JONATHAN M. McPHERON
JONATHAN M. McPHERON, who resides on his well-improved
farm of 80 acres in section 16, Perry township, engaged in general
farming and stock-raising, belongs to one of the pioneer families of the
county. He was born on the old family homestead, a tract of 80 acres
situated a half mile east of his present home and which he now owns, on
April 17, 1848. He is a son of John and Hulda (Crossley) McPheron.
James McPheron, Great-grandfather of Jonathan M., was born in the
North of Ireland and was of Scotch descent. He came to the United
States prior to the Revolutionary War, accompanied by his wife and three
children, James, John and Robert and settled in Green County, Tennessee.
Two more children were born after the parents came to this country
William and Betsey, the latter of whom became the wife of David Logan.
William McPheron, son of James and grandfather of Jonathan M., was
born in Tennessee in 1781. He learned the trade of blacksmith and
followed the same, in addition to manufacturing gun-barrels for a number
of years, and was an expert in the latter business. While living in
Tennessee he also followed farming and had a distillery, a custom very
common in the early days. In 1835 he moved to Champaign County, Ohio,
and located near the town of Liberty which, through later surveys, has
been located in Montgomery County. He followed his trade there until
1837, when he came to Allen County. He purchased 80 acres of wild land
in section 10 Perry township, and erected a blacksmith shop. The rest
of his active life was spent in clearing his land and in pursuing the
making of gun-barrels and in working at his forge. He was a well-known
and respected citizen, a leader in Democratic political affairs. He was
at one time elected township trustee. He was a zealous member of the
New School Baptist Church. After a long and useful life he died on his
farm in 1844.
William McPheron married Jane McCamish, and they had the following
children: James, who died in Illinois; Elizabeth, who married David
Logan and died in Indiana; William, who died in Indiana; Margaret, who
married William Goetz and died in Indiana; John, who died at Dayton,
Ohio; Thomas, who died in Indiana; Samuel, who died in Miami County,
Ohio; Susan, who married Samuel Crossley and died in Perry township;
Andrew, who died in Indiana; George, who died in Perry township; David,
who died in Perry township; Alexander, deceased; Martha (Wilson) who
resides at Terre Haute, Indiana; and Mary A., deceased, who was the wife
of Henry Lippincott.
John McPheron, father of our subject, was born in Tennessee, and was
a boy in years when he accompanied the family to Allen County, Ohio.
According to the law his time was his father's until the age of 21; but
when 16 years old he bought his time by the payment of $80 and started
out for himself. Out of his wages of $8 per month, he managed to save
the sum of $100. This hard-earned money he used in payment for 80 acres
of land the same being the homestead on which our subject was born. The
latter has in his possession the original deed for this property,
secured from the government. Mr. McPheron resided on this farm during
the remainder of his active life, dying aged 66 years. He was a
life-long Democrat. His religious connection was with the Christian
Church.
John McPheron married Hulda Crossley, a member of the well-known
Crossley family of Perry township, and their children were: William C.,
who lives in Perry township; Hester Ann, deceased in 1898, who was the
wife of Enos Osborne; Jonathan M., of Perry township; Sarah Margaret,
who married James Bailey and resides near Westminster; Jacob, who
resides in the northeastern part of Lima, and three children who died in
infancy.
Jonathan M. McPheron was reared on the home farm and was educated in
the district schools of Perry township. He remained at home until 1892
when he came to his present farm in the northeastern part of section 16.
As noted above, he owns the old farm which is one of considerable value
on account of oil having been discovered there, seven wells being in
operation. The Ohio Oil Company, of which he bought his present farm,
reserved the oil rights on it. It is well adapted to both farming and
pasturage and Mr. Mc Pheron has made a success of his agricultural
labors.
When 32 years of age, Mr. McPheron married Sally Franklin, who was
born in Perry township. She was a sister of Clifford Franklin, a
merchant at Yoder, and of James Ike Franklin, who lives in the southern
part of Perry township. The children born to this marriage were: Elvin
Otto, who resides on the home farm; Walter Ray, of Perry township, who
married Edna Hardesty, a daughter of Joshua Hardesty, and has one child;
Myrlen Ross, who resides at home; Charles Dean, also at Home; and a babe
that died in infancy. On April 10, 1898, Mr. McPheron was married to
Alice Ditzler, of Perry township.
In politics Mr. McPheron has always been a Democrat, but is no
seeker for office. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and
belongs to the congregation which holds services not far from his home.
LAMBERT Y. COCHRUN
LAMBERT Y. COCHRUN, the leading dry goods merchant
and notion dealer, at Spencerville, belongs to one of the
old-established families of the county. Mr. Cochrun was born in Allen
County, Ohio, and is a son of Simon and Lucinda (Miller) Cochrun, a
grandson of Wesley Cochrun and a great-grandson of Rev. Simon Cochrun.
Rev. Simon Cochrun was a very early settler of the county, one of
the pioneer ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and had fought
in the patriot army during the Revolutionary War. He was born about
1756 in Montgomery County, Kentucky, and very early in the `30's
migrated to Ohio and settled in Allen County. Of his three sons,
Wesley, the grandfather of our subject, entered land four miles north of
the city of Lima, in 1832. He was born in Kentucky, in 1800, had served
in the War of 1812, and at the age of 32 years was already a family man.
He developed a fine farm from the wilderness, was a promoter of religion
and education in his locality, and concluded a life of 85 years in
useful service to his family and community. Their humble home of logs
was one of good cheer and hospitality, as it was also the gathering
place for the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the
locality, the whole family having been closely identified with its
establishment. Seven of his children reached maturity, namely: John,
Simon, William, Rebecca, Susan, Jane and Sarah. John Cochrun became a
farmer in Franklin County, Ohio; Rebcca is deceased; Susan, widow of A.
G. Pague, lived and died on the old Cochrun homestead; Jane became Mrs.
West and removed to Texas, and Sarah became Mrs. McGuire and lived at
Ada, Ohio.
Simon Cochrun, father of Lambert Y., was a man of native ability and
acquired education. He was born in this county in 1822, and died at his
home in Amanda township February 11, 1895. He became one of the leading
educators of the county, teaching a number of years and training three
of his sons to the profession. In 1855 he settled in Amanda township,
where the remainder of his life was passed. He married Lucinda Miller,
a daughter of William and Nancy Miller, who resided some two miles west
of Cairo. Mrs. Cochrun survived her husband, and at the time of her
death was a resident of Spencerville. The five children of this
marriage were: James, a prominent business man and well-known citizen of
Spencerville; Lambert Y.; William, who died at the age of 17 years;
Elizabeth, who died when 22 years of age; and Jasper L., a farmer of
Amanda township.
Lambert Y. Cochrun was carefully reared and well trained in
agricultue on the home farm, where he lived until his 16th year. He
passed creditably through the public schools; in 1869 completed a course
at the National Normal School, at Lebanon, Ohio, and began teaching when
17 years of age. He thus continued for five years and then decided to
enter into business. In the spring of 1875 he formed a partnership
with Joseph August in the hardware and grocery business, which the firm
continued for 18 months, when Mr. Cochrun withdrew and resumed teaching.
In the spring of 1878 he reentered business, purchasing a stock of
groceries and opening up in a small frame building, which has since been
replaced by a business block of fine proportions. Having made a success
of his grocery, he enlarged the scope of his enterprise by adding a
line of boots and shoes, and was preparing to still further expand the
establishment when the disastrous fire of 1884 destroyed both property
and stock. In a very short time, however, he had completed the erection
of his present two-story brick building, the second to be constructed of
that material in Spencerville. He now has a commodious store, 26 by 90
feet in dimensions and equipped in modern style, as befits the leading
dry goods emporium of the place. His well-selected stock would do
credit to a city of much larger population than Spencerville, and Mr.
Cochrun takes pride in the fact that he satisfies a very discriminating
public. An excellent business man, his patrons find him also a
courteous gentleman with whom it is a pleasure to deal.
On March 31, 1872, Mr. Cochrun was married to Margaret E. Berryman,
who was born in Auglaize County, Ohio, July 9, 1852, and is a daughter
of Russell and Elizabeth (Whetstone) Berryman. These children were
vborn to this union, viz: Bert C., Carrie M., Jannette, Raymond R. and
Frank W. All survive with the exception of Raymond F., who died aged six
years. The family home, one of the most comfortable and attractive in
the place, is also one of the most hospitable. The young people are
all bright, intellectual, cultivated young Americans, who enjoy social
pleasures with zest, and many literary programs have been carried out in
their pleasant parlors. Mr. Cochrun and family are connected with the
Baptist Church.
Mrs. Cochrun represents one of the old Ohio families. Tradition,
well established, tells of the beginning of the Berryman family on
American soil. Seven brothers of the name came from England, the names
of the five preserved being John, James, George, William and Thomas.
Prior to the Revolutionary War they emigrated to New Jersey, and from
William Berryman have descended the Berrymans of Ohio. He had left
England on account of religious persecution, afterward joining the
patriot army and fighting under Washington. His death is not recorded,
but as his family resided in New Jersey it is probable the he died in
that State. One of his sons his namesake emigrated to Virginia, after
the Revolutionary War, settling in the vicinity of Wheeling, whence he
removed to Montgomery County, Ohio. He then settled on a farm near
Dayton, and Subsequently removed to what afterward became Auglaize
County, entering 200 acres of land in Logan township and residing upon
it until his death in 1830. He joined a Virginia regiment in the War of
1812, and was buried in Amanda township.
William Berryman (2) married, in Virginia, Rachel Clauson, who was
born in New Jersey. Wen she was a child her parents had emigrated to
Virginia. These grandparents of Mrs. Cochrun reared five sons and four
daughters the third son, Russell, becoming the father of Mrs. Cochrun.
He was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1815, and died January 9,
1878. When he came to Allen County with his parents he was seven years
old. During his boyhood he spent much of his time with the Indians, so
mastering the Shawnee tongue that he was able to talk fluently in it .
His life was mainly passed on the homestead. Although a strong
Democrat, he was not anxious for political preferment, the only office
he ever accepted being that of director of the County Infirmary. He was
married (first) to Margaret Slain, of West Virginia who died in 1846,
leaving three sons and two daughters. His second wife was Elizabeth
Whetstone, and Mrs. Cochrun is the fourth member of a family of five
daughters and three sons.
Mr. Cochrun has always been an active and useful citizen. For two
terms he served as corporation clerk; two terms as treasurer of Spencer
township; 14 years as a member of the Board of Education, and its
treasurer for eight years; one term as township clerk, and six years as
a member of the Town Council.
SOLOMON H. ARNOLD
SOLOMON H. ARNOLD, proprietor of the "Golden Ridge
Stock Farm," which is located in sections 9 and 10, Jackson township, is
one of the representative self- made men of this locality as well as an
honored survivor of the Civil War. Mr. Arnold was born in Tuscarawas
County, Ohio, 12 miles east of New Philadelphia, August 10, 1843, and is
a son of Hickman and Martha (Garree) Arnold.
The grandparents of our subject were Solomon and Barbara (Stonebrook)
Arnold, who were born in Pennsylvania. They were early settlers in
Tuscarawas County, Ohio, where the father entered land and also followed
his trade of cabinet-making. The family is of German extraction.
Hickman Arnold, father of Solomon H., was born in 1820 in Tuscarawas
County, and died on his farm there in 1848. He married Martha Garree,
who was born in Coshocton County, Ohio, March 16, 1827, and still
survives residing in the vicinity of Beaver Dam. She is a daughter of
Joseph and Margaret (Cochran) Garree, the former of whom was born near
Yorkville, Pennsylvania, and the latter in Scotland. They had two
children viz: Solomon H. and Joseph. The latter died May 12, 1903, in
Fulton County, Indiana, where he was engaged in farming. During the
Civil War he served one year in the 151st Reg., Ohio Vol. Inf.
After a period of widowhood Mrs. Arnold, mother of our subject was
married to Samuel Fackler, and they had these children: Philip, of Union
County, Ohio; Catherne (Welch), of Hardin County, Ohio; Isaac, of
Richland township; Simon W., of Beaver Dam; Eva (Hesser), of Larue,
Ohio; Henderson, of LaFayette, and three children, who died in infancy.
Mr. Fackler is now deceased.
Solomon H. Arnold remained on the farm on which he was born until
his father died and his mother subsequently remarried, when he was about
six years old. The family then located on a farm five miles south of
New Philadelphia, where Solomon remained until he was 10 years old, when
his stepfather purchased a farm of 160 acres at Beaver Dam and removed
the family thither. When but 14 years of age the youth began to care
for himself by working for the neighboring farmers, and as he was
economical and thrifty, by the time he was 18 years old he had
sufficient capital to warrant his purchasing a farm of 100 acres of
timberland, which he finished paying for from the proceeds of his day
labor.
Early in 1864 Mr. Arnold located in Bureau County, Illinois, and in
March entered the employ of the firm of Moss & Fettro, who operated
flouring mills there, but he resigned this position on May 6th in order
to enlist for service in the Civil War. He entered Company A, 139th
Reg., Illinois Vol. In., under Capt. E. R. Virden, Col. P. Davidson and
General Meredith. The regiment was mustered into the service at Peoria,
Illinois, on June 6, and was ordered to Cairo where it relieved the 122d
Regiment. The command to which our subject was attached was then
transferred to the commissary department and later was assigned to the
duty of transporting prisoners up and down the river, continuing in this
employment until the ranks were thinned by measles to which our subject
fell a victim in August. He also injured himself by carrying a heavy
box of guns and was therefore placed on the sick list.
Mr. Arnold was entered at the Cairo hospital and was detained there
under medical care until his regiment was sent in pursuit of Bragg, who
made his last stand at Pilot Knob. Our subject did not accompany that
expedition, but was dismissed from the hospital and ordered home on a
furlough. He was honorably discharged at Peoria on October 28, 1865.
Having profitably spent his furlough at Princeton, Illinois, he returned
there and engaged as a carpenter with the firm of Archer & Robbins, but
in the following November he returned to Allen County.
On January 25, 1866, Mr. Arnold was married to Sarah Emeline
Millikin, who was born August 27, 1843, in Richland County, Ohio, and
died June 5, 1904. She was a daughter of Thomas B. and Elizabeth
(Moore) Millikin, the father a native of Washington County,
Pennsylvania, and the mother, of Monroeville, Ohio. The children of
this marriage were: Thomas, of Bath township, who married Alma Cramer
and is the father of Mabil, Madge, Harley, Wava and Herbert; Emmet B.,
of Marshall County, Kansas, who married Belle Robison and has three
children Stanton, Maud, Hazel, Joseph and Minor; William A., of Jackson
township, who married Eva LeRue, and has these children- Roy, Thurman,
Genevieve and Merrill William; Joseph, who married Dile Ransbottom, has
had two children (now deceased) and resides with his father on the farm;
Carey C., who married Clara Heffner and resides near the homestead, and
is the father of Rolla, Walter, Wilbur, Garold and Velma Levern; and
Isaac Fremont, who died aged two years. The death of the mother of
these children was a great blow to Mr. Arnold and family, and a matter
of deep degret to all, who fully appreciated her as a kind neighbor and
a faithful friend. With Mr. Arnold she took the most affectionate
interest in her bright, intelligent grandchildren and her love was
returned by them all.
After his marriage, Mr. Arnold removed to a farm of 100 acres two
miles from the one on which he now lives. This he sold two years later
and bought the 160 acres composing the homestead, for which he paid
$6,000. Five years later he erected his present modern brick residence
at a cost of $3,000, which was the first brick house built in the
vicinity. He erected also a substantial barn, 57 by 40 feet in
dimensions, and has added such other buildings as became necessary.
Later Mr. Arnold bought 240 acre Milikin farm adjoining, 40 acres of
which he sold to his son, and on this property he built a barn 40 by 60
feet, and made many improvements thereon, including the building of a
wind pump. He has cleared 30 acres of each farm. He also owns an
interest in a farm at Beaver Dam. He has been a very extensive dealer
and raiser of fine stock and the results of the 10 large stock sales
which he has conducted indicate that the products of the "Golden Ridge
Stock Farm" have a first-class reputation throughout the State.
Politically, Mr. Arnold is a Democrat and cast his first vote, while
in the army, for General McClellan. He has been township trustee,
served six years as infirmary director and has been many times selected
as as a delegate of his party to important conventions. He belongs to
Mart Armstrong Post, No. 202, G. A. R. at Lima; is president of the
Farmers' Institute, of Jackson township, and was a member of the local
grange until the work of the order was discontinued in the township. He
is a member and a liberal supporter of the Methodist Church, being one
of the trustees; he was formerly Sunday-school superintendent and
president of the township association.
Personally Mr. Arnold, like the other men of his family, is of fine
presence and large and generous stature. He recalls his great- grand-
father, John Garee, as of similar appearance, and remembers sitting on
the latter's knee and listening to his tales of the War of 1812 and of
the pioneer struggles with the Indians. Mr. Arnold's only brother, the
late Joseph Arnold, weighed 229 pounds, was as large mentally as
physically, and a very successful business man. The younger generation
is also coming to the front, and the indications, are that Mr. Arnold
will have reason to be as proud of his grandchildren as he is justified
in being of his children. Mable, when a little miss of 10 years,
successfully passed a very difficult examination at the Boxwell
examination; she graduated from the Lima High School in 1905, and is now
teaching in the Garfield School, Lima, as a substitute.
A group picture of the Arnold Family accompanies this sketch, being
shown on a foregoing page.