Canton Township (part 44 of 62)

Severnig his connection with Mercy hospital, the Doctor entered upon the practice of his profesion in Pittsburg and Fort Wayne, and remained there until taking a post-graduate course in New York, in 1898-99, after which he chose as a field of labor the city of Canton, Ohio, locating here in April of the latter year. Although of comparatively brief duration, Dr Gavin's professional career has been singularly successful, the reputation being awarded him as one of the most skillful and thorough practitioners in a city where a high standard of m.edical talent has long obtained. He has built up a large and lucrative practice in the city and adjacent country and among his professional brethren is held in high esteem, as he is by those who rely upon his services in time of suffering. In the various medical organizations to which he belongs he comes in contact with the leading physicians and surgeons of eastern Ohio and other parts of the counti'v, participating witli them in the deliberations and discussions whereby the profession is gradually being elevated to a higher plane and the un\vorthy weeded from the ranks. At this time he holds membership with the Stark County Medical Society, being secretary, the Medical Society of Canton, the Ohio State Medical Society, the State Medical Society of Indiana, Union Medical Society, the Medical Society of Allen county, Indiana, Northeastern Ohio Medical Society, the Mississippi Valley

Medical Society, the Maumee Valley Medical Society and the American Medical Association, besides being a member of the medical board of the Aultman Hospital at Canton.

As a citizen the Doctor is deeply interested in whate\er concerns the general welfare of his adopted county and city, and as a man his friendship is warm and his loyalty to those worthy of his confidence and respect true and unfaltering. Politically he is an ardent Republican and takes an active interest in the success of his party in local, state and national affairs. Dr. Gavin's professional success is mutually shared with a companion and helpmeet, to whom he was united in marriage at Massillon, Ohio, on the 24th of May, 1899. Mrs. Gavin was formerly Miss Ella M. Smith, daughter of James Benton Smith, of the above city. They reside at 425 South Cleveland avenue, the former rectory of the Episcopal church.

JOHN THEOBALD WEYBRECHT was born in the little village of Anspach la Haut, department du Haut Rhine, Alsace, France, now a portion of Germany, the date of his nativity having Ijeen Januaiy 2^, 1829, being the eldest son of a family of three sons and five daughters. His parents. Theobald and Anna M. (Prickard) Weybrecht, were likewise natives of the province of Alsace, where they passed their entire lives, the father having l:>een a contractor and builder by vocation, while he was a representative of one of the old and honored families of that section. John T. was reared in his native place, where he received good educational advantages in his youth, receiving instruction in Isoth the French and German languages, and thereafter learning the trade of carpenter under the direction of his father and becoming a skilled workman. In 1853, as a young man of about twenty-five years, he severed the home ties and valiantlv set forth to seek his fortunes in the United States, believing that here were to be found superior opportunities for one dependent upon his own resources for the attaining of a position of independence. He was animated by that self-reliance and self-respect which were his dominating characteristics through life, and by a courage and determination which augured well for his success in his new field of endeavor. He landed in the city of New York on the loth of December of the year mentioned, and thence proceeded to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, where he worked at his trade atout four months, at the expiration of which, in April, 1864, he again started westward, having in mind the city of Chicago as his destination. The Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad, now known as the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago Railroad, had then been in operation but a short time, and the train service was as yet somewhat irregular and uncertain. It thus chanced that the train on which he was traveling was detained for a number of hours in Alliance, and this incident caused a diametrical change in his plans, and no doubt in his entire career. He here met some of his countrymen and through them ascertained that conditions for obtaining employment at his trade here were very favorable, and he accordingly decided to locate in Alliance. For three months he was employed at his trade as a journeyman, and at the e.xpiration of this interval he began operations on his own responsibility, as a contractor and builder, while for a time he also worked as foreman of a corps of carpenters employed in connection with the construction of the Fort Wayne Railroad. From the initiation of his independent career as a contractor his success was noteworthy, fon he proved his ability and his inflexible honesty and fidelity, and thus secured many desirable contracts, eventually having to do with the erection of many of the most important public, business and private buildings in this section of the countv. In fact it mav be said that during the years that he was actively engaged in contracting fuHy three-fourths of the dwelhngs in Alhance and practically all the public buildings erected in the city of Alliance within that period, including the school buildings, the Alliance College buildings, churches, etc., were built by him, and he was ever found true to the every detail and specification of every contract into which he entered, the natural sequence being that he gained the unqualified confidence and esteem of the people of Alliance and vicinity. In 1865, in conjunction with his contracting business, Mr. Weybrecht erected a small planing mill and also began dealing in lumber, his original plant being located on Columbia street, near Linden avenue. With the rapid growth of the city it was not long ere the plant was found to be in the very heart of the city, while the business handled had kept pace with the development of the town, so that it became expedient for him to enlarge his facilities and to seek a location more eligible for such an industry, and accordingly, in 1878, he removed to the location of the present plant, on Broadway, where he erected extensive planing mills, which have been kept up to the highest standard to the present time, all kinds of lumber and mill work for builders" use being turned out. while the establishment is the uKJSt extensive of the sort in eastern Ohio, controlling a business of wide scope and importance. With great sagacity and energy Mr. Weybrecht gave his attention to tiie upbuilding of his business, l^ecoming one of the successful and representative business men of the city, while he manifests at all times the deepest interest in the welfare of Alliance, his public spirit being such that he was always found in the forefront in the promotions of projects and enterprises for the upbuilding and progress of the city. Of this honored citizen a previous publication has given the following appreciative estimate: "Perhaps no man did more for the early growth of Alliance than did the late John T. Weybrecht ; certainly no man better demonstrated by his daily conduct what thrift, good habits and business integrity will accomplish for the young man. He came to Alliance from Alsace about half a century ago, poor in purse but rich in practical knowledge and honest endeavor. He soon became the leading contractor in the town, and he lived to establish one of the finest planing-mill plants in the state, to which his sons have succeeded. He left his family large property interests and also that heritage which is greatest of all, a good name."

Mr. Weybrecht was a stanch Democrat in his political proclivities, and was a past grand of Alliance Lodge No. 266, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mr. Weybrecht was summoned into eternal rest on the 31st of January, 1895, and his death was deeply mourned by all classes in .Vlliance, while the business community realized the loss of one of its most valuable and honored members. In 1892 Mr. Weybrecht admitted to partnership his two elder sons, Benjamin F. and Charles C, and thereafter the business was conducted under the firm name of J. T. Weybrecht & Sons until his death, shortly after which the present title was adopted. J. T. A\'eybrecht"s Sons.

On the nth of January, 1855, Mr. Weybrecht was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Honacker, who was bom near Alliance, on the 27th of June, 1833. and who survives him, residing in the beautiful family home in Alliance and holding the aiifectionate regard of all who know her. She is a daughter of Christopher and Maria (Wolf) Honacker, who were natives of Wurtemburg, Germany, whence they emigrated to America in 1832,- becoming pioneers of Stark county, where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Weybrecht became the parents of eight children, of whom two, Antoinette and Lu- cinda, died in infancy. Mary is the wife of Leroy I^amborn, of Alliance; Annie is the wife of Fremont P. Livingstone, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Jennie is the wife of John M. Vitzthiim, of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Benjamin 1'". and Charles C, who succeeded their father in business, are individually mentioned in appending paragraphs ; and Andrew T. is in Alliance, Ohio.

Hon. Benjamin F. Weybrecht was born in yVlliance, on the 17th of March, 1861, and his educational discipline in his youth was received in the public schools of his native city, in which he completed a course in the high school. He completed his studies in 1878 and forthwith became actively identified with his father's business, becoming familiar with all details and soon gaining prestige as an able and discriminating young business man. He is now senior member of the firm of J. T. Weybrecht's Sons, and is numbered among the progressive and influential business men of his home city. He is a stanch adherent of the Democratic party and has been an active and efficient worker in its cause, while he served one term in the state legislature, having been elected in 1888. At this point we quote briefly from an article which appeared in a recent publication of local order : "Hon. B. F. Weybrecht grew up with the town and his fellow citizens are proud of his achievements and also of his marked ability. Since serving the people as a member of the legislature, he has firmly declined to become a candidate for public office. He is rarely gifted as a platform orator, richly endowed in natural ability and intellectual capacity, and would grace any office within the gift of the people. He takes an active interest in the growth, prosperity and general attractiveness of his home city and occupies a warm place in the hearts of its citizens." He is now senior member of the firm of J. T. Weybrecht's Sons, and the continuous expansion of the enterprise has been due in large measure to his administrative ability and progressive methods. On the 25th of December, 1884, Mr. Weybrecht was united in marriage to Miss Lizzie Peterson, of Alliance, and they are the parents of four children, John W., Edgard Charles, Millicent M. and Mary K.

Col. Charles C. Weybrecht, junior member of the firm of J. T. Weybrecht's Sons, was born in Alliance, on the 6th of December, 1868, and he attended the city schools until 1885, when he was matriculated in the Ohio State University, at Columbus, where he remained three years. Thereafter/ he was in the railway mail service until 1892, when he became associated with his father and brother in the business described in the foregoing paragraphs, and! to the promotion of its interests he has since given his attention. Li 1892 he organized Company K, Eighth Infantry, Ohio National Guard, in Alliance, and he served as captainof the same until 1897, when he was elected to the ofTfice of major in the same regiment, in which capacity he served, in the Eighth Ohio- Volunteer Infantry, during the Spanish-American war, including participation in the Santiago campaign. His command, thq Third Battalion of the Eighth Ohio, was detailed as headquarters guard to Major General Shaffer, and was present at the formal surrender of General Toral to General Shafter. In November, 1899, Major Weybrecht was elected lieutenant colonel of the Eighth Ohio National Guard, of which position he has since continued incumbent. He was one of the most popular officers in the army at Santiago, and his men were knowTi as "Weybrecht's Bulldogs." He is vice-president of the Industrial Building and Loan Association of this city. In the 7th of May, 1894, Colonel Weybrecht was united in marriage to Miss Emilie Brosius, daughter of Enos H. Brosius, of Alliance. He is a Democrat in politics, and is ever loyal to his native city, being one of the popular young business men of the place.

CHRISTIAN E. GRABER, one of the most respected farmers of Stark county, Ohio, was born in Tuscarawas county, Ohio, March 25, 1846, and is the son of Uh-ich and Magdahne (Camp) Graber, who came from Switzerland when young and were married in Tuscarawas county, where the father, who was a fanner by calhng, died in 1849, li'^ widow survii'ing until Augtist, 1900. To Ulrich and Magdaline Graber were born three children, two of whom still survive. After the death of Ulrich Graber, Mrs. Graber was married to Michael F. Lillich, also of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, but a native of Germany. Christian E. Graber was educated in the district schools of Tuscarawas county and was thoroughly trained to farming. He owns one hundred and four acres, and is, as was his father, a Democrat in politics. He purchased his present farm in 1873 and settled on it in 1874, and was the land appraiser of the township in 1900.

Mr. Graber married, in 1874, Miss Helen L. Hoerger, who was born in Holmes county, Ohio, and is a daughter of Godfrey and Helen T. Hoerger, who now occupy the old Graber homestead in Tuscarawas county. To Mr. and Mrs. Christian E. Graber have been born three children, namely: Harry A., July 14, 1875, now a farmer; Charles G.. who was born April 30, 1877, and Alice \".. who was born April 3, 1879. and is now the wife of Cyrus Stansburger, a farmer, and has one child.

The paternal grandfather of Christian E. Graber was also named Ulrich Graber, and his wife bore the maiden name of Mary Jontz, and both came from Switzerland in an early day and established their home in Tuscarawas county, where the grandfather rose to prominence as an agriculturist and as a citizen, and in that county he and his wife passed the remainder of their days, respected by all who knew them. Ulrich Graber. father of Christian E., was reared in Tuscarawas county and during his short life was very successful as a farmer, but death, which "loves a shining mark," called him away all too soon, but his widow was very fortunate in her second marriage, and young Christian E. was well cared for until able to take care of himself, which he has admirably done, as his present possessions clearly indicate. As a farmer he has been very successful, as he raises all the crop indigenous to the soil and climate, together with the usual live stock bred by the all-around farmer. This live stock, for which Ohio is somewhat famous, is comprised of thoroughbred horses, mules, milch cows, sheep and swine. Its agricultural products comprise wheat, corn, oats and buckwheat, hay, potatoes, flaxseed, etc., and in its horticultural products are to be found apples, plums, pears and cherries, as the more important of the fruits with which Mr. Graber has to do. Mr. and Mrs. (jraber hold a very high position socially, being among the most respected residents of Perry township.

JOHN W. WALSER. - The W'alser family is of pure Swiss extraction, and the subject is of the first generation lx)rn in America. He is a son of Robert Walser, who was born in Switzerland in 1809, the family being one of distinction in that fair land. Robert Walser was a son of Ussi Walser, who was a physician and surgeon of ability and who was engaged in the practice of his profession in Switzerland until 1809. when, accompanied liy his family, he bade adieu to home and native land and set forth for America, where he believed better opportunities were afforded for individual accomplishment and being animated primarily by a desire to give to his children the ultiniate benefit of these advantages. He located in Butler county, Pennsylvania, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession for a number of years and then came to Ohio as one of its pioneers, settling in Columbiana county in 1820 and there taking up a tract of land in the virgin forest, being one of the first settlers. There he gave willing and devoted attention to such calls as came to him in a professional way and also instituted the reclaiming of his land. Subsequently he started on horseback for a visit to his former home in Pennsylvania and all trace of him was lost from that time, and it is supposed that he either fell a victim to Indian enmity or other outlawry, or else met with an accidental death. His devoted wife, brave in her bereavement and in the face of the uncertainty of her husband's fate, made the best possible provision for her children and gave them her solicitous care until she too was called upon to answer the inexorable summons of death. She continued her residence in Columbiana comity, her death occurring near the little pioneer village of Dungannon, about the year 1S34. To her were born two sons, Jacob, who was a child at the time of the famil}^ emigration to America and wdio was engaged in farming near Dungannon, Ohio, until his death, and Robert, father of the subject of this review.

Robert Walser w-as born on the lith of August, 1809, and within a week after his birth his parents set forth on the voyage from Switzerland to America. He grew to maturit}' in Columbiana county, Ohio_, his boyhood da\'s being passed on a farm, and by reason of the loss of his father he was denied many advantages which would otherwise have been his portion. His scholastic training was such as was to be had in the primitive schools of the pioneer days, and his attendance in the same was of a desultory nature, since he was compelled to early assume the practical responsibilities of life. As a young man he acquired a knowledge of the carpenter trade, and to this he devoted his attention more or less for a number of yeans, in connection with farming. In about 1825 he was united in marriage to Miss Theresa Wiss, who was born in France, on the

30th of April, 1808, and who died in Columbiana county, Ohio, in 1835, her parents having emigrated to America about the year 1809, first settling in Butler county, Pennsylvania, whence they later removed to Columbiana county, Ohio, being numbered among the early pioneers of that section of the state. A few years after his marriage Robert Walser removed from Columbiana county to Carroll county, where he secured a tract of land and developed a good farm. After the death of his first wife he married her sister. Miss Catherine Wiss, who was his cherished companion and helpmeet for many years, her death occurring on the 23d of December, 1876. Thereafter the father passed his time in the homes of his children, where he was accorded the utmost filial solicitude, and he died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Simon Deiringer, of Newcassel, Wisconsin, on the 15th of February, 1887, at the age of nearly seventy-eight years. His first wife bore him three children, namely: John W., the immediate subject of this sketch: Barbara, who was born November 7, 183 1, is the wife of Frank Strobel, of Newcassel, Wisconsin ; and Eli, who was born April 26, 1833. married and resides in the city of Buffalo, New York: he was a lake and ocean sailor during the greater portion of his active life, and during the war of the Rebellion served in the Tenth New York Cavalry. Robert and Catherine (Wiss) Walser became the parents of four children, namely: Mary, who was bom August 18, 1835, married Joseph Richardt and died in Canton, March 21, 1890; Catherine, born August 11, 1843, was first married tn John Aliller and after his death to Joseph Hearn, who -\\-as a soldier in the regular army for twenty-one years, within which time he ?er\-ed in the Civil war, being dis'chai-ged with the rank of colonel, and residing for a number of years thereafter in the city of Cleveland, where his widow still maintains her home; Henry, born February 3, 1849, married ]\Iiss

John W. Walser, whose name initiates this sketch, was born on the parental homestead, in Hanover township, Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 15th of April, 1829, and he was a child at the time of his father's removal to Carroll county, where he was reared on a farm up to the age of thirteen, the homestead being located in Rose township and the land having been entered from the government by his father in 1823. The family abode for a number of years was a log cabin of the type common to the pioneer epoch, and, owing to the exigiences of time and place, his educational advantages were most meagre, and in his youth his entire schooling was comprised in the short period of fifteen months, covering three months during the winters of successive years. He was taken from school when thirteen years of age and was placed to work as a clerk and general utility boy in the general store of Harkness & Greer, pioneen merchants of Magnolia, Stark county, remaining with this firm for several years and gaining valuable business experience, while his alert and receptive mind enabled him in the meanwhile to practically supplement the limited educational training which had been his in a direct way. During his first year of service he received nothing in the way of recompense save the experience gained, and his emolument for the second year was fifty dollars, which was increased to seventy-five for the third year, while he paid seventy-five cents per week for his board. He recalls that at that time eggs brought three cents per dozen, while butter was sold for five cents per pound, so that a parity was maintained in the matter of expenses. On one occasion it became his duty to dump hundreds of dozens of eggs into the canal, there being no demand for the same. While in the employ of this firm Mr. Walser on one occasion indulged in a little individual speculation, buying a quantity of pork, which he salted and cured for the spring market, but he received no offer for the product, since the worms and rats had in the meantime taken up claims and practically destroyed jthe provender. After leaving this firm he was employed for nine months as a clerk in the store of Thomas Stanton, at Hanover, and thereafter he assisted in the work of the home farm for about two years. At the expiration of this interval he secured a position as clerk in the store of Isaac Teller, at Magnolia, receiving three hundred dollars a year, which was considered a large salary. Later he again engaged with Mr. Harkness (Mr. Greer having died), with' whom he remained for about one and a half years, when Mr. Harkness died. He had saved the sum of three hundred and thirty-three dollars and now opened a modest grocery in Magnolia and thus gave inception to his independent business career. Success attended his efforts, and he continued the enterprise until 1854, when he sold out and removed to Waynesburg, this county, where he conducted a general store for the ensuing decade. In 1864 he came to Canton, where he forthwith established himself in the provision business, associating himself with Peter M. Myers and opening an establishment on North Market street, where John Santry now has his store, and there they continued in business for a period of fifteen years, when Mr. Meyers died and the subject acquired the entire business, which he there individually continued until 1876, when he removed his quarters to the location of the present store of Isadore Lefkovits. There he had a well equipped establishment and conducted a large and representative business until 1884, when he sold out to Julius Kline and retired from active business,, having acquired a competency through his energy, industry and well-directed effort and being known as one of the reliable and distinctly representative business men of the city and as- a citizen of sterling worth. His success was achieved through the proper utihzation of the opportunities presented and through the bending of his intrinsic powers along a definite hne, while his conservative policy and business sagacity enabled him to avoid mistakes and to make his success cumulative. He is a stockholder in each the City National Bank' the Farmers' Bank and the George D. Harter Bank, the leading financial institutions of Canton. In 1S89 he became a stockholder in the Royal Brick Company, of which he was president at the time it was merged into the Metropolitan Brick Company, and he still retains his interests in the concern. He has made judicious investments in local realty and his position is that of one of the solid men of the community and one whose career has been unshadowed by wrong, so that he commands un- -equivocal confidence and good will. In politics Mr. Walser gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, and though he has been a stanch supporter of its cause he has never had any personal ambition in a political way. He serived for a number of years as a member of the board of trustees of the Hartford poor fund, and he and his wife are communicants of the German Catholic church, in whose faith they were reared.

At Magnolia, Stark county, on the 26th September, 1852, Mr. Walser was united in marriage to Miss Magdalena Markling, who was born in Germany, in 1834, and who accompanied her parents on their emigration to America when she was twelve years of age. She is a daughter of Clendennis and Magdalena (Christ) Markling, who settled in Ross township, Carroll county, upon coming to America, and both of whom died in Canton. Mr. and Mrs. Walser became the parents of five children, concerning whom we incorporate brief record, as follows : W'illiam Henry, who was born in Magnolia, this county, August 23, 1853, was married, on the 15th of June, 1880, to Miss Mary Kress, and he died in Canton on the 23d of August, 1882; Henrietta, who was born in Waynesburg, October 21, 1854, is the wife of Henry L. Miller, of Canton; Laura, who w^ns born in Waynesbung, March 8, 1858, is the wife of John J. Schwalen, of Canton; Clorinda, born in Waynesburg, March 22, 1864, remains at the parental home; and Celestia C, born in Canton, P'ebruary 21, 1868, is the wife of Charles A. Culp, of this city.

REV. JOSIAH KP:IM was born in Holmes county, Ohio, December 8, 1834, and is a son of Moses and Lydia (Domes) Keim, of whom appropriate mention will be found in the biography of John Keim on another page of this volume. The childhood and youth of the subject were spent on the home farm and his early educational training included a knowledge of the branches constituting the common school course. After completing these he pursued his studies for some time in the Canton high school, subsequently entering Mt. Union College, which institution he attended for several years, meantime devoting his vacations to teaching, in which profession he soon achieved an honorable reputation. Mr. Keim began his carer as an educator at the age of eighteen and for some time thereafter divided his time between teaching and attending school, making a fine record in both lines of work. He followed teaching continuously for a period of eighteen years and became widely and favorably known as an efficient and poular instructor.

In October, 1867, Mr. Keim was called to the ministry of the German Baptist church and during the ensuing- seventeen years devoted his time and talents to the duties of his sacred office, preaching with great acceptance for a number of congregations and proving an able exponent of the doctrines peculiar to his denomination. An impressive and eloquent advocate in the German Baptist church, he took his position with what has since been known as the Progressive element and for five yeans thereafter filled the pulpit at Louisville, the congregation increasing greatly under his pastorate.

From 1894 to 1896 Rev. Keim had charge of the dining hall at Ashland University, but in the fall of the latter year resigned the place to resume the ministerial labors, accepting a call to the church at Winchester, to which he ministered with much acceptance for a period of four years. After much importunity on the part of the management of the Ashland University Rev. Keim, in the year 1900, was again induced to take charge of the dining hall and he continued in that capacity to the great satisfaction of the faculty and students until the spring of 1902, Avhen he gave up the place permanently and retmned to Louisville, where he is now living a retired life.

In addition to his regular work of the ministry and the running of the dining hall, Rev. Keim for about se\'en years held a clerical position in the Louisville Deposit Bank and while connected with that institution demonstrated business ability of a high order. Had he seen fit to devote his life entirely to secular pursuits he no doubt \\'Ould have achieved a distinguished career, possessing as he does those sterling mental characteristics which eminently qualify one for leadership and success in large enterprises. As an educator he won more than local repute, but it is by his labors as an able, earnest and faithful minister of the gospel that his usefulness to mankind is chiefly to be judged. As a preacher he is clear and concise in statement, logical in deduction, earnest in presenting the claims of the gospel and fearless in denouncing sin in whatever garb arrayed. He has been exceedingly provident but by no means parsimonious of his means, being free in contributing to all worthy objects and a liberal donor to charitable, benevolent and religious enterprises. As a neighbor and citizen, his standing has always been above reproach and his integrity has ever been of that kind which wins for the possessor the unbounded confidence and esteem of the people with whom he comes m contact.

In politics Rev. Keim is a Republican in all the word implies and has been an earnest supporter of the principles of his party, but never an aspirant for the honors or emohunents of office. He is well versed on the leading public ciuestions of the day and his wide range of reading on general subjects has made him one of the best informed men of the community in which he resides.

Mr. Keim has been twice married, the first time, in 1858, to Miss Mary A. Bosler, who died in 1872, leaving no children. On the lOth day of August, 1873, he w-as united in the bonds of wedlock with Sarah Hill, of Plain township, this county, daughter of Thomas Hill.

JACOB MARKLING, vice-president of the National Wringer and Manufacturing Company of Canton, is a native of Carroll county, Ohio, and the son of John Adam and Margaret Markling, both born and reared in Germany. These parents, with three children, left their native country in 1845 '^^''^ came to the United States, settling on a farm in Carroll county, Ohio, where the father followed agricultural pursuits until his death, in the year 1872. Mrs. Markling departed this life in the same year in which her husband was called away, dying within less than a month after his departure. John A. and Margaret Marklingwere industrious, estimable and highly regarded in the community where they lived and their memory is still cherished by the people with whom they are mingled. They reared a family of ten children, five of whom have been reunited with them in the land beyond, the others li\-ing in various parts of the country and faitli fully filling their respective stations in the workl. The year following the arrival of his parents in the United States witnessed the birth of Jacob Markling, the event occurring on the home! farm in Brown township, CaiToll county, Ohio, September 27, 1846. Reared in the country, his childhood and youth were spent working in the fields in the summer time and attending school during the winter months and he was thus engaged until taking up the shoemaker's trade, which he l^egan before reaching the years of manhood. After becoming an efficient workman, he followed the trade in his native county fori a period of four years, at the expiration of which time he came to Canton and entered the establishment of A. Schwertner, his arrival in this city dating from 1873. After remaining one year in the employ of Mr. Schwertner, Mr. Markling accepted a position in the Wilson Rake Factory, since known as the Koliler Company, but later resigned his place there and engaged with James Dick, manufacturer of agricultural machinery, in whose works he continued in various capacities until 1892. In that year the National Wringer Manufacturing Company was establislied, Mr. Markling taking an interest in the concern and assisting in its organization. He was one of the prime movers in building up the company and establishing it on a solid financial basis and to his efforts is the enterprise largely due for the continued prosperity which has characterized its subsequent history. From a subordinate position he gradually rose to a prominent place in the conduct of the company's affairs and about the year 1897 he was elected vice-president, which office he has since filled with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of everybody' connected with the enterprise. In tlie discharge of his official functions Mr. Markling displays not only marked alaility and a familiarity with every detail of the business, but his relations with the trade and with the public at large have been such as to win patronage for the company and add much to its high rating among the leading business agencies throughout the country. Mr. Markling is a wide awake, energetic business man and as such has done- much to promote the industrial growth of Canton, not only by establishing an important enterprise but by making it meet the high expectations of its projectors and by giving employment to a large force of workmen, all of whom spend their salaries in the city.

In the year 1878, in Malvern, Ohio, was solemnized the ceremony by which Mr. Markling and Miss Elizabeth Ebur, of that town, were united in the holy bonds of wedlock, the marriage resulting in the birth of children as follows : Margaret, Mayme. William E., Henry H., Stella and James A.

In his political faith Mr. Markling is a zealous Democrat and since old enough to cast a ballot has been unwavering in his allegiance to his partv. He takes an active interest in the leading questions and issues of the day, on all of which he is well informed, and supports the cause of Democracy from principle and not from the fact of inherited political tendencies. In religion he is a Catholic, and with his family belongs to St. Peter's church, to the material support of which he is a free and liberal contributor. A member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, he makes his presence felt as an influential force in that excellent organization, in addition to which he is also zealous in all lines of religious and philanthropic work under the supervision of the church and equally acti\e in the support of charitable and benevolent institutions of a secular and public character.

JACOB P. FAWCETT was born at Boyce Station, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of January, 1851. being a son of Andrew and Elizabeth ( Pennypacker) Faw- cett, both of whom were Hkewise natives of the old Keystone state and representatives of stanch old Pennsylvania families. The father of the subject devoted his life to agricultural pursuits in Pennsylvania, and there died, his death occiu-ring in January, 1866, at which time he was sixty years of age. His wife passed away in 1901, at the age of eighty-one years. They became the parents of nine children, of whom four are living at the present time. Both were members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Fawcett was a stanch Republican in his political proclivities, having identified himself with the party at the time of its organization. On December 9, 1866, the widowed mother came to Stark county, Ohio, settling at Mt. Union, now the sixth ward of Alliance, and there died.

Jacob P. Fawcett received his early 'educational discipline in the common schools of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and at the age of sixteen years was matriculated in Mount Union College, near Alliance, this county, where he completed the scientific course and was graduated in July, 1871, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Science. He put his scholastic acquirements to practical use, engaging in teaching school for two years, while he also took up the study of the law in the office and under the direction of W^illiam C. Pippitt, a well known and able member of the bar of Alliance, and he was admitted to practice on the qth of April, 1874, being well fortified for the ac!i\-e work of his chosen profession. He was engaged in practice in Alliance for two years, at the expiration of which, in August, 1877, he came to Canton, where he has since resided, and where he has built up a large and important business in his profession. For a numlier of years Mr. Fawcett has taken a prominent part in public affairs and is one of the leaders in the local ranks of the Republican party. In 1S76, while a resident of Mount Union, he served as its mayor, and from 1882 to 1886 he was a member of the city council of Canton, representing the seventh ward, while in the latter year he was president of the body. In 1 886 he was appointed by Governor Foraker to the office of probate judge of Stark county, receiving this appointment in November, and at the regular election, in November of the following year, he was chosen as his own successor and was re-elected in 1890, thus serving consecutively on the probate bench for a period of seven years and three months. In 1894 he was appointed, by the court of common pleas, a member of the tax commission for the city of Canton, in which capacity he served six years. In 1901 he was appointed a director of the Stark county work house, and at the first meeting of that body thereafter was chosen its president, of which position he has ever since remained incumbent. For six years Mr. Fawcett was attorney of the Ohio dairy and food department for the eighteenth congressional district of the state, and his services in both the above mentioned capacities have proved of marked value and acceptability. He was for two years a member of the Republican state central committee, for three years chairman of the Republican central committee of Stark county, while for the long period of fifteen years he was a member of the executive committee of the party in the county and four years a member of the Republican congressional committee, holding both at present. In 1903 Mayor Smith appointed him a member of the board of public safety for the city of Canton, for a term of four 3'ears. From the above statements it will be seen that Mr. Fawcett's abilities have been called into requisition in a significant way, and his course has ever been such as to command to him the unqualified confidence and esteem of all, while as a member of the bar he has won a prestige which stands to his credit and which indicates his thorough understanding of the science of jurisprudence and his power to make proper application of such knowledge.

His efforts while on the probate bencli were such as to conserve equity and justice and every trust reposed in him has been held inviolable. Fraternally he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.

On the 6th of February, 1877, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Fawcett to ]\Iiss Jennie M. Mitchell, daughter of John H. Mitchell, United States senator from Oregon, and of this union have been born four children : Mattie E., Howard B., Ralph M. and John A.

ISAIAH OBERLIN. - In the subject of this sketch is presented an example of a well spent life, in that it was largely consecrated to the good of his kind and so emplo^'ed as to insure him an abundant entrance into those mansions of which the Savior spake when he said, "I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am there ye may be also." Although dead, and by the world at large forgotten, Isaiah Oberlin still lives in the memories of those with whom he once mingled - those friends and neighbors who trod with him the same rugged path 6f experience and from him received so many manifestations of kindness and regard. He was born in Stark county, Ohio, February 9, 1833, the son of Peter and Susannah Oberlin, of whom specific notice wmII be found on another page of this volume. He was the youngest of a family of ten children, and spent "his early years on the homestead, dividing his time during his minority between attending the public schools and assisting with the labors of the farm. Later he pursued his studies for some years in the Belleville high school, and when a youth of about seventeen joined the tide of emigration to the far west in quest of fortune in the California gold fields. Mr. Ob- experiences in that far away country -were thrilling in the extreme and his adventures among the mountains and mining camps, and with the rough element, which in the early day constituted the major part of the western populace, would, if written in detail, make a goodly sized volume of interesting" reading. Whether he was successful in securing that which allured him so far from home, the writer cannot with certainty speak, but it is evident that his life amid so many strange vicissitudes and rough experiences inured him to life in its ^-arious phases and developed not only strong and vigorous bodily powers but a spirit of self assertion that subsequently enabled him to take advantage of opportunities and mould circumstances to suit his purposes. At the expiration of his adventurous career he returned to Stark county and became a contented and in due time a prosperous farmer, and as such continued to the end of his days, meanwhile by well directed industry acquiring sufficient means to live comfortably until called from the scene of his earthly struggles. Mr. Oberlin was married, in 1863, to Miss Fianna Fox, who was boni in 1841, in Pennsylvania, and six years later with her parents, William and Catherine (Eby) Fox, came to Stark county, Ohio, the family settling in Tuscarawas township. To Mr. and Mrs. Oberlin were born six children, the oldest of whom is Edson A., who for over twenty years was one of Stark county's successful and popular teachers. He was married to Miss Nellie Malone, of this county, and is the father of one son by the name of PJdson, and at the present time lives in Cleveland, where he is engaged in the lumber business. William, the second son, married Lizzie Stoner, who has borne him two children. Glenn and Russell ; he is in the mining business and resides in Tuscarawas. A. M. was born and reared in Tuscarawas townsliip, received his educational training in the public schools and Mt. Union College and is now engaged in agricultural pursuits, owning a fine farm of his own, beside an interest in the old homestead. On the latter place is a rich coal bank which he has developed and from which he derives no little part of his income. Mrs. E. S. Miller, the fourth of the family, is the mother of one child, Munford. Franklin, the next in order of birth, died when an infant, and Thurman, the youngest, lives with his widowed mother on the home place. Mr. Oberlin was a Democrat in politics and all of his sons are adherents of the same party. In religion he was a member of the Reformed church and his life was. ever a commendable example of Christianity practicilly applied. Mrs. Oberlin does not subscribe to the same faith her husband professed, being a communicant of the Lutheran church. Mr. Oberlin's career was that of a good man and obliging neighbor and a worthy, law abiding citizen, and his death, which occurred on the 7th day of April, 1900. was greatly deplored in the community where he had so long lived and prospered.

JACOB HILDEXBIDDLE has long enjoyed marked prestige as one of the leading farmers and representative men of the township in which he lives and of which he is a native son. His ancestors in this country were among the early settlers of Pennsylvania, his father. John Hildenbiddle, having been born in Lancaster county, that state, about the year 1790. In early life John Hildenbiddle leanied the blacksmith trade and worked at the same in his native state until about 1838, when he came to Stark county, Ohio, and settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land about a half mile southwest of Louisville. His father, Jacob Hildenbiddle, a wagonmaker by trade, preceded him to this county by about one year and located at the above place. John Hildenbiddle cleared and improved a fine farm, but six years later sold the place and removed to Canton where, in partnership with a friend, he engaged in the manufacture of gun barrels. After follo\ving the business about three years he changed his residence to Freeburg, where with, the exception of two years he spent the remainder of his life, devoting his attention the meantime to agricultural pursuits and the manufacture of lumber. During the years 1850 and 1 85 1 he ran a hotel in Louisville, being induced to engage in that business on account of the Pennsylvania Railroad, then in process of construction through that part of the state. Mr. Hildenbiddle was a man of excellent repute and for many years figured Cjuite prominently in the public afl:'airs of the various localities in which be lived. In early life he was an active supporter of the Democratic party, but at the breaking out of the great Civil war he changed his political views and from that time to his death was an unswerving Republican. He was a devout member of the Reformed church and lived a faithful Christian life until called to the church triumphant at the ripe old age of eighty-two. dying in the year 1881. Before her marriage the wife of John Hildenbiddle was Miss Mary Binkley. She bore him nine children, six of whom survive, namely : Rebecca, wife of Daniel Smith, of Marshall county, Indiana : Leah, wife of Adam Gibb, of Canton : Amanda, widow of the late Jefferson Rank, of Canton : ]\Iary, who married Andrew Reese, of Freeburg; Jacob, the subject of this sketch : and Henry, who also makes Freeburg his home.

Jacob Hildenbiddle was boni on the paternal homestead in Ximishillen township. Stark county. March 6, 1843. His early experiences included the usual routine of farm work of summer seasons \-aried by a few months attendance each winter at a school taught in an old log cabin, which had been used for educational purposes since the early settlement of the counti^'. Young Jacob made the most of his opportunities, but at best his intellectual training was limited as his time was needed on the farm. He remained at home until twenty years of age, at which time he began- earning money of his own by running a saw-miU, a venture which proved reasonably remunerative. In 1871 he abandoned the lumber business and engaged in agrculture, purchasing an eighty-acre farm in Washington township, to which he took a companion and helpmate one year later, October 17, 1872, in the person of Miss Jane Packer, a i:ative of Columbiana county, and daughter of Michael Packer, who moved to the county of Stark in 1866. Michael and Catherine (Pentz) Packer were natives of Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Hildenbiddle's grandfather, John Packer, cami? from the Keystone state to Ohio in an early day, locating southeast of Alliance, and dying on the farm where he settled. T^Iichael Packer lived on the old homestead until 1866, when he moved to Washington township. Stark county, where he died. June 17, 1872. his widow surviving until July 4, 1886. They had one son, Addison, who died ]May 17, 1877.

During the ten years following his marriage Mr. Hildenbiddle cultivated his farm with encouraging results, but in 1881 disposed of the place at a good figure and two years later purchased his present farm of one hundred and ten acres, situated a short distance north of Louisville. As an enterprising and progressive agriculturist Mr. Hildenbiddle has long enjoyed distinctive precedence and that he made a success of his chosen calling is attested by the comfortable fortune which enabled him to retire from the farm in 1894 and take up his residence in Louisville. Since moving to the village he has devoted his attention principally to buying and selling wool, handling live stock, not as a means of accumulating wealth, but rather to afford him something to do. having always been accustomed to an active and busy life. However, he has made his present business quite successful and from it and the proceeds of the farm he recei\'es an income which

Politically Mn. Hildenbiddle is a Republican, with a tendency towards prohibition, having long been an uncompromising foe of the liquor traffic, which he looks upon as the greatest curse of the land and the crying evil of the da}^ He is a member of the Reform church and for eight years has held the office of deacon in the congregation worshipping at Louisville. Unostentatious in character, his cour,'- teous manner, genial disposition and genuine wortli, have endeared him to all with whom he mangles, and he is justly recognized as one of the estimable and resourceful men of the community in which he resides.

Mr. Hildenbiddle owns one of the handsomest pri\'ate residences in Louisville and he has not been sparing in furnishing his home with the comforts and conveniences which make life so pleasant and agreeable. Mr. and Mrys. Hildenbiddle have had two children, one of whom is living, namely : Homer, a draftsman in the employ of the Morgan Engineering Works.

STEPHEN SCHELL. - Joseph Schell, the subject's father, was born about the year 1 82 1 in Columbiana county, Ohio, and lived there imtil 1853, when he came to Stark county, where the remainder of his life was spent. In his younger days he worked at the shoemaker's trade, but after coming to this part of the '^tate he purchased a farm of two hundred acres in Washington township and from that time until his death devoted his attention to the pursuit of agriculture, in connection with which he also did considerable in the way of contracting throughout the county, and also ran a saw-mill, adding very materially to his income from this source. He early took an active interest in public and political afifairs and became considerable of a politician, having been one of the Republican leaders in Stark for a number of years. He was elected in i860 to represent the county in the lower house of the general assembly and made an honorable record as a legislator, having been chosen his own successor in 1862. He served with distinction in the fifty-fourth and fifty-fifth general assemblies and made a reputation in which his constituents felt great pride. He was justice the peace for a number of years and in addition thereto held several minor local positions, in all of which he discharged his duties with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the public. The maiden name of Mrs. Joseph Schell was Anna M. Fryfogle; she was born in Maryland in 1822 and when quite young was taken by her parents to Columbiana county, Ohio, where she grew to womanhood and married. She bore her husband nine children, and departed this life in 1897, at the age of seventyfive; Mr. Schell died on the 15th day of June, 1866. Of the nine children boni to this excellent couple the following are now living : Stephen, of this review; Elizabeth, wife of Henry Shaffer, of this county; Abigail, wife of Caleb Perry, and Ella, who married D. M. Calement, the last three living in the city of AJliance.

Stephen Schell was born in Knox township, Columbiana county, Ohio, on the 3d of April, 1846. He remained on the home farm as his father's assistant until seventeen years old, when, with tnue patriotic fervor, he entered the service of his country, enlisting June 14, 1863, in Company A, First Ohio Heavy Artillery. Shortly after that date he went to the front, but two months later, with one hundred and five others of his command, was sent to Johnson's Island in charge of a light battery. He remained at that place until the close of the and saw no active duty further than the usual gun practice and daily drill. Mr. Schell received his discharge on the 5th of August, 1865, at Camp Dennison, and immediately thereafter returned home and resumed the pursuit of agriculture on the home place. After his father's death he took charge of the farm and managed it two years, at the expiration of which time he entered the employ of the Cleveland & Pittsburg Railroad as brakeman, a position he held for a period of thirteen months. Severing his connection with the road, he made an extensive tour through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and other states, at the conclusion of which he returned to Columbiana county where, on the 15th of June, 1871, he was united in marriage to Miss Sallie Knoll, a native of Pennsylvania, and daughter of Jacob Knoll.

During the three years following his marriage Mr. Schell farmed on rented land, but in 1875 he purchased a small place of forty acres in Knox township, Columbiana county, which he cultivated with fair success until changing his residence, in 1888, to the town of Homeworth, in the same county. Mr. Schell lived in that village about two years, when he disposed of his interests there and in 1890 moved to his present home in Louisville, Stark county, where he has since been doing a prosperous business, handling buggies, all kinds of vehicles, farming implements, etc., in addition to which he also has considerable lumber interests. Since locating in Louisville Mr. Schell has built up a large and lucrative trade, both in the lines of goods handled and in lumber and is now one of the most enterprising and successful business men of the town. He has been a conspicuous figure in the public affairs of the community, taking an active interest in whatever concerns the well being of the town. Mr. Schell is a pronounced Republican in his political belief, but he has never permitted his name to be used in connection with public office, having no aspirations in that direction. He is a firm believer in Christianity and for a number of years has been a faithful and devoted member of the Reformed church, in which he now holds the office of deacon. Fraternally he belongs to the Grdnci Army of the Republic, being a charter member of George D. Harter Post No. 555, at Canton. Mr. and Mrs. Schell had, one child, a daughter by the name of Sylvia, who died some years ago.

T. CLARKE MILLER, M. D., is the son of James and Margaret (Miller) Miller, the father a native of North Ireland, the mother born and reared in Pennsylvania. By occupation James Miller was a tiller of the soil. He came to the United States many years ago, and spent the greater part of his life in Pennsylvania, dying in Ohio about 1882 at the age of eighty-six. James Miller's father was Samuel Miller and his wife was the daughter of Richard Miller, who was a soldier during the war of the Revolution. Samuel and Richard Miller were natives of Ireland or Scotland. The original ancestors of both were Scotch, and the characteristics of that race have been very pronounced in their descendants to the present day.

Dr. T. Clarke Miller was born in Butler county, Pennsylvania, on the 17th day of July, 1842, and spent the first fifteen years of his life in his native state. About 1857 he accompanied his parents to Iowa, but three years later returned to Pennsylvania, locating at Pittsburg, where in 1861 he enlisted in Company F, Ninth Pennsylvania Infantry, which formed part of the Reserve Corps organized by special act of the general assembly, the state having already furnished more than its full quota of troops. Dr. Miller gave three years to the service of his country and took part in a number of the most noted battles of the Virginia campaigns, in one of which, Fredericksburg, he received a slight wound, otherwise he escaped injury or capture. At the close of the war he returned home and at once began preparing himself for the profession which he had previously decided to make his life work. His literary education, aside from the common school course, was obtained principally in the town of Dayton, Pennsylvania, and he began reading medicine with Dr. M. L. Miller, of Blairsville, Pennsylvania, subsequntly studying for some time under the direction of Dr. W. J. Scott. After spending about the usual time with private instructors, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Cleveland, from which institution he was graduated in 1867, being one of the three highest in a class of thirty. On receiving his degree Dr. Miller opened an office at Newberg, Ohio, then a suburb of Cleveland but now included in the city limitsas the eighteenth ward, and there practiced for a period of two years. At the expiration of that time he removed to the city proper. Dr. Miller conducted a general practice in Cleveland during a residence there of fave or six years, and removed at the end of that time to Massillon. While in Cleveland he served four years as coroner of Cuyahoga county and was also a member of the board of pension examiners in that city from 1878 to 1884 inclusive. Since the year 1887 he has been health officer of Massillon, aside from which' he has held no public positions. He is identified with the various medical societies of the city, county and state.

Dr. Miller was married, in 1868, to Miss Mary A. Culbertson, daughter of Isaac and Mary (McChesney) Culbertson, a union blessed with five children, of whom three sons are living, namely: Charles Rush, Thomas C. and Clarke C. Charles R. was educated in the School of Applied Sciences in Cleveland and at the present time is engaged as a mining engineer in West Virginia; Thomas, who also attended the above institution, is a member of the corps of civil engineers in the city of Cleveland, and Clarke is likewise doing engineeringwork in the state of Indiana.

ELI WALKER, retired farmer and one of the oldest native-born citizens of Nimishillen township, is the son of Matthias and Ehzabeth (Baughnian) Walker, the father a native of Pennsylvania, the mother born in Ohio. Jacob Walker, father of Matthias, was also a Pennsylvanian and spent the greater part of his life in Somerset county. Later he joined his sons in Stark county, Ohio, and passed the remainder of his days on a farm in Paris township, dying here many years ago at a ripe old age. When a young man of eighteen Matthias Walker, accompanied by his brother Jonas, left their home in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, and journeyed to Stark cijunty, Ohio, for the purpose of improving a quarter section of land in the township of Paris which the father had purchased from the government a short time before. The country was new at the time and until their arrival not a stick of timber had been cut from the tract on which the brothers settled. After hastily constructing a rude log cabin they addressed themselves to the more formidable task of clearing and otherwise fitting for cultivation an area of sufficient magnitude to provide them with the necessities of life, preparatory to their further labor in the forest. In due time a small field was cleared and sown in wheat, which, harvested the following year, furnished breadstuff for the entire family, the father and the rest of the children having the meantime joined the two brothers in their wilderness home. Jonas Walker subsequently returned to Pennsylvania, but Matthias, having married, moved from the original purchase to an eighty-acre tract in Nimishillen township which his wife had received in a dowry from her father. To this place he afterwards added until his farm contained one hundred and fortyeight acres, the greater part of which was cleared and brought to a high state of cultivation. Matthias Walker was a true type of the strong, rugged pioneer of the olden time, and experienced all the hardships and vicissitudes of the period in which he lived. Like the majority of early settlers, he was possessed of strong convictions politically and religiously and never hesitated to express his opinions fearlessly upon these two important subjects. He was a Jacksonian Democrat of the old school and as such took an active and prominent part in the early campaigns of the county, having been to some extent a leader of political thought in his immediate neighborhood. The Lutheran church represented his religious creed and he lived a faithful and conscientious Christian life to the end of his days. To Matthias and Elizabeth Walker were boj'n five children, of whom the following are living at this time; Eli, the subject of this sketch, Albert, a well-known citizen of this county, and Matthias, whose home is in the village of Osnaburg.

Eli Walker was born in Nimishillen township on the 24th day of March, 1833, and has made Stark county his home ever since. Reared on a farm when the country was comparatively new. his youthful years were spent amid a round of toil in woods and fields and he early learned to appreciate honest endeavor at its true value. He grew up a strong and sturdy young man, assisting his father during the spring, summer and part of the fall seasons, and in winter time attended school a few months in the old-fashioned log school house. Young Walker remained under the parental roof until attaining his majority and it was not until his twenty-second year that he began life for himself as a farmer on the paternal homestead. In 1856 he took to himself a wife and helpmate in the person of Miss Catherine Julliard, who was brought to the L'nited States when three years old by her parents, John and Annetta Julliard, who were among the well-known residents of Paris township. Mr. Walker continued agricultural pursuits on the home farm until 1864, when he and his brother-in-law, George Julliard, purchased in partnership the Julliard homestead in Paris township, consisting of one hundred and fifty acres. One year later the subject moved to this place, but after residing about one year thereon sold his interest in the farm, also eighty acres in Osnaburg which he had previously purchased, and invested the proceeds in a fine farm of one hundred and twenty-two acres in the township of \Vashington. Moving to the last named place, he at once inaugurated a system of improvements which soon made it one of the best cultivated farms in the county, also one of the most valuable of its area. He took high rank as an energetic, progressive agriculturist, obtained the largest possible results from the time and labor expended and by adopting modern methods kept ]jace with the times in e\-erything relating to agricultural science.

Mr. Walker lived in Washington township for a period of twenty-three years, during which time, by successful management and well directed thrift, he succeeded in accumulating a sufficiency of worldl}' wealth to enable him to turn his farm over to other hands and seek that rest and quietude to which he was so much entitled; accordingly, in i88g, he rented his place and removed to Louisville, where, in a beautiful home supplied with all the comforts and con- \eniences calculated to make life desirable, he has since been living in honorable retirement.

Mr. Walker is a close observer and keeps himself fully informed on the great public questions and political issues of the day. He is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and as such was elected the trustee of Washington township, in which capacity he served one term of two years. Since taking up his abode in Louisville he has been three times elected trustee of Nimishillen township, his long continuance in the office attesting the confidence of the people in his integrity and business abilitv. Religiously he subscribes to the Lutheran cliurch and since uniting with the church his daily life has been in harmony with the faith which he professes. Personally Mr. Walker is one of the highly esteemed citizens of this community, his name being synonymous with all that is upright and honorable in manhood. Mrs. Walker has been her husband's adviser and earnest co-laborer m all of his endeavor and not a little of his financial success is due to her judicious counsel and active assistance. She also belongs to the Lutheran church and is a humble and zealous Christian, deeply interested in religious and benevolent work, and proves by her actions the genuineness and great value of applied Christianity. Mr. and Mrs. Walker have five children : Olena, wife of Frank Auer, of Louisville; Elenora, widow of the late Curtis Wilson, of Canton; Ida, who married Elmer Lilly, of Alliance; Mary Augusta, wife of J. D. Lovett, proprietor of the Union Pacific Hotel, Cheyenne Wells, Colorado, and Wilda, who is still a member of the home circle.

W1LLLA.M MYERS is descended paternally from an old Pennsylvania family, and maternally from equally and respected ancestors whose genealogy is traceable to an early period in the history of Maryland. John Myers, father of the subject, was born in Pennsylvania, in 18 1 6. and when a child of four years was taken by his grandfather to Stark county, Ohio, from whence he subsequently moved to the county of Summit, where he is now living at the advanced age of eighty-six. His wife, Mary Middlekauff, was born in Maryland in 1821, and, as the name indicates, her family was of German origin. .She bore him ten children, of whom five are living, and departed this life in the year 1887. John Myers was reared a farmer, and followed that calling in Wayne county until acquiring a competence, since which time he has lived a life of retirement. A man of great firmness and strength of will, he has long been an influential citizen, and his character and integrity have been such as to command the approbation of the people among whom he hves. In poHtics a straightout Democrat, with the courage of his convictions, and in every relation a man of sterhng worth, he may be taken as a conspicuous type of a class only too rare in this day and generation. William Myers, whose name introduces this review, is the fifth of the ten children constituting his father's family, and he dates his birth from the 31st of March, 1851. He first saw the light of day in Wayne county, and his early experiences on his father's farm was helpful in laying the foundation of a vigorous physical growth, and the development of a well rounded character. Reared to habits of toil and thrift and trained in the school of practical experience, he was early taught to rely upon himself, a lesson very thoroughly learned, as his subsequent career abundantly demonstrated. In his younger days Mr. Myers received about the usual amount of intellectual discipline in the common schools, and at the age of twentyfrve years began farming for himself in his native county, where he continued to reside until 1876, when he moved to the county of Stark. He now owns a beautiful place of eighty-three acres in Tuscarawas township, which by welldirected industry has been greatly improved in fertility and productiveness, comparing favorably with any farm of a like area in that part of the county. Mr. Myers is a typical agriculturist, and pursues his vocation with an interest and zeal which never fails of liberal financial results. He is an ardent supporter of the Democratic party, but has never aspired to public honors nor disturbed his quiet by partisan strife having no ambition for the former, nor any taste for the latter. Mr. Myers' married life began November 30, 1875, when he was joined in wedlock to Miss Mary E. Bender, of Wayne county, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Mc- Davit) Bender, both parents natives of Pennsylvania. The family circle at this time, exclusive of Mr. Myers and wife, consists of three sons, John C, Daniel W. and Adrian G.,

Benjamin Franklin Fetrow

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FETROW was born in York county, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of July, 1 814, being a son of Andrew and Phoebe (Speakman) Fetrow, the former of whom was born in York county and the latter in I-ancaster county, that state, where both families were founded in the early colonial epoch. In the year which marked the birth of the subject of this sketch they left their native state and came to Stark county, Ohio, which was at that time a sylvan wilderness, the white settlers being few and usually far distant one from another. In this county Andrew Fetrow purchased four hundred and eighty acres of land and instituted the work of reclamation, while here he passed a number of years under the primitive pioneer conditions, though he eventually returned to his native state of Pennsylvania and passed the closing years of his life in Cumberland county, where he died. In 1 83 1 his widow, in company with her children, came again to Ohio, locating in Wayne county, where she continued to reside until she was sum.moned into eternal rest, in 1838, at the age of fifty-seven years. In 1849 her son Benjamin F., the immediate subject of this review, who had been reared and educated partly in Pennsylvania and partly in Ohio, came to Sugar Creek township, this county, where he effected the purchase of three hundred and sixteen acres of land, the greater portion of which was reclaimed under his supervision, while by his earnest and indefatigable efforts he accumulated a competency, becoming the owner of one of the best landed estates in this section of the county. He has presented to each of his children a farm and one thousand dollars in cash, and this fact signifies not only his finan- cial status, but also his deep paternal atl'ection, indulgence antl solicitude. When he arrived in Wayne county, this state, his capitalistic resources were summed up in the amount of twenty-five cents, and this he expended for food for his mother. He has been the architect of his own fortunes and is particularly deserving of that proud American title, a selfmade man. For twenty-two years he followed the blacksmith trade to a greater or less extent, later conducted a profitable business as a drover, while his acti\-e identification with the agricultural industry extended over a longf period of years. He was formerly associated with Austin A. Hay in the general merchandise business in Beach City, his former partner likewise being one of the honored pioneers of this section and one of whom specific mention is made on another page of this volume, and for about four years he was also engaged in the buying and shipping of grain. From these simple statements it is apparent that Mr. Fetrow has been distinctively a man of afifairs, while as a citizen he has ever been true to duty, aiding in all good works for the benefit of the community and retaining the unqualified esteem of all with whom he has come in contact. In politics he was originally arrayed in support of the Whig party, and as such had the privilege of voting for W^illiam Henry Harrison for President, while he identified himself with the -Republican party shortly after its organization and as a stalwart adherent of the same cast his ballot in support of Benjamin Harrison for the presidency, thus endorsing both the grandfather and grandson, both of whom won honorable places in the history of the nation as chief executives of its government. He was for a number of years incumbent of the office of township supervisor, and was shown other marks of popular confidence and esteem. IMr. Fetrow has ever ordered and guided his life according to the teachings of the lowly Nazarene, having been a member of the church since he was fifteen years of age. While a resident of Wayne county he was affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church, but upon coming to Stark county he identified himself with the United Brethren church, of which he has ever since been a zealous and devoted member, while he has ever been liberal in his sup-, port of religious work, in which connection it may be appropriately stated that he has contrilnited more than two thousand dollars toward the erection of diiYerent churches. All of his children are likewise members of the United Brethren church, and thus have not departed from the faith in which they were so carefully and conscientiously reared, while their mother was likewise a signally earnest member of the church, as is also the present wife of our subject. Mr. Fetrow has eighteen grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren and all are members of the same church with which he has so long been itlentified, the United Brethren. During the entije period of his residence in Stark county, covering more than half a century, the subject has been a constant subscriber to the Canton Repository, one of the oldest papers in the county. He is at the present time the owner of three hundred and sixteen acres of valuable land in Stark county, while he also owns a quarter section of land in Floyd county, Texas. He is revered as one of the patriarchs of the community, and in the golden evening of his days is solaced by the esteem of a host of friends.

C)n the 26th of September, 1837, Mr. Fetrow was united in marriage to Miss Emaline Harris, who was born in Wayne county, this state, a daughter of Warren Harris, one of the sterling pioneers of that county, and of this union five children were born, of whom three are yet living, namely: Jane, who is the wife of Henry Read, a successful farmer of Sugar Creek township. Stark county; Ellen, who is the wife of George Howard, who is engaged in farming in Stark county; and William D., who is a representative farmer of Sugar Creek townsliip. The devoted wife and mother was summoned into eternal rest on the iitli of December, 1887, at the age of seventy-two years, and on the 26th of December, 1888, Mr. Fetrow married Mrs. Mary (Freeman) Lowrey, who was born in Wayne county, this state, and whose tirst husband, Henry H. Lowrey, was killed in the war of the Rebellion.

JACOB DUPONT is a native of Stark county, Ohio, born in Marlborough township on the 15th of December, 1845, being one of three children whose parents were John and Margaret (Giant) Dupont. John Dupont and wife Avere born in Belford, France, and there grew to maturity and married. Shortly after their marriage they came to the United States and settled in Stark county, Ohio, purchasing a small farm of forty acres in Mulljerry town- .ship, on which they lived until the father's death, in 1847. He was accidentally killed by falling from a barn which he was building, being in the very prime of life when the accident occurred. Of his three children two are living, the subject of this review and Rose A., who married Andrew Schoffin, of Canton. Some time after the death of John Dupont his widow married a second husband by the name of John B. Cunion, by whom she had five children, namely : August, a resident of Louisville ; Peter, who manages the home farm ; Jane, a sister in a convent at New Bedford, Pennsylvania; Louise, wife of Fred Blockler, of Middlebranch, Ohio, and Amelia, wife of Samuel De Vaux, a liveryman of Louisville.

Jacob Dupont spent the first twelve years of his life at home and then, owing to circumstances over which he had no control, was obliged to begin the struggle with the world upon his own responsibility. He earned his first wages as a farm hand, and in this way worked until his seventeenth year, meantime as opportunities aii'orded attending the district schools of his neighborhood. Abandoning farm labor, he secured employment in a brick yard in Canton, and during the ensuing four years devoted the summer seasons to this kind of work, spending the winter months as a coal miner. In 1867 he came to Louisville and for about nine years thereafter was in the employ of Nicholas Merley, who operated a large brick yard, the subject during the interim becoming familiar with every detail of brick making as well as obtaining a practical knowledge of business affairs.

With a laudable ambition to rise above the common level of a mere wage earner, Mr. Dupont, in 1876, with liis brother August and a Mr. Landon, formed a partnership for the manufacture of brick, which, under the name of the Centennial Brick Company, soon proved a most fortunate and well paying venture. As originally organized the firm did a thriving business for about three years, at the expiration of which time Mr. Merley, the subject's former employer, purchased Mr. Landon's interest and as thus constituted the company continued six years, meanwhile extending the scope of its operations until becoming one of the leading concerns of the kind in the county. The name adopted at the time of Mr. Merley's admission was that of Merely, Dupont & Company, and by such it continued to be designated until the clay supply became exhausted, when Mr. Dupont disposed of his share in the plant and purchased a fourth interest in the Stoneware and Tile Company of Louisville, the transaction being consummated in 1885. I\Tr. Dupont was identified with the latter enterprise about four years, at the end of which time the company sold out their interest in Louisville and established a plant at Brazil, Indiana, under the name of the Brazil Brick & Pipe Company, the object of which \vas the manufacturer of all kinds of fire bricks, tiling, glazed under-ground brick, conduits, and various other articles of a similar character. Mr. Dupont looked after the management of the Brazil enterprise and in due time succeeded in establishing quite a large business, which he conducted with success and financial profit for a period of seven years, at the expiration of which time he sold out to his partners and in 1897 returned to Louisville, where he has since lived a retired life. During the many years in which he was connected with the brick and tile industry he served in the capacity of superintendent or foreman and the burden of the business management invariably rested upon his shoulders. In no instance did be fail to meet the high expectations of his associates, all of whom acknowledged their indebtedness to him for the measure of success which crowned their joint efforts as manufacturers and business men. At this point it would be almost tautological to enter into a series of statements to the intent of showing Mr. Dupont a man of broad intelligence, progressive ideas and public spirit, as these have been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. A man of marked individuality and great force of character, to which may be added soundness of judgment, executive ability of a high order and a shrewd knowledge of men, as well as of the principles governing business transactions, he has been able to manage successfully large interests and realize therefrom the greatest possible results. In politics he is a Democrat, believing thoroughly in the principles of the party as a party of the people, and being ever ready to labor in its behalf or make sacrifices for its success. He served two terms in the town council and as a member of that body discharged his duty with a view of the municipality in every respect. Religiously Mr. Dupont was born and reared a Catholic and he has always lived within the pale of the Holy Church, being loyal in his allegiance to its doctrines and traditions and faithful to its divinely appointed precepts. As an obliging neighbor and faithful friend, few men in Niniisliillen township are held in as high personal esteem as Mr. Dupont.

Mr. Dupont has a comfortable home in Louisville, where he is now living, free from the cares which so long attended him during his active business career. His domestic ties have been of the most pleasant and agreeable nature and he looks forward to many peaceful years in which to enjoy the fruits of liis industry and thrift. He was married on the 4th day of May, 1871, to Miss Sophia Jordan, of Stark county, a most estimable lady who has proven a faithful wife and true helpmate in all the terms imply; she has borne him two children, John, superintendent of the Brazil Clay Works, Brazil, Indiana, and Clara, now the wife of Frank Liscke, of Louisville.

and Mary (DeRome) Bradley, was born May 13, 1848, in the old historic city of Preston, Lancashire, England, and there spent the first sixteen years of his life, the meanwhile receiving a fair educational training in the public schools. While a mere youth he entered the cotton mills of his native place, where he was employed several years, and by close economy he succeeded in saving while thus engaged sufficient money to pay his way to the United States, for which country he sailed when a lad of only sixteen. Taking passage at Liverpool, lie arrived in due time at New York, and from that city went to Portage, Wisconsin, where for several years he was employed in a sash, door and blind factory as stationary engineer. While at Portage he was married, in 1871, to Miss Carrie Davis, a sister of his present business associate, and two years later resigned his position there and went to Allegheny, Pennsvlvania, where he accepted a similar post in the Crawford Malleable Iron Works. After running the engine in the latter estabhshment for a period of eight years and saving a snug sum of money, he went to Kansas and invested his means in cattle and hogs, which venture at the expiration of three years proved financially disastrous. Disposing of what interests remained in his possession, Mr. Bradley, in 1882, came to Canton, Ohio, and during the ensuing four years held a subordinate position with the Whitman & Barnes Manufacturing Company. His valuable services were in due time recognized by his employers, and by successive promotions he ultimately reached the position of assistant superintendent, in which capacity he continued at Canton for a period of seven years. \Vhen the company finally moved their works to Akron, he was made the superintendent at that place, and as such discliarged his duties three years, the meanwhile developing rare efficiency and skill in the line of his work and continually adding to his reputation as an able, far-sighted business man and manager of important intersts.

Severing his connection with his employers at Akron, in 1894, Mr. Bradley returned to Canton, and four years later, in partnership with Edwin Davis, began in the manufacture of seamless rubber goods, a line of industry with which he has since been identified. Messrs. Bradley and Davis began their enterprise on a small scale, establishing the business in a part of the subject's home on East Williams street, on the site now occupied by the large brick building in which the firm carries on its extensive and steadily increasing operations. The growth of the business from its modest beginning more than met the highest expectations of the founders and within a short time it was found necessary to remove it from the original quarters into a building of enlarged proportions; accordingly, in 1899, the brick edifice as noted above was erected, but the demands of the trade continuing to increase, an addition of the same size was built the following year, making the plant as it now stands one hundred and ten by fifty feet in area and three stories high. The building is furnished with the latest and most approved machinery and appliances for the manufacture of the different lines of goods with which the firm supplies the market, a large force of skilled artisans is given employment, and the enterprise has rapidly come to the front as the leading industry of its kind in Canton, and as one of the most important of the city's many industrial establishments.

Mr. Bradley has traveled extensively inthe interest of the business^ visiting all the leading commercial centers in the United States and Canada, establishing wherever he has gone a lucrative trade, and his efforts on the road have done much to establish and strengthen the high prestige the firm now enjoys. The firm of which Mr. Bradley is the head manufactures a number of articles never heretofore put upon the market, several of which are the result of his own inventi\ e genius and mechanical skill. Among these devices is an improved rubber bottle, for which he has received letters patent, and he was also among the first to make a seamless rubber tissue finger-cot, and probably the first to introduce the justly noted seamless rubber glove, for which there is such a large and constantly growing demand. Recently Mr. Bradley made an extensive tour through England, Ireland, Scotland, and other countries of Europe, during which he combined business with pleasure, as he established agencies for the sale of his goods in many of the leading cities, in addition to re-visiting tha scenes of his childhood and renewing acquaintances with his friends and companions of former years. Although leading a very busy and in many respects an exacting life and experiencing his full share of the difficulties which arise in the career of nearly every successful man, it must not be inferred that Mr. Bradley has been so immersed in his own affairs as to lose sight of his obHgations to the community as a citizen. Interested in all that is calculated to benefit his fellow men, materially, educationally and morally, his influence has always been exerted in the right tlirection and from what he has accomplished in the various avenvies in which his talents have been employed it is easy to see that his duties to the public liave not been neglected.

In politics Mr. Bradley is a Republican, but lie has been too busy to mingle much in party affairs, or to distract his attention with any official aspiration. He is a Mason of high standing, belonging to chapter, commandery and Lodge of Perfection, in all of which he manifests an abiding interest, and the principles of which enter very largely into his life and to a great extent govern his deahngs with his fellow citizens. His personal relations are of the most pleasant and agreeable character, and with his estimable wife, he enjoys the -esteem and high regard of a large circle of friends in the city of his residence and in other places where known.

WILLIAM MAXHEIMER, retired farmer, and one of the old and venerated citizens of Tuscarawas township, was born August 26, 181 8, in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, being the son of Christian and Nancy Maxheimer. of the same county and state. As the name indicates, the Maxheimer family is of German origin, and its first representati\'e in America was subject's grandfather. William Maxheimer. who came to the United States in a ver\- early day, and spent the remainder of his life in Franklin county, Pennsylvania. Christian Maxheimer was reared to manhood in that county, and there married Xancy Crider, whose ancestors were also among the early settlers in the western part of the state. About the year 1820 Christian Maxheimer moved his family to Stark county, Ohio, setthng in Tuscarawas township, where he purchased land, cleared and developed a good farm of one hundred and sixty acres, and in due time became one of the leading agriculturists and substantial citizens of the community. For many years he was quite an active politician of the old Whig school, later became a pronounced adherent of the Republican party, and by reason of his sound sense and excellent judgment was chosen trustee of his" township, which office he held as long as he permitted himself to be re-elected. In early life he became an expert cabinetmaker, and he used his mechanical skill after coming to Stark county by making various articles of household furniture for the early settlers, although his principal occupation was that of a tiller of the soil. Religiously he was a member of the United Brethren church, to which communion his wife also belonged, and as earnest and devoted Christians both used their best endeavor to bring up their children in the way they should go by early implanting in their minds and hearts the correct principles by which their own lives were directed and controlled. Mr. Maxheimer died in 1885, at the age of eighty-eight, his wife preceding him to the silent land in 1870, when seventy-two years old. Of their eight children only one is living at the present time, \^'illiam. the subject of this review. Mrs. William Alaxheimer was the daughter of George Crider, who, as stated elsewhere, was among the early residents of .Stark county, moving his family to what is now Tuscarawas township, as long ago as 18 19. His descendants are still living in the community where he originally located, and are numbered among the most enterprising, intelligent and upright people of this section of the state.

Reverting to the ],>ersonal history of W'il!- iam Maxheimer, it is learned that he was a child of about two years when his parents changed their abode to the county of Stark, and since 1820 he has lived in Tuscarawas township, meanwhile prospering in temporal things and establishing a reputation for industry, honor and integrity which has made him widely and favorably known as a man and citizen. The early life of Mr. Maxheinier on his father's farm tended to develop a strong and rugged physique and in the rough school of experience he learned the lesson of practical industry and honorable endeavor, which later inured so greatly to his advantage in the accumulation of material wealth and in the forming of a sturdy, manly character. With willing hands and decided purpose he assisted his father until such a time as it became necessary for him to engage in the struggle of life for himself, and it was then that he decided, after mature deliberation, to devote his time and energies to the ancient and honorable calling of agriculture. When twenty-two years old he began tilling the soil upon his own responsibility, and continued the same with a large measure of success until the accumulation of an ample competence, and the infirmities incident to advancing age, induced him to forego further activity and seek in a life of retirement the rest, recreation and quietude which his long and arduous struggles so well entitled him. He has always been greatly interested in organized means for promoting the farmer's vocations, and to him as much as any other man is due the credit of establishing upon a firm and permanent ba'si? the Agricultural Society of Stark county, in the organization of which he was an influential factor. The initial meeting of the society was held on the Samuel Crider farm in Tuscarawas township, and among tliose present was iVIr. Maxheimer, who presided over the deliberations. From that occasion to the present time he has been untiring in his efforts to promote the interests of the org;mization, and that it has been a success and fully met the purposes for which intended is as much due his labors in its behalf as those of any other individual. In matters politic Mr. Maxhenner was a Whig, and as such wielded an influence for the party in his community until it went out of existence, after which he became an uncompromising supporter of its successor, tjhe Republican party. It was his privilege to cast a vote for Gen. William Henry Harrison, or "Old Tippecanoe," as he was then called, for President, and later supported for the same high oflice the hero's grandson, Benjamm Harrison, of Indiana, being a great admirer of the two distinguished men. He has never entertained any political aspirations, contenting himself with voting his principles, and working in the interest of the ticket. He has long been a friend of education, and as a member of the school board he has done much to foster and keep alive an interest in intellectual training in the township of Tuscarav.'as. Owing to circumstances over which he had no control, his early education was considerably limited. Realizing the valueof education in a free country, where the sovereign power is vested in the masses, he has done all within his power to diffuse knowledge among the people of his own community tothe end that they might become intelligent,^ broad-minded citizens with a proper appreciation of the responsibilities resting upon them as members of the body politic.