Arius Nye (1792-1865)

From the Genealogy of the Nye Family, 1907.

   After yesterday's biography of Mississippi native Servetus L. Crockett, we journey North to Ohio to profile Arius Nye, a prominent citizen of both Muskingum and Washington County. Nye served as a member of both houses of the Ohio legislature and also served stints as Prosecuting Attorney and Presiding Judge of Washington County.
  Arius Nye was born in Campus Martius (a fortification located in what is now Marietta, Ohio) on December 27, 1792. Arius was the fourth of twelve children born to Ichabod Nye (1763-1840) and his wife Minerva. Arius's oddly named younger brother (Anselm Tupper Nye, 1797-1881) also became a noted businessman and politician, serving as Mayor of Marietta on several occasions.
   Arius received his education at the Campus Martius fortification and later studied in common schools near the Marietta area. As a youngster, he was sent by his father to the town of Springfield (near modern-day Zanesville) in Muskingum County to work in a mercantile store. Barely into his twenties, Nye was named as a director of the Muskingum Bank in the settlement of Putnam and shortly thereafter went into business with his father in a firm called "I. and A. Nye".
   During his residence in Muskingum County, Arius Nye was admitted to the Ohio bar in the late 1810s and also married here in 1815. He and his wife (Rowena Millicent Spencer) would go on to have eight children, who are listed as follows: Arius Spencer (born 1816), Benjamin Tupper (1818-1878), Dudley Selden (born 1820), William Spencer (born 1823), Frances Rowena (1826-1890), George (born 1828), Harriett (born 1834) and Virginia Sophia (1837-1865). Arius's wife Rowena died in 1842 and five years later he remarried to Ms. Carolina Marie Sisson (1814-1901) and had three more children: Haile Collins Tupper (born 1850), Minerva Tupper (born 1853) and lastly, Theodore Sedgwick  (born 1854). 
   Nye was removed from Muskingum County to the town of Gallipolis in 1822 and shortly thereafter moved back to Marietta, where he established a law practice. During his early Marietta residency, Nye was a cashier and President of the Bank of Marietta and was later a trustee of the Marietta College. In 1827 he was elected to his first term in the Ohio State House of Representatives (representing Washington County) and was reelected to this body in 1828 and 1840. A roster from the legislative sessions in which Nye served has been provided below.

   In the year following his second term in the legislature, Arius Nye was elected as Prosecuting Attorney of Washington County. He served in this post until 1840, and in addition to his decade of service in this office, Nye was elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1831 and 1832. 

  The first few years of the 1840s proved to be quiet ones for Nye, and it wasn't until 1847 that he returned to public life. In that year he was named as Presiding Judge for a district that comprised six Ohio counties (Athens, Gallia, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, and Washington.) It is noted in the Nye Family of America that "to reach the county seats he was compelled to ride horseback" and because of the arduous nature of the judgeship, Nye only served three years in this post.

  Arius Nye died at age 72 in Marietta on July 27, 1865. It is remarked in the earlier mentioned work that at the time of his decease, Nye "maintained a wider celebrity than any other man living in Marietta." Arius, his first wife Rowena, and his younger brother Anselm are buried in the Mound Cemetery, located in Marietta. Caroline Sisson Nye, Arius's second wife, died aged 87 in 1901 and was buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery, also located in Marietta. 

Ner Middleswarth (1783-1865)

   For today's biography, I have the honor of profiling strangely named U.S. Representative Ner Middleswarth of Pennsylvania. Middleswarth has been one of my perennial favorites on the Strangest Names in American Political History (SNIAPH) list, and I was even able to visit and photograph his gravesite in Snyder County, Pennsylvania in August 2003. The rare portrait of Middleswarth shown above was discovered in Volume II of the 1886 work History of that Part of the Susquehanna and Juanita Valleys, Embraced in the Counties of Mifflin, Juanita, Perry, Union, and Snyder. 

   Ner Middleswarth was born in New Jersey on December 12, 1783, the son of John and Martha Middleswarth. Young Ner removed with his family to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania when he was ten and would reside in a log house during his childhood. Remarked as a "brave and hardy boy", he received what was referred to as "scanty schooling" during his youth. Middleswarth saw service during the War of 1812 as a captain, raising a company of volunteers to take part in the war effort. Attached to the Eighth Pennsylvania Rifles, Middleswarth, and his company are also mentioned as seeing action during the Niagara Falls campaign, marching towards Buffalo in the latter portion of 1812. 
   Ner Middleswarth is recorded as marrying in 1805 to Christine Schwartzkop (one article lists her last name as "Swartzline".) The couple's fifty-six year union produced twelve children (six sons and six daughters) and are listed as follows: John (1805-1831), May (1808-1876), Moses (1811-1888), Abner (1813-1887), Aaron (1815-1882), Abram (1815-1904), Merib (1818-1890), Elizabeth (1820-1902), Jacob (1822-1864), Martha (1824-1915), Sarah (1827-1900) and Matilda (1829-1915). 

This sketch of Middleswarth was done around the time of his military service.

    In 1815, Middleswarth was elected as a Whig to the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, serving a total of thirteen terms (1815-1842.) During the years 1828 and 1836, he served as House Speaker. Also during his tenure in state government, Middleswarth became quite successful in a variety of business ventures throughout Snyder County. Among these were the development of two sawmills, two distilleries, a clover mill, and a number of other pieces of real estate. In 1853 Middleswarth was elected to his first term in the Pennsylvania State Senate, serving here until 1855.

   In November 1852, Middleswarth won election to the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, where he served one term (1853-1855). At the conclusion of his congressional service, he returned to Pennsylvania, where in 1858 he began serving as associate judge of Snyder county. The latter office is mentioned as being the last public office in which Middleswarth served, as he died a little over a year after leaving this post. It is mentioned that he was worth in excess of $130,000 in 1860, quite a considerable sum for the time. What is also known is that Middleswarth lost most of this fortune due to a failed business venture involving the Beaver Furnace Company, located in what is now Paxtonville, Pennsylvania.

   Ner Middleswarth died on June 2, 1865, at age 81, and was buried in the Union Cemetery in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. He was predeceased by his wife Christina, who died at age 71 in 1861. During research on this unusually named politician, it was quite interesting to note that numerous genealogical resources exist that mention Mr. Middleswarth as being one of the most distinguished past residents of Snyder County and judging by the number of online sources mentioning his life and exploits, many in the Snyder County area still remember his name today.
  The obituary below for Middleswarth appeared in the June 13, 1865 edition of the Adams Sentinel, a newspaper published in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. If one reads closely, you'll notice that Middleswarth is mentioned as dying "in the 72nd year of his age", when he was in fact 81 years old. He is memorialized in this obit as a "common sense imbued man, whose natural energy and integrity of character rendered him respected and beloved by his fellow citizens."

  On August 17, 2003, I was lucky enough to be on vacation with my family near Beavertown and managed to seek out Middleswarth's final resting place. After some searching, his gravesite was found and one of the pictures I took that day is posted below (note the interesting weeping willow motif carved into the upper part of his stone.) The flag and star next to his gravestone honor his service in the War of 1812.