Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/734

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��desire of his life. He regretted to see, and did all in his power to prevent, his native county from being clipped almost on all sides, despoiled of her original territory and fair proportions, but the feeling of the hour was for more new counties, and he was compelled to submit to a movement that he was powerless to resist. He took a high position both as a speaker and a careful, painstaking legislator, and filled the position with great credit and was regarded as among the foremost men of his party. In politics, he was a Democrat of the Jefferson and Jackson school and an earnest advo- cate of their political views. Toward the close of his senatorial career, his bodily health gave way, his mind became clouded under constant study and excitement, and he was removed to an asylum at Utica, N. Y., where his friends hoped that rest and the proper re- storatives would bring back his wonted vigor of mind and body. But this was not to be; he died July 17, 1847. Thus closed a career of remarkable activity and usefulness, and one whose high and pure character passed the fiery ordeal of public life blameless and without reproach.

NETSCHER, J. B., manufacturer, Mansfield; was born in Germany, in 1834, and is a self-made man. He began business in this city some thirty years ago, in a very small way, but has increased his facilities fully 200 per cent, for, in fact, as a manufact- urer of vinegar, he stands pre-eminent ; by means of his pomace leach and vinegar generator, no pomace is lost ; as soon as the cider is pressed out, what was considered useless is utilized by Mr. Netscher, and six or seven bushels of apples, after being pressed, will yield one barrel of choice vinegar that is ready for use in a few hours, and of a quality that never fails to please the consumer ; by means of this generation, from two to ten barrels of vinegar can be produced daily; this handy contrivance is secured by letters of patent. No. 199,854, dated Jan. 29, 1878; it is without doubt one of the inventions of the age, and will, when it becomes better known, create a revolution in the production of vinegar, while the price of this standard commodity will very materially diminish. Mr. Nets- cher by no means confines himself strictly to the making of vinegar, but apple-wine and cider as well, all of which is warranted pure, or no pay desired. This enterprising gentleman also deals in bituminous and anthracite coal, and occupies with his coal yard a lot 450x450 feet, located on Short street, near the B. & 0. depot ; at this yard, parties can always be sure of obtaining the very best bargains in coal that any firm in the city can offer. The warehouse and cellar wherein Mr. Netscher stores his cider and vinegar, is a two-story brick, 30x60 feet ; immediately in front of this building is a four-story brick structure, 30x70 feet, also owned by Mr. Netscher, which he rents for business purposes ; a telephone extends from the yard on Short street to the warehouse, or upper office, on Main street, thus affording immediate communication to either place. When running full time, Mr. Netscher employs twenty-eight men all the time, and uses the power of a fifteen-horse engine ; everything is com- plete, from the coalyard to the vinegar manufactory. Mr. Netscher is not only doing a public good in the manufacture of vinegar by his invaluable patent process.

��He is giving truth to the universal decision that America is the birthplace of all great ideas.

NEVIUS, L. W., dentist. Dr. Nevius was born in Knox Co., Ohio, Oct. 5, 1846 ; his father was an enter- prising, well-to-do farmer ; L. AV. lived with his parents on the farm until the fall of 1861, when he entered the Ohio Wesleyan College of Delaware, where he remained until the fall of 1863, when he enlisted in the 2d 0. H. A., and remained in the service until the close of the war ; as soon as he returned home he began the study of dental surgery, in the office of Drs. Semple & Stephens, Fredericktown, Ohio ; in 1867, he bought the office and practice of his preceptors, and carried on the business for himself; in the spring of 1871, he came to Mansfield and opened an office over Black's dry-goods store, on the corner of Main and West Mar- ket streets, a location he still occupies ; the Doctor fitted his office in an exceedingly neat and tasteful manner, an improvement on the most of the offices then seen where dental surgery was practiced ; his ideas were to disabuse the minds of his patients of the im- pression that a dental office was only a place of torture ; he placed beautiful pictures on the walls, an organ in the room, statuettes in the corners, books and music on the shelves, an aquarium with gold fish swimming in its waters, a variety of house plants in the windows and other tasty and pleasing ornaments about his room ; the result of this ornamentation soon had its efi'ect ; patients not only came from the city and the country, but from a distance, for a man who exhibits a cultivated taste for fine arts will always be a good workman. The Doctor's patients found him a man of pleasant address, free from every evil habit, and one who could not only appreciate their needs, but one who could relieve them ; his practice soon grew so that the rooms needed extending, and new improvements ; in 1875, he remodeled his office, added new rooms, giving him a cheerful, homelike reception-room, two operating rooms and a convenient laboratory ; these he fitted in the best style, making them the largest, best-lighted and most commodious dental rooms in Central Ohio; his practice now comes from all parts of Northern Ohio, attesting his skill as an operator, and standing as a gentleman. Dr. Nevius' recreation consists in driving a spirited horse, an amusement not only very pleasurable but invigorating ; it steadies his nerves and makes his brain clearer, when each morning he can enjoy a vigorous drive for an hour or more, and thus inhale abundance of fresh air, strengthening his sys- tem, and preparing him for his day's labor; whatever may be said of the practice, if other professional men would follow Dr. Nevius' example, either by riding or walking, a healthier and more cheerful class of human- ity would certainly exist. Dr. Nevius has lately asso- ciated with himself Dr. C. M. Roe, son of Joseph Roe, one of the pioneers and principal men of Springfield Township, a recent graduate of the Dental College of the Michigan University ; he bids fair to become a dentist of the best ability, and is a gentleman in every respect.

NIMAN, W. B., was born Sept. 29, 1831, in Mad- ison Township. Married Feb. 28, 1867, to Mary H. Slocum, who was born Dec. 2, 1842, in Sandusky Co. Mr. Niman enlisted in the army July 24, 1861, 2d 0.

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