David Straw

As printed in 1884

DAVID STRAW, one of the wealthiest and most prominent business men of this county, was born in what is now Pitt Township March 28, 1826. Samuel C. Straw, his father, was a native of Vermont, and came to Ohio about 1820. He was a school teacher for several years, and married Christina, daughter of John Staley, a native of Pennsylvania, who came first to Pickaway County, Ohio, thence to Pitt Township, this county in 1815. He reared six children, and prospered in agricultural pursuits, owning at one time upward of 400 acres. In 1844 and 1845, he lost his entire possessions by subscribing as security for others, and in 1858 died near Upper Sandusky, his wife surviving till 1874. Being the eldest of the family, and arriving at manhood during the financial embarrassment of his father, David Straw was obliged to start in life unaided, not even possessed of a common school education, being scarcely able to write his own name when nineteen years of age. In the fall of 1844, he began to work at odd jobs, as opportunity presented itself; the following spring found him employed in Huron County, Ohio, where he remained several months, at $13 per month. In November, 1845, he returned to this county, and with a cash capital of about $50, the net earnings of his few previous months' labor, he opened a grocery store on a small scale at Carey. His business increased rapidly and steadily, until in 1851 it had attained such proportions that he was entering upon an extensive wholesale trade. " There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." Equipped with a robust constitution, energy and pluck, Mr. Straw was prepared to improve every opportunity. Through the advice of a grocery salesman of New York, a party in that city engaged Mr. Straw, in 1847, to purchase and deliver to him a number of horses, which was done with entire satisfaction to his employer. Five men were employed to assist Mr. Straw in taking the drove of forty-two head, the trip from here to New York being made in thirty-two days. This transaction having given him considerable prestige as a successful horse-buyer, Mr. Straw was recommended by a friend, I. W. Hollister, of the American Fur Company, to the famous railroad contractor, De Graff, as the man best qualified to furnish the latter with horses for railroad work. Mr. Straw was consulted, and delivered a few animals at Springfield, Ohio, after which Mr. Hollister touching,for his integrity, he was furnished by De Graff with $5,000 to make other purchases from time to time as directed, his aggregate investment for that gentleman amounting to $36,000. Because of his business tact, Mr. Straw was introduced by Mr. De Graff to a member of an extensive wool-dealing firm, of Providence, R. I., their agent having decamped with a large amount of their funds. Mr. Straw was put in possession of their contracts, with instructions to operate for them in Ohio, and with this firm he was engaged till it disbanded in 1860, his purchases amounting to $500,000 per year. From 1860 to 1873, he was engaged with a firm in Philadelphia. Mr. Straw was also one of the most extensive grain shippers in this State. Through his friend, I. W. Hollister, he secured the co-operation of a firm of grain dealers in Oswego, N. Y., doing an immense business, his shipments amounting to four and five thousand bushels of grain daily, enabling him to load two boats at Sandusky City each week. Mr. Straw's mercantile trade was also extensive, his annual business, for a period of eighteen years, amounting to $80,000 per year, besides his commission business. In 1870, he withdrew personally from the mercantile field, but retained an interest two years later. He may be said to be one of the pioneer merchants of Carey, now being the only representative of the town's original business men. He was one of the founders of the People's Bank at Carey in 1868, which institution began business with a cash capital of $40,000, and in 1872 purchased its entire interests. The bank is now under the sole supervision of Mr. Straw, with his son Harry, as cashier, and with a capital of $70,000. D. Straw & Son are also extensively engaged, aside from their banking interests, in handling grain, seeds and wool. He owns about forty-one hundred acres of land in this county, stocked with 4,000 head of sheep, short-horn-cattle and fine horses. In 1883, at a cost of about $21,000, he completed one of the finest residences in this section of Ohio. March 25, 1852, he married Lucy Ann, daughter of Samuel and Laura (Day) Turner, and seven children were born to them, namely, Emma, Harry, Anna, Willie, Minnie, Grace and Robert. Willie and Minnie are deceased. Mrs. Straw departed this life in 1870, and two years later Mr. Straw married Margie V. Kirtland, of Huron County, Ohio. By this union three children have been born — Nellie, George and Lawrence. There is perhaps no better example of what may be accomplished by duty fully done, or what business obstacles may be surmounted through tact and energy, than that afforded by the history and life of Mr. Straw. Although a keen observer and a shrewd financier, he is likewise possessed of a broad and generous nature. Through business reverses his old friend, I. W. Hollister, became reduced in circumstances, and the closing hours of his life found him penniless. With much gratitude for assistance rendered in less prosperous days Mr. Straw and another party kindly defrayed all expenses for his care in sickness, and at his death accorded him a respectable burial. As a representative citizen of the county, we present a steel-plate port'ait of Mr. Straw in this work.

As printed in The history of Wyandot county, Ohio, containing a history of the county: its townships, towns, churches, schools, etc.; (1884). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.