4, 1891. Mrs. Killits was born in 1863, near
Corpus Christi, Texas, a daughter of Captain Alexander S.
Stuart, who was extensively engaged in the raising of cattle
and horses in the Lone Star State, and was robbed and murdered
by Mexican bandits, while attending to his ranches there. He was
a descendant of the famous Stuart family of Scotland, but his
ancestors settled in Maryland in Colonial times. The American
branch of the family has been distinguished for military valor,
members having served in the Revolutionary war, the war of 1812,
the Mexican war, and the war of .the Rebellion, during which
some fought with the North and others with the South. Captain
Stuart himself being an officer in the Confederate army. He
married Miss Emily Nourse, of Washington, D. C.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio
including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.
Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899 - Page 526 |
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HENRY
KIMBLE
- This deceased gentleman was for many
years one of the leading and prominent farmers of Pulaski
township, Williams county, and was also an honored veteran
of the Civil war. His entire life was passed in
Williams county, his birth occurring in Springfield
township, December 15, 1842. His father, Daniel
Kimble, a native of New York State, was one of the earliest
settlers of Williams county, and died in Springfield
township when about fifty-one years of age. He made
the first wooden auger for boring wells in this part of the
county.
In his native township, Henry Kimble grew to manhood,
early becoming familiar with all the duties which fall to
the lot of the agriculturist, and remaining with his parents
until his marriage, with the exception of the time spent in
the Union army. Hardly had the echoes from Fort
Sumter's guns died away when he enlisted at the call for
three months' men, and when his term had expired he
re-enlisted, becoming a member of Company D, Thirty-eighth
Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he served for three
years, taking part in many hotly-contested engagements.
He was a brave and fearless soldier, always found at his
post of duty, valiantly fighting for the old flag and the
cause it represented.
Returning to the old homestead in Springfield township,
Mr. Kimble there engaged in farming for two hears, after
which he established a home of his own. On September
30, 1866, he was married to Miss Sarah Treon, who was born
in Montgomery county, Ohio, August 26, 1848, a daughter of
Henry Treon, who came to Williams county in 1854 and died in
the Pulaski township, January 16, 1867. Six children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kimble, namely: Mary L., wife of
William Himes; William H., who married Corda Grey; Oris F.,
who married Della Iferd; Cora B., wife of Chauncey Dohner;
Henry B., who died at the age of four years; and Harry E.
After his marriage Mr. Kimble located on the Treon
farm
in Pulaski township, where he continued to make his home
until called to his final rest on July 31, 1896. For
several years he served as trustee of Pulaski township.
He was a charter member of the Elm Grove Grange, No. 644, of
Pulaski township, and for several terms filled the position
of master of the Grange; he was also a member of the State
Grange, in which he was prominent.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio
including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.
Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899 - Page 63 |
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BENJAMIN F.
KNIFFIN. The world
instinctively pays deference to the man who has achieved success,
overcoming the obstacles and difficulties in his path until he reaches a
high position in the business world. This is a progressive age,
and he who does not advance in soon left far behind. Mr.
Kniffin, by the improvement of opportunities by which all are
surrounded, has steadily and honorably worked his way upward, and has
attained a fair degree of prosperity. He now numbered among the
wealthiest citizens of Williams county, his home being in Stryker.
Mr. Kniffin was born April 13, 1825, in Huron
county, a son of Benjamin and Bloomy C. (Hobby) Kniffin.
The father on coming to Ohio from Cayuga county, New York, in 1817,
located upon an old Revolutionary claim in Greenwich township, Huron
county, but afterward returned to Cayuga county. In 1823, however,
he located permanently upon his claim, and upon that place his death
occurred when he was eighty-one years of age. His wife also died
there at the age of seventy-five years.
The subject of this sketch is second in the order of
birth in their family of six children, and in the county of his nativity
he continued to make his home until forty years of age. In the
meantime, however (in 1850), he made a trip to California, spending two
years in gold mining on the Pacific slope, and meeting with a fair
degree of success. On his return to Huron county, Ohio, he engaged
in buying and driving stock over the Allegheny Mountains for two years,
and in 1854 purchased a farm of one hundred and fifty acres in that
county, operating it in connection with stock dealing until coming to
Williams county in 1865. For many years he shipped his stock to
New York, doing a large and profitable business along that line.
He is now the owner of one thousand one hundred acres of valuable land
in Springfield township, Williams county, also owns two farms in Huron
county and some western lands. He continued to be actively engaged
in agricultural pursuits upon his home farm in Springfield township
until November, 1893, when he removed to the village of Stryker, where
he is surrounded by many comforts and luxuries which honest toil in
previous years have brought him.
At Kalamazoo, Michigan, in November, 1859, Mr.
Kniffin
married Miss Margaret E. Popino, a native of Richland county,
Ohio, and a relative of the late Bishop Harris. Five children were
born to them, as follows: Josephine, now the wife of R.
L. Schaeffer; Arminda C., Benjamin F., Jr., Harry W. and Alta.
The family is widely known, and is one of prominence in Williams
county. Mr. Kniffin
has made for himself an honorable record in business, and as a
citizen, friend and neighbor, he is true to every duty, therefore
winning the high regard of all with whom he comes in contact.
Source: Commemorative Biographical Records of Northwestern Ohio
including the counties of Defiance, Henry, Williams & Fulton.
Published at Chicago: J. H. Beers & Co. 1899 - Page 498 |
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