Morrow County Bio's
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J. W. GRIFFITH
It has often occurred to the writer
that the metropolitan press does not fully or fairly appreciate the
thorough pervading influence of the country newspapers and the faithful,
able and valuable services of country journalists. While none fail to
give due credit to the agricultural classes and rural communities as
forming the stanchest element in economy of America's world-famed
prosperity and general happiness, the fact is often ignored that no one
individual has a larger voice in their affairs and is more honored as a
wise adviser and strong advocate than the able and faithful editor who,
although one of them in sympathies and intimate knowledge of their
lives, is still a leader and an inspiration. When the country editor is
thus adopted into the community as a strong elder brother, affectionate
and yet just, and remains bound closely to all its interests from young
manhood to old age, as with the Rev. J. W. Griffith, of the Morrow
County Sentinel, Mount Gilead, it is an injustice indeed that the entire
press of the country should not place a very large account to country
journalism in striking a balance sheet on national prosperity, national
patriotism and national stability and progress in general.Mr. Griffith is a native of Pennsylvania, and since early boyhood has developed in an atmosphere of printer's cases, presses and editorial "copy." After attaining his majority he came to Ohio to take a position with his uncle at Shelby, but the call of the printer soon drew him away from the mercantile field and he applied for a ' ' case ' ' at the office of the Shield and Banner, Mansfield. As there was no vacancy on that paper, he sought work in the same line elsewhere, and fortunately learned from a fellow compositor that a case was idle in the office of the Sentinel of Mount Gilead. So the weary but persistent youth trudged to the county seat of the newly formed county, and was rewarded by securing the coveted work at his beloved trade. That was sixty- three years ago, and since that time the industrious, faithful and able compositor has surely risen to the position of editor and proprietor of one of the most influential and prosperous country papers in Ohio, with a substantial subscription list and a fine mechanical plant. Quoting the words of one of Mr. Griffith's warm and appreciative fellow journalists: "Brother Griffith has never been sensational as a writer, but is always conservative and thoughtful, lie never has to take back today what he published yesterday. He is loyal and true to his friends, and in conversation is entertaining, with a tinge of mirth and charming repartee." Again, as suggesting characteristics both of editor and his paper, is the following taken from the first number of the thirty- third volume of the Sentinel: "This issue rounds to a close the thirty-second volume of the Sentinel, and on the threshold of the new year it is befitting that we should look back with our readers over the checkered path we have trod together. Thirty-two years! Could the Sentinel speak and tell us of the changes it has witnessed, the trials passed, the triumphs achieved, the friends it has seen pass away or grown gray, as it has grown strong how the tale would enthrall our breathless attention ! But thirty-two years is not the age of gushing confession, and we cannot expect to hear of its early loves and disappointments, the frolics and vicissitudes of its youth. A generation has passed since its birth, and while its servants and friends have grown older and fonder of the ease earned by a life of toil, it has just arrived at maturity, and rejoices like a strong man to run a race. "In public life what revolutions the Sentinel has seen. Parties have fulfilled their mission and passed away like autumn leaves; the cause of freedom rising in the cloud of 'free soil' not larger than a man's hand, has spanned the heavens, and equal rights, casting its shadow over a weary land, has delivered that which was holy and set the oppressed free. The public life of the last thirty-two years has been eventful, charged with potencies for weal or woe to the nation, and the Sentinel, in its place and way, has borne its part without wavering and without regret; and standing now on the eve of another conflict between the old elements of antagonism it draws fresh inspiration from this birthday retrospect, and renews its faith in the policy of honesty, liberty and equal rights before the law and at the ballot box."
JAMES L. MCCAMMAN
James L. McCamman who resides at 782 West High street, Alt. Gilead, Ohio, is well known as one of the financially substantial men of Morrow county, .where he has spent his life and where his enterprising efforts and strictly honorable dealings have brought him the success he now enjoys. Mr. McCamman was born in Gilead township, Morrow county, Ohio, July 23, 1850, a son of John and Henrietta (Kelly) McCamman, both now deceased. In their family were five children, of whom one daughter, Alice, is now the wife of Edmund "Wooley and resides in New York state. When James L. was six years of age his parents moved to the farm in Gilead township on which he was reared and which he still owns, this farm comprising a tract of two hundred and ten acres and being situated a mile and a half east of Mt. Gilead. Here his boyhood days were passed, attending district school and working on the farm, and here he continued to make his home until 1901, when he came to Mt. Gilead, since which time he has resided on West High street. For years Mr. McCamman has dealt extensively in cattle, buying by the car load, grazing them on his broad pastures and then shipping to the markets. From time to time he has made investments, and is a stockholder and director in various enterprises. Mr. McCamman and his wife have an only daughter, Florence, wife of Robert Ginn, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Mrs. McCamman, formerly Miss Ora V. Powell, was born and reared in Morrow county. Politically Mr. McCamman is a Republican, though he has never been active in politics, his own personal affairs claiming the whole of his attention. He has fraternal relations with Mt. Gilead Lodge, No. 160, I. O. 0. P., and Morrow Encampment, No. 59; also he is a member of Charles H. Hull Lodge, No. 195, K. of P., in all of which he has been honored with official position. He and his wife are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal church of Mt. Gilead and at this writing he is one of its stewards. Submitted & Transcribed by
JOHN C. WILLIAMSON
John C. Williamson prosecuting attorney of Morrow county, Ohio, is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this country and was born on the old Williamson farm near Iberia April 7, 1883. John Williamson, his great-grandfather, came to Ohio as early as 1820 and established his home on a tract of land near Iberia, which has ever since remained in the Williamson family, now being owned by the heirs of James Williamson, the father of John C., and who died in 1892. James Williamson and his wife, Mary E. (Denman) Williamson, were the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters, namely: II. Elizabeth teacher in high school, Edison ; Rosa A., wife of G. W. Struthers, farmer, Iberia; Caroline J., librarian, St. Louis City Library; James W., who wedded Miss Marion Hughes, and died at Iberia, January, 1905; John C., and Jonathan D., attorney. Columbus, Ohio. John C. Williamson was reared near the vicinity of Iberia. He received his early education in the schools of Iberia, and is a graduate of the Iberia High School with the class of 1899. In 1901 he was a student at Baldwin University, Berea, Ohio, and the following year he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, after which he spent some time in the school room as a teacher, and later took up the study of law. In the meantime he farmed and made a trip, spending five months in the far west. After his return to Ohio he entered the law department of the State University, where he graduated in June, 1906. That same year he was admitted to the bar and engaged in the practice of law at Mt. Gilead, and in November, 1908, he was elected on the Republican ticket to the office of prosecuting attorney of Morrow county, in which he is now serving, and he was reelected in 1910, by a majority of eight hundred and twenty-six votes. Mr. Williamson married Miss Anna K. Patton, of Crawford county, Ohio, and they are the parents of two little sons, James W. and John, the former born in 1906, the latter in 1909. Both Mr. Williamson and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church, and fraternally he is identified with the Masonic Order, being a member of both the Lodge and Chapter at Mt. Gilead, and he is also a member of the Knights of Pythias No. 561, at Iberia. Submitted & Transcribed by
WILLIAM W. GURLEY
William W. Gurley is now and has been for thirty-five years past a member of the Chicago Bar. He was born at Mt. Gilead, Ohio, January 27, 1851. His father, Judge John J. Gurley, was a native of St. Lawrence county, state of New York, and located at Mt. Gilead in the year 1850, and was an honored and prominent member of the bar of Morrow county until his death April 30, 1887. When Judge Gurley came to Mt. Gilead he formed a partnership for two years with Thomas W. Bartley. who was afterwards one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Ohio, from February 9, 1852, until February 9, 1859, and with Samuel J. Kirkwood, both of Mansfield, Ohio, under the firm name of Gurley, Bartley and Kirkwood. Mr. Kirkwood later removed to Iowa and became governor, and in 1881-2 was secretary of the interior in President Garfield's Cabinet. The mother of William W. Gurley was Anseville Carr Armentrout Gurley. She was one of the most poetic, gentle and amiable wives and mothers that the writer of this sketch ever knew. She was a native of Richland county, Ohio. She died April 2, 1882, and she and husband lie side by side in River Cliff cemetery, Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Our subject has the best reasons to feel proud of his ancestry. He attended the Union School in Mt. Gilead, and at the age of sixteen years was admitted at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, and was graduated therefrom in 1870, shortly after he became nineteen years of age. The degree of Bachelor of Arts has been conferred on him by his Alma Mater. He was admitted to the bar by the district court within and for Morrow county, Ohio, on June 19, 1873, and in Illinois on the second day of April 11, 1875. On May 1, 1876, he became a member of the firm of Cooper, Packard and Gurley, which firm continued for about two years, when the firm of Cooper and Gurley was organized and which remained in existence for about six years. Since the dissolution of the last named firm he has practiced alone. Of later years he has been chiefly occupied with the affairs of corporations. He has for many years been general counsel of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway Company and of the Chicago Railways Company and its predecessor companies. On October 28, 1878, he was married to Miss Mary Eva Turney, daughter of the late Joseph Turney, of Cleveland, Ohio, late treasurer of the state of Ohio. Of this marriage there were born three children, the eldest, William Turney Gurley. dying in infancy. The second, a daughter, Helen Kathryn, was born September 15, 1890, and is still living. The third, a son, John Turney Gurley, was born December 15, 1893, and died October 26, 1903. The daughter is a graduate of the class of 1909 of the Misses Masters School at Dobbs Ferry, New York. Submitted & Transcribed by
BIOGRAPHY OF
ROBERT FRANKLIN BARTLETT
Ralph Waldo Emerson has said that
"The true history of a state or nation is told in the lives of its
people." It is probable that no one will take issue with this and
thus is apparent the value of a work of the character of the
"History of Morrow County," for it is purposed that in its
genealogical department be published true and authentic reviews of the
lives and achievements of those good and worthy citizens who have been
builders of this great commonwealth. With Robert Franklin Bartlett is
presented as one of Morrow county's most prominent and well esteemed
citizens, one of the seniors of the legal fraternity as well as patriot
who enlisted his services in the cause which he believed to be just at
the time of the great civil strife which disrupted the country, and he
shed his blood on Southern battlefields.Robert Franklin Bartlett is a genial, cordial, scholarly gentleman of the so-called old school, a man of fine character, venerated by all. Everywhere known for his upright, honorable Christian life, his influence is one of the most valuable and beneficent in the community and no praise from the biographer can add to the honor which he enjoys. The fine old Buckeye state has furnished her full quota of brilliant men who have reached an exalted place in the affairs of the nation and Morrow county puts forth Mr. Bartlett as a part of her offering to the galaxy. He is a native son of the country, his birth having occurred April 8, 1840, in Mt. Gilead, and he is the second in order of birth in a family of nine children, five of whom were sons and four daughters. Three sons and one daughter survive, and Mr. Bartlett is the eldest of this number. The parents were Abner M. and Sarah (Nickolas) Bartlett. Concerning the surviving members of the family the following data are entered. Juliette is the widow of John B. Gatchell and resides in Pomona, California. Her husband served from April 20, 1861, until August 15, 1865, in the Union army and was wounded at the battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She was educated in the Mt. Gilead schools and afterward taught in the county. Albert W. is likewise a resident of Pomona, California, where he is engaged in citrus culture and where he has met with success in life. The maiden name of his wife was Anna, Graham and she was originally from Morrow county; Nathan H. is a citizen of Winfield, Kansas, and for a quarter of a century he has engaged in the pedagogical profession. He was educated in the Mt. Gilead schools, in Baldwin University, at Berea, Ohio, and in the normal school at Lebanon, Ohio, from which later he was graduated in the class of 1884. He now holds the office of principal of the schools of Burden, Kansas. His wife's name was Cora Bartlett before marriage, but they were not related. The father of him whose name initiates this review was three times married, and the children mentioned are all of the first union. His second marriage was with Miss Eliza Annett Adams, and three of their children are living at the present time. The eldest, Fred W., is a resident of Trenton, Missouri, where he is a dealer in real estate. He received a practical education and has proved successful in life. His wife's name was Ella Cox. Annette May is the widow of Joseph Scott, and makes her home in Spokane, Washington. She is a woman of fine capabilities and has filled a number of high positions, fuller mention of her career being made on other pages of this work. Abner M. Bartlett traced his lineage to the English people. He was born, however, in Delaware county, Ohio, April 16, 1816, and died August 31, 1885. In early life he received a thorough training in a two-fold capacity, that of an agriculturist and a skilled mechanic. Living in pioneer days, his educational advantages naturally were meagre, but he improved his time with self conducted study and he became one of the well informed men of his day and locality. In the matter of politics he was a Jackson Democrat, and remained such until the formation of the Republican party in 1856, and he cast his vote for the first presidential nominee of that party, General John C. Fremont. He was a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church. His wife, Sarah Nickols Bartlett, was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, her birth occurring there January 7, 1819, and she died March 27. 1856. Her parents were Nathan and Sarah (Thomas) Nickols and her father was of English lineagt). Her maternal grandparents were Owen and Martha (Davis) Thomas, both of Welsh extraction, and both born in the state of Pennsylvania, the former on May 12, 1754. The father of Owen Thomas was David Thomas, born at London Tract, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1726. He was educated at Hopewell, New Jersey, and in Brown University, of Providence, Rhode Island, where in 1769 the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him. He was a Baptist minister and his ecclesiastical duties brought him to Piedmont Valley in 1765 or previous to that date. A champion of civil and religious liberty he suffered severe persecutions. He was a contemporary of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson and .was held by both of these patriots and statesmen in high esteem, and as their senior he was venerated by them as the friend of liberty and justice. The death of this worthy man occurred in Jessamine county, Kentucky, July 5, 1796. David Thomas was the son of David Thomas senior who left his native country, Wales, in 1700, and upon arriving in America located at Guinead, Bucks county, Pennsylvania. His son, David Jr., the preacher and patriot, was one of the Revoltionary heroes and through him and through Owen Thomas, his grandson, who was a soldier in the Revolution, the subject is elegible to membership in that august organization, the Sons of the American Revolution. Robert Franklin Bartlett, the immediate subject of this review, received his elementary education in the common schools of the county, and subsequently entered the Mt. Gilead high school. It was his ambition to supplement such training as was afforded by the state, and in October, 1860, he entered the Ohio Weslyan University as a student in the literary department. Soon, however, the tocsin of war sounded and Mr. Bartlett, like so many of the Buckeye state's noble youth, responded to the call, enlisting in Company D, Ninty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Captain William M. Dwyer, at Mt. Gilead, Ohio. He assumed the blue August 2, 1862, and the regiment rendezvoused at Camp Delaware. The regiment, which was at first a part of the Army of Ohio, was ultimately merged with the Army of the Cumberland and placed in command of General A. J. Smith. In November, 1862, they were transferred again to the Army of the Tennessee, Thirteenth Army Corps, commanded by General U. S. Grant. At that time there were about eighty thousand men in the Thirteenth Army Corps. On Christmas Day, 1862, General Stephen G. Burbridge's brigade, marched from Millikens Bend, Louisiana, thirty miles from Vicksburg, and advanced twenty-eight miles in a southwesterly direction, destroying the railroads and bridges for miles. The first engagement in which Mr. Bartlett participated was at Chick- asaw Bayou, northwest of the city of Vicksburg, on December 28 and 29, 1863, in which the Federal army was repulsed. Probably the most important action in which he figured was that of Arkansas Post, January 11, 1863, and it was upon this occasion that he came very near to death. He was acting at this time as first sergeant of his company. The Rebels were engaged in shelling the Federals and the men were lying down to escape the shells, when one burst over Mr. Bartlett and his comrades and killed the second sergeant of Company F, B. F. High, who was just behind Mr. Bartlett. The next shell burst so closely to his head that the concussion injured his right eye and so seriously that he was completely disabled and to this day he carries such memento of the Civil war. That same afternoon the Federals captured Arkansas Post. Disabled as he was Mr. Bartlett remained with his company, and the next expedition was February 14, 1863, to Greenville, Mississippi, the regiment making a two weeks' trip with one weeks' rations, and experiencing much artillery skirmishing. Mr. Bartlett 's regiment and the Sixth Indiana were left at Perkin 's Plantation on March 31st, to guard Grant's supplies and they later, on May 28, joined the investment line and assisted in preserving a state of seige at Vicksburg until July 4, 1863, when General Pemberton surrendered to General Grant, and of this interesting period of the war Mr. Bartlett has many entertaining incidents to relate. After the seige of Vicksburg the Thirteenth Army Corps was detached from the Army of the Tennessee and sent to join the Army of the Gulf under General Banks, leaving Vicksburg for this purpose August 25, 1863, and going by transports to New Orleans. On November 3, 1863, Mr. Bartlett was wounded in the left forearm and elbow by a gun shot, the engagement being that of Grand Coteau, Louisiana. For some weeks he carried the minie ball in his arm, but the member was finally amputated at St. James Hospital, New Orleans, December 3, 1863. On January 25, 1864, he received his honorable discharge at New Orleans, and returned to Ohio, making the journey via the Atlantic ocean to New York city and thence across country. At Grand Coteau he had his sole experience as a prisoner, but was exchanged the day after his capture. The Rebel and Federal prisoners were housed in a Southern mansion, whose mistress was a Mrs. Rogers, and no matter what uniform was worn, they were equally well cared for by the servants on her orders. After his return to Morrow county and the pursuits of peace Mr. Bartlett for a time engaged in school teaching, acting as pedagogue for the home school in the winters of 1865 and 1866, in Sunfish district. In the spring of 1866 he assumed the office of deputy clerk in the office of Dr. James M. Briggs and he remained in such capacity until October, 1866, when he was elected clerk of courts. He succeeded himself in 1869 and again in 1872 and each time received the nomination by acclamation in the Republican convention. In 1876 Mr. Bartlett began upon the gratification of a long cherished ambition, beginning the study of the law with Thomas H. Dalrymple in 1877 and in June, 1878, was admitted to the bar. In October of the year last mentioned he removed from Mt. Gilead to Cardington and there spent sixteen and one half years in the practice of the law. In April, 1895, however, he returned to Mt. Gilead, and here resumed the practice begun here so many years before, winning recognition over a wide teritory and enjoying high prestige in his profession both among the fraternity and the laity. His gifts are of the highest character and his legal career is an ornament to the pages chronicling the history of jurisprudence in the state. He has been practically retired since 1909, but still does some office work, many of his old patrons coming to him for legal advice. His pretty hospitable home is situated upon Main street (north) and is one of the most popular abodes in the place. Mr. Bartlett is a sound and true Republican and cast his first vote for the martyred Lincoln, and is proud of the fact that he has supported every candidate put forth by the "Grand Old Party" since that time. In 1865 he was elected a delegate to represent his regiment as a Republican in the State Convention. He is one of the most enthusiastic of Grand Army men and has been a delegate to the national encampment at Milwaukee in 1889, and also to the state encampments at Akron, Sandusky, Cincinnati, Zanes- ville and Belfountaine. He was a charter member of the James St. John Post, No. 82, Grand Army of the Republic, at Cardington, and at the present time is quartermaster of the Hurd Post, No. 114, of Mt. Gilead. He has served as post commander of both Knights of Pythias, at Mt. Gilead, and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, No. 194, at Cardington, and in both orders he has passed all the chairs. Although reared a Methodist, both Mr. Bartlett and his wife are members of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Bartlett wedded Miss Martha M. Miller April 8, 1867, their union occurring at her father's home near Mt. Gilead. She is the second in order of birth in a family of seven children, five sons and two daughters, born to Nehemiah and Rachael (Straw) Miller. Of the number six are still living. Elwood Miller is a resident of Portland, Oregon. His wife previous to her marriage, was Miss Harriet McCurdy. He is an honored veteran of the Civil war, having served for three years as a member of the Sixty-fifth Regiment of Ohio Volunteer Infantry. John F. is a citizen of Wisconsin, where he is engaged in railroad work. He married Philothea Bruck. Parker J., who resides near Mt. Gilead, married Miss Luzilla McCullough. William Edwin resides in Mt. Gilead and is superintendent of its electric light plant. His wife previous to her marriage was Sarah Lucretia George. Melville D. makes his home on a farm one-half mile from Cardington, and is a successful agriculturist and former teacher in the Morrow county schools. He married Miss Emma Adams. Lucinda is the widow of Lemuel H. Breese and a resident of Mt. Gilead, Ohio. Her deceased husband served three years in Company D, Ninety-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Mrs. Bartlett 's father was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, born there October 27, 1831, and he died July 5, 1902, at Mt. Gilead. He was a carpenter by trade and later in life a farmer. He received his education in the common schools and politically was first a Free Soiler and later in life a Republican. He was an elder in the Presbyterian church, as were also his father and four of his brothers. Mrs. Bartlett 's paternal grandmother's name was Pamelia Harris and her father, George Harris, as well as two of his brothers, were soldiers in the battle of Monmouth in the Revolutionary war. Many a time George Harris saw the great and good Washington and he was one of the brave soldiers to whom the presence of the General gave strength to bear the ordeals of the terrible winter campaign of Valley Forge. Her paternal grandfather, Joseph Miller, was a soldier in the war of 1812. For ten years Mrs. Bartlett has been a member of Mary Washington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, at Mansfield, Ohio. Her mother was a native of Morrow county, formerly of Knox county, her birth having occurred there December 18, 1817, and her death, July 23, 1862. She was educated in the common schools, was a strict member of the Presbyterian church, and she was known far and wide for her nobility of life. To the local public schools is Mrs. Bartlett indebted for her preliminary education and she was subsequently enrolled as a student in the Young Ladies' Seminary of Mt. Gilead, presided over by Mrs. Spalding. In young woman hood she was a successful teacher in the Morrow county schools for two years and then took up clerical work in the office of the clerk of court, of which her husband was incumbent. His eyesight was poor and for nine years she gave him excellent assistance in the duties of his office. This estimable lady plays a leading role in the many-sided life of the community. She holds membership in the Women's Christian Temperance Union and she was one of the organizers of the Mt. Gilead Free Library Association, while at the present time being a trustee. She likewise is a valued member of the Ladies' Twentieth Century Club of Mt. Gilead. Both she and her husband are members of the Presbyterian church and are active in its good work. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett are the parents of one daughter, Mary Francis, the wife of William A. Jolly, one of Mt. Gilead 'a progressive and estimable young men, who is engaged in the retail shoe business.
(History of Morrow County, Ohio: By Abraham J. Baughman, Robert
Franklin Bartlett Published by The Lewis publishing company, 1911)
SAMUEL P. GAGE
Samuel P. Gage cashier of the People's Saving Bank Company, of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, was born in Morrow county, Ohio, October 2, 1850, and is a representative of one of the pioneer families of this locality. His parents, William F. and Mary J. (Price) Gage, passed the greater part of their lives in Morrow county. William F. Gage was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey, a son of Phillip and Deborah (Flood) Gage, with whom when a boy he came to Ohio and settled near Sparta, in Bennington township. Morrow county, where he grew to manhood and married. He owned one hundred and forty acres of land in Bennington township, to the cultivation and improvement of which he devoted his energies for many years, up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1898. Politically he was a Republican, radical and enthusiastic, and for years was active in local politics. He was a staunch member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as is also his widow, now eighty years of age. Her parents, John Price and wife, were natives of Pennsylvania. Of the children of William F. and Mary J. Gage we record that J. P., the eldest, is a resident of Kansas ; Samuel P., next in order of birth, is the subject of this sketch ; Eliza A. is the wife of William Hunt of Morrow county ; P. W. is a resident of Delaware, Ohio; and Elsworth is engaged in railroad business at Alexander, Ohio. Reared on his father's farm, Samuel P. Gage attended district school until he was sixteen years of age, after which he was a student at Galena High School and Cardington High School and later spent two years at Lebanon, Ohio, where he took a course in the National Normal University. In the meantime he taught school, beginning when he was eighteen, and by this means paid his own way while he pursued his higher studies. All told, he taught school sixty months, a part of this time being principal of a private school. And his experience as teacher added to the value of his service when he was made a member of the School Board of Mt. Gilead. In 1873 Mr. Gage built the Central House at Marengo, Ohio, which he operated for eight years, and at the same time filled the office of township clerk. In 1881 he was elected clerk of Morrow county. He was the incumbent of this office two terms, having been re-elected, and served in all six years. Afterward, for a period of six years, he was secretary and treasurer of the Hydraulic Press Manufacturing Company. Then he engaged in banking. For eleven years he was cashier of the National Bank of Morrow County, and at the end of that time he was one of the organizers of the People's Saving Bank Company, which began business April 23, 1904, and of which he has from that date held the position of cashier. At the present writing, 1911, this bank has a deposit of two hundred thousand dollars, and its officers are as follows: Dr. W. B. Robinson, president; W. M. Carlisle, vice president ; Dr. N. Tucker, second vice president ; S. P. Gage, cashier; A. C. Duncan, assistant cashier; and Z. A. Powers, teller. During his successful business career Mr. Gage has accumulated considerable property, including two valuable farms in Morrow county, one of two hundred and eighty acres in Gilead township and the other, four hundred and forty acres in Bennington township, and residence property at Mt. Gilead and Columbus. He and his family reside in their pleasant home on Cherry street Mt. Gilead. Mrs. Gage, formerly, Miss Alice Sherman, born April 18, 1851, is a daughter of Daniel Sherman and previous to her marriage was engaged in teaching. She and Mr. Gage were married in 1872, and they are the parents of one son, Ralph P., born January 5, 1875, who is a graduate of both the Mt. Gilead High School and Delaware College, he having received the degree of A. B. at the age of twenty-one years. He is now engaged in the practice of law at Los Angeles, California. Like his father before him, Mr. Gage is an active and influential member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the official board, and at the time of the building of the Methodist church edifice in Mt. Gilead he served as chairman of the building committee. Fraternally he is identified with Mt. Gilead Lodge, No. 169, I. 0. 0. P., and Encampment No. 59, and in the latter was a member of the board of trustees. Mr. and Mrs. Gage were charter members of the Rebekahs at Mt. Gilead, Ohio, Lodge 352. They have crossed the continent of America twice, visiting their son.
Submitted & Transcribed by History of Morrow County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio from its earliest settlement to the present time, embracing its topography, geological, physical and climatic features, its agricultural, stock-growing, railroad interests, etc. : a history of Morrow County, giving an account of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the whites, pioneer incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the county, its judicial and political history, its business and industries, churches, schools, etc. : biographical sketches, portraits of some of the early settlers and prominent men, etc., etc.. Chicago: O.L. Baskin, 1880 Page 692 Jacob Miller, Jr., farmer; P. O. Shaunks; born in Cumberland Co., Pa., Sept. 2, 1825, and is a son of Jacob Miller, who was born March 17, 1792, in Lancaster Co, Pa., whose wife was Catharine Cassel, born in Dauphin Co., Pa., in 1792, and died April 30, 1878. The family emigrated to Richland Co. when Jacob, Jr. was 5 years of age, where they remained until 1841 when they moved to Congress Twp., and became permanent residents. At the age of 23 Jacob was married to Mary J. Wright, who was born in Richland County. Jacob’s father was a wagon-maker by trade, which business he followed for eight years; after this he engaged in farming. Jacob has now a good farm, consisting of 168 acres. Their children’s names are Jason, Asa, Mary A., Virda and Zenis. His wife and Mary A. are members of the Disciple Church. Submitted By Nancy Piper Page 701-702 M. C. Wolford, farmer, P. O., Andrews; is a
native of Dauphin Co., Pa., and was born Aug. 24, 1820; is the eldest of
a family of eight children, born to George and Esther (Cassel) Wolford,
both of Pennsylvania. Michael Cassel, came west with his parents
when he was but 10 years of age, they located in Franklin Tp., Richland
Co. Here he was raised and stayed until he was 23 years of age.
Jan. 23, 1843, he was united in wedlock to Elizabeth Kohler, who was
born April 15, 1822, in Adams Co., Pa; her father’s name was Jacob,
whose wife was Elizabeth Miller. After the marriage Mr. Wolford
moved to Blooming Grove Twp., where he bought eighty acres in “the
woods,” which he cleared up, and upon which he lived nine years.
March 25, 1852, he moved to this township and bought 160 acres of land,
situated 2 ˝ miles north of Williamsport, on the “angling” road,
leading to Mt. Gilead; he has a splendid location, one of the finest in
the township; he has since added to his original purchase, having now
240 acres. They have five children – Mary E., now Mrs. C. B. Hart,
John G., Uriah E., Leah M., now Mrs. Allen Peoples, and Jacob C.
March 19, 1880, Mr. Wolford Bid a sad farewell to the companion of his
wedded life; an amiable lady, a kind mother and affectionate wife, as
well as a truly Christian woman. Mr. Wolford is a member of the
Disciple Church, of which his wife was a constant member. Nancy Piper
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