JAMES A. NIMAN, engaged in the undertaking business in Mansfield, is one of the oldest representatives of commercial life in this state and none connected with the business interests of Richland county enjoy any fuller degree or deserve in larger measure the respect and esteem which are everywhere entertained for him.  He was born in this county May 4, 1828, and is therefore one of the oldest pioneers, having witnessed the development and growth of the county for four score years.
     His father, John Niman, was born in Pennsylvania in 1800 and married in Richland county in the summer of 1816.  A decade and a half had not yet passed since the state was admitted to the Union, and great stretches of territory had not yet been explored by the white man, while the Indian population was still very numerous.  Meeting with the experiences, hardships, privations and also the pleasures of pioneer life, John Niman assisted in the work of laying broad and deep the foundation upon which now rests the prosperity and progress of the county.  He secured a tract of land and performed the arduous task of bringing it under cultivation, carrying on the farm work year after year until he reached the age of sixty, when he retired and removed to Mansfield, where he died in 1862.
     James A. Niman was reared upon the home farm and thus became acquainted with the duties and labors of the fields, but, thinking to find other pursuits more congenial, he left the farm at the age of eighteen years and was bound out as an apprentice for three years to the cabinetmaker’s trade.  After learning his trade he commenced work for the firm of Baker & Elder, furniture dealers and undertakers, with whom he continued for a year as an employe.  He was then admitted to a partnership in the business, and when another year had passed by he bought out his employers and continued alone.  After carrying on both branches of the business for some time, he at length discontinued the furniture department, but remains as one of the best known and most successful undertakers of this part of the country.  During the first year in which he conducted business he officiated at sixty-four burials, although but a boy at the time.  Since then his business has steadily increased, until in one year the interments of which he had charge numbered over three hundred.  In all of his business relations he has ever been found strictly fair and honorable, and has enjoyed to the fullest degree the confidence and good will of those with whom he has been brought in contact in every relation of life.
     On the 15th of January, 1852, Mr. Niman was united in marriage to Miss Plessy Egner, who was born in 1832.  They have two living children: Charles and Mrs. Ada Strock.  The parents traveled life’s journey together for more than a half a century, sharing with each other its joys and sorrows and the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all.  In 1904, however, they were separated in death, Mr. Niman being called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who was indeed a most estimable lady and had many friends.
     In his political faith Mr. Niman is a republican, having supported the party since its formation.  He holds membership in the Presbyterian church and also belongs to the Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.  He has lived to see the city of Mansfield grow from a village of two thousand to a thriving and beautiful city of over twenty thousand inhabitants.
     Mr. Niman is a man most highly esteemed by all who know him.  He has ever been just, upright and enterprising, not only in business but in all life’s relations.  He is a most sympathetic man and the poor and needy have found in him a friend whose quiet generosity has been most helpful in their hours of need.  He has been most free from ostentation in his benevolence, and yet there are many who have reason to bless his memory for his timely assistance.  Mr. Niman has now reached the eightieth milestone on life’s journey and can look back over the past without regret, for he has adhered closely to honorable, manly principles, and as one of Richland county’s native sons and pioneer citizens he well deserves mention in this volume.
Source: History of Richland Co., Ohio - from 1808 to 1908 by A. J. Baughman - Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908 - Vol. II - Pg. 545

JOHN B. NIMAN.     Business success is never attributable to any fortunate combination of circumstances, but results from close application, capable management and correct judgment as to the conditions of trade.  These qualities have been manifested in the business career of John B. Niman proprietor of the Union Foundry & Machine Works.  He was born in Richland county, Sept. 25, 1838, his parents being John and Margaret (Bradley) Niman, both of whom were natives of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.  The father came to Richland county in 1815 and settled on a farm near Mansfield, becoming one of the pioneer settlers of this portion of the state and contributing in substantial measure to its early development.  He removed to the city in 1852 and died here Sept. 30, 1864.  His wife survived him for many years and died Feb. 23, 1895.  She walked the entire distance from Greensburg, a town about fifteen miles from Pittsburg, to Mansfield, arriving here on the 20th of March, 1820.  Unto Mr. and Mrs. John Niman were born nine children, of whom two are living - John B., who is the sixth in the order of birth, and James A., who is now the oldest undertaker of Mansfield as regards the number of years connected with the business.  Three of the sons - John, William and Jerry - all served as soldiers of the Civil war.
     John B. Niman spent his boyhood to the age of twelve years on the home farm and then removed to Mansfield, acquiring his education in the country schools and in the public schools of the city.  At the age of nineteen years he became a member of the band of the Fifteenth Ohio Regiment and was mustered in Sept. 17, 1861, as a musician.  When the regimental bands were mustered out by general order in 1862 Mr. Niman returned and reenlisted as sergeant in the One Hundred and Sixty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, with which he remained until the expiration of his term of service.  He had previously worked at cabinetmaking, and in 1872 with others he started the Union Foundry & Machine Works.  Gradually one after another dropped out of the business and about four years ago Mr. Niman became sole proprietor.  He has been very successful in this line, for though he started out on borrowed capital he now owns the entire business, which is conducted under the name of the Union Foundry & Machine Works.  His plant is well equipped and a liberal patronage is enjoyed.  In addition to acquiring this business Mr. Niman has become the owner of a building containing six flats called "The Niman" at the corner of Mulberry street and Park avenue, west.  It is the finest modern apartment building in the city and in addition he owns one of the attractive homes in Mansfield, which he built in 1868 and which is situated at No. 245 West Fourth street.*
     The year following the erection of this place Mr. Niman was married at Mansfield, on the 11th of February, 1869, to Miss Hattie P. Ayres, a native of Rochester, New York.  They have five daughters: Ella E., now the wife of Walter M. Bisbee, of Chicago; Flora A., the wife of James L. Birch, of St. Louis; Aleene, at home; Hattie P., the wife of Dr. Alvin Lee, of Mansfield; and Carrie B., the wife of S. N. Burson, of Chicago.
     Mr. Niman maintains friendly relations with his old army comrades and was past commander of McLaughlin Post, No. 131, G. A. R.  He is also a member of the National Union, a fraternal organization, and of the Congregational church, in which he has served as a trustee for six years.  In politics he is a republican and has always taken a general interest in questions of the day, upon which he is inclined to be conservative rather than radical.  While he has reached the age of three score years and ten, he is still an active business man and in his spirits and interests seems yet in his prime.  His life record has been one of well directed activity and as the years have passed he has attained a creditable position in the business world.
Source: History of Richland Co., Ohio - from 1808 to 1908 by A. J. Baughman - Chicago: The J. S. Clarke Publishing Co. 1908 - Vol. II - Pg. 782-783
NOTE:  This house is still standing and can be found on google maps.