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FRANK
LEFEVER, farmer; P. O., Iberia; was born May 20, 1852, in
this township, and is the eldest of a family of seven children,
by the second marriage of George Lefever to Catharine
Moudey; his youth and early manhood were spent to home on
the farm, assisting and attending to the multifarious duties
that pertain to farm life, and being thus closely employed, his
opportunities for an education were limited; yet he has had good
business training, his father being a successful farmer.
After attaining his majority, he began farming for himself, his
father placing in his possession a farm of 104 acres, located in
Washington Tp., which was unimproved; this he began clearing,
and after two years of ownership, Oct. 22, was united in
marriage to Mary Lyon, who was born in Sussex Co., N. J.,
Sept. 28, 1855; she is a daughter of J. R. Lyon.
After their marriage they located on his farm and lived one
year, then disposing of it, came to his present farm, consisting
of 200 acres, which was a part of the old Calmary farm,
located in the northeastern part of the township, which he is
now operating; he has made considerable improvement upon the
same, having cleared about thirty-five acres, and "underdrained"
about 550 rods. Has had two children - Grace, born
Oct. 8, 1875, died July 24, 1879; John Edwin, Oct. 25,
1878. Mr. Lefever and wife are members of the M. E.
Church.
Source: History of Morrow County and Ohio
-
Chicago: O. L. Baskin, 1880 |
HENRY LEPP,
who is ably filling the office of county commissioner of Morrow
county, Ohio, is a native son of the fine old Buckeye state and
he is descended from stanch German stock, both his parents
having been born and reared in Germany, where was solemnized
their marriage and whence they emigrated to America in 1843.
Henry Lepp was born in Tully township, Marion county,
Ohio, on the 16th of January, 1864, a son of Henry and
Elizabeth (Eichhorn) Lepp, the former of whom was born June
12, 1830, and the latter April 14, 1840. After their
arrival in the United States Mr. and Mrs. Lepp located in
Cleveland county, Ohio, and they became the parents of ten
children, four of whom are now deceased. Those living are:
Elizabeth who is the wife of S. B. Messmore, of
Edison, Ohio; Maggie, who married Leopold Long, of
Crestline, Ohio; and John, Henry, George and William, all
of Edison, Ohio. The father of the above children is now
living in virtual retirement at Galion, Ohio, and the mother was
summoned to the life eternal on the 21st of September, 1910.
Henry Lepp, the immediate subject of this
review, passed his boyhood and youth on the home farm and his
educational training was completed with a course in the high
school at Galion, Ohio. When twenty years of age he left
school and turned his attention to general farming. In
1885 he went to Kansas, where he was employed as a clerk in the
general store for the ensuing three years, at the expiration of
which he returned to Ohio, where he purchased a fine farm of one
hundred and thirty acres, eligibly located five miles north of
Edison, in Morrow county. He has been eminently successful
in all his business, ventures and at the present time, in 1911,
is an extensive stockholder in the Peoples Saving Bank at Mt.
Gilead, besides which he is also a stockholder in the Citizens
Telephone Company at Edison. In politics he accords a
stanch allegiance to the principles and policies of the
Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has been an
active factor. For three years he was a member of the
board of trustees of Washington township and in 1907 he was
given further mark of the confidence reposed in him by his
fellow citizens in that he was then elected to the office of
county commissioner of Morrow county. On the 8th of
November, 1910, he was reelected to this office, the various
duties of which he has discharged with the utmost efficiency.
On Oct. 1, 1894, at Beloit, Kansas, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Lepp to Miss Clara Sponsley who
was born and reared in Kansas. She is a daughter of
Charles and Mary E. (Haight) Sponsler, both of whom are now
residents of Kansas. Mr. and Mrs. Lepp have three
children, whose names and respective dates of birth are here
incorporated: Oscar, Jan. 5, 1897; Inez, Mar. 24,
1899; and Mary Aug. 15, 1901. Mr. Lepp is a
devout member of the German Reformed church, in which he is a
trustee, and Mrs. Lepp belongs to the United Brethren
church. In a fraternal way Mr. Lepp is affiliated
with Iberia Lodge, No. 561, Knights of Pythias. He is a
man of marked business ability and good judgment. As a
citizen he has never been lacking in public spirit and loyalty
but has always been a leader in all matters projected for the
general welfare.
Source:
History of Morrow County, Ohio by A. J. Baughman - Vol. II ~ Page
689 |
W. M.
LOWTHER, deceased - He to whom this memoir is dedicated
was for many years one of the leading and most prosperous
farmers of Westfield township, Morrow county, Ohio, and was such
a man as is particularly worthy of biographic honors.
Mr. Lowther was born in Athens county, Ohio, May
14, 1822, the son of William Lowther, who was one of the
pioneers of the Buckeye State. The maiden name of our
subject's mother was Mary Magdelena Foust, and she was a
mere child when her father, Jacob Foust, came to Morrow
county and settled in the immediate vicinity of Cardington.
By her marriage to Mr. Lowther she had two children:
W. M., the immediate subject of this review; and Samuel.
After the death of our subject's father, his mother
consummated a second marriage, being united to Jesse Foust,
who is now deceased.
Our subject while still but a mere lad, was compelled
to devote himself to consecutive and arduous labor in order to
aid in supporting his mother and her family of children by the
second marriage. He remained at home until the time of his
marriage, Nov. 5, 1845, when he was united to Lucinda Bowyer.
They became the parents of three children, namely: Henry B.,
Greenville J., and Madison W. After the death
of his first wife Mr. Lowther married Sarah J. Shaw,
who became the mother of two children: Loren S., and
Laura E. Sarah J. Lowther died in January,
1879, and Feb. 12, 1880, our subject consummated a third
marriage, being then united to Mary A. Peak, who was born
in Westfield township, Morrow county, Ohio, Feb. 21, 1842, the
daughter of Ziba Peak, who was a native of the State of
Vermont, and the son of John Peak, who was also born in
the old Green Mountain State, being of English extraction.
He and two of his sons were active participants in the war of
1812. The mother of Mrs. Mary A. Lowther was a
native of Vermont and was there reared to womanhood, her maiden
name having been Amanda Torry. Her father, Ezra
Torry, was born in Vermont and was of English descent.
The parents of Mrs. Lowther were married in Westfield
township, before the same had been separated from Delaware
county and included in the present county of Morrow. They
both came to the county when young and after their marriage
continued their residence in the same township. The father
died in his seventy-ninth year, and the mother still survives at
the venerable age of ninety years. They were the parents
of five children, concerning whom we offer the following record:
the eldest died in infancy; Eliza M. is the wife of A.
W. Bartlett, of Brown township, Delaware county, Ohio;
Julia C. is the wife of J. W. Mosher, of Edison,
Morrow county; Mary A., is the widow of the subject of
this review; and William T. is a resident of Westfield,
Morrow county, Ohio.
Mrs. Lowther received her preliminary education
in the district schools of Westfield township, and later
attended the public schools of Ashley and Cardington. By
his last marriage Mr. Lowther had no children. His
death occurred June 15, 1892, and in his passing away the
community lost one of its most honored citizens and one of its
most conscientious and able men, - one whose life had been true
to high ideals and one whose character was above reproach.
In politics Mr. Lowther originally lent his
influence and support to the Democratic party, but in later
years he was a stanch advocate of the principles and policies
advanced by the Republican party. He was essentially one
of those courageous and indomitable men who achieve success as
the result of their own efforts and intelligence, and he left a
competency to his heirs.
In the will of her late husband Mrs. Lowther was
named as executrix of the estate, and she now retains control of
284, acres of land, representing the fine farming tract
accumulated by the subject of this memoir. She is a woman
of much intellectual force and rare discrimination in regard to
affairs of business, and the estate could not have had been
placed in control of one who would administer its affairs more
carefully and conscientiously.
Source: Memorial
Records of the Counties of Delaware, Union & Morrow, Ohio -
Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Co. - 1895 - Page 200 |
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