Canton Township (part 16 of 62)

After practicing alone one year. Dr. Post became associated with Dr. R. P. Johnson, who was his partner about the same length of time, but since the dissolution of this firm he has conducted his professional business alone. In every department of the medical profession he easily ranks with the. ablest and most- scholarly of his compeers, his success both as a physician and surgeon having won- for him much more than local distinction. He has spared neither pains nor expense in preparing himself for the noble work to which his life is being devoted, and the commanding position he now occupies among his professional brethren of Canton and Stark county has been achieved by merit, representing years of patient, conscientious, intellectual discipline and untiring scientific research. In the treatment of diseases Dr. Post is fully abreast of the times, employing only the latest and most approved methods of practice^ whose efficacy he has demonstrated, also keeping in close touch with advanced professional thought in everything pertaining to modern discovery in the realm- of medical science. The Doctor is- , pre-eminently a -scholar and thinker, and he avails himself of every legitimate means to increase his knowledge and perfect his practice, and to these ends has supplied his office not only with a voluminous library of the best medical literature, but also with a full assortment of the finest instruments and appliances used in the healing art. His original investigations have led to important and far-reaching discoveries, in which respect he is perhaps without a peer in this part of the state, a fact freely conceded by his associates here and elsewhere. The Doctor's pecuniaiy success has been commensurate with the ability and energy displayed in his professional work, as is attested by the handsome competence which he has accumulated since locating in the city of Canton. He wears his well-earned honors becomingly, being modest in his intercourse with his fellow men and easily approachable by the humblest citizen desiring his services or advice.

In 1887 Dr. Post was appointed physician of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at this point and during President Harrison's administration he served on the Stark county board of pension examiners. He also held the position of health officer two years and for the same length of time served as city physician, in addition to which he was for some time a meml>er of the Aultman Hospital medical staff, and at this time is a physician of the Stark county infirmary. He belongs to various medical societies and associations, in all of which his abilities are duly recognized and appreciated. Among these organizations are the Stark County Academy of Medicine, the Canton Medical Club, the Ohio State Medical Society and the American Medical Association, in additioi^ to which he was elected, in 1898, a fellow of the American Academy of- Medicine, one of the most eminent professional bodies in the Union.

he received from Washington and Jefferson College, in 1882, the degree of Master of Arts, a well-earned honor as well as a fitting and graceful compliment to one of the most distinguished alumni of that institutiun. Politic cally the Doctor is a Republican and as such has figured conspicuously in the affairs of the county and state, but not as an aspirant for. public distinction. In religion he subscribes to the Calvinistic creed, being a member of the Presbyterian church of Canton.

Referring to Dr. Post's domestic history, it is learned that he is a happily married man and the father of two bright children. Miss Anna L. Bucher, who became his wife on the Tgth day of January, 1887, is the daughter of J. G. and Lucy (Kitzmiller) Bucher; the children are Lucy B., born July 26, 1890, and William Hawk, whose birth occurred Tanuarv 30, 1892.

FRANK DaHINDEN, M. D., son of Jacob and Charlotte DaHinden, is a native of Stark county, Ohio, born at the old family home on South Market street in the city of Canton; September 15. 1875. It is a fact worthy of note that from his early manhood the future physician was of a studious nature, and after learning to read, which he did at an early age, he would frequently absent himself from his companions ami playmates to indulge his desire for knowledge. This liking for books became almost a passion, in consequence of which he made rapid advancement in his studies, attending the public schools of the city until his eighteenth year. The training thus received was afterwards supplemented by a full course in the Canton Commercial College ; but a business life ha\-ing no inducements for him, he wisely decided to turn his attention to the medical profession, for which he had long manifested a pronounced preference. Yielding, at length, to this desire, the young man entered the office of Dr. O. E. Portnian, of Canton, under whose instruction he continued until September, 1895, ^vhen he became a student of the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Cleveland. He prosecuted his studies in that institution until his graduation, in j\lay, 1898, after which he engaged in the practice at Wheeling, West Virginia, in partnership witli Dr. R. M. Ran, a relationship lasting a little more than one year. Leaving- that city he returned to his native place and established himself in a practice which from the beginning" has been signally successful, professionally and financially.

Dr. DaHinden is deservedly popular with the people with whom he is brought in contact, not only in a professional way, but as a friend and citizen. His reputation as a representative of the school of medicine to which he belongs is wide-spread and exalted and he can with complacency consider the long list of sufferers whom his skill has relieved and the large number that now rely upon his services for aid in their time of need.

Dr. DaHinden combines with a knowledge of his profession the sympathizing nature and tender touch of the true healer and in the sick room inspires the confidence of his patients, without which success in most cases is largely a matter of doubt. He also possesses good business tact and by diligence and careful judgment as well as by faithful application has secured not only a lucrative practice, but a competence of a magnitude seldom acquired by one of his age and professional experience. He holds membership with the Stark County ^ledical Society, the Medical Society of Canton, the Stark County Academy of ^ledicine and other organizations whose objects are to promote a higher standard of efficiency to the end that suffering humanity may be relieved and a better type of physical manhood developed. Fraternally he belongs to Canton Lodge Xo. 589, Knights of Pythias, and he is also identified

Politically Dr. DaHinden is a man of broad and liberal views. He exercises the right of elective franchise with little regard for party behests, voting his principles in whatever organization found, in local and state affairs supporting the man who in his judgment combines the best qualifications for the office sought. He is still a wide reader and his acquaintance with the world's best literature is general and in many respects profound. His medical library contains many of the best works extant, in addition to which he keeps himself in toucii with modern discoveries and methods through the medium of the leading medical publications of the day. The Doctor's standing in society is commensurate with his standing in the medical world, as is attested by his intimate relationship with the best social circles of tlie city in which his life has been spent.

LEONARD KUEBELE was born in Fulton. Austria, on the 9th of November. 181 7, the place being at that time under Hessian rule. He is a son of Frederick and Mary Kuebele, of whose five children he is one of the two surviving, his sister, Flora, being the wife of Joseph Gehring, of Wheeling, West Virginia. The father of the subject was born in the same place in Austria, in the year 1793, and there grew up on a farm and continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in his native province until the year 1837 when he emigrated with his family to the United States, coming forthwith to Ohio and taking up his abode on a farm in Tuscarawas county, where he died in 1838, at the age of forty-four years. His first wife, the mother of the subject, entered into eternal rest in 1825, and he later married ]\Iiss ALary Klitch, no children being born of this marriage. The subject remained at the paternal home until he had attained the age of twenty years, having received his early educational training in the excellent schools of the fatherland, while he early became familiar with the various duties involved in the cultivation and other work of the farm. At the age noted he secured employment in connection with the construction of the line of railroad between Madison and Indianapolis, Indiana, receiving twenty dollars per month and his board and being thus engaged for a period of nine months, within which time occurred the death of his honored father, of which sad e\-ent he did not receive tidings until more than six months later, the family not knowing where he was located. His father died in October, and when the subject returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the following May, he found two letters awaiting him, and through one of these he learned that there was severe illness in his home and that the family were on the verge of starvation. He at once made all haste to go to their relief, and he became the main support of the family. He remained in Tuscarawas county, where he followed such occupations as he could secure, digging ore, farming, etc. In 1846 he was united in marriage to Miss Emily Limecruber. and within the same year he became associated w-ith his brother-in-law. Calep Limecruber, in leasing a tract of timber land, the provisions of the lease being that they should have as their own all products which they succeeded in raising on the land which they cleared for a period of seven years. They cleared five acres the first spring and planted the same to corn, and thereafter vigorously continued the arduous work of reclaiming the land to cultivation. After the expiration of the original lease Mr. Kuebele remained on the place for five years further, paying his rent in a share of the crops. His brotherin-law continued to be associated with him only one year. After leaving the farm which had thus been the scene of his herculean la1x)rs Mr. Kuebele purchased of his father-in-law a farm of forty acres in Paris tow^nship, Stark county, together with an adjoining tract of sixteen acres, which was owned by another person. In the following spring he removed to his new farm, and here his earnest and indefatigable efforts were attended with success, and as prosperity came to him he added to the area of his place until the farm comprised one hundred and twenty-seven acres. In 1870 he disposed of this farm and purchased his present place, comprising one hundred and six acres, in section 3, Osnaburg township, where he has one of the valuable and finely improved farms of the county and he still gives a more or less active supervision to the work, his years resting lightly upon his head. He is held in the highest esteem and veneration as one of the patriarchal citizens of the county, having so ordered his life as to be worthy of all honor and esteem and having attained prosperity through his own persevering and well-directed efforts. In politics he gives an unfaltering allegiance to the Democratic party, and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church, of which he is a communicant, as w^as also his devoted and cherished wife, who was summoned into the life eternal on the 8th of August, 1872. They became the parents of seven children, of whom only one survives, George, who has the active charge of the home farm and who is one of the able and honored citizens of this section.

\T.\THAN HOLLOWAY. - The subject bears the full patronymic of his honored grandfather, Nathan Holloway. who was of fine old English stock and a native of Virginia, where the family was founded in the colonial era of our history. He served with distinction as a soldier in the war of 1812. and. as before intimated, was a planter and slaveholder in the Old Dominion up to the time of the war of the Rebellion, through whose ravages he met with tlie grievous reverses which attended so large a pro- portion of the generous and cliivalrous landed proprietors of tliat must patrician of all the states of tlie I'nion. In i860, and onl\- a short time before the ontl)reak of the Rebelhon, our subject passed three months with his grandfather on the old plantation, and his sympathies were even then distinctively with the Union cause, since he had been reared in Ohio, where the institution of human slavery was generally held in abhorrence and where he had grown tip in the midst of abolition sentiments. While he was thus in Virginia the subject's letters from the north were opened and perused and were not allowed to come into his hands for some time, and he finally decided to make an efifort to be no longer denied his rights in this direction. The mail was customarily brought to the plantation by a bright negro, and to this employe of his grandfather the subject said one day, "Jim, I'll go after the mail this morning." and he accordingly proceeded to carry out his plan. Going to the village he found the neighboring planters gathered about the postoftice. stores and rum shops vigorously discussing the .all-pre\ailing topic of impending conflict between north and south. Mr. Holloway worked liimself into their good graces by frequently tendering the appreciated compliment of purchasing "rounds of drinks," and they therefore tliibbed him a good fellow, and thereafter he had no further difficulty in securing his mail regnlarl}'. The grandfather of the subject died in Fauquier county, Virginia, in 187 1, at which time he had reached the patriarchal age of ninety-two years, while his wife, who was several years older than himself, died in 1864. at the age of ninety-two. They became the parents of two children, Isaac, the father of the s-ubject, and I.orinda. who became the wife of " William Smith, and who died on her plantation, in Fauquier county, Virginia, in 1891, at the agie of ninety- four years,. so that it may be seen that the subject of this sketch is a scion of long-lived stock.

Isaac Holloway was born on the old hunie plantation, in Stafford county, \'irginia. on the j/th of December, 1S05, and his educational training was received inider the direction of the itinerant teachers so connnon to that locality in the early days. In 1828 he left home and started out to face the battle of life on his own responsibility, his equipment for the valiant crusade as a soldier of fortune being the sum of one hundred dollars and his horse, saddle and bridle. He came through on horseback to Ohio, stopping at Wrightstown (now Belmont), in Belmont county, where he joined his uncle, and there he attended school for six months, after which he became a teacher in the pioneer schools of that section of the state. He later engaged in the general merchandise business at Rockhill, Belmont county, where he remained five years, and thereafter he removed to Flushing, same county, where he continued to be engaged in the same line of enterprise until within a few years of his death, having been one of the lionored and influential citizens of the county. He died in 1885, at the age of eighty years, secure in the esteem of all who knew him and iiaving lived a life of signal usefulness and honor. He served for a quarter of a century in the office of justice of the peace, and in 1848 he was a delegate to the national convention of the bVeesoil party, held in the city of Buffalo, which nominated Van Buren for the presidency. In 1857, as a candidate of the Republican party, whose cause he espoused at the time of its in-' ception. he was elected to the state senate, in w hich he rendered most efficient service, being one of the active and influential members of this deliberative body of the state government. He was an appreciative member of the Masonic fraternity. In Belmont county, in the year 183T. was solemnized the marriage of Isaac Holloway to 'Miss Harriet Sheetz. who was hour in that county, being of German descent, and she died in 1847. leaving three children.

namely: Otho S.. wlio died in Belmont county, in 1891, at the age of sixty-nine years; Anna N., who is the wife of Thomas Atkinson, of Denver, Colorado, and Nathan, who figures as the immediate subject of this review. Isaac Holloway subsequently consummated a second marriage, being united to Miss Ann Eliza Norton, of Belmont county, who survived him, her death occurring in 1890. No children were born of this marriage.

Nathan Holloway was born in the town of Flushing, Belmont county, Ohio, on the 6th of October, 1837, and he secured the best educational advantages afforded in the locality and period. x-\s a boy he began to assist his father in the store, and he continued to be identified with this enterprise until his father closed out the same and established himself in the pri\ate banking business m Flushing, and our subject then assumed an executive position in the bank. Later he read law under the preceptorship of his elder brother, who was a leading member of the bar of that county, and in i860 the Captain was duly admitted to the bar of the state, upon an examination before the supreme court. He has, however, never devoted his attention to the practice of his profession, although his technical knowledge has proved of inestimable value to him in his long and successful career as a man of affairs.

In 1861 came the clarion call to arms, summoning the loyal sons of. the republic to go forth in defence of the Union whose integritv was menaced by armed rebellion, and, notwithstanding the position of his grandfather, who was a slaveholder, as before noted, both our subject and his elder brother tendered their services. Otho Holloway organized in Belmont county Company K of the Fifteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, of which he was made captain, and our subject enlisted as a private in the same company, in the same year. The regiment was assigned to the Arniy of the Ohio auf! went to the front under command of General Buell. The subject was in active service for eleven months and his health had then become so seriously impaired as to render him ineligible for further duty, so that he was granted an honorable discharge, at Florence, Alabama, having participated in the \arious engagements in which his command had been involved up to practically that time. His brother remained in the service about one and one-half years and made a gallant record. After the close of his military service Mr. Holloway returned to his home, and shortly afterward established himself in the mercantile business at Rockhill, in his native county., Six months later he disposed of the business and remo\-ed to Princeton. Scott county, Iowa, where he was engaged in the same line of business for the ensuing three years, being successful in his efforts. He then removed to Loganville, Wisconsin, located in the midst of the hop growing district of that state, and there opened a general store. Hops commanded a high price that season, selling for sixty-five cents a pound, and Mr. Holloway purchased the product in large quantities and sold at a good profit. He conducted a credit business to a large extent, as the hop-growers were usually somewhat prodigal of their money, and he had to carry many of their accounts on his books until they realized from the crops of the next season. The next year witnessed the production of a fine crop of hops throughout the country, and our subject felt justified in offering twentvfive cents a pound for the same, but the sequel proved to his disadvantage, since the product depreciated in price until practically no market existed for the same, the result being that Mn. Holloway met with a serious loss. He accordingly gave up the Wisconsin business in 1870 and returned to Ohio, again engaging in the mercantile business and at this time locating in the town of Belmont. By good management he succeeded in soon liquidating his entire indebtedness; entailed bv his Wisconsin re\erses, and he built up ;i riourishing enterprise in tlie new location. In 1882 he removed to the city of Chicago, wliere he was engaged in tlie grocery business nearly three years, also operating on the stock markets until 1885, when his father died, and he returned home to look after the estate, his family remaining in Chicago until the following year. He next took up his abode in Xew Philadelphia. Tuscarawas county, where he remained until the autumn of 1887, when he came to Canton and engaged in the real-estate business, to which be dexoted bis attention for a short time. In 1888 be became identified with the manufacturing of brick, being at the start associated with Colonel Percy Sowers and John ^IcGregor, and they built the Standard Brick Works at North Industry, Colonel Sowers purchasing the interests of liis partners about the time the plant was ready to be put in operation, and the Colonel then proceeded to organize a stock company for the carrying on of the enterprise. In the autumn of 1889 Captain Holloway built what is still known as the Holloway brick plant, at North Industry, placing the same into operation and at the end of the first year admitted Ralph Spiro and George Rex to partnership in the business. In iSqi the subject sold bis interests to Aaron !Muman, and in the fall of that year he purchased a china store in Canton, conducting the same one year. i\X the present time be is secretary of the Diamond Light Company, representing a flourishing business, in tlie ownership of w'hich he is associated witii his son-in-law. Ira H. Everhard. Mr. Holloway has ever been known as a progressive and broad-minded business man and a loyal and ])ublic-spirited citizen, while be has ne\er lacked the fullest measure of popular confitlence and esteem. In politics be was stanchly arrayed with the Republican party until the presidential campaign of 1896, when he found his convictions not in harmony with the party's financial platfomi, and transferred his allegiance to the Democracy, of wbo.'^e cause he has since been a stanch supporter. I'raternally he is identified with George D. Harter Post No. 335. Grand Army of the Republic, and with Canton Lodge No. 60, Lree and Accepted Masons.

In I'elmont county, this state, on the 4th of March. 1863. Captain Holloway was united in marriage to Miss Geoi-giana Stewart, who was born and reared in that county, being a daughter of John M. Stewart, an honored pioneer of that section. Of this union have been born four children, namely: Dora H., who is the wife of Ira H. Everhard, of Canton: Nathan C., who is engaged in business in the citv of Columlius, this state; Josephine H.. whc) married Charles F. W'allraff, of Washington City, died January 17, 1901 : and (leorgia Grace, who remains at the parental home, which is a center oi gracious hospitality.

IRA M. ALLEN was for many years a prominent educator of eastern Ohio. He was born in Rensselaer county. New York, on the I ith of May, 1821, and comes of an old family of New England. His grandfather, Samuel Allen, was born in Rhode Island and was of Scotch-Irish extraction. He married Patience Six)on, whose father, a sea captain, was of English and Welsh descent. Caleb Allen, father of the subject, was torn in Rensselaer county. July 15, 1787, and married Hiilda Dawley. who was born in Rhode Island on the 1 8th of Octoljer, 1788, and was of Welsh lineage. They began their domestic life in his native county, where they spent several years, when they removd to Cayuga coiuity. Later they l)ecame residents of Ontario county. New York, where they resided until their deaths. Mr. Allen lived the quiet, retired life of a farmer and was a man of sterling worth.

Ira M. Allen

spent upon liis fatlier's farm and his early education, acquired in the district schools, was supplemented by study in Skaneateles Academy. At the age ol eighteen years he began teaching- in Ontario county. New York, where he followed his chosen profession until 1842. In the spring- of that year he started for Kentucky via canal route, stopping in Ivlassillon to visit an uncle. A vacancy being open in a school there, he was asked to take charge of the same, which he did. He was employed there as a teacher until 1847. Coming to Canton, he then took charge of a select school, which he carried on until 1850, when the city adopted the union-school law, the third city in the state to take advantage of this law. In 1854 Mr. Allen went to Massillon and took charge of the Charity Rotch School, of that place, which he superintended until 1864. In that year he gave up his school work and turned his attention to farn-iing, which he followeil until 1869, when he was elected treasurer of Stark county, for a tern-i of two years. Faithfully did he perform liis duties, and on the expiration of his term he was re-elected, serving in all for four years.

Mr. Allen found a faithful companion and helpmate in his estimable wife, whom he wedded ]\Iay 29, 1844. In her maidenhood she was Ella O. Graham, daughter of Hon. John and Susan (Troop) Graham, both natives of Pennsylvania, the former of whom served as state senator from Stark county. Unto them have been born five children : Alice, who died in 1875; John C. married Mary Feather, of Canton, and died in October, 1890, leaving a wife and two sons; Florence H. ; Emma S., wife of L. Sollmann, a druggist of Canton ; and Ella O.. now deceased. The family resides at No. 1800 South Market street, where they have a good home in the midst of pleasant surroundings.

charge of the Charity Rotch School for another decade. He was a most excellent educator, possessing superior ability in instructing youthful minds, and many who have been successful in various walks of life have reason to thank him for the aid he gave in younger years. His life has been devoted to school work and he has done much in the interests of education in this comnumity. For more than thirty years he was a member of the county board of school examiners.

On attaining- his majority, Mr. Allen affiliated with the Democratic party, which he continued to support until the organization of the Republican party, of which he was a stanch advocate. He was a prominent citizen of this coinmunity, widely and favorably known, and highly respected by all. The following obituary^ notice, referring to the honored subject, is here reproduced :

On the evening of the 26th of December, 1897, the spirit of Ira M. Allen, at peace with God and man, crossed the vale to rest from his earthly labors. He was blessed with the conscientiousness of a life that never shirked its duty to his fellow men. Ever mindful of divine precepts, he pointed upwards, guided by his unfaltering trust in universal brotherhood and faith in the Kingdom of Christ. He felt within that peace which passeth understanding, and such as can only be obtained from a life spent in noble deeds, with charity for all and malice toward none. His remains were laid to rest in the Westlawn cemetery of Canton, which holds many of the old pioneer residents of the state and the nation's illustrious dead. His wife still survives, living in the old homestead on South Market street, being in her eightieth year, still blessed with health and strength.

In concluding this biography we quote from an editorial in a local paper regarding a reference inade to the subject by the late lamented President McKinley. who was his life-long companion and friend :

Among the happiest of President JNIcKinley's frontdoor responses during the presidential campaign of 1896 was that which he made to his old political associates on the Stark county Republican ticket of 1896. There is fond memory in the words he spoke for many Stark co'.mty friends : but the fond recollections of his political campaign, when he ran for prosecuting attorney, had these words in reference to the late Ira M. Allen, who passed from life to the great beyond on Friday night: ''That other good friend of us all, another of the pioneers, Ira M. Allen, was on the ticket for county treasurer, with whom I think I traveled in every nook and corner of the county during that campaign." "Good friend of us all." What a happy tribute of him then in life was this to the "good friend of us all." who has now passed away. Ira ^I. Allen was indeed a "good friend of us all." Whether it was to be poor or well-to-do, Ira M .Allen was a good friend, a thoughtful friend, a charitable friend, a hearty friend, and a faithful friend, whose greatest happiness was in the happiness of his family and his friends. He was the "friend of lis all." They tell of life's good deeds. They speak of a husband's love, of a father's devotion, of a neighbor'.-; regard, of a citizen's public spirit. They tell of an honest man, "the noblest work of God.''

HAR\'EY R. DITTEXHAFER. - Just when Mr. Dittenhafer's ancesUjrs settled in Pennsylvania is nut kndwii. hut it is supposed to have been at a \ery early period in the history of that commonwealth. Ilis grandfather. Christian Dittenhafer, was born rmd reared in Adams county, that state, and lived there a great many years as an enterprising and successful agriculturist. The wife of Christian before her marriage was a Miss Hart and came of a family of distinguished artists, several of whom achieved national reputation as painters. Christian Dittenhafer was a man of considerable prominence in his county and for a number of years fig'ured f|uite conspicuously in its public affairs. Living near the southern border of the state, where there was a great divergence of opinion in relation to the question of slavery and the matter of secession, it was but natural that he should have very decided views upon issties of such great moment. To a certain e.xtent his sympathies were with the South at the breaking out of the great Rebellion, but he was conservative in the expression of his opinions and took no acti\"c part in the troubles growing out of the disturbed conditions of those times.

When the Conferlerate forces under General Lee invaded sinitiiern Penns\l\ania, a detachment of the army encamped on Mr. Dittenhafer's farm and took possession of his house for a hospital. They also appropriated his horses and when expostulated with concerning th.e matter replied that they did not care a l)ig d - d whether the owner was friendly t'j the South or not. the live stock was needed and would be taken regardless of consequences. This action of the Confederate officers comj)letel\' changed the views of the honest old farmer and froin that time on he was a warm and uncompromising friend of the L^nion cause. Christian Dittenhafer was a man of remarkable physical strength and lived to a ripe old age. dying in 1868 after reaching the century mark. For many years he was interested in the puljlic improvements of his part of the state and. with Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, built one of the first railroads through .\dams county. In his younger clays he served as a soldier in the war of 1812 and was made a prisoner l)y the Uritish at the surrender of Detroit. The children of Christian and Mrs. Dittenhafer, five in number, were John H.. father of the subject of this sketch; Betsey married Samuel Lahr. who ser\ed as captain in the Mexican war and died while in the service: Henry married Christie Hassler and lives in Seneca county. Ohio; Joseph is a resident of Bryan, this state, and George, whose home is in .\dams count\-. Pennsylvania.

John H. Dittenhafer was born near what is locally known as "Seven Stars." Adams county, Pennsylvania, and there grew to manhood as a tiller of the soil. He attenfled such schools as the country at that time afforded and when a voung man learned the shoemaker's trade, which he plied for a number of years at different places, eventually turning his attention to agricultural pursuits. In his youth he became a great hunter and would frequently spend days in the pursuits of his faxorite pastime, deer and

wild game being plentiful in the country and easily obtained by the skillful marksman. For four years he worked at his trade in the summer time and of winter seasons taught school in the old log' cabin near his father's place, in which he received his own educational training. About 1839 '^^ came via the l^jkes to Ohio and while euroute visited relatives by the name of Hart, living at Rochester, New York, who advised him to remain in that city, hold-' ing out as an inducement an offer to set him up in business. 'nfected with what was then termed the "Ohio fe\'er," the young man declined this iiattering inducement with thanks and. proceeding on his way, in due time reached Canton, near which ])lace he taught a term of school the winter following. This was formerly known as tlie old Lautzenhauzer school, the building being a delapidated log structure, through the roof and sides of which the snow and rain came at will, while the pupils were nearly all young men and women as old and some of them much larger than the teacher. At that time the German and English tongues were al)out equally used in the neighborhood and Mr. Dittenhafer found himself under the necessity of teaching both, languages, which he did ^successfully, being as conversant with the one as with the other. Among his pupils were a number of boys who subsequently became the leading men of the county, while others moved to distant states and attained honorable distinction in their \-arious vocations and professions. Mr. Dittenhafer was married in Canton to Miss Catherine Petree, wiiose birth occurred in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, in the }'ear 1819. Mrs. Dittenhafer's paternal grandfather, a native of France, came to America prior to the Revolutionary war, starting with a large share of the wealth which he had inherited, but, by reason of shipwreck, landed on the shores of the new world with no possessions other than the raiment with which he was attired. He located in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, and then married and reared a familw among his children being a son by the name of Har\e\-. the fatiier of Mrs. Dittenhafer. Harvey Petree . married in his native county and about the year 1839 moved his family to Stark county, Ohio, settling in Canton, where he subsequently achieved quite a reputation as a manufacturer of counterpanes and other textile fabrics. He worked into these articles many beautiful ari tistic designs and wherever his products were exhibited they at once commanded high prices. Some of his counterpanes found their way to' France, where they are still preserved, while others are retained as valuable heirlooms in a' number of households in Stark and other coun-' ties of Ohio. After plying his trade for some years in Canton Mr. Petree went to li\e with a married daughter near Dayton, Ohio, and it was there that his death afterwands occurred, at the age of eighty-six, his wife preceding him to the other world by some years.

-Mrs. Dittenhafer was a young woman of about twenty years when her parents moved to Stark county and she bore her share in the long tiresome journey by wagon across the mountains. .Vfter his marriage Mr. Dittenhafer resumed his trade and it is a fact worthy of note that he made the first pair of shoes which his son, Harvey R., wore to the front in the dark days of 1861. One of these was afterwards pierced by a musket ball and is still kept as a memento of the war, its companion being left on the field of battle. Har\ey Dittenhafer continued shoemaking a number of vears and departed this life in 1896. He was a man of sterling worth, actix'e in aiding e\erv enterprise for the material advancement of his community and his influence was generally exerted on the right side of e\'ery moral qtiestion. Politically he was always a staunch Democrat, but his local pride induced him to support his fellow citizen, William McKiuley, for the vari-' ous iiffices which that distinguished statesman hekl, Tn matters religiotis he was a Alethodist, ' his wife being a meinber of the Evangelical cliiircli and an acti\e worker in the same until her "Icatli. which occurred on the i8th of February. 1902. Mrs. Dittenhafer was widely and favora1)ly known in Canton and throughout Stark county, having for many years run the largest dressmaking esta'bblishment in the city. This was before the advent of the sewing macliine and as she employed only the most skillful seamstresses, the product of her establishment became celebrated throughout this section of the state. She invented various diagrams and devices for cutting and fitting ladies" and children's garments, which were afterwards generally adopted and at one time she w.Ts involved in litigation growing out of an infringement upon a patent, the late President McKinley being her lawver. She was pri^miinent in business circles, stood equally prominent socially and will always be remeinbered as one of the most enterprising and highly esteemed women the city of Canton has e\"er known.

Harvey and Catherine Dittenhafer reared a family of three children, namely: Frances .\.. wife of U. B. Shanafelt ; Harve}- R.. of this review, and Irene, an unmarried ladv living in C:uiton. Harvey R. Dittenhafer was born where the liank building now stands. No. 521 North I\Iarket street. Canton. Ohio, on the iC^th day of January, 1844. Like the majority of city lads, he was put to school at the proper age and continued at his studies until his se\-enteenth year, when he laid aside his books for the purpose of responding to President Lincoln's call for Aolunteers. Although a mere youth at the time, his patriotism was of the kind of which heroes are made and he felt it incumbent upon him to oi¥er his life if need be in defence of the country he loved so well. On the TTth day of August. i86t. he enlisted in Company L Sixty-fourth Ohio A'olunteer Infantry, for three years or during the war. and immediately thereafter went into camp at Mansfield where the regimental organization was effected through the efforts of the late Hon. John Sherman, one of Ohio's favorite sons antl one of the nation's greatest statesmen. In due time the Sixty-fourth was sent to the front to bear its part in the campaign conducted by General Ciram. the first noted battle of which was fought at Pittsburg Landing. Mr. Dittenhafer participated in that bloody engagement and later took part in the siege of Corinth, battles of Stone Ri\er and Peri\\\ille. receiving a severe wound in the left hip at the latter place. After being struck he continued to load and fire until a second shot pierced his ankle, when his sufferings became such as to render him unalile for further duty. While lying helpless on the field after the fightiing had ceased, trying Ijy every means at hand to stanch the bleeding of his wounds, Mr. Dittenhafer was discovered by a couple of vampires who were bent upon rifiing the pockets of the dead and wounded and stripping their bodies of such articles of clothing as attracted their greedy eyes. Seeing that he wore pretty fair footwear one of the ghouls said. "Say. Yank, this is a good pair of boots you have on. and we must ha\e them." ' Suiting the action to the word, he at once ]:)roceeded to jerk rather violently at one of the boots regardless of the pain it caused, but before he could accomplish his fell purpose a \olley from a squad of Lhiion men near by caused him to desist and seek safety in flight. A little later in the evening two Englishmen belonging to the Confederate force, passing over the field, discovered the wounded man and taking pity upon him bandaged his hip. cut the 1)Oot from the injured foot .-uid made him as comfortable as tlie circumstances would allow. Sul)sequently a squad of Union men. detailed to bring in the wounded, bore him to a place of safety, after which he was convcved to the hospitable home of a planter living hard by where eveiwthing possible was done to alleviate his suft'eriug. But f(^r the kindiv ministration and the inter- est tnjcen in liini In* the two friendly English men jMr. Dittenhater would not be living today to tell the story of his agony on the liloody Held of conflict. In the planter"? home, which had been converted into a hospital for the treatment of fioth I.'nion and Confederate wounded, many pathetic incidents occurred, but the dull monotony and suffering were occasionally enlivened by things of a more pleasing and agreeable nature. One of the latter was the interest taken in the wounded by a daughter of the household, who not on)v assisted in ministering to the w.'mts of the sufferers, l)ut lnoked after their correspondence, reading letters fnim their friends, writing for those who were unable to hold pens and in many other ways showing herself an angel of mercy in time of need. After remaining one month at the above ])lace, the subject was sent to the convalescent hospital at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, for a short time and was then offered a discharge. Not wishing to leave the army until the war closed, he declined the discharge. acce])ting instead a furlough with the hint that his services would no longer be re(|uired on account of the natiu'e of his wounds. After spending a few weeks at a hotel in Nashville, he came home and never again returned to his command, his physical conclition precluding the possiliility of further service in the held.

During the six years following his discharge Mr. Dittenhafer suffered greatly from his wound and it was fully that length of time before he could get about with any degree of comfort. In 1S65 he went to Fort \\'ayne. Indiana, and engaged in jiainting. devoting especial attention to sign painting and other lines of work which could be done indoors. Subsequently he opened shops at various places in northern Indiana and along the great lakes, developing great skill with the brush and meeting with satisfactory financial returns for his labors. Finally he returned to Canton and established a comfortable business, which he has since conducted, meantime by thrift and good management accumulating a sufficiency of this world's goods to place himself and family in independent circumstances.

In the year 1869 Mr. Dittenhafer was united in marriage with Miss Sadie E. Ortt, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, daughter of George L. and - - - - (Shriever) Ortt, the ceremony being solemnized in the Old Baptist church of Canton. Rev. Mr. Smith officiating. This union has been blessed with two children, Percy S., torn July 18, 1871, married Miss Grace Merose, and is the father of one son, Paul ; Percy Dittenhafer is his father's business partner and is one of the rising young men of Canton. Pearl, the second in order of birth, has been twice married, the first time to George Petersen, by whom she had two children, Mary and Georgie, and after the death of Mr. Petersen she became the wife of August Schopp and at the present time lives in the city of Alliance. Mr. and Mrs. Dittenhafer are popular in the best social circles of Canton, besides having many warm friends among all classes and conditions of the city's popular citizens. Thev li\e in a beautiful and tastefully arranged home on North Walnut street, before which the grand old stars and stripes continually swing to the breeze, attesting the loyalty and love the owner has for the country to which he gave several of the best years of his life and for which he freely sacrificed the strength of a robust manhood. When Mr. Dittenhafer learns of a comrade's death, his flag is placed at half mast as a token of the high esteem in which he holds the brave boys who in time of the government's extremity went forth to do battle that the institutions which the fathers established should not perish from the face of the earth. He is a member of McKinley Post, Grand Army of the Republic, his name appearing at the head of the list of charter members of this organization. He was a life-long friend and great admirer of the late President McKinlev and serve'd with him on the committee appointed in 1896 to receive the Confederate soldiers upon the occasion of their third visit to Canton. It is needless to say in this connection that Mr. Dittenhafer is a supporter of the party that prosecuted to successful issue the late Civil war and which has always stood for the hest interest of American industries and the highest type of American citizenship. While active in his support of Republican principles, he is by no means intolerant in his political views nor has he ever had an)- amliition to stand for office or public distinction of any kind. Religiously he and his good wife are faithful members of the First Baptist church of Canton and as such have lived lives consistent with their professions Mr. Dittenhafer is identified with the Order of United American Mechanics, in which he has been honored with important official stations.

The career of Mr. Dittenhafer has been an acti\e and eventful one and throughout he has ever been true to himself and lived as nearly as possible accorduig to his high ideals of manhood and duty. As a citizen he has been interested in whatever tended to the material, social and moral good of the community and in every relation with his fellow man he has discharged his obligations in that worthy and upright manner bespeaking the Christian gentleman. In the days that tried men's souls he proved on many bloody Ijattle fields the material of which he was made and in the quiet life of the private citizen he has earned the unbounded esteem of the good j^eople among whom he now lives.

ABSALOM KITT. - The original progenitors of the Kitt family in America were three brothers who emigrated hither from Wales in the early part of the se\enteenth century, being young men at the time of their arrival in the new world, where each of them apprenticed himself at a trade. Of these the one to whom our subject traces his direct lineage located in York county, Pennsylvania, where he became an apprentice to a German, whose daughter he subsequentlv married, and from this worthy couple the line is traced directly, through the several generations, to him of whom we write. Jacob Kitt. the grandfather of the subject, was born on a farm in York county, Pennsyh-ania. and there he was reared to years of maturitv. In that county he married and after the l)irth of their first child, George, father of the subject of this review, they emigrated to the wilds of the nev/ state of Ohio, the date of their arrival in Stark county being not definitely established, though it is certain that it was prior to the year 1806. Jacob Kitt took up a tract of one hundred and sixty acres of heavily timbered land in what is now Osnaburg township, this county, the place being now known as the Ake farm. L'pon coming to the state he was accompanied by three other men. and wliile they were looking over the various tracts in the land office in Steubenville. with a view of choosing locations, they noticed that a spring was indicated as exi.sting on the tract mentioned and the same discovery was simultaneously made by a stranger who was aLso seeking a location and who seemed anxious to take a hurried departure. ]\Ir. Kitt and his com- ]ianions anticipated his design, and forthwith set forth on horseback for Osnabiu'g township, and .'UM-ixed a half hour in advance of the stranger, thus securing the claim to the land desired. Many years later Grandfather Kitt went to Indiana and in Huntington county, where he purchased a farm for each of his children who cared to avail himself of the opportunity, and it may be stated that all save tv.'o or three of the thirteen children were thus ]irovided for by their faithful and de\oted father, the others preferring to remain in Ohio. Upon taking possession of his land in Osnaburg township Jacob Kitt's first labor was to erect a primitive log cabin in the midst of the forest, that his wife and son might have suitable shelter, and it is interesting to record that his second child, Polly, was the first white child born in that township. He set himself valiantly to the work of clearing his farm, and as the years passed by the results of his labors were to be seen in the cultivated fields and the various improvements made on the place. In the early "fifties he removed to Huntington county, Indiana, to join his children, and there he passed the remainder of a signally honorable and useful life, attaining the patriarchal age of one hundred and two years and passing away secure in the esteem and veneration of all who knew him. His devoted wife preceded him into eternal rest by many years. Of their thirteen children we enter the following brief record: George was the father of the subject and of him further mention will be made ; Polly, who became the wife of Josejili Doll. died in Osnaburg township, at the age of ninety-two years ; Ann. the widow of Phelix Binckley, resides in Huntington county, Indiana, and is about ninety-three years of age at the time of this writing: Isaac, who married a Mrs. ]\Iyers. of Osnaburg township, died in Huntington county. Indiana ; Sarah died when a young woman ; Jacob died in Indiana ; Rachel ; Barbara became the wife of a Mr. Sprenkel : Peter died in Indiana, leaving a family, and the same facts are true of Jesse, the next son ; Daniel went to the southwest many years ago, and there his death occurred : Eliza married ; and ]\Iatilda is the wife of David Lichtenwalter and resides in Indiana.

George Kitt, the honored father of the subject, was born in York county. Pennsylvania, in the year 1800, and was a child at the time of his parents' removal to Stark county, Ohio, where he was reared to manhood, and he died in Harrison county, this state, in 1833. In Osnaburg township was solemnized his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Kent, a daughter of

Joseph Kent, who was one of the pioneers of Harrison county, where she was born, and her death occurred in Lawrence county in 1891. After the death of her first husband she became the wife of George Graham. George Kitt devoted his entire life to agricultural pursuits, and resided for many years in Osnaburg township, later removing to Sandy township, whence he went to Harrison county, where he died, as has already been noted. He was an industrious, honorable and intelligent man. growing up under the conditions and environments of the pioneer epoch, and he ever held the respect of his fellow men. In politics he was a Jacksonian Democrat, and though not identified with any religious organization had a deep reverence for the true spiritual \-erities and lived in accordance with the golden rule. His' wife was a dex'oted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. They became the parents of fi\e children, namely: Joseph, who is a resident of Texas ; Rachel, who became the wife of Samuel Gilbert, died in Harrison countv. Ohio : Absalom, subject of this sketch, was the next in order of birth : Lucina is the widow of James Low and resides in Kansas ; and Hester is the widow of Solomon Glass and is residing in Cadiz. Harrison county ; her first husband was George Low.

Absalom Kitt. whose name initiates this article, was born on the parental homestead, near Mapleton. Sandy township. Stark countv. on tlie 2d of August. 1827. and he was but six years of age at the time of his father's death. His educational privileges were such as were afiforded in the little log school house of the pioneer days, and he continued his studies during the winter months until he had attained his legal majority, in the meanwhile assisting in the work of the farm. The mother had married George Graham and removed to Tuscarawas county, and there the subject remained with his mother for a time. Later he eame to live with his uncle in Harrison countv and with liis paternal grandfather, in Osnalnirg township. Soon afterward he entered upon an apprenticeship at the tailor's trade, under the direction of Nicholas Bour, of Canton, and he stion became a thoroughly skilled workman in all departments of the business. In 1849 ^^^ Ijegan his independent career in this line of enterprise, in Cadiz, and in 1851 he established himself in business in Canton, as the first regular merchant tailor of the city, which was then but a village. Here he has ever since been engaged in this line of enterprise, and his business grew and for more than thirty years he was the leading tailor of Canton. He has ever maintained the highest reputation as an able business man. reliable and conscientious in all transactions and turning out the best class of work, the prestige of his establishment never having- been permitted to wane with the advancing years, so that he has ever catered successfully to a discriminating patronage. In politics Mr. Kitt is a stanch adherent of the Republican party, and he has at all times maintained a public-spirited attitude, taking a deep interest in all that touches the welfare of his home city. He is one of the honored and prominent members of the First Methodist Episcopal chiurch. with which he has been identified since 1846. and is a deacon in the same, having ever taken an active part in forwarding its spiritual and temporal welfare.

On the 29th of August. 1849, Mr. Kitt was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Jane Blair, who died two months later. Fourteen years afterward, in March. 1863. Air. Kitt was married to her half-sister. Airs. Lydia Patterson, who was born in Canton township. Stark county. Ohio, being the daughter of Rev. E. C. and Susan D. Patterson. Her mother's first husband was Edward Blair. To them were born five children, namely: Howard G., who is in the employ of the wholesale house of Church & Dwight Company, of New York citv. married Miss Harriet Tones: Millard

B., who is a resident of Minneapolis. Minnesota, married Miss Jarda Bergstrum and they have one son, Elias Patterson Kitt. a resident of San h'rancisco, California, who married Miss Geneviave Brown : he is captain of one of the largest Pacific Mail Steamship Company's vessels. Mrs. Kitt died in April. 1890, an<l since then he has run a ladies' tailiirinp- estal)lishment.

HON. ANTHONY HOWELLS is a man of indefatigable energy and fertility of resource, and in many ways has impressed his strong individuality upon the state and won a name second to that of few of her distinguished sons. Like many of the influential factors in our composite nationality he is an American by adoption, having been born and partiallv reared amid the rugged scenery and bracing airs of southern Wales. He first saw the light of day April 6, 1832, in Dowlais, Glamorganshire, and is the son of Howell and Rachael 1 Evans) Howells. both nati\es of Wales, as were the ancestors of their respective families for generations beyond the memory of any of the descendants now living. Of the early history of his family Mr. Howells knows little, save that they were well-to-do agTiculturists. and that for many years the names of both Howells and Evans have been known in Leandebeia. Carmarthshire. South Wales. A short time prior to the birth of the subject his parents moved from tlie latter i)Iace to Dowlais. near which town the father was for some years engaged in mining, and subsequently became superintendent of certain mines in the same locality. He a])pears to have been a man of energy, quick perception and great decisive character, and as superintendent demonstrated unusual capacity in the management of the workmen under his charge and in looking after the interests of his employers.

tion enjoys, were not e\'en open to young Anthony during the formative period of his hfe. To make up for this deficiency, however, his surroundings and the nature of his early employment were jjieculiarly conducive to \agorous physical development and manly growth, which in the long run are of much greater value as adjuncts to success than knowledge obtained from schools or universities. Being endowed with good health and fine bodily powers, our subject was not long in developing an independence of mind and a reliance on self which as the years went by enabled him to grapple with life's most difficult problems with every promise of successful solution. He was not entirely without the means of intellectual discipline during his youth, as he attended for some years such free schools as his native town afiforded and his natm'al aptitude for study led him to endeavor to devour eagerly all books and papers that he could procure. Leaving the free schools at the early age of twelve, he subsequently attended for one year a private school at Leandebeia, his father's old home, after which he began the struggle of life as a coal miner. While thus employed he kept up his study and reading, devoting every leisure moment to his books, the result being a large store of valuable knowledge, remarkable for one of his years. In fact, Mr. Howells has never ceased being a student. From his early youth to the present time he has been a wide but close and critical reader, not only of the world's best literature, but nearly everything within the range of history, science, politics, economy, sociology and kindred subjects, besides keeping himself well informed upon current events, especially those pertaining to state and national legislation.

At the age of fourteen Mr. Howells was obliged to make his own way in the world, and, as already stated, he began the struggle of life as a coal miner. His father following that vocation, he naturally drifted into the same pursuit, and for a period of four years he labored und :r the ground near his home, meantime devising plans whereby he might rise superior to such environment. Realizing that better opportunities for young men of his stamp lay in the new world, he decided to go thither as soon as be could arrange his affairs to that end. By industry and economy he succeeded in earning sutticient money to pay his passage to the United States, and accordingly, in the spring of 1850, he set sail, and in due time reached his destination, proceeding directly from the port at which he landed" to Youngstown, Ohio. There he soon found employment in the mines, engaging first with David Tod, who afterwards became governor of the state, working for him for the greater part of two years.

Mr. Howells continued mining near Youngstown until the spring of 1852, when he went to California, but after one year in that state returned to Ohio and resumed his former occupation in Mahoning county. After working thus until 1855 he concluded no longer to be subordinate, but to engage in undertaking for himself, having in the meantime accumulated sufficient means to enable him to embark in the grocery trade. Purchasing a modest stock of general groceries and provisions, he opened, in the fall of the above year, a store in Youngstown, and soon built up a prosperous business which grew in volume as the years went by. He continued merchandising with encouraging financial results until 1865, when he disposed of his establishment and engaged in coal mining at DuQuoin, Illinois. After spending one year there he sold his interest in the mines, and. returninp' to Youngstown. again engaged in the mercantile pursuits to which he devoted his attention until April, 1869, when he sold out and permanently retired from that line of business. In the latter part of the same year he was offered an interest in two coal mines in the Massillon district, together with the management of the same, wliich offer he accepted.

A little later Mr. Howells added the ro"i industry to his mining business, but that enterprise proved disastrous, by reason of the pariic of 1873. durmg which so many failures occurred and so many fortunes were swept away. Notwithstanding this reverse, he continued working the mines and developing the rich mineral territory, until, in the course of a few 3fears, he was recognized as one of the largest and most successful coal operators in this part of the state. His career since beginning operations in the Massillon district has been a series of successes seldom equalled, and today, as president and general manager of the large corporation known as the Howells Coal Company, he undoubtedly stands at the head of the industry in Ohio. To supply the immense and constantly increasing demand for th^ output of the mines owned and operated by this corporation r-. :,uires the labor of about six hundred workmen, all of whom, together with the clerical force and others connected with the enterprise, are under the immediate supervision of the general manager, whose knowledge of the business and familiarity with every detail of mining enables him to obtain the largest possible results.

Mr. Howells is not only a practical and experienced miner, but has made a scientific study of the coal industry in all its learnings, so that he is now recognized as a high authority on o'crything relating thereto. His valuable practical knowledge has been utilized by many operatoi and his name is perhaps as widely and favorabh' known as that of any other man in tlii United States similarly engaged.

Aside from his extensive private interests, Mr. Howells has long been a power in local and state politics. He is a Democrat, not more in the partisan .sense than in the higher and broader view of democracy wiiicli embodies faith in man's capacity -for^self-govem7 ment and which always stands for the iarge.^t personal liberty as conditioned with the law, and he is recognized as a leader in shaping government, municipal, state and national, and he lias sought always from the most patriotic motives the enactment of laws which tend to advance the general welfare. In 1866 he received the nomination for treasurer of Mahoning county, but the Republican party having an overwhelming majority, he failed of election, though running far ahead of any other candidate on his ticket. Two years later he made the race for state senator in the ninth dis^ trict, composed of the counties of Mahoning and Trumbull, one of the strongest Republican dis "icts in the state, but the opposition was too f(Tinidable to be overcome. In 1875 ^^'^ name was presented to the state convention as a candidate for state treasurer, but he failed by a few votes of receiving the nomination. Subsequently, in 1877. he was nominated by a large majority of the delegates and at the ensuing election and led every candidate on the Democratic state ticket with the single exception of R. M. Bishop, the gubernatorial nominee. He was triumphantly elected, and, as custodian of the state public funds, discharged his duties with sound business methods and straight-forwardness of purpose that he has always displayed in conducting his private enterprises. His official record was above the breath of susi)icion, and at the expiration of his term, he retired with the confidence and good will of the people irrespective of party. He was re-nominated, but, with the rest of the candidates of his party, sustained defeat in the great Republican landslide of 1879. In recognition of eminent party services. Mr. Howells, in 1886, was rppointed postmaster of

. Massillon, but the pressing claims of his business affairs were so great that he could hardly, give the office the attention it should receive, consequentlv he resigned the )osition two years both parties. In 1888, the same year in which he gave up the postmastership, he was chosen presidential elector by the Democratic state convention, but the Republican national ticket being victorious that year, his defeat was a matter of course.

At the Democratic convention held at Carroliton, September, 1889, to select a candidate to represent the district composed of Stark and Carroll counties in the state senate, Mr. Howells was nominated by acclamation, and in the following November he defeated his opponent by an overwhelming vote, although the district had long been Republican. In January, 1890, w-hen the senate convened, although confined to his home by illness, Mr. Ho wells was placed on several of the most important committees, his reputation as an able and thoroughly reliable business man being well known to most of the members of the body. He was made chairman of the committee on benevolent institutions, mines and mining, public expenditures, besides being honored with a place on the finance committee. He was at his best in the committee room, where his straightforwardness, business methods, good sense and sound judgment were especially valuable: he also took an active part in the deliberations in the chamber, participating in the general discussions and proving one of the strong leaders of his party on the floor. In September, 1891, he was re-nominated by acclamation, but at the ensuing election fortune went against him, although h? carried his own county, the opposition being in the ascendancy in the other part of the district, and he suffered defeat with the rest of the Democratic nominees of that year, but accepted his retirement as legislator with becoming grace, bowing with easy submission to the will of the majority.

Mr. Howells has always been held in the highest personal esteem by the people of Mas- Dillon, and upon divers occasions he has been honored by them with important trusts. He served two terms as president of the Ohio Institute of Mining Engineers, his last term expiring in 1893, and was the first president of the Massillon Board of Trade, serving as such for two years, resigning at the expiration of his second term. In 1893 he was appointed by President Cleveland United States consul to Cardiff, Wales, in which post he represented the government for four years, devoting his attention closely to the business in hand and winning the confidence and warm personal regard of the people of that city. In 1901 he was nominated for lieutenant-governor and made a brilliant canvass and gallant fight, but knew from the beginning that there was little or no hope of election, Ohio being strongly and reliably Republican. Notwithstanding his activity as a politician and the duties of the various positions of honor and trust to which he has at different times been called, Mr. Howells has never lost sight of his large and far-reaching private business, nor permitted any of his interests to suffer. He is first of all a business man, and entered politics only from a sense of duty, believing that every citizen with the interest of the country at heart should be in the best sense of the term a politician. He has never been an office seeker and the various nominations with which iie has been honored and the positions he has held were accepted at a decided sacrifice and with no desire whatever for public distinction.

Mr. Howells has been influential in promoting the material prosperity of Massillon by aiding liberally all comrhendable enterprises calculated to advance the citj^'s business, industrial and public growth. He is a rnan of broad and liberal ideas, belieies in progress, and is willing to make sacrifices and lose sight of self, in his desire to serve his fellow men and thus insure a better social condition and a higher order of citizenship.,

Fellows order in 1887, and one year later became a Knight of Pythias. He also is a member of the Welsh Irorites lodge at Youngstown, and deeply interested in the object which the organization is designed to accomplish. Mr. Howells was married, in 1854, to ]\Iiss Elizabeth James, who has borne him three sons and one daughter, namely : IMelvina, married J. C. Albright, of JMassillon; William E., now in California; Byron and Edwin S.

PHILIP SONNHALTER. - Like many of the most enterprising and progressive men of the great American republic, Mr. Sonnhalter is of foreign birth. He was born near the city of Sarbrucken, Prussia, on the 8th day of January, 1848, the son of John Sonnhalter, whose ancestors have lived in (iermany from a very remote period in the history of that country. The njaiden name of the subject's motlier was Catherine Luzemburger. She was also a native of the Fatherland, as were her antecedents for generations beyond the memory of any of her kindred now living. John Sonnhalter learned the stone mason's trade with his father and became a successful contractor for various kuids of stone work, following the business in Germany until 1855. Li the spring of that year he brought his family to the L'nited States and settled near x^kron, Ohio, where he followed agriculture the remainder of his life, dving about 1862. John and Catherine Sonnhalter were the parents of five children : John, accidentally killed while operating the Pigeon Run mine near .Massillon, of which he was superintendent ; Mrs. Catherine Burgess, of Summit county, this state : Mrs. Mary Brandt, who lives in Brookfield; Philip, the subject of this review, and George, a member of the Seventy-sixth Ohio Infantry in the late Rebellion, who served until the close of the war and subsequently departed this life in the town

The childhood and youth of Philip Sonnhalter were spent in the neighborhood of his birth place and he attended the public schools until 1855, when he bade adieu to the fatherland and came to the United States. Mr. Sonnhalter made the voyage to this countrj- in the sailing vessel "St. John," which left the port of Hanover and was thirty-three days on the ocean., He accompanied his parents to Summit county, Ohio, and during the ensuing four years assisted his father in running the farm, meantime of winter seasons attending the district schools in which he soon mastered the English language and in addition thereto made substantial progress in the usual branches of study. Leaving home in 1859. he went to Brookfield, Stark county, where he engaged as a coal miner and as such worked until 18G1, when he laid aside the pick and shovel and took up arms to aid in suppressing the great Rebellion, which at that time threatened to disrupt the American union, enlisting September 23d of that year in Company H, Thirty-seventh Ohio Infantry, under Captain Charles Messner and Colonel Edward Siber. this being the third German regiment raised in Ohio.

Mr. Sonnhalter was mustered into the ser- \ice at Cleveland, Novemlx^r 23, 1861. and immediately thereafter accompanied his command to the front, where he was not long in meeting the enemy in battle. He assisted in driving the rebel general Floyd from the Kanawha valley and then went into winter quarters at Clifton, where the regiment drilled, performed guard duty and took part in some skirmishes. It was later assigned to the Second Brigade, Second Division. Fifteenth Corp>. Army of the Tennessee, and took part in the following engagements : Princeton, Wyoming Court House. Fayetteville. Cotton Hill, siege of Vicksburg. Jackson, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Dallas.

Mr. And Mrs. Philip Sonnhalter

Kencsaw Alountain, siege of Atlanta, Jonesboro, Ezra Church, the march to the sea, siege of Savannali, campaign of the Carolinas, including the battles of Cheraw and Bentonville. The_v participated in the grand review at Washington, May 24, 1865, and later did military duty in Kentuck}' and Arkansas. Mr. Sonnhalter was promoted corporal December 11, 1 86 1, for meritorious service. For two weeks after the final battle of \"icksburg he was confined to the hospital because of sickness, rejoining his command at Bridgeport, Alabama, He received an honorable discharge at East Point. Alabama, after which he returned to Ohio, where he resumed the peaceful pursuits of civil life, coming to Massillon. For a period of one year after leaving the army he was employed by the Rhodes Coal Company, of Cleveland, and at the expiration of that time engaged .in mining upon his own responsiliility, leasing two mines near Clinton, Summit county. He operated these with fair success during the four years following, when he disposed of his interests in the county of Summit and in 1870 came to Massillon, where for a period of one year he served as superintendent of the Crawford Coal Mines. Resigning his position with that company, he became superintendent of the Rhodes mines and after continuing in that capacity for three years organized, in 1874, an independent company, which he managed during parts of that and the year following. Selling out his interests in this concern, Mr. Sonnhalter, in 1880, organized the Massillon Coal Company, of which he became manager and treasurer. While this mining property was being developed he organized the Massillon Central Coal Company, of which he was chosen president. In due time this company became one of the largest and most successful enterprises of the kind in eastern Ohio and much of its prosperity was. due to the straightforward business council and safe management of Mr. Sonnhalter, who devoted all of his energy and splendid business abilities to its interests. In June, 1901, the Central Coal Company was sold to the Haines syndicate, under which management it is now being operated. In October, 1901, the subject purchased the Ripple and Goetz farms, of fifty and fifteen acres respectively, on both of which have been discovered large deposits of the valuable glass sand rock known as the "Pink Ornamental Rock," used extensively in the manufacture of glass, also various kinds of fine building stone in comparitavely inexhaustible quantities. Mr. Sonnhalter has already opened large quarries and supplies different contractors with the best of building stone and has erected a large plant for the production of this and used in the manufacture of bottles, window glass and various other articles. At the present time his sons, Philip J., Adam F. and Earnest H., are associated with him in business under the firm name of The Sonnhalter Sand & Stone Company, the works of which are situated just within the corporate limits of Massillon on the west on the farm he purchased, as mentioned above.

Mr. Sonnhalter was married in the city of Massillon, November 15, 1864, to Miss Mary E. Eberly, a native of Alsace, who came with her parents to Stark county, Ohio, when about four years of age. This union has been blessed with seven children, namely : Mrs. Mary Heiman, of Brookfield: Cecelia, a teacher in the public schools of Stark county; Anna, at home; Philip J., educated in St. Vincent's College, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and now associated with his father in business ; Adam F., also a member of the Sonnhalter Sand & Stone Company ; Gertrude, still under the parental roof, and Ernest, who, with his brothers, is interested in the father's present business enterprises.

enterprising spirit no difficulties can discourage and whose judgment in matters of business is seldom or never at fault. , By a strict observance of the ethics of business life, in all of his dealings, he has reaped large financial gains, the world havnig used him kindly in the matter of material wealth. Aside from the capital invested in his business and personal property at his command, his real estate in Massillon represents nearly one hundred thousand dollars, all of which has been earned by his own industry. Politically he is a Democrat, though not from desire for public distinction or official gain. In religion he is a zealous Catholic, and ever since coming to Massillon he has been identified with St. Joseph's church of this city, being at this time a member of the building committee of the same. The only fraternal organization to which he belongs is Hart Post No. 134, Grand Army of the Reptiblic, in the sessions of which he is not only an interested spectator but an active participant. He has served his township as trustee, sewer commissioner and as a member of the board of hospital directors.

In this connection is is fitting to refer briefly to Mr. Sonnhalter's sons, who are associated with him in business and upon whose shoulders the weight and responsibilities of his various enterprises are destined ere long to rest. Philip J., the eldest of these, has already demonstrated unusual abilities for one of his years and he promises at no distant day to bear an important part in the industrial affairs of Massillon. Much of the more active business of the company with which he is connected has fallen to him and thus far his steady, straightforward course has fully met the high expectations of his parents and many friends. He was married, in 1894, to Miss Minnie Schively, daughter of John and Catherine Schively. of Canton and Pittsburg, respectively, and is the father of one child, a son by the name of J. Donald. Philip J. Sonnhalter began life for himself as a railroader when twentyone years old, first as a fireman, in which capacity he served three and one half years and during the two and a half years following he ran a freight engine on the Cleveland, Lorain & Wheeling line. Later he took charge of a passenger engine and in that responsible position continued until sevenng his connection with the road and becoming associated in business with his father. He is now secretary and treasurer of the Sonnhalter Stone & Sand Company, his father being president.

Adam Sonnhalter, superintendent of the Sonnhalter quarries, is also one of the rising young business men of Massillon and has already shown abilities as a manager such as few possess. Shrewd and farseeing, he has been entrusted with one of the most important departments of the company and the able and satisfactory manner with which he has attended to his duties abundantly demonstrates his ability to manage worthily large interests. In the year 1900 he was united in marriage with Miss Clementine Hammer, daughter of John and Mary Hammer, of Stark county, the union resulting in the birth of a daughter, Helen.

Ernest Sonnhalter, the youngest of the brothers, has charge of the engineering department of the quarries. Like the two already referred to, he subordinates every other consideration to his business afTairs and his success thus far is proof that no important interest will ever suffer in his hands. He has a clear practical mind, good judgment and his other qualities of head and heart are in keeping with the high order of these attributes. He is a fine specimen of young American manhood and that he will succeed and add luster to the family name and reputation in the future is a matter of easy phophecy to all who are cognizant of the excellent mental and moral fiber of his make-up.

SIMON JOHNSON was born in Washington township. Stark county; Ohio, on the I2th of December, 1825, being a son of Simon and Keziah (White) Johnson, of whose nine children live are Uving at the present time, namely : Eliza, who has never married and who maintains her home in Marshall county, Iowa, being eighty-three years of age at the time of this writing; White, who resides in Holt, Nebraska, and is eighty-one years old ; Simon, Jr., who is the subject of this sketch; Rebecca, who is the widow of Oliver Logan, resides with her sister Eliza; and Mary K. is the wife of Josiah Hartzell, of Canton. The original ancestor in America was the great-grandfather of the subject. He was a native of England, where he was reared and educated and -when he emigrated to the United States prior to the war of the Revolution, settling in Washington county, Pennsylvania, where he reared his children. His son Caleb, grandfather of the subject, was there appointed justice of the peace by Jolin Quincy Adams, and he remained incumbent of this ofhce for fifty-four consecutive years, while he was very intiuential in public affairs in that section of the old Keystone state, where he gave his attention to agricultural pursuits, accumulating a tine property. He died at the age of eighty-five years, honored by all who knew him. In politics he was a stanch advocate of the principles of the Whig party. He had four sons and three daughters, namely : Ellis, Simon, Caleb, Jr., Job, Rebecca, Emily and Susan. Rebecca died unmarried, and her two sisters married and settled in Washington county, Pennsylvania, while the four sons all came to Stark county, Ohio. Ellis Johnson came to this county in 1822 and located on a tract of land which had been entered from the government by either himself or his father, and on a portion of this farm he later laid out the village of Mount Union, passing the remainder of his life here and being known as an upright man and influential citizen. He was a prominent temperance advocate in the early days and frequently delivered public lectures in behalf of the cause which lay so close to his heart. In 1824 Simon Johnson, Sr., father of the subject, also came to this county and he settled a mile south and one-half mile east of the little village of Mount Union, having acquired three quarter-sections of wild and heavily timbered land prior to his removal to the county. He built his primitive log cabin and established his home in the forest wilds, and as the years passed by he succeeded in re-claiming and developing his land, becoming the owner of one of the valuable farms of Washington township. In 1862 he retired from the farm and took up his residence in Alliance, where he died about 1865, at the age of seventy-nine years. The Fairmount Children's Home is located on a portion of the land which he originally owned. He was a Whig in his political proclivities, but never sought the honors or emoluments of public office. He early became a member of the Christian, or Disciples, church, with which he continued to be actively identified until his death, his wife likewise being a devoted member of the same. The third of the brothers to come to Stark county was Caleb, who removed to Washington township from Pennsylvania some few years after the father of the subject had come thither. Caleb located on a quarter section of land one-half mile east of Mount Union, the track having been entered by his father. After remaining here a few years he returned to his old home in Pennsylvania, where he cared for his venerable father during the latter's declining years, while after an interval of about a decade he again came to Stark count)% where he passed the residue of his life, having been a Whig in politics but not prominent in public affairs in any way. Job Johnson, who was a prominent and influential member of the bar of Washington county, Pennsylvania, was the last of the four brothers to come to Stark countv. the exact date of his arrival here being not ascertainable. He located in the vicinity of Alount Union, having secured from his father one hundred and sixty acres of land in Lexington township, where Mount Union College is now located. He was not only actively engaged in the practice of his profession but also conducted a mercantile business in Washington county, Pennsylvania, whither he returned after a few years' residence in Stark county. While a resident of Stark county, he built the first house in Mount Union, in which he conducted a dry goods store. He founded the town of California, in Washington county, that state, and was a leading member of the Pennsylvania bar, being a man of forceful individuality and gaining a high reputation as a public speaker, lx)th in the field of politics and that of temperance.

Keziah (White) Johnson, the mother of the subject, was born in Washington count}', Pennsylvania, being one of the two children of Benjamin and Keziah White, the former of whom was a prominent clergyman of the old "hard-shell" Baptist church. He was twice elected to congress from his district, prior to the removal of the capitol to Washington, and was a man of fine ability and noble character. After the death of his wife he came to Stark county, and the closing years of his life were passed in the home of his daughter, ]Mrs. Johnson.

Simon Johnson, whose name initiates this ai'ticle was reared on the old homestead farm and secured his early educational training in the pioneer schools, later supplementing this by attending the ]\Ioimt Union select school for one term, under Professor O. N. Hartshorn, the founder of Mount Union College. He thereafter taught school for one term, after which he continued to be identified with agricultural pursuits in his native township until his marriage, in 1851, in the autumn of which year he purchased what was known as the Simon Peiiple farm, in Knox township.

Columbiana county, where he continued to reside about eight yeai's. In 1859 he rented his farm and returned to Stark count}-, \\here he took up his residence in the city of Alliance, which was then but a village. Here he devoted his attention for the ensuing three years to buying horses for the cavalry of the Union armies. In the meanwhile he had accumulated property in Alliance, and in 1S62 he exchanged these real-estate holdings for the old homestead farm, to which he removed. Three years later, ho\\ever, he returned to Alliance, where he purchased his present spacious and attractive residence, on Union avenue, and this has been his home consecutively from that time. In 1866 Mr. Johnson established himself in the insurance business in Allinace, and later his son Howard was admitted to partnership. They held the agency for the Royal and the Liverpool fire insurance companies and for the Traveler's Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Connecticut, and the firm became one of the leading ones of the sort in the county, continuing operations for the long period of thirty-one years and doing a large and important underwriting btisiness. In 1887 Mr. Johnson was elected legal ad\-isor of the Alliance Water Works Company, and a1x)ut fi\e years later he was made superintendent of the works, remaining in teinire of this position uiuil 1890, when the plant was sold to the city. While residing in Kno.x township, Columbiana county, ^Ir. Jolmson was elected justice of the peace and served three years. In i860 he was elected mayor of Alliance, and later he was four times again chosen to this chief executive office, his entire term of service covering a period of more than ten years, while his being repeatedly called to the mayoralty indicates how strong has ever Ijeen his hold on the confidence and esteem of the community. His policy was ever a progressive one and yet he ever aimed to conserve true economy in the administration of the municipal government in all its departments.

The water works were installed within his regime, while many other public improvements were also made. He administered the affairs of the office with mature judgment and with rigid grasp of details, and his record as mayor is one which will ever merit a place of honor on the pages of the city's history. Since coming to Alliance Mr. Johnson has been three times elected to the office of justice of the peace, and his third term will expire in December, 1906. He is essentially and insistently publicspirited and takes a lively interest in all that makes for the progress and material prosperity of his home city and county. In politics he has ever given an unequivocal allegiance to the Republican party, and while he was serving as mayor of Alliance the late lamented President McKinley was prosecuting attorney of the county, and thus they had many business affairs in common, cementing a personal friendship which remained inviolate until the distinguished President met his martyrdom. In 1 86 1 Air. Johnson became a member of the Chri.stian church, and he has been a zealous and consistent worker in the same, having held the various official positions in the church, of which his wife likewise is an active member. Fraternally he is identified with Conrad Lodge No. 271. Free and Accepted Masons.

On the 3d of April, 1861, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Johnson to Miss Jane Teeters, who was born in Alliance, being a daughter of John and Mary (Cook) Teeters, who were honored pioneers of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson became the parents of five children, two of whom are deceased : Lodge M.. who died at the age of twenty-five years, and Rosetta, w-ho passed away at the age of seven. The three li\ing children are as follows : J. Howard, who is a prominent insurance agent in the city of Cleveland; Mary K., who was for eight years superintendent of the Bell telephone exchange in .\lliance, being the only \\oman ever incumbent of such position in the state, and she is now the wife of Jesse Grimes, of Alliance; and William, who is superintendent of the Bell Telephone Company's interests in Alabama and Florida, maintaiiiing his headquarters in JNIontgomery, Alabama.

MARK HAMBLETON is a native of the Buckeye state, havnig been born in Letart Falls, Meigs county, Ohio, on the 24th of May, 1879. There he received his early educational training, and in 1889, when he was ten years of age, his parents removed to the city of Columbus, Ohio, where he continued to attend the public schools until he had attained the age of sixteen years, after which he completed a course of study in Lixingston's Business College, in that city. He then initiated his business career by entering the employ of a memorial supply house in the capacity of traveling representative, the headquarters of the establishment being in the city of Muncie, Indiana. He remained with this concern for one year and then became a collector for the installment house of C. R. Parish & Company, of Columbus, Ohio, being identified with this concern until coming to Canton, in 1899. At the time of leaving the employ of the firm of C. R. Parish & Company, -Mr. Hambleton was incumbent of the responsible position of state auditor of the same, having familiarized himself with the various departments and details of the business and having gained the confidence and esteem of his employers through his efficient and discriminating service. In June, 1899, in Canton, Mr. Hambleton brought about the organization of the Alark Hambleton Company, for the purpose of handling furniture on the installment plan, and in November of the following year other persons became interested in the concern, and an extensive business has been built up throughout this part of the state, the thorough business ability and pro- gressive meiliods of tiie subject of this sketch, as combined witli liis intimate knowledge of the details of enterprises thus conducted, having been the potent factors in insuring so gratifying success, in ^larch, 1902, Mr. Hambleton purchased an interest in the business of the Southern Gum Company, manufacturers of the well known and popular brand of chewing gum known as "Try Me." Of this company he was made secretary and treasurer, as is he also of the company first mentioned, and he has gained an enviable reputation as a straightforward and enterprising yonng business man of marked executive and administrative ability. In politics he gives his allegiance to the Republican party, and his religious views are in harmony with the faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he was reared.

In the city of Canton, on the nth of November, 1 90 1. Mr. Hambleton was united in marriage to !Miss Delia Steinbaugh, daughter of George Steinbaugh, of this city, and of this union has been born one child, Nellie Doris.

The first representative of the Hambleton family in America was the great-grandfather of the subject, who immigrated hither from England, taking up his residence in Pennsylvania in an early day. From that state Wyley Hambleton, grandfather of the subject, came to Ohio with his family soon after the establishment of the old fort at Marietta, remaining at that place a short interval and then taking up his abode in the wilderness of what is now Morgan county, becoming one of the earliest settlers in that section of the state. The maiden name of his wife was Wood, she being- a representative of an old and honored Quaker family residing in the vicinity of the city of Philadelphia. Wyley Hambleton became a typical pioneer of the sterling sort, having been a great hunter and Indian fighter.

occupation, and he now resides in Canton. At the time of the Ci\'il war he tendered his services in defense of the Union, enlisting as a member of the Third West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, with which he served three years, having been aide-de-camp on the stafif of General Sheridan during the memorable Shenandoah campaign, and having- an intimate knowledge of the conditions existing at the time of that general's famous ride from a distance "forty miles away." In Meigs county, Ohio, he married Miss Lavina Sayer, and they became the parents of six children, of whom the subject was the fifth in order of birth.