OHIO STATEWIDE FILES OH-FOOTSTEPS Mailing List *********************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. *********************************************************************** OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest Volume 99 : Issue 212 Today's Topics: #1 JOHN LEIDIGH WALTER [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #2 SAMUEL C. BISSLER - STARK COUNTY [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #3 ANTHONY LAWRENCE LEININGER - STARK [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] #4 STARK COUNTY - PART 6 [AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M RE] ------------------------------ X-Message: #1 Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 21:15:27, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: JOHN LEIDIGH WALTER HISTORY OF OHIO, The American Historical Society Inc., 1925 Volume IV, page 7 JOHN LEIDIGH WALTER, highway engineer for Portage County and also county surveyor, was born in Northern Ohio, and since leaving school his experience and work have been in the engineering profession, and he has gained a well deserved reputation in that field. He was born in Marlborough Township of Stark County, Ohio, March 10, 1883, son of Byron and Etha (Housley) Walter, also natives of Stark County, his father born near North Canton and his mother in Lake Township. His paternal grandparents, Samuel and Sophia (Holl) Walter, were born in Plain Township of Stark County. The maternal grandparents were also natives of the same county. Byron Walter married in Plain Township of Stark County. He had been a teacher, but after his marriage he farmed a place inherited by his wife. They now live at North Springfield in Akron. John L. Walter began his education in the schools of Marlboro, attending there for two terms, and was then in the grade schools of Canton. In June, 1899, he graduated from the high school at Greentown, Ohio. For three years he worked at Canton in the office of County Surveyor J. H. Holl, and with this practical training he entered the Ohio Northern University, taking the course of civil engineering. In the spring of 1904 Mr. Walter joined the engineering department of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad on construction work, and was in that service four years. In the spring of 1908 he went to Wichita Falls, Texas, and became assistant city engineer in that rapidly growing city of North Texas. He left his work there and returned home on a vacation in July, 1909, and soon afterward accepted the offer to become assistant to the county surveyor of Portage County at Ravenna. His engineering work has since been confined to Portage County. In April, 1912, he was appointed resident engineer for Portage County under the Ohio State Highway Department, and has been the technical man on all work under the direction of this state department carried out in Portage County. On January 1, 1914, he was appointed county surveyor, and has held that office continuously since then by reelection. On September 16, 1909, Mr. Walter married Miss Gertrude Akers, who was born at East Akron, daughter of Henry and Ada (Jones) Akers. Her father was born in England and her mother in old Middlesburg, now a portion of the City of Akron. Mr. and Mrs. Walter had two children, William Harwood, born October 8, 1913, and George Akers, born April 17, 1916. Mr. and Mrs. Walter are members of the Congregational Church. He is a republican. He is a member Unity Lodge No. 12, Free and Accepted Masons, at Ravenna, is a Royal Arch and Knights Templar Mason, and a member of Al Koran Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Cleveland, also a member Yusef Khan Grotto of Akron. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and a member of the Ohio Engineering Society. ------------------------------ X-Message: #2 Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 21:15:30, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: SAMUEL C. BISSLER - STARK COUNTY HISTORY OF OHIO, The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925 Volume IV, page 54 SAMUEL C. BISSLER, proprietor of a furniture store and undertaking business at 12-14 East Main Street at Kent, is a well known citizen of Portage County, and nearly all his business career has been passed in that section of the state. He was born in Stark County, Ohio, November 20, 1871, son of Martin and Louisa (Wise) Bissler. His parents were natives of Germany, and his grandfathers, John Bissler and Joseph Wise, brought their families to Ohio in early days. Martin Bissler after his marriage lived on a farm east of Hartville, in Stark County, but in 1873 moved to Suffield Township, Portage County, where he and his wife bought farms of sixty and forty-five acres, a mile apart, both in the Bissler name. Martin Bissler died there in 1885, and his widow survived until April 1, 1905. Their children were: Katherine, of Kent, widow of Valentine May; Jacob and John, both of Brimfield Township; Barney, of Suffield Township; Charles, of Akron; Samuel C.; and one daughter and three sons now deceased. Samuel C. Bissler, the youngest son of the family, grew up on the farm in Portage County, attended the district schools, and at the age of seventeen he began his career of work, though he remained at home assisting on the home place for several years. At the age of twenty he moved to Kent, where he was employed as a teamster and also did some farming, and in October, 1892, became an employe of I.L. Herriff in the furniture and undertaking business. He was identified with the Herriff establishment for twenty-one years, assuming an increasing share of responsibilities in the management of business. Finally he traded his town property for a 162 acre farm in Brimfield Township, and personally conducted the farm for eighteen months. Selling out, he returned to Kent with the purpose of reengaging as a partner of Mr. Herriff. Shortly afterward Mr. Herriff fell ill and died a few years later. Soon after that Mr. Bissler bought the Burt Eckert livery business and entered into the undertaking business, and the following February he disposed of the livery interests and has since continued in business as a furniture dealer and funeral director. He has one of the successful business undertakings of his home town. On November 8, 1893, Mr. Bissler married Miss Clara Keener, who was born in Suffield Township of Portage County, daughter of Godfried Keener, a native of Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Bissler have four children, Ira S., now associated with his father in business, married Mary Armstrong and has two sons, named Jerry and Dick. Thelma Marie is the wife of Rexford L. Sampsell, of Kent. Mr. Bissler has served two terms on the City Council of Kent. He and his family are Catholics. In politics he is a democrat, and he has served as a trustee of the Knight of Columbus, is a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Kent Lodge No. 1376, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, is a Rotarian, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and the Twin Lakes Golf Club. ------------------------------ X-Message: #3 Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 23:57:27, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: ANTHONY LAWRENCE LEININGER - STARK CO. HISTORY OF OHIO, The American Historical Society, Inc. Vol. IV, page 183-184 with photo REV. ANTHONY LAWRENCE LEININGER recently completed a thirty-year service as pastor of St. Nicholas Catholic Church at Zanesville. In this pastorate of so many years he has distinguished himself for his thorough consecration and his ability as an organizer and constructive administrator. In building up a strong and efficient church he has served the entire city and community, and no one is more generally esteemed in Zanesville than Father Leininger. A native Ohioan, he was born at Navarre, in Stark County, August 17, 1862, son of Conrad and Tecla Leininger. His parents were natives of Germany. Anthony Lawrence Leininger was early chosen for service to the church. After attending the public and parochial schools of his native town he pursued his classical and philosophical studies in St. Vincent's College at Beatty, Pennsylvania, and took his theological course in St. Mary's Seminary at Baltimore. He was ordained at Baltimore by the late Cardinal Gibbons on December 20, 1888. Returning to his native state, Father Leininger became pastor of Millersburg and nearby missions in Holmes County. From the first he showed his successful ability to get constructive work done for his church. While there he remodeled and built the church of Glenmont, and at Millersburg he cleared up a $9,000 debt on the parish and made extensive improvements besides. In July, 1893, Father Leininger was transferred to St. John's Church at Logan, Ohio, and in the few months he was there he prepared the way for a new church. His long and successful pastorate of St. Nicholas Church of Zanesville began December 6, 1893. This is one of the old Catholic churches of Muskingum County, having been founded in 1842. Father Leininger's early years of pastorate there coincided with the great financial panic, but in January, 1897, he started a campaign for improvement and soon afterward plans were completed for a new church edifice. The cornerstone was laid July 10, 1908, by Rt. Rev. John A. Watterson, Bishop of Columbus. The handsome St. Nicholas Church of today is built in the Romanesque style of architecture, suggesting the ancient lines, of St. Peter's of Rome and St. Mark's of Venice. The material is mottled brick with terra cotta trimmings. Over the front entrance is a mosaic representing Columbus discovering America, one of the finest examples of mosaic art in the country. Father Leininger himself supervised every detail of the construction, selecting the material, drawing the designs and planning the church. He has been equally interested in providing an adequate educational equipment for his parish. Under his administration a high school building was erected, and there are now eighty pupils enrolled in the high school, which offers a four-year course, and 450 pupils are in the parochial schools. There are twelve teachers, and plans have been made for a new and modern twelve-room school building. In 1900 Father Leininger negotiated the matter of taking over the Margaret Blue Sanitarium by the Sisters of St. Francis, and in 1902 was begun the erection of the present Good Samaritan Hospital. This was occupied June 20, 1902, and in 1903 additions were made and an entire new building was erected in 1904, giving room for 100 beds. In 1914 a new nurses' dormitory, four stories in height, was put on the west end of the building, and in 1923 the five-story addition, costing $115,000, was erected. The Good Samaritan stands as one of the best equipped hospitals in Southeastern Ohio. Father Leininger is a forceful and eloquent speaker, and many times has given his cooperation to movements for the general civic welfare. He was active in all the war campaigns. He is a man of deep and thorough culture, and has traveled extensively over this country and oriental countries. He is a member of the Rotary Club, the Knights of St. George, and the Knight of Columbus. ------------------------------ X-Message: #4 Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 23:57:33, -0500 From: AUPQ38A@prodigy.com (MRS GINA M REASONER) Subject: STARK COUNTY - PART 6 HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS OF OHIO, By Henry Howe, LL.D., 1888 BIOGRAPHIES WILLIAM McKINLEY, JR. was born in Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, February 26, 1844. He received a common school education, which was interrupted before completion by his enlistment in May, 1861, as a private in the 23rd O.V.I. He gradually rose from the ranks and at the close of the war was mustered out with the rank of colonel and brevet-major. He then studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1867, and settled in Canton. He was prosecuting attorney of Stark County, 1869-71; was elected to the 45th, 46th, 47th and 48th congresses, receiving the certificate of election to the latter, but late in the first session his opponent was given his seat by the House. He was elected to the 49, 50th and 51st congresses, In June, 1888, as chairman of the platform committee of the Republican National Convention held at Chicago, he is accredited with drafting the resolutions that were adopted. He is the leader in Congress in protective tariff measures and the author of the tariff bill of October, 1890. It is a matter of pride to the people of Canton that it is the home of Major McKinley. It helps to make their place known to multitudes both continents, while his personal characteristics are such as to win the esteem and regard of all with whom he is associated in either public or social life. A late writer says, "In his home life Mr. McKinley is just as unassuming as in his public career. The house occupied by him overlooks the public Square in Canton. It is the old homestead of the Saxton family and is the property of Mrs. McKinley, who was a Miss Saxton. On account of the prominent position occupied in Ohio by the family, this mansion has been for years the headquarters for the reception of distinguished visitors in Canton. During the campaign of 1880 Garfield and Arthur, Senator Sherman and his brother Gen. W.T. Sherman, all met under this hospitable roof. Maj. McKinley is very fond of good horses, and also of the country. Just outside of Canton he has a small farm, and in the next county a larger one. He drives out to these nearly every morning and takes great personal interest in all the operations upon them. JOHN HANCOCK KLIPPART, who for nearly twenty-two years was Secretary of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture, was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1823. His ancestors were German, though citizens of the United States for two or three generations. His opportunities for education were at first limited, but he early learned to make every occupation a means of culture. In 1847, at the age of twenty-four, he married to Miss Emiline Rahn, of Canton. In 1856, while assistant editor of the Ohio Farmer, he was elected corresponding secretary of the State Board of Agriculture; had he been styled General Secretary it would have better expressed the extend and scope of his duties. At the meeting of the Board, although usually some member acting as Recording Secretary made a minute of the business transacted, these records were arranged by Mr. Klippart for publication in the annual report. The reports from County Societies were placed in his charge, and by him arranged and sent to press. Preparations for each State Fair were made by the whole Board, or by its executive committee, but a large share of the work unavoidably fell upon the secretary. Members of the Board, without compensation, gave their time to arranging for and attending the State Fairs at great sacrifice of personal interest, consequently Mr. Klippart, the only salaried officer connected with the Board, was left to look after numerous details. During the fairs innumerable matters required his attention, the services of the Secretary were always in requisition; so when the fairs were over, an immense number of settlements and adjustments were necessarily referred to him. Besides this he kept the office through the year and in addition to his legitimate duties, answered orally or by letter innumerable inquiries. Perhaps, none, except members of the Board, who of necessity were often in the office, could form an idea of the multitude of sensible and senseless questions to which the Secretary was expected to furnish a satisfactory answer. In addition to this, Mr. Klippart performed a large amount of literary labor of higher character. He wrote essays on almost all agricultural topics of interest, many of which required extensive research; he also translated many of the best articles from French and German periodicals. He made laborious compilations of statistics, showing the condition and progress of agriculture within the State. Two elaborate treaties emanated from his pen; one on the Wheat Plant, the other on Drainage; these were first published in the annual reports and afterwards in book form. In 1860 Governor Dennison appointed him one of the Board of Commissioners to proceed to the Atlantic seaboard, to examine and report on the pleuro-pneumonia of cattle, which was then creating consternation among the stockmen of the country. In 1865 he visited Europe, made an extended tour and an able report upon the various agricultural institutions there in operation. In 1869 he was appointed by Governor Hayes one of the Assistant Geologists for the State Survey. In 1873 he was appointed by Governor Noyes one of the Board of Commissioners to take measures for restocking the waters of the State with edible fish. In 1876 he attended the great Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia, to present there the agricultural products of Ohio. From all these appointments and consequent services rendered to the State, the volumes of the Ohio Agricultural Reports have been enriched; they certainly constitute a body of agricultural literature upon which the people of any state might look with satisfaction. These twenty-one volumes form a splendid monument to his memory and will serve to remind the farmers of Ohio, of his services to the State much better than any stately obelisk erected in a century. Mr. Klippart died October 24, 1878 being fifty-five years of age. The above is from remarks made by J.M. Millikin and N.S. Townshend, members of the State Board of Agriculture, at a meeting of the Board soon after Mr. Klippart's death. It was also said that from the life of Mr. Klippart three important lessons might be learned. From the amount of work done by him in early life and the excellent training it afforded, one may learn that it pays a man to work. From the success of his arduous labors and the service he was enabled to render to the State, it evidently pays well to work hard. But in view of the exhaustion of his powers and comparatively early decline, it is equally evident that it does not pay to work too hard. -------------------------------- End of OH-FOOTSTEPS-D Digest V99 Issue #212 *******************************************