Ohio, where for ten years he was employed as a bookkeeper and traveling salesman for Samuel Buthe & Company. His next home was in Hume, Illinois, where he embarked in the cattle business under the firm name of Woods & Mechling. Later, however, he disposed of his interests in the west and returned to Lancaster, where he became manager for F. C. Nelbe, proprietor of the Alleghany quarries. Since September, 1895, however, he has been continuously in official service, having at that time been elected city clerk, in which capacity he has served continuously since, his present term expiring in the spring of 1903, at which time he will have been the incumbent of the office for eight years. He is very accurate, thorough and systematic in the discharge of his duties, and his record is one of which he has every reason to be proud, for it has brought him high encomiums and the unqualified commendation of those who are familiar with the work of the office.

In November, 1891, Mr. Mechling was married to Miss Anna L. Getz, a daughter

of Henry and Christina (Latter) Getz, her parents belonging to old families of Fairfield county, and Mrs. Mechling was born, reared and educated in the city of Lancaster. By her marriage she has become the mother of two children, Ruth E. and George W. She holds membership in St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran church, one of the oldest religious organizations of Lancaster. Mr. Mechling belongs to the Bismark Club and since its organization, in 1897, has served as its secretary. His political support is given the Democracy and he takes an active part in local, county and state politics. He was for two years secretary of the department of state supervisors of Fairfield county and his labors in behalf of his party have been effective and far-reaching. Having long resided in Lancaster, he has a wide acquaintance here and the friends of his boyhood have continued their high regard for him throughout the years of his manhood, a fact which indicates his sterling worth and his fidelity to all qualities of an upright manhood.

Henry C. Williamson is a retired farmer in blue during the Civil war. He is now living in a pleasant home in Lancaster, enjoying the fruit of former toil. He was born in Bloom township, this county, on the 13th of October, 1843. His father, George W.

Williamson, was a native of Virginia, born in 1801, and the great-grandfather was George Williamson, Sr., whose birth occurred in Scotland and who was one of the old school Presbyterians. The grandparents of our subject were Theodore and Rhoda

(Prater) Williamson, who in 1808 removed with their family of ten children to Ohio, taking up their abode in Bloom township, Fairfield county, where the grandfather purchased one hundred and sixty acres in the green woods. The first house was a log cabin about sixteen by twenty feet. It contained one room, which served the purpose of kitchen, parlor and bedroom. Although the quarters were not very commodious, hospitality 'reigned supreme and many a guest was received beneath their pioneer roof. Indians were far more numerous than the white people and in motley garb stalked through the forest, which they claimed as their dominion until encroaching civilization caused them to seek homes far ther west. The Williamson family endured all the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a new country. Game was plentiful and the greater part of the meat for the family table was secured through the use of the rifle in the forest. In the family were six sons, including George W. Williamson, and all aided in the arduous task of developing and improving the new farm.

After arriving at years of maturity George W. Williamson was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Kemp, of Fairfield county, a daughter of Henry and Mary Kemp. They became the parents of ten children, nine of whom reached adult age: Theodore, born September 8, 1824, resides at Hilliard, Ohio; Sarah, born February 14, 1827, married Zephiniah Courtright; Zeruah, born July 18, 1829, married William Coffman; Martha, born October 14, 1831, married Solomon Alspach, of Missouri;

Lorinda, born June 28, 1834, became the wife of John E. Courtright of Paulding, Ohio; Evaline died in childhood; Elizabeth, born January 28, 1839, married Israel Bolenbaugh and is now deceased; Amanda, born August 10, 1841, married John Coffman, and is also deceased; Henry C., is the next of the family; and William A., born March 7, 1846, still resides on the old home farm in Bloom township.

In taking up the personal history of Henry C. Williamson we present to our readers the life record of one who is widely known in Fairfield county, having spent his entire life within its borders. In the usual manner of farmer lads of the period he spent the days of his boyhood and youth, pursuing his education in the district schools in the winter months and working in field and meadow in the summer. He was thus engaged until 1862, when, at his country's call for troops, he enlisted as a member of the Union army, joining Company D, Ninetieth Ohio Infantry, under command of Colonel Ross. He served for two years and four months and participated in many important engagements which lead to final victory, including those at Stone River, Franklin, Chattanooga, Chickamauga and Nashville, Tennessee. At the last named he sustained a severe wound, a shot piercing his right arm and shattering the bone so that the member had to be amputated close to the shoulder. He was taken to the hospital, where he remained six weeks, at the end of which time he started for home, taking passage on a steamboat at Louisville, Kentucky, but while en route was stricken with small

pox and transferred to the pest hospital at Covington, Kentucky. In September, 1865, he received an honorable discharge and returned to his home, having made a great sacrifice for his country, yet happy in the consciousness that he had done his full duty in preserving the Union and aiding in the abolishment of slavery.

For a short time after his return home Mr. Williamson continued his education in the home schools and then entered Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, where he pursued his studies for a year, and later he took a course in the commercial college at Zanesville, Ohio. He then returned to the old homestead in Bloom township, where he again engaged in general farming and stock raising and throughout the active years of his business career carried on agricultural pursuits.

In December, 1871, Mr. Williamson was united in marriage to Miss Sarah A. Tipton, of Fairfield county. She was born in Licking county, Ohio, November 27, 1844, and is the second daughter of John C. and Medina M. (Wheeler) Tipton. Her father was a native of Virginia, and when sixteen years of age came to Ohio with his parents, Joshua and Elizabeth Tipton, the family locating in Linnville, Licking county. When young he learned the brick mason's trade, which he followed during the greater part of his life. He married Medina M. Wheeler, a native of Pickaway county, Ohio, and a daughter of Isaac and Mary Wheeler. This marriage resulted in the birth of the following children: Mary E., who became the wife of Henry Snelling, of

Licking county, now proprietor of a hotel in Ashville, Pickaway county; Sarah A., wife of our subject; Benjamin F., a resident of Bloom township, Fairfield county; William J., a farmer of Franklin county; John C., a resident of Royalton; and Jennie E., now Mrs. Henry Pontius, of Lancaster. Mrs. Tipton died on a farm in Bloom township, March 13, 1890, and Mr. Tipton passed away at the home of our subject, October 15, 1900. Six children have been born to our subject and his wife, namely: Cora M. is now the wife of Frank Barr, of this county, and they have three children: Alvin Williamson, Eva Ruth and Floyd Ellsworth. Lillian E. died September 10, 1877, at the age of two years and seven months. Stella Annetta is at home. Ada F. is now teaching school. Achsa Futilla and Machsa Florilla, twins, were graduated from the Lancaster high school in June, 1902, and reside at home.

After his marriage Mr. Williamson began farming on his own account on a ninetythree-acre farm in Bloom township, which was deeded to him by his father. When his financial resources increased he added to his possessions by the purchase of an additional tract of one hundred and thirteen acres and thus was the owner of more than two hundred acres. The care and labor which he bestowed upon his fields brought to him excellent harvests and through the sale of his products he acquired a good financial return for his labors. In 1895 he removed from the farm to Lancaster, where he has since resided. He has two and one-half acres of land here, upon which is a pleasant residence