William Wise

As printed in 1902

WILLIAM WISE.

When the tocsin of war sounded and men from all walks of life flocked to the standard of the country to take part in the battles for the preservation of the Union, William Wise also joined the boys in blue uniform and went to the south, where he proved himself a loyal soldier. His patriotic devotion to his country is equally manifest in his prompt and faithful service as a civic officer. For thirty-six years he has served as justice of the peace and no higher testimony of his efficiency and fidelity could be given than the fact of his long retention in office,

Mr. Wise was born in Montgomery county, Ohio, in 1840, a son of Felix and Martha (Leeper) Wise His maternal grandfather, James Leeper, was a native of Steubenville, Ohio, and died during the early childhood of his daughter. George

Wise, the paternal grandfather, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1784 and in 1840 removed to Pike township, Clark County, Ohio. In 1811 he became a captainof the Third Company of the Eighty-seventh Regiment of the Militia of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvanıa and served with that rank for several years. In Felix, the father of our subject; Mary, Joseph, George and Mrs. Johanna Sturges, all now deceased; Mrs. Rebecca McGeehan, and John, who have also passed away; David, who is living in St. Louis, Missouri; Mrs. Catherine Leffel, deceased; Mrs. Sarah Miller, a resident of Bloomington, Illinois; Jacob and Mrs. Margaret Hance, who are also deceased. By their marriage the parents of our subject had five children. Mary, the eldest, became the wife of John Black, a farmer, now deceased, and they had four children—Edna, Jennie, Josephine and John. William is the second in order of birth. George W. wedded Mary Brown and is now living in Dayton, Ohio, with their two children, Burton and Mabel. He is connected with the Barney € Smith car shops and served for one hundred days in the Civil war. James L., who married Almarinda Spangler, by whom he had two children, Harry and Cora, is now a resident of Dayton. Frank, the youngest member of the family, married Alice Stockstill and they are also living in Dayton. They reared three children, Walter, Bertha and Roy. Felix Wise, the father of our subject, passed away in 1875.

In the schools of Medway, Ohio, William Wise pursued his education, spending his boyhood days in his parents’ home. He was twenty-one years of age when in 1862 he enlisted in his country's serhis family were twelve children: vice as a member of Company I, One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Infantry. He was mustered out with the rank of sergeant at Washington, D. C., June 9, 1865, and returned home with a most creditable military record. He participated in the battle of Winchester, Virginia, under General Melroy, on the 13th lath and 15th of June, 1863, Wapping Heights, Locust Grove, Mine Run, the battle of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Courthouse, Gains Mills, Cold Harbor, Monocacy, Charleston, Smithfield, Winchester, Flint Hill, Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek, and the engagements in the vicinity of Petersburg, where he was wounded. He also sustained a wound at Cold Harbor. At the close of the war Mr. Wise returned to his home in Medway. He experienced all the hardships and rigors of war and was always found at his post of duty whether upon the picket line or the firing line. He never wavered in his allegiance to the old flag and the cause it represented and like the other boys in blue he deserves credit and gratitude of the nation for his share in preserving the Union.

For fifty-six years Mr. Wise has resided in Medway and is one of the honored and representative here. - ile 2 was united in marriage to Mattha V. McKinney, a daughter Cyrus B. and Melinda E. (Lamme) McKinney. Her. father was born in’ Bethel township, Clark county, in 1813 and in his family were four children: James; William F., a resident of Springfield; Mrs. Wise; and Frank E., ing in this county.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

Ohio.

C. Wallace, a farmer of Bethel township, and. they have two children—Donald M. and Roscoe. Roscoe D., the youngest member of the family of William Wise, is now employed as a bookkeeper by O. S. Kelly, in Springfield.

In his political views Mr. Wise has always been a stalwart Republican, fearless in defence of his convictions and untiring in his fidelity to the party in which he believes. For thirty-six years he has held the office of justice of the peace and his decisions have been strictly fair and impartial, neither fear nor favor influencing him in his opinions. He has always been true to what he believed to be his duties of citizenship and the best interests of the country, and is a man of genuine worth who has many friends in his section of Clark county.

As printed in A Biographical Record of Clark County Ohio (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.