Milward Lance
In the anxious and laborious struggle for an honorable competence and solid career on the part of the average business man fighting the every-day battle of life, there is but little to attract the idle reader in search of a sensational chapter; but for a mind fully awake to the reality and meaning of human existence there are noble and immortal lessons in the life of the man who, without other means than a clear mind, a strong arm and a true heart, conquers fortune and gains not only the temporal rewards of his toil, but also that which is greater and higher, the respect and confidence of those with whom his years of active life have placed him in contact.
The subject of this sketch is a native son of Wayne county, having been born of Sterling, in Milton township,on the 5th of April, 1864, and is the son of Abram and Melissa (Ross) Lance. His paternal grandparents Henry and Betsy (Hoffstater) Lance, were natives of Pennsylvania, and came to Wayne county in a very early day. They located in Milton township, northeast of Sterling and there cleared a fine farm, on which they spent their remaining days, rearing a family and otherwise doing their full part in the development of this section of the country. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Ross, was a native of the state of New York and he too was an early settler in Wayne county, having at one time owned the land where the thriving little town of Sterling now stands. There he and his wife spent their later years and died. Abram Lance, the subject's father, was born in Wayne county, in October, 1838, she who afterwards became his wife being born here two years later. They grew to manhood and womanhood in their respective homes and in due time met and married.. They at once took up farming on their own account, occupying a part of the old Lance homestead. They were successful and stood high in the community, the father having taken a prominent and leading part in the Baptist church. They are now both deceased. They became the parents of seven children, all of whom are yet living. Abram Lance was three times drafted for military service during the Civil war. The first two times he sent substitutes in his stead, but the third time he went to camp himself, being soon discharged because of disability.
Milward Lance received his education in the common schools of Milton township and during his vacation periods he assisted in the work of the farm. He has always followed agricultural pursuits, having early in life realized that agriculture was the great basic industry on which rested the entire national commercial structure, and he has never regretted his choice. He rented land for a number of years, but in December, 1908, he bought a farm of eighty-nine acres, lying west of Sterling, and he established his home there in the spring of the following year. He has made a number of permanent and substantial improvements on the property and has others in contemplation. He is a wide-awake and progressive man and adopts twentieth-century methods in his work when he is satisfied of their feasibility. He carries on a diversified system of farming and is meeting with a gratifying degree of success.
In May, 1886, Mr. Lance was married to Emma Glessner, a native of Ashland county, Ohio, but who came with her parents to Wayne county at the age of ten years. Her parents were Alfred and Sarah Glessner, prominent and highly respected persons. Mr. and Mrs. Lance have become the parents of the following children: Flossie and Ray, who are at home, and one that died in infancy unnamed. Politically, Mr. Lance is a supporter of the Democratic party in national elections, but in local affairs he is incline to be independent, believing that the personal fitness of the candidate is of paramount importance. He is a man of worthy parts, no one in the community enjoying a better reputation for integrity of word and deed, and when a man stands high in the estimation of the people who have known him during his entire lifetime no greater testimonial of his worth can be offered.
From The History of Wayne County, Ohio, B. E. Bowen & Co., Indianapolis, 1910