Ashland City (part 41 of 57)

Under the parental roof Dr. P. H. Clark was reared and acquired his preliminary education in the public school, later pursuing his studies in Oberlin College, upon being graduated from which institution he spent two years teaching school for the purpose of securing sufficient means to enable him to take a course of study in a medical college. At the expiration of that period he began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of his father. In 1839 he became a student at Willoughby Medical College, of Willoughby, this state, and in 1840 completed the course of study and passed his examinations, but he was not graduated from the institution by reason of the fact that he had not yet attained his twenty-first year. This was a great disappointment to Dr. Clark, as his means had about become exhausted, but he left the institution and, repairing to New Haven, Indiana, entered upon the practice of medicine in that city, where he continued for about six years, when he removed to Fort Washington, Wisse consin, practicing there for about four years. In 1850 he came to this city, where for forty-six years he followed his profession with uncommon ability and success. After he had been practicing here for about eleven years he became a student at the Buffalo Medical College, where he completed his professional studies, and was graduated from the institution with the class of 1862, at which time he had the honor of having his diploma presented to him by President Fillmore. In June, 1862, Dr. Clark enlisted in the military ranks as assistantsurgeon to the southern army, and remained in the south until October, when, his health failing, he was sent home to recuperate, and in February, 1863, he was sent to Cumberland, Maryland, later being transferred to Annapolis, where he saw much hard service. There he remained until September, 1863, when he resigned his position and, upon returning to Ashland, engaged in private practice and became known as one of the most successful physicians and skilled surgeons in this part of the state.

In 1844, the Doctor was united in marriage to Miss Sarah J. McDougal, of New Haven, Indiana, who departed this life about one year later, and in 1847 he wedded Miss Elizabeth Clark, of this city, whose birth occurred in Weymouth, Medina county, Ohio, April 22, 1827. She still survives and Dr. and Mrs. Clark constitute one of the most interesting couples in Ashland county. Dr. Clark is a stanch supporter of the republican party and, during all his years of experience under various administrations, he has never found cause to waive his political opinons and is as loyal to the candidates of his party today as when he east his first ballot. He belongs to the Ashland County Medical Society, and in 1907, was made an honorary member of the Ohio State Medical Society. His services throughout the community during the long years of his practice: were beyond value, and his extended activities over that long lapse of time is sufficient recommendation of his usefulness and reputation as a professional man, and now, at his advanced age, he can look back over a life well spent in the alleviation of human suffering and enjoy the high measure of respect entertained for him as one. of the best known and esteemed characters in Ashland county.

Isaac H. Good

The prominence to which Isaac H. Good has attained and the success he has won in the business world make his methods of interest in commercial circles, and an analysis of his life shows that he possesses untiring energy, keen perception, honesty of purpose and a genius for devising the right thing at the right time, joied to every-day common sense. Gradually he has worked his way upward in the business world until he is a prominent factor in mercantile and financial circles in Ashland. While he has won prosperity it has not been alone the goal for which he was striving, for he has not excluded himself from active participation in those movements which tend to uplift the political and legal status and further the intellectual and moral progress of the community. ' Laneaster, Pennsylvania, was the birthplace of Isaac H. Good, his natal day being January 21, 1844. His parents, Isaac H. and Esther (Hurst) Good were also natives of Lancaster county, born in 1809 and 1816, respectively. The father devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits, remaining for many years upon a farm in his native county. He was a stalwart republican in politics and for several years was a member of the school board, in which connection he gave tangible proof of his interest in all questions of public education. Both he and his wife were members of the Mennonite church and in that faith the mother passed away at the age of thirty-eight years, while the death of Isaac H. Good occurred when he had reached the venerable age of eighty years. In their family were six children all of whom reached manhood and womanhood, while five are still living: Andrew, a resident of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania; Isaac H., of this review; Elias, residing at South Bend, Indiana; Hettie, the wife of John Honing, of Lancaster City, Pennsylvania ; and Tobias, also of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.

Reared under the parental roof, Isaac H. Good acquired his education in the public schools and in the State Normal College at Millersville. He began teaching in 1863, when nineteen years of age, following the profession for four terms in Lancaster county, after which he turned to mercantile interests, securing a clerkship in a country store at Gorgonville, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, where the foundation of his successful business career was laid. After two and a half years there passed he was offered and accepted a position in a mercantile institution in Lancaster City, where he remained for five years, and in 1873 came to Ashland and engaged in business for himself, becoming the third member of the firm of Brubaker, Kunkel & Good. Two years later the firm style was changed to Kunkel, Good & Miller, which partnership existed until 1881, when Mr. Miller withdrew and the business was continued under the firm style of Kunkel & Good. In 1903 the senior partner sold his interest to Mr. Sellers and since that time the firm has been Sellers & Good. They handle an extensive line of dry goods, notions and carpets, theirs being one of the leading mercantile enterprises of Ashland. Mr. Good's long experience well qualifies him for the successful conduct of the business, while his reliable methods have gained for him an unsullied reputation in commercial circles.

Mr. Good has not confined his attention alone to mercantile lines, however, for in 1905 he was one of the chief promoters of the organization of the Ashland Bank & Savings Company, at which time he was chosen president of the institution. Notwithstanding the fact that it has had an existence of but four years they have built up a large business and are today conducting one of the port: ant financial concerns of the county. They pay interest on their savings accounts and carry on a general banking and exchange business, having already gained patrons to a number that makes theirs a most successful enterprise.

In 1872 Mr. Good was married to Miss Louisa A. Ball, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Drepperd) Ball, both now deceased. Mrs. Good died in 1877 leaving three children, but only one is now living, Charles W., who is assistant manager of the Star Telephone Company of Ashland, and who married Miss Eva Davis of Lodi, Ohio. In 1879 Mr Good was again married, his second union being with Miss Harriet DeShoiig. of Ashland, a daughter of Peter and Aseneth (Bender) DeShong. The tithes came to this county from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and in his earlier

Throughout the years of his residence here Mr. Good has taken a most helpful part in the work of public progress and improvement, and perhaps the influence and labors of no other man have been more effective or far-reaching. He has been a member of the Ashland Board of Trade: since its organization and for the past five years has been the treasurer of this institution. He belongs to the Ashland school board, with which he has been connected for seven years, and educational interests have ever found in him a stalwart champion. He is foremost in any movement tending to the upbuilding of the city, and to such men is due the prosperity and progressive condition of this beautiful little Ohio city. His political allegiance is given to the republican party but he never allows partisanship to stand before the general welfare. Almost a life-long member of the Methodist Episcopal church, for thirty-two consecutive years, he has been superintendent of the Sunday school and was recently reelected for the thirty-third year. He is likewise a member of the official board of the church and does all in his power to further the various church activities. In May, 1908, he served as a lay delegate from the north Ohio conference to the general conference held at Baltimore. In a review of his life it will be seen that he has been watchful of all of the details of his business and of all indications pointing toward prosperity, and-thus his success has been well earned. But aside from the prominence he has attained in this connection, his personal characteristics have given him a strong hold upon the affection and regard of his fellow townsmen.

Samuel Pifer

Samuel Pifer is a worthy and highly respected citizen of Orange township, where he was born November 3, 1840, his parents being Christian and Catherine (Garver) Pifer, who in the year 1836 came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio. They traveled more than four hundred miles' by wagon over roads that were often in poor condition, and at times almost impassable. There were few bridges and they encountered particular difficulty in fording the swollen streams, but after meeting many hardships enroute they finally reached their destination in safety and made a settlement at Savannah, Clear Creek township. The father was a weaver by trade and also engaged in farming to some extent, but his loom represented his chief occupation. While he never accumulated wealth he lived a life of industry and integrity, and thus merited and enjoyed the respect and confidence of those who knew him. He died in July, 1881, while his wife survived until August, 1895. In their family were eight children, six of whom were born ere the emigration westward.

Samuel Pifer was the seventh in order of birth in that family. As the father was in limited financial circumstances the boys were put to work upon the farm as soon as they were old enough to perform manual labor, and Samuel 'Pifer assisted in the work of the fields until eighteen years of age when he turned his attention to the carpenter's trade, which he followed until 1859. In that year attracted by the success of the gold hunters in Colorado he joined an expedition enroute for that country. After buying his outfit he had just seven dollars remaining, but he arranged with the promoter of the enterprise to share his gold findings for a partnership in the outfit. They traveled by train to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and then eight hundred miles overland to their destination in the Rocky mountains of Colorado. Passing through Denver then a straggling village containing about fifty sod houses, they at length reached their destination, but found that they were not equipped with the tools and machinery for successful mining and very soon gave up work of that character. Mr. Pifer found employment with a gardener at sixteen dollars per month and his board, but a few months convinced him that Ashland county was a more advantageous place in which to earn a living and he decided to return, taking the overland trail to Omaha, more than five hundred miles distant. On the way he and his companions encountered Indians, also saw buffaloes and all kinds of wild game, which added interest and excitement fo the journey. The great Platte valley was then a vast waste but a trip made over the same route to Denver in 1907 opened to Mr. Pifer a panorama of fine farms and a magnificent eity of beautiful and stately homes, while the abandoned gold fields had in the interim yielded millions.

Following his return to Ohio, Mr. Pifer resumed work at the carpenter's trade and was thus busily employed until October, 1862, when he became a member of Company I, Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He served for about one year in the Union army, was with Grant at the siege of Vicksburg and met all the hardships and experineces meted out to the soldier. He returned to private life much broken in health, yet was fortunate in never having been wounded or taken prisoner, although he had many narrow escapes.

At the close of his military experience Mr. Pifer resumed work at the ecarpenter's trade and after a year took up farming which he followed in Orange township until his retirement, also working at intervals at carpentry. He has a well improved, and valuable tract of land of fifty acres which he brought under a high state of cultivation and which is improved with the accessories and conveniences of a model farm. He was active in the labors of the fields until 1907, when he left the work of the farm to others and removed to Nankin, feeling that the supervision of his farm gives him ample occupation.

In January, 1865, Mr. Pifer was married to Miss Martha J. Laughery, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Brandebery) Laughery, of Orange township, both of whom are now deceased. Six children were born of this union: Emory D.; Charles D.; Ora A,. the wife of George Johnson; Rosetta, the wife of Charles Alexander ; Gertrude; and Nettie V., now the wife of Clifton Bailey. Mr. Pifer has always taken an active interest in public matters relating to the welfare and progress of the community. He served the township as road supervisor and for a number of years was a member of the township board of education. He belongs to C. C. Ogden Post, No. 565, Grand Army of the Republic in which he has filled most all of the offices and frequently he attends the state and national encampments. In politics he is a republican and although in recent years he has not been active in the party works, he yet maintains that keen interest in the success of that political organization which was the mainstay of the Union in the dark days of the Civil war and has always been the party of reform and progress. Mr. Pifer now enjoys a com. fortable home in the village amid many friends whose confidence and respect he has in the highest degree.

George Cassel

George Cassel, a veteran of the Civil war, who was long identified with agricultural pursuits in Ashland county and is now living retired in enjoyment of rest which he has well earned and richly merits, was born in Orange township, this county, May 22, 1844, his parents being John and Margaret (Greiner) Cassel, both of whom were natives of Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg. The father's birth occurred June 18, 1802, and in the place of his nativity he was reared and married, coming to Ohio about 1833 with his wife, three children and wife's parents. They drove across the country with wagons to Wayne county, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Cassel, however, remained for only about a year when they came to Ashland county, Mr. and Mrs. Greiner remaining in Wayne county. John Cassel settled in Orange township in what was then Richland county, purchasing eighty acres of land to the development and cultivation of which he gave his attention until his death, which oceurred April 27, 1851. His wife was born May 8, 1812, and after the death of her first husband was married in 1861 to Valentine Heiffner, with whom she traveled life's journey for twenty years, when he too passed away. Her parents spent their last years in Wayne county, her father dying at the advanced age of eighty years, while her mother passed away at the age of seventy-five years. Mrs. Cassel also reached an old age, passing away in her ninetieth year, her death being occasioned by a fall.

Amid rural surroundings George Cassel spent his youth on the home farm and acquired his education in the district schools. Owing to his father's early death he started out in life on his own account when in his fourteenth year, being employed as a farm hand while his labors went to the support of his mother and her family. He watched with interest the progress of events that preceded the Civil war and in September, 1861, he offered his services to the government and was assigned to duty with Company C, Forty-second Ohio Infantry, with which he served for three years. He participated in the battles of Middle Creek, Kentucky; Chickasaw Bluffs; Arkansas Post; Thompsons Hill, Mississippi; Raymond, Mississippi; Champion, Mississippi; Black River Bridge, Mississippi ; the general assault on Vicksburg; Jackson, Mississippi; and many minor engagements. During his three years' service he sustained only a slight scalp wound, although he was frequently on the firing line when the enemies' bullets fell thick and fast around him. In October, 1864, after more than three years spent in defense of the Union, he was honorably discharged and returned home.

Mr. Cassel had previously worked to some extent at the carpenter's trade 'and he now took up carpentry and also purchased an interest in a threshing machine which he operated for two years. During that period he established a home of his own through his marriage on the 18th of January, 1866, to Miss Leah Shopbell of Orange township, Ashland county. Her parents were J acob and Lydia Ann (Zigler) Shopbell, both natives of Berks county, Pennsylvania, whence they came to Ashland county in 1833. Mrs. Shopbell's parents removed to this county at an early period in its development and established their home in Orange township. There were thirteen members in the Shopbell family and eight in the Zigler family. On their arrival they purchased a farm on which was a small log cabin, and it was a considerable problem to know where they Would put all of the members of two families to sleep. Daniel Shopbell, the grandfather of Mrs. Cassel, was a veteran of the Revolutionary war and for seven years fought for the independence of the country. He long lived to enjoy the fruits of liberty. He was a son of Eberhart Shopbell, who reached the venerable age of one hundred and four years, and who was in France during the time of the persecution of the Huguenots and saw his father and mother beheaded. He with eight others escaped in a small boat and were later picked up at sea by a vessel which brought them to this country. Jacob Shopbell, the father of Mrs. Cassel, was a veteran of the war of 1812 and Mr. Cassel now has in his possession a powder horn which his father-in-law made the day before he started for the war and which he earried throughout his connection with the army. He too lived to a venerable age, passing away when in his ninety-sixth year.

Following their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Cassel resided upon a rented farm for a year and in the succeeding year he purchased eighty acres of land which he continued to cultivate and improve for three years. He then removed to another residence but still remained in Orange township. There he conducted his farming and stock-dealing operations and also dealt extensively in farm lands, carrying on business with continued and gratifying success until March, 1904, when he rented his farm and removed to Ashland where he is now living retired. He still owns valuable farm property in Orange township, however, and 'from this derives a substantial annual income. In all of his agricultural interests he was very successful, both in the cultivation of the soil and in the raising of stock, as well as in the purchase and sale of the farm property, and as he prospered he gave a farm to each of his children.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cassel were born three sons and two daughters, of whom four are yet living: George Arthur, a farmer of Orange township; Elza T., also following agricultural pursuits in Orange township; Catherine M., the wife of George Hiner of Ashland; and Margaret May, the wife of Thomas Reaser, also residing in Ashland. Always devoted to the welfare of his family, Mr. Cassel has found his greatest happiness in providing for the interests of his wife and children to whom he has been most generous. He maintains pleasant relations with his old army comrades through his membership in Andrew Post, No. 182, G. A. R., in which he has filled various offices and is now a past commander. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and for years he served on the board of elections, but otherwise he never desired to hold office, preferring to give his undivided time and attention to his business affairs, which, capably managed, brought to him signal success. He has never been unmindful of his religious duties, however, and has long served as one of the trustees of the Trinity Lutheran church, in which both he and his wife hold membership.

Daniel C. Hiller

Daniel C. Hiller is the owner of one hundred and sixty acres of fine farm land in Milton township Ashland county in which vicinity he has spent his entire life, his birth having occurred in Ashland county, March 11, 1849. His parents, Jacob and Hannah (Ohl) Hiller, were both natives of Pennsylvania, the former having been born in Lancaster, that state, in 1824, while the latter's birth occurred in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, in 1826. The paternal grandfather, Jacob Hiller, Sr., came to Ohio in 1829 when his son, the father of Daniel C. Hiller, was but five years of age. He settled in Ashland county, where he entered the northeast quarter of section 34, on which he erected his home and raised his family. When this property came into the possession of Mr. Hiller it was little more than a wilderness, but by dint of untiring energy and unfaltering industry he cleared the ground and converted it into fertile fields that in turn yielded him rich harvests. The task of threshing at that time was indeed a crude and arduous one, for not yet had the modern agricultural implements for facilitating farm work been introduced into these regions, and Mr. Hiller's first wheat was tread out by a horse and cleaned by the wind. This wheat he sold for forty cents per bushel and he took his pay out in trade. But with all the difficulties and obstacles of this comparatively uncivilized country to contend with, he presevered and at last his efforts were crowned with success. When Jacob Hiller, Jr., became of age, he married Hannah Ohl and started out in business life for himself, settling upon a tract of eighty acres of land given to him by his father, which constituted a half of his father's original farm. Here he bent his energies to cultivating his fields and extending his possessions, and as the years passed he accumulated three hundred and eighteen acres of very choice land. He was a quiet man, preferring to devote his time and attention to his private business interests rather than enter actively into public affairs. He died in 1889 when sixty-five years of age. In his family were six children, Daniel C., Mrs. Vienna Saddler, Mrs. Lydia Hoover, Mrs. Lovina Hershey, John Franklin and Mrs. Emma J. Shamberger.

The eldest of this family, Daniel C. Hiller, was reared on his father's farm and acquired his education at the district schools, his youthful days being divided between the duties of the schoolroom, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. At the age of sixteen years, however, he turned his attention entirely to agricultural pursuits and since that time has been continuously engaged in this field of labor. He owns and operates a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, upon which he has lived since sixteen years of age, and the general 2ppearance of this place speaks in unmistakable evidence of the thrift and progressiveness of the owner. He has not extended his efforts into other fields, but has confined himself to general farming, and in this line he has

In the year 1883 Daniel C. Hiller was united in marriage to Miss Catherine Saddler, a daughter of Philip Saddler, and unto them have been born three children, Hannah E., Tracy C. and Ruth M. All of these children have had a good common school education, while the two eldest received the advantages offered by a normal course at Ashland College. Mr. Hiller belongs to the Lutheran church and also holds membership with the Grangers, while he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. Although interested in the general welfare and upbuilding of the community, Mr. Hiller, like his father and grandfather before him, has taken no active part in public affairs, preferring rather to concentrate his energies upon his own personal business, which, carefully conducted, is proving a source of gratifying income.

After long and active connection with business affairs in Ashland county, James B. McAdoo is now living retired, merely giving his supervision to his farming interests in Sullivan township. He is a native of this township, his birth having occurred April 14, 1854, a son of William and Mary (Gordon) McAdoo, the former a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, while the latter claimed Harrison county, Ohio, as the place of her birth, her people removing to Ashland county when she was a little maiden of eleven years. The father came to Ashland county to visit a sister and being much pleased with the country decided to remain and to this end engaged in teaching a district school.- He was a graduate of Bethany College in West Virginia. After being engaged in educational work for a time, William McAdoo learned the trade of a millwright and built many of the first mills of Ashland county and other sections of the state. It was while engaged in the erection of a mill in Holmes county that he met with an accident which resulted in his death and his widow was thus left in limited financial circumstances with a family of small children dependent upon her. As above stated, she was but eleven years old at the time her parents removed from Harrison to Ashland county, the journey being made by wagon. The family home was established on the land which is now owned by our subject. Mrs. McAdoo was accorded liberal educational advantages during the period of her girlhood and youth and prior to her marriage she engaged in teaching.

James B. McAdoo was but a young lad at the time of his father's death and as it was necessary that he assist his mother in the support of the family just as soon as old enough, his opportunity for attending school was very limited, the greater part of his time and attention being given to the duties of the little home farm. However, his mother having had considerable experience as a teacher, proved of great assistance to him in study at home and in that way he acquired a good English education, so that at the age of eighteen years he entered the profession and for twenty-two years thereafter he was numbered among Ashland county's most successful educators. In June, 1893, he abandoned the profession and engaged in merchandizing in Sullivan, conducting a very successful enterprise for fifteen years. In the meantime he invested his capital in farm lands and is now living retired, merely giving supervision to his farming property, for in the years of his active connection with business affairs he so capably managed his interests as to acquire a competency that now supplies him with all the comforts and some of the luxuries of life.

Mr. McAdoo was married December 16, 1877, the lady of his choice being Miss Iris Irene Rickets, a daughter of John and Elizabeth (Shopbell) Rickets, who came to Ashland county from the Keystone state. The father was engaged in farming throughout his active connection with business interests and now at the age of eighty-seven years he is enjoying good health, being a strong and vigorous man. The mother, however, is deceased, her death occuring May 2, 1902. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. McAdoo has been blessed with five children but two of the number are deceased. William, the eldest, wedded Eva Eversole and operates the homestead farm. They have two sons, Harold and Marshall. Ethyl is still under the parental roof. Frank is a dental student at Western Reserve University of Cleveland.

Politically Mr. McAdoo is a democrat, active in his support of the party and of all measures calculated to benefit the community. He has never been active as an office seeker, however, preferring to do his duty as a private citizen. He is identified with Sullivan Lodge, No. 313, F. & A. M., in which he has filled all of the chairs except that of master. He and his family are members of the Congregational church, of which Mr. McAdoo is serving as a trustee, while as a Sunday school worker he has been a superintendent for about thirty years. In this way he keeps in constant touch with the young people as they grow up around him and exerts a wider influence upon the community than falls to the lot of most men. Mrs. McAdoo is also an active and helpful worker in both the church and Sunday school. Their home bears every evidence of education, refinement and genuine hospitality and Mr. McAdoo finds his greatest social enjoyment at his own fireside where his family and intimate friends know him to be a delightful companion. He has spent his entire life in Ashland county and is therefore well known to our readers.

The growth of a city does not depend upon its machinery of government or even upon the men who fill its offices, but upon fhe enterprise and progressive spirit of the men who are controlling the veins and arteries of trade and traffic. As one of the prominent business men of Ashland, M. W. McCready well deserves representation in this volume. He is proprietor of a hardware store which is the visible evidence of his life of well directed strength and energy. Born in Ohio, the place of his nativity was Vermillion township, Ashland county, and the day, July 4, 1850-. He was one of the seven children of John and Sarah 4Carter) McCready, natives of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and Ashland county, Ohio, respectively. Robert McCready, the great-grandfather of our subject, came to the United States in 1772 from Scotland, his native land, and on his arrival worked for a time on a farm in New Jersey. He then went to York county, Pennsylvania, where he engaged in teaching school until the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, when he took up arms for the cause of independence and served under General Washington. When liberty was won for the colonies he returned to York county, Pennsylvania and soon afterward removed to Washington county, that state, settling on a farm of three hundred and thirtytwo acres near Eldersville, now owned by his grandson, B. W. McCready. He was prominent and influential in his community and left the impress of his individuality upon public affairs. For many years he served as justice of the peace and his decisions were strictly fair and impartial. He was also county commissioner and was an elder in the Cross Creek Presbyterian church. When the country again became engaged in war with England he once more took up arms in defense of American interests and became a veteran of the war of 1812, serving as adjutant in the Lisbon Regiment. He was a man of commanding presence with a voice of unusual strength and power, and these qualities well fitted him for military command. He died in 1846 at the advanced age of ninety-four years, his remains being interred in Cross Creek cemetery, where an imposing monument has been erected to his memory. The McCready family through successive generations has numbered among its members noted educators and professional men. One of the ancestors was private secretary to Washington in the Revolutionary war. David McCready, the grandfather of M. W. McCready, came to Ashland county in pioneer times and here entered two farms, the deeds for which were signed by James Monroe and Andrew Jackson, respectively, and are both now in the possession of the subject of this review, although the land has passed out of the family.

John McCready, the father of M. W. McCready, was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1811, and was reared there to his twenty-first year, when he came to Ashland county, Ohio, locating on a farm of one hundred and sixty acres which had been entered by his father, and to which they added until the farm comprised three hundred and ten acres. It was situated in Vermillion township, adjoining the present Ashland County Infirmary farm on the west. He resided on that place throughout his entire life subsequent to his arrival in Ohio, and died in 1898 at the age of eighty-seven years. In politics he was a whig and republican, stanchly advocating the principles which he espoused but never seeking office as the reward of party fealty. His wife was the daughter of Daniel Carter, one of the first settlers of Ashland county, who arrived here in the days when Indians still inhabited this section of the state. He hewed his farm out of the virgin forest and passed through the hardships and privations of the early pioneers. In later years, however, his place had become so productive that it yielded abundant harvests and as time passed he prospered in his undertakings until he acquired eight hundred acres of valuable land. Unto John McCready and hig wife were born seven children: David B., who died in Beaufort, North Carolina; James A., a farmer of Ashland county; M. W., of this review; Lucy, the wife of William Hull, also a resident of Ashland ; Emaline, the widow of Samuel Sheets, of Richland county, Ohio; Mary A.; the wife of Dr. J. F. Johnston, of Perrysville; and Sarah Ann, who died when seven years of age.

On the home farm M. W. McCready was reared and in the public schools acquired his early education, after which he attended Vermillion Institute and Greentown Academy. He was one of the youngest soldiers of the Civil war, enlisting when but thirteen years of age. He was large for his years, however, and he possessed the courage and valor equal to an old and time-tried veteran. He served with distinction during the period of hostilities as a member of Company E, One Hundred and Sixty-third Regiment of Ohio Infantry, and was with Grant in the army of the Potomac. In September, 1864, after his term of service had expired, he returned home.

At seventeen years of age Mr. McCready took up the profession of teaching as a vocation and for fifteen years was identified with educational work. His connection therewith, however, was not continuous, for at nineteen years of age he entered the mercantile field as a partner in a general store in Perrysville, Ohio. A year later he went to Tipton, Missouri, where for three years he was engaged in the boot and shoe business. He next wené to Atchison, Kansas, where he accepted a position as bookkeeper in the wholesale grocery house of A. B. Symns. His health failing, he remained there only a year when he resigned and returned home. For fifteen years thereafter he operated his father's farm, comprising three hundred and ten acres of land, and during the winter months he engaged in teaching school. Reentering commercial circles in 1893, in that year he removed to Ashland, establishing an implement store, while three years later he extended the scope of his labors by also opening a hardware store. In the intervening years to the present time he has been one of the prominent factors in the hardware field in Ashland and he also continues to deal in ims plements. In the years which he has spent 'in the county seat he has made his influence felt not only through his activity in commercial lines but also owing to the enterprise which he has displayed in matters of citizenship. When the right man was wanted to lead the city in the march of progress in securing public improvements, Mr. McCready was elected president of the board of trade, which organization was instrumental in having established the various industrial plants which have made Ashland one of the important productive industry centers of the state. No city of similar size can surpass Ashland in this regard and the result is largely due to the efforts of Mr. McCready who has worked untiringly for the benefit of the town.

In August, 1870, just after he had passed the twentieth anniversary of his birth, Mr. McCready was married to Miss Eunice E. Parkinson, of Perrysville, Ohio, and unto them have been born three sons and a daughter: Harry, who for many years was connected with the hardware business in Chicago and Cleveland, and is at present with the Prudential Life Insurance Company of Cleveland; Laura E., the wife of William Bockley, of Ashland; Alfred P., who has been connected as commercial salesman with several important hardware, paint and glass houses; and Arthur L., who was with the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company for some years but is now with the Toledo Plate Glass Company in the capacity of commercial salesman.

Mr. McCready has been somewhat prominent in political circles and in 1903 was chosen by the republican party as its candidate for the mayorality, but the strong democratic majority and the saloon element, to which he was strongly opposed, caused his defeat. His position has never been an equivocal one. He always stands firm in support of what he believes to be right and throughout his life has been actuated by high and honorable principles. He is a member of the Presbyterian church and since his twenty-fifth year has served as an elder of the church, is also clerk of the session and chairman of the joint official board composed of the elders and trustees of the church. He belongs to the newly organized Ashland Commercial Club and is a member of the Board of Trade. Broad minded and public spirited, he is a factor for progress in various lines of advancement in Ashland, and his labors have accomplished important and farreaching results, contributing in no small degree to the expansion and commercial growth of the city, while from his labors he also has derived substantial benefits.

Samuel L. Arnold

Samuel L. Arnold, of the real-estate and insurance firm of S. L. Arnold & Son, is one of the most preminent financial factors of Ashland. His success in business lines has been grounded upon his excellent judgment and innate ability and the benefits which, through his activity, have accrued to this vicinity, are many. His birth occurred in Milton township, Ashland county, August 26, 1846, a son of Daniel and Parmelia (Anderson) Arnold, both of whom were natives of this county. They came here at an early day and were numbered among the pioneers of this region. When about four years of age the elder Mr. Arnold was taken in charge by an aunt, Mrs. Samuel Zigler, of Milton township, by whom he was reared to manhood and while under her care he was educated in the public schools and given advantage of a higher course of training in Savannah Academy. In 1868 his foster parents removed to this city, Mr. Arnold accompanying them, and it was here for a-period of two terms he attended Savannah Academy, after his graduation teaching school during the winter of 1869-70. Not long after, his mother having been previously married to D. W. Whitmore, who was elected probate judge in 1869, Mr. Arnold was made deputy probate clerk and performed the duties of that office for six years. Upon resigning this office he served for two years with J. D. Jones, an attorney and ex-probate judge and ex-sheriff, with whom he performed the duties of clerk until he engaged in the boot and shoe business, with which he was identified for about three years. In 1881 Mr. Arnold was made deputy auditor and in the fall of 1884 was elected auditor of Ashland county. At the expiration of his first term he was reelected and in this capacity served for six years and ten months. During this period he also officiated as a member of the board of education and at the termination of his service as auditor he again engaged in the boot and shoe business, with which he was identified for about seven years, when in 1898, he formed a partnership with A. M. Kohler, to engage in the real-estate and insurance business, under the firm title of Arnold & Kohler. This connection existed until 1903, when it was dissolved. Mr. Arnold then took into partnership with him his son, John Edwards, the firm name then becoming 8. L. Arnold & Son, under which the company is now doing business.

Mr. Arnold's administrative and executive abilities are widely acknowledged and in 1901 he was made secretary of the Ashland Building & Loan Company and still performs the duties of that responsible position. He has also served as a director in the Ashland Board of Trade.

Mr. Arnold was united in marriage, on April 4, 1871, to Miss Amanda Bryte, a native of this county, and to them have been born four children: John Edwards; Emma §., the wife of H. B. Van Osdall, a furniture dealer of this city; Ross, deceased; and Gail Bryte, the wife of Ray ©. Ash, a practicing physician and surgeon of this place. Mr. Arnold belongs to Mohican Lodge, No. 85; Ashland Encampment, No. 130; and Canton Ashland, No. 41, I. O. O. F. He was elected first captain of the Canton and later was elected major of the First Battalion of the Third Regiment. His religious affiliations are with that denomination of Christians known as the Disciples of Christ, having been a member of that body since his fourteenth year, and for almost thirty-eight consecutive years he served as superintendent of the Sunday school,' only recently having resigned that responsible position. A democrat in politics, he is a strong advocate of the policies advanced by the party and is a loyal supporter of its candidates. His business ability and financial success have given him high standing in the commercial circles of the city and his excellent character has always enabled him to maintain the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens.

John Edwards Arnold

John Edwards Arnold, the eldest son of Samuel Arnold and junior member of the real-estate and insurance firm of S. L. Arnold & Son, was born in Ashland April 13, 1872, and has thus far in his career served as an efficient factor in enhancing the worth of the enterprise with which he is affiliated. He acquired his preliminary educational training in the public schools of Ashland, subsequently completing a course of study at Bethany College, West Virginia, from which he was graduated in 1893 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Immediately upon completing his education he was employed in the office of F. E. Myers & Brother until 1894, when for a period of one year he was engaged by the Kentucky Union Land Company, surveying coal and timber property in the Kentucky mountains. Upon returning to this place he again entered the employ of F. E. Myers & Brother, with whom he remained until April, 1903, when he became associated in business with his father, with whom he remained until the fall of 1904 when he engaged with his father-in-law, D. A. Phillips, in the contracting business, and they have since been executing extensive contracts in street paving and grading work, having also been engaged in the partitioning, grading and paving of the property of the John Sherman estate in Mansfield, Ohio, which was a large contract requiring considerable time to complete. Mr. Arnold, however, still retains his interest in the real-estate and insurance firm operating as S. L. Arnold & Son.

In 1898 Mr. Arnoid was united in marriage to Miss Helen B. Phillips, a daughter of D. A. Phillips and they have one child, Lois P. Mr. Arnold has wide fraternal relations and is a member of Mohican Lodge, No. 85, I. O. O. F., Ashland Encampment, No. 130, and Canton Ashland, No. 41, I. O. O. F., having been captain of the latter since 1901. He and his wife are members of the Disciples of Christ, in which church they are energetic workers and Mr. Arnold, being a thriving young business man of excellent character and superior judgment, deserves the prosperity with which he is surrounded. In the estimation of those who know him he holds a high place as one of the city's enterprising and aggressive business factors.

William Whitfield Moore

The success of William Whitfield Moore is such as to make the principles which have guided his actions in commercial fields of interest to the business world. Through well defined lines of labor he has reached a position as one of the leading dry-goods merchants of Ashland, being now second member of the firm of Brubaker, Moore & Mayner. One of the native sons of this city, his birth occurred October 26, 1858, his parents being Moses B. and Mary (Hunter) Moore. The father was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1831, and with his parents came to Ashland in his boyhood days. His father, Samuel Moore, located on a farm in Mifflin township, which he purchased soon after his arrival in the early '30s, and his remaining days were spent in the development and improvement of that property. Not caring to devote his life to agricultural pursuits, Moses B. Moore learned the carpenter's trade and for many years was actively and prominently identified with building interests in Ashland, where he died in 1894. His wife, who was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsy]lvania, in 1829, was a daughter of William Hunter, who served with the famous Captain Jack in the war of 1812, while later his widow drew a pension for several years in recognition of the military aid which he had rendered the country. Their daughter, Mrs. Moore, survived her husband for a few years and passed away in 1897. In the family of Moses B. and Mary (Hunter) Moore were six children, of whom five are yet living, namely: May B., the wife of Dr. J. B. Buchanan, of Fort Recovery, Ohio; Charles D., who is employed in his brother's store; Frank S., who is a silent partner in the firm of George Little & Company, dealers in wall: paper at Cleveland, Ohio; Harry H., who is with the Ashland Hardware Company; and William Whitfield, of this review.

The last named was reared in Ashland, where he has always made his home. Entering the public schools at the usual age, he passed through consecutive grades to his graduation from the high school, while later he spent one term as a pupil in a business college at Adrian, Michigan. He returned from college at the age of fifteen years in debt to the sum of two hundred and ten dollars for his schooling, which had been advanced him by Judge Osborn, in whose office he had worked in his early boyhood. He then sought a position with the intention of early discharging this indebtedness and entered the employ of Brubaker Brothers, acting as salesman in the store for seven or eight years, during which time he gave ample proof of his ability, fidelity and enterprise. That he won the confidence and approval of the firm is indicated by the fact that after seven or eight years he was admitted to a partnership and during the various changes which have since occurred he has remained to the present as one of the active factors in the management and successful control of this business and has long been regarded as one of the most prominent, worthy and successful merchants of Ashland. The firm today owns and controls an extensive and well equipped store, carrying a large line of goods and enjoying a liberal patronage, owing to their reasonable prices and straightforward business methods.

_ Mr. Moore has been married twice. In 1884 he wedded Miss Mary Ebert, of Ashland, who died in 1893, leaving a son, Tierney Ebert Moore, who is now employed in his father's store. In October, 1902, Mr. Moore wedded Miss Jennie C. Pearson, a daughter of Ora Pearson, of Indianapolis, Indiana, and a granddaughter of Michael Miller, a pioneer hotel proprietor of Ashlana There were two children born of the second marriage but only one, William Pearson, is now living.

In his political views Mr. Moore is a stalwart republican, voting for the party since casting his first presidential ballot and at all times laboring earnestly in legitimate lines for its success, yet never has he allowed his name to be used in connection with a candidacy for any office. He belongs to Mohican Lodge, No. 85, I. O. O. F., and is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. For the past seven years he has been a member of the Ashland cemetery board and in the social circles of the city he is likewise prominent and popular. He was one of the active spirits in the organization of the Commercial Club, of which he has recently been elected president and he is likewise a member of the Colonial Club, of Ashland. There has been no movement for the advancement and upbuilding of the town during the period of his manhood which he has not endorsed and to which he has not given active and helpful support. Starting out in life for himself at the age of fifteen, handicapped by an indebtedness, he early displayed the elemental strength of his character in the willingness with which he performed every task assigned him and in his adaptability, perseverance and energy. These qualities have enabled him to make steady progress and today no citizen of Ashland is more valued or more respected than William Whitfield

Joseph Benjamin Beninghof

The roster of county officials in Ashland county bears the name of Joseph Benjamin Beninghof, who is now capably filling the position of sheriff. He is also well known in business circles by reason of the bakery business. He was born in Mifflin, Ashland county, February 28, 1858, of the marriage of Jacob and Mary L. (Ritzheim) Beninghof, both of whom were natives of Germany. The father, born in 1804, came to the United States in 1836, attracted by the favorable reports which he had heard concerning the business opportunities of the new world. He located in Wooster, Ohio, where he was married in 1838, 'and in the same year he came to Ashland county, taking up his abode on a farm in Vermillion township. Five years later he removed to Mifflin township where he resided up to the time of his death, on the 7th of April, 1877. He was a democrat in his political views and in religious faith was a member of the Lutheran church. His wife who was born November 3, 1814, came to the United States on the same vessel on which Jacob Beninghof was making the voyage. They became acquainted on the trip and the friendship thus formed eventually led to their marriage. The death of Mrs. Beninghof occurred May 3, 1890.

The youthful days of Joseph Benjamin Beninghof were passed on the home farm and he acquired his education in the district schools. At twentytwo years of age he began farming on his own account and for eight years continued to cultivate rented land. In the spring of 1888 he removed to Ashland and accepted a position in a produce house with which he was identified for four years. He then accepted a position in the machine shops of the Myers Pump Works, and for sixteen years he was identified with this industry, during fifteen years of which time he did contracting in the shops. He then left there and declared himself a-candidate for the office of sheriff of Ashland county. With three opponents in the field he was nominated by a good majority, and at the election had no opponent. In September, 1908, following his nomination, he purchased a half interest in the bakery business with which he is now connected. He has always given his political allegiance to the democratic party and is recognized as one of its leaders in this locality.

On the 3d of November, 1886, Mr. Beninghof was married to Miss Ada A. Mercer, a daughter of Levi Mercer, of Ashland, and unto them were born a son and two daughters, Guy M., Helen L. and Marcia M. The son is a graduate of the Ashland high school and of Berkey & Dyke Business College of Cleveland. and is now employed as clerk in the office of his father.

Mr. Beninghof is a member of the Lutheran church. He is also connected with the Masonic Lodge, No. 151, at Ashland; with Chapter No. 67, R. A. M.; Montgomery Lodge, No. 355, K. P.; Excelsior Camp, No. 3287, M. W. A.; Home Aerie, No. 792, F. O. E.; Copus Council, No. 60, Jr., O. A. M.; and Ashland Lodge, No. 178, Protected Home Circle. As sheriff of the county his official services are giving uniform satisfaction while his business record has won for him the favorable regard of all.

Hon. Sparks Bird

There are comparatively few men who can claim as long a continuous residence in this locality as can Hon. Sparks Bird, who was born June 23, 1835, on the farm in Lake township which is now his home. At that time this sede of Ashland county was a part of Wayne county and it bore many evidences of frontier life, for there were many sections on which the native forests had not been cut while the homes were log cabins or small frame dwellings. His parents were Sparks and Eliza (Long) Bird, both natives of Pennsylvania. The ancestry of the family can be traced back to Colonel James Bird, a son of Edward Bird, who was a native of Scotland, born March 10, 1725. He came to

Mr. And Mrs. Sparks Bird

America in July, 1747, and established himself in business in Philadelphia as a merchant. In 1748 he married Sarah Hippen and afterward removed to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. In 1755 he entered the colonial service to lay out the public road from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to the Ohio river. He served as a captain in Braddock's campaign in that year, for the French and Indian war was then in progress, and in 1756 he built Fort Grandoillet and was in command of Fort Augusta later in that year. On the 3d of December, 1757, he was promoted to the coloneley of the Augusta regiment and commanded the Second Battallion of General Forbes' army in the expedition against the French and Indians at Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburg. In 1759 he was sent by Colonel Bouquet with a detachment of two hundred soldiers to complete the cutting of the Braddock road east of Uniontown, down the Redstone valley of the Monongahela river near the present site of Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He remained in the colonial military service until the Americans, aroused by the restraint of their liberties on the part of the British government, rose in rebellion, and he took an active part in the ensuing conflict. Hostilities were inaugurated in April, 1775, and on the 18th of September of that year he was commissioned colonel of the Fourth Battallion of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and during the following year served with his command in New Jersey, covering the retreat of the patriot army. He valiantly aided the cause of independence, making a splendid record as a brave and honored soldier.

The grandparents of Sparks Bird were John and Cassandra (Johnson) Bird, the former a native of Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and the latter of Dauphin county, that state. On their removal westward they located first in Ohio but subsequently went to Illinois where their last days were passed. He was a member of St. Clair's army during his campaign in the western part of the state. John Bird was killed by a three-year old colt which he was breaking, when eighty-five years of age. His wife also died in Illinois. She was a daughter of Colonel Richard Johnson who was born in 1743 and served as colonel in the Revolutionary war while his last days were passed in Jefferson county, Ohio. Unto Mr. and Mrs. John Bird were born the following children: Reason; Sparks; Johnson; Mrs. Ann Drummond; Frederick, who died in childhood; William, who died in this county at the age of sixty-four years; Mrs. Elizabeth McClurg; Maria Ora; Mrs. Fannie Cochrane; John; and Thomas, who enlisted from Illinois in the Union army and died in the Civil war. He also had a son, Johnson Bird, in the service.

Sparks Bird, Sr., was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, February 9, 1796, and in 1799 accompanied his parents on their removal westward to Jefferson county, Ohio, residing with them until eighteen years of age, when he started out in life on his own account. He made his way to Wooster, Ohio, where he joined his uncle, General Rezin Bell, in whose employ he engaged in plowing on the present site of some of the best buildings of Wooster. For three years he remained in the service of General Bell and in 1818 arrived in Ashland county, then a part of Wayne county, and entered from the government the farm upon which his son now resides, securing one hundred and sixty acres

'constituting the southeast quarter of section 7, Lake township. He was in Michigan for six months surveying and when returning home on Lake Erie was driven ashore in a snow storm and all were nearly drowned and frozen; but happily all escaped. He afterward returned to the east and was employed in Washington county, Pennsylvania, and in Jefferson county, Ohio, until 1822, when he again came to Ashland county. Here he cleared a small tract of land. and planted an orchard after which he again went to Pennsylvania. On his return to this county he was accompanied by his brother William and made permanent settlement here in 1823, continuing his residence in Lake township until his death, which occurred July 6, 1884. In 1833 he was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Long, who was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, in 1817. She died, however, June 23, 1835, at the birth of their son Sparks. In 1840 the father married Charlotte Austin, who died in December, 1860. In 1864 he wedded Rachel Finley who passed away in 1882. There were two children of the first marriage: Sarah Ann, who became the wife of Ithamar Covert and died in 1896 on a farm adjoining the old homestead; and Sparks, of this review.

As Sparks Bird was an only son he remained at home with his parents and assisted in the operation of the farm until he had reached the age of thirty-six years. His education was acquired in the early schools of the county and in his youth he was trained to habits of industry and economy which in later years brought forth rich fruit. He left Ohio in 1871 and went to Bourbon county, Kansas, where he purchased four hundred acres of land and carried on farming until 1874. He then returned, after selling his farm, and has since lived in the neighborhood of his present home. Here he has one hundred and thirty acres of rich and productive land on section 7, Lake township. It is a well improved property with good buildings, all of which have been erected by Mr. Bird. His residence is a commodious one built in an attractive style of architecture and the barns and sheds furnish ample shelter for grain and stock. Mr. Bird earries on general farming in which he meets with substantial success and he is also the president of the Mutual Fire & Lightning Insurance Company of Holmes county which was organized in 1878 and which now carries seven million dollars in risks. Mr. Bird has been the president for the last ten or twelve years and the success of the company is attributable in no small degree to his efforts and capable management. He has also done considerable probate business, settling many estates and is one of the trustees of the Children's Orphans Home of Ashland county. He is eminently practical in all that he does whether in the public service or in the control of his private business affairs and his labors have brought him richly merited success.

On the 10th of September, 1857, Mr. Bird was united in marriage to Miss Mary Finley, who was born December 13, 1837, in Lake township, a daughter of John and Sarah (Beard) Finley. Her death occurred April 13, 1870. There were six children of this marriage: Charlotte, who is employed in the library of the State University at Ann Arbor, Michigan; John E., who died in Loudonville in June, 1905, at which time he was serving as village clerk; Edwin S., a twin brother of John, who died in Ashland in 1888, just after taking the oath of office for a second term as county recorder; William, who died on the home farm in April, 1906; Sarah, the wife of George Heffelfinger, of Mohican township; and Mrs. Nora Crow, a widow residing in Loudonville. On the 30th of April, 1871, Mr. Bird was again married, his second union being with Miss Mary

Siess, a native of Mohican township and a daughter of Frederick W. Siess. They have three children: Frederick, of Mohican; Burton, living in Lake township; and Lilly, the wife of John Lavengood, who resides upon her father's farm in a second residence which stands on that place.

Mr. Bird has led a busy and useful life and the only interruption to his active connection with farming interests came at the time of the Civil war when, in response to the country's call for troops to aid in the preservation of the Union, he enlisted on the 1st of October, 1862, as a member of Company E, Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain Dan Timmons. On the 4th of June, 1864, he was transferred to the Fourth Ohio Veteran Battallion and was mustered out as sergeant major at Columbus, July 19, 1865. He took part in many important engagements including the battle of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Wilderness, the sixty days campaign to Fredericksburg and to Petersburg. He: was also in the battle of Cold Harbor, the siege of Petersburg and the engagements at Deep Bottom and Hatchers Run. He was also present at the time of the surrender of Appomatox which brought the war to a victorious close. He had been wounded at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, and was in the field hospital for a time but as soon as possible returned to active duty. At length he received an honorable discharge and two days after his return was again in the harvest field where he cradled wheat and barley. He is now a member of Fisher Post, G. A. R., of Loudonville and the present commander. He also belongs to Loudonville Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the craft. He gave his political allegiance to the republican party until 1873 since which time he has voted with the democracy and for the past four years has served as assessor of Lake township; which position he is still acceptably filling. His life record in all of its various phases has been a most creditable one. He has been a most busy man and a useful factor in the community by reason of his association with the public service and with measures and movements relative to the public good. His personal worth and his progressive citizenship both entitle him to an honorable representation in this volume.

William Henry Brubaker

William Henry Brubaker, of the Ashland Hardware Company, the principal establishment of its kind in the city, is widely recognized as a representative and successful business man. He was born in Richland county, Ohio, March 14, 1862, his parents being Daniel and Anna (Barr) Brubaker, both of whom were natives of Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and in early life went with their respective parents to Richland county, Ohio. The Barr family subsequently came to Ashland county, where the mother of our subject was living at the time of her marriage to Daniel Brubaker. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker located on a farm near Fleming's Falls, on which the father resided until called to his final rest in 1866. The mother then took up her abode in Milton township, Ashland county, where she owned a farm, and made her home

William Henry Brubaker was reared under the parental roof and attended. the public schools in the acquirement of an education. At the early age of sixteen years he began his mercantile career as a clerk in the hardware store of Beer & Sheets, of Ashland, and though the concern underwent various changes, he steadily continued in its employ and in 1883 became a partner of W. A. Beer under the firm style of W. A. Beer & Company. In 1887, there was another change in proprietorship and Mr. Brubaker and H. A. Thomas became the partners in the enterprise, conducting business under the firm name of Brubaker & Thomas. In 1893 the Ashland Hardware Company was organized by Mr. Brubaker, J. W. Lemon and L. M. Helbert, while on the 1st of January, 1908, C. R. Winbigler purchased the interest of Mr. Helbert. The store ig one of the most modern and best conducted establishments of its kind in any city of the size of Ashland in the entire state and the success which has attended the enterprise is attributable in large measure to the unflagging industry, keen discrimination and excellent business ability of him whose name initiates this review.

Mr. Brubaker has been married twice. In 1883 he wedded Miss Maggie Stahlhaver, of Ashland, Ohio, by whom he had three sons, two of whom survive, Harry E. and Carl M., both at home. In 1895, Mr. Brubaker was called upon to mourn the loss of his first wife and later he was again married, his second union being with Miss Anna Reaser, of Ashland.

In_his political views Mr. Brubaker is a stalwart democrat and has served for four years as a member of the city council. He is at present a member of the board of cemetery directors and also belongs to the volunteer fire department of this city, acting as treasurer of the organization. Fraternally he is connected with Ashland Lodge, No. 151, A. F. & A. M., Ashland Chapter, R. A. M., and is likewise a member of the Colonial Club of this city and of the recently organized Ashland Commercial Club. Im all life's relations he has been true to his obligations and duties and is greatly esteemed in Ashland, where he has lived for many years.

In a history of the medical profession in Ashland, it is imperative that mention be made of Dr. D. S. Sampsel, inasmuch as his ability, energy and laudable ambition has carried him into important relations with the public in this connection. The spirit of progress has characterized his entire record and his close study and broad experience have made him a most capable practitioner. A native of Stark county, Ohio, he was born in Nimishills township, on the 17th of April, 1848, his parents being David S. and Lydia (Brown) Sampsel, natives of Columbiana and Stark counties, respectively. The father was born in 1821 and represented one of the old families of Columbiana county, into which his parents removed on leaving their old home in Union county, Pennsylvania.

David S. Sampsel, Sr., was one of five brothers, all of whom were physicians, and at one time there were forty-two members of the medical fraternity in the family. The brothers of Dr. David 8. Sampsel, Sr., were: Dr. Nicholas Sampsel, of Delaware, Ohio; Dr. J. B. F. Sampsel, of Ashland; Dr. P. W. Sampsel, of Elyria, Ohio; and Dr. William Henry Sampsel. All are now deceased, the last named having died in California.

In the county of his nativity Dr. D. S. Sampsel, Sr., read medicine under the direction of Dr. Beymer and later was Pte from the St. Louis Medical College. He entered upon active practice in Louisville, Stark county, Ohio, and was there married. Subsequently he. removed to Wayne county, Ohio, where he remained for a short time and then went to Oskaloosa, Iowa, but in 1851 returned to this state and located in Ashland, where he remained in active practice for a period of forty-four years, or until the time of his demise, which occurred December 10, 1893. He was an able and learned man not only in the strict path of his profession but in other lines of knowledge as well. In early life he read law, was admitted to the bar and engaged in practice for two years. He was an able public speaker, possessing marked oratorical power and was always active in the ranks of the democracy, not only addressing the public upon the issues of the day during campaigns, but also serving in various official positions. For three terms he was mayor of Ashland and gave to the city a business-like administration characterized by reform and progress. In all of his work in behalf of the municipality he was practical and his labors proved resultant factors. Under his administration the first street paving was done and stone sidewalks were laid. There has probably never been a citizen in Ashland who has done more real valuable service for the city than Dr. Sampsel. He was also spoken of as the most active resident that Ashland has ever had and his record was at all times an honor and credit to the county which honored him. Highly gifted by nature, he used his native talents and acquired ability for the benefit of his fellowmen and for the adoption of higher ideals in all those departments of activity which constitute essential factors in the public life. At the time of the Civil war, constrained by a spirit of lofty patriotism, he put aside all business and personal considerations and went to the front as captain of Company K, Eighty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was injured while crossing the river on a log at the battle of Bull Run and was therefore compelled to resign, after which he returned home and resumed his professional duties in Ashland. He was several times a candidate for congress on the democratic ticket but the republican strength in this county has always been too great to permit of the election of democratic candidates. In all personal relations he was honored and respected by all who knew him and he still has a firm hold upon the affections of those who knew him in life, for by them his memory is cherished and the recollection of his good work remains as an inspiration to all who-were associated with him. Four of his sons followed in his professional footsteps, namely: Dr. D. 8. Sampsel of this review; Dr. J. B. F. Sampsel, now deceased; Dr. W. H. Sampsel, living in Ashland; and Dr. C. B. Sampsel, of Chicago, Illinois.

In taking up the personal history of Dr. D. S. Sampsel, whose name introduces this record, we present to our readers one who, like his honored father, is widely and favorably known in Ashland. Reared at home, he continued his education through successive grades until he became a high-school student here and later spent two years in Notre Dame College, of Indiana. In February, 1864, prior to his sixteenth year, he enlisted in Company A, One Hundred and Ninety-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry and was immediately dispatched with his regiment to Richmond, Virginia, arriving in time to take part in that engagement. He served for one year and was then honorably discharged at the close of the war, after which he returned home. In 1870 he took up the study of medicine under the direction of his father and Dr. S. Glass, who were then practicing in partnership, under the firm style of Sampsel & Glass. In further pursuit of a professional education, he entered Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the fall of 1871 and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1874. Returning home, he practiced for five years in partnership with his father, after which they severed their business relations and Dr. Sampsel of this review established an independent practice. He is today one of the leading physicians of Ashland county, with comprehensive knowledge of the principles of medical science and at all times correct in his application thereof to the needs of his patients. He continues his researches along medical lines with the result that his powers are constantly expanding and, as he demonstrates his ability, his patronage is continually growing.

On the 20th of September, 1897, Dr. Sampsel was married to Miss Edith A. Strickler, of Salem. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he served for six years as health officer of Ashland, while for the past twelve years he has been president of the United States pension examining board at this point. Fraternally he is connected with the Grand Army of the Republic and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in both organizations has held office. He was also formerly a member of the Knights of Pythias lodge but is not affiliated therewith at the present time. In more strictly professional lines he is connected with the Ashland County Medical Society and his standing among the members of the medical fraternity is indicated by the fact that he was for two years honored with the presidency.

Harry 8. Kauffman

Harry 8. Kauffman, secretary and treasurer of the Kauffman Manufacturing Company and a potent factor in making this one of the leading industrial concerns of the town, was born June 30, 1873, in Ashland, a son of Jacob J. Kauffman, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work in connection with the sketch of John E. Kauffman. Reared at home he acquired his educatiou in the public schools and also pursued a business course in the Ashland College and in the Oberlin Business College, becoming thus well qualified to meet the onerous duties of commercial life. From his eighteenth year he has held a position in the office of the Kauffman Manufacturing Company, manufacturers of bed springs. The enterprise is now an extensive one and with the business Harry S. Kauffman became familiar in every detail, so that he was well qualified to assume the duties of secretary and treasurer when he was admitted to a partnership in 1901 and the company was reorganized and made a stock company. His official connection has remained unchanged to the present time. The business discernment and enterprise of the young men who are now at its head have made it a growing and important industry, the trade relations of which are constantly expanding. The produce of the firm now finds a ready sale on the market and the business management of the house is a factor in the constantly increasing trade.

In 1894 Mr. Kauffman was married to Miss Ethel Bentz, a daughter of William Bentz of Ashland, who is now a commercial salesman for a Cleveland house. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kauffman have been born a son and daughter, William J. and Helen. The parents are members of the Christian church and Mr. Kauffman is a republican in his political views. In all that he does and in every relation of life, he is actuated by a spirit of enterprise and progress that enables him to overcome obstacles and difficulties that would seem an unsurmountable barrier to others. He forms his plans carefully and is determined in their execution and thus he has been recognized as one of the valued and representative men in manufacturing lines in his native city.

Jerry R. Poorman

Jerry R. Poorman, who was formerly actively identified with agricultural and stock-raising interests in Jackson township, is now living retired in Polk, save for the supervision which he gives to his farm. His birth occurred in Stark county, Ohio, April 19, 1843, his parents being George and Nancy (Oberlin) Poorman, also natives of the Buckeye state. In pioneer days both the paternal and maternal grandparents came to this state from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, entered land from the government and aided in the work of early development and improvement here. They were people of limited financial circumstances but of determined, resolute spirit and succeeded in establishing homes on the frontier. George Poorman died when his son, Jerry R., was little more than three years of age, leaving a widow and five children, the latter being thus thrown upon their own resources at an early age. In 1863 the members of the family took up their abode in Jackson township, where they purchased a farm and carried on general agricultural pursuits.

In his youthful days Jerry R. Poorman obtained such an education as the district schools afforded but has become -a well informed man through reading, observation and experience in later years. Subsequent to his marriage, which oceurred when he was twenty-three years of age, he continued as a successful representative of farming interests in Jackson township until 1890. In addition to raising the cereals best adapted to soil and climate, he was also engaged in the breeding of fine horses for a number of years and likewise bought and shipped stock. In 1895 he practically retired from the work of the fields and

- removed to Polk, where he has since lived in the enjoyment of well earned rest, though he still gives general supervision to his farming interests.

On the 15th of November, 1866, Mr. Poorman was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary Oxander, a daughter of Peter and Eliza (Fox) Oxander, of J ackson township. By this union there is one son, Marion O., who is married and is engaged in general merchandising at Redhour, Ashland county.

A stalwart democrat in his political views, Mr. Poorman is well known as one of the active workers of the party in Ashland county. In early manhood he served for a number of years as trustee of Jackson township and in 1908 was again elected to this office, so that he is now the-incumbent. For about twelve years he has likewise been a member of the township board of education, the eause of public instruction ever finding in him a stanch champion. He has also served on the county central committee and has frequently been a delegate to county, district and state conventions. Both he and his wife are devoted and faithful members of the Reformed church, in which he has acted as an elder for forty years, doing all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. His interest in public affairs is deep and sincere and is manifest in substantial cooperation which he has given to plans and measures for the public good. He is widely recognized as a man of sterling worth, justly meriting the trust and confidence which are tniformly extended him, and his life is also an excellent illustration of the fact that success and an honorable name may be won simultaneously and that earnest, persistent labor constitutes an excellent foundation upon which to build the superstructure of prosperity.

Dr. Robert Carson Kinnaman, whose ability places him with the leading physicians and surgeons of Ashland, while his life has been in contradistinction to the old adage, that ''A prophet is never without honor save in his own country,'' was born in this city, December 29, 1848, his parents being Dr. Jacob W. and Harriet (Carson) Kinnaman. The father's birth occurred in the village of Ellsworth, Mahoning county, Ohio, in October, 1815. He was there reared and after completing his literary education took up the study of medicine, entering the Western Reserve Medical College at Cleveland, from which he was graduated in the class of 1847. Six years prior to that time, however, he had read medicine under a preceptor and thus his private study and his college course well equipped him for the onerous duties of the profession. His brother, who had been a practicing physician in Wood county, Ohio, died, and Dr. Jacob W. Kinnaman then went to that county to look after his practice. The district was largely wild and undeveloped and every family of the locality suffered from malaria, so that the Doctor was obliged to make a daily run of visits on a route of twenty miles with a relay of ponies. His arduous work began telling upon his health and he therefore returned east to Richland county, Ohio, where he practiced for some time and then entered college. After his graduation in 1847 he came to Ashland county and spent his remaining days here, but the exposure and hardships which he had undergone while in Wood county undoubtedly undermined his health and was the occasion of his com- paratively early death in 1874, when he was fifty-nine years of age. He wasa skilled physician and became one of the leading practitioners of his section. His political allegiance was given to the democracy and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his worth and ability, elected him a member of the Ashland city council.

In his parents' home Dr. Robert Carson Kinnaman spent his youthful days and the Ashland public schools afforded him his educational privileges. When a youth of sixteen years he began reading medicine under the direction of his father and in the fall of 1868 was matriculated in the Cincinnati College of Medicine & Surgery, from which he was graduated in the class of 1873. In 1870 his father failed in health and was compelled to go to California, at which time Dr. Robert Kinnaman took up his father's practice and not until his parent's return did he resume his college course. On its completion he was offered the position of demonstrator of anatomy in the college but on account of the ill health of his father he returned home and as a consequence the course of his professional life was changed. The father died soon afterward and Dr. Robert Carson Kinnaman took up his practice and has since devoted his time and energies to the arduous work of the profession in this city. He is one of Ashland's most skilled and successful practitioners, specializing in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat. For the past ten years he has made annual trips to New York and Chicago where he spends some time in the hospitals and in pursuing special courses of study. In this way he has kept fully abreast with the advancement in medical science and his reading and research have given him intimate knowledge of the learning of the profession.

In 1876 Dr. Kinnaman was married to Miss Margaret Smith, a daughter of David Smith, now deceased, who for many years was a well known tanner of this city. The only child of Dr. and Mrs. Kinnaman is Guy Carson Kinnaman, M. D., a graduate of the University of Chicago and of the Rush Medical College of the class of 1902. Following his graduation he was made head of the bacteriological department in the Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, which position he resigned in 1908. He is a member of the faculty as professor of skin diseases in the Polyclinic and was offered a position in the College of Physicians and Surgeons which he refused. He has recently, however, accepted a position on the staff of the Deaconess Hospital. He has made rapid strides in his profession and is rapidly forging to the front among the eminent representatives of the medical fraternity in Chicago.

Dr. Kinnaman belongs to Ashland Lodge, No. 151, A. F. & A. M.; Ashland Chapter, No. 41, R. A. M.; and Mansfield Commandery, No. 21, Katty a Hews likewise a member of the Congregational church. His political views are. in accord with the principles of the democracy and he has served as a member of the city council and was for a number of years a member of the board of education. At all-times he has desired the improvement of his native city and has cooperated in many movements pertaining to the general welfare. In strictly professional lines he is connected with the Ashland Medical Society and with the Ohio State Medical Association, as well as with the Sixth District Medical Association, composed of members of the medical fraternity in eight counties, and the American Medical Association. He is also a member of the society of

Erie Railroad Surgeons and is surgeon for the Erie Railroad. Everything which tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life is of interest to him and his reading has been wide and varied, bringing him into close relations with the most progressive methods of the profession.

George W. Pixley

George W. Pixley, who is prominent in the commercial circles of Nova, being identified with an extensive harness and shoemaking business. was born in Rochester township, Lorain county, Ohio, April 22, 1852, a son of Willard and Lydia A. (Smith) Pixley, his father a native of New York state and his mother of Vermont. From Buffalo, New York, Willard Pixley went to Cleveland on the first steamer making that trip on Lake Erie, He settled in Sandusky, where for several years he engaged in the hotel business and upon leaving which occupation he went to Lorain county where he followed agricultural pursuits. There he met the young woman who became his wife on May 6, 1846. Subsequently he removed to Orange township, this county, where he followed general farming and stock-raising, until he entered into rest in January, 1865, his wife surviving him twenty-seven years. He was a highly respected man throughout the community'and his noble qualities won him the confidence of all with whom he came in contact.

On his father's farm George W. Pixley was reared, engaging in the daily routine of agricultural life during the summer months and attending the district schools in the winter season. Remaining at home until thirty years of age, he then was apprenticed to a harness maker by the name of N. J. Cresson, of Nova, and in one year became familiar with the business and bought out the interests of his employer, who subsequently worked for him. In this business he continued here until 1887 when he removed to Republic, Seneca county, where he established himself in the same enterprise which he conducted for three years, at the expiration of which time, in the year 1890, he returned to this place where he has since resided, actively engaged in harness and shoemaking. He is an expert mechanic and being familiar with every phase of the business his workmanship is of such a character as to have won him a wide reputation and hberal patronage.

On November 25, 1876, Mr. Pixley was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Peters, a daughter of William Peters, Sr., a prominent farmer of Orange township, who departed this life in 1906. They had one son, Leon W., who is engaged in farming in this township. The mother entered into eternity in October of the year 1879. In June 1881, Mr.' Pixley wedded Miss Eliza C. Beck, daughter of George and Delilah (Miller) Beck, whose father is largely identified with the agricultural interests of this county. To this union have been born three children, namely: Edwin C.; Ina, who became the wife of Clinton W. Holbrook; and Glen W. In politics Mr. Pixley is a republican, and being active in affairs of his party he has been frequently chosen as its representative at a number of conventions. For eighteen years he has been clerk of his township and his long years of service in this capacity bear ample evidence of his usefulness and excellent reputation. He has also been a member of the school board for a number of years, of which body he is now president, and is one of the greatest agitators of improvements along educational lines. Mr. Pixley belongs to Council No. 235, Junior Order of United American Mechanics of Nova, was made first councilor at the organization of the lodge and since that time has filled most of the chairs and officiated at the initiation of the majority of those who have obtained membership in the order. For diversion he resorts to fishing and hunting, being very fond of roaming the woods in search of game, and he has in his posession an old shotgun given him by his grandfather when he was fourteen years of age on his promise that he would not part with it while he lived, the gun originally having been an old flint-lock musket which had been brought from England. Being a public-spirited citizen he favors public improvements, especially good roads and schools, and is always ready to further every movement which has for its object the betterment of the community. He is among the enterprising and progressive citizens of the town, and one of its most substantial business men.

Dr. W. M. McClellan, whose ability and standing in professional circles are indicated by the liberal patronage accorded him in his practice of medicine and surgery in Ashland, was born in Wayne county, Ohio, August 22, 1857. His parents, Wilson and Elizabeth (Marshall) McClellan, were also natives of this state, the former born in Wayne county and the latter in Savannah, Ashland county. The father spent his entire life in the county of his nativity, devoting his energies to the occupation of farming, and died when his son, Dr. McClellan, was only a year old. His widow afterward became the wife of Henry Hare, who is now deceased, while Mrs. Hare makes her home with the subject of this review in Ashland.

Dr. McClellan was carefully reared by his mother and in the district schools acquired his preliminary education which was supplemented by a course of study in Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois. While there pursuing a classical course he also took up the study of medicine, reading under the preceptorship of Dr. Billings. In 1878 he left college and came to Ashland, where he engaged in the drug business with which he was identified for fourteen years, when he sold out and went east to finish his medical studies. In the fall of 1892 he matriculated in the Baltimore Medical College and three years later was craduated from that institution with the class of 1895. Returning at once to ''ektand he here opened an office and entered upon the practice of his chosen calling, since which time he has made for himself a creditable name and place as a skilled physician and surgeon, being ranked among Ashland's most prominent and capable representatives of the profession. He is very careful in the diagnosis of cases and is seldom, if ever, at fault anticipating the outcome of keeps in touch with the onward march of the medical fraternity as their investigation and research are constantly bringing to light new facts bearing upon the origin, cause and treatment of diseases. He keeps abreast with the profession also through his membership in the Ashland County Medical Society of which he is now secretary, the Union Medical Association of the sixth district, comprising eight counties and of which he is now president, the Ohio State Medical Association and the American Medical Association.

In 1880 Dr. McClellan was married to Miss Mattie E. Harley, of Ashland, and unto them have been born two daughters; Jean K., at home; and Marcia, the wife of Carl M. Shinn, of Ashland. The family is prominent socially and the hospitality.of the McClellan home is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Dr. McClellan is a member of Ashland Lodge, No. 151, A. F. & A. M., also of Ashland Chapter, No. 67, R. A. M. and Mansfield Commandery, No. 21, K. T. His religious faith is manifest in his membership in the Christian church, while his political belief is indicated in the stanch support which he gives to the republican party and his earnest efforts in its behalf. He has served as chairman of the republican county executive committee and for a number of years was a member of the board of education of Ashland, in which connection he put forth earnest effort that resulted in substantial benefit for the schools. He believes in progress along all lines for the individual and the community, and his influence is ever given on the side of advancement and improvement.

Joseph Edgar Mayner

To those familiar with the history of Joseph Edgar Mayner it would seem trite to enter into any series of statements showing him to be a self-made man who from early youth has been dependent upon his own resources, for this fact is well known. It is, however, but just, to say in a history of this character - that his record is such as any man might be proud to possess, for in all business relations he has fully met the obligations that have devolved upon him and adhered most closely to a high standard of commercial ethics. Persistency of purpose, indefatigable energy and unwavering probity have been salient features in the progress that has carried him to a foremost place in the ranks of Ashland's business men and he is now well known as a member of the dry-goods firm of Brubaker, Moore & Mayner. He was born in Ashland, August 6, 1876, a son of Joseph H. and Salome (Pfiug) Mayner, both of whom were natives of Germany. They came to Ashland about 1868. The father is now deceased, while the mother resides with her son, Joseph E., on West Walnut street.