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HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 Crawford County, Ohio 
 
 AND 
 
 Representative Citizens 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN E. HOPLEY 
 
 "Study History for it is Philosophy Teaching by Example" 
 
 PUBLISHED BT 
 
 RICHMOND-ARNOLD PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 P. J. Richmond, Pres.; C. E. Arnold, Sec'y and Treas. 
 CHICAGO, ILL. 
 
EDITOR'S PREFACE 
 
 The torch shall be extinguish'd which hath lit 
 My midnight lamp, and what is writ, is writ — 
 Would it were worthier! 
 
 — Byron. 
 
 The writing of this history has been the 
 work of over a year of constant research and 
 work, and the idea of the editor has been to 
 show by contrast the difference between the 
 past and the present. The latter all know, and 
 its blessings all enjoy. But the former, with 
 its trials, its hardships, and its struggles bravely 
 met, manfully born, and successfully over- 
 come should make the thoughtful reader more 
 content with the conditions of today. 
 
 In finishing the work, it is but an act of 
 justice on the part of the writer to express his 
 thanks to Hon. Carl C. Anderson, the member 
 of Congress from this district for the valuable 
 information he secured from the old records at 
 Washington; to Judge Daniel Babst of Crest- 
 line and Hon. R. W. Johnson of Galion, for 
 much valuable information; to James D. Fer- 
 ree for his valuable collection of historical 
 data; to the county officials of Crawford for 
 their imiform courtesy and assistance in the 
 search of all records; to the officials of Dela- 
 ware, Huron, Marion and Richland for similar 
 favors. In the preparation of the work, first 
 credit is due to the History of Crawford 
 County published in 1880, by Baskin and 
 Beatty, and written by many people, but the 
 histories of Bucyrus by Thomas P. Hopley 
 and of Galion by Dr. J. C. Mcllvaine were most 
 valuable. The old files of the Crawford 
 County Forum,with its pioneer letters of James 
 Nail, James Dunlap and others and of the Bu- 
 cyrus Journal with the letters of John Moder- 
 well, Robert Cowden and others furnished the 
 substantial early history of the county, the 
 Moderwell letters being the most complete of 
 the early records in existence. 
 
 The following are the more important 
 works from which the various facts were 
 gleaned : 
 
 Histories of the United States by Lossing 
 and Ellis. 
 
 LaSalle's Discoveries, by Parkman. 
 
 Bouquet's Expedition, by Parkman. 
 
 Red-Men's Roads, by Hurlbert. 
 
 Col. Smith's Captivity, 1755-59. 
 
 Crawford's Campaign, by Butterfield. 
 
 Narratives of Knight and Slover of the 
 Crawford Expedition, published in 1782. 
 
 Ohio in 1778, by James. 
 
 Histories of Ohio by Atwater, Taylor, King, 
 all published seventy to eighty years ago, and 
 the modern ones of Abbott, and Van Tassell's 
 Book of Ohio. 
 
 Howe's History of Ohio. 
 
 The Marion, Richland and Wyandot His- 
 tories of thirty years ago, all of which are ex- 
 cellent works, similar to the Crawford County 
 History of the same date; the modem history 
 of Marion county by Jacoby and of Richland 
 county by Baughman. 
 
 The history of Wayne county by Douglass, 
 Knapp's History of the Maumee Valley, and 
 Brice's History of Ft. Wayne, written thirty 
 years ago. 
 
 Files of the Columbus Gazette from 1820 
 to 1825, copies of the publications of the Ohio 
 Archaeological Society and of the Ohio Mag- 
 azine. 
 
 Reid's Ohio in the War, Siebert's Under- 
 ground Roads, the Lives of James Kilbourne 
 of Worthington and Judge J. T. Anderson of 
 Marion. 
 
 W. A. Taylor's Annals of Progress; the 
 early Gazetteers of Ohio. 
 
 While mistakes may have been made in this 
 History of Crawford County, let each one be 
 overbalanced more than a hundred times by * 
 the facts which are correct. 
 
 John E. Hopley. 
 Bucyrus, Ohio, Oct. i, 1912. 
 
PUBLISHERS' PREFACE 
 
 The aim of the publishers of this volume 
 and of the author of the history has been to 
 secure for the historical portion thereof full 
 and accurate data respecting the history of the 
 county from the time of its early settlement- 
 and to condense it into a clear and interesting 
 narrative. All topics and occurrences have 
 been included that were essential to this sub- 
 ject. 
 
 The reviews of resolute and strenuous lives 
 that make up the biographical part of the 
 volume are admirably calculated to foster local 
 ties, to inculcate patriotism and to emphasize 
 the rewards of industry dominated by intelli- 
 gent purpose. They constitute a most appro- 
 priate medium for perpetuating personal an- 
 nals and will be of incalculable value to the 
 descendants of those commemorated. These 
 sketches are replete with stirring incidents and 
 intense experiences and are flavored with a 
 strong human interest that will naturally prove 
 to a large portion of the readers of the book 
 one of its most attractive features. In the 
 aggregate of personal memoirs thus collated 
 will be found a vivid epitome of the growth of 
 Crawford County, which will fitly supplement 
 the historical statement, for its development 
 is identical with that of the men and women 
 
 to whom it is attributable. Sketches unrevised 
 by subscribers are marked by a small asterisk 
 (*) placed after the name of the subscriber. 
 
 The publishers have avoided slighting any 
 part of the work, and to the best of their abil- 
 ity have supplemented the editor's labors by 
 exercising care over the minutest details of 
 publication, in order to give the volume the 
 three- fold value of a readable narrative, a use- 
 ful work of reference and a tasteful ornament 
 to the library. 
 
 Special prominence has been given to the 
 portraits of many representative citizens, 
 which appear throughout the volume, and we 
 believe that they will prove not its least inter- 
 esting feature. We have sought in this de- 
 partment to illustrate the different spheres of 
 industrial and professional achievement as 
 conspicuously as possible. 
 
 To all who have kindly interested them- 
 selves in the preparation of this work, and 
 who have voluntarily contributed most use- 
 ful information and data, or rendered any 
 other assistance, we hereby tender our grate- 
 ful acknowledgements. 
 
 The Publishers. 
 
 Chicago, 111., October, 1912. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Geological History 21 
 
 Formation of the Earth, Including Crawford County — The Oldest Known 
 Inhabitant — Age of the Earth — Thickness of the Earth's Crust — Age of 
 Crawford County from a Geological Standpoint — The Order of Creation 
 — Geological Strata and Sub-Strata — The Glacial Period — Ancient Animal 
 Life — Plant Life — Pre-glacial Man — Mastodonic Remains Found at Bucy- 
 rus — Our Early "Settler^' — The Mound Builders. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Discovery of America 29 
 
 Landing of Columbus — Naming of America — Naddod, the Norwegian — Ice- 
 land Visited by the Irish — Early Norse Settlements There — Expedition of 
 Lief Erickson — Norse Settlements on Baffin's Bay, 1135 — Iceland in the 
 i2th Century — Visited by Columbus — The Zeni Brothers — Voyage of 
 Americus Vespucius — Spanish Settlements — The New World Presented to 
 Spain — Expedition of Sebastian Cabot — Ponce de Leon Lands in Florida 
 — Followed by DeSoto — Expedition of Cartier — D'Ayllon and Cortoreal 
 Kidnap Indians — Expedition of Verrazini — Possessions of Spain, England 
 and France in Americor— Massacre of Protestant Settlers by Menendes — 
 Avenged by DeGourges — Sir Richard Grenville Lands on Island of Roa- 
 noke — His Men Killed by Indians — John White Reestablishes Colony — 
 The First English Child Born in What is now the United States — The 
 Jamestown Settlement — Capt. John Smith — The Dutch Settle New York — 
 Landing of the Pilgrims — Penn Settles Pennsylvania — Other Settlements 
 — The United States Obtains Possession of Florida and Spanish Settle- 
 ments Beyond the Mississippi — Also Territory West of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains — The Northern Boundary Settled — Colonial Charters. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 Indian Occupancy 37 
 
 Character of the Indians — Failure of Attempts to Enslave Them — Their Lack 
 of Written Language — Their History Preserved by the Missionaries — 
 Their Traditions — Legends Concerning a Previous Race — Division of the 
 Country Among the Tribes — The "Five Nations" — Conflict with the French 
 
4 CONTENTS 
 
 and the Hurons — Sell Land to William Penn — The Franciscan Friars — 
 The Jesuits — Treaties of the Iroquois with the Whites — Their Wars with 
 Other Tribes — The Wyandottes and Ottawas — The French and Indian 
 Posts at Mackinac and Detroit — The Foxes Attack Detroit — Are Almost 
 Exterminated — The "Six Nations" — The Wyandots and Delawares in Ohio 
 The Shawanese — Indian Raids Into Pennsylvania and Virginia — French 
 Forts in Northwest Territory- — The French and Indian War — Washing- 
 ton Attacks the French — Braddock's Defeat — Triumph of the English — 
 Pontiac's Attempt — Ensign Paully's Capture and Escape — Murder of Pon- 
 tiac — Gen. Bradstreet's Expedition — Battle of Point Pleasant — Cornstalk 
 — Simon Girty — The Revolution and Its Results — The English-Pay Indians 
 for White Scalps — Attack on Ft. Henry — Bfavery of Elizabeth Zane — Col. 
 Crawford's Defeat and Death — Treaty of Ft. Mcintosh — Murder of Shor- 
 tay-ya-ron-yah — Other Treaties — Battle of Fallen Timbers — Boundaries 
 — War of 1812 — Surrender of Gen. Hull — Harrison's Expedition — Attack 
 on Ft. Meigs — Defense of Ft. Stevenson — Perry's Victory — Battle of the 
 Thames and Death of Tecumseh — End of the War. ■ 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 Settlement of the County 64 
 
 Organization of Previous Ownership — Indian Reservations — Formation of 
 Wayne County — Delaware and Knox Counties Formed — Richland County 
 Formed — Boundaries of Crawford County in 1820 — The Wyandot Reser- 
 vation Purchased — Indian Villages — Army Routes — Early Roads — The 
 Sandusky Plains — Passage of. Crooks^ Army — Ludlow's Survey — Bad 
 Lands — Abandoned Cabins — The "Old Purchase" — The Westward Move- 
 ment — Inhabitants of County Prior to 1815 — The First Land Owner — The 
 First Permanent Settler — A Fatal Accident — Early Distilleries — Indian 
 Treaty of 181'j — Supplementary Treaty — The New Land Surveyed and 
 Settled — Where the Pioneers Came From — Log Cabins and How They 
 Were Built — A ccidents — Furniture — Provisions — Baking — Water Supply 
 — Log Rolling — Clothing — Crops and Harvesting — Grist Mills — Bee 
 Hunting — Cranberries — Scarcity of Money — Prices of Various Products — 
 Blazed Trails — Pioneer Hospitality — Mails — The Traveling Minister — 
 Early Doctors — Pioneer Pastimes — Funerals — Improvements — The 
 County Erected and Named — Population in 1820 — List of Settlers. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Organization of the County 88 
 
 First Elections — Boundaries — First Taxes — Early Roads — Location of County 
 Seat — Col. Kilbourne's Proposition — Settlement of Bucyrus — The County 
 Organized — The Fight on Commissioners — Their First Proceedings — 
 Readjustment of Township Lines — Indian Purchase, 1835 — The Leiths — 
 Justice Garrett— Formatidn of the County in 1845 as it Now Exists — ■ 
 Township Changes — New Roads — The Courts — Contest for County Seat 
 — Donations of Leading Citizens — Erection of Court House — Visit of 
 
CONTENTS 5 
 
 General Harrison — The County Jail — Population of County in 1830 and 
 1850 — Construction of Railroads — New Court House — Improvements — 
 Court House of 1856 — New Jail — Care of the Poor — The County In- 
 firmary — Difficulties of Travel in Early Days — The Mails — Turnpikes and 
 Stage Routes — Early Stores — Population by Townships — Residents in 
 1826. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 Political 118 
 
 Early Politics — Campaign of 1840 — Harrison at Bucyrus — Campaign Song — 
 Exciting Campaign of 186^ — Minor Parties — Constitutional Conventions 
 — Vote of the County Since Its Organization — The County in State Politics 
 — Incidents of Early Campaigns — Crawford During the War — List of 
 Officials Since the Organization of the County. 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 Transportation Facilities 143 
 
 Indian Trails and War Routes— Swamps — Portages — Indian Village of Sac- 
 caium — Route Followed by Gen. Bradstreet — Capt. James Smith's Travels 
 — First Road in Crawford County — Geographical Notes by Seth Holmes 
 and James Nail — Military Roads — Blazed Trails — Corduroy Roads — The 
 Sandusky Pike — Work of Zalmon Rowse and Other Commissioners — 
 5". c& C. Turnpike Co. — Rate of Toll — Transportation of Mail — Activity 
 of Col. Kilbourne — The Sandusky Pike — Difficulties of Spring Travel — 
 Litigation — Stage Lines — Cost of the Old Portland Road — First Attempt 
 at Improved Roads — Railroads of the County — Railroad Excursion to 
 Bucyrus in 1853 — The "John Bull" Locomotive — Electric Roads — Amount 
 of Trackage in Crawford with Values by Townships. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Auburn Township 179 
 
 Location and Topography of the Township — Drainage — Creation of Auburn 
 Township and First Election — Early Settlers — Justices — Forest Adven- 
 tures — Early MUls — Churches and Schoolhouses — Waynesburg — North 
 Auburn — Mechanicsburg — Tiro — DeKalb Postoffice — A Prohibition Or- 
 dinance — Mr. Baker's Enterprise — Cranberries — An Indian Burying 
 Ground — The Hanna Graveyard — Other Cemeteries. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 BucYpus Township 194 
 
 Creation, Location and Topography — Drainage — First Settlers — Indian Sugar 
 Camp — Early Mills — The Nortons — Zalmon Rowse — Colored Pioneers 
 — Organization and Election in 1824 — Josiah Scott — A Township Treas- 
 urer's Responsibilities — Some Early Officials — Churches and Schools — «4 
 Traveling Schoolhouse — Miss Monnett's Donation — Early Taverns — 
 Farming Operations — Indian Trails — Roads — An Ancient Sword — 
 Cetneteries. 
 
6 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 Chatfield Township 212 
 
 Erection of the Township — Topography and Drainage — The Cranberry In- 
 dustry — Pioneers and Early Settlers — German Immigration — Early In- 
 dustries^:— Rearing Silkworms — Taverns — The McKinley Graves — Justices 
 — North Liberty and Its Founder — RichvUle — Chatfield P. O. Established 
 — Postmasters — Grove Hill P- 0. — Schools and Churches — Cemeteries. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Cranberry Township 224 
 
 Location and Erection of the Township — Topography and Drainage — Cran- 
 berry Marsh — First Settlers — Early Industries — New Washington — Kib- 
 ler's Tannery — Postmasters — Construction of Railroad — Justices — Educa- 
 tion — Churches. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 Dallas Township 232 
 
 Peculiar Shape of the Township — Dimensions — Fertility of the Soil — Erection 
 of the Township — Drainage — Stock Raising — First Settlers — Taverns and 
 Mills — Arrival of Johnston Family — Enterprise of Mr. Kerr — His Dofta- 
 tions — The Monnetts — Roads and Stage Lines — MUk Sickness and Cholera 
 Epidemics — Schools and Churches — Early Marriages — Justices — The 
 Bucyrus and Marion Electric Road. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 Holmes Township 242 
 
 Location, Drainage and Topography — Burnt Swamp — Limestone Operations 
 — Mysterious Mounds — First Settlers — First Elections — Justices — Ger- 
 man Immigration — An Early Tragedy — Joseph Newell's Town — Wingert's 
 Corners — Conflict Over a Name — Brokensword Postmasters — Early In- 
 dustries — Saloons and Taverns — Interesting Anecdotes — The Under- 
 ground Railroad — Schools and Churches — Sunday Schools — Stone Quar- 
 ries — Spore Post Office. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Jackson Township and Crestline 253 
 
 Jackson Township — Its Size and Location — Its Origin — Topographical Feat- 
 ures — Productions— First Settlers — An Early Tragedy — The First Road 
 — Early Schools and Teachers — Trading Points in Early Days — Taverns 
 — Livingston Laid Out. 
 Crestline — Growth of the Town — Railroad Interests-^First Passenger Train 
 Through Crestline — An Early Desription of the Town — First Merchants 
 and Prominent Citizens — Destructive Fires — An Exciting Bear Story — 
 Epidemic of Cholera^Manufacturing Interests — City Departments — 
 Schools — Churches — Justices — Incorporation of Crestline and List of 
 Mayors — Water Supply — Telephone Service — Banks — Societies — Past 
 Office and Postmasters. 
 
CONTENTS 7 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 Jefferson Township 264 
 
 Erection of the Township — Indian Trails — Roads — Wingemund's CatHp — = 
 Drainage and Topography — The Windfall — First Settlers — An Early Mar- 
 riage — An Early Tragedy — Mills, Taverns and Tanneries — Justices — Stone 
 Quarries — The Lees and Leesville — Graveyards — Schools and Churches. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Liberty Township , ■ • 273 
 
 Central Location of the Township — Drainage and Topography — First Settlers 
 — Mills — The Blowers Family — Other Early Settlers — Inter eating Anec- 
 dotes — Fertility of the Soil — Timber — Medicinal Springs — Justices — 
 Organizations of Township and First Elections — Early Treatment of the 
 Poor — Binding Out Children — Deckertown Laid Out — Fuckertown or 
 Brandywine Station — A Manuscript Newspaper — Teel Toivn — Annapolis 
 or Surphur Springs — Schools and Churches — Industries — S. S. Post- 
 masters. 
 
 CHAPTER XVn 
 
 Lykens Township 290 
 
 Boundaries of the Township — Erection — Justices — First Settlers — Drainage 
 and Soil — German Immigration — Lost in the Woods — Runaway Slaves 
 — Early Mills — Stores — Lykens Post Office and Postmasters — Schools and 
 Churches — Lodges — Quarries. 
 
 CHAPTER XVni 
 
 Polk Township 299 
 
 Origin of the Township — Home of Wingemund — Military Road — Indian Pop- 
 ulation — Johnny Cake and His Wife — Indian Burying Ground — An Ab- 
 ducted Child — Drainage and Soil — Organization of the Township — First 
 Election — Early Settlers — The Cranberry Industry — A Strange Recogni- 
 tion — Early Names of Galion — Rev. James Dunlap's Narrative— ^Early 
 Mills, Taverns and Distilleries — Churches and Schools — Cemeteries — 
 Justices of the Peace. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Sandusky Township 310 
 
 Township from Which All Others Were Erected — The Pioneers — The Knisely 
 Springs — First Camp Meeting and First Sunday School — "Governor" Fer- 
 guson Deals Out Justice to the Indians — A Woman Missionary. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 Texas Township . , 319 
 
 Early Settlers With Their Mills on the Sycamore — Benton Incorporated as a 
 Village to Comply with the Law— Its Early Mayors — "Old Pipes^' Store 
 Gives its Name to Fipetown — "Bishop" Tuttle, an Influential Citizen and 
 His Hobbies — Postmasters and Justices of the Peace. 
 
8 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 Tod Township 328 
 
 The Last Land in the County Occupied by the Indians — The Township Named 
 Three Times and Name Wrong Each Time — Oceola Laid Out with 
 County Seat Expectations-^— Early Settlers, Churches and Schools — Rem- 
 iniscences — A Horse Monument. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 Vernon Township 338 
 
 The Township Created — At First a Wilderness — Its Swampy Character in 
 Early Days — Wild Game — Boundaries — Geohgic Formation — Drainage 
 — Indian Occupation — First Settlers — First Deaths — Early Mills — West 
 Liberty — A Temperance Crusade in 1838 — Postmasters — DeKalb — The 
 DeKalb Seminary — A Row Over Postmaster — Decline of DeKalb — The 
 Underground Railroad — Oil Speculation — Schools and Churches — Justices 
 of the Peace. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 Whetstone Township 349 
 
 Topography of the Township — Survey of the Township — Its Erection — First 
 Election — The Soil — Early Prevalence of Malaria — First Settlers — Com- 
 ing of Zalmon Rowse — Enterprise of James Armstrong — First Mills — 
 Robbery of the Albrights — Crawford's March Through the Township — 
 An Indian Village — The "Green Sea" — Early Roads — A Peculiar Mar- 
 riage — The First Post Office — Founding of New Winchester, Olentangy 
 and North Robinson — The Underground Railroad — Postmasters — Early 
 Mills — Justices of the Peace — Schools and Churches — Graveyards. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 BUCYRUS, THE COUNTY SeAT 362 
 
 Origin of the Name Bucyrus — Arrival of Samuel Norton and Party — First 
 White Child Born in Bucyrus — Expert Spinners — Abundance of Game — 
 Shortage of Bread — Slow Milling — Arrival of Other Settlers — Col. Kil- 
 bourne — Norton's Agreement with Kilbourne — Survey and Platting of 
 Bucyrus — Naming of Streets — Sale of Lots — Bucyrus in 1826 — Early 
 Stores and Merchants — Prices in the Early Twenties — Fever and Ague — 
 Mrs. Lucy Rogers' Experience — Tanneries and Grist Mills — The Carys — 
 Early Industries — The First Tavern — Price of Whiskey — Mrs. Rogers 
 Thrashes an Indian — Selling Liquor to the Indians — Law Aagainst It — 
 Adventure of a Bibulous Citizen — Bucyrus Song. 
 
 City of Galion 414 
 
 First House in Galion — Arrival of Asa Hosford — His Enterprise — The Part 
 Played by Col. Kilbourne in Locating Site of Galion — Various Names of 
 the Early Settlement — Agreement Between Samuel Brown and John Ruhl 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 — The Two Galions — First Business Industry — Post Office Established — 
 Postmasters — Coming of the Railroad and Subsequent Prosperity — Visit 
 of Kossuth — The Part Played by German Settlers in Galion's Upbuilding 
 — John Kraft — Population — Incorporation as a City — Public Buildings — 
 Opera House — First Theatrical Entertainment — Religious Development — 
 Schools — Societies — Graveyards and Cemeteries — Fire Department — 
 Lighting System — Streets and Sewers — Banks — Buildings and Loan Asso- 
 ciations — Hotels — Public Library — Police Department — Telephone Serv- 
 ice — Honor to Galion's Founders. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 I 
 
 Manufactures 437 
 
 Introductory — Manufacturing Enterprises of Bucyrus, Galion, Crestline and 
 New Washington — The Crawford County Nursery. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 The Press 453 
 
 The Modern Newspaper — Scarcity of Newspapers in Early Part of ipth 
 
 Century — The Newspaper of Today the Reflection of Contemporary Life f^ 
 
 and History — The Rural Press — Character of Crawford County's News- 
 papers — Early Specimens — Lack of Local News in Early Newspapers — 
 The Scissors Succeeded by the Stereotype Plate — The First Printing Press 
 in Crawford County — The County's First Newspaper— ^-Newspapers of 
 Crawford County Past and Present and Their Editors — Interesting Anec- 
 dotes. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Military History of the County 469 
 
 The Revolutionary War — Two Battlefields in Crawford County — Revolution- 
 ary Soldiers Who Live in Crawford County — Ancestral Data — The War 
 of 1812-15 — The Mexican War — The Great Civil War — Regiment His- 
 tories — Decoration Day — The G. A. R. — Relief Corps — The Oldest Sol- 
 dier-'— Crawford County Heroes — Southern Prisons — Tribute to Sergeant 
 D. W. Young — The War With Spain — Record of Company A, 8th Regi- 
 ment, 0. V.I. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 Bench and Bar 5x5 
 
 The Ordinance of 1787 — Formation of the Courts — President and Associate 
 Judges — Justices of the Peace — Lawyers of Crawford County — Interest- 
 ing Cases. 
 
10 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER XXX 
 
 Medical 531 
 
 The Pioneer Doctor— Empirical Treatment in Early Days — The "Regular" 
 Treatment Often Ineffectual — Various "isms" — Credulity of the Laity — 
 Hardships Endured by the Pioneer Doctors — Fever and Ague — Physi- 
 cians of Bucyrus, Galion, Crestline and Other Towns in Crawford County 
 Past and Present. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 The Underground Railroad 539 
 
 Provisions of the Ordinance of ifSj in Regard to Slavery — Popular Feeling 
 in the North — The Fugitive Slave Act — The Underground Railroad — 
 Escape of Slaves Through Crawford County — Penalties — Interesting 
 Anecdotes — Underground Stations — How the Aspect of the Civil War 
 Might Have Been Changed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 Miscellaneous 547 
 
 Dead Man's Hollow — Ancient Land Marks — Hidden Treasures — The Bucy- 
 rus Mastodon — Johnny Appleseed — The Bad Indian— Population Statis- 
 tics—The Hermits — Agricultural Fairs — The Canal Crawford County 
 Did Not Get — The Cholera — Early Valuation and Expenses — Early Mar- 
 riage Licenses — The Name of Bucyrus. 
 
 Biographical Sketches 571 
 
SCNCC4 CO, 
 
 *^"'- ^^' fr- ■'''' "^^ 
 
 HURON CO. 
 
 R2IIV R2nW. 
 
 MORROW CO 
 
 MARION CO 
 
 MAP OF CRAWFORD COUNTY, 0., 1912 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abger, David F., M. D 1018 
 
 Ackerman, G. F 869 
 
 Adams, Eli 394, 330 
 
 Adams, Franklin 673 
 
 Ahlefeld, C. H 578 
 
 Albrecht, Christopher * 1008 
 
 Albright, Daniel 1309 
 
 Albright, George W 1309 
 
 Albright, Isaac - 776 
 
 Albright, John 353 
 
 Albright, Joseph 1309 
 
 Alt, J. B 949 
 
 AltaflFer, George F 1115 
 
 Anderson, David 341 
 
 Anderson, Francis M 1094 
 
 Angell, James L 1135 
 
 Angene, Horace 1065 
 
 Armstrong, James 353 
 
 Arnold, A. A 1082 
 
 Arnold, Charles 733 
 
 Arnold, W. E., D. D. S 753 
 
 Assenheimer, E. C 1049 
 
 Assenheimer, Frederic C 793 
 
 Assenheimer, Lewis H 790 
 
 Auck, John C 740 
 
 Auck, MicTiael 1138 
 
 Auck, Samuel E 1106 
 
 Auck, William H 1138 
 
 Aumend, Adam 70 
 
 Aumiller, Daniel 690 
 
 Aumiller, Emanuel 745 
 
 Aumiller, Miss Julia 690 
 
 Aurand, George 937 
 
 Aurand, Robert M 731 
 
 Aurand, Kufus 802 
 
 Babst, Carl M "99 
 
 Babst, Hon. Daniel 571 
 
 Babst, Jacob 1^03 
 
 Baer, Amos 1020 
 
 Baer, Peter 833 
 
 Bagley, Erwin S • 1300 
 
 Bair, Adam 377 
 
 Bair, Michael D 748 
 
 Bair, Samuel M 805 
 
 Baker, Curtis J 1043 
 
 Baker, Ephraim H 1165 
 
 Baker, Samuel 853 
 
 Barney, John G 1166 
 
 Barth, Henry A. 670 
 
 Bash Family, The 350 
 
 Bash, Peter L 809 
 
 Batchelder, David 1079 
 
 Battef eld, Hon. Lewis H 706 
 
 Bauer, George J 1070 
 
 Bauer, Peter 1015 
 
 Bauer, William D 1195 
 
 Beach, Frederick 875 
 
 Beach, George 784 
 
 Beach, Levi 773 
 
 Beadle, David 198 
 
 Beadle, Mishael ". 198 
 
 Beal, Edwin G 1048 
 
 Beal, Rev. Isaac '. 620 
 
 Beal, Simeon G '. 793 
 
 Beal, Wesley 914 
 
 Beall, Arthur J 589 
 
 Bear, Jacob J 339 
 
 Beard, George 856 
 
 Beaston, Albert L 838 
 
 Bechstein, Mrs. Minnie C 1073 
 
 Bechstein, William C 1073 
 
 Bechtol, Charles W 1340 
 
 Beck, George H 1331 
 
 Beck, Otterbein P 690 
 
 Beck, William M 1110 
 
 Beer, Hon. Thomas . . . . ■ 651 
 
 Beer, William C 585 
 
 Beilharz, Charles A , , . 666 
 
 Beltz, John C 1158 
 
 Beltz, William M , .1119 
 
 Bender, William , 663i 
 
 Berry, Frederick K , 1133 
 
 Bessinger, William H , . 1122 
 
 11 
 
12 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Biebigbauser, Henry 1031 
 
 Bigelo-w, Major J. Charles 1248 
 
 Bilsing, William A 866 
 
 Birk, Christian F 576 
 
 Birk, George M., Ph. D 636 
 
 Birk, John W., M. D 676 
 
 Bishop, Jacob K 1060 
 
 Bittikoffer, J. A 819 
 
 Blair, Herbert S 622 
 
 Bland, Jerome, M. D 930 
 
 Bleily, Ferdinand 1103 
 
 Bleily, WUliam A 1103 
 
 Blicke, William A 603 
 
 Bliss, Julius J 590 
 
 Block, W. F. L 1117 
 
 Blowers, John 375, 285 
 
 Blowers, William 276 
 
 Blum, F. X. 976 
 
 Blum, Joseph A 872 
 
 Bodley, Harry L 1106 
 
 Boehm, Peter 989 
 
 Boehm, Peter 957 
 
 Boeman, John J 381 
 
 Bollerer, Jacob 1079 
 
 Bonebrake, Charles F 928 
 
 Boner, James 225 
 
 Bormuth, Henry E 1149 
 
 Bowers, Frederick G '. .1102 
 
 Boyd, D. C. 1021 
 
 Boyer, John 352 
 
 Bracher, Julius 968 
 
 Braddock, Gen 42 
 
 Bradstreet, Gen 43 
 
 Braschler, Eev. Charles 597 
 
 Brause, George A 1213 
 
 Brause, Gottfried 292 
 
 Brause, Willis H. 1182 
 
 Brehman, E. J 1010 
 
 Brickley, D. W., M. D 642 
 
 Briggs, Albert L 588 
 
 Brinkman, Edward F 1214 
 
 Brinkman, Jesse E 1214 
 
 Brinkman, William F. 1214 
 
 Brinkman, Family, The 1214 
 
 Bronkar, Jerome M. 1142 
 
 Brough, John 126 
 
 Brown, Jesse G 1104 
 
 Brown, John H. 1102 
 
 Brown, Rt. Rev. William M., D. D 1148 
 
 Bryan, Edelbert A 1187 
 
 Bryant, Charles P 635 
 
 Buck, WUliam W 1054 
 
 Bucklin, Albigence 196 
 
 Burghbacher, Johannes 214 
 
 Burgbacher, William 1190 
 
 Burger, George 1127 
 
 Burgert, Thomas B 1013 
 
 Burkhart, Sanford W. 765 
 
 Burnison, John S 649 
 
 Burns, Charles 315 
 
 Burnison, Samuel 249 
 
 Byers, George 70, 339 
 
 Cahill, D. C 712 
 
 Cahill, John C. 870 
 
 Cairns, Frank. M 1107 
 
 Cake, Johnny 300 
 
 Caldwell, Hugh 1135 
 
 Caldwell, Samuel S 101 
 
 Campbell, John 352 
 
 Campbell, John B 1224 
 
 Campbell, Victor D 1091 
 
 Candel, Harvey 1088 
 
 Carpenter, George T 1196 
 
 Carson, T. B 757 
 
 Gary, Lewis 375 
 
 Casey, Forest 740 
 
 Casey, James E 1184 
 
 Cassel, David . H 1058 
 
 Chadwick, Ira B 724 
 
 Chesney, John A., M. D 1222 
 
 Chilcote, Joshua 225 
 
 Christee, Urias ggg 
 
 Christie, David 831 
 
 Clements, James 99 
 
 Clutter, Thomas H. B., M. D 1068 
 
 Clymer, John R .' . 127 
 
 Cobb, Carl E 921 
 
 Cole, Daniel 182, 183 
 
 Cole, William 69, 183 
 
 Colter, Jacob 685 
 
 Cook, Francis E 753 
 
 Cook, Isaac 781 
 
 Cook, John L 795 
 
 Cook, Wesley S 677 
 
 Cook, William 1115 
 
 Coon, Adam and John 321 
 
 Cory Family, The 225 
 
 Coughlin, Thomas 126 
 
 Coulter, Edward E 760 
 
 Coulter, James W. 973 
 
 Couts, Benjamin F. 762 
 
 Couts, Henry 275 
 
 Cox, Homer 1081 
 
 Coyer, PhUlip W. 959 
 
 Coykendall, Jacob 69, 181 
 
 Coyle, C. C 993 
 
 Crall, Earl W 709 
 
 Crall, Oliver K 758 
 
 Cramer, Philip 917 
 
 Craner, John C. 702 
 
 Crawford, Allen A 1083 
 
 Crawford, Col. William 47, 50, 55 
 
 Griddle, A. R. 1031 
 
INDEX 
 
 13 
 
 Crider, James 827 
 
 Crim, Christian S 927 
 
 Crissinger, Charles J 645 
 
 Crissinger, Emanuel C 905 
 
 Crissinger, Elias , . . . 897 
 
 Cristee, Urias 868 
 
 Crosby, William 126 
 
 Crowe, William F 868 
 
 Crum, Mrs. Frances 908 
 
 Cummins, David 183 
 
 Cunningham, William E 1163 
 
 Davis, Capt. William R 997 
 
 Day, Jacob L 578 
 
 DeardorfF, Emanuel 376 
 
 Decker, James 1150 
 
 Decker, John B 1160 
 
 Deerwester, C. P 1107 
 
 Deerwester, W. S 790 
 
 Deisler, Edwin , 1197 
 
 Do Lashmutt, John S 610 
 
 Dennig, Christopher W 1236 
 
 Dennig, William J. 1239 
 
 Denzer, Andrew W. 983 
 
 Denzer, Jacob A. 1033 
 
 Denzer, Simon J 796 
 
 De Eoche, A. A 614 
 
 Derr Bros. & Co 1138 
 
 Derr, Prank -. 1138 
 
 Derr, J. W 1138 
 
 Dice, Mrs. Sarah A 659 
 
 Diebler, John L 725 
 
 Dick, Franklin P 936 
 
 Dietrich, George J 1045 
 
 Dinsmore Family, The 651 
 
 Ditty, Tira E 861 
 
 Ditty, William 1067 
 
 Dobbins, Hugh M 989 
 
 Dobbins, Hugh O 989 
 
 Doll, HoUister F 1180 
 
 Donnenwirth, Adam 993 
 
 Donnenwirth, A. F 1143 
 
 Donnenwirth, George 990 
 
 Donnenwirth, George F 623 
 
 Dostal, George A 683 
 
 Dostal, John M 683 
 
 Dowd, Ebenezer 377, 379 
 
 Drolesbaugh, T. M 648 
 
 Drumm, Peter 1172 
 
 Dunlap, Eev. James 306 
 
 Dumwald, Martin 1240 
 
 Dutter, H. 669 
 
 Dye, Henry C 1235 
 
 Eakin, Frank M 712 
 
 Eckert, John E 1131 
 
 Eckstein, George P 1071 
 
 Eckstein, Henry E 1072 
 
 Eckstein, John F 771 
 
 Eckstein, Peter 1071 
 
 Edelstein, Anchel 597 
 
 Edler, Charles 1044 
 
 Eichelberger, David B 638 
 
 English, John 982 
 
 Ensminger, Albert M 766 
 
 Errett, Jeremiah 1098 
 
 EtSinger, Charles F 1188 
 
 Exley, John W 898 
 
 Faile, John 1033 
 
 Failor, Andrew 378 
 
 Farmers Exchange Bank, New Washington 1212 
 
 Faulkner, John E 845 
 
 Fauser, John J 773 
 
 Feiring, Otto 752 
 
 Fenner, Amandus 880 
 
 Fenner, Foster 734 
 
 Fenner, George W. 734 
 
 Ferguson, James 292 
 
 Ferrall, William L 728 
 
 Ferree, James D 1215 
 
 Field, Cyre r 1336 
 
 Fike, C. F 1042 
 
 Fischer, John F 714 
 
 Fisher, Anthony 1032 
 
 Fisher, Col. Cyrus W 592 
 
 Fisher, Jacob 71 
 
 Fitzsimmons, Dr. James F. 700 
 
 Flaharty, Adorham J 613 
 
 Flickinger, Alvin G 576 
 
 Flickinger, C. H 611 
 
 Flickinger, Herschel V 881 
 
 Flickinger, Samuel ". 250 
 
 Flocken, Michael 614 
 
 Foster, Caleb B 875 
 
 Foster, Francis M 1088 
 
 Foster, George E 1003 
 
 Foster, Ira G 1088 
 
 Foster, Eobert 376 
 
 Foy, Jacob 291 
 
 Fralick Family, The 250 
 
 Frank, C. P 999 
 
 Franz, John 106 
 
 Franz, Col. John 7O8 
 
 Frazee, Andrew 1019 
 
 Freer, James 116I 
 
 Freese, Egbert M 1143 
 
 French, Alva 684 
 
 French, John B 312 
 
 French, John W. 981 
 
 French, S. L 681 
 
 Fry, Elmer J nsg 
 
 Fry, Eugene E me 
 
 Fuhrman, Philip 608 
 
14 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Fulton, Cochrane 126 
 
 Fulton, Perry C 667 
 
 Gaibler, David C 676 
 
 Gallinger, Charles 1310 
 
 Gamble, James W 750 
 
 Gangluff, Mrs. Catherine 933 
 
 Gangluff, Henry 933 
 
 Ganshorn, Jefferson 1130 
 
 Garriguea, W. H 871 
 
 Garton, Harris 377 
 
 Gebhardt, John 747 
 
 Geer, William J 1002 
 
 Geiger, Charles E 637 
 
 Geiger, Henry 393 
 
 Geiger, Jacob 856 
 
 Geissman, John B 868 
 
 Geissman, William H 1163 
 
 Gelsanliter, J. E 644 
 
 George, Alfred C 848 
 
 Gerstenslager, John P , . . . . 733' 
 
 Gibson, Andrew H 1038 
 
 Gibson, John E 816 
 
 Gibson, Mervin J 630 
 
 Gill, Bloomer B 893 
 
 Gill, James W 892 
 
 Girty, Simon 43, 44, 57 
 
 Gordon, John 896 
 
 Gorman, Daniel E 781 
 
 Gormly, James B 1049 
 
 Gottfried, Jacob 1123 
 
 Grafmiller, Mrs. Phebe 1007 
 
 Graham, David 824 
 
 Grau, John 913 
 
 Grauer, G. W 918 
 
 Green, Frank R 1181 
 
 Green, Howard M 904 
 
 Green, James H 952 
 
 Green, William 69, 180 
 
 Greenick, Clarence E 655 
 
 Griffeth, Wilbur 1206 
 
 Grisell, Thomas J 574 
 
 Gugler, Carl J 1101 
 
 Gugler, J. Lew 713 
 
 Guinther, Jacob F 932 
 
 Guinther, Samuel W 770 
 
 GuisB, Charles A 664 
 
 Gundrum, William 876 
 
 Gwinner, William G 773 
 
 Hadley, E. W. 1086 
 
 Hageman, Henry 1069 
 
 Haley, John 793 
 
 Hall, Joseph 292 
 
 Haman, Frank B 857 
 
 Hanna, James M 1025 
 
 Harer, J. 1173 
 
 Harman, Sherman R 685 
 
 Harper, James 90 
 
 Harris, George W •. 934 
 
 Harrison, Gen. William H 60, 98, 131 
 
 Harrop, James B 843 
 
 Harter, Fred F 638 
 
 Harter, John H 881 
 
 Hartle, E. G 1101 
 
 Harvey, Elmer E 833 
 
 Harvey, Ulysses G 836 
 
 Hassler, M. F 1133 
 
 Hawks, Seth 183 
 
 Haworth, Albert 1011 
 
 Hazlett, John L 1306 
 
 Heck, Ferdinand 650 
 
 Heer, Henry M 1093 
 
 Heffelfinger, Benjamin 1056 
 
 Heibertshausen, William 1337 
 
 Heinla, Edward C 754 
 
 Heinle, J. L ^ . . , 601 
 
 Heinle, Joseph 913 
 
 Heinlen, Emanuel 728 
 
 Heinlen, E. E 764 
 
 Heinlen, James E 975 
 
 Heinlen, John J 1020 
 
 Heinlen, L. Frank 734 
 
 Heinlen, Samuel r 1096 
 
 Heinlen, Simon M 946 
 
 Hemminger, Mary M 249 
 
 Henkel, Carl H 780 
 
 Henkel, Charles 919 
 
 Henry, John 319 
 
 Herbold, John G 1251 
 
 Herbold, Philip 971 
 
 Herr, Peter F 1192 
 
 Hershner, Charles M 1205 
 
 Hershner, Henry 271 
 
 Hess, Charles 1034 
 
 Hess, Henry ? . . . 1034 
 
 Hetich, Paul 1 357 
 
 Heydinger, Charles 986 
 
 Heydinger, Frank 951 
 
 Heydinger, Mrs. Margaret 95] 
 
 Hibner, John 303 
 
 Hieber, Frederick W 574 
 
 Hieber, Jacob 635 
 
 Hieber, John G 923 
 
 Hieber, Mrs. Lizzie 932 
 
 High, Adam 227 
 
 High, Adam F 963 
 
 High, J. J 977 
 
 High, William A 609 
 
 Hilborn, Isaac 314 
 
 Hilborn, T. E 1002 
 
 Hildebrand, Curtis E 776 
 
 Hildebrand, C. E 536 
 
 Hildebrand, Jacob 909 
 
INDEX 
 
 15 
 
 Hillis, Davis W 633 
 
 Hills, Pearl J 1001 
 
 Hipp, Christian 214 
 
 Hipp, Hon. Frederick 604 
 
 Hipp, J. George 746 
 
 Hoeriger, Frank J 758 
 
 Hof stetter. Miss Louise 814 
 
 Holcker, Charles 1084 
 
 Holcker, Herman 1062 
 
 Holcker, Jacob 1084 
 
 Holcker, Louis 1084 
 
 Holcker, Richard 1063 
 
 Holt, Sidney 296 
 
 Holtzhouse, Jay L 785 
 
 Hoot, Daniel W 985 
 
 Hoover, Burdett K 834 
 
 Hoover, Christian 234 
 
 Hoover, Charles F 633 
 
 Hoover, Christian 796 
 
 Hoover, George M 1181 
 
 Hoover, George W. 656 
 
 Hoover, Lincoln 932 
 
 Hoover, William F 817 
 
 Hopley, Frank L 1195 
 
 Hopley, James E 686 
 
 Hopley, John 627 
 
 Hopley, John E 948 
 
 Hopple, Jeremiah 895 
 
 Howe, Aaron B 70 
 
 Hubbert, Philip 355 
 
 Hubbell, Walter M 611 
 
 Hubley, J. Foster 655 
 
 Hulse Brothers 70 
 
 Hunsicker, Henry W 1085 
 
 Hurr, Isaac W 613 
 
 Jackson, Gen. Andrevr 63 
 
 Jacobs, August 293 
 
 Jcnner, George L 1109 
 
 Johnson, Disberry 72, 303 
 
 Johnson, Emanuel 919 
 
 Johnson, J. E 641 
 
 Johnson, Prof. Thomas N 1248 
 
 Johnston, Henry D. E 945 
 
 Johnston, Eobert W 964 
 
 Johnston, Thos. F 235, 378 
 
 -Jones, William 1118 
 
 Juilliard, Jean N 607 
 
 Jump, Charles N 801 
 
 Jump, W. J 690 
 
 Kalb, William 214 
 
 Kaple, Andrew 969 
 
 Kavanagh, Edward 696 
 
 Kearsley, Major Edmund R 699 
 
 Keckler, Josiah H. G 978 
 
 Keel, William H 575 
 
 Kehrer, Frank B 1074 
 
 Kehrer, Henry A 782 
 
 Keifer, Peter H 1080 
 
 Keller, Amos F 1103 
 
 Keller, 0. J 914 
 
 Kemp, F. L 1043 
 
 Kemp, Victor L 639 
 
 Kennedy, Otho W. 595 
 
 Kennedy, Thomas S '■ 1065 
 
 Kepler, Flavins S 833 
 
 Kern, John F 1220 
 
 Kerr, Alexander M 707 
 
 Kerr, John 736 
 
 Kerr, Robert 236 
 
 Keyes, Rev. Francis J 1124 
 
 Kibler, A. G .1352 
 
 Kibler, Matthias 228 
 
 Kibler, S. J 580 
 
 Kichline, George H 968 
 
 Kieffer, Louis 988 
 
 Kiess, Joseph F 733 
 
 Kiess, J. H 899 
 
 Kiess, Sidney E 808 
 
 Kiess, Simon 721 
 
 Kiess, Verne E 1233 
 
 Kiess, William C 692 
 
 Kiess, Winfield S 720 
 
 Kilbourne, Col. Jas 90, 97, 366 
 
 Kile, Eli 803 
 
 Kimble, Willis P 1037 
 
 Kimmerline, F. A 1138 
 
 Kimerline, Jonathan F 1022 
 
 King, Joseph ' 1152 
 
 Kinsey, A. H 1097 
 
 Kinsey, Henry A 1035 
 
 Kitteridge, John 303 
 
 Klein, G. M 1038 
 
 Kleinknecht, Jacob K 769 
 
 Klopp, Charles E 1145 
 
 Knapp, Jacob nag 
 
 Knapp, John R 136 
 
 Knell, William 738 
 
 Knisely, Joseph , 896 
 
 Knisely, Samuel 73 
 
 Knoble, Lewis L., V. S 1151 
 
 Kopp, Frederick L 1219 
 
 Krauter, John W 924 
 
 Krauter, William 785 
 
 Kreim, Frank J 10O6 
 
 Kreim, Joseph 1029 
 
 Kreiter, Daniel 1104 
 
 Krohn, Henry S 835 
 
 Kuehnle, Frederick 343 
 
 Kuhn, George M 779 
 
 Kunnert, Rev. John P 96I 
 
 Kurrley, Henry R 907 
 
 Kurtz, Isaac 735 
 
16 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Kurtz, John J 703 
 
 Kurtz, Samuel 891 
 
 Kurtz, Samuel 1234 
 
 Kurtz, Simeon 6 751 
 
 Lahman, William 978 
 
 Laird, Robert 686 
 
 Lake, Charles 727 
 
 Lamb, Frank E 1001 
 
 Lanius, Charles H 851 
 
 La Rue, Frank 1090 
 
 La Rue, Harry 6 615 
 
 Lash, G. Franklin " 891 
 
 Lashmutt, John S. De 610 
 
 Lauck, Benjamin F 1086 
 
 Lauck, George 377, 381. 
 
 Lauer, William 1121 
 
 Laughbaum, A. H ^ 955 
 
 Laughbaum, Isaac A 784 
 
 Lauthers, John A 866 
 
 Layer, George F 918 
 
 Lea, H. A 929 
 
 Lederer, A. G 970 
 
 Lederer, Jacob 985 
 
 Lee, Rev. Robert 269 
 
 Leith, Geo. W 94, 329 
 
 Leith, John and Samuel 94 
 
 Leitzy, Joseph 848 
 
 Leitzy, John M 666 
 
 Lemert, Lewis 338 
 
 Lemert, Col. Wilson 0. 1179 
 
 Leonhart, George 214 
 
 Leonhart, William A 1183 
 
 Lepp, Henry 1019 
 
 Leuthold, Alfred 650 
 
 Leuthold, Godfrey 656 
 
 Leveridge, Benjamin 303 
 
 Lewis, A. W 1239 
 
 Lewis, Milton R 737 
 
 Libins, Edward 1305 
 
 Lichty, G. Raymond 833 
 
 Light, John H 595 
 
 Lingenfelter, Claude A., M. D 870 
 
 Link, Adam 278 
 
 Linn, L. J 947 
 
 Linn, Orra H 578 
 
 Lisse, Hugh 774 
 
 Long, Michael 972 
 
 Longstreth, Thomas W 984 
 
 Loomis, John W 668 
 
 Lones, Joseph 243, 251 
 
 Lonsway, Raphael M ''21 
 
 Lott, Harry E 889 
 
 Loudon, A. A • 1009 
 
 Lowe, Austin F 1036 
 
 Lowmiller, William H 723 
 
 Loyer, A. E., M. D 602 
 
 Lucus, John 315 
 
 Ludlow, Maxwell 68 
 
 Ludwig, Clark T 601 
 
 Luke, John 315 
 
 Luscombe, John T 695 
 
 Lust, Abraham J 596 
 
 Lust, David, V. S. . : 837 
 
 Lust, Jacob 853 
 
 Lust, John 994 
 
 Lutz, Gottlelb 214 
 
 Lutz, T. John 847 
 
 McCallister, Belman 7H 
 
 McCarrell, James S., D. D. S 851 
 
 McCarron, John W 643 
 
 McCarthy, William 1191 
 
 McClain, Marcus H 1113 
 
 McClellan, John M 1146 
 
 McClenathan, William A 1196 
 
 McCracken, Chas. W. 136 
 
 McCracken, Hugh, James and John 377 
 
 McCracken, James 600 
 
 McClure, Thomas 275 
 
 McDougal, Victor 718 
 
 MoFarland, Forest R 678 
 
 McFarquhar, Hugh 639 
 
 McGaughy, F. C, D. D. S 675 
 
 McHenry, William M 857 
 
 McJunkin, Harry M 1120 
 
 McKinley, James 316 
 
 McMichael, Daniel 198 
 
 MoMichael, John 612 
 
 McMichael, Leroy 1041 
 
 McNeal, Dennis A 890 
 
 McNeal, Joshua 890 
 
 McWherter, William H 1080 
 
 Mackey, David 1167 
 
 Mackey, Harry 791 
 
 Mader, William F 633 
 
 Magee, James 314 
 
 MaGee, William 714 
 
 Malcolm, Gilbert F 815 
 
 Mann, Charles A 936 
 
 Maple, Aaron 1156 
 
 Marquart, August 1066 
 
 Marquart, George M 939 
 
 Marquart, Jefferson 959 
 
 Marquis, William V 300 
 
 Martin, George F. 983 
 
 Martin, Harry J 584' 
 
 Martin, James J., M. D 579 
 
 Martinitz, John 830 
 
 Mason, John 235 
 
 Mason, William 691 
 
 Matthew, Charles F 853 
 
 Maxfield, John 275 
 
INDEX 
 
 17 
 
 Mayer, George C 636 
 
 Meek, Benjamin 587 
 
 Meek, John A 847 
 
 Messner, John 789 
 
 Meuser, John 665 
 
 Meyer, John C. i 805 
 
 Michener, Carey A 1076 
 
 Millard, Rev. Thomas 184 
 
 Miller, Carl C 1147 
 
 Miller, Charles H 1075 
 
 Miller, Charles E 706 
 
 Miller, Daniel 305 
 
 Miller, Edward 951 
 
 Miller, Hon. Frank 1067 
 
 Miller, George W 1076 
 
 Miller, Herman F 633 
 
 Miller, Miss Inez 907 
 
 Miller, Isaac 331 
 
 Miller,- Jacob 321 
 
 Miller, James 844 
 
 Miller, James W 1046 
 
 Miller, Hon. J. R 931 
 
 Miller, Lewis 932 
 
 Miller, Miss Louise 773 
 
 Miller, Mrs. Samuel 863 
 
 Miller, Stansbury L 761 
 
 Milliken, John I....y 836 
 
 Milliron, William E 1105 
 
 Mitchell, William B 1136 
 
 Moderwell, John , 377, 383 
 
 Moe, Albe 1050 
 
 MoUenkopf, L. F 972 
 
 Monnett, Abraham 237 
 
 Monnett, Abraham 942 
 
 Monnett, Abram C 867 
 
 Monnett, Ephraim B 1171 
 
 Monnett Family, The 201 
 
 Monnett, Jeremiah 237 
 
 Monnett, Rev. Thomas J 909 
 
 Monnette, Isaiah S 1124 
 
 Monroe, A. W. 994 
 
 Monroe, Charles F 1023 
 
 Moorhead, Alem 1175 
 
 Morgan, Chalmer D., M. D 1198 
 
 Morkel, John P 1061 
 
 Morckel, Tobias 1095 
 
 Morehead, Jedediah ■ 69' 
 
 Morrow, James L 1157 
 
 Morse, Rodolphus 70, 181, 184, 189 
 
 Motsch, Joseph 1119 
 
 Murphy, John S 664 
 
 Musgrave, R. W 278 
 
 Mutchler, William 1 906 
 
 Muth, Willis E 1133 
 
 Myers, George 225, 227 
 
 Nagel, L. H •■■•• 876 
 
 Nail, James 73, 303, 304, 373 
 
 Nedolast, George 950 
 
 Nedolast, Mrs. Thomas ■ ■ 1016 
 
 Neff, Aaron 938 
 
 Neflf, Adam 1108 
 
 Neflf, Emanuel 900 
 
 Neflf, Frank A 1093 
 
 Ness, George F 1092 
 
 Neumann, George W 671 
 
 Neuman, Jacob J 783 
 
 Neumann, Peter T 819 
 
 Newell, Joseph 245 
 
 Newkirk, Arthur C 1150 
 
 Nickels, George W 1073 
 
 Niedermeier, Joseph 1026 
 
 Niman, Jeremiah 786 
 
 Noblit, John A.. 780 
 
 Noggle, Walter L.. 1151 
 
 Norton, Fernando J 823 
 
 Norton, Samuel 90, 97, 195i 374, 397 
 
 Nungesser, Christian A 1030 
 
 Nungesser, Melanchthon G 798 
 
 Nungesser, Frank 1134 
 
 Nungesser, Samuel W 1168 
 
 Oberlander, H. N 837 
 
 Otto, Carl L 1110 
 
 Ocker, Allen W. 922 
 
 Oder, Charles 1082 
 
 Parcher, John 855 
 
 Parcher, Samuel . . ....'. 353 
 
 Patterson, Jesse J. 1123 
 
 Paul, Doddridge 331 
 
 Paully, Ensign 43 
 
 Paxton, Harry A , 810 
 
 Peppard, D. M 1047 
 
 Perky, Christopher 293 
 
 Perrott, Ralph 646 
 
 Perry, Commodore 63 
 
 Peterman, William L 599 
 
 Pettigon, John 69 
 
 Petri, Jacob H 960 
 
 Retry, David 863 
 
 Pfahler, Jefferson 1252 
 
 Pfahler, John C 974 
 
 Pfouts, John D 631 
 
 Phelps, Frederick J 818 
 
 Phillips, A. N 879 
 
 Phillips, Henry 876 
 
 Picking, Samuel 381 
 
 Pickering, Lewis D 923 
 
 Pif her, Joseph 1045 
 
 Pigman, Frank 633 
 
 Place, Burt B 1056 
 
 Poister, Henry ggg 
 
 Pool, Hon. P. W 1233 
 
18 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Porter, David 246, 249 
 
 Porter, Howard B 1199 
 
 Pounder, Harry A 1168 
 
 Poundstone, Jacob 382 
 
 Powers, Volney 237 
 
 Pratt, William H 238 
 
 Piiehta, John A 972 
 
 Piigh, John 220 
 
 Pugh, Moses 939 
 
 Pugh, Senate A 946 
 
 Quaintance, Ira E 1238 
 
 Quaintance, Jesse 379 
 
 Quaintance, John 221 
 
 Quig, John A 1017 
 
 Quilter, Frank J 759 
 
 Reid, Edward G 703 
 
 Reid, William M 703 
 
 Reiff, Charles G. F 643 
 
 Reiff, J. C 608 
 
 Reisinger, Louis K 1127 
 
 Reiter, Lewis 726 
 
 Renseh, Albert •. 912 
 
 Resch, William T 963 
 
 Rexroth, Henry P 683 
 
 Rexroth, John N 883 
 
 Rhoads, Porter F 1083 
 
 Richards, James 339 
 
 Rieksecker, Michael A 658 
 
 Ridgely, Westell 71, 266, 268, 269 
 
 Roberts, Charles W. 1174 
 
 Roberts, Mrs. Elizabeth, Sr 834 
 
 Roberts, John 1173 
 
 Roberts, Joseph W 1174 
 
 Robinson, J. Bert 913 
 
 Robinson, William 269 
 
 Roche, A. A. De 614 
 
 Roehr, Charles 1320 
 
 Rogers, Mrs. Lucy 374 
 
 Rondy, John W 1091 
 
 Rooks, Levi L 1245 
 
 Roop, H. J 889 
 
 Rorick, Samuel 583 
 
 Rosencrans, John 238 
 
 Ross, George 619 
 
 Ross, Jacob F 1053 
 
 Ross, John W 1137 
 
 Ross, Philip 616 
 
 Rowe, Charles R 588 
 
 Rowe, Thomas G 589 
 
 Rowse, Arthur C 616 
 
 Rowse, Zalmon 90, 97, 199, 352 
 
 Rue, Frank La 1090 
 
 Rue, Harry G. La 615 
 
 Ruhl, Frank I •■ 630 
 
 Rumer, Andrew McI 810 
 
 Rupert, Emery 994 
 
 Russell, John W 1323 
 
 Russell, Joseph 70 
 
 St. Bernard's Catholic Church , 961 
 
 St. Joseph's Catholic Church 1054 
 
 St. Joseph's Catholic Church , 1093 
 
 St. Mary's Catholic Church 1055 
 
 St. Patrick's Catholic Church 1134 
 
 Sand, George 846 
 
 Sargel, Henry C 947 
 
 Sawyer, John F. 1035 
 
 Sawyer, R. E 1036 
 
 Sehaber, Hgn. Charles F 573 
 
 Schaber, John A 106 
 
 Schack, Anthony 615 
 
 Schaefer, John J 1141 
 
 Schafstall, Albert C, V. S 955 
 
 Schieber, Emanuel 623 
 
 Sehiefer, Abraham 1089 
 
 Schiefer, George W 906 
 
 Schifer, William F 607 
 
 Schill, John 1155 
 
 Schill, M. H 668 
 
 Schimpf, John 889 
 
 Schmitz, Rev. G. M 1055 
 
 Schneider, Jacob J 882 
 
 Schreck, Francis M 958 
 
 Schriener, Rev. A. H 1054 
 
 Schuler, Harry R 797 
 
 Schumacher, Charles B 900 
 
 Schwenck, William J 703 
 
 Scott, Josiah 126 
 
 Scott, William C 883 
 
 Seroggs, Charles J 806 
 
 Sears, Rufus V 587 
 
 Seele, Albert J 854 
 
 Seele, WiUiam C 933 
 
 Seery, Reno R 1048 
 
 Seery, Solomon 293, 297 
 
 Seibel, Martin F 825 
 
 Seibert, Zen W., V. 8 1134 
 
 Sells, Rebecca 249 
 
 Shade, William R 769 
 
 ShaftstalV Christian P 1017 
 
 Sharer, Claude B 908 
 
 Sharrock, Alvertis D 861 
 
 Sharrock, Benjamin . . . . , 72, 300 
 
 Sharrock, Oscar K 679 
 
 Shawk, Charles L 645 
 
 Shawk, Jay F 891 
 
 Shawk, Jennings T ' 903 
 
 Shawk, T. C 
 
 Shealy, John 583 
 
 Shealy, Louis E 880 
 
 Shearer, Benjamin 95c 
 
 Sbearer, Charles W. . . ., 843 
 
INDEX 
 
 19 
 
 Shearer, David 764 
 
 Shearer, Isaac 818 
 
 Sheckler, C. E., M. D 854 
 
 Sheckler, John P 1031 
 
 Sheehe, Charles M. 920 
 
 Sheetz, John H 1211 
 
 Sheihley, Alhert 940 
 
 Shell, Mrs. Catherine 1029 
 
 Shell, Joseph M 1029 
 
 Shemer, George L 693 
 
 Shemer, Levi 838 
 
 Sheppard, Col. David 44 
 
 Sheppard, Rev. Thomas J 660 
 
 Sherer, Simeon F 624 
 
 Shifley, Frederick E 598 
 
 Shonert, Christian 689 
 
 Shreck, Andrew 353 
 
 ShroU, Charles A 904 
 
 Shultz, Geo. P 376 
 
 Shumaker, Albert E 841 
 
 Shumaker, John B 1042 
 
 Shunk, Adam 682 
 
 Shunk, Nelson F 683 
 
 Shupp Family, The 250 
 
 Shupp, Michael 393 
 
 S'idner, Martin 598 
 
 Siefert, John 1123 
 
 Siefert, William 1013 
 
 Simonton, Charles A 1142 
 
 Simpson, Homer 804 
 
 Sites, Benjamin L 1067 
 
 Slifer, John 387 
 
 Smalley, Samuel 276 
 
 Smith, Elliott A 828 
 
 Smith, Horace J 1057 
 
 Smith, Howard H., M. D 1233 
 
 Smith, H. W 836 
 
 Smith, Isaac W 1164 
 
 Smith, Joseph 314 
 
 Smith, Jefferson 1 719 
 
 Smith, Joseph G 999 
 
 Smith, J. J 726 
 
 Smith, Kelly E 1148 
 
 Smith, L. Melancthon 1352 
 
 Snodgrass, Thomas 1111 
 
 Snyder, Christian 266 
 
 Snyder, Clarence E 801 
 
 Snyder, Frank J 654 
 
 Snyder, George 1058 
 
 Snyder, William H 1244 
 
 Solze, Frederick 1192 
 
 Songer, Hon. Edward J 762 
 
 Songer, Jonathan 1238 
 
 Songer, William H '. 996 
 
 Sourwine, Frank A 1098 
 
 Sourwine, Mrs. Frances M 1098 
 
 Sourwine, Henry 1098 
 
 Sowash, James 1050 
 
 Speigel, Winfield S 646 
 
 Spiegel, Edward A 827 
 
 Spiegel, J. W 834 
 
 Spillette, Frank H 934 
 
 Spillette, James M. 1014 
 
 Sponhauer, Henry C 1343 
 
 Sponseller, J. P 958 
 
 Spore, Charles S 874 
 
 Springer, W. L 813 
 
 Sprout, Webster H 817 
 
 Sprow, Frank 975 
 
 Stair, Frederick 1090 
 
 Starner, A. A., M. D 1036 
 
 S'tephan, Charles C 873 
 
 Stiger, Elias 964 
 
 Stiger, Jacob W 743 
 
 Stine, Charles E < 998 
 
 Stewart Family, The 351 
 
 Stoltz, Albert G 584 
 
 Story, Nehemiah and John. 303 
 
 Story, Nehemiah and Nathaniel 73 
 
 Strauch, George J 1054 
 
 Strieker, Daniel J 596 
 
 Stuckey, William J 1073 
 
 Stuckman, Fulton N 844 
 
 Stuckman, John W 1029 
 
 Stump, Henry J 746 
 
 Stump, Samuel J 871 
 
 Sutter, Joseph E 1060 
 
 Sutter, Louis H 1163 
 
 Swalley, William '. 393 
 
 Sweney, William S 637 
 
 Switzer, Charles E 1175 
 
 Swope, Isaac F 1346 
 
 Tames, James 314 
 
 Teel, George W 383 
 
 Thomas, P. C 1070 
 
 Throupe, James 749 
 
 Tobias, Daniel M 693 
 
 Tobias, Hon. James C 1144 
 
 Tobias, John L 627 
 
 Tobin, David E 1224 
 
 Trago, John H 1176 
 
 Trautman, Philip 1014 
 
 Trimble, Charles E., M. D 987 
 
 Treftz, Michael 277 
 
 Trimble, Hugh 353 
 
 Trish, Frederick 841 
 
 Tupps, Calvin D 762 
 
 Tupps, Isaac H 771 
 
 Tupps, Samuel A 775 
 
 Tupps, T. T 948 
 
 Tupps, William L 764 
 
 Tuttle, Daniel 334, 334 
 
 Uhle, Frederick B 1247 
 
20 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Uhl, L. G. F 1147 
 
 Uhl, Michael 1044 
 
 Uhl, Jacob 995 
 
 Ulmer, Charles 795 
 
 Ulmer, David G 610 
 
 Ulmer, Harry J 942 
 
 Ulmer, Israel 670 
 
 Ulmer, Jacob F 976 
 
 Ulmer, William 573 
 
 Umberfield, Auer 375 
 
 Unger, Charles F 803 
 
 Utz, John L 984 
 
 Utz, Mrs. Mary 984 
 
 Van Voorhis, Eugene 631 
 
 Van Voorhis, Harry V 631 
 
 VoUmer, Charles 835 
 
 VoUrath, Edward 1313 
 
 Vore, Absolom M >. 743 
 
 Vorndran Bros 820 
 
 Vorndran, Herman J 830 
 
 Vorndran, Joseph A 820 
 
 Wachs, Prof. Simeon R 1009 
 
 Waechter, Rev. Joseph R 1093 
 
 Wagner, Frank C 725 
 
 Wagoner, George L 1117 
 
 Walcutt, Robert U 1094 
 
 Walther, Christopher 739 
 
 Walther, Frank A 1159 
 
 Walton, George 234 
 
 Warner, Joseph F 640 
 
 Waller, Milton 393 
 
 Walter, Daniel 321 
 
 Washington, George 43 
 
 Waters, Jacob 277 
 
 Waters, W. A 905 
 
 Watson, Cooper K 127 
 
 Wayne, Gen. Anthony 60 
 
 Weaver, William H 1097 
 
 Wechter, Mrs. Amelia 1033 
 
 Wechter, Joseph A 1033 
 
 Weidemaier, Samuel F 853 
 
 Weirick, John 670 
 
 Weithman, D. N 1237 
 
 Welshons, G. P 897 
 
 Weller, Charles K 845 
 
 Wentz, John 865 
 
 Wentz, J. Ernest 873 
 
 Wentz, John 1 998 
 
 Wenzelick, Andrev? 1016 
 
 Wert, Charles M 895 
 
 Wert, Charles S 874 
 
 Whalen, J. P 694 
 
 White, .Charles W 234 
 
 White, David H 651 
 
 White, Leo 694 
 
 White, Resolved 70, 180 
 
 White, Willard T 858 
 
 Whiteamire, Edward A 1333 
 
 Whiteamire, Jacob 775 
 
 Whitmeyer, C. L 760 
 
 Wickham, Anson 816 
 
 Wickham, August 293 
 
 Willford, Lorenzo D 122^ 
 
 Williams, Isaac 277 
 
 Williamson, Clemence J., V. S 872 
 
 Williamson, Col. David 46, 47, 53 
 
 Winans, William J-. 920 
 
 Winch, Daniel P 949 
 
 Winemiller, M. A 702 
 
 Wingert, William 246, 349 
 
 Wingert, William M 801 
 
 Winstead, James 333 
 
 Wise, William R 718 
 
 Wisman, Alfred E 970 
 
 Winters, Eli 293 
 
 Witter, Henry 590 
 
 Wright, J. Walter 575 
 
 Worden, Joseph 138 
 
 Wolf, Martin 377 
 
 Worden, James 106 
 
 Worden, "Uncle Jimmie" 138 
 
 Yaussy, Godfrey 794 
 
 Yeagley, Lafayette. 1300 
 
 Yingling, Jonas 292 
 
 Yost, John 377 
 
 Young, Bernard 982 
 
 Zaebst, Adam 956 
 
 Zaebst, Mrs. Harriet 956 
 
 Zane, Elizabeth 45 
 
 Zeigler, G. K 1243 
 
 Zellner, Harvey G 1071 
 
 Zerbe, John K 967 
 
 Ziegenfus, David 774 
 
 Zimmerman, John H 1060 
 
 Zimmerman, John S 1006 
 
 Zimmerman, Samuel A 779 
 
 Zink, David L 864 
 
 Zook, A. M 846 
 
Jj£-6iC^^ A , 
 
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 GEOLOGICAL HISTORY 
 
 Formation of the Earth, Including Crawford County, Together with the Discovery of the 
 Oldest Known Inhabitant — Age of the Earth According to Sir William Thompson's Cal- 
 culations — Prof. Tait's Views — Thickness of the Earth's Crust — Different Theories — 
 Age of Crawford Geologically Considered — The Order of Creation — Geological Strata 
 and Sub-Strata — The Glacial Period and Theories Concerning It — Ancient Animal Life 
 — Plant Life — Pre-Glacial Man — Mastodonic Remains Found at Bucyrus — Our Early 
 "Settlers"— The Mound Builders and Indians. 
 
 "In the beginning God created the heaven and 
 the earth. And the earth was without form and 
 void. — Genesis, I — 1-2. 
 
 In studying the geological history of Ohio, 
 it is a pleasure to know that Crawford county 
 is very old. Although the county was settled 
 less than a hundred years ago, it ranks equally 
 in age with the older portions of the earth. 
 It is difficult to decide as to what that age 
 is, as eminent geologists differ by many mil- 
 lions of years. Dr. CroU places the age "at 
 not less, but possibly much more, than sixty 
 million years." The stratified rocks of the 
 earth's crust give abundant proof that the 
 whole fauna and flora of the earth's sur- 
 face have passed through numerous cycles of 
 revolution — species, genera, families, appear- 
 ing and disappearing many times in succession. 
 On any supposition it must be admitted that 
 these vicissitudes in the organic world can 
 only have been effected with the lapse of vast 
 periods of time. The argument from geolog- 
 ical evidence is strongly in favor of an interval 
 of probably not much less than one hundred 
 million years since the earliest form of life 
 appeared upon the earth, and the oldest strati- 
 fied rocks began to be laid down. 
 
 Sir William Thompson figures the age of 
 
 the earth on three different lines. First the 
 internal heat and rate of cooling of the earth : 
 He holds that estimating from the known rate 
 of increase of temperature downward and 
 beneath the earth's surface, and the rate of 
 loss of heat from the earth we have a limit 
 to the antiquity of the planet. He shows 
 from the data available, that the superficial 
 consolidation of the globe could not have oc- 
 curred less than twenty million years ago, or 
 the underground heat would have been greater 
 than it is. Neither could it have occurred 
 more than four hundred million years ago 
 or the underground temperature would have 
 shown no sensible increase downward. The 
 distinguished scientist admits that a difference 
 of 380,000,000 years as to the age is consider- 
 able latitude, but says that a wide limit is 
 necessary. He inclines to the theory that the 
 lower, rather than the higher, figure is nearer 
 correct and places his estimate as to the age 
 of the earth, judging from heat, at one hun- 
 dred million years. Second, the tidal retarda- 
 tion of the earth's rotation: He argues that 
 owing to the friction of the tidal wave, the 
 rotation of the earth is retarded, and is there- 
 fore much slower now than it must have been 
 at one time. He contends that had the globe 
 
 21 
 
22 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 become solid some ten thousand million years 
 ago, or indeed any antiquity beyond a hun- 
 dred million years, the centrifugal force due 
 to the more rapid motion must have given the 
 planet a much greater polar flattening than it 
 actually possesses. Third, the origin and age 
 of the sun's heat: He proceeds upon calcula- 
 tions as to the amount of heat which would 
 be available by the falling together of masses 
 from space, which gave rise by their impact 
 to our sun. 
 
 The vagueness of the data on which this 
 argument rests may be inferred from the fact 
 that in discussing this Prof. Tait places the 
 limit of time during which the sun has been 
 illuminating the earth, as, "on the very high- 
 est computation, not more than about fifteen 
 or twenty million of years," while, later on 
 in the same volume, he admits that "by cal- 
 culations in which there is no possibility of 
 large error, this hypothesis (the origin of the 
 sun's heat by the falling together of masses 
 of matter) is thoroughly competent to explain 
 one hundred million years of solar radiation 
 at the present rate, perhaps more." It is safe 
 to say, therefore, the age of the earth, of 
 which Crawford county is an important part, 
 can be placed at a hundred million years. To 
 those inclined to criticise wise scientists as to 
 their wide divergence as to the age of the 
 earth, their attention is called to the fact that 
 an equally wide divergence frequently exists 
 in the result of an election, based on the fact 
 as to whether the figures are given out before 
 or after the votes are cast and counted. 
 
 Another important point on which scien- 
 tists differ is the thickness of the earth's crust. 
 Naturally all are interested in the solidity and 
 substantiality of this county. Early writers 
 were of the opinion the center of the earth 
 was a seething mass of fire, demonstrated by 
 the volcanoes belching forth their molten 
 lava; and the thickness of the crust was ten 
 to twenty miles, shown by the fact of earth- 
 quakes bursting this crust where it was thin- 
 nest. Three theories also are advanced as to 
 the interior of the earth. First, that the 
 planet consists of a solid crust and a molten 
 interior. They hold that the ascertained rise 
 of temperature as you go into the earth from 
 the surface (about one degree for every sixty 
 feet) is such that at a very moderate depth 
 
 the ordinary melting point of the most re- 
 fractory substances would be reached. At 
 twenty miles the temperature, if it increases 
 progressively, as it does in the depths acces- 
 sible to observation, must be about 1,760 de- 
 grees Fahrenheit, and at fifty miles, about 
 4,600 degrees, about 1,500 degrees hotter than 
 the fusing point of platinum. This school 
 holds that all over the world volcanoes exist 
 from which steam, fire, and molten lava burst 
 forth. Many as these active volcanoes are 
 today, they form but a small proportion of 
 the volcanoes which have been in existence 
 since early geological times. It is held, there- 
 fore, that these numerous funnels of com- 
 munication with the interior could not have 
 existed and poured forth such a vast amount 
 of molten rock, unless they had some inex- 
 haustible base of supplies. Also, the product 
 of these eruptions from Europe, Asia, Africa, 
 America and the islands, from widely sepa- 
 rate regions, when compared and analyzed, 
 are found to exhibit a remarkable uniform- 
 ity of character, which can only be accounted 
 for from the fact that they come from one 
 common source. The abundant earthquake 
 shocks, which affect large areas of the globe, 
 are maintained to be inexplicable except on 
 the supposition of a thin and somewhat flex- 
 ible crust. 
 
 The second school holds that with the ex- 
 ception of local hollow spaces the earth is 
 solid and rigid to the center. In 1839 Prof. 
 Hopkins, of Cambridge University, advanced 
 the theory of a much thicker crust, and per- 
 haps a solid interior. He held that the revolu- 
 tion of the earth on its axis, and its revolu- 
 tion around the sun, could not possibly be as 
 they are if the planet consisted of a central 
 ocean of molten rock surrounded with a crust 
 of twenty or thirty miles in thickness; that 
 the least possible thickness of crust, consistent 
 with the existing movements of the earth, 
 was from eight hundred to one thousand 
 miles, and that the whole might even be solid 
 to the center, with the exception of compara- 
 tively small spaces filled with molten rock. 
 Sir William Thompson took the same view, 
 saying that the assumption of a very thin 
 crust requires that the crust shall have such 
 a perfect rigidity as is possessed by no known 
 substance. The tide-producing force of the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 23 
 
 moon and sun exerts such a strain upon the 
 substance of the globe that it seems in the 
 highest degree improbable that the planet 
 could maintain its shape as it does, unless the 
 supposed crust were at least 2,000 to 2,500 
 miles in thickness. 
 
 The third school holds that while the great 
 mass of the earth is solid, there exists be- 
 tween the crust and a solid interior a mass 
 of molten rock. This suggestion was ad- 
 vanced by Rev. O. Fisher as a harmonious 
 solution between' the two schools, but, geolog- 
 ically considered, there was no foundation for 
 any such solution of the problem. 
 
 It has now been shown as reliably as pos- 
 sible that the structural area of Crawford 
 county is practically a hundred million years 
 old, and whether the crust of the earth at 
 this point is 2,500 miles thick, or less, it has 
 certainly sufficient thickness to sustain the 
 weight of any increase of population which 
 the most optimistic figurer might desire. 
 
 Next comes the formation, the building up, 
 of the earth. There are two accounts of the 
 formation of the earth, and both fairly agree. 
 The shorter is given first : 
 
 "In the beginning God created the heaven 
 and the earth, and the earth was without form 
 and void; and darkness was upon the face of 
 the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon 
 the face of the waters. And God said, "Let 
 there be light," and there was light. And God 
 saw the light that it was good; and God di- 
 vided the light from the darkness. And God 
 called the light Day and the darkness he called 
 Night. And the evening and the morning 
 were the first day." 
 
 Second Day — God created the firmament, 
 and divided the waters which were under the 
 firmament from the waters which were above 
 the firmament. 
 
 Third Day — God gathered the waters under 
 ■the heaven unto one place and created the 
 dry land, and caused the land to bring forth 
 grass and herbs and trees. 
 
 Fourth Day — God created the sun and the 
 moon and the stars, and arranged the days and 
 the seasons and the years. 
 
 Fifth Day — God created from the waters 
 the creatures that inhabit the waters and that 
 fly above the earth. 
 
 Sixth Day — God created the animals that 
 
 occupy the land, and then he made man after 
 his own image and gave him dominion over 
 every living creature, the fishes of the sea and 
 the fowls of the air, and the animals of the 
 earth. And He said, "I have given you every 
 herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of 
 all the earth, and every tree in which is the 
 fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall 
 be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, 
 and to every fowl of the air, and to every- 
 thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein 
 there is life. I have given every green herb 
 for meat." 
 
 The other account is the geological, show- 
 ing the earth is built up of several distinct 
 strata, deposited in the different ages, and by 
 the fossil remains found in the different 
 strata scientists are able to trace the eras in 
 which the earth became habitable to different 
 animals. The Ohio Geologist, Prof. Edward 
 Orton, commences the strata underlying Ohio 
 with the Silurian. The fossil remains show 
 there were two such distinct deposits of this 
 era that geologists call it the Lower and 
 Upper Silurian, the Lower Silurian being the 
 first deposit. On top of the Upper Silurian 
 came the Devonian, and on this the Carbon- 
 iferous. Above came the Glacial deposit, a 
 rearrangement of the exterior of the earth, 
 the other strata having been built up from 
 the interior. 
 
 Scientists and archaeologists differ as to 
 what caused the great glacial period which 
 swept down from the frozen north some 
 eternities ago. There are several schools. One 
 accounts for it by the precision of the equi- 
 noxes, holding it was due to the laws of 
 gravitation and celestial mechanics, and that 
 the earth's ecliptic or ecliptical revolutions 
 around the sun have been constantly chang- 
 ing, so that what was once the equatorial cli- 
 mate was in the Arctic region and vice versa, 
 thus accounting for the fact of remains of 
 tropical animals and plants being found in 
 the Arctic regions. 
 
 The Annular School holds that when the 
 earth was forming it was surrounded by a 
 series of annular belts, the results of igneous 
 fires raging during the ages of the earth's 
 formation, solidifying, as the centuries passed, 
 into the rock which eventually formed the 
 solid surface of the globe. From the intense 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 interior fires gases forced their way, and fol- 
 lowed the earth's movements, and although 
 thousands of miles away, still within the 
 earth's attraction. This vapor separated into 
 strata, the heaviest nearest the earth, but they 
 all revolved around the earth similar to the 
 present rings of Saturn. The question was 
 whether these great belts would break away 
 into space, or whether the attraction of gravi- 
 tation would attach them to the earth. Af- 
 ter any number of millions of years the at- 
 traction of gravitation slowly but surely con- 
 quered, and the gases, solidified by ages, be- 
 came a part of the earth, changing its form, 
 and each succeeding attachment marking a 
 geological epoch, accounting for the changes 
 in vegetable and animal life, and the appear- 
 ance of new types in both the vegetable and 
 animal kingdoms. In the great fight which 
 raged between the elements endeavoring to 
 escape, and the earth endeavoring to hold 
 them, it can be readily seen that as the earth 
 obtained the mastery, and finally, by the at- 
 traction of gravitation, brought them nearer 
 and nearer, increasing in speed as the earth's 
 power of attraction became stronger, they 
 would be attached with great force, produc- 
 ing powerful shocks and violent convulsions 
 of the entire earth. For some reason the at- 
 traction was strongest at the poles, lessening in 
 force-as it reached the equator, and it was one 
 of these violent convulsions, which caused the 
 glacial epoch, driving, pouring, hurling, all the 
 frozen north down toward the equator. Geol- 
 ogy shows, so far as Ohio is concerned, this 
 great belt of ice and snow, rocks and boulders, 
 earth and debris was forced southward until 
 it covered all the great lakes, and practically 
 all north of the Ohio river. The geological 
 formation shows it covered Ohio from a point 
 north of where the Ohio river enters Penn- 
 sylvania, extending thence southwesterly to 
 the Ohio river a few miles above Cincinnati, 
 Crawford county being covered by this glacial 
 deposit. 
 
 Under whatever circumstances the earth was 
 formed the first deposit on the surface was 
 the Silurian, and some ages later another de- 
 posit or solidification, called the Upper Silu- 
 rian, to distinguish it from the first or Lower 
 Silurian. In the Silurian deposits are found 
 cellular marine plants and the lower order of 
 
 fish, while in the Devonian there are a few 
 specimens of cryptogramic ferns of vascular 
 plants and trilobites with abundant fish. 
 Humboldt states in his Cosmos that: "The 
 oldest transition strata contain merely cellu- 
 lar marine plants, and it is only in the De- 
 vonian system that a few cryptogramic forms 
 of vascular plants have been observed. Noth- 
 ing appears to corroborate the theoretical 
 views that have started regarding the sim- 
 plicity of primitive forms of organized life, 
 or that vegetable preceded animal life, and 
 that the' former was necessarily dependent 
 upon the latter." 
 
 The carboniferous deposits were next, and 
 in the lower strata saurians are found, to- 
 gether with fish in abundance and occasional 
 specimens of land plants. The upper carbon- 
 iferous strata contain plants in abundance, 
 some sixty feet high, and these, in the coal 
 deposits, show that the earth was thick and 
 dense with plants and trees. Here the sau- 
 rians show diminution in size, and monster 
 land animals make their appearance, these 
 animals showing through the different strata 
 of the carboniferous deposits that while all 
 lower strata were water animals, as the world 
 was building these water animals became half 
 land and half water, and it is only in the 
 upper carboniferous strata that the land mon- 
 sters of the past were found; and after ani- 
 mals came the birds. In all these strata, com- 
 mencing with fish, followed by reptiles, ani- 
 mals and birds, no trace of man is found. 
 
 In the Lower Silurian, Ohio is underlaid 
 with the Trenton, Utica, and Hudson river 
 limestones in ascending order. In the Upper 
 Silurian come the Medina, Clinton, Niagara 
 and Heidelberg layers. It is in these Silurian 
 strata oil and gas are discovered, geologists 
 advancing the theory that oil is formed from 
 chemical action on the fish that abounded in 
 that age. In the Devonian are the Devonian 
 limestones and the Hamilton and Ohio shales. 
 Then come the carboniferous, the lowest bed 
 being called the Waverly, and this divided 
 into the Bedford Shale, Hamilton Shale and 
 Ohio Shale, the latter again divided into the 
 Huron, Erie and Cleveland Shale. On top 
 of these is sub-carboniferous limestone, cov- 
 ered with a layer of conglomerate series. 
 From this to the glacial drift are the coal 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 25 
 
 series the strata in which coal is found. The 
 strata underlying Ohio is taken from the cele- 
 brated Ohio geologist, Prof. Edward Orton. 
 ^he carboniferous strata was formed millions 
 of years ago (more or less) by the deposits 
 of vast forests, which some chemical action 
 turned into coal. It is probable that during 
 the carboniferous period the atmosphere must 
 have been warmer and with more aqueous 
 vapor and carbonic acid in its composition 
 than at the present day to admit of so lux- 
 uriant a flora as that from which the coal 
 seams were formed. The vast beds of coal 
 found all over the world, in geological for- 
 mations of many different ages, represent so 
 much carbonic acid once present in the air. 
 
 In different sections of the state the various 
 strata occur at varying depths, due to the 
 different upheavals of the earth in the ages 
 long past; the strata also vary in thickness in 
 different localities. 
 
 The sub-strata of Crawford county, or any 
 other section of the earth, shows that this 
 globe was millions of years in forming. It 
 was originally decidedly liquid in character, 
 the fires of the interior contending with the 
 waters of the surface for the mastery, the 
 interior throwing out vast masses to be at- 
 tacked and disintegrated by the waters which 
 covered the earth. Through long ages the 
 battle between the two elements— fire and 
 water — continued, and the interior won, and 
 a foundation for the earth was laid; true it 
 was soft, spongy and marshy, but still a 
 foundation. The geological strata show, at 
 this time, no specimens except those of the 
 lowest order of water animals, practically only 
 threads with life. In what is known as the 
 Silurian deposits, as the ages advanced these 
 water animals became firmer, and instead of 
 being merely threads of life, they had some 
 body and the trilobite appears. Of the de- 
 posits of these earlier forms of marine ani- 
 mal life. Dr. Buckland draws the conclusion 
 that "the eyes of the trilobites carries to liv- 
 ing man the certain knowledge, that millions 
 of years before his race existed, the air he 
 breathes, and the light by which he sees, were 
 the same as at this hour and that the sea must 
 have been, in general, as pure as it is now." 
 
 Each additional layer of the Silurian 
 showed more solidity in the construction of 
 
 the water animals, until finally the monsters 
 of the deep held full sway of the globe. Some 
 of these sea animals showed there was land, 
 their construction being decidedly reptilian, 
 but the land was low, marshy and boggy, as 
 the remnant of no strictly land animal was 
 found. The world was in the possession of 
 the water animals, reptiles, and the indica- 
 tions are it was in their possession many 
 thousand times longer than it has been in 
 the possession of man. Dr. Buckland, the 
 English naturalist, says : "When we see that 
 so large and so important a range has been as- 
 signed to reptiles among the former population 
 of our planet, we cannot but regard with feel- 
 ings of new and unusual interest, the compara- 
 tively diminutive existing orders of that most 
 ancient family of quadrupeds with the very 
 name of which we usually associate a senti- 
 ment of disgust. We shall view them with 
 less contempt, when we learn, from the rec- 
 ords of geological history, that there was a 
 time when reptiles not only constituted the 
 chief tenants and most powerful possessors 
 of the earth, but extended their dominion also 
 over the waters of the sea; and that the an- 
 nals of their history may be traced back 
 through thousands of years, antecedent to 
 that latest point of progressive stages of ani- 
 .mal creation, when the first parents of the 
 human race were called into existence." 
 
 It was from the remains of these innumer- 
 able fishes and reptiles that through some 
 chemical action the oil fields came and through 
 them the gas fields. 
 
 Later deposits of the earth showed stronger 
 and higher land plants ; and commencing with 
 the lowest order of land animals, these ani- 
 mals showed increasing solidity of structure, 
 evidencing the fact that the earth was be- 
 coming habitable. All this took ages, the in- 
 terior constantly throwing out great masses 
 until it finally established a foundation, which 
 the almost universal sea failed to sweep away ; 
 on this it builded. The geological structure 
 further shows the air was not yet habitable, 
 the atmosphere too light, as no remnants of 
 bird life are discovered, everything lived 
 either in the water or on the earth. And it 
 is only on the last deposits of the Carboni- 
 ferous strata that birds appear. Traces of 
 fish, reptiles, plants, animals and birds are 
 
26 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 shown in the geological deposits in the order 
 named, but no trace of man. 
 
 The nearest approach to the human form is 
 in the topmost drift of all, just before the 
 glacial period when fossils of the quadru- 
 manna (four handed or monkey tribe) were 
 found; one, three feet high, contained four 
 incisor teeth, two canine, four false grinders, 
 and six true grinders in a continuous series. 
 So we have the progression. "The earliest 
 animals and plants are of the simplest kind. 
 Gradually as we advance through the higher 
 strata, or, in other words, as Ave proceed 
 through the record of progressive creation, 
 we find animals, and plants of higher and 
 higher structure till at last we come to the 
 superficial strata, where there are remains of 
 kinds, approximating to the highest of all 
 animated tribes, namely, man himself. But 
 before the above discoveries there remained 
 one unmistakable gap in the series. The 
 quadrumanna, or monkey, who forms an or- 
 der above common mammalia, but below the 
 bimana, or human tribes, \vere wanting. 
 Now, this deficiency is supplied; and it is 
 shown that every one of the present forms of 
 animated existence, excepting the human, ex- 
 isted at the time when the superficial strata 
 was formed. The only zoological event of 
 an important nature subsequent to that period 
 is the creation of man; for we may consider 
 of a lesser importance the extinction of many 
 of the specific varieties which flourished in 
 the geological ages, and the creation of new."* 
 
 The earth was now created, inhabited by 
 everything • except man, and then came the 
 glaciers from the north, rearranging and 
 shifting the entire universe. 
 
 The Glacial drift, the geologists divide into 
 six parts, the lowest being the Glacial drift, 
 above this the Erie clays, the Forest bed, the 
 Iceberg, drift and the Terraces or Beeches 
 which mark intervals of stability in the grad- 
 ual recession of the water surface to its pres- 
 ent level. f 
 
 The geologists say the Glacial period was 
 one of continual elevation, during which the 
 topography of the country wzs much the same 
 as now, the draining streams following the 
 lines they now do, but cutting down their beds 
 
 *Humboldt. 
 
 tOrton. 
 
 until they flowed sometimes two hundred feet 
 lower than they do at present. In the latter 
 part of this period of elevation, glaciers, de- 
 scending from the Canadian islands, exca- 
 vated and occupied the valleys of the great 
 lakes, and covered the lowlands down nearly 
 to the Ohio river. Next, by a depression of 
 land and elevation of temperature, the glaciers 
 retreated northward, leaving in the interior 
 of the continent, a great basin of fresh water, 
 in which the Erie clays were deposited. This 
 water was drained away until a broad land 
 surface was exposed within the drift area. 
 Upon this surface grew forests, largely of 
 red and white cedar, inhabited by the ele- 
 phant, mastodon, giant beaver, and other 
 large, now extinct, animals. Again comes the 
 submergence of this land and the spreading 
 over it, by iceberg agency, of gravel, sand 
 and boulders; the gradual draining off of the 
 waters, leaving the land as we now find it, 
 smoothly covered with all the layers of the 
 drift, and well prepared for human habita- 
 tion. 
 
 How many years all this took is purely con- 
 jectural. 
 
 In not one of any strata prior to the glacial 
 deposits have the fossil remains of man been 
 found. Fishes, reptiles, animals and plants, 
 are shown to have existed, prior to the glacial 
 period. Prof. Frederick Wright mentions a 
 stone instrument found by Dr. C. L. Metz 
 near Cincinnati which scientists are confident 
 was made by man. And Prof. Wright ob- 
 sen,'es from all the circumstances connected 
 with the discovery that it shows "that in Ohio, 
 man was an inhabitant before the close of the 
 glacial period. We can henceforth speak with 
 confidence of pre-glacial man in Ohio. It is 
 facts like these which give archaeological sig- 
 nificance to the present fruitful inquiries con- 
 cerning the date of the glacial epoch in North 
 America. J When the age of the Mound 
 Builders of Ohio is reckoned by centuries, 
 that of the pre-glacial man who chipped these 
 palaeolithic instruments must be reckoned by 
 thousand of years." Again he says: "It is 
 not so startling a statement as it once was, 
 to speak of man as belonging to the glacial 
 period. And with the recent discoveries of 
 
 tProf. Wright estimates the glacial period as 
 only 8,000 or 10,000 years ago. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 27 
 
 Dr. Metz we may begin to speak of our own 
 state as one of the earliest portions of the 
 globe to become inhabited. Ages before the 
 Mound Builders erected their complicated and 
 stately structures in the valleys of the Licking, 
 the Scioto, the Miami and the Ohio, man, in 
 a more primitive state, had hunted and fished 
 with rude instruments in some portions at 
 least of the southern part of the State. To 
 have lived at such a time, and to have suc- 
 cessfvilly overcome the hardships of that cli- 
 mate and the fierceness of the animal life, 
 must have called for an amount of physical 
 energy and practical skill which few of this 
 generation possess. Let us therefore not 
 speak of such people as inferior. They must 
 therefore have had all the native powers of 
 humanity fully developed, and are worthy an- 
 cestors of succeeding races." 
 
 From the geological structure of Crawford 
 county we find the first known inhabitant of 
 the county, and it is a pleasure to know he or 
 it was one of the prominent occupiers of the 
 earth. On August 13, 1838, in digging a mill- 
 race, Abraham Hahn came upon the bones 
 of a mastodon in a swamp just east of the 
 Toledo & Ohio Central shops at Bucyrus.* 
 It was found at a depth of only six feet. 
 This animal was a forest monster, which ex- 
 isted in the carboniferous era. The masto- 
 don also existed after the glacial period. This 
 section of Ohio has a formation of several 
 hundred feet of glacial drift, overlying the 
 carboniferous, so the mastodon may have 
 roamed this county after the glacial drift, or 
 in that drift was swept down from the north, 
 incased in the ice and rocks and debris, and 
 had lain there undisturbed for centuries. 
 Other remnants- of mastodon have been found 
 
 *THE FIRST INHABITANTS. 
 
 Mastodon — Land animal; twelve feet tall, body 
 thirteen feet long; similar to Megatherium but 
 heavier. Tail different, being like an elephant's tail. 
 
 Plesiosaurus — Water animal, about forty-five feet 
 long; head and neck like a snake, about seventeen 
 feet long; body perhaps six feet in diameter and 
 fourteen feet long, tapering to a point. Formed of 
 vertebrae from head to tail, with ribs in body. 
 Lived on fish and sea grasses. 
 
 Ichthyosaurus — Water animal, but partly land. 
 An overgrown crocodile of our present day; thirty 
 feet long; lived on fish. 
 
 Deinotherium — Land animal; a trifle larger than 
 an elephant. Lived on leaves and branches. 
 
 Pterodactyl— Between bird and reptile. About 
 
 in Holmes township. However they came 
 here, they were the first known occupiers of 
 the county. Crawford county, therefore, has 
 definite proof that it was in existence, and 
 habitable, in the ages- long ago. 
 
 As to when man first inhabited this section 
 the geological indications are that prior to the 
 Glacial drift there were none here, and none 
 anywhere else on the face of the globe — man 
 as he exists today. When the country was 
 discovered and the Indians inhabited this re- 
 gion, they were not the first settlers. Indian 
 lore shows that legends had descended to them 
 of a prior race being in this section ; how many 
 hundreds or thousands of years prior is an in- 
 determinable question. Practically all over the 
 state are elevations, the work of what are called 
 the Mound Builders. The line of the Glacial 
 drift, geologically considered, is pronounced, 
 and both inside and outside of this line the 
 work of the Mound Builders is found. The 
 glacial drift rearranged, shifted and covered 
 everything, so the Mound Builders and their 
 work probably followed after the glacial drift. 
 What became of the Mound Builders is a prob- 
 lem. Physical geography gives five distinct 
 races of men, and among them is the Indian. 
 If the Mound Builders of centuries ago became 
 the Indians of the present the problem is easily 
 solved. But the tendency of creation has ever 
 been upward, and thousands of years should 
 have produced more of advancement in civili- 
 zation than the nomadic wanderers through 
 our forests. It took millions of years to de- 
 velop water into the lowest order of animal 
 life; more millions to develop a more solidly 
 constructed marine animal. The same is true 
 of land, and millions of years passed before 
 
 eight feet high; wings twenty feet tip to tip; like a 
 large bat with head of bird and a beak. 
 
 Dinosaurus — Half reptile; half animal; four legs; 
 hind ones' strongest; sixty to eighty feet long; head 
 like a giraffe, with neck twenty-five feet; body 
 twenty-five feet and about eight feet in diameter; 
 tail, starting same size as body and thirty-five feet 
 long, tapering to a point. 
 
 Iguanodon — Reptile; fifty to sixty feet long; 
 front legs small, hind legs strong; could walk on two 
 feet similar to a kangaroo; length mainly in neck 
 and tail, similar to dinosaurus. 
 
 Deinornis — Bird, ten to eleven feet tall, and very 
 heavy body. 
 
 Megatherium — Land animal; twelve feet tall, 
 body thirteen feet long, including tail eighteen feet. 
 Lived on roots and branches of trees; tail large at 
 body. 
 
28 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the incipient tendrils of watery ground became 
 plants and trees, and the delicate animalculae 
 developed into the higher order of brute life. 
 The Mound Builders leave behind them crude 
 implements, and earthworks showing they were 
 a constructive race, living in communities, and 
 with indications of civilization. The Indians 
 were the reverse, and from the indications of 
 what the Mound Builders were and the known 
 
 facts of the Indian, it is difficult to conceive 
 any connection between the two races. While 
 the Indians were anything but a peaceful peo- 
 ple, even before the advent of the white man, 
 it is but just to them to say they only developed 
 the highest' and most insistent and persistent 
 ideas of cruel savagery after they came in con- 
 tact with a superior order of civilization. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA 
 
 The Landing of Columbus and the Various Explorations — The Naming of America — Naddod, 
 the Norwegian — Iceland Visited by the Irish — Norse Settlements There in Sy^ — The 
 Expedition of Lief Ericson — Discovers the American Coast and Calls It Vinland — Norse 
 Settlements on Baffin's Bay, 1135 — Population and Trade of Iceland in the 12th Century 
 — Visited by Columbus, 1477 — The Zeni Brothers — The Landing of Columbus — Voyage 
 of Americus Vespucius — Spanish Settlements — The New World Presented to Spain by 
 the Pope — Expedition of Sebastian Cabot — Discovers Labrador — Explores Coast to So. 
 Carolina — Ponce de Leon Lands in Florida — Followed by de Soto— Expedition of Car- 
 tier — Sails up the St. Lawrence — D'Ayllon Kidnaps Indians — His Example Followed by 
 Cortoreal — Expedition of Verrasini — Possessions of Spain, England and France — Protes- 
 tant Settlements in South Carolina — The Settlers Murdered by the Spaniard Menendes 
 — The Massacre Avenged by de Gourges — Sir Richard Grenville Lands at the Island of 
 Roanoke — His Men Murdered by the Indians — The Colony Reestablished by John White 
 — Treats Indians Kindly — The First English Child Born in what is now the United States 
 — Jamestown Settlement of 1607 — Capt. John Smith — The Dutch Settle New York — 
 Landing of the Pilgrims — Other Settlements of English, Swedes and Dutch — Penn Set- 
 tles Pennsylvania — The French Establish Posts in Canada and Northwest Territory — Are 
 Driven from the United States and Canada — The United States Obtains Florida and Span- 
 ish Settlements Beyond the Mississippi — England obtains all East of the Mississippi — - 
 Also Territory West of the Rocky Mountains — The Northwest Boundary Settled — Lib- 
 eral Terms of Colonial Charters. 
 
 Steer on, bold sailor, wit may mock thy soul that tempting to reach the Faroe Islands, 200 miles 
 
 And'hopekss.'af the helm, may drop the weak and "Orthwest of the British Isles, was driven by 
 
 weary hand; storm to Iceland, and he found the land had 
 
 Yet ever, ever to the west, for there the coast must already been visited by the Irish. The Norse- 
 
 And'dim it dawns, and glimmering dawns, before "^^n made a Settlement there in 87s by In- 
 
 thy reason's eye, — Schiller. golf. The Colonization at Iceland was carried 
 
 in a southwesterly direction, through Green- 
 Columbus discovered America and landed land to the New Continent. Notwithstanding 
 on October 12, 1492. The country was named these Icelandic explorations westward, one 
 after Americus Vespucius, who discovered hundred and twenty-five years elapsed when 
 South America seven years later, and North Lief, a Norwegian, the son of Eric the Red, 
 America itself had been discovered five hun- in one of his voyages landed on the American 
 dred years prior to Columbus' discovery, coast, between Boston and New York, in the 
 Yet Columbus was given credit for the discov- year 1,000. He called the new land Vinland, 
 ery, as it was his voyage, followed up, which on account of the grapes growing there, and 
 settled the country. Toward the close of the he was naturally delighted with the fruitful- 
 ninth century Naddod, a Norwegian, while at- ness of the soil and the mildness of the cli- 
 
 29 
 
30 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 mate as compared with Iceland and Green- 
 land. Later a settlement was made here, and 
 when the white people came to Rhode Island 
 in 1638 they discovered a tower of unhewn 
 stone made from gravel of the soil around, and 
 oyster-shell lime. It was circular in form, 23 
 feet in diameter and 24 feet high. The Nar- 
 ragansett Indians knew nothing of its origin. 
 The Icelandic chronicles state that besides Lief 
 the Red, Thorfinn Karlsefne visited the point 
 and settled here with his wife Gudrida, and 
 that a son was born to them, Snorre Thorb- 
 randsson. These historic chronicles seem to 
 have been written in Greenland as early as 
 the twelfth century and partly by descendants 
 of settlers born in Vinland, so others besides 
 Snorre were born there. The care with which 
 the genealogical tables are kept was so great 
 that that of Thorfinn Karlsefne, whose son 
 Snorre Thorbrandsson, was born in America, 
 has been brought down from 1,007, the date 
 of Snorre's birth, to the present, and Lossing 
 states this geneological tree shows that Thor- 
 waldsen, the great Danish sculptor, was a de- 
 scendant of this first known white child born 
 on American soil. The Icelandic history also 
 shows that explorers erected three boundary 
 pillars on the eastern shore of Baffin's Bay, 
 bearing a date of 1135. When these were 
 found in 1824 there were also discovered the 
 ruins of a number of buildings, showing there 
 had been a settlement there, and the records 
 further show frequent fishing trips to this and 
 other localities along Baffin's Bay. 
 
 At this time Iceland was an important place. 
 It had in iioo a population of 50,000 people, 
 had a government and records, and poets and 
 writers, and was farther advanced in litera- 
 ture at that time than any European nation.* 
 Ships from Bristol, England, kept up a con- 
 stant trade with Iceland, and Christopher Co- 
 lumbus himself, in a work on "The Five 
 Habitable Zones of the Earth," says that in 
 the month of February, 1477, he visited Ice- 
 land, "where the sea was not at that time cov- 
 ered with ice, and which had been resorted to 
 by many traders from Bristol." Columbus, in 
 the same work, mentions a more southern 
 island, Frislanda, a name which was not on 
 the maps pviblished in 1436 by Andrea Bianco, 
 
 *Encyclopasdia Britannica. 
 
 or those in 1457 and 1470 published by Fra 
 Mauro. The island is dwelt upon at length in 
 the travels of the brothers Zeni, of Venice, 
 in 1388 to 1404. But Columbus could not 
 have been acquainted with the travels of the 
 Zeni brothers as they were unknown to Zeni's 
 own Venetian family until 1558, when they 
 were first published, fifty-two years after the 
 death of Columbus. Therefore Columbus 
 knew there was land southwest of Iceland. 
 He could easily have reached this land by tak- 
 ing the beaten track to Iceland, and then 
 southwest, but his gtnius told him he could 
 find it by taking a westerly course from Spain, 
 which he did, and became the discoverer of a 
 new world. 
 
 The landing. of Columbus was on what is 
 now San Salvador, latitude 24 north, longi- 
 tude 76 west, one of the Bahamas, about 
 three hundred miles east of the Florida coast. 
 On this trip he cruised south as far as twenty 
 degrees north latitude and discovered Cuba 
 and San Domingo. In March, 1493, he re- 
 turned to Spain with plants, birds, animals 
 and Indians of the new world, and his jour- 
 ney overland from Palos to Barcelona, to meet 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, was the march of a 
 conqueror. At Barcelona the throne of the 
 rulers was erected in a Public Square and 
 Columbus was received with royal honors, all 
 the great of the kingdom being there to do him 
 homage. The counselors of Spain believed it 
 advisable to keep the wonderful discovery 
 quiet, as Columbus reported fabulous wealth 
 in the new world. That same year he re- 
 turned again to America, taking with him 
 several horses, a bull and some cows, the first 
 European animals taken to the new world. 
 He made two other voyages. In 1498 he 
 discovered the Orinoco, on the north coast of 
 South America. On his third voyage he was 
 returned to Spain in chains, owing to misrep- 
 resentations made to Queen Isabella. Matters 
 were easily explained and he made his fourth 
 and last trip, in 1502, but on his return in 
 1504 the Queen was dead, and his enemies 
 were in power, and he who had given Spain 
 a new nation and a glory that would last for 
 all time, died in poverty and obscurity at 
 Valladolid on the 20th of May, 1506. In the 
 meantime Americus Vespucius in 1499 visited 
 the Orinoco, one year after Columbus had dis- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 31 
 
 covered it, and returning gave a glowing ac- 
 count of the new world and it was named 
 America. 
 
 Immediately after the first discovery of Co- 
 lumbus, Spain made settlements in the islands 
 of the West Indies and reduced the Indians 
 to slavery, and Spanish cruelty and wrong 
 broke the spirit and lowered the standard of 
 the Indians. The Spanish colonists married 
 the Indian women, and from this union came 
 the mixed race of the West Indies. The Pope 
 recognized the discoveries of Spain, and by 
 an edict granted Spain the ownership of the 
 new world; that there might be no future 
 doubt of what Spain owned he gave them 
 control of "the whole region westward, be- 
 yond an Imaginary line 300 miles west of the 
 Azores." 
 
 Notwithstanding Spain made no public an- 
 nouncement of the discoveries of Columbus, 
 the most extravagant stories drifted through 
 Europe of the fabulous wealth of a new 
 world, and Sebastian Cabot, of Bristol, Eng- 
 land, on March 16, 1497, was granted a com- 
 mission of discovery by Henry VIII. Bristol 
 was the port which years previous had done 
 most of the trading with Iceland, and when 
 Cabot started, he took the well-known route 
 toward the northwest, and on July 3, 1497, 
 discovered the rugged coast of Labrador. He 
 skirted along the coast southward, past New- 
 foundland, touched at several points, and re- 
 turning to England announced the discovery 
 of what was undoubtedly a new continent. 
 The next year, 1498, he fitted out another ex- 
 pedition, and, like Columbus, his main object 
 was to discover a passage to India. Again he 
 reached Labrador, and cruised north, but the 
 ice stopped his progress, and he abandoned 
 his search for a northwest passage, and went 
 south, exploring the coast from Labrador to 
 North Carolina. 
 
 On March 27, 15 12, Ponce de Leon landed 
 in Florida, and took possession in the name 
 of the King af Spain — the first appearance 
 of Spain on United States soil. Years later, 
 in 1539, Ferdinand de Soto landed in Florida 
 with six hundred men, all warriors, and pro- 
 ceeded inland through Georgia, Alabama and 
 Mississippi, crossing the Mississippi river 
 somewhere below Memphis in May, 1541, tak- 
 ing possession of the land he passed over, and 
 
 the land beyond that river in the name of the 
 King of Spain. During the entire trip he had 
 much trouble with the Indians, men died of 
 sickness, and when he reached Florida on 
 September 20, 1543, of the six hundred men 
 who started but sixty returned, but they had 
 made a trip of three thousand miles, through 
 an unbroken wilderness, wandering on and on 
 in a vain search for the fabulous gold they 
 dreamed was somewhere in the interior. 
 
 In 1534 Jacques Cartier, a Frenchman, 
 went up the St. Lawrence river with his ships 
 as far as where Quebec now stands, and learn- 
 ing the Huron (Wyandotte) King had his 
 capital at a point called Hochelaga he paid him 
 a visit. The Wyandotte King entertained his 
 guest with the greatest hospitality and showed 
 by every means possible that the visitors were 
 welcome. Cartier remained the guest of the 
 King for several days and climbed the large 
 mountain, saw the magnificent St. Lawrence 
 stretching above and below him, the rich coun- 
 try as far as the eye could see in every direc- 
 tion, and he named it Mont Real, which is its 
 name today, the Metropolis of Canada with 
 a population of half a million. Cartier re- 
 turned the King's hospitality by a dinner on 
 board his vessel in which he made him a pris- 
 oner and took him to France, exhibiting him 
 to that civilized nation as one of the barbarian 
 curiosities of the new world. In 1542 Cartier 
 returned to the St. Lawrence, and had in- 
 tended taking the King back with him, but 
 the unfortunate savage, pining for his home 
 and people, had died of a broken heart. On 
 Cartier's arriving at Quebec with a force of 
 men to make a settlement, he found the In- 
 dians so unfriendly that he was compelled to 
 build a fort at Quebec for his protection. 
 This was the first experience of the Wyandotte 
 Indians with the newer and higher order of 
 civilization. 
 
 Practically the same thing occurred in South 
 Carolina. D'Ayllon, a French navigator, who 
 had founded a colony at San Domingo, started 
 for the Bermudas to capture a few slaves to 
 work the Domingo sugar and tobacco planta- 
 tions. Bad weather drove him to the coast 
 of South Carolina where he was furnished 
 water and provisions by the natives, and 
 treated with the greatest hospitality. He en- 
 tertained them in return on his bQats, showed 
 
32 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 them over the vessels, and when a hundred 
 savages were below fastened down the 
 hatches, and sailed for San Domingo. One 
 vessel was lost, and on the other the savages 
 stubbornly refused food, and nearly all died 
 of starvation. A few years later D'AUyon re- 
 turned for more slaves. He landed on the 
 same coast, and was again hospitably received 
 by the ignorant natives. They gave him feasts 
 and banquets, and arranged a magnificent feast 
 at their capitol, and when in the wilderness, 
 miles from help, they were led into an ambush, 
 and the entire party massacred. Thus early 
 were the Indians learning the higher order of 
 civilization. Cortoreal of Portugal obtained a 
 permit from King John to make discoveries. 
 He reached Canada, captured fifty natives, 
 took them back to Portugal and sold them 
 for slaves. The investment was so profitable 
 that he immediately started for a second cargo, 
 but he was never heard of afterward. 
 
 In 1523, Francis the First, of France, sent 
 out John Verrazini with four vessels to make 
 discoveries. In March of 1 524 he reached the 
 Cape Fear river in North Carolina, and ex- 
 plored the coast, anchoring in Delaware Bay 
 and New York harbor, and landed where New 
 York now is. He treated the Indians to 
 liquor, and not being used to it many became 
 very drunk, from which fact the Indians then 
 called the place Manna-ha-ta, "place of 
 drunkenness." He continued his trip north 
 and named Canada New France. 
 
 The entire coast had now been discovered; 
 Spain had Florida and the southern part of 
 the United States and beyond the Mississippi; 
 England from the Carolinas north, and France 
 had Canada, all this within half a century 
 after Columbus' great discovery. Settlements 
 had been established by the Spanish and 
 French in the West Indies and by the Portu- 
 gese in Newfoundland, but no permanent set- 
 tlement had yet been made in the United 
 States. 
 
 The era had now arrived' when John Cal- 
 vin in England, Martin Luther in Germany, 
 and the Huguenots in France were bitter in 
 their opposition to the Catholic church, and 
 Admiral Coligny, the advisor of the weak 
 Charles the Ninth of France, decided to es- 
 tablish a place of refuge for the Protestants in 
 
 the new world. The King granted him a 
 commission for that purpose, and on Febru- 
 ary 28, 1562, a squadron under command of 
 John Ribault sailed for America. The fleet 
 first touched near the harbor of St. Augustine, 
 Florida, sailed north past the St. John's river 
 to Port Royal, the southeastern part of South 
 Carolina, where they established their colony, 
 calling it Carolina, in honor of Charles of 
 France. The colony did not prosper and ad- 
 ditional settlers were sent. In the meantime 
 Philip II of Spain, who claimed the territory 
 by virtue of Columbus' discovery, and the 
 edict of the Pope giving Spain everything 
 west of the Azores, was highly incensed at 
 this invasion of his territory, and sent Pedro 
 Menendez to Florida as Governor with strict 
 instructions to drive out the French and es- 
 tablish a Spanish colony. He had a strong 
 force and landed at St. Augustine, founding 
 a town there, the first in the United States, 
 and proclaimed the King of Spain as Monarch 
 of all of North America. Ribault, learning 
 of the landing of Menendez, started down the 
 coast to attack him, but his ships were 
 wrecked, many of his men drowned, and those 
 who reached the shore were either killed, or 
 were murdered by the Spaniards. In the 
 meantime Menendez marched overland to 
 Port Royal surprised the settlement, and mur- 
 dered all of them, about nine hundred in num- 
 ber. He erected a cross on the site of the 
 wholesale butchery and on it placed , an in- 
 scription that these men were slain, "not be- 
 cause they were Frenchmen but Lutherans." 
 And being in a particularly pious frame of 
 mind he laid the foundation for a church to 
 commemorate the, deed. When Charles of 
 France learned of the murder of his subjects, 
 matters at home were in such shape that he 
 could not avenge the insult, but a wealthy 
 Frenchman, Dominic de Gourges, fitted out a 
 ship at his own expense, and landed at Port 
 Royal with one hundred and fifty warriors, 
 captured the two hundred men left in charge 
 there, and hanged the whole party, he, too, 
 erecting a cross with the inscription : "I do not 
 this as unto Spaniards or Moors, but unto 
 traitors, robbers and murderers." His force 
 ^yas too small to risk an attack on Ft. Augus- 
 tine, and being in dariger of being attacked by 
 the Spaniards at any moment, he had no time 
 
ZALMON EOWSE 
 
 fif 
 
 -^^ 
 
 ASA HOSFORD 
 The Father of Galion 
 
 ^m*^. 
 
 SAMUEL NORTON 
 Founder of Bucyrus 
 
 MARY BUCKLIN NORTON 
 Wife of Samuel Norton 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 35 
 
 to even lay the foundation of a church, but 
 sailed immediately for home, leaving the 
 placarded Spaniards hanging to the trees as 
 an object lesson to the Indians of the new 
 and higher order of civilization. 
 
 From 1579 to 1585 settlements were made 
 by the English in Virginia and North Caro- 
 lina, but they were not permanent. In 1585 
 Sir Richard Grenville landed at the island of 
 Roanoke in Albermarle Sound. He treated 
 the Indians very badly and they returned the 
 compliment with interest. He was finally 
 compelled to return to England, which he did, 
 leaving fifteen men in charge. Two years 
 later, in 1587, John White went over with re- 
 inforcements, and found the colony aban- 
 doned, the men having been murdered by the 
 Indians. 
 
 White re-established the colony, and re- 
 versed the policy of Grenville, treating the In- 
 dians kindly and cultivating their friendship. 
 He induced Manteo, their chief, to become a 
 Christian, and baptised him. White further 
 pleased the Indians, and their Chief by invest- 
 ing him with the title of Lord of Roanoke, 
 with great formality and display, followed by 
 a feast to the Indians and presents. This was 
 the first — as well as the last — ^peerage ever cre- 
 ated in America. When White returned to 
 England he left behind his daughter, Eleanor 
 Dare, wife of Lieutenant Dare, one of his 
 officers. On August 18, 1587, there was born 
 to Lieutenant and Mrs. Dare, a daughter, and 
 she was named Virginia Dare, the first English 
 child born in what is now the United States. 
 In 1589 White again started for America but 
 was driven back by the Spaniards; however 
 in 1590 he returned to the colony only to find 
 it abandoned and all traces of the colonists 
 lost, and it was not until eighty years later the 
 English learned that their lost kindred had 
 been adopted by the Hatteras tribe, and be- 
 come amalgamated with the children of the 
 wilderness.* 
 
 In April, 1607 a settlement was made at 
 Jamestown, Virginia, composed almost en- 
 tirely of English "gentlemen" whose profligate 
 lives had left them in destitute circumstances 
 in England, and who only came to America 
 in a spirit of adventure, and the hope of re- 
 
 *EIlis. — People's Standard History of the United 
 States. 
 
 alizing a fortune in the new world without 
 work. The colony was an absolute failure, 
 dependent on the Indians for the necessaries 
 of life. Capt. John Smith, a man of great 
 force, later took charge of the colony and en- 
 deavored to instill a spirit of industry into 
 the men. He urged the cultivation of the 
 soil, but at the end of two years the two hun- 
 dred settlers had only forty acres under culti- 
 vation, and but for the Indians would have 
 starved. It was not until June, 1610, on the 
 arrival of Lord De La Warr, with a different 
 class of colonists, that a permanent and last- 
 ing settlement was established in Virginia. 
 
 In 1 61 3. the Dutch from Holland, settled 
 in New York City, calling it New Amster- 
 dam, honestly buying the land from the In- 
 dians for $24. On December 22, 1620, the 
 Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, with 
 forty-three men and their families. In 1629 
 a colony was founded in New Hampshire; 
 in 1633 ill Connecticut; in 1634 in Maryland; 
 in 1636 in Rhode Island; and in 1638 in Dela- 
 ware, all by the English. In 1623 the Swedes 
 founded a colony in New Jersey. 
 
 This settled the entire coast; New England 
 being English ; New York, Holland ; New Jer- 
 sey, Sweden; Delaware, Maryland and the 
 Carolinas, English; Georgia and Florida, 
 Spanish. The Dutch claimed New Jersey as 
 their territory, and forced the Swedes to 
 acknowledge their claims. But in 1682, when 
 William Penn made his settlement in Penn- 
 sylvania, the Swedes preferred English rule 
 to that of Holland, and in time they came 
 under the control of the English. Still later 
 the English took possession of New Amster- 
 dam calling it New York, which gave them 
 the entire coast, excepting Florida and South- 
 ern Georgia. The French were in undisturbed 
 possession of Canada. 
 
 While the English were colonizing and se- 
 curing possession of the coast line, the French, 
 through Canada, were exploring the interior, 
 passing through the states of Ohio, Indiana, 
 Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, establishing 
 forts and trading posts, exploring the Missis- 
 sippi, and by virtue of their discoveries, all the 
 land west of the Alleghenies and north of the 
 Ohio river, was under the control of the 
 French; and beyond the Mississippi France 
 owned all the Mississippi Valley to the Rocky 
 
36 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Mountains; Spain owned Texas and all west 
 of the Rockies up to the northern boundaries 
 of California. 
 
 In 1763, after a long war between England 
 and France, the American colonies being Eng- 
 lish assisting the mother country, France was 
 driven from the United States and Canada, 
 all east of the Mississippi being ceded to Eng- 
 land; all her possessions west of the Missis- 
 sippi being ceded to Spain, and in this treaty 
 Spain ceded Florida to England. In 1783, at 
 the close of the Revolutionary war, England 
 secretly ceded Florida to Spain, and the 
 United States bought it in 1819. In 1801 
 Spain ceded her territory beyond the Missis- 
 sippi to France, and in 1803, Napoleon need- 
 ing money, and to prevent England ever secur- 
 
 ing it, sold it to the United States. The war 
 with Mexico gave the United States all west 
 of the Rocky Mountains, that part west of the 
 Rockies and north of California being claimed 
 by the United States by right of the discov- 
 eries of Lewis and Clarke, a daim disputed, 
 but conceded later by England and Spain in 
 the settlement of the northern boundary be- 
 tween the United States and Canada. 
 
 When Spain first discovered America she 
 claimed the entire continent, north and west 
 to the Pacific Ocean. The rulers of England 
 in graftting charters, followed the same liberal 
 policy, and their charters were for land be- 
 tween certain degrees of latitude on the coast, 
 extending to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 INDIAN OCCUPANCY 
 
 Their Home on the Sandusky — Attacks on the Settlers — Crawford's Expedition — Character 
 of the Indians — Their Mode of Life — Their Aversion to Work — Failure of Attempts to 
 Enslave Them — Lack of Written Language — Their History Preserved by the Missionaries 
 — Indian Traditions Concerning Their Origin — The Various Tribes — Legends Concerning 
 a Previous Race — Division of the Country Among the Tribes — Origin of the "Five Na- 
 tions" — Conflict with the French and the Hurons — Sell Land to William Penn — Work of 
 the Franciscan Friars — Of the Jesuits — The Iroquois Make Treaties with the English and 
 Dutch — Their War with the Eries — Attack the Hurons in Canada — The Country Con- 
 trolled by Them — The Wyandottes and Ottawas — The French and Indian Posts at Mack- 
 inac and Detroit — The Foxes Attack Detroit — Are Routed and Almost Exterminated — ■, 
 The Tuscaroras Unite with the Five Nations Forming the "Six Nations" — The Wyan- 
 dottes in This Section — The Delawares in the Muskingum Valley — The Shawanese — In- 
 dian Raids into Pennsylvania and Virginia — Attacks on the White Settlers Whom They 
 Torture and Kill — The French Forts in Northwest Territory — The French and Indian 
 War — Washington Attacks the French — Braddock's Defeat — The Triumph of the Eng- 
 lish and Its Results — Pontiac's Attempt — Mistake of Ensign Faulty — His Capture and 
 Escape — The Murder of Pontiac — Gen. Bradstreet's Expedition — Battle of Point Pleas- 
 ant — Cornstalk — Simon Girty — The Revolution and Its Results — The Part Taken by the 
 Indians in the Revolutionary War — The English Trading-Post at Sandusky Where In- 
 dians were Paid for Scalps of White Settlers — Indian Attack on Ft. Henry — Bravery 
 of Elisabeth Zane — The Peaceful Moravian Indians Butchered by Col. Williamson — 
 Col. Crawford's Defeat and Tragic Death — End of the Revolution — Treaty of Ft. Mc- 
 intosh — Murder of Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah — Other Treaties — Battle of Fallen Timbers — 
 Boundaries — War of 1812 — Surrender of Gen. Hull — Harrison's Expedition — British 
 and Indian Attack on Ft. Meigs — Defense of Ft. Stevenson — Victory of Commodore 
 Perry — Battle of the Thames and Death of Tecumseh — British Defeated at New Or- 
 leans — End of the War. 
 
 Lo, the poor Indian, whose untutored mind 
 Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind. 
 — Pope. 
 
 The only good Indian is a dead Indian. — Mark 
 Twain. 
 
 The Indians of the United States were a 
 race who had no written history. They were 
 principally forest wanderers, living on game 
 and fish, and what little grain the Indian 
 women cultivated, for no Indian warrior 
 would demean himself by labor. In the early 
 
 history of the country a brisk trade existed 
 by adventurers bringing colored men from 
 Africa and selling them to the early settlers 
 as slaves. The thrifty pioneers endeavored 
 to secure slave labor cheaper by capturing In- 
 dians, but in all the colonies where it was at- 
 tempted it proved a failure. The Indians 
 would not work, and although cruel and brutal 
 punishment was inflicted it was useless. The 
 Indians died under the lash rather than de- 
 grade themselves by manual labor. They had. 
 
 37 
 
38 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 as stated, no written language, the Iroquois 
 being regarded as the most intelligent, as they 
 could count up to -one hundred, many of the 
 tribes being unable to definitely express num- 
 bers above ten. 
 
 Long before the hunter and the- trapper 
 wandered through the great northwest, the 
 Jesuit and Moravian missionaries, following 
 on the heels of the early discoveries, became 
 very friendly with the Indians. It is from 
 records left by these men, the principal infor- 
 mation of the Indians is obtained, but the early 
 history given by them is much of it legendary. 
 These missionaries learned from the older 
 men of the Lenni Lenape (Delawares) that 
 centuries previous their ancestors dwelt in the 
 far west, and slowly drifted toward the east, 
 arriving at a great stream, called the Namoesi 
 Sipee (Mississippi) or "river of fish." Here 
 they met the Mangwes (Iroquois) who had 
 drifted westward to the Mississippi, far to the 
 north, the Delawares having come east about 
 the centre of the United States. The country 
 east of the Mississippi was reported as being 
 inhabited by a very large race of men, who 
 dwelt in large towns along the shores of the 
 streams. These people were called the 
 Allegewi, and it was their name that was 
 given to the Allegheny river and mountains. 
 Their towns were strongly fortified by earth 
 embankments. The Delawares requested per- 
 mission of the Allegewi to establish them- 
 selves in their territory, but the request was 
 refused, although permission was given them 
 to cross the river, and go through their coun- 
 try to the east. When the Delawares com- 
 _tnenced crossing the river the Allegewi became 
 alarmed at their numbers, and fell upon them 
 in force and killed those who had crossed, 
 threatening the others with a like fate should 
 they attempt to pass the stream. 
 
 The legend indicates the Allegewi were not 
 of the Indian race but the Iroquois were. 
 The Delawares were indignant at the murder 
 of their braves and the treachery of the 
 Allegewi, so they took counsel with their 
 Iroquois brethren, and they formed a compact 
 to unite and drive the Allegewi beyond the 
 Mississippi, and divide the country. The war 
 lasted for years and great was the slaughter 
 on both sides, until finally the Indians con- 
 quered, and the Allegewi fled down the Mis- 
 
 sissippi, never more to return. The Iroquois 
 then took the country along the great lakes, 
 and the Delawares the country to the south. 
 The two nations remained peaceful for many 
 years, and the Delawares explored still further 
 and further to the east, until finally they es- 
 tablished their principal headquarters along 
 the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers. The 
 Iroquois covered the territory north of the 
 Delawares and along both shores of the St. 
 Lawrence. The Delawares, occupying land 
 from the Atlantic to beyond the Mississippi 
 river,- became divided into various tribes, but 
 they had grown in strength as the years 
 passed and far outnumbered the Iroquois. 
 Trouble arose between the two nations, and 
 they went to war. To overcome the superior- 
 ity in numbers of the Delawares the Iroquois 
 resorted to stratagem. An Indian tribe is one 
 family, and an injury done to one member is 
 avenged by the entire tribe. All tribes had 
 their war instruments marked with some pecu- 
 liar design, or totem. The Iroquois murdered 
 an Indian of one of the Delaware tribes and 
 left at the scene of the murder the war club 
 bearing the mark of another branch of the 
 Delawares. This caused war between the two 
 branches of the Delaware tribes. The 
 shrewd Iroquois soon had the Delawares hope- 
 lessly divided, fighting and killing each other. 
 
 The treachery of the Iroquois was discov- 
 ered and the Delawares called a grand coun- 
 cil, summoning their warriors from the Atlan- 
 tic to the Mississippi, with the intention of 
 utterly exterminating the Iroquois. Then was 
 formed by the Iroquois the Five Nations, or- 
 ganized by Thannawaga, an aged Mohawk 
 chief. It was an absolute alliance of the Mo- 
 hawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and 
 Senecas, a form of Republic in which the 
 leaders of the five nations consulted and acted 
 as one. Under this powerful organization the 
 Delawares were forced back to their own 
 lands. 
 
 The Five Nations having driven back the 
 Delawares turned their attention to the 
 French, who were forcing them south from 
 their hunting grounds on the St. Lawrence. 
 North of this river were the Hurons (Wyan- 
 dottes) and although of the Iroquois branch 
 of the Indians, yet they were now a separate 
 nation and at enmity. Although Cartier had 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 39 
 
 treacherously taken their chief to France on 
 his first visit, Champlain, nearly a century 
 later, had made friends with the Hurons and 
 when the Iroquois began resisting the French 
 inroads on their territory, Champlain or- 
 ganized the Hurons and made a raid on the 
 Iroquois in 1609, administering a crushing 
 defeat, the Hurons returning to Quebec with 
 fifty scalps. In 1610 another attack was 
 made on the Iroquois by Champlain and his 
 Huron allies, but they were driven back by the 
 Iroquois. The French now abandoned further 
 extensions to the south, and the Iroquois made 
 an onslaught on their ancient enemies, the 
 Delawares, and drove them from the Atlantic 
 westward to the AUeghenies. 
 
 It was land the Five Nations had taken 
 from the Delawares that they sold to William 
 Penn in 1682. The Iroquois as early as 1609 
 became the inveterate enemy of the French, 
 an enmity which continued with undiminished 
 hatred for a century and a half. So when the 
 French created this hatred by their attacks on 
 the Iroquois, this, and an admiration the west- 
 ern and northern Indians had for the French, 
 made them allies. The Hurons were not as 
 warlike as the Iroquois, but like all Indians 
 they took up the cause of any insult to any 
 member of their tribe. As a result the battles 
 between the Iroquois and the Hurons were 
 frequent, and they were ever inveterate ene- 
 mies. To balance the Five Nation league of 
 the Iroquois, the Hurons also united all that 
 branch of the Algonquins in the north and 
 west who were opposed to the Iroquois, the 
 principal nation of the confederation being the 
 Wyandottes. 
 
 After the French and Hurons had defeated 
 the Five Nations on Lake Champlain, they re- 
 mained quiet for some time. The Franciscan 
 friars had done much missionary work among 
 the Hurons and many had adopted the Cath- 
 olic faith, and with religion came a less war- 
 like spirit, and more cultivation of the soil. 
 With the Iroquois the missionaries could do 
 nothing, many losing their lives in the attempt. 
 
 The Jesuits followed the Franciscans, and 
 found a fruitful field of labor among the 
 Hurons. This was from 1625 on, and the en- 
 ergetic Jesuits soon supplanted all over the 
 west the quieter and less religiously -aggressive 
 Franciscans. The Jesuits established missions 
 
 and schools all along the northern border of 
 the lakes, at Detroit, through Indiana, Illinois 
 and Wisconsin, and along the Mississippi 
 from its source to New Orleans. It is to be 
 noted, however, that even these zealous Jesuits 
 in going from Quebec, on the St. Lawrence, 
 to Detroit, kept north of the lakes, as the 
 more convenient route by way of the Niagara 
 river and Lake Erie was controlled by the 
 ferocious Iroquois, whose implacable- hatred 
 of everything French had been started by 
 Champlain. It is but just to the Jesuits to 
 say some did visit the Iroquois, only to be 
 horribly treated, sometimes tortured and 
 burned at the stake; or, if allowed to return, 
 maimed for life. One faithful missionary 
 was sent home as a warning to others. The 
 fiendish Iroquois had made holes through the 
 calves of his legs; through these holes they 
 had placed reeds filled with gun-powder. 
 These were then set on fire, blowing the calves 
 of his legs to pieces. It is stated that later on 
 he again limped among them, and the Iroquois 
 who, with all their cruelty admired bravery, 
 let him alone. But he was the only French- 
 man who was allowed to preach to the 
 Iroquois. As the legend fails to state whether 
 he made any converts among the Iroquois, it 
 is probable he did not, much as they needed 
 religious teaching. 
 
 For nearly forty years the warlike Iroquois 
 remained quiet, except occasional marauding 
 expeditions against neighboring tribes and 
 treacherous attacks on the white settlers. 
 They had made a treaty of peace with the 
 New England settlers, and in 1648 made a 
 treaty with the Dutch of New Amsterdam. 
 Under this treaty the Dutch sold them arms 
 and ammunition, which, prior to this time, the 
 •Dutch had scrupulously refused to do. After 
 two-score years of rest a new generation had 
 sprung up, equally warlike and equally fear- 
 less, and they concluded to try their new 
 weapons on the Eries, another of the tribes of 
 the Huron combination. The Eries then oc- 
 cupied the southern shore of Lake Erie, in- 
 cluding the territory now embraced by 
 Crawford and adjoining counties. The Eries 
 were entirely unprepared and the victory was 
 so complete that the Eries never again became 
 prominent. This led to a war between the 
 Hurons and the Iroquois, and it raged with 
 
40 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 undiminished fury for several years, until in 
 1659, the Iroquois crossed into Canada in 
 great force, above the French settlements, and 
 marched through the Huron territory, massa- 
 cring their enemies, burning their towns, de- 
 stroying the missions and murdering the 
 priests. The Hurons fled through lower Can- 
 ada, across the river at Detroit, and into upper 
 Michigan, and only found final refuge from 
 their insatiable foes on the southern shores of 
 Lake Superior, where the Chippewas came to 
 their defense and drove the Iroquois back. 
 The Iroquois were now in undisputed control 
 from the Atlantic to the Mississippi and from 
 the Lakes to the Ohio river. 
 
 In the Lake Superior region the bulk of the 
 Wyandottes and Ottawas (another of the 
 Huron branch) made their home for many 
 years, until two French priests arrived among 
 them, Jacques Marquette and Claude Deblon, 
 and began organizing them in the interest of 
 the French, and establishing a headquarters 
 for all the Indian allies of the French at Mack- 
 inac. This was in 1671, and here they re- 
 mained for thirty years. In 1701 Cadillac, 
 who had been in command of the French fort 
 at Mackinac, established a new post at Detroit, 
 which was called Fort Ponchartrain, later 
 changed to Detroit, a name it ever after re- 
 tained. When Cadillac moved to Detroit, at 
 his request most of the Indian allies accom- 
 panied him; they were joined by other In- 
 dians, and new tribal relations established, 
 and the Hurons took the name of their lead- 
 ing tribe, the Wyandots,* the name meaning 
 "Traders of the West." 
 
 The Wyandots were frequently attacked by 
 their old enemies, the Iroquois, but' the Indians 
 around Detroit were all united; they received 
 arms and ammunition from the French, and 
 when necessary the French soldiers fought 
 with them, and at the end of six years the 
 Iroquois were compelled to give up the strug- 
 gle and leave the French and Wyandots in 
 control of lower Michigan and Canada north 
 of Lakes Erie and Ontario. 
 
 But the shrewd Iroquois were not idle. 
 They instigated the Fox nation to make an at- 
 tack on the Detroit settlement. They chose ? 
 
 *The correct name was Wyandotte, but from 
 this date the name is given according to tlie modern 
 spelling. 
 
 time when the Wyandots were away on a 
 hunting expedition, early in May, 1712. Du 
 Buisson was then in command of Fort Pon- 
 chartrain, with only twenty-one men. He 
 sent runners out to notify the Indians to re- 
 turn. On the 13th an assault was made on 
 the Fort, but the Foxes and their allies were 
 held at bay. While the fight was going on the 
 Wyandots returned, and drove the Foxes into 
 the fort they had erected when they came to 
 capture the French settlement. The French 
 and Wyandots in turn attacked the enemy's 
 fort, but were unsuccessful. For nineteen 
 days the fighting continued, when the Foxes 
 were compelled to flee, and hurriedly built a 
 fortification a few miles north of Detroit. 
 Here they were attacked by the French and 
 their allies, the French bringing two small 
 cannon to bear on the enemy. The fighting 
 lasted three days more, when the Foxes were 
 utterly routed, the Wyandots, and their allies, 
 the Ottawas and Pottawatomies massacring 
 eight hundred men, women and children, 
 nearly wiping out the Fox nation, a few of 
 those remaining joining their friends,' the 
 Iroquois, and the remainder removing to 
 Wisconsin and the south shore of Lake Su- 
 perior, where they became as bitter enemies of 
 the French as were the Iroquois in the east. 
 It was this same year the Tuscaroras, driven 
 from North Carolina, came north and united 
 with the Iroquois and the confederation be- 
 came the Six Nations. While the battles at 
 Detroit intensified the anger of the Six Na- 
 tions and the Foxes against the French, it 
 gave the latter the strong friendship of the 
 Wyandots and all those Indians who sur- 
 rounded the French settlement, a friendship 
 which, to the credit of the Wyandots, they 
 faithfully maintained through all the varying 
 fortunes of war for the next half century, 
 and when, in 1763, the flag of France fell be- 
 fore the meteor flag of England, and the 
 French retired from American soil, for some 
 years after the treaty of peace between Eng- 
 land and France was signed, the Wyandots 
 with their western allies were at war against 
 the British. 
 
 The Wyandots now gradually extended 
 their hunting grounds along the southern 
 shore of L-ake Erie, the nearly half a century 
 of war of the Iroquois with the French hav- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 41 
 
 ing left that nation in so crippled a condition 
 that they never again appeared west of the 
 Alleghenies on a warlike expedition. The 
 Wyandots are known to have been in this 
 section as early as 1725, and, extending their 
 territory, were soon in control from Lake 
 Erie to the Ohio river. In 1740 the remnant 
 of the once famous Dela wares was driven 
 from Pennsylvania by the Six Nations and 
 by the advance" of the Pennsylvania colonists, 
 and the Wyandots gave them permission to 
 occupy the Muskingum Valley. A number of 
 the Shawanese also made their home along 
 the Scioto, and the Ottawas had land between 
 the Sandusky and the Maumee rivers, and 
 from here, as allies of the French, they fre- 
 quently made warlike excursions into Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia, surprising the settlers 
 at dead of night, and massacring entire 
 families, men, women and children, and when 
 the expedition was in retaliation for some real 
 or fancied wrong, returning with the prison- 
 ers and holding a • war dance while the un- 
 fortunate captives were horribly tortured until 
 death alone relieved them of their suffering. 
 
 For a quarter of a century, from their 
 forest fastnesses on the Sandusky, they made 
 raids hundreds of miles distant, on the un- 
 suspecting stockade or lonely cabin, pillaged, 
 massacred and burned and were ofif again, 
 lost in the trackless woods, where it was im- 
 possible to follow them. There are remains 
 today of Indian trails all over the southern 
 portion of Crawford county, on which the 
 Indians stealthily marched in single file, to and 
 fro on their murderous expeditions. From 
 the lake at Sandusky to the Ohio river their 
 water route was up the Sandusky, across to 
 the Scioto and down that stream to the Ohio, 
 one of their portages being through the south- 
 west portion of Dallas township. 
 
 In 1755 all of the coast states were. British 
 colonies; the French were in control of all 
 west of the Alleghenies and north of the Ohio, 
 they had fortifications all along Lake Erie; 
 one at Fort Duquesne (Pittsburg) another 
 at Erie, Pennsylvania; at Detroit; two at the 
 mouth of the Sandusky, others in Indiana and 
 Illinois, and the Indians in all this great north- 
 west were their friends and allies. The French 
 claimed the territory, and justly, by right of 
 discovery; the English claimed through chart- 
 
 ers of British rulers, granted to companies 
 for so many miles along the Atlantic "and ex- 
 tending west to the Pacific ocean." The sec- 
 tion of the state where Crawford county is 
 located came under a charter granted Virginia, 
 this charter's northern line being the present 
 northern boundary of Crawford county. The 
 country from the northern boundary of Craw- 
 ford to Lake Erie was claimed under the 
 charter granted to Connecticut. England 
 further claimed Ohio from the fact that in a 
 treaty with the Iroquois (Six Nations) she 
 had bought of them all their territory north 
 of the Ohio river and west of the Alleghenies 
 to the Mississippi. While there is a dispute 
 as to whether the Six Nations ever did ex- 
 tend their conquests beyond the Cuyahoga 
 river, and whether the Six Nations ever did 
 own by conquest that part of Ohio where 
 Crawford county is situated, England always 
 recognized the claims of the Iroquois and the 
 Americans acquiesced. 
 
 In 1744, when the war occurred between 
 France and England, practically all the Indians 
 of the northwest gave their services to the 
 French. They attacked the frontiers of Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia; some went down the 
 St. Lawrence, reported at Montreal, where 
 they were given arms and ammunition, and 
 attacked the settlers of New York, and even 
 extended their depredations across the Hud- 
 son to massacre settlers in far-off New Eng- 
 land. They were as loyal to their French 
 friends as they were bitter and implacable in 
 their hatred of the English and the Iroquois, 
 who, after a hundred years, were still the loyal 
 friends of the English. In 1745 a French 
 commandant's record in Canada shows the 
 number of Indians reporting for duty in the 
 war against England, among them the Wyan- 
 dots. Other records show that in one year at 
 least twenty of these blood-thirsty murdering 
 bands were sent out by the French, frequent 
 mention being made of the part taken by the 
 Wyandots in the wholesale butcheries which 
 followed in these bloody raids. 
 
 In 1748 a treaty was patched up between 
 England and France and comparative quiet 
 was maintained until 1754, but as the French 
 still remained in possession of the great north- 
 west, and England was determined to have 
 the territory, war again broke out. In the 
 
42 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 spring of 1754 a company of French soldiers 
 from Fort Duquesne, while extending their 
 explorations southward, were attacked by 
 some Virginia rangers under Lieut. Col. 
 George Washington. A fight for the owner- 
 ship of the great northwest between the 
 French and English was so inevitable that 
 during the winter of 1754-5 England and the 
 colonies on the one side and the French on 
 the other organized for the coming struggle, 
 which commenced in 1755, and lasted for 
 seven long years, England and the extreme 
 eastern colonies marching to Canada, and the 
 Virginia and Pennsylvania militia joining with 
 the English soldiers in the battles in the north- 
 west. 
 
 In this section the war commenced with the 
 attempt of Gen. Braddock in command of the 
 English, and Col. George Washington in 
 command of the militia, to capture Fort 
 Duquesne, situated at the point where the 
 Allegheny and Monongahela unite to form 
 the Ohio. The French sent an army from 
 Detroit, and they were joined in their march 
 by the Wyandots, and through the forests and 
 over the plains of Crawford they hurried to 
 the battle ground. The Wyandots then were 
 the leading nation of the northwest, the most 
 numerous, and in bravery were the equals of 
 the Iroquois. They were a fighting nation, 
 every man a warrior, with their pride of brav- 
 ery raised to so high a pitch that not one ever 
 surrendered, and for more than half a century 
 to come it is doubtful if a single Wyandot was 
 ever captured. They were among the Indian 
 troops who were secreted in the woods and 
 poured the deadly fire on the ambuscaded 
 Americans and English. The French loss 
 was four killed, and the American and English 
 300. Among the slain was Gen. Braddock, 
 who had refused advice as to Indian warfare, 
 and who paid the penalty with his life, leav- 
 ing Washington in command to save what he 
 could from the slaughter. 
 
 The victory at Fort Duquesne excited the 
 Indians' thirst for blood, and nearly every 
 Wyandot warrior took to the war path. Along 
 the borders of Pennsylvania they left a trail 
 of death and desolation; they were with Mont- 
 calm in Canada, where the French were de- 
 feated; then on to Ottawa, which fell into 
 the hands of the British; returning to Fort 
 
 Niagara they received another repulse; every- 
 where the English and Americans were slowly 
 but surely driving back the French. Bravery, 
 endurance and fortitude were characteristic of 
 the Wyandots, but adversity they could not 
 stand. Their belief in French superiority was 
 becoming shattered, and by degrees they 
 drifted back to the banks of the Sandusky, 
 disappointed and discouraged, and took no 
 further hand in the struggle. It ended in 
 1763 when France relinquished Canada, and 
 all her possessions in the United States east 
 of the Mississippi to the English. 
 
 It is probably better for civilization that 
 the result was as it was, but when one reflects 
 that cold and calculating England had confined 
 her settlements to the easily reached shores of 
 the Atlantic, while the French for two hun- 
 dred years had explored the boundless forests, 
 navigated streams unknown, erected trading 
 posts, gone where the foot of the white man 
 had never trod, the opinion is almost inevitable 
 that although it was probably for the best, it 
 was not the right that triumphed. The French 
 had made all the explorations, experienced all 
 the hardships of travels in an unknown coun- 
 try; their explorers had suffered torture and 
 death in harmonizing the savage tribes, and 
 just as the land is ready for settlement, and 
 the harvest of her years of toil is reached, 
 England, by the force of arms, seizes the prize. 
 But why mourn for the French or criticise the 
 English. "For time at last sets all things 
 even," and justice, though slow, is sure, and 
 before England could reap the fruits of her 
 shrewdness, the American nation rose in its 
 might, as one man, and the Great Northwest, 
 stolen from the French, became free and in- 
 dependent, and later the garden spot of the 
 United States with today more than twenty 
 millions of people. 
 
 While the French were receiving their re- 
 verses, Pontiac an Ottawa chief (Huron 
 branch of the Indians) organized practically 
 all of the Indians of the northwest to seize 
 every English outpost, probably twelve in 
 number. In the Great Northwest they failed 
 only at Detroit, where the siege lasted for 
 many months, by which time the English had 
 regained their forts and relieved Detroit, and 
 peace was declared. In this peace Pontiac re- 
 fused to join, but retired with his Ottawas to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 43 
 
 Illinois. The capture of the different forts 
 was arranged for May 7, 1763. The Wyan- 
 dots captured the Fort near the mouth of the 
 Sandusky. Here Ensign Paully was in com- 
 mand, and on May 16 he was approached by 
 seven Indians with a request for a conference. 
 He admitted them without hesitation, when 
 he was seized, bound and the fort captured, 
 the garrison being taken unawares. Nearly 
 all the garrison, eleven in number, were mas- 
 sacred and the fort was burned. Ensign 
 Paully being reserved for torture. He was 
 tied to the stake, and just as the fagots were 
 about to be fired an Indiaw squaw, whose hus- 
 band had been killed, claimed the prisoner to 
 take the place of her dead husband. Paully 
 consented, and was liberated, but at the first 
 opportunity made his escape, leaving the 
 widow doubly bereaved. 
 
 Pontiac in Illinois remained the inveterate 
 foe of the English, and in 1769 he was mur- 
 dered by an Illinois Indian. The Wyandots, 
 who had for some years been living quietly, 
 on learning the news, accompanied by the Ot- 
 tawas and other tribes marched to Illinois and 
 avenged the chief's death by the almost wip- 
 ing out of the Illinois tribe. 
 
 In 1764 Gen. Bradstreet, who was in com- 
 mand at Detroit, with a force of men 
 "ascended the Sandusky river as far as it 
 was navigable by boats." The point reached 
 was "probably the old Indian town of Upper 
 Sandusky on the river about three miles south- 
 east of the present town of Upper Sandusky. 
 Here a treaty of peace was made with the 
 chiefs and leading men of the Wyandots. 
 Among those who accompanied Gen. Brad- 
 street was Israel Putnam, then a major in 
 command of a battalion of Americans. 
 
 This peace was fairly observed until in 
 1774, the Wyandots, Shawanese, Delawares 
 and Mingoes made an attack on Point Pleas- 
 ant, where the Kanawha joins the Ohio. 
 They had a force of over a thousand war- 
 riors, under command of Cornstalk. General 
 Lewis was in command of Point Pleasant with 
 1,100 men. The fight continued all day the 
 English loss being two colonels, five captains, 
 three lieutenants and a hundred soldiers, be- 
 sides a hundred and forty wounded. The In- 
 dian loss must have been severe, as during the 
 
 night they retreated across the Ohio river and 
 returned to their homes. Just before the bat- 
 tle they were joined by Simon Girty, who 
 had been a scout for the English. He was an 
 efficient scout, but in some altercation with 
 Gen. Lewis, the latter struck him with a cane 
 over the head, inflicting a deep gash. Girty 
 threatened vengeance, and escaped from the 
 fort, joining the Indians, and in the attack on 
 the fort was as savage and bitter and cruel as 
 any Indian warrior could desire. He remained 
 with his new friends and ever after made his 
 home with the Shawanese, Delawares and 
 Wyandots. He declared he had foresworn his 
 white blood and assumed the garb of the In- 
 dians with their painted flesh and feathered 
 headdress. 
 
 After the Americans and English had suc- 
 ceeded in driving out the French in 1 763, Eng- 
 land for years pursued an -unjust policy toward 
 the colonies, which eventually culminated in 
 the Revolutionary war. In the east all manu- 
 factures which interfered with England were 
 prohibited or crippled by severe laws. All 
 goods must be bought in England ; all products 
 raised in America must be sold to England 
 alone, and forwarded on English vessels. The 
 English commercial policy also affected the 
 great Northwest, of which Crawford county 
 is a part. The French, by their -explorations, 
 and by their trading posts all over this great 
 territory had built up a large business in furs, 
 of which they had a monopoly. The English 
 merchants secured this trade, and it was so 
 vast and profitable they wanted it continued. 
 As a result they petitioned the King and Par- 
 liament : "It does appear to us that the exten- 
 sion of the fur trade depends entirely on the 
 Indians being undisturbed in the possession of 
 their hunting grounds, and that all colonizing 
 does, in its nature, and must, in its conse- 
 quences, operate to the prejudice of that 
 branch of commerce." So George Third is- 
 sued a proclamation declaring the new terri- 
 tory, the Great Northwest from the Ohio to 
 the Lakes and from the Alleghenies to the 
 Mississippi, royal domain, and prohibited fur- 
 ther settlement in this vast territory, or the 
 purchase of any part of it from the Indians. 
 This was in 1774, and the English statesmen, 
 forseeing a coming contest, attached this ter- 
 
44 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ritory to the Province of Quebec, and Ohio, 
 Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin 
 were a part of Canada. 
 
 Eight years later the Province of Quebec 
 was the danger point in the treaty of peace 
 between England and the United States. The 
 American commissioners were Benjamin 
 Franklin, John Adams, John Jay and Henry 
 Laurens. Their imperative instructions were 
 that the independence of the United States 
 must be recognized. Other matters were 
 minor. France had been the ally of the 
 United States and the treaty must be satis- 
 factory to that nation. France had received 
 from Spain practically all west of the Missis- 
 sippi river, and desired to have her rights 
 recognized by England. Spain was with 
 France, and the two secretly arranged with 
 England that the north boundary of the 
 United States should be the Ohio river, basing 
 the claim on the ground that the Great North- 
 west was a part of the Province of Quebec, 
 and there was no question that Canada was to 
 remain English territory. In the early part 
 of the treaty, while this agreement was not 
 definitely reached, matters were tending that 
 way. Franklin, as minister to France, con- 
 ducted the earlier negotiations, and later, 
 when John Adams and John Jay arrived, the 
 boundary came up. The English were insist- 
 ent; Vergennes, the French minister, favored 
 the English, until finally Adams and Jay posi- 
 tively declared they would submit to no bound- 
 ary except the lakes. Laurens and Franklin 
 stood by them solidly, and it was over a year 
 before England finally yielded the point, and 
 Ohio and the Great Northwest became a part 
 of the United States. England probably 
 thought the territory of far less importance 
 than it was, having relegated all that vast re- 
 gion to a great hunting ground, with no higher 
 conception of its future use than the protect- 
 ing and raising of fur bearing animals. How 
 different the views of John Jay, who speaking 
 of this territory in Congress in 1777, prophet- 
 ically said: "Extensive wildernesses, now 
 scarcely known or explored, remain yet to be 
 cultivated; and vast lakes and rivers, whose 
 waters have for ages rolled in silence to the 
 ocean, are yet to hear the din of industry, be- 
 come subservient to commerce, and boast de- 
 
 lightful villas, gilded spires, and spacious cities 
 rising on their banks." 
 
 On the breaking out of the Revolutionary 
 war, the Wyandots and their neighbors at 
 first saw no reason to take any hand in the 
 contest. In the east the British had secured 
 the assistance of the Six Nations, the Mo- 
 hawks being then the chief tribe, but by 1777 
 the English had succeeded in enlisting the 
 Wyandots and other Ohio tribes on their side, 
 and under British pay they made onslaughts 
 on the western borders of the colony, attack- 
 ing the' settlers in Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
 Many joined the British army, and a number 
 of Wyandots joined the army of Gen. Bur- 
 goyne, in New York state, but did little be- 
 yond burning a few houses of settlers, steal- 
 ing their stock and murdering a number of the 
 pioneers. In an excursion with BurgO)me 
 into New Hampshire, a number of Wyandots 
 were killed, and they blamed the British Gen- 
 eral for the loss, claiming the warriors were 
 needlessly sacrificed. This, and the fact that 
 Burgoyne endeavored to restrain their ferocity 
 and cruelty, disgusted the Wyandots, and most 
 of them returned to their home on the San- 
 dusky; but still under the pay of the English, 
 continued to harass the frontier, destroying, 
 burning and murdering. The English had a 
 trading-post at the Indian village of Sandusky, 
 where settlement was made, and at this point 
 nearly all the Indian tribes were paid for the 
 scalps taken. 
 
 Their first expedition was in 1777. The 
 renegade Girty Avas thoroughly conversant 
 with affairs along the Ohio river, and at his 
 suggestion five hundred warriors, Delawares, 
 ^^'yandots and Shawanese, started on an ex- 
 pedition against Fort Henry, near where 
 Wheeling now is, on the Ohio river. The 
 British had supplied them with arms and am- 
 munition, and the Indians made their way 
 through the dense forests, along their trails, 
 crossed the Ohio and surrounded the fort 
 with its garrison of forty men, and a number 
 of women and children. Col. David Shep- 
 pard was in command, and rumors had 
 reached the fort that five hundred warriors 
 had started from the Sandusky region on some 
 murdering expedition, destination unknown 
 On the evening of September 26, 1771, settlers 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 45 
 
 reported Indians in war paint had been seen 
 lurking in the neighborhood. Cabins were 
 abandoned, and all sought safety in the fort. 
 Col. Sheppard sent out two men to recon- 
 noitre; one was killed and the other returned 
 to the fort wounded ; the Colonel then sent out 
 fourteen men, and as they were proceeding 
 cautiously down the river they fell into an 
 ambush, and eleven were instantly killed, the 
 others escaping in the dense forest. Hearing 
 the firing, the Colonel sent twelve more men 
 to relieve the imperiled party; eight of these 
 were promptly killed. The fighting force in 
 the fort was now reduced to a dozen men. 
 The Indians made constant attacks, but were 
 as constantly driven back. It was during this 
 engagement that, when the powder gave out, 
 Elizabeth Zane bravely went to the storehouse, 
 sixty yards away, and brought back the 
 powder in safety. She volunteered for this 
 service, saying that no man could be spared 
 for this perilous trip under the direct fire of 
 the enemy. Night coming on, the Indians re- 
 tired until morning. During the night a dozen 
 men arrived from a neighboring settlement, 
 and succeeded in gaining entrance to the fort. 
 In the morning forty more rangers arrived, 
 and the Indians, now regarded it as useless to 
 continue their assault on the fort. They 
 therefore destroyed everything they could, set 
 fire to the houses, and killed or carried off 
 three hundred head of cattle. They had killed 
 twenty-one men, with several others wounded. 
 Their own loss, however, was over a hundred. 
 They returned to Sandusky with twenty-one 
 scalps for which cash was paid by the British 
 agent. 
 
 While the Wyandots were allies of the Eng- 
 lish, as well as the other tribes of Ohio, on an 
 eastern branch of the Muskingum in Tuscara- 
 was county were several hundred Moravian 
 Indians, of the Delaware tribe, who con- 
 stantly refused to take part in the war; they 
 had become Christian Indians, had three set- 
 tlements in Tuscarawas county, and had 
 cleared considerable land, devoted their time 
 , mostly to farming and kept up constant busi- 
 ness relations with the Americans at Pittsburg, 
 about sixty miles distant, which was the head- 
 quarters of the American forces in the west. 
 They refused all the overtures and bribes of 
 the British. Finally, in the fall of 1781, Col. 
 
 Elliott, of the British forces, who was sta- 
 tioned at Upper Sandusky, took with him two 
 chiefs and three hundred warriors, and 
 marched to the Moravian settlements, their 
 route being through Crawford, crossing the 
 Sandusky at a point one mile south of the 
 Tod township line, and passing through Bucy- 
 rus township in the direction of New Win- 
 chester and in a southeasterly direction toward 
 the Kilbuck in Holmes county and on to the 
 Tuscarawas settlements. The three Moravian 
 towns, all on the Tuscarawas river, were 
 Schonbrunn, two miles south of the present 
 town of New Philadelphia, seven miles fur- 
 ther south was Gnadenhiitten and five miles 
 further Salem. 
 
 On reaching the Moravians the Indians 
 urged their brethren to stand by them in their 
 war against the Americans; the English Col- 
 onel offered them presents, but the Moravians 
 stood firm. Failing in peaceful persuasions 
 the Indians insisted they should accompany 
 them to the banks of the Sandusky, claiming 
 they were too near Pittsburg, and the Wyan- 
 dots were afraid they might ally themselves 
 with the detested Americans. Expostulations 
 were useless and the peaceful Moravians were 
 forced to leave their crops ungathered, and 
 accompany their captors in the long and weary 
 march to the banks of the Sandusky. The 
 Moravians were taken to Sandusky and from 
 there their missionaries were sent to Detroit as 
 prisoners. Some writers place the Moravian 
 winter quarters on the river southwest of Bucy- 
 rus, but Butterfield fixes it near the old Indian 
 town, three miles southeast of the present 
 town of Upper Sandusky. Here they passed 
 the winter, suffering great hardships, as the In- 
 dians make no provision for the future, and 
 the addition of several hundred to the Indian 
 villages along the Sandusky was beyond their 
 means of support. After a severe winter a 
 number were allowed to return to their villages 
 to gather the crops of the fall previous. About 
 one hundred and fifty of them, men with their 
 wives and children, made the journey to their 
 former homes, and resumed their work on the 
 clearings, dividing their force so as to look 
 after all three of the villages. 
 
 While the Moravians had spent the winter 
 suffering on the banks of the Sandusky the 
 Wyandots had not been idle, but had made 
 
46 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 maurading expeditions on the settlers of Penn- 
 sylvania and Virginia, with their usual burn- 
 ing and killing. The settlers of the upper Ohio 
 and the Monongahela determined to admin- 
 ister a lesson that would be a warning to the 
 Indians, and a corps of a hundred mounted 
 men was organized, and under command of 
 Col. Williamson started for the Moravian 
 towns. They knew the Moravians had spent 
 the winter on the Sandusky, the point where 
 all the brutal, murdering expeditions were or- 
 ganized; they knew they had again returned 
 to their villages on the Tuscarawas. In what 
 follows, the most lenient might concede they 
 did not know the peaceful Indians had been 
 taken there against their will, but this is not 
 borne out by history. The rangers under Wil- 
 liamson reached Gnadenhiitten after a forced 
 march of two days, and at this village found 
 the Indians gathering corn on the west bank 
 of the Tuscarawas. A boat was secured and 
 sixteen of the men crossed the river, but found 
 more Indians there than they had expected. 
 Then the rangers certainly learned their visit 
 to Sandusky had been an enforced one, for 
 they sympathized with them for the cruel 
 treatment they had received and assured them 
 of their friendship and that they had come 
 to see in what way they could protect the 
 Moravians. They further assured them that 
 another expedition would come from the San- 
 dusky region, and they would again receive 
 the same cruel treatment, and that their friends 
 at Pittsburg had advised them to go to that 
 place where they would receive protection. 
 Knowing the settlers of Pittsburg had always 
 treated them with the greatest friendship, and 
 being Christian Indians, they did not doubt 
 what the men told them, and placed themselves 
 under their protection. The trusting Indians 
 also sent a messenger down the river to the 
 village of Salem to notify the Indians there 
 of the kindness of their new-found friends, 
 urging them to join them at Gnadenhiitten. 
 They crossed the river with the rangers and 
 gave their guns into their hands, after which 
 they were ordered into houses and a guard 
 placed around them.. Col. Williamson sent a 
 party of men down the river to the village of 
 Salem, but on the way they met the Salem 
 Moravians coming up the river to join their 
 brethren at Gnadenhiitten. The Salem In- 
 
 dians arrived and they, too, were deceived into 
 giving up their arms after which they were 
 imprisoned. Col. Williamson then called a 
 council of war, and put the question for the 
 men to decide, as to whether the Indians should 
 be taken as prisoners to Fort Pitt (Pittsburg) 
 or whether they should be put to death. There 
 were eighteen who favored the minor outrage 
 of carrying them away as prisoners and eighty- 
 two voted for immediate death. 
 
 James Patrick, Esq., of New Philadelphia, 
 wrote an interesting history of the Moravian 
 Missions in Tuscarawas county. From this 
 work the following account of the horrible 
 scene is taken: "In the majority, which was 
 large, no sympathy was manifested. They re- 
 solved to murder — for no other word can ex- 
 press the act — the whole of the Christian In- 
 dians in their custody. Among these were 
 several who had contributed to aid the mis- 
 sionaries in the work of conversion and civili- 
 zation. Two of them had emigrated from 
 New Jersey after the death of their spiritual 
 pastor, the Rev. David Brainerd. One woman, 
 who could speak good English, knelt before 
 the commander and begged his protection. 
 
 "The supplication was unavailing. They 
 were ordered to prepare for death. But 
 the warning had been anticipated. Their firm 
 belief in their new creed was shown forth 
 in this sad hour of their tribulation, by relig- 
 ious exercises of preparation. The orisons of 
 these devout people were already ascending to 
 the throne of the Most High. The sound 
 of the Christian's hymn and the Christian's 
 prayer found an echo in the surrounding 
 woods, but no responsive feeling in the bosoms 
 of their executioners. With gun, and spear, 
 and tomahawk and scalping knife, the work 
 of death progressed in these slaughterhouses, 
 till not a sigh or moan was heard to proclaim 
 the existence of human life within. All per- 
 ished save two. Two Indian boys escaped as 
 by a miracle, to be witnesses in after times of 
 the savage cruelty of the white man toward 
 their unfortunate race. 
 
 "After committing their cruel and cowardly 
 act, the buildings containing the mutilated 
 bodies of the murdered Indians were set on 
 fire, and the flames of the heavy logs soon re- 
 duced to crumbling ashes all that remained of 
 the Christian Indians." 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 47 
 
 Dr. Doddridge pays a beautiful tribute to 
 the Christianity of the Moravians when he 
 writes: "They anticipated their doom, and 
 had commenced their devotions with hymns, 
 prayers and exhortations to each other to place 
 a firm reliance upon the mercy of the Saviour 
 of men. When their fate was announced to 
 them these devoted people embraced and kissed 
 each other, and bedewing each others faces 
 and bosoms with their tears asked pardon of 
 their brothers and sisters for any offense they 
 might have committed through life. Thus, at 
 peace with God, and each other, they replied 
 to those who, impatient for the slaughter, de- 
 manded whether they were ready to die, that 
 'having commended their souls to God, they 
 were ready to die.' " 
 
 Having reduced to ashes all traces of their 
 inhuman act, the men started up the river for 
 Schonbrunn to murder the Moravians there, 
 but the Christian savages had learned of the 
 sad fate of their companions and fled to the 
 forest, and were beyond pursuit. The num- 
 ber murdered was ninety-six; of these sixty- 
 two were grown persons, about forty-two men 
 and twenty women; the remaining thirty-four 
 were children. A few of the men who looked 
 as if they might be warriors were taken from 
 the slaughter house and brained with toma- 
 hawks. Most of these quietly knelt down, 
 and while offering up prayers to God, received 
 the fatal blow. But one attempted to escape, 
 and he soon fell dead with five bullets through 
 his body. These outside dead were placed in 
 the slaughter-houses and burned with the rest. 
 
 One hundred and fifty years previous when 
 Menendez murdered the Huguenot Christians 
 on the Atlantic coast he tarried on the site of 
 his crime long enough to lay the foundation of 
 a church to commemorate his act. It was prob- 
 ably through inadvertence Col. Williamson 
 overlooked this beautiful finishing touch of 
 piety ! 
 
 It was only a part of the Moravians who 
 had been murdered; the larger number were 
 still on the banks of the Sandusky, and to this 
 same retreat fled the fifty Christian Moravians 
 who had escaped from Schonbrunn. Imme- 
 diately on Williamson's return, arrangements 
 were made for a new expedition to go to the 
 fountain-head of all the trouble — the head- 
 quarters on the Sandusky — and administer a 
 
 blow that would leave the settlers in peace. 
 The massacre of the Moravians took place May 
 3, 1702, and on May 7 the decision was 
 reached to attack Upper Sandusky, the seat 
 of the Wyandots, not that the Wyandots alone 
 were guilty of all the murdering and mas- 
 sacreing, butchering and scalping of the un- 
 fortunate settlers and their families, but be- 
 cause Upper Sandusky was the headquarters 
 of the Wyandots, Ottawas, Delawares, and 
 Shawanese, and here was their rendezvous, 
 where they gathered to start on their raids. 
 Volunteers to the number of 480 were secured, 
 all mounted and well armed, all from two or 
 three counties south of Fort Pitt. Monday, 
 May 20, was the time set for their assembling 
 and the place chosen was Mingo Bottom, on 
 the west bank of the Ohio, about seventy-five 
 miles below Pittsburg, and about two miles 
 below the present city of Steubenville. They 
 began assembling on the 21st, and on the 24th 
 the last man had reported. A vote was taken 
 as to who should command the expedition, 
 and Col. William Crawford received 235 votes, 
 and Col. David Williamson, who had com- 
 manded the expedition against the Moravians, 
 230. Col. Crawford was therefore selected 
 as commander with Col. Williamson as senior 
 major, and second in command. Among the 
 troops was Robert Sherrard, grandfather of 
 Rev. J. H. Sherrard, who was for many years 
 pastor of the Presbyterian church at Bucyrus. 
 Of the troops 320 were from Washington 
 county, Pennsylvania, 130 from Westmore- 
 land county, Pennsylvania, 20 from Ohio 
 county, Virginia, and 10 from various local- 
 ities. Besides the two commanding officers 
 there were three other Majors, Gladdis, Mc- 
 Clelland and Bunton, with Daniel Leet as 
 brigade major, and Dr. John Knight as sur- 
 geon. John Slover and Jonathan Zane accom- 
 panied the expedition as guides. There were 
 eighteen companies, the captains, as far as 
 known, being McGeehan, Hoagland, Beeson, 
 Munn, Ross, Ogle, Briggs, Craig, Ritchie, Mil- 
 ler, Bean, and Hood. 
 
 The Williamson expedition against the Mo- 
 ravians was a private affair of the settlers.' 
 The expedition against the Wyandots was a 
 government affair, under direction of Gen. 
 Irvine, who commanded the western depart- 
 ment of the United States and Lieut. Rose, 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a member of his staff, accompanied the expedi- 
 tion as' his representative. The Indians were 
 assisting the English by their constant attacks 
 in the west, necessitating the keeping on the 
 border for protection a large force which 
 otherwise could have been utilized in the war 
 against England. The attack on the Wyan- 
 dot village was in reality an expedition of the 
 Revolutionary war, to destroy a post which 
 for years had been the Indian headquarters 
 of the British government; a place which had 
 been and was the gathering point of all In- 
 dian expeditions against the colonies; the vil- 
 lage where the Indians of northwestern Ohio 
 repaired to receive their arms and ammuni- 
 tion from the British, and to receive pay for 
 services rendered, the pay being based on the 
 number of scalps turned over to the British 
 agent at Upper Sandusky. From these In- 
 dian villages came the stories of cruel deaths 
 inflicted on their unfortunate captives. For, 
 while it seems sickening and saddening that 
 men, women and children were murdered on 
 these expeditions, in many of them a few of 
 the stronger captives were taken back alive, 
 divided among the different villages, and died 
 with all the prolonged agony to the sufferer 
 that devilish ingenuity could devise. But in 
 these tortures the Wyandots took no part; 
 they murdered and scalped their prisoners, but 
 burning at the stake had been abandoned years 
 previous. The Delawares and Shawanese were 
 the torturers. 
 
 At Gnadenhiitten the vote to murder peace- 
 ful Christian Indians was eighty-two ; the vote 
 for mercy being eighteen, and a deed was con- 
 summated so despicable and so dastardly that 
 the civilized world for over a century has 
 blushed with shame that honest, conscientious, 
 law-abiding Christian men should place so foul 
 a stain on civilization. In this every reader 
 of this work will coincide. But who cast those 
 eighty-two votes? Men whose grey-haired 
 fathers had been cruelly murdered; men who 
 had returned to their peaceful homes only to 
 find their wives butchered, almost beyond rec- 
 ognition, and lying welterin'g in blood, bleed- 
 ing and scalpless, on their hearthstones ; to find 
 even the innocent babes at the mothers' breasts 
 scalped and butchered. While in their minds 
 was the knowledge of the death by the Indians 
 of a father or a son, a brother or a friend, 
 
 who had first run the gauntlet, that Indian 
 "free for all" in which every villager took a 
 part; the long line down which the naked cap- 
 tive must pass, starting with the children and 
 squaws with their whips and clubs, administer- 
 ing blows to the flying victim; then past the 
 younger men, and finally brave warriors with 
 knives and tomahawks so skilfully used as to 
 administer blows that would cut and wound 
 but not kill; and on and on, cut, carved and 
 covered with blood, to sink exhausted at the 
 Council-house door. To be cared for? No! 
 This Meeding remnant of a man was some- 
 times scourged and beaten still, and thrown 
 into some guarded hut to await the morrow, 
 when the poor sufferer was dragged forth to 
 furnish what further amusement the strength 
 of his constitution would stand. Commencing 
 at the less vital parts, skilful savages took 
 strips of skin from his legs and arms, and 
 sometimes nearly half the body was laid bare 
 before suffering nature could stand no more 
 and death relieved him of his sufferings. At 
 the stake the fire was fiendishly built so far 
 away that the torture was prolonged for hours, 
 the ears, fingers and toes cut off, the fiends 
 previously pulling the nails out by the roots, 
 yelling with delight at the suffering of the tor- 
 tured victims. Every horror the inventive mind 
 of the savage could think of was practiced.* 
 
 *John Leith was a prisoner and storekeeper among 
 the Indians from 1763 until he made his escape in 1791. 
 During the Revolution he kept a store at Upper San- 
 dusky, employed by the British. In his biography, 
 written by his grandson, Judge George W. Leith, is 
 his description of the first "Running of the Gauntlet" 
 he witnessed: "One fine day in early summer a band 
 of warriors came in from the south with a captive, a 
 powerful young Virginian. He had been overpowered 
 and captured in a hand-to-hand struggle. I saw him 
 stripped for the race, and thought him as fine a speci- 
 men of a man as I ever saw. His action was unim- 
 paired, the only wound perceivable being a long gash 
 on the fleshy part of his thigh, which, though consid- 
 erably swelled, did not impede his motion. He was 
 stripped naked and painted black for the race at my 
 store. Two lines of Indians were formed, extending 
 back from the store about two hundred yards. He was 
 marched back through the lines in a southerly direc- 
 tion, the savages panting and yelling for the onset. 
 Poor fellow! he stepped with the elasticity of a race- 
 horse, confidently believing that if he succeeded in the 
 race his life would be spared. But his doom was 
 sealed, and this was but the opening scene in the hor- 
 rible tragedy. The warriors were armed with guns 
 loaded with powder to be shot into his naked body, 
 the boys were armed with bows and arrows, and the 
 squaws and children with clubs and switches. No one 
 was allowed to strike or shoot until the victim was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 49 
 
 All these horrible acts of the Indians were 
 known to have been visited upon the relatives 
 of the men who had accompanied Williamson, 
 and anger and revenge were a stronger motive 
 than right and justice. Williamson should 
 have prevented it, but while today every reader 
 of this history can justly shudder and denounce 
 the brutal murder of the Moravians, the fact 
 remains that if every reader had been on the 
 banks of the Tuscarawas at the time, knowing 
 what these men knew, having suffered as these 
 men had suffered, when the vote for life or 
 death came, the proportion would have been 
 the same. No one can endorse the needless, 
 inhuman murder of the innocent Moravians, 
 but the perpetrators of the dastardly deed had 
 minds at the time inflamed by the cruelties in- 
 flicted on themselves and their relatives by 
 other Indians. In this modern day those at a 
 distance from the crime can well shudder and 
 denounce the burning at the stake of the brute 
 who has ruined and murdered an innocent girl 
 in the southland, but were the matter to come 
 home to them direct, how many fathers, with 
 the brutal act fresh in the memory, would lift 
 a finger to stay the hand that fires the funeral 
 pyre? Would there be even eighteen out of 
 eighty-two ? 
 
 It was Saturday morning. May 25, 1782, 
 the expedition started for the Sandusky 
 Plains, about 150 miles distant, but to avoid 
 the Indian trails, so the savages would have 
 no knowledge of the attack, their course was 
 through the unbroken forest, to the Tusca- 
 rawas, on the banks of which were the de- 
 stroyed Moravian towns, and it took them 
 four days to cover the sixty miles, although 
 Williamson's men, over the traveled route, had 
 made it m two days when on their mission of 
 
 opposite to where he stood, so that the speed of the 
 runner^might not be impeded or checked by a front 
 fire. The word was given, 'All ready, go !' and sim- 
 ultaneously a yell went up all along the line from the 
 savages, who were eager to inflict the severest punish- 
 ment upon the helpless captive. The young fellow 
 came through the lines with astonishing swiftness, and 
 ran into the store where I was. He was covered with 
 ragged and gaping wounds made by the discharge of 
 powder and the tomahawks, and the arrows stuck out 
 from his blackened body like the shafts of a clothes- 
 rack. He gave me a most imploring look, as if he ex- 
 pected me to help him, and suddenly sprang high in the 
 air as if in terrible agony. He turned and went out at 
 the door, when he was brained with a tomahawk and 
 fell to the around with his last despairing groan." 
 
 murder. They encamped at the ruined town 
 of Schonbrunn, and two officers, reconnoiter- 
 ing, saw in the distance two Indian warriors, 
 who had been spying on their movements. It 
 was now believed the Indians would have full 
 knowledge of their expedition, and Crawford 
 determined to press on as rapidly as possible. 
 They started on a forced march through the 
 wilderness of Holmes county, and the night 
 of May 30 encamped about ten miles south 
 of the present site of Wooster, just south of 
 the Wayne county line. From here they went 
 almost due west, passing north of Odell's lake, 
 and on to the Mohican, following up the river 
 until near where Mansfield now is they turned 
 west and encamped on June ist at Spring 
 Mills, eight miles east of Crestline. The next 
 day, June 2, about one o'clock, they entered 
 Crawford county just north of where Crest- 
 line now is and continued west to the San- 
 dusky river at the mouth of a small creek 
 called Allen's Run, near the present town of 
 Leesville. The Sandusky river was the point 
 for which the guides were aiming and the offi- 
 cers, pleased at reaching this destination, called 
 a halt for an hour. They had reached the 
 river south of the Wyandot trail, which the 
 Indians used on their excursions from the 
 Sandusky towns east to Pittsburg. In the last 
 five days they had made eighty-five miles, and 
 the guide, Slover, told Crawford they were 
 now about twenty-five miles due east of the 
 Indian town, and that a little to the southwest 
 there were extensive plains reaching to their 
 destination. After nine days of slow and diffi- 
 cult marching through an unbroken forest, 
 they decided to make for the open plains,i' so 
 they followed the south bank of the Sandusky, 
 two or three miles, to about the center of 
 section 12, of Jefferson township. Here the 
 Sandusky bends to the north and they left the 
 river and, going southwest, encamped for the 
 night in the southwestern part of Jefferson 
 township, on the eastern edge of the plains. 
 
 Early on the morning of June 3rd they en- 
 tered the plains, and the open sunlight, after 
 the long and dreary march through the dense 
 woods, was a pleasing relief to all. Their 
 course was now west through Whetstone and 
 Bucyrus townships, passing about four miles 
 south of Bucyrus, to an Indian trail skirting 
 the west side of the Sandusky; they followed 
 
50 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 this trail through southwestern Bucyrus town- 
 ship and through Dallas, into what is now An- 
 trim township, Wyandot county, and made 
 their final encampment near the present town 
 of Wyandot, within ten miles of their destina- 
 tion. 
 
 On the morning of June 4th they started 
 along the south bank of the Sandusky, follow- 
 ing its course in a northwest direction for six 
 miles where the mouth of the Little Sandusky 
 was reached. Here they crossed the Sandusky, 
 following the trail along the east bank which 
 leads to the Indian towns, and they soon 
 reached the old Indian town of Sandusky, on 
 the east bank of the river, about three miles 
 southeast of the present town of Upper San- 
 dusky. The town was deserted. The guide 
 Slover said that when he was a captive of the 
 Miamis, he frequently visited the Wyandots 
 and this was their principal town. The offi- 
 cers and guides were astonished and a halt 
 was called. The volunteers feared a mistake 
 had been made and that there was no village 
 short of Lower Sandusky (Fremont) forty 
 miles down the river, through a section known 
 to be covered by roving bands of Indians, for 
 they were now in the heart of the Indian coun- 
 try. 
 
 It was one o'clock when Crawford ordered 
 the halt; he called his officers into consulta- 
 tion. This lasted an hour. Slover said eight 
 miles further down the river was another In- 
 dian town, and in his opinion the Indians had 
 made that their headquarters. Crawford 
 feared they might find this also deserted and 
 there was danger in their getting too far into 
 the Indian country with but five days' of pro- 
 visions left. It was decided to move forward 
 in search of the Indians. The army crossed 
 the river to the west side, continued along the 
 trail up the west bank to the site of the pres- 
 ent town of Upper Sandusky; they continued 
 a mile further, with no sign of Indians and 
 the troops became anxious, and for the first 
 time expressed a desire to return home. Craw- 
 ford promptly called a halt and a council of 
 war. Col. Crawford and Guide Zane both 
 favored an immediate return, as further pro- 
 gress was dangerous, and the final decision 
 was made to continue that day and if no In- 
 dians were discovered they would return. 
 The march was continued, and the troops had 
 
 gone but a short distance, when one of the 
 light-horse scouts, who in the open prairie 
 were generally a mile in advance, returned at 
 full speed announcing the Indians were in front 
 of them. The volunteers were now enthusi- 
 astic and the whole army moved forward 
 rapidly. 
 
 The Indians had kept trace of the army ever 
 since it had left Mingo Bottom, and had sent 
 warriors to the Shawanese, in the Miami valley, 
 and to the Wyandots and Delawares, on the 
 Sandusky, to prepare for an attack. The va- 
 rious tribes gathered and when Crawford left 
 the Tuscarawas, in a northwesterly direction, 
 it was known the Sandusky Indians were the 
 objective point. Pomoacan, Wyandot chief, 
 sent special messengers to Detroit, notifying 
 DePeyster, the English commandant at that 
 point, of the intended attack. DePeyster acted 
 promptly, and started Butler's rangers, a 
 mounted troop, to Lower Sandusky (Fre- 
 mont) by boats to assist their allies; special 
 messengers were also sent by the Wyandots 
 to the Shawanese on the Miami, and two hun- 
 dred warriors started on their march of forty 
 miles from Logan county to help their breth- 
 ren. In the meantime the Delawares, under 
 Pipe, had .assembled three hundred warriors 
 at his town on both sides of the Tymochtee, 
 about one and a half miles northeast of the 
 present town of Crawfordsville, Wyandot 
 county, near the place now marked by the 
 monument erected on the site where Col. 
 Crawford was burned at the stake.. Zhaus- 
 sho-toh was the Wyandot war chief, and the 
 village of Pomoacan, the "Half King," was 
 five miles northeast of Upper Sandusky, in 
 Crane township, on the Sandusky river. Here 
 he had four hundred warriors. 
 
 The Americans had advanced about two 
 miles north of Upper Sandusky, and were one 
 mile west of the river, when they met the 
 enemy, the Delawares being in the front line 
 of battle, under Pipe, his assistants being the 
 renegade Simon Girty and Chief Wingenund, 
 the latter having joined the Delawares from 
 his village about two and a half miles north- 
 west of the present site of Crestline. The 
 Delawares had taken posession of a small 
 grove called an "island," and from this they 
 were promptly driven by the Americans. The 
 Wyandots under Zhaus-sho-toh, with whom 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 53 
 
 was the British Captain Elliott, came to the 
 support of the Delawares. Elliott took com- 
 mand of both tribes, and the Delawares occu- 
 pied the west and south sides of the grove, 
 and the Wyandots the north and east. The 
 grove was surrounded by a prairie of tall 
 grass, high enough to be some protection to 
 the Indians, while the Americans had the bet- 
 ter of it by the protection of the grove. The 
 firing began at four o'clock, and the battle 
 lasted until dark. As the Indians exposed 
 themselves when skulking through the grass 
 they were picked off by the American sharp- 
 shooters. Some of the borderers from the 
 tree-tops had a better opportunity of detect- 
 ing the savages. One of these Daniel Canon, an 
 expert rifleman, remarked afterward: "I 
 don't know how many I killed, but I never 
 saw the same head again above the grass af- 
 ter I shot at it." Toward sunset the Indians 
 became more cautious. The day closed de- 
 cidedly favorable to the Americans; their loss 
 was five killed and nineteen -wounded. Indian 
 losses were never known, but their killed and 
 wounded far exceeded the Americans. Al- 
 though the Americans were in full possession 
 of the field, the Indians were not dispirited. 
 Desultory firing was resumed at six o'clock 
 in the morning and continued until noon, the 
 Americans believing the Indians had not re- 
 covered from their defeat of the day previous, 
 and plans were discussed by the Americans to 
 attack the enemy in force ; the Delawares were 
 drawn up south of them and the Wyandots 
 north. 
 
 Before the plan of attack was matured, a 
 sentinel reported mounted troops coming from 
 the north ; they proved to be Butler's rangers, 
 sent by DePeyster from Detroit, and a few 
 minutes later another sentinel reported the ar- 
 rival of two hundred Shawanese from the 
 south; during the late afternoon additional 
 small detachments of Indians were continually 
 arriving. The council of war now unani- 
 mously decided on a retreat that night. About 
 nine o'clock the retreat started and by a cir- 
 cuitous march to the west passed around the 
 Delawares and Shawanese south of them, 
 reaching the old town of Upper Sandusky, 
 three miles southeast of the present county 
 seat of Wyandot county, just before daylight. 
 Here a halt was called and stragglers kept con- 
 
 stantly arriving, but Col. Crawford, Dr. 
 Knight and John Slover the guide, and many 
 others were missing. 
 
 The command now devolved on William- 
 son, and his force numbered about three hun- 
 dred. After a short rest the army went south 
 along the east bank of the Sandusky, crossed 
 the river at the mouth of the Little Sandusky, 
 and then east, skirting the southern bank of 
 the river. They were again on the Sandusky 
 Plains, and when they reached where the town 
 of Wyandot now is, they saw in the distance 
 a large force of mounted Indians and Butler's 
 rangers following in pursuit. They were a 
 dozen miles from the woods on the eastern 
 boundary of the plains, where alone lay safety. 
 Their horses had had two days' rest at San- 
 dusky during the battle, but the eleven days 
 previous marching, and the long night ride 
 had left both man and horses in a jaded con- 
 dition. They were also hampered by their 
 wounded. Yet Col. Williamson urged his 
 troops forward with all possible speed ; he was 
 ably assisted by Lieut. Rose, the military 
 genius of the expedition. The latter was an 
 aide-de-camp of Gen. Irvine, the commander 
 of the Revolutionary forces at Pittsburg, and 
 had been attached to Col. Crawford's staff for 
 this expedition. He was as fearless and brave 
 as he was able and efficient, and to him, more 
 than any other man, was due the successful 
 retreat.* 
 
 The retreating column left the Sandusky 
 at Wyandot, and started northeast across the 
 plains. Passing through Dallas into Bucyrus 
 township they crossed what is now the Marion 
 road about a mile north of the Dallas town- 
 ship line, and a little before noon crossed what 
 is now the Sandusky pike two miles north of 
 
 *John Rose was known among the Americans as 
 Major Rose. After the Revolutionary War was over 
 he returned to his own country, Russia, and Gen. Irvine 
 received many letters from him, in which he gave his 
 true history. His name was not John Rose, but Gus- 
 tavus H. de Rosenthal, of Livonia, Russia, and he was 
 a baron of the empire. In an encounter with another 
 nobleman within the precincts of the palace at St. 
 Petersburg, he had killed his antagonist in a duel. He 
 fled to England, where he sailed immediately to America 
 to offer his sword in defense of the colonies in their 
 struggle for freedom. During his absence his relatives 
 secured his pardon from the Emperor Alexander, and 
 permission for him to return, which he did, and be- 
 came Grand Marshal of Livonia. Baron Rosenthal died 
 in 1830. 
 
54 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the Dallas township line, and about three miles 
 south of Bucyrus.* Before they had reached 
 the Sandusky Pike, the faster mounted men 
 of the enemy had overtaken the fleeing col- 
 umn, and were harrassing them with occa- 
 sional shots. As more and more of the enemy 
 came up and scattered along the flanks of the 
 marching column the firing became more se- 
 vere, and it required all the skill and encour- 
 agement of Col. Williamson and Lieut. Rose 
 to prevent the demoralization of the troops, 
 and to preserve the column in solid marching 
 order. The woods and safety were still six 
 miles away; they were in an open prairie 
 rapidly being surrounded by double their num- 
 ber of infuriated savages from whom they 
 could expect no mercy, and the weary col- 
 umn struggled on. About two o'colck they 
 were within a mile of the woods; on both sides 
 and at the rear were hundreds of the enemy, 
 pouring in a galling fire, and the rear guard 
 was in confusion; the Indians had pressed for- 
 ward and were seeking to bar their entrance 
 to the woods, and the troops in advance, showed 
 signs of wavering. Williamson urged them 
 to stand firm, stating: "Not a man of you 
 will reach home if each one decides to shift 
 for himself. Youi" only salvation is keeping 
 in line. Our ranks once broken, all is lost." 
 The danger of the demoralization of the troops 
 became so great that a stand had to be made. 
 A point was selected where there is a slight 
 rise in the ground in the northeast quarter of 
 Section 22 in Whetstone township.! 
 
 The troops had crossed what is now the 
 Gallon road a little west of where the monu- 
 ment now stands marking the site of the bat- 
 tle, which really occurred a little north of 
 where this monument was placed. A body of 
 light horse troops was thrown forward to pro- 
 tect the entrance to the woods, the little army 
 was reversed, and facing to the west hurriedly 
 formed into solid rank to resist the attacking 
 foe. Fortunately for the Americans, in their 
 haste to pursue the retreating troops, the Brit- 
 ish had left their artillery behind. During the 
 
 *Locations are given as they exist today. In 1782 
 this county was a wilderness, covered with forests, 
 prairies and swamps. 
 
 tButterfield. — Crawford's campaign against San- 
 dusky. The west half of this quarter section is 
 owned (1912) by J. B. Campbell; its east half by 
 Sarah R. Lust. 
 
 morning march through the dry prairie a 
 scorching sun had added to the discomforts 
 of the tired troopers, but toward noon a 
 breeze had sprung up, and the sky became 
 overcast with clouds, and when the halt was 
 made a storm was threatening. Having hur- 
 riedly formed in battle line, the Americans 
 awaited the assault, and six hundred painted, 
 yelling savages, with their British allies, 
 charged tfe^m in front and on both flanks. 
 Rose rode down the line, unmindful of the 
 hail of bullets pouring in, urging the men to 
 stand firm, to aim true, and to see that every 
 shot brought down a man. The first attack 
 was repulsed, the line was unbroken and the 
 Americans regained confidence, and the sec- 
 ond attempt to break their lines was another 
 failure. Then Indian caution prevailed, and 
 under protection of the high grass they con- 
 tinued their attack, until the threatening storm 
 broke forth, and both armies were drenched 
 to the skin, rendering most of the fire-arms 
 useless. The battle had continued for an hour 
 when the severe rain caused a cessation of hos- 
 tilities. The Americans had suflFered a loss 
 of three killed and eight wounded, among the 
 latter was Capt. Joseph Beam, whoi was shot 
 through the body. Although the wound was 
 thought to be fatal, he was taken home and 
 e^-entually recovered. The loss of the enemy 
 was far greater than that of the Americans. 
 
 \A'hen the rain put a stop to the battle the 
 Americans hurriedly buried their dead, cared 
 for their wounded, making them as comfort- 
 able as possible for transportation, and again 
 formed in line of march. The enemy, seeing 
 the column again on the retreat, rallied their 
 forces and renewed the pursuit, firing on the 
 column from a respectful distance. Capt. 
 Biggs' company was covering the retreat. 
 They had led the advance in the outward 
 march and were now reduced to only nine 
 men. Some of these were wounded and all 
 greatly exhausted, and there was again danger 
 of the ranks being demoralized by the fire of 
 the enemy, and each man attempting to shift 
 for himself. Again the companies began to 
 waver under the irritating attacks of the en- 
 emy, and it took the heroic exertions of the 
 officers to prevent the retreat from degenerat- 
 ing into a hopeless rout. The company in 
 front was ordered to file to the left, the bal- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 55 
 
 ance of the army marched forward, when that 
 company wheeled into line and became the rear 
 guard; then another from the front took its 
 place, each in turn protecting the rear, and 
 confidence took the place of fear, and the 
 weary march finally ended when the tired 
 troopers entered the friendly shelter of the 
 dense woods. 
 
 The battle of Olentangy on June 6, 1782, 
 may have been but a skirmish, but it is inter- 
 esting historically as a battle of the American 
 Revolution, fought on Crawford county soil. 
 The battle of Sandusky on June 4, was also in 
 what was Crawford county from 1820 to 
 1845, so the only two battles of the Revolu- 
 tion that occurred west of the Alleghenies, are 
 of historic interest to this county. 
 
 Of the expertness of the American marks- 
 man, Butterfield, in his work "Crawford's 
 Campaign Against Sandusky," gives an inci- 
 dent which relates to the battle of Olentangy. 
 It was told him by George W. Leith, of Ne- 
 vada, a grandson of John Leith. John Leith 
 was a trader at the Indian town of Sandusky, 
 and was there when the news arrived of the 
 approach of Crawford's army. On June 4, 
 the day before the battle, he started down the 
 Sandusky river with his goods and furs seek- 
 ing safer quarters. He camped that night on 
 the banks of the river a little below Tiffin. 
 Here a Frenchman, who was an Indian in- 
 terpreter, on his way to join the Indians at 
 Sandusky, spent the night with him. The 
 next morning, hearing the firing, the French- 
 man hurriedly left for the field of battle. 
 Reaching the Indians, he dressed himself in 
 their costume, and in a spirit of bravado 
 painted a large red spot on his breast, re- 
 marking to one of the Indian warriors, "Here 
 is a mark for the Virginia riflemen." He ac- 
 companied the Indians in their pursuit of the 
 retreating army, and took part in the battle 
 of Olentangy, and when the Americans went 
 over the battlefield gathering up their dead and 
 wounded they found the Frenchman, cold and 
 stiff in death, with a bullet hole passing through 
 the red mark. 
 
 By nightfall the Americans reached the 
 place where they had made their first camp 
 in Crawford county, near Leesville, and here 
 they passed the night, the enemy camping 
 about a mile to the rear. In less than twenty- 
 
 four hours they had covered forty miles and 
 both armies were completely exhausted. The 
 next morning the Americans resumed their 
 retreat, being occasionally fired on by the sav- 
 ages, the last shot as they were leaving what 
 is now the borders of Crawford county, just 
 north of Crestline. From there they marched 
 to the Ohio with no sight of the enemy. They 
 reached the Tuscarawas towns on June 10, 
 and Mingo Bottom on the 13th, covering the 
 distance in less than seven days, and even with 
 this speed they were rejoiced to find some of 
 their missing comrades, whom they had feared 
 had either been lost or fallen into the hands 
 of the enemy, had arrived before them — some 
 of them as much as two days previous. The 
 outward journey had consumed eleven days, 
 the route taken having been about one hundred 
 and eighty-five miles each way. 
 
 When the retreat was started Col. Craw- 
 ford missed his son John Crawford, his son- 
 in-law, William Harrison, and his nephew, 
 William Crawford. While looking for these 
 relatives. Dr. Knight joined him. Both waited, 
 calling for the absentees, until all the troops 
 had passed. By this time there was severe 
 firing in the direction of the retreating army. 
 An old man and boy joined Crawford and 
 Knight. It being dangerous to attempt to 
 reach the main column the four went north 
 about two miles, and then turned due east, 
 , over a mile north of the battle ground. A 
 little before midnight they reached the San- 
 dusky which they crossed less than a mile 
 south of the village of the Wyandot chief Po- 
 moacan. The old man lagged behind, and 
 frequent stops were made for hiin to catch 
 up. Finally an Indian scalp-halloo announced 
 that the old man had been overtaken by some 
 wandering savage and killed. At daylight 
 Crawford, Knight and the boy entered Craw- 
 ford county about two miles northwest of 
 where Oceola is now situated, their progress 
 being slow on account of the darkness and the 
 jaded condition of the horses. Here Craw- 
 ford and the young man were compelled to 
 abandon their horses, and on foot they con- 
 tinued their journey east, bearing toward the 
 south, and about two o'clock fell in with Capt. 
 Biggs, who had carried Lieut. Ashley from the 
 battle, the latter being badly wounded. The 
 five continued an hour longer when a heavy 
 
56 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 rain came on and they were compelled to go 
 into camp, which they did near the line be- 
 tween Holmes and Liberty townships, about 
 two miles north of Bucyrus, having only made 
 nine miles since daylight. The next morning 
 the five continued their journey, passing 
 through the southwest corner of Liberty and 
 crossing the Sandusky two or three miles east 
 of Bucyrus, and soon entered Whetstone town- 
 ship. While marching through the woods they 
 discovered a deer recently killed, with some 
 meat sliced from the bones. This they took 
 with them and a mile farther espied smoke of 
 a fire. They approached it carefully and were 
 of the opinion some of their own party had en- 
 camped there the previous night. They used 
 the fire to roast their venison, and while eat- 
 ing were joined by one of their own men, the 
 man who had killed the deer, who hearing them 
 in the distance had secreted himself in the 
 woods believing them to be Indians. After 
 eating their breakfast of venison the party 
 continued their march until about two o'clock 
 they reached the point on the Sandusky, in 
 section 12, Jefferson township, where the troops 
 had left the . river on their outward march. 
 It was near this point the enemy had camped 
 the preceding night. A discussion arose as to 
 the future course ; Crawford held to follow the 
 course of the army as they could make better 
 time along a known trail, and that there was no 
 danger, as the Indians would not follow the 
 retreating army into the woods, and they were 
 now several miles from the plains. Capt. Ash- 
 ley and Lieut. Biggs thought the safer course 
 was through the woods, avoiding all Indian 
 trails. Crawford's plan was followed, the Col. 
 and Dr. Knight leading, on foot; about a 
 hundred yards behind was the wounded officer 
 on horseback, Lieut. Ashley, with his friend 
 Capt. Biggs, while at the rear were the two 
 young men. They followed the south bank 
 of the Sandusky, through the site of the pres- 
 ent town of Leesville and just east of that 
 place several Indians started up less than fifty 
 feet from Crawford and Knight. The Doctor 
 jumped behind a tree and was about to fire, 
 when Crawford, observing how many Indians 
 there were, advised him not. An Indian who 
 knew them came forward and shook hands; 
 Capt. Biggs in the meantime had fired on the 
 savages, but missed, and he and his companion 
 
 Lieut. Ashley, took to the dense woods, as 
 did the two young men. The party that cap- 
 tured Crawford and Knight, were Delaware 
 Indians, who under their chief, Wingenund, 
 had followed the retreating army as far as 
 their camp, which was only half a mile dis- 
 tant from the place where they captured Craw- 
 ford, about a mile and a half northwest of 
 Crestline. 
 
 Crawford and Knight were taken to Winge- 
 nund's camp, where they found nine other 
 prisoners. Wingenund sent a message to Capt. 
 Pipe, announcing the capture of Col. Craw- 
 ford, the leader of the expedition, and of the 
 other prisoners, and received word to bring 
 them to the headquarters of the Delawares 
 on the Tymochtee. It was about three o'clock 
 on Friday, June 7, that Crawford and Knight 
 were captured, and on Sunday evening, June 
 9, some Delaware warriors returned bringing 
 with them the scalps of Capt. Biggs and Lieut. 
 Ashley, the two young men having escaped. 
 On Monday morning, June 10, fhey started 
 for the Indian towns on the Sandusky. Craw- 
 ford had been told that Simon Girty was at 
 Pomoacan's village, and as Girty knew him 
 and had frequently been his guest at his home 
 in Pennsylvania, he requested that he be taken 
 there. As this would lead the Indians past 
 the place where the two horses of Crawford 
 had been abandoned, Wingenund consented. 
 The Indians were seventeen in number. They 
 followed the trail about three miles when the 
 party separated. Crawford, guarded by two 
 Indians, bearing to the northwest over the 
 route by which he came, and the other six- 
 teen with their ten prisoners going west over 
 an Indian trail to the old town of Upper San- 
 dusky, crossing the river southwest of the 
 present site of Bucyrus. Crawford arrived at 
 the Half King's house and had an interview 
 with Girty, who promised to do what he could 
 for him. After, his interview with Girty 
 Crawford was taken up the river, about eight 
 miles, to the Old Town, where the other pris- 
 oners were. Here Pipe and W^ingenund had 
 preceded him, and painted the face of the pris- 
 oners black, which meant death. On Craw- 
 ford's arrival he was greeted by both chiefs 
 with words of friendship, but he, too, was 
 painted black. The whole party now started 
 for the village of the Wyandots where Craw- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 57 
 
 ford had spent the night, Crawford and 
 Knight being guarded by Pipe and Wingenund. 
 As they marched they came to the dead bodies 
 of four of the prisoners, tomahawked and 
 scalped. 
 
 At the present site of Upper Sandusky, in- 
 stead of continuing their march to the Half 
 King's Wyandot town, they bore to the north- 
 west for the Delaware town of Tymochtee. 
 On reaching the Little Tymochtee about three 
 miles from the Indian village. Knight was 
 made a present to the Shawanese, to be taken 
 to their town on the Mad river for torture, 
 the other five prisoners, with their hands tied 
 behind them, were given over to the squaws 
 and boys, and were tomahawked and scalped, 
 the bloody scalps being dashed in the faces of 
 both Crawford and Knight. The line of 
 march was again taken up, and the party were 
 met by Simon Girty and several Indians, who 
 had come across from the Half King's town 
 to witness the death of Crawford. From now 
 on both Crawford and Knight were struck 
 over the head, face and body with the fists, or 
 with sticks and clubs of the Indians. They 
 soon reached a bluff near the Tymochtee, about 
 three-quarters of a mile up the stream from 
 the Delaware village, where a fire had already 
 been prepared. The account of the death of 
 Crawford is taken from the narrative of Dr. 
 Knight, written in August, 1782, at Pittsburg. 
 There being no printing office in Pittsburg at 
 that time it was sent to Philadelphia and pub- 
 lished in November, 1782. Speaking of the 
 tortures of Crawford Knight says : 
 
 "When we went to the fire the Colonel was 
 stripped naked, ordered to sit down by the fire 
 and then they beat him with sticks and their 
 fists. Presently after I was treated in the 
 same manner. They then tied a rope to the 
 foot of a post about fifteen feet high, bound 
 the Colonel's hands behind his back and fas- 
 tened the rope to the ligature between his 
 wrists. The rope was long enough for him 
 to sit down or walk round the post once or 
 twice and return the same way. The Colonel 
 then called to Girty and asked him if they in- 
 tended to burn him? — Girty answered, 'yes.' 
 The Colonel said he would take it all patiently. 
 Upon this Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, 
 made a speech to the Indians, viz : about thirty 
 
 or forty men, sixty or seventy squaws and 
 boys. 
 
 "When the speech was finished they all 
 yelled a hideous and hearty assent to what 
 had been said. The Indian men then took 
 up their guns and shot powder into the Col- 
 onel's body, from his feet as far up as his neck. 
 I think not less than seventy loads were dis- 
 charged upon his naked body. They then 
 crowded about him, and to the best of my 
 observation, cut off his ears; when the throng 
 had dispersed a little I saw the blood run- 
 ning from both sides of his head in conse- 
 quence thereof. 
 
 "The fire was about six. or seven yards from 
 the post to which the Colonel was tied; it 
 was made of small hickory poles, burnt- quite 
 through in the middle, each end of the poles 
 remaining about six feet in length. Three 
 or four Indians by turns, would take up, in- 
 dividually, one of these burning pieces of 
 wood and apply it to his naked body, already 
 burnt black with the powder. These torment- 
 ors presented themselves on every side of him 
 with the burning fagots and poles. Some of 
 the squaws took broad boards upon which 
 they would carry a quantity of the burning 
 coals and hot embers and throw on him, so 
 that in a short time he had nothing but hot 
 coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon. 
 
 "In the midst of these extreme tortures, he 
 called to Simon Girty and begged him to 
 shoot him; but Girty making no answer he 
 called to him again. Girty then, by way of 
 derision, told the Colonel he had no gun, at 
 the same time turning about to an Indian who 
 was behind him, laughed heartily, and by all 
 his gestures seemed delighted at the horrid 
 scene. 
 
 "Girty then came up to me and bade me 
 prepare for death. He said, however, I was 
 not to die at that place, but to be burnt at 
 the Shawanese towns. He swore by G — d I 
 need not expect to escape death, but should 
 suffer it in all its extremities. 
 
 "He then observed, that some prisoners had 
 given him to understand, that if our people 
 had had him they would. not hurt him; for 
 his part, he said, he did not believe it, but 
 desired to know my opinion of the matter, 
 but being at that time in great anguish and 
 
58 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 distress for the torments the Colonel was suf- 
 fering before my eyes, as well as the expecta- 
 tion of undergoing the same fate in two days, 
 I made little or no answer. He expressed a 
 great deal of ill will for Col. Gibson, and 
 said he was one of his greatest enemies, and 
 more to the same purpose, to all which I paid 
 very little attention. 
 
 "Col. Crawford at this period of his suffer- 
 ings besought the Almighty to have mercy on 
 his soul, spoke very low, and bore his tor- 
 ments with the most manly fortitude. He con- 
 tinued in all the extremities of pain for an 
 hour and three-quarters or two hours longer, 
 as near as I can judge, when as last, being 
 almost exhausted, he lay down on his belly; 
 they then scalped him and repeatedly threw 
 the scalp in my iace, telling me "that was my 
 great captain." An old squaw (whose appear- 
 ance every way answered the ideas people en- 
 tertain of the Devil) got a board, took a par- 
 cel of coals and ashes and laid them on his 
 back and head, after he had been scalped; he 
 then raised himself upon his feet and began 
 to walk around the post ; they next put a burn- 
 ing stick to him as usual, but he seemed more 
 insensible of pain than before." 
 
 Dr. Knight was at this time taken away to 
 Capt. Pipe's house, and did not see the final 
 death of his commander. It was late in the 
 afternoon when the torture of Col. Crawford 
 commenced, and the Indians reported later 
 that he breathed his last just as the sun was 
 going down, and that the Indians covered the 
 body with fagots, and around the blaze held 
 a war dance until late into the night. The 
 next morning as Knight started for the 
 Shawanese town, the charred bones of Craw- 
 ford were pointed out to him by his captors. 
 
 On his way to the Shawanese town Knight 
 escaped, and after a very toilsome journey 
 and much suffering, reached his friends in 
 safety, passing through southern Crawford, 
 or very near its border on his return journey. 
 Slover was captured but he, too, made his 
 escape. 
 
 The Wyandots had nothing to do with 
 Crawford's death. He was a Delaware pris- 
 oner. The Wyandots for some years had 
 ceased the burning of prisoners at the stake. 
 The Delawares and Shawanese still adhered 
 to the custom. The Delawares, however, were 
 
 only by courtesy on the Wyandot's land, and 
 Butterfield says that through a trick The Pipe 
 and Wingenund obtained the Half King's 
 consent to the death of Crawford. They 
 sent to Pomoacan, a messenger, bearing a belt 
 of wampum, with the following message: 
 "Uncle ! we, your nephews, the Lenni Lanape, 
 salute you in a spirit of kindness, love and 
 respect. Uncle! we have a project in view 
 which we ardently wish to accomplish, and 
 can accomplish if our uncle will not overrule 
 us! By returning the wampum we will have 
 your' pledged word!" The message puzzled 
 Pomoacan, and he questioned the messenger, 
 who could give no information, and the Half 
 King, believing it was some new expedition 
 of the Delawares against the white settle- 
 ments, sent back word : "Say to my nephews 
 they have my pledge." This was the death 
 warrant of Col. Crawford. 
 
 Many writers incline to the theory that Col. 
 Crawford suffered torture in retaliation for 
 the massacre of the Moravian Indians, who 
 were Delewares. In a sense, this may be true, 
 but The Pipe had a supreme contempt for the 
 Moravian branch of his tribe; still, they were 
 Delawares, and the Indian tribal spirit called 
 for the tribe to avenge their death, even if 
 they refused to revenge it themselves, although 
 most of those who escaped the massacre joined 
 their comrades in the fight against Crawford. 
 It is probable, however, the fate of Crawford 
 would have been the same if the Moravian 
 incident had not occurred. From 1776 to 
 1 78 1 the Delawares and Shawanese had made 
 expeditions to the border, murdering and 
 massacreing, and, when possible, brought 
 prisoners back to their villages to die by tor- 
 ture. It was the knowledge of these con- 
 stant barbarities which led to the Moravian 
 and the Crawford expeditions. Added to this 
 was the fact of imperative orders of the Brit- 
 ish officer at Detroit to his Indian allies to 
 send no more prisoners to that place; The 
 Wyandots killed theirs, sometimes after hav- 
 ing made them run the gauntlet; the Dela- 
 wares and Shawanese killed theirs, frequently 
 with all the forms of cruelity their fiendish in- 
 genuity could invent. 
 
 Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown 
 on October 19, 1781, which practically ended 
 the war of the Revolution, although the treaty 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 59 
 
 of peace was not signed until a year later, Nov. 
 30, 1782. The British still retained posses- 
 sion of Detroit, and kept the Indians of the 
 northwest hostile to the Americans, and the 
 depredations still continued. The Americans, 
 however, were now more free to protect their 
 border, and expeditions were sent against 
 them in the Miami valley and up toward the 
 Maumee and Detroit, the Wyandots sending 
 all their warriors to oppose the Americans on 
 these expeditions. On Jan. 27, 1785, a treaty 
 was signed at Fort Mcintosh, a fort on the 
 Ohio, thirty miles below Pittsburg, at the 
 mouth of the Beaver river, where the town 
 of Beaver, Pa., now is. This treaty was made 
 between the Americans and the Wyandots,* 
 Delawares, Chippewas and Ottawas. The 
 boundary line between the United States and 
 the Wyandots and Delawares was declared to 
 begin "at the mouth of the river Cuyahoga, 
 and to extend up said river to the portage 
 between that and the Tuscarawas branch of 
 the Muskingum, thence down that branch to 
 the crossing place above Fort Laurens (on 
 the border line of Stark and Tuscarawas 
 counties, near where the town of Bolivar now 
 is) thence westerly to the portage of the Big 
 Miami, which runs into the Ohio (its western 
 point being Fort Recovery in Mercer county) 
 at the mouth of which branch was Fort Slovel 
 which was taken by the French in 1752; then 
 along said portage to the Great Miami or 
 Omee river (Maumee) and down 'the south 
 side of the same to its mouth, then along the 
 south shores of Lake Erie to the mouth of 
 the Cuyahoga river, where it began." All 
 of the territory inside this boundary (all of 
 northwestern Ohio), was assigned to the In- 
 dians, with a few trading posts reserved, six 
 miles square at the mouth of the Sandusky, 
 and a tract two miles square at Fremont. 
 
 Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah, or Leather Lips, who 
 signed this treaty and kept it, was afterward 
 murdered under Indian law on account of his 
 friendship for the Americans. In 18 10 Te- 
 cumseh commenced his organization of the 
 Indians against the whites, but found the 
 
 *The Wyandots signing this treaty were 
 Tar-he (or Crane), T. Williams Jr., Tey-yagh-taw, 
 Ha-ro-en-you (or Half King's son), Te-haaw-to- 
 rens, Aw-me-yee-ray, Staye-tak, Sha-tay-ya-ron-yah 
 (or Leather Lips), Daugh-shut-tay-ah, Shay-aw-run- 
 the. 
 
 Wyandots, led by Tar-he and Leather Lips, 
 were bitterly opposed to the plan. Gen. Har- 
 rison was of the opinion the chief's death 
 was the result of the direct command of Te- 
 cumseh. In June, 1810, Leather Lips was an 
 old man, and was on the Scioto river about 
 twelve miles above Columbus, when parties 
 arrived direct from Tecumseh's headquarters 
 at Tippecanoe, accusing the aged chief of 
 witchcraft. An Indian Council was called, 
 which lasted for three hours. His accusers 
 from Tippecanoe were very bitter in their de- 
 nunciations. The venerable chief made a 
 calm and dignified and dispassionate reply. 
 Some whites present endeavored to save him, 
 but the fierce vindictiveness of the opposition 
 made all appeals for mercy useless. Sentence 
 of death was pronounced and six Indians ap- 
 pointed as his executioners. After the sen- 
 tence Leather Lips walked slowly to his camp, 
 calmly ate his dinner, washed, and dressed 
 himself in his best apparel, wearing his finest 
 skins and brightest colored chieftain feathers. 
 He painted his face as a warrior. When the 
 hour arrived, arrayed as a chieftain, his erect 
 stride and gray hairs made his appearance 
 graceful and commanding. He walked slowly 
 to his doom, chanting the Indian death song 
 in a voice of surprising melody and sweet- 
 ness. Wyandot warriors slowly followed, 
 timing their march to the mournful dirge. 
 At the grave he shook hands with all present, 
 and the Wyandot captain of the executioners 
 offered a prayer, after which Leather Lips 
 knelt, and while offering a prayer to the Great 
 Spirit, one of the executioners quietly ap- 
 proached from behind, and buried a toma- 
 hawk in his brain. He was buried in his 
 chieftain's robes, and with all his decorations. 
 He had given his life as a penalty for keep- 
 ing his word to remain loyal to the Americans, 
 and a dozen or more of the white men were 
 there to witness the cowardly act, and never 
 raised a hand to stay the brutal murder. 
 
 Jan. 9, 1789, another treaty was made by 
 Gov. St. Clair at Fort Harmar (Marietta), 
 with the Wyandots and others, confirming the 
 treaty of 1785. It was not kept and the In- 
 dians, supplied with arms and ammunition by 
 the British at Detroit, continued their depre- 
 dations, and several expeditions sent against 
 them were disastrous to the Americans. Fin- 
 
60 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ally in 1794, Gen. Anthony Wayne, "Mad An- 
 thony," led the expedition against them, and 
 at the battle of Fallen Timbers he gained a 
 complete and decisive victory, and on August 
 3, 1795, the Greenville treaty was signed, mak- 
 ing the Indian reservation about as before. 
 
 On July 4, 1805, another treaty was signed 
 at Fort Industry between the United States 
 and the Wyandots and other tribes, by which 
 the eastern boundary of their reservation was 
 a meridian line, starting at a point on Lake 
 Erie, 120 miles west of the western boundary 
 of Pennsylvania, thence south to the Green- 
 ville treaty line. This line was the present 
 west boundary of Erie and Huron counties; 
 it passed through Crawford county giving 
 the present eastern seven miles to the United 
 States, the western thirteen miles being re- 
 served to the Indians. It touched the Green- 
 ville treaty line about two miles east of what 
 is now Cardington, in Morrow county. All 
 east of this north and south line, north of 
 the Greenville treaty line, extending to the 
 Cuyahoga river was now open to settlement. 
 For this territory the Indians were given 
 goods to the amount of $20,000, and were to 
 receive in addition $7,500 in goods annually. 
 From this new territory Richland county was 
 created in 1807, and it included the four east- 
 ern miles of what is now Crawford county, 
 all of Auburn, Vernon and Jackson, and the 
 eastern two miles of Jefferson and the eastern 
 four miles of Polk. Between the western 
 boundary of Richland county and the eastern 
 boundary of the reservation, a three mile strip 
 was left unattached, the present three eastern 
 sections of Cranberry, all of Sandusky and 
 the three western sections of Jefferson and 
 Polk. For some years the Indians remained 
 peaceful, their severe losses in their constant 
 wars having so greatly reduced their num- 
 bers that they realized, without help, all fur- 
 ther opposition to the Americans was hopeless. 
 
 This peace would have continued but for 
 the actions of the British in forcing the war 
 of 1812. England for several years had been 
 stopping American ships on the high seas, 
 seizing seamen on those vessels and impress- 
 ing them into the British navy on the ground 
 they were British seamen. Many American 
 born sailors were thus seized, and to all pro- 
 tests the British government turned a deaf 
 
 ear. The British also instigated the Indians 
 in the northwest to recommence their depre- 
 dations against the Americans, and Tecumseh 
 organized the savage tribes, and when war 
 was declared by the United States Tecumseh 
 and nearly all the northwestern Indians joined 
 their forces with the British, with headquar- 
 ters at Detroit. Tarhe "The Crane," was 
 chief of the Wyandots at that time, and as- 
 sisted by Between-the-Logs, another Wyandot 
 chief, urged their tribe to remain neutral, 
 which the majority of them did, very few 
 Wyandots following the lead of Tecumseh. 
 At the breaking out of the war, the first year 
 in the northwest, the Americans met with a 
 constant succession of reverses. 
 
 In July, 1 81 2, Gen. William Hull, in com- 
 mand at Detroit, surrendered that post to the 
 British and Indians, without firing a gun. The 
 allied army consisted of a thousand British and 
 six hundred Indians. The force surrendered 
 was 2,500 men, with thirty-three cannon, arms 
 and ammunition. Just prior to the surrender 
 a detachment of five hundred had been sent 
 south to guard some supplies coming from 
 Ohio. These were a part of Hull's arrtiy and 
 were surrendered also, and as they were re- 
 turning they were met by a company of Brit- 
 ish soldiers who astonished them with the 
 statement that they, too, were included in 
 the capitulation. The American troops were 
 released on parole. A number started home 
 on foot, others were transported in boats 
 across Lake Erie to the mouths of the San- 
 dusky, Huron and Cuyahoga rivers, and left 
 at those points to go overland the nearest route 
 to their homes, many passing through Craw- 
 ford as the nearest way home. 
 
 Gen. William Henry Harrison was placed 
 in command of the army in the northwest in 
 September of 1812, the objective point of 
 this campaign being to regain Detroit from 
 the British. Gen. Harrison immediately es- 
 tablished a line of defense across the state 
 from Wooster through Crawford county, to 
 Upper Sandusky and St. Mary's to Ft. Wayne. 
 The army was divided into three divisions, 
 the left composed of the Kentucky troops and 
 the Seventeenth and Eighteenth U. S. regu- 
 lars under Brigadier General Winchester ; their 
 route was up the Miami, with the base of 
 supplies at St. Mary's, Auglaize county. The 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 61 
 
 central division was composed of 1,200 of the 
 Ohio militia and eight hundred mounted in- 
 fantry under Brigadier General Tupper, with 
 their base of supplies at Fort McArthur 
 (Kenton, Hardin county). The right was 
 composed of three brigades of militia from 
 Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, and were to 
 assemble at Fort Ferree, a fort erected at 
 Upper Sandusky, where Gen. Harrison had 
 his headquarters. During the early winter 
 these troops were assembling at the three diff- 
 erent points a large number of the right divi- 
 sion marching to their post through Crawford 
 county. On October 22, Gen Harrison wrote 
 to the war department: "I am not able to fix 
 any period for the advance of the troops to 
 Detroit. It is pretty evident that it cannot 
 be done, on proper principles, until the frost 
 shall have become so severe as to enable us 
 to use the rivers and the margin of- the lake 
 for the transportation of our baggage on the 
 ice." He also stated that to go from Colum- 
 bus to Upper Sandusky, for every team em- 
 ployed in transporting supplies it would re- 
 quire two teams loaded with forage for their 
 subsistence, and that at Upper Sandusky it 
 was necessary to accumulate not only provi- 
 sions for the men but forage sufficient for at 
 least two thousand horses and oxen, that 
 would necessarily have to be employed in ad- 
 vancing the main expedition. During No- 
 vember and December Gen. Harrison did what 
 he could toward improving the roads. 
 
 While at his headquarters on the Sandusky, 
 Tarhe, the Wyandot chief, called on Gen. 
 Harrison, and suggested that a meeting of 
 the Indians be held, as it was his opinion 
 many of the Indians had been deceived into 
 joining the British forces. In response to 
 this, a council of Indians, both friendly and 
 unfriendly, was held on the American side 
 of the Detroit river at Brownstown. The 
 Wyandots were then the leading and most 
 powerful Indian nation, and Tarhe, their 
 chief, sent a strong message urging them to 
 remain neutral. Tarhe's message was re- 
 ceived in sullen silence, and Round Head, a 
 Canadian chief, and a Wyandot, made a bit- 
 ter speech against the Americans, which was 
 endorsed by practically all present. The Brit- 
 ish were represented at the council by two 
 agents, Elliott and McKee, and Elliott, seeing 
 the spirit of the Indians, made a very insulting 
 
 speech, boasting of the victories already 
 achieved, and alluding to the President of the 
 United States as a squaw, and saying: "If 
 she receives this as an insult and feels disposed 
 to fight, tell her to bring more men than she 
 ever brought before. If she wishes to fight me 
 and my children she must not burrow in the 
 earth like a ground hog* where she is inac- 
 cessible. She must come out and fight fairly." 
 The leading chief of the Wyandots present 
 was Between-the-Logs, the chief orator of that 
 nation, and to the insulting speech of Elliott 
 he made a dignified reply: 
 
 "Brothers, I am directed by my American 
 father to inform you that if you reject the 
 advice given you, he will march here with a 
 large army, and if .he should find any of the 
 red people opposing him in his passage through 
 this country, he will trample them under his 
 feet. You cannot stand before him. 
 
 "And now for myself, I earnestly entreat 
 you to consider the good talk I have brought, 
 and listen to it. Why should you devote your- 
 selves, your women and your children to de- 
 struction? Let me tell you, if you should 
 defeat the American army this time you have 
 not done! Another will come on, and if you 
 defeat that still another will appear that you 
 cannot withstand; one that will come like the 
 waves of the great water, and overwhelm you 
 and sweep you from the face of the earth. 
 
 "If you doubt the account I give you of the 
 force of the Americans, you can send some 
 of your own people, in whom you have con- 
 fidence, to examine their army and navy. 
 They shall be permitted to return in- safety. 
 The truth is your British father lies to you 
 and deceives you. He boasts of the few vic- 
 tories he gains, but never tells you of his de- 
 feats, of his armies being slaughtered, and 
 his vessels being taken on the big waters. He 
 keeps all these things to himself. 
 
 "And now, father, let me address a few 
 words to you. Your request shall be granted. 
 I will bear your message to the American 
 father. It is true none of your children ap- 
 pear willing to forsake your standard, and it 
 will be the worse for them. You compare the 
 Americans to ground hogs, and complain of 
 their mode of fighting. I must confess that 
 
 *Alluding to the Americans having pits in the 
 embankments to shelter them from cannon balls 
 thrown into their forts. 
 
62 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a ground hog is a very difficult animal to 
 contend with. He has such sharp teeth, such 
 an inflexible temper, and such an unconquer- 
 able spirit, that he is truly a dangerous enemy, 
 especially when he is in his own hole. But, 
 father, let me tell you, you can have your 
 wish. Before many days you will see the 
 ground hog floating on yonder lake, paddling 
 his 'canoe toward your hole, and then, father, 
 you will have an opportunity of attacking your 
 enemy in any way you may think best." 
 
 This closed the council, the Canadian In- 
 dians remaining with the British, while the 
 Ohio Wyandots followed the advice of Be- 
 tween-the-Logs. Tarhe made another at- 
 tempt and sent another message to his Cana- 
 dian Wyandot kinsman: "Let all the Wyan- 
 dots abandon the British. They are liars and 
 have always deceived the Indians. They built 
 Fort Miami, as they said, to be a refuge to 
 the Indians. When wounded and bleeding, 
 after our defeat by Gen. Wayne, we fled to 
 their fort for protection, they shut the gates 
 against us." Later in the campaign Tecum- 
 seh threw this same treacherous act up to Gen. 
 Procter. It referred to a campaign when 
 "Mad Anthony" Wayne defeated the British 
 and Indians, and the British sought refuge 
 in Fort Miami, and closed its gates against 
 their fleeing Indian allies. He called atten- 
 tion to several other acts of perfidy of the 
 British but it had no effect on his Canadian 
 people, although nearly all the Wyandots in 
 Ohio remained on the side of the Americans ; 
 only a very few joinmg the British. 
 
 During the war of 1812 Gen. Harrison had 
 his headquarters much of the time along the 
 Sandusky river. He established Fort Ferree, 
 the present site of Upper Sandusky ; Fort Ball 
 at Tiffin and Fort Seneca half way between 
 Tiffin and Fremont. This latter place had been 
 a trading post over a century, established by 
 the French, and here was Fort Stevenson. 
 
 On December 17, 181 2, Gov. Meigs sent a 
 message to the State Legislature appealing 
 for aid for the Ohio militia at Sandusky, in 
 which he said : "The situation of the men as 
 to clothing is really distressing. You will 
 see many of them wading through the snow 
 and mud almost barefooted and half naked. 
 Not half the men have a change of pantaloons, 
 and those linen." 
 
 In January, 1813, Gen. Harrison marched 
 from Upper Sandusky to the Maumee and 
 about January 20 erected Fort Meigs, on the 
 south side of the river just above where 
 Perrysburg now is, and for the balance of the 
 winter supplies and troops were sent forward 
 and the fort strengthened. Toward the last 
 of April the fort was besieged by Gen. Procter 
 and Tecumseh with two thousand British and 
 Indians, but the small force there made .so 
 determined a resistence until re-inforcements 
 arrived under Gen. Clay, that on May 5, the 
 allies gave up the siege and retired. Gen. 
 Harrison sent word to Gov. Meigs that more 
 troops were needed, and they were soon on 
 their way to the different posts. On May 8 
 the commander at Fort Ferree wrote that five 
 hundred men had arrived that day and a thou- 
 sand more would be there the next day. 
 
 On July 21 Gen. Procter and Tecumseh 
 again laid siege to Fort Meigs with four thou- 
 sand British and Indians, Gen. Clay being in 
 command of the Fort. The British general, 
 Procter, left Tecumseh to watch the Fort, 
 while he, with five hundred British troops and 
 eight hundred Indians, marched to Lower 
 Sandusky (Fremont) to capture Fort Steven- 
 son, which was garrisoned by one hundred 
 and fifty men under Major Crogan, a young 
 man of twenty-one. They arrived before the 
 Fort on August- ist, 1813, and Procter de- 
 manded its surrender under the threat that 
 its defense against his superior force was 
 hopeless, and if they were compelled to cap- 
 ture the place, it would be impossible for him 
 to restrain the savagery of the Indians, and 
 the entire garrison would be massacred. The 
 demand was refused and on August 2d the 
 attack commenced, and after several hours of 
 fighting the enemy endeavored to take it by 
 assault but were repulsed with great slaugh- 
 ter. Gen. Harrison was at the time at Fort 
 Seneca, nine miles up the river, with a large 
 force of troops, and Procter fearing an at- 
 tack in return gave up the attempt and re- 
 turned to Detroit. Their loss was perhaps one 
 hundred and fifty killed and wounded. The 
 American loss was one killed and seven 
 wounded. 
 
 The Ohio militia continued pouring into 
 Fort Ferree until in August there were from 
 five to six thousand men there under com- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 63 
 
 mand of the Governor, Return Jonathan 
 Meigs. It was impossible to care for so many, 
 besides the enemy had abandoned their at- 
 tempt to capture Fort Meigs and retired to 
 Detroit, and the pressing need for the militia 
 had passed, so all but two thousand were dis- 
 banded and sent home, an order which was 
 received with the greatest disapproval by the 
 disbanded troops, and led to indignation meet- 
 ings in which severe resolutions were passed 
 against Gen. Harrison. 
 
 On September lo, 1813, Perry gained his 
 signal victory on Lake Erie and Gen. Harri- 
 son pushed forward into Michigan to retake 
 the fort. Reaching Detroit he found the place 
 deserted, the British and Indians having re- 
 tired across the river into Canada. On Oc- 
 tober 2d, Gens. Harrison and Shelby, with 
 3,500 Ohio and Kentucky troops, started after 
 the retreating army and overtook the allied 
 forces at the river Thames, eighty miles from 
 Detroit. A battle followed on October 5, in 
 which Tecumseh was slain, which so demoral- 
 ized his Indian followers that they immediately 
 took flight. A large number of the British 
 were killed or captured and the rest fled. This 
 was the final battle of the northwest, and from 
 that time the settlers of northwestern Ohio 
 were no longer disturbed by the British or In- 
 dians. The war, however, continued in the 
 east and south, until the last battle was fought 
 at New Orleans, on January 8, 181 5, by Gen. 
 Jackson, who, with six thousand men, ad- 
 ministered a crushing defeat to Gen. Packen- 
 ham's force of 12,000. The troops of Pack- 
 enham were the pick of the British army, the 
 survivors returning to Europe in time to take 
 part in the battle of Waterloo, while the troops 
 of Jackson were the raw militia of Kentucky, 
 Tennessee and the Northwest, but every man a 
 marksman. In the repeated charges of Pack- 
 enham against the breastworks of the Amer- 
 icans the world was given an example of the 
 height to which disciplined soldiery can be 
 brought. 
 
 During the war of 1812, in the battles along 
 the Maumee, the brutal murderings by the In- 
 dians of the soldiers after they had sur- 
 rendered, were of frequent occurrence. Un- 
 armed prisoners were butchered and scalped; 
 huts containing the wounded were set on fire, 
 the infuriated savages surrounding the burn- 
 ing buildings, and as the maimed and crippled 
 
 soldiers endeavored to escape they were bayo- 
 netted back into the flames. Some prisoners 
 were taken by the Indians to their towns to 
 undergo death by torture. During this war 
 the English endeavored to curb the cruelties 
 of their Indian allies, but it was generally use- 
 less, and it was only on a few occasions that 
 
 / a ^^ :t%^ 
 
 Map of the Northwest Territory. 
 
 Tecumseh himself was able to restrain the 
 ferocity of the savages. 
 
 The Wyandots being at peace with the 
 Americans, and Harrison's headquarters for 
 his principal army of advance during the war 
 being in what was Crawford county from 1820 
 to 1845, there were no disturbances in this 
 section; in fact at the time of the War of 1812 
 to 1 8 14, there was not a single settler on any 
 land within the borders of the county, it was 
 still an unbroken wilderness, crossed by a mil- 
 itary road in the south and another through 
 where Bucyrus is now located, with Indian 
 trails covering the county in various directions. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY 
 
 Crawford County Organized — Previous Ownership — Indian Reservations — Formation of 
 Wayne County — Delaware and Known Counties Formed — Richland County Organized — 
 Boundaries of Crawford County in 1820 — The J^yandot Reservation Purchased — Indian 
 Villages in Crawford County — Army Routes — Early Roads — The Sandusky Plains — Pas- 
 sage of Crooks' Army — Ludlow's Survey — Bad Lands — Abandoned Cabins — Crawford 
 County in its Crude State — The "Old Purchase" — The Westward Movement — Inhab- 
 itants of the County Prior to 18 15 — Jedediah Moorehead — John Pettigon, the First Land 
 Owner — William Green, the First Permanent Settler — Other Early Settlers in the Various 
 Townships — A Fatal Accident — Early Distilleries — Indian Treaty of 181I — The Land 
 Secured by it — Supplementary Treaty — Ihe New Land Surveyed and Settled — Where 
 the Pioneers Came From — Their Real and Personal Estate — Log Cabins and How They 
 Were Built — Accidents — Furniture — Provisions — Baking — Water Supply — Log Rolling 
 — Clothing — Crops and Harvesting — Grist Mills — Honey and Bee-Hunting — Cranberries 
 — Scarcity of Money — Price of Various Products — Blazed Trails — Neighbors' Visits — 
 Pioneer Hospitality — Mails — The Traveling Minister — Family Services — Medical Re- 
 sources and Early Doctors — Pioneer Pastimes — Funerals — Improvements — The County 
 Erected and Named — Population in 1820 — -List of Settlers. 
 
 O! the pleasant days of old which so often people 
 
 praise! 
 True, they wanted all .the luxuries that grace our 
 
 modern days: 
 Bare floors were strewed with rushes — the walls let 
 
 in the cold; 
 O! how they must have shivered in those pleasant 
 
 days of old! 
 
 I love to sing their ancient rhymes, to hear their 
 
 legends told — 
 But, Heaven be thanked! I live not in those blessed 
 
 times of old! — Francis Brown. 
 
 On Feb. 12, 1820, the Legislature of the 
 State of Ohio passed an act erecting the 
 County of Crawford, and on Jan. 31, 1826, 
 another act was passed, authorizing the cit- 
 izens of the county to elect their officers and 
 Crawford became one of the counties in the 
 great State of Ohio. 
 
 Prior to this the territory comprising Craw- 
 ford county had been under various controls. 
 The first civilized owner was Spain, when it 
 became Spanish territory in 1492, by the dis- 
 
 covery of Columbus, and the claims of Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella, approved by Pope Alexander 
 VI., which made all newly-discovered terri- 
 tory, west of the Atlantic, Spanish possessions. 
 
 In 1497, and subsequent years, the Cabots, 
 John and Sebastian, especially the latter, ex- 
 plored the Atlantic coast from Canada to 
 Florida, and by virtue of 'their discoveries 
 England claimed the entire country north of 
 Florida from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 
 Later England made grants of lands to colon- 
 ization companies, and what is now Crawford 
 county, under one of these grants, came under 
 the jurisdiction of Virginia. The present 
 northern boundary of Crawford was the 
 north line of Virginia territory. From this 
 line north to the Lake belonged to Connecti- 
 cut, also supposed to extend through to the 
 Pacific ocean. 
 
 In 1554 Cartier went up the St. Lawrence 
 as far as Montreal, and for over two centuries 
 France made explorations of the entire coun- 
 
 64 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 65 
 
 try west of the Alleghenies and north of the 
 Ohio river. France explored it and fortified 
 it, erected trading posts and made settlements,' 
 claimed it by the right of discovery and had 
 control of it. England, however, still claimed 
 it by reason of the Cabots' coast discoveries, 
 and the further claim that in several treaties 
 with the Iroquois Nation, the last in 1744, 
 they had purchased of that Indian nation the 
 entire territory from the Alleghenies to the 
 Mississippi, north of the Ohio river. As a 
 result of these conflicting claims, in 1755 the 
 Seven Years War started between England 
 and France. The French were defeated, and 
 in 1763, by force of arms, the land became 
 English, and Crawford county was Virginia 
 territory. 
 
 In 1774 England made all the land, from 
 the Ohio to the Lakes and from Pennsylvania 
 to the Mississippi, Royal Domain and a part 
 of the Province of Quebec, so Crawford coun- 
 ty's headquarters was now Canada. 
 
 In 1776 the War of the Revolution started, 
 and again by the force of arms the ownership 
 changed, and by the final treaty signed in 
 Paris, Sept. 3, 1783, Crawford became a part 
 of the new Nation. 
 
 By the Indian treaties of Jan. 27, 1785, and 
 Jan. 9, 1789, all of Ohio west of the Cuyahoga 
 river, and about the northern half of the 
 State west of that river, including nearly all 
 of northern Indiana and all of eastern Michi- 
 gan was reserved to the Indians, and this vast 
 territory was designated as Wayne county, 
 with headquarters at Detroit. 
 
 On July 4, 1805, another treaty was made 
 with the Indians extending the eastern boun- 
 dary of the Indian reservation fifty miles 
 further to the west. This placed the boundary 
 line of the reservation in Crawford county. 
 The eastern line of the reservation being the 
 present eastern line of Liberty and Whetstone 
 townships. The seven eastern miles of the 
 present county were now open to settlement, 
 and of this territory the four eastern miles 
 were a part of Fairfield county, and the balance 
 a part of Franklin county. In 1808 Delaware 
 and Knox counties were created, and the east- 
 ern part of the county was Knox and the west- 
 ern part Delaware. 
 
 Jan. 7, 1813, Richland county was organ- 
 ized, and the four eastern miles of the present 
 
 Crawford were a part of the new county, the 
 balance of the county being Delaware. 
 
 Sept. 20, 1817, a treaty was made with the 
 Wyandots, together with a supplemental treaty 
 on Sept. 17, 1818, by which all of northwest- 
 ern Ohio was purchased from the Indians, 
 their only reservation being a few tracts, the 
 largest twelve by eighteen miles in size in 
 what is now Crawford and Wyandot coun- 
 ties. This newly opened section for three years 
 remained a part of Delaware county. 
 
 By an act of the Legislature of Feb. 12, 
 1820, Crawford county was formed, consist- 
 ing of a tract of land, commencing at the 
 present western boundary of Auburn and Ver- 
 non townships, and extending west thirty-three 
 miles, including all of the present Wyandot 
 county except an irregular strip of about four 
 miles on its western border. The northern 
 boundary was the same as today. The south- 
 ern boundary was two miles north of the 
 present southern line of the county. For 
 judicial purposes the new county was placed 
 under the care of Delaware. Dec. 15, 1823, 
 Marion county was organized, and Crawford 
 came under its judicial jurisdiction, and for 
 the convenience of settlers in the northern 
 portion, all land north of the Indian reserva- 
 tion, including one tier of townships east and 
 west, was placed for judicial purposes under 
 the care of Seneca county. The Seneca 
 county portion was practically Texas, Lykins, 
 and the western portion of Chatfield. 
 
 On Jan. 31, 1826, Crawford county was 
 organized, the same territory as formed in 
 1820, an area of about 594 square miles. 
 
 In 1835, six miles of the eastern portion of 
 the Wyandot reservation was purchased from 
 the Indians, and a few years later all of the 
 present Crawford county was open to settle- 
 ment. On March 7, 1842, the balance of the 
 Wyandot reservation was purchased, and the 
 last foot of soil in Ohio owned by the In- 
 dians passed from their possession. 
 
 The organization of Wyandot county on 
 Feb. 3, 1845, changed Crawford county to its 
 present borders. Crawford lost to Wyandot 
 on the west a strip of land eighteen miles 
 square ; from Richland on the east was added 
 a strip four miles wide and eighteen deep. 
 From Marion on the south a strip was added 
 twenty miles long and two wide, making the 
 
66 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 new and present Crawford county about 20 
 miles square, with an area of nearly four hun- 
 dred square miles. 
 
 Previous to the war of 18 12 there was no 
 settler in Crawford county. Prior to that 
 time the Indians had villages and camps in 
 various parts of the county. An Indian vil- 
 lage had once been located in the northwest- 
 ern part of Auburn township, just east of 
 what is now North Auburn station. Another 
 village was that of the Delawares, half a 
 mile northeast of the present site of Leesville. 
 Another was a Wyandot village on the bank 
 of the Whetstone in what is now the corporate 
 limits of Gallon. There may have been a 
 village four miles west of Bucyrus on the 
 Grass Run, If it was not a village it was 
 used so frequently as a camp as to leave many 
 of the signs which mark the sites of Indian 
 villages. The same is true of a site on the 
 Sandusky south of the Mt. Zion church, and 
 another point on the Sandusky a mile above 
 the present village of Wyandot. Early set- 
 tlers found land cleared at these places which 
 had been used for the raising of corn; there 
 were also a few fruit trees, but the clearing 
 being not over an acre they may have been 
 only annual camps. Some writers hold it was 
 on the Sandusky river at one of these points 
 where the Moravian Indians spent the winter 
 of 1 78 1, when they were forced to leave their 
 home on the Tuscarawas, and were brought 
 as prisoners by the British and Wyandots to 
 Crawford county. The Indians had camps all 
 over the county, one which they used during 
 the maple sugar season was on what is now 
 the public square at Bucyrus ; others were along 
 the banks of the rivers and bordering the 
 plains used during their hunts; in Chatfield 
 and Cranberry and northern Auburn and 
 southern Holmes were those used during 
 the cranberry season. Many an early settler 
 on his first arrival made use of these little 
 shelters which had been erected by the In- 
 dians. 
 
 During the War of 181 2 troops passed 
 through what is now Crawford county; the 
 eastern division of the army had its head- 
 quarters at Upper Sandusky; a fort was built 
 there, called Fort Ferree,, and it was here the 
 bulk of the stores for the entire army operat- 
 ing on the Maumee was assembled, most of 
 
 these stores being brought north from Frank- 
 linton (Columbus), and entered the original 
 Crawford county several miles west of the 
 present western boundary of the county, at 
 Little Sandusky. But one or more roads had 
 been cut through the forest from the eastern 
 to the western part of Crawford county for 
 the transportation of troops and supplies from 
 the east to the Upper Sandusky headquarters. 
 In 1805 the seven eastern miles of the pres- 
 ent Crawford had been purchased from the 
 Indians, and in 1807 this portion of the county 
 was surveyed. A map published in 181 5 gives 
 a road that goes west along the present boun- 
 dary line between Vernon and Jackson town- 
 ships; at the southwest corner of Vernon it 
 bears to the north one mile in three, leaving 
 Sandusky township one mile north of its south- 
 ern boundary; it is then marked through the 
 unsurveyed Indian reservation as an air-line 
 to Upper Sandusky, which would pass along 
 the present north corporation line of Bucyrus 
 in Holmes township, and leave the present 
 county about a mile south of Oceola. An- 
 other of these military roads entered the county 
 at where Crestline now is; bore to the SQUth- 
 west, practically along the line of the present 
 Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati road, 
 passed through Gallon north of the Whet- 
 stone,* and followed about the line of the 
 present Gallon road to Bucyrus, keeping to the 
 high ground north of that road; crossing the 
 Sandusky at Bucyrus, and getting to the high 
 ground north of the present Pennsylvania 
 road, going west to Upper Sandusky. This 
 road is not given on the map printed in 181 5, 
 but that a military road existed somewhere 
 along this route can hardly be questioned. H. 
 W. McDonald, in his thorough survey of the 
 county forty years ago, traced it plainly 
 through Jackson and Polk townships. In 1821 
 James Nail was living two miles north of 
 Gallon, and he wanted to find the place where 
 the Indians gathered their cranberries, so he 
 started on a searching expedition with two of 
 his neighbors. He says : "We took horses and 
 horsefeed and went southwest until we struck 
 the Pennsylvania Army Road, which we could 
 easily distinguish." After following that road 
 several miles, he thought they were not "get- 
 
 *In 1833 the Legislature changed the name of this 
 stream to the Olentangy. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 67 
 
 ting far enough north," therefore "we turned 
 further north," and crossed the Sandusky at 
 McMochael's, whose land was then about two 
 miles up the river from Bucyrus. The lan- 
 guage of Nail plainly shows that when they 
 struck the Army road they followed it in a 
 northwesterly direction, but not far enough 
 north to suit them so they turned further north. 
 Added to this, Seth Holmes, who came with 
 the Nortons in 1819, was a captain of team- 
 sters in the army in 1812, and always insisted 
 that on the march to Upper Sandusky he 
 camped one night on the banks of the San- 
 dusky, the camping point being near where 
 the Pennsylvania railroad now crosses East 
 Mansfield street. 
 
 The celebrated Sandusky Plains in this 
 county extended from the eastern part of 
 Whetstone township west to the Sandusky 
 river, the Pennsylvania railroad being about the 
 northern boundary. Outside of this section 
 the county was practically all forest, where 
 trees would have to be cut to make a road. 
 During the War of 1812 the entire militia of 
 the state, nearly twelve thousand in number, 
 were assembled at Upper Sandusky ; many reg- 
 ular troops were also massed there, and there 
 can be no question many of these passed 
 through Crawford county, probably nearly all 
 ■of them on horseback, marching light without 
 camp equippage, and followed the Indian 
 trails, and their passage gave rise to the tradi- 
 tions handed down of several of Gen. Harri- 
 son's Military roads in Crawford county. 
 
 The army that passed through Crawford 
 •county was Pennsylvania troops under Gen. 
 Crooks. They arrived at Mansfield a little 
 after the middle of October, where they stopped 
 several weeks for rest and to await their sup- 
 plies. About Dec. loth Gen. Crooks received 
 orders from Gen. Harrison to proceed to Up- 
 per Sandusky. At that time reports from the 
 ■supply train showed it would reach Mansfield 
 in a day or two, and on Dec. 12th, Col. Ander- 
 son arrived with the stores. He reports : "On 
 the 12th we reached the village of Mansfield, 
 where we found two blockhouses, a tavern and 
 two stores." The army train of which Col. 
 Anderson had charge consisted of 25 cannon, 
 mostly four and six pounders, each of these 
 drawn by six horses; then there were the 
 twenty-five cannon carriages each requiring 
 
 four horses; fifty covered wagons containing 
 the stores, with six horses to each ; the ammu- 
 nition was in large covered wagons, each with 
 six horses ; one large covered wagon drawn by 
 six horses contained iron-bound kegs filled with 
 coin for the payment of the troops. After re- 
 maining in Mansfield two or three days to rest 
 the teams they started for Upper Sandusky 
 about Dec. 15. Each teamster was armed 
 with a gun in case of an attack by the Indians. 
 The army train had reached but a short dis- 
 tance from Mansfield when a heavy snow fell, 
 and the ground was covered to a depth of two 
 feet. The ground had not yet frozen for the 
 winter, and the heavy wagons and ordnance cut 
 into the soft earth, and frequent stoppages had 
 to be made to extricate some wagon that had 
 become stalled. At night, after a toilsome 
 day's journey, the snow had to be cleared away 
 to secure a camping place; they had no tents, 
 and trees were cut down and large fires burned 
 all night to keep them from freezing. This 
 toilsome journey of about 43 miles from Mans- 
 field to Upper Sandusky, through Crawford 
 county, took them about two weeks and they 
 reached Upper Sandusky on New Year's Day, 
 1 81 3. But the first road through Crawford 
 county had been made. 
 
 What this army road was like is best shown 
 from a letter written by one of the Pennsylva- 
 nia troopers to a friend at Pittsburg, when he 
 continued his march from Upper Sandusky to 
 the Maumee, in March, 1813: "Early the next 
 morning at two o'clock our tents were struck, 
 and in half an hour we were on our way. I 
 will candidly confess that on that day I 
 regretted being a soldier. We walked thirty 
 miles in an incessant rain. For eight miles of 
 the thirty the water was over our knees and 
 often up to the middle. The Black Swamp, 
 four miles from the Portage river, and four 
 miles in extent, would have been considered 
 impassable by any man not determined to sur- 
 mount every obstacle. The water on the ice 
 was about six inches deep. The ice was very 
 rotten, often breaking through, where the 
 water was four or five feet deep. That night 
 we encamped on the best ground we could find, 
 but it was very wet. It was next to impossible 
 to kindle fires. We had no tents, no axes ; our 
 clothes were perfectly soaked through, and we 
 had but little to eat. Two logs rolled together 
 
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to keep me out of the water was my bed." 
 This was Gen. Harrison's military road, over 
 which he had to transport all his troops and 
 supplies from the eastern division of his army. 
 If the Pennsylvania trooper had left Upper 
 Sandusky on his homeward journey, and 
 passed on his way east through the plains of 
 southern Crawford, the description in March, 
 1 813, would have been exactly the same. 
 
 It was in 1807 that Maxwell Ludlow sur- 
 veyed the eastern seven miles of the present 
 Crawford county. He passed over what is 
 now the rich farming lands of southern Ver- 
 non, and in his surveyor's notes says : ' "This 
 mile is low land; the swamp is bad and no 
 water; am very thirsty; had but one drink in 
 48 hours." Surveying the line between Ver- 
 non and Auburn townships he writes : "I have 
 traveled the woods for seven years, but never 
 saw so hedious a place as this." The land was 
 so awful that the surveyor abandoned the 
 proper spelling of the descriptive word in ex- 
 pressing his disgust. In northwest Auburn, 
 between sections 3 and 4, just west of Coyken- 
 dall's run, he writes: "Second rate lane, ex- 
 cept the prairie, 20 inches deep in water." In 
 Polk township, he fared some better. He 
 writes : "Level. Good meadow ground. Some 
 swamps. Many crab apples. Hickory, sugar, 
 beech and swamp oak." Ludlow's territory 
 stopped before the Plains were reached. And 
 it was not until 1817 the western part of the 
 county was opened to settlement, and it was 
 surveyed by Sylvester Bourne in 1819. Here, 
 on the Plains, in southern Holmes, and in the 
 cranberry region of Chatfield and Cranberry 
 he had difficulty in setting his stakes, and in 
 some cases had to use a log or boat. 
 
 The Plains were so unhealthy from the dis- 
 ease that lurked in the swampy ground that 
 many an early settler abandoned his claim in 
 disgust, leaving behind an empty cabin and a 
 few unmarked graves of those of his family 
 who died before he could leave the unhealthy 
 spot. When Abraham Monnett reached Craw- 
 ford in 1835, he states that on the Plains he 
 could count at least 40 abandoned cabins of 
 settlers who had given up the hopeless fight. 
 It was irnpossible to get pure water in this 
 region. Bourne says in his notes : "Nearly 
 all the water I get by digging in the prairie is 
 strongly impregnated with copperas; so much 
 
 so as to be very disagreeable to the taste." 
 Along the river he writes : "There are many 
 springs along the banks of the Sandusky river, 
 below the high water mark, impregnated with 
 sulphur, some with iron, and some with cop- 
 peras, and some with all of these." When 
 Nail made his trip in 1821, across northern 
 Whetstone nearly to Bucyrus, and then north 
 to the Cranberry marsh, he summed it up : "As 
 long as we followed the army road the weeds 
 were as high as the horses' heads, and from 
 there the country was heavily timbered. We 
 concluded this country would never be set- 
 tled." 
 
 This was Crawford county in its crude 
 state, just as nature had formed it, and before 
 the hand of civilization had touched it. This 
 was the land to which the early pioneers came, 
 the wilderness which they transformed into 
 the cultivated farms of today, with the rich 
 fields of waving grain on every hand, and hun- 
 dreds of miles of pikes to take the place of 
 that solitary army road which wound its way 
 through the swamps and forests of the virgin 
 soil. 
 
 In 1809 Huron county was organized, which 
 bordered on the seven eastern miles of Craw- 
 ford's present northern boundary. In 1813 
 Richland county was organized, and included 
 in that county was all of the present Auburn, 
 Vernon, Jackson, the two eastern miles of 
 Jefferson and the four eastern miles of Polk. 
 
 All of Huron and Richland counties had be- 
 come open for settlement by the treaty of July 
 4, 1805, and settlers began taking up land in 
 those counties. But settlement was partly 
 stopped by the breaking out of the war of 1812. 
 After peace was declared in 181 5 the west- 
 ward movement again commenced, and from 
 Huron and from Richland the settlers drifted 
 over into what later became known as the 
 "Old Purchase," of which the seven eastern 
 miles of Crawford were a part. 
 
 Prior to 181 5 there had been whites resid- 
 ing in this section. Not bona fide settlers, but 
 hunters and trappers, who with the Indians 
 wandered all over the region, erecting their 
 small cabins, and making their living from the 
 skins and furs they gathered during the sea- 
 son. Many of these were men whose business 
 was hunting and trapping. There were others 
 who for some offense had fled from civiliza- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 69 
 
 tion to find safety beyond the reach of all law. 
 These were little better than desperadoes, and 
 this class were the men who in the earlier days 
 by their treatment of the Indians, stealing 
 their horses, robbing their traps, and even 
 shooting them without provocation, engen- 
 dered much of the bitterness which later caused 
 the savages to fall with barbarous cruelties on 
 the innocent and harmless settler. Around the 
 Plains were the bee-hunters, who in the sum- 
 mer season 'traced the bees to their hiding 
 places, marked the trees, and in the Fall 
 gathered the honey. These were the first white 
 residents of Crawford, and as the real pioneer 
 came they went farther into the wilderness. 
 
 One of these hunters and trappers who built 
 a home for hiiriself and family in Auburn 
 township, this county, was Jedediah Morehead ; 
 he was what was known as a "squatter," own- 
 ing no land, but "squatting" wherever it was 
 most convenient for his hunting. He was the 
 first white man to build a real cabin for him- 
 self in the county. He came with his wife and 
 a large family of children, and built his prim- 
 itive cabin on a narrow neck of land in Au- 
 burn township on the Honey Creek, convenient 
 to the marshes, where he trapped the beaver 
 and the otter, the most valuable furs in those 
 days, the skins of these animals having a mar- 
 ket value of $5 to $8, the otter having the 
 higher value. His cabin was of brush, bark, 
 and small logs, and some of the old settlers of 
 half a century ago were of the opinion he came 
 there during the War of 1812; he was cer- 
 tainly there in 181 5, and probably in 1814, and 
 his cabin, crude though it was, is reported as 
 being the first cabin erected in the county. 
 His business was exclusively hunting and 
 trapping; he was on friendly terms with the 
 Indians, and was sometimes absent for weeks 
 at a time on his hunting expeditions, return- 
 ing loaded with skins. He is also reported as 
 having a cabin and living a part of the time in 
 northern Vernon. He cleared no land, and 
 when the real pioneer came he moved farther 
 west with his family, but the site of his first 
 cabin in Crawford county is still known as 
 Morehead's Point. 
 
 John Pettigon was a soldier in the War of 
 1812, and during the latter part of the war he 
 purchased a small tract of land in the southern 
 portion of Auburn township ; on this he built a 
 
 small cabin in 181 4, and moved into it with 
 his wife and family. He was the first land 
 owner in the county, but he devoted his time 
 to hunting and trapping. Like Morehead the 
 support of his family was his rifle, the sale of 
 furs procuring what necessaries of life the for- 
 est would not furnish. He carried his furs on 
 his back to Huron on Lake Erie, exchanging 
 them for ammunition, salt and flour. He also 
 had a cabin in northern Vernon, to be more 
 convenient for deer. On what is known as 
 the Cummins farm, in Vernon, was a deer 
 lick, and here it was easy to secrete himself 
 and kill the deer as they came to drink. His 
 principal associates were the Indian hunters, 
 and as the settlers began entering land in his 
 section, he, too, left for the more unsettled 
 western regions. 
 
 In 1 81 5 the first real pioneer arrived in 
 what is now Crawford county. It was William 
 Green. He came from Massachusetts, and en- 
 tered 160 acres of land in the southeastern part 
 of Auburn township, section 27. He built his 
 log cabin in the woods in the fall of 181 5. 
 Then he returned to Licking county, where he 
 had left his wife and children with relatives 
 or friends until he could prepare a home for 
 them. He spent the winter in Licking county, 
 and in the spring of 1816 came with his wife 
 and family to their new home and commenced 
 the work immediately of clearing the land and 
 in the fall of that year gathered his first crop. 
 His descendants are sjill residents of Auburn 
 township. 
 
 .A man named Deardorff entered a quarter 
 section in Auburn in 181 5, on which he lived 
 for several years and then sold out and moved 
 away. About this time came Jacob Coyken- 
 dall, settling in section 1 5 on a small stream in 
 the eastern part of the township, which gave 
 the stream the name of Coykendall Run. He 
 became active in the affairs of the township, 
 and early built a saw and grist mill on the 
 little stream. 
 
 William Cole came in 181 7, and remained a 
 resident of the township until his death, leav- 
 ing a large family of descendants, many still 
 living in that section. Charles Morrow settled 
 in Auburn the same year, but after remaining a 
 few years he left. 
 
 In 1818, the new settlers were David Cum- 
 mins, William Laugherty, Charles Dewitt, and 
 
70 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the Bodleys — Levi, Lester, Jesse and John. 
 Probably about the same time Henry Reif set- 
 tled in the township, but no record can be dis- 
 covered as to the date. 
 
 In 1819 Adam Aumend arrived with his 
 wife and daughter, both named Mary. He was 
 a shoemaker by trade, and was the first shoe- 
 maker to work at his trade in the county, and 
 after his day's work was done, in the evening 
 and on rainy days he made shoes for his fam- 
 ily and the neighbors. His land was 320 acres, 
 which he purchased of Henry Reif at $2.50 per 
 acre. It was in the northwestern part of the 
 township. One of his sons, Adam, who came 
 with him was a young man of age. Samuel 
 Hanna came in 1819, and remained a resident 
 of the township until his death, and the original 
 land is still in the possession of his descendants. 
 
 Resolved White and his wife Lucy came in 
 1819. He was a lineal descendant of Peregrine 
 White, the first Pilgrim child born in Amer- 
 ica. He was born on the Mayflower while it 
 was lying at anchor off Plymouth Rock. In 
 an old New England Bible is the following rec- 
 ord of this first birth: "Sonne born to Sus- 
 anna Whie (White) Dec. 19, 1620, yt six 
 o'clock morning. Next day we meet for 
 prayer and thanksgiving." The record would 
 seem to indicate that in those days the father 
 was not of sufficient importance to receive men- 
 tion. His name was William White. Re- 
 solved White bought 160 acres of land of 
 William Laugherty in section 29, a mile north 
 of the present village of Tiro. It is still owned 
 by his descendants. 
 
 In 1816 Aaron B. Howe came, one of the 
 active men in the affairs of the township. He 
 settled on section 16, and the second election in 
 the township was held at his cabin in 1822. 
 
 In 1820 Rodolphus Morse came with his 
 wife Huldah, and son Amos, an infant one year 
 old. He purchased 160 acres of land in sec- 
 tion 29 of William Laugherty at $3.75 per 
 acre. Morse immediately took an active hand 
 in township affairs, and in 1824 secured the 
 establishment of a post office, which was called 
 both Tiro and Auburn, and he was appointed 
 Postmaster by President Monroe. The office 
 was in his log cabin two miles north of the 
 present village of Tiro, where it remained for 
 many years. 
 
 John Webber and Palmer and Daniel Huhe 
 
 were settlers prior to 1820. The Hulses were 
 brothers, and probably lived in the eastern part 
 of the township, in what is today Richland 
 county. They were active in the early affairs 
 of the new township, gave it its name and the 
 first election of township officers was held at 
 the cabin of Palmer Hulse, on April 12, 1821. 
 
 Other early settlers were the Sniders and 
 Kelloggs, as on Dec. 9, 1822, the first known 
 wedding took place in the township when Sal- 
 lie Snider was married to Erastiis Kellogg. 
 
 In Vernon township the first early settlers 
 were the two hunters, Jedediah Morehead and 
 John Pettigon, both of whom built cabins in 
 the northern part of the township and lived 
 there with their families, but clearing no land ; 
 hunting and trapping their sole occupation, 
 and on the arrival of early settlers they took 
 their departure. 
 
 The first real pioneer in Vernon was George 
 Byers, who built his cabin on or near the pres- 
 ent site of the village of West Liberty in 181 7 
 or 1818. He was more of a hunter than pio- 
 neer. He trapped bears, wolves and foxes ; in 
 one winter he secured a hundred mink, be- 
 sides many coons, a number of beaver and a 
 few otter, the swampy regions in Vernon mak- 
 ing it a home for these fur bearing animals, al- 
 though, like bears, they were not very plenti- 
 ful. He did some farming, as in 1820 he had 
 several acres cleared, and as his occupation 
 was chiefly hunting the size of the clearing in- 
 dicates he had been there two or three years at 
 that time. Andrew Dixon and David Ander- 
 son are both reported as settling in Vernon in 
 1819. Both of these men became prominent in 
 the affairs of the township, and many of the 
 descendants of the Dixons are still in the 
 township. 
 
 In what is. now Jackson township the first 
 settler was Joseph Russell, who entered land 
 about a mile south of the present town of 
 Crestline, and built his cabin there in 1820. 
 His entire tract was a dense forest, and his 
 first work was to clear the land for farming 
 purposes. Soon after he settled there another 
 pioneer arrived in John Doyle, who entered 
 a tract near him. Early pioneers mention two 
 other families of whose names there is no rec- 
 ord. Of one of these is handed down by the 
 descendants of Christian Snyder, who settled 
 in Jefferson township in 181 7, the first fatal ac- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 71 
 
 cident among the pioneers. In the clearing oi 
 the forest the first work of the pioneer was 
 to fell the trees and cut them into logs; then 
 the neighbors came willingly from miles 
 around; the logs were rolled to one or more 
 points in the clearing, piled into great heaps, 
 and set on fire. The pioneer had cleared his 
 ground, the neighbors had responded, and the 
 fire started. The man himself was keeping 
 watch to see that the logs were properly 
 burned, — "mending up" it was called. The 
 clearing was some distance from his cabin, and 
 the wife, finishing her evening work, had gone 
 to bed. In those days, a trail after game, a 
 visit to some neighbor several miles distant, 
 might take a man away from home for sev- 
 eral hours, so there was no anxiety on the part 
 of the wife when the husband was absent for a 
 few hours. The next morning her husband not 
 having arrived she started in search of him, 
 and found that in attempting to keep the logs 
 in position on the burning pile, one long heavy 
 log had fallen, pinned him to the earth, and he 
 was burned to death. 
 
 The first settler in the present township of 
 JefiFerson was Jacob Fisher, who came in 1816, 
 settling on land he had entered, just south of 
 the gravel bank of the Pennsylvania road. He 
 bought the land for $1.25 per acre, and ar- 
 rived in a two-horse wagon with his wife and 
 eight children. His cabin was of unhewn logs, 
 the usual crude structure, about 18 or 20 feet 
 in length. He lived there until i86o,^when he 
 sold out and moved to the newer country of 
 Missouri. 
 
 Westall Ridgley came to the township in 
 1816 or 1817. He came in a wagon with his 
 wife and eight children, four sons and four 
 daughters, some grown. He was well-to-do 
 for those days and brought cattle and hogs 
 with him and many useful articles for the 
 household. He built a large cabin and was 
 one of the prominent men in the early affairs 
 of the county. His sons had no love for farm- 
 ing, and spent their time in the woods on hunt- 
 ing expeditions with the Indians, but they 
 brought in the game for the support of the 
 family. The girls were true pioneers, and 
 were of much assistance in the house, and at 
 times in the work of the farm in the busy sea- 
 son. The forr daughters made the Ridgley 
 
 home the popular headquarters of the young 
 men for miles around. 
 
 Christian Snyder came in 181 7, settling on 
 section 17, purchasing 160 acres of Jacob 
 Fisher at $3 per acre, some of the land Fisher 
 had entered the year previous at $1.25. The 
 family consisted of himself, wife and eleven 
 children. They drove through from West- 
 moreland county, Pennsylvania, in a two- 
 horse wagon, and from Mansfield he came 
 ahead on foot to erect a cabin prior to their 
 arrival. The old road from Mansfield started 
 northwest from that place and after a few 
 miles turned southwest, following almost the 
 present Pennsylvania road from Mansfield to 
 Crestline. When the family came to follow 
 they took an old trail directly west from Mans- 
 field, which for a time was passable for their 
 wagon, but later became only a trail through 
 the forest, so they were obliged to make a way 
 for themselves through the woods, cutting 
 down the small trees, and their trip from Mans- 
 field to their new home north of Gabon, took 
 them nearly a month, and about a mile east of 
 their destination they crossed the old army 
 road they should have taken. However, the 
 family were in plenty of time, as Snyder had 
 experienced some delay in getting to his land, 
 and the only part of the cabin built on their ar- 
 rival was the foundation on which a rude floor 
 had been laid, but on this floor, in the open 
 air, they spent their first night, and awoke in 
 the morning to find that a snow-storm had 
 given them an additional covering of six 
 inches. The arrival of the new settlers was 
 soon known, and the neighbors responded, and 
 the cabin was erected, and even the Indians 
 made friendly calls and left venison and game 
 for the newcomers. 
 
 In 1 81 8 John Adrian settled west of the 
 Snyders on section 13, the first Frenchman to 
 make his home in the county. He did very 
 little in the way of clearing his land, but 
 started a distillery instead, the first in the 
 county. He was a man of tremendous strength 
 and it is reported of him that he could pick up 
 a barrel and take his drink from the bung- 
 hole. It is probable that the frequency with 
 which he performed this feat for the astonish- 
 ment of his neighbors, was the reason he be- 
 came his own best customer, and his distillery 
 
72 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 became, unprofitable and was discontinued. 
 Besides whisky was then only seven dollars a 
 barrel. Since that first distillery, whisky in 
 this county has gone up very largely in price 
 and gone down very largely in quantity. 
 
 About 1818 Lewis Leiberger settled about 
 two miles north of Gallon, and was joined in 
 181 9 by James Nail, who entered 160 acres 
 of Government land at $1.25 per acre adjoin- 
 ing Leiberger's tract and made his home with 
 the latter until the fall of 1821, when he mar- 
 ried a daughter of William Brown, a sister of 
 Mrs. Leiberger, walking to Delaware to get his 
 license. 
 
 Other settlers in Jefferson prior to 1820 
 were Thomas Ferguson, J. S. Griswell, and 
 Peter Beebout, all settling on the high ground 
 near the Sandusky river. 
 
 The first settlers in what is now Polk town- 
 ship were Benjamin Leveridge and his two 
 sons, James and Nathaniel. They came in 
 
 1817, the latter part of their journey cutting 
 their way through the woods. Benjamin 
 Leveridge built his cabin on what is now At- 
 wood street, near the springs ; James built his 
 on the ground which for so many years was 
 the residence of David Mackey; Nathaniel 
 built his on what is now the Public Square. 
 His father and brother had water in abundance 
 from the springs in their neighborhood, but 
 on the high ground Nathaniel, had no water, 
 and dug a well, and traces of this old well 
 were found when the Square was improved 
 in 1880. 
 
 George Wood and David Gill arrived in 
 
 1 818, and settled north of the Whetstone, near 
 the military road of 1812. They were 
 brothers-in-law and came from Pennsylvania. 
 Wood was a carpenter and Gill had a much 
 better education than the average pioneer, and 
 later taught school and became the clerical of- 
 ficial for the township. 
 
 Benjamin Sharrock came in 1818, and built 
 himself a temporary cabin in the western part 
 of the city of Galion near where the Portland 
 road crosses the Bucyrus and Galion road. 
 Here his family lived while he walked every 
 day to his land a few miles south, where on 
 the banks of the Whetstone he built his cabin, 
 to which he removed with his family, later 
 building a saw and grist mill and a distillery. 
 
 He became early a prominent man in that sec- 
 tion. 
 
 On Saturday, Dec. 19, 18 19, on foot, with 
 his axe and his rifle over his shoulder, Asa 
 Hosford walked into what is now the city of 
 Galion, of which city, although not the foun- 
 der, he became the father. He was accom- 
 panied by his brother Horace, and they stopped 
 with Benjamin Leveridge. Horace Hosford 
 erected a blacksmith shop at where is now the 
 crossing of the Portland and Galion road. 
 Asa Hosford later built a saw and grist mill 
 on the Whetstone, southwest of Galion, still 
 known as Hosford's mill. 
 
 Samuel Brown and his son Michael came in 
 1819, settling on section 27, now the Beltz 
 farm three miles west of Gralion. One of his 
 daughters married Lewis Leiberger and an- 
 other James Nail. 
 
 In 1818 Nehemiah Story came with his fam- 
 ily; his son Nathaniel was of age, and with 
 them was Father Kitteridge. The first winter 
 they occupied a cabin belonging to John 
 Leveridge, southwest of the Public Square, and 
 the next Spring Nathaniel's home was west of 
 Galion on the brow of the hill on the north 
 side of the Galion road, which had been oc- 
 cupied by a man named Sturges. Father Kit- 
 teridge made his home with Story, and 
 devoted all his time to hunting. Other ar- 
 rivals about this time were J. Dickerson, whose 
 cabin stood on what is now the Gill property 
 on West. Main street. David Reid and a man 
 named Fletcher were also there. 
 
 In 1819 Disberry Johnson came to Polk 
 township, numerically the "star" pioneer of 
 the county. He came to Ohio after the war of 
 1812, settling in Harrison county. His wife 
 died leaving him a widower with six children. 
 He married a Mrs Cooper, a widow with six 
 children. By this marriage there was six chil- 
 dren, and Johnson decided to move to a new 
 home. One of his daughters was married, so 
 he started with his wife and his five original 
 children, the six Cooper children, and the six 
 Johnson-Cooper children, nineteen in all and' 
 they settled on section 26, just east of William 
 Brown. Johnson was prominent in the town- 
 ship, was Justice of the Peace for many years, 
 and died in 1868 at the advanced age of 104, 
 leaving many descendants all over the county. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 73 
 
 In 1819 Samuel Knisely settled in Sandusky 
 township, and since that date the Kniselys have 
 been prominent in the county, a descendant, 
 Richard Knisely, being president of the Craw- 
 ford County Pioneer Association for years. 
 James Gwell is reported as settling in San- 
 dusky in 1819 and a man named Elder in 1820. 
 Samuel Shull settled in Sandusky township in 
 1820. 
 
 No record is found of any pioneer in Cran- 
 berry township prior to 1820; many hunters 
 had been all over this region, notably More- 
 head and Pettigon, living in huts of bark and 
 brush, but the tide of immigration had ignored 
 it, and it was still a swampy, virgin soil, the 
 home of the rattlesnake and the beaver, and 
 the hiding place for wild game, with its only 
 product an annual harvest of cranberries. 
 
 The eastern portion of the present county 
 had been purchased from the Indians in 1805, 
 surveyed in 1807, but owing to the Indians 
 and the War of 1812 the taking up of this land 
 was delayed, but from 181 5 on these lands 
 became settled, and the pioneers in their west- 
 ward march cast their greedy eyes on the 
 hunting grounds reserved to the Indians just 
 beyond, which included all of Northwestern 
 Ohio, in this county that reservation being 
 two miles in Cranberry, and all of Liberty and 
 Whetstone; Lykins, Holmes and Bucyrus, 
 Texas, Tod and Dallas. 
 
 In 1 81 7 Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, 
 met with the sachems, chiefs and warriors of 
 the Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawanese, 
 Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa tribes, 
 at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee, and on 
 Sept. 20. 181 7, a treaty was signed by which 
 the United States secured all this land, all of 
 northwestern Ohio, barring a few reservations. 
 The sections of the treaty relating to Craw- 
 ford were as follows : 
 
 Article II. — The Wyandot tribe of Indians, in 
 consideration of the stipulations herein made, on the 
 part of the United States, do hereby forever cede to 
 the United States, the lands comprehended within 
 the following lines and boundaries: Beginning at a 
 point on the southern shore of Lake Erie, where the 
 present Indian boundary line intersects the same, be- 
 tween the mouth of Sandusky Bay and the Portage 
 rfver, thence running south* with said line to the 
 
 *The line passing through Crawford was the 
 present dividing line between Sandusky, Jefferson 
 and Polk on the east and Liberty and Whetstone on 
 the west. In Cranberry the line ran about one and 
 a half miles east of the present western boundary of 
 that township. 
 
 line establishedt in the year one thousand seven 
 hundred and ninety-five by the treaty of Greenville 
 which runs from the crossing place above Ft. Laur- 
 enst to Loromie's store; II thence westerly with the 
 last mentioned line to the eastern line of the reserve 
 at Loromie's store; thence with the line of said re- 
 serve north and west to the northwest corner there- 
 of; thence to the northwestern corner of the reserve 
 on the river St. Mary's at the navigable head there- 
 of; thence east to the western bank of the St. Marys 
 river aforesaid; thence down the western bank of 
 said river to the reserve at Ft. Wayne; thence with 
 the line of the last mentioned reserve, easterly and 
 northerly, to the river Miami* of Lake Erie; thence 
 down on the north bank of said river to the western 
 line of the land ceded to the United States by the 
 treaty of Detroit, in the year one thousand eight 
 hundred and seven; thence with the said line south 
 to the middle of said Maumee river, and easterly 
 with the line of the tract ceded to the United States 
 by the treaty of Detroit aforesaid, so far that a 
 south line will strike the place of beginning. 
 
 Article III. — The Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, 
 Shawanese, Pottawatomie, Ottawa and Chippewa 
 tribes of Indians accede to the cession mentioned. 
 
 Article VI. — The United States agree to grant by 
 patent, in fee simple, to Doanquod, Howoner, Ron- 
 tondee, Tauyau, Rontayau, Dawatont Manocue, 
 Tauyaudautauson, and Haudawaugh, chiefs of the 
 Wyandot tribes, and their successors in office, chiefs 
 of the said tribes, for the use of the persons, and for 
 the purposes mentioned in the annexed schedule, a 
 tract of land twelve miles square, at Upper San- 
 dusky, the center of which shall be the place where 
 Fort Ferree stands; and also a tract of one mile 
 square, to be located where the chiefs direct, on a 
 cranberry swamp on Brokensword creek, and to be 
 held for the use of the tribe. 
 
 Article VII. — And the said chiefs, or their suc- 
 cessors may, at any time they may think proper, 
 convey to either of the persons mentioned in said 
 schedule, or his heirs, the quantity thereby secured 
 to him, or may refuse to do so. But the use of the 
 said land shall be in the said person; and after the 
 share of any person is conveyed by the chiefs to 
 him, he may convey the same to any person what- 
 ever. And any one entitled by the said schedule to 
 a portion of the said land, may, at any time, convey 
 the same to any person, by obtaining the approba- 
 tion of the president of the United States, or of the 
 person appointed by him to give such approbation. 
 And the agent of the United States shall make an 
 equitable partition of the said shares when conveyed. 
 
 Article VIII. — At the special request of the said 
 Indians the United States agree to grant by patent, 
 in fee simple, to the persons hereinafter mentioned, 
 all of whom are connected with the said Indians, by 
 blood or adoption, the tracts of land herein de- 
 scribed; 
 
 To Elizabeth Whitacre, who was taken prisoner 
 by the Wyandots, and has since lived among them, 
 1280 acres of land. (This land was near Fremont, 
 Sandusky county.) 
 
 To Robert Armstrong, who was taken prisoner 
 by the Indians, and has ever since lived among them, 
 
 tAbout one mile east of Cardington, Morrow 
 county. 
 
 t Northern boundary Tuscarawas county. 
 llWestern part Shelby county. 
 *Maumee River. 
 
74 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and has married a Wyandot woman, 640 acres. 
 (This land is now a part of Tiffin.) 
 
 To the children of the late William McCollock, 
 who was killed in August, 1812, near Maugaugon, 
 and who are quarter-blood Wyandot Indians, 640 
 acres. (This land is now a part of Tiffin.) 
 
 To John Vanmeter, who was taken prisoner by 
 the Wyandots, and who has since lived among them, 
 and has married a Seneca woman, and to his wife's 
 three brothers, Senecas, 1,000 acres. (This land was 
 on the Honey Creek, Seneca county.) 
 
 To Sarah Williams, Joseph Williams and Rachel 
 Nugent, lat^ Rachel Williams, the said Sarah having 
 been taken prisoner by the Indians, and has ever 
 since lived among them, and being the widow, and 
 the said Joseph and Rachel being the children, of 
 the late Isaac Williams, a half-blood Wyandot, 160 
 acres. (This land was on the Sandusky, below Fre- 
 mont.) 
 
 To Catharine Walker, a Wyandol woman, and to 
 John R. Walker, her son, who was wounded m the 
 service of the United States, at the battle of Mau- 
 gaugon, in 1812, 640 acres of land each. (This land 
 -jras on the Honey Creek, near Tiffin.) 
 
 To William Spicer, who was taken prisoner by 
 the Indians, and has ever since lived among tlem, 
 and has married a Seneca woman, 640 acres or. the 
 east bank of the Sandusky. 
 
 To Horonu, or the "Cherokee Boy," a Wyandot 
 chief, 640 acres. (This land was where the Tym- 
 pchtee empties into the Sandusky.) 
 
 Article XV. — The tracts of land being granted to 
 the chiefs, for the use of the Wyandot, Shawanese, 
 Seneca and Delaware Indians, and the reserve for 
 the Ottawa Indians, shall not be liable to taxes of 
 any kind so long as such land contiftues the property 
 of said Indians. 
 
 Article XIX. — The United States agree to grant 
 by patent, in fee simple, to Zeeshawan, or John 
 Armstrong, and to Sanondoyourayquaw, or Silas 
 Armstrong, chiefs of the Delaware Indians, living on 
 the Sandusky waters, and their successors in office, 
 chiefs of the said tribe, a tract of land to contain 
 nine square miles, to join the tract granted to the 
 Wyandots of twelve miles square, and to include 
 Capt. Pipe's village.* 
 
 The reservation of twelve miles square was 
 all in what was originally Crawford county. 
 Its eastern boundary was about three-quarters 
 of a mile west of the present western boundary 
 of the county. 
 
 By this treaty the United States were to pay 
 the Wyandots a perpetual annuity of $4,000; 
 the Senecas, $500; the Shawanese, $2,000 an- 
 nually for fifteen years; the Chippewas $1,000 
 annually for fifteen years ; the Delawares, $500, 
 but no annuity. The Government also agreed 
 to pay for property and other losses sustained 
 by the Indians during the war of 1812-15: to 
 the Wyandots, $4,319.39; Senecas, $3,989.24; 
 Delawares, $3,956.50; Shawanese, $420; and 
 
 *This village was the present village of Little 
 Sandusky, in southern Wyandot, a part of Crawford 
 from 1820 to 1845.) 
 
 to the Senecas an additional sum of $219; to 
 Indians at Lewis' and Scoutash's towns, $1,- 
 227.50; to the representatives of Hembis, 
 $348.50. The Shawanese were also to receive 
 $2,500 under the treaty of Fort Industry in 
 1805. The United States were also to erect a 
 saw and grist mill for the Wyandots, and to 
 provide and maintain two blacksmith shops, 
 one for the Wyandots and Senecas, and the 
 other for the Indians at Hog Creek, t The 
 value of improvements abandoned by the 
 tribes when they left their land was to be paid 
 for. *The land bought by the United States of 
 the Indians was a tract as large as about one- 
 third of the State of Ohio. It proved to be an 
 excellent and, profitable bargain — for the 
 United States. They secured something over 
 ten million acres, which they soon placed on 
 the market at $1.25 per acre and upward. 
 
 The reservation of twelve miles square was 
 all in what is now Wyandot county. But a 
 supplemental treaty was made to this original 
 treaty on Sept. 17, 1818, between Lewis Cass 
 and Duncan McArthur, the Commissioners for 
 the United States, and the sachems, chiefs and 
 warriors of the Wyandot, Seneca, Shawanese 
 and Ottawa tribes. 
 
 When the original treaty was made in 181 7, 
 the Wyandots positively refused to sell their 
 land. Most of the other Indian nations were 
 willing to sell, and promptly set up a claim of 
 ownership to much of the land which belonged 
 to the Wyandots, and agreed to sell the land 
 to the Commissioners. The Wyandots denied 
 these ownerships and called attention to the 
 fact that at all previous treaties these same 
 tribes were at the front with their fraudulent 
 claims, when in reality nearly all the land 
 they had they only occupied through the 
 courtesy of the Wyandots, who were the 
 sole and only owners of the land. The 
 Commissioners preferred buying of the Wy- 
 andots, but as they absolutely refused to sell, 
 the Commissioners decided to buy it of the 
 other tribes. It was in vain that Between-the- 
 Logs, the orator of the Wyandots, protested 
 on behalf of his tribe, calling attention to the 
 fact that when their American father was at 
 war with their enemies, the English, the great 
 American chief made his home on the land of 
 
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 77 
 
 the Wyandots during that war ; that the Wyan- 
 dots were the only tribe that remained loyal to 
 their American father, and in the latter part of 
 that war it was Wyandot braves who fought 
 side by side with their American friends, and 
 at the request of the American father delivered 
 all their prisoners to the great general un- 
 harmed. The land had to be had, so the elo- 
 quence of Between-the-Logs was useless, and 
 finding their land would certainly be taken, 
 the Wyandots made the best of a bad bargain 
 by signing the treaty, and so came in for a 
 share of the payments. 
 
 That winter Between-the-Logs and several 
 other chiefs and warriors of the Wyandot, 
 Seneca and Delaware tribes, took "the long 
 trail" east, and one morning presented them- 
 selves before the Secretary of war at Washing- 
 ton. The Secretary was very much surprised 
 at their call, and his first words were a mild 
 rebuke that they had come to Washington 
 without his first having received word from 
 the Commissioners of their intended visit. 
 Between-the-Logs tersely replied : "We got up 
 and came of ourselves. We believed the great 
 road was free to us." 
 
 They explained why they had felt com- 
 pelled to sign the treaty as the only way of 
 protecting a part of their rights ; that the Com- 
 missioners had not treated them fairly, and 
 without their knowledge they had come to the 
 "Great Father" for justice. The Secretary 
 looked the matter up and took them before the 
 "Great Father," President Monroe, who lis- 
 tened patiently to Between-the-Log's eloquent 
 plea for justice for his people. It was found 
 a wrong had been done the Wyandots, so in- 
 structions were sent to the Commissioners to 
 rectify this wrong, and the supplemental treaty 
 was made at St. Mary's, on Sept. 17, 1818. 
 Article two of the supplemental treaty says : 
 
 "It is also agreed there shall be reserved for the 
 use of the Wyandots, in addition to the reservation 
 before made, fifty-five thousand six hundred and 
 eighty acres of land to be laid off in two tracts, the 
 first to adjoin the south line of the section of 640 
 acres of land heretofore reserved for the Wyandot 
 chief, "Cherokee Boy," and to extend south to the 
 north line of the reserve of twelve miles square at 
 Upper Sandusky, and the other to join the east line 
 of the' reserve of twelve miles square at Upper San- 
 dusky, and to extend east for quantity." 
 
 They were also to receive sixteen thousand 
 acres of land, commencing: a mile north of the 
 
 present town of Carey and extending into 
 Seneca county, a tract five miles square; also 
 160 acres in Sandusky county. The Wyandots 
 were also to receive an additional annuity of 
 $500; the Shawanese $1,000; the Senecas $500, 
 and the Ottawas $1,500. 
 
 Of the 55,680 acres, 2,240 was in the grant 
 south of that given to Cherokee Boy. The 
 balance was attached to the twelve mile square 
 reservation on the east. This tract entered 
 the present Crawford county just north of the 
 half section line of section 35 in Dallas town- 
 ship, continued east through sections 31 and 
 
 32 in Bucyrus township and nearly to the 
 centre of section 33 (the south line was a 
 little over half a mile north of the. southern 
 boundary of Bucyrus township) ; it then went 
 north twelve miles through sections 28, 21, 16, 
 9 and 4 Bucyrus township, a trifle over two 
 miles west of the present western line of the 
 city of Bucyrus; through sections 33, 28, 21, 
 16, 9 and 4 Holmes township, three quarters of 
 a mile west of Brokensword ; continued north 
 a trifle over three quarters of a mile in section 
 
 33 Lykins ; then west through sections 32 and 
 31 Lykins and 36 and 35 Texas, about three 
 quarters of a mile south of Benton. This 
 reserved to the Indians about the western two 
 and a half miles of Bucyrus and Holmes, the 
 northern two miles of western Dallas, the 
 southern half mile of Lykins and Texas, and all 
 of Tod, barring it to settlement, except that 
 with the consent of the Government the In- 
 dians could sell the land. 
 
 The treaty of September, 181 7, with the 
 supplementary treaty of a year later opened 
 to settlement all of northwestern Ohio, except 
 that reserved to the Indians, about 225 square 
 miles. In 18 19 it was surveyed by Sylvester 
 Bourne and Samuel Holmes. The new terri- 
 tory was known as the New Purchase, and al- 
 though there was still plenty of land unoc- 
 cupied that had been purchased from the In- 
 dians in 1805, yet the fact of new land being 
 thrown on the market gave it to the settlers a 
 sort of superior value and a feeling that it was 
 a choicer article. Even before the surveyors 
 had completed their work sufficient to place 
 the land on the market at the land offices, set- 
 tlers were in the New Purchase looking up 
 land. 
 
 The first settler to enter the New Purchase 
 
78 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was Samuel Norton. With him were his wife 
 and six children; his brother-in-law Albigence 
 Bucklin, with a wife, six children and an 
 adopted daughter; and Seth Holmes, their 
 driver and guide. These first pioneers drove 
 through from their home in Eastern Pennsyl- 
 vania, a distance of about 600 miles, in a large 
 schooner wagon, and arrived in October, 1819, 
 the Nortons locating their home on the banks 
 of the Sandusky, west of the present Sandusky 
 avenue bridge at Bucyrus, land now owned by 
 Christian Shonert; Bucklin and family were 
 also on the banks of the Sandusky between the 
 brewery and the T. & O. C. road. (Up to half 
 a century ago the main channel of the river 
 was at the foot of the bluff back of the brew- 
 ery.) Seth Holmes made his first headquar- 
 ters in an abandoned cabin that was standing 
 where is now the court house yard. A family 
 by the name of Sears were the next arrivals, 
 locating just west of Oakwood cemetery; they 
 remained only a short time and removed to 
 parts unknown. Daniel McMichael came in 
 1 819, and stopped for a time in the eastern 
 part of the county (what is now Polk town- 
 ship), near where Norton and Bucklin also left 
 their families until they could find land that 
 suited them. After Norton had selected his 
 land, McMichael came to the same section and 
 entered land just north of the river; also land 
 in the southwest corner of Liberty township, 
 where he built a mill. In the Spring of 1820 
 David Beadle came with two sons, Michel and 
 David, and a son-in-law John Ensley, who mar- 
 ried Ann Beadle. Michel was married, and 
 had 80 acres on West Mansfield street, just 
 west of Norton, and south of this his father had 
 80 acres, his son David, a young man of 18, 
 making his home with him. 
 
 In 1820 Ralph Bacon settled on the east half 
 of the south east quarter of section 25 in 
 Liberty. township. With him and his family 
 came Auer Umberfield as a teamster. 
 
 In 1 819 John Kent settled in Whetstone 
 township, and in 1820 he was followed by 
 Joseph S. Young, Noble McKinstry, Martin 
 Shaffner and a man named Willowby. 
 
 In Dallas township in 1820 were George 
 Walton, G. H. Busby, Matthew Mitchell and 
 Samuel Line. 
 
 In Chatfield township in 1820, Jacob Whet- 
 stone had erected a cabin and cleared some 
 
 land. His occupation was that of a hunter; 
 he wandered all over that section and never 
 settled permanently in any one location. 
 
 As early as 1820 no pioneer had settled in 
 Cranberry, Lykins, Holmes, Texas or Tod. 
 
 In 1820 there were about sixty known fam- 
 ilies in Crawford county, and counting all the 
 members of those families there must have 
 been between five and six hundred people in 
 what is now Crawford. Heading the list was 
 Disberry Johnson of Polk with a wife and 17 
 children, while on the section adjoining was 
 Samuel Brown with a wife and several chil- 
 dren, so that in 1820 the metropolis of Craw- 
 ford county was in western Polk. Christian 
 Snyder was in Jefferson township with a wife 
 and eleven children, and in the same township 
 was Westall Ridgley and Jacob Fisher each 
 with a wife and eight children. In Bucyrus 
 was Samuel Norton with a wife and six chil- 
 dren, and Albigence Bucklin with a wife and 
 seven children, one an adopted daughter. The 
 "metropolis" (the largest population in one 
 section), only remained in western Polk for 
 about a year when the settlement of Bucyrus 
 transferred it to that place, where it remained 
 until the census of 1870 transferred it to 
 Gallon, where it remained for forty years until 
 the census of 19 10 again transferred it to 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 The early pioneers came from New Eng- 
 land and Pennsylvania and New York with a 
 few from Virginia. They came in wagons 
 drawn by one horse or a yoke of oxen, some- 
 times a two horse wagon, always weeks on the 
 trip and sometimes months, and with the ex- 
 ception of a very few all took up their claims 
 in the forest where the land had to be first 
 cleared to give them the ground for the raising 
 of their crops. 
 
 Having selected his land the first work of 
 the pioneer was the erection of some shelter 
 for the protection of himself and family. 
 Sometimes the pioneer left his family with 
 friends or relatives in one of the eastern coun- 
 ties, and came on foot with his axe and rifle, 
 erected his little cabin, and returned for his 
 family. ^ The cabins were all of logs, the 
 "lean-to" the most primitive, which was 
 simply a three-sided shelter, built of saplings, 
 and very small logs, sloping to the ground at 
 the rear, with only the two sides and the slop- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 79 
 
 ing roof, the front being hung with skins as a 
 protection from the wind and rain. These 
 cabins were similar to the hunters' "camps," 
 and in only a very few cases did the early pio- 
 neers of Crawford start with so crude a shel- 
 ter. 
 
 The early pioneers brought very little with 
 them except large families; some had practic- 
 ally nothing ; others had a few chickens, a few 
 hogs, sometimes a cow, and some no more stock 
 than the horse or the yoke of oxen that had 
 brought them on their long and toilsome jour- 
 ney in the one wagon. Some came on foot, 
 carrying their little all on their backs. 
 
 With the first pioneers in the different sec- 
 tions it was impossible to build a cabin of very 
 large logs. The first arrival selected his site, 
 cut down the smaller trees, and from these 
 made the logs which he could handle alone, 
 and with these logs he built his home, chinked 
 up the cracks with mud, covered it with sap- 
 lings and brush, and had a place to live. As 
 neighbors came within a radius of several miles 
 the pioneer had an easier task. He selected his 
 site on some dry ground, near a stream or 
 spring that would furnish him with water, a 
 site where most of the trees were of the uni- 
 form thickness for the logs he desired; these 
 trees he felled himself, cut them into logs of 
 the proper length, beveling the ends so they 
 might fit as closely together as possible. 
 Everything being in readiness the neighbors 
 came, and the cabin was erected by strong and 
 willing hands, the pioneer adding the roof, and 
 also the door and perhaps a window at his leis- 
 ure. The general size of these earlier cabins 
 was 14 to 16 feet long, with a heighth of six 
 to eight feet. The ground logs were first 
 placed in position, and on these the additional 
 logs were piled, the beveling and notching of 
 the logs holding them in place at the corners. 
 As the cabin increased in height, these logs, a 
 foot in diameter, had to be lifted into position, 
 which was done by the strong arms of the men, 
 some with hand spikes and skid-poles, and 
 when it came to the gable logs at the ends, 
 each shorter than the one below it, they had to 
 be held in place until the ridge pole and cross 
 pieces were in position. In the erection of the 
 cabin the responsible positions were the cor- 
 ner-men, men with a clear head and a quick eye, 
 expert with the axe, who notched the logs as 
 
 they were lifted into place. The building of 
 these cabins was not without danger, for some- 
 times, fortunately seldom, a heavy log slipped 
 from the hand-spikes or the skid-poles, while 
 strong arms beneath were shoving it into posi- 
 tion, and an accident occurred, a broken arm 
 or leg of some one caught beneath the heavy 
 log. Sometimes a life lost. Leveridge was 
 killed at a cabin raising where the city of 
 Gallon now stands, and a year or two later, in 
 1822, Heman Rowse was crushed to death by 
 a falling log at a cabin raising a mile south of 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 The cabin erected, the pioneer put on his 
 own roof, made of clap-boards, cut as thin as 
 he could make them with an axe or an adze, 
 and over the cracks a second layer. He 
 chinked and daubed the sides, filling in the 
 cracks between the logs with moss and sticks, 
 plastering it with mud, both inside and out- 
 side the cabin. This daubing had to be re- 
 newed nearly every year, as the rain softened 
 the mud and washed it away. The chimney 
 was built on the outside, at one end of the 
 cabin. The base of the chimney was gen- 
 erally of irregular stones, plastered with mud, 
 while the upper portion was sticks laid rail- 
 pen or corn-cob fashion and plastered with 
 mud. Sometimes where stone was scarce, the 
 entire chimney was of sticks plastered with 
 mud. The fire-place was sometimes so large 
 that logs six to seven feet in length could be 
 burned in it, the "back log" being so heavy it 
 had to be towefl or snaked into the cabin by a 
 horse, and it took strong arms to roll it into 
 position, where it would burn for a week. 
 There was an advantage to the pioneer to 
 keep a roaring fire, as all the wood he burned 
 meant so much more of his land cleared. 
 
 The door was a crude structure, the logs 
 being cut away in the front of the house, and 
 the door made of lumber roughly split from 
 the logs with bars across to hold it together, 
 and hung with wooden or leather hinges. A 
 wooden bolt was inside the cabin, which fitted 
 into a groove, and this bolt could be raised 
 from the outside by means of a latch-string 
 of deer hide, which- ran through a little hole 
 above the bolt, and hung outside, hence the ex- 
 pression, "the latch string is always out." All 
 that was necessary to lock up the house was to 
 draw the string inside, but this was seldom 
 
80 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 done even at night. After his cabin was 
 erected the pioneer took his time to building 
 his door, and until this was done, the opening 
 was covered with skins to keep out the wind 
 and rain, and a large fire kept burning on the 
 outside at night to keep away the wild animals 
 that were prowling through the forest. If a 
 window was added a small section of the logs 
 was cut away, the same as for the door, and 
 the opening was covered with greased paper or 
 the thin skin of some animal, glass was too ex- 
 pensive, besides there was none to be had in 
 the early days in the wilderness. 
 
 In fact nearly every one of the earlier cabins 
 was completed and occupied for years with not 
 a nail or a screw or a piece of metal used in its 
 construction; everything of wood and leather, 
 and that leather the skin of some animal of the 
 forest. 
 
 Some cabins had the bare ground for a floor ; 
 others had a puncheon floor, boards split from 
 logs and smoothed as well as the work could be 
 done with an axe. If a small article slipped 
 through the cracks all that was necessary was 
 to raise one of the puncheons and recover the 
 missing article. If the cabin was of sufificient 
 height, it boasted of a loft, puncheon boards 
 being laid across where the slope of the roof 
 commenced. This made a sleeping place for 
 the children, and was reached by climbing up 
 a ladder and through a hole cut in the boards. 
 This was also the guest chamber, the visitor 
 mounting the ladder to his sleeping apartment 
 and crawling on hands and knees to his bed, 
 which consisted of a tick stuffed with dried 
 leaves, with plenty of skins and furs. Here he 
 could listen to the pleasant patter of the rain 
 on the clapboard roof, sleep soundly, and in 
 the morning at the rear of the cabin find a 
 wooden washbowl, get his own water from 
 the spring or well, and prepare himself for the 
 wholesome breakfast. 
 
 Some of the early pioneers brought small 
 articles of furniture with them, but in most 
 cases much of it was made by hand after 
 their arrival. The table was a wide board, 
 carved with an axe and supported by legs cut 
 from small saplings; the bed was made the 
 same way, and the primitive cupboard with its 
 few rough shelves was handmade. On these 
 shelves were the dishes ; the one or two cook- 
 ing utensils of iron or pewter ; the few dishes 
 
 brought from the old home, and the others of 
 wood, made in the evening from the buckeye; 
 plates and saucers and basins of wood. Oc- 
 casionally there were knives and forks, but not 
 enough to go around, and wooden ones took 
 their place, the hunting-knife of the pioneer 
 being the carving knife for the meal. 
 
 Game was abundant, and without leaving 
 his little clearing the early pioneer could easily 
 secure an abundant supply of meat; deer and 
 turkey were plentiful; so were the smaller 
 game, rabbit and squirrel, but powder and ball 
 were too expensive to waste in killing these, 
 except in case of absolute necessity. Br,ead 
 was the scarce article and at times had to be 
 used sparingly. After his first crop the pio- 
 neer diet was game, potatoes and cornbread, 
 with cranberries, honey and dried apples as the 
 luxuries. On important occasions they in- 
 dulged in wheat bread, and even served tea. 
 There were no stoves, and the cooking was 
 done in the large fire-place, the kettles or pots 
 hung on an iron or wooden crane suspended 
 over the fire. The frying pan had a long 
 wooden handle, and was used for cooking both 
 the meat and the corn cakes, either held over 
 the fire or placed on a bed of burning coals 
 drawn out over the hearth. 
 
 Bread was baked in a covered "bake ket- 
 tle," and under and over it was a bed of burn- 
 ing coals constantly renewed. Later, many 
 pioneers had a bake oven built of stones and 
 mud near the cabin. Sometimes the bread was 
 baked in the hot ashes underneath the fire, or 
 on a board tipped up in front of the fire. It 
 was in this manner the true "hoe cake" was 
 baked, the broad hoe being used for the pur- 
 pose, which gave it its name; also called 
 "johnny-cake," a corruption of journey cake, 
 bread in convenient shape for taking on a 
 journey. Corn was the staple article of diet, 
 and was cooked in several ways : it was made 
 into hominy or boiled into mush; cooked in 
 a covered oven as corn pone; cooked in front 
 of the fire as johnny-cake, or cooked in round 
 balls as corn dodgers. Like the old New Eng- 
 land woman who never baked anything but ap- 
 ple pies, she always responded to inquiries as 
 to what kind of pies she had, that she had 
 three kinds: "open-faced, kivered, and criss- 
 crossed." The pioneers had the same variety 
 in their corn-bread; and it was a variety, as 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 81 
 
 the various ways of cooking gave a different 
 taste to the bread. There were times after the 
 husband had returned from one of his long 
 journeys to the mill that the good house wife 
 became the envy of her neighbors by actually 
 serving them with wheat bread when they 
 called. 
 
 Potatoes, both Irish and sweet, were baked 
 in the ashes, and although the ashes had to be 
 brushed off, this manner of cooking was then, 
 as it is today, the most palatable and whole- 
 some way of preparing the food. A haunch of 
 venison, a piece of pork or beef, and turkeys 
 were cooked by suspending in front of the fire, 
 and constantly turning them, while beneath 
 was a pan which caught the drippings. 
 
 Before mills were within easy reach, every 
 pioneer was his own miller, and ground his 
 own grain. His mill consisted of a solid stump 
 into which he cut or burned a hole in the shape 
 of a mortar, and in this placed a quaritity of 
 corn, and with a heavy block of wood or stone 
 pulverized the grain by constant pounding. A 
 more advanced way was to have the pounder 
 attached to the end of a pole like a well-sweep, 
 so that heavier pounding could be done and 
 a larger quantity of grain pulverized more 
 rapidly. In this way sometimes half a bushel 
 of corn could be placed in the hollowed out 
 stump at one time. The grain once pulverized 
 it was sifted into three different grades for 
 use, the coarser grade requiring six to eight 
 hours of cooking before it was thoroughly 
 prepared for food. These stump mills were 
 known as Indian mills, and for centuries all 
 the grain used by the Indians had been ground 
 by the squaws in this manner. 
 
 If the pioneer had not located beside a 
 stream or spring, his first business was to dig 
 a well ; water was generally to be found in this 
 county at a very few feet. The well was lined 
 with stones of all sizes, plastered with clay, 
 and a well-sweep easily constructed; — a long 
 heavy pole hinged in a fork at the top of a 
 tall pole, and a rope or chain to which the 
 bucket was attached. It was a very simple 
 contrivance and the water could easily be 
 drawn from the bottom of the well. In parts 
 of the county, notably the plains, the wells 
 were made by sinking a hollow sycamore into 
 the ground, but the water was a very poor 
 
 article, and generally very unhealthy; some- 
 times the well was made of wood. 
 
 Having prepared a place iii which to live, 
 the next business of the pioneer was the clear- 
 ing of his land, and the trees were felled and 
 cut into logs. He then secured game in abun- 
 dance from the surrounding forest, went to the 
 nearest settlement, sometimes a two days' 
 journey, where he secured what provisions he 
 must buy, and the whisky, which was re- 
 garded as a necessity in those days. Every- 
 thing being in readiness, the neighbors came 
 from miles around, and willing hands soon 
 rolled the heavy logs into piles, making sport 
 of the work by dividing the party into two 
 sides and separating the logs equally, each side 
 endeavoring to be the first to pile up their 
 logs, the victors being rewarded by the first 
 drink from the jug, while the thirsty van- 
 quished patiently awaited their turn. The im- 
 mense piles were set on fire, and walnut and 
 wild cherry, oak and maple, and ash and 
 hickory, worth more today many times over 
 than is the land itself, were burned as useless. 
 Inside the cabin the women had not been idle, 
 and the rough hand-made table was covered 
 with good wholesome food to which perfect 
 health and the best of appetites did ample 
 justice, and a dance generally followed, in 
 which old and young alike joined. To these 
 gatherings at the call of some new neighbor, 
 every pioneer was glad to respond. They gave 
 their time willingly, and freely and frequently. 
 One of the pioneers in his notes of these early 
 days says that in one year he put in twenty- 
 nine days responding to calls for assistance at 
 cabin-raisings and log-rollings.* 
 
 The wifely duties did not stop at the cook- 
 ing. To her also fell the preparation of much 
 of the clothing for the family, she doing the 
 spinning and the weaving. The spinning 
 wheel was to be found in nearly every cabin on 
 which the yarn or the flax was spun. Some 
 early settlers brought sheep, but there was no 
 protecting them from the wolves, and it was 
 years before any sheep could be raised in the 
 county. From Knox county, and what is now 
 Morrow, the pioneers made long journeys 
 through the wilderness, and brought back a 
 few pounds of wool. This was carded and 
 
 ♦John O. Blowers, Liberty township. 
 
82 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 made into rolls by hand cards, and the rolls 
 spun on the wheel. A common article of ap- 
 parel was the linsey-woolsey, the chain warp 
 being linen and the filling or woof of wool. 
 This made the dresses for the women and 
 girls, and jeans were woven for the men's 
 clothing. The skins of the deer and the coon 
 were made into garments for the men, and 
 even the little girls sometimes had dresses of 
 fawn skins, colored and fringed and prettily 
 picturesque. These homemade fabrics were 
 dyed with walnut, indigo or copperas, and 
 striped or checkered goods were easily made 
 by dying the yarns the different colors before 
 they were placed in the looms. 
 
 The pioneer was also his own shoemaker 
 and hatter, tanning his own hides in a vat 
 made of a hollow log sunk in the ground, and 
 in the evening by the fireside making his own 
 shoes, and those for the family. 
 
 The costume of the men was a hunting- 
 shirt hanging loose, made of skins or of woolen 
 made by his wife. It was a sort of blouse, 
 belted at the waist, and inside this loose blouse 
 was the storehouse for his day's provisions 
 and any small articles he might need; his 
 breeches were of deer skin, comfortable and 
 warm in dry weather, but in wet weather very 
 uncomfortable and disagreeable, and then it 
 was that at night he never threw them on the 
 floor, but when he succeeded in getting them 
 off, leaned them against the wall for use in the 
 morning, when he again put them on with the 
 same ease and comfort that a man might ex- 
 perience in incasing his legs in a couple of 
 stove pipes. His shoes were of his own make, 
 as heavy a sole as possible, with the tops made 
 of skins reaching above the ankles and laced 
 with thongs of deer skin. In summer he used 
 the softer moccasin. His head was covered 
 with a coonskin cap, or a hat made of the skin 
 of some animal, cured and pressed by himself, 
 and made into whatever shape or style that best 
 suited his fancy. 
 
 The women were clothed mostly in linsey 
 woolsey garments made by themselves of the 
 raw material ; a linen waist of flax they them- 
 selves had spun; heavy shoes and stockings, 
 all home made, and in winter gloves of buck- 
 skin made by themselves. 
 
 As late as 1845 a young boy came to Bucyrus 
 
 from one of the townships to get the advan- 
 tage of the better schools the village afforded 
 and he wore his coonskin cap and buckskin 
 breeches, his shoes being home-made by his 
 father or himself, and forty years after this a 
 familiar figure on the streets of Bucyrus was 
 one of the pioneers always wearing his deer- 
 skin vest.* 
 
 On his first cleared land the pioneer planted 
 wheat, corn and potatoes, a few other veg- 
 etables, and a small patch of flax from which 
 to make the clothing. Some had a crude plow 
 they had brought with them ; others made their 
 own, and the harrow was also of their own 
 make, sometimes rough brush drawn over the 
 ground. The grain was harvested with a 
 sickle or scythe, the former being the most con- 
 venient on account of the many stumps, and 
 near these stumps the hunting knife was used. 
 The wheat was threshed by spreading it on the 
 barn floor, and having the patient oxen tramp 
 it out, or the pioneer with his heavy shoes 
 doing the work himself by tramping, or with a 
 flail. It was winnowed by taking a heavy 
 sheet and with men at the corners swing it 
 rapidly over the grain, creating a wind to blow 
 away the chaff, if the pioneer had to depend on 
 himself alone, he selected a day with a good 
 wind, and filling a bucket with the grain held 
 it as high above his head as his arras could 
 reach, and slowly poured it out, the wind blow- 
 ing away the chafif. Two or three pourings 
 soon had the heavier wheat fairly separated 
 from the lighter chafif. 
 
 Prior to 1820 there was not a grist mill in 
 Crawford county, so the pioneer pounded his 
 own grain into the best flour he could in his 
 hollow stump, sometimes using a hand mill 
 similar to our old-fashioned coffee mills. In 
 this it took an industrious housewife several 
 hours to grind a very little quantity of meal. 
 Another device for corn in an emergency was 
 the grater — jagged holes punched in a piece of 
 tin or iron, and taking an ear of corn rubbing 
 it over the rough edges. It took about four 
 hours by this process to get enough meal to 
 give each member of the family a very small 
 taste pf corn-bread in the morning. Some of 
 the pioneers state there were times when the 
 
 *Thomas Fuhrman, father of Mrs. Geo. Donnen- 
 wirth and Mrs. A. J. High. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 83 
 
 cornmeal was so scarce that the family were 
 all put on an allowance.* With the early set- 
 tlers the nearest mill was miles away, the prin- 
 cipal ones being at New Haven in Huron 
 county; Fredericktown and Mt. Vernon in 
 Knox county; one three miles southeast of 
 Mansfield, and another at Lexington in Rich- 
 land county. There were no roads, only trails 
 through the forest, and the settler loaded his 
 sacks of grain on the horse and started for the 
 mill, leading his horse the entire distance, 
 sometimes compelled to wait his turn at the 
 mill. The trip took two to four days. The 
 return journey he might ride, as the load of 
 the horse was much lighter the miller having 
 taken from a fourth to a half of the grinding 
 as his share. If the pioneer had no horse, he 
 made the long journey on foot, carrying what 
 grain he could on his back. Very soon mills 
 were started nearer home, generally a horse 
 mill, run by horse or ox power, erected by some 
 enterprising settler for his own use ; to this the 
 neighbors came, using their own horses or 
 oxen to furnish the power to run the mill. The 
 mills were very crude in construction, and 
 sometimes four horses had to be attached to 
 move the clumsy machinery. It was also slow 
 work and the meal ground very coarse. Water 
 mills were built along the little streams, but 
 on account of the smallness of the streams in 
 this county when there was enough water to 
 run the mills, the ground was almost impass- 
 able, and during the summer season when the 
 trails could be used, there was no water in the 
 streams and the mills were idle, and in the 
 dead of winter the streams were frozen, so the 
 pioneer had difficulty in keeping a supply of 
 meal on hand. It was years before the condi- 
 tions of the roads improved in many sections, 
 and as late as 1845, E. B. Monnett now living 
 in Bucyrus, started with a four-horse team 
 from his father's farm in Dallas township with 
 half a dozen sacks of wheat to be ground at 
 the mill at Wyandot. Small as the load was 
 the team was stalled, and he had to secure ad- 
 ditional help to get the wagon through the 
 marshy ground. As late as 1837 when the 
 farmer took his load of grain to Sandusky it 
 took from six to seven days to make the trip 
 on account of the bad roads; he received his 
 
 " *Lewis Cary, Bucyrus. 
 
 50 to 60 cents a . bushel for his wheat, and 
 brought back a consignment of goods for some 
 merchant for which he was paid about 50 cents 
 a hundred pounds. Goods for the eastern part 
 of the county and some for Bucyrus were 
 hauled overland from Philadelphia and Balti- 
 more. Generally for Bucyrus they came by 
 water to Sandusky, and were hauled from 
 there by land. The freight charges reached as 
 high at times as four dollars a hundred pounds 
 so nothing but absolute necessaries could be 
 shipped. 
 
 With the early pioneers there was an abun- 
 dance of game, but as the county became more 
 populated game became scarcer, but the 
 pioneer had brought with him cattle and hogs. 
 The hogs ran at large, fattening on the nuts 
 and grass of the forest; on the rattlesnakes 
 and small vermin, and they became wild. 
 While wolves prevented the raising of sheep, 
 experience soon taught them to let the wild 
 hogs severely alone, and even the few bears 
 found discretion the better part of valor and 
 left the hogs to root in peace, and unless very 
 hungry never molested them. Each farmer 
 had a special mark for his hogs, but in their 
 wild state they were very prolific, and many of 
 them were practically common property. As 
 to those marked and half wild, sometimes a 
 pioneer was near-sighted and failed to recog- 
 nize the mark of his neighbor on the hog he 
 had shot — but in the main they were honest 
 and the wild hogs of the forest and the rapidly 
 increasing stock of cattle made up for the con- 
 stant lessening of the wild game. 
 
 Another plentiful thing was honey, which 
 could be gathered by the pioneer himself or 
 purchased of the Indians or the bee-hunters. 
 The Indians also supplied the pioneers with an 
 abundance of cranberries when in season. 
 Many of the pioneers became experts in bee- 
 hunting, marked the trees in the summer, and 
 in the autumn gathered the harvest, which was 
 not only a welcome addition to the family pro- 
 visions, but was an article almost sure to bring 
 cash in the market, 50 cents a gallon. 
 
 There was very little money in those days, 
 business being carried on by exchange, the 
 storekeeper being the clearing house. He 
 gave the pioneer credit of about a cent a pound 
 for the hogs he delivered, and two cents for 
 his cattle; 25 cents each for his coon and mink 
 
84 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 skins, and $i for a deer hide ; 40 cents a bushel 
 for his wheat and three cents a dozen for his 
 eggs and the same price per pound for his but- 
 ter, and sometimes would not take his butter 
 and eggs at any price, but he was glad to get 
 the honey at fifty cents per gallon. In return 
 he charged his customer with $2 to $3 a pound 
 for tea, and very few charges too as not many 
 could afford the luxury of tea; 75 cents a 
 pound for coffee; $5 for a barrel of salt that 
 weighed 50 pounds; $2 a pound for powder 
 and 25 cents a pound for lead; $1 a yard for 
 calicoes and prints; and the only cheap thing 
 was the whisky at fifty cents a gallon. Every- 
 body used it in those days and it was regarded 
 as more of a necessity in the house than tea or 
 coffee, and few social gatherings were complete 
 without it. Money was not an absolute neces- 
 sity as even the county officials, with a salary 
 of $50 to $100 a year, were in some other 
 business, and taxes could be, and were, paid in 
 skins or produce, which the treasurer turned 
 into cash. The merchant, too, when he sent 
 his skins and produce to the market, exchanged 
 them for the goods he needed, paying or re- 
 ceiving the balance in cash. 
 
 On the arrival of a neighbor a trail was 
 blazed through the woods so the nearest fam- 
 ilies could visit back and forth without getting 
 lost in the forest, and the women folks made 
 their friendly calls. Then it was the hostess 
 did the honors, proudly displaying all her little 
 cabin possessed. In one case all the newcomer 
 could boast of in the line of a cooking vessel 
 was a solitary pewter pot, but it was bright 
 and glistening from the polishings it received 
 through its constant use. But to her it was 
 enough. She placed it on the fire, and in it the 
 pork was tried into lard, and in the same ves- 
 sel the cakes were fried in the lard; it was 
 washed and cleaned and in it the short cakes 
 were baked ; then it was used as a bucket, taken 
 to the spring and filled with water, again 
 placed on the fire and the water boiled, and it 
 being her first "state occasion" a little tea was 
 taken from her meagre store and the meal 
 served to her first guest in her new home, all 
 prepared in the one and only cooking vessel 
 she possessed. 
 
 Strangers were always welcome and every 
 traveler received a hospitable reception. If he 
 was in search of a location he was doublv wel- 
 
 come, and the pioneer dropped his work to 
 show his visitor all the best sites in the neigh- 
 borhood that were yet on the market, and if 
 the stranger did enter land in that section 
 he was welcome to bring his wife and family 
 of half a dozen children to make their home 
 with him until he and his sons and the neigh- 
 bors had erected a cabin for the newcomer. If 
 a settler arrived in the fall the neighbors all 
 kept a careful watch that he suffered for noth- 
 ing until he could clear his ground and raise 
 a crop of his own. It was not uncommon to 
 make jthe newcomer a present of land to induce 
 him to locate in their neighborhood, and in 
 one case in this county a pioneer induced a 
 man to remain by selling him eighty acres off 
 his own land for $100, taking his pay in a note 
 due in one hundred years without interest.* 
 The note is not yet due, but will be in 1920. 
 
 The homes of the early settlers were indeed 
 far in the wilderness for it took from two to 
 four weeks for their mail to reach them from 
 their old homes in the East, and when a letter 
 did arrive it was marked "due 25 cents," -for 
 postage in those days need not be paid in ad- 
 vance and the charge was according to distance. 
 Neither was the letter always sent to where the 
 addressee lived, but to the nearest postoffice. 
 Prior to 1823 the postoffice of residents of 
 Crawford was Mansfield or Delaware, and the 
 pioneer store-keeper going to one of these 
 places brought back whatever letters were there 
 for any one in his neighborhood. When a 
 postoffice was established at Bucyrus in 1823, 
 that little village received the letters for resi- 
 dents for miles around, those of Whetstone, 
 Liberty, Sandusky, Chatfield, Lykins, Holmes, 
 Texas and Tod townships all getting their 
 mail at Bucyrus. When a letter did arrive for 
 some settler the watchful postmaster requested 
 some man who happened in from that section 
 to notify his neighbor that a letter had arrived 
 for him. The pioneers were generous; they 
 shared with those in need; of the stock or 
 game killed many a neighbor received a por- 
 tion ; but he could not put up the 25 cents for 
 the letter due, because money was something 
 he did not have. But he was still the true 
 neighbor, and after reaching home, when the 
 evening work was done, he went through the 
 woods to the home of his neighbor, several 
 
 ♦Benjamin Sharrock, Polk township. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 85 
 
 miles away, and notified him that there was a 
 letter in the postoffice for him. Now the scene 
 of anxiety is transferred to the little farm; 
 they have nothing to dispose of, but the post- 
 age must be raised to secure the news from 
 home, so the hens are "summoned to duty," 
 and after patient watching and waiting eight 
 dozen eggs are gathered and the pioneer goes 
 to Bucyrus and exchanges his eight dozen eggs 
 for the "24c due" letter, and returns to his 
 clearing to read over and over again the news 
 from the old home anywhere from a month to 
 six months old. 
 
 There was no class of people more welcome 
 among the pioneers than the traveling min- 
 ister. Long before the first white man had 
 ever dreamed of settling in this wilderness, 
 these faithful servants of God had risked their 
 lives, and many lost them, too, in preaching 
 the Gospel of Christ to the savages. And 
 when the settler came, these ministers, on foot 
 or on horseback, wandered through the 
 sparsely settled region, and the largest cabin 
 or barn was the meeting place of the settlers 
 for miles around to hear once more the word 
 of God. It was not denominational preach- 
 ing; sometimes it was one creed, sometimes 
 another, but a minister of any denomination 
 was welcome, and although a man may not 
 have been a professing Christian, if his cabin 
 were the larger or the more central it was used 
 for the services, and it was an honor and pleas- 
 ure to him to entertain the minister. Later the 
 different denominations became numerous 
 enough to hold services of their own special 
 creed at irregular intervals. Violent pulpit 
 oratory was regarded as more necessary in 
 those days than at the present time, and the 
 preacher soared to his highest flights in pictur- 
 ing the terrors and horrors of a brimstone hell. 
 The construction of his sentences, as far as 
 grammar was concerned, was a secondary con- 
 sideration, and frequently was a neglected art. 
 The loudest in their oratory, both in preaching 
 and in prayer, were looked upon as the better 
 Christians, and when one of these became 
 thoroughly warmed up to his work his prayer 
 could be heard for half a mile. 
 
 Among the more religiously inclined morn- 
 ing and evening services were held, the head of 
 the house reading a chapter from the well-worn 
 family Bible, giving out a hymn in which all 
 
 joined in the singing, and closing with one of 
 his far-reaching prayers. If a guest were pres- 
 ent, known to be a Christian, by courtesy he 
 was asked to lead in the family services, and 
 if he failed to "loosen the rafters" in his in- 
 structions to the throne of grace, the thorough- 
 ness of his conversion was doubted, and he 
 was never again invited to lead in prayer in 
 that household. Many others were milder in 
 their forms of worship, but among the more 
 zealous the religion of most of the milder class 
 was looked upon with suspicion, and hopes and 
 prayers were freely offered that the scales 
 might fall from their eyes and they become 
 truly converted. But as sure as "the groves 
 were God's first temples," so the purest and 
 truest of religion existed in the hearts of these 
 pioneers. No destitution was so severe in his 
 own family that he ever failed to share the lit- 
 tle that he had with his poorer neighbor; no 
 sickness ever invaded any family in his section 
 when he failed to respond with sympathy and 
 with succor; and when the icy hand of death 
 had robbed some poor struggling family of a 
 loved one, every pioneer's heart beat in sym- 
 pathy with his sorrowing neighbor, and every 
 pioneer's hand tendered assistance and relief. 
 They were true Christians in the broadest and 
 best sense of the word, and in the books above 
 where the recording angel has written the list 
 of those who loved their fellow men, the names 
 of these early pioneers will be found leading 
 all the rest. 
 
 Each settler was his own doctor, and the 
 minor diseases were cured by their own simple 
 remedies. In the loft of each cabin, or in the 
 cabin itself along the wall, hung the worm- 
 wood and pennyroyal, sassafras and sage, tan- 
 sey and catnip, and other herbs and barks 
 gathered and dried for sickness, and the minor 
 cases were cared for with these simple ingre- 
 dients. In each neighborhood some man was 
 depended upon to set a broken leg or arm, and 
 it was fairly done with no charge, the patient 
 on his recovery as a remembrance of the kindly 
 act sending around a deer he had shot. But 
 there were times when the disease or the acci- 
 dent was beyond the knowledge or the skill of 
 the household or the neighbors. Then it was 
 one of the family or a kindly neighbor started 
 through the woods anywhere from ten to forty 
 miles for medical aid, and a day or two later 
 
86 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 returned with the doctor on horseback, with 
 his saddle-bags containing his wonderful medi- 
 cines, who gave what treatment he thought the 
 patient needed, and left advice for future care, 
 for the distance was too great to make a second 
 call possible. He was paid for his trip, if 
 there was anything to pay with — a little cash, 
 or some skins or some provisions; perhaps 
 nothing, and a year or two later receive a 
 wagon-load of potatoes or of corn, some choice 
 skins, or a cash payment from the pioneer who 
 had not forgotten his faithful services. The 
 doctor was satisfied; he had gone the toilsome 
 journey as an errand of mercy and as a profes- 
 sional duty, and the pecuniary reward was a 
 secondary consideration. 
 
 But the pioneers had their pleasures as well. 
 They had their cabin-raisings and their log- 
 rollings ; and they had their shooting matches, 
 for markmanship with the rifle was their high- 
 est sport. Then there were the quilting-bees 
 and the husking-bees, and after the work was 
 over many provisions were eaten and much 
 whisky drank. Whatever the occasion for the 
 gathering may have been it was followed by a 
 most bounteous meal of the wholesome provi- 
 sions that the forest and the farm could supply, 
 and' always enjoyed, for good appetites were 
 never lacking in those early days. The natural 
 result of these gatherings and the dances with 
 which the occasions closed, were the Aveddings, 
 where the bride was complimented and ad- 
 mired, resplendent in a new calico gown that 
 cost $1 a yard and was made by herself out 
 of five yards of goods; the happy groom, en- 
 vied and congratulated, his hair smoothed and 
 plastered to his head and polished and glisten- 
 ing with a superabundance of bear's grease. 
 And after the wedding the feast, the long table 
 so crowded and covered with the good things 
 prepared that no one could see that a table 
 cloth was lacking. After the feast all the 
 young folks escorted the bridal couple to their 
 new home, which was another little log cabin 
 in the forest, but its building and furnishing 
 had been the willing work of the young hus- 
 band for many an evening after his day's work 
 had been completed on his father's farm. 
 
 Sometimes and frequently, the angel of 
 death invaded the household, and a parent or 
 child was called away. If a child, it was the 
 father who went sorrowfully to the woods and 
 
 selected the straightest tree from which he 
 made the little coffin, lovingly staining the 
 wood with walnut, and tenderly covering his 
 rough work with ferns and flowers, and the 
 neighbors came from miles around, and in 
 some pretty and quiet spot on the little farm 
 the body was placed in its last earthly home, 
 one of the elderly pioneers conducting the 
 services with preaching and with prayer. If it 
 was the husband called away, the duties of 
 caring for the family fell upon the stricken 
 wife, and many a boy of eight or nine became 
 the useful assistant of the widowed mother as 
 the provider for the younger members of the 
 family. If help was needed, the pioneer neigh- 
 bors, after their own hard day's work was 
 done, assembled of an evening at her little 
 clearing, and prepared the land, and planted 
 the seed, and harvested the crop, and kept up 
 their kindly work until the children were old 
 enough to care for the family. 
 
 So the pioneers of Crawford settled the 
 county, passing through frequent trials and 
 undergoing many privations, with certainly 
 one redeeming feature in their own experience 
 in the wilderness, and that was that by the 
 time the first settler placed his foot on Craw- 
 ford soil, the Indians had been so thoroughly 
 whipped and cowed into submission that no 
 settler's cabin in this county was ever burned, 
 and no pioneer was ever murdered and scalped 
 by the savage tribes, as was so frequent and 
 so harrowing in the eastern and southern 
 counties in the earlier days. 
 
 Slowly but surely the primitive cabins gave 
 way to those of hewn logs and to the double 
 log cabins ; and these were in turn followed by 
 a few frame houses, and an occasional brick 
 residence. Each year the acreage of cleared 
 land increased; new roads were laid out and 
 the earlier ones improved; little settlements 
 were started which became villages, grew into 
 towns, and expanded into cities, and the 
 wilderness of a century ago became the rich 
 and fertile fields and farms, and the busy and 
 prosperous villages and cities of today. 
 
 On Feb. 12, 1820, the Legislature passed an 
 act erecting a county which they named Craw- 
 ford, after Col. William Crawford, who was 
 burned at the stake in 1782 within the confines 
 of the county then created. In 1820 the pres- 
 ent county of Crawford had within its borders 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 87 
 
 less than a hundred settlers, who with their Jackson Township. 1820 — Joseph Russell, 
 
 families numbered about 500 persons. As John Doyle. 
 
 nearly as can be gathered the principal settlers Jefferson Township. 18 16 — Jacob Fisher, 
 
 up to 1820 were as follows: 181 7 — Christian Snyder, Westell Ridgley, 
 
 Auburn Township. 1814 — Jedediah More- Peter Beebout, Thomas Ferguson, J. S. Gris- 
 
 head, John Pettigon. 1815 — William Green, well. 1818 — John Adrian, Lewis Leiberger, 
 
 Samuel S. Green, Jacob Coykendall, John James Nail. 
 
 Deardorff. 1816 — Aaron B. Howe. 1817 — Liberty Township. 1819 — Daniel McMich- 
 William Cole, Charles Morrow. 1818 — Levi ael. 1820 — Ralph Bacon, Auer Umberfield. 
 Bodley, Lester Bodley, Jesse Bodley, John Lykins Township. No one. 
 Bodley, David Cummins, Charles DeWitt, Polk Township. 1817 — Benjamin Lever- 
 William Laugherty, Henry Reif. 1819 — idge, James Leveridge, Nathaniel Leveridge. 
 Adam Aumend, Adam Aumend, Jr., Samuel 1818— -Nehemiah Story, Nathaniel Story, 
 Hanna, Resolved White. 1820 — Rodolphus Father Kitteridge, Benjamin Sharrock, George 
 Morse, Erastus Kellogg, Jacob Snyder, Pal- Wood, David Gill. 18 19 — Samuel Brown, 
 mer Halse, Daniel Hulse. Michael Brown, Asa Hosford, Horace Hos- 
 
 Bucyrus Township. 1819— Samuel Nor- ford, Disberry Johnson, John Sturgis. 1820— 
 
 ton, Albigence Bucklin, Seth Holmes, J- ^ickerson, David Reid, William Hosford, 
 
 Sears. 1820— David Beadle, Michael Beadle, ~r ^'^^^'^^^• 
 
 Joseph Ensley, William Young, George , ^<^^dusky Tozmship. 1819-Samuel Knis- 
 
 Young, John Young, Joseph Young. Sl'the^^ mder ^S20-Samuel Shull, 
 
 Chatiield Township. 1820-Jacob Whet- Texas Township. No one. 
 
 ^ °n^' I. ^ , • T.T '^od Township. No one. 
 
 Cranberry Township. No one. y,,^,^ Township. i8i8^George Byers. 
 
 Dallas _ Township. i82(^G. H. Busby, 1819— David Anderson, Andrew Dixon. 
 
 Samuel Lme, Matthew Mitchell, George Wal- Whetstone Township. 1819— John Kent 
 
 ton, Charles White. 1820— Noble McKinstry, Joseph S. Young, 
 
 Holmes Township. No one. Martin Shaffner, John Willowby. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY 
 
 First Elections — Boundaries — First Taxes — Early Roads — Location of County Seat — Col. Kil- 
 hourne's Proposition — Settlement of Bucyrus — Crawford County Organized — The Fight 
 on Commissioners — Their First Proceedings — Readjustment of Township Lines, i8^i- 
 1825 — Indian Purchase, i8s5 — The Leiths — Justice Garrett — Formation in 1845 of Craiv- 
 ford County as it Now Exists — Later Township Changes — New Roads — The Courts — 
 Contest for County Seat — Donations of Leading Citizens — Erection of Court House — 
 Visit of General Harrison — The County Jail — Population of Crawford County in 1830 
 and 1850 — Construction of Railroads — New Court House — Improvements — The Court 
 House of i8j6 — The New Jail — Care of the Poor — Abuses of the Old System — The 
 County Iniirmary — More Roads — DiMculties of Travel in Early Days — The Mails — Turn- 
 pikes and Stage Routes — Early Stores — Population by Townships — List of Residents in 
 1826. 
 
 Toil swings the axe and forests bow; 
 
 The fields break out in radiant bloom; 
 Rich harvests smile behind the plow, 
 
 And cities cluster round the loom. — Anon. 
 
 On Feb. 20, 1820, the Legislature passed an 
 act creating fourteen counties out of the ter- 
 ritory purchased from the Indians in 1817 — 
 Crawford, Allen, Hardin, Hancock, Henry, 
 Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, 
 Seneca, Van Wert, Williams and Wood. 
 Later, from these counties, were erected Aug- 
 laize, Defiance, Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa and 
 Wyandot, the latter being formed almost ex- 
 clusively from Crawford in 1845, taking 288 
 square miles from this county, 47 from 
 Marion, 45 from Hancock and 24 from 
 Hardin. The new county of Crawford as 
 erected in 1820 was 18 miles from north to 
 south and thirty-three from east to west, or 
 594 square miles. Its northern boundary was 
 the same as today; its southern boundary two 
 miles north of the present county line. On the 
 east it commenced on the present eastern 
 boundary of Cranberry and Sandusky town- 
 ships, and extended west to seven miles beyond 
 Upper Sandusky, the present western bound- 
 aries of Crawford, Salem and Mifflin town- 
 
 ships in Wyandot county. As surveyed the 
 territory was townships i, 2 and 3 in ranges 
 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 east, and the western half 
 of townships 16, 17 and 18, in range 21 west. 
 The new county of Crawford, not having suf- 
 ficient population, and not having sufficient 
 taxable property to bear the expense of a 
 county government, was placed temporarily, 
 with its sister county of Marion, under the 
 jurisdiction of Delaware county. 
 
 The first act of the commissioners of Dela- 
 ware relating to Crawford county was on 
 March 9, 1820, when they passed a resolution 
 creating that part of Crawford county lying 
 west of what is the western boundary of Bu- 
 cyrus township into a township to be known as 
 "Big Rock, and an order issued for the elec- 
 tion of township officers." 
 
 On June 5, 1820, another resolution was 
 passed creating the township of Harmony, 
 which was that part of Crawford county, ex- 
 tending from the present western boundary of 
 Bucyrus township to the Richland county line, 
 which was then the present western boundary 
 of Auburn and Vernon townships. Crawford 
 county was now two townships. Harmony 
 township (all of Crawford east of the western 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 89 
 
 boundary of Bucyrus township) is never again 
 mentioned in connection with Crawford 
 county, but later in the Delaware records this 
 territory is referred to as Sandusky township, 
 so it is probable that when the action of the 
 commissioners was referred to the court for 
 approval the name of the township was 
 changed to Sandusky. This is indicated from 
 the fact that the Delaware commissioners on 
 Dec. 23, 1822, passed the following: 
 
 "Ordered, that all that part of Sandusky town- 
 ship which lies west of the middle of the seventeenth 
 range of lands be and the same is hereby erected 
 into a separate township by the name of Bucyrus." 
 
 Prior to this the Delaware commissioners 
 had erected the township of Crawford, which 
 was six by eighteen miles in size, and embraced 
 what is now Texas township, Crawford 
 county, and Sycamore, Tymochtee and Craw- 
 ford townships in Wyandot county. Here an 
 election was called, the first in the new county 
 of Crawford. It was held on April i, 1821, 
 at the home of Henry Lish, who ran a ferry 
 across the Tymochtee on the road leading from 
 Upper Sandusky to Little Sandusky (Fre- 
 mont). There were just thirteen voters pres- 
 ent, and fourteen offices to fill, and Elijah 
 Brayton was the man elected to two offices. 
 
 One of the last acts of the Delaware com- 
 missioners relating to Crawford County was 
 on March 2, 1824, when they created the town- 
 ship of Whetstone, as it exists today, except 
 that in the rearrangement of Crawford county 
 in 1845, two miles were added to Whetstone 
 on the south from Marion county. 
 
 On June 6, 1821, the first taxes were levied 
 in Crawford county, and the commissioners 
 decided to levy the taxes "to the full extent 
 allowed by law, to wit: horses, 30 cents each; 
 cattle, 10 cents each; houses, &c., the one-half 
 of one per cent." 
 
 The p,rincipal business of the Delaware com- 
 rnissioners relating to Crawford county was 
 the matter of roads. On Dec. 5, 182 1, they 
 granted the position for a road commencing 
 in Marion county and joining the State road 
 from Columbus to Portland (Sandusky) at a 
 point near Sharrock's mills. On this road 
 Conrad Roth was one of the viewers, and 
 James Kilbourne the surveyor. On March 5, 
 1822, a road was petitioned for through what 
 is now Wyandot county, on which William 
 
 Holmes was one of the viewers. On June 3, 
 1822, John B. French presented a petition for 
 about the present road from Bucyrus to De- 
 Kalb, running east, south of the Sandusky 
 river, and crossing that stream at the old Luke 
 tavern. Michael Beadle, Joseph S. Young and 
 Daniel Palmer were appointed the viewers and 
 John Marshall, the surveyor. 
 
 Westell Ridgely presented a petition for the 
 present road from Leesville to Bucyrus, on 
 Dec. 2, 1822. 
 
 In May and June of 1822, Col. James Kil- 
 bourne surveyed the present Sandusky pike. 
 His surveyor's notes show that nearly a mile 
 north of where the road crossed the Broken- 
 sword it passed through a pondy swale half a 
 mile wide, and a half a mile further they cut 
 through the "southwest bend of the great 
 marsh." 
 
 On Jan. 20, 1823, the commissioners 
 granted the petition for a road from the "Up- 
 per Sandusky fort to the Richland county line." 
 It passed Crawford on the present boundary 
 line between Bucyrus and Dallas township, and 
 on to Gabon. On Dec. 3, 1822, James Kil- 
 bourne presented a petition for a road starting 
 in Marion county, passing through Whetstone 
 and Sandusky, and "crossing the Sandusky 
 river below the mouth of Lost Creek, arid then 
 anglirig northwest to strike the Columbus to 
 Portland road. This road is probably the one 
 that joins the Portland road at West Liberty. 
 Amos Earl and John B. French were two of 
 the viewers. 
 
 Dec. I, 1823, Zalmon Rowse petitioned for 
 a road commencing at Sandusky avenue, Bu- 
 cyrus, and running east along the south line of 
 Norton's property, the present Middletown 
 road. Thomas McClure, Auer Umberfield and 
 John Maxfield were the viewers. There had 
 been some irregularity in the papers for the 
 road from Leesville to Bucyrus, by Westell 
 Ridgely, so on Dec. 2, 1823, it was petitioned 
 for again by Asa Howard, and three of the 
 viewers were John B. French, Amos Earl and 
 Amos Utey, and this time the road was laid 
 out. 
 
 In 1 82 1 James Kilbourne had gone through 
 where Bucyrus now is, looking for a location 
 for a road from Columbus to the Lake, a road 
 having already been built from Columbus to 
 Norton, in the northern part of Delaware 
 
90 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 county. During that year he entered into a 
 contract with Samuel Norton to lay out a town 
 on Norton's land on the south bank of the 
 Sandusky, and the plat of the new town, called 
 Bucyrus, was filed in the office of the recorder 
 of Delaware county on Feb. ii, 1822, the first 
 recorded entry of the name Bucyrus. 
 
 On Dec. 15, 1823, the Legislature passed an 
 act authorizing Marion county to elect officers, 
 and become an organized county, at the same 
 time transferring Crawford county to the jur- 
 isdiction of Marion county, and Feb. 17, 1824, 
 placing the northwestern part of the county 
 under the jurisdiction of Seneca county. The 
 act went into effect on May i, 1824, and on 
 May 3, 1824, the first election took place for 
 the new county officials of Marion. The 
 officers elected were Sheriff, Auditor, Coroner 
 and three County Commissioners. There were 
 no candidates from Crawford, except one 
 County Commissioner, and it must have been 
 understood that Crawford was to haye one of 
 the Commissioners, as Crawford's candidate 
 headed the list. The vote on Commissioner 
 was Enoch B. Merriman (Crawford county) 
 247; Matthew Merritt 209, Amos C. Wilson 
 157, William Cochran 122, John Page 102, 
 Alexander Berry, Jr. 69, Eber Baker 53, 
 David Tipton 47, William Wyatt 26. Merri- 
 man, Merritt and Wilson were elected. At the 
 regular election following, on Oct. 12, Merri- 
 man again led the poll, the vote for commis- 
 sioner being Enoch B. Merriman -297, Amos 
 C. Wilson 256, Jolm Page 226, Matthew Mer- 
 ritt 109; Richard Hopkins 130. Merriman, 
 Wilson and Page elected. At this election C. 
 Roth was a candidate for Auditor. He was 
 the only other candidate besides Merriman 
 from Crawford county, but he was defeated, 
 receiving only 33 votes. His opponent, Hez- 
 ekiah Gorton, receiving 334. 
 
 At this election Crawford cast its first vote 
 for Governor, and the vote of Marion and 
 Crawford combined was 380, the Federalist 
 candidate, Allen Trimble, receiving 275, and 
 the Democratic candidate, Jeremiah Morrow, 
 receiving 105. The returns show that at that 
 time there were but two voting townships in 
 Crawford county. The eastern three miles 
 (present width of Sandusky township), was 
 Sandusky township, then three miles wide and 
 18 deep, and cast 7 votes for Morrow and 5 
 
 for Trimble; then came Bucyrus township, 
 twelve miles-wide and 18 deep, extending from 
 the present eastern boundary of Whetstone 
 and Liberty to th6 western boundary of Bu- 
 cyrus, Holmes and Lykens. This township 
 cast 49 for Trimble and i for Morrow. What 
 is now Texas, Tod and western Dallas voted 
 as a part of Grand Prairie, Marion county, 
 while all of Wyandot belonging then to Craw- 
 ford, voted with Seneca county. 
 
 In this first vote probably 115 were cast in 
 Craw^ford county and 265 in Marion county, 
 and of this 115 the present Crawford had 64 
 of the votes and the present Wyandot 51. The 
 Crawford vote being the 50 in Bucyrus, 12 in 
 Sandusky, and 2 in what is now Texas town- 
 ship, but it is a singular fact that in this first 
 election, Bucyrus township, which included in 
 that election, all of the present townships of 
 Bucyrus, Holmes, Lykins, Chatfield, Liberty. 
 Whetstone, and the western mile of Cranberry 
 gave Trimble 49, and Morrow democrat i . In 
 the more than four-score years that have 
 passed since this first political vote, the demo- 
 cratic vote has very largely increased, but un- 
 fortunately there is no way at this late date to 
 discover who it was that cast that first demo- 
 cratic vote in Bucyrus, from whom so numer- 
 ous a progeny has descended. At the Presi- 
 dential election in 1908, the territory that was 
 then Bucyrus township gave the following 
 vote: Democratic 1859, Republican 1151, scat- 
 tering 97. Any one interested can figure for 
 himself the per cent of increase in the demo- 
 cratic vote in the last 84 years. 
 
 Mr. Merriman resigned as commissioner 
 and was succeeded by Zachariah Welsh, whose 
 farm was near where the village of Wyandot 
 now is, the Wyandot part of Crawford county. 
 At the election in October 1825, Zalmon 
 Rowse was elected as the commissioner from 
 Crawford county, taking the place of Welsh. 
 
 On Oct. 4, 1 82 1, the first agreement between 
 Samuel Norton and James Kilbourne was 
 signed to lay out a town on Norton's land. 
 Various changes were made, and an amended 
 agreement was signed on Dec. 15, 1822, and in 
 this agreement it is stated the town is "now 
 named Bucyrus." 
 
 The sale of lots of the new town com- 
 menced, and the wisdom of the location was 
 demonstrated by the interest taken in the new 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 91 
 
 village. But the projectors of the new town 
 recognized the fact that it was in the south- 
 eastern part of the county, nine miles being 
 east of them and twenty-four west; six miles 
 south of it and twelve north, so Col. Kilbourne 
 brought pressure to bear on the Legislature 
 for the organization of a new county to 
 be called Bucyrus, so arranging this territory 
 that Bucyrus would be in the centre, and have 
 no opposition as the county seat. To facili- 
 tate this movement, Samuel Norton issued the 
 follow agreement : 
 
 "Know ye that I, Samuel Norton, of Bucyrus, in 
 Crawford county and State of Ohio, have agreed, 
 and do agree, as this instrument witnesseth, that in 
 case the county of Bucyrus should be established 
 by law at the approaching session of the Legislature, 
 for which petitions will be presented, and the seat of 
 justice permanently established in the town of Bucy- 
 rus, then, and in that case, I will give, and, by a 
 warranty deed free and clear of all incumbrance, 
 convey unto such agent or agents as may be ap- 
 pointed to the trust, for the use of said new county 
 in defraying the expenses of erecting a court house 
 and offices in said town of Bucyrus, one equal third 
 part in number and value of all the numbered lands 
 and outlots of said town, or that may be numbered 
 within the present year, which remain to me as 
 original proprietor thereof; that is to say, one-third 
 of all the lots numbered on the recorded plat of said 
 town, or that may be numbered as aforesaid, except- 
 ing those which have been bargained and sold, or 
 that may be sold to individuals, by deeds or title 
 bonds prior to the acceptance of this offer and ex- 
 cepting also the fractional parts of said town, origi- 
 nally belonging to Abel Carey and Daniel McMichael. 
 On a plat of said town accompanying this obliga- 
 tion are distinctly marked the lots by their numbers 
 and situations composing the said third part intended 
 to be given for the public uses aforesaid, and the 
 foregoing agreement and the just fulfillment there- 
 of I bind myself, my heirs, executors and adminis- 
 trators, firmly by these presents. In witness where- 
 of, I have hereunto set my hand and seal at said 
 Bucyrus, this 20th day of November, 1823. 
 
 SAMUEL NORTON. 
 
 In presence of A. L. Shover. 
 
 Notwithstanding the influence of Col. Kil- 
 bourne in the State, and the petitions presented 
 by the few but enterprising citizens of Bu- 
 cyrus, the Legislature declined to erect the new 
 county of Bucyrus. In 1823 an enumeration 
 of the voters of the State had been taken, and 
 this count showed that Crawford county had 
 244 electors and Marion 517, so the Legislat- 
 ure, instead of erecting a new county, passed 
 an act authorizing Marion county to elect of- 
 ficers and organize, placing Crawford county 
 temporarily a part of Marion. 
 
 The first road laid out by the Marion com- 
 
 missioners was what is now the Marion road, 
 on June 8, 1824, "commencing at David Tip- 
 ton's farm, thence on nearest and best road to 
 Bucyrus, making Benjamin Salmon's peach 
 orchard, Benjamin Fickle's farm, and David 
 Bryant's points." Tipton's farm was tvi^o 
 miles this side of Marion where the road from 
 Upper Sandusky forms a point by joining the 
 Marion road. The same day a road was 
 established "beginning at the east line of 
 Crawford county, at the crossing of the road 
 leading from Wooster to Upper Sandusky, 
 thence on the nearest and best ground to Bu- 
 cyrus, making Daniel Michael's mill a point on 
 said road." This road passed through Liberty, 
 north of the Sandusky, crossing the river at 
 McMichael's mill, which was on the south bank 
 of the river but across the road from the pres- 
 ent water works reservoir. The road then 
 joined the Mansfield road and entered Bucyrus. 
 A part of the road has long since been aban- 
 doned, and the balance straightened. 
 
 On Dec. 7, 1824, Heman Rowse, Nathaniel 
 Plummer, Benjamin Parcher and John Mc- 
 Clure were appointed viewers for the road 
 from Norton to Portland, first established by 
 the Delaware Commissioners. (Two years 
 later made a state road, the Sandusky Pike.) 
 
 Dec. 17, 1824, what is now the Mt. Vernon 
 road was laid out. A part of it was to go 
 west on a road that runs from the Plains to 
 James Nail's mills "until it crosses the bridge 
 through the long swamp, thence running north- 
 westwardly so as to cross the Whetstone about 
 ten or fifteen rods north of dinger's fields," 
 thence to intersect the Bucyrus road running 
 to Gallon, dinger's fields were about the north- 
 west quarter of section 33, Whetstone, two 
 miles northwest of New Winchester. 
 
 The last road the Marion commissioners 
 ordered was the Little Sandusky road, "com- 
 mencing at or near the Little Sandusky bridge, 
 thence by nearest and best ground to Bucyrus, 
 passing Selick Longwell and Thomas Terry." 
 This road and the Leeville road are the two 
 most meandering roads in the county; in the 
 years that have passed they have been 
 straightened in many places. 
 
 From 1820 to 1826 there was a constant and 
 steady stream of settlers taking up land along 
 the few roads, and on the best farming lands 
 of the county. The establishing of a town by 
 
92 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Norton and Kilbourne had brought many to 
 the new village, and the settlement in and 
 around Bucyrus, had brought business to the 
 village so that it boasted of two taverns, a mill, 
 three stores, two tanneries, and several small 
 shops. It was the only village in the eastern 
 section of Crawford, but in the Wyandot por- 
 tion was McCufchenville, also a village of per- 
 haps three hundred people, a few larger than 
 Bucyrus. Prior to 1822, the only outlet for a 
 market from Bucyrus was over the crude road 
 constructed by the settlers themselves, through 
 the present Liberty, Sandusky and Auburn 
 townships to New Haven, but roads had soon 
 followed to Mansfield, Sandusky, Mt. Vernon 
 and Delaware, the Sandusky road in 1822, 
 being a better outlet for the lake than the one 
 to New Haven. Having failed in the erection 
 of a new county to be called Bucyrus, the cit- 
 izens of the village and of the county had 
 constantly brought pressure to bear on the 
 Legislature to organize the county, and make 
 the county seat Bucyrus. Finally, on Jan. 31, 
 1826, the act was passed, but instead of 
 establishing the county seat at Bucyrus, the act 
 referred the matter back to the voters, the 
 location of Bucyrus being too far from the 
 centre of the county to warrant their making 
 it the county seat. Instead they ordered an 
 election of officers in the new county, with the 
 proviso that the commissioners elected should 
 select temporarily the county seat. At that 
 time the population of the county was about 
 as follows, the table being given in a way to 
 show those in the present Crawford part and 
 in the Wyandot part : 
 
 Townships Crawford Wyandot Total 
 
 Antrim 70 70 
 
 Bucyrus 463 . . . 463 
 
 Crawford 499 499 
 
 Liberty 372 ... 372 
 
 Pitt 92 92 
 
 Sandusky 346 ... 346 
 
 Sycamore 22 ISO 172 
 
 Whetstone 375 ... 375 
 
 Totals 1,578 811 2,389 
 
 A total of about 2,389 people in the county 
 when the following act was passed on Jan. 31, 
 1826: 
 
 Section I. — Be it enacted, &c., that the county of 
 Crawford be, and the same is hereby organized into 
 a separate and distinct county. 
 
 Section II. — That all Justices of the Peace resid- 
 ing within the county of Crawford, shall continue to 
 
 discharge the duties of their respective offices until 
 their commissions shall expire and their successors 
 are chosen and qualified. 
 
 Section III. — That the qualified electors residing 
 in the county of Crawford shall meet in their re- 
 . spective townships on the first Monday of April 
 next, and elect their several county officers who 
 shall hold their respective offices until the next an- 
 nual election and until others are chosen and qual- 
 ified according to law. 
 
 Section IV. — That all suits and actions, whether 
 of a civil or criminal nature, which shall have been 
 commenced, shall be prosecuted to final judgment 
 and execution, and all taxes, fines and penalties 
 which shall have become due shall be collected in 
 the same manner as if this act had not been passed. 
 
 Section V. — That Zalmon Rowse is hereby ap- 
 pointed assessor for said county of Crawford, who 
 shall, on or before the first day of April next, give 
 bond as is provided in the fourth section of the "act 
 establishing an equitable mode of taxation," to the 
 acceptance of Enoch B. Merryman, who is hereby 
 "authorized to receive said bond, and deposit the 
 same with the county auditor of said county forth- 
 with after such Auditor has been elected and quali- 
 fied; and the assessor herein appointed shall be re- 
 quired to perform the same duties, hold the office 
 for the same time and in the same manner as if he 
 had been appointed by a Court of Common Pleas for 
 said County of Crawford; and the Auditor of State 
 is hereby required to transmit to said Assessor a 
 schedule of all lands subject to taxation within said 
 county, which schedule said Assessor shall return 
 with his other returns to the County Auditor. 
 
 Section VI. — ^That the commissioners elected ac- 
 cording to the provisions contained in the third sec- 
 tion of this act, shall meet on the first Monday of 
 May next, at the town of Bucyrus, and then and 
 there determine at what place in said county of 
 Crawford the judicial courts shall be held till the 
 permanent seat of justice shall be established in said 
 county. 
 
 Section VII. — That those townships and frac- 
 tional townships in Crawford county which have 
 heretofore been attached to and formed a part of 
 any township in Marion or Seneca county respect- 
 ively, are hereby attached to, and declared to be a 
 part of, Crawford township in said Crawford county, 
 till the same shall be otherwise provided for by the 
 Commissioner of said county. 
 
 By this act the question of the place of the 
 county seat would be decided by the first 
 county commissioners elected. As early as 
 1 82 1 the settlers near Bucyrus had made a 
 road through the woods to Sandusky. Almost 
 following the route laid out by them Col. Kil- 
 bourne, in 1822, had surveyed a road to San- 
 dusky, and along this road much land was 
 being entered. In 1825 Joseph Newell entered 
 land on section 9, Holmes township; it was 
 about a mile west of the Tiffin road, and 
 was on the south bank of the Brokensword, 
 just below where the Brandywine empties into 
 that stream, and adjoining the eastern bound- 
 ary of the Indian reservation. It was a hand- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 93 
 
 some site for a town, and being very much 
 nearer the centre of the county, Mr. Newell 
 laid out a town on his land which he called 
 Crawford, in the hope that the county seat 
 might be located there. 
 
 Before the town had fairly started, the 
 question came before the voters for settlement 
 by the election of the first commissioners. At 
 the time of the first election, April, 1826, two- 
 thirds of the population were in the eastern 
 part of the county, and nearly all of these 
 would naturally support Bucyrus; the other 
 third were expected to favor a more central 
 location. The most thickly settled section at 
 that time was in what is now northern Wy- 
 andot, the present township of Tymochtee, 
 containing the little settlement of Old Tymoch- 
 tee and the town of McCutchenville, the latter 
 having a few more inhabitants than Bucyrus. 
 It was in this township the first election in 
 Crawford county was held. Crawford town- 
 ship had been established by the Delaware 
 County Commissioners in 1821, and comprised 
 the territory that is now Crawford, Tymochtee 
 and Sycamore townships, Wyandot county, 
 and Texas township, Crawford county. The 
 electors met at the home of Henry Lish, who 
 ran a ferry across the Tymochtee on the road 
 from Upper Sandusky to Lower Sandusky 
 (Fremont), passing through where Tiffin now 
 is, that city not then having any existence. 
 There were thirteen electors present. They 
 elected a chairman and secretary of the meet- 
 ing, appointed judges, and elected by ballot 
 the fourteen township officers. At that time 
 there was no settler in what is now Texas 
 township, so there was no vote cast from what 
 is now Crawford county. The nearest this 
 county came to getting an office was by re- 
 lationship, Ichabod Merriman being elected one 
 of the trustees, Rufus Merriman one of the 
 appraisers, and Myron Merriman one of the 
 fence viewers. They were relatives of the 
 Merrimans who became prominent in Bucyrus. 
 
 When the first county election was held on 
 April I, 1826, the principal fight was for the 
 commissioners, as on these officers rested the 
 selection of the county seat. Bucyrus was 
 awake to her interests, as the men she pre- 
 sented were John Magers, of Sandusky, who 
 came to the county in 1823 ; Thomas McClure, 
 of Liberty, who came to the county in 1821, 
 
 and George Poe of Whetstone, who came in 
 1823. In these three townships were nearly 
 half the population of the entire county, and 
 these three men won out. The other first offi- 
 cers were Hugh McCracken, of Bucyrus, for 
 Sheriff; James Martin, of Bucyrus, for Au- 
 ditor, and John McClure for Surveyor. John 
 H. Morrison may have been elected treasurer, 
 but the general custom in those days was for 
 the commissioners to appoint the first 
 treasurer. At any rate, Mr. Morrison was the 
 first treasurer of the county. Of the men 
 elected the commissioners were farmers, Mc- 
 Clure followed his occupation of surveyor, Mc- 
 Cracken was a wheelright, Martin was a school 
 teacher, and Morrison was a lawyer. 
 
 The Bucyrus section had two-thirds of the 
 vote, so political wire pulling may not have 
 been necessary. It is a matter of record, how- 
 ever, that in the October election of that year, 
 John Carey, of Crawford township (now 
 Wyandot county) was elected as the first rep- 
 resentative from the new county to the State 
 Legislature. This may have been purely ac- 
 cidental, but when two-thirds of the voters 
 present the principal office in their gift to one- 
 third, present day politicians would have their 
 suspicions that the Hon. John had been de- 
 cidedly friendly to the Bucyrus commissioners 
 in the county seat fight. 
 
 The newly elected commissioners held their 
 first meeting at Bucyrus, on the first Monday 
 in May, 1826, and promptly selected Bucyrus 
 as the county seat of the new county. 
 
 All the early records of the county commis- 
 sioners were destroyed by fire in October, 1831, 
 when the jail in Bucyrus was burned. Many 
 other records of the county were lost at the 
 same time. In those days the commissioners 
 held four meetings a year. The first meeting of 
 the county commissioners of which there is any 
 record was as follows : 
 
 "Proceedings of the Commissioners of Crawford 
 County, begun and held in the town of Bucyrus, 
 on the 17th and 18th days of October, A. D. 1831: 
 "Be it resolved. That James McCracken, Esq., of 
 Crawford county, be and hereby is appointed a com- 
 inissioner (in the room of R. W. Cahill, Esq., re- 
 signed) to lay out a certain state road, commencing 
 at the town of Perrysburg, in Wood county; thence 
 to McCutchenville; thence to Bucyrus, in Crawford 
 county. 
 
 "Resolved, That an order be issued to the Au- 
 ditor, John Caldwell, for seventy dollars and sixty- 
 eight cents, for his services as Auditor. 
 
94 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 "Resolved, That Z. Rowse be, and he is hereby 
 authorized to contract for books for the Clerk's and 
 Recorder's offices, to be paid out of the county 
 treasury." 
 
 While there are no records of the commis- 
 sioners prior to the above, from papers in 
 other offices and from township records it is 
 found that among the first acts of the commis- 
 sioners in 1826 was the dividing of the new 
 territory into townships, and Cranberry was 
 formed as the northeastern township, its ter- 
 ritory including what is now Cranberry and 
 the eastern four miles of Chatfield. Texas 
 township was a part of Sycamore township; 
 west of this were Tymochtee and Crawford, 
 these last three townships having been created 
 by the Marion Commissioners. This consti- 
 tuted the northern tier of townships. The 
 central tier commenced on the east with the 
 three mile strip which was the northern half of 
 Sandusky township ; west of this was Liberty, 
 about six miles square ; then Holmes six miles 
 square,, and then Antrim, which included what 
 is now Tod and extended to Pitt township. 
 The southern tier commenced on the east with 
 the southern half of Sandusky, three miles 
 wide ; then Whetstone nearly six miles square ; 
 then Bucyrus, the same territory as now ; 
 northern Dallas was a part of Antrim, which 
 extended to Pitt township. The present two 
 miles of southern Dallas and the two southern 
 miles of \\"hetstone were then a part of 
 Marion county, and the eastern four miles of 
 the county were a part of Richland county. 
 With the exception of the two mile strip which 
 was added to Whetstone on the south in 1845, 
 the townships of Liberty, Whetstone, Holmes 
 and Bucyrus were in 1826 the same territory 
 they are today. 
 
 On account of the Pike road from Bucyrus 
 to Sandusky, and the business it created along 
 the line by giving a market outlet to the set- 
 tlers, the western portion of Cranberry was 
 becoming rapidly settled, and petitions were 
 presented to the commissioners for the division 
 of Cranberry, and about 183 1 Cranberry was 
 established its present size, and Chatfield 
 created six miles deep and four miles wide. 
 About the same time Lykins was erected from 
 Sycamore township, the western half of that 
 township, and it included the present Lykins 
 and the western mile of Chatfield. 
 
 No further change was made in the town- 
 ships until in 1835. Sandusky township was a 
 strip on the east three miles wide and twelve 
 deep, which was so inconvenient that the cit- 
 izens petitioned for a division of the township, 
 and Sandusky township was erected as at pres- 
 ent, the three mile strip, six miles deep, east of 
 Whetstone being formed into a new township 
 named Jackson. 
 
 In 1835, the Government purchased of the 
 Indians, seven miles off the eastern part of 
 their reservation, which was all of the present 
 Tod township, a trifle over two miles of west- 
 ern Bucyrus and Holmes and the northern 
 three mile strip of Dallas. This was surveyed 
 and in 1837 opened to settlement. This neces- 
 sitated a rearrangement of townships. The 
 parts adjoining Bucyrus and Holmes were 
 easily placed by making them a part of those 
 townships, \\'hich they already were by the 
 survey. Antrim was divided, the northern 
 half being named Leith township and the 
 southern half remaining Antrim. Leith town- 
 ship included in its borders the six northern 
 miles of Tod while the three southern miles 
 of Tod and the three northern miles of Dallas 
 were a part of Antrim. 
 
 The prominent man in the new township of 
 Leith was George \Y. Leith, whose father was 
 the first white child born in the Sandusky val- 
 ley, his grandfather, John Leith, having been 
 taken a prisoner by the AA^yandot Indians \^•hen 
 a boy, afterward marrying Sally Lowry, a 
 white girl who had also been taken prisoner by 
 the Indians. John Leith was an Indian trader 
 and Samuel Leith, the father of George AA^., 
 was born in 1775, at the village which was 
 then the headquarters of the. Indians, probably 
 the old Indian town of Upper Sandusky, about 
 three miles further up the Sandusky than the 
 present town of Upper Sandusky. During the 
 Revolutionary war and at the time of Craw- 
 ford's campaign John Leith, the grandfather, 
 ran a trading store at the AA^yandot village, 
 which was the headquarters of the Indian allies 
 of the British, and when the township was 
 named Leith by the commissioners, the enemies 
 of Leith protested against the name on the 
 ground that his grandfather was on the side 
 of the British. The remonstrance became so 
 universal that the commissioners were com- 
 pelled to change the name, and wisely avoided 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 95 
 
 any future difficulty by deciding that as the 
 territory was the exact centre of the county 
 they would name it Centre township. Prior to 
 this, when the township was organized as 
 Leith, there was an election to fill the various 
 offices, and George W. Leith was elected justice 
 of the peace. He had already c[ualified and 
 was serving when the indignant storm broke, 
 and when the commissioners discarded the 
 name of Leith, he promptly resigned his office. 
 
 The justice elected in Antrim township was 
 George Garrett. When the Indian mill was 
 started for the use of the Wyandots near Up- 
 per Sandusky under the treaty of 1817, it was 
 run by Garrett. Later he built the Garrett 
 mill on the Sandusky near Wyandot, and was 
 running this when he was elected justice. He 
 was a life-long friend of Leith, a quarter- 
 blood Indian, and was so indignant at the ac- 
 tion of the commissioners that he, too, re- 
 signed. 
 
 There were no other changes or erections 
 of townships, until the present Crawford 
 county was formed in 1845, when 18 miles was 
 taken from the western part of the county to 
 form Wyandot county. As part compensation 
 for this loss of territory four miles on the east 
 was added to Crawford from Richland, and 
 two miles on the south was added from 
 Marion. The Richland addition included the 
 present townships of Auburn and Vernon. 
 South of Vernon was Sandusky township, 
 Richland county, four miles wide and seven 
 deep, and as Crawford had a township named 
 Sandusky the new territory was called Polk, 
 it receiving two miles of the strip taken from 
 Marion county. The balance of the two mile 
 strip from Marion county was attached to 
 Whetstone, and further west the two mile 
 strip was made a part of a new township named 
 Dallas. West of Bucyrus, Holmes and Lykins 
 a strip two miles wide remained a part of 
 Crawford county. The northern six miles of 
 this territory was erected into Texas township, 
 the next nine miles became the present town- 
 ship of Tod and the lower three miles were 
 added to Dallas. In the north, one mile was 
 taken from the eastern side of Lykins and 
 given to Chatfield, making both these townships 
 equal in size, five miles square. 
 
 Polk and Jackson were the southeastern 
 townships of the county Polk being four miles 
 
 wide and seven deep and Jackson three miles 
 wide and seven deep. A petition was pre- 
 sented to the Commissioners to make a dif- 
 ferent division of these two townships, and 
 after several hearings, the boundary was 
 changed and instead of being north and south 
 the dividing line was made east and west, the 
 northern part, seven miles wide and four deep 
 being named Jackson and the southern part, 
 seven wide and three deep being called Polk. 
 
 The next change of townships was in 1873. 
 Crestline, in Jackson township, had been laid 
 out in 1 85 1, and became a prominent railroad 
 centre, and grew so rapidly in population that 
 the business of the entire township was con- 
 ducted at that town, which was so inconvenient 
 to those residing in the western portion of the 
 township that a petition was presented to the 
 commissioners to divide the township, and the 
 request was granted the five western miles be- 
 ing formed into a township which was named 
 Jefferson, leaving Jackson the smallest town- 
 ship in the county, only two miles wide and 
 four deep. 
 
 The final change of township lines was in 
 1909, when two southeastern sections of 
 Vernon township petitioned to be attached to 
 Jackson, as it would be more convenient to 
 them. Their request was granted. 
 
 Another large branch of the work of the 
 early commissioners was the laying out of new 
 roads and the straightening of old ones. The 
 road mentioned in the first records of the 
 commissioners in 1831, that from Perrysburg 
 to Bucyrus, was what is now known as the 
 Tiffin road. 
 
 The county seat had only been selected tem- 
 porarily, so the people of Bucyrus did not feel 
 disposed to erect a new court house. The 
 county did, however, build a jail. The com- 
 missioners made the contract with Zalmon 
 Rowse for its construction. It was of logs, 
 and was built on the lot now occupied by the 
 Park House, at the southeast corner of Wal- 
 nut street and the Pennsylvania road. This 
 jail was built in 1827. It was the only county 
 building, and in it were kept many of the 
 county records which were destroyed by the 
 burning of the building in October, 1831. 
 
 The selection of Bucyrus as the county seat 
 carried with it the holding of court at Bucyrus. 
 In those days, a Common Pleas Court con- 
 
96 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 sisted of a lawyer, appointed by the Legisla- 
 ture, who was the presiding judge, and three 
 prominent citizens, also appointed by the Legis- 
 lature, who sat with him as associate judges. 
 The first court was held in this county in 1826. 
 There was no court house and the most con- 
 venient place to hold the court was in Abel 
 Carey's cabin on the south bank of the Sandu- 
 sky just west of the Sandusky avenue bridge. 
 Ebenezer Lane, of Norwalk, was the presiding 
 judge for this section, and he came across the 
 country on horseback. The Legislature had 
 appointed in February, as the associate judges 
 for the new county, E. B. Merriman and John 
 Carey of Bucyrus, and John B. French of 
 Sandusky township. Later, court was held in 
 the school house, which was a one story log 
 structure in a grove just west of the present 
 site of Holy Trinity Church, the lot now oc- 
 cupied by Mrs. Charles Vollrath. When a 
 jury case was on, the sheriff escorted the jury- 
 men to some private residence or shop where 
 they could hold their deliberations undis- 
 turbed. Each year also the Supreme Court 
 met at Bucyrus. In those days the Supreme 
 Court was composed of four members, and 
 court was held not less than once each year 
 in every county in the State, two members of 
 the Supreme Court being necessary to consti- 
 tute a quorum. Court days were great days for 
 Bucyrus. The best rooms in the tavern were 
 reserved for the judges, and lawyers came from 
 the surrounding towns, notably Mansfield, 
 Norwalk and Delaware, and in the evening the 
 judges laid aside their dignity and with the 
 visiting lawyers sat in the hotel office, which 
 was the bar room, and told their stories and 
 reminiscences to the delight of the villagers 
 who dropped- in. These villagers were not a 
 part of the sacred circle, probably not more 
 than half a dozen of the more prominent men 
 in the town having the temerity to take any 
 part in the conversation. 
 
 The town of Bucyrus was growing, the 
 county was becoming more and more thickly 
 settled, and roads were being laid out so they 
 would pass the mill or farm of some prom- 
 inent citizen, his convenience being of far 
 more importance in those days than an)rthing 
 else; or, probably, as it was the influential 
 citizen who took the active part to secure the 
 road he would naturally see that its location 
 
 was the most convenient for him. Finally in 
 1830 the Legislature appointed three commis- 
 sioners to visit Crawford county and recom- 
 mend a site for the permanent county seat. 
 The commissioners were Judge Hosea Wil- 
 liams of Delaware, R. S. Dickerson of Lower 
 Sandusky (Fremont), and J. S. Glassgo of 
 Holmes county. The census of 1830 gave 
 Crawford a population of 4,778, and of these 
 about two-thirds were in the eastern part, and 
 the other one-third in the western part, or 
 Wyandot portion. There were but two towns 
 of any consequence in the county, Bucyrus 
 with a population of about 300, and McCutch- 
 enville a dozen or more larger. The objection 
 to Bucyrus was that it was in the south- 
 eastern part of the county, and in those days 
 when the only means of travel was over the 
 worst of roads this was a serious objection. 
 McCutchenville, however, although a trifle 
 larger than Bucyrus, was not to be considered ; 
 it being in the extreme northwest. The only 
 real danger to Bucyrus was the site of James 
 Newell's town of Crawford on the bank of 
 the Brokensword. Unfortunately for him the 
 town had not developed. It had probably 
 three log houses, with a little clearing around 
 each; the rest was all original forest and only 
 the plat of the town could show where the 
 streets were to be. A graveyard was marked 
 on the plat but even this was covered with 
 trees like the rest, and untenanted. However, 
 in those days the commissioners appointed by 
 the Legislature to locate permanent county 
 seats were governed by a desire to place the 
 site as near the centre of the county as pos- 
 sible. True, the exact centre of the county 
 (within a mile of Osceola) was then an In- 
 dian reservation of twelve by seventeen miles 
 in size, of the eighteen by thirty of the county, 
 but the commissioners for the State well knew 
 the time was not far distant when this great 
 central tract would be thrown open for settle- 
 ment. Already many settlers had squatted on 
 the reservation in defiance of the law, and 
 others were occupying and clearing it, renting 
 from the Indian owners. Four miles northeast 
 of the exact centre of the county was Bucyrus' 
 rival for the county seat. 
 
 In the summer of 1830 the commissioners 
 appointed to settle the question came to 
 Bucyrus, and faithful to their duties visited 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 97 
 
 the site of Crawford, going out what is now 
 the Tiffin road over a road which had been 
 made by the settlers themselves through the 
 woods avoiding as far as possible the swampy 
 ground. Five miles to the north they left this 
 semblance of a road and took a trail through 
 the woods for about a mile, and came to the 
 three or four little cabins. After passing over 
 the swampy ground that then covered southern 
 Holmes this higher ground on the banks of 
 what was then a pretty little river certainly 
 showed up as an attractive site for a town. 
 The commissioners returned to Bucyrus, no 
 doubt tired from a twelve miles ride on horse- 
 back through what was then nothing but 
 swamps and forest, and they found a fine sup- 
 per waiting for them at the tavern. They 
 found also the prominent men of the village 
 there. Col. Kilbourne was up from Columbus 
 to attend the banquet given in their honor; 
 his partner, Samuel Norton, was there; also 
 Zalmon Rowse and a young attorney who had 
 recently located in the town, Josiah Scott; the 
 Careys and the Merrimans, the McCrackens 
 and the Failors were there ; George Lauck and 
 Ichabod Rogers, the latter rapidly becoming 
 one of the wealthy men of the village. It is 
 probable nearly all of Bucyrus' prominent cit- 
 izens were there or dropped in to meet the 
 commissioners. The matter was talked over 
 under the most enjoyable circumstances. Nor- 
 ton agreed to donate the two lots held in 
 reserve by him for a school house and jail. 
 Kilbourne agreed to donate two of his 
 reserved lots for the court house. And under 
 the excitement and enthusiasm of the mo- 
 ment, and the stimulating and exhilarating ef- 
 fects of the liquid end of the feast, liberal cit- 
 izens promised various subscriptions toward 
 the erection of public buildings, and to show 
 they meant it they reduced their promises to 
 writing to which they affixed their names. 
 
 The lots donated by Kilbourne for the court 
 house, were Nos. 90 and 92, the present site. 
 The lots for a schoolhouse and a jail donated 
 by Norton, were Nos. 86 and 88, now occupied 
 by the Park House and the residence of A. 
 Wickham. With some of the other subscrip- 
 tions, the county commissioners' records later 
 show that legal measures had to be taken for 
 their collection, which indicates the wisdom of 
 those engineering the movement having a 
 
 promise made under the enthusiasm of the mo- 
 ment reduced to writing and signed. Human 
 nature does not change much after all, and 
 even in the present day the courts are some- 
 times resorted to for the enforcement of the 
 payment of subscription to some enterprise 
 which the signer enthusiastically supported at- 
 its inception. On the other hand, in 1823 
 Samuel Norton signed an agreement to give 
 one-third of the proceeds received from the 
 sale of all the lots he owned in Bucyrus to- 
 ward the erection of public buildings, pro- 
 vided a new county was formed with Bucyrus 
 as the county seat, and in 1826, when the Pike 
 Road from Columbus to Sandusky was being 
 prospected, some of the Bucyrus business men 
 and lot owners, to secure the road subscribed 
 for more stock than their property was ap- 
 praised at on the tax duplicate. No wonder 
 the Ohio Gazeteer of 1826, in its mention of 
 Bucyrus, described it as "a lively post town 
 laid out in 1822," &c. It was easy enough to 
 select the beautiful site of Bucyrus, but that 
 did not make the town ; it took the enterprise 
 and push, the liberality and work of Norton 
 and Rowse, of Merriman and St. John, of the 
 Careys and the McCrackens to give it the 
 name and the reputation of "a lively post 
 town" when it was only three years old, and to 
 keep it one. 
 
 After the selection of Bucyrus as the county 
 seat the commissioners let the contract to 
 Zalmon Rowse for the erection of a court 
 house. Col. Kilbourne was the architect of 
 the new building and the contractors were 
 Nicholas Cronebaugh, Abraham Halm and 
 William Early. The design of the building, as 
 drawn by Kilbourne, was simply a copy of the 
 State House at Columbus, only smaller, hav- 
 ing but one window on each side of the door 
 in the front of the buildings, instead of the 
 two windows on each side which the State 
 House had. The site of the building was the 
 present site, except that it was built further 
 forward, even with Mansfield street. The 
 first floor was on a level with the street, cer- 
 tainly not more than one log step being neces- 
 sary to enter the building. On each side of 
 the door was the window. The second floor 
 was the court room and had three windows in 
 front and two on each side. The first floor 
 also had but two windows on each side of the 
 
98 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 buildings. The roof sloped from the four 
 sides up to a square tower. On top of this 
 was a smaller round tower surmounted by a 
 weather vane. The building was of brick, the 
 brick being made at Halm's brick yard which 
 was at the southwest corner of Sandusky and 
 Warren. In the course of its erection the 
 building had reached the second story by Dec. 
 4, 1830, and on that day the scaffolding gave 
 way and Elias Cronebaugh and a man named 
 Seigler were thrown to the ground and killed. 
 On the completion of the building it was 
 painted white, emblematic of the purity of the 
 justice which it was expected would be fur- 
 nished within the new structure. In 1837 a bell 
 was added, which cost $100, and the day it 
 was placed in position was made the occasion 
 for a jollification. In 1844 a fence was 
 placed around the lot, which cost $56; it was 
 of wooden pickets, about four feet high, rest- 
 ing on the ground. The building was not only 
 used for the courts but for all public meetings, 
 and there were very few Sundays when the 
 court room was not used by some religious 
 denomination for the holding of services. 
 
 It was in this old court room that Gen. Wil- 
 liam Henry Harrison spoke in 1840, when he 
 was campaigning for the presidency. He was 
 accompanied at Bucyrus by Robert C. 
 Schenck, a rising young attorney of Dayton, 
 and a brilliant orator, who later became a 
 General in the Civil War, a member of Con- 
 gress, and minister to England. During his 
 stay at Bucyrus Gen. Harrison stopped at the 
 hotel kept by Samuel Norton, where the 
 Zeigler Mill now stands on North Sandusky 
 avenue. Richard M. Johnson, the Democratic 
 candidate for Vice President, spoke at Bucyrus 
 during the same campaign. He was accom- 
 panied by Senator William Allen and Gov. 
 Wilson Shannon. When they left here for 
 the meeting at Mansfield, they were accom- 
 panied by George Sweney, the Congressman 
 from this district. The difficulties of cam- 
 paigning in those days may be judged from 
 the fact that the Vice Presidential candidate 
 spoke at Bucyrus on Friday, and in company 
 with Allen, Shannon and Sweney drove to the 
 home of William Patterson this side of Mans- 
 field where they rested on Sunday for the 
 Mansfield meeting of Monday. A vice presi- 
 
 dential candidate traveling only 26 miles and 
 filling two dates in four days ! 
 
 Although the court house was commenced in 
 1830, it was 1834 before it was completed to 
 the satisfaction of the commissioners, and ac- 
 cepted by them. It is certain that the con- 
 tractors were as slow then as they sometimes 
 are today, as it was during the erection of the 
 jail in 1839 the commissioner's journal con- 
 tained the following terse entry: 
 
 "Commissioners met today to see if tlie new jail 
 was done, and of course it wasn't done. On motion 
 adjourned." 
 
 In these days of long drawn out reports, 
 one turns with pure joy to an entry which in 
 three lines expresses the exact state of affairs 
 with a side swipe at the dilatory contractors 
 thrown in. 
 
 The old log jail erected in 1827 was de- 
 stroyed by fire in 1831, burned up by Andrew 
 Hesser, who was being confined there as a 
 lunatic. Its destruction involved also that of 
 the records of the county commissioners, for 
 it was in this building that that body held their 
 meetings. After the fire, in searching among 
 the ruins, bones were found, and the officials 
 being satisfied that the unfortunate Hesser had 
 lost his own life in the burning of the jail, the 
 bones were carefully gathered up and given 
 Christian burial. Some time later the citizens 
 were astonished when an officer arrived from 
 Wooster, bringing with him the identical Andy 
 supposed to have been burned up, and whose 
 remains were known to have been decently 
 buried. It appears Andy had been discovered 
 at Wooster sitting on a store box, and as his 
 talk and actions showed he was of unsound 
 mind, he was taken in charge, and learning 
 from him that he was from Bucyrus they 
 brought him home. Andy was quite amused 
 at the astonishment of the citizens, and told 
 them: "Well, you folks call Andy crazy; but 
 what are you? A set of men who find a lot 
 of old sheep bones, and say they belong to 
 Andy, and all the time Andy is in the grove 
 behind a tree laughing at you." When Andy 
 died and where he was finally buried is not 
 known, but for many years the place in the 
 graveyard over the. river where the sheep 
 bones were mouldering to decay was humor- 
 ously pointed out as the grave of Andy 
 Hesser. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 99 
 
 At the time of the burning of the jail in 
 October, 183 1, the new courthouse was in proc- 
 ess of erection, and the county could not af- 
 ford to erect a permanent structure at that 
 time, so another temporary jail was erected on 
 the adjoining lot a few feet south of the 
 burned building. It was built as cheaply as it 
 was hurriedly, and appears to have had two 
 uses; first as a place in which to confine per- 
 sons when arrested, and second, as a source of 
 complaint to the various grand juries on ac- 
 count of its insecurity and condition. Its first 
 use was not a success, as its construction was 
 such that it was optional with the prisoner as 
 to how long he remained within its enclosures, 
 and the frequent departure, a few days be- 
 fore the trial, of those criminals who were 
 certain to be convicted kept the court and jury 
 busy with their complaints as to its condition. 
 Finally, in 1838, a proposition was submitted 
 to the people for a new jail, and it carried, and 
 on Feb. 4, 1839, the contract was awarded to 
 Zalmon Rowse. It was built of brick on the 
 lot donated by Norton for that purpose, just 
 north of the present Carnegie Memorial Li- 
 brary, the brick being made at the brick-yard 
 on Mansfield street, just east of the present 
 Kearsley residence. The building was two 
 low stories in height. Below in front were 
 two rooms for the sheriff and his family, and 
 at the rear were two rooms for the imprison- 
 ment of debtors. Above in front were two 
 more rooms for the sheriff, and at the rear 
 were two .cells for the prisoners, one in the 
 northeast and the other in the southeast cor- 
 ner of the building. Both were without win- 
 dows, and they were separated by a corridor, 
 running east and west, and at each end of this 
 corridor was a small window, so the only light 
 the prisoner had was that which came through 
 the little east window, and found its way to 
 his cell through the gratings of the cell door. 
 Later, a solid board fence, eight feet high, was 
 built around the lot at a cost of $58, with a 
 massive gate which was locked at night. 
 
 The first log jail was burned when John 
 Miller was sheriff. He was the second sheriff 
 of the county, succeeding Hugh McCracken, 
 who was elected to that office in October, 1826. 
 The pioneer traditions handed down are to the 
 effect that when the commissioners met in 
 May, 1826, they appointed Hugh McCracken 
 
 as the first sheriff. He had only recently 
 arrived in the town, but was a man of prom- 
 inence and integrity, and was promptly ap- 
 pointed by them. There was little to do, and 
 he did it satisfactorily, but being sheriff he 
 naturally pined for a jail, as the citizens prob- 
 ably did also. So Samuel Norton, of course, 
 donated the lot, and equally, -of course, Zal- 
 mon Rowse was given the contract for its 
 building. When it was burned it was no spe- 
 cial financial loss, and in a very short time 
 Zalmon had the second log structure ready 
 for use. 
 
 The little brick jail did duty for nearly 
 twenty years. In these good old days when a 
 man was unable to pay his debts all his cred- 
 itor had to do was to bring suit before a jus- 
 tice of the peace, and unless the bill was paid, 
 or satisfactorily secured, the unfortunate 
 debtor was unceremoniously arrested and 
 locked up until the amount was paid, or until 
 his creditor relented and let him. out. One 
 feature of the law was that if he could give 
 bond in double the amount of the debt that he 
 would not run away, he was allowed "debtor's 
 limits," which was freedom to go anywhere 
 within 400 yards of his prison. This limit was 
 allowed not so much for the debtor, but for 
 the creditor, as the man might then earn 
 enough to pay the debt. 
 
 During the building of the little brick jail, 
 James Harper was sheriff, and he occupied as 
 his residence a house that stood on South San- 
 dusky avenue, where now is the residence of 
 Dr. Yeoman, and while awaiting the comple- 
 tion of the new jail, minor prisoners were kept 
 in the court house, and the more serious of- 
 fenders were lodged in the Marion jail. The 
 principal events of the new brick jail all cen- 
 tered in the northeast cell, up stairs. A man 
 was locked up there, believed to be crazy, and 
 he determined to commit suicide. He was 
 very persevering in his job, for all he had to 
 hang himself to was a bed-post, two and a 
 half feet high, but he succeeded, and when the 
 sheriff opened the cell one morning he found 
 the prisoner dead. 
 
 In 1849 James Clements was sheriff. A 
 man had been arrested charged with incendia- 
 rism. Several fires had recently occurred in 
 Bucyrus, among others the furniture shop of 
 Peter Howenstein on East Mansfield street. 
 
100 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and a building on the rear of the lot at the 
 northwest corner of Warren and Poplar 
 streets. At the trial one of the strong points 
 of the prosecution was that there were foot- 
 prints on the soft ground, and the prisoner's 
 shoes just fitted these marks. He was found 
 guilty, the jury probably believing that he 
 ought to be guilty if he wasn't. Judge Bowen, 
 of Marion, who was presiding, mildly cen- 
 sured the jury for their verdict. The judge, 
 however, sentenced him to six years. The 
 prisoner stoutly declared his innocence, and 
 insisted he would never go to the penitentiary. 
 During his confinement in the jail he was a 
 quiet prisoner, giving no trouble, and making 
 friends of the sheriff's children, especially the 
 sheriff's little daughter who used to sit in front 
 of his cell while he interested her with fairy 
 tales. 
 
 The sheriff had arranged to take his pris- 
 oner to Columbus the following morning, and 
 had selected Jacob Scroggs to accompany him. 
 During the day the prisoner entertained the 
 sheriff's little daughter with more entrancing 
 fairy stories than usual, and succeeded in get- 
 ting her to give him the keys to his cell. That 
 night, after everything was quiet, he unlocked 
 his cell door, and started down the stairs on 
 his way to freedom. The sheriff was in the 
 room in front of the cell, and hearing the 
 noise, jumped from his bed, and without stop- 
 ping to dress started after the prisoner. There 
 was no light, but by the sound he followed 
 him to the room below, and although unarmed, 
 he rushed on the prisoner, who, although a 
 much stronger man, he managed to force up 
 stairs, and into his cell. The next morning, 
 when the sheriff came to look after his pris- 
 oner, he was dead, having cut his throat from 
 ear to ear. He had found freedom at last. 
 He left a note claiming his innocence, and 
 among other things was the terse statement: 
 "A poor man has no more chance in this world 
 than a flea in a hot boiler." 
 
 In 1830 when the court house was built 
 Crawford county had a population of 4,778 
 people; this had increased in 1850 to 18,177. 
 A new Constitution had been adopted by the 
 State in 1851, and this Constitution had added 
 a new office to the list of county officials, that 
 of probate judge. At the election in October, 
 1 85 1, Harvey Eaton was elected as the first 
 
 probate judge, and commenced his first term 
 in February, 1852, but his only duty at the 
 start was to draw his salary, as it was some 
 time before the Legislature had passed the 
 necessary laws relating to probate judges. 
 There were but four rooms in the court house, 
 and these were already occupied, so there was 
 no place for the new official. The commis- 
 sioners therefore rented a room of Andrew 
 Failor to be used by Judge Eaton as his office. 
 It was the room opposite the court house, now 
 occupi_ed by Mader & Crawford as a saloon. 
 For this room the commissioners paid $36 a 
 year. They started the new judge in busi- 
 ness by making an appropriation of $12 to buy 
 the necessary book in which to keep his rec- 
 ords, and another appropriation of $10 to buy a 
 seal. They furnished the office by buying a 
 set of chairs of Abe Yost for $5.25, and this 
 appropriation included a set of rulers; they 
 bought a table for $4, a stove of Daniel Pick- 
 ing for $10.97, ^'^d closed with an appropria- 
 tion of $5 for wood. 
 
 In 1850 the Cleveland, Columbus and Cin- 
 cinnati Railroad had been built through the 
 eastern part of the county, and in 1853 the 
 Ohio and Indiana railroad was also in opera- 
 tion through the county. The increase of busi- 
 ness and of population made the little court 
 house too small for the transaction of the pub- 
 lic business, and a new one became every day 
 more and more of a necessity. 
 
 ■ When the county lines were changed in 1845 
 Auburn, Vernon and Jackson townships, and 
 the eastern part of Polk and Jefferson were 
 transferred from Richland county to Craw- 
 ford. Isaac Hetrick, the member of the Legis- 
 lature from Richland county at that time, se- 
 cured the passage of a resolution exempting 
 the people of that part of Richland county 
 which had been transferred to Crawford from 
 being taxed for the erection of public build- 
 ings "for all time." The claim was that Rich- 
 land county had new and modern public build- 
 ings, for which the Richland part of Crawford 
 had already been taxed, while the Crawford 
 public buildings were small and insufficient, 
 and while there was much that was just in the 
 resolution, the exemption "for all time" 
 showed that Legislatures were just as careless 
 and as thoughtless in the passage of laws in 
 those days as they are today.- Many other 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 101 
 
 complications had arisen in the formation of 
 the present Crawford county. An attempt was 
 made to have the Legislature make Galion the 
 county seat of the new county, but this propo- 
 sition was defeated through the work of Craw- 
 ford's representative, Samuel S. Caldwell. 
 Another proposition was submitted to the 
 Legislature to exempt that part of Marion 
 county recently attached to Crawford from the 
 payment of any taxes for the erection of pub- 
 lic buildings, of course with the beautiful 
 rider, "for all time." Mr. Caldwell promptly 
 killed this by calling attention to the fact that 
 no one from this attached section had asked 
 for the passage of any such act, and until they 
 did present a petition the Legislature had no 
 business to meddle in the matter. 
 
 To obviate matters like this subscriptions 
 were made by a number of citizens of the new 
 county to pay off the debt, and start the new 
 county free of all incumbrance. A number 
 subscribed, but it was soon seen that the pay- 
 ing off of the debt would not harmonize the 
 difficulties that had arisen, so George Sweney 
 refused to pay his subscription, and a test case 
 was brought against him by the commissioners. 
 The Common Pleas Court decided he must 
 pay, but when the case reached the Supreme 
 Court the county was beaten. So the com- 
 missioners allowed Josiah S. Plants $50 and 
 Cooper K. Watson $25 for conducting the case 
 for the county, and ordered the Treasurer to 
 refund all installments that had been paid by 
 parties subscribing. The money refunded 
 ought to indicate some of the "boosters" in 
 those days, so their names are given: Andrew 
 Brookmiller $1, Joseph S. Morris $2, John 
 Black $2, George Hurr $2, Michael Ruehl $2, 
 George Buehl $2, Dutchman $1, Henry Beck 
 $2, Lewis Heinlen $5, John Boyer $8, John 
 Gibson $2.50, Abraham Shull $2, Abraham 
 Yost $5, John Boeman $2. 
 
 The county commissioners also had to bal- 
 ance the finances of the different counties. 
 Wyandot county had no public buildings, but 
 had been taxed for the erection of those in 
 Crawford, and asked a refunding, and on 
 June 24, 1845, the commissioners of Craw- 
 ford and Wyandot met in joint session and it 
 was found the debt of Crawford county was 
 $2,220.97, exclusive of public buildings; there 
 was cash on hand of $1,886.52, so Crawford 
 
 owed Wyandot nothing. In the road fund 
 Wyandot was found to be entitled to $145,71, 
 and an order was issued to pay Wyandot the 
 money. Wyandot demanded a refund of the 
 money that had been paid by the Wyandot tax 
 payers in the building of the new jail, but it 
 was refused. 
 
 When the rearrangement of the new Craw- 
 ford county was made Richland county was 
 the second most populous county in the State, 
 being exceeded only by Hamilton county. It 
 had fine public buildings, so Crawford made 
 demands on Richland for any balance that 
 might be due Crawford from Richland. On 
 Aug. 28, 1845, the commissioners of the two 
 counties met, the accounts were gone over, and 
 it was found the debt of Richland county ex- 
 ceeded the cash in the treasury, so Crawford 
 received nothing. 
 
 In 1854 the proposition was submitted to 
 the voters of Crawford county for a new court 
 house and the proposition carried. O. S. Kin- 
 ney was the architect, and the contract was let 
 to Ault & Miller of Mt. Gilead, and the build- 
 ing was completed in 1856 at a cost of $18,- 
 000. During the erection of the building the 
 county officials occupied rooms in various 
 parts of the village, the court room being the 
 second story of the frame building still stand- 
 ing at the southeast corner of Sandusky and 
 Warren. This court house is easily remem- 
 bered by many of the present citizens of Bucy- 
 rus, as the present structure is the same build- 
 ing with additions. It had two stories and an 
 unused basement. In front were wide steps 
 leading up to the entrance where was a portico 
 supported by large wooden columns. The in- 
 terior was the same as at present, with a cor- 
 ridor running down the centre and the offices 
 on each side. On the right of the entrance was 
 the auditor, and in the northeast corner the 
 recorder, while cramped between this office and 
 the auditor was a small room for the treas- 
 urer. On the left of the entrance was the clerk, 
 with the surveyor in the northwest room and 
 the probabte judge in the centre. The court 
 room occupied the centre of the second floor, 
 the judge's bench was on the north side of 
 the room, and above and back of it was a 
 balcony; underneath the balcony on each side 
 of the bench were the jury rooms. At the 
 south end was another similar balcony, and 
 
102 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 underneath this on the west was the sheriff's 
 office and the east room was used by the prose- 
 cutor, the commissioners, the judge, a wait- 
 ing room for the witnesses and a consultation 
 room. 
 
 The new court house was dedicated on Fri- 
 day evening, April 24, 1857, and it was a 
 veritable house warming. The town was full 
 of people, every township in the county being 
 represented. The court room and the two 
 galleries "were crowded with citizens to listen 
 to the music furnished by Kronenberger's Sax 
 Horn Band and the Bucyrus Quartette Club. 
 At 10 o'clock supper was served at all three of 
 the hotels, the McCoy, the \\'estern and the 
 American House, and while the people were 
 doing full justice to the supper, the court 
 room was cleared and dancing commenced 
 which continued until early in the morning. A 
 fence was erected around the entire yard; it 
 was of iron pickets, set in stone, the founda- 
 tion being nearly two feet high. While there 
 was no attempt at ornairientation the fence 
 was attractive, appropriate and expensive. 
 Many years ago this court house became too 
 small for the increased business of the county 
 and the increased force of officials necessary 
 to handle that business. 
 
 For half a century this $18,000 structure 
 had filled its mission, and the officials were 
 cramped, the records scattered, in any incon- 
 venient place temporarily that could be found. 
 It was a known fact that any proposition sub- 
 mitted to the voters of the county would fail 
 to carry, so the commissioners took advantage 
 of that provision of the law which allows them 
 to make improvements on public buildings. 
 They improved the court house, and when it 
 was completed the improvement had cost about 
 double that of the original building, and gave 
 an added floor space as large as the original 
 structure. The improvement consisted of the 
 addition built at the rear as it exists today. 
 ^^'hen completed the first floor of the addition 
 on the east was used as the recorder's office 
 with private room and vault. The west room 
 was the probate iudge's office with private 
 room and vault. On the second floor the east 
 room was the clerk's office, with private room 
 and vault and a room for the judge or prose- 
 cuting attorney. The west end was occu- 
 
 pied by the sheriff and surveyor. The third 
 floor had a room for the examination of teach- 
 ers, and other meetings, and also rooms for the 
 use of any of the various county boards. The 
 offices and rooms were all large and commodi- 
 ous, and fitted with all modern improvements, 
 and the basement was cemented and walled in 
 a modern way so as to make an available 
 room for the Agricultural Society or the 
 Board of Elections, with several large storage 
 rooms. There were severe criticisms of the 
 commissioners over the extensive nature of the 
 improvements at the time they were made, but 
 as the time passed the wisdom of the commis- 
 sioners in providing the additional room so 
 greatly needed was generally approved. The 
 new addition left the original building occu- 
 pied by the auditor and commissioners on the 
 east and the treasurer on the west. 
 
 The court house now, with its fairly spa- 
 cious offices and many vaults had ample room 
 for the transaction of the business of the 
 county and the safe storage of all the records. 
 But another element now made its attack on 
 the half century old court house, and this was 
 time, from whose ravages there is no protec- 
 tion. The wooden pillars supporting the por- 
 tico were showing signs of weakness and de- 
 cay; the wooden tower containing the heavy 
 bell became vmsafe, and notwithstanding an 
 intense public feeling against a new court 
 house the commissioners were compelled to 
 submit the matter to the voters for funds to 
 repair the building, and at the election on Nov. 
 6, 1906, the expected verdict against was ren- 
 dered by the people. It carried the city of 
 Bucyrus by a majority of 866, lost Gabon by 
 405 and Crestline by 163. In the country it 
 carried but two townships. Auburn by 5 votes 
 and Lykins 4. It lost the other 14 townships. 
 Liberty heading the country opposition with 
 170 majority against. The total vote ^^•as 
 Yes — 2,979, Xo — 3,494, majority against 515. 
 This settled the matter as far as the commis- 
 sioners were concerned, but Father Time de- 
 clined to abide by the vote, and matters ran on 
 until a part of the ceiling fell in the court room, 
 an area of over 100 square feet, of plastering, 
 caused by the weight of the tower on the 
 weakened roof. A thorough examination was 
 made of the tower and it was reported unsafe. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 105 
 
 The heavy bell might at any time make a pass- 
 ing visit through the court room on its way 
 to the basement below. 
 
 This being the condition, Judge Babst de- 
 clined to hold court in the building, so quarters 
 were secured at the Memorial Library. The 
 matter was now taken up by the commission- 
 ers in conjunction with the citizens, and a 
 committee of four were appointed to act on a 
 suggestion made that the people be consulted 
 directly on the matter and the responsibility 
 thrown upon them. Following this view the 
 committee reported the names of two prom- 
 inent citizens in each voting precinct, and 
 these men were requested by the commission- 
 ers to meet at Bucyrus to examine the court 
 house and advise as to what should be done. 
 Of the 80 advisers selected nearly every one 
 responded, and they examined the court house 
 from basement to tower, and then met in the 
 office of the probate judge to render their deci- 
 sion. The commissioners, preparing for the 
 emergency, for the past two years had made 
 a small levy for building purposes ; this now 
 amounted to about $40,000, with perhaps 
 $10,000 available from other sources. Harlan 
 F. Jones, a Mansfield architect, had submitted 
 plans by which the old part of the court house 
 could be remodeled for $90,000. It was easily 
 seen that the majority of those present recog- 
 nized the necessity that something should be 
 done. The first suggestion of a new court 
 house met with overwhelming defeat. The 
 first motion was for a one mill levy for four 
 years, a one mill levy bringing in about $20,- 
 000. This was very unfavorably received; a 
 one mill levy for three years was defeated by 
 a small majority, and the final vote of one 
 mill for two years, which would raise the 
 building fund to the $90,000 estimated for the 
 improvement was carried almost unanim- 
 ously. The question then came before the 
 voters again at the election on Nov. 5, 1907, 
 and it was carried by a vote of 3,665 yes and 
 2,784 no. Bucyrus again led with 1,176 major- 
 ity for the proposition, while Galion gave 263 
 majority against and Crestline 134. In the 
 country ten townships favored the proposi- 
 tion, and six returned an adverse majority, 
 leaving the country vote for it by a majority 
 of 102. 
 
 The county commissioners at this time were 
 
 Louis Gearhart of Holmes, Frank P. Dick of 
 Dallas, and Hugh M. Dobbins of Bucyrus. 
 Judge Babst appointed as a building commis- 
 sion to act in conjunction with the commis- 
 sioners, Frank P. Donnenwirth and John Q. 
 Shunk of Bucyrus, W. I. Goshorn of Galion, 
 and Jacob Babst of Crestline. The only impor- 
 tant change made in the plans was -the plac- 
 ing of a stone covering over the entire build- 
 ing. A. E. Hancock of Mansfield was the con- 
 tractor, and the new structure was completed 
 within the estimated cost with enough left 
 over to build and equip the electric light 
 plant of the court house. During the con- 
 struction of the front of the building the 
 offices were continued in the court house, 
 with the exception of that of the treasurer, 
 who for a time had the office at the Farm- 
 ers and Citizens Bank, the county treasurer, 
 George W. Miller, being president of that in- 
 stitution, and court was held in the Memorial 
 Library. The foundation stone was laid by 
 the Grand Lodge of Masons assisted by Trin- 
 ity Lodge, No. 556 of Bucyrus, on Aug. 17, 
 1908. At the completion of the building 
 there was no house warming or celebration. 
 In the new court room the judge's bench was 
 placed in the east. On the left of the en- 
 trance to the building in a niche was placed a 
 life-sized statue of Col. Crawford, ^^•hile in 
 the basement were placed two waiting rooms. 
 After the erection of the court house in 1856 
 it was deemed advisable to build a new jail. 
 The one built in 1838 was a small structure of 
 soft brick, and as a place of confinement was 
 not a success. It took more care and skill to 
 keep the prisoners after their arrest than it 
 did to capture them. Nothing special had hap- 
 pened to the old jail, except that on Sept. 4, 
 1850, the building had been struck by light- 
 ning, but no damage was done; a number of 
 prisoners had escaped from the building, and 
 orie, preferring death to liberty, had com- 
 mitted suicide. Commissioners, grand juries 
 and sheriffs made frequent complaints as to 
 its condition, and the final blow fell in Feb- 
 ruary, 1858, when a young man named John 
 Mouse made his escape. He had robbed the 
 till at the Oregon House, and was arrested and 
 placed in the jail. Mouse treated his impri- 
 sonment as a joke and assured the sheriff that 
 after he had rested up for a few days at the 
 
106 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 expense of the county he would leave. He 
 kept his word, and a few nights later made his 
 escape, by the use of a false key he had con- 
 structed, unlocking the door, and quietly walk- 
 ing out. 
 
 John Franz was sheriff at the time, and while 
 the till-robbing was only a minor offense, and 
 the escape of the prisoner was good riddance, 
 yet the contempt with which the prisoner had 
 treated his incarceration, made the sheriff 
 justly indignant, and he determined on his 
 recapture. The sheriff finally found him at 
 Sandusky City, and brought him back. He 
 came quietly, but again assured the sheriff that 
 when he got tired of stopping with him he 
 would again leave. Franz locked him up in the 
 strongest cell on the second floor, and a few 
 nights later Mouse made his word good he 
 dug a hole in the brick wall, just large enough 
 for his body to squeeze through, dropped into 
 the yard, climbed the eight foot fence which 
 surrounded the building, and was gone for 
 good. 
 
 As in the "Pied Piper of Hamelin," "the 
 mayor looked blue, and so did the corporation 
 too." It was the final blow, and the commis- 
 sioners promptly issued a proclamation for an 
 election to vote on a new jail, to cost $6,000, 
 one-half to be levied in 1858 and the other half 
 in 1859. The Mouse escapes were so fresh 
 in the minds of the people that at the April 
 election the proposition carried easily. A con- 
 tract was entered into with E. Jacobs &. Co., 
 of Cincinnati, for the jail part for $5,500, and 
 with George B. Terwilliger, of Bucyrus, for 
 the balance of the structure $3,076.98. It was 
 bviilt on the site of the old jail, and did duty 
 for a quarter of a century, and is still standing 
 and now occupied as a private residence. 
 
 ESCAPE OF PRISONERS 
 
 While it was building, John Franz was 
 Sheriff, and occupied as his residence the house 
 at the southwest corner of Charles and Lane, 
 now the home of B. F. Lauck. During the 
 erection of the new jail prisoners charged 
 with minor offenses were lodged in the city 
 prison, while the more serious offenders were 
 placed in the Wyandot county jail. The jail 
 proved to be a very safe structure, but there 
 was one notable escape. It was in 1872, in the 
 
 heat of the campaign of Grant against Greeley 
 for the presidency. 
 
 James Worden was the sheriff, serving his 
 second term, and he had only two prisoners 
 in the jail, Billy Ring and his partner, charged 
 with theft. On Friday morning, Aug. 30, 
 1872, the sheriff discovered his two prisoners 
 had made their escape. An examination 
 showed they had drilled about fifty holes 
 through the iron floor of their cell, which was 
 about a third of an inch thick. These holes 
 were bored on three sides of the opening they 
 made, 'and with a crow bar they pried up the 
 iron floor, breaking off the fourth side, leaving 
 a hole about 7^ by 13 inches, through which 
 they escaped; they crawled through several 
 passages, through four different openings in 
 the foundation walls before they reached the 
 cellar, after which their final escape was easy. 
 They left the following letter, written on the 
 back of an engraving torn from the "Ladies' 
 Repository" : 
 
 Crawford County Jail, Aug. 20, 1872. 
 Sheriff Worden : 
 
 Respected Friend : — Having but a few more moments 
 to stay, we tliought we would devote them to writing to 
 you. Deeming it proper to seek some other place of 
 refuge, and as we did not wish to awake you from your 
 slumbers, therefore we thought we would go without in- 
 forming you. 
 
 P. S. — We think we will vote for Greeley. 
 
 In 1877 John A. Schaber was elected sheriff, 
 and during his term he had occasion to take 
 five prisoners to Columbus — four men and one 
 woman. They were all handcuffed, and the 
 men were connected in pairs by a heavy chain. 
 The sheriff took as assistants, Lewis Strem- 
 mel, George Myers and W. P. Rowland. 
 They drove to Gallon, and after all were 
 safely on the train, Rowland returned home. 
 When the train reached Delaware it was neces- 
 sary to transfer from one car to another. 
 Stremmel went first, the four male prisoners 
 following, Myers next, then the woman, the 
 sheriff bringing up the rear. As they reached 
 the platform, the first two men jumped from 
 the steps on the side opposite the station. 
 Stremmel promptly jumped from the car and 
 grabbed them. They raised the heavy chair 
 with which they were manacled and brought 
 it down with such severe force on Stremmel's 
 head as to knock him senseless. Sheriff 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 107 
 
 Schaber seeing or hearing the disturbance 
 forced his way past the woman, and drew his 
 revolver, but already a crowd had collected, 
 making it dangerous to shoot. In attempting to 
 lower his revolver it went off, the ball striking 
 the Sheriff himself on the hand, inflicting 
 a slight flesh wound. The Rev. Mr. Byers, 
 an ex-chaplain of the Penitentiary happened to 
 be present, and being used to hardened crim- 
 inals, with the assistance of the sheriff and 
 Myers soon had the prisoners under control. 
 The woman in the car had been left to her- 
 self and might have escaped, but the passen- 
 gers rising in the excitement so blocked the 
 way as to make escape impossible. She was 
 a "high kicker" and contented herself with 
 planting one of her feet under the chin of a 
 six-foot traveling man who barred her way. 
 The injured guard, Stremmel, was carried to 
 the station and restored to consciousness, and 
 although thirty years have passed he still car- 
 ries the scar from the blow. Additional help 
 was obtained at Delaware and the prisoners 
 were safely landed in the penitentiary by the 
 sheriff, but on his return home the wound and 
 the excitement brought on a severe fever 
 which confined him to his house for several 
 days. 
 
 In time, the increasing growth and busi- 
 ness of the county made a new jail a necessity, 
 and in 1881, the commissioners had about 
 $10,000 in the building fund, and they sub- 
 mitted the question of a new jail to the peo- 
 ple. It was the most bitter non-political elec- 
 tion that ever occurred in the county with one 
 exception. The sheriff's proclamation called 
 for the vote on the jail on a separate ballot, 
 the votes to be returned to the auditor for can- 
 vassing. 
 
 The election took place on Tuesday, Oct. 1 1 , 
 1881, and the returns from every precinct 
 showed that 2,475 votes were for the new jail 
 and 2,789 against; majority against 314. The 
 proposition carried Bucyrus by 981 to 65, and 
 Crestline by 315 to 66. Gallon and Polk 
 township gave the phenomenal vote of 12 for 
 the proposition and 1221 against an adverse 
 majority of 1,209. I" the country. Auburn, 
 Dallas, Holmes Lykins, Texas Tod and Whet- 
 stone were for the proposition, and t^hatfield, 
 Cranberry, Jefferson, Liberty, Sandusky, Ver- 
 non against. The vote was cast at a regular 
 
 election, and in those days election returns 
 were forwarded to the clerk of the court. In 
 the printing of the ballots, Auburn, Dallas, 
 Whetstone, and the Second, Third and Fourth 
 wards of Gallon had placed the jail proposi- 
 tion on the regular ballot, and the vote in these 
 precincts were returned to the clerk, and not 
 to the auditor. A study of the returns showed 
 these precincts erroneously returned had given 
 337 for the jail and 1,056 against, and the jail 
 being a necessity the returning board, con- 
 sisting of the auditor and commissioners, met 
 and proceeded to count the jail returns that 
 were before them, which eliminated the six 
 precincts that had been returned to the clerk, 
 and it was found the proposition had carried by 
 a vote of 2,138 to 1,733, or a majority of 405 
 for the new jail. This official result was de- 
 clared and the returning board adjourned. 
 In 1826, the Ohio Gazeteer spoke of Bucyrus 
 as "a lively post town in the southeastern part 
 of Crawford county," and now after nearly 
 three score years and ten had passed for about 
 four weeks Bucyrus was again the "liveliest" 
 town not only in Crawford county but in the 
 State of Ohio. Indignant citizens swarmed to 
 the county seat, protests and resolutions were 
 sent to the commissioners, an indignant Gabon 
 council forwarded to the auditor official re- 
 turns of the three eliminated wards of Gallon, 
 demanding their vote be counted, but the time 
 limit had passed under the law by which a re- 
 count could be made, so nothing could be done. 
 Public opinion quieted down, and the matter 
 came to be regarded as a shrewd move, the 
 necessity for the jail was apparent, and the 
 whole affair degenerated into a huge joke on 
 Gabon, and when the humor of the situation 
 became the predominant feature, ridicule 
 killed all opposition, as it generally does. 
 Eventually, the action of the commissioners 
 was practically universally approved. 
 
 The next step was a change of location, the 
 people and the commissioners being of the 
 opinion the proper place for the jail was at the 
 rear of the court house instead of across the 
 street. A point was raised by the opponents ol 
 the jail that Norton had donated the jail lot, 
 and if it was abandoned for jail purposes it 
 would revert to the Norton heirs. In answer 
 to this E. R. Kearsley produced a paper cover- 
 ing this contingency. When he was auditor in 
 
108 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1854 he had foreseen that this question might 
 arise some day, and had secured a signed 
 agreement from Mr. Norton allowing the 
 county at any time to sell the old jail site, pro- 
 viding the money received from the sale was 
 used for the purchase of a new site. Another 
 difficulty was that the site needed — in lot 126, 
 adjoining the court house on the north — had 
 been occupied by Martin Deal as a residence 
 for many years ; it was his homestead, and the 
 associations that clung around it made him 
 object to disposing of it. The property was 
 condemned, and bought by the county for 
 $4,500, and that time probably the highest 
 price paid for a similar lot in Bucyrus. The 
 architect of the new jail was J. C. Johnson of 
 Fremont, his plans estimating the cost at $23,- 
 000. The lowest bid on the contract was a Ft. 
 Wayne firm, who neglected to give bond, and 
 the contract was awarded to the second low- 
 est bidder, Peter Faeth of New Washington, 
 for $22,293. The old jail was sold to Dr. C. 
 Fulton, in 1883, for $3,900, and the old 
 buildings on the Deal lot were sold for 
 $445.10. The Deal residence was purchased 
 by Peter Faeth, who moved it to the northeast 
 corner of the Court House lot and occupied it 
 during the erection of the new jail. In 1909 
 the commissioners secured an option on the 
 lot between the jail and the railroad, the build- 
 ing of the new court house making it inadvis- 
 able to purchase at that time. Unfortunately 
 the option was allowed to lapse, as it is prop- 
 erty which should be owned by the county. 
 
 In the early history of the county, the poor 
 were cared for by the respective townships, one 
 of the most important offices prior to the con- 
 stitution of 185 1 was that of overseer of the 
 poor. To this thankless office the best men in 
 each township took turns in serving, filling the 
 position from a sense of duty alone. If at 
 any time any one came to the county who 
 might eventually become a charge upon the 
 county, the county had the right to demand 
 that the newcomer gave bond that he would 
 never become a public charge. There is one 
 record where this right was used. About 
 1828, a man died in Roanoke county, Virginia, 
 and on his death liberated his slaves with suf- 
 ficient money to transport them to some point 
 in the north. A number of them came to 
 Crawford county, settling two miles south of 
 
 Bucyrus, which gave the name of the "Nigger 
 Woods" to the grove where they located. It 
 was the farm for so many years known as the 
 Gormly farm and later as the Beal farm. The 
 Overseers of the Poor demanded a bond of 
 $500 each that they would not become a pub- 
 lic charge. This they could not give, so they 
 were compelled to leave. One family re- 
 mained, the man being known as "Old Solo- 
 mon." The bulk of the negroes having left, 
 no objection was made to the old man remain- 
 ing, and in a very few years he died, and his 
 widow married again, Zalmon Rowse, as 
 justice of the peace, going down to perform 
 the ceremony. He was accompanied by Josiah 
 Scott and Madison Welsh, three cronies in 
 those days, who got all the rough sport they 
 could out of the first colored wedding in 
 Crawford county. It has been traditionary his- 
 tory that these slaves were a part of the fam- 
 ily of the celebrated statesmen, John Randolph 
 of Roanoke, who released all his slaves by 
 will at the time of his death. Randolph died 
 in 1833, and these negroes were certainly here 
 in 1830, probably as early as 1828, so they 
 were not the Randolph slaves. 
 
 W^hile each township cared for its own 
 poor, they were let to the lowest "responsible" 
 bidder. It was probably the only way in those 
 early days that they could be cared for, but 
 it was not the most humane way, as bidders 
 sometimes bid very low for the keeping of the 
 pauper, and as a result he was kept in a way 
 that the bidder could make money on his in- 
 vestment. There were occasions when the 
 pauper was very poorly fed and worse clad, 
 and as for housing, kept in the same shed with 
 the cattle or the dog, the same scraps being fed 
 to him and the dog at the same time, with a 
 division of food in favor of the dog. On the 
 least provocation he was chained, and the chil- 
 dren found amusement in hitting him with 
 sticks and stones to make him frantic. Some- 
 times the inhumanity of keepers brought com- 
 plaints from the neighbors, and the overseers 
 promptly took charge of the unfortunate and 
 relet him to some new bidder. 
 
 After the adoption of the new constitution 
 in 185 1 Crawford county had at the time a 
 population of nearly 20,000 people (1850 cen- 
 sus, 18,177), and at the October election of 
 1856 a proposition was submitted for the se- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 109 
 
 curing of a site and the building of an infirm- 
 ary, but it was defeated by a vote of 2,168 to 
 1,017, more than two to one. It carried 
 Bucyrus by 457 to 26 and Cranberry by 94 to 
 92, and lost every other township in the county. 
 
 Under the new constitution the township 
 trustees had charge of the poor, and they 
 were still let to some party for their keeping. 
 It was very unsatisfactory, as the most care- 
 ful watchfulness could not prevent cruelties 
 occurring, and a county infirmary became an 
 absolute necessity. A compromise was made 
 with the eastern part of the county by which 
 the infirmary would be located between Bucy- 
 rus and Galion, and in 1864 it was again sub- 
 mitted to a vote, and carried by 2,246 to 1,654, 
 a majority of 592. It carried the townships of 
 Bucyrus, Jackson, Polk and Tod, was a tie in 
 Chatfield, and lost the other ten townships. 
 Its heavy favorable vote in Bucyrus, Galion 
 and Crestline, on account of the compromise 
 as to location, enabled it to carry. The site 
 selected was 240 acre of fine farming land in 
 sections 16, 17 and 21 Whetstone township 
 along the Galion road three miles southeast of 
 Bucyrus. On this a large three-story building 
 was erected by David Shanks at a cost of about 
 $30,000, a plain, commodious brick structure, 
 but with no attempt at ornamentation. As 
 time passed the various necessary outbuildings 
 were erected, and also a very modern structure 
 for the care of the insane. The farm of the 
 infirmary not only supplies its own provisions, 
 but' a surplus is sold every year. Much of the 
 work of the farm is done by the inmates, who 
 for the past few years average about 70. From 
 the sale of the surplus products, and the funds 
 received annually from the liquor tax the in- 
 stitution is practically self-sustaining 
 
 When the county was organized in 1826 the 
 principal difficulty with which the early pio- 
 neers had to contend were the roads. Most 
 came in the summer, when the low, marshy 
 ground was passable, and those who failed to 
 come in the summer or early fall waited until 
 the ground was frozen, and even built their 
 cabins in the depths of the' forest with the 
 snow covering the trees and ground. The first 
 settlers followed the old military road, and 
 after reaching the county branched off to the 
 north or south of this road, which accounts for 
 the fact that after the early settlers had drifted 
 
 over into the northeastern part of the county 
 from the Connecticut lands, nearly all the 
 early settlers are found to have taken up land 
 in what is now Jackson, Jefferson, Polk, 
 northern Whetstone and Bucyrus, and south- 
 ern Liberty and Sandusky, a strip of territory 
 within four miles to the north or south of the 
 present Pennsylvania road, which is the strong- 
 est of circumstantial evidence that the old 
 army road was somewhere near the centre of 
 this tract, and at no point through the county 
 very far from the Pennsylvania road. Those 
 settling in the eastern part entered their land 
 at Wooster, while those around Bucyrus, com- 
 ing from the east, selected their site, built their 
 cabin, and then made their trip of forty miles 
 on foot or on horseback, across the plains and 
 through the forest to Delaware, where their 
 land was entered. Gen. Harrison, in 181 2, 
 had constructed a road through Delaware to 
 Upper Sandusky, passing through where 
 Marion now is. This road the pioneers reached 
 at the nearest point ana followed it to Dela- 
 ware, but later they made a trail for them- 
 selves, wandering in and out over the highest 
 and best ground straight south from Bucyrus. 
 As early as 1819 the settlers in the eastern 
 part of the county (then Richland county) had 
 made a road for themselves from where Ga- 
 lion now is through Jefferson, Auburn and 
 Vernon, and on to Paris (Plymouth), where 
 a road existed through New Haven to Huron 
 on Lake Erie, thus giving them an outlet to 
 points where they could get their supplies. 
 On account of the difficulties of land trans- 
 portation, it was necessary to reach some 
 point where there was water navigation. At 
 Huron, where goods had arrived from the 
 east by water, necessaries could be purchased 
 25 per cent cheaper than at Mansfield, and 
 prices paid for the products the hunter and 
 settler had to sell were 25 per cent higher. 
 The necessity of taking grain to the mill at 
 Fredericktown, made a trail southeast from 
 Bucyrus througb Whetstorte township; this 
 later became a traveled road, and when the 
 county was organized developed into the Mt. 
 Vernon road. The settlement at Leveridge's 
 or Hos ford's (Galion) was connected with 
 Bucyrus by an Indian trail, later became a 
 pioneer road, and still later a mail route to 
 Mansfield, now the Bucyrus and Galion road. 
 
110 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 The first real road was the Columbus and 
 Portland (Sandusky) road. It was surveyed 
 by Col. Kilbourne about 1820, and a charter 
 granted by the Legislature for a State road. 
 The road was from Columbus to Delaware, 
 then to Mt. Gilead (then in Marion county), 
 then north through the western part of Gal- 
 ion, through the present villages of Middle- 
 town, Leesville and West Liberty, and north- 
 east to Paris (Plymouth) and on to Portland 
 (Sandusky). From Hosford's settlement 
 (Gallon) north it was practically following 
 the original road cut through the woods by the 
 early settlers. In the building of roads high 
 ground was looked after more than direct 
 route, and when the road reached Leveridge's 
 Kilbourne proposed to have it pass on the high 
 ground where the Gallon public square now is ; 
 here it was to cross an east and west road from 
 Mansfield to Bucyrus". Kilbourne proposed to 
 Leveridge to cross at this point, lay out a town 
 and divide the profits, but Leveridge decided 
 he had too fine a farm to spoil it by cutting it 
 up into town lots, so the road was, run through 
 the Hosford settlement, on the east side of the 
 Whetstone, half a mile west of Leveridge's, 
 over low ground, which was frequently over- 
 flowed and during the west season often im- 
 passable. A town was not laid out here, but the 
 crossing of the two roads soon brought a few 
 shops and a tavern, and the settlement became 
 known as "The Corners." 
 
 The natural outlet to secure the best market 
 for Bucyrus was Portland (Sandusky) on the 
 Lake, and constant trips through the woods to 
 that point soon made a road. Travel to 
 Marion after 1823 soon made a road to that 
 point, another bore southwest to Little San- 
 dusky (the present Wyandot road), where it 
 joined the north and south road from Colum- 
 bus to Upper Sandusky, and from where it 
 continued its route southwest to Marysville 
 and Bellefontaine. The road built by Harri- 
 son in 1812 from Franklinton (Columbus) to 
 Upper Sandusky, as far north as Norton, in 
 the northern part of Delaware county, was a 
 part of the present Columbus and Sandusky 
 Pike. In 1820 Kilbourne had continued this 
 road north bearing east, following the Whet- 
 stone, as his Columbus and Portland road. 
 Settlers continued drifting to the west, and in 
 1822, Kilbourne laid out his direct road north 
 
 to Sandusky, the present Sandusky pike, 106 
 miles from Columbus to the Lake, and several 
 miles shorter than the shortest of the three 
 roads that then ran from Columbus to San- 
 dusky. On this road he laid out the towns of 
 Claridon in Marion county, Bucyrus in Craw- 
 ford county, and Caroline in Seneca county. 
 Later this road became the most traveled from 
 Columbus to the Lake. John Kilbourne, a 
 nephew of Col. Kilbourne, in his Ohio Gazet- 
 teer of 1826, says: "During the last session of 
 the Legislature (Dec. 1825) the author peti- 
 tioned for the grant of a turnpike incorporation 
 to construct a road from Columbus to Sandusky 
 city, a distance of 104 miles in a direct line. 
 An act was accordingly passed therefor. But 
 whether the requisite funds to make it can be 
 raised is yet (March 1826) somewhat uncer- 
 tain. But its benefits and advantages to above 
 one half the northern and western part of the 
 state are so obvious that the presumption is 
 that it will be made." 
 
 When the county was organized in 1826, 
 these were the routes of travel, called high 
 ways, as they went from one point to another 
 over the highest and best ground. The road 
 from the east, from Gallon to Bucyrus, was a 
 mail route, with a tri-weekly line of stages in 
 1826, and yet that road from Galion to Bucy- 
 rus, with its half dozen turns and curves to- 
 day, is an air line in comparison to the way 
 it wandered through the country in its stage 
 coach days, and it was a road in name only. 
 As late as 1834, the father of R. W. Johnston 
 of Galion was a teamster with headquarters at 
 Mansfield. He hauled goods from Philadel- 
 phia or Baltimore to the merchants at Mans- 
 field, the freight charges being from $4 to $5 
 per hundred pounds. He used one or more six 
 horse teams for the hauling. In February, 
 1834, he had a consignment of goods for E. 
 B. Merriman at Bucyrus. He had four horses 
 to draw the wagon that delivered the goods. 
 When he started to return the spring thaw had 
 set in and when in the present Beltz neighbor- 
 hood the empty wagon drawn by four horses 
 became so mired that he had to go to the near- 
 est farm house to get teams and men to push, 
 pry and pull the wagon out of the swampy 
 ground in which it was embedded. In 1845, 
 E. B. Monnett, taking four sacks of wheat 
 across one of the Plains roads to the mill at 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 111 
 
 Wyandot, found four horses unable to drag the 
 light load over a county road, and additional 
 assistance had to be secured to extricate the 
 wagon. In 1858, on the State Turnpike be- 
 tween Bucyrus and Chatfield, a road built 
 thirty years previous, and built, too, partly by 
 donations from Congress, George Donnenwirth 
 with a light load of beer was mired, com- 
 pelled to shoulder each keg, and carry it 
 across the impassable road, and leave the 
 horses to pull the empty wagon to higher and 
 better ground, reload his beer, and proceed on 
 his way. In 1824, when Aaron Carey was 
 made postmaster at Bucyrus a weekly line of 
 stages was established from Columbus to San- 
 dusky. It gave the passengers exercise during 
 the wet season, as at the worst parts of the 
 road, several miles of which were in Crawford 
 county, the passengers all walked to enable the 
 horses to drag the empty coach over the bad 
 places. One of the necessary articles carried 
 by all coaches was an axe, which was used to 
 cut down saplings, for use as poles with A\'hich 
 the driver and passengers would pry the heavy 
 coach out of some chuck-hole in which it was 
 stalled. Frequently, through the plains, the 
 driver left the road, where on the right or left 
 he was able to find better ground. Where the 
 road passed through the swampy ground it was 
 made of corduroy, trunks of trees laid sidewise. 
 Heavy straps were stretched across the in- 
 terior of the stage, to which the unfortunate 
 passenger desperately clung to avoid being 
 thrown from his seat, as the heavy and cum- 
 bersome coach bounced and rocked, and 
 lurched and rolled over this rough roadway. 
 Here is an advertisement of this mail route 
 taken from the Columbus Gazette, of Aug. 28, 
 1823: 
 
 "PROPOSALS FOR CARRYING MAILS." 
 
 Leave Norton by Claridon, Bucyrus, Sherman, 
 Oxford and Perkins to Sandusky City, once a week 
 80 miles. 
 
 "Leave Norton every Saturday at noon, and ar- 
 rive at Sandusky City by Monday at 6 p. m. 
 
 "Leave Sandusky City every Tuesday at 6 a. m., 
 and arrive at Norton the next Thursday at noon." 
 
 Thus, the first regular mail arrived in Bucy- 
 rus on a government schedule of 80 miles in 
 54 hours, and it can be imagined that the en- 
 tire village turned out to greet the first arrival 
 and hold a jollification over the important 
 event, and Zalmon Rowse and Merriman and 
 
 Norton were the envy of their neighbors when 
 the driver of the coach accepted drinks at their 
 expense, and condescended to converse with 
 them as equals, and every small boy inwardly 
 resolved that when he became a man the 
 height of his ambition would be reached if 
 he could only become the driver of a stage 
 coach. 
 
 This stage route was from Columbus to 
 Norton, to Marion, to Bucyrus; then to Sher- 
 man (now Weaver's Corners 15 miles south- 
 west of Norwalk) ; then to Oxford (now 
 Bloomingville nine miles northwest of Nor- 
 walk), and to Perkin and Sandusky City. 
 
 A year later, in September, 1824, John Kil- 
 bourne commenced his advocacy of a turnpike 
 over about this same road from Columbus to 
 the lake, one so constructed that it would be 
 "navigable" at all seasons of the year. In an 
 article in the Columbus Gazette of Sept. 23, 
 1824, he says that the freight rate from New 
 York to Sandusky City is $1.75 per hundred 
 weight (112 pounds), and that if a pike road 
 were built from Sandusky to Columbus, goods 
 could be shipped from New York to Colum- 
 bus, at $2.75 per cwt., which is but a fraction 
 over one-half what we now pay from Phila- 
 delphia to Columbus. He then adds : 
 
 "Besides, this northern route would be the 
 
 quickest, thus, 
 
 "To Sandusky. .. 126 miles, as the road goes 3 days 
 
 "Buffalo 2S0 miles 2 days 
 
 "Albany 300 miles 3 days 
 
 "New York 144 miles 1 day 
 
 "Philadelphia 90 miles 1 day 
 
 910 miles 10 days 
 
 "And that for only about $40 expense, in- 
 cluding carriage and tavern bills. I know this 
 is correct as I went this route myself." 
 
 Ten days from Columbus to New York, 
 and this Mr. Kilbourne says was the "quick- 
 est" route. Three days from Columbus to 
 Sandusky indicates the stages through Bucy- 
 rus did not travel the road after night, but 
 made their journey only during daylight when 
 the driver could pick his way over the road and 
 dodge the tree stumps which might wreck the 
 coach. 
 
 Prior to 1826 Bucyrus had a mail coming 
 from Bellefontaine once a week, through Lit- 
 tle Sandusky. A man named Snyder was the 
 carrier, and he made the trip on horseback, but 
 sometimes when the road was particularly bad, 
 
112 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 he made the entire journey on foot, with the 
 mail sack swung over his shoulder. Prior to 
 the weekly stage line from Columbus to San- 
 dusky the man who carried the mail \\hen 
 he reached Bucyrus, found the road to the 
 north so impassable that he left his horse at 
 Bucyrus, shouldered his mail sack, and made 
 the trip to Sandusky and back on foot. Mail 
 delivered at Bucyrus at that time included all 
 the settlers within a radius of probably eight 
 or ten miles from that village. In 1826 there 
 was but one post office in that part of the 
 county which is now Crawford county, and 
 that was at Bucyrus; in v/hat was then the 
 Richland county part of Crawford county 
 there was a post office at Gallon and at Tiro 
 (three miles north of the present Tiro). In 
 that part of Crawford which in 1844 became 
 \A/yandot county there were post offices at 
 Upper Sandusky and Little Sandusky. 
 
 These were the roads and their condition, 
 the post offices and their locations, when the 
 county was organized in 1826. There was but 
 one village in the present Crawford county, 
 Bucyrus ; one settlement in the Richland county 
 part. Galleon, located at the crossing of the 
 two roads, with half a dozen houses, a settle- 
 ment which thrived and prospered until the 
 present Gallon was laid out in 1832 when the 
 buildings at the Corners gradually became de- 
 serted and crumbled to decay, and when 50 
 years later the territory of the original settle- 
 ment became a part of Gallon, but one house 
 was standing on what was in early days one of 
 the two business centres of the county. 
 
 The only stores in the present county were 
 at Bucyrus, those of E. B. Merriman, Henry 
 St. John and Samuel Bailey, or his successors 
 Bowers & French ; there were several shops at 
 Bucyrus, and two or three at the Corners at 
 Galleon ; there were three distilleries, all in the 
 Richland county part ; one ran by John Adrian, 
 near where Leesville now is ; another by Nathan 
 Merriman, near Galleon, and the third by 
 JTames Nail, on the Whetstone, southwest of 
 Galleon. There had been a distillery I'un by 
 McMichael & Rogers on the banks of the San- 
 dusky, the site of the present electric light 
 works, but it had been discontinued. Carey 
 had a grist mill in Bucyrus, and the McMichael 
 mill was a mile up the river, while a mile south 
 west on the Sandusky was the mill of William 
 Young. The other grist mills were in the Rich- 
 
 land county part, Hibner's mill, northwest of 
 Galleon, where the C. C. & C. road now crosses 
 a branch of the Glen Tangy, Hosford, Park, 
 Sharrock and Nail had mills along the Whet- 
 stone. There were saw mills in many of the 
 townships along the various streams. There 
 was a Methodist and a Baptist church in Au- 
 burn township (then Richland county), but 
 no church yet erected in the Crawford county 
 part; there was a log school house in Bucyrus, 
 one in the Blowers settlement, Liberty town- 
 ship, and one in Auburn township. There were 
 taverns at Bucyrus, one at the northeast corner 
 of Sandusky and Perry, run by Robert More, 
 while across Sandusky avenue on the Carey 
 lot was a tavern kept by Samuel Roth, who 
 was also Justice of the Peace. At the Comers 
 (Galleon) William Hosford had a tavern, and 
 there were several houses along the main roads, 
 not exactly taverns but recognized as places 
 for the entertainment of travelers. 
 
 The following is the estimated population of 
 the county in 1826; also the populations in 1830 
 and 1840. The population of 1826 is esti- 
 mated at one-half of the official population of 
 1830, and is probably a very close and fair 
 estimate : 
 
 1826. 
 Craw- Wyan- 
 tord. dot. 
 
 Antrim 70 
 
 Bucyrus 463 
 
 Centre 
 
 Chatfield '. ... 
 
 Cranberry 
 
 Crawford 499 
 
 Holmes 
 
 Jackson 
 
 Liberty 372 
 
 Lykins 
 
 Mifflin 
 
 Pitt 92 
 
 Sandusky 346 
 
 Sycamore 22 1.S0 
 
 Tymochtee 
 
 Whetstone 375 
 
 1830. 
 
 Craw- Wyan- 
 
 ford. dot. 
 
 ... 139 
 
 724 ... 
 
 '90 '.'.'. 
 112 
 
 202 
 
 655 
 
 1840. 
 Craw- Wyan- 
 ford. dot. 
 
 200 
 
 275 
 
 579 
 44 
 
 750 
 
 184 
 
 300 
 
 724 
 
 61 
 1654 
 
 32 
 878 
 680 
 
 '744 
 636 
 
 1469 
 742 
 
 679 
 200 
 
 ii24 
 
 100 
 
 812 
 
 316 
 423 
 
 "758 
 1659 
 
 Totals, old 
 
 Crawford 1578 
 Auburn, 
 
 Richland Co. 136 
 Sandusky, 
 
 Richland Co. 143 
 Vernon, 
 
 Richland Co. 139 
 Scott, 
 
 Marion Co... 66 
 Tully, 
 
 Marion Co. . . 47 
 
 Totals, pres- 
 ent Crawford 2109 
 
 811 
 
 3156 1622 
 
 272 ... 
 
 385 ... 
 
 278 ... 
 
 112 ... 
 
 97 ... 
 
 4300 .... 
 
 8899 4268 
 
 680 .... 
 
 977 .... 
 
 693 .... 
 
 285 .... 
 
 290 .... 
 
 11824 .... 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 113 
 
 It will be seen by the above that the esti- 
 mated population of Crawford county when it 
 was authorized to organize as a county, was 
 2,389, of which 1,578 were in the Crawford 
 county part, and 811 in the Wyandot section. 
 In 1836 the population was 4,770, of these 
 3,156 being the Crawford part and 1,622 Wy- 
 andot. In 1840 the population was 13,167, 
 Crawford having 8,899 ^"^ Wyandot 4,268. 
 
 The Richland and Marion county figures at 
 the bottom give the population of those sec- 
 tions that are now a part of the present county, 
 so the long columns are the population of the 
 present Crawford county at the three dates 
 given. 
 
 Since the present county was formed in 
 1845, and as constituted, the population at 
 each succeeding census has been as follows : 
 
 1850 i860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 
 
 Auburn 951 1072 910 117& 1244 1174 1161 
 
 Bucyrus 2315 3543 4184 5073 6988 7587 9032 
 
 Chatfield ....1351 1430 1247 1266 1201 1304 1129 
 
 Cranberry . . . 1042 1339 1281 1824 1662 1819 1819 
 
 Dallas 406 406 370 500 430 465 469 
 
 Holmes 1238 1639 157° 1660 1423 1500 1233 
 
 Jackson 171 1 3290 4021 3216 3248 3670 4236 
 
 Jefferson* 1224 1009 913 802 
 
 Liberty 1782 1788 1597 1679 1591 1566 1342 
 
 Lykins 1185 1265 1140 1225 1058 930 883 
 
 Polk 1318 2910 4369 6518 7200 8433 8019 
 
 Sandusky 822 792 665 658 615 569 51° 
 
 Texas S45 S66 566 587 539 5i6 476 
 
 Tod 578 1093 1156 1099 974 882 774 
 
 Vernon 1276 1224 980 1038 952 926 722 
 
 Whetstone ..1657 1524 1490 1840 1793 1661 1429 
 
 Total 18177 23881 25556 30583 31927 33915 34036 
 
 Cities and villages : 
 
 Bucyrus, i822t 1365 2180 3066 3835 5974 6560 8122 
 
 Galion.t 1831 589 1966 3523 5635 6326 7282 7214 
 
 Crestline, 1852 1487 2279 2848 291 1 3282 3807 
 
 New WashVn, 1833. 76 221 273 675 704 824 889 
 
 Tiro, 1874 65 177 293 321 
 
 Chatfield, 1840 52 106 ig8 216 326 298 270 
 
 N. Robinson, 1861 157 182 257 200 155 
 
 Leesville, 1829 197 235 320 213 203 178 115 
 
 As nearly as can be gathered from pioneer 
 statements and records, the following is a list 
 of those in Crawford county in 1826, with the 
 dates of their first arrival. Those marked 
 with a ( § ) had been residents and moved away 
 prior to 1826; those marked with a double 
 
 *Jackson township was divided in 1873, the township 
 of Jefferson being created. 
 
 tDates are the year town was started. 
 
 tin the census of 1910, many names were omitted, 
 notably in the first ward. The population in 1910, was 
 several hundred above the United States census figures 
 given in this table. 
 
 star (**) had died prior to 1826. Where sev^ 
 eral names are given of the same family, they 
 are generally sons who are young men. 
 
 AUBURN TOWNSHIP — RICHLAND COUNTY UNTIL 184S. 
 
 819 — Adam Aumend 
 819— Adam Aumend, Jr. 
 826 — Enoch Baker 
 826 — Joseph Baker 
 822— David Bender 
 821 — Jacob Bevard 
 821— Ira W. Blair 
 821— John Blair 
 821— Selden Blair 
 818— Jesse Bodley 
 818— John Bodley 
 818— Lester Bodley 
 818— Levi Bodley 
 821— Daniel Bunker 
 817— Martin Clark 
 82S— William Cleland 
 817— Barnet Cole 
 817— William Cole 
 816 — Jacob Coykendall 
 816 — David Cummins 
 816— John Deardorff 
 818— Charles Dewitt 
 82S — Jonathan Dixon 
 820 — James Gardner 
 820 — William Garrison 
 820— Michael Gisson 
 815— William Green 
 815 — Samuel S. Green 
 815— Walter Green 
 820 — Benjamin Griffith 
 822 — George Hammond 
 819 — Samuel Hanna 
 821— Seth Hawks 
 820 — Harvey Hoadley 
 822 — Aaron B. Howe 
 822— Nelson S. Howe 
 818— Daniel Hulse 
 818— Palmer Hulse 
 826— William Johns 
 820— Erastus Kellogg 
 822 — Jesse Ladow 
 818 — William Laugherty 
 822— Richard Millar 
 814 — Jedediah Morehead 
 818— David C. Morris 
 817 — David Morrow 
 817 — Charles Morrow 
 817 — James Morrow 
 820— Rodolphus Morse 
 819 — Frederick Myers 
 814 — John Pettigon 
 817— Henry Reif 
 821 — Robert Robinson 
 825— Abel C. Ross 
 825- Daniel W. Ross 
 820 — Erastus Sawyer 
 820 — Jacob .Snyder 
 820— William Snyder 
 821— John Sheckler 
 820— John Talford 
 822— Richard Tucker 
 818 — Andrew Varnica 
 817 — John Wadsworth 
 822— John Webber 
 819— Resolved White 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 BUCYRUS TOWNSHIP. 
 
 Those marked (§) lived outside the village. 
 1822 — Thomas Adams § 
 1826— Isaac H. Allen 
 182S— Moses Arden 
 1826 — George Aumiller § 
 1826— Henry Babcock 
 1824— Samuel Bailey 
 1823— Adam Bair 
 1825— Adam Bair 
 1826— Martin Barr 
 1820— David Beadle § 
 1820— David Beadle, Jr. § 
 1820— Michel Beadle § 
 1826 — Edward Billups 
 1823— John Billups 
 1824— George Black § 
 1824— John Black § 
 1826 — Jacob Bowers 
 1825 — John Bowman 
 1826— William Bratton 
 1823 — ^John Brown 
 1823— David Bryant § 
 1819— Albigence Bucklin § 
 1822— Elizabeth Bucklin ** 
 1822 — Harry Burns 
 1822 — Aaron Gary 
 1822 — Aaron Gary, Jr. 
 1821— Abel Gary 
 1822 — ^Lewis Gary 
 1822— "Old Peter" Gary ** 
 1826— John Galdwell, 
 1825 — Samuel Garl 
 1821— Amos Glark§ 
 1825- Elihu Dowd 
 1825 — Ebenezer Dowd 
 1822— John Deardorff ** 
 1826 — David Dinwiddle § 
 1826— Jacob Drake 
 1823— William Early 
 1820 — ^Joseph Ensley § 
 1825— Andrew Failor 
 1825- Nicholas Failor 
 1823 — Benjamin Fickle § 
 1823— Jacob Fickle § 
 1823— Daniel Fickle § 
 1823— Isaac H. Fickle § 
 1826— Michael Flick 
 1824— John Funk 
 1822 — Harris Garton 
 1821 — John S. George § 
 1825— George Hawk 
 1826 — George Hesser § 
 1826— Peter Hesser § 
 1824— Dr. John T. Hobbs 
 1821— Henry Holmes 
 1819— Seth Holmes ** 
 1825 — James Houston 
 1825— Thomas Howey § 
 1825- John H. Morrison 
 1823— A. L. Shover 
 1823— Patrick Height 
 1826— William Hughey 
 1826— William Hughey, Jr. 
 1824— John Huhr 
 1825- Mary Inman 
 1826 — -Thomas Johnson 
 1825 — John Kanzleiter 
 1822— John Kellogg** 
 1822— David Kent § 
 
 1821— Elisha Kent § 
 1822— John Kent § 
 1822— Thaddeus Kent § 
 1825— Joseph Knott § 
 1822 — Darius Landon § 
 1822 — William Langdon § 
 1826 — George Lauck 
 1825 — Joshua Lewis § 
 1826— Hugh Long 
 1823— John Magers § 
 1826— William V. Marquis § 
 1826— William Marsh 
 1826 — ^Jairies Marshall 
 1822— John Marshall 
 1822— Dr. Joseph McGomb 
 1825— Bailey McGracken 
 182S^Hugh McGracken 
 1826— James McGlure 
 1826 — ^James McLain 
 1819— Matthew McMichael § 
 1823— James Martin 
 1822 — Charles Merriman 
 1822— E. B, Merriman 
 1825— Daniel Miller § 
 1823— Harry Miller 
 1824— Henry Miller § 
 1825— John Miller 
 1826— Henry Minich 
 1822— Robert Moore 
 1823— Joseph S. Morris § 
 1826 — Abraham Myers 
 1826— Samuel Myers § 
 1826 — John Nimmon 
 1819— Samuel Norton 
 1819 — Rensselaer Norton 
 1821— David Palmer § 
 1824 — Dr. Joseph Pearce 
 1822— Russell Peck 
 1825— Horace Pratt 
 1823— William Reeves 
 1822 — Gonrad Rhodes 
 1822 — Ichabod Rogers 
 1824— John Rogers** 
 1821— Gonrad Roth 
 1821— Samuel Roth 
 1823 — Heman Rowse § ** 
 1821 — -Zalmon Rowse § 
 1825 — Jonas Scott 
 1825 — Thomas Scott § 
 1825— Daniel Seal 
 1826 — ^Jacob Seigler 
 1825— Daniel Shroll § 
 1825— George Shroll § 
 1825— John Shroll § 
 1825— William Shroll § 
 1821— George P. Shultz 
 1821— Gottleib John Shultz § 
 
 1820 Sears* 
 
 1826 — George Sinn § 
 1826— EH Slagle 
 1823— Harry Smith 
 1826 — Joy Sperry 
 1826— Henry St. John 
 1826— Gha^les Stanberg 
 1826 — James G. Steen 
 1826— David Stein § 
 1821— William M. Stephenson i 
 1821 — Lewis Stephenson 
 1822 — Joseph Umpstead 
 1825 — Benjamin Warner § 
 1824— Joseph Whitherd 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 115 
 
 1825— George Welsh § 
 1820— Jacob Young § 
 1820— John Young § 
 1820— Joseph Young § 
 1820— William Young § 
 1820 — George Young § 
 
 1821— Zachariah Welsh 
 1823— Benjamin S. Welsh 
 1820— Charles White 
 
 CHATFIELD TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1826 — William Champion 
 1824— Oliver Chatfield 
 1824— Silas Chatfield 
 1826— David Clute 
 1824— John Henry 
 1825 — John Robinson 
 1825 — James M. Robinson 
 1825— William Spanable 
 1824 — George Stuckman 
 1820— Jacob Whetstone * 
 
 CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1823- 
 
 Bergin 
 
 1824 — Joshua Chilcote 
 1824 — Joshua Chilcote, Jr. 
 1824 — Heathcote Chilcote 
 1824 — James Chilcote 
 1824— John Chilcote 
 1824 — Nicodemas Chilcote 
 1826 — Aaron Cory 
 1826 — Thomas Cory 
 1823 — Charles Doney 
 1826— Robert Hilborn 
 1826 — Jacob Lederer 
 1826 — Jacob Lederer, Jr. 
 1826— Adam G. Lederer 
 1826 — John Lederer 
 1826 — George Myers 
 1826— Oak Tyndale 
 
 DALLAS TOWNSHIP. 
 
 (Marion County until 1845.) 
 1820— George H. Busby 
 1825— David Bibler 
 1825— James Bibler 
 1825- George Clark 
 182S— Andrew Clark 
 1822 — Christian Hoover 
 1822— William Hoover 
 1825— William Howe 
 1823— Jacob King 
 1820 — ^Isaac Longwell 
 1820— Peter Longwell 
 1820 — Samuel Line 
 1825 — John Mason 
 1825 — John Mason, Jr. 
 1825 — Joseph Mason 
 1820— Matthew Mitchell 
 1824— John McClary 
 1824 — Thomas McClary 
 1825 — Thomas Mason 
 1822— John Page 
 1821— Charles iParrish 
 1821— William Parrish 
 1824 — William Ramey 
 1824— Jacob Shaffer 
 1826 — Jacob Snyder 
 1826— John Snyder 
 1823— Christian Stahley 
 1822— Daniel Swigart 
 1820— George Walton 
 1821— Benjamin Welsh 
 1821— Madison Welsh 
 
 HOLMES TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1824— Thomas Alsoph 
 1821— William Flake 
 1826— Joel Glover 
 
 1821 Heaman* 
 
 1821— Elisha Holmes 
 1821 — Lyman Holmes 
 1821— Samuel Holmes 
 1821— Truman Holmes 
 1821 — Zalmon Holmes 
 1826 — Christian Haish 
 1826 — John Hussey 
 1824 — Samuel Hemminger 
 1826— Martin Holman 
 1825— Timothy Kirk** 
 1823 — James Martin 
 1823 — Jonas Martin 
 1825— Joseph Newell 
 1825- Daniel Snyder 
 1826— William Spitzer 
 
 JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 (Richland County until 1845.) 
 
 1824— Elisha Allen 
 1818 — John Benjamin 
 1823— David Bryant 
 1820— John Doyle 
 1824— John Fate 
 1818 — Benjamin Rush 
 1820— Joseph Russell 
 1821— Samuel Rutan 
 
 JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 (Part of Richland County until 1845.) 
 
 1818— John Adrian 
 1817— Peter Beebout 
 1816— Jacob Fisher 
 1817— John S. Griswell 
 1817 — Thomas Ferguson 
 1825— Samuel Freese 
 1820— Eli Foglesong 
 1824— David Dorn 
 1824 — John Hise 
 1819— Henry Hershner 
 1819— Jacob Hershner 
 1819— Michael Hershner 
 1825— John Hershner 
 1819 — Lewis Leiberger 
 1818— Daniel Miller 
 1819— James Nail 
 1817— Westell Ridgely 
 1817— Andrew Ridgely 
 1817— Daniel Ridgely 
 1817— John Ridg-ely 
 1817— William Ridgely 
 1817 — Christian Snyder 
 1817— Jacob Snyder 
 1817— Peter Snyder 
 1824 — Jacob Weaver 
 1826— Daniel Wert 
 1826— Joseph Wert 
 1826— Peter Wert 
 1821 — Benjamin Worden 
 1821— Benjamin F. Worden 
 1821— Nathan Worden 
 
116 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 LIBERTY TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1823 — John Anderson 
 1820— Ralph Bacon 
 182S— John Bair 
 1821— John O. Blowers 
 1822— William Blowers 
 1823— John Chandler 
 1823 — Joseph Chandler 
 182S — ^James Clingan 
 1825 — John Clingan 
 1823— Asa Cobb 
 1823— Dudley Cobb 
 1821 — Christian Couts 
 1823— Israel Borland 
 1823— Garrett Borland 
 1823 — James Borland 
 1823— Luke Borland 
 1822— Robert Foster 
 1824— John H. Fry 
 1823 — ^Jacob Gurwell 
 1825 — ^James S. Gurwell 
 1825- Edward Hartford 
 1826— Bavid Hawk 
 1825— John Helm 
 1825— Pres Hilliard 
 1821— William Huff 
 1824— William Huff 
 1825— Baniel Ketchum 
 1825— Baniel Kimble 
 
 1824 — Richard King 
 
 1824— John Kroft 
 
 1824— William Little 
 
 1823 — Benjamin Manwell 
 
 1823— Horatio Markley 
 
 1823 — Matthias Markley 
 
 1821— Thomas McClure 
 
 1823 — ^James McCurdy 
 
 1819— Daniel McMichael ** 
 
 1821— John Maxfield 
 
 1823— William Moderwell 
 
 1825— Alex A. McCullough 
 
 1826 — ^James McMannes 
 
 1822— Simeon Parcher 
 
 1826 — Samuel Peterman 
 
 1826 — John Peterman 
 
 1826— Isaac Rice 
 
 1823— Thomas Scott 
 
 1825- Baniel Shellhammer 
 
 1826 — Abraham L. Shivers 
 
 1825- Andrew Shreck 
 
 1825— John Slifer 
 
 1826— Isaac Slater 
 
 1823 — Samuel Smalley 
 
 1824 — Richard Spicer 
 
 1823— Ichabod Smith 
 
 1823— Thomas Smith 
 
 1822— Calvin Squires 
 
 1822 — Nehemiah Squires 
 
 1823 — Calvin Stone 
 
 1824— John G. Stough 
 
 1826 — Peter Stockman 
 
 1820— Auer Umberfield 
 
 1825— Anthony Walker 
 
 1825— John Walters 
 
 1825- Asa Wetherby 
 
 1826 — Thomas Williamson 
 
 1825— Mary Wood 
 
 LYKENS TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1825 — Christopher Keggy 
 
 1826— Jacob Miller 
 1826 — George Rhoad 
 
 POLK TOWNSHIP. 
 
 (Part of Richland County until 1845.) 
 
 1826— John Ashcroft 
 1820 — Alpheus Atwood 
 1820— John Atwood 
 1824 — James Auten 
 1826 — Jonathan Ayres 
 1819- — Samuel Brown 
 1819— John Brown 
 1819— Michael Brown 
 1820— John Bashford 
 1817 — Edward Cooper 
 1821— John Cracraft 
 1820 — Samuel Dany 
 1820— ^John Bickerson 
 1822 — Rev. James Bunlap 
 1822 — John Bunraeier 
 1822 — ^John Eysman 
 
 1820 Fletcher 
 
 1820 Fletcher 
 
 1818— Bavid Gill 
 1826 — Thomas Harding 
 1822— John Hauck 
 1820— John Hibner 
 1819— Asa Hosford 
 1819— Horace Hosford 
 1820— William Hosford 
 1817 — Bisberry Johnson 
 1817^ — Samuel Johnson 
 1823 — Phares Jackson 
 1821— John Jeffrey 
 1818 — ^John Kitteridge 
 1817 — ^James Leveridge 
 1817 — James Leveridge, Jr. 
 1817 — Nathaniel Leveridge 
 1823 — Nathan Merriman 
 1822— Alexander McGrew 
 1820— Daniel Miller 
 1821— Jacob Miller 
 1822— William Murray 
 1825— William Neal 
 1826— Andrew Poe 
 1825 — ^James Reeves 
 1822— Rev. John Reinhart 
 1820— David Reid 
 1825 — George Row 
 1825 — John Schawber 
 1826 — ^John Sedous 
 1818 — Benjamin Sharrock 
 1818— Nehemiah Story 
 1818— Nathaniel Story 
 1817— John Sturges 
 1823— Owen Tuttle 
 1818— George Wood 
 1818— George Wood, Jr. 
 1818— John Williamson 
 
 SANDUSKY TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1823 — Jacob Ambrose 
 1820— William Beatty 
 1820— Philip Beatty 
 1823 — Benjamin Bowers 
 1823 — Jacob Bowers 
 1823— William Bowers 
 1825 — ^John Cove 
 1826 — Isaac Barling 
 1826 — ^John Bewey 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 117 
 
 1823— Jacob Dull 
 1820— Matthew Elder 
 1823 — John Clemens 
 1823 — Adam Clemens 
 1823 — Thomas Clemens 
 1821— John B. French 
 1819— James Gwell 
 1819— William Gwell 
 1822— William Handley 
 1822 — Jesse Handley 
 1826 — Isaac Henry 
 1823— Isaac Hilborn 
 1826— George M. Kitch 
 1819 — Samuel Knisely 
 1820— Joseph Knisely 
 1823— James Magee 
 1826 — John Magner 
 1826— Henry Magner 
 182S— William Matthews 
 182S^-Isaac Matthews 
 1824— John Mayer 
 1826 — John Ramsey 
 1826 — Joseph Smith 
 1825— Alex Smith 
 1820— Samuel Shull 
 1825 — James Tarns 
 1825— Nelson Tustison 
 1826— Joseph Wert 
 1826— John Wert 
 1826— Adam Wert 
 
 TEXAS TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1824 — Eli Adams 
 1824— Paul Adams 
 1824 — George Bender 
 1822 — John Henry Coon 
 1826 — Ebenezer Culver 
 1825 — Anthony Detray 
 1826— Jacob Foy 
 1826 — Samuel Gregg 
 1826— William Griffiths 
 1826 — Lewis Lemert 
 1825— Robert Mayes 
 1825— Adam Miller 
 1825— Isaac Miller 
 1825— Charles Morrow 
 1825— John Nedray 
 1825— David Palmer 
 1825— Doddridge Paul 
 1825— Elting Paul 
 1825 — Laban Perdew 
 1826 — William Pennington 
 1825— Robert Roberts 
 1825— Alva Tash 
 
 TOD TOWNSHIP. 
 
 All Indian Reservation until opened for settle- 
 ment in 1837. 
 
 VERNON TOWNSHIP. 
 
 (Richland County until 1845.) 
 1818 — George Byers 
 1823— John Cleland 
 1823— William Cleland 
 1816 — Andrew Dickson 
 1823 — George Dickson 
 1825 — ^Jonathan Dickson 
 1825— James Dickson 
 1821 — James Richards 
 1824— Conrad Walters 
 1824 — Anthony Walters 
 
 WHETSTONE TOWNSHIP. 
 
 1823 — James Armstrong 
 1822 — Peter Anderson 
 1822 — Christian Bair 
 1822— John Beckwith 
 1826— John Boyer 
 1822— Philip Clinger 
 1822 — Adam Clinger 
 1822— Archibald Clark 
 1822 — George Clark 
 1822 — Benjamin Camp 
 1823 — John Campbell 
 1817— William Cooper 
 1824 — Charles Chambers 
 1824 — Isaac Eichelberger 
 1824 — Casper Eichelberger 
 1823 — James Falloon 
 1821 — Frederick Garver 
 1822 — Benjamin George 
 1822— William Hamilton 
 1821 — George Hancock 
 1822 — -Henry Harriger 
 1823 — James Henderson 
 1821— Asa Howard 
 1821 — Daniel Jones 
 1823— Adam Jacob Kieffer 
 1819— John Kent 
 1826— Andrew Kerr 
 1821— John King 
 1825 — John Lininger 
 1820— Noble McKinstry 
 1824— J. W. Moderwell 
 1822— Esi Norton 
 1821— Philander Odell 
 1821— Eli Odell 
 1821— Jacob Odell 
 1823 — 'George Poe 
 1821 — Samuel Parcher 
 1822 — Lyman Parcher 
 1822 — George Parcher 
 1822— John Parcher 
 1822 — Benjamin Parcher 
 1822 — George Parcher, Jr. 
 1821— Nathaniel Plummer 
 1821— Abner Rowse 
 1823 — Cornwallis Reese 
 1824— Robert Reid 
 1824— George Reid 
 1826 — Henry Remson 
 1822— Daniel Palmer 
 1820— Martin Shaffner 
 1826— Henry S. Sheldon 
 1826— Valentine Shook 
 1826 — Samuel Shook 
 1826— John Staley 
 1823— John Stein 
 1823 — Abraham Steen 
 1822— Hugh Stewart 
 1822— William Stewart 
 1822 — James Stewart 
 1822 — John Stewart 
 1822 — ^Joseph Stewart 
 1822— Hugh Stewart, Jr. 
 1826— William Stuck 
 1823— Hugh Trimble 
 1823— John Trimble 
 1821 — Samuel VanVoorhis 
 1826— Robert Walker 
 1820— John Willowby 
 1826— Samuel Winters 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 POLITICAL 
 
 Early Politics — The Campaign of 1840 — Harrison at Bucyrus — First Campaign Song — The 
 Exciting Campaign of 186^ — Various Minor Parties — Constitutional Conventions — Vote of 
 the County Since Its Organisation — The County in State Politics — Incidents of Early Cam- 
 paigns — Crawford During the War — Complete Li^t of Officials Since the Organization of 
 the County. 
 
 Some are born great, some achieve greatness, 
 And some have greatness thrust upon them. 
 
 — S H A KESPEAEE. 
 
 Here and there some stern, high patriot stood. 
 Who could not get the place for which he sued. 
 
 — Byron. 
 
 When Crawford county was first estab- 
 lished by the legislature in 1820, there was 
 considerable unanimity in politics not only in 
 Ohio at that time, but in the nation. James 
 Monroe had been elected president without 
 opposition. Crawford county did not vote as 
 a county until 1824, and even at that election 
 its vote was cast with Marion, and the first 
 separate vote of the county was in 1826, and 
 at that time a harmonious spirit existed in the 
 county. Prior to 1820 there had been two 
 parties, the Federalists and the followers of 
 Jefferson, the latter using the names of Re- 
 publican and Democrat indiscriminately. The 
 Jeffersonian theory of government had pre- 
 vailed to such an extent that in Ohio there was 
 practically no opposition. When the election 
 took place in 1824 there were four candidates 
 John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, who 
 represented what was left of the old Federal 
 party, and was supported by the more con- 
 servative voters; William A. Crawford of 
 Georgia, a democrat of the Federal school, 
 who favored the leaders of the party at Wash- 
 ington controlling the nominations. The 
 other two were Andrew Jackson and Henry 
 Clay. The bulk of the Jackson and Clay fol- 
 lowers were of the Jefferson-Madison-Monroe 
 school, Jackson being for a strict construction 
 of the constitution, against a national bank 
 which then existed, and against any centraliz- 
 
 ing of power. Clay was more liberal, and 
 favored the government looking after inter- 
 nal improvements, and in connection with that 
 a protective tariff. Not one of them was a 
 Federalist, although Adams was so classed, 
 while the Jackson men took the name of 
 Democratic Republican; the Clay men Na- 
 tional Republican. The election in Ohio re- 
 sulted Clay 19,255, Jackson 18,489, Adams 
 12,280, while Crawford had no electoral ticket 
 in the field. It will be observed that his vote 
 was 50,024. A month previous at the October 
 election for governor the vote was Jeremiah 
 Morrow, democrat, 39,526; Allen Trimble, na- 
 tional republican, 37,108. Trimble's vote com- 
 ing from the Clay and Adams men, and 
 Morrow's vote from the Jackson men, and 
 many democrats who were dissatisfied with all 
 the presidential candidates. So mixed up, or 
 so united, were political affairs that two years 
 later Trimble, national republican, had prac- 
 tically no opposition for governor, receiving 
 71,475 votes, the scattering vote being about 
 13,000. By 1828 the two parties took definite 
 forms, both either republican or democratic, 
 whichever one might choose to call them, and 
 the only difference being in matters of govern- 
 mental policy. In 1828 Jackson carried the 
 State for president, although the national re- 
 publicans elected their governor that year and 
 in 1830, and after Jackson again carried the 
 State in 1832, the democrats of the Jackson 
 school were left in undisputed possession of 
 the name of democrat, and the national repub- 
 licans united all opposition to the democratic 
 party under the name of Whigs. The latter 
 
 118 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 119 
 
 party carried the state for Harrison in 1836 
 and 1840. Under President Jackson, from 
 1829 to 1837 party lines began to be closely 
 drawn, but prior to that time there had been 
 no special difference between the two parties. 
 
 The first mention of Crawford county in 
 regard to political matters was in the Colum- 
 bus Gazette of July, 1824, when a meeting 
 was held at Columbus in the interest of Henry 
 Clay. At that meeting Henry Brown of 
 Franklin county was appointed the Clay elec- 
 tor for this district, and Joseph Chaffee of 
 Crawford county was present and was placed 
 in charge of the Clay interests in this county. 
 Chaffee lived in Tymochtee township. That 
 year practically all were Clay or Adams men 
 in this county, as at the election in 1824, Ma- 
 rion county, of which Crawford was a part, 
 gave the following vote : Adams 87 ; Clay 
 54; Jackson 13. The formation of parties 
 can be seen by the presidential vote of 1832, 
 when it resulted in this county : Andrew Jack- 
 son, dem., 557; Henry Clay, whig, 259. 
 
 The exciting campaign in Ohio and in this 
 county was the presidential election in 1840, 
 when William Henry Harrison ran against 
 Martin Van Buren, the latter being the demo- 
 cratic candidate for re-election. Pages of 
 history have been written about the campaign 
 of 1840. It was the first political "tidal wave" 
 that ever swept the country. From 1829 to 
 1840 Andrew Jackson had been president, fol- 
 lowed by Martin Van Buren, and the demo- 
 cratic party was strongly intrenched in power ; 
 the whigs were demoralized, their principal 
 issue being anti-Jackson. On December 4, 
 1839, they met at Harrisburg, Pa., and nomi- 
 nated Gen. Harrison for the presidency, with 
 John Tyler of Virginia for vice president. 
 Van Buren's colleague was Richard M. John- 
 son, of Kentucky, who in the war of 1812, had 
 won the final battle of the Thames in Canada, 
 when the British were defeated and Tecumseh 
 was killed. Harrison, as the hero of the war 
 of 1812, was the idol of the then great rising 
 northwestern territory, but in the east the 
 business interests and the newspapers made 
 light of his candidacy; soon after the Harri- 
 son nomination, the editor of a Van Buren 
 paper at Baltimore, Md., visited General Har- 
 rison at his country home at South Bend, Ind., 
 and was cordially received and hospitably en- 
 
 tertained by him. He published an account of 
 his trip, spoke slightingly of Harrison's abil- 
 ities, and stated that he lived in a log cabin and 
 drank hard cider, and had no desire to be 
 president, and neither had he the ability to 
 fill the position, and concluded by stating that 
 if the people of the country would only fur- 
 nish him with a liberal supply of crackers and 
 sufficient hard cider he would be contented to 
 live in his little log cabin for the remainder 
 of his days. Every Van Buren paper in the 
 east published the story with great relish, and 
 it was copied in the western organs. Then the 
 storm broke. In all of the great northwest 
 that Harrison had rescued from the Indians 
 the people remembered the log cabins that had 
 been their first homes ; they still kept the hard 
 cider for the hospitable entertainment of their 
 guests, and many still lived in the little log 
 cabins. The northwest rallied to their idol, 
 the log cabin and the buckeye became their 
 rallying cry, and the hard cider was free 
 everywhere. A meeting was called at Colum- 
 bus for February 22, 1840, and although it 
 was the dead of winter, when the day arrived 
 over 15,000 people assembled in that city of 
 6,000 population, and every house was thrown 
 open to entertain free every guest. Every 
 county within a radius of a hundred miles 
 sent monster delegations, some hauling log 
 cabins for fifty miles over the miserable roads. 
 Nearly a hundred went down from Crawford 
 county. Heavy rains had swollen the streams, 
 and the roads were almost impassable, but 
 there were miles of paraders, with their in- 
 numerable log cabins, and heading the pro- 
 cession was a reproduction of Fort Meigs 
 erected by Harrison, and defended by him in 
 1813, and on the front flag staff Harrison's 
 reply to General Proctor's demand for its sur- 
 render: "Tell General Proctor when he gets 
 possession of the Fort, he will gain more 
 honor, in the estimation of his King and coun- 
 try, than he would acquire by a thousand 
 capitulations." There were speeches ; and the 
 hard cider distributed free at every house, with 
 barrels of it at every street corner, kept up the 
 enthusiasm, and also prevented any ill effect 
 from the intemperate weather. 
 
 Of course they passed resolutions, a column 
 of them, glorifying themselves and their can- 
 didate, and denouncing, and criticizing the 
 
120 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 opposition, and one resolution, not political, 
 but future events demonstrated it was the 
 shrewdest of politics. It was a resolution 
 recommending that "the young men of Ohio, 
 Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, West- 
 ern New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia 
 celebrate the next anniversary of the raising 
 of the siege of Fort Meigs, in June, 1813, on 
 the ground occupied by that fort." 
 
 As early as May they started for the rendez- 
 vous; men left their farms and their factories, 
 their stores and their shops, and through the 
 forests and across the swamps they journeyed 
 hundreds of miles on foot and on horseback 
 in wagons and in log cabins, these latter being 
 hung with coon-skins and covered with strings 
 of buckeyes, and used as sleeping places dur- 
 ing the night. And -when the day arrived 
 fully fifty thousand people were there from 
 every state in the union, and the wagons were 
 camped for miles around. Harrison spent the 
 night at Toledo, a little town of 1,300 people, 
 and on the morning of the day went on a little 
 steamer to the fort he had so bravely defended 
 a generation previous. People were weeks 
 getting back to their homes, but from the west 
 the excitement spread to the east, and the chief 
 export of Ohio that year were the buckeyes, 
 and the national drink was hard cider. It 
 was, too, a cure for all ills ; with a pepper-pod 
 sliced into it it was a sure cure for rheuma- 
 tism; mixed with willow-bark and iron-wood 
 it cured fever and ague; with wild cherry 
 added it became a tonic. It was the juice of 
 the apple, and many a temperate man in his 
 enthusiasm for the cause partook so liberally 
 that when night came there was little differ- 
 ence between a moderate and a heavy drinker. 
 
 It was at Columbus that Otway Curry, of 
 Union county, who represented this district 
 in the legislature in 1837 and 1838, wrote the 
 first campaign song that was used in a cam- 
 paign. It was to the tune of "Highland Lad- 
 die," and commenced : 
 
 "Oh where, tell me where, was your Buckeye 
 Cabin made? 
 Oh where, tell me where was your Buckeye 
 Cabin made? 
 'Twas built among the merry boys who 
 wield the plow and spade 
 Where the Log Cabin stands in the bonnie 
 Buckeye shade." 
 
 Another of the songs was to the tune of 
 "Rosin the Bow." 
 
 Come ye who, whatever betide her. 
 To freedom have sworn to be true ; 
 
 Prime up in a mug of hard cider, 
 And drink to old Tippecanoe.* ' 
 
 On tap, I've a pipe of as good, sir. 
 As man from the faucet e'er drew; 
 
 No poison to thicken your blood, sir. 
 But liquor as pure as the dew. 
 
 No foreign potation I puff, sir, 
 In freedom the apple-tree grew, 
 
 And its juice is exactly the stuff, sir, 
 To quaff to old Tippecanoe. 
 
 Let Van* sport his coach and outriders. 
 In liveries flaunting and gay. 
 
 And sneer at log cabins and cider; 
 But woe for the re'ckoning day! 
 
 From east to west and from north to south 
 the wave spread, and long before November 
 came the one side felt defeat and the other 
 scented victory. A tidal wave swept the land 
 "For Tippecanoe and Tyler, too." The mag- 
 nificent democratic organization which six 
 months previous had deemed defeat impos- 
 sible was swept away by an uprising of the 
 people, and even the democratic organ in Bal- 
 timore that first started the sarcasm on the 
 candidate and his log cabin and hard cider, 
 was caught by the wave, and closed the cam- 
 paign as a Harrison supporter. During the 
 campaign many passed through Bucyrus on 
 their way to the great demonstration at Fort 
 Meigs, and among them none other than Har- 
 rison himself, accompanied by Robert C. 
 Schenck, a rising young lawyer from Dayton 
 and an orator. He came over the Pike from 
 Columbus speaking in Delaware and Marion, 
 and stopped at the Union Hotel, then kept by 
 Samuel Norton on the lot now occupied by 
 Zeigler's mill. He spent the night here. 
 Bucyrus had a Tippecanoe club and John 
 Moderwell was the president and James Mar- 
 shall the vice president. The club escorted 
 him to the court house. The little building 
 
 *Tippecanoe was the popular name in the west for 
 Harrison. 
 
 *Van Buren. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 121 
 
 was crowded. The meeting was presided ovef 
 by Josiah Scott, then a rising young lawyer 
 of Bucyrus. Robert C. Schenck addressed the 
 meeting, and made a brilliant speech. Gen- 
 eral Harrison was then introduced, but the 
 crowd was a trifle unfriendly and frequently 
 interrupted the speaker, but he bore the an- 
 noyance with dignity and calmness, until a 
 better feeling prevailed and he was allowed to 
 continue. 
 
 The next morning he left for Sandusky 
 where he took the little lake steamer for To- 
 ledo. This was the first president ever in 
 Bucyrus. Later in the campaign, in Septem- 
 ber, Richard M. Johnson, the candidate for 
 vice president was in Bucyrus, and addressed 
 a large crowd. He was the guest of Congress- 
 man George Sweney and was accompanied by 
 Senator Allen and John Brough, and when he 
 left for his next date at Mansfield, Mr. 
 Sweney and a large number of Bucyrus poli- 
 ticians accompanied him. 
 
 The wave that swept the country and 
 landed Gen. Harrison in the presidential chair 
 was of little avail to the whigs. Whether he 
 could have built up a party is problematical, 
 but he died shortly after his election, and Ty- 
 ler became president, and in 1844 the demo- 
 crats again returned to power. In 1848 the 
 whigs were again successful with a war can- 
 didate. They had opposed the Mexican war, 
 but after the United States were victorious 
 stole the democratic thunder by nominating 
 the hero of that war. General Zachariah Tay- 
 lor, and obtaining a presidential victory. Old 
 "Rough and Ready" as he was called was just 
 as his nickname indicated. One of his first 
 messages congratulated congress with the ex- 
 pression : "We are now at peace with all the 
 world and the rest of mankind." Taylor also 
 died and Fillmore succeeded him. For years 
 the whigs had been little more than an opposi- 
 tion. But in their later years they had driven 
 the democratic party to a defense of slavery. 
 The democratic party had never recognized 
 slavery as one of their party principles, but 
 they were finally forced to its defense, a de- 
 fense that almost killed them, and did kill the 
 party that forced them into that position. For 
 several years prior to 1854, a new party had 
 sprung up of "Free Soilers," who were op- 
 posed to any further extension of slavery; an 
 
 American party, who held that Americans 
 must rule America; and the abolitionists. 
 The Free Soilers at the start drew largely 
 from the democrats and later from the whigs ; 
 the Americans and abolitionists from the 
 whigs, and in some cases the whigs became 
 the third party. In 1854 the many discordant 
 elements that opposed the democratic party 
 got together with a firm and pronounced 
 declaration to stop the inroads of slavery. 
 The free soil democrats and the abolitionists 
 practically all united with the ne\v party, and 
 about two-thirds of the whigs. At least one- 
 third of the whigs went bodily over to the 
 democratic party declining to follow such ad- 
 vanced ground on the slavery c]uestion. in 
 1853, the democratic vote in Crawford tor 
 governor was 1778, the whig vote 525, and 
 the free soil vote 306. The whigs had gone 
 to pieces. In 1855 under the new alignment 
 the democratic vote was 1710, the republican 
 vote 1,449 and the American vote 24. Many 
 well known democrats in Crawford county, 
 who had held office and been leaders, joined 
 the new party, and democracy in turn re- 
 cruited its ranks from life-long whigs. Since 
 then it has been a straight fight between the 
 two great parties, with an occasional new 
 party springing into existence to cast a few- 
 votes, and then drift back to one or two other 
 of the two great parties. At one time the 
 populists rose to several hundred votes in the 
 county, but they finally found a home in one 
 of the two leading parties. The prohibition- 
 ists have been faithful for years, but their 
 vote has- been^drawn from both parties and has 
 been recently light, many years ago their 
 highest figure being about three hundred. In 
 the past few years the socialists under various 
 names have had tickets in the field, taking 
 their following from both parties but mostly 
 from the dominant one. In a few local elec- 
 tions their vote has been such as to indicate 
 that if the increase continues they are a power 
 to be counted on. 
 
 When the war started in 1861, it was heart- 
 ily supported by both parties, but as time 
 passed the republicans being in power in the 
 national government were receiving accessions 
 of strength, which bid fair, when the war 
 reached a successful conclusion, to wipe out 
 the democratic party. And the democratic 
 
122 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 party soon changed to a severe criticism of 
 the conduct of the war, and later came out in 
 bitter opposition to it. The RepubHcans, to 
 make the hne more marked, headed their ticket 
 in this state with the word Union and the 
 party was known as the Union Republican 
 party. In the winter of 1882 one of democ- 
 racy's brilliant orators, Clement L. Vallandig- 
 ham, was so severe in his strictures on the 
 government that he was arrested for treason, 
 and banished from the country, first trans- 
 ported across the line as a present to his 
 friends in the south. From there he went to 
 Canada. The democratic party in this state 
 were up in arms against the administration for 
 the arrest and banishment of their leader and 
 insisted the rights of "freedom of speech" 
 as guaranteed by the constitution were being 
 suppressed. They called their next convention 
 at Columbus to select a candidate for gover- 
 nor, and there was an outpouring of the 
 people; over two hundred went down from 
 this county ; other counties turned out in force ; 
 there were delegations from everywhere, and 
 in the neighborhood of fifty thousand indig- 
 nant and protesting democrats assembled at 
 the capital. It was a great outpouring of the 
 people, and there was no building large enough 
 to hold the crowd, but the problem was solved 
 by having the convention outdoors in the 
 state house yard. With the greatest enthusi- 
 asm Vallandigham was nominated by acclama- 
 tion for governor. Crawford was conspicuous 
 at this convention. The headquarters were at 
 the American house, and the evening of the 
 nominations a ratification meeting was held, 
 and ex-Senator George E. Pugh, the candidate 
 for Lieutenant Governor, and many others 
 made speeches, most of them too mild for the 
 anti-war faction of the party and the excited 
 crowd, besides which the speeches were temp- 
 erate from the fact that dozens of United 
 States marshals were present with instructions 
 to arrest any one guilty of treasonable utter- 
 ances. The speeches were therefore tamer 
 than the Crawford county men had been ac- 
 customed to, and they set up a call for "Jack- 
 son." Abner M. Jackson was a natural born 
 orator, pleasant, affable, the friend of every- 
 body, and the idol of the democracy of this 
 county. The crowd caught the name and 
 Jackson came forward to speak. He ex- 
 
 pressed his opinion on the generals, the war, 
 the government, and the president, with the 
 same freedom and force he had been accus- 
 tomed to do in Crawford county. He was a 
 brilliant orator and set the crowd on fire, and 
 the cheers and applause he received showed 
 he was the orator of the evening, and if his 
 speech had been made the evening before there 
 is no question he would have received the 
 nomination for lieutenant governor. At the 
 conclusion of his speech, policy called for an 
 adjournment of the meeting. 
 
 A severe campaign followed, processions 
 miles long attending every meeting. Pugh 
 took up the fight for his party, his leader being 
 absent in Canada; party bitterness ran high; 
 nearly every meeting created trouble owing to 
 the intense earnestness of both sides, and in 
 the end Brough was elected by 60,000 exclu- 
 sive of the soldier vote which was 41,000 
 more. A law had been passed which allowed 
 the soldiers in the field to vote. The Craw- 
 ford soldier vote was Brough, union, 268; 
 Vallandigham, democrat, 24. On the county 
 ticket the Union vote was some forty less. 
 In the vote as reported from the field 57 
 votes were thrown out for informality, of 
 these 49 were for Brough and 8 for Vallandig- 
 ham. In 1865 the soldier vote was not counted 
 in this county. 
 
 The next important contest was in 1867, 
 when the state was called upon to vote on an 
 amendment to the constitution giving to col- 
 ored people the right to vote, the republicans 
 favoring the proposition the democrats oppos- 
 ing. The amendment was beaten in Ohio by 
 fqrty thousand, but the republicans carried the 
 state by a small majority. 
 
 In 1872, the democrats made no nomina- 
 tion for the presidency, meeting at Baltimore 
 and indorsing Horace Greeley, who had been 
 nominated by the Liberal republicans at Cin- 
 cinnati. This took over to the democratic 
 ranks less than a hundred in this county, ow- 
 ing to their intense bitterness against the 
 administration of President Grant, but event- 
 ually most of them returned to the republican 
 party. 
 
 Party lines remained the same in this 
 county until 1887 to 1891, when the Peoples 
 Party sprang into existence, an organization 
 principally of farmers comprising men of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 123 
 
 both parties, but later coming largely from the 
 democrats. It ran for a few years, and its 
 members later drifted back to the old parties, 
 the democrats getting the better of the drift. 
 
 So strong had the populistic tendency be- 
 come, that that party dictated the democratic 
 presidential nomination and platform in 1896, 
 which caused the nomination of a gold demo- 
 cratic ticket made up of those who still be- 
 lieved with Andrew Jackson on the money 
 question. Many joined this party, but when 
 it came to vote, they mostly voted for McKin- 
 ley. In the last few years the Socialists under 
 various names have had an increasing vote, 
 especially in the cities, and both the great 
 parties have been drifting toward the adop- 
 tion of many of the milder views of the 
 Socialists. 
 
 The first constitution was adopted when 
 Ohio was admitted as a state in 1803, with a 
 proviso that a constitutional convention could 
 be held every twenty years to submit a new 
 constitution to the people. In 1830 there was 
 no desire for any change in the constitution, 
 so no constitutional convention was held. 
 
 In 1850 a constitutional convention was 
 held, the delegate from this county being Rich- 
 ard W. Cahill of Vernon township. The ne^\ 
 constitution was submitted to the people in 
 June, 1851, and was adopted, the vote in 
 Crawford county being 1,441 for and 399 
 against, a majority for of 1,042. It carried 
 every township except Auburn and Dallas, los- 
 ing in Auburn by 22 and in Dallas by 8. 
 When this constitution was submitted a sep- 
 arate proposition was submitted to the people 
 as to whether the sale of liquor should be 
 licensed in the state. License was defeated. 
 On this question Crawford's vote was, for 
 license 1,121, against 592; majority for 529. 
 License carried every township excepting four, 
 Bucyrus giving 17 majority against, Jackson 
 57, Texas 4, and Tod 5. The next constitu- 
 tional convention was in 1870, when Thomas 
 Beer was elected the delegate from this county 
 without opposition. The constitution was 
 submitted to the voters on August 18, 1874, 
 and defeated by 147,284. Three other propo- 
 sitions were submitted separately but all were 
 defeated overwhelmingly, excepting the 
 licensing of the liquor traffic, and this was 
 defeated by only 7,286 majority in the state. 
 
 In 1851 the majority against license was 8,982. 
 In Crawford county in 1874, the vote was 
 1,107 for the new constitution, 2,283 against. 
 On the propositions submitted separately the 
 vote was: For minority representation 945, 
 against 2,241 ; for railroad aid 225, against 
 3,043; for licensing liquor traffic 2,212, 
 against 1,187. 
 
 In 1812 the third constitutional convention 
 was held, and at the election in October 181 1, 
 George W. Miller was selected as the delegate. 
 
 The following is the vote of Crawford 
 county for governor, the years 1828 and 1832 
 being the presidential vote: *Indicates the 
 candidates who carried the state: 
 
 1824 — Allen Trimble, nat rep. . 
 *Jeremiah Morrow, dem 
 
 Trimble plurality. . . 
 
 1826 — * Allen Trimble, nat rep 
 
 John Bigger, dem 
 
 Trimble plurality. . . 
 1828 — * Allen Trimble, nat rep 
 John W. Campbell, dem 
 Trimble plurality . . . 
 1830 — -*Robert Lucas, dem. . . 
 
 Duncan McArthur, nat rep 
 
 Lucas plurality 
 
 1832 — * Andrew Jackson, dem. . . 
 Henry Clay, whig 
 
 Jackson plurality 
 
 1834 — *Robert Lucas, dem 
 
 James Findlay, whig. . . . 
 
 Lucas plurality 
 
 1836 — Martin Van Buren, dem. . 
 *Wm. H. Harrison, whig. 
 
 Van Buren plurality. . 
 
 1838 — •* Wilson Shannon, dem... 
 
 Joseph Vance, whig 
 
 Shannon plurality 
 
 1840 — Wilson Shannon, dem. . . 
 *Thomas Corwin, whig . 
 
 83 
 
 32 
 
 115 
 
 51 
 
 339 
 3 
 
 342 
 
 336 
 217 
 
 52 
 
 355 
 109 
 
 382 
 464 
 
 246 
 
 557 
 259 
 
 816 
 
 298 
 528 
 325 
 
 853 
 
 203 
 702 
 677 
 
 i>379 
 
 25 
 948 
 626 
 
 1,574 
 
 322 
 
 ' 
 
 1,204 
 994 
 
 2,208 
 
 Shannon plurality 220 
 
124 
 1842- 
 
 -* Wilson Shannon, dem. . . 1,308 
 Thomas Corwin, whig. . . 778 2,086 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1863 — Clement L. Vallandigham, 
 
 Shannon plurality 530 
 
 1844 — David Tod, dem 1,671 
 
 *Mordecai Bartley, whig. 1,123 
 Leicester King, free soil. 4 2,798 
 
 Tod plurality 548 
 
 1846 — David Tod, dem 1,181 
 
 * William Bebb, whig 644 
 
 Samuel Lewis, free soil.. 22 1,847 
 
 1848- 
 
 1850- 
 1851- 
 
 1853- 
 
 1855- 
 
 Tod plurality 537 
 
 -John B. Weller, dem 1,558 
 
 *Seabury Ford, whig.... 751 
 Scattering 84 2,393 
 
 Ford plurality 807 
 
 -* Reuben Wood, dem 1,055 
 
 William Johnston, whig. 538 1,593 
 
 Wood plurality 517 
 
 -*Reuben \'\^ood, dem. ...1,551 
 Samuel F. Vinton, whig. 683 2,234 
 
 Wood plurality 868 
 
 -*Winiam MediU, dem. . . . 1,778 
 
 Nelson Barrere, whig. 
 Samuel Lewis, free soil. 
 
 525 
 
 306 2,609 
 
 MediU plurality 1,253 
 
 -Wihiam Medill, dem... .1,710 
 *Salmon P Chase, rep... 1,449 
 Allen Trimble, amer. ... 43 3,202 
 
 MediU -plurality 261 
 
 1857 — Henry B. Payne, dem. . . .2,038 
 *Salmon P. Chase, rep... 1,457 
 Philadelphia Van Trump, 
 
 amer 27 3,522 
 
 1859- 
 
 1861- 
 
 Payne plurality 581 
 
 -Rufus P. Ranney, dem... 2, 258 
 *WiUiam Dennison, rep.. 1,550 3,808 
 
 Ranney plurality 708 
 
 -Hugh J. Jewett, dem 2,501 
 
 *David Tod, rep i,734 4,235 
 
 dem 2,948 
 
 *John Brough, union rep. .2,157 5>ic>5 
 
 Vallandigham plurality . 79 1 
 1865 — George W. Morgan, dem. 2,911 
 
 *Jacob D. Cox, rep i,759 4,670 
 
 1867- 
 
 1869- 
 
 Morgan plurality 1,152 
 
 -Allen G. Thurman, dem . . 3,497 
 *Rutherford B. Hayes, rep. 1,864 5,361 
 
 Thurman plurality. . . . 1,633 
 -Geo. H. Pendleton, dem. .3,183 
 *Rutherford B. Hayes, rep. 1,631 4.814 
 
 Pendleton plurality. . . . 1,552 
 1871 — George W. McCook, dem. 2,948 
 *Edward . Noyes, rep. . ... 1,690 
 Gideon T. Stewart, proh 26 4,664 
 
 i«73- 
 
 McCook plurality 1,258 
 
 != William Allen, dem . . . . 2,879 
 Edward F Noyes, rep.. 1,292 
 Gideon T. Stewart, proh 180 
 Isaac Collins, liberal. . 25 4,376 
 
 1875- 
 
 AUen plurality 1,587 
 
 -William Allen, deiii 3,834 
 
 * Rutherford B. Hayes, rep. 2,064 
 Jay OdeU, prob 44 5,942 
 
 AUen plurality i-77° 
 
 1877 — * Richard M. Bishop, dem. 3,498 
 WiUiam H. West, rep. .. 1,581 
 Scattering 177 5,256 
 
 1879- 
 
 Bishop plurality 1,917 
 
 -Thomas Ewing, dem. . . .4,193 
 
 *Charles Foster, rep 2,213 
 
 Gideon T. Stewart, proh 135 
 
 A. Sanders Piatt, peo. . . 43 6,584 
 
 Ewing plurality 1,980 
 
 -John W. Bookwalter, dem. 3,608 
 
 *Charles Foster, rep 1,967 
 
 Abraham R. Ladow, prob 256 
 John Seitz, peo 56 5,887 
 
 Jewett plurality 767 
 
 Bookwalter plurality. . . 1,641 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 125 
 
 1883 — * George Hoadley, dem...4,457 
 Joseph B. Foraker, rep . . 2,478 
 Scattering 49 6,982 
 
 Hoadley plurality i,979 
 
 1885 — George Hoadley, dem.... 4,269 
 * Joseph B. Foraker, rep. .2,364 
 Adna B. Leonard, proh . . 297 
 John W. Northup, peo. . 25 6,955 
 
 Hoadley plurality i ,905 
 
 1887 — Thomas E. Powell, dem.. 4,258 
 * Joseph B. Foraker, rep.. 2,295 
 
 Morris Sharp, proh 227 
 
 John Seitz, peo 310 7,090 
 
 Powell plurality ^,9^2 
 
 1889 — * James E. Campbell, dem. 4,767 
 Joseph B. Foraker, rep.. 2,353 
 John B. Helwig, proh . . . 222 7,342 
 
 Campbell plurality. .. .2,414 
 
 1891 — ^James E. Campbell, dem. .4,400 
 
 *William McKinley, rep . . 2,346 
 
 John J. Ashenhurst, proh 122 
 
 John Seitz, peo 428 7,296 
 
 Campbell plurality .... 2,054 
 
 1893 — Lawrence T. Neal, dem. . .4,110 
 
 * William McKinley, rep . . 2,678 
 
 Gideon P. Mackin, proh. 150 
 
 Edward J. Bracken, peo. 224 7,162 
 
 Neal plurality 1,432 
 
 1895 — James E. Campbell, dem.. 4,395 
 
 *Ada S. Bushnell, rep 2,557 
 
 Jacob S. Coxey, peo. ... 535 
 
 Seth H. Ellis, proh 154 
 
 William Watkins, soc. lab 5 7,646 
 
 Campbell plurality. . . . 1,838 
 1897 — Horace L. Chapman, dem. 4,725 
 *Asa S. Bushnell, rep.... 2,4 16 
 John C. Holliday, proh . . 59 
 Jacob S. Coxey, peo.... 81 
 William Watkins, soc. lab 10 
 Scattering 17 7,308 
 
 Chapman plurality ...2,309 
 
 'T899— John R. McLean, dem... 4,538 
 
 *George K. Nash, rep. . . .2,417 
 
 Samuel M. Jones, non- 
 partisan 637 
 
 Seth H. Ellis, reform... 90 
 
 Robert Bandlow, soc. lab 39 7,721 
 
 McLean plurality 2,121 
 
 1 90 1 — James Kilbourne, dem. . . .4,298 
 *George K. Nash, rep .... 2,396 
 E. Jay Pinney, proh ... 90 
 John Richardson, reform 22 
 Harry C. Thompson, soc yy 
 John H. G. Juergens, 
 soc. lab 16 6,899 
 
 Kilbourne plurality. . . . 1,902 
 
 1903 — Tom L. Johnson, dem. . . .4,425 
 
 * Myron T. Herrick, rep. .2,478 
 
 Nelson D. Creamer, proh 91 
 
 Isaac Cowen, soc 124 
 
 John D. Goerke, soc. lab. 17 7,135 
 
 Johnson plurality i,947 
 
 1905 — *John M. Pattison, dem.. 5,000 
 Myron T. Herrick, rep. .2,489 
 Aaron S. Watkins, proh. 74 
 
 Isaac Cowen, soc 112 
 
 John C. Steiger, soc. lab. 8 7,683 
 
 Patterson plurality 2,511 
 
 1908 — *Judson Harmon, dem... 5,913 
 
 191C 
 
 Myron T. Herrick, rep. 
 Robert Bandlow, soc . . . 
 John B. Martin, proh . . 
 
 Harmon plurality. . . . 
 -*Judson Harmon, dem. . 
 Warren G. Harding, rep 
 Tom CliiTord, soc .... 
 J. R. Malley, soc. lab 
 
 3,i«« 
 151 
 77 9,329 
 
 2,725 
 5,450 
 2,141 
 
 315 
 17 
 
 Henry N. Thompson, proh 33 7,956 
 
 Harmon plurality .... 3,309 
 
 Crawford county has not fared very well 
 as regards state offices. It started in all right, 
 but later devoted more attention to the hold- 
 ing of county offices, leaving other counties 
 to fill the state positions. In 1830, Moses H. 
 Kirby of Crawford was appointed secretary 
 of state, and held the office for three years. 
 Over fifty years passed when the next man 
 
126 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to hold one of the state offices was E. B. Fin- 
 ley. His office was also an appointive one, 
 he being tendered the position of adjutant gen- 
 eral of the state by Governor Hoadley, serving 
 from 1884 to 1886. In 1895 Crawford county, 
 for the first time, elected one of its citizens to 
 a state position, Frank S. Monnett being 
 elected attorney general and reelected in 1897. 
 Another ten years elapsed and in 19 10 Syl- 
 vanus Strode was elected as dairy and food 
 commissioner, and renominated again this 
 year. 
 
 In 1856, Josiah Scott was elected a judge 
 of the supreme court. He came to Crawford 
 in 1829, but removed to Butler county in 1850, 
 and was elected from that county, and re- 
 elected for two terms, and at the expiration of 
 his judgeship returned to Crawford county, 
 so this county has a right to claim him. In 
 1876, the supreme court was so far behind in 
 its business that several additional judges were 
 appointed by Gov. Hayes to serve for three 
 years, and Judge Scott was one of the ap- 
 pointees on what was known as the supreme 
 court commission. 
 
 Another citizen of Crawford to hold office 
 in the capitol was Charles W. McCracken, who 
 was appointed canal commissioner in 1896 
 by Governor Bushnell. 
 
 In 1867 Cochran Fulton of this county was 
 nominated on the democratic ticket for state 
 treasurer but was defeated. Judge Thomas 
 Beer was nominated for supreme judge in 
 1892, on the democratic ticket, but was 
 defeated. 
 
 In the legislature this county has held 
 several positions. The first was John R. 
 Knapp, who established the Peoples Forum 
 in 1845, ^"d in 1847 was appointed one of the 
 clerks of the Ohio senate. The next year he 
 was a candidate for the clerkship. The senate 
 stood democrats 17, whigs 17, free soil 2, 
 and the first ballot resulted Knapp, dem., 18; 
 Galloway, whig, 13; Tappan, whig, 4; Stanley, 
 free soil, i. Balloting commenced on Decem- 
 ber 5, and Knapp was elected on December 
 8, on the 121st ballot, receiving just the 19 
 votes necessary to elect, the other 17 votes 
 scattering between six candidates. The next 
 year he was elected on the second ballot. The 
 contest over clerk was due to the fact that 
 prior to 1850 the clerk of the senate had con- 
 
 trol of the state advertising, which amounted 
 to about $50,000 annually to some Columbus 
 newspaper. In 1898 David O. Castle was 
 elected as clerk of the senate serving one term. 
 In 19 10 W. I. Goshorn of the Gallon Inquirer, 
 was elected clerk of the senate, and is the 
 present incumbent. 
 
 In 1874 Thomas Coughlin was elected clerk 
 of the house, serving one term. He was also 
 an editor of the Forum, owning that office 
 from 1862 to 1868, later serving two terms 
 as clerk of the court. 
 
 In 1890 Senator Perry M. Adams (Seneca 
 county), representing this district in the state 
 senate, was elected president pro tem of that 
 body holding the office for two years. 
 
 Two citizens of Crawford county have re- 
 ceived presidential appointments abroad, both 
 newspaper men and both in the consular 
 service. In 183 1 William Crosby published 
 the second paper ever issued in Bucyrus, which 
 he called the Bucyrus Journal; he continued 
 it for several years under different names, 
 and in 1845 President Polk appointed him 
 United States Consul at Talcahuano, Chili, 
 and after serving for some time he found the 
 office was not a paying institution and resigned 
 to go into the business of whale fishing which 
 proved more profitable. In 1898 President 
 McKinley appointed John E. Hopley, editor 
 of the Evening Telegraph, as United States 
 Consul to Southampton, England, and in 1903 
 he was promoted to the Consulate at Monte- 
 video, Uruguay, where he served for two years 
 returning to his editorial work in 1905. 
 
 Campaigning in the old days was vastly dif- 
 ferent from what it is today, and prior to 1850 
 a speech a day was about all the dates a can- 
 didate could fill, but if he were some promi- 
 nent leader, the people assembled from miles 
 around, and little towns of only a few hun- 
 dred had crowds that numbered away up into 
 the thousands. Generally the distinguished 
 speaker was attended from one town to the 
 next by a delegation of worshippers. It was 
 about 1849 that John Brough made a demo- 
 cratic speech at Bucyrus. His next date was 
 at Tiffin, and Jacob Scroggs, Tom Orr, and a 
 few other of the faithful young democrats of 
 that day, started with him to Tiffin. The roads 
 were bad, as they generally were, and reach- 
 ing Melmore they decided to stay over night 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 127 
 
 and continue their journey in the morning. 
 After supper they found there was a whig 
 meeting in progress at the school house ad- 
 dressed by some local celebrity, and to put in 
 the time attended the meeting. Brough was 
 like the old Dutch governors of New York, he 
 was built on the purest of geometrical prin- 
 ciples ; he was five feet, six inches tall and six 
 feet, five inches in circumference, and as jovial 
 and good natured as men of that build gen- 
 erally are. He was a great lover of a joke. 
 During the young man's speech, he was scath- 
 ing in his denunciations of the democratic 
 party and defied any man present ' to contra- 
 dict his assertions. After several challenges 
 hurled at the audience, Biough quietly arose, 
 and with his mildest look, innocently said, 
 "Young man, if you have no objection I would 
 like to answer some of your assertions." 
 Brough looked anything but a statesman or an 
 orator, and the young man jumped at the 
 chance, smilingly thinking of how he would 
 cover himself with glory by later literally 
 skinning the unsophisticated looking stranger 
 alive. Brough was one of the great orators 
 of his day, and added to this was the happy 
 faculty of being one of the people, and making 
 himself at home with them. With his wit and 
 humor, sarcasm and oratory he soon had the 
 audience wild, and they were spell bound under 
 his matchless eloquence, and when he con- 
 cluded there was no answer from the young 
 man, but instead cheer after cheer for the dis- 
 tinguished speaker. 
 
 Another orator of the early days was 
 Cooper K. Watson, not a natural born orator 
 like Brough and Gibson, still an orator. He 
 was a candidate for congress in this district 
 in 1856, and had a date for an evening meet- 
 ing at New Winchester, and Jacob Scroggs 
 drove him down. Watson was , a republican, 
 and Mr. Scroggs was one of the many in the 
 county who had joined the new party. When 
 •they reached New Winchester, they found 
 a faithful republican who had built a fire and 
 lighted up the school house. On their arrival 
 he rang the bell, and the three waited. After 
 half an hour Watson inquired where the rest 
 of th^ people were, and was informed that 
 there would probably be no one else there. 
 Scroggs was for canceling the meeting, but 
 Watson held the man had come to hear a re- 
 
 publican speech, and he would not disappoint 
 him. So Scroggs presided, and introduced the 
 speaker, and Watson addressed his single 
 listener for an hour and a half, and when the 
 speech was over the man turned out the lights, 
 locked the door and went home, the two men 
 driving back to Bucyrus. 
 
 John R. Clymer was clerk of the court from 
 about 1862 to 1868, Tom Coughlin at the time 
 being editor of the Forum, and Coughlin con- 
 cluded to run for clerk, the arrangement being 
 that if he got the nomination Clymer would 
 buy the Forum. Coughlin's principal oppon- 
 ent was A. A. Ruhl. In the course of his can- 
 vass Coughlin stated that he visited Gallon, 
 and met Dr. D. Shumaker there, one of the 
 prominent democrats, and solicited him for his 
 support. Shumaker promptly replied that he 
 was friendly to Mr. Ruhl, that gentleman hav- 
 ing formerly been a Gallon man and his people 
 prominent in that town in its early days, there- 
 fore he should certainly support Ruhl. The 
 Doctor then inquired about Mr. Clymer, who 
 was also a Gallon man, and whose ancestors 
 were also pioneers, and asked what he pro- 
 posed to do when he left the clerkship. 
 
 "Why," said Coughlin, "if I'm elected clerk, 
 Clymer is going to buy the Forum." 
 
 The Doctor promptly replied: "If that's 
 the case you can count on my support. The 
 Lord knows the Forum needs a change of 
 editors." 
 
 Coughlin got the nomination, and Mr. 
 Clymer became editor of the Forum. 
 
 After Mr. Clymer retired from the Forum 
 he was a candidate for the nomination for 
 probate judge. He was one of the polished 
 speakers of the county, was more than friendly 
 with everybody, in fact effervesced in his ex- 
 pressions of interest in everyone. He was 
 not good at remembering names and faces, 
 and during the campaign met a young demo- 
 crat in the postofhce, shook him warmly by the 
 hand and expressed his great delight at meet- 
 ing him, spoke of his dear old father and 
 mother, and how he always loved to meet 
 them, and finally inquired after the father. 
 The young man solemnly replied: "Why, 
 Mr. Clymer, father died last year." 
 
 "Ah," said Mr. Clymer, "so he did. I re- 
 member it now, and how sorry I was to hear 
 of it; if ever there was a democratic saint on 
 
128 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 earth, it was your dear old father. I'm a can- 
 didate for probate judge and I know I can 
 count on your support." ^ 
 
 Half an hour later, Mr. Clyraer met ^he 
 same young man on the street, and his face 
 looking familiar he shook him warmly by the 
 hand and expressed his great delight at meet- 
 ing him, spoke of his dear old father and 
 mother, and how he had always loved to meet 
 them and then inquired, "How is your dear 
 old father?"' 
 
 The young man promptly replied: "He's 
 still dead." 
 
 In 1 86 1 Joseph Worden was elected sheriff 
 of the county, and when he took charge the 
 following year he had as his assistant his older 
 brother, better known as "Uncle Jimmie" 
 Worden, who was prouder of his ofifice as 
 deputy than his brother was of the Shrievality. 
 He was as faithful and accommodating in his 
 duties as he was averse to fine raiment and 
 soap and water. He was so friendly and good 
 natured and willing that everybody overlooked 
 his lack of cleanliness. When his brother left 
 the office in 1866, "Uncle Jimmie" was out 
 of his job, but he pined in secret for the posi- 
 tion, and in 1869 he astonished everybody by 
 announcing his name as a candidate for 
 sheriff. It was regarded as a joke, and the 
 only man in the county who took the matter 
 seriously was "Uncle Jimmie" himself. In 
 1826 the sheriff's office was thrust ^on a man 
 who had just become a resident of the county, 
 but in 1869 things were different, and half a 
 dozen men were in a terrific struggle to have 
 the "thrust" come their way. It was cut and 
 slash between the candidates, except "Uncle 
 Jimmie," and he was allowed to follow the 
 harmless amusement of running for office un- 
 molested. In fact, the other candidates rather 
 "pitied the sorrows of a poor old man," and 
 while all had a bitter word for their opponents 
 they had a kindly word for "Uncle Jimmie," 
 and when they failed to land a man, generally 
 closed with the remark, "Well, if you can't 
 vote for me don't do me any harm, and if you 
 can vote for Uncle Jimmie ; he's a nice old fel- 
 low, and it will break his heart when he finds 
 how few votes he got." 
 
 The April primaries came. The ballots 
 were cast and counted, and to the astonish- 
 ment of everybody, except Uncle Jimmie him- 
 
 self, he was the winner. His every act and 
 manner showed that he was astonished that 
 anyone would think they could defeat him 
 for sheriff. 
 
 The above is the story handed down of 
 "Uncle Jimmie's" election as sheriff of the 
 county. His candidacy had been a huge joke 
 to, it was believed, every one but himself^ 
 yet there may be another side to it ; as deputy 
 for four years he had been the faithful and 
 willing servant of his brother, the bar and the 
 people; that he took more pride in the office 
 than he did in his own personal appearance 
 his dress gave unquestioned proof, but per- 
 haps there were more people remembered his 
 faithful service than his opponents expected. 
 
 For four years he was the happiest and 
 least dressy man that ever held office in the 
 county. But he still had those good qualities 
 of willingness and an accomodating disposi- 
 tion, and he never complained. Notwithstand- 
 ing his slovenliness he was not disliked by the 
 other officials, and as proof of this a glance at 
 the election returns of 1871 when he was re- 
 elected, shows he had the largest majority of 
 any candidate on the county ticket. He was 
 a poor writer and a still poorer reader of writ- 
 ing, although he prided himself on his ability 
 in reading writing. Once, in dead of winter, a 
 witness was wanted in an important case; the 
 subpoena was made out and handed to Jimmie. 
 He spelled it out slowly and carefully and left 
 the court room. The important witness only 
 lived a block away. A half hour passed 
 and no Jimmie ; an hour went by and another 
 hour followed it and still no Jimmie, and court 
 was stopped awaiting his arrival. Inquiries 
 were made but he could not be found. It was 
 10 o'clock when he left the court room; he 
 promptly went to the livery stable, secured a 
 rig and started north on the Tiffin road. It 
 was bitter cold, and the Tiffin road was the 
 worst in the county in winter, and this year 
 worse than usual, so the horse walked the 
 entire seven miles until he stopped at the store 
 of Daniel Fralic in Wingert's Corners where 
 Jimmie served the subpoena on the squire. 
 The Squire put on his glasses, read the docu- 
 ment over carefully, and returning it said: 
 "Why sheriff, this supoena isn't for me; it's- 
 for Dr. Cuykendall at Bucyrus." Jimmie 
 never complained, and never said a word or 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 131 
 
 made any explanation. It was noon, and he 
 didn't even stop to eat, but got in his buggy 
 and drove slowly back to Bucyrus, and handed 
 the document to Dr. Cuykendall, who 
 promptly repaired to the court house reaching 
 there at three o'clock. Jimmie made no ex- 
 planation, but when Squire Fralic came to town 
 the following Saturday, the story came out. 
 When twitted about it Jimmie got even with 
 the pointed remark: "Lawyers always were 
 such d — n poor writers." 
 
 Many who have had occasion to puzzle over 
 the chirography of some members of the 
 Crawford county bar will incline to "Uncle 
 Jimmie's" view. 
 
 Although the sheriff is the official who deals 
 with criminals it is a singular fact that while 
 no sheriff has lost his life in the discharge of 
 his duties, yet more have met with violent 
 deaths than any other class of officials in the 
 county. Of the twenty-five sheriffs, five have 
 met with violent deaths. 
 
 John Caldwell, sheriff from '44 to '46^ on 
 the discovery of gold in California, started 
 across the plains and was never heard from 
 afterward, believed to have been killed by the 
 Indians; his body never having been found. 
 Jonathan Kissinger, '50 to '54, after his term 
 of office, removed to Williams county, and 
 was killed by the cars. His successor, Wil- 
 liam C. Beal, '54 to '58, a few years after leav- 
 ing the office, was killed by the cars west of 
 Bucyrus. Joseph C. Worden, '62 to '66, was 
 run over by the cars at Galion and killed. 
 Daniel Keplinger, '66 to '70, was just com- 
 pleting his second term, when on the morning 
 of Saturday, Nov. 6, 1869, he was thrown 
 from his buggy while driving, and after lin- 
 gering for days died on Dec. 9, the only sher- 
 iff to die in office. The Bar Association held 
 a meeting with Franklin Adams as chairman 
 and John Hopley as secretary, passed resolu- 
 tions of respect, and Judge Chester R. Mott 
 adjourned court for six days; the bar at- 
 tended the funeral in a body, which was con- 
 ducted by La Salle Lodge I. O. O. F. Much 
 of the political bitterness that arose during 
 the war still existed, yet the Journal, the op- 
 position organ to the sheriff politically, paid 
 the following tribute to his memory: 
 
 "He won the respect and confidence of all 
 with whom he came in contact. In an emi- 
 
 nent degree he was "diligent in business." He 
 softened the asperities of his office without 
 relaxing the rigor of his duties; and where 
 many persons would have caused lasting harsh 
 feelings, he made warm friends. Even in 
 temper, calm in character, inflexible in integ- 
 rity, faithful in duty, and firm in the execu- 
 tion of it, he possessed and justly merited 
 the esteem of all." 
 
 To the people of the present day, there may 
 be wonder at this insertion of a deserved 
 tribute to a faithful official. And yet there 
 were many republicans in that day who se- 
 verely criticized the republican organ for "go- 
 ing out of its way" to praise a democrat. 
 Times indeed have changed 
 
 "Through the shadow of the globe we sweep 
 
 into the younger day ; 
 Better fity years of Europe than a cycle 
 
 of Cathay." 
 
 The present generation little know and can 
 not remember the intensity of the bitterness 
 that was engendered by the Civil war. How 
 it started or why it started it is difficult to 
 determine. For the first thirty years of the 
 republic, party lines were a -division bet- 
 tween the federalists, who believed in a few 
 controlling and the democrats and republi- 
 cans, who believed in the people controll- 
 ing. The people won, and under Jackson 
 took the name of democrat, their opposi- 
 tion being whigs, but both believing in the 
 right of the people to rule, that question hav- 
 ing been forever settled by the death of the 
 federalist party. From the time of Jackson 
 for thirty years the democratic party formu- 
 lated the laws and were the up-builders of 
 the nation. All attempts to overthrow their 
 tremendous hold on the people- were unavail- 
 ing. The whigs, as a party, were shifty, eva- 
 sive and compromising, and succeeded in but 
 one thing and that was to drive the demo- 
 cratic party unwillingly into a defense of slav- 
 ery. On this issue the south became dicta- 
 torial and the party was disrupted in i860; it 
 was the north against the south in the demo- 
 cratic party. At the election in i860, Craw- 
 ford's vote was Douglas, northern democrat, 
 2,752; Lincoln, republican, 2,064; Brecken- 
 ridge, southern democrat, 117. There was 
 no question where Crawford stood. The war 
 
132 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 broke out, and democrats and republicans alike 
 responded to their country's call, and for a 
 year there was a united sentiment in the 
 county, for the defense of the union. 
 
 Shrewd men in the rising young republican 
 party, saw that in a successful and popular 
 war their lease of power would be perpet- 
 uated; equally shrewd men in the democratic 
 party, feared the disintegration of their once 
 powerful party, and as a result first criticised, 
 then opposed, and finally became openly hos- 
 tile to the administration and in many cases 
 strong sympathizers with the southern cause. 
 This feeling was mostly confined- to the 
 party leaders, for during the entire war, ex- 
 cept among the most bitter, enlistments con- 
 tinued regardless of party. But it is true that 
 the 117 Breckenridge men eventually molded 
 the opinion of the county, and Crawford be- 
 came an anti-war county. Many altercations 
 arose between the soldiers returning on fur- 
 lough and the rougher elements in the demo- 
 cratic party and fights and knock-downs were 
 frequent; a political meeting was almost in- 
 variably followed by assaults on citizens. In 
 many cases shots were fired, the most serious 
 being the result of an altercation in the Fulton 
 drug store when three soldiers were wounded, 
 one very seriously. In many places in the 
 country chui;ches were desecrated, their win- 
 dows broken, and two were destroyed be- 
 cause the minister was a union sympathizer. 
 In the country also known union sympathizers 
 found their stock poisoned, their barns and 
 outhouses burned, and their families ostra- 
 cised. It is a singular fact that when a na- 
 tion is engaged in a prolonged war the baser 
 instincts pervade human nature, and among 
 the more ignorant and brutal the animal in- 
 stincts prevail, and it was this class that led 
 the outrages in defiance of law and of decency. 
 The seed sown by local leaders started a force 
 which got beyond their control. When the 
 draft came armed resistance was prepared for, 
 but wiser counsels prevailed and the drafts 
 passed off quietly. To add to the intensity of 
 the situation. Judge Hall was arrested for al- 
 leged treasonable utterances, and taken a pris- 
 oner to the camp at Mansfield. He was re- 
 leased on parole, but his arrest added fuel to 
 the flames among his friends. A warrant wa.s 
 issued for the arrest of A. M. Jackson for al- 
 
 leged treasonable utterances, but when the sol- 
 diers searched his house he was not to be 
 found. A republican friend at Crestline had 
 sent word to him that the soldiers were on 
 their way to arrest him, and Mr. Jackson took 
 refuge in the house of a friend. He remained 
 in hiding several weeks, changing his resi- 
 dence every few days, so that his place of 
 refuge could not be traced. The alleged 
 treasonable utterances were very mild criti- 
 cisms of the war to what occurred later, when 
 no attention was paid to them. The demo- 
 cratic* organ carried two flags, which they 
 flew over their office. When there was a rebel 
 victory, the Stars and Stripes were flung to 
 the breeze, and when the Union forces were 
 successful the flag flown was of pure white, 
 containing a picture of a dove, and in its 
 beak the olive branch of peace. All day long 
 on July 4, of 1863, business was almost sus- 
 pended in Bucyrus, and men frequented the 
 telegraph office to gain what little tidings they 
 could of the fearful conflict on the field of 
 Gettysburg. The early reports were unfav- 
 orable, and night settled on an anxious, doubt- 
 ing and discouraged village. In the evening 
 a jollification meeting was held on account of 
 the fourth, and one of the speakers in his de- 
 nunciation of the war, thundered forth the 
 inquiry: "Where now are your shattered 
 armies? fleeing before the victorious hosts of 
 Lee in Pennsylvania." This was not the feel- 
 ing of the better element of the democratic 
 party in the county; it was the expression of 
 the views of a class which catered to the vicious 
 element of the community, an element so law- 
 less that men found it the safer policy not 
 to openly denounce their outrages. Naturally 
 war brought its hardships, its deprivations, and 
 its struggles on the families of soldiers in the 
 field, but under the law each county levied a 
 tax, the proceeds of which were distributed 
 monthly by the auditor and commissioners to 
 deserving families in need. Besides this, the 
 citizens of both parties gave freely of their 
 means to see that none should suffer, and 
 many a grocer and store keeper had charges 
 on his books for the necessaries of life which 
 were never presented for collection and of 
 which sometimes no entry was even made. 
 This county had a very strong German popu- 
 lation, and nine-tenths of them belonged to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 133 
 
 the democratic party, and yet a very large 
 majority of these same German democrats 
 were for the preservation of the Union. The 
 majority of the people in Crawford were loyal 
 during the war, but the county did gain an 
 unenviable notoriety through a disorderly ele- 
 ment in nearly every section being allowed to 
 commit their outrages with very little protest 
 from their neighbors and much less restraint 
 by the authorities. It was a case where the 
 people controlled, not the whole people, but 
 the worst element as in the days of the French 
 Revolution. It not only gave the county a 
 bad name, but it did more than anything else 
 to bring on the intense party bitterness which 
 it took years to overcome. Some churches 
 in the county were so intense in their unionism 
 that the Christianity of a democrat was so 
 doubted that he was compelled to sever his 
 connection with the church, or left it volun- 
 tarily to avoid the suspicions with which he 
 was viewed by his democratic neighbors. 
 Other churches were composed exclusively of 
 democrats. There were republican stores and 
 democratic stores, republican and democratic 
 hotels and barber shops, and nine-tenths of 
 the trade of each came from their own 
 partisans. So intense was the feeling that it 
 is dqubtful if a democratic store in the town 
 had a republican clerk, and when some of 
 the leading republican stores later had a demo- 
 cratic clerk they were regarded as unfaithful 
 to their party obligations. In many churches 
 it took careful handling by the ministers to 
 avoid friction in their congregations. 
 
 Crawford county since the time of Andrew 
 Jackson has been a democratic county, and 
 since the courthouse was built in 1856, with 
 one exception no republican ever held office 
 within its portals, and that one republican was 
 not elected but got there by appointment. In 
 1857 Patrick S. Marshall was elected pro- 
 bate judge and in August, 1858, he resigned. 
 Under the law the probate judge is the only 
 county office in which the vacancy is filled 
 by the appointment of the governor. Gov. 
 Chase, a republican, was then governor and 
 he appointed S. J. Elliott to serve until his 
 successor was elected and qualified. Abram 
 Summers was elected in October, and as soon 
 as he received his commission he entered on 
 the duties of his office. 
 
 As to other offices there has not been in 
 this county a republican or whig official since 
 the day the democratic party took its name 
 under Andrew Jackson, eighty years ago. In 
 1853 Mr. Beal was elected sheriff as an in- 
 dependent, the whigs making no nomination, 
 and he receiving their support. But he was 
 a democrat from Gabon. Kissinger had been 
 elected in 1849 and 1851, and was renomi- 
 nated in 1853. The new constitution had 
 changed the law so that no sheriff could serve 
 for more than four years consecutively. The 
 friends of Kissinger held that the limitation 
 could only commence under the new constitu- 
 tion, but the people doubted it, and Beal was 
 elected by less than 200 majority, his town- 
 ship of Polk giving him practically their 
 unanimous vote. 
 
 Twice, disputes arose over the Democratic 
 primaries and two candidates ran on that 
 ticket for the same office, but a democrat can- 
 didate won over the republican in each case. 
 In 1887, John H. Keller came within 300 votes 
 of being elected representative, and still later, 
 in 1906, Joseph Mollencop was defeated for 
 commissioner by less than a hundred votes. 
 
 In 1856 the tidal wave toward the new re- 
 publican party landed James Lewis of this 
 county in the office of state senator. With 
 the exception of Mr. Lewis the only two per- 
 sons who defeated the democratic candidate 
 for state senator since the time of Andrew 
 Jackson were James H. Godman in 1840, and 
 Hezekiah Gorton in 1836, both of Marion. 
 In the lower house at Columbus the last man 
 who succeeded in defeating the democratic 
 nominee in this county was John Carey, in 
 
 1843. 
 
 The first election was in 1820; what is now 
 Crawford county (west of Auburn and Ver- 
 non townships) was then all one township, 
 called Sandusky (which also included nearly 
 all of the present Marion county.) This San- 
 dusky township for judicial purposes was a 
 part of Delaware county. At this first elec- 
 tion, the polling place was at the house of 
 James Murray, a mile north of where Marion 
 now stands. There were 48 votes cast, and 
 one of the trustees elected was Daniel Fickle, 
 who three years later moved to Bucyrus town- 
 ship. The Delaware records also show that 
 Sandusky township was in existence in 1821, 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 as on April 15, of that year commissions were 
 issued to Westell Ridgely and Joseph Young 
 as justices of the peace of Sandusky township, 
 Westell Ridgely then living near the present 
 village of Leesville and Joseph Young near 
 •Bucyrus, neither town having yet been started 
 or even dreamed of. Sandusky township then 
 was probably from the western boundary of 
 Auburn and Vernon to the western boundary 
 of Bucyrus, about 15 miles, and from the 
 southern boundary of Bucyrus to the north 
 county line, 18 miles. It was easy to be 
 elected to office in those days as witness the 
 following from the recollect'ions of M. Peters, 
 a pioneer of Marion county. "The first elec- 
 tion was held (1821) for one justice of the 
 peace. There being no candidates, I selected 
 W. Crawford and he selected me, and thus 
 there was a tie. The clerk of Delaware county 
 cast lot and drew for Crawford." But gen- 
 erosity has its reward as in the fall Squire 
 Crawford resigned and Peters was elected. 
 
 The following is a complete list of the dis- 
 trict and county officials since the organiza- 
 tion of the county, the years given being the 
 date of their election: 
 
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS 
 
 District VIII, 1824, elector Henry Brown, 
 Franklin county, candidate, Henry Clay ; party, 
 whig. 
 
 District VIII, 1828, elector, John M. Elvain, 
 Franklin county; candidate *Andrew Jack- 
 son; party, dem. 
 
 District XIV, 1832, elector, William S. 
 Tracy, Huron county; candidate *Andrew 
 Jackson, party, dem. 
 
 District XIV, 1836, elector John P. Coulter, 
 Richland county; candidate, William H. Har- 
 rison; party whig. 
 
 District XIV, 1840, elector, John Carey, 
 Crawford county; candidate, *William H. 
 Harrison; party whig. 
 
 District VI, 1844, elector, Josiah Scott, 
 Crawford county; candidate, Henry Clay; 
 party, whig. 
 
 District VI, 1848, elector, John Caldwell, 
 Crawford county; candidate, Lewis Cass; 
 party, dem. 
 
 District IX, 1852, elector, William Palmer, 
 Hardin county; candidate, *Franklin Pierce; 
 party, dem. 
 
 District IX, 1856, elector, R. G. Penning- 
 ton, Seneca county; candidate, John C. Fre- 
 mont; party, rep. 
 
 District IX, i860, elector, John F. Hinkle, 
 Wyandot county; candidate, *Abraham Lin- 
 coln; party, rep. 
 
 District IX, 1864, elector, Jacob Scroggs, 
 Crawford county; candidate, * Abraham Lin- 
 coln ; party, rep. 
 
 District IX, 1868, elector, L. A. Hall, Seneca 
 county; candidate, *Ulysses S. Grant; party, 
 rep. 
 
 District XIV, 1872, elector, Isaac M. Kirby, 
 Wyandot county; candidate, *Ulysses S. 
 Grant; party, rep. 
 
 District XIV, 1876, elector, L. B. Matson, 
 Richland county; candidate, *Rutherford B. 
 Hayes; party, rep. 
 
 District, XIV, 1880, elector, Jacob Scroggs, 
 Crawford county; candidate, *James A. Gar- 
 field; party, rep. 
 
 District VII, 1884, elector, Lovell B. Har- 
 ris, Wyandot county; candidate, James G. 
 Blaine ; party, rep. 
 
 District V, 1888, elector, Jacob Werner, 
 Seneca county; candidate, *Benjamin Harri- 
 son; party, rep. 
 
 District XIII, 1892, elector, Joseph E. Mc- 
 Neal, Marion county; candidate, Benjamin 
 Harrison; party, rep. 
 
 District XIII, 1896, elector, Henry L. Wen- 
 ner, Seneca county; candidate, *William Mc- 
 Kinley; party, rep. 
 
 District XIII, 1900, elector^ Henry B. Hane, 
 Marion county; candidate, * William McKin- 
 ley; party, rep. 
 
 District XIII, 1904, elector, Ralph D. 
 Sneath, Seneca county; candidate, *Theodore 
 Roosevelt; party, rep. 
 
 District XIII, 1908, elector, I. H. Burgoon, 
 Sandusky county; candidate, * William H. 
 Taft; party, rep. 
 
 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 
 
 VIII — Crawford, Coshocton, Delaware, 
 Franklin, Knox, Licking, Marion. 
 
 1824 — William Wilson, Licking, whig. 
 1826 — William Wilson, Licking, whig. 
 1828 — William Stanberry, Licking, whig. 
 1830 — William Stanberry, Licking, whig. 
 
 *EIected president. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 135 
 
 XIV — Crawford, Huron, Richland, San- 
 dusky, Seneca. 
 
 1832 — William Patterson, Richland, dem. 
 1834 — William Patterson, Richland, dem. 
 1836 — William H. Hunter, Huron, dem. 
 1838 — George Sweney, Crawford, dem. 
 1840 — George Sweney, Crawford, dem. 
 
 VI — Crawford, Hancock, Ottawa, San- 
 dusky, Seneca, Wood. 
 
 1842 — Henry St. John, Seneca, dem. 
 1844 — Henry St. John, Seneca, dem. 
 1846 — Rudolphus Dickinson, Sandusky, 
 
 dem. 
 1848 — Rudolphus Dickinson* dem; Amos 
 
 E. Wood, dem; John Bell, dem; 
 
 all of Sandusky. ■ 
 1850 — Frederick W. Green, Seneca, dem. 
 
 IX — Crawford, Hardin, Marion, Ottawa, 
 Sandusky, Seneca, Wyandot. 
 
 1852 — Frederick W. Green, Seneca, dem. 
 1854 — Cooper K. Watson, Seneca, rep. 
 1856 — Lawrence W. Hall, Crawford, dem. 
 1858 — John Carey, Wyandot, rep. 
 i860 — Warren P. Noble, Seneca, dem. 
 
 IX — Crawford, Erie, Huron, Sandusky, 
 Seneca, Wyandot. 
 
 1862 — Warren P. Noble, Seneca, dem. 
 1864 — Ralph P. Buckland, Sandusky, rep. 
 1866 — Ralph P. Buckland, Sandusky, rep. 
 1868 — E. F. Dickinson, Sandusky, dem. 
 1870 — Charles Foster, Seneca, rep. 
 
 XIV — Ashland, Crawford, Holmes, Rich- 
 land, Wyandot. 
 
 1872 — John Berry,. Wyandot, dem. 
 1874 — Jacob P. Cowan, Ashland, dem. 
 1876 — Ebenezer B. Finley, Crawford, dem. 
 
 VIII — Crawford, Hardin, Marion, Morrow, 
 Seneca, Wyandot. 
 
 1878 — Ebenezer B. Finley, Crawford, dem. 
 
 XIV — ^Ashland, Crawford, Holmes, Rich- 
 land, Wyandot. 
 
 1880 — George W. Geddes, Richland, dem. 
 
 *During his second term Rudolphus Dickinson 
 died, and Amos E. Wood of Sandusky county was 
 elected to the vacancy. Wood died, and John 
 Bell, of Sandusky county was elected to fill the un- 
 expired term, about two months. 
 
 V— Crawford, Hancock, Seneca, Putnam, 
 Wyandot. 
 
 1882— George E. Seney, Seneca, dem. 
 
 VII — Crawford, Hancock, Seneca, Wood, 
 Wyandot. . 
 
 1884— George E. Seney, Seneca, dem. 
 
 V — Crawford, Hancock, Putnam, Seneca, 
 Wyandot. 
 
 1886 — George E. Seney, Seneca, dem. 
 1888 — George E. Seney, Seneca, dem. 
 
 XV — Ashland, Crawford, Delaware, Knox, 
 Morrow, Richland. 
 
 1890 — Michael D. Harter, Richland, dem. 
 
 XIII — Crawford, Erie, Marion, Sandusky, 
 Seneca, Wyandot. 
 
 1892 — Darius D. Hare, Wyandot, dem. 
 1894 — Stephen R. Harris, Crawford, rep. 
 1896 — James A. Norton, Seneca, dem. 
 1898 — James A. Norton, Seneca, dem. 
 1900 — Amos H. Jackson, Sandusky, rep. 
 1900 — Grant E. Mouser, Marion, rep. 
 1906 — Grant E. Mouser, Marion, rep. 
 1908 — Carl C. Anderson, Seneca, dem. 
 19 10 — Carl C. Anderson, Seneca, dem. 
 
 CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES 
 
 Thomas Beer, Crawford 1885 to 1893 
 
 John J. Moore, Putnam 1885 to 1895 
 
 Henry W. Seney, Hardin 1885 to 1896 
 
 James H. Day, Mercer 1893 to 1905 
 
 James L. Price, Allen 1895 to 1901 
 
 John K. Rohn,* Seneca 1896 to 1896 
 
 Ebenezer B. Finley, Crawford . 1896 to 1897 
 
 Caleb H. Norris, Marion 1897 to 1909 
 
 William T. Mooney, Auglaize . . 1 901 to 1905 
 Edward Vollrath,f Crawford . . . 1905 to 1906 
 
 Silas E. Hurin, Hancock 1905 to 191 1 
 
 Michael Donnelly, Henry 1906 to 
 
 W. H. Kinder, Hancock 1908 to 
 
 Philip Crowe, Hardin 1910 to 
 
 *Rohn was appointed by Gov. Bushnell to succeed 
 Seney who resigned, and in the fall Finley was elected 
 to fill the vacancy of the unexpired Seney term. 
 
 tVollrath was appointed by Gov. Herrick to succeed 
 Mooney, deceased. 
 
136 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Crawford was a part of the Third Circuit, 
 and in 1884 the counties composing that cir- 
 cuit were Allen, Augalize, Crawford, Defi- 
 ance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan, 
 Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, 
 Union, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, Wyan- 
 dot. In 1887 Fulton, Williams and Wood 
 were transferred to the Sixth Circuit, leaving 
 the remaining sixteen counties the present 
 Third Circuit. 
 
 COMMON PLEAS JUDGES 
 
 Lawrence W. Hall, Crawford . . 1852 to 1856 
 
 Machias C. Whitely, Hancock . . 1856 to 1857 
 
 George E. Seney, Seneca 1856 to 1857 
 
 Josiah S. Plants,* Crawford . . . 185810 1863 
 
 Chester R. Mott, Wyandot 1866 to 1871 
 
 James Pillars, Seneca 1867 to 1877 
 
 Abner M. Jackson, Crawford . . 1871 to 1874 
 
 Thomas Beer, Crawford 1874 to 1886 
 
 Henry H. Dodge, Wood 1877 to 1880 
 
 Caleb H. Norris, Marion 1884 to 1897 
 
 Allen C. Smalley, Wyandot .... 1890 to 1900 
 
 James C. Tobias, Crawford .... 1897 to 1907 
 
 Boston G. Young,f Marion .... 1900 to 1910 
 
 Daniel Babst, Crawford 1907 to 
 
 William E. Scofield, Marion . . . i9ioto 
 
 In 185 1 Crawford was a part of the third 
 division of the Third District, the counties 
 being Crawford, Hancock, Seneca, Wood, 
 Wyandot. In 1879 the districts were ar- 
 ranged as they are at present, the counties 
 of Crawford, Marion and Wyandot being the 
 Second Subdivision of the Tenth Judicial Dis- 
 trict. 
 
 STATE SENATORS 
 
 Crawford, Delaware, Franklin, Madison, 
 Marion, Union. 
 
 1824 — David H. Beardsley, Marion, whig. 
 
 Crawford, Delaware, Marion, Sandusky, 
 Seneca. 
 
 1826 — James Kooken, Franklin, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Delaware, Marion. 
 
 1828 — Charles Carpenter, Delaware, whig. 
 
 *Josiah S. Plants died in 1863. 
 
 tBoston G. Young died in 1910, and Scofield was 
 appointed by Gov. Harmon to fill the vacancy, and in 
 November, 1910, was elected to fill the unexpired term 
 of Younf, and also for a full term. 
 
 1830 — Charles Carpenter, Delaware, whig. 
 1832 — James W. Crawford,* Delaware, dem. 
 1834 — Robert Hopkins, Marion, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Delaware, Marion, Union. 
 1836 — Hezekiah Gorton, Marion, whig. 
 1838 — Benjamin F. Allen, Delaware, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Delaware, Marion. 
 
 1840 — ^James H. Goodman, Marion, whig. 
 
 1842 — ^Joseph McCutchen, Crawford, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Sandusky, Seneca. 
 
 1844 — Amos E. Wood, Sandusky, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Sandusky, Seneca, Wyandot. 
 1846 — Henry Cronise, Seneca, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Richland. 
 
 1848 — Barnabas Burns, Richland, dem. 
 
 1850 — Barnabas Burns, Richland, dem. 
 
 Crawford, Seneca, Wyandot. 
 185 1 — Joel W. Wilson, Seneca, dem. 
 1853 — -Robert Lee, Crawford, dem. 
 1855 — James Lewis, Crawford, rep. 
 1857 — Robert McKelly, Wyandot, dem. 
 1859 — -Thomas J. Orr, Crawford, dem. 
 1861-63 — William Lang, Seneca, dem. 
 1865-67 — Curtis Berry, jr., Wyandot, dem. 
 1869-71 — Alexander E. Jenner, Crawford, 
 
 dem. 
 1873 — John Seitz, Seneca, dem. 
 1875 — Edson T. Stickney, Seneca, dem. 
 1877 — ^John Seitz, Seneca, dem. 
 1879-81 — Moses H. Kirby, Wyandot, dem. 
 1883-85— John H. ^^'illiston, Crawford, 
 
 dem. 
 1887-89 — Perry M. Adams, Seneca, dem. 
 1891-93 — William C. Gear, Wyandot, dem. 
 1895-97 — Horace E. Valentine, Crawford, 
 
 dem. 
 1899-01 — John C. Royer, Seneca, dem. 
 i903-05^Elzie Carter, Wyandot, dem. 
 1908 — James E. Cory, Crawford, dem. 
 1910 — Frank T. Dore, Seneca, dem. 
 
 *In 18.^3 charges were presented to the Senate 
 aflfecting the reputation of Senator Crawford, and the 
 matter was referred to a committee. On the unanimous 
 recommendation of the committee the Senate unani- 
 i-.ouslv expuno^ed the entire matter from the records. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 137 
 
 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1850 — William Bushncll, Richland, dem; 
 
 „ r , -.^ • c- J , c Clark K. Ward, Crawford, dein. 
 
 Crawford, Marion, Sandusky, Seneca. 
 
 1824— Jeremiah Everett, Sandusky, whig. "-J^^ ^^- Bucvrus 
 
 1825— Josiah Hedges, Seneca, dem. o^ ^^i , • ^%' ^"^y*^"^" 
 
 1826-Eber Baker! Marion, ;hig. 1853-Mordecai P. Bean Bucyrus. 
 
 1827-Samuel Lockwood, Sandusky, dem. i855-57-John Pitman, Holmes 
 
 ' ' ■' 1859-61 — John S. Reisinger, Polk. 
 
 Crawford, Marion. 1863-65-Thomas Beer, Bucyrus. 
 
 i82^John Carey, Crawford, whig. ^gjr^rfcs T Whke tckson 
 
 1829— Robet Hopkins, Marion, dem. 1871-73— ihomas J White, Jackson. 
 
 1830-John Nimmon, Crawford, dem. 1875-77-Jacob G. Meuser Polk. 
 
 1831-William Brown, Marion, whig. I^^-Si-James E^ Cory, Cranberry. 
 
 1832-John Campbell, Crawford, dem. '^o^l^-George M. Zeigler Polk. 
 
 1833-James McCutchen, Crawford, dem. 1887-89-Philip Schuler Polk. 
 
 1834-John Campbell, Crawford, dem. 1891-93-BenjaminF. Taylor, Holmes. 
 
 i83S-James H. Goodman, Marion, whig. 1895-97-Andrew J^Hazlett, Bucyrus. 
 
 •^^ •' > ' t. 1899-01 — David O. Castle, Polk. 
 
 Crawford, Marion and Union. 1903-05-Frank Miller Jackson. 
 
 1836-John Carey, Crawford, whig; Ot- 1908-io-Lewis H. Battefeld, Bucyrus. 
 
 way Curry, Union, whig. state board of equalization 
 
 1837 — Otway Curry, Union, whig; Stephen o ^ t^ ■ 1 c -kj ^ v \mT n 
 
 Fowler, Crawford,. dem. 1826-Daniel S. Norton, Knox, VHI Con-, 
 
 1838— John Campbell, Crawford, dem; g^^^^^'^'^^l- . , ^ . ^^ ^r.r r- 
 
 Stephen Fowler, Crawford, dem. 1834— Pickett Lattimer, Huron, XIV Con- 
 
 1839— James H. Goodman, Marion, rep; gressional 
 
 Guy C. Worth, Crawford, dem. , 1841-George W. Sharp, Delaware, XIV 
 
 Senatorial. 
 
 Crawford, Delaware, Marion. i84^Joshua Seney, Seneca, XIV Sena- 
 
 1840 — Emery Moore, Delaware, whig; Jo- "^orial. „ „ T,r , ^t^^^tt 
 
 siah Scott, Crawford, whig. „ 1853— George T. Trees, Wyandot, XXXI 
 
 1841— Thomas W. Powell, Delaware, whig; Senatorial 
 
 James Grififith, Crawford, whig; „ i860— Rasselas R. Titus, Seneca, XXXI 
 
 George W. Sharp, Delaware, dem. Senatorial ^ , ^ ^^^-r 
 
 1842— Isaac E. James, Marion; dem; „ i87c>7-Andrew Dickson, Crawford, XXXI 
 
 George W. Sharp, Delaware, dem. Senatorial 
 
 1843— John Carey, Crawford, whig; Wil- i88<^J- S. Hare, Wyandot, XXXI Sena- 
 
 liam Smart, Delaware, whig. toria. ^ T.r c vwt c- 
 
 189a— Isaac Kagy, Seneca, XXXI Sena- 
 Crawford torial. 
 
 1844— Samuel S. Caldwell, Crawford, dem. ^ ipoo— Stephen Waller, Crawford, XXXI 
 
 Senatorial. 
 Crawford, Wyandot. ^^^, State Board of Equalization of 1900 
 
 1845— Michael Brackley, Wyandot, dem. T^'*^ ^^'*' ^^^. legislature passing a law 
 
 1846-George Donnenwirth, Crawford, abolishing an elective board. 
 
 dem. probate judges 
 
 1847 — Michael Brackley, Wyandot, dem. 
 
 Year elected 
 
 Crawford, Richland. James Eaton 1851 
 
 1848 — Daniel Brewer, Richland, dem; Sam- George Wiley 1854 
 
 uel Myers, Crawford, dem. Patterson S. Marshall* 1855-1857 
 
 1849 — Miller Moody, Richland, dem; Sam- *w;t„ a;^a \„„ ,,. • xq^^ j r- at j-„ 
 
 ^^ , ,, -^ V- i- J 1 * Wiley died Aug. 15, 1855, and Gov. Medill ap- 
 
 uel Myers, Crawford, dem. pointed Marshall. Marshall was elected in October 
 
138 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 S.J.Elliott 1858 
 
 Abram Summers 1858-1860 
 
 James Clements 1863-1866 
 
 Robert Lee 1869-1872 
 
 Shannon Clements 1875-1878 
 
 Frederick Hipp 1881-1884 
 
 James C. Tobias 1887-1890 
 
 Charles Kinninger 1893-1896 
 
 William C. Kiess 1899-1902 
 
 Charles F. Schaber 1905-1908 
 
 AUDITORS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 James Martin 1826 
 
 Charles Merriman 1827 
 
 Edward Billups 1828 
 
 John Caldwell 1830-1832-1834 
 
 Jacob Howenstein^ 1836 
 
 George Sinn 1836-1838 
 
 Owen Williams 1842-1844 
 
 John Pitman 1846-1848 
 
 Abner M. Jackson 1850-1852 
 
 Edmund R. Kearsley 1854-1856-1858 
 
 Alexander A. Ruhl 1860-1862 
 
 Samuel S. Hoyt 1864-1866 
 
 William M. Scroggs 1868-1871 
 
 Frederick M. Swingly • 1873-1875 
 
 James H. Robinson 1877-1880 
 
 Adam J. High 1883-1886 
 
 Reuben Stable 1889-1892 
 
 J. F. Kimmerline 1895-1898 
 
 Jefferson I. Smith 1901-1904 
 
 G. F. Ackerman 1908-1910 
 
 SHERIFFS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 Hugh McCracken 1826-1827 
 
 John Miller 1829-1831 
 
 John Moderwell 1832-1833 
 
 David Holm 1835 
 
 John Shull 1837 
 
 Samuel Andrews 1839 
 
 James L. Harper^ 1841 
 
 i8SS» for the unexpired term ; and elected in October, 
 1857 ; he resigned in August, 1858, and Gov. Chase ap- 
 pointed Elliott; Summers was elected to the vacancy 
 in October and immediately took the office. 
 
 1 July 16, 1836, Caldwell resigned, and Howen- 
 stein was appointed. At the October election Howen- 
 stein was a candidate but was defeated, so in Decem- 
 ber he resigned and Sinn, who had been elected, was 
 appointed to the vacancy. 
 
 2 Andrews resigned Sept. 30, 1839, and Harper was 
 appointed. 
 
 John Caldwell 1843 
 
 James Clements 1845-1847 
 
 Jonathan Kissinger 1849-185 1 
 
 William C. Beal 1853-1855 
 
 John Franz 1857-1859 ■ 
 
 Joseph C. Worden 1861-1863 
 
 Daniel Keplinger^ 1865- 1867 
 
 James Worden 1869-1871 
 
 Henry J. Row 1873-1875 
 
 John A. Schaber 1877-1879 
 
 John Keil 1881-1883 
 
 Peter Faeth 1885-1887 
 
 Christian F. Birk 1889-1891 
 
 John Keil . 1893-1895 
 
 Charles Vollmer 1897-1899 
 
 John Gebhardt 1901-1903 
 
 August Gerhart 1905-1907 
 
 Solomon Crum 1910- 
 
 TREASURERS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 John H. Morrison 1829-183 1 
 
 Samuel Myers 1833-1835 
 
 George Lauck 1837-1839 
 
 Samuel Myers 1841 
 
 George Lauck 1843-1845 
 
 Charles Hetich 1847-1849 
 
 Otto Fieldner '. 1851-1853 
 
 George Donnenwirth 1855-1857 
 
 John Kaler 1859-1861 
 
 Joseph Roop 1863-1865 
 
 John Franz* 1867-1869 
 
 John G. Birk 1871-1873 
 
 Christian H. Shonert 1875- 1.877 
 
 William Riblet 1879-1881 
 
 Christian H. Shonert 1883-1885 
 
 Frank Blicke 1887-1889 
 
 John Blyth 1891-1893 
 
 Michael Auck 1895-1897 
 
 William L. Alexander 1899-1901 
 
 George W. Miller 1903-1905 
 
 Daniel Kreiter 1908-1910 
 
 CLERKS 
 
 Year elected 
 David H. Beardsley^ 1826 
 
 3 Daniel Keplinger died from injuries received in a 
 runaway in 1869 and Worden was appointed to the 
 vacancy. 
 
 4 John Franz died while serving his second term, 
 and the commissioners appointed his son Job Franz, 
 who was his deputy at the time, to fill out the unex- 
 ''ired term. 
 
 5 When courts were first organized here David H. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 139 
 
 Zalmon Rowse 1826-1831 
 
 Jabez B. Larwill 1841 
 
 Daniel W. Swigart 1848 
 
 Thomas J. Orr 1851-1854 
 
 Alexander P. Widman^ 1857-1860 
 
 John R. Clymer 1861-1864 
 
 Thomas Coughlin. 1867-1870 
 
 David C. Cahill 1873-1876 
 
 Alexander A. Ruhl 1879-1882 
 
 Lewis C. Donnenwirth 1885-1888 
 
 Aaron H. Laughbaum. 1891-1894 
 
 Wallace B. Forrest 1897-1900 
 
 L. D. Willford 1903-1906 
 
 J. E. Myers 1908-1910 
 
 RECORDERS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 Zalmon Rowse^ 1826-1833 
 
 Jacob Howenstein 1840-1843 
 
 James Robinson 1846-1849 
 
 Smith Todd 1851-1854 
 
 James Robinson 1857- 
 
 William C. Trimble 1860-1863 
 
 Frank M. Bowyer 1866-1869 
 
 William Stremmel 1872-1875 
 
 David O. Castle 1878-1881 
 
 William F. Crowe 1884-1887 
 
 Philip Schaefer 1S90-1893 
 
 H. S. Z. Matthias 1896-1899 
 
 Charles F. Matthew 1902-1905 
 
 Jay W. Holler 1908-1910 
 
 PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 Isaac H. Allen 1826-1827 
 
 George Sweney. . . 1829-183 1-1833-1835-1837 
 
 Franklin Adams* 1839-1841-1843 
 
 Lawrence W. Hall 1845-1847-1849 
 
 George Sweney 1841- 
 
 Abram Summers 1853-1855 
 
 Abner M. Jackson 1857-1859 
 
 Burr Morris 1861-1863 
 
 Beardsley, a Marion attorney was appointed, but dur- 
 ins; the first term the court appointed Zalmon Rowse. 
 It was an appointive office lasting seven years. Under 
 the Constitution of 1850, clerks became an elective office. 
 
 1 Widman died March 29, i860, and Clymer was 
 appointed to the vacancy, and in October elected to 
 the unexpired term. 
 
 2 Recorders were appointed until 1840. The term 
 was seven years. 
 
 3 Adams appointed vice Sweney; resigned — elected 
 to Congress. 
 
 Matthias Buchman* 1864 
 
 Nathan Jones 1865-1867 
 
 James W. Coulter 1869-1871 
 
 Seth G. Cummings 1873-1875 
 
 George M. Zeigler 1878 
 
 Anson Wickham 1881-1884 
 
 Isaac Cahill 1887-1890 
 
 P. W. Poole 1893-1896 
 
 Charles Gallinger 1899-1902 
 
 Carl H. Hinkel 1905-1908 
 
 William J. Schwenck 1910- 
 
 SURVEYORS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 John McClure 1826- 
 
 John Marshall 1828- 
 
 Thomas C. Sweney 1831-1834 
 
 William Fitzsimmons 1837-1840 
 
 Peter B. Beidler 1843 
 
 William McCoy 1845 
 
 Joseph Meer 1848 
 
 George M. Wiley 1851-1853 
 
 Horace Martin^ . . 1854-1855-1857-1859-1861 
 H. W. McDonald" .... 1863-1 865- 1867- 1869 
 
 James H. Robinson 1872-1875 
 
 Frank L. Plants'^ 1878 
 
 Harry L. Weber 1879- 1882- 1885 
 
 Horace E. Valentine 1888-1891 
 
 Herschel V. Flickinger 1894- 1897 
 
 Charles P. Bryant 1900-1903 
 
 Charles A. Guiss 1906-1908 
 
 S. P. Michaelis 1910 
 
 CORONERS 
 
 Year elected 
 
 Dr. Dunn 1826- 
 
 John Forbes 1836-1840 
 
 Robert Forbes 1844-1848 
 
 William Bair 1848-185 1 
 
 John Messner 185 1 
 
 William R. Shaw 1853-1855 
 
 Oscar W. Truman 1857-1859-1861 
 
 J. M. McEwenS 1864 
 
 James Worden 1866-1868 
 
 4 Buchman appointed to succeed Morris, resigned. 
 
 5 Wiley resignedto become Probate Judge; Martin 
 aopointed, 
 
 6 Horace Martin resigned on May i, 1863, and on 
 May 4. H. W. McDonald was appointed. 
 
 7 Frank L. Plants was annointed July 31, 1877; 
 elected in .October. 1877 : died Feb. 18, 1879, and Harry 
 L. Weber appointed April 19, 1879. 
 
 8 Truman resigned in December, 1862, and McEwen 
 was appointed. 
 
140 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Philip Mofifit 1870-1872-1874 
 
 Peter Bauer 1876- 1878- 1880 
 
 Philip Moffit 1881- 
 
 Jacob C. Housbergi 1882-1884 
 
 Dr. John A. Chesney^ 1885-1888 
 
 Dr. Elkanah A. Thoman 1890- 1892 
 
 Dr. Charles H. Noblet 1894-1896 
 
 Dr. Jerome Bland 1898-1900 
 
 Dr. C. A. Marquart 1902-1904 
 
 Dr. E. D. Helfrich 1906-1908 
 
 Dr. Charles A. Ulmer 1910 
 
 COMMISSIONERS 
 
 1824 — Enoch B. Merriman (Crawford and 
 Marion counties). 
 
 1825 — Zachariah Welsh (Crawford and 
 Marion counties). 
 
 1826 — Zalmon Rowse (Crawford and Ma- 
 rion counties). 
 
 McClure, John Magers 
 
 McClure, John Magers, 
 Ridgley, John Magers, 
 Ridgley, John Coleman, 
 Ridgley, John Coleman, 
 
 1826 — Thomas 
 George Poe. 
 
 1827 — Thomas 
 George Poe. 
 
 1828— Westell 
 George Poe. 
 
 1829 — Westell 
 James L. Harper. 
 
 1830 — Westell 
 James L. Harper. 
 
 183 1 — Isaac Sweney, John Coleman, James 
 L. Harper. 
 
 1832 — Isaac Sweney, William Early, James 
 L. Harper. 
 
 1833 — Isaac Sweney, Daniel Williams, 
 James L. Harper. 
 
 1834 — ^David Ellis, Daniel Williams, James 
 L. Harper. 
 
 1835 — David Ellis, William Robinson,^ Ja- 
 cob MoUenkopf. 
 
 1836 — David Ellis, William Robinson, Ja- 
 cob MoUenkopf. 
 
 1837 — David Ellis, William Robinson, Ja- 
 cob MoUenkopf. 
 
 1838 — David Ellis, William Robinson, Ja- 
 cob MoUenkopf. 
 
 1839 — David Ellis, John Clements, Jacob 
 MoUenkopf. 
 
 1 Moffit resigned in April, 1881, and Housberg was 
 appointed. 
 
 2 Housberg resigned in 1885 and Chesney was ap- 
 pointed. 
 
 3 Robinson appointed to succeed Williams, re- 
 signed. 
 
 1840 — Hamilton Kerr, John Clements, Jacob 
 MoUenkopf. 
 
 1 84 1 — Hamilton Kerr, John Clements, Jacob 
 MoUenkopf. 
 
 1842 — Hamilton Kerr, John Clements, Jacob 
 MoUenkopf. 
 
 1843 — Hamilton Kerr, John Clements, Jacob 
 MoUenkopf. 
 
 1844^-Hamilton Kerr, John Clements, Sam- 
 uel Lee. 
 
 1845— George Dickson,* Peter Conkle, Sam- 
 uel Lee. 
 
 1846 — Phares Jackson, Peter Conkle, Sam- 
 uel Lee. 
 
 1847 — Phares Jackson, Peter Conkle, Sid- 
 ney Holt. 
 
 1848 — Phares Jackson, Peter Conkle, Sid- 
 ney Holt. 
 
 1849 — Phares Jackson, Peter Conkle, Sid- 
 ney Holt. 
 
 1850 — Phares Jackson, Peter Conkle, Sid- 
 ney Holt. 
 
 1 85 1 — Phares Jackson, J. N. Frye, Sidney 
 Holt. 
 
 1852 — Samuel Swisher, J. N. Frye, Sidney 
 Holt. 
 
 1853 — Samuel Swisher, James Clemens,' 
 Wilson Stewart. 
 
 1854 — Samuel Swisher, James Clements, 
 Wilson Stewart. 
 
 1855 — Samuel Swisher, James Clements, 
 Wilson Stewart. 
 
 1856 — Samuel Swisher, James Clements, 
 Wilson Stewart. 
 
 1857 — Andrew Dickson,® Isaac Van Voor- 
 his, Wilson Stewart. 
 
 1858 — Andrew Dickson, Isaac Van Voor- 
 his, Wilson Stewart. 
 
 1859 — Andrew Dickson, Isaac Van Voor- 
 his, Charles Keplinger. 
 
 i860 — Andrew Dickson, Isaac Van Voor- 
 his, Charles Keplinger. 
 
 1 86 1 — Hugh Cory, Isaac Van Voorhis, 
 Charles Keplinger. 
 
 1862 — Hugh Cory, Isaac Van Voorhis, 
 Charles Keplinger. 
 
 1863 — Hugh Cory, John Burgbacher, 
 Charles Keplinger. 
 
 1864 — Hugh Cory, John Burgbacher, 
 Charles Keplinger. 
 
 4 Dickson appointed to succeed Kerr, resigned. 
 
 5 Clements appointed to succeed Frye, deceased. 
 
 6 Dickson appointed to succeed Swisher, resigned. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 141 
 
 1865 — Hugh Cory, John Burgbacher, Lewis 
 Littler. 
 
 1866 — ^Hugh Cory, John Burgbacher, Lewis 
 Littler. 
 
 1867 — Barber Robinson, John Burgbacher, 
 Lewis Littler. 
 
 1868 — Barber Robinson, John Burgbacher, 
 Lewis Littler. 
 
 1869 — Barber Robinson, James Hufty, 
 Lewis Littler. 
 
 1870 — Charles Myers, James Hufty, Lewis 
 Littler. 
 
 1871 — Charles Myers, James Hufty, J. J. 
 Bauer. 
 
 1872 — Charles Myers, James Hufty, J. J. 
 Bauer. 
 
 1873 — Charles Myers, James Hufty, J. J. 
 Bauer. 
 
 1874 — Charles Myers, James Hufty, J. J. 
 Bauer. 
 
 1875 — Charles Myers, Charles Keplinger, 
 J. J. Bauer. 
 
 1876 — Lysander Waller, Charles Keplinger, 
 J. J. Bauer. 
 
 1877 — Lysander Waller, Charles Keplinger, 
 John Neuman. 
 
 1878 — Lysander Waller, Charles Keplinger, 
 John Neuman. 
 
 1879 — Lysander Waller, Charles Keplinger, 
 John Neuman. 
 
 1880 — Lysander Waller, Charles Keplinger, 
 John Neuman. 
 
 1 881 — Lysander Waller, Jacob Burkley, 
 John Neuman. 
 
 1882 — John Richardson, Jacob Burkley, 
 Charles Keplinger.* 
 
 1883 — ^John Richardson, Jacob Burkley, 
 Peter Bauer. 
 
 1884 — John Richardson, Jacob Burkley, 
 Peter Bauer. 
 
 1885 — John Richardson, Jacob Burkley, 
 Peter Bauer. 
 
 1886 — John Richardson, Jacob Burkley, 
 Peter Bauer. 
 
 1887 — ^John Richardson, Henry Dapper, 
 Peter Bauer. 
 
 1888 — John Parcher, Henry Dapper, Peter 
 Bauer. 
 
 1889 — ^John Parcher, Henry Dapper, Lewis 
 
 Gearhart. 
 
 * Keplinger appointed to succeed Neuman, de- 
 ceased. 
 
 1890 — John Parcher, Henry Dapper, Lewis 
 Gearhart. 
 
 1 89 1 — John Parcher, Henry Dapper, Lewis 
 Gearhart. 
 
 1892 — John Parcher, Henry Drapper, 
 Lewis Gearhart. 
 
 1893 — John Parcher, Christian F. Kiess, 
 Lewis Gearhart. 
 
 1894 — L. H. Battefeld, Christian F. Kiess, 
 Lewis Gearhart. 
 
 1895 — L. H. Battefeld, Christian F. Kiess, 
 Albe Moe. 
 
 1896 — L. H. Battefeld, Christian F. Kiess, 
 Albe Moe. 
 
 1897 — L. H. Battefeld, Christian F. Kiess, 
 Albe Moe. 
 
 1898 — L. H. Battefeld, Christian F. Kiess, 
 Albe Moe. 
 
 1899 — L. H. Battefeld, Samuel Easterday, 
 Albe Moe. 
 
 1900 — Henry N. Oberlander, Samuel 
 Easterday, Albe Moe. 
 
 1901 — Henry N. Oberlander, Samuel 
 Easterday, J. H. Petri. 
 
 1902 — Henry N. Oberlander, Samuel 
 Easterday, J. H. Petri. 
 
 1903 — Henry N. Oberlander, Samuel 
 Easterday, J. H. Petri. 
 
 1904 — Henry N. Oberlander, Samuel 
 Easterday, J. H. Petri. 
 
 1905 — Henry N. Oberlander, Frank P. 
 Dick, J. H. Petri. 
 
 1906 — Hugh M. Dobbins, Frank P. Dick, 
 J. H. Petri. 
 
 1908 — Hugh M. Dobbins, Frank P. Dick, 
 Henry E. Bormuth. 
 
 1910 — Fred Leonhart, A. A. Crawford, 
 Henry E. Bormuth. 
 
 INFIRMARY DIRECTORS 
 
 -Jarvice Jump, John AUoback, John 
 A. Klink. 
 
 1869 — Jarvice Jump, John Alloback, John 
 A. Klink. 
 
 1870 — Jarvice Jump, John Alloback, John 
 A. Klink. 
 
 1 87 1 — Jarvice lump, John Alloback, John 
 A. Klink. 
 
 1872 — Jacob Easterday, John Alloback, 
 John A. Klink. 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1873 — Jacob Easterday, Samuel Rorick, 
 John A. Klink. 
 
 J 874 — Jacob Easterday, Samuel Rorick, 
 Frederick G. Linser.* 
 
 1875 — John Miller, Samuel Rorick, Joseph 
 Meer. 
 
 1876 — ^John Miller, Samuel Rorick, Joseph 
 Meer. 
 
 1877 — John Miller, Samuel Rorick, Joseph 
 Meer. 
 
 1878 — ^John Miller, Samuel Rorick, Joseph 
 Meer. 
 
 1879 — John Miller, Samuel Disc, Joseph 
 Meer. 
 
 1880 — John Miller, Samuel Dise, Joseph 
 Meer. 
 
 1881 — Christopher F. Kiess, Samuel Dise, 
 Joseph Meer. 
 
 1882 — Christopher F. Kiess, Samuel Dise, 
 Joseph Meer. 
 
 1883 — Christopher F. Kiess, Samuel Dise, 
 Albert Sheibly. 
 
 1884 — Christopher F. Kiess, Samuel Dise, 
 Albert Sheibly. 
 
 1885 — Christopher F. Kiess, William Zim- 
 merman, Albert Sheibly. 
 
 1886— Christopher F. Kiess, William Zim- 
 merman, Albert Sheibly. 
 
 1887— Benjamin Sherer, William Zimmer- 
 man, Albert Sheibly. 
 
 1888 — Benjamin Sherer, William Zimmer- 
 man, Albert Sheibly. 
 
 1889 — Benjamin Sherer, William Zimmer- 
 man, C. F. Meek. 
 
 1890 — Benjamin Sherer, William Zimmer- 
 man, C. F. Meek. 
 
 *Frederick Linser died in office, and Joseph Meer 
 v.ras elected to fill the vacancy. 
 
 1 89 1 — Benjamin Sherer, David Hurr, C. F. 
 Meek. 
 
 1892 — Benjamin Sherer, David Hurr, C. F. 
 Meek. 
 
 1893 — Adam Fike, David Hurr,.C. F. Meek. 
 
 1894 — ^Adam Fike, David Hurr, C. F. Meek. 
 
 1895 — Adam Fike, David Hurr, Philip 
 Fabian. 
 
 1896 — Adam Fike, David Hurr, Philip 
 Fabian. 
 
 1897 — Adam Fike, J. K. Zerbe, Philip 
 Fabian. 
 
 1898— Adam Fike, J. K. Zerbe, Philip 
 Fabian. 
 
 1899 — ^John Meyer, J. K. Zerbe, Philip 
 Fabian. 
 
 1900 — ^John Meyer, J. K. Zerbe, Philip 
 Fabian. 
 
 1901 — John Meyer, J. K. Zerbe, Emanuel 
 Heinlen. 
 
 1902 — S. W. Nungesser, J. K. Zerbe, 
 Emanuel Heinlen. 
 
 1903 — S. W. Nungesser, Henry Beibig- 
 hauser, Emanuel Heinlen. 
 
 1904 — S. W. Nungesser, Henry Beibig- 
 hauser, Emanuel Heinlen. 
 
 1905— Charles Meyer, Henry Beibighauser, 
 Emanuel Heinlen. 
 
 1906 — Charles Meyer, Henry Beibighauser, 
 Emanuel Heinlen. 
 
 1908 — Charles Meyer, Isaac Laughbaum, 
 A. M. Vore. 
 
 1910 — Charles Meyer, t Isaac Laughbaum, 
 A. M. Vore. 
 
 tin 1912 John Meyer was appointed to succeed his 
 brother Charles, who resigned on account of ill health, 
 and died soon after his resignation. 
 
 After this year the Board of Infirmary Directors is 
 abolished, their business being transferred to the 
 County Commissioners. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES 
 
 Indian Trails and Water Routes — Swamps — Portages — Indian Village of Seccaium — Route Fol- 
 lowed by Gen. Bradstreet — Capf. James Smith's Travels; His Description of Water 
 Routes and Portages — The First Road in Crawford County — Geographical Notes by Seth 
 Holmes and James Nail — Military Roads — Biased Trails — "Corduroy" or Log Roads — 
 The State Road or Sandusky Pike — Zalmon Rowse's Work as Commissioner — Proceed- 
 ings of Other Commissioners — Columbus & Sandusky Turnpike Co. — Rate of Toll — 
 Transportation of Mail — Activity of Col. Kilbourne — Cost of the Sandusky Pike — Rev. 
 Mr. Reid's Description of this Road — Its C ommercial Use and Value — Difficulties of 
 Spring Travel — Litigation — Stage Lines — Bill of Cost of the Old Portland Road — First 
 Attempt at Improved Roads — Vote by Townships — Railroads; Early Plans and Charters 
 — The Railroads of the County; Their Origin, Construction and Cost — Railroad Excur- 
 sion to Bucyrus in i8js — The "John Bull" Locomotive Passes Through Bucyrus, i8ps — 
 Electric Roads — Amount of Trackage in Crawford County, with Values, by Townships. 
 
 Singing througii the forests, 
 
 Rattling over ridges; 
 Shooting under arches, 
 
 Rumbling over bridges ; 
 Whizzing through the mountains. 
 
 Buzzing o'er the vale, — 
 Bless me! this is pleasant. 
 
 Riding on the rail ! 
 
 — ^JoHN G Saxe. 
 
 One of the first difficulties with which the 
 pioneer settlers had to contend was the lack of 
 roads. But even before the first white man 
 passed through this region, what is now Craw- 
 ford county had been an important highway 
 for travel ; and along its streams, and through 
 its forests, and across its plains, were the well 
 used routes or trails of the Indians. In Craw- 
 ford county are streams that run north to the 
 lake and south to the Ohio. Southwest of 
 Bucyrus, the Sandusky and the Little Scioto 
 rivers, both flowing in a southwesterly direc- 
 tion, are only from two to three miles apart, 
 and when they leave the county the former 
 bends to the north, and proceeds on its way 
 to Lake Erie, its waters passing over Niagara, 
 and down the St. Lawrence to the Atlantic, 
 while the latter joins the Scioto proper, and 
 continues on its way through the Ohio and 
 Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. In the 
 southeastern part of the county is the Whet- 
 
 stone, which also joins the Scioto and contin- 
 ues its flow to the Gulf. Between the San- 
 dusky and the Little Scioto and the Whet- 
 stone, in the townships of Dallas, Bucyrus, 
 Whetstone, Jefferson, Polk and Jackson, are 
 houses and barns on this watershed where the 
 waters from one side of the roof find their 
 way to the Atlantic, and on the other to the 
 Gulf of Mexico. Even as today Crawford 
 county is one of the great railroad centres, so 
 in the years long gone this section was one of 
 the great centers of travel. Not alone by 
 land, but by water, for many a stream in this 
 county, now nothing more than a county ditch 
 or a city sewer, was in use by the early sav- 
 ages as a route for transportation and for 
 travel. Along the Sandusky river in Dallas, 
 Bucyrus, Liberty and Sandusky townships, 
 were mills run by water-power over 80 years 
 ago, and along the Whetstone, both above as 
 well as below Gallon, that little stream was 
 lined by four mills; along the Honey Creek 
 and Cokyendall run in Auburn were mills; 
 the Brokensword and the Sycamore had suffi- 
 cient water to furnish the power for the run- 
 ning of mills. Where Adrian had his mill on 
 the bank of the Whetstone above Gabon, the 
 stream now only needs a small culvert for its 
 
 143 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 passage under the railroad track. At Crest- 
 line, Judge Daniel Babst, whose father settled 
 there in 1852, remembers, when a boy, Elisha 
 Allen, who lived near Leesville, coming to the 
 village on one of the branches of the San- 
 dusky in a canoe to do his marketing, return- 
 ing home in the evening. At Bucyrus, when 
 Abraham Hahn, in 1838, built his mill-race to 
 run his saw-mill, that mill was located on the 
 lot now occupied by Edwin G. Beal, at the 
 northwest corner of Warren and Poplar 
 streets. At the rear of the lot was the little 
 stream on which the mill was located, and now 
 all that remains of this stream on which a 
 mill once stood, is a covered sewer. In the 
 old Indian days the Little Scioto had suffi- 
 cient water for canoes as far up as Dallas and 
 probably as far as the southern part of 
 Bucyrus township. The Whetstone was a nav- 
 igable stream for small boats, and in the 
 region of Seccaium Park little streams en- 
 tered into it from the north, which had their 
 rise in swamps, and from these same swamps 
 other little streams flowed to the north and 
 emptied into the Sandusky. 
 
 Along these creeks the land was all so low 
 and swampy that for years it was not con- 
 sidered by the first settlers in their entries of 
 land. In the map of the county published in 
 i860, in the eastern half of section 14 in 
 Whetstone township, one of these swamps 
 was so pronounced as to be marked on the map 
 as a small lake. Hon. S. R. Harris stated that 
 when he came here in 1849, and for years 
 afterward, in his hunting expeditions he found 
 enough water in. the spring of the year cover- 
 ing this region to enable one to cross from the 
 Whetstone to the Sandusky by water. In 1777 
 a pamphlet was published in French by Joel 
 Barlow, describing the Northwest Territory. 
 In that pamphlet he says : "The Scioto river 
 furnishes a navigation much more consider- 
 able than that of the Hocking and the Musk- 
 ingum. For an extent of 200 miles large ves- 
 sels can navigate it. Then there is a passage 
 to be made by land of four miles only to the 
 Sandusky, a river also easily navigable, which 
 empties into Lake Erie. This route is one 
 of the most considerable and most frequented 
 found in any country." John Henry James 
 translated this work into English, and in his 
 noles he says : 
 
 "The statement as to the Scioto being nav- 
 igable for large vessels for two hundred miles 
 above its mouth, and its navigable head waters 
 being within four miles of those of the San- 
 dusky, appears so extravagant as to be at- 
 tributable either to gross ignorance of the coun- 
 try or a deliberate purpose to deceive. We 
 are satisfied there was no intention to deceive 
 on the part of the author, though he had very 
 imperfect knowledge of the country. And yet 
 this and other waterways and portages were 
 regarded as of such importance at the time as 
 to warrant the insertion in the Ordinance of 
 1787 of the provision: "The navigable waters 
 leading into the Mississippi and the St. Law- 
 rence, and the carrying places between the 
 same, shall be common highways, and forever 
 free as well to the inhabitants of the said ter- 
 ritory as to the citizens of the United States 
 and those of any other States that may be ad- 
 mitted into the confederacy, without any tax, 
 impost, or duty therefor." 
 
 These water routes and portages connecting 
 the Great Lakes with the Mississippi were first 
 discovered (leaving the Indians out of consid- 
 eration) by the early French explorers and 
 were used by their missionaries, soldiers and 
 traders. Marquette's route was up the St. 
 Lawrence, through Lakes Ontario, Erie and 
 Huron to Lake Michigan, then up the Fox 
 river, with a portage across to the Wisconsin 
 river and down that to the Mississippi. This 
 was afterward shortened by leaving Lake 
 Michigan at Chicago, then up the Chicago 
 river, portage across to the Illinois and down 
 that river to the Mississippi. The next short- 
 ening was up the Maumee at Toledo, by port- 
 age to the Wabash and down that river to the 
 Ohio. 
 
 Who made the first trip between the San- 
 dusky and the Scioto it is impossible to say. 
 In 1670 La Salle went up the St. Lawrence 
 to Lake Erie, went up some stream, portaged 
 across to another, and down this stream, dis- 
 covering the Ohio river. It is almost certain 
 that this first trip of La Salle — when he dis- 
 covered the Ohio — was across to the head- 
 waters of the Alleghany and down that river to 
 the Ohio at Pittsburg, which river he followed 
 to Louisville. For twenty years La Salle de- 
 voted his entire time to explorations of the 
 Northwest territory, as it was the desire of the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 145 
 
 French to diacover the best and shortest water 
 route from the Lakes to the Mississippi. There 
 were several portages in Ohio, the principal 
 ones being from the Sandusky to the headwa- 
 ters of the Scioto and from the Cuyahoga to 
 the headwaters of the Muskingum, and it is 
 probable that in one of his trips La Salle came 
 up the Sandusky river, crossed by portage to 
 the Scioto, and down that river to the Ohio, 
 which would mean that the first known white 
 man to set foot on Crawford county soil was 
 Rene Robert Cavalier, the Sieur de la Salle, 
 between 1670 and 1680. 
 
 Hon. E. B. Finley, who made considerable 
 research in order to locate an ancient Indian 
 village called Seccaium, gives the following on 
 this subject in an address by him at the ded- 
 ication of the monument that marks the site of 
 the Battle of the Olentangy, five miles south- 
 east of Bucyrus on the Gallon road : 
 
 "In addition to this beautiful monument 
 marking the battlefield of June 6, 1782, where 
 the retreating army of Crawford battled with 
 the British and Indian forces, it also marks the 
 almost forgotten site of a village renowned in 
 the traditions and legends of a departed race. 
 Within a few rods from this spot once stood 
 the village of Seccaium, celebrated in ancient 
 legends and song as one of the famous places 
 of Indian history. For hundreds and hun- 
 dreds of years, before the white man set foot 
 on this continent, the Sandusky, Olentangy 
 and Scioto rivers formed a great water thor- 
 oughfare, over which Indian commerce was 
 carried to and fro between the north and south. 
 Over this route Indian war parties from the 
 Lake regions swept down upon their enemies 
 in the south, and over this same route ofttimes 
 came the wild Catawbas, Natches, and other 
 southern tribes, in fierce retaliation. From the 
 time when the French first occupied Canada 
 until the opening up and settlement of the 
 United States, this same route continued to be 
 the thoroughfare of traffic and travel, not only 
 by the Indians but by the French traders. 
 Coming anywhere from Canada or the north or 
 northwest, the canoe of the Indian or trader 
 entering the mouth of the Sandusky river was 
 paddled up the waters until arriving at the 
 bend northeast from this point, the canoemen 
 transported their boats and goods from thence 
 across this point to yonder bend of the 
 
 Olentangy (or Whetstone as it is now called), 
 and then launching their- light craft in the 
 Olentangy, paddled down to the Scioto, enter- 
 ing which they traveled down to the Ohio, and 
 into the Mississippi, being thus enabled to 
 travel by water from the great lake of the north 
 to the Gulf of Mexico, with a land portage 
 across the point near where we now stand of 
 only about four miles. Near the landing place 
 on the Olentangy, within a few rods of this 
 monument, stood the once great village of 
 Seccaium, famous for centuries as the great 
 mart of Indian commerce; it was the common 
 ground where all the tribes of the north and 
 the south met and exchanged their peltries and 
 wares. Here it was that the great treaties, con- 
 claves and powwows of the Indian nations were 
 held. When it first was built no one knows. 
 It was visited by white men as early as 1650, 
 and at that day even Indian tradition could 
 not give the age. 
 
 "A Frenchman, who passed over this route 
 in 1750, thus writes of it : 'The Scioto is almost 
 as wide as the Ohio, and runs through fertile 
 bottoms or plains, which commence a few miles 
 above the river Huskinkas, and extend almost 
 to Seccaium. The Olentangy is navigable for 
 boats as far as the famous village of Seccaium. 
 It is at this village that the great portage to 
 the Sandusky river begins, which is but four 
 miles.' The village stood here in 1669 when 
 it was visited by Robert Cavalier, Soeur de la 
 Salle, the famous discoverer of the mouth of 
 the Mississippi, and all the west territory bor- 
 dering upon that river. La Salle, in com- 
 pany with DoUier de Casson and Galinee, aCnd 
 his Indian guides and companions, passed by 
 water from Montreal to the mouth of the 
 Sandusky river, thence up the Sandusky and 
 over the portage to this point, where he visited 
 the famous village of Seccaium, remaining 
 several days ; thence passing down the Olen- 
 tangy and the Scioto to the Ohio, where at the 
 mouth of the Scioto he planted copper plates 
 bearing the image of the King of France, and 
 then formally took possession of all the coun- 
 try in the name of his King. From the mouth 
 of the Scioto he traveled down the Ohio to the 
 Falls of the Ohio, where Louisville now stands, 
 there planting other copper plates, and likewise 
 taking possession of the country in the name 
 of the King of France." 
 
146 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 It is certain the Sandusky-Scioto portage 
 was an important one and much traveled, as 
 the French erected a fort and established a 
 trading-post on the Ohio just below the mouth 
 of the Scioto in 1740. Along the Lakes the 
 Wyandots were the allies of the French, yet in 
 view of the anticipated coming struggle be- 
 tween France and England for the Northwest 
 Territory, the French in 1750 erected a fort 
 on the west bank of the Sandusky to guard its 
 mouth, and in 1754 about six miles up the 
 river erected Fort Junandat on the east bank. 
 This guarding of the mouths of both rivers 
 shows conclusively it was the principal route 
 from the Lake to the Ohio. They built no fort 
 at the mouth of the Cuyahoga or the Mus- 
 kingum. It was the only fort-guarded route in 
 Ohio between the lake and the river. 
 
 The location of the old Indian town of Sec- 
 caium is placed by Mr. Finley on the banks of 
 the Whetstone, southwest of what is now Sec- 
 caium Park, believed to be at this point from 
 the fact that besides arrow-heads found there 
 in large numbers, the ground was at one time 
 covered with chipped flint covering over an 
 acre. It was a flint stone found nowhere in 
 this region, and such was the profusion of the 
 chippings of flint that they could only have 
 been caused by the manufacture of arrow- 
 heads there on a very large scale. But the 
 town there must certainly have been abandoned 
 or destroyed more than two centuries ago. 
 There could have been no Indian village there 
 during the Revolutionary war, as when Craw- 
 ford's expedition passed within a mile of this 
 site in 1782 neither Stover nor Zane, Craw- 
 ford's guides, gave any intimation of any such 
 village and both had been through this section 
 many years previous. 
 
 In 1764, Gen. Bradstreet, "after raising the 
 siege at Detroit, and dispersing the Indians, 
 sailed across Lake Erie and into Sandusky Bay 
 and up the Sandusky river as far as it was nav- 
 igable for Indian canoes," there established 
 himself and demanded a council with the In- 
 dian chiefs, who had offered but little opposi- 
 tion to his progress. The council was held, 
 and the Wyandots, with their subordinate de- 
 pendents entered into a treaty of peace. This 
 council was probably at the Wyandot village 
 that then existed on the Sandusky, three miles 
 
 southeast of the present town of Upper San- 
 dusky. 
 
 Col. James Smith, when a young man, was 
 a captive among the Indians from 1755 to 
 1759, and traversed this region, and from his 
 interesting account of his experiences valuable 
 information is learned as to the location of this 
 portage. With his adopted Indian brother, 
 Tontileaugo, he had been hunting in what is 
 now Ottawa county, and they decided to go 
 up the Sandusky to the prairies on a hunting 
 expedition. In his narrative, Smith says: 
 "When we came to the falls of the Sandusky, 
 we buried our birch bark canoes as usual, at a 
 large burying place for that purpose, a little 
 below the falls. At this place the river falls 
 about eight feet over a rock, but not perpen- 
 dicular. With much difficulty we pushed up 
 our wooden canoes, some of us went up the 
 river, and the rest by land with the horses, un- 
 til we came to the great meadows or prairies 
 that lie between Sandusky and Scioto." Here 
 they had what was known as a ring hunt, 
 setting fire to the grass in a large circle, thus 
 driving the game to a common centre, where 
 it was easily killed. They fired the grass 
 when the sky had every appearance of rain, 
 but the expected rain failed to fall, so the fire 
 spread, and "extended through the whole 
 prairie, which was about fifty miles in length 
 and in some places near twenty in breadth." 
 
 He then says: "We then moved from the 
 north end of the glades and encamped at the 
 carrying place. This place is in the plains be- 
 twixt a creek that empties into Sandusky, and 
 one that runs into Scioto; and at the time of 
 high water, or in the spring season, there is 
 but about one-half mile of portage, and that 
 very level, and clear of rocks, timber or 
 stones ; so that with a little digging there may 
 be water carriage the whole way from Scioto 
 to Lake Erie." 
 
 The general opinion is that this portage or 
 carrying place was at least sixteen miles south- 
 west of Bucyrus in Marion county, and was be- 
 tween the Little Sandusky and the Little Sci- 
 oto, the latter stream having its start near 
 Bucyrus. However, William M. Darlington, 
 of Pittsburg, who edited Smith's narrative, 
 and made the most thorough research possible, 
 has a number of notes and among them the 
 following : 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 147 
 
 ( 1 ) " 'By the Sandusky, Scioto and Ohio 
 rivers lay the route of the Indians of Detroit 
 and Lake Huron when going to war with the 
 Catawabas and other southern tribes. "They 
 ascend the Sandusquet river two or three days, 
 after which they make a small portage, a fine 
 road of about a quarter of a league. Some 
 make canoes of elm bark and float down a 
 small river (the Scioto) that empties into the 
 Ohio." — Memoir of Vaudreuil, Governor of 
 Canada, to the Council of Marine, from Que- 
 bec, Oct. 30, 1 7 18. Paris Documents, New 
 York Col. Hist., vol. ix, page 168; Pownall's 
 Top. Disc, of North America, page 42 and 
 map.' " 
 
 (2) " 'Through these rivers lies the most 
 common pass from Canada to the Ohio and 
 Mississippi." — Morse's Am. Gazetteer of 1798, 
 page 497; Kilbourne's Ohio Gazetteer for 
 1817, page 60; Carey's Atlas for 1812." 
 
 (3) " 'This once important portage ex- 
 tended from the site of Garrett's mill, near the 
 village of Wyandot, on the Sandusky river, in 
 Wyandot county, thence south, about four 
 miles, on a ridge, through part of Dallas town- 
 ship in Crawford county, to the north branch 
 of the Little Scioto, near Swinnerton, on the 
 Old Fort Ball and Columbus Road, in Grand 
 Prairie township, Marion county. The length 
 of the portage varied according to the stage of 
 the water. It was known as the Four Mile 
 Cross. In high water the north branch of .the 
 Little Scioto could be navigated by canoes to 
 a point about a mile distant from Garrett's 
 mill, on the Sandusky. A cut has been made 
 through the ridge about half a mile east from 
 the village of Wyandot, by which the waters of 
 both streams are' united." ( Notes to the writer 
 from S. R. Harris, Esq., of Bucyrus, and Wm. 
 Brown, Esq., of Springfield.) Mr. Brown set- 
 tled near Wyandot in 1826, and surveyed the 
 Wyandot Indian Reservation for the U. S. 
 Government.' " 
 
 Besides these water routes the Indians had 
 trails crossing the county in many directions. 
 The main trail from the Lake to the Ohio 
 river passed through Crawford county. Hul- 
 bert, in his "Red Men's Roads," calls it the 
 "Scioto trail," also the "Sandusky and Rich- 
 mond Trail." It started on the Sandusky bay, 
 going almost due south to Delaware, then 
 keeping within a few miles of the Scioto until 
 
 it reached the Ohio below Portsmouth. Hul- 
 bert refers to this route as "one of the greatest 
 war paths in the west, leading southward into 
 Warrior's Path, to land of the Cherokees and 
 Catawbas." This trail had a branch at Lower 
 Shawnee town,* that crossed the present coun- 
 ties of Hocking, Vinton and Meigs to the Ohio 
 river, and then up the Kanawha to Richmond, 
 Va. Of this trail Hulbert says: "Important 
 fur route between Virginia and the Lake coun- 
 try; also most direct route to Central Ohio 
 from southern seaboard colonies." This trail 
 which passed through Crawford, and the 
 "Great Trail" were the main thoroughfares of 
 the Indians. The "Great Trail" was from 
 Pittsburg to Detroit; it did not pass through 
 Crawford, but through Richland and Huron 
 counties. Just east of Crawford county a 
 branch of this trail bore to the west to the old 
 Indian town of Upper Sandusky, three miles 
 southwest of the present Upper Sandusky, 
 crossing the Sandusky river near Bucyrus; 
 another branch was through Crestline and 
 Galion, across Bucyrus township, and follow- 
 ing east of the river to Little Sandusky. An- 
 other important trail was the route from the 
 Tuscarawas Moravian villages to the Indian 
 village near Upper Sandusky. It entered the 
 county near the southeastern corner of Whet- 
 stone township, bore northwesterly through 
 Whetstone and Bucyrus townships, and 
 crossed the Sandusky south of the Mt. Zion 
 church. This was the route taken by the Mo- 
 ravian Indian in 1781 and 1782. There were 
 important Indian villages near Greentown and 
 what is now Jeromeville in Ashland county. 
 Trails connected both these Indian villages 
 with the various Indian villages on the San- 
 dusky. One of these trails, crossing Jackson, 
 Jefferson, Whetstone, Bucyrus and Dallas was 
 probably the route followed through this 
 county by the army of Col. Crawford in 1782, 
 both going and returning. There were many 
 minor trails in this county, used by the In- 
 dians in going to and from their various 
 camps and hunting grounds; especially is this 
 true of several trails to the cranberry marshes 
 in Chatfield and Cranberry townships. Traces 
 of these trails are shown by the surveyor's 
 notes of nearly a hundred years ago. The sur- 
 
 *Circleville. 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 veyor, in 1819, did not find a continuous trail, 
 as parts of them were obliterated even then, 
 but he found sufficient markings so that the 
 old Indian trails can be traced with a fair de- 
 gree of accuracy. 
 
 The location of these trails are not of spe- 
 cial importance, but it was along them that 
 the first pioneers came to the county; it was 
 also along them that the first roads were laid 
 out, for every Indian trail follows from one 
 place to another over the highest and best 
 ground. These children of nature, with no 
 education, had a trail from the east to the west, 
 and this same trail through Richland, Craw- 
 ford and Wyandot counties, a hundred years 
 later was selected by the engineers as the road 
 bed for the Pennsylvania Railroad. 
 
 The first made road in the county was the 
 one crudely cut through the woods by the sol- 
 diers in 1812. A map of Ohio, published in 
 181 5, gives this road as leaving Richland 
 county to enter the Indian reservation, which 
 Crawford county then was, north of the pres- 
 ent town of Leesville going a trifle north of 
 west for three miles, then straight west to Up- 
 per Sandusky. When this map was made the 
 entire country west of the Richland county 
 line had never been surveyed, and the map 
 shows that when the designer reached the un- 
 surveyed Indian reservation, he must have 
 taken a ruler and drawn an air line from the 
 western boundary of Richland county to Upper 
 Sandusky. This line would pass along the 
 present northern line of the city of Bucyrus. 
 The map, however, is conclusive proof that the 
 military road did exist through this county, al- 
 though west of Bucyrus, neither to the north 
 nor to the south can any trace be found of a 
 road ever having been cut through the woods 
 wide enough for teams to pass. 
 
 On the other hand, Seth Holmes, who 
 piloted Norton here in 1819, was a teamster in 
 the War of 181 2, and was with the supply train 
 which went through Crawford county from 
 Mansfield to Harrison's headquarters at Upper 
 Sandusky, and he stated that when he was on 
 his way through this county with that supply 
 train they camped one night near what is now 
 the crossing of the Pennsylvania road and East 
 Mansfield street. The probable camping site 
 was about where the brewery now stands, as 
 at that time the river was then at the base of 
 
 the blufif. In 1819 James Nail entered his land" 
 about two miles north of Gallon and two miles 
 south of Leesville. In his letter in "The Craw- 
 ford County Forum" in 1868, he writes of tak- 
 ing a trip with two neighbors to find where the 
 Indians got their cranberries. He says: "We 
 took our horses and started in a southwesterly 
 direction until we struck the Pennsylvania 
 army road, then followed the route, which we 
 could clearly distinguish. After passing along 
 said route for several miles we thought we were 
 not getting far enough to the north, and, there- 
 fore, turning further north, struck the San- 
 dusky river east of Bucyrus." * 
 
 At the river they found Daniel McMichael 
 clearing his land; this land was on the south 
 bank of the Sandusky river, one mile northeast 
 of the eastern boundary of Bucyrus township. 
 H. W. McDonald, who made a thorough sur- 
 vey of the county in the sixties, found several 
 markings of this road in the northern part of 
 Polk township, which is a confirmation of the 
 recollections of Nail. It should also be re- 
 membered that when Norton first arrived in 
 this section he stopped near Gallon, and would 
 have entered land there, but Holmes assured 
 him he knew of a much better site a little far- 
 ther on, and it was through the statements of 
 Holmes that Norton and Bucklin left their 
 families and followed Holmes until he piloted 
 them to the site he remembered, which was 
 where Bucyrus now is. The pioneer recollec- 
 tions are that this road must have been through 
 the northern part of Polk township, and to 
 Bucyrus over the high ground between the 
 present Gallon road and the Pennsylvania 
 track, crossing the Sandusky near the West 
 Mansfield street bridge, crossing the Pennsyl- 
 vania road near the Oceola road crossing, then 
 northwest, south of the Oceola road, and 
 crossing the Brokensword southwest of Oceola, 
 and then to Upper Sandusky. 
 
 Polk township pioneers also report a military 
 road through the southern part of that town- 
 ship, markings of which still remain. This is 
 also probably correct. When Harrison made 
 Upper Sandusky his headc[uarters in 1812, and 
 built Fort Ferree, many troops assembled 
 there. At one time the entire militia of the 
 State were hurriedly ordered to report at that 
 
 * This trip of Nail was in 1820. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 149 
 
 point, and many of the troops from eastern 
 and southeastern Ohio passed through Craw- 
 ford county, some striking the Pennsylvania 
 army road, and others following the Indian 
 trail along the Whetstone, and to Little San- 
 dusky. Many of these so-called military roads 
 were routes taken by these troops responding 
 in a hurry, and traveling on horseback, car- 
 rying their arms and provisions and supplies, 
 and no army train with them. Practically all 
 supplies that were gathered at Upper Sandusky 
 came up the river from the Lake, or by the 
 road Harrison had cut through the woods 
 from Franklinton (Columbus) to Upper San- 
 dusky. General Harrison makes frequent 
 complaints of the difficulties and expense of 
 getting his supplies over this road from Co- 
 lumbus. 
 
 After the eastern part of the county was 
 surveyed, in 1807, a number of years passed 
 before bonafide settlers began occupying the 
 land, but by 1818 there was a fair sprinkling 
 of pioneers in the eastern part of the county. 
 They had blazed trails through the woods to 
 their nearest neighbors, but about 1818 the pi- 
 oneers themselves cut down trees, laid the 
 trunks over the worst of the swampy ground, 
 and had a road running from the settlements 
 around Galion through what is now Middle- 
 town, Leesville and West Liberty, and north to 
 the Huron river, by which they could secure an 
 outlet to Huron on Lake Erie. This was the 
 first road in the county. A year or two later 
 the pioneers of Bucyrus, Liberty and Sandusky, 
 to get an outlet to the same market, made a 
 road northeast from Bucyrus, following what 
 is now the Sulphur Springs road, and when 
 near that village, turning east, south of the 
 present road, passing half a mile north of the 
 present village of Tiro, and connecting with 
 that first road built by the early pioneers. An- 
 other early road made by the pioneers was one 
 from Galion to Bucyrus. 
 
 The first road in Crawford county of which 
 there is official record was established by the 
 county commissioners at Delaware in 1822, 
 "from the southeast corner of Section 13, now 
 a part of Sandusky township, to Bucyrus ; total 
 length nine miles and 276 rods. John Marshall 
 surveyor and Michael Beadle, Joseph Young 
 and David Palmer viewers." This road gave 
 Bucyrus better connection with the road in the 
 
 eastern part of the county, and indicates that 
 the important markets at that time were New 
 Haven, Milan and Huron. The same year a 
 state road was authorized from Norton in 
 Delaware county, north through Bucyrus and 
 on to Sandusky, on the Lake. James Kil- 
 bourne was the surveyor. Solomon Smith and 
 Luther Coe the commissioners. Nothing was 
 done with this road until later, when it became 
 the Sandusky Pike. 
 
 In 1824 Crawford was transferred from the 
 jurisdiction of Delaware to that of Marion 
 county, and Crawford was given a commis- 
 sioner in the person of E. B. Merriman. On 
 June 8, 1824, a road was established "begin- 
 ning at the east line of Crawford county, at 
 crossing of road leading from Wooster to 
 Upper Sandusky, thence on nearest and best 
 ground to Bucyrus, making Daniel McMi- 
 chael's mill a point on said road." This 
 passed through southern Liberty township 
 north of the river, crossing the Sandusky at 
 the present water works reservoir, McMi- 
 chael's mill being on the south bank of the 
 river, west of the present road. "Nearest and 
 best ground" has given way to straight roads 
 and right angles, so much of this road has 
 been straightened. The viewers to establish 
 this road were Joseph Young and Abel Carey. 
 Another road in 1824 was the present Little 
 Sandusky road with Lewis Carey, Daniel 
 Fickle and Samuel Norton as the viewers. 
 The road from Norton to Portland (San- 
 dusky) was taken up in 1824, and Heman 
 Rowse, Nathaniel Plummer, Benjamin Parcher 
 and John McClure were appointed viewers. 
 The road from Bucyrus to Mansfield was laid 
 out, James Cassaday being the surveyor and 
 Amos Utley, and James Perfect the viewers. 
 The first alteration of a road is recorded in 
 1824. It was of "a road leading from Friends- 
 borough to Benjamin Sharrock's." They were 
 instructed to "lay it out on old boundary line 
 from Friendsborough until it intersects the 
 State road leading from Mt. Vernon to Upper 
 Sandusky." 
 
 In 1825 Zalmon Rowse was Crawford 
 county's commissioner. The first road he intro- 
 duced was what is now the road from Cale- 
 donia to Bucyrus. Another was what later be- 
 came the Mt. Vernon road through Whet- 
 stone township, and near New Winchester it 
 
150 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was to go through "the long swamp." An- 
 other road was the present Marion road from 
 Marion to Bucyrus. 
 
 In 1826 Crawford county was organized, 
 and the early sessions of the commissioners 
 were mainly given to the laying out of new 
 roads and the straightening of old ones. All 
 the records of the commissioners prior to 183 1 
 were destroyed by fire, but the first meeting of 
 which there is any report relates to roads : 
 
 "Proceedings of the Commissioners of Crawford 
 County, begun and held in the town of Bucyrus, on 
 the 17th and i8th day of October, 1831. 
 "Be it resolved, that James McCracken, Esq., is 
 hereby appointed a commissioner (in the room of R. W. 
 Cahill, Esq., resigned), to lay out a certain state road, 
 commencing at the town of Perrysburg in Wood county, 
 thence to McCutchenville, thence to Bucyrus, in Craw- 
 ford county." 
 
 This was the present Oceola road. 
 
 As early as 1808 a road had been constructed 
 from Franklinton (Columbus) through Dela- 
 ware to Norton, a town on the border line of 
 Delaware and Marion counties, within two 
 miles of the Greenville treaty line, all north of 
 this line being Indian reservation. In 1820 the 
 two miles to the Greenville treaty line were laid 
 out. On February 4, 1822, the General As- 
 sembly passed an act establishing a State road, 
 "commencing at Norton, in Delaware county, 
 thence to the city of Sandusky" by the nearest 
 and best route, and Hector Kilbourne and Ly- 
 man Farwell were appointed commissioners 
 with instructions to report to the county com- 
 missioners of Delaware county. Previous to 
 this, on June 7, 1821, the Delaware commis- 
 sioners had established a county road from 
 Norton "as far north as the Indian camps on 
 the road leading from Mt. Vernon to Upper 
 Sandusky." 
 
 In 1826 an act was passed by the Legislature 
 incorporating the Columbus and Sandusky 
 Turnpike Company. The capital stock was 
 $100,000, divided into one thousand shares of 
 $100 each, two of the incorporators being 
 Judge E. B. Merriman and Col. Zalmon Rowse 
 of Bucyrus. The road was to be a "good, se- 
 cure and substantial road of stone, gravel, tim- 
 ber or other material." They were authorized 
 to collect as toll for each ten miles, 25 cents for 
 every four-wheeled carriage or wagon; 18^ 
 cents for every two-wheeled vehicle; and 6^ 
 cents for each horse or ox. Each four- 
 
 wheeled pleasure carriage drawn by two 
 horses was required to pay 37J4 cents, and 
 i2j>2 cents for each horse additional. Every 
 person going to and from religious services on 
 Sabbath, and militiamen going to and from 
 muster grounds, were allowed the use of the 
 road free. 
 
 John Kilbourne, in his Ohio Gazetteer of 
 1826 says of this road: "During the last ses- 
 sion of the Legislature (December, 1825) the 
 author petitioned for the grant of a turnpike 
 incorporation to construct a road from Colum- 
 bus to Sandusky city, a distance of 104 miles in 
 a direct line. An act was accordingly passed 
 therefor. But whether the requisite funds to 
 make it can be raised is yet (March, 1826) 
 somewhat uncertain. But its benefits and ad- 
 vantages to above one-half of the northern and 
 western part of the State, are so obvious that 
 the presumption is that it will be made." 
 
 This road was so important, and its pro- 
 moters were so influential, that on March 3, 
 1827, Congress passed an act granting to the 
 State of Ohio 49 sections of land, amounting 
 to 31,360 acres, "situated along the western 
 side of the Columbus and Sandusky turnpike, 
 in the eastern part of Seneca, Crawford and 
 Marion counties." The considerations for 
 which these lands were granted were that the 
 mail stages and all troops and property of the 
 United States which should ever be moved and 
 transported along this road should pass free 
 from toll. On February 12, 1828, the Ohio 
 Legislature transferred these lands to the 
 turnpike company, which sold them to obtain 
 funds to build the road. 
 
 A meeting was held at the schoolhouse in 
 Bucyrus, and stock sold and subscriptions taken 
 to secure funds to build the road. Money was 
 scarce, and the raising of the funds was a dif- 
 ficult task. It was Bucyrus's first attempt to 
 secure a public improvement. Merriman, 
 Rowse and others all spoke strongly of the ad- 
 vantages which would accure to Bucyrus if this 
 road could be built, and Abel Carey, who 
 strongly favored the project, in his remarks 
 lifted the veil which hid the future, when he 
 hopefully predicted, "Why, gentlemen, if we 
 succeed in getting this road, we may yet see a 
 daily line of stages through Bucyrus!" The 
 meeting for the organization of the company 
 was held at Bucyrus and Col. Kilbourne was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 151 
 
 appointed surveyor of the road. The cost was 
 assessed to the different counties, and nearly all 
 the additional meetings were held at Bucyrus, 
 the lively post town being the headquarters of 
 the enthusiastic supporters of the road. If 
 there were any "knockers," pioneer history 
 fails to record their names, but it does record 
 the fact that some of the citizens subscribed 
 and paid for more stock than all their real es- 
 tate would have sold for in cash. The diffi- 
 culty of raising the funds made the road long 
 in building, and it was 1834 before it was 
 finally completed. It will be remembered the 
 charter called for the building of the road of 
 "stone, gravel, timber, or other material." It 
 was built of the latter. The "other material" 
 being the throwing up of earth in the centre of 
 the roadway, and through the low and marshy 
 ground laying trees crosswise, side by side, 
 forming a corduroy foundation. In some 
 places, so deep and swampy was the land that 
 trees were felled and laid across the swamps, 
 and on these were placed the smaller trees 
 crosswise. The cost of the road was about 
 $700 per mile. It was probably the most direct 
 road in Ohio, the distance from Columbus to 
 Sandusky by the road being 106 miles, while 
 an air line is 104. Although the road was not 
 completed tmtil 1834, stages had been running 
 over the old county and state road, along prac- 
 tically the same route, since 1823. In 1827 the 
 first line of stages began running on the~ new 
 pike. 
 
 What this road was is best told by the Rev. 
 Mr. Reid, a Congregational minister who came 
 over from England to visit the American 
 churches. He went from Sandusky to Cincin- 
 nati in 1834. He spent Sunday in Sandusky 
 City, and writes of "the stumps still standing 
 in the main street and over the spots that have 
 been cleared for settlement." 
 
 Mr. Reid published his experiences in a little 
 volume entitled "Visit to American Churches," 
 and it is so complete and vivid a description of 
 the Columbus Pike, and what first-class travel- 
 ing was in those early days, the condition of 
 the country and the customs, that his entire trip 
 is given from the Lake to the Ohio : 
 
 "Having rested over Sabbath I arranged to 
 leave by coach early in the morning for Colum- 
 bus. I rose, therefore, at two. Soon after I 
 had risen the bar agent came to say that the 
 
 coach was ready and would start in ten min- 
 utes. As the rain had made the road bad this 
 was rather an ominous as well as untimely in- 
 timation, so I went down to my place. I had 
 no sooner began to enter the coach than splash 
 went my foot into mud and water. I ex- 
 claimed with surprise. 'Soon be dry. Sir,' was 
 the reply, while he withdrew the light, that I 
 might not explore the cause of complaint. The 
 fact was that the vehicle, like the hotel and the 
 steamboat, was not water-tight, and the rain 
 had found an entrance. There was, indeed, in 
 this coach, as in most others, a provision in 
 the bottom — of holes — to let off both water 
 and dirt, but here the dirt had become mud and 
 thickened about the orifices so as to prevent es- 
 cape. I found I was the only passenger; the 
 morning was damp and chilly; the state of the 
 coach added to the sensation, and I eagerly 
 looked for some means of protection. I drew 
 up the wooden windows — out of five small 
 panes of glass in the sashes three were broken. 
 I endeavored to secure the curtains; two of 
 them had most of the ties broken and flapped in 
 one's face. I could see nothing; everywhere 
 I could feel the wind drawn in upon me; and 
 as for sounds, I had the call of the driver, the 
 screeching of the wheels, and the song of the 
 bull-frog for my entertainment. 
 
 "But the worst of my solitary entertainment 
 was to come. All that had been intimated 
 about bad roads now came upon me. They 
 were not only bad, they were intolerable ; they 
 were rather like a stony ditch than a road. The 
 horses, on the first stages could only walk most 
 of the way; we were freqvfently in up to the 
 axle-tree ; and I had no sooner recovered from 
 a terrible plunge on one side, than there came 
 another in the opposite direction. I was liter- 
 ally thrown about like a ball. Let me dismiss 
 the subject of bad roads for this journey by 
 stating, in illustration, that with an empty 
 coach and four horses, we were seven hours in 
 going twenty-three miles; and that we were 
 twenty-eight hours in getting to Columbus, a 
 distance of one hundred and ten miles. Yet 
 this line of conveyance was advertised as a 
 'splendid line, equal to any in the States.' " 
 
 "At six o'clock we arrived at Russell's tav- 
 ern,* where we were to take breakfast. This 
 
 *Cook's Corners, Huron county, three miles east 
 of Bellevue.. 
 
152 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 is a nice inn; in good order, very clean, and 
 the best provision. There was an abundant 
 supply, but most of it was prepared with butter 
 and the frying-pan ; still there were good coffee 
 and eggs, and delightful bread. Most of the 
 family and driver sat down at the table, and 
 the daughters of. our host waited on us. Mr. 
 Russell, as is commonly the case in such dis- 
 tricts, made the occupation of innkeeper sub- 
 sidiary to that of farming. You commanded 
 the whole of his farm from the door, and it was 
 really a fine picture, the young crops blooming 
 and promising in the midst of the desert. 
 
 "From the good manners of the family, and 
 from the good husbandry and respectable car- 
 riage of the father, I hoped to find a regard for 
 religion here. I turned to the rack of the bar 
 and found there three books; they were the 
 Gazetteer of Ohio, Popular Geography and the 
 Bible ; they all denoted intelligence ; the last one 
 the most used. 
 
 "Things now began to mend with me ; day- 
 light had come; the atmosphere was getting 
 warm and bland. I had the benefit of a good 
 breakfast; the road was in some measure im- 
 proved; it was possible to look abroad, and 
 everything was inviting attention. We were 
 now passing over what is called the Grand 
 Prairie, and the prairies of the western coun- 
 try are conspicuous among its phenomena. 
 The first impression did not please me so much 
 as I expected. It rather interests by its singu- 
 larity than otherwise. If there be any other 
 source of interest it may be found in its ex- 
 pansion over a wide region. 
 
 "Land here is worth about two dollars and 
 a half per acre ; and you may get a piece of five 
 acres, cleared, and a good eight-railed fence 
 around it for fifty dollars. 
 
 "Most of the recent settlers along this road 
 seem to be Germans. We passed a little settle- 
 ment of eight families who had arrived this 
 season. The log-house is the only description 
 of house in these new and scattered settlements. 
 I passed one occupied by a doctor of medicine, 
 and another tenanted by two bachelors, one of 
 them being a judge. 
 
 "The most interesting sight to me was the 
 forest. It now appeared in all its pristine state 
 and grandeur, tall, magnificent, boundless. _ I 
 had been somewhat disappointed in not finding 
 vegetation develop itself in larger form in New 
 
 England than with us ; but there was no place 
 for disappointment here. I shall fail, however, 
 to give you the impression it makes on one. 
 Did it arise from height, from figure, or 
 grouping, it might readily be conveyed to you ; 
 but it arises chiefly from combination. You 
 must see it in all the stages of growth, decay, 
 dissolution and regeneration; you must see it 
 pressing on you and overshadowing you by its 
 silent forms, and at other times spreading it- 
 self before you like a natural park; you must 
 see that all the clearances made by the human 
 hand bear no higher relations to it than does a 
 mountain to the globe; you must travel in it 
 in solitariness, hour after hour, and day after 
 day, frequently gazing on it with solemn de- 
 light, and occasionally casting the eye round in 
 search of some pause, some end, without find- 
 ing any, before you can fully understand the 
 impression. Men say there is nothing in 
 America to give you the sense of antiquity, 
 and they mean that, as there are no works of 
 art to produce this effect, there can be noth- 
 ing else. You cannot think that I would de- 
 preciate what they mean to extol; but I hope 
 you will sympathize with me when I say that 
 I have met with nothing among the most ven- 
 erable forms of art which impresses you so 
 thoroughly with the idea of infinite distance 
 and countless continuity of antiquity shrouded 
 in all its mystery of solitude, illimitable and 
 eternal. 
 
 "The clearances, too, which appeared on this 
 road were on so small a scale as to strengthen 
 this impression, and to convey a distinct im- 
 pression of their own. On them the vast trees 
 of the forest had been girdled to prevent the 
 foliage from appearing to overshadow the 
 ground ; and the land at their feet was grubbed 
 and sown with corn ; which was expanding on 
 the surface in all its luxuriance. The stems of 
 the Indian corn were strangely contrasted 
 with the large trunks of the pine and oak, and 
 the verdant surface below was as strangely op- 
 posed to the skeleton trees towering above, 
 spreading out their leafless arms to the warm 
 sun and the refreshing rains, and doing it in 
 vain. Life and desolation were never brought 
 closer together. 
 
 "About noon we arrived at a little town* 
 and stopped at an inn, which was announced as 
 
 *Bucyrus. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 153 
 
 the dining-place. My very early breakfast, 
 and my violent exercise, had not indisposed me 
 for dinner. The dinner was a very poor affair. 
 The chief dish was ham fried in butter — orig- 
 inally lard, and the harder for frying. I tried 
 to get my teeth through it, and failed. There 
 remained bread, cheese, and cranberries, and 
 of these I made my repast. While here, a Ger- 
 man woman, one of the recent settlers, passed 
 by on her way home. Her husband had taken 
 the fever and died. She had come to buy a 
 coffin for him, and other articles of domestic 
 use at the same time. She was now walking 
 home beside the man who bore the coffin, and 
 with her other purchases under her arm. This 
 was a sad specimen either of German phlegm 
 or of the hardening effect of poverty. 
 
 "Here, also, was a set of Mormonites pass- 
 ing through to the 'Far West.' They are 
 among the most deluded fanatics. 
 
 "We now took in three passengers, who 
 were going on to Marion. One was a colonel, 
 though in mind, manners and appearance 
 among the plainest of men; another was a 
 lawyer and magistrate; the third was a con- 
 siderable farmer. 
 
 "All of them, by their station and avocation, 
 ought to have been gentlemen; but if just 
 terms are to be applied to them, they must be 
 the opposite of this. To me they were always 
 civil; but among themselves they were evi- 
 dently accustomed to blasphemous and corrupt 
 conversation. The colonel, who had admitted 
 himself to be a Methodist, was the best, and 
 sought to impose restraints on himself and 
 companions ; but he gained very little credit for 
 them. I was grieved and disappointed, for I 
 had met with nothing so bad. What I had 
 witnessed at Sandusky was from a different 
 and lower class of persons ; but here were the 
 first three men in respectable life with whom I 
 had met in this State ; and these put promiscu- 
 ously before me — and all bad. It was neces- 
 sary to guard against a hasty and prejudiced 
 conclusion. 
 
 "On reaching Marion I was released from 
 my unpleasant companions. I had to travel 
 through most of the night; but no refresh- 
 ments were provided. I joined in a meal that 
 was nearly closed by another party, and pre- 
 pared to go forward at the call of the driver. 
 I soon found I was to be in different circum- 
 
 stances. We were nine persons and a child, 
 within. Of course, after being tossed about in 
 an empty coach all day, like a boat on the 
 ocean, I was not unwilling to have the pros- 
 pect of sitting steadily in my corner; but when 
 I got fairly pinned inside, knees and feet, the 
 hard seat and the harder ribs of the coach be- 
 gan to search out my bruises, and I was still a 
 sufferer. However, there were now some 
 qualifying considerations. The road was im- 
 proving, and with it the scenery. I had come 
 for fifty miles over a dead flat, with only one 
 inclination, and that not greater than the pitch 
 of Ludgate Hill ; the land was now finely undu- 
 lated. My company, too, though there was 
 something too much of it, was not objection- 
 able; some of it was pleasing. 
 
 "There were among them the lady of a 
 judge and her daughter. The mother was af- 
 fable and fond of conversation. She was 
 glad we had such agreeable society in the stage, 
 as "that did not always happen." She talked 
 freely on many subjects, and sometimes as be- 
 came a judge's lady of refinement and educa- 
 tion ; but she did it in broken grammar, and in 
 happy ignorance that it was broken. As the 
 night shut in, she, without the least embarrass- 
 ment, struck up and sang off, very fairly, 
 'Home, Sweet Home.' This was all unasked, 
 and before strangers ; yet none were surprised 
 but myself. I name this merely as a point of 
 manners. The lady herself was unquestionably 
 modest, and, as I think, pious. 
 
 "At nearly one o'clock we arrived at Dela- 
 ware. Here I was promised a night's rest. 
 You shall judge whether that promise was kept 
 or broken. There was no refreshment of any 
 kind prepared or offered, so we demanded 
 our lights to retire. The judge's lady and 
 daughter were shown into a closet called a 
 room. There was no fastening to the door, 
 and she protested that she would not use it. 
 I insisted that it was not proper treatment. All 
 the amendment that could be gained was a 
 proposition 'to fetch a nail, and she could nail 
 herself in, and be snug enough.' 
 
 "I was shown into a similar closet. There 
 was no dressing accommodations. I required 
 them, and was told that these things were 'in 
 common' below. I refused to use them; and 
 at length, by showing a little firmness and a lit- 
 tle kindness obtained soap, bowl and towel. I 
 
154 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 dressed. By this time it was nearly two 
 o'clock. I was to be called at half past two; 
 and I threw myself on the bed to try to sleep, 
 with the soothing impression that I must awake 
 in half an hour. 
 
 "At half past two I was summoned, and 
 having put myself in readiness, and paid for 
 a night's lodging, I was again on my way. The 
 day broke on us pleasantly, and the country 
 was very beautiful. We foirded the Whet- 
 stone, a lively river, which ornamented the 
 ride. We passed through Worthington, a 
 smart town, prettily placed, and having a good 
 college, and arrived at Columbus the capital, at 
 nine o'clock. 
 
 "The inn at which we stopped is the rendez- 
 vous of the stages. Among these there were 
 two ready to start for Cincinnati. On seeking 
 to engage my place the inquiry was, 'Which 
 will you go by. Sir, the fast or the slow line ?' 
 Weary as I was of the slow line, I exclaimed, 
 'Oh the fast line, certainly!' I quickly found 
 myself enclosed in a good coach, carrying the 
 mail, and only six persons inside. In this jour- 
 ney we had but three. 
 
 "In demanding to go by the fast line I was 
 not aware of all the effects of my choice. It is 
 certainly a delightful thing to move with some 
 rapidity over a good road ; but on a bad road, 
 with stubborn springs, it is really terrible. For 
 miles out of Columbus the road is shamefully 
 bad; and as our horses were kept on a trot, 
 however slow, I was not only tumbled and 
 shaken as on the previous day, but so jarred 
 and jolted as to threaten serious mischief. In- 
 stead, therefore, of finding a lounge, or sleep, 
 as I had hoped, in this comfortable coach, I was 
 obliged to be on the alert for every jerk. And 
 after all I could do, my teeth were jarred, my 
 hat was many times thrown from my head, 
 and all my bruises bruised over again. It was 
 really an amusement to see us laboring to keep 
 oar places. 
 
 "About noon we paused at the town called 
 J efferson. We were to wait half an hour ; there 
 would be no other chance of dinner ; but there 
 were no signs of dinner here. However, I had 
 been on very short supplies for the last twenty- 
 four hours, and considered it my duty to eat if 
 I could. I applied to the good woman of the 
 inn, and in a very short time she placed venison, 
 fruit-tarts and tea before me, all very clean and 
 
 the venison excellent. It was a refreshing re- 
 past, and the demand on my purse was only 
 twenty-five cents. 'How long have you been 
 here ?' I said to my hostess, who stood by me 
 fanning the dishes to keep off the flies. 'Only 
 came last fall, Sir.' 'How old is this town?' 
 'Twenty-three months. Sir ; then the first house 
 was built.' 
 
 "There are now about five hundred persons 
 settled here, and there are three good hotels. 
 There is something very striking in these rapid 
 movepients of life and civilization in the heart 
 of the forest. 
 
 "On leaving Jefferson we again plunged into 
 the forest, and toward evening we got on the 
 greensward, or natural road. This was mostly 
 good and uncut and we bowled along in serpen- 
 tine lines, so as to clear the stumps with much 
 freedom. The scenery now, even for the for- 
 est, was becoming unusually grand. I passed 
 in this day's ride the Yellow Springs and 
 Springfield. The former is a watering place. 
 There is a fine spring of chalybeate, and an 
 establishment capable of receiving from 150 
 to 200 visitors. Springfield is a flourishing 
 town, built among the handsome hills that 
 abound in this vicinity. It is one of the clean- 
 est, brightest and most inviting that I have 
 seen. But all the inhabitants were as noth- 
 ing compared with the forest. I had been 
 traveling through it for two days and nights, 
 and still it was the same. Now you came to a 
 woodman's hut in the solitude ; now to a farm ; 
 and now to a village, by courtesy called a town 
 or a city; but it was still the forest. You 
 drove on for miles through it unbroken; then 
 you came to a small clearance and a young set- 
 tlement; and then again you plunged into the 
 wide, everlasting forest to be with nature and 
 with God. This night I had also to travel, 
 and, weary as I was, I was kept quite on the 
 alert. 
 
 "The early morning found me still traveling 
 and getting seriously unwell. I thought I 
 must have remained in Lebanon, a town about 
 twenty miles from Cincinnati, to sicken and 
 suffer without a friend ; and then all the lone- 
 liness of my situation came over me. The 
 stage halted here an hour; this allowed me 
 some time to recover and I resolved, if it were 
 possible, to go forward to what I might re- 
 gard as a resting place. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 155 
 
 "Happily, everything was now improving. 
 The road was not unworthy of MacAdam, 
 and we bowled over it at the rate of nine miles 
 an hour. The country was covered with hills, 
 finely wooded, and all about them were spread 
 farms, in a handsome and thriving state of 
 cultivation. Many ornamental cottages now 
 appeared, and the white suburbs put on a 
 cheerful and beautiful aspect. At last we 
 drove into the Western metropolis. I had 
 traveled three days and three nights, and was 
 so wearied, bruised and hurt that I could not, 
 with comfort, sit, lie or walk. The remainder 
 of the day I spent in my chamber." 
 
 From Sandusky to Cincinnati, three days 
 and three nights through the forests and ford- 
 ing the streams, over the worst of roads 
 and traveling first-class at that. Today he 
 could make the same trip, never deviating 
 more than a few miles from exactly the same 
 route, in a palatial car, with "soap, and bowl 
 and towel," and tasty, well served meals on 
 the train, and reach his journey's end rested 
 and refreshed, at less than half the price he 
 paid for his discomforts and inconveniences, 
 and if he were to start from Sandusky at two 
 in the morning he would reach Cincinnati in 
 time to transact his business and return home 
 in the evening. Or he could take exactly the 
 same route in an automobile today, go over 
 exactly the same road the entire distance to 
 Cincinnati, and every foot of that road macad- 
 amized ; pass farming lands on every hand in 
 the highest state of cultivation; through 
 thriving villages and towns and cities, each a 
 hive of busy industry, and in the entire dis- 
 tance not a log hut to be seen, not a stream 
 to be forded, and of the forests he so much ad- 
 mired not one spared in the remorseless march 
 of civilization. 
 
 Times, indeed, have changed, for the route 
 he took marked an era of progress in those 
 days, as witness the following from the Ohio 
 State Journal of June 28, 1827: "From the 
 encouragement offered, the tri-weekly line of 
 stages through this place, between the city of 
 Cincinnati and Sandusky, on Lake Erie, has 
 been changed by its enterprising proprietors 
 into a daily line. This offers an important ad- 
 vantage to travelers between these places, who 
 may pursue their journey without the delay 
 in most cases of a single hour. The fare has 
 
 been reduced to twelve dollars, which is like- 
 wise something of a consideration." 
 
 This Sandusky Pike was a very good road — 
 in the summer and fall and in dry weather, as 
 all well traveled dirt and clay roads are. And 
 the road was well traveled from the start; on 
 busy days as many as fifty teams being in 
 sight at one time, those from the south taking 
 their grain and other farm products to the 
 Sandusky market, and also large droves of 
 cattle and other stock passing over the road on 
 their way to the Lake. The teams returning 
 brought the goods needed by the people, which 
 had reached Sandusky by water from the east- 
 ern market over the newly-completed Erie 
 Canal. The easier access to a market at San- 
 dusky gave the farmers a better price for their 
 produce and equally the goods they purchased 
 were reduced in cost owing to the cheaper ex- 
 pense and better means of transportation. In 
 all the little villages and every few miles along 
 the road were taverns, where accommodation, 
 more or less good, was furnished to the trav- 
 eler, and these places were crowded. Many 
 a farmer made extra and needed cash by fur- 
 nishing accommodation to the traveler or 
 drover who passed over the road. Along the 
 road at night could be seen the camp-fires of 
 those drovers who carried their cooking uten- 
 sils with them, prepared their own meals and 
 slept in the open air. Notwithstanding the 
 traffic and the heavy toll charges, for some rea- 
 son the road was not a profitable investment, 
 and the stockholders never received any divi- 
 dends; neither were there sufficient funds to 
 make the road bed what it should have been, 
 and what the charter called for. As a result, 
 from Bucyrus to Delaware, a large amount of 
 the travel and even the stages, went by Ma- 
 rion, and although the distance was four miles 
 further, the road was better and they escaped 
 the excessive toll. In the spring of the year so 
 bad was this toll road that four horses were 
 necessary to pull a wagon with the lightest of 
 loads. And many a disgusted traveler, strug- 
 gling through the mire and mud found him- 
 self stalled and compelled to seek help from 
 some neighboring farmer to pull him to higher 
 and dryer ground, and after paying for this 
 assistance proceed a few miles further and be 
 held up for toll charges for the privilege of 
 passing over this route. There were similar 
 
156 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 roads to this all over northwestern Ohio, some 
 so bad that rights to mud holes were recog- 
 nized, and many an enterprising farmer found 
 a handsome addition to his income in furnish- 
 ing aid and assistance to the unfortunate trav- 
 eler stalled by the bad roads. One young man 
 had started with a wagon drawn by a team 
 of mules, and with $ioo in cash contemplated 
 buying land in the new country. Before he 
 reached his destination he had been compelled 
 to use all his capital in paying for assistance 
 to get him over the worst places. He was not 
 discouraged, however, and was something of 
 a philosopher, so he went into camp at his 
 last mud hole and by the relief of other trav- 
 elers in distress soon had his hundred dollars 
 back.* 
 
 It was in these days that profanity reached 
 its highest range, and many indignantly re- 
 fused to pay, and there were cases where the 
 angry driver in passing managed to get a 
 hitch on the toll-gate, and drag it a mile or two 
 down the road. The court records of those 
 days show many cases against travelers for 
 "malicious destruction of property," the prop- 
 erty being these toll-gates, and as the jury were 
 men who knew these roads and had suffered, 
 but were at the same time conscientious, they 
 always brought in verdicts for the company, 
 fixing the damages, however, at one cent, which 
 followed the law and expressed their opinion 
 at the same time. The turnpike company le- 
 gally continued to make their charges, and 
 when possible collected them, and the people 
 finally demanded the abrogation of the char- 
 ter on the ground of non-compliance with its 
 provisions. Proceedings dragged their way 
 through the legislature and through the 
 courts, with "nothing doing," until one night 
 the people along the line from Columbus north 
 for thirty miles made a raid on the toll-gates 
 and morning found every one of them de- 
 stroyed. This act brought the matter so forci- 
 bly before the legislature that at their next 
 session in 1843 the act creating the company 
 was repealed. The company asked a hearing 
 and asked reimbursement, and for ten years 
 in one form or another the matter was before 
 the legislature, until in 1856 it came up for 
 the last time, when the Senate passed a bill au- 
 thorizing the company to bring suit against the 
 * "The Sandusky River."— Lucy Elliot Keeler. 
 
 State, but the bill failed to pass the House, and 
 from that time to the present the discouraged 
 owners seem to have dropped the matter. 
 Which means that the heirs of the original 
 stockholders in this and other counties along 
 the line have still something coming from the 
 State of Ohio. 
 
 Besides this road, in the early days another 
 stage line ran through this county from Col- 
 umbus to the Lake; it was authorized by the 
 legislature in 1820, and was known as the Col- 
 umbus and Portland road. It entered the 
 present Crawford in the southeastern part of 
 the county, from Mt. Gilead (then in Marion 
 county) passed north, just west of Gallon, 
 through where now stands Middletown, Lees- 
 ville and West Liberty, following the route of 
 the first road cut through the woods by the 
 pioneers. Col. Kilbourne was also the sur- 
 veyor for this road, and when he reached 
 where Gallon now is it was his desire to have 
 the road pass over the high ground where the 
 public square is now located. He made over- 
 tures to Leveridge who owned the land to have 
 the road pass here and the two would lay out 
 a town, but Leveridge objected to having his 
 nice farm spoiled by cutting it up into town 
 lots, so when the road was located it was in 
 what is now the western part of Galion, cross- 
 ing the road from Mansfield to Bucyrus just 
 east of the Whetstone, and at the junction a 
 few houses were soon located, with a black- 
 smith shop and a tavern and later a store and 
 post office, and when the present city of Galion 
 was laid out some ten years later, the owner of 
 the new village with its two or three houses 
 looked west half a mile to the "Crossing" 
 where at times as many as fifty teams were sta- 
 tioned, stopping on their journey over one or 
 the other of the roads. The Portland road fell 
 off in business after the western route to San- 
 dusky was established through Bucyrus, but 
 the Mansfield road continued to be a stage line 
 until driven out of business by the railroads, 
 and the little town of Galion became the cen- 
 tral point and the cluster of houses at the 
 crossing were abandoned. 
 
 Other stage lines in the early days prior to 
 railroads were from Bucyrus to Bellefontaine, 
 and on to Indianapolis; from Bucyrus to Mt. 
 Vernon; from Bucyrus to Tifiiin and on to 
 Perrysburg. The condition of this latter road 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 157 
 
 was such in the spring of the year that it could 
 have been better utihzed by steamboats than by 
 stages ; it was mostly under water during the 
 entire spring season. This was also true of 
 many of the early coach roads in this county. 
 The roads south of Bucyrus were through 
 water for miles. There were no fences, and 
 the driver frequently found better ground by 
 leaving the road and picking his way along the 
 higher spots across the plains. 
 
 There was no difficulty in laying out roads 
 in those days. All the road makers had to do 
 was to avoid the worst swamps, and the larg- 
 est trees, and find the easiest crossings of the 
 smaller streams. The first road the pioneer 
 had was only a path which he made through 
 the woods to his nearest neighbors, blazing the 
 trees so his family would not miss the way in 
 making neighborly visits a mile or two away. 
 When it came to a road to secure an outlet to 
 market, there were no county commissioners to 
 petition; no thirty days' notice was necessary; 
 besides there was no one to object to the road; 
 they appointed no viewers and had no sur- 
 veyor; one or two expert woodsmen started 
 out on a clear day, when they could be guided 
 by the sun and take their course in the intended 
 direction, keeping on the highest and dryest 
 ground and winding in and out to avoid the 
 larger trees and all obstructions, cutting down 
 the underbrush as they passed, and a road was 
 ready for passage on foot or on horseback. 
 Later the pioneers at their leisure cut down the 
 small trees in the roadway, removed the fallen 
 logs and other obstructions, and the road, such 
 as it was, was completed. Neither was it ex- 
 pensive to lay out a state road. When Col. 
 Kilbourne was a member of the Legislature he 
 introduced a bill to pay himself and others for 
 the laying out of the first state road in Craw- 
 ford county, the old Portland road, through 
 Polk, Jefferson, Vernon and Auburn town- 
 ships. The section of the bill showing the 
 cost is as follows : 
 
 "Section 12. — That there shall be paid to Luther Coe 
 and James Kilbourne from the fund aforesaid for their 
 services as road commissioners and the services of the 
 surveyor and other assistants by them employed in lay- 
 ing out and establishing a state road from Worthington 
 in Franklin county, by the salt reserve section in the 
 county of Delaware, to New Haven, in Huron county, 
 the following sums, viz. : For that part of said road 
 which is in the county of Marion, to be charged to said 
 Marion in the next general appropriation of said fund, 
 
 sixty-three dollars; for that part of said road which is 
 in Crawford county, to be charged to said Crawford as 
 aforesaid, five dollars; and for that part of said road 
 which is in said Huron county, twelve dollars, to be 
 charged to said county in the next general appropriation 
 of said fund ; making in all the sum of $80 chargeable 
 to the said three counties. The part of said road which 
 is in the said counties of Franklin and Delaware hav- 
 ing been heretofore paid for ; and the remaining part 
 thereof, which is in Richland county, amounting to 
 $76.50, not having been paid or provided for by this 
 act; but the same is left for future settlement." 
 
 This road was about twenty-one miles in 
 Richland county, the same in Marion, and only 
 two miles in Crawford. When Crawford was 
 given four miles from Richland county in 
 1845, twenty-five years after the road was 
 built, it was the territory through which this 
 road passed. 
 
 The first attempt at improved roads in the 
 county was made as early as 1852, when in 
 January of that year, the citizens of Oceola 
 met, and decided to organize a company to 
 build a plank road from Tiffin to Oceola, R. G. 
 Perry, John Bair and Lewis Tannehill being 
 the committee appointed to receive and confer 
 with other towns. Tiffin was the objective 
 point, it being the nearest large town on a 
 railroad, and an outlet was wanted for the 
 products, which were then grain, pot and pearl 
 ashes, lumber, staves, etc. 
 
 Later in the year Oceola endeavored to se- 
 cure the Ohio and Indiana road, but the cost 
 of construction was so much heavier, that it 
 went to the south of them. But as Bucyrus 
 was certain to secure the road, the matter of 
 a plank road was taken up with the Bucyrus 
 people. 
 
 A meeting was called for Bucyrus on De- 
 cember 18, 1852. It was held at the court- 
 house, and Zalmon Rowse was chairman and 
 D. W. Swigart, secretary. It was decided to 
 incorporate as the Oceola and Bucyrus Plank 
 Road Company, with a capital stock of 
 $12,000. The second meeting was at the of- 
 fice of Franklin Adams, and books for sub- 
 scription opened. Rodney Pool, Seneca Leon- 
 ard, Lewis Tannehill and Samuel Osborn 
 having charge of the subscriptions at Oceola, 
 and Zalmon Rowse, C. Fulton, John Sirns and 
 P. S. Marshall at Bucyrus. Rodney Pool, 
 Samuel Osborn and John Sims were commit- 
 tee to secure the right of way. 
 
 April I, 1853, the company met and re- 
 
158 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ported 115 shares sold at $50 per share, 
 amounting to $5,750. Bucyrus had taken 71 
 shares, Bucyrus to Oceola 26 shares, and Oce- 
 ola 18 shares. The directors elected were 
 Zalmon Rowse, John Sims, P. S. Marshall and 
 D. W. Swigart of Bucyrus, and Lewis Tanne- 
 hill, Samuel Osborn and Rodney Pool of Oce- 
 ola. Votes were also cast for Franklin Ad- 
 ams, Henry Converse, Benjamin Sears, George 
 Quinby and Willis Merriman. Zalmon Rowse 
 was elected president, D. W. Swigart, secre- 
 tary, and John Sims, treasurer. 
 
 On January 6, 1854, the contract was let for 
 building the road, G. W. J. Willoughby and 
 R. G. and A. H. Perry having the contract for 
 the western three miles and Samuel Osborn 
 for the eastern half near Bucyrus. At the an- 
 nual meeting the new directors were John 
 Sims, president, D. W. Swigart, secretary, 
 Rodney Pool, superintendent; P. S. Marshall, 
 W^illiam \Y. Miller, Samuel Osborn and Jo- 
 seph Ream. The road was completted during 
 the year and the first six miles of improved 
 road in Crawford county in operation. Toll 
 gates were erected west of Bucyrus and 
 east of Oceola. At the start the road was 
 good at all seasons of the year and occasional 
 repairs were made on it to keep it in condi- 
 tion, but each season found the plank in worse 
 and worse condition. It was not a profitable 
 investment financially, as in 1864, the report 
 showed the road was "about out of debt," and 
 on the strength of the favorable report they 
 ordered 50,000 feet to repair the worst places. 
 After this, no attempt \\ as made to keep up 
 the road, and it was finally abandoned in July, 
 1866. 
 
 Time passed, and in neighboring counties, 
 pike roads had been built, but the people of 
 Crawford still continued in the spring of each 
 year to haul their loads, sometimes up to the 
 axle, with many a stalled team and many a 
 broken trace that failed to stand the strain. 
 The rich soil of Crawford made the roads 
 worse than in the usual run of counties. 
 
 After twenty years most of the roads in 
 spring were as impassible as in the days when 
 the plodding oxen dragged the early pioneer 
 wagon over the roadless virgin soil, and this 
 was the condition of road, where every acre 
 of land was under a high state of cultivation 
 and each year yielding a bounteous harvest. 
 
 In 1886 a proposition was submitted to the 
 voters of the county by the commissioners, by 
 which the entire county should be piked by a 
 general tax. It was submitted at the spring of 
 the year, when hardly a road was navigable, 
 and was one of the most singular elections, and 
 the most bitter that ever occurred in the 
 county. Friends of a lifetime became bitter 
 enemies; newspapers and business men advo- 
 cating the proposition were boycotted; enmi- 
 ties were created that were years in healing. 
 Many humorous e\'ents occurred. A fanner 
 stalled in Holmes township, asked assistance 
 of a neighbor. "Are you in favor of pike 
 
 roads?" was the inquiry. "Not by a d 
 
 sight," was the reply. "Then get out the best 
 way you can," and he was left stalled until a 
 friendly anti-piker lent him the assistance he 
 needed. The election came off with the fol- 
 lowing result: 
 
 For Against Majority 
 
 Pikes Pikes For Against 
 
 Auburn 8 226 ... 218 
 
 Bucyrus 22 194 ... 172 
 
 Chatfield 2 263 ... 261 
 
 Cranberry 53 315 ... 262 
 
 Dallas 10 71 ... 61 
 
 Holmes 28 254 . . . 226 
 
 Jefferson 32 184 ... 152 
 
 Liberty 7 349 . . . 342 
 
 Lykins 8 216 ... 208 
 
 Polk o 172 ... 172 
 
 Sandusky 2 145 ... 143 
 
 Texas 22 105 ... 83 
 
 Tod 26 178 ... 152 
 
 Vernon i 204 . . . 203 
 
 Whetstone 15 234 . . . 219 
 
 Bucyrus, city 689 218 471 
 
 Crestline, village .... 307 244 63 
 
 Gallon, city 20 1003 . . . 983 
 
 Totals 1252 4S7S 534 3857 
 
 Majority against . . . 3323 3323 
 
 The tax duplicate of 1887, under which the 
 first levy would have been made, showed the 
 townships had a total valuation of $11,854,500, 
 and the three cities of Bucyrus, Crestline and 
 Gallon of $5,865,200, so the singular resulf 
 was obtained of the townships voting down a 
 proposition by which one-third of the cost 
 would have been paid for by the cities. 
 
 The question was certainly misunderstood, 
 or regarded with suspicion, as two years later 
 bills were introduced in the legislature author- 
 izing certain townships to build pikes, the cost 
 to be assessed on the townships. Cranberry, 
 Jefferson and Polk were the first to build pikes. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 159 
 
 and in 1890 their usefulness and necessity for 
 pike, building was so apparent that the people 
 were as unanimous for pikes as they had been 
 against them. The financial depression of 
 1893 put a stop to the work, but after better 
 times came, pikes were again taken up and 
 their building was only limited to the amount 
 of tax the various townships would stand for 
 road purposes. 
 
 It was not only the country that had the 
 bad roads, but city streets were frequently im- 
 passible, for in the spring of 1893, the hearse 
 of a funeral procession was stalled on Center 
 street, sinking hub deep in the mire, and the 
 pall bearers were compelled to take the casket, 
 in which was the little child, and carry it to the 
 cemetery. It was the finishing stroke and that 
 year Center street was paved. 
 
 In 1898 the three townships of Bucyrus, 
 Holmes and Whetstone entered into a joint 
 ajrangement for the piking of roads. Other 
 townships were doing it singly and in the past 
 twenty years over 300 miles of improved 
 roads have been constructed, distributed 
 among the various townships as follows : 
 
 Square Miles Mile Pike 
 
 Auburn 26 i2}i 
 
 Bucyrus 36 40^A 
 
 Chatfield 30 1654 
 
 Cranberry 28j4 23 
 
 Dallas 22 14 
 
 Holmes 36 39 
 
 Jackson 10 ISJ^ 
 
 Jefferson 20 24 
 
 Liberty 32^ 23 
 
 Lykins 3° i9'/2 
 
 Polk 21 25^^ 
 
 Sandusky 18 i^ 
 
 Texas 12 6 
 
 Tod 18 16 
 
 Vernon 22 12 
 
 Whetstone 42 36^ 
 
 The above is exclusive of 15 miles of brick 
 streets in Bucyrus, Creathive and Gabon. 
 
 In 1830 a number of the citizens of Craw- 
 ford, Seneca, Huron, Delaware, Logan, Clark 
 and Champaign counties presented a petition 
 to the legislature for a charter to build a rail- 
 road from Sandusky to Dayton, with a branch 
 to Columbus. The committee to whom it was 
 referred reported it back without any recom- 
 mendation. The road contemplated horses as 
 the motive power, and the cost was estimated 
 at $4,842 per mile, including the bar or strap 
 iron for the .track. It was this road that was 
 9 
 
 built in 1840 to 1845, the Mad River and Lake 
 Erie, the first road built in the state, and it 
 passed through the Wyandot portion of Craw- 
 ford county. 
 
 In 1832, charters were granted to eleven 
 roads in Ohio, and of these four were through 
 Crawford county. 
 
 Jan. 5, 1832, the Mad River and Lake 
 Erie Railroad. (Built in 1840-45.) Among 
 those petitioning for the charter were E. B. 
 Merriman and John Cary of Crawford. 
 
 Feb. 3, 1832, the Pennsylvania and Ohio 
 Railroad Company from Pittsburg to Massil- 
 lon. (Twenty years later this road was com- 
 pleted to Crestline.) 
 
 Feb. 8, 1832, the Delaware, Marion and 
 Sandusky Railroad, from Columbus, through 
 Delaware, Marion and Bucyrus to Sandusky. 
 Among the incorporators were E. B. Merri- 
 man, Zalmon Rowse, John Cary, Joseph Chaf- 
 fee, Joseph McCutchen and Henry St. John 
 of Crawford. (Sixty years passed before this 
 road was built by the children and grandchil- 
 dren of the early pioneers.) 
 
 Feb. II, 1832, the Milan and Columbus road, 
 from Milan to New Haven past Gallon to Mt. 
 Gilead and on to Columbus, the old Portland 
 stage route. E. B. Merriman was one of the 
 incorporators. (This road was partially built, 
 as later the C. C. & C. was chartered, follow- 
 ing the route from Columbus to Gallon, and 
 then going northeast to reach the lake at 
 Cleveland instead of Sandusky.) 
 
 These roads were undoubtedly to be ope- 
 rated by horse power, as the charters provided 
 for the erection of toll houses, and people were 
 to be permitted to go over the road with proper 
 and suitable carriages of their own. 
 
 In 1836 a charter was granted to the Cleve- 
 land, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, and 
 in 1837 to the Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania 
 Railroad. Feb. 8, 1847, the charter of the 
 Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati was 
 amended so as to allow it to construct branches. 
 At the same session a law was passed allow- 
 ing counties and towns to subscribe for the 
 stock of a railroad company providing the 
 people voted favorably on the proposition. 
 
 Feb, 24, 1848, the Ohio and Pennsylvania 
 was incorporated and on the same date the 
 Bellefontaine and Indiana, and on March 20, 
 1850, the Ohio and Indiana was incorporated. 
 
160 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 A charter was also granted at this time for a 
 road from Bucyrus to Toledo, but nothing 
 was done with it. A generation later it was 
 built as the Atlantic and Lake Erie, now the 
 Toledo and Ohio Central, owned by the Lake 
 Shore Company. 
 
 It was nearly twenty years from the time 
 the first charters were granted until, with one 
 or two exceptions, work resulted in the build- 
 ing of railroads. Crawford county citizens 
 had taken an active part in the promotion of 
 the various railroad projects, but it was the 
 Ohio and Indiana road which was strictly a 
 Crawford county organization, in fact, pro- 
 moted, built, and put in operation by Craw- 
 ford county citizens, especially those of Bucy- 
 rus. The incorporators of the road in 1850 
 were John Anderson, George Lauck, Willis 
 Merriman, Robert Lee, John Frantz, Josiah 
 S. Plants, John J. Bowman, George Quinby, 
 John Simms, John A. Gormley, Z. Rowse, 
 Aaron Carey and C. Widman of Crawford 
 county, and D. Ayres, R. McKelley and H. 
 Peters of Wyandot. 
 
 At this time the Mad River road was in 
 operation from Sandusky to Cincinnati, 
 through Wyandot county, and a road through 
 Richland county from Sandusky through 
 Mansfield to Mt. Vernon and Newark. Be- 
 tween these two the Cleveland, Columbus and 
 Cincinnati was nearing completion, through 
 eastern Crawford. When the charter of the 
 last named road was originally granted the 
 Bucyrus incorporators were strongly favor- 
 able to its going through Bucyrus, but the 
 people at that time, not knowing the value of 
 railroads, offered no special inducements, and 
 put forth a very feeble effort to secure the 
 road. A proposition was submitted to the 
 voters of Crawford county at the spring elec- 
 tion of 1846 to empower the commissioners 
 to subscribe for $50,000 stock in the road but 
 it was voted down: Yes, 361, No, 1,507; ma- 
 jority against, 1,146. Galion voted to take 
 $15,000 stock in the new road and it was lo- 
 cated through that town. Work was com- 
 menced immediately and it was pushed rap- 
 idly, as in April, 1850, the stockholders were 
 called upon to pay $10 per share on their 
 ninth assessment. In May of 1850, Alfred 
 Kelly, the president of the road, announced 
 that he had just succeeded in purchasing, in 
 
 England, 5,000 tons of rails for the new road. 
 It was later in this year that cars were running 
 to Galion. The opening of the road was on 
 Feb. 21, 1 85 1, and on that day by invitation of 
 President Kelly, the Ohio legislature and other 
 prominent people were the guests of the road 
 on the first regular train from Columbus to 
 Cleveland, the first railroad train in Crawford 
 county. 
 
 Soon after this, death reaped his first re- 
 corded harvest in this county from this new 
 method of locomotion. It is thus mentioned 
 in the "Crawford County Forum" of April 4 
 185 1 : 
 
 Man Killed— On the 26th ult., the cars on the Cleve- 
 land and Columbus Railroad ran over a man who was 
 lymg on the track, severing his head from his body. 
 The man was recognized (we did not learn his name), 
 and subject to fits, and is supposed to have fallen on the 
 track. The engineer, as soon as he saw him, reversed 
 the engine, but it was too late to save him. The ac- 
 cident happened near Galion. 
 
 As early as April, 1851, the road was run- 
 ning three passenger trains each way per day, 
 one a fast train called the "Empire State or 
 Buckeye State Express." 
 
 The citizens of Galion early appreciated the 
 value of railroads, for on May 24, 1850, the 
 citizens of Polk township decided by a large 
 majority to take $10,000 in stock in the Belle- 
 fontaine and Indiana Railroad, to run from 
 Crestline to Indianapolis. The Bellefontaine 
 and Indiana was 118 miles long, starting from 
 the main road of the C. C. & C. at Crestline, 
 and running southwest to the Indiana line. In 
 1852, the company issued a prospectus of the 
 contemplated road, which is interesting as 
 showing the cost of road building in those days 
 and also the prospective business. From this 
 prospectus the following facts are taken : 
 
 Road 118 1-5 miles in length. 
 Cost of grading and masonry, 118 1-5 miles at 
 
 . $4,000 $472,800 
 
 Five miles double track at $2,000 10,000 
 
 Railway superstructure, 118 1-5 miles at $7,900 933,780 
 Railway superstructure, five miles sidings at 
 
 ^. $7,900 39,500 
 
 Right of way 12,600 
 
 $1,468,680 
 The capital stock was $2,000,000. 
 The following was the estimated income to 
 be derived from the new road : 
 
 75 passengers each way at $3.00 $4S0 
 
 100 through passengers, estimated one-half dis- 
 tance, at $1.50 ■. 300 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 161 
 
 loo tons freight, each way, at $3.60 720 
 
 100 tons freight, half way, at $1.80 360 
 
 Transportation, mails and sundries 50 
 
 Total per day $i,88o 
 
 Deduct 40 per cent., repairs and expenses 752 
 
 Net income per day $1,128 
 
 313 days in year at $1,128 per day, $353,064, or about 
 20 per cent, on investment. 
 
 The abo\e shows that in those days it was 
 not customary or e\'en contemplated to run 
 trains on Sunday. The Sandusky, Mansfield 
 and Newark road was completed as far as 
 Mansfield as early as 1846, and John Hoover 
 of Mansfield, who was one of the early con- 
 ductors on that road, states that in the long 
 ago something had gone wrong with the en- 
 gine a few miles north of Shelby. By the 
 time the engineer had his engine in running 
 order again night was upon them and they 
 sought lodgings for the night at a farm house 
 near by. A passenger suggested that if they 
 had a big lantern a man might carry it ahead 
 and the train follow him to Shelby. This was 
 looked upon as absurd and the man who sug- 
 gested it viewed with pity, if not with con- 
 tempt, for who ever heard of a train of cars 
 running after night ! * 
 
 In 1852 the railroads in Ohio were the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 Cleveland and Columbus; from Cleveland, 
 through Gabon and Columbus and then to Cin- 
 cinnati. 
 
 Sandusky, Mansfield and Newark; from 
 Sandusky to Newark. 
 
 Mad River and Lake Erie; from Sandusky 
 to Tiffin, Carey, Bellefontaine and Dayton. 
 
 Columbus to Newark, Zanesville and 
 Wheeling. 
 
 Cleveland to Alliance. 
 
 Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton; com- 
 pleted from Cincinnati to Sidney. 
 
 Lake Shore ; completed from Toledo east to 
 mouth of Sandusky river; building to San- 
 dusky. 
 
 Ohio and Pennsylvania ; completed to Mans- 
 field ; building to Crestline. 
 
 Ohio and Indiana; building from Crestline 
 to Fort Wayne. 
 
 Bellefontaine and Indiana; building from 
 Galion to Indianapolis. 
 
 In the map of 1852, giving the above roads, 
 
 *Baughman's History of Richland county. 
 
 Gallon is spelled "Galeon," and Crestline is 
 two words, "Crest Line." 
 
 It was on Feb. 24, 1848, that the charter 
 was granted under which the Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania was built, the old Pittsburg, Fort 
 Wayne and Chicago road. In the spring of 
 1848 a vote was taken in Crawford county, 
 and carried, authorizing the county commis- 
 sioners to subscribe for $100,000 of stock in 
 the road. The Ohio and Pennsylvania, which 
 was building, found difficulty in raising suffi- 
 cient funds to complete their road through 
 Ohio to the Indiana line. It was all they 
 could do to handle the eastern half of the 
 state. As a result a number of the business 
 men of Bucyrus secured a charter for the 
 building of the Ohio and Indiana railroad. 
 The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati road 
 was in operation, and the charter of the Ohio 
 and Indiana called for its building from "a 
 point on the Cleveland, Columbus and Cin- 
 cinnati road near Seltzer's tavern in Richland 
 county, thence to Bucyrus, to Upper Sandusky, 
 thence by a route to be determined to the In- 
 diana line and to Ft. Wayne." 
 
 In March, 1850, Hon. C. K. Ward, the 
 member of the legislature from Crawford, se- 
 cured the passage of an act allowing the 
 county commissioners of Crawford county, to 
 subscribe the $100,000 voted to the Ohio and 
 Pennsylvania road in 1848, to "any other rail- 
 road passing through the town of Bucyrus." 
 
 The county commissioners were Peter Con- 
 kle, Phares Jackson and Sidney Holt. The 
 records of the Crawford county commis- 
 sioners of June 7, 1850, show : "This day the 
 county commissioners subscribed for stock in 
 the Ohio and Indiana railroad company to the 
 amount of $100,000, on condition said com- 
 pany shall agree to receive the bonds of said 
 county, bearing interest at the rate of six per 
 centum per annum from date thereof, at par, 
 in payment of said stock subscribed as afore- 
 said." At the same meeting they authorized a 
 tax to be levied of $650 for railroad purposes. 
 
 On Sept. 2, 1850, they issued the first ten 
 bonds of $1,000 each; then legal complications 
 arose and it took many months to compromise 
 the trouble, but eventually the matter was har- 
 monized, and at their November meeting of 
 1852 the balance of the bonds were issued. J. 
 N. Frye had succeeded Peter Conkle as com- 
 
162 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 missioner in December of 185 1, but on account 
 of his health attended but few meetings, and 
 when it came to the signing of the bonds he 
 had to sign by proxy as witness the following : 
 
 "I hereby authorize and empower A. M. Jackson to 
 sign my name to all railroad bonds that the other com- 
 missioners of Crawford County are willing to sign their 
 names to. 
 
 "West Liberty, Nov. 19th, 1852. 
 
 "J. N. Feye." 
 
 Mr. Jackson was county auditor at the time, 
 and while the proxy was not in the legal 
 phraseology of today it said exactly what the 
 writer wanted to say and the bonds were is- 
 sued, and accepted. 
 
 In April, 1850, the books were opened to 
 secure subscriptions for the new road at the 
 business places of George Lauck, John Ander- 
 son, Willis Merriman and John J. Bowman in 
 Bucyrus, and Robert Lee and John Frantz in 
 Leesville. On May 4, a meeting was held in 
 the interest of the road. Samuel Myers was 
 chairman and Andrew Failor secretary. The 
 object of the meeting was stated by J. S. 
 Plants and remarks were made by S. R. Har- 
 ris, Willis Merriman, Samuel Myers and J. S. 
 Plants of Bucyrus, and Robert McKelly and 
 H. Peters of Upper Sandusky. A liberal 
 amount of money was subscribed to the stock 
 of the road, and a resolution passed soliciting 
 the county commissioners to subscribe the 
 $100,000 to the road. 
 
 The township trustees decided to submit to 
 a vote the question of Bucyrus township sub- 
 scribing for $15,000 worth of stock in the new 
 road. The constable, Lewis Stevenson, issued 
 the call for the election, but there was pro- 
 nounced opposition, and the friends of the 
 road believing it might interfere with their 
 securing the $100,000 already voted, the elec- 
 tion was not held 
 
 On July 4, 1850, the stockholders of the 
 road met at the courthouse and elected Wil- 
 lis Merriman, George Quinby, Henry Peters, 
 Franklin Adams, Jacob Augustein and Josiah 
 S. Plants as directors, and the next day the 
 board organized by electing Willis Merriman, 
 president, George Lauck, secretary, and John 
 A. Gormly, treasurer. And by July 26, the 
 sur\'eyors were at work locating the route 
 from "at or near Seltzer's tavern" to Bucyrus. 
 Another survey was made, commencing at the 
 C. C. & C. at Gallon and passing through 
 
 the southern part of Bucyrus, along what is 
 now Lucas street. This was the favorite route 
 of the directors and of the engineer, as the 
 more level ground made the cost of construc- 
 tion much less. President Merriman had sev- 
 eral meetings with the Ohio and Pennsyl- 
 vania ofHcials over the crossing point, the 
 eastern road favoring the crossing point north 
 of Seltzer's on account of cheaper construc- 
 tion, the western road favoring Gabon. In 
 October President Merriman reported that the 
 Ohio and Pennsylvania had decided to make 
 their western terminus at a point on the C. C. 
 & C. road, called Crest Line, three and one- 
 half miles northeast of Gallon. He stated the 
 Pennsylvania and Ohio would reach Massillon 
 by June, 1851, and Crest Line in two years. 
 That the arrangement was for the Ohio and 
 Indiana to commence their road at a point near 
 Seltzer's tavern. The country west of Mans- 
 field was such that the Pennsylvania and Ohio 
 preferred crossing the C. C. & C. track about 
 two miles northeast of Crestline, but to accom- 
 modate the Ohio and Indiana and the Belle- 
 fontaine and Indiana the Pennsylvania com- 
 pany reluctantly consented to make the point 
 at Crest Line, providing the Ohio and Indi- 
 ana road would construct their road to Bucy- 
 rus, commencing at Crest Line. And the 
 Belle fontaine and Indiana railway also com- 
 mence at Crest Line, and the Pennsylvania and 
 Ohio will build no further west. Merriman 
 then adds : "A railroad from Bucyrus to Gal- 
 ion could be constructed cheaper than to 
 Crest Line, but if Gabon is adopted as the 
 eastern terminus, the Ohio and Pennsylvania 
 will cross two miles northeast of Crest Line 
 and later extend west on a line that will par- 
 allel the Ohio and Indiana. Crest Line was 
 the southern ultimatum of the Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania, and the Ohio and Indiana must con- 
 nect at that point." 
 
 The $10,000 in bonds issued by the commis- 
 sioners in September Mr. Merriman announced 
 he had sold in New York "at good prices." 
 
 Then came the trouble in the court. An in- 
 junction was secured at Tiffin before Judge 
 Bowen restraining the commissioners from the 
 further issue of bonds, Josiah Scott and J. D. 
 Sears being the attorneys for the commission- 
 ers. Commenting on the injunction allowed 
 by Jvidge Bowen, the "Forum" said: "Deep 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 163 
 
 are the murmurings against Judge Bowen for 
 his decision in this case, while in the portion of 
 the county remote from the seat of justice the 
 news will be received with joy." 
 
 On Feb. ii, 185 1, President Merriman re- 
 ported to the directors that the cost of grading 
 and bridging for the Ohio and Indiana road 
 and getting the roadbed ready for the rails 
 was $3,000 per mile. 
 
 The opposers of the road were still active 
 and endeavored to have the legislature re- 
 peal the act which gave the commissioners 
 power to buy stock in the road, and Represen- 
 tative Ward presented a petition signed by 
 335 citizens of the county against the repeal. 
 Mr. Ward's influence was such that the Legis- 
 lature took no action. 
 
 In April a motion was heard to dissolve the 
 injunction but it was overruled, and in June 
 the case came before the supreme court, and 
 they announced they would reserve their de- 
 cision until December, the directors deciding, 
 however, to continue their work on the road. 
 On April 8, 1852, at Bucyrus, the contract was 
 let for the grading of the road from Crest 
 Line to Upper Sandusky, the contracts being 
 let in sections of one mile each, the object be- 
 ing to have the work completed as soon as pos- 
 sible. Of the 29 sections between Crest Line 
 and Upper Sandusky over two-thirds went to 
 Bucyrus parties. 
 
 January 2, 1852, Jesse R. Straughan, the 
 engineer in charge of the construction, re- 
 ported that on the Ohio and Pennsylvania the 
 grading was completed from Pittsburg to one 
 mile east of Wooster. That part from Pitts- 
 burg to Alliance, 81 miles, was completed and 
 in use, except nine miles. From Massillon 
 east the iron was being laid and the road would 
 be working about January 25, when track lay- 
 ing will be extended to Wooster, which will 
 take about sixty days. From Wooster to 
 Crestline a force is at work on the heavy sec- 
 tions. The lighter sections are about com- 
 pleted and timber in progress of preparation. 
 By April next the distance of staging on direct 
 route from Bucyrus will be 86 miles, and in 
 twelve months the railroad will be completed 
 to Crestline, and the Ohio and Indiana can be 
 permitted to begin. 
 
 In January, 1852, Franklin Adams suc- 
 ceeded George Lauck as secretary of the road. 
 
 The supreme court also this month rendered 
 their decision in the injunction case of James 
 Griffith against the commissioners. It did not 
 meet the point at issue, but made the evasive 
 decision that the supreme court had no juris- 
 diction while the suit was pending in the com- 
 mon pleas court. The matter was therefore 
 returned to the court of common pleas, and 
 as stated above a satisfactory settlement was 
 made with Griffith and the bonds issued. 
 
 The legal point involved in this case was as 
 to the constitutionality of the law allowing a 
 majority to vote public money to a railroad. 
 It was settled later in a case from another 
 county that such a law was constitutional. On 
 this question, in 1852, Judge Spaulding held 
 that "the legislature has no constitutional 
 power to authorize a majority of citizens in a 
 county to vote subscription of stock to a rail- 
 road company that shall be binding on the 
 property of the minority." Judge Spaulding 
 was alone in this view, but his minority opinion 
 is the law today, showing "the stone which the 
 builders rejected, the same is become the head 
 of the corner." 
 
 During the year 1852 railroad matters at 
 Bucyrus moved along at high pressure. In 
 January the directors held their annual meet- 
 ing at that village lasting four days, and let 
 the contract to William Mitchell & Co. for the 
 construction of the entire road from Crestline 
 to Fort Wayne, he to furnish everything ex- 
 cept the rails and rolling stock, and to com- 
 mence work between Crestline and Bucyrus as 
 soon as the individual subscriptions amounted 
 to $45,000. The subscriptions at that time 
 were about half that amount. It was also de- 
 cided people could pay for their stock in land 
 at a cash value to be fixed by the seller and the 
 treasurer of the company. On March 5, 1852, 
 the town council passed an ordinance and for 
 the usual one dollar consideration the rail- 
 road company was authorized to construct a 
 road on and along Galen street and to lay one 
 or more tracks and to repair them. The ordi- 
 nance was signed by S. R. Harris as mayor 
 and Charles Rupp as recorder. On April 30th 
 came the first call for payment of stock, which 
 was to be paid in ten installments of $5 each to 
 John A. Gormly. In June the entire road was 
 under contract in mile sections, all to be com- 
 pleted by July I, 1853. 
 
164 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 The following was the distribution of stock 
 for the building of the Ohio and Indiana road : 
 
 County. Individual. Total. 
 
 Crawford count}- $100,000 $50,000 $150,000 
 
 Wyandot county 50,000 25,000 75,000 
 
 Allen county 100,000 50,000 150,000 
 
 Van Wert county 50,000 5,000 5S,ooo 
 
 Allen county, Ind 100,000 S7,ooo 157,000 
 
 Contractors 150,000 150,000 
 
 $400,000 $337,000 $737,000 
 
 While Hardin county was organized in 1833, the road 
 passed through the northern part of that county, all 
 marsh land, and was regarded as of so little benefit to 
 the county, that Hardin contributed nothing. 
 
 In July President Merriman returned from 
 New York and stated that he had arranged for 
 the entire amount of rails needed for the road 
 and that they would be delivered in New York 
 from England by May i, 1853. He had, also, 
 made a contract for the locomotives. On Oc- 
 tober 5th the injunction case came on before 
 the court at Upper Sandusky and the injunc- 
 tion was dissolved to the great satisfaction of 
 the citizens in and around Bucyrus, and Bucy- 
 rus's difficulties in securing the first railroad 
 were over. 
 
 The report of the president in January 
 stated that he had purchased 6,000 tons of the 
 best T rails to be delivered early in the spring. 
 The distance from Crestline to Ft. Wayne was 
 131 miles, and the cost of construction would 
 be $14,045 per mile. He stated that his ac- 
 companying estimate was based on the high 
 price of iron rails, $66 a ton. 
 
 Road-bed, track-laying, spikes and station 
 
 buildings, per contract $740,000 
 
 12,000 tons rails at present prices 800,000 
 
 Machinery for first year 210,000 
 
 Right of way, engineering and incidentals.... 90,000 
 
 Average, $14,045 per mile $1,840,000 
 
 During the spring of 1853 work was pushed 
 rapidly, the papers announcing in April "Sev- 
 eral hundred new hands have arrived to work 
 on the road near Bucyrus. The ties are mostly 
 delivered between Crestline and Bucyrus, and 
 it is expected the road will reach Bucyrus. 
 July 4." On July 15, the fourth had passed 
 and the announcement was: "Rails are laid 
 three miles this side of Crestline. If there are 
 no strikes the work will be done to Bucyrus in 
 two weeks." 
 
 On August 19, the death of Lon Dixon oc- 
 curred at Bucyrus. He had been assigned 
 
 there in 185 1 as the resident engineer in the 
 building of the road. Another young man to 
 come in 1852 was Cyrus W. Fisher who had 
 the position of telegraph operator; his salary 
 was $20 a month, and half of this was paid to 
 the McCoy House for room and board, but it 
 was at Bucyrus he had his first experience in 
 railroad work ; later going to Belief ontaine, en- 
 tering the army in the Twenty-third Ohio, 
 rising to the rank of colonel, and becoming 
 one of the prominent railroad men of Colo- 
 rado, and in 1889 returning to Bucyrus, where 
 he still resides. 
 
 The first train arrived on Wednesday even- 
 ing, August 31, and of course there were great 
 demonstrations. The new road and the iron 
 horse were equally a wonder to the small boys, 
 who were the same as they are now, judging 
 from the following from the Forum of Sept. 
 2, 1853: 
 
 "Timely Warning. — We learn that our town boys are 
 in the habit of laying such things as spikes, chips, etc., 
 on the railroad track to see what eflfect the cars will 
 produce in running over them. Such acts might throw 
 a whole train off the track ; it is also a penitentiary of- 
 fence. We also see small boys, from 5 to 10 years of 
 age, playing around the cars, not knowing or caring 
 about the danger they are in. Parents should keep chil- 
 dren away or go with them to see the cars." 
 
 The following from the Forum is the ac- 
 count of the arrival of the first train in Bucy- 
 rus, Aug. 31, 1853: 
 
 RAILROAD EXCURSION TO BUCYRUS. 
 
 The first passenger train on the Ohio and Indiana 
 Railroad arrived at this place last Wednesday evening 
 (Aug. 31), on which, according to previous arrange- 
 ment, our Pittsburg friends made us a visit. A com- 
 mittee, consisting of Dr. W. Merriman, president of the 
 Ohio and Indiana Railroad company, Gen. S. Myers, 
 Col. G. P. Seal, Capt. John Miller and M. P. Bean, re- 
 ceived the party at Crestline and came down with them. 
 On arriving here the committee of arrangements con- 
 ducted them to the American and National, where 
 sumptuous suppers were in waiting. After supper the 
 party were conducted to Sims New Hall where a table 
 was prepared filled with eatables and drinkables (on the 
 temperance principle of course). Dr. Merriman then 
 welcomed them to the hospitalities of our town, arid 
 was replied to by Gen. Robinson, president of the Ohio 
 and Pennsylvania road. Speeches were also made by 
 Mr. Roberts, chief engineer of the Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania, John Larwill, Esq., of Wooster, Judge Leith, 
 of Wyandot, Mr. Straughan, chief engineer of the Ohio 
 and Indiana, and others. The speeches were not 
 lengthy, but well-timed and to the point. The party re- 
 mained over night, leaving early next morning. Our 
 citizens having been invited to take a ride to Pittsburg, 
 quite a number of gentlemen and ladies went out with 
 them to that place. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 167 
 
 As early as October, 1853, it was announced mean what it does now, as the connection to 
 
 that the accommodation train between Crest- Cleveland meant a wait of three hours and 
 
 line and Bucyrus paid expenses. The follow- thirty-five minutes, and to Columbus and Cin- 
 
 ing was the first time card: cinnati of five hours and forty-five minutes. 
 
 Office Ohio and Indiana Railroad. There was one advantage in the fact that the 
 
 Bucyrus, Sept. 22, 1853. passenger desirmg to make the connection 
 
 From and after Tuesday, Sept. 27, an accommoda- never worried as to whether his train was on 
 
 tion train will be run on the Ohio and Indiana Rail- ,•„ , r . .„„i„^„^„j„.„^ ,„^i^^-^;^\ 
 
 road between Bucyrus and Crestline, as follows: time or not, a few hours late made no material 
 
 Leaves Bucyrus 11 :oo a. m. difiference. 
 
 Arrives Crestline 12:15?. m. During the construction of the road the 
 
 Leaves Crestline 2 :oo p. m. , , ° , 1 , ^ t> 1 11 
 
 Arrives Bucyrus 3:15 p. m. headquarters had been at liucyrus; nearly all 
 
 Lester Bliss, Superintendent. the directors each year had been Bucyrus men. 
 
 It was later announced that persons desir- It had been promoted and built by the perse- 
 
 ing to send freight must have it at the depot verance, the energy and the push of the busi- 
 
 one hour before the train leaves '^^^^ "^^" °^ Bucyrus. All over the great state 
 
 The freight agent was taking no chances °^ Ohio are cities and villages that have done 
 
 on being swamped at the last minute. Besides, ™^^ch for their improvement, but in the entire 
 
 no one was in a hurry, not even the train it- ^i^t it would be difficult to find any act in any 
 
 self, as it jogged along to Crestline at the rate 0"^ that equals the building of so important a 
 
 of ten miles an hour. There was no danger of ""o^d, almost single handed and alone, by a 
 
 a "head on" or a "rear end" collision, it being ^'ll^ge of 1365 people. It stands today the 
 
 the only train on the road. But it should be greatest monument to the enterprise of the citi- 
 
 remembered the roadbed was built at a cost of ^^ns of Bucyrus of half a century ago, and a 
 
 about $5,650 (including stations) per mile, fulfillment of the prophetic statement which 
 
 and the most skillful work of the engineer was described the little village at its birth as "a 
 
 required to keep his engine on the track. That lively post town" m Crawford county, 
 
 this road-bed was improved rapidly is shown When the annual meeting of the stockhold- 
 
 from the fact that in the spring of 1854 the ers was held in Bucyrus, m January, 1854, the 
 
 new time card gave the time of the fast train road was m operation as far as Forest. Up to 
 
 from Crestline to Bucyrus at 43 minutes, and this time nearly all the directors had been 
 
 the accommodation at 50 minutes. It was un- Bucyrus men. At this meeting the following 
 
 doubtedly safety that was looked to in the directors were elected: Willis Mernman and 
 
 running of the trains as the return trip from P- S. Marshall of Bucyrus ; Judge Hanna and 
 
 Bucyrus to Crestline, up grade, was scheduled B. Hoagland of Fort Wayne; William Robin- 
 
 for 40 minutes for the fast line. son of Pittsburg; Robert McKelly of Upper 
 
 During the fall the work west was pushed Sandusky, and Mr. Jacobs of Lima. This 
 rapidly, and in December the road had reached board is interesting as showing the first tend- 
 within two miles of Patterson* (Forest) and ency toward the combination of railroad inter- 
 many passengers were on the trains daily to ests. Mr. Robinson was president of the Ohio 
 make connection with the Mad River road at and Pennsylvania, from Pittsburg to Crestline, 
 Patterson for the north or south, the passen- Mr. Merriman was president of the Ohio 
 gers walking the two miles intervening, and and Indiana, from Crestline to Ft. Wayne, 
 the railroad furnishing conveyances to trans- nearly completed; Mr. Hanna was president 
 port their baggage. By January the two mile of the Indiana and Chicago, from Ft. Wayne 
 gap was completed, and the road advertised to Chicago, building. The directors organized 
 connection at that point- for Cincinnati and by electing Willis Merriman president; 
 Sandusky. It also advertised connection at George Quinby treasurer; C. W. Butterfield 
 Crestline for Cincinnati and Cleveland. But secretary, and J. B. Sears solicitor, all from 
 connection in those days certainly did not Bucyrus. During the year Mr. Merriman re- 
 signed the presidency of the road and was suc- 
 
 *The road crossed the Mad River and Lake Erie one ^ppA^A k„ Tudo-p Hanna nf Ft Wavnp 
 
 mile from Patterson; and at the crossing a new town <^eedecl Dy Judge Llanna, Ot tt. Wayne, 
 
 was started, which is now Forest. ihe hrst accident on the new road occurred 
 
168 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 on Feb. 25, 1854, when a man named Michael 
 Kenney, who was employed on a freight train, 
 was accidentally killed a short distance west 
 of Bucyrus. The train ran off the track and 
 threw him between the cars, the wheels run- 
 ning over him, killing him almost instantly. 
 He was taken to his home at Shelby for burial. 
 
 Crawford county was now one of the most 
 important railroad counties in the state, with 
 the most important north and south road pass- 
 ing through Gallon and Crestline and the most ' 
 important east and west road passing through 
 Crestline and Bucyrus. The country at that 
 time, especially west of Bucyrus, was still in 
 a very wild condition, very sparsely settled. 
 The new road east of Bucyrus is thus described 
 by William Crosby, the editor of the Journal, 
 and it A\as probably his first extended trip on 
 a railroad : 
 
 "On Thursday, June 15 (1854), at 12:30 
 we took the express train at Bucyrus, but with 
 scarcely time to be seated we found ourselves 
 at Crestline, amid the clattering of the dinner 
 gong, the confused din of a thousand voices, 
 with as many different orders and wants; the 
 rush of the hungry multitude to Mr. Hall's 
 dining saloon, the scraping and thumping of 
 chairs, the rattling of dishes, knives and forks, 
 and the occasional crash of a plate, the whole 
 mixed up into a continuous fountain of noise 
 by the stunning effect of escaping steam. 
 After fortifying the inner man against the de- 
 mands of nature for a time at a table teeming 
 with all the luxuries of early summer, supplied 
 with the profusion and served in that enticing 
 style which only such caterers as friend Hall 
 of the Crestline House understand, we seated 
 ourselves in the cars of the Ohio and Pennsyl- 
 vania road for Pittsburg. 
 
 "Attached to an iron steed whose powers 
 equalled the tornado and whose speed sur- 
 passed the whirlwind, we swept along the iron 
 course threatening destruction to everything 
 that would impede the onward flight. Un- 
 fortunately this rapid progress resulted in the 
 killing of three cows at as many different 
 points, which careless owners or inefficient in- 
 closures permitted (the cows, not the points) 
 to wander from their proper range. Stop- 
 ping only at the more important stations to 
 drop or pick up such passengers as awaited, 
 still onward we coursed through clouds of dust 
 
 which rendered the various tints of bonnet- 
 trimmings — the brilliant colors of ladies' 
 dresses and the jet coats of the "sterner sex" 
 — all of a russet brown ; penetrating eyes, ears, 
 nose and mouth with a pertinacity irresistible 
 to all the puffing, blowing and brushing of 
 those who endeavored to escape this disagree- 
 able appendage of railroad traveling. 
 
 "We supped at Alliance — a new town at the 
 junction of the Ohio and Pennsylvania and the 
 Cleveland and Pittsburg road. At this place 
 all the laggards and loungers, together with 
 those peculiar natures that love to be regaled 
 with an exhibition of abilities in the science 
 pugilistic, were supplied with a display to their 
 taste in the form of a brutal fight between the 
 runners and drummers of a couple of opposi- 
 tion eating-houses. One of these houses 
 charged 50 cents a meal, the other 25 cents — 
 hence the hostility. We were "sharpset," so 
 leaving the more interested to see the end of 
 the fight, and discuss the brutalizing merits, 
 we made our way into one of the dining halls 
 and endeavored to make a meal on allowance 
 time only extending to fifteen minutes. After 
 collecting off of sparingly supplied dishes 
 something to start on, the eatables commenced 
 disappearing in the magical manner peculiar 
 to good appetite. When about fairly inter- 
 ested in the game of "open and shut" the mo- 
 tion of the rapidly vibrating knife and fork 
 was suddenly arrested by a gentle tap on the 
 arm, and the information of, "fifty cents each, 
 sir," gently whispered in the ear. There was 
 no escaping the extortion, so we forked over 
 — but to those who travel this route we advise 
 the house on the right, going east, not that we 
 can indorse the table, but because we think 
 that it could not be much more scantily sup- 
 plied, and that we think 25 cents an ample 
 price for a meal, to discuss which you have 
 bvit fifteen minutes time allowed, and which 
 anxious watching of moving cars reduces to 
 five, and moreover it is scarcely possible to do 
 any degree of justice in the way of mastica- 
 tion to a dime's worth of food per minute. 
 
 "Reached Allegheny City at 8:30, just eight 
 hours from Bucyrus — 200 miles. Here we 
 had to go through all the disagreeable attend- 
 ants of city stations, resulting from the con- 
 flicting interests of bus and hack drivers, ho- 
 tel runners, etc. Finally reached friends." 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 169 
 
 In the fall of 1854, the Ohio and Indiana 
 road was completed, and Mr. Creever accom- 
 panied the first train to Fort Wayne, and his 
 account of that trip will give the reader an 
 idea of the western end of the line at that 
 time. 
 
 "On Wednesday, November 15, at 9 o'clock 
 the excursion train left Bucyrus for- Fort 
 Wayne, the occasion being the opening of the 
 Ohio and Indiana road. When the train 
 reached Bucyrus, delegates were on from 
 Pittsburg to Mansfield. At Upper Sandusky 
 we were joined by the Wyandot delegation and 
 at Forest by a few more. 
 
 "Leaving Forest, 20 miles out. Judge 
 Hanna, president, was found missing. He 
 had gotten off at Forest to oversee some work 
 and the train left without him. At Johns- 
 town* two freight trains were waiting the 
 passage of the excursion train. Chief Engi- 
 neer Straughan ordered one of the locomotives 
 to go to Forest and bring back the missing 
 president. 
 
 "Between Johnstown and Lafayette we 
 passed over Hog Creek Marsh. At the time 
 the road was located this prairie was covered 
 with water, above the surface of which naught 
 was to be seen but the coarse sedge grass or 
 reed, growing and undulating in the breeze. 
 Several ditches have been cut across the prairie 
 and the surface water well drawn off. The 
 soil now begins to wear a tolerable appearance. 
 The prairie embraces from 15,000 to 20,000 
 acres, occasionally dotted with little clumps 
 of bushes and groves of timber. It was a beau- 
 tiful and novel sight, appearing like a great 
 lake surrounded by wilderness. 
 
 "At Lima we met the mail train, which 
 brought a large delegation from Ft. Wayne to 
 meet our excursionists. Here we were saluted 
 with several rounds of artillery from the Mad 
 Anthony Guards of Ft. Wayne, and cheering 
 music by Strubey's band of Ft. Wayne. But 
 the grand feature at Lima was the collation. 
 Munificent and magnificent. The caterers did 
 justice to the hungry guests, and keen appe- 
 tites did ample justice to the collation. It was 
 specifically set forth in the invitation card that 
 the collation would return to Ft. Wayne and 
 every guest appeared to labor under the im- 
 
 *Ada. 
 
 pression that it was his duty to see that the 
 specification was fulfilled, and accordingly 
 each set to work to carry out the requirement. 
 After the collation was loadened up to the ut- 
 most capacity of the excursionists — which, 
 however, was not sufficient to absorb the en- 
 tire ^'fixins" by a large amount — the company, 
 while awaiting the arrival of the missing presi- 
 dent, passed the time in friendly intercourse 
 with the Ft. Wayne delegation, who met us 
 with warm and hearty greeting. After delay- 
 ing for some time it was concluded to move 
 on slowly that the express locomotive might 
 overtake us. 
 
 "At Lima the excursion train had three 
 passenger cars added, increasing it to ten cars, 
 well, but comfortably filled. The Ft. Wayne 
 delegation spread themselves throughout the 
 train, giving out free tickets to the supper at 
 Ft. Wayne in the evening, and also distribut- 
 ing tickets containing the name of the person 
 at whose residence the holder was to be enter- 
 tained for the night. Our card showed we 
 were to be with Thomas Tigar of the Ft. 
 Wayne Sentinel. We made no calculation for 
 such a result, but as such was our luck we 
 philosophically marshalled our courage, and 
 prepared to abide with the Tigars. 
 
 "A short time after leaving Lima an ac- 
 cident occurred which had like to turn our en- 
 joyment to sorrow. The chief engineer and 
 superintendent, Mr. Straughan, was very 
 anxious for the arrival of the president, Judge 
 Hanna, and while keeping a lookout to the 
 rear from the platform of one of the cars, he 
 by some means lost his balance and was pre- 
 cipitated from the train. The alarm was given 
 and the train immediately checked and backed. 
 Mr. Straughan was taken up by some men who 
 were working near the spot where the accident 
 occurred and when the train arrived he was 
 taken to the rear car. After an examination by 
 some physicians who were aboard, he was, 
 beyond being stunned and bruised, pronounced 
 uninjured. This pleasing intelligence was 
 quickly spread from car to car, and soon the 
 company assumed its wonted tone. In a few 
 minutes after, the express locomotive overtook 
 us with the president aboard. He was heartily 
 greeted by the excursionists. Everything be- 
 ing thus righted, our iron steed took a more 
 
170 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 rapid gait, but we had tarried so much on the 
 way that we could not possibly arrive at Ft. 
 Wayne until long after schedule time. 
 
 "At Delphos the road crosses the Miami 
 Canal. After leaving Delphos the next im- 
 portant point for which we kept a lookout was 
 the State Line, but although the train stopped, 
 and the brakeman called out "State Line," yet 
 with all our vigilance we could not see it. We 
 could discover no line between the Buckeye 
 State and Hoosierdom. Inseparably united as 
 the two states are in feeling and interest, may 
 a no more tangible line ever be drawn to sep- 
 arate them. Hand in hand may they march 
 onward and upward to the great and prosper- 
 ous destiny that awaits their united energy and 
 enterprise. 
 
 "From Upper Sandusky westward to the 
 neighborhood of Ft. Wayne the great feature 
 of the country is wilderness — almost unbroken. 
 At Lima, Delphos and Van Wert the forest is 
 driven back, and a thriving, busy population is 
 fast turning the wilderness into a garden, but 
 many years will pass before Ohio has attained 
 a population nearing her capacity. 
 
 "The energy and enterprise of the Buck- 
 eyes miist be great to have raised Ohio to rank 
 as the third State in the Union, while two- 
 thirds of her rich soil rests undisturbed be- 
 neath the shade of the primitive forest. Rank- 
 ing, as the State now does, what must be her 
 ultimate destiny, when the wilderness shall be 
 forced from her surface and teeming, busy 
 life usurps its place, causing fruitful farms, 
 populous towns, and busy workshops to oc- 
 cupy the complete length and breadth of the 
 land. 
 
 "Half past four is the hour at which we 
 should have arrived at Ft. Wayne, but we 
 reached there at six. We marched to the sup- 
 per room preceded by a band. The city was 
 brilliantly illuminated and the excursionists 
 were continually greeted by the cheers of the 
 crowds lining the streets. After supper we 
 went to Colerick Hall, where D. H. Colerick 
 delivered the address of welcome. It was re- 
 sponded to by Gov. Johnston, and S. W. Rob- 
 erts of Pennsylvania, Robert W. Schenck, late 
 minister to Brazil, and Henry B. Payne, of 
 Ohio. 
 
 "In company with Brother Day of the Mans- 
 field Herald we were conducted by our worthy 
 
 host — Brother Tigar — to his den. Oh, may it 
 always be our fortune when among strangers 
 to fall into a "Tigar's Den." 
 
 "At ten next morning left for home. At 
 Lima made a raid on the remains of yester- 
 day's banquet. Had dinner at Forest. Ar- 
 rived at Bucyrus at six." 
 
 In his account of the trip to Pittsburg, Mr. 
 Creever mentions as one of the incidents the 
 speed of the train "resulted in the killing of 
 three cows." The casual manner in which this 
 is stated and the following item from his paper 
 in NoVember, 1855, would indicate little at- 
 tention was paid in those days by the engineers 
 to protect the stock straying on the unfenced 
 track : 
 
 "Monday night, Nov. 12, the express, two miles from 
 Bucyrus, came into colHsion with 40 or 50 cattle, be- 
 longing to Enos Barrett. The cattle got onto the rail- 
 road and were met by the train. After making two at- 
 tempts to push through, the locomotive was thrown 
 from the track and the effort had to be abandoned. 
 The result was five of the cattle killed, eleven so se- 
 verely wounded they had to be killed. A number of 
 others were wounded. An investigation is demanded to 
 learn how the engine driver could push the locomotive 
 half a mile through the flock before they were scat- 
 tered and straggling along the track. A reasonable de- 
 gree of concern for himself and passengers would have 
 dictated the necessity of stopping the train as soon as 
 possible, and sending a man ahead to clear the track." 
 
 More than fifty years have passed since the 
 publication of the above item, and today it is 
 well worthy of a place in the humorous col- 
 umn of any railroad journal. The faithful 
 persistency with which the engineer stood at 
 his post and made repeated attempts to force 
 his engine through a drove of forty to fifty cat- 
 tle, and finally being compelled to give up the 
 fight by his engine being thrown from the 
 track ! 
 
 On June 24, 1856, the last meeting of the 
 Ohio and Indiana road was held in Bucyrus, 
 and it was to consider the proposition of con- 
 solidating the three roads, the Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania, the Ohio and Indiana, and the Ft. 
 Wayne and Chicago. A large number of 
 shares were represented at the meeting and the 
 vote was unanimous for consolidation, and the 
 road became the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne and Chi- 
 cago and the headquarters were at Pittsburg. 
 For a few years the road had trouble adjusting 
 its financial affairs, the interests of the directors 
 and stockholders being looked after by Allen 
 G. Thurman of Columbus. The trouble origi- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 171 
 
 nated from the bondholders seizing the road. 
 It was not until July, 1861, that the matter was 
 finally adjusted by the company agreeing to 
 pay one-fourth of the principal and interest in 
 cash, and secure the other three- fourths in third 
 mortgage bonds of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne 
 and Chicago, bearing interest at 7 per cent. 
 
 In 1862 the new directors of the road con- 
 sisted of three from New York, Pennsylvania 
 Ohio and Indiana, and one from Illinois. 
 Among the Pennsylvanians was J. Edgar 
 Thompson, the man who started the Pennsyl- 
 vania company on its great era of prosperity; 
 one of the men from New York was Samuel 
 J. Tilden; and one of the Ohioans was Willis 
 Merriman of Bucyrus, the first president of 
 the central division of the consolidated roads. 
 
 Today the road is a part of the great Penn- 
 sylvania system, and the Ohio and Indiana, 
 fostered and fathered, and built and controlled 
 by the business men of Bucyrus is now an im- 
 portant link in the greatest railroad system of 
 the world, and the first little train which 
 jaunted along from Crestline to Bucyrus in an 
 hour and fifteen minutes has as its successor 
 one that would be almost to Ft. Wayne in the 
 same length of time, and as for the thirteen 
 miles it frequently makes it in ten minutes. 
 
 At the start of the Ohio and Indiana Craw- 
 ford county issued bonds to the amount of 
 $100,000 drawing 6 per cent interest. The 
 bonds were issued on Jan. i, 1853, payable 
 Jan. I, 1868, and for these bonds the county 
 received $100,000 of stock in the road, each 
 year one of the commissioners taking turns 
 in attending the annual meeting of the road 
 and voting the county's stock. After 1856, 
 this meant a trip to Pittsburg. By agreement 
 with the road, the county was to receive an- 
 nually six per cent interest, payable not in 
 cash, but in additional stock in the road. 
 These certificates of stock, in lieu of cash in- 
 terest, the county received up to the time of 
 the completion of the consolidation of the 
 roads on Jan. 20, 1858, a few days over five 
 years, so at the time of the final consolidation 
 the county's stock in the road amounted to 
 $130,096, and after that the county received 
 no dividends in stock or cash. 
 
 The seizure of the road by the bondholders, 
 the troubles arising in the adjustment of the 
 difficulties, decreased the value of the stock. 
 
 The latter part of the year 1861 the stock had 
 reached so low a figure that the commissioners 
 took measures to prepare to meet the bonds 
 when they became due, and levied a tax of two 
 and nine-twentieth mills, which would bring 
 in $21,983. In December, 1862, $14,339 of 
 this tax had been collected, leaving for col- 
 lection in June, 1863, $7,644. After the first 
 levy was made, there was a favorable turn in 
 the affairs of the road, and the stock began 
 gradually going up in value. The market was 
 closely watched, and two of the commission- 
 ers went to New York and sold the entire 
 stock held by Crawford County at 69 1-3C — 
 the highest price at which the stock had ever 
 sold. The railroad account now stood : 
 
 Proceeds from sale of $130,096 stock $90,214 
 
 Tax collected December, 1862 14,339 
 
 $104,553 
 Add tax to be collected in June, 1863 7,644 
 
 $112,197 
 Deduct interest, Jan. i, 1863 6,000 
 
 Leaving amount in Treasury $106,197 
 
 The commissioners then tried to buy the 
 $100,000 of county bonds outstanding at 
 their cash value, and close up the transaction, 
 but the holders of the bonds declined to sell, 
 as "they wished no better investment for their 
 funds." It spoke well for the credit of the 
 county, but there were $100,000 lying idle in 
 the treasury and six per cent interest being 
 paid on the outstanding bonds, so the commis- 
 sioners announced the money would be lent to 
 the citizens until March, 1867. 
 
 They met first on Feb. 1 1 , and the first day 
 lent $352 to H M. Fisher, $4,000 to Linus 
 H. Ross, $1,000 to G. Donnenwirth, and $400 
 to Mary Newell. During the eleven days 
 they met in February they placed $47,002. 
 Seven meetings in March disposed of $37,200 
 and in April and June $27,360 was placed out 
 at interest. 
 
 This money was kept on interest for four 
 years, thus meeting the interest on the bonds by 
 the interest received on the money loaned, and 
 when the bonds fell due on Jan. i, 1868, they 
 were paid and cancelled, and Crawford's first 
 and only investment in railroad bonds was an 
 incident that was closed. Such investments by 
 counties are not allowed today, yet the Craw- 
 
172 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ford county one was a success. And the 
 profitableness of that investment has gone on 
 and on, and will go on in the years to come. 
 When the road was built, the cost of construc- 
 tion from Crestline to Lima, 131 miles, was 
 placed at $1,840,000. Today its valuation on 
 the tax duplicate in Crawford county alone is 
 $4,298,040. 
 
 It would seem that as a business proposition 
 the investment was a financial success. Craw- 
 ford county borrowed $100,000, which it in- 
 vested in the stock of the road ; it paid interest 
 on this borrowed money for 1 5 years, amount- 
 ing to $90,000 ; when ten years had passed the 
 stock was so low that the commissioners lev- 
 ied a tax of $20,000, preparing to meet the 
 bonds when due. Total cost to the county, 
 $210,000. It sold its stock for $90,000; it 
 received interest on money loaned of $30,000. 
 Total receipts of $190,000, leaving a cost to 
 the county of $90,000. But for over sixty 
 years the company has been paying taxes, and 
 this year those taxes amount to $40,000. An 
 investment of $90,000 (the net loss of the 
 county) that brings in $40,000 a year looks 
 very much like a 50 per cent, annual divi- 
 dend on the original investment. 
 
 As to what per cent of the increase in the 
 lands and products and prosperity of the 
 county is due to railroads can not be figured 
 with any degree of exactness, but statistics 
 show that in 1850 Gallon was a straggling vil- 
 lage of five to six hundred people, and the C, 
 C. & C. and the B. & I. were built, and in ten 
 years she trebled her population to 1,967, an 
 increase from 300 to 400 per cent; then the 
 Atlantic & Lake Erie came, and the next ten 
 years gave her another increase to 3,5-23, or 
 60 per cent, and twenty-five years after her 
 first railroad, from a country village of no im- 
 portance she had become one of the thriving 
 and prosperous cities of the state with over 
 five thousand population. 
 
 In 1850 Crestline was a forest, with no resi- 
 dents beyond a farmer or two and their fam- 
 ilies; three railroads came, and the town was 
 laid out, and in i860 it had a population of 
 1,487, and has had an increase every decade 
 since, and in 1910 it was a prosperous town 
 of 3,807 people. 
 
 In 1850 Bucyrus had a population of 1,365; 
 she secured a railroad, and by i860 her popu- 
 
 lation increased 60 per cent to 2,180; a steady 
 growth followed and in 1880 her population 
 was 3,380. Then came the T. & O. C, and by 
 1890 her population had jumped to 5,974 or an 
 increase of 76 per cent. 
 
 In i860 Crawford county had three railroads 
 the C, C and C. and the B. & I. in the south- 
 eastern part of the county, with eight and 
 a half miles of track, and the P. Ft. W. & C. 
 through the county from east to west, about 
 twenty and a half, miles, making thirty miles 
 of railroad in the county. In 1864 the Belle- 
 fontaine & Indiana was consolidated with the 
 Indianapolis, Pittsburg and Cleveland Rail- 
 road, forming the Bellefontaine Railway Com- 
 pany, and in 1868 this was consolidated with 
 the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and In- 
 dianapolis Company, which in 1889 took the 
 name of the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & 
 St. Louis Railway Company, popularly known 
 as the "Big Four." When the Ohio and Penn- 
 sylvania was building they decided to go no 
 further than Crestline, providing the Ohio 
 and Indiana would commence their road at 
 that point, and provided the Bellefontaine and 
 Indiana would commence at the same place. 
 This proposition was accepted, and Crestline 
 was for some years the connecting point of 
 the B. & I. with the P. Ft. W. & C. road, but 
 after the B. & I. came under the control of 
 the C. C. & C, Gabon became the eastern 
 terminus of the B. & I. trains. 
 
 The next railroad in the county was the 
 New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. A char- 
 ter was granted to the Franklin & Warren 
 Railroad Company March 10, 185 1, but noth- 
 ing was done, and in 1855 the name was 
 changed to the Atlantic & Great Western Rail- 
 way. In 1863 the building of the road had 
 reached Gabon, and it was completed to Day- 
 ton in 1864. It was popularly known as the 
 "Broad Gauge" road, the rails being six feet 
 apart, a belief prevailing that with a wider 
 track, heavier equipment could be used, and 
 greater speed and comfort obtained. The idea 
 was a failure. The expense of construction 
 was heavier, the cost of rolling stock greater, 
 and nothing gained in speed or comfort. Along 
 nearly the entire track a third rail was added 
 to accommodate the transfer of cars from a 
 standard gauge to their line. At other times 
 cars were shifted to other trucks. In the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 173 
 
 spring of 1880, the road was sold to the Ohio 
 and Pennsylvania Company, and the new own- 
 ers decided to change the entire road to stan- 
 dard gauge. It was doing a tremendous busi- 
 ness, both in passengers and freight, with hun- 
 dreds of trains daily from one end of the line 
 to the other, and the change was made on June 
 22, 1880. Every detail had been seen to, and 
 every possible arrangement made, and at a 
 given signal the work was commenced all along 
 the entire line, and in less than six hours the 
 entire road was changed to standard gauge 
 without the discontinuance of a train, and the 
 delay of only a few, one of the greatest feats 
 ever accomplished in railroad work. The road 
 is now the New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, 
 a part of the Erie system; it has the shortest 
 mileage of any road in the county, Gallon be- 
 ing its only station in Crawford, but the build- 
 ing is the handsomest railroad station in the 
 county. On this road Galion was the end of a 
 division, and large shops were erected here 
 employing several hundred men; the Big Four 
 also had shops, and the town being a division 
 point on the A. 8: G. W. and the junction 
 point of the Indianapolis division with the 
 "Three C's," many crews had their home here, 
 and Galion was one of the prominent railroad 
 centers of the state, and became the metropolis 
 of the county. 
 
 In 1850 a charter had been granted for 
 building a road from Bucyrus to Toledo, the 
 project being engineered by Bucyrus people. 
 The eastern part of the county had an outlet 
 with the C. C. & C. road nearing completion, 
 and the western part also needed an outlet to 
 the Lake, and with the Ohio and Pennsylvania 
 reaching Buc)t:us, its citizens could well look 
 forward to the little village becoming a great 
 business center. Before the project had gotten 
 fairly under way, the Ohio and Pennsylvania 
 had been compelled to abandon for the present 
 the building of their line further west than 
 Crestline. This was a severe blow to the hopes 
 of Bucyrus as the east and west road was more 
 important than anything else, so all considera- 
 tion of the Bucyrus and Toledo road was re- 
 luctantly abandoned, and the people of Bucy- 
 rus took upon themselves the herculean task 
 of building the road from Crestline to Ft. 
 Wayne. Here are the men to whom the char- 
 ter was granted on March 20, 1850, to build 
 
 131 miles of railroad: Robert Lee. and John 
 Frantz of Leesville, John Anderson, George 
 Lauck, Willis Merriman, Josiah S. Plants, 
 John J. Bowman, George Quinby, John Sims, 
 John A. Gormly, Z. Rowse, Aaron Carey and 
 C. Widman of Bucyrus; David Ayres, Robert 
 McKelly, Henry Peters of Upper Sandusky. 
 In four years the road was built. 
 
 Fifteen years passed and the necessity of a 
 railroad from the coal fields in southeastern 
 Ohio to the Lake at Toledo was apparent, and 
 the Atlantic and Lake Erie was incorporated 
 to start at Pomeroy on the Ohio river, through 
 the coal fields of Athens and Perry counties, 
 then up to Bucyrus and Toledo. From Bucy- 
 rus to Toledo it was the original road pro- 
 posed in 1850, and Bucyrus took an active 
 interest in the road from the start, Daniel W. 
 Swigart being president of the new road and 
 James B. Gormly, treasurer, both Bucyrus 
 men. Meetings were held in various towns 
 along the line, and in 1869 the preliminary sur- 
 vey was made. In February, 1872, a contract 
 was made with Michael Moran aijd W. V. and 
 A. M. McCracken of Bucyrus, to • grade the 
 road from Bucyrus to Toledo, and in July 
 another contract was made with B. B. Mc- 
 Donald & Co., of Bucyrus, to lay the rails on 
 two sections from Bucyrus north. The same 
 year, 1872, the contract was made for the 
 bridge over the Sandusky at Bucyrus, together 
 with the long trestle of nearly half a mile, 
 necessary to cross the stream. In 1873 the 
 panic came on, and it was impossible to get 
 capital interested in any investment, but the 
 projectors of the road at Bucyrus persevered. 
 Bucyrus had invested over $100,000 in the 
 road; other sections had given freely. In 
 September, 1875, the condition of the road 
 was at its worst, and a meeting was held at 
 Bucyrus to devise ways and means to save 
 what had already been invested and to com- 
 plete the road. The president made a report 
 at that meeting stating that a proposition had 
 been made to sell a portion of it, which would 
 be detrimental to the interests of Crawford, 
 Wyandot and other counties. This proposi- 
 tion had been temporarily defeated by the in- 
 fluence of the friends of Bucyrus on the board 
 of directors. But the road was in debt so 
 heavily that unless something was done im- 
 mediately the Atlantic & Lake Erie must be 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 abandoned. The proposition was that if 
 $450,000 could be raised, the more pressing 
 obHgations could be met and the road com- 
 pleted. This sum was divided along the line, 
 and $50,000 assigned to Crawford county. On 
 top of the sum already subscribed, the task 
 was a difficult one, but the amount was raised. 
 Construction went ahead slowly, and every 
 attempt made to reduce expenses to the mini- 
 mum. The Bucyrus Foundry and Machine 
 Company went into the car business, and built 
 fifteen cars to be used in the construction 
 work; second-hand locomotives were pur- 
 chased and put to use in the building of the 
 road, and little by little the work progressed, 
 and finally in the summer of 1880 the first 
 train came to Bucyrus. It was less than a 
 generation since Bucyrus had built the Ohio 
 and Indiana road, and now the descendants 
 of the men who had built that first road, had 
 overcome all difficulties, and secured another 
 road for Bucyrus. The president of the At- 
 lantic & Lake Erie was Daniel W. Swigart, a 
 son-in-law of George W. Sweney, one of the 
 active workers for the Ohio and Indiana; the 
 secretary and treasurer was James B. Gormly, 
 whose father John A. Gormly, was treasurer 
 of the Ohio and Indiana. Among others con- 
 nected with the road were Col. W. C. Lemert, 
 a grandson by marriage of Samuel Norton, 
 one of the heavy subscribers to the Ohio and 
 Indiana. Horace and William Rowse, sons 
 of Zalmon Rowse, a director of the Ohio and 
 Indiana; W. V., A. M. and Charles Mc- 
 Cracken, sons of James McCracken, another 
 active supporter of the Ohio and Indiana; 
 Joseph N. Biddle, a son-in-law of Robert W. 
 Musgrave, another of the men active in se- 
 curing the Ohio and Indiana ; Thomas C. Hall, 
 who had been one of the builders of the Ohio 
 and Indiana, and now with his son Joseph E. 
 Hall, had similar contracts for construction 
 work on the Atlantic and Lake Erie. 
 
 After the road was completed, the influ- 
 ence of Bucyrus, and the work the people of 
 that town had done for the road, secured a 
 favorable proposition for the location of the 
 shops at Bucyrus, but Bucyrus capital was 
 already in the road up to its limit, so a friendly 
 legislature was appealed to and D. W. Swigart, 
 James B. Gormly, W. C. Lemert, Dr. C. Ful- 
 ton, S. R. Harris and George W. Teel secured 
 
 the passage of an act allowing the town by a 
 vote of the people to bond itself for $50,000 
 to build railroad shops. The proposition car- 
 ried almost unanimously and the shops were 
 secured, and for more than thirty years they 
 have given employment to hundreds of men 
 with a large monthly pay roll that has added 
 materially to the prosperity of Bucyrus, and 
 that village which in 1880 had a population of 
 3,348, by the census of 1890 had taken its po- 
 sition as one of the cities of the state with a 
 population of 5,974, an increase of 78 per 
 cent in ten years. When the road was re- 
 organized in 1878 the name was changed to 
 the Ohio Central, and it was sold at that time 
 for $106,668. Later a western division was 
 built to take care of the increasing traffic from 
 the coal fields to the Lake. The road is today 
 a part of the Lake Shore system, and in 191 1 
 required additional room for its shops and 
 trackage, and the only way to secure it was 
 from the Fair Ground which adjoined the 
 railroad property on the south. The Fair 
 Ground could not spare the land, so the citi- 
 zens promptly formed a company, bought the 
 entire thirty acres belonging to the Fair Asso- 
 ciation at $1,000 an acre, and sold the Lake 
 Shore the eight acres they wanted at $400 an 
 acre and the remainder of the grounds will 
 be laid out as an addition to Bucyrus. The 
 Fair Association immediately purchased a 
 new site just across the road of sixty acres at 
 $300 an acre. 
 
 In 1867 the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake 
 Michigan railroad was projected, to start at 
 Toledo, then run to Tiffin, and through Ly- 
 kins and Sulphur Springs to Crestline and 
 Mansfield. The people in the central and 
 northeastern part of the county took active 
 measures to secure the road. Both New 
 Washington and Sulphur Springs subscribed 
 liberally, and so enthusiastic were the people 
 in and around Sulphur Springs -that their sub- 
 scriptions amounted to $35,000. A prelimin- 
 ary survey was made, which located the road 
 about half a mile east of Sulphur Springs, and 
 an eastern suburb of that village was laid out 
 where the station was to be, on land owned by 
 George W. Teel, and several houses were 
 built. The people of Crestline, however, took 
 very little interest in the road, which was fatal 
 to the Sulphur Springs route. New Washing- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 175 
 
 ton then took up the matter with the Toledo 
 and Mansfield people, and a new survey was 
 made farther north, from Tiffin through 
 Bloomville to New Washington and Mans- 
 field. The citizens of New Washington and 
 southern Auburn subscribed $30,000 for the 
 new road and so great was the interest in that 
 section, that these subscriptions were prac- 
 tically all made in sums ranging from $50 to 
 $250, the stock being in $50 shares. There 
 were two hundred men in the two townships 
 of Cranberry and Auburn who took stock in 
 the road. Work was commenced in the spring 
 of 1872, and by October the road was in 
 operation from Toledo to New Washington, 
 and on May i, 1873, regular trains were run- 
 ning over the line. In Auburn township the 
 road passed about half a mile north of the 
 village of DeKalb, and the same distance south 
 of a little settlement called Mechanicsburg, 
 and at this point a station was placed called 
 DeKalb, and in 1874 a town was laid out 
 around the station which was called Tiro, after 
 the postofifice two miles north, which was trans- 
 ferred to the station, and in 1882 the DeKalb 
 postoffice, which had been in existence half a 
 century, was discontinued, being consolidated 
 with the Tiro ofifice, and the railroad dropped 
 the name of DeKalb and called the station 
 Tiro. 
 
 About the time of the building of the 
 Mansfield & Coldwater road the people of 
 Delphos and Carey had constructed a narrow 
 gauge road between those two towns. It was 
 a purely local affair, built by the people of 
 Putnam and Hancock counties residing in the 
 little towns along the line and gave them an 
 outlet to the markets. Later it was taken over 
 by some capitalists, among them W. V. Mc- 
 Cracken of Bucyrus, and was changed to a 
 standard gauge road, and extended eastward 
 from Carey to Akron, passing through Craw- 
 ford in the center of the northern tier of 
 townships, Texas, Lykins, Chatfield, Cranberry 
 and Auburn, and when completed it was 
 almost an air line, 165 miles in length, known 
 as the Pittsburg, Akron and Western. In the 
 construction of . the road no attention was 
 paid to the little towns. From the time it 
 entered the county in Texas township it fol- 
 lowed a half section line due east for fourteen 
 
 miles to New Washington, passing half a mile 
 south of the village of Lykins, and a quarter 
 of a mile north of Chatfield. At New Wash- 
 ington it took an air line northwest, going- 
 north of the little village of Waynesburg. 
 Eastern capitalists had secured the road with 
 the intention of making it the most direct and 
 quickest route between Pittsburg and Chicago, 
 but the grand plans never materialized and it 
 is today a purely local road, but a great con- 
 venience to the people along the route. It es- 
 tablished a station in Texas township, which 
 was named Plankton, and another in Northern 
 Auburn, which is named North Auburn after 
 the township. The road is now the Northern 
 Ohio. 
 
 It was Feb. 8, 1832, that the legislature of 
 Ohio passed an act incorporating the Dela- 
 ware, Marion and Sandusky Railroad, and 
 among the incorporators were E. B. Merri- 
 man, Zalmon Rowse and Henry St. John. It 
 was a time when there was a craze for rail- 
 road building all over the state, and, like doz- 
 ens of other roads incorporated at that time, 
 nothing came of it. Nearly sixty years passed 
 and all the original projectors had long since 
 moldered into dust when on April 12, 1889, 
 practically the same road was again incorpo- 
 rated as the Columbus, Shawnee and Hocking. 
 By the close of the year twelve miles of the 
 road had been built from Sandusky to Belle- 
 vue, and this twelve miles on the right of way 
 where fifty years previous the Mad River road 
 had run its cars on scrap iron rails. The route 
 had been abandoned by the Mad River road 
 in the fifties for a new route from Sandusky 
 to Clyde. But the northern twelve miles of the 
 C. S. and H. (the Short Line) is the roadbed 
 where first ran the first cars on the first real 
 railroad in the state of Ohio. 
 
 The work on the C. S. and H. was pushed 
 rapidly from both ends of the line, and it was 
 on Sunday, Dec. 4, 1892, at 12:15 noon, that 
 the last connecting rail was laid that joined 
 the lines. This rail was at the north end of 
 the trestle in Bucyrus. Although the road 
 was completed as far as track-laying was con- 
 cerned, there was still much to be done in the 
 way of preparing the road bed, and securing 
 the rolling stock, and it was on Monday, April 
 17, 1893, that the first regular trains began 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 running on the road, and the people turned 
 out all along the line with demonstrations and 
 rejoicings. 
 
 This was the last railroad built in Crawford 
 county, with its well ballasted track, heavy 
 steel rails, monster locomotives, and hand- 
 somely furnished, easily riding cars. Every- 
 thing was new and modern and presented the 
 strongest contrast to the track and equipment 
 of the pioneer days of railroading. It was 
 Monday, April 17, the train went through, rep- 
 resentative of the highest type of railroad de- 
 velopment, and three days later, on April 20th, 
 the contrast came. A great exposition was to 
 be opened at Chicago (one year late) to com- 
 memorate the discovery of America by Colum- 
 bus, 401 years previous, and the first loco- 
 motive ever brought to America was to pass 
 through Bucyrus. Over a thousand school 
 children and double that number of citizens 
 were at the station, when the little locomotive, 
 the "John Bull," hardly larger than a traction 
 engine, pulling its two small cars, came round 
 the bend, puffing and blowing as if it appre- 
 ciated the full measure of its responsibility. It 
 came up to the station very slowly, through 
 two dense ranks of people, who crowded both 
 sides of the track, leaving only room for it 
 to pass. It looked small and it looked old, and 
 even the veteran pioneers present had be- 
 come so accustomed to the modern trains that 
 they too were astonished at the smallness and 
 crudeness of the engine and coaches, that 
 in their early day they had regarded as a won- 
 der and a marvel in the science of transporta- 
 tion.* 
 
 *In 1876, this little engine, the "John Bull," was dis- 
 covered among the old junk in the Pennsylvania shops; 
 it was repaired and exhibited at the Centennial Expo- 
 sition at Philadelphia, and later presented to the United 
 States government. Prior to 1830 experiments had 
 been made in England with more or less success with 
 locomotives to be propelled by steam. In 1830, Robert 
 L. Stevens, the founder of the Camden & Amboy road, 
 saw the "Rocket" in England, the invention of George 
 Stevenson, and he ordered one built for shipment to 
 this country. The engine was built, shipped to America, 
 and named the "John Bull." It arrived in Philadelphia 
 in August, 183 1. When it was finally put together it 
 was placed on a track, specially built for its trial; the 
 boiler was filled with water from a hogshead ; a fire of 
 pine wood was lighted in the furnace, and at the mdi- 
 cation of thirty pounds of steam pressure, the young 
 engineer named Dripps, nervous- with excitement, 
 opened the throttle, and the first locomotive in America 
 moved over the rails. One of the little old cars had 
 been purchased in 1868 bv a farmer living near South 
 
 When the train stopped, men and boys and 
 women and girls crowded around the little 
 cars, -and went inside, finding them so low 
 that a tall man must stoop. Common wooden 
 seats ran along the sides; there were little 
 windows, placed there only to give light, so 
 high that one must stand up or kneel upon the 
 seat to look out. These windows could not be 
 opened; there were no lights for after night, 
 so when the shades of evening fell, the passen- 
 gers rode in darkness. The engine weighed 
 ten tons, and was the same as when it first 
 ran in America, except that it had been changed 
 from wood to coal fuel. The tender had a 
 capacity of about a ton of coal, and the water 
 tank about 1500 gallons of water. The water 
 was sufficient for thirty miles, but the coal 
 would last for ninety miles. The boiler was 
 13 feet long, and 3 feet 6 inches in diameter. 
 The cylinders were 9 by 20 inches. There 
 were two drive wheels on each side, 4 ft. 6 in. 
 in diameter, with cast iron hubs and wooden 
 felloes. On top of the tender at the rear was 
 a contrivance resembling a poke bonnet; it 
 was called the "gig top," and here sat the for- 
 ward brakeman on the lookout for approach- 
 ing trains, and also to signal the rear brake- 
 man should occasion require. He worked the 
 brakes on the locomotive and tender by means 
 of a lever which extended up between his knees. 
 There was no bell cord or gong to the locomo- 
 tive and all communication between the brake- 
 man and engineer was by word of mouth. He 
 kept by him a few soft clods which carefully 
 aimed, attracted the attention of the engineer 
 if hasty communication was necessary. 
 
 Following the little train was one of mod- 
 ern construction. The locomotive, weighing 
 
 Amboy, the Camden and Amboy road having thrown 
 it into discard. The farmer removed it to his place 
 and used it as a chicken-coop. It housed the chickens 
 until a representative of the Pennsylvania road looking 
 for curiosities, ran across it, and entered into negotia- 
 tions for its purchase. The thrifty farmer discovered 
 that lapse of time had endowed his hen-coop with an 
 unexpected value, and he demanded and received a price 
 which represented more than compound interest on his 
 original purchase, and although the hens were left 
 homeless, the farmer looked out for himself by build- 
 ing a new residence with all modern improvements 
 from the proceeds of his sale. The second car had not 
 so romantic a history. It was found years previously 
 in a lumber yard in a New Jersey town, and a far- 
 sighted Pennsylvania official had secured it as a relic, 
 believing the day might come when it would have a 
 value as a curiosity. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 177 
 
 160,000 pounds, easily drew its long line of 
 parlor cars and sleepers, and diner, all fitted 
 with every modern improvement and filled 
 with the officers and guests of the Pennsyl- 
 vania company. From Philadelphia to Chi- 
 cago this finest locomotive of modern con- 
 struction restrained its power, followed its 
 wheezing ancestor, decrepit with age, as if it 
 were exercising a fatherly and protecting care 
 over him which it no doubt was. 
 
 At Bucyrus, the train was joined by repre- 
 sentatives of the Journal and Telegraph, the 
 Forum and the Courier. The Journal sent 
 their veteran editor, John Hopley, who in 
 1842, had come as far west as Pittsburg on 
 just such a train, and with him the youngest 
 member of the firm, J. W. Hopley, as repre- 
 sentatives of the past and the present. They 
 rode in one of the- ancient coaches as far as 
 Upper Sandusky, jarred and jolted in the 
 springless car, kneeling on the seat occasion- 
 ally to glance from the window, and when 
 Upper Sandusky was reached both youth and 
 age preferred comfort to novelty, and as far 
 as they were concerned the little train, once 
 the pride of the road, and once the acme of 
 perfection in traveling, was left to jog on its 
 slow way alone, while they-found all the com- 
 forts of travel in the palatial cars of the mod- 
 ern train. The speed of both trains was of 
 course governed by the motive power of the 
 John Bull and it took nine hours to go from 
 Bucyrus to Ft. Wayne, being a trifle over 14 
 miles an hour. 
 
 On Nov. 12, 1891, the commissioners of the 
 county granted a franchise for the building 
 of an electric road from Galion to Bucyrus, to 
 be known as the Suburban Electric Railway 
 Company. The financial depression of 1893 
 put a stop to all improvement investments, but 
 later the matter was again taken up, and the 
 work of building commenced at Gabon, and 
 gradually extending to Bucyrus. On Aug. 26, 
 1899, a regular train service was started from 
 Galion as far as the T. & O. C. tracks at Bu- 
 cyrus, and on September ir, the track had 
 been completed to the Public Square, and there 
 was a half-hourly service between the county 
 
 seat and the metropolis of the county. Al- 
 though the two cities had a combined popula- 
 tion of about 14,000 the business did not jus- 
 tify so frequent a service and it was soon re- 
 duced to hourly trains. Later the road was 
 extended to Crestline, and the following year 
 to Mansfield, and it became the Cleveland, 
 Southwestern and Columbus Railway Com- 
 pany, with through trains from Cleveland to 
 Bucyrus. The headquarters of the motive 
 power and the car barns are at Galion. 
 
 In 1894 an electric road was projected from 
 Columbus to Cleveland, by way of Delaware, 
 Marion and Galion. The latter city took little 
 interest in the road so Bucyrus took the matter 
 up, and Frank L. Hopley had the builder of 
 the road, John G. Webb, of Springfield, visit 
 Bucyrus, and after a consultation with J. B. 
 Gormly, W. C. Lemert, George Dennenwirth 
 and others, the road was incorporated as the 
 Columbus, Marion and Bucyrus Electric Rail- 
 way, and on Aug. 5, 1905, James B. Gormly 
 was elected one of the directors of the new 
 road. Owing to the high prices at which land 
 was held much time was consumed in securing a 
 right of way, but the Marion road was finally 
 decided upon, and the work of construction 
 commenced. On Monday, Aug. 10, 1908, reg- 
 ular trains started from the south end of Pop- 
 lar street, and the first through passenger to 
 Columbus was County Treasurer George W. 
 Miller, who took the first car to make his set- 
 tlement with the state treasurer. There was 
 difficulty over the route through Bucyrus, but 
 the matter was finally settled, and on Oct. 27, 
 the track laying reached the Public Square, E. 
 B. Monnett and Charles Roberts driving the 
 last spikes which made the connecting link at 
 Bucyrus of an electric line from Cleveland to 
 Cincinnati. 
 
 The following table shows the amount of 
 trackage in the various townships in the 
 county, and their value as placed on the tax 
 duplicate. Also the appraised value of the va- 
 rious roads in the county. The total valuation 
 of all property on tax duplicate in the county 
 is $52,453,120, and of this $8,758,680 is rail- 
 
178 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 roads. Jefferson township fares best, as its 
 entire valuation on the tax duplicate is $2,190,- 
 840, and of this nearly half, $981,770 is rail- 
 road property. 
 
 elex:tric roads. 
 
 Total 
 Main Double Sid- Track- 
 Track Track ings age Value 
 
 Bucyrus 16.45 
 
 Whetstone 11. 14 
 
 Polk 11-99 
 
 Jefferson 4.89 
 
 Jackson 5.52 
 
 Tod 4.31 
 
 Chatfield 13.30 
 
 Cranberry 9.84 
 
 Holmes 6.47 
 
 Liberty 6.07 
 
 Vernon 2.90 
 
 Auburn 6.09 
 
 Dallas 2.43 
 
 Texas 2.51 
 
 Lykins 5.04 
 
 Sandusky 
 
 6.07 
 
 S-44 
 S.83 
 4.89 
 5.52 
 2.00 
 
 14.99 
 .78 
 
 22.93 
 2.72 
 
 21.65 
 2.06 
 2.28 
 2.09 
 1.38 
 
 2.25 
 
 .65 
 .16 
 .38 
 
 37.51 
 17.36 
 
 40.75 
 
 12.50 
 
 32.69 
 
 8.37 
 
 15.58 
 
 11.93 
 
 7.85 
 
 6.96 
 
 2.90 
 
 8.34 
 3-08 
 2.67 
 5-42 
 
 $1,811,670 
 
 1,301,780 
 
 1,126,610 
 
 981,770 
 
 842,190 
 
 508,330 
 
 408,940 
 
 377,740 
 
 291,030 
 
 233,610 
 
 191,250 
 
 170,930 
 
 95,030 
 
 32,160 
 
 25,290 
 
 Totals .108.95 
 
 Electric 26.77 
 
 29-75 75.21 213.91 $8,398,330 
 32 27.09 360,350 
 
 Track 
 
 Polk 6.95 
 
 Whetstone 6.48 
 
 Bucyrus 8.06 
 
 Jackson 2.77 
 
 Dallas 2.51 
 
 Totals 26.77 
 
 Sidings 
 .01 
 .08 
 -14 
 
 -09 
 
 -32 
 
 Total 
 6.96 
 6.56 
 8.20 
 
 2-77 
 2.60 
 
 Value 
 
 $110,590 
 
 104,810 
 
 79,890 
 
 42,990 
 
 22,070 
 
 27.09 
 
 $360,350 
 
 VALUATION OF ROADS IN CRAWFORD COUNTY. 
 
 Main 
 
 Track 
 
 P., Ft. W. & C... 20.46 
 
 T. &GI1 C 18.19 
 
 T., W. V. & O., 
 
 San. branch . . 21.94 
 T, W. V. & O., 
 
 Mans, branch . 12.33 
 C, C, C. & St. L. 9.55 
 N. Y., P. & O.... 5.90 
 Northern Ohio . . 20.58 
 
 Total 
 Second Sid- Track- 
 Track ings age 
 20.46 28.25 69.17 
 11.62 29.81 
 
 Valu- 
 ation 
 $4,298,040 
 935,290 
 
 5.18 27.12 868,820 
 
 3.12 15.45 835,470 
 
 5.43 11.60 26.58 691,630 
 
 3.86 12.50 22.26 665,560 
 
 2.94 23.52 103,520 
 
 Totals 108.95 
 
 C. & S. W., elec. . 17^1 
 C, M. & B., elec. 9.16 
 
 29.7s 75.21 213.91 $8,398,330 
 
 09 17.70 280,090 
 
 23 9.39 80,260 
 
 Totals 135.72 29-75 75-53 241.00 $8,758,680 
 
 135.72 29.7s 75.53 241.00 $8,758,680 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 AUBURN TOWNSHIP. 
 
 Auburn Township — Location and Topography — Drainage — Creation of Auburn Town- 
 ship and First Election — Early Settlers — Justices — Forest Adventures — Early Mills 
 — Churches and Schoolhouses — Waynesburg — North Auburn — Mechaniscburg — Tiro 
 — DeKalb PostoMce — A Prohibition Ordinance — Mr. Baker's Enterprise — Cranber- 
 ries — An Indian Burying Ground — The Hanna Graveyard — Other Cemeteries. 
 
 Sweet Auburn ! loveliest village of the plain, 
 
 Where health and plenty cheered the laboring swain, 
 
 Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid, 
 
 And parting summer's lingering blooms delayed. 
 
 — Oliver Goldsmith. 
 
 Auburn township was a part of the land 
 ceded by the Indians ,to the United States in 
 1805, and is the northeastern township of the 
 county. It was surveyed by Maxfield Ludlow 
 in 1807, and it was in the southern portion of 
 this township his notes show that he had not 
 been able to get a drink of water for 48 hours, 
 while in the northern portion, the land was the 
 most "hedeous" he had ever surveyed in his 
 seven years' experience, and much of it was two 
 feet under water. This northern portion was 
 a vast swamp, very wet and unproductive ex- 
 cept for cranberries. The township is very 
 level, with a gradual slope to the north. In the 
 western portion, Honey creek after rising near 
 Tiro, goes north through the western sections, 
 then west to the Sandusky river, while in the 
 eastern part Coykendall run goes north to 
 empty into a branch of the Huron river at 
 New Haven. Both these streams have small 
 branches, so that every section of the township 
 is well watered. In the earlier days little 
 streams starting in the forest wandered on 
 their way northward to be eventually lost in the 
 great swamp. Later an outlet to the swamp 
 was made by which nearly all the marsh was 
 drained into Honey creek or Coykendall run, 
 and the worst country that the surveyor had 
 ever gone over, became one of the most fertile 
 and productive regions of the county. The soil 
 
 of the entire township is very rich, being deep 
 and black, with sufficient sand to furnish 
 enough silica for strengthening the growing 
 grain. The drift deposits are underlain in the 
 southern portion of the township by an abun- 
 dance of excellent limestone, too deep to be 
 profitably worked, except, perhaps in the south- 
 west part of section 28 and northwestern part 
 of section 23, where on a little run there is a 
 surface outcropping of very good limestone. 
 There is a quantity of iron in the soil of the 
 drift deposits, and in a number of wells the 
 water is tinctured with that mineral. Abun- 
 dance of water is easily found in the sand of 
 the Waverly group of rocks at a very slight 
 depth. 
 
 Auburn township was a part of Richland 
 county when the latter was created in 1807, 
 and for 13 years it was the west half of Ply- 
 mouth township of that county. On April 3, 
 1820, Auburn township was created by the 
 commissioners of Richland county. From its 
 now- fertile fields of waving grain, and its level 
 stretch of the richest of farming land under the 
 highest state of cultivation one might today 
 suppose it received its name from Goldsmith's 
 lines at the head of this chapter. 
 
 But, however appropriate such an idea for 
 the selection might seem, it was not the case. 
 Several settlers met to discuss the affairs of the 
 new township and among other matters to se- 
 lect a name. Naturally, each one had a choice, 
 and several names were mentioned, every man 
 supporting his own choice. Among the set- 
 
 179 
 
180 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tiers were two brothers, Palmer and Daniel 
 Hulse, who had come there from Auburn, N. 
 Y., and as they cast two solid votes lor Au- 
 burn, that name was selected. Of the other 
 names presented there is no record, but while 
 the name chosen was not from the poetry of 
 Goldsmith, the new township started on its ca- 
 reer with one of the few poetical names in 
 the county. The Richland commissioners fol- 
 lowed the wishes of the citizens and named 
 the township Auburn, and called an election 
 for April 2, 1 821, to elect township officers. 
 The following is the account of the first elec- 
 tion, taken from a record book in the pos- 
 session of James M. Cory : 
 
 "At an election held at the house of Palmer 
 Hulse, in Auburn township, on the second day 
 of April, 1821, agreeable to an order of the 
 county commissioners, the following persons 
 were elected township officers : Jacob Coyken- 
 dall, clerk; Samuel Hanna, Levi Bodley and 
 Michael Gisson, trustees; David Cummins, 
 treasurer ; James Gardner and David Cummins, 
 overseers of the poor; Adam Aumend and 
 Charles Dewitt, fence viewers ; James C. Coy- 
 kendall and Lester and Jesse Bodley, apprais- 
 ers; Adam Aumend, Jr., constable; Michael 
 Gisson, William Cole, William Laugherty and 
 William Garrison, supervisors. The above of- 
 ficers were severally elected and qualified ac- 
 cording to law. Jacob Coykendall, township 
 clerk." 
 
 In the book containing these records, the fol- 
 lowing entry is found : 
 
 "Jacob Coykendall's commission as justice 
 of the peace bears date July 14, 1821. He was 
 qualified Aug. 29, same year, and gave bond 
 Sept. 27, 182 1 ; James Coykendall and James 
 Gardner, bondsmen." 
 
 The second election was held at the house of 
 Jacob Coykendall on April i, 1822, and the 
 third at the house of Aaron B. Howe, April 7, 
 1823. 
 
 In 182 1 the pioneers of Auburn were nearly 
 all from New England with a few from New 
 York, and it is probable the first election fol- 
 lowed the town-meeting plan of New England, 
 where all the voters met in convention and se- 
 lected their officials. The residence of Palmer 
 Hulse was in what is now Richland county, 
 near the road which runs from Bucyrus to Ply- 
 mouth. So the townshio was named by two 
 
 men who never resided in what is the present 
 Auburn township, the same as Crawford 
 county was named after the revolutionary of- 
 ficer who was tortured by the Indians at a site 
 which is not now a part of the county. 
 
 In the chapter relating to Crawford county, 
 the names are given of those who settled there 
 in the early days, John Pettigon and Jedidiah 
 Morehead, who erected cabins and pursued 
 their occupation as hunters as early as 1814 
 to 1815. William Green entered 160 acres and 
 erected a log cabin on section 27 in 181 5, to 
 which he removed with his family on Dec. 16, 
 1816. He had left his family in Licking 
 county. Green was the first real settler in Au- 
 burn township and what is now Crawford 
 county. He increased his quarter section un- 
 til later he owned a full section of 640 acres, 
 and half a century later his sons Samuel S. 
 and Walter, were cultivating the land cleared 
 by their father. A man named John Deardorff, 
 settled in Auburn township in 18 16, but left 
 before the township was organized. William 
 Cole, in 181 7, settled on section 27; Charles, 
 David and James Morrow, in 1817, just west 
 of Green and Cole, on section 28; Jacob Coy- 
 kendall, on section 15, two miles west of the 
 Hulses, in 18 16; Charles Dewitt, John Bodley, 
 David Cummins, on section 22, north of Green ; 
 William Laugherty on section 29, a mile north 
 of the present village of Tiro, in 1818. Among 
 those in 1819, were Resolved, a descendant of 
 Perigrene White, who was born on the May- 
 flower while it was anchored off the coast of 
 Massachusetts. Perigrene White was the sec- 
 ond son of William and Susanne White, who 
 sailed from Southampton on the Mayflower 
 with their two children, one a daughter Faith, 
 and the other a son. Resolved, receiving that 
 name from the fact of his birth, just at the 
 time his father had finally resolved to accom- 
 pany the Pilgrims to America. The Resolved 
 White who settled in Auburn, was the fifth or 
 sixth generation from William White, the Pil- 
 grim father. He was born in Poonfred town- 
 ship, Windham county, Conn., on March 31, 
 1787, and in 1794 went with his parents to 
 Windsor, Berkshire county, Mass. ; here his 
 father died in 1804, and four years later his 
 mother moved to Otsego county, N. Y., and 
 later to Ontario county. Early in 181 8, Re- 
 solved White, in company with Rev. Asabel 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 181 
 
 Moore and family, left in a horse and sleigh 
 for the Connecticut reserve. A part of this 
 way they made on the ice, along the southern 
 shore of Lake Erie. Reaching Huron on Lake 
 Erie, they went up the Huron river through 
 Milan to Norwalk, which at that time consisted 
 of two or three log cabins, Paul Benedict of 
 Connecticut having erected the first log cabin 
 there in 1817. White stopped here and erected 
 the first frame building in Norwalk for a man 
 named Forsyth. He decided to settle in this 
 section, and went through the woods on an ex- 
 ploring tour, and reaching Auburn township, 
 purchased of William Laugherty, the east half 
 of section 29, paying $3.75 per acre. There 
 was a small log house on the farm and a few 
 acres cleared. He then returned to Norwalk 
 and continued his trade as a carpenter, and in 
 the spring of 1821, went to Ontario county, N. 
 Y., sailing on Lake Erie on the steamboat 
 Walk-in-the-Water, the first steamer that ever 
 plied the waters of Erie. The event which 
 transpired on White's return to Ontario 
 county showed there was a reason for his se- 
 curing a home in the west, and that his return 
 had been arranged for when he left home three 
 years previous. On May 13, 1821, he married 
 Lucy Searl, and he purchased a horse and 
 wagon and with his bride started for their 
 western home, where he arrived on July 10 of 
 that year, and remained a resident of Auburn 
 township until his death on April 5, 1875, his 
 wife Lucy having died a year previous. May 
 13, 1874. Rodolphus Morse settled on section 
 20, just north of White's purchase, in 1819 or 
 1820. He arrived with his wife Huldah and 
 son Amos, then but a year old. Morse took 
 a prominent position in the afifairs of Auburn 
 township, and was followed by his son Amos, 
 who until his death was a leading man in the 
 control of the township. Others in 1819 were 
 Samuel and Elizabeth Hanna, settling on land 
 his father James had entered in 1818. 
 John Webber and Palmer and Daniel Hulse 
 were also early settlers. The first officers 
 of the township show that other early settlers 
 were Levi Bodley, Michael Gisson, James 
 Gardner and William Garrison; besides 
 these, the records indicate that a man named 
 Tyndall was a resident of the township; also 
 Jacob Byerson, section 31, and Lester Levi 
 and Jesse Bodley; John Blair, who came in 
 
 1 82 1 from New York State, bought a half sec- 
 tion in sections 20 and 21, where his son Ira, 
 still lives; George Hammond and wife Sarah, 
 who came from Connecticut in 1822, purchased 
 150 acres of Martin Clark, the northwest 
 quarter of section 28, on which there was a 
 small cabin, and a few acres already cleared. 
 His heirs still live on the farm. John Sheckler 
 came from Pennsylvania in 1821, settling on 
 section 22. In 1850, 151 acres of this land 
 was appraised at $1,000. Erastus Sawyer set- 
 tled on section 21, Jesse Ladow on section 10, 
 and Nelson S. Howe on section 16, also Aaron 
 B. Howe ; Daniel Bunker, Jacob Bevard, Rich- 
 ard Tucker, Seth Hawkes, Jacob and William 
 Snyder and Erastus Kellogg; William Johns, 
 Thomas Cooker, Enoch Baker, and John Tal- 
 ford. Erastus Sawyer came in 1820. Adam 
 Aumend, with his wife and daughter, both 
 named Mary, came in 1819. 
 
 Jacob Coykendall was the first justice of the 
 peace; his commission was dated July 14, 1821, 
 and he qualified on Aug. 29, with James Coy- 
 kendall and James Gardner as bondsmen. One 
 of his first acts was the marriage of Harvey 
 Hoadley to Elizabeth Blair in 1821. The next 
 known marriage was Dec. 19, 1822, when 
 Erastus Kellogg and Sally Snider became man 
 and wife. 
 
 May 8, 1824, Jacob Coykendall and Aaron 
 Howe were appointed justices. On April 23, 
 1827, Jacob Coykendall was again appointed 
 and with him James Clements. 
 
 Since Auburn township has been a part of 
 the present Crawford county, the following 
 have been the justices of the peace; dates given 
 being the year of their election : William Cum- 
 mins — 1845-48-51; William. D. Sims — 1845- 
 57-59-60-63; Adam Aumend — 1848; David C. 
 Morrow — 1854; Amos Morse — 1854-60-63- 
 66-69-72-78-8 1 -84 ; Jacob Eckis — 1 85 7-66 ; 
 George Hammond — 1865; Enoch T. Kenes- 
 trick. — 1869; Jacob Shutt — 1872; Resolved R. 
 Ross— 1876-79; Daniel Howe— 1882-85-88; 
 Charles McConnell — 1 887-91 -94-97- 1 900-04 ; 
 George S. McKee — 1891-94; Samuel R. Houk 
 — 1897; F- L. Kemp — 1903-07; James Cahill 
 — 1906-07; Harvey B. Morrow — 1910; J. C. 
 Johnson — 19 10. 
 
 When the first settlers appeared there were 
 many Indians in the neighborhood, the Wyan- 
 dots and Delawares being the principal tribes 
 
182 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 with Senecas and others. They gathered cran- 
 berries during the season, and shot the game 
 that abounded in the forests. The pioneers of 
 Auburn had located there to make homes for 
 themselves and nearly all of them devoted their 
 time to the clearing away of the forests and 
 the cultivation of the soil. Some few hunted 
 the wild game, but the majority preferred de- 
 voting their time to agriculture, purchasing 
 game of the friendly Indians, or of some neigh- 
 bor skillful with the rifle. The principal pay 
 of the Indians was in whiskey, a gallon being 
 sufficient for the result of one day's hunting, 
 but when it came to the white hunter it was a 
 matter of cash, or if in whiskey, several gal- 
 lons were the price of a day's shooting. 
 
 One of the first things needed was roads. 
 The southern half of the township by 1820, 
 was fairly settled with perhaps a mile separat- 
 ing neighbors. These were reached by blazed 
 paths through the forest. But \\hen crops 
 were gathered a market was necessary, so the 
 settlers cut through the woods a road extend- 
 ing from the southern part of the township up 
 toward Paris (Plymouth) and into Huron 
 county, through New Haven to Milan, then the 
 principal town in what is now Huron county. 
 This road was very crudely constructed, merely 
 the trees and bushes cut away, and where the 
 ground was low and swampy, trees were 
 felled and a corduroy road made. Another 
 road ran from Paris, through the township 
 southwest to Bucyrus, while a third crossed 
 the northeastern part of the county, running 
 from Tiffin through where New Washington 
 now is and on east. In Auburn township 
 nearly the entire distance was corduroy, the 
 only way to make the swamps passable; and 
 each spring new logs had to be piled on the 
 old, where the old ones had sunk into the soft 
 mire. Deer, bear, wolves and catamounts 
 were abundant; the deer were harmless but 
 the three latter were a nuisance and a danger 
 to the settlers. The killing of the deer by the 
 Indians was at such wholesale rates that the 
 settlers were obliged to put a stop to the kill- 
 ing of the does, the true white hunter only 
 killing does out of the breeding season and for 
 meat. The Indians killed indiscriminately 
 for the skins of the animal, leaving the car- 
 casses in the Avood as useless. Amos Morse 
 tells the storv that his father, Rodolphus 
 
 Morse, had an agreement with David Byers, 
 an expert woodsman, by which his father 
 agreed to bring in all the deer that Byers 
 could kill in one day. Byers made the ar- 
 rangement one evening when there was a 
 heavy snow fall, assuring the next day as an 
 excellent one for deer. The hunter had an 
 old flint lock rifle, which had done him serv- 
 ice for years, and during the day killed seven 
 deer. Six of these Morse brought in, but the 
 seventh had only been wounded and Byers had 
 followed it for eight miles before he killed it, 
 and it was late in the day, and impossible for 
 Morse to bring in the animal as per the agree- 
 ment. Many of the hunters captured the 
 fawns, which patiently stood at their dead 
 mother's side, and were easily led home where 
 they became the pets of the children, following 
 them around, adorned with some bright rib- 
 bon, and when possible, with a bell so they 
 could be found when they strayed away into 
 the forests. 
 
 The wilder animals were a nuisance. On 
 one occasion Enoch Baker had gone through 
 the woods on Saturday evening to see his girl, 
 following the trail his frequent trips had done 
 much toward establishing between the two 
 cabins. On his way home he was scented by 
 the wolves, and started on a swift run for his 
 father's cabin. He could hear the howling of 
 the wolves as they approached nearer and 
 nearer, finally snapping and snarling on both 
 sides of him. Fortunately, he was near his 
 home. He was armed only with a stout club, 
 and threatening demonstrations with this kept 
 the snarling animals at bay until he could 
 reach the clearing, and when he got into the 
 open the wolves slunk back into the forest. 
 It was not a pleasant experience, but he did 
 not regard it as serious enough to overcome 
 the pleasures of his Saturday evening's visits, 
 for they were continued until the young lady 
 solved the problem and relieved him of all 
 further dangerous trips by making her home 
 with him, the young couple moving into a 
 cabin on his father's farm. 
 
 One Sunday morning Daniel Cole, having 
 arisen early to look after his farm duties, 
 heard a hallooing in the woods, went into the 
 house, and got his rifle, and started out to 
 find the cause. Up in the crotch of a small 
 tree sat one of his young neighbors, while at 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 183 
 
 the base, a bear was patiently standing guard. 
 Cole killed the bear, and the young man came 
 down. He, too, was on his way home from a 
 visit to his best girl, when he was followed by 
 a bear and only found safety in a sapling too 
 small for the bear to climb but large enough 
 to support him. It had not been a long wait, 
 as in those days when a young man started for 
 a courting visit of several miles after doing 
 his evening chores, he arrived there in time to 
 find the old folks very sensibly in bed, and 
 etiquette only demanded that he leave before 
 daylight. 
 
 William Cole, a brother of Daniel, when 
 about 1 6, started off with the dogs to bring 
 in the cows which were wandering in the for- 
 est. Suddenly the dogs rushed forward and 
 he heard a tremendous barking. He hurried 
 forward and found them standing guard over 
 a large hollow log, and from their actions was 
 satisfied it was an animal of which they were 
 afraid. He stole cautiously forward and 
 found a small bear had sought safety in the 
 hollow log. The boy was unarmed, but he 
 secured a heavy club, and boldly caught the 
 bear by the hind legs, to pull him out of the 
 log, the dogs previously attacking the animal, 
 their sharp teeth making the bear get out into 
 the open as quickly as possible. Young Cole 
 seized the club, and dealt the bear a savage 
 blow on the head. The bear responded by a 
 rush at Cole, who defended himself with his 
 club, while the dogs made vicious attacks on 
 the bear, and when the animal had to turn to 
 defend himself from the dogs. Cole used his 
 club to such advantage, that between him and 
 the dogs the bear was killed. Both Cole and 
 the dogs were badly scratched and bruised, 
 and he returned home where he told his story 
 to the great astonishment of his father, who 
 refused to credit it, until he had gone out and 
 brought in the bear. 
 
 William's brother Daniel went on a visit to 
 a relative near West Liberty, and one morn- 
 ing started home at daylight his only com- 
 panion being a large bull dog belonging to 
 Enoch Baker. He had not gone far into the 
 woods before he found a pack of wolves were 
 on his trail. He hurried forward, but the 
 wolves were soon on both sides of him more 
 than a dozen of them, and one large one, the 
 leader of the pack, was about to spring on 
 
 him, when the dog seized the animal by the 
 throat giving the boy time to climb into a 
 small iron-wood tree. The dog had the wolf 
 down, but the brute managed to shake himself 
 free, and the whole pack then slunk away into 
 the woods. 
 
 One day Seth Hawks heard the squealing of 
 one of his hogs, and started immediately to see 
 what the trouble was, neglecting to take his 
 gun with him. A quarter of a mile from his 
 cabin he came upon a large log and behind it 
 was his hog, with two large bears attacking it. 
 The bears saw Hawks and made a rush for 
 him. Hawks made a run for it, and with a 
 desperate spring caught the branches of a 
 small tree, and swung himself over the limb, 
 as the bears oassed beneath him. The in- 
 furiated animals endeavored to climb the tree, 
 but it was too small. They then tried to leap 
 high enough to get their claws on the scared 
 man and sometimes the bear managed to strike 
 the frail limb almost shaking him off. He 
 called loudly for assistance and fortunately 
 his wife heard him, and hurried for help to 
 their nearest neighbor, who was Rodolphus 
 Morse, and in half an hour he arrived, and 
 on seeing him approach the bears quickly left 
 and were lost in the woods. 
 
 The forests were swarming with squirrel; 
 they were so plentiful that there was no ex- 
 citement of the hunt in killing them, besides 
 deer and turkeys were more plentiful for 
 game, but- the squirrel were a nuisance. They 
 infested the fields of the farmer, ate his 
 planted grain and injured his crops, and fre- 
 quently squirrel hunts were arranged to get 
 rid of the troublesome little fellows. At one 
 famous squirrel hunt, sides were chosen 
 with Thomas Cooker captain of one team and 
 Enoch Baker of the other. When the two 
 parties met at night each had slain their hun- 
 dreds and while they were in doubt as to which 
 side belonged the victory, Baker added to his 
 pile a huge catamount he had killed, and to 
 him the victory was given. 
 
 David Cummins built a saw mill on the 
 Honey Creek in section 17. It was a small 
 frame structure, and run by water power, a 
 dam being built. This was about 1827, but 
 there was little demand for lumber, most of 
 the_ pioneers being contented with their log 
 cabins. Prior to its erection the few frame 
 
184 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 houses erected were built of lumber obtained 
 a dozen miles away on the Mohican or on the 
 Huron rivers. In 1855 the saw mill was aban- 
 doned, after passing through several hands. 
 About 1830 Rev. Thomas Millard came to the 
 township and settled in the northwest quarter 
 of section 17, and on the banks of the Honey 
 creek he erected a saw mill. One section was 
 supplied with mill stones made of nigger 
 heads, and wheat and corn were ground, which 
 was a great convenience to the people, as pre- 
 viously they were obliged to go to New Haven 
 to have grain ground. 
 
 The mill was a large frame one, a dam hav- 
 ing been built to furnish the power. After 
 running the mill for a dozen years, Mr. Mil- 
 lard leased it to Enoch Baker, for which he 
 was to receive half the profits, but the arrange- 
 ment proved unprofitable to Baker, ;and he 
 quit the business and a few years later Mil- 
 lard sold out to Rufus Page. Although the 
 mills turned out a good brand of flour, there 
 was not enough business to make it profitable, 
 and the grinding of grain was abandoned. In 
 1836 Coykendall & Ladow built a saw mill on 
 Coykendall creek in section 10. At first the 
 mill was operated by water power, but too 
 much of the year there was not sufficient 
 water, so steam was introduced. The mill 
 burned down, but the business was good and 
 it was immediately rebuilt. There now being 
 a demand for lumber to replace the log houses 
 about 1840 William Ewing built a mill on the 
 Coykendall creek, further up the stream, and 
 this was continued for twenty years before it 
 was abandoned. Another grist mill was built 
 by Jonathan Davis and William Crouse at 
 Mechanicsburg, half a mile north of Tiro, but 
 it was only run four years, when it was moved 
 away. The usual price at the mill for sawing 
 was 40c. per hundred feet, or one half the 
 logs. About 1883 the citizens of Tiro and the 
 surrounding farmers raised $4,000 and gave 
 it to Thornberg & Haskell as an inducement 
 fort them to start a mill in the village. A very 
 large frame building was erected, it was fur- 
 nished with all the modern machinery, and 
 was a success from the start. It was erected 
 just south of the railroad track, with every 
 convenience for shipment, and here grain is 
 either ground, or bought and shipped, and the 
 having of a fine mill in easy access has been a 
 
 profitable business both to the firm and to the 
 farmers. 
 
 The township being largely settled by peo- 
 ple from New England they were a Sunday 
 observing class and as early as 18 18 services 
 were held in the larger cabins, when some 
 traveling minister came among^ the pioneers. 
 The pioneers were all strict observers of the 
 Sabbath, and generally knew when the day 
 came around, although watches and clocks 
 were hardly known in the township and alma- 
 nacs were scarce. One Sunday morning Ro- 
 dolphus Morse had had his usual family wor- 
 ship, and was doing the necessary feeding, 
 when he heard the voice of Seth Hawks, his 
 nearest neighbor, shouting to his oxen. The 
 noise continued and Mr. Morse thought it best 
 to go across and see what was the cause of this 
 unseemly disturbance on the Sabbath day, Mr. 
 Hawks being one of the strictest Presbyterians 
 in the neighborhood. Reaching the barn of 
 Hawks he found his neighbor very busily en- 
 gaged in driving a yoke of oxen around the 
 puncheon floor on which was a heavy spread 
 of grain, and in this way was threshing his 
 wheat. Mr. Morse asked him what he meant 
 by working on the Sabbath day, and Hawks 
 discovered he had mistaken the day, thinking 
 it was Saturday. He promptly unhitched his 
 oxen, retired to the house, and finished the 
 day in fasting and prayer. 
 
 By 1 82 1 it was found necessary to erect 
 churches and both the Methodists and Baptists 
 that year built small log churches, organized 
 their societies, and preaching was more regu- 
 lar. The Presbyterians, Winebrennarians 
 (Church of God) and English Lutherans or- 
 ganized societies and held services at irregular 
 intervals. In 1830, Avhen Rev. Thomas Mil- 
 lard settled on section 19 he donated two acres 
 of land for church purposes. He was an earn- 
 est and indefatigable worker in the vineyard 
 of the Lord. Erecting his saw mill, one of the 
 first uses was the sawing of the lumber for the 
 new church, and much of the work of the . 
 building was done by him, and when completed 
 he was chosen as the first minister of "Good 
 Will church." The church was built in 1835, 
 and the congregation thrived and multiplied, 
 and in 1868 this building became too small, 
 and a new and larger structure was erected on 
 the same site in 1868. In the southeastern 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 187 
 
 part of the township is the Pleasant Grove 
 M. E. church, organized in 1850. It is on the 
 old Portland road, one mile north of the town- 
 ship line. About 1835 an M. E. church was 
 built in the northern part of this township, a 
 mile west of Waynesburg on the road leading 
 to Plymouth. It was sold to the Winebren- 
 narians and by them was later moved to the 
 northeastern part of the township, but the at- 
 tendance gradually became less and less, and 
 although still standing it is only used for 
 funerals and occasional services. 
 
 The Baptists held services as early as the 
 Methodists but they progressed more slowly, 
 until about 1830 it had an unexpected increase 
 of membership, and in 1840, a frame church 
 was erected on section 16, on the farm of 
 Deacon Howe who was one of the prominent 
 Baptists and an earnest worker, and did much 
 to build up the church. This building was 
 sufificient for the congregation until in 1879 
 a new and larger one was erected at a cost of 
 $2,500. 
 
 The first Presbyterian services were held 
 as early as 1825. They were conducted by 
 Rev. Mr. Wolf, who for years previous had 
 been a missionary among the Indians and 
 traveled all over Northern Ohio, establishing 
 churches, and it was through his work and 
 efforts a Presbyterian congregation was 
 formed, and later a church erected. 
 
 The United Brethren held services long be- 
 fore they were strong enough to erect a 
 church. ' They finally built one near Tiro, and 
 their present large building was erected in 
 1878. 
 
 St. Mary's Catholic Church, at North Au- 
 burn, had its origin in the spring of 1879, 
 when the Catholics living in the neighborhood 
 of Waynesburg met together to devise some 
 plan whereby Sunday services could be held 
 and a Sunday school started nearer than New 
 Washington. It was decided to erect a frame 
 structure on a corner of the old Faeth farm, 
 which was accordingly done, Father Am- 
 adeus Dambach being the first pastor. He 
 was called away in the summer of 1881 and 
 the church then became a mission of the New 
 Washington church. Rev. Laurence Heiland 
 ministering to the two congregations from 
 1 88 1 to 1888. The Rev. George Vogt was 
 then assigned as pastor and during his form 
 
 of service the church was frescoed and stained 
 glass windows were substituted for the old 
 plain glass panes. Father Vogt donating one 
 window and Father Horstman another. In 
 1899 Rev. John Kunnert took charge of the 
 church at New Washington and the mission 
 of St. Mary's. During his term as pastor a 
 basement was dug and the building equipped 
 with a furnace; and the somewhat high 
 church tower was lowered for considerations 
 of safety. In July, 1906 Rev. G. M. Schmidz 
 was appointed as resident priest of St. Marys, 
 and under him various church organizations 
 were established. These are the Christian 
 Mother Society, which has a membership of 
 thirty-seven; the St. Agnes Sodality and St. 
 Aloysius Sodality, in which the young women 
 and young men of the parish are respectively 
 enrolled. The parish now numbers about 60 
 families. In connection with the parish there 
 is a successful parochial school. Father 
 Schmidz was ordained at Baltimore, Md. in 
 1904 by Cardinal Gibbons. Besides acting as 
 pastor of St. Mary's he supplies St. An- 
 thony's church, which he organized three 
 years ago. 
 
 The first school house was built on the farm 
 of Robert Cook in 182 1. It was a small log 
 structure and built by the settlers. A school- 
 house being necessary, a day was fixed and the 
 settlers in that section all turned out, selected 
 the site, cut down the trees, did not stop to 
 hew the logs, but put them in round, and by 
 nightfall the building was up. A roof of 
 clapboards was added and a floor; the crevices 
 between the logs were filled with mud. It was 
 a small cabin, and the fire place occupied al- 
 most one end of the room, while at the other 
 was the teacher's desk, this desk and the 
 benches being made by the pioneers. The pu- 
 pils had no desks. John Talford was the first 
 teacher, during the winter of 182 1-2, and he 
 had about fifteen scholars. About 1823 a 
 young lady named Mary Wilcox was the first 
 female teacher in the township, having a 
 school in an old abandoned cabin, in the Ham- 
 mond neighborhood. It had been fitted up 
 with benches, and the following year a school 
 house was erected on the Hammond farm, the 
 settlers in that section turning out to do the 
 work. It was of logs but larger than the first 
 sclinol linuse. Amos Morse attended this 
 
1S8 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 school, when a boy of five, passing through 
 the forest daily about two miles from his 
 father's farm to the school building. He 
 states the benches were very uneven, having 
 been split out of wood having a crooked grain. 
 Unfortunately, he was so small his feet could 
 not touch the floor, and here he was compelled 
 to sit hour after hour to learn his letters. The 
 early part of the day it was fairly easy to 
 occupy the seat without slipping off, but the 
 discomfort became torture as the day wore 
 on. Among the first teachers in this school 
 house were Erastus Sawyer and Daniel W. 
 Ross. In 1824 Rodolphus Morse was the 
 teacher and from some cause the building 
 caught fire and was burned down, but the bal- 
 ance of the term was completed in an aban- 
 doned cabin near the school house, which was 
 hurriedly fitted up with home-made benches. 
 Everything was destroyed by the fire, most of 
 the books of the pupils, which were generally 
 left in the school room. 
 
 In 1824 another school building was erected 
 on what is now the Willford farm, a mile east 
 of Waynesburg, with a young man named 
 John Webber as the teacher. Webber was a 
 very lively young man, and although he was 
 conducting the school successfully the staid 
 old directors had their doubts, and one day 
 William Laughertv, one of the directors, was 
 irritated at his latest boyish prank, and went 
 to the school house and ordered him to leave. 
 Webber saw it was useless to argue with the 
 irate director, so he gathered up his books, and 
 left the school room, demonstrating that he 
 was decidedly full of fun and entitled to his 
 reputation as being a lively boy, by pausing 
 at the door long enough to paralyze the hor- 
 rified director with a parting blast : 
 "Farewell schoolroom, farewell school, 
 Farewell Laugherty, you d d old fool." 
 
 The school being without a teacher, Mr. 
 Laugherty finished the term himself. 
 
 About 1825 a school house was built on the 
 farm of Adam Aumend and another on that 
 of Jesse Ladow, and some years later one in 
 the northwestern part of the township, so that 
 prior to 1830 the entire township was con- 
 veniently supplied with school houses. 
 
 The first village laid out in the township was 
 Waynesburg. It is one of the eldest of the 
 now abandoned towns in the county. It was 
 
 laid out by John Stewart, the surveyor of 
 Richland county, in the spring of 1833, as the 
 plat was filed in the office of the county re- 
 corder at Mansfield, on May 16, 1833. The 
 new town was on one of the important roads, 
 the nearest town to the east being Plymouth 
 and on the west Attica. It was called 
 Waynesburg after Gen. Anthony Wayne, and 
 was laid out on land belonging to Aaron Cory 
 and Richard Miller. It had twenty-six lots, 
 all facing Main street, that street being the 
 public road from Plymouth to Sycamore and 
 McCutchenville. The north and south street 
 was called Market, and on both sides of each 
 street was an alley. This constituted the town. 
 There were two or three cabins in the neigh- 
 borhood when the town was started, and sev- 
 eral farmers bought lots, expecting to realize 
 a handsome profit when the village prospered, 
 but their expectations were doomed to disap- 
 pointment, as later in the same year New 
 Washington, three miles west was laid out, 
 and eventually became the town in that sec- 
 tion. The lots at Waynesburg were sold at 
 auction, bringing $8 to $10 each. Enoch 
 Baker bought one of the corner lots for $10, 
 and shrewdly hesitated about paying the cash 
 until the town showed symptoms of making 
 the investment profitable. Later the town 
 looked as if it would be a success, and he of- 
 fered his $10, but the price was refused, the 
 lot being then held at $20, and Baker declined 
 to stand the raise. Very few shops were 
 started in the new village. John M. Robison 
 started a blacksmith shop a few rods west of 
 the town in 1835, and followed the business 
 until his death, after which it was run by his 
 son Robert for many years. Reuben Frisbie 
 opened a general store in 1835. He was a 
 natviral business man. He had only $60 cash, 
 but he borrowed $500 of his brother, and with 
 this capital he started his store. He was a 
 careful buyer and shrewd trader, and in eight 
 years had paid off his original debt and had a 
 capital of $5,000. About 1840 Frisbie had 
 opposition when Anderson & Moore opened a 
 store with $2,500 stock, but Frisbie still did 
 the bulk of the business and they sold out to 
 Rufus Page. Later Frisbie discontinued his 
 store, and Page did a good business for eight 
 or ten years when he sold to Baker & Sims, the 
 firm eventually becoming Sims & Son, and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 189 
 
 finally, business constantly decreasing, the 
 store was closed. Bear & Grafmiller also had 
 a store, of which Bear became sole proprietor 
 and later sold to Enoch Baker. In 1858 Jo- 
 seph Kerr started a small grocery. Martin 
 Clark started a tavern. By 1848, the village 
 had become an important enough center to 
 have a postoffice, and on July 13th of that year 
 James K. Davis, who kept the principal store 
 in the village, was appointed as postmaster. 
 He held the office for fifteen years, and May 
 20, 1863, was succeeded by William D. Sims, 
 who in turn was followed by Martin Clark, 
 May 26, 1865. On January 24, 1876, he was 
 succeeded by Nancy Clark, who held the office 
 a little over a year, when it was discontinued 
 in July 8, 1877. For years the town had been 
 on the decline, what little business there was 
 gradually being abandoned. The Mansfield 
 and Coldwater road had passed to the south of 
 it, and the Pittsburg, Akron & Western, from 
 Carey had come straight east for over thirty 
 miles on a direct line for Waynesburg, and 
 when it reached New Washington, only three 
 miles away, it bore to the north and passed by 
 the little village and established a station a 
 mile away called North Auburn, and here on 
 January 17, i8gi, George S. McKee was 
 made postmaster, succeeded May 16, 1896, by 
 Adam P. Miller and he October 27, 1898, 
 by A. M. Cramer. All that today remains of 
 Waynesburg, are a few houses falling into de- 
 cay, and nearly all the original twenty-six 
 town lots are again converted into farming 
 land. And North Auburn, the post office, is 
 only a railroad station. 
 
 Half a mile north of the present village of 
 Tiro, between 1845 and 1850 several me- 
 chanics settled at the point where the road 
 running from West Liberty and DeKalb to 
 Waynesburg crosses the angling road from 
 Bucyrus to Plymouth. Samuel Hilborn and 
 Israel H. Irwin had blacksmith shops there 
 and S. B. Raudabaugh was a cabinetmaker 
 and carpenter. A cooper shop was also lo- 
 cated there, and later Jonathan Davis and 
 William Grouse ran a grist mill, and for a 
 time these enterprises were all successful, and 
 a dozen families were located at the crossing, 
 and it had the appearance of a little village, al- 
 though it was never laid out in town lots. It 
 was known to the people as Mechanicsburg. 
 
 As the years passed the little shops were dis- 
 continued, and when the town of Tiro was 
 laid out with a railroad the last little shop was 
 discontinued, and what was Mechanicsburg 
 is now a collection of houses on the outskirts 
 of that thriving little village. 
 
 When Rodolphus Morse settled two miles 
 north of the present village of Tiro, he be- 
 came an active citizen and Dec. 12, 1825, was 
 appointed the first postmaster, the office being 
 in his cabin. He was succeeded on Jan. 3, 
 1835, by David C. Morrow, who held the of- 
 fice for twenty-six years, and on July 5, 1861, 
 Ezekiel Dougherty became postmaster, fol- 
 lowed Feb. 14, 1870, by M. D. Morse, and on 
 March 17, 1870, by Amos Morse, who held 
 the office until it was moved to Tiro in 1874. 
 In the early days the post office was called both 
 Tiro and Auburn. 
 
 When the Mansfield, Coldwater and Lake 
 Michigan road was built it passed through the 
 southwestern corner of Auburn township, en- 
 tering the township at what is now the village 
 of Tiro. Half a mile south of this point was 
 the small but very old village of De Kalb in 
 Vernon township. Where Tiro now stands 
 the railroad established a station and called it 
 De Kalb. J. D. Brown laid out forty lots on 
 the southeast quarter of section 22, and they 
 were promptly disposed of and buildings 
 erected. In November, 1878, John Hilborn 
 made an addition to the land of eighty lots. 
 The Tiro postoffice was transferred to the new 
 town and Ira Van Tilburg was appointed 
 postmaster on Jan. 22, 1874; he was suc- 
 ceeded by M. L. Callin, Dec. 15, 1884, and he 
 by Willis A. Brown Aug. 6, 1885, and he by 
 John O. Davis Aug. 16, 1889; Willis Brown 
 again Aug. 18, 1893, and J. M. Van Tilburg 
 July 23, 1897, who has held the office ever 
 since and is a nephew of the first postmaster. 
 In 1882 the De Kalb post office, one mile 
 south, was discontinued, being consolidated 
 with Tiro. 
 
 J. and B. S. Van Tilburg started the first 
 store in the new village in 1872, the following 
 year erecting a substantial brick for their use. 
 In 1876 a drug store was started by William 
 Flavin. In 1878 J. D. Brown opened a dry 
 goods and general store; and in 1880 Davis 
 & Mitchell started a store with general mer- 
 chandise. Charles McConnell started a notion 
 
190 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 store and Misses Crall & Owens a millinery 
 and dress making establishment. In 1883, the 
 present large flouring mill was opened for 
 business. In 1893 the little village was thriv- 
 ing and the Tiro American was started, a 
 small weekly, which had a struggling existence 
 for three years, and then died a natural death, 
 and some years later a neighboring printer 
 bought the plant and moved it away. On 
 Aug. 3, 191 1, the field was again occupied by 
 W. W. Davis with the Tiro Weekly World. 
 
 Tiro was incorporated as a village in 1890, 
 and the first election was held on Dec. 12th of 
 that year when Charles McConnell was elected 
 mayor, C. M. Smith, clerk, and J. M. Van Til- 
 burg, treasurer. The first councilmen were 
 J. H. Stevens, John O. Davis, D. C. Robinson, 
 James Hanna, J. W. Burget and A. J. Mauk. 
 
 The first meeting of the Council was held 
 on Dec. 29th, and the first resolution passed 
 was to borrow $300 "to defray incidental ex- 
 penses that have accrued and may accrue, un- 
 til such time as funds can be raised by munici- 
 pal taxes." J. H. Stevens, John O. Davis and 
 D. C. Robinson were appointed a committee 
 to borrow the money. 
 
 The next meeting on Jan. 5th showed the 
 credit of Tiro was good, and that the ladies 
 were interested in the little village, as the com- 
 mittee reported they had borrowed the money 
 of Miss Viola Chapman, for fourteen months 
 at six per cent. The note was signed not only 
 by the committee but by every councilman. 
 The first ordinance was introduced by John O. 
 Davis. "Ordinance No. i. An ordinance to 
 prohibit ale, beer and porter houses, and other 
 places where intoxicating liquors are sold at 
 retail." Tiro is the only village in the county 
 where saloons never existed. The puritanic 
 views of the early settlers are largely inherited 
 by their descendants, and it is a very law abid- 
 ing communitv. Some years ago, some of the 
 wags of the villag-e during the night put up 
 posters, announcing a game of foot ball was 
 to be played in Tiro, the following Sunday be- 
 tween teams of two neighboring towns. Ev- 
 ery citizen left his home and was on the 
 streets, crowds gathered everywhere, men and 
 women in indignant protest against such an 
 unheard of sacrilege of the sanctity of the 
 Sabbath. "The mayor looked blue and so did 
 
 the corporation, too." Backed by a practically 
 unanimous public opinion the corporation of- 
 ficers stood firm; if necessary, the National 
 Guard at Bucyrus and Gallon would be ap- 
 pealed to ; the sheriff of the county must pre- 
 serve the law, and many of the citizens passed 
 a sleepless night prior to the sacred day, when 
 a foot ball game was to be played. The 
 marshal was early abroad and on the watch; 
 the citizens waited with anxious eye the com- 
 ing of the degenerate teams, but the day passed 
 as quietly as usual and it leaked out the bills 
 were a pure "fake" put up as a joke. How- 
 ever, it demonstrated that the fourth com- 
 mandment must be kept sacred in Tiro, and it 
 is. They have three churches — the Presby- 
 terian, Baptist and United Brethren, and all 
 have good congregations and are in a flourish- 
 ing condition. 
 
 Charles McConnell was elected as mayor 
 until the year 1907 when he was defeated by 
 James Cahill, but in 1909, he was again 
 elected, and died a few months afterward, be- 
 ing succeeded by the President of the Council, 
 G. O. Blair, who was elected to the office in 
 November, 191 1. 
 
 C. M. Smith was succeeded as clerk by J. E. 
 Clark, F. W. Carmichael, J. E. Brown, J. E. 
 Jones, E. A. Burroughs, Frank F. Rouda- 
 baugh, W. H. Guiss, Charles McConnell, 1907 
 to 1909, and C. D. Schilling, the present in- 
 cumbent was elected in 1909 and 191 1. 
 
 In August, 1879, Tiro Lodge No. 688 In- 
 dependent Order of Odd Fellows was insti- 
 tuted with seven charter members, Daniel 
 Howe, Cornelius Fox, E. E. Ashley, S. W. 
 Jeffrey, J. R. Hall, Lewis Williams and Mat- 
 thew Irwin. The first officers were S. W. Jef- 
 frey, N. G. ; J. R. Hall, V. G. ; Cornelius Fox, 
 Sec'y ; E. E. Ashley, Treas. The present mem- 
 bership of the lodge is about fifty. 
 
 On May 24, 1893, Tiro Lodge No. 592 was 
 instituted by Demas Lodge of Bucyrus, with 
 twenty-eight charter members : W. A. Brown, 
 W. H. Guiss, W. F. McConnell, B C. Ramsey, 
 J. C. Davis, I. M. Vantilburg, I. E. Jones, A. 
 E. Fox, J. M. Dickson, A. C. Robinson, A. F. 
 Cline, J. M. Michener, F. F. Shilling, H. L. 
 Raudabaugh, Charles McConnell, E. T. Hil- 
 born, T. S. Melchior, S. A. Stock, A. E. Gaff, 
 Paul Galehr, I. E. Brown, James Hart, \Y. M. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 191 
 
 Ovens, E. B. Rex, F. W. May, E. A. Yarnell, 
 F. W. Carmichel, R. E. Sawyer. The lodge 
 now has a membership of 102. 
 
 In April, 1896, Willis A. Brown organ- 
 ized the Farmers and Citizens Bank. Among 
 those interested in the bank with Mr. Brown 
 were J. D. Brown, A. C. Robinson and John 
 E. Brown; A. C. Robinson was the president, 
 and W. A. Brown, the cashier. The capital 
 stock was $10,000. While the bank was a 
 great convenience to the people of that section 
 the growing business of the village made it a 
 profitable investment, and the capital stock 
 was increased to $25,000. Of the original 
 founders of the bank, W. A. Brown is the only 
 one now connected with the institution, and 
 he has remained its cashier since its organiza- 
 tion. Mr. Robinson was succeeded as presi- 
 dent by J. M. Dickson, and on his death, Sher- 
 man Daugherty became president, a position 
 he still holds. 
 
 In 1900 Tiro had a population of 293, 
 which was increased to 321 in 1910. It has 
 several good stores, a number of shops, a hotel, 
 and the principal street has a fine stone pave- 
 ment extending almost its entire length, on 
 both sides. Two physicians are located in 
 Tiro, Dr. G. O. Blair and R. M. Guiss and the 
 village is remarkably healthy, the principal 
 cause of death being old age. It is well lighted 
 and has an abundance of good water. Its 
 town hall is conveniently located, and its peo- 
 ple are contented, prosperous and happy. 
 Nearly all own their own homes and many 
 of them are men, who have worked hard in 
 their younger days, and now in the pretty vil- 
 lage they are passing their declining years en- 
 joying that freedom from care and worry they 
 have so well earned. 
 
 John Hilborn lived with his father on the 
 road that passed north of Tiro, the road from 
 Bucyrus to Plymouth, part of the way near 
 his father's it crossed a swamp half a mile in 
 width ; this had a corduroy road bed, and even 
 with these it was sometimes almost impass- 
 able, and many a time he took his father's 
 team to assist in extricating some wagon 
 loaded with wheat on its way to the market at 
 Milan. 
 
 About a mile northeast of Waynesburg 
 was the Baker farm, and just east of Waynes- 
 burg Honey creek makes a sudden turn to the 
 
 east; in the earlier day it continued in a north- 
 easterly direction and meandered through the 
 Baker farm, and for half the year his land was 
 under water, and during the wet spring his 
 house, which was on a mound, was completely 
 surrounded by water. At his own expense 
 Mr. Baker cut a channel for the creek straight 
 north so that it passed half a mile east of his 
 house, and Honey creek today from the 
 Waynesburg road north is almost as straight 
 as a section line. The cost was over $1,000, 
 exclusive of the time and labor of Mr. Baker, 
 but the wisdom of the investment was demon- 
 strated by the fact that the cost was paid for 
 in a very few years by the increased crops. 
 
 In the earlier days, the entire northern part 
 of the township was a vast marsh filled with 
 cranberries, and the earlier settlers found it 
 a profitable business to gather these cran- 
 berries for the market. The reclaiming of the 
 marsh land by ditching has made much of it 
 farming land, but still cranberries can be 
 found and the past year Lafayette Akers 
 gathered about three bushel in one day. In 
 the extreme northern section is the lower part 
 of the great Pittsburg farm, where vegetable 
 gardening is conducted in a wholesale way. 
 The Pittsburg company thoroughly drained 
 the entire section. A dam was erected on the 
 Coykendall creek, and a mud scow containing 
 the machinery was used, and the accumula- 
 tions of years taken from the bottom of the 
 creek, sometimes at a depth of six to eight 
 feet coming across fallen trees with trunks 
 over a foot in diameter. This entire swamp 
 land in the centiiries had been filled up a little 
 each season by the decaying grass and trees 
 which made it when drained such a wealth- 
 producing soil. In the preparation of roads, 
 in . later years, through the forests and 
 swamps, traps were frequently unearthed sev- 
 eral feet underground which had been origin- 
 ally placed by Pettigon, Morehead or one of 
 the early settlers. 
 
 The Baker house in the northwestern part 
 of the township was on a small mound, and 
 this was once a large Indian burying-ground. 
 Indian remains were first discovered by Mr. 
 Baker in 1833 when he dug a well on the 
 mound, and at a depth of about eighteen inches 
 came upon four skeletons lying side by side, 
 two with their heads to the east and two to 
 
192 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the west. No hunting implements or articles 
 of clothing were found, and on being exposed 
 to the air the more fragile portions crumbled 
 into dust. One of the Indians was very large, 
 as his jaw bone was large enough to pass over 
 the jaw of an ordinary man, and the upper 
 bone of the arm was four inches longer than 
 that of the average man, and had a corre- 
 sponding thickness. Later in digging around 
 the yard fifteen other skeletons have at differ- 
 ent times been found, and in no case was any 
 war instrument found with them as is custom- 
 ary in the burial of an Indian warrior. These 
 were all buried near the surface. In 1866 when 
 digging a cellar nine more were unearthed, 
 these, too, having some with their heads to the 
 east and others to the west. Since the first 
 discovery in 1833, as many as thirty skeletons 
 have been unearthed on the mound on which 
 the residence stands and those last discovered 
 show no greater signs of decomposition than 
 the earlier ones, indicating they had lain there 
 for several centuries. 
 
 In April, 1887, J. D. Michener, while dig- 
 ging a ditch for Herbert Duboise on the old 
 Green farm in the southeastern part of the 
 township found a number of bones of some 
 pre-historic animal, one part of a tooth 6^ 
 by 4 inches in length and 20 inches in circum- 
 ference. It weighed 2 pounds 10 ounces. 
 Several smaller teeth were found weighing 
 about a pound. All other bones except these 
 teeth had long since mouldered to decay. 
 
 About two miles northeast of Tiro is the 
 Hanna grave yard, and as far as pioneer lore 
 is concerned this little country grave yard goes 
 back to the earliest days, and contains more 
 pioneers than any other burial site in the 
 county. The oldest stone here is that of John 
 Snyder, who died Dec. i, 1821. He was born 
 in 1764. Daniel Daugherty is buried here; 
 born April 23. 1776. the year and the month 
 "the shot was fired heard round the world." 
 He died N'ov. 26. 1876, over a hundred years 
 old. Here lies Seth Hawks, the pious Pres- 
 b)^erian, who forgot the Sabbath day. He 
 was born July 2, 1793, foughtin the War of 
 181 2, and died July 20, 1824. Another vet- 
 eran of the War of 1812 was Rudolphus 
 Morse, born April 26, 1791, and died Oct. 11, 
 1872. Here lies also Andrew Varnica, the 
 hermit, born in Prussia, Jan. 24, 1768, lead- 
 
 ing his lonely life until March 23, 1847, when 
 he passed into the presence of his maker carry- 
 ing his secret with him. Here are other 
 graves of those in this one burial spot who 
 belong to the days of over a century ago : 
 
 Jonathan Ashley, born Aug. 9, 1775; died 
 Nov. 3, 1852. 
 
 Jonas Ashley, born Nov. 26, 1797; died 
 Sept. 26, 1862. " 
 
 P. J. Archer, born Feb. 2, 1790; died April 
 24, -1845. 
 
 Adam Aumend, born Nov. 12, 1799; died 
 June 30, 1882. 
 
 John Blair, born 1777; died Sept. 19, 1847. 
 
 George Bloom, born March 30, 1791; died 
 July 9, 1865. 
 
 John Burchard, born March 1790; died 
 June 5, i88r. ' ' 
 
 Joseph Champion, born Aug. 9, 1781; died 
 June 8, 1845. 
 
 David Cummings, born Feb. 27, 1772; died- 
 Dec. 27, 1855. 
 
 David Cummings, born May 4, 1781 ; died 
 Aug. 17, 1841. 
 
 Joshua Chilcott, born April 3, 1761 ; died, 
 July 3, 1837. 
 
 Benjamin Chilcott, born April 5, 1799; died 
 Aug. 30, 1824. 
 
 Tiwecke Dewitt, born 1790; died Sept. 22,. 
 1823. 
 
 John Frazee, born Jan. 27, 1770; died Dec. 
 I, 1859. 
 
 John Frazee, born July 25, 1799; died Dec. 
 4, 1862. 
 
 William Green, born Nov. 8, 1778; died 
 April 21, 1862. 
 
 Benjamin Griffith, born Aug. 16, 1782; died 
 Feb. 9, 1840. 
 
 George Hammond, born May 20, 1789; died 
 Dec. 30, 1868. 
 
 Aaron B. Howe, born Feb. 3, 1782; died 
 April 20, 18 q 3. 
 
 Samuel Harley, born Sept. 24, 1776; died" 
 Aug. 6, 1841. 
 
 Samuel Hanna, born Sept. 2, 1795; died 
 June 2, 1862. 
 
 Harvey Hoadley, bom Feb. 9, 1798; died 
 June 17, 1897. 
 
 William Jameson, born Aug. 21, 1779; died 
 Aug. 26. 1846. 
 
 Isaac Hilborn, bom July 20, 1799; died 
 April 30, 1864. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 193 
 
 Frederick Myers, born 1768; died June 20, 
 
 1843- 
 
 James McCrea, born Feb. 14, 1773; died 
 Dec. 31, 1850. 
 
 John L. Metcalf, born March 7, 1775; died 
 June 19, 1871. 
 
 Charles Morrow, born Jan. i, 1777; died 
 Dec. 4, 1845. 
 
 Thomas Pope, born June i, 1782 ; died Feb. 
 22, 1849. 
 
 Daniel Trago, born May 5, 1796; died Jan. 
 3, 1876. 
 
 Peter Vanorsdoll, born 1790; died Dec. 14, 
 
 1834. 
 
 John Wilson, born March 31, 1799; died 
 May 10, 1861. 
 
 Joseph William, born July 17, 1765; died 
 Dec. 27, 1836. 
 
 The Handley grave yard is one mile north- 
 
 AK„i r* Ti^r.^ u -Mr o o J- J T 1 west of Tiro; here the first mterment was 
 
 Abel C. Ross, born May 8, 1800; died July ,,r.„. tt ji 1. u ■ a 
 
 12 1870 William Handley who was born in 1791, and 
 
 Robert Ralston, born April 26, 1768; died f^^ ^"^^^f 'T ^T'^u P'°"''' '' j^"" 
 
 Oct. 26, 1 8^4.. 
 
 drew McCaskey, born March 17, 1791; died 
 
 James Ralston, born Jan. i, 1799; died ^^P*- i7» 1867. , ^ ^ ,,,-,. 
 
 Sent I 1888 Other cemeteries are at the Good Will 
 
 Robert Robinson, born 1783; died May 14, church; another on the farm now owned by 
 
 i8[^, ' August Herzer, one mile east of Waynesburg, 
 
 Erastus Sawyer, born Oct. 10, 1800; died and the Baptist cemetery near the Howe 
 
 July 12, 1870. farm. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 BUCYRUS TOWNSHIP 
 
 Creation of the Township — Location and Topography — Drainage — First Settlers — In- 
 dian Sugar Camp — Early Mills — The Notions — Zalmon Rowse — Colored Pioneers — Or- 
 ganization and Election in 1824 — Josiah Scott — A Township Treasurer's Responsibili- 
 ties — Some Early Officials — Churches and Schools — A Traveling Schoolhouse — Miss 
 Monnett's Donation — Early Taverns — Farming Operations — Indian Trails — Roads — An 
 Ancient Sword — Cemeteries. 
 
 First Norton and the Beadles came, 
 
 With friends (an enterprising band), 
 Young and McMichael, men of fame, 
 
 Soon joined the others, hand in hand; 
 By various plans t' improve the lands. 
 
 They early rise with every morn, 
 Near where the town Bucyrus stands, 
 
 All on Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 — CoL. Kilbourne's Song of Bucyrus. 
 
 Bucyrus township was named after the town 
 of Bucyrus, the town being named between 
 Oct. 1st and Dec. 15, 182 1. It was created by 
 the commissioners at Delaware in 1822, 
 and consisted of territory 12 miles wide ex- 
 tending from the southern boundary of the 
 present Bucyrus township to the present 
 northern boundary of the county, the present 
 Bucyrus, Holmes, Lykens, Chatfield, Liberty 
 and part of Cranberry and Whetstone town- 
 ships by surveyor's maps, township i, 2 and 3, 
 range 16, east, and township i, 2 and 3, range 
 17 east. Later the commissioners of Delaware 
 county created the township of Bucyrus as it 
 at present exists, and on Dec. 7, 1824, the 
 journal of the Marion county commissioners 
 contains the following entry : "On application 
 of citizens of surveyed fractional township 
 three of range 16 an order was issued to or- 
 ganize the original fractional township 3 of 
 range 16." While six miles square the town- 
 ship was called fractional as the western two 
 and a third miles of the township was Indian 
 reservation. Bucyrus township was then in 
 the southeastern part of the county and when 
 
 the charter was granted for the Columbus and 
 Sandusky turnpike, the Legislature gave the 
 company 31,360 acres of land, 49 sections, 
 "along the western side of the Columbus and 
 Sandusky turnpike, in the eastern part of 
 Crawford, Marion and Seneca counties." 
 
 Before Bucyrus township was formed it was 
 a part of Sandusky township, perhaps all of 
 the present Crawford being that township, as 
 on April 15, 1821, the Delaware commission- 
 ers appointed Joseph Young and Westell 
 Ridgely as justices of the peace for Sandusky 
 township. Young then lived near Bucyrus and 
 Ridgely near Leesville, neither place being then 
 in existence. These were the officials in Craw- 
 ford county. 
 
 South of Bucyrus and east of the present 
 Little Sandusky road the country was the San- 
 dusky Plains, named by the Indians after the 
 river. From the river north, the entire north- 
 western part of the township was forest. The 
 township was well watered. The Sandusky 
 river entering in the northeast quarter section 
 of the township, and running southwesterly 
 leaves the township two miles from the south- 
 west corner. Small streams on both sides 
 empty into this river. A mile and a half south 
 of the Sandusky, the Little Scioto starts south- 
 westerly through the township, entering Dal- 
 las township a mile and a half east of the 
 western boundary of the township. This little 
 stream has half a dozen smaller tributaries on 
 both sides. In the northwestern part. Grass 
 
 194 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 195 
 
 Run with several branches covers that section, 
 while in the southwest little streams go south- 
 ward to the Whetstone. The extensive plains 
 in the southern part of the county were nearly 
 all swamp, and most of the year in the early 
 day under water. In the summer season in 
 the ages past, the land was covered with a tall 
 coarse grass, as high as five and six feet ; each 
 fall this decayed and in years following pro- 
 duced a rich, soft soil, so that the snows of 
 winter and the rains of summer kept the sec- 
 tion covered with marshes. While the land 
 was almost level, there was occasionally some 
 slightly rising ground, on which trees grew, 
 small groves which were called "islands." 
 The formation of the soil from its decaying 
 vegetation made it some of the richest farm- 
 ing land in the county, yet its swampy condi- 
 tion, and the absence of trees for building" cab- 
 ins and for fuel in winter made it a section 
 which few of the early settlers desired to oc- 
 cupy, and as a result they preferred the wood- 
 land, with the labor of clearing the forest, and 
 making their farms by the slow process of 
 cutting down the trees, rather than the 
 swampy land nature had already cleared. 
 Also, the marshy land was unhealthy, and 
 ague was frequent with the few early settlers 
 who risked a location in this spot. Some who 
 came braved it through; others, after a short 
 trial, abandoned their land, and took up claims 
 elsewhere; still others, too poor to move, had 
 to remain, stand their siege of fever and ague 
 yearly, and start graveyards for their unfor- 
 tunate little ones. This was the Sandusky 
 Plains, today spoken of and written of all over 
 the state as the finest and most fertile section 
 in Ohio. 
 
 The locations of the Sandusky and Scioto 
 rivers as they traverse the township in the 
 same southwesterly direction two miles apart, 
 produce the interesting fact that between these 
 streams are many buildings from which the 
 water falling from the roofs, flow on the one 
 side into the Sandusky and Lake Erie and to 
 the Atlantic, and on the other into the Scioto, 
 and through the Ohio and Mississippi to the 
 Gulf of Mexico. The most noted of these 
 buildings was the large barn built by Col. Wm. 
 Monnett in the southeastern part of the pres- 
 ent city of Bucyrus. It was on a knoll, sev- 
 eral hundred feet southwest of the house, in 
 
 11 
 
 his pasture field. An Indian trail once passed 
 over this knoll, following along the higher 
 ground through Bucyrus, and to Upper San- 
 dusky, and near the barn a generation ago was 
 to be seen an old Indian well, a hollow syca- 
 more several feet in the earth where lizards 
 made their home in the stagnant water; and 
 men who are grandfathers now, remember 
 their speculations as to the old well and as to 
 who planted the wild cherry tree that shared 
 with the barn and the well a position on the 
 knoll. 
 
 The first settlers in Bucyrus township were 
 Samuel Norton, with a party of eighteen. 
 They were the first arrivals in what became 
 Crawford county in 1820. Crawford county 
 had not yet been created, the land known as 
 the New Purchase, being the land purchased 
 of the Indians by the treaty of 181 7. Later 
 in the spring of 1819 they left their home in 
 Luzerne (now Susquehanna) county, the ex- 
 treme northeastern county of Pennsylvania, 
 and in 'a big "schooner" wagon, with its 
 curved canvas top, traveled through the en- 
 tire length of Northern Pennsylvania, then 
 half through Ohio, to near Galion, on the 
 border of the New Purchase, where Norton 
 had determined to locate. Here he left his 
 family, and with his brother-in-law Albigence 
 Bucklin, and Seth Holmes, the driver and 
 guide of the expedition, who in the War of 
 1812 had passed through this section, they 
 started on a prospecting expedition, visiting 
 the settlers along the Whetstone; but having 
 come so far, the pioneer fever was on them, 
 and Holmes told of a better location on a big- 
 ger river farther to the west, so they wandered 
 through the tall wild grass of the Sandusky 
 plains, and finally reached the Sandusky river 
 where Bucyrus now is. The clear stream run- 
 ning through the woods, the freshness of the 
 air, after the dry heat of the plains, and the 
 level country to the south of the river, all sat- 
 isfied Norton that on the banks of the San- 
 dusky was the land he wanted. The three re- 
 turned to their families and again the march 
 was taken up of a dozen miles, and in October, 
 1819, they reached the land selected, and for 
 three days thev lived in an Indian wigwam, 
 which was standing on the ground now occu- 
 pied by the courthouse. The men went to 
 work and erected a small log house ; there were 
 
196 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 but three of them so the logs were small, 
 and it was erected on the banKS of the San- 
 dusky, on the west side of the present San- 
 dusky avenue bridge, on what is now the land 
 owned and occupied by C. H. Shonert. Down 
 the slight bluff Norton had his pretty river, 
 with its clear pure water; around him were 
 the forest trees, and he could shoot game from 
 his door, and find fish in the stream. The 
 "homestead" being built, a similar log struc- 
 ture was erected for his brother-in-law, on the 
 land north of East Mansfield street, and west 
 of the T. & O. C. road. Here Albigence 
 Bucklin with his wife and six children and an 
 adopted daughter Polly moved, the "home- 
 stead" being occupied by Norton and his wife 
 and six children, Seth Holmes being sole pro- 
 prietor and owner by right of discovery of the 
 Indian wigwam. Here the pioneers passed 
 their first winter, the woods furnishing them 
 with an abundance of game, and the meal 
 brought with them furnishing the bread; the 
 game was the staple food, and the corn bread 
 was the luxury. In the Norton cabin on the 
 banks of the Sandusky, on Feb. i6, 1820, was 
 born a daughter, who was named Sophronia, 
 the first white child born in Bucyrus, and the 
 first white child born in that part of Crawford 
 west of Richland county. 
 
 Fortunately for these early settlers the win- 
 ter of 1819-20 was very mild; the winter was 
 put in clearing away the trees, and in Febru- 
 ary Mr. Norton planted his first crop, showing 
 how mild the winter had been, and the virgin 
 soil responded with gladness, for he stated in 
 after years his first crop was the finest he ever 
 raised. The nearest settlement was a dozen 
 miles away on the banks of the Whetstone, 
 where a few settlers had erected cabins; the 
 nearest store double that distance, with no 
 roads, only Indian trails through the forest: 
 so, as with all early settlers, these pioneers had 
 to depend on the resources at hand and their 
 own ingenuity. The children must be clothed 
 and fed ; the latter was easy owing to nature's 
 prodigalitv, but the clothing was another mat- 
 ter. In the house the mother and daughters 
 spun the flax and wove the cloth into the 
 coarse garments, and made up the deer skin 
 into breeches and jackets. Norton made a 
 trip of about 20 miles to "Friendsborough," a 
 Quaker settlement in what is now Morrow 
 
 county, where he secured ten pounds of wool. 
 They had brought with them spinning wheels 
 and a loom and the wool was made into cloth, 
 and the cloth into clothing. Norton started a 
 little tannery adjoining his house, the first 
 business industry in Bucyrus. He tanned the 
 hides and then manufactured shoes for the 
 family. He planted an orchard with seeds he 
 had brought with him from Pennsylvania, and 
 while waiting for the trees to grow gathered 
 apples from an orchard across the river 
 planted by Johnny Appleseed, on the lot now 
 owned by Hon. E. B. Finley, where even to 
 this date, a century after, some of the trees 
 still exist, while of the orchard of Norton not 
 a tree remains. 
 
 While the Nortons and the Bucklins were 
 the only white i>eople for miles around, they 
 were not the only inhabitants of the region, 
 and it was only a few days until the Norton 
 home was visited by a band of Indians from 
 the Wyandot reservation. These savages 
 were always peaceful and had been for years, 
 but the pioneers had frequently heard in their 
 eastern home of the cruelties and barbarities 
 of the savages, and naturally at first they re- 
 garded these visits with anxiety. When the 
 men folks were at home, the Indians lay on 
 the floor of the cabin, with their blankets 
 wrapped around them, thankful for any food 
 given them. Occasionally they came when 
 the men folks were absent, and the children in 
 their fear would run to their mother, as scared 
 as themselves. It was a great delight to the 
 Indians to see the fear their presence created, 
 and they would whoop, yell and dance, bran- 
 dishing their knives, and adding to the terrors 
 of the mother and children. Later, these vis- 
 its were regarded as a matter of course, the 
 custom of an Indian always being to drop into 
 any cabin whenever he pleased and consider 
 the house as his own. Not infrequently he en- 
 tered a cabin at night, and without a word, 
 perhaps with a guttural grunt, wrapped his 
 blanket around him, and lay down in front of 
 the fire, and promptly fell asleep, leaving in 
 the morning without a word. It was soon 
 found that the Indians were harmless; they 
 were treated kindly and sometimes brought 
 game to the family. They greatly enjoyed 
 seeing people exhibit fear, age or sex being 
 no bar, hence their wild yells and frantic ac- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 197 
 
 tions to frighten the women and children. 
 The Norton girls state that once they were 
 playing near the Bucklin home, about where 
 the old Bucyrus Machine company building 
 now stands; their game was hide-and-seek, 
 concealing themselves behind the fallen logs. 
 An Indian trail ran past this site, and while 
 they were in hiding behind the logs, a band of 
 Indians appeared along the trail. One of the 
 Indians, Charley Elliott, caught a glimpse of 
 one of the children and he raised a blood curd- 
 ling yell, which very promptly raised three 
 girls from behind as many different logs, who 
 made up their minds home was the best place 
 for them, and they started at top speed, the 
 Indians accelerating their flight by all joining 
 in a series of war cries. The Indians did not 
 care to follow but evidenced their delight by 
 wild whooping and howling. 
 
 In the spring of 1S20, the cool nights and 
 the warm days made the best of maple sugar 
 weather. Where the public square now is 
 west of it was a grove of maple trees, 
 and here the Indians established a camp, 
 tapped the trees and gathered the sap, and 
 boiled it down into sugar, and the Norton 
 homestead was swarmed with visiting Indians 
 while the season lasted. The squaws brought 
 the kettles, some on horseback, and others 
 traveling the sixteen miles from their Upper 
 Sandusky village, carrying the heavy brass 
 kettle and a pappoose or two besides. Mrs. 
 Norton visited the camp and was kindly re- 
 ceived by the Indians, especially by the women, 
 who showed great friendship for the "pale- 
 faced squaw." 
 
 Norton had settled on his land, built his 
 cabin, and in 1820, when the land was open 
 to purchase he went to Delaware and entered 
 400 acres on the banks of the Sandusky, on 
 240 of which the central portion of Bucyrus 
 now stands. The Norton daughters reported 
 that their father told them that when he 
 reached Delaware to secure the certificate from 
 the government for his land, some Quakers 
 endeavored to persuade him that the lands he 
 intended entering did not correspond with the 
 tract he wanted, but their father insisted he 
 knew the land he wanted. The Quakers were 
 partly right, as the final survey showed the 
 Norton land did not extend to the river, but 
 
 only to Perry street, and Norton found he had 
 built his cabin just north of his land. The 
 cabin was of no value, but Norton hated to 
 leave his home on the bluff overlooking the 
 pretty river. He built another cabin, how- 
 ever, on his own land on the lot that is now 
 the southeast corner of Spring and Galen 
 streets. It was a double cabin, had two large 
 rooms on the lower floor, and was built of 
 large logs, a cabin raising being held when 
 the neighbors came, to place the heavy logs into 
 position. The chimney was of stone for the 
 first story, and above that it was made of 
 sticks and mud. It had a large garret for the 
 children to sleep in, and was for those days a 
 commodious structure. 
 
 After the arrival of the Nortons and the 
 B-ucklins, the next settler to arrive was a 
 "squatter," a man who does not enter land; 
 he "squats" down wherever he pleases, builds 
 a little cabin, stays as long as he pleases, and 
 then leaves. Mr. Norton's daughters state 
 that "One Sunday morning we were awakened 
 by the crowing of several roosters in the 
 southwest, and our ears were saluted with the 
 welcome ring of another pioneer's ax, which 
 sounds seemed to us, who had so often listened 
 to the barking and howling of the wolves, the 
 sweetest music." After a hurried breakfast, 
 Norton and his wife started out in search of 
 the newcomers. It was a man named Sears, 
 who with his wife and family had located on 
 land just west of where Oakwood cemetery 
 now is. They had arrived the evening before 
 with a horse and wagon, and were glad to 
 meet neighbors in the wilderness. The whole 
 family returned to the Norton home for a 
 meal, and the next day Norton, Bucklin and 
 Holmes put in the day raising a small log 
 cabin for the new arrivals, and after it was 
 erected Sears plastered the cracks with mud, 
 put on the roof, and moved in, the wagon hav- 
 ing been their sleeping apartment until the 
 family home was done. While Sears was at 
 work on his cabin, Seth Holmes took over a 
 deer and other small game; the Nortons and 
 the Bucklins sent over honey and other pro- 
 visions they could spare, and at odd hours as- 
 sisted in makine the new home habitable. The 
 Sears family did not stay long; the restless 
 moving spirit of the "squatter" soon came on 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 them again, and they left for parts unknown, 
 drifting still farther to the west, leaving an 
 empty cabin behind. 
 
 But during the year 1820 other settlers, real 
 settlers, did arrive. The Beadles were the first 
 in the spring of that year, David Beadle, with 
 two sons, Mishael and David, and a son-in- 
 law, John Ensley. Next came Daniel Mc- 
 Michael and Joseph Young, and during the 
 year several others. In his song of Bucyrus 
 Col. Kilbourne thus gives them: 
 
 "First Norton and the Beadles came 
 
 ■ With friends an enterprising band ; 
 Young and McMichael, men of fame. 
 Soon joined the others heart and hand." 
 
 Poetry is not the best method of writing his- 
 tory, as to preserve the rhythm and meter 
 much of the detail must be omitted, so two of 
 the first pioneers, Bucklin and Holmes, get 
 notice as "friends," the same with son-in-law 
 Ensley. As to Sears, he was not a pioneer and 
 Col. Kilbourne did well to omit him. Young 
 and McMichael, although classed as men of 
 fame, were not more distinguished than Nor- 
 ton and Beadle, but the necessity of a rhyme 
 to "came," occurring in the line with their 
 names, gave them the distinguished honor of 
 being famous. 
 
 The Beadles came across the Plains from 
 the Quaker settlement of Friendsborough in 
 Morrow county, and Mishael Beadle had his 
 cabin on West Mansfield street, where the late 
 Silas Bowers' residence now is; this was on 
 the north 40 acres of an 80-acre tract; on the 
 south 40 acres David Beadle had his cabin, 
 and with him was his son, David, a young man 
 of 17; their cabin was near the corner of 
 Charles and Spring streets. The Norton 
 daughters and Mrs. Ichabod Rogers state the 
 Beadles were very migratory, Mishael at one 
 time living across the river at the northwest 
 corner of the Tiffin road and North River 
 street, the old man and young David moving 
 into Mishael's former cabin on West Mans- 
 field. John Ensley, with his wife, Ann Bea- 
 dle, also lived over the river, near Mishael's 
 second residence. Mishael was married, and 
 in the summer of 1822, the first death oc- 
 curred, a little son of Mishael Beadle, and 
 Norton gave the ground for a burial site, at 
 the junction of Walnut, Gallon and Middle- 
 town streets, and here the little boy was 
 
 buried, the early pioneers all tendering what 
 aid and sympathy they could to the afflicted 
 family. That winter another daughter of 
 David Beadle, named Clarinda, was married 
 and later young David took himself a wife. 
 Mishael Beadle tired of his residence over the 
 river and entered a tract of land south of the 
 present Oakwood cemetery, now the Magee 
 farm, and here he was contented to remain 
 several years, his brother-in-law entering the 
 land just east of him, extending to what is 
 now, the Marion road. The Beadles were as 
 fond of hunting as they were opposed to work, 
 and when about 1826, Samuel Myers bought 
 the original 80-acre tract they had entered 
 only eight or ten acres had been cleared. The 
 price paid to the Beadles by Myers for the land 
 was $6 an acre. About 1827 they moved 
 west. Bucklin also . left the county, but the 
 Nortons, the McMichaels and the Youngs are 
 still here in the third and fourth generations. 
 Joseph Young entered his first land in section 
 5, Whetstone township, nearly two miles east 
 of Bucyrus ; he built a small flouring mill run 
 by horse power, on the river a mile west of 
 Bucyrus, where Sinn's dam was later built 
 with a regular water-power mill; afterward 
 known as Couts dam. The mill run by horse 
 power meant with him that a man brings his 
 grain, hitches his own horse to the mill, and 
 grinds the grain. He kept no horses himself 
 at the mill. Later he gave the mill to his son- 
 in-law, George Black, and a dam was built, 
 and the mill run by water power and it became 
 an important mill for years to come. Young 
 also gave each of his sons 160 acres, as the tax 
 duplicate of 1830 shows that George, Jacob 
 and John Young each had 160 acres along the 
 river near the mill. 
 
 Daniel McMichael came to this section in 
 the fall of 1819, and spent his first winter on 
 the banks of the Whetstone, eight miles from 
 Bucyrus. He was there with his family when 
 Norton was making his trip looking up a loca- 
 tion. He was in what is now Crawford 
 county, but then it was a part of Richland 
 county, in the neighborhood of the Sharrocks. 
 Daniel McMichael then moved into Liberty 
 township in the spring of 1820, the first set- 
 tler in that township, built a grist mill on his 
 land on the river one mile northeast of Bucy- 
 rus, the first mill in the county. Then he came 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 199 
 
 to Bucyrus erecting a house on his 8o-acre 
 tract north of the river, on the hill where the 
 residence of Hon. E. B. Finley now stands. 
 He also entered 80 acres east of Norton's 
 land, and 80 acres south of the Norton land, 
 this 80 being south of Middletown and east 
 of Walnut streets. He started a small dis- 
 tillery on the banks of the Sandusky, where 
 the electric works now are, but he only ran it 
 a few months. He died in 1825, and for ten 
 years the settlement of his estate occupied 
 many entries in the court docket. The ruins 
 of the old log house he built remained for 
 many years, until in 1865 they were torn 
 down and the present handsome building 
 erected by .John Sims, who a year or two 
 later sold it to Mr. Finley, the present occu- 
 pant. 
 
 In 1 82 1 Zalmon Rowse came to Crawford 
 county, and while he settled in Whetstone 
 township came to Bucyrus the same year, 
 settling on the land on the south side of the 
 Gallon road, where for so many years Col. 
 Wm. Monnett resided. He promptly took an 
 active hand in the village and county affairs, 
 and when in 1823, Crawford was attached to 
 Marion for judicial purposes, Zalmon was the 
 first justice of the peace, his territory includ- 
 ing the present three townships in range 16 
 and 17, and in 1825 was elected county com- 
 missioner, a position he held at the time 
 Crawford county was organized, when he 
 was appointed assessor for the entire county. 
 When courts were first held here, he was ap- 
 pointed the first clerk. At the time of the 
 first court, David H. Beardsley came over 
 from Marion as clerk to act until the new 
 court could find a suitable man. They found 
 him instantly and promptly appointed him in 
 Zalmon Rowse. Courts up to 1851 appointed 
 the clerk. Rowse served without any inter- 
 ruption for 14 years. He was also recorder 
 during practically the same time; also justice 
 of the peace, and frequently township clerk, 
 and now, after nearly a century has passed, 
 it is a pleasure for any searcher of the an- 
 cient records, to meet with those kept by Zal- 
 mon Rowse in any of his multitudinous of- 
 fices. They are clear and concise, and above 
 all exact; the writing neat, legible and cor- 
 rectly spelled. They show he was systematic 
 and methodical. He was at the head of ev- 
 
 ery movement for the building up of his vil- 
 lage and county. Norton was the founder of 
 Bucyrus, Kilbourne was the sponsor, Enoch 
 Merriman was the capitalist, but Zalmon 
 Rowse was the ceaseless, untiring worker, the 
 fii'st and greatest booster the town ever had, 
 and when some really important public im- 
 provement is made in the future it should 
 be called Zalmon, in remembrance of the man 
 who did more than any other one man for 
 his town. A generation later Stephen, Hor- 
 ace, Quincy, William and Henry Rowse were 
 all active business men in this community, 
 Horace and William building the Rowse 
 Block that still bears their name; Quincy 
 owning the woolen mills, Stephen being a 
 heavy stock-dealer and Henry a rising young 
 attorney, mayor of the village, but called 
 away in his early manhood. In his leisure 
 moments Zalmon Rowse was a farmer, a 
 contractor and builder, and shone resplendent 
 once a year in a gorgeous uniform as colonel 
 of the Ohio militia, having been commis- 
 sioned lieutenant-colonel in 1825. His duties 
 as clerk of the court in those days included 
 those of recorder and probate judge, and for 
 filling these three offices he received $60 a 
 year, and never petitioned the legislature for 
 an increase of salary. When the Columbus 
 and Sandusky turnpike was incorporated, he 
 was a director; when the Pennsylvania and 
 Indiana road was built, he was for a time sec- 
 retary, and when the Masons organized a 
 lodge here, he was a charter member. He 
 built the brick building still standing on the 
 old Monnett farm, and he built the American 
 House in 1831, which stood on the northwest 
 corner of Sandusky and Warren streets. In 
 1835 he united with the M. E. church, and un- 
 til his death was one of the pillars of that or- 
 ganization. The Rowses. once so prominent 
 here, have all moved away, and the only ones 
 now recalled are Edith Chesney, a great- 
 granddaughter, her mother being Cora 
 Rowse, her grandfather William Rowse, and 
 another great-granddaughter Lucille Lewis, 
 daughter of Lily Rowse, who was a daugh- 
 ter of Stephen D. Rowse; a great-grandson, 
 Allen Campbell, son of Eva R'owse, who was 
 a daughter of Horace Rowse. Zalmon Rowse 
 died in Bucyrus, Aug. 1=;. 1854. 
 
 Heman Rowse, a brother of Zalmon, set- 
 
200 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tied in Whetstone township in 1822, and the 
 following year moved to Bucyrus township, 
 purchasing 80 acres on the pike just south of 
 Bucyrus. He was killed while assisting at a 
 house raising southwest of the village in 183 1. 
 
 Seth Holmes, who came with the Nortons, 
 entered some land in Whetstone township, 
 but lived in the town and died here about 
 1826. He never married. He was Bucyrus' 
 first old bachelor. His brother, Truman came 
 to Bucyrus township in 1823 or 1824, with 
 four sons, Lyman, Henry, Elisha and Zalmon. 
 One of the daughters of Truman Holmes 
 married Rensselaer Norton. 
 
 Elisha, Thaddeus, David and John Kent 
 came about 1821, Elisha entering the 80-acre 
 tract on Plymouth street, which was the Kerr 
 farm for so many years and later the Hall 
 farm. Abel Gary came to the township in 
 
 1 82 1, and was followed by Lewis Gary in 
 
 1822, with a wife and nine children. A year 
 or two later his brother Aaron came. The 
 Carys all settled in Bucyrus village. 
 
 Amos Glark settled on 80 acres southwest 
 of Sandusky and Charles, his cabin being near 
 the present residence of E. B. Monnett. He 
 also owned 38 acres north of town and do- 
 nated a portion of it for the burying ground 
 on the Tiffin road. 
 
 In 1826 Gen. Samuel Myers came and pur- 
 chased of the Beadles the 80 acres west of 
 Spring street, and also entered a tract south 
 of Bucyrus. Later he received the commis- 
 sion of general in the Ohio militia. 
 
 George and John Shroll came in 1830, 
 George having 138 acres, a part of which is 
 now Oakwood cemetery. John had 140 acres 
 west of this, where later Judge Summers re- 
 sided, and still later known as the William 
 Magee farm. He was an elder in the Lu- 
 theran church. About July i, 1835, business 
 called him to Sandusky City; he arrived to 
 find cholera raging there. He hurriedly trans- 
 acted his business and returned home, but he 
 had exposed himself and he was stricken with 
 the dread disease and died. His faithful 
 brother Daniel hurried to his assistance and 
 tended him to the last. Daniel was a deacon 
 in the church of which his brother was elder, 
 and his soul passed into the presence of his 
 Maker, sustained and soothed by his faithful 
 brother. But family loyalty and brotherly 
 
 faithfulness must look for their reward in the 
 world above, for in ministering to his brother, 
 Daniel himself caught the fatal disease and 
 died, and if ever a man received the grand 
 words as he entered the pearly gates of "Well 
 done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
 into the joys of the Lord," that man was Dan- 
 iel Shroll. The Crawford County History of 
 1870 says: "The Lutheran church met on 
 July 12, 1835, and, after showing due respect 
 to their memory, elected successors to fill the 
 vacancy caused by their sad death." 
 
 It will be observed that these early settlers 
 all chose the high ground within a mile of 
 Bucyrus. Those now so rich and fertile 
 plains were passed by. Nobody wanted them. 
 As James Nail said he "doubted if this land 
 would ever be occupied" — land now where ev- 
 ery acre is held as high as a town lot in many 
 of the additions to Bucyrus. But some were 
 wise — not Crawford county people, but the 
 outside investors. In the southern half of 
 Bucyrus township, much of the land had been 
 entered by speculators, buying it of the gov- 
 ernment at $1.25 an acre, believing the time 
 would come when land already cleared would 
 find ready sale. The heaviest of these invest- 
 ors was Henry W Delavin, who never lived 
 in the county, but owned several sections in 
 southern Bucyrus. One of these sections was 
 26, on the Pike, three miles south of Bucyrus, 
 later the Ross farm and the G. H. Wright 
 farm, now owned by John Ross, Lafayette 
 Yeagley, David Rexroth, J. B. Steifel, and 
 Mrs. D. M. Odaffer. 
 
 It was Nov. 12, 1829, when William Vance 
 Marquis came to Bucyrus and settled on land 
 two miles south of Bucyrus ; he had pre- 
 viously visited the county and entered several 
 tracts of land, and in 1829 took possession of 
 one of them. At that time there were just 
 two families between him and the little vil- 
 lage. William V. Marquis was a Virginian, 
 who moved to Washington county, Pa., where 
 he married Mary Page, whose father was 
 killed by the Indians. The Marquis land was 
 in section 24, the land later owned by David 
 Marshal, then Benjamin Beal and later Ben- 
 jamin Beal's children. Mr. Marquis was an 
 early member of the Presbyterian church, and 
 a prominent one. He died in 1834 and left 
 ten children, one a daughter Ruth, who mar- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 201 
 
 ried James McCracken, who for two genera- 
 tions -was prominent in the affairs of this 
 county, and whose children were also active 
 and prominent in the history of Bucyrus. 
 
 About 1828 there came into southern Bucy- 
 rus Isaac, William, Thomas and Osborne 
 Monnett. Isaac Monnett owned several farms 
 on the plains prior to 1830. In 1835 Rev. 
 Jeremiah Monnett removed to the township 
 and purchased his land of John Barney, the 
 Rev. Thomas Monnett farm, four miles south 
 of Bucyrus, now occupied by William Mon- 
 nett, son of Rev. Thomas Monnett. Rev. Jere- 
 miah's house stood just south of the present 
 large brick building. It was a cabin of hewed 
 logs. Here he lived until a better house was 
 erected on the east side of the pike. He had 
 three children, Abraham, Thomas J. and 
 Mary, the latter later marrying James Royce. 
 There were several families of negroes settled 
 on what afterward became the Gormly farm, 
 two miles south of Bucyrus, later the Rexroth 
 farm. This gave the name to the woods a 
 quarter of a mile from the pike the "nigger 
 woods." These first colored pioneers were 
 from Virginia, and came in 1828. At that 
 time, under Ohio laws, the poor overseers of 
 each township had the right to demand bond 
 of $500 of any new arrival that he would not 
 become a public charge. The Virginia owner 
 on his death had given them freedom but not 
 enough cash, and thev were unable to put up 
 the bond, so all left but one family, known as 
 Old Solomon; he remained with his wife. He 
 did not put up the .S^oo, but one family made 
 no difference and he was allowed to remain. 
 Among those living in the township in 1830, 
 as shown by the tax duplicate, were Thomas 
 Adams, John Black. John Bowman, Isaac 
 Fickle, Joshua Lewis, John Miller, Joseph 
 Pearce, Jane Stephenson and Gottlieb John 
 Schultz. Thomas Adams had 48 acres in sec- 
 tion 9, two miles west of Bucyrus, the Chris 
 Wisman farm along the river ; John Black, 80 
 acres, section 13, a mile south, the Henry 
 Flock farm on the T. & O. C. John Bowman 
 had 80 acres in section 11, southwest of Bucy- 
 rus, the William Magee oroperty on the south 
 side of the Little Sandusky road. Isaac Fickle 
 had 160 acres in section 10. a Quarter of a 
 mile west of Bowman's, the William Shroll 
 farm, through which the Little Sandusky 
 
 road passes; Joshua Lewis had 80 acres in 
 section 15, south of Fickle, the George Gib- 
 son farm; John Miller, 80 acres, section 2, 
 just northwest of Bucyrus, adjoining the 
 Fourth ward, now F. W. Bittikoffer's. Jo- 
 seph S. Morris, 80 acres, section 12, south of 
 the fair ground, the John Wentz addition, 
 Elizabeth Monnett, and the John Wentz land. 
 Joseph Pearce, 80 acres, section 2, west of 
 Miller's, owned by John Wentz. Gottleib 
 John Schultz, 80 acres, south of Miller's, ad- 
 joining the corporation on the west, the Penn- 
 sylvania road passing through the northern 
 portion of his tract. Jane Stephenson, 160 
 acres, section 4, two miles west of Bucyrus, 
 now owned by L. W. Buck and P A. Beard; 
 also a quarter section of the Wm. Caldwell 
 farm on the Marion road, three miles south of 
 Bvicyrus. Other residents in the township as 
 indicated by their paying tax on personal 
 property in 1830 were John Bowman, Jr. ; 
 Thomas Bennet, J. Coulter, Isaac Didie, D. 
 and I. Dinwiddle, William and Joshua Fore- 
 acre, William Fraley, Jacob Forney, Jesse 
 Goodell, Jonas Gilson, Peter Hesser, George 
 Hesser, William Hughey and son William, 
 Lewis Heinlen, John Kent, Christopher No- 
 acre, George Aumiller, George Sinn, Daniel 
 Seal, David Tipton, George Welsh, Frederick 
 \Visman. 
 
 Until 1835 Bucyrus was a fractional town- 
 ship, on account of the western third being an 
 Indian reservation. The encroachment on the 
 Indian land became so great, that early in the 
 thirties pressure was brought to bear on the 
 Indians to sell, but nothing came of it. Fi- 
 nally, in 1835, the government arranged to 
 buy seven miles of their strip 12 miles deep. 
 This was about two and a third miles of the 
 western part of Bucyrus and Holmes town- 
 ships, the two miles of northern Dallas, all of 
 Tod, and southern Texas and extending nearly 
 three miles into Wyandot county. The sale 
 was set for Marion in 1837, but there were 
 objections by the Indians after about one- 
 third of the land was sold, and the sale was 
 stopped. Later matters were arranged, and 
 the entire seven-mile strip was sold, and all 
 of the present Crawford county was. open to 
 settlement. The land brousfht about $2 an 
 acre. In the sale a syndicate bought up all 
 the land around Osceola and laid it out into 
 
202 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 town lots, in the hopes that it being the geo- 
 graphical center of the county as it then ex- 
 isted, it might become the county seat. The 
 southeastern part of the county, especially 
 Bucyrus township, recognized this danger, 
 and later acquiesced in the formation of 
 Wyandot county, with Upper Sandusky as the 
 county seat, losing a strip of land i8 miles deep 
 and 1 6 miles wide, not very well populated, ex- 
 cept around Tymochtee in the northern part, 
 and around Little Sandusky in the southern 
 part. They secured in return a strip two 
 miles wide along the southern border of the 
 county from Marion and four miles wide 
 and 20 deep on the east from Richland, get- 
 ting in that territory the towns of Galion, 
 Leesville, West Liberty, Middletown and De 
 Kalb, at that time the densest settled section 
 of the county, except Bucyrus. 
 
 It was Dec. 7, 1824, that the resolution was 
 passed by the Marion commissioners for the 
 organization of Bucyrus township as it ex- 
 ists today. Prior to that it had been a town- 
 ship, which included Holmes and Chatfield. 
 In 1823 Zalmon Rowse was justice of the 
 peace of these townships, his jurisdiction in- 
 cluding Whetstone, Liberty and Cranberry. 
 
 The first recorded township election was 
 Oct. 12, 1824, for justice of the peace, when 
 49 votes were cast : Conrad Roth, 26 ; Mishael 
 Beadle, 22; Conrad Rhoades, i. The follow- 
 ing were the justices in Bucyrus township, 
 dates being year of election: Zalmon Rowse, 
 1823-27-30-33-36-39; E. B. Merriman, 1824; 
 Conrad Roth, 1824; Edward Billips, 1827; 
 James McCracken, 1828-31-36-45; William 
 Early, 1834; Peter Worst, 1837; James C. 
 Steen, 1839-42; David Holm, 1840-43; Sam- 
 uel S. Caldwell, 1842-69-72; Jacob Howen- 
 stein, 1844-50-53; James Stough, 1848-51-54; 
 James Marshall, 1849; John Byers, 1856; John 
 Smith, 1856-59; Christopher Elliott, 1859-62; 
 Chapman D. Ward, 1862-75-78-81-84-87- 
 90-93; William M. Scroggs, 1863-66; Wil- 
 son Stewart, 1863-66; George Donnenwirth, 
 1869-72; James M. Van Voorhis, 1872-75; 
 John C. Jackson, 1875 ; Allen Campbell, 1878- 
 81 ; Caleb B. Foster, 1884-87-90; Horace Hol- 
 brook, 1893; William H. Scheckler, 1896-99; 
 George W. Didie, 1896-99; John A. Meek, 
 1901-05-09; Frank E. Lamb, 1902; Wallace 
 L. Monnett, 1905; Edward J. Myers, 1907- 
 
 09; Cornelius H. Myers, 1908; and Rufus 
 Aurend, 1912, vice Meek, deceased. 
 
 There are no records to show who the first 
 officers of the township were, but there are 
 several reasons why the first clerk was Zalmon 
 Rowse. First, he was a fine penman; second, 
 he was the most competent man for the po- 
 sition; third, he had practically every other 
 clerical position; fourth, the records were de- 
 s'troyed, and the search for old records show 
 that it was the records of the offices held by 
 Zalmon Rowse that were destroyed when the 
 jail burned in 1831; he kept all his records 
 with the court records in the county jail. 
 
 In 1829 a young lawyer came to Bucyrus 
 and opened an office. This lawyer was Josiah 
 Scott, later supreme judge of the state and one 
 of the most able lawyers the state ever pro- 
 duced, so able and so just that later, when su- 
 preme judge of the state, a grave question 
 arose, he gave a decision adverse to the opin- 
 ion of a majority of the people of his state, in 
 opposition to the wishes of his political party 
 and against his own personal views. He sac- 
 rificed popular opinion, party loyalty and pri- 
 vate friendships in the interest of the law and 
 legal right. The coming of Judge Scott was 
 probably more advantageous to the village in 
 those early days than it was to himself. He, 
 too, was a fine penman, highly educated, and 
 the result was that he was early pressed into 
 the service and, at least as early as 1832, was 
 township clerk.. He not only was Zalmon 
 Rowse's ally in these matters, but he was also 
 Zalmon's crony and friend, and these men, 
 full of life, strong and healthy, were boon 
 companions in many a village prank and the 
 leaders in every amusement. The judge was 
 a great friend of the Indians, their admiration 
 starting on his fine physique and being contin- 
 ued on account of his sociability and love of 
 athletic exercises, and many a time he headed 
 a band of mounted Indians in a race down 
 Main street, bare-headed and coatless, yelling 
 equal to the loudest Indian. That they had 
 confidence in him and that he retained that 
 confidence is shown from the court records, 
 for when Indians brought suit the books show 
 that the attorney for the Indians was Josiah 
 Scott. The minutes of the annual meeting of 
 the township trustees held March 4, 1833, are 
 signed by Josiah Scott, and show that a full 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 205 
 
 board was present. They settled with Samuel 
 Myers, supervisor of road district No. i, and 
 found 14^2 days of road labor unperformed 
 in his district; William Early, 3d district, all 
 labor performed; James Coulter and John 
 Marquis, district No. 4, all labor performed. 
 Coulter was paid 75 cents and Marquis $1 for 
 their services as road supervisors. George 
 Hesser in the 5th district, showed all the labor 
 had been performed. They settled with Abra- 
 ham Hahn, the township treasurer, and found 
 in the treasury a note of John and Jacob Staley 
 for $14.56, payable March 12, 1833 ; a note of 
 James Coulter and Henry St. John for 75 
 cents ; a note of Joseph S. Morris and Zalmon 
 Rowse for $5.31, due June i, 1833, and $3.15 
 cash, making a total of $23.15. They issued 
 an order to Hahn for 1.48 "for the percentage 
 on moneys collected for the year 1832." They 
 paid William Early 75 cents, his salary as road 
 supervisor during the year 1832. Also order 
 for $1.55 to James McLean "for advertising 
 the township election in the spring of 1831, 
 and notifying the officers of their election." 
 They paid John S. George $3 for services as 
 township trustee, and Henry Minich and 
 Nicholas Failor $1.50 each for services as 
 trustees; Josiah Scott $2.50 for services as 
 clerk of the township, and the last order "in 
 favor of R. W. Musgrave and Company, for 
 75 cents for a blank book for the use of the 
 township," and thereupon adjourned. 
 
 This record shows that the trustees in 1832 
 were John S. George, Henry Minich and Nich- 
 olas Failor. Why George's services vi^ere 
 worth the fabulous salary of $3 it is impos- 
 sible to state. Henry Minich owned a tannery 
 and Nicholas Failor a store, and yet they only 
 received half that amount. 
 
 In those early days township elections were 
 called by the constables, so James McLain 
 must have been elected constable in 1830, and 
 he held the office from that time until 1836. 
 He was first a carpenter by trade and made 
 shingles. In 1836 he took the government con- 
 tract to carry mail. He came here in 1828, 
 and his residence was a one-story frame house 
 standing on the site of the present Rowse 
 Block. To run a township election for $1.55, 
 which included the posting or tacking of a 
 written notice on three conspicuous trees, and 
 then notifying the successful candidates after- 
 
 ward, at that price he could get the job today 
 and hold it forever. And the treasurer, with 
 $1.48 to squander annually, would be pointed 
 out by the little children and stared at by small 
 boys as the man who positively had in his pos- 
 session $23.77 of public funds, of which $3.15 
 was actual cash! Mr. Hahn at that time 
 owned what is now the Deal House, a brick 
 hotel erected by him in 1.831. It will be ob- 
 served the trustees issued orders for $14.53, 
 with only $3.15 cash. It is probable that Mr. 
 Hahn, being a shrewd business man, made his 
 $1.48 first lien on the treasury and let the oth- 
 ers wait. True, James McLean's bill for $1.55 
 was allowed in March, 1833, for work done 
 two years previously; so people were used to 
 waiting. But how McLean ever accumulated 
 sufficient funds to buy a large flouring mill on 
 a salary of $1.55 is a problem. There was 
 certainly no chance for graft on a treasury 
 that only carried $3.15 cash. And the notes! 
 They were all good, as the trustees considered 
 them the same as cash. The 75 cent note was 
 abundantly secured, as James Coulter had 160 
 acres of land, and Henry St. John had the dry 
 goods "emporium" of the village, and became 
 so prominent and prosperous they later sent 
 him to congress. 
 
 A month after this meefing the township 
 election came on, being held April i, 1833, at 
 the court house, and the high-priced trustee, 
 Mr. George, was either not a candidate or was 
 defeated. Failor was re-elected and with him 
 John Magers and John McCullough. Josiah 
 Scott was re-elected clerk and Jacob Hinman 
 constable; John Nimmon and Enoch B. Mer- 
 riman were elected overseers of the poor. 
 George Shaffer, John Cronebaugh and Lewis 
 Gary were elected fence viewers. Samuel 
 Myers was re-elected road supervisor in his 
 district, notwithstanding his showing of "four- 
 teen and a half days of road labor unper- 
 formed;" the other supervisors were — second 
 district, John Barney; third, Emanuel Dear- 
 dorfif; fourth, George Welsh; fifth, George 
 Hesser, re-elected. 
 
 The office of overseer of the poor was one 
 of honor, as Enoch B. Merriman was a very 
 prominent citizen, and John Nimmon had rep- 
 resented the county in the legislature in 1830. 
 One of the first acts of the trustees was to ap- 
 point Mr. Hahn as treasurer, and they didn't 
 
206 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 forget the faithful James McLean, for they 
 appointed him as constable. As far as can 
 be seen by the salaries and the names, it was 
 not a question of politics or of office in those 
 days; it was only a question of who would 
 take the position, and most of these men rec- 
 ognized it as an honor and served from a 
 sense of duty and served faithfully, their high- 
 est reward being the consciousness of having 
 performed their full duty as citizens by giving 
 a part of their time for the public good. There 
 is a lesson to be learned from our grand- 
 fathers. 
 
 Outside the city of Bucyrus there are three 
 churches in the township. There was no call 
 for any more. Bucyrus being a village with 
 churches, people walked or drove from half a 
 dozen miles around for family worship, while 
 occasionally some traveling minister, on his 
 missionary rounds, held services at the cabin 
 where he was stopping. The first known of 
 these gatherings for religious purposes was 
 held prior to 1830, at the home of Isaac Mon- 
 nett, in the extreme southeastern section of the 
 township No. 36. Services were held in the 
 various cabins at irregular intervals, but in 
 1835, when Rev. Jeremiah Monnett arrived, 
 after he built his house on the east side of the 
 pike, the old log cabin he had occupied on the 
 west side was fitted up for a school and for 
 school purposes. It was on the Bucyrus cir- 
 cuit, and services averaged perhaps once every 
 two weeks. Rev. John Hazzard was the early 
 minister, whose zeal and work built up the 
 membership to such an extent that a better and 
 larger church was needed. In 1840 the church 
 was erected east of the pike, a short distance 
 north of the Monnett home, on land donated 
 by Rev. Jeremiah Monnett, who was also a 
 large contributor to the building fund. The 
 other contributors were Osborne, Abraham, 
 William, Thomas, John and John Monnett, 
 Jr., Rev. Samuel P. Ely, Charles W. and J. W. 
 Shaw, Jeremiah Morris and David Sayler. 
 The building was a neat frame and cost about 
 $1,500. It was named Monnett Chapel after 
 Rev. Jeremiah Monnett. Among the early 
 ministers of half a century ago were Revs. 
 Stephen Fant and George Moore, who were 
 appointed to the Bucvrus circuit in 1853. 
 
 The church was dedicated by Rev. Adam 
 Poe during the winter of 1840-T. In 1871, un- 
 
 der the pastorate of Rev. D. M. Conaht, it 
 was repaired and improved, the dedicatory 
 services being conducted by Rev. Dr. A. A. 
 Nelson. In 1853 the Monnett chapel Was as- 
 signed to the Caledonia circuit and regularly 
 supplied. A graveyard was attached to the 
 church on the east, and here many of the pio- 
 neers of southern Crawford sleep their last 
 sleep. 
 
 The next church in the township was the Mt. 
 Zion U. B. church on the banks of the San- 
 dusky,, five miles southwest of Bucyrus. Serv- 
 ices were held at the various homes in the 
 neighborhood and later in the schoolhouse. 
 The ground where the church now stands was 
 purchased of Thomas Newell, and about 1868 
 the old . Wilson schoolhouse was removed to 
 the lot, and the old frame building giving way 
 to a brick, this served as a church for a few- 
 years. In 1871 the present building was 
 erected at a cost of $1,300. The earlier 
 preachers to the congregation were Revs. Mc- 
 Downey and E. Berry. David Parcher built 
 the church, and when it was dedicated. Rev. 
 David Hart was the pastor. Preaching was 
 generally held every other Sunday. 
 
 The third church is Scioto Chapel, on the 
 Marion road, six miles southwest of Bucyrus, 
 three miles west of the Monnett chapel, prin- 
 cipally from whose membership the congrega- 
 tion was formed to have services more con- 
 venient in bad weather. The church was 
 erected in 1874 and was built very quickly. In 
 May of that year two meetings were held at 
 the residence of E. B. Monnett; and at the 
 second it was decided to build a church, and E. 
 B. Monnett, F. A. Harvey and George Welsh 
 were appointed a building committee. Chris- 
 tian W^alther was the architect, and in October 
 of that year the church was completed at a 
 cost of about $2,000 — a very neat and commo- 
 dious one-story frame. It was dedicated by 
 Elder Wilson, of Kenton, O., and when the 
 church started the membership were E. B. 
 Monnett and wife, M. J. Monnett and wife, 
 Isaac Shearer and wife, J. P. Beall, wife and 
 two daughters ; Oliver Monnett and wife, Ben- 
 jamin Shearer and wife. E. Monnett and wife, 
 G. H. Welsh and wife, Bishop Scott and wife. 
 The church was attached to Claridon circuit, 
 and the first pastor was Rev. Stephen Fant. 
 
 In the early days the parents whose children 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 207 
 
 lived outside of walking distance from Bucy- 
 rus had very little school instruction. Many 
 came to Bucyrus, some from as far as four 
 or five miles distant, bringing their dinner, 
 starting from home, after doing a fair morn- 
 ing's work, and returning to do the "chores" 
 in the evening. Thomas Shawke came to Bu- 
 cyrus in 1832, and was a noted hunter, trav- 
 ersing the entire country for miles around in 
 every season of the year, and he is authority 
 for the statement that, certainly prior to 1832, 
 there was not a single school building in the 
 township south of Bucyrus. In some neigh- 
 borhoods a few families joined together and 
 small private schools were occasionally held. 
 The first township schoolhouse built outside 
 the village was in district No. 2, just west of 
 the corporation limits and stood on the north- 
 west corner of Warren and Spring streets. It 
 was built of logs in 1833, and was later re- 
 placed by a one-story frame, the old log school- 
 house being used as a woodshed for the school- 
 house proper. 
 
 Previous to 1834 there were but four school 
 districts in the county: on March 12, of that 
 year, the number was increased to five by the 
 formation of the four southeastern sections 
 into district 5;. On June S. 1838, the township 
 was reorganized into eight districts, four of 
 these practically the four northeastern sections 
 of the township, now the city of Bucyrus — 
 these were districts i, 6, 7 and 8; south of 
 these the four square miles was district 2, and 
 the southeastern four square miles was district 
 5 ; district 4 was north of the river, between 
 the Indian reservation and the village of Bucy- 
 rus, a trifle over four square miles; district 3 
 was two miles wide and four miles deep, ex- 
 tending from the Indian reservation east to 
 districts 2 and 5, what afterward became the 
 Bell or Harvey and the Arbuckle districts. 
 
 When Ohio became a state, section 16 of 
 every township was set aside for school pur- 
 poses; this land could be held, leased or sold. 
 On April 6. 1831^, the question of selling this 
 school section was voted on and carried. The 
 vote was light but practically unanimous — 
 sixtv-two for the sale and only one against it. 
 At this time small schoolhouses were being 
 erected. Previous to this the old log cabin of 
 some earlv sauatterwas fixed uo and used for 
 school purposes. In Oct., 1838. an enumera- 
 
 tion of the school children of the township was 
 taken. The four Bucyrus districts had 315; 
 No. I, 82; No. 6, 51; No. 7, 107; No. 8, 75; 
 the other districts — No. 2, 70; No. 3, 72; No. 
 4, 31; No. 5, 41; or 214 in the country dis- 
 tricts; 529 in the entire township. 
 
 After 1837 the Indian reservation became 
 open to settlement and the township was again 
 divided into school districts. There are today 
 nine districts. In the southeastern district a 
 schoolhouse was not erected until 1840, the 
 people along the pike wanting it there, and 
 those in the eastern part of the district wanting 
 it in the center of the four sections. It was 
 finally built on the pike, five miles south of Bu- 
 cyrus. Prior to its erection schools were held 
 in an old log house, which was unoccupied, just 
 south of the Monnett brick residence now oc- 
 cupied by William Monnett. Susan Bovel and 
 Harriet Huntley were the earlier teachers here. 
 Later the old log church on the Monnett home- 
 stead was used, and here Eliza Chapman and a 
 Mr. Canef taught, the latter being like Silas 
 Wegg in "Our Mutual Friend," "a literary man 
 with a wooden leg." The schoolhouse located 
 in 1840 was a constant source of dispute to the 
 residents of the district. It was originally 
 built on the pike, half a mile west of the cen- 
 ter of the district, the residents there predom- 
 inating in numbers and influence. Later the 
 eastern part of the district elected trustees fa- 
 vorable to their section, and the schoolhouse 
 was hauled across the fields half a mile to the 
 east to the center of the district. The pike 
 residents wakened up and at the next election 
 selected their own trustees, and the school- 
 house was hauled back to its original site. 
 There A\as no east and west road at that time, 
 so transportation of the building was across 
 the fields. This was so inconvenient that a 
 road was petitioned for and laid out, and the 
 next time the eastern section secured control, 
 the schoolhouse had a road to travel on. The 
 little temole of learning became a much trav- 
 eled building, and was known as the "mov- 
 able schoolhouse." Its search for a final rest- 
 ing place might have continued to this day, but 
 for the fact that many years ago the earlv 
 residents along the pike had moved away, 
 and the schoolhouse was finally placed in the 
 center of the district, half a mile east of the 
 pike, where it still remains with no one to ob- 
 
208 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ject, as the entire four sections are now large 
 farms, so that it would be considered a ban- 
 ner day in some terms when half a dozen 
 scholars were present. 
 
 On March 22, 1834, a number of the resi- 
 dents of school district No. 5 met at the home 
 of David Dinwiddle, two miles south of Bucy- 
 rus and decided to erect a schoolhouse on the 
 southwest corner of Silas Sweney's land; 
 later the building on the farm then owned by 
 Andrew Kerr, on the east side of the pike, two 
 miles south of Bucyrus. It was a small log 
 building, and among the first teachers were 
 Casper Rowse, Harriet Robinson, Abraham 
 Myers and Sarah Butler. In a few years it 
 was replaced by a small frame building and 
 this, in 1877, by the present brick structure. 
 It was known for years as the Beal school- 
 house, and here many a young lawyer of Bucy- 
 rus and many a pupil .in the high school at- 
 tended the debating societies and spelling 
 schools held during the winter seasons. Other 
 districts followed with log schoolhouses re- 
 placed by frame, and these gave way to the 
 present brick buildings, the first brick being 
 erected in district No. 8 in 1876. 
 
 In 1857 Miss Mary Monnett, a daughter of 
 Abraham Monnett, who was attending the 
 Wesleyan Female College at Delaware, made 
 a donation to that college of $20,000. This 
 liberal donation, occuring as it did, had a very 
 great efifect in strengthening that seat of 
 learning and was the first practical effort to- 
 wards making the Ohio Wesleyan University 
 what it is today. The money was used for 
 the erection of a needed building, which was 
 named Monnett Hall — a name it retains to 
 this day, with the donor's picture occupying 
 a prominent place in the building. Even be- 
 fore the donation Miss Monnett's relatives, 
 being Methodists, attended the college; but 
 in the last half century it is probable that a 
 hundred of the Monnetts or their immediate 
 relatives have obtained their instruction at 
 that institution. One among them, the Hon. 
 Frank S. Monnett, was a graduate of the 
 class of '80; he was admitted to the bar and 
 became one of the successful lawyers of 
 Bucyrus and in this section, and in 1895 was 
 elected by the Republicans as attorney gen- 
 eral of the state. For some years the office 
 of attorney general had drifted into minor 
 
 importance. The new attorney-general was 
 active, fearless and energetic, and early re- 
 stored the office to its former position as 
 second only to that of the governor. He was 
 ten years in advance of the political parties on 
 the subject of trusts and combinations, and 
 drifted into the Democratic party, removing 
 his home from Bucyrus to Columbus. He had 
 a collegiate education, a strong voice, and be- 
 came one of the national speakers for Mr. 
 Bryan in 1908, and it was generally under- 
 stood ithat he would be the attorney-general 
 of the United States in Mr. Bryan's cabinet. 
 Prior to 1830 several roads had been lo- 
 cated in Bucyrus township, the Columbus and 
 Sandusky pike entering the township two 
 miles west of its eastern border and running 
 northeast to Bucyrus. In laying out this road 
 Heman Rowse, Nathaniel Plummer and Ben- 
 jamin Parcher were appointed the viewers in 
 1824. The same year what is now the Wyan- 
 dot, or Little Sandusky road, was ordered laid 
 out, entering Bucyrus on its western boundary 
 one mile north of the southwest corner of the 
 township and northwest to Bucyrus. The next 
 year, 1825, the Marion road was established, 
 halfway between the pike and the Wyandot 
 road and running northwest to Bucyrus. These 
 roads, all being arteries from the southern and 
 southwestern part of the state to Bucyrus and 
 the north, were soon thronged with travellers, 
 at first with a weekly line of stages, later tri- 
 weekly, and eventually daily. As a result 
 taverns were started all along these roads. 
 Who kept the first it is impossible to state. 
 But in 1836 a license was issued to Peter Hes- 
 ser, on payment of $5, to keep a tavern; also 
 one to Benjamin Warner for $7 ; his place was 
 on the pike five miles south of Bucyrus and 
 was known as the "Four-mile Tavern." He 
 came to the county in 1826 from Pennsylvania 
 and kept a tavern for about fifteen years. He 
 was a Quaker, one of the Society of Friends, 
 and his tavern was recognized as a S5monym 
 for good cheer. He was hospitable and made 
 all welcome, and many a poor and weary trav- 
 eller, withoul; money, found rest and refresh- 
 ment at Benjamin Warner's. Like a Quaker, 
 he said little, but many a weary black, fleeing 
 from slavery, arriving before daylight, found 
 food and shelter during the day and left after 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 209 
 
 dark, guided to his next station on the under- 
 ground railroad. 
 
 Joshua Bebout in 1838 took out a $5 license 
 to keep a tavern in the township, and some 
 years later it was taken out by John W. Be- 
 bout. Thompson Brown took out a license in 
 1840 for $7.50. There were taverns on the 
 Marion road, three miles from Bucyrus, and 
 another in Dallas township ; on the Little San- 
 dusky road there was one about three miles 
 from Bucyrus and another some six miles out. 
 All did a good business. 
 
 Excepting Bucyrus there are no villages or 
 even settlements in the township, and no store 
 ever existed outside the city. A number of 
 saw-mills were erected in the early days. 
 Young ran a horse-power mill, later changed 
 to waterpower on the Sandusky, a mile south- 
 west of Bucyrus, later Sinn's mill, then the 
 Couts mill, then abandoned, and of which only 
 the ruins now remain, the dam being washed 
 away. 
 
 Further down the stream was Danser's dam, 
 where once stood a saw-mill run by water- 
 power ; and still farther was Athey's dam, with 
 another saw-mill, both long since abandoned, 
 the dams washed away and hardly enough 
 ruins left at either place to mark where they 
 once stood. 
 
 The plains from the start were almost en- 
 tirely used for grazing. True, wheat and 
 corn were raised, but the corn mainly for 
 feeding purposes, although fine crops have been 
 produced on the plains. As early as 1852, 
 Linus H. Ross, father of John Ross and 
 grandfather of Linus Ross, reported a yield 
 of 126 bushels to the acre, and the next year 
 E. Barrett reported three acres with an aver- 
 age yield of 129.2 per acre, and the same year 
 Samuel S. Caldwell, three acres, with an aver- 
 age of 124.2 per acre, and in 1859 Joseph Kerr 
 reported one acre yielding 128 bushels. But 
 the bulk of the plains was devoted to cattle 
 raising and cattle grazing, and some flocks of 
 sheep. In 1834 there was a craze for short- 
 horn Durhams in this county, and Robert 
 Kerr brought in some from Pickaway county, 
 and John Ross some from Kentucky. Many 
 farmers devoted their attention to cattle 
 breeding, and also to the fattening and sale of 
 cattle, a thousand head sometimes being held 
 by one man. Abraham Monnett was the cat- 
 tle king of southern Crawford and northern 
 
 Marion, and when but a young man E. B. 
 Monnett made several trips to Illinois driving 
 100 to 300 head through for his father; also 
 from intermediate points. The trip took 
 weeks. Later followed their sale, the seller 
 sending along a man the first day or two to 
 get the cattle "started," for after one or two 
 days' driving, the cattle had a leader and they 
 followed without any trouble, these trips fre- 
 quently extending as far as New York. 
 
 The plains being low and marshy in many 
 places and overgrown with tall grass and 
 weeds, decaying each season, it was easy to 
 obliterate traces of the Indian trails. Yet Syl- 
 vester Bourne, in his field notes, made in 1817, 
 finds many distinct traces of these Indian 
 trails across the plains. Hulbert, the authority 
 on Indian trails, gives as one of the most prom- 
 inent a trail commencing west of the mouth 
 of the Scioto, north on the west side of that 
 river, until south of Columbus, where it 
 crosses the river and continues north, passing 
 through or near Bucyrus. This trail is dis- 
 tinctly traced by Bourne's notes, but west of 
 where Hulbert's map would place it. It is 
 marked in sections 35 and 36 in Dallas town- 
 ship, and enters Bucyrus township in section 
 30, going from section 30 northeast through 
 sections 20, 21, 16, 15, 11 and i. In section 30, 
 Bucyrus, northwest of the Harvey school- 
 house, perhaps half a mile, the notes show a 
 trail going through the northeast corner of sec- 
 tion 24, Dallas township, crossing the river 
 between sections 24 and 2^, Dallas, and con- 
 tinuing on to the Indian village at Upper San- 
 dusky. According to writers on ancient trails, 
 this trail from Upper Sandusky continued 
 through southwestern Bucyrus in a southeast- 
 erly direction through Dallas and toward Owl 
 Creek (Knox Co.) and to the Tuscarawas re- 
 gion. Bourne's notes show it continued east, 
 crossing the Little Scioto in the northwest 
 quarter section of section 28 (farm of Daniel 
 Rexroth) then northeast near the south side of 
 the Little Scioto through the northwest quarter 
 of section 27 (farm of W. H. Miller) the 
 southwest quarter of section 22 (farm of Wm. 
 Caldwell's heirs) and through sections 23 and 
 24 into Whetstone township, where one branch 
 went toward Leesville and the other to the 
 Whetstone and followed the north banks of 
 that river into Polk. In the east half of sec- 
 
210 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ton 28 Bucyrus (between the land of Daniel 
 Rexroth and Jonathan Carmean), the trail it 
 met leading northeast was a man trail, and 
 that continued southwest crossing the little 
 Scioto in the south half, section 26 (Carmean 
 farm) and tollowing the Little Scioto through 
 Dallas into Marion county and south to Co- 
 lumbus, 'ihe Bourne field notes show a trail 
 from Bucyrus to Upper Sandusky crossed the 
 river just abouf at the Mansfield street bridge 
 and followed the present Oceola road one 
 mile, then ran a little south of it, and following 
 through sections 33, 32 and 31 in Holmes it 
 entered Tod, in the northeast corner of sec- 
 tion 36, half a mile south of the Oceola road, 
 passing through sections 25 and 26 in Tod, 
 crossed the Brokensword, half a mile south- 
 west of Oceola, about on the farm of G. E. 
 Sigler, then west to Upper Sandusky. 
 
 As to the military road, over which some of 
 the Pennsylvania troops marched in 181 2 to 
 Fort Ferree, Benjamin Sears, who came to 
 Crawford county, in 1837, remembers no 
 trace. At the time he arrived, the Mansfield 
 and Bucyrus road had been laid out, and was 
 in use; it had extended west toward Oceola 
 a quarter of a mile past their home, and was 
 in 1837 almost to the Indian reservation line, 
 which was about a mile beyond his father's 
 house. Mr. Sears hunted all over that region, 
 and does not recall a trace of any road. At 
 that time, 1837, he is certain no road was 
 cut through the woods from Bucyrus to Upper 
 Sandusky nor was there any trace of such a 
 road. The road is given on all maps from 181 5 
 to 1825, so it seems it was only vised for mili- 
 tary purposes; in the dozen years that elapsed 
 from its use to the first coming of the pioneers, 
 it became overgrown with bushes and grass and 
 small trees, leaving no definite trace behind. 
 It is difficult to figure how a road could be 
 cut through the forest, and a generation later, 
 and even less, leave no trace behind. That a 
 body of Pennsylvania troops did pass from 
 Crestline through Bucyrus and on to Upper 
 Sandusky all records show there is no question. 
 Another military road it appears also existed, 
 entering the county north of Gabon, passing 
 through southern Whetstone, and southern 
 Bucyrus through Wyandot to Little Sandusky. 
 Of this faint traces are seen in eastern and 
 central Polk township, but all trace is lost for 
 
 about three miles in western Polk and eastern 
 Whetstone townships, just before it reaches 
 the plains, where, of course, the open country 
 and decaying vegetation and overfiowing 
 swamps would obliterate everything in a very 
 few seasons. 
 
 There was an Indian camp existed at an 
 early day, about four miles west of Bucyrus. 
 The Bucyrus Journal of June 10, 1853, con- 
 tains the following item: 
 
 "We were shown the other day a sword, 
 foun4 on May 29, by Jacob Kinsey, about 
 four miles west of this place, at what is called 
 'Plumb Orchard,' or the 'Old Indian Camp.' 
 The sword bears every appearance of having 
 been made and used by some ancient race, un- 
 known perhaps in this country. The blade is 
 three feet, two inches in length, about one and 
 a quarter inches wide at the hilt, tapering from 
 both sides to the point, which is very sharp. 
 The hilt is covered with a basket of steel, 
 strongly made, and serves as a perfect safe- 
 guard to the hand and wrist. It is very much 
 rusted but if there were letters on it, they 
 could easily be seen ; there are, however, none. 
 The following figures are found on the basket 
 of the hilt: 
 
 6/56 
 
 "It is quite a curiosity and may lead to^ a 
 more careful ex^imination of matters connected 
 with it. It was found with the point in the 
 ground, with a large root practically grown 
 over the hilt. In the same place, we learn, a 
 musket was found a few years ago, which had 
 every appearance of being very old." 
 
 The early grave yards of Bucyrus were out- 
 side the original plat of the town but now in- 
 side the corporation limits. The very first 
 A\as along Middletown street east of Walnut. 
 Among those known to be buried there were 
 Daniel. Beadle, the infant child of Mishael 
 Beadle, who died Sept. i, 1822 ; the next burial 
 was the five-year old child of Jacob Kellogg, 
 died Dec. 30, 1822. The first adult was John 
 Deardorff^, who died in 1823, and the same 
 year his daughter Margaret was buried here, 
 and in 1824 his son William. Rachel Kellogg 
 was buried here in 1824, and her father, John 
 Kellogg, in 182 1;. 
 
 In 1824 the Carys had a grave yard across 
 the river, in what was known years ago as the 
 Henry orchard, just south of the present Holy 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 211 
 
 Trinity cemetery. The tirst burial here was 
 in 1824, Rachel Gary, wife of Lewis Gary, and 
 that same year was buried Elizabeth Bucklin, 
 the mother of Albigence Bucklin and Mrs. 
 Samuel Norton. Daniel McMichael was bur- 
 ied here in 1825, and also Seth Holmes the 
 same year; also Timothy Kirk and wife. In 
 this yard was buried in 1827, Peter, the col- 
 ored servant of Lewis Gary, the first colored 
 man ever in Bucyrus. 
 
 The next burial ground was the Tiffin grave 
 yard, located on land donated by Amos Glark,. 
 and still in existence as a cemetery, but for 
 many years unused as a burial site. The first 
 burial was that of Samuel Yost, the infant son 
 of Abraham Yost, who died May 12, 1827. 
 In these grounds are the last resting place of 
 Samuel Norton, who died April 18, 1856, and 
 his wife Mary Norton, who died April 29, 
 1859, the first pioneers of Bucyrus. Two other 
 graves there are Thomas Howey, died May 
 27, 1835, and Joseph Knott, died Nov. 5, 1826, 
 both reported as soldiers who served in the 
 Revolutionary war. Among others buried here 
 of the early pioneers were Isaac H. Allen, the 
 first prosecuting attorney of the county; Elias 
 Gronebaugh who was killed accidentally at the 
 building of the first court house on Dec. 4, 
 1830: Matthew and Elizabeth Free, Robert 
 Foster. John Heinlen. Abraham, John and 
 Daniel Halm, Elisha Kent, John Kanzleiter, 
 Darius Langdon. Hugh and William Mc- 
 Gtillough. Hugh iMcGracken. Matthew Mc- 
 Michael, William V. Marquis, William Magers, 
 John J. MoUenkopf, John Nimmons, Thomas 
 Parks, William Robinson, Thomas Rogers, 
 Gonrad Roth, Ghristian Sexauer, Henry and 
 James Sell, William F. Schindler, John Stine- 
 man, Beniamin and Joseph Spahr, James and 
 Matthew Tate, Jonathan Timberlin. 
 
 In 1830 the Lutheran grave yard was 
 
 started, known as the Southern grave yard. It 
 was outside the corporation, and was on the 
 west side of Spring street, between Rensselaer 
 and Warren. When it was abandoned all the 
 bodies were removed to Oakwood cemetery. 
 Among the pioneers originally buried there 
 were George Aumiller, GhrLstopher Boyer, 
 Isaac Ditty, Peter and George Lauck, Peter 
 Miller, Abraham Myers. 
 
 There was a grave yard, two miles west of 
 Bucyrus on the Wyandot road, where Joseph 
 Young and many of his family were buried. 
 The first known burial was that of William 
 Young, who died Oct. 25, 1839, aged -jy 
 years. 
 
 In the Monnett chapel grave yard the first 
 burial was Margaret Slagle, who died Aug. 
 12, 1 84 1. John W. Shaw, colonel of the 34tli 
 O. V. I., is buried here; also Abram Monnett, 
 who died Aug. 12, 1854. Jeremiah Monnett, 
 the founder of the church, died Sept. i, 1864, 
 and is buried here. 
 
 One mile north of the Monnett chapel was 
 the original Monnett grave yard, on the land 
 of Isaac Monnett. The first known burial 
 was John Monnett, who died Nov. 26, 1831, 
 aged 26 years. 
 
 Mt. Zion church has a grave yard, and the 
 first recorded interment is the Mcllwain twins, 
 who died Sept. 25, 1866. Another grave there 
 is Esther White, who died Oct. 22, 1884, in 
 the 89th year of her age. 
 
 Five miles west of Bucyrus is the Streib 
 grave yard, and the first known interment was 
 Mary Zimmerman on Feb. 17, 1867. Many 
 buried here are over seventy vears of age, J. G. 
 Mellenkopp, who died Oct. 18, 1886, being then 
 in his Q^d year, and Rev. Michael Streib, who 
 died May 4, i8q7, being in his 86th year; 
 Ghristooher Soieele, 84: John Steinhilber. 83, 
 and Michael Snvder, 81. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 CHATFIELD TOWNSHIP 
 
 The Erection of Chatiield Township— Topography and Drainage— The Cranberry Industry 
 Pioneers and Early Settlers — German Immigfation — Early Industries — Rearing Silk- 
 worms Taverns — The McKinley Graves — Justices — North Liberty and Its Founder — 
 
 Richville-ChatHeld P. 0. Established— Postmasters— Grove Hill P 0.— Schools 
 Churches — Cemeteries. 
 
 The farmer sat in his easy chair 
 
 Smoking his pipe of clay, 
 While his hale old wife with busy care 
 
 Was clearing the dinner away. 
 
 — Charles G. Eastman. 
 
 March 6, 1828, Chatfield township was 
 erected by the Commissioners of Crawford 
 county. Prior to that time it had been a part 
 of Cranberry township, but the building of the 
 pike road from Bucyrus to Sandusky, the 
 large amount of travel over that road, and the 
 tendency of settlers to enter land along the 
 most traveled routes, had made the western 
 part of Cranberry as populous as the eastern, 
 so the citizens in the western portion presented 
 a petition to the commissioners for a division 
 of the township and the request was granted. 
 Cranberry at that time was six miles deep and 
 eight and a half wide, and the four western 
 miles were taken off and the new township 
 was named Chatfield, after Silas and Oliver 
 Chatfield. The division left Cranberry the 
 same as it is at present. At the same time 
 Lykins was erected six miles square — the 
 present Lykins and the western mile of the 
 present Chatfield. When Wyandot county 
 was created by the Legislature in 1845, it 
 necessitated a rearrangement of the western 
 townships of the county, and the eastern mile 
 of Lykins was attached to Chatfield, making 
 both townships five miles square, as they exist 
 today. 
 
 Chatfield township is one of the most fer- 
 tile sections of Crawford county. Crossed by 
 
 those extensive glacial ridges which extend 
 from east to west in the northern part of the 
 state, it has the advantage of long and grad- 
 ual slopes which give it excellent drainage. 
 The soil is chiefly alluvial in the eastern part, 
 while the western portion contains more clay. 
 Its principal drainage is Sycamore creek 
 which, with several branches, covers almost 
 the entire township. In the northern part 
 Silver creek passes to the west entering Seneca 
 county on its way to the Sandusky, while in 
 the southern section of the township are small 
 branches that find their way to the Broken- 
 sword. 
 
 Many of the Wyandot Indians roamed over 
 Chatfield township as late as 1830, as they 
 came every autumn and camped near the cran- 
 berry marshes in the southeastern part of the 
 township. They often remained all winter, 
 the squaws gathering the berries, while the 
 men engaged in the manlier occupations of 
 hunting and trapping. The cranberries and 
 skins were taken by them on their ponies to 
 Sandusky or Bucyrus, and here exchanged for 
 a few necessaries, more trinkets, and still more 
 "Sandusky water," the latter an inferior 
 whisky which was a bad investment for poor 
 "Lo." The white settlers were not long in 
 discovering that the cranberry industry was a 
 profitable one, and the same rule prevailed in 
 Chatfield, as elsewhere, of the survival of the 
 fittest, and the Indians were gradually driven 
 from the region. The influx of settlers, with 
 the clearing of the land, no longer left that 
 
 212 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 213 
 
 section a hunting ground, and in 1843 the few 
 of the Wyandots who occasionally drifted into 
 the township joined with their tribe and turned 
 their faces toward the setting sun, typical of 
 the departed glories of their race, and found 
 a new home in the reservation allotted to them 
 in far away Kansas. 
 
 The first settler in Chatfield township was 
 Jacob Whetstone, who as early as 1820 roamed 
 through the woods hunting and trapping. He 
 built for himself a cabin about a mile and a 
 half northwest of the present village of Chat- 
 field on the bank of the Sycamore. He had 
 a wife and family and cleared about an acre 
 of land. But his principle support was the 
 rifle, and the products of his skill, carried to 
 Sandusky or Bucyrus on foot, furnished the 
 necessaries of life the forest failed to supply. 
 Later George Stuckman "squatted" near him, 
 another hunter, but owning no land, support- 
 ing his family by his rifle. As the first set- 
 tlers came these hunters were employed by 
 them to secure the game while the real pio- 
 neers put in their time clearing away the for- 
 est. They assisted the settlers in erecting 
 their first cabins, and at times in the work of 
 the forest and field. But manual labor was 
 irksome to them, and both moved with their 
 families to the west where the game was still 
 plentiful. 
 
 Another early settler was John Henry, who 
 devoted his entire time to hunting and trap- 
 ping. He was an expert shot, careful and 
 provident, and from the sale of his furs se- 
 cured sufficient money to purchase a farm in 
 section 19, and as the country became more 
 settled and game became scarcer, he devoted 
 less attention to hunting and more to farming. 
 
 As early as 1824 the road, which later be- 
 came the Columbus and Sandusky Pike, was 
 in existence from Columbus through Bucyrus 
 to Sandusky and there was already much 
 travel along this route. Settlers began locat- 
 ing along this road, among the first being Silas 
 and Oliver Chatfield, James and John Robin- 
 son, William Spanable, William Champion 
 and David Clute, the Chatfields entering land 
 near . the present village of that name and 
 Champion and Spanable north of Chatfield. 
 
 Among other early settlers were Ira 
 Chase, Demetry Winterhalter, John Hamilton, 
 Thaddeus Kent, David Tipton, Ichabod Smith, 
 
 who came about 1828; John Armitage, Luther 
 C. Flint, David Kimball, John Mitchell, Dan- 
 iel Shaffstall, in 1829; Lloyd Ady, Jacob Bib- 
 ble, Richard Davidson, Samuel Foote, Sidney 
 Holt, William McPherson, Truman Wilkin- 
 son, Jonas Yingling, in 1830; and Nathan An- 
 thony, Jacob Bunce, John, Benjamin and 
 Ephraim Clements, Richard Frisbie, Adam 
 Fauser, in 1831. 
 
 These settlers were mostly of English de- 
 scent, and came to Chatfield from the eastern 
 counties of the state, having previously em- 
 igrated from New England. They entered 
 land along the Columbus and Sandusky turn- 
 pike, which being an outlet both north and 
 south soon became lined with the log cabins of 
 these and other settlers. Many of them be- 
 came early prominent in township affairs. In 
 183 1 Ichabod Smith was elected justice of the 
 peace, Richard Davidson in 1834, and Daniel 
 Shaff stall in 1837; Richard Davidson was also 
 township clerk in 1833, and David Clute and 
 John Mitchell were trustees the same year; 
 Luther C. Flint was appointed the first post- 
 master in 1834 by Andrew Jackson. 
 
 As early as 1832 was an influx of Germans, 
 coming direct from the mother country. In 
 later years their friends were sent for and 
 eventually Chatfield and surrounding town- 
 ships were so strongly settled by this nation- 
 ality that public and private business was best 
 conducted in the German language, and at the 
 national and state elections, the tickets were 
 printed in both English and German. These 
 German settlers were steady and industrious, 
 temperate and frugal; they labored early and 
 late, cleared the forests and reclaimed the 
 marshes, and half a century later, in times of 
 monetary depression, when the business men 
 of Bucyrus had need of cash to meet some 
 pressing emergency they took a hurried drive 
 to Chatfield township and never came back 
 empty-handed. 
 
 Among the Germans and others arriving in 
 the thirties were the following: 
 
 1832 — George Brown, Edward Biggs, 
 Jacob Bright, George Carrothers, Henry Durr, 
 Harris Garton, John Heckenlively, John G. 
 Karg, John G. Long, Benjamin Lindsley, 
 Jacob Nigh, John Scott and five sons, Isaac, 
 Solomon, George, William and John H. 
 
 1833 — Daniel Brindley, Jacob Gross, Chris- 
 
21-t 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tian Hipp, William Koenig, Gottleib and 
 Michael Lutz, Jacob Regala, Peter Reidel, 
 Thomas Timony, Peter Wieter, George Wid- 
 dle, John Winterholter, James Adams. 
 
 1834 — Hugh Goshorn, Jacob L. Gurwell, 
 Abraham Harmon, Benjamin Hilliar, John G. 
 Ott, Benjamin Royce, Jacob Schlater, B. 
 Dimock. 
 
 1835 — Johannes Burgbacher, John Fissel, 
 Thomas Johnson, William King, David and 
 James McKinley, George Shaffer. 
 
 1836— William Kolb, Spencer Moffitt, 
 Timothy Park, Nathan Rich. 
 
 1837 — George Leonhart, David Spore. 
 
 As their names indicate some of these set- 
 tlers were of English or Scotch-Irish origin. 
 David McKinley above mentioned being no 
 less a personage than the great grandfather of 
 the late President McKinley, and James Mc- 
 Kinley his grandfather. These settlers located 
 in different parts of the township, and their 
 log cabins and clearings soon began to en- 
 croach on the primeval forest, their settle- 
 ments being the germ of that advanced civil- 
 ization, and well cultivated farms and com- 
 fortable homesteads that meet the eye on every 
 hand today. The substantial and well fur- 
 nished residences which the farmer of today 
 regards as necessary to his comfort and re- 
 spectability would doubtless have been re- 
 garded by them as palatial, and they would no 
 doubt have looked on such modern furnishings 
 as brussels carpets, cane-seated or plush fur- 
 niture, pianos and all the various nicknacks 
 in which the modern housewife takes such 
 pride, as scandalous superfluities. 
 
 They experienced the same inconvenience 
 of those in other portions of the county. 
 Money was scarce, and besides clearing their 
 land, and making their own crude furniture 
 they obtained needed cash by working on the 
 turnpike then being constructed, or leaving 
 the farm during the summer to the care of 
 their wives and children, went on foot to the 
 western part of the state, where they obtained 
 employment on the Miami canal, then build- 
 ing between the Maumee river and Dayton, 
 and the cash obtained for their labor they 
 promptly invested in additional land. 
 
 One of these settlers was Jacob Shaffer, who 
 came from Germany in 1833, at the age of 18, 
 settling in Stark county, and in two years 
 
 saved $50, when he came to Chatfield town- 
 ship with his wife and entered forty acres of 
 land in section 3. He btiilt his log cabin, and 
 it was pointed out for several years as the best 
 house in that neighborhood. His land was 
 all forest, and the first year he cleared three 
 acres, which he planted in wheat. Shaffer 
 was one of those who walked over sixty miles 
 to Paulding county to obtain needed money 
 by working on the canal. 
 
 George Leonhart came to America in 1833, 
 and liaving $600, invested it in land in Stark 
 county, which he later sold at an advance of 
 $200, and came to Chatfield where he started 
 with 160 acres, adding to his land as the years 
 passed until his holdings were nearly 1,000 
 acres. 
 
 Gottleib Lutz came to Chatfield in 1833, and 
 his brother Michael about the same time. 
 Gottleib started with forty acres in the woods 
 where he built his cabin. He was married in 
 Germany to Eva Kibler, and his wife accom- 
 panied him to their new home. Like the 
 others they were much annoyed by the wolves 
 whose dei>redations on stock left the sheep- 
 pens and pig-styes tenantless. 
 
 William Kalb came to Crawford county in 
 1833, settling first in Holmes township where 
 he remained three years clearing the land, and 
 in February, 1836, removing to Chatfield 
 township where he had purchased no acres 
 of land in section 19, the price being $400, 
 less than four dollars an acre. Three acres of 
 this land was already cleared. He planted 
 his crops among the stumps, and in some 
 l^laces harvested them with a butcher-knife. 
 
 Christian Hipp came from Germany with 
 William Kalb in 1833, and settled in Chat- 
 field township that same year. Accompany- 
 ing him was his 11 -year old son Frederick 
 Hipp, who when he became of age learned the 
 trade of a wagon maker in Bucyrus, went into 
 business at Chatfield, was one of the early 
 postmasters of the village, justice of the peace 
 for twenty-one years, only resigning in 1882, 
 on account of his removal to Bucyrus, having 
 been elected probate judge of the county. 
 
 Johannes Burgbacher settled in the north- 
 western part of Chatfield in 1835, purchasing 
 eighty acres of land in section 7. Here he 
 died in 1842, and on his eighteen year old son 
 John devolved the support of his family. The 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 215 
 
 day before the Fourth of July in 1849 John 
 married Susanna M. Koenig, a daughter of 
 one of the pioneers, and later he became active 
 in the affairs of the township. He was first 
 elected justice of the peace in 1856, and re- 
 elected in 1859 and 1862. Retired from the 
 office long enough to serve as county commis- 
 sioner for two terms, and at the expiration of 
 his services as commissioner, in 1872, he was 
 again elected justice, and re-elected every 
 three years until his last election in 1899, mak- 
 ing thirty-six years as justice of the peace, the 
 banner record of the county. 
 
 One of the first industries of the county was 
 a cooper shop started by William Koenig, who 
 arrived from Germany in 1833. David or 
 Daniel Shaffstall built a sawmill on Sycamore 
 creek as early as 1834, this being one of the 
 first industries in the township. It was located 
 where there was quite a slope of land toward 
 the mill on the opposite side from the stream, 
 and often in winter, when this slope was cov- 
 ered by snow or ice, the logs were rolled 
 down it to the mill. After being operated for 
 nearly twenty years by Mr. Shaff.stall, it 
 passed into other hands for ten years and was 
 again disposed of and finally abandoned. 
 
 As early as 1832 there were two taverns on 
 the turnpike about a mile north of Richville, 
 one kept by Richard Frisbie and the other by 
 Nathan Anthony. They were located on op- 
 posite sides of the pike, were two-story frame 
 iDuildings, and both were well patronized, as 
 this turnpike was largely used by settlers from 
 the central part of the state, who passed along 
 to the northern markets on Lake Erie, with 
 large droves of hogs or cattle, or with grain- 
 loaded wagons, and these drovers being a 
 thirsty and hungry tribe, they seldom passed 
 a tavern without stopping a few moments to 
 refresh the inner man. 
 
 Another tavern was opened in 1833 near 
 the southern boundary of the township by 
 Garton Frislen, and still another was built 
 about this time in the extreme northern part, 
 which, however, bore a somewhat bad reputa- 
 tion, as a resort of carousers or even worse 
 characters, though nothing more serious 
 seems to have been proved against it except 
 excessive drinking and some gambling on the 
 part of its frequenters. It was at one time, 
 however, suspected of being a resort of coun- 
 
 terfeiters, and the suspicion may have been 
 well founded, as at a later period some im- 
 plements such as counterfeiters use, were dis- 
 covered in an old shed near the tavern. With 
 this tavern was also connected a distillery hav- 
 ing two copper stills, having a united capacity 
 of about thirty gallons. After this place had 
 been conducted for about ten years the land- 
 lord was forced by popular opinion to sell out, 
 and he moved to another locality, and a pub- 
 lic nuisance was ended. 
 
 The Richard Frisbie tavern and the Senate 
 House kept by Nathan Anthony were at the 
 crossing about a mile north of the present vil- 
 lage of Chatfield, where the pike is crossed by 
 the road running from Plymouth to Sycamore 
 and McCutchenville, which was a much trav- 
 eled east and west road in the early days. 
 Other taverns along the pike prior to 1840 
 were kept by Luther C. Flint, Jacob Bunn, 
 Samuel Webber and Harris Garton, the Shade 
 House kept by a brother of Samuel Shade, 
 who ran a tavern in the northern part of the 
 township, also the tavern of Nathan Plum- 
 mer. Later Martin Wirt had a tavern south 
 of Chatfield which he advertised as a "tem- 
 perance inn," and near him Phillip Moffitt 
 had a tavern. L. D. Johnson fitted up grounds 
 at considerable expense south of Chatfield, and 
 established a sort of summer resort hotel, 
 which was known as the "Everglade Retreat." 
 It was a great place for picnic parties and 
 dances, but proving unprofitable was discon- 
 tinued, and Johnson moved to Bucyrus, and 
 purchased the McCoy House, now the Deal. 
 
 In 1837 Jacob Reidel built an ashery near 
 Richville, which was conducted for about ten 
 years. The majority of asheries in those 
 days were run in connection with stores, as 
 owing to the scarcity of money, business was 
 largely conducted on a system of barter and 
 exchange. Goods were exchanged for the 
 ashes, which were subsequently manufactured 
 into potash. 
 
 In 1840 John Lucas, with his widowed 
 daughter, Mrs. Sarah Breston, started a silk 
 manufacturing industry in Chatfield township. 
 They reared the silkworms from eggs obtained 
 in Eastern cities, feeding them on the leaves of 
 the few mulberry trees found growing in the 
 woods. The attempt was only partially suc- 
 cessful, owing chiefly to the difficulty of oh- 
 
216 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY. 
 
 taining a sufficient supply of mulberry plants. 
 Some good silk was made, however, and found 
 a ready market in Bucyrus or Sandusky city 
 and the enterprise was carried on for some 
 twelve years, when it was finally abandoned. 
 No cloth was manufactured, although neck- 
 ties and ribbons were woven by Mrs. Breston. 
 The buildings were located in the northeastern 
 part of the township, and were visited by many 
 people from all over the county and elsewhere. 
 Mr. Lucas and his daughter were of English 
 descent and were educated and refined people; 
 their business, if not wholly successful, was an 
 object lesson in intelligent enterprise and as 
 such was probably not without its fruits. 
 
 Among the prominent early settlers in the 
 northern part of Chatfield was the Scott fam- 
 ily, whose members were industrious and in- 
 telligent citizens, having a large share in the 
 building up and improvement of the town- 
 ship. A member of this family, John H. Scott, 
 a son of the original settler, was one of the 
 contractors on the turnpike and in addition to 
 money, had received an extensive tract of land 
 adjoining the turnpike as part payment for 
 his services. After residing in Chatfield for 
 many years, the Scotts sold out and moved 
 farther west. 
 
 About 1838 a wool-carding factory was 
 erected in the northern part of Chatfield by 
 Martin & Hilliar, the building being a two 
 story frame. The business was carried on for 
 some eight or ten years, when it was aban- 
 doned, the proprietors taking up farming, as 
 a more profitable industry. 
 
 James McKinley has been mentioned as one 
 of the early settlers of Chatfield township. 
 He was the grandfather of President Wm. 
 McKinley. He settled on the pike, south of 
 Chatfield, near where German Lutheran church 
 now stands, and near the site where his cabin 
 stood is now the brick school house of that 
 district. When he came to Crawford county 
 he was accompanied by his brother Ephraim 
 who settled in Bucyrus, and married Hannah 
 McCreary, a sister of the late Thomas Mc- 
 Creary of Bucyrus. Both the brothers were 
 carpenters, and a number of buildings in Bucy- 
 rus, Holmes, Lykins and Chatfield townships 
 were built by them. When James moved to 
 his farm in Chatfield all his sons accompanied 
 
 him, excepting William, the father of the 
 president. There was also with him his 
 father, David McKinley, and his mother-in- 
 law, Hannah C. Rose, both great-grandpar- 
 ents of President McKinley. David McKin- 
 ley was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, 
 and was born in 1755, and died in August, 
 1840, and was buried on the farm of his son 
 James. A week later the mother-in-law of 
 James McKinley died and she was buried be- 
 side David McKinley. The land was owned 
 by David McKinley, and in 1844 it was .sold 
 by James McKinley and he moved to Lykins 
 township, a little over a mile west of Lykins. 
 At this new home on August 14, 1846, there 
 was a double wedding, one daughter, Hannah, 
 marrying T. J. Tilford, and another daugh- 
 ter, Ellen, marrying James Winters. On 
 Christmas day, 1853, another daughter, Mar- 
 tha, was married to Stephen Waller. The 
 parents had moved to South Bend, Indiana, 
 where both died on the same day on the for- 
 tieth anniversary of their marriage in 1847, 
 and were buried in the same grave. James 
 McKinley, the grandfather of the president, 
 was a soldier of the war of 1812, and passed 
 through this section during the war, arid was 
 so favorably impressed with the country that 
 it eventually led to his location in the county. 
 In disposing of the farm the David McKinley 
 heirs still retained control of the burial site, 
 and on the death of James it passed to his son 
 William, the father of President McKinley. 
 More than a half a century passed, and the 
 stones that once marked the last resting place 
 of the ancestors of a president of the United 
 States had long since mouldered into decay, 
 the graves alone remained, grass grown and 
 briar covered, when the name of McKinley 
 became known through the length and 
 breadth of the land, and the old settlers re- 
 called the fact that the grandfather of one of 
 the nation's greatest men had- once made his 
 home among them. The coming president, 
 then governor of the state, visited the site, and 
 at his request the little churchyard was ex- 
 tended to include the McKinley burial plot, 
 and in the extreme southeastern comer of the 
 yard can be seen the two stones, erected by 
 the president of the United States, and bear- 
 ing the simple inscriptions: 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 219 
 
 David McKinley 
 
 revolutionary soldier 
 
 Born 1755, Died 1840. 
 
 Hannah C. Rose 
 Born 1757, Died 1840. 
 
 In 1830 one of the pioneers was Richard 
 Davidson. His father, George Davidson was 
 a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was a 
 cousin of the ill fated Colonel Crawford. 
 Richard was born in Virginia on May 28, 
 1799, on land which was granted to his father 
 by the government for services in the Revolu- 
 tion, but the title was never perfected and the 
 land passed into other hands. George David- 
 son went to Knox county, Ohio, and in 1830 
 his son Richard came to Crawford, settling on 
 land just southeast of Chatfield, and in 1834 
 was one of the first justices of the county, 
 serving for three terms. 
 
 The complete list of justices of Chatfield 
 township is as follows : Ichabod Smith — 
 1 83 1 -34 ; Richard Davidson — 1 834-3 7-40 ; 
 Daniel Shafifstall — 1837-40-43-49; Levi Cas- 
 key — 1846; James Gibson — 1846; John Rob- 
 erts — 1849; Demetry Winterhalter — 1849; 
 Ormond W. Johnson — 1852; Wilson Stewart 
 —1852-55-58; Simon Nefsger— 1853; John 
 Burgbacher — 1856-59-62-71-75-78-81, 84, 
 87-90-93-99; Frederick Hipp — 1861-64-67-70 
 73-76-79; J. H. Davidson — 1865-68-82; John 
 H. Lust — 1885; John Guiss— 1888-91-95-98; 
 D. H. Angene — 1894-95; Joseph H. Mollen- 
 cop — 1896; F. H. Barth — 1898-0 1 -07-1 1 ; and 
 C. F. Hammer — 1903. 
 
 The first town laid out in Chatfield town- 
 ship was by John Henry who came to the 
 township in 1824 as a hunter. From the pro- 
 fits of his markmanship he bought land in sec- 
 tion 19 a mile south of the present village of 
 Chatfield, but he was not cut out for a farmer. 
 In those early days stock was allowed to run 
 at large, and the hogs soon grew wild. As a 
 protection settlers marked their stock so that 
 even the hogs when wild could be identified. 
 These marks were made a matter of township 
 record, as the following from a township 
 clerk's book in the possession of Frederick 
 Hipp shows : 
 
 "Thomas Johnson's ear mark for his cattle 
 and hogs is a square crop off the left ear and 
 a slit in the same." 
 
 "Adrian Hoblitzell's ear mark for cattle and 
 hogs is a slit in both ears." 
 
 "John Davidson's ear mark for cattle and 
 hogs is a swallow fork in each ear." 
 
 If the ears of the hogs held out it is prob- 
 able that each settler had his distinguishing 
 brand. There were many wild hogs in the 
 early days, and also many not marked, but 
 when a settler shot a hog it was the almost 
 invariable custom to return the dead animal 
 to its owner. John Henry was an expert shot 
 with the rifle; he disliked farming, and it was 
 generally reported by his neighbors that many 
 of their hogs found their way into his larder. 
 At any rate he salted down large quantities of 
 pork, and realized considerable money by sell- 
 ing this pork to his neighbors. One day he 
 sold a barrel of this pork to Richard Davidson, 
 who lived about a mile from him, and after 
 Henry left, Davidson humorously remarked 
 to his wife: "'Well, we are only buying back 
 our own pork." 
 
 John Henry concluded to lay out a town 
 along the pike, so in the summer of 1834, he 
 sent for the surveyor of the county, Thomas 
 C. Sweney, and a town of forty-one lots was 
 platted along both sides of the pike. The 
 plat was filed in the recorder's office at Bucy- 
 rus on June 9, 1834, and showed the location 
 as being on "the north half of the southeast 
 quarter of section No. 19 Chatfield town- 
 ship." It was nearly a mile south of the 
 present village of Chatfield. The town was 
 called North Liberty, the Pike was the prin- 
 cipal, street and was called Bucyrus street; 
 west of this was a street running north and 
 south called Poplar and east of Bucyrus street 
 was Sycamore. There was but one east and 
 west street, which was called Cranberry, but 
 for lack of east and west streets it had an 
 alley on each side. There were sixteen lots 
 on Bucyrus street, eight on each side, seven- 
 teen on Poplar and eight on Sycamore. The 
 prospects of the town were good, with a daily 
 line of stages passing along the road, with 
 Bucyrus nine miles to the south and Caroline 
 eight to the north. The Bucyrus Journal, of 
 June 1834, thus mentions the enterprise : 
 
 "John Henry, sr., has laid off a new town 
 to be called North Liberty, in the center of 
 Chatfield township, and offers lots for sale on 
 
220 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 July loth. The town is nine miles north of 
 Bucyrus, on the Columbus and Sandusky pike, 
 on which there is a daily line of mail stages, 
 the county road from Cranberry to Sycamore 
 crosses the turnpike at the town." 
 
 When the town was originally laid out John 
 Henry had his house on the land and near 
 was a small frame which had been erected by 
 Demetry Winterhalter. The two first settlers 
 in the new town were Jacob Bibble and John 
 Winterhalter, who built houses into which 
 they moved with their families, two other 
 families coming soon after. The place never 
 advanced to the dignity of having a store or 
 a tavern. There were taverns north and 
 south of the village, and half a mile south, in 
 1839 Jacob Kronenbach started a store with 
 about $300 worth of goods, which he had pur- 
 chased in Bucyrus; this store was continued 
 until about 185 1 when the proprietor died and 
 the store was discontinued. The only in- 
 dustry ever in the village was the ashery of 
 Jacob Reidel. The serious drawback to the 
 town was the proprietor himself. He was 
 openly accused by his neighbors of shooting 
 their hogs. On one occasion several settlers 
 while hunting near the cranberry marsh heard 
 the crack of a rifle, and creeping through the 
 brush saw Henry in the act of cutting up a 
 hog he had just slain. One of them indig- 
 nantly fired, bringing Henry down with a shot 
 in the leg. However, after shooting him they 
 carried him home on a stretcher, and ever 
 after he was called "Hog Henry." He made 
 no complaint of the shooting, rather gloried 
 in the name, and as soon as he was able to be 
 about again his supply of pork was kept up 
 as before. His town was known all over as 
 "Hog Town," and without a store or a tavern 
 or a friend it died a natural death. Henry 
 eventually removing to the west. 
 
 In May, 1840, the village of Richville was 
 laid out and platted by William Fitzimmons, 
 the county surveyor, on the land of Nathan 
 Rich, the promoter of the new town and the 
 sole proprietor, and the plat was filed in the 
 recorder's office May 4, 1840. It was laid 
 out on the southeast quarter of section 18, and 
 consisted of nineteen lots. The Pike road 
 was the main street, and was called Harrison 
 street ; east of it was a north and south street 
 called Sycamore. One street ran east and west 
 
 called Washington. Nathan Rich was of 
 English descent, and about 1837 had erected 
 a story and a half frame on the present site 
 of the village. The second house was built 
 by John Robbins and the third by John Pugh, 
 both locating there immediately after the lay- 
 ing out of the town. Pugh engaged in the 
 manufacture of shingles and siding, which 
 business he continued for a number of years, 
 finally moving west. His charges were from 
 25 to 50 cents per hundred for the shingles. 
 He made his siding by splitting out the rough 
 clapboards, and afterward shaving them down 
 to the required thickness, the shingles being 
 prepared in much the same manner. He had 
 a son who was constitutionally and resolutely 
 opposed to manual labor, which no amount of 
 punishment could make him perform, but who 
 was a particularly bright scholar. This son 
 subsequently became a member of congress 
 from the western district to which the family 
 had moved. His conduct, however, with re- 
 spect to shirking physical labor cannot be held 
 up as an example to youths of the present day, 
 as not all boys who are thus idle become con- 
 gressmen, the rule applying rather in the op- 
 posite direction. 
 
 Mr. Rich, who founded the village, also 
 opened the first store, beginning with about 
 $75 worth of notions, which he kept chiefly 
 to exchange ^f or ashes, as he owned one of the 
 largest asheries in the county, manufacturing 
 as high as twenty-five tons of pearlash per an- 
 num. He paid from three to five cents per 
 bushel for the ashes, or gave notions, at the 
 same rate, in exchange. The pearlash was sold 
 in Bucyrus or Sandusky city at a handsome 
 profit. 
 
 In the same year in which he founded the 
 town Mr. Rich also built a saw and grist-mill. 
 It was a large two-story frame building, fur- 
 nished with one set of "niggerhead" stones 
 and with a large "up and down" saw. The 
 only grain ground was corn, and that only to 
 a limited extent, but the saw-mill did a good 
 business. These industries, including the ash- 
 ery, attracted settlers to the village, which be- 
 fore long began to assume an air of prosper- 
 ity. New houses were erected and stores and 
 other business enterprises were opened. The 
 first real store in town was kept by John Rob- 
 bins, who began in 1840 with a general assort- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 221 
 
 ment valued at about $800. After conduct- 
 ing the business for six years he sold out and 
 removed to Wyandot county. 
 
 His successor was, singularly enough, a man 
 of the same name, John Robbins, who for ten 
 years kept a large general stock and did a fair 
 business, after which he also sold out and re- 
 moved to some other locality. 
 
 The first saloon in town was kept by John 
 Quaintance, who also sold groceries. The whis- 
 key, the stock of which at the start scarcely 
 ever exceeded a jugful, was sold at three cents 
 per drink. Mr. Quaintance's stock of grocer- 
 ies, which included coffee, was also very small. 
 He had as an assistant a briglft youth of six- 
 teen summers — or winters — who on a certain 
 occasion, as narrated by a former historian, 
 evinced a singular inaptitude for business. It 
 seems that while Mr. Quaintance was out buy- 
 ing paper rags or engaged in some other out- 
 side business, a citizen came in with about fif- 
 teen pounds weight of rags, which he wished 
 to exchange for coffee. The youth, after 
 weighing the rags, weighed out the same num- 
 ber of pounds of coffee, which he handed over 
 as an even exchange, and was much hurt sub- 
 sequently to find his business abilities seriously 
 questioned by his employer. After conduct- 
 ing his store for a number of years Mr. 
 Quaintance finally closed out his stock and re- 
 tired. Another saloon was opened not long 
 afterward by a man named Kaler who, how- 
 ever, did not remain long in the business. 
 
 In 1839 Lorenzo Bartimess, a practical 
 distiller, erected buildings on a somewhat large 
 scale for the manufacture of whiskey and 
 brandy. They were furnished with two cop- 
 per stills, one containing about eight barrels 
 and the other four and both together turned 
 out from ten to thirty gallons per day, the 
 liquor being of fair quality. This distillery 
 commanded an extensive patronage and was 
 the most profitable enterprise in the township. 
 Late in the seventies the distillery was discon- 
 tinued owing to the intervention of the United 
 States ofiicials. 
 
 A store building was erected in the town 
 in 1864 by Hipp & Robinson and furnished 
 with $6,000 worth of goods. The business 
 proved profitable for a short time only, being 
 unfavorably affected by the general decline in 
 prices on the conclusion of the war. The 
 
 partners continued for five years, however, at 
 the end of which time they sold out for $3,000, 
 having sustained large losses. Markley & 
 Durr, who bought the store conducted it for 
 several years, but they also found it unprofit- 
 able and finally gave it up. Previous to Hipp 
 & Robinson's vmdertaking a man named 
 George Maltz had opened a store a little south 
 of the village, in 1854, with a stock of goods 
 valued at $2,500. He continued in business 
 for about ten years, luckily or wisely closing 
 out just before war prices began to decline. 
 Michael Hall succeeded Maltz, and was in 
 business about four years, but the investment 
 was not a profitable one and he closed up his 
 stock. Other merchants in Richville were 
 Hiram Lyons, in 1859; Frederick and William 
 Achbaugh, and Jacob Buckman, who carried 
 stock to the amount of $2,000 to $3,000, 
 Mohroff & Lutz, J. M. Durr. August Muth 
 kept the principal store of the village for many 
 years, being succeeded by his son-in-law, 
 Joseph Mollencop. The first physician in the 
 village was Dr. A. B. Fairbanks, locating 
 there soon after the town was started. 
 
 In 1830 Chatfield township had a popula- 
 tion of ninety people, and this was increased 
 by the census of 1840 to six hundred and 
 eighty. After ,1830 the settlement of the town- 
 ship was rapid, the completion of the Colum- 
 bus and Sandusky Pike making land along 
 that road desirable. On March 8, 1834, a 
 postoffice was established in the township, 
 called Chatfield, named after the township. 
 It was located north of the present village at 
 the cross roads where the Frisbie tavern was 
 situated. The first postmaster was L. C. 
 Flint. One of the early postmasters was Har- 
 ris Garton, who came to Bucyrus in 1822, 
 married Louisa Norton, and moved to Chat- 
 field. When John Henry laid out his town of 
 North Liberty attempts were made to have the 
 post office removed to that place, but the lack 
 of a store or tavern there and the feeling of 
 the people against the town and its owner pre- 
 vented its removal. In 1848 the post office 
 was removed to Richville, that place having 
 become a business center, Dr. A. B. Fairbanks 
 being the first postmaster. The name, how- 
 ever, remained Chatfield, and eventually the 
 little village dropped the name of Richville, 
 and is now known by all as Chatfield. Among 
 
222 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the postmasters at Chatfield were Wilson 
 Stewart, who was elected county commis- 
 sioner and removed to Bucyrus; Frederick 
 Hipp, who followed Wilson Stewart in 1856, 
 twenty-five years later removed to Bucyrus, 
 having been elected probate judge. His son- 
 in-law, James H. Robinson, was postmaster 
 from 1867 to 1870, and came to Bucyrus as 
 county surveyor, and later was auditor of the 
 county for two terms; it was under the ad- 
 ministration of Mr. Robinson that Chatfield 
 first secured a daily mail service. Today it 
 has several mails a day, and there are two 
 rural routes on which carriers start daily to 
 deliver the mail at the homes of all the farm- 
 ers in that section. 
 
 Prior to the removal of the postoffice to 
 Chatfield, the postmasters were tavern keep- 
 ers, the taverns in the early days being the 
 most frequented place, in the. various sections. 
 The county records show tavern licenses 
 granted to Luther C. Strong, Samuel Webber 
 and Harris Carton during the years they were 
 postmasters. The following are the different 
 postmasters at Chatfield with the date of their 
 appointment : 
 
 L. C. Flint, March 8, 1834; B. Dimock, 
 April 4, 1837; S. P. Webber, April 9, 1838; 
 Richard Frisbie, March 2, 1839; Harris Gar- 
 ton, November 9, 1841 ; Richard Frisbie, July 
 6, 1843; A. B. Fairbanks, July 5, 1848; John 
 Roberts, March 11, 1850; L. D. Johnson, 
 March 15, 185 1; James M. Stewart, July 16, 
 1853; Wilson Stewart, May 31, 1856; Fred- 
 erick Hipp, August I, 1856; J. Pitezel, July 
 26, 1861 ; George W. Moltz, September 19, 
 1861; M. R. Hull, December 5, 1863; Wil- 
 liam Aschbacker, June 22, 1865 ; James H. 
 Robinson, July 29, 1867; C. D. Markley, May 
 2, 1870; William Aschbacker, July 5, 1871 ; 
 Charles D. Markley, February 3, 1873; Wil- 
 liam Holste, July 17, 1876; William Mohr- 
 hofif, March 31, 1879; Elizabeth Mohrhoff, 
 April 23, 1885; August Muth, January 27, 
 1886; Harrison Williams, April 19, 1892; H. 
 A. Williams, November 11, 1892; L. F. Kib- 
 ler, June 8, 1894; Joseph H. Mollenkop, May 
 9, 1898. 
 
 The people in the southern part of the town- 
 ship in 1863 petitioned the government for a 
 postoffice. The request was granted and a 
 postoffice established about seven miles north 
 
 of Bucyrus in the Hopple-Klink neighbor- 
 hood. The postoffice was called Grove Hill, 
 and Frederick Rapp was appointed postmaster 
 March 30, 1863; he was succeeded by Philip 
 J. Moffitt October 5, 1868, and he by Isaac An- 
 derson June II, 1873, and sixteen days later, 
 on June 27, the office was discontinued. 
 
 The advancement of any community is usu- 
 ally in proportion to its educational facilities. 
 In this respect Chatfield township has kept up 
 with the times. The educational movement 
 was inaugurated in the summer of 1834 by 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Thompson, who opened a 
 school in her own dwelling at North Liberty. 
 She was a lady of refinement and education, 
 though little is known of her previous history. 
 She taught several terms of school of three 
 months each, charging her pupils — of whom 
 she had some twelve or fifteen — one dollar 
 each for the term. After her removal from 
 the neighborhood, school was kept in a frame 
 building erected in 1836 on the turnpike near 
 Richville. John Rissell was one of the first 
 teachers here. A few years later two more 
 school-houses were erected — one about a mile 
 northwest of the village and the other about a 
 mile and a half south on the turnpike. An early 
 teacher in the school in the northern part was 
 Mrs. Sarah Breston, previously mentioned in 
 this chapter as having been engaged in rear- 
 ing silkworms with her father, John Lucas. 
 Several teachers, however, had preceded her, 
 whose names are now forgotten. After the 
 division of the township into school districts, 
 each had a frame schoolhouse, and the old log 
 schoolhouse fell into disuse. Several of the 
 township schools were taught in the German 
 language, owing to the large proportion of 
 settlers of that nationality. John H. David- 
 son was in former years a potent factor in 
 the educational work of the township, and was 
 the first teacher in the first brick schoolhouse. 
 Some of the most efficient teachers in adjacent 
 townships were educated in Chatfield. 
 
 The first division of the township into 
 school districts was on November 11, 1833, 
 when the trustees held a meeting and divided 
 the township into three school districts. The 
 township was then four miles wide and six 
 deep, and the northern two miles, extending 
 across the township was district No. i, the 
 central two miles district No. 2, and the south- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 223 
 
 ern two miles district No. 3. The township 
 now has eight school districts, with a brick 
 school house in each one, the first township 
 in the county to have all its schoolhouses of 
 brick. 
 
 The spiritual needs of Chatfield township 
 were early looked after by ministers who 
 came from Bucyrus and other parts of the 
 county, some of whom organized churches or 
 religious societies. The German Lutheran 
 and the German Reformed churches were or- 
 ganized soon after the large influx of German 
 settlers in or about 1832. Meetings in the 
 cabins of the settlers, which, in fact, was the 
 general custom until 1837, at which time the 
 German societies fitted up a large log cabin 
 exclusively for church purposes, and it was 
 thus used for many years the building sub- 
 sequently becoming a^ schoolhouse. The log 
 cabin above mentioned was succeeded by a 
 large, almost square structure, having four 
 windows and a door and constructed of black 
 walnut lumber. Here also a Sabbath school 
 was organized. An early revival increased 
 the membership of the church to such an ex- 
 tent that even this building was scarcely large 
 enough to hold the usual congregation. In 
 the late seventies or thereabouts, the congre- 
 gation divided, the Lutherans retaining the 
 old building and the Reformers erecting a 
 new and more imposing one a short distance 
 east on the turnpike. 
 
 In 1844 the Baptists erected a church on the 
 turnpike in the southern part of the township, 
 which building is still standing. Not far 
 away is a quiet little cemetery, where re- 
 pose the remains of some of Chatfield's best 
 known and most beloved citizens of former 
 days. 
 
 About 1846 the Dunkards built a church 
 just across the line in Seneca county, near the 
 northwest corner of Chatfield, which drew 
 many members from the latter county. Many 
 years afterward it was moved across the line 
 into Chatfield, and the old building was finally 
 replaced by a new and more commodious 
 structure. 
 
 As early as 1832 the Methodists held serv- 
 ices in the cabins of the settlers, being sup- 
 plied with occasional preachers by the minister 
 from Bucyrus and traveling missionaries. 
 Later, as the membership grew they erected 
 a frame church which did service for many 
 years and was succeeded by the structure now 
 erected in Chatfield. 
 
 Chatfield is today a solid, substantial little 
 village, with a population by the census of 
 1910 of two hundred and seventy. It has 
 two railroads, and one large mill, the Chatfield 
 Milling Company, which being the center of a 
 rich grain-growing region does a large busi- 
 ness. It has several stores and shops, a town 
 hall, and graded schools. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP 
 
 Location and Erection of the Township — Topography and Drainage — Cranberry Marsh — 
 First Settlers — Early Industries — New Washington — Kibler's Tannery — Postmasters — 
 Construction of Railroad — Justices — Education — Churches. 
 
 Happy the man who tills his field 
 
 Content with rustic labor ; 
 Earth does to him her fullness yield, 
 
 Hap what may to his neighbor. 
 Well days, sound nights ; oh, can there be 
 A life more rational and free? 
 
 — Richard Henry Stoddard. 
 
 Cranberry township comprises land lying 
 on either side of the eastern boundary of an 
 extensive tract which, subsequent to 1820 was 
 known as the "New Purchase." The three 
 tiers of sections on the east belonged to the 
 "Three-mile Strip," a narrow tract of land 
 lying next east of the boundary mentioned 
 above ; and the tier of sections on the west and 
 the fractional tier lying next east of the west- 
 ern tier, were portions of the New Purchase. 
 The former portion of the township — that 
 lying east of the New Purchase — was laid out 
 in sections as early as 1807, the remainder not 
 being surveyed until about 1820. These town- 
 ships were at first known only by their num- 
 bers and ranges, names being given subse- 
 quently to them by the settlers. Cranberry was 
 named from the extensive cranberry marshes 
 lying in its southwestern parts. It was erected 
 as a township by the Crawford county commis- 
 sioners in 1826 and included what is now 
 Cranberry and the eastern four miles of the 
 present Chatfield township. Its boundaries 
 have been frequently changed but in 1828 at 
 the presidential election the polling place was 
 at the cabin of Joshua Chilcote, in Cranberry. 
 Out of the fifteen or sixteen votes then cast, 
 seven came from Cranberry, and the remainder 
 from the Chatfield part. In 1828 Chatfield was 
 
 erected by taking from Cranberry its four 
 western sections. Its present boundaries and 
 dimensions were assigned to Cranberry in 
 1835, at which time Sandusky township was 
 divided and Jackson township created, sections 
 34, 35 and 36 being annexed to Cranberry. 
 
 The surface of Cranberry township is gen- 
 erally flat, though in the northern part some- 
 what undulating. Lying on the northern 
 slope of the Ohio watershed, it is drained on 
 the northern and eastern sides by streams run- 
 ning into Huron river. Its western side is 
 drained by Sycamore creek, a branch of the 
 Sandusky. The drift deposits are deep and in 
 no place is the underlying rock exposed. In 
 the southern part of the township is found a 
 rich, black and largely alluvial soil, while in the 
 northern part, being mixed with sand and clay, 
 it is somewhat lighter. This clay of a heavy 
 tenacious quality, has been used to quite an 
 extent in the manufacture of brick, tile and 
 pottery. A few sulphur springs occur in sev- 
 eral parts of the township but are of no par- 
 ticular value. 
 
 Owing to the wet and marshy character of 
 the soil in a large part of the township, Cran- 
 berry offered few or no attractions to the pio- 
 neer settlers and, as a rule, they passed on to 
 more favored localities. Of course, in those 
 days artificial drainage was not thought of, or, 
 if thought of, was regarded as impracticable, 
 as so much other real work needed to be done. 
 The vast cranberry maijsh, however, proved an 
 attraction to hunters and trappers, as it was a 
 favorite hiding place for game, and in the win- 
 
 224 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 225 
 
 ter, when the water was frozen, was the scene 
 of many an exciting hunt. Wolves, foxes, 
 mink, and other fur-bearing animals were 
 taken in large quantities, while occasionally a 
 panther or bear was found. In wet weather 
 the water was in some places two feet deep and 
 large pools of stagnant water abounded 
 through all this vicinity. 
 
 Bands of Wyandot Indians camped in the 
 northern part of the township as late as 1825 
 and they continued to visit the locality for ten 
 years subsecjuently, after which they came no 
 more. In the winter they often organized ex- 
 tensive hunts, being sometimes joined by the 
 white settlers. The game was surrounded by 
 a wide circle of hunters, who gradually closed 
 in upon it, driving it to a common center, 
 where it was slaughtered, being afterwards 
 divided among the participants. Many such 
 exciting scenes took place in early days in this 
 township. Most of the large ponds which in 
 those days formed such a leading feature of 
 the landscape, are no longer to be seen, owing 
 to the system of drainage inaugurated some- 
 what over a generation ago, by which means 
 the stagnant water was turned into neighbor- 
 ing streams. The marsh has also been drained 
 and the soil rendered fit for the plow. 
 
 The name of the first settler in Cranberry 
 township will probably never be ascertained. 
 In 1825 thtre were but three or four families 
 settled in the township, none of whom, prob- 
 ably, had been there more than three or four 
 years. In 1823 or 1824 a Mr. Bergin built a 
 log cabin on what was afterwards the Cory 
 farm, being assisted in raising it by some set- 
 tlers from Auburn township. By 1826 he had 
 cleared and fenced a number of acres. 
 
 In that year the township witnessed the 
 advent of Aaron Cory, an ordained minister of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church, who was of 
 Scotch descent. He is thought to have been a 
 descendant of Giles Cory, who was executed 
 for witchcraft at Salem, Mass., September i, 
 i6q2, when aged 77 years. Removing from 
 New Jersey to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 
 1802, he had resided there a number of years 
 and afterwards been a resident of Richland 
 and Wayne counties. He died in Cranberry 
 township in 1834 at the age of 60 years, hav- 
 ing founded a family that has given to the 
 county some of its most intelligent, disting- 
 
 uished and upright citizens. Among them was 
 Thomas, son of Rev. Aaron, who "served with 
 singular fidelity in various positions of honor 
 and trust." Another, James E. Cory, repre- 
 sented Crawford county in the state legisla- 
 ture and was the author of several useful legis- 
 lative enactments, and Hugh M. Cory was 
 state senator from 1909 to 191 1. 
 
 Other settlers who came about the time of 
 Cory were Charles Doney, George Myers and 
 Joshua Chilcote. Doney, who came in 1825, 
 was a hunter and trapper and built a log cabin 
 near the cranberry marsh. He gave his name 
 to a long winding ridge or strip of land which 
 extended out to the center of the marsh and 
 which to this day is known as Doney's Point. 
 He was a Connecticut Yankee and had pre- 
 viously settled in the northern part of Richland 
 county but on account of game becoming 
 scarce in that locality had removed to Cran- 
 berry township, this county, where he erected 
 a cabin for himself and family. He cultivated 
 a small garden but his main business was hunt- 
 ing. He had much trouble with the Indians, 
 who stole his furs, but he finally stopped this 
 practice by catching one of the thieves and 
 giving him a sound thrashing. 
 
 George Myers bought land on the subsequent 
 site of New Washington and was afterwards 
 closely identified with the early history and 
 development of that village. 
 
 Chilcote was an Easterner who before com- 
 ing here had resided for some time in Colum- 
 biana county, Ohio. He was an enterprising 
 and energetic citizen, took a prominent part in 
 opening up roads through this locality and 
 served with ability in most of the township 
 ofifices. It is thought that the first marriage 
 in the township was that of one of his daugh- 
 ters with "Oak" Tyndal. He has numerous 
 descendants, though most of them are residents 
 of other counties. His immediate family num- 
 bered five sons — John, Nicodemus, James, 
 Joshua and Heathcote — and two or three 
 daughters. In 1820 Jacob Lederer settled in 
 the township with his three sons. 
 
 About 1828 James Boner settled in the 
 southern part of the township. He also was 
 one of the township's most useful citizens dur- 
 ing its early period. He was a man of more 
 than ordinary intelligence and served for 
 many years as a justice of the peace. A for- 
 
226 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 mer historian relates that on one occasion — 
 about 1829 — ^Judge Boner was called upon to 
 "splice" a young German named Zipsie with 
 the object of his choice. About a week later 
 Zipsie appeared and addressing the Judge, who 
 was weeding his garden, exclaimed: "Wie 
 gehts, Mishter Boner, wie gehts. You did got 
 me a firsh shtrate wife dot time." 
 
 In 1830 arrived Jacob Boyer, Jacob Shafer 
 and Christopher Faulk. They were followed 
 three years later by a large number of German 
 settlers who located in various parts of the 
 township. Among them were George Klein^ 
 Timothy McCarty, Jacob and Philip Gangloff, 
 George Seifert, Warren Rang, William Hoo- 
 ver, Henry Koehler, Benjamin Hudson, George 
 Seiter, William and Arthur Tildon, George 
 Donnenwirth, William Scott, George Stro- 
 hacker, Frederick Weaver, Michael Hartneck 
 and Joseph Worst. 
 
 About the same time came Adam and Valen- 
 tine High, Jefferson Kibler, Valentine Lantz, 
 John, William and Armstrong Irwin, John 
 Siefert, Amos Stevens and six sons, and others. 
 Most of the German settlers came directly from 
 Germany to Cranberry township. The ma- 
 jority of these settlers selected the higher lands 
 for their settlement, but some braving malaria, 
 chose the ridges that projected like peninsulas 
 into the swamp. They took some measures, 
 however, for draining the worst places and 
 in the course of years their united labor in this 
 direction had a most beneficial result. Many 
 of them made no little money out of the cran- 
 berry-picking industry, the berries in 1824 sell- 
 ing for 20 and 25 cents per bushel, with the 
 price steadily advancing. With the aid of a 
 box-like implement having a serrated board 
 for scraping off the berries, 15 or 20 bushels 
 per day were often gathered. The pickers 
 wore long-legged boots to keep out the water 
 and as a precaution against snake-bites, rattle- 
 snakes being numerous in the marsh. The 
 picking season began the latter part of Sep- 
 tember and lasted until well into the following 
 spring; but few being gathered in the winter, 
 however, owing to their being frozen in the ice. 
 Those gathered in the spring were considered 
 of the best quality, as they required less sugar 
 to prepare them for table use. By 1855 the 
 marsh had become so dry that cranberries no 
 longer grew there in paying quantities. 
 
 Previous to 1830 the township was without 
 any of the usual appurtenances of civilization. 
 Mills, manufactories, schools, churches or vil- 
 lages were non-existent. To obtain flour or 
 meal it was necessary to go to the Huron river, 
 20 miles north, except that a very small quan- 
 tity could sometimes be obtained at the horse- 
 mills in Auburn township. Household sup- 
 plies were brought from Huron and Richland 
 counties, or where obtained, later, at Bucyrus. 
 By 1842 Jefferson Wallace, a cabinet-maker 
 began "business in the southern part of the 
 township, after which many of the citizens 
 procured their household furniture from him. 
 
 In or about 1836 a log grist-mill was erected 
 in the northwestern part of the township, on 
 Broken Knife creek, "niggerhead" stones be- 
 ing used. This mill was conducted, it is 
 thought, for about six or seven years and pro- 
 duced a good article of flour. On the other 
 side of the race was a sawmill operated by Mr. 
 Chilcote, which ran for about the same length 
 of time. Both mills were built of logs, the 
 grist-mill being the larger building. 
 
 In August, 1833, the town of West Liberty 
 was laid out, and the plat was filed in the Re- 
 corder's Office in Crawford county, on Sept. 
 2, 1833. It was platted and surveyed on land 
 belonging to John Drum, who was the pro- 
 jector and proprietor of the new town. Its 
 location is described as being the south end 
 of the west half of the southwest quarter of 
 section No. 12, Chatfield township (now Cran- 
 berry. ) It was laid out almost entirely on the 
 east of the road which ran through the north- 
 ern part of the county from Mansfield to At- 
 tica and Tiffin. There were three north and 
 south streets and three north and south al- 
 leys, named Caroline, Walnut and Poplar 
 streets, and a West, Middle and East alleys. 
 All of the 26 lots laid between two east and 
 west streets, Jackson being the street on the 
 north and Front on the south. The Mans- 
 field and Tiffin road crossed diagonally through 
 the southwest corner of the plat. It was pro- 
 posed to abandon that part of the road that 
 cut through the town and have it enter from 
 the north on Caroline street, run south to Jack- 
 son, then east to the original road. It was 
 only four days after the plat was filed in 
 Bucyrus, that George Myers filed the plat of 
 New Washington, which laid just south of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 227 
 
 Drum's town of West Liberty. There was a 
 very spirited rivalry for a while between the 
 two places as to which should be the town. 
 But eventually New Washington proved the 
 stronger, and the site of West Liberty was 
 abandoned, but it is now the northern part 
 of New Washington. 
 
 George Myers was a very energetic and 
 industrious citizen. His cabin stood near the 
 site of the grist-mill and was a small building 
 constructed of round logs. He was a short 
 chubby man with heavy whiskers, which stood 
 straight out from his face and which caused 
 him to be generally known as "Chipmunk" 
 Myers. In course of time he broke himself 
 down by hard work. By 1833 he had cleared 
 and fenced 30 acres of land and had it under 
 cultivation. A part of it is now the business 
 center of New Washington. 
 
 The early growth of New Washington was 
 slow but steady. It was well situated for a 
 trade center, having no near rivals in this, re- 
 spect and the number of merchants gradually 
 increased, most of them keeping large and 
 well selected stocks. Jacob Hoover came soon 
 after Myers and built a round log cabin near 
 the northern limits of the town. He, how- 
 ever, was a very different kind of man, having 
 a strong disinclination to hard labor and be- 
 ing by natural taste a hunter, at which he was 
 very successful. 
 
 The first stock of goods was brought to the 
 town by a Mr. Hussey, who, in 1835 or 1836 
 erected a double log cabin, where he kept a 
 general assortment of goods, purchased in 
 Sandusky City and valued at about $800. The 
 stock, of course, included a liberal supply of 
 whiskey, without which as a sort of lubricat- 
 ing oil — as was generally supposed in those 
 days — the world would have failed to turn 
 on its axis. Mr. Hussey was drowned in a 
 storm on Lake Erie in 1842, and for some 
 years after his death his business was con- 
 ducted by his widow, who subsequently be- 
 came the wife of John A. Sheets. Mr. Sheets 
 then carried on the business, increasing the 
 stock until it was worth several thousand dol- 
 lars, and enjoying an excellent trade. He was 
 succeeded by his sons, by whom the business 
 was still further expanded and increased in 
 value and importance. 
 
 Volney Powers was the second merchant in 
 
 New Washington and had a good trade, 
 though secondary in importance to that of 
 Sheets. He had, however, one of the largest 
 asheries in the county and turned out on an 
 average about fifteen tons of excellent pearl-ash 
 per annum for about eight years. He also 
 owned a large farm near the town from which 
 he cut and burned the timber, preserving the 
 ashes for use in his ashery. Many of the 
 early merchants dealt in furs and some in wool, 
 or in anything from which an honest penny 
 might be gained, achieving success or failure 
 according to their business ability or the con- 
 ditions by which they were confronted. In 
 1836 New Washington could boast of seven 
 families who were living in log cabins of va- 
 rious patterns and dimensions. By 1840 the 
 population- of the village had increased to 
 nearly fifty, at which figure, or nearly so, it 
 remained for about twenty years. 
 
 Adam High, previously mentioned as among 
 the early arrivals came in 1834, and was an 
 old man when he arrived. He was one of 
 the most wealthy among the pioneer settlers, 
 having money out at interest as well as in- 
 vested in land. His cabin, built probably the 
 year of his arrival, is thought by some to 
 have been the second one erected in New 
 Washington. His son Valentine carried on a 
 blacksmith's business for many years, opening 
 a shop about 1837. He also built a small tan- 
 nery which he conducted for about eight years. 
 Years later, a grandson of the original Adam 
 High was badly hurt in the most serious ac- 
 cident that ever occurred at New Washington. 
 The grandson was also named Adam, and was 
 a wagonmaker. On July 4, i860, he was 
 pounding broken brick on a charge of powder 
 in an anvil. The charge exploded and tore 
 off his left hand and about one-half of his 
 arm below the elbow. His face and breast 
 were much bruised and a deep wound was 
 made in his side under his right arm and shoul- 
 der. At the same time three or four others 
 were also badly hurt, among the worst in- 
 jured being Mr. Gangloof. The latter was 
 holding the powder receptacle from which he 
 had just charged the anvil and it also took 
 fire, burning his hand, arm and face. The 
 faces and necks of all were much cut and 
 marked by the fine grains of brick, though 
 fortunately all their eyes escaped injury. 
 
228 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 George Shichtal had a finger torn off. The 
 force of the explosion was terrible, throwing 
 Mr. High up and back and causing him to 
 strike on his shoulders and side six or eight 
 feet from the anvil. One or two others were 
 also knocked down. Robert Robinson, a tan- 
 ner and cobbler, began the manufacture of 
 shoes in 1834. He prepared his own leather, 
 having five or six vats and selling his surplus 
 in Bucyrus. He employed three men and kept 
 several hundred dollars worth of stock on 
 hand. About 1845 his tannery passed into the 
 hands of Matthias Kibler, an active and en- 
 terprising citizen who did much for the de- 
 \'elopment and improvement of the town, 
 particularly in advancing its educational in- 
 terests. 
 
 Mr. Kibler was born in Germany, June 
 II, 1822, and came to Cranberry in 1841. He 
 started tanning on a farm that was subse- 
 quently owned by Daniel Early. In 1846 or 
 '47 his tannery burned and in the next 
 spring he took up his residence in New 
 Washington, as above mentioned purchasing 
 the tannery of Mr. Robinson. This he con- 
 ducted with great success, also dealing in 
 boots and shoes. His business increased until 
 it became the largest and most successful of 
 its kind that ever existed in the town. On his 
 death, which took place Sept. 23, 1876, it 
 passed into the hands of his sons, being con- 
 ducted by his son Jefferson and later in con- 
 nection with his brother Matthew, under whose 
 management twenty or more vats were in full 
 operation, and today the hide business of the 
 Kiblers is one of the greatest industries of the 
 county. Mr. Kibler, Sr., served with credit 
 in various local offices and at the time of his 
 death was mayor of the town. He made an 
 addition to the town of a number of lots 
 platted from a tract which he had purchased 
 on his first arrival here. He was the chief 
 mover in having the township at an early day 
 divided in eight school districts and supplied 
 with schools and adequate school facilities. 
 
 Jacob and Magdalena Lederer came to Cran- 
 berry in 1826; Valentine and Catherine Lantz 
 in 1834; John M. and Jane Robinson came in 
 1835, locating half a mile west of Waynes- 
 burg. Robinson was one of the earliest black- 
 smiths. Amos and Hannah Stevens came in 
 1834, as did also John and Saloma Siefert. 
 
 The Sieferts bought 80 acres of land, for 
 which they paid $85, leaving them with $25 
 cash on hand. 
 
 Robert Cunning, grandfather of J. H. 
 Stevens, served in the War of the Revolution. 
 Amos Stevens was a local preacher in the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 Thomas and Esther Cory ( father of Aaron 
 and Elizabeth) came to Cranberry in 1826. 
 Aaron emigrated to Ohio, settling in Wayne 
 county about 18 14- 15. 
 
 Bemjamin and Hannah Hudson came in 
 1833; Morgan and Elizabeth Cummins in 
 1828. 
 
 George Donnenwirth came to New Wash- 
 ington in 1838 and kept a blacksmith's shop. 
 He was postmaster for several years, 1852 to 
 1856, the office being located at his shop. In 
 those days New Washington got its mail from 
 Chatfield. Every Sunday, regardless of the 
 weather, Mr. Donnenwirth went over to Fris- 
 bie's on the pike and got his mail. During the 
 week his sons or the neighbor boys frequently 
 went over, walking the distance, about five 
 miles. A correct list of the postmasters of 
 New Washington from 1846, with dates of 
 appointment, is as follows: 
 
 Postmasters, John A. Sheetz, Jan. 5, 1846; 
 George Donnenwirth, Jan. 17, 1852; George 
 Walter, March 13, 1856; Peter Miller, March 
 20, 1857; E. A. Hesse, Nov. 9, 1861 ; John S. 
 Hershiser, Feb. 28, 1866; Jacob F. Ailer, 
 April 9, 1866; John Donnenwirth, Aug. 6, 
 1885; T. B. Carson, April 20, 1889; John 
 Donnenwirth, Sept. i, 1893; T. B. Carson, 
 Aug. 4, 1897; S. A. Pugh, Feb. i, 1911. 
 
 One of the most enterprising citizens that 
 New Washington ever had was William H. 
 Pratt who came in 1844. He was a carpenter 
 and millwright having a very thorough knowl- 
 edge of his trade and was moreover a man of 
 good general business ability. He entered 
 largely into building operations, having a 
 large shop, and keeping fifteen men employed. 
 He erected a large number of buildings 
 throughout Cranberry and adjacent townships, 
 many of which are standing today, and his 
 reputation as a contractor stood high through- 
 out the county. After carrying on this busi- 
 ness for about eight years, he sold out and 
 opened a provision store and saloon. He also 
 dealt largely in furs, buying all he could ob- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 229 
 
 tain and shipping them to the eastern markets, 
 where they brought a good price. In a single 
 year — 1859 — he invested $2,000 in this branch 
 of his business alone. He also caught many 
 fur-bearing animals by means of dogs and 
 traps. At that time mink skins sold for $4 
 and $5 each; coon skins, 75 cents to $1; fox 
 skins from $1 to $2 and wolf skins for about 
 a dollar, exclusive of the bounty, which was 
 several dollars. 
 
 After conducting his provision store a few 
 years he sold out that branch of his business 
 and put in instead a stock of drugs, which 
 also proved a good investment. In the early 
 fifties he bought a steam muley sawmill, which 
 he ran for about four years. This mill after- 
 wards passed through various hands. In 1871 
 he built a large planing mill, which he con- 
 ducted until 1880, when it was sold to An- 
 thony Harmon. 
 
 Perhaps the greatest business disappoint- 
 ment that New Washington ever had was the 
 failure of the foundry project in 1850. Elab- 
 orate plans were laid out and a large build- 
 ing erected and supplied with furnace and 
 other necessary appurtenances, the project be- 
 ing backed by men with considerable money 
 at their command. The result was eagerly 
 looked forward to by the townspeople who 
 naturally expected an era of business and 
 commercial activity. The proprietors, how- 
 ever, were not made of the right stuff to 
 command success. They s^iuandered their re- 
 sources in loose living and the foundry was 
 never put into operation. In spite of this the 
 town took on a healthy growth at this time, 
 several new industries arose, new houses were 
 built and the population increased until in the 
 early sixties the town had some 200 inhabi- 
 tants, who were for the most part thrifty and 
 prosperous. In 1854 a man named Johnson 
 built a large and substantial grist mill at a cost 
 of about $4,000. This mill was furnished 
 with three sets of stone and was operated by 
 steam and soon commanded a large trade, 
 furnishing excellent flour. It is still running, 
 a large part of its product being shipped to 
 other localities. 
 
 Another noted citizen of New Washington 
 was Jacob J. Bear. He was born Aug. 6, 1835, 
 and at the age of 13 began to learn the printers' 
 trade at Painesville. He subsequently pub- 
 
 lished a book on latitude and longitude, en- 
 titled "Mnemotechny." In i860 he made the 
 journey overland to Pike's Peak, with the in- 
 tention of engaging in nrining. But finding 
 this occupation unprofitable, he turned his at- 
 tention to journalism, assisting W. N. Byers 
 in starting the Rocky Mountain News, the first 
 paper published in Colorado. He took part in 
 the Civil War as a member of Company A, 
 Twenty-first Indiana regiment. Returning 
 later to New Washington, he opened a livery 
 business here which he conducted with fair 
 success for a number of years. 
 
 So far as is now known the first physician 
 to locate in New Washington was Dr. Stoute- 
 neour, and the first lawyer was J. C. H. Elder 
 who opened a law office in the village, January 
 16, 1878. 
 
 The construction of the Mansfield, Cold- 
 water & Lake Michigan Railroad gave a great 
 impetus to the growth of New Washington, 
 which was noticeable as soon as the construc- 
 tion became certain. Many new buildings, 
 both public and jjrivate, were erected, new in- 
 dustries were projected or started, property 
 increased largely in value and the population 
 soon tripled. Since the road was put into oper- 
 ation a number of additions have been made 
 to the village, largely increasing its area. On 
 the 4th of March, 1874, in accordance with a 
 previous petition, signed by a majority of the 
 legal voters, the village of New Washington 
 was incorporated by the County Commission- 
 ers and immediately afterward the following 
 officers were elected : Matthias Kibler, mayor ; 
 Lewis Donnenwirth, clerk; John Miller, treas- 
 urer; Lewis Faeth, marshal; J. H. Miller, Ja- 
 cob Stouteneour, William Aschbaugh, Jacob 
 Sheets, William Donnenwirth and John Tribo- 
 let, councilmen. Succeeding Mr. Kibler as 
 mayor was W H. Pratt for two years, Peter 
 D. Studer two years, L. C. Donnenwirth four 
 years, and in 1885 H. M. Cory was elected, 
 serving over a dozen years. 
 
 On Dec. 28, 1827, the County Commission- 
 ers appointed Isaac Matthews and Nicodemus 
 Chilcote as Justices of the Peace. The follow- 
 ing is a complete list of those who have held 
 the office, and the dates of their election : 
 
 Isaac Matthews, 1827; Nicodemus Chilcote, 
 1827-30-33; Aaron Cory, 1832; John Cory, 
 1834; James Boner, 1836; Jacob Shafifer, 
 
230 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1837; Abraham English, 1839; Abner Cory, 
 1839-42; Alexander Stevens, 1842; George 
 Donnenwirth, 1843-46-52-55; Moses Kling, 
 1845-48-51-54-57; Mathias Kibler, 1849-58- 
 61-64-67-70-73; Christian Guiss, 1859-62-65- 
 68-71 ; John Tribolet, 1874; William H. Pratt, 
 1876; Peter D. Studer, 1877-80-83-86; John 
 Michelf elder, 1879; H. M. Cory, 1882-85-88- 
 91-95-98-01-05-08-11; George B. Wolf, 1888; 
 Matt Sheibly, 1892; F. S. Blair, 1895; John 
 Donnenwirth, 1899; E. D. Robinson, 1901-05; 
 and A. A. De Roche, 1908-11. 
 
 In April, 1862, New Washington had two 
 churches, two dry goods stores, one drug store, 
 six groceries, three blacksmith shops, five shoe 
 shops, two wagon shops, one tin shop, two cab- 
 inet shops, one flouring and sawmill, a tannery 
 and an ashery. Today it is a thriving and 
 prosperous town, has a good weekly news- 
 paper, the New Washington Herald, owned 
 by Percy Lantz, and a solid, substantial bank 
 of which George W. Sheetz is president. It 
 leads the county in two things : the Kibler 
 tannery does a business of hundreds of thou- 
 sands of dollars yearly, and has a national 
 reputation, and a large combination store is 
 the most extensive mercantile establishment in 
 the county. Another thriving industry is the 
 Uhl hatchery, the little chickens being shipped 
 to practically every state. 
 
 The Farmers Exchange Bank, of New 
 Washington, C, was organized as long ago 
 as 1876 and is thus one of the old established 
 financial institutions of the county. Its origi- 
 nal officers were : John A. Sheetz, president ; 
 Jacob Sheetz, vice president; and John H. 
 Sheetz, cashier, and they continued to operate 
 the bank until the death of John A. Sheetz 
 in 1889. The business was then reorganized, 
 with Jacob Sheetz as president, John M. Guiss, 
 vice president, and John H. Sheetz, cashier. 
 The directors and stockholders, in addition 
 to the officers, were Mrs. Margaret Sheetz 
 and Louisa P. Guiss. The death of John M. 
 Guiss, in 1907, and of Mrs. Margaret Sheetz 
 in 1892, caused further changes. Jacob 
 Sheetz continued as president, Mrs. Louisa P. 
 Guiss became vice president, John H. Sheetz 
 continued as cashier, George H. Seitter became 
 assistant cashier and, in 1910, Miss Ida Kim- 
 merline became bookkeeper. This bank was 
 organized with a capital of $25,000, with a 
 
 surplus of $25,000. Its earliest location was 
 in the back part of the J. Sheetz & Bros.' store. 
 In 1906 the present modern bank building 
 was erected. This building is of brick con- 
 struction, with dimensions of 70x25 feet, and 
 two stories in height. The first floor is occu- 
 pied by the different banking departments, and 
 the second floor by the local telephone ex- 
 change and by tenants. The bank is, equipped 
 with a burglar and fire-proof vault, with inside 
 dimensions of 8x11 feet, and an automatic 
 time-lock door, weighing three tons. The 
 officers of the bank are members of the Amer- 
 ican Bankers' Association, the Ohio Bankers' 
 Association and the Ohio Private Bankers' 
 Association. 
 
 The first settlers of Cranberry township 
 were too much occupied in the struggle with 
 nature to pay much attention to the question 
 of education. Their children were taught at 
 an early age to make themselves useful — the 
 boys assisting their father in extending the 
 clearing, draining the marshes or developing 
 the farm, and the girls in helping their mother 
 to perform the multifarious household duties, 
 which, in many or most cases, included the 
 making of homespun clothes for the family. 
 If they attended school at all, it was probably 
 in Auburn township — ^where at an early date 
 there were a few rude schoolhouses — and at 
 short and infrequent intervals. But in the 
 winter of 1833-34 an educational change set in. 
 The elder people had by that time seen the 
 advisability of providing their children with 
 an opportunity of becoming acquainted with 
 the elements of knowledge and a small build- 
 ing was therefore rented and roughly prepared 
 for the purposes of a schoolhouse. The name 
 of the teacher, who was probably the first 
 teacher in the township, has been forgotten. 
 School was taught there every winter until 
 1839, at which time a large log schoolhouse 
 was built about a mile southeast of New Wash- 
 ington. This was attended by the town chil- 
 dren until about 1842, when a log schoolhouse 
 was built in the town. The latter building 
 was used until 1855, when a schoolhouse was 
 built at a cost of nearly $2,000, to be succeeded 
 30 years later by the present handsome and 
 commodious brick structure. At the time the 
 log schoolhouse was erected in the village, 
 others were built in various parts of the town- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 231 
 
 ship. One near the present Tabor church, 
 in 1840, and another in the northern part 
 at about the same time. Several years later 
 one was built near the eastern limits. These 
 buildings were used generally for about 25 
 years, after which the present more commodi- 
 ous and substantial ones were erected. 
 
 The pioneer settlers of Cranberry being 
 largely of German origin, the Lutherans and 
 German Reformers united to organize a church 
 in the township. This was done in the spring 
 of 1834 by Rev. Mr. Stanch, who afterward 
 made periodical visits to the society, at inter- 
 vals of every two months. Among the first 
 members were the families of John Seifert, 
 Conrad Seiter, Phillip Gangloof, Adam High, 
 and Mrs. Ehregott Hesse. Two years later 
 Rev. Maschop came to serve the congregation, 
 preaching once a month. He was succeeded 
 by Rev. John Krauss, who visited the society 
 from 1839 to 1845. At first services were held 
 in schoolhouses or in the cabins of the mem- 
 bers, but in 1840 a log church was built in 
 the eastern part of New Washington, which, 
 though small, was adequate to the member- 
 ship. After the erection of this church Rev. 
 Mr. Krauss visited it every alternate Sunday. 
 He was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Graetz, who 
 preached every Sunday from 1845 to 1850. 
 In 1853, the congregation having largely in- 
 creased, a new and larger church was erected 
 at a cost of $2,700, including a bell and organ. 
 In the previous year the Lutheran members 
 being in a preponderance, the title of "German 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church" had been 
 adopted. The new church dedicated in 1854, 
 the councilmen at that time being George Don- 
 
 nenwirth, Jacob Utz, Jacob Weil, Valen- 
 tine High, George Leonhardt, John P. Walter, 
 Michael, Margaret and John A. Sheetz. This 
 is one of the strongest church organizations 
 in the county. 
 
 The early Catholics in Cranberry township 
 attended a church located on the Columbus 
 and Sandusky Turnpike, in the southern part 
 of Seneca county. But by 1844 they so in- 
 creased as to be able to organize a church of 
 their own, which was accordingly done, a small 
 frame building being erected a little to the east 
 of Hillburn's tavern. This building, which 
 cost about $600, was used until 1868, when 
 the present fine church was erected at a cost 
 of $25,000. In 1875 the parsonage was built 
 on an adjacent lot at a cost of $4,000. 
 
 About 1850 a Protestant Methodist church 
 was organized in the township, the members 
 meeting for services in schoolhouses. In 1854 
 they built a frame church on section 27, at a 
 cost of $1,400. 
 
 The United Brethren about 1844 began 
 holding meetings at the residences of some of 
 the members of their faith, among whom 
 George Keller was one of the most prominent. 
 Their meetings were afterwards for several 
 years held in a schoolhouse. The society in- 
 creasing, a church was built in 1852 at a cost 
 of about $800. The families of George Keller, 
 Conrad Cragle, Peter Lash, Nicholas Whittle 
 and Charles Hagerman were among the first 
 members. Rev. John Smith was one of the 
 first ministers. In 1880 or 1881 a Methodist 
 Episcopal church was built in the northern 
 part of the township at a cost of $1,200, the 
 membership of which has since largely in- 
 creased. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 DALLAS TOWNSHIP 
 
 Peculiar Shape of Dallas Township — Dimensions- — Fertility of the Soil — Erection of 
 the Township— Drainage — Stock Raising — First Settlers — Taverns and Mills — Arrival 
 of Johnston Family — Enterprise of Mr. Kerr — His Donations — The Monnetts — 
 Roads and Stage Lines — Milk Sickness and Cholera Epidemics — Schools and Churches 
 — The "Devil's Half Acre" — Early Marriages — Justices — The Bucyrus and Marion 
 Electric Road. 
 
 There buds of the buckeye in spring are he iir:;. 
 
 And the willow'5 gold hair then appears. 
 And snowj- the cups of the dogwood that burst 
 
 By the red-bud, with pink-tinted tears. 
 And striped the bolls which the poppy holds up 
 
 For the dew, and the sun's yellow rays ; 
 And brown is the pawpaw's shade-blossoming cup, 
 
 In the wood, near the sun-loving maize. 
 
 — Wn.T.TAM ^^'. FOSDICK. 
 
 That peculiarly shaped strip of territory 
 which clamps, so to speak, the southwest cor- 
 ner of Crawford county, and which is desig- 
 nated on the map as Dallas township, forms 
 part of a tract that was surveyed as far back 
 as 1819, by Deputy Sun-eyor Gen. Sylvanus 
 Bourne, assisted by Samuel Holmes, from 
 whom Holmes township derives its name. It 
 forms a part of the famous Sandusky Plains, 
 a strip of land about 20 miles in width and 
 stretching east and west through Clarion and 
 A\'yandot coimties. for 40 miles, that is one 
 of the most fertile tracts of land to be found 
 in Ohio, and which in early days was noted 
 for the rank luxuriance of its sedge grass and 
 yellow blossomed weeds, but which today, laid 
 out in fenced and cultivated fields, yields boun- 
 tiful crops of a more useful nature in grains 
 and farm produce of every description, and 
 makes the finest of pasture land. 
 
 The peculiar shape of the township is due 
 to the conditions brought about by the Legis- 
 lature creating the county of Wyandot in 
 184:;. Buc}Tus, Holmes and Lykins were al- 
 readv established townships, and when Wj^an- 
 dot was erected west of these townships was a 
 
 strip two miles wide, while to Crawford coimty 
 was added on the south two miles from Cla- 
 rion county. Instead of attaching this terri- 
 tory to adioining townships, the Crawford 
 County Commissioners erected new townships 
 from the strips, and one of these was Dallas, 
 which was made up of the strip six miles long 
 and two wide taken from Scott township, 
 Marion coxxaty, and in the extreme southwest- 
 em corner fom- square miles taken from Grand 
 Prairie township, Marion county, and north 
 of this, six square miles taken from Antrim 
 township, which had been a township of Craw- 
 ford county, but the bulk of it had gone into 
 the new coimt}- of ^^'3^ndot. This made an 
 ■'L" shaped township in the southwestern part 
 of the coimty, two miles across. The new 
 township was named Dallas, in honor of 
 George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, who the 
 } ear previous had been elected vice president 
 of the United States. 
 
 Dallas township is drained by two principal 
 streams — the Sandusky or, as called by the 
 Indians, ■Sa-tm-dus-tee"' (clear water), and 
 the eastern branch of the Scioto, known as the 
 Little Scioto, original AA'^yandot name "Sci-on- 
 to." The former enters the township near its 
 northeast comer and meanders in a south- 
 westerly direction until it enters Wyandot 
 count)-. Its bed consists of a coarse wash- 
 gravel, diversified with sand bars that make 
 the river a favorite resort of minnows. The 
 gravel is also much used for making road 
 
 232 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 233 
 
 repairs. The gravelly bed and picturesque 
 aspect of the stream made it in former days 
 a favorite resort of the Wyandot Indians 
 whose camps might often have been observed 
 on its banks. 
 
 The other stream referred to — the Little 
 Scioto — enters Dallas a quarter of a mile east 
 of the Marion road, and, like the Sandusky, 
 also flows in a general southwesterly direction, 
 passing into Marion couty about a mile and a 
 half east of the Wyandot county line. This 
 river furnishes a constant supply of water to 
 the stock farms that lie along its banks. 
 
 Mud Run, now a partly artificial stream cuts 
 Dallas township close to the Whetstone town- 
 ship line, flowing south into Marion county, 
 and empties into the Whetstone. During the 
 spring freshets it is sometimes swollen to a 
 considerable width. A small tributary of the 
 Sandusky, which passes through the Hoover 
 farm and is known by the somewhat imposing 
 title of "The Outlet of the Plains," had its 
 origin in a dug ditch, but, on account of the 
 fall of the land, which gives it a swift cur- 
 rent, and what man began nature has com- 
 pleted by cutting a gully fifteen to eighteen 
 feet deep, giving passage to a perennial flow 
 of water. The original ditch, man made, was 
 there long before the first pioneer settled in 
 this section, and it was believed to be the con- 
 necting lines between the Sandusky and the 
 Scioto used by the French and Indians two 
 hundred years ago on their way by boats from 
 Lake Erie to the Ohio river. 
 
 Dallas township contains a considerable va- 
 riety of timber, much of which is of recent 
 growth, in particular the picturesque clumps 
 of jack-oak trees. Much of the earlier timber 
 was destroyed by the Indians — not that they 
 were accustomed to exercise themselves by 
 felling it, but in their "ring-hunts" they used 
 to fire the grass in order to drive the game to 
 a center, and in dry and windy weather the fire 
 sometimes got beyond their control, thus de- 
 stroying the young growth of timber. Upon 
 the ridges, or so-called "islands," where the 
 grass was not so long and rank, the timber 
 sometimes escaped, and these spots accordingly 
 were the best-'wooded portions of the township. 
 One of the most common trees in the southern 
 and western parts of Dallas was and still is 
 the "shellbark" or nut-bearing hickory. A 
 
 generation ago it was customary for large nut- 
 ting parties to be formed at the proper season, 
 large numbers of people going in wagons and 
 picnicing in the groves. As some of these 
 people had little regard for property rights, 
 they trespassed where they would, broke down 
 fences and damaged the property of the farm- 
 ers generally, besides disturbing the peace and 
 quietness of the Sabbath, Sunday being a 
 favorite day with them for this kind of recre- 
 ation. The nuisance was finally abated by leg- 
 islation. Along the rivers some fine walnut 
 timber may be found, while in the northern 
 part the maple gives rise to family sugar 
 camps. Timber useful for building purposes, 
 such as the ash, also occur, while among other 
 trees or shubbery may be mentioned hazel, 
 ironwood, buckeye, dogwood and sassafras. 
 
 The southern part of Dallas township is 
 favored with a deep black soil, peculiarly 
 adapted to corn, and also, since it has been 
 drained and tamed by cultivation, very suit- 
 able to wheat, though it was formerly too rich 
 for that cereal. Oats and rye may also be 
 raised in abundance. In the northern portion 
 the soil is more of a clay loam. On the "white 
 ridges" it is thinner and of a less rich quality, 
 but when artificially enriched produces good 
 wheat crops. Excellent grazing is found 
 throughout Dallas township and the raising 
 of cattle was formerly extensively carried on, 
 though owing to the formidable competition 
 of the large western ranches, it has been partly 
 abandoned, the farmers, as in other parts of 
 the county, still raising cattle, and the graz- 
 ing remains an important industry. Sheep and 
 hogs are raised to some extent. For many 
 years Mr. John Monnett was a leading breeder 
 of short-horn cattle, importing many choice 
 animals into Crawford county from Kentucky. 
 He removed in 1873 to Iroquois county. 111. 
 Ephraim Monnett was also noted as a large 
 dealer in the Durham thoroughbreds. 
 
 Sheep raising was attended with many diffi- 
 culties in pioneer days, these animals being 
 particularly liable to attacks from wolves, 
 which made great ravages in the flocks, unless 
 the latter were well protected. They had to 
 be closely watched and at night were kept in 
 high-built pens. The pork trade was also an 
 uncertain business of doubtful profit, as the 
 hogs usually ran wild among the timber and 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 owing tb their roaming nature, were frequently 
 the subject of litigation. Among those who 
 devoted their attention largely to the sheep 
 and hog trade in early days were David and 
 Simon Bryant, who about 1829 took possession 
 of what later became the Ephraim Monnett 
 farm, Madison Welsh at an early day estab- 
 lished a packing-house on the Marion road, 
 on land that was later known as the George 
 Welsh place. 
 
 The first white settlers in Dallas township 
 were men of a low and more or less worthless 
 if not criminal character, who squatted on land 
 in the vicinity of the watercourses. They 
 usually built a rude cabin and cleared a small 
 patch of ground, on which they raised such 
 necessary vegetables as could be cultivated 
 with the minimum of physical exertion. Their 
 rifles procured them plenty of game, and fish 
 could be had in the streams for the catching. 
 Their- instincts were predatory and in many 
 cases, at least, their conduct was governed by 
 the motto : "When you see what you want, 
 take it," which they did when they were able 
 or when they could do so undetected. With 
 the advent of a better class of settlers, how- 
 ever, who came to found permanent homes, 
 these gentry found the moral atmosphere 
 getting uncongenial to them, and so they 
 gradually departed to wilder scenes, turning 
 their faces to the setting sun and following 
 close in the wake of the retreating red man, 
 much to the relief of the better-ordered por- 
 tion of the community. 
 
 One of the earliest permanent settlers was 
 George Walton, described as "a middle-aged 
 man," of large family, who moved into Dallas 
 from the Pike-Whole-Prairie, in Pickaway 
 county, in the fall of 1820. Taking possession 
 of an abandoned squatter cabin, located near 
 the site of the subsequent residence of Maj. 
 Matthew Carmean, he repaired and enlarged 
 it and rhade it suitable for habitation. Here 
 he reared an enterprising family the members 
 of which became useful and industrious men 
 and women. Here also the first Methodist 
 meetings in the township were held, and min- 
 isters of that faith — to which he himself be- 
 longed — entertained. After having seen his 
 children comfortably settled in life as farmers, 
 or engaged in other vocations, he removed to 
 the state of Iowa, where he died in 1857. An- 
 
 other Pickaway county man, Mr. Van Home, 
 came to Dallas in 1821, and developed a farm 
 consisting of two 80-acre lots. He had three 
 sons and the family remained here until the 
 death of the elder Van Home, after which 
 they appear to have moved away. 
 
 Christian Hoover settled here in 1822, be- 
 ing accompanied by his son William, then aged 
 six years. His daughter Hannah was mar- 
 ried Nov. 25, 1830, by Zalmon Rowse, Esq. 
 to Charles Wesley White, theirs being one of 
 the fir^t weddings in Dallas. 
 
 Charles W. White was a son of Charles 
 White, who served in the Patriot army dur- 
 ing the Revolutionary war. The latter on the 
 death of his father inherited a number of 
 slaves in Virginia. He subsequently removed 
 to Kentucky, where he liberated his slaves, 
 and in 182 1 removed from there to Ross 
 county, Ohio. Two sons of Charles — Samuel 
 and George — fought in the War of 1812, 
 Charles W. being then only ten years old. The 
 latter came to Crawford in 1820 and was em- 
 ployed for some time at the old Indian mill on 
 the Sandusky near the present town of Upper 
 Sandusky. He was also employed by the Gov- 
 ernment as Indian agent, his assistant being 
 Charles Garrett. He worked at the mill three 
 years and then bought 207 acres in Dallas 
 township. He continued his investments in 
 land until he eventually owned 1,300 acres. 
 His wife died in 185 1 and he never married 
 again. His son, W. T. White, and grandson, 
 Leo, followed him on the original farm. In 
 his latter years he spent his winters at the home 
 of his son-in-law, J. J. Fisher of Bucyrus. 
 
 In 1830 Christian Hoover bought out the 
 heirs of William Johnson the land he then 
 acquired subsequently becoming the property 
 of Christian Hoover, Jr. In addition to the 
 daughter Hannah, above mentioned, his son, 
 William, who was a boy of six years when he 
 first came to this county was one of the larg- 
 est wheat growers in the township. He was 
 a progressive man and as early as 1835 pur- 
 chased a threshing machine, which, though 
 not equal to the thrashers of the present day, 
 was a novelty at that time and a great improve- 
 ment on the flail, the implement usually used 
 for the purpose. Mr. Hoover, Sr., died in 
 1849 ^t the age of 60 years. His wife sur- 
 vived him but a short time, passing away in 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 235 
 
 the following year. The son William came 
 to Bucyrus in the sixties, and became engaged 
 in manufacturing, and later retired from all 
 active business, his sons and grandsons still 
 being prosperous farmers. 
 
 John Mason, a widower with three sons, 
 John, Thomas and Joseph, came to America 
 from England in 1825 and subsequently found 
 their way to Dallas township, this county, 
 where they followed ditching for an avoca- 
 'tion. They lived in a cabin on a forty-acre lot, 
 which Mr. Mason purchased, and which sub- 
 sequently came into possession of his son John, 
 and from the latter into that of his widow. 
 Old Mr. Mason, it seems, was an excellent 
 cook and his skill in bread making was greatly 
 admired by the housewives for miles around. 
 He died in 1876. Samuel Coulter came to 
 Dallas in 1832 from Huntingdon county, 
 Pennsylvania. He first leased a piece of land 
 from Mr. Van Home, which he afterwards 
 purchased, and it subsequently became the 
 property of his youngest son, George. He de- 
 voted his main energies to the raising of grain, 
 and gradually enlarged his holdings, buying 
 out his neighbors, John and Daniel Reecer, 
 and acquiring other 40 and 80 acre lots until 
 he was one of the laeaviest land holders in 
 the township. He also put up a large barn, 
 built in the Pennsylvania style, which was 
 something of a novelty at that period and 
 which is still standing. He lived to a ripe old 
 age. His maiden sister. Miss Sarah Coulter 
 also lived well into her eighties, being the. old- 
 est person in Dallas at the time of her death. 
 
 One of the most successful stock dealers of 
 Dallas in the first half of the last century was 
 Robert Griffith, generally known as "Bob" 
 Griffith, who came from Ross county in 1832. 
 He first took care of some land owned by 
 Linus Ross, a resident of that county and af- 
 terwards bought this land from Mr. Ross, add- 
 ing to it 200 acres more. In 1842, seeking a 
 still larger field for his operations, he moved 
 to Iowa, where he prospered and became a 
 heavy shipper of cattle to the Chicago markets. 
 
 One of the earliest taverns in Dallas which 
 was located on the Wyandot and Bucyrus road, 
 on the county line, was kept by David Bibler, 
 who conducted it for many years. In 1826 
 Mr. Bibler took up his residence near what 
 has since been known as the "Bibler Spring," 
 
 the land having been entered a few years pre- 
 viously by Christian Stahley. This tavern was 
 one of the welcome stops on the old stage 
 road, and was doubtless the scene of many a 
 hasty but substantial repast in old stage-coach 
 days, of which, alas, the glory hath now de- 
 parted. In connection with his tavern Mr. 
 Bibler also ran a still-house on the south bank 
 of the Sandusky, and, not satisfied with these 
 activities, conducted a sawmill, cultivated a 
 farm and dealt in live stock. The year 1856 
 was an unfortunate one for him, as he lost his 
 first wife, who died in December; also a son, 
 who committed suicide, and a daughter, Susan. 
 He subsequently contracted a second marriage, 
 but his second wife dying within a few years, 
 he removed to Hardin county. The Bibler 
 Spring near which his tavern was located was 
 of the purest of water, and was visited from 
 miles around, and it was this water that was 
 used in the running of the still. The site was 
 also historical as it was at this point Col. Craw- 
 ford and his army passed their last night, be- 
 fore their engagement with the Indians on 
 June 2, 1782. 
 
 In the year 1826 Thomas F. Johnston and 
 family, accompanied by Benjamin Warner ar- 
 rived in Dallas. Mr. Johnston, who subse- 
 quently became one of the foremost citizens 
 of the township, was then a young man, hav- 
 ing been born in Lycoming county,.Pa., in 1800. 
 He was a cabinet maker by trade. With his 
 wife and infant child and with Benjamin War- 
 ner, his wife and infant son, he started in the 
 fall of 1825 for the capital of Ohio, intend- 
 ing to stop on their way at the home of a 
 relative, George Walton, who had settled at 
 Dallas a few years previous. After journeying 
 for three weeks, the approach of winter and 
 the badness of the roads compelled them to 
 stop for the winter in the eastern part of the 
 state. Resuming their journey early in the 
 spring, they were again brought to a halt on 
 the eastern border of the county by their 
 wagon becoming badly mired. Leaving the 
 wagon, the men went ahead with their rifles, 
 the women and children following on horse- 
 back, and, being guided by a settler with 
 torches, arrived at two o'clock in the morning 
 at Mr. Walton's, where they found the eldest 
 Walton daughter, Miss "Tishy" still awake, 
 being engaged in entertaining a beau, a son of 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 their neighbor Van Home. Naturally their un- 
 expected arrival at that hour caused some ex- 
 citement, under cover of which Miss "Tishy's" 
 amorous beau effected a masterly retreat. Re- 
 freshments were at once the order of the day 
 — or rather, of the night, while discussing 
 \\hich the travelers entertained their hospitable 
 hosts and relatives, with the story of their ad- 
 ventures. The next day, with the assistance 
 of a team of oxen, the wagon was rescued, 
 and a few days later the party were following 
 the Claridon blazed road to Bucyrus. Near 
 the Sandusky they found the country largely 
 under water. Mr. Johnston took up a tem- 
 porary abode at Bucyrus in a deserted cabin, 
 but after a short stay in this neighborhood, he 
 resolved to proceed to Columbus. Having 
 been offered by his neighbors, however, a free 
 gift of land in a choice of two forty-acre lots, 
 now a part of the Jacob Herr farm, in Whet- 
 stone township, he accepted the offer on con- 
 dition that wheat could be raised on the land. 
 This condition was fulfilled, though many dis- 
 couragements were met with in the swarms 
 of birds, which devoured the grain in the ear, 
 the distance to the nearest mill, which re- 
 quired a journey of two days and a night to 
 reach, and the poor quality of the flour when 
 ground. But a still greater drawback was the 
 impure quality of the water in the neighbor- 
 hood, and this finally induced Mr. Johnson to 
 remove to Ft. Findlay, where he purchased 
 a quarter section of land, and was promptly 
 elected to a county ofiice to induce him to re- 
 main in Hancock county. But later he re- 
 turned to Crawford county, where he found 
 improved conditions, with an increased popu- 
 lation. He accordingly bought a 40-acre lot 
 about half a mile west of his first homestead 
 and subsequently added to it by further pur- 
 chase. Here, about 1857, he erected a hand- 
 some Gothic residence designed by Mr. CuUis- 
 ton, which long continued to be one of the 
 finest houses in the county. He was an ac- 
 curate shot with the rifle — an accomplishment 
 that counted for more in those days than it 
 does today — and he derived the title of Major 
 from his connection with the Marion county 
 militia, Dallas township at that time being a 
 part of Scott township, Marion county. 
 
 Two of the early settlers were Samuel and 
 Rachel Line who came to Crawford county in 
 
 1820. The same year George H. Bushy and 
 Peter Longwell came with their families and 
 entered land. 
 
 Robert Kerr, was one of the prominent land 
 owners of Dallas. He was born in Mifflin 
 county, Pa., Oct. 27, 1807, son of James and 
 Betsy (Arbuckle) Kerr. Both grandparents 
 were natives of Ireland. Robert remained 
 with his parents until 19 years of age, receiv- 
 ing scarcely any educational advantages. His , 
 father had a farm of 160 acres in Knox 
 county.* In 1826 young Robert began learning 
 the tanner's trade at Meartinsburg, Ohio, and 
 completed his apprenticeship in two years and 
 five months. At the end of this time he hired 
 out to drive hogs through to Baltimore, Md., 
 at three shillings a day and board, excepting 
 dinner, which he was to furnish himself or go 
 without. On his return to Ohio he found 
 general work around a sawmill at $11 a month. 
 While employed in the following harvest, he 
 was prostrated by a fever. This sickness, 
 with the expense of it, soon took the greater 
 part of his earnings. On his recovery, and 
 some time thereafter, he followed the business 
 of clearing up land for different parties, at 
 from $2.50 to $3.00 per acre. His part of the 
 contract was complete when everything was 
 cleared up within 12 inches of the ground. 
 Over 100 acres of land was cleared up by him 
 in this manner. While clearing this land he 
 cut 1,000 cords of wood at 20c per cord, and 
 many hundreds of rails at 50c per hundred. 
 He then bought two 80 acre tracts in Dallas 
 township (then Scott township, Marion 
 county.) For the first 80 he paid $100, and 
 for the second 80 he paid $200. Aug. 29, 
 1833, he married Matilda Swaggert, daughter 
 of Daniel and Betsey (Coonrod) Swaggert, 
 and at once commenced keeping house on his 
 160 acres. From this time on he devoted his 
 attention to farming, the first year clearing 
 $100. About 1836 he purchased 360 acres 
 for $1,500, on five years' time at 6 per cent, 
 to pay $300 each year. He stocked this land 
 with sheep, and made enough to pay the notes 
 as they fell due. The first year he sold his 
 wool at 2iJ^c. He was an extensive wool 
 grower when wool brought 80 cents a pound. 
 When it declined to 50 cents and showed there 
 was a constant tendency downward he dis- 
 posed of his sheep. He was also a heavy 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 237 
 
 dealer in cattle. He constantly added to his 
 land, and had at one time 2,573 acres in Ma- 
 rion county, 1,059 ^^ Crawford, and 443 in 
 Wyandot, making over 4,000 acres all free of 
 encumbrance. He started banks and built ho- 
 tels, the Kerr house at Marion costing $60,000 
 and the one at Nevada $18,000. He made va- 
 rious liberal donations, one of about $53,000 
 to Hiram college, and $23,000 to Bethany col- 
 lege of Virginia. He was at one time a mem- 
 ber of the Disciple church; he remained a 
 member for a number of years, but for what 
 he considered unchristian conduct on the part 
 of some of the members he withdrew from 
 that church and never united with any other. 
 Two of his sons, Stephen and John, became 
 residents of Bucyrus. On January i, 1883, 
 while walking down the street in Caledonia, 
 which was very icy, he slipped and fell caus- 
 ing a fracture or dislocation of the hip joint 
 on the left side, and he was forever after badly 
 crippled in his walk. He lived on his original 
 farm in Dallas township until about 1877, 
 when he moved across the line into his new 
 house in Marion county, and made his home 
 at one of his hotels until his death a dozen 
 years ago. 
 
 Another prominent stock dealer and land 
 owner was Abraham Monnett. Abraham Mon- 
 nett, Sr., moved from Virginia to near Chil- 
 licothe in 1800 with his family, of six sons 
 and two daughters. One son, Jeremiah, re- 
 turned to Virginia where he married Miss 
 Alice Slagle. In 1814, Jeremiah Monnett who 
 was an ordained minister, came to Pickaway, 
 county with his family, one of the children 
 being Abraham Monnett. The trip was at- 
 tended with many difficulties and probably 
 would not have been undertaken but for the 
 timely assistance of a widow named Jones 
 who accompanied them to the state. Upon 
 arriving at his destination in Pickaway county, 
 Mr. Jeremiah Monnett had only $5 in money, 
 his team and some household goods. In 1835 
 he came to Crawford, settling on the farm 
 on the Pike, four miles south of Bucyrus, 
 where he lived until his death, Sept. 1863. 
 Abraham Monnett came with his father to 
 Crawford county in 1835. He was born in 
 Virginia, Oct. 12, 181 1. He purchased his 
 first 40 acres in Marion county, Scott town- 
 ship. In 1836 returned to Pickaway county 
 
 where he married Miss Catherine Brougher, an 
 orphan. When starting for himself his father 
 gave him $120; on his marriage his wife 
 brought with her $2,500. Outside of these 
 sums the fortune accumulated by Mr. Monnett 
 was due to his individual work. In 1838 he 
 commenced the handling of cattle, sometimes 
 driving them from as far as Illinois, grazing 
 them on the plains, and then selling them to 
 eastern purchasers, who drove them to New 
 York for consumption. The trip from Illi- 
 nois sometimes took 35 days. As Mr. Mon- 
 nett increased his stock he was also increasing 
 his land purchases, until finally he had 11,000 
 acres of the choicest land in Crawford and 
 Marion counties. He went into banking, 
 started the Farmers Bank at Marion, and the 
 Monnett Bank at Bucyrus, practically all the 
 stock being owned by him and his sons. Later 
 he started the Crawford County Bank, which 
 became the Second National. Of his twelve 
 children, all but two made Crawford their 
 home. Ephraim B., who settled in Dallas 
 township, succeeded his father as president 
 of the Monnett Bank, coming to Bucyrus; 
 Martha married G. H. Wright, who settled on 
 a farm south of Bucyrus, just north of the 
 original farm of her grandfather; Wright 
 was in the stock business for a number of 
 years and moved to Marion ; Oliver is a farmer 
 on Marion road in Dallas township; Augustus, 
 a farmer in Bucyrus township; Alcy, wife of 
 James Malcolm, a farmer in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, later a stock dealer, at Bucyrus; Mervin 
 J., a farmer and stock dealer in Dallas, was 
 later president of the Second National Bank 
 and a mine owner, is now a banker at Los An- 
 geles, and a millionaire; Mary J., became the 
 wife of G. W. Hull, banker at Mt. Gilead and 
 Findlay, then president of the Crawford 
 county bank and Second National; Madison 
 W,. became cashier of the Monnett Bank, and 
 was also in the Crawford County Bank; then 
 went west ; Amina J. married James C. Tobias, 
 and came to Bucyrus; Kate married Linus 
 Ross, settled on the Pike, just south of the 
 original purchase of her grandfather. The 
 other two children remained in Marion county, 
 John T. in Grand Prairie township, and Mel- 
 vin on the old homestead in Scott township. 
 Mrs. Monnett died Feb. 8, 1875, and on May 
 30, 1877, Mr. Monnett married Mrs. Jane L. 
 
238 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Johnston, widow of Henry L. Johnston, a 
 daughter of Samuel Ludwig. He was early- 
 identified with the M. E. church, and gave 
 liberally to the erection of new churches all 
 over his section. In 1850 he made a liberal 
 donation to the Ohio Wesleyan Female Semi- 
 nary at Delaware, and in 1853 to the Ohio 
 Wesleyan University, both of which had much 
 to do in placing those institutions on their 
 feet, and making the combined institution the 
 prominent seat of learning it is today in Ohio. 
 He died at his home in Bucyrus, March 7, 1881. 
 John Rosencrans who came to Bucyrus in 
 1882, was born Oct. 14, 1808, in Luzerne 
 county, Pa. His grandparents came from 
 Holland, the grandfather being a soldier in 
 the Revolutionary war. He married Margaret 
 Fairchild, in Pennsylvania. He was elected 
 school director of his township, and when 29 
 years of aee was elected Auditor of Luzerne 
 county. His home was in Newport township. 
 Pa., and a oostoffice was established there, he 
 being appointed postmaster by Andrew Jack- 
 son, and served six years, the office being in 
 his house. He was also township assessor, 
 land appraiser, and filled any other office that 
 needed a man who would do the work. Hav- 
 ing held about all the offices, he concluded to 
 give others a chance and ' came west, and in 
 1847 settled on 160 acres just west of Latim- 
 berville. He was too influential a man and too 
 good a citizen to be left quietly to his farm- 
 ing, for the very next year, 1848, they elected 
 him justice of the peace, a position to which 
 he was constantly re-elected for eleven terms 
 — 33 years — and the only reason he did not 
 die in the office was that he removed to Bucy- 
 rus, thus comoelling them to select some one 
 else. As justice of the peace he "filled the 
 office with such impartiality and good judg- 
 ment that he was continued in the position 
 by the unanimous votes of the people for 
 thirty-three years, and, what is unprecedented, 
 only one case was ever carried up to a superior 
 court that came before his court." Other odd 
 jobs to fill in his time were as member of the 
 school board thirty-five years; land appraiser 
 two terms ; assessor two terms ; county com- 
 missioner of Marion county six years : and 
 member of the Legislature two years — 1866 to 
 1868, Thomas Beer being the member from 
 Crawford at that time. He was also post- 
 
 master at Latimberville (Kirkpatrick) under 
 President Taylor. 
 
 The first public boarding house in Dallas 
 was a double log building known as the Half- 
 Way House, or "Ramey Tavern," which was 
 located on the east side of the Marion and 
 Bucyrus road, about half way between the two 
 towns. Here the stage horses were exchanged 
 and fed. Mr. Ramey dying in 1835, the tavern 
 was afterward conducted by Mr. Knapp of 
 Marion until 1840, when, the stage line being 
 abandoned the building, which had been en- 
 larged and improved by Mr. Ramey, became 
 a private residence. This tavern always had 
 a good reputation. On the opposite side of 
 the same road was another hostelry, first 
 owned by James Carmean, and afterwards by 
 Fay Muhlinger, into whose possession it came 
 about 1836 and who conducted it for several 
 years on a somewhat smaller scale. The third 
 tavern^the Bibler House on the Wyandot 
 road. Bibler also had a sawmill there. It 
 was a water mill, built on the Sandusky, close 
 to the Wyandot county line. It began oper- 
 ation about 1827 but some ten years later was 
 sold to Mr. Longacre. It afterwards became 
 the property of Mr. Rumble, who converted it 
 into a grist-mill, running two sets of buhrs. 
 Mr. Vail, a later proprietor, repaired it and 
 put in a steam engine. The property being at- 
 tached, the machinery was sent back to Cleve- 
 land. It was then operated again as a water- 
 mill by a Mr. Rex, but gradually fell into dis- 
 use. 
 
 The first roads in Crawford county, as 
 throughout the frontier regions generally, fol- 
 lowed the old Indian trails, of which one of 
 the best known and most used was that lead- 
 ing from Capt. Pipe's town, near Little San- 
 dusky, in Wyandot county east toward the 
 present site of Leesville. This was the route 
 followed by the Wyandot and Delaware In- 
 dians southwest of Bucyrus in travfeling to and 
 from Bucyrus. Along this trail came also 
 the white settlers from the southwestern town- 
 ships of what was then Crawford county to 
 pay their taxes at the county seat. They often 
 traveled in large companies of 70 or 80 in 
 single file, both Indians and white men. Upon 
 it doubtless there often passed the renegade 
 Simon Girty on his way to take part in some 
 deed of blood and slaughter with his savage 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 239 
 
 allies or to carry the news of such a success- 
 ful expedition to Chief Pipe. In the earliest 
 days this route was marked by blazed trees 
 but by 1825 it had become so well known that 
 these mute guides were no longer needed. The 
 main road passing through the township is 
 the Columbus and Sandusky pike, a fuller ac- 
 covmt of which may be found in the chapter 
 on Transportation. 
 
 The first known death and funeral in Dallas 
 township took place in the spring of 1827 and 
 was that of a young man, who died in the 
 cabin of Jacob Synder. The body was en- 
 closed in a rude coffin and buried near the 
 Mervin Monnett place, without any stone or 
 mark of identification. In the same year the 
 first interment was made in the White grave- 
 yard in the central part of the township, about 
 a mile east of the village of Wyandot, the de- 
 ceased being a man named McClary, who re- 
 sided near the village. The second burial in 
 this cemetery took place when Charles Parish 
 died in 1829 on the farm west of Ephraim 
 Monnett's. A few years later — in the fall of 
 1833 — a severe epidemic of "milk sickness" 
 broke out which caused a number of deaths. 
 This disease, which at times proved very fatal 
 to the pioneer settlers, was caused, it is thought, 
 by drinking the milk of cattle that had fed on 
 a certain kind of poisonous weed, and the doc- 
 tors of that day seem to have known no ef- 
 fective method of treatment. Among those 
 who died at this time were three members of 
 the Wood family — Elizabeth, Henry and 
 James, whose deaths all took place within a 
 few days. 
 
 At about the same time several people died 
 from Asiatic cholera in the southern part of 
 the township. This latter scourge again at- 
 tacked the settlement in the summer of 1854, 
 being introduced by John Norris, who, against 
 the warnings of his wife, had gone to Marion 
 to get some strong drink, the disease at that 
 time being prevalent there. He was taken sick 
 soon after his return and died August 29th, 
 within little more than two days after he had 
 thus rashly exposed himself to gratify a per- 
 nicious appetite. On Sept. ist Mrs. Norris 
 was attacked and died within twenty hours. 
 Their two adopted children fled to the woods, 
 where they were fed by the neighbors, who 
 left food and bed clothing for them upon a 
 
 stump, and where they remained for, some 
 days. They escaped the plague and lived for 
 many years afterward. Doctor Fulton, of 
 Bucyrus who had attended Mrs. Norris, also 
 took the disease, but recovered. 
 
 In 1827 a subscription school was started 
 in Dallas township in a log house on the San- 
 dusky river, a short distance north of David 
 Bibler's cabin. The first teacher was Miss 
 Clara Drake, daughter of Capt. Drake, who 
 taught there for two years, being paid $1.25 
 per week. She had about twelve pupils. Not 
 long after, or perhaps about the same time, 
 another school was opened opposite the loca- 
 tion afterward occupied by Maj. Carmean's 
 residence. This school, which was due to the 
 enterprise of Osborn Monnett and George 
 Walton, was later known as the "Monnett 
 Schoolhouse." Mr. Haney was engaged as 
 the first teacher at a salary of $10 per month. 
 In the summer the school was taught by Miss 
 Chapman. After the Huntly schoolhouse was 
 established in 1830 it was discontinued and 
 the building appropriated to other purposes. 
 In the fall of 1838 a frame schoolhouse was 
 erected by Rev. Jackson Doeling and John 
 Cooper, John Bevington being the first teacher 
 at a salary of $15 per month. The township 
 is now well equipped with educational facili- 
 ties, there being a sufficiency of commodious 
 houses, provided with modern furniture and 
 presided over by competent, well trained 
 teachers. 
 
 As was customary in all the frontier settle- 
 ments religious services in Dallas were at first 
 held in schoolhouses or in the cabins of the 
 settlers. Indeed there were no church build- 
 ings erected previous to 1875. In the sum- 
 mer services were often held in the open air, 
 than which, perhaps, no better place could 
 have been found, for what more fitting than 
 the God of Nature should have been worship- 
 ped in His own temple. Later services were 
 held at Winchester and "Sixteen Chapel," on 
 the eastern boundary. 
 
 The Methodist Episcopal and Disciple 
 churches at Latimberville, on the south, drew 
 a part of their membership from Dallas town- 
 ship, likewise the Methodist and Presbyterian 
 churches on the west. Many Dallas citizens 
 with their families also attended the Monnett 
 Chapel in Bucyrus township and later Scioto 
 
240 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 chapel erected just north of the township line. 
 One of the most zealous workers in this 
 church was Zachariah Welsh of Wyandot, at 
 whose cabin religious exercises of prayer and 
 praise were frequently held before the school- 
 houses were utilized for that purpose. One 
 of the most noted among the early Methodists 
 was the Rev. James Gilruth. He was a man 
 of powerful frame and with a voice to corres- 
 pond, and a commanding air that awed even 
 the turbulent element or "rowdies" one of 
 whose favorite amusements it was to attend 
 church for the express purpose of disturbing 
 the meeting. His physical prowess was well 
 known to this unruly class and there was little 
 trouble from them when he occupied the pul- 
 pit. In 1823-24 he traveled a four weeks' cir- 
 cuit, which took in the neighboring villages of 
 Delaware, Kenton and Bucyrus, with interme- 
 diate appoinments in the lesser villages. He 
 often preached in Mr. Welsh's cabin and in 
 those of some of the other settlers. In 1840 
 he was transferred to an Iowa conference, 
 after having twice been returned to this cir- 
 cuit. He was followed in 1824 by Rev. Mr. 
 Cadwallader. Once every three months the 
 western part of the county was visited by Rev. 
 James B. Finley, who, as early as 18 17 was 
 superintendent of the Wyandot Mission. The 
 celebrated Russell Bigelow who was stationed 
 at the Sandusky Mission in 1827, also 
 preached occasionally in this district, to the 
 great edification of the settlers, who came 
 from miles around to hear him. Dallas was 
 then part of the Portland District, Ohio Con- 
 ference, which included in its bounds the state 
 of Michigan. In the winter of 1836-37 Rev. 
 John Gilbert Bruce conducted revival meet- 
 ings, being assisted by Rev. Jeremiah Monnett. 
 The presiding elder of Portland District from 
 1826 to 1830 was Rev. James McMahon, in 
 1836, Rev. Adam Poe, and in 1840, Rev. Wil- 
 liam Runnels. 
 
 One of the most able divines who minis- 
 tered to the spiritual needs of the early set- 
 tlers was Rev. S. P. Shaw, founder of Shaw 
 University, Tennessee. He was a highly edu- 
 cated man and an earnest and powerful 
 preacher. He was ordained deacon in the 
 Ohio conference in 1827. 
 
 The "Devil's Half-Acre" is the name given 
 to a locality in the midst of Dallas township, 
 
 this side of the Scioto, which has been the 
 scene of many unsuccessful efforts to estab- 
 lish a church. A log cabin stood on the spot 
 previous to 1830, which was used for school 
 and church purposes, and which after that 
 date was replaced by another log building, 
 which stood on the site of the present school 
 building. Here efforts were first made to es- 
 tablish a society by the United Brethren, but 
 without success. The Methodists made two 
 attempts, under the Rev. William Mathews 
 and ethers, but succeeded in making only a 
 few nominal converts, who soon relapsed into 
 the ways of sin. The Presbyterians tried 
 under Rev. Mr. Hutchinson, but also failed. 
 The United Brethren made a second attempt 
 and were followed by the Disciples, with like 
 results. It was then that Amos McMullen 
 declared that he believed the spot was in pos- 
 session of the Devil, which remark, becoming 
 known, led to its being called the "Devil's 
 Half Acre," which name it has since retained. 
 Prior to 1845 the eastern six miles of Dal- 
 las township were a part of Marion county, 
 Scott township, while still another part be- 
 longed to Grand Prairie township in the same 
 county. Among the citizens who resided in 
 the Crawford county part, and were justices 
 of the peace in the early days were Zachariah 
 Welsh in 1824, Daniel Swigert in 1827, and 
 Jacob Shaffer in 1828. The Crawford county 
 records show many marriage ceremonies per- 
 formed by Alanson Packard; he lived near 
 Latimberville, in the Marion county part of 
 the township, and was justice for many years. 
 He was poetically inclined", as one of the 
 entries on the record is as follows, the parties 
 being in the Marion county section of the 
 township : 
 
 "Marriage license was granted to Norton 
 B. Royce and Eunice M. Dexter, March 14, 
 1832. 
 
 "I certify — that is to say, 
 This present March, the i8th day, 
 Eunice Dexter, Norton Royce, 
 As did your license authorize — 
 An awkward, ungainly, long-legged pair — 
 By me in marriage joined were. 
 By sages wise, it has been said 
 That matches all above are made. 
 If so, these ones in heaven have been : 
 God knows they'll never go again." 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 241 
 
 Alanson Packard, himself, married Nancy 
 Fickle in June, 1824, and there is little doubt 
 she was related to the Fickles who settled in 
 the southern part of Bucyrus township in 
 1823, a daughter of Daniel Fickle, who came 
 here from Marion county. 
 
 Since 1845 the following have been the 
 justices of the peace of Dallas township: 
 Andre Corn, 1845; William Hoover, 1847-50; 
 Daniel Swigart, 1848; Ezra Huntly, 1850; 
 Isaac N. Munson, 185 1; Samuel P. Shaw, 
 1852; James Hufty, 1854-57; S. D. Welsh, 
 1860-63; Henry Martin, 1863-66; William 
 H. Churchill, 1866; Caleb McHenry, 1869- 
 72-74-77-92-95; R. H. Rogers, 1869; E. B. 
 Monnett, 1872; John Monnett, 1873; Barn- 
 hart Sayler, 1876-79; A. M. Zook, 1880-83; 
 Otis Brooks, 1882-86; H. Q. Johnston, 
 1886; George Whiteamire, 1888^91; Marcel- 
 lus Hoover, 1888-89; William Petry, 1889-98- 
 01; J. M. Quaintance, 1894; Isaac Shearer, 
 
 1897; Ira E. Quaintance, 1902-03-06-09; and 
 P. S. Hinkel, 1905-09. 
 
 In 1892, when the Columbus, Shawnee and 
 Hocking railroad was built it passed through 
 the center of Dallas township, and a town 
 was laid out by Mervin J. Monnett, and named 
 after himself and the many representatives of 
 the Monnett family who had been and were 
 prominent in that section. The little village 
 started well. A large elevator was erected by 
 Mr. Monnett; a store was started, and on 
 October 25, 1893, William A. Heinlen was 
 appointed the first postmaster; he has been 
 succeeded by the following: G. J. Feltis, No- 
 vember 30, 1897; D. L. Parcher, December 
 23, 1901 ; William Monnett, June 5, 1906; 
 F. G. Smith, April 5, 1910; C. S. Wert, June 
 23, 1911. 
 
 Three quarters of a mile west of Monnett 
 is the Bucyrus and Marion electric road, with 
 a station to accommodate the people of that 
 village. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 HOLMES TOWNSHIP 
 
 Location and Erection — Drainage and Topography — Burnt Swamp — Limestone Opera- 
 tions — Mysterious Mounds — First Settlers — First Elections — Justices — German Immi- 
 gration — An Early Tragedy — Joseph Newell's Town — Wingert's Corners — Conflict Over 
 a Name — Brokensword Postmasters — Early Industries — Saloons and Taverns — Interest- 
 ing Anecdotes — The Underground Railroad — Schools and Churches — Sunday Schools — 
 Stone Quarries — Spore Post Office. 
 
 Let other lands exulting glean 
 
 The apple from the pine," 
 The orange from its glossy green 
 
 The cluster from the vine ; 
 We better love the hardy gift 
 
 Our rugged vales bestow. 
 To cheer us, when the storm shall drift 
 
 Our harvest fields with snow. 
 
 — Whittier's Corn Song. 
 
 This township lies wholly on the northern 
 slope of the Ohio watershed and is drained by 
 tributaries of the Sandusky river. One of the 
 most attractive and wealthy townships in 
 Crawford county, it was organized by the 
 commissioners in March, 1828, and was named 
 after Deputy Surveyor General Samuel 
 Holmes, who originally surgeyed this section, 
 and who was authorized to make a resurvey of 
 its territory in 1836 as the western sections 
 were a part of the Indian reservation purchased 
 about that time from the Indians. The larg- 
 est stream is Brokensword Creek, which en- 
 ters the township in the northeastern portion 
 and runs in a southwesterly direction into 
 Tod township. The banks of this stream in 
 some places rise into a series of low bluffs, that 
 were in early days covered with a heavy for- 
 est of poplar. Grass Run, a small branch of 
 the Sandusky, meanders in a southwesterly di- 
 rection across the southern portion. Brandy- 
 wine Creek, entering Holmes from Liberty 
 township, flows into Brokensword at a point 
 in section 9. The southeastern part of Holmes 
 township is the most level and in early days 
 
 was wet and muddy throughout the year. The 
 outflow of the water was retarded by fallen 
 logs, which lay thickly scattered over this en- 
 tire district, so that the settlers in traversing 
 this portion were obliged to wade ankle-deep 
 through mud and water. These logs and 
 fallen trees were often used as stepping stones, 
 being so close together that it was sometimes 
 possible to go cpite a distance by jumping 
 from one to another. The other parts of the 
 township have more of a rolling character and 
 in the northern and western parts there are 
 small hills both long and steep. 
 
 In the western part there is an area of about 
 fifty acres which, from the earliest times has 
 been known as the "Burnt Swamp." It de- 
 rives its name from the circvimstance that or- 
 iginally it was covered thickly with willows 
 and tall weeds, and one of those fires that were 
 often lighted by Indians or settlers to dis- 
 lodge game, swept over it, destroying all the 
 vegetation. In the southeastern part of the 
 township the soil consists of a black alluvial 
 earth overlaid with decaying vegetable matter, 
 and when properly drained, as it is today, is 
 very productive. 
 
 It was not until after 1820 that the white 
 settlers were able to purchase land in Holmes 
 township, and the western part remained in 
 possession of the Wyandot Indians up to 1836, 
 at which time the eastern side of their reserva- 
 tion was purchased by the government and 
 
 242 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 243 
 
 sold at public auction, the land adjoining 
 Holmes township becoming a part of that 
 township. This newly acquired portion was 
 something more than two sections wide and 
 proved a source of wealth to some of the citi- 
 zens, owing to the large and numerous beds of 
 excellent limestone it contained. This lime- 
 stone brought from $i to $2 per load and was 
 used for the foundation of houses and barns 
 and for the walls of wells. Among those who 
 engaged extensively in taking out this stone 
 were Nicholas Pool, Adam Gearhart and 
 Christian Reiff. Lime has been burned in con- 
 siderable c^uantities in this district ever since 
 1838 or 1840. 
 
 In the vicinity of Brokensword creek are 
 some nearly obliterated mounds, which are re- 
 garded as relics of that mysterious aboriginal 
 people usually denominated as the "Mound 
 Builders," and whose origin and history have 
 been the cause of much speculation among 
 scientists. Many interesting works have been 
 written upon this subject, but the entire truth 
 about them will never be known, for they left 
 no written records, nor have their successors, 
 the Indians, by whom they were probably 
 driven out or exterminated, retained any but 
 very vague and uncertain traditions concern- 
 ing them. Though they built extensive earth- 
 works and have left behind the numerous ar- 
 ticles of pottery inscribed with more or less 
 picturesque designs, they were probably of no 
 high order of civilization and were certainly 
 inferior to the Red races in the art of self 
 preservation, though they may possibly have 
 been in some way related to the latter. 
 
 A man named Heaman, who is supposed to 
 have come from some eastern township, 
 or from Bucyrus, is said to have been the 
 first settler in Holmes. He settled on the Pike 
 north of Bucyrus, but little more is known 
 about him. He was soon followed by a settler 
 named William Flake, who built a log cabin 
 and began a clearing on the old farm of Joseph 
 Quaintance. This man was of a very pecu- 
 liar character. He was kind and charitable 
 and freely gave away his property, but as 
 readily appropriated the property of others to 
 his own uses, finally carrying his communistic 
 tendencies so far as to break open a store in 
 Bucyrus, for which he was sentenced to serve 
 some years in the penitentiary. He died soon 
 
 after his release and none of his descendants, 
 so far as known, are now living in the county. 
 The first settlers came about 1823. 
 
 Two years later a man named Daniel Sny- 
 der, known as "Indian Snyder," built a round- 
 log cabin in the eastern part of the township, 
 into which he moved his family, consisting of 
 a wife and some half dozen children, the latter 
 all about the same size. He was a famous 
 hunter, spending most of his time in the woods 
 and was often paid $1 per day by the settlers 
 to furnish them with venison. He understood 
 the Indian tongue and invaded the Redrnen's 
 lands in pursuit of game with apparent im- 
 punity. He was also often called upon to act 
 as interpreter between the white settlers and 
 the Indians. Many swine belonging to the 
 pioneers were shot by the savages and found 
 their way into an Indian stew-kettle. The 
 swine usually ran wild in the woods and those 
 that had no earmarks were regarded as the 
 property of the finder. Many possessing the 
 requisite marks, however, were stolen and 
 shipped to the Sanduskv market. 
 
 Joseph Lones came to Holmes, township 
 from Columbiana county in 1828, having prac- 
 tically no money or property at the time. He 
 was accompanied by his father-in-law, John 
 Boeman, who brought his family in a wagon 
 drawn by five horses, while Lones drove the 
 sixth horse to a small empty Dearborn wagon. 
 The journey was rendered extremely difficult 
 from the depth of the mud and the great 
 quantity of fallen timber that obstructed the 
 route ; yet in spite of this they made about ten 
 miles a day. It was often necessary to use 
 the axe to cut a way through the natural ob- 
 structions, and for that purpose the men pre- 
 ceded the wagon on foot, walking almost the 
 entire distance with axes on their shoulders. 
 Mr. Lones built a cabin on land adjoining the 
 Quaintance farm and found vv^ork on the Col- 
 umbus and Sandusky pike, then in process of 
 construction. He continued thus occupied for 
 about two years, receiving $10 per month for 
 his services, out of which money he paid for 
 most of his land. He lived to an advanced age 
 and in his declining years was surrounded by 
 the comforts of wealth, the result of his early 
 industry and self denial. 
 
 In 1828 William Flake lived in a round-log 
 cabin on land that today is the farm of Joseph 
 
244 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Quaintance; of this land he cleared about ten 
 acres. At this date there were in the township, 
 besides those already mentioned, John Bretz, 
 Abraham and Isaac Ditty, Henry Fralic, Chris- 
 tian Haish, John Hussey, Samuel Hemminger, 
 Martin Holman, Joseph Lones, Jacob Lint- 
 ner, David Moore, Joseph Newell, Daniel 
 Potter, Michael Shupp, Isaac Williams, David 
 Brown, Samuel Miller, William Spitzer, James 
 Martin, Jacob Andrews, Joel Glover and Jacob 
 King. J. P. Black owned the farm that was 
 originally the property of Timothy Kirk. Mr. 
 Spitzer settled on the farm later owned by 
 Charles Lehman. Mr. Glover was on the farm 
 where George Lapp is living. Jacob Andrews 
 was on a farm east of the Pike, where he lived 
 for over half a century. Eli Quaintance was 
 on the Tiffin road, near the farm now owned 
 by Eli Lones. Martin Holman was on the 
 Pike, and in 1830 John McCulloch on the farm 
 now owned by R. V. Sears. Jacob King in 
 1828, was living in a little log cabin on Broken- 
 sword creek, on the farm later owned by Sam- 
 uel Slapp, south of Brokensword. James Mar- 
 tin, a sort of local minister, came to Holmes 
 township at an early day from England and 
 settled on the farm now known as the Gebhart 
 farm. He was accompanied by a young man 
 named Thomas Alsoph, a son of an English 
 nobleman. This young man was an interest- 
 ing character. He was refined and well edu- 
 cated but to some extent was mentally afflicted, 
 though rational on most ordinary subjects. 
 Some said that his mental infirmity was due to 
 a disappointment in love, though why he came, 
 or had been shipped so far from home to be- 
 come a backwoodsman, was what nobody knew 
 or could understand. He taught some of the 
 early schools and became a general favorite, 
 and after a residence in the township of quite 
 a number of years he returned to England. 
 
 The annexing of that part of the Wyandot 
 Reservation to which reference has already 
 been made, gave Holmes a township of 36 
 square miles. The first election was held at the 
 cabin of John Hussey, in the spring after the 
 township had been organized and nine votes 
 were polled. Joseph Newell was elected clerk 
 and Jacob Andrews was the first justice of the 
 peace. At the second election Joseph Lones 
 was elected constable, having no competitors 
 for this office. Indeed the office was not much 
 
 sought after in early days, for the remunera- 
 tion was small, and hardships and danger had 
 sometimes to be encountered in the pursuit of 
 fugitives from justice, the serving of writs, 
 etc., which frequently militated against the 
 popularity of the incumbent. Constable Lones 
 had but one annoying experience, however, 
 during his term of office. He was called upoft 
 to levy on the personal property of one 
 Thomas Williams, and while reading the war- 
 rant Williams suddenly snatched it out of his 
 hand and refused to give it up, Mr. Lones 
 thereupon procured another execution from 
 the Squire and going to Williams' cabin in his 
 absence, accompanied by a deputy with an ox- 
 sled, he seized the furniture in spite of the 
 protests of Mrs. Williams and carried it to the 
 cabin of Squire Andrews, who advertised it 
 for sale. This brought the rebellious Williams 
 to terms, and he accordingly paid the charges, 
 about $15, and was allowed to take his prop- 
 erty home. 
 
 The following are the Justices of the Peace 
 of Holmes township since its organization: 
 
 Jacob Andrews, 1832; Joseph S. Newell, 
 1832; David Brown, 1835-38; John McBride, 
 1835-38; John Pittman, 1843-44-53; Jedediah 
 Cobb, 1843-44-47; Samuel Shaffner, 1847; 
 Daniel Fralick, 1850-53-56-59-70; Thomas 
 Menaigh, 1850; John P. Black, 1855; Enoch 
 Knable, 1858-61 ; Reason Eaton, 1862; Charles 
 H. Tisley, 1863-66; John Holman, 1865-68- 
 71-74-77-82-86-89; Jasper W. Taylor, 1867; 
 Horace Flickinger, 1874; Samuel Flick- 
 inger, 1876; David Bair, 1879; Rufus Aurand, 
 1880-86-89; J. E. Ferrall, 1892-93; J. C. Lich- 
 tenwalter, 1893; William Lahman, 1894-97; 
 J. N. Taylor, 1^5-98; A. M. Vore, 1901; A. 
 L. Whitmyer, 1900-03-06; A. L. Gallinger, 
 1904; John I. Wentz, 1906-07; George H. 
 Orthwein, 1906-07; W. L. Fralick, 1908-10; 
 W. J. Cosgrove, 191 1, and Jacob Campbell, 
 1911. 
 
 The southern part of Holmes township wit- 
 nessed an influx of new settlers about 1830, 
 among those who came at this time being 
 Samuel Shaffner, John McCulloch, William 
 Roberts, Thomas Minich, Thomas Williams, 
 John Hussey, Jacob Mollenkopf, Abraham 
 Cary, Moses Spahr and John Lichtenwalter. 
 As their names indicate, some of these settlers 
 were German. Two distinct settlements were 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 245 
 
 formed, about six miles apart, one near the 
 present site of Brokensword, and the other in 
 the southeastern comer, near Bucyrus. The 
 one in the northern part was almost wholly 
 German and included, with a few others, some 
 eight or ten German families that had come 
 in 1828 from Dauphin county, Pa. Among 
 these settlers were Michael Shupp, Henry and 
 Daniel Fralick, Isaac and Abraham Ditty, 
 Jacob Lintner, Jacob Moore and Daniel 
 Porter. 
 
 For a number of years the southern part of 
 the township bore an enviable reputation due 
 to the fact that no liquor was used at the 
 house-raising or log-rollings, the settlers being 
 a rarely temperate lot who used nothing 
 stronger than coffee. 
 
 As new settlers came in, however, they 
 brought with them the inevitable whiskey and 
 the community in consequence lost a portion of 
 its fair fame. The northern settlers were from 
 the first a bibulous lot, whose evenings were 
 largely spent in passing round the flowing bowl 
 and in drinking each other's health to the usual 
 detriment of same. It is said that even women 
 were often seen lying by the roadside com- 
 pletely overcome by liquor. Fortunately this 
 state of things has long since passed away. 
 Abraham Didie, born in Dauphin county, Pa., 
 removed to Holmes township in 1828. He 
 died March 14, 1870. 
 
 Fisher Quaintance, previously mentioned as 
 one of the arrivals in 1828 or 1829, was a 
 member of the Society of Friends. He died 
 in Holmes township March 27, 1866, at the 
 age of 73 years. His wife Sarah came to this 
 township with him. 
 
 Years ago a murder was committed on the 
 Joe Quaintance farm, known as the old Flake 
 farm. An old peddler was killed, and in order 
 to cover all traces of the crime, his body, to- 
 gether with his wagon and all his belongings, 
 were thrown into an old well and covered up. 
 Whom the peddler was and who were the per- 
 petrators of the deed have never been discov- 
 ered to this day. 
 
 William Mateer, an early settler of Holmes 
 township, was a great grandson of an immi- 
 grant who started for America in the year 
 1700 with four sons. All died on the voyage 
 and were buried at sea. The immigrant 
 reached America and subsequently had four 
 
 more sons, whom he named respectively after 
 the first four, and their descendants became 
 prominent in the affairs of the township. 
 
 John and Barbara Peterman came to this 
 county in October, 1827, and entered 320 acres 
 in Liberty township on the Sandusky river. 
 Clearing his land he erected thereon a hewed 
 log cabin. Their son, Samuel, came to Bucy- 
 rus in 1832. He engaged in a sort of express 
 business, hauling goods from Pittsburg, Balti- 
 more, Cincinnati, Columbus and Sandusky 
 with a six-horse team and also carried consid- 
 erable money for others. He later took up 
 farming in Holmes township. 
 
 Joseph Newell came to Crawford county in 
 
 1825, and entered 160 acres of government 
 land in section No. 9, of what is now Holmes 
 township. He was above the average in edu- 
 cation and business ability. He early saw that 
 with the settling up and developing of the 
 county, especially in the north and west parts, 
 his land would be much nearer the center of 
 the county than the little town of Bucyrus, and 
 there was a possibility that the county seat 
 might be located at some point nearer the 
 center of the county, and he selected his land 
 for that purpose. Bucyrus then had a popu- 
 lation of something over two hundred people; 
 it had a post office, stores, taverns, and several 
 shops; notwithstanding this Newell laid out a 
 town on a part of his land, on the banks of the 
 Brokensword, below where the Brandywine 
 empties into it. He named the new town 
 Crawford, and set apart several lots as dona- 
 tions for public buildings, and also laid out a 
 graveyard. The first election in Crawford 
 county after its organization was in April, 
 
 1826, at which election commissioners were to 
 be chosen, who would meet in the town of 
 Bucyrus, and there select the temporary county 
 seat of the county. The greatest interest in the 
 election was over the commissioners, the voters 
 in the west and north supporting the com- 
 missioners who would favor Crawford for the 
 county seat, while those in the south and east 
 were for the commissioners who favored 
 Bucyrus. The election resulted in favor of 
 John Magers of Bucyrus, Thomas McClure of 
 Liberty, and George Poe of Whetstone, who 
 met at Bucyrus the third Monday in May and 
 selected Bucyrus as the temporary county seat 
 of the new county. Newell, while temporarily 
 
246 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 defeated, did not give up the fight, but con- 
 tinued it up to 1830, when the legislature ap- 
 pointed three commissioners to settle definitely 
 the county seat question, and they came to 
 Bucyrus, looked over the field, and decided in 
 favor of Bucyrus. Then Newell gave up the 
 fight and the town of Crawford became farm- 
 ing land. Newell himself had erected a house 
 on the land, had sold one lot to a man named 
 Swigart, and perhaps one or two others had 
 located there, but today nothing remains of the 
 town whose proprietor had hopes of making it 
 the county seat. When Holmes township was 
 organized Mr. Newell was one of the first of- 
 ficers elected and on his death was buried in 
 the graveyard he had laid out. 
 
 About 1834 William Wingert was ap- 
 pointed postmaster of a country post office 
 that was opened under the name of Lykens. 
 The post office was in his house, on the 
 Tiffin road just north of the Holmes town- 
 ship line. Several other families located in 
 that section and in a few years it assumed 
 the aspect of a thriving village. Here he 
 built a shop and manufactured furniture, 
 and in 1851 started a store. In August, 1852, 
 fifteen years after the post office had been 
 established, David Porter, laid out a town just 
 south of the settlement of Wingert, and called 
 it Portersville, in honor of himself. The two 
 settlements were really one, as they bordered 
 on each other, Wingert's being in Lykens town- 
 ship and Porter's in Holmes township. But 
 there was the bitterest rivalry between the two 
 for the name of the village. Wingert's claim 
 that it be called Wingert's Comers was on the 
 ground that his settlement ante-dated the 
 mushroom town of Porter's by nearly twenty 
 years. Porter's claim was that his was a town, 
 laid out, and had a name legally, and therefore 
 that name was the correct and only one for the 
 new town. The post office department decided 
 in favor of Portersville. But Wingert and his 
 friends were so persistent, having their goods 
 and their mail all addressed to Wingert's Cor- 
 ners, Crawford county, that everybody else 
 recognized that as the name, and only the 
 government and Porter knew there was such 
 a place as Portersville. During the war of 
 the rebellion the people of the county, the 
 state, and the nation with one accord gave it a 
 new name. Party spirit ran high, and there 
 
 were some at Wingert's Corners so bitter that 
 they were very pronounced against the Union. 
 At this stage Petroleum V. Nasby commenced 
 a series of burlesque, political letters, taking 
 his characters and views from the situation as 
 it existed at Wingert's Corners. Later these 
 letters were dated "Confederit X Roads", and 
 although the date line of the letter always con- 
 tained the additional description, "which is in 
 the Stait of Kentucky," the description was 
 useless; the people still recognized it as Win- 
 gert's Corners, and through the war, and for 
 years after, the place was best known as "Con- 
 fedrit X Roads." It had a national notoriety 
 by this name; its county and local name was 
 Wingert's Corners, and the government car- 
 ried it as Portersville. As the bitterness of the 
 war passed away, there was a general desire to 
 get away from the bitterness that still rankled 
 on account of the action of lawless men and 
 the name of the office was changed to Broken- 
 sword, after the stream that passes to the 
 south of that village. Today no one would rec- 
 ognize the name of Portersville; some few al- 
 lude to it as Wingert's Corners ; Confederit X 
 Roads is but an historical allusion, and as 
 Brokensword it is one of the villages of the 
 county which still retain an existence. 
 
 The following are the postmasters at 
 Brokensword, with dates of appointment: 
 
 William Wingert, April 6, 1837; George Mc- 
 Donald, Jan. 30, 1850; Daniel Fralick, July 5, 
 1861; William Seele, Oct. 23, 1895; Matilda 
 E. Chapman, June 24, 1898 ; and Frank Sprow, 
 June 18, 1904. 
 
 On Feb. 14, 1906, the office was discon- 
 tinued, the mail -being supplied by rural route 
 from Bucyrus. Daniel Fralick was postmaster 
 for 34 years, the longest service of any man 
 in the county. 
 
 Jacob Lintner, who came at an early day to 
 this settlement, was a blacksmith and built a 
 shop just across the line in Lykens township. 
 As he could not find enough work at his trade 
 to keep him busy, he also did carpenter work, 
 becoming self-taught through frequent prac- 
 tice. Jacob Moore kept a small shoe shop in 
 one end of his cabin, and traveled from house 
 to house plying his trade, as was an early cus- 
 tom in the frontier settlements generally. Al- 
 though the price of shoes was small in those 
 days as compared with the present, many peo- 
 
H 
 
 N 
 
 2; 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 td 
 
 i 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 249 
 
 pie were unable to buy them and wore instead 
 a sort of rough moccasin made from the skin 
 of the deer or some other animal. Buckskin 
 clothes were also largely worn. 
 
 Among other artizans of those days may be 
 mentioned William Fralick, a carpenter, who 
 built many of the early frame houses; and 
 William Spitzer, a mason residing in the 
 southeastern part of the township, who, when 
 the construction of a better class of buildings 
 began, built many of the foundations and 
 chimneys. He also made bricks which he sold 
 to the settlers, commencing this business about 
 1830. 
 
 Samuel Burnison, before he turned his at- 
 tention to farming, tried one or two business 
 ventures which proved unsuccessful. He 
 owned a small copper still and in 1841 built a 
 small distillery in the northern part of the 
 township, operating in connection with it a 
 small horse-mill from which he obtained his 
 supply of ground grain. When the enterprise 
 failed — perhaps because the whiskey was not 
 of very good quality — he bought some cows 
 and made arrangements to begin the man- 
 ufacture of cheese, turning his distillery into a 
 cheese factory, but for some reason he changed 
 his mind before he had the enterprise started, 
 and went to farming. 
 
 David Porter started an ashery about 1837, 
 manufacturing black and scorched salts, and 
 continued the business for some ten years, 
 when, the supply of ashes failing, he gave it 
 up. 
 
 About 1857 William Wingert was employed 
 by George Quinby of Bucyrus to sell goods on 
 commission, and was given about $300 worth 
 to commence with. These were the first goods 
 sold in Portersville and were quickly disposed 
 of. After thus working for Mr. Quinby for 
 several years, Mr. Wingert started in business 
 for himself with an $800 stock of goods pur- 
 chased personally in New York city. He con- 
 tinued as a merchant for about ten years be- 
 fore retiring to his farm, and was fairly suc- 
 cessful. About two years before he retired an- 
 other store was opened in the village, which 
 was a branch store owned by Brinkerhoff and 
 Wilson, of Sycamore. They put in about 
 $3,000 worth of goods. The stock was pur- 
 chased in 1854 by Daniel Fralick, who added 
 to it considerably and carried on a successful 
 
 14 
 
 business for many years. At a later date 
 Shook and Ditty were also engaged in mer- 
 cantile pursuits here. 
 
 Liquor has been sold in Brokensword (Por- 
 tersville) since 1846, at which time Scale & 
 Hollingshead opened a saloon in the village, 
 also occasionally entertaining travellers. The 
 first genuine tavern keeper in the village was 
 John Stinerock, a tailor by trade, who con- 
 ducted a very orderly place and kept no bar. 
 In 1868 Elias Shirk built another tavern in 
 the town, which subsequently passed into the 
 hands of his widow. 
 
 Martin and Rosannah Holman came to 
 Crawford county. Holmes township, in the 
 twenties for John Holman was born in the 
 township Nov. 7, 1828. 
 
 Mary Martin Hemminger, born January i, 
 1812, was a daughter of James and Sarah 
 Martin, who took passage for America from 
 England in the fall of 1822, Mary being then 
 ten years old. On the voyage the ship's rud- 
 der became detached and the vessel was for a 
 while in great danger, several lives being lost 
 in the attempt to readjust it under water. It 
 was finally secured, after a long delay, and the 
 voyage took nearly three months to accomplish. 
 They must have reached Crawford county 
 from about 1824 to 1828. From the perils of 
 the ocean wave they changed at once to the 
 hardships of pioneer life on the frontier, 
 which, if a trifle less dangerous, were no less 
 hard to endure. The daughter Mary became 
 cowboy for the family, taking care of the stock 
 and often passing days and nights in the 
 woods. At one time when no less than. 26 
 miles from home, she was overtaken by dark- 
 ness and was compelled to wait for the moon 
 to rise before she could direct her weary march 
 homewards. In stormy weather their cabin 
 was often resorted to for shelter by Indians, 
 who came by the dozen or score, almost crowd- 
 ing the family out of doors. Mary Martin 
 was married May 13, 1830 to a Mr. Hem- 
 minger. She died Sept. 6, 1877, at the age of 
 80 years. 
 
 Samuel McClure, a weaver by trade, came 
 to Holmes township, May 5, 1830. 
 
 Rebecca Sells, a lady of forceful character, 
 at one time well known in Holmes township, 
 was a daughter of John and Anne McBride, 
 who came to Crawford in 1830. On Oct. 4th, 
 
250 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 she became the wife of Jacob Sells, whose par- 
 ents, Peter and Barbara Sells, had come to 
 Crawford in 1831. The young couple imme- 
 diately began housekeeping in their own home 
 on the Tiffin road. Jacob was an architect and 
 builder and was away much of the time, not 
 only on account of the demands of his pro- 
 fession, but also on account of military ser- 
 vice during the Civil war and because of his 
 attendance at land sales in the Osage country. 
 Mo. During his absence she had to suffer 
 many trials on account of her fearless advo- 
 cacy of abolition, the people around her being 
 generally in favor of secession. During the 
 war, not having received any communication 
 from her husband for a long time, she feared 
 he might be dead, but had not lost all hope 
 until one day she received word that his corpse 
 was awaiting her at Bucyrus. She went there 
 at once almost broken hearted. The body was 
 identified by the family and friends, but be- 
 fore removing the corpse, her sorrow was 
 changed to surprise, joy and gladness on being 
 handed a communication from her husband, 
 stating that he would be with her in a few 
 hours. Thus suddenly was a scene of the deep- 
 est sadness turned into one of rejoicing. 
 
 Michael and Margaret Shupp and their son 
 Henry came to Crawford in May, 1828, set- 
 tling on 80 acres on Brokensword Creek in 
 Holmes township. 
 
 John and Ann Shupp and son Samuel came 
 to Crawford county and Holmes township in 
 the spring of 1831. 
 
 Jacob Brinkman came to Bucyrus when it 
 was a small hamlet and after a residence there 
 of several years removed to Holmes township. 
 
 Jacob and Mary Bash came to Bucyrus in 
 1829. Both died and their son Peter Bash went 
 to the grandfather at Annapolis, who was a 
 Dunkard preacher. Grandmother Bash was 
 the first person buried in Annapolis cemetery. 
 Peter later purchased a farm in Holmes town- 
 ship. 
 
 William and Mary Fralick and son Daniel 
 came to Bucyrus in 1830 and settled on the 
 Rowse farm, later known as the Monnett farm. 
 In the fall they removed to the northern 
 part of Holmes township, where they entered 
 80 acres and erected a log cabin. In 1834 
 Daniel came to Bucyrus and worked in the 
 flour and saw-mill of Elias Slagel during high 
 
 water, when the mill was running. During 
 low water he worked on his father's farm. In 
 1853 he commenced keeping store at Wingert's 
 Corners, and in 1855 built a new house, which 
 he occupied until his death. 
 
 Samuel Flickinger, born in Lancaster county. 
 Pa., May 29, 1792, moved to McConnellstown, 
 Pa., in 1796; went from there to Stark county, 
 Ohio, in 181 1, coming from there to Crawford 
 county in the spring of 1833 and resided here 
 until his death June 20, 1871 at the age of 79 
 years. In 1820 he married Miss Phylinda 
 Healy, who was born in Jamaica, Wingham 
 county, Vt., and they resided on a farm in 
 Holmes township. Their sons, Samuel and 
 William ran the principal saw mill in the town- 
 ship for many years. 
 
 John Eaton, born in Washington county. 
 Pa., 1778, removed to Columbiana county, 
 Ohio, in 1808 and to Crawford in 1830 or 
 1 83 1. He had been a soldier in the War of 
 1812. He died July 23, 1850, aged 72 years. 
 Soon after Eaton came to the township, he 
 was joined by Edmund Ferrall, who had mar- 
 ried his daughter Mary in 1827. 
 
 About 1834 the first saw mill was built on 
 the Brandywine by Frederick Williams. He 
 ran it about ten years and then disposed of it 
 to other parties. When gold was discovered in 
 California, in 1849 Williams joined a party 
 and crossed the country to the gold fields. 
 About the time Williams built his mill in 1834 
 Jesse Quaintance built a mill on the Broken- 
 sword; it was of hewn logs, two stories, and 
 25 by 28 feet in size. It was originally a grist 
 mill, but- after a few years a frame addition 
 was added and a saw mill started, and for 
 twenty years both departments of the mill did 
 a large business. Both these mills were run 
 by water power, little dams being erected 
 across the streams. After Williams sold out 
 his mill, the little dam was washed away, and 
 was never rebuilt, so the mill was abandoned. 
 
 The third saw-mill was built in 1845 by 
 Rodney Poole, at the falls on Brokensword 
 creek. This was the best site in Holmes town- 
 ship for either a grist or saw-mill, as at this 
 point there is a fall of about a foot and a half 
 in the bed of the stream, which, together with 
 a good dam and race, furnished abundant 
 water power. The mill was a frame building, 
 having a long shed at right angles to the main 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 251 
 
 building, in which the sawed lumber was 
 stored. The charge made for sawing, when 
 not done on shares, was at the rate of 50 cents 
 per hundred feet. The mill dams of those 
 days were far from being as substantially 
 built as they are at the present day, when stone 
 can be had at a small cost. A pile of dirt, 
 stones, brush, logs or anything that came 
 handy, was heaped together in a line extending 
 across the stream, and the whole held in place 
 by logs driven into the bed of the stream in a 
 slanting position. These loosely constructed 
 dams often gave way, resulting in a total .sus- 
 pension of milling operations for some time 
 until they could be repaired or rebuilt. The 
 muskrats often caused such breaks by 
 burrowing into the dams. During heavy 
 rains, when the dams held, they often caused 
 the surrounding country to become flooded to a 
 considerable depth. 
 
 A steam saw-mill was built in 1853 on Grass 
 Run in the southern part of the township, by 
 Joseph Lones, and was furnished with a muley 
 saw. After being operated by Mr. Lones for 
 three years, it was sold to other parties. Two 
 years after Lones built his mill, Fralick and 
 Flickinger erected a large steam saw-mill on 
 Brokensword creek, which continued in opera- 
 tion until after the war. It was a large frame 
 building and had a muley saw. Other mills 
 were subsequently built in various parts of the 
 township and while the timber lasted a lively 
 business was done in this line of industry. 
 With the gradual disappearance of the timber 
 nearly all of these mills went out of existence. 
 
 Although previous to the Civil war a strong 
 sentiment existed in Crawford county against 
 assisting negroe slaves to escape to Canada, 
 many were thus aided by that mysterious, but 
 efifective organization, or system, known as 
 "The Underground Railroad." A family 
 named Jackson, living in the southern part of 
 the township, kept one of the stations on this 
 "road," and Isaac Jackson and his son, 
 Stephen, were seen on more than one occasion 
 driving rapidly northward by night with a 
 sled or wagon load of these black fugitives, 
 conveying them into Seneca county, where 
 doubtless there was another station from which 
 they were assisted farther north. In this man- 
 ner — as the plan was operated all over the state 
 of Ohio and to some extent in other states — 
 
 thousands of slaves were helped to freedom. 
 In engaging in this work the Jacksons, of 
 course, sacrificed some of their popularity, but 
 doubtless had their reward in the approval of 
 their own consciences. 
 
 The first school was opened in Holmes town- 
 ship in the northern part during the winter 
 of 1829-30, although the southern part had 
 been earlier settled by almost a decade. The 
 school was started in the cabin of David 
 Moore, an old bachelor who had come to 
 Holmes a year or two previous and who had 
 left his cabin vacant to go on a visit to his old 
 home in Pennsylvania, to bring his widowed 
 mother to his new home. John Bretz, a Penn- 
 sylvanian of German antecedents, was the first 
 schoolmaster and the school was well attended. 
 Although Mr. Bretz's scholarly attainments 
 were not above question, he was excellent in 
 enforcing discipline — a very desirable quality 
 for a schoolmaster in those days — for he was 
 a man of great strength and fine physique and, 
 it is said, "could handle any other man in the 
 neighborhood with ease." He taught for a 
 number of years in the German settlement and 
 its vicinity and always had good orderly 
 schools. The first regular schoolhouse in the 
 township, was built on section 3, during the 
 summer of 1833. It was first taught by Ed- 
 ward Porter, who during the previous winter 
 had taught school in a log cabin in Lykins 
 township. About nine years later it was super- 
 ceded by a larger and better schoolhouse 
 erected a short distance to the southward. 
 This latter building was a frame made almost 
 entirely of lumber sawed at the mills on 
 Brokensword creek. One of the early teach- 
 ers in the northern part of Holmes was Miss 
 Margaret Cannon, who gave general satisfac- 
 tion both as to maintaining discipline and im- 
 parting instruction. The first school building 
 in the southern part of the township was 
 erected in 1835 on or near the farm of Mr. 
 Black, and was constructed of hewed logs. 
 Some years later a frame building was put up 
 on the Lones farm and school was kept in it 
 for nearly 20 years, after which it was re- 
 moved to make way for a more modern struc- 
 ture. About 1836 the township was divided 
 into school districts and a schoolhouse built 
 in each district, according to the present plan. 
 The gospel was first preached in Holmes 
 
252 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 township by itinerant ministers from the neigh- 
 boring villages, who made occasional visits, 
 and were ordinarily designated as "circuit 
 riders." For some time previous to 1834, 
 meetings were held regularly in the cabins of 
 Michael Shupp, Daniel Scale and others. In 
 that year an Evangelical church was built in 
 the extreme southern part of Lykens township, 
 which was attended by a number of citizens 
 from Holmes. A little later the Lutherans and 
 members of the German Reformed church 
 united in erecting a log church in the northern 
 part of Holmes. A lack of harmony prevailed, 
 however, in this combined society; which re- 
 sulted in litigation. In 1852 the Protestant 
 Methodists built a log meeting-house about a 
 mile west of Portersville, which became known 
 as the Concord Meeting-house. The pastor of 
 this church during or at the beginning of the 
 Civil war period was the Rev. William Brown, 
 a strong abolitionist, who persisted against the 
 wishes of a large part of his congregation, in 
 preaching anti-slavery sermons. This led to 
 such bitterness of feeling that finally, one 
 night, a party of men assembled and leveled 
 the church to the ground. We read also that 
 upon another occasion a minister, of similar 
 views and similarly outspoken, who was con- 
 ducting a revival meeting near Portersville, was 
 pelted with eggs, which had been bought for 
 the purpose at the store of Daniel Fralick. 
 Another outrage took place soon after when 
 a church on the line between Holmes and Lib- 
 erty townships, was burned down for the same 
 cause. 
 
 In the southern part of the township the 
 Quakers erected a church in 1840, which is 
 still standing. It was built originally of logs 
 and afterward weather-boarded with poplar 
 lumber. It has not been used as a church for 
 many years. 
 
 In connection with the different churches 
 or otherwise, a number of Sunday schools have 
 been established in Holmes township from time 
 to time. Mission Chapel was established in 
 1848, the first summer had an attendance of 
 sixty scholars and was conducted for sixteen 
 years. James Moore was the first superin- 
 tendent, he being followed by Samuel Shaff- 
 ner, John Lichtenwalter and others. 
 
 Pietsel Sunday-school, organized in May, 
 1850, had the first summer an attendance of 
 
 fifty. Among the early superintendents were 
 William Pietsel, G. Hall, William Taylor, and 
 Newton Taylor. 
 
 The Grass Run Sunday school was organ- 
 ized May, 1852, with fifty-five scholars. Its 
 early superintendents were Abraham Kniseley, 
 D. J. Heller, John Kerstetter and Almon 
 Ames. 
 
 Other later Sunday schools were : 
 The Friend's Sunday school was organized 
 in May, i860, with fifty scholars. Lavina 
 Benedict was superintendent, followed by 
 James Jackson and others. The Spahr Sun- 
 day school was organized in May, 1870, 115 
 enrolled, with William Mateer, superintendent. 
 Wingert's Corners Sunday school in May, 
 
 1869, with an enrollment of 70, Daniel Fra- 
 lick, superintendent. The Lutheran Sunday 
 school, in May, 1870, with an enrollment of 
 118; G. W. Parks, superintendent. Mission 
 Chapel was reorganized as Holmes Chapel in 
 May, 1870, with 71 scholars, and James Moore 
 superintendent. No. 3 Sunday school in May, 
 
 1870, with an enrollment of 60; Henry Dieffen- 
 bacher, superintendent. From 60 pupils in 
 i860, with 12 teachers, the Sunday schools of 
 the township now have an enrollment of over 
 500, with 50 officers and teachers. 
 
 All along the Brokensword is an abundance 
 of stone, which the early pioneers found so 
 useful that stone quarries were started, but 
 the business developed to such an extent that 
 capital was invested and the Brokensword 
 Stone Company took over the business, and 
 employed a large force of men, the quarries be- 
 ing fitted with all the latest machinery, the 
 T. &, O. C. road having a spur which furnishes 
 shipping facilities. The development of the 
 quarries led to the establishment of a post 
 office and a station on the railroad, called 
 Spore, after Sidney L. Spore, one of the promi- 
 nent men in that section. The first postmaster 
 was F. D. Osborn, appointed May 22, 1888. 
 Owing to the difficulty of securing a man to 
 take the office it was discontinued Dec. 24, 
 1889, but was re-established April 9, 1892, 
 with Rufus D. Spore as postmaster. He was 
 succeeded July 17, 1897, by D. R. Diefen- 
 bacher, and he by G. F. Cox, on July 31, 1900. 
 No town was started, and when rural routes 
 were established, the postoffice was discontin- 
 ued on July 30, 1904. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 JACKSON TOWNSHIP AND CRESTLINE 
 
 Jackson Tow-nship — Its Size and Location — Its Origin — Topographical Features — Produc- 
 tions — First Settlers — An Early Tragedy — The First Road — Early Schools and Teach- 
 ers — Trading Points in Early Days — Taverns — Livingston Laid Out. 
 
 Crestline — Growth of the Town — Railroad Interests — First Passenger Train Through 
 Crestline — An Early Description of the Town — First Merchants and Prominent Citizens 
 — Destructive Fires — An Exciting Bear Story — Epidemic of Cholera — Manufacturing 
 Interests — City Departments — Schools — Churches — Justices — Incorporation of Crestline 
 and List of Mayors — JVater Supply — Telephone Service — Banks — Societies — Post Office 
 and Postmasters. 
 
 Who are they but the men of toil, 
 
 Who cleave the forest down, 
 And plant, amid the wilderness, 
 
 The hamlet and the town. 
 
 — Stewart. 
 
 This township, bearing the name of one of 
 America's • most- famous heroes and Presi- 
 dents, is the smallest in Crawford county, and 
 probably one of the smallest in the state of 
 Ohio. It is a fractional township, being now 
 ten sections, or about a fourth of a Congres- 
 sional township. It lies in the eastern part 
 of the county, somewhat south of a central 
 line, and -is bounded on the north by Vernon 
 township, on the east by Richland county, on 
 the south by Polk township and on the west by 
 Jefferson township. According to document- 
 ary evidence, up to 1845 it formed a part of 
 Richland county, and from that date to 1873 it 
 included the territory how known as Jefferson 
 township. The twelve western sections of what 
 is now Jefferson formed a part of Sandusky 
 township. In 1835, three miles wide and six 
 deep, was taken from the southern section of 
 Sandusky township and named Jackson in 
 honor of the hero of New Orleans. In 1845 
 a four-mile strip was added to Crawford from 
 Richland county, and Jackson township was 
 created seven miles wide and four deep, while 
 south of it was Polk, seven wide and three 
 
 deep. The setting off of Jefferson was due to 
 the fact that the people in the eastern part of 
 the territory, after 1850, on account of the 
 city of Crestline, appropriated to themselves 
 most of the lucrative offices, as well as those 
 conferring chiefly honor on the incumbents, 
 the western end of the township being assigned 
 only the leavings or crumbs of office. Ac- 
 cordingly proceedings were taken by the latter 
 to change this state of things, as will be seen 
 by the following record of official action; 
 
 March 11, 1873. 
 To the Board of Commissioners of Crawford County 
 in the State of Ohio : 
 
 The undersigned householders, residing within the 
 bounds of Jackson township in said county, respectfully 
 represent that it is necessary and expedient that a new 
 township be laid off and designated, embracing the fol- 
 lowing portions of the territory of said township of 
 Jackson, to wit : 
 
 Sections — i, 2, 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 22, 23, 24 in 
 township 16 of range 21. Also sections — S, 6, 7, 8, 17, 
 18, 19 and 20 in township 16 of range 20- 
 
 The undersigned therefore pray your honorable body 
 to lay off and designate such new township. 
 Signed — D. O. Castle, 
 
 Benjamin Heckaet, 
 William McKean 
 and 414 others. 
 
 The commissioners considered the matter on 
 Monday, March 10, 1873 and ordered the 
 township divided ; the new township, five miles 
 from east to west and four miles deep, to 
 
 253 
 
254 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 be known as Jefferson; the remaining ter- 
 ritory, two miles east and west and four miles 
 deep to continue as Jackson. In 1900 by peti- 
 tion of nearly all the tax payers of sections 27 
 and 34 in Vernon township these two sections 
 were added to Jackson. 
 
 There is very little in the way of Indian tra- 
 dition connected with the history of Jackson 
 township, though this is not the case with Jef- 
 ferson, as that territory can boast of numerous 
 Indian legends, but through both the ill-fated 
 Crawford marched to his terrible doom. 
 There were also several Indian trails through 
 the present Jackson township. 
 
 In its topography Jackson township resem- 
 bles closely the surrounding country. In for- 
 mer days it was heavily timbered, though in 
 some places flat and swampy. The soil is nat- 
 urally rich and in the last forty or fifty years, 
 artificial or tile draining has largely reclaimed 
 the swamps and rendered the soil suitable for 
 cultivation, which has been brought to a high 
 point of perfection. Its principal productions 
 are corn, wheat and oats. The timber origin- 
 ally consisted of several kinds of oak, hickory, 
 poplar, sugar maple, beech, elm, ash and some 
 walnut, together with A-arious shrubs of the 
 more common varieties. The only streams are 
 a tributary of the Sandusky, passing through 
 the northern part, Whetstone creek, and one or 
 two little brooks, all of which are small 
 streams, most of them not even being indicated 
 on the map. 
 
 Jackson township may be said to play second 
 fiddle to Jefferson, in the sense that in the lat- 
 ter territory the first settlements were made 
 and most of those events took place which con- 
 stitute the early history of a township. The 
 first settler in what is now Jackson is supposed 
 to have been Joseph Russell, who arrived, it is 
 thought as early as 1820. He came from the 
 vicinity of Coshocton, this state, and settled 
 about a mile south of Crestline. He subse- 
 quently removed to Hancock county. Russell 
 was soon followed by John Doyle, who settled 
 near him, coming from the vicinity of Steu- 
 benville in Jefferson county. After remaining 
 here several years he sold out and went to In- 
 diana. About the time of the advent of Doyle, 
 the population was still further increased by 
 the arrival of two families which settled in 
 the same neighborhood, whose names are now 
 
 forgotten. Mr. Snyder, who some years ago 
 was a resident of Crestline, and whose father 
 settled in what is now Jefferson township, in 
 1816-17, tells a story of one of these families 
 which reveals one of those pitiable tragedies 
 not uncommon in pioneer history. It seems 
 the pioneer having cleared a piece of ground, 
 his neighbors came together and rolled his logs 
 for him into heaps some distance from the 
 cabin. He then fired them, together with the 
 brush, and was in the habit of going out to 
 attend to the fire at night, his wife some- 
 times coming out to assist him. But one night 
 she was too busy with household duties to 
 come, and on that night the tragedy happened. 
 As he failed to come home, in the morning 
 she went out to look for him and found him 
 burned to death at a log heap. It seems that in 
 mending the fire, a heavy log had fallen on his 
 feet, knocking him to the ground and holding 
 him so fast that he was unable to extricate 
 himself. In that helpless position he died by 
 slow torture, doubtless shrieking for help so 
 long as his voice lasted, and vainly hoping that 
 his wife or some one might hear his cries. Of 
 the wife we have no further record. Her 
 feelings may be imagined. 
 
 Benjamin John and Benjamin Rush are 
 spoken of as settlers who were in the town- 
 ship prior to 1820. Samuel Rutan settled in 
 the township in 1821, David Bryant in 1823, 
 Elisha Allen and John Fate in 1824, William 
 Minnerly in 1827, David Ogden and Edwin 
 Manley in 1828, David Seltzer and Michael 
 Magill in 1829, Edward Cooper, Isaac Dille 
 and William Snodgrass in 1833, David Dewalt 
 in 1835. Others were James Lowne, John 
 Philip Bauer, John and Philip Eichorn and 
 Harvey Aschbaugh. 
 
 The first settlers had to get their corn 
 ground at Belleville, or the Heron Mill south 
 of Mansfield, which were the nearest points. 
 At a later date Christian Snyder put up his 
 horse mill at Leesville, and Hibner and Hos- 
 ford had their mills on the Whetstone near 
 Gallon, which were a great convenience to 
 the people of Jackson township. There were 
 no grist-mills ever in Jackson township until 
 after 1850 when Crestline became a village. 
 It was the Snyder family who cut the first 
 road through Jackson township, when they 
 originally came to Crawford county in 1817, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 255 
 
 and were endeavoring to find a short cut from 
 Mansfield to their land near Leesville. The 
 markings of this road can still be seen south 
 of Crestline in the Russell neighborhood. 
 
 The first schools were taught in the vicinity 
 of Leesville and Middletown, in what is now 
 Jefferson township. Edwin Manley, a gentle- 
 man of Scotch-Irish antecedents, was the first 
 teacher within the present limits of Jackson, 
 but having got into some trouble was soon 
 obliged to leave. Another early school was 
 taught by an old Irishman, Michael Magill, 
 who before or afterwards taught school in va- 
 rious places in the county. He was in the habit 
 of indulging in weekly sprees, lasting from 
 Friday night to Monday morning and often 
 opened school on Monday in a somewhat fud- 
 dled condition, at which times he was fre- 
 quently made a butt of by the scholars, who 
 indulged in many practical jokes at his ex- 
 pense. The first schoolhouse in Jackson was 
 built south of town, in the creek bottom, on 
 land later owned by Jacob ShefHer. 
 
 The accumulation of wealth, or even of a 
 reasonable competence, by the early settlers 
 was a practical impossibility, owing to the dis- 
 tance of the markets at which their surplus 
 products could be sold, the difficulty of reach- 
 ing them, and the small price offered for the 
 produce when, after great toil and rough trav- 
 eling over the worst roads, it had been trans- 
 ported thither. The nearest trading points 
 were Sandusky City, Zanesville, Mansfield and 
 Mt. Vernon, the two former being the most 
 important. For a load of wheat thus labor- 
 iously carried to market, the farmer was fre- 
 quently offered as low as I2>^ cents a bushel, 
 while 15 cents was considered a fair price, and 
 even then he had to take his pay in merchan- 
 dise. Under such conditions it is no wonder 
 that they often found it difficult to get enough 
 money to pay their taxes and postage, letters 
 costing 25 cents in coin at the office of de- 
 livery. If some of these early pioneers could 
 but see the changes which have occurred, 
 what would be their thoughts? However, al- 
 though their descendants have done wonder- 
 ful things in improving the conditions of life, 
 it should not be forgotten that a heavy debt 
 of gratitude is due to the early settlers for 
 it was they who laid the foundation upon 
 which their children builded so successfully; 
 
 it was they who endured the toil and danger, 
 with little in the way of recompense save the 
 knowledge that their children and their chil- 
 dren's children, thanks to their labors, would 
 be better off than themselves, though in their 
 most sanguine moments they never dreamed 
 to what an extent this would come true. 
 Even as late as 1840 the site of Crestline was 
 covered with big woods, which were filled 
 with deer, wolves, wild turkeys and other 
 species of game. The first cabin or house in 
 the locality was erected just west of the stone 
 arch bridge on the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & 
 Chicago Railroad, and was there as early as 
 1833, but by whom it was built is not known. 
 Aschbaugh's cabin was built some years later, 
 where Crestline now stands. Aschbaugh was 
 followed by a negro family, who built a cabin 
 at what is now the west end of Main street. 
 About the same time Samuel Rutan built an- 
 other cabin on an adjoining eighty acre lot, 
 at what is now the east end of Main street, 
 having purchased the land from the Govern- 
 ment. To the east of Rutan was Benjamin 
 Ogden's place. The earliest tavern was kept 
 by David Seltzer. It was a double log house 
 situated at some distance to the east of Og- 
 den's home, on the Leesville & Mansfield road, 
 and here humble fare was provided for the 
 weary traveler, consisting usually of "corn- 
 pone" and venison, but as time passed, Selt- 
 zer's tavern became the best known place west 
 of Mansfield; it was headquarters of the 
 stages from Wooster to Bucyrus, and after 
 the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati road 
 was built, and the Ohio and Indiana took out 
 its charter, that charter read that the road was 
 to commence on the C. C. & C. at a point near 
 Seltzer's tavern, probably the only tavern in 
 the United States which was distinguished by 
 being made the terminal point for a great rail- 
 road. The junction point of the two roads 
 was made later half a mile south of the Selt- 
 zer tavern, and soon after this his tavern was 
 discontinued and he moved to Crestline, one 
 of the principal streets in that city being named 
 after him. 
 
 The smallness of Jackson township in ter- 
 ritory, and the importance and growth of 
 Crestline have today made the history of Jack- 
 son and Crestline synonomous. The history 
 of the one is the history of the other. 
 
256 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 The Sandusky river has its source about 
 two miles north of Ontario, Richland county, 
 and in its northwest course to Lake Erie 
 passes through a country which was so thickly 
 timbered and abundant in game that the 
 pioneers were at first reluctant to undertake 
 the hard, difficult task of clearing the land 
 and despoiling such prolific hunting grounds. 
 But, in the westward march of civilization, 
 even this thickly-wooded tract on the upper 
 waters of the Sandusky had to be supplanted 
 in part by an enterprising town through which 
 trunk lines of railroads pass, whose trains 
 carry much of the interstate traffic of the 
 north. 
 
 The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati 
 Railroad, now known as the Big Four — was 
 chartered in 1833, but its construction was 
 delayed for a number of years. Even after 
 the work was begun, it progressed so slowly 
 that the road was not opened for traffic until 
 1 85 1. There was no town at that time be- 
 tween Shelby and Gallon, a distance of 13 
 miles. For the convenience of the people it 
 was thought there should be a station between 
 these towns, and the crossing of the Leesville 
 road was selected as the proper place for its 
 location. The station was established and 
 called Vernon. Its location was where Main 
 street crosses the Big Four, which is nearly 
 a half mile north of the present station or 
 junction of the Big Four and Pennsylvania 
 lines. Soon after the erection of the station 
 a town was founded there called Livingston, 
 after its founder — Rensselaer Livingston. 
 
 In the summer of 1850 the Cleveland, Col- 
 umbus and Cincinnati road was being built 
 and was completed as far north as where 
 Main street now crosses it in the town of 
 Crestline and it was at this point the station 
 was established and called Vernon Station, 
 after Vernon township. Van Rensselaer 
 Livingston, who was an early settler in that 
 section, bought the land around the station 
 and had Joseph Meer, the surveyor of Craw- 
 ford county, lay out a town. Just east of 
 where the station was, was Seltzer's tavern, 
 a leading place for travelers on the road from 
 Mansfield to Bucyrus, near where the Ohio 
 and Indiana was to commence by legislative 
 enactment, and go west through Bucyrus and 
 Upper Sandusky to the Indiana line. Living- 
 
 ston therefore believed he had laid out a town 
 at the junction of what is now the C. C. & C. 
 and the Pennsylvania road. The plat was 
 filed in the Recorder's office at Bucyrus, on 
 Feb. 17, 1 85 1, and the new town was called 
 Livingston. The location given was "the 
 west half of the southeast quarter of section 
 No. ID, Jackson township." There were three 
 east and west streets, the centre one to be the 
 principal thoroughfare of the town and was 
 called Main street. The one north of it was 
 North street, and the one south, South street. 
 The street through which the railroad passed 
 was called Railroad street. It being a station 
 on the railroad, several houses were immedi- 
 ately erected, and Thomas C. Hall opened a 
 general store in 1850. The government es- 
 tablished a post office in the new town, and 
 Livingston was appointed postmaster. The 
 office was in Hall's store, and was run 
 by him, he being the deputy, and later the 
 postmaster. The place was prospering and 
 bid fair to become a thriving village, but when 
 the Ohio and Indiana road was finally located 
 in 1852, the crossing of the C. C. & C. was 
 half a mile south of Livingston. Jesse R. 
 Straughan, who was the civil engineer of the 
 Ohio and Pennsylvania road, and his brother, 
 C. J. Straughan, bought the farm of Harvey 
 Aschcroft at the junction of the two roads, 
 and laid out a town which they named Crest 
 Line. They filed the plat of their new town 
 in the Recorder's office on Dec. 21, 1852, and 
 described the location as being on the "north 
 half of section 15, Jackson township." There 
 were three north and south streets, named 
 Hall, Columbus and Thoman. Four east 
 and west streets, named Bucyrus, Mansfield, 
 Brown and Livingston. The one along the 
 C. C. & C. road they named Seltzer, and the 
 one along the Ohio and Pennsylvania road 
 was Warehouse street. Both towns thrived 
 from the beginning, but Crestline had the 
 advantage of the junction with a union depot, 
 and besides that, large railroad shops were 
 established at the junction, and Crestline 
 soon distanced Livingston in population and 
 business. The post office was removed to the 
 new town, and the name became one word 
 instead of two. As time went on the two 
 towns grew together and today there is no 
 dividing line between the two, Livingston as 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 257 
 
 a town having passed out of existence and 
 is today the northern part of Cresthne. 
 
 Prior to the laying out of Crestline, Liv- 
 ingston enjoyed quite a boom. T. C. Hall 
 opened a store there in 1850 and Newman and 
 Thoman had a store there about the same 
 time. John Adam Thoman had purchased the 
 80 acres just west of Livingston's eighty acre 
 tract, paying $600 for the property, and part 
 of this he laid out in town lots and commenced 
 the erecting of houses. Michael Heffelfinger 
 built a hotel at Livingston which he called the 
 Ohio House. A number of residences were 
 erected and little shops started. The Ohio 
 and Pennsylvania was nearing Crestline from 
 the east, and a syndicate, consisting of Jesse 
 R. Straughan, chief engineer of the Ohio and 
 Indiana road, Thomas W. Bartley of Mans- 
 field, and John and Joseph Lardwill of Woos- 
 ter, bought the 80-acre tract south of the Liv- 
 ingston and Thoman tract, Joseph Larwill 
 had been the financial promoter of the Ohio 
 and Pennsylvania. Soon after this purchase 
 it was found that the junction point of the 
 roads would be on the tract owned by the syn- 
 dicate, and the town of Crestline was laid 
 out. Its growth was rapid. The plat was 
 only filed Dec. 21, 1852. The first train of 
 cars from the east arrived at Crestline on 
 April II, 1853, and J. A. Crever of the Bu- 
 cyrus Journal went over with Willis Merri- 
 man, president of the Ohio and Indiana, and 
 others to welcome the first train. Writing of 
 the town Crever says : 
 
 "Visited Crestline April nth; found many 
 large and small houses where a few months 
 ago it was all woods and cultivated fields. 
 Crestline has two stores, five groceries, one 
 tavern, two steam saw-mills, several boot and 
 shoe shops, and numerous other mechanics' 
 shops. The lots are being sold very fast and 
 building timber is seen strewn on every hand. 
 Mr. Straughan has a large eating-house nearly 
 finished at the junction of the Ohio & Penn- 
 sylvania and the Ohio & Indiana roads. When 
 completed it will be a fine structure. The 
 whole appearance of the place is business-like 
 and the inhabitants are looking forward to 
 the time when they will have a city in full 
 blast. The first train of passenger cars on 
 the Ohio & Pennsylvania entered Crestline 
 Monday evening at 7.30, with a large number 
 
 of passengers. The people of that village 
 greeted them with numerous hearty cheers 
 and much rejoicing." 
 
 Two months later the editor made a second 
 visit to the town which had leaped into ex- 
 istence practically in a day, and on June 23, 
 1853, he wrote of it: 
 
 "Crestline and Livingston are located at 
 the place where the Ohio & Indiana and the 
 Ohio & Pennsylvania roads unite with the 
 C. C. & C. road. The two places constitute 
 one town, so recognized. Here can be seen 
 that great feature of American enterprise, a 
 city in the wilderness. Houses are erecting 
 on all sides, and hundreds of laborers and 
 mechanics are biisily engaged in pushing the 
 present improvements to completion. It will 
 surprise many to learn what's doing in this 
 clearing — for clearing it is, as, except what 
 have been grubbed out, the stumps are still 
 standing on all sides. The ticket office and 
 building for the accommodation of the trav- 
 elers is just finished. The building partakes 
 somewhat of an oriental style of architecture, 
 is 30 feet wide and 80 feet long. It contains 
 a ticket office, a baggage-room, and a large 
 salon for the accommodation of passengers 
 waiting for the cars. The salon is abundantly 
 supplied with lounges or settees, tables and 
 chairs. It also contains a fine clock and a 
 large water cooler. 
 
 "Another building for a similar purpose is 
 constructing 30 feet wide and 100 feet long, 
 and, including the basement, is three stories 
 high. The basement is used as a kitchen. The 
 second floor is occupied by the dining salon and 
 refreshment hall; the third floor is divided 
 into sleeping apartments. This building is 
 not quite finished but is in full use. One hun- 
 dred persons dine here daily and sometimes 
 the number amounts to two hundred. At one 
 corner of this building and with which it will 
 be placed in connection, the foundation of an 
 octagonal building is being laid, which, when 
 finished, will be four stories high. The first 
 floor of the octagonal building is to be used 
 as a barber shop, the second floor as a reading- 
 room and the third and fourth floors will be 
 divided into sleeping apartments. 
 
 "The frame work of a wood house is com- 
 pleted and ready for the roof. This building 
 is 65 feet wide at one end, 20 at the other, 
 
258 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and 300 feet long. In this building will be 
 several wells and reservoirs to supply the lo- 
 comotives with water. The balance of the 
 building will be used for storing wood. 
 
 "An engine-house or stable is completed 
 which is 30 feet wide and 1 10 feet long. Next 
 season it is contemplated to build a circular 
 stable of brick, large enough to stand fifteen 
 locomotives. The plan of another building is 
 decided upon, and as soon as the title to the 
 ground can be secured, it will be commenced. 
 It will be 40 feet wide and 260 feet long. The 
 use to which it is to be applied we did not 
 learn. We presume, however, it is intended 
 for a warehouse. Near these improvements 
 is a steam saw-mill, owned by Miller and 
 Langham. This will be kept running day and 
 night. In the old division of the settlement, 
 of Livingston, town lots are selling at $300, 
 and in the new division, or Crestline, they 
 sell at $400. 
 
 "There is but one thing to be apprehended, 
 and that is that the settlement will outgrow 
 itself. At the present time money is abund- 
 ant, but this results from the large number 
 of hands now in the employ of the Ohio & 
 Pennsylvania Railroad company, who get 
 their money regularly and are in turn enabled 
 to pay as they go. The present abundance 
 will cease as soon as the railroad improve- 
 ments are finished and the settlement will then 
 have to depend upon the local and exchange 
 trade, which, however, will always be large 
 and abundant for a good sized town; but it 
 has its limits." 
 
 The doubts of the editor as to Crestline's 
 future were never realized. What was forest 
 and farming land in 1850 was a thriving vil- 
 lage at the first census in i860, and each suc- 
 cessive decade the census enumerator has 
 given Crestline a flattering growth until today 
 it has a population of about five thousand 
 people. 
 
 The first lots were sold at auction, and G. 
 W. Emerson was the first purchaser, the lot 
 later coming into the possession of Daniel 
 Babst. On this lot was built a hotel, which 
 was known as the Emerson House, and was 
 the second hotel in the place. The first hotel 
 was the Crestline House, built by Jesse R. 
 Straughan and was run at the start by a man 
 named Brown of Mansfield. It was opened 
 
 in April, 1853, when the Ohio and Pennsyl- 
 vania was completed to Crestline. It soon 
 passed under the management of Thomas C. 
 Hall, who disposed of his store at Livingston 
 and came to Crestline and ran the hotel sev- 
 eral years, making it one of the popular places 
 along the road. An interesting incident oc- 
 curred in connection with this first hotel. Mr. 
 Hall disposed of it to Miller & Morz. Later 
 it was kept by A. Moorhead, Thomas White 
 and others until in 1877 the management 
 passed into the hands of Mrs. E. Lepez. The 
 ground and building were owned by the Lar- 
 wills, descendants of one of the original own- 
 ers of the town, and Mrs. Lepez arranged to 
 sell to James Lindsey, her rights consisting 
 of the lease, furniture and fixtures. The 
 papers were all drawn up, and nothing re- 
 mained to be done but the signing of the pa- 
 pers, and Mr. Lindsey, Mrs. Lepez and the 
 agent of the Larwills left the hotel for the 
 lawyer's office to complete the transaction. 
 Just as they were leaving a heavy train with 
 two engines drew up in front of the build- 
 ing, and almost immediately, smoke was seen 
 coming from the roof of the hotel followed 
 by a blaze, a spark from one of the engines 
 having set the building on fire.' The building 
 was of frame built many years previously; 
 it was very dry, burned like tinder and build- 
 ing and contents were a total loss. The loss 
 to Mrs Lepez was $2,000, partly covered by 
 insurance. If the freight had been five min- 
 utes late James Lindsey would have been the 
 loser. 
 
 Crestline's first severe fire was in Septem- 
 ber, 1859, when flames broke out in the bag- 
 gage room of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & 
 Chicago road. It was before the town had 
 any fire department, and the building was 
 soon reduced to ashes, with a loss of about 
 $11, GOD, mostly falling on the railroad com- 
 pany. 
 
 The most severe fire was also in September, 
 ten years later, when the block from the Con- 
 tinental Hotel to Bucyrus street was prac- 
 tically all destroyed. It occurred about 2 
 o'clock on the morning of Sept. 13, the fire 
 starting in the Franklin House, just north of 
 the Continental Hotel. The more severe losses 
 were the baggage room of the C. C. & C. 
 road, the saloon of Charles Courtright, the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 259 
 
 building being owned by Daniel Babst; the 
 Franklin House owned by Mrs. Courtright, 
 the clothing store of Davis & Newman, Lind- 
 sey & Lovejoys' saloon, barber shop of G. 
 A. Fisher, Robert Ralphan's saloon, Fred 
 Schaack's bakery, Western Hotel, old Wash- 
 ington House owned by D. Babst and oc- 
 cupied by the clothing store of Stahley & 
 Neuman; H. A. Schoeber's shoe store, the 
 Hoffman corner, occupied by O. L. Lawson, 
 jeweler. Dr. William Pope, drugs, and Adam 
 Hoffman, grocer. The total loss was about 
 $75,000. The Gallon Fire Department was 
 hurried to the scene by special train and gave 
 valuable assistance. Another serious fire was 
 when the Continental Mills were burned 
 down in 1879. These mills were erected in 
 1857, and were one of the large industries of 
 Crestline for many years. They were rebuilt 
 later. 
 
 From its start Crestline was a great rail- 
 road centre, shops were located there employ- 
 ing hundreds of men, and it was the end of 
 a division on two roads, making the town the 
 home of a large number of train crews, and 
 this with the passenger traffic over the various 
 roads made the hotel business one of the lead- 
 ing industries. The leading hotel after it was 
 built was the Continental, run by L. G. Rus- 
 sell for many years, and the most popular 
 hotel under his management between Pitts- 
 burg and Chicago, but the introduction of 
 dining-cars, robbed it of much of its patron- 
 age. Mr. Russell had two hobbies; one was 
 flowers, and he kept a large nursery, and the 
 hotel was constantly supplied with beautiful 
 blossoms. The other was his menagerie, 
 which was just east of the hotel. Here he 
 kept bears, wolves and foxes, eagles and other 
 birds, and few of the thousands of passen- 
 gers who went through Crestline failed to 
 enjoy the two things for which the Conti- 
 nental was celebrated — an excellent meal and 
 the menagerie. 
 
 The original Crawford county was a home 
 for bears, and many interesting incidents are 
 handed down in the way of bear stories, but 
 since 1830- it is probable there were no wild 
 bears in the county, but Crestline had a real 
 bear story as late as 1857. A man named 
 Caldwell had a bear which he kept chained 
 near Parker's saloon, near the railroad track. 
 
 One summer afternoon some boys began 
 teasing him. Bruin became very angry at 
 their constant irritation, and his strains finally 
 succeeded in breaking the chain by which he 
 was confined. The scared boys promptly 
 sought safety in flight, but the bear seized 
 one of the boys named Hassinger, who lived 
 near Leesville, on whom he inflicted terrible 
 wounds with his teeth and claws. The boy's 
 frantic screams brought the owner, who, with 
 a heavy club, succeeded in driving away the 
 bear and rescuing the boy. Young Hassinger 
 was taken to the home of Rev. Mr. Barr, and 
 Dr. William Pope sent for. An examination 
 showed that his right thigh and leg were hor- 
 ribly torn, his back terribly bitten and bruised, 
 some of the wounds made by tthe animal's 
 teeth being an inch across. Several ribs on 
 the right side were broken, one of them in 
 two places. The bear in the meantime roamed 
 the streets at will, everybody hurriedly giving 
 him right of way. He was finally captured 
 an hour later by the owner, but the indig- 
 nant citizens insisted the town was not large 
 enough to accommodate .both them and the 
 bear, so the next morning poor Kruin was 
 shot by Mr. Caldwell. The Russell bears were 
 kept in large dens with heavy iron bars, and 
 became great pets, the amount of cakes and 
 even pies they were fed by an interesting 
 public would have depleted any bakery in the 
 village. 
 
 The cholera year of 1854 struck the little 
 town of Crestline. It broke out in July 
 among the people living in some shanties on 
 the Ohio and Indiana road on the low, damp, 
 marshy ground about half a mile west of the 
 crossing. It started on Wednesday, and by 
 Friday morning there were seven deaths. The 
 matter was serious and the citizens took 
 prompt and vigorous action. Several of the 
 citizens purchased the shanties where the 
 plague was raging; they removed the sick to 
 fresh and clean quarters, and buried the seven 
 dead. Then they applied the torch, and the 
 shanties, with all their furniture, bedding and 
 clothing were soon a heap of ashes. Of the 
 dozen or more removed, all recovered except- 
 ing two. One man died that same day, and 
 the other, a little girl, died on Saturday 
 morning. 
 
 One of the important industries of Crest- 
 
260 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 line some forty years ago, were the Crestline 
 Lock Works, which were established in 1870, 
 the people subscribing $8,000 towards erect- 
 ing the buildings on condition that a certain 
 number of men should be employed. C. A. 
 Faulkner & Co., conducted the business for 
 one year, and then sold to John A. Thoman 
 & Co., who operated them until 1874, when 
 they failed and went into bankruptcy. 
 
 In 1 87 1 a brass foundry was established in 
 Crestline, by G. W. Dyar and for a number 
 of years did quite a successful business. 
 
 The business section of Crestline, and the 
 principal residence portion are well paved 
 with brick, two streets, however, comprising 
 about one mile of paving, being McAdamized. 
 The police department consists of five men, 
 who are under the direction of George Rhodes. 
 The streets are well lighted. 
 
 Crestline has two fire-engine houses, the 
 Central station being located in the City Hall 
 building. At this station there is one hand- 
 relief engine, and two carts, with about iioo 
 feet of hose, altogether, 500 feet of which 
 are new hose. Several hundred feet more 
 are to be added. At the other station, which 
 is located on Main street, there is one truck, 
 with ladder of 20 feet extension, and 600 feet 
 of hose. There is a telephone alarm system 
 with fifteen stations for calls. The depart- 
 ment numbers altogether 23 men, some of 
 whom are paid. Charles P. Helfrich has been 
 fire chief for the last ten years, and has 
 two assistants — Clarence Helfrich and Fred 
 Bloom. The company has had no disastrous 
 fires to contend with for a long time, the last 
 one of any consequence being in the spring of 
 the present year (1912) at the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad shops, when 200 or 300 barrels of 
 oil were destroyed. 
 
 About 300 men are employed in the engine 
 and car shops of the Pennsylvania road at 
 Crestline and at one time engines were built 
 there, but today the shops are most extensively 
 used for repairs. There is a large round- 
 house, having 36 stalls for engines, a few of 
 them, however, being otherwise occupied. A 
 few years ago this roundhouse was enlarged 
 by a 16-foot extension. F. M. Cairns is fore- 
 man and W. F. Beardsley, master mechanic. 
 
 The first school in the town of Crestline 
 was taught by a man named Edgerton in an 
 
 old log schoolhouse situated about a mile and 
 a half northwest of the present site of the 
 town on the Leesville road, and school was 
 held here by one teacher or another up to 
 1850. About 1853, when Crestline was in- 
 creasing rapidly in population, a two-story 
 frame schoolhouse was erected in the east 
 part of the town, and not long afterward an- 
 other one was built in the west part. These 
 two buildings were used until 1868, at which 
 time a union school building was erected. 
 This building, with the two lots on which it 
 stands, cost over $30,000 and reflected credit 
 upon all concerned in the project. It is a 
 brick building, with three stories and base- 
 ment, 72 feet in length by 65 in greatest width 
 and contains eleven school rooms, besides six 
 smaller rooms used for offices. It was de- 
 signed by Mr. Thomas and built by Miller, 
 Smith & Frayer, contractors, and was opened 
 to the children April 12, 1869. In the im- 
 mediate vicinity is the School Park, planted 
 with evergreens and shade trees and traversed 
 by gravel walks. In the center of the grounds 
 an elegant fountain was erected and around 
 the base six hydrants for drinking purposes. 
 The Board of Education under whose wise 
 supervision the school and grounds were de- 
 signed and laid out consisted of Jacob Stah- 
 ley, president, D. W. Snyder, John Berry, 
 S. P. Hesser, C. Miller and Nathan Jones — 
 names worthy to be held in grateful remem- 
 brance by the citizens of Crestline. The rapid 
 growth of the town made the large handsome 
 central structure insufficient to properly care 
 for the increasing number of school children, 
 and ward buildings were erected, the first east 
 of the railroad track. Last year a handsome 
 high school building of brick was erected on 
 the central lot, and Crestline now has. ample 
 school facilities. 
 
 The oldest church society in Crestline was 
 formed by the Methodists in 1844, ^^ what 
 was then called Minnerly's schoolhouse, later 
 known as McCulloch's. This, however, was 
 several years before the laying out of the 
 town. John Lovitt was the principal mover 
 in this enterprise. The church edifice, which 
 is still standing on Thoman street, was built 
 in 1854. Those most active in the work were 
 Mr. Minnerly, Francis Peppard, David Kerr. 
 Francis Conwell, David Thrush, David White 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 261 
 
 and Mr. Howland, who, with their wives and 
 a portion of their famiUes, were among the 
 first members. In connection with this church 
 is a large and flourishing Sunday school. 
 
 After the Methodists came the German 
 Lutherans, who organized their society about 
 185 1, the original members of which were 
 Henry Lambert, George Hass, Michael Web- 
 ber, B. Faltz, John Keller and others. Their 
 meetings were first held in the schoolhouse, 
 but in .1861 they erected a new church edifice 
 at a cost of $3,000. The first minister was 
 the Rev. Mr. Meiser. The Sunday school was 
 established at the same time as the church and 
 has kept pace with it in growth and efficiency. 
 The organization is known as the Trinity 
 German Lutheran Church. 
 
 The second German Lutheran church was 
 an offshoot from the first Lutheran society 
 above mentioned and resulted from a differ- 
 ence of opinion on the part of some of the 
 members in regard to matters of belief or 
 church government. These members, among 
 whom were Charles Christman, Peter Sleen- 
 becker, Michael Reh, C. Morkel and others, 
 in 1879 withdrew from the parent body and 
 founded the Second German Lutheran So- 
 ciety, erecting a church on E. Mansfield 
 Street at a cost of $4,000. Their first pastor 
 was the Rev. Mr. Shultz of Gallon and their 
 early meetings were held in the old German 
 Refonned Church. A Sunday school was 
 also organized. 
 
 In 1854 a society of English Lutherans was 
 organized by Rev. A. F. Hills and among the 
 first members were A. W. Stine, David Mc- 
 Cartel, William Knisely, David Keplinger, 
 Isaac Miller, David Lichtenwalter, Elizabeth 
 Warner, Hannah Stine, Jane McCartel and 
 D. Minich. A church edifice was soon erected, 
 though the early meetings were held in the 
 residences of the members. The church now 
 constitutes an active and flourishing society, 
 with a large and effective Sunday school. 
 
 The German Reformed Church, situated in 
 the northwest part of the town, was organ- 
 ized in 1858, by Rev. M. M. Stern of Gallon, 
 who was followed by Rev. John Rettig, Rev. 
 John Winter and others. A brick edifice was 
 erected in 1862 at a cost of $2,000. Among 
 the first members of this society were Joseph 
 Bender, Philip Eichorn, Frederick Eichorn 
 
 and David Bluem. This church also has a 
 large Sunday school. 
 
 Commencing about the middle of the year 
 1854 the Presbyterians of Crestline and the 
 vicinity had held occasional meetings in vari- 
 ous places, being ministered to by Rev. Luke 
 Dorland. On Feb. 20, 1855, their society 
 was organized into a church by Rev. I. N. 
 Shepherd of Marion, Ohio, and Rev. Silas 
 Johnston, of Bucyrus. The organization was 
 effected in a schoolhouse and for some time 
 afterwards meetings were held occasionally in 
 the different church buildings already erected. 
 Rev. J. P Lloyd was the first pastor and 
 among the original members were John and 
 Mary White, John S. and Jane Smith, Alex- 
 ander, Martha J. and Margaret Patterson, 
 Sampson Warden, P. and Mary Mansfield 
 and John and Elizabeth Jane Banbright. The 
 second pastor. Rev. James Shields, remained 
 seven years and was succeeded by Rev. W. W. 
 Macamber. The Sunday school was organ- 
 ized August 12, 1862. 
 
 Like the Presbyterians, the early Catholics 
 held their first services in the houses of the 
 members of that faith. A regular organiza- 
 tion was effected in 1858 by Father Gallagher 
 of Cleveland, who was pastor at Mansfield 
 at the same time, the society taking the name 
 of St. Joseph's Catholic Church. The early 
 meetings were held in the houses of the orig- 
 inal members, among whom were Mike Dunn, 
 Patrick Dunn, J. A. Barrel, Laurenz Raindl 
 and Thaddeus Seifert. A frame church was 
 erected on North street in 1861 at a cost of 
 $1,000. 
 
 Both Jackson and Polk townships were a 
 part of Richland county up to 1845, ^^'^ ^t 
 the first election only twelve votes were cast; 
 this was about 1821; John Williams was the 
 first Justice of the Peace. Daniel Riblet was 
 a Justice for eighteen years while it was a 
 part of Richland county, and William Robin- 
 son was a Justice for nine years. Since Jack- 
 son has been a part of Crawford the following 
 are the Justices : 
 
 Robert Lee— 1845-47. 
 
 Stephen Kelly— 1846. 
 
 John Franz — 1849-52-55. 
 
 James Robinson — 1851. 
 
 David Ogden— 1853-56-59-79-82-85-88-91 -94-97. 
 
 Abraham Holmes — 1857. 
 
 George W. Good — 1858-61-64, 
 
262 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 D. L. Keplinger — 186>2. 
 
 Emanuel Warner — 1864. 
 
 B. O. Richards— 186s. 
 
 William Robinson — 1863. 
 
 Joseph Miles — 1866. 
 
 Jacob Stable— 1867. 
 
 George Heis — 1868. 
 
 James Walsh — 1870. 
 
 Jonathan Kissinger — 1870. 
 
 John Neuman — 1872. 
 
 Jesse Williams — 1872-75-78, 
 
 James M. Reed — 1875. 
 
 William F. Crowe — 1876-98-99-ID09. 
 
 F. M. Anderson— 1881-84-87-90-93. 
 
 Frederick Neuman — 1897-1900-03-05-08. 
 
 Ralph Glosser — 1902-04. 
 
 William Robinson — igo6. 
 
 Carl M. Babst— 1907. 
 
 W. D. Mewhart — 1909. 
 
 Jacob Ogden, who was elected to the posi- 
 tion for ten terms, was filling the office when 
 he died on Aug. 27, 1898. 
 
 Crestline was originally laid out in 1852, 
 but its growth was so rapid that it was in- 
 corporated on March 3, 1858, and the first 
 officers elected were David Ogden, Mayor; 
 William Knisely, Recorder; William P. Ker- 
 nahan, E. Warner, Robert Lee, M. C. Archer, 
 William Boals, Councilmen. Following David 
 Ogden as Mayor was Silas Durand i860, 
 Samuel Hoyt 1861, Nathan Jones 1862-64- 
 65-74, Jacob Stable 1863, Dr. J. McKean 
 1865, William Robinson 1866, George W. 
 Pierce 1870, A. E. Jenner 1874, Dr. Edwin 
 Booth 1876, Daniel Babst 1879-80-82-94, P. 
 W. Poole 1884-86-90-92-03-05, F M. Ander- 
 son 1888, Frank Miller 1896-98, J. J. Tisch- 
 ler 1908-10. 
 
 Crestline has the finest water supply of any 
 town in the county. Originally the town was 
 supplied with water by wells, but the rapid 
 growth of the town and the demand for pure 
 water for the use of the locomotives de- 
 manded a better system and in 1871 the neces- 
 sary legislation was passed to give to Crest- 
 line an adequate water supply. It was ob- 
 tained at the Palmer Springs, in Richland 
 county, about four miles east of the city. 
 These springs are historical, as it was here 
 that Col. Crawford and his army went into 
 camp on the night of June i, 1782, the night 
 before they entered what is now Crawford 
 county. The springs are over a hundred feet 
 higher than Crestline, and the water is con- 
 veyed by pipes to the city. Bonds were issued 
 to the amount of $80,000. As usual, an im- 
 
 portant and necessary enterprise like this met 
 with much expensive litigaton, but the im- 
 provement was successfully concluded. Later 
 the growth of the town necessitated the sink- 
 ing of a number of wells near the springs, 
 and the capacity is now arhple, and the water 
 pure and of good quality. 
 
 The Crestline Local Telephone Company 
 was incorporated about ten years ago by Jacob 
 Babst and others, and has today about a thou- 
 sand phones in Crestline and the surrounding 
 country. 
 
 In 1867, Jacob Riblet and William Hays 
 of Gallon, and John Newman of Crestline, 
 established a bank under the firm name of 
 Riblet, Hays & Co., which they conducted for 
 two years, when they sold out to John A. 
 Thoman & Co., who ran it as the Citizens 
 Bank until the panic of 1873, when they were 
 compelled to discontinue. In 1870 the Babst 
 bank was organized by Daniel Babst and 
 Jonathan Martin, the firm name being Babst, 
 Martin & Co., Jacob Babst being the cashier, 
 and he has been connected with the institution 
 ever since. In June 1878, Jacob and Daniel 
 Babst became the owners of the bank, the 
 two sons of Daniel Babst, the original found- 
 er, and the name was changed to the Babst 
 Banking House. In 1876 the Farmers and 
 Mechanics Bank Avas established by Booth & 
 Stewart, and in 1878 was owned by Stewart 
 & Son, and after running a few years was dis- 
 continued. In 1897, the First National Bank 
 of Crestline was incorporated with a capital 
 stock of $50,000 ; William Monteith being the 
 president. 
 
 The first secret society organized in the 
 village was Crestline Lodge No. 237 I. O. 
 O. F., its charter dating Feb. 23, 1854. The 
 charter members were John I. Kert. G. W. 
 Keplinger, W. P. Kernahan, William Knott, 
 William Boals, M. C. Archer. Elijah Johnson, 
 William McGraw, and Daniel Laughbaum. 
 The first officers were : William Knott, N. G. ; 
 W. P. Kernahan, V. G. ; G. W. Keplinger, Sec. 
 
 On June 15, 1875, Crawford Encampment 
 No. 187 was instituted by J. W. Parch, the 
 Most Worthy Grand High Priest. The char- 
 ter members were F. C. Berger, G. G. Cruzen, 
 F. Newman, J. W. Sanders, E. Davis, John 
 Snyder, and J. H. Becker. The first officers 
 ^^'ere John H. Becker, C. P. ; F. £,. Berger, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 263 
 
 H. P.; George G. Cruzen, S. W.; E. Davis, 
 Sec. ; John Snyder, Treas. 
 
 A German lodge of Odd Fellows was in- 
 stituted on July 3, 1872, with the following 
 charter members; F. Newman, Jacob Stahley, 
 George StoU, J. P. Zimmermacher, J. H. 
 Becker, Adam Neff, John Bauer, John Et- 
 singer, and John Cook. The first officers were 
 George Stoll, N. G.; Jacob Stahley, V. G.; 
 J. H. Becker, Sec; F. Newman, Treas. In 
 connection with the Odd Fellows is Rebecca 
 Lodge No. 816. 
 
 The second order to organize in Crestline 
 was the Masons. Arcana Lodge No. 272 was 
 granted a charter Oct. 26, 1855, the charter 
 members being J. R. Straughan, Erastus S. 
 Spencer, Matthew Elder, J. McCluny, E. C. 
 Gregg, J. J. Bening, George Bewson, A. P. 
 Cann, John Newman, John Franz, John A. 
 Thoman, J. Warden, J. Eddington, H. A. 
 Donaldson, H Gusleman. The first officers 
 were J. R. Straughan, W. M. ; E. S. Spencer, 
 S. W.; Matthew Elder, J. W. 
 
 Crestline Chapter No. 88 was chartered 
 Oct. 15, 1864, the charter members being M. 
 C. Archer, David Ogden, John H. Berry, 
 William Boals, Benjamin Eaton, Robert Lee, 
 John McGraw, William McGraw, Thomas 
 Boorman, J. S. Potter, W. H. Shamp, H. W. 
 Stocking, J. H. Brewster. The first officers 
 were : David Ogden, H. P. ; Nathan Jones, 
 King; T. B. Fowler, Scribe; D. W. Sny- 
 der, Sec. 
 
 The importance of Crestline as a railroad 
 center brought many railroad men to the 
 place, and many of these being Masons an 
 Encampment of Knights Templar was insti- 
 tuted, but after being in existence for twenty 
 years it was removed to Mansfield. 
 
 Connected with the Masonic Fraternity is 
 Harmony Chapter No. 43, Order of the East- 
 ern Star. 
 
 The Knights of Pythias have three or- 
 ganizations — Crestline Lodge No. 266, Craw- 
 ford Company No. 89, and the Pythian 
 Sisters. 
 
 Crestline Lodge No. 859 order of Eagles 
 is the most recent of the secret societies. 
 
 Peter Snyder Post G. A. R., was organized 
 Aug. 31, 1 881, and was named after Peter 
 Snyder, a member of Co. E, loist Ohio, who 
 died Jan. 2, 1863, from the effects of a wound 
 received three clays previous at the battle of 
 Stone River. 
 
 Crestline has a number of benevolent and 
 trades organizations,- the railroad employes 
 making many of these very strong. 
 
 It was Aug. 26, 185 1, that Rensselaer Liv- 
 ingston was appointed postmaster of Living- 
 ston, followed by Thomas C. Hall and John 
 Gates, and during the incumbency of the lat- 
 ter, the post office was removed to Crestline, 
 and took the name of that town on Sept. 4, 
 1854. The following have been the post- 
 masters of Crestline, with the dates of their 
 appointment : 
 
 Rensselaer Livingston — Aug. 26, 1851. 
 Tliomas C. Hall— Nov. S, 1852. 
 John Gates — July 29, 1853. 
 A. E. Jenner — April 26, 1855. 
 Alexander Hall — April 16, 1861. 
 Albert M. Patterson— Oct. 28, 1864. 
 John C. Williams — June 14, 1832. 
 Reuben Stahley — July 3, 1886. 
 John G. Barney — Oct. 9, 1889. 
 William L. Alexander — Feb. 5, 1894. 
 Albert Haworth — March 9, i8g8. 
 
 Crestline being an important railroad cen- 
 ter, over two hundred and fifty railroad clerks 
 are paid off at this point. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP 
 
 The Erection of Jefferson Township — Indian Trails — Roads — Wingemimd's Camp — 
 Drainage and Topography— The "Windfall" — First Settlers— An Early Marriage— An 
 Early Tragedy — Mills — Taverns and Tanneries — Justices — Stone Quarries — The Lees 
 and Leesville — Graveyards — Schools and Churches. 
 
 Sandusky, Tymochtee and Brokensword streams, 
 Never more shall I see you except in my dreams. 
 Adieu to the marshes where the cranberries grow; 
 O'er the great Mississippi, alas ! I must go. 
 
 — The Wyandot's Farewell Song. 
 
 Jefferson township is the youngest township 
 in the county, and was erected in 1873, by 
 the Commissioners of Crawford county, by a 
 division of Jackson township. That township 
 was created in 1845, seven miles wide and 
 four deep. At that time the western portion 
 of the township contained the bulk of the 
 population, on account of the important town 
 of Leesville, the principal one in the township, 
 and the little town of Middletown. In 1850, 
 the influential men who controlled the affairs 
 of the county lived at Bucyrus, Leesville and 
 West Liberty. About that time three rail- 
 roads came to Jackson township, and at the 
 crossing of these roads in the eastern part of 
 the township, a town was laid out, which was 
 called Crestline. Its growth was the most 
 rapid of any town ever started in the county. 
 In 1850 its site was forest land, with a few 
 acres cleared for farming purposes. In i860 
 it had a population of 1,487, and in 1870 it 
 had increased to 2,279, and dominated the 
 affairs of the township. Instead of all the 
 business of the township being conducted at 
 Leesville, the affairs were all transferred to 
 Crestline, which was inconvenient to the west- 
 ern portion, so a petition was presented to 
 the county commissioners praying for a divi- 
 sion of the township. So strong was the feel- 
 ing for this division that the petition was 
 
 signed by D. O. Castle as chairman ; Benjamin 
 Heckart, secretary; William McKean and 414 
 others. The prayer of the petitioners was 
 granted and the western five miles were formed 
 into a new township which was named Jeffer- 
 son, after the third president of the United 
 States, leaving the eastern two miles as Jack- 
 son township. 
 
 Of what is now Jefferson township, the east- 
 ern two miles, prior to 1845, were a part of 
 Sandusky township, Richland county, and was 
 surveyed by Maxfield Ludlow in 1807. When 
 Crawford was erected in 1820, the present 
 Crawford county west of Richland county was 
 one township called Sandusky ; later townships 
 were organized from this territory, and San- 
 dusky was left three miles wide and twelve 
 deep, comprising the present Sandusky town- 
 ship and the western three miles of Jefferson 
 and . Polk. This was so inconvenient to the 
 settlers that in 1835 it was divided, and San- 
 dusky county practically created as at present, 
 while the southern half, three miles wide and 
 six deep was called Jackson, and although 
 Jackson was then president of the United 
 States, the Commissioners' Journal shows the 
 name of the new township, entered in all the 
 importance of capital letters "JACSON." 
 This new township of Jackson included the 
 western three miles of the present Jefferson. 
 In 1845 when Crawford received four miles 
 from Richland county what is now Jefferson, 
 Jackson and Polk was divided north and south, 
 the western three miles being Jackson town- 
 ship, the eastern four miles, being the part 
 
 264 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 265 
 
 taken from Richland county. Jackson was 
 now three miles wide and seven deep, but as 
 both townships preferred an east and west 
 division, it was divided east and west, and the 
 northern part, seven miles wide and four deep 
 was given the name of Jackson, and the south- 
 ern section, seven miles wide and three deep 
 was called Polk. 
 
 When the white man first came to this sec- 
 tion, two Indian trails passed through the 
 township, -one of which led from the present 
 site of New Philadelphia in Tuscarawas county 
 to the Indian town in Wyandot. On this trail 
 at the time of Crawford's campaign was lo- 
 cated the camp of the War Chief Wingenund. 
 At a later date there was an Indian trail lead- 
 ing east and west from Mansfield to Bucyrus, 
 and passing through the site of the village of 
 Middletown. Roads constructed by the pio- 
 neers were usually crooked, as they aimed to 
 follow the high places as much as possible, 
 avoiding swamps and streams, and thus ob- 
 viating the necessity of bridges. The first state 
 highway, known as the Columbus and Cleve- 
 land road, was laid out in 1830, and passed 
 through Leesville, West Liberty, nine miles 
 of it being constructed by the citizens of those 
 places without cost to the state. Another state 
 road and mail route led from Mansfield to 
 Bucyrus, passing through Middletown. Fords 
 were used almost exclusively in early days, 
 instead of bridges. The first bridge in the 
 township was built over the Sandusky at Lees- 
 ville and was a crude structure, which has long 
 since been replaced by a fine stone arch bridge. 
 
 Jefiferson township contains historical 
 ground, especially in relation to the ill-fated 
 Col. Crawford expedition. It was through 
 this township his army moved, and it was at 
 the mouth of Allen Run, where it empties into 
 the Sandusky, the troops stopped for a brief 
 rest at i o'clock on June 2, 1782. In reaching 
 this resting place they had passed unknowingly 
 not over a mile back, half a mile to the south 
 of the camp of Wingenund, a Delaware chief. 
 His camp was on the banks of the Sandusky, 
 just north of the Bucyrus and Crestline road, 
 a mile east of Leesville, on the southwest quar- 
 ter of section 5, the land now owned by Se- 
 bastian Brown and W. S. and C. E. Brown. 
 After a short rest the troops followed along 
 the south bank of the Sandusky until the 
 
 stream turned to the north, when they left the 
 river, and after going through the woods to- 
 ward the southwest for about two miles, went 
 into camp for the night in the southwestern 
 part of the township. On their return, after 
 the battle of Olentangy, they camped on the 
 night of June 6, about where Leesville now 
 stands, near the mouth of Allen's Run, the 
 savages also camping on the bank of the San- 
 dusky, a mile further down the stream. It 
 was at this latter point Crawford arrived about 
 three that afternoon in making his escape from 
 the battlefield. He and his companions fol- 
 lowed the river until they came to just east 
 of the present site of Leesville, when he and 
 Dr. Knight were captured by Wingenund and 
 his men, and taken to Wingenund's camp and 
 from there Crawford was taken to the place 
 of his death on the Tymochtee. 
 
 The Sandusky river, rising in the borders 
 of Richland county, flows through Jefferson 
 in a northwesterly direction and, with its trib- 
 utaries, furnishes ample drainage. Among the 
 latter may be mentioned Allen's Run, which, 
 rising in the eastern part of the township, 
 flows into the Sandusky east of Leesville; 
 Spring Run, originating in certain springs 
 south of Middletown, which flows north and 
 empties into the Sandusky near Leesville, and 
 a small stream rising on the Snyder farm, 
 which also flows north until it joins the San- 
 dusky. In various parts of the township are 
 found other small streams which contribute to 
 the natural drainage of the land, some of 
 which, together with the larger ones, were 
 utilized in early days for water-power. 
 
 The land in the eastern part of Jefferson 
 is of a rolling character and in the vicinity of 
 Leesville are some knolls or ridges composed 
 of gravel and stone,- one of which, somewhat 
 more extensive than the others, is known lo- 
 cally as the "Hog's Back." These elevations 
 are found chiefly along the banks of the San- 
 dusky and Spring Run, the channels of which 
 streams are in many places cut through solid 
 masses of rock. In section i the banks of 
 the river rise precipitously to a height of 68 
 feet 6 inches from the surface of the stream, 
 35 feet of this ascent being composed of solid 
 rock, belonging to the Waverly sandstone for- 
 mation. The gravel in this ridge has been 
 utilized for many years by the Pittsburg, Ft. 
 
266 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Wayne & Chicago and the Cleveland, Colum- 
 bus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroads in 
 the construction and repair of their respective 
 roadbeds. 
 
 Jefferson township is favored with a good 
 soil, consisting largely of clay, mingled in some 
 places with gravel and sand and, with proper 
 culti\'ation, well adapted to farming, particu- 
 larly for the raising of wheat and corn. The 
 timber — more abundant in former days than 
 now — consists chiefly of oak, beech, maple, 
 walnut, ash and elm. A large portion of it 
 was destroyed in 1820 by a terrific cyclone, 
 which was long remembered as "the windfall," 
 so completely did it level the forest in its path. 
 It was, however, subsec]uently replaced by a 
 new growth. 
 
 In 18 1 6 there came to Ohio a man named 
 Jacob Fisher, a native of Pennsylvania, who 
 settled in what was then Richland county, but 
 which is now Jefferson township, at a point 
 just south of the gravel ridge. Here he bought 
 a considerable tract of land, which cost him 
 $1.25 per acre. His cabin of round logs, 18 x 
 20 feet, built to accommodate a family which 
 numbered eight children, was probably the first 
 civilized residence erected within the present 
 limits of Jefferson. But if the residence was 
 civilized, the man was not, or hardly so, for, 
 though industrious and hardworking, he was 
 sometimes quite dissipated and always of a ma- 
 lignant disposition, which he showed by com- 
 mitting vicious assaults on those who offended 
 him, or damaging their property. It is said 
 that a favorite amusement of his was to make 
 a present to some woman — the wife of a pio- 
 neer — of a pound of tea to excite the jealousy 
 of her neighbors, and then promise another 
 pound to some other woman if she would fight 
 and whip her and then watch the hair-pulling 
 contest with the greatest enjoyment. He nat- 
 urally had trouble with most if not all his 
 neighbors, and finally left for Missouri. 
 
 In 181 7 Christian Snyder, with his wife 
 and eleven children, came to the township 
 from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, and 
 settled near the eastern boundary line, in sec- 
 tion 17, where he purchased 160 acres of 
 land from Jacob Fisher, paying for it $3 an 
 acre. He made the journey from Pennsyl- 
 vania in a two-horse wagon, also bringing 
 with him some twenty head of cattle, a drove 
 
 of swine, a yoke of oxen and an extra team 
 of horses. His sons had to cut a road from 
 a few miles west of Mansfield to their desti- 
 nation, and this occupied them a month. They 
 expected to find a cabin already prepared for 
 them, as Jacob Snyder had gone on ahead for 
 that purpose, but when they arrived they found 
 that only a foundation had been laid and a 
 rude puncheon floor constructed. They had 
 no recourse but to lie down on the floor with 
 no roof but the vast expanse of heaven above 
 them, and for walls the dark and gloomy for- 
 est which surrounded them on all sides, whence 
 issued every now and then the hoarse cry of 
 some beast or bird of prey. In the morning 
 they awoke to find themselves covered by some 
 six inches of snow. But the Snyders were 
 not the sort of people to be easily discouraged. 
 They set resolutely to work to complete the 
 cabin, in which they were aided by the neigh- 
 boring Indians, who, scenting "firewater," or 
 perhaps really taking pity on them in their try- 
 ing situation, also kept them supplied with game 
 and other food. In a short time the cabin was 
 finished and their worst troubles were over. 
 The Snyders became prominent residents of the 
 township, and descendants of Mr. Snyder are 
 still living in the county. Jacob Snyder at 
 one time owned the ground on which Leesville 
 now stands. He constructed the first house in • 
 the town after it was founded and also started 
 the first blacksmith shop in the township. 
 
 Soon after the arrival of the Snyder family, 
 John Adrain came here from France. He was 
 a man of great strength but dissipated. He 
 lived for a number of years on the c^uarter- 
 section now owned by William Freese,. and 
 here he started a distillery, where he made an 
 inferior grade of whiskey. Mr. Adrian's 
 lic[uor had one good characteristic, however, it 
 is said, in that it took a great deal of it to 
 make a man drunk. 
 
 The prominent settler of Jefferson township 
 was Westell Ridgely who, in 181 7 settled where 
 the Leesville and Bucyrus road crosses the 
 Sandusky river. He was accompanied by his 
 family, consisting of four sons and as many 
 daughters, the latter of whom, being very at- 
 tractive young ladies, excited matrimonial de- 
 signs in the breasts of the eligible young bache- 
 lors for miles around. The marriage of Lucy, 
 one of these daughters, in the summer of 1822 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 267 
 
 was the second marriage solemnized in the 
 township, and was a great social event, long 
 to be remembered and talked about, particularly 
 by the feminine portion of the community, 
 who no doubt took scrutinizing notice both 
 of the manners and costume of the bride on 
 so important an occasion. She married John 
 Bear, of Liberty township, but no account is 
 given of him. Doubtless he was well enough 
 as young men went in those days. Evidently 
 Miss Lucy thought so and it is to be hoped 
 her opinion was justified. 
 
 About the same time that Mr. Ridgely thus 
 started the ball of civilization rolling in Jeffer- 
 son township there appeared two other settlers, 
 Thomas Ferguson and J. S. Griswell. Some 
 time after came Peter Bebout, who settled im- 
 mediately below them. Ferguson in some man- 
 ner gained the confidence of the Indians, who 
 had great respect for him and called him Gov- 
 ernor, and he was often instrumental in set- 
 tling differences that arose between them and 
 the whites. 
 
 Arrivals now became more common and the 
 population rapidly increased. In 1818 came 
 Daniel Miller from Pennsylvania, settling on 
 what later became the Simon Snyder farm. 
 Miller was a great hunter and loved the for- 
 est. He lived long in the township, dying 
 here in the early seventies of the last century. 
 Another Pennsylvanian, who came in 181 9, 
 or thereabouts, from Westmoreland county, 
 that state, was Henry Hershner, who settled 
 near Middletown, of which place he was the 
 founder. He was an intelligent Christian man, 
 and took a prominent part in organizing the 
 United Brethren church. He opened the first 
 store in Middletown, of which his son John 
 afterward took charge. 
 
 Lewis Leibarger came in 1819, and about 
 the same time his future brother-in-law, James 
 Nail. In 1820 Eli Foglesong settled in the 
 township, and in 1821, the Wordens, Ben- 
 jamin, Benjamin F. and Nathan. David Dorn 
 came in 1824, as did John Hise, the latter later 
 removing to Liberty township where his son 
 was Justice of the Peace many years. Jacob 
 Weaver arrived in 1824, and the next year 
 Samuel Freese. In 1826 came the Werts, Peter, 
 Daniel and Joseph; Peter being probably the 
 most prominent man in the county in later 
 
 years in assisting escaping slaves to a refuge 
 in Canada. 
 
 The first child born in Jefferson township 
 was in 1819 in the family of Jacob Fisher. 
 The first marriage was Eli Foglesong, who 
 came in 1820, and promptly decided it was 
 not good that man should live alone and the 
 following year, 1821, married Hannah Snyder, 
 a daughter of Christian Snyder. The event 
 was attended by the settlers from miles around 
 and the young couple were escorted to their 
 new home, a log cabin in the woods erected 
 by the young husband and the neighbors. 
 
 It is in Jefferson township that what is 
 known as the "Windfall" is best traced. This 
 was the most destructive windstorm that ever 
 passed through the county, and occurred on 
 May 17, 1820. It swept across the southeast 
 corner of Whetstone township, went north- 
 west through the present Jefferson, through 
 Vernon, but its greatest destruction was 
 through Jefferson, where the line of its fury 
 is still easily traced after a lapse of nearly a 
 hundred years. The best account of it is 
 handed down by Peter Snyder, who died a 
 few years ago at his home at Crestline. He 
 was a son of Christian Snyder and at the time 
 of the storm was a boy sixteen. He was in 
 the field plowing when he beheld in the west 
 a heavy black cloud, which threatened coming 
 danger. The wind kept increasing in fury, 
 and he hurriedly unhitched the team and put 
 it in the barn, and by the time the horses were 
 housed the wind had increased to a hurricane, 
 and he could hear the falling of the trees and 
 feel the swaying of the barn. It was danger- 
 ous to go outside, and fearing the barn might 
 fall upon him he clambered up the joists of 
 the barn, and no sooner felt himself secure in 
 that position when the entire roof was torn 
 away. He climbed down to the floor, and the 
 entire barn was swept away, and he was pinned 
 under a falling beam, and received a scar 
 which he carried to the day of his death. The 
 violence of the storm left everything in dark- 
 ness, and after he had extricated himself from 
 the falling timbers, and it became light 
 enough to see, he looked in the direction of the 
 house and found that it was in ruins. A 
 severe rain followed the hurricane which came 
 down in torrents for half, an hour. When the 
 
268 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 storm subsided he reached the house, and found 
 the family all safe, but in a drenched condi- 
 tion and badly scared. All along the track 
 of the storm, trees were uprooted, crops de- 
 stroyed, houses and barns blown away, and 
 stock killed. Where once was promised crops 
 and prosperity was now destruction and utter 
 desolation. The . settlers had escaped with 
 their lives, but all else was lost. Their provi- 
 sions were destroyed and starvation stared 
 them in the face. Young Snyder traveled on 
 foot through the woods to Coshocton, over 
 sixty miles away, the nearest point at which 
 he could obtain food, and here he was for- 
 tunate enough to secure two bushels of corn 
 at $4 a bushel, the bulk of which was pounded 
 into meal for food, and the balance used for 
 planting. 
 
 Another incident which caused great ex- 
 citement in the early days was the Weaver 
 murder of which the following account is given 
 in the Crawford County History of 1880: 
 
 "Still another affair which caused consider- 
 able excitement at the time, was the supposed 
 murder of a man named Weaver, by 
 Ridgely, who employed him as stiller in his 
 whisky establishment. There had been a quar- 
 rel between Weaver and his employer, and it 
 is supposed that he became engaged in a broil 
 with Ridgely, and, during the melee. Weaver 
 was killed. Nothing, however, was certainly 
 known concerning it, although many of the 
 early settlers considered Ridgely the criminal. 
 Several of them pretended, or actually be- 
 lieved, that Weaver's ghost had actually ap- 
 peared to them, and had told them in detail 
 the whole affair. From these mythical stories 
 it appears that Weaver was in the still-house 
 with Ridgely one evening after dark, and that 
 in some manner their quarrel was renewed, 
 when angry words followed and Rigdely be- 
 came greatly incensed. In his hasty madness 
 he seized a heavy club and struck Weaver over 
 the head a fatal blow. He then, horrified to 
 see what he had done, dragged the body to 
 an out-of-the-way place, and covering it with 
 leaves left it, and told it around that Weaver 
 had quit his employ. The body of the mur- 
 dered man was found, but every attempt to 
 find the criminal was futile, and no one was 
 ever brought to justice." 
 
 Such is the story which was the first sensa- 
 
 tion in Crawford county. It is probable it 
 does not do justice to Westell Ridgely. When 
 he came to the county in 18 17, he was above 
 the average of the early pioneers; on account 
 of his daughters his house was a headquarters 
 for all the young men for miles around. His 
 own character and influence were so unques- 
 tioned that in 1821 he was one of the two men 
 selected for Justice of the Peace of the new 
 territory, which then embraced nearly all of 
 the present Crawford county, Joseph Young, 
 of near Bucyrus being his colleague. The first 
 commissioners elected in 1826 were Magers, 
 McClure and Poe; the next man elected to 
 that office was Westell Ridgely, about 1828. 
 This was after the alleged murder, and in 
 those days it would have been a practical im- 
 possibility to elect a man to the office of county 
 commissioner on whom any shadow of sus- 
 picion rested. Ridgely's distillery was located 
 on the Sandusky river on the quarter section 
 now occupied by the farm of Leopold Long and 
 Peter F. Huber. He ran it for some years and 
 one night it was destroyed by fire, under such 
 suspicious circumstances that it was believed 
 to be the work of an incendiary, some attrib- 
 uting the act to Jacob Fisher, but there was no 
 proof of this except the quarrelsome disposi- 
 tion of Fisher, his frequent threats against 
 many of the citizens, and especially Ridgely, 
 against whom he always was very hostile. 
 
 At the time of the death of Weaver, Benja- 
 min and William Bowers had a distillery on 
 Loss Creek just above where that creek emp- 
 ties into the Sandusky, about two and a half 
 miles north of the Ridgely distillery. It was 
 in Loss Creek near this mill the body of 
 Weaver was found, and there were no marks 
 of violence on the body. Near where the body 
 was found a log crossed the stream, and the 
 general belief was that Weaver had attempted 
 to cross by the log bridge, fell into the water 
 and was drowned. The first recorded case in 
 Crawford county was probably the result of 
 the Weaver death. On the finding of the 
 body, Fisher had circulated a report accusing 
 Ridgely of the crime. Others probably re- 
 peated the same story. At the term of court 
 held at Marion, in April, 1825, the first civil 
 case tried before a jury was that of Westell 
 Ridgely against Isaac Borland of Liberty 
 township for slander. The plaintiff claimed 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 269 
 
 $500 damages and the jury awarded him $75. 
 On that first jury of twelve men, several Craw- 
 ford county men were drawn : George Poe of 
 Whetstone, Amos Clark of Bucyrus, John 
 Maxfield of Liberty, Peter Beabout and George 
 Luke of Sandusky. 
 
 Jefferson township had a station on the 
 "Underground Railway," which was kept by 
 a man named Peter Wert, a wagon maker of 
 Leesville, who was commonly known as "Black 
 Pete." He aided many runaway slaves on 
 their way to Canada and freedom. 
 
 The first tannery was started in the town- 
 ship near Leesville by a man named Jonas 
 Hassinger. Robert Lee, Jr., kept the first 
 tavern, at Leesville, later selling it to Elisha 
 Allen, who conducted it for several years. An- 
 other early tavern keeper was Henry Hersh- 
 ner, who kept a place at Middletown for the 
 accommodation of the traveling public. Mid- 
 dletown being where the Columbus and San- 
 dusky road crossed an important road from 
 Mansfield to Bucyrus. Christian Snyder 
 owned the first grist-mill, which was a horse- 
 mill located just east of Middletown. In the 
 absence of horses, oxen were sometimes used 
 to turn the sweep. The flour made was coarse 
 and uninviting in appearance, the settlers be- 
 ing obliged to bolt it by hand, but in spite of 
 this the mill did a good business. Westell 
 Ridgely also had a grist-mill connected with 
 his distillery. 
 
 Jacob Snyder built a saw-mill to the east of 
 Leesville, but sold it a short time after to 
 Robert Lee, Sr., who added to it a grist-mill, 
 a fulling-mill and a carding machine, and con- 
 ducted them for many years, being assisted 
 by his sons. 
 
 Adam Beck, who came in 1829, two years 
 later built a saw-mill which was run by him 
 and his sons for over half a century. 
 
 John J. McClure came to the township in 
 1829, and was the township clerk for many 
 years. 
 
 Another prominent arrival was William 
 Robinson in 1831. He settled on the land 
 where North Robinson now is, purchasing it 
 for $1.25 per acre. He was a soldier of the 
 War of 1812, and for eighteen years was 
 elected Justice of the Peace of the township. 
 The family came from Washington county. 
 Pa., and on the trip his son James walked 
 
 the entire distance, driving the cows. The son 
 James also held office. He was elected clerk 
 of the township in 1839, was elected recorded 
 of the county in 1846 and re-elected in 1849, 
 and again elected in 1857 and ten years later 
 represented the county for two terms in the 
 Legislature. He took an active hand in mili- 
 tary afifairs under the old militia laws of the 
 state, and attained the rank of Major, by 
 which title he was always known. 
 
 About 1833 ^^ influx of Germans came to 
 the township, among them the Becks, Shumak- 
 ers and Laughbaums. One was John Franz, 
 who took an active hand in affairs. He served 
 nine years as Justice of the Peace, was sheriff 
 of the county for two terms and also treasurer 
 for two terms, and in 1862 was Lieutenant 
 Colonel of the loist Ohio, serving four 
 months. 
 
 The first Justice of the Peace from Jefferson 
 township was Westell Ridgely in 1821, by ap- 
 pointment of the Delaware county Commis- 
 sioners. The first election took place on May 
 15, 1824, when Matthias Markley and Ichabod 
 Smith were elected. John Cox and Disberry 
 Johnson were also justices, while the present 
 Jefferson was a part of Sandusky township. 
 From 1835 to 1873 Jefferson was a part of 
 Jackson township, but since that time the fol- 
 lowing have been the Justices : 
 
 Isaac W. Smith, 1873; James Robinson, 
 1873; Samuel R. Goshorn, 1873-76; D. O. Cas- 
 tle, 1876; James Seanor, 1877-80-86-88-91; 
 Benjamin F. Warden, 1879; A. D. Littler, 
 1881; L. C. Orr, 1881 ; W. P. Deam, 1882; 
 J. P. Flick, 1882; J. W. Littler, 1886-89-92; 
 A. A. Pfeifer, 1895-98-01-11, and J. R. John- 
 ston, 1906-10. 
 
 In 1828, Rev. Robert Lee came to what is 
 now Leesville and bought 160 acres of Jacob 
 Snyder, the northeast quarter of section 7. It 
 was on the banks of the Sandusky located on 
 high ground, and here the following year — 
 1829 — he laid out the town of Leesville, 
 which he named Leesburg., It has three streets, 
 the Bucyrus and Leesville road was the prin- 
 cipal street and was called Main street, while 
 north of it was Wood street. There was but one 
 north and south street, which was the Portland 
 road, and was called Liberty street. The lots 
 sold for a good price, bringing from $25 to 
 $50 each. Lee induced several mechanics to 
 
270 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 come to the place and open shops, and his son 
 Robert Lee, Jr., opened the first general store, 
 which he ran successfully for many years. 
 Alexander Cannon located in the town and 
 started a chair factory with Rickson Lewis as 
 the painter. Dr. John McKean was the first 
 physician, coming about 1830 and remaining 
 for many years, after which he removed to 
 Crestline. Fifty years after Dr. McKean, Dr. 
 T. H. B. Clutter was the physician of the vil- 
 lage, and he also removed to Crestline. John 
 Lewis kept a tavern. Elijah Castle was the 
 first shoemaker and Peter Wirt was the first 
 blacksmith and wagonmaker. John Teel 
 started a blacksmith shop and later ran the 
 first saloon. The first merchants were Rob- 
 ert and Porter Lee, who kept a general store. 
 Nearly all the smaller branches of the trade 
 were established in the village and it was in a 
 fair way of becoming a place of importance 
 when the Ohio and Indiana road was built, 
 and passed a mile to the south, and Leesville 
 would have followed similar villages, and gone 
 into a decline, but just east of the village on 
 the farm of John Neuman, one of the finest 
 stone quarries in the state was opened, a spur 
 was built to the Pittsburg road and for years 
 the output of the quarries was constantly in- 
 creased. The original quarries were operated 
 by Heckert & Rupp, and they finally ^^'ere pur- 
 chased by a company composed of Bucyrus 
 and Leesville men and were known as the 
 Leesville stone company. For a dozen years 
 this was one of the profitable industries of 
 the county, and at times the force numbered 
 100 men. This was Leesville's era of pros- 
 perity and a large brick schoolhouse was built 
 on a scale that showed the confidence the peo- 
 ple had in the future of the village. Two 
 churches are in the village. It was made a 
 postoffice in 1839, the office being called Lees- 
 ville X Roads, and Robert Lee, Jr., was ap- 
 pointed the first postmaster by President Van 
 Buren. In its palmy days Leesville boasted a 
 population of nearly three hundred people; it 
 had two stores; two taverns, three saloons, 
 and a dozen small shops, but the quarries failed 
 to prove profitable; they were no longer re- 
 munerative, and the census of 1900 and 1910 
 shows too sadly the general decline of the vil- 
 lage. The handsome schoolhouse, once the 
 
 pride of the village, may be still their pride, 
 but there are now rooms in it to spare. 
 
 The Lees, both Robert Sr. and Robert Jr. 
 were men of education and ability and were 
 deservedly held in high respect. The former 
 was a son of Thomas Lee, born in Donegal, 
 Ireland, in 1770. He emigrated to America 
 in 1787, settling in Washington county. Pa. 
 He studied for the ministry at Cannonsburg 
 Seminary and became a member of the Erie 
 Presbytery. After coming to Crawford 
 county he assisted in the organization of many 
 of the fearly churches and did much for the 
 cause of religion and morality. He died in 
 1842. Robert Lee, Jr., was a prominent man 
 in both state and county and efificiently served 
 two terms as probate judge. He passed his 
 last years in retirement at Bucyrus. 
 
 Newton Ashcroft, who settled south of Mid- 
 dletown, came to Jefferson in 1828 with his 
 father's family, the father being a native of 
 England, and a man of good education, who 
 was an early school teacher. Joseph Gledhill 
 and family, also from England and settled 
 south of Leesville, on the south side of the 
 gravel ridge, where he began farming opera- 
 tions and resided for many years, dying in the 
 late seventies. His son Joseph became a pros- 
 perous citizen of Middletown. 
 
 Abraham Littler in 1832 purchased and 
 moved onto the Ridgely farm with his family. 
 He was born in Hardy county, Va., in 1780 
 and died in Jefferson township, August 10, 
 1844. His son Lewis became one of the promi- 
 nent citizens of Sandusky township, serving 
 in various oflfices. 
 
 Leesville has had the largest number of 
 postmasters of any office in the county: 
 
 Robert Lee, Jr., Dec. 14, 1839; Henry Davis, 
 June 5, 1849; James Clements, May 18, 1850; 
 J. M. Lewis, Dec. 28, 1850; S. P. Lee, July 29, 
 1853; James Clements, Dec. 14, 1853; John 
 Newman, April 17, 1857; George W. Good, 
 Jan. 29, 1859; Adam Billow, July 26, 1861 ; 
 Isaac W. Smith, July 19, 1866; George Heis, 
 Sept. 22, 1866; George. R. Schaeffer, April 
 i.S, 1869; John Schaefifer, April 17, 1871 ; 
 John U. Shumaker, Aug. 2, 1872; Daniel O. 
 Castle, Aug. 22, 1872; Henry Castle, Jan. 22, 
 1877; Peter Herr, Jr., Nov. 11, 1878; Wil- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 271 
 
 liam Dewalt, March 24, 1880, and Henry Berg, 
 May 17, 1882. 
 
 On Oct. 10, 1882, the office was discontinued 
 as no one could be induced to take the job. 
 Finally they secured a man and in December 
 it was reopened. 
 
 John P. Flick, Dec. 5, 1882; and O. P. 
 Beck, April 5, 1883. 
 
 On Oct. 19 of that year it was again dis- 
 continued, but reopened in April, 1884. 
 
 Peter Herr, April 4, 1884; Peter Bauer, 
 Dec. 7, 1887; Rosa E. Kochinderfer, April 28, 
 1888; Charles E. Trimble, June, 4, 1889; Jacob 
 Kelly, July 3, 1889; H. H. Bilsing, April 12, 
 1900; C. M. Kelly, Aug. i, 1900; and Har- 
 rison Rettig, July ig, 1901. 
 
 On May 13, 1904, the office was perma- 
 nently discontinued the patrons of the office 
 being supplied by rural carriers from Crestline. 
 
 The importance of Leesville in the early 
 days was such that it was incorporated by the 
 County Commissioners as a village. Among 
 the Mayors elected was Samuel R. Carson in 
 1847, John M. Lewis, 1849; John C. Teel, 
 1851; David O. Castle, 1874; Enos Flick, 
 1879; John P. Flick, 1883; Jacob Kelly, 
 1889, Sherwood McKean 1891, C. E. Schaad 
 1899. The little village had the same trou- 
 ble over its officials as it did over postmas- 
 ters, in getting people to serve, as witness 
 the following letter written to A. A. Ruhl 
 who, as County Clerk was endeavoring to find 
 out to whom he should send the commission 
 as Mayor of the village, and had addressed a 
 letter to the "Township Clerk" for informa- 
 tion: 
 
 Leesville X Roads, Aug. 11, 1883. 
 Mr. Alex A. Ruhl, 
 "Bucyrus, Ohio : 
 "Yours not received until today on account 
 of P. M. at this place not knowing who was 
 Corporation Clerk, and I hardly know myself. 
 We have had no election since April, 1881 ; at 
 that time I was elected. I think my time ex- 
 pires in two years from date of election. Some 
 say that an officer holds office until his successor 
 is elected or chosen and qualified, but I am not 
 certain about it. I filled part of the certificate, 
 but it is no good anyhow. B. Heckert had a 
 talk with John P. Flick and he will not serve at 
 
 all, so I don't see any use in sending for com- 
 mission. 
 
 "Resp'y Yours, 
 
 "Henry Berg." 
 
 In 1835, Henry Hershner was the leading 
 promoter of a town that he with Christian 
 Snyder and Adam Ashcroft, decided to lay 
 out on the Columbus and Portland state 
 road, about half way between Gallon and Lees- 
 ville. They engaged John Stewart of Rich- 
 land county (the town being in that county) 
 to lay out and plat the town. It had a public 
 square and two diagonal streets. The one 
 running from southwest to northeast was the 
 Portland road and was called Columbus street. 
 The other from northwest to southeast was the 
 road from Bucyrus to Mansfield, and was called 
 Bucyrus street. There were 30 lots, 18 of them 
 on the public square and Bucyrus street, and 
 12 on Columbus street. It was named from 
 the fact that it was about midway between the 
 two towns of Gallon and Leesville. 
 
 Henry Hershner opened a tavern and store ; 
 the store he soon transferred to his son John, 
 who ran it successfully for many years. Wash- 
 ington Modie started a blacksmith and wagon 
 shop. Jacob Hershner started a cabinet 
 maker's shop. Michael and John Hershner 
 built a saw-mill, and Christian Snyder a grist- 
 mill, which was run by horse-power. It also 
 had a church and graveyard, when it was first 
 laid out, and later two other church buildings 
 were erected. At first it seemed as if the new 
 town would be a formidable rival of Gallon 
 and Leesville, but as the channels of travel be- 
 came diverted from the old road by new and 
 better, as well as shorter routes through the 
 county, the business came to a standstill, and 
 finally began to decline, and in 1852 when the 
 Ohio and Indiana road passed it by to the 
 north, its fate was sealed ; many of the build- 
 ings were abandoned, and as time passed 
 either fell or were torn down, so that nothing 
 now remains, but one or two residences built 
 in recent years in the site of the old village, 
 that of William Gledhill being one of the 
 handsome country residences in the county. 
 
 There still remains the old burying ground 
 in which rest the remains of Henry Hershner, 
 Christian Snyder and Adam Ashcroft, the 
 
272 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 original founders of the town and many more 
 of its early inhabitants and their descendants. 
 The oldest stone is that of Jacob Hershner, 
 born March 25, 1769; died March 9, 1829. 
 Henry Hershner, his brother, was born Feb. 
 II, 1776; died June 24, 1850. Adam Ash- 
 croft was born June 17, 1774; died Nov. 28, 
 1866. Christian Snyder was born May 6, 
 1765; died June 20, 1863, aged 98 years, and 
 Mary, his wife, was born Dec. 4, 1768; died 
 Nov. II, 1872, aged 104 years. 
 
 During the summer of 1836, Adam Shu- 
 maker, William Robinson and Abraham Be- 
 bout, whose farms joined at a point about half 
 a mile south of the present village of North 
 Robinson, conceived the idea of laying out a 
 new town. They engaged the services of C. 
 Sweney, who was then the county surveyor 
 of Crawford county, to lay out the town and 
 make a plat of it, and on Feb. 2, 1836, this 
 plat was filed in the Recorder's office. The 
 new town was on the road leading from Bu- 
 cyrus to Middletown and was on the southeast 
 part of fractional section 13 Whetstone town- 
 ship, and the northwest part of section 15, 
 Jefferson township, in what was then Jackson 
 township. The town was laid out in a style 
 that indicated the proprietors believed it would 
 assume great proportions. There was a large 
 public square, four north and south streets — 
 Wood, Broadway, Second and East ; there was 
 but one east and west street, and that was 
 the Middletown road which was named Main 
 street ; this street was extensively traveled, as 
 the Bucyrus and Mansfield stage route passed 
 along three days every week. The lots were 
 placed on the market, but it was about this 
 time the trouble was on between President 
 Jackson and the National Bank, and the panic 
 which resulted left no money in the country. 
 This financial stringency lasted several years, 
 and before money again came freely into cir- 
 culation the profect was abandoned and what 
 was once to be the town of Jacksonville is now 
 nothing but a cross roads. Not even a house 
 was erected on the site of the town. 
 
 The first schoolhouse in Jefferson township 
 was built about 1824 south of Leesville, near 
 the "Hog's Back," and was a rude log struc- 
 ture, about 20 by 24 feet in dimensions. The 
 furniture was as crude as the building, the 
 seats being hewed slabs with four legs and the 
 
 writing desk a slab placed against the wall in 
 a slanting position and supported by wooden 
 pins driven into the logs. David Dorn was 
 the first pedagogue who presided over this 
 temple of knowledge. He was a Pennsyl- 
 vanian of limited education and spoke rather 
 broken English. He received 75 cents apiece 
 from his pupils and as he began with nine, his 
 income to start with was $6.75 per month. An- 
 other school was taught by David Gill on the 
 Tracht place. Soon after this a schoolhouse 
 was built in Leesville and was followed in dif- 
 ferent places in the township by several others. 
 One of the very earliest schools was held at 
 the house of John McClure, Mr. McClure and 
 Mr. Akers alternating with each other as teach- 
 ers by the week. Another early teacher was 
 Mr. Ashcroft, father of Newton Ashcroft, who 
 came here in 1828 and spent several years as 
 a pedagogue. He had the reputation of be- 
 ing an excellent mathematician. 
 
 One of the earliest church organizations in 
 the township was that of the United Brethren 
 under the direction of Henry Hershner. For 
 many years services were held at Mr. Hersh- 
 ner's own house, but later a church was erected 
 in Middletown, which is still standing. 
 
 In 1835 a church was erected on land which 
 later became the property of John Smith, and 
 was for many years known as the Smith 
 church, but it was torn down long ago. The 
 United Brethren organized the first church in 
 Leesville, the English Lutheran church being 
 organized shortly after. There is a German 
 Reformed church in the southern part of the 
 township. The Rev. Joseph Van Deman, of 
 Delaware, a Presbyterian preacher, took a lead- 
 ing part in organizing several churches in the 
 county. Jacob Newman was also an early 
 preacher, who held services in the homes of 
 the settlers. Rev. Robert Lee and his sons 
 were also prominent in Christian work, though 
 Mr. Lee held no pastorate after his removal 
 here. 
 
 The first Sunday school held in Crawford 
 county was organized near the northern bound- 
 dary line of Jefferson township by David Wert, 
 one of the early settlers in that section. An- 
 other early Sunday school was held about 1832 
 at the home of Benjamin Worden, and these 
 important agencies for Christian work have 
 since been multiplied all over the township. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 LIBERTY TOWNSHIP 
 
 The Central Location of Liberty Township — Drainage and Topography — First Settlers — Mills 
 — The Blowers Family — Other Early Settlers — Interesting Anecdotes — Fertility of the 
 Soil — Timber — Medicinal Springs — Justices — Organization of the Township and^ First 
 Elections — Early Treatment of the Poor — Binding Out Children — Deckertown Laid Out 
 — Puckertown or Brandywine Station — A Manuscript Newspaper — Teel Town — An- 
 napolis or Sulphur Springs — Schools and Churches — Industries — Postmasters. 
 
 "Who planted this old apple-tree?" 
 The children of that distant day 
 Thus to some aged man shall say; 
 And, gazing on its mossy stem, 
 The gray-haired man shall answer them : 
 
 "A poet of the land was he. 
 Born in the rude but good old times ; 
 'Tis said he made some quaint old rhymes 
 
 On planting the apple-tree." 
 
 — William Cullen Bryant. 
 
 Liberty is the central township of Crawford 
 county, the geographical center of the county 
 and township being almost coincident. It is 
 geographically defined in the Government 
 survey as township 2 of range 17 east. In 
 1835 the county commissioners attached the 
 fractional sections on the east to Sandusky 
 township, but after remaining as a part of 
 Sandusky township for several years, they 
 were again, and this time permanently, at- 
 tached to Liberty township, the dimensions of 
 which are six miles from north to south and 
 nearly five and one-half miles east and west. 
 Liberty is bounded on the north by Chatfield 
 and Cranberry townships ; on the east by San- 
 dusky and a small portion of Cranberry; on 
 the south by Whetstone, and on the west by 
 Holmes. It was erected by the Marion county 
 commissioners on Nov. 27, 1825, and called 
 Liberty, after the Goddess of Liberty. 
 
 The township is drained by the Sandusky 
 river, which enters near the southeastern cor- 
 ner and meanders in a westerly and south- 
 westerly direction toward the southwest 
 
 corner, where it enters Bucyrus township; 
 Brokensword creek, which rises in Liberty 
 and flows through the northern portion; Bull 
 Run, a small stream which aids in forming 
 the Brokensword and drains the eastern and 
 central lands; and Brandywine creek, which 
 flows through the western portion, finally en- 
 tering Holmes tovimship; besides several small 
 creeks. The drainage has also been largely 
 helped by numerous ditches, which have been 
 cut from time to time for many years past to 
 carry off the surplus water, whereby most of 
 the swamps and wet lands, which originally 
 covered much of the township,' have been re- 
 claimed and made suitable for cultivation. 
 
 The eastern boundary line of Liberty town- 
 ship forms a part of the boundary line of the 
 New Purchase, the immense tract of land ac- 
 quired in 181 7 by the United . States Govern- 
 ment from the Indians. Among the numerous 
 home seekers who set out at that time for the 
 territory thus newly acquired, many visited 
 Liberty township, attracted by its great nat- 
 ural advantages, and of these a large number 
 remained. In a few years most of the Gov- 
 ernment land in the township had been entered 
 by actual settlers. In January, 1820, the town- 
 ship was destitute of white inhabitants, but 
 ten years later there was a white population of 
 655. The first settlers came mostly from New 
 England and the Western Reserve, they being 
 followed in the early thirties by the Pennsyl- 
 vania Dutch and emigrants from Germany. 
 
 273 
 
274 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 The former entered land along the Sandusky 
 river bottom, while the Germans settled mostly 
 in the central and northern portions of the 
 township. 
 
 In 1840 the United States census showed a 
 population of 1,469; in 1850, 1,782; i860, 
 1,788; the highest population reached, and 
 since that time it has gradually decreased in 
 population, due to the fact that many of the 
 smaller land holder* had sold out and moved 
 to the far West. 
 
 In pioneer days Liberty township was al- 
 most entirely covered by the forest and was, 
 of course, destitute of roads, the trails or 
 paths between the settlements being indicated 
 by blazed trees. There were no Indian vil- 
 lages, but game was abundant, as were also the 
 wolves, who disturbed the silence of the night 
 with their discordant howls. Occasionally a 
 black bear made his appearance, though if he 
 lingered long he was likely to become a target 
 for the rifle of the pioneer or that of some 
 solitary Indian hunter. With the pioneer set- 
 tler meat was easier to procure than bread, as 
 deer and wild turkeys were plentiful and the 
 streams were full of fish and in many places 
 frequented by waterfowl. Flour ^was another 
 question, however, owing to the lack of mills. 
 For some time hand-mills were used which 
 bruised the corn into coarse meal, but wheat 
 flour was a comparative rarity. Gradually 
 horse-mills began to make their appearance, 
 and as soon as one of these was constructed 
 it was frequented by the settlers from miles 
 around, who often had to wait some time for 
 their turn, the journey, to and from home often 
 taking two or three days and the grist being 
 carried on the back of a horse. The early 
 mills at Mansfield and on the Mohican were 
 patronized by those of the settlers who cared 
 to make the long journey through the pathless 
 woods. Isaac Rice built a mill on his farm at 
 an early day, which enjoyed a large custom. 
 The first mill was built by Daniel McMichael, 
 and was a great accommodation to the settlers. 
 Mr. McMichael was a native of Ireland who 
 came to America with his parents at the close 
 of the 1 8th century, when he was about 16 
 years old, they settling in Westmoreland 
 county. Pa. He married a Scotch "lassie" by 
 whom he had five sons- and two daughters, 
 and in 18 19 the family came to Crawford 
 
 county, spending the winter on the banks of 
 the Whetstone. In the spring of 1820 they 
 settled in what is now the northern part of 
 Bucyrus corporation. After remaining a short 
 time there, however, he removed into Liberty 
 township, about one mile up the Sandusky 
 river, where he entered land and built his mill, 
 it being the first mill erected in what was then 
 Crawford county, and was erected in the sum- 
 mer of 1820. Up to that time the settlers in 
 the neighborhood had been compelled to go to 
 the mills in Huron or Richland counties, a trip 
 through the forests taking two and three days. 
 About 1823 Mr. McMichael, finding the 
 water power on the Sandusky insufficient to 
 keep his mill going twelve months in the year, 
 rented the property to Nehemiah Squires and 
 removed to Bucyrus, where he died in 1825. 
 To him belongs the honor of having been the 
 first white settler in Liberty township, and 
 when he entered his land it was one of the 
 sites where already were the coming signs of 
 civilization, for on this land Johnny Appleseed 
 had planted one of his apple orchards. From 
 probably 1800 to 181 5 this wandering char- 
 acter had planted his little orchards at various 
 points along the Sandusky and the larger 
 streams, and his fruit-bearing trees were 
 found later by the earlier pioneers. 
 
 The second settler in Liberty was Ralph 
 Bacon, who arrived with his wife and nine 
 children in the fall of 1820. He was a Massa- 
 chusetts man and previous to his advent here 
 had resided for some time in that part of 
 northeastern Ohio that is now Lake county. 
 They arrived at Bucyrus in November in 
 Avagons drawn by oxen, and stopped the first 
 night at the home of Mishael Beadle on what 
 is now West Mansfield street. They then 
 moved into a vacant shanty in the northeast- 
 ern part of Bucyrus, an old log cabin some 
 hunter or squatter had abandoned, on what 
 is now Plymouth street, remaining there until 
 Mr. Bacon had constructed a round log cabin 
 upon his land in Liberty township, the cabin 
 being completed in about two weeks. His 
 land comprised 80 acres in the east half of the 
 southeast quarter of Section 33, about three 
 miles east of Bucyrus, south of the Sandusky 
 river, which farm subsenuently came into the 
 possession of his son Martin. He also pur- 
 chased from the Government 160 acres in 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 275 
 
 Whetstone township, where many years later 
 he erected a better house, which he occupied 
 until his death on June 14, 1850. He had thir- 
 teen children. Dexter, the tenth child, born 
 May 6, 1822, was the first white male child 
 born in Liberty. In September, 1822, Sarah 
 Bacon married Philander Odell and they were 
 the first couple married in the township. All 
 Mr. Bacon's children attained maturity, and 
 most of them married and reared large fam- 
 ilies. 
 
 Auer Umberfield, who came with the 
 Bacons, in 1820, driving one of their ox-teams, 
 was the third settler in Liberty to purchase 
 land and erect a cabin. Land was then worth 
 only $1.25 per acre and as Mr. Umberfield 
 brought with him $100 in gold he was enabled 
 to purchase 80 acres. He later married a 
 daughter of James Scott, of Whetstone town- 
 ship. In 1835 he sold out to Samuel Plants 
 and went farther west. Samuel Plants was 
 the father of Josiah Plants, who later was 
 judge of the court and a prominent citizen of 
 Bucyrus. The land afterwards came into pos- 
 session of Mrs. Diana Blowers. 
 
 Thomas McClure settled upon 160 acres 
 just south of the Sandusky river, and built a 
 cabin, but in 1833 sold out to Michael Nigh 
 and removed to Richland county. He was 
 one of the first county commissioners and one 
 of those who located the county seat at 
 Bucyrus. John Maxfield, a Vermont Yankee, 
 also settled in Liberty in 1821, purchasing 160 
 acres of land, eighty of which lay between 
 Umberfield's and McClure's and the other 
 eighty just east of Umberfield's. By mistake 
 he built his cabin a little north of his northern 
 boundary line, and came near losing it; for 
 the mistake of the location of the cabin was 
 discoverel "by a peddler, who hurriedly went to 
 Delaware and entered the eightv acres on 
 which it stood. Mr. Maxfield had been made 
 suspicious, however, by the peddler's actions, 
 and discovered his error in time, so, with the 
 assistance of his neighbors, in a few hours 
 they moved the cabin onto his own land, to 
 the subsequent discomfiture of the enterpris- 
 ing peddler, who expected to get a cabin for 
 nothing. Maxfield sold out about twenty 
 years later and removed to Illinois. About 
 the year 1833 he built the first brick house in 
 Liberty township, which house was occupied 
 
 by Bacon. The brick in those days was by 
 no means of the quality that would be de- 
 manded at the present day. It was usually 
 made by pouring water on the ground and then 
 having the clay trampled into the proper con- 
 sistency by the hoofs of cattle. Naturally 
 mud and other undesirable matter entered 
 largely into its composition. This was exem- 
 plified in a house built by Michael Nigh soon 
 after Maxfield's was finished, which fell to 
 pieces soon after the brick was moistened by 
 a heavy rain. Maxfield's, however, seems to 
 have bc^n made of better material, as it lasted 
 many years and, perhaps, may be still stand- 
 ing. Nigh afterward left these parts for Mis- 
 souri and came to his end by being drowned 
 in the Missouri river. 
 
 In April, 1821, Henry Couts moved into 
 Liberty from Bucyrus township with his fam- 
 ily, consisting of his wife, three sons and three 
 daughters. He entered land about a mile 
 south of Sulphur Springs, which farm after- 
 wards came into possession of Pharaoh Bell. 
 William Huff was the only resident in the 
 neighborhood at the time. Couts' father. 
 Christian, was a soldier in the Revolutionary 
 war. 
 
 Perhaps the most valuable accession to Lib- 
 erty township in its earlier history was John 
 O. Blowers, who first visited it in 1821, pur- 
 chasing 160 acres of land half a mile east of 
 Ralph Bacon's place, and who took up his 
 permanent abode here in the following year, 
 1822. He was a man of fine intellectual, 
 moral and Christian character, having an 
 abundant fund of sound, practical wisdom, 
 backed by moral firmness. He became a 
 potent force for good in the township, repress- 
 ing and overaweing evildoers and leading in 
 every movement for the moral and material 
 advancement of the community. He pro- 
 moted and assisted in the construction of the 
 first schoolhouse and in his cabin the first re- 
 ligious services were held. A devout member 
 of the Methodist persuasion, his home was the 
 resting-place of all the pioneer circuit riders 
 and itinerant ministers of that church who 
 visited the neighborhood, but he also gave a 
 hearty welcome to those of other sects, it being 
 sufficient for him that his guest was engaged 
 in Christian work. A good cause was sure 
 not only of his moral support but also of more 
 
27tj 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 substantial assistance. Mr. Blowers was born 
 in Vermont in 1782 and was married in 1810 
 to Sylvinia Chadsey. Previous to 1812 he 
 had purchased land near Kingston, Canada, 
 with the intention of making a temporary 
 home in that country. On the breaking out of 
 the war between the United States and Eng- 
 land, the Canadian authorities tried to press 
 him into the English service, but he refused 
 to bear arms against his country and finally, 
 to escape further persecution, abandoned his 
 accumulated possessions and returned to his 
 native land, settling in Wayne county, Ohio, 
 from where he and his family subsequently 
 removed to Crawford county, as already nar- 
 rated. He had a son born February 23, 1823, 
 James C, who died the same day, and this in- 
 fant was the first person buried in the town- 
 ship, a burial site being selected on the farm 
 which became the Blowers grave yard. The 
 second death occurred in the family of John 
 and Joana Maxfield, July 8, 1823, it being 
 of their son, James M., aged two years, eleven 
 months and twenty days. Mr. Blowers was 
 the father of sixteen children, eleven sons and 
 five daughters, of whom only five sons and one 
 daughter grew to maturity. Mr. Blowers 
 died September 29 1844, in his sixty-second 
 year, having lived in the township nearly 
 twenty-three years, and was buried in the 
 grave yard which takes his name. 
 
 In November, 1822, William Blowers ar- 
 rived in Liberty .township from Salem, Wash- 
 ington county, N. Y., and settled on his 
 brother's farm. He was accompanied by two 
 of his sisters, with their husbands, Calvin and 
 Nehemiah Squires, the latter of whom was 
 the father of Dr. J. B. Squires of Sulphur 
 Springs. 
 
 During th^ War of 181 2 Robert Foster, 
 with his wife Peggy and four children, left 
 Ireland for the United States and on their ar- 
 rival settled in Richland county. Several 
 years later, 1822, came to Crawford county, 
 where in due time the family was increased by 
 several additions. They were vigorous and 
 aggressive, taking such active part in the polit- 
 ical struggles at the time of the rebellion as to 
 be referred to generally as "the fighting Fos- 
 ters." Most of this family subsequently re- 
 moved farther west. One of the daughters, 
 Sarah, born May 22, 1822, was the first female 
 
 child born in Liberty township. She became 
 the wife of Robert Andrews. Another 
 daughter, Mary Ann, married Rev. George 
 Reid and was the mother of Hon. William M. 
 Reid, of Bucyrus. This marriage license is 
 the first one on the record in the Probate 
 Judge's office. It bears date of October 17, 
 
 1 83 1, and the marriage took place on October 
 18, Rev. Samuel P. Shaw performing the 
 ceremony. Prior to this date all marriage 
 records were destroyed • by the fire which 
 burned the county jail. 
 
 In* November, 1823, Samuel Smalley ar- 
 rived from Vermont, with his wife, who was 
 a sister of William Blowers. They had jour- 
 neyed for over 600 miles in a wagon. Soon 
 after, Smalley settled on a farm east of Bu- 
 cyrus, and about 1830 he purchased of 
 Nicholas Singely what later became the Crura 
 farm. 
 
 The year 1823 was marked by the advent of 
 a considerable number of settlers, among 
 whom were James McCurdy, Asa Cobb, 
 Simeon Parcher, Ichabod Smith, Calvin Stone, 
 Garrett Dorland, with his sons, James, Isaac 
 and Luke; Matthias Markley, Thomas Smith, 
 Benjamin Manwell, Jacob Gurwell, Joseph 
 Chandler, John Chandler, Charles Doney and 
 Edward Hartford. In 1824 came John G. 
 Stough, Horatio Markley, Noble McKinstry, 
 John Kroft and others. These settlers mostly 
 purchased Government lands, which were ex- 
 empt from taxation for five years. The fol- 
 lowing persons also, as shown by the tax 
 duplicate of the county for 1830, entered lands 
 previous to April, 1825 : John Anderson, 
 John Bear, John Clingan, John H. Fry, Wil- 
 liam Huff, Daniel Ketchum, Philip Klinger, 
 Richard King, Daniel Kimball, William Little, 
 Richard Spicer, Daniel Shelharrimer, John 
 Slifer, Asa Wetherby, Anthoriy Walker and 
 Mary Wood. 
 
 Other early arrivals, whose names and the 
 facts concerning them have been derived from 
 various sources, were the following: John 
 Essig and wife came to Liberty township in 
 
 1832, taking up 160 acres on the Sandusky 
 river. J. H. Fry came in 1824 and settled on 
 160 acres west of Sulphur Springs. In Janu- 
 ary, 1827, he married Catherine, daughter of 
 Thomas Williamson. Rachel Helm's parents 
 came to Liberty in 182=;. Jacob D. Heller, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 277 
 
 with his wife and nine children, came to Lib- 
 erty in 1836, with a two horse team and en- 
 tered seventy-seven acres. Andrew Hess came 
 in 1831. In April, 1833, he married Mary 
 Henry, who came to Crawford with her par- 
 ents in 1830. Abraham Grogg came in 1836 
 and settled on what is now the farm of J. H. 
 Moderwell. He also bought at the same time 
 120 acres in Chatfield township. John Hise, 
 with his wife and three children, settled in 
 Jackson township in 1824. His son, William 
 H. Hise, born in 1818, learned the shoemaker's 
 trade and opened a shop at Gallon, which was 
 probably the first in that place. Later he 
 opened a shop in Bucyrus, where he remained 
 three years; then went to Sulphur Springs, 
 then to Whetstone township and finally took 
 up a farm in Liberty, and was Justice of the 
 Peace for thirty years. 
 
 John Williams came in 1832, with Solomon 
 Shaffstall and family. In 1833 he worked for 
 his brother, building a mill in Holmes town- 
 ship. He built a log cabin on his place, using 
 nails which cost ten cents a pound, which he 
 paid for with maple sugar that he and his 
 wife made. 
 
 Jacob and Mary Waters came to Liberty 
 with six children in 1830 and settled on a farm 
 on the Sandusky river, which had been en- 
 tered several years previously by Philip Trout. 
 Their son Isaac often spoke of the old log 
 schoolhouse, in which sometimes the wood fire 
 made so much smoke that teacher and schol- 
 ars were obliged to take the benches out of 
 doors and finish the exercises in the open air. 
 
 Martin Wolf came to Crawford county in 
 1834. His father, Henry Wolf, was a Revo- 
 lutionary soldier. Martin was a sort of jack- 
 of -all-trades, but was very poor and had five 
 children. He bought sixty-three acres but 
 could not pay the full purchase price, so gave 
 his note of $25 for the balance, due in four 
 months. He was a hard worker and in one 
 week, while splitting rails in the day time, 
 made five pairs of shoes in the evenings. In 
 this way he paid for his land. 
 
 Jacob and Elizabeth Zeiter came to Liberty 
 with four children in 1830. 
 
 Jacob Sell came to Liberty township with 
 his parents in 1830. 
 
 Daniel Steen, who died in Liberty township 
 September 27, 1868, was born in Donegal 
 
 county, Ireland, and came with his parents 
 and two brothers to America, settling in Lib- 
 erty in 1827 on the farm on which he died. 
 
 Michael and Elizabeth (Kleinknecht) 
 Kafer came to Crawford county in 1833 and 
 purchased eighty acres in Liberty. 
 
 Michael Treftz came to Liberty township in 
 1832 ; after he entered the land he left his fam- 
 ily at Bloomingville in a barn, there being no 
 other accommodations, and he came on foot 
 to prepare their new home for them. In the 
 meantime his daughter Magdalena and her 
 sister walked from Bloomingville to San- 
 dusky, where they secured work at eighteen 
 cents per week. They afterward worked in 
 Columbus, walking the entire distance several 
 times through the forest, carrying their cloth- 
 ing and food, and stopping at farm houses 
 over night, and occasionally at the taverns 
 where the price was six cents for a bed. The 
 money they earned was used in helping to 
 develop the family farm. Magdalena Treftz 
 later married Jacob Green, one of the earlier 
 settlers in Liberty township. 
 
 Michael and Susanna Sponseller, with seven 
 children, came to Crawford in 1832, and 
 bought 80 acres in section 20 of his brother- 
 in-law, Jacob Mollenkoff, who came here in 
 1828, paying him $400, or $5 an acre. 
 
 Isaac Williams came to Crawford in 1828, 
 and first bought 160 acres in Holmes township. 
 Going back to Stark county, he returned in 
 1829 with his family, in a two horse team and 
 wagon and driving a few cattle. Leaving his 
 family at Spring Mills, he came on here and 
 purchased 80 acres in Liberty, after which he 
 went back to bring his family. In the vicin- 
 ity of Gabon he found the ground so soft that 
 he had to hire an additional team to get the 
 wagon through. 
 
 Gottleib and Magdalen (Brosey) Shieber 
 came to Sandusky City by boat with a party 
 from Germany in 1832. They then walked 
 overland to Crawford county in search of 
 Fred Feichtner, and found him in Liberty 
 township, on the Brokensword. Liking this 
 section, they walked back, hired teams, and 
 returned to Crawford the same year, settling 
 in Liberty township. 
 
 John G. and Catherine Klink worked in Co- 
 lumbiana county in the winter of 1828 and 
 saved enough to buy a pair of oxen and a cart. 
 
278 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 In the spring of 1829 they came to Crawford 
 county, with their three children — Catherine, 
 John A. and John G. — and settled in the 
 woods in Liberty township, where he bought 
 80 acres, paying for it with what money he 
 had and two watches. They stayed at a neigh- 
 bor's until their cabin could be erected. They 
 had many hardships to contend with. Their 
 cattle strayed; one night John A. got tired of 
 hunting for them and went to sleep in a hollow 
 tree, where he stayed all night, returning in 
 the morning. Many other times he stayed all 
 night in some Indian camp. He became quite 
 friendly with the Indians, visited their camps, 
 and in his younger days they sometimes 
 brought him home when he had lost his way. 
 He was married, in 1848, to Melissa Kohlman 
 and moved to a farrn of no acres, which he 
 purchased with money earned by chopping 
 wood. To this he afterward added more land 
 until he had a tract of 740 acres all together, 
 besides 176 in the neighborhood. He brought 
 his farm into a high state of cultivation and 
 it was known as the "model farm" and for 
 many years visitors were taken out from 
 Bucyrus to see the Klink farm, as it had a state 
 reputation for the neatness with which it was 
 kept. 
 
 Adam Link, a soldier of the Revolution, re- 
 sided in Liberty township, near Sulphur 
 Springs. The Washington "Constitution," of 
 August, 1859, thus wrote of this veteran: 
 "Adam Link entered the regular service in 
 1777. His father had settled in Washington 
 county, Pa., near the Virginia line, on the ex- 
 treme borders of civilization. Here Adam 
 was brought up, surrounded by frontier dan- 
 gers in the vicinity of unfriendly Indians. On 
 the commencement of hostilities the Indians 
 made a descent on the settlements, captured 
 his father, murdered and scalped him, burnt 
 the house and barn and destroyed a large field 
 of corn, 100 hogs, 40 sheep, all the cattle and 
 horses and 300 bushels of wheat. From this 
 period, the family, instead of being well-to-do 
 and prosperous, suffered great privations and 
 dangers during the remainder of the war. At 
 the time of his enlistment, 1777, under Capt. 
 Mason, he was so well known that the remark 
 was made 'He is a good marksman and will 
 now have an opportunity to try his skill.' At 
 different periods he served in garrisons at 
 
 Wheeling, Moore, Dement's and Shepherd's 
 forts and acted as an Indian spy, as well as 
 scouting along the frontier. He was at 
 Wheeling garrison when Capt. Mason was 
 shot through the hips. 
 
 "The old man many years ago applied to a 
 pension agency at Tiffin to secure the pension 
 to which he was entitled. The agent de- 
 manded an exorbitant fee, which Link refused 
 to pay, whereupon the agent misrepresented 
 matters at Washington so that the pension to 
 which^he was so justly entitled was withheld 
 from him for twelve years. Some eight years 
 ago the Hon. F. W. Green took the matter in 
 hand and since that time he has received his 
 pension regularly." 
 
 August 13, 1859, eight names were recorded 
 which comprised all the Revolutionary soldiers 
 on the pension rolls in Ohio. Among them ap- 
 peared the name of Adam Link, Crawford 
 county, aged 99 years. 
 
 Adam Link was born Nov. 14, 1761, and 
 died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Horatio 
 Markley, in Liberty township, Aug. 15, 1864, 
 aged 103 years, and was buried in the Union 
 cemetery one mile northeast of Sulphur 
 Springs. 
 
 R. W. Musgrave, born at Cayuga, N. Y., in 
 181 1, came to Jeromeville, Ashland county, 
 and in 1829 to Bucyrus, O., where he was ap- 
 prenticed to Henry St. John in his store until 
 183 1. He went to Massillon in 1832 as a 
 partner of Mr. St. John; was married to a 
 Miss Gillespie and in 1841 settled in Annap- 
 olis, Liberty township. In 1845 the legislature 
 elected him one of the associate judges of 
 Crawford county, which position he held until 
 the new constitution was adopted. In 185 1 he 
 became secretary of the State Board of Agri- 
 culture and was president and secretary for six 
 years. 
 
 August 28, 1856, Thomas Brown, editor of 
 the Ohio Farmer, wrote of him as follows, and 
 the account shows the wealth of the forests of 
 half a century ago : "R. W. Musgrave, Esq., 
 lives at Sulphur Springs in Crawford county, 
 Ohio. He is now and has for several years 
 been a very efficient member of the State 
 Board of Aericulture, and for some time its 
 president. His farm consists of 700 acres of 
 as good land as there is in the rich county of 
 Crawford and two-thirds of it are under culti- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 279 
 
 vation. As evidence of the quality of the soil, 
 we might mention that the timber land is cov- 
 ered with the largest growth of black walnut, 
 sugar tree, ash, white oak, beech, etc. We 
 have never seen such huge walnuts. Hun- 
 dreds of them are from three to four feet in 
 diameter, and their trunks clear of limbs from 
 fifty to sixty feet from the ground. The sur- 
 face of the country is not level, but sufficiently 
 rolling to drain well. The soil is generally a 
 deep black loam, that never bakes, but tills 
 as kindly as best bottom land. The most 
 promising field of corn we have seen this sum- 
 mer we saw on the Judge's farm. He has 
 close by his house a sulphur spring, whose 
 chemical and medicinal qualities, we should 
 judge from the taste and smell, are similar to 
 the springs of Delaware and the White Sul- 
 phur Spring of Virginia. The volume of 
 water is quite large. It would average a 
 stream of from two to three inches in diameter. 
 There are other springs in the immediate 
 vicinity and several others in the county. The 
 waters are generally cathartic and diuretic and 
 diaphoretic in their effects. There is also a 
 chalybeate spring near Bucyrus." 
 
 From 1820 to 1825, Liberty township was 
 a part of Sandusky. W'estell Ridgely and 
 Joseph Young were commissioned justices of 
 the peace for Sandusky township April 15, 
 1 82 1, and when their terms expired an election 
 was held May 15, 1824, the successful candi- 
 dates being Mathias Markley and Ichabod 
 Smith, but they were both commissioned jus- 
 tices of the peace of Sandusky township May 
 31, 1824, and sworn in as such by Zalmon 
 Rowse, justice of the peace of Bucyrus town- 
 ship. In 1824 Crawford county was tempo- 
 rarily attached to Marion county and justices 
 of the peace had been appointed for only four 
 townships. The commissioners of Marion 
 county, at the March session in the year above 
 mentioned (182=;) passed the following order: 
 "That surveyed township No. 2, in range 17 
 south of the base line in the district of Dela- 
 ware be, and the same is hereby organized into 
 a new township, by the name of Liberty." 
 For some reason Smith received another com- 
 mission dated June 18. 182^, as justice of the 
 peace for Liberty, but Markley still continued 
 to hold his office by virtue of the former elec- 
 tion. Markley was twice re-elected, but after 
 
 serving for over eight years resigned and re- 
 moved to Illinois. Ichabod Smith was re- 
 elected in 1827, but resigned before his term 
 expired to take a contract for building a part 
 of the Columbus and Sandusky Pike. 
 
 The following is a complete list of the 
 justices of Liberty township : 
 
 Mathias Markley, 1824-27-30; Ichabod 
 Smith, 1824-27; James S. Gurwell, 1832; Asa 
 Cobb, 1834-37-40-43-49; John Slifer, 1835-38; 
 William VVoodside, 1844; Charles Keplinger, 
 1846; William Snyder, 1847; Horace Rowse, 
 1848-51 ; Robert Johnson, 185 1 ; Joseph Roop, 
 1852-55-58-61 ; Jonathan N. Harmon, 1854- 
 57-60; William H. Hise, 1863-66-69-78-81- 
 84-87-90-93-97; Henry Fry, 1864-67-70; 
 Clark Bacon, 1872; A. R. Briggs, 1872-75; 
 Thomas Millard, 1873; S. A. McKeehen, 
 1873-76-79-82-85-88-91-02-07; William D. 
 Mewhart, 1896-99; Rufus Aurand, 1900; 
 Emanuel Schieber, 1903-06; Jacob S. Keller, 
 1905-09, and Samuel Hise, 1909. 
 
 It is probable that Liberty township was 
 fully organized and township officers chosen 
 at the spring election in 1826, but the names 
 of the officers are not known, as, if any rec- 
 ords were kept, they have been lost or de- 
 stroyed. It is thought that John Kroft was 
 the first clerk. John G. Stough was chosen 
 one of the three trustees elected in the spring 
 of 1828, James McCurdy being another. The 
 first elections were held in private houses near 
 the center of the township, until the Center 
 schoolhouse was erected. Gen. Jackson polled 
 a heavy vote for president in November, 1828, 
 the polling place being at the cabin of James 
 McMannes. On July i, 1831, the township 
 trustees, Isaac Rise, Elias Chambers and Rob- 
 ert Foster, took an enumeration of the house- 
 holders of the township, and at the same time 
 appointing John G. Stough as treasurer. As 
 Thomas Smith had been previously elected to 
 this latter position, but had failed to take the 
 oath of office, Stough declined to serve, and 
 the trustees then served a notice on Smith, 
 who appeared and consented to act. In those 
 days many citizens preferred to pay a fine 
 rather than serve in any public office. 
 
 Liberty township was divided into road dis- 
 tricts by the trustees on March 5, 1832. On 
 April 2d of that year the first election on 
 record took place and was held at the house of 
 
280 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Leven Conley, near the center. The persons 
 chosen to fill the different offices were as fol- 
 lows: Trustees, Isaac Rise, Robert Foster 
 and Jacob Mollenkopf; constables, Isaac 
 Slater and Frederick Beard; clerk, John 
 Kroft; treasurer, John G. Stough; overseers 
 of the poor, Robert Foster and Isaac Markley; 
 fence viewers, Samuel Cover, Hanry Charlton 
 and Frederick Williams. 
 
 The duties pertaining to the office of over- 
 seer of the poor were sometimes of a disagree- 
 able nature and the office was not coveted by 
 any of the citizens, but was filled only from 
 a sense of public duty. It was the business of 
 such officials not only to inquire into cases of 
 destitution and render assistance to deserving 
 unfortunates, but also to warn away by legal 
 notice any idle, roving or otherwise worthless 
 characters that might come into the township 
 and threaten to become a public charge. One 
 of these notices issued in 1832, read as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 The State of Ohio, Crawford County, S.S. 
 To Isaac Slater, Constable of Liberty Town- 
 ship, greeting: 
 
 Whereas, information hath been given to 
 us, Mathias Markley and Robert Foster, Over- 
 seers of the Poor for said township, that 
 Thomas Alsoph has come within the limits of 
 the township to be sick, who will be likely to 
 become a township charge; you are hereby 
 commanded forthwith to warn said Thomas 
 Alsoph to depart the said township and of this 
 writ make legal service, and duly return it, 
 according to laws given under our hands this 
 1 2th day of March, A. D., 1852. 
 
 Mathias Markley, 
 Robert Foster, 
 Overseers of the Poor. 
 
 There was, perhaps, little call for this 
 notice, as Alsoph was an Englishman, at times 
 childish in his mind, and his wealthy relatives 
 had gotten rid of him by shipping him to 
 America about 1824, sending money quarterly 
 for his support. His home was generally 
 Holmes township, and his money usually 
 gone in a spree within a week after its recep- 
 tion, except that some of his unscrupulous 
 keepers frequently kept the entire remittance. 
 He had periods of sobriety, in which he took 
 
 an active hand in politics, being very impar- 
 tial as to what principles he advocated, his 
 main desire being to make speeches, and 
 he was a fairly fluent talker. In i860 John 
 Hopley, another Englishman, became the at- 
 torney to whom the remittances were for- 
 warded, and he found Alsoph almost uricared 
 for, his constitution and mind both weakened 
 by his years of excesses. By 'degrees he was 
 straightened up and returned to his family in 
 England. 
 
 This old law was sometimes used as a prac- 
 tical joke, and the warning notice was served 
 on some responsible person, who was in no 
 danger of ever becoming a public charge. 
 Sometimes this led to trouble, but they were 
 generally ignored. The Liberty township 
 records are full of these warnings. John B. 
 Morrison- received two of these notices order- 
 ing him to leave, one in 1833, followed by the 
 second in 1836. He did not go, as in April, 
 1837, the Common Pleas Court at Bucyrus ap- 
 pointed him one of the school examiners for 
 Liberty township, a position for which the 
 Court selected none but the best men. 
 
 Another law allowed poor or shiftless par- 
 ents to bind out their children to others for a 
 term of years, or until they became of age, and 
 there are records of a number of cases of this 
 kind in Liberty township. One Moses Co- 
 berly thus bound out three of his children 
 within the space of thirty days. The first of 
 these — and the first of which there is any 
 record in the township — is between Moses 
 Coberly, who binds his son Robert to Corne- 
 lius Borland for a term of seven years, during 
 which time Borland is to "teach the young 
 man arithmetic to the rule of three and keep 
 him in wearing apparel." At the end of the 
 seven years Robert is to receive from Borland 
 "one horse, saddle and bridle worth $75, also 
 one suit of broadcloth clothes and one suit of 
 home made or common wearing apparel." 
 This agreement is dated Becember 31, 1834. 
 In 1843 the trustees bound Lucy Wilhelgriner, 
 an orphan, to Frederick and Elizabeth Wil- 
 liams for a term of five years and four months. 
 This young lady was to be taught "the art, 
 mystery and occupation of common labor" 
 and they were to train her in "habits of obedi- 
 ence, industry and morality." Buring her 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 281 
 
 term of service she was to be allowed "meat, 
 drink and wearing apparel both for summer 
 and winter," and at the end of the time she 
 was to receive "two suits of common wearing 
 apparel and a new Bible." Miss Wilhelgriner, 
 it seems, had to be satisfied with common or 
 ordinary apparel after all her years of serv- 
 ice, in this respect being less fortunate than 
 the young man Robert, above mentioned, who 
 got at least one suit of broadcloth to wear on 
 state occasions. As for Robert, if he were 
 bound out today, instead of a horse he would 
 demand an automobile. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1837, there was filed in the Re- 
 corder's office at Bucyrus the plat of a pro- 
 posed town to be called Deckertown, on the 
 southwest part of section 25, Liberty town- 
 ship. It was about three-quarters of a mile 
 west of Luke's tavern which stood on the 
 southwest corner of the road known as the 
 "Old River Road," the Sandusky being just 
 across the road from the tavern, the north and 
 south road which passed Luke's tavern being 
 the boundary line between Liberty and San- 
 dusky townships. At that time the old river 
 road was very much traveled, being the route 
 from Bucyrus to West Liberty, the latter vil- 
 lage being a very important business center. 
 The town was laid out on both sides of the 
 road, thirteen lots on each side, and in the 
 town limits the road was called Main street. 
 There was one north and south street named 
 Mill, so called from the fact that it led to the 
 Decker saw mill which was about a quarter of 
 a mile north of the town on the bank of the 
 Sandusky. Deckertown was also a victim of 
 the great panic of 1837, and the project was 
 abandoned before any lots were sold. It de- 
 rived its name from the projector and 
 proprietor, James Decker, on whose land it 
 was situated and who owned the saw mill. 
 
 About three-quarters of a mile east of the 
 station of Brandywine on the Columbus and 
 Sandusky Division of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 way, and about four and a half miles north- 
 east of Bucyrus in Liberty township many 
 years ago five or six families located at and 
 near to the crossing of two county roads at 
 that point. At a very early day Samuel 
 Parcher had a saw mill near the southwest 
 corner of the crossing. He sold it to Jonas 
 Heckert, who after several years sold it to the 
 
 16 
 
 Hildebrands, who still operate it. Solomon 
 Benson had a saw mill a few rods from the 
 crossing that ran successfully for many years. 
 Charles Keplinger had a brickyard a few rods 
 west of the crossing, he also had a cider press. 
 Scott Shell had a blacksimth shop on the 
 northwest corner. Later it was run by Louis 
 Ritenhauer for several years. Four or five 
 dwelling houses were erected for those em- 
 ployed in the dii¥erent industries, and the cor- 
 ners was a fairly busy center, and had the ap- 
 pearance of a thriving little village. In 1888 
 William E. Keplinger opened a store on the 
 northwest corner. A postoffice was estab- 
 lished and was called Brandywine, after the 
 little stream that passed the town. William 
 E. Keplinger was appointed postmaster 
 March 2, 1888, and had the office in his store. 
 When the railroad was completed and opened 
 for business in 1893, a station called Brandy- 
 wine was opened' for the convenience of the 
 people in that section, and it was not long be- 
 fore the store and postoffice were removed 
 half a mile west to the station. The place had 
 been known as Puckertown for more than 
 sixty years. David Shealey, one of the pio- 
 neers of that section, gives the origin of the 
 name. He says that in the early days it was 
 customary to have literary exercises at the 
 school house, and among other features at 
 each meeting was a newspaper giving the news 
 of the neighborhood, and humorous hits at 
 the follies and foibles of the members and 
 friends. Of course it was in manuscript, dif- 
 ferent ones of the brighter pupils taking a 
 turn as editor and publisher. It was necessary 
 to have a name for the paper and some one 
 now forgotten gave it the name of the Pucker- 
 town News, and this gave the name to the 
 locality. Keplinger. continued as postmaster 
 until the appointment of the present incum- 
 bent, C. E. Hildebrand, on March 28, 1910. 
 
 Three miles north of Brandywine in the 
 northwestern section of Liberty township, 
 there was a station on the Columbus and San- 
 dusky Short Line at which the trains stopped 
 on signal. Here a store was started and a 
 petition presented for a post office, and on 
 Sept. 18, 1894, a post office was established 
 called Ridgeton and George B. Quaintance 
 was appointed postmaster. He held the office 
 until it was discontinued on Feb. 14, 1906, the 
 
282 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 people after that being supplied by rural route 
 from Bucyrus. 
 
 Along in 1867 and 1868 the citizens of Sul- 
 phur Springs were actively interested in a 
 proposed railroad from Toledo to Crestline, 
 via Tiffin, Melmore, Lykins and Sulphur 
 Springs. The citizens of the latter village and 
 Liberty township were very anxious to have 
 the railroad built and subscribed $35,000, or 
 rather they guaranteed to take that amount of 
 the stock of the company. The preliminary 
 surveys were made, the line passing through 
 the northeastern part of Sulphur Springs. 
 
 George W. Teel, one of the leading pro- 
 moters of the railroad had a plot of town lots 
 laid out on his farm, about half a mile east of 
 Sulphur Springs, at the point where the depot 
 was to be located, and seven or eight dwelling 
 houses were erected and occupied. It never 
 attained any standing as a commercial or in- 
 dustrial point, as no stores or shops were ever 
 located there, but otherwise it had the appear- 
 ance of a country village. By common con- 
 sent of the people in the neighborhood it was 
 called Teel Town, and today is generally 
 spoken of by that name. It might he added 
 the ideas of the Sulphur Springs promoters 
 were very expansive, and the sanguine ones 
 believed that if the road was secured it would 
 eventually lead to the removal of the county 
 seat to Crawford county on account of the 
 central location of Sulphur Springs. The 
 Crestline people failed to give the financial aid 
 to the proposed road that was necessary and 
 it was abandoned. But later New Washing- 
 ton parties got Mansfield and Toledo people 
 interested and built the Mansfield and Cold- 
 water road, now known as the Toledo Divi- 
 sion of the Pennsylvania system. Sulphur 
 Springs and Teel Town were completely ig- 
 nored and New Washington was placed on 
 the railroad map and the village of Tiro came 
 into existence. 
 
 The first school in Liberty township was 
 taueht in a cabin on the farm of Daniel 
 McMichael during the winter of 1821-22. 
 The teacher was John McClure, who in 1826 
 was the first surveyor of Crawford county. 
 The attendance was not large, the school being 
 supported by a few families only, The build- 
 ing was probablv a very rude afifair. with 
 rough slabs for benches or desks, a stick and 
 
 mud chimney and some oiled paper pasted 
 over a hole in the wall for a window. Such 
 were, in general the earliest pioneer school- 
 houses; yet in them germs of knowledge were 
 planted which afterward ripened into many a 
 stately tree of intellect and moral force. With 
 the growth of settlements, however, better 
 educational facilities were provided, and thus 
 we find as early as the fall of 1823 a school- 
 house was built in Liberty which had the ad- 
 vantage of glass windows, and which was 
 known as the Maxfield schoolhouse, it being 
 located* on the northeast corner of John Max- 
 field's land. Nehemiah Squire made the win- 
 dow sash for it out of a linn-wood puncheon 
 that had constituted part of the chamber floor 
 of an aristocratic log cabin the previous win- 
 ter. Here school was first taught by Rev. 
 William Blowers in the winter of 1823-24. 
 Other early teachers here were Cary Tilbury, 
 Samuel Magers and a Mr. Ortop. Another 
 schoolhouse was built during the fall of 1827 
 just southeast of the present site occupied by 
 the Crall United Brethren church. Sally 
 Smith was the first teacher and the building 
 was known as the Smith schoolhouse. The 
 Maxfield and Smith schoolhouses were both 
 in what is now the Second school district, and 
 the Blowers church in the same territory was 
 used for school purposes many years. In the 
 Third district the Simmons schoolhouse was 
 built before 1833; the Bell schoolhouse, in the 
 Fourth district several years previous, and it 
 is probable that schools were taught there as 
 early as 1827, as there were many settlers in 
 the neighborhood at that time. The lands of 
 the Fifth, or Center, district were not entered 
 until a later date, in 1825 only 240 acres of 
 this territory having been purchased from the 
 Government. In what is now the Sixth dis- 
 trict a schoolhouse was erected about 1838. 
 In the Seventh district a round log schoolhouse 
 was erected bv the united efforts of some of 
 the settlers during the fall of 1830. At this 
 time no other schoolhouse had been built in 
 the northwestern oart of Liberty or the north- 
 eastern part of Holmes : neither at the Center 
 district or the district north of Liberty Cen- 
 ter. The Kroft schoolhouse in the Eighth dis- 
 trict was built before 1832. The Ninth dis- 
 trict, being thinlv settled, was perhaps the last 
 to organize. In the Tenth, or Sulphur Springs 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 285 
 
 special district, a log building was erected for 
 school purposes in 1837, on land donated by 
 John Slifer. In course of time these rough 
 log schoolhouses were replaced by finer frame 
 buildings, and these in turn were superseded 
 by the present brick structures. The first of 
 these more durable edifices was constructed for 
 the Seventh or Keplinger district in 1876, at 
 a cost of $1,200, and this was soon followed 
 by others. 
 
 The Methodists were the pioneers in the 
 religious field of Liberty township, the gospel 
 being first preached here by the itinerant min- 
 isters of that denomination. During the year 
 1 82 1 Methodist missionary preachers belong- 
 ing to the Delaware Circuit had advanced as 
 tar north as Bucyrus, where they were filling 
 regular monthly appointments. The "most 
 energetic worker in the cause of Methodism 
 was John O. Blowers, who has been pre- 
 viously mentioned as having exerted a great 
 moral and religious influence in the commu- 
 nity. It was through him that the first class 
 meeting was formed and preaching held at his 
 cabin in the spring or summer of 1822. The 
 class was composed of Mr. and -Mrs. Blowers, 
 William Cooper and wife, of Whetstone town- 
 ship, and a German named Shultz. The min- 
 ister on this occasion was the Rev. Mr. Bacon, 
 a social, genial hearted man, who, it is said, 
 generally had his pockets full of lettuce or 
 other garden seed for the women and fishing 
 tackle for the boys, and who was naturally a 
 favorite among the pioneers. The class he 
 formed at Mr. Blower's cabin was the nucleus 
 of the first M. E. church of Liberty. Regular 
 monthly appointments were kept up during the 
 summer of 1822 and the next winter preaching 
 was held on Sunday at Bucyrus and on Mon- 
 day at the home of Mr. Blowers. In the fall 
 of that year Rev. James Monroe was sent to 
 this section of the country by the M. E. Con- 
 ference, and in the spring of 1823 John O. 
 Blowers and his brother William were licensed 
 to preach the Gospel, having previously quali- 
 fied themselves by a course of study in theol- 
 ogy, Mr. Blowers having a fine library of relig- 
 ious books, which he frequently lent to some 
 of the settlers. In the fall of 1823 this sec- 
 tion became part of a regular circuit of the 
 M. E. church. Among those who rode this 
 first circuit was the Rev. James St. Clair. 
 
 Other preachers who rode this circuit about 
 that time and for a few years subsequently 
 were Rev. James Gilruth, Rev. Abner Goff, 
 Rev. Russell Bigelow and Revs. Fenneland, 
 Rennels and S. P. Shaw. After the erection 
 of the Maxfield schoolhouse in the fall of 
 1823, religious services were held there and 
 .continued until the Blowers church and school- 
 house were built about 1830. In 1840 the 
 Methodist society had over 100 members, who 
 were divided into two classes, one at Sulphur 
 Springs and one in the Blowers neighborhood, 
 besides a small class in the McDonald neigh- 
 borhood in the northwestern part of the town- 
 ship. The M. E. church at Sulphur Springs 
 was erected in 1848. In course of time many 
 members of the Blowers class removed to the 
 far west and the Sulphur Springs organiza- 
 tion became the stronger of the two, but for 
 many years services were held at the Blowers 
 church in the afternoon. As previously nar- 
 rated, John O. Blowers died in 1844, but 
 William continued as a Methodist preacher for 
 many years, until he was finally superannuated. 
 In the nation's hour of need — in the fall of 
 1862 — being then 66 years old, he enlisted in 
 the 151st N. Y. Infantry as a private and did 
 active duty in camp and field near Washing- 
 ton city, being later detailed for hospital duty 
 at Baltimore. What a splendid example of 
 sturdy manhood and self secrifice for the 
 youth, not only of his day, but of our own! 
 He died January 28, 1868, and was buried in 
 the Blowers graveyard. 
 
 The first Sunday school was started in Lib- 
 erty in the spring of 1824, John O. Blowers 
 being a leading spirit in the enterprise, and 
 possibly the first superintendent. It was held 
 in the Maxfield schoolhouse until the Blowers 
 M. E. church was built in 1830. It was carried 
 on as a union school, being supported by mem- 
 bers of other denominations, until the United 
 Brethren started one in connection with their 
 religious work, when school at the Blowers 
 church was discontinued, many of the work- 
 ers uniting with the new school 
 
 The United Brethren were the second de- 
 nomination to send missionaries into Liberty 
 and some of their ministers, it is said, preached 
 in the township as early as 1827. Previous 
 to 1830 Revs. Smith and Erit conducted ser- 
 vices in the cabins of John Shong and Law- 
 
286 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 rence Simmons, and in the winter of 1830 a 
 congregation was organized by Rev. John 
 Clymer. Among the first members were, John 
 Shong and wife; Betsey Simmons, his sister; 
 Anselm Fuller and wife, the latter also a sister 
 of Simmons ; Abraham Grogg and wife, Anna 
 Grogg. Services were held for many years in 
 the old Simmons schoolhousc. In the fall of 
 1848 the building known as the Crall church 
 was erected. The edifice was enlarged in 1854 
 and repaired about 1870, being converted into 
 one of the finest country churches in the 
 county. Among the early ministers were the 
 Revs. Benjamin Moore, 1836, Alexander Bid- 
 die, Francis Clymer, Jacob Newman, Jacob 
 Berger, G. Spracklin and others. 
 
 Previous to 1830 German ministers of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran church had held ser- 
 vices in the log cabins of several early set- 
 tlers, the first of whom was Rev. David Shue, 
 who preached at the home of John Stough. 
 In 1830 the congregation was regularly or- 
 ganized by Rev. John Stough, who was the 
 first Lutheran minister who crossed the Alle- 
 ghany mountains. He was then quite an el- 
 derly man, having been born in York county. 
 Pa. in 1762, and having labored forty- years 
 as a minister. He lived in the township for 
 more than fifteen years, dying July, 1845 at 
 the age of 83 years, when in the 56th year of 
 his ministry. 
 
 About 1836 members of the Reformed and 
 Lutheran congregations united in building a 
 hewn log church, which stood near the present 
 site of the Reformed church and was occupied 
 by both sects for many years. In 1852 tlje 
 German Lutherans purchased a lot about a 
 mile and a half east of this Union church, on 
 which they erected a church edifice of their 
 own. 
 
 The English Lutheran church of Annapolis 
 was organized about 1833 by Rev. F. J. Ruth, 
 who was the first pastor, at the same time 
 being pastor of the church at Bucyrus._ Rev. 
 J. Grouse also preached frequently during the 
 early history of this church. Among the first 
 persons baptized were Lawrence Simmons, an 
 adult; Elizabeth, daughter of Michael^ and 
 Sarah Peterman, and Jacob, son of Benjamin 
 and Louisa Sinn. Services were held in pri- 
 vate cabins until the schoolhouse was built in 
 the village of Annapolis, after which the 
 
 schoolhouse was occupied by the congregation 
 until the erection of their first church in 1848, 
 at which time Rev. Mr. Ruth was still pastor 
 of the charge. The society built another ed- 
 ifice in 1876 at a cost of nearly $5,000. 
 
 As has been stated, those of the settlers who 
 were members of the Reformed church, or 
 believed in its doctrines, united with the Ger- 
 man Lutherans in 1836 and for some years 
 the two sects used the same meeting-house, an 
 agreement having been made between them 
 that the^ building should always be open to the 
 religious services of either denomination. 
 Among the first ministers of the Reformed 
 church who preached in the township were 
 Revs. Frederick Gottleib Maschop and J. Mil- 
 ler, who were pastors of the congregation at 
 Bucyrus from 1835 to about the year 1845. 
 The Liberty congregation was organized under 
 Rev. Wendel Wasnich about 1848. He was 
 succeeded by Rev. Abraham Keller, who re- 
 mained until his death in 1852, when Rev. 
 Max Stern was placed in charge of the Re- 
 formed churches of Crawford county. Under 
 his pastorate the new church was erected. 
 
 Previous to" the year 1850 an organization 
 of German Methodists had been effected in 
 the northwest part of Liberty township by 
 ministers connected with the church at Bucy- 
 rus. For some years services were held in a 
 little red schoolhouse on the Van Duzzen 
 farm. A Mr. Plummer having donated some 
 land for the purpose, a church edifice was 
 erected thereon about 1854. In October, 
 1862 the building was almost completely de- 
 stroyed by a mob, opposed to the draft, who 
 were angered by the utterances of the pastor. 
 Rev. Phillip B. Weber, Avho supported the 
 Government in its action. But as this did 
 not stop his patriotic preaching, they set fire 
 to the building in May, 1863 and totally de- 
 stroyed it. About a year later another church 
 was erected to take the place of the old one, 
 but situated about half a mile south of the old 
 site. 
 
 The Zion church edifice, otherwise known 
 as the Conley church, situated near the center 
 of Liberty township, was built about the year 
 1856, as a union church, owned jointly by the 
 Evangelical Association and the Church of 
 God, or Winebrennarians. Services had been 
 held for several years previously by Rev. Wil- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 287 
 
 liam Adams, of Plymouth, a Winebrennarian 
 preacher. The first society of the Evangel- 
 ical Association was organized about 1846 by 
 Rev. D. Swartz, with David Pfleiderer as the 
 first class leader. In 1852 the organization 
 was perfected by the Revs. G. Haley and B. 
 Keller. 
 
 In 1879 the United Brethren, under the 
 leadership of Rev. Moses Spahr, organized a 
 small congregation and built a chapel near the 
 center of school district No. 6. 
 
 About the year 1842 a small Baptist con- 
 ference was organized at Sulphur Springs, 
 which held services at somewhat irregular in- 
 tervals for several years. 
 
 The first grist-mill erected by Mr. Mc- 
 Michael, was as already stated a great boon to 
 the settlers, though, owing to the insufficiency 
 of the water-power, it proved unprofitable to 
 the several proprietors through whose hands 
 it passed. In 1824 Calvin and Nehemiah 
 Squier built a saw-mill on the Sandusky river, 
 for John O. Blowers, at the northwest corner 
 of his farm. It soon passed into the hands of 
 Eli Odell, of Whetstone township, who, in 
 1825, took in Asa Wetherby as a partner. 
 Soon after Mr. Wetherby bought out Mr. 
 Odell and conducted the business himself until 
 1829, when he sold out to a Mr. Ball. In a 
 few years Mr. Ball transferred the mill to 
 George Fleck. In 1834 John O. Blowers re- 
 purchased the concern in order to stop Sun- 
 day milling, and sold it to his brother-in-law, 
 Nehemiah Squier. At this time a grist-mill 
 also formed part of the establishment, it hav- 
 ing been built in 1830 or previously. Mr. 
 Squier conducted the business for a number 
 of years, after which the property passed 
 through various hands. In 1867, J. B. Squier 
 and W. S. Bacon, who were then the propri- 
 etors, having erected an improved steam mill 
 at Sulphur Springs, removed the business from 
 the banks of the Sandusky to the new build- 
 ing. In 1874 Mr. Bacon sold out to his part- 
 ner, and later the business passed into the 
 hands of Edgar A. and Oscar W. Squier. By 
 1836 there were nine or ten saw-mills in the 
 township. 
 
 A small distillery was run for a short time 
 about 1826 by a man named Wood on the 
 land of Edward Hartford, just east of the 
 Blowers Mill. But the proprietor got into 
 
 some trouble and soon left the township, the 
 business being then discontinued. 
 
 David Hawk and Jacob L. Gurwell started 
 a tannery previous to the year 1830, just north- 
 east of Annapolis. David Kinter also ran one 
 for a time before 1840, west of Annapolis, but 
 did only a small business. 
 
 It was during the War of the Rebellion 
 that the sorghum industry developed in this 
 county, John H. Fry of Liberty township, 
 writing a number of articles on the subject, 
 the industry being given prominence on ac- 
 count of the war shutting off the southern 
 supply of molasses.* The cane planted in this 
 county, was the Chinese sugar cane which was 
 later introduced into France. In 1856 some 
 of this seed was obtained by the United States 
 from France, and distributed among the far- 
 mers. The cane grows from 8 to 18 feet in 
 height, and requires about the same soil as 
 Indian corn. Well ripened cane yielded about 
 half its weight in juice, of which it took from 
 five to ten gallons to make one gallon of syrup. 
 A field would average from 150 to 175 gallons, 
 per acre. There were several cane mills 
 started in Liberty township, the mill of An- 
 drew Dirmeyer being built in i860. After 
 the cane is ripened about September, the 
 leaves are stripped off, and the stalks passed 
 beneath three steel rollers, the juice being green 
 in color. This is placed in the boiling pans, 
 and the green scum is taken off leaving the 
 syrup white, which again changes until the 
 finished product is of a golden color. The 
 capacity of the Dirmeyer mill was 125 gallons 
 per day, and during its running the mill turned 
 out 80,000 gallons of molasses. Other mills 
 were operated a short time and were discon- 
 tinued. The Dirmeyer mill after many years 
 was removed to Brandywine, and later went 
 the way of the other mills, and today there is 
 probably not a sorghum mill in the county. 
 
 The village of Annapolis was laid out in 
 1833 by John Slifer on "the southern portion 
 of the east half of the northeast quarter of 
 section 14." This was part of the quarter 
 section Slifer had purchased from the gov- 
 ernment when he came to the township in 
 1825, from Maryland, and the village was 
 named Annapolis after the capital of his na- 
 
 * He had a sorghum mill, and Horatio Markley also 
 erected one of the first mills. 
 
288 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tive state. Mr. Slifer held several township 
 offices, but he was never successful in busi- 
 ness, and in 1841 sold his land to Judge R. 
 W. Musgrave, and went west, and the follow- 
 ing year in a fit of despondency committed 
 suicide. The village was laid out along the 
 Bucyrus and Plymouth road, which went 
 through the village in a northwestern direction 
 and was called Paris street, the road at that 
 time being known as the Paris road, after the 
 town of Plymouth, which was originally 
 called Paris. South of Paris street was South 
 street and Sandusky street. It had four north 
 and south streets. Walnut, Poplar, Jackson 
 and East, the latter being the eastern limit of 
 the new village. There were about 51 lots. 
 At the start many referred to the place as 
 Sliferstown, after the proprietor. 
 
 The first houses in Annapolis were built by 
 James L. Gurwell, Jacob Peterman, John Bol- 
 inger, Peter Stuckman and Benjamin Sinn. 
 Ex- Judge Enoch B. Merriman opened the first 
 dry goods store in the fall of 1834. Two years 
 later he transferred it to his nephew, G. N. 
 Davis, who ran the business for two years, 
 when Mr. Merriman resumed possession. 
 Soon after he passed it to another nephew, 
 Pomeroy A. Blanchard, who remained in 
 Sulphur Springs for several years. Another 
 store was started in the fall of 1836 or early 
 in 1837 by Cornelius and James F. Dorland, 
 but they did not continue it long and for a few 
 months in the years 1840 and 1841 the place 
 was without a store. Ex-Judge R. W. Mus- 
 grave then started one, which he sold in 1844 
 to Horace Rowse, of Bucyrus, the latter con- 
 ducting business in Annapolis until the autumn 
 of 1 85 1, his brother Stephen being a partner 
 most of the time. Mr. Musgrave also started 
 an ashery, and not long afterward another 
 store, which he sold to his brother-in-law, 
 Thomas Gillespie. 
 
 Frederick Beard and a man named Wine- 
 bar were early blacksmiths in Annapolis or 
 the vicinity. About 183Q James Gurwell and 
 Jacob Peterman started a linseed oil mill, which 
 soon passed into the hands of William Souder, 
 who carried on the business for many years. 
 A small distillerv and a pottery were also 
 started at about the same time as the oil mill, 
 or a few months later, but both enterprises 
 were failures. James McKee built a saw- 
 
 mill in the vicinity about 1839. John Birk, a 
 hatter, was conducting business in 1838. John 
 L. Dawson had a cabinet shop in 1837. Wil- 
 liam Dicks was a shoemaker and his brother, 
 James Dicks a harness-maker, about 1841. 
 About the same time that McKee started his 
 saw-mill, David Hawk established a tannery. 
 John Grogg kept tavern in a log house about 
 1836, while shortly afterward Cornelius Dor- 
 land and Robert McKee built a hotel. Dr. 
 Turley also put up a fine building for hotel 
 purposes on the lot later occupied by the Sex- 
 auer Bros.' carriage manufactory. Ihis build- 
 ing was burned in 1847. 
 
 The first physician was Dr. Kelly, who, 
 however, paid more attention to running a 
 saloon than to medical practice, in which he 
 was probably not an adept. Dr. George L. 
 Zeigler moved to the village in 1842 and was 
 practicing there in 1851. Later physicians 
 were Drs. J. B. Squier, H. S. Bevington and 
 M. M. Carrothers. Among the prominent 
 citizens of the village was George Heiby, who 
 came to Liberty in 1836, and served as asses- 
 sor of Liberty township 24 terms, and for 
 years ran the hotel. 
 
 A post office was established at Annapolis 
 in 1846, with George L. Zeigler as the first 
 postmaster. It was called Sulphur Spring on 
 account of the large sulphur spring on the 
 Musgrave land. On July 11, 1890, an "s" 
 was added to the name making it Sulphur 
 Springs, A\hich is now the generally accepted 
 name of the place, although the original name 
 of Annapolis is still used by many. It is sup- 
 plied by a special route daily from Bucyrus, 
 the business of the town making it important 
 enough to be one of the few villages where the 
 post office has not been discontinued by trans- 
 ferring it to a rural route. The following is 
 the list of the postmasters : 
 
 George L. Ziegler, April i, 1846. 
 Horace Rowse, Feb. 24, 1849. 
 Charles W. Perse, Dec. 11, 1851. 
 George L. Ziegler, Aug. 8, 1853. 
 George Heiby, Sept. 9. i8s7. 
 J. N. Biddle, March 12, 1861. 
 Alfred Fry, March 29, 1869. 
 A. J. Scott, May 2, 1881. 
 Lewis Sexauer, May 6, 188=;. 
 Eli A. Young, Aug. 12, 1889. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 289 
 
 J. K. Zerbe, Aug. 31, 1893. 
 
 John W. Bittekofer, Sept. 11, 1897. 
 
 In 1862 the Sexauer Brothers, Louis, Wil- 
 liam, Frederick and Lewis, started their car- 
 riage manufactory. They were natives of 
 Bucyrtis, and their step-father, Mr. Kinninger, 
 had for some time previously followed the 
 trade of wagon maker in Annapolis. They 
 soon established a first class reputation for 
 the excellence of their product and in a short 
 time had a larger trade in farm wagons than 
 any other firm in the county. They manu- 
 factured not ■ only heavy farm wagons, but 
 also carriages, buggies and light spring wag- 
 ons. Their work carried off first prizes at 
 county fairs and elsewhere against strong 
 competition. 
 
 For thirty years Jacob Rice has been en- 
 gaged in the construction of telescopes and 
 microscopes, and his instruments are so per- 
 fect that they are in use in many of our larg- 
 est colleges. 
 
 A lodge of the Knights of Honor was estab- 
 lished in Annapolis January 2, 1878, with 
 thirteen charter members, and with John 
 (jruiss Jr., William Heffner and William Sex- 
 auer as the first trustees. The town now has 
 
 three large stores, and a number of smaller 
 stores and shops. 
 
 Previous to 1837 the children residing in 
 Annapolis attended school at the Bell school- 
 house about half a mile south of the village 
 but in the year mentioned a schoolhouse 
 was erected in the village on land donated 
 by John Slifer. In 1858 G. A. Allen was 
 superintendent. For a number of years 
 previous to 1872 the location of the school 
 building had been a subject of much dis- 
 cussion and several special districts had 
 been formed, but on Oct. 2, 1872 the 
 present special district was created, and di- 
 rectors elected as follows : C. W. Perse for 
 one year, William Sexauer for two years and 
 Dr. H. S. Bevington for three years. In ac- 
 cordance with a unanimous vote of the cit- 
 izens, Dec. 14, 1872 it was decided to levy a 
 tax of $3,000 for the purpose of building and 
 furnishing a new schoolhouse, and the same 
 was erected in 1873 at a cost of $3,316. A 
 bell was also provided at an additional cost of 
 some $700. The first enumeration taken in 
 the new district showed 53 boys and 69 
 girls; total, 122. Robert McKee and Jennie 
 Birch taught the first schools in the new build- 
 ing during the winter of 1873-4. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 LYKENS TOWNSHIP 
 
 Boundaries of the Township — Its Erection — Justices — First Settlers — Drainage and Soil — 
 German Immigration — Lost in the Woods — Runaway Slaves — Early Mill's — Stores— 
 Lykens P. O. and Postmasters — Schools and Churches — Lodges — Quarries. 
 
 Where once frowned a forest a garden is smiling — 
 The meadow and moorland are marshes no more ; 
 
 And there curls the smoke of my cottage, beguiling 
 The children who cluster like grapes at the door. 
 
 Then enter, boys; cheerily, boys, enter and rest. 
 
 The land of the heart is the land of the West. 
 
 — George P. Morris. 
 
 Lykens township is situated in the north- 
 western part of Crawford county, having to 
 its west only the narrow township of Texas. 
 On the north is Seneca county, while it is 
 bounded on the east by Chatfield township 
 and on the south by Holmes. For a number 
 of years previous to 1828 Lykens was .at- 
 tached to Sycamore township, of which also 
 the present Texas township was a part until 
 1845. But owing to the considerable increase 
 in population in the northern part of the 
 county, the inhabitants of what is now Chat- 
 field township presented a petition to the 
 county commissioners to have Chatfield set off 
 as a separate township, and the petition was 
 granted on March 6, 1828, and at the same 
 time a new township was erected west of 
 Chatfield and called Lykens. The name of 
 Lykens was suggested by Jacob Lintner, a 
 prominent German settler living near Porters- 
 ville, who had come from a town of that name 
 in Pennsylvania, and after some discussion it 
 was adopted. The township when erected 
 had not sufficient population to be organized, 
 and the first election was held at the home 
 of Jacob Foy in the spring of 1832. Accord- 
 ing to the most authentic accounts, the officers 
 selected at that time were as follows : Ben- 
 jamin Huddle, justice of the peace ; Levi Gif- 
 ford, constable; John Elliott, clerk; Jacob 
 
 Lintner, treasurer ; Joseph Hall, Joseph Much- 
 ler and Robert Knott, trustees, with two 
 others selected as fence viewers. It is said 
 that almost every settler was honored with 
 an office, which, if true, would indicate that 
 the population cannot have been very numer- 
 ous. At that time the township, with a por- 
 tion of sections 31, 32 and 33, which belonged 
 to the Wyandot reservation, comprised its 
 present territory, and, in addition, the west- 
 ern tier of sections in Chatfield township. In 
 1835 all that portion of the township belong- 
 ing to the Wyandot reservation was annexed 
 to Lykens. In 1845 the eastern tier of sec- 
 tions was attached to Chatfield, leaving Ly- 
 kens thirty sections, the territory it comprises 
 at present. 
 
 When Lykens township was created in 
 1828, Jacob Foy and Robert Mays were prob- 
 ably appointed the first Justices of the Peace. 
 The following are the men who have served 
 in that position, Frederick Smith who had 
 the longest term of service, dying while in 
 office: 
 
 Jacob Foy — 1828-31. 
 
 Robert Mays— 1828. 
 
 Benjamin Huddle — 1832. 
 
 Levi Gifford — 1834. 
 
 William Wingert — 1838-44-48. 
 
 John N. Holt — 1840-43. 
 
 Timothy Park— 1847. 
 
 Edward Porter— 1847. 
 
 J. B. Larroue — 1850. 
 
 Abraham Knisely — 1851-54. 
 
 Sidney Holt— 1853. 
 
 Willard Wickham— 1853-56-59-78. 
 
 Julius A. Wolf— 1856. 
 
 James Miller — 1862. 
 
 Frederick Smith — 1862-65-68-71-74-77. 
 
 Jeremiah Feichner — 1864-67. 
 
 290 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 291 
 
 Eli Winters— 1858-70-73-76-79. 
 
 Peter H. Kiefer— 1881-84-87-90-93. 
 
 R. W. Gary— 1882. 
 
 George W. Miller— 1886-89-92. 
 
 A J. Brown — 1896-03-06-09. 
 
 Charles A. Laubach — 1896. 
 
 W. H. Angene — 1899. 
 
 Jacob Englert — 1899. 
 
 Louis F. Smith — 1900-03. 
 
 J. P. Gerhart — 1902. 
 
 Frank Sprow — 1906-09. 
 
 The first settlers who appeared in Lykens 
 selected land in the western and northwestern 
 portions, as the land in that part seemed to 
 promise a speedier and more abundant return 
 for the labor of cultivation; the eastern and 
 southern portions were not settled until five 
 or six years later. The soil of the township 
 is chiefly alluvial, there being but little sur- 
 face clay or sand. In early years the land in 
 most parts of the township was very wet, 
 owing to lack of drainage, and probably also 
 to the abundance of timber, which, as shown 
 by observation, exercises a potent influence 
 in inducing rain. The disappearance of the 
 timber in large measure, and the systematic 
 drainage operations, have changed this condi- 
 tion of things, and the wet and mirey lands 
 bordering on the swampy character, are no 
 longer in evidence. The soil is rich and pe- 
 culiarly adapted to the cultivation of com, 
 large crops of which can be raised year after 
 year on the same piece of land, without any 
 appreciable decrease in the quantity or deteri- 
 oration in the quality of the product. This 
 is especially true in the eastern and south- 
 eastern parts, where the deep black soil pre- 
 dominates; the western part being better 
 adapted to wheat and kindred grains, owing 
 to the larger proportion of sand and clay 
 which the soil there contains. 
 
 The township is drained in the central and 
 western portions by Sycamore creek and its 
 numerous' Ismail branches, jthe 'principal of 
 which, known as Little Syciamore creek, rises 
 in the flat land near the southeastern corner, 
 and flows northwest until it unites with the 
 main stream in section 20. Along the course 
 of Sycamore creek there is found an abund- 
 ance of corniferous limestone, especially in 
 section 16, where the stone is covered with 
 a layer of earth of from six inches to eight 
 feet in thickness. The stone is blue, and 
 though less pure than that obtained at the 
 
 large quarries in Holmes and Tod townships, 
 it is very durable and suitable for building 
 purposes. 
 
 It is not known who was the first settler in 
 Lykens township. At an early day — probably 
 about 1825 — settlers of English descent came 
 into Lykens from Seneca county, where they 
 had been disappointed in finding the most 
 valuable lands already taken up, but it is not 
 likely that all of these remained in the town- 
 ship permanently. About 1830 pioneers en- 
 tered the southern part of the township and 
 two years later the settlement of this portion 
 was increased by a large influx of German set- 
 tlers, who arrived in a body directly from Ger- 
 many. Many of these had entered land at 
 the land offices without having first inspected 
 it, and when they arrived they found their 
 farms almost entirely under water. Not being 
 a people easily discouraged, however, they 
 went to work with energy to improve condi- 
 tions, paying their first attention to the drain- 
 age of their lands, after which they began their 
 clearings, established farms, and in time were 
 abundantly rewarded by an ample prosperity. 
 
 Among those who came to the township in 
 the early days were Christopher Keggy in 1825 ; 
 Jacob Miller in 1826; Jacob Foy and Gottleib 
 Hoss in 1827; Robert Mays, John Elliott, Levi 
 Gifford, Jacob Lintner, Michael Shupp and 
 Joseph Trask in 1828; James Ferguson, Joseph 
 Hall, Benjamin Huddle, Samuel Hall, Samuel 
 Spittler, and Daniel Pratt in 1829; John and 
 Solomon Babcock, Robert Knott, Joseph Much- 
 ler, Seth and Benjamin Parker and Lewis 
 Warren in 1830. 
 
 Christopher Keggy came from Fairfield 
 county, and first located in Seneca, coming over 
 to Lykens township about 1825. He had 
 hunted all over the section before he located 
 in the township. His life was that of a hunter 
 and woodsman, and he made his living from 
 the sale of furs and game. Later what little 
 land he had cleared he sold out to Reuben 
 Keran, and left the county. Jacob Miller was 
 also a hunter, and did little at clearing land or 
 farming. Joseph Trask came from Seneca 
 county, but after clearing a few acres, re- 
 mained only three years when he returned to 
 Seneca county. 
 
 Jacob Foy was the first real settler in the 
 township; he came to stay, cleared his land 
 
292 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 raised his crops, and became one of the influ- 
 ential men in the early days of the township. 
 
 Michael Shupp arrived at Bucyrus with his 
 family, May 26, 1828. He entered 80 acres 
 in Lykens township, which he developed and 
 sold, purchasing 160 acres. His son Michael 
 was 18 years of age when he came with his 
 parents to this county. He commenced life 
 for himself in 183 1. He worked one year for 
 others, earning $100, then entered 80 acres of 
 land, which he improved and sold, like his 
 father purchasing 160 more. This latter he 
 cleared and kept and added to as the years 
 went by. On March 4, 1834, he married 
 Susannah Miller. Michael Shupp, Sr., died in 
 1836, and his little daughter, Mary Ann 
 Shupp made her home with her brother, 
 Michael, until Dec. 20, 1847, when she mar- 
 ried Frederick Smith, who came to the town- 
 ship in 1840. Mr. Smith was a stone mason, 
 who had contracts for bridges on the National 
 Pike, and had saved several hundred dollars, 
 and with this, in 1840, he bought a quarter 
 section of land in Lykens. He and his de- 
 scendants were prominent in the affairs of 
 Lykens township and the county. 
 
 Joseph Hall and wife, with their son, Sam- 
 uel, came to Lykens in Deccember, 1829, set- 
 tling on a quarter section of land in the north- 
 ern part of the township. Later Samuel se- 
 cured a farm in the center of the township, 
 which was in after years the William Tippin 
 farm. The land at the time was partly cleared. 
 Here he lived for many years, but in 1866 
 removed to the farm, where he died, Aug. 25, 
 1863, and was buried in St. John Reform 
 graveyard, three miles northwest of Lykens. 
 May 4, 1843 he married Elizabeth Telford, 
 who in 1835, came with her parents from 
 Washington county, N. Y., making the trip in 
 three weeks and four days in a wagon drawn 
 by two yoke of oxen. 
 
 James Ferguson, who came to the township 
 in 1829, was probably a brother of Thomas 
 Ferguson, who settled in Sandusky township in 
 1 81 7. James entered his land in the western 
 part of Lykens township along the Sycamore 
 creek, and although he was a skillful hunter, 
 he cleared some land as well and devoted much 
 of his time to farming. He was an expert in 
 woodcraft, and during the war of 1812 was 
 the bearer of important dispatches from one 
 
 commander to another, and it was while en- 
 gaged in this work he first passed through 
 Crawford county and was so pleased with 
 this section that later he located in Sandusky 
 township. He stated later in life that on one 
 occasion he was the bearer of dispatches from 
 the headquarters at Columbus, to a point in 
 northwestern Ohio, when he was followed by 
 the Indians for two days before he finally 
 succeeded in eluding them. After remaining 
 in Lykens a few years he removed to the west. 
 
 Following these first settlers were Adam 
 Braden, Gottfried Brause, Daniel Coon, Nel- 
 son Holt and David Hill in 183 1; Ira Cory, 
 Barnaby Harper, and Solomon Seery in 1832; 
 David Albaugh in 1833; John Aupt, Nathan 
 Coran, Joseph Dellinger, Lucas and Adam 
 Shook, William Swalley, Samuel and Timothy 
 Parks, John Shoulter, Eli Winter, Milton Wal- 
 ler and Frederick G. Hesche in 1834; John 
 Apple, Ira G. Allen, Anson Brown, Otto 
 Fieldner, Conrad Hass, August Jacobs, Reuben 
 Keran, Joseph Kennedy, Jacob Oberlander, and 
 Jonas Yingling in 1835; William Burgett, and 
 Moses and Aaron Pugh in 1836. 
 
 Gottfried Brause and wife came to the town- 
 ship Sept. II, 1 83 1, being accompanied by 
 their son Rudolph, then aged five years. The 
 latter subsequently married a daughter of 
 George and Catherine Klink, who came to 
 Crawford county about 1829. 
 
 William Swalley, born Nov. 20, 1810, was a 
 son of John Swalley, a weaver, who came to 
 Ohio in 181 7, settling fifteen miles south of 
 Zanesville. The father died and the family 
 then returned to Pennsylvania, their home 
 state. Later his sons, William and John, came 
 to Lykens township and in 1834 the mother 
 arrived with her two daughters, and they all 
 made their home in Lykens township. William 
 was married Dec. 8, 1833 to Catherine Won- 
 setler. 
 
 Jonas Yingling was married in Portage 
 county to Mary Thomas, and the bride and 
 groom came immediately to Crawford county 
 to make their home. He entered 80 acres of 
 land in Lykens township. He was a mason by 
 trade, and worked on the Baltimore and Ohio 
 road when it was building, securing cash which 
 he invested in land. Besides clearing his land 
 in Lykens township and raising his crops, he 
 worked at his trade, and during his life owned 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 293 
 
 several farms. Soon after settling in the town- 
 ship death visited their little cabin and they 
 were called upon to mourn the loss of their 
 first child, John Yingling, who died Aug. 3, 
 1S36, and was buried in the Lutheran Grave- 
 yard south of Chatfield, the oldest burial stone 
 now readable in that graveyard. 
 
 George Rhoad came to Crawford county in 
 the early thirties, and lived in Lykens town- 
 ship for tw'o years. He then moved with his 
 family to Seneca county, where they helped to 
 clear the land, on the site of the present town 
 of Republic. 
 
 Christopher Perky, a veteran of the War of 
 1812, came to Ohio in 1819, settling in Seneca 
 county in 1827, his son David taking a farm 
 in Lykens township. The latter married Mary 
 Seitz, and four of their sons entered the army 
 during the civil war, three of them losing their 
 lives in the service. 
 
 Solomon Seery, one of the pioneers of Ly- 
 kens, came to Crawford county from Ross 
 county in 1832, with his two eldest sons, and 
 entered three 80-acre tracts. He then re- 
 turned to Ross county, where he remained dur- 
 ing the winter. Coming back in the spring of 
 1833, he built a cabin and planted a small crop 
 of corn, and then, leaving his eldest son and 
 daughter to keep house, he went back to Ross, 
 harvested his crop there and brought his en- 
 tire family to Crawford, arriving with then 
 Sept. I, 1833. Soon after settling in the town- 
 ship death invaded their home, and the Seery 
 graveyard was started on the Seery farm two 
 miles east of Benton, the first burial being John 
 Seery, who died Nov. 11, 1835. 
 
 Eli Winters was born February, 1802, in 
 Jefferson county, entered land in Lykens in 
 1833, moving on to it in 1834. With the aid 
 of his sons he developed the land, his chief 
 helper being his son, Eli, Jr. In order to in- 
 crease the family income Mr. Winters estab- 
 lished a night school at his home, and here 
 the children learned to read and write, the 
 son Eli teaching his younger brothers and sis- 
 ters. The latter became an enterprising and 
 prominent citizen. At a comparatively early 
 age he ran a threshing machine, had a half in- 
 rerest in a saw-mill at Bui jo (Lykens), and 
 also started a store. He was elected justice 
 of the peace in i8t;8 and held the office up to 
 1880, except for a few years during the war. 
 
 In 1 85 1 he married Eliza Howenstein, a 
 daughter of Peter Howenstein, one of the Ly- 
 kens pioneers. 
 
 Milton Waller came to Lykens township in 
 1834, making his home on 80 acres of land 
 which he had entered the year previous. This 
 took all his capital, and he secured a further 
 40 acres by working by the day for others, and 
 being a cooper by trade during bad weather 
 and in the evenings he made buckets and tubs 
 for the neighbors, thus giving hiin needed cash. 
 Two little sons came with him to the county, 
 Lysender aged seven and Stephen aged three. 
 These boys as they grew older helped in the 
 clearing and developing of the farm. Both 
 r,ons took an active hand in the affairs of the 
 township and county, Lysander Waller being 
 one of the County Commissioners for two 
 terms. On Dec. 25, 1853, Stephen Waller 
 married Martha McKinley, a daughter of 
 James McKinley, and the aunt of the late 
 President McKinley. 
 
 August Jacobs was a native of Saxony, Ger- 
 many. He learned the carpenter's trade in 
 his native land, where also he married Rachel 
 Bair, and later started for America, landing 
 in New York with only 25 cents in cash and 
 owing $11. With his bride he came west, 
 found work on the National pike, and later 
 made his way to Crawford county, where he 
 bought land, which was then entirely covered 
 by the forest, and was mostly swamp land. 
 He cleared his land slowly by working in the 
 evenings, following his trade during the day, 
 doing carpenter work for the neighbors. He 
 finally sold his land and bought a larger tract, 
 also covered with timber, which he cleared. 
 
 David Wickham, served in the War of 181 2. 
 The family came to Crawford county in 1837 
 and secured a partly developed farm in Texas 
 township. His son Willard, having previously 
 taught school for a few terms, in 1840 pur- 
 chased a tract of land covered by the forest, in 
 Lykens township which he cleared and devel- 
 oped into a good farm. He was subsequently 
 appointed by Gov. Pierce as Indian agent to 
 the Winnebagoes at Long Prairie, Minn., and 
 after several years ser^^ice returned to his 
 home in Lykens where he lived until his death 
 in 1899. 
 
 Henry Geiger was born in Germany, and 
 when fifteen years of age, came with his par- 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ents to America, settling in Stark county. He 
 married there, and in the '30s came to this 
 section where he entered 80 acres in Seneca 
 county, later having land in Lykens township. 
 They walked the entire distance from Stark 
 county, and his entire possessions were his 
 wife, an axe, 50 pounds of flour which he had 
 carried the entire distance on his back, and $1 
 in cash. Of course he succeeded, and when 
 each of his seven children started in life for 
 themselves they were all assisted by him. 
 
 Eli Adams came to Crawford county in 
 1825, settling on 80 acres of land in Texas 
 township. His son Ephraim married Mary 
 Andrews, daughter of another pioneer, and 
 built his cabin in the woods in Lykens town- 
 ship. 
 
 John and Frederica Solze came to Lykens 
 township in 1841 with six children. Even as 
 late as this date, they walked from Attica to 
 Lykens township and losing their way were 
 compelled to pass the night in the woods under 
 a large tree. The next day they reached 
 friends, who accorded them a hearty welcome. 
 They started with 40 acres on which a small 
 improvement had been made. 
 
 We of today, living in the towns or in the 
 open country, where the timber has been 
 largely cleared away, save for small patches 
 here and there, can have little conception of 
 the difficulty experienced by the pioneer set- 
 tler in finding his way through the trackless 
 and almost illimitable forest. Even the ship- 
 wrecked mariner, without a compass, in the 
 midst of the vast ocean, can direct his course 
 usually by means of the heavenly bodies; but 
 the early settler, lost in an almost equally vast 
 expanse of forest, had not even this advantage, 
 for the trees, with their towering trunks and 
 spreading branches, decked with a super- 
 abundant foliage, shut out for the most .part 
 any view of the sun, moon or stars, and even 
 in the middle of the day maintained beneath 
 their branches a sort of half light or semi- 
 gloom, while at night the darkness was im- 
 penetrable. The routes from settlement to 
 settlement, or even from one neighbor's house 
 to another, when the woods lay between, were 
 marked by blazed trees, but it sometimes hap- 
 pened that a settler, in going to visit a neigh- 
 bor at evening time, forgot to take a lantern 
 with him, or perhaps thought he could find his 
 
 way without it, and missing the path, was 
 obliged to spend the night in the woods, having 
 for his lullaby — if he were phlegmatic enough 
 to try to go to sleep — the howling of the 
 wolves, the moaning of the wind in the tree- 
 tops, and the hoarse croaking of myriads of 
 frogs in some neighboring swamp or marsh. 
 The Park brothers one evening started to go 
 to the cabin of Eli Winters about a mile and 
 a half away, but failing to take a light, were 
 caught by the darkness, and after groping for 
 hours in the woods, and falling waist-deep into 
 numerous swamps and bogs, passed the re- 
 mainder of the night on a large log that lay 
 half out of the water. In the morning they 
 found an easy path from the swamp and 
 reached Mr. Winter's home thoroughly pros- 
 trated from their experience. 
 
 On another occasion the wife of James Fer- 
 guson, accompanied by her ten year old son, 
 started to bring home the cows. She had some 
 trouble in getting the animals together, and 
 in running about through the trees, trying to 
 head them towards the house, she became be- 
 wildered and lost her sense of direction. Had 
 she left the cows alone and followed them she 
 would probably have reached home all right, 
 for they soon began to go all in one direction, 
 being really headed toward the homestead. 
 Thinking she knew more about the matter 
 than they did, however, she finally left them 
 and set out with her son to find her way home 
 alone. This she failed to do, and not knowing 
 which way to go, and with night closing in 
 about her, she lay down with her boy by the 
 side of a large log, where she thought they 
 might be safe from the notice of the wolves, 
 whose howls they heard throughout the night. 
 The next day she resumed her wanderings, 
 calling out at intervals to attract the notice of 
 some settler, but night again came without 
 rescue and all day the mother and child had 
 eaten nothing but a few berries. It was not 
 until the middle of the next afternoon, after 
 passing two nights and almost two days in the 
 woods, that she heard the sound of a rifle and 
 in a few minutes saw a neighbor walking to- 
 ward her. He was one of a party searching 
 for her, and was furnished with food, which 
 the half famished mother and child eagerly 
 devoured. She was about three miles from 
 home and had been walking in a circle, coming 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 295 
 
 once or twice within a quarter of a mile of her 
 cabin. 
 
 For some time previous to the Civil War 
 Lykens township was often traversed by run- 
 away slaves on their way to Canada. They 
 always passed through at night, traveling north 
 along the Tiffin road, during the day time ly- 
 ing hid in the dwelling of some abolitionist set- 
 tler, some distance off the main track, and re- 
 suming theif journey towards dark. Several 
 citizens in the township were known to be en- 
 gaged in this work, but no special objection 
 was ever made to it. 
 
 Grist and saw-mills are among the first in- 
 dustrial necessities in a new country, such as 
 the Ohio frontier was in early days. The set- 
 tlers in Lykens for many years went to Sen- 
 eca County for their flour and lumber, mills 
 having been established there many years pre- 
 vious to the settlement of this township, and 
 that locality being easier of access than Bu- 
 cyrus. John Moore remembers when they 
 ground buckwheat through their coffee mill 
 for a family of 9 children. The early grist- 
 mills were crude affairs and were sometimes 
 known as "corn-crackers," for they were cap- 
 able only of manufacturing a coarse kind of 
 meal. Otto Fieldner erected one such, about 
 1836, about a mile south of the village of Ly- 
 kens, which was furnished with one set of 
 "nigger-head" stones, and which continued in 
 operation for about eight years. In connection 
 therewith he also operated one of the best of 
 the early saw-mills, which, however, ran only 
 about four months in the year, not being pro- 
 vided with sufficient water-power, owing to the 
 small size and slow current of the stream on 
 which it was located. He finally provided it 
 with machinery to be worked by horses, after 
 which it was continued in fairly steady opera- 
 tion. 
 
 A steam saw-mill was built and operated in 
 the northwest corner of the township by Joseph 
 Stammitz, as early as 1844, and was largely 
 patronized. It continued in operation for ten 
 or fifteen years, after which it was abandoned. 
 It was run for some time by Eli Winters, Jr., 
 a skillful sawyer, who was connected with 
 several of the early mills. 
 
 A combined saw and grist-mill was built 
 about 1834 by Jacob Foy, who was also an ex- 
 perienced and able sawyer. This was one of 
 
 the largest and best mills in early days. It 
 was a large two-story frame structure, and 
 was erected at the junction of the Big and 
 Little Sycamore creeks. This mill had ample 
 water-power and ground excellent flour and 
 meal. Inch lumber from any wood was fur- 
 nished for about 40 cents by the hundred, or 
 a share was taken, varying from one-third to 
 two-thirds. Numerous buildings, some of 
 which are still standing were constructed from 
 lumber furnished by the Foy saw-mill. After 
 operating the mill for fifteen or twenty years, 
 Mr. Foy sold the property to Moses Wood- 
 sides, who improved the mill and increased the 
 output by substituting steam for water as the 
 motive power. After running many years the' 
 mill was finally abandoned. A man named 
 Patrick built and operated a saw-mill on Syca- 
 more creek about 1865 ; another was built and 
 operated for many years by a Mr. Blanchard. 
 
 Francis Slee, a carpenter, built many of the 
 early frame houses, and also manufactured 
 chairs, looms, spinning-wheels and other use- 
 ful articles. Milton Waller, previously men- 
 tioned as a cooper by trade, had a small shop 
 at his house, where he made tubs, kegs and bar- 
 rels, finding a ready sale for them. He was a 
 prominent man and his sons grew up to be in- 
 telligent and enterprising citizens, among the 
 best in the township. It has been said by some 
 that Ira Cory was the first blacksmith in the 
 township. He erected a small shop about a 
 mile or so south of the village of Lykens. 
 Others, however, claim that Nathan Coran was 
 the first blacksmith. He built his shop as early 
 as 1834 and worked at his trade for many 
 years. William Jackson carried on a small 
 business in tanning skins, beginning about 1840. 
 Another industry that was also undertaken in 
 Lykens township, between 1840 and 1850, was 
 the rearing of silkworms and the manufacture 
 of silk goods. A man named Blanchard tried 
 the experiment. The chief adviser in this en- 
 terprise was Mrs. Breston, of Chatfield town- 
 ship, through whose influence others in Lykens 
 township were induced to engage in the same 
 pursuit. It failed, however, chiefly because it 
 was found difficult or impossible to procure 
 the necessary supply of mulberry leaves, which 
 constitute the caterpillar's only food. 
 
 In 1830 Otto Fieldner built a primitive grist 
 and saw-mill on the banks of a small branch of 
 
296 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Sycamore creek, near where the station now 
 known as Lykens on the Northern Ohio rail- 
 road is located. The next year Ira Cory 
 started a blacksmith shop across the road from 
 him, and a few years later James Drake built an 
 ashery just north of them on the Sycamore 
 near the crossing of the road from Bucyrus to 
 Bloomville and the road from Sycamore to 
 Plymouth. Several other industries were 
 started near the cross roads, and stores were 
 located there and a post office established 
 under the name of Lykens Centre. At a very 
 early day a saloon \^•as opened and became a 
 carousing point for the more bibulously in- 
 clined in that section. One of the bar room 
 stories current at that time contained a fre- 
 quaint repetition of the expression "Having a 
 high old time in Buljo," and this gave the nick- 
 name of Buljo to the place. It was also known 
 as "Santa Fe" and "Buzzard's Glory." The 
 town was regularly laid out by J. F. Feighner 
 in October, 1870, by H. W. McDonald, the 
 county surveyor. While several names have 
 been given it, its correct name has always been 
 Lykens. 
 
 The first house was built in the town by a 
 man named Swetland, who also opened the 
 first store; the latter was a very small affair, 
 however, as his entire stock of groceries and 
 dry goods was only valued at $200. A better 
 store was opened by Anson Brown, in 1840, 
 Air. Brown starting with a general assortment 
 worth about $600. His store was burned in 
 1847, but he rebuilt and increased his business 
 and stock, until in time the latter was worth 
 nearly $8,000. He finally sold out to other 
 parties. Byron Brown (no relation of Anson) 
 started a store about 1848, with a stock, chiefly 
 of groceries, worth about $1,000, and con- 
 tinued the business for about seven years. 
 
 After the Browns George Jackson carried on 
 a small store for about five years. Samuel 
 Martin started a general store about 1856, but 
 having continued it with indiiiferent success for 
 six or eight years, he discontinued it. James 
 Drake built an ashery as early as 1845. which 
 was located on Sycamore creek, near the south- 
 ern limits of the town and here he manufact- 
 ured as much as fifteen tons of potash per an- 
 num, for a number of years. He finally sold 
 it to Anson Drake, who continued it on an 
 even more extensive scale. Another ashery 
 
 was built by Jacob Hodge on the bank of Ihe 
 creek and carried on for about six years. 
 
 There was a tannery in Lykens as early as 
 1846. It was built by Jerry Jolly, who carried 
 on the business for about ten years, doing good 
 work, and then sold out to Ephraim Adams, 
 who continued it for five years, when it was 
 abandoned. A man named Cummins had a 
 blacksmith shop in the village as early as 1838 
 and was followed in the same line of business 
 by a Mr. Madison. In 1847 ^ saw-mill was 
 erected on Sycamore creek, in the village, by 
 Peter Howenstein. He did good work and 
 continued the business for about fifteen years, 
 when he sold out. The mill was owned for a 
 while by Eli Winters. The first resident physi- 
 cian in Lykens was Dr. James Dodge, who re- 
 mained, however, only five or six years. Aftei 
 him Dr. Harmon practiced for a few years 
 and then removed; Dr. Ritchie came in 1856, 
 but died at the end of four years. 
 
 Previous to the establishment of the post 
 office in 1844, the mail was brought from Mel- 
 more, in Seneca county^ and later, from Por- 
 tersville. W'illiam Hank carried it once a week 
 for many years until finally a post office was 
 established at Lykens on March 18, 1844, with 
 J. T. Drake as postmaster. He was succeeded 
 by Anson Brown, Jan. 6, 1846; Jeremiah Jol- 
 ley, Sept. i, 1852; James Winters, June 3, 
 1854; Eli Winters, July 2, 1856; G. B. Van- 
 fleet, Oct. 23, 1856; Ephraim Adams, No\. 
 13, 1856; J. M. Richey, July 11, 1861 ; John ^ 
 H. Barron, Feb. 4, 1867; William Kohl, July 
 13, 1871; James T. Carbin, Aug. 12, 1889; 
 Jacob Brown, Aug. 8, 1893; Gust V. Harer, 
 June 6, 1894; James T. Carbin, May 6, 1898; 
 H. B. Tippin, June 13, 1900; M. L. Aurand, 
 Feb. 26, 1909; C. A. Michner, Jan. 28, 19 10. 
 
 In 1837 Sidney Holt was one of the prom- 
 inent men in Lykens township, and he de- 
 cided he would like to have a post office for 
 the convenience of himself and his neighbors. 
 Congressman Hunter of Huron county who 
 then represented this district, was a personal 
 friend of Holt's and the office was easily se- 
 cured, and was named Holt's comers, Sidney 
 Holt being appointed the postmaster on July 
 ID, 1837. The office was established in Holt's 
 residence, but Air. Holt soon tired of the re- 
 sponsibilities of office, he could secure no 
 neighbor willing to undertake the job, and after 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 297 
 
 running it for a little over a month it was dis- 
 continued on Aug. i8, 1837. 
 
 What is thought to have been the first school- 
 house in the township was built about two 
 miles west of the village of Lykens, near the 
 farm of Eli Winters, in 1834, the people gen- 
 erally uniting in its erection. Isabel Hall was 
 the first to teach school in this building. This 
 school was supported by subscription and the 
 attendance was large enough to make the teach- 
 er's remuneration come to about $10 a month. 
 Other early teachers in this school were a man 
 named Andrews and Miss Lucinda Warren. 
 After being in use many years this building 
 was subsequently replaced by a better one at 
 a cost of $500. The Ransom Schoolhouse, a 
 log building, was built in 1836. In a few years 
 it was replaced by a small frame building, and 
 this in turn by the building known as the 
 "Frog-pond Schoolhouse." In 1840 a school- 
 house was erected about a mile north of Ly- 
 kens village. The village itself had no school 
 building until 1851, the village children at- 
 tending the one about a quarter of a mile 
 north of town, which had been erected many 
 years before. Section 29 had a log school 
 building as early as 1838; in 1854 it was re- 
 placed by a frame building, and the latter was 
 used until 1880, when a large brick school- 
 house was built at a cost of $1,600, which is 
 still in use. In the southeast corner of the 
 township a cabin for school purposes was 
 erected in 1840 and has since been replaced by 
 two or more others. Spelling schools and 
 singing schools were among the educational 
 diversions of early days. David Spittler taught 
 one of the latter during the winter months for 
 many years. Many amusing incidents are 
 doubtless stored away in the minds of the few 
 survivors who attended these schools, and 
 could they all be gathered together and pub- 
 lished would make interesting reading for the 
 present generation. 
 
 The pioneers settlers in Lykens attended 
 church in Seneca county, but after the popula- 
 tion of the township had been increased in 
 1832 by a large German immigration, it was 
 deemed advisable to erect churches nearer 
 home. The Free Will Baptists in that year 
 began holding meetings in the cabins of the 
 settlers. Among their earliest ministers were 
 Seth and Benjamin Parker, Rev. James Ash- 
 
 ley and Comfort Waller. The families of 
 Comfort Waller, David Hill, William Swalley 
 and Lewis Warren were among the first active 
 members of the organization. In 1842 this 
 society erected a church on the farm of Com- 
 fort Waller. This church, which was the first 
 in the township, was a low frame building, with 
 clapboard seats fastened to poles laid length- 
 wise of the house. The pulpit was of planed 
 poplar lumber, and the building was furnished 
 with a large fire-place. It was used for many 
 years and was then superseded by a new build- 
 ing, which was erected at a cost of $1,200. 
 
 Among the early Presbyterians in Lykens 
 township was Solomon Seery, at whose home 
 meetings were held about 1834, as well as in 
 the cabins of others of that faith. A society 
 was gradually formed, which was visited for 
 a number of years, at regular intervals, by 
 Rev. Mr. Tracy, a circuit rider, who traveled 
 over several counties. After the society had 
 continued on this basis for a number of years, 
 receiving gradual accessions, a church was 
 built at Seery Corners, which has since been 
 known as the Seery church. It was a small 
 frame building, with seats and pulpit of rough 
 poplar lumber, and without paint or varnish. 
 It was superseded by a new building in 1870. 
 This society was built up and placed on a finn 
 footing, both with respect to finance and mem- 
 bership bv Rev. Mr. Lillibridge, a well known 
 and particularly effective preacher of those 
 days, who labored with the congregation for 
 many years. 
 
 In 1850 the German Lutherans and the mem- 
 bers of the German Reformed church organ- 
 ized a society in the northwestern part, their 
 first meetings being held in a schoolhouse and 
 later in a barn belonging to John Klaes. The 
 barn being destroyed by lightning, the meet- 
 ings were transferred to Mr. Klaes' house, 
 and were there continued until the summer of 
 1852, when a small brick church was erected. 
 The first minister was Rev. John Bentz, his 
 immediate successors being Rev. William 
 Veiler, Rev. Elias Keller and Rev. John Win- 
 ter. During Mr. Winter's pastorate, in 1859, 
 the congregation divided, a separate church 
 being erected by the Reformers in close prox- 
 imity to the old one. Two years later the old 
 church was abandoned by the Lutherans. The 
 Reformed congregation has had a steady 
 
298 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 growth and is one of the strongest church or- 
 ganizations in the township. A burial ground 
 was here long before the establishment of the 
 church as in the graveyard is the first recorded 
 burial in the township that of Samuel Huddle, 
 little son of Benjamin Huddle, who died June 
 27, 1832. 
 
 The Lutherans residing in the southern part 
 of Lykens, for many years attended a church 
 of that denomination which was erected at an 
 early day in the northern part of Holmes town- 
 ship. 
 
 About 1890 the Pittsburg, Akron and West- 
 ern was extended from Gary through Lykens 
 township. It follows a half section line 
 through the township, and passes half a mile 
 south of the village of Lykens. A station was 
 erected, and a store was started at the station 
 
 with two or three industries, the most impor- 
 tant being the bending works and a grain ware- 
 house. An attempt was made to take the main 
 body of the town to the station but it never 
 materialized, and even the store was abandoned. 
 
 In 1872 a lodge of Odd Fellows was organ- 
 ized at Lykens with fifteen members. It more 
 than doubled in membership, and when the 
 railroad came the lodge room was moved to 
 the building at the station. This proved so in- 
 convenient for the members that the lodge 
 was finally discontinued. 
 
 The fine quarries west of the town were 
 wgrked for many years, 'and when the era of 
 pike building was commenced they again be- 
 came useful in the furnishing of the stone for 
 much of the road improvements in that section. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 POLK TOWNSHIP 
 
 Origin of Polk — Home of JVingemund — Military Road — Indian Population — Johnny Cake 
 and His Wife — Indian Burying-Ground — An Abducted Child — Drainage and Soil — 
 Organization of the Township — First Election — Early Settlers — The Cranberry Indus- 
 try — A Strange Recognition — Early Names of Galion — Rev. James Dunlap's Narra- 
 tive — Early Mills, Taverns and Distilleries — Churches and Schools — Cemeteries — Jus- 
 tices of the Peace. 
 
 Fresh from the fountains of the wood 
 
 A rivulet of the valley came. 
 And gUded on for many a rood, 
 
 Flushed with the morning's ruddy flame. 
 I looked; the widening vale betrayed 
 
 A pool that shone like burnished steel, 
 Where the bright valley stream was stayed 
 
 To turn the miller's ponderous wheel. 
 
 — John Howard Bryant. 
 
 Polk township which occupies a strip of ter- 
 ritory extending seven miles east and west, and 
 three miles north and south, in the southeast 
 corner of Crawford county, was at one time, 
 like Vernon and Jackson, a part of Sandusky 
 township, Richland county. The latter was 
 surveyed in 1807 by Maxfield Ludlow. It was 
 first erected as one of the western townships 
 of Richland county, and was 12 miles deep 
 and six wide. At this time the territory was 
 inhabited almost entirely by the Delaware and 
 Wyandot Indians, who yet lingered in their 
 ancient haunts, loath to retreat before the in- 
 vading hosts of the palefaces. Of the whites, 
 however, there were few before the year 181 7. 
 In this township was the home of Wingenund, 
 and here occurred the capture of Col. Craw- 
 ford. To the Indian mind the land was an ideal 
 abiding-place, and it was one of their favorite 
 hunting and fishing grounds. It was heavily 
 timbered with every variety of stately tree; 
 intersected by clear sparkling streams, having 
 their source in the purest springs, and abounded 
 with game of various kinds. But the wave of 
 civilization kept rolling steadily westward. In 
 1812 the soldiers cut a road through the town- 
 
 IT 
 
 ship, which passed north of the Olentangy, near 
 the present site of Galion. In the southern 
 part- another road had been cut by the Penn- 
 sylvania militia, and when the settlers began 
 arriving half a dozen years later these high- 
 ways of progress rapidly multiplied; over them 
 came rumbling in ever increasing numbers the 
 ox-drawn wagons of the pioneers, and the 
 Red Man knew that the hour of his departure 
 was at hand. He had fought his fight and lost. 
 With sad heart he turned his back on the land 
 of his fathers, and with his face to the setting 
 sun, set out with reluctant steps to the more 
 distant wilderness of the possession of which 
 his rapacious white brother was not yet ready 
 to deprive him. 
 
 Some of these Indians had adopted Eng- 
 lish family names. Among them were the 
 Walkers, Williamses, Armstrongs, Dowdys, 
 etc. One of them, well known among the 
 earliest settlers, rejoiced in the appelation of 
 Solomon Johnny Cake. He was a fine looking, 
 good natured and friendly hunter of superb 
 physical proportions and had for a wife a 
 woman who was three-fourths white. Her 
 mother was a Castleman, and had been captured 
 in eastern Ohio by the Indians after the Revo- 
 lution and adopted into an Indian family living 
 on the Sandusky. She married Abraham Wil- 
 liams, a half-breed Indian, and the fruit of this 
 union was a beautiful daughter named Sally, 
 who became the wife of Johnny Cake. Sally 
 and his children frequently accompanied him on 
 
 299 
 
300 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 his hunting excursions. He usually constructed* 
 a neat bark wigwam to protect his squaw and 
 children from the storms and exposure of the 
 forest, while he ranged the woods in search of 
 game. He sometimes exchanged venison for 
 side pork with the pioneers, and frequently 
 met parties who had a curiosity to see Sallie, 
 and the children. Sally was regarded as a very 
 apt housekeeper, and preferred as far as pos- 
 sible to imitate the whites. 
 
 Johnny Cake was a prominent man in his 
 tribe, renowned for council and courage, and 
 in 1823 had accompanied an exploring expedi- 
 tion to the Far West, beyond the Mississippi. 
 He and his wife accompanied the Wyandots 
 when they removed from their reservation in 
 this county in 1843. Three of his grandsons 
 served in the War of the Rebellion, enlisting at 
 Wyandot, Kan. He was very friendly with 
 the white men, whose superiority he seemed to 
 recognize, though grieving for the approaching 
 doom of his race. 
 
 On the north banks of the Olentangy, just 
 west of Union street was an Indian burying 
 ground, which was used by the Red men until 
 their departure from this vicinity. After they 
 were gone some young men opened the graves 
 with the hope of finding treasure, but found 
 nothing to repay them for their trouble. The 
 field was subsequently cultivated and the graves 
 plowed level and it is now covered with resi- 
 dences. Sometimes strange Indians from the 
 lake region visited the settlements. Previous 
 to 1820, when there were not more than twenty- 
 five settlers in the township, a party of this 
 kind made their appearance. Several of these 
 went to the home of Benjamin Sharrock and 
 tried to negotiate for the purchase of a young 
 girl, whom they wanted to adopt into their 
 tribe. Of course Mr. Sharrock declined to be 
 a party to any such arrangement. A few days 
 later the Indians went away and about the 
 same time a little girl about four years old, 
 the child of a settler named John Dunmeyer, 
 who lived about a mile southwest of the pres- 
 ent site of Gabon, was found to be missing. 
 She had been with her mother in the woods, the 
 latter being engaged in boiling sugar water, 
 and, thinking it time for her to be in the house, 
 the mother had taken her little daughter to the 
 fence, lifted her over it and told her to go 
 into the cabin. When she returned the child 
 
 was gone. The frantic mother gave the alarm ; 
 a party was formed who searched the woods for 
 three days and nights, and finally dragged the 
 creek, but the child was never found. It. was 
 supposed that she had been abducted by the 
 Indians and taken to Canada, but her fate for- 
 ever remained a mystery. The fact that such 
 crimes, and worse if worse could be, were not 
 unfrequently committed by the Indians, miti- 
 gates' to a large extent the feelings of pity and 
 compunction that one might otherwise enter- 
 tain foj the fate of the Red Man in being 
 driven "from his ancient hunting grounds and 
 reduced to a few miserable tribal remnants lo- 
 cated in far western states under the ever- 
 watchful eye of the Government. Though they 
 were in many cases, undoubtedly deprived of 
 their lands by trickery or force, and had just 
 cause for complaint against the whites, it must 
 be remembered that there is scarcely a square 
 yard of land in any civilized country the title 
 to which has not, at some time or other, been 
 derived in the same manner, namely, by the 
 right of the strongest. The Indians held their 
 lands by the same title, having in the first place 
 driven out or exterminated that mysterious race 
 who held the land before them, and who them- 
 selves may have obtained their title in a similar 
 manner; and after the Indians had gained 
 possession of the continent they fought among 
 themselves for territory and deprived each 
 other of their possessions without compunc- 
 tion. That they, themselves, should have been 
 finally ousted by the palefaces may after all 
 have been only a sort of retributive justice. 
 "To the victor belong the spoils" has been the 
 motto of every conqueror since the world began 
 and, though it may not be in accord with the 
 precepts of Christianity, it has had much to 
 do with promoting the cause of civilization and 
 making the world what it is today, and de- 
 monstrate the undeniable fact of "the survival 
 of the fittest." 
 
 Indians traveled this section in early days in 
 large numbers. It was on their route from 
 the cranberry marshes, and loaded down with 
 these berries they passed through to Mansfield, 
 where they disposed of them. Again, bands 
 of them went through with their skins and 
 furs, and bark baskets made by the squaws 
 which found a ready sale at Mansfield, and in 
 the sugar seasons two of the baskets were 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 301 
 
 strapped together, placed across their horses, 
 and each basket containing about fifty pounds 
 of maple sugar was conveyed to the market, 
 where they exchanged it for the supplies they 
 needed. The Wyandots made Mansfield their 
 principal market until about 1835, when their 
 trading was removed to Bucyrus and Marion. 
 
 They always traveled through the woods 
 single file, and when settlers or hunters met a 
 band of half a dozen or more, only one of the 
 Indians would do any talking, and it was al- 
 most an impossibility to induce any one except 
 the spokesman to say a word in English. 
 Neither would they talk English except 
 when necessary.' One day Tommy Vanhorn, a 
 Marion county hunter, who was returning 
 home from a day in the woods, met one of these 
 Indians who could not understand a word of 
 English, and they were both compelled to talk 
 in pantomime, to express their ideas. Vanhorn 
 had taken one or more drinks during his day's 
 hunting and in the course of his sign language 
 conversation with the Indian, happened to get 
 on the windward side of him, and the Indian's 
 nose being in better working order than his 
 tongue, he caught the fragrance of the hunt- 
 er's breath. He promptly straightened up, 
 took an interest in matters, and looking Van- 
 horn squarely in the face, inquired in the best 
 of English — "Where you get whisky?" 
 
 Polk township lies upon the very summit of 
 the crest or ridge which separates the valley 
 of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence river 
 from that of the Ohio. Thus it happens that, 
 among the numerous springs which are found 
 v/ithin its borders, there are two, but a few 
 rods apart, the waters from one of which wend 
 their tortuous way down the northern slope to 
 Lake Erie, mingle with the foaming torrent 
 which plunges headlong to lower depths in the 
 stupendous cataract of Niagara, traverse the 
 length of Lake Ontario, pursue their winding 
 course among the beautiful "Thousand Is- 
 lands" of the St. Lawrence until they finally 
 rest in the bosom of the broad Atlantic. Those 
 of the other meander here and there, as if un- 
 certain which way to take, but gradually, in 
 obedience to Nature's law, assume a more 
 southerly course, unite with the waters of the 
 Ohio, then with those of the majestic "Father 
 of Waters," flow peacefully past the once shot- 
 battered heights of Vicksburg, and many an- 
 
 other spot famous in our country's history, past 
 the busy wharves and cotton-laden steamers of 
 the Queen City of the South, and through 
 gloomy lagoons overhung with the moss-cov- 
 ered branches of the cypress, until they emerge 
 into the warm and sunlit waters of the Gulf 
 of Mexico. 
 
 The land of Polk township, though high, is 
 generally level, having a natural tendency to 
 retain the water, on account of which, before 
 artificial drainage was resorted to, it had the 
 appearance of being wet and swampy. The 
 timber consisted mostly of oak, beech, maple, 
 elm, black walnut and ash. The soil, formed 
 chiefly in primitive times by vast glacial de- 
 posits of drift, sand and gravel, mixed with 
 iron and clay, is rich and admirably adapted to 
 cultivation. It is watered chiefly by the Olen- 
 tangy river, which meanders in a general 
 westerly direction through the whole length of 
 the township. All along its valley are out- 
 croppings of sandstone belonging to the Wa- 
 verly group, which were quarried in the early 
 days for building purposes and for years have 
 been one of the profitable industries of the 
 township. This river, which waters the bot- 
 tom lands of the whole township, had, in for- 
 mer days before the forests had been cleared 
 from its banks, a stream of greater volume 
 than at present and was far more picturesque. 
 In early days numerous mills were erected 
 upon its banks. The western part of the town- 
 ship is eminently adapted to grazing purposes, 
 on account of the variety and luxuriance of the 
 grasses. 
 
 Sandusky township was organized on July 
 12, 1 81 8, as a part of Richland county. The 
 territory it then contained was twelve miles 
 long by six wide, including within its limits 
 the present townships of Vernon, and Jackson 
 and a part of Jefferson and Polk. While a part 
 of Richland county, the northern half was 
 taken from it and called Vernon township, 
 thus reducing its territory to six miles square. 
 Changes were being constantly made in laoun- 
 dary lines of townships and counties and in 
 the creation of new townships, counties and 
 county seats throughout the state, and when 
 Wyandot county was erected on Feb. 3, 1845, 
 four tiers of sections were taken from the west 
 side of Sandusky township, Richland county, 
 and annexed to Crawford county. Then, to 
 
302 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the west side of this tier of four sections was 
 added what was known as the "three-mile 
 strip." On the south was added a strip one 
 mile wide from Marion county. From the 
 territory thus formed a strip of land three 
 miles north and south and seven miles east 
 and west was taken from the south side and 
 named Polk township, which, as still consti- 
 tuted, is bounded on the north by Jackson and 
 Jefferson townships, on the east by Richland 
 county, on the south by Morrow county, and 
 on the west by Whetstone township. 
 
 There was much dissatisfaction for a time 
 on the part of those farmers residing in that 
 part of Polk that had been taken from Richland 
 county. While citizens of Richland they had 
 been taxed to pay for the erection of its pub- 
 lic buildings, and now that, against their will, 
 they had become citizens of another and poorer 
 county the public buildings of which were 
 small, and which had not yet been paid for, 
 they objected to this additional taxation. After 
 considerable agitation of the subject, not un- 
 accompanied by threats of violence, they at 
 last sent Asa Hosford to the State capital as 
 a lobby representative, empowered to look 
 after their interests. He did not accomplish 
 all that was expected, but through their Rich- 
 land county representative, Isaac Hetrick, the 
 Legislature was induced to pass an enactment 
 whereby the residents of that part of the new 
 township, which had formerly been in Rich- 
 land county, were released from the payment of 
 taxes upon the county buildings of Crawford. 
 As there was practically no opposition to this 
 enactment, Mr. Hosford asked that the same 
 favor be shown to those residing in the strip 
 which had been taken from Marion county. 
 But the representative of Crawford county, 
 John Carey, objected, stating that the citizens 
 of the southern strip had not asked for any ex- 
 emption and the matter was dropped. 
 
 Polk township was named after President 
 Polk, in whose term of ofSce it was created. 
 The resolution of the county commissioners 
 which gave it existence read as follows : 
 
 March 6, 1845 — Board_ met pursuant to adjournment. 
 Present, full board. Resolution — This day it was re- 
 solved by the Commissioners of Crawford County that 
 the following fractional townships, taken from the coun- 
 ties of Richland and Marion, according to an act of the 
 General Assembly of the State of Ohio, passed Febru- 
 ary third (3d), 1845, to erect the new county of Wyan- 
 
 dot, and alter the boundaries of Crawford, was organ- 
 ized into separate townships, to wit: All that part 
 taken from the county of Richland, and being Town- 
 ship twenty (20) north. Range twenty (20) west, and 
 all that part taken from Township nineteen (19), with 
 Range twenty (20), and all that part taken from the 
 county of Marion, and being in Township fifteen (15) 
 with Range twenty-one (21) be, and the same is hereby, 
 organized into a separate township by the name of Polk, 
 and that the County Auditor be and is hereby author- 
 ized to cause notice to be given to the said township 
 of the foregoing organization and alteration, according 
 to the statute of Ohio in such case made and provided. 
 
 John Clements, 
 Hamilton Kerr, 
 Samuel Lee. 
 Attest: ' O. Williams, County Auditor. 
 
 The first election in the new township was 
 held April 7th, 1845, with Isaac Criley, Joshua 
 Canon and Phares Jackson, judges, and Sol- 
 omon P. Nave and Samuel R. Canon, clerks. 
 This election was held only to fill vacancies 
 caused by the separation, the Sandusky town- 
 ship officers having been previously elected, 
 and some of them being in the Polk township 
 part, Abraham Underwood, the Justice of the 
 Peace, being one of them. Those duly elected 
 and qualified on this occasion were as- follows : 
 Trustees — Asa Hosford, Samuel P. Lee, 
 Bartholomew Reed, Jr. ; Clerk — Peter Cress ; 
 Treasurer — John S. Davis; Assessor — Samuel 
 R. Cannon; Constables — John A. Loneus, 
 Joseph Kimmel; Supervisors — Eri Hosford, 
 Joseph Diddy, Edward Cooper, David Thrush, 
 William White, A. C. Jackson, Frederic Tay- 
 lor, Jacob Stinebaugh, John Ashcroft, William 
 L. Dille, Bart Reed, Sr., Andrew Reed, A. S. 
 Caton, Phillip Ichorn, Phillip Zimmermaker, 
 Isaac Nayer. 
 
 The first meeting of the new trustees was 
 held on April 26, 1845, and among the business 
 transacted was "the sale of James Sutton, a 
 town pauper. He was taken by Jacob Stein- 
 baugh for one year for $100, clothing and 
 doctor bills excepted." Other business trans- 
 acted was the levying of a tax of two mills on 
 the dollar for poor purposes and three quarters 
 of a mile for township purposes. 
 
 Prior to the formation of the new township, 
 elections had been held at the house of John 
 Fate, a mile southwest of the present town of 
 Crestline. This election booth was now in the 
 new township of Jackson, and on Sept 6, 1845, 
 the trustees met and appointed the place for 
 holding elections at the school house in the 
 village of Galion. Only two of the trustees 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 303 
 
 were present — Asa Hosford and Bartholomew 
 Reed. 
 
 Among the first settlers in Polk township 
 were Benjamin Lever idge and his two sons 
 James and Nathaniel ; Disberry Johnson, Sam- 
 uel Johnson, Edward Cooper and John Sturges 
 in 1817; Benjamin Sharrock, Nathaniel and 
 Nehemiah Story, John Williamson, John Kit- 
 tridge, David Gill, and George Wood in 181 8; 
 Asa and Horace Hosford and John Hibner in 
 1819; Samuel Brown and his two sons, John 
 and Michael, William Hosford, John and Al- 
 pheus Atwood, John Bashford, Samuel Dany, 
 David Reid, James Dickerson, John Dun- 
 meier, Daniel Miller and Jacob Pletcher in 
 1820. 
 
 Benjamin Leveridge, and his two sons, 
 James and Nathaniel, were the first settlers, and 
 all three built their cabins on land that is now 
 a part of the city of Galion. The cabin of 
 Benjamin Leveridge was southwest of the 
 present public square, between Atwood and 
 Cherry streets, and near him his son James 
 built his cabin, while Nathaniel erected his on 
 the high ground which is now the public square. 
 The first two had splendid water from the 
 springs in that neighborhood, but Nathaniel 
 was compelled to dig a well, and in 1880, when 
 the Public Square 'was being improved, re- 
 mains of this old well were discovered. 
 
 The next year, 1818, the pioneers were as- 
 sisting in raising a cabin for John Williamson, 
 and John Leveridge was killed by a falling log. 
 Work was immediately suspended, and the 
 cabin remained for some time without a roof, 
 just as it was when Mr. Leveridge was killed. 
 
 Later the same year, Nehemiah Story and 
 his son Nathaniel and John Kitteridge came 
 from Maine. They stopped for a short time 
 in the Williamson settlement, east of Galion. 
 They took possession of the unfinished cabin 
 where Leveridge was killed, and having com- 
 pleted it, here they spent the winter, and the 
 next spring moved into a cabin that had been 
 built by John Sturges, on the hill north of the 
 Galion road west of the Olentangy, where they 
 remained for four years. Nathaniel Story 
 was a hunter and trapper, and Kitteridge lodged 
 with him ; he was known throughout that sec- 
 tion as "Father" Kitteridge, and also devoted 
 much of his time to hunting. Nehemiah 
 Story was a Baptist, and the first minister's 
 
 name on the court records in Marion county 
 was when Rev. Nehemiah Story was author- 
 ized to solemnize marriages Nov. 13, 1826. 
 
 Disberry Johnson came in 181 7, locating 
 on the northwest quarter of section 26, two 
 miles west of Galion. He was born in Virginia 
 in 1764, married there and came to Ohio with 
 six children. His first wife died, and his sec- 
 ond wife was a widow named Cooper with 
 six children. And by this union there were six 
 children. So when Johnson decided to come 
 to Crawford county, he brought with him his 
 wife and seventeen children, one daughter be- 
 ing married and remaining in Ross county. 
 Probably all of the five Johnson children who 
 came with him were of age, and probably some 
 of his step-children, the Coopers. Mr. John- 
 son was early appointed one of the justices of 
 the peace, a position he held for many years. 
 Johnson lived to be 104, and died in 1868 at 
 the home of J. Throckmorton, a grandchild. 
 He was buried in the Galion graveyard. 
 
 The Browns settled on section 27 west of 
 the Johnson family. Jacob Pletcher lived for 
 a short time near Galion and then entered his 
 land along the Olentangy in section 34, the 
 land now owned by David Tracht. Just north 
 of him was David Reed, a part of his land be- 
 ing that now owned by Isaac C. Guinther; he 
 also entered land across the line in Whetstone 
 township. 
 
 John Hibner settled on the land just east of 
 Galion now owned by Christian Burgner. It 
 was in the midst of a forest filled with wild 
 animals, and before the bears had left that 
 section. One day while Mr. Hibner was ab- 
 sent, his wife while at her household duties 
 in the little log cabin heard a noise near the 
 chimney, and looking in that direction was 
 horrified to see that the chimney stones had 
 been displaced, and the great black paw of a 
 bear had been thrust through the opening to 
 seize the baby which she had placed near the 
 fire place. She hurriedly grabbed the baby, 
 and removed it to a place of safety, but before 
 she could get the axe or some other weapon, 
 the bear withdrew his paw and returned to the 
 woods. 
 
 At another time James Neil arose before 
 daylight, and started on foot with a sack of 
 corn to have it ground at the Beam mills south 
 of Mansfield, hoping to return before dark. It 
 
304 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was before he even had a door to his cabin, 
 skins being hung over the one entrance. He 
 was delayed and night had set in when he 
 reached his cabin, where he was astonished to 
 find everything quiet. On entering the house 
 he found his wife sitting on a stool facing 
 the doorway, with a determined look on her 
 face and the axe in her hand. Just as evening 
 came on a gaunt and hungry wolf had entered 
 the cabin, and Mrs. Nail grabbed the axe, and 
 the snarling animal beat a hasty retreat, and 
 she was now on the look-out for a second call. 
 
 The township gained a useful citizen in 
 1819, by the arrival of Asa Hosford, who with 
 his brother, Horace, trudged in on foot, on 
 Saturday, Sept. 19th, and was given shelter 
 over Sunday at the home of Benjamin Lev- 
 eridge. He was a man of great tact and ability 
 and from the time of his arrival was the rec- 
 ognized leader of all the important matters of 
 the township. His native place was Richfield, 
 Mass., but in his youth he accompanied his 
 father's family to New York. When twenty- 
 one years old he left New York with his 
 brother Horace and set out for the Great West. 
 They arrived at Cleveland on the steamer, 
 Walk-in-the-Water, the first steam vessel ever 
 on Lake Erie. They set out on foot for the 
 interior, arriving at Galion, Saturday evening, 
 Sept. 19, 1819. They returned to Huron 
 county where they passed the winter, and in 
 the spring again came to Crawford, where later 
 they were met by their father and the other 
 members of the family. After arriving at the 
 corners the father, William Hosford, erected a 
 double log cabin, where he often entertained 
 travelers who could not find accommodations 
 elsewhere. In the meanwhile Asa Hosford 
 worked at anything he could find to do, while 
 his brother Horace opened a blacksmith's shop 
 near the father's dwelling. It took the former 
 several years to save $100 with which to buy 
 a piece of land. Finally the elder Hosford sold 
 his property to his son-in-law, from whom it 
 was purchased by Asa, who, in 1824, opened a 
 tavern there. Not as yet being married, his 
 sister acted as landlady. About a year later, 
 however, he married Miss Alta Kent of Bucy- 
 rus. For eight years he carried on a prosperous 
 business at the tavern, at the end of which 
 time he sold out to John Ruhl. 
 
 To illustrate the ease with which a settler 
 
 might get lost in the immediate vicinity of his 
 own clearing, the story is handed down that 
 Samuel Dany went into the woods to shoot a 
 deer and, having lost his sense of direction, 
 wandered round and round until he was per- 
 fectly confused and knew not which way he 
 was going. At last he came to a clearing and 
 saw a cabin, in the door of which a woman 
 was standing. Going up to the fence, he called 
 to her and asked her if she could tell him 
 where Samuel Dany lived. She laughed and 
 told him he might come in and see, when he 
 discov^ed that it was his own home and that 
 he had been speaking to his own wife. 
 
 John Hibner erected the first mill in the 
 township; it was east of the present town of 
 Galion, where the Erie road crosses the Olen- 
 tangy, on what is now the Christian Burgner 
 farm. 
 
 Benjamin Sharrock was born in 1779. His 
 father James Sharrock came to America as a 
 British soldier, but joined the American cause 
 and fought under Washington and LaFayette. 
 Benjamin was in the War of 1812, in the New 
 York militia. After that war he married 
 Constantine Williams in Guernsey county, and 
 in 1818 with his family came to Polk town- 
 ship, where he had a small cabin for his fam- 
 ily on the banks of the Olentangy just west 
 of Galion. Here they lived, while he walked 
 daily to his land two miles south where he 
 erected a cabin on the bank of the river; later 
 he had a saw and grist mill. He was a man of 
 great physical strength, strongly religious, and 
 preached to the pioneers in the early days. He 
 was known to all the settlers as "Uncle Ben." 
 
 James Nail was born in Somerset county. 
 Pa. During the War of 1812 he was residing 
 with his father's family in Richland county, 
 Ohio. In 1819 he left home and came to what 
 is now Jefferson township purchasing 160 
 acres of "Congress" land, two miles north of 
 Galion. In 1821 he married a daughter of 
 Samuel Brown, walking to Delaware to secure 
 the license, and settled on his land, having 
 previously resided with his brother-in-law, 
 Lewis Leiberger. The latter in 1822 removed 
 from the neighborhood. Having ascertained 
 that the Indians were in the habit of taKmg 
 large quantities of cranberries into Richland 
 county, where they disposed of them for meal 
 and other produce, Mr. Nail, with his father- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 305 
 
 in-law, Samuel Brown, his brother-in-law 
 Michael Brown and Daniel Miller, set out in 
 1820, to discover where they procured them, 
 with the view of profiting by the knowledge. 
 They went west for several miles along 
 the Pennsylvania army road, and then turned 
 north, keeping on until they struck the San- 
 dusky river, east of Bucyrus. Here they found 
 Daniel McMichael, who gave them information 
 in regard to the Indian trail that led to the 
 cranberry marsh. As night came on they saw 
 the camp-fires of the Indians, who, however, 
 did not molest them. They camped out all 
 night and in the morning loaded their horses 
 with as many cranberries as they could carry 
 and reached home that same evening. In many 
 places the weeds were as high as their horses' 
 heads. Aside from the Indians, the only man 
 they saw during the trip was Mr. McMichael, 
 on the Sandusky river, just east of Bucyrus. 
 Mr. Nail and his brother-in-law also went on a 
 search for bee trees, of which they found a 
 number and collected nearly two barrels of 
 honey, which at that time was selling in Jef- 
 ferson county, to which they shipped it, for 
 $1 a gallon. In 1822 Mr. Nail sold his land 
 to Daniel Miller and bought 80 acres on a 
 branch of the Whetstone, or Olentangy, south- 
 west of Gabon. About this time Mr. Nail de- 
 cided to build a mill and let the contract to 
 Alexander McGrew, of Tuscarawas county. 
 A dam was made and the frame and running- 
 gear put together in six weeks' time. In the 
 fall he sold the mill and farm to John Hauck, 
 who was looking for a site for a carding ma- 
 chine and fulling mill. Owing to the small- 
 ness of the population, however, Mr. Hauck's 
 project proved a failure. In making the agree- 
 ment with Mr. Hauck, Mr. Nail had reserved 
 the right to live in the cabin and also to use the 
 mill for one year, which he accordingly did, 
 furnishing lumber to the settlers. In 1822 he 
 moved to another location, about half a mile 
 below his saw -mill, and in 1824 erected a grist- 
 mill. In 1825 Mr. Nail added a distillery to 
 his grist mill, and followed the combined occu- 
 pations of grinding and distilling until 1835, 
 in which year he sold both the mill and distil- 
 lery to a man named Parks, from Beaver 
 county. Pa. 
 
 Mr. Nail's name appears on the first will 
 that was ever recorded in Marion county, 
 
 Crawford being at that time a part of Marion, 
 for legal purposes. The will was made by 
 Samuel Ferrel, and was admitted to probate 
 May 29, 1826. Ferrel left all his property to 
 his mother, Martha Ferrel, and no executor 
 being named she was appointed as administra- 
 trix. Benjamin Jeffrey and Jonathan Smith 
 were the witnesses, and James Nail and Wil- 
 liam Moore were the sureties for the admin- 
 istratrix. 
 
 Daniel Miller bought 160 acres of timber- 
 land from James Nail in the spring of 1822, 
 the land being a little over two miles north of 
 Gallon. He married Lydia, daughter of Henry 
 and Elizabeth (Ruhl) Hershner. They had 
 seven daughters, the fifth of whom, Lydia 
 Tabitha, married Col. Robert .Cowden. At 
 the time of Miller's arrival in the county the 
 settlers were few and far between. Their 
 nearest flouring mill was on the Clear Fork of 
 the Mohican, twelve or fourteen miles south- 
 east of Gallon. A blazed trail through an un- 
 broken forest marked the road, and there were 
 no bridges over any of the streams. A set- 
 tler would start with a sack or two of his own 
 corn, and some for his neighbors, and would 
 go and wait at the mills until it was ground, 
 which sometimes took several days. Col. 
 Cowden writes that one time his father-in- 
 law, Daniel Miller, had made the trip, taking 
 provisions for himself and food for the horse. 
 It was the fall of the year, and the nights were 
 chilly. He arrived at the mill late, and slept 
 in his wagon. Arising early the next morning, 
 4 o'clock, he took a brisk walk to warm up, 
 and met Mr. Hisky, the miller, going to the 
 mill to start it up for the day. Mr. Hisky in- 
 quired his name, and he told him it was Daniel 
 Miller. "Daniel Miller!" was the reply. 
 "Where do you come from?" "York county, 
 Pennsylvania," replied Miller. Mr. Hisky 
 looked at him in astonishment, and said: 
 "Daniel Miller? From York county, Penn- 
 sylvania? That is strange! My wife's name 
 was Miller, she is from York county, Penn- 
 sylvania and I have often heard her speak of 
 her little brother, Daniel." Mr. Miller was 
 now interested, and the two men went back to 
 the house, and sure enough the woman was his 
 sister, and Miller had slept out in the cold in 
 the dooryard of his sister's house, and never 
 knew it. The explanation is simple. Eve Mil- 
 
306 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ler was the oldest of fourteen children and 
 Daniel was the youngest. He was but a small 
 boy when she married and left her Pennsyl- 
 vania home. She married a man named George 
 Bidleman, who became too lazy and shiftless 
 to work and degenerated into a robber, fol- 
 lowing the line of travel to the west, and as- 
 saulting the unsuspecting traveler, taking from 
 him the money he was bringing west for the 
 purchase of land. All efforts to reform the 
 husband were unavailing. Discouraged and 
 feeling the disgrace, she wrote home but sel- 
 dom, and finally ceased to write altogether. 
 During one of his attempted robberies he was 
 killed, and the sister was left a widow in the 
 wilderness. Later she met and married Mr. 
 Hisky and with her name changed all trace of 
 her was lost, until the accidental discovery re- 
 united the brother and sister. Daniel Miller's 
 farm was in the track of the Windfall. When 
 he saw the storm coming, the children took 
 refuge in the big chimney; there were but two 
 daughters at the time, Laura and Elizabeth, and 
 while the roof of the log cabin was blown away, 
 no one was hurt. All around them the trees, 
 large and small, were blown down, and piled 
 criss-cross in every direction. Much of the 
 stock was killed outright, and the settlers were 
 busy for days chopping away the trees to get 
 at their cattle and other stock, which had been 
 penned up by the fallen trees, and were still 
 alive. 
 
 Other early settlers in Polk township were 
 John Cracraft and Jacob Miller in 1821 ; John 
 Eysman, John Hauck, John Jeffrey, William 
 Murray, Alexander McGrew, James Nail, Rev. 
 John Rhinehart, and Rev. James Dunlap in 
 1822; Owen Tuttle and Phares Jackson in 
 1823; James Auten and Nathan Merriman in 
 1824; William Neal, James Reaves, George 
 Row and John Shawber in 1825; John Ash- 
 croft, Jonathan Ayres, Andrew Poe, Thomas 
 Harding, and John Sedous in 1826; Francis 
 Clymer and Rev. John Smith in 1828; Samuel 
 Gerbrecht, and Christopher Beltz, wife and 
 seven children, in 1829; Jonathan Fellows, and 
 John, Michael, Jacob, Levi, Henry, and Peter 
 Ruhl, in 1830; Benjamin Grove, Joseph Rech, 
 Jacob Cronenwett, Rev. John Stough, Jacob 
 Seif, and AVilliam Hise in 1831 ; Solomon 
 Nave in 1832; John Morriso, John Kraft, 
 Daniel, Benjamin, John, Joseph, and Randolph 
 
 Hoover, John and Adam Klopfenstein, and 
 Samuel and Joseph Lee in 1833. 
 
 In 1822 Rev. James Dunlap came to Polk 
 township from what is now, Ohio county, West 
 Va. In an article in the Forum published in 
 December, 1874, he thus describes the condi- 
 tion of this section at that time : 
 
 "About 1822 my uncle, William Murray, 
 Major Benjamin Jeffrey and myself, rigged 
 up an old one-horse wagon with a pole for- 
 two horses. We gathered up our traps, con- 
 sisting of a rifle gun, some amunition, a cross- 
 cut saw, two axes, several old quilts, and some 
 kitchen furniture, covering the whole with a 
 linen cover. We then bid our friends farewell 
 and started for the "Far West," as it was then 
 called. We crossed the Ohio at Short Creek, 
 a few miles above Wheeling, came through 
 Mt. Pleasant to Cadiz, down the Stillwater to 
 New Philadelphia, through Wooster to Mans- 
 field, a town then of some note, having three 
 stores, two taverns and a blacksmith shop; 
 continued west to 'Goshen,' 'Moccasin,' or 
 'Spangtown,' as it was then called, but now 
 Gallon. We found five families between Mans- 
 field and Gallon — ^Judge Patterson, Alfred At- 
 wood's mother, a widow; old John Edginton, 
 John Marshall and John Hibner. 
 
 "All was woods until we came to what is 
 now the public square, Galion, where we found 
 two log cabins occupied by a man named Lev- 
 eredge. Just at the foot of the hill where 
 Mrs. J. W. Gill now lives was another cabin 
 occupied by a man named Frederick Dickerson. 
 A little further west, where J. R. Clymer's 
 brick house now is, there was a double log 
 cabin hotel, which was kept by old Uncle Wil- 
 liam Hosford, father of Asa Hosford. Horace 
 Hosford lived and had a blacksmith's shop at 
 Reisinger's Corners. Old Grandfather Kit- 
 teridge lived on the other corner and followed 
 trapping wild game for fur. Thence we went 
 southwest to Benjamin Sharrock's house, ar- 
 riving safely and having made a trip of 150 
 miles in twelve days through mud, water, ice 
 and snow, sometimes up to our wagon-bed. 
 
 "Next day we went to our land and found 
 a camp of twelve or fourteen Indians upon it, 
 who had had a big drunk the day before. One 
 of them had been stabbed through the left side 
 with a large butcher or scalping-knife. But he 
 recovered and afterward bragged that he was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 307 
 
 a 'berry stout Injin — stick big knife through — 
 no kill-whoop!' They were a Wyandot tribe, 
 very friendly with the whites; ever ready to 
 help us at our log-rollings and cabin raisings, 
 which were very common in those days. We 
 got old Mother Sharrock to bake us some bread 
 and started for the woods. Pitching our tent by 
 the side of an old log, we built it into a half- 
 faced shanty, chincked it with moss and piled 
 in with some straw for bedding. One of our 
 party went upon a ridge and killed a very fine 
 deer, so we had plenty meat. We cooked 
 our venison and lived sumptuously and deli- 
 ciously. At night we would crawl into our 
 nice bed-chamber to rest. Then would come 
 the howling of wolves to lull us to sleep. 
 Sometimes they would venture so near that we 
 could hear them gnawing the bones of our 
 venison behind the fire. Sometimes we would 
 shoot at them in the dark to scare them away. 
 They would then scatter with a howling that 
 made music indeed. We continued there three 
 weeks cutting logs, and raised a cabin. We 
 prepared it fit for use and then returned home 
 for the family." 
 
 The principal food of the pioneers consisted 
 of bear's meat, venison, turkey, corn-meal, 
 potatoes and hominy. The hominy was pre- 
 pared in what was known as a hominy block, 
 which was hollowed out something like a drug- 
 gist's mortar, the hominy being cracked with 
 a sort of pole or long pestle, armed with an 
 iron wedge. Their clothing was generally 
 buckskin and linsey-woolsey, a kind of linen 
 also being made from nettles. The children 
 went bareheaded and barefooted during the 
 greater part of the year. Adventures with 
 wolves and other wild animals were common. 
 
 In 1825 the first distillery in the township 
 was erected by Nathan Merriman, who had 
 arrived in the year previous. It was located 
 at the springs, not far from the home of the 
 Levendges. Besides the Hibner grist-mill, 
 north of Galion was a saw-mill, while Hos- 
 ford's and Park's grist-mills and Sharrocks' 
 grist and saw-mill were all located on the 
 banks of the stream south of Galion and with- 
 in a few miles of each other. Modern "im- 
 provements" have made a great change m 
 this stream, and it has long since lost the 
 picturesque aspect it once possessed. Many 
 of the springs which once fed it have become 
 
 dry and except in the spring, or immediately 
 after heavy rains, it consists of a mere suc- 
 cession of pools imperfectly drained by a small 
 rivulet, the waters turbid with the rinsings 
 and refuse of gas-works, dye-houses and other 
 debris from the drainage of a city. 
 
 All these mills along the Whetstone were 
 run by water-power and to secure sufificient 
 fall to run the water wheels, mill races were 
 dug, in the case of Horsford's and Nail's 
 mills, those water courses being nearly, if not, 
 a quarter of a mile in length. At the Sharrock 
 mill the fall of water in the stream was heavier 
 and here the mill race was much shorter. All 
 these mills passed out of existence except the 
 Hosford mill, which has continued to this day. 
 It was built in 1832 by Asa Hosford, and the 
 old mill race was long since abandoned and 
 the mill run by steam. It is a three-story 
 frame structure, and is today the oldest mill 
 in the county; on the beams in the second 
 story, can still be seen carved in rude letters 
 the words "Tippecanoe and Tyler too," one 
 of the rallying cries of the campaign of 1840. 
 The crude millstones of the early days have 
 been long since replaced by the more modern 
 machinery, and one of these early stones finds 
 a last resting place as a curiosity of the pioneer 
 days at the home of R. V. Sears in Bucyrus. 
 Still another of these ancient mill stones was 
 brought to Bucyrus by Oscar Sharrock, and 
 is now in his yard, his grandfather, nearly a 
 century ago, having used similar mill-stones 
 at his mill. 
 
 The first road built through the township 
 was the Portland road surveyed by James Kil- 
 bourne. It was from Columbus to Sandusky 
 and was called the Portland road from the 
 fact that up until about 1824, what is now 
 the city of Sandusky was known as Portland. 
 The next road was the one from Galion to 
 Bucyrus. Over this latter road about 1830 
 a line of stages were running to Bucyrus three 
 times a week, going east from Galion to Mans- 
 field and Wooster and on to Pittsburg. This 
 road is now Main street in Galion, but prior 
 to 1830 it branched to the north, east of the 
 present square, and followed the Whetstone 
 until it again joined the old road east of Ga- 
 lion and then continued to Mansfield. The 
 most important point between Galion and 
 Mansfield on this old State road was Riblet's 
 
308 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Corner. Here Christian Riblet had settled 
 two miles east of the Crawford county line 
 and his son Daniel kept the Riblet House at 
 the Corners, the best known tavern between 
 Bucyrus and Mansfield. Daniel Riblet after- 
 ward was justice of the peace of the township 
 (Sandusky) for i8 years, and from 1839 to 
 1 84 1 represented Richland county in the Leg- 
 islature. A post office was established at Rib- 
 let's Corners and after Gallon became more 
 prominent as a settlement the Riblets came 
 to the new town and became among the most 
 active citizens. 
 
 A line of stages never passed over the Col- 
 umbus and Portland road. At the time it was 
 surveyed the route from Columbus to San- 
 dusky was east of this road through Mansfield 
 and Norwalk, and later the road was surveyed 
 from Columbus to Sandusky through Dela- 
 ware, Marion and Bucyrus, and these roads 
 became the routes for stages and for mails, 
 but the Portland road was one of the most 
 prominent in the State, being used by the 
 farmers in carrying their produce to the mar- 
 kets on the lake, coming sometimes from Del- 
 aware and other points further south. A 
 majority of these farmers carried their provi- 
 sions with them, and also feed for the horses, 
 and slept in their wagons, as owing to the 
 low price of produce, wheat being seldom 
 more than fifty cents per bushel, they had to 
 be very economical. Two farmers made the 
 trip from this county to Sandusky, disposed 
 of their wheat and other grain and returned 
 after being gone six days and their entire ex- 
 pense was six cents, and this they state was 
 spent for two drinks of whiskey, which in 
 those days was regarded as a necessity and 
 required cash, the same as it does even to 
 this day. Some, however, put up for the night 
 at one of the many taverns which lined the 
 road. The expense for the night's lodging 
 being only a sixpence. The number of these 
 houses of entertainment was much increased 
 in the early thirties by the wild mania which 
 set in for land speculation, bringing people 
 here who desired to enter land. The panic of 
 1837 exploded the bubble of speculation and 
 was the ruin of many, besides leaving much 
 of the farming business paralyzed for the want 
 of money. In order to relieve the financial 
 stringency relief measures were taken by the 
 
 State legislature. At that time the national 
 Government had a surplus of money which 
 they turned over to the State and this money 
 in turn was loaned out to farmers and others 
 at 7% interest. The county paying the State 
 S% for the use of this money. The loans 
 were handled by the county commissioners 
 and Jacob Mollenkopf, at that time one of the 
 commissioners in Crawford county, went to 
 Columbus and brought Crawford's share of 
 the funds to Bucyrus on horseback. The 
 money was carried in his saddle bags and 
 amounted to $7,000. These saddle bags which 
 carried this fund are still in the possession of 
 his descendants. The fund was carried on 
 the books in the auditor's office by both the 
 names of the 2% fund and the 7% fund, so 
 called because 7% was the amount at which' 
 it was loaned and 2% was the amount of 
 profit to the county. This fund was origi- 
 nally started in 1837, and shows conclusively 
 that the idea of the Government lending 
 money to the people in time of need is not a 
 new one. The fund itself, the records show, 
 was collected with but little loss to the county 
 and there was a profit arising from the 2% 
 interest, for when the present new jail at the 
 County Seat was built it was a part of the 
 profits arising from this and other funds that 
 was transferred to the construction of the 
 jail so that it was built without the necessity 
 of a tax levy. 
 
 There is but one church in Polk township 
 outside of the city of Gallon, and that is an 
 old Baptist church which is still standing, a 
 frame structure about a mile east of Gallon 
 on the land now owned by L. E. Reed. The 
 first preacher was Rev. Nehemiah Story. 
 
 Polk township advanced with educational 
 facilities as fast as the settlement of the county 
 made schools necessary. The earliest settlers 
 were in and around what is now Gallon and 
 here the first building was erected as early as 
 1822. It was built of round logs and was 
 located on West Main street near the present 
 residence of Mrs. Martha Crim, now No. 422 
 West Main. David Gill was the first school 
 teacher. For the second school the site se- 
 lected was the old graveyard and this building 
 was destroyed by- fire in 1844. When the 
 next school house was erected the settlers had 
 advanced a stage and the building was of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 309 
 
 hewn logs, where Lewis W. Riblet's residence 
 now is, ii6 North Market. Although the 
 settlers had hewn the logs instead of having 
 them in the rough, as in the two earlier school- 
 houses, slab seats were still used and the bal- 
 ance of the furniture was equally crude. Jim 
 Mann taught in this school. 
 
 In the country districts many of the early 
 settlers in the northeastern part of the town- 
 ship attended the school which was established 
 at the Russel schoolhouse. The school in dis- 
 trict No. I now on the farm of A. L. Stevens 
 was originally in Marion county, and only be- 
 came a part of Crawford county in 1845 when 
 the new county was organized. Hence the 
 schoolhouses in districts Nos. i, 2, and 3 were 
 all on the border line of the county. 
 
 One of the earliest populous settlements was 
 in the northwest part of Polk township in 
 what is known as the Beltz neighborhood. 
 Here was Disberry Johnston and the Browns 
 and later Christopher Beltz with his family 
 of seven children, and the first schoolhouse was 
 started on what is now the land of H. E. 
 Mader, just south of the Gabon road. There 
 was a little stream there at that time and on 
 the west bank of this stream the log school- 
 house was built on slightly rising ground and 
 beside the creek was a little spring where wa- 
 ter was procured. J. C. Beltz, still living, re- 
 members attending this schoolhouse, and it 
 was in the midst of a dense forest and when 
 a boy he walked a half a mile through the 
 woods to attend the school, seeing an oc- 
 casional deer and being frequently scared by 
 the wild hogs which roamed through the 
 woods. Other settlers arriving, a frame 
 schoolhouse was built on the Beltz farm, a 
 mile west of the first location, and later the 
 school was removed further to the east where 
 it is today, just south of the Gabon road on 
 the farm of Lida M. Beck. The other school- 
 houses are those in district No. 5 north of the 
 Gallon road a mile west of Gallon on the farm 
 of Frank W. Tracht. District No. 6, is a 
 mile north of Gabon on the farm of J. M. 
 Tracht while district No. 7 is on the farm of 
 
 the Henry Peister heirs in the northeastern 
 section of the township. 
 
 Outside of the city of Gallon the early 
 pioneers had a burying ground on the farm of 
 Jacob Pletcher, three miles west of Gallon. 
 Here, the first known burial was the son of 
 Samuel Pletcher who died March 15, 1830. 
 Several other Pletchers were buried here and 
 also David Reed who was one of the early 
 pioneers of the township and died October 12, 
 1844. Near here is another burial ground, 
 known as the Snyder graveyard. The first 
 burial being that of George Snyder who died 
 May 26, 1848. 
 
 Polk township was a part of Richland 
 county prior to 1845, and among the justices 
 of the peace in the earlier days were Daniel 
 Riblet, John Williams and Thomas Jackson. 
 As in most townships, the people generally 
 had some justice whose office they made as 
 near perpetual as possible. Abraham Under- 
 wood being the justice when the township was 
 formed in 1845, ^^^ being elected his last 
 time in 1885, but in the meantime the people 
 started Charles B. Shumaker in as justice in 
 1878, and he was elected for eight terms of 
 three years each. The following have held 
 the office in Polk township: 
 
 Phares Jackson — 1845-47-59. 
 
 Abraham Underwood— 1845-47-50-61-65-73-76-79-82-85. 
 
 John WilHams — 1850-53. 
 
 WiUiam C. Parsons — 1852. 
 
 M. R. Payne— 1853-56-63. 
 
 Samuel Sillex — 1855. 
 
 Peter Pfeifer— 1856. 
 
 Peter Cress— 1858-61-63-66-69. 
 
 James C. Worden — 1860. 
 
 Seth G. Cummings — 1868. 
 
 O. T. Hart— 1869-72-75. 
 
 Samuel Myers — 1870. 
 
 H, S. Z. Matthias— 1873-1904. 
 
 Charles B. Shumaker— 1878-81-84-87-90-99-02-05, 
 
 Sylvester Price— 1888. 
 
 Jacob Riblet — 1891-94. 
 
 D. O. Castle— 1893-96-98. 
 
 Morris Burns — 1896. 
 
 L. C. Barker— 1898. 
 
 George J. Kochenderfer — 1901. 
 
 Harry R. Schuler — 1904. 
 
 Wendel Helfrich — 1907-11, 
 
 Carl J. Gugler — 1907. 
 
 J. R. Rummel — 1911. 
 
 A. W. Lewis — 191 1. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 SANDUSKY TOWNSHIP 
 
 Sandusky Township — The Township From Which All*Others Were Erected — The Pioneers — 
 The Knisely Springs — First Camp Meeting and First Sunday School — "Governor" Fergu- 
 son Deals Out Justice to the Indians — A Woman Missionary. 
 
 The mighty oak, proud monarch of the wood, 
 Upon this land in stately grandeur stood; 
 Throughout the wilds did mortal panthers prowl. 
 And oft was heard the wolf's terrific howl. 
 But all these savage beasts have passed away, 
 And the wild Indians, too, where now are they? 
 
 Sandusky township contains today only 
 eighteen square miles, one of the smallest 
 townships in the county. Yet the time was 
 when it was the entire county, and from its 
 territory every township was taken. Craw- 
 ford county was secured from the Indians 
 by a treaty signed July 4, 1905, and the four 
 eastern miles were surveyed by Maxfield Lud- 
 low in 1807, and the new territory was at- 
 tached to Franklin county and known as San- 
 dusky township. In 1814, when Richland 
 county was organized the four eastern miles 
 of the present county of Crawford and the 
 two western miles of Richland county were 
 erected into a township which was named 
 Sandusky township, Richland county. This 
 township was six miles wide and eighteen 
 deep. The balance of Crawford county still 
 retained the name of Sandusky township. 
 When the county of Crawford was erected 
 in 1820 it was placed under the jurisdiction 
 of Delaware, and the commissioners of that 
 county erected the first township in Crawford 
 county. The following is the record: 
 
 "Dec. 3, 1822. — Ordered, That all that part of San- 
 dusky township which lies west of the middle of the 
 Seventeenth Range* of lands be and the same is hereby 
 erected into a separate township by the name of 
 Bucyrus." 
 
 * The 17th Range alluded to is not taken from the 
 ranges along the base line on the northern border of 
 Crawford county, but is Range 17 on the Greenville 
 
 This left Sandusky a narrow strip, three 
 miles wide, extending from the northern to 
 the southern boundary of the county. This 
 was known as the "Three Mile Strip," as it 
 was secured by the treaty of 1805 from the 
 Indians, was not surveyed in 1807, and for 
 a dozen years was unattached territory. It 
 was not on the market until 1820. The east- 
 ern boundary of this three mile strip was 
 Richland county; the western boundary was 
 the commencement of the "New Purchase" 
 secured from the Indians in 181 7. Before 
 this three mile strip was open for settlement, 
 adventurous men had "squatted" on the land, 
 in defiance of the law, made improvements 
 in the most desirable locations, with the ulti- 
 mate purpose of perfecting their titles when 
 the land was thrown on the market. Later in 
 1820 this land was opened for settlement at 
 Delaware, and there was a rush to enter lands, 
 and many found to their sorrow that the land 
 had been legally entered by others ; some hon- 
 estly entering the land, while other shrewd 
 men, having visited the section, and discover- 
 ing where the land had been cleared hurried 
 to Delaware, and entered and paid for the 
 claim. Those who filed their entries at Del- 
 aware were the legal owners, and when they 
 came to settle on their land much trouble fol- 
 lowed. The original settlers were "squatters" 
 with no legal rights, and many refused to leave 
 
 treaty line. On the base line, ranges were numbered 
 from' west to east. On the Greenville treaty line they 
 run from east to west. The present western boundary of 
 Sandusky township is the centre of Range 17, Green- 
 ville treaty line, and the east line of Range 17, on the 
 base line survey. 
 
 310 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 311 
 
 the land they had cleared, and in cases vi- 
 olence was resorted to. It took years to set- 
 tle these disputes by courts especially appoint- 
 ed to adjudicate the matter, and in many cases, 
 after years of litigation, the unfortunate early 
 settlers had no recourse but to see the legal 
 purchaser secure his land with all the improve- 
 ments the original settler had placed on it by 
 years of toil in the wilderness. 
 
 When the first recorded vote was cast in 
 this county in 1824, there were but two town- 
 ships in the county, Sandusky with 12 votes 
 and Bucyrus with 50. 
 
 In 1828 Cranberry township was erected, 
 leaving Sandusky a strip three miles wide, and 
 12 deep. It was good farming land and be- 
 came settled rapidly, and this long narrow 
 strip was so inconvenient to the people that 
 a petition was presented to the county commis- 
 sioners for a division of the township, and 
 on June 2, 1835, Sandusky township was 
 erected, by the following order: 
 
 "This day came David Reed and filed a petition, 
 praying that some relief may be given to the inhabitants 
 of Sandusky township, stating that the township is 12 
 miles in length and three in breadth, and requesting the 
 commissioners to divide and alter said township and 
 the adjoining townships, so that it may be more con- 
 venient. Whereupon the commissioners ordered that all 
 the original surveyed fractional township i6. Range 21, 
 commonly called the south end of Sandusky Township, 
 and the east tier of fractional sections in Township 3, 
 Range 17 (Whetstone Township), viz: Sections i, 12, 
 13, 24, 25 and 36, and Sections 34, 3S and 36, Township 
 17, Range 21, are hereby organized into a separate town- 
 ship, to be designated and known by the name of Jack- 
 son. And it is further ordered, that all the original sur- 
 veyed fractional township 17, Range 21, except Sections 
 34, 35 and 36, called the northern end of Sandusky 
 Township, and the east tier of sections of Township 2, 
 Range 17 (Liberty Township), viz: Sections i, 12, 13, 
 24, 25, and 36, and Sections 34, .?S and 36, Township 18, 
 Range 21 (Cranberry Township), shall constitute a 
 separate and remain and be known by the name and title 
 of Sandusky Township." 
 
 Sandusky township is drained in part by the 
 Sandusky river, from which it takes its name, 
 and which flows in a serpentine course across 
 the southern part. Loss Creek, flowing from 
 Vernon township, enters the Sandusky near 
 the center of Section 26. These streams, with 
 their tributaries, drain the southern half of the 
 township. The northern part is drained chiefly 
 by Broken Sword Creek and its tributaries, this 
 stream, a winding branch of the Sandusky, en- 
 tering from Vernon township. In the extreme 
 northern part branches of Honey Creek convey 
 
 the water to the Huron river, by which chan- 
 nel it finds its way into Lake Erie. In Section 
 I in the northeastern corner there is a swampy 
 tract of land known as Bear Marsh, which is 
 noticeably depressed below the surface of the 
 surrounding country and was formerly covered 
 with water the year round, though since the re- 
 moval of the forests much of the water has been 
 evaporated or has found its way into Broken- 
 sword Creek. This tract, however, affords 
 good pasture land and has been largely used as 
 such. 
 
 The surface aspect of Sandusky township 
 is picturesque and the land generally is of a 
 gentle rolling character, though along the val- 
 ley of the Sandusky the hills are so steep and 
 precipitous as to render cultivation on their 
 sides impossible. The rolling character of the 
 surface is more pronounced along the valley 
 of Brokensword Creek. Considerable coarse 
 gravel is found interspersed with boulders — 
 relics of a former geologic age, when, carried 
 southward by glaciers from their home in the 
 highlands of Canada, north of the Great Lakes, 
 they were released by the melting of the ice on 
 reaching a more southerly latitude and were 
 deposited where they are now found, and 
 where they have been lying since a date far 
 anteceding human history. An abundance of 
 Waverly sandstone may also be found under- 
 lying the heavy beds of drift in the southern 
 part of the township, and some of it has been 
 taken out and used for building purposes. A 
 dark brown slate of shale, of uncertain forma- 
 tion, is also' found along the Sandusky river. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing geologic fea- 
 tures. Section 26 contains a number of gas and 
 medicinal springs, the latter of which have ap- 
 parently pronounced curative properties, as 
 some remarkable cases of cure from disease 
 have been recorded. Eleven of these springs 
 are on the Knisely farm, and were first dis- 
 covered by Samuel Knisely, the pioneer, who 
 came to the county in 1819, and, foreseeing 
 their value, purchased the land on which they 
 flow. Their waters are found on analysis to 
 contain sulphureted hydrogen gas, carbureted 
 hydrogen gas, sulphur, iron, potassium, sodium, 
 magnesium, calcium, with traces of siliceous 
 and other matter and also of sulphuric and 
 phosphoric acids. These eleven springs, which 
 are all contained within an area of four rods. 
 
312 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 are located in a small basin on a little rill that 
 flows into the Sandusky river. From one Of 
 them an unpleasant-smelling gas, probably 
 carbureted hydrogen gas — is constantly bub- 
 bling. This gas is lighter than air, is highly 
 inflamable and burns with a light yellow flame, 
 showing occasionally fine scintillations indi- 
 cative of small particles of carbon. Situated 
 along the creek at no great distance above these 
 springs are twelve others, some of which, 
 strange to say, contain no trace of sulphur. 
 About 40 rods southeast of the Knisely resi- 
 dence is a section of land several rods square, 
 from which large quantities of inflammable 
 gas are constantly escaping into the atmos- 
 phere. 
 
 Long before the advent of the white man 
 these springs were a frequent resort of the In- 
 dians on account of their medicinal qualities. 
 Here they camped for days using the waters 
 for their healing properties, and while no 
 trace remains, it is fairly certain that in this 
 section was an old Indian graveyard. Many 
 of these Indians came for miles to plaster 
 themselves with the mud which was considered 
 very healing for their sores, and frequently 
 this mud was taken away on their ponies to re- 
 lieve some Indian who, was unable to make 
 the journey to the springs. 
 
 James Gwell came to the township in 181 9 
 and began a clearing. He was followed the 
 same year by Matthew Elder and John Shull, 
 who built cabins into which they moved their 
 families. Mr. Shull built a water-power saw- 
 mill on Sandusky riVer, prior to 1830. In 182 1 
 Samuel Knisely moved his family to the 
 "Spring farm," which he had selected and 
 partially purchased in 1819. Mr. Knisely was 
 noted as a most skillful hunter and woods- 
 man, and it is said that he killed 100 deer each 
 winter for many years. He also destroyed 
 many bears, in which he did the community 
 good service, as these animals were too fond 
 of pork to be convenient neighbors. They 
 would also on occasion make an attempt to 
 seize a baby, though no reports are handed 
 down that they were ever successful. Samuel 
 Knisely Jr. was also a successful hunter, 
 though the larger species of game had mostly 
 disappeared before he was old enough to at- 
 tain name and fame in this direction. He had 
 a trained dog named Lyon, which he made 
 
 use of in his hunting expeditions after deer, 
 wild cats and other animals. Mr. Knisely was 
 also a successful bee hunter, and collected 
 large quantities of wild honey, which found a 
 ready sale in Sandusky city or Mansfield. As 
 many as 20 or 30 gallons were sometimes taken 
 from a single tree. 
 
 In August, 182 1 John B. French, a Vir- 
 ginian, built a hewed-log cabin in Section 23, 
 into which he moved with his family. He was 
 a man of great sociability and intelligence, but 
 was in somewhat impaired health when he 
 came here, and the privations of a life in the 
 wilderness, where he was surrounded by 
 marshes and swamps, were too much for his 
 enfeebled constitution, and he gradually failed 
 until he died in 1830, his death being one of 
 the first in the township. He was one of the 
 first three associate judges in the county ap- 
 pointed when it was organized in 1826. His 
 cabin was quite a resort for travelers, who 
 often went some distance out of their way to 
 reach it. His wife, a woman of superior mind 
 and character, survived her husband 50 years, 
 dying in West Liberty. The French cabin 
 was frequently visited by the Wyandot In- 
 dians, they having a camp near by ; they came 
 without warning or invitation, seated them- 
 selves before the fire, and, lighting their pipes, 
 would hand one to Mrs. French — in the ab- 
 sence of her husband — as a token of amity. 
 To return the civility she would take a few 
 puffs and then return it. One of these In- 
 dians, named Blacksnake,* who was looked 
 upon with distrust by the settlers, had quite a 
 number of scalps in his possession, which he 
 claimed to have taken from the heads of white 
 settlers. He said he had ninety-nine and 
 wanted one more to make the number an even 
 hundred. This unabashed savage soon after 
 left the neighborhood, doubtless to the relief of 
 some of the settlers. The latter often re- 
 ceived invitations to attend the peace dances 
 of the Indians or to attend their great feasts, 
 and occasionally friendly contests and games 
 were gotten up and participated in by whites 
 and red men alike, prizes being assigned to 
 the victors. Though the Indians usually ex- 
 celled in running, it is said that the white men 
 
 * Probably Tom Lyons, as all historians in this sec- 
 tion, state Tom Lyons was the Indian who boasted 01 
 the ninety-nine scalps. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 313 
 
 frequently carried off the prizes for marksman- 
 ship with the rifle, and it is a well known fact 
 that the Indian, though sometimes a fair 
 marksman, never learned to shoot with the 
 same unerring precision and deadly aim as the 
 skilled white scout or frontiersman. 
 
 The Indians had a warm regard for Mr. 
 French, and went to him for counsel and ad- 
 vice, and his influence over them was great. 
 He was of an easy, kindly disposition, strictly 
 just, and could do more with them than any 
 other man in the township. But when any 
 really serious case arose they took it before 
 Thomas Ferguson. French was gentle, cour- 
 teous, affable, and not of strong build. Fer- 
 guson was a man of great physical strength 
 which partly accounted for the Indian admira- 
 tion of him. He was also a man of great 
 common sense, and thoroughly understood the 
 Indian character. He was spoken of by them 
 as "Governor" Ferguson, and this title later 
 was given him by his neighbors. He lived near 
 the line between what is now Sandusky and 
 Jefferson townships. Sandusky, Jefferson and 
 Polk had been their favorite hunting grounds, 
 and fifteen years after the land had passed from 
 their hands by treaty, they still lingered in 
 this section with their camps, and roamed 
 through the forests until the advancing civili- 
 zation had driven away the game, and the In- 
 dians reluctantly retired to their own reserva- 
 tion. The Indians had been cowed into sub- 
 mission, and except when under the influence 
 of liquor were fairly harmless. True, any- 
 thing they wanted they took, making no dis- 
 tinction as to whether it belonged to them or 
 some one else, and no household utensil or 
 stock of the farmer was safe. The most 
 serious case that came before "Governor" 
 Ferguson was in the early twenties. Two 
 young men came from the east, brothers named 
 Philip and William Beatty. When they were 
 but children their parents had been murdered 
 by a marauding band of Indians, and the two 
 boys being away in the woods escaped; they 
 returned to the cabin only to find their par- 
 ents cruelly butchered. Naturally they were 
 filled with intense hatred of the entire Indian 
 race, and when they arrived in this section 
 continued their vengeance against the unof- 
 fending Wyandots. One very dark night they 
 crept cautiously toward an Indian camp and 
 
 took careful aim on two unsuspecting Indians. 
 Fortunately, both shots missed, but the In- 
 dians sprang to their feet and started in hot 
 pursuit. In the darkness of the wood the 
 young men easily eluded their pursuers. The 
 next day the Indians visited "Governor" Fer- 
 guson, and demanded justice. The "Governor" 
 patiently listened to their story, was justly in- 
 dignant to the intense delight of the Indians; 
 he assured them it was an outrage which 
 should not go unpunished, and they could de- 
 pend upon him to see that the attempted mur- 
 derers received the punishment they so richly 
 deserved. But in the meantime they should 
 find out who it was that committed the coward- 
 ly act, and notify him, and whoever it was 
 should receive the most severe punishment. 
 These children of the forest left supremely 
 happy over the fatherly care the "Governor" 
 was taking of them, but as they never dis- 
 covered who fired the shot the matter was 
 finally dropped, except that the Indians had a 
 greater confidence than ever in the wisdom, 
 impartiality, and strict sense of justice of 
 their good friend, "Governor" Ferguson. 
 
 Sandusky township gives the first record of 
 a traveling managerie in the county. In the 
 year 1829 one passed through the township on 
 the way from Mansfield to the northwest, and 
 camped for the night on the farm of John B. 
 French. They had several cages of lions and 
 other wild beasts, and also an elephant and 
 some camels, and people came from miles 
 around to get a glimpse of the strange animals, 
 but tradition states that the roars of the lions, 
 as the caravan was traveling through the coun- 
 ty, startled many a timid pioneer, while the 
 more valiant hurriedly seized their rifles, and 
 started for the noise, only to discover the un- 
 known wild animal was not a beast at large 
 in the forest. 
 
 In 1823 the nearest mills — of any note — 
 were eight miles away. In that year, how- 
 ever, there arrived Jacob Dull, Jacob Am- 
 brosier, and Benjamin and William Bowers. 
 The Bowers brothers, soon after their arrival 
 erected a large, hewed-log, two-storied cabin 
 on Loss Creek, not far from its mouth, which 
 they converted into a saw and grist-mill, and 
 this mill, especially the saw-mill department, 
 rendered good service for many years. Saw- 
 mills at this time were greatly needed, for 
 
314 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 there were not enough to supply the home de- 
 mand for lumber, although, besides the one 
 above mentioned, another was established near 
 the settlement now known as Sulphur Springs, 
 and one or two existed in adjoining townships. 
 The finest timber was then wasted with what 
 today would be regarded as reckless prodigal- 
 ity. The Bowers Brothers also built an addi- 
 tion to their mill, designing it for a distillery, 
 but its product at any time was small and not 
 more than sufficient to supply the local de- 
 mand. They started a saloon which became a 
 noted resort for the more convivial spirits in 
 the neighborhood. After running for about 
 ten years both mills and distillery were aban- 
 doned. It was near this mill, as late as 1838, 
 that William Wert killed a large panther, which 
 he found in a tree, and which he at first took 
 to be only a catamount. He had a desperate 
 struggle with the animal, which killed one of 
 his dogs and badly wounded another, but he 
 finally effected its destruction, after cutting 
 down no less than three trees, in which it had 
 taken refuge in succession, and bore home his 
 prize in triumph. 
 
 James Magee came to the township in 1821 ; 
 he was accompanied by three brothers-in-law: 
 John Clements, John Magers and William 
 Moderwell. James Magee was the father of 
 William Magee, who is still living in Bucyrus, 
 and who assisted at the raising of the mill of 
 James Robinson on the Sandusky. It was 
 first built as a saw-mill, and later a grist-mill 
 was added; a small dam was erected to fur- 
 nish the power, but even with this the supply 
 of water was so small that it was impossible to 
 run it in dry weather. Later the mill burned 
 down, and only the saw-mill was rebuilt. Wil- 
 liam Magee has a record showing that in his 
 early days he assisted at the raisings of loi 
 mills, houses and barns, and some of these 
 buildings were built almost entirely of walnut 
 logs. John Clements was one of the commis- 
 sioners from 1839 to 1845, and his son James 
 was sheriff and probate judge. William 
 Moderwell was the father of J. Watson Moder- 
 well, a prominent stock-buyer, farmer and 
 land owner. John Magers was a Pennsyl- 
 vanian and a Presbyterian, and when he en- 
 tered the land it was one unbroken forest. 
 This he cleared, and lived on the same farm 
 until his death, which occurred on July 18, 
 
 1862, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. He 
 was one of the first commissioners of Craw- 
 ford county, elected in 1826, and voted to lo- 
 cate the county seat at Bucyrus. 
 
 William Handley settled in the northern part 
 of the township in 1822, near the Bear Marsh. 
 This was the name given it by the In- 
 dians before the arrival of the whites, on ac- 
 count of its being a favorite resort for bears. 
 Near him were Nelson Tustison and William 
 Matthews who came in 1825. 
 
 David Dewalt, came in 1823 and John 
 Mayer in 1824. 
 
 Joseph Smith and James Tarnes came in 
 1825. Smith was known as Capt. Smith, 
 having been a commissioned officer in the War 
 of 1812, and on account of his military ex- 
 perience was elected captain of a militia com- 
 pany raised in and around Sandusky township. 
 He was a graduate of an eastern college and 
 had come west for his health believing the 
 rugged life of the open air would be of ben- 
 efit, but he died a few years later of consump- 
 tion. Tarnes settled on a quarter section in 
 the western part of the township on which he 
 built his cabin of hewed logs. He was a black- 
 smith by trade, and near his cabin he built a 
 small shop and was the first blacksmith in the 
 township, and here he carried on his trade for, 
 many years, clearing his land and farming in 
 connection with his blacksmithing. 
 
 Isaac Hilborn settled in the northern part of 
 the township in 1825. He came with nothing, 
 and mauled rails to secure the money to pay 
 for his land. He was an expert marksman and 
 resorted to his rifle to secure cash to pay his 
 taxes and purchase necessaries. Coon skins 
 then brought from 25 cents, but occasionally 
 a dollar for those that were well dressed. One 
 night when hunting coons with his young son, 
 Robert, they were attacked by wolves. He 
 placed the boy in the hollow of a tree, and 
 with a large fire-brand kept the wolves at bay, 
 occasionally rushing forward and waving the 
 blazing brand in their faces until the scared 
 animals sneaked back into the forest. Hilborn 
 later moved to Auburn township where he 
 died April 30, 1864, and was buried in the 
 Hanna graveyard. 
 
 In 1826, the arrivals were Andrew Dewey. 
 George M. Kitch, Henry Magner, John Ram- 
 sey and Joseph Wert. Isaac Dorland came 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 315 
 
 into the township the same year from Liberty- 
 township, where he had first settled three years 
 previously. He was a tanner by trade, and 
 dressed skins for several years. Joseph Wert 
 was bom April 28, 1775. He established the 
 first Sunday school in the township, was active 
 in church work, and died Jan. i, 1855, and 
 ■was buried in the Biddle graveyard. 
 
 Other of the early settlers were William and 
 Philip Beatty, Isaac Henry and John Peter- 
 man in 1827; John Davis, Charles Burns, 
 Isaac Beck, William Core, Peter Long, John 
 Ruth, John Mclntyre and two sons, Emanuel 
 and Patrick, in 1828; Abel Dewalt, John Ka- 
 ler and Adam Stone in 1830; William and 
 George Cox, Andrew Dickson, John Luke and 
 Samuel Stone in 183 1 ; Benjamin Lobe in 1832 ; 
 John Brown, Matthias Pfahler and Lewis 
 Rutan in 1833; John Kile in 1834; Jacob Ore- 
 wiler and John P. Wert in 1835. 
 
 Charles Burns was probably the most pa- 
 triotic of the early pioneers; he was born in 
 Dauphin county, Pa., and made it a duty every 
 Fourth of July to read the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and when he had advanced in years 
 and his eyesight was failing he had one of his 
 sons read it to him; and still later, one of his 
 grandchildren read the document to him each 
 Fourth of July until his death, which occurred 
 on Oct. 2, 1869. 
 
 By 1835 conditions were much improved. 
 There were about fifty families in the town- 
 ship. Industries and improvements had been 
 started, markets were nearer, and excellent 
 flour and meal could be obtained within a few 
 miles. Mansfield and Bucyrus were the prin- 
 cipal trading points. A rude shingle factory 
 was erected by Mr. Ruth in about 1836, but 
 turned out an inferior product and was dis- 
 continued after a few years. Isaac Beck 
 owned a one-horse saw and grist-mill on the 
 river about 1835 and conducted it for about 
 four years. The foot-wear of the community 
 was attended to by John Kaler a cobbler, who 
 during the winter season, in accordance with 
 pioneer custom, traveled from house to house 
 mending shoes. John Mclntyre, whose orig- 
 inal trade was that of weaver, had a loom in 
 one end of his cabins, which he operated when 
 not engaged on his farm. 
 
 The first tavern in the township was the 
 cabin of John B. French where travelers were 
 
 18 
 
 principally entertained as a convenience and 
 generally without any charge. John Luke 
 came to the county from New Jersey, and es- 
 tablished the first tavern at Luke's corners 
 where the road between Liberty and Sandus- 
 ky townships crosses the Sandusky river. It 
 was on one of those fractional sections which 
 are now a part of Liberty township. This 
 tavern was on two important roads and did a 
 large business, Mr. Luke becoming fairly well 
 to do in this world's goods. It was the only 
 early tavern ever in the township. Across the 
 road from his tavern he gave land for the 
 Luke graveyard, in which several of the old 
 pioneers are buried, the first known interment 
 being Mary Peterman, a child who died Nov. 
 15, 1838. Other burials are Matthias Am- 
 brosier, born April 16, 1776, died Dec. 12, 
 1850; John Essig, born Feb. 12, 1798, died 
 Aug. 26, 1880; John Peterman, born Sept. 20, 
 1776, died Sept. 27, 1859; Jesse Spahr, born 
 March 3, 1800, died May 5, 1881 ; Jacob 
 Waters, born June 5, 1788, died Sept. 26, 
 i860. 
 
 Some years ago an attempt was made to 
 convert the Knisely Springs into a watering 
 place. At a heavy expense the buildings were 
 remodeled, a little lake was constructed, and 
 for a time it was a popular resort for picnic 
 parties, and a few regular boarders, but the in- 
 vestment did not prove profitable, and after 
 several parties had tried and failed the hotel 
 was closed, and it is now again a residence. 
 
 In the early days Jacob Warner had a black- 
 smith shop in the township about two miles 
 east of Annapolis, and Z. Staple also had a 
 blacksmith shop near where John B. French 
 first settled in 1821. Henry Kalb about 1836 
 had a saw-mill on Slate Rock run. 
 
 Sandusky township is the only township in 
 the county which has no village and never had 
 one. It has no postofifice today but is sup- 
 plied by rural route from Bucyrus and Tiro, 
 yet it has had in the past three postofifices, and 
 one of the first ofBces established in this coun- 
 ty was in Sandusky township. There were so 
 many settlers along the Sandusky river on ac- 
 count of the excellence of the land, that the 
 people petitioned for better mail facilities and 
 their request was granted, and in 1834 a post- 
 ofifice was established called Loss Creek. John 
 Clements was appointed the first postmaster 
 
316 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 on February 7, 1834. He served three years 
 and was succeeded on July 21, 1837 by Oba- 
 diah Roberts. On July 29, 1840 Matthew 
 Torrence was appointed the postmaster and 
 served until Jan. 26, 1852, when the office was 
 temporarily discontinued, but the demand for 
 mail facilities was such that it was opened 
 again on Sept. 27, 1852, with Matthew Tor- 
 rence again the postmaster, but with the name 
 changed to Camp Run. The office now con- 
 tinued for over 20 years as Camp Run and 
 with no change of postmaster until it was 
 finally discontinued on July 21, 1873. These 
 offices were in the southern part of the town- 
 ship near Loss Creek after which it was first 
 named. After the office had been discontin- 
 ued there was a general desire for its re-estab- 
 lishment, and pressure was brought to bear 
 and on March 31, 1880, a postoffice was again 
 started in the same neighborhood and this time 
 called Biddle. William H. Korner was the 
 first postmaster, being appointed March 31, 
 1880. Succeeding him were Joseph Parr, Jan. 
 II, 1883, Thomas S. Dewald July 11, 1884, 
 Woods R. Mitchel, Jan. 6, 1890, Isaac Kieffer, 
 Feb. 12, 1891, S. S. Elberson, May 10, 1893, 
 Guy E. V. Fry, Feb. 12, 1895. The latter 
 served until the postoffice was discontinued on 
 Jan. 14, 1904, since which time patrons have 
 been served by rural routes. 
 
 The first justices of the peace were ap- 
 pointed by the commissioners of Delaware 
 county, on April 15, 1821, and had jurisdic- 
 tion over the entire county, the appointees be- 
 ing Westell Ridgely of near Leesville, and 
 Joseph Young of near Buc5n-us, neither town 
 then being in existence. The first election was 
 May 15, 1824 when Matthias Markley and 
 Ichabod Smith each received 22 votes, both 
 living in what is now Liberty township. The 
 following are the justices of Sandusky town- 
 ship. 
 
 Westell Ridgely— 1821. 
 
 Joseph Young — 1821. 
 
 Matthias Markley— 1824-27-30. 
 
 Ichabod Smith— 1824-27. 
 
 John Cox— 1832-35. 
 
 Disberry Johnson — 1833. 
 
 John Slyfer— 1835. 
 
 Obediah Roberts— 1838. 
 
 Peter Esler— 1840. 
 
 Adam Stone— i8/i4-47-SO- 
 
 Henry Cobb— 1842-45. 
 
 Isaac N. Fry— 1848. 
 
 Andrew Dickson— 1850-56-59-62-65. 
 
 William C. Parsons — 1853. 
 
 John Burns — 1853. 
 
 Lewis Littler — 1856-59-62-65. 
 
 Joseph Knisely — 1868-71-74. 
 
 James Smith — 1868. 
 
 Philip Keller — 1870-73-76-79. 
 
 John Knisely — 1877. 
 
 J. H. Blackford— 1880-83-86-93. 
 
 John Burns — 1882. 
 
 Josiah Keller— 1886. 
 
 A. D. Grogg— 1887. 
 
 Solomon Harley — 1890-93-96-99-03-06-08-1 1. 
 
 B. F. Warden— 1890-98-01. 
 H. J. Roop — 191 1. 
 
 The first religious services in Sandusky, as 
 in othet townships, were conducted by itinerant 
 ministers, who always received a cordial wel- 
 come, and held forth in the cabin or barn of 
 one of the settlers, all attending regardless of 
 the denomination of the preacher. As early 
 as 1822 a Methodist society was organized 
 and services were held whenever a minister 
 could be secured in the cabins of Mr. French, 
 Samuel Knisely, and later Isaac Henry. The 
 first ministers were Rev. John O. Blowers, 
 who after 1823 was constantly preaching to the 
 little congregations all over the central por- 
 tion of the county; another early minister was 
 Rev. James Martin, who came from England 
 in 1823, settling in Holmes township, and gave 
 spiritual teaching to the early pioneers. Ef- 
 forts were made by the early missionaries to 
 convert the Indians, who were still living in 
 the township. One of these early missionaries 
 was a Miss Melinda Hunt, who had her home 
 on the Sandusky river, and from there visited 
 the various Indian camps, where she sang to 
 their great delight, they never tiring of the 
 singing and always demanding more. She 
 also taught them the lessons of Christianity, 
 they listening patiently as they knew more sing- 
 ing was to follow. By degrees her teaching 
 had its effect, and many attended the regular 
 services in the cabins. The impression pre- 
 vailed that in her early days her family had 
 been murdered by the Indians, and instead of 
 taking the usual course of retaliation, she 
 sought to convert them from their evil ways. 
 When the Indians finally left this section, she 
 followed them, continuing her good work in 
 their new location still further to the westward. 
 The first camp meeting ever held in the 
 county was in Sandusky township, on the farm 
 of John B. French north of the Sandusky 
 river. It was in 1831, and the settlers came 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 317 
 
 from many miles around, over 60 families 
 being present and erecting their tents in the 
 woods, while on the edge of the camp grounds 
 over 100 Indians established themselves in 
 their wigwams. The tents were erected 
 around a square about an acre in size, and in 
 this square was a platform, surrounded by 
 roughly made seats for those in attendance. 
 Services were held morning, noon and even- 
 ing; among the ministers taking charge of 
 the exercises were Revs. Prentice, Bell, Pal- 
 mer, Chase and Havens. Game could still be 
 shot in the woods, and other supplies were 
 brought to the camp and all the food was 
 cooked on the ground, and many had brought 
 their cows, which gave them a supply of milk. 
 There was also a little store adjoining the 
 grounds where tobacco, candy, fruit, etc., were 
 sold. The Indians attended the services, many 
 of them understanding sufficient English to 
 follow the minister. The Indians sat on the 
 ground by themselves, and during the services 
 a number were converted. Among the whites 
 there were a large number of conversions, 
 which greatly strengthened the churches of 
 Sandusky township and the surrounding coun- 
 
 try. . ^ . 
 
 A Presbyterian church was organized m 
 1829, near the centre of the township. Occa- 
 sional services had been held in the cabins of 
 the settlers, and the nearest church of that 
 faith was about three miles east of Crestline, 
 where a church had been erected in 1822. 
 This was the Hopewell church, and it was 
 nothing unusual for the people to start on Sun- 
 day morning, walk the twelve miles, and be 
 there in time for the morning services. It 
 was not alone these pioneers, but all over the 
 county the people went long distances to hear 
 the word of God. Nearly all wore moccasins 
 in those days, but some of the women had 
 real shoes, and these, on Sunday morning, 
 carried their shoes on their long walk and 
 when near the church stopped beside some 
 little stream and put on their shoes, and thus 
 appropriately dressed entered the house of 
 God. After settlers became more numerous 
 it was decided to build a church, and the site 
 selected was about four miles southwest of the 
 present town of Sulphur Springs. Money was 
 scarce in those days, and instead of contribut- 
 ing cash every man did a certain amount of 
 
 work, and by 1833 the building was finished. 
 It was a hand-made building, the settlers not 
 only putting it up, but making the platform 
 and the rough seats, and this structure re- 
 mained practically as built and furnished by 
 the early pioneers, except necessary repairs, 
 until another church was erected, the old 
 church being removed half a mile to the west 
 where it did duty as a barn on the farm of 
 William Stone, the land now owned by Caleb 
 Pfahler. In September, 1870 the present 
 church was dedicated. Before the church was 
 built a graveyard had been started, for here 
 the oldest tomb records the death of Emanuel 
 Mclntyre, who died March 4, 1829. Other 
 graves are those of James Magee, who was a 
 soldier in the War of 1812; Rev. J. F. Blay- 
 ney, who died Aug. 16, 1886, after a half a 
 century of religious work in many places; and 
 many other names are there whose willing 
 hands assisted in the building of the first 
 church. 
 
 A Lutheran church was organized and a 
 church erected about 1840 on Loss Creek, and 
 in the southwestern part of the township is 
 the U. B. church. Probably the first cem- 
 etery started was what is known as the Biddle 
 graveyard. Here the first record is that of 
 George M. Kitch, who died Dec. 21, 1827. 
 Here is buried Rev. Alexander Biddle, who 
 was a United Brethren Minister for 62 years. 
 
 The first Sunday School in the county is 
 claimed by Sandusky township, having been 
 first held in the cabin of Joseph Wert, soon 
 after his arrival in 1826. This township was 
 the birthplace of Robert Cowden, who organ- 
 ized the Crawford County Sunday School As- 
 sociation in 1867, and from that time on de- 
 voted his life to the Sunday school work, be- 
 ing one of the recognized leaders in the State. 
 He was born in the township in 1833, and his 
 father died when he was a boy of but five 
 years of age, and his death is another record 
 of the trial and experiences of the early pio- 
 neers. Kind neighbors did all that was pos- 
 sible, one of them making the coffin, and on 
 the day of the funeral they assembled at the 
 little cabin where services were held. A wa- 
 gon was secured on which to carry the coffin, 
 to the graveyard several miles distant, the fam- 
 ily and friends walking behind this improvised 
 hearse. The distance was too great for the 
 
318 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 little son to walk, so he rode, having for his 
 seat his father's coffin. Robert Cowden 
 learned the carpenter trade at the age of 15 
 to assist in the support of his mother, entered 
 the army, rose to the rank of colonel, was 
 later postmaster of Gallon, and then devoted 
 all his time to religious work in connection 
 with the United Brethren church. 
 
 The first school in Sandusky township was 
 taught probably during the winter of 1826-27, 
 in a small round log cabin, on the farm later 
 owned by Alexander Smith. Miss Jane Ho- 
 gan, who afterward became Mrs. Smith, was 
 the teacher. The cabin, though divided into 
 two compartments, was provided with but one 
 window, and the appointments were of the 
 crudest kind. During the following winter 
 Mr. Dewey taught a term of three months in 
 his own cabin, having about fifteen or twenty 
 pupils. Mr. Dewey's cabin was much better 
 lighted, having three glass windows, and it 
 is said he kept an unusually successful school. 
 He was a well educated man and continued 
 in this occupation until the first schoolhouse 
 was erected a number of years later. Miss 
 Mary Ann Higby taught a short term in 
 Dewey's cabin during the summer in 1828, and 
 afterwards taught many terms in this and ad- 
 
 joining townships. It is thought that there 
 may have been other schools taught previous 
 to 1826, but, if so, there is no definite record 
 of them. In 1830 a hewed log schoolhouse was 
 built on the corner of Isaac Henry's farm. It 
 was in use for about fifteen years, when it was 
 superceded by a frame building. The second 
 schoolhouse was built south of the river in 
 1838, and was used for many years. Another 
 was built in 1842 in the extreme northern part 
 of the township. 
 
 Sandusky township with its eighteen square 
 miles has five school districts. No. i being on 
 the northwest quarter of section 2 on the land 
 of O. J. Keller; No. 2 the southwest quarter of 
 section 11 on the land of O. P. McKeehen; 
 No. 3 the northwest quarter of section 23, 
 the land of Angelina Roop; it is opposite the 
 township hall, which is the exact centre of the 
 township. Holmes and Sandusky being the 
 only, township where the township hall is ex- 
 actly in the center. No. 4 the northeast quar- 
 ter of section 34 on the land of Louisa Mc- 
 Michael; No. 5 the northwest quarter of sec- 
 tion 36, the land of George Lahr. 
 
 Sandusky township is the only one of the 
 sixteen townships in the county through which 
 no railroad passes. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 TEXAS TOWNSHIP 
 
 Texas Township — Early Settlers with Their Mills on the Sycamore — Benton Incorporated as 
 a Village to Comply With the Law — Its Early Mayors — "Old Pipes' " Store Gives the 
 Name to Pipetown — "Bishop" Tuttle, an Influential Citizen and His Hobbies — Post- 
 masters and Justices of the Peace. 
 
 "Ah! on Thanksgiving Day, when from East and from 
 
 West, 
 From North and from South come the pilgrim and 
 
 guest. 
 When the gray-haired New-Englander sees round his 
 
 board 
 The old broken links of affection restored, 
 When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once 
 
 more, 
 And the worn matron smiles 'where the girl smiled 
 
 before, 
 What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye? 
 What call, back the past like the rich pumpkin-pie?" 
 John Greenleaf Whittieh. 
 
 What is now Texas township was first a 
 part of Crawford township, organized in 1821 
 by the county commissioners of Delaware 
 county, the new township including the pres- 
 ent Texas, and the territory for 16 miles to 
 the west, the present townships of Sycamore, 
 Tymochtee and Crawford in Wyandot coun- 
 ty. Here the first election took place April 
 I, 1 82 1, but there were no votes cast from 
 Texas township, as at that time there was not 
 a settler in the present township, the entire 
 region being a dense forest; in no part was 
 there an acre, or a half acre or even a quarter 
 but what was covered with trees; it was the 
 forest primeval awaiting the coming of the 
 pioneer and the axe of the settler. In 1825 
 Crawford township was divided by the com- 
 missioners of Delaware county, the eastern six 
 miles being Sycamore township, and the two 
 eastern miles of this township were the pres- 
 ent Texas township. The first election was 
 held in the house of George Kisor where 
 Deunquat now is, two miles west of the pres- 
 ent village of Benton; there were several set- 
 
 tlers then in Texas township who may have 
 participated in this election. Until the or- 
 ganization of Crawford county in 1826, Tex- 
 as township was under the judicial supervision 
 of Seneca county. In 1845, Wyandot county 
 was erected and on March 6, 1845, the Craw- 
 ford county commissioners arranged the new 
 townships, the dividing line of the two coun- 
 ties being through Sycamore township, the 
 four western miles of that township going 
 to Wyandot and the two eastern miles re- 
 maining in Crawford. The clause in the res- 
 olution relating to Texas is as follows: "All 
 that part taken from township one ( i ) south, 
 range fifteen (15) east, be, and the same is 
 hereby, organized into an independent town- 
 ship, and shall be known by the name of Tex- 
 as." It was named Texas after the independ- 
 ent state of Texas, whose admission to the 
 Union had been a subject of political discus- 
 sion for many years, and the act admitting it 
 to the Union had been signed by President 
 Polk on March i, just five days before the 
 commissioners gave the new township its 
 name. The township contained only 12 square 
 miles. 
 
 Lying, as it did, on the nothem border of 
 the Wyandot Reservation, the township was 
 first inhabited by white hunters and other ad- 
 venturous spirits, who made their living in 
 the main by trespassing on the Indian reserva- 
 tion in search of game, which was more 
 abundant there than in the regions which had 
 been already settled by the white man. These 
 hunters and their families, when they had any. 
 
 319 
 
320 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 were generally a worthless and shiftless class 
 of people, with little regard for the rights, 
 either of the Indians or for those of their 
 early white neighbors, whose hogs they appro- 
 priated whenever they could find them running 
 at large in the woods, together with any other 
 property on which they could lay their hands. 
 Though they often made considerable money 
 by the shooting and trapping of furbearing 
 animals, they spent the greater part of it for 
 liquor and seldom invested any of it in the 
 purchase of more land or the improvement 
 of their property. Their children were usually 
 ill clad and poorly fed and often extremely 
 dirty. It was for the benefit of the community 
 when this class of settlers finally disapeared 
 and was replaced by an industrious. God- 
 fearing class of men, who set to work to sub- 
 due the wilderness, cultivate farms, establish 
 little industries, and build schools and 
 churches, which have made the township what 
 it is today. 
 
 One of the last of this shiftless band of 
 petty thieves was waited upon by his indignant 
 neighbors and peremptorily ordered to leave 
 that section. It was the fall of the year, and 
 the man protested against being driven away 
 just as winter was approaching; that his chil- 
 dren were without clothing, and it would be 
 impossible to protect them from freezing. 
 The settlers were humane, and returned to 
 their homes, and a few days later again called 
 with a supply of winter clothing they had 
 gathered for the wife and children. The man 
 was now more reluctant than ever to leave so 
 generous a neighborhood, and he was only 
 finally compelled to leave after some very 
 forceful threats, and a little accidental vio- 
 lence, and the neighborhood was not only rid 
 of him but it had a good effect on others who 
 were inclined to live partly on the labor of 
 others. 
 
 The township is drained in the northern 
 part by Buckeye creek, a small tributary of 
 the Sandusky river and by two or three small 
 streams that empty into the Sycamore. 
 Through the southern part the Sycamore 
 passes, and its largest branch is the Big Run. 
 The land in both the northern and southern 
 parts of the township is quite rolling, especial- 
 ly along Sycamore creek, where the hills rise 
 in some places to 80 feet above the bed of 
 
 the stream. In the central part of the town- 
 ship it is more level, but this part is well 
 drained and contains the most fertile territory. 
 
 The first settler in Texas township not be- 
 longing to the wandering hunter class, was 
 George Bender, who came from Pennsylvania 
 with a wife and three children and entered a 
 tract of land in the southern part in 1824 and 
 built a round-log cabin thereon. About three 
 years later he built a rude dam on Sycamore 
 creek, southwest of the present village of Pop- 
 lar, or Benton, and employed a man named 
 James McGrew to construct a saw-mill. But 
 having unfortunately erected his mill on the 
 land of John Hazlett, he received notice that 
 he must relinquish his claim to the property. 
 Hazlett took charge of the mill and conducted 
 it until 1834, when its usefulness came to an 
 end owing to the washing away of the dam. 
 Bender in the meanwhile had erected another 
 mill further down the creek on his own land, 
 which was operated for a few years and then 
 discontinued. Bender also conducted a farm, 
 the work being done by a team which con- 
 sisted of a large bay horse and an ox; these 
 he used to hitch to one of those old fashioned 
 wide-track wagons and with the odd rig he 
 was often seen on the streets of Bucyrus in the 
 early days, it taking two days to make the 
 trip to Bucyrus and return. His first cabin 
 had two doors, hung on wooden hinges, one 
 on each side of the building, while one end 
 was entirely occupied by the fire-place. A 
 pleasing addition to his domicile was a long 
 shed, made of rough boards, which answered 
 the combined purposes of swine, cow and 
 horse stable. Bender was the first postmaster 
 at Poplar and died in 1850. His wife, Mary, 
 died in 1832. 
 
 In 1825 the arrivals were Eli Adams, An- 
 thony Defray, Charles Morrow, Adam Miller, 
 John Nedray, David Palmer, Laban Perdew, 
 Doddridge Paul, Robert Roberts and Alva 
 Trask. In 1826, Lewis Lemert, William Pen- 
 nington, Robert Mays, Ebenezer Culver, Jacob 
 Foy, Andrew Gregg and William Griffiths. 
 
 Eli Adams was born in Massachusetts in 
 1803, and came with his parents to Huron 
 county in.1813. When 22 years of asfe he 
 came to this county entering 80 acres of land 
 in what is now Texas townshio. The land 
 was all forest, in the midst of which he erected 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 321 
 
 his cabin, and commenced clearing the land. 
 He married Mary Andrews who came to Sen- 
 eca county with her parents in 1823, and later 
 to Crawford county. 
 
 Isaac Miller settled on the Sycamore, just 
 below the present village of Benton. Here 
 in 1836 he placed a rude dam across the river, 
 and erected a saw-mill, which he ran about 
 eight years, when dam and mill were washed 
 away by a rising of the stream during a spring 
 freshet, and the mill was never rebuilt; he 
 then devoting his attention to farming. 
 
 Laban Perdew settled in the northern part 
 of the township, took an active hand in local 
 matters and was one of the early justices of 
 the peace. 
 
 Jacob Miller settled in the northern part 
 of the township. His grandfather Andrew 
 Mueller was the owner of a large mill in Ger- 
 many, but during one of Napoleon's marches 
 into Germany the mill was destroyed by fire, 
 and two of his sons drafted into the army. 
 In order to escape, the entire family secretly 
 left the country for America, but within a 
 year after their arrival the entire family, ex- 
 cept Jacob, died at Hagerstown, Md. Jacob 
 came to Fairfield county, O., and with his son 
 Jacob came to Seneca county in 1830, settling 
 on 80 acres which they purchased for $100; 
 later they came to Texas township, the young- 
 er Jacob marrying Phoebe Pennington, daugh- 
 ter of one of the pioneers. 
 
 Daniel Walter was born in July, 1797, and 
 came to this section in March, 1821, with the 
 family of Peter Baum, one of the first pioneers 
 to settle in Sycamore township, Crawford 
 county, now in Wyandot county. He worked 
 thirteen months for Thomas Leeper, a pioneer 
 who came the same year and entered land a 
 few miles west of Baum. Walker received 
 $100 for his- services, and with this bought 
 80 acres of land, on which he erected his own 
 log cabin, with its mud chimney and puncheon 
 floor. He married Susanna Baum, the daugh- 
 ter of the pioneer who came to the county 
 with him. While he lived near to county line, 
 it was not until late in life he moved into 
 Texas township, where he died Aug. 7, 1875, 
 and was buried in the Benton graveyard. 
 
 Another settler on the border was Adam 
 Coon. His grandfather, John Coon, was a 
 soldier in the Revolutionary War, and set- 
 
 tled in Pickaway county in 1803, and when 
 the War of 1812 broke out his son John 
 shouldered his musket to fight against the 
 British. John Coon, the father of Adam, was 
 a blacksmith, and made a number of articles 
 for the Indians, among them a tomahawk and 
 pipe combined, which delighted the red man. 
 His son Adam also learned the blacksmith's 
 trade, and in 1821, started out in life for him- 
 self, his father setting him up in business by 
 presenting him with an axe, an iron wedge 
 and a maul. Carrying these, Adam walked 
 to this section where he started just west of 
 Texas township with 80 acres, for which he 
 promised to pay 75 cents an acre. The con- 
 tract was too large for him, and he had to 
 give up forty acres. He followed in the 
 footsteps of his father by making the com- 
 bination pipe and tomahawk, and by degrees 
 his land was partly cleared, and in three years 
 he had money enough to buy back the forty 
 acres he had been compelled to relinquish at 
 the start. He married Elizabeth Hackerthom, 
 whose father was also in the War of 1812. 
 Her parents came to this country when she 
 was an infant, and' when they came west she 
 was carried in the arms of her mother and 
 aunt the entire seven hundred miles. When 
 they first married, the cabin was one built 
 entirely by the husband; it had only a bark 
 roof and the bare ground for a floor, and here 
 they lived for several years until a better 
 cabin was erected of hewn logs. He died on 
 March 19, 1877. 
 
 Doddridge Paul, another pioneer, came here 
 from Huron county (now Erie county) in 
 May, 1825. He had previously married Rox- 
 ana Whitney but left his wife with friends 
 in Seneca county until he could prepare a 
 home for her. He built a cabin in the forest, 
 a neighbor helping him to put on the bark 
 roof. His family arrived before he had fin- 
 ished the cabin, and they had to sit on the 
 stumps outside, with their goods, while he 
 was cutting out a place for a door, when they 
 moved in, his wife building a fire in one cor- 
 ner, where she prepared their first meal in 
 their new home. At the start their only door 
 was a blanket, which they hung across the 
 entrance, and at night their sleep was dis- 
 turbed by the howling of the wolves. Indians 
 made frequent calls for something to eat. Mr. 
 
322 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Paul cleared three acres the first season, which 
 he put into wheat, and in the next season built 
 a better cabin. He also cleared six acres for 
 corn and set out loo apple trees, the first or- 
 chard planted in the township. 
 
 Lewis Lemert was born in Virginia in 1802. 
 His father, Joshua Lemert, was an officer in 
 the War of 1812. On Jan. 2, 1823, Lewis 
 Lemert married Ruth Perdew in Coshocton 
 county, and in 1826, the young couple came 
 to Texas township entering 80 acres in the 
 northwestern part of the township. On this 
 he built his cabin and cleared away the forest, 
 took an active interest in church work, and 
 assisted in the building of the Ebenezer M. E. 
 Church at Pipetown. He died Aug. 4, 1882, 
 and was buried in the Pipetown graveyard. 
 One of his sons was Col. W. C. Lemert, who 
 worked on the farm in early life, taught 
 school, came to Bucyrus, entered the army, 
 and after the war devoted his attention to rail- 
 road building and manufacturing. 
 
 Other of the early settlers were John Mc- 
 Grew who came in 1827; William Gregg and 
 Martin Holman in 1829; Charles Dickens in 
 1830; James Andrews in "1832; John Ballack 
 in 1834; David Beal, Robert Clark, Wash- 
 ington Duncan, William Jackson and James 
 Longwell in 1835. 
 
 James Andrews came to Texas township in 
 1832, his sons Arthur and John being twins, 
 and 24 years of age when they came to the 
 township. Arthur worked on a farm in Penn- 
 sylvania and having accumulated $113, walked 
 from Steubenville, O., to Texas township, 
 where he invested $100 in an 80-acre tract to 
 which the family moved in 1832. 
 
 Jacob Walcutt came to Texas township and 
 entered 80 acres just west of Benton. Before 
 he removed to the land, he died, and his wife, 
 Elizabeth (Riley) Walcutt, settled on the land 
 with her seven children, between 1835 and 
 1840, and the farm was cleared and carried on 
 by the mother and children. Jacob Walcutt 
 was a soldier in the War of 1812. 
 
 Those who located in the southern part of 
 the township were Anthony Detray, Charles 
 Morrow, Robert Mays, Adam Miller and 
 Robert Roberts. Those in the northern part 
 were Eli Adams, Joseph Nedray, Doddridge 
 Paul, David Palmer, Laban Perdew, Lewis 
 Lemert, and Alva Trask. Nearly all of the 
 
 settlers in the northern half of the township 
 came from Seneca county and were of New 
 England origin, some of them having settled 
 in that county about the time of the War of 
 1 8 12. The same time another wave of col- 
 onization was sweeping westward into Craw- 
 ford from Mansfield and vicinity, coming 
 north from Bucyrus, most of those who came 
 from this direction settling in the southern 
 part of Texas township. Many of these pio- 
 neers started on little or nothing but succeeded 
 by dint of willing hearts and busy hands in 
 building up a good homestead and laying the 
 foundations of prosperity for their descend- 
 ants. When Adam Miller and wife arrived, 
 their combined fortune consisted of an ox, a 
 rifle, a few plain cooking utensils, and about 
 1 2 1/2 cents in money, yet with this they began 
 to clear and improve a farm and prospered. 
 
 Owing to the proximity of the Wyandot 
 Reservation the settlers had plenty of oppor- 
 tunity of getting acquainted with the habits 
 and manners of the Indians. Though great 
 beggars, and sometimes thieves, they were on 
 friendly terms with the whites and after the 
 white settlement of the township began no 
 serious trouble ever occurred between the two 
 races. One of the most successful resident 
 hunters was John Hazlett. The Hazlett broth- 
 ers are said to have killed a hundred deer 
 every winter for many years after coming to 
 the township. They had many exciting ad- 
 ventures. One of the humorous incidents is 
 related of Robert Clark, who had just come 
 from the East and was not accustomed to life 
 in the woods. His cabin had no door, but only 
 an opening, which was covered by a blanket 
 suspended from above. One night, soon after 
 their arrival, the family heard strange and 
 bloodcurdling cries issuing from the forest 
 around, them, and, thinking that some fero- 
 cious wild animals were meditating an attack 
 upon them, he hurriedly sent his wife and chil- 
 dren into the loft, and valiantly took up his po- 
 sition at the entrance with an axe ready to ex- 
 terminate any intruder or perish in the attempt. 
 He thus kept guard all night and in the morn- 
 ing discovered that the unearthly cries which 
 had so alarmed them were merely the screech- 
 ing of owls. The children of the pioneers fre- 
 quently lost their way in the woods and some- 
 times several days would elapse before they 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 323 
 
 were recovered. On such occasions the whole 
 neighborhood would turn out with bells, guns 
 and horns and scour the woods until the wan- 
 derers were found. Occasionaly grown per- 
 sons also lost their way and wandered about 
 in the dense forest for hours or even days be- 
 fore they found their way to a clearing or 
 some settler's cabin, which they did not rec- 
 ognize though it might prove to be their own, 
 so bewildered were their faculties. 
 
 In the early days the Sycamore creek, small 
 as it is today, by means of little dams had 
 water sufficient to run several saw-mills about 
 four months in the year. The first mill was 
 that of George Bender about 1827. He had 
 his machinery first, and erected his mill in 
 the woods on the bank of the stream, and in 
 the open air sawed the lumber with which 
 the mill was built. This mill he lost, as it 
 was built on another man's land, who claimed 
 it, so he built another on the same stream, 
 being careful this time to have it on his own 
 land. Isaac Miller also had a saw-mill. These 
 were small affairs but a great convenience to 
 the settlers. In 1837 James Longwell built 
 his saw-mill on the Sycamore, charging 40 
 cents per hundred feet or sawing the lumber 
 on shares. After he had operated it profitably 
 for a number of years he entered into part- 
 nership with Uriah Wooster, and the first 
 grist mill was erected in the township. It was 
 a three-story building, with all the modern 
 machinery necessary to a mill at that time. 
 It was in this mill that Wooster met his death ; 
 one of the stones broke while he was running 
 the mill at high pressure, and a piece of the 
 flying stone struck him in the head, fractur- 
 ing his skull and killing him instantly. The 
 mill was in the possession of several owners, 
 and in 1862 came into the possession of Sam- 
 uel Clapper of Bucyrus, and the following year 
 he sold it to C. S. Miller of Bucyrus. The 
 saw-mill was discontinued but the flouring 
 mill still did a large business being constant- 
 ly improved with the demands of the time, 
 and became one of the leading mills in the 
 county. 
 
 Outside of the milling business there were 
 no special industries in the township in the 
 early days, a couple of blacksmith shops being 
 the headquarters of the neighborhood. Most 
 of the trading was done at Sycamore or Mel- 
 
 more, and on larger purchases the headquar- 
 ters being at Bucyrus or Tiffin. In 1848 Mar- 
 tin Holman established a tannery, but it was 
 not a profitable venture and was discontinued. 
 Mr. Holman was born in Pennsylvania and 
 came to Texas township in March, 1829. 
 
 About a mile and a half northeast of Plank- 
 ton, the old state road from Plymouth to Syc- 
 amore crosses the present boundary line road 
 between Crawford and Wyandot counties. In 
 the early thirties a store was started near this 
 crossing. The owner of the store had no- 
 ticed the joy of the Indians when they be- 
 came the proud possessors of one of the 
 tomahawk pipes of Adam Coon, and saw a 
 fortune in furnishing the Indians, who were 
 inveterate smokers, as well as the settlers, 
 with a cheap pipe. So he bought a large stock 
 of clay pipes, and any one entering the store 
 found pipes to the right of him, pipes to the 
 left of him, pipes in front of him. In fact, 
 it seemed as if there was nothing in the store 
 but pipes; they were so prominent that all 
 the other stock was eclipsed. The pipe ven- 
 ture was not a success, the Indians did not 
 take kindly to them and neither did the set- 
 tlers, but they gave the proprietor of the 
 store the name of "Old Pipes," and the Cor- 
 ners the name of Pipetown, and while the 
 name originated in burlesque the Ebenezer M. 
 E. Church built there was seldom known as 
 Ebenezer, but called the "Pipetown" church, 
 and the little graveyard was known as the 
 Pipetown graveyard, while near the church 
 stands the Pipetown school. 
 
 Benton was laid out in August, 1841, by 
 George Bender and John Hazlett, and was 
 named after Senator Thomas Benton of Mis- 
 souri, Hazlett being a great admirer of that 
 statesman. Previous to its being laid out, in 
 1837, a post office had been established there 
 called Poplar. It has always carried the two 
 names ; at the start the name of Benton being 
 the generally accepted one, but in the last 
 few years there is a heavy tendency prevailing 
 toward the Government name. The site of 
 the town was excellent, on a bluff on the 
 north bank of the Sycamore. 
 
 When the town was started there was a 
 blacksmith shop at the crossing of the two 
 roads kept by Daniel Beal. This was a great 
 resort for the farmers who gathered there in 
 
324 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the early days to pitch horse shoes, and after 
 dark and in rainy weather sit around the 
 forge and exchange the latest news and dis- 
 cuss politics. Another blacksmith shop was 
 near the crossing, built by John Leigh about 
 1837, also a headquarters for political and 
 other discussions. After the village was laid 
 out, John Hazlett built the first frame house 
 there in 1842, now the tavern kept by Ceil 
 Jump. Alvin Williams kept the first store in 
 the village, having as a partner, Amos L. West- 
 over. In 1845, Texas township was organ- 
 ized, and under the law 12 square miles was 
 too small a territory to be erected into a town- 
 ship, unless it contained a village. Benton 
 could hardly then be classed as a village. The 
 commissioners solved the problem by incor- 
 porating the village of Benton, probably at 
 the time the smallest settlement ever burdened 
 with the responsibilities of a village govern- 
 ment. But the citizens stood up to the rack 
 and on Aug. 23, 1845, elected Alvin Williams 
 as the first mayor and Joseph Pietzel as re- 
 corder, and Williams gave bond in the sum of 
 $1,000 for the faithful performance of his 
 duties. In 1846, Williams was again elected, 
 and in 1847 the office was given to Joseph 
 Pietzel, but the next year the people returned 
 to their first choice and again entrusted the 
 responsibilities of government to Williams. 
 The village organization long since gave up 
 its existence, although in its palmiest days the 
 population reached over 200. 
 
 The postoffice was first established in 1837, 
 and has always been called Poplar. The fol- 
 lowing have been the postmastsrs: 
 
 George Bender, July 3, 1837; George W. 
 Saltsman, Oct. 24, 1849; Joseph Pitezel, Nov. 
 I, 1850; Abraham Eyestone, March 18, 1852: 
 Nathan Hollinshead, July 18, 1854; Daniel 
 Tuttle, Jan. 15, 1855; Fayette Thornton, Sept. 
 25, 1857; Daniel Tuttle, July 11, 1859; A. F. 
 Bender, Jan. 3, i860; Solomon Feltis, May 
 24, i860; W. S. Mulford, April 25, 1861; 
 
 A. B. Stewart, May 26, 1869; J. P. Temple, 
 Nov. 3, 1871; William A. Longwell, Feb. 11, 
 1873; Adam R. Winter, Sept. 14. 1881 : G. 
 
 B. Valentine, July 30, 1885 ; William T. Hor- 
 ton, Dec. 15, 1890; James Beistle, April 19, 
 1899; V. D. Campbell, March 17, 1903. On 
 Nov. 30, 1905, the office was discontinued, the 
 people being supplied by rural route. 
 
 When the Northern Ohio road was built a 
 station was located two miles north of Ben- 
 ton, which was called Plankton and a post 
 office established. The first postmaster was 
 Peter J. Thompson, appointed Oct. 13, 1891; 
 he was succeeded by A . H. Miller on May 13, 
 1899, who still holds the office. On the es- 
 tablishment of the station a grain elevator was 
 built there and a small store for the conven- 
 ience of the people in that neighborhood, but 
 notwithstanding the railroad Benton is still 
 the larger place, having a hotel, a store, two 
 churche's, the schoolhouse, and two or three 
 small shops. 
 
 The store of Williams & Westover when 
 first started at Benton, carried a stock of 
 about $500, and after being run about four 
 years they retired from business. While run- 
 ning the store Williams conducted an ashery 
 and later a saloon, the first in the township. 
 The next store keeper was G. W. Saltsman, 
 «-ho had a stock of $1,000, with the post 
 office at his store, and after running the busi- 
 ness two or three years he retired. 
 
 In 1844 William Sigler purchased the 
 building erected by Hazlett, and opened a tav- 
 ern with a store in connection; and this pros- 
 pered as he continued in business a number of 
 years. In 1850 the town had two stores, An- 
 drew Failor opening up there with a stock of 
 goods from Bucyrus ; Robert Martin started a 
 carpenter shop, and in 1845, Daniel Rank estab- 
 lished a tannery, which he ran successfully for a 
 dozen years; there were two shoemakers in 
 the village and the leather they failed to use 
 he sold at Bucyrus and Tiffin. William Jack- 
 son also started a tannery. The first phy- 
 sician in the village was Dr. Pitezel, who set- 
 tled there in 1844, remaining fourteen years. 
 Dr. John Atwood was there from 1846 to 
 1849. Dr. D. Alvord was there from 1847 
 to 1853. Dr. Yates and Dr. Bissell were also 
 there prior to 1850, but remained but a short 
 time. 
 
 The tavern started by William Sigler he 
 disposed of to Daniel Tuttle who ran it as a 
 hotel and grocery, also selling liquor. Mr. 
 Tuttle in 1849 went to California on the break- 
 ing out of the gold excitement; he went by 
 way of the Isthmus of Panama, and was gone 
 two years, and on his return again went into the 
 hotel business. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 325 
 
 He seems to have been a somewhat original 
 character, as is evidenced in the following 
 notice posted in his hotel, which may indicate 
 his humor, and the improvement in manners 
 and habits that have taken place in the last fifty 
 or sixty years : 
 
 Oct. 29, 1852. 
 
 TUTTLE AT HOME AGAIN 
 
 DANIEL TUTTLE AT TUTTLE HOUSE, 
 
 BENTON 
 
 Meals 125^ to 50 cents, according to the 
 quality and quantity of the "fixings" packed 
 or stowed in. 
 
 Lodging 123^ cents. 
 
 Every horse in stable one hour, I2j4 cents. 
 
 Every gill of tobacco juice deposited on a 
 clean floor 25 cents. 
 
 Ditto on a white wall behind a bed, 50 cents. 
 
 For every half pint on the floor, 50 cents. 
 
 For every old quid of cigar stump thrown 
 in the corner of the room or under the table 
 or bed, 25 cents. 
 
 For every time a "loafer" forgets to clean 
 his boots at the "scraper" and brings 100 
 pounds of mud into the hall or sitting-room 
 and there deposits it, $1.00. 
 
 For every bed tumbled by a "loafer" in the 
 day time with his boots on, 50 cents. 
 
 "I shall never forget these dear patrons of old, 
 To me they're more precious than mountains of gold." 
 
 Mr. Tuttle did much to build up and improve 
 the town. He was, however, an infidel in his 
 religious principles and an open enemy of 
 all christian denominations. Beginning with 
 1850 he published occasional numbers of a 
 paper, which he called "The Divinity Physi- 
 cian," the object of which was to satirize and 
 burlesque the doctrines held by the various 
 Christian churches. He expended several 
 thousand dollars in the publication of this 
 paper with practically no return to himself, 
 except several prosecutions for libel, together 
 with a good deal of abuse. The last issue 
 was published in 1870. 
 
 On account of his anti-religious views he 
 became universally known as "Bishop" Tut- 
 tle. He was liberal and generous, of good 
 education, and outside of his infidelity, very 
 
 little criticism could be passed on him as a 
 citizen. He was a strong advocate of the 
 right of freedom of speech. In 1837 an aboli- 
 tion meeting had been held at the American 
 Hotel at Bucyrus, which was attacked by indig- 
 nant citizens, the windows of the building were 
 broken, and the abolition speaker compelled 
 to flee form the hotel for safety and leave the 
 town. The "Bishop" was a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Democratic party at the time, and 
 he wrote a strong letter to the editor of his 
 party organ, then the Bucyrus Republican, 
 in which he denounced the outrage and those 
 connected with it. The "Bishop" being a 
 subscriber, and a staunch supporter of the 
 "organ," and of such sterling democracy as 
 to be unquestioned, the young editor had no 
 hesitation in printing the communication. 
 But the party rose in their righteous indigna- 
 tion against supporting a paper that dared 
 insinuate that any one had any rights except 
 a Democrat. The editor humbly explained 
 how he had came to publish the communica- 
 tion, but it was useless, and he was summarily 
 bounced, and a new editor installed. In 1853 
 Daniel Tuttle was a candidate for representa- 
 tive, and issued a characteristic announce- 
 ment, in which he stated frankly that he was 
 a temperance man but opposed to any law 
 founded on the iniquitous Maine liquor law; 
 that he was opposed to taking the people's 
 money to pay for chaplains to pray in the 
 State House, neither was he in favor of their 
 praying there under any circumstances; he 
 was opposed to the modern practice of "treat- 
 ing" by candidates before election, and closed 
 by saying: "As a great many and perhaps 
 all know me in the county, I shall during the 
 canvass stay at home, and mind my own 
 business." He probably did, as the returns 
 showed his overwhelming defeat, his own 
 township of Texas giving him one vote, and 
 his adjoining township of Tod not one. In 
 1859 he was postmaster at Benton, and saw 
 fit to espouse the candidacy of Stephen A. 
 Douglas for the presidency, as did nearly all 
 the Democrats in this county. This was un- 
 satisfactory to Hon. L. W. Hall, at that time 
 representing this district in Congress, and a 
 Breckenridge man, and he very promptly re- 
 moved Tuttle from office. The "Bishop" was 
 
326 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 then publishing the "Divinity Physician" at ir- 
 regular intervals, and the next number was 
 a sizzler. 
 
 The pioneers of Texas township were most- 
 ly from New England and from the East, 
 and the Bible was found in nearly every home. 
 Religious services were held at the cabins of 
 the settlers, any cabin being willingly tendered 
 for this purpose. The road from Bucyrus 
 to Tiffin, laid out soon after the first settler 
 arrived, passed through Texas township, and 
 the itinerant missionaries in passing on horse- 
 back from one town to the other stopped at 
 some cabin, where he was always gladly and 
 hospitably entertained, "without money and 
 without price." The township was so narrow 
 and so small that when it came to churches, 
 the settlers attended in some adjoining town- 
 ship, many in the northern part attending the 
 church in Seneca county, of which they were 
 members. The Methodists held meetings in 
 the cabins and about 1834 those in the northern 
 part decided to build a church. It was on 
 what is now the county line road between 
 Crawford and Wyandot counties, a few rods 
 north of the road that led from Sycamore 
 to Plymouth, one of the important and most 
 traveled east and west roads. When Wyan- 
 dot county was formed in 1845, the church 
 was in that part that went to Wyandot coun- 
 ty, just across the road from the farm now 
 owned by Benjamin W. Moore. The church 
 was of frame, and was 30x40 feet in size, 
 and was built by the settlers, all turning out 
 and contributing their work. The first min- 
 ister was Rev. Thomas Thompson, followed 
 by James Wilson and H. O. Sheldon, and the 
 first trustees were Robert Weeks, William 
 Gregg and Thomas Yates. It was known as 
 the Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 About the time the church was built "Old 
 Pipes" started his clay-pipe store a little south 
 of the church, and it gave the building the 
 name of the "Pipetown" church. The first 
 building, while of frame, was roughly con- 
 structed, all the interior work being done by 
 the settlers themselves. The church pros- 
 pered and in ten years had a membership of 
 about forty- four. In December, 1844, under 
 the pastorate of Rev. Martin Welsh a revival 
 took place and about two dozen new members 
 were added, and in 1854 under Rev. Luke S. 
 
 Johnson, another revival added largely to 
 the membership. In connection with the 
 church was the "Pipetown" graveyard, and 
 within its enclosures rest many of the early 
 pioneers, the oldest stone being that of Lydia 
 Cowgill, wife of Elisha Cowgill, who died 
 June 8, 1840. 
 
 Prior to 1838 the Presbyterians held serv- 
 ices in the various cabins and in the school- 
 houses, and in 1838 they formed an organiza- 
 tion, under the guidance of Rev. Robert Lee. 
 Robert. Clark, William Jackson and William 
 Marquis were appointed as elders. The fol- 
 lowing year Rev. William Hutchinson, who 
 was pastor of the Presbyterian church at Bu- 
 cyrus, was engaged to supply the congrega- 
 tion on Sunday afternoons in the summer 
 months. The little church was built on the 
 Andrews' farm on the angling road from Bu- 
 cyrus to Tiffin, and the little graveyard ad- 
 joining the church is best known as the An- 
 drews graveyard. Here the oldest stone is 
 that of James Andrews, who died April 25, 
 1840. He was a soldier of the War of 1812 ; 
 another of the veterans of 1812 buried here 
 is Moses Pugh, who died Sept. 27, 1848., 
 
 In the southern part of the township, church 
 societies jwere organized as early as 1830, 
 but no church edifice was built for 20 years, 
 services being held in the cabins and later in 
 the schoolhouses. About 1830 a schoolhouse 
 had been built west of where Benton now is, 
 and this was extensively used for church pur- 
 poses. In the thirties Rev. Mr. Oliver had 
 arranged to hold services in this building, but 
 before he or the congregation arrived "Bish- 
 op" Tuttle had entered the building, and writ- 
 ten on the wall with a piece of charcoal: 
 
 "Oliver, Bender and Gillim 
 Have caught the devil 
 And are going to kill 'im." 
 
 Bender and Gillim were two of the pillars 
 of the church. The minister took the 
 scrawled words for his text and preached a 
 forceful, extemporaneous sermon. 
 
 About 1851 a United Brethren Church was 
 built in Benton, at a cost of about $1,500, 
 and in 1870 the Methodists erected a church 
 in the village that cost $3,000. Both churches 
 prospered, and nearly all the "Pipetown" con- 
 gregation united with this new church or 
 joined the M. E. Church at Sycamore. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 327 
 
 The first settlers in Texas drifted into the 
 county from Seneca, and in the early days 
 the children went long distances for their 
 schooling, sometimes four and five miles. 
 This was too inconvenient, and the pioneers 
 in the northern part of the township built a 
 log structure of fairly good size for those 
 days. They put in a puncheon floor and cov- 
 ered it with a clapboard roof. They intro- 
 duced an innovation in construction by hav- 
 ing the chimney in the centre of the roof, and 
 it was constructed of small stones and mud 
 and hung down to within six feet of the floor, 
 widening out funnel shaped at the bottom 
 to facilitate ventilation. The seats were clap- 
 board benches, and a walnut table, constructed 
 by some settler expert with an axe, furnished 
 the desk for the teacher and served as a pul- 
 pit when religious services were held, which 
 were almost every Sunday in summer by a 
 traveling minister of some denomination. In 
 1833, this building, which resembled in looks 
 a modem pottery, was abandoned and an- 
 other erected, more modem, nearer the center 
 of the township; this new building was of 
 frame. The next schoolhouse was the one 
 west of Benton, about 1830, and ten years 
 later it was replaced by a frame structure, 
 which was in the western part of what is now 
 Benton, near the graveyard. In 1858 the first 
 schoolhouse was built in the village. Al- 
 though the township contains only 12 square 
 miles, and in the locating of schoolhouses 
 should have but three, yet when school dis- 
 tricts were organized at the same time as the 
 township in 1845, there were four districts 
 in the township, and are today. The northern 
 four miles in district No. i, and the school- 
 house is in the northeastern corner of sec- 
 tion II, the farm now owned by Jacob Zig- 
 ler. District No. 2 is the central four miles 
 and the schoolhouse is in the southeastern 
 part of section 14, the land of Samuel Dun- 
 lop. The southern four miles has two dis- 
 tricts. No. 3 being in the village of Benton, 
 and No. 4 northwest quarter of section 36 
 on the farm of Jacob Rank. All these school- 
 houses are on the north and south road which 
 
 passes through the center of the township, 
 the one in District 4, being about forty rods 
 north of the old Indian Reservation line. 
 
 What is known as the Benton graveyard 
 was probably the first burial place in the 
 township, as here is buried Mary Bender, 
 wife of the first settler, who died May 13, 
 1832. Three veterans of the War of 1812 
 are buried here, John Coon, who died March 
 22, 1856; Elijah Jump, who died Dec. 5, 
 1871 ; and David Wickham, who died Sept. 
 15, 1848. George Bender and John Hazlett, 
 the founders of the town of Benton are bur- 
 ied here, Hazlett dying Nov. 8, 1841, and 
 Bender, Feb. 10, 1851. Another grave is that 
 of Amos L. Westover, who died July 17, 
 1859, and received a Masonic funeral, the first" 
 society funeral in that section. He was one 
 of the charter members of the Bucyr us Lodge 
 of Masons, started in 1846, and for over ten 
 years drove 12 miles to attend the meetings 
 of the order, and on his death, his brethren 
 from Bucyrus attended and gave him a Ma- 
 sonic burial. 
 
 Westover was one of the early justices of 
 the peace, and was always active in the af- 
 fairs of the township. Prior to 1845 Texas 
 was a part of Sycamore township. The fol- 
 lowing is a list of the justices : 
 
 Charles Morrow — 1832. 
 
 John Knapp — 1832. 
 
 Laban Perdew — 1833-36. 
 
 James Milligan— 1834-37- 
 
 James Griffith — 1836-46. 
 
 Amos L. Westover— 1840-53-54-57. 
 
 Robert Weeks— 1846. 
 
 Joseph Pitezel — 1848-52. 
 
 Abraham Eyestone — 1851. 
 
 Nelson Close— 1852-55-58-61-67-70. 
 
 Daniel Tuttle— 1859-73. 
 
 Samuel Beistle — 1862-65. 
 
 Arthur Andrews — 1864. 
 
 Martin Woodside — 1868. 
 
 A. B. Stewart— 1870-73. 
 
 George Wickham — 1873-76. 
 
 Nelson Holt— 1876-79. 
 
 Harvey Close— 1880-83-86-89-92-97-01 -07-09. 
 
 M. W. Wickham— 1881-84-87-90. 
 
 J. H. Beistle— 1893-97. 
 
 C. H. Miller— 1895. 
 
 Melvin C. Huddle— 1900-01. 
 
 H. J. Miller — 1904-05. 
 
 George W. Wickham— 1905-07-09. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 TOD TOWNSHIP 
 
 « 
 
 The Last Land in the County Occupied by the Indians — The Township Named Three Times 
 and Named Wrong Each Time — Osceola Laid Out With County Seat Expectations- 
 Early Settlers — Churches and Schools — Reminiscences — A Horse Monument. 
 
 "Dear country home ! can I forget 
 The last of thy sweet trifles? 
 The window-vines that clamber yet 
 Whose bloom the bee still rifles? 
 The roadside blackberries, growing 
 And in the woods the Indian pipe?" 
 
 — Richard Henry Stoddard. 
 
 ripe, 
 
 Tod township was the last township in this 
 county to be opened for settlement. The treaty 
 of the Indians in 1817 reserved to them a tract 
 of land 12 miles square in what is now Wyan- 
 dot county. By a supplementary treaty in 1818 
 the Wyandots were given an additional five 
 miles adjoining this tract on the east. In this 
 five-mile strip was Tod township. 
 
 On the north and the south and the east, the 
 land was being rapidly taken up by the set- 
 tlers, and all along the border the forests were 
 being cleared away and the farms cultivated. 
 Many settlers, besides hunting in the reserva- 
 tion as it suited their pleasure, settled on the 
 land, some honestly leasing from the Indians, 
 but most of them "squatting" on the reserva- 
 tion. As early as 1825 the advancing civiliza- 
 tion demanded this land, but the Indians re- 
 fused to sell, but finally in 1836, they agreed 
 to dispose of the 60 square miles ( 12 miles deep 
 and 5 miles wide) which they had secured at 
 the supplemental treaty and two additional 
 miles. In 1837, these lands were thrown on 
 the market, and what is now Tod township 
 was open to settlement, and the Indians had no 
 longer any land in the present Crawford 
 county. 
 
 Tod township is nine miles from north to 
 south and two miles east and west. In March, 
 
 1838, the Crawford county commissioners di- 
 vided the territory secured from the Indians 
 into two townships. The northern six miles 
 was called Leith and the southern six miles 
 was attached to Antrim. There was objection 
 to the name of Leith. George W. Leith was 
 one of the prominent men in the new territory, 
 and with William Brown was appointed justice 
 of the peace of the new township. His ances- 
 try goes farther back in this county than any 
 other white settler. His father, Samuel Leith, 
 was the first known white child born in the 
 Sandusky valley, probably in the old Indian 
 town on the river, about three miles southeast 
 of the present town of Upper Sandusky. The 
 original John Leith in 1763, when a boy of 16, 
 was captured by the Indians. Instead of kill- 
 ing him they adopted him into their tribe, in 
 the family of Capt. Pipe, the Delaware chief 
 who burned Crawford at the stake. They 
 brought him to their town on the Sandusky, 
 and when the War of the Revolution broke out 
 the British appointed him in charge of the 
 store at the Wyandot town and here he re- 
 mained during the Revolution, and was also 
 there during the Crawford campaign of 1782. 
 His store was naturally the headquarters of the 
 British, Indians, and the renegades during the 
 Revolution and the Indian wars which fol- 
 lowed. In 1762 the Mingo Indians on one of 
 their raids into Pennsylvania captured a young 
 girl, Sallie Lowry, and adopted her into their 
 tribe. 
 
 During one of the hunting expeditions of the 
 Mingoes to the Sandusky region Leith met the 
 
 328 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 329 
 
 captive white girl and they were married, and 
 in 1775, Samuel Leith was born. The husband 
 and wife were captives of different tribes, and 
 the wife was taken to the home of the Mingoes 
 on the Muskingum, while Leith remained on 
 the Sandusky. Every argument and induce- 
 ment were offered the Mingoes to let the wife 
 join her husband, but they refused to give her 
 up, and Indian courtesy prevented more drastic 
 measures. Finally the Mingo Indians held a 
 council, and decided to let the wife join her 
 husband but the decision was that they would 
 give to the Wyandots nothing but the wife and 
 child. So every vestige of clothing was re- 
 moved from the mother and child, and she was 
 informed that if she wanted to join her hus- 
 band, she could go. Leith in his narrative thus 
 describes her reunion with her husband : "She 
 shouldered her boy, waded the Walhonding, 
 the Tuscarawas, passed through the wilderness, 
 slept in the leaves by a log, contending with 
 briars, nettles, flies, mosquitos, living on June 
 berries, wild onions, wild peas, elm bark, roots, 
 etc. She came to a squaw who was tending a 
 small piece of corn and taking care of several 
 Indian children, while the warrior was abroad. 
 The squaw said : 'Where you go ?' She re- 
 plied: 'Sandusky; my husband.' 'Where 
 clothes?' 'They took them,' (pointing from 
 whence she came.) 'You hungey?' 'Yes.' 
 'Me get meat.' The squaw told her to remain 
 until the warrior returned; but she concluded 
 to journey on. The squaw gave her a piece of 
 blanket and some deer meat and she started. 
 I was at the time busily engaged in handling 
 pelts, revolving in my mind what I should do. 
 I was whipping the pelts and throwing them 
 on a pile, and had just stepped in to get another 
 supply, when I saw my wife approaching. 
 She threw the child down on the skins, drop- 
 ping there herself, saying: 'Here, John, I've 
 brought your boy.' The fatigue of the jour- 
 ney and the joy of the meeting overwhelmed 
 her for a time. There have been many happy 
 meetings under far more favorable circum- 
 stances, but at no time or place was there ever 
 a meeting that filled the parties with more tri- 
 umphant joy." John Leith continued with the 
 Indians until about 1792, when with his wife 
 and two children, he made his escape, and was 
 closely pursued by the Indians until he reached 
 Fort Pitt, ( Pittsburg. ) The son, Samuel, came 
 
 to Ohio and was a soldier in the War of 1812 
 on the side of the Americans. He settled in 
 Fairfield county, and here John Leith was born 
 in 1807 and George W. Leith in 1810, the lat- 
 ter coming to this county in 1824, making his 
 home with his guardian, his father, Samuel 
 Leith, having died. 
 
 After this family the township was named 
 Leith on account of the influence of George W. 
 Leith. But the name was not satisfactory to 
 many of the settlers, on account of the original 
 Leith being a British agent and an ally of the 
 Indians during the Revolution and the Craw- 
 ford campaign. Through courtesy toward 
 George W. Leith, and for whom all had the 
 greatest respect, the specious argument was 
 presented that there were many Germans in the 
 township, and the word Leith was as difficult 
 for them to pronounce as was the world Shib- 
 boleth to the Scriptural heathens- two thousand 
 years previously. The commissioners took this 
 as their cue, and changed the name of the 
 township to Centre, in June, 1839, it being at 
 that time the exact centre of the county, a name 
 which was certain to get them into no trouble 
 on account of ancestors. This name continued 
 until Wyandot county was formed in 1845, 
 which left only two miles of Centre township 
 in Crawford county, and this two miles was 
 no longer in the centre, but was the extreme 
 western part of the county, so that name was a 
 misnomer, and in 1845 the commissioners 
 named the new township Tod, after David Tod 
 the democratic candidate for Governor in 1844, 
 who was defeated and his supporters on the 
 Board of Commissioners did him what honor 
 they could by naming a township after him. 
 South of Tod the fractional township of An- 
 trim that remained in the county was named 
 Dallas, after George M. Dallas, the Vice Presi- 
 dent of the United States. In the eastern part 
 of the county the land secured from Richland 
 was named at the same time after James K. 
 Polk the Democratic president, and the new 
 townships had the good old democratic names 
 of Polk, Dallas, Tod and Texas, the latter be- 
 ing a rallying cry of the party as the Whigs bit- 
 terly opposed the admission of Texas into the 
 union. Had it been given to our pioneer fa- 
 thers to lift the veil that obscures the future 
 there would have been more protest against the 
 name of Tod than there had been to that of 
 
330 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Leith. For hardly had the machinery of gov- 
 ernment started in the new township than there 
 was a re-alignment of parties, and David Tod 
 joined the new party and as the opponent of 
 the Democrats was elected Governor of the 
 State in 1861, so it is not safe to perpetuate 
 the name of a political idol until after he has 
 quietly died and been honorably buried. 
 
 Tod township is traversed by three streams, 
 Brokensword, Indian Run, and Grass Run, the 
 beds of which consist of a shaly limestone rock. 
 The first named is the largest and by far the 
 most important, and the derivation of its 
 name is traditional. It is said that after Col- 
 onel Crawford's historical engagement with 
 the Indians and subsequent escape, he missed 
 his nephew. With others he retraced his steps, 
 only to be taken prisoner by the Delawares. 
 Conducted by them to this stream, he is said 
 to have drawn his sword and broken it over 
 a rock. Another version is, a broken sword 
 had been dropped by one of Crawford's re- 
 treating army. 
 
 Col. Crawford, after '•'^e battle, in making 
 his escape, did pass througA Tod township, en- 
 tering the township about two miles northwest 
 of the present village Oceola, about where the 
 farm of John R. Outhwaite or U. M. Kellogg 
 is now located ; he passed through in a south- 
 easterly direction, leaving the township at about 
 the farm of John Fisher or John W. Snavely, 
 a mile and a half northeast of Oceola. After 
 his capture, near the present town of Leesville, 
 the Delawares took him back over the same 
 route as they were desirous of finding the 
 horses which Crawford had been compelled to 
 abandon about the time they entered the town- 
 ship. The stream Brokensword was first 
 known by the Indians as Crookedknife, but 
 there is no authority for connecting the name 
 with anything relating to Col. Crawford. He 
 crossed the stream in Holmes township, near 
 where the Brokensword Stone quarries are 
 now located. 
 
 The soil of Tod township is a pale clay loam 
 but exceedingly rich. Well improved farms 
 with substantial and attractive buildings are 
 seen on every hand. 
 
 Lumbering and limeburning for many years 
 formed the chief industries, aside from agri- 
 cultural, but a number of grist-mills also 
 flourished here, at one time four being along 
 
 the banks of the Brokensword. In early years 
 when there was much waste timber, potash 
 and blacksalts were manufactured, and in more 
 recent years a considerable amount of quarry- 
 ing of stone has been done. The timber of this 
 section was largely black walnut, oak, beech, 
 maple, sycamore, butternut and poplar. 
 
 After the Wyaridots had relinquished their 
 claim to this territory in the spring of 1837, 
 the United States held a sale at Marion, Ohio, 
 selling off this land to private ownership. 
 Neighboring landowners, capitalists from the 
 East and from Bucyrus and Marion, both in 
 the form of organized companies and as indi- 
 viduals, vied with each other in acquiring this 
 land. A Mr. Howland of Cayuga, New York, 
 purchased fourteen hundred acres, partly lying 
 within Tod township. Zalmon Rowse, Gen- 
 eral Samuel Myers, Abram Holm of Bucyrus, 
 with Messrs. Cox and Young of Marion 
 county, formed a syndicate known as the Oce- 
 ola Company and purchased the choice or cen- 
 tral part of the township, with an expressed 
 view of bringing the county seat to the town 
 which they would there establish. That their 
 plan miscarried was probably no disappoint- 
 ment to the promoters, who disposed of their 
 land to good advantage before the death blow 
 to the hopes of the little village of Oceola fell 
 by the erection of Wyandot county by the Leg- 
 islature. Of the private buyers. Judge G. W. 
 Leith, James Winstead, Daniel Tuttle and 
 Jacob Shaffer were first. It has been a debat- 
 able question as to whether Leith or Winstead 
 made actual settlement first, for with that dis- 
 tinction goes the honor of being the first set- 
 tler of Tod township. Regardless of the ques- 
 tion, there is a full measure of honor and credit 
 accorded the name of each, for both were men 
 of bright minds and active, and with Daniel 
 Tuttle did more than any others in directing 
 the earliest affairs of the township. Besides 
 Leith, Winstead and Tuttle, other settlers in 
 1837 were Adam Bair, John Foster, James B. 
 Horick, William Hartman, Edward Kellogg, 
 David Kisor, Lucius P. Lea, Mordecai McCau- 
 ley, Isaac Miller, John Turner, and Jacob Yost. 
 Other early settlers were John Cronebaugh, 
 Lewis Longwell, James McCain, James B. 
 Robinson, Jacob Snavely, and Stephen White 
 in 18^8 ; Lyman King in 1839 ; William Brown, 
 William Gordon, Michael Hough, Jesse Ja- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 333 
 
 queth, and John Webb in 1840; William An- 
 drews, Frederick G. Hesche, and Samuel 
 Swineford in 1841 ; Elijah Jaqueth in 1843, 
 Jonathan Outhwaite and Amos Souders in 
 1845. 
 
 Adam Bair had been a carpenter in Bucyrus, 
 and so had John Cronebaugh, the latter as- 
 sisting .in building the first court house ; F. G. 
 Hesche, had also come there from Bucyrus to 
 run a saw mill, and later returned, built the 
 Hesche corner, and was in business at Bucyrus 
 until his death. 
 
 James Winstead lived to a remarkable old 
 age, honored and respected by all. He was 
 born in Shenandoah county, Virginia, in 1801, 
 and was fifteen years old when he moved to 
 Ohio, locating in Fairfield county. In 1826, 
 he moved to Bowsherville, Wyandot county, 
 then Crawford county, where he built a cabin 
 on the edge of the Indian reservation and fol- 
 lowed his trade as a coppersmith. It would 
 seem there could not be much business done at 
 that trade in those days, and in fact his great- 
 est patronage was not from the settlers but 
 from the Indians. The latter had in their pos- 
 session ore obtained from Michigan mines and 
 for converting this into rings, bracelets and 
 anklets they would pay most liberally. So 
 strongly did he become entrenched in the good 
 graces of the redmen, he was in 1829 persuaded 
 by them to move upon their reservation. He 
 was given the use of a double log cabin east 
 of Upper Sandusky, an orchard, all the cleared 
 land he wished to cultivate, was furnished 
 with meats, and was given a liberal patronage. 
 He lived almost as one of them, taking a seat 
 at their camp-fires and joined them on hunting 
 excursions. Probably no white man had a 
 more intimate knowledge of this tribe, their 
 habits, beliefs and mode of life, than did he. 
 He remained with them until after the sale 
 and then moved to section 11 of Tod town- 
 ship, where in the spring of 1837 he erected a 
 rough log cabin, with puncheon floor, but also 
 equipped with glass windows. There was no 
 semblance to a road leading to the tract he lo- 
 cated, necessitating the cutting away of timber 
 and brush to permit the passage of his oxen 
 and wagon. The road he made became known 
 as the Perrysburg road, and enabled him to 
 strike the Upper Sandusky road. As illus- 
 trative of the customs of the times and neigh-. 
 
 borly help settlers were glad to give, it may be 
 mentioned that Winstead gave a wood chop- 
 ping bee with a view to having a better road 
 between his farm and Oceola. Neighbors 
 joined in with a will, and the cost to him was 
 two gallons of whiskey and the expectation that 
 he would be called upon to return the favor 
 upon occasion and for the same remuneration. 
 Mr. Winstead was one of the three first trus- 
 tees of the township and one of the most active 
 men of the times. 
 
 Upon the organization of the township as 
 Leith, James Winstead, Z. P. Lea and Jacob 
 Yost were installed as trustees, and G. W. 
 Leith and William Brown as justices of the 
 peace. Stephen White was first clerk, but re- 
 signed the same day and was succeeded by 
 Ozro N. Kellogg. Abram Shaffer was con- 
 stable ; Mordecai McCauley and Z. P. Lea, su- 
 pervisors ; Adam Bair, G. W. Leith and Lewis 
 Longwell, fence viewers, and David Kisor was ■ 
 treasurer. G. W. Leith and David Kisor also 
 were overseers of the poor. The first election 
 was held at the home of Mordecai McCauley, 
 and James Winstead, John Cronebaugh and 
 John Horrick were elected trustees; David 
 Kisor, treasurer, and James B. Robinson, 
 clerk. The first officers after the name was 
 changed to Tod township were : James Win- 
 stead, Isaac Miller and Daniel Tuttle, trus- 
 tees; John Forster, clerk; Isaac Miller, treas- 
 urer ; F. G. Hesche, assessor ; Frank Rapenow, 
 constable; and William Andrews, judge of 
 election. 
 
 When the name of the township was 
 changed from Leith to Centre George W. Leith 
 immediately tendered his resignation as justice, 
 and his friend George Garrett also resigned. 
 
 The various justices of the peace of Tod 
 township are as follows : 
 
 Charles B. Garrett — 1836. 
 George W- Leith — 1839. 
 William Brown — 1839. 
 Daniel Tuttle — 1842-45. 
 Thomas L. Lea — 1844. 
 Robert Andrews — 1846. 
 Cyrus F. Jaqueth — 1847. 
 John Gordon — 1849. 
 Jacob Steiner — 1850. 
 Horace Martin — 1851-57. 
 James Clegard — 1852. 
 Samuel Swisher — 1852-55. 
 O. W- Johnson— 1854. 
 Frederick Wise — 1857-60. 
 G. W. J. Willoughby— 1860-63. 
 David Neeley— 1862-65-68. 
 
334 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Frank P. Davis— 1866-69. 
 
 G. P. Lea— 1870. 
 
 Caleb B. Foster — 1871-74-77-80. 
 
 Rufus Aurend — 1873-76. 
 
 David Hosterman — 1877-80. 
 
 Gust Leonhart — 1882-86. 
 
 T. F. Coder — 1884-88-91-97-1900-03-07-10. 
 
 Deloss Jump — 1887-90-93-96. 
 
 S. M. Wilson— 1894. 
 
 W. E. Coonrod — 1899-02-05-07-11. 
 
 The first recorded marriages in the town- 
 ship were those of Isaac Miller and Jane Lea 
 and also Stephen White and Mary Lea, in 
 1838, Zalmon Rowse going out from Bucyrus 
 to perform the ceremony. A trip from Bucy- 
 rus to Oceola was no easy matter in those days. 
 James C. Steen was an early Bucyrus justice, 
 and he was sent for to perform the marriage 
 ceremony of William W. Norton, his bride be- 
 ing Mary Brown of Oceola. Mr. Steen in his 
 recollections gives the following account of his 
 trip, the marriage occurring on the evening of 
 Jan. 8, 1841 : "I was called upon to perform 
 this ceremony at a time of year when the most 
 miserable of all roads were at their worst. 
 There was sufficient frost to make the walking 
 uncertain and the ice on the streams unsup- 
 portable. It was impossible to drive from Bu- 
 cyrus to Oceola in a buggy, could one have been 
 procured. Allowing myself plenty of time, I 
 concluded to make the trip on foot. After a 
 circuitous meandering through the woods, over 
 logs, and through mudholes, I arrived at Grass 
 Run, which was quite swollen and bridgeless. 
 The lateness of the hour forced me to a hasty 
 decision, which was to attempt to cross on 
 rather an insecure limb; but like a friend in 
 need, it failed to furnish its support at the most 
 critical moment, giving me an opportunity to 
 rehearse the oath before the evening ceremony, 
 in water up to my neck, at freezing point. I 
 arrived a little late at the village, and coolly 
 walked to a friend's to brush up a little for the 
 festive occasion. The ceremony was per- 
 formed without referring to the incident!" 
 The first known birth in the township was a 
 son of William Hartman, born in 1838. 
 
 Oceola was laid out in May, 1837, by a land 
 company, composed of Bucyrus, Columbus and 
 Marion capitalists, and named Osceola, after 
 the most noted Indian chief of the Seminoles. 
 With the passing of time, probably through 
 carelessness, the letter "s" has been dropped 
 and the name has long since been mispelled 
 
 Oceola. The land where Oceola was situated 
 had just been purchased from the Indians, and 
 the town was laid out on the north and west 
 banks of the Brokensword, on a site which was 
 almost the exact center of the county, and the 
 idea prevailed that if a thriving village could 
 be built up there, the time would arrive when 
 it would become the county seat. The new 
 town was laid out accordingly on a rather 
 large scale. In the center was a public square. 
 Main street which was the road from Bucyrus 
 to Upper Sandusky was ninety feet wide. 
 South of it was Water street and north of it 
 High street, each seventy feet wide. Com- 
 mencing on the west the streets were named 
 First, Second, and Third, then came Broken- 
 sword avenue, which crossed the public square, 
 then came Fourth, Fifth and Sixth streets, and 
 the river was reached on the road to Bucyrus. 
 All these streets were 70 feet wide. In all 
 there were 164 lots, and the village progressed 
 from the start, but before it attained sufficient 
 headway to take definite measures to secure 
 the county seat, the legislature erected the new 
 county of Wyandot, and Oceola just succeeded 
 in being in Crawford county, and as it was now 
 en the extreme western border, all hopes of 
 county seat honors were a thing of the past. 
 
 There was a large crowd present at the lot 
 sale, and the lots brought good prices, and 
 many were sold; prices ranged from $25 up, 
 some of the corner lots bringing $100, the pro- 
 jectors of the town had so impressed the peo- 
 ple that it would eventually be a county seat 
 that the speculation was rife. One man had 
 some swamp land in Illinois along the lake; 
 this he traded for Oceola property. The Il- 
 linois land is now a part of Chicago, worth 
 far more today than the valuation real and per- 
 sonal of the entire village of Oceola. 
 
 The first cabins were erected in the town 
 site in 1838. Daniel Tuttle, familiarly known 
 as "Bishop" Tuttle, moved to Oceola in 1840 
 and became the first merchant and manufac- 
 turer of the place. He had prior to that time 
 for some 13 years been a traveling representa- 
 tive of a clock manufacturer, his territory ex- 
 tending from Maine to Louisiana, and was a 
 man of wide experience and observation. 
 While at Bucyrus his attention was attracted 
 to the proposed county seat of Oceola and he 
 -located there. He thought great possibilities 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 335 
 
 lay in the manufacture of lime, as Bucyrus 
 was at the time hauling in the commodity from 
 a distance of forty miles at an excessive cost. 
 He started a rude kiln in 1841, employing Ly- 
 man King to do the burning. He had in 1840 
 built a water mill, which was run steadily for 
 a few years when power was available. As 
 travel over the Perrysburg Road from Bucyrus 
 to the northwest became more general it be- 
 came apparent a tavern was needed at Oceola, 
 and Mr. Tuttle soon supplied the need. He 
 built an addition to his house, and as his busi- 
 ness justified, later converted it into a two- 
 story tavern. In 1842 he embarked in the fur 
 trade and otherwise dealt with the Indians. 
 He was the first postmaster of Oceola, serving 
 from 1840 to 1845. In fact he was the moving 
 spirit of the village. John Turner conducted 
 a store here until the Mexican War broke out, 
 then enlisted in the army. Jacob Yost, who 
 built the first frame house in the village, con- 
 tinued trading with the Indians for many years. 
 G. Leonard conducted a hat store; in 1850, he 
 was advertising to manufacture corn brooms 
 on shares and also to thresh corn with a ma- 
 chine. In 1 85 1 R. G. Perry & Co. conducted 
 a store and in 1858 he started the manufacture 
 of carbonated pearl ash. In 1854 a water-' 
 power grist-mill was built by David Neeley, 
 but the dam was destroyed in i860. He sold 
 out in 1862 to A. N. Stonebreaker, and later 
 the property passed into the hands of Judd and 
 Deck, by whom it was sold to Garret Ziegler 
 in 1867. It was on an island near the west 
 bank of the Brokensword just below the 
 bridge. While originally it was run by water 
 power, later steam was introduced, and it 
 was known as the Limestone Island Mills. It 
 finally came into the possession of A. N. Phil- 
 lips about 1873, a large three-story frame 
 building. After Lemert secured a railroad 
 this large structure was placed on rollers, and 
 moved to its present site at Lemert a distance 
 of over three mile^, the trip taking weeks. 
 The lime industry was probably the most pros- 
 perous _ business in the village. Originally 
 started by Daniel Tuttle, others who went into 
 the business were William Miller, and David, 
 Joseph and Moses Snavely, and more than half 
 a century ago there were about 200 kilns in 
 operation, but the lack of transportation facili- 
 ties, gradually made the lime industry less and 
 
 less profitable, and by degrees it was aban- 
 doned. 
 
 Samuel Swineford started a chair manufac- 
 tory in 1 84 1, which he conducted for about 
 three years. G. W. J. Willoughby established a 
 factory for the manufacture of wooden bowls, 
 and built up an extensive business. In 1847 
 Amos Souders started a tannery, and contin- 
 ued the business for a dozen years when it 
 was discontinued. William Sigler commenced 
 the manufacture of potash in 1841, continuing 
 in the business ten or twelve years. He also 
 bought the Tuttle mill, and put in steam power. 
 He had a saw-mill in connection, and manu- 
 factured shoe lasts, butter bowls and other 
 wooden articles, including tables and chairs. 
 He also put in a carding machine, but this 
 branch was soon discontinued. 
 
 Dr. J. N. Richie settled in the village as a 
 physician in 1847; he took an active hand in 
 township affairs, and became one of the best 
 known physicians in the county, and after fol- 
 lowing his profession in Oceola for nearly half 
 a century, he died on Dec. 17, 1895. 
 
 Later day business men of the village were 
 Rodney Poole, J. Grubb, Richard T. Garrigues, 
 Samuel Teetrich, and William T. Kelly, who 
 established the first drug store and also carried 
 a line of groceries. In 1861, Oceola erected a 
 town hall, the dimensions being 30 by 40 feet. 
 
 The citizens of Oceola met November 25, 
 1850, to take action toward inducing the pro- 
 jected Ohio & Indiana Railroad to pass 
 through the village. G. W. J. Willoughby was 
 chairman of the meeting and J. M. Rickey, 
 secretary. Mr. Willoughby, James Clingan 
 and J. C. Steen were appointed a committee 
 to wait upon the directors of the road. Their 
 efforts availed them nothing however, and the 
 little village was doomed to its second great 
 disappointment in a matter of vital importance 
 to its welfare. 
 
 Losing the railroad, the citizens took an 
 active hand in sectiring a plank road from 
 Oceola to Bucyrus. The road was built, and 
 proved a great convenience to the people and 
 the business of the village, but a constant loss 
 to the stockholders, and it was finally aban- 
 doned. It had two toll gates, one at the out- 
 skirts of Oceola, and the other just west of 
 Bucyrus. It was the only plank road ever 
 built in the county. 
 
336 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 A post office was established at Oceola April 
 I, 1840, with Daniel Tuttle as postmaster. He 
 continued until he left the village and it was 
 discontinued July 8, 1845, ^^^ J^st a year later 
 it was re-established on July 8, 1846, with Wil- 
 liam H. Sigler as postmaster. He was fol- 
 lowed by James C. Steen March 7, 1848; Jo- 
 siah Morrison, May 18, 1850; Samuel Pike, 
 July 29, 1853; John N. Richey, Oct. 16, 1854; 
 Joseph Hildreth, Dec. 13, i860; D. D. Martin, 
 Feb. 14, 1861 ; R. T. Garrigues, April 12, 1866; 
 Alfred Owen, Aug. 6, 1885; S. M. Wilson, 
 June 19, 1889; W. B. Forrest, June 30, 1893; 
 J. C. Frost, Sept. 18, 1897; P. H. Heater, 
 March 12, 1902. Although Oceola is not on 
 a railroad, the importance of the village is such 
 that a post office is still continued at that place. 
 
 When the Toledo and Ohio Central Road 
 was built a station was established in the 
 northern part of the township, and a town was 
 laid out called Lemert, after Col. W. C. Lemert 
 one of the men active in securing the road. 
 The Limestone Mills were removed overland 
 from Oceola to a new site along the track of 
 the road. Two stores were started in the vil- 
 lage, and one or two small shops. A post of- 
 fice was established there on Feb. 8, 1881, with 
 Gust Leonhart as postmaster; he was suc- 
 ceeded by F. T. Smith, Sept. 13, 1882 ; William 
 Evans, Nov. 23, 1897; E. L. Mansfield, April 
 
 25. 1905- 
 
 All over the county, in the larger cemeteries 
 and in the little country graveyards are hun- 
 dreds of monuments that mark the last resting 
 place of those who fought in the War of the 
 rebellion. But just north of Oceola is a little 
 monument that marks the spot where is buried 
 one of the dumb heroes a horse who carried 
 his soldier rider over several of the southern 
 states. The horse was drawn by Abe Conger 
 of the Twelfth Ohio Cavalry, at Louisville 
 Ky., and in one of Stoneman's raids the men 
 were 87 days in the saddle, covering seven 
 states and nearly two thousand miles of riding. 
 At the close of the war Conger had become at- 
 tached to the horse and brought him home; 
 as years passed the horse became a pet ; he was 
 taken to reunions where he appeared to recog- 
 nize the flag and pricked up his ears at the mar- 
 tial music. Finally on Sept. 4, 1886, the old 
 war horse, Frank, died, being then about 26 
 years of age. The veterans the next day took 
 
 him to the woods of Capt. John Harter, just 
 north of Oceola, where he was buried, and a 
 little monument erected to mark the site of the 
 old war horse. 
 
 The first schoolhouse was built on the banks 
 of the Brokensword, southwest of the village, 
 in 1839, and the first teacher was Jane Snavely, 
 who received ten dollars a month, but when 
 winter came her brother taught the school, re- 
 ceiving $15 per month. When the village of 
 Oceola was started, the arrival of settlers made 
 a schoolhouse necessary, and an old Indian 
 cabin was fitted up as well as possible where 
 the children were taught, but the new village 
 contained a schoolhouse site, and on this the 
 trees were chopped down and a log building 
 erected in 1841 ; this was replaced in 1845 by 
 a! frame building, which did duty for ten years, 
 and in 1855 it was purchased by the Methodists 
 and removed to their lot to be used for church 
 purposes, and a two story frame erected, the 
 growth of the town necessitating more than 
 one room to accommodate the pupils. This 
 frame was later replaced by the present brick 
 structure. 
 
 The township has five schoolhouses. District 
 No. I is at Lemert. No. 2 is between Lemert 
 and Oceola, on the northwest quarter of sec- 
 tion 24, the Mary E. Doty farm. No. 3 is in 
 the village of Oceola, north of the public 
 square. No. 4 is nearly two miles south of 
 Oceola, the northeast quarter of section 2, the 
 farm of Daniel Songer. No. 5 is two miles 
 south of this in the southeast quarter of section 
 II, the farm of A. M. Kinsey. These build- 
 ings are all on the north and south road which 
 runs through the center of the township. And 
 this road can well be called the schoolhouse 
 road of the county. From the Seneca county 
 line to Marion county, a distance of twenty 
 miles, it has twelve schoolhouses, four in 
 Texas township, five in Tod and three in. Dal- 
 las, and all modern. No other road in the 
 county comes anywhere near this record. 
 
 The township of Tod, owing to its smallness 
 and to the manner in which it is scattered out, 
 has been somewhat backward in the matter of 
 building churches. That does not mean the 
 citizens were lax in their religious duties. Far 
 from it, for they held services in their cabins 
 sooif after the township was organized. As 
 early as 1838, largely through the efforts of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 337 
 
 Z. P. Lea and his family, a Methodist Episco- 
 pal congregation was organized in the northern 
 part of the township, which subsequently 
 built the first Methodist Episcopal church in 
 Benton. The people were so varied in their 
 faiths and creeds, no single congregation 
 gained strength enough to build a church of 
 its own outside of the village of Oceola. For 
 nearly ten years the Methodists, Campbellites, 
 United Brethrens, (Presbyterians, Lutherans 
 and Universalists, and sometimes the Quakers, 
 held meetings in the village schoolhouse, and a 
 great part of the time these were union meet- 
 ings, sometimes two denominations used the 
 building on Sunday, the one in the morning 
 and the other in the afternoon. It was also 
 used of evenings, by some denomination, and 
 there was scarcely a day or a night when the 
 building was not in use. The first outside as- 
 sistance in religious devotion came from Rev. 
 George Reid and J. B. Robinson, of Bucyrus, 
 who established a Bible society in 1840. Rev. 
 William Matthews the Presbyterian minister 
 at Bucyrus was the first to receive a salary, 
 he holding services Sunday afternoons in 1845 
 and 1846. The Methodist Episcopal denomi- 
 nation became organized as a distinct body 
 about the same time, with Rev. B. F. Royce as 
 pastor, it coming within the Melmore Circuit, 
 North Ohio Conference. The United Breth- 
 ren congregation soon followed in its organi- 
 zation. The Campbellites, who were numeri- 
 cally strong prior to the Civil War, lost so 
 many in that struggle they did not reorganize 
 after the war. Under the leadership of Capt. 
 
 John Wert, a Union Sunday School was 
 started in 1846 and conducted in the school- 
 house until 1854, then in the United Brethren 
 church, all denominations uniting and making 
 it a union Sunday school. As churches became 
 stronger they organized Sunday Schools of 
 their own, the Metbodists being first. 
 
 In the graveyard south of the village is 
 buried Benjamin Maskey, who was in the War 
 of 1812, enlisting in the Pennsylvania Militia; 
 he was born Nov. 2, 1789, and died Jan. 21, 
 1867. Here also is buried Janies C. Steen, who 
 was first lieutenant in Capt. Caldwell's inde- 
 pendent company in the Mexican War, and 
 died June 20, 1885; also Cyrus Peck, of the 
 same company, who died June 18^ 1870. The 
 oldest stone in this yard is that of Samuel 
 Staley, who died Jan. 15, 1848, but there 
 were burials here prior to this. In the Oceola 
 graveyard is buried James Forrest, born May 
 17, 1799, and died May 10, 1880. He was with 
 Commodore Perry at the battle of Lake Erie 
 in the War of 181 2. When the war broke 
 out he was living in Huntingdon county. Pa., 
 and his uncle was drafted, but having a large 
 family it was difficult for him to go, so his 
 nephew, James, volunteered to go in his place. 
 He was but 13 years of age, but so large that 
 he was easily accepted. In 1854 he came to 
 Crawford county where he had a farm north 
 of Oceola on which he lived until his death. 
 The oldest stone here is a child of John W. 
 Bates, who died April 12, 1846, but there were 
 a number of burials prior to this. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 VERNON TOWNSHIP 
 
 The Township Created — At First a Wilderness — Its Swampy Character in Early Days — Wild 
 Game — Boundaries — Geologic Formation — Drainage — Indian Occupation — First Settlers — 
 First Deaths — Early Mills — West Liberty — A Tentperance Crusade in 1838 — Postmasters 
 — DeKalb — The DeKalb Seminary — A Row Over Postmaster — Decline of DeKalb — The 
 Underground Railroad — Oil Specidation — Schools and Churches — Justices of the Peace. 
 
 And the heavy wains creak to the barns large and gray, 
 
 Where the treasure securely we hold, 
 Housed safe from the tempest, dry-sheltered away. 
 
 Our blessing inore precious than gold ! 
 And long for this manna that springs from the sod 
 
 Shall we gratefully give him the praise. 
 The source of all bounty, our Father and God, 
 
 Who sent us from heaven the maize. 
 
 — William W. Fosdick. 
 
 Vernon township was surveyed by Maxfield 
 Ludlow in 1807, and when the county of Rich- 
 land was erected by the Legislature it was a 
 part of Madison township, Richland county. 
 After Richland county was organized the com- 
 missioners of that county in 1816 erected the 
 township of Bloominggrove, from Madison, 
 and in 181 8 divided this township creating the 
 township of Sandusky, six miles wide and 
 twelve deep, and finally in 1825, created the 
 township of Vernon from the northern half of 
 Sandusky township. In 1845 it became a part 
 of Crawford county, and the commissioners 
 carried it under its original name, which had 
 been given it after the home of Washington, 
 Mount Vernon. When it was surveyed by 
 Maxfield Ludlow in 1807 it was an almost im- 
 passable wilderness, the congenial home of 
 nearly every species of wild game common to 
 this part of the world, including such fierce and 
 predatory beasts as the wolf, bear, panther and 
 catamount, and crossed only by a few Indian 
 trails. In the southeastern part extensive 
 swamps afforded an almost secure retreat for 
 the wild animals from the Indian or pioneer 
 hunter, who with difficulty and danger fol- 
 
 lowed them into the treacherous bogs and 
 tangled thickets and into an atmosphere im- 
 pregnated with malarial vapors. 
 
 The township is bounded on the north by 
 Auburn, on the east by Richland county and 
 a part of Jackson, on the south by Jefferson 
 and Jackson, and on the west by Sandusky 
 township. Its geologic foundation consists of 
 the Waverly group of rocks, which is overlaid 
 by drift deposits of a depth of from ten to 50 
 feet. In the northwest corner, in the channel 
 of Bear Marsh, where the drift deposits have 
 been washed away, a slate or shale is exposed, 
 which apparently forms a part of the Huron 
 shale. West of De Kalb and in a few other 
 places, the Berea grit outcrops and along the 
 Bear Marsh run quarrying was done on the 
 farms now owned by Ira O. Hilborn and J. B. 
 Carrothers just west of De Kalb. The south 
 and east portions of the township are flat, and 
 the southern part was very wet and marshy in 
 the early days, but modern drainage and the 
 clearing away of the forests have brought the 
 land into a condition to richly repay the labor 
 of cultivation. In the southern part the soil 
 is deep, rich and black, while in the northern 
 and western parts it consists of a light sandy 
 loam, mixed with clay. 
 
 Lying on the northern slope of the Ohio 
 watershed, the township is drained by streams 
 v,hich flow into Lake Erie. The principal one 
 of these is known as Loss Creek, the name be- 
 ing a corruption of Lost Creek, it being thus 
 denominated because of the difficulty in dis- 
 
 338 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 339 
 
 covering its source among the many marshes. 
 It originates, however, in the extensive flat 
 lands in the southern part of the township, and 
 after winding first in a northwesterly direction 
 till it reaches the center of the township, it 
 then turns toward the southwest and joins the 
 Sandusky river. The northwestern corner is 
 drained by Brokensword creek, while Honey 
 Creek, a branch of the Huron river, drains the 
 northeastern part. 
 
 An Indian trail passed through the township 
 from the northeast to Wingenund's village on 
 the Sandusky river, near Leesville. There was 
 an Indian camp southwest the present site of 
 Vernon Junction for many years after the 
 War ofi8i2. It is stated that about a dozen 
 Indians, under the lead of Johnnycake, main- 
 tained a camp there until 1828. Civilization 
 has blotted out all external evidences of In- 
 dian occupation, but here and there Indian 
 relics are often plowed up. Many of these 
 relics may be of a pre-historical instead of an 
 Indian period. 
 
 In 181 6 Andrew Dickson and David Cum- 
 mins purchased land in the northern part of 
 Vernon township. Cummins was born in 
 Rockingham county, Va., Feb. 28, 1788, and 
 was a soldier in the War of 1812. When they 
 first came to look over this section they assisted 
 William Green in erecting the first log house 
 ever erected by a pioneer in this county, in the 
 southeast part of what is now Auburn town- 
 ship. William Cummins located on his pur- 
 chase in 1 81 8, and it is probable his companion, 
 Andrew Dickson, came at the same time. The 
 records show that on April 26, 1822, he bought 
 of James Given a quarter section northwest of 
 what is now West Liberty, and another quarter 
 section near the same day. His nearest neigh- 
 bor was Charles Morrow, whose heirs prob- 
 ably hold the oldest known deed of a transfer 
 of property in the county. It was given by 
 William Petti John, the hunter and trapper who 
 roamed over Auburn and Vernon as early as 
 1814. The deed bears date of Aug. 25, 1819, 
 and is for the northwest quarter of section 34, 
 township 22, range 20 west; section 34 is the 
 southeast section of Auburn. Another resi- 
 dent of this section was Jedediah Moorehead, 
 a trapper and hunter, who like Pettijohn made 
 his living by securing furs and game. 
 
 A settler named George Byers was occupy- 
 
 ing a log cabin in section 17, (the section in 
 which West Liberty now is) as early as 1820, 
 and may have come there a year or two pre- 
 viously, as he had already several acres cleared. 
 It is not unlikely, however, that he may have 
 bought the land from some previous settler, 
 as he was a man much fonder of roaming the 
 forest in search of game and adventures than 
 of performing hard manual labor. He was a 
 most skilful hunter and trapper and is said to 
 have caught more than a hundred mink in one 
 winter, together with quite a number of racoon, 
 beaver, otter and other animals. At that time 
 a mink skin was worth $4, beaver $5, otter 
 sometimes as high as $8, while a fox skin sold 
 at from 75 cents to $3. It can be seen, there- 
 fore, that Mr. Byers was able to earn a pretty 
 good income for those days. He resided in the 
 township for many years and finally died and 
 was buried there. 
 
 In 1 82 1 James Richards, a blacksmith, came 
 to Vernon, and after erecting his cabin, built 
 a small round-log shop. He was kept em- 
 ployed much of the time in repairing the 
 wagons of the constantly arriving pioneers, 
 which were seldom in good condition after 
 making the long journey to the West. In ad- 
 dition to this he made cow bells, tempered axes, 
 made iron points for the wooden plows and did 
 considerable other work in keeping the settlers' 
 tools in good condition. Two roads, if such 
 they might be called, had already been cut 
 through the township. One, running north 
 and south, was the Columbus and Sandusky, 
 road, known as the Portland road, and at this 
 time was simply a blazed way through the 
 forest, from which the fallen logs and under- 
 brush had been removed. It connected the cen- 
 tral part of the State with the cities on Lake 
 Erie, and soon became one of the principal 
 highways in the state. The other was the 
 Bucvrus and De Kalb road, which had been 
 started in 1821. These, as well as most of the 
 other principal roads in the state, were at first 
 only Indian trails through the forest, which 
 had been adopted by the pioneer settlers as the 
 most desirable routes, and afterwards im- 
 proved until they became passable for the 
 teams, farmers' wagons, and droves of cattle 
 on their way to market, evidences of a rapidly 
 increasing and enterprising population. They 
 are in full use at this day, though the old Con- 
 
340 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 estoga wagon of the pioneer settler has been 
 replaced by the swiftly-gliding automobile of 
 the pleasure seeking tourist, and the cattle, in- 
 stead of being driven lazily to market, are now 
 drawn there over a steel highway at a rate of 
 20 to 30 miles an hour, behind a puffing loco- 
 motive — to witness which things would con- 
 siderably surprise the pioneer settler, could he 
 come back to earth and visit the wilderness 
 where he first settled. 
 
 In 1822 George Dickson, a young unmarried 
 man, arrived in the township and entered land. 
 After clearing a few acres, he went back to 
 Pennsylvania, married, and then brought his 
 wife to their new home in the wilderness. He 
 became one of Vernon's most prominent citi- 
 zens and resided here many years, and died 
 Aug. 23, 1880, and was buried in the grave- 
 yard at De Kalb. Conrad Walters, a cooper, 
 came in 1824 and began work at his trade. 
 He was an intelligent and well educated man, 
 and his manners were superior to those of the 
 ordinary pioneer. He was moreover of a 
 manly and courageous disposition and became 
 a skillful hunter and trapper, learning much 
 from his associations with Byers and the In- 
 dians. On one occasion while out hunting, he 
 was nearly killed by a wounded buck, which 
 he had shot in a swamp in the southern part of 
 the township. Thinking it dying, he was about 
 to cut its throat, when the animal started up in 
 a desperate struggle for existence. Mr. Wal- 
 ters seized it by the antlers to prevent it from 
 goring him and clung to it until he was almost 
 exhausted. He finally succeeded in forcing its 
 head into the mud and water and held it there 
 until it suffocated. His body was covered 
 with wounds and bruises and his clothing was 
 torn to shreds by the sharp horns and hoofs of 
 the dying animal. He learned from this ex- 
 perience, however, to always avoid a hand-to- 
 hand struggle with a wounded deer. 
 
 Besides those mentioned, other early settlers 
 were Jonathan Dickson in 1825 ; David Hol- 
 stein and Samuel Tarr in 1828; Levi Arnold, 
 Thomas Gill, James Dickson, and Charles 
 Warner in 1829; David Anderson, Barnett 
 Cole, Samuel Dean, Dennis Orton, Rev. 
 Thompson and William Brown in 1830. 
 These settlers were in the northern part of 
 the township, and through their exertions the 
 forests in this section began to disappear and 
 
 give way to farming land. Levi Arnold, was 
 a carpenter, and the first to work at his trade 
 in the township, erecting many of the build- 
 ings for the late settlers. The first orchard 
 was planted by James Richards in 1825. Jon- 
 athan Dickson had a large family of children, 
 and after they were grown and had homes 
 for themselves, there were thirteen settled 
 around the family homestead, so close that 
 when his dinner bell rang it could be heard 
 by the entire thirteen, but this tradition handed 
 down fails to state whether they responded 
 to this *call for refreshments" at the family 
 home. But on Thanksgiving Days they did 
 repair to the old homestead year after year, 
 until finally, in August, 1881, the children and 
 the grandchildren and the great grandchildren 
 paid their last tribute of respect to their an- 
 cestral pioneer, and he was laid to rest in the 
 Hanna graveyard. 
 
 The first known birth in the township is 
 disputed. There are two claimants, and it has 
 always been given to Arthur Cleland, a son 
 of William and Rachel Cleland, who was born 
 on Feb. 6, 1826. The other claimant is An- 
 drew Dickson, and his tombstone in the Hanna 
 graveyard shows he was born Feb. 6, 1826, 
 and died Dec. 9, 1893. As both birth-dates 
 are the same there is abundant reason for the 
 double claim. 
 
 After 1830, among the settlers arriving 
 were George Amspaugh, Jacob Klahn, and 
 Andrew Dickson, Sr., in 183 1 ; Henry Bilsing, 
 Richard Cahill, Dr. Peter Carlton, Conrad 
 Ebner, Jacob Kemp and George Tempy in 
 1832; Philip Ackerman, John Baumgartner, 
 J. J. Bauer, Leanderline Gosser, John Heim- 
 gartner, Samuel Hagarman, Christian Maker- 
 ley, Andrew Miller, John J. Rubly, Jacob 
 Reichlin, John B. Yetzer, Jacob Scheibly, 
 Gottleib Schneider and John Weaver in 1833; 
 
 Adam Bach, Adam Feik and Reiter 
 
 in 1834; John Fulton, John Farrell, Thomas 
 Mahan, Samuel Reed and Jefferson Walters 
 in 1835; Dr. A. N. Bee, Charles Gowan and 
 Samuel Wiggins in 1836. 
 
 A few of the above settled in the northern 
 part of the township, but most of them were 
 Germans who came with their families and 
 erected cabins among the swamps and marshes 
 in the southern part of the township. A worse 
 place for settlement could hardly be imagined. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 341 
 
 as the marshes were filled with venomous 
 snakes and other reptiles, some of large size, 
 the rattlesnakes being especially numerous and 
 deadly, while the atmosphere was thickly 
 charged with the germs of fever and ague. 
 The Germans had selected this land, or rather 
 had been obliged to take it, because of its 
 cheapness, as their finances had been nearly 
 exhausted by the long journey from their na- 
 tive land. They wasted no time in regrets, 
 but set to work with courage and energy to 
 improve the surrounding conditions. They 
 drained the marshes, made clearings and 
 erected cabins, and as the land became drier 
 the air became better and the neighborhood 
 more healthy. They also killed off the snakes 
 and other noxious animals, so that in the 
 course of a few years a great improvement 
 was visible in the locality and the land be- 
 came more valuable. The soil was naturally 
 rich and when the water was drained off, 
 yielded bountiful crops. The first of these set- 
 tlers to arrive was Mr. Tempy, who came in 
 1 83 1. Leanderline Gosser was a shoemaker and 
 cobbler and had a small shop in one end of his 
 cabin, and he also tanned the leather he needed 
 for his work. In 1832 he planted the first 
 apple trees in the German settlement. Yetzer 
 also planted a small orchard two years later. 
 The latter was a man of excellent education 
 and soon became a leader among the Germans, 
 being active in all public enterprises and es- 
 pecially in promoting the cause of education. 
 Beach was a carpenter and erected the first 
 frame houses in the southern part of the town- 
 ship, beginning in 1835. Bauer worked at 
 cabinet-making, and although he had never 
 learned the trade, he contrived to manufacture 
 rough articles of furniture, such as stands, 
 chairs, tables, and also made coffins for the set- 
 tlers. As these Germans could not speak Eng- 
 lish, they had for some time but little commui- 
 cation with the English-speaking settlements, 
 and were thus an almost independent colony. 
 Most of the settlers obtained their supplies 
 of flour, powder and shot, and other necessary 
 articles at Mansfield, whisky being usually 
 procured at Monroeville, where there were 
 some extensive distilleries. This latter article 
 was an absolute necessity in southern Vernon, 
 as it was the only medicinal remedy for the 
 poison of the rattlesnakes, and also a safe- 
 
 guard from the chills and ague which infected 
 this miasmatic region. No record has been 
 handed down of any deaths from the venomous 
 rattlesnakes, and it is probable that none oc- 
 curred. Neither is there any record handed 
 down of the deaths of the little children, 
 brought to this malarious region, with its im- 
 pure water, and swampy marshy ground, 
 where only the strongest constituiions CLiuld 
 survive the unhealthy surroundings, yet these 
 deaths of the little ones did occur, and it is 
 probable that in southern Vernon, the same 
 as in the southern part of Bucyms township, 
 there are very few square miles where there 
 are not one or more unknown graves, where 
 the sorrowing parents laid to rest the little 
 one whose death was due solely to a want of 
 pure air and water. It is also safe to say that 
 in the pioneer days these early graves were 
 marked by some rudely carved stone, or 
 wooden slab, but as time passed and the farms 
 passed to other hands these markings decayed, 
 and today no trace remains. Of fifty early 
 graveyards in this county that are still cared 
 for and every one established prior to 1850, 
 the records of the ancient stones that are yet 
 legible show that the first burial in twenty of 
 them was a child, in twelve a woman, and in 
 eighteen a man, showing again the survival of 
 the strongest. 
 
 Charles and Catherine Warner came to Ver- 
 non township in 1829, settling near West Lib- 
 erty. His son John helped his father to clear 
 the land and later learned the carpenter's trade, 
 and went into business for himself. He built 
 a little shop, but soon after it was completed 
 it took fire and was totally destroyed. He im- 
 mediately rebuilt and was in the business a 
 number of years. 
 
 David Anderson came to Vernon about 
 1830 and followed farming for awhile. He 
 then became a merchant at DeKalb and was 
 thus occupied for about fifteen years. Later 
 he went to Mansfield and became a prominent 
 banker. Henry and Christina Bilsing, with 
 their son Adam, came to the township in 1832. 
 He built the first house in that vicinity — the 
 old Bilsing home, in the southern part of the 
 township. 
 
 J. G. Stough came to Crawford county in 
 November, 1826, settling in Liberty township, 
 where his father joined him in 1829. The 
 
342 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 latter was a Lutheran minister, who, entering 
 the ministry in 1793, preached for 56 years. 
 J. G. Stough's maternal grandfather, Traur- 
 man, was born in Maryland and while very 
 young, Indians killed his father and carried 
 his three sisters into captivity. When Mr. 
 Trautman grew older he came to Ohio and 
 finding his sisters in an Indian camp on the 
 Kilbuck, near the present city of Wooster, 
 he rescued them and took them home. Mr. 
 Stough after farming in Liberty for forty 
 years, moved to northeastern Vernon. 
 
 Peter Linker came to Ohio in 1832. He 
 settled on a farm in Vernon township and 
 resided there until his death on Oct. 4, 1870. 
 In the spring of 1827, George M. Keitch came 
 to Crawford county, and built a cabin on land 
 now owned by William and Albert Bilsing in 
 Vernon. . He died Dec. 21, 1827, one of the 
 earliest deaths in the southern part of the 
 township, and was the first known burial in 
 the Biddle graveyard, a mile east of his home. 
 
 The first known death in northern Vernon 
 was that of David Holstein, which occurred 
 in 1833. Mrs. Akerman died in the southern 
 part of the township in the same year. 
 
 Like all the early settlers, at the start, the 
 pioneers were compelled to go long distances 
 to have their grain ground or do the work by 
 hand. In 1833 Conrad Walters erected a 
 frame grist-mill near West Liberty, and did 
 a good business, but later in 1836 Samuel 
 Reed built a better mill two miles east, and 
 in this placed two sets of stones, one of 
 roughly cut "nigger heads" for the corn, the 
 other a pair of first-class French buhrs for 
 grinding the wheat. After this mill started 
 the Walters mill was discontinued. The Reed 
 mill continued for about ten years and was 
 then discontinued, for lack of custom. These 
 were the only two grist-mills ever in the town- 
 ship. Samuel Reed also ran a small saw-mill 
 in connection with his grist-mill. In 1837 
 Isaac Vanhorn had a large saw-mill on the 
 bank of the Loss Creek, located at a very 
 favorable point, for he had water sufficient 
 to run it for nine months in the year. The 
 mill later was run by a Mr. Kilgore who in 
 turn sold it to Conrad Walters, and then it 
 passed into the possession of Charles Warner, 
 and was abandoned. In 1862 Nicholas Fetter 
 built a steam saw-mill in the eastern part of 
 
 the township. As early as 1834 Conrad Wal- 
 ters started an ashery, which he continued 
 for several years, and in 1844 Dimmick & 
 Gibbs began the manufacture of potash on a 
 more extensive scale, reaching an output of 
 seven to eight tons per annum. Jacob Kemp 
 started a brick yard in 1838, and a few brick 
 buildings were erected instead of frame. 
 
 In 1825 Levi Arnold entered 80 acres of 
 government land in section No. 17 of what is 
 now Vernon township. He was a carpenter 
 and house-builder and erected his shop near 
 his cabin in the woods on the site of where 
 is now the village of West Liberty. Just 
 south of him lived Conrad Walters, who had 
 moved there two years previously, and opened 
 a cooper shop following that occupation in 
 connection with his farming and also started 
 a tavern. Charles Warner, a cabinet-maker, 
 located north of Arnold in 1829, and he also 
 did business at his trade as well as farming. 
 
 By 183 1 the section had become so thickly 
 settled that a schoolhouse was erected near 
 Conrad Walter's tavern, and in 1833 a log 
 church was erected one half mile south of 
 Arnold. That same year Walters started a 
 grist-mill, run by horse power, and in 1834 
 an ashery. About that time Thomas Dean 
 bought Arnold's farm, and he saw that with- 
 out doubt there was an opening for a town 
 on his land. It was at the crossing of the 
 Portland road and the road between Bucyrus 
 and Shelby. The nearest town to the south 
 was Gallon, about nine miles away, and to 
 the northeast was Shelby, nearly the same 
 distance. His scheme was to have all the dif- 
 ferent industries centralized at the one point, 
 and it would form the nucleus of a town and 
 be more convenient for the settlers and better 
 for the mechanics themselves. So early in 
 the spring of 1835 he had John Stewart, the 
 county surveyor of Richland county, lay out 
 a town on the site where the two roads crossed. 
 The plat was filed in the office of the county 
 recorder in Richland county on May 28, 1835, 
 and gave the location as on "the north" cen- 
 tral part of the south half of section No. 17, 
 Vernon township, Richland county." There 
 were only two streets on the plat, the Port- 
 land road was named Columbus street, and 
 the other road was called Bucyrus street. 
 After the settlement of West Liberty, the road 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 343 
 
 from Bucyrus to Shelby became generally 
 known as the Bucyrus and West Liberty road. 
 
 There were 28 lots in the plat of which 20 
 were on Columbus street, ten on each side, 
 and eight on Bucyrus street. Some of the 
 lots in the new town sold as high as $25. 
 There were several buildings in the town, as 
 early as 1830, Levi Arnold having erected a 
 double log-cabin for James Gillespie. Jacob 
 Kemp and Andrew Miller both built log cab- 
 ins, but they were very small, as they had but 
 one window each. After the town was laid 
 out, Kemp built a larger building and ran a 
 hotel; this was a two-story affair and was a 
 frame structure, the first frame in the village. 
 Charles Warner had started his little cabinet 
 maker's shop in 1830, and continued in the 
 business for 18 years when he sold out to 
 Henry Balsor. Thomas Gill had a cooper 
 shop, Jefferson Wallace a blacksmith shop, 
 John Kaler a shoe shop and Hiram D. Cross 
 a tailor shop. 
 
 In 1838, the town boasted of a few little 
 shops, five or six houses, but it had no store. 
 And the first store started at West Liberty 
 was the first introduction into the county of 
 the shrewd business man "gold bricking" the 
 unsophisticated citizen. A young peddler 
 who drove through the country with a horse 
 and wagon, furnishing dry goods and other 
 necessaries to the farmers in the small vil- 
 lages, happened to drop into Kemp's tavern. 
 He spoke in glowing terms of the thrift and 
 enterprise of the place, expanded the possibili- 
 ties of the dinky little cooper shop, carpenter 
 shop and shoe shop, and let his brilliant and 
 vivid imagination wander into the future of 
 what the town would be, situated as it was at 
 the junction of the two most important roads 
 in the state; regretted business would not al- 
 low him to remain or he would certainly start 
 a store in the little village. All it needed was 
 a store, and the man who started one was 
 bound to make a fortune, and he wiped the 
 tears from his eyes when he described the 
 opportunity of which he was unable to take 
 advantage. He only expected to unload his 
 stock, about $600 worth, on one man, but he 
 had three offers. It never phased the smooth 
 young man. He dealt with the entire three 
 in secret, and unloaded a third of his goods 
 on each, and with his empty wagon quietly 
 
 left the town, and Jacob Kemp, Andrew Mil- 
 ler and Samuel Dean learned with astonish- 
 ment that each one of the three had purchased 
 goods and intended to make a fortune in the 
 dry goods business. Neither one would give 
 way, so three stores were started, and to 
 crowd out the others, each sent to Pittsburg 
 and added largely to the stock. There was 
 not sufficient business for one store, and all 
 three discontinued, and just about that time 
 young Bailey got in his "double cross" by 
 returning to the village, buying all three stores 
 at his own price, and he left the town a second 
 time but this time with a loaded wagon in- 
 stead of an empty one. The transaction broke 
 up Samuel Dean. 
 
 The storekeepers were only a few years 
 ahead of their time. In 1845 I- N. Frye and 
 John Kaler started a store with $5,000 worth 
 of goods, but the town had grown; it was 
 now the centre of a well settled region, and 
 was the second most important business centre 
 of the county, doing then more business than 
 Gallon. In 1850 the goods of Frye & Kaler 
 invoiced $8,000, but then as now the invoice 
 was not a perfect criterion, as later, Frye sold 
 to C. G. Malic; and the business of Kaler & 
 Malic demanded all the time of the proprietors 
 and Dr. George Keller was employed to keep 
 the books of the firm, and he stated their busi- 
 ness reached, one year at least, $100,000. 
 Besides a general store, they dealt in grain 
 and stock. John Kaler came to Bucyrus as 
 county treasurer, and C. G. Malic ran the 
 business alone; after a few years he sold out 
 to Brown & Guiss and came to Bucyrus, and 
 went into the dry goods business with his old 
 partner under the old name of Kaler & Malic. 
 Their bookkeeper also came, but no longer to 
 keep books, as his practice as a physician in 
 Bucyrus required all his time. Guiss sold to 
 James Gloyd, and they were compelled to 
 make an assignment, J. J. Bauer securing the 
 stock. William Brown went to Tiro and be- 
 came one of the prominent men of that rising 
 young town. The advent of railroads had 
 made it impossible to pay the high charges 
 for the handling of freight, and the interior 
 towns could not compete with those more 
 favorably located. Gallon in 1850, which was 
 of less importance than West Liberty as a 
 commercial centre, from the time of its rail- 
 
344 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 road had expanded by leaps and bounds until 
 it became the largest place in the county; 
 Crestline in 1850 was a wilderness, and in 
 i860 an important town, and from the time 
 of railroads West Liberty was on the. down- 
 ward grade, its industries quit business and 
 finally in 1902 its post office was discontinued 
 and with it the little notion store gave up the 
 ghost, while the last saloon made a feeble 
 struggle to survive, gave up the hopeless fight 
 and finally closed for lack of patronage, and 
 what was once the most thriving village of 
 Northeastern Crawford is today a short street 
 with a few old frame houses fast crumbling to 
 decay. 
 
 In its palmiest days several physicians lo- 
 cated in the village, the first was Dr. J. C. 
 Wood in 1842, but he died in 1847. Later 
 Drs. H. B. Hutchinson, James Aikens, and 
 George Keller and Joseph Bevier located 
 there. At one time it also boasted of a dis- 
 tillery, Gibbs & Main starting a small one in 
 1844, with a capacity of about fifteen gallons 
 a day. This output was consumed by the 
 local trade in that section, but notwithstand- 
 ing this the firm only continued in business 
 about a year. About 1838 a temperance cru- 
 sade was started in the northern part of the 
 township and a Mr. Kile tried the experiment 
 of having a barn raising without the necessary 
 lubricant for the men, but the affair was a 
 failure as there were not enough men present 
 to do the work. The temperance movement 
 was an equal failure, the time was not yet 
 ripe to change the habits of the early pioneers. 
 
 The mail is now supplied by rural route. 
 Commencing March 24, 1868, for over thirty 
 years Peter Weller was the postmaster, and 
 he lived in Bucyrus all that time his father 
 running the office as deputy, with the last little 
 store in the village. The postmasters of the 
 village were as follows 
 
 David Anderson, Aug. 12, 1841 ; Isaac N. 
 Frye, Dec. 30, 1845; A. N. Miller, May 23, 
 1850; Thomas C. Eakin, July 15, 1851; Sam- 
 uel Gloyd, Jan. 26, 1852; George Parsons, 
 May 26, 1852; George C. Brown, March 3, 
 1865; Peter Weller, March 24, 1868; Isaiah 
 Mowen, June 13, 1900. The office was dis- 
 continued May 31, 1902, and is now supplied 
 by rural route. 
 
 In 1827 John Nimmon came to Bucyrus; 
 
 he was accompanied by his nephew, Richard 
 W. Cahill, a young man 24 years of age. 
 Mr. Nimmon started a store and his nephew 
 was his assistant. One might think that in 
 a little country store in those early days the 
 principal job would be to "kill time." But in 
 those days nearly all business was on. credit, 
 little cash passed, and what the farmer bought 
 he paid for in the products he raised. Exten- 
 sive credit was given. And one of the duties 
 of Mr. Cahill was the collecting. Starting 
 on his rounds he made his trip through the 
 surrounding country, being gone for days, and 
 returning with very little cash, but with what- 
 ever farm products he could collect, driving 
 in the hogs and even cattle. This stock was 
 assembled at Bucyrus, and when a drove had 
 been secured Cahill started on his long tramp 
 to Pittsburg, where he sold the cattle and hogs, 
 and in exchange brought back the goods 
 needed in the store, the trip taking over a 
 month. For three years Cahill was clerk, 
 bookkeeper, collector, and driver for the store, 
 and in 1831, his uncle was elected to the Leg- 
 islature, became the Hon. John Nimmon, and 
 disposed of his store. Young Cahill was tired 
 of the store business so he purchased 160 
 acres of land in Vernon township, to which he 
 removed. His father was Abram Cahill, who 
 had been an officer in the militia in Westmore- 
 land countv, Pa., and at one time had com- 
 mand of all the forces in western Pennsyl- 
 vania. He came with his family to Wayne 
 county in 181 7. Mr. R. W. Cahill after set- 
 tling in Vernon in 1832, devoted his attention 
 to farming, his land being south of the pres- 
 ent village of Tiro. The region was becom- 
 ing rapidly developed, and Mr. Cahill was 
 easily the most influential man in Vernon 
 township, and was the recognized leader of his 
 party in western Richland county. Through 
 his influence a post office was established in 
 that section, and he was appointed postmaster 
 by Andrew Jackson, the post office being in 
 his house. It was named DeKalb, after Baron 
 DeKalb, a general in the Revolutionary War. 
 He continued to hold this office until the elec- 
 tion of Gen. William Henry Harrison, when 
 he forwarded his resignation, but received a 
 letter from the postmaster general suggesting 
 that there would be no change in the postmas- 
 tership at DeKalb. Cahill was an old school 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 345 
 
 Democrat; he believed with his patron saint, 
 Andrevsr Jackson, that "to the victor belongs 
 the spoils," so he wrote a polite letter stating 
 that he was a Democrat, and he declined to 
 hold office under a Whig administration, and 
 the office passed to David Anderson, the lead- 
 ing Whig, and when he left DeKalb it was con- 
 solidated with the post office at West Liberty. 
 In the October election of 1841, Mr. Cahill 
 was elected as a member of the Legislature for 
 Richland county, serving two years, and in 
 1850 he was the member of the Constitutional 
 Convention from Crawford county, which 
 gave the state its present constitution, without 
 the amendments adopted in 1912. He died 
 Oct. 4, 1886, and was buried in the Hanna 
 graveyard. 
 
 The immediate neighborhood of the DeKalb 
 post office was thickly settled, and about three 
 quarters of a mile north of the Cahill farm 
 Samuel Hagarman had a blacksmith shop and 
 there was a carpenter and cabinetmaker shop 
 near it. David Anderson, who owned the land 
 adjoining these two shops, concluded that it 
 would be a profitable undertaking to lay out 
 a town, with the two shops and the post office 
 as a good starter. It was near the junction 
 of a north and south road with the road from 
 Bucyrus to Plymouth. He accordingly had 
 Christian Wise, the Richland county surveyor, 
 lay out and plat the town around the two 
 shops. The plat was filed in the recorder's 
 office in Richland county, on Nov. 20, 1835, 
 and the location was given as "the southwest 
 part of the northeast quarter of section No. 5, 
 Vernon township, Richland county." The 
 only street in the town was the old Bucyrus 
 and Plymouth road, and it was given the name 
 of Bucyrus street. There were sixteen lots 
 in the town, eight on each side of the street. 
 The town grew, and on Oct. 15, 1838, Ander- 
 son filed a plat for an addition to the original 
 town. The new plat consisted of 12 more 
 lots and two large outlots. This new addi- 
 tion was west of the original town, and 
 brought •fhe village to the road running north 
 from West Liberty into Auburn township, 
 the new street on the west was called Colum- 
 bus, as just north of West Liberty the north 
 and south road joined the old Portland road 
 running to Columbus. 
 
 DeKalb in its palmiest days between 1835 
 
 and i860, attained a high state of commercial 
 and industrial standing and was one of the 
 successful of the many towns projected dur- 
 ing the era of town building which had such 
 a rage in the county from 1833 to 1840. Dur- 
 ing that period there were sixteen towns* laid 
 out and platted and placed on the market in 
 four hundred square miles of what is now the 
 county of Crawford. 
 
 Immediately after DeKalb was started Dr. 
 Peter Carlton opened a general store, with a 
 stock of about $2,000, carrying a line of drugs. 
 In 1840 David Anderson started a store, which 
 he ran for five years and then sold to Gabriel 
 and Cornelius Fox, who disposed of the goods 
 and retired from business. George Cummins 
 started a store in 1840, and in 1842, Elias 
 Cramer started with a supply of groceries, 
 with a bar attached, the only saloon ever in 
 the village. A shoemaker's shop located in 
 the village, and a wagon-maker's shop fol- 
 lowed. In 1835 John Felton started a tannery 
 with five vats and Charles Gowan also had a 
 small tannery. In 1837 Thomas Mahan and 
 Samuel Wiggins erected a large two story 
 frame, and here they started a wool-carding 
 and cloth-dressing mill, employing several 
 hands, and for several years did a good busi- 
 ness, but eventually it was discontinued. The 
 DeKalb Seminary was started, a Presbyterian 
 Institution of which the Rev. Mr. Thompson 
 was president. It was locally known as the 
 "Boys and Girls Seminary," as it was open to 
 both sexes. At its height it reached an en- 
 rollment of over sixty pupils, but it gradually 
 declined; in 1858 it had an enrollment of 48 
 pupils when the September term started. Mr, 
 Thompson was then principal; Miss Emma 
 Irwin, preceptress, and Dr. George Keller, 
 secretary. When the war broke out, the mem- 
 bership was still less, and for lack of patron- 
 age it was discontinued. 
 
 The importance of Tiro was such that in 
 1847 the postoffice was re-established there in 
 1847, with the appointment of Charles Webb 
 as postmaster on Feb. 23, 1847 he was suc- 
 ceeded by George Cummins on Jan. 28, 1848, 
 the postoffice being in his store, and when he 
 
 * These sixteen towns were Annapolis, Chatfield, 
 Deckertown, DeKalb, East Liberty, Galion, j'acksonville, 
 Leesville, Middletown, New Washington, New Win- 
 chester, North Liberty, Olentangy, Waynesburg, Win- 
 gerfs Corners and West Liberty. 
 
346 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 disposed of his store to the Fox brothers, Cor- 
 nehus Fox was appointed postmaster July 31, 
 1849. On Sept. 6, 1854 Thomas A. Mitchell 
 was appointed. During the incumbency of 
 Postmaster Fox, DeKalb had a weekly mail; 
 it started at Mt. Gilead, and went to Iberia, 
 Gallon, West Liberty, DeKalb, Tiro and Ply- 
 mouth. 
 
 In 1 85 1, the contract for carrying the mail, 
 from July 185 1 to June 30, 1856, contained 
 the following: 
 
 "From Shelby, by DeKalb, to Sulphur 
 Springs, to Brokensword, to Bucyrus, 30 
 miles and back. Leave Shelby every Friday 
 6 a. m., reach Bucyrus at 6 p. m. ; Leave Bu- 
 cyrus every Saturday at 6 a. m., reach Shelby 
 6 p. m. 
 
 "From Galion, by Leesville Cross Roads 
 and DeKalb to Tyro and back, 16 miles, one 
 time a week. Leave Galion every Tuesday 
 at 6 a. m., arrive Tyro 12 m. Leave same 
 date at 2 p. m., arrive Galion 7 p. m." 
 
 In June, 1858, the Dekalbians learned that 
 H. S. Bevington had been appointed post- 
 master on June 10, 1858. The people had not 
 asked for any change and wanted Mitchell, 
 and they refused to accept the new postmaster, 
 who was the choice of Congressman Hall. 
 They raised such a protest that Bevington re- 
 signed, and the Government, to harmonize the 
 matter, appointed Nancy Hanna. The people 
 accepted this, but the leaders at Bucyrus in- 
 sisted on Bevington. In those days a Congress- 
 man was all powerful, and as the people posi- 
 tively refused to accept Bevington, Congress- 
 man Hall had the office discontinued on March 
 17, 1859, and for two years the entire village 
 was compelled to go nearly three miles to West 
 Liberty for their mail, or five miles to Shelby. 
 In 1 861, the administration at Washington 
 changed and post offices passed into the hands 
 of the new party, and on July 3, 1861, George 
 Cummins was appointed, and on Oct. 2, 1865, 
 he was succeeded by Thomas A. Mitchell, the 
 man removed ten years previously. He served 
 this time for seven years, and was succeeded 
 on Nov. 13, 1872, by B. W. McKee, who held 
 the office until the appointment of William 
 Raudabaugh on July 23, 1873. On Dec. 15, 
 1882, the office was discontinued, being re- 
 moved to Tiro. 
 
 About 1850 the population of DeKalb was 
 
 in the neighborhood of 250 people. Some- 
 what later the business began to leave the 
 place and go to the larger towns of Shelby 
 and Plymouth, which had become better ship- 
 ping points by reason of the Sandusky, Mans- 
 field and Newark railroad. After i860 the 
 town's retrogression was very marked, but it 
 hung on, and finally was reduced to only a 
 few houses with one small store and a black- 
 smith shop. Then the Mansfield and Cold- 
 water road was built,' piassing less than a mile 
 north and here the railroad established a 
 depot, and in 1874 the village of Tiro was laid 
 out on the land around the station. Stores 
 and shops were started there; it became a 
 centre for the shipment of grain, a mill was 
 erected, a bank started, and DeKalb with its 
 patriotic name was a town of the past. To- 
 day absolutely nothing remains to indicate that 
 it was once an important business centre. 
 
 For thirty years prior to the Civil War, 
 several stations on the Underground Railroad 
 were established in Vernon township, and 
 many runaway slaves were thus assisted on 
 their way to Canada and freedom. David and 
 Samuel Anderson were among those who took 
 part in this work. As the laws of the United 
 States made it a crime to thus assist black 
 fugitives to escape from their masters, the 
 work had to carried on with great caution. 
 The negroes traveled only at night, and dur- 
 ing the daytime were kept closely concealed 
 in the so-called "stations," where they were 
 provided with food and other necessaries. 
 
 The first speculation in oil was in Vernon 
 township. As early as 1851, James Seanor, 
 living in the northern part of Jefferson town- 
 ship wanted a well, and at a depth of 25 feet 
 struck a stratum of rock; he went through 
 this and found a powerful vein of water which 
 filled the well; a few days later this water 
 was covered with a thick oily substance. A 
 short distance from his house was a spring 
 from which oil flowed in large quantities. 
 No one knew the nature of the oil, or its quali- 
 ties, but a quack doctor from Sandusky City 
 gathered it for several years and retailed it 
 as a specific for burns, bruises, etc. The oil 
 excitement in Pennsylvania started, and in 
 1 86 1 the Seanor well was recalled, the land 
 was leased and work commenced and in two 
 days without the aid of machinery about 120 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 347 
 
 gallons of oil were gathered, but machinery 
 did no more ; it was not there in paying quan- 
 tities. The swampy region of southern Ver- 
 non and Northern Jackson all showed symp- 
 toms of oil. Just south of the Vernon line 
 on the farm of Hugh Oldfield, Pittsburg par- 
 ties put in a well lOO feet deep from which 
 they gathered a few buckets of oil a day. 
 They put in pumps, believing the well would 
 yield 15 barrels a day, but the investment was 
 a failure. Other wells were dug but all proved 
 failures. Finally in 1862 J. J. Bauer struck 
 oil on his farm the northwest quarter of 
 section 28, Vernon township, the land being 
 today still in the possession of the Bauers. He 
 had dug a well and discovered a few days 
 later that the surface was covered with oil; 
 as fast as he skimmed off the oil it gathered 
 again, and the supply seemed inexhaustible. 
 The excitement in Pennsylvania was at its 
 height, and the citizens flocked to the farm to 
 see the well, and congratulate the owner. A 
 company was formed with a capital of $10,000 
 to develop the well, one enthusiast taking $500 
 in stock. Experts were sent for, and $2,000 
 of the stock was paid in and also paid out, 
 the highest yield being a barrel and a half a 
 day, and the enterprise was abandoned, but 
 it was the most prolific well ever found in the 
 county, a county too, which in the early days 
 had more surface indications than any other 
 county in the state, indications which later 
 cost the people of this county approximately 
 $100,000 for experimental wells with abso- 
 lutely no returns. 
 
 The first school building in Vernon town- 
 ship was erected in 183 1 about half a mile 
 south of West Liberty, and stood a short dis- 
 tance back from the Columbus and Sandusky 
 road. It was built of round logs, was 16 feet 
 square, and had a large conspicuous stone 
 chimney. The first teacher was Thomas Gill, 
 who was a very efficient instructor, anticipat- 
 ing many of the modern methods of imparting 
 knowledge, and in connection with his teach- 
 ing ran a cooper shop. Miss Richards, who 
 in 1844, became Mrs. R. W. Cahill, and Mr. 
 Orton, were also early teachers in this school- 
 house. In 1835 a hewed-log schoolhouse was 
 built about a mile north of West Liberty. 
 Maria Swan taught school here for 'three 
 months during the summer of that year, while 
 
 John Farrell taught the following winter. 
 Another cabin was built for educational pur- 
 poses about a mile and a half east of West 
 Liberty in 1838, and by 1845 there were as 
 many as seven or eight school buildings in 
 the northern part of the township. The 
 schools in the southern part were started later, 
 as that part was settled several years after 
 the northern part, but when established they 
 were well taught and well attended, the Ger- 
 man language at first being given preference 
 over the English, owing to the general mass 
 of the settlers being of that nationality. A 
 frame schoolhouse was built in DeKalb in 
 1 84 1, a Mr. Phillips being the first teacher. 
 This building was afterwards supplanted by 
 a more commodious one. 
 
 Vernon township has today six school 
 houses, No. i being in the southwest quarter 
 of section 6, on the farm of Mary and G. W. 
 Johnson; No. 2, southwest quarter of section 
 17, the farm of F. P. Warner, a quarter of a 
 mile south of West Liberty; No. 3 the south- 
 east quarter of section 30, the farm of Wil- 
 liam G. Fisher; No. 4, the southeast quarter 
 of section 28, the farm of Thomas McMahon ; 
 No. 5, the southeast quarter of section 16, the 
 farm of John Richlin ; No. 6, the southeast 
 quarter of section 4, the farm of Hollister 
 Doll. 
 
 The first religious services among the set- 
 tlers were held in the cabins by those faith- 
 ful missionaries of all denominations who 
 wandered through the sparsely settled regions 
 to preach to the people. Even before settlers 
 were here, a young priest. Rev. J. M. Henni, 
 made occasional trips through this region, 
 making converts among the Indians. About 
 1824 he was in what is now known as the 
 German settlement, in the eastern part of Ver- 
 non township. Here at this early date he 
 found a few Roman Catholic families, and he 
 organized them into a parish. He or others 
 visited them occasionally, holding services in 
 the cabins, and in 1836 they built a little log 
 church, which was used until 1852, when it 
 was replaced by a brick building on the same 
 site, 40 by 80 feet in size. The church had 
 secured a 40-acre tract on which to build the 
 church and necessary buildings. This church 
 was just east of the Vernon township line, 
 in Richland county. Later in life the first 
 
348 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 priest, Rev. Mr. Henni, rose to high rank in 
 the church and became Archbishop of Mil- 
 waukee. In 1890 to 1898 Rev. F. A. Schreib- 
 er was the priest in charge and under his ad- 
 ministration the present church was built. The 
 corner stone was laid by Right Rev. Bishop 
 Horstman on May 29, 1892, and the building 
 was dedicated by him on Sept. 25, 1895. It is 
 called the Church of the Sacred Heart of 
 Jesus. The building is 148 feet in length, with 
 a width of 48 feet, with the handsomest of in- 
 terior furnishings. It is of Berea cut stone, 
 and of Gothic architecture, and when com- 
 pleted was the largest and handsomest church 
 in the Cleveland diocese. Many in eastern 
 Vernon are members of this church. 
 
 The Methodists organized a society in the 
 northern part of the township in 1832, but 
 they were not strong enough to build a church 
 at that time. Meetings were held in the cab- 
 ins and later in the schoolhouses, most of the 
 early members belonging to the churches in 
 Auburn township. 
 
 About 1830 a society of United Presby- 
 terians was organized, with a membership of 
 about 30, and after holding services for a few 
 years in the cabins and schoolhouses, a church 
 was erected near DeKalb. Rev. Mr. Thomp- 
 son, a very zealous and highly educated man, 
 was the first pastor. He it was who started 
 the DeKalb seminary. 
 
 It was in the early thirties that there were 
 a number of Germans settled in the southern 
 part of Vernon, and by 1833 they were strong 
 enough to build a church, the first church built 
 in the township. The Germans were of two 
 denominations, the German Lutherans and the 
 German Reformers. The two congregations 
 united in building a little log structure, a mile 
 south of West Liberty; this was replaced 
 later by a frame building, but for forty years 
 the two sects jointly worshipped in the same 
 building, when both organizations became 
 strong enough to have a church of their own. 
 
 The German Lutheran church was built on the 
 east side of the Portland road about two miles 
 south of West Liberty, and the German Re- 
 formed is half a mile south of this, a short 
 distance east of the road. 
 
 In 1850 Rev. William Adams organized a 
 society called the Church of God in the north- 
 eastern part of the township. For ten years 
 the meetings were held in the cabins and the 
 schoolhouses, and then a little church was 
 built at a cost of about $800. Long before 
 the church was built, a Sunday school was 
 started with Samuel Deam as superintendent. 
 
 All the other churches established Sunday 
 schools soon after the churches were or- 
 ganized. 
 
 Until Vernon was organized as a township 
 it was under the care of Auburn township, 
 and in 1823, when Adam Aumend of Auburn 
 made the first tax returns, he found but three 
 persons in Vernon township to assess for tax- 
 ation, and in 1826 there were only ten votes 
 cast in the township. In its earlier years the 
 justices of Auburn had jurisdiction over Ver- 
 non, and as in Auburn, Jacob Coykendall was 
 the first justice, commissioned in 1821; Isaac 
 Hitchcock and George Dickson were the first 
 justices in Vernon in 1825 ; Dennis Orton was 
 elected in 1826, and again in 1828, with James 
 Richards; William Cummins in 1830. Since 
 Vernon has been a part of Crawford county 
 the following men have held the office : 
 
 Emanuel Warner — 1845. 
 
 George Cummins — 1845-48-49-52. 
 
 Mathias Tustison — 1848. 
 
 John Kaler— 1851-54-57. 
 
 James Dixon — 1855. 
 
 James Dixon, Jr. — 1858-61. 
 
 George Parsons — 1859. 
 
 John Warner— 1862-65-68-71-74-77-80-83-86-89. 
 
 Andrew Dickson — 1864-68- 
 
 George Koch — 1871-74. 
 
 Jacob J. Bauer — 1875. 
 
 John W. Humphrey— 1879-80-83-86-89-92-96-99. 
 
 J. J. Weaver — 1892-96-99-02-05. 
 
 Bert Fix — 1905. 
 
 A. A. Dapper — 1911. 
 
 David Weaver — 1911. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 WHETSTONE TOWNSHIP 
 
 Topography — Survey of the Township — Its Erection — First Election — The Soil — Early 
 Prevalence of Malaria — First Settlers — Coming of Zalmon Rowse — Enterprise of 
 James Armstrong — First Mills — Robbery of the Albrights — Crawford's March 
 Through the Township — An Indian Village — The "Green Sea" — Early Roads— A 
 Peculiar Marriage — The First Post Office — Founding of New Winchester, Olentangy 
 and North Robinson — The Underground Railroad — Postmasters — Early Mills — Jus- 
 tices of the Peace — Schools and Churches — Graveyards. 
 
 Nor heed the skeptic's puny hands. 
 While near the church the schoolhouse stands; 
 Nor fear the stubborn bigot's rule. 
 While near the church-spire stands the school. 
 — John G. Whittier. 
 
 This township is the largest in the county, 
 containing 40 full sections and eight fractional 
 sections, or nearly 44 square miles, and a little 
 east of the centre of the township is where the 
 forest ended and the famous Sandusky Plains 
 began, the latter extending west for nearly 40 
 miles, with only an occasional clump of trees, 
 called an "island," to break the monotony of 
 the landscape. The clearing away of the for- 
 est has long since obliterated all trace of 
 where this line of demarkation between for- 
 est and plain once existed. The township was 
 surveyed by Sylvanus Bourne in 181 9, it being 
 a part of the land obtained by treaty from the 
 Indians in 1817, and known as the "New Pur- 
 chase." Originally the township was but six 
 miles deep, but the addition of two miles from 
 Marion county in 1845 gave it its present depth 
 of eight miles. The fractional tier of sections 
 on the east was a part of Whetstone township 
 when it was first erected in 1824; in 1835 the 
 three-mile strip east of it was the southern half 
 of Sandusky township, and this southern half 
 of Sandusky was erected into a new township 
 called Jackson, and the fractional sections 
 were given to Jackson. In 1845 on the re-or- 
 ganization of the townships, and the erection 
 20 
 
 349 
 
 of the present Crawford, the fractional tier 
 of sections was again given to Whetstone, 
 where they have since remained. 
 
 In 1820 all of the present Crawford county 
 was two townships called Sandusky, the east- 
 ern four miles being Sandusky township Rich- 
 land county, and the balance being Sandusky 
 township, Crawford county, and from the 
 western part Bucyrus township was erected 
 in 1822. The second township to be erected 
 in this county was Whetstone, by the follow- 
 ing resolution passed by the county commis- 
 sioners of Delaware county on March 2, 1824: 
 
 "On petition of sundry inhabitants of town- 
 ship 3 south, range 1 7, in the county of Craw- 
 ford, said township was ordered by the board 
 to be and the same is hereby declared to be 
 erected into a separate township, by the name 
 of Whetstone. Election ordered." 
 
 In May, 1824, Crawford county was trans- 
 ferred from the care of Delaware county to 
 that of Marion county, and at the elections 
 that fall Whetstone voted with Bucyrus town- 
 ship. The Marion commissioners at a meet- 
 ing held on Dec. 7, 1824 authorized the new 
 township to organize. The first election was 
 held in April, 1825, when George Poe and He- 
 man Rowse were elected justices, their com- 
 missions bearing date of June 18, 1825. The 
 township was named after the Whetstone 
 creek. This creek and the Mud Run give 
 
350 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ample drainage to the southern part of the 
 township, while the north is drained by sev- 
 eral nameless streams which had their rise in 
 the swampy ground and found their way north 
 to the Sandusky river. 
 
 The soil mainly is very rich, deep and well 
 adapted for modern diversified farming. The 
 forests in the eastern and northern parts of 
 the township were largely of dark walnut and 
 oak, beech and hickory, and were almost im- 
 penetrable at the coming of the early settlers, 
 and the choice of land of the first pioneers was 
 the heavily timbered tracts and not the fertile 
 prairie which was ready for cultivation, but 
 was too wet, swampy and unhealthy. The de- 
 ciding factor seemed to be the superior supply 
 of spring water obtainable in the woods; the 
 health of the pioneer and his family being a 
 first consideration in that age when medical 
 men were few and far distant, and the roads 
 were merely trails. Fortunate indeed was the 
 family that escaped the malaria and chills 
 that were so prevalent for many years ; and few 
 did, notwithstanding the abundant supply of 
 calomel and quinine which was kept on hand 
 at all times and used most extravagantly, to- 
 gether with the universal antidote for every 
 ill — whisky. 
 
 In the early days, little was done in the way 
 of raising grain, owing to the absence of a 
 market, just enough for family use. Horses, 
 cattle and sheep were brought in from the 
 East, and their sustenance was obtained from 
 the prairie, where they were pastured and 
 from which they obtained hay for the winter. 
 The meat supply was largely wild, there being 
 an abundance of ducks, prairie chickens, squir- 
 rels and deer. Honey was found in plenty. 
 Hogs were brought in and permitted to run 
 at large, and soon they were in a wild state 
 and were a dangerous animal when brought to 
 bay, the males in particular as they developed 
 long tusks. They were long legged and lank 
 and bore little resemblance to the well fed hog 
 of later days. The rapid disappearance of 
 game led to a remarkable change in hog life; 
 from a roaming life in quest of food, they 
 were brought home to receive careful consider- 
 ation and live in fatted opulence. The stock 
 industry developed into one of great import- 
 ance, and with it the greater production of 
 grain. 
 
 In 1816 Robert Reid came with his family 
 from Ireland to America, and settled near 
 Newburg, N. Y., but soon afterward removed 
 to Washington county, Pa., and was living 
 there when the New Purchase was secured 
 by treaty from the Indians. Fabled reports of 
 the richness of this new land affected him as 
 it did others, and leaving his family at Wash- 
 ington county he started on foot to investigate 
 for himself. He came to Whetstone township 
 and made his selection, before the land was 
 open for settlement. In this trip the most ex- 
 treme western pioneer was around where Ga- 
 llon now is, and from the last pioneer home 
 he followed the Indian trail across the north- 
 ern part of the plains and made his choice 
 about two miles southwest of Bucyrus. He 
 returned home, entered the land, and in 1824 
 came with his family to the site selected. He 
 was not the first settler, but he was probably 
 the first pioneer to enter the new purchase and 
 select a home. This pioneer was born in 
 1 77 1, and died on the morning of July 4, 
 1850, and the morning prior to his death, 
 with others, he had assisted in laying out the 
 grounds for a new church near the Stewart 
 schoolhouse on the Mansfield road. 
 
 The first settler to locate in the township 
 was probably John Kent in 18 19, as he had 
 an acre or more of land cleared in 1820. In 
 1 819 Seth Holmes came with the Nortons and 
 spent the winter in Bucyrus, assisting Norton 
 and Bucklin in the earlier work of making a 
 home; but in 1820, he removed to Whetstone 
 township, where he had a cabin on Kent's 
 place, did a little farming for himself and as- 
 sisted Kent and others as they arrived in build- 
 ing their cabins and clearing their land, for all 
 the early settlers selected their land in the for- 
 est, with the plains in easy reach to the south 
 of them. Holmes sent for his parents, and 
 after their arrival they made their home with 
 him, he being an old batchelor. The faithful 
 son died in 1825, and he was buried in the Cary 
 graveyard just south of the present Catholic 
 cemetery. In 1820 Martin Bacon arrived and 
 entered land in both Liberty and Whetstone 
 townships, but his home was in Liberty. Noble 
 McKinstry, John Willoughby and Joseph 
 Young also settled in Whetstone in 1820, the 
 latter on April 15, 1821, being appointed by 
 the Delaware commissioners as one of the two 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 351 
 
 justices of Sandusky township, the entire coun- 
 ty being then but one township. Coming with 
 Bacon in 1820, was Auer Umberfield, and 
 after assisting Bacon to erect a cabin the next 
 year he entered land for himself in Whetstone 
 township. 
 
 Other of the early pioneers in Whetstone 
 were Zalmon Rowse, Asa Howard, Elias, Phi- 
 lander and Jacob Odell ; George Hancock, Sam- 
 uel Parcher, Daniel Jones, Samuel VanVoor- 
 his, Martin Shaffner and John King in 1821; 
 Heman and Abner Rowse, James Armstrong, 
 Archibald and George Clark, John Beckwith, 
 Benjamin Camp, William Hamilton, Chris- 
 topher Bear, Henry Harriger, Ralph and Adam 
 Klinger, Hugh Stewart and five sons, all young 
 men, William, Joseph, James, John and Hugh ; 
 and Simeon, Benjamin, George, Lyman and 
 John Parcher in 1822; John and Edward 
 Campbell, Hugh and John Trimble, James 
 Henderson, Cornwallis Reese Daniel Jones, 
 George Poe, John Stein, in 1823; John Boyer, 
 John Lininger, Charles Chambers, Robert 
 Reid, Casper and Isaac Fichelberger, and 
 James Falloon in 1824; J. A. Kiefer and Ben- 
 jamin Warner in 1825. These pioneers, with 
 hardly an exception, settled north of the cen- 
 tral portion of the township. Thomas F. 
 Johnson, Andrew Kerr, Henry Remsen, Abra- 
 ham Steen, Valentine and Samuel Shook, An- 
 drew Kerr, John Staley, and Robert Walker 
 in 1826; David Savage, Frederick Wise, and 
 Samuel Winters in 1827; John Brehman, 
 Oliver Jones, Isaac Boyer, John G. Diebler, 
 Jacob Kester, Benjamin Hull, Samuel and 
 John Roberts, John L. Heinlen and William 
 Stuck in 1828; John Albright in 1829; George 
 Deam, Samuel and John Sherer, Geo. Gibson, 
 Samuel Ludwig, and Nicholas Myers, in 1830; 
 Jacob Sherer in 1831; William Kerr in 1832; 
 Tobias Kile and Martin Kehrer in 1833. Still 
 others from 1826 to 1836 were Nathaniel 
 Plummer, Edward Norton, Frederick Garver, 
 Moses Dale, John Cone, Charles Gifford, John 
 Harland, Wm. Cooper, Isaiah Scott and three 
 sons, John and Peter Weidner, Christian Null, 
 
 Ketchum, Jacob Tupps, Samuel Crow, 
 
 Wm. Moderwell, Henry S. Sheldon, Jacob 
 Hauck, John Kaun, Adam Bear, John Kehrer, 
 and John N. Rexroth, the latter settlers mostly 
 entering land in the southern portions of the 
 township. 
 
 The northern portion of the township first 
 claimed the attention of the settlers, it being 
 a number of years later before settlement be- 
 gan in the southern half. The present south- 
 ern two miles of the township was a part of 
 Marion county, until the division of 1845 
 placed those two miles in Crawford county, 
 which was more convenient to the people, as 
 their trading points were Bucyrus and Gallon. 
 There have been numerous descendants of 
 many of those early pioneers of Whetstone 
 whose names have been interwoven with the 
 growth and development of the township and 
 the county. Sons have succeeded their fath- 
 ers in the discharge of the duties of citizen- 
 ship, and these in turn have passed away to be 
 succeeded by grandsons. Robert Reid was 
 followed by his son George, who became a 
 minister, preached in many churches, and fre- 
 quently in the old Mission church at Upper 
 Sandusky delivered the message of God to the 
 Indians, sometimes making the journey on 
 foot; several sons followed him, one, William 
 M. Reid, being prominent in the business and 
 moral development of Bucyrus, mayor of the 
 village, and for over a quarter of a century 
 superintendent of the Presbyterian Sunday 
 School. He, too has passed to his reward, and 
 still descendants are following in the foot- 
 step of their ancestors. The Rowse family, 
 with Zalmon Rowse identified with every 
 progressive movement in Bucyrus, and sons 
 following and taking an active hand in the 
 business enterprises of the city. The Stewarts, 
 with Hugh the father coming into the county 
 with five stalwart sons, to leave their impress 
 for good on the generations that follow. The 
 Parchers and the Trimbles and the Camp- 
 bells. And men of the type of the Odells and 
 Peter Wert, who conscientiously believed that 
 the institution of slavery was a violation of 
 the law of God, and no human law protecting 
 it should be obeyed, and became important 
 cogs in that "underground" road through 
 which many a slave found freedom only when 
 he reached the protecting folds of the British 
 flag. 
 
 Hugh Stewart, born in Ireland in 1757, 
 came to Whetstone in 1822, from Cumberland 
 county, Pa. With his family he left the latter 
 place in 1821, making the trip to Mansfield, 
 O., in a wagon drawn by four horses. The 
 
352 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 reports of the New Purchase were so favor- 
 able that Mr. Stewart left his family and 
 hastened to Whetstone township, where he 
 purchased 240 acres in section 8 for $300, con- 
 tinuing his trip to Delaware to enter the land. 
 He returned to Mansfield, but soon again left 
 his family, with the exception of five sons, 
 William, John, James, Hugh and Joseph, and 
 with them he came to his new farm. They 
 built a round log cabin, 20 feet square, having 
 one door and one window. The door was 
 hung on wooden hinges, but the window con- 
 tained four squares of glass, which was rather 
 an innovation and distinction at that date. 
 Mrs. Stewart came on in the spring accom- 
 panied by a widow, Betsy Anderson, who ser- 
 ved as their housekeeper. The Stewarts 
 brought some stock with them from Pennsyl- 
 vania. The sons, all of whom had reached 
 man's estate before their arrival, all married 
 in the county, and with the exception of Wil- 
 liam, continued to live in Crawford county and 
 were counted among the most substantial citi- 
 zens. James Stewart was honored with nu- 
 merous public offices. He served several 
 years as associate judge with R. W. Musgrave 
 and Samuel Knisely, Ozias Bo wen of Marion 
 being the presiding judge. About 1861, he 
 moved to Mansfield, where he remained two 
 or three years, then located in Bucyrus. His 
 death occurred Aug. 6, 1871, aged seventy- 
 six years, three months, and twenty-six days, 
 and he was laid to rest in the Stewart Grave- 
 yard. Mrs. Hugh Stewart, the mother of this 
 family, did not enjoy good health, died soon 
 after arrival, and hers was one of the first 
 deaths recorded in the township. 
 
 John Campbell when he arrived in the spring 
 of 1823, had practically nothing except a fam- 
 ily. He had only money enough to pay for 80 
 acres, and after making his selection, and 
 building a log cabin with one window which 
 was covered with greased paper, and only one 
 room, he walked to Delaware, paid all he had 
 for the land, and returned to his farm. He had 
 neither an ox nor a horse, and was compelled 
 to farm entirely by hand. He not only pros- 
 pered ,but stood high in the estimation of his 
 neighbors, for in 1827 they elected him as 
 justice of the peace, re-electing him for eight 
 consecutive terms, and when in 1834 they sent 
 him to the Legislature they still kept him in 
 
 office as their justice. Soon after he arrived, 
 an infant son, Samuel, died on Aug. 16, 1825 ; 
 a little plot of ground was set aside, and this 
 became the Campbell graveyard, the first bur- 
 ial place in the township. 
 
 John Boyer came to Crawford county in 
 1829. He was married to Catherine Hunsick- 
 er in Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania in 1815. 
 In 1829 he set out with his family, crossing 
 the mountains, and located on what became 
 known as the Boyer farm, southeast of Bu- 
 cyrus on the Galion road. Here he kept a 
 house of entertainment known far and near 
 in that early day as "Boyer's" or "The Blue 
 Ball Tavern." The building still stands, an 
 old frame with its weather beaten porch, a 
 few rods south of the Middleton road, on the 
 land now owned by Samuel Fouser. For 
 many years it was the most noted and popular 
 tavern in this section. Strangers were al- 
 ways hailed with a cheerful voice, warm 
 hearty shake of the hand, and treated to the 
 best that could be afforded in those days. 
 Scenes of pioneer life, festivity and mirth were 
 many. It was also a headguarters for political 
 meetings. Boyer did all things well, whether 
 rolling logs among the pioneer settlers, help- 
 ing to raise a house, working on his farm, 
 entertaining travelers or helping to build a 
 church. He was the first man to take hold and 
 the last man to quit. He was a powerful man, 
 and with his bare fist could drive a nail into 
 soft lumber, or break the nail between his 
 fingers. 
 
 Zalmon Rowse, a native of Massachusetts, 
 came in 1821 from Wayne county, Pennsyl- 
 vania, the northeastern county in that state, 
 where he had lived from his sxteenth year. 
 He walked the entire distance of five hundred 
 miles, and after entering three tracts of eighty 
 acres each, in Whetstone township, walked 
 back to Pennsylvania. In October, 1821, he 
 set out for his new possessions, accompanied 
 by his wife and six children. He taught one 
 term of school after his arrival, and served 
 terms as county commissioner, county recorder, 
 clerk of the court of Crawford county, and 
 justice of the peace. He also bore the rank of 
 colonel in the county militia. 
 
 James Armstrong came in 1822 ; like all the 
 rest of the early settlers he built his cabin of 
 logs, and being a man of taste he took his time 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 353 
 
 to it and hewed the logs, giving it a more at- 
 tractive appearance. He built, as did others, 
 with a rough clapboard roof, and stick and 
 mud chimney, but the first winter he occupied 
 his leisure time in making shingles, and re- 
 placed the clapboard roof with the first shingle 
 roof in the county. Not content with this he 
 established a little brickyard on his place and 
 made enough brick to replace his mud chimney 
 with a brick one, the first brick chimney not 
 only in the township, but probably in the 
 county. He only made these modern improve- 
 ments for his own personal gratification, but 
 his neighbors not only admired his brick 
 chimney but appreciated how much more ser- 
 viceable it was and induced him to manufact- 
 ure brick for them, which he did, the first 
 brickyard in the county, small though it was. 
 Mr. Armstrong soon discontinued the manu- 
 facture of brick, and it was taken up by John 
 Boyer; later the first brick house built in the 
 township was built on his farm. 
 
 Samuel Parcher came with Ralph Bacon in 
 1 82 1, being employed by the latter to drive 
 an ox team from Painesville, Ohio. Parcher 
 made his first money by making 10,000 rails 
 for Bacon for which he received $5 a thousand, 
 this money he invested in land. He was fol- 
 lowed the next year by four brothers, and 
 among them they acquired considerable land. 
 In 1828 they built a horse-power saw-mill 
 on their farm, and also started a still, but as 
 they did not meet with the success anticipated, 
 they were early discontinued. 
 
 Peter and Elizabeth Cook came to the town- 
 ship in 1834, and all the money the husband 
 had was only sufficient to purchase 37 acres. 
 He was a tailor, and by working at his trade 
 at odd hours he added to his land. 
 
 John G. Diebler and wife came to Whetstone 
 in 1828, with two other families. Each fam- 
 ily owned a horse, but they had but one wagon, 
 and the three families came in the one wagon 
 drawn by three horses ; they settled in the cen- 
 tral part of the township. Diebler was a car- 
 penter by trade, and many of the houses In 
 that section were built by him. 
 
 George Fouser was a shoemaker, and be- 
 sides farming put in his time making and re- 
 pairing shoes for his neighbors. 
 
 John Gibson came in 1835, and purchased 
 80 acres of school land which is still owned 
 
 by his descendants. He married Mary A. 
 Kerr, a daughter of Andrew Kerr who came 
 in 1826. 
 
 Henry Harriger came in 1822, selected his 
 land then went to Delaware where he entered 
 it, returned to Wayne county and the next 
 year came with his wife. He was a soldier in 
 the War of 1812. His log house was built a 
 mile east of Bucyrus, where the river road 
 branches off from the Mansfield road. 
 
 Valentine Shook, with his wife Nancy, 
 came from Wayne county in 1827. They had 
 an old fashioned covered wagon, which was 
 drawn by an ox-team. They brought with 
 them two cows and six sheep. He was a car- 
 penter, and the family slept in the wagon until 
 their first house was built. They were three 
 weeks coming from Wayne county. 
 
 Andrew Schreck came in 1825 with his wife 
 Elizabeth, and when they reached Bucyrus 
 their cash on hand was just $4, not enough 
 to buy land. He settled on the Annapolis 
 road east of Bucyrus. His wife was a skill- 
 ful weaver, and a loom was put up in their little 
 cabin, and in a few years they were able to buy 
 a farm in Whetstone, and later they' kept a 
 store and hotel at Olentangy when a line of 
 stages were running between Bucyrus and 
 Mansfield. 
 
 Daniel Savage, who with his wife Susan, 
 came in 1828 was a shoemaker. 
 
 Hugh Trimble came to the county in 1822, 
 and entered 320 acres in the northeastern part 
 of Whetstone, and the next year came with 
 his wife and family settling on his purchase. 
 His son John came with him, and in 1827, when 
 he was 22 years of age, his father sent him to 
 Delaware, to enter another 80 acre tract, and 
 the young man walked the entire distance there 
 and back, and on his return his father made 
 him a present of 20 acres of the tract. This 
 started him in life, and on Jan. 31, 1828, he 
 married Icy Parcher, who had come to the 
 township with her father Daniel in 1823. 
 During the winter the young man had built a 
 little log house on his 20 acres, into which the 
 young couple moved. 
 
 John Albright and his wife, came to Whet- 
 stone township in 1829. They came from 
 Pennsylvania with one wagon drawn by three 
 horses, and were nearly a month on the way. 
 He settled along the Gallon road, east of the 
 
354 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 township hall on a 73 acre tract. He was a 
 shoemaker by trade, and for a number of years 
 carried on his business in connection with 
 farming. Mr. Albright prospered, and later 
 moved to near New Winchester. In 1866, at 
 2 a. m., on the morning of May i, his door was 
 broken in with a post wrenched from the gate, 
 and several men, all disguised, entered the 
 house and demanded his money, as it was gen- 
 erally believed he kept a considerable sum 
 about him. He refused and was clubbed into 
 unconsciousness. His son John hurried to his 
 father's assistance, knocked down two of the 
 men, before he himself was hit with a club, 
 and pounded into unconsciousness. As the 
 women arrived they were scared into submis- 
 son, and the robbers ransacked the house, and 
 secured $300 in cash and what jewelry and 
 other valuables they could lay their hands on, 
 and left. Both father and son were badly 
 bruised, the father so seriously that he died in 
 August. Mr. Albright was living near New 
 Winchester at the time of the robbery, and 
 suspicion pointed to several parties who had 
 hurriedly left that section immediately after 
 the robbery. They were traced to Mt. Ver- 
 non, and here a clue was obtained to the per- 
 petrators. A girl, who had left about the 
 same time, had been arrested for stealing. She 
 had stolen some meat from a butcher shop, 
 and not being accustomed to eating raw meat, 
 had broken into a church, and stolen suffi- 
 cient of the Sunday School library to cook the 
 meat. She mentioned the names of several 
 parties who had been guilty of a number of 
 robberies in and around New Winchester, but 
 no trace of them was ever found. 
 
 Joseph Albright came to Whetstone in 1830, 
 and settled in the northwestern part of the 
 township, where he started the first brick yard 
 on the Ludwig place, and here he manufact- 
 ured the brick that went into a number of the 
 early buildings in Bucyrus. 
 
 George and Mary Beach, came from Ger- 
 many, settling in Whetstone township, where 
 they entered forty-four acres of land. He was 
 a cabinet maker by trade. John and Catherine 
 Crissinger came to Crawford in 1832. His 
 grandfather, Leonard Crissinger, was one of 
 the soldiers of the revolutionary war, that 
 were compelled to walk barefooted a part of 
 the time on account of lack of shoes for the 
 
 army. Thomas and Nancy Kennedy, of Irish 
 descent, came to Crawford county in 1832. 
 John McKinstry was born in County Antrim, 
 Ireland in 1773; came with his parents to 
 America and settled in Pennsylvania. He was 
 in the War of 1812, belonging to the organiza- 
 tion, known as Light Horse Brigade. 
 
 Martin Kehrer came to Whetstone in 1833, 
 a young man of 20, where he purchased his 
 first land in the southern part of the township, 
 between the Whetstone and Mud Run. He 
 returnee^ to Pennsylvania and the next year 
 came back with his father settling on his pur- 
 chase. The father, John Kehrer, came from 
 Germany to America in 1805, and besides his 
 son Martin, several other of his children came 
 to this county. In 1838, Martin Kehrer made 
 a second trip to Pennsylvania, and this time 
 returned with his bride, who had been waiting 
 until he could prepare a home for her in the 
 western country. 
 
 Henry S. Sheldon, was a cooper by trade, 
 and after clearing a piece of land and building 
 a little log cabin, he married Nancy Ridgley, 
 one of the four daughters of Westell Ridgely 
 who came to what is now Jefferson township 
 in 1817. 
 
 John and Frances Brehman came to Whet- 
 stone township in 1828; he was a wagon- 
 maker, and besides clearing his land made 
 wagons for his neighbors. 
 
 When Ralph Bacon came in 18 19 he located 
 his land, 80 acres in Liberty and 160 in Whet- 
 stone; he then went to Delaware and entered 
 the land. The next year he brought his fam- 
 ily, traveling with two yoke of oxen and one 
 horse. They came on through to Bucyrus, 
 which at that time consisted of but two log 
 cabins. 
 
 It was through Whetstone township that 
 the army of Crawford marched during their 
 unfortunate expedition of 1782. They en- 
 tered the township, perhaps a mile below the 
 present village of north Robinson; they went 
 across the township bearing to the south, 
 crossing where the Gallon road now is at some 
 point between the Township Hall and Sec- 
 caium Park, and left the township a trifle over 
 three miles south of Bucyrus. Their return 
 route was the same, and it was when they had 
 crossed where the Gallon road now is they 
 were compelled to stop to protect their rear. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 355 
 
 and the battle of the Olentangy followed. But- 
 terfield places this battle in the northeast quar- 
 ter of section 22, on the high ground north 
 of where the monument stands. The east half 
 of this section is now owned by Sarah R. Lust 
 and the west half by J. B. Campbell. Along 
 this higher ground, north of the Galion road, 
 is where a hundred years ago the Indian trail 
 was located from Galion to Upper Sandusky, 
 crossing the Sandusky river south of the 
 Mansfield street bridge, following the high 
 ground through southern Holmes and crossing 
 the Brokensword, about half a mile southwest 
 of Oceola. The western section of Whetstone 
 was a part of the Plains which the Indians 
 used for their ring hunts, when they fired the 
 grass and drove the game to a common centre, 
 shooting the animals as they endeavored to 
 make their escape through the ring of fire. 
 When the earliest settlers arrived there was 
 an Indian village on the banks of the Whet- 
 stone, at or near where Seccaium Park now is, 
 and in this section many Indian relics have 
 been plowed up. Another camp or village of 
 the Indians was between the Stewart grave- 
 yard and the river. 
 
 In the centre of the township, along the 
 Mt. Vernon road south of the present township 
 hall, two brothers, Philip and Adam Clinger, 
 had settled. Their land was on the plains, 
 perfectly level, and here the militia of the 
 county would assemble to go through their 
 maneuvres, and the place became known as 
 dinger's Fields. Philip Clinger dug a num- 
 ber of wells for his neighbors, and eventually 
 was killed, one of the wells caving in on him. 
 
 In early days the southern portion of the 
 township was covered with water, which some 
 forty years ago was designated as the "Green 
 Sea," by a man bearing the name of John 
 James. In many places also a growth of wild 
 grass, and a species of cane, called maiden 
 cane, sprung up, and were of very luxuriant 
 growth, often growing to a height of from 
 15 to 20 feet, and of such strength and thick- 
 ness as to prevent persons from passing 
 through, except by following beaten paths. 
 
 In 1828 there was but one regularly laid out 
 road through the southern part, and that was 
 a road from Marion to Galion and Mansfield. 
 It was by no means then opened up and made 
 traversable. The settlers in going to either 
 
 point mentioned, whether with a team or on 
 horseback, generally abandoned the road as 
 they found better traveling by following a 
 winding track cut out over the highest ground 
 available. There were one or two grist mills 
 at hand — one owned and operated by Benja- 
 min Sharrock, the other by Jotham Clark. 
 But both of these were very small and very in- 
 ferior. Many of the older settlers never ex- 
 pected to see this country settled, cleared, and 
 put under cultivaton and some of them even 
 thought it would never become properly inhab- 
 ited. A man named Isaac Dickson came west 
 in 1832, and entered land; not wishing to re- 
 main himself until the country was better 
 cleared and more thickly settled he ' induced 
 one of his Pennsylvania neighbors, a man 
 named Tobin to take the land, and for clearing 
 a few acres he was to have it rent free, and 
 also have all of the crops. Tobin accepted the 
 offer, Dickson helped move Tobin and his fam- 
 ily to their new home, seeing them properly lo- 
 cated in an old cabin that was on the property. 
 Dickson then returned to Pennsylvania stop- 
 ping to visit frends for a few days in Guern- 
 sey county. The first night Tobin spent in the 
 cabin a violent wind storm swept through that 
 section, tearing up trees along its track, hurling 
 timber in every direction, and shaking the 
 cabin to its foundation. The day before the 
 storm the land was tangled forest, much of it 
 covered with water, and the next morning the 
 desolation was still more complete, and Tobin 
 promptly sold all his goods except what he 
 could take in the one wagon he had, and 
 started back to Pennsylvania, and when Dick- 
 son arrived the first man to greet him was his 
 disgusted and "busted" tenant, Tobin. It is 
 reported Tobin died in Pennsylvania, never 
 again being permeated with the western fever ; 
 others of his neighbors came west, and sent ac- 
 counts home of their prosperity, but they never 
 phased Tobin. 
 
 Philip Hubbert was justice of the peace of 
 Tully township, Marion county for eight 
 years, the township south of Whetstone. One 
 day in June a young man called to solicit him 
 to perform the ceremony which should unite 
 the young gentleman to his lady love in the 
 holy bands of matrimony. The time was 
 designated; the place was mentioned, and 
 after receiving the promise from the mag- 
 
356 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 istrate that he would be on hand, the young 
 man departed. Time sped, no doubt slowly for 
 the lovers, but the day arrived for the con- 
 summation of the nuptials, and Mr. Hubbert 
 drove over to the house of the expectant bride ; 
 but as the hour for the marriage drew nigh, 
 it was discovered by the squire that the bride's 
 residence was in Whetstone township, Craw- 
 ford county, and it would be illegal for him to 
 perform the ceremony in any other than the 
 county in which he held his commission, and 
 the marriage would have been absolutely void, 
 To obviate all difficulties, and to have the mar- 
 riage ceremony performed without any unnec- 
 essary delay, it was suggested that, as only a 
 few rods intervened between the bride's home 
 and the Marion county line, in fact, only the 
 width of the road, the young couple should at 
 the proper time step across the limits into the 
 territory of Marion county and there be united, 
 which was accordingly done. The ceremony 
 was performed in a potato patch, in the pres- 
 ence of a number of guests, after which all re- 
 turned to the residence, and partook of the 
 marriage feast, and all went merry as a mar- 
 riage bell. 
 
 The first postoffice was established in Whet- 
 stone township in 1833. A few years pre- 
 viously William Fitzsimmons had purchased 
 nearly 20 acres of land along the Gallon road. 
 It was the west half of the southwest quarter 
 of the southwest quarter of section 16, a part 
 of the land that is now the site of the Craw- 
 ford County Infirmary. Here he built a 
 tavern and through the influence of the set- 
 tlers in that section a postoffice was secured 
 and William Fitzsimmons was appointed 
 postmaster on Aug. 8, 1833. It was named 
 Whetstone, after the township. In October, 
 1837, Mr. Fitzsimmons was elected sur- 
 veyor of the county and he removed to Bu- 
 cyrus to enter on his new duties, and no suc- 
 cessor was appointed, the office being discon- 
 tinued on Feb. 20, 1838. On removing to Bu- 
 cyrus Mr. Fitzsimmons sold his tavern and 
 the twenty acres to Andrew Failor for two 
 hundred dollars. 
 
 In 1830 the first census of the county showed 
 that Whetstone was the most populous town- 
 ship in the county, having 750 inhabitants, 
 which was 24 more then Bucyrus. The set- 
 tlers in the northern part of the township had 
 
 a convenient trading point at Bucyrus, so 
 there was no demand for a village in this sec- 
 tion, and the first town laid out was in the 
 southern part, which was New Winchester, 
 and. at the time it was started it was in Ma- 
 rion county, and only became a part of Craw- 
 ford in 1845. 
 
 Xew Winchester was the first village laid out 
 in Whetstone township, and was followed a 
 few years later by Olentangy, now no longer in 
 existence, and many years afterward by North 
 Robinson. New Winchester was laid out by 
 the surveyor of Marion county in 1835, on 
 lands belonging to Benjamin Fisher, Samuel 
 Lechner, William Stuck and Henry Wise. It 
 was given its name after Winchester, the coun- 
 ty seat of Frederick county, Virginia, a num- 
 ber of the early settlers being from that sec- 
 tion. The farms of the four proprietors lay 
 at the crossing of two roads, being at the cor- 
 ner of sections 4, 5, 8 and 9, township 4, range 
 17 east. A cabin had been previously built 
 there by William Stuck, and he had a small 
 blacksmith shop at the corners. After the 
 town was laid out Israel Wise built a small 
 cabin of hewed logs, and Samuel Winter built 
 a cabin, and had a carpenter shop in connec- 
 tion. Soon there was a settlement of eight or 
 ten houses, and Samuel Crow was induced to 
 start a store, and he built a little log store- 
 room, and opened up with a stock of about 
 $300, but it proved unprofitable and was soon 
 discontinued. Adam Bear built a grist-mill 
 on the Whetstone just north of the village, 
 which at the start he ran by horse-power, and 
 later steam was used. In the early days Peter 
 Wert had charge of the mill, and it was a sta- 
 tion on the Underground Railroad being the 
 first point north of the Iberia station. About 
 1838 another store was started by Judge E. B. 
 Merriman of Bucyrus. He started with a 
 stock of $1,500, did a good business, and sold 
 out to Henry Clark, who also prospered and 
 at the end of six years sold to Plodner & 
 Timson who eventually disposed of the stock 
 and went into other business. But the little 
 village' was the centre of a prosperous com- 
 munity and there followed other stores and 
 shops. John J. Rexroth had a blacksmith 
 shop there in 1838, and Henry Aiker was also 
 one of the early blacksmiths. Abraham Steen 
 had a saw-mill north of the town on the river 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 357 
 
 which he ran successfully for twenty years. 
 In 1835 John Kaun had a saw-mill on the 
 river west of the town. He disposed of it to 
 other parties, and the business increased to such 
 an extent that steam was introduced, Jacob 
 Cressinger was one of the early carpenters. 
 George Cox opened the first saloon in the 
 village, and it passed into other hands, gro- 
 cery stores being run in connection, and both 
 liquor and groceries did a good business, but 
 when laws were introduced taxing saloons the 
 tax became too excessive for the custom, and 
 saloons were discontinued. Soon after the 
 village was started the people asked for better 
 postal facilities and their request was granted. 
 Frederick Wise was the first postmaster, in 
 1836, and was succeeded by John Highly, Dec. 
 29, 1848; Robert Park, June i, 1854, and he 
 held the office until it was discontinued on 
 April 24, 1855. It was finally re-established 
 on Nov. 4, 1862 with Charles Hahn as post- 
 master, when he ran it for another four years 
 and it was again discontinued on Dec. 5, 1866. 
 It was not until after the T. & O. C. road was 
 nearing completion, that the office was again 
 re-established on May 8, 1878, with Josiah 
 Keiter as postmaster. He was followed by 
 E. B. Gleason, Aug. 12, 1889; C. W. G. Ott, 
 May 6, 1890; Josiah Keter, April 25, 1894; 
 C. W. G. Ott, March 12, 1898; William Ma- 
 son Oct. 29, 1900. On May 15, 1905 it was 
 again discontinued. Being on a railroad, sev- 
 eral attempts have been made to have the of- 
 fice again re-established, but all efforts have 
 failed, mail being delivered by rural route 
 from Bucyrus daily, except occasionally in 
 the spring, when the Whetstone overflows its 
 banks to such an extent that the carrier is un- 
 able to reach the village until the flood sub- 
 sides. 
 
 About 1830 Barney and David Eberhardt 
 built a saw mill on the Olentangy southwest 
 of where the village of that name was later 
 located. They had a log dam, filled in with 
 mud, stones and brush, and the mill was run by 
 water power, and while very slow, was kept 
 busy by the demands for lumber. Michael 
 Nye and Abraham Holmes also had small 
 saw-mills along the stream. About 1838 Paul 
 I. Hetieh and his brother-in-law, George Swe- 
 ney, prominent business men of Bucyrus, be- 
 came owners of a saw-mill just above the 
 
 Eberhardts mill. They built a dam and a 
 mill race, put in the best of machinery then 
 available and it became one of the largest saw- 
 mills in the county. Several men were em- 
 ployed at the mill and in hauling the lumber 
 to Bucyrus and Galion, the two principal 
 points at which the lumber was sold. There 
 were no facilities at the mill for caring for 
 the teamsters and horses. The man who came 
 to buy lumber had difficulty in finding sleeping 
 quarters or even a place for meals, while the 
 teamster returning during the night had to 
 look up some farm house where he could re- 
 ceive accomodation. At that time there was 
 no building near the mill which could be used 
 to accommodate the workmen and customers, 
 and many slept in the mill, and in summer in 
 their wagons in the open air. One thing the 
 proprietors of the mill did have, and that was 
 lumber; it was cheap so they decided ^hey 
 would erect a tavern near the mill. Having 
 decided upon this action it was not long be- 
 fore they extended their ideas and decided to 
 lay out a town. The location was good; it 
 was on the Bucyrus and Galion Road, half 
 way between the two towns. The road was 
 one of the best traveled in the county, a line 
 of stages going through to Bucyrus three times 
 a week, and besides, this was on the principal 
 road over which eastern merchandise was 
 transported from Mansfield to Bucyrus and 
 farther west. So Sweney and Hetieh formed 
 a partnership with William Snyder, a farmer 
 and blacksmith living near the cross roads, and 
 had a town laid out by Thomas C. Sweney, 
 the county surveyor. The new town consisted 
 of 41 lots, 21 on the north side of the road, and 
 20 on the south side. The plat was filed in 
 the recorder's office at Bucyrus, on Nov. 16, 
 1840, and the location given was on "the north 
 half of section 26, Whetstone township." The 
 principal street was on the road from Galion 
 to Bucyrus and this was called Main street; 
 the north and south road was named Market 
 street, and east of Market was a street which 
 led from Main south to the mill on the Olen- 
 tangy, called Mill street. The name of the 
 town came from the stream Olentangy which 
 passed south of the new place. The village 
 started off well. Hetieh and Sweney built 
 their tavern on the southwest corner of Main 
 and Market; William Snyder built his house 
 
358 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and blacksmith shop on the northwest corner; 
 Andrew Schreck put up a building on the 
 southeast corner, in which he opened a gen- 
 eral store and also had a bar for the sale of 
 liquor; George Seebler had a carpenter and 
 cabinet maker's shop on the northeast corner. 
 A school house was erected the first year the 
 town was laid out, on the lot on which Shreck 
 built his store. The town prospered for a 
 time; later Schreck took charge of the tavern 
 and did a prosperous business, with his hotel, 
 store and liquor, and in winter it was head- 
 quarters for many sleighing parties from Bu- 
 cyrus and Gallon, where the belles and beaux 
 had a bounteous supper and danced to a late, 
 or rather early, hour. 
 
 Valentine Smith owned a store there in 
 1852, and Robert Cowden was running it for 
 him, and one morning walked from Gallon, 
 to his place of business at Olentangy, five 
 miles, stopping at the old two-story hotel at 
 "the Corners," west of Gallon, where he got 
 a box of cigars made by the hotel proprietor, 
 the cigars being needed at the store. 
 
 The growth of the town made a postoffice 
 necessary and one was established there. Wil- 
 liam Snyder being appointed postmaster on 
 March 3, 1840. He ran the office a little over 
 two years when it was discontinued on Dec. 
 2, 1842. It was re-established on May 11, 
 1850, with Andrew Schreck as postmaster, 
 but at the end of two years it was again dis- 
 continued on May 28, 1852. It remained 
 closed for ten years when it was reopened on 
 Oct. 30, 1862, with Andrew Schreck again as 
 postmaster. It only had another two years' 
 lease of life and was finally discontinued on 
 Dec. 5, 1864. 
 
 After the Ohio and Indiana road passed to 
 the north, traffic over the stage road ceased 
 and the town was on the decline. No longer 
 were the many teams passing daily. The local 
 settlers were not sufficient to make a store 
 and tavern profitable and the few business en- 
 terprises of the town were suspended. When 
 the war broke out little remained of the town 
 except the school house and saloon. As the 
 years passed, even the saloon discontinued for 
 want of business ; the school house had crum- 
 bled to decay and in its place had been erected 
 a brick structure a few rods to the west. 
 Nothing is on the four corners today; of the 
 
 hotel and the store and the shops, not even the 
 ruins are left; down Mill or Market street 
 may still be seen the old decayed beams where 
 the saw-mill once stood, and in the village it- 
 self all that remains is the schoolhouse on one 
 side the road and across old Main street to the 
 north is the handsome modern farm house of 
 Francis Shook, with its spacious outbuildings. 
 And the original owners and business men, 
 like the old village itself, have long since 
 crumbled into dust, and, prominent though 
 some of them were, are only faintly recalled 
 by the older settlers. 
 
 When the Ohio and Indiana road was built 
 J. B. Magers, William Brown and William 
 Magee started a steam saw-mill where the 
 railroad crosses the boundary line road be- 
 tween Whetstone and Jefferson townships. 
 John and William Burwell had a blacksmith 
 shop, and a number of other buildings had 
 been erected. J. P. ..Robinson secured the es- 
 tablishment of a postoffice there in 1854 and 
 it was named North Robinson after himself. 
 He came to the county in 183 1, was one of the 
 early County Commissioners, and when the 
 railroad was built had a saw-mill and furnished 
 ties for the road. When he came in 1831, he 
 had with him was his one year old son, Wil- 
 liam Robinson, now living at Crestline, and 
 the secretary of the Crawford County Pioneer 
 Association. The little village prospered, but 
 the same trouble probably arose as in other 
 places in the county, over the Douglas-Breck- 
 enridge fight for the presidency, for in i860 
 the postoffice was discontinued, notwithstand- 
 ing it was a thriving little village and on a 
 railroad. The losing of the postoffice did not 
 suppress the enterprise of Mr. Magers for on 
 March, 1861, he had the county surveyor, 
 Horace Martin, plat a town on his land on 
 which there were already a number of build- 
 ings. The town was called North Robinson, 
 and the boundary road was Main street. There 
 was a street north of the railroad called Bu- 
 cyrus, and two streets south called Mill and 
 Walnut. 
 
 After many lots had been sold and residence 
 and business houses had been erected, a cloud 
 on their title was discovered. Thereupon J. P. 
 Robinson laid out a plat of lots on the east side 
 of the original town, in Jefferson township, 
 and the people moved over to them. Later 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 359 
 
 when the cloud was removed, the people largely 
 returned to their original holdings. The first 
 merchant was Frederick Newman, who did 
 well, and other enterprises followed, including 
 a hotel, dry goods and drug store, blacksmith 
 shops, a cooper shop, a grocery and saloon, and 
 a fine steam saw mill which was owned and 
 operated by Warden & Tracht, and the flour- 
 ishing steam tile-factory established by Sick- 
 man, Fate & Co. of Crestline. 
 
 After Magers bought out his partners in the 
 saw mill, he added an addition in which he 
 placed two sets of buhrs and modern machin- 
 ery for the grinding of grain. The mill was 
 the center of a grain growing and populous 
 region, and did a good business under several 
 owners, but was finally destroyed by fire and 
 never rebuilt. In 1873 Mr. Magers erected a 
 large elevator, which has continued under va- 
 rious owners. In 1862 John L. Caskey and 
 Lewis Holker built a large factory, and went 
 into the carriage business extensively, employ- 
 ing a number of hands, and half a century ago 
 their carriage works were one of the important 
 industries in the county. The first physician 
 in the village was Dr. Frank Duff. On July 26, 
 1 86 1, the post office was re-established in the 
 Newman store with Frederick Newman as 
 postmaster, and has continued ever since. Mr. 
 Newman being succeeded by A. R. Warden, 
 Oct. 29, 1861 ; James G. Patterson, Aug. 5, 
 1872; George Railing, April 21, 1875; George 
 F. Darr, Feb. 10, 1881 ; J. W. Littler, April 
 25, 1882; E. G. Smith, June 15, 1889; J. W. 
 Littler, June 27, 1893 ; Wilmina Warden, 
 Sept. 14, 1897; E. R. Boyer, Sept. 26, 1901 ; 
 Ida R. Frank, May 15, 1907. 
 
 North Robinson has graded schools, their 
 large brick having four rooms. There are 
 two churches, the Lutheran and the United 
 Brethren. North Robinson was the home of 
 Rev. John V. Potts, who wrote several relig- 
 ious works. He was active not only in the 
 U. B. church but also in all religious work, 
 and in some respects was like the ministers of 
 half a century previous; — on horseback or on 
 foot he traveled miles to fill some vacant pulpit. 
 
 When the Marion commissioners erected 
 Whetstone township in 1824, Heman Rowse 
 and George Poe were the first justices elected 
 in April, 1825, and their commissions were 
 dated June 18 of that year. The following is 
 
 the list of Justices of the Peace of Whetstone 
 township : 
 
 Heman Rowse — 1825-28. 
 
 George Poe — 1825. 
 
 John Campbell— 1827-30-33-36-39-42-4S-48. 
 
 James Stewart — 1832-35-38-41-44-47. 
 
 John Highley — 1845-48-51. 
 
 Peter G. Rice — 1850. 
 
 Martin Bacon — 1851-54. 
 
 Nicholas Failor — 1852. 
 
 Joseph Meer — 1853-56-59-62. 
 
 John Gibson — 1855. 
 
 Josiah Keiter — 1857-60-64. 
 
 Isaac VanVoorhis — 1858-61. 
 
 Josiah Koler — 1863-66-69. 
 
 Charles Myers— 1865-68-71. 
 
 Benjamin F. Warden — 1872-75. 
 
 Isaac Snyder — 1874. 
 
 William L. Ferrall— 1877-80-83. 
 
 M. T. Mills— 1878. 
 
 J. R. Stewart— 1880. 
 
 D. T. Timson— 1882-85. 
 
 W. B. Cummings — 1887-90-93-96-99-02-05-07-10. 
 
 M. G. Nungesser — 1888-91-94. 
 
 George Goldsmith — 1897-1900-03-06-09. 
 
 The settlement of the northern part of the 
 township necessitated schooling for the chil- 
 dren, and the first school was held in the cabin 
 of John Beckwith. The cabin was of logs and 
 consisted of but one room. And at one end 
 of this room, the eating and sleeping side was 
 given up to the school. The other end was 
 the kitchen department where the meals were 
 being prepared. The school teacher is un- 
 known, but the fact is handed down that a defi- 
 nite line existed in the cabin, established by 
 Mrs. Beckwith, over which no child dared 
 pass; so the first school was held in the sum- 
 mer of 1824, with mental refreshments being 
 served at one end of the room while bodily 
 refreshments were being prepared at the other. 
 During that winter no school was held, the 
 larger children going to Bucyrus, and the 
 smaller ones picking up what knowledge they 
 could at home. That winter, however, the 
 settlers, cleared a place and erected a small 
 schoolhouse on the farm of Joseph Young, and 
 the first winter it was taught by Moses Arden 
 of Bucyrus. Two years later a log school- 
 house was built east of this. In these earlier 
 schoolhouses time was not taken to square the 
 logs; they were put in place, round as when 
 they came from the trees, and what furniture 
 they had was made by the settlers themselves. 
 
 Proceeding southward, the center of the 
 township began to be fairly settled, and here 
 in 1828, a log schoolhouse was erected on 
 
360 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 John Campbell's farm, and it boasted of two 
 windows, and these windows had real glass to 
 admit the light ; the first two schoolhouses re- 
 ceiving their light through greased paper. 
 Elizabeth Bair taught school the first summer, 
 having 15 to 20 pupils. During the first ses- 
 sion one June day a hurricane passed through 
 that section while school was in session; trees 
 were uprooted, and hurled against the build- 
 ing, some cabins were blown down, but the 
 little schoolhouse was just on the edge of the 
 storm, and although badly shaken, remained 
 intact, and no damage done except the severe 
 fright given the children.* 
 
 The winter term in this building was taught 
 by Henry Remson. The attendance increased 
 and so crowded the little schoolhouse that an 
 abandoned cabin was fitted up a mile and a 
 half further south, which was attended by the 
 scholars living in that section. The first Camp- 
 bell schoolhouse was used about 12 years, when 
 a large frame building was erected east of the 
 first site. This was used not only for school 
 purposes, but for religious services, and on 
 account of its size was the place where all 
 important public meetings were held. When 
 Winchester was laid out a log schoolhouse 
 was erected just north of the village which did 
 duty until 1850, when it was abandoned and a 
 new building erected west of the village; this 
 was succeeded by another, and in 1878 the 
 present brick building with four rooms was 
 erected in the village. 
 
 The Olentangy schoolhouse was first erected 
 about 1840 in the eastern part of the cal- 
 lage, and after being in use some years gave 
 place to a frame structure near the same site, 
 and thirty years ago the present brick was 
 erected. It was about the time that New 
 Winchester was laid out that the township was 
 divided into school districts, and in 1845 when 
 two miles were added from Marion county it 
 added more school districts, and Whetstone 
 today has fourteen districts. The first build- 
 
 * On May 22, 1903 a similar hurricane swept across 
 Holmes township. The Holmes Centre school house, a 
 brick structure was in the track of the storm. School 
 was in session at the time. Half of the roof was car- 
 ried several rods, and the other half with the north 
 wall thrown into the school room. The teacher and 
 some children were struck by the debris, and yet noth- 
 ing more serious occurred than a few slight bruises. 
 All the roof and one wall were blown down, another 
 wall but half remained. 
 
 ings of course were logs, but some of the later 
 districts started with small frame buildings, 
 until today all are of brick, the buildings at 
 New Winchester and North Robinson both be- 
 ing structures that would be creditable to vil- 
 lages more than double their size. The North 
 Robinson building was erected in 1873; the 
 first schoolhouse was a mile northwest of 
 where the village now is; later a schoolbuild- 
 ing was erected half a mile south of the pres- 
 ent village ; then North Robinson was laid out, 
 became a center of business, and its importance 
 demaftded that the schoolhouse be in the vil- 
 lage. The present building is of brick. Whet- 
 stone exceeds all other townships in the number 
 of her school houses, having fourteen. 
 
 The early settlers of Whetstone in the north- 
 ern part could attend religious services at 
 Bucyrus, yet many meetings were held in their 
 cabins, ministers coming out from Bucyrus on 
 Sunday afternoons to hold services. In 1823 
 Rev. John O. Blowers and his brother William 
 had been licensed as ministers in the M. E. 
 Church and they held frequent services at the 
 cabins of the early settlers, and after the large 
 Campbell schoolhouse was built it was in con- 
 stant use by Methodists and the ministers of 
 other denominations. At the start the Meth- 
 odists were attached to the Mansfield Circuit, 
 and Rev. Solomon Myneer was the first trav- 
 eling missionary. He had six counties in his 
 circuit, and it took him six weeks to make the 
 round, so they could depend on their regular 
 preacher for al^out eight visits a year. He had 
 nothing to pay for fopd and lodging, any pio- 
 neer whether of his denomination or not be- 
 ing glad to entertain him. Some years he 
 managed to collect as high as $40, and al- 
 though this was net, there is no report of his 
 having left any fortune beyond an honorable 
 name to his heirs, and like hundreds of others 
 of these faithful and self sacrificing spiritual 
 teachers in the early days, he was satisfied 
 with the blessings he received in the world be- 
 low from those to whom he gave cheer and 
 comfort, and consolation and hope, and reaped 
 his reward in the eternity beyond. 
 
 As early as 1832 the Methodists built a 
 church in the northern part of the township 
 in the Stewart neighborhood. Here Rev. Rob- 
 ert Reid was a class-leader for a number of 
 years, and was one of the early preachers. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 361 
 
 One of the active members in this church was 
 Cornwallis Reese. Years ago this church was 
 abandoned the members uniting with the M. E. 
 Church at Bucyrus. Near this church was the 
 Stewart graveyard, and here was buried James 
 Scott, who died June 29, 1829, and the same 
 year in August was the second burial of John 
 Parcher, one of the five Parcher brothers who 
 came to the county. Samuel and Simeon 
 Parcher and others of that family are buried 
 here. Here also lies Hugh Stewart, the ven- 
 erable father of the Stewarts, who died July 
 29, 1854, aged 97 years. Another M. E. 
 Church was built in the western part of the 
 township, and later replaced by the present 
 brick structure on the Winchester road on the 
 farm of John W. Sherer. Another is on the 
 county line a mile southeast of New Win- 
 chester, known as the Sixteen M. E. 
 
 When New Winchester was laid out the 
 German Reformers had an organization with 
 services at the various cabins, and these con- 
 tinued until the society was strong enough to 
 build a church which they did in 1847 just 
 west of the village; it was a frame structure 
 and cost about $900. " Rev. James Kellar was 
 the first minister, and preached in both English 
 and German. Later the church was repaired. 
 In 1835 the same denomination had a church 
 a mile north of New Winchester, first a log 
 structure, then followed by a frame building, 
 and a few years ago the present brick struct- 
 ure was dedicated. It is known as the St. 
 John's Reformed Church and includes among 
 its membership those who formerly belonged 
 to the church west of New Winchester. A 
 graveyard was started here before the church 
 was built. Near this graveyard on the farm 
 of John Weirick there still is seen a little 
 graveyard, no longer used. It was originally 
 on the farm of Archibald Clark, and in it is 
 today the oldest gravestone in the county, al- 
 most illegible ; crumbling to decay it still marks 
 the last resting place of his wife, Rachel Clark, 
 who died Sept. i, 1826. Here too is the place 
 where rests Judge E. B. Merriman, the first 
 
 business man in Bucyrus, and with Zalmon 
 Rowse its most influential citizen in its early 
 days. In 1822 he ran the first store in Bucy- 
 rus ; at one time had a branch store at Annapo- 
 lis, and in 1838 started one at New Winchester, 
 and died there. Today no mark remains to 
 show where he was buried, but old residents 
 at Winchester stated years ago he was buried 
 in the graveyard north of the village. There 
 were but two, the Reformed graveyard and the 
 private burial ground of his old friend, Archi- 
 bald Clark, who had been with him in many 
 business transactions. 
 
 The German Lutherans organized later, 
 holding meetings in the cabins and later erect- 
 ing churches. They have two churches in the 
 southeastern part of the township, one a mile 
 south of Olentangy on the bank of the Whet- 
 stone, and the other. Holy Trinity Lutheran, 
 a quarter of a mile southwest of this. 
 
 The Salem Evangelical church is south of 
 Wagner's Corners. North Robinson has a 
 handsome English Lutheran Church, built in 
 1875, located on Main street, but on the Jef- 
 ferson township side of the village . 
 
 The United Brethren have two churches in 
 the township, one at New Winchester and the 
 other at North Robinson. 
 
 More than half a century ago a church was 
 built on the Gabon road, just east of the Battle 
 Monument. It was a little frame built by the 
 Disciples and was generally known as the 
 Campbellite Church. Services were held here 
 for many years, but nearly all the members 
 transferred to the church at Bucyrus, and serv- 
 ices were discontinued, and as the building was 
 falling into decay, about 1875 ^t was purchased 
 by Elias Lavely, removed to his farm, and used 
 as a farm building. Half a mile to the south 
 of where this church stood is the Campbell 
 graveyard, where the first burial was Samuel, 
 infant son of John Campbell, who died Aug. 
 16, 1825. Here are buried many of the early 
 settlers of Whetstone township, and here was 
 buried Daniel Bender, who was murdered at 
 Dead Man's Hollow, Sept. 28, 1836. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 BUCYRUS, THE COUNTY SEAT 
 
 Origin of the Name, Bucyrus — Arrival of Samuel Norton and Party, i8ip — Cabins Built 
 and Crops Planted — First White Child Born in Bucyrus — Expert Spinners — Abund- 
 ance of Game and Fish — Shortage of Bread Owing to Distance of Mills — Slow Mill- 
 ing — Arrival of Other Settlers — Col. James Kilbourne — Norton's Agreement with Kil- 
 bourne — The Survey and Platting of Bucyrus — Naming of Streets — Sale of Lots — 
 Bucyrus as Described in the Ohio Gazetteer, 1826 — Early Stores and Merchants — Prices 
 of Various Products in the Early Twenties — Fever and Ague — Mrs. Lucy Rogers' Ex- 
 perience — Tanneries and Grist Mills — The Carys — Early Industries — The First Tavern 
 — Price of Whiskey — Mrs. Rogers Thrashes an Indian — Liquor Selling to the Indians — 
 Law AgairtrSt It — How Evaded — Adventure of a Bibulous Citizen — Bucyrus Song. 
 
 Then here, my friend, your search may end; 
 
 For here's a country to your mind; 
 And here's a town your hopes may crown, 
 
 As those who try it soon shall find. 
 Here fountains flow, mild zephyrs blow. 
 
 While health and pleasure smile each morn 
 For all around Bucyrus found, 
 
 On fair Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 — Kilbourne's Song of Bucyrus. 
 
 Bucyrus is an Egyptian word, the name be- 
 ing derived from Busiris, a city of ancient 
 Egypt, and also a name given the old Egyptian 
 kings. It was named by Col. James Kilbourne, 
 who with Samuel Norton, the first settler, was 
 the founder of the town. The poetical lines 
 relating to Bucyrus are found in Milton's 
 Paradise Lost, book first : 
 
 . . "When with fierce winds Orion arm'd. 
 
 Hath vexed the red sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew 
 
 Busiris and his Memphian chivalry." 
 
 When Samuel Norton reached Bucyrus in 
 October, 1819, the party consisted of the fol- 
 lowing eighteen persons : Samuel Norton and 
 Mary Norton, his wife; three daughters — 
 Louisa, Catharine and Elizabeth ; three sons — 
 Rensselaer, Warren and Waldo; Albigence 
 Bucklin, (a brother of Mrs. Norton) and his 
 wife and six children — Esther, Cynthia, Aus- 
 tin, Elizabeth, Almeda and Pitt, and an 
 adopted daughter, Polly. The eighteenth per- 
 
 son was Seth Holmes, who had been through 
 this region in 1812, as a teamster in the war 
 of 1812, and who accompanied the Norton 
 party as teamster and guide. On arriving here 
 an old wigwam mide of small saplings was 
 found standing in the woods in what is now 
 the court house yard. This the pioneers oc- 
 cupied for three days, while the three men 
 built a log cabin. It was of round logs, un- 
 hewed, the cracks chinked with mud, and was 
 built on the banks of the Sandusky, just west 
 of the Sandusky avenue bridge, on the land 
 now occupied by C. H. Shonert. This cabin, 
 the wigwam and the wagons accommodated 
 them. As soon as it was completed, a site was 
 selected for the Bucklin cabin — also on the 
 bluff on the banks of the river. It was built 
 north of Mansfield street, just west of where 
 the T. & O. C. embankment commences on its 
 way across the river. At that tiine the river 
 bed was at the foot of the bluff, passing just 
 north of the brewery. A cabin similar to the 
 Norton cabin was erected here for Mr. Buck- 
 lin and his family and the pioneers were as 
 comfortably situated as possible for their first 
 winter, the Nortons and Bucklins in their 
 cabins, and Seth Holmes in the wigwam. 
 Small sheds were erected for the stock, the 
 pioneers having brought with them several 
 
 362 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 363 
 
 horses and cattle, a few hogs and some chick- 
 ens. They were fairly provided with cooking 
 utensils, and the farming implements of those 
 days. Mr. Norton had also brought with him 
 a hand-mill for grinding corn or wheat in case 
 of emergency. These pioneers were ten miles 
 from the nearest settlement, which was at and 
 near where Gallon now is. 
 
 The first winter was passed in clearing land 
 around their cabins, and the spring of 1820 
 being a very early one, Norton planted his first 
 crop in February, and in later years stated it 
 was the finest crop he had ever produced. 
 When Norton first settled on the land, it had 
 been surveyed but was not yet entered for sale, 
 and as soon as it was open for purchase, Nor- 
 ton went to Delaware on horseback, after leav- 
 ing the plains being compelled to pick his way 
 th'rough the woods, to the land office at that 
 place. Here, it is reported, some Quakers en- 
 deavored to persuade him that the land he de- 
 sired to enter was not the land he wanted, but 
 Mr. Norton insisted it was and entered 400 
 acres, on which the central part of Bucyrus 
 now stands. One of these deeds was for 160 
 acres, the southwest quarter of section i, 
 township 3, range 16, of the district of Dela- 
 ware, and was signed by James Monroe, Oct. 
 5, 182 1. It was one of the earliest deeds for 
 land in the New Purchase as it was recorded 
 in Vol. I, page loi. Returning home he gave 
 Albigence Bucklin the 80 acres where he re- 
 sided, he having promised him that amount of 
 land, if he would accompany him to Ohio, as 
 Mrs. Norton refused to come unless her 
 brother and his family came along. 
 
 The first planting of the settlers was prin- 
 cipally wheat, corn, potatoes and flax, the lat- 
 ter being a necessary article, from which Mrs. 
 Norton and her daughters made the clothes 
 for the family. On one of his trips to the 
 mills on the Mohican, at Fredericktown in 
 Knox County, over 30 miles away, Mr. Nor- 
 ton stopped at the Quaker village of Friends- 
 borough in what is now Morrow county, and 
 purchased ten pounds of wool, the wool being 
 spun into yarn, the yarn made into cloth, and 
 the cloth into clothing by Mrs. Norton. The 
 Norton cabin had one window which let in 
 some light; this window was a hole cut near 
 the door over which was placed greased paper. 
 
 As the cabin was surrounded by woods, little 
 or no rain or wind reached the flimsy window, 
 yet from the first cotton woven, the window 
 was covered with the cloth, which was a step 
 in advance in house-building. 
 
 The most important event which occurred 
 the first winter was on Feb. 11, 1820, when in 
 the little cabin on the bank of the Sandusky 
 was born to Mr. and Mrs. Norton, a daughter, 
 Sophronia, the first white child born in Bu- 
 cyrus. The Nortons had brought from Penn- 
 sylvania both a loom and spinning wheels, and 
 the young girls soon became valued assistants 
 of their mother in the manufacture of the 
 goods for clothing. Mrs. A. M. Jones (Eliza- 
 beth Norton) while quite young, was the ex- 
 pert spinner of the family, and received so 
 many compliments that she became a very zeal- 
 ous spinner from pride. She was so small that 
 her father cut the legs of one of the spinning- 
 wheels to make it more convenient for her. 
 Each of the girls had a task allotted of so much 
 spinning per day, and Elizabeth soon discov- 
 ered that her expertness and her skill brought 
 with it troubles, as on her the larger part of 
 the spinning devolved. True, all girls in those 
 days were expert spinners, some of them 
 skilled at weaving; all good cooks, and all of 
 great assistance in the family work. The 
 clothing they wore was made by themselves. 
 Game was abundant — deer and wild turkeys, 
 rabbits and squirrel — and Mr. Norton re- 
 ports killing five deer in one day, near Buck- 
 lin's cabin, about where the T. & O. C. crosses 
 the Sandusky. Here there was in those days 
 a salt lick, where the deer came. The skins 
 were used for clothing and the meat stored 
 away for winter use. 
 
 In those early days, while the woods pro- 
 duced an abundance of game and the river 
 yielded fish and an occasional hog was killed, 
 the chief difficulty was the supply of bread, 
 and the Norton daughters report that some- 
 times for days they were without bread, their 
 diet being game, potatoes and honey, for there 
 were many bee trees, and at one time Mr. Nor- 
 ton had over a barrel of strained honey in his 
 cabin; in one day he found 23 bee trees, and 
 the first hive of bees he had was a swarm of 
 wild ones he secured in the woods. The near- 
 est mill was at Lexington, on the banks of the 
 
364 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Mohican in Richland county. The largest was 
 the Herron mill at Fredericktown on the Ver- 
 non river in Knox County. Although over 
 thirty miles away, it was the safest as the 
 pioneer was certain of having his grist ground, 
 the water being sufficient to run the mill at 
 all seasons of the year. An Indian trail led 
 to that settlement, the Indians passing through 
 Bucyrus and Whetstone township, across Mor- 
 row County and to Fredericktown and Mt. Ver- 
 non, the latter being one of the principal points 
 where they disposed of their skins and cran- 
 berries. This trail was well-marked through 
 the forest, and over this long route, Norton or 
 Seth Holmes would take as much grain as the 
 horse could carry, and return about a week 
 later with it ground into meal. Four days was 
 a quick trip. In spring the route was almost 
 impassable, even on horseback, and then it 
 was when the meal was low, that the family 
 were thrown on their own resources, and the 
 hand-mill was pressed into use — a very crude 
 sort of coffee-mill, holding half a pint of grain, 
 which was ground into meal. Then the mill 
 was filled up and still more ground. The slow- 
 ness of the process prevented a supply being 
 gathered ahead. It was an evening's work at 
 the mill, to secure enough meal for the next 
 day's use. Another device was the punching 
 of holes with a nail through a piece of tin, the 
 bottom of an old bucket; and on the rough 
 edges of the holes, an ear of corn was slowly 
 and industriously rubbed, the meal falling 
 through the holes. This was amusement of 
 a winter evening, sitting beside the large fire- 
 place. In a few hours enough meal could be 
 ground this way to give all at least a taste of 
 bread for breakfast. When the roads were 
 bad in the spring of the year, it can readily be 
 seen why bread was a luxury, and potatoes 
 and game the staple article of food. 
 
 A corrected survey of the land showed that 
 the Norton land did not extend to the river, but 
 that his northern line was Perry street, so he 
 built himself another log cabin on the south- 
 east comer of what is now Galen and Spring 
 streets. This was a much larger house, known 
 as a double log cabin. There were neighbors 
 then, and they came to the raising and the new 
 cabin was erected, with two rooms do\yn stairs, 
 two windows in the front, and a spacious loft. 
 The chimney for six feet was actually built 
 
 of stone, and above this was the balance of 
 sticks and mud. Norton now had the palatial 
 residence of the county, one that well became 
 the future founder of Bucyrus. 
 
 In the spring of 1820 some settlers arrived 
 in a family named Sears, who lived for a time 
 just west of the present site of Oakwood Ceme- 
 tery and then moved away. Then followed the 
 Beadles — David Beadle and two sons, Michael 
 and David, Jr., and Beadle's son-in-law, John 
 Ensley. Daniel McMichael followed with his 
 family, and Joseph Young and family and 
 others. Michael Beadle built a cabin on West 
 Mansfield street, about where the property of 
 the late Silas A. Bowers now is ; south of him 
 his father had 80 acres, his cabin being just 
 north of the junction of Kaler avenue with 
 Charles street. ^ 
 
 It was during 1820 that Col. James Kil- 
 bourne drifted north from Columbus, making 
 a preliminary survey for a road from Colum- 
 bus to the Lake. At that time a road extended 
 from Columbus through Delaware, and as far 
 north as Norton in Delaware county, near the 
 Greenville Treaty line. When in 181 7 this land, 
 north of the treaty line, was opened to settle- 
 ment, arrangements were made to extend the 
 road to the Lake. Kilboume, with a sur- 
 veyor's instinct, saw at a glance the excellent 
 location of the Norton land as the place for a 
 town on this new road. But Mr. Norton did 
 not favor it. He had come there because he 
 liked the land; he had a good farm, it was 
 fast being cleared, and it was too good a farm 
 to spoil by being laid out into town lots. Kil- 
 bourne continued on his way to Sandusky 
 City, drew up his plans for the road, and in 
 1 82 1 returned to Bucyrus. He had established 
 the town of Claridon in Marion County, about 
 16 miles north of Delaware, and the Sandusky 
 river sixteen miles further north was excel- 
 lently situated for his next town, with the site 
 of (Caroline) Attica selected still further 
 north. The neighbors wisely prevailed on 
 Norton to enter into an agreement with Col. 
 Kilbourne and as a result the following con- 
 tract was drawn up. 
 
 To All Whom it May Con'cern : 
 
 Know ye, that James Kilbourne, of Worthington, in 
 the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, and Samuel 
 Norton, of the county of Crawford, and State aforesaid, 
 have agreed, and do agree as follows, viz. : The said 
 James Kilboume agrees to lay off a town for said Nor- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 365 
 
 ton, on the southwest quarter of the first section of the 
 third township south, and sixteenth range, of the public 
 lands of the United States, the west line of which shall 
 be forty-four rods from the west line of said quarter, 
 and parallel thereto, and shall extend thence east one 
 hundred rods, being bounded north and south by the 
 quarter lines, so as to contain one hundred acres in 
 said town plat of in-lots, out-lots and reserves. In lay- 
 ing off and establishing said town, the said Kilbourne 
 shall do, or cause to be done at his own expense, the 
 following particulars, viz. : He shall make, or cause to 
 be made, the preparatory survey and notes; project and 
 make the plat ; survey the town ; cause the plat to be re- 
 corded; advertise, and attend at the first public sale of 
 lots ; draw all the writings for the sale ; advertise the ap- 
 plications for such State and county roads as the pro- 
 prietors shall, within one year from this date, agree to 
 be necessary, leading to and from said town; draw peti- 
 tions for said roads; circulate them for signers; present 
 them to proper authorities, and attend the commis- 
 sioners and viewers who may be appointed thereon,^ to 
 assist in selecting proper routes for said roads ; and, 
 when the town shall be surveyed as aforesaid, the said 
 Norton, his heirs or assigns, as principal proprietors, 
 shall first choose and reserve one lot; the said Kil- 
 bourne, as projector, surveyor and minor proprietor, his 
 heirs and assigns, shall next choose and reserve one 
 lot; and the remainder of the town shall be the joint 
 property of the said Norton and Kilbourne, their heirs 
 and assigns, forever, in the proportion of three-fourths 
 to the said Norton, and one-fourth to the said Kil- 
 bourne; Provided, however, that the said Norton may 
 reserve twelve rods in width of the west side of said 
 town plat, as the same shall be platted, surveyed and 
 recorded as above, to his own proper use and disposal ; 
 for which the said Kilbourne shall receive and hold, 
 throughout the other parts of the town plat, in addi- 
 tion to his fourth part thereof, an interest and right 
 equal in quantity to one-fourth part of said twelve-rod 
 reservation; so that the said Kilbourne's interest in the 
 eighty-eight acres east of said twelve-rod reserve shall 
 be as twenty-five is to eighty-eight, or, twenty-five acres 
 in the whole ; and the said Samuel Norton doth agree 
 to appropriate the said tract for a town plat, to be laid 
 off by said Kilbourne as above written, and upon the 
 terms aforesaid ; and, so soon as the said Kilbourne 
 shall have completed, all and singular, the obligations on 
 his part, so far as that the town is ready for the public 
 sale as aforesaid, the said Norton shall make and de- 
 liver to the said Kilbourne, his heirs or assigns, a good 
 and sufficient warrantee deed of the said one-fourth 
 part of the town plat aforesaid, provided he shall so 
 soon receive the patent from the President for the tract 
 of which the said town plat will be a part; and, if the 
 patent should not be so soon received, then and in that 
 case the deed shall be made and delivered as soon as 
 the said patent shall be received as aforesaid. 
 
 In witness whereof, we have hereunro set our hands 
 and seals, at Crawford county the fourth day of Octo- 
 ber, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and 
 twenty-one. 
 
 James Kilbourne (seal), 
 Samuel Norton (seal). 
 In presence of 
 
 Seth Holmes, Jr. 
 
 BiRON Kilbourne. 
 
 The plat of the within described town, now named 
 Bucyrus, is so changed to the west by laying off by 
 mutual agreement as to leave but twenty-four, instead 
 of forty-four, rods between said plat and the sectional 
 line; and the reserve of Samuel Norton is extended on 
 
 21 
 
 the plat to twenty-four, instead of twelve rods; there 
 will, of course, remain but seventy-six instead of eighty- 
 eight, rods, or acres, of said plat east of Samuel Nor- 
 ton's reserve, of which seventy rods, containing seventy- 
 six acres, James Kilbourne shall receive his proportion 
 of the town, in amount twenty-five acres, instead of the 
 eighty-eight acres as within contracted. Said Norton 
 shall have to his own use all the mill privileges, with 
 no other consideration than that of the contents of the 
 ground contained therein, toward his part of the out-lots 
 of the plat; and the ground bought of Mr. Holmes, if 
 retained, shall be laid out into lots by said Kilbourne 
 and added to the town, on the same principles and pro- 
 portions of mutual advantage as the hundred' acres con- 
 tained in the foregoing contract. 
 December 15, 1821. 
 
 Samuel Norton. 
 
 James Kilbourne. 
 
 The foregoing contract is this day so changed by 
 mutual consent that the part of the town of Bucyrus 
 which is laid upon the lands of Samuel Norton is con- 
 fined to such limits as to contain only the numbered 
 in-lots, out-lots and public grounds, with the avenue, 
 streets and alleys, containing fifty acres more or less ; 
 and the projector and surveyor of the town, James Kil- 
 bourne, his heirs and assigns, shall have and receive the 
 one equal half part thereof, instead of the one-fourth 
 part of the one hundred acres, as previously stipulated 
 in this contract. 
 Witness our hands, and seals at Bucyrus, this 12th day 
 
 of February, 1822. 
 
 Samuel Norton (seal). 
 James Kilbourne (seal). 
 
 This contract, with the amendments, oc- 
 cupied three pages of foolscap, and it will be 
 observed that the" final agreement was reached 
 and the contract signed on Lincoln's birthday, 
 that later distinguished American being at that 
 -time ragged and barefooted in his log cabin, 
 probably passing the day without any presents 
 to remind him that it was the thirteenth an- 
 niversary of his birth. On the same sheet of 
 foolscap is written the final words : 
 
 "The within article of agreement, with the two modi- 
 fications of the original contract herein contained, being 
 complied with by the parties, is fully canceled and of no 
 further effect. 
 
 Samuel Norton. 
 James Kilbourne.'' 
 Bucyrus, April 22, 1830." 
 
 The plat itself that was filed at Delaware, 
 Ohio, in the Recorder's office, was signed 
 Feb. II, 1822. The corrected survey showed 
 Norton's land only extended as far north as 
 Perry street. East of Sandusky avenue, the 
 land between Perry street and the river was 
 owned by Seth Holmes and Daniel McMichael. 
 and west of the avenue by Abel and Lewis 
 Gary. The sale of lots later shows Seth 
 Holmes' land was bought, and certainly some 
 
366 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 agreement was made with the Carys and Mc- 
 Michaels as the town extended to the river 
 The amended plat as filed in this county shows 
 that described by present boundaries the town 
 started on the east at the Sandusky river, just 
 half a block east of Walnut street, extending 
 south to Middletown street, the line being half 
 way between Walnut and Lane streets, a part 
 of this line having an alley, notably from the 
 Pennsylvania road to Charles street. At Mid- 
 dletown street it ran west two blocks to the 
 alley between Sandusky avenue and Poplar 
 street ; then north along the alley until it came 
 to within one lot of Warren street, where it 
 went west to Poplar street, including in the 
 village lot 176 on the southeast corner of Pop- 
 lar and Warren, now owned by the heirs of D. 
 Picking. It went north on Poplar to Rensse- 
 laer street; then went half a block west, then 
 north, along the west line of the present Pres- 
 byterian parsonage until within one lot of 
 Mansfield street, when it went west across 
 Spring street, and further west two lots, then 
 north across Mansfield street, so as to include 
 one row of lots on the north side of Mansfield. 
 The line then ran east, at the rear of two lots 
 on Mansfield street west of Spring, and at the 
 rear of four lots between Spring and Poplar. 
 On Poplar it went north to Galen, east to the 
 alley between Poplar and Sandusky, then north 
 to the river. The plat contained 176 lots, and 
 of these lots 90 and 92 were set apart for a 
 Court House, the present site; and lot 88 for 
 the jail, and north of this lot 86 was donated 
 by Norton later for school purposes, the lot 
 adjoining the Pennsylvania road on Walnut 
 street. 
 
 The streets were named mostly by Samuel 
 Norton, as they are after members of his fam- 
 ily, modestly omitting one after himself. 
 Sandusky avenue was laid out as an avenue, 
 and was 5 rods wide (82>4 fett) called after 
 the Columbus and Sandusky turnpike, but al- 
 ways popularly known and called "Mam 
 street " Mansfield street was called after the 
 road leading to Mansfield. Walnut street was 
 probably named by Col. Kilbourne, on account 
 of a number of Walnut trees at the north end 
 of the street. Poplar street was named from 
 the number of Poplar trees on its northern end. 
 Mary street was named after Mrs. Norton: 
 Rensselaer, Warren and Charles, after the 
 
 sons of Norton. All these streets were not 
 named at the start, as Perry street was named 
 after Perry Garton, the eldest grandchild of 
 Samuel and Mary Norton, son of Louisa Nor- 
 ton who married Harris Garton Feb. 15, 1824. 
 Middletown street was also named later, after 
 the road leading from Bucyrus through that 
 village to Mansfield. Galen street was also 
 named later, the early history says, probably 
 after some member of the Norton family 
 but no Galen can be found in the family, and 
 the probabilities are it was named by Dr. Mc- 
 Comb, the first disciple of Galen who came in 
 1822; the street itself was partly through a 
 swamp, at places impassable east and west, 
 and as late as 1851 was in such a condition it 
 was probably a relief to the citizens when the 
 Ohio and Indiana road decided to use it for 
 their track. Spring alley was named from a 
 spring on the banks of the Sandusky, east of 
 the avenue. East and West Alleys were named 
 from being east and west of Sandusky avenue. 
 The lot sale took place in April, but prior to 
 this parties had bought lots. When the sale 
 took place, a large crowd was present, people 
 coming from the country and from neighboring 
 towns, and Col. Kilbourne was the auctioneer, 
 and during the sale sang for the first time his 
 Song of Bucyrus 
 
 Ye men of spirit, ardent souls. 
 
 Whose hearts are firm and hands are strong, 
 Whom generous enterprise controls, 
 
 Attend ! and truth shall guide my song. 
 I'll tell you how Bucyrus, now 
 
 Just rising, like the star of morn, 
 Surrounded stands by fertile lands, 
 
 On clear Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 In these wide regions, known to fame, 
 
 Which freedom proudly calls her own; 
 Where free-born men the heathen tame, 
 
 And spurning kings — despise a throne. 
 No lands more blest in all the west, 
 
 Are seen whichever way you turn, 
 Than those around Bucyrus found 
 
 On clear Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 The river valley, rich and green. 
 
 Far as the power of sight extends. 
 Presents a splendid rural scene. 
 
 Which not the distant landscape ends. 
 The bordering plain spreads like the main, 
 
 Where native fruits its sides adorn. 
 And nearly join the margin line 
 
 Along Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 First Norton and the Beadles came, 
 With friends, (an enterprising band). 
 
 Young and McMichael, men of fame. 
 Soon joined the others, hand in hand; 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 ;-367 
 
 By various plans t' improve the lands, 
 
 They early rise with every morn, 
 Near where the town Bucyrus stands, 
 
 All on Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 There, teams of oxen move with pride, 
 
 Obedient to their driver's word; 
 There the strong yeomen firmly guide 
 
 The ploughs which cleave and turn the sward; 
 The dale around, with herds abound. 
 
 The fields luxuriant are with corn. 
 Near where the town Bucyrus stands, 
 
 All on Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 Rich meadows there, extending far. 
 
 By nature for the scythe prepared. 
 And boundless pasture everywhere. 
 
 Is free for all and ev'ry herd. 
 The deep'ning mold, some hundred fold. 
 
 Rewards with flax and wheat and corn, 
 Those who with toil excite the soil. 
 
 Along Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 In seasons mild their forests wild. 
 
 Through hills and valleys widely spread. 
 The streamlets glide from every side. 
 
 Concent' ring to their common bed; 
 Thence, fed by springs which nature brings, 
 
 O'erhung by plum-tree, elm and thorn, 
 Winds on the stream with dazzling gleam. 
 
 Along Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 When gathering vapors dim the sky. 
 
 And clouds condensed their treasures pour; 
 When showers descend, and lightnings rend 
 
 The heavens above, and thunders roar; 
 When growing rills the valley fills; 
 
 When gentle brooks to rivers turn; 
 Then moves with pride the swelling tide 
 
 Along Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 There, youths and maids along the glades 
 
 Are often seen in walks around. 
 Where flowers in prime, in vernal time. 
 
 And where, in autumn, fruits are found. 
 With manly face, with dimpling grace. 
 
 Give, and receive kind words in turn — 
 In roseate bowers, where fragrant flowers 
 
 O'erspread Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 Then, here, my friend, your search may end. 
 
 For here's a country to your mind ; 
 And here's a town your hopes may crown. 
 
 As those who try it soon shall find. 
 Here fountains flow, mild zephyrs blow. 
 
 While health and pleasure smile each morn 
 For all around Bucyrus found. 
 
 On fair Sandusky's rural bourn. 
 
 Many times in after years when Col. Kil- 
 bourne visited Bucyrusi he sang this song and 
 others to admiring crowds. He was a great 
 favorite among the sturdy pioneer settlers, 
 who esteemed him for his many social qual- 
 ities, and, when the knowledge that the Colonel 
 was at the village spread throughout the 
 neighborhood, they would assemble at Bucyrus 
 to enjoy the rich season of fun which the old 
 surveyor always planned and directed when he 
 
 appeared. He had a few old cronies, who 
 were seldom absent when the Colonel was 
 willing to "make a night" of it with his boon 
 companions. Brandy and egg-nog were Kil- 
 bourne's favorite beverages, and these special 
 friends of his never refused to indulge when 
 stray glasses containing liquid of this descrip- 
 tion were thrust into their hands ; consequently, 
 when Kilbourne planned a good social time at 
 the public house with a few friends, these com- 
 panions were always willing and anxious to 
 assist in disposing of the various liquors fur- 
 nished by the Colonel's hospitality. In those 
 days when whisky was supposed to be a ne- 
 cessity in every household, nearly all indulged 
 in strong drink and for a man to be under the 
 influence of liquor was not so serious a mat- 
 ter as it is regarded at the present time. Even 
 ministers did not object to an occasional 
 glass ; many were regular drinkers. But in the 
 early days of the village, when ordained min- 
 isters appeared at irregular intervals, some of 
 the early settlers, learning that Col. Kilbourne 
 had formerly been an Episcopalian rector, re- 
 quested him to conduct religious services. The 
 Colonel consented in order that Bucyrus would 
 obtain some credit for being a moral and re- 
 ligious village, and arrangements were made 
 for him to preach on a certain Sabbath. The 
 night previous, however, he assembled with 
 his usual companions at the public house, and 
 until after midnight the jolly crowd had a fine 
 time. Many songs were proposed and sung 
 by the Colonel ; the bar-tender's till received 
 numerous contributions, and much of his 
 liquid ware had been disposed of ; consequently, 
 when they adjourned, many were much th( 
 worse for liquor. But the Reverend Colone 
 appeared next day ready for the religious ex- 
 ercises, and, in consequence of his early ex- 
 perience as rector, he conducted a very satis- 
 factory meeting; the eiTect of the previous 
 night did not prevent him from preaching ar 
 excellent sermon. Not so, however, with som« 
 of his companions who took part in the revel- 
 ries at the public house; one of these mis- 
 guided men, having learned that Kilbourne 
 was to officiate at another meeting, seemed tc 
 consider it a continuation of the "good time' 
 started the night previous, and made haste to 
 assemble with the religious portion of the com- 
 munity. The poor fellow was too fat gone 
 
368 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to notice the difference in the assembly, but 
 he heard the familiar voice of Kilbourne ask- 
 ing some one to propose a hymn for the oc- 
 casion, and the erring man not knowing the 
 horrid mistake he was making, arose and 
 startled the congregation with one of the wild 
 drinking songs of the night previous. 
 
 The original numbers of Bucyrus on the 
 Delaware plat, and on the Bucyrus plat, com- 
 menced at the Sandusky river, the odd num- 
 bers on the west side of Sandusky avenue and 
 the even numbers on the east. They ran i to 
 7, Perry street; 9 to 17, Mary street; 19 to 
 27, Galen street; 29 to 35, Public Square; 37 
 to 43, Rensselaer street; 45 to 53 Warren 
 street. This was as far as the original plat 
 of the town filed at Delaware, contemplated, 
 and south of this, starting two blocks wide was 
 a triangular park, extending to a point at San- 
 dusky and Charles street. On the east side of 
 Sandusky avenue, commencing at the river are 
 lots 2 to 8, Perry street; 10 to 18, Mary street; 
 20 to 28, Galen street; 30 to 36, Public Square; 
 38 to 44, Rensselaer street; 46 to 54, Warren 
 street. On the east side of Walnut the num- 
 bers commenced at the river with No. 56 and 
 ran to 95 and 97 on Mansfield street, which 
 were the present Opera Block and the Hall 
 property adjoining; on the west side they ran 
 from 57 to 91 and 93, the Adams property on 
 Mansfield street, now owned by Miss Lizzie 
 Ostermeyer. The plat as filed at Delaware 
 was signed on Feb. 11, 1822, by Samuel Nor- 
 ton, Abel Gary, Daniel McMichael, and Seth 
 Holmes. It was witnessed by Joseph Young 
 and Gibley (Polly) Bucklin, and was sworn 
 to by Joseph Young, as Justice of the Peace. 
 Later the plat was changed but it was never 
 corrected on the Delaware records. On this 
 Delaware plat a site is marked on the river, 
 half a block east of the present Lane street 
 (now out-lot 119) and marked Norton's Mill, 
 showing Norton had in contemplation the 
 building of a mill. On this plat the town 
 stopped at Warren street, which was called 
 Cherry alley. Of the park the plat says, "to 
 be improved for parkage gardening as the cor- 
 poration of the town shall direct, and until the 
 town shall be incorporated the original proprie- 
 tors will direct and dispose thereof at discre- 
 tion." The plat further says : "The marks of 
 the figure 'o' denote the springs which issue 
 
 from the high bank within the town." This 
 spring was about half a block east of San- 
 dusky avenue, on the high bank of the river, 
 and a distillery was started there on account 
 of the pure water that could be secured. There 
 was also another spring on the river bank, be- 
 tween the railroad bridge and the Mary street 
 bridge. On April 22, 1830, the contract was 
 canceled as being completed, but this comple- 
 tion was made by Norton and Kilbourne hav- 
 ing a division of the lots remaining unsold at 
 that tiqie. The lot sale took place in the spring 
 of 1822, and there were many came from the 
 surrounding country and from a distance, the 
 sale having been well worked up by Col. Kil- 
 bourne. The first owners on record of each 
 of the lots of the original plat filed at Dela- 
 ware, with the prices paid, and date of giving 
 the deed, are as follows : 
 
 I — Abel Gary to Lewis Gary, 1825 . . $50.00 
 2 — Admr. Daniel McMichael to Icha- 
 
 bod Rogers, 1829 9S-oo 
 
 3 — Abel Gary to Lewis Gary, 1825 . . 50.00 
 4 — Robert Moore to Ichabod Rogers, 
 
 1825 225.00 
 
 5 — ^Abel Gary to Lewis Gary, 1825 . . 50.00 
 6 — William Young to Ichabod Rog- 
 ers, 1839 200.00 
 
 7 — Conrad Roth to E. B. Merriman, 
 
 1828 600.00 
 
 8 — Admr. McMichael. to Ichabod 
 
 Rogers, 1829 95-00 
 
 9 — Samuel Norton to Wm. F. Seiser, 
 
 1853 500.00 
 
 10 — Samuel Norton to Charles Mer- 
 riman, 1826 50.00 
 
 II — Samuel Norton to Jefferson Nor- 
 ton, part, 1855 500.00 
 
 12 — Samuel Norton to Hugh Mc- 
 Cracken & French & Bowers, 
 
 1824 40.00 
 
 13 — Samuel Norton to John Moder- 
 
 well, 1828 50.00 
 
 14 — Samuel Norton to Lewis Stephen- 
 son, 1823 40.00 
 
 15 — Samuel Norton to John McGlure, 
 
 Pennsylvania, 1824 40.00 
 
 16 — Samuel Norton to E. B. Merri- 
 man, 1824 30.00 
 
 17 — Samuel Norton to John Miller, 
 
 1824 5000 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 369 
 
 1 8 — Samuel Norton to Byron Kil- 45 — Samuel Norton to Joseph Mc- 
 
 boume, 1830 nominal Cutchen, 1827 80.00 
 
 19 — Samuel Norton to J. S. Hughes, 46 — Byron Kilbourne to Samuel Jones, 
 
 1825 50.00 1837 250.00 
 
 20 — Samuel Norton to Andrew Failor, 47 — Byron Kilbourne to James Kelly, 
 
 1826 40.00 north half, 1833 80.00 
 
 21 — Samuel Norton to Henry Miller, 47 — Byron Kilbourne to Wm. Early, 
 
 1824 40.00 south half, 1833 80.00 
 
 22 — Samuel Norton to Samuel Myers, 48 — Byron Kilbourne to Joseph H. 
 
 1827 60.00 Larwill, half, 1834 50.00 
 
 23 — Samuel Norton to Joseph Mc- 48 — Byron Kilbourne to Abraham 
 
 Comb, 1829 50.00 Hahn, half, 1837 150.00 
 
 24 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Crone- 49 — Byron Kilbourne to Madison 
 
 baugh, 1830 nominal Welsh, 1836 225.00 
 
 25 — Samuel Norton to John Forbes, 50 — Samuel Norton to Josiah Boyce, 
 
 1830 . 80.00 half, 1833 100.00 
 
 26 — Samuel Norton to Calvin Squire, 50 — Samuel Norton to Joseph H. Lar- 
 
 1823 25.00 will, half, 1834 150.00 
 
 ^'j — Samuel Norton to James Hous- 51 — Byron Kilbourne to Zalmon 
 
 ton, 1834 30.00 Rowse, 1835 180.00 
 
 28 — Samuel Norton to James P. 52 — Samuel Norton to Harris Carton, 
 
 Heath, 1823 , . . . 40.00 son-in-law, 1830 i.oo 
 
 29 — Samuel Norton to John Yost, 1828 120.00 53 — Samuel Norton to Russell Peck, 
 
 30 — Samuel Norton to Johann G. 1827 25.00 
 
 Shultz, 1823 50.00 54 — Samuel Norton to John Miller, 
 
 31 — Samuel Norton to Samuel W. 1827 40.00 
 
 Smith, 1822 30.00 55 — Daniel McMichael to Abel Cary, 
 
 32 — Samuel Norton to Ebenezer 1824 . . . . ' 30.00 
 
 Dowd, 1822 60.00 56 — Daniel McMichael to Abel Cary, 
 
 33 — Samuel Norton to Edward Bill- 1824 30.00 
 
 ups, 1823 40.00 57 — Daniel McMichael to Valentine 
 
 34 — Samuel Norton to Horace Pratt, Shultz, 1829 29.00 
 
 1826 48.00 58^-Daniel McMichael to Abel Cary, 
 
 35 — Samuel Norton to Henry St. 1824 30.00 
 
 John, 1826 45-00 59 — Daniel McMichael to Valentine 
 
 36 — Samuel Norton to Lewis Stephen- Shultz, 1824 10.00 
 
 son, 1827 42.00 60 — Daniel McMichael to Valentine 
 
 ly — John Miller to Jacob Culler, 1828 100.00 Shultz, 1824 30.00 
 
 38 — Samuel Norton to Abraham Hahn, 61 — Daniel McMichael to Abel Cary, 
 
 1828 100.00 1824 30.00 
 
 39 — Norton & Kilbourne to George 62 — Daniel McMichael to Robert 
 
 Sweney, 1831 170.00 Moore, 1825 30.00 
 
 40 — Samuel Norton to James Mar- 63 — Admr. Daniel McMichael to An- 
 
 shall, 1829 40-00 drew Failor, 1826 60.00 
 
 41 — Nicholas Cronebaugh to Martha 64 — Samuel Norton to John Miller, 
 
 Hetich, 1833 250.00 1828 120.00 
 
 42 — Norton & Kilbourne to Jesse 65 — Samuel Norton to John Miller, 
 
 George, 1835 160.00 1828 120.00 
 
 43 — Samuel Norton to Jacob Drake, 66 — Samuel Norton to John Moder- 
 
 1833 40.00 well, 1827 40.00 
 
 44 — Samuel Norton to John McClure, 67 — Samuel Norton to Zilisha Buck- 
 Pennsylvania, 1824 40.00 lin, 1837 100.00 
 
370 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 68 — Samuel Norton to Byron Kil- 
 
 bourne, 1830 nominal 
 
 69 — Samuel Norton to Harris Garton, 
 
 son-in-law, 1830 i.oo 
 
 70 — Samuel Norton to Adam Kronen- 
 
 berger, 185 1 200.00 
 
 71 — A. C. Gilmore to John Mills, north 
 
 half, 1834 115.00 
 
 71 — Abraham Yost to Edith Smith, 
 
 south half, 1835 78.00 
 
 72 — Samuel Norton to George Shaffer, 
 
 1829 60.00 
 
 73— Samuel Norton to George Shaffer, 
 
 1829 60.00 
 
 74 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1830 nominal 
 
 75 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1830 nominal 
 
 ^6 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1830 nominal 
 
 "]"/ — Samuel Norton to Frederick 
 
 Myers, south half, 1835 50.00 
 
 yj — -Stephen Brinkman to Ichabod 
 
 Rogers, north half, 1836 100.00 
 
 78 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1830 nominal 
 
 79 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1830 ■ nominal 
 
 80 — Samuel Norton to Byron Kil- 
 
 bourne, 1830 nominal 
 
 8r — -Samuel Norton to Christopher 
 
 Brinkman, 1836 125.00 
 
 82 — Samuel Norton to Trustees Luth- 
 eran Church, 1833 50.00 
 
 83 — Samuel Norton to Trustees Lth. 
 
 and Ger., Ref., 1830 45-00 
 
 84 — Samuel Norton to Byron Kil- 
 
 bourne, 1830 ■. .nominal 
 
 85 — Samuel Norton to Barbara Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1833 50.00 
 
 86 — Samuel Norton to School Direc- 
 tors, 1834 donated 
 
 87 — Samuel Norton to Holm & Cron- 
 
 baugh, 1830 nominal 
 
 88 — Samuel Norton to County Com- 
 missioners, 1828 donated 
 
 89 — Lincoln Kilbourne to County Com- 
 missioners, 1854 500.00 
 
 90 — Samuel Norton to Crawford 
 
 County, 1832 donated 
 
 91 — Norton & Kilbourne to William 
 
 Sinclair, 1834 200.00 
 
 92 — Byron Kilbourne to County Com- 
 missioners, 1832 donated 
 
 93 — Samuel Norton to Rensselaer 
 
 Norton, son, 1830 i.oo 
 
 94 — Samuel Norton to Elihu Doud, 
 
 1826 36.00 
 
 95 — Samuel Norton to Trustees M. E. 
 
 Church, 1831 125.00 
 
 96 — Samuel Norton to Trustees M. E. 
 
 Church, 1831 125.00 
 
 97 — Samuel Norton to Byron Kil- 
 bourne, 1830 nominal 
 
 Of the original lots sold in Bucyrus, No. 36, 
 where the Quinby Block now stands, was sold 
 to Lewis Stephenson for $42 ; the land is now 
 on the tax duplicate at $45,850, and the build- 
 ings were about $30,450 more, giving the total 
 valuation of this $42 lot at about $76,300. It 
 is now owned by several different parties. 
 Commencing at the east No. i is owned by the 
 Hausleib Brothers; No. 2, by Judge Charles 
 F. Schaber; Nos. 3 and 6, Fred W. Mader; No. 
 4, the heirs of L. Mantle; No. 5, Charles Lake; 
 Nos. 7 and 8, by Mrs. Millie Geiger and Mrs. 
 Mary Sarles. The lot has a frontage on the 
 Square of 159 feet, with a depth of 66 feet. 
 
 Until 1828 nobody wanted the Rowse Block 
 corner ; it was too far up town. The first busi- 
 ness on the lot was in 1827, when James Mc- 
 Lean, a carpenter, erected a one-story build- 
 ing on the lot where he lived and made shingles. 
 It was sold in 1828 to Jacob Culler for 
 $100. Today the land is on the tax dupli- 
 cate at $46,166, and the buildings at $25,806, 
 making the total $71,972. It is the largest of 
 the lots on the Sc|uare, being 165x67.2. It is 
 now owned by the William Rowse heirs. Sec- 
 ond National Bank, H. F. Miller, G. K. Zeigler, 
 and the George Mader heirs. 
 
 Lot No. 35, the Bucyrus City Bank corner, 
 was purchased of Norton by Henry St. John 
 for $45. It has a frontage on the Scjuare of 
 165 feet, with a depth of 66 feet. The land 
 is now on the tax duplicate at $46,713, with the 
 buildings valued at $21,478, making a total of 
 $68,191. The land is now owned by the Bucyrus 
 City Bank, Judge J. C. Tobias, Fred W. Mader. 
 the Mader heirs and Lewis Mollenkopf. 
 
 Lot No. 38, the Deal House corner was sold 
 to Abraham Hahn in 1828 for $100. It has a 
 frontage on the Square of 159 feet, the same 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CTiTZENS 
 
 371 
 
 as the Quinby Block, and with a depth of 67.2 
 feet. Ihe land is now on the tax duplicate at 
 $44,846, and the buildings at $10,931. It is 
 now owned by P. J. Carroll, with the excep- 
 tion of the 22 feet owned by W. F. Barth and 
 occupied by him as a barber shop. The Deal 
 House was originally a two-story brick about 
 45 feet front on the Square and about the 
 same on Sandusky avenue. In 1858 it was 
 extended on the Square as it is at present, and 
 made three stories, the corner remaining as 
 originally built, a third story being added. The 
 Barth barber shop and the Martinitz bakery are 
 as originally built over 70 years ago, no change 
 except a coat of paint occasionally. When 
 McCoy had the Deal House from 1853 to 
 1858 he owned the entire frontage on the 
 Square from Sandusky avenue around to 
 Mansfield street. Above the Martinitz bakery 
 up to i860 was the McCoy Hall which you en- 
 tered by the same outside steps that are there 
 to this day, the only change being they are now 
 covered. Here the elite of Bucyrus assembled 
 to listen to lectures, and minstrel shows and 
 theatrical troupe which made a one night stop 
 at Bucyrus. The stage was a platfonn about a 
 foot high in the north part of the hall. In 
 front were two or three rows of chairs, which 
 were occupied by the more wealthy citizens as 
 reserved seats at some select entertainment, 
 when prices ran as high as 25 cents, or what 
 was called a shilling in those days. Behind 
 these chairs were benches without backs. 
 Benches about 12 feet long on each side of the 
 hall, with the aisle down the centre. Here 
 the price was uniform, a sixpence. The other 
 hall in those days was Denslow Hall. This 
 was the third story of the brick, north of the 
 Bucyrus City Bank. It was a very low room, 
 not easy of access, and was not as popular as 
 the McCoy Hall. C. D. Ward owned the 
 building, and the hall was called after his 
 middle name Denslow. 
 
 Of the original lot owners not one is in the 
 hands of any of their descendants. In 1828 
 Abraham Yost bought lot 29 for $120. John 
 Deardorff had originally bought the lot of 
 Norton and erected a house on it ; he died be- 
 fore he had paid for the lot; so the first deed 
 was from Norton to Yost. This lot remained 
 in the possession of the Yosts until 1910, when 
 it was sold to Dobbins and Geiger. The oldest 
 
 lot owner in Bucyrus (in the point of time) is 
 C. J. Scroggs, his grandfather, John Scroggs, 
 purchasing lot 104 southeast corner Walnut 
 and Rensselaer, in 1839; from John Scroggs. 
 it descended to his son Jacob, and from him 
 to his only son Charles, who still resides there. 
 The same year 1839, but a month later, John 
 A. Gormly purchased lot 6 in Carothers' ad- 
 dition to Bucyrus southwest corner Poplar 
 and Warren ; it passed from John A. Gormly to 
 his son J. B. Gormly, and is still occupied by 
 the latter as a residence. 
 
 John E. Kilbourne in his Ohio Gazetteer for 
 1826, has the following: 
 
 "Bucyrus — A lively post town laid out in 1822 on the 
 south bank of Sandusky river, in the eastern part of 
 Crawford county. It is the seat of justice for the county, 
 has two stores and several mechanics." 
 
 It is a pleasure to notice that in these early 
 days Bucyrus had a reputation of being a 
 "hustling" town. The fact that the editor's 
 uncle laid out the town, and was financially in- 
 terested in it, may have made it advisable in 
 the interest of peace at home that the young 
 man give the town a good "send off." 
 
 The two stores were those of E. B. Merriman 
 and Samuel Bailey. The Merriman store was 
 on the lot just south of the Electric Light 
 Works, and was probably started in 1822. Mr. 
 Merriman was known as "Judge" Merriman 
 and "Bishop" Merriman. Of this store John 
 Moderwell, who came in 1827, wrote in his 
 pioneer reminiscences published in the Bucyrus 
 Journal in 1868: "Judge E. B. Merriman had 
 the monopoly for some time of exchanging 
 goods with the red and white people for deer 
 skins, furs, beeswax, honey, ginseng, cranber- 
 ries and other articles." It was not an elab- 
 orate establishment, and the business was 
 mostly trade, very little cash. Even his goods 
 were purchased mostly by exchanging the skins 
 and farm products he had for the goods he 
 wanted. James Nail, in his pioneer letter in 
 the Forum of 1874, writes : "I now remember 
 that the first Sfoods I bought in a store at 
 Bucyrus were from Bishop Merriman (1822 
 or 1823). As I was getting a few articles a 
 Mr. Peter dinger took his pencil and paper 
 and commenced writing. Merriman asked him 
 what he was doing. He said he was taking 
 an invoice of his goods, and that the amount of 
 his stock was $37.41. Merriman said he was 
 not far out of the way." The prices current 
 
372 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 in those days were wheat, 40 to 50 cents per 
 bushel; oats, 12 to 18 cents; corn, 15 to 25 
 cents; potatoes, 12 to 25 cents; cranberries, 50 
 cents per bushel ; pork i J4 to 2 cents per pound ; 
 maple sugar, 5 to 6 cents per pound; butter 5 
 to 6 cents per pound ; eggs, 3 to 4 cents a dozen ; 
 honey, 50 cents per gallon. Coffee was 50 
 cents per pound ; salt $3 for 50 pounds ; powder, 
 50 cents a quarter, lead 50 cents a pound, chew- 
 ing tobacco, 50 cents a pound, and whiskey 50 
 cents a gallon. 
 
 The other store was that of Samuel Bailey, 
 the east side of Sandusky and the second lot 
 south of Perry street. Bailey sold about 1824 to 
 French & Bowers and they sold to John Nim- 
 mons in 1827, and the latter built the frame 
 on the northeast corner of Sandusky and Rens- 
 selaer, and moved into it in 1828, the first 
 store south of the Square. 
 
 The several mechanics were probably Russell 
 Peck with his blacksmith shop, northwest cor- 
 ner Sandusky and Warren ; Lewis Stephenson, 
 hatter, on Quinby Block lot ; Joseph Umpstead, 
 cabinet maker, whose shop was in his residence ; 
 Aaron Cary, who had a saddlery on his lot 
 just west of the bridge; Adam Bair had a car- 
 penter shop, and John Billups was a shoemaker. 
 Besides this, Cary had a mill, Moore and 
 Rogers each had a hotel and there were two 
 physicians, Drs. McComb and Hobbs. 
 
 The following shows the early settlers in 
 Bucyrus : 
 
 1819 — Samuel Norton; founded the town in 
 1821 ; kept a hotel in 1835. Albigence Buck- 
 lin; ran a farm and made mill-stones. Seth 
 Holmes, came with Norton; had a log cabin 
 southeast corner Galen and Sandusky, where 
 he died about 1825. 
 
 1820 — A man named Sears, who settled near 
 Oakwood Cemetery, but left soon afterward. 
 David Beadle entered land west of the Nor- 
 ton tract; built his cabin near the corner of 
 Spring and Charles ; his son David lived with 
 him until he married two years later Mishael 
 Beadle son of David, built a cabin on the Bow- 
 ers lot on West Mansfield. Amos Clark, a 
 farmer, who bought the land south of Norton, 
 and had his residence near the W. H. Miller 
 property 435 South Sandusky. 
 
 182 1 — Abel Cary, who built the first mill a 
 few rods below the Sandusky avenue bridge. 
 1822 — Russell Peck, blacksmith, shop, north- 
 
 west corner Sandusky- and Warren. Conrad 
 Roth, blacksmith. Lewis Stephenson, hatter; 
 first shop, centre lot, east side Sandusky be- 
 tween Perry and Mary; in 1826 moved to 
 Quinby Block lot. Joseph Umpstead cabinet 
 maker, north Sandusky; E. B. Merriman, mer- 
 chant ; first store was between the present G. K. 
 Zeigler residence and the river ; in 1824 moved 
 to southeast corner Sandusky and Perry; with 
 him came his brother Charles as clerk. Zal- 
 mon Rowse, who came to Whetstone township 
 the year before; Ichabod Rogers, who started 
 a tavern the next year; Aaron Cary who started 
 a tannery and saddlery shop on the Shonert 
 lot. Conrad Rhodes, who the next year ran 
 a tavern on the Shonert lot. George P. Schultz, 
 who kept a boarding house on north Walnut; 
 Joseph McComb, a physician ; Lewis Cary, who 
 ran the first tavern on the Shonert lot ; Robert 
 Moore and Joseph Pearce, who later ran the 
 tavern. Harry Burns, a friend of the Nor- 
 tons, who was a hunter. John Deardorff, who 
 built a cabin, on the southwest corner of San- 
 dusky and Galen and was a farmer; Harris 
 Garton and John Kent were also farmers. 
 Others that year were Samuel Carl, John Kel- 
 logg and Samuel Roth. 
 
 1823 — Adam Bair, carpenter; John Billups, 
 shoemaker; Matthew McMichael, teamster; he 
 came to the county in 1819, and in 1820 helped 
 his father on the farm east of Bucyrus, and 
 then came to Bucyrus. Moses Arden, William 
 Blowers and James Martin taught early 
 schools, the latter was the first auditor of the 
 county in 1826. William Early, the first real 
 estate dealer and an early justice of the peace, 
 and Patrick Height and William Reeves. 
 
 1824 — Samuel Bailey, merchant ; John Funk, 
 tavern keeper; Henry Miller, cabinet maker; 
 John Marshall, surveyor; John T. Hobbs, 
 physician; Thomas Alsop and John Blowers, 
 who taught early schools, and John Huhr and 
 Daniel Seal. 
 
 1825 — ^John Bowen and James Marshall, 
 blacksmiths ; Hugh McCracken, John Bowman, 
 and Andrew Failor, merchants ; Adam Bair, 
 carpenter, John H. Morrison, lawyer; Jonas 
 Scott, teacher; George Hawk, shoemaker; 
 Nicholas Failor, tailor; Daniel Miller, farmer, 
 and James Houston, John Kanzleiter, and 
 Hugh Long. 
 
 1826 — Edward Billups, carpenter; William 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 373 
 
 Bratton, hatter; James McLain, miller; Jacob 
 Bowers, John B. French, Henry St. John, Mar- 
 tin Barr and Henry Babcock, merchants ; Isaac 
 H. Allen, Michael Flick and Charles Stanberg, 
 lawyers; Abraham Myers, teacher; Henry 
 Minich, tanner; John Caldwell, contractor; 
 Ebenezer Dowd and Samuel Myers, tailors; 
 George Lauck and Capt. John Miller, tavern 
 keepers ; Thomas Johnston and James C. Steen, 
 farmers, and Elihu Dowd, Jacob Drake, Wil- 
 liam Hughey and son William, William Marsh, 
 Jacob Sigler and Joy Sperry. 
 
 1827 — John Moderwell, cabinet maker; Eli 
 Slagle, miller; Robert W. Musgrave, James 
 Ranney, John Nimmons, merchants; Richard 
 W. Cahill, clerk; Willis Merriman, physician; 
 Horace Pratt, teacher; Emanuel Deardorff, 
 tanner; Jacob G. Gilmore, tavern keeper; and 
 William Farley and William Magers. 
 
 1828 — Daniel Holm, brickmaker; Adam 
 Moderwell and Isaac Ritter, cabinet makers; 
 James and John McCracken, millwrights ; John 
 Yost, gunsmith; Rev. David Shuh; Abraham 
 Hahn, jr., teacher; David and Abraham Holm, 
 tanners ; Henry Couts and John Heinlen, team- 
 sters; William R. Magill, printer'; Abraham 
 Hahn, tavern keeper; Peter Klinger, well dig- 
 ger; Lewis Heinlen, farmer, and William F. 
 Ayres, Thomas Barnett, Jacob Forney, Daniel 
 and John Holm, Christopher Noacre. 
 
 1829 — Matthew Feree, blacksmith; Samuel 
 Jones, cabinet maker; Benjamin Meeker, mer- 
 chant; Jonathan Reeder, printer; Nicholas 
 Cronebaugh and John Shull, carpenters ; Josiah 
 Scott, lawyer, Jacob Bash. 
 
 1830 — Joseph Albright, brickmaker; John 
 N. Rexroth, blacksmith; Jacob Hinnan, team- 
 ster; David McLane, weaver; Eli Cronebaugh, 
 carpenter; John Forbes, saddler; George 
 Sweney, lawyer; Dr. Sinclair; and Dr. Samuel 
 Horton; John and Jacob Staley. 
 
 183 1 — David H. Henthorn, carpenter; John 
 Colerick, merchant; John Moore, shoemaker; 
 William Crosby, printer; Samuel Ludwig, 
 farmer; William Knous and James Tate. 
 
 1832 — Israel Jones, saddler; Thomas 
 Shawke, blacksmith ; J. H. Douglass, J. H. and 
 Jabez B. Larwill, merchants ; John Smith, law- 
 yer; Rev. F. I. Ruth, Samuel Peterman, team- 
 ster; Lorenzo Andrews. 
 
 1833 — George Walter, clerk; Jesse Quaint- 
 
 ance, miller; Daniel and Owen Williams, mer- 
 chants; David R. Lightner, printer. 
 
 1834 — Thomas Gillespie, registrar land 
 office; Josiah S. Plants, lawyer; William Wise, 
 cabinet maker; Christian Sexauer, shoemaker; 
 Charles P. West, printer; Rufus Benson and 
 Jonathan Timberline. 
 
 1835 — George McNeal, carpenter; Charles 
 Kelly, miller; Peter and W. W. Miller, mer- 
 chants; Ludwig Assenheimer, weaver; James 
 W. Armstrong, lawyer; Drs. Andrew and 
 George A. Hetich and Dr. A. M. Jones; Rev. 
 Frederick Maschop; William White, teacher; 
 Samuel Caldwell, farmer. 
 
 1836 — John A. Gormly, and James P. Bow- 
 man, merchants. 
 
 1837 — Charles and Paul I. Hetich, saw mill; 
 Franklin Adams, lawyer; Rev. John Pettitt. 
 
 1838 — F. G. Hesche, merchant; Dr. William 
 Geller, and Revs. William Hutchinson, and 
 Seeley Bloomer. 
 
 1839 — ^John Scroggs, hatter and Henry 
 Flock, farmer. 
 
 Other early business men were John Davis, 
 hatter; Christian Howenstein cabinet maker; 
 Chris Brinkman, millwright; John Anderson, 
 James Quinby, J. W. Bener, S. A. Magers, M. 
 Nigh and J. Coleman, merchants; Frederick 
 Schuler, shoemaker; Peter Howenstein and 
 Lewis Kuhn, tailors; Samuel Picking, tavern 
 keeper; Jesse George, wagon maker; and 
 James Goodel, James Gilson, Jacob Howen- 
 stein and John Moody. 
 
 In the early part of the summer of 1824, 
 James Nail had finished his grist-mill near 
 Gallon, and in his letters in the Forum he says : 
 "At this time went to Bucyrus and engaged 
 mill stones of a Mr. Bucklin, who was making 
 them there out of a kind of nigger-head stones. 
 After he finished them he gave me notice, and 
 I went there for them with a wagon and two 
 yoke of cattle. Remained one night at Bucy- 
 rus with Mr. B., and as I could get no en- 
 closure or stable I let the oxen graze on the 
 plains. In the morning when I went for them 
 they had started home, and it was about 10 
 when I found them and brought them back to 
 town. In the street I met a man, Mr. Henry 
 Smith. He asked me if I had had breakfast 
 that day. I said no. He then said: 'Nearly 
 everybody in this town has the ague ; go with 
 
374 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ine and take your breakfast.' He further said : 
 'I am the only man in the town that has any 
 pork. You may fill your stomach with pork, 
 then keep your mouth shut, and breathe 
 through your nose, or you will have a shake of 
 ague before you leave town.' After break- 
 fast my mill-stones were loaded. I hauled 
 them home and had the mill started the same 
 fall. I had been partially acquainted with some 
 men around here before this time, for instance, 
 two families by the name of Gary, Mr. Rogers, 
 I think two families by the name of Merriman, 
 Col. Rowse, Mr. Miller, Dr. McComb and 
 others. East of Bucyrus I knew several fam- 
 ilies by the name of Kent, Holmes, Bear, Scott, 
 Judge Stewart, the Parchers, and others, then 
 settled along the edge of the Plains. Another 
 settlement had commenced along the Plains 
 near the Whetstone. Among them I knew 
 Messrs. Hancock, Eyeman, King, Armstrong, 
 Van Voorhis, Hamilton, Campbell, Poe, Mears, 
 Clark and others." 
 
 Mrs. Lucy Rogers tells of her sad experience 
 with the ague in 1822. She says : " My hus- 
 band took sick on one occasion and was bed- 
 fast. He could neither eat or drink a part of 
 the time. Meanwhile our scanty store of food 
 was consumed until not a particle was left in 
 the house for our subsistence. The last crust 
 was gone. My prayer to God was that all of 
 us, my young babe, my helpless husband, and 
 my starving self might all die together before 
 the sun should set. That night was one of 
 sleepless agony. Next morning I went through 
 an Indian trail, unfit as I was to go through the 
 tall, wet grass, which was then as high as a 
 man's head, to William Langdon's, near 
 Young's grist mill, and, between sobs, told my 
 pitiful story to him, and begged for some flour 
 to keep my little family from starving to death. 
 He did not know me, and refused; but his 
 wife — God bless her — spoke up and said: 
 'You shall not starve if it takes all there is 
 in the house.' Her husband relented and 
 weighed me out nineteen pounds oi flour, 
 and then, blessing them for their charity, I re- 
 turned home through the tall grass with the 
 'bird of hope' again singing in my bosom. 
 How sweet the short cake, without meat, but- 
 ter or anything else tasted that day. In the 
 afternoon. Aunt Lois Kent, learning of our 
 destitution, brought us a pan of meal, I got 
 
 some milk of Mrs. Shultz and then made some 
 mush. Believe me, the tears of joy and sor- 
 row rained down my cheeks when this meal 
 was eaten. I then told Louisa Norton, who 
 afterward married Harris Garton, how ter- 
 ribly we were distressed by want and hunger. 
 She went home and told her father, Samuel 
 Norton, who said: 'This will not do; these 
 folks have come to a new country, and they 
 must be helped; they shall not starve in Bucy- 
 rus.' So every evening he sent us new milk, 
 fresh from the cow, and as we needed it a ham 
 of meat. One day he sent Louisa over to us 
 with a dressed pi^. I never had a present that 
 did me so much good. In a very few weeks 
 my husband recovered and then we fared 
 better." 
 
 There were very few cases like this, and it 
 is to the credit of the pioneers, that in every 
 case, a person really in need, found help and 
 assistance, and Langdon, himself had reason 
 to be suspicious when a woman in need deliber- 
 ately walked a mile and a half to seek assist- 
 ance. 
 
 When Norton first came he started a little 
 tannery on the banks of the Sandusky to tan 
 enough leather for the family shoes ; it was on 
 land which later he discovered belonged to 
 Abel and Lewis Gary, Abel Gary came in 182 1, 
 and on the south bank of the river just below 
 Sandusky avenue he built a small dam, and 
 erected a grist-mill in 1822, and the long jour- 
 ney of the pioneers through the forest was a 
 thing of the past. His brother, Lewis Gary, 
 came in 1822. The latter had learned the 
 tanning business in New Jersey, and came west 
 to Jefferson county, where he went into the 
 tanning business. Here he married Rachel 
 Kirk, and in 1822, came to Bucyrus, driving 
 through in a "schooner wagon" with his wife 
 and nine children. Arriving here, they oc- 
 cupied an old log cabin, until a cabin of his 
 own was erected by him and the early settlers 
 on the banks of the Sandusky, where Norton 
 had first resided. This cabin was the first one 
 erected in Bucyrus of hewed logs with a 
 shingle roof and grooved floor. The others 
 were simply the logs as cut from the trees, and 
 puncheon floors or the bare ground. His 
 brother's mill, iust west of him was not yet 
 completed, and he was compelled to go through 
 the woods the forty miles to Fredericktown 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 375 
 
 for flour, and stated later, that sometimes the 
 supply at home was so small that the entire 
 family were put on an allowance. Gary made 
 a real tannery out of Norton s first yard, and 
 for years he conducted the business, in 1839 
 disposing of it to his son Aaron, who ran it 
 until 1855 when he sold it to Richard Plum- 
 mer. Chris Shonert had learned the trade of 
 tanner under Aaron Cary, and a year after 
 Plummer bought the yard, it was purchased by 
 Chris Shonert; it later became the firm of 
 Shonert and Haller, and a quarter of a century 
 ago was abandoned. Cary made his vats by 
 sinking large troughs in the ground, and pre- 
 pared his bark by pounding, having no facili- 
 ties for grinding. Later regular vats were 
 dug, and the bark was ground. 
 
 Lewis Cary only ran his mill a short time, the 
 little dam being a crude affair was washed 
 away at the first freshet, so it was moved to a 
 better site up the river, at the north end of 
 Walnut street, and was run by Eli Slagle. La- 
 ter it passed into the hands of James Kelly, and 
 a hurricane came and took away the roof; this 
 was replaced and in 1843 it was destroyed by 
 fire. A company was formed and it was re- 
 built, a \ery large frame mill. A strong, ser\- 
 iceable dam was erected by John Gilmore, near 
 the north end of Lane street, with a mill-race 
 running to the mill which furnished the power 
 at all seasons of the year. Kelly and James 
 McLean became the proprietors, and later 
 James McLean, who ran it tintil it was de- 
 stroyed by fire on Saturday night, April g, 
 1870. It was never rebuilt, and nothing now 
 remains to show where this large mill once 
 stood; even the old mill race has long since 
 been filled up. The Cary mill, west of San- 
 dusky avenue, was the second business enter- 
 prise in Bucyrus; the Cary tannery the first. 
 In 1823 Daniel McMichael and Ichabod Rogers 
 started a small distillery on the land now oc- 
 cupied by the Electric Light Works, but after 
 running a year or two it was abandoned. 
 
 Henry St. John bought lot 3 s northeast cor- 
 ner of the Square, where he erected a two-story 
 frame, and started a store in 182s; this build- 
 ing was also used as a store until in 1890, it 
 was moved away to give place to the present 
 brick building of the Bucyrus City Bank. 
 
 In connection with his tannery, Lewis Cary 
 had a work-bench in his house, and made 
 
 shoes, of an evening, after working at his 
 tannery all day. ihe Indians frequently 
 brought skins to him for tanning, which they 
 made into moccasins — or, rather their squaws 
 did. They occasionally had shoes maae for 
 them by Cary for they discovered that his 
 shoes "squeaked," and they were always 
 anxious to secure a pair of that kind, insisting 
 with the order that he must make a pair that 
 "talked." And they were also as proud of a 
 shoe that "talked," as boys of a later genera- 
 tion were of red-topped boots. 
 
 Cary was a Quaker, and the Indians were 
 great admirers of him, and while they were 
 insatiate thieves, laying their hands on every- 
 thing lying around loose, they never stole from 
 Cary. 
 
 Aaron Cary settled in Bucyrus soon after his 
 brother Lewis. He was a saddler and harness 
 maker, and had his cabin and shop near his 
 brother's tannery. It was a two-story log house 
 and on the upper floor his daughter Sarah 
 taught school. 
 
 Lewis Cary died on Jan. 9, 1866, at De- 
 fiance, Ohio. Of his nine children, only one re- 
 mained in Bucyrus, his daughter Isabel marry- 
 ing Alexander Caldwell, who had their homes 
 for years three miles southwest of Bucyrus, 
 near the Little Sandusky road. 
 
 When the Sandusky Pike was built, Abel 
 Cary kept the toll gate a mile north of Bucy- 
 rus, and later moved to Indiana. 
 
 John Bowen had a brick yard near the south- 
 west corner of East and Middletown streets, 
 in 1825 and here he burned the brick, and 
 erected for himself the first brick building in 
 Bucyrus ; it was on the site of the present Blair 
 and Picking Blocks, on Sandusky avenue, and 
 was used as a blacksmith shop by him and later 
 by James Marshall. 
 
 The first frame building, was about 15 feet 
 square, and was on Sandusky avenue, about 
 where the Myers harness shop now is. It was 
 later moved to West Mapsfield street, and still 
 later to the German M. E. church lot at the 
 junction of Middletown and Gallon, then oc- 
 cupied by Hon. A. M. Jackson, and on his 
 property it was used as a woodshed, and torn 
 down when the present M. E. church was 
 built. 
 
 In 1825 John Miller came to Bucyrus and 
 worked at his trade of carpenter and cabinet- 
 
376 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 maker, which he had learned in his early 
 home in Pennsylvania. He was followed 
 in 1827 by John Moderwell, in the same 
 business, and Miller soon retired from 
 cabinet-making and built a carding-mill, the 
 first erected in Bucyrus, and his mill was 
 a pronounced success, doing a large business 
 for many years. He kept hotel a few years, and 
 through his carding-mill went into the dry 
 goods business. He became prosperous, pur- 
 chased 80 acres of land of Amos Clark on 
 South Sandusky avenue, and commencing 
 about Narrow street, laid out a part of it, on 
 both sides of Sandusky avenue, in town lots 
 as an addition to Bucyrus. In 1830 he was 
 elected sheriff of the county, serving two years, 
 and singularly enough his successor as sheriff 
 was John Moderwell, the other cabinet-maker 
 of the village. 
 
 Besides Miller's carding-mill a similar mill 
 was also built by Jourdan Jones; this was on 
 the present site of the Vollrath Mills, and was 
 run by tramp-wheel power. A man named 
 Kirk also had a carding-mill, and later sold it 
 to Samuel Clapper, who with Dr. A. M. Jones 
 went into the business on a large scale, and 
 their mill later became the Bucyrus Woolen 
 Mills. 
 
 Jourdan Jones had a wagon shop, north of 
 Perry street and east of Sandusky avenue, in 
 1835, after he disposed of his carding-mill. 
 
 The, earliest tannery was the family affair of 
 Norton, followed by Lewis Cary, but the de- 
 veloping of the country and the plentitude of 
 bark at their doors made the tanning business 
 the industry of Bucyrus. One of the early 
 tanners was Emanuel Deardorff, who came to 
 Bucyrus in 1827 with his brother-in-law, 
 George Myers; they came through in a one- 
 horse wagon from Cumberland County, Penn- 
 sylvania. The farther west they got, the worse 
 became the roads, and at Pittsburp- they found 
 the only way to get through with their one 
 horse was to travel light, so" they left all their 
 bedding, and whatever they thought they could 
 get along without, and came on to Bucyrus. 
 Here Emanuel Deardorff bought 38 acres of 
 land at $8 per acre, and started a tan yard on 
 the river bank on the north side of West Mans- 
 field street, present home of H. F. Miller. Get- 
 ting the business started during the winter and 
 spring, in 1828 he returned to his former home 
 
 in Cumberland county to fill an engagement 
 he had probably made prior to leaving for Ohio, 
 for on March 13, 1828, he married Elizabeth 
 Howenstein, and with a team the two started 
 for their new home, at Pittsburg taking on 
 board the bedding and household goods he had 
 previously left there. The bridal trip took 
 fifteen days, and they took up their residence 
 at their new home on West Mansfield street. 
 He ran the tannery until 1852, when he sold 
 to John Engle. It burned down, was rebuilt 
 and lat^r was abandoned. When Mr. Dear- 
 dorff retired from the tanning business he ran 
 a saw-mill for eight years across the river, 
 where the Sandusky Valley Mills were later, 
 then disposed of it, and took. a 200-acre farm 
 in Whetstone, where he remained until 1870, 
 when he came to Bucyrus, retiring from busi- 
 ness. 
 
 Other early tanners were David Holm, who 
 had a tannery in 1831, just north of Buffalo 
 Run which crossed Sandusky avenue, through 
 the present lot of C. Roehr. Across the street 
 the creek continued its way, bearing north 
 through the lot of Dr. Arthur McCrory. Here 
 Henry Minich had a tannery. The Wieland 
 tannery was on west Galen street, run by Wie- 
 land and Michael Walters. 
 
 In 1826 William Bratton made hats in a 
 little log cabin on the present site of the Quin- 
 by Block. 
 
 Lewis Stephenson built the second house in 
 the village on the west side of the Sandusky 
 the centre lot between Perry and Mary, where 
 he ran a hatter shop. 
 
 George P. Shultz was the first German in 
 Bucyrus and he built a house on Walnut street 
 north of Perry, where he kept a boarding 
 house for several years; he had an adopted 
 daughter who kept house for him until she 
 married Henry Miller, one of the early cabinet 
 makers of the village. 
 
 Dr. J. T. Hobbs came in 1824, and had his 
 office adjoining the hat shop of Lewis Stephen- 
 son. Dr. Joseph McComb came in 1822 and 
 had his office near Stephenson's hat shop, and 
 later purchased a lot on the east side of San- 
 dusky between Mary and Galen, the centre lot 
 in the block, and in April 1825 he married Re- 
 becca Kimble; later he neglected his practice 
 and about 1835 died at the Fitzsimmons tavern 
 in Whetstone township. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 377 
 
 Harry Smith in 1823 built a cabin on the 
 southwest corner of Perry and Walnut. Wil- 
 liam Reeves built a cabin between Perry and 
 Mary on the east side of Sandusky in 1823. 
 
 Harris Garton came in 1822, and two years 
 later married Louisa Norton, a daughter of 
 Samuel Norton, and about 1827, bought out 
 Albigence Bucklin, his wife's uncle, and later 
 moved to Chatfield township where he kept 
 a tavern and was postmaster; in 1853 he re- 
 moved to his farm in Tod township where he 
 died. 
 
 Adam Bair came in 1823, and a cousin Adam 
 Bair came in 1825 ; they were distinguished by 
 calling the first Adam the bad Bear, and the 
 second Adam the good Bear; these two built 
 the first brick school house on Middletown 
 street, two stories with a tower and contained 
 three rooms, built about 1850, and torn down 
 in 1868 to make room for the present central 
 building. 
 
 Ebenezer Dowd was the first tailor and pur- 
 chased the lot where the Schaber-Volk Block 
 now stands, and here he opened his shop. He 
 had a brother and sister who came with him, 
 as in August, 1825 Elihu Dowd married Polly 
 Ketchum, and in December of the same year 
 Eunice Dowd married James Dor land of Lib- 
 erty township. 
 
 Harry Burns came about 1823, a former 
 friend of the Nortons at Elk Hill, Pa., he de- 
 voted his time to hunting and after settlers 
 became so numerous that game became scarce 
 he removed to the west. 
 
 John Yost came with his wife, "Aunt Chloe" 
 and three sons, Abraham, Jacob and Jerry; he 
 bought the lot on the southwest corner of Galen 
 and Sandusky, when he arrived, for which he 
 paid $120, and it remained in the family of 
 the Yosts for over 80 years. On this corner 
 he lived in a log house, which had previously 
 been built by John Deardorff, and from his 
 doorway frequently shot the wild ducks that 
 took advantage of the swamp. on the northeast 
 comer opposite. 
 
 John Moderwell came in 1827, with his wife, 
 Aunt Betsy, and he purchased the lot on the 
 southwest corner of Perry and Walnut for 
 $40; he. was a cabinet maker and millwright; 
 he opened his first shop in a little log house 
 about where the Pickering Block now is on 
 
 North Sandusky; later moved to the south 
 side of the Rowse Block lot; here he continued 
 in business until 1833, when he moved to a 
 larger building where the Hotel Royal now 
 stands. He early took an active part in the 
 affairs of the village and county; was sheriff 
 of the county in 1833 and mayor of the village 
 in 1837. To him more than any other man 
 have historians been indebted for the most re- 
 liable information as to the early history of 
 Bucyrus. He was a resident of the county for 
 over fifty years, and then went to Genessee, Il- 
 linois, to make his home with his son, and died 
 there. 
 
 George Lauck came in 1826 and later pur- 
 chased the lot on the northwest corner of San- 
 dusky and Mary, where he ran a tavern until 
 he was elected county treasurer in 1837 and 
 again in 1839, later serving two more terms 
 as treasurer from 1843 to 1847. When he dis- 
 posed of his tavern he bought the original 
 Bucklin land of Harris Garton, and the old 
 brick at the crossing of the T. & O. C. and 
 Mansfield street was always known as the 
 Lauck homestead; he owned the land to Mid- 
 dletown street on the south and Whetstone 
 street on the east. 
 
 Hugh McCracken and Bailey came in 1825 
 and in April, 1826, Hugh McCracken became 
 the first sheriff, on the organization of the 
 county. 
 
 James and John McCracken, cousins of 
 Hugh, came about 1828 and had a carpenter 
 and wheelwright shop on the square the eastern 
 part of the Quinby Block. This they rented, 
 but they were compelled to move, as John 
 Smith took the site and built a frame build- 
 ing in which he ran a store; this frame was 
 afterward moved to the northeast corner of 
 Mansfield and Lane and used as a residence. 
 The McCrackens bought of Edward Billups the 
 lot where the Mader Block now stands, and 
 here they built another shop. James McCrack- 
 en had a residence on the same lot. With the 
 McCrackens was their sister, Mrs. Phillips, a 
 widow with two daughters, Samantha and 
 Susan, the latter still living, the widow of E. 
 R. Kearsley; the stage in those days from the 
 east only came as far as Mansfield, so James 
 McCracken had to take two days to go to 
 Mansfield with a horse and wagon and bring 
 
378 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 them to Bucyrus. On the same lot was a lit- 
 tle old unused log house; this was fitted up 
 and in it Sallie Davis taught school. 
 
 Samuel Myers came in 1826 and bought the 
 lot just south of the J. K. Myers corner for 
 which he paid $60. 
 
 Andrew Failor came in 1825, and bought the 
 present J. K. Myers lot on the southeast cor- 
 ner of Sandusky and Mary, for which he paid 
 $40. Here he started his first store, where he 
 remained a few years when he bought the lot 
 on the corner of East Mansfield street and the 
 Square, and built the frame which is still stand- 
 ing, and here moved his store which he ran for 
 many years with his brother and for a time 
 with George Lauck. Mr. Failor took an active 
 interest in the Ohio & Indiana road, devoted all 
 his time to the securing of the road, his busi- 
 ness being a secondary consideration. Bucyrus 
 secured the road, but Mr. Failor, who up to 
 1850 had been a prosperous merchant, had 
 very little capital left. He started branch 
 stores in many of the smaller towns in the days 
 of his prosperiy; he finally sold out and went 
 to Iowa. 
 
 Thomas Johnston came in 1826. He had 
 stopped with his brother-in-law, George Wal- 
 ton, in Dallas township, and was a skillful 
 cabinet maker, and after a short visit with the 
 Waltons, came on to Bucyrus with his family. 
 His wife, Martha Johnston, thus gives her 
 description of Bucyrus at that time, it was in 
 the spring of the year 1826: As they neared 
 the Sandusky river they saw a few log cabins 
 surrounded with water up to the very step's. 
 Wild ducks were running at large within the 
 corporation limits, having no fear of the few 
 settlers. They approached a cabin, looking 
 from its situation very much like a river boat 
 as it was surrounded with water. A large log 
 reached across the ditch in front of the build- 
 ing and over this they went into the store which 
 proved to be Bishop Merriman's. They were 
 from the east and made a humorous remark 
 about the limited stock of goods he carried, 
 and Merriman replied: " If you had to wheel 
 all this stock of goods in a wheelbarrow a dis- 
 tance of forty miles, as I did, and sleep on 
 them at night to keep them from being stolen, 
 you wouldn't think it was so limited." John- 
 ston was oiTered the use of an abandoned cabin 
 
 by Amos Clark on what is now South San- 
 dusky. Into this he moved with his family, 
 and from the cabin door could see the deer and 
 prairie chickens wandering where they pleased, 
 and frequently wolves sneaking through the 
 woods and tall grass. He found plenty of 
 wood for his cabinet work, but there was no 
 way he could dry it suitable for fine work and 
 he decided to go to Columbus, but his friends 
 and relatives induced him to remain by mak- 
 ing him a present of 80 acres in southern Whet- 
 stone. . 
 
 Babcock & Ranney kept store on the sec- 
 ond lot north of Galen street, now occupied by 
 the Vollmer restaurant; Ranney later built a 
 small brick on the northwest comer of Rens- 
 selaer and Sandusky, which was torn down 
 when the present brick was erected now oc- 
 cupied by the First National Bank. Musgrave 
 & Merriman occupied the present site of the 
 Johnston Pharmacy Company in 1835. 
 
 Daniel & Owen Williams had their store on 
 the corner where the Rowse Block now is. 
 
 William Reeves in 1823 built " log house 
 on the east side of Sanduskv avenue between 
 Mary and Perry. This is probably where Mer- 
 riman had his store in 1826, and that year he 
 sold the lot to Dr. Hobbs for $125, throwing 
 in the house. 
 
 The Rowse Corner wa's originally bought by 
 Henry Miller of Samuel Norton, and in 1828 
 he sold it to Jacob Culler of Mt. Vernon, who 
 erected a small frame on the corner, and a 
 store was started. This came into the hands of 
 J. W. Bener and later Nigh & Magers became 
 the proprietors. Josiah Scott bought the store 
 and placed his brother-in-law John Moderwell, 
 in charge. Both these gentlemen had married 
 sisters of James McCracken. While running 
 the store Mr. Moderwell lived a few doors 
 south. Scott sold the store to Daniel and Owen 
 Williams. 
 
 The first store started in the village was by 
 E. B. Merriman. Other early storekeepers 
 were French & Bowers, John Nimmons, Henry 
 St. John, Coleman & Kerns, Caldwell & Mc- 
 Farlan, D. S. Norton & Co., Martin Barr, 
 Jones & Butler, B. Meeker, O. & D. Williams, 
 James Quinby, Babcock & Ranney, Sljnith & 
 Moderwell, J. A. Gormley, Musgrave & Mer- 
 riman, John Beaver, Nye & Majors, Quinby & 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 379 
 
 Grant, Phillips & Anderson, Henry Converse, 
 Loring Converse and others. 
 
 Beside the brick yard on the school house 
 grounds, an early brick yard was the southwest 
 corner of Sandusky and Warren, about where 
 the Diller property now is, and just south of 
 this was another brick yard ; farther south on 
 Sandusky avenue and across the street, just 
 north of Holm's tannery, was another. 
 
 After the flour mill was removed to the 
 north end of Walnut street it was run for a 
 time by Elias Slagle, and when he left the 
 milling business he started a pottery near the 
 mill, at the north end of Walnut street on 
 the east side. This ran for years under various 
 proprietors, making only crocks and jugs and 
 the coarser articles of pottery, and was dis- 
 continued in the early 60s. Elias Slagle also 
 ran an oil mill, the seed being ground with a 
 large circular tramp-wheel. 
 
 In 1826 Ebenezer Dowd had a tailor shop 
 just south of the southwest corner of San- 
 dusky and Galen, the present site of Dobbins 
 & Geiger's meat market. 
 
 Jesse Quaintance built a mill on the .San- 
 dusky, near where the Buffalo run that passed 
 through Bucyrus empties into the Sandusky, 
 south of the extension of Rensselaer street. 
 
 The first tavern in Bucyrus was a two-story 
 log building on the Shonert corner, northwest 
 corner of Sandusky and Perry, and when Abel 
 Gary first located on this land he occupied the 
 cabin built by Samuel Norton until he erected 
 a larger structure for himself and family on 
 the same lot. There was no special road in 
 those days, but the old Indian trail going north 
 to the lake was followed by settlers ; it crossed 
 the river at Gary's residence. His being the 
 nearest house to the ford, travelers stopped 
 there. No one was turned away in those days, 
 and Gary's place became known as the tavern, 
 even if many of his guests did sleep on the 
 floor or in their wagons. He increased the 
 size of his log house and eventually it was a 
 tavern. In 1824 Robert Moore built a tavern 
 of logs across the street on the brow of the 
 hill, just north of the G. K. Zeigler residence. 
 This was a regular tavern, and in the oiifice he 
 had a bar the first in Bucyrus. The bar con- 
 sisted of a shelf on which he kept the liquor 
 and it was sold to customers at three cents a 
 
 glass. Prior to this liquor was sold at the 
 stores by the quart or gallon, the price being 
 about 50 cents a gallon. All stores kept a jug 
 at one end of the counter and beside it a tin 
 cup, and customers on entering if they wanted 
 a drink helped themselves. In April, 1825, 
 Hugh McCracken married Martha Moore, a 
 daughter of the landlord. Moore did a good 
 business, until he sold out to Ichabod Rogers. 
 Samuel Roth took charge of the Gary tavern, 
 which had been discontinued when Moore had 
 his tavern completed. He ran it only a short 
 time, but was running it when the first Fourth 
 of July dinner was given in Bucyrus. Ichabod 
 Rogers had bought out Moore and was running 
 the other tavern across the street, and Squire 
 Roth engaged Mrs. Rogers to prepare the 
 Fourth of July meal for a dozen couples, but 
 when the day came there were fifty to sit down 
 to the table. The first Fourth of July oration 
 was delivered by James Martin. He was an 
 Englishman, but his address was patriotic 
 enough to suit the early pioneers, for a year 
 or two later they elected him as the first auditor 
 of the county. 
 
 After Roth, Dr. Joseph Pearce took charge. 
 The doctor in January, 1825, had married 
 Mary Gary, and at the same time Charles 
 Merriman married Susan Gary, both licenses 
 being issued on Jan. 10. Licenses had to be 
 procured in Marion, and the early records of 
 that county show the young men about to be 
 married must have made the trip together 
 either on horseback or on foot, as in several 
 instances two licenses were isued for Crawford 
 county couples the same day. Dr. Pearce prac- 
 ticed medicine as well as running the hotel. A 
 part of the practice of all early physicians was 
 the pulling of teeth, but for this no charge was 
 made for many years. When Ichabod Rogers 
 bought out Robert Moore, he enlarged the 
 tavern; later built a large frame on the north- 
 east corner of Main and Perry, and it con- 
 tinued as a tavern for fourteen years, until 
 finally the business drifting south to the Square, 
 and later still farther south the tavern was 
 discontinued and used as a residence. 
 
 The Indians received an allowance annually 
 from the Government, which they spent oc- 
 casionally for absolute necessities, but mostly 
 for liquor. After pay day the money was soon 
 
380 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 gone, but in the cranberry season the cran- 
 berries were exchanged for necessaries and 
 hquor ; in the winter racoon and deer skins were 
 the articles of exchange. At one time Mr. 
 Rogers reports fifty bushels of cranberries in 
 the house and hundreds of 'coon and deer skins. 
 The Indian trade was profitable, as at many 
 places they could get no liquor, and naturally, 
 they paid any price asked for it where it could 
 be obtained. Two or three other places later 
 sold to the Indians, as shown by the court 
 records, where they were fined by the Court 
 $5 and costs "for selling liquor to the In- 
 dians," and after paying the fine their tavern 
 licenses were renewed for another year. But 
 Rogers' old tavern was the headquarters for 
 this class of business, and when some of the 
 prominent citizens of the village had occasion- 
 ally imbibed so freely that the taverns up town 
 declined to furnish them any more, they wan- 
 dered down to Rogers' tavern, where their 
 wants were supplied ad lib. The trip to 
 Rogers' tavern was not an easy matter prior to 
 1835 ; it was over very low ground, sometimes 
 under water, and the sidewalk was only a long 
 stretch of logs, massive fellows 18 inches 
 square, and somtimes so wet and slippery that 
 even a sober man had to walk with care. But 
 our pioneer ancestors were careful, for at 
 times when navigation was difficult, partly on 
 account of the sidewalk and partly on account 
 of their condition, they used to send for Jede- 
 diah Scot, the well digger of the village. He 
 responded promptly with his large wheelbar- 
 row and the over- jubilant distinguished citi- 
 zens, loaded up in a double sense and singing 
 their bacchanalian songs, were wheeled down 
 to Rogers', where they received a cordial wel- 
 come and all the liquor they wanted. There 
 were other citizens who played jokes in those 
 days even as is done today, and they 
 once put up a job on one of these distin- 
 guished citizens. The aforesaid citizen, who 
 had put in an afternoon at the tavern by the 
 riverside, sent for his private wheelbarrow, but 
 the sports had seen the charioteer and arranged 
 with him for a good joke, and on the way up, 
 just in front of where the Vollmer's cafe now 
 is, the accident happened. Jedediah stumbled 
 — quite accidentally, of course — the wheelbar- 
 row tipped and the citizen was instantly flound- 
 ering in two feet of water. He was not in a 
 
 condition to extricate himself ; Jedediah was in 
 almost a similar condition, and the jokers were 
 compelled to cross the muddy street and wade 
 into the swamp, and fish out the unfortunate, 
 and thus was rescued one who a few years 
 later became a pillar of the Methodist church. 
 
 The first wedding in Bucyrus, of which any 
 report is handed down, doubtless owes its pres- 
 ervation to the incidents connected with it. 
 In the early days notice of a marriage had to 
 be posted for fifteen days in some conspicuous 
 place prior to the marriage. In this wedding 
 the bride was Mary Inman, and it was she 
 herself who tacked the notice to a tree on what 
 is now North Sandusky avenue, and the report 
 further says that some one through jealousy 
 or from meanness tore the notice down, but 
 the day of the wedding came, and with it the 
 justice to perform the ceremony. The bride 
 was there, and Samuel Carl, the groom, and 
 while the Justice was also there, he had tarried 
 too long with boon companions before the hour 
 for the wedding, and could not read the cere- 
 mony. This difficulty was obviated by an ac- 
 commodating school teacher (either Moses Ar- 
 den or James Martin) who read the ceremony 
 to the Squire, and he with difficulty repeated 
 the words to the couple, who responded prop- 
 erly to the questions, and the ceremony was 
 over. 
 
 The people of today should remember that 
 customs change, and it was not so severely 
 criticized in the early days as it is at present 
 if citizens sometimes carried their convivial- 
 ity to excess. This was not alone in the vil- 
 lages but in the country. Attempts were some- 
 times made in early days to raise a cabin or 
 barn without the inevitable whiskey, but if it 
 became known that there would be no liquor, 
 the raising was generally a failure for the lack 
 of attenders. Squirrels were a nuisance to the 
 farmers on account of their depredations on 
 the planted grain, and squirrel hunts were or- 
 ganized, all in that region turning out. In one 
 of these reported on the line between Craw- 
 ford and Marion, it lasted two days and on the 
 afternoon of the second day the scalps were to 
 be counted and the prizes awarded, by a com- 
 mittee. The account states: "This commit- 
 tee, or some other committee, had provided a 
 full supply of whiskey, maple sugar and eggs ; 
 whereupon another committee was appointed to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 381 
 
 mix, mingle and commingle those three ingre- 
 dients into a fluid which they called egg-nog. 
 It was a time long to be remembered ; and it 
 has often been said that there was but one man 
 who left that place sober, and that was Daniel 
 Parcell, who had never been known to take 
 a dram." This second Daniel was a Marion 
 county man. 
 
 George Lauck came in 1826, and soon after 
 he started a tavern on the northwest corner of 
 Sandusky and Mary, which he ran until 
 elected county treasurer in 1837. 
 
 Samuel Picking started a tavern north of the 
 Square, which was called the Spread Eagle, in 
 front being a tall pole on top of which was 
 the signboard with an eagle painted with wings 
 outspread, and it was popularly dubbed " The 
 Buzzard." This was a resort of the prominent 
 local citizens, and with Lauck's were the 
 taverns of the village. Neither would sell 
 liquor to the Indians, running strictly law abid- 
 ing places, the Indian custom going to the 
 Rogers tavern. 
 
 In 1828 Abraham Hahn came to Bucyrus, 
 and he bought the lot on which the Deal House 
 now stands for $100; on this he erected a 
 brick hotel of two stories with a gable front. 
 The building was about 40 feet on the Square 
 and nearly the same frontage on Sandusky 
 avenue. It was completed in 1831, and the 
 expense of its building must have been beyond 
 his means as he adorned it with a mortgage 
 of $1,000, which he borrowed of Samuel Lud- 
 wig. The hotel was called the Pennsylvania 
 Coat of Arms, and on the corner was the post 
 on top of which was the sign on which was 
 painted the coat of arms of the State of Penn- 
 sylvania. A few years later Samuel Picking 
 took charge of the hotel and changed the name 
 to the National, paying $750 as rent from 1847 
 to 1850, $250 per year. When McCoy took 
 charge in 1854 it became the McCoy House; 
 two years later the Johnson House. Under 
 Mr. Johnson it was enlarged to three stories 
 and the addition built on the east. Since first 
 transformed from vacant ground into a build- 
 ing, this corner has always been a hotel. 
 
 The next proprietor was John J. Boeman, 
 who had a son-in-law who had always been 
 a great admirer of the ladies and parted both 
 his hair and his name in the middle. Mr. 
 
 Boeman was a very slow and methodical man, 
 very neat, and the last man in the world to 
 get excited over anything. He made his son- 
 in-law manager of the hotel, and he was as 
 successful a failure at that, as he had been at 
 everything else, so Mr. Boeman quietly sold the 
 hotel to John Sims without consulting his son- 
 in-law. When the young man learned of the 
 sale, he rushed across the street to his father- 
 in-law's bakery and inquired if it was correct 
 that he had sold the hotel. " Yes," said Mr. 
 Boeman, " Mr. Sims offered me a good price, 
 and I thought it best to let it go." The young 
 man reached back in his hip-pocket, and draw- 
 ing a revolver, heroically remarked, " Well, 
 I guess there's nothing left for me to do now 
 except blow out my brains." Mr. Boeman 
 looked calmly at his son-in-law, and slowly 
 drawled out : "All right. Pierce, but don't do it 
 here ; go out in the barn ; I don't want my clean 
 store all littered up," and he turned coolly 
 around and went on dusting ofif the shelves. 
 Mr. Sims ran the hotel for several years, call- 
 ing it the Sims House ; for a while it was Sapp's 
 Exchange, and finally it was bought by Horace 
 M. Deal and L. W. Hull, and became the Deal 
 House, a name it has since retained under sev- 
 eral proprietors. 
 
 About 1829 Abraham Holm built the brick 
 house still standing on the northeast corner of 
 Sandusky and Charles. The brick were made 
 in the Holm brick yard which was across the 
 street, the next lot to the Wingert property. 
 It was run as a hotel called the Oregon House ; 
 later passed into the hands of George Mader, 
 and although the words "Oregon House" were 
 seen painted on the building for half a century 
 it became known as Mader's tavern, and under 
 him was gradually discontinued as a hotel. 
 
 In 1822 Samuel Norton sold to Russell Peck 
 the lot on the northwest corner of Sandusky 
 and Warren for $25, and here the owner had 
 a little blacksmith shop, and also his residence. 
 In 1828 the property was bought by Zalmon 
 Rowse for $300. He lived there a short time 
 and then concluded to build. The log house 
 was removed to his land, the old Wm. Mon- 
 nett farm on the south side of the Galion road ; 
 later this house was hauled to town, placed on 
 the northeast corner of Rensselaer and East 
 street, where the logs were covered with 
 
 23 
 
382 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 weather-boarding, and it was used as a resi- 
 dence until it was torn down to make room for 
 the present home of Frank P. Donnenwirth. 
 
 On the west side of Sandusky, across War- 
 ren street, was a brick yard in which Mr. 
 Rowse had an interest and here the brick were 
 made for the new building. While it was build- 
 ing Miss Emily Rowse taught school in the 
 room which afterward became the hotel office. 
 In 1836, Mr. Rowse sold the building and the 
 lot north to Messrs. Stone & Osborn for $2,- 
 500, but in 1838 it came into the possession of 
 James Anderson, who named it the American 
 House. He was a strong abolitionist, and in 
 1839 when the Rev. Mr. Streeter, a Protestant 
 Methodist minister, was delivering an anti- 
 slavery address, a shower of stones came 
 through the window, and the rougher element 
 rushed in, broke up the meeting, and in the 
 confusion the minister made his escape. In 
 1842 Jacob Poundstone went into partnership 
 with Anderson, and under them the hotel 
 reached its highest prosperity. It was the stop- 
 ping place for the stages from Columbus to 
 Sandusky and also the line that ran from 
 Wooster to Bucyrus. Anderson built a small 
 shop just north of the hotel and in this he ran 
 a tin shop, and here one night about a dozen 
 of the Abolitionists gathered to listen to a 
 runaway slave give an account of his experi- 
 ences in his flight for freedom. The meeting 
 was unmolested. Anderson sold the hotel to 
 Thacker and went into the stock business, but 
 later met with reverses, and rebought the hotel 
 which he ran until he sold it to Jacob Pound- 
 stone and moved to Illinois. 
 
 In 1847 Poundstone leased the hotel to 
 Abram Seitz of Seneca county, and started a 
 boarding house in the building which stood 
 where the Journal-Telegraph block now stands, 
 which was so well patronized he used as an 
 annex the frame building still standing on the 
 north. He built a stable at the rear of the lot 
 and ran a livery. The Mexican War was then 
 in progress and the house was called the Vera 
 Cruz, after the battle of that name. Among 
 his boarders was a young law student in Josiah 
 Scott's office. He wrote a poem about the 
 house, one stanza reading: 
 
 He who in comfort here would snooze. 
 Within the walls of Vera Cruz, 
 
 Or dine at Jake's luxurious table, 
 Or have a horse in his new stable. 
 Must with the early dawn arise, 
 And sweep the cob-webs from his eyes. 
 
 The young law student was N. C. McFarlan; 
 and later he went to Kansas, and in spite of his 
 "poem" became Commissioner of the Land 
 Office of the United States. 
 
 Seitz sold the American to Henry Warner 
 of Marion, and as that gentleman had three 
 daughters it became a strong rival of the Vera 
 Cruz for parties and dances, and in 1853 Isaac 
 Russell leased it, and he was followed by 
 Major Diller, who ran it awhile and in 1855 
 Poundstone sold it to John Sims for $3,000 
 and in 1856 he sold the hotel part of the lot 
 to J. C. and H. Anthony for $1,000. When the 
 Anthonys took control they built an addition at 
 the rear in which they started a brewery, which 
 they ran until it was destroyed by fire June 17, 
 1857. Mr. Sims rebought the hotel in i860, 
 ran it for a year as the Sims House, and then 
 sold to L. D. Johnson and it became the John- 
 son House ; it went through varions hands, was 
 reduced to a tenement house, and in 1875 under 
 sheriff's sale it went to Benjamin Sears for 
 $3,002. It was refitted and William R. Shaw- 
 took possession and ran a hotel restoring the 
 old name of American. But its days as a hotel 
 were over; N. Steen and Thomas Jones tried 
 it, and under the latter it was discontinued. 
 Old age and ijrevious neglect had done its work 
 and it again became a tenement house not worth 
 repair, and on the night of April 13, 1883, the 
 casings of the stone arch over the front door 
 fell in. There was danger of the old building 
 falling, and Mr. Sears ordered it torn down, 
 and at that time its principal tenant was Sing 
 Lee with a Chinese laundry. So passed away 
 the last of the old stage taverns in Bucyrus, 
 which in its palmy days had its old fashioned 
 sign post on top of which its creaking sign 
 swayed slowly in the breeze ; its covered porch 
 in front, where in chairs, tilted back, idly dis- 
 cussing the politics of the Nation, the village 
 loungers would sit for hours, chewing tobacco 
 and drowsily passing away the long summer 
 days, with nothing in sight but the deserted 
 and dusty road, with its grass-grown borders 
 and sidewalks made of hewn logs; the life- 
 lessness of the street only disturbed by the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 383 
 
 cackling of the busy bustling hens or the hogs 
 wandering lazily to their favorite spot where 
 they could grunt their complaints of the heat 
 in some comfortable mud hole, of which there 
 was no lack ; and the cows quietly chewing the 
 cud under the shade of some neighboring tree. 
 And when the cool of evening came, and the 
 tavern loungers were brightened up by the 
 dropping in of the Squire and the school mas- 
 ter and the prominent men of the village, they 
 could see far down the road a cloud of dust, 
 and heads looked out from doors and windows 
 along the street; the landlord appears, as the 
 stage dashes up the street at topmost speed, and 
 the skillful driver throws the horses back on 
 their haunches, and stops the coach immedi- 
 ately in front of the hotel entrance to the ad- 
 miration of all. If the old American House 
 could have left its written history behind, what 
 a tale it could tell of the political conclaves 
 within its walls, of anxious citizens waiting 
 for the latest news of an important election, 
 when day succeeded day and week followed 
 week, before down the silent street comes a 
 dashing rider, and as his horse goes by at full 
 gallop, shouting the news that "Harrison is 
 elected," and continues on in his wild race an- 
 nouncing the result of a presidential election. 
 
 Three-score years have worked wonders in 
 the town. The lot that Russell Peck once 
 bought for $25 is worth today more than ten 
 times over what Samuel Norton paid for the 
 entire city. Grass-grown graves in many states 
 now cover nearly all of those who knew the 
 house in its youth and in its pride, and when it 
 was torn down its tenant was a native of that 
 race to whom a hundred years are as nothing; 
 a race of which probably neither the builder 
 of the block nor any inhabitant of the village 
 had ever seen one of its members, and who.se 
 country with its four hundred millions of 
 people was to them a fabled land; 
 
 John Moderwell built for himself a shop 
 and residence on the west side of the Square 
 in 1833, the Hotel Royal corner, which he sold 
 to Benjamin Meeker. In 1835 it was bought 
 by Peter Miller and his son William W. Miller 
 and they ran a general store and a hotel called 
 the Western House which was burned down in 
 1848. Later it was rebuilt by Jonathan Kiss- 
 inger, and Frederick Feiring ran a hotel there 
 called the Western House; a large two story 
 
 porch occupied the front ; the hotel passed into 
 several hands and under the Alcorns became 
 the Alcorn House; finally it became the prop- 
 erty of John Stoll, who built the present brick 
 addition and the name was changed to the 
 Stoll House and later to the Hotel Royal. In 
 1840 William W. Miller dug the sulphur pump, 
 in front of the building. 
 
 The pike road was completed about 1834, 
 but stage coaches had been running for several 
 years previous between Columbus and San- 
 dusky. Samuel Norton had built a large frame 
 residence on West Perry street and Kilbourne 
 suggested that he go into the hotel business. 
 So Mr. Norton built a two story brick in 1834, 
 the building still standing, and now a part of 
 the Main street mills. This was opened with 
 a house-warming. Col. Kilbourne being pres- 
 ent to assist his old friend at the opening. 
 It was called the Union Hotel. Here Franklin 
 Adams stopped when he first came to the town 
 in 1837; here also Gen. William Henry Har- 
 rison stopped when he spent the night when 
 he was a candidate for President in 1 840 ; here 
 also was Col Kilbourne's headquarters when 
 he was in the city. When it was first started 
 it was the headquarters for the Columbus and 
 Sandusky Stage line, but they were later taken 
 to the American. The latter hotel was the 
 Whig headquarters while the National Hotel 
 on the Square was the Democratic headquar- 
 ters. After a few years Mr. Norton tired of 
 the hotel business and discontinued it. About 
 1838 one of his guests one night was Nicholas 
 Longworth, the then wealthy Cincinnati mer- 
 chant who was going through northern Ohio 
 on a collecting tour. He and Mr. Norton were 
 standing on the front steps of the hotel, where 
 on the left could be seen the pretty river (for 
 it was pretty in those days), and on the right 
 the little street, and Mr. Longworth compli- 
 mentarily said, "What a pretty site for a town." 
 "Yes," said Mr. Norton, and he looked up the 
 street with a sigh, and said slowly, "Yes, but 
 it spoiled a good farm." 
 
 In the early days many of the pioneers 
 brewed a mild beer which they kept for their 
 own use. Besides this, cider was barreled an- 
 nually for winter use. The first establishment 
 for the manufacture of liquor in Bucyrus was 
 a small distillery, started by McMichael and 
 Rogers on the land of the former, where the 
 Electric Light Works are now located. This 
 
384 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 only ran a year or two when it was discon- 
 tinued. 
 
 About 1850 a brewery was started on the 
 Annapolis rdad by John Marcks, just west of 
 where Lane street enters that road. Henry 
 Anthony also had a small brewery at the rear 
 of his hotel, the American, on the northwest 
 corner of Sandusky and Warren. About 3 
 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 28, 1857, 
 the brewery on the Annapolis road, owned by 
 John Marcks, caught fire, and all efforts to save 
 it were useless. The building and contents 
 were consumed. The fire started from a defect 
 in the furnace. A part of the loss was $2,000 
 in grain. The loss to the owner was too heavy, 
 and the demand for beer too light in those 
 days to make it profitable to rebuild. It was a 
 bad year for breweries for on the night of 
 Wednesday evening, June 24 of the same 
 year, the Anthony brewery at the rear of the 
 American House caught fire, and the build- 
 ing was destroyed with a loss of $1,500. This 
 brewery was owned by the Anthony Brothers. 
 After the fire one of the brothers saw no profit 
 in the business, and declined to invest further 
 in breweries. But Henry Anthony determined 
 to continue, and bought of the Norton heirs the 
 lot where the present brewery now stands. 
 Here he erected a small building. He under- 
 stood the brewing business, but he lacked cap- 
 ital. He had with him as clerk at the Amer- 
 ican, a young man, George Donnenwirth, who 
 had come from New Washington and was his 
 chief assistant at the hotel and brewery. An- 
 thony suggested they go into partnership, and 
 the offer was accepted, Anthony to put in his 
 experience and Donnenwirth the money, which 
 consisted of $180 which he had saved. The 
 two young men went to work, sleeping at the 
 brewery and putting in about 20 hours a day 
 to make experience and $180 run a brewery. 
 Mr. Anthony made the beer and Mr. Donnen- 
 wirth sold it, delivered it, and made the col- 
 lections, was the purchasing agent, and paid 
 the bills, sometimes in cash but when possible 
 with notes and promises. 
 
 With their limited capital, bills could not be 
 met, on the small output, and it was necessary 
 to increase the plant or close down. In this 
 tmergency Anthonv sold his half interest to 
 George Donnenwirth, the father of his part- 
 ner, for $500, and the firm became George 
 
 Donnenwirth & Son. One fault with Anthony 
 was his extravagance, and making no provision 
 for the future, buying freely on time. The new 
 firm were careful and provident, and kept 
 within their means, extending the plant as their 
 increased business justified it, and they soon 
 had it on a paying basis. In 1882 the senior 
 partner sold out to his son Frank P. Donnen- 
 wirth and the plant became G. Donnenwirtth & 
 Brother. The new partner had had three years' 
 experience in a St. Louis brewery, and took 
 entire charge of the brewing. The firm con- 
 tinued to prosper and in 1894 they sold out to 
 Frank Dick. The new proprietor further in- 
 creased the plant, added an ice plant, and in 
 1906 sold to the Dostal Brothers for $120,000. 
 
 The two-story brick, very low, still stands as 
 originally built by the George Donnenwirth & 
 Son, covered with vines from top to bottom, 
 while around it and added to it are many large 
 buildings and offices, made necessary by the 
 increasing business each year. 
 
 About 1830 Cornelius Gilmore built the brick 
 on the northeast comer of Sandusky and War- 
 ren, which he used as a residence, and for years 
 he had the handsomest home in the village. 
 Later this building was used by Thomas Gilles- 
 pie who was the registrar of the land office. 
 Mr. Gillespie lived at the northwest corner of 
 Sandusky and Charles in a two story frame 
 built by him ; he was the father of Mrs. Willis 
 Merriman, and when the house was built the 
 Jones and the Yost brothers assisted at the 
 raising. Gillespie bought the land of Abra- 
 ham Myers, the father of Gen. Samuel Myers, 
 who lived in a small frame which he had 
 erected on the lot. The little brick, now occu- 
 pied by the Miller bakery, was built by Mrs. 
 Martha Hetich in 1838. She was the mother 
 of Charles and Paul I. Hetich, and Mrs. 
 George Sweney. 
 
 Thomas Shawke built the brick, the old 
 Trimble house, in 1838, on the southeast cor- 
 ner of Mansfield and Walnut, where the VoU- 
 rath Opera House now stands. He had his 
 blacksmith shop on the same lot ; later the shop 
 was moved across the street, a few doors east 
 of East alley, and in this shop did the black- 
 smithing for the Ohio and Indiana road. 
 When Mr. Shawke built his brick in 1838, 
 Hugh McCracken lived on the corner where 
 the Library now is and there were but three 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 385 
 
 buildings east of him on Manslield street; the 
 Methodist church nearly opposite; George 
 Lauck's residence near where the T. & O. C. 
 crosses the street, and Samuel Ludwig's resi- 
 dence east of Whetstone street. South of him 
 on Walnut street were two houses, one the 
 northeast corner of Charles street, occupied 
 by Thomas Hagerman, and the other the house 
 and blacksmith shop of John Rexroth, near 
 Middletown street, where Mrs. L. C. Doll now 
 lives. The old Merriman corner, now owned 
 by the Eagles, was built by R. T. Johnston in 
 1840 for Dr. Willis Merriman. The brick 
 now occupied by Berk & Hales was built as a 
 residence by J. P. Bowman in the early '46s. 
 It was two stories and remained as the Bow- 
 man residence for many years when it became 
 the property of the First National Bank and 
 was converted into business rooms, and re- 
 cently came into the possession of P. J. Car- 
 roll, who remodeled it, and built the third 
 story. 
 
 The south end of the Deal House was orig- 
 inally a two story brick built about 1850 by 
 Jerry Yost and used as a harness shop. Under 
 John Sims it became a part of the Deal House 
 and was made three stories. The present 
 Rowse Block was built in 1858. Ten years 
 previous a severe fire had swept away the 
 buildings in this section, and the lot had re- 
 mained vacant until the present building was 
 erected. Not only were the brick made in 
 Bucyrus but the iron pillars and cornices were 
 made at the Kelly & Widgeon foundry, now 
 the American Clay Company. 
 
 The five eastern rooms of the Quinby Block 
 were built in 1858 by George Quinby and the 
 three western rooms in 1859, and at the time 
 of its completion was one of the finest busi- 
 ness blocks in northern Ohio. The iron cor- 
 nices and pillars were made at the Wingert 
 foundry which was at the northeast corner of 
 Poplar and Charles streets. When the block 
 was completed its first occupants were. No. i, 
 the Exchange Bank; No. 2, Hall & Juilliard, 
 dry goods; No. 3, Graham & Trauger, dry 
 goods; No. 4, Fulton & Qark, drugs; No. 5, 
 Zwisler & Howbert, dry goods; No. 6, Jones 
 & Co., stoves and tinware; No. 7, Cuyken- 
 dall & Weber, groceries ; No. 8, Potter & Craig, 
 hardware. No. i was the west room, and 
 No. 8 the east. 
 
 The little three-story brick north of the Bu- 
 cyrus City Bank was built by C. D. Ward 
 about 1848; in the low third story was the en- 
 tertainment hall, where traveling troops gave 
 entertainment to not over-critical citizens. 
 The other hall was on the southwest corner of 
 the Square, called the McCoy Hall; here the 
 entrance was on the outside stairway, the same 
 as it is today, and here as many as a hundred 
 people could be accommodated. When the 
 Rowse Block was completed the entire third 
 story was Concert Hall, where all the prin- 
 cipal entertainments were held until the build- 
 ing of the Vollrath Opera House, when Rowse 
 Hall was given over to secret societies. In the 
 centre of the Quinby Block was a large hall 
 which was used for festivals -and meeting pur- 
 poses, religious, social and political. 
 
 Sometime in the '30s the first public library 
 was started in Bucyrus. The library was in 
 the tailor shop of Peter Worst, which was in a 
 little frame where the Schaber Block now 
 stands. This library was a joint stock insti- 
 tution and was known as the Washington 
 Library. It was started by books donated by 
 the members. On Tuesday evening, Nov. 2, 
 1869, a meeting was held at the Lutheran 
 Church and a Y. M. C. A. organized, with 
 William M. Reid as president. They met in 
 the Birk frame, southeast corner of Sandusky 
 and Rensselaer, until they secured permanent 
 headquarters in the west room, second floor 
 of the Quinby Block, now occupied by Leu- 
 thold, McCarren and Leuthold law office. A 
 library was started and eventually reached a 
 thousand volumes, mostly donated by the mem- 
 bers. Daily papers and magazines were kept, 
 and such mild games as chess, checkers, and 
 dominoes allowed. Later the reading room 
 and library were moved to the second story of 
 the Birk Block and after three years was dis- 
 banded. 
 
 A permanent Y. M. C. A. was established 
 when Mrs. E. R. Kearsley gave the building 
 which had been known as the Deal residence. 
 Subscriptions were liberally donated, and the 
 building fitted up. In 1810, $17,000 was raised 
 by the citizens and an addition made extending 
 to the alley; the building now has a fine gym- 
 nasium, sleeping and bath rooms, and is on a 
 scale equal to many larger cities. 
 
 The ladies of Bucyrus started a movement 
 
386 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 for a public library, and several thousand dol- 
 lars were secured by them. The matter Avas 
 brought to Mr. Carnegie's attention and he 
 donated $15,000 for the building. The city do- 
 nated the lot, and the present structure was" 
 erected. 
 
 As the village grew the necessity of better 
 fire protection was apparent. In case of fire 
 people all responded, every available bucket 
 was secured and a line formed to the nearest 
 well where pumpers filled the buckets and they 
 were passed along the line and thrown on the 
 fire, another line returning the empty buckets 
 to the well. The citizens deemed it best that 
 there should be an organized company, so they 
 held a meeting at which J. H. Hutcinson pre- 
 sided, with Jacob Scroggs as secretary, and 
 they selected J. E. Jewett, an attorney, as cap- 
 tain of the company; so on Aug. 11, 1848, the 
 first fire department in Bucyrus was organized. 
 The people breathed easier, and as for the 
 new company they were pining for a fire. It 
 came on the night of October 26, 1848, when 
 the cabinet shop of Howenstein & Sheckler 
 at the southeast corner of Sandusky and Galen 
 was discovered to be in flames. The people 
 turned out, and under the leadership of Capt. 
 Jewett the people were shown what an organ- 
 ized company could do. Unfortunately be- 
 fore the fire was extinguished several other 
 buildings were destroyed. More would prob- 
 ably have gone but there were no others within 
 reach. However, the People's Forum, the only 
 paper then in the village, demonstrated its loy- 
 alty to the town, and to the new fire company, 
 by giving an account of the fire, and closing 
 with the highly complimentary remark : "Much 
 credit is due the firemen and other citizens for 
 their exertions to stop the progress of the 
 flames." This read very nicely, but the citizens 
 privately must have been aware that some bet- 
 ter protection than "exertions" was needed, 
 so a hand engine was bought, which was called 
 "Rescue No. i." In case of a fire, lines where 
 still formed and the water poured into the lit- 
 tle engine and then a crank was turned and the 
 water forced through the hose on the fire. This 
 was much better protection, and the little en- 
 gine gave fairly good service, but something 
 better was needed and in March, 1858, the 
 town council purchased the Water Cloud 
 for $1,282.50, and built a large cistern on the 
 
 Square, and several others in the most impor- 
 tant parts of the town. The officers of the 
 ^Vater Cloud Company were F. W. Butterfield, 
 foreman; G. M. Lindsay, assistant foreman; 
 M. Buchman, secretary, and J. G. Birk, treas- 
 urer. The Water Cloud had long handles on 
 each side; in case of fire the engine was sta- 
 tioned at one of the cisterns ; a long heavy hose 
 extended from the rear of the engine into the 
 water ; the hose was attached in front, and 
 \\ith a dozen strong men pumping on the 
 handlea on each side the water could be 
 thrown to the top of the largest buildings. 
 On July 4, i860, the engine threw water a 
 distance of 199^^ feet. With the addition 
 of this machine the Rescue No. i was turned 
 over to the young men, with Gains C. Worst as 
 the foreman; it was rechristened the "Let 'er 
 Rip," as once filled with water, you let 'er rip. 
 A hose cart and. hook and ladder were added 
 and it now became necessary to have a chief 
 of the fire department, and E. R. Kearsley was 
 the first man selected for that position. 
 
 The Buckeye Hook and Ladder company 
 was organized with A. E. Walker as fore- 
 man. At first the Rescue No. i was kept in a 
 small building, at the rear of the Hotel 
 Royal lot. In 1854 the County Commissioners 
 bought the rear lot of the present court house 
 yard, and in connection with the city, built a 
 house for the fire department on this lot. In 
 1859 the City Council decided to build an en- 
 gine house, and the present city building on 
 East Rensselaer street was erected, and dedi- 
 cated on April 30, i860. On the evening of 
 the dedication. Water Cloud No. 2 and Ma- 
 zeppa Hose No. i turned out in uniform with 
 torches, 71 strong, and paraded the principal 
 streets of the village, and finally drew up at 
 the engine house, where S. R. Harris presided, 
 and Jacob Scroggs as mayor presented the new 
 company the keys of the city, the response be- 
 ing made by F. W. Butterfield, the foreman. 
 Every citizen who could talk made a speech, 
 but the success of the evening was an original 
 song, written and sung by Matthias Buchman, 
 the secretary of the company ; one of the verses 
 was as follows : 
 
 Please gif me your attention, 
 
 I'll sing a leedle song; 
 It ees about our engine. 
 
 And vont be very long. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 387 
 
 Vait for the engine, 
 
 The Vassar Cloud our engine; 
 
 Vait for the engine 
 
 Vich throws the vasser high. 
 
 There were six other verses, and the song 
 was the success of the evening, which was bad, 
 as Mr. Buchman later wrote other poems on 
 the Water Cloud, and sang them. 
 
 A fireman's festival was also held at the 
 Concert Hall and everybody was present and 
 everybody made more speeches, and Miss Mary 
 Ellen Moderwell on behalf of the ladies pre- 
 sented the company with a handsome flag, and 
 the festival netted $ioo for the Water Cloud. 
 
 In 1869 the present steam fire engine was 
 purchased for $5,100 and hose and other para- 
 phernalia secured amounting to $1,000 more. 
 Prior to the purchase of the steamer there was 
 a craze swept over the country for firemen's 
 tournaments, and the city was behind the times 
 that failed to give a tournament. Bucyrus 
 gave several and vast crowds assembled to wit- 
 ness the competitions. Later these contests 
 centered on the hook and ladder races, and 
 the Buckeyes of Bucyrus gained a state-wide 
 reputation. In 1871 they tied their sporting 
 truck to a wagon and drove across the coun- 
 try to Findlay where the Northwestern Ohio 
 Volunteer Firemen's Association held the an- 
 nual meeting. The Buckeyes took first prize 
 and the news was flashed home by wire and 
 when the company returned a number of the 
 factories and business houses were closed, and 
 fully 500 people met the company at the edge 
 of the town and escorted them to the public 
 square where congratulatory speeches were 
 made by Gen. Finley and others. In the years 
 that followed the Buckeyes took part in twenty- 
 two tournaments winning thirteen first prizes, 
 four seconds and one third, besides three 
 sweepstakes, their total winnings amounting 
 to $2,480 in cash besides appropriate prizes. 
 The race consisted of a run of 40 rods and 
 placing a man on the top of a thirty-foot lad- 
 der. Their best time was at Crestline in 1883 
 when they did it in 34J4 seconds, a record 
 which was never beaten. About this time the 
 volunteer fire department was abandoned and 
 a paid department took its place. For a time 
 this was under the control of Frank Haman, 
 but later the city again took charge of it and 
 the present quarters erected on West Mans- 
 
 field street, and singularly enough the depart- 
 ment now occupies the site to which Christian 
 Howenstein moved with his cabinet shop, after 
 the fire which caused the purchase of the first 
 fire engine by the village. 
 
 When the water works were built, in 1883, 
 nearly ten miles of pipe were laid and the en- 
 gine was only used as a reserve, hydrants hav- 
 ing been erected all over the city, to which the 
 hose is attached in case of fire, and now sev- 
 eral streams can be brought into play at the 
 same time on any fire in the central part of the 
 city. The department has a fire alarm system 
 with seventeen signal boxes. There have been 
 one or two humorous incidents in connection 
 with the fire department, but with a serious 
 ending. 
 
 One very severe winter the thermometer had 
 registered below zero for several days and 
 some expressed a fear that the fire hydrants 
 might be frozen up. One of the men in au- 
 thority, who knew little about the laws of 
 natural philosophy, but did not forget the 
 duties devolving upon him, took a wrench, and 
 with the thermometer below zero faithfully 
 went over the city and opened the hydrants 
 to see if the water was running, and to his 
 great delight found the water came out in a 
 copious stream, not one being frozen up; un- 
 fortunately that night a severe fire broke out, 
 hose was attached to hydrant after hydrant in 
 the neighborhood and all were frozen up. The 
 engine was hurried to the scene and finally 
 succeeded in extinguishing the fire. 
 
 At another time the city advertised for sev- 
 eral hundred feet of new hose. There were a 
 number of samples sent, the Council finally 
 made their selection and took the hose to the 
 Frey-Shekler shops where they were attached 
 to the engine and pressure applied. One sec- 
 tion burst, when the pressure reached 420 
 pounds. The council promptly wired the firm : 
 "Hose refused ; one section busted at 420 
 pounds pressure. What shall we do with the 
 hose ?" The answer came back promptly : 
 "Keep it; we only guaranteed 350 pounds." 
 
 During the fall of 1859 a company was 
 formed to organize a gas company, with Hor- 
 ace Rowse, president, S. R. Harris, secretary, 
 and George Quinby, treasurer. The works 
 were built in i860, by B. B. McDanald on 
 their present site on North Sandusky avenue. 
 
388 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and the streets were lighted with gas for the 
 first time on Tuesday evening, Oct. 23, i860. 
 The buildings were 32 by 68 feet in size, slate- 
 roofed. The gasometer contained 9,000 cubic 
 feet. There were two benches of retorts capa- 
 ble of generating 20,000 cubic feet of gas per 
 day, with extra benches to provide against 
 accident. The company started with 100 metres. 
 When electricity came into use for street light- 
 ing, a company was organized here, in connec- 
 tion with the gas works, and the city was lit 
 by electricity there being today a light on every 
 other corner. The discovery of natural gas 
 practically put an end to the gas works, and the 
 entire plant is now known as the Electric Light 
 works, the Logan Natural Gas Company fur- 
 nishing the illumination for the residences, al- 
 though very many houses and nearly all busi- 
 ness stores have introduced electricity. 
 
 In October, 1819, Samuel Norton and his 
 party, reached Bucyrus, and it is reported the 
 first religious services to be held were as early 
 as 1 82 1, when a Rev. Mr. Bacon made occa- 
 sional visits, preaching to the settlers in the 
 cabins of Mr. Norton and others. It is known 
 that in the fall of 1821, the Rev. Jacob 
 Hooper was preaching occasionally in Bucyrus, 
 and he stated that he delivered the first sermon 
 ever preached in the village, and that the ser- 
 vices were held under a large oak tree that ■ 
 stood where the Pennsylvania station now 
 stands. He was appointed by the Methodist 
 Conference to take charge of the Bucyrus sta- 
 tion, which was attached to the Scioto circuit. 
 His circuit was seven hundred miles, and he 
 managed to get around about once in eight 
 weeks. Of course other missionaries came 
 around, and the people being notified turned out 
 to the grove, or to a cabin, or any large build- 
 ing, and it is probable there were services as 
 often as every two weeks. After 1826, the little 
 brick schoolhouse was used by all denomina- 
 tions, and after 1832, the court house was at 
 the disposal of the people. About 1830 a 
 large revival occurred under the Methodists, 
 the services being held in the unfinished hotel 
 under process of erection by Abraham Hahn. 
 In summer camp meetings were held, the large 
 barn of Martin Shaflfner being used, situated 
 on what is now the new Fair Ground. In 1822, 
 Rev. Thomas McCleary had charge of this cir- 
 cuit and the increasing population reduced the - 
 
 circuit in size, so the only territory the new 
 minister had to cover was Delaware to Mans- 
 field, to Plymouth, to Bucyrus, to Marion, then 
 back to Delaware, where if he had a family he 
 could make them a ten minutes' visit and start 
 on his round again. 
 
 His route was mostly through an unbroken 
 forest, following Indian trails, with an oc- 
 casional crude road made by the settlers for 
 their convenience. He traveled on horseback, 
 and forded all streams, as there were practic- 
 ally no bridges. Each night found him a 
 weldbme guest at some cabin, and the neigh- 
 bors were hurriedly summoned, and when a 
 few were gathered together, services were held 
 so the early minister had no idle time on his 
 hands, and plenty of exercise. Among the 
 earliest ministers of whom any account is given 
 was a Presbyterian named Matthews. A pi- 
 oneer states that "he stopped at Daniel Coop- 
 er's to stay all night, and proposed to preach to 
 the people of that place that night if they could 
 get together. Mr. Cooper immediately sent 
 out word and by early candle-light had gath- 
 ered in some fifteen or twenty men, women and 
 children to hear the glad tidings from the man 
 of God, as he was the first of the kind that had 
 ever been through on that errand. The old 
 minister made an appointment for four weeks 
 later, and agreed to preach once a month dur- 
 ing the year for $15. Even this small pittance 
 he took out in dressed deer skins, which he 
 said his good lady could use to 'face the boys' 
 pantaloons,' as seems to have been a common 
 custom in those days in the backwoods." 
 
 Goldsmith very beautifully describes in his 
 deserted village the country clergyman and his 
 home: 
 
 Near yonder copse where once the garden smiled, 
 And still where many a garden flower grows wild, 
 There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose. 
 The village preacher's modest mansion rose. 
 A man he was to all the country dear, 
 And passing rich with forty pounds a year. 
 
 The faithful Matthews had four stations, 
 in such an unsettled wild region that he could 
 only visit them once a month,< and for this he 
 received, if they paid, $60 a year, one-fifth 
 the amount of his English brother, and no 
 poetry to beautifully record his zeal and de- 
 votion to the Master's work. 
 
 In those days, the hymns were found in the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 391 
 
 old "Missouri Harmony," and among them the 
 favorites were "Rock of Ages," "God Moves 
 in a Mysterious Way," "Jesus I My Cross 
 Have Taken," "Come Thou Fount of Every 
 Blessing," "On Jordan's Stormy Banks I 
 Stand," "Jesus My All to Heaven Has Gone." 
 Unfortunately at that time "The Lord Will 
 Provide," had not been written. It would have 
 been most appropriate. 
 
 People today little appreciate the hardships 
 and privations, the faithfulness and self-sacri- 
 fice of these servants of God who dared all and 
 suffered all that a grtat nation might be kept 
 true to the Christian faith. 
 
 Revs. John O. and William Blowers were 
 two early ministers in the Methodist church, 
 they were brothers, the former coming to the 
 county in 1821, and the latter a year later, and 
 were soon licensed to preach, being the first 
 persons in the county licensed. 
 
 Another early preacher was John Davis; 
 he was a hatter, and his hat shop was first on 
 the J. K. Myers corner, and in 1833 he re- 
 moved to the present Shonert lot. He was of 
 the United Brethren persuasion, and once he 
 was delivering a sermon at the court house, 
 and was vividly picturing the punishment that 
 was certain to be meted out to the wicked. 
 When he reached his peroration he drew him- 
 self up, and solemnly thundered forth : "Yes, 
 sinners, you must all repent or you will all go 
 to hell just as sure as I made that hat" 
 (pointing to his well-worn beaver) "and I have 
 plenty more at my shop which I will sell at two 
 dollars apiece." 
 
 In 1 83 1 Samuel Norton sold to the trustees 
 of the M. E. Church for $125', lot No. 96, 
 Here a small brick church was erected, which 
 was used by them until 1851, when on the same 
 site the present building, was erected, now oc- 
 cupied by the News-Forum. This church was 
 dedicated on Oct. 29, 1851, Elder Poe, a son 
 of the great Indian fighter, preaching the dedi- 
 catory sermon; in the first building a Sunday 
 School was started in 1834. In 1822 Bucyrus 
 belonged to the Delaware Circuit, and in 1832 
 to the Marion Circuit, but in 1840 it became a 
 circuit of its own, and the parsonage was built 
 in 1 84 1. The residence adjoined the church a 
 story and a half brick on the lot now occupied 
 by tlie post office, this and the church site being 
 the original lot 96. The church of 185 1 was 
 
 used until the present handsome church was 
 dedicated in 1890, the first year of its use 
 being marked by the holding of the Methodist 
 conference within its walls. 
 
 Prior to 1825 the Presbyterians held ser- 
 vices at the homes of the various members of 
 that denomination. Rev. William Matthews 
 frequently addressing them. A congregation 
 was formed, but the services continued to be 
 held in the grove where now stands the Penn- 
 sylvania station ; in the little brick schoolhouse, 
 where the Park House now stands, and later 
 in the court house. Among the ministers, 
 were Rev. Shab Jenks, and Rev. Robert Lee, 
 the father of Robert Lee, probate judge of the 
 county half a century later. The elder Lee is 
 reported as being the first stated minister as- 
 signed to Bucyrus. Services were irregular, 
 and the Presbyterians increasing a congrega- 
 tion was again organized in 1833 and the Co- 
 lumbus Presbytery enrolled Bucyrus on its list 
 of established churches, the request having been 
 made by thirty-three petitioners. Their first 
 building was a little frame erected in 1839, 
 on the present site of the church, lot No. 170, 
 which was deeded to the trustees by Samuel 
 Norton in 1843, this lot and the court house 
 being the only lots in Bucyrus, transferred 
 from the first owner, and never used for any 
 other purpose than that for which it was do- 
 nated or purchased. In the first church Rev. 
 Wm. Hutchinson was pastor from 1839 to 
 1848. In i860 a new church of brick was 
 built at a cost of $8,000 to $10,000. and April 
 7, 1907, this gave way to the present hand- 
 some structure. The Presbyterians started a 
 Sunday School in 1835, and nearly half a cen- 
 tury ago William M. Reid became its superin- 
 tendent filling the position for a quarter of a 
 century. Among the ministers was John H. 
 Sherrard, who occupied the pulpit from 1867 
 to 1878. He was a grandson of John Sher- 
 rard, who was on the ill-fated expedition of 
 Col. Crawford through this county in 1782. 
 
 In 1829, the Evangelical Lutherans met at 
 the little brick schoolhouse and organized a 
 congregation with the Rev. David Shuh as 
 pastor. They, too, had previously held ser- 
 vices occasionally at the houses of those of that 
 faith and in other places in the village as op- 
 portunity offered. For two years he acted as 
 their pastor, and was succeeded by Rev. John 
 
392 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Stough, and he retired on account of his age 
 and was succeeded by the Rev. F. I. Ruth of 
 Ashland, who for three years filled the pulpit 
 while his home was in that village, but in 1835 
 he removed to Bucyrus. The congregation 
 continued to hold services in the schoolhouse 
 and later in the court house, until in 1835 they 
 bought the lot on W'alnut and Mansfield streets, 
 kno«n as the Adams residence, and now the 
 property of Aliss Lizzie Ostermeier. Abra- 
 ham Alyers had purchased the lot in 1830 of 
 Samuel Norton for $275. The corner stone 
 was laid with appropriate ceremonies on Aug. 
 -'o, 1836, but it was not completed until more 
 than a year later. Both the German and Eng- 
 lish Lutherans occupied the church, being one 
 congregation, and services being held in both 
 languages. In 1842 the German members sold 
 their interest in the church to their English 
 brethren, but both continued to occupy the 
 building until 1857, when the German portion 
 bought the lot on Poplar street, and erected a 
 church of their ov^rn, which is still standing, 
 and best known as the armory. It was dedi- 
 cated Sunday, June 20, 1858. For over forty 
 years this building was used, and the Lutherans 
 built their present large structure, Good Hope 
 Lutheran, with the highest spire in the city, 
 at the comer of Poplar and Charles, which 
 was dedicated Oct. 29, 1893, and all the work 
 of the building was done in Bucyrus. During 
 the erection of their building in 1857, the Ger- 
 mans held their services at the Baptist church, 
 the lot now occupied by Frank T. Johnston on 
 Walnut street. At the same time the Germans 
 were building the English portion of the con- 
 gregation also secured a new home. Their 
 new structure was erected at the corner of Wal- 
 nut and Rensselaer, the corner stone being laid 
 July 2, 1857, and the church dedicated May 16. 
 1858. This served as a place of worship for 
 fifty years, when the present structure was 
 dedicated in September, 1903. 
 
 The Lutheran Sunday School was organized 
 April 5, 1828, and after the separation both 
 churches kept up their schools, the German 
 Lutherans being the first church in Bucyrus to 
 have a Christmas tree for their scholars, and 
 fifty years ago there was never a Christmas 
 eve when the church was not crowded with the 
 members of all denominations to see the pretty 
 sparkling tree, and sometimes two trees. All 
 
 schools now make the glad holiday season a 
 time of entertainment for the children. 
 
 The German Reformed congregation was 
 organized about 1829, and for some years was 
 a part of the Lutheran Church, being members 
 of that denomination, and in 1835 they were 
 with the Lutherans in the purchase of the 
 church site opposite the court house. But 
 that same year they secured the services of Rev. 
 Gottleib Maschop, a minister of the Reformed 
 church, and held services in the little brick 
 schoolhouse. In 1840 he was succeeded by 
 Rev. J. J. ]Miller, and dtiring his pastorate of 
 three years the court house was used. The 
 pulpit was vacant until 1845, when Rev. Was- 
 nich came for three years, resigning in 1848 
 to be succeeded by Rev. Abraham Keller, and 
 during his pastorate they erected their first 
 church, a one-story frame on the northeast 
 corner of Rensselaer and Lane, the first church 
 to be erected on land that was not a part of the 
 original Bucyrus. On the resignation of Mr. 
 Wasnich in 1848 he was succeeded by Rev. 
 Abraham Keller, who died in the parsonage ad- 
 joining the church in the fall of 1852, from 
 cholera, that scourge taking away two of the 
 Keller family and a number of others before 
 its ravages were stopped. During his ministry 
 a Sunday School \\as organized, although the 
 proposition was bitterly opposed by some of the 
 more conservative members of the congrega- 
 tion. It was a year before the congregation 
 secured another pastor in the person of Rev. 
 Max Stern, who served until the spring of 
 1856 when he resigned and was succeeded 
 April 13, 1856, by Rev. Eli Keller. Twenty 
 years ago the congregation had so increased 
 as to necessitate larger quarters and the pres- 
 ent brick structure, St. John's Reformed, was 
 built and dedicated Oct. 12, 1890. The Keller's 
 have had a number of Reformed Ministers all 
 over the county, and the present pastor. Rev. 
 F. H. Keller, is of the same family. 
 
 The first meeting to organize a Baptist 
 church was held at the home of William Kelly 
 on Feb. i, 1838, and later meetings were held 
 once a month at the homes of William Kelly 
 and ^\'^illiam White and on July 29, 1838, 
 the first sermon was preached to the new con- 
 gregation by Elder William Stevens, and at its 
 conclusion all repaired to the Sandusky river, 
 where the ordinance of baptism was admin- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 393 
 
 istered to William Magefs and his wife, Mar- 
 garet Magers, and Sovena Norton. The 
 church was not strong in numbers, but meet- 
 ings were held once a month at the court house, 
 schoolhouse or some private residence, and the 
 organization was kept up. In August, 1839, an 
 attempt was made to secure a regular pastor. 
 Rev. Thomas Stevens being the choice of the 
 congregation, but as only $54.50 could be 
 raised, it was not sufficient to pay his ex- 
 penses for coming once a month. But services 
 continued with occasional volunteer ministers, 
 and in the spring of 1842, the church purchased 
 lot No. 107, on Walnut street, of David Ar- 
 thur for $100, now owned by Col. C. W. 
 Fisher, and during the years 1840 and 1841 
 the church was served by Revs. Newton and 
 Samuel Wadsworth, and in 1849, one of the 
 members added to the church was Sophronia 
 Norton, the first white child born in Bucyrus. 
 The first regular pastor was Rev. Jacob Thorp, 
 who received a call on Oct. 2, 1841, which he 
 accepted. A one-story frame was built on the 
 church lot, and the Baptists now had a home of 
 their own. On Dec. 2, 1843, Rev. Edwin 
 Eaton was called as pastor, and the church be- 
 came one of the strongest in Bucyrus, but July 
 5, 1845, he resigned and went to Illinois, where 
 he became one of the prominent churchmen 
 of the west. Under Eaton, on April 6, 1844, 
 a Sunday school was started, and a library pur- 
 chased. Unfortunately for the church, James 
 Quinby died, but in his death he released the 
 church of debt due him amounting to $250, 
 but he had been a tower of strength to the 
 struggling congregation. Many of the mem- 
 bers were from the country, notably from 
 Whetstone township, and when Elder J. G. 
 Tunison became pastor in September, 1845, 
 differences arose, and on Dec. 6, the pastor 
 retired and organized the Olentangy Baptist 
 Church, near Parcher's Corners, of which he 
 was pastor for several years. Many members 
 withdrew and united with the Whetstone 
 church. For ten years only occasional services 
 were held, an occasional minister visiting the 
 place, but the few remaining members were al- 
 ways striving to hold the church together. 
 Finally, in 1858, the weekly prayer meetings 
 were revived, services held at irregular inter- 
 vals and on Feb. 5, 1859, eight members met 
 and decided to reorganize their church. And 
 
 while they failed at that time, the work was 
 kept up and on June 4, 1864, regular services 
 were resumed at Quinby Hall, with Rev. S. D. 
 Bowker as pastor. The Sabbath school was 
 again started. During the three years' pastor- 
 ate of Mr. Bowker the church was again built 
 up to nearly 100 members, baptisms being had 
 in the Sandusky and also in the old Buffalo 
 run back of the residence of George Quinby, 
 the latter having been one of the leaders of 
 the church since the death of his brother, 35 
 years previous. Mr. Bowker was succeeded 
 by Rev. Jay Huntington, and under this pas- 
 torate the Baptists bought the old Congrega- 
 tional church for $2,750, and removed to their 
 present location. The new building was fitted 
 up with a font for immersion, and the ordi- 
 nance of baptism was administered within the 
 church. The dedicatory service was held Sept. 
 27, 1868, conducted by Rev. J. R. Stone, of 
 Springfield. In this church Dr. L. G. Leonard 
 was one of the later pastors, and Rev. T. J. 
 Sheppard, known throughout the nation as the 
 "Andersonville Chaplain," having preached 
 while a prisoner for nine months in that prison 
 pen. Several years ago the present handsome 
 stone structure was dedicated July, 1906. 
 
 The first German Methodist minister to visit 
 Bucyrus was Dr. William Nast. In 1837 he 
 was appointed to the first circuit laid out in 
 this section of Ohio, a circuit so large that it 
 took him five weeks to cover it. He would 
 preach at Columbus, then start on horseback 
 and hold services at Basil, and on to Thornville, 
 where services were held on the second Sun- 
 day; then to Newark and Mt. Vernon, reach- 
 ing Danville for the third Sunday; then to 
 Loudonville, Mansfield and Gallon, and to Bu- 
 cyrus for the fourth Sunday; then to Marion 
 and a German settlement near Delaware for 
 the fifth Sunday, then to Worthington and Co- 
 lumbus, where he held Sunday services, and 
 started again on his long round. In Bucyrus 
 the services were held in the English Methodist 
 church. This first minister was a man of high 
 education, a zealous worker and of great force, 
 and he was selected to take charge of the Ger- 
 man Methodist paper in Cincinnati. In after 
 years his biographer wrote of him : "Dr. Wil- 
 liam Nast is looked upon as the great head 
 and leader of the German Methodists in the 
 United States ; he has frequently surprised the 
 
394 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 country with his erudition, his ripe scholar- 
 ship, and the vast extent of his knowledge." 
 
 After Dr. Nast left Bucyrus, services were 
 held every four weeks, in the M. E. Church, 
 until 1850, the church constantly increasing 
 in membership, and in 1854 the lot was pur- 
 chased on Warren street, where the American 
 Clay Works now are, and a frame building 
 erected, which served for nearly 50 years when 
 they removed to their present site, at the junc- 
 tion of Middletown and Gallon streets, erect- 
 ing a large brick structure, with the parsonage 
 adjoining. The first church was dedicated on 
 Sunday, Jan. 14, 1855, Dr. Warner of Colum- 
 bus delivering the dedicatory sermon in Eng- 
 lish, and in the afternoon. Dr. Nast, who had 
 preached the first sermon in Bucyrus to the 
 congregation, delivering an address in Ger- 
 man. The first parsonage was built on the 
 church lot in 1863. 
 
 About 1837, the first Roman Catholic ser- 
 vices were held in Bucyrus, when Rev. F. X. 
 Tschenhous celebrated mass at the residence 
 of Dr. Joseph Boehler, at the southwest corner 
 of Plymouth and Lane streets. Services were 
 continued every month or two for several 
 years at the Doctor's residence, until about 1842 
 the Doctor removed to Tiffin. This discon- 
 tinued services until about 1849, when Catho- 
 lic families became more numerous, and the 
 church found it necessary to make Bucyrus 
 one of their missions, and for ten years ser- 
 vices were held at irregular intervals at the 
 homes of various members of the church, 
 priests from adjoining churches conducting the 
 services, the most convenient points being Nor- 
 walk, New Riegel and Mansfield. In i860, 
 the old frame Presbyterian church was pur- 
 chased from the Presbyterians and the build- 
 ing removed to the present lot on Mary street, 
 which was purchased for $350. The building 
 was dedicated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Rappe on 
 May 26, 1 86 1, and the Rev. Uerhart. Kleck 
 celebrated the first mass and preached the first 
 sermon in the new church. The church was not 
 regularly supplied with a minister and was at- 
 tached to the Upper Sandusky mission, but 
 monthly service and sometimes semi-monthly 
 were held until 1869. 
 
 Among the ministers supplying the church 
 was Rev. Joseph Reinhard, who was sta- 
 tioned at Upper Sandusky. On Sunday, Feb. 
 
 2, 1868, he was riding on a freight train be- 
 tween here and Upper Sandusky and just west 
 of Nevada, he was later found lying dead be- 
 side the track, and all particulars as to his 
 death have ever remained a mystery. 
 
 In 1869 differences arose between the Ger- 
 man and Irish members of the Congregation, 
 and it resulted in services being temporarily dis- 
 continued. Matters were finally adjusted, and 
 on May 5, 1871, Rev. D. Zinsmayer was ap- 
 pointed to the Bucyrus church, the first resident 
 pastor. • The church, with a resident priest of 
 its own, grew rapidly, and a parsonage was 
 built on the lot adjoining the church on the 
 east. In 1877, Rev. Zinsmayer resigned to take 
 charge of the church at Shelby, and he was 
 succeeded by Rev. H. Best, and one of his first 
 acts in May, 1878, was to purchase nearly two 
 acres of land on Tiffin street, for $200, to be 
 used as a cemetery. The first interment was 
 that of Mrs. Martha Doerfler, who died Aug. 
 17, 1878. The cemetery was consecrated by 
 Rt. Rev. Bishop Gilmore on Oct. 19, 1880. 
 When the present large brick church was 
 erected. Rev. J. H. Kleekamp was the priest 
 in charge; it was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. 
 Bishop Gilmore, May 28, 1888, and at its 
 completion was the largest church in Bucyrus. 
 In 1866, Rev. A. Spierings started a parochial 
 school, but it was discontinued. The attempt 
 was again made under Rev. Mr. Zinsmayer, 
 but the expense was too heavy for the church 
 to undertake at that time. When the present 
 building was erected, the old frame was moved 
 back and transformed into a schoolhouse. The 
 church was now strong and prosperous, and a 
 parochial school was started, which has con- 
 tinued ever since. As years passed the attend- 
 ance became too large for the little frame and 
 in 1 9 10 lot No. 70, on Walnut street, was pur- 
 chased and the present structure was erected, 
 the only school building of stone in the city, 
 and the only school building erected on land 
 which was a part of the original plat of Bu- 
 cyrus. The corner stone was laid July 17, 
 1910, and that date was the "Ruby Jubilee" of 
 the pastor. Rev. Charles Braschler, and it was 
 also the 25th anniversary of the Catholic Be- 
 nevolent Society. The school was dedicated by 
 the Rt. Rev. Bishop Schrambs of Toledo, Nov. 
 14, 1911. 
 
 In December, 1875, eight- persons met at 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 395 
 
 the home of Jeremiah C. Correll and decided to 
 organize a Disciple church. The lot was pur- 
 chased at the southeast corner of Warren and 
 Lane, and by November, 1876, the basement 
 was completed and services in the new church 
 commenced. The second story was completed 
 the following year, and the building dedicated 
 Sept. 2, 1877, Elder Isaac Errett having charge 
 of the services. Elder George T. Smith was 
 the first pastor. A Sunday school was organ- 
 ized immediately, and like the church has pros- 
 pered; The cost of the building was $11,000, 
 and the entire amount was paid before the 
 church was dedicated. 
 
 The United Brethren Church was organized 
 in Bucyrus in 1892, by Rev. C. E. HiU with 
 eleven members. They bought the lot at the 
 corner of Middletown and East streets. This 
 county has a large number of U. B. Churches, 
 and many coming to the city from the country 
 were of that faith, and the eleven members 
 were rapidly added to. The frame church was 
 bought when the Reformed Church built their 
 new brick and it was moved to their lot, and 
 regular services held, a Sunday school organ- 
 ized, and in 1901 the old frame was replaced 
 by the present brick building, the frame being 
 moved out Middletown street where it is still 
 in use as a warehouse at the Smith & Fitzer 
 coal yards. A few years later the parsonage 
 was bought east of the church. 
 
 In the past dozen years a number of citi- 
 zens have removed to Bucyrus from the coun- 
 try, and among them many from Whetstone 
 township, who were prominent in the Evangeli- 
 cal churches in that section. Some united with 
 other churches while waiting a church of their 
 own. In March, 1902, a number of the Evan- 
 gelical faith met at the G. A. R. Post Room, 
 and organized. The old German Lutheran 
 church building on Poplar street was rented, 
 and here services were held by Rev. W. H. 
 Munk. The first Quarterly Conference was 
 held June I, 1902, Rev. W. H. Bucks was the 
 presiding elder, now editor of the Evangelical 
 Messenger. A Sunday school was started. 
 The church increased rapidly in membership, 
 and in September, 1903, Rev. B. E. Reams 
 became pastor of the congregation. He re- 
 mained four years, and under his pastorate the 
 present church was built on Gallon street. It 
 was dedicated in April, 1906. 
 
 The First Church of Christ Scientists was 
 organized in 1900. The first public lecture was 
 given at the Opera House in March, 1901. In 
 the fall of that year they opened their rooms 
 on the second floor of the First National Bank 
 building, where they hold regular meetings 
 every Sunday. 
 
 As early as 1874, an attempt was made to 
 start an Episcopal Church at Bucyrus, Rev. 
 J. M. Hillyar of Mansfield, who was the rec- 
 tor at Gallon, coming over on alternate Sun- 
 days, and holding services at the Y. M. C. A. 
 rooms. An organization was effected, but the 
 membership was not strong enough to support 
 a church, and the movement was dropped. 
 Still the organization kept together, and serv- 
 ices were occasionally held, later developing 
 into services every two weeks. Church prop- 
 erty was bought on South Lane street, and a 
 building fund started. No regular services 
 are at present held, but the Church — St. John's 
 Episcopal — still keeps up its organization, and 
 services are frequently held in the Y. M. C. A. 
 assembly room, and eventually a church will 
 be erected. 
 
 The present site of the Baptist church was 
 once occupied by a two-story brick, which was 
 built by the Congregationalists in 1855. For 
 the previous 15 years Rev. John Pettitt had 
 been holding services, and finally organized a 
 congregation. The new church was dedicated 
 on Sept. 28, 1855, and services continued un- 
 der various pastors until 1864, when services 
 became very irregular, and two years later the 
 building was sold to the Board of Education, 
 who used it for school purposes while the new 
 school building was being erected. After the 
 completion of the new school building it was 
 sold to the Baptist church. In 1859 the Con- 
 gregationalists installed the first pipe organ 
 ever brought to Bucyrus. When the church 
 was discontinued the organ was removed to 
 the Methodist church. Rev. John Pettitt, the 
 founder of the church, became a resident of 
 Bucyrus about 1840, and filled many of the Bu- 
 cyrus pulpits. He went to Benzie county, 
 northern Michigan, in 1866, and in this 
 sparsely settled region had several appoint- 
 ments which he filled winter and summer. On 
 Sunday, May 11, 1879, he went on horseback 
 to fill one of these appointments, and on his 
 return was taken suddenly ill, and in half an 
 
396 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 hour had gone to his reward, dying in the 
 harness in the 8oth year of his age, after half 
 a century of faithful service. 
 
 About 1830, Rev. Seeley Bloomer visited 
 Bucyrus and delivered a sermon to the Protest- 
 tant Methodists. He made several visits and 
 was followed by other ministers of that de- 
 nomination. In 1845 under Rev. Mr. Dalby, 
 a meeting was held at the residence of John 
 Morfoot on South Walnut street, the house 
 now occupied by Mrs. L. C. Doll, now 412 
 South Walnut. A church was organized, the 
 lot on the northwest corner of Walnut and 
 Rensselaer was purchased and a church build- 
 ing erected, a small frame. The first pastor 
 was Rev. Mr. Bamford, who held services 
 every two weeks, filling stations at the same 
 time at Wingert's Corners, Bear Marsh and 
 Grass Run. Other pastors followed, the last, 
 Rev. I. C. Thrapp, in 1856, and when he left 
 services were discontinued. Later the building 
 was removed to the present site of the Ameri- 
 can Clay Co., where it was a part of the ma- 
 chine shops of Frey & Sheckler, and was de- 
 stroyed by fire on the night of Aug. 19, 1867, 
 when the entire plant was burned, with a loss of 
 $13,000. 
 
 On Oct. 31, 1869, Rev. Alexander M. 
 Cowan, a minister of the Southern Presby- 
 terian church preached a sermon in the Court 
 House, and organized a church of that denom- 
 ination, the membership being composed almost 
 exclusively of members of the Presbyterian 
 church. The Quinby Hall was secured and 
 services were held for several months, but 
 interest in the new church became less and 
 less and it was finally abandoned, the members 
 again uniting with the Presbyterian church. 
 
 About 1873 a number of the members of the 
 Methodist church started what \\as known as 
 the Christian Holiness movement, the doctrine 
 being that once experiencing holiness, the con- 
 vert could do no wrong, the minister himself 
 being an advocate of the new doctrine. The 
 next Conference quietly replaced him, and sent 
 to Bucyrus, Dr. A. Nelson, one of their ablest 
 men, and although the first meetings of the 
 holiness believers were held in the basement of 
 the church, later the church was denied them. 
 They were still Methodists, and Dr. Leonard 
 with Christian patience faithfully attended 
 many of their meetings, endeavoring to give 
 
 them counsel and advice and lead them to more 
 rational views. On his departure, they became 
 more zealous in their belief than ever, were 
 generally known as "Sanctificationists," and 
 with difficulty secured rooms for their meet- 
 ings. They held tent meetings, on East Rens- 
 selaer street and really developed into martyrs 
 for their belief, as the unruly element in the 
 community disgraced the town by disturbing 
 their meetings and eventually stopped the serv- 
 ices by cutting down the tent. This left them 
 no place to meet but at the homes of the mem- 
 bers, and although they bought ground for the 
 erection of a church, the members were poor 
 in everything except religion, and the project 
 was abandoned, and most of them gradually 
 drifted into other churches, principally the 
 United Brethren. 
 
 The Salvation Army has established a head- 
 quarters here on several different occasions, 
 their principal one being in 1894, when they 
 used the basement of the vacant M. E. Church 
 on East Mansfield street. This was during the 
 time when the financial depression left hun- 
 dreds of unemployed in every community, to 
 be cared for by the citizens. They frequently 
 met in winter at that time with little or no fire 
 to warm the building, and although their food 
 allowance was meagre, it is to their credit that 
 they shared the little they had with any wan- 
 dering tramp who applied to them for relief. 
 
 It was in October, 181 9 that the Nortons 
 came, and in the spring of the following year 
 came the Beadles, and in December, 182 1 the 
 town of Bucyrus was laid out. On September 
 I, 1822, the first death occurred, and the four- 
 year-old son of Mishael Beadle was taken 
 away. There was, as yet, no graveyard in the 
 village, so a site was selected on the extreme 
 south line of Mr. Norton's land at the junction 
 of Walnut and Middletown streets and here 
 the little boy was buried. Three months later, 
 on Dec. 30, 1822, as the old year was passing 
 away, another little life was ended, and Jacob, 
 the five-year-old son of John Kellogg was laid 
 beneath the second mound in the graveyard. 
 The next year John Deardorff, the first adult 
 to pass away, was laid beside his little son, and 
 the same year his daughter Margaret was 
 buried there, and the next year her brother 
 William. In 1824, a daughter of Rachel Kel- 
 logg died, and the year following John Kellogg 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 397 
 
 himself passed away. There are many others, 
 as years after, the remains of many of these 
 early burials were discovered here as improve- 
 ments were made in the town, and all were 
 transferred to the city graveyard on Tiilfin 
 street. 
 
 Lewis Cary came to Bucyrus in 1822, and 
 two years later his wife Rachel, died. The 
 graveyard south of the town was on the edge 
 of the plains, covered with wild grass, and was 
 bare of trees, and anything but a site that 
 would be selected by the pioneers for the burial 
 of their loved ones, and it was probably only 
 taken when the emergency arose, making some 
 burial spot necessary. When Mrs. Cary died 
 her husband selected a pretty site on his land 
 north of the river on the brow of the hill over- 
 looking the Sandusky, and surrounded by trees. 
 It was just south of the present Holy Trinity 
 cemetery, and here Mrs." Cary was laid to rest. 
 It had been partly cleared away, and in the 
 little clearing Johnny Appleseed had planted 
 a few of his apple trees. The same year Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Bucklin died, the mother of Mrs. 
 Samuel Norton and Albigence Bucklin who 
 had joined her children in the west in 1822. 
 She was buried on this burial site. In 1825 the 
 burials were Daniel McMichael, who came in 
 1820, built a mill up the river, and disposing 
 of it had his home in a log cabin on the lot 
 where the Finley residence now stands ; Seth 
 Holmes, who came with the Nortons in 1819. 
 Other burials there were the father and mother 
 of Seth Holmes, Timothy Kirk and wife, and 
 a colored servant of Lewis Cary. Not many 
 years ago, some of the stones were still stand- 
 ing in what was known as the Henry orchard, 
 marking the site of the last resting place of 
 these early pioneers. 
 
 In 1828 Amos Clark donated about an acre 
 of ground north of the city to be used for 
 burial purposes. It was across the road and 
 a little north of the Cary graveyard. It was a 
 pretty location, on high ground, overlooking 
 the river. The graveyard was still in existence, 
 owned and cared for by the city, and many of 
 the tombstones can still be read that mark the 
 last resting place of many of the first pioneers. 
 Here Samuel Yost, a little boy of four and a 
 half years was the first burial in May, 1827. 
 
 In this graveyard is buried the founder of 
 the city, Samuel Norton, who died April 18, 
 
 1856, and from an obituary notice in the 
 Bucyrus Journal the following is taken: 
 
 "The death of Mr. Norton has left a vacancy 
 among our citizens as well as in his family, 
 which cannot be filled. Being the first settler, 
 he was justly entitled to the name of the "Fa- 
 ther of Bucyrus." In the autumn of 1819, 
 when the country around was in a state of na- 
 ture, and the dark glens of the forest re- 
 echoed the hoarse bowlings of the wild beasts 
 and the dread war-whoop of the Indians, this 
 hardy pioneer left his quiet home in Pennsyl- 
 vania to seek his fortune in the West. Attracted 
 by the beauty of the surrounding country, he 
 erected a tent of poles in which he spent the 
 winter. His life for many years afterward 
 was but a series of severe toil and exposure, 
 which none but the most hardy and persevering 
 could endure. For fifty years he was an 
 exemplary member of the Baptist church, and 
 through all the vicissitudes of his pioneer life, 
 his spirits were kept buoyant by the hope of a 
 future reward in the mansions of eternal glory. 
 A large concourse of citizens attended his 
 funeral and all expressed their regret for their 
 much esteemed citizen, and sympathy for their 
 afflicted relatives." Mary Norton, his wife, 
 died April 29, '59, and was laid beside her 
 companion of 52 years of wedded life. 
 
 There resides today in Bucyrus, Mrs. Mary 
 Jones Lemert, a granddaughter of the founder 
 of the city; her mother was Elizabeth Norton 
 Jones, daughter of Samuel Norton, who came 
 to Bucyrus with her father in 1819. Alonzo 
 M. Jones, great-grandson of the pioneer, son 
 of Lorenzo Jones, and grandson of Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Norton Jones. Fernando J. Norton, a 
 grandson of Samuel Norton; his father was 
 Jefferson Norton, who was born in Bucyrus. 
 These descendants all live on land that was 
 purchased of the Government by their ancestor 
 in 1819. 
 
 In 1830 the Southern graveyard was laid 
 out at the southwest corner of what is now 
 Rensselaer and Spring streets, but then out- 
 side the village limits. This later became known 
 as the Lutheran graveyard, and for thirty 
 years the graveyard on the Tififin road and the 
 Southern graveyard were the burial sites of 
 the city, but thirty years had crowded these 
 silent cities of the dead, and a larger burial 
 
398 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ground was needed. A private corporation 
 was formed composed of twenty citizens on 
 Aug. 30, 1858, and it was called the Oak- 
 wood Cemetery Association. Grounds along 
 the river, southwest of the city were pur- 
 chased of William Rowse, nearly 44 acres at 
 $74 per acre, and the association organized with 
 the following as their first trustees : John A. 
 Gormly, president; S. R. Harris, secretary; 
 C. W. Fisher, treasurer; A. M. Jones, J. H. 
 Keller, George Quinby, R. T. Johnston, Hiram 
 Fenner. Later additions were purchased, so that 
 Oakwood Cemetery now comprises 65 acres, 
 although all this land is not used for burial 
 purposes, but will be added as necessity de- 
 mands. The services of B. F. Hathaway, a 
 landcape gardener, were secured and the 
 grounds artistically laid out with the paths 
 and drives, winding their way among the trees. 
 The grounds were purchased in September, 
 1858, but before they were laid out, the first 
 burial took place, a little grave was dug, and 
 on Sunday, Nov. 21, 1858, a funeral proces- 
 sion made the first solemn march to the new 
 cemetery, and Lillie Annie Craig, in all the 
 innocence of childhood, consecrated the hal- 
 lowed ground. 
 
 The grounds were dedicated on Tuesday, 
 June 19, 1859, with appropriate e.<ercises. On 
 March 6, 1882, the original owners of the cem- 
 etery incorporated the association, and gave 
 the entire cemetery in charge of the Oakwood 
 Cemetery Association, there being btit two con- 
 siderations, one that the graves of the original 
 members should always be kept in repair, and 
 the second was $3,000 in cash, the money how- 
 ever to be expended in building a receiving 
 vault, and the following year the vault was 
 finished. During the time the association was 
 a private company, all moneys received were 
 devoted to the improving of the grounds, and 
 the payment of the sums advanced for the pur- 
 chase of the land, and when this was paid, 
 without any interest, Oakwood Cemetery was 
 donated to the public for their use, and it is 
 now an association in which all moneys re- 
 ceived must be used exclusively for running 
 expenses and improvements. 
 
 In 1888 the Lutheran graveyard was aban- 
 doned ; and the remains of over three hundred 
 who had ben buried there were taken up and 
 transferred to Oakwood Cemetery. 
 
 Bucyrus was organized as a village in 1833 
 and James McCracken was the first mayor. 
 He was followed by John Moderwell in 1837. 
 Peter Worst in 1840. Nicholas Failor, 1841. 
 David R. Lightner 1842. James Marshall 
 1844. James McCracken 1846. James H. 
 Hutchinson 1847. William M. Scroggs 1850. 
 Stephen R. Harris 1852. George P. Seal 1853. 
 Jacob Scroggs 1855. S. J. Elliott 1858 
 Jacob Scroggs 1858, Elliott having resigned to 
 become probate judge. Henry C. Rowse i860 
 S. R. Harris 1861. Wm. M. Scroggs 1862. 
 E. B. Finley 1863. C D. Ward 1865. Wil- 
 son Stewart 1866. George Donnenwirth 1868. 
 In 1870 at the April election the count showed 
 the election of William M. Reid as mayor by 
 23 majority. Several days later a second count 
 was held and this showed the election of George 
 Donnenwirth by a small majority and he was 
 sworn into office. The matter was carried to 
 the Supreme Court, and that body, in March 
 of 1872 rendered their decision, that when the 
 votes had once been counted and the result 
 declared, and the ballot box remained un- 
 guarded in the hands of the clerk for several 
 days, a second count was not to be relied upon, 
 and gave the certificate of election to Mr. Reid 
 and he served as mayor for about two weeks. 
 At the time of the election the opinion was so 
 general that the second count was fraudulent 
 that Gen. Samuel Myers, C. G Malic and 
 William Rowland, three members of the council 
 elected on the same ticket with Mr. Donnen- 
 wirth, denounced the entire transaction as un- 
 just and declined to serve as councilmen. 
 After Mr. Reid had served his two weeks the 
 spring election of 1872 came on and James M. 
 Van Voorhis was elected mayor. He was fol- 
 lowed by C. D. Ward in 1876. Allen Camp- 
 bell in 1880, C. D. Ward in 1884, M. H. Ful- 
 ton, 1886; C. D. Ward, 1888: Charles Donnen- 
 wirth, 1894; David E. Fisher, 1896;' C. F. 
 Birk, 1898; H. E. Valentine, 1902 ; and E. J. 
 Songer, 1907. 
 
 In 1886 Bucyrus became a city, and was 
 divided into wards. W^hen Bucyrus was 
 laid out as a village in 1822, it was re- 
 ceiving its mail at Delaware. Any respons- 
 ible citizen having business there went to 
 the postoffice and brought up the mail for 
 people living within a radius of eight or 
 ten miles of Bucyrus. Occasionally, one of the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 399 
 
 settler's lent his horse to one of his neighbors 
 to make the trip to Delaware and bring the 
 mail. After the town was laid out the saddler's 
 shop of Lewis Carey was the recognized head- 
 quarters for the mail. After several small 
 shops had located in Bucyrus a petition was 
 sent to the postmaster general requesting the 
 establishment of a postoffice at Bucyrus, with 
 Lewis Carey as postmaster. He was appointed 
 on Feb. 2, 1824, and served for over five years, 
 and during those five years the name of the 
 office appears on the records at Washington as 
 "Bucyrus" alias "Busiris". On March 4, 1828, 
 Andrew Jackson became president and com- 
 menced his wholesale removal of public officials, 
 giving as his only reason "to the victor belongs 
 the spoils," and this principle laid down by 
 Andrew Jackson has been followed ever since 
 with Bucyrus postoffice appointments. Dur- 
 ing Mr. Gary's term of service the postoffice 
 was in his building on what is now the Shonert 
 property, adjoining the bridge on North San- 
 dusky avenue. He was succeeded on July 20, 
 1829 by Henry St. John, who kept the office 
 in his store, a two-story frame erected by him 
 in 1825, on the northwest corner of the Public 
 Square, which was torn down to make room 
 for the present Bucyrus City Bank building. 
 
 Henry St. John held the office for eight 
 years, and on the election of Martin VanBuren 
 John Forbes was appointed on June 26, 1837. 
 Mr. Forbes was a harness maker and of the 
 same political faith as Mr. St. John, but the 
 latter was disposing of his store and removed 
 to Tiffin. His harness shop was in a little frame 
 on the west side of Sandusky avenue, the sec- 
 ond lot north of the railroad. When the first 
 postoffice was established in 1824, mail was 
 brought by carrier on horseback once a week, 
 and in the winter when the ground was not 
 sufficiently frozen to bear a horse it was de- 
 livered on foot. In 1827 the line of stages be- 
 gan between Columbus and Sandusky, and mail 
 was delivered three times a week. In 1834 a 
 stage route was commenced from Bucyrus to 
 Mansfield. The following was the mail facil- 
 ities under Postmaster Forbes. The Tiffin 
 mail left every Friday morning at 7 o'clock 
 and arrived Saturday at 5 p. m. The Mt. 
 Vernon mail left every Friday morning at 
 6:00 and arrived on Saturday evening at 
 7:00. The Fredericktown mail arrived every 
 
 23 
 
 Wednesday evening at 6:00 and left every 
 Thursday morning at 5 :oo. The Perrysburg 
 mail left every Monday morning at 5 :oo and 
 arrived on Tuesday evenings at 6:00. The 
 Kenton mail arrived every Wednesday noon 
 and left the same day at i :oo P. M. The New 
 Haven mail arrived every Tuesday at noon and 
 left at I :oo P. M. the same day. The eastern 
 mail from Pittsburg, through Mansfield, ar- 
 rived every other evening at 6:00 and left the 
 following morning at 4 :oo o'clock. The north- 
 ern mail arrived every other day between i :oo 
 and 4 :oo o'clock in the afternoon and departed 
 in twenty minutes for Columbus. The great 
 southern mail arrived every other day (the 
 same day as the northern) betwen g and 12 
 P. M. and departed in about 30 minutes for 
 Sandusky City. It will be seen the last mail 
 to arrive was about midnight and the first mail 
 to leave was at four in the morning, so it must 
 not have been the duty of the postmaster to 
 keep as close a scrutiny of the mail as is done at 
 the present day. He probably closed the sack 
 and either hung it on the outside of the build- 
 ing, or the mail carrier had a key by which he 
 could enter the office and get his own mail, 
 while the postmaster was soundly sleeping, and 
 dreaming of the emoluments of his office. The 
 salary of Forbes in 1840, was $293.47. Up 
 to this date Bucyrus was still the office of de- 
 livery for a large part of the county. The only 
 postoffices in the county at that time being at 
 Brokensword, Poplar, and one in Sandusky 
 township. There were offices at Gallon, Lees- 
 ville, and Tiro in the Richland county part, 
 and two or three in what is now Wyandot 
 county. 
 
 There was a change of parties by the election 
 of William Henry Harrison in 1840 and on 
 July 13, 1841 James McCracken, a Whig, was 
 appointed postmaster, and his office was in his 
 shop where the Mader Block now stands. The 
 Democrats again came into power at the next 
 election and Alexander P. Widman was ap- 
 pointed postmaster in May 6, 1845, ^"d con- 
 tinued the office at the same place, when he was 
 succeeded by Dr. R. T. Johnston, Dec. 8, 1847, 
 and the office was in his drug store where the 
 Majestic picture show is now located. When 
 Zachary Taylor was elected president the 
 Whigs again secured the postoffice, and Henry 
 Converse was appointed, April 4, 1849. The 
 
400 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 fire of 1848 had destroyed nearly all the build- 
 ings on the southwest corner of the square, 
 and on the lot west of the Rowse block Henry 
 Converse had erected a frame building where 
 with his brother he ran a drygoods store. In 
 
 1852, there was another change of administra- 
 tion and there were several Democrats aspired 
 for the office, so an election was held on Feb. 
 26, 1853, and A. A. Ruhl received 160 votes, 
 John Picking 100, and Geo. P. Seal 50. Mr. 
 Ruhl was appointed to the office on July 14, 
 
 1853, and the office was on the present site of 
 the Picking Block, and later removed to a 
 small frame building on the square west of the 
 Bucyrus City Bank. Under Air. Ruhl the post- 
 office had a room of its own and from that time 
 on it was not run in connection with the post- 
 master's business. Mr. Ruhl was succeeded 
 on Sept. I, 1857, by C. D. Ward, and under 
 him the office was in the same building on the 
 northwest side of the square. 
 
 Another change of administration came in 
 i860, and with it came the appointment of 
 James G. Robinson as postmaster on March 
 12, 1 86 1, the quickest appointment after a 
 change of administration ever made in Bucy- 
 rus. Lincoln became president, March 4. Air. 
 Robinson was editor of the Journal at the time, 
 and his printing office was in the second story 
 of the Rowse building, and Air. Robinson re- 
 moved the office to the rear room of the block 
 on the first floor. He was succeeded by Isaac 
 Z. Bryant on October 5, 1866, who held the 
 office only six months, and on March 19, 1867 
 W. C. Lemert was appointed. He held the 
 office only two months and on July 19, 1867 
 James P. Rader became postmaster, and the 
 office was removed to the Swigart building, op- 
 posite the Court House, the room now occupied 
 by Alader and Crawford. On July 12, 1870, 
 John Hopley editor of the Journal, was ap- 
 pointed and held the office over eight years, 
 being succeeded on Jan. 14, 1879 by C. W. 
 Fisher. Air. Fisher died in the spring of 1882, 
 and until his successor was appointed the of- 
 fice was in charge of one of his bondsmen, 
 Martin Deal. AI. H. Fulton was appointed on 
 March 29, 1882, and sensed four years, when 
 another change of administration in the elec- 
 tion of President Cleveland occurred and Shan- 
 non Clements was appointed on Alay 28, 1886, 
 and the office was removed to the east room of 
 
 the Vollrath Block. Mr. Clements served four 
 years when the policy of the administration 
 again changed and John Hopley was appointed 
 on July 9, 1890, and the office was removed 
 to the south room of the Vollrath Block on 
 Walnut street. President Cleveland came in 
 for his second term in 1893, ^"d on July 9, 
 1894, A. M. Ensminger was appointed post- 
 master, and served four years, when the ad- 
 ministration again changed, and on August 8, 
 1898 Joseph E. Hall was appointed postmaster,' 
 and the office was removed to its present lo- 
 cation, the building being erected by Chas. 
 Roehr expressly for the purpose. On Jan. 27,, 
 191 1, James R. Hopley, manager of the Tele- 
 graph and Journal was appointed to the office. 
 In the early days the postage on letters was 
 25 cents but was gradually reduced. On July 
 I, 1850 the law went into effect making a rate 
 of three cents on all letters not over one-half 
 ounce, if paid in advance, and five cents when 
 marked collect. \\'eekly newspapers were free 
 in every county; within a radius of 50 miles 
 the postage was 20 cents per year; 300 miles 
 40 cents per year; and 1,000 miles 60 cents 
 per year. 
 
 In August 1865, under Postmaster Robin- 
 son, Bucyrus was made a money order office. 
 In 1893 under Postmaster John Hopley free 
 delivery was secured, with three carriers, 
 Joseph Fisher, \N . C. Lybarger and ^^^alter 
 Sheckler, the latter still being one of the car- 
 riers. 
 
 On Oct. I, 1903, under Postmaster Hall 
 rural routes were established from Bucyrus. 
 
 On April 11, 1851, the Bucyrus Journal 
 contained the following item, it was at a time 
 when the Ohio and Pennsylvania road was 
 being built west toward Crestline: "Bucyrus 
 has a daily mail. On Tuesday, April 8th, the 
 first four-horse coach made its appearance in 
 our streets with a daily mail from the east. 
 The intention of the stage company is to keep 
 up a daily line of coaches from this place to 
 \\^ooster, if it can be sustained. Heretofore 
 persons coming to this place ha\e been obliged 
 to lay over one or two days before they could 
 get away by any public conveyance. This dif- 
 ficulty is now remedied, and travelers can take 
 a coach from Bucyrus to the railroad every 
 morning." 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZ-ENS 
 
 401 
 
 The following item, published Nov. 3, 1853, 
 shows the introduction of the telegraph : 
 
 "Our town has been wheeled into instantaneous com- 
 munication with the balance oi the world and the rest of 
 mankind. Bucyrus is now hitched onto the telegraph 
 and ready at any moment to receive the latest streak. 
 The establishment of a telegraph office here will prove 
 of great importance to our town and we trust its advan- 
 tages will be duly appreciated by our citizens. The 
 office is in charge of Mr. Eckert." 
 
 Nearly thirty years later, in November, 1881, 
 George T. Ristine, of Gallon, established the 
 telephone in Bucyrus and today the Bucyrus 
 Telephone Company has nearly 2,000 phones. 
 
 On Sept. 22, 1845, six men met in the sec- 
 ond story of the old frame which stood on the 
 corner where the Bucyrus City Bank now is. 
 They had leased the room for $44 a year, and 
 they organized La Salle Lodge No. 51, L O. 
 O. F. The men present were John Clark, 
 George P. Seal, James R. Knapp, James M. 
 Albert, Oren Siser, of Bucyrus, and District 
 Deputy Grand Master Joseph Whitmore, who 
 gave them their charter; the first officers were 
 John Clark, Noble Grand; George P Seal, 
 Vice Grand; James R. Knapp, secretary; 
 James M. Albert, treasurer. The officers were 
 immediately installed and the following mem- 
 bers initiated: J. B. Lawill, Franklin Adams, 
 Hiram Fenner, Alec Howenstein and Frederick 
 Bickle. 
 
 On Sept. 5, 1854 the lodge surrendered 
 their charter, but on Feb. 26, 1856 it was re- 
 stored on the petition of Franklin Adams, 
 W. R. S. Clark, William M. Scroggs, Benja- 
 min Failor, C. W. Butterfield, Hiram Fenner, 
 and J. E. Zook. They elected officers, installed 
 them, and initiated E. Smith, W. Bair, W. A. 
 Chambers and Pinkney Lewis, the latter being 
 the only man still livinj: of the above names, 
 his home being now in Mansfield. On the re- 
 organization they met in the Anderson building 
 on South Sandusky avenue, and in July i860 
 they removed to the west end of the third story 
 of the Quinby Block, where they remained un- 
 til April, 1886 when they removed to the 
 Vollrath Block. 
 
 In August, 1848, the Lodge moved to the 
 third floor of the Anderson building, the room 
 being occupied in the day time as the high 
 school room, Israel Booth being the teacher, 
 and later the first superintendent of the Bucy- 
 
 rus Union Schools. They paid $40 a year 
 rent. 
 
 In connection with La Salle Lodge is Kears- 
 ley Encampment No. 234, and Bucyrus Lodge 
 No. 139 Daughters of Rebecca, both of which 
 meet in the Odd Fellow's room in the Opera 
 Block. 
 
 The first society funeral in Bucyrus was con- 
 ducted by the Odd Fellows. On the night of 
 organization, Sept. 22, 1845, Frederick Bickle 
 was initiated into the order. He was a sad- 
 dler and harness maker, and lived at the south- 
 west corner of Walnut and Warren, in the 
 story and a half frame now being torn down 
 to make room for the brick residence of Dr. 
 W. A. Koch. He died on Feb. 2, 1848, and on 
 the evening of that day the Odd Fellows met 
 and passed resolutions of respect to his mem- 
 ory, and the next day attended the funeral, 
 which was conducted by that Order, Hiram 
 Fenner being then Noble Grand. Both the 
 Masons and the Sons of Temperance attended 
 the funeral officially, and he was buried in the 
 Lutheran graveyard. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1846 a charter was granted to 
 Bucyrus Lodge No. 139 F and A. M., the 
 charter members being Col. Zalmon Rowse, 
 Rev. Hibbard P. Ward, Joseph E. Jewett, Ben- 
 jamin Warner, Madison W. Welsh, Amos L. 
 Westover, John Caldwell and Jonas Stough. 
 The first officers were Joseph E. Jewett, W. 
 M. ; Amos L. Westover, S. W. ; Benjamin War- 
 ner, J. W. On May 4, 1870 the Masons organ- 
 ized Crawford Lodge No. 443, giving Bucy- 
 rus two Masonic lodges. At the start Bucy- 
 rus Lodge met in the Anderson room, and in 
 i860 joined with the Odd Fellows in fitting up 
 the hall in the Quinby Block. Later the 
 Masons selected quarters of their own meeting 
 in the Blair Hall, the Picking Hall and the 
 Miller Hall, until in 1886 they removed to the 
 third floor of the Opera House Block, where 
 they were located when their charter was ar- 
 rested, in 1889. Of Bucyrus lodge, Lewis 
 Stremmel was secretary for twenty-one years. 
 Ivanhoe Chapter No. 117, R. A. M. was in- 
 stituted Jan. 13, 1869, and Bucyrus Council, 
 No. 57, R. & S. M., on Feb. 10, 1870. On 
 Feb. 3, 1887 Bucyrus Chapter No. 3, order of 
 the Eastern Star was instituted, and the next 
 
402 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 year it was one of the five Chapters in the 
 State that organized the Grand Chapter. 
 
 After the charters were arrested there were 
 no Masonic organizations in Bucyrus. On 
 Oct. 19, 1892, a charter was granted to Trinity 
 Lodge No. 556 on petition of 18 members and 
 a new lodge was organized which has con- 
 tinued ever since, holding its first meetings on 
 the third floor of the First National Bank 
 building, and later removing to their present 
 quarters in the Blair Hall. Bucyrus Chapter 
 No. 160 received its charter Sept. 23, 1893, 
 and Gwynn Council No. 83 R. & S. M. on 
 Sept. 17, i8g8. These bodies together with the 
 Eastern Star meet in the same rooms in the 
 Blair Hall. During the three years the Ma- 
 sonic fraternity were without a home the Stars 
 kept up their organization by meeting at pri- 
 vate residences of the members. 
 
 The next lodge to form an organization in 
 Bucyrus was the Knights of Pythias, who or- 
 ganized Demas Lodge No. 108 being instituted 
 Sept. II, 1877, with 24 charter members. On 
 March 6, 1878, Section No. 119 Endowment 
 Rank was instituted with 16 charter members. 
 
 Feb. 19, 1890 Bucyrus Lodge No. 156 B. P. 
 O. E. was instituted with thirty-three charter 
 members, but after a year it was discontinued 
 but was reorganized in 1892, and met in the 
 third story of the Rowse Block, later it moved 
 to the third story of the Hausleib Block, when 
 they fitted up the second and third floors of the 
 Sens Block, which is their present home, where 
 they have the finest club rooms in the city. 
 
 Bucyrus Aerie of Eagles No. 501 was or- 
 ganized Oct. 3, 1903 with 75 charter members. 
 In 1905 they purchased the Merriman comer 
 for $11,000, the lot that in 1827 was sold for 
 $80. The growth of the order has been so 
 rapid that their lot is paid for and they are 
 now arranging to build, and one of the young- 
 est orders will be the first to own their own 
 home. Their present meeting place is the third 
 floor of the Hausleib Block. 
 
 The last society to organize Avas the Bucy- 
 rus Nest No. 121 1, Order of Owls, which was 
 instituted on Aug. 20, 1909, with 112 charter 
 members. Their rooms are in the third floor 
 of the Fisher Block. 
 
 Of other fraternal organizations the first 
 to organize was Howard Lodge No. 109 of the 
 Knights of Honor on May 3, 1875, with 16 
 
 members. Their first meeting was in the Birk 
 Block, then for two years in the third floor 
 of the Bowman Block, and in May, 1877, they 
 removed across the street to the Fisher Block, 
 their present quarters. 
 
 Following them came Crawford Council No. 
 15 Royal Arcanum instituted Sept. 12, 1877, 
 with 22 charter members. Their meeting place 
 has always been the third floor of the Fisher 
 Block. 
 
 Bucyrus Tent No. 135 Knights of the Mac- 
 cabees and Gold Leaf Hive, L. O. T. M., meet 
 in the Picking Block. 
 
 Court Bucyrus Lodge No. loio Foresters 
 of America, and Court Concord No. 107 Com- 
 panion Foresters meet in the Opera House 
 Block. 
 
 Bucyrus Council No. 184 Jr. O. U. A. M. 
 and Bucyrus Council No. 113 D. of A. have 
 their rooms in the Fisher Block. 
 
 The Royal Home Lodge is in the Opera 
 Block. 
 
 The Royal Templars Lodge is in the Opera 
 Block. 
 
 The Home -Guards of America meet in the 
 Fisher Block. 
 
 Crawford Lodge No. loi Ancient Order 
 United ^^'orkingmen meet in the Rowse Block. 
 
 Bucyrus Council No. 27, National Union 
 meet in the Opera House Block. 
 
 Crawford County Lodge No. 175 Threshers 
 National Protective Association, Rowse Block. 
 
 Knights of Equity Lodge No. 153, Rowse 
 Block. 
 
 Modern \\^oodmen of America No. 3664 
 Opera House Block. 
 
 American Insurance Union No. 193, Fisher 
 Block. 
 
 Bucyrus Circle No. 391 of the Protective 
 Home Circle Fisher Block. 
 
 Order of the Red Cross, Rowse Block. 
 
 Patrons of Husbandry No. 705, Rowse 
 Block. 
 
 Bucyrus Lodge No. 11 78 National Protec- 
 tive Legion, Rowse Block. 
 
 Bucyrus Council No. 27 National Union, 
 Rowse Block. 
 
 Knights of Columbus, City Bank Build- 
 ing. 
 
 United Commercial Travelers. 
 
 The Deutsche Gessellschaft, was organized 
 March 23, 1874, with 120 members, and has 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 403 
 
 been in existence ever since ; their rooms are the 
 third story of the Mader Block. 
 
 Keller Post No. 128 G. A. R., and Keller 
 Women's Relief Corps meet at the G. A. R. 
 Hall on South Poplar street. 
 
 Thoman Camp No. 69 Spanish American 
 War Veterans have their headquarters at No. 
 129!/^ North Sandusky avenue. 
 
 Bucyrus being a central point on the T. & 
 O. C. railroad, the engineers and conductors, 
 firemen and brakemen, all have organizations 
 with a large membership, and there are unions 
 covering nearly every trade and occupation. 
 
 The first secret society ever organized in 
 Bucyrus was in 1823. All that is known of 
 it is the following document: 
 
 "We, whose names are undersigned, having conferred 
 together on the objects proposed and designed by the 
 True American Society, and believing the same to be of 
 great importance, and worthy the aid and support of 
 every true American citizen, we have resolved, and do 
 resolve, ourselves into a branch of said society, to meet 
 monthly, in the town of Bucyrus, on the Saturday next 
 before every full moon in the year, and have therefore 
 hereunto subscribed our names, in the presence of each 
 other. First signed at Bucyrus, July 31, 1823." 
 
 This was a political organization, and the 
 probability is its object was opposition to the 
 naturalization of citizens. In the '50s a similar 
 organization existed in Bucyrus, known as the 
 Know Nothings, their object being to pre- 
 clude foreigners from voting. In 1862 an 
 order of the Knights of the Golden Circle met 
 in the Ritz Block in Bucyrus. In 1876 there 
 was an organization in Bucyrus to oppose the 
 election of any Catholic to office. Its meeting 
 place was in the Bowman Block. No one 
 cared to have his name associated with any of 
 these orders, and they died natural deaths for 
 want of followers. 
 
 Another Lodge which was founded in 1859, 
 was the Sons of Malta. One of the funda- 
 mental principles of the order was that every 
 initiation ceremony should be different, and 
 as the order rapidly gained in membership it 
 took the combined ability of the brightest 
 members to devise more humorous and sensa- 
 tional features in the ceremonies. They had a 
 benevolent feature also, and frequently made 
 a midnight parade, the members being masked 
 and clothed in various disguises, they marched 
 through the streets, leaving provisions at the 
 homes of needy and worthy families. The 
 
 breaking out of the war left no heart in any 
 one for levity, and the order ceased to exist. 
 Their meeting place was in the Quinby Block. 
 
 Thirty years later a similar organization was 
 started with sport as the foundation of the 
 order, but it disbanded on account of the ac- 
 cidental injury of one of the candidates during 
 the ceremony of initiation. 
 
 The first school taught in Bucyrus was in 
 the winter of 1822, a little log cabin which 
 stood on the bank of the river, near the east 
 end of the railroad bridge. It was taught by 
 William Blowers who later became a min- 
 ister in the M. E. Church. Among those 
 known to have attended this school, were Eliza- 
 beth Norton, who later married Dr. A. M. 
 Jones, and Horace Rowse, one of the builders 
 of the Rowse Block. The charges of Mr. 
 Blowers were $1.50 per pupil for a term of 
 three months and he boarded round. In the 
 summer of 1823, Miss Alta Kent taught a 
 school east of Bucyrus. Before a school build- 
 ing was erected expressly for educational pur- 
 poses, the location of the school was not so 
 important as was the question as to where the 
 teacher could secure a building. Hence both 
 these early schools were outside of the village 
 as originally laid out by Norton, but inside the 
 present corporation. Moses Arden and Joseph 
 Newell later taught in the log school east of 
 Bucyrus, Miss Alta Kent, the first teacher in 
 that log cabin, marrying Asa Hosford of Ga- 
 lion in 1825. 
 
 The first school in the original village of 
 Bucyrus was taught by Sarah Gary in 1824. 
 Aaron Gary removed to Bucyrus in 1822, and 
 built a two-story log cabin near the tannery of 
 his brother Lewis. Here he had his saddlery 
 and harness shop, and in the second story his 
 daughter Sarah had a number of pupils, and 
 taught a small school. 
 
 In 1824 the law was pased which enabled 
 public schools to be established, and allow- 
 ing a certain amount to be appropriated for 
 their support, tuition to be free. Under this 
 law the residents of Bucyrus had a schoolhouse 
 constructed. It was of logs, and 20 feet square, 
 and the site selected was in a grove of oak and 
 walnut trees owned by Samuel Norton. It was 
 along the Indian trail which passed through 
 Bucyrus a few rods north of the river, between 
 
404 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the Norton and Bucklin log cabins. It was 
 about where the Shunk Plow Works now are. 
 It was built in 1824, and the first teacher was 
 Zalmon Rowse, at $15 per month. There was 
 not sufficient money in the school fund to run 
 the school more than a few months, but some 
 of the citizens subscribed money so that the 
 school term could be extended and one sum- 
 mer the neighbors did his farm work while he 
 taught the school, but generally in summer it 
 was used for the smaller children only, people 
 paying a small tuition. In summer the larger 
 children were needed to work and could only 
 be spared to attend school in winter. The 
 growth of the town soon left the little school- 
 house far too small to accommodate the pu- 
 pils ; added to this was the fact that the country 
 was being settled up rapidly near Bucyrus, and 
 in winter many scholars walked in three and 
 four miles to attend, there being no schools 
 in their neighborhood, so it was determined 
 to build a larger schoolhouse. A one-story 
 brick building was erected 18x36 feet in size 
 near the southeast corner of Walnut and 
 Galen. The brick were made by Albigence 
 Bucklin, his brickyard being at the rear of his 
 lot where the T. & O. C. railroad crosses Mans- 
 field street. This building was not only used 
 for a schoolhouse but later for the court house 
 and public meetings, and there was hardly a 
 Sunday but what some denomination held 
 services in the building. Only the common 
 branches were taught, reading, writing, arith- 
 metic, geography and history, but occasionally 
 some of the teachers gave instructions in gram- 
 mar. Among the teachers in this early build- 
 ing were Horace Pratt, Sallie Davis, Dr. Sam- 
 uel Horton, William White, Mrs. Espy and 
 her two daughters, Maggie and Elmira. 
 
 In 1832, Bucyrus was selected as the county 
 seat, and the citizens decided that the village 
 ought to own their own schoolhouse. Mr. 
 Norton donated the lot, southwest corner of 
 Galen and Walnut for school purposes. The 
 following is the record of the start of the 
 present Bucyrus schools: 
 
 "Agreeably to public notice given by the school direct- 
 ors of the school district in Bucyrus township a meet- 
 ing of the house holders was held at the school house in 
 said district on Thursday, Feb. 21, 1833, and John Smith 
 was called to the chair, and the object of the meetmg 
 made known by Z. Rowse. 
 
 "When on motion of Henry St. John, it was resolved 
 
 unanimously that the school directors be and are hereby 
 empowered to purchase the school house from the 
 owners at any price not exceeding two hundred dollars. 
 "Resolved, 2d, That a tax levy for the aforesaid pur- 
 pose be levied and collected within one year from and 
 after that date. 
 
 "Attest John Caldwell, District Clerk." 
 
 The building must have been purchased as 
 on Oct. 15, 1833, the minutes show: 
 
 "Agreeably to public notice, the householders met at 
 the schoolhouse in said district on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 
 and elected George Sweney, James Marshall and Nicho- 
 las Failor, directors; Lewis Cary, treasurer; and James 
 McCracken, clerk of said district. 
 
 "Attest John Caldwell, District Clerk." 
 
 Bucyrus now had a schoolhouse, owned by 
 the village. But it was soon too small to ac- 
 commodate the increasing number of pupils. 
 From the time of building the first log school- 
 house in 1824 and previous to that, schools had 
 been held in several buildings, teachers miaking 
 a canvass of the village and securing as many 
 pupils as possible at so much per term. Be- 
 sides the school of Sarah Cary over her fa- 
 ther's harness store, there was a vacant log 
 house on the McCracken property, now the 
 Mader Block, and here in 1829 or 1830 Sallie 
 Davis taught a school. The old log building 
 built by Samuel Myers, south of the J. K. 
 Myers corner was used for school purposes, 
 and in an abandoned frame building on the 
 northeast corner of Walnut and Perry a private 
 school was taught. In the old log building 
 built as a district schoolhouse, on the corner of 
 W^arren and Spring schools were held. When 
 the American House was building Miss Emily 
 Rowse taught school in what was later the hotel 
 office. 
 
 In 1838 the four square miles in the north- 
 eastern part of Bucyrus township was the Bu- 
 cyrus school district. This was divided in four 
 districts. No. i being the southwest district; 
 No. 6 the northwest. No. 7 the northeast, and 
 No. 8 the southeast. The school children at 
 that time, with the directors were as follows. 
 
 District Directors Boys Girls Total 
 
 I — Abraham Myers, Samuel A. 
 
 Magers, John Anderson.... 41 41 82 
 6 — Samuel Norton, James C. 
 
 Steen, James McCracken... 32 19 51 
 7 — David Saylor, Peter Worst 
 
 Nicholas Failor 51 56 107 
 
 8 — John Davis, John A Gormly 
 
 George Sinn 2P 38 75 
 
 Total pupils 161 154 31S 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 405 
 
 At that time the total number of school chil- 
 dren in Bucyrus township was 529, which left 
 214 in the township outside of Bucyrus. Of 
 these 108 were boys and 106 were girls. 
 
 In 1839 a larger schoolhouse was built; it 
 was a frame building, and on the lot donated 
 by Mr. Norton; it was 30 by 50 feet, two 
 stories high, with a tower. The building is 
 still in use, being the front of the present Park 
 House. In front it had five windows on the 
 second floor with four on the rirst floor with 
 the door in the centre. There were two rooms 
 on each floor, a hall running east and west on 
 both floors separating the rooms. The furni- 
 ture was made by the workmen of the village, 
 and was mostly of walnut, and for that day the 
 interior as well as the building itself was one 
 of the finest village schoolhouses in the State. 
 At the rear and on the north were oak and 
 walnut trees. The house was painted white, 
 with green shutters. In the belfry a bell was 
 placed, the first schoolhouse bell in Bucyrus. 
 The first school was opened in October, 
 1840. There were five teachers. In these 
 days boys and girls were in separate rooms. S. 
 Fry taught the more advanced boys, and J. B. 
 Squier, afterwards one of the leading physi- 
 cians of the county at Sulphur Springs, taught 
 the smaller boys. Miss Marshall taught the 
 more advanced girls, and the smaller girls were 
 taught by Miss Gary and Miss Espy. Owing 
 to boys being needed at home, there were many 
 more girls than boys in attendance, and two 
 teachers were needed for the younger girls, 
 both being in the same room. 
 
 Only the common branches were taught, the 
 highest instruction reached being grammar 
 and natural philosophy. During the winter of 
 1847, Joseph R. Whitum taught the higher 
 branches in a private school. He was a grad- 
 uate of Jefl^erson College, Pa. The session of 
 his school commenced on Nov. 15, and was to 
 continue for five months, his prices for the 
 term being $6 for the lower English branches, 
 including geography, arithmetic and the lower 
 English branches; $8 for natural philosophy, 
 chemistry, history, &c. ; and $10 for the Latin 
 and Greek languages, including algebra, geom- 
 etry and surveying. E. G. Chambers the next 
 year had a private school for the higher 
 branches. 
 
 In 1849 the Legislature passed a law for the 
 
 better regulation of schools in cities, towns and 
 villages which permitted the organization of 
 graded or union schools. Prior to this among 
 the early teachers were William Blowers, 1822, 
 James Martin, Moses Arden, John Blowers, 
 Zalmon Rowse, Jonas Scott, Dr. Samuel Hor- 
 ton, Joseph Newell, John Davis, William Y. 
 McGill, Horace Rowse, Abraham Myers, jr., 
 Abraham Holm, jr., William White, S. Fry, 
 J. B. Squier, John D. Sears, J. S. Plant, Jo- 
 seph R. Whitum, E. G. Chambers, Jacob Hof- 
 man, and Messrs. Camp, Everson, Kiskaden, 
 Lee, McMullen, Needham, Wallace and Yost, 
 date of teaching unknown. The lady teachers 
 were Alta Kent, 1823; Sarah Gary and her 
 sister, Sallie Davis and her sister, Emily 
 Rowse, Margaretta Williams, Mrs. Espy and 
 her two daughters Maggie and Elmira, Miss 
 Marshall, Ann McCracken, and Hannah J. 
 Dunn. 
 
 Bucyrus determined to take advantage of 
 this new system, and the question was sub- 
 mitted to the voters of the village in April, 
 1849, and it was voted down. Jacob Scroggs 
 in a history of the schools written by him in 
 1876, says the friends of the new system were 
 Josiah Scott, Lawrence W. Hall, Dr. Willis 
 Merriman, Aaron Gary, Dr. Jacob Augustein, 
 Rev. John Pettitt, J. B. Larwih, John Ander- 
 son, John Moderwell, M. P. Bean, editor of 
 the Forum, (the only paper in the village,) 
 Col. Zalmon Rowse, and others. Mr. 
 Scroggs, speaking of the opposition says: 
 " The most serious and obstinate opposition 
 came from a few men of wealth, who had no 
 children to educate, or who cared little for 
 any education beyond what was necessary to 
 compute interest at 12 per cent." The friends 
 of the system had a special election called on 
 July of 1849, three months after its defeat, 
 and this time they succeeded in carrying it. 
 The citizens shortly after assembled and 
 elected the first board of education in Bucy- 
 rus ; Rev. John Pettitt, John Anderson, Aaron 
 Gary, Dr. Jacob Augustein, Dr. Willis Mer- 
 riman, and John Moderwell, all active and 
 zealous friends of the new school system. The 
 first board organized by electing Dr. Willis 
 Merriman, president; Aaron Cary, secretary; 
 Dr. Jacob Augustein, treasurer. The first 
 school opened on the first Monday in May, 
 1850, with Israel Booth as superintendent at 
 
406 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a salary of $600 per year; Miss Diana Taylor 
 of Syracuse, N. Y., was the first high school 
 teacher, her salary being $25 a month; T. C. 
 Bowles of Ashland taught the senior grammar 
 at $25 per month ; N. P. Tarr taught the junior 
 grammar at $20 per month, but before the 
 term expired he was compelled to resign on 
 account of ill health and Jacob Scroggs suc- 
 ceeded him. Miss Ann McCracken and Miss 
 Myra Fitzsimmons had charge of the second- 
 ary and primary departments at $13 per month. 
 The board levied a special tax, which in addi- 
 tion to the sum allowed by the State under the 
 new law, would be sufficient to maintain the 
 schools. The board adopted rules to govern 
 the schools, eight to guide the superintendent, 
 nine for the teachers, and six special and 
 twenty-five general rules for the pupils. 
 Here are some of the rules : 
 " School week five and one-half days ; five 
 days one week, six days the next." 
 
 " Use of tobacco prohibited in the schools." 
 " Teachers will be admonished, reproved, or 
 expelled for drinking intoxicating liquors or 
 using profane language." 
 
 "A chapter from the Bible must be read once 
 a day." 
 
 "Teachers will be sustained in opening school 
 with prayer, and with a reasonable time de- 
 voted to devotional exercises." 
 
 "Teachers must be at their room at the 
 ringing of the first bell. In winter they must 
 see that their rooms are heated and swept be- 
 fore the pupils arrive." 
 
 The text books were McGufifey's readers and 
 spelling book ; Ray's arithmetic with Colburn's 
 mental; Mitchell's geography, Pineo's gram- 
 mar, and such others as the board selects. 
 
 The frame schoolhouse could not contain 
 all the departments, so the high school, taught 
 by Mr. Booth, was in the third story of the An- 
 derson building, opposite the present office of 
 the Journal and Telegraph. 
 
 Before the schools started the people saw the 
 benefits of the new system, as on March 15, 
 1850, an election was held to levy a tax of 
 $4,000 for the purpose of building a new 
 schoolhouse. The proposition carried by a 
 vote of 146 to 71. This building was erected 
 on the west half of the lots now occupied by 
 the central building, and was a two-story brick 
 with a cupola, and when completed the entire 
 
 second floor was occupied by the high school, 
 with two small rooms at the rear for the school 
 library and for recitation rooms. The two 
 rooms on the lower floor were the grammar 
 departments, the old frame being used for the 
 intermediate and primary departments. Prof. 
 Booth remained as superintendent for two 
 years, and was devoted to his work, and as the 
 first superintendent did much to place the 
 schools on a substantial basis. He was prob- 
 ably like many literary men a trifle absent 
 minded. He was married while teaching at 
 Bucyrus. The lady of his choice lived at Nor- 
 walk and a day being set by her for the wed- 
 ding he obtained permission of the board to 
 dismiss the high school on the day of the 
 wedding. The permission was readily granted, 
 but at noon on the day set for the wedding, one 
 of the school board met the Professor and 
 expressed his astonishment at seeing him. 
 The Professor failed to see why there need be 
 any astonishment at his attending to his duties. 
 " No reason at all," said the man, "but I 
 thought it was today we had given you a day 
 off to go to Norwalk and get married." The 
 Professor turned pale. He had a date to get 
 married at two o'clock, and his bride was at 
 Norwalk over thirty miles away. There was 
 no railroad to Norwalk, and no telegraph in 
 those days. Mr. Booth never waited to tell his 
 pupils there would be no school that afternoon ; 
 he hurried to the livery stable, secured the best 
 team available and started on his long journey 
 across the country ; a rain came up, and through 
 the wet and mud he urged the team, and at 
 midnight reached Norwalk. In the meantime, 
 while he was driving frantically across the 
 country the friends had assembled at the 
 bride's residence, the time passed, and the bride 
 dressed for the ceremony waited in her room 
 for her expected husband, at first patiently and 
 then impatiently ; the people waited in the room 
 below and the minister waited, and still the 
 time wore on, until satisfied it was useless to 
 wait any longer, about six o'clock the people 
 left. The evening passed away and still no 
 word from the groom, and the bride and her 
 family were justly indignant that no message 
 had been sent by him explaining the delay, and 
 all retired. About midnight there was a ter- 
 rific pounding at the door and the girl's fa- 
 ther responded and found at the doorway his 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 407 
 
 prospective son-in-law covered with mud from 
 head to foot. The interview did not start har- 
 moniously, but Mr. Booth finally succeeded in 
 explaining how he had forgotten the day, 
 which made the old man madder than ever, 
 but later he listened to the earnest protestations 
 of the young man, began to see the humor of 
 the situation, and agreed to let him make his 
 explanations to his daughter, if she would 
 consent to see him. Then came another hitch; 
 she wouldn't. Finally, she consented, and Mr. 
 Booth again explained the matter, but the 
 young lady filled with the disappointment of 
 her postponed ceremony, expressed her opinion 
 in a way not very complimentary to her un- 
 fortunate lover. He explained and entreated, 
 and finally as Tennyson puts it, 
 
 "Like torrents from a mountain source 
 They rushed into each other's arms." 
 
 The next morning the minister was sent for ; 
 there was a quiet, private wedding, and Mr. 
 Booth brought his bride to Bucyrus. When 
 Mr. Booth left here he went to Sullivan, Ind., 
 where he died in the fall of i860. 
 
 Succeeding Mr. Booth as superintendent, 
 was H. S. Martin in the spring of 1852, with 
 a salary of $500, but he remained but one term 
 and was succeeded by M. Hill on Nov. 8, 1852, 
 the salary being $600. The new school build- 
 ing was now completed, the last term of the 
 high school having been held in the Methodist 
 church. In the fall of 1853 David Kerr was 
 superintendent and remained two years at $600 
 a year. ' In the fall of 1855 J. K. Mason be- 
 came superintendent at the same salary, but 
 only remained six months, and on Monday 
 April 14, John Hopley became superintendent 
 with a salary of $700. The schools now had 
 seven teachers. In December of 1856, the 
 Bucyrus Journal published an account of a 
 spelling school written by Dr. W. R. S. Clark 
 in which 50 pupils took part, divided into two 
 sides, and spelling and defining the words in 
 McGuffey's Fourth Reader. The article says : 
 "After three hours, twelve of the two contend- 
 ing parties retained their position on the floor, 
 having neither spelled nor defined a single word 
 incorrectly, although 600 had been given to 
 them. The finale was exceedingly spirited. 
 One young lady maintained her position against 
 an opposition of ten, spelling down in succes- 
 
 sion nine of them, when the exercises were 
 closed from the simple fact that the book had 
 been exhausted." The young lady who spelled 
 down the nine was Miss Virginia Swingly, 
 still living, the wife of James B. Gormly. The 
 tenth who retained the floor for the other side, 
 was her sister Miss Marcella Swingly, later 
 superintendent of the schools, and afterward 
 marrying Major E. C. Moderwell. 
 
 The next December another spelling school 
 was held with a crowded house, and the report 
 of this gives the names of those who spelled 
 through a book of a thousand words without 
 an error several of whom are still living : "In 
 the High School, Misses Mary E. Moderwell, 
 Georgianna Merriman, Elizabeth Moderwell, 
 Amanda Kimmel, Jane Sims, Melinda Light- 
 ner, Ophelia Didie, Elizabeth Rexroth, Sarah 
 Rexroth, and Master Hiram Moderwell ; in the 
 Senior Grammar School, Misses Helen Van 
 Tyne, Fidelia Howenstein, Mary Gormly, 
 Lydia Rexroth, Elizabeth Rowse, Margaret 
 Fulton, Anna T. Fulton, Elizabeth Bradley, 
 Masters Albert Van Tyne, David Hall, John 
 Moderwell, Eugene Sims, Daniel Kanzleiter, 
 Rufus Kuhn and Leroy Henthorn. Miss 
 Emma Shaw from the junior grammar school, 
 retained her place on the floor during the pro- 
 nunciation of over 900 words, Miss Mary 
 Howenstein, from the same department, kept 
 up until after 800 words had been spelled and 
 defined." Of those mentioned two are still liv- 
 ing in Bucyrus, Miss Sarah Rexroth, the widow 
 of Rev. T. J. Monnett, and Eugene Sims. Of 
 the others, nearly all have descendants whose 
 homes are in. and around Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Hopley remained for two years, and 
 under him the schools were developed into sys- 
 tem, and graded schools were for the first time 
 really started, and have continued ever since. 
 He was succeeded in the spring of 1858 by 
 Alexander Miller, who had charge for three 
 years at a salary of $800. The pupils in- 
 creased in such numbers that additional room 
 was needed, and at different times the M. E. 
 Church, the old Baptist Church on Walnut 
 street, and the Congregational Church had to 
 be used for school purposes. In September, 
 1 861, B. B. McVey became superintendent at 
 a salary of $800, and remained three years, 
 and in September, 1864 was succeeded by S. J. 
 Kirkwood, the salary being increased to $1,- 
 
408 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ooo. He only remained one year and in Sep- 
 tember, 1865, J. C. Harper became superin- 
 tendent and remained five years, his salary be- 
 ing several times increased until his last year it 
 was $1,600. Under Air. Harper the grading 
 was still further systematized, the new school- 
 house was built and the first class was grad- 
 uated. 
 
 The crowded condition of the schools was 
 such that in 1863 the board took the first steps 
 toward securing better accommodations. On 
 May 18, 1863, three propositions were sub- 
 mitted to the people: 
 
 I — For the sale of the old schoolhouse. This 
 resulted, Yes 83 ; Xo i . 2 — For the purchase 
 of the Gormly grove; Yes 84; Xo o. 3 — For 
 a tax to improve said lot, Yes 84, X'o o. Every- 
 body appeared to favor the proposition so a 
 light vote was cast. The Gormly grove a lit- 
 tle over two acres adjoining the school build- 
 ing on the east was purchased for $1,600. In 
 June they voted unanimously, but only 2"] 
 votes were cast, to build an addition to the 
 brick schoolhouse, and to levy a tax of $9,000 
 for that purpose. Xothing was done about 
 building the addition, and two years later the 
 Congregational Church was bought for S3 .000, 
 and fitted up into school rooms ; the old frame 
 schoolhouse on West ^^'arren was now a part 
 of the Bucyrus School district, and here the 
 senior grammar had quarters. There was a 
 wa^e throughout the state for large school 
 buildings, and on Feb. 24, 1866, a proposition 
 was submitted to the people to levy a tax of 
 840,000 to build a handsome new structure. 
 The vote was yes 160, no 275. a majority of 
 106 against a large building. ]More room was 
 absolutely necessary and the board submitted 
 another proposition on April 13, 1867, asking 
 for Si 0,000 or S20,ooo for a new building. 
 The vote resulted, For a 820,000 levy, 102 ; for 
 a Sio,ooo levy, 7; against any levy 44. The 
 820,000 proposition carried, and with this as 
 a starter the board commenced the present 
 building. A. Koehler of Cleveland was the 
 architect who drew the designs, and when he 
 presented them to the board, they were all so 
 pleased that they later let the contract to the 
 Bucyrus Machine Works to construct the 
 building for $46,900. In the fall of 1867 the 
 work commenced, and in April 1868, the old 
 building was torn down, and the corner stone 
 
 of the new one laid by the Masonic fraternity 
 on July 30, 1868, in the presence of 5,000 peo- 
 ple. Rev. Joshua Crouse and John R. Cljnuer, 
 editor of the Forum, delivering addresses in 
 English, and Rev. Jacob Graessle, in German. 
 The foundation was completed and the walls 
 were up, when money ran short, and an addi- 
 tional $20,000 was asked for. Many were in- 
 dignant at the manner in which so large a 
 structure tiad been contracted for against their 
 wishes, yet the people had such a pride in the 
 handso(ne structure, that the levy was author- 
 ized, the vote standing for the tax 195; 
 against 144. 
 
 From April i, 1868, until Jan. i, 1869, 
 schools were discontinued to save money to 
 complete the building. It was useless to ask 
 for more money; the Congregational Church 
 was sold to the Baptists for $2,750 and every- 
 thing salable was turned into cash, and by Feb. 
 I, 1869, the building was under roof. On Jan. 
 I, 1869 the schools had started, the high 
 school in the Blair Hall, the senior grammar 
 in the District schoolhouse on Warren street, 
 and the Intermediate and Primaries in the old 
 frame. On Sept. 18, 1869 the building was 
 dedicated, Chapel Hall being crowded, and 
 many unable to gain admittance A dedicatory 
 poem written by William Hubbard was read by 
 John R. Clymer; addresses were delivered by 
 State School Commissioner D. W. Hinkle, 
 Rev. A. S. :^Iillholland, C. \\\ Butterfield Prof. 
 J. C. Hartzler of the Gallon schools. Miss Sarah 
 Franz and others, and the affair closed with a 
 dance. The board was heavily in debt, and 
 812,000 was asked for. An accounting was de- 
 manded. The board made a coinplete state- 
 ment, showing the two levies voted had brought 
 in 840,000; from the sale of old buildings, 
 &c., they had raised 85,000. The amount paid 
 the Bucyrus Machine Company on their con- 
 tract was 850,415.69; the furniture, heating 
 outbuildings and other necessary expenses 
 amounted to 825,000 more. With receipts 
 from the regular school levies and the bond 
 sales the board had spent 8120,000 in the past 
 four years in running the schools and on the 
 building. The report showed that while 
 there were some expenses that might have been 
 a\oided, there Avas nothing dishonest and 
 nothing to reflect on the business integrity of 
 any member of the board. Yet the people were 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 409 
 
 indignant at the manner in which an expensive 
 building had been forced upon them against 
 their wishes, several times expressed by their 
 vote, and the money was refused, the vote 
 standing. Yes 151 ; No, 292. The debts had to 
 be paid and a friendly Legislature was appealed 
 to and they authorized the Board of Education 
 to make the levy, and it was done. The people, 
 however, at the first election voted out of of- 
 fice every member of the board when he came 
 up for reelection. Yet inside of ten years all 
 took such a just and natural pride in what was 
 then the largest and handsomest school build- 
 ing of any town in the state, that opinion 
 changed, and they gave credit to the men who, 
 exercising their own judgment against the 
 wishes of the people, had seen fit to build the 
 handsome structure believing that the people 
 would later recognize they were acting for 
 the best interests of Bucyrus and its school 
 children, and while not one of the members of 
 that board is alive today, every one lived long 
 enough to see his act approved by the large 
 majority of his fellow citizen ;. The board 
 who built the present schoolhouse was made up 
 as follows : Dr. C. Fulton, president ; John R. 
 Clymer, secretary; John Franz, treasurer; 
 Judge James Clements, George Donnenwirth, 
 and Samuel Hoyt. 
 
 In the summer of 1870, Miss Marcella 
 Swingly became superintendent of the schools 
 with a salary of $1,100; she was succeeded 
 three years later by F. M. Hamilton, who 
 served the longest term of any superintendent. 
 He commenced in 1873, his salary being $1,700. 
 After 22 years he was succeeded in 1895, by J. 
 J. Bliss, who remained 12 years, and in Sep- 
 tember, 1907, W. N. Beetham became the su- 
 perintendent. 
 
 When the new building was first used as a 
 schoolhouse in 1870, the enrollment was 785 ; 
 of these 38 were in the High School, 182 in the 
 four grammar schools, 266 in the five inter- 
 mediate, and 299 in the four primary. In 1887 
 the enrollment had increased to 1,065, ^"^^ 
 across the river, were several hundred people, 
 and more school accommodations being neces- 
 sary, the North Side schoolhouse was built; 
 and as the occasion demanded other school 
 buildings were erected, the West Side build- 
 ing in 189s, when the enrollment showed 1,325, 
 and the East Side building in 1903, and the 
 
 South Side building in 1912, and arrange- 
 ments are being made for the building of a 
 Central High School building. The High 
 School, which in 1870 had an enrollment of 
 38 and occupied one room in the new building 
 today has an enrollment of 295, and occupies 
 the entire third floor and a pan of the second 
 of the large Central building. The one teacher 
 then has increased to a principal with nine in- 
 structors of the various branches. The total 
 school force is now 41, the superintendent, 38 
 teachers, and two special instructors. 
 
 The veteran teachers of the past were Mrs. 
 Caroline P. Wiley, widow of George Wiley, 
 who was the second probate judge of the 
 county, elected in 1854, and died in August, 
 1855. In 1857 Mrs. Wiley commenced teach- 
 ing in the public schools, and resigned in 1892, 
 after a service of 35 years, filling her position 
 in the primary grade under seven superintend- 
 ents. The other veteran teacher was Miss 
 Sarah Sheckler, who commenced in 1865, and 
 taught in various departments until 1897, a 
 period of 32 years. Of the present teachers, 
 Miss Emily Sheckler began in 1873 and Miss 
 Lizzie Stauffer in 1874. 
 
 The first class was graduated in 1870, and 
 numbered six, all young ladies, Sarah Franz, 
 Mary Howenstein, Anna Sears, Sallie Sims. 
 Emma Summers and Kate Swingley. The next 
 class had but three and the class of '72 had 
 nine, when the first young men were gradu- 
 ated, Thomas P. Hopley and Charles Picking, 
 the former being the first president of the 
 Alumni Association, which was organized in 
 1878. The youngest graduate was Charles J. 
 Scroggs, who completed the school course be- 
 fore he had reached his fourteenth birthday. 
 He was a member of the class of 'jj. 
 
 In i860 the Ohio State Normal School was 
 organized at Bucyrus with Martain Deal as 
 president, the first term started on Aug. 13 of 
 that year; the rooms were in the third story of 
 the Quinby Block and over each window in 
 large letters was painted the name of the in- 
 stitution. There were 24 windows in the 
 building, and the singularity was the name al- 
 lowed a letter over each window with a window 
 intervening between each word. Isaac F. 
 Bangs was the principal of the school, with 
 Miss Harriet M. Angel as assistant. The first 
 term had an enrollment of 54. This was in- 
 
410 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 creased the next year to 70, but war times 
 came on, limiting the attendance, and on Feb. 
 13, 1863 the school was discontinued. 
 
 The first teachers' institute was held in 1850, 
 commencing on March 18, and continuing one 
 week, and there was an attendance of 30. A 
 second was held in October of the same year 
 with 35 present, and the third in April, 1861. 
 
 In the early days nearly all business was 
 done by exchange of commodities, what one 
 man had he exchanged with his neighbor for 
 what he might want that the neighbor had. 
 And even merchants purchased their supplies 
 more with an exchange of commodities than 
 with cash. The farmer brought in his 12 
 dozen eggs or more, and exchanged them for 
 a yard of calico or less. If any man accumu- 
 lated too much money, he secreted it about the 
 house, or buried it in his yard. That is, if it 
 was real money, gold or silver. For the money 
 in those early days was mostly paper issued 
 by banks in the larger cities. If he had these, 
 he promptly paid them out for more land or 
 something tangible, as they were of such fluct- 
 uating value that their purchasing power varied 
 from nothing up to few cents below par. No 
 man was so wise, but he frequently found his 
 stock disposed of for currency which had little 
 or no value. Leading merchants had a bank de- 
 tector which they received weekly which gave 
 the value of all notes issued by the different 
 banks in the United States, so they might know 
 the value of all currency, and also keep posted 
 on the counterfeit notes in circulation, for the 
 money was cheaply printed and easily imi- 
 tated. 
 
 Business men kept their own money, and in 
 1848 Dr. R. T. Johnston had a drug store, and 
 one night was aroused by the cry of "fire," and 
 hurried to the scene and found that his own 
 store was in danger. He knew that in his desk 
 was a wallet containing a large sum of money. 
 The building was filled with smoke, but he 
 found his way to his desk which he unlocked, 
 took out the wallet and made his exit by the 
 back door, and here half suffocated, he stag- 
 gered into purer air and falling, dropped the 
 pocket book among the debris in the backyard. 
 There was no time for further search and he 
 was compelled to abandon the wallet. The 
 next morning after a two hours' search he 
 found the wallet in the ruins at the back of the 
 
 building with several hundred dollars safe in- 
 side. 
 
 The town was increasing in business, and in 
 1849 William W. Miller and Paul I. Hetich 
 started a broker's office in the Hetich Block, 
 now 1 19 South Sandusky. Mr. Miller came to 
 Bucyrus with his father Peter Miller in 1835, 
 and their first work was to haul dirt from over 
 the river to fill up the Public Square, which 
 was under water about half the year. With 
 his father, in December of that year, they 
 purchased the Moderwell building where the 
 Hotel Royal now stands for $850 and started 
 a store. The firm was Peter Miller & Son un- 
 til the father died in 1839, when Mr. Miller 
 conducted the business alone, until the building 
 was destroyed by the fire in 1848, which 
 burned a dozen buildings on the southwest 
 corner of the Square. Mr. Miller had pros- 
 pered. Paul I. Hetich came from Pennsylva- 
 nia -in 1837, was interested in a saw mill at 
 Olentangy, and he too had prospered. So they 
 started the first bank in Bucyrus. 
 
 They put out a sign with only the words 
 "Hetich & Miller, Exchange Brokers." Their 
 business was the exchanging of the notes of 
 different States; a merchant going east, went 
 to the office, and exchanged what western bank 
 notes he had for notes on eastern banks, as 
 western notes were only taken in the east at a 
 very heavy discount. Similarly people coming 
 from the east, had their money exchanged for 
 western notes, a per cent being charged for the 
 exchange. Another line was the buying of 
 "uncurrent funds," — the notes of broken or 
 badly demoralized banks. Still another was 
 the lending of the money, the interest being 
 only limited by the emergency of the bor- 
 rower and what he would stand. In the 
 thirties, E. B. Merriman had need of money as 
 he had a bargain in some cattle to take east. 
 Money was not to be had in Bucyrus, so he 
 rode across the country to Norwalk and se- 
 cured of John Gardiner who ran a bank there, 
 $1,000, bought his cattle, took them east and 
 sold them. After the sale he discovered a bar- 
 gain in a large line of mercantile goods and he 
 purchased the entire lot which he brought to 
 Bucyrus, and when pay day came he had plenty 
 of merchandise, but no money; Gardiner wrote, 
 and Merriman explained the situation and 
 stated that when the goods were sold, he would 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 411 
 
 meet the note; time passed until three years 
 rolled by, when Mr. Merriman wrote that at 
 the next payment of the Indians of their an- 
 nuities allowed by the Government he would 
 have the money ready. Gardiner drove across 
 with his wagon; the Government paid the In- 
 dians in silver, and as fast as they were paid 
 off they paid the accounts they owed Mr. Mer- 
 riman, and when Mr. Gardiner returned he 
 took with him over $2,700 in silver, the interest 
 having been 40 per cent compounded annually. 
 The Gardiner Bank is still running, and is now 
 the Norwalk National, with John Gardiner as 
 president, over 90 years of age, and at the of- 
 fice nearly every day. Hetich & Miller were 
 probably more modest in their interest charges, 
 but still their only limit was what the customer 
 would stand. 
 
 The exchange office was so successful, that 
 one of the proprietors was known as the "rich 
 Miller." On April 18, they started the Bucy- 
 rus Bank, with a capital stock of $20,000. It 
 was located in the old Ward building, then the 
 Miller Block, where the Flohr shoe store now 
 is. The owners of the bank were Paul I. 
 Hetich, William W. Miller, George Quinby, 
 Franklin Adams of Bucyrus ; David Anderson 
 of DeKalb, R. W. Musgrave of Sulphur 
 Springs, Abraham Momnett of Crawford 
 County, John Sherman, James Purdy and 
 William S. Granger of Mansfield. Paul I. 
 Hetich was president and David Anderson, jr., 
 cashier. In 1856 the bank reorganized, He- 
 tich, Miller, Adams and Musgrave becoming 
 the proprietors. Paul I. Hetich was president, 
 with George Quinby as cashier, succeeded by 
 Gerard Reynolds and later in 1856 by Frank 
 Patterson who held the position until Janu- 
 ary I, 1861, when he was succeeded by David 
 L. Fullerton, and on July i, 1861, the bank 
 discontinued business. 
 
 On Monday, April 21, 1856, the Exchange 
 Bank commenced business in a frame building 
 at the west end of the Quinby Block, with 
 George Quinby as president and Gerard Rey- 
 nolds as cashier. James B. Gormly had just 
 completed a business course at the Cincinnati 
 Commercial College, and entered the bank as 
 teller. Mr. Quinby was at that time treasurer 
 of the Ohio and Indiana road and the bank was 
 a depository for the railroad funds. The stock 
 of the road was very low, and the bank fre- 
 
 quently bought up the road's certificates at 5 
 cents on the dollar. The bank once bought of 
 James McLean $2,000 of stock for $100. Later 
 that same year the road was consolidated with 
 the Ohio and Pennsylvania, and stock went up 
 rapidly. The bank removed to No. 2 Quinby 
 Block until Mr. Quinby could erect the three 
 western rooms of his building and when these 
 were completed the bank returned to the old 
 corner. The bank discontinued business in 
 the spring of 1861, Mr. Quinby went into other 
 business and Mr. Reynolds entered the army, 
 became major in the cavalry service and was 
 killed while leading a charge at the battle of 
 Roanoke, on June 25, 1864. 
 
 The Peoples Deposit Bank commenced busi- 
 ness on Aug. I, 1859, and has been in business 
 ever since, the oldest bank in Bucyrus. It was 
 organized by John A. Gormly and his son James 
 B. Their room was the west room of the 
 Rowse Block. John A. Gormly was president 
 and James B. Gormly, cashier. One impor- 
 tant affair occurred in this room. One day in 
 cashing up they found the funds an even one 
 thousand dollars short. There was no way to 
 account for the loss except from an overpay- 
 ment; there was but one transaction in which 
 they believed the error could possibly have oc- 
 cured; the man was seen, but he assured them 
 there was no overpayment in the transaction. 
 There was no proof and the bank fathered the 
 loss. The father and son were both satisfied 
 as to who had the money, but like the bankers 
 they were, the soul of honor and integrity, they 
 never hinted the name to any one, and the 
 identity of the guilty person is' known to but 
 one man, the present president of the bank, 
 who has carried the secret for over 50 years. 
 In i860 James P. Bowman built his block at 
 the corner of Sandusky and Rensselear; the 
 north room was fitted up expressly for the 
 bank, and here it was moved to its new quar- 
 ters in August, 1 861. In August, 1862, the 
 bank had $20,000 in gold, and the war had 
 sent gold to a premium. Starting at a small 
 per cent it had gone up to 6 and 8, and was 
 constantly advancing. Finally the president 
 wrote to a personal friend, the president of the 
 Nassau Bank, in New York, asking advice, and 
 he said they had better sell as "he did not see 
 how it could possibly go any higher." In Au- 
 gust of that year it had reached 14 per cent 
 
412 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 premium, and ^Ir. John A. Gormly went east 
 to personally look over the situation, and while 
 there sold at 15 per cent, premium, clearing 
 $3,000. (Later gold reached $3.85.) 
 
 On ^lay 28, 1864, the bank was reorganized 
 as the First National Bank \\ith a capital stock 
 of $100,000, its number being 443. There 
 were a thousand shares of $100 each, and there 
 were 34 stockholders, and of these but two are 
 still living, James B. Gormly and Benjamin 
 Sears. They met on April 18, 1864, to organ- 
 ize, and a committee of three consisting of 
 John A. Gormly, James P. Bowman, and 
 W^illiam M. Reid were appointed to report 
 the names of seven directors. When the 
 committee retired, Mr. Gormly regretted be- 
 ing on the committee as he expected to be 
 one of the new directors; Mr. Bowman ex- 
 pressed a similar view, Mr. Reid said they cer- 
 tainly ought to be on, and wrote the names of 
 the seven directors, naming everyone himself; 
 they were reported to the stockholders and 
 promptly elected. These first directors were 
 John A. Gormly, James P. Bowman, James S. 
 Kerr, John Kaler, Horace Rowse, Benjamin 
 Sears and John Monnett, Mr. Sears being 
 the only one still living. The directors organ- 
 ized by electing John A. Gormly president, and 
 James B. Gormly cashier. By Jan. 2, 1865, 
 there was another accumulation of gold, 
 amounting to $1,500, and this was sold at $2.25 
 amounting to $3,375. In June, 1864, George 
 C. Gormly entered the bank as assistant cashier. 
 On May 8, 1868, John A. Gormly died and 
 James B. Gormly became president with George 
 C. Gormly as' cashier. The charter was re- 
 newed in 1884 and again in 1904. In 1893, 
 the bank ^^•as officered by the Gormlys, James 
 B. Gormly being president ; his brother George 
 C., vice-president; John Clark Gormly, son of 
 the vice-president, cashier, and James B., jr., 
 son of the president, assistant cashier. Clark 
 Gormly went into business at Cleveland, and 
 was succeeded as cashier by James B. Gormly, 
 jr., and on his death H. E. Valentine was 
 cashier with Edwin G. Beal as assistant cashier. 
 On the retiring of Air. Valentine, Edwin G. 
 Beal was elected cashier. \\'^hile Mr. James 
 B. Gormly is president the active duties of the 
 office are cared for by his son-in-law, W H. 
 Picking, one of the vice-presidents. 
 
 In 1867, John Scott, J. N. Biddle and R. W. 
 
 Alusgrave, organized the banking house of 
 Scott Biddle & Co., their bank being what is 
 now the south room of the Deal House, the 
 present office of the Bucyrus and Alarion elec- 
 tric. May 18, 1868, on the death of Air. Mus- 
 grave, his interest was transferred to Franklin 
 Adams as trustee. In 1873 the bank was re- 
 organized as the Scott & Adams Bank and so 
 continued until Jan. i, 1879, when the bank 
 was discontinued, Mr. Scott going to Cleve- 
 land. 
 
 Orf Dec. 12, 1881, the Alonnett Bank was or- 
 ganized, with a capital stock of $50,000, the 
 following being the organizers: E. B., J. T., 
 A. E., M. H., and M. W. Alonnett, J. H. 
 Malcolm, J. C. Tobias, L. H. Ross, and George 
 Donnenwirth, every one being a son or son-in- 
 law of Abraham Monnett, excepting Mr. Don- 
 nenwirth. The bank was opened in the Miller 
 Block, now the Flohr shoe stoie, and its first 
 officers were E. B. Monnett, president ; George 
 Donnenwirth ^ice-president ; M. \A'. Monnett 
 cashier, W. A. Blicke assistant cashier. In 
 1892 it was reorganized as the Bucyrus City 
 Bank with a capital stock of $60,000. By de- 
 grees the Monnetts all disposed of their stock 
 with the exception of J. C. Tobias, and George 
 Donnenwirth became president, J. H. Robin- 
 son, cashier, and W. A. Blicke as assistant 
 cashier. In 1897 they bought the corner they 
 now occupy and built the three-story brick. 
 Mr. Donnenwirth has remained as president 
 ever since his first election. Air. Robinson be- 
 came vice-president and W. A. Blicke, cashier. 
 It is the only private bank in the city, and has 
 resources of over a million dollars. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1878, the Crawford County bank 
 commenced business in the old Boeman Block, 
 which stood where the present Second National 
 Bank building is located. It was organized 
 with a capital stock of $50,000 by Abraham 
 Alonnett, George \\^ Hull, L. W. Hull, E. 
 Blair, and Lovell B. Harris of Upper Sandusky. 
 Abraham Alonnett was president ; G. W. Hull, 
 vice-president; L. W. Hull, cashier, and M. 
 W. Monnett, assistant cashier. On March 19, 
 1 88 1, Abraham Alonnett died, and George W. 
 Hull became president. On Jan. i, 1885 it was 
 reorganized as the Second National Bank, with 
 G. ^V. Hull as president, M. J. Monnett, vice- 
 president ; J. C. F. Hull as cashier ; \\\ P. Row- 
 land, assistant cashier; J. H. Robinson, teller. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 413 
 
 On the deatli of G. VV. Hull in 1890, II. J. 
 Monnett became president, filling the position 
 until he went west when E. Blair became presi- 
 dent, a position he held until his death in June 
 of this year, when G. K. Zeigler was elected. 
 J. C. F Hull continued as cashier until he 
 joined his brother-in-law M. J. Monnett, in the 
 west, in 1907, when A. G. Stoltz became 
 cashier. 
 
 The Farmers and Citizens Banking and Sav- 
 ings Company was organized as a State bank- 
 on Oct. 5, 1907. The first board of directors 
 was C. R. Rowe, R. O. Perrott, F C. Heinlen, 
 Fred Schiefer, D. B. Eichelberger, Henry H. 
 
 Heiser, Samuel Fouser, James Decker, Jacob 
 Bach, W H. Angene, A. S. Leuthold. 
 
 The directors organized by electing G. W 
 Miller, president; Amos Keller and T. M. 
 Kennedy, vice-presidents ; H. E. Kiess, cashier. 
 They opened in the Lake room in the Quinby 
 Block on Jan. 6, 1908, and removed to their 
 present room on May 9 of the same year. 
 
 Bucyrus has also two flourishing Building 
 and Loan Associations which have been in e.x- 
 istence twenty years. The Bucyrus Building 
 and Loan Association, with James W. Miller 
 as secretary, and the People's Savings, Loan 
 and Building Company, A. J. Richards, sec- 
 retary. 
 
 CENTRAL PART OF BUCYRUS, 1846 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 CITY OF GALION. 
 
 First House in Galion — Pioneers of Galion — Arrival of Asa Hosford — His Enterprise — 
 The Part Played by Col. Kilbourne in Locating Site of Galion — Various Names of the 
 Early Settlement — Agreement Between Samuel Brown and John Ruhl — The Two Ga- 
 lions — First Business Industry — Post OfUce Established — Postmasters — Coming of the 
 Railroad and Subsequent Prosperity — Visit of Kossuth — The Part Played by German 
 Settlers in Gallon's Upbuilding — John Kraft — Population — Incorporation as a City — 
 Public Buildings — Opera House — First Theatrical Entertainment — Religious Develop- 
 ment — Schools — Societies — Graveyards and Cemeteries — Fire Department — Lighting 
 System — Street and Sewer Improvements — Banks — Building and Loan Associations — 
 Hotels — Public Library — Police Department — Telephone Service — Honor to Gallon's 
 Founders. 
 
 Who'll press for gold this crowded street, 
 
 A hundred years to come? 
 Who'll tread yon church with willing feet, 
 
 A hundred years to come ? 
 
 — Anonymous. 
 
 The first known house erected on the pres- 
 ent site of Galion was on the south bank of 
 the Whetstone on Union street. It was of 
 poles and bark and was built by the Indians, 
 they having a village on that stream, and a 
 few of their houses and wigwams were there 
 when the first pioneers arrived. The first 
 settlers came in 1817, and were Benjamin 
 Leveridge and his two sons, Nathaniel and 
 James. At that time there were a number of 
 springs southwest of where the large central 
 school building is, and here Benjamin Lever- 
 idge and his sons cut down the trees and built 
 a small log cabin, with one window and no 
 floor, and as soon as it was under cover, an- 
 other was built for James a short distance 
 south, on what is now Grove avenue. The 
 third was built for Nathaniel on what is now 
 the public square, and he dug the first well. 
 He had selected the high ground, and was com- 
 pelled to carry his water at the start from 
 the springs near his father's place ; water was 
 easily obtainable at a very little depth so he 
 put in a well of his own. 
 
 The next year saw several more arrivals, 
 David Gill and his brother-in-law, George 
 Wood, John Sturgis, John Williamson, Na- 
 thaniel and Nehemiah Story, and John Kit- 
 teridge. In erecting a cabin for John Wil- 
 liamson, southeast of the square, while raising 
 one of the logs- into position, John Leveridge 
 was killed, an unmarried son of Benjamin 
 Leveridge. He was buried on the northeast 
 corner of his father's land, where Boston 
 street joins Main, and the first graveyard was 
 started. Gill and Wood entered land north 
 of the Whetstone, where they built their 
 cabins. Sturgis built a small log cabin west 
 of the Whetstone and north of the Galion road. 
 When young Leveridge was killed, William- 
 son left his cabin unfinished, returned to the 
 Williamson settlement east of Galion, and 
 later came back and built a new cabin. The 
 Storys and John Kitteridge arrived late in the 
 year, and took possession of the abandoned 
 Williamson cabin, which they completed and 
 here they spent the winter, the next spring 
 building a cabin, on the east bank of the Whet- 
 stone where the Galion road now crosses the 
 river, Benjamin Sharrock came the same year, 
 built a cabin near the Storys, where his family 
 made their home until he could build on his 
 
 414 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 415 
 
 land further down the rivet, and when his log 
 cabin was completed moved there with his 
 family. 
 
 Benjamin Leveridge was the headquarters 
 of the little settlement. The year 1820 saw 
 the arrival of William Hosford, and his two 
 sons, Asa and Horace; also, John Atwood, 
 John Bashford, James Dickerson, Samuel 
 Brown, Samuel Doney, John Dunmeier. Of 
 these Brown, Dunmeier and Doney entered 
 land outside of what is now Gallon. 
 
 Settlers at a distance were now speaking of 
 the settlement as Leveridge's, although it was 
 only half a dozen log houses scattered over 
 three or four square miles. Of these first 
 settlers the Storys and Kitteridge devoted 
 their time to hunting and trapping; George 
 Wood was a carpenter and David Gill was a 
 man of good education, but as there was as yet 
 no use to which he could put his knowledge, he 
 assisted his brother-in-law at carpentering. 
 
 James Kilbourne had surveyed a road from 
 Columbus to Lake Erie known as the Colum- 
 bus and Portland road, and when the survey 
 reached what is now Gabon he made overtures 
 to the Leveridges to run the road over their 
 land and lay out a town, but Leveridge did 
 not take kindly to the giving of half the re- 
 ceipts for the sale of the lots to Kilbourne, 
 and besides he objected to cutting up his good 
 farm land. Kilbourne stopped with Benja- 
 min Leveridge for several days while survey- 
 ing the road, and there was a dispute over 
 the prices charged, so when the road was 
 finally laid out it passed west of Benjamin 
 Leveridge's land, along the east bank of the 
 Whetstone, where the ground was low, and 
 overflowed in the spring. 
 
 It was the idea of Col. Kilbourne to lay 
 out a town half way between Columbus and 
 the Lakes, and the ideal spot he found was on 
 the high ground on the Leveridge land. Be- 
 ing unable to make any arrangement with 
 Leveridge, he continued north with his survey 
 and he met Asa and Horace Hosford, who had 
 come from the east and were looking for a 
 location. He told them of an excellent site 
 for a town, where the land was good, and if 
 a part of the Leveridge land could be secured 
 the town would be laid out there; if not the 
 road would be changed so as to pass just west 
 of that land. Asa Hosford was at that time 
 
 a young man of 20, and already showed signs 
 of that strong force of character and shrewd 
 business ability which were his predominating 
 characteristics later in life. He and his 
 1:)rother went to the Leveridge settlement to 
 look over the location. It was on Saturday, 
 Sept. 19, 1819, that Asa Hosford and his 
 brother Horace walked into what is now 
 Gabon, and went direct to the cabin of Ben- 
 jamin Leveridge. Here they spent Sunday, 
 and while Leveridge urged the young men to 
 settle in that locality, he absolutely refused to 
 give up any of his own land, but showed them 
 other available sites. The Hos fords returned 
 to Norwalk and spent the winter writing their 
 father of the location they had selected; and 
 in the spring of 1820 William Hosford, with 
 his family, joined his two sons at Norwalk 
 and they settled on the half section west of 
 Leveridge, where later the Portland road was 
 located, as stated it would be by Col. Kil- 
 bourne. What is now Main street, Gabon was 
 a half section line, and where this line crosses 
 the Portland road it was originally an old 
 Indian trail that led to the Indian village at 
 Upper Sandusky. This trail was developing 
 into a road by being used by settlers going 
 west to the new lands. At the junction of 
 the Portland road and this pioneer road the 
 Hos fords settled. William Hosford erected 
 a double log cabin on the south side of the 
 road a few rods east of the crossing, which 
 he used for a dwelling and also for the enter- 
 tainment of travelers. 
 
 Horace, one of the sons of William, erected 
 a blacksmith shop on the southeast comer of 
 the crossing just east of his father's, where 
 he followed his trade. George Wood estab- 
 lished a wagon and cabinet-maker's shop on 
 the northeast corner; John Kitteridge a shoe 
 shop and tannery on the northwest corner, 
 and a little later William Hosford started a 
 general store on the southwest corner. When 
 William Hosford sold his double log cabin 
 to his son Asa, he built another log cabin on 
 the east side of the Portland road, just south 
 of the crossing, and in this he lived until he 
 built his store at the crossing, which was 
 known by the various names of "Moccasin," 
 "Horseshoe," "Hard Scrabble," "Spang 
 Town," "Hosfords" and "Goshen." It was 
 called "The Corners" from its location at the 
 
416 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 crossing of the two roads; "Hosford's Settle- 
 ment," as there were three Hosfords there in 
 business. These names were the popular 
 names among the residents in that section. 
 "Moccasin" and "Horseshoe" were names 
 given it by the Indians, and referred to John 
 Kitteridge's shoe shop and Horace Hosford's 
 blacksmith shop, both largely patronized by 
 the Indians. Spang Town and Hard Scrabble 
 were names bestowed upon it by the residents 
 of the settlement, or those who had land near 
 the Leveridges, half a mile east, and were 
 jealous of the town. The Leveridge settle- 
 ment referred to it as a place where it was 
 hard scrabbling to make a living, while those 
 proud of the little cluster of houses spoke of 
 it as a spang town in which to live. The name 
 Goshen was given it by William Hosford in 
 honor of his native village, which was Goshen, 
 Litchfield county. Conn. 
 
 As the adjoining lands were entered and 
 settled upon by the early pioneers, and the 
 surrounding country became more thickly in- 
 habited, the necessity of a post office became 
 more and more apparent. Accordingly a peti- 
 tion was signed by the citizens in 1824, and 
 forwarded to the Post Office Department at 
 Washington requesting that a post office be 
 established at the "Corners," and that it be 
 named Goshen, and that Horace Hosford be 
 appointed postmaster. 
 
 John McLean of Cincinnati was postmaster 
 general, and when he took that office in 1823 
 the department was in a very disordered and 
 inefficient condition, and under him it was 
 reduced to some system. In the early days 
 post offices were always established near some 
 section where there were a number of settlers, 
 and long before a town or village was started, 
 and the post office was given the name of the 
 township in which it was located. In this 
 county, the offices of Auburn, Chatfield, 
 Lykens, and W^hetstone were' started for the 
 convenience of settlers living in the neighbor- 
 hood, and were named after the township in 
 which they were located. At the time the re- 
 quest Avas made for the name of Goshen, 
 there were already six townships of that name 
 in the state, and a post office of the same 
 name in Clermont county- So the postmaster 
 general wrote them it would only add to the 
 confusion existing by establishing another 
 
 Goshen and suggested the name of Galion. 
 And on June 24, 1825, the Galion post office 
 was established with Horace Hosford as post- 
 master. Just as the settlement was known by 
 several names, so was the post office given 
 several spellings, and in the files of the papers 
 the records of the court house, and even the 
 gazeteers prior to 1840, it is spelled sometimes 
 with an "e" and sometimes with a double "1," 
 but these spellings were all erroneous, as the 
 post office department states the name has 
 always been carried on their records as Galion, 
 the same spelling as today. Where the Post- 
 master General found the name, it is impossible 
 to say; he objected to Goshen, on the ground 
 of duplication, and now nearly a century has 
 passed since he gave it its name, and nowhere 
 in the United States is there a town of the 
 same name; the nearest approach to it is a 
 place called Galleon, about twenty miles from 
 Paris, France. Even in the early days it was 
 impossible to find a reason for the name. 
 John Kilbourne, who published the first 
 gazeteers in the State, and tried to give the 
 origin of all names, in his Gazeteer of 1831, 
 published the following: "Galion— the name 
 of a post office in Richland county, supposed 
 to be that in Sandusky township. It is one of 
 that numerous class of worse than useless and 
 insignificant names, which confound the 
 nomenclature of towns and post offices in the 
 western country." 
 
 The permanent arrival of Asa Hosford 
 with his father and brother, in 1820 was the 
 commencement of Galion, and for more than 
 sixty years practically every interest and every 
 improvement in that city found as its warmest 
 supporter, and its recognized head, Asa Hos- 
 ford. In times of emergency, and in times 
 of depression all looked to him, and he re- 
 sponded with all his vigor and his genius, and 
 practicallv all that Galion is today it owes tc 
 Asa Hosford. And when the time comes, as 
 come it will, that the city he builded lavs out 
 some park, it would be only a just and fitting 
 tribute to the memory of Gallon's most pro- 
 gressive citizens that it should be called Hos- 
 ford. 
 
 In the next few years there was quite a 
 settlement in that section; John Cracroft and 
 Tacob Miller came in 1821 : Rev. Tames Dun- 
 lap, William Murray, John Eysman, John 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 417 
 
 Hauck, John Jeffrey, Wm. Murray, Alexander 
 McGrew and Rev. John Rhinehart in 1822; 
 Owen Tuttle in 1823; James Auten and Na- 
 than Merriman in 1824; William Neal, George 
 Row, James Reeves, and John Schawber in 
 1825 ; John Ashcroft, Jonathan Ayres, Thomas 
 Harding, Phares Jackson, and John Sedous 
 in 1826; Francis Clymer and Rev. John Smith 
 in 1828 and Samuel Gerbrecht in 1829. Many 
 of these settled at the corners; others in the 
 Leveridge part, and still others on farms near 
 the two settlements. 
 
 When Asa Hosford, at the suggestion of 
 Col. Kilbourne, endeavored to secure a part of 
 the Leveridge land, a friendship was formed 
 between the two which existed through life. 
 Hosford had confidence the section was a site 
 for a thriving town, but like Kilbourne he was 
 satisfied the place was on the higher ground. 
 But Hosford had no money, and Col. Kil- 
 bourne had surveyed a new road from Colum- 
 bus to Sandusky, eleven miles further west, 
 and had laid out the town of Bucyrus. Hos- 
 ford in the meantime assisted his brother in 
 the blacksmith shop, and helped Wood at the 
 carpentering business, and turned his atten- 
 tion to whatever odd jobs he could secure. 
 His father's double log cabin at the Corners 
 was the largest building, and here travelers 
 were given meals and lodging, but William 
 Hosford had no desire to run a tavern, only 
 caring for travelers as an accommodation, and 
 in 1824, Asa Hosford took charge of the 
 tavern, and his father built and opened a store. 
 Asa Hosford ran a regular tavern, and being 
 single his sister assisted him as the landlady. 
 In 1825 he secured a permanent landlady by 
 marrying Miss Alta Kent of Bucyrvis, and he 
 ran the tavern for several years. In the 
 meantime he had saved $100, and with this 
 he bought 43 acres on the higher ground to the 
 east, on the advice of Col. Kilbourne, as both 
 agreed this was the proper place for the town. 
 He built a frame barn at the Corners, and later 
 the first frame house in Galion, on the north- 
 east corner of the Square. He did fairly well 
 with his hotel, and in 1829 entered into rieeo- 
 tiations with Samuel Brown to join with him 
 and lay out a town. 
 
 In 1830 Tohn Ruhl arrived with his family, 
 a wife and five sons, Michael, Jacob. Levy, 
 Henry and Peter, and a daughter Rebecca. 
 
 who later married Isaac Criley. When they 
 arrived the Ruhls made their home at the Cor- 
 ners in a log cabin without a floor. John 
 Ruhl came from York county. Pa., where he 
 had prospered, and for those days was wealthy. 
 He was a man of good judgment and the 
 strictest business integrity. He had the 
 means, arid purchased much of the land where 
 the city of Galion now stands. The centre of 
 section 31 is two blocks west of the Scpare, at 
 the junction of Boston and Main street. The 
 northeast quarter of this section he sold to 
 his son Jacob, aiid the southeast quarter of 
 the same section he sojd to his son Michael. 
 This land extended frMi Boston street east to 
 South street. Near this land was the 43 acres 
 owned by Asa Hosford. The northeast quar- 
 ter was bought from Samuel Brown, and the 
 contract between Ruhl and Brown for this 
 quarter section is interesting: 
 
 "Article of Agreement, made an entered 
 into this first day of August, A. D. 1831, be- 
 tween Samuel Brown, of Sandusky Township, 
 Richland County, Ohio, yeoman, of the one 
 part, and John Ruhl, of Sandusky Township, 
 and Crawford County and State aforesaid, 
 yeoman, of the other part : 
 
 "Witnesseth, That the said Samuel Brown, 
 for the consideration hereinafter mentioned, 
 doth grant, bargain and sell unto the said 
 John Ruhl, a certain tract of land, with all 
 thereonto belonging (excepting one acre in 
 the southeast* corner of it, which being sold 
 for a churchyard), situated in Sandusky 
 Township, Richland County, aforesaid, being 
 the northeast quarter of Section 31, Town- 
 ship 20, Range 20, and containing — acres, 
 and adjoining the public road leading from 
 Mansfield to Bucyrus, Frederick Dickson and 
 others, for which the said John Ruhl is to pay 
 unto the said Samuel Brown, the sum of fif- 
 teen hundred dollars, in the manner following, 
 viz: Eight hundred dollars in hand on the 
 first dav of September next, and seven hundred 
 dollars on the first day of September, in the 
 year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and thirty- 
 three. The said John Ruhl is to have six 
 geese, six hens and one rooster, to be delivered 
 up to the said Ruhl when said Brown gives 
 full possession, and the said Ruhl is to have 
 
 *This should be soutliwest. The graveyard was in 
 the southwest comer of section 31. 
 
418 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 liberty to cut timber, dig, etc., on said land 
 from the date hereof, and the said Brown is to 
 give the said Ruhl a good right and title for 
 said tract of land when he pays the hand 
 money. But the said Brown is to have the 
 crops now on the ground, and have privilege 
 to live on the said land until the first day of 
 April next; then he is to deliver up all onto 
 the said John Ruhl, excepting the house now 
 on the State road (now occupied as a school- 
 house), which, in case said Brown would not 
 move on the first day of April next, he is to 
 have the privilege of living in two months 
 after, and Sarah Brown is to have stuff for a 
 new frock when she signs the writing.* The 
 said Brown is to have the privilege of sugar 
 camp next to the house, and all the pasture on 
 the farm, excepting the six-acre meadow. But 
 Ruhl is to have privilege to plow the fields. 
 For the true performance of the above agree- 
 ment, both parties bind themselves, their heirs, 
 executors or administrators, one to each other, 
 in the sum of thirty hundred dollars. In wit- 
 ness whereof, both have hereunto set their 
 hands and seals, the day and the year first 
 above written. 
 
 "Witnesses Samuel Brown, (seal) 
 
 "John Ruhl. (seal) 
 
 "Asa Hosford, 
 
 "Benj. Grove. 
 
 This sale of land by Brown to John Ruhl 
 was an astonishment to Mr. Hosford, when 
 he was called upon to witness the agreement, 
 as it prevented the carrying out of his expec- 
 tations of laying out a town in partnership 
 with Mr. Brown. It appears the Ruhls also 
 had an idea that the high ground was the 
 proper place for the town, and Jacob and 
 Michael Ruhl who now owned the east half 
 of section thirty-one, went to Hosford and 
 asked what price he would take for his land. 
 Mr. Hosford saw that it was useless to at- 
 tempt to lay out a town in competition with 
 the Ruhls, and to have at least some compen- 
 sation for his disappointment he asked what 
 was then quite a high price, which the Ruhls 
 paid cheerfully and without demur. In fact, 
 it can be said of the Ruhls, father and sons, 
 that while they were shrewd business men they 
 
 *In early days it was a frequent habit that the wife 
 should receive some present for signing; a deed. 
 
 paid the very highest price for any land they 
 wanted. 
 
 Having now secured the land they sent for 
 the surveyor of Richland county, the land 
 being then in Sandusky township of that 
 county, and on September lo, 183 1, the pres- 
 ent town of Gallon was laid out by Michael 
 and Jacob Ruhl. The original plat com- 
 menced at the alley, half way between Liberty 
 and Columbus streets, and extended west to 
 the alley, half way between Union and Boston 
 streets. The only east and west street was 
 Main, the north and south streets were Colum- 
 bus, Market and Union. There were but 
 thirty-five lots, and every one fronted on Main 
 street, eighteen on the south side of the street 
 and seventeen on the north. About the centre 
 was the public square. In 1833 the Ruhls laid 
 out a second edition, east of their original 
 plat, extending to South street, including where 
 the Big Four station now is. These lots were 
 still all on Main street, with the exception of 
 eight lots south of their original plat, five on 
 the west side of Market street and three on 
 the east. Two of these lots on the west side 
 were south of Walnut street, and the town now 
 had two east and west streets. John Kraft 
 became the owner of lots i and 3 of the original 
 plat, the extreme eastern lots of the original 
 plat on the south side of Main street. An 
 ancient tax receipt shows these two lots were 
 valued at $14, and were taxed at $1.40. The 
 receipt further shows taxes of $1.57 for chat- 
 tel property, making Mr. Kraft's entire taxes 
 
 $3-97- 
 
 It was now a rivalry between the Gallon at 
 the Corners and the Gallon laid out by the 
 Ruhls. When they had bought out Hosford, 
 Jacob Ruhl started a hotel in the building on 
 the northeast corner of the square originally 
 erected by Hosford. On the south side they 
 built a frame building in which Michael Ruhl 
 started a store, carrying goods of all descrip- 
 tions necessary for the settlers in those early 
 days. In connection with this general assort- 
 ment, he carried quite a stock of medicine and 
 although he was not a physician he advised 
 and prescribed for the settlers. The town 
 grew slowly. It was the recognized site for a 
 village, but it was discouraging to look half 
 a mile to the west, and there on the low and 
 sickly ground to see the busy cross roads set- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 419 
 
 tiement with teams passing and repassing on 
 the two roads, and the half dozen little shops 
 patronized by the neighboring settlers. Even 
 the store of William Hosford at the Corners 
 did double the business of the store of Michael 
 Ruhl, which carried twice the stock, but as 
 time went on a gradual change took place, and 
 the little shops drifted from the Corners to 
 the new town, and soon afterwards the post 
 office was removed, and from that time on the 
 Corners became less and less, and today there 
 is not a house on any one of the four corners, 
 which was once the centre of business for that 
 section and a hive of industry, but it has the 
 honor of being the first start of Gallon, the 
 place where the present city originated. And 
 now the Corners will undergo another change, 
 for the land around the cross-roads which for 
 more than forty years has been bare of build- 
 ings was laid out into town lots in 191 1, and 
 will become one of the residence sections of 
 the city, the improved sewerage system of 
 Gallon making this once unhealthy site a de- 
 sirable residence section. 
 
 Near this section on the south side of West 
 Main street, there still stands the first brick 
 house ever erected in Galion, known as the 
 Clymer residence which was built over seventy 
 years ago, by Jacob Ruhl, and is still used as 
 a residence and is in a fair state of preserva- 
 tion. 
 
 The first business industry ever established 
 in Galion was a distillery. It was built near 
 the springs between Atwood and Cherry street 
 by Nathan Merriman, in 1824. Here the set- 
 tlers disposed of their surplus grain and were 
 enabled to buy whiskey for from 18 to 25 cents 
 per gallon. Owing to the pureness of the 
 water, Merriman made a very good brand of 
 whiskey. Prior to the establishment of the 
 distillery John Hibner had a grist-mill, but this 
 was a mile east of Galion. James Nail also 
 had a grist-mill southwest of Galion, on the 
 Whetstone, and still further down the stream 
 was the Benjamin Sharrock mill. Another 
 mill was the Snyder mill near Middletown, 
 and at one of these the early settlers went to 
 have their grain ground into flour, for in those 
 early days what is now Galion was farming 
 land, and on this land the settlers raised their 
 crops, which they must use to exchange for 
 necessaries. 
 
 Mr. Dunlap thus speaks of the condition of 
 that section m the early days: "In 1825 we 
 had a manufacturing establishment in Galion 
 erected by Nathan Merriman, of Bucyrus, to 
 make whiskey of our spare corn and rye. 
 About the same time there was a horse-mill 
 put up by Mr. Snyder at Middletown, where 
 we could get grinding done. The farmers for 
 miles around would put a bag of corn or wheat 
 on a horse, with harness on, take another, if 
 he had it, and go to the mill. If his turn came 
 before night all right. If not, he would hitch 
 up in the night and keep himself awake by 
 traveling around after his horse, and thus 
 grinding his own grain. If it were wheat he 
 could turn a crank attached to a. bolting cloth, 
 and get his flour bolted by hand, and when his 
 flour was ground would come home whistling 
 and singing as happy as a lark." 
 
 The Nail and Sharrock mills were run by 
 water power, large mill races having been con- 
 structed. When Nail built his mill about 1823 
 he contracted with Albigence Bucklin at Bucy- 
 rus to make the mill stones, and when they 
 were completed went to Bucyrus with an ox - 
 team and hauled the stones back to Galion. 
 
 When Asa Hosford disposed of his prop- 
 erty to the Ruhls he purchased land on the 
 Whetstone a half mile west of Galion and 
 here he erected a water-mill, which is still 
 standing. It was built in 1832. The buhrs 
 were made in the east and were shipped by 
 water to Sandusky and he drove to that place 
 and brought them overland, and they are still 
 in use in the mill. While some things about 
 the original mill have been changed, the orig- 
 inal leather belts are still in use to convey the 
 flour in the elevator cups to be bolted and 
 sacked. Some of the large logs are of walnut 
 and poplar, the heavier ones being nearly two 
 feet square, and are as solid, and substantial, 
 today as when first put in. The liberal use of 
 walnut in the construction of the mill can 
 easily be seen. In the early days more flour 
 was made than the local trade could consume 
 and this excess had to be hauled for forty 
 miles over the old Portland road to Sandusky 
 where it was either sold or shipped to the east. 
 Upon one of the posts in the mill is an inscrip- 
 tion which was written shortly after the news 
 came of the election of William Henry Har- 
 rison as president, in 1840, and the language 
 
420 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 indicates it was written by a friend of Van 
 Buren, the defeated candidate. The words are 
 "i^ook out for a storm — Harrison is elected 
 president of the United States of America." 
 Another inscription is the rallying cry of the 
 Whigs in that campaign "Tippecanoe and 
 Tyler too." Notwithstanding the fact that 
 Hosford was a miller with his business a short 
 distance from Galion he was yet the active man 
 in all important affairs relating to that place. 
 
 Isaac Criley, who married John Ruhl's 
 daughter, lived on a farm which is now the 
 southeast portion of the city. The west line 
 of his farm was what is now South street. On 
 his land he built the second brick residence at 
 the corner of Main and Pierce streets. The 
 first brick business block was on the north- 
 east corner of the square where the Commer- 
 cial Savings Bank now is. The brick was 
 made by Dr. Beard, who had a brick yard just 
 west of the Big Four station. When com- 
 pleted the building was occupied as a store by 
 Davis & Bloomer. 
 
 Isaac Criley had a carding-machirie and full- 
 ing-mill and for a time did a good business. 
 The machinery was run by steam and his was 
 the first steam engine ever introduced into 
 Galion. 
 
 In 1836 Jacob Ruhl started a saw-mill on 
 the Whetstone on North Market street, and 
 this old mill was used for picnic parties and 
 Fourth of July celebrations, at which large 
 crowds were present from the surrounditig 
 country, people sitting on the logs to listen to 
 the reading of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, and the logs being of further use as 
 tables, on which to serve the meals which the 
 patriotic citizens brought with them. 
 
 When the first post ofifice was established on 
 June 4, 1825, Horace Hosford was appointed 
 postmaster, and the office was in his blacksmith 
 shop at the Corners. He was succeeded on 
 May 2, 1829 by Calvin T. Dorwin. the office 
 still beine at the Corners. But when the town 
 of Galion was laid out by the Ruhls in 1831, 
 it so rapidly increased in business that on 
 January 12, 1837, Michael Ruhl was appointed 
 postmaster with the office in his store on the 
 south side of the square. When Hosford was 
 postmaster, in his four years of service the 
 letters received at the office during his entire 
 time did not amount to more than one a day. 
 
 Letters at that time were delivered by the mail 
 carrier commg on horse back and some times 
 on foot from Mansheld. In those days letters 
 did not need to be prepaid, and it tell upon 
 the recipient to raise the money or go without 
 the letter. Postage at that time was 25 cents 
 per letter. It was about 1834 that a line of 
 stages which had been runnmg from Pitts- 
 burgh to Mansfield was continued through Gal- 
 ion to Bucyrus. 
 
 Jenkins' Gazeteer of 1841 thus speaks of 
 Galion ; "The name of a post office and town 
 in Sandusky township, Richland county, about 
 sixty miles northeasterly from Columbus and 
 on the state road leading from Mansfield to 
 Bucyrus, fifteen miles from the former and 
 eleven from the latter place. It contains about 
 25 dwelling houses, three stores, two taverns, 
 seven mechanics shops, etc. The first build- 
 ings were erected here in 1831. The post 
 office is supplied by a tri- weekly mail in two 
 horse coaches running from Wooster to Bucy- 
 rus." In bad weather it took four horses to 
 draw the coach. Michael Ruhl was post- 
 master for two years and was succeeded on 
 Nov. 5, 1839, by Solomon P. Nave, and the 
 office was east of the square on the south side 
 of Main street, near the corner of Columbus 
 street. He held the office for nine years, and 
 on Feb. 3, 1848, Daniel Hoover was appointed. 
 He was a cabinet maker and wheelwright, and 
 had a little shop built of hewed logs, on the 
 south side of edst Main street, west of the 
 Big Four Road, and the post office was re- 
 moved to this building. Here it remained 
 nearly a year, when, on Sept. 5, 1849, Jacob 
 Bryfogle was appointed postmaster and the 
 office was taken back to the room it formerly 
 occupied under Nave. On June 21, 1853, 
 John S. Davis was appointed postmaster, and 
 the office was in the Davis & Bloomer store on 
 the northeast corner of the Square. Daniel 
 Riblet became postmaster on Jan. 15, 1855, and 
 the office was in the Riblet dry goods store 
 the frame building west of the First National 
 Bank, now occupied by the grocery store of 
 Frank Snyder. During his term of office Mr. 
 Riblet erected a small frame building across the 
 street, just west of the Central Hotel. On 
 April 22, 1861, H. C. Carhart was appointed 
 postmaster. He was a lawyer and one of 
 the leading workers in the new Republican 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 421 
 
 party at Galion, and secured the office, and 
 then placed his brother, Ehnore Y. Smith, in 
 charge as deputy, and on Nov. i6, 1864, Mr. 
 Smith received the appointment of postmaster, 
 serving for 13 years. During Mr. Smith's 
 sixteen and a half years in charge of the office 
 he started in in the Kesselmeier building, half 
 a block east of the square, then to the Mackey 
 block on South Market, and the Howard block 
 and finally to a little frame on Market street, 
 half a block north of the Square. On Nov. 
 29, 1877, Robert A. Cowden was appointed 
 and there being a mistake in the name by the 
 accidental insertion of the initial "A," a new 
 appointment was made on Jan. 29, 1878, this 
 time the commission being made out correctly 
 for Robert Cowden, and the post office was re- 
 moved to the northeast corner of the Square, 
 north of the Commercial Savings Bank, the 
 same site it occupies today. Following Rob- 
 ert Cowden were T. C. Davis, Feb. 6, 1882; 
 William H. Raymond, April 6, 1886; Morris 
 Burns, March 29, 1890; John W. Alsop, April 
 17, 1894; John W. Cupp, Feb. 16, i8g8; 
 George W. Nickels, June 14, 1905. 
 
 It is a singular fact that the post office rec- 
 ords at Washington give the post office as 
 Galion, Richland county, up to 1845, when the 
 eastern four miles of this county was trans- 
 ferred from Richland to Crawford; yet when 
 the post office was at the Corners it was in 
 Crawford county, the dividing line between 
 Richland and Crawford being about 200 feet 
 east of the Portland road. 
 
 For a number of years much of the trade of 
 Polk township followed the line of the Colum- 
 bus and Sandusky City road, the farmers using 
 that highway to the Lake markets and bringing 
 back with them such produce as they needed, 
 such as groceries, salt, etc. ; but the stores 
 mostly brought their stock over the mountains 
 from Philadelphia and Baltimore, freight being 
 $5 to $6 a hundred pounds. A strap railroad 
 being built in 1840 from Sandusky to Monroe- 
 ville, over which the cars were drawn by 
 horses, the farmers after that year took their 
 produce to Monroeville, as they thus saved 
 three or four days of time, and secured a 
 better price. After the construction of the 
 Sandusky, Mansfield & Newark road as far 
 as Mansfield and Shelby, the latter places be- 
 came the principal market for the township, 
 
 and continued to be so until the Cleveland, 
 Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad was brought 
 to Galion. This ended the era of taverns on 
 the old highway, 'ihe building of this latter 
 road was a great stimulus both to Galion and 
 to the township outside of it, the population 
 increased until in a few years it exceeded that 
 of Bucyrus and its township. The interests 
 of the township, outside of the city, have 
 always remained agricultural, aside from the 
 stone quarries, tile works, and the saw and 
 grist mills of early days. 
 
 Notwithstanding the success which attended 
 the efforts of the founders of Galion, and their 
 immediate helpers and successors, and the 
 healthy growth which the place put on, it re- 
 mained up to 1850 merely a country village— a 
 convenient center for agricultural interests. 
 There were no mines or valuable water priv- 
 ileges to stimulate it to a more rapid growth, 
 and there was no railroad. Galion and Polk 
 township went abroad with their products in 
 search of a market, selling their produce at 
 Mansfield and Shelby, both of which were on 
 the railroad. But a change was now at hand. 
 The project of a railroad through the town- 
 ship and city began to be agitated and Asa 
 Hosford was entrusted with the responsibility 
 of putting it through during the winter legis- 
 lative session of 1844-45. -^s first proposed, 
 it was to end on the south at Columbus and 
 strike the old Sandusky, Mansfield and New- 
 ark Railroad at some point near Shelby. Mr. 
 Hosford had to encounter, however, both oppo- 
 sition and indifference. The Richland county 
 people were well aware that with the construc- 
 tion through Galion, Mansfield people would 
 lose much of the trade which they derived from 
 this section, and they had brilliant and able 
 men to protect their interests in the courts 
 and in the Legislature — such men as Gov. 
 Bartley, Thomas Ford, Judge Brinkerhoof, 
 Judge Stuart, Barnabas Burns and others. 
 The people at Bucyrus, also, were not much in 
 sympathy- with the proposition, as they were 
 engaged in a desperate contest with Galion to 
 secure the county seat. At that time Thomas 
 Bartlev, the president of the Senate, was from 
 Richland. Mr. Hosford succeeded in shelv- 
 ing the county seat question for two years, 
 though it is said that Galion came within one 
 vote of securing the location. The represen- 
 
422 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tatives of the two north and south extremes of 
 the State were for some time indifferent about 
 the road, as they could not see that the inter- 
 ests of their constituents were affected; but 
 suddenly Cleveland and Cincinnati conceived 
 the idea of extending the road so as to directly 
 unite their respective cities, thus throwing a 
 steel highway across the Stafe from the Lake 
 to the Ohio river. This changed the attitude 
 of their representatives on the question from 
 one of indifference to one of active co-opera- 
 tion with Mr. Hosford. On March 15, 1845, 
 they exhumed an old charter granted for some 
 similar project in 1836, and armed with this 
 went to work. The road was completed in 
 185 1 and was known as the Cleveland, Colum- 
 bus & Cincinnati Railroad. No greater good 
 fortune could have happened to Gallon. The 
 road gave her a highway to the markets of the 
 world; she was now herself a market and 
 others came to her to trade. The prosperity 
 of the place was immediately advanced, new 
 buildings were erected, of a more modern type, 
 new interests arose, many of the citizens en- 
 gaged in new and more promising occupations, 
 and from a country town Gallon rapidly as- 
 sumed the habits and manners of a railroad 
 center. Previous to 1852 there were no houses 
 on Market street south of Walnut, and where 
 the Erie depot now stands was where the citi- 
 zens took a Sunday stroll when they wanted 
 to take a walk into the country. 
 
 In 1840 Gallon became a borough and 
 elected Joel Todd as the first mayor. The 
 population at this time must have been small, 
 as nine years later it was only 379. In 1859 
 the Bellefontaine & Indiana Railroad, which 
 had secured a charter in February, 1848, com- 
 pleted its road and it was consolidated with the 
 Bellefontaine & Indianapolis Railroad, form- 
 ing the Indianapolis Division of the Cleveland, 
 Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad. Some strips 
 of land had been donated to the company by 
 Alpheus Atwood. The Bellefontaine & Indian- 
 apolis shops were finished in 1854. In 1863 
 the Atlantic & Great Western was finished 
 through Gallon and shops were built shortly 
 after. In 1871-72 large brick shops were 
 erected; and these important works, with the 
 large number of men which came in, gave an 
 additional stimulus to the growth of the city. 
 
 On the 6th of January, 1880, the Atlantic 
 
 & Great Western road was sold by the fore- 
 closure of mortgages and passed into the hands 
 of the Ohio & Pennsylvania Company. This 
 company carried out some important improve- 
 ments, one of which was the narrowing of 
 the gauge to the standard width. This work 
 was accomplished on June 22, i88a, and all 
 preparations having been carefully made be- 
 forehand, down to the smallest detail, was ac- 
 complished in less than half a day. The work 
 of narrowing the trucks of engines and rolling 
 stock tpok longer to complete and was more 
 expensive, the work on the engines costing on 
 an average about $1,600 each, nearly all of 
 this work being done at Gallon. The shops 
 were enlarged from time to time and new ma- 
 chinery put in. 
 
 On August 14, 1899, the first car of the 
 Ohio Central Traction line was run between 
 Galion and Seccaium park. The construction 
 of the road was commenced in Galion in the 
 early spring of 1899 and pushed rapidly, and 
 two weeks after running to the park the serv- 
 ive was extended to Bucyrus. Two years later 
 the line was extended eastward to Crestnne. 
 A rival line started to build into Crestline, also, 
 which resulted in the new company buying out 
 the Ohio Central holdings. The line was later 
 extended to Mansfield, and is now a part of 
 the Cleveland, Southwestern & Columbus sys- 
 tem. This traction line, besides giving service 
 to Cleveland and Columbus and intermediate 
 points on its own line and their numerous 
 ramifications, gives Galion easy connection with 
 the Pensnylvania lines and the B. & O. at Mans- 
 field, the Pennsylvania at Crestline, the T. & O. 
 C. and the Short Line at Bucyrus, and the 
 Hocking Valley at Marion. Several' other 
 traction lines are being proposed; ultimately 
 some of these, at least, will be built, and when 
 this is done it can only add to the material ad- 
 vantage of Galion and her prestige as a railroad 
 center. 
 
 In January, 1852, Louis Kossuth, the Hun- 
 garian patriot, passed through Galion, the first 
 prominent man to pass through the county on 
 a railroad, and J. A. Crever, of the Journal, 
 thus describes the event: 
 
 "Learning that Kossuth would pass down 
 the railroad from Cleveland to Columbus on 
 Wednesday, February 4th, we with a goodly 
 number of our citizens from Bucyrus went to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 423 
 
 Galion to catch a glimpse of him. We found 
 assembled several hundred persons, who were 
 anxious to see the great man of the age. The 
 cars arrived some minutes after one 'oclock 
 with the great Magyar on board. He made 
 his appearance on the platform of the car and 
 was greeted with enthusiastic cheers of those 
 assembled. He did not attempt to make a 
 speech, but talked to those around him. The 
 cars stopped but a few minutes, but we believe 
 that all present saw Kossuth. He appeared 
 very much worn down.. He was alseep when 
 the cars stopped, but was awakened by some 
 of his suite." 
 
 The editor then writes of the town: "The 
 village of Galion, near the eastern border, is 
 advancing with rapid strides. Many fine build- 
 ings have been erected during the past year, 
 and quite a number of business houses and 
 private residences are in course of construc- 
 tion. At this place the Bellefontaine & Indi- 
 ana Railroad unites with the C. C. & C, which 
 passes along the eastern side of the town." 
 
 Much credit is due to the early German 
 settlers in and around Galion for the part they 
 took in building up the community. Most of 
 them came to this locality direct from Ger- 
 many, and came with money to buy their land. 
 There was, indeed, little else to buy at the time, 
 but they settled down to hard work, and today 
 many of their descendants, inheriting the 
 sturdy virtues and thrift of their fathers and 
 grandfathers, are among the most prosperous 
 and respected residents of the city and its en- 
 virons Among them may be mentioned the 
 Rensches, the Sebers, the Eichorns, the Zim- 
 mermans, the Cronenwetts, the Bohls, the 
 Krafts, the Rickers, and others. Most of these 
 Germans arrived from 1832 to 1835. Daniel 
 Eichorn, a widower, with four sons and three 
 daughters, arrived in 1835. He possessed 
 considerable wealth and bought a farm south 
 of Galion. 
 
 John Kraft, Sr., came to the country in 1833, 
 landing at Baltimore, where he worked at his 
 trade of cooper until the next year, when he 
 walked to Ohio, working a short time at Gam- 
 bier, and then came to Galion. He erected a 
 one-room log cabin, the present site of the 
 city building, which he used as a residence and 
 cooper shop. He made buckets, tubs, barrels. 
 
 butter-tubs, etc. One of his receipts shows 
 prices in those days : 
 
 "Sept. 3, 1835— Received of John Kraft 
 
 "Six wooden buckets at 62j^c $3 75 
 
 Two wooden buckets at see i 00 
 
 $4 75 
 'To be sold or returned & paid for when sold. 
 
 "Michael Ruhl." 
 
 In 1836, John Kraft married Margarethe 
 Eichorn, and from this union there were eight 
 children, and of these the five older were born 
 on what is now the city hall lot, the others on 
 the southwest comer of Columbus and Main. 
 It is a singular fact that four of these children 
 are still living,, all daughters: Mrs. Sophia 
 Remy, Fremont, aged 74. Mrs. Catherine 
 Euler, Washington, D. C, 73 ; Mrs. Lena Hof- 
 stetter, Galion, 72 ; Mrs. Mary Franks, Mans- 
 field, 70. In 1837 Kraft erected a larger shop 
 on the same lot, and in 1845 he bought a tav- 
 ern from Jacob Bryfogle, which was on the 
 southeast corner of Main and Columbus streets. 
 This he conducted until he erected a brewery 
 on east Main street, where later was the block 
 owned by Henry Row. In 1852 he started a 
 brickyard on his farm just west of Galion, 
 and here made the brick from which the pres- 
 ent brewery was erected, the old part of which 
 is still standing, with the new addition added. 
 Here also was made the brick for the old "Bee 
 Line" round house and shops, and he shipped 
 the bricks for the shops at Marion. He con- 
 tinued in the brewery business until 1868, 
 when he retired living on Church street, Galion, 
 where he died in February, 1888, in his 80th 
 year, his wife dying February 13, 1891. 
 
 In 1840 Galion had a population of nearly 
 200 people. A line of stages passed through 
 the city, and they had two taverns, three stores 
 and several small shops, and the enterprising 
 citizens decided they were large enough to 
 become a village. lu 1840 they elected Joel 
 Todd as mayor, and he was succeeded by 
 George Downer in 1845, Daniel Hoover in 
 1847, Andrew Poe in 1858, W. C. Parsons in 
 i860, Charles Quigley in 1864, Peter Cress in 
 1866, M. V. Crane in 1868, O. T. Hart in 1870, 
 M. Burns in 1872, who resigned and was suc- 
 ceeded by Samuel Myers; Jacob Meuser in 
 1874, who resigned, having been elected to the 
 
424 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 legislature, and was succeeded by Wilson Arm- 
 strong; Abraham Underwood m 1878. 
 
 Ihe town had grown and was now on the 
 high road to prosperity; railroads and manu- 
 factories had added to the population. The 
 little village of less than 200 under its first 
 mayor was about 400 when William C. Par- 
 sons became its fourth mayor, and then came 
 the first railroad, and it was followed by an- 
 other, and in i860 it was a busy place with a 
 population of 1,966 people; another road and 
 still more factories followed, and in 1870 it 
 had nearly doubled its population, and had 
 3,523, passing Bucyrus, and becoming the larg- 
 est place in the county, a position it held for 
 forty years. After 1870 its marvelous growth 
 continued, and by 1878 the citizens decided 
 that they had the 5,000 people necessary to 
 incorporate as a city. A census was taken, 
 showing more than the requisite number, and 
 the city of Gallon was incorporated, divided 
 into four wards, and in 1879 James R. Homer 
 was elected the first mayor; he was followed 
 by Abraham Underwood, 1881 ; Robert W. 
 Johnston, 1883; Charles B. Shumaker, 1885; 
 Hugh Ross, 1887; A. C. Squier, 1889; Albe 
 Moe, 1893 ; C. H. Briggs, 1895 ; J. R. Homer, 
 1899; D. O. Castle, 1903; W. J. Geer, 1906; 
 W. H. Hartman, 1908 and 1910. The United 
 States census in 1880 showed Galion was a 
 city, as it gave the population as 5,635 ; in 1890 
 this was increased to 6,326, and in 1900 to 
 7,282. The next census was taken in May 
 of 19 10, and was not reported until the follow- 
 ing January; it gave Galion a population of 
 7,214. This return was so apparently erro- 
 neous that a new enumeration 'was requested 
 by Galion, but the request was not granted. 
 It was difficult to locate the error until the 
 enumeration by wards was published later, 
 when it was found the serious error had oc- 
 curred in the first ward, where only 985 names 
 had been returned, the ward having over 1,500 
 people. The city council in the spring of 191 1 
 ordered an enumeration of the entire city, and 
 the official report to the council showed a pop- 
 ulation of 8,175, an enumeration officially rec- 
 ognized bv the state but not by the government 
 census. The first ward, as anticipated, showed 
 that errors had occurred somewhere or some- 
 how amounting to over qoo. 
 
 In 1873 it was agreed by the authorities of 
 
 Polk township and those of the corporation of 
 Galion to erect a building for a court room and 
 other public offices, and, after much discussion 
 in regard to the location, lot 48 of Michael and 
 Jacob Ruhl's second addition to Galion was 
 selected. The building was to be 66 x 75 feet 
 in ground dimensions, three stories in height, 
 and to be built of brick and stone. In 1875 the 
 contract was awarded to George Wimmie and 
 in the following year the building was com- 
 pleted. The lower story contained one store- 
 roorn, two election rooms (one for city and one 
 for township), one room for Star steamer 
 and hose-cart and one jail room. The second 
 story had six rooms, among them being the 
 mayor's and justice's court room, the council 
 room, fireman's room, and a room to be used 
 temporarily as an infirmary. In the third story 
 was the opera hall, with stage and other acces- 
 sories. It was arranged that the township 
 should receive two-thirds from opera house 
 and one-third from the rents below. The site 
 of the building cost $3,500 and the cost of the 
 building was $26,336.22, which was generally 
 considered a reasonable price. 
 
 Many of the citizens, however, remained 
 dissatisfied with the location, especially with 
 that of the opera house, and about 1880 Dr. 
 H. R. Kelly, Davis Stout and John Riblet 
 fitted up for stage purposes the hall in the up- 
 per story of the Sponhauer block, enlarging 
 the stage and providing new scenery. 
 
 The first theatrical performance given in 
 public in Galion was about 1840 by a barn- 
 storming company in the dining-room of 
 the old tavern run by John Kraft. The 
 dining-room was cleared, and planks resting at 
 the ends and middle on chairs, were used for 
 seats. The children had to sit on the floor in 
 front, owing to the scarcity of seats. The play 
 given was "The Babes in the \\'^ood." 
 
 The City Hall Opera House was the prin- 
 cipal place for entertainments and public meet- 
 ings for thirty years, when the opera hall was 
 condemned by the state board, so that now the 
 building is used exclusively for city purposes, 
 and for the township offices. 
 
 The first religious services of which there 
 is any record in Galion, were held at the cabin 
 of Benjamin Leveridge, on Sunday, September 
 20, 1820. Asa and Horace Hosford had come 
 from Norwalk the day before to see about lo- 
 
AND R]fePRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 425 
 
 eating in that section, ar.d there being no hotel, 
 Mr. Leveridge's was the stopping place for all 
 travelers. Ihe Leveridge caDin was the larg- 
 est of the three or four that had been built, 
 and on the Sunday morning the Hosfords 
 were there ten or twelve men and a few women 
 came to the cabin and took their seats, and Asa 
 Hosford talked with them concerning the local- 
 ity and advisability of locating in that section. 
 Finally a tall, raw-boned man appeared, sun- 
 browned and hardy in appearance. He was 
 dressed in a linsey-woolsey shirt, wore a belt, 
 and leather pantaloons, had moccasins on his 
 feet, and over his shoulder a powder horn and 
 bullet pouch. In the belt around his waist was 
 a large hunting knife, while across his arm he 
 carried a rifle. The tall man entered and with- 
 out a word or nod of recognition to anybody, 
 deposited his accoutrements in one corner and 
 took a seat. All sat silent for a few moments, 
 when the hunter arose and sang an old hymn, 
 the audience joining in. Then he knelt and 
 prayed, all kneeling with him. After thv; 
 prayer he talked for over half an hour, deliv- 
 ered a sermon and the servives were over. 
 Then he talked with those present and they 
 soon departed for their homes, the man re- 
 maining to dinner. This preacher was Benja- 
 min Sharrock, who lived about a mile or two 
 southwest, where he later ran a saw-mill, and 
 this was the first meeting between Asa Hos- 
 ford and Benjamin Sharrock, both of whom 
 did so much for the developing of that sec- 
 tion, Sharrock in the country and Hosford 
 in the city. He was a Methodist but not an 
 ordained minister, but in the early days ex- 
 pounded the gospel to his neighbors. 
 
 As settlers arrived services were held in 
 the cabins whenever any traveling missionary 
 passed that way. A year or two after the 
 Hosfords arrived, George Wood and Asa 
 Hosfor4 built a frame barn near the Coriiers 
 and this, being the largest building, was fre- 
 quently used as the place for holding services. 
 One of the early traveling preachers here was 
 Russell Bigelow, who traveled this circuit for 
 the Methodists, and for a time was located on 
 a fann near Gallon ; also Mr. Matthews, a Pres- 
 byterian, who was the first man to receive any 
 pay for his services, the Presbyterians in that 
 section raising a subscription of fifteen dollars 
 a year to reimburse him for his expenses in 
 
 making Gallon one of the points on his rounds. 
 Rev. John Rhinehard came in 1822 and also 
 preached in the barn. Later a log school house 
 was built on West Main street and here serv- 
 ices were held, and in other barns when they 
 were first erected. These buildings were used 
 until the settlement was large enough to erect 
 churches. In summer services were frequently 
 held in the open air, the principal places being 
 the grove northwest of the square and also an- 
 other grove south of the square. Here, in the 
 open air, camp meetings were held, and at 
 one of these Bishop Harris, when a young man, 
 was in attendance and became converted. He 
 later became a professor at Delaware Univer- 
 sity an ordained minister, and eventually the 
 celebrated and prominent Bishop Harris, of 
 the M. E. church. 
 
 For fifty years Rev. F. J. Ruth was one of 
 the prominent ministers of the Lutheran 
 church, not only in Gallon but all over the 
 county. He was licensed to preach by the 
 Lutheran Synod of Maryland in 1830, and 
 came to Gallon in 183 1; in 1835 he organized 
 the church at Bucyrus, caring for charges at 
 Sulphur Springs and Gallon at the same time. 
 In 1 83 1 he left Mansfield, and reaching Shelby 
 inquired the way to Gallon, but no one there 
 knew of any such place. He continued his 
 journey south and at West Liberty was in- 
 formed the place they thought he wished to 
 reach was. called Horse Shoe. He continued 
 his trip through Leesville and eventually 
 reached the Corners. It was late and he put 
 up at a hotel, which was then on the north 
 side of Main street about two blocks west of 
 the square. Here he found a rough crowd, 
 who gave him to understand there was no 
 opening for a German Lutheran minister in 
 that section, and the next morning, discour- 
 aged, he returned to Mansfield. A few days 
 later the Ruhls heard that a German Lutheran 
 minister had been in the village and they went 
 to Mansfield to hear him preach and prevailed 
 upon him to return to Gallon. The Ruhls 
 were zealous and earnest Lutherans and the 
 first church of that faith was on land donated 
 by Jacob Ruhl. The first Sunday-school was 
 started by Mrs. Sarah Ruhl and Mrs. Dr. 
 Johnson. Revs. John Stough, Francis Clymer, 
 Ludwig Gerth and John Smith were active in 
 early religious work. 
 
426 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 The Evangelical Lutheran church of Galion 
 was organized by Rev. John Stough in 1831, 
 and the early meetings were held in the cabins 
 of the settlers and in the school houses. Short- 
 ly after the church was organized the Sunday- 
 school was started by Mrs. Sarah Ruhl and 
 Mrs. Dr. Johnson, but it was undenominational 
 and largely attended. It was held in the old 
 schoolhouse on North Market street. In 1840 
 a brick church was built at the corner of Union 
 and Church streets, being very prettily located 
 in a handsome grove. The corner stone was 
 laid by Rev. F. J. Ruth, and Rev. John Stough 
 was the first pastor. Both English and German 
 Lutherans used the church at the start, but the 
 Germans withdrew in 1843. They were so 
 strong numerically that their witjidrawal 
 weakened the English part of the congrega- 
 tion, but under Mr. Ruth and others they finally 
 prospered. In 1867 they moved to their pres- 
 ent site on South Market street. 
 
 The German Evangelical Lutherans were 
 much strengthened by the arrival of. so many 
 of their denomination among the Germans, 
 and although they assisted in building the first 
 Lutheran church, in 1843, they sold their in- 
 terest to the English-speaking members, and 
 united with the German Reform in building a 
 church on South Market street, where services 
 were held in their own language. There was 
 no union of the two churches. It was a joint 
 ownership of the building, both denominations 
 using it and both adhering strictly to their own 
 doctrines. The Lutherans finally bought out 
 the Reformers and in 1874 enlarged the church 
 by erecting a handsome new addition at the 
 front. 
 
 The German Reformed church started prior 
 to 1840 with services in the houses, and in 1843 
 united with the German Lutherans in the build- 
 ing of a brick church which was used in com- 
 mon, until in 1858 the Lutherans bought out 
 their interests, and they in turn bought an acre 
 of ground on West Main street, just west of 
 the old burying ground, and here they remained 
 until 1868, when they removed further west on 
 Main near Boston street. One of their minis- 
 ters was Rev. Abraham Keller, who died of 
 cholera in Bucyrus in 1852. 
 
 About 1827 Galion was placed on the Meth- 
 odist circuit, and Rev. Russell Bigelow was 
 
 the first minister to visit the Methodists, Serv- 
 ices were held in whatever new barn had been 
 erected, and in the cabins. Their first building 
 was a small frame on West Main street and 
 donated by Jonathan Fellows. It was land 
 originally owned by Benjamin Leveridge, the, 
 first settler in Galion. Here they remained 
 until in 1859 they moved to their present lo- 
 cation on the corner of Walnut and Columbus. 
 Prior to 1840, Christian Nast, later one 
 of the most prominent men in the German 
 M. E. 'church, visited Galion and sowed the 
 seed for a German church. He preached in 
 the old log school house, and later Rev. Nuh- 
 fer, who followed Mr. Nast, organized the 
 church, and the first regular minister was Rev. 
 John Bier. They held meetings in the school 
 house and in the other churches, and when 
 the English Methodist church was built in i860 
 they held services in the basement of that 
 church and finally bought the old frame build- 
 ing erected by the Methodists, and here they 
 remained until 1873, when they sold the build- 
 ing, and it was transformed into a residence, 
 and they erected a fine large brick at the corner 
 of Atwood and Market. 
 
 It was in 185 1, at the time of the coming of 
 the railroad, that the first steps were taken to- 
 ward the organization of a Presbyterian church 
 at Galion. For several years meetings and 
 occasional services were held at the home of 
 John McClelland, and occasional services in 
 one of the sister churches, and in i860 a site 
 was secured on South Market street, but the 
 breaking out of the war, and the weakness nu- 
 merically of the members made the building 
 of the church very slow, but it was finally fin- 
 ished in 1863, and the congregation heavily in 
 debt, after many discouragements, but ever 
 faithful and hopeful, had the satisfaction of 
 wiping out the debt, and placing the church on 
 a solid foundation. 
 
 The Baptist church was organized in Jan- 
 uary, 1859. In the spring of 1862 they began 
 the erection of their building on Walnut street, 
 west of Market, and in its erection Elder J. B. 
 Sutton, the pastor, as soon as the foundation 
 was laid, worked as a mason in the laying of 
 the brick until the walls were completed. 
 The building was dedicated August 3, 1862, 
 by Rev. J. W. Osborn, of Mansfield. For two 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 427 
 
 years the Rev. Mr. Sutton filled the pulpit of 
 the church his own hands had assisted in erect- 
 ing. 
 
 The United Brethren in Christ commenced 
 the holding of services early in the 40s, the 
 first sermon being preached by the Rev. Fran- 
 cis Clymer in the German Lutheran church at 
 the corner of Union and Church streets. Other 
 early preachers were Rev. W. R. Rhinehart 
 and Rev. Peter Flack. This church held sev- 
 eral camp meetings in which there were many 
 conversions. The church was finally organized 
 in 1852, and their church erected on the cor- 
 ner of Walnut and Market streets, and this was 
 the first church erected after the completion of 
 the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati road, 
 and was then on the edge of town. 
 
 The coming of the railroad brought with 
 it a number of Catholics, and in 1854 they 
 were organized into a congregation by Rev. 
 Matthias Kreusch. Services were first held in 
 the home of Mr. Rudiger, near the C. C. & C. 
 depot, and in 1855 they built a small frame on 
 Main street, east of the railroad track. This 
 they used until they bought the property and 
 erected a church north of the Union School 
 building in 1865, and at the same time started 
 a parochial school. The priest in charge at the 
 time was Rev. John P. Pitts and, a part of his 
 parochial duties was the teaching of the school. 
 The membership of the congregation was Ger- 
 man and Irish and in 1867 the two separated 
 and both had parochial schools. In 1873 St. 
 Patrick's church was erected at the corner of 
 Washington street and Payne avenue and in 
 1877 St. Joseph church bought three lots on the 
 corner of Liberty and Church streets. On 
 these lots was the first brick school house built 
 in Gabon, and this was remodeled and used by 
 the church until they built their present struct- 
 ure. 
 
 In 1869 Rev. George S. Davis visited Galion 
 for the purpose of forming an Episcopal 
 church, and in December of that year an or- 
 ganization was perfected, known as Grace 
 Episcopal church. Mr. Davis remained with 
 the church about six months and was followed 
 by other ministers, efforts being made to have 
 services at least as often as every alternate 
 Sunday, the Baptist church being used. But 
 the church was not yet strong enough and al- 
 though the organization was kept up services 
 
 were discontinued. In 1873 the work was re- 
 sumed by Rev. Mr. Hilyar, and the hall of 
 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers 
 secured for their meetings. In 1874 they pur- 
 chased a site on South Union street. Here 
 a very neat chapel was built and the first ser- 
 mon was delivered in it on December 19, 1875. 
 The congregation was in debt $1,100, but $800 
 was paid through the work of the ladies of the 
 church and the other $300 was assumed by T. 
 A. Phillips, division superintendent of the 
 A. & G. W., and the church was dedicated on 
 Ascension Day, May 25, 1876. Among those 
 who filled the pulpit in Grace church was Rev. 
 William M. Brown, who after leaving Galion 
 served as archdeacon at Cleveland, and later 
 became the Rt. Rev. Bishop Brown of Arkan- 
 sas. He has written several valuable works 
 on the history of the church. 
 
 The Church of Christ first held services in 
 the old frame church on West Main street, and 
 later bought their present site on East Payne 
 avenue, where they erected their present church 
 about I 90 I. 
 
 The Christian Scientist church are organized 
 and hold regular services at their rooms in the 
 First National Bank building. 
 
 The Free Methodists have established a 
 church and hold services in the extreme eastern 
 part of the city on Second avenue. 
 
 The first schoolhouse erected in Galion was 
 in 1822. George Wood was the carpenter, and 
 on the day selected the settlers all attended 
 and united in the erection of the building. It 
 was of round logs with a clapboard roof. This 
 roof and the sides of the building were stuifed 
 with moss and plastered with clay to keep out 
 the rain. It was built on West Main street, 
 where the Crim residence now stands. It was 
 a well lighted building for those days as three 
 windows were placed in it, and Wood being 
 a carpenter and desiring to show what he really 
 could do, when the logs were cut out for the 
 windows, placed window frames in the build- 
 ing. The seats were split logs with the flat 
 sides up, and were made by the settlers them- 
 selves. David Gill was the first school teacher. 
 Other early teachers in Galion were Phares 
 Jackson, John Morrison, Joel Todd and James 
 Dunlap. In the early days schools were taught 
 by subscription, the teacher securing \\'hat 
 pupils he could at a certain amount per month. 
 
428 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Of course, the more pupils he secured the high- 
 er his wages, but it was seldom in those sparsely 
 settled regions a teacher could secure enough 
 pupils to make his salary more than eight or 
 ten dollars a month. Many settlers had large 
 families, so large in fact that only one or two 
 of the children could be sent to school, the 
 parents being unable to pay the tuition fees 
 for all. It occasionally happened that some 
 child who was attending school was sick, or 
 detained at home for some cause. This matter 
 was easily adjusted as the parents sent one 
 of the other children to take the absentee's 
 place. The rule was he had paid for a certain 
 number of days' schooling and he was entitled 
 to that number of days for whatever children 
 he might send and sometimes each child was 
 given a week alternately. It was not until 
 1847 that a regular school system was intro- 
 duced in Gallon. Preparing for this new sys- 
 tem^ the officers of school district No. 9, which 
 was the Gallon district, made some improve- 
 ments in their schoolhouse. The contract was 
 with George Rensch, and he was to make 15 
 seats and 15 desks four feet long. The desks 
 were to be 18 inches wide and the seats ten 
 inches broad. He was to make a double desk 
 and two seats eight feet long. He was to build 
 a platform four feet square, raised six inches 
 from the floor, with a desk on it four feet long 
 and 18 inches wide, and build a seat behind the 
 desk. He was also to build a door, put glass 
 in the windows, patch the plastering and fur- 
 nish all the material. The contract was made 
 on October 20, 1846, and the work was to be 
 completed in a good and workmanlike manner 
 by November iq, and for all this work he was 
 to receive 20 dollars. 
 
 The old grave-yard was selected as the site 
 of the second schoolhouse. but this building 
 was destroyed by fire in 1834 and- was never 
 rebuilt. The third schoolhouse was built of 
 hewn logs on the east side of Market street, 
 the first block north of the square. It was pro- 
 vided with slab seats and "Jim" Mason was 
 one of the teachers. W. C. Parsons taua;ht 
 a school in a room of the Bickler house, across 
 the street from the above schoolhouse. Ludwig 
 Gerth also taueht German school in the old loe 
 buildine on the site of St. Tosenh's church. It 
 was used as a primary department after the 
 first brick building was erected. School was 
 
 also held in the United Brethren church on 
 Walnut street, also in the old M. E. church 
 frame building on West Main street. 
 
 The first brick school was erected in 1847 on 
 the corner of Church and Liberty, and was used 
 as a school house until the erection of the large 
 central building in 1868, when it was used as a 
 woolen mill, and in 1877 purchased by St. 
 Joseph church, who remodeled it and used it 
 as a church, and today it is the parochial school. 
 It was in this brick public schools were first 
 taught. At the start the tax levy failed to keep 
 the schools running more than a few months, 
 and subscriptions were made to continue the 
 schools the balance of the year. There were 
 four schools in the building, No. i, the pri- 
 mary, was so crowded that it had two teachers, 
 Mrs Crim and Mrs. Hackadorn; No. 2 was 
 taught by Hugh Williams ; No. 3 by John R. 
 Clymer, who afterward became county clerk 
 and editor of the Bucyrus Forum; No. 4 by 
 David Kerr, who was the first superintendent 
 of the Gallon schools. 
 
 Between 1830 and 1840 a wave swept over 
 the state for the laying out of towns. A gen- 
 eration had passed and another wave swept 
 the state, which was the erection of large, hand- 
 some, central school houses. Gallon was not 
 behind her sister towns, and in 1867 it was de- 
 cided to build a spacious and commodious cen- 
 tral building. Prof. J. C. Hartzler was super- 
 intendent of the schools, and the Board of Ed- 
 ucation was composed of P. W. Weber, presi- 
 dent; F. A. Keen, secretary; Samuel Shunk,' 
 treasurer; Dr. N. E. Hackedorn, Jacob Riblet 
 and Charles Quigley. The site selected was the 
 north half of the block that extended from 
 Walnut to Atwood, and from Union to Boston 
 streets. It contained four full lots, and cost 
 $9,000. The architect was J. W. Thomas, 
 and the principal contractors were Bird & 
 Woodward, of Mt. Gilead, whose bid was $31,- 
 000. The cornerstone was laid on June ig, 
 1868, but the building was slow in completion, 
 owing to many changes made in the original 
 plans as it progressed, and also the lack of 
 funds. More bonds had to be issued, until 
 finally an investigation was demanded on Janu- 
 ary, 1872, and J. G. Meuser and S. G. Cum- 
 mings were appointed to investigate and report. 
 They found that up to that time the cost had 
 reached $87,571. The building has a frontage 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 429 
 
 of 144 feet and a depth of 70 feet. It is three 
 stories in height, the first and second meas- 
 uring 13 feet and the third 16 feet. The whole 
 is surmounted by two handsome towers, the 
 height from the basement to the top of the tow- 
 ers being loi ft. 3 in. On the the first floor are 
 five schoolrooms and an office for the superin- 
 tendent; on the second floor six rooms, and on 
 the third floor four rooms and the assembly 
 hall, with a seating capacity of 600. Prof. I. 
 C. Guinther has been the superintendent for the 
 past 15 years; the high school is in charge of 
 Prof. Frank C. Honnold with a corps of eight 
 teachers, while in the other departments there 
 are twenty-eight teachers. Out of a school 
 enumeration of 1910 there is an attendance of 
 1,495. The first class was graduated in 1871, 
 and numbered two, Willis Stentz, who became 
 a banker in Gallon, and Samuel S. Pague, who 
 later was appointed a cadet at West Point, and 
 became an officer in the army. The graduating 
 class today frequently numbers fifty, and a 
 standard oratorio is the feature generally given 
 each year. 
 
 The growth of the population has far ex- 
 ceeded the capacities of the handsome central 
 building, and ward schools have been erected 
 as needed, the first being made necessary as 
 early as 1S79. 
 
 The city of Galion is provided with the usual 
 number of fraternal and secret societies. The 
 Odd Fellows were the first in the field, the 
 charter of Galion Lodge, No. 215, I. O. O. F. 
 being dated March 9, 1853. None of its char- 
 ter members are known to be living today. This 
 lodge met in various rooms until it leased the 
 third floor of the Hofstetter block, situated 
 near the public square. Here it stayed until 
 it built the third floor of the Kesselmeier block, 
 where it has since maintained its quarters. To- 
 day the lodge is in a prosperous condition, 
 owning its own hall and its room being richly 
 and invitingly furnished. A German lodge of 
 Odd Fellows was at one time organized and 
 continued for some years, but finally the char- 
 ter was surrendered and the members joined 
 Galion Lodee. No. 215. Lebonah Encamp- 
 ment of Odd Fellows was formed here a num- 
 ber of vears ago and is still in existence, while 
 the ladies' auxiliary, known as Cassandra 
 Lodge, Daughters of Rebekah, instituted many 
 years ago, is also in a flourishing condition. 
 
 Masonry attained a permanent footing in 
 Galion when Fidelity Lodge, No. 327, F. & A. 
 M. was granted a charter on OctoDer 17, i860. 
 Un October i, 1868, a second Blue Lodge was 
 instituted and was known as Galion Lodge, No. 
 414, many of the original members of which 
 are still living. Fidelity Lodge — of whom the 
 only living charter member is Peter W. 
 Weber, met on the third floor of the Hacke- 
 dorn block, while Galion Lodge occupied the 
 third floor of the Mackey block. A few years 
 ago the two lodges were merged under the 
 name of Galion Lodge, No. 414. They have 
 commodious quarters in the Mackey block, 
 but plans are on foot whereby they will soon 
 own their own building and hall. The Royal 
 Arch Masons received their charter October 
 II, 1878, as Crawford Chapter, No. 142. The 
 ladies are represented by membership in Naomi 
 Chapter, No. 47, Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 A lodge of Red Men was at one time organ- 
 ized in Galion but has long since ceased to exist. 
 The Masons and Odd Fellows held sway for a 
 number of years until Galion Lodge, No. 186, 
 Knights of Pythias, was instituted. It was 
 composed mainly of young men and many of 
 its original members are still living. It first 
 met in Howard's Hall, but some years ago 
 leased the entire third floor of the Hackedorn 
 block, which was remodeled into lodge and 
 banquet rooms and richly furnished. This 
 organization is prospering and is increasing its 
 membership. 
 
 In iqo8 the Benevolent and Protective Or- 
 der of Elks organized Galion Lodge, No. 1 191, 
 and two years ago they purchased their own 
 building on East Main street. Other orders 
 are Galion Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles, 
 No. 630, who meet at the Eagles Home, west 
 Main street; Galion Nest, No. 11. S4, Order of 
 Owls, 130 East Main street ; Galion Lodge, No. 
 303, Loyal Order of Moose, who meet in the 
 Howard Block. 
 
 The first of the so-called insurance fraterni- 
 ties was the railway men's organization known 
 as Division No. 16. Brotherhood of Locomo- 
 tive Engineers, which first met in a part of the 
 third floor now occupied by the armory. This 
 lodge is still in existence and continues to pros- 
 per. Later on the Order of Raihvay Con- 
 ductors, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Fire- 
 men, and the Brotherhood of Railway Train- 
 
430 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 men, all fraternal railway organizations, were 
 organized and continue to exist, wielding much 
 power for the good of their members, as well 
 as the national organizations. Auxiliaries to 
 these organizations are the Grand International 
 Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Locomotive 
 Engineers, Eclipse Favorite, Ladies' Auxiliary 
 to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen 
 and Enginemen, and Pride of 35 Lodge 79, 
 Ladies' Auxiliary to the Brotherhood of Rail- 
 way Trainmen. 
 
 In addition to the above fraternities, the 
 Royal Arcanum is represented by Crawford 
 Council, No. 20. The Independent Order of 
 Foresters has three lodges — Court Gallon, 
 1360, Court Daisy, 74 and Court Mohawk, 
 4755- The Royal Foresters, No. 102, also 
 maintain an organization here and all Forester 
 Courts meet in the Howard Block. Camp No. 
 3766, Modern Woodmen of America; Gallon 
 Tent, No. 407, Knights of the Maccabees; 
 Gallon Hive, No. 230, Ladies of the Macca- 
 bees ; Peace Home, No. 14, and Galion Home, 
 No. 178, Home Guards of America, are some 
 of the insurance lodges which are doing an 
 active and progressive work in this city and 
 its environs. 
 
 The first patriotic organization in this city, 
 having its origin in the Civil war, was Dick 
 Morris Post, No. 130, Grand Army of the Re- 
 public, which today has about 60 members. 
 Its Ladies' Auxiliary is known as Dick Morris 
 Corps. 
 
 Star Council, No. 106, Junior Order of 
 United American Mechanics, has been in exist- 
 ence for 21 years and has the third floor of the 
 Dennig block under long lease, sub-renting its 
 handsomely appointed lodge rooms to other 
 lodges. 
 
 Hope Council, Daughters of Liberty and 
 Bell of Liberty Council, Davighters of America, 
 are ladies' lodges of a patriotic character, the 
 latter being closely allied with the Junior Order 
 and the former with the order of United Amer- 
 ican Mechanics, which has no lodge here at 
 present. 
 
 There are several fraternal organizations in 
 Galion fostered by the Roman Catholic church, 
 all of a beneficiary character. The Catholic 
 Knights of America were the first to organize 
 a branch here, but the members afterwasd be- 
 came affiliated with the Catholic Knights of 
 
 Ohio, maintaining St. Joseph's branch, No. 7, 
 and Branch No. 92. St. Francis Council, No. 
 1234, Knights of Columbus, was organized 
 about four years ago and is a flourishing insti- 
 tution. 
 
 The Catholic Ladies of Columbia maintain a 
 strong organization. Other fraternal organi- 
 zations are Galion Council, No. 476, United 
 CoQimercial Travelers; Galion Tribe of Ben 
 Hur, Knights of Honor, D. K. U. V., and 
 Galion Lodge, No. 1226, National Protective 
 Legioif. 
 
 The first burial ground in what is now the 
 city limits of Galion, was there long before 
 the first settlers had set a foot in this hunting 
 region of the Indians. On the south bank of 
 the Whetstone, west of Market street, was an 
 Indian village occupied by members of the 
 Wyandot tribe, while across the river was an 
 Indian burial ground. Many interments had 
 been made there long prior to the arrival of 
 the first settlers, but with the incoming of the 
 white man the Indian village was abandoned 
 and the graveyard was seldom if ever used. 
 The graves were generally quite shallow, and 
 whether it was their aversion to work or an 
 Indian custom, when one of their number died 
 in winter, the bodies were placed on posts driv- 
 en into the ground, and properly protected left 
 to remain there until spring, when a very shal- 
 low grave was dug and the Indian buried. 
 After the Indians left many of the graves were 
 opened by the younger men among the settlers 
 in the hope of finding something of value, but 
 in no case was anything found beyond the 
 weapons of some warrier. Still the desecra- 
 tion of these graves enabled some of the early 
 physicians to secure skeletons, which they 
 transferred to their offices. 
 
 After the pioneers arrived it was the custom 
 there, as all over the country, for the settlers 
 to bury their dead in some favorable a'nd pretty 
 locality on their own land, but John William- 
 son and James Nail conceived the idea of estab- 
 lishing a graveyard in some central locality. 
 The site selected was in the northeast quarter 
 of section 31, on the north side of Main street 
 jus<3 east of where the German Reformed 
 church stood 20 years ago. This land belonged 
 to Samuel Brown. It was a dense forest cov- 
 ered with sugar trees and underbrush and they 
 bought one acre for $5.00. The cash was paid 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 431 
 
 and Mr. Nail states that a deed was made out 
 in the name of John WilUamson and others, 
 dedicating the site for burial purposes, but the 
 deed was never recorded. After securing the 
 ground, a man by the name of Frederick Se- 
 dorus was employed for $14.00 to chop down 
 a number of the trees, clear away the under- 
 brush, and make the ground fit for use. This 
 was probably in 1825, several years before 
 Gallon was laid out. Nail states that in every 
 transfer of the farm from that day to this the 
 acre was consecrated to the dead. The first 
 or second grave dug in this ground was for a 
 child of James Nail, and he has eight members 
 of his family buried there; two wives, and six 
 children. The last burial was that of John 
 Williamson. The graveyard had long since 
 been abandoned, but he desired to be buried 
 by the rest of his family. During all of Mr. 
 Nail's life the ground was kept in repair by him 
 and his last payment for that purpose was in 
 1866, when a payment of $25.00 was made to 
 H. C. Carhart and James W. Gill for the last 
 fence that was ever placed around the lot. At 
 the time the graveyard was started, just south 
 of it were several graves that had been dug on 
 the Leveridge farm, the first burial there being 
 that of John Leveridge, who was killed by a 
 falling log while erecting the Williamson 
 cabin in 1819; this was undoubtedly the first 
 burial in Polk township. Several of the Lev- 
 eridges were buried on this site, which is now 
 Main street. The ruthless march of time 
 made the ground where this first graveyard 
 was located too valuable and the remains of 
 the dead were carefully taken up and removed 
 to Union Green Cemetery, one block north, 
 which many years previous had been laid out 
 as the cemetery of the city of Gallon. In this 
 cemetery rests Disberry Johnston, the pioneer 
 who came to this county in 181 7 with a wife 
 and 17 children. 
 
 The Union Green cemetery was located on 
 land donated by Jacob Ruhl. Prior to this the 
 Nail-Williamson cemetery was used. Just 
 north of this cemetery is the Catholic cemetery. 
 After the Lutheran church was built near the 
 cemetery in 1840 that church added more land, 
 and in 1861 a final addition was made to it on 
 the south side by Daniel Riblet. This addition 
 brought the cemetery ground up to Church 
 street and made it a block in size, about five 
 
 acres. The rapid growth of the town after 
 1850 led to several propositions for a new and 
 larger cemetery, but it was not until thirty 
 years later that definite action was taken, and 
 the site of the present Fairview Cemetery se- 
 cured, a tract of 80 acres near the northeastern 
 part of the city. It was appropriately named 
 Fairview, being on high ground, overlooking 
 the city. It was laid out in fine drives, addi- 
 tional trees planted, and Gallon's city of the 
 dead demonstrates the taste and progress of 
 that enterprising city, and reflects credit on 
 the management of the Fairview Cemetery As- 
 sociation. 
 
 As in the early history of most towns. Gallon 
 had no regular fire department. When a fire 
 broke out it was extinguished — if, indeed, it 
 was extinguished before it had burned itself 
 out — by the voluntary efforts of all the able 
 bodied citizens who could handle a pail, two 
 lines being formed and the full pails or buckets 
 of water being passed along one line to be 
 emptied onto the fire, and then returned along 
 the other line to be refilled. This plan, how- 
 ever, was adopted and a regular brigade 
 formed only after the futility of unconcerted 
 action had been several times demonstrated. 
 Later a crude engine came into use, which con- 
 sisted of small rectangular boxes supplied with 
 pumps. The boxes held from one to three bar- 
 rels of water and were set on low trucks. From 
 four to six men could work at the levers. There 
 was no suction and the lid of the box had to 
 be kept shut while pumping. It was soon dis- 
 covered, however, that it was just as effective 
 to throw the water on the fire directly from 
 the pails as to use this clumsy apparatus, and 
 therefore it was soon abandoned and finished 
 its career as a garden sprinkler. It had cost the 
 village $100, the money being lent by Jacob 
 Riblet. This inefficient machine was named 
 the "Protection," which at this day seems 
 rather humorous. 
 
 About 1853 the council purchased a more 
 efficient apparatus in the Phoenix hand-engine 
 — that is, it was more efficient whenever a fire 
 happened to break out in the immediate vicinitv 
 of where it happened to be located, for being 
 low built and tremendously heavy it was not 
 an uncommon thing to see it hopelessly stuck 
 in the mud, with the foreman and crew making 
 desperate efforts to extricate it, while the exul- 
 
 26 
 
432 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tant fire fiend was making havoc with property, 
 perhaps only a block or two distant. This ma- 
 chine had been built for use on the better 
 streets of Cleveland, but as steam fire-engines 
 were just then coming into vogue, that city 
 did not want it, and Gallon secured it at a bar- 
 gain. The engine could throw a considerable 
 volume of water to a good height. Jacob Rib- 
 let, however, had opposed the purchase of the 
 Phoenix engine, on account of its heaviness, 
 thereby proving himself to be a man of con- 
 siderable perspicacity, and after it had been 
 purchased in the face of his opposition, he bet 
 the company a keg of beer that the engine could 
 not throw a stream of water to the top of 
 Wimmie's block, and on the occasion of the 
 trial ascended to the roof of the building so 
 that he might be in a suitable position to ren- 
 der an accurate judgment. But apparently hav- 
 ing some latent consciousness that he might 
 have made a rash bet, he took the precaution 
 to provide himself with an umbrella. In so 
 doing he again justified his reputation for sa- 
 gacity, as he had abundant occasion to use 
 his weapon of defense against the copious 
 stream that the triumphant fire fighters hurled 
 over the building, paying particular attention 
 to the spot where he stood in vain defiance. 
 Even the umbrella was no protection, and he 
 was compelled to seek safety in flight. The 
 deluge of water was promptly succeeded by 
 a deluge of beer, Mr. Riblet doubtless partici- 
 pating in the festivities. Thus was the honor 
 of the Phoenix vindicated. But such triumphs 
 were not exactly of the sort for which the city 
 had purchased the engine, so in the year 1856, 
 the Phoenix was traded to Button & Blake of 
 Cincinnati, for the "Niagara," the authorities 
 paying to the Cincinnati firm $800, as the dif- 
 ference in value between the two engines. The 
 new machine was housed in a new and substan- 
 tial brick building, which had been built the 
 year previous on Atwood street, a tax of 6 
 mills being levied. A dozen cisterns were also 
 built. As one hose-cart was found inadequate 
 to carry all the hose needed, a second was pur- 
 chased. 
 
 In October, 1872, the corporation purchased 
 the Star steam fire engine of Ahrens & Co., 
 Cincinnati, at a cost of $4,599- Another hose- 
 cart was also purchased at Akron, Ohio. This 
 
 engine and hose-cart were housed in the City 
 Hall building. 
 
 The fire alarm system is used, twenty- four 
 signal boxes being erected throughout the city. 
 The department now has an abundance of hose, 
 hook and ladder trucks, and the water supply 
 is ample. 
 
 Previous to the year 1859 Gallon was with- 
 out any system of illumination, which, taken 
 with the intolerably bad condition of the streets, 
 made getting around town after dark a decid- 
 edly hazardous undertaking. Lanterns were 
 necessarily used to a large extent, but at best 
 could only prove a very imperfect substitute 
 for a good lighting plant. About the year 
 mentioned a gas manufactory was established 
 near the railroad on Main street, the works 
 being constructed by William Stephenson. 
 About two miles of wooden pipe were put 
 down and answered their purpose for about 
 twelve years. Among the principal stockhold- 
 ers of the company were Dr. John Reisinger, 
 William, Hays, Martin Sponhauer, Joel, 
 David and Jacob Riblet and others. Assess- 
 ments were frequent but no dividend was ever 
 declared, and the stockholders lost all they 
 put into it, but they had the satisfaction of 
 having the first gas in the county for illumina- 
 ting purposes. The old factory was sold at 
 sheriff's sale and bid in by Wm. Hays, who sold 
 to Miller & Kuhn, of Pennsylvania. They en- 
 larged the works, replaced the wooden pipe 
 with iron, and put down considerable more 
 pipes. In 1872 they changed the location of 
 the plant, building new works on East Church 
 street. A few years later the concern was 
 made a stock company. Miller & Kuhn, how- 
 ever, retaining a controlling interest. The city 
 is today lit by electric lights. 
 
 One of the greatest drawbacks of Gallon in 
 its earlier history was the lack of paved streets 
 and good sidewalks. The roads in the vicinity 
 were as bad as they could be and during mild 
 winters and in the spring were in a semi-liquid 
 condition. About the first sidewalk put down, 
 of which there is any record, consisted of a 
 double row of logs, slightly raised from the 
 ground, which extended around the square, the 
 upper surfaces of the logs being hewn flat. 
 As the town spread out board walks were put 
 down and an occasional brick, but little done 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 433 
 
 with the streets. In the spring of 1880 a pe- 
 tition, signed by a majority of the resident 
 property holders, was sent to the city council, 
 demanding that Main and Market streets be 
 graded and paved in some manner. Plans were 
 drawn up under the direction of F. L. Krause 
 who had been elected city engineer, and it was 
 decided to pike both streets, the improvements 
 on Main street to extend from about one and 
 a half blocks west of the square, over the C, 
 C, C. & I. Railroad on the east, and those on 
 Market street from the square on the south to 
 the depot on that street. The cost was esti- 
 mated at $30,000 and the contract was awarded 
 to Gray & Co., of Cleveland. Thus was in- 
 augurated a much needed improvement, which 
 has since been extended to other streets. 
 
 The following report of City Civil Engineer 
 A. O. Theobald, published last year, shows 
 Gallon's present condition with respect to the 
 important question of public improvements : 
 
 "Gallon has invested $153,632.00 in public 
 improvements in the last year and expended 
 $69,164.00 for similar purposes in the two 
 years prior. This grand total of $222,000.00 
 invested by the city of Galion and its tax payers 
 to better the condition of our city is a record 
 of which perhaps no town of equal size can 
 boast. It naturally follows how and where 
 have these improvements been made. In the 
 years 1908 and 1909 Galion was roused from 
 her comatose condition by the paving of West 
 Main street, and the taking of the first and 
 greatest step the city has even taken in the 
 path of modern sanitation. The Trunk Line 
 sewer or out-fall sewer was constructed, giv- 
 ing the city an outlet for all future sanitary 
 sewer construction for the east and west ex- 
 tremes of the city, as well as the north and 
 south sides. The three miles of out-fall sewer 
 constructed at the cost of approximately $22,- 
 000, carries the sewage of the entire city to 
 a point approximately one mile west of t"he city, 
 where it will be purified and disposed of in one 
 of the most modern of Sewage Disposal Plants, 
 the construction of which is now nearing com- 
 pletion. 
 
 "Following the paving of West Main street 
 and the construction of the Trunk Line Sewer 
 came the improvement of South Columbus 
 street, an improvement that adds much to the 
 beauty of that thoroughfare. 
 
 "The question of a disposal site for the antic- 
 ipated sewage and the necessary sewer laterals 
 now confronted the authorities. The site was 
 purchased and the work was started on the 
 construction of the Sewage Disposal Plant in 
 the month of May, 1910. 
 
 "In the following months plans were pre- 
 pared for districting the city, and districts 
 Nos. I, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11, covering al- 
 most the entire city, were prepared by the en- 
 gineering department. In the fall of the same 
 year actual work was started on the laying of 
 all the mentioned district sewers, aggregating 
 17 3/10 miles of pipe. 
 
 "In the spring of the year 191 1 all laterals 
 under construction were finished and again 
 the authorities followed the wishes of the citi- 
 zens, and the spirit of public improvement was 
 not allowed to become idle. The city having 
 been provided with the proper sanitations and 
 safeguarded, our attention was again turned 
 to the matter of street improvements. East 
 Main and North Market, Atwood and Railroad 
 streets being prepared and the former two 
 streets are at the present time under construc- 
 tion. With the above named streets improved 
 the city of Galion can boast of a record of three 
 and a half miles of paved streets in three years. 
 
 "The city is being rapidly provided with 
 storm sewers and at the present time the 
 Eleventh District relief sewer is being con- 
 structed at a cost approximating $7,000. 
 
 "This unparalleled record of public improve- 
 ment during the past few years has transformed 
 the city of Galion. But a few years ago she 
 had only a meager amount of public improve- 
 ments, whereas today, with her rapid strides 
 forward during the past few years, she stands 
 head and shoulders above her sister cities and 
 today she can justly point with pride to the 
 wonderful progress made. The result of this 
 forward movement is already reaping a har- 
 vest, for on every side may be seen the con- 
 struction of fine modern homes and the erec- 
 tion of substantial business blocks. With her 
 excellent improved streets, her efficient sewer- 
 age system and fine water supply, Galion is rap- 
 idly becoming a city of beautiful homes, as well 
 as marching forward in mercantile and indus- 
 trial lines." 
 
 The first bank in Gallon was a private insti- 
 tution conducted by John S. Davis and John 
 
434 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 U. Bloomer. This was established in 1852, 
 their office being the first block east of the 
 square, and the bank was successful from the 
 start. It was reorganized in 1863 and moved 
 to the northwest corner of the Square and 
 Main street, Davis and Bloomer both remain- 
 ing as members* of the new bank. On Febru- 
 ary 22, 1864, it became the First National 
 Bank, with a capital stock of $50,000, C. S. 
 Crim being president and J. U. Bl'oomer, cash- 
 ier. E. M. Freese is president and H. L. Bod- 
 ley cashier at the present time. 
 
 The Citizens' Bank was organized in 1866 
 by Mt. Gilead and Gallon parties, Gen. John 
 Beatty being the first president and J. H. Green 
 cashier. Their office was on South Market 
 street, but in 1875 they bought their present 
 location on the corner of the square and South 
 Market street. In 1872, they became the Citi- 
 zens National, with a capital stock of $60,000. 
 In 1878 J. H. Green became president, and 
 A. H. Lowe cashier, a position he has held 
 ever since; D. Bachelder succeeded J. H. Green 
 as president in 1895. 
 
 Another bank was the Hays bank, started 
 by Gallon capital, with William Hays as presi- 
 dent, and O. L. Hays as cashier. It be- 
 came The Gallon National, and O. L. 
 Hays succeeded his father as president, and 
 some years ago it was compelled to sus- 
 pend. The bank was located at the northeast 
 corner of the Square and Main street. 
 
 On May 15, 1905, the Commercial Savings 
 Bank Co. was organized with Mark Cook as 
 president, and J. W. Cupp, as cashier. The 
 capital stock was $50,000. On February i, 
 1907, A. H. Laughbaum succeeded J. W. Cupp 
 as cashier. Their bank has always been at their 
 present site, northeast corner of the Square 
 and Main street. 
 
 The Citizens' Building Association of Galion 
 was organized August 2, 1872, with David 
 Mackey, president; J. G. Meuser, secretary; 
 Citizens National Bank, treasurer, and with 
 David Mackey, C. E. Klopp, F. A. Keen, S. 
 G. Cummings, A. M. Brown, James Marsh- 
 mann and J. J. Schaefer as directors. 
 
 The present building and loan companies 
 are the Home Savings and Loan Co., of which 
 A. W. Monroe is secretary, and the Galion 
 Building and Loan Association, J. W. Geer, 
 secretary. 
 
 Travelers were first cared for as early as 
 1817 by Benjamin Leveridge m his little log 
 cabm, and then followed William Hostord 
 with his double log cabin, and finally in 1824 
 this was run as a regular tavern by Asa Hos- 
 ford. Later Jacob Ruhl had his tavern on the 
 Square and John Kroft a tavern a block east 
 of the Square, about where the road to Mans- 
 field bore to the north, afterward abandoned, 
 and the road run straight east as it is at present. 
 The Jacob Ruhl tavern later passed into the 
 hands of Michael Matthias, and in 1848 it was 
 run by David and Joel Riblet, the latter having 
 been a driver on the stage line between Mans- 
 field and Bucyrus. In 185 1, David and Joel 
 Riblet put up a brick building on the southwest 
 corner of the Square and Main street, and 
 here they started a store, but the next year the 
 building was rented by Brown & McMillan 
 and they started the Western House, and it 
 has been run as a hotel ever since, the name 
 being changed later to the Central Hotel. 
 While Brown & McMillan were in charge, an 
 addition was built by the Riblets, and in 1856 
 Smith Ferris took charge of it, and a third story 
 was added. 
 
 The Cleveland, Columbus and Cincmnati 
 railroad having their depot on east Main 
 street, John Tracy built a hotel there in 1850 
 which was called the American House, and in 
 1854 he sold out to A. Reeve who refitted and 
 refurnished it throughout. It passed into 
 various hands, became the brick structure that 
 was destroyed by fire a dozen years ago, since 
 which time it has no longer been used as a; 
 hotel, but the eastern part of the building is 
 the large restaurant of Bland and Irwin, which 
 has a state reputation as "The Big Store/' 
 
 On East Main street a hotel was started 
 years ago. It came into the hands of Gust 
 Keen, who ran it as a regular hotel; it under- 
 went many changes under the hands of differ- 
 ent managers, and the present brick building 
 was erected, and it is today the Phoenix Hotel. 
 
 On Main street, east of the Big Four tracks 
 is the Stevens Hotel, named after the pro- 
 prietor, John Stevens. 
 
 To the ladies of Galion is due the present 
 public library. The Current News Club, one 
 of the Women's Clubs of Galion, began to 
 agitate the subject of establishing a public 
 library and their efforts met with a hearty 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 435 
 
 approval by a large number of citizens who 
 were in sympathy with the enterprise. The 
 club started a library fund, which was con- 
 tributed to by other clubs and associations 
 until several hundred dollars were gathered 
 for the purpose. In 1898 a state law was 
 passed whereby it was made mandatory upon 
 boards of education in cities the size of Gallon 
 to make a tax levy to support public libraries 
 under certain conditions. With the assurance 
 of support as guaranteed by this law, the ladies 
 of the Current News Club, on March 26, 1901, 
 incorporated the Gabon Public Library Asso- 
 ciation, with the declared purpose of building 
 and maintaining a public library free to all 
 the citizens of the Gallon public school dis- 
 trict. The organization being perfected, a de- 
 mand in accordance with the law was made 
 upon the Board of Education of the city for 
 the necessary tax levy, which was cheerfully 
 granted by the board, and the new library asso- 
 ciation started upon its career with bright pros- 
 pects of making a success of its undertaking. 
 
 As a first step in their establishment of a 
 public library the association, then composed 
 of ladies only, purchased In-lot No. 56, on the 
 east side of North Market street for a consid- 
 eration of $2,850. This lot had an old log 
 residence on it, one of the oldest buildings in 
 the city, and was one of the early school houses 
 half a century previous. This was converted 
 into a comfortable library and reading room 
 and promised to become the pride and glory of 
 the -infant library association, if not the fullest 
 satisfaction of the city's ambition in the direc- 
 tion of library building. But no sooner had 
 the library taken form and the public began to 
 lend its influence and support, than a new and 
 higher ambition took possession of the mem- 
 bers of the association and they began to as- 
 pire to better and more permanent library 
 buildings and facilities. 
 
 Andrew Carnegie was helping other 
 libraries ; would he not also help them to secure 
 a better library home? An application was 
 made to Mr. Carnegie in August, 1901, for a 
 building fund, but as nothing came of this 
 effort, the association sent a committee of two 
 citizens to New York, in February of 1902, 
 to present the matter personally. The com- 
 mittee was successful and in March of that 
 
 year Mr. Carnegie made an appropriation of 
 $15,000, conditioned upon his customary de- 
 mand of a guarantee of an annual support for 
 the library of not less than ten per cent of that 
 amount. The Association then asked the city 
 council to give Mr. Carnegie the required guar- 
 antee of support, which was done by resolu- 
 tion passed April 18, 1902. 
 
 The fund for a library building being now 
 secured, the plans of the present building were 
 approved, and the contract for the building 
 was let for the sum of $13,578, and with the 
 heating and other appliances, together with 
 the walks and curbs, brought the total cost 
 of the improvement, exclusive of books and 
 furnishings, up to $16,559.50. To these im- 
 provements should be added the cost of the 
 lot, which makes an aggregate cost for the 
 library, exclusive of contents, of $19,409.50. 
 
 The Gallon Public Library was formally 
 dedicated Thursday evening, April 28, 1904. 
 Following the exercises, which were held at 
 the City Opera House, a considerable sum of 
 money was raised to meet the cost of the build- 
 ing. At the present time (July 25, 1912) the 
 library contains 5,014 books for circulation, 
 exclusive of about 700 government documents. 
 Miss Estella Coyle is librarian and Miss Doris 
 John, assistant librarian. The Board of 
 Directors is composed exclusively of ladies, as 
 follows: Mrs. M. R. Crim, president; Mrs. 
 Elmer Stout, vice president; Mrs. David G. 
 Bryfogle, secretary; Mrs. H. A. House, treas- 
 urer; Mrs. A. W. Lewis, Mrs. A. W. Monroe, 
 Mrs. H. E. Smith, Mrs. J. J Schaefer and Miss 
 Nettie Kinsey. 
 
 The Police Department is under charge of 
 L. E. Christian, who is now serving in his 
 third year as chief. Under him are Capt. C. 
 D. Riblet and five patrolmen. The department 
 holds communications through its own tele- 
 phone system, which is independent of the 
 city exchange, there being 14 box or patrol 
 phones. The jail is immediately back of the 
 station, in the same building, and contains four 
 cells, strongly constructed, while upstairs there 
 is a hospital room, which is used also for 
 female prisoners. 
 
 The Logan Natural Gas and Fuel Company, 
 operating in Bucyrus and Gallon, installed 
 their system in both towns at about the same 
 
436 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 time, Gallon being slightly in advance In get- 
 ting supply, which was turned on December 2, 
 1902. 
 
 The telephone company was started by 
 George Ristine about 1885, and today the 
 public are served by the Central Union Tele- 
 phone Company and the Gallon Telephone 
 Company. 
 
 As nearly as can be estimated, the popu- 
 lation of Gallon in 1850 was about 421, so In 
 those early days, outside of little stores and 
 small shops, there were no important indus- 
 tries. Robert Cowden writes that as late as 
 1848-9 he has seen as many as a hundred 
 covered wagons a day passing north from 
 Morrow county along the Portland road to 
 Sandusky and Milan. But now, after more 
 than half a century has passed. Gallon no 
 longer looks with jealous eye at the aban- 
 
 doned crossing, but points with pride to the 
 prosperous city with its many shops and fac- 
 tories giving employment to hundreds of men ; 
 its handsome residences and improved streets; 
 its advanced schools and stately churches; its 
 important railroads and solid financial insti- 
 tutions; and its citizens enjoying all the ad- 
 vantages of every modern public improvement. 
 And taking a just pride In all this, the citizens 
 should sometimes recall the names of those 
 early pioneers who went through the hard- 
 ships necessary to level the forest into a settle- 
 ment, have a kindly remembrance for Michael 
 and Jacob Ruhl, who from that settlement 
 founded a village, and drop an occasional 
 flower on the grave of Asa Hosford, whose 
 energy and perseverance transformed that vil- 
 lage and made possible the city of today. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 MANUFACTURES 
 
 Introductory — The Eagle Machine Works — The American Clay Machinery Co. — The 
 Carroll Foundry and Bucyrus Steel Castings Co. — The Hall Gas Engine Co. and Ohio 
 Locomotive Crane Co. — The Skunk Plow Works — The Bucyrus Machine Works — The 
 Bucyrus Knitting Machine Co. — The Vollrath Planing Mill — A. M. Jones & Co. — The 
 C. Roehr Co. — The Deal Smutter Factory — The Pinyerd Bros. Mill — The Dostal Brew- 
 ery — The Main St. Mills — The Van Loozen Multi-Colored Press Co. — The Blair Pig 
 Ring Factory — The Bucyrus Husking Glove Co. — The Sommer Motor Co. — The Craig 
 Foundry Co. — The Kelly Manufacturing Co. — The Ryder Brass Foundry — D. Picking 
 & Co. — The Crooks-Uhl Mfg. Co. — The Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works — The Keel 
 Monument Works — The Colter Mill — The Brokensword Stone Co. — Wine Manufac- 
 ture—Patterson Mfg. Co. — The Ruhl Carriage Works — Other Bucyrus Enterprises — 
 Galion — The Tyler Organ Co. — The Kunkel Carriage Works — The Galion Buggy Co. — 
 The Sandusky Cooperage and Lumber Co. — The Buckeye Wheel Co. — The Weaver 
 Bending Co. — The Plack Carriage Works — The Galion Lumber Co. — The Gledhill Lum- 
 ber Yards and Mill — The New York Racket Store — The Ohio Mausoleum Co. — The 
 Detweiler Mfg. Co. — The Galion Iron Works Co. — The Galion Handle & Mfg. Co. — 
 The Galion Metallic Grave Vault Co. — The American Steel Grave Vault Co.- — E. M. 
 Freese & Co. — The Galion Brewing Co. — The Longstreth Monument Works — The 
 Sponhauer Boiler & Machine Works — The Perfection Road Machinery Co. — The Cleve- 
 land-Galion Motor Truck Co. — The Telephone Improvement Co. — The Market St. Mills 
 — The Galion Monument Co.- — The Galion Machine Works — The Farmers' Mfg. & 
 Milling Co. — The Burch Plow Works — Phoenix Milling Co. — Gledhill & Kime Lumber 
 Co. — The Weaver Bros. Co. — H. E. Bormuth Cement Block Co. — The Holcker Bros. 
 Buggy Co. — The Schill Bros. Co. — New Washington — The New Washington Flouring 
 Mill — The New Washington Lumber &■ Mfg. Co. — Seitter & Brown's Brick & Tile 
 Works — The Kibler Tannery — The Crawford County Nursery. 
 
 Clang! clang! the massive anvils ring; same as those which were pursued when the 
 
 Sre^Lft"ht/e'"a"rofTTopir'^^^^^^^ Pyramids were building, and it owes a large 
 
 The mighty blows still multiply,— part of the enhanced dignity to which it has 
 
 Clang! clang! attained in comparatively recent years to the 
 
 Say, brothers of the dusky brow, . j • i ^ j t • .^ , 
 
 What are your strong arms forging now? improved implements and rnachinery that are 
 
 —Anonymous. the direct product of inventive brains working 
 
 In this progressive age the general intelli- out through the channels of manufacturing 
 
 gence of a people may be gauged by the extent enterprise. Manufactures represent, there- 
 
 and variety of their manufactures. Agricul- fore, the activity and power of the human mind 
 
 ture, though in modern times elevated to the when applied to practical subjects — to those 
 
 dignity of a science, makes no extraordinary things, aside from food, with which humanity 
 
 demands upon the intellect. Its methods, de- is daily and directly concerned. They have to 
 
 pending on Nature's laws, are essentially the do with almost everything that we use or 
 
 437 
 
438 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 handle. Perhaps no other branch of human ac- 
 tivity covers so wide a field, and each individ- 
 ual product in all the wondrous variety rep- 
 resents in high or low degree, the victory of 
 mind over matter — the ultimate fruition of a 
 thought. 
 
 In this department of human enterprise the 
 United States occupies a leading place among 
 the nations of the world. From the wooden 
 nutmeg of the enterprising Connecticut Yan- 
 kee to the latest type of aeroplane, American 
 products are known the world over and all the 
 world pays tribute to American brain and en- 
 terprise ; and among the states that have helped 
 to win this renown there are few that hold a 
 higher rank than Ohio. As an integral part 
 of this commonwealth Crawford county can 
 hold her own in business and manufacturing 
 enterprise. 
 
 In the early history of the middle west man 
 was engaged in the task of subduing the wil- 
 derness and rendering it fit for human habita- 
 tion. The work was chiefly one of laborious 
 application, the axe, the saw and the plow be- 
 ing almost the only tools employed. But with 
 the advent of settlers other demands arose. 
 Man must have bread, and so corn and wheat 
 must be ground into flour. He must, or will 
 as soon as practicable, have comfortable 
 dwellings, to erect which he requires lumber. 
 Hence in the early saw and grist mills of pio- 
 neer days we behold the beginnings of that 
 manufacturing enterprise which forms so con- 
 spicuous a feature of our life today. 
 
 Such initial enterprises as they relate to 
 Crawford county, may be found touched on 
 in other chapters of this volume dealing with 
 the various townships and villages, and need 
 not be recapitulated here. As in every com- 
 munity of people belonging to the great Cau- 
 casian race, improvement was the daily 
 motto and perfection the ultimate goal for 
 which our pioneer manufacturers strove. Thus 
 they could hardly help but make progress. 
 Spurred on by necessity, in no few instances 
 they struck out original lines of thought, 
 which bore fruition in various improved and 
 labor-saving devices calculated to lighten the 
 work of the farmer, the merchant, the me- 
 chanic, or the busy housewife ; and later on, in 
 the times in which we live, this same intellec- 
 tual energy, has produced yet greater results 
 
 in many wonderful inventions that our fore- 
 fathers never dreamed of, but which we of to- 
 day could hardly do without. To illustrate 
 this marvellous enterprise as connected with 
 the growth and prosperity of Crawford county, 
 it is only necessary to glance briefly at the 
 principal business and manufacturing enter- 
 prises which are now flourishing in the county, 
 or which have existed therein in former days. 
 
 The first business enterprise established in 
 Bucyrus was Abel Cary's grist-mill, which was 
 erected in 1822, or perhaps earlier, on the 
 river bank, just west of the north end of Main 
 street. A dam was constructed across the 
 river at this point. Subsequently, however, the 
 machinery and mill were removed to the north 
 end of Walnut street, and it was operated there 
 for some years, until it was destroyed by fire. 
 Its proprietor, James Kelly, erected another 
 mill on the same site in 1844, and this latter 
 mill was in operation for twenty-six years, 
 during the greater part of this period being 
 the property of James McLean. This mill 
 also was burned, on April 9, 1870. In 1822 
 Lewis Cary started a tannery, which after- 
 wards, passed into the hands of his son, Aaron, 
 by whom it was sold to Richard Plummer, 
 about 1855. In the following year Plummer 
 sold it to Christian Shonert, who had learned 
 the trade under Aaron Cary. David Holm 
 and Henry Minich also had tanneries about 
 1 83 1, and several other small industries were 
 then carried on in or near the village, among 
 which was a pottery conducted by Elias 
 Slagle, who also, after 1830, ran an oil-mill, 
 with a large circular tramp wheel on the same 
 lot, near the site of the old Cary mill. Jesse 
 Quaintance also put up a mill on the river 
 bank, southwest of the village after 1830. 
 
 Several carding-mills were also established 
 at this early day in Bucyrus. One of these, 
 operated by tramp-wheel power, was conduc- 
 ted by Jourdan Jones, and afterward sold to 
 Mr. Lautenheiser, who furnished it with a 
 steam engine. Another carding-mill was run 
 by Mr. Kirk. The latter was bought out by 
 Dr. A. M. Jones, who established Samuel 
 Clapper in the business, which was conducted 
 for several years near the southwest corner of 
 Walnut and Perry streets, by the firm of 
 Jones & Clapper. In 1843 a steam-engine was 
 installed and the mill was run night and day 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 439 
 
 on account of the great increase in the busi- 
 ness. This engine is said to have been the sec- 
 ond one introduced into Crawford county, the 
 first having been used in the old flouring mill 
 run by James Kelly. 
 
 The Eagle Machine Works — Sometime 
 in the early fifties a small machine shop 
 was started in Bucyrus, which subsequently 
 obtained considerable local importance as a 
 manufacturing enterprise. The concern was 
 purchased in 1862 by two of the workmen 
 therein employed — Messrs. Frey & Sheckler, 
 who continued and improved the business. In 
 1867 the entire works were destroyed by fire, 
 but in the following year the two proprietors 
 took in as a third partner Mr. George Quinby, 
 and the works were rebuilt on a much larger 
 scale and furnished with improved machinery. 
 Subsequent to 1872 other buildings were ad- 
 ded until the plant included a foundry, ma- 
 chine shops, blacksmith shops, engine-house, 
 coke and sand-house, office and patternroom, 
 etc. By 1880 there were eighteen or more 
 hands employed and among the firm's products 
 were engines, horse-powers, saw-mills, brick 
 machines, etc. The Eagle Portable Engine 
 was especially noted, and their brick machines 
 were among the best in the country and were 
 sold as fai- west as Wyoming and Indian Ter- 
 ritory. Mr. Sheckler retired in 1875, and in 
 1877 William Hoover purchased an interest, 
 but later Mr. Sheckler reentered the firm, 
 which then became Frey, Sheckler & Hoover, 
 and was so conducted for a number of years 
 when Mr. Sheckler again retired and the Frey- 
 Sheckler Company was incorporated under the 
 management of Col. W. C. Lemert and so 
 continued until 1896 when the Frey-Sheckler 
 Company was combined with J. W. Penfield 
 & Son Company of Willoughby and the com- 
 pany incorporated under the name of The 
 American Clay Working Machinery Company, 
 with principal offices at Bucyrus, Ohio, though 
 the Willoughby plant was and is still run by 
 the company. In 1906 the company name was 
 changed to The American Clay Machinery 
 Company and it is the largest plant manufac- 
 turing clay working machinery in the world. 
 R. C. Penfield is the head of the company. 
 
 In 1909 the American Equipment Company 
 was organized by Mr. Penfield with general 
 
 offices at Bucyrus but their operations are en- 
 tirely in Chicago. 
 
 In 1888 George Campbell started the Camp- 
 bell Frog Works, to manufacture an improved 
 railroad frog. The business moved along 
 slowly and soon Mr. Campbell included 
 foundry work, doing a large business in 
 foundry jobbing. In 1891 Mr. Campbell died 
 and in December of 1891 P. J. Carroll pur- 
 chased the business of the Campbell heirs and 
 operated the business on East Warren street. 
 Under his management the business grew from 
 one employing half a dozen men to one with 
 probably fifty, when Mr. Carroll deemed it 
 advisable to enlarge his facilities. 
 
 In 1897 Bucyrus voted to issue bonds to es- 
 tablish the McGibery Radiator Works in the 
 northern part of the city, but the venture did 
 not prove a success and the city had an empty 
 building on its hands. P. J. Carroll acquired 
 this and moved his foundry to the old Radia- 
 tor building in 1899, calling his plant the Car- 
 roll Foundry and Machine Works. Here the 
 business developed to great proportions and 
 the present plant is very extensive, employing 
 several hundred men. In 1906 Mr. Carroll 
 organized the Bucyrus Steel Castings Com- 
 pany, and immense new buildings were erected 
 and business started in 1907. This business 
 has also grown until now hundreds of men are 
 employed. 
 
 The Hall Gas Engine Co. and the Ohio 
 Locomotive Crane Co. are both Bucyrus com- 
 panies, closely allied with the Carroll plants 
 and both doing splendid business and with ex- 
 cellent prospects. 
 
 The Shunk Plow Works — This concern 
 had its origin a few years previous to the 
 Civil War, when A. Shunk, Sr., began the 
 making of plows on a small scale, employing 
 but four men and doing all the work by hand. 
 His factory was known as the Bucyrus Plow 
 Works. As the years went by the business 
 increased, steam power was introduced and 
 several large buildings erected. In May, 1870 
 a firm was formed consisting of A. Shunk, Jr., 
 F. R. and N. T. Shunk, all brothers. Later 
 some changes took place and the firm became 
 A. Shunk Sr., alone. By 1880 the works had 
 a capacity of 1,000 plows per year, of nine 
 different varieties, they being sold chiefly in 
 
440 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Ohio and the Western states. Further changes 
 caused the ownership to become vested in 
 Nelson F., John Q. and Isaac Shunk, of whom 
 the two first mentioned are now proprietors, 
 Isaac having died about ten years ago. The 
 business has branched out in other directions, 
 and plows are no longer among the chief pro- 
 duct of the factory, which now include steel 
 plow parts, mould boards and cutting edges 
 for wheeled road scrapers, and steel wheel 
 farm wagons. About 500 tons of plate steel 
 are used per year. The plows are sold chiefly 
 in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, while 
 the other products are shipped to all parts of 
 the country. In recent years some improved 
 heavy machinery has been installed. About 35 
 men are now employed. 
 
 The Bucyrus Machine Works, at one time 
 an important Bucyrus industry, originated 
 previous to 1861, when William Burkhart, 
 James Throupe and J. Moultrop commenced 
 work together in a little blacksmith shop, 
 and made a few "Excelsior" machines. Mr. 
 Burkhart invented the Bucyrus Machine, 
 and about 1861 the concern became known as 
 the Bucyrus Machine Works. In January, 
 1869, the firm became a stock company, with 
 a capital stock of $100,000, B. B. McDonald 
 being superintendent and AV. T. McDonald, 
 treasurer. A fire in May of the following 
 year caused a loss of about $21,000, but these 
 parts of the plant that had been destroyed 
 were rebuilt and the entire plant improved. 
 About 100 men were employed and as high 
 as 700 machines in one year were manufac- 
 tured. A large part of their output went to 
 the western states, where the Bucyrus machine 
 was very popular. At one time preparations 
 were made for the building of railway cars 
 and a switch was built from the works to the 
 railroad, but about this time the business be- 
 gan to decline and the concern subsequently 
 passed into the hands of J. N. Biddle. In a 
 few years another assignment was made, A. 
 Monnett & Co., becoming the proprietors. 
 After operating the plant for a time they leased 
 it to Stuckey & Diller, who carried on the bus- 
 iness for a number of years. 
 
 In 1868 William Franz and Dr. William 
 Pope began to perfect a knitting machine for 
 both domestic and manufacturing purposes. 
 They succeeded and obtained a patent, and 
 
 subsequently patented eight improvements, be- 
 sides purchasing six others, making fourteen 
 improvements, in addition to the original pat- 
 ent. A company was formed in 1870 called 
 the Bucyrus Knitting Machine Company, and 
 commenced operations. It was disbanded, 
 however, in 1871 and a joint stock company 
 formed composed of Dr. William Pope, Dr. 
 C. Fulton, James Clements, John Franz, 
 Thomas Beer, George Quinby, George Don- 
 nenwirth and William Franz. George Quinby 
 was president, William Franz secretary and 
 Dr. W. Pope general agent. The style 
 of the company was changed to The Franz 
 & Pope Knitting Machine Company. The 
 machine was capable of producing a large 
 variety of work, being adapted to all manner 
 of crocheting, making tidies or afghans, as 
 well as common hosiery. It knit a stocking, 
 heel and toe combined in seven minutes, with 
 but little hand finishing required. In 1878 a 
 hosiery department was added to the estab- 
 lishment, in which about thirty girls were em- 
 ployed. 
 
 In iSss Gottlieb Vollrath started a planing- 
 mill in Bucyrus under the firm name of G. 
 Vollrath & Co., the firm comprising Mr. Voll- 
 rath and two sons — Albert and Charles. In 
 1867 William, another son, bought out his 
 father and the firm became Vollrath Brothers. 
 In 1868 a large brick building was erected, 
 three stories high, with ground dimensions of 
 78x45 feet; also a boiler and engine-room 
 measuring 19x54 feet. This building was in- 
 stalled with the most up-to-date machinery 
 for the manufacture of sash, doors, blinds, 
 moldings, etc., and a large business was done, 
 giving employment to from fifteen to twenty 
 men. A large business was also done in 
 dressed and undressed lumber. 
 
 In 1870 the Vollrath Brothers fitted up a 
 part of their planing-mill building for the pur- 
 pose of a flour mill and commenced this line 
 of industry. In 1872 this part of the business 
 \A-as bought by F. A. Vollrath, another brother, 
 who subsequently conducted it. 
 
 The Buckeye State Wood Works were es- 
 tablished in 1866 by A. M. Jones & Company 
 for the purpose of manufacturing spokes, 
 hubs, and bent work. The members of the 
 firm were A. M. Jones, W. C. Lemert, Lyman 
 Parcher and John Jones. Nicholas Reehl was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 441 
 
 afterward admitted and shortly after John 
 Jones and Lyman Parcher sold out to the 
 other three partners, the firm still being known 
 as A. M. Jones & Co. About thirty men were 
 employed. The business was quite pretentious 
 and would have grown to still greater pro- 
 portions but that other interests of the owners 
 made it seem advisable to close up the old 
 Wood Works, which was done. 
 
 In 1859 a planing-mill was erected by Kel- 
 ler, Stoll & Co. The firm later became Stoll 
 & Brother, and in 1869 the style was changed 
 to Stoll Brothers & Company. The main 
 building was 70x40 feet, with engine room 
 40x18 feet and the establishment was supplied 
 with the best machinery. Subsequently 
 Charles Roehr became a member of the firm. 
 A large number of men were employed and an 
 extensive business done in the line of sash, 
 doors, blinds and in lumber, rough and dressed 
 of all kinds. 
 
 Under the management of Charles Roehr 
 the company developed a great business. The 
 C. Roehr Company was organized being owned 
 by Mr. Roehr and his three sons, Edward C. 
 William and Carl F. Extensive contracts were 
 obtained, the firm being especially successful 
 in interior trim for large buildings in all parts 
 of the country. Some of the early big con- 
 tracts were the complete interior trim for large 
 office buildings in Pittsburgh. Later they had 
 the contracts for the Pope Buildings at Hart- 
 ford, Conn., and in Boston. Their work in- 
 cluded the complete finishing of the Philadel- 
 phia Mint, the Chicago Post Office, a modern 
 building at the Annapolis Naval Academy, 
 office buildings in New York and other great 
 cities. All three of the sons died, and follow- 
 ing this his own health failed, so that Charles 
 Roehr retired from business and the company 
 was re-organized under the name of the New 
 Roehr Company, of which A. S. Leuthold is 
 president and Samuel Leuthold secretary. 
 
 The Smutter Factory of M. Deal originated 
 in 1868, when Mr. Deal began the manufac- 
 ture of the "California Smutter," a machine 
 for taking smut out of wheat, a most valuable 
 invention for wheat growers and dealers. Mr. 
 Deal subsequently made a number of improve- 
 ments to the original patent and manufactured 
 the machine in 36 different styles. The factory 
 employed some 25 men and had a capacity of 
 
 500 machines per year. Over 600 local agen- 
 cies were established in the United States, 
 Canada, South America, and England, and 
 from $60,000 to $75,000 worth of machines 
 were shipped annually. 
 
 In i860 S. A. Bowers and J. W. Delancy 
 erected flour mills near the site of the Dear- 
 dorf steam saw-mill, and they were known as 
 the Sandusky Valley Mills. Mr. Delancy re- 
 tired in 1 86 1 and the mills were carried on by 
 Mr. Bowers until 1872, when he sold out to 
 C. T. Miller. The latter failing shortly after, 
 Mr. Bowers took them back, and being subse- 
 quently joined by Mr. Delancy, the old firm 
 of Bowers & Delancy, continued their opera- 
 tion for many years. 
 
 Mr. Delancy managed the mill after Mr. 
 Bowers had retired but later sold out and the 
 plant is at present owned and operated by Pin- 
 yerd Brothers. 
 
 The Dostal Brothers' Brewery was origi- 
 nally established in 1858 by Henry Anthony. 
 In the following spring G. Donnenwirth, Jr., 
 became a partner, and in the fall the firm be- 
 came G. Donnenwirth & Son, his father taking 
 an interest in the business with him. The bus- 
 iness subsequently passed into the hands of 
 Frank Dick, and was bought in September, 
 1902 by the Dostal Brothers — John M. and 
 George A. Dostal — who have made the busi- 
 ness a prosperous one, introducing new meth- 
 ods and installing modern machinery. The 
 present plant covers about six acres and the 
 output amounts to about 20,000 barrels an- 
 nually, which is all sold in Ohio. 
 
 The Main Street Mills, a prominent indus- 
 try of Bucyrus, were established by Zeigler, 
 Gross & Co., and in October, 1871, the firm 
 of F. & J. Gross was formed, succeeding the 
 old one. The present mills were built in the 
 following May. In 1876 Mr. Zeigler, who 
 had returned to Bucyrus after an absence of 
 several years, became the proprietor of these 
 mills. He has made improvements in the prop- 
 erty from time to time, installing the most 
 modern machinery and the plant is now thor- 
 oughly up-to-date and turns out about 150 
 barrels of flour per day. Since 1877 these 
 mills have been one of the standard industries 
 of the city. 
 
 The Van Loozen Multi-Colored Press Com- 
 pany was incorporated in April, 1909 with a 
 
442 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 capital of $150,000, and in the fall of that 
 year a large modern building was erected at 
 the corner of East Warren and Failor streets, 
 40x120 feet. The press manufactured by this 
 company is the invention of Mr. Fred H. Van 
 Loozen and is designed to print six or seven 
 different colors simultaneously. It is radically 
 different in construction from any other print- 
 ing press, possessing many points of superior- 
 ity, and the press has bright prospects for the 
 future. The ofificers are Fred H. Van Loozen, 
 president; M. A. Van Loozen, vice president; 
 M. C. Harhaus, secretary, and W. H. Pick- 
 ing, treasurer. 
 
 The Blair Pig Ring Factory — The useful 
 contrivances which form the product of this 
 factory were invented many -years ago by Elias 
 Blair and consist of the hog anti-rooter device 
 and the hog snout ring. The business has al- 
 ways been a prosperous one and the Blair de- 
 vices fill a place that has not been usurped by 
 any other article on the market. 
 
 The Bucyrus Husking Glove Company, of 
 Bucyrus, whose place of business is near the 
 southeast corner of the Public Square, was 
 started by Mr. H. S. Blair, about twenty-five 
 years ago, on the third floor of the E. Blair 
 Block, on Sandusky street. The business was 
 later moved to the old German Lutheran 
 church (afterward used as an Armory), and 
 still later — about twelve years ago — removal 
 was made to the present location. The con- 
 cern is engaged in the manufacture of husking 
 gloves, husking pins, hook buskers, mittens, 
 wrist supporters, motorman's palms, etc., and 
 is the oldest firm making husking gloves to- 
 day. The product is sold to jobbers from New 
 York to the Pacific coast. From 25 to 75 peo- 
 ple are employed. Mr. Blair is still proprietor 
 of the business. 
 
 The Sommer Motor Company, engaged in 
 the manufacture of motors for trucks of pleas- 
 ure auto-cars, was incorporated in 1907, at 
 Aurora, 111., by L. A. Sommer, W. N. Baker, 
 Albert Russom and W. H. Reedy, who are its 
 present officers. Through the efforts of the 
 Bucyrus Industrial Association, the concern 
 was induced to move to Bucyrus, coming here 
 in December, 19 10. They have a seven-acre 
 site in the eastern part of the city, on the line 
 of the Pennsylvania tracks. Their factory 
 building is a large modern structure, 200x100 
 
 feet, and is thoroughly equipped with the most 
 modern machinery. The company is doing an 
 excellent business — all, in fact, that they can 
 handle — and is turning out from 1800 to 2000 
 motors a year. As they are adding to their 
 equipment, they will have an increased output 
 next year. They employ from 70 to 75 men 
 and have been working overtime since Jan- 
 uary 1st, to the present time (July, 19 12). 
 
 The Craig Foundry Company of Buc)a-us 
 was incorporated in 191 1 by W. H. Craig and 
 Walter Kline, with a capital of $30,000. This 
 concern is engaged in the manufacture of light 
 and heavy castings, cold air faces, wall regis- 
 ters, automobile castings, etc. They have an 
 up-to-date plant, covering three acres of 
 ground in the southern part of the city, with 
 good railroad facilities. They also have a 
 large plating plant — probably the most com- 
 plete in the state — for nickel, silver and other 
 plating, and turn out fine oxidized copper 
 work. About fifty men on an average are 
 given employment. Mr. W. H. Craig is pres- 
 ident of the company, with Walter Kline, sec- 
 retary and treasurer, and the board of direc- 
 tors includes also Mr. A. T. Dennis. 
 
 The Kelly Manufacturing Company, lo- 
 cated in the south end of Bucyrus, on Gallon 
 street, was established about three years ago 
 by T. F. Kelly, its present proprietor, and is 
 engaged in the manufacture of pneumatic 
 water supply systems for irrigation or house- 
 hold purposes, steel burial cases and all kinds 
 of sheet iron work, their product being sold 
 all over the United States. About twelve men 
 are usually employed and the firm is doing a 
 prosperous business. 
 
 The Ryder Brass Foundry Company was 
 established in July, 19 10, and was incorporated 
 in October of the same year at $10,000. The 
 concern is engaged in the manufacture of 
 brass, bronze and aluminum castings, mangan- 
 ese bronze, phosphor bronze and special al- 
 loys, turning out castings for all purposes. 
 The president is W. H. Whitmore, of Akron, 
 Ohio; Elizabeth W. Ryder is vice president, 
 and P. H. Ryder, secretary, treasurer and man- 
 ager. The company's factory is located in the 
 northern end of the town just east of North 
 Sandusky street. 
 
 D. Picking & Co. — This firm engaged in 
 the manufacture of copper kettles, was estab- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 443 
 
 lished in 1874 by D. Picking, who is now de- 
 ceased. The business is now carried on by 
 his sons, C. F. and W. H. Picking, and is in 
 a prosperous condition. From 3000 to 4000 
 kettles a year are manufactured. 
 
 The Crooks-Uhle Manufacturing Company, 
 located at No. 113 E. Charles street, Bucyrus, 
 was founded in 1908, the partners being Fred- 
 erick E. Uhle and his son-in-law, Earl G. 
 Crooks. They are general machinists and are 
 specially engaged in the manufacture of chil- 
 dren's folding sulkeys, the "go-cart runner" 
 being an invention of Mr. Crooks. The busi- 
 ness is increasingly prosperous, a large demand 
 having been created for the firm's special pro- 
 duct. 
 
 The Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works — This 
 industry was practically started in 1873, when 
 Jacob Geiger and Daniel Picking, then en- 
 gaged in the hardware business, began the 
 manufacture of copper kettles for boiling ap- 
 ple butter, an important industry in those days. 
 Later Mr. Geiger sold his hardware interests 
 to Mr. Picking and in partnership with 
 Phillip E. Bush established a manufactory on 
 the corner of N. Railroad and Lane streets. 
 Subsequent improvements have given this fac- 
 tory dimensions of 85x90 feet. The business 
 was conducted under the style of Geiger & 
 Bush from 1889 until the death of Mr. Bush in 
 1907, since which time Mr. Geiger has been 
 sole proprietor. The plant is well equipped and 
 the business is in a flourishing condition. 
 
 The Monument and Marble Works of Wil- 
 liam H. Keel were started by him at No. 220 
 So. Walnut street, Bucyrus, in 1878, and at 
 one time, before the introduction of machinery, 
 he was able to give steady employment to 24 
 people. He is a skillful workman in marble 
 and granite and makes his own designs. His 
 business is one of the old established ones of 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 Colter & Co. — In 1902 Mr. Jacob Colter 
 came to Bucyrus and started a saw-mill; a 
 planing-mill was added to this in 1906 and a 
 large business has since been built up in all 
 kinds of house and building material. Since 
 1905 Mr. Peter Conkle has been a partner in 
 the concern. The plant of this firm covers nine 
 acres of land, and an average of 400,000 feet 
 of lumber is kept on hand. 
 
 The Brokensword Stone Company, capi- 
 
 talized at $10,000, is engaged in quarrying 
 stone six miles northwest of Bucyrus, and has 
 an office in the city. About sixty-five men are 
 employed. Dr. John A. Chesney is president 
 of the company, P. J. Carroll, vice president 
 and general manager ; and William H. Picker- 
 ington, treasurer. 
 
 Charles Arnold is engaged in the manufac- 
 ture of native wines in Bucyrus, having been 
 engaged in this business since about 1895. His 
 specialties are Delaware, Catawba and Claret 
 and he has specially constructed cellars for the 
 storing of his product. He has built up a 
 prosperous business. 
 
 The Patterson Manufacturing Company is 
 a recently established concern engaged in the 
 manufacture of fire-escapes and structural steel 
 work and bids fair to become one of the city's 
 important industries. 
 
 The Ruhl Carriage Works, located at No. 
 428 E. Mansfield street, are engaged in the 
 manufacture of buggies, carriages, wagons and 
 the "Ruhl" storm-tops. George S. Ruhl is the 
 proprietor. 
 
 The Seegar Brothers have carriage shops at 
 No. 425-427 S. Walnut street. 
 
 In addition to the industries already men- 
 tioned, Charles Breisinger & Son have a brick 
 manufacturing plant on Jump street; C. F. 
 Bonebrake is engaged in the manufacture of 
 cement blocks on South Jones street. The 
 Bucyrus Hydraulic Cement Block Company, 
 manufacturers of cement blocks, have office 
 and works on E. Middletown street ; The Chat- 
 field Bending Works are located south of the 
 town, and are engaged in the manufacture of 
 wheels, rims and other bent wood stock; The 
 New York Blower Company, manufacturers 
 of heating, ventilating and drying apparatus, 
 blowers, fans, etc., are located on W. Warren 
 street. 
 
 The Tyler Organ Company was established 
 in Gallon in 1879, its location being on the 
 northwest corner of the Square. It was sub- 
 sequently removed to the old planing-mill on 
 So. Market street, near the P. & O. Railroad 
 depot. The proprietors were Messrs. Tyler 
 and Whitney, both fine musicians. The com- 
 pany did a fairly good business for some years. 
 
 The Kunkel Carriage Works, of Galion, 
 were established many years ago, by L. K. 
 Kunkel. Subsequently — about 1876 — the firm 
 
444 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 became Kunkel, Schupp & Helfrich, and so re- 
 mained up to 1884. Mr. Kunkel died in 1893, 
 and the business is now controlled by the heirs, 
 with W. H. Kunkel as general manager. It 
 was removed to its present location on No. 
 Market street in 1886. The Kunkel Carriage 
 Works are specialty builders of custom-made 
 vehicles, and vehicles requiring special con- 
 struction, manufacturing also buggies, car- 
 riages, wagons, ambulances, pall buggies, 
 casket wagons, etc. They are doing a pros- 
 perous business and are among the leading 
 business enterprises of Gallon. 
 
 The Gallon Buggy Company, a large and 
 prosperous concern, was established by Mr. A. 
 Howard, in November, 1885, at a location on 
 So. Market street, near the Public Square. 
 Four additional buildings were erected about 
 1889 on Church street — all up-to-date and one 
 being especially large. The company manu- 
 factures all kinds of buggies, phaetons, car- 
 riages, surreys, etc., and has a large wholesale 
 trade throughout Indiana, Illinois, Missouri 
 and other western states. About 2500 to 3500 
 jobs are turned out yearly and the average 
 number of employees is about ninety. The old 
 factory on So. Market street is still made use 
 of and the office is situated at the same loca- 
 tion. 
 
 The Sandusky Cooperage and Lumber Com- 
 pany was established in Gallon in January, 
 1909, by H. R. Huntington. The plant is lo- 
 cated on a 9 1-2 acre site in the southern part 
 of the city, near the Erie tracks, and includes 
 four modern buildings with up-to-date equip- 
 ment. When working full force about 50 men 
 are employed. This company has twenty-one 
 cooper shops distributed through the different 
 states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsyl- 
 vania and Virginia, the principal part of the 
 business being the manufacture of barrels. No 
 barrels are made in the Gallon plant, the local 
 operations being limited chiefly to staves and 
 hoops. The works have a capacity of 10,000,- 
 000 barrel staves and 15,000,000 hoops a year. 
 
 The Buckeye Wheel Company of Gallon 
 was incorporated December 21, 1904, with a 
 capital stock of $150,000. The organizers and 
 original officers were J. W. White, of Ft. 
 Wayne, president ; J. S. Morris, of Ft. Wayne, 
 vice president; E. Flickinger of Gallon, secre- 
 tary and general manager ; Jacob Keene, treas- 
 
 urer; and Frank Flickinger, superintendent. 
 The few changes made in the official board 
 are as follows : Frank Flickinger is now secre- 
 tary and manager, in place of E. Flickinger; 
 Edward Flickinger is treasurer and George 
 Schelb, superintendent. The product of the 
 company consists of buggy, carriage and light 
 wagon wheels, and light automobile wheels. 
 The output averages about 250 sets per day of 
 wheels for horse-drawn vehicles, and 100 sets 
 of automobile wheels. The plant of this con- 
 cern is located on East Main street, close to 
 the Big Four tracks, the site covering four 
 acres, while the buildings have about 200,000 
 square feet of -floor space. The product is 
 sold mostly to manufacturers in Ohio, New 
 York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and 
 Missouri. 
 
 The Weaver Bending Company was incor- 
 porated in 1892 by Charles Ness, John Weaver, 
 Abe Jenkinson and H. E. Smith, with a capi- 
 tal stock of $15,000. After the first year Mr. 
 Smith bought out the other members of the 
 company and has since remained the sole pro- 
 prietor. The plant covers two acres, the build- 
 ings having 10,000 feet of floor space, and are 
 located in the south end of Gallon, near the 
 Erie depot and on a siding of the Big Four 
 Railroad. The concern manufacturers bent 
 felloes, spokes, and hardwood lumber. The 
 product is sold by wholesale, in carload lots. 
 About. 40 men are usually employed. 
 
 The Plack Carriage Works was established 
 about 1892, by Andrew Plack, in a location 
 just off Main street. He retired in 1898, the 
 business being purchased by his son, H. L. 
 Plack, who is now the sole proprietor. A 
 change of location was made to the Central 
 Livery barn, but, after continuing there for 
 some time, the works were burned, about eight 
 years ago, and the factory was then established 
 m its present location on East Atwood street, 
 with a repository on South Market street. A 
 large part of the business consists of repair- 
 ing, and custom work is carried on in addition, 
 the concern manufacturing any kind of horse- 
 drawn vehicle to order. The principal spe- 
 cialty is the manufacture of storm tops, of 
 which a large number are made yearly. 
 
 The Gallon Lumber Company — The busi- 
 ness carried on by this company had its origin 
 in 1865, when F. W. Johnson and William 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 445 
 
 Patrick entered into the lumber and coal busi- 
 ness. Subsequently the firm of Johnson Lins- 
 ley & Co., became proprietors and in 1881 
 were doing a business of $150,000 annually 
 and employing forty men. They were suc- 
 ceeded by Armstrong, Daily & Co., who con- 
 ducted the plant for a while. Then the Galion 
 Lumber Company, a partnership, was formed, 
 consisting of D. Mackey, P. M. Daily and G. 
 A. Daily, Mr. C. C. Coyle buying out the 
 Dailys in 1897. The company was incorpo- 
 rated under its present style in 1902, being 
 capitalized at $20,000, with $30,000 surplus. 
 They are engaged in general lumber and mill 
 work and in the manufacture of bank and 
 store fixtures. They are also contractors on 
 building work and are engaged in the erection 
 of the buildings for the Telephone-Improve- 
 ment plant, a mammoth concern now being 
 established in Galion. The plant of the Galion 
 Lumber Company covers about eight acres. 
 The vice president is H. Pounder, with C. C. 
 Coyle, secretary and treasurer. 
 
 The Gledhill Lumber Yards and Mill, lo- 
 cated on Bloomer street, Galion, near the Big 
 Four tracks, cover about two and a half acres 
 of ground and give employment usually to 
 twelve or more men. This concern was 
 founded about 40 years ago by Joseph King, 
 who conducted the business for many years. 
 It was purchased in 1906 by A. C. Gledhill, 
 who is now sole proprietor, who is engaged in 
 the manufacture of lumber, sash, doors, and 
 in general mill work. Lately an additional 
 factory has been built for the manufacture of 
 concrete blocks. About twelve men are em- 
 ployed. Mr. Gledhill has also recently — July 
 10, 191 1 — leased a plant in Crestline for the 
 manufacture of lumber and mill work, which 
 employs about eight men. 
 
 The Ohio Mausoleum Company, the main 
 office of which was established in Galion, O., 
 in March, 19 12, was organized in Shelby, 
 Ohio, in 1910, to exploit the patents of Grover 
 C. Hunter on mortuary chapels and compart- 
 ment mausoleums. These sanitary mausoleums 
 contain from 50 to 1000 or more compart- 
 ments, or small rooms, designed for the final 
 occupancy of the members of several dififerent 
 families in a community. The rooms or com- 
 partments are arranged in tiers, one above 
 another, with a corridor and chapel, and means 
 
 provided for abundance of light and ventila- 
 tion. Funeral services can be conducted within 
 the mausoleum, those taking part being pro- 
 tected from the inclemency of the weather. 
 The entire plan has many interesting features 
 and obvious advantages. The company con- 
 trols the Hunter patents, which have been in- 
 dorsed by noted health authorities and boards 
 of health throughout the country, and license 
 others to construct and erect these community 
 mausoleums or above-ground tombs. The en- 
 terprise is one of great possibilities, and, while 
 the cost of such interment is less than ground 
 burial, it offers a wide margin of profit, at- 
 tractive to investors. The officers and board 
 of directors are as follows : G. C. Hunter, 
 president; O. J. Zeigler, of Richwood, O., 
 vice president; John K. Weiser, of Shelby, 
 secretary. The board of directors consists of 
 the above officers together with Messrs. J. W. 
 McCarron, B. E. Place and J. W. Weiser. 
 
 The Detweiler Manufacturing Company, 
 engaged in the manufacture of automobile 
 stearing gears, was incorporated in 1909 by 
 H. B. Detweiler, F. S. Wisterman, H. Gott- 
 diener, A. W. Monroe and L. M. Liggett. 
 The capital stock was $50,000, which was in- 
 creased to $100,000 in September, 191 1. L. 
 M. Liggett is president and treasurer; A. W. 
 Monroe, secretary and W. E. Dunston, general 
 manager. The company's factory is located 
 on Primrose street near the Big Four tracks, 
 and the business is in a prosperous condition. 
 
 The Galion Iron Works Company, an ex- 
 tensive concern engaged in the manufacture 
 of culvert pipe, road machinery, contractors' 
 and road makers' supplies, was incorporated 
 in February, 1907 with a capital stock of 
 $100,000, which was increased in 1912 to 
 $250,000. The company started with a small 
 building, 100x60 feet, which was enlarged the 
 second year by an addition of 50 feet more. 
 The third year another addition of 100 feet 
 was added, and this was followed in 191 1 by 
 an extension of 108 feet, these buildings being 
 all two stories high, with fire-proof out-shops 
 for oils, paints, etc. Another larger building 
 is now used for a pattern storage house. Among 
 the other products of the company is an im- 
 proved culvert or sluice-pipe device, the in- 
 vention of Mr. D. C. Boyd, secretary and gen- 
 eral manager of the company, who has also in- 
 
446 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 vented and patented other useful contrivances. 
 1 he company's road machines are sold all over 
 America. About 200 people are employed, 
 with ten salaried men on the road, and there 
 are branch offices at Pittsburg, Pa., Memphis, 
 Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga. The other officers 
 of the company are H. Gottdiener, president; 
 Frank W. Faber, vice president, and G. L. 
 Steefel, treasurer. 
 
 The Gallon Handle and Manufacturing 
 Company was established at Gallon in 1907. 
 It is an incorporated concern capitalized at 
 $15,000, its officers being Anton Kahn, presi- 
 dent; Allen Miller, J. S. Winemiller, secretary, 
 treasurer and general manager, and M. A. 
 Miller, with a board of fitve directors. The 
 company is engaged in the manufacture of 
 handles and woodwork, and the output of 
 farm tool handles — about three car loads a 
 month — are sold in England and Germany. 
 Employment is given to about thirty people. 
 
 The Golden Metallic Grave Vault Company, 
 of Gallon, was incorporated in January, 1905, 
 with a capital stock of $25,000, which in Jan- 
 uary, 1909, was increased to $100,000. The 
 original officers were: J. W. Cupp, president; 
 W. F. L. Block, vice president; A. W. Mon- 
 roe, secretary and treasurer; A. A. Arnold, 
 general manager, and T. F. Kelley, superin- 
 tendent. The works of this concern are lo- 
 cated in the northeastern part of Gallon, near 
 the Big Four tracks. This company is en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of steel grave vaults 
 and shipping cases and was the first company 
 to construct an open end grave vault. The 
 vaults range in size from that required for a 
 child's body to the "Mammoth," weighing as 
 much as 500 pounds. About fifty people are 
 employed and sales are pushed all over the 
 country. The present officers are : L. M. Leg- 
 gett, president ; W. F. L. Block, vice president ; 
 A. W. Monroe, secretary and treasurer, and 
 A. A. Arnold, superintendent. E. P. Monroe 
 is sales manager and the company has an of- 
 fice on the southwest corner of the Public 
 Square. 
 
 The American Steel Grave Vault Company 
 of Gallon was incorporated in April, 1908, by 
 F. Unckrich, Jos. King, M. A. Curtiss and 
 J. Petri, being capitalized at $25,000, which 
 was increased two years ago to $50,000, since 
 which time the volume of business has been 
 
 doubled. The concern manufactures the burg- 
 lar, water and vermin-proof "American 
 Vault," for burial purposes, the product be- 
 ing sold to undertakers all over the United 
 States. The works are located on Bloomer 
 street, close to the Big Four freight depot, the 
 main building being 75x100 feet. Another 
 building, 40x80 feet, has just been erected. 
 The present board of directors consists of the 
 officers previously mentioned, with the addition 
 of Messrs. B. Place and C. Bittner. About 
 thirty men are employed, and the company is 
 doing a good business, with bright prospects 
 for the future. 
 
 E. M. Freese & Co., of Gallon, O., manu- 
 facturers of clay working machinery. This 
 business was established at Plymouth, Ohio, 
 in 1 88 1 and has had a steady and substantial 
 growth since that time. An increase in their 
 facilities was rendered necessary by the ex- 
 pansion of their trade and in the fall of 1891 
 the works were removed to their present quar- 
 ters in Gallon. From time to time new build- 
 ings have been erected to provide additional 
 space. These works are among the finest, most 
 extensive and best equipped for the manu- 
 facture of this class of machinery. The 
 buildings are of brick, elegant in appearance 
 and of substantial construction, containing 
 more than 46,000 feet of floor space, are 
 equipped with improved machinery, and 
 lighted, warmed and ventilated in accordance 
 with the most modern practice. A few years 
 ago the company thought it advisable to make 
 their own castings, and so took over the old 
 Homer foundry, adjacent to their factory 
 buildings. This is now operated as one de- 
 partment of the business and turns out several 
 tons of castings every day, which are used in 
 making the various clay-working machines. A 
 railway siding runs into the grounds, from 
 which the raw material is unloaded and the 
 finished product loaded on cars direct. The 
 machinery built by E. M. Freese & Co.. is 
 found in all parts of this country, from Cali- 
 fornia to New Brunswick and from British 
 Columbia to Florida, and also in some foreign 
 countries. It is used in a large proportion of 
 the most extensive and progressive works for 
 the manufacture of building, paving and fire- 
 brick, hollow ware, fireproofing, drain tile, 
 etc. The office of these works is equipped with 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 447 
 
 the most modern office appliances and is di- 
 vided into several departments, conducted 
 under a well organized system. From this of- 
 fice a large amount of correspondence and ad- 
 vertising is sent out to all parts of the world. 
 The manager and sole owner of the business 
 is Mr. E. M. Freese, who has been intimately 
 connected with it from the beginning. He is 
 a practical mechanic of many years' expe- 
 rience and has invented and designed all of the 
 variety of improved and patented machinery 
 that the works manufacture, and also made the 
 plans from which the present works were 
 erected. Beginning this business on a very 
 small scale, his struggle for success was long 
 and severe, but persistent efifort and careful at- 
 tention to the wants of the trade, have estab- 
 lished it on a permanent foundation. 
 
 The Gallon Brewing Company represents 
 the development of a business that was estab- 
 lished just west of the city as far back as 1854 
 by John Kraft, a German, who conducted the 
 business for some time with fair success. He 
 was succeeded in 1866 by his son, John Kraft, 
 Jr., who enlarged and improved the plant, but 
 was unsuccessful in making the business jDay. 
 It subsequently passed through other hands, 
 for a time — ^about 1880 — being conducted by 
 Daniel Roth. It was purchased in 1896 by 
 Henry Alstaetter, who operated the brewery 
 until his death in May, 1900. He made many 
 irriprovements and under his management the 
 enterprise proved a lucrative business concern. 
 In 1 90 1 the plant was purchased by the Galion 
 Brewing Company and is now owned by Mr. 
 Frederick K. Berry, his wife, and a sister of 
 the latter. Miss Emma Altstaetter, of Waynes- 
 ville, N. C. A large force of men are employed 
 and the output amounts to about 15,000 bar- 
 rels a year. 
 
 One of the best known among the smaller 
 manufacturing industries of Galion are the 
 monument works of Thomas W. Longstreth, 
 who has carried on the business at his present 
 quarters. No. 134 West Main street, for the 
 last 43 years, commencing in 1869. In 1880 
 Mr. Longstreth introduced the first granite 
 monuments into Galion and he is a man who 
 has always kept up with the demands of his 
 trade. His stand is one of the landmarks of 
 the city. 
 
 The Henry C. Sponhauer Boiler and Ma- 
 
 chine Works, located at No. 316 E. Main 
 street, were established in 1882 by Henry C. 
 Sponhauer, who carried on the business suc- 
 cessfully for almost thirty years, during this 
 period frequently expanding and improving 
 the works. In 191 1 he retired in favor of his 
 son William, who is the present manager of the 
 business. In addition to boiler and machine 
 manufacturing, a general tinning business is 
 carried on, and about a dozen skilled workmen 
 are employed. 
 
 The Perfection Road Machinery Company, 
 one of the successful industries of Galion, was 
 organized in January, 1898, being incorpo- 
 rated with a capitalization of $200,000. The 
 officers were Ernest Klopp, president; J. A. 
 Petrie, vice president; W. T. Resch, treasurer, 
 and E. G. Hartle, general manager and secre- 
 tary, all Galion business men. The concern is 
 engaged in the manufacture of road-working 
 machinery including three styles of road scrap- 
 ers, seven styles of roof drags and several 
 styles of road dump boxes and land pulver- 
 isers. Mr. Hartle is the draughtsman and 
 chief engineer of all the machines of this 
 company. Employment is given to about 30 
 people, and the business is in a prosperous and 
 flourishing condition. 
 
 The Cleveland-Gallon Motor Truck Com- 
 pany, recently established in Galion, controls 
 an important industry in the manufacture -of 
 the Dynamic Motor Truck, the invention of 
 John McGeorge, chief engineer of Cleveland. 
 This truck is a powerful warehouse truck, in- 
 tended for general use in railway freight 
 houses, express depots, warehouses, terminals, 
 factories, foundries, mines, stores, mail ser- 
 vice, etc., and is manufactured only by this 
 company. The company is a merger of the 
 Howard Motor Company, of Galion and the 
 Cleveland Motor Truck Manufacturing Com- 
 pany, of Cleveland, Ohio, the present company 
 buying the business of the other two. It was 
 incorporated under the laws of Ohio in the 
 present year, 19 12, with a capitalization of 
 $100,000, and took up its present quarters on 
 Primrose street, Galion in May, 19 12. The 
 company owns fourteen acres in the southwest 
 part of Galion, near the Big Four and Erie 
 tracks and will soon begin the erection of a 
 modern plant there. Their factory on Prim- 
 rose street, near the Big Four tracks has been 
 
448 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 put in good condition for present use, several 
 improvements having been made. The pros- 
 pects of this company are exceedingly bright 
 and they expect to build looo warehouse trucks 
 by July, 1913. The company has offices at 
 Cleveland, Ohio. The following are its offi- 
 cers : H. W. Woodward, president; A. W. 
 Johnston, vice president; H. Gottdiener, vice 
 president; W. H. Hager, secretary and treas- 
 urer, and F. W. Biehl, assistant secretary. J. 
 W. Wilson is production manager and H. B. 
 Greig, superintendent, in Gallon. 
 
 This truck is built in general,^ after the style 
 of the present hand-power express truck, with 
 
 State of New York and capitalized at $3,000,- 
 000, the stock being divided as follows : First 
 preferred, $500,000; second preferred, $550,- 
 000; common, $1,950,000. The president is F. 
 C. Stevens, of Washington, D. C. ; vice presi- 
 dent, Merton E. Lewis; secretary, V. B. Dey- 
 ber, of Washington, D. C. This company, the 
 establishment of which in Gallon is one of the 
 best advertisements the city could receive, is 
 organized for the purpose of absorbing, tak- 
 ing over and developing various companies 
 engaged in the manufacture of telephones, 
 call-meters, switchboards, automatic and semi- 
 automatic equipment and all other appliances 
 
 
 / 
 _ / 
 
 *£ II1Z 
 
 HOME OF THE AUTOMANUAL, MANUFACTURED BY THE NORTH ELECTRIC COMPANY FOR THE 
 
 TELEPHONE IMPROVEMENT COMPANY 
 
 a low loading platform, for heavy or light 
 loads, and is power-driven. It may be run in 
 either direction, and the mechanism permits of 
 steering either front or rear wheels — or both — 
 at the will of the operator, enabling him to 
 control the truck absolutely in any position, no 
 matter how closely confined the space, since 
 either pair of wheels may be set at a sixty- 
 degree angle. The truck may be driven, fully 
 loaded, up a steep platform grade right into a 
 car and to any point in that car. The com- 
 pany appears to have in their hands an enter- 
 prise bound to achieve success. 
 
 The Telephone-Improvement Company, soon 
 to be established in Gallon, Ohio, is a corpora- 
 tion organized in 1910 under the laws of the 
 
 incident to the telephone business. The com- 
 pany has up to the present time taken over and 
 absorbed the following companies: The 
 North Electric Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
 capitalized at $2,250,000; The Telechrono- 
 meter Company, of Rochester, N. Y., capital- 
 ized at $600,000, and The National Engineer- 
 ing Company, of Baltimore, Md., previously 
 taken over by the North Electric Company. 
 This merger is effected for the purpose of 
 economy by centralizing the output in the es- 
 tablishment of one large manufacturing plant. 
 The Telephone-Improvement Company owns 
 the patents covering the Automanual System, 
 which system is a wide departure from its 
 predecessors and possesses advantages in 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 449 
 
 economical operation and service quality that 
 have been heretofore unattainable in telephone 
 operation. This system received the official 
 stamp of approval of The Bell Telephone 
 Company, which stamp was placed only after 
 a most exhaustive examination upon the part 
 of their most competent engineers, and nego- 
 tiations between the two companies resulted 
 in the Bell Company paying the Telephone- 
 Improvement Company a consideration of 
 many hundreds o,f thousands of dollars for a 
 non-exclusive license to use the Automanual 
 System, the possibility of any future patent- 
 interference war being thus obviated before- 
 hand. The Telephone-Improvement Com- 
 pany has a license to use all patents and pat- 
 ent applications owned by The Western Elec- 
 tric Company, which is the manufacturing 
 plant of the Bell Telephone Company. 
 
 The Telephone-Improvement Company con- 
 templates the immediate erection of a most 
 modem manufacturing building, having 30,000 
 square feet of floor space, and when running 
 at its full capacity, will employ from 300. to 
 500 hands. It will also give employment to 
 young men desirous of fitting themselves for a 
 mechanical or technical career and also to stud- 
 ents from the commercial department of the 
 public schools. It is estimated from past busi- 
 ness and prospects in view that the company 
 will do not less than one and one-half million 
 dollars gross business per annum and that 
 within from six months to one year it will be 
 found necessary to build additions to and en- 
 large the capacity of the plant. The location 
 of this plant in Gallon will stimulate industry 
 in various directions and will bring visitors to 
 the city from all parts of the world represent- 
 ing telephone interests, to investigate and in- 
 spect the Automanual system, thus advertising 
 the city in a manner that cannot but redound 
 to its future benefit. 
 
 The Market Street Mills, Gallon, were es-' 
 tablished about sixteen years ago, and are do- 
 ing a general milling business in the manu- 
 facture of flour and feed, etc. For the last 
 six or seven years they have been conducted 
 by C. H. Evans, a practical miller, who keeps 
 his plant up-to-date and turns out a first-class 
 product, with the result that he is doing a pros- 
 perous business. This is a modern steam mill 
 
 and turns out about 65 barrels of flour per 
 day. 
 
 In addition to the industries already men- 
 tioned as existing in Gallon, and aside from 
 stores and the ordinary commercial houses, of 
 which there are a large number, there are some 
 others doing a prosperous business, among 
 which we may mention the following: 
 
 The Gabon Monument Company, conducted 
 by Gwinner & Sons, with location at 203 So. 
 Columbus street, are manufacturers of and 
 dealers in artistic monumental work. The 
 Galion Cement Block Company, Henry Monat, 
 proprietor, is located on the Hosford road, 
 southwest of the city. The Galion Creamery 
 Company, makers of creamery butter, is con- 
 ducted by Hugh Lisse, with location on W. 
 Church street. The Peoples' Pure Ice Com- 
 pany, ice manufacturers; W. H. Bessinger, 
 125 So. Market and F. Kuhn, 217 So. Market, 
 harness manufacturing; J. W. Dukeman, bug- 
 gies and carriages; The Weavers Bros. Com- 
 pany, drain tile; the H. F. Kile Mills, on So. 
 Market street; and the Unckrich Knife Com- 
 pany, makers of knives to order and also en- 
 gaged in general repairing business. 
 
 An important industry of Galion for many 
 years were the Galion Machine Works, which 
 were established in 1854, on a small scale, the 
 original factory consisting of one frame build- 
 ing, which was devoted to the casting of small 
 articles used by the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- 
 road. The building was destroyed by fire in 
 1856, but the proprietors, Messrs. Squier & 
 Homer, soon rebuilt. In 1858 another ma- 
 chine shop was erected continuous to the works, 
 of which William Holmes was proprietor for 
 eight years, being succeeded by J. B. McClin- 
 ton, and later, on the latter' s brother becom- 
 ing a partner in the concern, the style was 
 changed to McClinton & Co. Afterwards this 
 shop, with the original plant, was conducted 
 as one institution by Squier & Homer. Henry 
 Lanius was connected with the plant for a 
 time, running the machine shop established by 
 Mr. Holmes, but he later removed his plant to 
 South Market street. Squier & Homer con- 
 tinued the original business for many years, 
 until Mr. Squier's death, which took place 
 about seven years ago. The factory was then 
 continued by Mr. Homer until two or three 
 
450 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 years ago,. when it was taken over by the E. M. 
 Freese & Co., as an adjunct to their Clay 
 Working Machinery plant. .Mr. Homer died 
 in May of the present year (1912). 
 
 The Farmers Manufacturing and Milling 
 Company, of Crestline, is the outcome of a 
 milling industry which was established in 
 1856-57 by Matthew Reed, and which was 
 originally known as the Continental Mills. 
 After a number of improvements they finally 
 came to be regarded as one of the best in the 
 state. In June, 1880 they were burned to 
 the ground, the proprietors, L. G. Russell & 
 Co. losing heavily. They were rebuilt by Sam 
 Robinson and subsequently passed through 
 several other hands, for about ten years being 
 conducted as an incorporated concern, among 
 the officials at that time being J. W. Pond 
 and son and F. D. Lewis. In 1903 Messrs. 
 Musselman, Brandt, C. R. Coon and R. M. 
 Taylor organized the present company, which 
 is a co-partnership concern, the business being 
 owned by farmer-s in Crestline and vicinity, 
 among whom are some Richland county resid- 
 ents. Carl L. Otto, a practical miller, for- 
 merly of Michigan, has general charge of the 
 plant, which gives employment to about six 
 men. A general milling business is carried 
 on, the special products "Sweet Home" 
 flour, which has attained a wide reputation 
 for quality. Under its present management 
 the concern has been very successful. 
 
 The large and flourishing Crestline industry 
 known as the Burch Plow Works is the out- 
 come of a business established many years 
 ago by Nicholas Burch, who sold to the Burch 
 Plow Company in December, 1897. The 
 concern was then incorporated with a capital- 
 ization of $50,000, the original officers being 
 Jacob Babst, president; C. P. Frank, vice 
 president; J. M. Carlisle, secretary, and 
 Charles E. Stine, treasurer. Since that time 
 but one change has been made in the official 
 board, J. L. Morrow being now secretary. In 
 1907 the capitalization of the company was 
 increased to $75,000 and in 1910 to $100,000. 
 Since the original invention by Nicholas 
 Burch, the Burch plows have been improved 
 from time to time and today rank among the 
 best in the market, and to this cause may be 
 ascribed their wide popularity. As shown by 
 the company's catalogue, they are made in 
 
 various styles, including the New Burch Sulky 
 and wood and steel beam walking plows. 
 They also manufacture several styles of har- 
 rows, pulverizers and crushers, and the New 
 Burch Steel Roller, the New Burch All Steel 
 Cultivator, in several styles ; single and double 
 shovel plows, etc. Another important branch 
 of the business is the manufacture of sewer 
 inlets, of which they make a large variety, 
 together with manhole covers, and the Burch 
 Expansion Cast Iron Culvert Pipe. About 
 40 men are employed in this industry and the 
 plant is large and thoroughly up-to-date. 
 
 The Phoenix Milling Company, of Crest- 
 line, was established about a year ago, by W. 
 H. Heath, of Shelby. The mill is located at 
 the corner of Bucyrus and Pierce streets. A 
 general milling business is done in flour, feed 
 and grain. 
 
 The Gledhill and Kime Lumber Company 
 of Crestline, is engaged in the production of 
 lumber and building material. The present 
 company purchased the business three or four 
 years ago from John W. Ross, its founder. 
 The office and yards are located at 215 Pierce 
 street. 
 
 The Weaver Bros. Company, dealers in hay, 
 grain and stock, was incorporated in 1900 with 
 a capitalization of $100,000, and with officers 
 as follows: Charles Kindinger, president; 
 William H. Weaver, secretary, treasurer and 
 manager ; and Peter Hutt, vice president. The 
 main plant of the company is located at Crest- 
 line, and they have also two others — one of 
 good size at Gallon, with J. J. Patterson as 
 manager, and one — the original plant — at 
 Vernon, which is managed by John B. 
 Weaver. The company does a large business, 
 their buying extending over both Crawford 
 and Richland counties. 
 
 The Crestline Manufacturing Company 
 now known as the Crestline Pump Works, 
 was incorporated about seven or eight years 
 ago by George A. Musselman, Jacob Flowers, 
 R. M. Taylor, C. E. Stetter, and Jacob Babst, 
 with a capital stock of $62,000. It is engaged 
 chiefly in the manufacture of pumps, making 
 as many as 250 different kinds for all sorts 
 of purposes. Judge Daniel Babst is president 
 of the company, the other officials being James 
 Sowash, mgr., John Warden, secy. ; and Jacob 
 Babst, treasurer and managing director. The 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 451 
 
 company is in a very prosperous condition and 
 the concern is one of the important business 
 enterprises of Crestline. 
 
 A few years ago H. E. Bonnuth estab- 
 Hshed himself in business in Crestline as a 
 manufacturer of cement blocks and as general 
 cement contractor, and dealer in building ma- 
 terial. His business has gradually increased 
 and is now in a prosperous condition, with 
 good prospects for the future. His location 
 is on So. Pierce street, near the Pennsylvania 
 tracks. 
 
 The Holcker Bros. Buggy Company, of 
 Crestline, one of that city's most important 
 and prosperous business enterprises, had its 
 origin many years ago, when Lewis Holcker 
 established a factory at New Washington, this 
 county. He was later joined by his two 
 brothers, Charles and Jacob, who came here 
 from Germany, and the three brothers became 
 associated together in the enterprise. In 1873 
 the concern removed to Crestline, starting here 
 in a small way. The business gradually in- 
 creased and it was soon found necessary to en- 
 large and improve the plant, the original frame 
 building being replaced by a substantial one 
 of brick. In September, 1902, they incorpo- 
 rated as The Holcker Buggy Company, with 
 a capital stock of $50,000, and since that time 
 the capacity of their plant has been doubled, 
 their present plant on Seltzer street comprising 
 half a block of brick buildings, thoroughly 
 equipped with all modern appliances. They 
 turn out about 1200 jobs a year in buggies and 
 carriages, and give employment to about 65 
 people. Their product, the quality of which 
 has always been kept up to the highest degree 
 of perfection, is sold all over the country, their 
 largest trade being in the states of Ohio, In- 
 diana and Pennsylvania, with large sales 
 throughout the South and West. The present 
 officers are : Charles Holcker, president and 
 treasurer; Jacob Holcker, vice president; 
 William Monteith, secretary, and B. C. Vog- 
 ler, superintendent. 
 
 The Schill Bros. Company, of Crestline, 
 manufacturers of ranges, stoves, heaters and 
 laundry stoves, was established in 1892, as a 
 partnership concern, the partners being John, 
 Joseph and Peter Schill. In 1900 they incor- 
 porated with a capital stock of $250,000. The 
 business has grown to large proportions, the 
 
 plant now covering five and a quarter acres, 
 and about 150 men are employed on an aver- 
 age. The business done per year amounts to 
 $200,000. Starting with the "New Idea," 
 they have advanced until they now make six 
 different styles of furnace, besides quite a 
 large variety of ranges, heaters and laundry 
 stoves. The officers of the company are as 
 follows: William H. Weaver, president; 
 Frank Miller, vice-pres. and treasurer; W. D. 
 Cover, secretary and manager; E. E. Meister, 
 assistant secretary, and C. A. Simonton, super- 
 intendent. The directors are C. F. Frank, 
 John Schill, W. H. Weaver, C. A. Simonton, 
 J. M. Martin, J. A. McCallum and Frank 
 Miller. 
 
 The New Washington Flouring Mill, at 
 New Washington, now owned and operated 
 by George Siefert, is the outcome of an old 
 established industry. The mill was erected 
 in 1859 by Johnston & Crouder, who subse- 
 quently sold it to Joseph Galancie. The latter, 
 after running it awhile, sold to Robert Hill- 
 borne and J. H. Miller. Later Mr. Hillborne 
 sold his interest to A. W. Dennis, the firm 
 taking the style of Miller & Dennis. In the 
 fall of 1873 new machinery was installed, and 
 in the following year Mr. Dennis sold to T. 
 B. Endslow, the firm becoming Miller & End- 
 slow. Two years later Mr. Miller retired and 
 Mr. Endslow managed the business alone 
 until 1879, then taking as partner C. K. Heb- 
 ler. Subsequently Endslow & Hebler sold to 
 John Scott of Cleveland, and the latter rented 
 the property to Rhinehart & Meyers for two 
 years, after which the mill stood idle for a 
 year. Mr. Endslow then returned to the busi- 
 ness and purchasing the mill of Mr. Scott, 
 remodeled it in 1890, and conducted it till 
 March 11, 1911, at which time it was pur- 
 chased by Mr. Siefert. This mill turns out 
 a high grade of flour and has a capacity of 
 60 barrels a day. 
 
 The New Washington Lumber & Manufac- 
 turing Company, manufacturers of and deal- 
 ers in lumber and mill work, was organized 
 in 1905, the original founder having been A. 
 G. Eckstein. The officers of the company are : 
 S. J. Kibler, president ; J. W. Derr, vice presi- 
 dent; J. H. Sheetz, treasurer; J. H. Donald- 
 son, secretary and general manager. The 
 board of directors, in addition to the above 
 
452 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 officials, include J. W. Kibler, Jefferson Mar- 
 quart and Frank Derr. Twelve people are 
 employed, all the men being residents of New 
 Washington. 
 
 The firm of Seitter & Brown of New Wash- 
 ington, manufacturers of brick and tile, build- 
 ing blocks, etc., was established in March, 1907, 
 by C. T. Seitter and H. L. Brown. A two- 
 story building, 40x130 feet, was erected, and 
 in 1909 an additional two-story building, 30X 
 50 feet was built. The entire plant covers 
 about eight acres of ground. The value of the 
 yearly output amounts to about $10,000, and 
 employment is given to from four to six men. 
 A specialty is made of drain tile, which is made 
 in various sizes. 
 
 The Kibler Tannery, New Washington — 
 This concern was originally about 1834, when 
 Robert Robinson, a shoemaker and tanner, be- 
 gan the manufacture of shoes here. He pre- 
 pared his own leather, and for this purpose 
 sunk five or six vats, making more leather than 
 he required for his own use, sold the surplus 
 in Bucyrus. His tannery was purchased about 
 1845 t>y Matthias Kibler, who had started in 
 the same business about ten years before in 
 a small log building a mile or two south of 
 New Washington, where he had sunk four 
 vats. Mr. Kibler was a first class tanner and 
 gradually enlarged his business into an im- 
 portant enterprise. His leather was of the 
 best quality and commanded a ready market in 
 Bucyrus and other places. The old tannery 
 was subsequently torn down and removed to 
 its present site in the southeast part of the 
 town corporation, between the Northern Ohio 
 and Pennsylvania Railroad tracks. S. J. Kib- 
 ler, who succeeded Matthias later took in J. 
 W. Kibler as partner, the firm then becoming 
 S. J. Kibler & Brother, and it was thus con- 
 ducted until May 2, 1902, when the style was 
 changed to S. J. Kibler, Bro. & Co. It was 
 
 then incorporated with a capitalization of 
 $5,000, all paid in, the officers being: S. J. 
 Kibler, president; A. G. Kibler, secretary; L. 
 M. Kibler, treasurer. The tannery consists of 
 four buildings, 160x100 feet, 60x45 feet, Sox 
 50 and 45x30 feet. Twelve men are employed 
 in the tannery, and seven traveling salesmen, 
 with a bookkeeper and stenographer in the 
 office. In 1902 Mr. J. W. Kibler retired from 
 active service with the company. 
 
 The concern now deals also in hides, tal- 
 low and sheep, skins, wool and furs, wholesale. 
 The company owns 90 per cent of the Lake 
 Erie Hide and Leather Co., of Sandusky, O. 
 Their annual sales ending in May, 1912, 
 amounted to $2,000,000. 
 
 The Crawford County Nursery, at New 
 Washington, is an infant industry which gives 
 promise to develop into one of the county's 
 most important commercial enterprises. The 
 prime mover in its establishment is Mr. W. H. 
 McCormick, who has devoted the greater part 
 of his life to the study of horticulture. This 
 nursery, although covering only 5 3-4 acres of 
 ground contains no less than 32,000 young 
 apple trees, 16,500 plum trees, 4,000 cherry, 
 1,000 pear, 15,000 strawberry plants, 1,000,- 
 000 catalpa. 4.000 peach, 4,000 currant, and 
 4,000 gooseberry plants, besides 1260 ever- 
 greens. The soil of this nursery is ideal and 
 the greatest care is exercised in planting and 
 caring for the young trees, shrubs and plants. 
 No person is allowed to buy more than $25 
 worth of stock in the company, the directors 
 wishing to distribute the stock widely among 
 fruit growers. The official board and direc- 
 torate are as follows: E. F. Ulmer, presi- 
 ident ; John Donnersbach, vice president ; H. L. 
 Hammer, secretary; W. H. McCormick, man- 
 ager. Directors — A. P. Miller, secretary, G. 
 H. Kichline, secretary, John Willacker, W. J. 
 Harris, J. E. Wells and I. P. Spillette. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII 
 
 THE PRESS. 
 
 The Modern Newspaper — Scarcity of Newspapers in Early Part of ipth Century — The News- 
 papers of Today the Reflection of Contemporary Life and History — The Rural Press — 
 Character of Crawford County's Newspapers — Early Specimens — Lack of Local News in 
 Early Papers — The Scissors Succeeded by Stereotype Plate — A Case of Mixed Fiction — 
 The First Printing Press in Crawford County — The County's First Newspaper — The 
 Western Journal and Bucyrus Advertiser — Specimen Advertisements — The People's Press 
 — The Ohio Intelligencer — The Crawford Republican — The Bucyrus Democrat — Dem- 
 ocratic-Republican and Its Regular Publication — The People's Forum — Journalistic Success 
 in Crawford County in Early Days Dependent on Politics — The DemocraticPioneer and Its 
 Peculiar Origin — Editorial Amenities — Career of Tom Orr — First Steam Newspaper 
 Plant in Bucyrus — The Crawford County News — The News Forum — The Daily Critic — 
 The Daily Forum — Establishment of the Bucyrus Journal and Its Career — The P. V. 
 Nasby Articles — Carriers' Addresses — The Journal Under the Hopleys — The Evening 
 Telegraph — Consolidation of Journal and Telegraph — The Temperance Ballot or Craw- 
 ford County News — German Papers — The Crawford County Demokrat — The Deutsche 
 Courier — The Bucyrus Evening Times — The Daily Critic — Other Journalistic Enterprises 
 of Bucyrus- — Galion Newspapers — The Galion Weekly Train, Later "Times" now the Ga- 
 lion District Democrat — The Ribletts and Matthias Brothers — The Weekly Revifw — The 
 Galion Sun — The Public Spirit or Leader — The Sun-Review — The Galion Inquirer — 
 The Crestline Express — The Crestline Advocate — The Crawford County Democrat — The 
 Crestline Democrat and Crestline Vidette — The New Washington Herald — The Tiro 
 World — Old Time Part Spirit — A Change for the Better. 
 
 THE PRESS it appears with such regularity and is usually 
 
 And 'tis thus with our noble profession, and thus it ^° creditable a publication that people accept it 
 
 will ever be still; Without giving especial thought to its prepara- 
 
 There are some who appreciate its labors, and some tion. Naturally, in the publishine of a news- 
 
 who perhaps never will, • n j. r •■ s ^'- "■ "<=w3 
 
 But in the great time that is coming, when loudly the P'^Per, as in all sorts Ot work where movable 
 
 trumpet shall sound, . types or fallible humanity is in evidence there 
 
 '^the^'^quiv'ring'' groundT''' '"'^ """'"^ ''''" '°"' ''°"' ^'^ ^''°'^ i" Public prints, but these errors are 
 
 When they who have striven and suffered to teach and reduced to the minimum, and few people real- 
 ennoble the race, . ize the care with which a staff of conscientious 
 
 Shall march at the front of the column, each one m r.orvi-i1/> ,„^rl,;»,„ • u . ■ ^^"-'""^ 
 
 his God-given place, people, working in harmony, strive for ac- 
 
 As they pass through the gates of The City with proud curacy of information and clearness of expres- 
 
 ThT'ed^^r,"printrtnd "devil." will travel not far ^'°" ^'^ ^^e presentation of matter in the ordi- 
 
 from the head. "^-ry newspapers of the day. 
 
 —Will Carleton. When Crawford county was erected early in 
 
 . 1820 there were few papers in the United 
 
 The modern newspaper is really entitled to a States and the number in Ohio was extremelv 
 
 place as one of the wonders of the world, but limited. The larger cities had indifferent pa- 
 
 453 
 
454 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 pers and even the best of them in 1820 would 
 not compare with any degree of credit with the 
 hundreds of newspapers pubHshed all over Ohio 
 today, the improved methods of collecting and 
 handling news giving to our local papers today 
 a quality and completeness which could not 
 have been attained in even the largest cities a 
 hundred years ago. Ohio has progressed in 
 the past century to a degree far exceeding the 
 roseate dreams of the most sanguine enthus- 
 iast in his brightest optimism. And going 
 along with the advance of Ohio, but usually 
 leading that advance, were the splendid papers 
 of the state. The small cities have long enjoyed 
 their daily papers and scarcely a community of 
 size and importance is now without a newspa- 
 per, usually a daily and often two dailies, speak- 
 ing with enthusiasm for the town or city, and 
 pointing the way to improvement in local af- 
 fairs, whether in politics, sanitary conditions, 
 manufacturing or commercial advantages; or 
 boasting of the financial reliability of its in- 
 stitutions and the progressive principles of its 
 people. 
 
 The measure of social advancement is re- 
 flected in the papers of the state and each 
 community smiles to the world at large through 
 the pages of its favorite paper. Always anx- 
 ious to command the respect and esteem of the 
 community, usually fighting its way to a high- 
 er character and broader view of life and re- 
 sponsibilities, the modern newspaper aims to be 
 at the front in all good work; aims to give to 
 the people inspiration and encouragement, and 
 strives to be worthy of that community and its 
 people. 
 
 The faithful newspaper of today becomes the 
 reliable history of tomorrow, and the paper 
 striving to make its columns reflect that which 
 will be reliable history naturally has a standing 
 which cannot be weakened. The power of the 
 press has been the subject of song and story, 
 but that power only comes when it reflects 
 the conscientious ideas of the locality and in 
 leading with good thoughts and good deeds the 
 community where it is published. The desire 
 for helping in the general advancement of the 
 community has stimulated many papers to in- 
 stitutional efforts, and today newspapers are 
 doing more than their share to help in public 
 enterprises ; more than their share of care and 
 
 thought to the making of bigger and better 
 communities. 
 
 And while the press in general has advanced 
 to a remarkable degree the press of the rural 
 sections has come to be more and ijiore a reflex 
 of the substantial thought and careful intelli- 
 gence of the average American community. 
 The larger cities reflect a condition which is 
 restless and dangerous. Their newspapers are 
 frequently given over to large headlines and 
 sensations. This in itself is disturbing. The 
 newspapers of the smaller communities are pre- 
 pared with greater care, and show the anxiety 
 to reflect the people with whom the paper is an 
 institution and to give to the readers of that 
 paper the best possible ideals. 
 
 Crawford county is especially indebted to its 
 newspapers for their cleanness, their progres- 
 sive character, their tireless desire to assemble 
 news and present it in readable and creditable 
 shape, and their unceasing efforts to build up 
 their respective sections. To compare a coun- 
 ty newspaper of 1800 of any county in the state, 
 with the newspapers of Crawford county of 
 today is certainly a comparison which reflects 
 credit on the present Crawford county papers. 
 The oldest papers in the county are on exhibi- 
 tion at the office of the Hopley Printing Com- 
 pany in Bucyrus. There are two papers framed 
 on their walls, one of 1833 and the other of 
 1834, which give a good idea of the newspapers 
 of that day. The older of these two framed 
 copies is of the Western Journal and Bucyrus 
 Advertiser and is dated November 30, 1833. 
 The other copy is of The Bucyrus Journal and 
 is dated February i, 1834. They are both in a 
 remarkable state of preservation and are so 
 framed that the interested person can examine 
 both sides of the print. There was no local 
 news at that time and no effort to assemble local 
 news. Occasionally a death would be recorded 
 but in the main the papers contained items of 
 national or international importance, clipped 
 from some of the exchanges that had come to 
 the editor. 
 
 Seventy-five years ago the editor of a Bucy- 
 rus paper had, seemingly no use for a pen. The 
 scissors did the work for him. This was not- 
 able in all the papers up to about i860, when 
 the use of local news became of some impor- 
 tance. The great frost of 1858 which in July 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 455 
 
 of that year destroyed the corn and wheat, 
 and other crops and entailed a loss of half a 
 million dollars on this county, was given merely 
 a few lines. Such an item today would be 
 treated with a full account, with details secured 
 at first hand from as many farmers as could 
 be reached. The advancement of newspaper 
 work has been remarkable, and it is compara- 
 tively easy to gather the items of the world 
 and place them on the tea tables of the small 
 city; organization and improved facilities mak- 
 ing the work a pleasure where in the old days it 
 was a hardship. 
 
 The general use of the stereotype plate has 
 come within the past forty years. The use of 
 this plate in local newspapers enables the 
 smaller publications to use "syndicate" matter 
 simultaneously with the larger papers of the 
 country, and deliver to the rural community 
 each day from the county seat, as complete a 
 paper as would be possible in the great cities of 
 the country. Some years ago Major A. W. 
 Diller was watching the operation of the plac- 
 ing of stereotype plates in a newspaper form 
 and remarked "it used to be that you edited 
 a newspaper with a paste-pot and pair of scis- 
 sors, but now, by heck, you do it with a saw." 
 
 Occasionally in the early days a three or four 
 line mention was made of the death of a prom- 
 inent citizen, and the political meeting of a 
 party escaped with only a bare mention, if 
 indeed it obtained any place in the paper at all, 
 and certainly none if it were the opposition 
 party. However, from the early files accessable 
 at the office of the Bucyrus Journal and the 
 Evening Telegraph it is possible to get much 
 historical knowledge from the advertising col- 
 ums. The changes in firms or locations, the 
 new stores started, the erection of new build- 
 ings, etc., are only learned by the advertise- 
 ments. After the year 1840 political editorials 
 became frequent. It is doubtful if the entire 
 amount of local news published in all the Bucy- 
 rus papers previous to the year 1850 exceeded 
 what can be found in the leading papers of the 
 county in any one month. 
 
 The use of stereotype plates has helped make 
 newspapers possible in many small towns and 
 in these later days the cost is not expensive and 
 the value is very great. In one of the southern 
 Ohio counties an eccentric character named 
 Tony Barleyon owned a small newspaper. He 
 
 bought a page of two-column short stories and 
 for six months ran them in his paper. The 
 page contained three of the two-column stories 
 and he would publish first one then the other 
 of them, occasionally forgetting to change the 
 stories from one week to the other, and this 
 brought some comment from his friends. To 
 vary the matter Barleyon mixed the stories up, 
 running them in combination so that the first 
 column of one story would be published with 
 the second column of another. 
 
 John Moderwell is the authority for the fact 
 that the first printing press brought to Craw- 
 ford county was the property of William Y. 
 McGill. It was an old Ramage press, and 
 about 1829 he contemplated publishing a Jack- 
 son paper, at Bucyrus, but after the first num- 
 ber appeared the publication was discontinued. 
 McGill must have been a man of excellent fi- 
 nancial judgment, for he had discretion enough 
 to foresee that, even in that day, running a 
 newspaper in Crawford county would not be an 
 easy road to financial prosperity, and he 
 promptly suspended the new enterprise. He 
 continued a resident of Bucyrus and vicinity 
 for many years, occasionally teaching school 
 in the village and surrounding country. April 
 I, 1833, he acted as election clerk in Liberty 
 township, and at the same time, his fellow cit- 
 izens having implicit faith in him, elected him 
 to the lucrative office of "fence viewer" of that 
 township. This is, so far as known, the only 
 honor or political preferment given to the man 
 who introduced the printing press into Craw- 
 ford county. When war was declared with 
 Mexico, McGill left for the scene of hostili- 
 ties, feeling, no doubt that the success he had 
 failed to achieve with the pen might be attained 
 by the sword, but misfortune was his lot, for 
 while on his way home he took sick and died 
 at Newport, Kentucky. It is doubtful if any 
 copies of this first paper published in Crawford 
 county were preserved. 
 
 The second attempt at journalism was made 
 by William Crosby, who obtained possession 
 of the McGill press and materials, and about 
 September i, 1831, commenced the publication 
 of a newspaper advocating democratic princi- 
 ples. This was called the Western Journal 
 and Bucyrus Advertiser above spoken of and 
 was printed and published on Sandusky avenue, 
 a few doors north of the post office. The post 
 
456 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 office was at Henry St. John's store where 
 the Bucyrus City Bank is now located, and it 
 is likely the few doors north was about where 
 Englehard's clothing store is at present. If 
 this paper appeared regularly, counting from 
 the numbers of the issues preserved and framed 
 as above mentioned, which was No. 105, it 
 must have been started in November, 1831, but 
 it is doubtful if the paper was issued regularly 
 each week, so it is possible the first number of 
 the Western Journal might have been several 
 months prior to this date. The paper changed 
 names between November 30, 1833 and Febru- 
 ary I, 1834, for on the latter date it was known 
 as the Bucyrus Journal. 
 
 The Western Journal and Bucyrus Advertis- 
 er was a four-page paper of four columns to 
 the page, and the issue of Nov. 30, 1833, is No. 
 105. In this paper George Sweney offers for 
 sale half a lot which is situated a short dis- 
 tance north of Henry St. John's store, on which 
 there is a comfortable two-story dwelling. It 
 is probable this is the building which was the 
 home of the paper, as it was expected in those 
 days a party leader should furnish a home for 
 his political paper, and as two years had elapsed 
 with little or no rent coming in, and it would 
 be political heresy to close up the concern, 
 the smoothest and easiest way out of the dif- 
 ficulty was to unload the burden on some one 
 else. Crosby, however, was doing his best. He 
 was offering for sale lot No. 151 in Bucyrus, 
 which was the west 82 feet of the lot on which 
 the Hotel Royal now stands, and ran south on 
 Poplar street 132 feet. The advertisement 
 states the lot "is in a healthy and flourishing 
 part of the town." He further announces he 
 wants some wheat on subscription, and that he 
 will take lumber in payment for debts due him, 
 specializing: "Oak, Ash, Poplar, Black and 
 White Walnut, and Cherry boards; shingle 
 and Plastering Lath — Scantling and Shingles." 
 
 Three other advertisements, all in the same 
 issue, should be read in connection: 
 
 First — ^John Davis and Joseph Kirk an- 
 nounce a dissolution of partnership in the hat- 
 ting business. 
 
 Second — John Davis announces that he is in 
 the hatting business at Gary's old stand, and 
 has hats at wholesale and retail, and "war- 
 ranted as good as any made in the western 
 country." 
 
 Third — "All persons are cautioned against 
 a promissory note given by me, payable to Jos. 
 Kirk, for the sum of $175, twelve months after 
 date, dated about the first day of October, 1833, 
 as I shall not feel myself bound to pay the 
 same unless compelled by law. John Davis." 
 
 Zalmon Rowse, as administrator of his 
 brother, announces he will sell a part of the 
 east half of the southeast quarter of section 35, 
 Holmes township. [This was the land in North 
 Bucyrus extending from the Tiffin road half 
 way to' Sandusky avenue] ; also land on the 
 turnpike road south of Bucyrus. [This is now 
 in the corporation.] 
 
 Elizabeth and William M'Curdy announce 
 their appointment as administratrix and admin- 
 istrator of James M'Curdy, of Liberty town- 
 ship, deceased. 
 
 John Moderwell announces the removal of 
 his cabinet shop to the new building on the west 
 side of the square. [This was the lot on which 
 the Hotel Royal now stands. Previous to this 
 his building had been on the Rowse Block cor- 
 ner.] 
 
 James McCracken, as J. P., publishes an at- 
 tachment in a suit of Abraham Yost against an 
 absent debtor. 
 
 R. W. Musgrave and Henry St. John, mer- 
 chants, also publish an attachment against Hen- 
 ry Flack, an absconding debtor; amount $100. 
 
 Advertisements are also published announc- 
 ing that a petition will be presented to the next 
 Legislature to form a new county. The new 
 county was to take from what is now Craw- 
 ford, all of Auburn and Vernon, the northern 
 three miles of Sandusky and the eastern three 
 miles of Cranberry, Auburn and Vernon being 
 then in Richland county. 
 
 Another county petitioned for was to take 
 in Auburn in Richland county and Cranberry 
 in Crawford. 
 
 Other petitions to be presented to the Legis- 
 lature was for the establishment of a graded 
 state board from Mamsfield in Richland county 
 to Bucyrus in Crawford county; also a state 
 road "beginning at the Public Square in Ga- 
 llon, in the county of Richland, from thence on 
 the nearest and best ground to the town of 
 Bucyrus." 
 
 An item in the paper states that the Ohio 
 State Journal announces that if it receives suf- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 457 
 
 ficient encouragement it will publish a daily 
 during the session of the Legislature. 
 
 In 1830 Columbus was a town of 2437 peo- 
 ple, and it is a pleasure to state sufficient en- 
 couragement was given, for the daily was pub- 
 lished. 
 
 Here is the only local item in the paper : 
 
 "We have been requested to state that Rev. Mr. 
 Dickey of the Associate Church will preach at the 
 Court House in the village on Sunday next to com- 
 mence at II o'clock a. m." 
 
 Two things are observable in the only local 
 item ; first, his declining to assume responsibil- 
 ity for the item, and second the statement 
 that the reverend gentlemen would commence 
 preaching an o^ clock. It was a correct state- 
 ment to make, as it gave no indication as to 
 when he would finish, as in those early days it 
 was nothing unusual for a minister to preach 
 two and three hours. 
 
 The next number in existence was called the 
 Bucyrus Journal, and is dated Feb. i, 1834, and 
 is No. 114, showing by the date and number 
 that it was being published regularly each 
 week. It again has been but one news item: 
 
 "Died — In this vicinity on Wednesday morning last, 
 Mr. Simeon Parcher, leaving a wife and a large family 
 of children to mourn his loss." 
 
 This next number shows that when an ad- 
 vertisement once got into the paper it stayed 
 there. The legal notices of Musgrave & St. 
 John of Abraham Yost for their absent 
 debtors, and the administrator's notice, get 
 their tenth publication, when the law called for 
 but four. 
 
 John Moderwell as sheriff advertises six 
 properties for sale, all in what is now Wyandot 
 county. 
 
 Jacob Bryant and John Mitchell advertise a 
 dissolution of partnership in the merchandising 
 business. 
 
 Crosby's lot "in a healthy and flourishing 
 part of the town" is still for sale. 
 
 Here are two advertisements, which show 
 the manners and customs of those days : 
 
 "Six Cents Reward — Ran away from the sub- 
 scriber living in Bucyrus, on the 20th inst., a boy named 
 Peter Werth, an indentured apprentice in the Wagon 
 and Ploughmaking business. All persons are hereby 
 count, as I will prosecute all who do so. Said boy is 
 about 18 years old, dark complected, is fond of talking 
 cautioned against harboring or trusting him on my ac- 
 
 with his superiors, and occasionally tries to play the 
 fiddle; had on when he went away a dark sattinet coat- 
 tee, white hat, and striped sattined pantaloons of a 
 snuff color. The above reward will be given but no 
 charges paid. 
 
 "P. S. — An additional reward of a bundle of shav- 
 ings will be given to any person • returning said boy to 
 the subscriber. 
 
 "George Myers. 
 
 "Bucyrus, Dec. 20, 1833 — w3.'' 
 
 Here is Chapter Two. 
 
 "To THE Public. — Mr. Editor : Sir : In your 
 paper of the 21st inst. I perceive an advertisement 
 signed by George ^ Myers, concerning my son, Peter 
 Werth. Now I wish to correct an error in said adver- 
 tisement. My son did not run away as Mr. Myers 
 states; he came home on account of some ill treatment 
 on Saturday last. I, as his rightful guardian, com- 
 menced a suit against Mr. Myers on Monday last (for 
 a non-performance of the indenture) the result of which 
 has been a verdict in my favor of thirty dollars. 
 
 "P. S. — Mr. Myers had better keep his shavings for 
 the purpose of lighting candles to play cards, dice, and 
 roulette by, and save his money also.* 
 
 "Joseph Werth, Sr., 
 
 "Bucyrus, Dec. 24, 1833 — W4." 
 
 Sweney has probably sold his building, as the 
 advertisement does not appear; still the editor 
 is struggling heroically to meet expenses as wit- 
 ness the following : 
 
 "The Printer — Wants the following articles of 
 Country Produce in payment on subscription debts, 
 viz. : Wheat, Rye, Corn, Oats, Buckwheat, Potatoes, 
 Pork, Beef, Veal, Cheese, Butter, Sugar, Flax, Linnen, 
 Linsey, Wool, Tallow, Candles, Feathers, Hay, &c., &c., 
 or anything else which we can eat, drink, wear, or sell 
 again. He would be glad to get lumber and building 
 material of all kinds (if delivered soon) ; also a few 
 cords of Fire Wood; for all of which the highest mar- 
 ket price will be given. And moreover, he would not 
 take it amiss if he could occasionally get (it would be 
 a mighty pleasant thing) from his patrons some 
 MONEY, for which they should most assuredly receive 
 his hearty thanks." 
 
 While these early issues of the Bucyrus 
 Journal and the Western Journal are not as 
 well printed as is done today, it is a conspicuous 
 fact that the paper holds together and the type 
 is clear and distinct, a feature which will prob- 
 ably not be noted about the average paper print- 
 ed today which might be preserved for eighty 
 years. Crosby sold the printing plant to 
 Charles P. West, who published for about one 
 year the Peoples Press and the Peoples Ad- 
 vocate, both of which aimed to be neutral in 
 
 *At the March term of court in 1834, the following 
 indictment was found. "George Myers, for suffering 
 gaming in his outhouse." 
 
458 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 politics. In 1845 President Polk appointed 
 Crosby Consul to the port of Talcahuano, 
 Chili, in South America. Moderwell says in 
 regard to Crosby's later history "Finding the 
 office was not very lucrative he resigned and 
 engaged in whale fishery, which proved to be 
 much more profitable, and in which he was en- 
 gaged for many years. He visited Bucyrus in 
 October, 1867." 
 
 David R. Lightner was employed in the Peo- 
 ple's Press office before the publication was dis- 
 continued, and, when West sold the establish- 
 ment to Joseph Newell arrangements were 
 made for a new paper, to be published by 
 Newell & Lightner. Mrs. Newell, however, op- 
 posed this move on her husband's part, and, in 
 order to "keep peace in the family," Newell 
 turned the enterprise over to John Reeder, and 
 is said to have given him ten bushels of wheat 
 for "taking the bargain off his hands." Reeder 
 and his son Jonathan, and his nephew Lightner, 
 then started the Ohio Intelligencer. The first 
 number appeared about 1836, for the 21st 
 number of it was issued July 23, and the 42d 
 number December 30, 1836. This paper was 
 neutral in politics, the issue of July 23 pub- 
 lishing both Presidential electoral tickets. The 
 name of the firm was then D. R. Lightner & 
 Co., but after fifty-two numbers had been is- 
 sued John Reeder retired and his son Jonathan 
 continued in partnership with his cousin Light- 
 ner for several more numbers of Volume 2. 
 Young Reeder also became discouraged and 
 sold his interest to John Caldwell. The Ohio 
 Intelligencer was then discontinued and Cald- 
 well & Lightner started the Crawford Repub- 
 lican about August i, 1837, with Caldwell as 
 editor and Lightner as publisher. The office 
 was then on the corner now occupied by the J. 
 K. Myers store. In the eighth number, dated 
 November 4, 1837, on the first page, and No- 
 vember 28, on the third, the proprietors make 
 the following announcement : 
 
 "The experiment we have commenced in the pub- 
 lishing of a Democratic paper is now in full tide of 
 operation, and with the result so far we have no reason 
 to complain. In addition to the old list of subscribers 
 we have obtained about one hundred and twenty new 
 ones, and are daily receiving more. We want two hun- 
 dred more immediately and no labor or expense will 
 be spared to make our paper interesting. An interesting 
 and important crisis is now approaching in our national 
 and state affairs, with which every man in the county 
 should make himself acquainted, and which we will en- 
 deavor to lay before our readers as they transpire." 
 
 This number was issued during the panic of 
 1837, and, money being very scarce, the pro- 
 prietors, in order to secure patronage, pub- 
 lished on the fourth page, in sale-bill type the 
 following notice: "Wheat, corn, buckwheat, 
 oats, pork, beef, butter and candles will be re- 
 received on subscription at this office." After 
 52 numbers of the Crawford County Republi- 
 can had been published Caldwell retired from 
 the firm, and Lightner continued the paper for 
 another year,' or rather for another volume of 
 fifty-tv^o numbers, the last appearing January 
 I, 1840. The Democratic brethren were not 
 satisfied with the manageemnt of the paper un- 
 der Lightner, who said "some declared I was 
 not a good Democrat for publishing a com- 
 munication from Bishop Tuttle, in which the 
 people were advised to examine both sides." 
 Lightner was not sorry to be relieved, and the 
 office was transferred to Caldwell, and the pa- 
 per discontinued for about three months. Mr. 
 Lightner was afterward elected Mayor of 
 Bucyrus in 1842 and re-elected in 1843. Cald- 
 well, for many years a resident of Crawford 
 county, removed to California, and was mur- . 
 dered while carrying mail. 
 
 In the summer or fall of 1838 a new Whig 
 paper, the Bucyrus Democrat, was established 
 by John Shrenck. No. 52 of volume i was 
 issued October 2, 1839. An examination of 
 this issue shows that the character of Bucy- 
 rus newspapers has improved very much dur- 
 ing these 75 years. It would seem the sole 
 idea for which Shrenck published the Democrat 
 was to abuse the Democratic candidate for 
 prosecuting attorney, Franklin Adams. This 
 gentleman was elected by a large majority, re- 
 elected two terms and continued for years an 
 honored and respected citizen of the town, 
 while the Democrat "yielded up the ghost" 70 
 years ago. Shrenck continued the paper sev- 
 eral years; No. 47, of Volume 3 was issued 
 May 4, 1842, and it was published during the 
 political campaign of that year. After a pre- 
 carious existence of three or four years he re- 
 moved the press and material to Kenton and in 
 1845 to Upper Sandusky. The Bucyrus Dem- 
 ocrat was the first paper published in Craw- 
 ford county in opposition to the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 The Democrats of Crawford county were 
 anxious to have an organ at Bucyrus and the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 459 
 
 publishers of the Ohio Statesman, at Colum- 
 bus, recommended Thomas J. Orr and John 
 White as two printers who could conduct a 
 paper to suit the party. About April 23, 1840, 
 these young men having obtained possession of 
 the printing material formerly owned by Cald- 
 well & Lightner, started the Democratic Repub- 
 lican, the fourth number of which appeared 
 May 14, 1840. White then retired from the 
 establishment; it is generally reported that the 
 partnership was dissolved by Orr kicking White 
 out of the office for being intoxicated. Con- 
 sidering the present partisan meaning of the 
 words Democratic and Republican, it appears 
 strange that in 1840 the organ of the Crawford 
 county Democracy should by the Democratic 
 Republican, while the Whig paper, opposed to 
 the Democracy should be known as the Bucy- 
 rus Democrat. Orr continued in the newspaper 
 business at Bucyrus for several years and at 
 the start was supported by the Democratic 
 party. The first volume of his Democrat Re- 
 publican was completed May 28, 1841, and 
 shortly after this Orr commenced issuing the 
 paper very irregularly, for although the second 
 volume was started June 4, 1841, it had only 
 reached the 28th number bv July 23, 1842. It 
 had taken him eight months to issue the last 
 fourteen numbers of the second volume. Orr 
 was a brilliant writer, and a genial, social, 
 whole-souled man, but could do nothing with 
 more ease and grace than any man in the vil- 
 lage. Everybody liked him, but the leading 
 Democrats so seriously objected to this shift- 
 less way of conducting a party organ, that he 
 did better the second year, and starting Vol. 3 
 on April 6, 1843, he managed to get it com- 
 pleted by June 8, 1844, publishing the 52 num- 
 bers in a year and a record breaker for Orr. 
 He managed to do fairly well in the summer of 
 1844 as it was a Presidential campaign, and he 
 took a natural interest in politics, but after the 
 campaign was over, and his party had won, he 
 dropped back farther than ever in the irregular- 
 ity of the issues. The patrons of the paper 
 in disgust, secured another man and the Peo- 
 ple's Forum was started in the spring of 1845, 
 and after publishing a few more irregular num- 
 bers, the last about July, with the fourth vol- 
 ume lacking several numbers of completion, 
 Orr gave his paper to William T. Giles, the 
 only man about the establishment who did any 
 
 work, and Giles loaded it on a wagon and 
 started the first Democratic paper at Upper 
 Sandusky. 
 
 In the earliest settlement of the counties it 
 was a difficult matter for papers to exist, and 
 there was generally but one in a county, and 
 that depended for its support not so much on 
 its patrons as on the county printing. Craw- 
 ford was a Democratic county, and when Orr 
 started a real Democratic paper he secured the 
 county printing and the Whig paper went to the 
 wall. Two papers could not be sustained in 
 Bucyrus, and about 1843 Shrenck moved his 
 plant to Kenton and on Feb. 3, 1845, the act 
 was passed creating Wyandot county from 
 Crawford, and Shrenck loaded his plant into 
 a wagon and started it across the country and 
 on Feb. 15, 1845, issued the first paper at Up- 
 per Sandusky, which was called the Wyandott 
 Telegraph, with two "tt's." His office was the 
 old Council House, but the county bought the 
 building and he was compelled to move, and 
 while waiting to secure a new location pub- 
 lished one number under an apple-tree in the 
 open air. His paper was Whig in politics, to 
 the great satisfaction of his former subscrib- 
 ers in that portion of Crawford county, which 
 was now Wyandot. That fall was the first 
 election for the county officials in Wyandot 
 county, and the editor poured his weekly ti- 
 rade of abuse on the iniquities of the Demo- 
 cratic party, and eulogized every candidate and 
 every doctrine of the Whigs. The Democrats 
 were wild, and they hurried to Bucyrus for re- 
 lief. Good natured, genial Tom Orr had been 
 publishing a Democratic paper at Bucyrus at 
 such irregular intervals that the Democrats had 
 induced another man to establish a paper in 
 their city. While Orr talked politics and told 
 stories at every loafing place in the village, his 
 paper was being gotten out, such as it was, by 
 a young man named William T. Giles, not an 
 editor, but a printer, about 22 years of age. 
 When the Upper Sandusky delegation reached 
 Bucyrus they met Orr. He was not only ready 
 to quit, but as usual would do anything to ac- 
 commodate his friends, so he suggested that 
 Giles could buy his plant and take it to Upper 
 Sandusky. Giles only paid $1.25 per week for 
 board, but was unable to collect enough money 
 from Orr to keep this paid up, so he was finan- 
 cially insolvent. He also doubted his ability to 
 
460 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 run a paper, but his democracy was unques- 
 tioned; and, persuaded by Orr and the Upper 
 Sandusky Democrats, he agreed to look over 
 the field. In company with William M. Scroggs, 
 afterward his brother-in-law, he visited Upper 
 Sandusky, and agreed to undertake the job. Orr 
 had said there would be no difficulty on terms. 
 And there wasn't. Orr was to receive Giles' 
 individual note for the property, due in eight 
 months, the amount due Giles from Orr being 
 deducted. When the note was due, if Giles 
 could not pay it, he was to return the property, 
 and Orr was to pay him in cash the balance due 
 him for wages. The contract and note were 
 drawn up by Josiah Scott. Giles was an in- 
 dustrious and hard worker. His Democratic 
 friends bought him an old house in Upper San- 
 dusky, and this he fitted up for a printing of- 
 fice. Everything being ready, Giles borrowed 
 a horse of one of the staunch Democrats, of 
 Upper Sandusky, Col. Robt McKelly; started 
 early in the morning, drove to Bucyrus, got 
 Fred Feiring to assist him, and the plant was 
 loaded on the wagon, and by evening in its new 
 home, and he issued his first paper, the Dem- 
 ocratic Pioneer, on Aug. 29, 1845. So the 
 first papers of both parties were started in Up- 
 per Sandusky by Bucyrus men. Giles poured 
 hot shot and bad grammar into the Whigs, and 
 when the election was over the county was 
 Democratic, Giles had the county printing, and 
 the week after the October election Schrenck 
 left with his plant for a new field in Henry 
 county, receiving the following complimentary 
 notice from his successful rival : 
 
 "The thing that decamped from this place, and took 
 up his abode in Napoleon, Henry county, and is issuing 
 a little filthy sheet, is said to be doing great service to 
 the Democracy of that county, and the Democrats are 
 returning their thanks to him. Good! We hope our 
 friends in those regions will give him plenty of rope, and 
 the consequence will be seen." 
 
 When the note became due Giles wrote Orr 
 of his impossibility to pay, and said he would 
 return the plant, and collect his back wages, as 
 per contract. Orr was in worse financial con- 
 dition than ever, and being unable to pay the 
 wages, finally succeeded in coaxing Giles to 
 go ahead with the plant and pay when he could. 
 Giles made a success of it and later became one 
 of the prominent newspaper men of the west, 
 and althought later in life he may have been 
 
 able to explain just what he meant in his first 
 announcement in the Pioneer, he certainly 
 never found any grammar which would suc- 
 cessfully cover the paragraph in its entirety. 
 Here is his entry into journalism : 
 
 "It is the intention of the editor to be perfectly 
 free and uncontrolled by any man or set of men, and 
 always willing to receive the counsel of such as are 
 desirous of promoting the good cause, for which it is 
 published to vindicate, as the advice of many is likely 
 to be more correct than the few." 
 
 As for Tom Orr, he was more popular with- 
 out his paper than with it, so his party elected 
 him Clerk of the Court, a position he held for 
 six years, proving a most efficient and popular 
 official. 
 
 In 1859 he was chosen to represent Seneca, 
 Crawford and Wyandot counties in the state 
 senate. During the second session the war 
 broke out and Orr supported the measures 
 adopted by the legislature for the preservation 
 of the Union. For doing this he was bitterly 
 denounced by some of the leaders of his party 
 at home, and when he sought a renomination at 
 the next primary election, received only 782 
 votes in Crawford county, while Judge Lang 
 of Tiffin received 760, and the latter was nom- 
 inated at the Senatorial Convention. Orr aft- 
 erward remove to Calhoun county, Iowa, 
 where he died July 2, 1874. 
 
 When the Democrats of Crawford became 
 dissatisfied with Orr's irregularly issued pub- 
 lication, they induced J. R. Knapp., Jr., who 
 had for several years been connected with the 
 Marion Mirror, to establish another Democrat- 
 ic paper at Bucyrus. The first number of this, 
 the People's Forum, appeared April 12, 1845, 
 and three months later Orr sold his plant to 
 Giles. The Forum has been regularly pub- 
 lished since, under different proprietors. John 
 R. Knapp learned his trade as a printer in New 
 York, and in 1842 with his brother started the 
 Marion Mirror. In 1845 he sold out to his 
 brother in order to come to Bucyrus and start 
 the People's Forum, which he ran until 1847 
 and sold to Mordecai P. Bean. In 1846 while 
 at Bucyrus Mr. Knapp was appointed by John 
 G. Breslin, then clerk of the senate, as his as- 
 sistant clerk. In 1848 he was elected Senate 
 Clerk. The Senate stood Democrats 18, Whigs 
 15, Free Soil 3; the Free Soilers were "Pro- 
 gressive W^higs" so the Senate was a tie po- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 461 
 
 litically. In those days the Clerk of the Sen- 
 ate had the giving out of the publication of 
 laws, (worth about $50,000 to some paper,) 
 so when opportunity offered there was a fight. 
 Balloting lasted four days. Knapp got his 18 
 Democratic votes all right on every ballot, Dut 
 lacked one of a majority, and on the 121st 
 ballot he received nineteen votes and was 
 elected, and Sam Medary, of the Ohio States- 
 man, secured the publication of the laws. The 
 next session was also close as it took 300 bal- 
 lots to agree on the speaker, but Knapp got the 
 clerkship on the second ballot, showing he had 
 made a good clerk. 
 
 Knapp's office for a few weeks after he 
 came here was opposite the Court House ; then 
 it was moved a few doors east, near the old 
 Methodist Episcopal church. In April 1848 the 
 printing material was moved to a room over 
 Lauck & Failor's store; the frame still standing 
 on the corner of the Square and East Mansfield 
 street; in April, 1850 it was moved to the An- 
 derson block, long known as the Ward-Gorm- 
 ley residence, opposite the present office of the 
 Bucyrus Journal and the Evening Telegraph. 
 In the spring of 1855 it was moved to the Deal 
 House corner. Bean had bought the People's 
 Forum in 1847 and was proprietor for about 
 ten years. During the latter part of that dec- 
 ade Philip Dombaugh was associated with him 
 but never owned an interest, although consid- 
 ered the publisher for several years. They fi- 
 nally dissolved business relations April 24, 
 1857, and shortly after Bean sold the Forum 
 to J. A. Estill, who was later editor of the 
 Holmes County Farmer. The office was re- 
 moved to the Quinby block April i, 1859, and 
 in a few weeks passed into the hands of A. Mc- 
 Greggor who, after he left here was editor of 
 the Stark County Democrat, at Canton, and 
 died there in November, 1901. When Mr. Mc- 
 Greggor left he transferred the paper to the 
 late Judge Thomas Beer, and the office was 
 removed to the Burkhart block, now known as 
 the Mader block, on January i, 1862. On 
 April 25, Henry Barnes and Thomas Coughlin 
 purchased Beer's interest in the paper. After 
 five months Barnes retired from the partner- 
 ship, but Coughlin continued as proprietor un- 
 til April, 1868, and the office was removed to 
 the Blair block. In October, 1867, he was 
 elected County Clerk and was re-elected in 
 
 1870. Before entering on the duties of this po- 
 sition he sold the paper to John R. Clymer, who 
 had been the Clerk of the Court for the previ- 
 ous seven years. About this time the office, 
 which had been improved by the addition of a 
 fine Cincinnati cylinder press and other new 
 printing material, was removed from Blair's 
 hall to the second story of No. 8 Quinby block. 
 In August, 1867, Mr. Coughlin employed as as- 
 sociate editor of his paper William Hubbard, 
 who continued with the Forum until April, 
 1869. This gentleman was an unusually 
 earnest and forcible writer, and had a national 
 reputation on account of the fearlessness of 
 his writings in opposition to the war. During 
 the war he was publishing a paper at Dayton, 
 and the citizens believing his vigorous expres- 
 sions were disloyal, visited his office one night 
 without waiting for the formality of an invita- 
 tion, and destroyed the plant. With a praise- 
 worthy tenderness of heart, to prevent the ed- 
 itor seeing his property ruined, they consider- 
 ately threw him out of the window before they 
 commenced their work of destruction. Noth- 
 ing was done, as public opinion in that city was 
 against the editor. He went to Bellefontaine 
 where he edited the Logan County Gazette, 
 with his pen a trifle sharpened by his experi- 
 ences, and then came to Bucyrus. When he re- 
 tired from the Forum the partnership of Hub- 
 bard & Coughlin was formed and they bought 
 the Democratic Northwest at Napoleon, Ohio, 
 which Mr. Hubbard edited until he died, May 
 II, 1872. 
 
 In 1874, Mr. Coughlin was elected clerk of 
 the House of Representatives at Columbus, 
 serving one term; he went from there to Cin- 
 cinnati and eventually returned to the print- 
 ing business. Advanced in years, he is still 
 living at Colorado Springs, Col., a member of 
 the Printers' Home. 
 
 Under the ownership of Mr. Clymer, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1 87 1, a steam engine was added to the 
 plant and the first paper was printed by steam 
 in Bucyrus. For over 27 years the paper had 
 been folio in form, but in October, 1871, it 
 was changed to a quarto, and subscribers who 
 desired it semi-weekly were furnished four 
 pages on Tuesday and four on Friday. This 
 system was continued until the four page form 
 was resumed, November 17, 1876. During 
 the nine years Mr. Clymer was publisher the 
 
462 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 office occupied at different times each floor of 
 No. 8 Quinby block. On April 20, 1877, Ma- 
 jor J. H. Williston, one of the owners of the 
 Marion Mirror, bought the paper, and in De- 
 cember, 1878, the establishment was removed 
 to the basement of the Deal block, were it con- 
 tinued for a number of years and then moved to 
 the south room of the Vollrath block where Jo- 
 seph Ulmer now has his store, and from there 
 it was moved to the old Methodist church build- 
 ing where it is at present located. In 1883 Mr. 
 Williston, was elected State Senator from the 
 district and re-elected in 1885, and during the 
 time he was in the Ohio Senate, A. R. Bell was 
 the associate editor, and manager, a part of the 
 time being assisted by Walter E. Wright, an 
 unusually clever writer. Major Williston sold 
 an interest in the Forum to Frank Holbrook 
 and later the Holbrook Brothers bought the 
 other interest. Grant A. McNutt, a brother-in- 
 law of the Holbrooks became a member of the 
 firm. He was one of the most brilliant and ver- 
 satile local writers ever in the newspaper busi- 
 ness at Bucyrus. When the Spanish-American 
 War broke out he accepted a Government posi- 
 tion at Washington where he remained several 
 years, when he returned to Bucyrus, filling va- 
 rious positions, and died in 191 1. Under the 
 Holbrooks, A. M. Ensminger was editor of the 
 paper, a position he filled until he was appointed 
 postmaster in July, 1894, when Horace Hol- 
 brook assumed the editorial management and 
 Frank Holbrook the business department. In 
 Oct., 1901, the Bucyrus Publishing Company 
 was incorporated, and the new company bought 
 the Forum and the Crawford County News, 
 changing the name to the News Forum, L. M. 
 Smith being president and general manager of 
 the new company, as well as the principal stock- 
 holder ; W. H. lams editor. Under this editor- 
 ship and management the paper has continued 
 ever since, its business constantly increasing 
 and in October of this year they added a per- 
 fecting press to their plant. 
 
 An attempt was made by Major Williston to 
 establish a daily paper in 1880, the first num- 
 ber having appeared July 13 of that year. But 
 it was discontinued Nov. 3, after an existence 
 of four months. About 1886 the Holbrooks 
 took charge of the Daily Critic, which they ran 
 for a few years and then discontinued it. On 
 March 2, 1891. the Daily Forum was started 
 
 by them, and it has had a prosperous existence 
 ever since. In 1907 a linotype machine was in- 
 stalled, the first in the county. 
 
 When Major J. H. Williston left here he 
 went to Fostoria, where he engaged in other 
 business and died in that city, March 20, 1891. 
 Frank and Horace Holbrook went to Califor- 
 nia where they continued in the newspaper 
 business, later returning to Ohio, Horace Hol- 
 brook being the present proprietor of the War- 
 ren Democrat, in Trumbull county. 
 
 After Shrenck's Bucyrus Democrat had been 
 discontinued the Whigs of Crawford county 
 were without an organ for nearly ten years. 
 From 1845 to Jan. i, 1853, the Forum was 
 the only paper in the county. Near the close of 
 1852 subscription papers were circulated 
 throughout the county, by Henry Converse, D. 
 W. Swigart and James McLain, the Whig lead- 
 ers, and enough subscribers were guaranteed to 
 warrant J. A. Crevier in publishing a Whig pa- 
 per, and the first number of the present Bucy- 
 rus Journal was issued January i, 1853. In 
 
 1855 the Republican party was organized, and 
 the Journal, under Crevier, warmly espoused 
 the doctrines advocated by that party. Since 
 then, under different proprietors the paper has 
 advocated the interests of the Republican 
 party and its principles. With the exception of 
 eleven eight-page numbers printed during three 
 months of 1856, The Journal was always a 
 folio until 1890 when it became an eight-page 
 paper. For two years the office was located at 
 the corner of Sandusky avenue and "Pill" alley, 
 that alley being the name given the driveway 
 south of the Wynn millinery store. From 
 there the office was moved in 1854 to the sec- 
 ond story of the old frame building which stood 
 on the Bucyrus City Bank corner. May i, 
 
 1856 it was removed to the lot where the busi- 
 ness of J. Herskowitz is at present located, just 
 west of the City Bank Building. February 22, 
 1858 the office was removed to the McCoy 
 building just opposite the court house, the 
 building where the People's Forum published 
 its first number. On Jan. i, 1859 the Journal 
 office was removed to the second story of the 
 Rowse block, which had just been completed, 
 and here the paper was published for seventeen 
 years. In 1853 a strike occurred among the 
 printers at work on the daily papers at Pitts- 
 burgh ; two of them, David R. Locke and James 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 463 
 
 G. Robinbon, started on a western trip. They 
 reached Plymouth, Richland county, and were 
 induced by citizens there to revive the Adver- 
 tiser, which they ran until 1855, when they sold 
 out and with Roeliff Brinkerhoff purchased the 
 Mansfield Herald. Soon after Locke sold his 
 interest in that paper and March 20, 1856, pur- 
 chased the Bucyrus Journal of Mr. Crevier. 
 After Mr. Crevier left Bucyrus he went to Cin- 
 cinnati where he was prominent in local affairs. 
 He died there December 27, 1867, aged 47 
 years. At the time of his death he was chief 
 clerk in the office of the Hamilton county treas- 
 urer. For several months after D. R. Locke 
 purchased the Journal his brother D. W. Locke, 
 was associated with him, but they dissolved 
 partnership July 15. Shortly afterward Locke 
 persuaded his former partner James G. Robin- 
 son, to take an interest in the Journal with him, 
 and in April, 1857, the two friends were again 
 united in their business interests. The office 
 was improved by the addition of a Robinson 
 Princeton power press, which was the first 
 cylindrical press brought to Bucyrus. These 
 two enterprising men worked together, cor- 
 dially, and advocated in their paper many new 
 enterprises needed in the community. Among 
 the many public and private improvements 
 which were the result of their persistent agita- 
 tion are the gas works, Oakwood cemetery, the 
 many beautiful shade trees, better streets, and 
 the excellent sidewalks and many buildings. In 
 April, 1 861, J. G. Robinson was appointed post- 
 master of Bucyrus by President Lincoln, which 
 position he held until removed for political rea- 
 sons by President Johnson in 1866. Mr. Locke 
 retired from the Journal November 13, 1861, 
 and purchased the Findlay Jeffersonian and 
 afterward purchased an interest in the Toledo 
 Blade, with which he connected the balance of 
 his life. His death occurred there February 
 15, 1888. The first of the Nasby satirical ar- 
 ticles were written by Mr. Locke during his 
 connection with the Bucyrus Journal and were 
 first published in that paper December 13, i860 
 and the first of Locke's letters signed "P V. 
 Nasby" was published in the Journal during 
 1861. In 1862 Ralph Robinson became asso- 
 ciated with his brother in the ownership of the 
 Journal. 
 
 One of the old customs of newspapers was 
 the issuing of a Carrier's Address each New 
 
 Year's Day, in which the names of the more 
 prominent business men were given compli- 
 mentary notices in verse. These addresses 
 were delivered by the carrier to the subscribers, 
 and various sums were given him according to 
 the generosity of the subscriber. In these ad- 
 dresses Mr. Locke was an adept, and his light, 
 satirical style shows to advantage ; the one writ- 
 ten by him for Jan. i, 1858, praises and crit- 
 icizes Bucyrus in the following bright style : 
 
 Here seven tall churches rear their towers in air; 
 Here thirty grog-shops on the thirsty stare; 
 Sinner and saint may both be happy here — 
 Seven founts of grace and thirty odd of beer. 
 City of Mud ! 'tis true that every street 
 Runs liquid nastiness about our feet. 
 What though a spaniel dog can scarcely make 
 His way along our streets, or through that lake 
 We call the square ; none hope to find 
 A place with more good qualities combined. 
 Look at our women ! — tell, oh tell me where, 
 Nature made others that are half as fair. 
 Look at our men ! and show me if you can. 
 An equal number and each one a man. 
 
 Sept. 2, 1867, James G. Robinson sold his 
 interest in the Bucyrus Journal to John Hopley 
 for $1500 and the paper was run by Hopley 
 & Robinson until May 20, 1868, when Mr. 
 Hopley purchased Ralph Robinson's interest 
 for $1500 and was thereafter its sole owner. 
 After leaving the printing office James G. Rob- 
 inson embarked in the drug busines with Dr. 
 M. C. Cuykendall, and continued at this until 
 he died April 14, 1872. Ralph Robinson re- 
 moved to Iowa and was connected with the 
 Fairfield Ledger, Clarinda Herald, and ended 
 his life as editor and owner of the Newton 
 Journal, a paper which he did much to bring to 
 a high standard of excellence. He died in 1909. 
 In October, 1875 a new Cottrell & Babcock 
 cylinder press was purchased by Mr. Hopley 
 for the Journal, and shortly after it was in- 
 stalled it was found to be too heavy a piece of 
 machinery to be operated on the second floor 
 and the office was moved to the Converse build- 
 ing, 230 South Sandusky avenue, December 30, 
 1875. This building was later owned by Ma- 
 jor Williston, of the Forum, and in 1888 the 
 building was purchased by F. L. Hopley, in 
 the name of the Journal Block Company, of 
 which he was the ruling spirit. Upon moving 
 into its new quarters the Journal office was 
 equipped with steam. Two additions to the 
 building have been made since removing to the 
 present location and now the Journal block is 
 
464 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 excellently appointed and equipped for news- 
 paper and general printing. In August, 1907, 
 a Duplex Perfecting press was installed for 
 newspaper work, and the first paper in the 
 county was printed from a roll. 
 
 John Hopley continued at the head of the 
 Journal until his death. In 1876 John E. Hop- 
 ley was associated with him under the name 
 of John Hopley & Son an arrangment which 
 continued only a short time when John E. Hop- 
 ley went to New York and engaged in news- 
 paper work. Returning in 1883 the firm of 
 John Hopley & Son was resumed and the Jour- 
 nal made many advances under the joint own- 
 ership. 
 
 On October 17, 1887, the Evening Telegraph 
 was started, enterprising Republicans raising a 
 subscription list of 297, as the "organ of the 
 Young Men's Republican Club" and was in 
 charge of John E. Hopley with M. V. Long- 
 worth as city editor. After the election John 
 E. Hopley decided to make the venture a per- 
 manent one and the Telegraph grew rapidly 
 in public favor. John Hopley was appointed 
 postmaster at Bucyrus in 1872 by President 
 Grant, a position he held for seven years. He 
 was again appointed postmaster in 1890 by 
 President Harrison. After his appointment by 
 President Harrison he organized the Hopley 
 Printing Co., and incorporated it, being him- 
 self the chief holder of stock but his sons each 
 had blocks of the stock in their own names. 
 It was at this time that The Telegraph and the 
 Journal became one property. In 1898 John E. 
 Hopley was appointed United States Consul 
 at Southampton, England, and after that the 
 Senior Mr. Hopley, advanced in years operated 
 the newspaper properties single handed. In 
 March, 1902, James R. Hopley became associ- 
 ated with the plant as manager and continued in 
 that position until he was appointed postmaster 
 by President Taft December 13, 1910. J. W. 
 Hopley was manager of the plant for a year 
 when George A. Knapp of Marion took charge 
 of it as business manager. John Hopley died 
 June 3, 1904 at the age of 83 years. During 
 his connection with the Journal he obtained 
 a national reputation for the soundness of his 
 views on great questions and often was able to 
 help his political party associates by his con- 
 tribution of planks in party platforms. He 
 
 was for years President of the Ohio Republican 
 Editorial Association. 
 
 In 1 88 1 Thomas P. Hopley started a small 
 paper which he called The Temperance Ballot. 
 He was an ardent prohibitionist and started 
 this paper during the campaign. After the elec- 
 tion of that year he found his little paper had 
 made such a host of friends that he decided to 
 continue to publish it. He added a local news 
 feature and assisted by his sisters, headed by 
 Miss M. C. C. Hopley, made the paper one of 
 brightftess and character. He concluded the 
 title of his paper did not give a good and proper 
 conception of its real character and perhaps 
 hindered the good it could do. He therefore 
 changed the name to the Crawford County 
 News. He continued to run it successfully 
 until 1893 when he sold it to A. J. Hazlett and 
 went to Oklahoma, where he started the Enid 
 Daily News, and where he still lives, though 
 not now publishing a regular daily newspaper, 
 being the present treasurer of the Enid 
 schools. A. J. Hazlett had as a business asso- 
 ciate his brother, Scott Hazlett, who later sold 
 his interest to M. A. Charlton. In 1895 Hiram 
 B. Sears bought the Charlton interest and con- 
 tinued in the business until 1898 when he sold 
 his interest to L. M. Smith. In October, 1901, 
 the Crawford County News was consolidated 
 with the Crawford County Forum, the daily 
 paper retaining the name of the Daily Forum 
 and the semi-weekly being called the News- 
 Forum. 
 
 Two German papers have been published in 
 Bucyrus. The first number of the Crawford 
 County Demokrat was issued September 15, 
 1855, by Mordecai P. Bean, proprietor of the 
 Forum. This German paper was continued 
 several years, a portion of the time being in 
 charge of Bernhardt Roth, who was killed by 
 the cars at Dayton, Ohio, April 10, 1863, and 
 shortly after the Demokrat was discontinued. 
 The first number of the Deutsche Courier was 
 published in January, 1875, by Joseph KiUian, 
 proprietor of the Mansfield Courier. About a 
 year later the office was removed to Mansfield 
 but continued to publish a Bucyrus edition. 
 Later it was returned to Bucyrus and now oc- 
 cupies quarters in the building on Sandusky 
 avenue just north of the river. August Broe- 
 mel is the owner and editor and conducts the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 465 
 
 paper on a high plane, giving it intelhgent su- 
 pervision and directing its editorial policy with 
 keen judgment and its business affairs with 
 rare ability. He has been city clerk for several 
 years. 
 
 The Bucyrus Evening Times was established 
 in 1884 by six young men and was managed 
 by James R. Hopley. The paper was published 
 during the summer and quit early in the fall. 
 
 The Daily Critic was probably the out- 
 growth of the Times, but had no connection 
 with it. It was established by Orvis & Mc- 
 Kelvy, job printers, and had many owners and 
 managers before it came into the hands of the 
 Holbrooks and was discontinued early in 1888. 
 
 Since the first printing press was brought to 
 Bucyrus several attempts have been made by 
 different parties to establish other miscellane- 
 ous publications. In 1838 William Robbins 
 issued the first number of a semi-monthly pub- 
 lication called the Buckeye. It was printed at 
 the Republican office, and the articles contained 
 in it were of a class intended to amuse rather 
 than instruct; no efforts were made to publish 
 local news. The Buckeye was continued for 
 several months. No. 9, Volume I, appeared 
 April 27, 1839, but shortly after this the paper 
 \\as discontinued. 
 
 In May, 1855, the first number of an agri- 
 cultural paper, the Crawford County Farmer, 
 was printed at the Journal office. Robert N. 
 Patterson was publisher; J. A. Crevier and C. 
 Elliott were editors. It was a monthly paper, 
 four pages in size, and was "devoted to agri- 
 culture, horticulture, gardening, mechanics and 
 domestic industry," but it was discontinued 
 after several numbers. 
 
 May I, 1861, No. i. Vol. I, of the Millers 
 Journal was published by Raub & Butterfield. 
 It was a small four-page monthly "devoted to 
 the interests of millers — terms 50 cents per an- 
 num." Although it was issued in the interest 
 of the Ingham California Wheat Cleaner, it 
 was a bona fide publication, but the second 
 number never appeared. Martin Deal, who had 
 the only copies in existence when he lived 
 here, says this was the first milling journal 
 ever published in the United States. 
 
 In 1867 Henry J. Deal published the first 
 number of the Bucyrus Chronicle, a paper for 
 boys. The next year the name was changed to 
 the Bucyrus Budget, and the second number 
 
 appeared, which was followed by several others 
 during the next six months. Another amateur 
 publication was started January i, 1869, by J. 
 E. Hopley & Co. This little sheet, the Acorn, 
 was issued semi-monthly; after the first three 
 months the senior partner gave his brother, 
 Thomas P., an old shot-gun if he would assume 
 the financial responsibilities of the paper. An 
 entire volume of 26 numbers was published and 
 then the Acorn was planted but never sprouted. 
 In July, 1879, Daniel Kanzleiter issued the first 
 number of the Sunbeam, an illustrated sheet 
 printed "semi-occasionally." The wood cuts 
 were designed and engraved by the publisher 
 and four copies of the Sunbeam appeared be- 
 fore it "ceased to shine for 25 cents a year." 
 Outside of county seats, j^apers were only 
 started when the size of the village or its pros- 
 pects justified the venture. When the railroad 
 was completed to Gallon that village started 
 on an era of prosperity. In 1855 John W. 
 Putnam, who for many years had been the able 
 editor of the Ohio Statesman, looked on Gallon 
 as a promising field for a paper. In the five 
 years after the arrival of the railroad it had 
 more than doubled in size. He had a printing^ 
 plant at. Union City, the western terminus of 
 the Bellefontaine and Indiana Road. He 
 moved this office to Gallon, and in connection 
 with Dr. D. Abger issued the first paper in Ga- 
 llon, which was called the Gallon Weekly 
 Train. The office was on Main street in the 
 building owned by P. D. Weber. Later it was 
 changed to the Gallon Weekly Times. A copy 
 of the first issue of the Train is still in exist- 
 ence, in the possession of J. C. Euler at Wash- 
 ington, D. C. These papers were necessarily 
 independent in politics, as there was no county 
 patronage to assist in their support, and if 
 they succeeded it must be from merit and the 
 support of the entire village. Dr. Abger soon 
 retired from the partnership and went to Crest- 
 line to run a paper of his own. When he left, 
 J. V. D. Moore came from Union City, Ind.^ 
 and took the management of the paper for Mr. 
 Putnam. When the campaign of 1856 was on, 
 political excitement ran high, and Jacob Riblet 
 purchased the paper, and changed it into a po- 
 litical organ, supporting the principles of the 
 Democratic party, and it was now the Gallon 
 District Democrat. It was not a success finan- 
 cially, and Mr. Riblet sold the paper to An- 
 
466 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 drew Poe, who was one of the Democratic 
 leaders at Galion. While Mr. Poe ran a redhot 
 Democratic paper as long as he had it, there 
 were too many in the opposition party, who re- 
 fused to support it, and his editorial experience 
 was a financial failure, and the paper came 
 again into the hands of the Riblets. 
 
 In 1864 the District Democrat was pur- 
 chased by the Matthias Brothers, and Peter 
 Schum was the editor. He soon after removed 
 to Joplin, Mo., and later published the Morn- 
 ing News in that city. When he left, H. S; Z. 
 Matthias took the editorial charge and dropped 
 the word "District," calling it the Galion Dem- 
 ocrat, and supporting the Democratic party. In 
 November, 1864, with the defeat of McClellan 
 for the presidency, the Democrat decided life 
 was no longer worth living and ceased to exist, 
 the editor announcing that the support he was 
 receiving did not justify him in continuing, 
 especially as printing paper was 28 cents a 
 pound. The Matthias Brothers turned the en- 
 tire plant into a job office. Lew Matthias being 
 one of the finest and most artistic job printers 
 ever in the county. But H. S. Z. Matthias had 
 had a taste of newspaper work and enjoyed it 
 so much that in July, 1865, he re-entered the 
 field and commenced publishing a paper called 
 the Weekly Review, and this time independ- 
 ent in politics. In September 1871 the Mat- 
 thias brothers sold out to John C. Covert 
 of the Cleveland Leader, who changed its 
 name back to the Galion Democrat, but ran 
 it as a Republican paper, believing there 
 was nothing in a name. In the fall of 1872 
 G. W. DeCamp, of Mansfield, edited it under 
 the same political color, but changed the name 
 back to the Review, and so continued it 
 until it passed into the hands of .F. E. Coonrod 
 and A. D. Rowe in July, 1874. These gentle- 
 men made it once more Democratic in politics 
 and conducted it in that faith until February i , 
 1877, when it flopped again and became Repub- 
 lican in sentiment though still owned by Rowe 
 and Coonrod, and retaining the name of the 
 Review. 
 
 George T. Ristine was editor and owner of 
 the Galion Sun, which -he established October 
 31, 1872, as an independent weekly newspaper. 
 Success followed his enterprising management- 
 and he enlarged and improved the paper. The 
 Public Spirit was established by Ed. G. Slough 
 
 about 1888 and it, too, was operated as an in- 
 dependent paper. Later its name was changed 
 to the Leader. This publication was issued 
 daily, the first daily to be published in Galion. 
 It had a precarious existence. The Review and 
 the Sun were combined as the Sun-Review, and 
 the Leader was taken over by the same com- 
 pany, the Sun-Review being the weekly edition, 
 and the Leader the daily, both being Republi- 
 can in politics. J. W. Cupp was the owner of 
 the plant, and after he was appointed postmas- 
 ter in 1897, it was managed by Charles F. Mon- 
 roe who had an interest in the company. Mr. 
 Cupp, after retiring from the post office, be- 
 came cashier of the Commercial Savings Bank, 
 and later removed to Washington, and sold the 
 plant to a company organized by J. W. Hopley 
 of Bucyrus, who took charge of the manage- 
 ment for only a month, when he sold to the 
 Crestline Publishing Company, and James Mc- 
 Mahan became the manager of that office as 
 well as the Crestline Advocate. The Sun-Re- 
 view was discontinued, subscribers being fur- 
 nished with the Daily Leader. The office, 
 which had been for years in the northwest cor- 
 ner of the Square, was removed to a new site, 
 one door west of the Central Hotel. It was 
 completely refitted with new type, presses and 
 engines. Mr. Monroe, on retiring from the pa- 
 per, started the Commercial Printing Company. 
 In August, 1876, a campaign paper was es- 
 tablished at Galion under the name of the Re- 
 publican Free Press. As such it was run for 
 one year and seven months. On the 28th of 
 September, 1877, it was purchased by S. G. 
 Cummings & Co., which company changed the 
 name to the Galion Inquirer, and ever since it 
 has been a Democratic paper. For a time J. G. 
 Meuser was its political editor but it was best 
 known as the paper of H. S. Z. Matthias. Mr. 
 Matthias was elected county recorder but lost 
 none of his interest in Democratic principles 
 and continued to boost the paper for the benefit 
 of the party. The Inquirer was sold to W. V. 
 Goshorn and R. W. Noyer, who are the present 
 proprietors, their office being at the northeast 
 corner of Main and Union streets. They have 
 purchased ground and erected a block especial- 
 ly for their office half a block east of their pres- 
 ent site and will occupy it yet this year. The 
 paper is Democratic in politics, the senior pro- 
 prietor, Mr. Goshorn, being the present clerk 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 467 
 
 of the Ohio Senate. Several years ago the 
 Weekly Inquirer was discontinued and all 
 patrons are supplied with the daily. 
 
 On Dec. 21, 1852, the plat was filed for the 
 village of Crestline; its marvelous early growth 
 is demonstrated by the fact that, in 1853, C. M. 
 Kenton started a paper there called the Ex- 
 press. He was a practical printer and did his 
 own work, but he lacked sufficient capital to 
 keep the paper on its feet until the town was 
 large enough to support it, and after issuing 
 the Express for six months, he moved away 
 with his plant. A year or two later Dr. D. 
 Abger tried the experiment and started the 
 Watchman and Reflector but he, too scored a 
 failure. 
 
 While Crestline holds the record in this 
 county of having had a paper started in the 
 shortest time after the town was laid out, it 
 also holds the other record of being the largest 
 town to be without a paper. The village had 
 over 2,000 population when Adam Billow in 
 July, 1869, issued his first number of the Crest- 
 line Advocate. It was four pages, 16x20 in 
 size, and was published at the residence of 
 the owner. Mr. Billow was not a printer ; he 
 had been in business at Leesville, and after 
 removing to Crestline, started his paper, learn- 
 ing the printing business in his own office. 
 How well he did this is evidenced by the fact 
 that in a few years it was one of the neatest 
 and most attractive mechanically of any paper 
 in Ohio. He made the Advocate a success 
 from the start, and at the end of six months 
 it was enlarged to a six-column paper and later 
 to eight columns. Business increased beyond 
 the capacity of his residence, and the office was 
 removed to the Masonic building, where he 
 conducted the paper until his death on May 20, 
 1876. His son, D. C. Billow, had learned the 
 business in his father's office and took charge 
 of the paper, and like his father made a success 
 of it. It has always been the paper of Crest- 
 line, and several attempts to share that popu- 
 larity haye resulted in failures. Some years 
 ago it was incorporated as the Crestline Pub- 
 lishing Co., with James McMahon as manager, 
 and its financial success continued under the 
 new owners. It was this company that pur- 
 chased the Gallon Leader, and both papers are 
 today under the management of Mr. McMahon. 
 
 The Independent Democrat was started by 
 
 Dr. A. E. Jenner at Crestline, in February, 
 1873. He was at that time State Senator, 
 having been elected in 1870 and 1872. The 
 paper was folio in form until May, 1875, when 
 it was made eight pages and the name changed 
 to the Crawford County Democrat. For two 
 years it was in charge of A. N. Jenner, son of 
 the proprietor, who continued in the office 
 until July 15, 1875. Some months previous 
 to his retirement J. E. D. Ward purchased an 
 interest in the office and when young Jenner 
 left, continued sole proprietor , until Charles 
 Wright became associated with him in 1876. 
 About this time the office was removed to 
 Bucyrus but some months previous to this 
 change a Bucyrus edition had been printed at 
 Crestline. Wright retired after several weeks' 
 experience, and Frank Plants took his place. 
 When Major Williston purchased the Forum 
 in 1877 the publishers of the Democrat soon 
 found they could not successfully compete with 
 him for the patronage of Crawford county 
 democracy, and their paper wis discontinued 
 about July i, 1877. 
 
 The Crestline Democrat, and the Crestline . 
 Vidette, owned by Will W. Pope, were papers 
 which during their lives made quite an im- 
 pression on the community, but the Advocate 
 had such a hold in Crestline that they could 
 not last, perhaps not even receiving the support 
 they merited. 
 
 The New Washington Herald was estab- 
 lished many years ago by Mr. Wheeler. Later 
 J. E. Cory was associated with the paper and 
 he sold out to J. I. Smith and J. F. Kimmer- 
 line. L. M. Smith bought an interest in the 
 paper in 189 1. J. I. Smith was elected county 
 auditor and L. M. Smith located in Bucyrus, 
 and they sold the paper to the present owners, 
 Lantz & Wheeler, Percy Lantz now having, 
 entire management of the plant. Some years 
 ago a paper was started in Tiro called the 
 American, but the village was not then large 
 enough to support it, and it was discontinued. 
 In 191 1, W. Z. Davis began the publication 
 of the Tiro World, the mechanical work being 
 done at Bloomville, but as soon as the business 
 justifies it, he will open an office at Tiro. 
 
 In the early days, owing to excessive post- 
 age, newspapers were delivered in the places 
 of publication by carrier, and it was the duty 
 of the "devil" on the day of publication to go 
 
468 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 over the entire town serving the patrons with 
 their favorite paper, and if it so happened 
 that the carriers of the rival papers met, there 
 was a battle royal to the finish, for in those 
 days every employe in the office was intense 
 in his loyalty to the paper, and not even a wan- 
 dering tramp printer given employment for 
 a day or two, but what spoke, as a man of ex- 
 perience who had traveled over many states, 
 of the wonderful ability of his employer and 
 of his able and convincing editorials, at the 
 same time speaking equally positively of the 
 vapid utterances and meaningless nonsense of 
 the childish efforts of the editor of the other 
 "sheet." It was so, too, with the readers. 
 What the editor said politically was indisput- 
 able, and what the opposition editor said was 
 absolutely false. Not that they saw what the 
 opposition said ; God forbid ; they would not 
 be caught reading the dirty and villainous 
 "sheet." More than half a century ago there 
 were very many honest, conscientious God- 
 fearing men, any one of whom would have 
 had a spirited interview with his son in the 
 'woodshed if he had discovered he had hap- 
 pened to read a copy of the Forum at the 
 home of some Democratic neighbor, and there 
 were equally as many good and substantial men 
 and respected citizens, that would have had a 
 similar interview with the misguided son who 
 in an unguarded moment might mention some 
 item he had seen in the Journal. Still the 
 editors thundered away to the intense delight 
 of their readers, who only had an idea what 
 the other paper said by the garbled extracts 
 their own editor copied for the purpose of 
 attacking the statement. 
 
 It was in 1862, when party spirit over the 
 war was beginning to be very bitter, and Rev. 
 John Walcott was pastor of the Presbyterian 
 church at Bucyrus, that his pastoral duties 
 
 called upon him to visit one of his elders in 
 the country. They talked of church matters, 
 the old man being as loyal to the Presbyterian 
 faith as he was to the Democratic party. 
 Finally the conversation drifted to the war, 
 which each had striven to avoid, knowing their 
 views were not in accord, and as the danger 
 point was reached, the gray-haired old elder, 
 knowing the minister was his guest, quietly 
 rose and said : "Waal, Mr. Walcott, while the 
 womenfolks are getting supper, I'd better go 
 out and do the chores. On the centre table 
 there, you'll find the Bible and the Forum — 
 both sides of the question." 
 
 If some may doubt the intensity of party 
 spirit in the era prior to the Civil War, one 
 incident among many may convince. Col. 
 Robert Cowden was brought up in a Christian 
 home, was a leader in church work, and a 
 minister, and yet he writes of that boyhood 
 home in southwestern Vernon, under date of 
 Oct. 15, 191 1 : "The people were generally 
 Pennsylvania Dutch, with some Germans, and 
 a few others. Of school books there were 
 but few. The only book in our home was a 
 small Bible and that was my first text book in 
 school at the age of six years. I had been 
 taught in the home to read and spell. As late 
 as 1848 there were two Whigs, three Abolition- 
 ists, and all other voters were Democrats. I 
 could not myself understand how any but a 
 Democrat could ever be saved." 
 
 Times have indeed changed, and for the 
 better. And the change has been brought 
 about, not alone by a more intelligent people, 
 but by a fairer press, especially in the towns 
 and smaller cities, where both press and people 
 are rising to that highest principle of self- 
 government — that every right a man claims 
 for himself that same right he must concede 
 to his neighbor. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 MILITARY HISTORY OF THE COUNTY 
 
 The Revolutionary War — Tivo Battlefields in Crawford County — Revolutionary Soldiers 
 Who Lived in Crawford County — Ancestral Data — The War of 1812-1815 — The Mex- 
 ican War — The Great Civil War; Historical Sketches of the Principal Regifuents Which 
 Contained Crawford County Men — Decoration Day — Formation of G. A. R. Posts — 
 Relief Corps — The Oldest Soldier — Crawford County Heroes — Southern Prisons — 
 Tribute to Sergeant D. W. Young — The JJ^ar With Spain — Record of Company A, 8th 
 Regiment, O. V. I. 
 
 On Fame's eternal camping-ground 
 
 Their silent tents are spread, 
 And glory guards with solemn round 
 The bivouac of the dead. 
 
 — Theodore O'Hara. 
 
 Crawford county was not in exjstence until 
 half a century after the Revolutionary War, 
 but Col. Crawford's campaign of 1782, to put 
 a stop to the attacks of the British and In- 
 dians on the American frontier, led to the only 
 two battles of the Revolution that occurred 
 in Ohio being fought on Crawford county soil, 
 the one at Battle Island, northwest of Upper 
 Sandusky on June 4, 1782, and the Battle of 
 the Plains, half way between Bucyrus and Ga- 
 llon two days later, on June 6; this latter bat- 
 tle-field being marked by a monument erected 
 by the Pioneer Association of Crawford 
 county. 
 
 After the county was opened to settlement 
 in 1820 several soldiers of the revolution made 
 their home in this county as follows : 
 
 Robert Carson, in Cranberry township. 
 Among his descendants are Tarlton B. Car- 
 son, for many years postmaster at New Wash- 
 ington. Robert Carson is buried about three 
 miles north of New Washington. 
 
 Christian Couts came to Liberty township 
 in 1821 and is buried in the Crall graveyard, 
 Liberty township. His son Henry came to the 
 county with him, and when a young man 
 moved to Bucyrus, where he resided up to the 
 time of his death. 
 
 Adam Link came to Liberty township from 
 Maryland. He died at the home of his daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Horatio Markley, on August 15, 
 1864, aged 103 years, and was buried in the 
 Union graveyard northeast of Sulphur 
 Springs. Another daughter was Mrs. George 
 W Teel. At the time of his death he was one 
 of half a dozen veterans of the Revolutionary 
 War living at that time in Ohio. 
 
 David McKinley came to Chatfield township 
 in 1835. He died in 1840 and was buried 
 in the German Lutheran graveyard south of 
 Chatfield. He was the great-grandfather of 
 President McKinley. One grand-daughter, 
 Martha, married Stephen Waller of Lykens 
 township. Another grand-daughter, Hannah, 
 married T. J. Tilford, and still another, Ellen, 
 married James Winters, all these marriages 
 being in Lykens township. 
 
 There are quite a number in the county who 
 are descendants of soldiers of the Revolution. 
 
 Thomas Beer was in the Revolutionary 
 War. He was the great-grandfather of Judge 
 Thomas Beer who came to Bucyrus in i860 
 and of Capt. William Nevins Beer, who came 
 to Bucyrus in 1861. 
 
 Clendenin was in the Revolutionary 
 
 war; his daughter Margaret married James 
 Andrews, who came to Texas township in 
 1832. 
 
 Benjamin Coe was in the Revolutionary 
 War, and his great-granddaughter, Mrs. 
 George Whysall, is a resident of Bucyrus. 
 
 469 
 
470 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 James Cole. See Samuel McDonald. 
 
 John Coon was in the Revolutionary War, 
 and also the War of 1812. His son, Adam, 
 came to Crawford county about 1822, and 
 died March 19, 1877. He had land in Texas 
 township. 
 
 Leonard Crissinger was in the Revolutionary 
 War and one of those who for a time went 
 barefooted for lack of shoes. His grandson, 
 John Crissinger came to Crawford county in 
 1832, settling in Whetstone township. 
 
 Robert Cunning was in the Revolutionary 
 War. He was the grandfather of Jacob H. 
 Stevens who came to Cranberry township in 
 
 1834. 
 
 Jacob Ferree \\'as in the Revolutionary War. 
 His great-grandson William Ferree came to 
 Crawford county in 1873, residing in Gallon, 
 and in 1881 removed to Bucyrus. 
 
 Harris was a soldier in the war of the 
 
 Revolution. He was the grandfather of Ste- 
 phen R. Harris, who came to Bucyrus in 1849. 
 
 Hise came from Hesse, Germany with 
 
 a comrade named Kuncle as British soldiers. 
 They were in one engagement, after which 
 both joined the Revolutionary cause, and 
 fought with the patriots until the close of the 
 war. John Hise married Eve Kuncle, and 
 came to Jackson township in 1824; their son 
 Wm. H. Hise being for many years justice of 
 the peace in Liberty township. 
 
 Simon and John Hopple enlisted in the 
 Revolutionary War at its commencement, but 
 both were lost and no trace of them ever found. 
 Their nephew, Reuben Hopple, came to Lib- 
 erty township in 1856. 
 
 Samuel Kearsley was a captain in the Con- 
 tinental Army, and a favorite officer of Gen. 
 Washington, the latter presenting him with 
 the sword he wore at Braddock's defeat in 
 1755. His grandson, Edmund R. Kearsley 
 came to Bucyrus in 1851. 
 
 Philip Keller and two of his brothers were 
 in the Revolutionary War. Philip Keller, a 
 grandson of the Revolutionary Philip, came to 
 Sandusky township in 1856. 
 
 Kuncle. See Hise. 
 
 Joseph Lochbaum was in the Revolutionary 
 war; his son Solomon came in 1830, settling in 
 what is now Jefiferson township. 
 
 Livingston was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary War. His grandson Rensselaer Liv- 
 
 ingston, came to Crestline in 1848, and in 1851 
 laid out the village of Livingston, afterward 
 Crestline. 
 
 John Marshall and two brothers were in the 
 Revolutionary War. James Marshall, a grand- 
 son of John, came to Bucyrus in 1826. John 
 Marshall reached the rank of Colonel, and was 
 presented with a sword by Gen. Washington. 
 
 Samuel McDonald was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lution. James Cole was a Nova Scotian and 
 entered the Revolutionary army, and for this 
 was disinherited by his wealthy English rela- 
 tives. He was with Washington at Valley 
 Forge. Later he was wounded in battle, and 
 confined in one of the prison ships in Boston 
 Harbor until the close of the war. Reuben 
 McDonald, a son of Samuel, married Matilda 
 Cole, a daughter of James Cole. They came 
 to Liberty township in 1832, and with them 
 their son George, four years old. Another son, 
 Hiram W. McDonald, was born in 1846. Both 
 sons were later in business in Bucyrus. 
 
 Frederick W. McMichael was a soldier 
 of the Revolutionary war. His great-grand- 
 daughter Mrs. C. F. May is a resident of Tiro. 
 
 Abraham Monnett was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. His son Isaac came to Craw- 
 ford county in 1825 ; his son Jeremiah came in 
 1835, both settling in Bucyrus township. 
 
 Henry Nail came to America in 1777 and 
 entered the Revolutionary Army. In 1818 
 he came to Richland county, where he died and 
 was buried at Mansfield. His son James Nail 
 came to Jefferson township in 1821. 
 
 Capt. Patton was a soldier in the Revolution- 
 ary War and a brother-in-law of Major Andre. 
 His grandson, Noble McKinstry, came to 
 Whetstone township in 1820; another grand- 
 son, James McKinstry, came to this section in 
 1833, settling near Caledonia, and in 1863 
 moved to Bucyrus. 
 
 Christian Riblet entered the Continental 
 Army at Philadelphia in 1779, at the age of 
 18. He died April 6, 1844, and was buried in 
 the graveyard on the Gallon and Mansfield 
 road, just east of the Crawford county line. 
 His grandson, Daniel Riblet, came to Polk 
 township in 185 1. 
 
 Benjamin Sears was in the Revolutionary 
 War. His son Elkanah Sears came to Bucyrus 
 township in 1837. 
 
 James Sharrock came to America from Ger- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 471 
 
 many during the Revolutionary War, as one 
 of the hired soldiers to fight on the side of the 
 British. His sympathies were with the Ameri- 
 cans and he promptly deserted and joined the 
 Revolutionists, fighting until the close of the 
 war. His son, Benjamin Sharrock, came to 
 Polk township in 1818. 
 
 Jacob Shawke was a soldier in the Revo- 
 lutionary war. His son Thomas Shawke came 
 to Bucyrus in 1833. 
 
 Simon Shunk was a soldier in the Revolu- 
 tionary War, serving under Washington. His 
 son Adam Shunk came to Bucyrus in 1854. 
 
 James Sims was in the Revolutionary War. 
 His grandson, John Sims, came to Bucyrus in 
 1845. 
 
 William Ward was a Revolutionary soldier. 
 His sons, Clark K. and "C. D. Ward, came to 
 Bucyrus in 1847. 
 
 Charles White enlisted in the Revolutionary 
 War at the age of 18. His son Charles White, 
 came to this section about 1820, settling later 
 in Dallas township. 
 
 Eli Widger was a soldier of the Revolution- 
 ary War. His daughter, Mrs. Lucy Rogers, 
 came to Bucyrus in 1822. 
 
 Henry Wolf enlisted in the Continental 
 Army in Pennsylvania. His son Michael came 
 to Liberty township in 1834. 
 
 ANCESTRAL DATA 
 
 In looking at ancient ancestors the follow- 
 ing were also found: 
 
 J. H. Williston, two terms state senator and 
 for many years editor of the Forum, was a 
 descendant of one of the Pilgrims who came 
 over in the Mayflower. 
 
 Resolved White, Auburn township, was a 
 descendant of William White who came over 
 in the Mayflower. 
 
 John R. Clymer, who edited the Forum for 
 many years was a descendant of the Clymers of 
 Pennsylvania, George Clymer being one of the 
 signers of the Declaration of Independence. 
 
 Theodore Shotwell, who married a daughter 
 of James McKinstry, was a descendant of 
 Theodore Shotwell, who in 1665 with 65 
 others took the oath of allegiance to Charles 
 II, at Elizabethtown, N. J., this was at the 
 time when England secured New Jersey from 
 the Dutch. 
 
 El; Adams, of Sulphur Springs, was a great 
 grandson of John Adams, of Revolutionary 
 fame. 
 
 Giles Cory was executed at Salem for witch- 
 craft, on Sept. I, 1692, aged 'j'j years. Several 
 generations later his descendants, Aaron and 
 Thomas Cory, came to Cranberry township. 
 
 John Hopley, who came to Bucyrus in 1856, 
 was a descendant, seventh generation, of Sam- 
 uel Pratt, an English Bishop, chaplain to Queen 
 Anne in 1703, and buried in St. George's 
 chapel, Windsor. 
 
 Richard Sears was one of the early Puri- 
 tans; in 1632 he was a tax-payer at Plymouth, 
 Mass. 
 
 William Ward settled at Sudbury, Mass., 
 in 1639, and held several offices in the early 
 Colonial days. Among his descendants were 
 Clark K. and C. D. Ward who came to Bu- 
 cyrus in 1847. 
 
 When the second war with England broke 
 out in 1812, Crawford county was a wilder- 
 ness, and not even the cabin or shack of a white 
 hunter existed within its borders; it was a 
 hunting ground for the Indians. The eastern 
 seven miles of the county, had been open for 
 settlement for a few years, but no pioneer had 
 as yet drifted so far to the westward, Rich- 
 land county being the extreme edge of civili- 
 zation. The western thirteen miles was only 
 traversed by the roving bands of Indians. But 
 it was during this war that Crawford county 
 was crossed and recrossed by the militia on 
 their way to and from the battle grounds along 
 the Maumee. Many of the soldiers were im- 
 pressed by the country, and when, two years 
 after the war closed, the land was opened to 
 settlement, it is not strange that some of these 
 soldiers in seeking a new home, found it in the 
 region which they had first traversed when 
 bearing arms in defense of their country. 
 
 Among those who served in the War of 
 1812-15, and later found homes in Crawford 
 county, some records have been obtained. 
 
 James Andrews was a member of the Penn- 
 sylvania militia. He came to Crawford county 
 in 1832, settling in what is now Texas town- 
 ship. He died April 25, 1840, and was buried 
 in the Andrews graveyard, Texas township. 
 
 Jacob Bankert came to Bucyrus, date un- 
 known, and was buried in the graveyard on 
 the Tiffin road. 
 
472 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 James P. Beall was a member of the Penn- 
 sylvania militia; he came to Bucyrus township 
 in 1854; died Feb. 24, 1869, and was buried 
 in Oakwood cemetery. 
 
 David Brown came to Bucyrus, date un- 
 known, and died Aug. 4, 1883, and was buried 
 in Oakwood cemetery. 
 
 Joseph Baker, Virginia militia, came to Au- 
 burn township in 1825 ; died in that township, 
 and was buried about four miles east of New 
 A\'ashington. 
 
 John Blair, Xew York militia, came to Au- 
 burn township in 1821; died Sept. 19, 1847, 
 and is buried in the Planna graveyard, near 
 Tiro. 
 
 Elisha Castle, Maryland militia, came to Jef- 
 ferson township in 1840; died at Leesville May 
 8, 1864, and is buried in the Leesville grave- 
 yard. 
 
 Samuel Carson, Virginia militia, came to 
 this section in 1835, settling just across the 
 line in Venice township, Seneca county, hav- 
 ing land in both counties. He died in Seneca 
 county. 
 
 John Caris came to Liberty township, date 
 unknown, and died there Dec. 14, 1862, and 
 was buried in the Union graveyard east of 
 Sulphur Springs. 
 
 Harvey Close, Xew York militia, came to 
 Texas township in 1869; died in that township, 
 and w as buried in the Benton graveyard. 
 
 John Coon, Ohio militia, came to Texas 
 township in 1825 ; died in that township March 
 22, 1856, and was buried in the Benton grave- 
 yard. 
 
 Joshua Chilcote. Xew York militia, came to 
 Cranberry township in 1818; died in Auburn 
 township July 3, 1837, and was buried in the 
 Hanna graveyard near Tiro. 
 
 James Ferguson was in the War of 1812. 
 He was expert in woodcraft and was fre- 
 quently employed as the bearer of dispatches 
 between the different commanders. After the 
 war he settled in Sandusky township and in 
 1828 removed to Lykens township. 
 
 James Forrest was with Perry's fleet at the 
 Battle of Lake Erie ; he came to Tod township 
 in 1854, died at Oceola ]\Iay 10, 1880, and was 
 buried in the Oceola graveyard. 
 
 John B. French, Virginia militia, came to 
 Sandusky township in 182 1, died there in 1830. 
 
 William Green, New York militia, came to 
 Auburn township in 1815 ; died April 21, 1862, 
 on the farm on which he first settled, and was 
 buried in the Hanna graveyard, near Tiro. 
 
 E. W. Brown came to Auburn township in 
 1842, where he died in June, 1871. 
 
 John Eaton was in the War of 1812; he 
 came to Holmes township in 1830 and died 
 there Aug. 23, 1850, and was buried in the 
 Brokensword graveyard. 
 
 Henry Harriger, Pennsylvania militia, came 
 to Whetstone township in 1823, where he died 
 in 1878, and was buried in the Stewart grave- 
 yard two miles east of Bucyrus. 
 
 Seth Holmes, New York militia, was a 
 teamster in the supply train which passed 
 through Bucyrus in 1812; he came to Bucyrus 
 with Samuel Norton in 1819; died in 1825, 
 and was buried* in the Cary graveyard on the 
 Tiffin road. 
 
 Christian Hoover, Ohio militia, came to Dal- 
 las township in 1822; he died in that township 
 Aug. II, 1849, and was buried in the White 
 graveyard, Dallas township. 
 
 Seth Hawks, New York militia, came to 
 Auburn township in 1819; he died there July 
 20, 1824, and was buried in the Hanna grave- 
 yard near Tiro. 
 
 Jacob Holmes, Pennsylvania militia, came 
 to Whetstone township in 1833 ; he died there 
 Feb. 6, 1882, and was buried in Oakwood 
 cemetery. 
 
 Samuel Hanna, New York militia, came to 
 Auburn township in 1819; he died there June 
 2, 1862, and was buried in the Hanna grave- 
 yard near Tiro. 
 
 Elijah Jump, New York Volunteer Infantry, 
 came to Tod township in 1843 ! he died there 
 Dec. 5, 1871, and was buried in the Benton 
 graveyard. 
 
 James Alagee, Pennsylvania militia, came to 
 Sandusky township in 1824; he died there 
 April 14, 1850, and was buried in the Sandusky 
 graveyard, centre of Sandusky township. 
 
 James ^Marshall, soldier in the War of 1812, 
 came to Bucyrus in 1826; died Aug. 12, 1850. 
 
 Benjamin Maskey, Pennsylvania militia, 
 came to Crawford county, date unknown: 
 died in Tod township, Jan. 21, 1867, and was 
 buried at Oceola. 
 
 Rodolphus Morse, X"ew York militia, came 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 473 
 
 to Auburn township in 1820; died there Oct. 
 II, 1872, and was buried in the Hanna grave- 
 yard near Tiro. 
 
 Jeremiah Morris, Ohio miHtia,, came to Bu- 
 cyrus township in 1834; died Oct. 19, 1874, 
 and Was buried in Oakwood cemetery. 
 
 Isaac Monnett, officer in the Ohio miHtia, 
 came to Bucyrus township in 1828; died July 
 6, 1864, and was buried in Oakwood ceme- 
 tery. 
 
 Charles Morrow, Pennsylvania militia, came 
 to Auburn township in 1817; died Dec. 4, 1845, 
 and was buried in the Hanna graveyard near 
 Tiro. 
 
 Rev. E. O'Flyng, New York militia, came 
 to Bucyrus about 1862 ; died May it,, 1873, and 
 was buried in Oakwood ceretery. , 
 
 Christopher Perky, with Harrison at Fort 
 Meigs, came to Crawford covmty in 1827 ; died 
 in Seneca county Aug. 28, 1833. 
 
 Moses Pugh, Virginia militia, came to Ly- 
 kins township in 1838; died there Sept. 2j 
 1 848, and was . buried in the Andrews grave- 
 yard near Benton. 
 
 John Pettigon was in the War of 181 2, and 
 came to Auburn township in 181 5, later mov- 
 ing further west. 
 
 William Robinson, colonel in the Pennsyl- 
 \ania militia, came to Jefferson township in 
 1830 ; died there Aug. 30, 1847, and was buried 
 in the graveyard on the Tiffin road. 
 
 Henry C. Snyder, Maryland Regulars, came 
 to Liberty township in 1844; died Sept. 24, 
 1870, and was buried in the Roop graveyard. 
 Liberty township. 
 
 John Scroggs, Maryland militia, came to 
 Bucyrus in 1839; died Aug. 31, 1861, and was 
 buried in Oakwood Cemetery. 
 
 George ■ Sinn, Pennsylvania militia, came 
 to Bucyrus township in 1826; died Jan. 2, 
 1870, and was buried in Oakwood cemetery. 
 
 Valentine Shook, ensign in the War of 1812, 
 came to Whetstone township in 1828; died 
 there in 1843. 
 
 Andrew Schreck, Pennsylvania militia, came 
 to Liberty township in 1835; died in Whet- 
 stone township in 1872. 
 
 John Sherer, Pennsylvania militia, came to 
 Whetstone township in 1830; died there Sept. 
 .30, 1871. 
 
 Joseph Smith, captain in the Pennsylvania 
 
 militia, came to Sandusky township in 1825 ; 
 died in 1843. 
 
 Thomas Towers, Maryland militia, came to 
 Whetstone township in 1835, and died there. 
 
 Benjamin Sharrock, New York militia, came 
 to Polk township in 18 18, and died Nov. 16, 
 1879. 
 
 Zachariah Welsh, colonel in Ohio militia, 
 came to Dallas township in 1822 ; died in Bu- 
 cyrus township Aug. 16, 1843, and was buried 
 in the White gra\'eyard, Dallas township. 
 
 David Wickham, New York militia, came to 
 Texas township in 1837; died there Sept. 15, 
 1848, and was buried in the Benton graveyard. 
 
 James Woodside, Pennsylvania militia, came 
 to Holmes township in 1830; died in Bucyrus, 
 Feb. 21, 1867, and was buried in Oakwood 
 cemetery. 
 
 Jacob Walcutt, Virginia militia, served in 
 the War of 18 12, entered land in Texas town- 
 ship, soon after died and his widow and seven 
 children settled on the land. 
 
 When the Mexican -War broke out, John 
 Caldwell, who had been auditor of the county 
 from 1830 to 1836, and sheriff from 1843 to 
 
 1845, organized an independent company in 
 this county. They entered the service May 30, 
 
 1846, and went as far as Cincinnati, but Ohio's 
 quota was more than filled. Some, however, 
 went to Mexico. The company was mustered 
 out at Bucyrus on Oct. 26, 1846. The follow- 
 ing was the roster of the company : 
 
 Captain — John Caldwell. 
 
 First Lieutenant — James C. Steen. 
 
 Second Lieutenant — David Nicholls. 
 
 Sergeants — Henry Miller, Jacob Yost, John 
 M. Stouffer, Thomas Wynn. 
 
 Corporals — Thomas G. Pillars, John Blake, 
 Horace Potter, W. L. Beard. 
 
 Privates — A. Adams, E. Aurandt, William 
 Bailey, Samuel Bair, P. Bollinger, C. Caldwell, 
 William Chambaugh, John Clapper, Lake 
 Clark, A. W. Coleman, J. Curtis, J. Decker, 
 William Decker, D. S. Fuller, John Grant, 
 Lewis Greenick, J. F. W. Gressen, Lewis 
 High, Franklin Hill, Jacob Himman, H. W 
 Johns, Levi Lehman, Jacob Leiby, C. J. Love, 
 Mordecai McCauly, William T. McGill, Wil- 
 liam McNickle, Thomas Maize, E. R. Merri- 
 man, B. C. Miller, E. C. Miller, F. L. Miller, 
 P. Miller, W. Minor, William Mizner, C. H. 
 
474 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Murphy, Benjamin Myers, H. Orpt, W. Os- 
 burn, Cyrus Peck, John Pfleminger, Franklin 
 Poppins, Richard Reed, Robert M. Reed, Caleb 
 Scholes, Thomas Scott, Thomas D. Shewy, 
 William Slagle, W. L. Stearns, William Sweet, 
 John Trick, John C. Trick, John Turner, James 
 Warren, G. Wells, Chauncey West, F. Wil- 
 liams, N. B. Williams, James Wilson, John 
 Wilson, J. N. Yost. 
 
 John J. Bebout was also in the Mexican War, 
 and George W. Fenner, the latter in the Sec- 
 ond Pennsylvania Cavalry. 
 
 The next war in which the United States 
 engaged was a far more serious and deadly 
 struggle. It was one of State against State, 
 brother against brother, the North against the 
 South, a war from which the Nation as a whole 
 has not yet fully recovered, though the sec- 
 tional bitterness and animosity it engendered 
 have now, happily, almost entirely passed away. 
 The causes of the War of 1861-65 are so well 
 known and understood by all that no more than 
 a brief reference to them is necessary. It 
 originated in the institution of slavery — an in- 
 stitution which in colonial times and in the 
 early days of the Republic, was common to 
 both northern and southern territory, but which 
 had been gradually abandoned at the north, 
 chiefly because it was no longer profitable. 
 The South, depending upon unpaid negro la- 
 bor for the cultivation of its cotton, sugar and 
 other crops, naturally desired the retention of 
 this institution, and its extension to the west- 
 ern and southwestern territories. It was 
 chiefly around this question of extension that 
 the struggle arose which for a time split the 
 Nation in twain, and carried bereavement into 
 thousands of homes on both sides of Mason 
 and Dixon's line. The election of Abraham 
 Lincoln, who had expressed himself strongly 
 against the further extension of slavery, but 
 who was no "abolitionist," in the sense in 
 which the term was then used, decided the 
 Southern States to sever those political bonds 
 which had hitherto united them with the rest 
 of the nation, and which, as expressed in the 
 Federal constitution, they regarded as a con- 
 tract assumed for mutual advantage, similar 
 to a business partnership, to be cancelled by 
 any state or aggregation of states, when they 
 should find it to their advantage to do so. This 
 States' Rights doctrine, was opposed to the 
 
 ideas of a great majority of the northern peo- 
 ple, who regarded the Constitution as an in- 
 dissoluble contract, and when, therefore. South 
 Carolina took the initiative by firing on Ft. 
 Sumter all knew that the struggle was on; 
 that the burning question which had agitated 
 men's minds for more than a generation, and 
 had found expression in the eloquent outbursts 
 of the greatest American orators on either 
 side — such men as Webster and Clay against 
 Calhoun arid Benton, Sumner and Chase 
 againSt Hayne and Stevens, could now be set- 
 tled in only one way — by the sword. And by 
 the sword it was settled, completely and finally. 
 The Union was preserved, but only at the cost 
 of precious blood and untold treasure. 
 
 After two years of war, the victories of 
 Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, marked the 
 turning-point, and from that time the question 
 was simply how long the South could hold out. 
 This question was answered in April, 1865, at 
 Appomattox, with the surrender of General 
 Lee. 
 
 Men in the flower of youth, the strength of 
 manhood or the ripeness of age, left family, 
 home and friends in answer to their country's 
 call, and many there were who never returned. 
 Their bones rest beneath the sod at Fredericks- 
 burg and Antietam, at Gettysburg and Stone 
 River, at Vicksburg and the Wilderness, or 
 fill some unknown grave that marks the site of 
 a deadly prison pen that was more fatal than 
 the field of battle. Many a one who said good- 
 bye to the departing soldier, with smiling eyes 
 and sorrowing hearts — the mother or the fa- 
 ther, the sister or the brother or she who 
 "was a nearer one, still and a dearer one, yet 
 than all other" — little dreamed that the part- 
 ing was forever, and the bruised and bleeding 
 heart could find its only consolation in treas- 
 uring up the hero-death their loved one died. 
 War has its glories and its heroes, but who can 
 fathom the cost? — that unceasing, never-end- 
 ing sorrow that palsies the heart of the mother 
 and the sister, the wife and the sweetheart ; and 
 although time may soften and soothe, the grief 
 is always there; there to ever remain until 
 their mission on earth is ended, and they again 
 meet their loved one in the world beyond. 
 
 Fort Sumter was fired upon April 12, 
 1 86 1, and two days later President Lincoln 
 called for 75,000 volunteers. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 475 
 
 No sooner had the news of Fort Sumter 
 reached Bucyrus than the most intense excite- 
 ment pervaded the entire community. Men, 
 women and children, old and young, of all 
 professions and calling were aroused. Never 
 was there such an excitement in the village. 
 Business was suspended almost entirely. Work- 
 men left their shops unquestioned by their em- 
 ployers. Clerks quit their counters. Merchants, 
 mechanics, professional men, everybody rushed 
 to the streets while everybody from the coun- 
 try came in, all actuated by one spirit, the 
 preservation of the Union. Reports from Ga- 
 llon and Crestline showed the same enthusias- 
 tic loyalty had caused the suspension of prac- 
 tically all business in those places. 
 
 On April 17 a meeting was held at the Rowse 
 Hall at which Jacob Scroggs presided, with 
 Frank Patterson as secretary. Speeches were 
 made by Jacob Scroggs, Judge J. S. Plants, 
 C. W. Butterfield, J. R. Swigart and F. W. 
 Butterfield and a committee on resolutions ap- 
 pointed consisting of John Hopley, F. W. But- 
 terfield, William M. Scroggs, B. B. McDanald 
 and Geo. Donnenworth, Jr. The resolutions 
 were loyal to the core and closed with the ring- 
 ing declaration in capital letters that "The 
 Union Must and Shall Be Preserved," and all 
 the resolutions as read were received with the 
 most deafening cheers, especially the latter. 
 At the conclusion of F. W. Butterfield's speech 
 he called for volunteers and seventeen signed 
 the muster roll. A committee consisting of F 
 W. Butterfield, W. R. S. Clark, and Nicholas 
 Buler was appointed to circulate the roll and 
 obtain additional volunteers. Cheers were 
 given to Senator Orr for his vote in the State 
 Senate on the War Bill. The Star Spangled 
 Banner was sung amid great excitement, and 
 the meeting adjourned to meet on Friday, the 
 19th. The papers said "The patriotic senti- 
 ments of all the speakers was received with 
 the most unbounded applause." This meeting 
 was held on Wednesday evening. On Thurs- 
 day evening the enlistments numbered 34 and 
 on Friday 45, and on Saturday drilling com- 
 menced on the Public Square, Jacob P. Hysung 
 being the drill master. Practically the entire 
 town, crowded the square to watch the evolu- 
 tions of the soldiers. 
 
 On Sunday, April 21, just one week from 
 the call of the president for troops, sixty of 
 
 the company attended the Lutheran Church 
 to listen to a sermon of Rev. J. Crouse. His 
 text was, "And the children of Ephraim being 
 armed and carrying bows, turned back in the 
 day of battle."— Psalm LXXVIII, 9. 
 
 Monday the excitement continued. The 
 people from the country coming in and re- 
 maining all day. No work was done and 1 the 
 only discussion on the street corners was the 
 coming war. During the day one or two ex- 
 pressed doubts as to the right of the Govern- 
 ment to coerce another state, but the indigna- 
 tion of the crowd was so universally mani- 
 fested that any doubter found it safest to keep 
 his opinion to himself. 
 
 On Monday evening the square was jammed 
 by a crowd of excited and enthusiastic citizens 
 who assembled to take a final leave of the vol- 
 unteers, who had received orders to march the 
 made by A.M. Jackson, Judge J. S. Plants, 
 next morning. 'Enthusiastic speeches were 
 Hon. L. W. Hall, J. R. Swigart, and Rev. J. 
 Crouse and Rev. L. B. Gurley. 
 
 A special train was to take the company to 
 Crestline the next morning at 5 o'clock, but 
 early hours were nothing to the thoroughly 
 aroused people Tuesday morning by 4 o'clock 
 the town was awake and were out in force 
 thronging to the square. The fire department 
 was out in full uniform to escort the company 
 to the station as F. W. Butterfield, A. W. Oil- 
 ier, J. H. Simon, Thomas Lommison, John 
 Kanzleiter and John McKillipp were members 
 of the fire department, and they were presented 
 with a series of resolutions commending their 
 actions signed by B. F. Lauck, J. G. Stoll, Jr., 
 J. G. Frayer and John G. Birk. At the station 
 Jacob Scroggs made the farewell speech and 
 the train arrived, and the first company from 
 Crawford County left for the war, followed 
 by the enthusiastic cheers of the entire town. 
 The ladies had ordered a beautiful flag, but it 
 failed to arrive in time and was forwarded 
 to the Company at Cleveland later. The mem- 
 bers of this company which later became Co. 
 C in the Eighth Ohio, who left Bucyrus on 
 Wednesday morning April 24th, ten days after 
 the president's call for troops, were as follows • 
 
 Captain— F. W. Butterfield . 
 
 First Lieut. — E. W. Merriman. 
 
 2nd Lieut. — David Lewis. 
 
 3rd Lieut. — Resin Graham. 
 
476 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Sergeants — Alec Diller, Orderly; John 
 Stough, second; A. G. Hoffman, third; A. G. 
 Bacon, fourth. 
 
 Corporals — Henry Hayes, first; N. B. 
 Roberts, second; Oliver H. P. Mallory, third; 
 Geo. W. Neff, fourth. 
 
 Drummers — D. \V. Bair and J. Hysung, 
 bass; Fred Nichols and Gus. Machold, snare. 
 
 Privates — S. Andrews, M. Andrews, Wil- 
 liam Anderson, C. R. Boram, J. A. Brooks, G. 
 W Bair, R. J. Bevins, John K. Barclay, 
 Nicholas Bader, John Couts, Jacob Couts, W. 
 Cronenberger, Samuel. Clark, John W. Doll, 
 William Dutot, James E. Davis, M. R. Dubois, 
 John Donnan, F. M. Diller, John J. Forney, 
 Augustus Fortney, Jacob Gibbens, Geo. Gay, 
 Charles Graaft, Peter Griffen, N. Haggerman, 
 Aden Hill, George C. Howenstein, Giles Has- 
 kell, J. P. Hysung, Isaac Irey, Oregon John- 
 son, James S. Kelley, John Kantzleiter, Stephen 
 J. Kester, William F. Kimmell, Fred Klein- 
 dienst, David M. Long, Thomas Lommason, 
 Francis Leasure, Jacob Mowery, Christian 
 Marie, Alfred Minster, John McKellip, James 
 McKellip, Charles McKellip, Terry ]\IcMann, 
 Henry Marsh, James Martin, J. C. Miller, 
 John Mulligan, James McNickle, Andrew J. 
 Raub, Philip Ruseman, Henry Snider, L. G. 
 Snowden, James M. Shay, David Sherrock, 
 William Stewart, William Shrader, John H. 
 Simons, John Strawbridge, Philip Saylor, 
 J. W^aterhouse, Frank W^illiams, John War- 
 ner, Louis Youngman. 
 
 At Gallon, the same enthusiastic feeling pre- 
 vailed. A meeting was held and a company 
 organized. And on Thursday, April 25th, the 
 entire town assembled at the Cleveland, Col- 
 umbus and Cincinnati depot where enthusiastic 
 speeches were made and the second company 
 left the county for war, the "Gallon Guards," 
 later Co. C of the 23rd Ohio. There were 84 
 men, many of them from the B. & I and C. C. 
 & C. roads. They were officered by J. W. 
 Skiles, who was a veteran of the Mexican war; 
 J. R. McMillan was the first Lieutenant and 
 C. P. Harding, second lieutenant. 
 
 At Crestline an enthusiastic meeting was 
 held at Livingston Hall as early as April 19, 
 with Robert Lee as president and William Reed 
 as secretary. Patriotic speeches were made by 
 Rev. J. P Loyd, Dr. Covert, Robert Lee, and 
 Prof. A. Miller. Patriotic resolutions were 
 
 passed, the committee being A. Patterson, Ja- 
 cob Staley, J. P. Davis, David Ogden, D. S. 
 Keplinger, M. A. Archer, J. S. Smith, S. R. C. 
 Clark. 
 
 At Sulphur Springs, a company was organ- 
 ized with fifty volunteers to be held in readi- 
 ness and they were drilled every week. Amos 
 Keller was the captain, with J. H. Kemmis 
 I st lieutenant, and J. N. Biddle, 2nd lieutenant. 
 In Bucyrus, Aaron H. Keller, B. F. Lauck and 
 John Jones organized a reserve company, to 
 be in -readiness if their services were needed. 
 
 Their services were needed, as the later calls 
 demanded more and more men, and for four 
 long years there was a constant drain on this 
 county and the other counties in the State and 
 Nation, for men to save the Union, and it is 
 probable that in that four years of war at least 
 2,000 men were furnished from Crawford 
 County. From the time the first company 
 had left Bucyrus and gone into Virginia in 
 July of 1861, there were probably but few 
 battles or skirmishes in which one or more 
 soldiers from Crawford County had no part, 
 and as time passed and the seemingly never- 
 ending struggle went on, and the news came 
 of the death of loved ones on the battle field, is 
 it not to be wondered at that all the patriotism 
 of a loyal people was needed to save the na- 
 tion from disunion. On two occasions drafts 
 were necessary to fill out the quota, drafts 
 which called for 300 and 400 men from the lit- 
 tle county of Crawford, who already had 1,000 
 men in the field, and yet when the draft arrived, 
 most of the volunteers had been secured and in 
 some townships the entire quota had been fur- 
 nished. A brief history is given of the principal 
 regiments in which Crawford County had en- 
 tire or almost entire companies. Yet there 
 were few regiments of the more than two hun- 
 dred in the state but what had one or more 
 men at some time from this county, and a 
 history of Crawford County in the war is 
 nothing more or less than a history of the 
 war itself. 
 
 The Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry — The 
 first company organized in Crawford county 
 under the President's call for 75,000 men be- 
 came a part of the 8th Ohio Infantry, and 
 was known as Company C, which was. raised 
 in and around Bucyrus. It was officered as 
 follows: F. W. Butterfield, captain; E. W. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 477 
 
 Merriman, first lieutenant and David Lewis, 
 second lieutenant. Capt. Butterfield served 
 faithfully until the expiration of the term of 
 service of the regiment, after which he assisted 
 m raising the I92d Infantry, for one year's 
 service and was made its colonel. After af- 
 fecting leave-takings, public services being held 
 in the church, the company started for Camp 
 Taylor, Cleveland, where, by April 29th, all 
 the other companies had assembled. In May 
 the regimental organization was completed at 
 Camp Dennison and instruction in drill begun. 
 It soon becoming apparent that the regiment 
 could not be sent into the field as three months 
 men, proposals were made to reenlist the men 
 for three years. Nine companies — Company 
 I alone excepted — responded favorably and in 
 the latter part of June were mustered into the 
 service for three years. In September Com- 
 pany I, having re-considered its determination, 
 decided to reenlist and joined the regiment at 
 Grafton, Va., to which point the rest of the 
 regiment had proceeded after leaving Camp 
 Dennison on July 9th. 
 
 During their first few weeks of actual ser- 
 vice the regiment was stationed at various 
 places in the mountains and along the line of 
 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Here they 
 suffered severelv from sickness, some thirty- 
 four deaths resulting from typhoid fever, 
 while at one time over three hundred were in 
 the hospital. On the, 24th of September the 
 regiment took part in an attack on Romney, 
 and on Oct. 24th in a second attack on the 
 same place, which the enemy finally evacuated. 
 Next came a successful attack on Blue's Gap. 
 The next fight was at Bloomey Gap, on Feb- 
 ruary 14th, where Colonel Baldwin, with his 
 staff and a part of his command, were cap- 
 tured. In March the division to which the 8th 
 belonged, was ordered to the Shenandoah Val- 
 ley, and, under command of Gen. Shields, 
 drove the enemy up the Valley, fighting bat- 
 tles at Cedar Creek and Strasburg. In these 
 movements the 8th was engaged in skirmish 
 duty, which they accomplished so successfully 
 as to gain a reputation for themselves, which 
 they subsequently maintained throughout the 
 rest of its term of service. On March 23d 
 was fought the battle of Winchester, one of the 
 most severe of the war. Colonel Kimball com- 
 manded and here the enemy, under the able 
 
 and gallant Jackson were repulsed and driven 
 from the field. In this battle the 8th main- 
 tained its reputation both for skirmish duty 
 and in the charge on the enemy's right flank. 
 The losses of the companies engaged — C, D, 
 E, and H — amounted to one- fourth of their 
 entire number. 
 
 ■ \\'hile following the rebels up the Valley, 
 skirmishes took place at Woodstock, Mt. Jack- 
 son, Edinburg and New Market. At the latter 
 place Colonel Kimball received his commission 
 as brigadier general taking command of the 
 brigade to which the 8th belonged. On May 
 22d the regiment joined McDowell's Corps at 
 Fredericksburg. General Banks having been 
 driven out of the Valley by Jackson, the 8th 
 was ordered back, and on the 30th reached and 
 recaptured Front Royal. The distance of 
 eighteen miles from Rectortown was covered 
 in skirmish order, a number of prisoners be- 
 ing captured, among whom was the famous 
 rebel spy. Belle Boyd. 
 
 After marching from Front Royal up the 
 south branch of the Shenandoah, the division 
 was broken up and Kimball's and Terry's 
 brigades ordered to the Peninsula. Some 
 severe skirmishing occurred on the 3d and 4th 
 of July at the Chickahominy swamps, where 
 seven members of the 8th were badly wounded. 
 At Harrison's Landing the regiment was 
 united to the Second Corps, then commanded 
 by Sumner, and, with Kimball's brigade be- 
 longed to French's division. On the retreat 
 from the Peninsula and until the army crossed 
 the Chickahominy the 8th acted as rear guard. 
 It then went by way of Yorktown and New- 
 port News, to Alexandria, where it arrived 
 on the 28th. The armies of Lee and Pope be- 
 ing engaged in battle on the 30th, the corps 
 was ordered to the front, and marched to 
 Centerville, near the position of Pope's army, 
 but took no part in the fight. On the march 
 of the army to Chain Bridge, the 2d Corps 
 was on the left flank, and for a short time was 
 under fire at Germantown, north of Fairfax 
 Court House. Crossing the Potomac, the army 
 entered Maryland, and soon after was engaged 
 in the battles of South Mountain and Antie- 
 tam. The corps acted as a supporting line at 
 South Mountain, and later crossed the moun- 
 tain and skirmished with the enemy at Boons- 
 boro and Reedyville. Near this place ar fu- 
 
478 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 rious artillery duel took place on September 
 i6th, during which \V. W. Farmer, a color- 
 sergeant of the 8th was killed. The next day 
 occurred the battle of Antietam. Having 
 crossed the river, the 2d Corps occupied the 
 center of the line. Says Mr. Reid ("Ohio in 
 the War"), "Hooker had been engaged on the 
 right for several hours, when French's and 
 Sedgwick's divisions advanced— Sedgwick on 
 the right — and met the enemy in strong posi- 
 tion on a ridge. In the advance Kimball's 
 brigade formed the third line, Morris and Max 
 Weber's preceding. They struck the Rebel line 
 and were driven back ; when Kimball advanced 
 at a double quick, carrying the line handsomely, 
 and holding it for four hours and until firing 
 ceased in front. During this time Sedgwick 
 was driven back on the right, which made it 
 necessary for the 14th Indiana and 8th Ohio to 
 charge front ; which was done most gallantly, 
 and saved the brigade from rout. General 
 Sumner pronounced Kimball's the "Gibraltar 
 Brigade." 
 
 After some minor movements, consisting 
 mainly of marching, with some skirmishing, 
 the 8th found themselves in action in the ter- 
 rible battle of Fredericksburg, December 13th, 
 they forming the right wing of the forlorn 
 hope. In the streets of the town the enemy's 
 fire struck the head of the column, killing 
 and wounding 28 ; but, with the other regiments 
 a line was formed and the enemy's outposts 
 driven to the foot of the hill on which were 
 his main works. In this battle the regiment 
 lost 37 in killed and wounded. 
 
 The army remained in camp until April 28, 
 1863, when it crossed the river and fought the 
 battle of Chancellorsville, General Hooker 
 commanding. Though almost constantly un- 
 der fire for four days the regiment lost only 
 two killed and eleven wounded. At this time 
 and subsequently the brigade was under com- 
 mand of General Carroll. 
 
 The next active sendee of the 8th was at the 
 battle of Gettysburg in which it took a con- 
 spicuous part. On July 2d it drove the Rebel 
 sharpshooters from a knoll beyond the Em- 
 metsburg road, and held the position until the 
 close of the battle, a period of twenty-six 
 hours. During this time it repulsed three sev- 
 eral attacks by superior numbers, one being 
 made by three regiments, which were gal- 
 
 lantly repelled, broken, and nearly all, with 
 three stands of colors captured. A change of 
 front was then made and the regiment threw 
 an effective fire into the flank of the large mass 
 of troops marching upon General Hay's di- 
 vision. The 8th's losses in this battle were 
 102 killed and wounded. Some skirmishing 
 followed with the retreating enemy, and then 
 on the 15th of August the regiment was sent 
 to New York city to help quell the draft riots 
 then threatening the city. 
 
 This duty, which the men looked on almost 
 as a pleasure jaunt, having been performed, 
 they joined the army at Culpepper, and, after 
 some manoeuvring, the battles of Auburn and 
 Bristow were fought, October 14, the 8th hav- 
 ing t\\o men wounded. In the battles of Rob- 
 inson's Cross Roads, Locust Grove and Mine 
 Run, on the 27th, 28th and 29th of November, 
 the regiment mainly performed skirmish duty, 
 losing several in killed and wounded. Several 
 officers and men were woimded also in the 
 battle of Morton's Ford, February 6, 1864. 
 
 The Wilderness campaign, under Grant, 
 opened on the 3d of May. The 2d Corps, 
 crossing the Rapidan at Germania Ford, 
 marched quickly to Todd's Tavern, occupy- 
 ing the extreme left of the line. On the even- 
 ing of the 5th, it moved to the support of the 
 right, which was hotly engaged with the 
 enemy. At the "Cross Roads" the 14th In- 
 diana, 8th Ohio and 7th Virginia, under the 
 command of Colonel Coons, of the 14th In- 
 diana, retook a section of a battery, which had 
 been lost by the 6th Corps. Heavy losses were 
 sustained on the 6th during the fighting in the 
 dense undergrowth. The 7th, 8th and 9th were 
 spent in skirmishing, the enemy being closely 
 followed to Spottsylvania Court House. In a 
 charge on a Rebel work, on the loth, another 
 severe loss was sustained and Sergeant Conlan, 
 color bearer, was wounded. On the 12th, in 
 Hancock's gallant charge on the enemy's right, 
 the regiment again lost heavily. The losses in 
 these several engagements were over 60 in 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 The regiment maintained its reputation in 
 the skirmishing w hich occurred from Spottsyl- 
 \-ania to Petersburg, and in the battles of 
 North Anna, Cold Harbor and in front of 
 Petersburg. While in the trenches before 
 Petersburg, on the 25th of June, its term of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 479 
 
 service expired and it was ordered to Ohio to 
 be mustered out of service. It had then but 
 72 officers and men fit for duty. On the re- 
 turn home it received a cordial reception, 
 reaching Cleveland July 3d, where it was cor- 
 dially greeted by the mayor and military com- 
 mittee. It was formally mustered out July 
 13, 1864 by Capt. Douglass. 
 
 The 15th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was one 
 of the first to respond to the President's call 
 for 75,000 men for three months' service. Its 
 organization was completed on May 4, 1861 
 at Camp Jackson, Columbus, Ohio, Company 
 D of this regiment being composed in part 
 of Crawford county men, mostly from the" 
 northeastern part of the county. The 15th 
 prepared for the field at Camp Goddard, near 
 Zanesville, Ohio and then, about May 18, was 
 ordered to West Virginia, where it was em- 
 ployed for some time in guard duty on the 
 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. It fought against 
 the enemy at Philippi, June 13, and afterwards 
 at Laurel Hill and Carrick's Ford. At the 
 end of its term of enlistment it returned to 
 Columbus, Ohio and was discharged about 
 the 1st of August, having lost but two men — 
 one killed and one who died of disease. 
 
 On the President's call for 300,000 men to 
 serve for three years, the men of the 15th 
 almost unanimously resolved to reenlist, and 
 the regiment was accordingly reorganized at 
 Camp Mordecai Bartley, near Mansfield, Ohio, 
 and left for Camp Dennison on Sept. 26, 1861. 
 Here they were armed and equipped for the 
 field. Early in October they reached Lexing- 
 ton, Ky., and soon after, at Camp Nevin, near 
 NoUin's Station, Ky., the regiment was as- 
 signed to the 6th Brigade (Gen. R. W. John- 
 ston, commanding), 2d Division (Gen. A. 
 McD. McCook, commanding), of the Army 
 of the Ohio, then commanded by Gen. W. T. 
 Sherman, and subsequently by Gen. Buell. 
 After marches to Bacon Creek and Mumfords- 
 ville, on Dec. 14, the division was set in mo- 
 tion for Fort Donelson, but before arriving 
 there news was received of the capture of the 
 fort and the division was marched to Bowling 
 Green. From the 2d to the i6th of March 
 the command lay at Nashville, Tenn. ; then 
 the march to Savannah began. The enemy 
 was encountered at that place April 7th and in 
 
 the engagement the regiment lost six men 
 killed and 62 wounded. 
 
 The 2d Division subsequently formed part 
 of the reserve in the march upon Corinth and 
 in the latter part of May was engaged in 
 skirmishing with the enemy, having been or- 
 dered to the front on the 27th. From the i8th 
 of July until the 20th of August the 15th was 
 engaged in building a fort and in camp duties 
 at Battle Creek, Tenn. The regiment then 
 accompanied Gen. McCook's command in a 
 movement to head off Gen. Bragg, marching 
 by way of Altemonte, Manchester and Mur- 
 freesboro to Nashville, which place was 
 reached Sept. 8th. After a halt of a few 
 days the march was resumed to Bowling 
 Green and thence to Louisville, which was 
 . reached ori the 25th. Thence the command 
 moved to Shelbyville and Lawrenceburg, 
 where a skirmish took place with the enemy. 
 The main army was reached at Perryville and 
 Bragg's army pursued as far as Crab Orchard. 
 The command then returned to Nashville. 
 
 Here the army was reorganized and drilled 
 and on the 26th of December advanced against 
 the enemy at Murfreesboro. In the battle of 
 Stone River the 15th lost 18 killed and 89 
 wounded. After the occupation of Mur- 
 freesboro by Rosecran's army the regiment 
 was mainly occupied in drilling, foraging and 
 other routine duties, until July 24th, when 
 an advance was ordered on Tullahoma and 
 Shelbyville. The enemy was dislodged from 
 his position at Golner's and Liberty Gaps, the 
 latter being carried by the 2d Division, the 
 15th taking a very prominent part throughout. 
 In this engagement one officer and seven men 
 were killed and 23 wounded. 
 
 The 2d Division remained at Tullahoma 
 until the i6th of August, after which it was 
 ordered to various points in Alabama and 
 Georgia, crossing Lookout Mountain and 
 camping near Alpine on Sept. loth. Two days 
 later it recrossed the mountain to Winson's 
 Valley and thence moved to a position in 
 connection with the main army in Lookout 
 Valley. On the 19th it marched 13 miles to 
 the battlefield of Chickamauga, where it was 
 engaged soon after its arrival, losing one of- 
 ficer and nine men killed, 69 wounded and 40 
 missing. Later it took part in the seige of 
 
 ss 
 
480 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Chattanooga and on November 25th particip- 
 ated in the storming of Mission Ridge, cap- 
 turing a number of prisoners and some artil- 
 lery. On the 28th, the regiment then belong- 
 ing to the 1st Brigade, 3d Division, 4th Army- 
 Corps, marched to the relief of Knoxville, 
 arriving Dec. 8th; on the 20th the command 
 moved to Strawberry Plains. 
 
 On the 14th of January, 1864, most of the 
 members having re-enlisted as veterans, the 
 regiment started for Columbus, Ohio, arriving 
 there with 350 veterans on Feb. loth. On the 
 expiration of the furlough, March 14th the 
 regiment, having been recruited to upward 
 of 900 men, reassembled at Camp Chase, and 
 were ordered to Nashville, and thence to Chat- 
 tanooga, where they arrived April 5th. On 
 the 8th while moving by rail to Cleveland, 
 Tenn. some 20 of the men were more or less 
 injured in a railway accident. 
 
 Moving to McDonald's Station on the 20th 
 the regiment remained there until the opening 
 of the spring campaign. The regiment then 
 accompanied Sherman's army, skirmishing at 
 Tunnel Hill, fighting at Resaca and Dallas, 
 at which latter place the 1 5th suffered severely, 
 having 19 men killed, three officers and 61 
 men wounded, and 19 men missing. The 
 army then moved to the vicinity of Acworth 
 and on the loth advanced toward Kenesaw 
 Mountain. While skirmishing on the 14th of 
 June one officer and one man were killed and 
 five men wounded. On June i8th, the enemy 
 having withdrawn, and accidentally left one 
 of their outposts behind them, the outpost com- 
 prising two officers and 16 men, were discov- 
 ered by Private Cupp, of Company H, who 
 was reconnoitering with three or four privates 
 under his command. The Rebels, when in- 
 formed of their isolated position surrendered 
 and were taken into camp as prisoners. A 
 number of other prisoners were also captured 
 in this vicinity. The regiment subsequently 
 reached Atlanta with the army and later had 
 a skirmish with the enemy at Lovejoy's Sta- 
 tion. They left there Sept. 5th and took camp 
 at Decatur, near Atlanta^ 
 
 When Hood began his raid on our com- 
 munications, the 15th marched to the relief 
 of Resaca, and then to Columbia, where it 
 had a slight skirmish. It did not participate 
 in the battle of Franklin, but at Nashville 
 
 captured a battery of four brass guns and some 
 30 prisoners. Later in the action at Franklin 
 Pike it captured two commissioned officers 
 and i(X) men. Its own loss in two days' fight 
 was two officers and one man killed and two 
 officers and 24 men wounded. After follow- 
 ing the enemy to Lexington, Ala., the corps 
 moved in the direction of Huntsville and went 
 into camp at Bird Springs, where it remained 
 until March 15th, when it was ordered to East 
 Tennessee. 
 
 It^ subsequently moved to New Market, 
 Tenn. and then to Greenville, to aid in prevent- 
 ing the escape of Lee and Johnston, being 
 ordered back to Nashville, April 22d. Here 
 it remained until June i6th at which time it 
 was ordered to Texas, proceeding thence by 
 way of New Orleans. It arrived at Indianola, 
 Texas, July 9th, disembarked, and marched 
 the same night to Green Lake, a distance of 
 about 20 miles. Here it remained one month ■ 
 and then, on August loth began a march of 
 150 miles to San Antonio, reaching the Salada, 
 a small stream near that place on the 21st. 
 Owing to the extreme heat and the scarcity 
 of water, this was one of the most severe 
 marches the regiment ever endured. It re- 
 mained on the Salada till October 20th and 
 then ordered to do post duty in the city. On 
 November 21st, it was mustered out and or- 
 dered to Columbus, Ohio for its final dis- 
 charge. It was mustered out at Columbus on 
 Dec. 27, 1865, having been in the service as 
 an organization about four years and eight 
 months. 
 
 The 23d Ohio Infantry, — Crawford county 
 was represented in this regiment by Company 
 C, which was raised in and around Gallon, 
 the members being mostly railroad men. The 
 commissioned officers of the company were: 
 John W. Skiles, captain; J. R. McMullin, first 
 lieutenant ; and T. P. Harding, second lieuten- 
 ant. Captain Skiles was a veteran of the 
 Mexican War and an efficient officer. He was 
 wounded at Middletown, Md., which resulted 
 in the loss of an arm at the elbow. On July 
 29, 1863 he was promoted to major of the 
 88th Ohio Infantry and served in that capacity 
 until the close of the war. Lieutenant Mc- 
 Mullin, who was originally captain of the old 
 "Mansfield Artillery Company," was early 
 promoted to captain of the 23d. So many of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 481 
 
 the leading officers of the 23d achieved dis- 
 tinction and were promoted to high rank that 
 the regiment became known as the "regiment 
 of brigadier generals." Among the most 
 noted were W. S. Rosecrans, E. Parker Scam- 
 mon and Rutherford B. Hayes, afterward 
 president of the United States. Stanley Ma- 
 thews, afterwards promoted to colonel of the 
 51st regiment, was also a gallant and efficient 
 officer. 
 
 The 23d regiment was organized at Camp 
 Chase, in June, 1861, under Col. William S. 
 Rosecrans and was mustered into the United 
 States' service for three years, on the iith of 
 the same month. Before leaving for the field 
 Col. Rosecrans received a commission as briga- 
 dier general in the United States' regular 
 army, and Col. E. P. Scammon succeeded 
 to the command of the regiment. On July 
 25th the regiment was ordered to Clarksburg, 
 West Virginia, where it arrived on the 27th. 
 The next day it was ordered to Weston, from 
 which point it operated against the guerilla 
 forces of the enemy, performing excessively 
 hard duty among the rugged spurs of the 
 Rich Mountain range. While in this region 
 the regiment was divided, five companies, un- 
 der command of Lieut. Col. Stanley Mathews 
 operating as a movable force against the 
 guerillas, and constituting the right wing; 
 while the left wing remained at Weston, send- 
 ing out occasional expeditions against the 
 enemy. On Sept. ist the regiment re-united 
 at Bulltown, and thence, as a part of General 
 Rosecran's army, marched against the Rebels, 
 who, under General Floyd, were strongly 
 posted at Carnifex Ferry. On the loth some 
 skirmishing occurred with the enemy, in which 
 the 23d took an efficient part. In the night 
 General Floyd retreated across the Gauley 
 river, and in the pursuit a number of prison- 
 ers were captured, the enemy being followed 
 to his entrenchment at the foot of Big Sewell 
 Mountain. A few days later the regiment was 
 ordered to Camp Ewing, where, the location 
 proving unhealthy, it lost a number of men 
 from disease. 
 
 The winter of 1861-62 was devoted to re- 
 cruiting, drill and discipline. Companies F 
 and G joined a detachment, under Major Com- 
 ly, which, on Dec. 31, 1861, occupied Raleigh 
 Court House without opposition. A quantity 
 
 of arms and supplies, with- 27 prisoners were 
 captured. Being reinforced by Companies A 
 and B, Major Comly, on the loth of Feb- 
 ruary, marched 28 miles through a snow 
 storm at the mouth of Blue Stone river, driv- 
 ing a regiment of the enemy's infantry, and a 
 small force of cavalry, with considerable loss, 
 across the river. On April 17, 1862 orders 
 were received to go into camp, and on the 
 22d the command moved toward Princeton, 
 the 23d, under command of Lieut. Col. Hayes, 
 being in the advance. On the approach of the 
 Federal forces the enemy fired the town and 
 fled. 
 
 On the 8th nine companies of the 23d, with 
 three small companies of cavalry, were at- 
 tacked by four regiments of Confederate In- 
 fantry, and six pieces of artillery, under com- 
 mand of General Heth. Though most of our 
 cavalry disappeared after the first fire, the 
 regiment made a determined stand, but was 
 finally obliged to retire, which it did in good 
 order, the enemy following to the narrows 
 of New River. Meeting reinforcements, the 
 command returned by way of Princeton to 
 Flat Top Mountain, having endured great 
 hardships, and losing tents and other equipage, 
 which had to be destroyed. 
 
 On the 13th of July the regiment was or- 
 dered to Green Meadows, on New River, the 
 next move being to Camp Piatt, on the Great 
 Kanawha, where the regiment arrived on the 
 i8th, having made the record march of 104 
 miles in a little more than three days. Here 
 the 23d boarded transports for Parkersburg, 
 going thence by rail to Washington City, 
 where they arrived August 24th. Soon after 
 they moved with McClellan's army toward 
 Frederick City, driving the enemy before them 
 and reaching Middletown on the 13th. 
 
 Here began the battle of South Mountain, 
 culminating, Sept. 17th, in that of Antietam, 
 in both of which the 23d participated, being 
 under command of Lieut. Col. Hayes (Gen. 
 J. D. Cox commanding the division). 
 
 Being in the advance of the column, it took 
 an unfrequented path up the mountain, and 
 being met by a heavy fire of musketry, grape 
 and cannister from the enemy, who were 
 posted behind stone walls, it sustained severe 
 losses, Lieut. Col. Hayes, Captain Skiles and 
 Lieutenants Hood, Ritter and Smith being 
 
482 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 badly wounded, and over lOO dead and 
 wounded lay on the field out of the 350 that 
 went into action. Major Comly succeeded 
 to the command, which he henceforth retained. 
 Soon after, the remainder of the brigade com- 
 ing up, a charge was made up the hill and 
 enemy driven into the woods beyond, losing 
 many men killed with the bayonet. During 
 the remainder of the day the regiment fought 
 with its division. During the da,y the 23d 
 lost nearly 200. Only seven were unaccounted 
 for at roll-call after the action. 
 
 At Antietam the regiment fought with the 
 Kanawha division, occupying the right of 
 the first brigade. Near the close of the day 
 a charge was made by the division by which 
 the left was exposed to a large force of the 
 enemy, who suddenly emerged from a corn 
 field in the rear of the left. The colors of 
 the regiment were instantly shot down.. At 
 the same time a feint was made in front. A 
 Fereral battery in the rear opened a fire on 
 the advancing Confederates, by which, how- 
 ever, our forces suffered more than the enemy. 
 Major Comly now planted the colors on a 
 new line, at right angles with the former front 
 and the regiment promptly formed on the new 
 line and opened fire on the enemy, who re- 
 tired, having done little damage, except to 
 make a few captures. A little later the regi- 
 ment was ordered to the rear. During the- 
 night the regiment supported a battery of Gen- 
 eral Sturgis's division and was not relieved 
 until the following afternoon. 
 
 Ordered back, Oct. 8th, to West Virginia, 
 with the Kanawha division, the regiment 
 reached Hagerstown on the loth, whence they 
 made a quick dash into Pennsylvania to in- 
 tercept Stuart's cavalry, who were reported 
 to be operating in that direction ; but no enemy 
 was discovered. The regiment then returned 
 to Virginia, arriving at Clarksburg October 
 15th. Here Colonel Scammon was appointed 
 brigadier general and Lieut. Col. Hayes ap- 
 pointed colonel; Major Comly was promoted 
 to lieutenant colonel, and Capt. Mcllrath to 
 major. On November loth the 23d reached 
 the Kanawha Valley and on the i8th went 
 into winter quarters at the Falls of the Great 
 Kanawha. 
 
 On March 15, 1863 the regiment was or- 
 dered to Charleston, W. Va., where it lay in 
 
 camp during March, April, May, June and 
 part of July, performing only light duties, 
 except an advance to Raleigh, Va. and par- 
 ticipation in the movement against Morgan's 
 raid. 
 
 Returning to Charleston, they lay in camp 
 during the remainder of the year and up to 
 April 29, 1864, when a movement was made 
 to a point near Brownstown, on the Kanawha, 
 preparatory to joining General Crook's forces 
 in a raid on the Virginia & Tennessee Rail- 
 road. . In this expedition they performed hard 
 duty, but had little fighting until the battle 
 of Cloyd's Mountain on May 9, 1864. Here 
 the 23d was on the right of the First brigade. 
 A gallant charge was made up the mountain 
 under a heavy fire, and the enemy driven from 
 the first ridge, two pieces of artillery being 
 captured and brought off the field by Lieut. 
 Austin. The enemy then attempted to form 
 a line of the second ridge or crest, but after 
 a short struggle, was driven back in full re- 
 treat. Receiving reinforcements, he made 
 another attempt to stand but was unsuccessful. 
 The fighting here was desperate. Captain 
 Hunter, Company K, and Lieut. Seaman, 
 Company D, were both killed. Captain Rice, 
 Company A, was wounded, but rejoined his 
 company before the action was over. Lieut. 
 Abbott, Company I, was severely wounded and 
 left in hospital at Dublin Depot. 
 
 On May loth there was more fighting at New 
 River Bridge, artillery being mostly used. The 
 enemy were driven and the bridge destroyed. 
 At Pepper's Ferry a slow and tedious cross- 
 ing was made with one small ferry boat, the 
 rain pouring down all night and thoroughly 
 drenching the men. Skirmishing occurred on 
 the way to Blacksburg, the regiment having 
 two men wounded and losing four by cap- 
 ture. Salt Pond Mountain was crossed on the 
 1 2th, the 23d acting as train guard. Owing 
 to heavy rains the roads were in wretched 
 condition and the command was hampered by 
 large numbers of "contrabands," who with 
 their women and children, were accompanying 
 it in all sorts of conveyances, which, becoming 
 stuck in the mud, tended further to impede the 
 operations of the force. Camp was reached 
 on the 13th, with all the men greatly ex- 
 hausted and in a state of semi-starvation. 
 
 At Staunton, June 8th the 23d joined Gen. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 483 
 
 Hunter's command. The first term of serv- 
 ice expiring on the nth, those not re-enlisting 
 as veterans were sent home. The depot, rail- 
 road, and other public works likely to be use- 
 ful to the enemy were destroyed. On the 
 loth a march of 23 miles was made to Browns- 
 .town and the enemy driven. Lexington was 
 reached on the nth, where some artillery 
 fighting took place. The Confederates burn- 
 ing the bridge. White's brigade effected a 
 crossing about two miles above the town, when 
 the enemy retired. General Hunter's column 
 came up just as the town was captured, and 
 by his orders the Military Academy, Washing- 
 ton College and Governor Letcher's residence 
 were burned, an order the execution of which 
 was distasteful to nearly every officer and man 
 of the command, and was protested against 
 by Generals Crook and Averill. 
 
 Starting on the 14th the 23d marched by 
 way of Buckhannon to within two miles of 
 Lynchburg, driving the enemy along the Vir- 
 ginia and Tennessee Railroad and capturing 
 four pieces of artillery. While encamped 
 close to the enemy a slight skirmish took place 
 with Gordon's brigade, but was stopped by 
 the forces mutually withdrawing a little far- 
 ther from each other. 
 
 Early on the i8th A. M. Crook's command 
 was ordered on a flanking expedition to the 
 right, but, owing to news that the enemy had 
 received heavy reinfocements and was pre- 
 paring to attack the center of our lines, it 
 marched rapidly back to the exposed point, 
 where the attack was repulsed with trifling 
 loss. After dark a retreat was commenced 
 toward Liberty, the men marching two days 
 and nights without sleep and with scarcely 
 anything to eat. On reaching Liberty shortly 
 after dark on the 19th some fighting occurred, 
 and at ten A. M. of the 20th Buford's Gap was 
 reached. A night march was then made to 
 overtake the command in advance, Salem be- 
 ing reached at 9 A. M. While passing through 
 this town Hunter had been attacked by the 
 enemy's cavalry and a large part of his artil- 
 lery captured. At the same time Crook was 
 attacked in front and rear, but pushed through 
 without loss. At ten P. M. North Mountain 
 was reached, where the command halted and 
 the men were given a few hours' sleep. The 
 
 diary of one of the officers contains the fol- 
 lowing in regard to the rest of this march : 
 
 "At four A. M. next morning (22d) left 
 in the advance, the first time since the retreat 
 commenced. By a mistake a march of eight 
 miles was made for nothing. Thus we toiled 
 on, suffering intensely with exhaustion, want 
 of food, clothing, etc. On the 27th a supply 
 train was met on Big Sewell Mountain. Men 
 all crazy. Stopped and ate ; marched and ate ; 
 camped about dark, and ate all night. 
 Marched 180 miles in the last nine days, fight- 
 ing nearly all the time, and with very little to 
 eat." 
 
 The column reached Charleston July ist 
 and remained there refitting until the loth, 
 when Gen. Crook's command having been or- 
 dered east to meet Early, who had invaded 
 Pennsylvania and Maryland, the 23d set out 
 for Martinsburg, which was reached on the 
 14th. On the 1 8th they marched to Cables- 
 town, ten miles beyond Harper's Ferry, driv- 
 ing in the enemy's pickets. Still under the 
 immediate command of Gen. Hunter, Gen. 
 Crook being at Snicker's Gap, Hayes's brigade 
 (including the 23d) was sent, without cavalry 
 and with scarcely any artillery, to attack 
 Early's army of 20,000 or more in flank, and 
 with no other force on this side of the Shenan- 
 doah and no possibility of communicating. The 
 enemy, who lay on the opposite side of the 
 river at Snicker's Ferry, had already beaten 
 the First Division, with the whole Sixth Corps 
 to back them. After some heavy skirmishing, 
 the 23d, with the 36th Ohio, were surrounded 
 by two divisions of the enemy's cavalry, but 
 cut their way out and on the 22d of July 
 joined General Crook at Winchester. In the 
 battle of Winchester, which occurred on the 
 24th, and in which the National forces were 
 defeated, the 23d Ohio lost 153 men, ten of 
 whom were commissioned officers. At Mar- 
 tinsburg next day. General Crook repelled a 
 charge of the enemy's cavalry, capturing a 
 number of prisoners. He then took position 
 near the ford at Williamsburg, on the south 
 bank of the Potomac. 
 
 From the 26th of July to the 14th of August 
 the time was spent in marches and counter- 
 marches, on the latter date Duvall's brigade 
 having an encounter with a Rebel force and 
 
484 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 finally capturing some prisoners and cattle. 
 Afterwards came movements up and down 
 the Valley advancing and retreating, with 
 plenty of fighting. At Front Royal Sheridan's 
 cavalry captured 260 of the enemy. 
 
 An attack was made by the enemy at Hall- 
 town, August 23d. In the evening Hayes's 
 Brigade, the 23d and 36th Ohio, with part of 
 the 5th West Virginia, sallied out and drove 
 in the enemy's skirmish line, capturing a lot 
 of prisoners from Kershaw's Division, the 
 brilliancy of the charge causing much astonish- 
 ment among the Rebels, who inquired "Who 
 the hell are 'uns?" In another sortie on the 
 23d six officers and 100 prisoners were taken. 
 
 The next engagement took place at Berry- 
 ville, Sept. 3d, the 23d being sent out on picket. 
 Here there was desperate fighting, the most 
 of it after dark. At ten o'clock both parties 
 retired. In this affair the regiment lost two 
 good officers in Captains Austin and Gillis. 
 
 The battle of Opequan was fought on the 
 19th. General Crook's command was in re- 
 serve but was soon called upon to make a flank 
 attack on the right. Hayes's Brigade had the 
 extreme left of the infantry. After crossing 
 some difficult ground the division was halted 
 and formed, with Hayes's Brigade in front 
 and the 2d (Johnson's) in the rear. The brig- 
 ade advanced rapidly, driving the enemy's cav- 
 alry. The Union cavalry at the same time ad- 
 vanced out of the woods on the right. On 
 reaching a slight elevation the enemy's infan- 
 try line came into view, off diagonally to the 
 left front and he opened a brisk artillery fire. 
 After passing through some thick underbrush 
 a deep slough was reached, 40 or 50 yards 
 wide and waist deep, with soft mud at the bot- 
 tom, the surface being covered with a thick 
 bed of moss. This obstacle seemed impassible 
 but Colonel Hayes, after a moment's pause, 
 jumped in with his horse and struggled 
 through, the first man over; the men of the 
 23d plunged in after him, and crossed under a 
 heavy fire, some of them being drowned or 
 suffocated in the slime. Pausing only long 
 enough on the other side to reform the line, 
 the regiment dashed on driving the enemy, 
 Sheridan's cavalry, having passed around the 
 slough, kept up on the right, capturing a large 
 number of prisoners. Colonel Duvall, the di- 
 vision commander, being wounded, Colonel 
 
 Hayes succeeded . to the command, and 
 throughout displayed the most daring bravery 
 and skill. 
 
 No reinforcements appearing and the en- 
 emy's fire becoming every moment more mur- 
 derous. Lieutenant McBride of the 23d was 
 ordered forward with a small party to kill the 
 enemy's artillery horses. Some Saxony rifles 
 of long range and 71-caliber, are taken and sev- 
 eral horses drop. A panic seizes the artillery 
 and they commence limbering up. The infantry 
 also takes the alarm and begin leaving the 
 trenches, soon the whole line rises and run for 
 the breastworks in confusion, our cavalry pur- 
 suing and taking prisoners by regiments. 
 Eight battle flags are captured, the Rebel ar- 
 tillery stops firing and falls back and the battle 
 is at an end. About the same time the 6th 
 Corps emerged from the woods in the rear. 
 The result was a complete and decisive victory. 
 The regiment captured about 200 men, the ar- 
 tillery being captured by the combined force. 
 
 On September 24, 1864, occurred the battle 
 of North Mountain, which was more in the 
 nature of a brilliant charge than a battle. On 
 Crook's command gaining their rear the enemy 
 fled in utter rout abandoning many guns. The 
 regiment lost only two men. Nothing more of 
 importance occurred until the battle of Cedar 
 Creek. 
 
 In this battle the 19th and 6th Corps oc- 
 cupied positions nearly parallel with the 
 enemy's front. General Crook's First Divi- 
 sion (Thoburn's) occupied works about a 
 mile further to the front and on the left of the 
 main line, the works from their right flank 
 rearward being guarded only by the 9th Vir- 
 ginia regiment, from the Second Division. 
 Crook's Second Division (Duvall's, com- 
 manded by Hayes), or a portion of it, occu- 
 pied a camp about a mile and a quarter in rear 
 of the First Division and in rear of the Man- 
 chester Pike. An independent brigade (Kitch- 
 ing's ) occupied a camp to the left and rear of 
 that. The enemy's attacking column crossed 
 the North Fork of the Shenandoah from the 
 left of Fisher's Hill, passed down near the 
 base of the Massanutten Mountain, beyond the 
 picket line, and recrossed the river at Buxton's 
 Ford, well to the rear of Crcjok's command. 
 From there they passed again to the front, 
 just outside the National lines, through the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 485 
 
 darkness and fog, forming a line of battle ex- 
 tending from Thoburn's right to a point about 
 opposite Middletown, beyond the extreme left. 
 The nearest force of National cavalry on the 
 left was at Front Royal, eight miles distant. 
 
 Owing to General Sheridan's absence in 
 Washington, the command devolved upon Ma- 
 jor-general Wright, commanding the 6th 
 Corps. Discovering a weak point on the left, 
 a ford across the North Fork of the Shenan- 
 doah, accessible from the Massanutten Moun- 
 tain, General Crook applied for a division of 
 cavalry to cover this ford and picket the front 
 of the mountain. His request was granted, 
 but for some reason the cavalry had not yet 
 been placed there on the nights of the i8th and 
 19th, though a report was made that it was 
 there. Taking advantage of this oversight on 
 the part of the Federals, nearly the whole flank- 
 ing force of the enemy crossed at this ford, 
 under cover of the darkness and fog, their line, 
 when the attack opened, extending from the 
 front of Crook's First Division all the way 
 around to a point about opposite Middletown. 
 Here they waited for the signal, which was to 
 be a feint on the right of the line. To meet 
 this attack General Crook had about 4,000 men. 
 When the attack came, at 4:30 a. m., the 
 enemy had it all their own way. Crook's com- 
 mand, overpowered, were driven from their 
 advanced position and formed on the left of 
 the 19th Corps, the left also being hotly en- 
 gaged. The right of the line was not engaged 
 for some time after. A desperate and success- 
 ful stand was made by the shattered lines of 
 Crook's command to save the headquarters 
 train of the army, in which many brave men 
 lost their lives, among them Colonel Thoburn, 
 Captain Bier and Lieut. Colonel Hall, of the 
 13th Virginia. Colonel Hayes had his horse 
 shot under him, but escaped with his life. The 
 line then slowly fell back, the enemy seeming 
 content with shelling us. 
 
 While things were at this pass, suddenly 
 a great shout went up as General Sheridan, 
 riding a magnificent black horse, dashed up at 
 full speed and, dismounting, engaged in a short 
 but rapid conversation with General Crook. 
 In a moment the members of the staff are fly- 
 ing off in different directions. After awhile 
 Col. Forsyth comes down in front and shouts 
 to the General : "The 19th Corps is closed up, 
 
 sir." General Sheridan jumps on his horse 
 and calling out, "We're going to have a good 
 time on' them now, boys," rides up the line. 
 The men took their posts, the line moved for- 
 ward, and ere long, as all the world knows, 
 the enemy was fleeing in utter rout and con- 
 fusion. 
 
 On Oct. 7th the regiment was detailed as 
 rear guard to Martinsburg, marching by way 
 of Winchester, where- some of the enemy's 
 cavalry were said to be. On this march the 
 men voted for the Presidential election, but 
 seven anti-war votes being cast, principally 
 among the teamsters. November 13th it re- 
 turned to Winchester, guarding a supply train 
 of 700 wagons. It was engaged in drill and 
 camp routine duties until the middle of Decem- 
 ber, when it was transferred from the extreme 
 left to the extreme right of the line. About 
 December 20th Hayes's Brigade was ordered 
 to Stephen's Depot, remaining there until the 
 29th when it went into camp at Martinsburg. 
 On January i, 1865, it embarked for Cumber- 
 land. Colonel Hayes was promoted to a brig- 
 adier generalship and Lieut-Colonel Comly to 
 Colonel. The regiment reached Grafton Jan- 
 uary r2th, where it lay till the i8th, without 
 tents and insufificient bedding, the weather be- 
 ing very cold. From the 19th to March ist it 
 lay at Cumberland engaged in drill and camp 
 routine. Soon the news arrived of the col- 
 lapse of the Southern Confederacy and the 
 boys anticipated an early return home. It was 
 not, however, until the latter part of July that 
 the wished-for order came, and on the 26th 
 they were mustered out -at Cumberland, and 
 took cars for Camp Taylor, where the men 
 were paid and discharged. 
 
 The 34th Infantry, O. V. I, contained one 
 company — Company E — which was from 
 Crawford county. This company was organ- 
 ized with the following officers: J. W. Shaw, 
 captain ; F. B. Helwig, first lieutenant, and W. 
 H. Carpenter, second lieutenant. Captain 
 Shaw was promoted to major, Oct. 10, 1862; 
 to lieutenant colonel, July 18, 1863, and was 
 killed July 24, 1864 at the battle of Winches- 
 ter. First Lieutenant Helwig was promoted 
 to captain, July 17, 1862 and mustered out 
 with the regiment. Second Lieutenant Car- 
 penter was discharged, Aug. i, 1863. Isaac 
 P. Grover was promoted to second lieutenant. 
 
486 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Dec. 3, 1862 ; to first lieutenant, March 2, 1864, 
 and to captain, Sept. 30, 1864. Isaiah C. Lind- 
 sey was promoted to second lieutenant March 
 16, 1864 ^nd mustered out as such. N. P. 
 Marvell was promoted to second lieutenant 
 Sept. 30, 1864, to first lieutenant Nov. 26, 
 1864 and mustered out April 4, 1865. 
 
 The 34th was organized at Camp Lucas, 
 Clermont county, Ohio in July and August, 
 1 86 1 and on Sept. ist moved to Camp Denni- 
 son. As at that early period of the war much 
 license prevailed with respect to uniforms, it 
 adopted a light blue Zouave dress, and in com- 
 pliment to their colonel, Abraham S. Piatt, the 
 name of "Piatt Zouaves" was adopted. In 
 September the regiment started for Camp En- 
 yart, on the Kanawha river, W. Va., where it 
 arrived on the 20th. On the 25th it fought 
 ,its first battle near Chapmanville, whipping 
 a Virginia regiment and badly wounding its 
 colonel. Its own loss was one killed and eight 
 wounded. During the remaining of the au- 
 tumn and winter the regiment was engaged 
 chiefly in guarding the rear of General Rose- 
 cran's army and in scouting expeditions after 
 the enemy's guerillas. In March, 1862 it 
 joined General Cox's forces at Gauley Bridge 
 and on the 17th and i8th of May, participated 
 in the battle of Princeton, losing several men. 
 
 General Cox being ordered to join General 
 McClellan, in August, 1862, six regiments were 
 left to guard the Kanawha Valley. The 34th 
 and 37th held the outpost at Fayetteville, where 
 they were attacked, Sept. loth, by General Lor- 
 ing, with 10,000 men. By the aid of breast- 
 works, the position was held till midnight, 
 when the place was evacuated. During the 
 attack the 34th repeatedly charged on the 
 enemy. The losses of the six companies en- 
 gaged (the others being on scouting duty) 
 amounted to 130 men. One-half of the offi- 
 cers were either killed or wounded. Falling 
 back under a heavy fire, the National forces 
 made a stand at Cotton Mountain the next day, 
 and at Charleston on the 12th, where a severe 
 engagement took place. From this point a 
 further retrograde movement was -made to Mt. 
 Pleasant. In October, on the return of Gen- 
 eral Cox, with his command, another advance 
 was made and the valley regained. During 
 Mav the regiment was furnished with horses 
 and transferred into "Mounted Rifles." 
 
 In July, 1863 the 34th participated in a dem- 
 onstration against Wytheville, on the Virginia 
 and Tennessee Railroad, under command of 
 Colonel Toland. A desperate fight ensued, 
 but about dark the National forces succeeded 
 in capturing the enemy's artillery, when they 
 fled in all directions, 'i he 34th lost four killed, 
 including Colonel Toland, 13 wounded and 33 
 missing. The brigade left Camp Piatt with 
 nearly 1000 men, marched 652 miles in eleven 
 days, through a very mountainous country, 
 and captured over 250 horses, 360 prisoners, 
 two pieces of artillery and a large amount of 
 stores ; destroyed between 3000 and 5000 stand 
 of arms, an important bridge, and partially 
 burned one of the wealthiest cities in Virginia. 
 
 The command devolving on Lieut. Colonel 
 Franklin, he commenced a retrograde move- 
 ment, which was effected with difficulty, the 
 roads being blockaded by a Confederate force 
 under General McCausland. The year's cam- 
 paign was completed by several expeditions to 
 Lewisburg and vicinity. General Duffie, of the 
 Kanawha Cavalry, commanding. 
 
 In January, 1864 about two-thirds of the 
 regiment re-enlisted as veterans, and in the lat- 
 ter part of April the regiment was divided into 
 two detachments. The mounted portion was 
 to operate with the cavalry, under General 
 Averhill ; the dismounted, with the 36th O. V. 
 I., in General Crook's division of infantry. On 
 the ist of May, 1864 a second expedition left 
 Charleston for the destruction of the Virginia 
 and Tennessee Railroad. On the 9th the cav- 
 alry were repulsed at Wjrtheville by General 
 Morgan and fell back with considerable loss. 
 The infantry under Crook, however, defeated 
 the enemy the same day at Cloyd Mountain, 
 capturing Dublin Depot in the evening. An- 
 other victory was gained the next day and the 
 railroad bridge over New River destroyed. 
 From this point the command returned to 
 Meadow Bluffs, whence they started to join 
 General Hunter at Staunton, in the Shenan- 
 doah Valley, having a skirmish at Panther Gap 
 Mountain. Reaching Goshen, on the Central 
 Virginia Railroad on June 5th, another skirm- 
 ish took place with some of the enemy's cav- 
 alry at Cow Pasture River. The day after the 
 Rebels were driven out of Buffalo Gap by 
 General Hayes's Brigade. 
 
 Staunton was reached June 8th, and on the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 487 
 
 9th, General Hunter, now reinforced by Gen- 
 erals Crook, Averill and Duffie, left this point 
 going by way of Brownsville to Lexington, 
 which was reached on the nth. Some shots 
 were exchanged with the enemy at Buckhan- 
 non on the 14th, and then the force crossed the 
 Blue Ridge, the town of Liberty being reached 
 on the 1 6th, where another skirmish occurred. 
 From this point General Crook's command, 
 with which the . dismounted members of the 
 34th were serving, was sent on a flanking ex- 
 pedition across the James river, for the pur- 
 pose of attacking Lynchburg. The attack was 
 made on the i8th and was partially successful, 
 but the enemy being re-inforced that night by 
 20,000 men under Early, further operations 
 against that city were impossible. The next 
 morning the opposing armies engaged in a 
 fierce cannonade, and in the afternoon an en- 
 gagement took place in which the 34th suf- 
 fered severely. At dark on the 19th the Na- 
 tional forces began a retreat, being closely pur- 
 sued by the enemy, another skirmish occurring 
 at Liberty. At Salem, on the 21st, Hunter's 
 artillery was attacked in a narrow defile by a 
 large force of the enemy, who made a sudden 
 descent from the hills, and the guns were cap- 
 tured. The mounted portion of the 34th, be- 
 ing a few miles in the rear, dashed up to the 
 rescue, dismounted, and, under command of 
 Lieut. Colonel Shaw, after a sharp fight, drove 
 off the enemy and recaptured the guns. After 
 enduring great hardships on the retreat, the 
 command reached Charleston on July ist, 
 where the men were enabled to obtain a much 
 needed rest. About this time the 34th was dis- 
 mounted, the horses being turned over to the 
 cavalry. On the loth of July the 34th em- 
 barked on transports for Parkersburg, thence 
 moving by rail to Martinsburg, in the Shen- 
 andoah Valley, where they arrived on the 14th. 
 On July 20, while General Crook, with his 
 main force and the 6th and 19th Corps, was 
 pressing Early back on Winchester, General 
 Duvall's Brigade (including the 34th) at- 
 tempted to occupy the place in advance of the 
 Confederates. Only 1200 strong, they met the 
 enemy two miles from Winchester and com- 
 pletely routed them, capturing their artillery 
 and killing and wounding all their brigade 
 commanders. The 34th lost 10 killed and 20 
 wounded. Four days later the fourth battle 
 
 of Winchester took place, in which General 
 Crook, being weakened by the absence of the 
 6th and 19th Corps, was obliged to retreat, 
 losing only a few wagons. The losses of the 
 34th in this battle were severe and included 
 Lieut. Colonel Shaw. Capt. G. W. McKay 
 also received a mortal wound. The command 
 then devolved on Captain S. R. S. West, a 
 brave and gallant officer. On the 25th another 
 stand was made at Martinsburg, the 34th be- 
 ing the last regiment to leave the field. From 
 the 25th of July to the i ith of August the reg- 
 iment was occupied chiefly in marching and 
 countermarching, there being heavy skirmish- 
 ing on the nth with Early, who was falling 
 back on Fisher's Hill. Between the 12th and 
 17th more skirmishing occurred at Cedar 
 Creek. The regiment then fell back through 
 Winchester to Berry ville, and on the 20th of 
 August was at Charleston, with the enemy 
 close in its rear. Expecting an attack, breast- 
 works were thrown up, but none occurring, an- 
 other retrograde movement took place to Hall- 
 town. Some skirmishing occurred up to the 
 27th when the enemy withdrew to the upper 
 Potomac. On the next day the regiment again 
 occupied Charleston. Here the non-veterans 
 were discharged and on Sept. 3d proceeded to 
 Columbus, Ohio, in charge of Captain West. 
 During the few months previous to this the 
 34th had been largely strengthened by new re- 
 cruits, and now numbered between 400 and 500 
 men, present and absent. 
 
 On the evening of the day on which the 
 non- veterans left the regiment participated in 
 the battle of Berryville. The enemy fell back 
 to Winchester and Bunker Hill. The 34th 
 marched to Summit Point, where they lay en- 
 camped until Sheridan's victorious battle of 
 Winchester. On that day it lost no less than 
 six color bearers in quick succession. The flag 
 was finally brought through safe by George 
 Rynals, of Company A. At Fisher's Hill, on 
 the 22d, the enemy were successfully flanked, 
 and fled, losing his artillery. In the last two 
 engagements the 34th lost 61 killed. 
 
 The demoralized enemy was followed to 
 Harrisburg, where the National forces lay un- 
 til the 6th of October. In the meanwhile the 
 cavalry was desolating the Valley, in accord- 
 ance with General Sheridan's order. The work 
 of devastation being now completed, the Na- 
 
488 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tional army fell back to Cedar Creek, while 
 the enemy resumed his old position at Fisher's 
 Hill. On the 19th General Early made his 
 desperate attempt to regain his lost laurels, and 
 had almost succeeded, when the opportune ar- 
 rival of General Sheridan, so celebrated in 
 song and story, turned the tables, and ended 
 in the utter rout of the Confederates. The 
 brunt of the morning's surprise and attack fell 
 on the left flank, composed of General Crook's 
 Corps, which, with the 19th Corps occupying 
 the center of the line, was badly shattered. 
 The 6th Corps on the right had time to fall 
 back in good order. The troops were rallied 
 near Middletown, from whence the final and 
 successful advance was made. 
 
 On the evening before the battle, the regi- 
 ment was on picket duty, under command of 
 Lieut. Colonel Furney. Before dawn the next 
 morning, when the surprise occurred, the Col- 
 onel and 18 of his men, were taken prisoners. 
 He, however, escaped at Mt. Jackson and re- 
 joined his command a few days later. The 
 loss of the 34th in this affair was two killed, 
 12 wounded and 18 prisoners. From this time 
 until the latter part of December, 1864 the 
 regiment lay near Kernstown, when it 
 marched to Opequan Crossing, and thence to 
 Martinsburg. On the evening of December 22d, 
 while enroute by rail to Webster, a collision 
 occurred, whereby two men of the regiment 
 were killed and fourteen wounded. 
 
 On January 11, 1865, while the 34th were in 
 garrison at Beverly, with the dismounted por- 
 tion of the 8th Ohio Cavalry — being at this 
 time reduced to 300 men present for duty — 
 a sudden and unexpected attack was made on 
 the post by the enemy under General Rosser, 
 and almost the entire regiment captured, 
 though many, favored by the darkness and ex- 
 citement, subsequently escaped. Colonel You- 
 art, of the 8th, commanding the post, and Col- 
 onel Furney, were both captured but afterward 
 escaped. The survivors of this unfortunate 
 affair fell back to Phillipi, and thence were 
 ordered to Cumberland, Md., where on Feb. 
 22d, they were consolidated with the 36th Ohio 
 CGeneral Crook's old regiment), commanded 
 l)y Colonel H. F Duval. Thus the old 34th 
 lost its identity, the coalition being known as 
 the 36th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 The 45th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was or- 
 
 ganized at Camp Chase in August, 1862, be- 
 ing mustered in on the 19th of that month. 
 It was immediately ordered to Cynthiana, Ky., 
 where it remained until the advance of Greneral 
 Kirby Smith compelled it, with the 99th Ohio, 
 to fall back to Cbvington. After aiding in the 
 defense of Cincinnati, it took post at Lexing- 
 ton, and was engaged for some time in build- 
 ing bridges on the Kentucky Central Railroad. 
 While at Lexington it was brigaded with the 
 i8th and 22d Michigan regiments and 112th 
 Illinois, under the command of General G. C. 
 Smith. 
 
 While at Danville, about the middle of Feb- 
 ruary, the regiment was mounted and brigaded 
 with the 7th Ohio and loth Kentucky regi- 
 ments of cavalry, all under command of Col- 
 onel Benj. P. Runkle, of the 45th. Soon after 
 it took- part in the pursuit of a body of the 
 enemy's cavalry under command of Colonel 
 Cluke, and on the 30th of March was engaged 
 for the first time, at Dutton's Hill, near Som- 
 erset, with the enemy's forces under Generals 
 Gillmore and Pegram. In this affair the regi- 
 ment lost one man, mortally wounded. 
 
 From this time and until the early part of 
 July the 45th was stationed in the neighbor- 
 hood of Somerset, picketing the line of the 
 Cumberland river and occasionally reconnoit- 
 ring beyond. During the performance of this 
 duty the regiment lost two killed and several 
 wounded, two of the latter mortally. In the 
 pursuit after Morgan in July, 1863, it had one 
 man killed and several wounded. Subse- 
 quently returning to Kentucky, it took part 
 in the pursuit of Colonel Scott's force, which 
 had advanced as far as Winchester, that state. 
 Upon the reorganization of Burnside's army 
 in August, 1863, the 45th was included in 
 Byrd's Brigade of General Carter's Division 
 with the 1st Tennessee and the 112th Illinois 
 Mounted Infantry and the 8th Michigan Cav- 
 alrv. 
 
 Early in September it was detached and sent 
 to Loudon, and, after crossing the Tennessee 
 River before all the rest of the army, was soon 
 after transferred to the cavalry brigade of 
 Colonel Wolford, which, with that of Colonel 
 Byrd, constituted the extreme right of Burn- 
 side's army. While stationed at Philadelphia, 
 Oct. 20th, Wolford's Brigade was surprised 
 and routed losing all its trains, a battery of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 489 
 
 artillery and many prisoners. In this affair 
 the 45th had three men killed, four mortally 
 wounded and more than 100 captured. 
 
 On the 15th of the following month, as the 
 mounted division of General Saunders, to 
 which the 45th belonged, was falling back be- 
 fore the enemy's cavalry, the regiment was dis- 
 mounted, and left without any immediate sup- 
 port. While in this position, with its horses 
 in the rear, it was thrown into confusion by a 
 very sudden and spirited attack and lost five 
 killed, several wounded, and about 100 men 
 and officers taken prisoners. 
 
 On the 1 8th of November, during Long- 
 street's advance on Knoxville, Saunders' Di- 
 vision was hotly engaged. Brigadier General 
 Saunders and Adjutant Fearns, of the 45th 
 being mortally wounded. The regiment lost 
 five men killed and six mortally wounded, in- 
 cluding the Adjutant. The regiment was next 
 engaged in action at Bean's Station, Dec. 14th, 
 but without loss. 
 
 After Longstreet retired toward. Virginia, 
 the 45th, with the nth and 27th Kentucky 
 Mounted Infantry, were sent to Cumberland 
 Gap and remained in that neighborhood until 
 the 8th of February, 1864, when the brigade 
 was marched to Mt. Sterling, Ky., to be re- 
 mounted. This design, however, was never 
 carried out, and the regiment ever after served 
 as infantry proper. 
 
 Leaving Mt. Sterling April 6th, and Camp 
 Nelson on the 19th, the 45th, with several other 
 regiments, marched across the mountains to 
 East Tennessee, reaching Knoxville May 3d. 
 A few days later it went by rail to Cleveland, 
 Tenn., and thence to Tunnel Hill, Ga., where 
 it was attached to the 2d Brigade, 2d Division, 
 23d Army Corps, on the nth. Three days 
 later it had two men killed and three mortally 
 wounded at the battle of Resaca, and afterward 
 participated in many of the actions during the 
 Atlanta campaign. Toward the end of June 
 the regiment was transferred to the 2d Brigade 
 of the 1st Division, 4th Corps. With the 4th 
 Corps the regiment afterward participated in 
 the battle of Franklin and in the fighting be- 
 fore Nashville, when Hood's army was totally 
 routed and dispersed. In the spring of 1865 
 the 45th accompanied the 4th Corps to East 
 Tennessee, returned with it to Nashville to- 
 ward the end of April, and was mustered out 
 
 of the service on the 15th of the following 
 June, having at that time two months to serve 
 to complete its term of enlistment. 
 
 The 49th Regiment, O. V. I., contained a 
 company of Crawford county men, namely. 
 Company B. Its commissioned officers at its 
 organization were as follows : Amos Keller, 
 captain; A. H. Keller, first lieutenant; and J. 
 N. Biddle, second lieutenant. Captain and 
 Lieutenant Keller were killed at the battle of 
 Stone River, and their funeral which subse- 
 quently took place at Bucyrus, was one of the 
 largest ever held in the town. 
 
 The 49th Ohio regiment was organized at 
 Tiffin, Seneca county, under special authority 
 of the Secretary of War. On the 19th of Sep- 
 tember, 1 861, it started from Camp Noble, 
 near Tiffin, to Camp Dennison and, receiving 
 its equipment on the 21st, moved for Louisville, 
 Ky., where it reported next day to Brig. Gen- 
 eral Robert Anderson. It was the first or- 
 ganized regiment to enter Kentucky, and 
 was given a very cordial reception,, re- 
 ceiving an address of welcome from Gen- 
 eral Anderson, to which its colonel, Wil- 
 liam H. Gibson, responded. After further 
 ceremonies and a ' magnificent banquet, in 
 the evening the regiment took cars for Leb- 
 anon Junction, with orders to report to Gen- 
 eral W. T. Sherman, who commanded troops 
 at that point. " The next morning it departed 
 for Elizabethtown and went ihtoi camp at 
 Muldraugh's Hill. From this place on the 
 loth of October, it moved to Nolin Creek and 
 went into Camp Nevin. 
 
 In the subsequent organization of the 2d 
 Division of the Army of Ohio, the 49th was 
 assigned to the 6th Brigade, General R. W. 
 Johnson commanding. December loth, the 
 division moved to Munfordsville, on Green 
 River and, driving the Rebels to the opposite 
 side of the river, established Camp Wood. On 
 the 17th the National Pickets, from the 32d 
 Indiana Infantry, on the south side of Green 
 River, were attacked by the enemy, and the 
 49th Ohio and 39th Indiana were sent to their 
 relief, the enemy being repulsed, and Colonel 
 Terry, one of their commanders, being killed. 
 From December 17th to February 14th the 
 regiment lay in camp, being occupied in drill 
 and discipline. 
 
 On the 14th it moved on Bowling Green and, 
 
490 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 after crossing the river marched on Nashville, 
 where, on March 3d it established Camp An- 
 drew Jackson. On March i6th it moved with 
 Buell's army to join Grant's forces at Pitts- 
 burgh Landing, arriving there on the 6th. 
 Here, at eleven o'clock it went into battle on 
 the left of its brigade, the latter being com- 
 manded by Colonel Gibson, who left his regi- 
 ment in charge of Lieut. Colonel A. M. Black- 
 man. It maintained its position under a hot 
 fire until four o'clock in the afternoon, and 
 twice performed the hazardous movement of 
 changing front under fire. The 49th, after 
 some fighting at Bridge's Creek and other 
 points, entered Corinth with the army on May 
 30th, 1862. It then joined in pursuit of the 
 enemy, proceeding as far as Tuscumbia and 
 Florence, Alabama, and thence marching to 
 Battle Creek, Tenn. From here it took part 
 in the movement after Bragg's army, which 
 was entering Kentucky, threatening Louisville 
 and Cincinnati. The troops suffered severely 
 on this march from intense heat, want of water 
 and short rations. At Louisville, which point 
 they reached on the 29th of September, the 
 troops rested for a few days, and then resumed 
 their march in pursuit of the enemy, whom 
 they drove before them through Shelbyville, 
 and reaching Frankfort, where they dispersed 
 the Rebel troops gathered to guard the inaug- 
 eration of Capt. Dick Hawes 'as Confederate 
 governor of Kentucky. The march was re- 
 sumed on the 7th and a junction made with 
 the main army on the day following the battle 
 of Perryville. During all this time there was 
 daily skirmishing. At Lawrenceburg and Dog 
 Walk sharp engagements took place, in which 
 the 49th took a conspicuous part under com- 
 mand of Lieut. Colonel Levi Drake. With the 
 enemy retreating before them the 49th, with 
 its brigade and division, marched to Crab Or- 
 chard, and thence through Bowling Green to 
 Nashville, being with the advance that raised 
 the siege of that city on October 5th. It sub- 
 sequently remained in camp at Millcreek until 
 the 26th of December. 
 
 On that date the Army of the Cumberland, 
 under command of General Rosecrans, began 
 its movement on Murfreesboro. The 49th, 
 forming a part of the right wing, under Major 
 General McCook, after considerable skirmish- 
 ing, became engaged in battle, on the extreme 
 
 right of the National army, before Murfrees- 
 boro, on the evening of the 30th. At six o'clock 
 next morning. Kirk's Brigade, being furiously 
 assailed by the enemy, was thrown back on 
 the 49th, which also became engaged, and was 
 borne back by overwhelming numbers a mile 
 and a half to the Nashville Turnpike, which it 
 reached after an incessant conflict of nine 
 hours. The next morning it was sent to recon- 
 noitre on the right and rear of main army, and 
 operated on the extreme right in connection 
 with Stanley's cavalry. On January 2d it oc- 
 cupied a position in reserve, to the center, and 
 late in the afternoon, upon the repulse of Van 
 Cleeves Division, to the left, it joined with 
 its brigade in a magnificent bayonet charge, 
 retreiving the fortunes of the day in that part 
 of the field and inflicting a severe defeat on 
 the enemy By the capture of General Willich, 
 Colonel Gibson, of the 49th succeeded to the 
 command of the brigade. Lieut. Colonel 
 Drake was killed during the battle. Major 
 Porter wounded, and all the senior captains 
 present either killed or wounded, the command 
 of the regiment at the close of the day devolv- 
 ing on the junior Captain, S. F. Gray. 
 
 After losing some men in various foraging 
 expeditions, the regiment moved with the 
 army on the 24th of June, from Murfrees- 
 boro, and, finding the enemy strongly posted 
 at Liberty Gap, an encounter took place, the 
 49th assaulting the enemy's right, which was 
 posted on a hill. It drove him from the heights 
 and compelled him to fall back to another 
 strong position about a mile in his rear. 
 
 On the next day the advance was resumed 
 and in the middle of the afternoon the 40th 
 was brought into action of the enemy's center, 
 which covered the valley, his flanks resting on 
 the hills. Advancing briskly in four ranks, 
 according to a newly introduced drill, the regi- 
 ment opened fire and soon broke the enemy's 
 center, the position being maintained by the 
 co-operation of other troops. Tullahoma was 
 reached July ist, without further engagement, 
 and the regiment went into camp. 
 
 In the movement of the National army on 
 Chattanooga in August, the 49th crossed the 
 Tennessee river on the 31st near Belief onte. 
 In the battle of Chicamauga the regiment, un- 
 der command of Major S. F. Gray, held a 
 position on the morning of the first day, on 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 491 
 
 the extreme right of the National forces, form- 
 ing a part of General R. W. Johnson's Di- 
 vision. Before being engaged the brigade and 
 division were shifted to the extreme left of 
 the army and united with Thomas's Corps. 
 Between three and four o'clock P. M. the reg- 
 iment made a charge against the enemy's right, 
 which was posted in dense woods and drove 
 them back, capturing two guns. Three guns 
 were captured in all by the brigade. ■ At dusk 
 the enemy made a sudden and furious charge 
 with the bayonet, which after some ground had 
 been lost, was repelled and the Confederates 
 driven back. 
 
 On the second day of the battle the 49th 
 Ohio performed gallant and important service 
 on various parts of the field, and took part in 
 an exploit which, it is claimed, saved Thomas's 
 Corps from being swept from the field. Hav- 
 ing broken through the National left, the enemy 
 were charging fiercely on the center, when the 
 49th faced to the rear and poured a destructive 
 fire into them, which being backed by Good- 
 speed's Battery, and a hot fire from the 15th 
 Ohio, checked the Rebels and drove them back 
 on their main body. At evening, the 49th, 
 with its brigade, was the last to retire from the 
 field. At Rossville some temporary fieldworks 
 were thrown up, in expectation of an attack, 
 and on the following night the brigade reached 
 Chattanooga. 
 
 On November 24th the 49th, with its brig- 
 ade, joined in the movement against Mission 
 Ridge, under Grant, where, with conspicuous 
 gallantry it was one of the first regiments to 
 plant its colors on the summit. Soon after this 
 it moved with Granger's Corps to the relief 
 of Burnside at Knoxville. This was one of 
 the severest marches made during the war. 
 The weather was intensely cold and the ground 
 covered with snow, while the men were almost 
 naked, without shoes and the rations exhausted. 
 Hearing at Strawberry Plains that Burnside 
 had repulsed Longstreet, the National forces 
 returned to Chattanooga. While engaged in 
 this severe campaign the men were called upon 
 to re-enlist for the war, to which call a hearty 
 response was given. The regiment now re- 
 turned to Ohio to enjoy its veteran furlough 
 of 30 days and was warmly greeted at Ttffin, 
 the place of its organization. 
 
 On the expiration of its furlough it re- 
 
 ported at the headquarters of the Fourth 
 Corps at Cleveland, Tennessee, where the Na- 
 tional forces were preparing for the campaign 
 against Atlanta. In this campaign its history 
 fornied a part of that of the Fourth Army 
 Corps. It participated in the engagements at 
 Dalton, Resaca, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, 
 Chattahoochie River and Atlanta, exhibiting 
 its usual gallantry and discipline and sustain- 
 ing severe losses. In the movement that forced 
 the enemy from Atlanta, it participated in the 
 battle at Jonesboro and Love joy Station, and 
 after abandoning pursuit of the enemy, went 
 into camp at Atlanta. 
 
 On the division of the grand army, when 
 Sherman commenced his march to the sea, the 
 army of the Cumberland, under General 
 Thomas, was left to attend to General Hood, 
 who was rashly moving on Nashville. In the 
 movements of Thomas's forces and in the sub- 
 sequent battles of Franklin and Nashville, the 
 49th Ohio, under command of Lieut. Colonel 
 Strong, fully sustained its reputation in gal- 
 lantry and efficiency. In the battle before 
 Nashville, December 15-16, 1864, the regiment 
 participated in the brilliant charges made by 
 the 4th Army Corps, suffering severely in killed 
 and wounded. After the battle it took part in 
 the pursuit after the flying enemy, subsequently 
 going into camp at Huntsville, Alabama, where 
 it remained until about the middle of March, 
 1865. It then formed part of an expedition 
 to East Tennessee, going into camp at Green- 
 ville. On its return to Nashville, it was 
 embarked on transports, June 15th, and taken 
 to Texas, by way of New Orleans. It reached 
 Victoria, Texas in July, and advanced into 
 the interior as far as San Antonio. After 
 four months service in this field it returned 
 to Victoria, where it was mustered out of ser- 
 vice on the 30th of November, 1865. 
 
 The number of names upon the rolls of this 
 regiment was 1,552, nineteen of the men were 
 born in Europe, and 760 in Ohio, 440 being 
 from Seneca county. Eight officers were killed 
 in battle, and 20 wounded, six of these mor- 
 tally. Of the privates 127 were killed in bat- 
 tle, 71 were mortally wounded, 165 died from 
 hardships or disease, and seven perished in 
 Southern prisons. During two-thirds of his 
 service Colonel Gibson commanded a brigade 
 by virtue of his rank. 
 
492 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 The 55th Ohio Volunteer Infantry went into 
 camp at Norwalk, Ohio, on the 17th of Octo- 
 ber, 1 86 1. Maj. John C. Lee was made colonel 
 Nov. 25th, receiving his commission on Jan- 
 uary 20, 1862. The lieut. -colonel was George- 
 H. Safford; Major Lee, on being promoted to 
 colonel, was succeeded by Daniel F. DeWolf ; 
 Jay Kling was surgeon. During the three 
 years' service of the regiment various changes 
 took place in officers, caused by death, resig- 
 nation or promotion. A number of the men 
 in Company H were from Crawford county. 
 
 On January 25th, 1862 the regiment left for 
 Grafton, Western Virginia, where it was sta- 
 tioned until the latter part of March. While 
 here it suffered greatly from measles and other 
 diseases, having at one time as many as 400 
 men on the sick list, 20 of whom died. When 
 ready for service again it joined General 
 Schenck's Brigade at Romney, subsequently 
 going into camp near Moorefield on the Po- 
 tomac. In the latter part of April seven com- 
 panies moved with the brigade to Petersburg 
 and on through Franklin to McDowell, leaving 
 companies D, E and G at Moorefield. After 
 taking part in the action at McDowell, the 
 troops fell back to Franklin, during this march 
 and later suffering severely from the scarcity 
 of rations. In the later part of May a move- 
 ment was made toward Strasburg, threatening 
 the communications of "Stonewall" Jackson, 
 who was moving for the B. & O. Railroad. 
 Jackson now began a retreat and the National 
 troops followed in pursuit, there being fre- 
 quent skirmishing between the National ad- 
 vance and the Confederate rear. Jackson hav- 
 ing destroyed the bridge across the Shenandoah 
 at Fort Republic, further pursuit was found 
 impracticable. 
 
 About the 20th of June the army arrived at 
 Middletown, near Winchester, and here the 
 Army of Virginia was organized. The 55th 
 was brigaded with the 25th, 73d and 75th Ohio 
 regiments, and was attached to General 
 Schenck's Division. The regiment left Mid- 
 dletown July 7th for Sperryville, where it re- 
 remained until the 8th of August, and then 
 moved toward Culpepper Court House. 
 While encamped on Robertson's river, near 
 Rapidan, the regimental band was mustered 
 out and a detail of officers returned to Ohio 
 on recruiting service. On the 19th the army 
 
 commenced a retrograde movement, the 55th, 
 with its brigade covering the retreat. The 
 Rappahannock was crossed at White Sulphur 
 Springs, and for several days the regiment 
 was employed in guarding the various fords 
 of the river to prevent the enemy from cross- 
 ing. On the 25th the regiment moved toward 
 Warrenton and thence northward to intercept 
 Jackson in his attempt to join Lee's army. 
 An engagement took place on the 29th on the 
 old Bull Run battleground. At night the regi- 
 ment,- with its brigade, gradually moved to- 
 the rear and, after dark, fell back to Center- 
 ville. From this point several marches and 
 expeditions were made, there being, however,, 
 little or no fighting. The column being re- 
 enforced, proceeded as far south as Catlett's- 
 Station, where a small skirmish took place. 
 A return was then made to Centerville, where 
 the regiment remained until the 2d of Novem- 
 ber. The rest of the month was taken up by^ 
 a series of marches and encampments, the 
 regiment then going into camp near Chantilly. 
 On December loth the regiment marched for 
 Stafford Court House, which was reached on 
 the 17th. The 55th was next sent to defend 
 Belle Plain Landing in view of Burnside's- 
 contemplated attack on Fredericksburg, but 
 heavy rains and bad roads interfering with; 
 that movement, it went into winter quarters 
 at Brook's Station. 
 
 The Army of the Potomac beginning its 
 movement on Fredericksburg in the latter part 
 of April, the 55th participated in the move- 
 ments of the nth Corps, and on the 2d of 
 May, when the enemy executed a successful 
 flank movement on our right, the regiment, 
 with others was compelled to fall back, losing 
 153 men killed, wounded and missing. 
 
 About the middle of May the 55th regiment 
 was transferred to the 2d Brigade of the 2d 
 Division, and it remained in this brigade dur- 
 ing the remainder of its service. It took part 
 in the battle of Gettysburg, being first posted 
 with its division on Cemetery Hill but moved 
 subsequently to the left of the Baltimore Pike. 
 The battle line of the regiment was not en- 
 gaged, but the skirmish line was subjected to- 
 a severe fire, and the regiment lost in this bat- 
 tle about 50 men. Having pursued the re- 
 treating enemy, the 55th went into camp, July- 
 25th, near Catlett's Station. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 493 
 
 On the 30th of September the 55th, with 
 the nth and 12th Corps, arrived at Bridge- 
 port, Ala., and in the latter part of October 
 moved for Lookout Mountain. The regiment 
 moved to Chattanooga November 22d and 
 later took part in the battle of Mission Ridge, 
 being posted on the extreme left to guard the 
 flank. Immediately after the I'egiment took 
 part in the Knoxville campaign, returning to 
 Lookout Valley on the 17th of December. On 
 the 1st of January, 1864, 319 men of the 55th 
 re-enlisted and went to Ohio for their fur- 
 lough. On the 4th of March it was again en- 
 camped in Lookout Valley. About this time 
 the nth and 12th Corps were consolidated 
 and denominated the 20th, and the regiment 
 formed a part of the 3d Brigade of the 3d 
 Division. 
 
 The regiment started on the Atlanta cam- 
 paign on the 2d of May, and participated in 
 all the battles in which the 20th Corps was en- 
 gaged. At Resaca it lost upwards of 90 men. 
 It took part in the fighting before Atlanta, 
 and during the siege of that city, occupied its 
 place in the lines, assisting in the advance- 
 ment of the parallels toward the city. Dur- 
 ing the Atlanta campaign the 55th lost over 
 200 men. About the ist of November the 
 regiment received 200 drafted men and sub- 
 stitutes, and about the same time those who 
 were not veterans were mustered out. 
 
 Subsequently the regiment took part in 
 Sherman's march to the sea, entering Savan- 
 nah December 21st. Here it remained until 
 early in January, 1865, when it was thrown 
 across the Savannah river, and on the 29th 
 of January started fairly on the march through 
 the Carolinas. It took part in the fighting at 
 Smith's Farm, on March i6th, where it lost 
 two men killed, one officer and 23 men 
 wounded, and seven men missing. On the 
 24th of March it took part in the review be- 
 fore General Sherman at Goldsboro. From 
 this place it marched to Raleigh, and on April 
 30th commenced the march to Washington, 
 where it subsequently participated in the grand 
 review. Upon the disbanding of the 20th 
 Corps the Ohio regiments were organized into 
 a Provisional brigade and were assigned to 
 the 14th Corps. The regiment was mustered 
 out of the service at Louisville. Ky., on July 
 I rth, being paid and discharged at Cleveland, 
 
 Ohio on the 19th. During its term of service 
 the 55th enrolled about 1,350 men, of whom 
 750 were either killed or wounded in battle. 
 Ten officers were wounded once or more and 
 eight officers either died of wounds or were 
 killed in battle. 
 
 The 57th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. — This 
 regiment was partially organized at Camp 
 Vance, Findlay, Hancock county, Ohio, its 
 organization being completed at Camp Chase, 
 on the loth of February, 1862. Company I 
 was partially recruited in Crawford county, 
 the other members coming from Shelby and 
 Sandusky. William Mungen was commis- 
 sioned colonel Feb. 17, 1862; resigned April 
 16, 1863 and was succeeded by A. V. Rice. 
 The latter being made brigadier general, was 
 succeeded by Samuel R. Mott, who was mus- 
 tered out with the regiment. 
 
 The regiment started for Fort Donelson, on 
 the i8th of February, 1862, but an order re- 
 ceived at Smithfield, Ky. diverted its course 
 to Paducah, that state. Here it was assigned 
 to the 3d Brigade, 5th Division of the Army 
 of the Tennessee. On the 8th of March it 
 took boat for Ft. Henry on the Ten- 
 nessee, and thence proceeded to Savan- 
 nah, where it arrived on the nth. On 
 the 14th it accompanied a gunboat expedition 
 to the mouth of Yellow Creek, and then re- 
 turning, went to Pittsburg Landing. On the 
 17th the 5th Division made a reconnoisance 
 to Pea Ridge, and on the 19th went into camp 
 at Shiloh Chapel, three miles southwest of the 
 Landing. In the latter part of March recon- 
 noisances were made in the direction of Cor- 
 inth, and on April ist the regiment accom- 
 panied another gunboat expedition to East- 
 port, Miss., the gunboats throwing a few shells 
 into the town. They then moved up the river 
 and shelled the enemy's works at Chickasaw, 
 Ala. A few prisoners were made in this 
 vicinity. 
 
 About this time the regiment suffered much 
 from sickness, on April 6th there being but 
 450 men fit for duty. On this day the enemy 
 was encountered near Shiloh Church, where 
 the 57th withstood three Rebel regiments from 
 6 until ID o'clock A. M. These regiments left 
 78 dead on front of the 57th. The regiment 
 was then ordered to fall back on the Hamburg 
 and Purdy road, the line being subsequently 
 
494 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 pressed back three-quarters of a mile further. 
 On the next day the enemy being driven back, 
 the 57th recovered its old position, having 
 lain under arms all night in a drenching rain. 
 After another night in the rain and mud, 
 without tents, the command moved on the 
 8th about seven miles toward Corinth, and 
 near Pea Ridge had an encounter with For- 
 rest's cavalry and about 1500 Confederate 
 infantry. Here the National cavalry gave 
 way before that of the enemy, and two com- 
 panies of the 57th, who had been thrown out 
 as skirmishers, were captured, along with two 
 companies of the -77th Ohio. The 57th then 
 fixed bayonets and charged the cavalry, which 
 gave way, and the captured companies rushed 
 to their comrades or laid down. 'The regi- 
 ment then poured a volley into the retreating 
 enemy. In three days the 57th had lost 27 
 killed, 150 wounded (16 mortally) and ten 
 captured. 
 
 The regiment then took part in the advance 
 on Corinth, being employed largely in march- 
 ing, picketing and building breastworks, with 
 an occasional engagement. During this time 
 it was assigned to the ist Brigade of the 5th 
 Division. After the evacuation it was oc- 
 cupied in repairing the Memphis & Charles- 
 ton Railroad and in making reconnoisances. 
 While at Moscow a detachment of 250 men 
 was sent to accompany a train to Memphis 
 to procure supplies. Near Morning Sun, on 
 the Memphis & Nashville road, the train was 
 attacked by 600 of the enemy's cavalry, who 
 charged three times, but were finally repulsed 
 with heavy loss in killed, wounded and pris- 
 oners. The detachment lost four men 
 wounded. The regiment moved to Memphis 
 on the 1 8th of July and on the 29th of August 
 was ordered to Raleigh to look after Bur- 
 row's Rebel cavalry. The cavalry fled after 
 exchanging a few shots and the regiment cap- 
 tured a number of horses. Early in Septem- 
 ber the 57th was sent on a four days' scout 
 into Mississippi during which it was en- 
 gaged with the enemy six different times. It 
 was then assigned to guard the Randolph 
 road, north of Memphis and also the bridge 
 over Wolf Creek, and while engaged in this 
 duty, was attacked by Burrows' cavalry, Sept. 
 23d. The enemy were repulsed without loss 
 to the regiment. On November 12th it was 
 
 assigned to the ist Brigade, ist Division, 15th 
 Army Corps. 
 
 On the 26th the regiment, with quite a 
 large force, moved against General Price, on 
 the Tallahatchie river, near Wyaft, Miss. 
 The enemy evacuated the place and the 
 march was continued to Grenada. The Corps 
 returned to Memphis on the 15th of Decem- 
 ber, and here the 57th now received an addi- 
 tion of 118 volunteers and 205 drafted men, 
 which made its aggregate force 650 men. 
 Soon* after, with the 15th Corps, it moved 
 down the Mississippi to Young's point, where 
 the troops proceeded up the Yazoo, disem- 
 barking on Sydney Johnston's plantation. 
 The next day, when attempting to cross 
 Chickasaw Bayou the 15 th Corps encountered 
 the enemy and fighting took place, which 
 lasted for five days, the troops finally return- 
 ing to the transports. In this action the regi- 
 ment lost 37 in killed and wounded. Early in 
 January the Corps moved down the Yazoo 
 to the Mississippi, up the Mississippi to White 
 river, thence, through the "cut-off," into the 
 Arkansas and up the Arkansas to within two 
 miles of Arkansas Post, disembarking on the 
 loth. Here the ist Brigade attacked the 
 Rebel pickets and drove them to within 600 
 yards of Fort Hindman, and subsequently, 
 with the 6th Missouri, drove the enemy from 
 their barracks, in front of their lines, and 
 about half a mile further to the west. In an 
 assault against the works on the next day the 
 57th led the charge and after a desperate bat- 
 tle of three hours, the enemy surrendered. In 
 this action the regiment lost 37 in killed and 
 wounded. 
 
 Ordered to Clay Plantation on the 13th, 
 the 57th here defeated some of the enemy's 
 cavalry and destroyed a large amount of 
 stores, and then moved with the fleet for 
 Vicksburg. In the operation against this 
 place under Grant, the regiment took a very 
 active part, being frequently engaged with 
 the enemy, marching, digging, fighting and 
 capturing large quantities of supplies. In the 
 advance upon the city the regiment participr 
 ated in the actions at Raymond, Champion 
 Hills, where it lost heavily, and Black River. 
 It took part in the general assault on the 19th 
 of May, advancing to within 70 yards of the 
 enemy's line, and holding its position under 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 495 
 
 a terrific fire until two o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of the 20th, when the brigade was with- 
 drawn to a position in the rear. In the ad- 
 vance on the 22d it was in the front line and 
 suffered more than in the previous assault. 
 On the 26th of May it accompanied the divi- 
 sion in a reconnoisance between the Big Black 
 and Yazoo rivers and engaged successfully 
 with the enemy at Mechanicsburg. From the 
 time until the surrender it was continually 
 engaged, either on the picket line or in the 
 trenches. 
 
 It then took part in the movement against 
 Jackson, where Johnston's army lay, and 
 after the evacuation of the place aided in the 
 pursuit of the enemy to Pearl River, losing 
 several men. Subsequently returning to 
 Vicksburg, it went into camp at Camp Sher- 
 man, four miles west of Big Black River, 
 where it remained until the 27th of Septem- 
 ber. In the latter part of September it started 
 by steamer for Memphis, arriving there Oc- 
 tober 4th, and thence on the 8th marched for 
 Chattanooga, arriving November 22d at the 
 mouth of North Chickamauga Creek, ten 
 miles northeast of Chattanooga. During this 
 march, which was long and fatiguing, there 
 was frequent skirmishing with the enemy's 
 cavalry. The regiment now formed a part 
 of the I St Brigade, 2d Division, 15th Corps. 
 After some further operations the regiment 
 participated in the battle at Mission Ridge, 
 sustaining heavy loss. After pursuing the 
 enemy to Ringgold, it started with the Corps 
 to the relief of Burnside at Knoxville, march- 
 ing 104 miles in four days. Returning, it 
 arrived again at Chattanooga on December 
 i8th and drew "hardtack" for the first time 
 in 15 days. On the following day it started 
 for Bellefonte, Ala., where it arrived on the 
 29th, the men being by this time almost ex- 
 hausted by fatigue, hunger and privation, be- 
 sides being hatless, shoeless and half naked. 
 In spite of this experience, however, the men 
 of the i;7th were the first to reenlist as vet- 
 erans on the 1st of January, 1864. 
 
 After the usual furlough the regiment, with 
 207 recruits, rendezvoused at Camp Chase on 
 March i6th. On April 17th it rejoined its 
 brigade at Larkinsville, Ala., and on the ist 
 of May moved on the Atlanta campaign. It 
 participated in the battle of Resaca on May 
 
 13th and 14th, holding its ground on the 14th 
 against three successive charges of the enemy. 
 Its loss in this battle was 57 killed and wound- 
 ed. The enemy were again encountered at 
 Dallas, the regiment losing 15- men in three 
 days" fighting. Accompanying the army in 
 the pursuit of the retreating enemy, the 57th 
 took part in the actions at New Hope Church, 
 Kenesaw Mountain, where it lost 57 killed 
 and wounded, and skirmished almost inces- 
 santly both before and after crossing the 
 Chattahoochie. Atlanta was reached on the 
 20th and two days later the enemy made a 
 furious assault. The works in front of the 
 57th were captured by the enemy and recap- 
 tured by the regiment three separate times, 
 the regiment finally holding its position. In 
 this engagement the regiment lost 92 men. 
 The 57th was then moved to the extreme right 
 of the army and on the 28th again encoun- 
 tered the enemy, the Rebels being repulsed 
 after a seven hours' fight. The regiment had 
 12 men killed and 55 wounded, the enemy 
 leaving 458 of their number dead in front of 
 the brigade. The enemy was also repulsed 
 with fearful slaughter at the battle of Jones- 
 boro, the National troops occupying that 
 place after its evacuation by the Rebels. On 
 the 7th of September the 57th went into camp 
 at Eastport. 
 
 Here it remained until the 4th of October, 
 when it started after Hood, having an en- 
 counter with the enemy at Snake Creek Gap. 
 At Taylor's Ridge another fight occurred, the 
 enemy being repulsed. The time after this 
 was spent in marching, countermarching, 
 skirmishing and fighting until Atlanta was 
 reached again on November 13th. 
 
 On the 15th the 57th left with Sherman's 
 army on the march to the sea. On the 21st 
 it encountered Rebel cavalry near Clinton, 
 and on the 28th had quite a fight at the cross- 
 ing of the Oconee river. On December 3d 
 some of the regiment's foragers were cap- 
 tured and on the 4th it lost heavily in an en- 
 gagement at Statesboro. It engaged in the 
 assault on Ft. McAllister on the 13th, losing 
 ten killed and 80 wounded. On the 17th it 
 moved with its expedition on an expedition to 
 the Gulf Railroad and, after destroying about 
 50 miles of track, returned to camp. 
 
 On the ist of January the 57th moved two 
 
496 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 miles southeast of Savannah, and on the 14th 
 left camp for Beaufort, South Carolina, where 
 it o\'ertook the remainder of the force. On 
 the 30th it started on the campaign through 
 the Carolinas, and reached Columbia, after 
 heavy skirmishing on the 17th. When with- 
 in z'^ miles of Goldsboro, it was ordered back 
 to re-enforce the left wing of the army, then 
 menaced by Johnston. It was engaged se- 
 verely on the 19th and was engaged in sharp 
 skirmishing for two days after. Later it 
 moved by way of Goldsboro to Raleigh, and 
 after the surrender of Johnston, the march 
 was continued through Petersburg and Rich- 
 mond to Washington City. 
 
 The 57th participated in the grand review 
 on May 24th and was then ordered to Louis- 
 ville, Ky., where it arrived June 7th. On 
 the 25th it started for Little Rock, Arkansas, 
 arriving there August 6th. On the 14th it 
 ^^'as mustered out of the service and on the 
 25th was paid and discharged at Camp Chase, 
 Ohio. The 57th tra^-eled by railroad, steam- 
 boat and on foot more than 28,000 miles. 
 The names of 1,584 men had been on its mus- 
 ter rolls and of that number only 481 were 
 alive at its muster out. 
 
 The 64th Infantry, O. V. I., drew from 
 Crawford county. Company H, and furnished 
 also recruits to Company K. Company H 
 was organized with E. B. Finley, captain; 
 \\'illiam Starr, of Crestline, first lieutenant, 
 and Pinkney Lewis, second lieutenant. 
 
 The regiment was recruited and organized 
 at Mansfield, Ohio, and went into Camp Buck- 
 ingham, at that place, Xov. 9, 1861. Ordered 
 to Cincinnati about the middle of December, 
 it went thence by steamer to Louisville, Ky., 
 marching from Louisville, Dec. 26th, to 
 Bardstown, Ky. It was then btigaded and 
 then moved to Danville and Hall's Gap. Here 
 it engaged in road building to facilitate the 
 movement of supplies to Thomas's army. 
 Soon after the battle of :Mill Springs, it joined 
 the National forces at ^lunfordsville and 
 moved with them to Nashville, Tenn. A 
 week later it accompanied General T. J. 
 Wood's Division to Pittsburg Landing, by 
 way of Columbia. Taking steamer at Savan- 
 nah, it arrived at the battlefield of Shiloh at 
 II A. M. on the 7th of April, and was hur- 
 ried to the scene of conflict. The battle was 
 
 nearly over, however, and only Company A, 
 Capt. Alex. Mcllvaine, succeeded in getting 
 into action. It took part in the subsequent 
 movement on Corinth and was afterward sent 
 to luka, Tuscumbia, Decatur, Huntsville and 
 Stevenson. Here it erected Fort Harker, in 
 honor of its brigade commander. 
 
 About the first of August the regiment with 
 its brigade moved with the National forces 
 toward Nashville, and from there engaged 
 in a race with Bragg's forces to Louisville, 
 Ky.,' on the way driving the enemy out of 
 Munfordsville and across Green river. 
 
 About ten days after arriving at Louisville 
 the regiment moved out with National forces 
 to the vicinity of Perryville, and had the mor- 
 tification of witnessing the battle at that place, 
 without the permission to help their hard- 
 pressed comrades. After taking part in the 
 retrograde movement of the National forces, 
 the regiment with its brigade, marched 
 through Stamford, Scottsville and Gallatin to 
 the vicinity of Nashville, going into camp 
 on the Nolinsville Turnpike. 
 
 In the battle of Stone River, the 64th was 
 in Crittenden's Corps, Wood's Division, on 
 the left wing. At dusk, on Tuesday e\-ening, 
 it crossed the river, but meeting overwhelm- 
 ing forces, was recalled and withdrew with 
 slight loss. At seven o'clock the next morn- 
 ing it was hurried to the relief of the right 
 wing. General R. ^^" Johnson's line having 
 been forced. On its arrival it held the enemy 
 in check until the scattered National forces 
 were rallied. It then fell back on the main 
 line, drawing the Rebels until within reach 
 of a strong force of Nationals, who were 
 lying in wait for them, and who poured into 
 them a murderous fire, which dro\'e them 
 staggering back to the point they had started 
 from. The regiment then returned to its 
 former position on the left. On the last day 
 of the battle, Friday, Jan. 2, 1863, the regi- 
 ment participated in all the movements' of its 
 brigade. It lost in this battle 75 men killed 
 and wounded, out of about 300 engaged. 
 
 The 64th was then located at Murfrees- 
 boro until June 7, 1863, when it moved with 
 the National army under Rosecrans on the 
 TuUahoma campaign, stopping at Chattanoo- 
 ga over night and proceeding on to Chicka- 
 mauga Creek. On September there was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 497 
 
 skirmishing at Lee & Gordon's Mills, the 
 enemy being driven, and on the i8th another 
 skirmish took place. The bloody battle of 
 Chickamauga opened on the 19th, the 64th 
 being closely engaged during the whole day, 
 also on Sunday, the 20th, until after dark. 
 They lost in this battle over 100 men in killed, 
 wounded and missing. Subsequently the regi- 
 ment was employed in building fortifications 
 and in picket duty at Chattanooga, until the 
 arrival of Hooker's Corps and the relief of 
 the National forces. On November 2Sth the 
 regiment, with its brigade participated in the 
 taking of Mission Ridge, losing but few men. 
 Captain King and a private were killed. After 
 the battle of Chickamauga the regiment 
 moved with the expedition for the relief of 
 Knoxville, marching as far as Strawberry 
 Plains, but the siege of that place being raised 
 it returned to Chattanooga. About January, 
 1864, the subject of re-enlistment came up, 
 and most of the men consenting to re-enlist 
 for three years, they were granted a furlough 
 for thirty days, being warmly received at 
 Mansfield by the citizens, and honored with 
 a grand supper. 
 
 On March 14th they left again for the front 
 and arrived at Chattanooga April ist, having 
 marched from Nashville to Cleveland, Tenn. 
 
 Accompanying Sherman in his march on 
 Atlanta, which began May 3d, the regiment 
 with its brigade participated in the charge on 
 Rocky Face Ridge. Colonel Alexander Mc- 
 Ilvaine, then in command, and Lieutenant 
 Thomas H. Ehlers were killed with nineteen 
 men, sixty-five being wounded. Captain 
 Chamberlain, commanding Company C, was 
 severely wounded. 
 
 At Resaca, June 14th the 64th lost several 
 men killed and wounded. It sustained a slight 
 loss at Muddy Creek on the i8th. During 
 this time it was daily skirmishing with the 
 enemy, and on July 20th it lost Sergeant Ma- 
 rion Trage, of Company H, in the battle of 
 Peachtree Creek. On June 21st it moved to 
 the front of Atlanta and from this time until 
 August 26th was almost constantly under fire. 
 General Sherman then began his flanking 
 movement on Jonesboro, and on September 
 3d the fight at Jonesboro took place, where the 
 64th sustained but slight loss. In the evening 
 of the 6th the regiment was engaged in a 
 
 skirmish at Lovejoy's Station, losing one man. 
 Sergeant Towsley, of Company G. 
 
 After the taking of Atlanta the regiment, 
 with its brigade and division, returned to that 
 place and went into camp, remaining two 
 weeks. It then moved with the 4th Army 
 Corps in the pursuit of Hood to Chatta- 
 nooga. It also received 400 new recruits 
 from Ohio and was then sent on a reconnois- 
 ance in pursuit of Hoods' forces to Alpine, 
 Georgia, 50 miles south of Chattanooga. 
 
 Returning to Chattanooga the regiment 
 was sent by rail to Athens, Alabama, and 
 from that point marched to Pulaski, Tenn., 
 and to Spring Hill, passing through Colum- 
 bia. In an engagement at Spring Hill the 
 regiment lost a few men killed and wounded. 
 At the battle of Franklin, Tenn., it sustained 
 a severe loss in killed, wounded and missing. 
 It was subsequently engaged in the fighting 
 before Nashville, where, however, its losses 
 were slight. 
 
 It then joined in the pursuit of Hood's scat- 
 tered and demoralized forces across the Ten- 
 nessee river, subsequently going into camp 
 at Huntsville. From there it moved to De- 
 catur and Athens, where it remained two 
 months and then returned to Huntsville. It 
 was next sent into East Tennessee, going as 
 far as Strawberry Plains, where it remained 
 a week and then returned to Nashville. 
 
 From Nashville the regiment was sent on 
 board transports to New Orleans, where it 
 lay three months and suffered severely from 
 sickness. From the middle of September un- 
 til the 3d of December, 1865, it was stationed 
 at Victoria, Texas. It was then mustered out 
 at Victoria and was sent to Camp Chase, Ohio, 
 where the men were paid off and discharged. 
 
 The 8 1 St Regiment, O. V. I., had one com- 
 pany from Crawford county — Company K. 
 By order of the War Department, during the 
 summer of 1861 it was permissable for any- 
 one to enlist men, either singly, in squads or 
 in companies, fo recruit General Fremont's 
 command, and to have them forwarded to his 
 headquarters at St. Louis. Thomas Morton, 
 formerly colonel of the 20th Ohio, set out to 
 raise a full regiment under this order, which 
 was to be known as "Morton's Independent 
 Rifle Regiment." One company, having been 
 raised, was sent to St. Louis, and by mistake 
 
498 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 or mismanagement, was incorporated into an- 
 other regiment, while one or two other com- 
 panies, which it was expected would join this 
 regiment were prevailed upon to become a 
 part of other organizations, thus greatly de- 
 laying the formation of the regiment. But 
 at last the state came to the rescue by taking 
 the independent regiment into its fold. It 
 was denominated the 8ist O. V. I., the state 
 imdertook the work of recruiting and it was 
 agreed that the officers already appointed 
 should be commissioned by the governor. 
 
 The regiment rendezvoused at Benton Bar- 
 racks and there entered upon its first military 
 duties, which it continued susbequently at 
 Franklin and Herman, Missouri. It now 
 numbered eight companies with an aggregate 
 of nearly 600 men, which was as high a num- 
 ber as it seemed possible to attain. In No- 
 vember it moved against the enemy in Callo- 
 way county, but failed to find him. In the 
 following month it chased a force of rebels 
 who were destroying a portion of the North- 
 ern Missouri Railroad, but the enemy, being 
 mounted, escaped. During the winter it oc- 
 cupied various places on the Northern Mis- 
 souri Railroad, with headquarters at Danville, 
 and accomplished a great amount of useful 
 work in protecting the railroad, pursuing 
 guerilla bands and arresting Rebels engaged in 
 the work of destruction. 
 
 About the ist of March it was ordered to 
 St. Louis. It was armed with short Enfield 
 rifles, and on the 17th disembarked from the 
 steamboat at Pittsburg Landing. Soon after 
 it was assigned to the 2d Brigade, 2d Divi- 
 sion, Army of the Tennessee. The brigade 
 was commanded by Colonel McArthur and 
 the division by General C. F. Smith. The 
 regiment soon made great proficiency in drill. 
 When the battle of Pittsburg Landing (or 
 Shiloh) opened Sunday morning, April 6th, 
 it was ordered across Snake Creek, and re- 
 mained in position until nearly noon when it 
 was withdrawn to its own color line. A small 
 cavalry force of the enemy approached about 
 one o'clock, but was driven off by two com- 
 panies. After two o'clock General Grant or- 
 dered Colonel Morton to take position near 
 the center of the line and then move forward 
 until he found the enemy. Advancing toward 
 the front and left the colonel soon found his 
 
 little regiment alone, far ahead of the main 
 line and out of sight of it. While marching 
 by the flank, left in front, it emerged into a 
 clear piece of ground and was suddenly 
 greeted with a discharge of cannister from a 
 battery not more than 200 yards away. Form- 
 ing line, the regiment faced to the rear and, 
 lying down, delivered a volley or two which 
 silenced the enemy's fire. A movement was 
 then made to a ravine a little further to the 
 left. In making this movement a road had to 
 be crossed which was commanded by the en- 
 emy's battery. The regiment ran the gauntlet 
 a company at a time and got safely across. 
 Soon after, being threatened by some Rebel 
 cavalry, it was ordered back to the main lines, 
 and just as the order was given. Captain Arm- 
 strong, who commanded the right company, 
 was killed by a grape shot. During the des- 
 perate fighting on the 6th, some of the bri- 
 gades and divisions had become broken up 
 and the regiments scattered, and on the morn- 
 ing of the 7th when Grant took the initiative, 
 there was no time for reorganization. Pro- 
 visional brigades were hastily appointed, to 
 one of which the 8ist was assigned. The 
 regiment advanced and after crossing an open 
 field, were met by a heavy fire from the en- 
 emy who were posted behind a breastwork 
 of logs, while at the same time the shot and 
 shell from two opposite batteries plowed 
 through the ranks. The regiment therefore 
 withdrew to a less exposed situation, and 
 after taking up their new ground, found them- 
 selves without support and confronting a 
 Rebel force. A furious fire ensued, in which 
 the 8 1st boys had the best of it and the enemy 
 broke and fled. Encouraged by this success 
 they started up and dashed after the flying 
 foe, not halting until they found themselves 
 far in advance of any supports and flanked 
 both by infantry and artillery. Such was 
 their enthusiasm that even then they were 
 withdrawn with difficulty. In this charge the 
 regiment captured a number of prisoners and 
 also a battery. 
 
 The 8 1st took part in the subsequent slow 
 advance on Corinth, having several men 
 wounded in a skirmish on the 31st of May. 
 After finding the place evacuated the regiment 
 joined in the pursuit as far as Boonville, this 
 service being severe on account of the intense 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 499 
 
 heat. In July means were taken to recruit 
 the regiment. Companies H and G were con- 
 soHdated with other companies, and this made 
 five minimum companies in the regiment. 
 From the middle of August to the middle of 
 September the 8ist was engaged in protecting 
 public stores and performing post duty at 
 Hamburg, on the Tennessee river, subse- 
 quently returning to Corinth. A few days 
 later it marched under General Ord against 
 luka, which point General Rosecrans was also 
 approaching from the rear. Ord waited at 
 Burnsville, to allow time for Rosecrans to 
 come up, but the latter pressed on and made 
 the attack alone, after which Ord's column 
 returned to Corinth, the brigade taking up po- 
 sition two miles south on the Mobile railroad. 
 On the 3d of October the regiment moved 
 toward Corinth, the brigade commanded by 
 General Oglesby, and the division by General 
 Davis. This division was marched out a short 
 distance into the woods where it was halted. 
 The Third Brigade occupied the old Confed- 
 erate works on the left, while the 2d (Ogles- 
 by's) took position half a mile further to the 
 right, with the ist Brigade on its right. The 
 8ist was widely extended on the left of its 
 brigade. This weak line was hardly in posi- 
 tion ere it was attacked by the enemy. It 
 gave way at first, but being rallied it assumed 
 a more compact formation and held its posi- 
 tion during the remainder of the day. The 
 brunt of the battle fell upon Davis's Division 
 and ifeoon the hospital was filled with the 
 wounded. Among them were Gen. Davis's 
 three brigade commanders — Col. Baldwin. 
 Gen. Oglesby and Gen. Heckelman, the last 
 mentioned being in a dying condition. Dur- 
 ing the night the division changed position and 
 in the morning was stretched out in a single 
 line, without intrenchments or reserves, with 
 its left resting on Battery Powell and its right 
 covering Battery Richardson. About nine 
 or ten o'clock it was again attacked by the 
 enemy, and at first gave way, but being sup- 
 ported by Hamilton's artillery and Batteries 
 Williams and Robinett, the division rallied 
 and killed or captured most of the assaulting 
 column. The loss of the 8ist in this battle 
 was 1 1 men killed, 44 wounded and three miss- 
 ing. Among those to fall was Sergeant 
 
 David McCall, the color bearer, who had left 
 a sick bed to join his comrades in the fight. 
 
 The regiment joined in pursuit of the 
 enemy to a point near Chewalla, on the Tus- 
 cumbia river, where it remained a week, then 
 returning to Corinth. The remainder of Oc- 
 tober and some time after were spent in 
 garrison duty. On the 19th of October 
 the regiment was strengthened by the arrival 
 of five newly recruited companies, and on the 
 1st of December they took up winter quarters 
 within the defenses of Corinth. For a num- 
 ber of weeks they had little to do except to 
 engage in reconnoisance and foraging duties, 
 during which time they brought in a large 
 amount of supplies. In December, owing to 
 Forrest's raid, which had cut communications, 
 the garrison was placed on half rations, but 
 successful foraging parties obtained a quan- 
 tity of supplies and no great amount of suffer- 
 ing was experienced. This state of things 
 lasted about three weeks. After the battle of 
 Parker's Cross Roads, the 81 st, with other 
 troops, made an unsuccessful attempt to in- 
 tercept Forrest at Clifton. In the latter part 
 of January, 1863, the 81 st, with three other 
 regiments and a battery, went to Hamburg 
 to procure supplies, and also to capture a force 
 of the enemy encamped near Florence, but 
 owing to an injury to one of the boats the ex- 
 pedition was obliged to return without meet- 
 ing the enemy. 
 
 On April 15th the regiment joined in an 
 expedition to Tuscumbia, under General 
 Dodge, its object being to co-operate with 
 Colonel Streight in his movement on the 
 Southern Railroads. On the 28th there was 
 a sharp skirmish at Town Creek, in which 
 the regiment had a few men wounded. Af- 
 ter keeping the enemy engaged for two days 
 and nights General Dodge returned to Cor- 
 inth. This march, which lasted 18 days, re- 
 flected credit on the regiment, every man 
 being found in his place when it reached Cor- 
 inth. From early in June until the latter part 
 of October the 81 st was engaged in gfarrison 
 duty at Pocahontas, and subsequently per- 
 formed similar duty at Wales, Pulaski, Sam's 
 Mills and Nance's Mills being divided up for 
 that purpose. At Pulaski, which was made 
 the headquarters. Major Evans had a few of 
 
500 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 his men mounted for service against the en- 
 emy's guerrillas, who infested the country. 
 
 In January, 1864, the question of re-enlist- 
 meiit came up, three- fourths of the men being 
 ready to respond favorably, but the Secretary 
 of War deciding that the five companies lately 
 recruited were not entitled to the privilege of 
 re-enlisting, the regiment was thus prevented 
 from going North as a veteran organization. 
 A number of veterans from the old companies 
 were granted a furlough and went home in 
 two squads, each in charge of a sergeant. On 
 April 26th the regiment concentrated at Pu- 
 laski and on the 29th set out for Chattanooga, 
 on its arrival going into bivouac at the foot of 
 Lookout Mountain. In May the 8ist started 
 southward on the Atlanta campaign under 
 Sherman. Though brought into line at Re- 
 saca, it was not engaged, and on the 14th was 
 withdrawn from the main battlefield and or- 
 dered to Lay's Ferry to lay a pontoon bridge 
 across the Costenaula. Crossing the river 
 they dispersed a force of the enemy on the 
 other side, taking some prisoners, including a 
 captain and two lieutenants. The order for 
 laying the pontoon was countermanded the 
 work being deferred until after the evacuation 
 of Atlanta, when the regiment crossed and 
 had a slight engagement with the Rebels. It 
 also fought May i6th in the battle of Rome 
 Cross Roads. It then moved by way of Kings- 
 ton and Van Wert to Dallas, where while 
 General McPherson's Corps was being with- 
 drawn to the left the enemy made seven as- 
 saults, but were every time repulsed. 
 
 From this point there was continual skir- 
 mishing to Kenesaw. At the latter place it was 
 in the front line most of the time, and often 
 on picket duty, but was not called on to make 
 an assault. In the battle July 22d in front of 
 Atlanta, the 81st, with three companies in re- 
 serve, the command stood like a rock and 
 made an effective resistance, and subsequently 
 with the 1 2th Illinois executed a splendid 
 charge, carrying everything before them. 
 The 8 1st captured a number of prisoners and 
 three battle flags. Later in the day, in re- 
 sponse to an order from General Logan, Gen- 
 eral Dodge sent Mersey's Brigade, of which 
 the 8 1 St formed a part, to assist the 15th 
 Corps in recovering its works, a duty which 
 was successfully performed. Late at night 
 
 the 8ist and 12th Illinois went with the bri-- 
 gade to Bald Hill where they constructed some 
 extensive works. On July 28th, while a por- 
 tion of the army was moving to the right, 
 Hood made another assault. The 8ist, with 
 other regiments, was called upon to assist the 
 1 5th Corps and took an active part in repelling 
 the enemy. 
 
 Later it took part in the engagement at 
 Jonesboro and in the skirmish at Lovejoy, 
 subsequently returning to the vicinity of At- 
 lanta.* Here the few men of the five old com- 
 panies who had served three years and had 
 not re-enlisted — about 150 in all — were 
 mustered out. The official notice of their 
 muster-out was not received until late in De- 
 cember, and then only two companies (B and 
 C) lost their existence. The remaining mem- 
 bers of those companies were assigned to other 
 companies of the regiment. 
 
 In September, at Rome, Ga., the 81 st was 
 assigned to the 4th Division of the 15th Corps. 
 It arrived at Atlanta on the 15 th and the 
 next day joined in the march toward Savan- 
 nah, which place it entered on the 21st, being 
 subsequently camped near the city. January 
 28th it crossed the Savannah at Sisters' Ferry 
 and subsequently participated in the campaign 
 in the Carolinas, being engaged with the en- 
 emy at Bentonville. At Goldsboro they par- 
 ticipated in the review of the army, those in 
 tattered uniforms and without shoes and hats 
 being massed into one company. Soon after 
 a number of absentees and recruits joined the 
 regiment, so many of the latter being received 
 that two new companies were formed — com- 
 panies B and C. The regiment now marched 
 through Raleigh to Morrisville, where it lay 
 until after Sherman's negotiations with John- 
 ston, when it returned to Raleigh. 
 
 On the 26th of April it started home, reach- 
 ing Washington May 20, and joining in the 
 review on the 24th. Early in June it started 
 to Louisville, near which city it was encamped 
 until on July 13th the welcome order to muster 
 out was received and the regiment immedi- 
 ately started for Camp Dennison, Ohio, where 
 it was paid and discharged July 21, 1865. 
 During its term of service 34 men were killed 
 in action, 24 died of wounds, 121 died of dis- 
 ease, and 136 were discharged for disability. 
 
 The 86th O. V I. — There were two or- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 501 
 
 ganizations of this number, one of three and 
 the other of six months' enhstment. The first 
 was called out by Governor Tod in response 
 to the President's call, for 75,000 men, in 
 May, 1862, there being at that time some ap- 
 parent danger of an invasion of the Northern 
 States by the forces under "Stonewall" Jack- 
 son. The regiment was organized at Camp 
 Chase on June 11, 1862, and on the i6th left 
 for Clarksburg, Va. Company K of this reg- 
 iment was from Crawford county, as were 
 also some of the field officers, of whom W. C. 
 Lemert was major, afterward, on the reor- 
 ganization of the regiment, becoming its col- 
 onel. Company K was officered as follows: 
 E. C. Moderwell, captain; Samuel Smalley, 
 first lieutenant; Horace Potter, second lieu- 
 tenant; J. M. McCracken, orderly sergeant; 
 J. B. Scroggs, sergeant major; B. F. Lauck. 
 quarteraiaster's sergeant; and H. V. Potter, 
 regimental postmaster. 
 
 Arriving at Clarksburg on the 17th the reg- 
 iment took up the work of guarding the rail- 
 road and protecting Grafton, that place being 
 the base of supplies for the troops at several 
 points. On July 27th Companies A, C, H and 
 I, under command of Lieut. Colonel Hunter, 
 were sent to Parkersburg, in anticipation of 
 a Rebel raid on that town, their arrival allay- 
 ing the fears of the inhabitants. 
 
 On August 21 this detachment was ordered 
 back to Clarksburg to rejoin the regiment and 
 take part in a movement against a Confed- 
 erate force under Jenkins, which it was re- 
 ported was getting ready to make a raid on 
 the railroad and invade Ohio. The 86th went 
 as far as Huttonsville, when, the enemy not 
 appearing, the regiment was ordered back to 
 Clarksburg, the 87th Pennsylvania being sent 
 on to Beverly, to be ready in case the enemy 
 should appear before that place. Jenkins 
 made his raid in an unexpected direction and 
 captured the town of Buckhannon, after meet- 
 ing with a gallant resistance. He destroyed 
 a large amount of Government stores, both in 
 that place and at Weston, and, crossing the 
 Ohio river, stole a few horses and then re- 
 turned to the mountains of West Virginia. 
 
 As he was expected to attack Clarksburg, 
 the stores at that place were transferred to 
 Fairmount and Wheeling. Learning proba- 
 bly through his spies that the town was well 
 
 guarded by the 86th Ohio and a detachment 
 of the 6th Virginia, he made no attack on the 
 place. On the expiration of the 86th term of 
 enlistment, the regiment started for Camp 
 Delaware, Ohio, where it arrived September 
 iSth, and on the 25th was paid and mustered 
 out of the service. 
 
 The 86th O. V. I. (six months' organiza- 
 tion). As the Confederates still showed an 
 inclination to invade the Northern border 
 states, measures were taken by the authorities 
 to enlist troops for defense, the same to serve 
 for six months. Wilson C. Lemert, of Bucy- 
 rus, who had been major of the three months' 
 organization, was authorized by Governor 
 Tod to reorganize the 86th regiment. On the 
 completion of this work the regiment rendez- 
 voused at Camp Cleveland. About this time 
 Morgan was making his raid through south- 
 ern Ohio, and the 86th was ordered to Zanes- 
 ville, where a detachment of 200 men, under 
 Lieut. Colonel McFarland, took boat for 
 Eagleport, on the Muskingum river, where it 
 was supposed Morgan would attempt to cross. 
 They arrived in time to witness the crossing 
 of the enemy's rear guard, but, not being 
 strong enough to attack, endeavored by skir- 
 mishing as long as possible, until the pursu- 
 ing force should come up ; having done which 
 the detachment returned to Zanesville. In the 
 meanwhile. Major Krauss, with the remainder 
 of the regiment had been ordered to Cam- 
 bridge, Ohio, to intercept Morgan at that 
 point, but, being delayed, reached Washing- 
 ton, eight miles from Cambridge, a few min- 
 utes after Morgan had passed through the 
 latter town. Pursuit was continued, however, 
 in conjunction with the force under Colonel 
 Shackleford, and finally resulted in the capture 
 of Morgan's force at Salineville, Ohio. 
 
 The 86th returned to Camp Tod and soon 
 after, on August 8th, was ordered to Camp 
 Nelson, Kentucky, to join an expedition or- 
 ganizing for the capture of Cumberland Gap, 
 East Tennessee. This expedition was under 
 command of' Colonel John De Courcv and 
 consisted of the 86th and 129th Ohio detach- 
 ments of the 9th and nth East Tennessee 
 cavalry and Capt. Neil's 22d Ohio Battery — 
 in all about 3,000 men. It arrived in front of 
 Cumberland Gap on the 8th of September, 
 and at the same time General Burnside arrived 
 
502 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 with his forces on the opposite or Tennessee 
 side, thus completely investing the Rebel gar- 
 rison, under General Frazier. By a ruse of 
 Colonel De Courcy's in dividing his regiments 
 the Confederates were deceived into believing 
 his force much greater than it really was. On 
 the 9th of_ September, the troops having been 
 placed in position for an attack, a formal de- 
 mand was made on the enemy for surrender, 
 which was acceded to by General Frazier, a 
 great loss of life being thereby avoided, as 
 the place might have been stoutly defended. 
 Two thousand eight hundred prisoners were 
 made and 5,000 stand of arms, 13 pieces of ar- 
 tillery and large quantities of ammunition and 
 other stores were captured in this affair. The 
 86th remained at' the Gap doing garrison duty 
 until its term of service had expired, and dur- 
 ing this time was engaged in foraging expedi- 
 tions, having many encounters with the en- 
 emy's guerrillas. On January 16, 1864, it 
 started for Ohio and arrived in Cleveland on 
 the 26th. The six months' organization was 
 mustered out of the service February 10, 1864. 
 The loist Ohio Volunteer Infantry was 
 one of the patriotic organizations raised in 
 1862, after a series of reverses to the North- 
 ern arms had seemed to presage the final tri- 
 umph of the Southern Confederacy. It was 
 recruited from the counties of Erie, Huron, 
 Crawford and Wyandotte, and was mustered 
 into service at Monroeville, Ohio, August 30, 
 1862. Companies C and E of this regiment 
 were from Crawford county. The first was 
 organized with the following officers : B. B. 
 McDanald, captain; Isaac Anderson, first lieu- 
 tenant, and J. B. Biddle, second lieutenant. 
 Capt. McDanald was promoted to major, De- 
 cember 26, 1863, and to lieut.-colonel, Febru- 
 ary 18, 1864, with which rank he was mus- 
 tered out with the regiment. Lieut. Anderson 
 resigned January 2, 1863, on account of dis- 
 ability. Second Lieutenant Biddle was killed 
 December 31, 1862. W. N. Beer was pro- 
 moted from sergeant major to first lieuten- 
 ant on the 2d of January, 1863, and to cap- 
 tain, March 19, 1864, and as such was mus- 
 tered out with the regiment. J. M. Roberts 
 was promoted to second lieutenant for bravery 
 at the battle of Murfreesboro, December 31, 
 1862; to first lieutenant, March 19, 1864, and 
 
 to captain, February 10, 1865, and was trans- 
 ferred to Company K. 
 
 The story of Capt. McDanald's escape from 
 Libby prison is well known to the people of 
 Crawford county. He, with a number of his 
 comrades, _was captured by the enemy Septem- 
 ber 20, 1863, during the Chattanooga cam- 
 paign, and remained in Libby, suffering all 
 the horrors of confinement there, until the 
 spring of 1864, when, with a few fellow of- 
 ficers he escaped by tunneling underneath the 
 prison walls. 
 
 Company E was organized with the follow- 
 ing commissioned officers : William P. Parsons, 
 captain; Lyman Parcher, first lieutenant; and 
 Robert D. Lord, second lieutenant. Capt. 
 Parsons died November 15, 1862; Lieut. 
 Parcher was promoted to captain, November 
 15, 1862, and resigned February 26, 1863. 
 Second Lieutenant Lord was promoted to 
 first lieutenant, N^ovember 15, 1862 ; to captain 
 February 26, 1863, and was honorably dis- 
 charged August 12, 1863. Samuel S. Blowers 
 was promoted to second lieutenant, and re- 
 signed January 9, 1864. 
 
 The loist regiment was organized with 
 Leander Stem, colonel; John Trautz, lieut.- 
 colonel; Moses F. Wooster, major and 
 Thomas M. Cook, surgeon. It first saw serv- 
 ice at Covington, Ky., to which place it was 
 ordered to assist in repelling a threatened raid 
 on Covington, Ky., by Kirby Smith. After 
 remaining near Covington until late in Sep- 
 tember, it was ord'ered to Louisville, Ky., 
 and there incorporated into General Buell's 
 army, being placed in the brigade commanded 
 by Gen. William P. Carlin and the division of 
 Gen. Robert B. Mitchel. Marching in pursuit 
 of Bragg, the regiment had its first encounter 
 with the enemy at the battle of Perry ville on 
 the 8th of October, where it bore itself bravely, 
 losing several men. In the subsequent pur- 
 suit after the enemy it had a severe skirmish 
 at Lancaster, Ky., with their rear guard. At 
 Nashville Gen. Jeff. C. Davis took command 
 of the division, and on December 26th it 
 marched with the Army of the Cumberland, 
 under General Rosecrans. The enemy were 
 met the same day and a battle ensued, in which 
 the regiment distinguished itsdf, the men be- 
 having like veterans. One of the guns cap- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 503 
 
 tured by it belonged to Georgia troops and 
 had on it the word "Shiloh." 
 
 On December 30th this brigade was the 
 first to arrive on the battlefield of Stone River, 
 at night becoming briskly engaged. The loist 
 was in the hottest of the fight on the following 
 day, taking up six different positions and stub- 
 bornly maintaining them. Col. Leander Stem 
 and Lieut. Col. Wooster were both killed. The 
 regiment was held on the front line of the 
 right of the army until January 2d, when it 
 was one of the many regiments ordered to 
 support the left, and with the bayonet helped 
 to turn the tide of battle. It lost seven officers 
 and 112 men killed and wounded. 
 
 During the remainder of the winter the 
 regiment was constantly engaged in expedi- 
 tions through the country surrounding Mur- 
 freesboro, this service, which was very ardu- 
 ous, lasting until April, 1863, at which time 
 it went into camp at Murfreesboro for rest 
 and drill. 
 
 In the Tullahoma campaign, which opened 
 June 24th, the loist was with that portion of 
 the army which moved toward Liberty Gap 
 and was there engaged with Cleburne's Rebel 
 troops. It accompanied the army to Chatta- 
 nooga and at the close of that campaign was 
 with Davis's Division at Winchester, Tenn. 
 About the middle of August the regiment 
 marched on the Chattanooga campaign, and 
 on the 19th and 20th participated in the battle 
 of Chickamauga, displaying great coolness and 
 gallantry, retaking a National battery from 
 the enemy. On the subsequent reorganization 
 of the army, the loist became a part of the 
 1st Brigade, ist Division, 4th Army Corps, 
 and on October 28th marched to Bridgeport, 
 Ala., where it remained in camp until Janu- 
 ary 16, 1864, when it marched to Oldtawah, 
 Tenn. 
 
 Later it accompanied Sherman on the At- 
 lanta campaign, taking part in heavy fighting 
 at various places. It moved with the army 
 around Atlanta, fighting at Jonesboro and 
 Lovejoy, and back to Atlanta. It subse- 
 quently aided in the pursuit of Hood, march- 
 ing from Atlanta to Pulaski, Tenn., and thence 
 on to Nashville. At nightfall, at the battle 
 of Franklin, it was ordered to take an angle 
 of the works held by the enemy, which it did 
 with the bayonet, and held the position till 
 
 9 o'clock P. M., although the Rebels were al- 
 most within bayonet reach during all that time. 
 
 The loist fought in the battle of Nashville, 
 December 15th and i6th, and subsequently 
 followed in pursuit of Hood to Lexington, 
 Ala., later going into camp at Huntsville. 
 While lying at this place it was mustered out 
 of the service, on June 12th, 1865, and sent to 
 Camp Taylor, near Cleveland, where it was 
 paid off and discharged. 
 
 The 123d Ohio Volunteer Infantry con- 
 tained one full company (Company H) of 
 Crawford county men, besides a number 
 scattered through the other companies of the 
 regiment. The county had received permis- 
 sion to recruit three of the ten companies of 
 the regiment, but only succeeded in raising 
 one, with the exception of the additional re- 
 cruits mentioned. Company H was officered 
 as follows : John Newman, captain ; David 
 S. Caldwell, first lieutenant ; and H. S. Beving- 
 ton, second lieutenant. Capt. Newman re- 
 signed February 3, 1863. Lieut. Caldwell 
 was promoted to captain, February 3, 1863, 
 and honorably discharged July 24, 1864. Lieut. 
 Bevington was promoted to first lieutenant. 
 February 3, 1863; to captain, January 6, 1865, 
 and honorably discharged February i, 1865. 
 William A. Williams was promoted from or- 
 derly sergeant to second lieutenant, February 
 3, 1863, and honorably discharged July 29, 
 1864. 
 
 The 123 d was organized at Camp Monroe- 
 ville, in Huron county, Ohio. William T. 
 Wilson was commissioned colonel and was 
 subsequently mustered out with the regiment. 
 Henry B. Hunter was lieutenant colonel; A. 
 B. Norton, major; and O. Ferris, surgeon. 
 The regiment reached Clarksburg, Va., Octo- 
 ber 20th, and a week later marched to Buck- 
 hannon. It then went to Beverly, Va., left 
 there November 8th, then camped eight days 
 at 'Huttonsville, then marched to Webster, 
 thus returning to within 10 miles from the 
 point from which it started. 
 
 From November i8th to December i^th it 
 lay in camp at New Creek, and while here 
 Capt. Kellogg, of Company B, was sent on 
 detached service to assess the Rebel citizens of 
 that place for outrages committed by Imbo- 
 den's guerrillas on Union men. Five thousand 
 dollars was collected under this order and 
 
504 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 turned over to the sufferers. On January 
 3d, 1863, the regiment was sent to reheve the 
 1 1 6th Ohio, which was surrounded and in 
 danger of being captured by Confederate cav- 
 alry, in which service it was successful, the 
 enemy being driven off. Lieut. E. H. Brown, 
 who had been left behind at Petersburg, hav- 
 ing destroyed some stores, attempted to rejoin 
 his regiment, with the sick and a few cavalry- 
 men, but was captured, by a body of the en- 
 emy's cavalry, being, however, paroled the 
 next morning. For about six weeks from the 
 I2th of January the regiment was engaged in 
 scouting duty in the vicinity of Romney, and 
 while at this place a company of the ii6th 
 Ohio (in the brigade) and a small detail from 
 the 123d was captured by McNeil's Confed- 
 erate cavalry, and the train in their charge 
 burned. The men were paroled and sent back 
 into the National lines. The regiment arrived 
 at Winchester on March 4th and from that 
 point made several raids up the Shenandoah 
 Valley, going as far as Newmarket. 
 
 On the 13th of June Lee's whole army, then 
 on its way to Pennsylvania, passed through 
 and surrounded Winchester. In the afternoon 
 of the same day the 123d, with its brigade 
 under Brigadier-General Elliott, lost nearly 
 100 men in an engagement with General 
 Early's Corps. On the 14th the National 
 forces were driven into their fortifications, 
 and subjected to a heavy artillery fire, the 
 outworks being later carried by the enemy. 
 At a council of war it was decided to evacu- 
 ate the place. Spiking the artillery, which had 
 to be left behind, the troops were marched 
 out silently at two o'clock in the morning, but 
 after marching four miles along the IMartins- 
 burg Road, the enemy was found strongly 
 posted along the road and retreat was cut off. 
 In an attempt to cut a way out, the 123d made 
 three distinct charges, losing in killed and 
 wounded about 50 men. A\'hile the regiment 
 was forming for the fourth charge, Colonel 
 Ely, of the i8th Connecticut, temporarily in 
 command of the brigade, surrendered to the 
 enemy, and the whole brigade, except Com- 
 pany D of the 123d, were made prisoners 
 of war and sent to Richmond, where the of- 
 ficers of the 123d remained in Libby prison for 
 about eleven months. Lieut. W. A. Williams 
 and Capt. D. S. Caldwell made their escape. 
 
 as subsequently did several other officers. 
 Some were exchanged and sent home, while 
 the remainder of those confined in Libby were 
 transferred to other prisons, where one or two 
 of them died of disease. The privates of the 
 regiment were exchanged within a few 
 months. 
 
 The stragglers of the regiment were col- 
 lected by Major Horace Kellogg, who had 
 escaped from the enemy at Winchester, and 
 were joined by the paroled men at Martins- 
 burg, about September ist, 1863. Here they 
 were newly armed and equipped, and as the 
 regiment was deficient in officers, it was en- 
 gaged mainly in provost and picket duty un- 
 til March ist, 1864, and was then used to 
 guard the B. & O. Railroad between Harper's 
 Ferry and Monocacy Junction. In April the 
 123d accompanied the forces of General Sigel 
 in a raid up the Shenandoah Valley, and in a 
 fight with the enemy under Breckinridge on 
 the 15th of May, lost 79 in killed and 
 wounded, Sigel being compelled to fall back 
 to Cedar Creek. 
 
 Sigel being replaced by General Hunter, 
 the latter prepared for a raid on Lynchburg, 
 and at Port Republic, on June 4th, the enemy 
 was encountered and whipped, 2,000 prison- 
 ers being taken. The regiment was not act- 
 ively engaged in this fight but performed val- 
 uable service in guarding trains. At Staun- 
 ton General Crook's column joined the army, 
 which then proceeded toward Lynchburg, the 
 skirmishing becoming hotter each day. A 
 battle took place on the 14th near Lynchburg, 
 in which the 123d lost a number of men. Find- 
 ing that the enemy had been largely reinforced 
 and lay between him and the Shenandoah Val- 
 ley, Hunter drew off his forces and began his 
 retreat to the Kanawha Valley. This retreat 
 was almost a continual fight until the army 
 reached Salem, at which place two batteries 
 were captured by the enemy, but aftenvard 
 captured and spiked. On crossing another 
 spur of mountains the enemy drew off from 
 the pursuit. On this retreat the men suffered 
 severely from exhaustion and starvation 
 and numbers lay down by the roadside 
 and died. The army finally reached Gauley 
 Bridge, in the Kanawha Valley, where the 
 army obtained rest and refreshment. Early 
 in July the 123d returned to Martinsburg, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 505 
 
 having 250 men left out of the 700 with which 
 it had started. Soon after an unsuccessful 
 attempt was made to intercept Early in his 
 retreat from Washington. On July i8th the 
 Army of West Virginia, of which the 123d 
 formed part, had a fight with Early at Snick- 
 er's Ferry, on the Shenandoah River, in which 
 the regiment lost a number of men, including 
 Lieut. C. D. Williams, of Company B. That 
 night the enemy retreated up the valley. 
 
 The National troops moved after them and 
 a sharp skirmish took place on the 23d. The 
 two armies fought up and down the valley 
 for several days, with alternate success, the 
 National troops finally being ordered back to 
 Monocacy Junction. 
 
 The command of the National forces was 
 now placed in the hands of General Phil Sher- 
 idan, and a new era dawned upon the Shenan- 
 doah Valley. In the fighting at Berryville 
 the 123d lost 25 men killed and wounded. On 
 the 19th of September, near Winchester, an- 
 other battle was fought. In this affair the 
 123d was engaged on the right in Colonel 
 Thoburn's Brigade, and formed part of the 
 grand flanking column which changed the 
 fortunes of the day. The regiment took part 
 in the final charge and had the satisfaction of 
 seeing the enemy in full retreat, ending in a 
 perfect rout. The loss of the 123d in this bat- 
 tle was five officers and about 50 men. 
 
 The enemy taking refuge behind strong 
 works at Strasburg, General Crook, in whose 
 command was the 123d, executed a secret 
 movement on the left flank of the Confederate 
 army, and reached the side of a hill imme- 
 diately overlooking the Rebel position before 
 he was discovered. A sudden charge scat- 
 tered the enemy like chaff. In this action the 
 regiment lost six men. 
 
 The next day, September 23d, the National 
 forces moved up the valley to Harrisonburg, 
 the 123d being left behind at Fisher's Hill to 
 bury the dead and collect the arms thrown 
 down by the enemy; this done it joined the 
 main army. 
 
 Some days later the National forces began 
 a retrograde movement down the valley for 
 the purpose of drawing the enemy after them, 
 and finally took up a position at Cedar Creek, 
 where they threw up fortifications. The en- 
 emy followed and resumed their strong posi- 
 
 tion at Fisher's Hill, which they further 
 strengthened. During this time the 123d, in 
 repelling a reconnoisance made by the Rebels, 
 lost their gallant brigade commander, Colonel 
 Thoburn, of the 4th Virginia. 
 
 On the 19th of October, the enemy, under 
 cover of a dense fog, crept up through a gap 
 unfortunately left in the National line of 
 pickets, and turned the left flank of the army, 
 held by General Crook's Corps, pushing the 
 army back five or six miles and capturing the 
 works and all that were in them. In this rout 
 the 6th Corps acted as a breakwater against 
 the Rebels, holding them in check until the 
 National lines were re-formed. While matters 
 were at this pass. General Sheridan suddenly 
 appeared, having made his famous ride from 
 Winchester. He at once infused new life into 
 the demoralized forces, and having made some 
 slight changes in the order of battle, gave the 
 word for a general advance. The enemy were 
 swept from the field, losing all their own ar- 
 tillery and that which they had captured in 
 the morning. This victory was so thorough 
 that thereafter there was no opposition to the 
 National forces worth mentioning in the val- 
 ley. 
 
 After going into camp for about ten days 
 with the rest of the troops, the 123d was as- 
 signed to guard the line of the Harper's Ferry 
 & Winchester Railroad. A month later it 
 was ordered to report to General Butler, com- 
 manding on the north side of the James river, 
 near Bermuda Hundred, and attached to the 
 24th Army Corps, General Ord commanding. 
 The regiment lay in camp near Deep Bottom 
 until March 25, 1865, when it moved to the 
 Chickahominy to aid Sheridan across that 
 river. On April 2d a charge was made on 
 the Rebel works at Hatcher's Run, the works 
 being carried. For three days and nights pre- 
 viously the 123d had been on the skirmish 
 line without relief, and during this time their 
 losses were quite severe. The regiment cap- 
 tured two battle flags and a number of prison- 
 ers. During the pursuit of Lee's army toward 
 Danville the 123d was included in a force sent 
 out from Burke's Junction to burn High 
 Bridge 15 miles in advance on the South Side 
 Railroad. When about half a mile from the 
 bridge they were taken in the rear by the cav- 
 alry in advance of Lee's army and, after sev- 
 
506 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 eral hours' fight, the whole National force, in- 
 cluding the 123d, was captured. General 
 Reed, the commander of the expedition, was 
 killed, the regiment was carried with the 
 Confederate army to Appomattox Court 
 House, where, on the surrender of Lee, the 
 prisoners were released. The regiment was 
 mustered out at Camp Chase, Ohio, on the 
 I2th of June, 1865. 
 
 The 136th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was 
 organized for the loo-days' service, with W. 
 Smith Irwin, colonel; David A. Williams, 
 lient. -colonel ; A. W Diller, major, and Wil- 
 liam F. Brown, surgeon. Companies C and 
 E A\ere composed, in part, at least, of men 
 from Crawford county. The regiment ar- 
 rived at Camp Chase on May 12, 1864, and, 
 having been mustered, uniformed and 
 equipped, left the next day for ^^"ashington 
 City. On ^lay 20th the regiment was placed 
 on garrison duty in Forts Ellsworth, A\'^illiams 
 and North, a part of the defenses of ^^'ash- 
 ington, south of the Potomac, and was as- 
 signed to the 3d Brigade, DeRussy's Division. 
 It remained on garrison duty during the re- 
 mainder of its term of service, which expired 
 August 20th. It was mustered out August 
 30th, 1864, having lost, from disease, two 
 officers and 23 men. 
 
 The 144th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Na- 
 tional Guard. — The 19th Battalion, O. N. G., 
 of \\''yandotte county, and the 64th Battalion 
 O. N. G., of Wood county, were consolidated 
 at Camp Chase on the nth of ^lay, 1864, 
 forming the 144th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 
 A number of Crawford county men were 
 among its members. 
 
 Its organization being completed, the regi- 
 ment was ordered to report to General ^^'al- 
 lace at Baltimore. Upon its arrival there 
 Companies G and K were detached for duty 
 on the fortifications, the remainder of the reg- 
 iment reporting to General Morris, at Fort 
 McHenry, and from there Company E was 
 ordered to Wilmington, Delaware; Company 
 B to Camp Parole, near Annapolis, and Com- 
 pany I to Fort Dix, at the Relay House. At 
 the time of Early's attempt against Washing- 
 ton, Companies B, G. and I were in the en- 
 gagement at Monocacy Junction and suffered 
 severely, losing in all about 50 men in killed, 
 wounded and prisoners. On July 13th the 
 
 regiment was ordered to Washington and 
 from there moved toward Winchester, Va. It 
 was halted at Snicker's Gap, and after a day's 
 delay was moved back toward Washington, 
 but soon after set out again for the Shenan- 
 doah Valley, moving via Harper's Ferry, un- 
 der command of Major-General Wright. On 
 August 13th a portion of the regiment, while 
 guarding a train near Berryville, Va., was at- 
 tacked by Moseby's command, with two pieces 
 of artillery, but, after some slight confusion, 
 the men rallied and drove off the enemy, sav- 
 ing the train. In this action the detachment 
 lost five killed, six wounded and 60 captured. 
 The regiment was mustered out on the 31st 
 of August, 1864, having lost about 125 men 
 killed, wounded and captured. Most of those 
 captured died from starvation in Southern 
 prisons. 
 
 The 179th Regiment, O. V. I., contained 
 some men from Crawford county, who were 
 attached to Company B. The regiment was 
 organized at Camp Chase, in September, 1864, 
 and mustered in for one year September 27th. 
 It was ordered to Nashville, where it was as- 
 signed to guard and provost dut}-. Picket and 
 guard duty was always irksome to the soldiers, 
 who would have greatly preferred to be at the 
 front or on the "firing line," in modern war 
 parlance. But there had to be troops to per- 
 form these routine duties, and the boys of the 
 176th and 179th, which had been brigaded to- 
 gether, submitted as gracefully as possible. 
 However 50 men were detailed from the 176th 
 and 179th, after the battle of Nashville in De- 
 cember, 1864, and assigned to the First U. S. 
 Engineers, to assist the latter organization in 
 building block-houses along the Nashville & 
 Chattanooga and other Southern railroads 
 vised by the Federal forces in transporting 
 troops and supplies. The 179th was in the re- 
 ser^e at the time of the battle in Nashville, 
 but not actively engaged. The regiment was 
 mustered out at Nashville June 17th, and paid 
 off and discharged at Columbus June 21, 1865. 
 
 The 1 86th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was 
 one of the regiments raised under the last call 
 of the President to serve for one year, and 
 was composed of men gathered from ?'! parts 
 of the state, most of whom had already seen 
 service. The last company was mustered in 
 at Camp Chase, ]\Iarch 2, 1865. Company C 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 507 
 
 of this regiment contained a number of men 
 from Crawford county. The regiment was 
 organized with Thomas F. Wildes, colonel; 
 George Wilhelm, lieut.-colonel ; W. L. Pat- 
 terson, major; and W. H. Matchett, surgeon. 
 On the 2d of March, without arms or sup- 
 plies, the regiment started for Nashville, leav- 
 ing there on the 8th for Murfreesboro. The 
 latter part of this journey was made in in- 
 tensely cold weather. The regiment went into 
 camp at Cleveland, Tenn., where Colonel 
 Wildes received a commission as brigadier- 
 general by brevet for gallantry in the Shenan- 
 doah Valley, while lieut.-colonel of the ii6th 
 Ohio. On May 2d the regiment moved to 
 Dalton, where it remained a few days. Gen- 
 eral Wildes had in the meanwhile been as- 
 signed to the command of a brigade at Chat- 
 tanooga, and at his request the i86th was 
 transferred to his command. During its stay 
 in Chattanooga the regiment, under the direc- 
 tion of Lieut.-Colonel Wilhelm, became very 
 proficient in drill. On the 20th of July the 
 i86th was relieved from duty at Chattanooga 
 and ordered to Nashville. This order re- 
 turned General Wildes to the command of his 
 regiment, as it did all other officers on de- 
 tached duty. Orders were received Septem- 
 ber 13th to prepare rolls for the muster-out of 
 the regiment. It was paid off and disbanded 
 at Columbus, Ohio, September 25, 1865. The 
 regiment was never in an • engagement, but 
 would doubtless have performed every duty 
 rec]uired of it had it been called into action. 
 
 The 197th Ohio Volunteer Infantry was 
 the last regiment which Ohio sent to the field 
 and also the last complete organization which 
 the state raised for service during the Civil 
 War. Most of its officers had seen service in 
 other commands and nearly one-half of the 
 men were experienced soldiers. Some Craw- 
 ford county men were members of Company 
 C. The first company was mustered in at 
 Camp Chase on the 28th of March, 1865, the 
 regimental organization being completed on 
 the 1 2th of April. Benton Halstead was col- 
 onel ; G. M. Barber, lieut.-colonel ; Robert Hill, 
 major, and W. G. Bryant, surgeon. This reg- 
 iment never saw active service in the field, as 
 on its arrival in Washington in the latter part 
 of April, news was received of the surrender 
 of General Johnston's army. The 197th was 
 
 temporarily assigned to the 9th Corps and was 
 camped for some time near Alexandria. On 
 May 9th it was incorporated in the Provi- 
 sional Brigade, Ninth Army Corps. Subse- 
 quently it was sent to Dover, Delaware and 
 encamped at Camp Harrington, where it spent 
 four weeks. Ordered to Havre de Grace May 
 31st, it performed guard duty along the rail- 
 road southward to Baltimore, being broken 
 into detachments for that purpose. At that 
 time it became part of the 3d "Separate Bri- 
 gade," 8th Army Corps. The regimental 
 headquarters were removed to Fort Worth- 
 ington, near Baltimore, on the 3d of July, 
 where the different companies were engaged 
 in guard duty. The regiment reassembled at 
 Camp Bradford, near Baltimore, and on the 
 31st of July was mustered out of the service. 
 It was disbanded August 6, 1865. 
 
 The 3d and loth cavalry regiments also 
 contained some men from Crawford county. 
 Capt. E. R. Brink, of the 3d, was from this 
 county. He entered the organization as first 
 lieutenant, was promoted to captain, and re- 
 signed May 9, 1865. 
 
 The 3d Ohio Volunteer Cavalry was or- 
 ganized at Monroeville, Ohio, in September, 
 1 861. Lewis Zahm was its first colonel, with 
 D. A. Murray, lieutenant colonel; John H. 
 Foster, major, and M. C. Cuykendall, surgeon. 
 During the first year of its service it was at- 
 tached to Gen. T. J. Wood's Division, during 
 the most of the time being under his immedi- 
 ate command. It saw active service in many 
 battles and to give a detailed account of its 
 operations would fill a small volume. It took 
 part in some brisk fighting at Corinth, in May, 
 1862; at Munfordsville, in September, where 
 it drove a Rebel force three times its own 
 number; also at Bardstown, in October, where 
 it lost six men killed, 20 wounded and 17 cap- 
 tured; fought Kirby Smith's cavalry at Shel- 
 byville, Ky., and was engaged with the enemy 
 at the battle of Perryville. In the latter part 
 of October, a detachment of the 3d Cavalry, 
 with a portion of the 4th, numbering 250 men, 
 were surprised at Ashland, Ky., by Morgan's 
 forces, and forced to surrender. Subsequent- 
 ly the 2d brigade of cavalry, under Colonel 
 Lewis Zahm, to which the 2d and 3d battal- 
 ions were attached, attacked Morgan near 
 Gallatin, capturing his camp equipage and a 
 
508 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 large number of prisoners. Soon after they 
 struck another blow at Morgan, attacking an 
 escort from his forces, killing three and cap- 
 turmg 17 prisoners and 146 mules. In De- 
 cember they took \'aliant part in the opera- 
 tions around Franklin and Nashville, Tenn., 
 killing a number of the enemy and taking 
 many prisoners. In January, 1863, they re- 
 pulsed an attack on a supply train at Stewart's 
 Creek, by Wheeler's Rebel Cavalry, and later 
 in the same day, with the 15th Pennsylvania 
 Ca\alry, repulsed a second attack, the train 
 being safely escorted to Nashville. They took 
 l^art in the pursuit of the enemy after the bat- 
 tle of Stone River, and near Middleton, Tenn., 
 captured one of his trains. Later, in a skir- 
 mish with Morgan's guerillas, near Wood- 
 bury, they suffered a severe loss in killed, 
 wounded and prisoners. Their subsequent 
 actions in the vicinity of Murfreesboro are 
 too numerous to mention. At the battle of 
 Chickamauga they fought on the extreme left 
 of the National lines, and subsequently pur- 
 sued Wheeler's cavalry through Tennessee, 
 winning a decisive victory at Farmington. 
 
 In January, 1864, at Pulaski, Tenn., the 
 3d Cavalry re-enlisted, there being at this date 
 only 400 effective men left out of the original 
 1,300. During the usual furlough they met 
 with a hearty greeting from the citizens of 
 their native state. At this time, through the 
 efforts of Major C. W. Skinner and Capt. E. 
 AI. Clover, nearly 1,000 recruits were enlisted, 
 and on its return to the front at Nashville the 
 regiment numbered over 1,500 strong. They 
 subsequently marched with Sherman through 
 Georgia, participating in the engagements at 
 Etowah, Kenesaw Mountain, Noonday Creek 
 and at the Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree 
 Creek and Decatur and in the raids to Coving- 
 ton and Stone Mountain ; also in the Stoneman 
 raid under General Garrard, and in the Kil- 
 patrick raid. In each of these raids the regi- 
 ment suffered severely. It subsequently fought 
 at Lovejoy's station, took part in the pursuit 
 of Hood, and occupied a position on the left 
 of General Thomas's forces in the first battle 
 of Franklin. It was also engaged in the bat- 
 tle before Nashville. After Hood's defeat, 
 it followed his army into Alabama, and was 
 then engaged in the W^ilson raid through Ala- 
 bama, and Georgia, losing heavily in killed 
 
 and wounded at Selma. Subsequently, as a 
 part of Wilson's command it engaged in the 
 chase after Jefferson Davis. The regiment 
 finished its long career of arduous and brave 
 service at Macon, Georgia, and was mustered 
 out at Camp Chase, Ohio, August 14, 1865, 
 having served four years, lacking 20 days. 
 
 The loth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. — Craw- 
 ford county was represented in this regiment 
 by a number of men in Company L. The reg- 
 iment was organized at Camp Taylor in Octo- 
 ber, 1862, by Charles C. Smith, under a com- 
 mission from Governor Tod, and in the spring 
 of 1863 it left for Nashville, Tenn. Its first 
 services in the field were in the neighborhood 
 of ^lurfreesboro, and during the subsequent 
 campaign against Bragg it performed a vast 
 amount of marching, with no little fighting, 
 being usually successful in its bouts with the 
 enemy. At Chickamauga the main portion of 
 the regiment was used to guard communica- 
 tions in the rear. After that battle it did duty 
 in the Sequatchie Valley against the Rebel 
 guerrillas. During this time a portion of the 
 regiment, with the 15th Pennsylvania Cav- 
 alry, was sent on a scouting expedition into 
 East Tennessee, and was absent from the 
 regiment about three months, having almost 
 daily fights with the enemy belonging to Long- 
 street's command. While on this raid they 
 met and defeated a force of 300 Indians and 
 200 white soldiers led by Governor Vance, of 
 North Carolina, who was captured. On its 
 return the detachment found its regiment sta- 
 tion at Bridgeport, Ala., and dismounted, the 
 horses having starved to death from scarcity 
 of forage. In the spring of 1864, while at 
 Lavergne, Tenn., the command was again 
 equipped for the field. 
 
 At Ringgold, Ga., the regiment was at- 
 tached to the 2d Brigade, 3d Division, Cav- 
 alry Corps, Colonel Chas. C. Smith, of the 
 loth, being assigned as brigade commander, 
 and acting as such until the army arrived be- 
 fore ^Marietta. In this march the command 
 was repeatedly engaged with the enemy, and 
 in the battle of Resaca the loth under Col. 
 Smith, led the charge which opened the bat- 
 tle. 
 
 The lOth took part in Kilpatrick's move- 
 ments during Sherman's Atlanta campaign 
 and subsequently accorhpanied the army on 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 509 
 
 the "March to the Sea." During the greater 
 part of this march the regiment had almost 
 daily encounters with the foe, in particular 
 with Wheeler's cavalry, being usually success- 
 ful. In the campaign through the Carolinas 
 also the loth was actively engaged, meeting 
 the enemy frequently and almost invariably 
 repulsing their attacks. General Kilpatrick 
 more than once expressed the opinion that the 
 loth Ohio Cavalry was the best charging reg- 
 iment he had in his command. Colonel Smith, 
 the commander of the loth, during the 
 majority of the time the regiment was in 
 service, was on duty as brigade commander, 
 and although enfeebled by ill health, re- 
 mained with his command until it reached 
 Carter sville, Ga., when he was obliged to leave 
 for home, and subsequently, by the advice of 
 his medical attendant, resigned his commis- 
 sion. He was honorably discharged January 
 13, 1865. His second in command, Col. 
 Thomas W. Sanderson, was mustered out 
 with the regiment. 
 
 The 1 2th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Cav- 
 alry. — This organization contained quite a 
 number of Crawford county men, most of 
 whom belonged to Company A. Capt. E. C. 
 Moderwell and Lieut. D. A. Newell, of this 
 company, were from this county. Capt. Mo- 
 derwell was promoted to major and was mus- 
 tered out as such with the regiment. Lieut. 
 Newell was promoted from second to first 
 lieutenant, November 24, 1863 and was hon- 
 orably discharged May 20, 1865. 
 
 This regiment was recruited during the 
 months of August, September and October, 
 1863, in accordance with an order from the 
 War Department to Governor Tod. Lieut.- 
 Col. Robert W. Hatlifif, of the 2d Ohio Vol- 
 unteer Cavalry, was commissioned colonel, 
 and the first company reported at Camp Tay- 
 lor, October 2, 1863. Most of the officers of 
 the regiment were trained soldiers and the reg- 
 iment in consequence was soon prepared for 
 the field. 
 
 On November 29th the regiment moved 
 from Camp Dennison to Mount Sterling, 
 Kentucky. The regiment was a portion of 
 General Burbridge's command in the first 
 Saltville raid. Arrived in the vicinity of 
 Pound Gap, after eight days' forced march, 
 the command started in pursuit of John Mor- 
 
 gan, who with his force had just entered Ken- 
 tucky. The command, after severe marching, 
 reached Mount Sterling June 9, 1863, there 
 engaging the Rebel raiders. The 12th again 
 overtook Morgan at Cynthiana, scattering his 
 forces, and continuing the pursuit for three 
 days. The regiment had hard fighting at 
 Saltville, September 20th. The 12th with its 
 brigade charged up a hill occupied by the 
 enemy from his works. The regiment did 
 good service under Stoneman at Bristol, 
 Abingdon and Marion, and as a support to 
 General Gillman in pursuit of Vaughn. Un- 
 der Stoneman, Breckenridge was engaged and 
 defeated after 40 hours of fighting. In this 
 engagement all the members of the 12th bear- 
 ing sabers participated in a grand charge, 
 driving back the enemy's cavalry. After the 
 capture of Saltville on December 21st, they 
 returned to Richmond, Kentucky. As a re- 
 sult of this raid four boats were captured, 
 150 miles of railroad, 13 trains and locomo- 
 tives, lead mines, iron foundries and im- 
 mense quantities of stores of all kinds were 
 destroyed. The regiment moved to Nash- 
 ville March 6th, and thence to Knoxville. 
 From this point, under Stoneman, the regi- 
 ment penetrated North Carolina, attacked the 
 Lynchburg & East Tennessee Railroad at 
 Christianburg, Virginia, which was destroyed 
 for 30 miles. They also cut the Danville & 
 Charlotte Railroad at Greensboro, North Car- 
 olina, which drew the garrison to Salisbury; 
 and cutting the railroad between them and 
 Salisbury, that place, with stores and many 
 federal prisoners, fell into the hands of the 
 Union forces April 12th. The command as- 
 sisted in the capture of Jefiferson Davis; then 
 moving through South Carolina and Alaba- 
 ma, they captured Generals Bragg and Wheel- 
 er and their escorts and finally reached 
 Bridgeport, Alabama, having been in saddle 
 67 days. The 12th finally rendezvoused at 
 Nashville, and was mustered out November 
 14, 1865. 
 
 During the wftr Crawford county was twice 
 drafted. The first draft took place the last 
 of September, 1862, and was for the follow- 
 ing numbers of men, by townships : Auburn, 
 22; Bucyrus, 22; Chatfield, 59; Cranberry, 
 42; Dallas, o; Holmes, 55; Jackson, 102; 
 Liberty, 56; Lykens, 40; Polk, 69; Sandusky, 
 
510 
 
 HISTORY OF CILWVFORD COUNTY 
 
 ^i; Texas, 2; \emon, 30; Whetstone, 45. 
 Dallas, it will be seen had filled its quota and 
 was not drafted. Some of the drafted men 
 resisted and being supported by a numerous 
 part)- in the county that was opposed to the 
 war, it looked for a time as though the resist- 
 ance might develop into a riot, but this con- 
 tingenc)' was avoided, although several ex- 
 citing scenes occurred. 
 
 The second draft was on the i6th of April, 
 1864, and was for a smaller number of men. 
 By townships it was as follows: Auburn, 9; 
 Bucyrus, 16; Chatfield, 2; Cranberry, i; 
 Holmes, 1 1 ; Jackson, 5 ; Libertj', 8 : Polk, 
 24; Texas, 2. The quota of most of the 
 townships was filled, however, by voltmtary 
 enlistment before the day set for the drafted 
 men to report at headquarters. 
 
 ^\'hile the men of the county, state and na- 
 tion were in the field, fighting their coimtry's 
 battles, the women at home were not idle. 
 Though not exposed to danger or hardships 
 in the field, they suttered not less acutely in 
 saying farewell — in many cases forever — ^to 
 those who were near and dear to them, and 
 many a tender heart was wnmg as they fear- 
 fully read the news columns and war bulle- 
 tins after a battle, dreading to see the name 
 for which they sought in the lists of killed, 
 wounded or missing. ^lany of these women, 
 anxious to minister to the suffering soldiers, 
 left their comfortable homes to sene as 
 nurses in the militan.- hospitals, performing 
 their hard dut\- bravely and patiently amid 
 scenes of blood and suffering, enough to chill 
 the stoutest hearts. 
 
 And those who remained at home per- 
 formed a useful and noble service, through 
 the numerous Ladies" Aid Societies, sending 
 to the soldiers both in the field and in the 
 hospitals all sorts of useful and necessary 
 articles of clothing, provisions and other 
 things that were heartih- appreciated by the 
 boys at the front, and greatly helped to al- 
 leviate their hardships. 
 
 The Soldiers' Ladies Aid Society- was or- 
 ganized in Buc}xus. Oct. 14, 1861, IMrs. Dr. 
 ^lerriman being elected president, [Mrs. Wil- 
 liam Rowse. secretar)-, and Mrs. Howbert, 
 treasurer. A membership fee of ten cents 
 was charged and meetings were held for some 
 time in the Ouincy Block. After awhile the 
 
 enthusiasm waned to some extent, but in the 
 fall of 1862 the society was reorganized, with 
 ilrs. J. Scroggs as president and ^Irs. How- 
 bert, secretary. A third reorganization oc- 
 curred in June, 1863, when Mrs. I. C. Kings- 
 ley became president; [Mrs. R. T. Johnston, 
 vice president, [Mrs. J. G. Robinson, secretan-, 
 and [Mrs. H. [M. Rowse, treasurer. With 
 these officers in charge it continued in opera- 
 tion until the close of the war. [Many boxes 
 of clothing, provisions for the sick, and other 
 useful supplies, were fonvarded to the front 
 by the society, and were doubtless appreciated 
 by the soldiers into whose hands-— or stom- 
 achs — ^they fell. 
 
 At one time during the progress of the 
 war, a movement was set on foot to erect 
 a monument to the soldiers of Crawford 
 county who had fallen or might fall in battle. 
 In January, 1863 the Oakvvood Cemetery .As- 
 sociation offered to donate a lot, valued at 
 S125, provided the citizens of the county 
 would subscribe enough to erect a suitable 
 monument. An organization, known as the 
 '"Crawford Coimtj-, Ohio, [Monumental Asso- 
 ciation," was accordingly formed, but before 
 a sufficient amount was subscribed the en- 
 thusiasm of most of those concerned died out 
 and the soldiers' only monument lies in the 
 record of their own heroic deeds and in the 
 hearts of those to whom they were dear. 
 
 After the war was over Decoration Day, 
 later called Memorial Day, was made a na- 
 tional holiday in most states, and on that day, 
 annually on [May 30, the soldiers accompanied 
 by the citizens in every communitj- in the north 
 and south assembled at the cemeteries and lit- 
 tle grave-yards to place memorial wreaths and 
 beautiful flowers on the graves of those who 
 had given their lives that the nation might live. 
 The soldiers organization at Bucjtus is Keller 
 Post. It was named after the Keller Brothers 
 who were kiUed at the battle of Stone River. 
 Amos Keller was captain of Company B, of 
 the 49th O. V. I., and his brother Aaron H. 
 Keller was first lieutenant of the same com- 
 pany. They were both wounded at the battle 
 of Stone River, on December 31, 1862, and 
 Capt Amos Keller died the next day. New 
 Year's Day. 1863. while his brother Lieut 
 Aaron H., died on January- 25th. They were 
 brought to Bucyrus, and on February 15, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 511 
 
 1863, their funeral took place with their burial 
 in the same grave at Oakwood. Of these 
 brothers, W. H. Wortman, when he was Ad- 
 jutant of the Post, wrote : "They were both 
 born in the same month; they served in the 
 same company; they endured the same hard- 
 ships; they fell in the same battle, received 
 their death wounds in the same hour; they 
 were both single, they never separated in life, 
 and sleep together in death. In our beautiful 
 Oakwood cemetery, in a quiet spot, guarded 
 by the beautiful stars of heaven they both 
 rest in one grave." 
 
 The charter members of Keller Post No. 
 128 were A. E. Hummiston, A. H. Wortman, 
 N. Steen, W. H. Wortman, W. H. Sheckler, 
 J. H. Williston, H. E. Rosina, Henry Rupers- 
 berger, George Q. Mallory, John Jones, G. A. 
 Lauck, E. D. Randall, B. F. Lauck, P. E. 
 Bush, D. O. Castle, G. W. Harris, James Fin- 
 ley, S. D. Welsh, J. F. Fitzsimmons, Wm. Mc- 
 Cutcheon, G. H. Stewart, Geo. L. Deardorff, 
 Alexander McLaughlin, G. H. Binkerhoff, 
 Solomon Benson, Wm. Sharpenack, Geo. 
 Wagerly, Joseph Walker, G. H. Terry, F. 
 Hufnagel, O. E. Gravelle, Albert Wentz, H. 
 H. Elliott, S. S. Blowers, G. W. Myers, J. N. 
 McCurdy, John Strawbridge, Mitch Bryant, 
 John Scheidegger, F. R. Shunk, A. M. Boyer, 
 Joseph Hunt, Jerry Niman, H. G. Lane, Con- 
 rad Bauman, C. F. Kanzleiter, Daniel Kanz- 
 leiter. 
 
 Peter Snyder Post No. 129 was organized 
 at Crestline and named after Peter Snyder of 
 Company E, loist O. V. I. He was wounded 
 on December 30, 1862, the first day of the 
 battle of Stone River and died three days later, 
 on January 2, 1863. He was buried on the 
 field of battle. The charter members were T. 
 P. Kerr, David Snodgrass, James Dunmire, 
 J. S. Cole, W. Shumaker, Gaylord Ozier, Theo. 
 Rinkard, J. A. Smith, John Cook, David 
 Grubb, Samuel Zink, J. C. Channell, John C. 
 Williams, P. B. Young, John A. Mcjunkin, J. 
 L. Booth, G. W. Thompson, Jacob Lewis, C. 
 Hoke, Geo. Herr, Mathew Jaques, E. Pampel. 
 
 The post at Galion was Dick Morris Post 
 No. 130, named after G. A. Morris, who en- 
 listed in Co. K, Fourth O. V. I. He was 
 wounded in the thigh at the Battle of the 
 Wilderness but he remained in the service until 
 they discharged his regiment in 1864. He re- 
 
 30 
 
 turned to his home in Galion with his health 
 badly impaired. He never recovered and died 
 at Colorado Springs in 1880, where he had 
 gone for his health. His remains were brought 
 to Ohio, and buried at his old family home at 
 Delhi, Marion County. The charter members 
 of this post were J. R. Homer, J. W. Holmes, 
 Julius Brascher, W. R. Davis, T. C. Davis, Ab- 
 ner G. Bryan, H. Bachelder, W. B. Osborn, M. 
 Manley, E. A. Johnson, Morris Burns, J. S. 
 Nace, Geo. M. Zigler, D. R. Gorman, E. S. 
 Boalt, W. H. Davis, W. F. Haney, John Eng- 
 lish, J. W. Conklin, J. H. Green, M. Rigby, J. 
 H. Ashbaugh, S. M. Reese, Chas. Webber, 
 Wm. Riley, S. B. Nute, Theo. Wooley, A. 
 Wild, Geo. Snyder, S. E. Conrad, Wm. Black- 
 sen, W. H. W. Nichols, Andrew Schneider, 
 Chas. Obtz, John Diday, B. W. Hosford, L. 
 M. Beck. 
 
 Biddle Post No. 522 was organized at Sul- 
 phur Springs and was named after John B. 
 Biddle of Company C, loist O. V. I. He was 
 a lieutenant in Company C, and was killed at 
 the Battle of Stone River while repelling a 
 charge. The charter members were Peter 
 Rutan, N. S! Boardman, A. Fry, John K. 
 Zerbe, Jeremiah Tressler, Hiram Smith, 
 George Howell, George Haislett, H. S. Bev- 
 ington, Hiram Orewiler, John Caris, Oliver 
 Flohr, John Weston, Andrew Depler, Jacob 
 Rice, Harvey McCullough, Samuel Smalley, 
 Thomas Loux, O. I. Keller, M. M. Carruthers, 
 D. L. Felters, Caleb Ackerman, Geo. B. Mc- 
 Intyre, Geo. E. Gowing, S. B. Koons, R. B. 
 McCammon, Jacob Waters, Isaac Grouse, 
 Reuben Finch, David Hites. 
 
 A Post was organized at Tiro, with the fol- 
 lowing charter members. John O. Davis, 
 John McConnell, Wm. M. Waid, Samuel B. 
 Raudabaugh, Martin V. Wood, T. S. Bur- 
 roughs, John Vamtilburg, G. M. Jeffrey, 
 Frederick Bloom, Eli Rininger, John Hilborn, 
 Chas. McConnell, Thomas C. Bear, Robt. De- 
 gray, Hiram McDougle, James Miller, D. W. 
 Daugherty, H. H. Sanderson, S. W. Trago, 
 S. W. Jeffrey, W. W. Ashley, James Scheck- 
 ler, E. T. Devoe. 
 
 Connected with the several posts. Relief 
 Corps were also organized among them Bu- 
 cyrus Keller Relief Corps No. 68 was organ- 
 ized with 20 charter members. Galion Relief 
 Corps No. 130, and Crestline Relief Corps. 
 
512 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 At Sulphur Springs Biddle Relief Corps No. 
 88 was organized with i8 charter members. 
 
 Probably the oldest soldier who enlisted from 
 Crawford county was William Blowers. He 
 knew he would not be taken where known, so 
 in the Fall of 1882, he enlisted in the 151st 
 New York Infantry as a private. He was 62 
 years of age, and as soon as his enlistment was 
 known, and it was found he insisted on serv- 
 ing his country he was transferred to hospital 
 duty. He died Jan. 28, 1868, and was buried 
 in the Blowers graveyard in Liberty township. 
 The youngest soldier was probably George W. 
 Harris, who was but 13 years of age when in 
 1862 he enlisted in Co. B of the 6ist O. V. I., 
 and served for three years. For several years 
 he has been Commander of Keller Post. 
 
 Among more than two thousand soldiers 
 from Crawford county who took part in that 
 war there were many acts of heroism, and 
 many brave deeds the memory of which is 
 treasured by their descendants. Three Grand 
 Army Posts in this county are named after men 
 who lost their lives at Stone River; died that 
 a Nation might live. But there are three in- 
 stances that are, perhaps, more prominent than 
 others : 
 
 B. B. McDanald was major of the loist 
 Ohio, and was captured Sept. 20, 1863, dur- 
 ing the Chattanooga campaign. He was sent 
 to Richmond and confined in Libby Prison. 
 He with Col. A. Streight of an Indiana regi- 
 ment, organized the most daring escape of the 
 war. Major McDanald was the superintendent 
 in the construction of a tunnel. It commenced 
 in the basement of the prison, extended under 
 the street a distance of over sixty feet. Their 
 principal implement used in the construction 
 was a chisel about nine inches long. With this 
 they worked by relays storing the exca- 
 vated earth beneath the straw on which they 
 slept. The work was all done after night and 
 it took them a month to complete the small 
 hole through which they crawled to liberty. 
 On Feb. 9, 1864, 109 officers made their es- 
 cape; emerging from the tunnel they separ- 
 ated into small groups to make their way north, 
 and 55 succeeded in reaching the Union line, 
 and Major McDanald was among the num- 
 ber, and the faithful chisel was brought home 
 by him as a souvenir of his daring escape. 
 
 Libby was a prison for the officers. There 
 
 was a prison for the privates. It was Ander- 
 sonville, and perhaps two dozen of Crawford's 
 soldiers were in that living hell. It was 23 
 acres in size. On June 17, 1864, Sergeant 
 Thomas J. Sheppard was captured in a night 
 attack on Kenesaw Mountain, and was sent to 
 Andersonville. During July there were 31,- 
 648 prisoners there, and 1742 died that month; 
 in August out of 31,693 prisoners 3,076 died. 
 In July one in every 18 died; in August one in 
 every eleven ; in September one in every three ; 
 and "in October every other man died from 
 starvation and exposure, for there was no pro- 
 tection except holes burrowed in the ground. 
 In this prison pen, Sergeant Sheppard who had 
 studied for the ministry, for ten months 
 preached to his comrades, and gave what com- 
 fort and consolation he could to the sick and 
 the dying. His comrades drew up a petition 
 telling of his services, and the paper, dis- 
 colored by age, its edges frayed and torn, is 
 still in the possession of his children. He lived 
 through all the horrors of Andersonville, and 
 when the war ended was released and returned 
 to Ohio to finish his ministerial studies, and 
 filled several pulpits in this State, among them 
 the Baptist church at Bucyrus. He was known 
 throughout the State and Nation as "The An- 
 dersonville Chaplain." He died at the home of 
 his daughter, Mrs. James R. Hopley, in Bucy- 
 rus, on Aug. 14, 1912. 
 
 \Vhen the troops were getting closer and 
 closer to fated Richmond, Gen. Grant received 
 from patriotic citizens a purse of $460 to be 
 presented to the soldier who should first plant 
 the Stars and Stripes in the captured city. 
 Richmond was not taken by assault, but was 
 abandoned in consequence of the successful at- 
 tack on Petersburg, on April 2, 1865. So the 
 commanders of the three corps who made the 
 successful assault were each requested to select 
 the man most distinguished for bravery on that 
 occasion, and Gen. Wright selected Sergeant 
 David W. Young, of Co> E, 139th Pa., and he 
 received the following letter: 
 
 Washington, July 22, 1865. 
 Sergeant David W. Young, 
 
 Co. E, 139th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers : 
 The sum of four hundred and sixty dollars was sent 
 to me by patriotic Citizens to be presented as a reward 
 for gallantry to the soldier who should first raise our 
 flag over Richmond. As Richmond was not taken by 
 assault, I have concluded that the donors' wishes will 
 be best carried out by dividing the sum between three 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 513 
 
 soldiers most conspicuous for gallantry in the final and 
 successful assault on Petersburg. 
 
 You have been selected by Major General H. G. 
 Wright, commanding the Sixth Army Corps, as entitled 
 to this honor on behalf of that command, and I herewith 
 present to you one hundred and fifty-three dollars and 
 thirty-three cents as one third of the original sum. 
 
 It affords me great satisfaction to receive from your 
 Commanding General such unqualified testimony of 
 your gallantry and heroism in battle, and to be the me- 
 dium of transmitting to you this recognition of the 
 worth of your services in defense of our common 
 country. 
 
 U. S. Grant. 
 Lieutenant General. 
 
 This brave soldier died on Dec. 1 1, 191 1, and 
 was buried by Keller Post, of which he was a 
 member, with all the honors of war. 
 
 On April 23, 1898, President McKinley is- 
 sued his proclamation calling for 125,000 vol- 
 unteers, war against Spain having been de- 
 clared. 
 
 The first call of the President was received 
 by the Governor at 5 o'clock in the afternoon 
 of April 25. Telegraphic orders were immedi- 
 ately sent to the commanding officers of the 
 Ohio National Guard. Company A at that 
 time was a part of the 8th Regiment, the sen- 
 ior major of which was Edward Vollrath of 
 Bucyrus. On the 26th of April, within 24 
 hours of the receipt of the orders Company A 
 was at Akron and two days later proceeded to 
 Camp Bushnell, Columbus, Ohio, where on 
 May 13, 1898, they were mustered into the 
 United States service as the 8th Regiment, 
 Ohio Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 The company and regiment were mustered 
 out of service at Wooster, Ohio, Nov. 21, 1898. 
 
 During the war Company A was stationed at 
 the following points : 
 
 Station 
 
 Camp Bushnell. O. 
 Camp Alger, Va., 
 Camp Siboney, Cuba 
 Camp Sevilla Hill, Cuba 
 
 Camp San Juan Hill, Cuba Aug. 11, i 
 Camp Montauk Point, Aug. 26, i 
 
 Arrival Departure 
 
 April 28, 1898 May 18, i8g 
 May 20, 1898 July 5, 185 
 July II, 1898 July 16, i8g 
 July 16, 1898 Aug.ll, lE 
 
 Aug. 17, _ 
 Sept. 6, 1898 
 
 8TH REGIMENT, O. V. I. 
 
 The following were the members of the company : 
 
 Field and Staff — Maj. Edward Vollrath, Bucyrus, 
 Batt. Adjt., Charles F. Schaber, Bucyrus, Batt. Ser- 
 geant Major, Edward G. Reid, Bucyrus. 
 
 Captain — Marcus A. Charlton, 1st. Lieut. — John W. 
 Birk, 2nd. Lieut. — Guy D. Swingly. 
 
 Sergeants — 1st.. Edward Rodey, Q. M., Joseph E. 
 Wert, Alva S. Humiston, * Charles Thoman, John C. 
 Cramer, Milton W. Stailey, Lewis S. Nedele. 
 
 Corporals — William F. Reber, Frederick T. Beer, 
 
 George E. Kinninger, Robert W. Kerr, Henry E. Volk, 
 Fred W. Bacon, Samuel Raymond, Frank H. Hill, 
 Ephriam G. MonneUe, John B. Crim, Christopher 
 Dinkel, Edward M. Wise, William M. Burwell, Daniel 
 Spade. 
 
 Musicians— C. W. Deardorff and Charles W. Raub. 
 
 Artisans— E. A. Burroughs and William C. Beer. 
 
 Wagoner — Lucian Anthony. 
 
 Privates— Rufus Altaffer, Harry T. Beelman, Charles 
 F, Belzner, WilHam J. Breymaier, John B. Brown, Fay 
 W. Brown, Charles F. Bryant, Charles L. Bittikofer, 
 Ulrich Bauer, * Ebbie N. Bland, Arthur C Bloodhart, 
 Arthur Becker, Thomas Berry, Robert L. Christie, 
 George O. Coleman, Jay E. Coulter, Wilbur J. Charlton, 
 Chris Carle, Harry Couts, Peter Callaghan, Wm. M. 
 Cummins, William C. Deam, C. F. Donnenwirth, Guy P. 
 Emerson, Cyrus H. Fisher, Charles W. Foreman, Homer 
 A. Foreman, Charles Ferrall, Charles Fidler, James P. 
 Hill, William D. Hillis, E. G. Hillis, Roy H. Hayman, 
 Harry H. Holland, Walter M. Hubbell, Jacob Huber, 
 Michael Hipp, Joseph J. Hieronimus, Luther Haffner, 
 Albert Heintz, Charles V. Jones, Samuel Kahler, 
 * Charles C. Keplinger, Glenn H. Koons, E. Harry Kerr, 
 George Kehrer, Harry W. Leitz, Jay C. McCracken, 
 Jesse H. Minich, Jay Moore, Harry W. Morrow, Gilbert 
 McKeehen, Frank Munz, Louis Mollenkopf, Samuel H. 
 Nelson, Charles Nail, William R. Orr, Benjamin L. Orr, 
 Thomas Plummer, Edward Rettig, John Rettig, Or- 
 lando C. Rice, Birt Rogers, Frank Reynolds, Theodore 
 Reminger, T. P. Rayel, Frederick Stahl, Edgar A. Stan- 
 ley, Charles E. Shanks, Sherman Sampsel, * Otto Sand- 
 hammer, Ralph J. Stewart, Roscoe A. Taylor, Roscoe 
 A. Trumbull, Frank Trautman, Albert Teetrick, Bert 
 UUam, Albert Warden, Harry R. Winner. 
 
 * Died in Service. 
 
 The 8th Regiment of Infantry, O. N. G., 
 popularly known as "The President's Own," 
 was the only Ohio regiment that went to Cuba. 
 The order to start for Cuba came on the 
 Fourth of July and on the 6th the regiment 
 embarked at New York city on the U. S. 
 Steamer St. Paul, arriving off Siboney, sev- 
 eral miles below Santiago, on July loth. The 
 troops being urgently needed at this time, the 
 regiment was immediately disembarked, some 
 companies being landed that night and the 
 remainder on the following morning. On their 
 march to the front, over the mountain trail, 
 they met numerous wagons loaded with sick 
 and wounded soldiers. The regiment marched 
 part way under a furious tropical storm and 
 camped on the east bank of the Aguadores 
 river. So heavy was the downpour of rain 
 that the camp was completely flooded and none 
 were able to sleep. In the morning it was 
 found that the streams were so swollen that 
 an immediate advance of the regiment was im- 
 practicable and they were obliged for some time 
 to remain at this camp, which was named by 
 the soldiers "Camp Mud." 
 
514 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 On the 13th of July the Third Batallion, 
 consisting of Companies B, E, G and K, were 
 detailed as guard to General Shafter and the 
 headquarters of the Fifth Army Corps. After 
 the surrender of Santiago, a few days later, 
 the headquarters were moved into the city and 
 the batallion acted as guard of the Ammuni- 
 tion Reserve and Small Arm Park until Au- 
 gust loth, besides perfonning various other 
 duties. 
 
 On July 15th Colonel Hard obtained per- 
 mission of General Miles to change the loca- 
 tion of the camp, which was an unhealthy one, 
 and accordingly the First and Second Batal- 
 lions took camp on Sevilla Hill, the Third re- 
 maining at headquarters. At this time the 
 regiment suffered greatly from sickness, prin- 
 cipally malarial fever, the companies being 
 obliged to furnish" details to assist the hospital 
 corps. The health of the army generally con- 
 tinued so bad and the deaths were so numerous 
 that it was found impracticable to send the 
 troops to take part in the Porto Rico cam- 
 paign, as had been intended, and representa- 
 tions having been made by the chief officers 
 
 to General Shafter and submitted by him to 
 Washington, the army was ordered north im- 
 mediately. 
 
 On August 1 8th the 8th regiment left San- 
 tiago on the steamer Mohawk, some of the 
 men, however, being unable to embark on ac- 
 count of sickness. On the way home two 
 deaths occurred at sea. On the 26th the troops 
 were landed at Montauk Point, Long Island 
 and were immediately placed in quarantine un- 
 til danger of infection was over. On Septem- 
 ber 6th, a 60-days' furlough having been 
 granted, the various companies took the train 
 for Ohio, to reassemble for muster out at 
 Wooster, Ohio on November loth. They re- 
 mained in camp at Wooster until November 
 21, 1898, when they were discharged. While 
 in the United States' service the 8th Regiment 
 lost 72 men, a number of others dying subse- 
 quently as the result of disease or hardships 
 encountered. 
 
 The soldiers of the Spanish American War 
 have organized Thoman Camp No. 69, United 
 Spanish War Veterans, named after Sergeant 
 Charles Thoman who died in Cuba. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 BENCH AND BAR 
 
 The Ordinance of 1/8/ — Formation of the Courts — President and Associate Judges — Jus- 
 tices of the Peace — Crawford County Laivyers — Some Interesting Cases. 
 
 "The hope of all who suffer, 
 The dread of all who wrong." 
 
 John G. Whittier. 
 
 Sixteen years before the admission of Ohio 
 into the Federal Union the foundations of 
 law and order throughout the great North- 
 western Territory, of which it formed a part, 
 were laid by the passage in Congress of the 
 "Ordinance of 1787." The author of this com- 
 pact, who was also chiefly responsible for its 
 passage, was the Rev. Mannasseh Cutler, one of 
 the leading directors of the Ohio Company, 
 formed for the development of lands and the 
 planting of settlements along the valleys of 
 the Ohio, Muskingum and Scioto rivers. This 
 compact, which has been called the true cor- 
 ner-stone of the northwest, declared that "re- 
 ligion, morality and knowledge being neces- 
 sary to good government and the happiness of 
 mankind, schools and the means of education 
 shall always be encouraged." It also forever 
 prohibited ' slavery within the territory and, 
 strange to say, was passed by the aid of the 
 southern members of Congress, every one of 
 whom voted for it. This result was accom- 
 plished through Dr. Cutler's ability and adroit- 
 ness as a politician. Ample provision was 
 made for education, Section 16 of each town- 
 ship being set apart for school purposes. When 
 the State Constitution was adopted in 1803 it 
 was based in its essential parts of the Ordi- 
 nance of 1787. The Judicial powers of the 
 state were a Supreme Court of Common-Pleas 
 and Justices of the Peace. The Supreme 
 Court was composed of three members, in 1807 
 increased to four, and two members constituted 
 
 a quorum and were to meet once a year in 
 every county in the State. 
 
 The Common Pleas Court consisted of a 
 president judge elected by the Legislature, and 
 in each county two or three associate judges 
 were elected by the Legislature to sit with the 
 president judge when he visited that county 
 and form the court. Each court appointed its 
 own clerk to serve for seven years, but the 
 clerk must have a certificate signed by a ma- 
 jority of the Supreme Court certifying as to 
 his cjualifications for the position. 
 
 A competent number of justices were elected 
 in each township their term of service being 
 three years. 
 
 Soon after the organization of the county, 
 Bucyrus was selected as the county seat, and 
 in July, 1826, the first term of the Common 
 Pleas Court was held at the residence of Lewis 
 Cary, on the south bank of the Sandiisky river, 
 on the site of the present residence of C. H. 
 Shonert. 
 
 The presiding judge on this occasion was 
 Ebenezer Lane, of Norwalk, who had been 
 appointed in 1824. This circuit was No. 2,. 
 and included all the northwestern part of the 
 state, Crawford County having been attached 
 to, this circuit on its organization. Judge 
 Lane was a native of Northampton, Mass., 
 and a graduate of Harvard University in the 
 class of 1 8 1 1 . He had studied law under Judge 
 Matthew Griswold, at Lyme, Conn., had been 
 admitted to the bar in 1814, and commenced 
 practice at Norwich, Conn. In the spring of 
 1 81 7 he came to Ohio, settling first at Elyria. 
 In May, 18 19 he was appointed prosecuting 
 
 515 
 
516 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 attorney of Huron County and in October of 
 the same year removed to Norwalk. After his 
 election by the Legislature in 1824 as presiding 
 judge of the Second Circuit he continued to 
 discharge the functions of that office until the 
 fall of 1830, at which time he was elected judge 
 of the Supreme Court of Ohio, a position he 
 held until the winter of 1844-45, ^vhen he re- 
 signed. He then accepted the presidency of the 
 J\iad River & Lake Erie Railroad Company 
 and for ten years after was engaged in- the 
 management of railroads in Ohio. In the fall 
 of 1855 he became counsel and resident direc- 
 tor of the Illinois Central Railroad Company, 
 with his residence at Chicago, and was thus 
 occupied until March, 1859, when he resigned 
 and retired to private life. He was a scholarly 
 man, a close student, not only of his profes- 
 sion, but also of science and general literature, 
 and was prompt in the discharge of every duty. 
 His legal ability is evidenced in his opinions 
 contained in the Ohio Supreme Court Reports 
 and he possessed in a high degree the respect 
 and esteem of his fellow members of the 
 bench and bar and the confidence of the peo- 
 ple generally. He died at Sandusky, Ohio 
 June 12, 1866. 
 
 Judge Lane was succeeded on the bench of 
 the Common Pleas Court by Da\id Higgins, 
 also of Norwalk, who held the office of presi- 
 dent judge for the full term of seven years, 
 from 1830 to 1837. He was a man of fine per- 
 sonal appearance and of good ability, a firm be- 
 liever in a strict construction of the law, and 
 would brook no opposition, and as a result his 
 relations with his legal brethren and the people 
 were not so harmonious as those of his prede- 
 cessor. His ability and integrity, however, 
 were unquestioned. In the winter of 1837-38 
 his term came to a close and he retired to pri- 
 vate life. 
 
 Ozias Bowen of Marion was the successor of 
 Judge Higgins, and held the office of president 
 judge for two terms, or fourteen years, until 
 the judicial system under the Constitution of 
 1802 was superseded by that of the Constitu- 
 tion of 185 1. Judge Bowen was born at Au- 
 gusta, X. Y., July I, 1805. He was admitted 
 to the bar at Canton, Ohio, in September, 1828 
 and soon after began practice at Marion. In 
 1856 he was appointed by Governor Chase a 
 judge of the Supreme Court, to fill a vacancy 
 
 caused by the resignation of Judge C. C. Con- 
 verse. 
 
 The Associate Judges were generally of the 
 same political party as the majority in the 
 Legislature at the time of their election. Yet 
 the names of the judges in Crawford County 
 show that it was an indispensable qualification 
 that the men selected should be of such high 
 standing and character that the people would 
 ha\'e confidence in the court and respect its 
 decisions. These men, although none of them 
 were lawyers, received the title of judge. 
 
 The first associate judge in this county was 
 E. B. Merriman, elected in 1825, when Craw- 
 ford was under the judicial supervision of 
 Marion, the Legislature electing two Marion 
 men and one from Crawford. The next year 
 Crawford was organized and its first three 
 associate judges were elected on Jan. 26, 1826, 
 five days before the act was passed organizing 
 the county. The following were the associate 
 judges in Crawford County with the dates of 
 their election. The office was abolished in 1851 
 by the adoption of the present Constitution. 
 
 Enoch B. Merriman — 1825-26. 
 
 John Cary — 1826. 
 
 John B. French — 1826. 
 
 Jacob Smith — 1827. 
 
 Abel Cary — 1829. 
 
 Josiah Robertson — 1830. 
 
 George Poe — 1833. 
 
 Hugh Welsh — 1835-42. 
 
 Samuel Knisely — 1836-43. 
 
 Andrew Failor — 1836-43. 
 
 Robert W. ^Nlusgrave — 1845. 
 
 Robert Lee — 1849. 
 
 James Stewart — 1850. 
 
 In the early days there were few lawyers in 
 the little towns, and when court met and the 
 judge arrived, he was followed by a retinue of 
 attorneys, who accompanied the court from 
 town to town. Judge Lane's circuit at that time 
 included all of northwestern Ohio; the roads 
 were bad, sometimes only trails ; many streams 
 had to be forded, and the lawyers carried their 
 books from town to town; once it is of record 
 that in the fording of a heavily swollen stream 
 the law library of the party was swept away. 
 They entered towns sometimes covered with 
 rain and mud, but with the fire and internal re- 
 freshments promptly served by the jovial land- 
 lord, were soon made comfortable. Court days 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 517 
 
 were great days for the little towns in those 
 early times. It brought the citizens in touch 
 with the outside world, and every evening the 
 tavern was crowded to listen to the latest stories 
 and hear the inside of all political develop- 
 ments. 
 
 The first court was held in the lower front 
 room of Lewis Gary's residence, and upstairs 
 the jury was sent; if Sarah Gary's school was 
 in session at the time education was suspended 
 to let justice hold sway. Among the lawyers 
 who followed Judge Lane on his rounds were 
 Andrew Goffinberry of Mansfield, known as 
 "Gount" Goffinberry on account of his dignity 
 and faultless apparel. Then there was John 
 Spink, the wit of the northwestern Ohio bar 
 and a favorite with everybody; James Purdy 
 and John M. May of Mansfield; Gharles L. 
 Boalt of Norwalk; Orris Parish of Delaware, 
 and a few years later Gharles Switzer of the 
 same place, as fastidious in dress as "Gount" 
 Goffinberry, apd there being then a semblance 
 of roads he used to arrive in state with a car- 
 riage drawn by two white horses. From 
 Marion came Ozias Bowen and James S. God- 
 man. 
 
 When the first court was held David H. 
 Beardsley came over from Marion to act as 
 temporary clerk on the organization of the 
 court. Zalmon Rowse was selected as clerk 
 and on the first meeting of the Supreme Gourt 
 at Bucyrus his C[ualifications were certified to 
 and he became the first clerk of the court of 
 the county. At that time the attorneys in the 
 place were John H. Morrison, who was county 
 treasurer; Isaac H. Allen, appointed the first 
 prosecuting attorney, Michael Flick and 
 Gharles Stanberg. 
 
 No records are in existence of these early 
 courts, as they were probably destroyed in the 
 fire of 183 1. 
 
 The first record found in this county is of 
 the July term of 1832, when the supreme 
 judges coming to Bucyrus were Joshua Collett 
 and Ebenezer Lane, the latter having been 
 elected a supreme judge by the Legislature in 
 1830. They heard eight cases. The first court 
 house had been completed, as the record states 
 the court met in the court house. July was the 
 month for meeting in Bucyrus and in 1833 the 
 judges attending were Joshua Gollett and 
 Reuben Wood, who heard nine cases. In 1834 
 
 Joshua Gollett and Ebenezer Lane were the 
 judges hearing eight cases; 1835, Joshua Gol- 
 lett and Ebenezer Lane; 1836, Ebenezer Lane 
 and Reuben Wood; 1837, the same judges; 
 1838, Peter Hitchcock and Frederick Grimkie. 
 Zalmon Rowse was Supreme Gourt clerk, with 
 his bond fixed at $10,000. 
 
 The justices of the peace were an important 
 court in those days. The custom appears to 
 have prevailed for the citizens to pick out 
 some man or men in each township, whose 
 common sense, honor and integrity were un- 
 questioned. This man was selected justice of 
 the peace and was kept in office, and when he 
 was an exceptionally good man the only way 
 he could escape the position was by running 
 for some county office or dying, the latter being 
 the only safe course, as John Gampbell was 
 elected justice in Whetstone, and tried to es- 
 cape the job by being elected to the Legislature, 
 but his neighbors wouldn't have it, and for a 
 while he held both offices. No one appeared to 
 mind his double salary, for the reason his legis- 
 lative pay was very little, and the emoluments 
 received from the office of justice were still 
 less. More than half a century ago the citizens 
 of Ghatfield commenced electing John Burg- 
 bacher as justice, and when he became county 
 commissioner they let him off for two terms, 
 but when he returned in 1871, they again 
 pressed him into the service as justice and he 
 was holding the office when he died 30 years 
 later. Mr. Burgbacher has the record, having 
 been elected justice for 13 terms of three years 
 each. His partner, Frederick Hipp had only 
 eighteen years, but after he was elected to 
 the county office he never went back to Ghat- 
 field. The other veteran justices were Amos 
 Morse of Auburn, David Ogden of Jackson, 
 William Hise of Liberty and John Warner of 
 Vernon with thirty years each ; S. A. Mc- 
 Keehen of Liberty, Abraham Underwood of 
 Polk, Harvey Glose of Texas and W. B. Gum- 
 mins of Whetstone, with 27 years each, the 
 last two persons being modern, as they still 
 hold the position. Mr. Glose inherited the of- 
 fice, as his father, Nelson Glose was justice 
 from 1852 to 1873; C. D. Ward, of Bucyrus, 
 John Holman of Holmes, Gharles B. Shumaker 
 of Polk, Solomon Harley of Sandusky, J. F. 
 Goder of Tod, and John W. Humphrey of 
 Vernon have a record of 24 years, with Messrs. 
 
51.8 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Harley and Coder still in office. Frederick 
 Hipp of Chatfield and Matthias Kibbler of 
 Cranberry had 21 years, making 17 men who 
 averaged 27 years each. Another gentleman 
 with a record of eight terms in this county can 
 well be called the movable justice. In 1873 
 and 1876 Rufus Aurend was elected justice by 
 the citizens of Tod township, but he left there 
 and moved across the line into Holmes town- 
 ship and in 1880 the citizens there elected him 
 to the same office. After being elected for four 
 terms in Holmes he moved over into Liberty 
 as the only way to escape being a justice, as 
 Mr. Hise and Mr. McKeehen were serving so 
 faithfully in that township there was no dan- 
 ger of any justiceship being thrust upon him. 
 Misfortune followed him, as he reached Lib- 
 erty just as Mr. Hise, ripe in years, was called 
 to his reward, and Mr. Aurend in 1900 was 
 elected to the office. He served one term and 
 came to Bucyrus, where aspirants for every 
 office were so numerous that he would be al- 
 lowed to pass his declining days in peace. But 
 in 1 91 2 a vacancy occurred in the office and 
 the township trustees looking around for some 
 suitable and competent man to place in the 
 position, selected Mr. Aurend, He accepted, 
 and commenced business ; his first case came 
 on, and after what was no doubt a correct de- 
 cision, the attorney who had lost found that 
 the new justice had omitted some formality 
 in the securing of his commission; he therefore 
 appealed the case, averring that Mr. Aurend 
 "was not qualified to act as justice." This was 
 the final' blow; a riian who had served in three 
 townships, and who had given satisfaction for 
 more than twenty years, to have his qualifica- 
 tions doubted by a young attorney. The at- 
 torney explained, the friends argued, but it 
 was useless, and he threw up the job, but had 
 established- the record of having served as 
 justice of the peace in four townships. 
 
 The people of today little know what sound 
 sense and what absolute justice was dealt out 
 by these officers more than half a century ago, 
 and the court records show what townships 
 had these practical men and kept them in office, 
 for from those townships few law suits came 
 up to the county court; they had a way of 
 settling their cases, and settling them right, 
 believing what was just and right was law. A 
 
 few incidents have been gathered of early jus- 
 tice — not law, but justice : 
 
 About 1830 Robert Mays was justice of the 
 peace of Lykens township. Settlers were few 
 and far between and hogs ran at large, the 
 honesty of the few settlers being the only as- 
 surance that stray pork would be returned to 
 the rightful owner. But one shiftless settler 
 named Pratt found it easier to kill stray pork- 
 :ers than to raise his own. He had been ar- 
 rested and fined several times for his petty 
 stealing, but stray hogs continued to disappear 
 and the pork was frequently traced to Pratt's 
 shanty. Finally, he was caught in the act of 
 stealing one of his neighbor's hogs, and Robert 
 Mays, decided to try a new method for putting 
 a stop to his depradations. Pratt was illiterate, 
 and like all petty thieves an arrant coward. 
 Squire Mays had him arrested by the con- 
 stable and brought to his cabin for trial, and 
 the neighbors were notified to appear as wit- 
 nesses. The evidence was clear, there being 
 no question of the man's guilt, but the squire 
 went further, and many other cases were traced 
 to Pratt. Finally the justice, putting on his 
 most solemn look, reviewed the man's many 
 cases of stealing, called his attention to the 
 fact that he had been several times fined for 
 similar offenses; that in a new country, 
 remote from courts, it was the duty of the 
 justice to protect innocent citizens from such 
 outrages ; that the right of property must be 
 held sacred; that warnings and fines had all 
 been useless, and much as he regretted it, he 
 saw no other way of protecting the people 
 than by sentencing the man to death. It was 
 therefore the judgment of the court, that the 
 constable procure a rope immediately, and the 
 man be taken to some convenient tree and there 
 hanged by the neck until he was dead. The 
 man begged and pleaded for his life, but the 
 justice was firm, and dispatched the constable 
 for a rope, and instructed the settlers to look 
 up some suitable tree on \\hich the man could 
 pay the penalty for his crimes. This left no 
 one in the cabin but the justice and the terror- 
 stricken wretch. The justice took advantage of 
 the occasion to depict in the most gruesome 
 terms the disgraceful death the man had 
 brought on himself by his acts, and the scared 
 man finding all hope gone did exactly what was 
 
RESOLVED WHITE 
 Settled in Auburn Township, 1819. 
 Descendant of Peregrine White, who 
 Came Over in the Mayflower. 
 
 COL. WILLIAM CRAWFORD 
 (At the age of 35 years) 
 
 LUCY SEARL WHITE 
 Wife of Resolved White 
 
 BUCYRUS BAR, 1863 
 Upper Row, Left to Right — Franklin Adams, David Cahill, S. R. Harris, John Hoplcy, William Scroges 
 Matthias Buchman. ' ' 
 
 Lower Row, Left to Right — Jacob Scroggs, Thomas Beer, A. M. Jackson, C. W. Butterfield, E. B. Finley. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 ,519 
 
 anticipated. He made a dash from the cabin, 
 one of the early pioneers said he went through 
 the window. The alarm was given, and the 
 man's speed was accelerated by shots being 
 fired in his direction, care being taken not to 
 hit him as he fled through the woods. The 
 squire, the constable and the witnesses followed 
 in hot haste, yelling and screaming, and skill- 
 fully managing to keep just close enough to 
 the fleeing man to spur him to renewed exer- 
 tions, and finally after an hour's chase the 
 pursuing party returned to the cabin. Noth- 
 ing was ever heard or seen of him again, and 
 no report ever reached the settlers as to where 
 or when he stopped running. 
 
 One of the first law suits in Liberty township 
 was before Ichabod Smith, justice of the peace, 
 on a complaint against Isaac Weatherby for 
 running his saw-mill on the Sabbath Day. 
 The defendant brought in testimony showing 
 the uncertain nature of the stream; that the 
 water-power was an important item of his 
 property; that when the water was sufficient 
 to run the mill it must be utilized, otherwise 
 there would be great loss to him, and delays 
 and inconvenience to his customers. The jus- 
 tice held that when the water was there the 
 mill ought to be allowed to run, even if it was 
 Sunday, whereupon he discharged \Veatherby 
 md taxed the costs against the complainant. 
 Of course the law of the state prohibited labor 
 on the Sabbath, and the complainant appealed 
 to the court above, when the judgment for 
 costs against him was set aside. The com- 
 plainant was conscientious in his protest against 
 labor on the Sabbath day, and the only way to 
 stop the mill was to buy it, which he did, and 
 leased it to his brother-in-law, who was as re- 
 ligious as himself, and the mill did not run on 
 Sunday. 
 
 Another case was before Squire Elias Mark- 
 ley. A man named Smith sued Charles Dony 
 for pay for grain. The account had stood 
 for months, and there were counter accounts, 
 and in the mix-up Dony was given a judg- 
 ment against Smith for $8, and when the 
 judgment was announced Dony refused to take 
 it, saying Smith owed him only $2. 
 
 John Slifer was a justice of the peace in 
 Liberty township from 183 s to 1841. He was 
 the man who laid out the village of Annapolis. 
 He was a fine scholar, and an excellent pen- 
 
 man, but at times exceedingly careless in his 
 writing. One time he sent a transcript to the 
 Court of Common Pleas so illegible that it was 
 almost impossible to read it, and Judge Ozias 
 Bowen, who was puzzled over the document, 
 expressed his disgust with the remark, "The 
 people must be fools to elect such ignorant men 
 as justices of the peace." Josiah Scott was 
 present, and was well acquainted with Slifer, 
 .and he remarked to the judge: "How would 
 it be, j.udge, if this ignorant justice could write 
 a better hand than either of us !" Slifer hap- 
 pened to be present in the court room, and he 
 came forward and asked the clerk, Zalmon 
 Rowse, for a pen and sheet of paper, which 
 were given, and which he paid for. He took 
 the transcript, and made a copy in a neat and 
 faultless hand, the most perfect of writing, 
 and handed it to the judge. Bowen looked at 
 it with astonishment, and turning to Slifer, 
 exclaimed, "Why didn't you write in that way 
 before?" Slifer looked at the judge, and then 
 quietly replied, "Because, sir, I supposed I was 
 writing it for the perusal of men, and not of 
 boys," and then turned and stalked out of the 
 court room. 
 
 Squire Peter Worst was a justice in Bucyrus 
 township in the thirties. He was a tailor by 
 trade, and had his shop about where the Kehrer 
 Block now is. A case came before him, and 
 with his docket by his side, he sat on his bench, 
 cross-legged, and sewing while the trial was 
 going on. The plaintiff argued the case, and 
 the squire laid down the cloth on which he was 
 working, picked up the docket, and was making 
 his entries. The lawyer for the defense was 
 on his feet to reply, and waited patiently for 
 the attention of the court. Becoming impa- 
 tient, he finally inquired: "Doesn't the court 
 wish to hear any evidence on the other side?" 
 The squire, having finished his entries, picked 
 up his cloth and resumed his work, and gazing 
 calmly at the attorney through his glasses, said : 
 "Oh yes, you can talk just as much as you 
 please, but I have decided the case in favor of 
 the plaintiff." It was this same honest old jus- 
 tice of whom Judge Hall remarked, "When I 
 die, I want Peter Worst to settle my estate !" 
 The judge did die in 1863, and like the bright 
 and careless, intellectual and brilliant man he 
 was, he left no will, but Peter Worst was his 
 administrator, and the neat and exact accounts 
 
520 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of that settlement are on file in the Probate 
 office. 
 
 One of the pioneer justices in an adjoining 
 township was Robert Newall, who sometimes 
 decided cases according to his own views of 
 equity, without regard to either law or prec- 
 edent. A man named Andrew Clark wished 
 to bring suit against Martin Mason for a bal- 
 ance claimed for work performed on a mill- 
 race. It was against pioneer ethics for a jus- 
 tice of the peace to encourage litigation, and 
 Squire Newall endeavored to effect a settle- 
 ment between the parties without resorting to 
 the law, but, being unable to do so, he issued 
 a summons to Constable Kline against the said 
 Martin Mason, the writ being a verbal one, 
 and the constable's mace of authority was a 
 buckeye club, with which he was instructed to 
 belabor the said defendant over the "head and 
 shoulders" until he would consent to accom- 
 pany the officer to the court room of the jus- 
 tice. Force, however, was not required in this 
 case, as Martin recognized the potent power 
 of the constable's club, and he obeyed the sum- 
 mons promptly and was soon arraigned before 
 His Honor, who required that plaintiff and 
 defendant each make a statement of his side 
 of the case, and after this was done the court 
 decided that Mason should pay to Clark two 
 bushels of corn, and continuing said : "Clark 
 being a poor man and having no horse, you, 
 Mason, shall deliver the corn at Clark's house. 
 Forever after this you are to be good friends 
 and neighbors, and if either shall ever fail in 
 the least particular to obey this order, I will 
 have the offender before me and whip him 
 within an inch of his life. As for myself, I 
 charge no fees. Not so with Constable Kline ; 
 his charge being a quart of whisky, which plain- 
 tiff and defendant will see is brought into court 
 as promptly as possible for the use of all 
 present." 
 
 Another case, and although at a much later 
 date was nearly fifty years ago, occurred in 
 Bucyrus. George Donnenwirth was the justice 
 and a man was brought before him for petty 
 stealing. He had as his attorney Alfred C. 
 Cattley, who was reading law in the office of 
 S. R. Harris. It was a clear case, but in the 
 course of the examination, Cattley asked that 
 the prisoner be sworn. The justice was in- 
 dignant at the idea of a thief being allowed 
 
 to give testimony, and promptly refused to let 
 him testify. Cattley stated that by a recent 
 law the man could testify, and the justice 
 insisted on seeing the law, so the student went 
 over to the office of Mr. Harris, and returned 
 with the printed slip. The Legislature was in 
 session, and had just passed the law allowing 
 a criminal to testify in his own behalf. The 
 squire put on his glasses, read the law over 
 carefully, and after some reflection, said: 
 "Well, it appears to be the law, and this court 
 will always obey the laws of the state, what- 
 ever they are." He studied over the matter 
 again, and finally turned to the attorney and 
 said very disgustedly, "The man can testify," 
 and voiced his indignation with the remark, 
 "but I want to tell you before hand I shan't . 
 believe a d — n word he says." And he didn't, 
 for the man got thirty days. 
 
 When the second term of court was held in 
 Bucyrus, the brick schoolhouse had been built 
 and this was used for court purposes, and if 
 the case was to a jury, these gentlemen were 
 escorted to some convenient room in the vil- 
 lage where they were locked up until they 
 reached a decision, and in fine weather some- 
 times held their consultation in the woods back 
 of the schoolhouse, the sheriff sitting on a 
 stump at some distance keeping his eye on 
 them. 
 
 The first early records of the court are in 
 1834, Hon. David Higgins was the presiding 
 judge, and his associates were Abel Cary, 
 Josiah Robertson and George Foe. The first 
 grand jury of which there is any record was 
 composed of the following persons : David 
 Ellis, foreman; John Burwell, Emanuel Dear- 
 dorff, David Marquis, Joseph Hart, William 
 Arnold, Adam Beck, Isaac Cornell, James 
 Higbee, William Scott, Robert Foster, Isaac 
 Rice, Joseph S. Smith, William Cooper, Wil- 
 liam Robinson. 
 
 At this term several cases were called, and 
 the papers were reported missing, and it is 
 probable Judge Higgins, who was a trifle irri- 
 tated, made some reflections on the clerk for 
 the next day the following appears on the court 
 docket : 
 
 "Personally appeai-ed in open court Zalmon 
 Rowse, who being duly sworn, doth depose 
 and say that he is clerk of the court, and that 
 on the night of the i6th day of March, 1834, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 521 
 
 some person or persons entered the clerk's of- 
 fice of the Court of Common Pleas and took 
 from the proper place of deposit the files and 
 papers belonging to the causes pending in 
 court, that the same have been taken beyond 
 the reach or knowledge of the deponent and he 
 knows not whether said papers have been de- 
 stroyed or what has become of them." 
 
 Further Zalmon Rowse tendered his resig- 
 nation as clerk of the court, and the judge ac- 
 cepted it, and turned around and reappointed 
 him for another term of seven years, showing 
 if he was irritable at times, he was just. The 
 record shows that thirteen cases were called and 
 had to be continued on account of the records 
 being stolen, so minor business was mostly 
 transacted. A wave had swept over the town 
 against gambling so a special grand jury was 
 called to investigate the matter, and Samuel 
 Norton was made the foreman, and true bills 
 were returned against six of the most promi- 
 nent men in the village for gambling, and the 
 next day they found six more, and followed it 
 up with a batch of fourteen. A few were fined 
 but most of them acquitted, some of the cases 
 being carried over for several terms. Several 
 tavern keepers were fined $5 and costs for 
 selling liquor to the Indians, after which their 
 licenses were renewed for another year. 
 
 The court held three terms a year, and the 
 prosecutor was allowed $100 a year for his 
 services, the sheriff and clerk each being 
 allowed $60 a year. 
 
 At this term of court, a case was heard and 
 damages of $25 were allowed the plaintiff by 
 the presiding judge. It is probable the law was 
 very strongly in favor of the plaintiff, but the 
 three associate justices had an idea that real 
 justice was on the side of the defendant, and 
 they reversed the verdict and found for the 
 defendant, and further ordered that the plain- 
 tiff should pay the costs. 
 
 It is probable that Judge Higgins was in- 
 dignant, as the next term of court shows the 
 following entries : 
 
 "Sept. 8, 1834 — No quorum ; George Poe 
 adjourned court until next day at noon. 
 
 John Moderwell, Sherifif." 
 
 "Tuesday, Sept. q — Gary and Poe present 
 and adjourned until Wednesday at 10, when no 
 quorum appearing court adjourned without 
 day." 
 
 When the next term arrived, the sheriff must 
 have had his doubts as to whether the judge 
 had recovered from his anger, as he sum- 
 moned no jury. The court met on Monday, 
 Feb. 10, and there being no quorum they ad- 
 journed until Tuesday. The next day Asso- 
 ciates George Poe, Abel Gary and Hugh Welsh 
 were there, and they granted a few administra- 
 tion papers, and adjourned until Wednesday, 
 and that day the Hon. David Higgins showed 
 up, and proceeded to business by ordering the 
 sheriff to secure a jury immediately, which he 
 did, most of them Bucyrus men. 
 
 The securing of a jury was no easy matter 
 in those days, and the records show instances 
 of men being fined for ignoring the summons. 
 A story is told of the county west of Crawford 
 in 1835. The country was sparsely settled, the 
 farmers were busy, and the sheriff had great 
 difficulty in securing a jury. On the morning 
 of the second day, the judge' opened the court 
 and asked the sheriff if the jury was full. The 
 sheriff replied : "Not quite full yet, judge. I 
 have eleven men locked up in the jail, and my 
 dogs and deputies are after the twelfth man." 
 
 Courts in those days granted licenses author- 
 izing ministers to solemnize marriages. Among 
 those early ministers are : 
 
 March, 1834 — Harrison Jones, Church of 
 Christ. 
 
 February, 1835 — John Davis, United Breth- 
 ren in Christ; John Smith, United Brethren 
 in Christ. 
 
 June, 1836 — Charles Edward Van Voorhis, 
 Church of Christ; Frederick G. Maschkop, 
 German Reformed. 
 
 September, 1837 — Peter Gatz, Church of the 
 Evangelical Association. 
 
 July, 1838 — George Sagear, Evangelical As- 
 sociation. 
 
 Other duties of the court were the issuance 
 of naturalization papers. The first found are 
 as follows : 
 
 1836 — Robert Reid, March 18; Stephen 
 Brinkman, Sept.. 13. 
 
 1837 — Ehregott Hesse, March 13; Samuel 
 Roth, March 13; Garnett Sheets, March 15; 
 Lewis Heinlen, March 16; Jacob Scherer, Sept. 
 1 1 ; George Fouser, Sept. 1 1 ; Jacob Genther, 
 Sept. 11; Frederick Stoll, Sept. 12. 
 
 1838 — Frederick Myers, March i ; John 
 Adam Gcssman, March i ; John H. Fry, March 
 
522 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 2; Adam High, Conrad Haas, George Resler, 
 John George Strawhucker, Frederick Weaver, 
 Conrad Beaver, Joseph Boehler, July i6; 
 Christian Widman, July 20; Andrew Wingert, 
 George Donnenwirth, Christian Pfleiderer, Ja- 
 cob Wingert, Sept. 29; Michael and Anthony 
 Brackley. 
 
 In 1834 David Chute was granted a license 
 to keep a tavern in Chatfield township for $8; 
 Aaron M. Decker, tavern in Liberty township, 
 $5; John Luke, tavern, Liberty township, $5; 
 Abraham Hahn, Bucyrus, tavern license re- 
 newed he to pay $10 and all arrearages. 
 
 At the July term in 1836, the docket con- 
 tains the entry "Franklin Adams admitted to 
 the Bar." Below is written in pencil, "Came 
 from Mansfield, August, 1837." For seventy 
 years he was a practitioner at the Crawford 
 County bar. 
 
 Several parties were tried for minor of- 
 fenses, and given five days' confinement in the 
 county jail on bread and water. The same term 
 when the spasm of reform swept over the city 
 in regard to gambling, three men were brought 
 before the court charged with horse stealing 
 and were discharged. 
 
 The first penitentiary case of which record 
 is found was on Sept. 29, 1838, when Ephraim 
 Eaton admitted he was guilty of stealing a 
 horse, and was sentenced to the penitentiary at 
 hard labor for three years, and to pay the 
 costs of the prosecution, amounting to $30.88. 
 
 \\'hen practicing law in Bucyrus in the early 
 days Josiah Scott commenced a suit with the 
 following lines : 
 
 "Suit for trespass. Sent to justice ; 
 
 This is to cause you for to summon 
 
 Linsey woolsey, \\hat you call 'em? 
 
 The crazy son of old Spitzholm, 
 
 To answer for his devilish tricks 
 
 Of cutting sundry sticks — 
 
 Of timber, on Sam ]\Iyer's land." 
 
 Another case of ]\Ir. Scott's was against 
 John Luke. Seventy years ago ^Ir. Luke kept 
 a tavern where the boundary road crosses the 
 Sandusky river in Sandusky township. It was 
 a popular resort, and in the early days did a 
 large business. In front of the tavern was the 
 usual post, and on top of it was the signboard 
 on which was painted a black horse, so it was 
 known as the Black Horse tavern. One of 
 the neighbors had some trouble with Mr. Luke, 
 
 and he hired Scott to conduct the case for him. 
 The trial came off, and it was to a jury. One 
 of the jurymen was Resolved White of Au- 
 burn township who has handed down the story. 
 In the course of his speech, Mr. Scott warmed 
 to his subject, with the following very far from 
 flattering reference to the defendant: 
 
 " In six days God made the heavens and the 
 earth, and on the seventh he rested; and then 
 he took the scraps which he could not use in 
 the formation of the earth or the animals that 
 walked on the earth, or in the fishes of the sea 
 or the reptiles that crawled upon the earth ; he 
 rnoulded this refuse into human form, and with 
 his fist he punched in two eyes, and put on a 
 nose, and he called it John Luke." 
 
 Another similar case was in 1844, when a 
 hog case was being tried in the court house ; the 
 attorney for the prosecution was Jude Hall of 
 Upper Sandusky, the stealing having occurred 
 in the Wyandot part of Crawford. In his 
 speech to the jury he said : "Why, gentlemen 
 of the jury, you may put one foot upon Her- 
 cules, and the other upon Jupiter, and lay your 
 telescope, straddle of the sun, and gaze over 
 this wide creation, and you can't find as mean 
 a man as John Smith." 
 
 This same gentleman in a case at Bucyrus, 
 thus alluded to the opposing counsel : "Why, 
 your honor, he's a mere circumstance, a fabric, 
 a ruta baga." 
 
 A similar illustration occurred at Bucyrus, 
 years later. An important case was on, and 
 John R. Clymer was one of the attorneys, and 
 speaking of one of the young attorneys of the 
 opposition, with a wave of the hand he brushed 
 him aside, with the remark: "He amounts to 
 no morein this case than a fly on the periphery 
 of a wheel." 
 
 Josiah Scott once went to Osceola to try a 
 case before Squire Tuttle, and after he had 
 made his eloquent and convincing argument, 
 as he thought, to the jury, the opposing counsel 
 spoke of the effort of the future Supreme 
 Judge in the following vigorous style: "The 
 gentleman may roar like a salamander, but my 
 positions are adamantine, and must prevail." 
 
 Of the early lawyers, Isaac H. Allen died in 
 Bucyrus in 1828. 
 
 John H. Morrison, soon after he left the 
 Treasurer's office went to Findlay. He had 
 but one arm. He was a very fair lawyer, not 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 523 
 
 ne of the ablest in those early days, but had a 
 een tongue. At one time he was conducting 
 case in which he became very much interested, 
 nd after the evidence was all in he was sat- 
 sfied he would lose, so he opened his remarks 
 the jury, about as follows : "May it please 
 he court: By the perjury of witnesses, the 
 ^norance of the jury, and the corruption of 
 he court, I expect to be beaten in this case." 
 iere, the judge, who was Patrick G. Goode, 
 nterrupted him with the remark : "What is 
 hat you say, Mr. Morrison?" The latter 
 oolly replied: "That is all I have to say on 
 hat point," and commenced his address to his 
 'ignorant" jury. At another time he had a 
 eparation case, where the wife had taken the 
 hild, and the husband wanted it, so Morrison 
 or the husband, got out a writ of replevin, and 
 he sheriff seized the child, and two disinter- 
 ested parties were appointed to appraise the 
 'alue of it. They failed to agree, and two 
 nore were appointed with a like result; while 
 he third set of appraisers were at work, a 
 )rother of the mother of the child grabbed the 
 nfant and mounting his horse, started away at 
 ull speed. Morrison gazed after the vanishing 
 lorseman, and remarked : "There goes my 
 ase. I could replevin the devil out of hell, if 
 
 could only get appraisers to put a value on 
 lim." 
 
 Charles Stanberg was known as the "linsey 
 voolsey" lawyer, as he appeared in court wear- 
 ag a suit of that material. Both he and 
 klichael Flick left at an early date. 
 
 Josiah Scott arrived in June, 1829. One of 
 lis first cases was before Squire Jas. Stewart, 
 wo miles east of Bucyrus. He walked out and 
 lack. His client was Charles Bacon, and 
 icott asked him if he thought $1.50 was too 
 luch to charge for his services. Bacon thought 
 ot, and the charge was made, but Scott over- 
 Doked the collecting of the bill for years, 
 le was a great student, and at times very ab- 
 ent minded. In 1840 he was a member of 
 he Legislature, and on one of his trips to 
 Tolumbus, George Lauck, who was county 
 reasurer, gave him a package containing the 
 noney for his semi-annual settlement with 
 be state treasurer. Reaching Columbus he 
 Dok the package from his saddle-bags and 
 ut it in his pocket before going in to break- 
 ast. After he left the dining-room he found 
 
 the money was gone, he hurried back and for- 
 tunately found the package under the table, 
 it having slipped from his pocket. At another 
 time he had business at Marion, and he hung 
 up his coat in the hotel office, and went to bed. 
 The next morning the coat was still there, but 
 the pocket-book containing $500 was gone. 
 Scott was a great friend of the Indians who 
 called him "Big Head," as he wore a number 
 8 hat. He used to take part in their sports, 
 and in all their cases he was the attorney for 
 the Indians. One of the Indians named a son 
 Josiah Scott, and when the Wyandots went 
 west in 1843, Josiah accompanied them. Mr. 
 Scott was born in Washington county. Pa., in 
 1803, and graduated with high honors from 
 Jefferson college, Pa., in 1821. He taught in 
 that college, studied law and was admitted to 
 the bar. Located at Bucyrus, in 1829. 
 
 When the war was over the Michigan bound- 
 ary came up in 1835. Mr. Scott raised a com- 
 pany but the matter was settled by the courts 
 and the company was not needed. In 1840 
 he represented the county in the Legislature 
 and about 185 1 went to Hamilton, Butler 
 County, Ohio, where he continued the practice 
 of his profession. 
 
 In 1856 he was appointed, by Governor 
 Chase, a judge of the Supreme Court, to fill 
 the vacancy caused by the resignation of Judge 
 Ranney, and in October of the same year he 
 was elected to serve the full term of five years, 
 being subsequently re-elected in 1861 and 1866. 
 He returned to Bucyrus in 1870 and at the close 
 of his last term as judge resumed practice at 
 the bar. In 1876 he was appointed, by Gover- 
 nor Hayes, as a member of the Supreme Court 
 Commission, a body composed of five judges, 
 created in 1875, to dispose of a part of the 
 accumulated business then on the docket of the 
 Supreme Court, and having the same jurisdic- 
 tion and power in respect to such business as 
 the Supreme Court itself. Elected chief judge 
 for one year by his associate members of the 
 commission, he served ably in that capacity, 
 and subsequently remained a member of the 
 commission until February i, 1879, the close 
 of its term. 
 
 Judge Scott was an eloquent advocate and 
 an able and learned lawyer and jurist. He 
 was a man of excellent education, a fine math- 
 ematician and well read in the classics. He 
 
524 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was moreover a Christian gentleman, an elder 
 for years in the Presbyterian church, of genial 
 disposition, sparkling wit and endowed by 
 nature with a fine presence. His active pro- 
 fessional career covered a period of half a 
 century, the great part of which time was spent 
 in this community and no man was better un- 
 derstood and more highly appreciated and 
 esteemed. He died June 15, 1879. 
 
 George Sweney was born near Gettysburg, 
 Pa., in 1796. After graduating at Dickinson 
 college, he studied law and was admitted to 
 the bar. Beginning about 1820, he practiced 
 his profession for ten years at Gettysburg. 
 In 1830 he came to Bucyrus, where he con- 
 tinued in his profession. He was elected pros- 
 ecuting attorney, and while holding that office, 
 in 1838, was elected a member of Congress 
 from the Fourteenth Ohio district, being re- 
 elected in 1840. In 1853 he removed to 
 Geneseo, III, but, after an absence of three 
 years, returned and was again elected prose- 
 cuting attorney. After his term in this office 
 he retired from the bar. He died in Bucyrus, 
 Ohio, Oct. ID, 1877. Mr. Sweney was a man 
 of fine appearance, honorable character and 
 amiable manners. He was a good lawyer but 
 his tastes inclined him more to the study of 
 science and literature than to the practice of his 
 profession, which was always more or less dis- 
 tasteful to him. He was plain and domestic 
 in his habits and was never so well contented 
 as when engaged in his favorite studies in the 
 quiet and retirement of his own home. 
 
 John Smith came in 1832, but did not prac- 
 tice law until later. At first he kept a dry goods 
 store on the west lot of where the Quinby 
 Block now is. He later was elected justice of 
 the peace, and had his office in a frame just 
 west of the Rowse Block. He was an office 
 lawyer, and did much in the way of conveyanc- 
 ing, writing wills, and settling estates. He 
 was an exceedingly conscious and upright citi- 
 zen. He was a widower and his daughter 
 kept house for him. He died in his office forty 
 years ag® and at the time of his death was 
 about eighty years of age. 
 
 In August, 1837, Franklin Adams located m 
 Bucyrus.' and had his office opposite the court 
 house, boarding when he first arrived with 
 Samuel Norton, and when the Lutherans sold 
 their property opposite the court house in 1858, 
 
 he bought the balance of the corner and built 
 the brick which was his office for so many 
 years. In 1838 he was appointed prosecut- 
 ing attorney, succeeding George Sweney who 
 had been elected to Congress that year, and 
 in 1839 he was elected to that office, and re- 
 elected for two more terms. He died in 1908, 
 having been a member of the Bucyrus bar for 
 over seventy years. 
 
 John M. Armstrong practiced law in Bucy- 
 rus from 1838 to 1843. He was a graduate 
 of Norwalk Seminary and had studied his 
 profession under Judge James Stewart, of 
 Mansfield, graduating at the Cincinnati law 
 school. He was a well educated and accom- 
 plished man, but was partly of Indian blood, 
 his father, Robert Armstrong, who had been 
 taken prisoner by the Indians, having married 
 a quarter-blood Wyandot woman. In 1839 
 he was the Whig candidate for prosecuting at- 
 torney against Franklin Adams, but was de- 
 feated. He moved west in 1843 with the 
 Wyandot Indians to where the town of Wyan- 
 dot, Kansas, now stands. A few years later he 
 died at Mansfield where he had stopped for a 
 visit, \\hile on his way back from Washington, 
 having gone there on business connected with 
 the Indians. His wife was a daughter of 
 Rev. Russell Bigelow, a prominent Methodist 
 preacher in the early days. 
 
 In the spring of 1844 the Bucyrus bar was 
 strengthened by the accession of Lawrence W. 
 Hall, who came here from Cuyahoga county. 
 Elected prosecuting attorney for the county, 
 he held that position by successive elections 
 from October, 1845, to October, 1851. At the 
 fall election of 1851, the first under the new 
 constitution, he was elected a judge of the 
 Common Pleas Court, and served in that of- 
 fice until February, 1857. He was a member 
 of the National House of Representatives, be- 
 ing elected in 1856. He subsequently con- 
 tinued the practice of law in Bucyrus until his 
 death, which took place January 18, 1863. 
 Judge Hall was a successful practitioner, and 
 was a politician as well as a lawyer. He was 
 kind and genial in disposition, was very pop- 
 ular and was noted for his urbane manners 
 while on the bench. Being associated with 
 that party that was opposed to the prosecution 
 of the War for the preservation of the Union, 
 he was arrested in 1862 and for a number of 
 
AND REPRESENT A.TIVE CITIZENS 
 
 525 
 
 weeks was nominally held as a political pris- 
 oner at Camp Mansfield, but allowed to go 
 about on parole. 
 
 Josiah S. Plants came from his father's farm 
 in Liberty township to Bucyrus and worked at 
 the trade of shoemaker, and while at work 
 kept a law book beside him from which he 
 studied. Later he was taken from his' shoe- 
 maker's bench to teach in the schools. He 
 then read law under Josiah Scott, and was 
 admitted to the bar, and in 1844 began the 
 practice of law in Bucyrus. 
 
 In the fall of 1858 he was elected a judge of 
 the Common Pleas Court for a five years' term, 
 beginning in February, 1859. He was dis- 
 tinguished for industry, honesty of purpose, 
 devotion to his friends, fidelity to his clients, 
 and earnestness and force as a public speaker. 
 His promising career was unfortunately cut 
 short, his death taking place August 23, 1863, 
 as the result of wounds received by the ac- 
 cidental discharge of a gun while hunting in 
 Indiana. 
 
 E. A. Wood and William Fisher practiced 
 law in Bucyrus early in the forties, but after 
 a short stay here removed to other locations. 
 
 Joseph E. Jewett, who came from Wayne 
 county, conducted a law office in Bucyrus from 
 1844 until the fall of 1848, whn he removed to 
 Des Moines, Iowa. While here he assisted 
 in organizing a Masonic lodge, and was the 
 first master. He was also the first captain of 
 the fire department. 
 
 Enoch W. Merriman, born in Bucyrus in 
 1830, was admitted to the bar in 1853 and 
 practiced until the spring of 1861, when he 
 responded to President Lincoln's first call for 
 troops, and was lieutenant of the first com- 
 pany that left the county, Co. C of the Eighth 
 Ohio. He died in camp at Grafton, W. Va., 
 August 12, 1 861. 
 
 Burr Morris, born in Stark county in 1829, 
 was educated at Findlay Academy, read law 
 with Henry Brown of Findlay, Ohio, and was 
 graduated at the Cincinnati Law School in 
 185.S. In the following year he was admitted 
 to the bar and began practice in Bucyrus. He 
 was twice elected prosecuting attorney, first 
 in October, 1861, and again in 1863. Sub- 
 sequently removed to Albany, Linn county, 
 Oregon ; he was there elected county judge and 
 died while in office in November, 1866. 
 
 Henry C. Rowse, son of Zalmon Rowse, 
 born in Bucyrus in 1835, practiced law here 
 for about three years, beginning in 1857. He 
 was mayor of Bucyrus in i860. He died at 
 Rockford, 111.^ in October, 1862, at the time of 
 his death holding a position as clerk in the 
 Interior Department at Washington. 
 
 Samuel J. Elliott began law practice at 
 Bucyrus in August, 1857. In August of the 
 following year he was appointed probate judge 
 of Crawford county by Gov. Chase, to fill the 
 vacancy caused by the resignation of P. S. 
 Marshall. Mr. Elliott was the only Republican 
 that ever held office in the court house since 
 the Republican party was formed. He held 
 the office until October 18, 1858, when his suc- 
 cessor was elected and qualified. In 1859 he 
 removed to Wapakoneta, where he subse- 
 quently died. 
 
 William S. Fitzsimmons, born in Crawford 
 County in 1841, read law under D. W. Swigart 
 at Bucyrus and was admitted to the bar in 
 March, 1868. In March 1861 he enlisted in 
 the 8th Regiment, O. V. I., with which he 
 saw much hard service. He was severely 
 wounded at Antietam, and finally died from 
 the effects of his wounds, at Bucyrus, on July 
 II, 1870. 
 
 Robert McKelley was born in Lancaster 
 county, Pa., in 181 5, and removed to Knox 
 county, Ohio in 1834. Subsequently coming to 
 Bucyrus, he commenced law practice here Au- 
 gust I, 1842. In 1845 he was appointed by 
 President Polk registrar of the land office at 
 Upper Sandusky. Here he had charge of the 
 sales of the lands of the Wyandot reservation, 
 holding the office until its removal from Upper 
 Sandusky. From January to October, 1852, he 
 was probate judge of Wyandot county, being 
 the first to hold that office. In January, 1854, 
 he was elected a director of the Ohio & Indiana 
 Railroad Company and was its president the 
 last year of its separate organization. While 
 serving on its board of directors he originated 
 the movement for the consolidation of the 
 three companies owning the continuous line of 
 railroad between Pittsburg and Chicago, re- 
 sulting in the organization of the Pittsburg, 
 Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railway Company. He 
 was also for several years a director and so- 
 licitor of the latter company. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Ohio senate for Crawford, Seneca 
 
526 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and Wyandot counties from January i, 1858, 
 to January i, i860. 
 
 Abraham Summers commenced the practice 
 of law in Bucyrus in 1850. He was elected 
 prosecuting attorney for Crawford county in 
 1855 and was re-elected in 1857. He was sub- 
 sequently twice elected probate judge, in i860 
 and 1863. He afterwards removed to Hicks- 
 ville, Ohio, where he died. 
 
 William M. Scroggs came to Bucyrus with 
 his father in 1839. He was conductor on the 
 first passenger train that came to Bucyrus. 
 Was admitted to the Bar, but practiced very 
 little, becoming Mayor of the village and 
 county auditor. 
 
 Conrad W. Butterfield opened a law office in 
 Bucyrus in 1853 ^^'^ practiced here until i860, 
 when he removed to Lima, Ohio. Returning 
 to Bucyrus in 1863 he resumed practice here 
 and remained until 1870, when he removed to 
 Madison, Wis. He was a man of literary tastes 
 and was the author of several works, including 
 a "History of Seneca County, Ohio," and a 
 "History of Col. Crawford's Expedition 
 Against the Indians in 1782," which latter work 
 has had a wide circulation, and is the stand- 
 ard authority on that campaign. He died at 
 Madison, Wis. 
 
 Abner j\I. Jackson, admitted to the bar in 
 September, 1854, began practice in Bucyrus. 
 From 185 1 to 1855 he served as auditor of 
 Crawford county and was elected prosecuting 
 attorney of the county in October, 1859. In 
 1 87 1 he was elected judge of the Fourth Sub- 
 division of the 3rd district of the Common 
 Pleas Court, composed of Crawford, Hancock, 
 Marion, Seneca, Wood and W^yandot coun- 
 ties. In 1874 he resigned and removed to 
 Cleveland, Ohio, from there he went to Silver- 
 ton, Col., where he died. 
 
 Cyrus Linn, James W. Smith, John D. Sears 
 and I. F. Price all practiced law in Bucyrus 
 for short periods in the forties and early fifties, 
 subsequently removing to other localities, J. 
 D. Sears removing to Wyandot county when 
 it was organized in 1845, and becoming the 
 leader of the bar in that county. In 1873 he 
 was elected without opposition to represent 
 \\''yandot county at the Constitutional Con- 
 vention. Some years ago he retired from prac- 
 tice and made his home in California where 
 he died in September, 191 2. 
 
 Cyrus Sears, born in Delaware county in 
 1832, came to Crawford county with his par- 
 ents in 1836. Graduated at the Cincinnati 
 Law School in 1856 he began practice in June 
 of that year at Upper Sandusky. From April 
 I, 1857, to June 15, 1859, he practiced his pro- 
 fession in Bucyrus, when he removed to Upper 
 Sandusky. In August, 1861, he enlisted in the 
 nth Ohio Independent Battery of Light Ar- 
 tillery, and subsequently made a brilliant rec- 
 ord as a soldier, being several times promoted, 
 and in April, 1863, becoming Lieut. Colonel 
 of the nth Louisiana Volunteers, afterward 
 named as the 49th U. S. Colored Infantry. 
 He behaved with great gallantry in various 
 battles and was recommended for promotion 
 by Generals Hamilton, Rosecrans and Grant. 
 
 Matthias Buchman, A\ho read law with 
 Judge A. M. Jackson, was admitted to the bar 
 in i860. He was prosecuting attorney of 
 Crawford county from April, 1864 (succeed- 
 ing Burr Alorris, who resigned), until October, 
 1865. Later he removed to Cleveland, Ohio. 
 
 Among the other lawyers who practiced in 
 Bucyrus in the later fifties and early sixties, 
 but who remained only a. short time, were 
 Christopher Elliott, 1858; C M. Dodson, 1860- 
 1862; Archibald McGregor, 1858-60; J. A. Es- 
 till, 1858-59; John B. Scroggs, 1861-63; and 
 Joseph R. Swigart, 1859. Mr. McGregor dur- 
 ing his residence here, in addition to his law 
 practice, engaged in the publication of the 
 Crawford County Forum. He subsequently 
 returned to Canton, from which place he had 
 come. Stephen D. Young practiced two years 
 in Bucyrus, from 1875 to 1877, when he re- 
 moved to Norwalk, Ohio, and is now judge in 
 that district. Walter B. Richie, who came 
 from Lima, practiced in Bucyrus as a member 
 of the firm of Richie & Eaton from 1876 to 
 1879, when he returned to Lima, became prom- 
 inent in his profession and Grand Chancellor 
 of the Knights of Pythias of the United States. 
 
 Robert Lee, born 1805 in Butler county. Pa., 
 in 1823, removed with his father's family to 
 Leesville, then in Richland county. In early 
 manhood he was engaged in various business 
 enterprises. In 1836 he was elected a member 
 of the Ohio legislature for Richland county 
 and was re-elected in 1837. For ten years, be- 
 ginning with 1839, he held the office of justice 
 of the peace. In 1849 he was elected by the 
 Legislature an associate judge of the Court of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 527 
 
 Common Pleas of Crawford county, and held 
 that office until February, 1852, when it was 
 abolished by the new constitution of the state. 
 In 1853 he was elected state senator for Craw- 
 ford, Seneca and Wyandot counties, and was 
 chosen president pro tern of the senate. May 
 I, 1854, serving during the illness of Lieut. 
 Governor Myers. He was admitted to the bar 
 by the Supreme Court May 3, 1854, but he 
 devoted very little time to the profession of the 
 law. For one term he served as mayor of 
 Crestline. In 1869 he was elected probate 
 judge of Crawford county, being re-elected in 
 1872, and made his home at Bucyrus until his 
 death. 
 
 John Hopley came to Bucyrus in 1856 as 
 superintendent of the Union Schools. Admit- 
 ted to the bar in 1858, he began practice in 
 partnership witth A. M. Jackson. In 1862 he 
 visited England on professional business. On 
 his return in the fall of the same year he ac- 
 cepted a clerkship in the Treasury Department 
 at Washington, became secretary in the office 
 of Secretary Chase, giving especially attention 
 to the subject of finance. He was afterward 
 transferred to the Currency Bureau, and had 
 charge of the statistical division. In 1864 he 
 resigned and engaged in a New York City 
 banking establishment. In 1866 he was ap- 
 pointed examiner of National banks for the 
 southern states and Kansas. In September, 
 1867, he purchased an interest in the Bucyrus 
 Journal and became its editor, in the following 
 May becoming sole proprietor of the office. He 
 was appointed postmaster at Bucyrus in Au- 
 gust, 1870 and held the position until Jan- 
 uary, 1879, and was reappointed in 1890, serv- 
 ing another four years. He died at his home 
 in Bucyrus June 3, 1904. 
 
 Daniel W. Swigart, born in Franklin county. 
 Pa., in 1824, came to 'Crawford county in the 
 fall of 1846. He was appointed deputy clerk 
 of the court, in which position he served until 
 April, 1848, when he became clerk and held 
 the office until January, 1852, when it became 
 an elective office under the new constitution. 
 Having graduated from the Cincinnati Law 
 School, he was admitted to the bar in June, 
 1852, and at once opened an office in Bucyrus. 
 During the Civil War he served in the Quar- 
 termaster's Department, with headquarters at 
 Cincinnati, and was president of the Atlantic 
 
 & Lake Erie Railway Company from Septem- 
 ber, 1869, to August, 1873. He died very sud- 
 denly on November 25, 1880. 
 
 Jacob Scroggs was born at Canton, Ohio, 
 in 1827 and came to Bucyrus with his father's 
 family in 1839. He was variously occupied 
 for several years and in the meanwhile studied 
 law, being graduated from the Cincinnati Law 
 School in 1854. He was admitted to the bar 
 in Hamilton county and in 1855 began the 
 practice of his profession in Bucyrus. He was 
 several times elected mayor of the village. He 
 served during the greater part of the Civil 
 War as chairman of the Crawford County 
 Military Committee, and in 1864 and in 1880 
 was Presidential elector for this district. 
 
 Stephen R. Harris was born in Stark 
 County, Ohio, in 1824. He finished his col- 
 legiate education at Western Reserve College 
 in 1846, and, having read law with his uncle, 
 John Harris, at Canton, Ohio, was admitted 
 to the bar in 1849. In the same year he opened 
 an office in Bucyrus, being in partnership with 
 Josiah Scott, their association being continued 
 up to the time of the latter's death, except dur- 
 ing the time that Judge' Scott was on the bench 
 of the Supreme Court and a member of the 
 Supreme Court Commission. In 1895 Mr. 
 Harris was elected to Congress from this dis- 
 trict, serving one tenn. He died at his home 
 in Bucyrus, Jan. 15, 1905. 
 
 James Clements was admitted to the bar in 
 August, 1854. He had previously held the 
 office of county sheriff, having been elected in 
 1845 ^"d re-elected in 1847. He was probate 
 judge of Crawford county from February, 
 1864, to February, 1870. 
 
 Thomas Beer began the practice of law in 
 Bucyrus in 1862, coming to the county as the 
 editor of the Forum. In 1863 he was elected 
 a member of the Legislature and was re- 
 elected in 1865. He represented Crawford 
 county in the Constitutional Convention of 
 1873, and, as a member of the Committees on 
 Judiciary and Municipal Corporations showed 
 his great legal ability. In August, 1874, he was 
 appointed by Gov. Allen a judge of the Fourth 
 Subdivision of the third district of the Com- 
 mon Pleas Court, composed of Crawford, Han- 
 cock, Marion, Seneca, Wood and Wyandot 
 counties, to fill a vacancy caused by the resig- 
 nation of Judge A. M. Jackson. In October 
 
528 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of the same year he was elected by the people 
 to fill the remainder of the term expiring in 
 February, 1877. In the fall of 1876 he was 
 elected to a full term of five years and re- 
 elected in 1881. In 1885 he was elected to the 
 circuit bench and re-elected, serving until 1893. 
 
 John A. Eaton, born in Crawford county, 
 Ohio, in 1853, was admitted to the bar at 
 Columbus, Ohio, in October, 1876. iJntil May, 
 1879, he practiced his profession in Bucyrus as 
 a member of the firm of Richie & Eaton. He 
 then went to Kansas where he engaged in the 
 banking business, in connection with his law 
 practice. 
 
 Isaac Cahill, admitted to the bar in 1877, 
 and served for four years as prosecuting at- 
 torney. 
 
 John R. Clymer, born in Franklin county, 
 Ohio, in 1834, acquired both a commercial and 
 university education, and for two or three 
 years in the later fifties was engaged in educa- 
 tional work. He was clerk of the Court of 
 Common Pleas of Crawford county from i860 
 to 1868, when he took charge of the Forum 
 which he conducted for ten years. He \\as ad- 
 mitted to the bar at Tiffin, Ohio, in 1878, and 
 practiced law in Bucyrus until his death. He 
 was noted as one of the most finished speakers 
 in the county. " 
 
 Frank S. Monnett was a graduate of the 
 Delaware University, read law in Bucyrus, and 
 was elected city solicitor. In 1896 he was 
 elected attorney-general of the state, and re- 
 elected in 1898, and after his term of office 
 expired has made his home in Columbus. 
 
 Smith W. Bennett read law in Bucyrus, was 
 admitted to the Bar, and in 1897 went to Co- 
 lumbus as Assistant Attorney General and 
 chief counsel in that office, and after ten years' 
 service made his home in Columbus. 
 
 W. C. Lemert was born in Texas township, 
 March 4, 1837. He attended the academy at 
 Republic for one year, then Heidelberg College, 
 finishing his education at the Ohio Wesleyan 
 University where he graduated in the class of 
 '58. He read law with Franklin Adams and 
 was admitted to the bar in 1859. He practiced 
 for two years when the war broke out, and he 
 entered the army, becoming colonel of the 86th 
 Ohio ; after four years' service he was mustered 
 out, and devoted his time to railroad building. 
 
 and manufacturing, until he retired from active 
 business, hi? home still being in Bucyrus. 
 
 Among tne present practitioners in Bucyrus, 
 are David C. Cahill who was admitted to the 
 bar in December, i860, and practiced law in 
 Bucyrus until April, 1865. He then went 
 West, spending two years in California and 
 Oregon. Subsequently returning to Bucyrus, 
 he resumed practice here in June, 1867. In 
 the fall of 1873 he was elected clerk of the 
 Court of Common Pleas of Crawford county, 
 and held that position from February, 1874, 
 until February, 1880, after which he returned 
 to the practice of law. 
 
 Ebenezer B. Finley was born at Orville, 
 Wa)me county, Ohio, in 1833. Some years 
 of his earlier life were spent in the West. In 
 1859 he located in Bucyrus and, having studied 
 law under his uncle, Stephen R. Harris, was 
 admitted to the bar in June, 1861. In the fall 
 of that year he recruited a military company, 
 was elected first lieutenant, the company be- 
 coming a part of the 64th Regiment, O. V. I. 
 The regiment was present at the battle of 
 Shiloh. Disabled by an accident, Mr. Finley 
 retired from the service in September, 1862, 
 and resumed the practice of law in Bucyrus, 
 and was mayor of the village for two years. 
 He was twice elected to Congress, in 1876 
 and 1878, and as a member of the House 
 of Representatives distinguished himself by 
 speeches on various public questions, during 
 his second term serving as chairman of the 
 Committee on Public Expenditures. In 1884 
 he was appointed adjutant-general of the 
 state under Gov. Hoadly and had charge of 
 the Ohio troops at Cincinnati when the rioters 
 burned the Hamilton county court house. In 
 1896 he was elected circuit judge to fill the 
 \acancy occasioned by the resignation of 
 Judge Henry \Y. Seney. \^'ith David C. Cahill 
 he is the ^■eteran practitioner in the county. 
 Besides a \'ast amount of legal work, he has 
 devoted much time to historical research, be- 
 ing an authority on the Mound Builders. 
 
 Judge J. C. Tobias read law in Bucyrus, was 
 admitted to the bar, and in 1887 was elected 
 probate judge of the county, serving for six 
 years. In 1897 he was elected Common Pleas 
 judge, serving two terms of five years each. 
 
 Anson \A'^ickham was admitted to the bar at 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 :>29 
 
 Kenton, Ohio, in September, 1875, and was 
 for tour years prosecuting attorney of the 
 county; Charles GalUnger, of the hrm of Fin- 
 ley & Gallinger, was also prosecuting attorney 
 for two terms. Judge Edward Voilrath was 
 appointed circuit judge by Gov. Herrick in 
 1905. Judge C. F. Schaber was elected pro- 
 bate judge in 1905 and re-elected in 1908. 
 Wallace L,. Monnett, of the firm of Scroggs & 
 Monnett was referee in bankruptcy for a num- 
 ber of years. W. J. Schwenck is the present 
 prosecuting attorney. William C. Beer is the 
 present referee in bankruptcy, and also served 
 as city solicitor. O. W. Kennedy is the present 
 city solicitor. Other attorneys are L. C. 
 Feighner, R. V. Sears, Charles J. Scroggs, Al- 
 fred S., Samuel and Godfrey Leuthold, James 
 W. Miller, J. W. Wright, Edward J. Myers, 
 and Benjamin Meek, who was one of the lead- 
 ing attorneys in Wyandot county, before his 
 removal to Bucyrus a few years ago. 
 
 Among the early members of the Galion 
 bar were Andrew Poe, M. V. Payne, George 
 Crawford, Lewis Bartow and VV. A. Hall. 
 
 Abraham Underwood was admitted to the 
 bar in 1855. He was twice elected mayor of 
 Galion in 1878 and 1871. He served as jus- 
 tice of the peace for twenty-seven years. 
 
 Henry C. Carhart read law under Judges 
 Brinkerhoff and Geddes, at Mansfield, Ohio, 
 and was admitted to the bar in July, 1852. 
 After practicing a year at Mansfield he re- 
 moved, in October, 1853, to Galion. He was 
 mayor of Galion for three years, from April, 
 1854; postmaster from May, 1861, until Au- 
 gust, 1864. He was also a member of the Ga- 
 lion Union school board, and a delegate to the 
 Republican National Convention in 1876. 
 
 James W. Coulter, born in 1846, in Coshoc- 
 ton county, Ohio, read law with Judge Thomas 
 Beer, at Bucyrus, and was admitted to the 
 bar in August, 1865. He immediately began 
 the practice of his profession in Galion. He 
 was elected prosecuting attorney of Crawford 
 county in 1869 and re-elected in 1871. He 
 served as a member of the county board of 
 school examiners and of the board of education 
 of the Galion Union schools. 
 
 Jacob Meuser was admitted to the bar about 
 1874. He was a member of the legislature 
 from January, 1876, to January, 1880, and was 
 
 chairman of the House Judiciary committee, 
 and was one of the brightest men of the Craw- 
 ford county bar. 
 
 Seth G. Cummings was prosecuting attorney 
 of Crawford county from 1873 to 1877. He 
 moved to Mansfield where he continued the 
 practice of his profession. 
 
 John DeGoUey was admitted to the bar at 
 Chambersburg, Pa., in 187 1. He removed to 
 Galion in 1874 and commenced practice in 
 1876. In 1879 he was elected corporation at- 
 torney, being the first to serve under the city 
 charter. He later removed to Marion. 
 
 George W. Ziegler was admitted to the bar 
 in 1876. He was elected prosecuting attorney 
 of Crawford county in 1877 and re-elected in 
 1879, ^"d later represented the county for two 
 years in the legislature. 
 
 Alexander F. Anderson was admitted to the 
 bar in 1869, and after practicing at Findlay 
 and at Carey, removed to Galion in October, 
 1878, where he remained but a few years. 
 
 The present members of the bar in Galion 
 are R. W. Johnston, who also has an office at 
 Columbus, where he devotes most of his time ; 
 he has been both mayor and city solicitor of the 
 city. W. J. Geer, who has also served as mayor 
 and city solicitor. Carl H. Henkel, who was 
 four years prosecuting attorney of the county. 
 Carl J. Gugler, the present city solicitor. H. 
 R. Shuler who has been city solicitor. A. W. 
 Lewis, Frank Pigman, J. W. McCarron, F. M. 
 Shumaker, Dean C. and J. M. Talbott, and 
 R. C. Tracht. 
 
 The early members of the bar at Crestline 
 were Lemuel R. Moss, from 1852 to 1854; 
 James W. Paramore, John W. Jenner, Samuel 
 E. Jenner and O. B. Cruzen, the latter admit- 
 ted to the bar at Bucyrus in 1869. Nathan 
 Jones was admitted to the bar at Norwalk, 
 O., in 1855, began practice at Crestline in 
 1856. He was twice elected prosecuting at- 
 torney of Crawford county, in 1866 and 1868. 
 
 Of the present members of the bar, at 
 Crestline, the oldest is P. W. Poole, who was 
 admitted to practice at Bucyrus in 1865. He 
 has been several times elected mayor of Crest- 
 line, and served two terms as prosecuting at- 
 torney of the county, from 1893 to 1899. 
 
 Frederick Newman was admitted to the bar 
 at Mt. Gilead in 1867. 
 
530 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Judge Daniel Babst was admitted to the 
 bar at Columbus in 1871. He has been several 
 times mayor of the village, and in 1907 was 
 elected common pleas judge, a position he still 
 holds. 
 
 The other members of the bar at Crestline 
 
 are Carl M. Babst, B. J. Cattey and C. F. 
 Dewald. 
 
 _The only member of the bar in the county 
 outside of the three cities is John H. Sheets of 
 New \\^ashington. 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 MEDICAL 
 
 The Pioneer Doctor — Empirical Treatment in Early Days— The "Regular" Treatment Of- 
 ten Inefficient — Various "isms" — Credulity of the Laity — Hardships Endured by the 
 Pioneer Doctors — Their Devotion — Fever and Ague — Physicians of Bucyrus, Galion, 
 Crestline and Other Towns in Crazvford Cotmty Since Early Days. 
 
 The wise old doctor went his round, 
 
 Just pausing at our door to say, 
 
 In the brief autocratic way 
 
 Of one who, prompt at duty's call, 
 
 Was free to urge her claims on all. 
 
 That some poor neighbor sick abed 
 
 At night' our mother's aid would need. 
 
 John G. Whittier. 
 
 Perhaps no type of pioneer followed his 
 avocation under greater discouragements, or 
 with scantier rewards, than did the pioneer 
 physician, particularly if he were a man hav- 
 ing a reasonably good knowledge of his pro- 
 fession. No doctor, of course, could make a 
 living at the time of the earliest settlements. 
 The country was too thinly populated and the 
 inhabitants too widely scattered and isolated 
 from each other by natural obstacles in the way 
 of forest and stream and swamp, with lack of 
 roads or bridges, with occasional dangers in 
 the shape of drunken Indians, to make the doc- 
 tor's calling an easy or remunerative one. The 
 lonely trails through the forest were almost im- 
 passable during the greater part of the year, 
 being covered with mud and water, and, in any 
 event, led merely from one lonely cabin to an- 
 other. In some places, particularly in the 
 region south of Bucyrus, the plains were 
 thickly covered with monstrous grasses which 
 attained a height of from six to eight feet and 
 through which the pioneer doctor, traveling on 
 some errand of mercy or urgent need, had to 
 force his way on horseback, his clothes being 
 drenched with the copious dews and moisture 
 from the rank vegetation. His patrons, also, 
 had little or no money— never enough to pro- 
 
 vide for themselves such ordinary comforts as 
 would nowadays be regarded as absolute neces- 
 sities, and hence, when medical aid was un- 
 avoidably sought, the ministering physician 
 had in most cases to be content with the prom- 
 ise of future payment — a promise that in many 
 cases was never fulfilled. Under such discour- 
 aging circumstances, therefore, the pioneer 
 doctor pursued his calling, and it is not to be 
 wondered at that few of those who came first 
 to this region remained long in the community, 
 most of them leaving to locate in the larger set- 
 tlements. If any remained they usually found 
 it necessary to unite some other vocation to 
 that of medicine. 
 
 Some of the early doctors were mere em- 
 pirics. Not having gone to the expense or 
 taken the trotible to acquire such knowledge of 
 their profession as was then obtainable in the 
 eastern cities, or in Europe, they adopted some 
 peculiar system of treatment, which they ap- 
 plied in general to all cases which came before 
 them and which was not only useless but 
 absurd; yet, owing to the general credulity 
 of mankind with respect to matters of which 
 they are the most ignorant, and also in large 
 part, to the self-assertive impudence of the 
 practitioner, the latter was often able to usurp 
 the functions of the more reputable doctor 
 and reap the greater financial reward. 
 
 Perhaps the members of the regular school 
 were to blame, to some extent, for this state 
 of things, through their own lack of progres- 
 siveness, their reliance on such old time meth- 
 ods of treatment as bleeding and blisters, ap- 
 
 531 
 
532 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 plied in cases where they often proved useless 
 and sometimes injurious to the patient, and 
 the dependence on such drugs as mercury, an- 
 timony, arsenic, opium, and others, which the 
 modern physician uses with great caution, if 
 at all, but which were then given almost indis- 
 criminately. Their frequent inefficacy, and 
 the injurious effects they often produced, led 
 to much general distrust of the old school treat- 
 ment and paved the way for the introduction 
 of homeopathy, hydropathy, physiopathy, 
 Thomsonianism, chrothermalism, and many 
 other "pathies" and "isms," some of which, by 
 virtue of whatever good they may contain, are 
 in more or less use today, together with others 
 of later birth. 
 
 The general credulity of the uneducated lay- 
 man was also manifested in the support given 
 to that class of practitioners, known as "In- 
 dian doctors," the red man being supposed to 
 have some wonderful secret knowledge of the 
 mysterious virtues of various roots and herbs 
 far superior to that gained by study and ex- 
 periment in the laboratories of civilization, or 
 by the Caucasian mind under any circum- 
 stances, except when derived from Indian 
 sources. This superstition has not yet died 
 out, as may be seen from the medical advertise- 
 ments in the daily journals and in the names 
 of some of the best advertised patent medi- 
 cines. 
 
 It would be tedious to describe all the va- 
 rious forms of quackery which flourished at 
 one time or another owing to the various 
 causes referred to, or which, under the same or 
 other names are in vogue to some extent to- 
 day. Most of them were based upon an utter 
 lack of anything like scientific knowledge, 
 while others were doubtless simply deliberate 
 attempts on the part of unscrupulous men to 
 fleece a gullible public. A brief reference to 
 the Thomsonian system may suffice. This so- 
 • called system of medicine was actually patented 
 in 1823 by Dr. Samuel Thomson 'and was 
 based on the simple proposition that "heat is 
 life and cold is death." Consequently whatever 
 agencies were capable of producirig heat in the 
 patient . were supposed to constitute an effi- 
 cacious mode of treatment, in almost any form 
 of disease. Such vegetable substances as lo- 
 belia, cayenne pepper, bayberry root bark, etc., 
 Avere among the medicines most m use by this 
 
 school, while sometimes steam was resorted to 
 in order to keep up the patient's temperature. 
 The "doctor" and his confreres published a 
 book of 24mo, 168 pages of texts, with a sup- 
 plement of 28 more, "which was supposed to 
 contain all that it was necessary to know in 
 the departments of anatomy, physiology, ma- 
 teria medica, practice, surgery, midwifery and 
 chemistry." It appears that students of this 
 system were sometimes graduated within six 
 weeks, and there seems to be no particular rea- 
 son why they should not have been graduated 
 within as many days. It may be said with re- 
 spect to all such systems and also with respect to 
 many cases in which "regular" treatment was 
 employed in those days, that if the patient re- 
 covered it was entirely owing to the strength 
 of his own constitution or the comparatively 
 innocuous nature of the disease by which he 
 was attacked. 
 
 As soon as some little hamlet advanced to a 
 dozen or more log houses a physician could be 
 expected in that locality. And they were men 
 who took a personal interest in their patients, 
 and in the town to which they had come to 
 make their home. There was little or no 
 money to be had, but to them it mattered not ; 
 they took the long and lonely rides day after 
 day and night after night through the tangled 
 woods, and over the swampy grounds, in an- 
 swer to the call of those in distress. Their 
 mission was to heal the sick, and among all the 
 pioneers in every community none are entitled 
 to more credit than these faithful doctors who 
 endured every hardship to give relief to the 
 suffering. The swampy, marshy nature of the 
 ground made the fever and ague one of the 
 serious complaints, and from this but few es- 
 caped, even if they did take 40 grains of calo- 
 mel twice a day. 
 
 Owing to the swampy lands, everybod)' was 
 annually afflicted with the dread ague. As it 
 existed then, it is thus described by one of the 
 pioneers : "One of the greatest obstacles to the 
 early settlement and prosperity of the West, 
 was the ague, 'fever and ague,' or 'chills and 
 fever' as it was variously termed. In the fall 
 almost everybody was afflicted with it. It was 
 no respecter of persons. Everybody looked 
 pale and sallow, as though he were frost-bitten. 
 It was not contagious, but was derived from 
 impure water and malaria, such as is abun- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 533 
 
 dant in a new country. The impurities from 
 them, combined with those which come from 
 bad dietetics, engorged the Hver and deranged 
 the whole vital machinery. By and by, the 
 shock would come, and come in the fonn of a 
 'shake,' followed by a fever. These would 
 be regular on certain hours every alternate day, 
 sometimes every day, or every third day. 
 When you had the chill you couldn't get warm, 
 . and when you had the fever you couldn't get 
 cool. It was exceedingly awkward in this re- 
 spect, indeed it was ! Nor would it stop for 
 any sort of contingency; not even a wedding 
 in the family would stop it. It was tyrannical. 
 When the appointed time came around, every- 
 thing else had to be stopped to attend to its de- 
 mands. It didn't have any Sundays or holi- 
 days." 
 
 The first physician to locate in Bucyrus was 
 in all probability a Dr. Rhodes, who came here 
 in the latter part of the year 1822, a few 
 months after the laying out of the village. He 
 remained, however, but a short time. After 
 him, in the following year, 1823, came Dr. 
 McComb, an experienced and well read man, 
 who was much liked, though in his latter years 
 he showed too great a partiality for liquor. 
 His death, which took place about 1836, was 
 due to a fall from a horse. In 1824 or 1825 
 came Dr. Hobbs, who remained until about 
 1832, when he went to Indiana. At a later 
 period he returned to Ohio, settling in Mt. Ver- 
 non, where he died in the late seventies, at the 
 age of 82 or 83 years. His wife was one of 
 the earliest school teachers in Bucyrus. 
 
 About 1822, Samuel Norton went to his old 
 home in the east and on his return he was ac- 
 companied by his wife's mother, Mrs. Eliza- 
 beth Bucklin, who understood medicine, and 
 prescribed for some of the neighbors. She 
 died in 1824. 
 
 Dr. Pierce, a widower with two children, 
 came here from the state of New York about 
 1825. Soon after his arrival he married Miss 
 Mary Gary. In addition to practicing medi- 
 cine, he kept a tavern. After a residence here 
 of seven or eight years he went West. 
 
 Dr. Willis Merriman, born in Cayuga 
 county, N. Y., in 1801, came to Ohio in 1817. 
 He studied medicine in Norwalk, Ohio, be- 
 fore coming to Bucyrus in 1827. He continued 
 practice here until the death of his first wife 
 
 in 1834. In the following year he entered into 
 mercantile business, which he continued until 
 1853. He was for several years one of the 
 directors of the Ohio & Indiana Railroad Com- 
 pany and was its first president. In January, 
 1855, on the consolidation of the several com- 
 panies operating between Pittsburg and Chi- 
 cago into the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago 
 Railroad Company, he resigned as president 
 and became one of the directors of the new or- 
 ganization, holding that position until 1868. 
 He was a man of vigorous mental powers, well 
 educated, kind of heart and in all things a 
 thorough gentleman. He died in Bucyrus, 
 August 30, 1873. 
 
 Dr. Sinclair, who practiced in Bucyrus from 
 1830 to 1836; and Dr. Douglas, 1835 to 1850, 
 were also successful and popular physicians, 
 the latter being especially noted for his refined 
 and gentlemanly manners. 
 
 Dr. Andrew Hetich, who came from Cham- 
 bersburg. Pa., first located in Bucyrus in 1835, 
 but returned to Chambersburg after a short 
 residence here. In 1839 he settled again in 
 Bucyrus and practiced his profession here until 
 a short time before his death in i860. He was 
 a man of good attainments and popular as a 
 physician. 
 
 Dr. A. M. Jones, a native of Massachusetts, 
 settled with his parents in Lorain county, Ohio, 
 in 18 1 7. He came to Bucyrus in 1835 and prac- 
 ticed medicine here for about ten years, after 
 which he engaged in the woolen manufacturing 
 business with Samuel Clapper, and later in the 
 real estate business, giving up his medical prac- 
 tice. 
 
 Dr. Frederick Swingley, a native of Mary- 
 land, came to Bucyrus from Chesterville, Ohio, 
 in 1844, and practiced medicine and surgery 
 here for many years. He served several years 
 as surgeon during the Civil War. 
 
 Dr. Cochran Fulton, born in Westmoreland 
 county. Pa., in 1819, came to Ohio when a 
 young man and began practice in Bucyrus in 
 1845. In 1S4S he graduated at the Eclectic 
 Medical Institute in Cincinnati and practiced 
 his profession here for many years sub- 
 sequently. In 1 86 1 he opened a drug and book 
 store, which became one of the best known 
 mercantile establishments in the county. 
 
 Dr. Robert T. Johnson who came in 1845, 
 also engaged in the drug and book business. 
 
534 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 giving up his medical practice for that pur- 
 pose. 
 
 Dr. Francis Meyer came to Bucyrus in 185 1 
 and practiced medicine here until about 1875, 
 when he gave up his profession on account of 
 ill health. He was a native of Frankfort, Ger- 
 many and a very cultured man, having studied 
 in the universities of Tubingen, Heidelberg 
 and Halle. He was highly esteemed, both by 
 his professional brethren and by the citizens 
 generally of Bucyrus and the vicinity. 
 
 Dr. M. C. Cuykendall, a native of Cayuga 
 county, N. Y., read medicine in Plymouth, 
 Ohio, and subsequently began practice in 
 Ganges, this state. He came to Bucyrus in 
 1857 and practiced here until the breaking out 
 of the Civil War, when he entered the military 
 service as surgeon, and before the close of the 
 war reached the position of medical director. 
 After the war he gave his attention largely to 
 the practice of surgery, in which department 
 of the profession he attained quite a reputa- 
 tion. He was one of the first presidents of the 
 Northwestern Ohio INIedical Association. For 
 several years in the late seventies he was pro- 
 fessor of gynecology in the IMedical College of 
 Columbus, being obliged to give up general 
 practice about this time owing to failing health, 
 the result of hardships experienced during the 
 war. 
 
 Dr. Byron Carson, married the only daugh- 
 ter of Dr. Cuykendall, and was associated with 
 him in the latter years of his practice. 
 
 Dr. John A. Chesney studied medicine with 
 Drs. Cuykendall and Carson, and first entered 
 into practice with Dr. J. B. Richie of Oceola. 
 Later he returned to Bucyrus, and succeeded 
 Dr. Cuykendall as the surgeon of the city, and 
 at the time of his death in Aug. 31 of this year 
 was the recognized head of his profession, and 
 one of the prominent physicians of northern 
 Ohio. 
 
 Dr. J. S. Fitzsimmons was a soldier in the 
 war of the rebellion and after he was dis- 
 charged from the service, graduated in medi- 
 cine, and began practicing in Bucyrus in 1871 
 and for forty years was one of the leading 
 physicians of the city. 
 
 Dr. Boehler came to Bucyrus in 1837, and 
 remained about four years when he removed 
 to Tiffin. 
 
 Dr. William Geller came in 1840, and re- 
 mained about four years, when he removed to 
 Mt. Gilead and later went to California. 
 
 Dr. Jacob Augustein read medicine with Dr. 
 Boehler, and when that gentleman left suc- 
 ceeded to his practice. Besides his medical 
 work he took an active hand in the affairs of 
 the village, and about 1862 went to Napoleon, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Dr. Hauck came to Bucyrus in 1843, but. 
 died a few years after his arrival. 
 
 Df. Robert L. Sweney came with his father 
 to Whetstone township in 1828. He read med- 
 icine w ith Drs. Douglas and Swingley at Bucy- 
 rus, and practiced here from 1849 to 1851, 
 when he went to Marion. 
 
 Dr. George Keller commenced the study of 
 medicine in 1846, graduated from the Cincin- 
 nati Medical College in 1853, and located at 
 West Liberty, where he remained until 1861, 
 when he came to Bucyrus, and built up an ex- 
 tensive practice. He was a wonderfully well- 
 read man on every conceivable subject, and was 
 a recognized authority on practically every- 
 thing. He was admitted to the bar in 1876, 
 but never practiced at that profession. 
 
 Dr. Georgia Merriman, the first lady physi- 
 cian, commenced the practice of medicine in 
 Bucyrus in 1879, but after a dozen years re- 
 moved to Columbus. 
 
 Dr. Jerome Bland began the practice of med- 
 icine at Benton in 1868, where he built up an 
 extensive practice, when he removed to Bucy- 
 rus. Some years ago he retired from active 
 business on account of the breaking down of 
 his system, and is now living in retirement 
 at his home on East Mansfield street. 
 
 The first homeopathist to come to Bucyrus 
 was Dr. Barsham in 1850 but he only remained 
 two years. He was followed by Dr. E. P. 
 Penfield of the same school in 1871, who built 
 up an extensive practice and later _ moved to 
 Spokane, Wash. 
 
 Dr. McNutt came about 1872, but is now 
 retired living at his home on West Mansfield 
 street. 
 
 Other early physicians were Dr. Haas in 
 1845, Dr. Potter in 1847, Dr. Samuel Long in 
 1849, Dr. Tames Milott in 185 1, Dr. Rogers in 
 1853, Dr.T. J. Kisner in 1871, Dr. John M. 
 Chesney in 1876, Dr. Kreider in 1877, Dr. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 535 
 
 Bonar in 1880, Dr. John Atwood in 1880, Dr. 
 E. A. Thoman, Dr. L. A. Perce, Dr. L. W. 
 Jordan. 
 
 Dr. Price, who was a botanic physician, lo- 
 cated south of Bucyrus, fn 1837, and practiced 
 there about fifteen years when he removed to 
 IlHnois. 
 
 Those now engaged in the practice of medi- 
 cine and surgery in Buc)tus are as follows : P. 
 R. Brubaker, W. C. Gates, F. W. Kehrer, Lucia 
 Kemp, C. H. King, W. A. Koch, J. B. Lewis, 
 Claude A. Lingenfelter, A. H. McCrory, J. J. 
 Martin, E. R. Schoolfield, Howard H. Smith, 
 Charles A. Ulmer and W. L. Yeomans, and 
 L. J. Dellinger, osteopath. Dr. Ulmer is the 
 present coroner and Dr. Kemp is the only lady 
 physician in the city. 
 
 One of the first physicians in Gallon was a 
 Dr. Johnson, who came sometime in the 
 thirties and remained a few years. His wife, 
 assisted by Mrs. Jacob Ruhl, was instrumental 
 in establishing the first Sundayschool in Galion. 
 Shortly after he came, Dr. Bleymeyer ar- 
 rived, and in 1838 he sold out to Dr. Reisinger. 
 The latter resided in Galion for nearly thirty 
 years, and perhaps it may not be too much to 
 say that the town never had a citizen more 
 highly or more deservedly esteemed. It has 
 been said of him that he practiced his profes- 
 sion more "for the sake of suffering humanity 
 than for the money he might obtain for his 
 services." During the building of the Cleve- 
 land, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad, when 
 many of the workmen were stricken down with 
 cholera, he attended them during their sickness, 
 freely risking his own life, and, as they were 
 poorly supplied with comforts or necessaries, 
 he personally supplied their wants so far as he 
 was able, and, at their death, dug their graves 
 and buried them. In 1866, learning that his 
 son, a student of medicine at Cincinnati, had 
 been attacked with cholera, he hastened there 
 to care for him, and on his arrival was him- 
 self attacked by the disease and died eight 
 hours before his son. Their bodies were 
 brought to Galion and interred in the village 
 cemetery. 
 
 Among the early physicians of Galion were 
 Dr. John Atwood in 1849, J. Stiefel who came 
 in 1852, N. E. Hackedorn, who came in 1854 
 and ran a drug store for thirty years, and was 
 one of the active business men of Galion, H. S. 
 
 Barbour in 1864, C. L. Coyle in 1865, H. M. 
 and Frank Duff in 1858, H. R. Kelly in 1868, 
 J. C. Campbell in 1872, J. C. McUvaine in 1878, 
 who wrote the history of Galion thirty years 
 ago; H. and F. Mannhart, Brown, Chase, 
 Griffin, J. Webb Kelly and Ridgeway. 
 
 Those now practicing in Galion are T. L. 
 Brown, D. W. Brickley, H. H. Hartman, E. 
 D. Helfrich, O. L. Huffman, C. C. Mandeville, 
 J. G. Mannhardt, Guy C. Marsh, C. D. Mor- 
 gan, L. H. Neville, Katheryn Rayl, A. A. 
 Starner and Herbert W. Todd and B. R. Mans- 
 field, osteopath, Katheryn Rayl being the only 
 lady physician. 
 
 One of the earliest physicians in Crestline 
 was Dr. W. P. Carnyham, who located here 
 in 1852 and practiced until his death, which 
 took place about ten years later. Dr. Wm. 
 Pope came to Crestline in 1855 and practiced 
 until about 1870, when he became connected 
 with the Franz & Pope Knitting Machine 
 Works, and removed to Bucyrus. Among 
 those who came later were the following, the 
 dates indicating the year of their arrival : Drs. 
 Edward Booth, i860; Alex Jenner, 1854; P. B. 
 Young, 1865 ; John McKean, 1867; Charles W. 
 Jenner, about 1870; still later, Drs. Gibson, G. 
 A. Emery, James Booth, Z. P. Harris, J. T. 
 Robinson, and Dr. Bennett, a homeopathist. 
 The physicians and surgeons now located here 
 are J. A. Agriew, T. H. B. Clutter, R. R. Har- 
 ris, D. D. McCallum, C. A. Marquardt, J. B. 
 Moses and Charles E. Trimble 
 
 Several physicians settled at an early day 
 in Sulphur Springs, or Annapolis, but most of 
 them remained but a short time. Dr. George 
 Zeigler, who settled there in 1840, remained 
 until his death in 1872. He was a hard worker 
 and established a large practice, but the circum- 
 stance of his patients being widely scattered 
 obliged him to make long professional rides. 
 He finally died in the harness, bemg overtaken 
 by a severe attack of lung disease when about 
 two miles from home. Compelled to stop at 
 the nearest farm-house, he remained there until 
 his death two or three days later. Another 
 hard-working physician at this place was Dr. 
 John B. Squiers, who began the study of his 
 profession under Dr. Zeigler and commenced 
 practice with him in 1848, subsequently grad- 
 uating from a medical college in Cincinnati in 
 1853. He was largely self-educated, but was 
 
536 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a hard student and won the coiilidence of the 
 people. He also has long since passed away. 
 There was also a Dr. Turley who practiced in 
 Annapolis in the forties, but he was not pop- 
 ular. Dr. H. S. Bevington commenced prac- 
 tice at Sulphur Springs in 1872, coming here 
 from DeKalb. Dr. M. M. Carrothers came the 
 same. year. 
 
 The present physician in the village is Dr. 
 F. M. Virtue. « 
 
 Dr. J. N. Richie read medicine with Dr. 
 Leonard Firestone of Wayne county, Ohio, 
 and Dr. Henry Houtz of Canal Fulton, Stark 
 county; graduated at Willoughby Medical Col- 
 lege and began the practice of medicine at 
 Oceola in 1847 continuing in active practice 
 for many years. He was a gentleman pleasant 
 in address, affable at all times and to all per- 
 sons, familiar with the details of his profes- 
 sion, energetic in business, and obtained and 
 retained the confidence and esteem of persons 
 of Oceola and for miles around that village. 
 
 During his practice of medicine in this field 
 many physicians, at different times, located 
 there, but soon finding the field unprofitable 
 sought locations elsewhere. In the spring of 
 1874 he entered into a partnership with Dr. 
 William O. Hanby, a young man of great 
 promise, but the partnership was broken by 
 the untimely death of Dr. Hanby in October, 
 1879. A year later he formed a partnership 
 with Dr. John A. Chesney, a physician who 
 afterward became one of the leading physicians 
 and surgeons of the state. After he had prac- 
 ticed with Dr. Richie for two years Dr. Ches- 
 ney resumed his studies and later located at 
 Bucyrus, where his practice was extensive and 
 where he died August 31, 1912. 
 
 Dr. Richie received a kick from a horse 
 about 1880 which caused the loss of one eye, 
 and which otherwise much affected his health, 
 so that toward the end of his active life he 
 was unable to gi\e his practice the attention he 
 desired, suffering from fatigue in the rounds 
 of his country practice. 
 
 Dr. Hahn, later of Three Locusts, began 
 practicing medicine at Oceola in 1852, but re- 
 mained only eight months, going then to New 
 \\'inchester, where he remained until 1867. 
 
 Dr. Fruth located at Oceola in the autumn 
 of 1879 and enjoyed the confidence and re- 
 spect of the people of the vicinity. 
 
 Oceola was always a good field for a physi- 
 cian since that portion of the county west of it 
 \yas settled, many years after the other por- 
 tion, on account of its being a part of the 
 Wyandot Reservation. 
 
 Oceola does not now (in 1 912) have a physi- 
 cian, none having been located here for a num- 
 ber of years. 
 
 The first physician to locate in Chatfield was 
 Dr. A. B. Fairbanks, about 1847; he was post- 
 master for two years from 1848 to 1850; he re- 
 maifted about ten years. He was succeeded by 
 D. J. Pitezel who came in 1858 and was also 
 postmaster; he left about 1863 for Missouri, 
 where he died in the seventies. He was suc- 
 ceeded by Dr. Urias Tubbs, who died there 
 in 1873. He was succeeded by Dr. Zeigler. 
 The present physician is C. D. McLeod. 
 
 At West Liberty, Dr. Wood was the first 
 physician, commencing there about 1843 and 
 he died of typhoid fever about 1847. He was 
 succeeded by Thomas C. Aiken, who remained 
 until the summer of 185 1. That year Dr. 
 Keller located at West Liberty where he prac- 
 ticed until his removal to Bucyrus in 1861, 
 and after his departure few physicians located 
 there but only remained a few months, and 
 for fifty years there has been no physician at 
 West Liberty. 
 
 Dr. Carleton came to DeKalb in 1831 or 
 1832, and remained for several years. In ad- 
 dition to practicing medicine he sold dry goods 
 in a log building standing on the lot afterward 
 occupied by David Anderson and others, at the 
 junction of the Plymouth road and the one 
 running north through Vernon township. 
 Early settlers spoke of him as a man of con- 
 siderable ability. 
 
 Dr. R. A. N. Be was born in the state of 
 Rhode Island about the year 1798. He re- 
 ceived a tolerably liberal education, and grad- 
 uated at one of the Philadelphia medical col- 
 leges. He came west about 1830 and at first 
 located in southeastern Indiana, but, not being 
 satisfied with the country, came back to Ohio 
 and located at DeKalb in the year 1836. He 
 continued to practice here until 1854, when he 
 went to Van Wert county, Ohio, and remained 
 there about ten years, coming back to DeKalb 
 in 1864. In December, 1865, he had an apo- 
 plectic attack, which very considerably im- 
 paired his mental powers and he resided with 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 537 
 
 Dr. Keller from February, 1866, to July, 1867, 
 when he visited his brother at Galesburg, 111., 
 dying there the following December. Al- 
 though quite eccentric in many particulars, and 
 particularly reticent in everything pertaining 
 to his early life, he was a man of much more 
 than ordinary ability and attainments. 
 
 He devoted his time, when not profession- 
 ally engaged, to reading, both professionally 
 and otherwise, and in his office there might al- 
 ways be found rare medical works not usually 
 found in the office of a country practitioner, 
 with the best serial medical and other litera- 
 ture. He was a good practitioner, a reliable 
 friend and a strictly honest man. The follow- 
 ing points connected with his early history, 
 not known during his life at DeKalb, will ex- 
 plain many things in his private life, which 
 were regarded, generally, as eccentricities. 
 When reading medicine he was thrown from a 
 horse, fracturing his skull and otherwise in- 
 juring him, the result of which was the im- 
 pairment of his intellectual faculties to a 
 considerable extent and for some length of 
 time. While in this state he was sent by his 
 preceptor to visit a patient. The mother was 
 highly incensed at the doctor for sending a 
 crazy man (as she expressed herself) to visit 
 her daughter, and so informed the young man. 
 The doctor, on hearing himself thus spoken 
 of, determined to leave the country at once, 
 go west, change his name, and forever cut 
 loose from his then friends and relatives, ar- 
 guing that if he kept up any correspondence 
 with them that his history would soon follow 
 him wherever he would go, and destroy his 
 future prospects. He accordingly went to In- 
 diana, as we have stated, changed his name 
 from Roman Babcock to Rom A. N. Be, by 
 which name he was known until his death. 
 During the long weary years from 1830 to 
 1866, he never once communicated directly or 
 indirectly with mother, brothers, sisters, or 
 other relatives — completely dead to every 
 friend and associate of his youthful days. His 
 many surviving friends at his death understood 
 why he was always so reticent in reference to 
 his early life and family.* 
 
 Dr. R. Cahill, from Wayne county, Ohio, 
 practiced here from April, 1846 to April, 1848, 
 after which he returned to his old home and 
 * Dr. George Keller. 
 
 from there went to Bluffton, Allen county, 
 Ohio, at which place he died. 
 
 Dr. Henry Mack came in 1846; remaining 
 for nearly a year. 
 
 Dr. Thos. A. Mitchell jjracticed here from 
 1856 to 1872, and for a time was postmaster. 
 
 Dr. H. S. Bevington practiced at DeKalb 
 from 1855 to 1 86 1 and was very successful, 
 and later he entered the army and fought 
 through the war, and after it was over moved 
 to Sulphur Springs where he practiced up to 
 the time of his death. 
 
 Dr. Benjamin McKee came in the early sev- 
 enties and practiced for a number of years, 
 being the last physician in DeKalb. 
 
 Soon after the village of Leesville was 
 started. Dr. John McKean located there, about 
 1834. The town was on the old Portland 
 Road from Columbus to Sandusky. Dr. Mc- 
 Kean had the field to himself until about 1847, 
 when Dr. Peter Rupp commenced practice 
 there, and remained about six years when he 
 went into the drug business at South Bend, 
 Ind. Dr. Adrian came in 1853 and remained 
 about a year. In 1857 Dr. McNutt practiced 
 at Leesville for two years, from there he went 
 to New Washington, and later was a surgeon 
 in the army, and has now retired from jiractice 
 and is living at Bucyrus. In 1872 Dr. T. H. 
 B. Clutter located there and after remaining 
 a number of years removed to Crestline. Lees- 
 ville has no physician at the present time. 
 
 The first physician was perhaps Dr. J. Pite- 
 zel, who located at Benton about 1844, and re- 
 mained until he removed to Chatfield in 1858. 
 Dr. Bissell also practiced there about the same 
 time. Dr. J. Atwood came in 1846 remained 
 about three years and then went to Gallon. 
 About that time Dr. Yates and Dr. D. Alvord 
 located there, the latter removing to Bloom- 
 ville in 1873. Between i860 and 1870 were 
 Drs. Jones, Porter, Beiler and Jacob. In 1868 
 Dr. Jerome Bland located in Benton, where he 
 remained for twenty years and then moved to 
 Bucyrus. Dr. Schwan came in 1877 remaining 
 several years. One of the last physicians was 
 Dr. M. O. Wirt, who was there a dozen years, 
 but retired from practice several years ago. 
 One or two physicians have located there since, 
 but only remained a short time, and there is 
 today no physician at Benton. 
 
538 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Dr. Andrews located at New Washington 
 in 1840, the village then having but a few 
 houses. During his first year two of his chil- 
 dren died, and he became discouraged and re- 
 turned to his eastern home. In 1842 Dr. Main 
 located there and remained two years, and he 
 too, left. Following him was Dr. Stoutenour, 
 who came in 1845 and remained for six years. 
 Dr. Wandt was the next physician, but shortly 
 after his arrival he committed suicide. 
 
 Dr. A. B. Hashizer came in 1855 and re- 
 mained for two years. In 1867 Dr. John S. 
 Heshizer located at New Washington, and 
 was there for more than a quarter of a century, 
 having a very extensive practice. 
 
 Dr. McNutt practiced at New Washington 
 
 for two years from i860 to 1862 Dr. I^einz 
 and Dr. Benner came in 1878, the former soon 
 leaving. 
 
 New Washington has today three physicians, 
 Drs. Charles F. Kimmerline, A. E. Loyer and 
 W. W. Lucas. 
 
 Tiro has two physicians today, Drs. G. O. 
 Blair and W. H. Guiss. 
 
 C. R. Sheckler is practicing at Broken- 
 sword, Dr. H. L. VanNata at Lemert, Dr. A. 
 D. Traul at North Robinson and Dr. C. W. 
 G. Ott at New Winchester. 
 
 In many of the townships much relating to 
 the early physicians is given in the general his- 
 tory. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD 
 
 The Ordinance of 1787 and Its Provisions hi Regard to Slavery — Popular Feeling in the 
 North — The Fugitive Slave Act — The Underground Road — Escape of Slaves Through 
 Crawford County — The Penalty — Interesting Anecdotes — Underground Stations in 
 Crawford County and Those Connected with Them — How the Aspect of the Civil 
 War Might Have Been Changed. ' 
 
 O, goodly and grand is our hunting to see, 
 
 In this "land of the brave and this home of the free." 
 
 Priest, warrior, and statesman, from Georgia to Maine, 
 
 All mounting the saddle, all grasping the rein, — 
 
 Right merrily hunting the black man, whose sin 
 
 Is the curl of his hair and the hue of his skin. 
 
 — John G. Whittier. 
 
 The Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in 
 the Northwest territory, but added further: 
 "Any persons escaping into the same from 
 whom any labor or service is lawfully claimed 
 in any one of the original states, such fugitive 
 may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the 
 person claiming his or her labor or service 
 aforesaid." On Feb. 12, 1793, (Lincoln's birth- 
 day to be 15 years later) the first fugitive slave 
 act'was passed, which was that when a fugitive 
 slave had crossed the Ohio river the owner 
 of the slave can produce oral testimony or make 
 affidavit before any magistrate that he is the 
 owner and the fugitive shall be given to him. 
 Any person obstructing or hindering the owner 
 or secreting the fugitive was subject to a fine 
 of five hundred dollars. 
 
 Later, the feeling of the North had become 
 so pronounced against slavery that the question 
 was beginning to take form as a party issue, 
 and through the influence of the South, Con- 
 gress was forced into the passage of laws in 
 the interest of the slave-holders. On Sept. 18, 
 1850, Congress passed the notorious "Fugitive 
 Slave Act," which allowed the owner to go be- 
 fore any magistrate, swear to his ownership 
 of the slave, and take possession of him. The 
 
 officer who failed to arrest the man on this 
 affidavit was liable to a fine of $1,000, and if 
 he failed to prevent the escape of the .slave 
 after his arrest, the officer's bondsmen were 
 liable to the slave-owner for the value of the 
 slave. Further, any officer with a writ, had 
 the right to call on any citizen to assist him 
 in the capture of the slave. The slave could not 
 testify in his own behalf, neither was he al- 
 lowed trial by jury. Any person rescuing or 
 secreting an escaping slave was liable to a fine 
 of $1,000 and six months' imprisonment, and 
 civil damages to the owner for the value of 
 the slave. 
 
 Of this law, Joshua R. Giddings, a member 
 of Congress at the time, truly said, "The free- 
 men of Ohio will never turn out to chase the 
 panting fugitive. They will never be metamor- 
 phosed into bloodhounds to track him to his 
 hiding-place and seize and drag him out, and 
 deliver -him to his tormentors. Rely upon it, 
 they will die first. Let no man tell me there 
 is no higher law than this fugitive bill. We 
 feel there is a law of right, of justice, of free- 
 dom, implanted in the breast of every intelli- 
 gent human being, that bids him look with 
 scorn upon this libel on all that is called law." 
 
 From earliest time the general sentiment of 
 the people of Ohio was against slavery, and 
 there was great anxiety among the early set- 
 tlers as to whether the constitution of 1802, 
 which followed the Ordinance of 1787, would 
 make Ohio a state where slavery would never 
 
 539 
 
540 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 exist. Col. Kilbourne, \vho laid out the town 
 of Bucyrus in 1821, had in 1802 organized 
 a company and selected the land where Worth- 
 ington now stands, north of Columbus, with 
 the intention of bringing mechanics and farm- 
 ers to that section from Connecticut. All ar- 
 rangements had been made. Then he returned 
 home and patiently waited to see whether Con- 
 gress would accept the Constitution of Ohio 
 and admit it into the Union as a free state. 
 
 The Constitution was drawn up and submit- 
 ted to Congress, was accepted, and slavery was 
 forever barred in the state of Ohio. As is 
 known, south of the Ohio river were the slave 
 states; north of Ohio was Canada where 
 slavery did not exist, and as time ran on, the 
 state of Ohio became traversed by routes over 
 which slaves sought freedom in Canada after 
 escaping from their masters south of the Ohio 
 river. At the start the few w^ho escaped were 
 not sufficient to cause any special worry to the 
 slave owners. The United States had passed 
 a law^ giving the slave owners the right to 
 come into Ohio and seize their property wher- 
 ever found. The people in this State did not 
 favor so radical an action, and the result was 
 laws were passed if not anntdling at least crip- 
 pling the rights of the slave owners. 
 
 The first case of an escaping slave in which 
 this county is in any way interested, was in 
 1812 in which Col. Kilbourne, who laid out 
 Bucyrus, cut a prominent figure. The town of 
 W'orthington was about half-way between Del- 
 aware and Columbus, the latter being then 
 known as Franklinton. An alleged runaway 
 slave had been seized by the owner at Delaware 
 and he had started south with his property. The 
 Delaware citizens sent a rider ahead to notify 
 the people at W'orthington of the arrest, well 
 knowing they were from Connecticut and were 
 opposed to the return of any sla\-e. As soon 
 as word reached Worthington, Col. Kilbourne 
 took prompt measures for the release of the 
 slave. He was at that time justice of the peace. 
 The slave owner arrived on horse-back, and 
 the negro was on foot, a strong rope being 
 around him which was attached to the pummel 
 of the saddle and the tired wretch was com- 
 pelled to keep up as best he could. When thej 
 reached Worthington the villagers surrounded 
 the horse and rider and in the confusion, the 
 rope was cut and the negro released, but Col. 
 
 Kilbourne was a law-abiding citizen and when 
 the slave owner appealed to him for redress, 
 the justice coincided with him, and the negro 
 and his owner were both taken before Squire 
 Kilbourne. The owner claimed the slave was 
 his property, but the justice had grave doubts 
 as to whether his affidavit was sufficient proof 
 of ownership and released the slave to await 
 further proof, to the great delight of the cit- 
 izens of Worthington. The owner of the slave 
 went to Franklinton, the next nearest justice, 
 wherd he secured legal papers, and two days 
 later he returned, and Mr. Kilbourne promptly 
 gave him another hearing, and decided the 
 slave was his. But when they came to look 
 for the•sla^•e he was not to be found, and al- 
 though nearly everyone in the village was 
 examined, no one appeared to know what had 
 become of him until after the disgusted owner 
 had left. The facts are that the day after the 
 slave had been released. Col. Kilbourne had 
 himself placed him in charge of the driver of a 
 wagon train that was carrying supplies to Gen. 
 Harrison at Ft. Feree, now Upper Sandusky. 
 By 1825 the escape of slaves through Ohio 
 was becoming so serious a matter to the slave 
 owners that the secretary of state wrote the 
 British Government that it was a growing e\ il 
 and might endanger the peaceful relations ex- 
 isting between the United States and the Brit- 
 ish Government, and suggested that something 
 be done so that owners might seciu-e their prop- 
 erty in Canada. England steadfastly refused, 
 on the ground that the British Government 
 "could not with respect to the British posses- 
 sions where slavery is not admitted, depart 
 from the principal recognized by the British 
 laws, that e\er}- man is free who reaches Brit- 
 ish ground." The next 3"ear, in 1826. the 
 United States endeavored to make an extradi- 
 tion treaty with England for the return of the 
 fugitive slaves. The English Government 
 again refused, holding a fugitive slave was not 
 subject to extradition, on account of the Eng- 
 lish principle that when any man sat his foot 
 on British soil, he was free. So Canada at all 
 times, remained the haven of refuge to the es- 
 caping slaves, and for thirty years Fourth of 
 July orators were rewarded with thunders of 
 applause as they boasted of the freedom of 
 America and denounced the despotism of Eng- 
 land. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 541 
 
 The Quakers, the Free Presbyterians and 
 the Wesleyan Methodists had among them 
 many members who looked upon slavery as a 
 crime, and these gave assistance to slaves who 
 were making their escape through Ohio to 
 freedom in Canada; they later sent emissaries 
 into the Southern States to induce slaves to flee 
 from their masters, all information as to their 
 route through Ohio being given them before 
 they started. From the Ohio river to the lake, 
 Ohio had become honeycombed with routes 
 taken by these fugitives, and these became 
 known as Underground Roads. When an 
 owner started in pursuit of his slave, it was 
 easy following him to the Ohio river, but once 
 across the river all trace appeared to vanish, 
 and one slave owner after losing track of his 
 property when he had reached Ohio, made the 
 remark that he must have gotten away by some 
 "underground road," and that remark gave 
 these routes their name. 
 
 It should be remembered that the aiding of 
 a fugitive slave to escape, or the giving of suc- 
 cor or support to him was an offense punish- 
 able by fine and imprisonment. Therefore it was 
 seldom that any record \vas kept by the men 
 who ran the underground stations, from which 
 any absolute and definite information could be 
 obtained, and yet, any number of these stations 
 existed in Crawford county. There were two 
 principal routes through this county, one the 
 pike road which goes through Bucyrus, and 
 the other the old Portland road which passes 
 through Galion, Leesville, and West Liberty. 
 Professor Wm. H. Seibert in his work, the 
 "Underground Railroad," gives two towns 
 that were stations in Crawford county, Lees- 
 ville and Tiro; in the list of those connected 
 \vith the underground road he gives but two 
 names, Fisher Quaintance and Joseph Roe. 
 No trace can be found of Tiro being a station, 
 nor is there any trace of Joseph Roe. 
 
 In 1839 a slave case occurred at Marion, in 
 which a negro known as Black Bill was seized 
 by his owner. Black Bill had been a resident of 
 Marion for about a year when one day a man 
 named McClanahan came to Marion and 
 claimed the slave. Public opinion was against 
 the slave being spirited out of the community, 
 so the owner returned to Virginia, secured 
 what he thought was the necessary papers and 
 came on to Marion, where with half a dozen 
 
 of his marshals, the slave was seized and the 
 case came on for a hearing before Judge Ozias 
 Bow en and his three associate justices, one of 
 them being 1 homas K. Anderson. At the trial, 
 the court found the owner's case had not been 
 proven and the negro was released. No sooner 
 had the judgment of the court been pronounced 
 than the marshals, who were assisting the 
 owner, promptly seized the slave, and notwith- 
 standing the opi^osition of the court officials 
 and some of the citizens, the negro was hustled 
 and dragged from the court room and taken 
 before a justice of the peace, where the owner 
 made the usual oath that the slave was his. 
 Naturally Judge Bowen and his associates 
 were indignant at the outrageous act of the 
 slave owner in seizing in the court room a man 
 whom they had declared to be free. Judge 
 Anderson went to the squire's office, where 
 he secured an entrance, and opening the back 
 door of the building he told the negro to make 
 his escape, and before the friends of the owner 
 realized what was going on. Black Bill was 
 out the back door, fleeing down the street. His 
 pursuers followed and there was shooting and 
 stone throwing on both sides. Generally the 
 friends of freedom contented themselves with 
 getting in the road of the pursuing party, and 
 sometimes tripping them up. Fear lent the 
 negro wings, and as it was evening and dark- 
 ness coming on, he eluded his pursuers. That 
 night, he slept in a swamp north of Marion. 
 
 While in Crawford county there were prob- 
 ably 20 to 30 people at that time who were 
 more or less engaged in assisting slaves to es- 
 cape, there were many others who took no 
 hand in the matter but favored the escaping 
 slave. But it is also probable that while there 
 were a number who would gladly have assisted 
 in capturing an escaped slave, to secure the 
 reward, yet the large majority at the start 
 treated the matter with indifference and in the 
 thirty years from 1830 to i860 no record can 
 be found of any slave that was ever captured in 
 this county and returned to hib master. And 
 yet, it is safe to say that in those same years at 
 least 500 men found their way to freedom 
 through Crawford county. Nothing is known 
 of the exact route of Black Bill after he left his 
 hiding place in the swamp near Marion. He 
 may have gone north at night over the San- 
 dusky pike, and found refuge during the day 
 
542 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 at Benjamin Warner's, who kept a tavern four 
 miles south of Bucyrus. He was a Quaker, 
 and this sect were the strongest in the state on 
 the side of the fleeing negroes. He may have 
 reached New VVinchester, where at that time 
 Peter Wert had a mill just north of the town 
 which was a station on the Underground Road. 
 At any rate, McClanahan, his master, never saw 
 him again. In October, 1839, the Bucyrus 
 Democrat published a full account of the trial 
 and escape of Black Bill. 
 
 The escaping slaves entered this county in 
 the eastern part from Iberia where there was 
 a prominent underground station, this little 
 village being filled with sympathizers of the 
 fleeing fugitives. It was this town which 
 furnished almost the last incident in regard 
 to punishment of men for assisting slaves 
 in making their escape. A professor in the 
 college at Iberia had been arrested for assist- 
 ing an escaping slave and had been sentenced 
 to a term of imprisonment and one of the first 
 acts of President Lincoln was the pardon of 
 this man. The most prominent man in this 
 county connected with the Underground Road 
 was perhaps Peter Wert, first of Leesville and 
 later of New Winchester. He was known as 
 Black Pete, not on account of his friendship 
 for the slaves, but on account of his com- 
 plexion, as he was very dark. He was a man 
 of strong determination. He had a wheel 
 shop at Leesville and here the slaves came to 
 him after night. They generally arrived just 
 before daylight, a signal was given by them 
 which was recognized by him and they were 
 brought into the house, given food and a place 
 of shelter during the next day, and when night 
 again came, they were given explicit directions 
 to their next stopping-place which was prob- 
 ably the Robinson mill on the Sandusky river, 
 near the old Luke tavern. Near the mill was 
 the residence of James Robinson, and just back 
 of the house was a small building known as 
 the "mill house." The building had only one 
 door, and was originally but one room. A par- 
 tition was built across one end, the only en- 
 trance to this closet being a low door, which 
 was concealed by piling sacks of grain and 
 meal in front of it. In case pursuing masters 
 were in the neighborhood the escaping slaves 
 were hidden in this closet until all danger was 
 over. 
 
 George Dean who still lives in Bucyrus and 
 is today an old man, states that in his boyhood 
 days (1840 to 1850) he has gone over to 
 the mill which was owned by his uncles, James 
 and William Robinson, and has seen negroes 
 in the yard, men, women and children and a 
 few days afterward they were gone. Of course, 
 the neighbors knew of this, and while they 
 would not assist an escaping negro, they were 
 not so bitter at that time as to prevent anyone 
 else from doing so. About three miles north 
 of the Robinson Mill was Henry Kaler's resi- 
 dence in Sandusky township. He was a shoe- 
 maker and to his house the negroes were 
 piloted. Occasionally when the people showed 
 symptoms of objection to this violation of the 
 law, Robinson himself took the men to the 
 next station. He had a spring wagon used for 
 hauling grain, and on this he had a covered 
 top so that nobody could see the contents of the 
 wagon, but it was generally known that when 
 this wagon went north after night, there were 
 escaping slaves inside. This wagon was mostly 
 used when there were women and children in 
 the party. The men generally walked. The 
 wagon held from six to eight people. Kaler, 
 the shoemaker, in the early days traveled over 
 the country making shoes for the settlers. He 
 was not well to do and made his rounds from 
 house to house on foot, and knew every hiding 
 place,in that section. For while, as previously 
 stated, no slaves were ever known to be re- 
 captured in this county, yet there were fre- 
 quently men watching all roads to the north to 
 capture an escaping slave in order to secure the 
 reward. It was therefore necessary for the 
 slave to be hurriedly hid, sometimes in a well, 
 sometimes in an old hollow tree, or in some 
 abandoned outbuildings or barn. Frequently 
 thev were placed in some barn with hay loosely 
 sprinkled over them, and here they remained 
 two or three days, fed by the keeper of the 
 station until all danger of pursuit had shifted 
 to some other locality. North of Kaler, was 
 the celebrated Bear marsh, which was an ex- 
 cellent hiding place, and near this lived John 
 Mclntyre another station on the Underground 
 Road. He was an old Scotch Presbyterian. 
 From here it is difficult to trace the route. 
 Seibert in his book states that Tiro was an 
 important station on the Underground Road. 
 It no doubt was, as the settlers there were New 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 543 
 
 Englanders and such men as Rudolphus Morse, 
 Resolved White, Samuel Hanna, and others 
 were the men who would be stiongly in sym- 
 pathy with the underground movement, but 
 no record can be found of anyone in Auburn 
 township who kept a station on the road and 
 it is absolutely certain there were a dozen. 
 The objective point was Sandusky on the lake. 
 Five or six routes passing through the state 
 converged at that point, and, as stated, two 
 of these were through Crawford county. 
 
 Near the Portland road, running north and 
 south through Vernon township, were several 
 houses where the fugitives were oared for. The 
 house of John McCaskey was supposed to be 
 one. The road was traveled by dark men on 
 dark nights, and many a happy African who 
 reached Canada, remembered with gratitude 
 until the day of his death the hospitality and 
 humanity of several citizens of Vernon. David 
 and Samuel Anderson often entertained ebony 
 runaways aiming for the north star. These were 
 guided to the dwellings under cover of the 
 night, and if brought there near morning, were 
 kept concealed, and fed during the day and 
 then conveyed to some station near Canada and 
 freedom. Concealment was necessary, because 
 in harboring runaway slaves, the law was vio- 
 lated, and after 1850 there were many whose 
 sympathies were with the slaveholder, and they 
 would not have scrupled to reveal the name of 
 the law-breaker. This resulted in concealment 
 and the nocturnal pilgrimages of the runaways. 
 
 William Robinson who still lives in Crestline 
 lived with his father when a boy at North 
 Robinson (1840 to 1850), and remembers 
 times when colored people after night stopped 
 at their door and asked to be cared for. Rob- 
 inson's place was not an underground station 
 but like most others in the county at that time 
 he would not interfere with any one else as- 
 sisting them, and the fugitive was directed to 
 the proper Robinson at the mill several miles 
 north. Both Peter Wert and William and 
 James Robinson were Scotch Presbyterians, in 
 fact Covenanters, and these with the Quakers 
 were the most open opponents of human 
 slavery. 
 
 Along the Sandusky pike four miles south 
 of Bucyrus, was the tavern of Benjamin War- 
 ner, one of those worthy men who was 
 raised in the society of Friends and like that 
 
 taciturn and sagacious sect, kept his own coun- 
 sel, but his neighbors were certain that his hos- 
 pitable home was one of the stations on the 
 Underground Road. In keeping his tavern, all 
 people were welcome, and the poorer settlers 
 coming into the country looking for land were 
 entertained over night, given their breakfast 
 in the morning and sent on their way rejoic- 
 ing. And if they were very poor, never 
 charged for their accommodation. To the op- 
 pressed and fleeing slave, seeking a haven of 
 freedom in Canada his lines were cast in pleas- 
 ant places when he reached the tavern of that 
 good old Quaker, Benjamin Warner. North 
 of Bucyrus was the Quaker settlement and it 
 is astonishing the number of visits that Warner 
 made to his friends living there. And it is 
 certain many of his friends must have been 
 aware when he drove through the streets of 
 Bucyrus with a large wagon drawn by two 
 horses and containing nothing but loose straw, 
 that many a trembling slave was concealed be- 
 neath the straw, and yet he made these trips 
 in broad daylight. Here is an extract from 
 his obituary notice, published after his death 
 which occurred May 8, 1870. After speaking 
 of his generosity to poor travelers, it said: 
 "Nor is this all. The worthy man was raised 
 as one of the Society of Friends, and like that 
 sagacious sect kept his own counsel, and it was 
 more than surmised that his hospitable home 
 was one of the safest stations for those op- 
 pressed victims who were seeking the north 
 star; and many a time has he, on pretense of 
 visiting his brethren north of Bucyrus, hauled 
 trembling chattels, concealed in his wagon, 
 boldly and bravely in open daylight through 
 Bucyrus." 
 
 On the Tiffin road Fisher Quaintance set- 
 tled about 1829 and his home was a station on 
 the Underground Road: Here the escaping 
 slave sometimes worked about the farm, and 
 in case anyone was seen coming along the 
 road he was hidden in some secret place until 
 all danger was passed. Joseph Quaintance, 
 still living, remembers that at one time one of 
 the slaves who stopped at the farm had learned 
 the carpenter business, and while hiding on 
 his father's place built a cradle for the cutting 
 of grain. Mr. Quaintance remembered the 
 incident, although he was a boy, from the fact 
 that they had a very savage dog who became 
 
o44 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 very friendly with the colored man and when 
 he left, the dog followed him, much to the sat- 
 isfaction of the family. Just west of the Tiffin 
 road was a family by the name of Jackson, a 
 father and several sons, Stephen, Isaac and 
 Abraham. This house was back in the woods 
 and a slave once reaching there was safe. The 
 slaves were always brought to Jackson's cabin 
 during the night, usually after lo o'clock. The 
 Columbus and Sandusky pike was extensively 
 traveled by slaves \\'ithout guides, as the road 
 was so plain that no mistake could be made. 
 But the traveling was usually done between ten 
 o'clock at night and daylight the next morning. 
 Isaac Jackson and his son Stephen have been 
 seen to carry sled-loads of them north into 
 Seneca county. At one time, about 1853, they 
 were seen to hare six or eight negro women 
 and children in a sled, which was driven rapidly 
 north, while five or six negro men, unable to 
 get into the sled, ran at the side or behind, 
 and the smoothness of the snow-covered road 
 enabled him to get them far on their way be- 
 fore daylight to some station much nearer Can- 
 ada and freedom under the British flag. The 
 night was bitterly cold, though the moon shone 
 brightly on the scene, revealing the runaways 
 to the people along the road, who were willing 
 to jump from their beds in the cold, and look 
 from the window or door. 
 
 Almost every citizen who lived on the Colum- 
 bus and Sandusky pike half a century ago 
 could remember of seeing many a dusky run- 
 away skulking along the road under the cover 
 of the night, or being driven rapidly north by 
 some assisting friend. It occasionally hap- 
 pened that pursuing masters traveled over the 
 road; but none of these residents remembered 
 that any runaway slave was ever captured by 
 his master while escaping through the county. 
 It was not customary for slaves to stop at 
 houses directly on the road, even though the 
 owner was a known friend. As morning ap- 
 proached they left the road, and stopped at 
 dwellings several miles from its course. It 
 thus occurred that Quaintance on the Tiffin 
 road and the Jacksons were used as hiding 
 places, and several citizens in and near the 
 village of Lykens were known to harbor the 
 black man, and to convey him farther on his 
 way to Canada and freedom. On one occa- 
 sion one of the citizens was seen with a wagon 
 
 load of dusky women and children, heading 
 for the house of some friend in southern Sen- 
 eca county. And, at another time, a half-dozen 
 or more of half-starved, half-clothed negro 
 men were seen in a barn in Lykens township. 
 
 Another station was that of Eli Odell. He 
 was a cabinet-maker and at one time a miller. 
 He lived at what was afterwards known as 
 Odell's Corners four miles east of Bucyrus. 
 He was very pronounced in his views on 
 slavery and held that it was a moral duty of 
 every man to assist the runa\\ay slaves, and 
 that he would pay no attention to any iniqui- 
 tous law which required a citizen to assist in 
 capturing the slave and returning him to his 
 owner ; that no law could give to one man the 
 right to own another human being, and there- 
 fore it was no crime to break any law which 
 in itself was against the law of God. Slaves 
 were brought to him by Peter Wert and from 
 his place they were either piloted across to 
 Kaler or Mclntyre in Sandusky township, or 
 more directly north, for there must have been 
 some station at or around Sulphur Springs, 
 although no trace can be found of one there. 
 The fact is, the danger that some neighbor, 
 through vindictiveness or for the greed of 
 gain, might give evidence against them made 
 them cautious, and many of these places that 
 were underground stations can never be 
 known; and toward the last, after 1850, this 
 county became more bitter against those as- 
 sisting escaping slaves, and the greatest caution 
 was necessary, slaves being transferred from 
 station to station after night, without being 
 seen by anyone except those belonging to the 
 underground road. 
 
 No record can be found of those in Bucyrus 
 who kept stations on the Underground Road 
 with the exception of Capt. John Wert. That 
 Rev. John Pettitt kept a station there is no 
 doubt, but there is no proof. Neither do older 
 inhabitants who knew him remember of any 
 word he ever let drop to indicate that his house 
 was a haven of refuge for the fleeing slaves. 
 He lived for a while on what is now the 
 ^lagee farm south of Oakwood cemetery. He 
 was always opposed to slavery and said so at 
 any and all times. Yet there is no proof that 
 he was connected with the Underground Road. 
 Neither is there any proof that John Anderson 
 kept a station on the road. Yet he kept the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 545 
 
 American house, and in the upstairs room was 
 where an aboHtion speech was made and an 
 anti-abohtion demonstration occurred in Bucy- 
 rus in 1839. The meeting was being held on 
 the second floor southeast room, the corner 
 room fronting on Warren and Sandusky. It 
 was addressed by the Rev. Mr. Streater a 
 Protestant Methodist minister, and it became 
 known that he would deliver an abolition ad- 
 dress. During the evening a crowd collected 
 in front of the hotel and for a time contented 
 itself with hooting and jeering, but later stones 
 and brick bats were thrown and the windows 
 broken in, and a rush was made inside the 
 building, the crowd demanding the speaker, 
 but he was secretly removed from the house, 
 and made his escape. Daniel Fralic of Brok- 
 ensword was present at the time and said that 
 for a while things were pretty lively. He 
 crowded himself into a corner until the storm 
 was over and then quietly left the building. 
 After the mob reached the room stones and 
 brick bats were still freely thrown and some 
 of the furniture broken. 
 
 After Anderson had quit the hotel business 
 he had a frame building just north where he 
 ran a tin shop, and here the anti-slavery men 
 held frequent meetings, but as far as can be 
 learned they were never disturbed. In the rear 
 room of the tin shop one night some 15 per- 
 sons gathered to hear a colored slave give an 
 account of his flight to freedom. The slave 
 was a carpenter and lived in one of the Gulf 
 states. By some means he had learned to read 
 and write. He made his escape to New Or- 
 leans, where he forged his master's name to a 
 pass and secured a job on a steamboat as a car- 
 penter and thus worked his passage up the 
 Mississippi and the Ohio, and on reaching 
 Cincinnati he had been piloted over the under- 
 ground road and had now reached Bucyrus. 
 A collection was taken up and he was cared 
 for that night and the next day, and after dark 
 the next evening he was directed to the farm 
 of Jesse Quaintance in Holmes township. 
 The meeting was very quiet and. orderly, and 
 although he was in the town 24 hours, no at- 
 tempt was made to prevent his escape. 
 
 About this same time Capt. John Wert lived 
 near the southeast corner of Mansfield and 
 Spring streets. He had a wheel-wright shop 
 on the same lot and did work at this and car- 
 
 pentering. He had several sons and all were 
 strong abolitionists. One night a slave owner 
 came to Bucyrus with two of his followers, 
 having been given private information that 
 his slave would be found secreted at the house 
 of Capt. Wert. He had closely followed him 
 from the Ohio river, and he went immediately 
 to the house of Captain Wert and demanded 
 the slave. Being refused he threatened to 
 enter the place by force and make a search. 
 Mr. Wert seized a gun and stated that his house 
 could not be searched without the proper pa- 
 pers, issued by the proper authorities in Bucy- 
 rus. The sons also had their guns, and the 
 man with his two slave-catchers came back up 
 town to secure the necessary papers. The news 
 soon spread, and in half an hour when the 
 slave owner returned there was quite an ex- 
 cited crowd with them. The captain still 
 warned them off with his gun and parlied with 
 the officials. Stones were thrown and brick 
 bats, some of the windows were broken, but 
 the grim old man, gun in hand, stood firmly 
 by his position, but after half an hour he 
 yielded and the house was searched but no 
 slave found. It was freely stated by some in 
 the crowd that a negro had been seen there 
 early in the evening. He may or may not have 
 been seen, but whether he had or not, two of 
 the sons were missing when the house was 
 searched, and later it was learned that while 
 the man had gone up street to secure his papers 
 the sons had taken the slave to a safer abiding 
 place farther north, and the parley of the old 
 man had been simply a pretense to gain time. 
 After the C. C. & C. road was built through 
 Gabon, it was sometimes used to send slaves 
 north to Cleveland. On one occasion an es- 
 caping slave who was on the train, happened 
 to look out of the window and saw his master 
 get on the rear car. He sat with fear and 
 trembling until the conducter came by; he 
 had been told beforehand that in case of 
 emergency the conductor would do what he 
 could to protect him, for only those trains 
 were generally used where the conductor was 
 in sympathy with the movement. The con- 
 ductor, hearing his story, pulled the bell cord, 
 and the train slackened speed, and the negro 
 jumped off, and the signal was given to go 
 ahead. The master was also looking out of 
 the window, and .saw bis property in full flight 
 
546 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 across the field. He appealed to the conductor, 
 but he refused to slacken the speed of the train, 
 and the man was compelled to stay on board 
 until Galion was reached. The negro got in 
 touch with the underground road, was piloted 
 through Crawford county, and found freedom 
 in Canada. 
 
 Bucyrus, through Judge Scott, was con- 
 nected with one of the important slave cases 
 which made history. Two slave-owners with a 
 United States Marshal and his deputy, on 
 Sept. 13, 1858, seized John Price a fugitive 
 slave, at Oberlin, and drove across the coun- 
 try eight miles to Wellington, to take the train 
 south. A crowd from Oberlin followed and 
 joined by Wellington people, the negro was 
 rescued. The United States Court indicted 
 37 of the rescuers, and they were mostly given 
 small fines and a day in jail. Two from Oberlin, 
 Simon Bushnell and Charles H. Langston, 
 were given 60 days and 20 days' imprisonment. 
 Writs of habeas corpus were gotten out and 
 the case came before the Supreme Court of 
 Ohio. On the bench were Joseph R. Swan, 
 chief justice; Josiah Scott, William V. Peck, 
 Jacob Brinkerhofif, Milton Sutliff. The ma- 
 jority of the people of Ohio believed the fu- 
 gitive slave act was so utterly at variance with 
 the law of God as to be unconstitutional, and 
 the true doctrine was the British one that Ohio 
 being a free State, a slave once setting his foot 
 on Ohio soil was free. This was the view of 
 
 Gov. Chase and every member of the court. 
 But the question at issue was : "Shall a United 
 States law be enforced when contrary to the 
 views of the people and laws of a state ?" On 
 this question Joseph R. Swan, Josiah Scott, and 
 William V. Peck held the United States law 
 was superior to the State and refused the writ 
 of habeas corpus, Brinkerhoff and Sutliflf dis- 
 senting. Justice Swan was a candidate for re- 
 nomination for judge of the Supreme Court, 
 but he was defeated on account of his decision. 
 In his "Swan's Treatise," compiled by him, he 
 states that it is idle to speculate upon the pos- 
 sible results if a single judge had held a dif- 
 ferent opinion. Salmon P. Chase was gov- 
 ernor at that time and it was well understood 
 that he would sustain a decision releasing the 
 prisoners by all the power at his command; 
 and the United States government was as 
 fully committed to the execution of the fugi- 
 tive slave law. This would have placed Ohio 
 in conflict with the General Government in de- 
 fense of state rights, and if the party of free- 
 dom throughout the north had rallied, as 
 seemed probable, the war might have come in 
 1859, instead of 1861, with a secession of 
 the northern instead of the southern states. 
 A single vote apparently turned the scale, and 
 after a -little delay the party of freedom took 
 possession of the government, and the party of 
 slavery became the seceders. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 Dead Man's Hollow — Ancient Land Marks— Hidden Treasure — The Bucyrus Mastodon — 
 Johnny Appleseed — The Bad Indian — Population Statistics — The Hermits — Agricul- 
 tural Fairs — The Canal Crawford Did Not Get — The Name of Bucyrus — Early Valu- 
 ation and Expenses — Early Marriage Licenses. 
 
 A chiel's amang you taking notes, 
 And, faith, he'll prent it. 
 
 — Robert Burns. 
 
 DEAD man's hollow. 
 
 Near Olentangy along the Galion road a 
 place has been pointed out as Dead Man's 
 Hollow, a site where a murder was committed 
 many years ago. In the summer of 1836, two 
 men, named Bender and Hammer from the east 
 came west to buy land. At Wooster they were 
 observed when they changed their eastern 
 money for western, and were followed. After 
 leaving Mansfield they were joined by two men, 
 who stated they were also coming west look- 
 ing up land. The four traveled together to Ga- 
 lion, and at the latter place spent the night. 
 The next morning the four started for Bucy- 
 rus, Hammer and Bender walking in front, 
 and the two strangers behind. All had canes 
 cut from the woods to assist them in walking. 
 Soon after leaving Galion, the strangers cut 
 themselves still heavier canes ; in fact, so heavy, 
 as to be clubs. Being questioned as to the 
 reason for such heavy canes, they turned it off 
 by remarking their other canes were too light 
 and they threw them away, but perhaps • the 
 new ones were a little large, but if so, later 
 they would get smaller. The four proceeded 
 until they reached where Olentangv now is, 
 when they came to a little stream that emptied 
 into the Whetstone.- Over this was a log, ne- 
 cessitating crossing single file. As the men 
 separated to cross the stream, one drew a 
 pistol and shot Bender, while the other with 
 
 his heavy club brought it down with all its 
 force on the head of Hammer, knocking him 
 to the ground unconscious. An eighth of a 
 mile south of where the attack was made was 
 the Eberhardt saw-mill, and the robbers hear- 
 ing the sound of voices, and believing some 
 one was approaching, hurriedly sought safety 
 in flight, without stopping to rob their victims, 
 which would have taken time, as the men car- 
 ried their money in a leather belt, around their 
 waist, underneath their clothing. Some time 
 passed before Hammer regained consciousness, 
 and when he did he was horrified to find the 
 dead body of his brother-in-law. He screamed 
 for help, but received no answer. He was in 
 a dazed condition, but managed to stagger to 
 the saw mill where he appeared covered with 
 blood, to the astonishment of the Eberhardts. 
 He had difficulty in explaining to them what 
 was the matter, but they were finally convinced 
 something serious had occurred, and they fol- 
 lowed him to the scene of the murder, where 
 they found the dead body of Bender. What 
 few neighbors there were were aroused and 
 Hammer explained in detail what had occurred 
 and the woods were searched but no trace of 
 the murderers was found. The absence of 
 any cluc, pomted suspicion to Hammer, but a 
 thorough examination showed his story was 
 true, as it was easily shown two suspicious 
 characters had been with them at Galion, and 
 further that the proprietor of the tavern at 
 Galion had told the men they did not like the 
 looks or the actions of their companions, and 
 
 547 
 
548 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 they had better not trust them too far. Bender 
 was buried in the Campbell graveyard, and 
 his relatives in the east were notified, and they 
 sent money for the erection of a tombstone. 
 This stone contains his name, and the further 
 inscription : 
 
 "Born Dec. 6, 1811 ; died Sept. 28, 1836." 
 Hammer came on to Bucyrus, stopping at 
 the Blue Ball tavern, where he gave John Boyer 
 an account of the murder, and later repeated 
 his story at Bucyrus. He remained at Bucyrus 
 several days until the authorities became as- 
 sured of his innocence. He had $300 with 
 which he purchased land. Years afterward a 
 report was current in the county of a man dy- 
 ing in the west who previous to his death con- 
 fessed to the Bender murder, but the story 
 was never authenticated. Besides erecting a 
 tombstone, the eastern relatives for half a 
 century sent a small sum annually to the Camp- 
 bells to be used in keeping the grave in repair, 
 and the trust was faithfully performecl by John 
 Campbell and later by his son. But years ago 
 the descendants of the murdered man's fam- 
 ily had become such distant relatives that the 
 remittances ceased, and the grave is cared for 
 the same as the others. 
 
 ANCIENT LAND MARKS. 
 
 In the southeast quarter of section 15, Au- 
 burn township the land now owned by the 
 Faulkner heirs, there is an inclosure of nearly 
 four acres, a well defined gateway at the east- 
 ern side, and near it a walled well. This well 
 was dug out to a depth of about fifteen feet, 
 but nothing of special interest was found. 
 Numerous stone relics have been found in and 
 about the inclosure. 
 
 About one and a half miles southwest of 
 Gabon there is an inclosure of about an acre. 
 It is shaped like a horse-shoe, which would 
 bring it under the head of symbolical mounds. 
 This inclosure has never been thoroughly ex- 
 plored. Relics of stone have been found in it 
 indicating that at one time it was the resort of 
 those who erected it. 
 
 The Delaware Indians had a village north- 
 east of Leesville, long before the advent of 
 the first white man ; definite record is given of 
 this in the Crawford expedition. 
 
 Another village was at the Knisely's Sprmg.^. 
 It was there before the war of 181 2, and was 
 
 then occupied by the Miamis. There was a 
 spring there highly prized by the Indians for 
 its medical qualities. The spring was highly 
 impregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen, it 
 tarnished the silver ornaments of the Indian, 
 and deposited a sulphurous precipitate a short 
 distance from it. The Indians placed great 
 confidence in the healing equalities of the water 
 and mud; the beneficial effects of which they 
 could perceive. Another healing spring much 
 trequented by them ^^■as about two miles west 
 of Oceola. 
 
 HIDDEN TREASURES 
 
 When the first settlers arrived an Indian 
 village was in existence on the Whetstone, 
 southwest of Seccaium Park. In searching 
 among the old records at Pittsburg to locate 
 the ancient Indian village of Seccaium, Hon. 
 E. B. Finley ran across some papers indicating 
 that a few feet from a large tree which stood 
 near a spring some treasure had once been 
 buried. It appears that in the seventeenth 
 century the French traders in going through 
 this region were attacked by a band of hostile 
 Indians, and hurriedly buried what money 
 they had. The tree was a monarch of the 
 plains, standing alone a short distance west of 
 where the vast forest commenced that extended 
 unbroken to the Ohio river. In looking up 
 the ancient village of Seccaium over a quarter 
 of a century ago, Mr. Finley thoroughly ex- 
 plored the surface in that section, and re- 
 membering the reference to the buried treas- 
 ure, found the place where every indication 
 showed there had once been a good sized 
 spring, although long since dried up by the 
 modern drainage. No tree remained, but he 
 made inquiries of the oldest settler in the 
 neighborhood, Edward Campbell, who, when 
 a boy of seven, came with his father in 1823, 
 to the farm on which the spring was located. 
 The two gentlemen went over the ground to- 
 gether, Mr. Campbell very promptly pointing 
 out the location of the spring — the site pre- 
 viously selected by Mr. Finley. Mr. Campbell 
 stated that in his younger days the spring 
 furnished a constant flow of water. He also 
 stated that a short distance from the spring, 
 once stood a large oak tree, the only large 
 tree in that section. It stood there for many 
 years after his arrival, the cattle seeking shel- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 549 
 
 ter beneath its broad foliage in the summer 
 days from the scorching rays of the sun, and 
 finding abundant water in the spring. The 
 spring gradually became less and less, and 
 finally dried up, and the tree, with its ex- 
 tensive roots, interfering with the cultivation 
 of the soil, was cut down. Mr. Finley was 
 in search of an Indian village and not of hid- 
 den treasure, so he pursued his investigations 
 no further, and the buried treasure is still there 
 — somewhere. 
 
 THE BUCYRUS MASTODON 
 
 Among the many interesting historical events 
 which have occurred in Bucyrus was the dis- 
 
 near the southwestern corner of the old fair- 
 ground; then extended nearly due north along 
 the east side of the Ohio Central, making a 
 slight bend, and jDassing east of the round- 
 house and machine shops ; then nearly due west 
 to S. R. Harris' land; then northwest through 
 the northeastern corner of the schoolhouse 
 yard, and, after continuing in the same direc- 
 tion for a short distance, changed to nearly due 
 west, crossing Walnut street, near the present 
 Frank Johnston residence; crossing Main 
 street, on the south part of Dr. Lewis' lot; 
 Poplar street, near the German Lutheran 
 church. While making the excavations for 
 this mill-race, the skeleton was found in the 
 
 SKELETON OF MASTODON 
 Found near Bucyrus 
 
 covery, by Abraham Hahn, of the perfect skel- 
 eton of a mastodon, during the year 1838. Mr. 
 Hahn, having built a saw-mill on Buffalo Run 
 at the rear of the lot on the northwest corner 
 of Warren and Poplar streets, conceived the 
 idea of constructing a mill-race which would 
 furnish sufficient water-power to run the es- 
 tablishment, and this water-course was finished 
 by a considerable outlay of time and money. 
 The source of this race was the swamps in Col. 
 Zalmon Rowse's fields, later owned by Wil- 
 liam Monnett, and the line it followed to the 
 mill would be, at the present time, about the 
 following route: It crossed the Galion road 
 
 swamp, just east of the present site of the 
 Ohio Central shops. This land for many years 
 afterward was very low and swampy; a con- 
 siderable portion in this immediate neigh- 
 borhood was covered by Mr. Hahn's mill- 
 pond. A full account of this discovery was 
 printed in the Crawford Republican extra, of 
 Augu.st 14, 1838. 
 
 Bucyrus, August 14, 1838. 
 Mr. Abraham Hahn, while engaged with his 
 work hands in excavating a mill-race, about 
 three-fourths of a mile east of Bucyrus, on 
 yesterday, at a distance of from five to seven 
 feet below the surface of the ground, discov- 
 
550 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ered the skeleton of a mastodon, in a reclined 
 position. The history of this genus of animals 
 is involved in «iystery. Xo tradition or human 
 record ftirnishes evidence of its existence at 
 any period. But that it once lived and walked 
 upon the earth, the prince of the quadruped 
 kingdom, is abundantly proven by the numer- 
 ous and almost entire specimens of its organic 
 remains, that have been discovered in various 
 parts of Xorth America; and which have ex- 
 cited the wonder and astonishment of the nat- 
 uralist and antiquarian. From the peculiar 
 structure, and the immense size of its bones, it 
 must have been an animal far exceeding in 
 size and strength any species of the quadruped 
 races now in existence. The place where the 
 skeleton was found is very near the dividing 
 ridge between the northern and southern 
 waters of the state, in a wet, spongy soil. 
 The bones, so far as discovered, are in a fine 
 state of preservation. The upper jaw and skull 
 are perfect in all their parts, as formed by 
 nature. The under jaw was accidentally di- 
 vided in removing it from the earth. This is 
 the only instance in which the skull of the 
 mastodon has been found in a state of pres- 
 ervation; and it furnishes the only specimen 
 from which correct ideas can be obtained re- 
 specting that massive and singularly shaped 
 organ. 
 
 Some idea may be formed of the rank this 
 monster held among the beasts of the forest, 
 when clothed with skin and flesh, and nerved 
 with life, from the following dimensions ot 
 some portions of it, which have been rescued 
 from oblivion : 
 
 The Skull and Upper Jaw 
 
 Horizontal length 39 inches 
 
 Length following curvature of 
 
 skull = 42^ 
 
 Breadth across the eyes 26^ 
 
 Breadth back of head. 
 
 251/3 
 
 nches 
 nches 
 nches 
 nches 
 nches 
 nches 
 
 Vertical height 22 
 
 Height occipital bone 16 
 
 Diameter of both nostrils ii>4 
 
 Diameter of each measuring the 
 
 other way 5 inches 
 
 Diameter of tusk sockets . . 5 J4 to 6 inches 
 
 Depth of tusk sockets 22 inches 
 
 Diameter of eye sockets 6 inches 
 
 M^eight of skull and upper jaw. . 160 pounds 
 
 The Under Jaw 
 Horizontal length following out- 
 side curvature 31^ inches 
 
 Height to junction with upper 
 
 jaw i6y2 inche,s 
 
 Weight 69 pounds 
 
 Front molars, apart 6% inches 
 
 Back molars, apart 5^ inches 
 
 Length of back molar 714 inches 
 
 Breadth of back molar .' 4 inches 
 
 Length of front molar 41/$ inches 
 
 *. Femur or Thigh Bone 
 
 Length . 37 inches 
 
 Largest circumference 30 inches 
 
 Smallest circumference 15^4 inches 
 
 Tibia 
 (Largest Bone Between Thigh and Hoof) 
 
 Length 22^^ inches 
 
 Largest circumference 24^4 inches 
 
 Smallest circumference 11 inches 
 
 Fibula 
 (Smaller Bone Between Thigh and Hoof) 
 
 Length 203^ inches 
 
 Largest circumference i2j^ inches 
 
 Smallest circumference 4^ inches 
 
 Humerus (Bone from Shoulder to Knee) 
 
 Length 30 inches 
 
 Largest circumference 34)^ inches 
 
 Smallest circumference 14}^ inches 
 
 Rib 
 
 Length of outer curve 43/^2 inches 
 
 Smallest circumference 5)4 inches 
 
 Hahn soon found the enterprise in which he 
 had become involved would not be a financial 
 success, and after several years the business 
 was abandoned. \\'hen the town was extended 
 and improved toward the southeast, the mill- 
 pond was drained and the water-course grad- 
 ually filled up with earth, but years after in 
 making exca\'ations for sewers and cellars, the 
 remains of this race have frequently been 
 found. At first Mr. Hahn exhibited the bones 
 of this mastodon, but finally sold them, and the 
 proceeds derived from the same served to pay 
 him for the immense financial outlay he had 
 made in building the race. He died at Mt. 
 Gilead, Ohio, January 19, 1867, and in his 
 obituary notice the following was published in 
 regard to the latter history of the skeleton: 
 "He afterward sold the mastodon to a man 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 551 
 
 in Columbus for $i,ooo, and it was again re- 
 sold to a Cincinnati man for $2,800 ; was after- 
 ward taken to New York and put in Barnum's 
 museum, and was consumed by the fire which 
 destroyed Barnum's Museum on lower Broad- 
 way half a century ago. 
 
 ''johnny appleseed" 
 
 A history of Crawford county — in fact the 
 history of many another county in northern 
 Ohio — would be incomplete without mention 
 of the eccentric personage known far and wide 
 in the early part of the last century by the 
 name of "Johnny Appleseed." His real name 
 was John Chapman, and he was born in Spring- 
 field, Mass., in the year 1775. From a half 
 sister of his, who came west at a later period it 
 was learned that in boyhood he evinced a great 
 fondness for nature, and used to wander far 
 from home in quest of plants and flowers, and 
 that he liked to listen to the birds singing and 
 to gaze at the stars. These tastes were little, 
 if at all, altered in his later years. 
 
 At what precise time he started out on his 
 self-appointed mission has not been definitely 
 ascertained, and as little is known as to the 
 causes which led him to adopt his peculiar vo- 
 cation, Avhich was to plant appleseeds in well 
 located nurseries in advance of civilization, 
 and have apple trees ready for planting when 
 the pioneers should appear. He also scattered 
 through the forest the seeds of medicinal 
 plants, such as dog-fennel, catnip, pennyroyal, 
 hoarhound, rattlesnake root, and the like. As 
 early as the year 1806 he appeared on the Ohio 
 river with two canoe loads of appleseeds ob- 
 tained at the cider presses of western Penn- 
 sylvania, and with these he planted nurseries 
 along the Muskingum river and its tributaries. 
 
 His first, or one of his first nurseries, was 
 planted about nine miles below Steubenville, 
 up a narrow valley from the Ohio river, at 
 Brilliant (formerly called LaGrange), oppo- 
 site Wellsburg, W. Va. From this point he 
 subsequently extended his operations into the 
 interior of the state. For a number of years 
 he made his home in a little cabin near Perrys- 
 ville (then in Richland county), but later he 
 went to live with his half sister, Mrs. Broome, 
 who resided in Mansfield. He usually located 
 his nurseries along the banks of streams and, 
 after planting his seeds, surrounded the patch 
 with a brush fence. He was then accustomed 
 
 to visit them yearly to care for the young trees 
 and repair the fences, which obliged him to 
 travel hundreds of miles during the year. 
 When the pioneers subsequently arrived from 
 Western Virginia and Pennsylvania, they 
 found the little nurseries of seedling apple 
 trees on many of the streams in the Ohio Val- 
 ley. He extended his operations into north- 
 western Ohio, and finally into Indiana, where 
 the last years of his life were spent. 
 
 His apple trees were nearly all planted near 
 the banks of the streams; one of his orchards 
 was along the Whetstone where Gallon now is ; 
 on the Sandusky there were some trees planted 
 by him near the Luke tavern; at Bucyrus, an 
 orchard was where the home of Gen. Finley 
 now is, and this orchard was bearing fruit 
 when Samuel Norton came or soon after, as 
 Norton brought seed with him and planted an 
 orchard himself on the south bank of the San- 
 dusky and stated that he secured apples from 
 the orchard across the river. One of the trees 
 is- still bearing fruit. There was a spring in 
 front of the Finley residence, but across the 
 street in front of what is now the Memorial 
 Hospital was a larger spring, which was a fa- 
 vorite resort of Johnny Appleseed when he 
 went through this section. Here he would lay 
 on his back in the grass, under the shade of the 
 trees, and with his bare feet in the air talk re- 
 ligion to any from Bucyrus who from curios- 
 ity crossed the river to see the eccentric char- 
 acter. Another apple orchard planted by him 
 was down the river. On the Daniel McMichael 
 farm on the river above Bucyrus, is an apple 
 tree which was planted by Johnny Appleseed 
 in 182 1. The tree is now 91 years old. The 
 eccentric character came along and put up at 
 the log cabin, sleeping on the floor in front of 
 the fire-place, his regular sleeping place. The 
 next morning he and Margaret Anderson 
 planted the tree. She was a daughter of John 
 Anderson, and later married David Mc- 
 Michael, the father of Daniel L. McMichael. 
 Margaret Anderson was only a little girl at the 
 time of the planting. 
 
 One who saw Johnny Appleseed at Mans- 
 field thus describes his appearance : 
 
 "John Chapman was a small man, wiry and 
 thin in habit. His cheeks were hollow and his 
 face and neck dark and skinny from exposure 
 to the weather. His mouth was small; his 
 nose small, and turned up so much as appar- 
 
DOZ 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ently to raise his upper lip. His eyes were dark 
 and deeply set in his head, but searching and 
 penetrating. His hair black and straight, \vas 
 parted in the middle and permitted to fall 
 about his neck. His hair, withal, was thin, 
 fine and glossy. He never wore a full beard 
 but shaved all clean, except a thin roach at the 
 bottom of his throat. His beard was lightly 
 set and very black." 
 
 Chapman's nature was deeply religious. He 
 was a regularly constituted minister of the 
 Church of the Xew Jerusalem, according to 
 the revelations of Emanuel Swedenborg, and 
 was also a missionary of that faith. He was 
 a beautiful reader and never traveled without 
 several of the Swedenborgian pamphlets with 
 him, which he generally carried in his bosom, 
 and which he was ever ready to produce and 
 read on request. He never attempted to preach 
 or address public audiences, but in private 
 consultations would often become enthusiastic 
 and arise to expound the philosophy of his 
 faith. On these occasions, as though inspired, 
 he would often soar to flights of real eloquence, 
 his ideas being clearly and forcibly expressed, 
 illustrated with chaste figures, and replete \\ itli 
 argumentative deductions. 
 
 His life was blameless among his fellow 
 men. He was of a kind and generous dispo- 
 sition, and polite and attentive in manner. So 
 gentle was his nature that he was ne\'er known 
 to kill any living thing, ever for food. He is 
 said, on one occasion to have put out his camp- 
 fire, because he noticed that the flies and moths, 
 attracted by the blaze, fell into it and were con- 
 sumed. He was known to pay the full value 
 for old horses, take them from the harness, 
 and, with a blessing, turn them loose to the 
 luxurious pastures of the wilderness, to be- 
 come their own masters. This almost abnor- 
 mal tenderness was indeed a leading trait in 
 his character. He seemed to bear a charmed 
 life. Savage beasts never hurt him, nor did 
 the still more savage Indian warrior. By the 
 latter he was regarded as a great INIedicine 
 Alan, to injure whom would bring misfortune 
 on the tribe, or individual, guilty of the of- 
 fense. 
 
 When on his journeys he usually camped 
 out. He carried a kit of cooking utensils with 
 him, among which was a mush-pan, which he 
 sometimes wore as a hat. \\^hen he spent the 
 night at a house, it was his custom to lie upon 
 
 the floor, with his kit for a pillow. He de- 
 clined to lie in a soft bed, as, being naturally, 
 he claimed, of an indolent disposition, he 
 feared that such self-indulgence might beget a 
 desire which he could not hope often to gratify 
 in his wandering mode of life. As an illustra- 
 tion of his natural indolence, it is said that he 
 was once seen working in his nursery near 
 Mansfield, and that, lying on his side, he 
 reached out with his hoe and extirpated only 
 such weeds as were within reach. 
 
 He was never without money, which he ob- 
 tained from the sale of his trees, his usual 
 price for a tree being a "fip-penny bit," but if 
 the settler hadn't money, Johnny would either 
 give him credit or accept old clothes in pay- 
 ment. Yet, though he, himself, cared nothing 
 for luxuries, and nothing for the ordinary 
 comforts of life, he would often spend his 
 money freely to benefit others. Frequently he 
 would furnish the housewives with a pound or 
 two of tea — a high-priced luxury at that time, 
 and the use of which he regarded almost as a 
 sort of dissipation. On one occasion he was 
 seen with a number of plates, which he had pur- 
 chased at a village store. Being asked what 
 he wanted them for, he replied that if he had a 
 number he would not have to wash dishes so 
 often; but he had really purchased them to 
 present to a poor family who had had the mis- 
 fortune to break their crockery. 
 
 He was often oddly dressed and sometimes 
 clothed in rags and tatters, yet was always per- 
 sonally clean. He seldom wore shoes or stock- 
 ings, except in the coldest winter weather, and 
 the soles of his feet in consequence, were of a 
 hard and almost homy consistence. He usu- 
 ally wore a broad-brimmed hat. Some have 
 said that at times he was seen clothed with a 
 coat or garment made out of a coffee-sack, 
 with holes cut in it for the neck and arms, but 
 this story has been doubted by others. -It 
 seems clear that, if he ever wore it, it was not 
 his usual dress. He was, however, frequently 
 seen with shirt, pantaloons, and a long-tailed 
 coat of the tow-linen then much worn by the 
 farmers. This coat was an invention of his 
 own and was in itself a curiosity. It con- 
 sisted of one width of the coarse fabric, which 
 descended from his neck to his heels. It was 
 without collar. In this robe were cut two arm- 
 holes, into which were placed two straight 
 sleeves. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 553 
 
 His immunity from molestation by the In- 
 dians enabled him on more than one occasion 
 to warn settlers of impending Indian attacks, 
 his services in this direction saving a number 
 of lives during the war of 1812. On one such 
 occasion, when the settlers at Mansfield were 
 threatened, there being no troops in the block- 
 house at the time, Johnny volunteered to act as 
 messenger to Captain Douglas at Mt. Vernon, 
 thirty miles away. Setting out in the evening, 
 as the stars were beginning to shine in the 
 darkening sky, bare-headed and bare-footed, 
 he made the trip, over a newly-cut road, 
 through a forest infested by wild beasts and 
 hostile Indians, and, having aroused the gar- 
 rison at Mt. Vernon, accompanied the troops 
 back the next morning, having made the round 
 trip of 60 miles between sunset and sunrise. 
 One writing about 30 years ago of the massacre 
 of the Seymour family, on the Black Fork, 
 near Mansfield, penned the following lines : 
 "Although I was then but a mere child, I can 
 remember, as if it were yesterday, the warning 
 cry of Johnny Appleseed, as he stood before 
 my father's log cabin door on that night. I 
 remember the precise language, the clear loud 
 voice, the deliberate exclamation, and the fear- 
 ful thrill it awakened in my bosom. 'Fly! fly 
 for your lives ! the Indians are murdering and 
 scalping Seymours and Copuses !* My father 
 sprang to the door, but the messenger was gone, 
 and midnight silence reigned without." 
 
 Johnny's intellectual acuteness in matters of 
 religion, and his acquaintance with the scrip- 
 tures is well illustrated in the following anec- 
 dote : 
 
 "The year of the erecton of the old court 
 house in Mansfield, while the blocks of foun- 
 dation stone and the timber lay scattered about 
 the public square, a wandering street preacher 
 of the name of Paine, a man with a long white 
 beard, who called himself 'the Pilgrim,' en- 
 tered the town. After blowing a long tin horn, 
 which he carried with him, he assembled an 
 audience on the stone and timbers of the court 
 house. In the course of his sermon he pointed 
 to where Johnny Appleseed lay on the ground, 
 with his feet resting upon the top of one of 
 the stones, and exclaimed: 'See yon ragged, 
 old, bare-footed sinner, and be warned of the 
 paths of sin by his example.' Johnny rose to 
 his feet, folded his hands behind him, under 
 
 his tow-linen coat, and slowly approached the 
 speaker. As the speaker paused a space 
 Johnny commenced in this wise: 'I presume 
 you thank God that you are not as other men ?' 
 'I thank God that I am not as you are,' returned 
 Paine. 'I am not a hypocrite, nor am I of the 
 generation of vipers. I am a regularly ap- 
 pointed minister, whether you are or not.' 
 'Lord be merciful to me, a sinner,' said Chap- 
 man, and walked away." 
 
 "In 1838, thirty-seven years after his ap- 
 pearance on Licking Creek," says a former 
 writer, "Johnny noticed that civilization, 
 wealth and population were pressing into the 
 wilderness of Ohio. Hitherto he had easily 
 kept just in advance of the wave of settlement; 
 but now towns and churches were making their 
 appearance, and, at long intervals, the stage- 
 driver's horn broke the silence of the grand old 
 forest, and he felt that his work was done in 
 the region in which he had labored so long. 
 In 1840 he resided near Fort Wayne, in the 
 state of Indiana, where he had a sister living, 
 and probably made that his headquarters dur- 
 ing the nine years that he pursued his eccen- 
 tric avocation on the western border of Ohio 
 and in Indiana." Here he resided until the 
 summer of 1847, his labors by that time having 
 borne fruit over a hundred thousand miles of 
 territory. One day he heard that cattle had 
 broken into his nursery at St. Joseph's town- 
 ship, and were destroying his trees, and he 
 started out on foot to look after his property. 
 The journey proved too much for one of his 
 age and feeble condition, and at even-tide he 
 applied at the home of Mr. Worth for lodging 
 for the night. Mr. Worth was a native Buck- 
 eye and had lived in Richland county when a 
 boy, and when he heard that his oddly dressed 
 caller was Johnny Appleseed, gave him a cor- 
 dial welcome. Johnny declined going to the 
 supper table, but partook of a bowl of bread 
 and milk. 
 
 Says Mr. Baughman, from whose "History 
 of Richland County" we quote, "The day had 
 been cold and raw, with occasional flurries of 
 snow, but in the evening the clouds cleared 
 away and the sun shone warm and bright as 
 it sank in the western sky. Johnny noticed this 
 beautiful sunset, an augury of the spring and 
 flowers so soon to come, and sat on the door- 
 step and gazed with wistful eyes toward the 
 
554 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 West. Perhaps this herald of the spring-time, 
 the season in \\hich nature is resurrected from 
 the death of winter, caused him to look with 
 prophetic eyes to the future and contemplate 
 that glorious event of which Christ is the res- 
 urrection and the life. Upon re-entering the 
 house Johnny declined the bed offered him for 
 the night, preferring a quilt and pillow on the. 
 floor, but asked permission to hold family wor- 
 ship, and read 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, 
 for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven,' 'Blessed 
 are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,' " 
 etc. 
 
 After he had finished the lesson he prayed, 
 and both the words of the prayer and the 
 pathos of his voice made a deep impression 
 upon those present. In the morning he was 
 found in a high state of fever, pneumonia hav- 
 ing developed during the night. A physician 
 who was called gave no hope for his recovery, 
 but said that he had never seen a dying man 
 so perfectly calm, for "upon his wan face there 
 was an expression of happiness and upon his 
 pale lips there was a smile of joy, as though 
 he were communing with loved ones who had 
 come to meet him and to soothe his weary 
 spirit in his dying moments. And as his eye 
 shone with the beautiful light supernal, God 
 touched him with his finger and beckoned him 
 home." 
 
 In the Sherman-Heineman park at IMans- 
 field, Ohio, there stands a monument to his 
 memory, which was dedicated in November, 
 1900, and which bears a simple and appro- 
 priate inscription; yet his best and most en- 
 during monument lies in the memory of his 
 kind and lovable character, his simple faith, 
 his pure and blameless life, and the useful work 
 he accomplished for the good of his fellow- 
 men. 
 
 THE BAD IXDIAXS 
 
 Benjamin Sharrock thus describes one of the 
 "bad Indians," and his ultimate death, probably 
 the last one killed by a settler in this county: 
 
 "About the year 182 1 or 1822, there were 
 several Indians who frequently camped and 
 hunted on the waters of the west and middle 
 forks of the Whetstone, to-wit : Capt. Dowdee, 
 his son Tom, and Capt. Dowdee's son-in-law. 
 Nickels, the bad Indian, the subject of this 
 narrative. He was regarded as a dangerous 
 
 man among his own companions. He had be- 
 come embittered against Benjamin Sharrock, 
 his brother Everard Sharrock, and Jacob 
 Stateler, who had three sons, Andrew, James 
 and John (the two latter were twins). 
 
 The Dowdees had frequently shared the hos- 
 pitalities of. our cabin, and we regarded them 
 as peaceful and well-disposed citizens. 
 
 'Sir. Sharrock says: "This Indian, Nickels, 
 had been skulking around and watching my 
 house, trying to get a chance to shoot me. I 
 have'seen him dodge from tree to tree when 
 trying to get a shot at me. He also made 
 threats of killing my stock. About this time, 
 he and the two Dowdees were camped on the 
 boundary north of where Iberia now is. Mr. 
 Catrell, my brother and myself held a consul- 
 tation, whereupon we resolved that this state 
 of things should no longer be tolerated, and 
 the next morning was the time agreed upon to 
 bring this matter to a test. They were to be 
 at my house fully armed for any emergency. 
 They were promptly on time, and as Catrell 
 had no gun he took my tomaha^^•k, sheath- 
 knife, etc. 
 
 "In this plight, we went directly to their 
 camp, called Tom Dowdee out, and ordered 
 him to take those coon-skins out of their 
 frames. (They are stretched in frames to keep 
 them dry and in shape. ) Wt next went to the 
 tent of Tom's father, old Capt. Dowdee, told 
 him how Nickels had been watching my house, 
 and that he threatened to kill me and my stock. 
 I told him to call Nickels out, but he would 
 not leave his hut. We told them we would not 
 endure such treatment any longer, and that 
 we had come to settle it right then and there, 
 and were ready to fight it out. The Dowdees 
 seemed to be peaceably inclined, and as Nickels 
 did not show himself the matter was dropped 
 for a short time. Some time after this, as I 
 was returning from AA'^ooster, where I had been 
 to enter a piece of land, I saw quite a number 
 of moccasin tracks in the snow near Hosfords. 
 I thought there would be trouble, as it ap- 
 peared from the tracks that there were about 
 thirty persons, and by the way they had tum- 
 bled about, concluded they were on a big drunk. 
 I followed the tracks from Hosford's down the 
 road leading to our cabin. They had not pro- 
 ceeded far before they left their tracks in the 
 snow somewhat besprinkled with blood. I 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 555 
 
 afterward learned that Tom Dowdee had 
 stabbed another Indian, inflicting two danger- 
 ous wounds. They were camped north of my 
 house on the land now owned by James Dun- 
 lap. The excitement among the settlers now 
 became intense, and soon a number of us re- 
 paired to their camp but we had not been there 
 long before Tom Dowdee rushed upon me and 
 grasped me by the collar perhaps intending to 
 retaliate for the visit we had made to their 
 camp a few days before. I was not slow in 
 returning the compliment by taking him by 
 the throat, and my arms being the longest, I 
 could easily hold him at bay. At this moment 
 we saw an Indian boy loading a gun. I told 
 Dowdee several times to let me alone, but he 
 still persisted in fighting me. I then attempted 
 to give him a severe thrust with my gun bar- 
 rel; he sprang and grasped the gun which the 
 boy had just loaded, when several of the 
 squaws also grasped it to prevent him from 
 shooting me. All this time I kept my rifle 
 up with a steady aim upon the Indian, ready 
 to fire before he should be able to fire at me. 
 At this crisis Joel Leverick* interfered, and 
 the Indians allowed him to take possession of 
 the gun, so the quarrel was then settled without 
 bloodshed. But what grieves me to this day is 
 that Bashford and Leverick both knew that 
 my rifle was not primed all the time and I was 
 aiming it at the Indian, and they did not tell 
 me. The next day I was out in the woods with 
 my gun, and came upon Dowdee before he dis- 
 covered me. He had no gun with him, and he 
 begged and implored me not to kill him, prom- 
 ising over and over that if I would not he 
 would never molest me, but would be my fast 
 friend as long as he lived. I gladly agreed to 
 his proposal, and to his credit be it said, I never 
 saw him after that time but that he met me 
 with the kindest greetings. 
 
 "About the same time some of the Indians 
 told Stateler, 'Nickels bad Indian; by and by 
 he go to Stony Creek; before he go he kill 
 Stateler and two Sharrocks, and we 'fraid that 
 big fight. We want white man to kill Nickels, 
 then we say Nickels gone to Stony Creek" 
 
 "We never saw Nickels after about that time, 
 but did not know at what moment he would 
 come down upon us. I often asked the Indians 
 
 * Leveridge. 
 
 whether they knew where Nickels was, and 
 they usually replied that he had gone to Stony 
 Creek. We had often seen a gun in the set- 
 tlement, first owned by one, then by another, 
 that I believed was Nickels' gun. Jake State- 
 ler often stayed with us several weeks at a time, 
 and many times when he spoke about those In- 
 dians, Jake would say, 'Nickels will never do 
 you any harm, but made no further disclo- 
 sures till a long time afterward ; when the sub- 
 ject came up, he said : 
 
 "Ben, Nickels will never hurt you nor your 
 brother." 
 
 "How do you know, Uncle Jake?" 
 
 "I know very well how I know, Uncle Ben. 
 Did you never know what became of Nickels ?" 
 
 "No, Jake, I never knew what became of 
 him any more than what the Indians told me, 
 that he had gone to Stony Creek." 
 
 "I thought my boys had told you long ago, 
 as they always thought so much of you. I will 
 then tell you what I know of what became of 
 Nickels. After he was about ready to start for 
 Stony Creek, he had only one more job to do 
 before he could leave Pipetown, and that was 
 to kill Stateler, and you and your brother, if 
 possible. No sooner had Nickels left Pipetown 
 than the Indians sent another Indian by a dif- 
 ferent route to give us notice of his coming, 
 and of his intentions, desiring us to kill him 
 and they would say he had gone to Stony 
 Creek. The messenger arrived in time and de- 
 parted. I loaded my rifle, put it in good order, 
 and went up to Coss' cabin to watch the Pipe- 
 town trail, on which I expected him to come. I 
 did not wait long before I saw him coming, and 
 stepping behind a tree, closely watched his 
 movements. After he had come within easy 
 range of my rifle, he stopped and commenced 
 looking all around, which enabled me to take 
 a steady aim at him : I fired, and he sprang sev- 
 eral feet from the ground with a terrific 
 scream and fell dead, and that was the last of 
 'Bad Indian.' We took his gun, shot-pouch, 
 tomahawk, butcher-knife, etc., and laid them 
 by a log, and buried him under the roots of a 
 large tree that had blown near the foot of the 
 blufif bank of the Whetstone, nearly opposite 
 the old Coss cabin. Now, Uncle Ben, that is 
 the reason why I know Nickels will never do 
 you or me or your brother any harm." 
 
556 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 POPULATION FROM 1850 TO 1910 184S, the population at each succeeding census 
 
 Since the present county was formed in has been as follows : 
 
 1850 i860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 
 
 Auburn 951 1,072 910 1,176 1,244 i,i74 1,161 
 
 Bucyrus 2,315 3,543 4,184 5,073 6,988 7,587 9,032 
 
 Chatfield 1,351 1,430 1,247 1,266 1,201 1,304 1,129 
 
 Cranberry 1,042 i,339 1,281 1,824 1,662 1,819 1,819 
 
 Dallas 406 406 370 500 430 465 469 
 
 Holmes 1,238 1,639 i,57o 1,660 1,423 1,500 1,233 
 
 Jackson 1,711 3,290 4,021 3,216 3,248 3,670 4,236 
 
 Jefferson ^ 1,224 1,009 9^3 802 
 
 Liberty 1,782 1,788 1,597 1,679 i,59i 1,566 1,342 
 
 Lykens 1,185 1,265 1,140 1,225 1,058 930 883 
 
 Polk 1,318 2,911 4,369 6,518 7,200 8,433 8,019 
 
 Sandusky 822 792 665 658 615 569 510 
 
 Texas 545 566 566 587 539 516 476 
 
 Tod 578 1,093 1,156 1,099 974 882 774 
 
 Vernon 1,276 1,224 980 1,038 952 926 722 
 
 Whetstone 1,657 1,524 1,490 1,840 1,793 1,661 1,429 
 
 18,177 23,881 25,556 30,583 31,927 33,915 34,036 
 
 Bucyrus 1,365 2,180 3,066 3,835 5,974 6,560 8,122 
 
 Galion 421 1,966 3,523 5,635 6,326 7,282 7,214 
 
 Crestline 1,487 2,279 2,848 2,911 3,282 3,807 
 
 New Washington 76 221 273 675 704 824 889 
 
 Tiro 293 321 
 
 Chatfield ' 52 106 198 216 326 298 270 
 
 North Robinson 157 182 257 200 155 
 
 Leesville I97 235 320 213 203 178 115 
 
 THE HERMITS of the European armies, possibly in that of 
 The Crawford County History of 1880 Napoleon Bonaparte. His language and man- 
 contains the following account of two hermits ners indicated that he was familiar with mili- 
 in Auburn township : tary tactics, and his inabilty to speak English 
 "Among the early residents of the township proved that he had not resided long in America, 
 were two singular old bachelors named Var- Although he lived in poverty and went dressed 
 nica and Wadsworth. They were hermits and in insufficient and even ragged clothing, he 
 lived lonely and solitary lives, in rude caves seemed to have an abundance of money, which 
 dug by themselves in the side of embankments, he kept hid in out-of-the-way places. He en- 
 the roof being supported by upright posts, tered a quarter-section of land, upon which he 
 standing at intervals within the caves. People resided until his death. But little money was 
 called them crazy, and the eccentricity of the found after this event, until a will was found 
 two gave abundant credence to the report, among his papers, bequeathing his land, and a 
 They shunned all associates except their faith- few hundred dollars in money, to a young man 
 ful dogs, and were never seen in the neighbor- named James W^ilson, with whom he had 
 ing settlements, unless they were there for sup- lived at the time of his death. The secret of 
 plies or to dispose of provisions. Varnica was this strange man's life was buried with him. 
 a German and could handle the glib idioms of He was always silent and melancholy, and 
 his native language with a grace and fluency seemed to have a deep-rooted sorrow preying 
 that proved his education to be of unusual ex- upon his mind, robbing it of joys that make life 
 cellence. It became current, and was univers- endurable. By the provisions of the will James 
 ally believed, that he had been an officer in one Wilson was made executor, and was enjoined 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 557 
 
 to distribute the balance of the money among 
 poor and friendless females. This provision 
 was a surprise to some, who had noticed that 
 Varnica shunned the opposite sex as he would 
 the plagues of Egy^Dt, his conduct giving rise 
 to the report that his life had been blighted by 
 a woman. The will disclosed the hiding-place 
 of $2,000 in gold, which had been concealed in 
 a gate-post, into which a hole had been bored 
 and the gold dropped in, after which the hole 
 had been closed with a pin of the same wood 
 as the post . He died in 1840, and Wilson faith- 
 fully executed the provisions of the will. 
 Wadsworth was a graduate of Yale College, 
 and had evidently fitted himself for the min- 
 isterial profession. He lived in a cave on his 
 land and, though bent almost double from un- 
 known circumstances, was possessed of enor- 
 mous strength. He carried his melons, pota- 
 toes, and other provisions, in a sack on his back 
 from house to house, or to some of the sur- 
 rounding villages. He was a recluse and 
 seemed contented only when he could brood 
 without molestation over .'his (mysterious 
 life. He had rich relatives living in Boston, 
 who occasionally visited him and tried to in- 
 duce him to abandon his life of poverty and 
 loneleiness, but to no avail. A happy smile was 
 never seen upon his sad face, and when he at 
 last died, in about 1838, his property was 
 claimed by his Eastern relatives." 
 
 James Wadsworth came to Auburn township 
 in 18 1 7, and Andrew Varnica in 181 8. Var- 
 nica died March 23, 1847, and left two execu- 
 tors, both of whom died before the estate was 
 settled. He left notes and money amounting 
 to about $4,000, and under the provisions of 
 the will his executors gave sums of money to 
 over a hundred people who were deserving and 
 needy. Both men were buried in the Hanna 
 graveyard. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL FAIRS 
 
 In 1846, a law was passed authorizing coun- 
 ties to make donations for Agricultural Fairs, 
 and in 1848 the first fair was held in Crawford 
 county. Among those who organized the first 
 society were the first officers, and Stephen 
 Kelley, Samuel Caldwell, Gen. Samuel 
 Myers, Judge R. W. Musgrave, George and 
 William Cummings, William Cox and Abel 
 Dewalt. The first officers were Col. Zal- 
 
 mon Rowse, president; Jacob Mollenkopf, 
 vice president; J. B. Larwill, secretary; An- 
 drew Failor, treasurer. The first fair was held 
 in the Court House yard, the building itself 
 being used for the domestic articles, which 
 were few. The horses and cattle were tied to 
 the fence; and there were not many of them. 
 There were some sheep and hogs, which were 
 shown in wagons in which they had been hauled 
 in; there were about five exhibits of sheep and 
 the same number of hogs. The Fair was held 
 on Oct. 19, 1848. The award of premiums 
 was published in the People's Forum, of March 
 24, 1849, five months after the fair was held. 
 In his letter asking for the publication of the 
 premiums awarded, the secretary, J. B. Larwill, 
 writes that he should have furnished the list 
 earlier but he was prevented by other engage- 
 ments. He states further : "I was confined by 
 sickness at the time of the fair, and therefore 
 cannot speak from personal observation; but 
 have understood that the fair was much more 
 numerously attended than was expected, ow- 
 ing to the bad state of the roads, the unfa- 
 vorableness of the weather, and the fact that 
 this was merely an experiment, being the first 
 held in the county; and from the fact that but 
 very little interest has heretofore been mani- 
 fested by the farmers and others in relation to 
 the affairs of the society. Those who were 
 present state that, although but few articles 
 were presented, and in several cases where pre- 
 miums were awarded there was no competition. 
 yet there was much spirit manifested by those 
 present, in reference to the importance of such 
 exhibitions and a determination to have a much 
 more interesting fair next year." 
 
 The following were the premiums awarded 
 at the first annual fair : 
 
 Horses 
 To Frederick Wadhams, for best 
 
 blooded stallion . s $500 
 
 To David Decker, for second best 
 
 blooded stallion 3.00 
 
 To David Decker, for best two year old 
 
 colt 1. 00 
 
 To Zalmon Rowse, for best blooded 
 
 mare (not brood) 3.00 
 
 To John Moderwell, for best gelding. . . 2.00 
 
 Cattle 
 To Andrew Worling, for best blooded 
 
 bull '. . 4.00 
 
558 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 To Zalmon Rowse, for best cow 
 
 To Alfred Magers, for best calf 
 
 Sheep 
 To Samuel Andrews, for best buck .... 
 To Samuel Andrews, for second best 
 
 buck 
 
 To Samuel Andrews, for best lot of 
 
 ewes 
 
 Swine 
 
 To John Moderwell, for best sow 
 
 Agricultural Implements 
 To David P. Norton, for best wind-mill 
 
 Manufactured Articles 
 To Samuel Andrews, for best flannel . . 
 To John Mollenkopf, for best thread . . 
 To John Sims, for best single harness . . 
 To William Mallory, for best sample of 
 
 butter 
 
 To William Mallory, for best sample of 
 
 cheese 
 
 Fruits 
 To J. B. Larwill, for best grapes 
 
 3.00 
 2.00 
 
 3.00 
 
 2.00 
 
 3.00 
 
 2.00 
 
 3.00 
 
 2.00 
 1. 00 
 2.00 
 
 2.00 
 
 1. 00 
 
 I. GO 
 
 Total $45.00 
 
 The Second Annual Fair was also held in 
 the Court House yard, pens being erected at 
 the east end of the Quinby Block lot for the 
 cattle. Fancy articles , are shown in the 
 court room. In the report of the fair to the 
 state board, the officers say : The best mode for 
 the culture of corn "is to plow deep and keep 
 the weeds out;" rye and barley are 35 cents 
 per bushel ; apple crop nearly a failure ; peaches 
 this year in abundance; 10,000 bushels clover- 
 seed exported; amount of timothy unknown, 
 but large ; clover seed $3 a bushel ; timothy seed 
 $1 a bushel; 150,000 pounds butter exported; 
 150,000 pounds wool exported at about 26 
 cents per pound ; many good, sheep have been 
 brought into the county, and lately Gen. S. 
 Myers purchased 10, one buck and nine ewes 
 of the "Bingham" flock lately brought from 
 Vermont; number of hogs assessed 20,922, 
 valued at $17,046, "which is about their true 
 value previous to fattening;" 12,000 to 13,000 
 head of cattle exported, value here when sold 
 about $12 to $15; "all threshing is done now 
 by machines; one or more wheat drills have 
 been introduced into the county: much more 
 improvement is wanted;" "no regular system 
 of drainage adopted; nothing more than the 
 
 ordinary modes of farming have been tried." 
 The treasurer's report of the Second Annual 
 Fair was as follows, Nov. 5, 1849: — 
 
 Amount on hand from last year $12.00 
 
 Amount received from members on 
 
 subscription 67.00 
 
 Amount received from the county 
 
 treasury 50.00 
 
 $129.00 
 By amount paid out for premiums Oct. 
 
 24, 1849 78.50 
 
 Balance remaining in treasury $50.50 
 
 Third fair was held in the Norton Grove be- 
 tween Walnut and Lane streets and north of 
 the Pennsylvania track. The fair was becom- 
 ing a success. The fair this year was adver- 
 tised as a cattle show. Pens were erected in 
 and near the grove for the stock. Tents were 
 erected on Walnut street for the exhibition of 
 the fami products, and domestic articles. The 
 fair was to be held on Oct. 17 and 18, but ow- 
 ing to bad weather it was abandoned on the 
 afternoon of the first day. The report to the 
 state showed wheat that year averaged 25 to 
 30 bushels to the acre; corn averaged 30 to 35, 
 and sold at 20 to 25 cents ; barley and rye sold 
 at 35 to 40 cents per bushel; oats crop a fail- 
 ure, and price 20 to 25 cents a bushel; tim- 
 othy and clover, the crop short and sold at $4 
 to $5 per ton ; large yield of apples and peaches 
 a failure; 200,000 pounds of butter exported; 
 an increase in wool, and a better quality, at 28 
 to 29 cents for common, and 30 to 33 cents for 
 fine; cattle $10 to $35 per head, and large 
 amounts sold to drovers. "There is a steady 
 improvement in the quantity and number of 
 farming implements used. Some wheat drills 
 are in use, also mowing machines; how they 
 answer the purpose is not known as yet." 
 
 The following is the report of Treasurer 
 Myers of the third annual fair : 
 Dec. 2, 1850 — 
 
 On hand from last year $ 50.50 
 
 Received from members on subscrip- 
 tion 58.00 
 
 Received from the county treasury . . 50.00 
 
 Amount paid for premiums, 
 
 Oct. 7, 1850 $54.50 $158.50 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 559 
 
 Amount paid for cultivator 
 for award premium 12.75 
 
 67.25 
 
 Balance in treasury $ 91.25 
 
 On Jan. 4, 1851, the board of managers 
 met at Bucyrus to arrange for the fourth 
 annual fair. The board was Judge R. W. 
 Musgrave, president; Zalmon Rowse, vice 
 president; Andrew Failor, secretary; Gen. 
 Samuel Myers, treasurer; Isaac Rice, Jacob 
 Mollenkopf, William Robinson, Samuel S. 
 Caldwell, John Campbell. The board decided 
 to hold the next fair at Bucyrus provided the 
 citizens would raise $40. The money was 
 raised, and to secure the future fairs at Bucy- 
 rus, grounds were secured at the southwest 
 corner of Kaler avenue and Wise streets. The 
 grounds six to eight acres, were furnished rent 
 free by Henry Minich, but the society were 
 to put a fence around them. There were not 
 sufficient funds to build the fence the first 
 year, but later the entire fence was completed. 
 In front on Kaler avenue was the ring, for 
 the exhibition of stock. At the rear of the ring 
 were the domestic and floral halls, the former 
 being open on the sides, the clapboard roof 
 being supported by poles; the floral hall, con- 
 taining more delicate exhibits, was made of 
 rough boards, and had a canvas which was 
 taken off at the close of the fair and laid 
 carefully away until the next year. Back of 
 the halls was a grove. The track was enlarged 
 to a third of a mile in 1857, and was inclosed 
 during the fair with a rope fence, which was 
 taken down after the fair. In 1859 a third day 
 was added to give opportunity for the races. 
 The last fair was held in 1861, and the next 
 year all arrangements were made for a fair, 
 but about June it was abandoned on account 
 of the war. 
 
 At the fair in 1853, one of the curiosities 
 was a pumpkin vine exhibited by Jacob Mollen- 
 kopf. The vine contained nine pumpkins, 
 and they were exhibited all attached to the 
 vine, just as they had grown. The largest 
 pumpkins weighed no, 92, and 92 pounds. 
 The smallest weighed 48 pounds; the total 
 weight of the nine pumpkins on the one vine 
 was 595 pounds. 
 
 In 1867, D. C. Boyer, Josiah Kohler, Barber 
 Robinson, James Robinson, C. S. Crim, Wil- 
 
 liam Cox, Adam Klink, John Brehman, E. R. 
 Kearsley, James Orr, H. J. Thompson and 
 Luther Myers organized the Crawford County 
 Agricultural Association with a capital stock 
 of $7,000, and they bought nineteen acres of 
 land, on the Gallon Road, east of where the T. 
 & O. C. track now is ; this was added to later, 
 until it contained nearly 33 acres. A half mile 
 track was built, and two halls erected with 
 pens for the stock; on the west side of the 
 ground was a grove of about three acres. The 
 total cost of the ground and buildings was 
 about $13,000, and here the first fair was held 
 in October, 1867. It was not a profitable in- 
 vestment, the stock varying from fifty to sev- 
 enty cents on the dollar, and in 1882 the county 
 took charge of the fair. 
 
 At these grounds fairs were held annually, 
 the last being in 191 1. A part of the land was 
 needed by the T. & O. C. road, so a company 
 of citizens organized and bought the Fair 
 Grounds for a thousand dollars an acre, the T. 
 & O. C. being given the nine acres they needed 
 at about $400 an acre, and the balance laid out 
 as an addition to Bucyrus. The Agricultural 
 Society purchased of Edward Yaussey, 70 
 acres east of the old grounds for $17,500, 
 which were laid out, the buildings moved, a 
 new track built, and the first fair held in Sep- 
 tember, 19 12. 
 
 The early officers of the Agricultural So- 
 ciety and the dates holding the fair were as 
 follows : 
 
 1848, October 19 — Zalmon Rowse, presi- 
 dent, Jacob Mollenkoff, vice president, J. B. 
 Larwill, secretary, Andrew Failor, treasurer. 
 
 1849, October 24 — Abraham Monnett, presi- 
 dent, Jacob Mollenkoff, vice president, J. B. 
 Larwill, secretary, Samuel Myers, treasurer. 
 
 1850, October 17, 18 — Abraham Monnett, 
 president, Jacob Mollenkoff, vice president, J. 
 B. Larwill, secretary, Samuel Myers, treasurer. 
 
 185 1, October 23, 24 — R. W. Musgrave, 
 president, Zalmon Rowse, vice president, An- 
 drew Failor, secretary, Samuel Myers, treas- 
 urer. 
 
 1852, October 14, 15 — R. W. Musgrave, 
 president, Samuel S. Caldwell, vice president, 
 Andrew Failor, secretary, Samuel Myers, 
 treasurer. 
 
 1853, October 13, 14 — R. W. Musgrave, 
 
560 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 president, S. S. Caldwell, vice president, An- 
 drew! Failor, secretary, Samuel Myers, treas- 
 urer. 
 
 1854, October 13, 14 — Samuel S. Caldwell, 
 president, Samuel Myers, vice president, P. S. 
 Marshall, secretary, H. Failor, treasurer. 
 
 1855, October 11, 12 — Samuel S. Caldwell, 
 president, James Lewis, vice president, H. 
 Failor, secretary, Henry Minich, treasurer. 
 
 1856, October 16, 17 — Samuel Myers, presi- 
 dent, James Lewis, vice president, Pinckney 
 Lewis, secretary, P. S. Marshall, treasurer. 
 
 1857, October 15, 16 — Samuel S. Caldwell, 
 president, Henry Minich, vice president, B. M. 
 Failor, secretary, F. W. Butterfield, treasurer. 
 
 1858, September 29, 30 — Samuel S. Cald- 
 well, president^ Henry Minich, vice president, 
 H. M. Locke, secretary, F. W. Butterfield, 
 treasurer. 
 
 1859, October 12, 13, 14 — C. K. Ward, 
 president, James Lewis, vice president, Pinck- 
 ney Lewis, secretary, George Quinby, treas- 
 urer. 
 
 i860, October 3, 4, 5 — C. K. Ward, presi- 
 dent, James Lewis, vice president, Pinckney 
 Lewis, secretary, George Quinby, treasurer. 
 
 1 86 1, September 18, 19, 20 — Samuel Myers, 
 president, D. C. Boyer, vice president, John 
 Hopley, secretary, George Quinby, treasurer. 
 
 Same officers were elected but fair discon- 
 tinued; in 1867 met and organized. 
 
 1867, October 15, 16, 17, 18 — D. C. Boyer, 
 president, Josiah Kohler, vice president, C. El- 
 liott, secretary, J. B. Gormly, treasurer. 
 
 1868, October 6, 7, 8, 9 — ^Josiah Kohler, 
 president, John Monnett, vice president, John 
 R. Clymer, secretary, ' J. B. Gormly, treas- 
 urer. 
 
 1869, September 28, 29, 30, October i, 2 — 
 Josiah Kohler, president, John Monnett, vice 
 president, George Keller, secretary, J. B. 
 Gormly, treasurer. 
 
 1870, October 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 — ^Josiah Kohler, 
 president, James Orr, vice president, George 
 Keller, secretary, J. B. Gormly, treasurer. 
 
 1871, October 3, 4, 5, 6— Josiah Kohler, 
 president, G. H. Wright, vice president, George 
 Keller, secretary, J. B. Gormly, treasurer. 
 
 1872, September 17, 18, 19, 20, 21— James 
 Orr, president, E. B. Monnett, vice president ; 
 George Keller, secretary, J. B. Gormly treas- 
 urer. 
 
 THE CANAL CRAWFORD DID NOT GET 
 
 In 1818, the subject of a canal came up in 
 Ohio, and the Legislature incorporated the 
 Little Miami Canal and Banking Company. 
 Other canal companies desired to incorporate, 
 and in 1821 Gov. Brown in a message to the 
 Legislature said the state ought to build and 
 own the canals. In 1822 .Thomas Worthing- 
 ton, Benjamin Tappan, Jeremiah Morrow, 
 Isaac Minor and Alfred Kelley were appointed 
 a commission to report on a route. One of 
 the routes surveyed was through Crawford 
 county, following along the Sandusky and the 
 Scioto. In regard to this route Col. Kilbourne 
 published the following article in the Columbus 
 Gazette on Jan. 23, 1823: 
 
 "The summit of level of these rivers is as- 
 certained to be (354) three hundred and fifty- 
 four feet above the level of Lake Erie, and 
 (455) four hundred and fifty-five feet above 
 low water marks in the Ohio river at Ports- 
 mouth. 
 
 "The engineer represents that the main 
 branch of the Great Miami with several other 
 durable streams which fall into it may be 
 brought by a short feeder to the Scioto at 
 Round Head's town. He states that it is prob- 
 able that the feeder from the Sandusky will not 
 exceed six or eight miles in length, and that 
 from the sources already mentioned, including 
 the two branches of the Whetstone and others 
 which may be obtained, it is highly probable 
 that there will be an ample sufficiency for the 
 summit pond of this canal. The engineer states 
 that the Sandusky and Scioto valleys may be 
 pronounced favorable for the conducting of a 
 canal along them when compared with the val- 
 leys of most other rivers, and very favorable 
 when compared with the Mohawk in the state 
 of New York. The particular advantages 
 possessed by said valleys is the facility with 
 which the canal (in most places), may be led 
 along on a level altogether above the alluvial 
 bottoms of the margin of the rivers, entirely 
 secure from floods, so menacing to canal 
 works. The total absence of lateral rivers is 
 an advantage on this route worthy of note. 
 The Big Belly, Little Walnut and Salt Creeks 
 being the most formidable, each of which 
 drains, comparatively, but a small tract of 
 country." 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 561 
 
 The Colonel was fighting and working for 
 this route, and at the same time was running 
 for Congress, and his opponents propounded 
 the inquiry as to whether, if he could not secure 
 the Sandusky-Scioto canal, he would support 
 one of the other routes. The Colonel's reply 
 was that he was in favor of a canal, but "it 
 was not good judgment to tell your opponents 
 you might later support them." He was elected 
 to Congress, but the Legislature decided on 
 two canals, one in the eastern part of the 
 state, along the Cuyahoga and the Muskingum, 
 with a branch to Columbus; the other in the 
 western part from what is now Toledo to 
 Cincinnati. Kilbourne promptly published a 
 four-column protest in the Columbus Gazette, 
 showing the Sandusky and Scioto route was 
 the cheapest and best, and followed it up with 
 several more articles, but the matter was set- 
 tled, and in 1825, Gov. DeWitt Clinton, of 
 New York came to Ohio, and dug the first 
 spade full of earth. ■ 
 
 It appears Col. Kilbourne never gave up his 
 idea of a central canal, until after the building 
 of railroads commenced and the demand for 
 canals ceased. 
 
 In 1839, he was in Bucyrus consulting the 
 engineer, who was looking over this route, 
 and on his return inclosed the following letter 
 to Samuel Norton, to be handed to the engi- 
 neer. In his letter to Norton he says : "En- 
 closed you will find the ten dollars I borrowed 
 of you, for which accommodation please accept 
 my thanks. My hand is still giving me trou- 
 ble, no better than when I left you, if so well. 
 Please hand the last half sheet of this letter 
 to Major Norton at first opportunity. If he 
 has left you for headquarters when this comes 
 to hand, please send it to him by special car- 
 rier. It is of importance that he should have 
 it immediately." 
 
 The following is the letter : 
 "An idea has occurred to me since we parted 
 which may be of some value. I hasten to 
 communicate. 
 
 "I have remarked to you already that 
 Brokensword Creek, of itself, is of no value 
 as a feeder to the summit, for in the time when 
 foreign supplies are necessary, it has but lit- 
 tle of running water. Its value is therefore 
 mainly or wholly as a conduit from the res- 
 ervoir in Cranberry marsh; and it is only a 
 
 few miles that it could be so used; and would 
 fall in below the regulating reservoir on the 
 Sandusky, crossing the valley of Grassey Run, 
 and a branch of Brokensword above that run, 
 where those waters are deep. Therefore, for 
 the thought on the subject, has presented this 
 view, viz. : That you take the water from the 
 reservoir in Cranberry marsh, by the shortest 
 outlet, at Mr. Borland's, to Brokensword, and 
 immediately crossing the valley of that creek, 
 keep as high a level as practicable, on the left 
 of the creek, descending, so as to discharge the 
 water into the regulating reservoir at the sum- 
 mit level. In doing this you will have no 
 deep cuttings or large embankments in con- 
 structing the feeder, but nearly a regular plain 
 all the way. The more I have considered this 
 improvement in the plan, the better it appears, 
 and I have now no doubt of its superior ad- 
 vantages in every point of view." 
 
 The building of railroads put an end to 
 canals and the one through Crawford county 
 was abandoned. 
 
 THE CHOLERA 
 
 In August of 1852, cholera broke out in 
 Bucyrus. It was at that time raging at San- 
 dusky City, where the death rate reached as 
 high as sixteen a day for several days. On 
 Saturday, Aug. 20, a German woman arrived 
 and went to the home of friends on East Rens- 
 selaer street. The next evening she died sud- 
 denly and the attending physician pronounced 
 it cholera. An investigation of the case 
 showed she had arrived the day before from 
 Sandusky City. The physicians hurredly took 
 the matter into consideration and differed as 
 to the cause of her death, but the majority pro- 
 nounced it cholera. No special alarm was 
 felt by the citizens. But in the next day or 
 two several similar cases were reported in the 
 same neighborhood; on Thursday, Aug. 26th, 
 Margaret, the daughter of E. F. Sheckler, 
 aged 18 months, died. And two days later, 
 Mary, the daughter of Abraham and Ann Kel- 
 ler, aged 14 years, made the third death. Fol- 
 lowing these within the next two days, were the 
 deaths of Elizabeth Sheckler, wife of E. F. 
 Sheckler ; Isaac Didie, a young man of twenty, 
 and on Sept. i, Abraham Rever and Abraham 
 Keller, the German reformed minister, and 
 there were several other cases in that neighbor- 
 
562 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 hood. For the past few days the physicians 
 and the authorities had taken the most active 
 measures in purifying the city. The infected 
 district was closely guarded and the cholera 
 was confined exclusively to that section. There 
 were several other deaths, but the disease was 
 finally brought under control. But it was by 
 far the most severe epidemic ever in Bucyrus. 
 
 EARLY VALUATION AND EXPENSES 
 
 In 1830 the valuation of the property in 
 Crawford county. In Bucyrus, $5,518 were 
 the values of the lots in that village ; $753 were 
 values of lots in Holmes township, and $6y 
 in Antrim township. The last five townships 
 in 1 845. became a part of Wyandot county. 
 
 Townships 
 
 Acres Tax. 
 
 Value 
 
 Pers'l Prop 
 
 'y Total 
 
 Bucyrus . . 
 
 ■ • ■ 7,913 
 
 $17,637 
 
 $11,841 
 
 $29,478 
 
 Holmes . . . 
 
 2,066 
 
 3,980 
 
 1,124 
 
 5,104 
 
 Liberty . . . 
 
 ... 7,017 
 
 10,455 
 
 4,872 
 
 15,327 
 
 Whetstone 
 
 . . . . 7,897 
 
 11,283 
 
 9,896 
 
 21,179 
 
 Cranberry , 
 
 ■ •■■ 1,513 
 
 i,8iS 
 
 1,000 
 
 2,8is 
 
 Sandusky 
 
 . . . . 12,091 
 
 13,751 
 
 6,280 
 
 20,031 
 
 Chatfield . 
 
 
 
 288 
 
 288 
 
 Sycamore 
 
 . . . . 6,250 
 
 9,312 
 
 3,152 
 
 12,464 
 
 Tymochtee 
 
 ■ • 8,729 
 
 15,386 
 
 12,096 
 
 27,482 
 
 Crawford 
 
 • . ■ ■ 5,509 
 
 6,309 
 
 3,584 
 
 9,893 
 
 Pitt 
 
 . ... 2.1 '^6 
 
 •?.^02 
 
 AJAA 
 
 7.=; 16 
 
 Antrim . . . 
 
 ■ ■ • 1,556 
 . . . 62,697 
 
 2,156 
 
 1,744 
 
 3„900 
 
 Totals . . . . 
 
 $95,476 
 
 $60,021 
 
 $155,497 
 
 Here is the commissioners' report for the 
 year ending June 4, 1834, showing what they 
 paid out to run the county : 
 
 Paid for wolf scalps $ 18.00 
 
 James L. Harper, commissioner . . 28.00 
 
 Isaac Sweeney, commissioner 24.00 
 
 Daniel Williams, commissioner . . . 22.00 
 
 William Earley, commissioner ... . 6.00 
 
 Isaac Robertson, associate judge . . 17-59 
 
 Abel Carey, associate judge i5-00 
 
 George Poe, associate judge 15 00 
 
 Josiah Scott, prosecuting attorney . 32.50 
 
 Zalmon Rowse, clerk, his salary . . 57-50 
 
 Location of county roads 79-75 
 
 Location of State roads 23.00 
 
 Justices, constables and witnesses in 
 
 criminal cases 69.20 
 
 For blank books 5.62 
 
 Constables attending court 13-25 
 
 Grand and petit jurors 208.70 
 
 Judges and clerks of elections 96.44 
 
 Nicholas Cronbaugh, making win- 
 dow shutters for court house. . . . 12.59 
 
 John Caldwell, William Early and 
 others, superintending appropria- 
 tions of 3 per cent bond 25.00 
 
 Tax, improperly charged 11.07 
 
 Interest on county orders ^39-7^ 
 
 Zalmon Rowse, for copying old deed 
 
 records 250.00 
 
 John Tingler, assessor 67.50 
 
 Peter Hesser, Sr., and Peter Hesser, 
 Jr., for keeping Andrew Hesser, a 
 
 county pauper 39-oo 
 
 Furniture for auditor's office iS-oo 
 
 Meeker & Rowse, for stoves for 
 
 clerk's and auditor's offices . . . 28.00 
 T. T. Sweney, expenses to Cincin- 
 nati, procuring field notes 18.75 
 
 Joseph Paske, for medicines and 
 
 attendance on Andrew Hesser . . 4.81 
 
 Fuel 10.50 
 
 One copy of the Revised Statutes 
 
 of Ohio 6.00 
 
 Z. Rowse, opening poll books of elec- 
 tions, making abstracts of votes, 
 
 &c 8.80 
 
 Sheriff, for boarding criminals, 
 
 guarding and repairing jail 23.27 
 
 Sheriff, summoning jury and adver- 
 tising elections, stationery 8.43 
 
 J. Turnbull for blank deed book ... 10.12 
 John Caldwell, county auditor .... 247.50 
 Abraham Myers, damages by locating 
 
 State road 50.00 
 
 Bowen and Smith special fees as 
 
 prosecuting attorneys 7 27.00 
 
 William Crosby, printing 48.50 
 
 Total amount expended for 
 
 county purposes $1,853.12 
 
 EARLY MARRIAGE LICENSES 
 
 Searching among the old records in adjoin- 
 ing counties before Crawford was organized 
 in 1826, a number of marriage licenses were 
 discovered, where the names indicate that one 
 or both of the parties were residents of Craw- 
 ford county. The following were found in 
 Huron county: 
 
 March 3, 18 19 — Mathias Cummins and 
 Mary Morgan. Wm. Ritchey, J. P. 
 
 May I, 1820 — Arabel C. Caldwell and Lu- 
 cinda Cummins, married at Bloomingville, 
 Samuel B. Caldwell, J. P. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 563 
 
 Oct. 21, 1 82 1 — Elijah Sanderson and Soph- Feb. 26, 1825 — Geo. Garrett and Nancy 
 
 ronia Blair. Josiah Traverse, J. P. Walker. 
 
 April 20, 1822 — Elijah Collins and Esther March 9, 1825 — Antony Comines and Rachel 
 
 Kellogg, Alvan Cox, minister. Rodgers. 
 
 June 27, 1822— James Kellogg and Nancy March 10, 1825— Asa Howard and Polly 
 
 Wood, Thomas Stevens, J. P. Garver. 
 
 Here are two from Delaware County : March 11, 182;— John Cory and Peggy Mc- 
 
 1822— Auer Umberfield and — intyre. ' ^ •> ^ ^^^ 
 
 ^'^?*' o -n, •, 1 ^,1, ,0 , March 11, 1825 — Abraham Brown and 
 
 Sept. — , 1822-Philander Odell and Sarah ^^^^-^^ ^^^^ 
 
 ^^S^^- r ,^ . . March 25, 1825— Isaac Fickle and Eliza 
 
 Here are some from Marion county : Tinton 
 
 May 7, 1824-Seldon Feldon and Lydia J^^^^j^ ^^ 1825-Joseph Winslow and 
 
 Ketchum. p, . Smth -^ •> t- 
 
 W^dl '^' '^^4-Joshua Bearss and Susannah ^J^^ ^^^ ;825-Joseph Harper and Mary 
 
 ^^ May 16, 1824-David Allen and Polly Haz- ^°PP'^f °^^- ,825-Hugh McCracken and 
 
 ^ June 7, 1824— Alanson Pack and Nancy ^^''^^ Moore. 
 
 Pickle. April 5, 1825 — Joseph McComb and Re- 
 June 13, 1824— James Stewart and Elizabeth becca Kimball. 
 
 Steen. April 5, 1825 — Joseph Whitherd and Clar- 
 
 Sept. 4, 1824 — Geo. M. Fickle and Margaret inda Beadle. 
 
 Beckley. April 9, 1825 — Jacob Shafer and Mary Ann 
 
 Sept. 7, 1824 — Joseph Stewart and Jane Smith. 
 
 Steen. April 9, 1825 — Dexter Baker and Sarah 
 
 Sept. — , 1824 — Peter Long and Hiley Dar- Kimball. 
 
 ls"d- April 25, 1825 — Joel Lee and Jane Parker. 
 
 Dec 16 1824-Henry Miller and Magda- ^ jj ^g ,825-Eli Odell and Asenath 
 
 lenaWolf. Parcher 
 
 Dec. 28, 1824 — Zachariah Barrett and Han- - , .,' „ ^, . ^ , , , „,. 
 
 u T) y „ ■ April 29, 1825 — Phineas Packard and Eliza- 
 Dec. 28, 1824— Isaac Longwell and Sarah ^eth Fickle. 
 Winslow J""^ 7' ^^^5 — ^^°- Pi^P^"" ^"d Laura Glea- 
 
 Dec. 29, 1824 — Robert Rice and Eliza Ann son. 
 
 Caldwell. June 22, 1825 — James Hughey and Ann 
 
 Dec. 29, 1824 — Joseph Leonard and Nancy Maria Drake. 
 
 Longwell. Aug. 8, 1825 — Elihu Dowd and Polly 
 
 Jan. 5, 1825 — George W. Baker and Louisa Ketcham. 
 
 Davis. Sept. 3, 1825 — Dowd Kellogg and Amelia 
 
 Jan. 10, 1825 — Chas. Merriman and Susan Eaton. 
 
 Carey. Sept. 14, 1825 — Horace Pratt and Esther 
 
 Jan. 10, 1825 — Joseph Pierce and Mary g^gyin. 
 
 Carey. ttj 1 j td Oct. is, 182=5 — Samuel Wilkins and 
 
 Jan. 16, 1825— Andrew Ridgeley and Re- ^clntyre. 
 
 ^Tan.^S°"825-Simon Smith and Louisa ^, O^t. 24, 1825-Samuel Holmes and Eliza 
 
 ^.■' ^' -^ W. Conklin. 
 
 Jan 30 1825— Benjamin Meeker and Susan Nov. i, 1825— Samuel Hazlett and Zella 
 
 Smith. ' Spurgeon. 
 
 Feb. 5, 1825 — Israel Clark and Laura Nov. 28, 1825 — Isaac H. Fickle and Nancy 
 
 Bearss. ' Young. 
 
564 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Nov. 20, 1825 — Abraham Synus and Su- 
 sanna Bair. 
 
 Nov. 29, 1825 — David Tipton and Sally 
 Kent. 
 
 Dec. 19, 1825 — John Walters and Lilian 
 Ridgley. 
 
 Dec. 29, 1825 — ^James Dor land and Eunice 
 Dowd. 
 
 Here are some from Richland county; it 
 should be remembered that up to 1845 the four 
 eastern miles of the present Crawford county 
 was in Richland county : 
 
 Feb. 27, 1823 — ^Josiah M. Dove and Mary 
 Ann Green. Levi Shepherd, J. P. 
 
 April 10, 1823 — Charles Gardiner and Lucy 
 Ammersman. Timothy Taylor, J. P. 
 
 Oct. 5, 1823 — Jacob Baker and Polly De- 
 Witt. Ransom B. Ellsworth, J. P. 
 
 Aug. 19, 1824 — Simmons Palmer and 
 Jamima Palmer. Rundel Palmer, J. P. 
 
 Oct. 31, 1824 — Charles Myers and Hulda M. 
 Kellogg. James Mclntyre, M. E. 
 
 Jan. 19, 1825 — Daniel Higgins and Hannah 
 Corey. John Rigdon, M. G.* 
 
 Nov. 16, 1826— -Nicholas Chilcoat and Eliz- 
 abeth Inscho. Caleb Palmer, J. P. 
 
 Oct. 2, 1826 — Richard Gardner and Maria 
 Lawrence. Zebediah Morse, J. P. 
 
 July 13, 1826 — ^Jacob Simson and Margaret 
 Chilcoat. Christian Culp, J. P. 
 
 March 8, 1827 — Theodore Baker and Al- 
 mira Morse. Zebediah Morse, J. P. 
 
 Sept. 21, 1827 — Silas S. Green and Betsy 
 How. M. G. Shellhouse, J. P. 
 
 Nov. 19, 1827 — George Wheeler and Eliza 
 Kellogg. Martin G. Shellhouse, J. P. 
 
 Oct. 17, 1827 — Joseph Darling and Eliza- 
 beth A. Edwards. Enoch Conger, M. G. 
 
 Dec. 27, 1827 — George Kellogg and Lydia 
 Isham. E. Andrews, J. P. 
 
 Jan. 6, 1828 — Asher Cole and Narcissa 
 Lawrence. John Beach, M. G. 
 
 The following is taken from the Richland 
 county records : 
 
 "This is to certify that John Steward and 
 Polly Carter, both of Upper Sandusky, were 
 joined together in holy matrimony, Dec. 25, 
 1818, by me. 
 
 Henry Georg, Baptist Minister." 
 
 This is probably John Stewart, the colored 
 missionary, who preached the first Protestant 
 
 * M. G.— Minister of the Gospel. 
 
 sermon in this section in 181 6, four years be- 
 fore the county was formed. James Finley in 
 his history of the Wyandot mission places the 
 marriage in 1820. 
 
 In Crawford county the records were all 
 destroyed by fire some time the latter part of 
 1 83 1, some time in October; but four returns 
 were made of licenses that were issued before 
 the fire and these are pinned on the fly leaf of 
 the record book. These four licenses are : 
 
 June 12, 1831 — Rufus L. Blowers and 
 Susan Smith. 
 
 Sept. 25, 183 1 — Daniel Bair and Sarah 
 Jewell. 
 
 Oct. 9, 1 83 1 — Peter Eby and Rebecca Guis- 
 inger. 
 
 Nov. 14, 1 83 1 — David Shay and Sarah M. 
 Warden. 
 
 Then comes the marriage record of Craw- 
 ford county, Ohio, since October nth, 1831. 
 At this time Zalmon Rowse was clerk and 
 Willis Merriman Deputy. The licenses were 
 issued in the following order; with date of 
 marriage, when returns were made : 
 
 1. Oct. 17 — George Reid and Mary Ann 
 Foster, October 18. 
 
 2. Oct. 19 — John Cline and Rachael Casto, 
 Oct. 20. 
 
 3. Oct. 27 — Samuel Whetstone and Eliza- 
 beth Patterson, Nov. 3. 
 
 4. Nov. I — John Stuckman and Betsey 
 Slichg, Nov. 3. 
 
 5. Nov. 7 — David Gibson and Harriet 
 White, Nov. 8. 
 
 6. Nov. 15 — Chester Smally and Esther 
 Scott, Nov. 16. 
 
 7. Nov. 19 — John Ragon and Sarah Curtis, 
 No return. 
 
 8. Nov. 19 — David Sockrider and Sarah 
 Hodge, No return. 
 
 9. Dec. 7 — John Noacre and Sarah Yaw- 
 key, Dec. 8. 
 
 10. Dec. 15 — Alexander Johnson and Polly 
 Adams, Dec. 15. 
 
 11. Dec. 31 — Horace Smalley and Hannah 
 Chandler, Jan. 5. 
 
 In 1832 the following were issued: 
 
 12. Jan. 12 — ^Jacob Foy, Jr., and Mercy 
 Lupton, Jan. 26. 
 
 13. Nov. 25 — Joseph M. Hill and Fanny 
 Chatfield, Dec. i, 1831. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 565 
 
 14. Jan. 27 — John Perka and Elizabeth 
 Whetstone, Jan. 27. 
 
 15. Feb. 9 — John Erret and Nancy Berlene, 
 Feb. 14. 
 
 16. Feb. 10 — Samuel O. Brundage and Ann- 
 geline Lish, Feb. 12. 
 
 17. Feb. 24 — Thomas Hitchcock and Na- 
 omey Corey, March i. 
 
 18. Feb. 27 — Benjamin Clemmens and 
 Susan Stuckman, March i. 
 
 19. Feb. 28 — Wm. Henry and Jane Morgan, 
 Feb. 28. 
 
 20. March 6 — Peter Whetstone and Mary 
 Stinebaugh, March 6. 
 
 21. March 9 — David R. King and Sarah B. 
 Sweet, March 9. 
 
 22. March 15 — Jacob Flemming and Kit- 
 tery Hesser. 
 
 23. March 19 — Daniel Wright and Eliza 
 Gibson. i 
 
 24. April 15 — William Wallace and Ellen 
 Davis. 
 
 25. April 12 — Michael Petterman and Sarah 
 Ridgley. 
 
 26. April 24 — Samuel Ducher and Catherine 
 Duddleston. 
 
 27. May 3 — ^Joshua Chilcote and Mary Mix. 
 
 41. Sept. 30 — Adam Shoemaker and Cath- 
 arine Staffer. 
 
 42. Sept. 18 — Anthony Walters and Eliz- 
 abeth Henry. 
 
 43. Sept. 23 — Thomas S. Anderson and 
 Eliza Ritchey. 
 
 44. Oct. II — Thomas Conley and Sarah 
 S^warts. 
 
 45. Oct. 4 — John Snyder and Mary Aubert- 
 son. 
 
 46. Oct. 7 — Joseph Rockwell and Rachael 
 Gumer. 
 
 47. Oct. 9 — Silas Armstrong and Sarah 
 Preston. 
 
 48. Oct. 13 — David Thomas and Jane 
 Farmer. 
 
 49. Oct. 25 — Wm. Davis and Lucy Bray- 
 ton. 
 
 50. Oct. 18 — Daniel Williams and Jerusha 
 Switzer. 
 
 51. Oct. 21 — Daniel Albright and Judith 
 Lashley. 
 
 52. Oct. 23 — Wm. Magers and Mary An- 
 drews. 
 
 53. Oct. 20 — Archibold Flora and Sarah 
 Kroft. 
 
 54. Nov. 8 — Thomas Miller and Betsey 
 
 28. May 12— Wm. Sproat and Elizabeth Mariah Miner. 
 Cooper. 55- Nov. 6 — Stephen Dukeman and Mar- 
 
 29. May 8— Samuel Shaffner and Frances S^^^^ Deeds, 
 
 Shultz. 
 
 30. June 6 — James Gibson and Emmiline 
 Dunn. 
 
 31. June 14 — Martin Shaffner and Susan 
 Aurandt. 
 
 32. July 2 — ^Jacob Yost and Julia Crosby. 
 
 33. July 9 — Charles Edward Van Voorhis 
 and Susan Jones. 
 
 34. July ,12 — Joseph Rush and Phoebe 
 Casto. 
 
 35. July 26 — Amos Garton and Nancy Bib- 
 ler. 
 
 36. Aug. 6 — Sebastian Lay and Magdalene 
 Benton. 
 
 37. Aug. II — Edward Porter and Rachael 
 Schupp. 
 
 38. Sept. 17 — Michael Fishel and Anna 
 Hammond. 
 
 56. Nov. 15 — Daniel Wright and Elizabeth 
 Woolsey. 
 
 57. Nov. 18 — Gabriel Langdon and Eliza 
 Bovee. 
 
 58. Nov. 22 — John S. Crandall and Eliza- 
 beth Bibler. 
 
 59. Nov. 21 — Wm. Sinclair and Laura 
 Barney. 
 
 60. Nov. 25 — Frederick Green and Rakina 
 Moyer. 
 
 61. Dec. 4 — ^James McCracken and Ruth 
 Marquis. 
 
 62. Dec. 6 — Jacob Beck and Mary Berlene. 
 
 63. Dec. 4 — Hugh Long and Sarah Hinkle. 
 
 64. Dec. 9 — ^John Schultz and Mary Mc- 
 Michael. 
 
 65. Dec. 9 — John Duncan and Mary Mc- 
 Michael. 
 
 66. Dec. 20 — Benjamin VanPloet and 
 
 39. Aug. 30 — Daniel Ball and Katharine Sarah Ann Champion. 
 Ziegeler. 67. Dec. 19 — William Bevington and Sarah 
 
 40. Sept. 6 — Geo. Reed and Catherine Bash. Jane Wolsey. 
 
566 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 68. Dec. 25 — Daniel Metcalf and Lena 
 Stauffer. 
 
 From the time of the commencement 
 of the marriage record on October 17, 1831, 
 until Jan. i, 1832, there were 12 licenses is- 
 sued. During the year 1832 there were 56 
 issued. In 1833 there were 80 issued. In 
 1834 there were 72. In 1835 there were 95. 
 In 1836 there were 117. In 1837 there were 
 103. In 1838 there were 104. In 1839 there 
 were 135 and in 1840 there were 102. 
 
 THE NAME OF BUCYRUS 
 
 For over half a century the name Bucyrus 
 has been the subject of much research and 
 earnest, honest endeavor to discover why it 
 was so named. In the History of Crawford 
 county of 1880 the historian of Bucyrus, 
 Thomas P. Hopley, goes into the matter very 
 fully, as follows: 
 
 "The new town was christened Bucyrus 
 by Col. Kilbourne. There has been much spec- 
 ulation in regard to the origin of the word, 
 and many persons have wondered why the 
 town received this name. The word is so 
 classical in sound that it is not surprising its 
 meaning should not be universally understood 
 unless its true origin is known. Doubtless 
 many a classical scholar has examined his 
 Latin dictionary and Greek lexicon to obtain a 
 satisfactory derivation of the word, and dur- 
 ing the past sixty years many plausible theories 
 have been advanced. An examination of the 
 original contract between Messrs. Norton and 
 Kilbourne will prove that the town was named 
 Bucyrus betwen the time the agreement was 
 made (Oct. 4, 1821) and the date it was first 
 altered, (Dec. 15, 1821); it also proves that 
 the name of the town was spelled in the first 
 legal papers of the village, as at the present 
 time. Of all the theories advanced in regard 
 to the origin of this word Bucyrus, only two 
 refer to. Col. Kilbourne as authority, and, as it 
 is beyond a doubt that this gentleman created 
 and then adopted this name, these theories 
 are both given. It is claimed by both author- 
 ities that Kilbourne desired to have a name 
 for this town different from that of any burg 
 ever inhabited by man since the world was 
 created. He succeeded. The daughters of 
 Samuel Norton, the original proprietor of the 
 land, assert that one of Col. Kilbourne's fav- 
 
 orite historical characters was *Cyrus, the Per- 
 sian general, who conquered the city of Baby- 
 lon, and the town was named by the Colonel 
 in honor of this distinguished soldier. The 
 country in the vicinity of this town was very 
 beautiful at an early day, and the name Cyrus 
 being rather short, (possibly too much so to suit 
 the metre of his early songs), Kilbourne pre- 
 fixed to the celebrated Persian's name the 
 syllable "bu", the sound of the first part of 
 the word beautiful, and the old surveyor de- 
 clared the name should always mean "beautiful 
 Cyrus." This theory is a very plausible one, 
 and will be satisfactory to many citizens whose 
 knowledge of the classics is even more limited 
 than some who have prepared historical 
 sketches for this work. But there are those 
 who solemnly assert that a classical scholar 
 would smile at the formation of a word in 
 this manner; these persons declare that, as 
 Col. Kilbourne was a very highly educated 
 man, he would never attempt to coin a word 
 in defiance of the rules laid down by Noah 
 Webster and other distinguished men of letters 
 who preceded him. 
 
 "The other authority, however is also based 
 upon Col. Kilbourne's statement. F. Adams, 
 Esq., of Bucyrus, who was well acquainted 
 with the old surveyor, says that Mr. Kilbourne 
 told him in after years that it was his desire 
 the town should have a name of its own, and be 
 the only town of that name — that the African 
 town "Busiris" (in ancient Egypt, near the 
 river Nile) pleased his fancy, and he changed 
 it into Bucyrus as a good sounding name. 
 These two statements are both from responsible 
 and reliable sources; it may be the duty of 
 an unbiased historian to draw conclusions 
 from these facts presented, and endeavor "to 
 settle the disputed point, but in this case we 
 will not undertake the task, but will refer 
 the matter to the patrons of this work. How- 
 ever, this name Bucyrus did not suit some of 
 the early settlers in the village, who were ill- 
 natured enough to object to the Colonel's ideas 
 about a queer name ; it has frequently been, in 
 later years, a stumbling block to many non- 
 residents who invariably mispronounce the 
 word. But these early residents who objected 
 to the name are nearly all dead, and those who 
 fail to speak the word like a native of the 
 
 * Cyrus was a King as well as "general." 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 567 
 
 city are not firm believers in the future des- 
 tiny of the place, and consequently should not 
 be consulted in regard to the name; undoubt- 
 edly all of the present inhabitants are satisfied, 
 and many are proud of the name Bucyrus." 
 
 The following is taken from the Bucyrus 
 Journal of Nov. 28, 1862 : 
 
 "Rev. W. M. Ferguson, one of the ministers 
 in attendance at the recent Synod of the Pres- 
 b)d:erian Church, writes to the Philadelphia 
 Presbyterian as follows, in regard to Bucyrus : 
 
 "Here we all are! All who? Members of 
 the Synod of Ohio, in session in Bucyrus, the 
 shire town of Crawford county, situated on 
 the head waters of Sandusky river, and named 
 after a boy whom his father was wont to call 
 the 'Beautiful Cyrus,' a convenient name for a 
 real nice town — one far more euphonious than 
 Cyrusville or burg, or some similar or wretch- 
 edly commonplace appellative. It is the only 
 town of the name in the world, and, therefore, 
 its legibly written mail matter is seldom 'mis- 
 sent.' How unlike is the postal experience of 
 many unfortunates' who live in some of the 
 numerous 'Johnstowns' and 'Washingtons' of 
 the west." 
 
 The writer of this History in the chapter on 
 Bucyrus has given his opinion without hesita- 
 tion that the town was called after the Egyp- 
 tan name of Busiris. In thus differing from 
 the children of Samuel Norton, who met Col. 
 Kilbourne many times, it is perhaps proper 
 that the facts on which this opinion is based 
 should be laid before the reader : 
 
 That Mr. Kilbourne was a classical scholar 
 is true, but the inference drawn by Josiali 
 Scott and Franklin Adams, who were com- 
 • panions of his, that he would never "attempt 
 to coin a word in defiance of the rules laid 
 down by Noah Webster," is hardly correct. 
 Mr. Kilbourne laid out thirteen towns in Ohio. 
 One of these is Claridon, in Marion county, and 
 both Marion historians say it was "given the 
 beautiful and historic name of Claridon by 
 Col. Kilbourne." There is no such name in 
 ancient or modern history, nor can it be found 
 in Grecian mythology. It was probably named 
 after a distinguished family named Clarendon 
 who founded a colony with advanced ideas in 
 South Carolina. The Colonel changed the 
 spelling because it suited him, and sounded 
 pretty. He laid out the town of Melmore in 
 
 Seneca county. He named it after the Latin 
 word "mel," honey, and added the word 
 "more" to it. He did the same thing in regard 
 to Bucyrus; he changed the spelling, because 
 it suited his fancy. 
 
 He did undoubtedly say, at Bucyrus, that 
 he had named it after Cyrus, prefixing the first 
 syllable of the word beautiful. Col. Kilbourne 
 was one of the most sociable of men, very 
 entertaining, and given to light and joking 
 remarks. He was twice married. His second 
 wife was Mrs. Barnes, whom he married in 
 1808, and she had three little daughters, and 
 they were brought up in the Kilbourne home 
 and were great favorites of the Colonel. One 
 of these daughters, Mira, in 1818, married 
 Cyrus Fay. Can any one doubt that the little 
 Cyrus would be called by all sorts of pet 
 names and before he could more than prattle, 
 unable to master the "beautiful" would content 
 himself by lisping "Boo-Cyrus." Can any one 
 doubt that the happy Colonel gleefully told the 
 story, and assured his friends he positively 
 named the town after his little favorite. Later, 
 when the infant had grown the story was 
 flat, and the natural tendency was for the 
 Colonel to transfer the story to Cyrus the 
 Great. That is how Beautiful Cyrus probably 
 originated. 
 
 When the Journal published the communi- 
 cation of Mr. Ferguson, it published at the 
 same time the following reply: 
 
 "Bucyrus is not, as many suppose, an Indian 
 name, neither was it named after a boy whom 
 his father was wont to call 'the Beautiful Cy- 
 rus,' as a correspondent in the Philadelpliia 
 Presbyterian suggests. 
 
 "Col. Kilbourne, the founder of the town, 
 derived the name from that passage in the 
 first chapter of Milton's Paradise Lost, which 
 reads thus: 
 
 ■'The red sea coast whose waves o'enhrew 
 Busiris and his Memphian chivalry." 
 
 "The present orthography was the invention 
 of Col. K." 
 
 As late as 1895 Major E. C. Moderv^ell 
 wrote the Evening Telegraph a long letter on 
 this subject, from which the following is taken: 
 
 "When in Bucyrus a few months ago, I 
 heard one of the High School pupils say that 
 one of the teachers had recently stated the 
 origin of the name Bucyrus. Said it was so 
 
568 
 
 HISTORY OF CR-\\\FORD COUNTY 
 
 named by Col. James Kilbourne because he was 
 a great admirer of Cyrus the Great, and as 
 he knew the town was to be a beautiful one, he 
 thought "Beautiful Cyrus" would be an ap- 
 propriate name. As the name would be rather 
 long he concluded to abbreviate 'beautiful' 
 down to 'bu,' and called it Bu-cyrus. 
 
 "About 20 years ago J. W^ard in his historical 
 sketch of Crawford county made a similar 
 statement, and in the history of Crawford 
 county the same was given as the probable 
 origin of the name Bucyrus. 
 
 "Now with all due deference to the authors 
 of these sayings, allow one of the oldest na- 
 tives bom in Buc)n:Tis now living to enter a 
 protest against such ridiculous statements. 
 
 "I remember well, when about 12 years of 
 age,* going with several schoolmates to attend 
 a meeting of the board of the Buc)rrus Library 
 Association. Josiah Scott, president ; George 
 Quinby, librarian; Jabez Larwill, James Mc- 
 Cracken, John Smith, and several other old 
 citizens, all of whom knew Col. Kilbourne, 
 were present. 
 
 "After the meeting adjourned. Judge Scott 
 said to us: 'Young men, if you ever want to 
 know the origin of the name of the town, look 
 in Milton's Paradise Lost.' He took the book 
 out of the library and quoted therefrom: 
 
 *Major E. C. Moderwell was born, March 6, 1838. 
 
 "The Red Sea coast, whose waves o'erthrew 
 Busiris and his Memphian chivalry." 
 
 "Judge Scott was intimately acquainted with 
 Col. Kilbourne, and used to play chess with 
 him at Columbus and when he visited Bucy- 
 rus." 
 
 A\'eighing all of the above and much more 
 on both sides which has been gone over care- 
 fully, it might be difficult to form a definite 
 opinion. But the convincing proofs are cer- 
 taip records which are not handed down, but 
 appeared in black and white when the town 
 first sprang into existence. It is impossible to 
 figure any way by which "Busiris" could have 
 crept into these records, except the fact that 
 it was the foundation for the name. 
 
 I — In 1829, John Kilbourne, a nephew of 
 Col. Kilbourne, published his ninth Ohio 
 Gazeteer, giving the names of all the towns 
 and postoffices in Ohio. On page 251 of that 
 book the last "B" on the list is "Busiris," see 
 Bucyrus." And under '.'Bucyrus" he gives the 
 statistics relating to the village. 
 
 II — ^The Postoffice Department at \\^ashing- 
 ton writes: "Bucyrus or Busirus was estab- 
 lished Feb. 2, 1824, with Lewis Cary as P. M., 
 who served until Henry St. John was appointed 
 July 20, 1829. During these five years the 
 name of the office appears on the records as 
 'Bucvrus.' alias 'Busiris.' " 
 
HON. DANIEL BABST 
 
Representative Citizens 
 
 HON. DANIEL BABST. Among the con- 
 ditions which determine the characters of men, 
 their mental and physical qualities and their 
 ultimate destiny in life, none are more power- 
 ful than environment and heredity. The Babst 
 family was nurtured beneath the shadows of 
 the blue Alsatian Mountains. Living near the 
 city of Strasburg, in that Rhinish borderland 
 so many centuries the scene of contest between 
 the Germans and the French, they were of 
 necessity lovers of liberty, strong of limb and 
 sturdy of body, keen of intellect, haters of 
 oppression, upright in character, and ready and 
 willing at all times to fight their own battles in 
 life. 
 
 Of such parentage and country was Daniel 
 Babst, St., who was born in 1810. His father 
 was an officer in the French army, and the son 
 retained until his death vivid recollections of 
 Napoleon's last campaign, and especially of 
 the straggling army returning from the disas- 
 trous battle of Waterloo. He remained in his' 
 native country until 1832, when he came to 
 America. He spent three years in New York 
 city and then came to Ohio, locating in Stark 
 county, first at Massillon and later at Canal 
 Fulton. At the latter place in 1841 he was 
 married to Margaret Yost, whose family were 
 also natives of Alsace-Lorraine, and shared 
 the sturdy characteristics of her husband's 
 family. 
 
 It was at Canal Fulton that Daniel Babst 
 was born, on Oct. 19, 1847. ^^ was still but 
 a lad when, in 1852, his father removed with 
 his family to Crestline, a town brought into 
 existence by the building of new railroads, and 
 having the promise of a brilliant future. He 
 received his public school training in the Crest- 
 
 line schools, and from 1864 to 1867 was a 
 student in Oberlin College. Leaving college 
 he began the study of law under the tutelage of 
 Nathan Jones, Esq., of Crestline, and in 1872 
 was admitted to the bar. His practice from that 
 time was uninterrupted until his election to the 
 Common Pleas bench in 1906. 
 
 During his career in the legal profession, in 
 which Judge Babst soon attained a leading 
 rank his services have always been at the com- 
 mand of the poor and needy, the altruistic 
 spirit being among the most marked traits of 
 the man. The native talent which he inherited 
 was accompanied by the genius for hard work 
 which is at the bottom of every great success 
 in life. To whatever task he applies himself 
 is given the best effort of which he is capable. 
 
 A natural leader of men, he has been called 
 to many positions of usefulness and honor. 
 His antecedents made him naturally a Repub- 
 lican, but he was appointed solicitor by a Dem- 
 ocratic council, serving from 1877 to 1879, 
 when he was appointed mayor by the same 
 body. Later he was elected to that office, serv- 
 ing for seven years at that time. He was 
 again elected mayor in 1894 and served two 
 terms. His service to his home town also in- 
 cluded ten years as a member of the Board of 
 Education and Board of School Examiners, a 
 service which he justly regarded as the most 
 useful and important that a man can give. To 
 it he brought the benefit of his legal knowledge 
 and his literary training, making it a service 
 of rare value. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Babst was the Republican 
 nominee for Congress in this district, and al- 
 though his opponent was elected it was by so 
 greatly reduced a majority as to be really a 
 
 571 
 
572 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 defeat. Three years later he made the race 
 for attorney-general of the State, losing out 
 by a very narrow margin. 
 
 Always an independent thinker, Mr. Babst 
 left his party in 1896, supporting Hon. Wil- 
 liam P. Bryan on the financial issues that then 
 became uppermost in American politics. He 
 has since acted with the Democratic party. In 
 1906 he was nominated and elected to the 
 Common Pleas bench of the Second Sub-divi- 
 sion of the Tenth District, an office which he 
 still holds. In accepting the position of judge, 
 Mr. Babst had but one ambition. This was 
 to merit the reputation of a just judge. Though 
 a man of strong feelings, of ardent likes and 
 dislikes, on the bench he knows neither friend 
 nor foe. His knowledge of the law is broad 
 and profound, and in practice he was brilliant 
 and able. On the bench all of this talent is 
 given to careful and just interpretation of the 
 law, always bearing in mind also that a Court 
 is a seat of equity as well as law. While, like 
 all judges, he is compelled at times to render 
 decisions which some of the parties do not 
 like, they are almost uniformly sustained by the 
 higher courts, thus demonstrating that the law 
 has been faithfully and impartially applied. 
 Judge Babst from his long practice realized the 
 many evils that had crept into court procedure, 
 and these he has striven to correct, with ad- 
 mirable success. The rules have been simpli- 
 fied and so arranged that all could understand 
 and conform to them. Promptness has char- 
 acterized the work of the court and the docket 
 has been more nearly cleaned up than for many 
 years. The great work that Judge Babst has 
 accomplished is recognized by those most com- 
 petent to pronounce an opinion, and he bids fair 
 to realize his ambition of making a record as 
 a model judge of a trial court, the most diffi- 
 cult position in our judicial system. 
 
 But it is not alone in his professional and 
 official work that Judge Babst has achieved 
 success in life. As a citizen he has been al- 
 ways active and public spirited. Without en- 
 tering into elaborate details it may be noted 
 that he was a leading factor in the establish- 
 ment of the Schill Bros.' factory at Crestline. 
 He promoted and established the works now oc- 
 cupied by the Burch Plow Company. He 
 drafted and procured the passage of the law 
 which made possible the beginning of road 
 
 improvement in Jackson township, and which 
 has since been of inestimable value to commu- 
 nities throughout the state. He was a pro- 
 moter of the Crestline Building and Loan As- 
 sociation, and promoted and established the 
 First National Bank of that city. It was he 
 also who promoted and brought to Crestline 
 the interurban electric road, now the C. & S. W. 
 
 Judge Babst's experience in business affairs 
 has been wide and his judgment sound. He 
 was a partner in the Babst Banking House with 
 his Brother Jacob for a number of years, and 
 was his father's assistant in many important 
 matters. He was a few years ago appointed 
 receiver of the N. Y. & P. & O. Railway by 
 Judge Caleb H. Norris and has had many 
 other trusts confided to his hands, vital in im- 
 portance, and always executed with the most 
 scrupulous and painstaking fidelity. His ac- 
 quaintance with public men is broad and his 
 knowledge of affairs is of wide scope. His 
 erudition and culture, his experience and 
 travels at home and abroad, combined with a 
 genial nature and broad and catholic s)mi- 
 pathies, make him a welcome addition to every 
 circle into which he can be induced to enter. 
 He is a Mason of high degree and an Elk. 
 
 It is in his home that Judge Babst finds his 
 greatest happiness and is at his best. His 
 spacious residence on Pearl Street in Crestline 
 is a center of whole-souled hospitality, and is 
 admirably arranged for every purpose. The 
 library is his favorite lounging place. In it he 
 has a collection of relics and curios rarely to be 
 equaled and almost never surpassed in a pri- 
 vate collection. There too is his magnificent 
 private library, the finest collection in Central 
 Ohio. It is, indeed, many libraries in one. 
 His law library is superb and includes many 
 rare and valuable volumes seldom available to 
 either legal practitioner or judge. The clas- 
 sics, history, especially American, French and 
 English, fiction, biography and other depart- 
 ments, each reach to the dimensions of a li- 
 brary, and each contains many volumes secured 
 only by the true book lover and collector. 
 Here, among his beloved books. Judge Babst 
 enjoys his leisure hours. Here he receives 
 and entertains his friends and here he does the 
 work which his judicial service imposes upon 
 the midnight hours. Here he produces the 
 occasional addresses which never fail to charm 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 573 
 
 his hearers, whether of the bar or laity, in so- 
 cial gathering or before the general public. 
 Sincerity, eloquence and literary polish mark 
 legal opinions as well as public speech, and 
 have helped to give him the good will as well 
 as the confidence of all. 
 
 Judge Babst has been twice married. His 
 first wife was Miss Alice Martin of Crestline. 
 After a brief married life, Mrs. Babst died, 
 leaving two children, both of whom are still 
 living. They are: Lora May, now the wife of 
 Prof. E. P. Wiles, of Evansville, Ind. ; and 
 Carl M: Babst, who is an attorney located at 
 Crestline, and also a well known civil engi- 
 neer. His second wife was Miss Lou Ella 
 Carlisle, of Cambridge, Guernsey county, O. 
 They have two children: Clara Eleanore and 
 Guy M. Babst. Miss Clara is at home and has 
 recently completed a course in Oberlin College. 
 Guy M. Babst is interested in the manufacture 
 of Aluminum Cast Ware at Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 Happy in his home and family, honoring the 
 work in which he engages and honored by his 
 fellow men, Judge Babst pursues the even 
 tenor of his way through the afternoon of 
 life — a life whose activities and usefulness will 
 not cease until the lengthening twilight shad- 
 ows have been merged into the night, to be 
 the herald of a new dawn upon a brighter day. 
 
 HON. CHARLES F. SCHABER, probate 
 judge in Crawford county, Ohio, and for many 
 years a leading member of the bar at Bucyrus, 
 is a native ojf said city, born July 30, 1873, 
 and is a son of John A. and Bertha W. (Mar- 
 graff) Schaber. 
 
 John A. Schaber was born in Germany and 
 accompanied his parents John George and 
 Fredrica Schaber, to Crawford county, Ohio, 
 in 1854. He was a blacksmith by trade but 
 was engaged during the larger part of his ac- 
 tive life in merchandising. In 1877 he was 
 elected sheriff of Crawford county and served 
 with efficiency in that office for two terms. To 
 John A. Schaber and wife three children were 
 born : Charles F., Sophia M., and a son that 
 died in childhood. 
 
 Charles F Schaber was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Bucyrus. In January, 1892, he 
 accepted a position as clerk in the office of 
 Hon. J. C. Tobias, judge of the probate court, 
 and later was made deputy clerk of said court 
 
 and served in that position for six years. He 
 chose law as his profession and pursued his 
 studies in the office of Finley & Gallinger, at 
 Bucyrus, and in December, 1900, was admitted 
 to the bar. He immediately opened a law of- 
 fice and entered upon the labors of his pro- 
 fession, showing the c[ualities as he rapidly 
 made headway that aroused attention. His 
 legal qualifications placed him early among 
 the able members of the Bucyrus bar, while 
 his years of close connection with the probate 
 court seemed to especially fit him for the re- 
 sponsible duties of a judge of the same and in 
 1905 he was elected to his present office on the 
 democratic ticket. 
 
 Judge Schaber is identified with numerous 
 social organizations, belongs fraternally to the 
 Elks and the Knights of Pythias, and has al- 
 ways taken an active interest in public matters 
 as becomes the reliable and earnest citizen, and 
 both personally and professionally is held in 
 high esteem. During the Spanish-American 
 war he served as a lieutenant and adjutant in 
 the Eighth Ohio Vol. Inf., which was attached 
 to the Fifth Army Corps, and was present at 
 the surrender of Santiago, Cuba. Judge 
 Schaber was married September 8, 1904, to 
 Miss Ida Blanche Johnston, a native of this 
 county ; they have three children, Bertha Mary, 
 Virginia May and Ruth Marion. The pleas- 
 ant family home is situated on West Warren 
 street, Bucyrus. He was reared in the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. 
 
 WILLIAM ULMER, general farmer, and 
 well known and respected citizen of Crawford 
 county, was born in Crawford county, Jan. 22, 
 185 1, and is a son of Adam and Catherine 
 (Bahler) Ulmer. 
 
 The father and mother of William Ulmer 
 were born in Wurtemberg, Germany. They 
 were the parents of the following children: 
 John, William and Minnie (twins), Israel, 
 and Mary. The father of this family died in 
 1856. The family then moved to Henry 
 county, Ohio. William Ulmer attended the 
 country schools and afterward worked on the 
 farm and also learned the carpenter's trade, 
 which he followed for some time and was con- 
 sidered a skillful workman. Then, in part- 
 nership with his brother Israel, he purchased 
 the present farm of 113 acres, only 30 of 
 
574 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 which had been cleared when they purchased 
 it. Since then the farm has been much im- 
 proved. It is located in Bucyrus township, 
 three and a half miles west of Bucyrus, on 
 the Nevada road. 
 
 In 1882 William Ulmer was married to 
 Miss Sarah Seibert, the youngest daughter of 
 Peter and Catherine (Smith) Seibert. Two 
 this union eight children were born: Edith 
 May, wife of Clarence Briggs; Bessie Belle; 
 William Calvin; Elsie Anna, wife of Harri- 
 son Henry; Frank Adam; Katheryn Frances; 
 James Monroe; and Howard Hamilton. 
 
 William Ulmer is a member of the Lutheran 
 church and a Democrat in politics and is a 
 very active party man, having held the office 
 of trustee of Bncyrus township for two terms. 
 
 THOMAS J. GRISELL, one of Galion's 
 highly respected citizens, was born in Morrow 
 county, O., in October, 185 1, and is a son of 
 Thomas and Susanna (Benedict) (Shaw) Gri- 
 sell. They spent many years of happy mar- 
 ried life on their farm near Cardington, O., 
 and died there when aged about seventy years. 
 
 Thomas J. Grisell attended the country 
 schools in boyhood but as soon as old enough 
 to look out for himself, began railroad work 
 with the Erie and Big Four lines and when 
 he was promoted to be local freight conduct- 
 or, settled at Findlay, O. In 1890 he came 
 to Galion and since then has been engaged at 
 carpentering and is known as a skillful work- 
 man, apt with his tools and accurate in his 
 estimates, and as such has been connected 
 with a great deal of the recent building which 
 has made Galion a very beautiful city. 
 
 Mr. Grisell was married at Findlay, O., to 
 Miss Mary Jane Merrit, who died in 1882, at 
 the age of 38 years, survived by two daugh- 
 ters : Lulu, who married Fred Lamb, resides at 
 Cleveland, O., and has two sons; and Olive, 
 who is the wife of \\^alter Cristie, who is a 
 clerk in the office of the Erie Railway Com- 
 pany at Marion, O. Mr. Grisell was married 
 (second) at Galion, to Miss Mary Gerth, who 
 was born in .this city, April 23, 1861, a daugh- 
 ter of Peter and Amy (Baker) Gerth. The 
 father of Mrs. Grisell was born in Germany 
 and was six years old when his parents, Louis 
 and Margaret Gerth, brought him to Galion. 
 Grandfather Gerth was a well educated man 
 
 and taught in the early schools of Galion and 
 lived to be seventy years of age. Peter Gerth 
 learned the trade of custom boot and shoe- 
 maker and for many years carried on business 
 at Galion. He survives, being now 78 years 
 of age and for the past six years has lived re- 
 tired. He takes an active interest in public 
 affairs notwithstanding his years, and has al- 
 ways voted the democratic ticket. The moth- 
 er of Mrs. Grisell died in 1892. Both parents 
 were members of the English Methodist 
 church. One daughter has been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Grisell, Amy Louise, August 3, 
 1895, who is a bright student as well as attrac- 
 tive young lady and is a member of the class of 
 1914, in the Galion High school. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Grisell are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church, with which she has been united 
 since she was twelve years of age and in which 
 she has always since been an active worker, 
 belonging to the benevolent organizations in 
 which this church is especially prominent 
 among religious bodies. She is a member also 
 of the Eastern Star. 
 
 FREDERICK W. HIEBER, one of the 
 highly respected citizens of Liberty township, 
 and one of its leading agriculturists, lives on 
 his excellent farm of 120 acres which is situ- 
 ated six and one-half miles northeast of Bu- 
 cyrus. He was born in Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, O., April 27, 1868, and is 
 a son of Frederick and Lydia (Lust) Hieber. 
 
 Frederick Hieber was born in Germany and 
 was brought to Crawford county when a child 
 of five years; he grew to manhood here and 
 followed farming all his life, and through in- 
 dustry and good management became the 
 owner of 372 acres. His death occurred in 
 1894, when he was aged but fifty-two years. 
 He married Lydia Lust, who was born in 
 Crawford county, a daughter of one of the 
 old settlers, Frederick Lust, and the following 
 children were born to them: Frederick W., 
 Mrs. Elizabeth Luidhardt, Samuel, Benjamin, 
 Joseph, Jacob, Sarah, Isaac, Sophia and 
 Reuben. 
 
 Frederick W. Hieber has been a farmer and 
 stock raiser ever since his school days, spend- 
 ing eight years in Lykens township prior to 
 1894, when he came to his present valuable 
 farm in Liberty township, where he has made 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 575 
 
 improvements and enjoys a comfortable home. 
 
 In 1 89 1 Mr. Hieber was united in marriage 
 with Miss Mary Schieber, a daughter of Ja- 
 cob Schieber. The father of Mrs. Hieber 
 came from Germany to Ohio and engaged in 
 farming in Crawford county, owning 180 
 acres in Liberty township and 200 acres in 
 Whetstone township, at time of his death, at 
 the age of fifty-two years. He married Eve 
 Mauer, who was born in Stark county, O., 
 and they had nine children, namely: John, 
 Louisa, Henry, David, Emanuel, Mary, Lizzie, 
 Abraham and Jay, all now surviving except 
 Louisa and Jay. 
 
 Six children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hieber, namely: Eva, Carrie, Gladys, 
 Lulu and Lela (twins), and Naomi. Of this 
 family all are living except Carrie. They at- 
 tend the Evangelical church of which they are 
 liberal supporters. In politics Mr. Hieber is a 
 Democrat. 
 
 WILLIAM H. KEEL. There are few 
 business men in the city of Bucyrus, O., who 
 can claim a longer continuous business record 
 than can William H. Keel, who established 
 his monument and marble works here 33 years 
 ago. He has been a witness of wonderful de- 
 velopment and has borne a part in advancing 
 the general welfare. He was born in Somer- 
 set county, Pa., in April, 1854, and is a son of 
 Henry and Harriet (Sailor) Keel. 
 
 Henry Keel was born also in Somerset 
 county and spent the greater part of his life 
 there, engaged in business as a shoemaker. 
 He came to Ohio after his son had established 
 himself here, but four years later returned to 
 Somerset county and died there at the home 
 of a daughter, when aged 69 years. He was 
 a Democrat in politics and was a member of 
 the Christian church, to which his wife also 
 belonged. She died when her son, William 
 H., was eight years old. Three sons and two 
 daughters yet live and one son and two 
 daughters came to Ohio, namely: William H., 
 Mrs. John Auman, who lives at Ashland, O. ; 
 and Mrs. William Houpt, who died in Shel- 
 by, O. Another daughter, Mrs. Harriet 
 Woolley, died in Somerset, Somerset county. 
 Pa. ; and still another, Mrs. Lewis, lives at 
 Barre, Vt. ; another daughter, Mrs. Ruby, died 
 at Braddock, Pa. 
 
 William H. Keel started to learn his trade 
 in Somerset county. Pa., in April, 1867, after- 
 ward coming to Ohio and working for nine 
 years as a journeyman in Shelby, O. In 
 1878 he came to Bucyrus and started into 
 business, establishing his shops at No. 220 
 South Walnut street. He soon built up a 
 large trade being able to make his own de- 
 signs and to work in any kind of stone being 
 particularly skillful in cutting marble and 
 granite. At one time, before machinery had 
 been introduced to do a part of stone cutting 
 work, he gave employment to twenty- four 
 workmen and kept them busy. Mr. Keel is a 
 well known and highly respected citizen and 
 can look back over many worthy achievements 
 of his industrious life. 
 
 Mr. Keel was married first at Bucyrus, to 
 Miss Tena Hipp, who died in this city August 
 15, 1894. She was a daughter of Judge Fred- 
 erick Hipp. One son survived, Claude D. 
 After graduating from the Bucyrus High 
 school, he graduated in the class of 1897, from 
 the Ohio State college, at Columbus, as a drug- 
 gist and chemist and since then has been en- 
 gaged in the business at Bucyrus. He mar- 
 ried Minnie Leifer. Mr. Keel was married, 
 secondly, to Miss Catherine Haas, who was 
 born, reared and educated in Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, a daughter of Henry 
 Haas, who carries on a blacksmith business 
 there. The mother of Mrs. Keel died some 
 eight ears ago, leaving one son and four daugh- 
 ters. Mr. Keel is a Democrat in politics. He 
 belongs to La Salle lodge. No. 51, Odd Fel- 
 lows, of which he is an ex-official. 
 
 J. WALTER WRIGHT, attorney and 
 counsellor at law, with offices in the Rouse 
 Block, Bucyrus, O., was born at West Liberty, 
 Logan county, O., July 14, 1874, a son of 
 James W. and Margaret S. (Secrist) Wright. 
 James W. Wright was born at Frostburg, Md., 
 in 1 83 1, and came to Ohio in 1838 with his 
 father, James Wright, the family settling in 
 Champaign county, O. Henry Wright, father 
 of James Wright the elder, came from Ireland, 
 being of Scotch-Irish ancestry, settling in 
 Maryland. James W. Wright married Mar- 
 garet S. Secrist in i860, and they have lived 
 continuously at West Liberty, O. She was 
 born near West Liberty in 1840, a daughter of 
 
576 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 George Sacrist, a farmer, who came from Vir- 
 ginia and settled in Logan county. 
 
 J. Walter Wright attended the public 
 schools of West Liberty and was graduated 
 from the High school and afterwards was a 
 student at Oberlin college, Oberlin, O., for one 
 year. He then began the study of law and en- 
 tered the law school of the Ohio Northern 
 university, where he graduated with the degree 
 of Bachelor of Laws in the spring of i8g8, 
 when he was admitted to the bar at Columbus. 
 In January, 1899, he came to Bucyrus and 
 with the exception of a part of the year of 
 1903, when he was practicing law at Belling- 
 ham. Wash., he has continued his professional 
 activities in this city for the past twelve years. 
 In politics Mr. Wright is a Republican. He is 
 identified with the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 ALVIN G. FLICKINGER, deputy county 
 auditor of Crawford county, belongs to one of 
 the old county families and was reared on the 
 home farm in Holmes township. He was born 
 there in July, 1872, and is a son of Horace H. 
 and Catherine (Fralick) Flickinger, and a 
 grandson of Samuel Flickinger, who was the 
 first of the family to settle in Crawford county. 
 
 Samuel Flickinger was born in Lancaster 
 county, Pa., May 29, 1792, and accompanied 
 his parents to McConnellstown in 1796 and 
 from there came to Stark county, O., in 181 1. 
 He engaged in farming in that county until 
 1833 when he came to Crawford county and 
 purchased a farm in Holmes township, which 
 is yet known as the Flickinger farm although 
 now owned by Reuben Hershberger. He died 
 here June 20, 1871. In 1820 he married Phy- 
 linda Healy, who was born at Jamaica, Ver- 
 mont, and died in Crawford county in 1873. 
 Of their ten children two died in infancy and 
 all have now passed away, with one exception, 
 Mary, who is the wife of Horace Austin, a 
 merchant in Portage county, O. They have 
 three sons and one daughter. 
 
 Horace H. Flickinger was the seventh born 
 in his parents' family. His birth took place in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, O., April 
 22, 1833, and he continued to reside in his na- 
 tive township until 1876, being in the lumber 
 and saw mill business. He then moved to 
 Bucyrus township, where he followed an agri- 
 cultural life until his death, which occurred 
 
 May 28, 1898. He was an honorable business 
 man and a respected citizen. For many years 
 he had been a member of the Albright Meth- 
 odist church. He married Catherine Fralick, 
 who was born in Holmes township, Aug. 31, 
 1 84 1, and died at her home in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Nov. 30, 1909. Five children were born 
 to the above marriage, namely: Herschel V., 
 who is deputy county surveyor and formerly 
 was county surveyor; Delia A., who is the wife 
 of Lincoln Havey, of Bucyrus, and has four 
 children — Carry, Harrison, Cecil and Maude; 
 Clement L., who is a farmer in Bucyrus town- 
 ship; Alvin G. ; and Carry B., who is the wife 
 of Albert L. Shoemaker. 
 
 Alvin G. Flickinger was educated in the 
 country schools and at Bucyrus and assisted his 
 father on the home farm. Since early man- 
 hood he has been to some degree connected 
 with political offices and in 1903 was first ap- 
 pointed deputy county auditor and through re- 
 appointment has served in this capacity ever 
 since. He is very active in Democratic circles 
 and frequently has been sent as a delegate to 
 important conventions. 
 
 Mr. Flickinger was married in Bucyrus 
 township to Miss Effie V. Foulk, who was born 
 at Bucyrus, Nov. 30, 1870, a daughter of John 
 and Susana A. (Ort) Foulk. John Foulk was 
 born Aug. 17, 1830, at Baltimore, Md., and 
 died Feb. 12, 1874, at Bucyrus, O. His 
 wife, Susan A. Ort, was born Nov. 19, 1835, 
 at York, Pa., and died at Bucyrus, Aug. 28, 
 1906. They were married at York, Pa., Dec. 
 28, 1 85 1, and to them thirteen children were 
 born, four of whom died in infancy. Mr. 
 Foulk followed the trade of a butcher during 
 his residence in Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. Flick- 
 inger attend the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 The only fraternal organization with which he 
 is identified is the order of Eagles. 
 
 CHRISTIAN F. BIRK, of the well known 
 drug firm of Birk Bros., operating at Bucyrus, 
 O., and made up of George M. and Christian 
 F. Birk, was born at Bucyrus, April 29, 1852, 
 and is a son of John G. and Joanna (Kuhn) 
 Birk. 
 
 The Birk family is of German extraction 
 and the grandfather, John G. Birk, Sr., was 
 born in Wurtemberg, in the village of Kri- 
 cheim, where the -old family residence still 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 577 
 
 stands. He was one of the patriots of 1848 
 who, on account of his courage in advocating 
 freedom of speech and action, was threatened 
 with persecution and in order to avoid it, in 
 1849, followed other members of his family to 
 America, deeding his estate in his native land 
 to a daughter, but later it was confiscated by 
 the government. Mr. Birk and wife found a 
 safe and pleasant home in Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, he following agricultural 
 pursuits until his death in 1876. He became an 
 American citizen and identified himself with 
 the Democratic party, but never severed his 
 connection with the German Lutheran church. 
 In his own neighborhood he had married a 
 Miss Schmidt, who died in 1862. They had 
 the following children : Louis, who died at Fort 
 Plain, N. Y., in 1865; J. Christian, who died 
 unmarried in the Soldiers' Home at Dayton, 
 O., at the age of sixty-two years, having served 
 in the Civil war from 1861 until 1865; John 
 G. ; Salome, who married William Carle, a 
 farmer in Holmes township ; Wilhelmina, who 
 married Jacob Bower, and lived and died in 
 Liberty township; and Rosanna, who married 
 Jacob Donnenwirth, and lived and died at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 John G. Birk, Jr., was born in Germany, 
 July 22, 1823, and came to the United States 
 in 1847, locating first at Albany, N. Y., but in 
 1849 reached Bucyrus and here established him- 
 self in the harness making business and con- 
 tinued in this line until the close of his life, his 
 death occurring October 10, 1888. He was 
 active in the Democratic party and served four 
 years as county treasurer of Crawford county. 
 On April 24, 1851, he married Joanna Kuhn, 
 who was born also in Germany, June 6, 1831. 
 Her parents came to America in 1832 and dur- 
 ing the long voyage she learned to walk, al- 
 though, it may well be supposed that the ship's 
 floor was unsteady for little feet. Her people 
 remained in New York until 1837 and then 
 came to Bucyrus, where she died October 9, 
 1893. Both she and husband were members of 
 the Lutheran church. The following children 
 were born to them : Christian F. ; Louis C, born 
 in 1854, who is in the harness business at Bucy- 
 rus, and who married Caroline Kircus; Eliza- 
 beth, born in 1857, who is the wife of Frank P. 
 Donnenwirth of Bucyrus and has two children 
 
 — Louis and Gertrude; Helen and Matilda, 
 34 
 
 both of whom died in infancy; Emanuel, born 
 in 1866, who is proprietor of the harness store 
 which his father founded in 1849, and who 
 married Theresa Vollworth; and George M., 
 who is associated with his larother. Christian 
 F. Birk, in the drug business at Bucyrus. 
 
 Christian F. Birk attended school at Bucy- 
 rus and then learned the harnessmaking trade 
 with his father and for eighteen years worked 
 in the shop. In 1892, associated with his 
 brother, George M. Birk, a licensed pharma- 
 cist, he became part proprietor of the present 
 drug business, this being the third oldest drug 
 store in the city. Mr. Birk has not only been 
 a successful business man but he has been a 
 useful, reliable and active citizen. In 1877 he 
 was elected a member of the city council for 
 a period of four years; in 1884 was elected 
 city marshal, serving until 1890, when he was 
 elected sheriff of Crawford county and served 
 in that capacity for four years and nine 
 months. In 1898 he was elected mayor of 
 Bucyrus and served as such for two terms. In 
 many ways his fellow citizens, at times, en- 
 deavored to show their appreciation of his 
 public-spirited and faithful efforts and on one 
 occasion presented him with a handsome ring, 
 properly engraved. On numerous occasions he 
 has been sent as a delegate to Democratic con- 
 ventions where matters of vital party interest 
 have been under consideration. 
 
 Mr. Birk was united in marriage with Miss 
 Bertha S. Volk, who was born at Bucyrus, 
 March 3, 1851, and died August 10, 1898. 
 They had three children born to them : John 
 W., who is a graduate of the School of Phar- 
 macy, at Columbus, O., and of the College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, at Chicago, of which 
 he is a member of the faculty, who served as 
 first lieutenant in Co. A, in what was known as 
 McKinley's Own, in the Spanish-American 
 war, and who married Margaret Curtis and 
 has one daughter, Helen; Caroline Elizabeth, 
 who is the wife of Glenn W. Kerr, who is pri- 
 vate secretary to the president of the Good 
 Roads Machinery company, at Kennett Square, 
 Pa., and has two children — Virginia and Caro- 
 line; and Edna T., who is the wife of O. VV". 
 Kennedy. Mr. Birk is a member of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. He is identified with 
 the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. 
 
578 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 C. H. AHLEFELD, general farmer and a 
 mason by trade, resides on his valuable prop- 
 erty located eight and one-half miles north- 
 west of Bucyrus, where he has 60 acres. He 
 was born in Wyandot county, O., Jan. 7, 1868, 
 and is a son of John C. and Susanna (Paulin) 
 Ahlefeld. 
 
 John C. Ahlefeld was of German extraction 
 but he was born at Mansfield, O., and in child- 
 hood accompanied his parents to Wyandot 
 county, where he followed farming until his 
 death, when aged 46 years. He married Su- 
 sanna Paulin who still lives on the old home 
 place in W^yandot county. They had four chil- 
 dren : C. H. ; Melinda, who married Christ- 
 opher Shengler; William; and Bessie, who 
 married William Grove. 
 
 C. H. Ahlefeld attended school in Wyandot 
 county and worked on the home farm until 
 1 89 1, when he came to Holmes township and 
 located on his present place. Here he has made 
 many excellent improvements, including the 
 building of a substantial barn. By trade Mr. 
 Ahlefeld is a mason and his sons mainly carry 
 on the farm industries. 
 
 Mr. Ahlefeld married Miss Amanda Schie- 
 fer, a daughter of C. G. Schiefer, and they 
 have five children, namely : Christopher, Zearl, 
 Hattie, Fred and Harland. The family attend 
 the Evangelical church. Mr. Ahlefeld is a 
 Democrat in politics. He takes much interest 
 in educational matters and is serving as school 
 director and has also been township constable. 
 
 ORRA H. LINN, the owner of 160 acres of 
 land in Dallas township, operates also 200 acres 
 which belong to his father, 80 acres belonging 
 to Gertrude Linn Hilty and 80 acres belong- 
 ing to Helen A. Linn. He was born in this 
 township Jan. 10, 1886, a son of Henry and 
 Alice (Martin) Linn, who are now living re- 
 tired at Bucyrus. Their children were named 
 as follows: Grace, who is now deceased; Ger- 
 trude, the wife of Elmer Hilty; Helen, who 
 lives with her parents ; and Orra H., the sub- 
 ject of this article and the youngest child. 
 
 Orra H. Linn attended the common schools 
 and after completing his education took up 
 farming and has since made this his occupa- 
 tion, having been very successful. His land is 
 devoted to general farming and he has to have 
 the services of two men the year around. 
 
 In 1910 Mr. Linn was married to Miss Edna 
 Winch. 
 
 Orra H. Linn and his father are both Demo- 
 crats in political views. The family belongs 
 to the Methodist church. 
 
 JACOB L. DAY, who now lives in com- 
 fortable retirement at Gallon, Ohio, is a citi- 
 zen well known throughout both Crawford and 
 Richland counties, and is a member of one of 
 the old pioneer families of the latter. He was 
 born in Sandusky township, Richland county, 
 Ohio, February i, 1838, and is a son of Ezra 
 and Nancy (Wolf) Day. 
 
 Ezra Day was born October 19, 181 1, in 
 \\"ashington county, Morris township. Pa., and 
 died at Tecumseh, Mich., June 2, 1896. His 
 wife Nancy was born in Richland county, 
 Ohio, June 20, 1812, and died in Sandiisky 
 township, Richland county, Ohio, March 28, 
 1840. 
 
 Amos Day, grandfather of Ezra Day, was 
 born in the Highlands of Scotland, and is of 
 Scotch birth. He was born Sept. 15, 1754. 
 His wife was of Irish descent. They emi- 
 grated to America and settled in Maryland and 
 from there to Richland county, O., where he 
 died Feb. 4, 1830, and was buried in the fam- 
 ily burying ground on the place of his son 
 Lewis Day. He was a soldier in the War of 
 the Revolution and lost one of his legs in the 
 service. His wife bore the name of Jane, and 
 was born Sept. 2, 1759, and died Sept. 9, 1833, 
 and was buried beside her husband. 
 
 Lewis Day, son of Amos, and grandfather 
 of Jacob L. Day, was born in Washington 
 county, Pa., April 26, 1785, and died July 5, 
 1863, in Sandusky township, Richland county, 
 Ohio. In his native county he married Mary 
 Hull, who was born there Sept. 4, 1790, and 
 died November 14, 1862. In early days the 
 Days were Scotch Covenanters, and the later 
 generations have been, almost without excep- 
 tion, Presbyterians. The family has been 
 largely an agricultural one. 
 
 Jacob L. Day is the only living child of his 
 parents. He was reared on the home farm and 
 remained with his father until he became of 
 age, and then accepted a position as clerk in a 
 store in Ontario village, and while engaged 
 there enlisted for service in the Civil war, in 
 answer to the second call of President Lincoln 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 579 
 
 for troops. On Sept. 9, 1861, he became a 
 private in Co. G, 15th O. Vol. Inf., in the 
 Fourth Army corps, and was honorably dis- 
 charged Sept. 19, 1864, after dangers innu- 
 merable and many escapes with his life. At 
 Resaca, Ga., his cap, that had been presented 
 him by a young lady sympathizer, at Nashville, 
 Tenn., was shot from his head by a murderous 
 minie ball; at Pickett's Mills, he was thrown 
 several feet in the air by a shell ; before Atlanta 
 he received a flesh wound in the pit of the 
 stomach, and sun stroke, this so disabled him 
 as to require attention in a hospital for some 
 time. On March 9, 1862, he was sent from his 
 regiment to Nashville for special service, where 
 he served as clerk and manager of the U. S. 
 Hospital bakery and assistant and chief stew- 
 ard of hospitals. Later he was acting orderly 
 sergeant in charge of commissary and details 
 at Camp Louden, Tenn., and chief clerk and 
 second officer in command at Camp Remington, 
 Knoxville, Tenn. In all Mr. Day took part in 
 13 battles and 36 skirmishes, and more than 
 once just escaped being captured by the enemy. 
 He with the teamster alone, with the country 
 filled with rebels and guerilla bands, took the 
 15th O. V. I. hospital wagon through from 
 Bowling Green, Ky., to Nashville, Tenn., 84 
 miles, without arms, rations or guards, and en- 
 route three days did not see an officer or sol- 
 dier of Uncle Sam. This was March 2-3-4, 
 1862. On arriving at Camp, south of Nash- 
 ville, they received three rousing cheers as they 
 had been given up as captured. 
 
 Among his treasured army relics are testi- 
 monials from his superior officers of service 
 satisfactorily rendered and recommendations 
 for promotion and commission. 
 
 In Richland county, Ohio, March 8, 1865, 
 Mr. Day was married to Miss Mary Jane Mc- 
 Connell, who was born in Franklin county. Pa.. 
 Feb. 27, 1838, a daughter of John and Jane 
 (Barr) McConnell. The father of Mrs. Day 
 was born in Pennsylvania, of Irish parents, 
 later participated in the War of 1812, married 
 in Pennsylvania and in 1839 moved to Ohio. 
 Later in life they came to the home of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Day in Blooming Grove, where the fa- 
 ther died when aged eighty-seven years, and 
 the mother in her seventy-third year. They 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Day, the following chil- 
 dren were born: Homer B., who is widely 
 known in the theatrical business as manager 
 and playwright; M. Ollie, who is the wife of 
 James Hugo, an engineer with the Big Four 
 railroad, with home- at Galion; Nettie Ora, 
 who married John E. Rayl, a resident of 
 Galion; Harry J., born Apr. 26, 1881, who 
 maintains his home at Galion, a commercial 
 traveler, and has one son Robert W., born 
 Aug. 20, 1903, and Mattie, Cora and Nettie, 
 all three of whom are deceased. 
 
 After his return from the army and period 
 of rest, Mr. Day embarked in the mercantile 
 business at Blooming Grove, Morrow county, 
 Ohio, and in 1876 transferred it to Galion, 
 Ohio, and continued in business until 1898. 
 Then, on account of ill health, he retired, and 
 in the fall of the same year moved to Tecum- 
 seh, Mich., where he lived one year, and then 
 moved back to Galion, and engaged for a short 
 time in the news business, previous to his re- 
 tirement on a little farm west of the city. He 
 is now a resident of Galion, and member of 
 Dick Morris Post, No. 130, G. A. R., and 
 Chaplain of the Post, year 1912. 
 
 JAMES J. MARTIN, M. D., physician and 
 surgeon at Bucyrus, O., to which city he came 
 in 1898, following his graduation from medi- 
 cal college, is in the enjoyment of a satisfac- 
 tory practice and is recognized professionally 
 and otherwise as a worthy citizen. Dr. Martin 
 was born in Marion county, O., March 20, 
 1866, and is the only child of James H. and 
 Catherine (Mack) Martin. 
 
 James J. Martin spent his boyhood on his 
 father's farm and attended the public schools 
 and afterward, for some fifteen years, was a 
 teacher in Marion county. In the meanwhile 
 he devoted much time to medical study and 
 research, his natural inclinations being in 
 this direction, and later entered the Eclectic 
 Medical College of Cincinnati, from which he 
 was graduated in 1898. Dr. Martin has al- 
 ways kept in close touch with the advances 
 made by his profession and belongs to the 
 leading medical organizations of the country 
 including the American Medical Association, 
 the Ohio state and the county bodies, the 
 Northwestern Ohio Eclectic Medical Asso- 
 ciation and the National Medical Association. 
 
580 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Dr. Martin married Miss Dora Ruth, a 
 daughter of John G. Ruth, of Marion county, 
 0., and they have one son, RoUa U. Dr. and 
 Mrs. Martin are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. He is identified fraternally 
 with the Knights of Pythias, the Modern 
 Woodmen and the Home Guards of America. 
 He maintains his office at 114 S. Walnut 
 Street, and his residence is at No. 116 S. Wal- 
 nut Street, Bucyrus. 
 
 S. J. KIBLER, one of the representative 
 citizens of New Washington, O., who is known 
 all over Crawford county through his many 
 important business enterprises, was born at 
 New Washington, March 9, 185 1, and is a son 
 of Mathias and Frederika (Pfahler) Kibler. 
 
 Mathias Kibler was born in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, and when two years of age came to 
 the United States and was one of the early 
 school teachers on the frontier of the Western 
 Reserve. He became a prominent man at 
 New Washington, C, both in public life and 
 in business. For many years he operated a 
 tannery and was otherwise engaged. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, served on the school 
 board and for many years was a justice of the 
 peace and was the first mayor of New Wash- 
 ington. He lived a long, busy and honorable 
 life and died in September, 1876. He mar- 
 ried Frederika Pfahler, who was also born in 
 Germany and died at New Washington, O., in 
 October, 1902. Of their eight children, three 
 are deceased, the five survivors all living at 
 New Washington. 
 
 S. J. Kibler obtained his education in the 
 New Washington schools. He began his busi- 
 ness career by assisting his father in the tan- 
 nery and in this way became interested in the 
 hide and leather business, which has partic- 
 ularly claimed his attention for many years 
 and which is one of the important business 
 enterprises of many parts of Ohio. He is a 
 member of the firm which operates under the 
 style of The S. J. Kibler & Brother Company, 
 which was incorporated in 1901 under the 
 name of S. J. Kibler & Brother. Later the 
 brother retired and S. J. Kibler then admit- 
 ted his sons, A. G., M. M. and A. S. Kibler, 
 to partnership, when the present firm name was 
 adopted. The firm deals in hides, tallow and 
 sheep, skins and wool and furs, wholesale, and 
 
 maintains its offices at New Washington, but 
 it owns 90 per cent of the Lake Erie Hide & 
 Leather Company, of Sandusky, O. A vast 
 volume of business is done by this firm, its 
 annual sales ending in May, 1912, amounting 
 to over two million dollars. Mr. Kibler's ad- 
 ditional business connections include equally 
 important enterprises. He is president of the 
 New Washington Lumber & Manufacturing 
 Company, which was established 'in 1903. His 
 beautiful home, one of the handsomest resi- 
 deifces in the city, stands on the corner of Main 
 and Center Streets, New Washington. 
 
 Mr. Kibler was married at New Washington, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Herr, who was born in Sen- 
 eca county, O., a daughter of George Herr, and 
 the following children have been bom to them : 
 A. G., who, after attending the local schools 
 and taking a commercial course at Toledo, O., 
 went into business and is now vice president 
 of the local firm above mentioned and presi- 
 dent of the Lake Erie Hide & Leather Com- 
 pany, and is married to Mildred Donnenwirth 
 and lives at New Washington having three 
 children — Alfred Leo, Beatrice Elizabeth and 
 Emma Winnifred; Clara T., who is the wife 
 of A. F. Cronenberger, manager of the Lake 
 Erie Hide & Leather Company, and a resi- 
 dent of' Sandusky, O., and has three sons — 
 Marshall Kibler, Harold Frederick and Cecil 
 Paul; M. M., secretary and director in the firm 
 of S. J. Kibler & Brother Company, who mar- 
 ried Elsie Michaelfelder, and has three chil- 
 dren — Harold Weldon, deceased, Marian 
 Geraldine and Donald Orville; A. S., who is 
 connected also with the above named company, 
 and looks after its interests at Toledo, O. ; 
 Ida P., who is a stenographer for her father; 
 and Florence Edith, who is a member of the 
 class of 1913 in a musical college in Ohio. Mr. 
 Kibler and family are members of the Luth- 
 eran church. In his political views he is a 
 Democrat and has always been somewhat active 
 in public affairs, believing in business men as- 
 suming the responsibilities of citizenship and 
 public office when tendered them. For 15 
 years he has been a member of the school 
 board and also of the city council and for four 
 years was treasurer of Cranberry township. 
 He is a man of ripe business experience and in 
 managing his many interests, has displayed 
 exceptional foresight and good judgment. 
 
COL. CYRUS W. FISHER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 583 
 
 JOHN SHEALY, a well-known farmer 
 and citizen of Liberty township, Crawford 
 county, O., resides on the old Shealy home- 
 stead, of which he owns a part, has 60 acres 
 of well improved land, situated eight and one- 
 half miles northeast of Bucyrus, O. His 
 parents. Christian Shealy and wife, were born 
 in Germany and were brought to Ohio in 
 childhood. Christian Shealy was a farmer 
 during his active years but had practically re- 
 tired when his death occurred in his seventieth 
 year. His widow survives and is now aged 
 82 years. 
 
 The following children were born to Chris- 
 tian Shealy and wife : Michael, who married 
 Lidy Luidhardt and- lives in Cranberry town- 
 ship ; Henry, a resident of Bucyrus, who mar- 
 ried Esther Nagle; John; Lena, who is the 
 wife of Jacob S. Kafer, living near Sulphur 
 Springs; Mary, who is the wife of John 
 Feichtner, living near Sulphur Springs; Cath- 
 erine, who married George Luidhardt and 
 lives in Liberty township; Elizabeth, who is 
 the wife of Henry Green, of Liberty town- 
 ship; Matilda, who is the wife of H. J. 
 Rowe, and lives at Sandusky City, O. ; and 
 Anna, who died at the age of 23 years. 
 
 John Shealy obtained his education in the 
 township schools and is an intelligent, well in- 
 formed man and practical farmer. He mar- 
 ried Miss Matilda Hildebrand and while he 
 had two brothers and six sisters, his wife had 
 six brothers and two sisters and each have one 
 sister deceased, who died after reaching 
 womanhood. Mrs. Shealy's sister, Mary A., 
 died when aged 25 years. Her one other sister, 
 Sophia, is the wife of T. T. Tupps and they 
 live in Liberty township. Her brothers are as 
 follows: Solomon, who lives at New Castle, 
 Pa., and who married Sue McFarland; 
 George, who lives at New Washington, O., 
 and who married Rika Michelf elder ; Jacob, a 
 farmer in Bucyrus township, who married 
 Maria Utz; Christian, living at Brandywine, 
 O., who married a Miss Mary Heiby; and 
 John, a resident of Liberty township, who 
 married Ida Shell. 
 
 Eight children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shealy, namely: Christian W., who re- 
 sides at home, and who married Laura Myers 
 and has one daughter, Gwendoline E. ; Ella 
 M., who married O. L. Green, of New Wash- 
 
 ington, O., and has two children — Russell 
 and Virgil ; Albert, who resides at New Wash- 
 ington, O., and who married Matilda Feicht- 
 ner, whose one child died in infancy; Hattie, 
 who is the wife of Clarence Miller, and re- 
 sides at home ; Emanuel, who is deceased ; and 
 Emma M., Edna May and Mildred Marie, all 
 three living with their parents. Mr. Shealy 
 and faniily are members of the Lutheran 
 church. He is a Democrat in politics and ex- 
 erts considerable influence in this section, be- 
 ing considered a man of excellent judgment 
 and of sterling character. He has served as 
 township trustee and as school director. 
 
 SAMUEL RORICK, a retired farmer, 
 who, for twenty years has occupied his com- 
 fortable residence at No. 523 South Sandusky 
 Street, Bucyrus, O., was born in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., April 28,1839, 
 and is a son of Augustus Rorick and his wife, 
 Elizabeth (Ream) Rorick. 
 
 Augustus Rorick was born in Hanover, 
 Germany, in 1800, where he grew to man- 
 hood and married Elizabeth Ream. In 1832, 
 after the birth of their third child, Augustus 
 Rorick and wife took passage on a sailing ves- 
 sel for America and after a voyage of ninety 
 days, were safely landed at Baltimore, Md. 
 Their objective point was Crawford county, 
 O., and they made the overland journey as 
 rapidly as they were able and finally reached 
 this section, which, at that time was almost a 
 wilderness. Augustus Rorick secured eighty 
 acres of Government land and later added to 
 this tract and continued to live here until the 
 time of his death, in September, 1873, when 
 he was aged 75 years, his wife having died 
 in the previous year. They attended the Ger- 
 man Reformed church. They had four chil- 
 dren, as follows: Henry, who was 83 years 
 of age at time of death, was a retired farmer, 
 married Katie Bremen and they left descend- 
 ants; August, who died in Marion county, O., 
 at the age of 69 years, married Rosanna Gold- 
 smith, also now deceased, and they left chil- 
 dren; William, who died in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county, at the age of 55 
 years, was married twice but left no children ; 
 Samuel, who was born after the family came 
 to Ohio, is the only survivor. 
 
 Samuel Rorick for many years was a very 
 
584 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 successful farmer and stock raiser and owned 
 250 acres of valuable land. Politically he is a 
 Democrat and for a long period served more 
 or less continuously in township offices, his fel- 
 low citizens regarding him as a man of un- 
 usual good judgment and knowing him to be 
 of sterling integrity. In 1862 he was married 
 in Whetstone township to Miss Mary Jane 
 Heinlen, who was born there May 26, 1846, a 
 daughter of Jacob and Eliza (Deebler) Hein- 
 len. In the thirties the Heinlen family came 
 from Pennsylvania to Crawford county, driv- 
 ing their ox-teams the whole distance. They 
 were true pioneers and at first lived in a log 
 cabin that had only an earth floor ; quilts served 
 ed to cover the ^^'indow spaces, as they had no 
 glass. Not only did Indians visit them but al- 
 so wolves came out of the near-by forest and 
 often endangered their lives. Later in life 
 Jacob Heinlen and wife retired to Bucyrus, 
 being then able to live in comfort, and there 
 his sudden death occurred in December,- 1889. 
 He was a Democrat in politics and both he 
 and wife belonged to the Reformed church. 
 Mrs. Heinlen, who on June 24, 1912, became 
 90 years of age, remains active in body and 
 enjoys a social visit with her many friends in 
 Bucyrus. Mrs. Rorick was an only daughter 
 and the only member of her family now alive 
 except the aged mother. Eleven children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rorick, as fol- 
 lows : Mary E., born in 1862, died in 1904, 
 the wife of J. D. Snyder; William M., born in 
 1864, died in 1888, unmarried; Charles A., 
 born in 1866, who follows the trade of paper 
 hanger at New Chester, Crawford county, 
 married Carrie Kern and they have children; 
 Elma D., born in 1869, is the wife of H. J. 
 Stump, of Whetstone township and they have 
 two children; George L., born in 187 1, died in 
 1887; Sarah A., born in 1873, is the wife of 
 D. M. Roberts, of Lorain, O., and they have 
 two children; Henry J., born in 1875, lives at 
 home and is unmarried; Anna C., born in 
 1879, is the wife of J. C. Bauman, lives at 
 Mansfield, O., and has two children; Samuel 
 0., born in 1879, died in 1888; Rosa Alice, 
 born in 1887, died at the age of eleven 
 months ; Urban Paul, the remaining child, was 
 born May 25, 1889. The latter is a well edu- 
 cated young man and has become a skilled 
 machinist. He continues to live with his 
 
 parents. The Roricks are all members of the 
 Reformed church. 
 
 HARRY J. MARTIN, an enterprising 
 agriculturist of Dallas township and the own- 
 er of 40 acres of land, was born December 10, 
 1875, ori this farm. His parents, Henry and 
 Elizabeth (Miller) Martin, were early settlers 
 in this township and industrious farming peo- 
 ple. The father was a Democrat and with his 
 family attended the Methodist church. Both 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henry Martin are now deceased 
 and buried in Bucyrus. They were the 
 parents of a number of children, namely: 
 George; Alice, the wife of Henry Linn; Mary 
 Jane, the wife of Jacob Linn; Anna, the wife 
 of Horace Munsen; Ella, deceased, who was 
 the wife of Ira E. Quaintance; Ida, the wife 
 of William Booze; Viola, the wife of John 
 Bone; Charles, the subject of this sketch; and 
 Blanche, the wife of Ed. Harvey. 
 
 Harry J. Martin in his boyhood attended 
 the common schools of his r locality and since 
 then has devoted his attention to general 
 farming and stock raising, though he does not 
 make a specialty of the latter, merely raising 
 enough stock for his own needs. His farm is 
 a part of the old Martin homestead and was 
 purchased by Mr. Martin from the other 
 heirs. He has made a success of his agricul- 
 tural operations and does some farming on 
 land besides that which he owns. 
 
 ]\Ir. Martin was united in marriage on Feb. 
 22, 1905, with Miss Mary J. Turney, a daugh- 
 ter of Eugene and Catherine (Brown) Tur- 
 ney. Mr. Turney is a well known farmer of 
 Wyandot county. The brothers and sisters of 
 ^Nlrs. Martin were named : Harry, who is de- 
 ceased; Claude; and Florence, the wife of 
 William Cochran. To Mr. and Mrs. Harry J. 
 Martin have been born the following children : 
 IMildred, Blanche, Eugene and Elizabeth. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Martin is a Dem- 
 ocrat but votes according to his judgment. He 
 has been road supervisor for two years and is 
 now serving his second term as school direc- 
 tor. Religiously, the Martin family is affiliat- 
 ed with the Methodist church. 
 
 ALBERT G. STOLTZ, cashier of the Sec- 
 ond National Bank at Bucyrus, O., with 
 which institution he has been identified for 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 585 
 
 the past thirteen years, is a native of Craw- 
 ford county, O., to which section his family 
 came in 1836, from Pennsylvania. 
 
 Michael Stoltz, the paternal grandfather, 
 was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, July 9, 
 1809, and was eight years old when his parents 
 emigrated to the United States, locating in Ly- 
 coming county, Pa. He grew to manhood 
 there and married Mary Kober in 1833. A 
 part of their family of children were born be- 
 fore they started westward and finally located 
 in Whetstone township, Crawford county, of 
 which section they became worthy and sub- 
 stantial residents. Michael Stoltz died in this 
 township in his eighty-eighth year, his entire 
 family of nine children passing away with the 
 death of the last son, which occurred October 
 19, 1911. 
 
 George Stoltz, father of Albert G., was born 
 in Lycoming county. Pa., in 1835, and died 
 on his farm in Whetstone township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., September 10, 1888. He 
 spent a long and busy life engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits. He was never active in politics 
 but voted with the Democratic party and al- 
 ways lent his influence in support of law, tem- 
 perance and religion. On January 18, 1867, 
 he was married to Susan Stump, who was 
 born March 25, 1839, in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, where she continued to live 
 until a few years since. She then came to 
 Bucyrus, where she has since made her home. 
 She was reared a Methodist but later united 
 with the German Reformed church and at- 
 tended it with her husband. She has a wide 
 social circle and is active in neighborhood 
 benevolence. Five children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Stoltz : Laura, who died at the age 
 of nine years; Samuel, who died when three 
 years old; Emma, who is the wife of S. D. 
 Beal, at Bucyrus; a daughter that died un- 
 named; and Albert G. 
 
 Albert G. Stoltz was graduated from the 
 Bucyrus High School in the class of 1897, af- 
 ter which he took a commercial course in the 
 Ohio Normal University at Ada, Ohio. He 
 then entered a business house as a bookkeeper, 
 afterward becoming teller in a bank, but re- 
 signed that position in order to go to New 
 York, there becoming bookkeeper in an office 
 connected with the Government Navy Yard. 
 On February i, 1903, he accepted a position as 
 
 assistant teller in the sub-treasury, where he 
 remained until January i, 1904, at which time 
 he came back to Bucyrus. At this time Mr. 
 Stoltz accepted the position of assistant 
 cashier in the Second National Bank and so 
 continued until 1907, when he was elected 
 cashier. For the duties of this position, as 
 will be seen above, he has had an excellent 
 training and among the great assets of this 
 bank his name, as an important official, car- 
 ries considerable weight. 
 
 Mr. Stoltz was married at Bucyrus to Miss 
 Laura Hurr, who was born in Whetstone 
 township, a daughter of Jacob and Catherine 
 (Sherer) Hurr. They were natives of Penn- 
 sylvania and in youth accompanied their par- 
 ents to Crawford county, later married and 
 lived on a farm in Whetstone township until 
 somewhat advanced in years, when they re- 
 tired to Bucyrus, where the father of Mrs. 
 Stoltz died in 1904 and the mother in 1907. 
 They were Methodists in religious faith. Of 
 their children Mrs. Stoltz was the youngest 
 born. Of the five members of the Hurr fam- 
 ily yet living, all are married and all but one 
 are residents of Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stoltz have two children : Albert George, 
 who was born November 18, 1906; and 
 Dorothy Virginia, born February 21, 1908. 
 They are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, Mr. Stoltz being one of the church 
 officials. In politics he is a Republican. He is 
 identified fraternally with the Masons, the 
 Elks and the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 WILLIAM CAMERON BEER was born 
 in Bucyrus, O., on June i6th, 1874. He was 
 the second son of Capt. William Nevin Beer 
 and his wife Mary, whose maiden name was 
 Mary Denman Swingly. His father was the 
 sixth son of Rev. Thomas Beer and Margaret 
 Cameron, the former being of Irish and the 
 latter of Scotch parentage. His mother was 
 the daughter of Dr. Frederick Swingly and 
 Mary Denman; she was born and reared in 
 Bucyrus, O., where she still resides. 
 
 The ancestors of Mr. Beer were among the 
 early settlers of this country, and they endured 
 the trials and privations that fell to the lot 
 of the hardy pioneers who developed the 
 American commonwealth. William Beer, the 
 first of the family to emigrate to this country, 
 
586 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 left his home in Derry county, Ireland, in 
 1764 and took up his abode in Pennsylvania. 
 His son Thomas, who accompanied him, 
 served throughout the War for Independence. 
 
 The Denmans, Mr. Beer's maternal ances- 
 tors, were among the very early settlers in 
 New England ; authentic records on file in the 
 Connecticut State Library show them to have 
 been residents of that colony as far back as 
 1650. 
 
 In the early Indian wars, in the War for 
 Independence, in the War of 181 2 and in the 
 Civil War, the ancestors of Air. Beer rendered 
 valuable service to the colonies and to the 
 United States. William N. Beer, as captain 
 in the loist O. V. I., and four brothers, fol- 
 lowed the fortunes of the flag in the great 
 Civil War. Mr. Beer's grandfather. Dr. 
 Frederick Swingly, and his uncle, Frederick 
 Swingly, were soldiers in the army of the 
 North — the former a surgeon with the rank 
 of captain, and the latter a hospital steward. 
 When the war with Spain was declared, Mr. 
 Beer and his brother, Frederick T., followed 
 the traditions of the family by enlisting and 
 serving with Company A, Eighth Ohio Vol- 
 unteer Infantry during the war. They saw 
 active military service in the Santiago cam- 
 paign in July, 1898. 
 
 William Cameron Beer began his education 
 in the public schools of Bucyrus. In 1896 he 
 graduated from Nelson's Business College at 
 Springfield, Ohio. For a short time thereaf- 
 ter he was engaged in newspaper work. On 
 the breaking out of the war with Spain, as 
 above narrated, he became a member of Com- 
 pany A, Eighth O. V. L, and served during 
 hostilities. Upon his muster-out he went to 
 Belle Plaine, la., where he entered the service 
 of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Co. 
 as a stenographer. June 30, 1900, he mar- 
 ried Jessie Blanche Hutchison at Lake City, 
 la. 
 
 In June, 1901, Mr. Beer entered the law de- 
 partment of the University of Michigan, from 
 which he was graduated with the degree of 
 LL. B. in 1903. He was admitted to the prac- 
 tice of law in Ohio in December, 1903, and in 
 April of the following year he began the prac- 
 tice of his profession in Bucyrus, Ohio, as a 
 partner of the late Judge Thomas Beer. Upon 
 the death of Judge Beer in 19 10 he formed 
 
 a partnership for the practice of his profes- 
 sion with J. W. Wright, under the firm name 
 of Beer & Wright; this firm was dissolved in 
 January, 1912. Mr. Beer was elected city 
 solicitor of Bucyrus in November, 1905, and 
 held the office for two years. He is a member 
 of Bucyrus Lodge No. 156, B. P. O. Elks; 
 Camp Thoman No. 33 United Spanish War 
 Veterans, and the Military Order of the Loyal 
 Legion of the United States. In politics he is 
 a Republican, being the chairman of the Re- 
 publican Executive Committee of Crawford 
 county, Ohio. 
 
 C. E. HILDEBRAND, druggist, who is 
 the leader in his line at New Washington, O., 
 is sole proprietor and successor of J. F. Hilde- 
 brand & Bro., which firm succeeded J. F. To- 
 bin. Mr. Hildebrand was born at New Wash- 
 ington, June 29, 1875, and is a son of George 
 and Frederica ( Michel f elder) Hildebrand. 
 
 George Hildebrand was born at Broken- 
 sword, O., and after an agricultural life, lives 
 retired at New Washington. He is a strong 
 supporter of the Democratic party and a faith- 
 ful member of the Lutheran church. In this 
 city he was married to Frederica Michelfelder, 
 a daughter of John and Frederica (Utz) 
 Michelfelder, and they had two sons — J. F., 
 who is deceased, and C. E. 
 
 C. E. Hildebrand attended school at New 
 Washington and then entered the Ohio Nor- 
 mal University at Ada, O., where he com- 
 pleted his course in pharmacy. In 1896 he 
 purchased his interest in the present store, 
 from his brother, and the firm was known as 
 J. F. Hildebrand & Bro., until 1899, on the 
 death of the senior partner, C. E. Hildebrand 
 becoming the sole owner. He carries every- 
 thing usually fotmd in a modern drug store, 
 including a complete line of drugs, w^all pa- 
 per, paints, china, books, novelties and fancy 
 and toilet articles, perfumes and choice con- 
 fectionery, occupying a double room 44x76 
 ft. in dimensions. 
 
 Mr. Hildebrand married Miss Henrietta 
 Heinmiller, a daughter of John and Margaret 
 Heinmiller of New W^ashington, and they 
 have three children; John, Harold and Eve- 
 lyn. Air. Hildebrand and family are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church. Politically he 
 is a Democrat and at times has served in the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 587 
 
 town council and on the school board. He is 
 a member of the Ohio State Drug Association. 
 Mr. Hildebrand occupiees well appointed flats 
 above his drug store on Mansfield Street. 
 
 BENJAMIN MECK, who has been estab- 
 lished in the practice of law at Bucyrus, O., 
 since 1907, and is a member of the able law 
 finn of Meek & Stalter, of this city, is also a 
 prominent Democratic politician and a man of 
 good report along every line. He was born 
 March i, i860, in Lykens township Crawford 
 county, O., a son of John Frederick Meek. 
 
 The ancestors of Mr. Meek came to Amer- 
 ica from Germany and the paternal grand- 
 father brought the family to Ohio and settled 
 in Lykens township, Crawford county. He 
 and his wife were among the early members 
 of the German Evangelical church in that 
 section. In 1831, when the family came to 
 America, the father of Benjamin Meek was 
 about fifteen years of age. He became a 
 farmer in Lykens township and lived there 
 during all his active life, then retired to Chat- 
 field, where he died in 1899. He married and 
 his widow still survives, being now eighty-one 
 years old. In her girlhood days she united 
 with the Methodist church but later attended 
 the German Evangelical with her husband. All 
 of their eleven children grew to maturity ex- 
 cept one, and all live in Ohio and are mar- 
 ried except two. 
 
 Benjamin Meek was the fifth born in the 
 above family. His boyhood was spent on the 
 home farm and he attended the country 
 schools but later enjoyed other advantages, in 
 1883 graduating from the Ohio Normal uni- 
 versity. He was admitted to the bar in June, 
 1889, and located at Upper Sandusky, where 
 he resided for twenty years. He was recog- 
 nized as one of the ablest members of the Wy- 
 andot county bar and for six years was prose- 
 cuting attorney. It was during his term that 
 Wyandot county erected its present handsome 
 court house, which was built under the careful 
 scrutiny of Prosecuting Attorney Meek, with 
 the happy result that was appreciated by the 
 taxpayers, of moderate taxation and reason- 
 able cost of erection. There was no opportu- 
 nity for false representations when every item 
 went through the office of the prosecuting at- 
 torney as well as the auditor's and treasurer's. 
 
 His first election was in 1896 and his second 
 in 1899, following the close of which he de- 
 clined a third nomination. Since then he has 
 attended closely to an ever increasing practice, 
 both in Wyandot county and since coming to 
 Bucyrus, and is known as a learned, accurate, 
 high-minded lawyer. 
 
 Mr. Meek was married in Wyandot county, 
 to Miss Mary McLaughlin, who was born and 
 reared there, and they have five children, as 
 follows : Henry Lehr, who is engaged in the 
 practice of medicine at Petersburg, Mich., is 
 a graduate of the Detroit Medical college, in 
 the class of 1909; he married Clara Lynch, of 
 Sycamore, O. Abraham K., who is engaged 
 in the practice of law at Denver, Colo., is a 
 graduate of the Chicago university; he mar- 
 ried Maria Chenowith. Chester Allen, who is 
 a graduate of the Bucyrus High school, is a 
 student in the class of 1914 in the law depart- 
 ment of the Ohio Northern university at Ada, 
 O. Nina Augusta is the wife of Dorsey 
 Wirth, who is a merchant at Bucyrus. Calvin 
 Benjamin attends the public schools. Mrs. 
 Meek is a member of the German Reformed 
 church. Mr. Meek is identified with Walpole 
 lodge, F. & A. M., at Upper Sandusky. 
 
 RUFUS V. SEARS, a foremost member 
 of the Bucyrus bar and a representative citi- 
 zen along every line of intelligent effort, be- 
 longs to one of the old settled families of 
 Crawford county, O. He was born on the 
 Sears homestead, within a few miles of Bucy- 
 rus, and was principally educated in this city. 
 He is of Revolutionary stock in both 
 branches of his ancestry. His parents were 
 Benjamin and Melissa (Minich) Sears, names 
 well known in the early settlement of Mary- 
 land and Ohio. 
 
 After being creditably graduated from the 
 Bucyrus High school, he entered upon the 
 study of the law and in 1886 was admitted to 
 the bar. He opened an office at Bucyrus and 
 practiced alone until 1893, when he entered 
 into partnership with the late Hon. S. R. Har- 
 ris, his father-in-law. This law firm, collect- 
 ively and individually, was a strong one in 
 Crawford county for many years. Since the 
 death of Judge Harris, Mr. Sears has con- 
 tinued without a partner. He is additionally 
 interested in numerous successful enterprises 
 
588 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of city and section, and is officially connected 
 with several, and is one of the directing board 
 of the First National bank of Bucyrus. In 
 his political views Mr. Sears is a Republican 
 and is loyal to party and friends but has sel- 
 dom consented to accept political preferment 
 for himself. He has always identified himself 
 vitally with the best interests of the city, and 
 belongs to that class of useful and construct- 
 ive citizens that maintain order and encourage 
 progress, thereby establishing the good name 
 of their section abroad. 
 
 Mr. Sears was married in 1888 to Miss 
 Sallie J. Harris, and their family consists of 
 three sons : Paul Bigelow, Demas Lindley and 
 John Dudley. 
 
 ALBERT L. BRIGGS, a general farmer 
 and highly respected citizen of Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., operates a 
 farm of eighty acres and is considered one of 
 the successful agriculturists of this section. 
 Mr. Briggs was born in Pennsylvania, Febru- 
 ary 12, i860, and is a son of Alexander and 
 Sarah (Shearer) Briggs. 
 
 Alexander Briggs was born also in Pennsyl- 
 vania, a son of Jonathan Briggs, who was 
 probably of English ancestry. Alexander 
 Briggs carried on farming in Pennsylvania 
 and is now deceased. He was somewhat active 
 in the Democratic party in his locality and was 
 a man who was well thought of by his neigh- 
 bors. He was a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. He married Sarah Shearer, 
 a daughter of Michael Shearer, and they had 
 the following children: Albert L.; Harry; 
 W^ade; Charles; ^^lary, wife of Samuel Lou- 
 den; Edna, wife of Thomas Guinn; Catherine, 
 wife of Frank Brown ; Matilda, now deceased, 
 who was the wife of a Mr. Young; and 
 Bertha, wife of \Mlliam Bell. The mother of 
 this family survives and lives in Iowa. She 
 is a member of the Presbyterian church. 
 
 Albert L. Briggs attended the public schools 
 in Huntingdon county. Pa., and assisted his 
 father on the home place until he was twenty 
 years of age. He then came to Crawford 
 county, O., where he soon found employment 
 in the agricultural districts, and thus it hap- 
 pened that he was engaged by George Breh- 
 man as a farm assistant and worked for two 
 years on the present place prior to his marriage 
 
 with his employer's daughter. This marriage 
 was celebrated January 17, 1888, the lady 
 being Miss Matilda Brehman, a daughter of 
 George and Hettie (Reiter) Brehman. and a 
 granddaughter of John Brehman and John 
 Reiter. It was Grandfather Brehman who en- 
 tered the present farm from the Government 
 and the deed, which Mr. and Mrs. Briggs pre- 
 serve, bears the signature of Andrew Jackson 
 as President of the United States. The Briggs 
 farm belongs to Mrs. Briggs, it having de- 
 scended to her when her parents died, and she 
 is also one of the heirs interested in another 
 eighty acres. George Brehman and wife were 
 well known and much esteemed people and 
 were faithful members of the Lutheran 
 church. They had the following children: 
 Martha,, wife of William Vail; Emmeline 
 wife of Marion Smith; George; Matilda, wife 
 of Albert L. Briggs; Malinda; Amanda; and 
 Elias, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Briggs have 
 three children. May, Carl and Kenneth, all of 
 whom have been given excellent school ad- 
 vantages. ]Mr. Briggs has served as school 
 director and also as road supervisor, and is 
 known to be a sensible, honest, practical man. 
 The family attends the Lutheran church. 
 
 CHARLES R. RO\\'E, of The Rowe Bros. 
 Co., proprietors of the leading mercantile es- 
 tablishment at Bucyrus, O., has been a part- 
 ner in the above mentioned business since 
 1897, having had previous mercantile experi- 
 ence. He was born in ^ledina coimty, O., and 
 is a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Grant) 
 Rowe. 
 
 Dr. Thomas Rowe, the grandfather of the 
 Rowe Brothers of Bucyrus, was bom in New 
 Hampshire and came to the Western Reserve 
 with his family in 1840, locating in Medina 
 county. He had much pioneering experience, 
 as the country at that date was but sparsely 
 settled and his practice called him long dis- 
 tances from home and his visits were neces- 
 sarily made in primitive style, carrying his 
 saddle bags of medicine and instruments on 
 horseback. Of his children, his son Thomas 
 was a small boy when the family came to 
 Medina county, which section continued to 
 be his home through life. He acquired a large 
 amount of valuable farm land. His death oc- 
 curred in 1897, when he was aged sixty-four 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 589 
 
 years. He married Elizabeth Grant, who was 
 born in Connecticut, from which state she 
 came to Medina county as a school teacher 
 and subsequently was married to Thomas 
 Rowe. She still survives and resides in Me- 
 dina county and has many pleasant recollec- 
 tions of earlier times there. She is a member 
 of the Congregational church. To Thomas 
 and Elizabeth Rowe five children were born, 
 four sons and one daughter, the last, Emma, 
 being the wife of G. W. Thompson, of^Lex- 
 ington, Idaho, and the mother of four sons and 
 one daughter. The sons, Charles R., Thomas 
 G., George S. and H. G., are all business men, 
 the two older brothers being associated to- 
 gether at Bucyrus, while George S. is with 
 the Putnam Publishing Company, at New 
 York City, and H. G. is owner and proprietor 
 of the Medina County Gazette and a promi- 
 nent resident of the city of Medina. 
 
 Charles R. Rowe was reared and educated 
 at Medina and after his school days were over 
 entered a mercantile establishment as a clerk. 
 Five years later he came to Bucyrus, entered 
 into business here and in 1897 became a part- 
 ner in the Rowe Bros. Co., as above men- 
 tioned. The business was started under the 
 firm name of Lauck & Rowe, the junior part- 
 ner being Thomas G. Rowe, who, in 1897 pur- 
 chased the entire interest and in the same year 
 took his brother, Charles R., as a partner. 
 The business was conducted at No. 130 South 
 Sandusky avenue but accommodations soon 
 proved too limited and additional space was 
 secured and the present frontage of their es- 
 tablishment, which includes Nos. 130-132 
 South Sandusky avenue, is 160 feet. In 1907 
 the firm became a close corporation and in 
 1911 a branch store was established at Cleve- 
 land. The business at Bucyrus is conducted 
 under the corporation style of The Rowe Bros. 
 Co., while the firm name at Cleveland is Rowe 
 Bros. They give employment to a large force 
 and cater to the best trade, carrying a complete 
 stock of fine merchandise, carpets and ladies' 
 wearing apparel. They are enterprising and 
 reputable business men and enjoy a large de- 
 gree of well merited prosperity. Both mem- 
 bers of the firm are identified with the Masonic 
 fraternity. 
 
 In 1899 Mr. Rowe was married to Miss 
 Pauline Erichman, who was born at Bucyrus 
 
 and they have two children, Richard Grant and 
 Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Rowe are members of 
 the Presbyterian church. 
 
 ARTHUR J. BEALL, whose excellent 
 farm of 112 acres is favorably situated half a 
 mile west of Bucyrus, Ohio, in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Crawford county, was born in the south- 
 ern part of this county, March 7, 1883, and is 
 one of the modern, progressive and successful 
 young agriculturists of this section. His par- 
 ents were John W. and Annetta (Wentz) 
 Beall. 
 
 John W. Beall was a lifelong resident of 
 Crawford county and was a well-known 
 farmer and stock-raiser. His death occurred 
 in his 37th year. He married Annetta Wentz, 
 a daughter of John Wentz and they became the 
 parents of four children, as follows: Arthur 
 J.; Mabel E., who is the wife of Alfred C. 
 George, who owns and successfully operates 
 148 acres of land in Dallas township, Craw- 
 ford county; they have one daughter, Eliza- 
 beth Annetta . Walter R., who owns a splendid 
 farm of 100 acres in Dallas township, Craw- 
 ford county; and Edgar B., who is assistant 
 cashier in the Commercial Savings bank at Ga- 
 lion, Ohio. 
 
 A. J. Beall obtained a public school educa- 
 tion, afterward spending one year at the Ohio 
 Northern university. He then taught school 
 for five years in Holmes and Bucyrus town- 
 ships and then came to his present home which 
 he purchased in 191 o. He carries on general 
 farming and stock-raising in a scientific way, 
 having a complete equipment of the most im- 
 proved farm machinery and keeping in touch 
 with the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Sta- 
 tion and modern methods, and is one of the 
 model farmers of the county. 
 
 He belongs to the local grange and formerly 
 was president of the Farmers' Institute. 
 
 On March 2^, 19 10, Mr. Beall was married 
 to Miss Rebecca A. Conkle, only daughter of 
 Peter and Mary E. (Foulke) Conkle, the for- 
 mer of whom is a partner and manager of the 
 Colter & Co. lumber mills of Bucyrus, Ohio. 
 Mrs. Beall was born October 7, 1886, and re- 
 ceived her education in the public schools of 
 Bucyrus, being graduated in the class of 1907. 
 She later studied in elocution and is a very ac- 
 complished reader. Mrs. Beall has one broth- 
 
590 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 er. Dr. G. C. Conkle, who is a physician at 
 Boyne Falls, Alich. Mr. and Mrs. Beall at- 
 tend the Methodist Episcopal church at Bucy- 
 rus. In politics he is a Republican. 
 
 JULIUS J. BLISS, Avhose long and able as- 
 sociation with the public schools of Crawford 
 county and the city of Bucyrus, made his name 
 a prominent one among the educators of his 
 native state, is recognized as one of the con- 
 structive and valuable citizens of this city. He 
 was born May i6, 1854, in Bainbridge town- 
 ship, Geauga county, O., and is a son of Ol- 
 ney R. and Wahala J. (McFarland) Bliss. 
 
 The Bliss family traces its ancestry to Eng- 
 land, Thomas Bliss, of Devonshire being re- 
 cortied as a member of the Plymouth Colony 
 in 1635. In the War of the Revolution the 
 unusual spectacle was presented of three gen- 
 erations participating together in that strug- 
 gle, Ephraim Bliss, his son Ephraim, and his 
 grandson, Benjamin Bliss, the last named be- 
 ing but a boy in years. Col. Otis B. Bliss, son 
 of the above Benjamin Bliss, was born at 
 North Adams, Berkshire county, Mass., and 
 in 1833 moved from there to Geauga county, 
 O., establishing the family home in Bainbridge 
 township, where many of his descendants may 
 yet be found among the people of substantial 
 character. In 1831 he had married Julia Elma 
 Maria Potter, who was born at Gloucester, R. 
 I., a daughter of Olney Potter, and a grand- 
 daughter of James Potter, and a great-grand- 
 daughter of Samuel Potter, both grandfather 
 and great-grandfather being soldiers in the 
 Revolutionary war and descendants of Roger 
 Williams. 
 
 Olney R. Bliss, father of Julius J. Bliss and 
 son of Otis B. Bliss, was born in Geauga 
 county O. ; in the first year the family settled 
 there. He was reared in Bainbridge township 
 and married the daughter of a neighbor, ]\Ia- 
 hala y. McFarland, whose father, John Wes- 
 lev McFarland, had moved from Berkshire, 
 ^fass., in 1816, to that township. In 1883 the 
 parents of Mr. Bliss removed to Brook\ille, 
 Kans., where they survived into old age. 
 
 Julius J. Bliss attended the public schools in 
 Geauga county and then entered Hiram col- 
 lege, and during the period passed there he 
 came under the influence of Prof. James A. 
 Garfield, who later became president of the 
 United States. From Hiram college Mr. Bliss 
 
 went to Oberlin college, where he was gradu- 
 ated in 1881, receiving his B. A. degree, and 
 five years later his degree of M. A., was con- 
 ferred. At the age of sixteen Mr. Bliss went 
 into educational work and by this means sent 
 himself through college. The exceptional suc- 
 cess which he achieved in the succeeding years 
 gave abundant proof of his qualifications as a 
 teacher. In January, 1883, he became one of 
 the instructors at the Bucyrus High school, 
 where he continued for two and one-half 
 years, and then accepted the superintendency 
 of the public schools of Crestline. For ten 
 years Mr. Bliss remained in that city, where 
 his professional and executive ability were 
 thoroughly tested and recognized. In 1895 he 
 came to Bucyrus, accepting the superintend- 
 ency of the public schools of this city, and 
 continued in charge until 1907. During this 
 long period many changes were brought about 
 in almost every department of the school sys- 
 tem, r^Ir. Bliss giving his entire attention to 
 the advancement and upbuilding of the city's 
 educational institutions. Largely increased at- 
 tendance, a higher curriculum, and a more pro- 
 nounced enthusiasm for more advanced op- 
 portunities, were some of the results of his 
 long superintendency. In 1907 Mr. Bliss 
 turned his attention to banking and is at pres- 
 ent identified with the Bucyrus City bank. He 
 has ever been an interested citizen, is secre- 
 tary of the Bucyrus City Library board and a 
 leader in all movements looking toward the 
 educational and moral advancement of the 
 community. He was the leading factor in se- 
 curing the establishment of the Y. M. C. A., 
 in this city, and has always taken a deep in- 
 terest in its work. 
 
 Mr. Bliss was married in 1886, at Bucyrus, 
 to Miss Ella [May Fuhrman, a daughter of 
 Thomas and Adeline (Kirby) Fuhrman, and 
 they have two children: INIarion George and 
 Mary Mahala. The family are all members of 
 the Presbyterian church. He has been af- 
 filiated with many educational bodies, but the 
 only fraternal organization with which he is 
 connected is the order of Knights of Pythias. 
 The hospitable home of Mr. and Mrs. Bliss is 
 at No. 512 E. Rensselaer street, Bucyrus. 
 
 HENRY WITTER, a highly respected citi- 
 zen of Bucyrus. O., who now lives retired after 
 many years of successful agricultural effort. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 591 
 
 enjoys the comforts of a beautiful home at 
 No. 412 South Sandusky street. He was born 
 August 14, 1844, in Chatfield township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., and is a son of WilHam 
 Witter. 
 
 William Witter was born in North Carolina 
 and for some years after reaching manhood 
 was overseer on plantations where many 
 slaves were owned. He was married in Rock- 
 ingham county, N. C, to C. Barbara Fitz, who 
 was born in Germany and came to America 
 when young. Mr. and Mrs. Witter remained 
 in North Caroline until after the birth of four 
 children and then decided to come north, mak- 
 ing a choice of Crawford county, O. With 
 wagon and one horse and bringing along all 
 their household effects, the family started for 
 the new home. It took quite a long time in 
 those days to cover such a distance, as the 
 roads were poor and many of the streams 
 were unbridged, but they had expected to en- 
 counter hardships as pioneers and kept perse- 
 veringly on. They reached Chatfield town- 
 ship, Crawford county, in 1836, and their first 
 purchase of land was forty-five acres, none of 
 which had yet been cleared or improved. La- 
 ter Mr. Witter bought additional land and 
 about this time the father of Mrs. Witter, 
 Christian Fritz, joined the other pioneers and 
 together they acquired still more land and 
 cleared and improved it. Mr. Fritz died on 
 that place in his eighty-fifth year. William 
 Witter died there in 1891, aged ninety-one 
 years, having survived his wife since Febru- 
 ary, 1883. He was a Whig in early life and 
 later became a Republican. His wife belonged 
 to the German Lutheran church but he was 
 identified with the Campbellite church. The 
 following children were born to them : Wil- 
 liam, who was accidentally killed by a run- 
 away team of horses when aged eighteen 
 years; Thomas, who died at Vicksburg, Miss., 
 while serving in the Federal army during the 
 Civil war; John, who is a farmer in Western 
 Ohio; Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife 
 of Christian Baldosser; Caroline, deceased, 
 who was twice married ; Alexander, who died 
 in 1895 ; Charles, who died at the age of four- 
 teen years ; and Henry, now of Bucyrus. 
 
 Henry Witter assisted in clearing and im- 
 proving the home farm and lived there until 
 
 one year after his marriage. He then moved 
 five miles south of Bucyrus, remaining in that 
 locality one year, after which he bought 80 
 acres in Holmes township, where he resided 
 three years. At the end of that time he sold 
 his place and bought in Bucyrus township a 
 farm of 85 acres and shortly afterwards 24 
 acres more, and lived there until 1905, when 
 he returned to Bucyrus. He has never been 
 greatly interested in politics and for some 
 years has maintained an independent attitude. 
 He is a member of the German Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 Mr. Witter was married in Seneca county, 
 to Fredericka Louise Bauer, who was born in 
 Saxony, Germany, November 7, 1844, and 
 died at her home in Bucyrus, May 5, 1910. 
 She was six years old when her parents, Fred- 
 erick and Henriette O. Bauer, brought her to 
 the United States. For some years they 
 lived in Massachusetts and then came to Craw- 
 ford county and Mr. Bauer purchased a large 
 farm in Lykens township, on which his wife 
 died at the age of seventy-six years. After- 
 ward he came to Bucyrus and here his death 
 occurred in his eighty-sixth year. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Witter the following children were born : 
 Frederick, who is a resident of Bucyrus, mar- 
 ried Nora Ruch and they have three children — 
 Henry, Ruth and May; William, who is a 
 prominent physician at Detroit, Mich., was 
 graduated from the Bucyrus High school in 
 the class of 1892, the medical department of 
 the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, 
 in the class of 1898, was married at West 
 Branch, Mich., to Caroline B. Cline, and they 
 have two children— Caroline I. and Lelia M. ; 
 Charles A., who died at the age of nine years ; 
 Louis, who is in the transportation business at 
 Bucyrus, married Emanda Pfleider, and they 
 have three children — J. Edwin, Henry H. and 
 Caroline Anna ; Thomas, who died in infancy ; 
 Mary Ann Isabel, who is her father's compe- 
 tent housekeeper; James, who resides on a 
 farm in Sandusky township, has four children 
 — James, Ardis, William and Robert ; Alberta, 
 who died when aged ten years ; Elsie, who died 
 at the age of eight years ; and Roy, who lived 
 but five years. The surviving members of Mr. 
 Witter's family are all well established in life 
 and all are respected members of society. 
 
592 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 COL. CYRUS W. FISHER, who has been 
 a man of influence and more or less prominence 
 in different sections of the country for very 
 many years, and who is now one of the most 
 distinguished citizens of Bucyrus, O., was 
 born Sept. 22, 1835, at Waynesville, Warren 
 county, O. After several family changes of 
 residence in his boyhood, Cyrus W. Fisher was 
 sent in 1846, by his father. Dr. Fisher, from 
 the pioneer home in Rock county. Wis., to at- 
 tend school at his birthplace in Ohio. In 1849 
 Dr. Fisher with the rest of his family also re- 
 turned to Ohio and the son joined his father 
 at Lebanon in Warren county, and continued 
 his studies while living at home until about 
 1 85 1. In the above mentioned year he accom- 
 panied a corps of railroad engineers and as- 
 sisted in making surveys through Ohio, being 
 thus occupied until 1854, in which year he en- 
 tered the employ of the Ohio & Indiana Rail- 
 road Company, remaining with that corpora- 
 tion for two years. His next railroad connec- 
 tion was with the Bee Line road, with which 
 he was identified until 1857, being a passenger 
 conductor on the line between Crestline and In- 
 dianapolis. He then accepted a position in 
 the office of the superintendent of that road, 
 at Bellefontaine, Ohio, and remained there 
 until President Lincoln's first call for troops 
 in 1861. 
 
 He then entered the service of the Federal 
 Government as first lieutenant of Co. F, 23rd 
 O. V. I. His brother officers were men of 
 high character and ability and several of them 
 later achieved national distinction. His col- 
 onel was W. S. Rosecrans, his lieutenant 
 colonel, Stanley Matthews, and his major, 
 Rutherford B. Hayes. In July, 1861, the reg- 
 iment was sent to western Virginia, and in 
 the succeeding November Lieut. Fisher be- 
 came major of the S4th Ohio Infantry, which 
 regiment, in February, 1862 became a part 
 of the army division that first came under 
 the command of General Sherman, who was 
 then a brigadier. In November, 1862 Major 
 Fisher was again promoted, becoming lieu- 
 tenant-colonel of the 54th regiment, and as 
 such he was a participant in all the operations 
 of the 15th Army Corps, his valor, coolness 
 and military ability serving well his command 
 on many a battle-field. His faithful service 
 to his cause and country ended only with the 
 
 close of the war, when he returned to Belle- 
 fontaine, where his family then resided. 
 
 Immediately after the termination of his 
 military career. Col. Fisher removed to Oska- 
 loosa, Iowa, with the idea of entering upon 
 the practice of law, having been admitted to 
 the Ohio bar in 1864. He first, however, 
 went into journalism, purchasing the Oska- 
 loosa Herald, which he conducted until 1868, 
 when he disposed of it and opened a law of- 
 fice. His prospects were encouraging, but by 
 this lime he had found the climate not favor- 
 able to his health, and when it became a mat- 
 ter of necessity for him to find a less trying 
 one, his thoughts again turned to railroading, 
 in which field he felt at home. Accordingly 
 he shortly afterward accepted the position of 
 superintendent and general freight and ticket 
 agent in the more congenial climate of Col- 
 orado, being the first incumbent of that office 
 for the Denver Pacific line in that state. 
 
 Col. Fisher's identification with the Denver 
 Pacific, the Kansas Pacific, and the Colorado 
 Central railroads continued until the summer 
 of 1878, when he was made superintendent of 
 the Mountain Division of the Union Pacific 
 Railroad. He held this latter position until 
 1879, when he resigned in order to become 
 general superintendent of the Denver, South 
 Park & Pacific Railroad, of which he was also 
 a director and second vice president. In Sep- 
 tember, 1882, he became general manager of 
 the New Orleans & Denver Railroad Com- 
 pany, of which in 1883 he was elected general 
 manager and president. In 1884-5 he was 
 general manager and lessee of this road, but 
 resigned in March, 1886, in order to accept 
 the position of general manager of the Rock 
 Island Railroad lines west of the Missouri 
 river. 
 
 From 1886 to 1888 his time was completely 
 taken up in the construction and putting into 
 operation of thirteen hundred miles of track- 
 age. Family affliction in the death of his 
 wife, which took place in this year, induced 
 his resignation, his need of rest and recrea- 
 tion being apparent to all his friends. These 
 he found in a trip to Europe, where, during 
 a stay of six months, he visited many points 
 of interest. The year 1889 found him once 
 more in his native state and subsequently he 
 became a settled citizen of Buc)^us, where he 
 
COL. CYRUS W. FISHER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 595 
 
 made investments and purchased a comfort- 
 able and attractive residence at No. 125 Rens- 
 salaer street. After locating in this city he 
 became connected with the Frey-Sheckler Clay 
 Working Company, later known as the 
 American Clay Machinery Company. At 
 the present writing he is president of the 
 Bucyrus Public Library, also of the Bucyrus 
 Hospital Association, and of the Fairbanks 
 Steam Shovel Company, of Marion, Ohio. 
 He has been very active in Grand Army cir- 
 cles and has served for several years as com- 
 mander of the post at Bucyrus. 
 
 For many years Col. Fisher has been a lead- 
 ing factor in Republican politics, and was a 
 hearty and effective worker for the late Presi- 
 dent William McKinley, who was an old army 
 comrade and a personal friend. In 1896 Col. 
 Fisher visited Denver, Colo, in a political 
 capacity, just at the time that the Denver, 
 Cripple Creek & Southwestern Railroad was 
 being organized, and the presidency of this 
 company being tendered him, he accepted it 
 and held the office for two years. Other in- 
 terests, however, soon claimed his attention 
 and he retired permanently from participation 
 in railroad affairs. 
 
 Col. Fisher was first married at Bellefon- 
 taine, O., in 1859, to Miss Sallie M. Dunham. 
 She died Sept. 25, i860, being survived for 
 a few weeks by an infant son. The Colonel's 
 .second marriage was contracted in 1864 with 
 Miss Martha I. Hetich, who was born in 
 Crawford county, O. Her death took place 
 in 1888, at Hot Springs, Ark. In 1891 Col. 
 Fisher married Mrs. Mary D. Beer, a lady 
 well known in Bucyrus. To his second mar- 
 riage ten children were bom, two of whom 
 survive — Cyrus H. and Sallie. Col. Fisher is 
 a thirty-second degree Mason, having been 
 identified with the fraternity for the past 54 
 years. He manifests a thorough interest in 
 all that concerns the welfare of Bucyrus, 
 which he has shown by action whenever a 
 good example was needed or when called upon 
 to aid in a worthy cause. Every practical 
 movement for the moral and material better- 
 ment of the community has had his cordial 
 support. The extent of his private charities 
 will never be fully known, for, like every true 
 gentleman, he dislikes ostentation, satisfied 
 with the approval of his own conscience in 
 whatever he may do for his fellow man. 
 
 JOHN H. LIGHT, who has made a success 
 his chosen line of business — agriculture — re- 
 sides on his well improved farm of seventy- 
 one acres, located five miles northeast of Bucy- 
 rus, was born in Liberty township, Crawford 
 county, O., in 1872, and has always lived here. 
 He is a son of William and Sarah (Hay) 
 Light. 
 
 William Light and wife were both born in 
 Pennsylvania and they came to Ohio in 1857. 
 Both died in Liberty township, aged respec- 
 tively seventy-three and seventy-two years. 
 They had seven children: Swingly, who re- 
 sides in Liberty township, married Caroline 
 Pfluderer; Scyanthia, who resides at Bucyrus, 
 married G. W. Sprow ; William; who is a busi- 
 ness man of Bucyrus, married Rebecca Charl- 
 ton; Ida, residing in Liberty township, is the 
 widow of H. J. Sprow, who died July 27, 
 191 1 ; Daniel died in 1895; Mary, the wife of 
 G. B. Kelly — they live in Liberty township; 
 and John H., the subject of this sketch. 
 
 John H. Light had public school advantages 
 and grew to manhood well trained in farm 
 work and has made farming his sole business. 
 As his property has needed improving he has 
 attended to this matter and recently has com- 
 pleted a very fine barn. He raises the usual 
 crops of this section and enough stock for his 
 own use. 
 
 Mr. Light was married to Miss Anna 'Bitte- 
 kofer, who was born in 1881, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Christiana (Auckerman) Bitte- 
 kofer. Mrs. Light's brothers and sisters are 
 Fred, Jesse, John, Harve, Earl, Albert, Mary, 
 and Cora; one brother, Irvin, is deceased. 
 Fred is a teacher in the Tiffin, O., High 
 school; Jesse lives in Lykens township; John 
 lives at New Washington, and the others re- 
 main at home. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Light have five children, 
 namely: Ruth I., Mabel M., Fairy M., Walter 
 B. and Ethel O. Mr. Light and family belong 
 to the Reformed church. In politics he is a 
 Republican. 
 
 OTHO W. KENNEDY, who is serving in 
 his third term as city solicitor of Bucyrus, O., 
 is a well known member of the Crawford 
 county bar and belongs to one of the old fam- 
 ilies of the county. He was born May 25, 
 1878, one of a family of twelve children born 
 
596 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to his parents, Thomas S. and Hester F. 
 (Monnett) Kennedy. 
 
 Otho W. Kennedy began his education in 
 the pubHc schools and later continued it at the 
 Ohio Normal university, at Ada, O., during 
 this latter period also teaching school. He 
 then entered the Western Reserve college at 
 Cleveland, O., which he attended for a time, 
 being afterward graduated from the Ohio 
 Normal university at Ada. He was admitted 
 to the bar in December, 1902. and began prac- 
 tice in Marion county, O. Believing that Bucy- 
 rus offered a wider field for professional ef- 
 fort, in 1903 he came to this city, where he 
 has had no reason to feel that his judgment 
 was in any way deficient in making a choice 
 of home. He has thoroughly identified him- 
 self with the activities and interests which go 
 to build up a city and is widely and favorably 
 known both in his profession and otherwise. 
 He was first elected to the office of city solici- 
 tor in 1907 and was reelected in 1909 and 
 191 1. He is a Democrat in his political views 
 and heartily supports his party's candidates. 
 During 1906 and 1907 he was a member of 
 the board of deputy state _ supervisors of 
 elections. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy married Miss Edna T. Birk, a 
 daughter of C. F. Birk. Mr. and Mrs. Ken- 
 nedy are members of the Lutheran church. 
 Fraternally he is connected with the Elks and 
 the Eagles. 
 
 DANIEL J. STRICKER, a government 
 railway mail clerk, for the past eleven years 
 has been detailed on the service between Pitts- 
 burg, Pa., and Chicago, 111., a route of great 
 importance, the handling and safety of the 
 mail between these points being a matter of 
 extreme responsibility. He has been a resi- 
 dent of the United States since he was five 
 years old, but was born at Vienna, Austria, 
 April 13, 1869. His parents were Anton and 
 Cecelia (Waller) Strieker. 
 
 The early history of the family has not 
 been preserved to a great extent but a coat of 
 arms is in the possession of its present repre- 
 sentative which shows connection with the no- 
 bility in 1 162. Anton Strieker was born also 
 in Austria and served in the army in 1848, re- 
 ceiving wounds. He later carried on the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing meerschaum pipes at 
 
 Vienna. In 1874 he came with his family to 
 the United States and shortly afterward set- 
 tled at Bucyrus, where his death occurred Feb- 
 ruary 25, 191 1, within four months of his be- 
 ing ninety-two years of age. In Austria he 
 married Cecelia Waller, who was born in Bo- 
 hemia and died March 2, 191 1, in her seventy- 
 eighth year. In Austria they were Catholics 
 but in Ohio affiliated themselves with the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. They had five children, 
 one son having died in infancy in Vienna. 
 The other four were : August, who is a tele- 
 graph operator for the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Company, at Dunkirk, O., married Elizabeth 
 Wakefield; Daniel J.; Charles, who is a ma- 
 chinist at Bucyrus, married Anna Scheib; 
 and John, who was accidentally killed on the 
 T. & O. Railroad, of which he was an em- 
 ploye. 
 
 Daniel J. Strieker obtained his education 
 at Bucyrus and after a number of years as 
 telegraph operator for the Pennsylvania rail- 
 road company, specially prepared himself for 
 his present work. October 14, 1896, he was 
 married to Miss Katheryn L. Uhl, who was 
 born at Gallon, O., where she was reared and 
 educated and for several years previous to the 
 marriage was an acceptable teacher. She is a 
 daughter of John F. and Anna Barbara 
 (Tracht) Uhl, both of German parentage. 
 Mr. Uhl was a cabinetmaker and interior fin- 
 isher by trade, which he followed at Gallon 
 until his death in 1875. His widow survived 
 him until 1894. They were German Luther- 
 ans in their religious belief. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Strieker have one son, Harold 
 Eugene, who was born April 16, 1905. He is 
 a child of great promise and possesses artistic 
 talents that may make him famous in after 
 life. When but four years old he could use a 
 pencil artistically and by the next birthday 
 could produce landscapes and correctly draw 
 engines in motion. Mr. and Mrs. Strieker are 
 members of the English Lutheran church. In 
 politics he is a Democrat. He is a Knight of 
 Pythias. The family residence, a fine one re- 
 cently completed by Mr. Strieker, is located at 
 Xo. 420 Middletown street, Bucyrus. 
 
 ABRAHAM J. LUST, a well known citi- 
 zen of Holmes township and a successful gen- 
 eral farmer and stock raiser, resides on a valu- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 597 
 
 able farm of eighty acres, which Hes one mile 
 east of Brokensword, O. Mr. Lust belongs to 
 one of the representative families of this sec- 
 tion. He was born on the old Lust homestead, 
 August 28, 1872, and is a son of David Lust. 
 
 Abraham J. Lust obtained a district school 
 education and then chose farming as his life 
 business, following it first in Lykens township 
 but retaining his residence always in Holmes 
 township. His well cultivated and comfort- 
 ably improved farm is numbered with the 
 good properties of this part of the county. 
 
 Mr. Lust was married in 1894, to Miss 
 Emma Haas, who is a daughter of Henry 
 Hass, a blacksmith in business at Broken- 
 sword, and they have one daughter, Edith, 
 who resides with her parents. Mr. Lust and 
 family attend Emanuel church at Broken- 
 sword. He belongs to a Democratic family, 
 he and his brothers having followed the ex- 
 ample of their father in public matters. 
 
 REV. CHARLES BRASCHLER, pastor 
 of the Holy Trinity Catholic church, at Bucy- 
 rus, O., came to this charge in May, 1899, and 
 for fourteen years has zealously devoted him- 
 self to the spiritual upbuilding of this congre- 
 gation and has also been in no wise neglect- 
 ful in regard to the material advancement of 
 his parish. Rev. Father Braschler was born 
 in Switzerland, October 29, 1842, a son of 
 Jacob Braschler. His parents were also na- 
 tives of Switzerland, most worthy people, who 
 gave their eleven children every advantage 
 within their power. 
 
 Father Braschler attended the parochial 
 schools in boyhood and after deciding to be- 
 come a priest, he entered a Catholic college in 
 Switzerland, where he was graduated. After 
 coming to the United States he still further 
 prosecuted his theological studies and at Cleve- 
 land, O., on July 17, 1870, was ordained by 
 Right Reverend Bishop Mullin, of the Erie 
 diocese. During the first three years of ser- 
 vice in the church. Father Braschler minis- 
 tered to eight missions distributed in three 
 counties, after which he was stationed at Up- 
 per Sandusky, where he remained in charge 
 for sixteen years. His next parish was in 
 Putnam county, O., where he continued for 
 ten years and then was called to Bacyrus to be- 
 come pastor of Holy Trinity. His congrega- 
 
 tion includes 150 families and his influence has 
 been markedly beneficial. The church school 
 attached to Holy Trinity has 120 pupils and is 
 in charge of the Sisters of St. Dominic and 
 Father Braschler erected the present commodi- 
 ous school building in 1910. He is well known 
 to all circles at Bucyrus and is held in the high- 
 est regard by his own people and respected by 
 those of every denomination. 
 
 ANCHEL EDELSTEIN, a well known 
 business man of Bucyrus, O., who has been 
 engaged in stock buying and dealing in Craw- 
 ford county for the past thirty years, is a 
 prominent man in this industry, in connection 
 with which he is widely known in other sec- 
 tions. He was born in Germany, May 3, 1850, 
 and is a son of Joseph Edelstein, who was born 
 in Germany in 1800 and died in 1876. He 
 was a butcher by trade and he dealt extensively 
 for the times, in horses and cattle. 
 
 Anchel Edelstein was practically reared in 
 his present business and early learned the 
 values of stock and the alertness necessary to 
 make a success along this line. He was but 
 fourteen years of age when he completed his 
 first purchase, buying a cow that he immedi- 
 ately sold at an advance and this has been a 
 business policy of soundness that he has fol- 
 lowed ever since. In July, 1880, Mr. Edel- 
 stein came to Bucyrus and soon afterward be- 
 came interested in the stock business here and 
 operated in a small way from 1882 until 1888. 
 At that time he became connected with M. 
 Goldsmith, one of the largest exporters of cat- 
 tle at that time in New York city and con- 
 tinued a purchasing agent for Mr. Goldsmith 
 until the latter's death in 1891. Later he ac- 
 cepted a similar position with another large 
 importing house and for eight years bought 
 cattle for them, terminating that connection 
 when his firm was dissolved on account of the 
 death of the senior member. In 1903 Mr. 
 Edelstein became purchasing agent for E. J. 
 Joyce & Co., of Pittsburg, Pa., and remained 
 with this house until the death of E. J. Joyce 
 of Pittsburg, Pa., in March, 19 12, when the 
 firm was dissolved and Mr. Edelstein at once 
 became associated with S. B. Hedges & Co., 
 of Pittsburg, with whom he is at present. His 
 experiences have been wide and varied. He 
 has purchased cattle in a number of counties 
 
598 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 in Ohio, in \^'est A'irginia and other cattle 
 growing sections and his expert knowledge 
 and thorough experience make him very valu- 
 able along this line. Besides being engaged 
 in the live stock business ]\Ir. Edelstein is also 
 a well known wool buyer in Crawford county. 
 'Sir. Edelstein was married in 1878 at Un- 
 terredenberg, Germany, to ^liss Reka Sitz- 
 man, who was born at that place, September 
 2^. 1854, a daughter of ^Nleyer and Leah 
 (Strauss) Sitzman. They were members of 
 the Hebrew congregation, in their nati\e land. 
 In 1800 ;Mr. Edelstein came to Ohio and two 
 years later was joined by his wife. They are 
 active in the Manon Jewish congragation at 
 Clarion, O. Five sons and two daughters 
 have been born to them, as follows: Hattie; 
 Clara, who is the wife of Lester ^Nlitchel, a 
 business man of Cincinnati ; Joseph, who is a 
 business man of Toledo; Carl, who is associ- 
 ated with his father ; Xathan and Victor, both 
 of whom are High school students; and My- 
 ron, who attends the public schools. Politic- 
 ally ;Mr. Edelstein is a Republican. He be- 
 longs to the National Union and is identified 
 also with the Elks. 
 
 FREDERICK E. SHIFLEY, who culti- 
 vates with much success his valuable farm of 
 eighty acres, which lies in \\'hetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., not far from Bucy- 
 rus, is a well known resident of this section 
 and was born in this county, ^ilarch 25, 1867. 
 His parents were Daniel and Louisa (^Motz) 
 Shifley. 
 
 Daniel Shifley was born in Xew York, while 
 his wife was a native of France. He engaged 
 in farming for a number of years in Holmes 
 township, Crawford county, and was some- 
 what active in Democratic politics. Both he 
 and wife are now deceased, their burial being 
 in the Oakwood cemeter}'. They had the fol- 
 lowing children : Daniel, Samuel, John, Benja- 
 min. Addie, Frederick E., Henry, Amelia. 
 Effie. Charles and Andrew. Of the above all 
 survive except John. Addie and Amelia. Ad- 
 die was the wife of Frank Bare, and Amelia 
 the wife of Ark Kimble. Effie is the wife of 
 Charles ^Melchor. 
 
 Frederick E. Shifley obtained his education 
 in the public schools and assisted on the home 
 farm until he was twenty-four years of age. 
 
 He then bought a general store business at 
 Xew Winchester, which he conducted for 
 eighteen years. Mr. Shifley then decided to 
 return to an agricultural life and after dispos- 
 ing of his store, bought from the county court 
 what was known as the old Joseph Albright 
 place. He found the property needed improv- 
 ing and the land enriching, and was not long in 
 making these improvements including the 
 building of a new house and barn. The prop- 
 erty known as Block Farm, is now one of the 
 best improved farms in the county. Mr. Shif- 
 ley makes a specialty of pure bred Poland 
 China hogs. In his activities he is greatly as- 
 sisted by his son, Russell Valentine, who 
 promises to be as good a farmer as his father. 
 In December, 1891, 'Sir. Shifley was married 
 to Aliss ]^Iary Ellen Keiter, who is a daughter 
 of Josiah and Sarah Ann (Darger) Keiter. 
 The father of Mrs. Shifley was a well known 
 blacksmith and a highh- respected man. The 
 mother ser^ives and resides with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Shifley. the latter being the only survivors 
 of three children. ]Mr. and ^Mrs. Shifley have 
 eight children, namely : Claudius Alvah, who is 
 a creditable member of the class of 1912, in 
 the Bucyrus High school ; Ida Alethea ; Russell 
 A'^alentine: and r\Iildred Cleo, Ruia .\rvella. 
 Hazel Floy, Carl Milford and Harold Eugene. 
 'Sir. Shifley and family are members of the 
 German Reformed church. 'Sir. Shifley is an 
 active citizen in all that pertains to public mat- 
 ters in his township but has neither time nor 
 inclination for public office. He gives political 
 support to the Democratic party. 
 
 :\IARTIX SIDXER, a respected and well 
 known citizen of Bucyrus. O., residing at Xo. 
 463 South A\'^alnut street, for some years has 
 been retired from active pursuits but remains 
 fully alive to all that concerns his country, city 
 and social circle. He was born September 12, 
 1 83 1, in Clear Creek township, Fairfield 
 county, O., and is a son of X'icholas and Sarah 
 (^^'inters) Sidner. 
 
 Martin Sidner. the grandfather, came to 
 America from Germany and was a young man 
 when he settled near Fredericksburg, \^a. He 
 served under General A\'ashington, in the Rev- 
 olutionary war, and afterward moved with his 
 family to Bourbon county, Ky.. where he died 
 at the age of eight years. He owned large 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 599 
 
 antations and many slaves and at the time 
 ■ death left the sum of $20,000 to be divided 
 nong his children, all sharing except his son 
 icholas, who had displeased him through 
 s marriage. To this son one slave and one 
 Drse was willed and it is not recorded that 
 le son protested at this unjust discrimination, 
 it, that, on the other hand, he gave the slave 
 ,s liberty and with the horse made his way 
 I another section of the country. 
 Nicholas Sidner was born in 1774, near 
 redericksburg, Va., and at the usual age of 
 arriage was united to Mary Cline, who, for 
 )me reason, was objectionable to his father, 
 here is nothing to show that she was not an 
 imirable wife and she bore her husband 
 ght children, all of whom survived to rear 
 imilies of their own but are now deceased, 
 iter being practically disinherited by his 
 ither, Nicholas Sidner, accompanied by his 
 ife, came to Ohio, in 1798, where he settled 
 n a tract of land as a squatter. Before he 
 )st this first tract, by pre-emption, he had im- 
 roved the same, but afterward secured forty 
 :res and in 1809 secured a deed for 160 acres 
 1 Clear Creek township, Fairfield county, 
 his valuable piece of parchment is in the pos- 
 ;ssion of his son Martin Sidner, bearing the 
 gnature of Thomas Jefferson, president of 
 le United States, and James Madison, secre- 
 ,ry of state. On this farm Nicholas Sidner 
 ;acefully passed the remainder of his life, his 
 ;ath occurring in 1845. His second marriage 
 as to Sarah Winters, who was born near 
 ^agerstown, Md., in 1799. She survived her 
 .tsband and died in Clear Creek township, 
 hen aged seventy-five years. To the second 
 arriage five children were born and four of 
 ese still survive : Mrs. Elizabeth Coldren, a 
 idow, who lives in Pickaway county, O., and 
 ho is now aged eighty-six years; Mrs. Eliza 
 ond, who is the wife of Thomas Bond, of 
 hiarleston, Coles county, 111. ; Mrs. Sarah Jane 
 oner and Martin, twins, the former of whom 
 'es at Farmer City, 111. When the last 
 imed children were born the father was fifty- 
 ne years of age. 
 
 Martin Sidner remained at home with his 
 .rents and through interest and practical ex- 
 rience became a successful farmer. His 
 ucational opportunities were somewhat 
 eager but he has always been intelligently 
 
 interested in people and events and has kept 
 well informed not only along his own line of 
 work but regarding the other activities and in- 
 dustries that go to make a contented and pros- 
 perous community. His home has been main- 
 tained at Bucyrus since 1861 and until he re- 
 tired he was engaged as a farmer and trucker. 
 His first presidential vote was cast for Gen- 
 eral Winfield Scott and his second one for 
 General John C. Fremont and since then he has 
 given his political support to candidates of the 
 Republican party. 
 
 In Pickaway county, O., Mr. Sidner was 
 married to Miss Lydia Raymond, who was 
 born there in 1830, and died at Bucyrus, in 
 1886. They had three children: Chauncy, 
 Charles and Delia. Chauncy Sidner, who was 
 accidentally killed by the premature explosion 
 of a cannon during the honorary saluting of 
 high French officials when on a visit to the 
 United States, had been in the U. S. regular 
 army for a number of years. He had served 
 with honor for five years in Texas as a caval- 
 ryman, and one year as an artilleryman at Fort 
 Columbus, N. Y. and at the time of death, 
 when aged twenty-eight years, was holding the 
 position of commissary sergeant. The second 
 son, Charles, died at the age of sixteen years, 
 while engaged with a business house at Chi- 
 cago, 111. The daughter is the wife of Charles 
 Goodman. Mr. Sidner and daughter are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church. 
 
 WILLIAM L. PETERMAN represents the 
 fourth generation of one of the old pioneer 
 families of Liberty township, Crawford 
 county, O. His great grandfather, John Pe- 
 terman, coming to Liberty township in the be- 
 ginning of the 19th century from New York 
 county, Pennsylvania, his grandfather, Mi- 
 chael, entered the present homestead from the 
 government. William L. resides in one of the 
 two fine residences which stand on the valu- 
 able farm of 215 acres, belonging to his father, 
 which is situated six miles northeast of Bucy- 
 rus, O. He was born on this farm on Feb. 
 22, 1873, and is a son of Michael A. and 
 Amelia (Stremmel) Peterman. 
 
 Michael A. Peterman was born on the same 
 farm on the 23rd of September, 1837, and was 
 married to Amelia Stremmel, who was bom 
 in Maryland, Mar. 11, 1849. Three children 
 
600 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 were born to them : William L. ; Cora, who is 
 the wife of Sidney McCurdy, who lives in 
 Whetstone township and has three children 
 — Harry, Jessie and Ethel; and Amanda, who 
 is the wife of John A. Blackford, and lives 
 in Sandusky township and has one son, Ralph. 
 Michael A. Peterman is a veteran of the Civil 
 war. He served in Co. C, 49th O. Vol. Inf., 
 under the command of General Gibson until he 
 was honorably discharged, and during his 
 period of service participated in numerous bat- 
 tles but escaped without injury. 
 
 W illiam L. Peterman was afforded excellent 
 educational advantages and after graduating 
 creditably from the Bucyrus High school en- 
 tered the Spencerian Business college, at Cleve- 
 land and after graduation was coimected with 
 Cleveland business houses for seven years as 
 a stenographer. He then returned to his fa- 
 ther's farm, which has been tmder his manage- 
 ment ever since, general fanning and stock 
 raising being the industries carried on. 
 
 On Nov. 17, i8g8, Mr. Peterman married 
 Miss Ida May Patterson and they have three 
 children, Ruth V., Helen C. and Millie A. 
 Mrs. Peterman has two brothers and one sis- 
 ter: James L. ; Wilbur, who is a resident of 
 Bucyrus, married Pearl Xickler and they have 
 three children — Eveline, Marguerite and Ha- 
 zel; and Elizabeth, who married Charles D. 
 Nickler, and has three children, Olive, George 
 and Florence. Mr. Peterman is a Democrat 
 in politics and has frequently been tendered 
 public offices which he is well qualified to fiU 
 but has accepted none outside of membership 
 on the school board, of which he was presi- 
 dent. 
 
 JAAIES McCRACKEX, deceased, for 
 many years was a prominent and useful man 
 in Crawford coimty, O. He was bom in 
 \\'ayhe county, O., July 16, 1800, and died in 
 Crawford county, December 2, 1875. He was 
 the only son of James McCracken, who came 
 from Ireland to Wayne county, among the 
 early settlers. 
 
 The late James ]\IcCracken came to Bucyrus 
 about 1830 and established himself as a manu- 
 facturer of spring wheels, being a wheel- 
 wright by trade. He became a leading citizen 
 as was evidenced by his appointment, in 1840, 
 as postmaster, under the administration of 
 
 President William Henry Harrison. At that 
 time he was a strong Whig and until the close 
 of his life continued to be deeply interested in 
 public matters, becoming identified with the 
 Republican party about the time of the Civil 
 war. In the meanwhile he asquired land, first 
 a tract two miles south of Bucyrus and three 
 years later bought eighty acres three miles 
 west of the growing city. This land he 
 cleared and developed into a valuable farm. 
 The closing years of his life were spent on this 
 farm and were peaceful and happy ones. He 
 was public spirited to a large degree and do- 
 nated the land on which the ^IcCracken school 
 building stands on the Nevada road. He was 
 reared in the Presbyterian church and never 
 failed to give it liberal support and to live ac- 
 cording to its teachings, and helped organize 
 the first Presbyterian church here. 
 
 On December 4, 1832, Mr. McCracken was 
 married in Bucyrus township, Crawford 
 county, O., to ]\Iiss Ruth Marquis, who was 
 bom May 26, 1813, in Belmont county, O., 
 but was reared in Crawford coimty. She sur- 
 vived to the age of seventy-five years. The 
 following children were bom to them: Portia; 
 \\ illiam Vance, deceased, who was survived 
 by his widow and one son, the latter being now 
 deceased; James Kelly, who was in the insur- 
 ance business at Fort \\^ayne, Ind., and has one 
 son and two daughters; .\lexander McB., de- 
 ceased, who was married but left no children; 
 Augusta ^L, who is the city librarian, at Bucy- 
 rus; Harvey Marquis, who is in business at 
 Louisville, Ky., and has one son, James T.; 
 Charles W. ; Harriet, who is matron of a 
 Girls' school, at Honolulu; and Rachel and 
 Elizabeth, who died in childhood. 
 
 ^Nliss Portia ^^IcCracken was reared and edu- 
 cated in Crawford coimty. For many years 
 she was a successful teacher, beginning at the 
 age of twenty years, and her pupils may be 
 found among the leading residents of Bucyrus 
 and other parts of the county. Of the ma- 
 jority of these she preserves affectionate recol- 
 lections and counts them among her warmest 
 friends. Miss ^McCracken has kept alive her 
 interest in all that goes on in the world and it 
 is difficult to believe, when conversing with 
 her, that she has seen and lived through so 
 much of the developing period of this city. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 601 
 
 J. L. HEINLE, whose well improved farm 
 of eighty acres is reputed to be one of the best 
 properties in Holmes township, resides two 
 miles west of Brokensword, O. and is well 
 known all over Crawford county, in which he 
 has spent his life. He was born in Bucyrus 
 township, January 23, 1879, and his father G. 
 W. Heinle, still carries on his farm industries 
 there. The Heinle family is one of the old- 
 est and most substantial in this county. 
 
 J. L. Heinle obtained his education in the 
 schools of Bucyrus township. He comes of 
 an agricultural family and naturally became a 
 farmer when the time came for him to make 
 choice of a career. He received excellent 
 training on the old home farm and continued 
 there until April i, 1909, when he sold his 
 sixty acre farm in Bucyrus township and came 
 to his present farm in Holmes township. His 
 operations are carried on along practical lines, 
 with due regard for improved methods, and 
 the interest he takes in his property is shown 
 by its fine condition, together with that of the 
 valuable stock produced on his farm. 
 
 Mr. Heinle was married March 20, 1909, to 
 Miss Rufena Miller, a daughter of Lewis 
 Miller, whose farm lies one mile west of the 
 home of Mr. and Mrs. Heinle. In politics Mr. 
 Heinle is a Democrat. He served as school 
 director in Bucyrus township, being elected to 
 that office when only twenty-one years of age. 
 
 CLARK T. LUDWIG, a retired capitalist 
 residing at Bucyrus, O., belongs to an old 
 French Huguenot family that found refuge in 
 the American colonies prior to the War of the 
 Revolution. Record is preserved of two 
 brothers, Captain John and Michael Ludwig, 
 the former of whom saw military service in 
 the French army before he came to America 
 and later became an officer under General 
 Washington. His home was at Germantown, 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Michael Ludwig, the direct ancestor of 
 Clark T. Ludwig, married in Pennsylvania and 
 died there, being survived by children, among 
 whom was one son, Samuel Ludwig. After 
 the death of Michael Ludwig, his widow mar- 
 ried a Mr. Yokum, whose sons became promi- 
 nent iron men and also leaders in political life. 
 
 Samuel Ludwig was born in the vicinity of 
 Germantown, Pa., in 1786 and probably re- 
 
 mained there until 183 1, when he came to 
 Crawford county, O., making the trip on 
 horseback and carrying in his saddle-bags the 
 sum of $10,000, for the purchase of land. 
 He acquired 3,000 acres, in different sections. 
 In 1832, having been joined by his family 
 in the meanwhile, he ordered the building of a 
 brick house, on a site near the present limits of 
 Bucyrus, in Whetstone township. The bricks 
 for the same were burned by Daniel Albright 
 and so stanchly was the house constructed that 
 it still is utilized as a dwelling, although un- 
 doubtedly it is the oldest brick house in Craw- 
 ford county. Here Samuel Ludwig passed the 
 remainder of his life until extreme old age, 
 when he went to the home of a daughter, in an 
 adjoining township, where his death occurred 
 in 1876, when he was within one month of 
 ninety years. He married Elizabeth Redky, 
 who was born in Pennsylvania and died on the 
 family homestead east of Bucyrus. For some 
 years her father served as a member of the 
 Pennsylvania General Assembly. She was 
 reared a Quaker but later in life united with 
 the Reform church body. They had eleven 
 children born to them, the last survivor having 
 been the late Mrs. James L. Monnett, who 
 died at Bucyrus, December 29, 191 1. 
 
 Samuel Ludwig (2), son of Samuel Lud- 
 wig, and father of Clark T. Ludwig, was born 
 near Reading, in Berks county, Pa., May 21, 
 1813, and died September 14, 1893, at the 
 home of his son, Clark T. Ludwig, with whom 
 he had resided for twenty-one years. He was 
 nineteen years of age when he accompanied the 
 other members of his father's family to Ohio 
 and subsequently settled on one of the latter's 
 numerous farms, between Fremont and Tiffin, 
 O. Here he had 480 acres of land. He was 
 prudent and industrious and accumulated what 
 was considered an ample fortune at that day. 
 Eight years later he bought a farm in San- 
 dusky county, but afterward returned to Craw- 
 ford county and later bought his father-in- 
 law's farm of 180 acres, near Leesville, in Jef- 
 ferson township. On that property he made 
 many improvements, a notable one being the 
 erection of a commodious barn, the material 
 used being the finest black walnut obtainable 
 at the time. Subsequently he and wife came 
 to Bucyrus, her death taking place in 1877, in 
 the brick house above alluded to. She was 
 
602 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 born in Virginia, in 1810 and prior to her mar- 
 riage was a teacher and was considered a fine 
 singer. She was a very active and interested 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Five children were born to Samuel Ludwig 
 and wife, as follows : a babe that died ; Mary 
 Jane, who died in 1856; Clark T. ; Eliza, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of John P. Monnett; 
 and William Dorsey, who died in Texas, in 
 1878. He married Belle Caldwell, who sur- 
 vives and resides on South Sandusky street, 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 Clark T. Ludwig was born in the Old Indian 
 hut which had been built by Chief George Wip- 
 ingstick, in Seneca county, O., on the land later 
 owned by Mr. Ludwig's grandfather and fa- 
 ther, and was young when the family moved 
 to Crawford county. He was educated in the 
 schools at Bucyrus, at Delaware, O., and in 
 Wittenberg college, at Springfield, O. In May, 
 1862, he enlisted for service in the Civil war, 
 entering Co. K, 86th O. Vol. Inf., under Cap- 
 tain Moderwell and Col. Barney Burnes of 
 Mansfield, and was honorably discharged at 
 the termination of his term of enlistment, in 
 1863.' For some time afterward Mr. Ludwig 
 was engaged in teaching school and later be- 
 came interested in farming and stock raising. 
 In 1870 he went to St. Louis, Mo., where he 
 was in the real estate business for two years. 
 For five years he was a commercial traveler 
 for the large wholesale house of Burr & Hard- 
 wick, New York city. Mr. Ludwig returned 
 to Crawford county in order to look after his 
 aged parents and has resided here ever since. 
 During 1883-4 his handsome brick residence, 
 to which he has given the name of East Lynne, 
 was completed, its situation being in the east- 
 ern portion of Bucyrus, with a fine surround- 
 ing estate. Its situation is ideal and it is one 
 of the stately homes of the city in all its ap- 
 pointments. 
 
 Mr. Ludwig was married near Mansfield, O., 
 to Miss Mary Smith, who was born July 14, 
 1847, in Columbiana county, O., where she 
 was reared, coming to Crawford county in 
 young womanhood. She is a daughter of Wil- 
 liam and Eva (Freed) Smith, both of whom 
 were born in Columbiana county, O. William 
 Smith died at Kirksville, Mo., in 1884. when 
 aged sixty-eight years. His widow, who was 
 born January 10, 1824, is a member of the 
 
 household of a daughter, Mrs. Martha New- 
 house, \\ho lives near Salem, O. George 
 Smith, an uncle of Mrs. Ludwig, was a man of 
 prominence in several of the states of the 
 Union. He served as a member of the Ohio 
 state legislature and afterward moved to Mis- 
 souri, where he was elected lieutenant-gover- 
 nor of the state and later was appointed a U. 
 S. marshal for the Western division of Mis- 
 souri, by President Grant. 
 
 Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ludwig, Edward and Edna, the former of 
 whom died at the age of seven years. The lat- 
 ter, who was born in 1878, was educated at 
 Bucyrus and subsequently married Harvey N. 
 Steger, who is a shoe merchant at Cardington, 
 O. Mr. and Mrs. Steger have two children: 
 Mary Isabel and Byron Ludwig. 
 
 Mr. Ludwig has been a conscientious mem- 
 ber of the Republican party since he became a 
 voter and has consistently advocated its prin- 
 ciples and given support to its candidates. On 
 numerous occasions his party has made him 
 its candidate for offices, both state and local, 
 but he failed of election because his party has 
 always been in the minority in this section. 
 He is a member of Keller Post, No. 128, G. 
 A. R., and takes much interest in everything 
 pertaining to this body. Since 1873 he has 
 been a member of the Presbyterian church, in 
 which he is one of the elders. 
 
 A. E. LOYER, M. D., physician and surgeon 
 at New Washington, O., where he is in the 
 enjoyment of a substantial practice, was born 
 at Oceola, O., December i, 1872, a son of John 
 and Magdalene (Barth) Loyer. 
 
 John Loyer was born at Sulphur Springs, 
 O., and died in 1874, when aged thirty-three 
 years, surviving his wife for but three weeks, 
 her death occurring at the early age of twenty- 
 six years. They had two children but only one 
 survives. 
 
 A. E. Loyer was only two years old when 
 he became an orphan. He was taken by Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gottleib Kibler, farmers, residing 
 one and a half miles west of New Washing- 
 ton, and faithful members of the Lutheran 
 church, to which the parents of the child had 
 also belonged. Mr. and Mrs. Kibler remained 
 on their farm until the fall of 1886, when they 
 moved to New Washington, where Mr. Kib- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 603 
 
 ler died at the age of eighty-two years, in 
 August, 191 1, having survived his wife since 
 1897; their burial was in the Lutheran ceme- 
 tery. They gave to their charge a large meas- 
 ure of care and affection, while they reared 
 him to be useful and self supporting. In 1891 
 he gratified them by his creditable graduation 
 from the New Washington High school and 
 afterward attended Capital university at Co- 
 lumbus, for one year and the Ohio Medical 
 university in that city for one year. He then 
 spent two years in the Medical college of Ohio 
 at Cincinnati, where he was graduated in the 
 class of 1895. He spent his first professional 
 year at Sulphur Springs, locating at New 
 Washington, March 18, 1896, since when he 
 has been identified with her every public in- 
 terest. 
 
 Dr. Loyer was married to Miss Kathryn M. 
 Aschbacher, who was born at New Washing- 
 ton, May 20, 1874, and after graduating in 
 1 89 1 for five years had been a public school 
 teacher in the primary department. Dr. and 
 Mrs. Loyer have four children : Freda A., 
 Beatrice M., Geraldine A. and Phineas Jud- 
 son. Dr. Loyer has been a lifelong Democrat 
 and at times has served in the town council, 
 always with wisdom and honesty. At pres- 
 ent he is serving in his second term as a mem- 
 ber of the school board. For one year he 
 served as president of the Crawford County 
 Medical society and is identified also with the 
 Ohio State Medical society and the American 
 Medical association. In addition to his large 
 private practice he is surgeon for the Lake 
 Erie and Western Railroad and is examiner 
 for twenty-five life insurance companies. Dr. 
 and Mrs. Loyer are members of the Lutheran 
 church. He is a reader and a student and no 
 subject of scientific investigation has been 
 more closely studied by him than spinal fever, 
 that malignant disease which carried away his 
 young mother and father. He began to read 
 medicine in 1892 under Dr. A. H. Hise, at 
 New Washington, and later spent one year un- 
 der the supervision of Dr. E. M. Rininger, at 
 Chatfield, O. 
 
 WILLIAM A. BLICKE, cashier of the 
 Bucyrus City Bank, a private institution that 
 was established at Bucyrus, December 12, 
 1 88 1, has been identified with the business ever 
 
 since the doors of the bank were opened and 
 his fidelity to the best interests of it have never 
 for one moment been questioned. He is con- 
 nected also, both officially and otherwise, with 
 other concerns of large importance and may 
 justly be numbered with the most substantial 
 and reliable men of Crawford county. He 
 was born, reared and educated at Bucyrus. 
 His parents, Frank and Theresa (Vollrath) 
 Blicke were born in Germany and came to 
 Bucyrus in youth. The mother of Mr. Blicke 
 died in June, 1904, aged sixty-five years, the 
 father December 26, 191 1, at the age of seven- 
 ty-six years. He was a member of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. 
 
 William A. Blicke was born to work, al- 
 though not to poverty, and from boyhood had 
 his own problems to solve and his own way to 
 make in life. That this discipline was benefi- 
 cial and assisted in the formation of a strong 
 and resolute character, no one can dispute, Mr. 
 Blicke least of all. During the past thirty 
 years he has been connected with the Bucyrus 
 City Bank, as indicated above, which was 
 started originally as the Monnett Banking 
 Company, which, in 1892, became known as 
 the Bucyrus City Bank, the original officers 
 having been : E. B. Monnett, president ; M. W. 
 Monnett, cashier; George Donnenwirth, vice- 
 president; and W. A. Blicke, assistant cashier. 
 The present officers of the bank are : George 
 Donnenwirth, president ; J. H. Robinson, vice- 
 president; Frank P. Donnenwirth, vice-presi- 
 dent; W. A. Blicke, cashier; F. E. Donnen- 
 wirth, assistant cashier; and C. E. Gebhardt, 
 teller. The board of directors is made up as 
 follows : George Donnenwirth, Frederick 
 Hipp, Frank P. Donnenwirth, J. H. Robinson, 
 J. C. Tobias, Daniel Kalb and W. A. Blicke. 
 Announcement is made by published statement 
 that the assets of this institution are over one 
 million dollars and that the liabilities are se- 
 cured by the combined wealth of all the stock- 
 holders. The condition of this bank on June 7, 
 1911, show deposits of $931,029.39 and 
 resources of $1,103,475.03, the liabilities being 
 the same as the latter. In 1881 its capitaliza- 
 tion was $50,000, which, in 1905, was in- 
 creased to $60,000, with a surplus of $50,000. 
 Prosperity has attended this institution from 
 the beginning and this has not been only on 
 account of the large capital represented but 
 
604 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 mainly because of the careful, conservative 
 business methods of its officials. Public con- 
 fidence was early gained and has ever been 
 maintained. In 1897 the company purchased 
 the present fine bank building and still owns 
 the old home of the bank which it occupied for 
 sixteen years. A large general banking busi- 
 ness is carried on with correspondents in the 
 cities of New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati, 
 Columbus and Toledo. Mr. Blicke served as 
 assistant cashier until January i, 1901, --since 
 which time he has been cashier. 
 
 Mr. Blicke is also secretary and treasurer of 
 the Carroll Foundry and Machine Company, 
 which owns one of the finest plants in the state 
 for manufacturing open hearth steel castings 
 and gray iron castings; is secretary of the 
 Bucyrus Publishing Company, publishers of 
 the Daily Forum and the Semi- Weekly News ; 
 is vice-president of the Crestline Publishing 
 Company, publishers of the Crestline Advocate 
 and the Daily Leader at Gallon; and is secre- 
 tary and treasurer of the Ohio Private Bankers 
 Association and secretary and treasurer of 
 Group No. 6, Ohio Bankers Association, in- 
 cluding nine counties adjacent to Crawford: 
 Marion, W^yandot, Richland, Erie, Huron, 
 Ashland, Morrow and Knox. In August, 
 1883, he organized the W. A. Blicke Insurance 
 Agency, handling all lines of insurance and 
 maintains his office in the bank building. In 
 1906 he disposed of the fire insurance end of 
 the business. For one year Mr. Blicke served 
 as treasurer of the Crawford County Fanners 
 Mutual Fire Insurance Association, and was 
 the first treasurer appointed at the organization 
 of the Y. ^I. C. A. arid held the office for 
 several years. For six years also he was 
 treasurer of the Crawford County Agricultural 
 Society. These numerous offices of trust, held 
 over long periods, testify silently to the confi- 
 dence felt in Mr. Blicke by his fellow citizens. 
 
 Mr. Blicke was married first, in 1888, to 
 Miss Antonia L. ^^lader, who was born in 1867 
 and reared at Bucyrus, where her death oc- 
 curred ^lay I, 1 89 1. She was survived by one 
 son, Frederick F., who was born April 26, 
 1 89 1, and since graduating from the Bucyrus 
 High School, has been a student at the Culver 
 Military Academy and in the department of 
 chemistry, of the University of Michigan at 
 Ann Arbor, ]>.Iich. -\Ir. Blicke was married 
 
 (second) in 1901, to Miss Nellie Hall, who 
 was born and educated at Bucyrus, the only 
 daughter of Joseph E. Hall, formerly postmas- 
 ter at Bucyrus. To Mr. and Mrs. Blicke one 
 son was born, JuUiard Hall. Mrs. Blicke is a 
 member of the Presbyterian church, while Mr. 
 Blicke retains his birthright membership in the 
 Lutheran body. He is a charter member of 
 Bucyrus Lodge of Elks, No. 156, and a veteran 
 of Demas Lodge No. 108, K. of P. In politics 
 he is a Democrat and for twelve years was city 
 clerk of Bucyrus. 
 
 HON. FREDERICK HIPP, formerly pro- 
 bate judge in Crawford county, O., and a 
 highly esteemed resident of Bucyrus, where he 
 now lives retired, was born in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, December 9, 1822, the second of 
 six children born to his parents. Christian F. 
 and Sabina (Beckbissinger) Hipp. Accom- 
 panying them to America in 1833, he was 
 reared on the home farm in Chatfield town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O. 
 
 Regarding the success which has attended 
 the life efforts of Frederick Hipp, it may be 
 truthfully said that it has been achieved wholly 
 by himself. When he reached manhood and 
 started out to make his independent way in 
 life it was with empty hands, but the happy 
 result has proved that he possessed also resolu- 
 tion, industry and integrity. His first move 
 was to learn the wagon-making trade, enter- 
 ing a shop at Bucyrus, and when he was mas- 
 ter of it he opened a place of his own at Rich- 
 ville, where he also, at a later date, engaged 
 in merchandising. After acquiring a tract of 
 land he became a farmer and continued to 
 follow agricultural pursuits for a number of 
 years and still owns 142 acres of well im- 
 proved land in Bucyrus township. A Dem- 
 ocrat from conviction, he has always worked 
 for party success and on numerous occasions 
 has served in responsible offices in township 
 and county. For twenty years he served as a 
 justice of the peace, for many years was town- 
 ship trustee; he served also at one time as 
 postmaster and in 1881 was elected judge of 
 the Probate Court. Judge Tipp can look back 
 over a long and useful life, from a youth of 
 sturdy and self respecting independence to an 
 honored old age. 
 
 Judge Hipp was married to Catherine 
 
HON. FREDERICK HIPP 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 607 
 
 Kunzi, who was born in Germany in 1825, 
 and fifteen children were born to them, the 
 larger number of whom became well estab- 
 lished in life and more than half still survive. 
 Judge Hipp and family attend the Lutheran 
 church. He owns considerable real estate in 
 the city of Bucyrus and is a director in the 
 Bucyrus City Bank. 
 
 WILLIAM F. SCHIFER, who, in associa- 
 tion with his brother, J. George Schifer, man- 
 ages and operates 180 acres of his father's val- 
 uable farm of 260 acres, which is situated in 
 Bucyrus township, Crawford county, O., is an 
 enterprising and successful agriculturist and a 
 respected and reliable young man. He was 
 born August 28, 1885, at Buc3a-us, O., and is a 
 son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Leitzy) 
 Schifer. 
 
 Frederick Schifer was born in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, and his wife in Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, O. They now live retired at 
 Bucyrus. The following children were born 
 to them : Emma ; William F. ; Elsie, who is 
 the wife of Leroy L. Lust and has two children 
 — Norma Lucile and Frederick Jacob; and J. 
 George. The youngest son, J. George, was 
 born on the present farm, in Bucyrus township. 
 May II, 1 89 1, and after his school days were 
 over did clerical work for three years, since 
 when he has been associated with his brother 
 and has given his entire time to farming. 
 
 William F. Schifer attended school through 
 boyhood and then began his farm training and 
 has made farming his main business. He and 
 brother divide the responsibility and have 
 gained the reputation of being very competent 
 agriculturists. They raise the usual crops of 
 this section and have some excellent stock but 
 have not yet grown for an outside market. In 
 May, 1910, William F. Schifer was married 
 to Miss Agnes Brose, who is a daughter of 
 David and Esther (Stirm) Brose, well known 
 residents of Crawford county. Mrs. Schifer 
 has two brothers and two sisters — John, Sarah, 
 Cyrus and Naomi. Mr. and Mrs. Schifer have 
 one daughter, Emma Marie. Both Mr. Schi- 
 fer and brother are Democrats in their politi- 
 cal views. The whole family attends the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. 
 
 JEAN (JOHN) N. JUILLIARD, deceased. 
 In recalling the venturesome pioneers who left 
 other lands and came early to Ohio and bore 
 an important part in the material development 
 of sections of this great commonwealth, many 
 of those who proved the highest type of citi- 
 zens came from France. Stark, Crawford and 
 other counties of the state have representatives 
 in the second generation of these pioneers, 
 many of whom lived into extreme old age and 
 died surrounded by comforts won through 
 their earlier industry. 
 
 Jean (John) Juilliard was born in 1792, at 
 Mountaehlue, France, forty miles distant from 
 Paris. His father was a colonel during the 
 Italian Wars and lost his life while leading a 
 charge over a bridge, his body never being 
 recovered. The son, Jean Nicholas, probably 
 bore his name. He was given a good educa- 
 tion in the village schools and by the advice of 
 his wise mother, learned the self-supporting 
 trade of a shoemaker and before emigrating to 
 America he was in the shoe business and was 
 considered a fairly successful business man. 
 In 1836, accompanied by his wife and four 
 children, he set sail from Haver-de-Grace on 
 an English sailing vessel for New York and in 
 the course of some weeks landed safely in the 
 United States. Several sisters of his wife 
 lived in Ohio, one in Stark county and one in 
 Delaware county, and the travelers immediate- 
 ly made their way to Stark county. There Mr. 
 Juilliard purchased a small farm situated ten 
 miles east of Canton. Although never accus- 
 tomed to such toil, he cleared this property 
 and developed a farm and also, for many 
 years, engaged in work at his trade. He was 
 a kind-hearted, genial man, law-abiding in 
 every particular, and his home wa.s well known 
 to early settlers for its neighborly hospitality. 
 He lived until 1876, being then eighty-four 
 years of age. In his own province in France 
 he had married Anna Berlett, whose ancestry 
 was similar to his own, and she also was per- 
 mitted a long life, dying in 1874, when aged 
 eighty-two years. They were members and 
 liberal supporters of the Lutheran church after 
 coming to the United States. They never for- 
 got France, a spirit of patriotism ever tingling 
 their thoughts and conversation, but they also 
 loved their adopted country, of which they 
 
608 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 were truly worthy residents for so long. To 
 them the following children were born : Julia 
 A., Louis C, Frederick C., George A., Cather- 
 ine E., Augustus D., and IMrs. A. E. J. Cahill. 
 Julia A. became the wife of T. A. Hall, who 
 was born in 182 1 and came to the United 
 States in 1836. He was in the dry goods busi- 
 ness in Bucyrus but he and his wife are both 
 now deceased, Mr. Hall's death taking place 
 December 25, 19 10. 
 
 Louis C. Juilliard died in Stark county, O., 
 in middle age. In 1849 he had made his way 
 to California, by way of the Isthmus of Pana- 
 ma and spent nineteen years prospecting and 
 also merchandising in the gold mining regions, 
 having many adventures but surviving to re- 
 turn to his family. He married Louise Fusier 
 and they had a family. Frederick C. Juilliard 
 accompanied his older brother to California in 
 1849 ^nd there they were interested together 
 in merchandising and mining. He never re- 
 turned to Ohio but now resi'des with his family 
 at Santa Rosa. George A. Juilliard died at 
 Louisville, Ohio, to which city he retired after 
 a successful agricultural life. Catherine E. is 
 the widow of Eli \\^alker and has five daugh- 
 ters and resides with one of them at Louisville, 
 Ohio. Augustus D. Juilliard is at the head of 
 the well known manufacturing firm of A. D. 
 Juilliard & Co., manufacturers of woolens and 
 silks and extensive jobbers. He married 
 Helen Cossett. Mrs. Cahill, who resides at 
 Bucyrus, was born Alarch 18, 1842, in Stark 
 county, and was educated at ^It. Union Col- 
 lege. She is a member of the Presbyterian 
 church. 
 
 J. C. REIFF, one of the successful farmers 
 and leading citizens of Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, O., resides on his valuable 
 farm of eighty acres, which lies six and one- 
 half miles northwest of Bucyrus. He was 
 born on the old home place, August 17, 1867, 
 and is a son of J. C. and [Mary (Shock) Reiff, 
 well known people for many years in this 
 section. 
 
 J. C. Reiff attended the country schools and 
 afterward assisted his father on the home 
 place, farming and stock raising being the in- 
 dustries which engaged his attention then and 
 have continued to do so until the present. Mr. 
 Reiff was united in marriage with Miss Stella 
 
 Frost and they have two children, Chester and 
 Russell. Mr. Reiff and family are members of 
 the United Brethren church. He has been ac- 
 tive in political circles for a number of years 
 and has served with efficiency in public office, 
 the township never having had a more honest 
 assessor or trustee than he. At present he is 
 the candidate of the Democratic party for 
 county commissioner. He takes much interest 
 in the two fraternal organizations with which 
 he is connected, the Eagles and the Foresters, 
 and also has a wide acquaintance and many 
 friends all over the county. 
 
 PHILIP FUHRMAN, deceased, for a num- 
 ber of years was a successful business man of 
 Bucyrus, O., and a respected and esteemed citi- 
 zen. He was born in Boerrstadt, Reinpfaltz, 
 Germany, July 12, 1828, and accompanied his 
 parents to America in 1832 and to Bucyrus 
 in 1836, and in this city seventy- four years of 
 his life were passed, his death occurring in his 
 home here, September 26, 1910. He was a 
 son of Sebastian and Elizabeth (Rolle) Fuhr- 
 man. 
 
 On the paternal side the family was dis- 
 tinctly German, but there was a French strain 
 on the maternal. Sebastian Fuhrman was 
 given an education that fitted him for profes- 
 sional life, and his natural musical gifts had 
 also recei\'ed attention. He served all through 
 the Napoleonic wars. When it came to pro- 
 ■\iding for the wants of his family he sensibly 
 learned a useful trade, becoming a butcher and 
 followed the meat trade all his active life. In 
 1832, with wife and three children — these be- 
 ing: Catherine, now Mrs. Stauffer, and Philip 
 and Thomas — he embarked for America and 
 after a long and stormy "voyage on the Atlantic 
 Ocean, on one of the old, slow-going sailing 
 vessels of that day, the family landed safely in 
 the harbor of Xew York and from there made 
 their way to Ohio. In 1836 they came to 
 Crawford county and Sebastian Fuhrman em- 
 barked in the meat busmess while his resource- 
 ful and industrious wife started a boarding- 
 house. Together they prospered and were able 
 to give their children comforts and advantages 
 far be}-ond those of many. For more than 
 forty years they carried on their enterprises 
 and were highly respected people. They were 
 members of the Roman Catholic church and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 609 
 
 did much in the early days to firmly found the 
 church here. Sebastian Fuhrman died August 
 9, 1877, in the eightieth year of his age, his 
 widow surviving him for six years. The fol- 
 lowing children were born in America: Mrs. 
 Geo. Donnenwirth; Mrs. Charles Amon, of 
 Fort Wayne, Ind. ; John, deceased ; and Mrs. 
 A. J. High, also deceased. 
 
 Philip Fuhrman attended school at Bucyrus 
 and then learned the butchering business under 
 his father and continued in the meat and stock 
 business until within twenty years of his death, 
 when he retired. He was an excellent business 
 man but never accumulated a very large for- 
 tune because of his generous impulses and his 
 unselfishness. He contributed to charity in 
 every form and there are many people now liv- 
 ing at Bucyrus who owe much to the kind heart 
 and free-giving hand of Mr. Fuhrman. Al- 
 though he held to no particular religious creed, 
 his life proved his true Christianity. He was 
 a good citizen in every meaning of the term 
 and assisted in forwarding public movements 
 here when he was covninced they would be for 
 the general welfare. 
 
 Mr. Fuhrman was married at Mifflin, O., to 
 Miss Sarah Stauffer, who was born and edu- 
 cated there, a daughter of John and Catherine 
 (Rice) Stauffer, natives of Pennsylvania. 
 They came to Ohio early in married life and 
 the father of Mrs. Fuhrman followed the 
 trade of a miller. Subsequently they moved to 
 Kansas and both died there aged seventy years. 
 Mrs. Fuhrman died April 25, 1888, after a 
 very short illness. She was a woman of beau- 
 tiful character and was a devoted member of 
 the Presbyterian church. Two daughters sur- 
 vive : Alice and Emma L. The former is the 
 wife of Edward McAllister, residing at Leipsic, 
 Putnam county, O., a railroad man. Emma L. 
 Fuhrman was born at Bucyrus, O., October 14, 
 1856, and was reared and educated here. She 
 was married in 1900 to Frank Royce, who was 
 born August 11, 1856, at Madison, Wis. He 
 was educated at Grand Rapids, Mich., and 
 since the organization of the Grand Rapids 
 Hardware Company, has been associated with 
 that house and is now representing the firm 
 through New York and Pennsvlvania. Mr. 
 Royce is a Republican in politics and is identi- 
 fied with the Masonic fraternity. Mrs. Royce 
 is a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. 
 
 WILLIAM A. HIGH, who was born in the 
 northwest corner of Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, O., February 9, 1871, is a 
 well known business man of New Washington 
 and is the junior member of the undertaking 
 firm of High & DeRoche, being licensed as an 
 embalmer by the State of Ohio, and is also 
 general agent for the Union Central Life In- 
 surance Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is 
 a son of Michael and Mary (Donnenwirth) 
 High. 
 
 Michael High came to New Washington 
 when he was twelve years old, from Germany, 
 where he attended school and afterward he 
 learned the blacksmith trade and worked with 
 his brother-in-law, George Donnenwirth. Af- 
 ter his marriage he moved to Cranberry town- 
 ship and there the following children were 
 born: Matilda, who married John Michel- 
 f elder; Magdaline Elizabeth, who married 
 Adam B. Shaffer; Margaret Louise, who mar- 
 ried John J. Sutter; George A., who is de- 
 ceased ; John Jacob, who married Ella M. Tri- 
 bolet; Adam F., who married Caroline M. 
 Aschbacher ; Mary F. ; William A. ; and Ru- 
 dolph Henry, who lives on the old homestead. 
 The father died August 22, 1884 when past 
 sixty-three years of age and his burial was in 
 the' Lutheran cemetery. His wife, Mary 
 (Donnenwirth) High, was born in Stark 
 county, O., September 23, 1828, and lived 
 seventy-two years on the old homestead, a 
 good woman beloved by her family and re- 
 spected by all who knew her. She died Jan- 
 uary 28, 1904, and was also buried in the 
 Lutheran cemetery. 
 
 William A. High attended the public schools 
 in Cranberry township and when nineteen 
 years old entered the New Washington High 
 School and in 1902 took a course in the Ohio 
 Normal University at Ada, in the department 
 of law but was not admitted to the bar. He 
 taught school in several different townships in 
 the county but failing health warned him to 
 direct his attention in other channels and he 
 gave up both educational work and the law. 
 On March 27, 1900, he directed his first 
 funeral and on the same day he wrote his first 
 life insurance application. On February 27, 
 1898, he was married to Miss Anna M. Eckert, 
 who was born in Jefferson township, Craw- 
 ford county, a daughter of John R. and Bar- 
 bara (Volkmar) Eckert, the former of whom 
 
610 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 still lives in that section of the county. Mr. 
 and Mrs. High have had three children : Paul 
 Franklin, who died February 6, 1907, aged 
 four years; and Martha Margaret and Luther 
 W^illiam. They are members of the Lutheran 
 church at New Washington, which was prac- 
 tically founded at New Washington by Mr. 
 High's grandfather, Adam High, who built 
 the second house here. In politics Mr. High is 
 a Democrat and for ten years he has been a 
 notary public. 
 
 JOHN S. DE LASHMUTT, auditor for 
 the American Clay Machinery Company of 
 Bucyrus, O., who has been a resident of this 
 city for the past sixteen years, was born at 
 Lancaster, O., January 29, 1864, and is a son 
 of Dr. Van Elias and Cleanthe (Sifford) De 
 Lashmutt. 
 
 The De Lashmutt familv originated in 
 France and four brothers of the name came to 
 the American colonies prior to the Revolu- 
 tionary War, three of whom settled in what is 
 now the State of Maryland. One of the des- 
 cendants was the grandfather of John S. De 
 Lashmutt, and spent his life in Frederick coun- 
 ty, Md., a planter and slaveholder in early 
 days. Of his eight sons and three daughters 
 there are three sons and two daughters yet 
 living. 
 
 Dr. Van Elias De Lashmutt became a physi- 
 cian and after graduating from a Maryland 
 university and medical college, engaged in the 
 practice of medicine, residing for the most part 
 until 1871, at Frederick City and Baltimore. 
 He then moved to Shelburn, Sullivan county, 
 Ind., and continued there in the practice of 
 medicine until the day of his death. This oc- 
 curred on May 24, 191 1, interrupting the 
 pleasant festivities provided by the family as it 
 was the anniversary of his wedding, more than 
 fifty years before. He was then almost seven- 
 ty-nine years of age but was comparatively 
 well both in mind and body. During his 
 earlier life he was a member of the Episcopal 
 church but after moving to Shelburn became 
 identified with the Methodist Episcopal church 
 and subsequently an official of the same. He 
 was married to Cleanthe Sifford, a daughter 
 of John Sifford, of Frederick City, Md. She 
 died \\hen aged about seventy years, a most 
 estimable woman and an active member of the 
 
 Methodist Episcopal church. Five childrj 
 were born to Dr. De Lashmutt and wif 
 namely: Gertrude, who is the wife of Wi 
 Ham Jackson, of Baltimore, Md. ; Frank 1 
 who was killed in 1908, in a mine explosioi 
 John S. ; Oscar L., who is in business at She 
 burn, Ind. ; and Mary Ellen, whose death 0( 
 curred January 29, 19 12, who was the wife c 
 \\'^illiam E. Mills, who is also deceased, foi 
 merly sheriff of Sullivan county, Ind., and 
 member of the business firm of W. E. Mills 1 
 Co. Their two children are: Juanita an 
 William. 
 
 John S. De Lashmutt was educated at Free 
 erick City, Md., and at Shelburn, Ind. Whe 
 only sixteen years old and while still in schoc 
 he learned telegraphing and later became cor 
 nected with the Evansville & Terre Haul 
 Railroad as telegraph operator and static 
 agent, afterward coming to Ohio and accepf 
 ing a similar position with the Ohio Centra 
 lines, now a part of the New York Centra 
 system. In 1891 he came to Bucyrus and wa 
 with the Ohio Central of the New York Cer 
 tral system for four years. In 1905 he becam 
 identified with his present house, then the Frj 
 Sheckler Company, continuing after the re 
 organization of the business. He served firs 
 as an accountant and bookkeeper but sine 
 1902 has been auditor for the company, a pes; 
 tion of large responsibility that he fills wit 
 the utmost efficiency. From principle he is 
 Republican and takes a hearty interest in a 
 that pertains to good citizenship but his bus 
 life leaves him no time in which to accept th 
 cares of any public office. 
 
 Mr. De Lashmutt was married at Bremet 
 Fairfield county, O., to Miss Ada Stuart, wh 
 was born in that city, reared and educate 
 there and they have three children : Cleanth; 
 born in 1889; Clarence, born in 1893; an 
 ^^llliam S., born in 1895. Mr. De Lashmul 
 and family are members of the Presbyteria 
 church. He is identified with the Elks, th 
 ^Maccabees and the order of Ben Hur. 
 
 DAVID G. ULMER, who is one of the sul 
 stantial citizens and excellent farmers of Lit 
 erty township, resides on the old Ulmer home 
 stead one and one-half miles north of Sulphu 
 Springs, where he has eighty acres and owe 
 an additional forty acres lying a little farthe 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 611 
 
 south. He was born here, August 3, 1862, and 
 is a son of John GottHeb Uhner, an early sett- 
 ler in this section. 
 
 David G. Ulmer attended'^the public schools 
 until old enough to become self supporting and 
 afterward worked by the month and day for 
 some fourteen years, at the end of which 
 period he bought the interests of the other 
 heirs in the homestead and has resided here 
 ever since. He gives attention to general farm- 
 ing and raises good stock, paying close atten- 
 tion to his business and consequently being 
 very successful. 
 
 Mr. Ulmer was married first to Miss Tillie 
 Knappenberger, who died twelve years later, 
 after which he married Mrs. Mary (Leuthard) 
 Lutz. They have a very comfortable residence 
 and Mr. Ulmer has recently completed a spa- 
 cious barn. They are members of the Luth- 
 eran church and are highly respected people. 
 In politics, Mr. Ulmer votes with the Dem- 
 ocratic party. 
 
 WALTER M. HUBBELL, assistant secre- 
 tary of the American Clay Machinery Com- 
 pany of Bucyrus, O., has been identified with 
 this important business enterprise since 1907. 
 He was born near Elkhart, Ind., March 25, 
 1879, and resided and attended school in Hunt- 
 ington county until he was fifteen years of age, 
 when he came to Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Hubbell completed his education in the 
 Bucyrus schools. In 1898 he enlisted from 
 here for service in the Spanish- American War, 
 becoming a member of Co. A, 8th O. Vol. Inf., 
 which was commanded by Captain Charlton 
 and the regiment by Colonel Hard of Wooster. 
 Mr. Hubbell accompanied his regiment to 
 Cuba, where it passed forty days and then 
 returned to the United States and he was hon- 
 orably discharged in the same year. On his 
 way home he was taken ill at Montauk, L. I., 
 and while his regiment passed on to Ohio he 
 was detained at the Red Cross Emergency 
 Hospital, where he developed typhoid fever. 
 In a delirious condition he escaped at midnight 
 from his nurse and in some way still unknown 
 to himself, wandered on a highway where he 
 was picked up by W. H. Baldwin, president of 
 the Long Island Railroad. This Good Samari- 
 tan placed him in charge of two nurses and a 
 physician and paid the expense and when con- 
 
 valescent took the young soldier to his own 
 house, where, with comfort, care and luxury, 
 he recuperated to such an extent in two weeks 
 that he was able to accept the position tendered 
 him by his protector, on the Long Island Rail- 
 road. Mr. Baldwin is now deceased but Mr. 
 Hubbell justly believes that he can never suf- 
 ficiently express his gratitude and will never 
 fail to relate this occurrence and with tender 
 feelings thus perpetuate Mr. Baldwin's 
 memory. 
 
 Mr. Hubbell did not fail to take full ad- 
 vantage of the business opportunity thus af- 
 forded him and remained in different capaci- 
 ties on the Long Island Railroad for six years 
 and at the time of Mr. Baldwin's death he was 
 local agent at Coney Island. Afterward he 
 was tendered and accepted a remunerative po- 
 sition with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Com- 
 pany, with which corporation he remained un- 
 til 1907, when he came to Bucyrus again and 
 two years later became assistant secretary of 
 the American Clay Machinery Company. Mr. 
 Hubbell is a director of the Y. M. C. A. and 
 president of the board, and is a trustee of the 
 First Presbyterian church. He is identified 
 fraternally with the Masons and the Elks and 
 belongs to Holmes Camp of the Spanish War 
 Veterans. 
 
 Mr. Hubbell was married in this city to Miss 
 Myra L. Fitsimmons, a daughter of the late 
 Dr. James Fitsimmons, and they have one 
 daughter, Myra L., who was born at Brooklyn, 
 N. Y., July 8, 1907. 
 
 C. H. FLICKINGER, proprietor of a saw- 
 mill located three miles north of Bucyrus, O., 
 is one of the leading men of Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, and at present is serving in 
 the office of township clerk. He belongs to 
 one of the old county families and was born 
 July 25, 1868, at Broken Sword, Holmes town- 
 ship, and is a son of Samuel and Margaret J. 
 (Fralick) Flickinger. 
 
 Samuel Flickinger was born also in Holmes 
 township, in which he died March 7, 191 1, 
 when aged seventy-three years and eleven 
 months. He was engaged in the saw-mill busi- 
 ness his entire life and owned the Flickinger 
 mill that his son now owns and operates. He 
 married Margaret J. Fralick, a daughter of 
 Daniel Fralick, who was one of the old settlers 
 
612 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of the county. She was born November 29, 
 1849, ^iid still survives. Of their seven chil- 
 dren three are living, namely: jNIrs. Roy C. 
 Start, who lives at Toledo ; Guy, who is in the 
 drug business at Toledo; and C. H., of Bucy- 
 rus. Three children died in infancy and 
 Harry, the second son, is also deceased. 
 
 C. H. Flickinger attended the public schools 
 until old enough to work in his father's mill 
 and he has since continued in the business. 
 The Flickinger mill is the largest mill in this 
 section and has a capacity of 3000 feet of lum- 
 ber a day. Combined with it is a cider press. 
 Mr. Flickinger has devoted himself pretty 
 closely to this business and has prospered, but 
 he has not neglected public matters, which 
 should claim the attention of every good citi- 
 zen. He is identified with the Democratic par- 
 ty and has served Holmes township in the 
 office of assessor five terms and, as mentioned 
 above, is now the efficient and popular town- 
 ship clerk. 
 
 I\Ir. Flickinger was married December 24, 
 1893, to ]\Iiss Sarepta Smith, a daughter of 
 Squire Frederick Smith, of Lykens township, 
 who was born in Germany, but who for many 
 years has been a respected citizen and farmer 
 in Crawford county. Mr. and ]Mrs. Flickinger 
 have had five children: Dale, Alice, Jewel, 
 Ross and Gordon, all of whom survive except 
 Jewel. Mr. Flickinger belongs to the fraternal 
 order of Eagles. 
 
 JOHX ]\IcAIICHAEL, deceased, for many 
 years was a well known and highly esteemed 
 citizen of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., where he owned 300 acres of well 
 improved land. He was born in 1842, in Lib- 
 erty township and died on his farm in Whet- 
 stone township in 1901. His father, David 
 McAIichael, was of Scotch ancestry but was 
 born in Ohio and came to Crawford county 
 and settled in Liberty township in early man- 
 hood. He married Margaret Anderson, who 
 was probably born in Crawford county and 
 lived to be an aged lady. His death occurred 
 in 1854. Of their nine children, the eldest, 
 Daniel, still survives and lives in Liberty town- 
 ship and has four sons. 
 
 The late John McMichael was one of the 
 younger members of his parents' family of 
 nine children. He grew up on the home farm, 
 
 attended the early schools and assisted hi; 
 father in his agricultural operations until he se 
 cured farm property of his own. He neve: 
 had any outside business interest but devotee 
 himself to agriculture and was considered cm 
 of the most successful farmers and stockmei 
 of his neighborhood. Being a man of intelli 
 gence, good judgment and sterling character 
 he was frequently selected by his political par 
 ty for local offices but was not elected on ac 
 count of the party to which he belonged beinj 
 greatly in the minority in the county. 
 
 Mr. McMichael was married in Whetstone 
 township to Miss Mary A. Trimble, who wa< 
 born there, May 21, 1844, a daughter of Johr 
 and Isa (Parcher) Trimble. John Trimbh 
 was born in Eastern Ohio and his wife in Ver 
 mont and they were married in Whetstone 
 township, where !Mr. Trimble secured land 
 from the Government which has become very 
 valuable. He lived to be eighty-seven years of 
 age, his wife passing away at the age of seven- 
 ty-two. They were members of the Baptisi 
 church. Of their nine children, six grew tc 
 maturity and five of these married and hac 
 issue. Mrs. Mc]\Iichael is the only survivoi 
 of the family. To IMr. and !Mrs. JiIcMichae 
 nine children were born, two of whom are de 
 ceased, Mary and Emma, both of whom diee 
 after marriage, the latter being survived by ; 
 daughter, Orina Quaintance. The living chil 
 dren are as follows : Eugene, a farmer o 
 \\'hetstone township, who is married and ha; 
 four children — Zelma, Ethel, Raymond ane 
 Lois ; Lawrence, who resides at Bucyrus ane 
 has five children — Archie, Hazel, Elva, Rub; 
 and ]\laybell ; W^ayland E., who is a rural mai 
 carrier out from Bucyrus; Leroy, a farme 
 and a contractor on road work in \\'hetstoni 
 township, who has three children — Ralph E. 
 Harold G. and Maurice E. ; Bessie K., wh( 
 resides with her mother; J. Garfield, who i 
 a stenographer with the American Clay Ma 
 chinery Company at Bucyrus, and has one sor 
 Robert X. ; and Oren A., living in Bucy 
 rus. The above young men, like their lat 
 father, are all Republicans and representativ 
 and respected citizens. After the death of th 
 father the family moved to Bucyrus and Mn 
 AIc^Michael enjoys a pleasant home here an 
 she and her daughter are agreeably connecte 
 with church and social circles. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 613 
 
 ISAAC WILSON HURR, one of the heirs 
 of the Hurr farm, located in Whetstone town- 
 ship, was born on this farm, on which he still 
 lives and which he now manages, February 2, 
 1865, ^ son of David and Mary (Heverly) 
 Hurr. 
 
 George and Christina (Kehrer) Hurr, the 
 parents of David Hurr and grandparents of 
 the subject of this article, were farming people 
 and natives of Pennsylvania. Their childrert 
 were Jacob, Christina (wife of Isaac Beal), 
 George, David and Mary (the wife of Jacob 
 Shearer). 
 
 David Hurr was born March 4, 1836, in Ly- 
 coming county. Pa., and came to Crawford 
 county, Ohio, when twelve years old. After 
 the usual common school education he went to 
 work on a farm and followed agricultural pur- 
 suits all his life. On December 6, 1861, he 
 was married to Mary Heverly, who was born 
 on the farm in Whetstone township on which 
 our subject now lives, which farm was former- 
 ly the Heverly homestead. She was a daugh- 
 ter of John and Christina (Miller) Heverly, 
 natives of Germany. Her father was a weaver 
 by trade but later a farmer. Mr. and Mrs. 
 John Heverly had the following children 
 John, Caroline, wife of Philip Sheddinger 
 Frederick, Catherine, wife of Abraham Gable 
 Mary and Samuel. To David Hurr and his 
 wife were born Charles, Isaac W., Harriet M., 
 Emma L., John Harrison and Carrie Alberta. 
 The last mentioned is a teacher in the Union 
 School at Bucyrus where the mother and 
 daughters now live. David Hurr passed away 
 at Bucyrus July 6, 1906. 
 
 Isaac W. Hurr, the direct subject of this 
 sketch, received a common school education, as 
 did his father, and then went to work as a 
 farmer. He does general farming and raises 
 stock for his own use. He was married on 
 December 20, 1905, to Miss Eva Dalzell, a 
 daughter of William and Emma (Frisby) Dal- 
 zell. William Dalzell was a veteran of the 
 Civil War and died shortly after coming home. 
 Their children were Charlotta, the wife of 
 William E. Redmond; and Eva (Mrs. Hurr). 
 
 Politically Mr. Hurr is a Democrat but votes 
 for the man whom he thinks most capable 
 rather than for his party's choice. He is a 
 member of the F. & A. M. at Caledonia, Ohio. 
 
 His religious affiliation is with the English 
 M. E. church. 
 
 ADORHAM J. FLAHARTY, deceased, a 
 well known and popular railroad man and for 
 a number of years station agent at Bucyrus for 
 the Pennsylvania Railroad, was born at Pine 
 Run, Knox county, O., and died at Bucyrus at 
 the age of sixty-six years. His parents were 
 Perry and Susan (Feasele) Flaharty, and his 
 grandparents were Nicholas and Nancy Fla- 
 harty. The latter were natives of Belmont 
 county, O., and they became early settlers in 
 Richland county and there Perry Flaharty 
 grew to manhood and engaged in the mercan- 
 tile business at Bellville, where both he and 
 wife died. They had eight children, Adorham 
 J. being the eldest and all are now deceased. 
 
 Adorham J. Flaharty was given a good 
 common school education. He became con- 
 nected with the railroad in 1865 as a telegraph 
 operator and for twenty years or until two 
 years before his death, was connected with the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad. To his duties he gave 
 the attention which made him so long valued 
 by his employers as one of their most faithful 
 and competent men, and during his long period 
 as agent at Bucyrus, he made many friends 
 through his courtesy and good will. In politics 
 he was a Republican. For some years he be- 
 longed to the Knights of Pythias and to the 
 Knights of Honor. 
 
 Mr. Flaharty was married at Bellville, 
 Richland county, O., to Miss Sarah M. Cole- 
 man, who was born on her father's farm in 
 Morrow county, O., September 2, 1844, a 
 daughter of Joseph Harrison and Fannie 
 (Kerr) Coleman. The Coleman family is of 
 Irish ancestry. Following their marriage, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Coleman settled on a farm in Rich- 
 land county and there the latter died at the age 
 of forty-eight years. Mr. Coleman died at 
 Forest, Hardin county, O., aged sixty-three 
 years. Of their six children there are three yet 
 living, Mrs. Flaharty being one of the younger 
 members. Five children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Flaharty, two of whom died young, the 
 survivors being: Harry B. and Fred C, rail- 
 road men, both of whom reside at Skagway, 
 Alaska ; and Carrie Gertrude, who is the wife 
 of Carl F. Roehr, and has three children: 
 
614 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Margaret E., Martha Jane and Charles J., 
 their ages ranging from nine to six years. 
 
 A. A. DE ROCHE, a representative busi- 
 ness man of New Washington, O., who has 
 been a justice of the peace for five years, is 
 active in the insurance business and is in- 
 terested in the undertaking firm of High & 
 De Roche, was born in Chatfield township, 
 Crawford county, O., December 6, 1869, a son 
 of John D. and Margaret (Miller) De Roche. 
 
 John D. De Roche was born in Columbiana 
 county, O., October 21st, 1831, and came to 
 Crawford county with his parents, David L. 
 and Susanna (Wysard) De Roche. David L. 
 De Roche settled on a tract of forty acres, in 
 Chatfield township, one mile west of the Cran- 
 berry township line, to which he later added 
 forty acres and still later, 100 acres and there 
 he died when aged 56 "years, his burial being in 
 the Windfall cemetery. They were members 
 of the Lutheran church but frequently at- 
 tended religious services of other denomina- 
 tions, particularly the Presbyterian. John D. 
 De Roche grew to manhood as a farmer and 
 spent his life on the homestead' in Chatfield 
 township until he sold his farm when he re- 
 tired to live in New Washington and now 
 makes his home with his son, David L. De 
 Roche. He married Margaret Miller, who 
 was a native of Canton, Stark county, O. 
 They had five sons: William H., George A., 
 Edward, Adam A. and David and one daugh- 
 ter, Emma E. Mrs. De Roche died March 8, 
 1899. 
 
 A. A. De Roche is a graduate of the New 
 Washington High School and also of the Ohio 
 Normal University at Ada, O. For thirteen 
 years he followed school teaching, for a part 
 of the time in Chatfield, Cranberry, Auburn 
 and Whetstone townships, one year in Seneca 
 county, and for five years \Aas a teacher in the 
 public schools at New Washington. When he 
 retired from the educational field he went into 
 the insurance business and has done well and is 
 agent for fire, accident and plate glass com- 
 panies. He maintains his office on Mansfield 
 Street, New Washington, and is in partnership 
 with W. A. High in undertaking. His insur- 
 ance territory covers Auburn, Chatfield, Cran- 
 berry and Liberty townships, in Crawford 
 county and Seneca and Huron counties, repre- 
 
 senting twelve fire insurance companies, c 
 accident company, one health insurance, c 
 live stock and plate glass. 
 
 Mr. De Roche married Miss Louisa J. As( 
 bacher, a daughter of William and Christi 
 Aschbacher, and they have two children : F 
 min, who is a school boy of thirteen years; a 
 Pauline Alberta, who is three years old. 
 politics Mr. De Roche is a Republican and 
 clerk of the school board. He and wife belo 
 to the Lutheran church, of which he is seci 
 tary. 
 
 MICHAEL FLOCKEN, deceased,for mai 
 years was a highly respected citizen of Bug 
 rus, O., and was one of the prosperous bu: 
 ness men. He was born in Rhine Byron, 1 
 Langdau, Germany, April 9, 1829, a son 1 
 Michael Flocken, who was a wine manufa 
 turer in one of the German Rhine province 
 He was twice married and one of his sons is 
 prominent physician in Germany. 
 
 The parents of Michael Flocken the younge 
 died in Germany, but he, with his brothei 
 Jacob, Louis and Conrad, and his two sister 
 all came to the United States and all marrif 
 here. Michael had already had some expei 
 ences away from home, having spent thn 
 years with an uncle in Russia and while thei 
 learned the difficult Russian language. ] 
 1850 he came to America and settled for a tin 
 in Pennsylvania, where he worked at tl 
 cooper trade, and then came to Bucyrus ar 
 continued in the business as long as it w; 
 profitable. Always industrious and pruden 
 he accumulated a comfortable property. E 
 was known as a good man, kind and neigl 
 borly in the community and ever ready to coi 
 tribute to charity. He was deeply interested i 
 the work of the German Methodist church ar 
 was an official in the same and superintendei 
 of the Sunday school. He identified himse 
 with the Republican party and belonged to tl 
 beneficial order of Knights of Honor. 
 
 Mr. Flocken was married in 1853, at Galioi 
 O., by Rev. John Smith, uncle of die bride, 1 
 Miss Anna E. Rupparsberger, who was boi 
 at Christianfeldt, Hesse Darmstadt, German; 
 June 16, 1835, a daughter of Henry and Eliz: 
 beth M. (Schmidt) Rupparsberger. Her pai 
 ents were both natives of Hesse Darmstad 
 The father died in 1847 and the mother i 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 615 
 
 1853. She came to America with her children, 
 sailing from Bremen and landing at New York 
 six weeks later. The little family came right 
 on to Ohio, where they joined Rev. Jacob 
 Schmidt, a brother of Mrs. Rupparsberger. 
 Some time later the mother became a member 
 of a daughter's family and died at Sulphur 
 Springs. She was a member of the German 
 Lutheran church. Mrs. Flocken and her 
 brother Frederick, are the only survivors of 
 their parents' family. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Flocken twelve children 
 were born, the eight survivors being as fol- 
 lows : Sophia, who is the wife of John H. 
 Miers, a saddler, at Bucyrus; Lewis H., who 
 is a retired druggist, living at Marion, O. ; 
 Edward, who is foreman in a manufacturing 
 plant at Mansfield; Charles, who resides with 
 his family at Bucyrus ; Frederick J., who is a 
 druggist at Marion ; William F., who conducts 
 a barber shop at Bucyrus; John H., who is 
 also a barber; and Nellie S., who is the wife 
 of Irvin Miller, a photographer at Mt. Vernon, 
 Ohio. Mrs. Flocken and children belong to 
 the German Methodist church. 
 
 HARRY G. LA RUE, a successful farmer, 
 who resides on a well improved tract of twen- 
 ty-three acres which is situated in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, O.; one mile 
 south and half a mile southwest of Sulphur 
 Springs, O., is a substantial and well known 
 citizen. He was born in Crawford county, O., 
 June 25, 1879, and is a son of Frank and Ar- 
 della (Waller) La Rue. The parents of Mr. 
 La Rue were also born in Ohio. They reared 
 ten children, namely: Charles, Lysander, 
 Cora, Ralph, Guy, Harry G., James, Edna, 
 Ernest and Gertrude. 
 
 Harry G. La Rue attended the public schools 
 in his native county and prepared himself for 
 teaching, which profession he has followed 
 ever since, in addition to his agricultural ac- 
 tivities. He is well known as an educator and 
 in every place he has taught has given entire 
 satisfaction. 
 
 Mr. La Rue married Miss Mabel Colwell, 
 who is a daughter of Thomas and Mary 
 (Wentz) Colwell, natives of Crawford county. 
 Mr. and Mrs. La Rue have two children, 
 Helen and Dorothy. In politics Mr. La Rue is 
 identified with the Republican party. He is 
 
 one of the active and intelligent citizens of his 
 neighborhood and takes a hearty interest in 
 everything that promises to benefit it in any 
 way. 
 
 ANTHONY SCHACK, deceased, who, for 
 many years, was identified with the Pennsyl- 
 vania railroad offices at Bucyrus, O., was un- 
 usually popular as an official and was highly 
 esteemed as a man. He was born April 5, 1858, 
 at Woodbourne, Sullivan county, N. Y., and 
 died at his home in Bucyrus, April 12, 1902. 
 He was a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Zim- 
 mer) Schack. 
 
 The family name was variously spelled, 
 sometimes Schock, Schaack, Schwack or 
 Schack, the last orthography being most ac- 
 ceptable to the late Anthony Schack. The 
 father, Adam, lost his parents when young and 
 was probably about eighteen years of age when 
 he left Germany for the United States. He 
 resided for some time in Sullivan county, N. 
 Y., and moved then to Elk county, Pa., and 
 late in life came to Bucyrus, where he died at 
 the home of a daughter, Mrs. Matthews, being 
 then aged over seventy years. His wife had 
 died previously at Wilcox, Elk county. Pa. 
 She was a Roman Catholic while he was a 
 Presbyterian. Of their ten children, Anthony 
 was the youngest. 
 
 From the schools of Elk county, Anthony 
 Schack entered Oberlin College, O., where he 
 completed a course in bookkeeping and teleg- 
 raphy, after which he returned to Pennsyl- 
 vania. He was associated for a time with a 
 tanning company, later was a merchant in Sal- 
 amanca, N. Y., and still later went to Chicago, 
 •111., where he was connected with a tannery 
 until November, 1880, when he came to Bucy- 
 rus. He accepted a position as bill clerk in the 
 offices of the Pennsylvania Railroad and some 
 time later was appointed ticket agent for the 
 same company and continued in that office 
 until about the time of his death. He was an 
 active citizen and occasionally accepted public 
 office although no seeker for the same and 
 served as city treasurer. His friends affec- 
 tionately called him Tony and he reciprocated 
 their friendliness and appreciated their com- 
 radeship. He was a member of the Knights 
 of Pythias. Although identified with no par- 
 
616 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ticular church organization, his life was in ac- 
 cordance with moral principles. 
 
 On December 28, 1898, Mr. Schack was 
 married at Bucyrus, to Miss Mary Amelia 
 Matthew, who was born at Leipsic, Crawford 
 county, O., a daughter of Charles ^I. and Mar- 
 garet (Schack) Matthew. The father was 
 born April 25, 1825, in Rheinish Prussia, and 
 died at Bucyrus, March 5, 1901. In 1847 he 
 came to America, both parents being dead, and 
 after landing at the port of New York, went to 
 the copper regions of Michigan and Wisconsin, 
 where he engaged there in work in the mines. 
 Later he moved to Seneca county, O., and 
 started a wagonmaking business at Republic, 
 where he lived for ten years. He came then 
 to Bucyrus and for a number of years was em- 
 ployed as a patternmaker and foreman in some 
 of the large manufacturing plants. In his na- 
 tive land he had learned the cabinetmaking 
 trade and previous to retirement he conducted 
 a furniture and undertaking establishment. 
 He was a worthy church member, one of the 
 leading rrien in the Reformed body, and at all 
 times he gave liberally in the way of charity. 
 He was a member of the order of Knights of 
 Honor. 
 
 At Tiffin, O., April 15, 1853, Charles M. 
 Matthew was married to Alargaret Schack, 
 who was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came 
 to the United States after reaching young 
 womanhood. She died November 23, 1886. 
 Her daughter pays a high tribute to her as a 
 devoted mother, an example of Christian liv- 
 ing, kind, wise and loving in every domestic 
 relation. She was the mother of seven chil- 
 dren, namely: Jacob H., who is deceased; 
 Charles F. ; Louise Lucy, who lives at Albany, 
 Ore. ; Mrs. Schack ; John Philip, a clothing 
 merchant at Bucyrus, who has one son, Donald 
 S. ; William E., who is in business at Cleve- 
 land, and has three children — Helen L., Paul 
 C. and Janet A. ; and George F., who resides 
 with his sister, ^Irs. Schack. She is a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian church and is interested 
 in its many avenues of usefulness and has a 
 pleasant circle of friends, many of whom she 
 has known all her life. 
 
 ARTHUR C. ROWSE, whose excellent 
 farm of 70 acres lies one mile north of Osce- 
 ola, O., is one of the successful and enterpris- 
 
 ing young agriculturists of this part of Cra 
 ford county. He was born in 1 881, in Wy£ 
 dot county, and is a son of Walter and O 
 nelia (Straw) Rowse. 
 
 Walter Rowse belonged to an old family 
 Crawford county and was reared at Bucyi 
 until he was fourteen years of age and th 
 went to Wyandot county, where he engaged 
 farming until one year before his death, wh 
 he moved into Marion county and died th( 
 when aged 54 years. He married Corne 
 Straw, of Wyandot county and the foUowi 
 children were born to them: Qsincy, Frar 
 Arthur, Grace, Ella, and Sallie and Miltc 
 twins, there being yet five survivors. 
 
 Arthur C. Rowse turned his attention 
 agricultural pursuits as soon as he left schoi 
 assisting his father on the home place f 
 some years and then locating in Whetsto 
 township, Crawford county, for six years. 
 December, 1909, he bought his present far 
 on which he carries on his farm industries 
 a very satisfactory manner, according to t 
 best recognized methods. They include a ge 
 eral line of farming and the raising of co 
 siderable stock. 
 
 ^Ir. Rowse married Miss Alice Harvey, wi 
 was born in Crawford county but was rear 
 in Wyandot county, O., her parents residii 
 near Mt. Zion. Mr. and Mrs. Rowse have 
 daughter, Marie. They are members of t 
 United Brethren church at Osceola, O. 
 politics "Mr. Rowse is a Republican. He 
 known as one of the reliable men of T 
 township and his interest may be counted on 
 relation to beneficial and public-spirited rno\ 
 ments in his section. 
 
 PHILIP ROSS, deceased, was a leadi 
 business man of Bucyrus, O., for many yei 
 and was valued and esteemed by his fellc 
 citizens. He was born in Hesse-Darnista( 
 Germany, July 3, 1843, ^^^d was a son of Pel 
 and Margaret (Zimmerman) Ross. The fai 
 ily came to America on a sailing vessel in 18; 
 landing at the harbor of New York, and frc 
 that city they came on to Crawford county a 
 secured heavily timbered lands in Lyke 
 township. There Jacob Ross died, two yej 
 later, before he had time to develop a far 
 His widow afterward made her home with I 
 son Peter and died there in 1893, aged eight 
 

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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 619 
 
 three years. In Germany they had been con- 
 firmed in the Lutheran church and they were 
 attendants of the same at Chatfield, O. 
 
 PhiHp Ross was the third youngest in a fam- 
 ily of seven children and was eighteen years of 
 age when the family came to America. He 
 attended school at Chatfield and later a me- 
 chanics and arts school at Sandusky, and after- 
 ward became a skilled carpenter and builder, 
 following this business for many years. He 
 went into partnership with his brother George, 
 in building contracting in 1868, at Bucyrus, 
 and continued in the same until his death, on 
 January 24, 1905, having survived his brother 
 for six years. They were considered reliable 
 and efficient men in their line and erected many 
 of the halls, private residences and public 
 buildings in this city, including the Opera 
 House. Politically Mr. Ross was a Democrat 
 and enjoyed the confidence of his party and 
 served for some terms as a valued member of 
 the city council. 
 
 Mr. Ross was married at Bucyrus, on May 
 26, 1878, to Miss Theresa Vollrath, who was 
 born in this city, March 17, 1857, and has 
 always lived here. Her parents were Albert 
 and Catherine (Mader) Vollrath, natives of 
 Saxony, Germany, who came to America with 
 their parents in 1852, in the days when it re- 
 quired three -months to cover the great waste 
 of water rolling between Europe and Amer- 
 ica. For one year afterward they lived at 
 Rochester, N. Y., and then came to Bucyrus, 
 where Albert Vollrath died November 15, 
 1907, aged seventy-eight years. He was en- 
 gaged during his active life in the planing 
 mill business. The mother of Mrs. Ross died 
 August 5, 1895, aged sixty years. They 
 were members of the German Lutheran 
 church. Mr. and Mrs. Vollrath had one son 
 and four daughters born to them : Mrs. Ross ; 
 Malink, who is the wife of E. R. Birk, of Bu- 
 cyrus; Carrie, who is the wife of Charles 
 Fisher, of White Plains N. Y. ; and William 
 and Louisa, both of whom died unmarried. 
 
 Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ross namely: Otto C, born April i, 1879, who 
 resides at home and is connected with the T. & 
 O. C. Railroad Shops ; Harry Jacob, who was 
 born August 12, 1880, and who is a machinist 
 with the American Clay Machinery Company ; 
 and Ora Irene, born August 2, 1881, who 
 
 is a graduate of the Bucyrus High School in 
 the class of 1900. She is a member of the 
 English Lutheran church, while her mother 
 and brothers retain membership with the Ger- 
 man Lutherans.. The late Philip Ross was a 
 Scottish Rite Mason and was also a member 
 of the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 GEORGE ROSS was an honorable, up- 
 right and successful business man of Bucyrus, 
 O., for many years and was closely identified 
 during that time in its material development. 
 He was born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, 
 May 31, 1839, and died at his home in Bu- 
 cyrus, May 29, 1899. He was one of a fam- 
 ily of seven children bom to his parents, who 
 were Peter and Margaret (Zimmerman) Ross. 
 
 George Ross was 15 years old when he ac- 
 companied his parents to America and grew 
 to manhood on the old farm in Lykens town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O. His father died 
 early but his mother survived into old age. 
 After his school days were entirely over he 
 learned the carpenter trade which included 
 house building, at Sandusky, his younger 
 brother, the late Philip Ross having also 
 learned his trade at the same place. The 
 brothers came to Bucyrus and formed a part- 
 nership and continued together in a building 
 and contracting business in this city as long 
 as they lived, the younger member of the firm 
 continuing for six years after the death of 
 the older. Many of the fine buildings of all 
 kinds which adorn this city were erected by 
 this firm and from their own plans. Mr. 
 Ross was noted for his reliability and it was 
 often remarked that this firm was thoroughly 
 dependable. He was a man of quiet life, a 
 Democrat in his political opinions but no seeker 
 for office, and a faithful member of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. He provided an in- 
 surance for his family, being identified with 
 the Royal Arcanum and the Royal Home 
 Society. 
 
 Mr. Ross was married in 186=5 to Miss Em- 
 ma Jacobs, who was born in Lykens township, 
 Crawford county, in June, 1843, and is a 
 daughter of August and Frederica (Bear) 
 Jacobs. They were natives of Germany, 
 where they were reared and married, soon 
 after embarking on a sailing vessel for Am- 
 erica. They reached the United States after 
 
620 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a voyage of seven weeks and were landed at 
 the port of New York and from there came 
 to Springfield, O. After two years there they 
 came to Lykens township, where they were 
 among the early settlers. Their first home 
 was a log cabin built in a little clearing made 
 by Mr. Jacobs and their neighbors were In- 
 dians. By trade he was a carpenter and he 
 followed the same and also managed to clear 
 and develop his farm of loo acres. Here he 
 died in 1890, aged 79 years, having outlived 
 his wife for 19 years. In their youth, in Ger- 
 many, they had been confirmed in the German 
 Lutheran church and they continued in that 
 faith during the rest of their lives. Seven 
 children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs, 
 the two survivors being Mrs. Ross and Charles 
 Jacobs, both being residents of Bucyrus. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. George Ross were born a daugh- 
 ter and a son — Carrie May and Frank George. 
 The former, who was born in 1875, died May 
 6, 1909; she was the wife of Peter Bossier, 
 who died six years after their marriage, leav- 
 ing no children. The latter, Frank George, 
 was born Dec. 16, 1877, is unmarried and 
 makes his home with his mother. He is a well 
 known and popular engineer on the T. & O. C. 
 Railroad. He is a Knight Templar Mason, 
 an Elk, belongs to the Uniform Rank, Knights 
 of Pythias, to the order of Eagles and to the 
 Forester organization and to the Brotherhood 
 of Locomotive Engineers. Mrs Ross is a 
 member of the German Lutheran church, in 
 which Mr. Ross was an elder for many years. 
 
 MERVIN J. GIBSON, who is successfully 
 carrying on agricultural operations on his 
 mother's farm of eighty acres, which is sit- 
 uated in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., was born in this township, October 
 10, 1883, and is a son of Andrew and Letty 
 J. (Campbell) Gibson. 
 
 Andrew Gibson was born in Crawford 
 county, where he has been engaged in farm- 
 ing ever since his term of service in the Civil 
 war closed. He married Letty J. Campbell, 
 who was also born in Crawford county, and 
 three children were born to them, namely: 
 Iva M., who is the wife of Jeremiah Low- 
 miller; Mervin J. and Claude M. Andrew 
 Gibson and wife are members of the Presby- 
 terian church. 
 
 Mervin J. Gibson obtained a common school 
 education and afterward assisted his father on 
 the home farm. He remained until March, 
 1910, when he took charge of his mother's 
 farm in Whetstone township, where his intel- 
 ligent methods have brought about very satis- 
 factory results. Mr. Gibson is not an experi- 
 menter, his whole previous training having 
 been along the line in which he is engaged, 
 but he is wide awake and keeps posted as to 
 modeAi methods of procedure and makes use 
 of labor-saving machinery. 
 
 On December 22, 1909, Mr. Gibson was 
 married to Miss Austie B. Self, a daughter of 
 David and Caroline (Deisen) Self, the for- 
 mer of whom was born in Morrow county, 0., 
 and the latter in Germany. Mrs. Gibson has 
 one brother and one sister : Carl D. and Ema 
 C. On December 13, 19 10, a daughter was 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Gibson, to whom they 
 gave the name, Edith Caroline. They attend 
 the Lutheran church. In politics, Mr. Gibson, 
 like his father, is a Republican. The family 
 is a highly respected one in Crawford county. 
 
 REV. ISAAC BEAL, a highly respected re- 
 tired farmer of Bucyrus, O., and a lay 
 preacher in the German Methodist church, 
 was born in Lycoming county, Pa., August 28, 
 1828, and is a son of George and a grandson 
 of John Michael Beal, the latter of whom mar- 
 ried in their native village near Stuttgart, Ger- 
 many. He was born September 3, 1759, and 
 she was but a few years younger. After the 
 birth of their children, namely : John Michael, 
 Jr., George, Frederick and Dorothea, they 
 joined a colony that had determined to seek 
 a country where religious opinions were not 
 regulated by law. With this party of their 
 friends and neighbors, the Beals came down 
 the Rhine river to a secluded seaport and on 
 June 9, 1804, embarked on a sailing vessel, 
 the Margaretta, for America. They were 
 tossed on the waves of the Atlantic for two 
 and one-half months before they reached their 
 safe haven, at Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 From Philadelphia the party proceeded to 
 Germantown and in the following spring went 
 on their way to the point for which they had 
 started, Williamsport, in Lycoming county. 
 There they built a rough hewn edifice which 
 they dedicated to church purposes, in 1828 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 621 
 
 and the little building still stands. There 
 Conrad F. Haller expounded the Scriptures to 
 them as a lay reader, being a man of some 
 learning. In 1833 a part of the colony came 
 on to Crawford county with a view of im- 
 proving their material condition, and from the 
 favorable reports received from them, the Ohio 
 lands were fertile and desirable. This in- 
 formation led to a part of the Beal family ■ 
 coming to Crawford county in 1842 and the 
 remainder in 1843. They purchased land situ- 
 ated about three and one-half miles southeast 
 of Bucyrus and a part of this is still in the 
 possession of the Beal family. The original 
 purchase of 200 acres was made for $3,000, 
 while this same land at the present time could 
 not be purchased for $100 per acre. 
 
 The grandmother of Rev. Isaac Beal, and 
 one daughter, died in • Pennsylvania, but the 
 grandfather survived until he was eighty- 
 nine years old and died in 1848, in Crawford 
 county. His sons became farmers here and 
 all have been noted for good citizenship. A 
 few of the older members of the family have 
 always subscribed to the doctrine of the Piet- 
 ist community, that being the name given the 
 religious colony, while others have become 
 identified with more liberal sects. While still 
 residing in Pennsylvania, George Beal was 
 married to Barbara Sherer, who was also 
 born in Germany and came to America with 
 her parents when she was five years old. 
 George Beal and wife were among those mem- 
 bers of the family who continued in commu- 
 nion with the Pietists. They were worthy, 
 virtuous, self denying people, examples of 
 Christianity, and they were permitted to live 
 long lives together, his death occurring in 
 1882, two years after that of his wife, when 
 they were about eighty-seven years of age. 
 Four children were born to them, Isaac, the 
 eldest, being the only survivor. Mary, the 
 second in order of birth, died in December, 
 1910. She was the wife of Nathan Mutchler, 
 who is also deceased. Jacob, the third mem- 
 ber of the family, died at Youngstown, O., in 
 1909, and is survived by a family. Benjamin, 
 the youngest, was a citizen of Bucyrus and 
 for many years was secretary of the Crawford 
 County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. A 
 family survives him. 
 
 Isaac Beal was reared in Lycoming county 
 
 and was with the first section of the Beal fam- 
 ily that came pioneering to Crawford county in 
 1842 and has been identified with this sec- 
 tion ever since. After his father's death he 
 became owner of a part of the old homestead 
 and for many years has carried on extensive 
 operations both in farming and stockraising. 
 During his active years on the farm he made a 
 specialty of growing sheep. He continued his 
 agricultural activities until 1891, when he re- 
 tired to Bucyrus, where he has resided ever 
 since. For many years a member of the Ger- 
 man Methodist church, he has also been a trus- 
 tee and lay preacher, and in the latter relation 
 is valued by a congregation that holds him in 
 the highest esteem. 
 
 Mr. Beal was married in September, 1853, 
 to Miss Christina Hurr, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania, December 25, 1831, and was a 
 member of the Pietist colony that came to 
 Crawford from Lycoming county. She is a 
 member of the German Methodist church, in 
 which faith the children have been reared. 
 They are as follows : Simon George, who is a 
 farmer in Crawford county, married Catherine 
 Sherer, who died December 17, 1910, leaving 
 one son, Milton S. ; Mary A., who is the wife 
 of H. F. Miller; Lizzie, who is the wife of J. 
 G. Hipp, of Bucyrus, and has five children — 
 Raymond, Rufus, Mary, Naomi and Martha; 
 Benjamin F., a minister of the German Meth- 
 odist church, and a graduate of Wallace Theo- 
 logical college, having a charge at Cleveland, 
 who married Josephine Deitrich and has 
 six children — Carl, Paul, Theodore, Maria, 
 Catherine and Wilbur; Catherine, who is the 
 wife of Rev. J. C. Gerlach, a Gerfnan Meth- 
 odist minister at Cincinnati, a graduate of 
 Wallace college; Ellen B., who lives with her 
 parents ; and Martha M., whb graduated from 
 the Bucyrus High school in the class of 1894 
 and for ten years has been ^n acceptable 
 teacher in the city public schools. The Beal 
 family enjoyed a reunion on August 29, 191 1, 
 and among the other entertainments was an 
 interesting history of the family that had been 
 prepared with much care by Miss Martha and 
 was read by her to those present. The record 
 showed a long line of sober, faithful, honest, 
 industrious, law-abiding and God fearing an- 
 cestors. 
 
622 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 EMANUEL SCHIEBER, who is one of 
 the prominent and representative citizens of 
 Liberty township, Crawford county, O., now 
 serving in his second term as township trus- 
 tee, resides on his finely cultivated farm of 
 eighty acres, situated not many miles distant 
 from Bucyrus, O. He was born in Liberty 
 township, March 31, 1865, and is a son of Ja- 
 cob and Eva (Mauer) Schieber, and a grand- 
 son of Gotleib and Magdalena Schieber. 
 
 Jacob Schieber was born in Germany and 
 was brought by his parents to America when 
 eighteen months old. He became a successful 
 farmer and a highly respected citizen of Lib- 
 erty township, where his death occurred in 
 1884, his burial being in the Shealy cemetery. 
 He married Eva Mauer, who was born in 
 Stark county, 0., and now resides with a 
 daughter in Liberty township. They became 
 parents of the following children: John; 
 Louisa, deceased, who was the wife of Hari- 
 son Klink; Henry; David S. ; Emanuel; Mary, 
 who is the wife of F. W. Hieber; Elizabeth, 
 who is the widow of John Hieber; Samuel A., 
 and Jay W., who died when eight years of age. 
 
 Emanuel Schieber attended the local schools 
 through boyhood and after enjoying one term 
 at the Northern Ohio University, at Ada, 
 turned his attention to school teaching. He 
 taught five winter terms and proved very ac- 
 ceptable to his pupils but since then his farm 
 and other enterprises have claimed his entire 
 attention. He carries on his agricultural oper- 
 ations scientifically and meets with very satis- 
 factory results. 
 
 Mr. Schieber was married in January, i8gi, 
 to Miss Louisa M. Hieber, who is a daughter 
 of Christian and Christiana (Wagner) Hie- 
 ber, who were farming people in Liberty 
 township for many years. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Schieber four children have been born, 
 namely: Millard E., who is a graduate of the 
 Bucyrus High school in the class of 191 1, and 
 has accepted a position with the Second Na- 
 tional Bank, Bucyrus, O. ; Harry, who is a 
 member of the class of 1913, in the Bucyrus 
 High school; Elsie C, and Dorothy E. Mr. 
 Schieber and family are members of the 
 Lutheran church. He is a Democrat in poli- 
 tics and has frequently been elected to office 
 on that ticket; for six years he served as a 
 justice of the peace and for three years as a 
 
 member of the township school board. Mr. 
 Schieber is a stockholder in the Second Na- 
 tional Bank of Bucyrus, O. 
 
 HERBERT S. BLAIR, a leading business 
 man of Bucyrus, O., manufacturer of husking 
 gloves, husking pins and other specialties and 
 a jobber all over the great corn belt of the 
 country, has been in this line of business for 
 the past twenty-seven years and has developed 
 a large enterprise from a small beginning. He 
 was born at Bucyrus, August 3, 1859, and is a 
 son of Elias and Anna (McCrory) Blair. 
 
 Elias Blair, who is president of the Second 
 National Bank of Bucyrus, one of the old and 
 honored citizens of this city, was born in 1824, 
 near Mt. Vernon, O., being of English parent- 
 age. In 1852 he made the overland trip to 
 California and spent two years as a prospec- 
 tor and miner in the gold fields, returning to 
 his native state by way of the Isthmus of 
 Panama, with substantial evidences of his suc- 
 cess while there. He located in what was then 
 the village of Bucyrus where he embarked in 
 the hardware business being the pioneer mer- 
 chant in this line. Mr. Blair, together with 
 unmistakable business qualities, has been more 
 or less of an inventor all his life and several 
 of his inventions are made use of in almost 
 every agricultural and stock-raising district in if 
 the United States and Europe. Reference is 
 made to his hog anti-rooter device and his hog 
 snout ring, the manufacture of which is still ' 
 carried on under his name. Mr. Blair is one 
 of the substantial citizens of Bucyrus, the 
 owner of a large amount cfi property which 
 he and his son have improved. For some 
 years he has been a semi-invalid but still main- 
 tains his interest in business and all current af- 
 fairs. He was married at Mansfield, O., to . 
 Miss Anna McCrory, who was born in Penn- 
 sylvania and when young was brought to 
 Mansfield by her parents. Two sons and four 
 daughters were born to them. One daughter 
 died in infancy and one son, Bennington, died 
 at the age of eighteen years. The survivors 
 are : Herbert S. ; Carrie B., who is the widow 
 of Albert Ensminger, of Bucyrus, and she has 
 one son, Edward ; Lizzie B., who is the widow 
 of Edward Roehr, of Bucyrus ; and Anna, who 
 is the wife of F. I. Ruhl, who is manager of 
 Mr. Blair's large hardware store. They have 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 623 
 
 one son, E. Blair Ruhl. Mr. and Mrs. Blair 
 are members of the English Lutheran church, 
 in which he has been an officer for many years. 
 Herbert S. Blair was reared and educated at 
 Bucyrus and practically grew up in the hard- 
 ware and manufacturing business. The first 
 husking implement was a simple affair, a pin 
 or peg, which was quite useful but of not 
 nearly the utility of the present device which 
 has been developed together with many other 
 instruments, more than thirty in all, which are 
 manufactured by Mr. Blair, all of these being 
 covered by patents. A large force of work- 
 men is kept at all times and his sales are enor- 
 mous, one business house of St. Louis, Mo., 
 alone, ordering a shipment of these specialties 
 to the amount of $7,000. Mr. Blair has sel- 
 dom purchased an invention, almost all of the 
 original implements and the improvements 
 having been the issue of his own brain and 
 skill. 
 
 Mr. Blair was married at Bucyrus, to Miss 
 Belle Frayer, a daughter of the late J. G. 
 Frayer. They have three children: Marietta, 
 who is the wife of Oren E. Smith, of Bucy- 
 rus; John, who is a student in a military in- 
 stitute; and Anna Belle, who attends the pub- 
 lic schools. One son, Milton Blaine, died aged 
 seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Blair are members 
 ^■of the English Lutheran church. Fraternally 
 he is an Elk and a Knight Templar Mason and 
 Shriner. Politically he is a Republican. 
 
 GEORGE F. DONNENWIRTH, a well 
 known business njan of Bucyrus, O., dealing 
 in fine wines and liquors, and a citizen whose 
 public spirit and liberality may be counted on 
 in every emergency, was born in this city, De- 
 cember 6, 1869, and is a son of William and 
 • Catherine (Assenheimer) Donnenwirth. 
 
 William Donnenwirth was born at New 
 Washington, O. The greater portion of his 
 life was spent on his farm in Liberty town- 
 ship but his death occurred at Bucyrus, when 
 in his fifty-eighth year. He married Catherine 
 Assenheimer, who survives and is a resident of 
 Bucyrus and a member of the German Lu- 
 theran church. To William Donnenwirth and 
 wife the following children were born: Car- 
 rie; Frank E., who is assistant cashier of the 
 Bucyrus City Bank ; George F. ; Elizabeth ; 
 Rose; Charles A., who is with the American 
 
 Clay Machinery Company; Mrs. Bertha Dar- 
 ling; and John, who died at the age of two 
 years. 
 
 George F. Donnenwirth was educated in the 
 public schools and gave his father assistance 
 on the farm and continued agricultural pur- 
 suits until 1896. In 1900 he became interested 
 in the grocery business, with J. A. Leifer un- 
 der the firm name of Leifer & Donnenwirth, 
 and continued with that firm until June i, 
 1903. On September 8th of that year he em- 
 barked in his present business. 
 
 Mr. Donnenwirth was married April 4, 
 1909, to Miss Sue P. Streib, a daughter of M. 
 K. and Kate Streib, residents of Crawford 
 county. In politics Mr. Donnenwirth has al- 
 ways been identified with the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 WILLIAM F. MADER, a merchant and 
 chief of the fire department of the city of 
 Bucyrus, O., was born on the lot he now uses 
 for business purposes, Nos. 109-111-113 North 
 Sandusky street, April 27, 1865. He is a son 
 of John George and Christina (Dinkel) 
 Mader. 
 
 John George Mader was born i-ft Wertem- 
 berg, Germany, in 1839, and died at his home 
 at Bucyrus, O., in December, 1907. He was a 
 son of John George Mader, who was born and 
 reared in Germany and there married Miss 
 Hoch. In the late forties the father of John 
 George Mader, Jr., accompanied by his two 
 older children, took passage on a sailing ves- 
 sel for America and after a voyage of forty- 
 seven days, reached New York and came on to 
 Bucyrus, O., where he established himself in 
 the hotel business. In 1852 he sent for his 
 wife and the other children and they also 
 crossed the Atlantic ocean in a sailing vessel 
 and came on to Bucyrus, where he was doing 
 a good business, the railroad being then in 
 course of construction and the country opening 
 up in every direction, there being much travel. 
 Some years prior to his death in 1878, he gave 
 up the hotel business and retired to a farm 
 near the city, a large portion of which still 
 belongs to the family. Almost his whole fam- 
 ily of ten children grew to maturity and sev- 
 eral survive and reside at Bucyrus. 
 
 John George Mader, Jr., was the third eldest 
 child of those who survived infancy and was 
 
624 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 thirteen years of age when he accompanied his 
 mother and the younger, children to America 
 to join the father at Bucyrus. He grew up 
 very helpful to his father in the hotel business 
 and later went into the wine and liquor busi- 
 ness on North Sandusky avenue and became 
 a man of ample fortune. He was a Democrat 
 in politics and was frequently sent as a dele- 
 gate to state and county conventions and 
 served in the city council. He was a member 
 of the Deutsche Gesellschaft society. 
 
 At Bucyrus he was married to Christina 
 Dinkel, who was born in this city in 1841 and 
 died here in 1885. She was a daughter of 
 Ludwig and Christina Dinkel, who were early 
 German settlers in this section and faithful 
 members of the German Lutheran church. 
 They had two children, Mrs. Mader and Louis, 
 the latter of whom lives retired in Bucyrus. 
 Five children were born to the above marriage, 
 the eldest of these being William F., of this 
 record. Antonia, the eldest daughter, was the 
 wife of WiUiam A. Blicke, cashier of the 
 Bucyrus City Bank and was survived by one 
 son, Frederick. C. Edward, the second son, 
 is a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y., and is vice 
 president of the firm of Schall & Co., of New 
 York. He married Miss Wilhelmina Schall 
 and they have seven daughters, and one son. 
 J. G., the third son is associated with his eld- 
 est brother in business. He married Miss 
 Minnie Schurr. Elsie, the youngest, who was 
 the wife of George G. Koch, of Cleveland, is 
 survived by one daughter. 
 
 William K Mader was reared and educated 
 at Bucyrus and afterward assisted his father 
 and subsequently became his partner in busi- 
 ness arid still later with his brother, John G. 
 Mader, the brothers being the sole proprietors 
 of the business their father founded. In poli- 
 tics he is a Democrat but has never been what 
 is termed a politician. He has been connected 
 with the fire department for many years and 
 was at the head of the old volunteer company 
 when the apparatus consisted of the old hand 
 engine known locally as the Water Cloud and 
 other primitive accouterments. Since 1888 
 he has been chief of the present well organized 
 department and its equipments are modern and 
 entirely adequate and Chief Mader is proud of 
 his force of well trained men. 
 
 Mr. Mader was married in New York city 
 
 to Miss Cecelia Schall, a .daughter of Michael 
 Schall, who established the wholesale confec- 
 tionery supply house of Schall & Co., in that 
 city. Both he and wife were natives of Wer- 
 temberg, Germany. After his death his widow 
 and her brother continued the business until 
 her death, since which time it has been oper- 
 ated as a stock company. Mr. and Mrs. Mader 
 have two children : Lucile Dora, who was born 
 in 1892 and Vera Elsie, who was born in 1895. 
 The family belong to the German Lutheran 
 church. Mr. Mader is a member of the Order 
 of Eagles and belongs, like his late father, to 
 the Deutsche Gesellschaft society. 
 
 SIMEON F. SHERER, who is a well 
 known citizen of Whetstone township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., and a representative of an 
 old and substantial county family, was born 
 on the farm on which he still lives, March 5, 
 1865," and is a son of Samuel and Elizabeth 
 (Haller) Sherer. 
 
 Samuel Sherer was born in Lycoming 
 county. Pa., and was five years old when he 
 was- brought to Ohio and he ever afterward 
 lived on the same farm in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county. He was a man of lo- 
 cal importance, a hearty supporter of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church and active in pub- 
 lic matters, serving for a number of years as 
 township clerk, township trustee and in othei- 
 capacities, elected to office on the Democratic 
 ticket. At the time of his death hfe owned 
 about 308 acres of land in Whetstone town- 
 ship. He was twice married, his first wife be- 
 ing a Miss Hagenleibly, who was born in this 
 township and at death was survived by two 
 daughters — Catherine, now deceased, who was 
 the wife of Simeon Beal,~and Mary, who is the 
 wife of Emanuel Lust. His second marriage 
 was to Elizabeth Haller, who died when her 
 son, Simeon F., was four and one-half years 
 old. He was the eldest born and had one 
 sister, Matilda, who is the wife of John J. 
 Kurtz. 
 
 Simeon F. Sherer attended the public 
 schools. He remained with his father and suc- 
 ceeded to the homestead and has lived here 
 ever since, carrying on general farming and 
 raising enough stock for home use. On June 
 5, 1901, Mr. Sherer was married to Miss 
 Mary Kurtz, a daughter of George and Cath- 
 
JOHN HOPLEY, SR., AND JOHN (III) HOPLEY, JR. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 627 
 
 erine (Geibler) Kurtz, who were natives of 
 Germany. The parents of Mrs. Sherer set- 
 tled first in Pennsylvania and then came to 
 Ohio, where the father subsequently died, the 
 mother now making her home with Mr. and 
 Mrs. Sherer. The latter has the following 
 brothers and sisters : John J. and Isaac ; Eliza- 
 beth, who is the wife of Dr. C. H. Senn, of 
 Williamsport, Pa. ; Laura, who is the wife of 
 C. A. Coppe; and Benjamin. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Sherer three children have 
 been born: Robert K., Katherine and Lowell 
 Samuel. The family attend the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Politically a Democrat, Mr. 
 Sherer takes great pleasure in the success his 
 party frequently achieves. He has served at 
 times in public office and has been school di- 
 rector and also township trustee. 
 
 JOHN L. TOBIAS, engineer for the Bucy- 
 rus Electric Light and Power company at 
 Bucyrus, O., a practical and experienced man 
 in his profession, was born at Greencastle, 
 Franklin county. Pa., April 19, 1853, and is a 
 son of William B. Tobias. 
 
 John L. Tobias was eleven years of age 
 when he accompanied the family to Sulphur 
 Springs, Crawford county, O., and he was 
 reared here, attending the district schools dur- 
 ing the winter time until old enough to work 
 in a saw mill, and passing his summers use- 
 fully on the home farm. It was while he was 
 assisting his brother, William F. Tobias, in the 
 lumber industry that he gained his first knowl- 
 edge of steam engineering, which he has fol- 
 lowed alternately for twenty years while also 
 carrying on agricultural pursuits in Marion 
 county. In 1899 he came to Bucyrus and con- 
 tinued work along engineering lines and for 
 the past eighteen months has filled his present 
 responsible position with one of the city's most 
 important utilities. 
 
 John L. Tobias was married at Bucyrus, to 
 Miss Elizabeth Meyer, who was born here in 
 1859 and is a daughter of John and Margaret 
 (Bauer) Meyer, natives of Wurtemberg and 
 Bavaria, Germany. Mr. Meyer was twenty 
 years of age when he came to America and lo- 
 cated at Bucyrus where he was married, in 
 1858, to Margaret Bauer. She was nine years 
 old when her parents brought her from Ger- 
 many to Bucyrus, and was a daughter of Jacob 
 
 and Eva (Stickler) Bauer. Jacob Bauer died 
 at the age of forty years but his widow sur- 
 vived to the age of seventy years. In their re- 
 ligious connection they were German Luther- 
 ans. John Meyer was a well known citizen 
 and a very active Democrat, serving in many 
 public capacities, and at one time was city 
 treasurer. He died August 5, 1908, when aged 
 75 years. The mother of Mrs. . Tobias sur- 
 vived until August 2, 191 1, when aged 72 
 years. They were among the most highly re- 
 spected residents of Bucyrus and were worthy 
 members and liberal supporters of the German 
 Lutheran church. Of their seven children, 
 Amelia died young. The other members of 
 the family are: Mrs. Tobias; John; Jacob B., 
 who is a resident of Lincoln, Neb. ; Catherine, 
 who resides in the old Meyer homestead at 
 No. 136 Hill street; Charles, a resident of 
 Bucyrus, who is one of the directors of the 
 Crawford County Infirmary; and Frank. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tobias have one daughter, 
 Lillian M., who was born September 15, 1889. 
 She has been carefully educated and is filling 
 a clerical position with the Carroll Foundry 
 and Machine Co. of this city. Mr. Tobias and 
 family belong to the German Lutheran church. 
 In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 JOHN HOPLEY. One of the citizens of 
 Crawford county who has left a strong im- 
 press not only on the local surroundings but 
 upon the affairs of the state of Ohio, is John 
 Hopley, for 40 years owner and editor of the 
 Bucyrus Journal and also head of the com- 
 pany which owned and published the Bucyrus 
 Evening Telegraph. Mr. Hopley was a na- 
 tive of England, having been born at Whit- 
 stable, a naval station on the east coast of 
 England, May 21, 1821. His father, Edward 
 Hopley, F. R. C. S., was for 43 years a sur- 
 geon in the Royal Navy of England, and after 
 his retirement practiced his profession of 
 medicine and surgery at Whitstable, in Kent, 
 and later at Lewes, in Sussex, one of the 
 oldest towns in England. His mother was 
 Miss Catherine Cooper Prat, who descended 
 from a long line of ancestry distinguished in 
 the Church of England, her great-grandfather, 
 Samuel Prat, having been Dean of Rochester 
 Cathedral in 1697, preceptor of the Royal 
 heir apparent. Canon of Windsor, and head 
 
628 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 chaplain to Queen Anne, and is buried in St. 
 George's chapel, Windsor; others, Rev. Dan- 
 iel Prat and George Prat, are buried in Roch- 
 ester Cathedral; her father. Rev. John Prat, 
 being buried in St. Dunstans, Canterbury. In 
 the seven generations since Daniel Prat (in 
 1574) all of his ancestors in the direct line, 
 except, of course, his mother, have been min- 
 isters in the Church of England. 
 
 John Hopley pursued his education in the 
 Royal Navy Academy at Camberwell, Surrey, 
 a suburb of London. This school was ex- 
 clusively for sons of na\'al officers and its 
 course was most extensive and thorough. 
 Here the Bell, or monitor system was in 
 vogue, and this afforded opportunity for the 
 development of character through responsibil- 
 ity. Mr. Hopley excelled in both athletics 
 and study, and won many class honors. Av 
 the close of his college course he was ma^e 
 a teacher of the institution, where he rema'/ied 
 for some years. 
 
 In 1842, soon after attaining his majority, 
 he came to the United States with hh mater- 
 nal uncle, John R. Prat, of ZanesviL'e, whose 
 store he entered in the capacity of clerk. He 
 there continued until 1844, when he began 
 teaching, with a view to entering upon the 
 study of law, and making its practice his life 
 work. In 1845 he went to Logan, Hocking 
 county, to teach. He induced the trustees to 
 ^establish graded schools there, which were 
 among the first of the kind established in 
 Ohio. They proved a great success and his 
 educational ideas did much to build those 
 schools into prominence and effected an up- 
 lifting of the schools of Ohio in general. 
 
 On April 19, 1848, Mr. Hopley was united 
 in marriage to Miss Georgianna Rochester, 
 the fourth daughter of Mr. John Rochester, 
 of Logan, Ohio. Her father was born near 
 London, England, Jan. 9, 1796, and in 1816 
 he married Miss Marian Gladdle, a daughter 
 of a French gentleman who left his native 
 land owing to the French Revolution, and 
 entered the English armv as an officer, and 
 was killed in Spain while fighting against 
 Napoleon. Mr. Rochester came to America 
 in 1820. settling at Englishtown, Athens 
 county, Ohio, but soon removed to Logan, 
 where for nearly half a century he was en- 
 gaged in merchandising, being recognized as 
 
 one of the most prominent and influential 
 citizens of the place. For more than 44 years 
 he was a member of the Presbyterian church 
 and served for 34 years as an elder. He aided 
 greatly in promoting the moral advancement 
 of the people among whom he lived, and the 
 memory of his upright career remains as an 
 inspiration and a benediction to all who knew 
 him. He died Oct. 29, 1876, at the age of 81 
 years. His daughter, Mrs. Hopley, was born 
 Feb. 22, 1826. 
 
 Desiring to study slavery and its influence 
 upon the social life of the South, Mr. Hopley 
 soon after his marriage, removed to Tennes- 
 see, becoming a teacher in a school at 
 ""mellow Creek, and New Providence, and 
 then went to Elkton, Todd county, Ken- 
 tucky, where he had charge of the schools. 
 In 1862 he returned to Logan as supervisor 
 of the public schools, where he remained in 
 educational work for three years. In 1855 
 he was chosen instructor in mathematics at 
 Granger's Commercial School at Columbus, 
 but the institution, not being in strong finan- 
 cial condition, he only remained a portion of a 
 year and then went to Wellston, Columbiana 
 county, to fill out an incompleted year there. 
 On the I2th of April, 1856, he arrived with 
 his family at Bucyrus, having been elected 
 superintendent of schools at this place, and 
 during the years of his work at the head of 
 the Bucyrus schools he was an important fac- 
 tor in placing them on a firm basis. He en- 
 tered on his duties here with his usual earnest- 
 ness ■ and zeal and the system he established 
 soon awakened the admiration of the people 
 of the vicinity and other portions of the state. 
 
 In 1858, Mr. Hopley was admitted to the 
 bar, and formed a partnership with A. M. 
 Jackson, but the following year he decided to 
 open an office of his own, and he continued 
 the practice successfully until 1862 when he 
 went to England with Thomas Alsop, a client, 
 to settle some Alsop family affairs, and when 
 he returned he found his practice practically 
 destroyed ; some of his clients were in the 
 army and in many cases important witnesses 
 had enlisted, so that it was impossible to 
 bring cases to trial. Mr. Hopley was *hen 
 appointed by I\Ir. Salmon P. Chase to a clerk- 
 ship in the office of the second auditor of the 
 treasury at \\^ashington, ar-^ soon, by special 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 629 
 
 order of Mr. Chase himself, was transferred 
 to the office of the latter, having a desk in the 
 office of the library of the treasury. As he 
 found opportunity he studied the financial 
 problems and employed his pen effectively in 
 advancing the financial policy of the secretary 
 of the treasury, and the establishment of na- 
 tional banks. After the national banking law 
 was passed he was transferred to the banking 
 and currency bureau. Hugh McCuUough, 
 who was then comptroller of the currency, 
 placed Mr. Hopley in charge of the statistical 
 department of the bureau. His duties there 
 included examination of regular reports and 
 reports of bank examiners. Mr. Hopley, 
 during that period of life, occasionally fur- 
 nished data for speeches made by members of 
 Congress, whereby the statesmen became dis- 
 tinguished. 
 
 In 1864 he resigned his position in order to 
 accept an offer of a position in a large bank 
 in New York. In 1866 he was appointed 
 national bank examiner by the Government for 
 all the southern states excepting Delaware, 
 Maryland and Virginia; Kansas was after- 
 ward added to the list. After completing this 
 work in 1867 he returned to Bucyrus and in 
 September purchased of James Robinson a 
 half interest in the Bucyrus Journal. The fol- 
 lowing spring he purchased of Ralph Robin- 
 son the other half interest, and after the spring 
 of 1868 he was sole owner of that paper until 
 his death. From August, 1870, to January, 
 1879, he was postmaster at Bucyrus, having 
 been appointed by President Grant. He was 
 also postmaster at Bucyrus from 1890 to 1894, 
 having been appointed by President Harrison. 
 In 1887 the Bucyrus Evening Telegraph was 
 established as an independent paper but on 
 Jan. 4, 1895 The Hopley Printing Co. was 
 incorporated and since that time the daily and 
 weekly papers have been under one manage- 
 ment, Mr. Hopley having been president and 
 general supervisor until his death, which oc- 
 curred June 3, 1904. His wife, Mrs. Georgi- 
 anna Rochester Hopley died Oct. 21, 1904, 
 living but a few months after her husband, 
 with whom she had borne the burdens and 
 obligations of life for 56 years. 
 
 Thev were the parents of ten children, their 
 third child having died in infancy, but all the 
 others having grown to maturity. Their old- 
 
 est child, Charles Rochester Hopley, died Jan. 
 19, 1909. The surviving children are John 
 Edward Hopley, now of Bucyrus; Thomas P. 
 Hopley, of Enid, Oklahoma; Mary Catherine 
 Cooper Hopley, of Chicago; Georgianna Eliza 
 Hopley, of Bucyrus; Harriet Evelyn Frances 
 Hopley, of Chicago; James Richard Hopley, 
 Frank Lewes Hopley, and Joseph William 
 Hopley of Bucyrus. There are four grand- 
 children, Miss Pearl Hopley, the daughter of 
 Charles R. Hopley, now of Newburg, New 
 York; Laura Rochester Hopley, John Curtis 
 Hopley and Rose Hopley, children of Thomas 
 P. Hopley of Enid, Oklahoma. 
 
 In his association with the newspaper and 
 editorial work and his efforts in the interests 
 of the Republican party, John Hopley filled 
 an important place in Crawford county and 
 his influence reached pretty generally through- 
 out Ohio. His peculiarly effective schooling 
 fitted him, for the work of political writing, 
 and he aimed to give to his editorial utter- 
 ances a high quality of intelligence and in- 
 tegrity. His pen was often responsible for 
 planks in the Republican state platforms, and 
 his ideas helped in guiding the enactment of 
 tariff legislation, his friends being those re- 
 sponsible for important laws enacted at Wash- 
 ington. While he wrote vigorously on sub- 
 jects of local interests and while he never 
 hesitated to speak plainly about matters of 
 local discussion, he retained the friendship 
 and admiration of those with whom he had 
 been associated here and his death caused gen- 
 eral regret here at Bucyrus. He was in the 
 sixties, secretary of the Crawford County Fair 
 Association, later he was instrumental in or- 
 ganizing the Republican Editorial Association 
 of Ohio and was its first president. He had 
 many friends in public affairs, both at Colum- 
 bus and in Washington and found much pleas- 
 ure in his advancement of the big affairs of 
 state and nation. 
 
 Charles R. Hopley was a veteran of the 
 Civil War, having served in a Pennsylvania 
 regiment. He later traveled a great deal and 
 spent much time in mining developments, in- 
 cluding the Black Hills excitement and the 
 Yukon rush to Alaska. He died in California, 
 Jan. 19, 1909, where he had gone for the 
 winter to escape the rigors of the Alaskan 
 winter. 
 
630 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 John E. Hopley was United States consul 
 for seven years, from 1898 to 1905, five years 
 being located at Southampton, England, and 
 two years at Montevideo, Uruguay. He was 
 associated with New York newspapers for 
 years and in 1887 established the Bucyrus 
 Evening Telegraph. He has been very active 
 in politics. 
 
 Thomas P. Hopley was educated in Bu- 
 cyrus schools and established the Temperance 
 Ballot, a newspaper which he afterward 
 changed to the Crawford County News. This 
 lie sold in 1893 and went to Oklahoma where 
 he participated in the opening of the "strip" 
 and was one of the founders of Enid, still 
 being one of the "boosters" of the city. 
 
 Mary C. C. Hopley is associated with the 
 Open Door Work of Willard Hall in Chicago, 
 and devotes much time to newpaper work. 
 
 Georgia E. Hopley, is a well known news- 
 paper worker and has done much important 
 work in reporting women's activities for news- 
 papers. She retired from newspaper work to 
 care of her parents during their last illness 
 and later became the head of the famUy home 
 at Bucyrus. 
 
 Harriet E. Hopley is an expert proof- 
 reader, having been employed in some of the 
 most particular printing offices in Chicago, 
 where she resides. 
 
 James R. Hopley was managing editor of 
 the Family newspapers up to the time he was 
 appointed postmaster at Bucyrus. 
 
 Frank L. Hopley is advertising manager of 
 the American Clay Machinery Co., and is sec- 
 retary and manager of the American Clay 
 Products Exposition at Chicago. Though his 
 home is at Bucyrus his work is at Chicago 
 much of the time. 
 
 Joseph W. Hopley was a war correspond- 
 ent with the Eighth Ohio regiment in Cuba. 
 He has charge of the newspaper end of the 
 business of The Hopley Printing Company, 
 of which organization he is a vice president. 
 
 FRANK I. RUHL, a successful and enter- 
 prising business man of Bucyrus, O., who has 
 been manager of the large mercantile interests 
 of Elias Blair since the latter's retirement from 
 active participation in business, has been iden- 
 tified with his present concern ever since 1893. 
 He was born at Bucyrus, December 16, 1859, 
 
 the youngest child of Alexander A. and 
 Amelia M. (Shawke) Ruhl. 
 
 The Ruhl family is of German ancestry. It 
 is probable that the grandfather, Jacob Ruhl, 
 was born in Pennsylvania and came to Galion,' 
 O., quite early and at one time had large inter- 
 ests north of that place. Jacob Ruhl and wife 
 were old people at time of death and of their 
 large family there is one survivor : Mrs. S. G. 
 Cummings, who is the wife of an attorney liv- 
 ing at Mansfield, O. 
 
 Alexander A. Ruhl was born at Galion, O., 
 April 4, 1828, where he grew to manhood and 
 then came to Bucyrus. Here he became 
 prominent in town and county affairs, was 
 postmaster during the fifties and was county 
 auditor, county treasurer and county clerk. 
 Politically he was a Democrat. His death oc- 
 curred in 1891. He was married at Bucyrus to 
 Aurelia M. Shawke, who was born here in 
 1833 and died in 1906. Her parents were 
 Thomas and Esther (Allbright) Shawke, the 
 former of whom, a blacksmith by trade, came 
 here in 1828, when it was nothing but a mere 
 hamlet. Stories are still told of his remark- 
 able strength and of his fondness for athletics 
 and all manly diversions and also of his affec- 
 tion for children, all of whom returned the 
 sentiment. The Ruhls and the Shawkes have 
 always been Methodists. One daughter and 
 two sons were born to Alexander A. Ruhl and 
 wife, namely: Ida B., who is the wife of Louis 
 Brower, of Bucyrus ; George S., who conducts 
 a carriage making shop at Bucyrus, who mar- 
 ried Nettie Curran and has one son, Frank M.- ■ 
 and Frank I. 
 
 Frank I. Ruhl was reared and educated at 
 Bucyrus and was graduated in 1878. In 1893 
 he became a clerk for Elias Blair in his hard- 
 ware store and later became chief clerk and 
 manager. Mr. Blair has placed implicit reli- 
 ance in him for the past twenty years and has 
 found him faithful to every interest and 
 capable of handling every business problem. 
 Mr. Ruhl was married to Anna, a daughter of 
 Mr. Blair in May, 1891, and they have one son, 
 E. Blair Ruhl, who was born April 5, 1892. 
 He was graduated from the Bucyrus High 
 school in June, 191 1, and at the present writ- 
 ing is a student in the Wittenberg college at 
 Springfield, O. Mr and Mrs. Ruhl attend 
 the Lutheran church. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 631 
 
 JOHN D. PFOUTS, a leading citizen and 
 township trustee of Holmes township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., resides on his farm of thirty- 
 seven and one-half acres, which he largely de- 
 votes to the raising of fine poultry. He was 
 born in Lycoming county, Pa., but has been a 
 resident of Crawford county since 1856. His 
 parents were Robert and Jane (Pursell) 
 Pfouts. 
 
 Robert Pfouts was born in Pennsylvania, of 
 German parentage. He was a canal boatman 
 and his death occurred in middle life, in the 
 infancy of his son, John D. The mother came 
 to Crawford county in 1856, when John D. 
 was five years old, and she survived into her 
 sixty-fifth year, dying on her son's farm. 
 
 John D. Pfouts attended the country schools 
 until old enough to secure employment at the 
 old Eagle Works, now the American Clay Ma- 
 chinery plant, at Bucyrus, and three years la- 
 ter became interested in farm work and has 
 continued in that line. His first farm of forty 
 acres was in Liberty township but he has lived 
 on his present place for many years. He car- 
 ries on general farming but makes a specialty 
 of raising S. C. white leghorn chickens for 
 market, and growing India Runner ducks. He 
 has accommodations on his place for some 800 
 chickens and safely carries the birds over win- 
 ter. Giving close attention to this industry, 
 Mr. Pfouts has made it a very profitable one, 
 the demand for his birds always exceeding the 
 supply. He has made all the improvements 
 on his property and has erected all the present 
 substantial buildings. 
 
 Mr. Pfouts married Miss Alice Fralick and 
 they have two sons : Earl, who has great mu- 
 sical talent and lives in the city of Philadel- 
 phia; and P. R., who is a rural mail carrier out 
 of Bucyrus. He married a daughter of Jo- 
 seph B. Quaintance. In politics, Mr. Pfouts 
 is a Democrat and he is a member of the Na- 
 tional Union. He is a representative man in 
 Holmes township and as one of its trustees 
 looks carefully after the interests of all resi- 
 dents, and probably no man is better known or 
 more highly respected. 
 
 EUGENE VAN VOORHIS, deceased, 
 was born at Bucyrus, O., March 4, 1854, a son 
 of Daniel and Eliza (Hoffman) Van Voorhis, 
 who came from Mansfield, O., to this section 
 
 at an early date. Daniel Van Voorhis was 
 well known in business circles at Bucyrus, 
 where he was in the restaurant line for many 
 years and died here when aged sixty-five years. 
 His widow survived him, passing away in Oc- 
 tober, 191 1, at the home of a daughter, Mrs. 
 James Hamilton, at Pittsburg, Pa. Of their 
 eight children, four survive. 
 
 Eugene Van Voorhis was the eldest of his 
 parents' family and he grew to manhood at 
 Bucyrus and spent about all his life here after 
 learning his trade of tinner and working for a 
 time at Sulphur Springs and Bellefontaine. 
 He was a skilled workman and completed 
 many important contracts. Politically he was 
 a Democrat but never was an active party 
 worker, and the only fraternal organization 
 with which he allied himself was the Royal 
 Arcanum. 
 
 In 1887 Mr. Van Voorhis was married to 
 Miss Emma Squier, who was born at Sulphur 
 Springs, O., December 6, 1857, where she was 
 educated. She is a daughter of Dr. John B. 
 and Dorothy (Hottel) Squier. Dr. Squier 
 was born at Salem, N. Y., in 181 8, coming to 
 this state three years later. He first learned 
 the millwright trade but afterward became a 
 physician and practiced many years at Sulphur 
 Springs and was known all over this section. 
 His death occurred December 16, 1890. Prior 
 to the campaign of Hon. Horace Greeley he 
 was a Republican but afterward identified him- 
 self with the Democracy. He was a power in 
 local politics and during the Civil war was a 
 loyal supporter of President Lincoln. A pa- 
 triotic poem entitled Old Abe Lincoln, written 
 about this time, became very popular. He 
 was an acquaintance of that strange character 
 known as Johnny Appleseed. He was thrice 
 married. Thomas Corwin, a son of his first 
 union became a soldier in the Civil war, where 
 he was captured by the Confederates and died 
 a prisoner at Andersonville, Ga. One daugh- 
 ter of his second marriage survives, in the per- 
 son of Mrs. Ella Humiston of Sandusky, O. 
 His third happy union was with Dorothy Hot- 
 tel, who was born at Bristol, Trumbull county, 
 O., November 14, 1830. While on a visit in 
 Crawford county she became acquainted with 
 Dr. Squier and subsequently married him and 
 six children were born to them : Edgar Allen, 
 who is a resident of Springfield, O. ; Emma, 
 
632 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 who was born December 6, 1857; Anna, who 
 is the wife of Dr. Charles F. Sexauer, a physi- 
 cian of FrankHn, O. ; Flora, deceased, who 
 was the wife of John A. Torrence, of Grand 
 Rapids, Mich. ; Oscar W., who is employed in 
 the offices of the Big Four Railroad, at Ken- 
 ton, O. ; and Effie S., deceased, who was the 
 wife of Thomas Black, of Pittsburg and is 
 survived by two sons. Mrs. Black was the 
 author of that tender little book of poems en- 
 titled Heart Whispers. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Van Voorhis the follow- 
 ing children were born : Charles Fred, who is 
 in the jewelry business at Prospect, O., and 
 who married Nina Kibler and have one daugh- 
 •ter, Dorothea; Walter S., a graduate of the 
 Bucyrus High school, — with his brothers 
 Harry V. and Donald E., — who is chief en- 
 gineer and draughtsman for the American 
 Dredge Company at Seattle, Wash. ; Harry 
 Victor, who formerly was agent for the Adams 
 Express Company, but now connected with the 
 American Clay Machine Company, and lives 
 at home ; Paul V. ; and Donald E., who is 
 agent for the Adams Express Company at Co- 
 lumbia City, Ind., and who married Esther L. 
 Alleman, of Warsaw, Ind., to whom one son 
 was born, David Alleman. Mrs. Van Voorhis 
 and sons are Presbyterians. 
 
 HERMAN F. MILLER, who has been en- 
 gaged in the fire insurance business at Bucy- 
 rus, O., for some ten years, having a conveni- 
 ent office in the Miller block, which was 
 erected by his father, was born in 1853 in 
 Crawford county, O., and is a son of John G. 
 and Mary (Krebe) Miller. 
 
 John G. Miller was born in Wertemberg, 
 Germany, in 1826, where his parents lived and 
 died. His father was a baker and the youth 
 learned the business and worked as a baker in 
 his own land until 1852, when he decided to 
 emigrate to the United States, in the hope of 
 bettering his fortunes. He took passage on a 
 sailing vessel at Bremenhaven, Germany, and 
 after a long voyage was safely landed at the 
 port of New York. In the following year he 
 reached the village of Bucyrus and was so 
 pleased with the people that he decided to re- 
 main here although, at that time, he found 
 but a moderate demand for bakery goods, the 
 housewives still doing much of their own bak- 
 
 ing. Hence he found that by attending to his 
 oven at night, after working at different things 
 during the day, he could supply sufficient bak- 
 ery goods for his customers, and for a long 
 time thus did business. In the meanwhile the 
 excellence of his bread, pies and cakes gained 
 him custom and slowly but surely he prospered 
 and finally opened a bakery shop on South 
 Sandusky street and made baking his main 
 business and continued to be in active trade 
 until* his death, July 3, 1895. In 1876 he 
 erected the handsome three-story brick block 
 on the southwest corner of the Public Square 
 and acquired and improved much other prop- 
 erty. He was a Republican in politics but de- 
 clined office, attending closely to his business. 
 For many years he was a consistent member 
 of the German Methodist church, and was one 
 of the most respected citizens of Bucyrus. In 
 Germany he married Mary Krebe, who was 
 born in Wertemberg in 1824. She accom- 
 panied him to America and to her frugal hab- 
 its and careful management he attributed much 
 of his business success. She has reached her 
 eighty-seventh birthday and her many friends 
 hope that she will live to see many more. But 
 one child was born to the above marriage, Her- 
 man F. 
 
 Herman F. Miller was educated at Bucyrus 
 and then learned his father's trade and sub- 
 sequently became a partner in the business and 
 operated it until 1900, when he disposed of it 
 and embarked in the insurance line and repre- 
 sents a number of standard companies. He 
 has never been greatly interested in politics but 
 votes with the Republican party. He is iden- 
 tified fraternally with the Masons and Elks. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married at Bucyrus to Miss 
 Mary Beal, who was born in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Crawford county, June 4, 1876, and is a 
 daughter of Rev. Isaac and Christiana (Hurr) 
 Beal, natives of Germany who came to 
 America when young and were reared to mar- 
 riagable age in Pennsylvania. In 1843 they 
 came to Crawford county and settled on wild 
 land in Bucyrus township, which they cleared, 
 developed and improved and remained on their 
 farm until 1896, when they retired to Bucyrus 
 and now reside in great comfort in their home 
 on South Sandusky avenue. Rev. Beal, now 
 eighty-five years of age, for thirty-five years 
 has ministered to the German Methodist 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 633 
 
 church without compensation. His wife has 
 passed her eighty-third birthday. They are 
 well known and much beloved people. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Miller have had two children: Rufus 
 E., who died at the age of seven years; and 
 Lillian, who was born in 1877 and is the wife 
 of E. W. Petrie, of Gallon, O., and has one 
 son, Kenneth Miller Petrie. 
 
 CHARLES F. HOOVER, who carries on 
 general farming and stock-raising in Bucyrus 
 township, Crawford county, O., where he and 
 wife own eighty-five acres of valuable land, 
 additionally operates 150 acres belonging to 
 another party. Mr. Hoover is a native of 
 Crawford county and was born in Dallas 
 township, December 18, 1873, and is a son of 
 Christian and Lorena (Kirby) Hoover, the 
 former of whom is a retired farmer of Dallas 
 township. The latter died December 8, 1910. 
 Of their children, Charles F. is the third in 
 order of birth, the others being: Ernest B., 
 Bardette K., Maud, and Madge, who is the 
 wife of Arlington L. Blair. 
 
 Charles F. Hoover completed the common 
 school course in Dallas township and then 
 became' a student in the Ohio Northern Uni- 
 versity, at Ada, O., remaining for three years, 
 after which he taught school in Crawford 
 county for about twelve years. Since retiring 
 from the educational field he has devoted him- 
 self entirely to agricultural pursuits and is 
 nvimbered with the progressive and successful 
 farmers of this section. 
 
 In October, 1897, Mr. Hoover was married 
 to Miss Elnora Kerr, who was born in Bucy- 
 rus township, on the present farm of herself 
 and husband, and is a daughter of George T. 
 and Lydia (Eckelberry) Kerr, early settlers 
 of the county. Mr. and Mrs. Kerr had the 
 following children : Bertie, who is the wife of 
 Irvin Dickey; Elnora, who is the wife of Mr. 
 Hoover; Beva, who is the wife of Fred J. Al- 
 bright; Clementine, who is the wife of J. W. 
 Hudson: Ava, who is the wife of Floyd Hull, 
 and Walter J. Mr. and Mrs. Hoover have the 
 following children : Helen, Wayne, Clifford, 
 Marjorie and Doris Lillian. Mr. Hoover and 
 family attend the United Brethren church. 
 He is a Republican in his political sentiments 
 and while living in Dallas township, served 
 three terms as township clerk. He is identified 
 
 with but one fraternal organization, the 
 Knights of Pythias, attending at Bucyrus and 
 taking much interest in the order. 
 
 FRANK PIGMAN, an able member of the 
 bar at Gallon, O., of which city he has been a 
 resident since 1907, was born at Coshocton, O., 
 March 24, 1874. 
 
 From the public schools of his native place, 
 Mr. Pigman entered the Northern Ohio Uni- 
 versity at Ada, where he was graduated in the 
 class of 1899, thereafter entering the Univer- 
 sity of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he 
 a teacher in the schools of Coshocton, where 
 he served for five years, also as a member of 
 the board of school examiners, and later was 
 an instructor in a military school at Chicago. 
 In 1905 he was graduated from the Chicago 
 Law college and was admitted to the bar in 
 the same year and became associated in the 
 practice of law with David K. Tone. In 1907 
 he came to Galion and entered into partner- 
 ship with J. W. Covilter, whose death occurred 
 in 1910 and who had been a member of the 
 Galion bar since 1865. Since that time Mr. 
 Pigman has practiced alone and in addition to 
 private clients he is the local attorney for the 
 Erie railroad. 
 
 Politically Mr. Pigman is a Democrat and as 
 a citizen having the best interests of the com- 
 munity at heart, is active in promoting move- 
 ments which promise better conditions along 
 every line. He is a Royal Arch Mason and be- 
 longs also to the Elks and the Knights of 
 Pythias. Mr. Pigman is unmarried. He owns 
 what is probably the most complete law library 
 in Crawford county, which includes all the 
 Ohio reports together with hundreds of books 
 that are authorities on law. 
 
 DAVIS W. HILLIS, a veteran of the great 
 Civil war and an honored and widely known 
 citizen of this section of Ohio, has been a resi- 
 dent of Galion since 1900, when he retired and 
 purchased his comfortable residence at No. 
 879 East Walnut street. He was born in Fair- 
 field county, O., July 20, 1850, and is a son of 
 James Franklin and Eleanor (Turner) Hillis. 
 
 James F. Hillis was born in Maryland and 
 died in Wyandot county, O., in February, 
 1897, when aged seventy-seven years. He was 
 married in Fairfield county, O., to Eleanor 
 
634 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Turner, who was born at Circleville, O., where 
 she attended school and in childhood was a 
 playmate of Philip Sheridan, later the dis- 
 tinguished military hero. After marriage, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Hillis moved to Upper Sandusky and 
 from 185 1 until death, they lived in Wyandot 
 county, Mrs. Hillis surviving her husband for 
 but six weeks. He was a farmer and stock 
 raiser and a solid, representative man and pa- 
 triotic citizen. Early in the Civil war he be- 
 came a member of the 83rd O. Vol. Inf., as 
 a private but later was made hospital sergeant 
 as he had medical knowledge from having 
 given some attention to medical study in his 
 earlier years. While with General Sherman's 
 command on the great march to the sea, he 
 contracted yellow fever at Newberne, N. C. 
 He was in an unconscious condition when he 
 was sent north and was discharged from the 
 service on account of disability, but finally was 
 nursed back to health and lived many years 
 afterward. Three children made up his fam- 
 ily : Elizabeth, Sarah A. and Davis W. Eliza- 
 beth died in girlhood. Sarah A., who is one of 
 the most highly esteemed residents of Akron, 
 O., where she owns a beautiful home, for 
 twenty-five years as a valued teacher in that 
 city. She is a graduate of several well known 
 institutions, afterward making educational 
 work her leading interest, and in recognition 
 of her scholarship and of her faithfulness as 
 a teacher, she has been presented with many 
 medals and other testimonials. 
 
 Perhaps Davis W. Hillis was one of the 
 youngest soldiers of the Civil war, for he had 
 not yet passed his fifteenth birthday when he 
 succeeded in enlisting at Upper Sandusky, in 
 Co. I, 192nd O. Vol. Inf., and took part in all 
 the hardships of this command until he was 
 honorably discharged, September 7, 1865, at 
 Winchester, Va. He took part in many minor 
 engagements and skirmishes and saw many of 
 his comrades fall and once was wounded in the 
 knee, at Halltown, Va. His worst experience, 
 howe\'er, was when he was captured, when 
 coming down the Shenandoah river, by a band 
 of General Mosby's guerrillas, and for eleven 
 days was forced to march with them in his 
 bare feet and \\hen they released him it was 
 not until they had taken all his clothes. All 
 this hardship and indignity was visited on him 
 after peace was declared, but he was in the 
 
 enemy's country, and at that time defenseless. 
 After he returned to Ohio he engaged in farm- 
 ing and stock raising and was interested in de- 
 veloping race horses for a time. In 1872 he 
 located at Bucyrus and continued to live there 
 until 1900, when he came to Gallon, where he 
 has lived as stated above. He is a valued 
 member of Keller Post, G. A. R. at Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Hillis was married in Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, by Rev. J. Crouse, to Miss 
 Susaij M. Sell, a member of an old family, 
 who was born there January 7, 1849, a daugh- 
 ter of Jacob and Rebecca (McBride) Sell. 
 The father of Mrs. Hillis was born in Stark 
 county, O., where his people were early set- 
 tlers. ■ He married Rebecca McBride, whose 
 ancestry was of Virginia, old Revolutionary 
 stock, and at the time of marriage she was a 
 teacher in Crawford county. The Sells later 
 moved on a farm which they developed and 
 improved and there Mrs. Sell died May i, 
 1895, aged eighty-one years, having survived 
 her husband since 1874. She had been reared 
 in the Society of Friends but later united with 
 the Lutherans, while he was a life-long Meth- 
 odist. One of their sons, Isaac D. Sell, who 
 now is a resident of Troy, Kans., was a valiant 
 soldier in the Civil war. Jeremiah Sell is a 
 resident of a western state; Newton, another 
 son, lives in Oklahoma, while another son, Ja- 
 cob A., is a Baptist minister located at Cleve- 
 land, O. Mrs. Hillis has three sisters : Anna, 
 who married John Hill, resides at Gallon and 
 they have three children; Mary Ellen, who 
 lives in Holmes township, unmarried; and 
 Jennie, who lives on the old Sell homestead, 
 married but has no children. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Hillis the following chil- 
 dren were born: Jay J., who died in infancy; 
 Franklin T., who lives with his family on a 
 farm in Jefferson township; William D. W., a 
 railroad man residing at Cleveland, who is an 
 ex-soldier of the Spanish- American war, and 
 has a wife and five children; Emmor G., who 
 served with his brother in the same company 
 in the Spanish-American war, and is also a 
 railroad man and lives at Cleveland with wife 
 and one child ; Ella J., who is the wife of Hor- 
 ace Warrick, of Whetstone township, and has 
 one son ; James A. G., who is a contractor at 
 Gallon, and has one son ; Pearl B., who is the 
 wife of Edward Couts of Bucjrrus, and has 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 635 
 
 one daughter; and Earl R.,- who is employed 
 in the match factory at Barberton, O. The 
 children of William D. W. and Emmor G. 
 Hillis have the honor of having a great- 
 grandfather and a grandfather who served in 
 the Civil war and fathers who were in the 
 Spanish-American war. Mr. and Mrs. Davis 
 W. Hillis are members of the Christian church. 
 
 JACOB HIEBER, whose model farm of 
 loi acres lies seven miles northeast of Bucy- 
 rus, O., in Liberty township, was born on this 
 farm in 1875, and is a son of Frederick and 
 Lydia (Lust) Hieber. The Hieber family is 
 of German extraction on both sides and the 
 father of Jacob Hieber was born in Germany, 
 while the mother was born in Lykens town- 
 ship, Crawford county, of German parents. 
 Ten children were born to them, namely: 
 Frederick W., Elizabeth, Samuel, Benjamin, 
 Joseph, Jacob, Sarah, Isaac, Sophia and Reu- 
 ben. 
 
 Jacob Hieber was educated in the district 
 schools. He remained at home and operated 
 the home farm until he purchased the same 
 in 1908, since which time he has made many 
 excellent improvements and it may now be 
 numbered with the model farms of the town- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Hieber has a pleasant family circle. He 
 married Miss Louisa Kafer, who is a daughter 
 of Jacob and Magdalina (Shealy) Kafer, old 
 residents of Crawford county, and they have 
 had two children : Winfield Jacob, who died at 
 the age of two and one-half years; and John 
 Frederick, who resides at home. Mr. Hieber 
 and wife are members of the German Lutheran 
 church. He is an intelligent, wide awake citi- 
 zen and as such is interested in publig affairs in 
 his neighborhood. He is a Democrat in poli- 
 tics. 
 
 CHARLES P. BRYANT. The Bryant 
 family according to the earliest records that 
 have been discovered, originated in Holland 
 and possibly went to that country from Eng- 
 land. Simeon Bryant was born in Holland at 
 the close of the i6th century. At an early age 
 he came to the American colonies and settled 
 at Hackensack, N. J., and about 1617 he lo- 
 cated at Springfield, N. J. His family con- 
 
 tained four sons : Simeon, Jr., Hannes, Sam- 
 uel and John. 
 
 Simeon Bryant, Jr.; {he progenitor of 
 Charles P. Bryant, of Bucyrus, O., was born 
 in 1 7 10. He married Hannah Searing and 
 they had eleven children, the ninth being Da- 
 vid, the grandfather of Charles P. Bryant. 
 
 David Bryant was born in 1756, in New 
 Jersey and he participated in the Revolution- 
 ary war. The official record shows that for 
 one month in 1776 he served as a private min- 
 ute man. Captain Joseph Horton's Company, 
 First Regiment, Essex County Militia, and la- 
 ter served eight days more in the same com- 
 pany and between 1776 and 1779, served an 
 additional three months in the same company 
 and regiment. Afterward he served seven 
 monthly tours under Capt. Joseph Horton dur- 
 ing the continuance of the war, and he par- 
 ticipated in the battles of Springfield, Farm- 
 ers and Elizabeth. This brave man and pa- 
 triot married Catherine Wooley, a daughter 
 of Major Abram Wooley, who was a mem- 
 ber of the U. S. garrison holding Fort Du- 
 buque, now Pittsburgh, Pa., and he was al- 
 lowed a pension. In 1791 he moved to Wash- 
 ington county. Pa., and in 1816 came to Knox 
 county, O., locating near Mt. Vernon. Fif- 
 teen children were born to him. At the age 
 of eighty years he was still a man of such 
 robustness and vigor that he did not hesitate 
 to undertake new enterprises, one of these be- 
 ing the establishment of a new home at Crown 
 Point, near Hebron, Ind. This proposed un- 
 dertaking Mr. Bryant, however, did not live 
 to complete, his death occurring on the way, at 
 Fort Wayne, Ind. His widow survived him 
 only four days. They were people widely 
 known and of the highest merit. 
 
 Isaac Bryant, the third born in the family of 
 fifteen children, was born June 18, 1786. He 
 married Maria Fisher, a daughter of Freder- 
 ick and Catherine (Quigley) Fisher, the for- 
 mer a native of France and the latter of Ire- 
 land. The Fishers lived at Utica, N. Y., where 
 Mr. Fisher was interested in the manufacture 
 of rope but he lost his rope-walk by fire and 
 this deprived him of his resources. After his 
 death Mrs. Fisher moved to Kentucky where 
 her death occurred. At the time of marriage, 
 Isaac Bryant was fifty-seven years of age and 
 
 37 
 
636 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was over seventy years of age when his ninth 
 child was born, his death occurring two years 
 later in 1859. At the time of marriage he was 
 at Circleville, O., but later moved to Little 
 Wyandot, where he remained. In politics he 
 was a Democrat and was well known in his 
 day. His widow, born November 7, 1819, 
 died May 4, 1890. She was a member of the 
 Presbyterian church, a woman of admirable 
 character. To Isaac Bryant and wife the fol- 
 lowing children were born: Isaac and Freder- 
 ick, both of whom died in infancy ; Catherine ; 
 John, who died in 1884, aged thirty-five years, 
 who married and had two children; Maria 
 M., who died at the age of seventeen years; 
 Ann, who died in infancy; Jennie W., who is 
 the wife of Frank Sheckler; Charles P., and 
 Benjamin F., who married and lives in Idaho. 
 Charles P. Bryant was born in Wyandot 
 county, O., November 27, 1855, where he was 
 reared and was carefully educated, his par- 
 ents providing a governess for their children, 
 a highly educated lady. In 1880 he came to 
 Bucyrus and began the study of surveying and 
 mastered the useful branch of knowledge and 
 accompanied surveyors on many trips in or- 
 der that he might have plenty of practical ex- 
 perience. Afterward he was appointed city 
 engineer and still later was made deputy sur- 
 veyor under Surveyor H. E. Valentine, serv- 
 ing under that official until September, 1894, 
 when he became deputy to Surveyor Flick- 
 inger, under whom he served six years. In 
 1900 Mr. Bryant was elected surveyor of 
 Crawford county, assuming the duties of the 
 same in 1901 and served as surveyor until 
 1907, when he again became deputy, Charles 
 A. Guiss being elected surveyor, and was with 
 Surveyor Guiss until the expiration of the 
 latter's term in September, 1910. Mr. Bryant 
 is one of the leading Democrats of the county 
 and has served as a delegate to both Senatorial 
 and Congressional conventions many times and 
 for two years was secretary of the Crawford 
 County Democratic Central committee. For 
 twenty-five years he has been a member of the 
 Knights of P)rthias and thereby has earned a 
 Knight's medal. He belongs also to the Eagles 
 of which organization he has been past worthy 
 president and is a trustee and charter member. 
 Mr. Bryant became interested in the Elks at 
 the time of its organization in 1894 and has 
 
 been an active and interested member ever 
 since. Mr. Bryant has never married. 
 
 GEORGE C. MAYER, whose well culti- 
 vated farm of eighty acres lies four miles west 
 of Bucyrus, O., this location giving him an 
 easy market for his produce, was bom at Wit- 
 tenberg, Germany, June 23, 1876, and is a son 
 of Jacob and Barbara (Swenck) Mayer, both 
 of whom still reside in Germany, where the 
 father is a farmer and a carpenter. The fam- 
 ily is one of nine children and three of them 
 live in America. 
 
 George C. Mayer obtained his education in 
 Germany and remained in his native land un- 
 til 1903, when he came to the United States 
 and ever since locating in Ohio has been en- 
 gaged in farming, first in Jefferson township, 
 Crawford county, and since 1905 on his pres- 
 ent place in Holmes township. Here he made 
 all the improvements, even erecting his com- 
 fortable residence. He is a hard-working, 
 prudent, sensible man and is prospering. 
 
 In October, 1900, Mr. Mayer was married 
 to Miss Emma Steinhilder, a daughter of 
 Francis Steinhilder, who is a substantial 
 farmer of Tod township. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mayer are members of the Martin Luther 
 church in Tod township. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mayer have no children. Their one son, 
 Francis Wesley, who was bom July 10, 1902, 
 lived not quite two years, dying May 15, 1904. 
 Mr. Mayer has become a citizen of the United 
 States and has identified himself politically 
 with the Democratic party. 
 
 GEORGE M. BIRK, Ph. D., of the drug 
 firm of Birk Bros., at Bucyrus, O., located at 
 No. 4 Opera House block, was bom at Bucy- 
 rus, February 25, 1869, and is a son of John 
 G. and Joanna (Kuhn) Birk, and a grandson 
 of John G. Birk, who came from Germany to 
 Ohio in 1849, one of that notable band of 
 patriots which included such men as Mr. Birk 
 and the late Gen. Carl Schurz, both of whom 
 became honored citizens of their adopted 
 country. 
 
 George M. Birk attended school at Bucyrus 
 through his boyhood but, unlike several of his 
 brothers, did not incline to leara the father's 
 trade of hamessmaking. He seemed to have 
 natural talent in the direction of chemistry 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 637 
 
 and by himself followed a course of reading 
 along that line although he never had any col- 
 legiate training. In 1885 he went to Ne- 
 braska and there passed the strict examina- 
 tion demanded by the State Board of Phar- 
 macy, and in 1889, two years before he had 
 reached his majority, he was licensed to prac- 
 tice. In 1892 he returned to Bucyrus and in 
 the same year associated himself with his older 
 brother, Hon. Christian F. Birk, in the drug 
 business and for twenty years he has been at 
 the head of his present store. This is the third 
 oldest drug store in this city, having been 
 started in 1878 by A. C. Lewis, who operated 
 it until 1892, when the present firm took pos- 
 session. They not only carry a complete line 
 of pure drugs and honest proprietary rem- 
 edies, but all the sundries to be found in a first 
 class establishment of its kind and addition- 
 ally have a side line in wall paper. 
 
 George M. Birk married Miss Florence Mae 
 Eckhart, who was born at Marion, O., a 
 daughter of William H. and Julia C. (Martin) 
 Eckhart, the former of whom was bom in 
 Pennsylvania and the latter in Ohio, both of 
 German parents. Mr. Eckhart died in Marion 
 county, O., at the age of fifty years, while his 
 widow makes her home with her daughter, 
 Mrs. Birk, who was an only child. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Birk have one daughter, Kathryn Eck- 
 hart, who was born May 12, 1898. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Birk are members of the Presbyterian 
 church. Fraternally he is identified with the 
 Masons, the Elks, the Knights of Pythias and 
 the Woodmen of the World. Politically he is 
 a Democrat. 
 
 WILLIAM SIDNEY SWENEY, who 
 owns and carefully cultivates the old home- 
 stead farm of 61 acres, which is situated in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 was born on this farm, June 28, 1850, and is a 
 son of John L. and Jane (McCurdy) Sweney. 
 
 The father of Mr. Sweney was of Ccotch- 
 Irish parentage but was born in Adams county. 
 Pa., near the historic city of Gettysburg. He 
 came to Crawford county in early manhood 
 and followed farming and stock raising as long 
 as he lived, he and wife both now resting in 
 the Stewart cemetery. She was born in 
 Franklin county, Pa., and was also young 
 when she came to this section and subsequently 
 
 was married to John L. Sweney. They had 
 the following children born to them: James 
 Addison; Sarah Elizabeth, who died when 
 aged twenty-four years; Martha Jane, John 
 W., Isaac Newton, Nancy Louise and Thomas 
 Leander, all of whom are deceased; and Wil- 
 liam Sidney, the youngest born. The latter's 
 paternal grandfather was John Sweney. His 
 maternal grandfather, James McCurdy, was 
 one of the three first elders in the First Pres-, 
 byterian church at Bucyrus. 
 
 William S. Sweney was not quite satis- 
 fied when he had completed the common school 
 course and therefore spent one term at Leba- 
 non, O., after which he willingly returned to 
 the farm, where he has led a contented and 
 prosperous life ever since. He assisted his 
 father until the latter's death and then took en- 
 tire charge of the homestead and carries on a 
 general farming line and raises enough stock 
 for his own use. 
 
 Mr. Sweney was married (first) to Miss 
 Margaret Ellen Hess, who died March 29, 
 1888, a daughter of Andrew and Mary (Hen- 
 ery) Hess. Three children were born to this 
 union: Alva May, who is the wife of Earl 
 Preston; Edgar Blaine, and a babe that died. 
 On May 14, 1891, Mr. Sweney was married 
 (second) to Miss Anna Crall, a daughter of 
 Henry and Julia Crall, farmers in Liberty 
 township, well known people. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sweney attend the Lutheran church. He has 
 always been identified with the Republican 
 party but has been no seeker for office, but is 
 one of the township's steady and reliable men. 
 
 CHARLES E. GEIGER, a well known 
 business man of Bucyrus, a member of the 
 firm of Dobbins & Geiger, wholesale and retail 
 dealers in live stock, meats, sausages and fish, 
 doing all their own butchering and manufac- 
 turing, was born at Sandusky, O., January 6, 
 1879, and is a son of John E. and Adelia 
 (Barbarick) Geiger. 
 
 John E. Geiger was born at Sandusky, a son 
 of Rudolph Geiger, who was born in Germany. 
 After coming to the United States the latter 
 followed the brickmaking trade at Sandusky 
 for some years and then purchased a farm in 
 Huron county on which he lived during the 
 rest of his life, his death occurring at the age 
 of seventy-nine years. For many years John 
 
638 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 E. Geiger has been a substantial business man 
 of Sandusky, where he now Hves. He mar- 
 ried Adelia Barbarick, also a native of Ohio 
 and they had five children, four surviving. 
 
 Charles E. Geiger attended school at San- 
 dusky and secured a commercial course in one 
 of the business colleges before he entered into 
 business for himself. His father was a 
 butcher and market man and he has been in 
 the business more or less all his life. The pres- 
 ent Bucyrus house is an old one, started about 
 forty years ago and for some time prior to Mr. 
 Geiger's interest in it, the name was Snavely 
 & Dobbins. The present style has been' in 
 operation for the past twelve years. Both 
 partners are practical butchers and reliable 
 business men and they have a large trade and 
 their business is on a substantial foundation. 
 
 Mr. Geiger was married in 1904 to Miss Lil- 
 lian Ehrhart, who died eight months after- 
 ward. He was married secondly to Miss Co- 
 lette Kronenbarger, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county and educated at Bucyrus. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Geiger are members of the Roman 
 Catholic church. He belongs to the fraternal 
 order of Eagles. In public matters Mr. Geiger 
 has shown himself an earnest and public spir- 
 ited citizen and was elected alderman at large 
 on the Democratic ticket, in which office he is 
 at present serving. 
 
 DAVID B. EICHELBERGER, a well 
 known man in Crawford county, O., and a 
 leading citizen of Sandusky township, resides 
 on one of his several farms, eight and one- 
 half miles northeast of Bucyrus, O. He was 
 bom in 1846, in Crawford county and is a 
 son of Isaac H. and Catherine (Bibler) 
 Eichelberger. 
 
 Isaac H. Eichelberger was born in Virginia 
 but came to Ohio when three years old; his 
 wife was born in Ohio. The following chil- 
 dren were bom to them: Charles, Sarah, 
 Rebecca, Catherine, Casper, Isaac, Oscar, 
 Elizabeth, Noah and David B. 
 
 David B. Eichelberger grew up on his 
 father's farm and in boyhood attended the 
 district schools with his brothers and sisters, 
 all of whom survived infancy except Noah 
 and Elizabeth. Mr. Eichelberger owns a 
 great amount of land, some 400 acres, fer- 
 tile and well improved, and its value is an- 
 
 nually increasing. He has additional inter- 
 ests, being a director in the Farmers & Citi- 
 zens Bank at Bucyrus and is the adjuster for 
 the Farmers' Fire Insurance Company of 
 Crawford county. 
 
 Mr. Eichelberger was united in marriage 
 with Miss Elizabeth J. Decker, who is a daugh- 
 ter of Aaron and Nancy (Bishop) Decker, and 
 six children have been born to them: Elta, 
 Ladema, Williard, Edgar, James and Cora. 
 EltaMs the wife of Alexander Smith, a pros- 
 perous farmer in Sandusky township, and they 
 have four children: Lester, Wayne, Ivan and 
 Edgar. Ladema married C. L. Laughbaum 
 and they have five children : Emmerson, Glenn, 
 Charles, Jennie and Donald, the family home 
 being in Auburn township. Williard is a resi- 
 dent of Whetstone township; He married 
 Elizabeth Sherer and they have two children : 
 Miriam and Loren. Edgar is a farmer in San- 
 dusky township, married Fannie Crider and 
 they have three children: Helen, Mildred and 
 Florence. James is a farmer in. Sandusky 
 township, married Jessie Littler and has two 
 children : Elden and Dale. Cora is the wife of 
 Charles McKeehen and has three children- 
 Lois, Wendell and Orlo — and they reside in 
 Sandusky township. Mrs. Eichelberger's 
 father was bom in New Jersey and her mother 
 in Ashland county, O. She has two brothers 
 and one sister, namely: James, who married 
 Alice Briggs and lives in Crawford county; 
 John, a resident of Bucyrus, who married Mary 
 SteifHe ; and Melvina, who is the wife of Emer 
 Swonger and lives in Arkansas. Mr. Eichel- 
 berger and family are members and liberal 
 supporters of the English Lutheran church. 
 
 FRED F. HARTER, who carries on gen- 
 eral farming and moderate stock raising on his 
 sixty acres of valuable land, situated one mile 
 east of Oceola, O., is a son of the late Cap- 
 tain J. H. Harter, and was born in 1868, at 
 Nevada, O. 
 
 Fred F. Harter was educated in the public 
 schools of Nevada and Oceola, O., and for 
 twelve years afterward taught school in 
 Crawford county, and was considered an ex- 
 cellent educator. As his father then needed 
 his assistance he engaged in farming the home 
 place and in 1898 came to his present farm 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 639 
 
 where he erected a modern residence and made 
 other substantial improvements. 
 
 Mr. Harter married Miss Kitty Steiner, 
 who was born in Crawford county, and they 
 have three children : John R., William F. and 
 Stephen F. In politics, Mr. Harter is a pro- 
 nounced Republican and at present is serving 
 on the school board. Fraternally he is iden- 
 tified with the Knights of Pythias, the Wood- 
 men and the J. O. U. A. M. With his family 
 he belongs to the United Brethren church. 
 
 HUGH McFARQUHAR, a retired ma- 
 chinist and one of Gallon's highly respected 
 citizens, was born in Inverness, Scotland, Jan- 
 uary 12, 1838, and is a son of Duncan and Isa- 
 bella (Frazier") McFarquhar. 
 
 The parets of Mr. McFarquhar were born 
 in Scotland and the father followed the trade 
 of stone cutter until his death in 1847, when 
 aged sixty years. His widow subsequently 
 crossed the ocean to Canada and died at To- 
 ronto. They were members of the Presby- 
 terian church. Of their family of two sons 
 and four daughters, one son and one daughter 
 . survive : Hugh and Margaret, the latter being 
 the wife of Frank Holder, of Chicago, 111., 
 where they have a son and daughter. 
 
 Hugh McFarquhar was the youngest born 
 of the family. In 1854 when he accompanied 
 his mother to Canada, he was sixteen years of 
 age and his school days were over. They 
 joined other members of the family who were 
 at Toronto and Hugh soon was apprenticed to 
 learn the machinist's trade. After completing 
 his apprenticeship he went to Dunkirk, N. Y., 
 and was chief machinist for two years with 
 the Erie railroad and then settled at Gallon and 
 became a machinist for the Atlantic & Great 
 Western, now the Erie Railway, with which he 
 was identified more or less continuously since 
 ■1875. For over twenty years he was at the 
 head of the gang and foreman in the locomo- 
 tive building department, a man always to be 
 depended upon, steady, efficient and faithful 
 to his employers. 
 
 At Litchfield, 111., Nov. 3, 1864, Mr. Mc- 
 Farquhar was married to Miss Margaret Tan- 
 nock, who was born in Ayreshire, Scotland, 
 July 28, 1843, and was seven years old when 
 her father brought her to America. He had 
 been dispatched to Paterson, N. J., to take 
 
 charge of a department in the Rogers Loco- 
 motive Works, and later, for five years was 
 foreman in the Erie Railway shops at Sus- 
 quehannah, Pa., removing from there to St. 
 Thomas, Canada, later to Guelph. During the 
 Civil war he returned to the United States and 
 settled at Fort Wayne, Ind., after the war 
 moving to Litchfield, 111., at all these places 
 being connected with railroad work. His 
 death at the age of ninety years, occurred 
 March 8, 19 12, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. 
 McFarquhar. His wife died here in 1910, 
 when aged eighty-eight years. They were 
 members of the Presbyterian church. 
 
 Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 McFarquhar: Elizabeth J., who was born at 
 Gallon, and who is the wife of C. G. Smith, of 
 Cleveland, and has four children — Louise, 
 Eugene, Garrett and Hugh; John, who occu- 
 pies a responsible position as manager of the 
 office of a manufacturing concern at Denver, 
 Col. ; Margaret, who died when aged but sev- 
 teen years; Andrew, who lives at Buffalo, N. 
 Y., and is assistant to the general foreman of 
 the Erie Railway, who married Myrta Kin- 
 caid and has one son, William; Charles, who 
 was accidentally killed on the Erie Railroad 
 when aged seventeen years; and Janette, an 
 accomplished and educated young lady, who is 
 acceptably filling the position of secretary to 
 a manager of a Working Woman's club at 
 Davenport, la. Mr. and Mrs. McFarquhar are 
 members of the Presbyterian church in which 
 he has been an elder for ten years. 
 
 VICTOR L. KEMP, one of the represen- 
 tative citizens of North Robinson, Crawford 
 county, O., manager of the elevator at this 
 place for the Switzer & White Elevator Com- 
 pany and a member of the town council, was 
 born at Union City, Ind., and is a son of 
 Joshua and Rachel (Fields) Kemp. 
 
 Joshua Kemp was born at Baltimore, Md., 
 in early manhood, locating in Randolph coun- 
 ty, Indiana, where he married Rachel Fields, 
 and they both are deceased, their burial being 
 at Union City, Ind. Mr. Kemp was a farmer 
 and made a specialty of gardening. His chil- 
 dren were as follows : Alonzo ; Lola, who is 
 the wife of William Haney; Laura and Hat- 
 tie, both of whom are deceased; Victor L. ; 
 
640 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 John; Herschel; Ora, who is the wife of Al- 
 bert Bogan; and Robert. 
 
 Victor L. Kemp attended the public schools 
 in Indiana and then learned the carriage paint- 
 ing trade which he followed for some eleven 
 years and was afterward otherwise engaged 
 until April, 1907, when he accepted the man- 
 agement of the North -Robinson elevator. A 
 large business is done here and the Switzer & 
 White Company is known all over the county. 
 
 Mr. Kemp was married December 31, 1898, 
 to Miss Aretta Newhouse, who is a daughter 
 of Michael and Olive (Johnson) Newhouse 
 and a granddaughter of Charles Newhouse 
 and Henry Johnson. Her father was born in 
 Germany but spent his last years in Crawford 
 county. The mother of Mrs. Kemp was born 
 in Crawford county and now resides with Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kemp, the latter being the youngest 
 of four children, the others being as follows : 
 Oliva, wife of Augustus Tracht; William 
 H., deceased, and Lawrence. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kemp are members of the English Lutheran 
 church. In politics Mr. Kemp is a Democrat 
 and is active in local affairs. He is identified 
 with Tent No. 256 K. O. T. M., at North 
 Robinson. 
 
 JOSEPH F. WARNER, who occupies the 
 position of a Government railway mail clerk, 
 with home at Bucyrus, O., belongs to an old 
 New England family of more or less prom- 
 inence in colonial days. His grandfather, 
 William Warner, came, in 181 5, from Con- 
 necticut, to Medina county, O., accompanied 
 by his wife, formerly Clarissa Warner. They 
 were people of thrifty ideas, just the resource- 
 ful kind that made successful pioneers. 
 When they started for the new lands in Ohio 
 it was a great undertaking, but they had a 
 strong ox-team and they decided to load their 
 wagon with buttons and, by disposing of these 
 at Cleveland, would secure money that would 
 be very useful when they had left civilization 
 behind them, and also would enable them to 
 provide housekeeping necessities to take with 
 them. In all probability their plans were suc- 
 cessfully carried out and by the time they 
 reached their new home with their two babies, 
 a log cabin was awaiting them, it having been 
 ordered built by William's father. They lived 
 
 into old age on their land in Medina county 
 and were respected and esteemed people. 
 
 Three sons and one daughter were born to 
 William and Clarissa Warner. Lucius, the 
 eldest, lived and died in Medina county, sur- 
 vived by one daughter, Mary, who lives in 
 California, the widow of Alfred Armstrong. 
 Lorenzo was educated in Kenyon College, at 
 Gambier, O., for the Methodist ministry. He 
 married and had three sons and one daughter. 
 Joseph was born June 3, 181 8, on the new 
 farm, in Liverpool township, Medina county, 
 O., and died in 1903. The one daughter died 
 in infancy. 
 
 Joseph Warner inherited the old homestead 
 and gave his parents filial care in their declin- 
 ing years. At the time of his death he was 
 the oldest resident of Liverpool township, be- 
 ing aged eighty-five years. In his early polit- 
 ical life he was a Whig but in 1857 identified 
 himself with the Republican party at its birth. 
 He was married in Medina county, O., to 
 Emily A. Mathewson, who was born also in 
 Liverpool township, in 1822 and died at the 
 age of seventy-seven years. They were mem- 
 bers and liberal supporters of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. To them the following 
 children were born: Lucius W., who was 
 born October i, 1841, who is a farmer in 
 Lorain county, O., and who married Julia Mc- 
 Millian and has three children — Cora, Eva 
 and Adella; H. Ellen, born June 12, 1843, 
 who is the widow of Rev. D. O. Fox, and has 
 an adopted son, John Fox; Olive, bom April 
 9, 1845, who is the wife of David Torbet, of 
 Albany College, at Albany, Ore. ; Qarissa R, 
 who died at the age of sixteen years; Philip 
 L., who is a farmer on a part of tfie old home- 
 stead ; and Joseph Fremont. The above fam- 
 ily all had excellent educational advantages. 
 Mrs. Fox was graduated with the highest 
 honors at Baldwin University, Berea, O., and 
 won the degree of M. A. She became a mem- 
 ber of the faculty and held the chair of mathe- 
 matics and was also a colaborer with Prof. A. 
 Schuyler in his mathematical works and is 
 also the author of several volumes. In early 
 womanhood she went to India as a missionary 
 and while there met Rev. D. O. Fox, who was 
 sent into the missionary field from Illinois. 
 After twenty-five years of faithful missionary 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 641 
 
 work Mrs. Fox does not yet feel that the har- 
 vest is ripe enough for her to rest from her 
 labors. She is a woman of extraordinary- 
 mentality, Christian zeal and executive ability. 
 
 Joseph Fremont Warner was born on the 
 old homestead in Medina county, O., July i, 
 1855. He completed his education at Bald- 
 win College and afterward, for twelve years, 
 devoted himself to educational work, teaching 
 in Ottawa, Cuyahoga and Medina counties. 
 In 1890 he accepted the position of Govern- 
 ment railway mail clerk and during all this 
 time has been on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 
 being now a fifth grade clerk. Every one does 
 not realize the knowledge that is made a re- 
 quisite for a position of this kind and in the 
 five states covered by his distribution — 
 Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois, South Dakota 
 and Nebraska — Mr. Warner declares that he is 
 not only familiar with every post-ofRce loca- 
 tion but with every fence corner. For five 
 years prior to locating at Bucyrus, in 1890, he 
 resided at Mansfield, O. 
 
 In Medina county Mr. Warner was married 
 to Miss Mary L. Gano, who was born in 
 Wood county, O., July 2, 1859, and died at 
 Mansfield, August 26, 1894. She was sur- 
 vived by the following children : Blanche A., 
 born July 16, 1878, who is the wife of F. M. 
 Young, of Logansport, Ind., and has one 
 daughter, Frances; Maude A., born July 13, 
 1880, who is the wife of Jesse Casteel, a 
 farmer at Lake Geneva, Wis., and has three 
 children — Luella, Harry and Ellis F; Jessie 
 M., who was born July 26, 1882, and died 
 March 6, 1902 ; and Greeta L., who was born 
 November 7, 1886, and died December 8, 
 1902. 
 
 At Mansfield, O., Mr. Warner was married 
 (second) in 1895, to Miss Georgia Casteel, 
 who was born at Haysville, Ashland county, 
 O., January 9, 1872, where she was educated. 
 She comes from an old Castilian family of 
 Spain, her ancestors having been driven from 
 that country by religious persecution. They 
 found their way to the eastern coast of the 
 American continent and were among the early 
 settlers at Jamestown, Va. Mrs. Warner is a 
 daughter of Elias and Sarah M. (Fry) Cas- 
 teel. Her father was born in Ohio and her 
 mother at Evansville, Ind., and they were 
 married at Hookstown, O. On July 4, 1876, 
 
 they settled at Evansville, Ind., later moving to 
 Mansfield, O., where he carried on business 
 as a shoe merchant. In 1861 he enlisted for 
 service in the Civil War, entering the loist 
 O. Vol. Inf., from which he was subsequently 
 discharged on account of disability, when he 
 returned to Haysville, O., and there his death 
 occurred December 3, 1884. His wife sur- 
 vived until January 12, 1897. The family be- 
 longed to the Methodist Episcopal church and 
 to the same religious body Mr. and Mrs. 
 Warner are attached. They have had two 
 children: Fremont Casteel, who was born 
 September 7, 1902, and died October 5 in the 
 same year; and Lolo Belle, who was born 
 October 20, 1907. Politically Mr. Warner is 
 a Republican but his busy life scarcely affords 
 him time or opportunity to accept any public 
 office although few men are better qualifie'd, 
 but he takes an intelligent citizen's interest in 
 all that promises to benefit his city. For many 
 years he has been a member of Trinity Lodge 
 F. & A. M., at Bucyrus. He and family enjoy 
 an attractive and comfortable residence and 
 their circle of friends is a large one. 
 
 J. E. JOHNSON, general farmer and stock 
 raiser, who owns a well improved farm of 42 
 acres, which lies four and one-half miles north 
 of Bucyrus, O., was born in Washington 
 countv. Md., September 7, 1871, and is a son 
 of Luther and Mary (Furry) Johnson. 
 
 Luther Johnson was born in Maryland and 
 from there went to Franklin county, Pa., 
 where he engaged in farming for many years 
 and died at the age of 62. Some 30 years 
 ago he came to Crawford county and spent a 
 few weeks here but returned to his old home 
 in Pennsylvania and never came back. He 
 was married in that state to Mary Furry 
 and they had the following children born to 
 them : J. E., William, Clara, Lizzie, Mac and 
 David, Mac being now deceased. 
 
 J. E. Johnson had common school advan- 
 tages in Franklin county, Pa., and assisted his 
 father afterward until 1886, when he came to 
 Crawford county, O. For thirteen years 
 afterward Mr. Johnson worked on farms in 
 this county, becoming well acquainted with the 
 people and with the relative value of different 
 sections in the farming districts. After mar- 
 riage he purchased a farm in Marion county 
 
642 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and operated it for two years and then moved 
 to Gallon, where his wife died and after dis- 
 posing of his property there he went to Henry 
 county. Subsequently he married again and 
 then returned to Gallon and later went to Bu- 
 cyrus where he worked for one year for the 
 American Clay Machinery people, after 
 which, in 1907, he bought his present farm 
 and has been here ever since. The buildings 
 were sufficiently comfortable and in good 
 enough repair for use but there were many 
 other improvements that Mr. Johnson has 
 thought desirable and has put them in place. 
 He is numbered with the competent and suc- 
 cessful agriculturists of Holmes township and 
 is one of its most respected citizens. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married first to Miss Cora 
 Meyers and second to Miss Kate Meyers. His 
 two children, Howard W. and Stanley C. 
 were both born to his first union. In politics 
 Mr. Johnson is a Democrat and while living 
 in Marion county he served on the school 
 board, but has accepted no office since coming 
 to Holmes township. 
 
 D. \V. BRICKLEY, M. D., physician and 
 surgeon at Gallon, C, specialist in general 
 surgery and a member of the medical firm of 
 Morgan & Brickley, operating a private hospi- 
 tal, was born at Gallon, O., in 1877 and is well 
 known to the people of this city. He is a son 
 of Samuel and Mary (Hershner) Brickley. 
 
 Samuel Brickley was born in Morrow 
 county, O., was a farmer and carpenter in 
 both Crawford and Morrow counties and died 
 in Troy township in the latter county, in June, 
 191 1, when aged seventy years. His widow 
 survives and continues to occupy the old 
 homestead in Troy township. She is a mem- 
 ber of the United Brethren church. The fam- 
 ily consisted of four sons and one daughter. 
 
 D. W. Brickley enjoyed educational advan- 
 tages in different sections and attended the 
 Johnsville High School and completed addi- 
 tional work in Mansfield, C, and later, from 
 1896 until 1900, engaged in teaching and 
 study, after which he entered the Ohio ^^led- 
 ical University at Columbus, O., where he 
 was graduated in the class of 1904. 
 Subsequently he took a post-graduate course 
 in the Xew York Post-Graduate (Medical) 
 School and Hospital, where he secured valu- 
 
 able surgical and hospital experience. He was 
 engaged in practice at Canal Winchester prior 
 to coming to Gallon. Here, in partnership 
 with Dr. Morgan he conducts a private hospi- 
 tal and the firm are the surgeons for the Big 
 Four and the Erie Railways and official ex- 
 aminers for the U. S. Marine corps. He is a 
 member of the county and state medical bodies 
 and of the American Medical Association. 
 
 Dr. Brickley was married in Morrow coun- 
 ty to Miss Luetta B. Baker, a daughter of C. 
 A. and Ellen (Emig) Baker. Mr. Baker is 
 now established in the undertaking and furni- 
 ture business at Truman, Minn. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Brickley have two sons : Daniel . W. and 
 Charles Lester. They are members of the 
 United Brethren church. He is a 32nd degree 
 Mason, belongs to the Blue Lodge and Chap- 
 ter at Gallon, the Council at Bucyrus, the 
 Commandery at Mansfield, the Consistory at 
 Columbus, and the Shrine at Toledo. His 
 time is too much occupied to permit of much 
 political activity but in national matters he 
 casts his vote with the Democracy. 
 
 T. M. DROLESBAUGH, who has been a 
 resident of Crawford county, O., since his 
 nineteenth year, carries on general farming 
 and stock raising on his well improved place 
 six miles northwest of Bucyrus. He was born 
 at Oil City, Pa., and is a son of James and 
 Elizabeth Bell (Marshall) Drolesbaugh. 
 
 James Drolesbaugh was a farmer before he 
 enlisted for service in the Civil War, becom- 
 ing a member of the 171st Pa. Vol. Inf., and 
 contracted illness during his service which 
 caused his death, when he was 41 years of 
 age. He married Elizabeth Bell Marshall, 
 who now resides in Perry county. Pa., being 
 in her seventieth year. They had three chil- 
 dren: T. JNI., Mrs. Catherine Gray and Mrs. 
 Amanda Smith, both sisters of Mr. Droles- 
 baugh being residents of Perry county. 
 
 T. M. Drolesbaugh was young when his 
 parents moved to Perry county. Pa., and he 
 attended the public schools and Bloomfield 
 Academy. Afterward he migrated to Craw- 
 ford county, O., and worked for some years 
 as a farm hand, and then embarked in the 
 implement business and conducted the same 
 for fourteen years at Bucyrus. After selling 
 he purchased a farm which he operated for 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 643 
 
 two years and later bought his present place 
 of 150 acres on which he has resided ever 
 since. 
 
 Mr. Drolesbaugh was married in Perry 
 county to Miss Anna Meminger, who died in 
 October, 1908, at the age of 46 years, leaving 
 two children : Guernsey and Amy, both of 
 whom reside with their father. Mr. Droles- 
 baugh served almost ten years in Company A, 
 8th Regiment O. N. G., and has in his posses- 
 sion three honorable discharges and also tele- 
 grams received during the strike of 1895 from 
 President McKinley, who was then Governor 
 of Ohio. As captain of the Sons of Veterans 
 Mr. Drolesbaugh put Col. Lemet Camp on a 
 substantial basis as to membership and 
 finances. He has a wide acquaintance with 
 big game hunters, having been near Hudson 
 Bay, Canada, and all over the northern por- 
 tion of the Province of Quebec. In politics, 
 Mr. Drolesbaugh is a Democrat and locally is 
 influential in his party. He served four years 
 as constable of Bucyrus. At present he is 
 serving in the ofifice of constable for Holmes 
 townslaip. 
 
 JOHN W. McCARRON, attorney at law, 
 who has been engaged in the practice of his 
 profession at Gallon, O., since 1901 and is a 
 representative and useful citizen, was born in 
 RicWand county, O., February 12, 1874, and 
 is a son of Fred., and a grandson of James 
 McCarron. 
 
 James McCarron was of Scotch-Irish an- 
 cestry and possibly was born in New Jersey, 
 from which state he came to Ohio at an early 
 day. He. located first in Columbiana county 
 but later moved to Fredericktown, in Knox 
 county, where he engaged in brick manufac- 
 turing until his death, when aged fifty years. 
 He married Jane Baker, who lived to the age 
 of eighty-five years, passing away in Ashland 
 county. They were among the early sup- 
 porters of the Methodist Episcopal church, in 
 that section. 
 
 Frederick McCarron was born in Colum- 
 biana county, O., and has spertt the greater 
 part of his life as a farmer. He still resides 
 near Fredericktown, in Knox county, where 
 he is well known and much respected. He is 
 a Democrat in his political views but has never 
 sought public ofiice. He was married in Rich- 
 
 land county, O., to Priscilla Hunter, who was 
 born there in 1848, and died in Knox county, 
 March 10, 1908. Her parents were Benjamin 
 and Sarah (Jump) Hunter, and her brother, 
 Robert Hunter, who is a graduate of Dart- 
 mouth College and a resident of Richland 
 county, is a prominent man of that part of the 
 state. The grandfather, James Hunter, who 
 served in the War of 1812, was a son of a 
 Revolutionary soldier. To Frederick McCar- 
 ron and wife a family was born and five of 
 their children survive, all of whom, with one 
 exception, have domestic circles of their own. 
 
 John W. McCarron was reared in Knox 
 county, attended school at the Ohio State Nor- 
 mal School, Ada, O., and for a few years be- 
 fore graduating in law, taught school, but was 
 admitted to the bar shortly after his twenty- 
 first birthday, in June, 1895. For about six 
 years Mr. McCarron engaged in law practice 
 at Mt. Vernon, O., and then came to Gallon, 
 where he has built up a very satisfactory 
 practice. 
 
 Mr. McCarron was married to Miss Julia 
 Menges, who was born at Sandusky, 0., a 
 daughter of Jacob and Julia (Stecker) 
 Menges, who came to America from Germany 
 when young. The parents of Mrs. McCarron 
 reside at Crestline, O., and are aged about 
 seventy-five years. For fifty years Jacob 
 Menges has been a piano instructor and is a 
 man of great musical talent. Mrs. McCarron, 
 the only daughter in a family of four children, 
 has inherited a large measure of musical tal- 
 ent. She was two years old when her parents 
 moved from Sandusky to Crestline and was 
 educated there. Mr. and Mrs. McCarron 
 have two children: Ruth M. and Robert F., 
 aged respectively eleven and six years. The 
 family belongs to the First Presbyterian 
 church. Mr. McCarron is identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias, the Maccabees and the 
 Foresters. His political rearing was in the 
 Democratic party and he has continued loyal 
 to its principles. 
 
 CHARLES G. F. REIFF, who owns a fine, 
 well improved farm of eighty-two acres, sit- 
 uated in Holmes township, Crawford county, 
 O., has spent almost all his life here but was 
 born in Seneca county, O., in 1862, and is a 
 son of J. C. and Mary (Shaub) Reifif. 
 
644 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 J. C. Reiff was born in 1836, in Ciermany, 
 and from there came to the United States 
 when he was eighteen years of age and lo- 
 cated in Seneca county, O., moving from 
 there to Crawford county in the fall of 1862. 
 He died here October 23, 1887, and of his ten 
 children there are seven yet living. 
 
 Charles G. F. Reiff was an infant when his 
 parents came to Holmes township. After his 
 attendance in the district schools was over he 
 engaged in farming and also learned the stone- 
 mason's trade. While he has continued to 
 operate his farm he has also done consider- 
 able work in this section as a mason and is 
 well known in that connection all over the 
 county. Mr. Reiff has improved his property 
 and has built a comfortable and commodious 
 residence. He married Miss Minnie A. 
 Snavely and they have four children: Floy 
 E., Lulu F., Arthur A. and O. M. Mr. Reiff 
 and family attend the United Brethren 
 church. He is an active citizen in local mat- 
 ters, takes much interest in the public schools 
 and at present is serving as a school director. 
 In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 J. E. GELSANLITER, one of the substan- 
 tial citizens and representative business men 
 of Galion, O., proprietor of the Boston Street 
 Meat Market, was born in Polk township, 
 Crawford county, O., April 2, 1861, and is a 
 son of George and Elizabeth (Burgener) Gel- 
 sanliter. 
 
 George Gelsanliter was born in Hesse- 
 Darmstadt, Germany, in 1834, and some years 
 later accompanied his parents to America, 
 crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing vessel 
 that required three months to make the voy- 
 age. The family located in Richland county, 
 O., and ten years later the father died. He 
 helped to clear off the timber that then 
 covered the present site of Crestline. For 
 many years he was a well digger and pump 
 manufacturer but later became a farmer and 
 since 1865 has resided on his valuable farm 
 located just outside the limits of Galion. He 
 married Elizabeth Burgener, who was born 
 in Morrow county, O., and she also survives, 
 and, like her husband, is in the enjoyment of 
 excellent health. They are members of the 
 English Lutheran church. One son and two 
 daughters were born to them, the latter being 
 
 Alice Rosella and Bertha May. The younger 
 daughter was the first wife of Leonard Fick- 
 ersen and at death she left two children: 
 George and Leonard. Mr. Fickersen subse- 
 quently was married to the older daughter 
 and she is now living at the home of her par- 
 ents with the boys. Mr. Fickersen died 
 about five years ago, leaving no children of 
 his second marriage. 
 
 J. E. Gelsanliter has always lived in Polk 
 township, Crawford county, and he lived on 
 the home farm until he came to Galion and 
 went into business, some twenty-four years 
 since. He started in the grocery business on 
 the comer of Grove Avenue and Boston Street, 
 opening up his place April 30, 1888, and he 
 conducted the Boston Street Grocery for ten 
 years, when he sold his grocery business to 
 Evans & Kurrley and since then has devoted 
 himself exclusively to his meat business. 
 When he started he opened with his first stock 
 of goods in a private house and now has a 
 large and commodious establishment and 
 owns property extending along Grove Avenue 
 from Boston to Union Street. 
 
 Mr. Gelsanliter was married near Galion, 
 O., to Miss May Belle Cummings, who was 
 born in Crawford county and is a daughter of 
 Samuel and Emily (Baker) Cummings. The 
 father of Mrs. Gelsanliter still lives on his 
 old farm, being now in his 67th year, but his 
 wife died in early life at the age of 28 years, 
 survived by two children: Mrs. Gelsanliter 
 and Charles, the latter of whom lives in Polk 
 township and is a machinist by trade. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gelsanliter six children were born, 
 namely: Bessie, who died at the age of 
 eighteen months; Olive, who graduated from 
 the Galion High School and is now a member 
 of the class of 1913, at Wittenberg College, 
 Springfield. O. ; Norma Ethel, who graduated 
 from the Galion High School in 19 10 and is a 
 student at A\'ittenberg College; Charles and 
 George, both of \\'hom are students in the 
 Galion High School : and Alice May. All the 
 family, except the youngest child, are members 
 of the English Lutheran church. Politically 
 a Democrat, Mr. Gelsanliter has served two 
 ternis on the city council and for the past six 
 years has been a member of the board of 
 education. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 645 
 
 CHARLES L. SHAWK, general farmer 
 and stock raiser, residing six miles northwest 
 of Bucyrus, O., where he owns seventy-six 
 acres, was born on the old home place north of 
 Bucyrus, in 1861, on which his father, J. T 
 Shawk, still resides, being now in his seventy- 
 sixth year. 
 
 Charles L. Shawk attended the schools of 
 Crawford county and afterward was a student 
 for two terms at Hillsdale, Mich., and then 
 returned to the home farm and assisted his 
 father for several years. From there he 
 moved one mile south of Wingert's Corners 
 ■or Brokensword, where he remained until 
 March, 1883, when he returned to the home 
 farm for two years and then settled on the 
 old Thomas Shawk's farm, south of Wingert's 
 Comers or Brokensword, and after two years 
 there came to his present place. He has made 
 all the substantial improvements here and also 
 on his other farm of eighty acres, which lies 
 one-half mile to the west. 
 
 In March, 1885, Mr. Shawk was married to 
 Miss Laura Wilhelm, a daughter of the late 
 Christian Wilhelm, and they have three chil- 
 dren : Guy, Arthur and Grace. In politics 
 Mr. Shawk is a Democrat. With his family 
 he belongs to the United Brethren church at 
 Bethe in Holmes township. 
 
 T. C. Shawk, who resides four miles north- 
 west of Bucyrus, on his farm of eighty acres, 
 was born on the old Shawk farm north of Bu- 
 cyrus, in 1872. Since leaving school he has 
 been continuously engaged in farm pursuits, 
 remaining on the homestead for some ten 
 years following his marriage and coming then 
 to his present farm on which he built both the 
 house and barn. In 1896 he was married to 
 Miss Emma Meek and they have three chil- 
 dren: Russell, Willard and Warren. With 
 his family he belongs to the Evangelical 
 church at Harmony. Politically he is a 
 Democrat. 
 
 CHARLES JEFFERSON CRISSINGER, 
 who controls a large amount of the real estate 
 and insurance business at Gallon, O., was born 
 in Crawford county, O., August 6, 1846, and 
 is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Coblen) 
 Crissinger, and a grandson of CJeorge Cris- 
 singer. 
 
 George Crissinger was of German extrac- 
 
 tion but was born in Northumberland county. 
 Pa., was reared there to farm pursuits and all 
 his life expressed himself in the Pennsylvania 
 German dialect. He married in Pennsylvania 
 and there his five sons and perhaps an equal 
 number of daughters were born and they ac- 
 companied him when he moved to Crawford 
 county, O., in the early thirties. 
 
 Jacob Crissinger, son of George and father 
 of Charles J., was born in Pennsylvania, in 
 February, 1812, and died in Ohio, May 13, 
 1885. He was a young man when he accom- 
 panied his parents to Ohio but subsequently 
 returned to Pennsylvania to marry Elizabeth 
 Coble, who was born there in 181 7 and died 
 in Ohio September 23, 1861. After returning 
 to Ohio they lived in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, and became some of its 
 most respected people. Jacob Crissinger was 
 a carpenter by trade and also was an auc- 
 tioneer and cried sales all over the county in 
 both the German and the English languages. 
 They were members of the Methodist Episco- 
 pal church. Their family contained the fol- 
 lowing children: Catherine, who was born 
 October 20, 1838, died in 1876, married 
 Samuel Kennedy and left seven children, all 
 now deceased; Malinda, born in 1840, died 
 July 17, 1 881, married William Hile, also now 
 deceased; Eli, who was born March 26, 1843, 
 died unmarried, September 22, 1873 ; Emanuel 
 C, who follows the carpenter trade at Gallon; 
 Daniel, who follows the same trade, in Whet- 
 stone township; William, who was born in 
 1848, died unmarried in 1861 ; Andrew, who 
 was born in 1859, died in 1862; Sarah, who 
 was born in 1854, died in 1856. Jacob Cris- 
 singer was married (second) to Mrs. Keziah 
 Cramer and the following children were born 
 to this union : Moses, who was born Septem- 
 ber 26, 1866, died April 7, 1873; Jacob, who 
 is a resident of Marion, O., and has a wife and 
 three daughters; Sarah, who is the wife of a 
 Mr. Fisher, of Marion county, and they have 
 a large family; and Hattie, who is the wife of 
 Joseph Reber, and they live at Chicago, 111. 
 
 Until he was sixteen years of age, when he 
 started out to take care of himself, Charles J. 
 Crissinger attended school and gave his father 
 assistance. He continued to work at farming 
 until he was twenty-three years old and then 
 learned the carpenter trade, which he followed 
 
646 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 until 1887, when he embarked in the grocery 
 business and continued until 1901. In that 
 year he disposed of his grocery interests and 
 went into the real estate and insurance busi- 
 ness and has been very successful along this 
 line and through his efforts much real estate 
 has changed hands here and capital has been 
 brought to this section. Mr. Crissinger is one 
 of the representative business men of the city. 
 
 In early manhood, in Whetstone township, 
 Mr. Crissinger was married to Miss Civilla 
 Noblit, who was born there October 4, 1850, 
 and they have been residents of Gallon since 
 1872. Her parents, Robert and Susanna (Al- 
 bright) Noblit, were born in Pennsylvania 
 and came to Crawford county as early settlers 
 and lived and died on their farm in Whetstone 
 township, the father passing away at the age 
 of sixty-three years but the mother surviving 
 to the age of seventy-four years. They were 
 members of the Reformed church. Five chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Noblit, name- 
 ly: Samuel, who died unmarried, in 1861 ; 
 John, who resides with his family in Whet- 
 stone township; Mary M., who is a resident 
 of the above township; and Isaac, who is a 
 resident of Bucyrus, O. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crissinger had one son, Ed- 
 ward Wilson, who was born September 30, 
 1872. He was a young business man of 
 promise and had a bright future before hjm 
 when he was accidentally killed on a railroad 
 crossing, January 4, 1901. He was survived 
 by his young, wife, Mrs. Mary F. (Burwell) 
 Crissinger. She was born in Jefferson town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., a daughter of Cal- 
 vin and Martha (Gledhill) Burwell, old resi- 
 dents of Jefferson township, where they spent 
 their entire lives. Mr. and Mrs. Crissinger 
 were members of the United Brethren church. 
 In his political views he is a Democrat. 
 
 WINFIELD S. SPEIGEL, who owns and 
 resides on the old Miller homestead, which is 
 situated four miles north of Bucyrus, O., was 
 born near Pleasant Home in 1872, and is a 
 son of John Speigel, one of the early settlers 
 of Holmes township, Crawford county, O. 
 The family is of German extraction and it has 
 many representatives in this section, all sub- 
 stantial and respected people. 
 
 Winfield S. Speigel attended the country 
 
 schools and then turned his attention to farn 
 ing, beginning on a place just west of h 
 present farm, where he cultivated eighty acr( 
 until 191 2, when he moved to the farm l 
 recently purchased. In the latter he has fift] 
 nine acres and he still retains his first farm c 
 which he made all the improvements an 
 erected the substantial buildings. Gener; 
 farming has been successfully carried on ar 
 moderate stock raising. 
 
 Mr. Speigel was married in early manhoc 
 to Miss Amanda Walther, who was born i 
 Liberty township, Crawford county, O., an 
 they have two children: Marie and Albert 
 As a citizen, Mr. Speigel takes an interest j 
 public matters and votes with the Democrat 
 party but he has never desired to assume tl 
 cares of office. 
 
 RALPH O. PERROTT, secretary ar 
 manager of the American Clay Machii 
 ery Company, of Bucyrus, O., has bee 
 identified with this large manufacturing coi 
 cern since 1901 and has occupied his presei 
 position since 1906, entering the business i 
 a stenographer immediately after his gradui 
 tion from the Bucyrus High School. He wj 
 bom in this city in January, 1883, a son c 
 John R. and Nancy J. (Bacon) Perrott. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Perrott were bor; 
 reared and married in the western part ( 
 Pennsylvania and for a number of years ha^ 
 been residents of Bucyrus, where they recent 
 celebrated their fifty-second wedding annive 
 sary. About i860 they came to Ohio and 1( 
 cated at Crestline where John R. Perrott w; 
 employed in the shops of the Pennsylvan 
 Railroad Company as a skilled machinist. ] 
 the early seventies they removed to Buc3nri 
 and this has been their home ever since, ar 
 during the greater part of this time up to tl 
 present, Mr. Perrott has been with the Buc; 
 rus Steam Shovel & Dredging Company. ^ 
 highly do his employers regard his capaci' 
 as an expert machinist that they entrusted 
 him the making of their exhibition dredg 
 which excited much interest when they we 
 shown at the Columbian Exposition at Q 
 cago, 111. Mr. Perrott is now 73 years of aj 
 but, nevertheless, quietly and. efficiently ca 
 ries on his usual activities daily and his cor 
 pany yet relies on his skill and judgment 
 
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 RALPH 0. PERROTT 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 649 
 
 everything concerning their machinery. With 
 his wife he attends the Presbyterian church. 
 They have five children, two of whom are 
 married. 
 
 Ralph O. Perrott was educated in his na- 
 tive city and, as he has taken care of himself, 
 in a practical way, since he was seven years 
 of age, may justly be termed a self made man. 
 As a lad he delivered newspapers and then 
 conceived the idea that he would like to be a 
 printer. Accordingly he entered the Hopley 
 printing establishment and learned the busi- 
 ness in all its departments. From the very first 
 he had saved a portion of his earnings and 
 when he decided to turn his attention to other 
 than newspaper work, he had enough means 
 laid by to ensure him against financial em- 
 barassment. After showing ability as a stenog- 
 rapher with the American Clay Machin- 
 ery Company, he was transferred from the 
 general office to the credit department, 
 where his powers of organization were soon 
 shown and he was placed at the head of this 
 important branch of the business. Through 
 his systematic methods and good judgment he 
 soon established this department on a firm 
 basis and not only succeeded in collecting debts 
 of large volume that had been considered 
 worthless by the firm, but so regulated the 
 line of credits that such embarassments in the 
 future could be largely eliminated. His value 
 as an executive officer could not be overlooked 
 and in 1906 the board of directors elected him 
 first secretary of the corporation and man- 
 ager of the Bucyrus factory, a timely recog- 
 nition of his talents, fidelity and industry. Mr. 
 Perrott is yet numbered with the city's young 
 business men but he stands high in this con- 
 nection and enjoys the confidence of people 
 who have known him all his life. 
 
 Mr. Perrott was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Blanche Quilter, who was born and edu- 
 cated in this city, a daughter of Frank and 
 Bridget (Kane) Quilter, the former of whom 
 is superintendent of the Broken Sword Stone 
 Company of Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. Quilter 
 and Mrs. Perrott are all members of the Ro- 
 man Catholic church. On May 24, 1909, a 
 daughter was born to Mr. and Mrs. Perrott, 
 whom they named Margaret Maxine. Mr. 
 Perrott is a member of the Episcopal church. 
 He is active in local interests of various kinds, 
 
 is a director of the Farmers National Bank; 
 secretary of the Bucyrus City Hospital As- 
 sociation; and chairman of the finance com- 
 mittee, of the Y. M. C. A., in which relation 
 he assisted in raising the sum of $17,000. He 
 is a Knight Templer Mason and is an active 
 member of the order of Elks. Politically 
 both he and his father are Republicans. 
 
 JOHN SANFORD BURNISON, who has 
 been identified with the Erie Railway Com- 
 pany for 33 years — continuously since 1876 
 with the exception of three years — has been 
 conductor on the Fourth Division between 
 Marion and Dayton, O., since 1884 and is 
 justly popular with the public as he is held in 
 high regard by the company. He was born 
 near Galion, O., October i, 1858, and is a son 
 of John and Mary (Myers) Burnison. 
 
 John Burnison was born February 20, 1819, 
 at Canton, O., and died in Hardin county, 
 November 27, 1880. His father, who was 
 born in Scotland, came to the United States 
 quite early in life and secured later 200 acres 
 of land in Stark county, on which the city of 
 Canton now stands. He and wife both died 
 in Wyandot county.- John Burnison became a 
 farmer and followed agricultural pursuits in 
 Marion, Crawford and Hardin counties. He 
 was a man of sterling qualities and was well 
 known and much respected. He married 
 Mary Myers, who was born in Germany, 
 March 4, 1820, and was sixteen years of age 
 when she came to the United States and died 
 in Ohio at the age of sixty years. In early 
 married life they were members of the United 
 Brethren church but later united with the 
 Dunkard body. They had ten children, seven 
 sons and three daughters. The three surviv- 
 ing members of this family are : John San- 
 ford; James H., who lives in Hardin county, 
 O. ; and Emma, who is the wife of Alvin 
 Wall, a resident of Hardin county. 
 
 John Sanford Burnison was married (first) 
 in Hardin county, to Miss Jennie Wall, who 
 was born there in i860 and died March 14, 
 1906, survived by one son, Roy O., who was 
 born August 27, 1882. He was educated in 
 the Galion schools and has his home at Crest- 
 line, being a conductor on the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad. He married Miss Kittie Fecke, and 
 they have one daughter, Dorothea, who was 
 
650 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 born December 14, 1905. Mr. Burnison was 
 married (second) to Miss Viola May Cole, 
 who was born in Sandusky township, Craw- 
 ford county, November 11, 1882, a daughter 
 of Samuel F. and Delora N. (Lauchbaum) 
 Cole. The parents of Mrs. Burnison retired 
 from their farm to Gallon, in 191 1. The 
 father is a Republican in politics and both he 
 and wife are members of the United Brethren 
 church. Mr. and Mrs. Burnison have a bright 
 little son, John Franklin, who was born April 
 25, 1909. They attend the United Brethren 
 church. Mr. Burnison belongs to the order of 
 Railroad Conductors, No. 109, at Galion. 
 
 FERDINAND HECK, a respected resident 
 of Galion, where he owns property, is a loco- 
 motive engineer, employed on the Cincinnati 
 division of the Erie Railroad, was born in 
 Prussia, Germany, about 20 miles from Ber- 
 lin, Feb. 12, 1861. His parents, John and 
 Frederica (Erest) Heck, were natives of the 
 same place. In 1864 they emigrated with their 
 family to the United States in a sailing ves- 
 sel, the voyage occupying six weeks. They 
 landed at Castle Garden, New York City and 
 continued on to Mansfield, Ohio, where John 
 Heck found employment at his trade of 
 mason. After following his trade in Mans- 
 field for ten years, he turned his attention to 
 farming, at the end of ten years thus occupied 
 locating on a five-acre tract of land near 
 Shelby, Richland county, O., where he died 
 September 24, 1898, at the age of 78 years. 
 His wife died March 17, 1905, at the age of 
 sixty-two. They belonged to the German 
 Lutheran church and he was a Democrat in 
 politics. Their children — five in number — 
 were as follows : Amelia, who is the wife of 
 Michael Menchen, resides on the old home- 
 stead near Shelby and has two children — ^Wil- 
 liam and Anna. Ferdinand, whose name ap- 
 pears at the head of this sketch; Rena, who 
 lives near Shelby, O., is the wife of Jacob 
 Ginder and has two children — Wilbur and 
 Edith ; Augusta, who was born on the voyage 
 to America and who died in Mansfield, O., at 
 the age of four years; and Anna, born in 
 Mansfield, O., who is the wife of Martin J. 
 Molder, resides in Shelby, O., and has three 
 children — ^John, Myrtle and Glenn. 
 
 Ferdinand Heck was reared and educated 
 
 in Mansfield and in Richland county, Ohio. 
 He acquired a knowledge both of mason work 
 and farming, but at the age of 24 years ob- 
 tained employment on the Big Four Railroad. 
 Later he secured a position as fireman on the 
 Erie road and was thus employed for twelve 
 years, at the end of that time being promoted 
 to engineer on the Cincinnati division of the 
 Erie road (known as the Third Division) and 
 has since been thus occupied. Some time ago 
 he purchased half a block of land on East 
 Mam street, Galion, on which he has two large 
 residences, one of which he occupies. 
 
 On June 25, 1885, he was married in Mans- 
 field, O., to Miss Susie Placer, who was born 
 near Richland, Ohio, March 10, 1862, and 
 who was there reared and educated. Her par- 
 rents were Conrad and Elizabeth (Christman) 
 Placer, natives of Germany, who came to 
 America when young people and who were 
 married in Mansfield, later locating in Rich- 
 land county, where Mr. Placer died in 1868 at 
 the age of about forty years. His wife died in 
 Crestline, on the Richland county side of that 
 city, June 19, 1888, when she was nearly 60 
 years of age. They were German Lutherans 
 in religion. Their daughter Susan (Mrs. 
 Heck) was the fourth born of six children, 
 three of whom are yet living, namely: Mrs. 
 Heck; a half brother, J. C. Klingelhafer, who 
 resides in Galion, is married and has three 
 children — Ruth, Robert and Mary; and a sis- 
 ter, Mrs. Sarah Placer, who is now residing 
 with Mrs. Heck. Mr. and Mrs. Heck have no 
 children ; the latter is a member of the English 
 Lutheran church. Mr. Heck is a socialist in 
 his political views. He is a member of the 
 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and is 
 a reliable and progressive citizen. 
 
 ALFRED LEUTHOLD, attorney at law 
 at Bucyrus, O., was born in Canton Bern, 
 Switzerland, November 11, 1874, one of a 
 family of nine children born to his parents. 
 Christian Leuthold, Jr. and wife, and a grand- 
 son of Christian and Sarah (Von Bergen) 
 Leuthold. The paternal great-grandfather 
 was a prominent physician in Switzerland. 
 
 Christian Leuthold, Jr., was born in Canton 
 Bern, Switzerland, in 1841 and died at Bucy- 
 rus February 15, 1906. In his native land he 
 was a grower of stock. He married Kath- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 651 
 
 erine Knoti, of Canton Bern, and they, with 
 their nine children, came to the United States 
 in 1884, landing at the harbor of New York. 
 From there they made their way to Upper 
 Sandusky, O., and four years afterward moved 
 to Bucyrus township, Crawford county. The 
 father and sons rented a large farm, all of his 
 sons helping industriously in order to acquire 
 homes of their own. After the father died 
 the mother retired to Bucyrus, where she still 
 lives at the age of seventy-four years. At 
 present this- family owns valuable land and 
 stock and is numbered with the substantial 
 ones of the county. Their children were as 
 follows : Katherine, who is the wife of Jacob 
 Bohn, a farmer in Holmes township, and they 
 have three children : Christian, who is a farmer 
 in Crawford county, married Clara Geisman 
 and they have eight children ; Rosa L., who is 
 the wife of Godfrey Welty, a farmer in 
 Holmes township, and they have eight chil- 
 dren ; David, who is a farmer in Holmes town- 
 ship, married Louisa Geist, and they have one 
 child ; John, who is a farmer in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, married Anna Spring, and they have two 
 sons ; Godfrey, who is an attorney at Bucyrus, 
 is unmarried; Alfred, the subject of this 
 sketch ; Samuel, who is associated in the prac- 
 tire of law with his brother Alfred, married 
 Tena Miller, and they have one son; and 
 Louisa, who resides with her mother and is 
 an exemplary daughter. 
 
 Through many hardships and discourage- 
 ments, Alfred Leuthold secured an education 
 and was graduated in the class of 1897 from 
 the Ohio Northern University at Ada, O., 
 with the degree of A. B., having been admitted 
 to the bar before he was graduated. Later he 
 taught school in Crawford county, O. When 
 the Spanish-American war broke out in 1898, 
 he enlisted as a private in the 4th Ohio and 
 served for one year, during this time being 
 stationed for three months on the island of 
 Porto Rico. He was honorably discharged 
 January 20, 1899, and then came to Bucyrus, 
 where he established himself in the practice of 
 law. He is a member of Camp Thoman, No. 
 33, Spanish-American War Veterans, at Bu- 
 cyrus. Mr. Leuthold was married in Craw- 
 ford county to Miss Hattie KepHnger, who 
 was born in Liberty township in 1874 and was 
 educated in the public schools. They have 
 
 three children: Emerson, who was born in 
 1903; Warren KepHnger, in 1905; and Ruth 
 Katherine, whose birth took place May 12, 
 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Leuthold are members of 
 the United Brethren church. 
 
 DAVID H. WHITE, who has been identi- 
 fied with the mills operated by Zigler & Co., at 
 Bucyrus, O., for the past twenty-seven years 
 and for eighteen of these has been a member 
 of the firm, has been connected with the indus- 
 try since he was thirteen years of age. He 
 was born at Beaver Falls, Pa., in 1859, and is 
 a son of Hugh and Sarah J. (Boyles) White. 
 They also were natives of Pennsylvania and 
 the father died in that state some years 
 ago. For a considerable period he had been 
 superintendent of a steel company and was 
 widely known. His widow resides at Cleve- 
 land, Ohio. 
 
 David H. White is the eldest of a family of 
 seven children born to his parents, all of these 
 surviving. He entered one of the first flour 
 mills built at Beaver Falls, as an apprentice, 
 when he was merely a boy, learned the busi- 
 ness and has devoted himself to it all his life. 
 Since he has been a resident of Bucyrus he has 
 made his influence felt as a worthy and de- 
 pendable citizen, and served through three 
 terms as a member of the city council, elected 
 on the Democratic ticket. Mr. White was 
 married at Bucyrus to Miss Anna M. Zigler, 
 a daughter of G. K. Zigler. She is a member 
 of the Lutheran church. Mr. White is a mem- 
 ber of several fraternal organizations and is 
 prominent in Masonry, belonging to the Con- 
 sistory at Toledo and the Shrine at Cleveland. 
 He is also a director in the Second National 
 Bank. 
 
 HON. THOMAS BEER— distinguished 
 along many lines, the late Judge Thomas Beer 
 will long be recalled as one of Crawford 
 county's eminent citizens. He came of an an- 
 cestry notable for its achievements, but his 
 fame rests sufficiently upon what he accom- 
 plished himself, his indebtedness to his fore- 
 bears, however, always having been a matter 
 of pride to him. They were soldiers and 
 patriots, missionaries and scholars — men of 
 courage and women of beauty and refinement 
 
652 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 — and heredity was clearly shown in the char- 
 acter of their descendant. 
 
 Thomas Beer was "born September 7, 1832, 
 the third of a family of thirteen children, two 
 of whom died in infancy. His parents were 
 Rev. Thomas Beer, D. D., and his wife, Mar- 
 garet (Cameron) Beer. 
 
 The earliest paternal ancestor on record 
 was William Beer, and the line of descent was 
 through Thomas and Adeline (Aten) Beer, 
 and through Thomas and Margaret (Cam- 
 eron) Beer. 
 
 William Beer was born in Londonderry, 
 Ireland, in 1717 and emigrated to America in 
 1764, accompanied by his son, Thomas, and 
 they settled in Northampton county. Pa. 
 
 Thomas Beer, son of William, was young 
 when his father came with him from Ireland 
 and probably was still a youth when he first 
 enlisted, at the beginning of the Revolutionary 
 War, in Col. Stroud's regiment, serving 
 further under five enlistments. When 
 wounded at the battle of Trenton, he was taken 
 to the home of Lieut. Richard Aten (Auten), 
 and was nursed back to health by the young 
 daughter, Adeline Aten, whom he subse- 
 quently married. Lieut. Aten was a member 
 of Capt. Riddle's company, 2nd regiment of 
 the Sussex militia, N. J. He was a son of 
 Adrian and Jacobje, or Jemima (Middagh) 
 Aten, the former of whom died at Reading- 
 ton, N. J., in 1758. The Atens and Middaghs 
 emigrated to America from near Amsterdam 
 and Leyden, Holland, settling first, between 
 1660 and 1680, near Flatbush, L. I., but later 
 both families moved to Somerset county, N. J. 
 .Lieut. Aten finally settled in Northampton 
 county. Pa., six miles north of Belvidere, 
 N. J., where he established a ferry which was 
 known as Aten's Ferry for more than 120 
 years. 
 
 Thomas Beer, son of Thomas and Adeline 
 (Aten) Beer, was born in Northampton 
 county, Pa., March 22, 1801, and in 1827 was 
 graduated from the Western University of 
 Pennsylvania. In the same year he entered 
 the Western Theological seminary, which had 
 just been established at Allegheny, Pa., and 
 in 1829 was licensed to preach, being grad- 
 uated from the seminary in the following year. 
 He was sent first as a missionary to Virginia 
 and later to Ohio and after some time passed 
 
 in Wayne township, Wayne county, he re- 
 turned to Mt. Hope. His parishoners came 
 for miles to the Mt. Hope church, which held 
 about 1,000 persons. This church was erected 
 under his pastorate. During this -period he 
 also served as pastor to the Presbyterian 
 churches at Congress and West Salem. He 
 held these charges over a quarter of a century. 
 His latter years were passed at Ashland, 0., 
 his death occurring October 7, 1886. He had 
 been honored with the degree of D. D. 
 
 On October 9, 1828, he was married to 
 Margaret Cameron, a daughter of John and 
 Mary (Symmes) Cameron. John Cameron, 
 a member of Clan Cameron, was born in In- 
 verness, Scotland, and served as a soldier in 
 the British army. In 1804 he emigrated to 
 America and settled at Pittsburgh, Pa., where 
 he married the daughter of a Revolutionary 
 patriot, who lost his life at the storming of 
 Quebec. Margaret (Cameron) Beer was born 
 March 7, 1809, and lived until March 27, 
 1880. She was a remarkable woman in many 
 ways, an example of wifely devotion and ma- 
 ternal solicitude. 
 
 Thomas Beer, bearing the favorite family 
 name, when very young, displayed an interest 
 in learning, insisting on accompanying his 
 older brothers and sisters to the near-by 
 school. His opportunities were meager but he 
 evidently made the most of them, as he was 
 accepted as a teacher when he was only six- 
 teen years of age, the salary of $12 per month 
 being carefully saved to assist in paying his 
 way when he entered Vermillion Institute, at 
 Hayesville, O., of which his father was one of 
 the trustees'. He early felt a predilection for 
 the law, and during 185 1-2 he devoted himself 
 to the study of his profession, in the office of 
 John C. Tidball, at Coshocton, O., and also 
 taught special pupils. His means not being 
 adequate, however, to cover his expenses while 
 devoting his entire time to the study of law, he 
 looked about for some method of self support 
 and in 1853 became a railway telegraph opera- 
 tor at Alliance, so continuing until 1858. In 
 the latter part of 1853 he was appointed post- 
 master at Alliance and attended to his official 
 duties until 1858, in connection with the rather 
 trying ones of his profession, and then be- 
 came editor and publisher of the Stark County 
 Democrat. After two years of newspaper 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 653 
 
 work, he had made the property so desirable 
 that he was able to dispose of it at a very 
 good figure, after which he came to Bucyrus 
 and resumed journalistic work, becoming 
 editor of the Crawford County Forum and 
 thus continued until 1862. 
 
 In the meanwhile he had never lost sight of 
 his original ambition and in the above year 
 was admitted to the bar and immediately en- 
 tered into practice. From 1864 until 1868 he 
 served in the state legislature, where he dis- 
 played qualities of a patriotic statesman and 
 eloquent orator, and in 1873-4 was a member 
 of the constitutional convention, secretary of 
 its judicial committee and otherwise promi- 
 nent in its deliberations. In August, 1874, 
 Governor Allen appointed him judge of the 
 court of common pleas, a position he filled un- 
 til 1885, with signal distinction,^ after which, 
 until 1893, he served on the circuit bench, re- 
 tiring then from public life and devoting his 
 attention exclusively to his private practice. 
 He was engaged as counsel in a number of 
 important cases, in which the emoluments were 
 large and the outcome for his clients eminently 
 successful. All his life he was a democrat, 
 one of the old school, whose principles could 
 never be changed or his views on public ques- 
 tions swayed by money or influence. On 
 many occasions he was tendered offices of the 
 greatest honor and responsibility, being twice 
 nominated for supreme judge, while he twice 
 declined the nomination by his party for gov- 
 ernor of Ohio. He had the eloquent tongue 
 of an orator and his political, professional and 
 judicial addresses were gems of learning illu- 
 minated by flashes of wit and humor. He was 
 an honored member of the Ohio State Bar As- 
 sociation and his last public address, "Coke 
 Literature,'' was delivered before this body, on 
 July 7, 1909. 
 
 Judge Beer was a man of versatile gifts and 
 many accomplishments. Had opportunities 
 been afforded him he would have been able to 
 make a name for himself in music, and, with- 
 out any particular instruction, was a fine per- 
 former on the flute, violin and piano, and the 
 writing and composing of a music score 
 seemed as easy to him as the settling of a legal 
 point. He was an artist, also, and had a 
 natural talent for friendly caricature, one often 
 exercised for the amusement of his friends. 
 
 38 
 
 His memory was remarkable, and was also a 
 natural gift, for no training could ever have 
 brought it to the perfect state which enabled 
 him to recall, at an instant's notice, pages of 
 law books, technical points needed in prose- 
 cuting or expounding some obscure law prob- 
 lems and precedents on every subject. Having 
 once read certain data in relation to his pro- 
 fession, even after the lapse of years, he could 
 remember facts, book and page. It was some- 
 times said of him that he absorbed libraries, so 
 learned was he and so entirely accurate in all 
 his knowledge. Poetry always appealed to 
 him and often, in his quiet moments, he re- 
 laxed his mind by repeating choice selections 
 that had taken his fancy as he read them, and 
 were never forgotten. As may be imagined, 
 these various gifts made him an invaluable 
 member of the different organizations in 
 which he took an interest. He was a member 
 -of the Society of Natural History, was a ma- 
 son, and belonged for many years to the State 
 Historical Society. Perhaps, outside of a pub- 
 lic institution, there is no finer collection of 
 engravings, prints and books than belonged to 
 Judge Beer. For many years he was inter- 
 ested in collecting autographs and many im- 
 portant ones are the names of his friends and 
 contemporaries, while there are many others, 
 including one of King George III, most of 
 Lord Chancellors of England and many Eng- 
 lish and American authors. He was a great 
 lover of nature and his avocation was farming 
 to which he turned for relaxation and rest 
 from his legal duties. 
 
 In Ashland county, O., April 23, 1856, 
 Thomas Beer was married to Tabitha Mary 
 Dinsmore. She was a friend of his childhood 
 and one of his classmates at Vermillion Insti- 
 tute. She also attended the seminary at Hud- 
 son, O., and taught school several years. Her 
 father, James Alexander Dinsmore, was a 
 veteran of the war of 181 2, and was a retired 
 civil engineer, who came to Ohio in 1833 and 
 lived afterward on his farm in Ashland 
 county, O. To Judge and Mrs. Beer nine chil- 
 dren were born, seven of whom are living, 
 namely: James Dinsmore, who is a practicing 
 physician of Wooster, O., married Jean Lyle 
 Thoburn, and they reside in Ashland county, O. 
 
 James Alexander Dinsmore' s earliest pa- 
 ternal progenitor was Laird Dinsmoor, born 
 
654 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 about 1600, who lived on his estate at Achen- 
 mead, Scotland, on the Tweed. His son, John 
 (1650), rebelling at being compelled to hold 
 the stirrup of his eldest brother's saddle when 
 the latter mounted his horse, ran away from 
 home in 1667 and settled in Ballywattick, 
 county Antrim, Ireland. His grandson, An- 
 drew (born at Ballywattick, Ireland, 1753), 
 emigrated to America, 1771-72, was a soldier 
 in the Revolution, settled at Peach Bottom, 
 York county. Pa., where he married Cath- 
 erine, daughter of James Alexander, a Revo- 
 lutionary patriot. Their eldest son, James 
 Alexander Dinsmore, was born at Peach Bot- 
 tom, Pa., March 20, 1788. He was one of the 
 defenders of Ft. McHenry at Baltimore. In 
 1814 he came to Ohio and entered a half sec- 
 tion of land in Jackson township, Ashland 
 county, O. He then returned to Pennsyl- 
 vania, where he resided on a farm near his 
 father's until 1833, when he and his family, 
 consisting of his wife and four children, of 
 which Mrs. Beer was one, journeyed by wagon 
 over the mountains and through the wilder- 
 ness to Mr. Dinsmore's farm in Ashland 
 county. He died here January 7, 1863. 
 
 He was married March 14, 1826, to Griz- 
 zell, daughter of David and Dorcas (Neel) 
 Collins of Chanceford, York county, Pa. Da- 
 vid Collins' father, Cornelius, with his wife 
 and several children, emigrated from Ireland 
 and took up land in Colerain and Drumore 
 townships, Lancaster county. Pa., where he 
 lived as a farmer until his death. He was a 
 member of the Associate Reformed church. 
 His son, David (born 1768, died March 28, 
 1828), farmed his property of 160 acres at 
 Chanceford, York county. Pa. His wife, Dor- 
 cas Neel, was a daughter of Lieut. Thomas 
 Neel (born March 25, 1744, died April 5, 
 1824), a gallant Revolutionary officer, who 
 owned a large estate with fishery and mill on 
 the Susquehanna, near Christiana, Lancaster 
 county, Pa. The mother of Dorcas Neel was 
 Grizzell Penny, born Dec. i, 1753, who died 
 Sept. I, 1833. They were married Dec. i, 
 1770. 
 
 To Judge and Mrs. Beer nine children were 
 born, seven of whom are living, namely: 
 James Dinsmore, who is a practicing physician 
 of Wooster, Ohio, and who married Jean Lyle 
 Thoburn and has four surviving children — 
 
 Mary Margaret, Thomas, Jean Lyle and Dor- 
 cas Katherine; Thomas Cameron, who is a 
 resident of Bucyrus; William Collins, who is 
 engaged in the practice of law in New York 
 city, married Martha Ann Baldwin, and has 
 three children — Alice Baldwin, Thomas and 
 Richard Cameron; Dorcas Grizzell, who has 
 been engaged in educational work for a num- 
 ber of years ; Katherine Jeannett, who resides 
 with her mother ; Robert Lea, who is assistant 
 postmaster at Yonkers, N. Y., married Mary 
 Gobdrich Fitch and has one daughter, Mary; 
 and Mary Elizabeth, who is widely known as 
 a grand opera singer, and made her debut and 
 appeared several seasons in grand opera at 
 Rome, Italy, as a member of the National 
 Opera company. 
 
 FRANK J.. SNYDER, proprietor of a first 
 class grocery store, located at No. 108 West 
 Main Street, Galion, O., is one of the represen- 
 tative business men of this city and is serving 
 in the office of clerk of the Board of County 
 Elections. Mr. Snyder was born in Morrow 
 county, O., June 26, i86r, and is a son of 
 George Snyder, who came to Galion with his 
 family about 1865. 
 
 Frank Snyder has been a resident of Galion 
 since childhood. He was educated here and 
 graduated from the Galion high school in the 
 class of 1878, immediately afterward becoming 
 associated with his father in the grocery busi- 
 ness. This store was established by George 
 Snyder in September, 1865, and has ever since 
 been continued by the Snyders. The location 
 is excellent and the building, 25x57 feet in 
 dimensions, afifords sufficient space. First 
 quality goods are carried, honest methods of 
 business prevail and this is known to be a re- 
 liable and dependable business house. For the 
 past twenty years it has been under the direct 
 management of Frank Snyder. He has other 
 city realty, including a handsome residence on 
 the comer of West Main and Orange streets. 
 
 Mr. Snyder was married at Galion, O., to 
 Miss Nina Wineland, who was born at Upper 
 Sandusky, O., but was reared and educated at 
 Galion, being a graduate of the Galion high 
 school in the class of 1880. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Snyder have two children — Norma and 
 Maude. These young ladies are high school 
 graduates and are numbered with the younger 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 655 
 
 social set in the neighborhood in which they 
 have grown up. The family belongs to the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. In politics Mr. 
 Snyder is a republican and is an active and up- 
 right citizen. He served two years as a mem- 
 ber of the city council, seven years on the 
 county board of elections. For twenty years 
 Mr. Snyder has been one of the directors of 
 the Gallon Building & Loan Association and 
 was one of its organizers. He is identified 
 with the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 J. FOSTER HUBLEY, proprietor of the 
 Hubley confectionery store and ice cream par- 
 lors, at No. no East Main street, Galion, O., 
 is one of the prosperous business men of this 
 city, which is his native place. Mr. Hubley was 
 born April 29, 1873, and is a son of George 
 and Hannah C. (Pague) Hubley. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Hubley were born at 
 Shippensburg, Pa. — the father, August 27, 
 1830— their parents being of German extrac- 
 tion. In 1854 George Hubley and wife came 
 to Galion, O., where Mr. Hubley went to work 
 for the Big Four Railway company. His work 
 caused his home to be in other parts of the 
 country at times and he was in Pennsylvania 
 when the Civil war broke out and for several 
 years was connected with the quartermaster's 
 department, with headquarters at Chambers- 
 burg, Pa. In 1870 he returned to Galion, 
 where he still resides and where his wife died 
 in the fall of 1906, having lived to celebrate 
 her golden wedding anniversary. She was a 
 consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, to which Mr. Hubley also belongs. 
 He is a democrat in his political opinions. Of 
 his family of eight sons and two daughters, 
 six sons and one daughter survive, all being 
 married and having families of their own. 
 
 J. Foster Hubley obtained his education in 
 the Galion schools and then learned the candy 
 making trade, beginning in an establishment 
 that occupied the site of his present fine store. 
 He is a practical confectioner and has been in 
 the business for twenty-nine years, serving un- 
 der different proprietors. The stand at No. 
 no East Main street is the oldest confection- 
 ery stand in the citv and Mr. Hubley has been 
 proprietor of the business for the past five 
 years. His building has dimensions of 18x160 
 feet and built to accommodate 100 guests at 
 
 one time in his ice cream parlor. His equip- 
 ments are modern in every particular and in 
 the manufacture of his dainties and sweet- 
 meats every sanitary precaution is used. He 
 enjoys a large patronage and is regarded as 
 one of the honorable business men of his city. 
 Mr. Hubley was married at Galion, O., to 
 Miss Luella May Kunkler, who was born at 
 Wadsworth, O., but has been a resident of 
 Galion since childhood. They have two chil- 
 dren: Lorimer, who is his father's assistant, 
 and Lois, who still attends school. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hubley are members of the Baptist 
 church. Politically he is a democrat and fra- 
 ternally a Mason, and both he and wife belong 
 to the Eastern Star. 
 
 CLARENCE E. GREENICK, general 
 farmer and dairyman, residing one and one- 
 half miles from the public square, Bucyrus, 
 O., owns a farm of eighty acres situated in 
 Whetstone township and another of twenty 
 acres, in Bucyrus township, and is one of the 
 substantial and prosperous citizens of Craw- 
 ford county. He was born in Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., Sept. 15, 1862, and 
 is a son of Jacob L. and Louisa (Lichtenwal- 
 ter) Greenick. 
 
 Jacob L. Greenick was born in Germany, a 
 son of Jacob Greenick. In his early manhood 
 he worked as a machinist and operated a sta- 
 tionary engine but later became a farmer and 
 at the time of death owned the home farm of 
 his son, Clarence E., who later purchased it. 
 Both he and wife died at Bucyrus. She was 
 of German parentage, a daughter of John 
 Lichtenwalter, but was born in Ohio. Three 
 children were born to them, one of whom died 
 in infancy and another when aged five years, 
 Clarence E. being the only survivor. The par- 
 ents were members of the Lutheran church. 
 
 Clarence E. Greenick attended the public 
 schools and was about sixteen years old when 
 his parents moved on his present farm on 
 which he has lived ever since. While he car- 
 ries on general farming with much success, his 
 main interest is dairying and he owns a valua- 
 ble herd of twenty-five Holstein cows. Bucy- 
 rus draws from his dairy sixty gallons of milk 
 
 dailv- 
 
 On Oct. 29, 188 c;, Mr. Greenick was mar- 
 ried to Miss Emma Padgett, a daughter of 
 
656 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Stewart and Mary Jane (Lones) Padgett. 
 The father of Mrs. Greenick was born in In- 
 diana and the mother in Ohio and both are 
 now deceased, the burial of the father being 
 in his native state and that of the mother in 
 Seneca county, O. After the death of her first 
 husband, Mrs. Padgett married George Schaf- 
 ner. All her children were born to her first 
 union : Josephine, who married Dennis Mulli- 
 gan; Margaret, who married Joshua Lichten- 
 walter; Emma; and George L. and Robert C. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Greenick the following 
 children were born: Nina L., who married 
 Harry Ryland and has two children — Edith 
 and Virginia; Jessie Marie, who died in in- 
 fancy; and Arthur Raymond, Harold Preston, 
 Josephine June, Grace Hildred and Clarence 
 Edwin. Mr. Greenick and family attend the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. In politics he is 
 a democrat as was his father. 
 
 GEORGE W. HOOVER, a representative 
 citizen of Bucyrus, O., a retired farmer who 
 has resided in this city for some seven years 
 and is well known in many circles, is a mem- 
 ber of one of the old families of Ohio, the 
 name being connected with pioneer settlement. 
 He was born in Dallas township, Crawford 
 county, O., and is a son of William and Phebe 
 (Swisher) Hoover, a grandson of Christopher 
 and a great-grandson of George Hoover. 
 
 George Hoover was Drobably of German 
 ancestry but he was born in Virginia and from 
 there came to the Western Reserve and se- 
 cured government land in what is now Pick- 
 away county, prior to 1803, when the terri- 
 tory became a state. Christopher Hoover was 
 born about 1785 and grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm in Pickaway county. His first 
 wife died there and he married a second and 
 with his family moved to Crawford county 
 and, like his father, secured government land. 
 He became a successful farmer and accumu- 
 lated property and felt justified in retiring 
 from active life, moving then to Sandusky in 
 the early fifties. They succumbed to cholera 
 in the prevailine enidemic and both died on 
 the same day. By his first marriage, Christo- 
 pher Hoover had two children, William and 
 Hannah. The latter married Wesley White 
 and they lived and died in Dallas township and 
 three of their children survive. 
 
 William Hoover was reared in Dallas town- 
 ship and naturally became a farmer. He con- 
 tinued to farm and raise stock until 1866, when 
 he came to Bucyrus, where subsequently he 
 went into business as a member of the firm of 
 Fry, Sheckley & Hoover, which was merged 
 into the large enterprise now known as the 
 American Clay Machinery Company, in which 
 he was a large stockholder. His death oc- 
 curred in June, 1897, when he was eighty-one 
 years. He was married in Franklin county, 
 O., to Phebe Swisher, who died at Bucyrus on 
 May 9, 191 1, having passed her ninety-fourth 
 birthday. She and husband were members of 
 the English Lutheran church. Of their ten 
 children eight survive, three of whom live in 
 Crawford county and two in the city of Bucy- 
 rus — George W and Mrs. Thomas Jessem. 
 
 George W. Hoover was the fourth born 
 child in his parents' family and the third son. 
 His birth took place on the old homestead on 
 January 27, 1847. He attended school in Dal- 
 las township and later at Bucyrus, after which 
 he engaged actively in agricultural pursuits 
 until 1903, when he retired and established his 
 home at Bucyrus. He still owns his excellent 
 farm in Bucyrus township but no longer oper- 
 ates it. Mr. Hoover, like his late father, is 
 a stanch republican but he has never been will- 
 ing to accept public office. He has never mar- 
 ried. 
 
 GODFREY LEUTHOLD, a well known 
 attorney at law at Bucyrus, O.,. was born in 
 Daerstetten township, Simmenthal valley, 
 Canton Bern, Switzerland, which was the 
 scene of the early history of the Leuthold 
 family, a country held in affectionate remem- 
 brance by those who have, nevertheless, found 
 happy homes in other lands. The father of 
 Mr. Leuthold was Christian Leuthold, who 
 was the only son of Christian Leuthold, the 
 latter of whom spent his life in Canton Bern, 
 his ancestors coming from Southern France. 
 
 The Leuthold family was an old and vigor- 
 ous one, but Grandfather Leuthold died when 
 comparatively young and left but one son, but 
 his early death reflected credit upon him in 
 that he contracted scarlet fever, from which he 
 died, while ministering to a stricken neighbor. 
 His widow subsequently married again but had 
 no issue to the second marriage. She be- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 657 
 
 longed to the royal family of Von Bergen and 
 all her life was noted for her high bred quali- 
 ties, her charities and many virtues. 
 
 Christian Leuthold, Jr., the only son, was 
 born in 1842 and grew to manhood in his na- 
 tive place and there married Katherine Knoti, 
 who came from one of the most industrious 
 and wealthiest families of her township. Her 
 father, Gottlieb Knoti was accidentally killed 
 by a fall over a precipice in the mountains. 
 The mother, of a healthy constitution, married 
 again and with her second husband, emigrated 
 to the United States and died at the age of 84 
 years in the state of New York. After the 
 birth of their nine children. Christian Leuthold 
 and wife decided to leave Switzerland and seek 
 better fortune across the ocean than they were 
 sure of, with so large a family, in the more 
 constricted regions of their native land. At 
 Havre, France, they took passage on the emi- 
 grant ship, America, and with great hopes set 
 sail for New York, where, after a long voy- 
 age, they were safely landed arriving at said 
 city in the month of April in the year 1884. 
 From there they made their way to Upper 
 Sandusky, Ohio, the place of their destination. 
 Here the family was warmly received by David 
 Geiger, a brother-in-law of Christian Leu- 
 thold. 
 
 The first year the family lived in a cottage 
 one mile east of Upper Sandusky, all the mem- 
 bers working industriously in order to add to 
 the capital of $300.00 which they brought 
 from Switzerland. Godfrey Leuthold then 
 being but eleven years old, like four of his 
 brothers was compelled to work for other peo- 
 ple. The second year they rented a small 
 farm four miles east of Upper Sandusky; 
 here they resided for three -years. The boys 
 continued to work during the summer months 
 for other people, mostly for farmers in Craw- 
 ford county. 
 
 In the year 1888 the family came to Craw- 
 ford' county. For five years they lived on a 
 large farm which they rented south of Bucy- 
 rus. During the first years they met with dif- 
 ficulties and failures and the boys were often 
 compelled to bear great hardships. But at the 
 end of the five years the family was able to 
 buy a good farm of 80 acres -two miles north 
 of Bucvrus. Here the father died February 
 15, 1906. The mother then moved to Bucyrus 
 
 into a handsome new house provided for by 
 her sons. Here she still resides, living with 
 her daughter Louisa a retired life. 
 
 Godfrey Leuthold is one of the younger 
 sons in the above family. He was permitted 
 to attend the township public schools during 
 the winter months till he was 16 years old. 
 Then, though having a passion to devote him- 
 self to study, he was compelled to help work 
 and manage a farm till he was 21 years of 
 age. This was a strenuous life, which de- 
 prived him of the pleasures of youth and com- 
 pelled him to cope with great difficulties, due 
 to the fact that the family was then heavily in- 
 volved in debt. On one Friday, September 
 iSth, he was of age and left home under most 
 discouraging circumstances. Having worked 
 bitterly hard for his father, he was obliged to 
 leave home with nothing else but the clothes 
 he wore while working at home. But he left 
 with a determination to work and save his 
 money. The first three months he worked for 
 farmers, cutting and husking corn; thus he 
 earned his first money, every dollar of which 
 he saved. When winter set in he determined 
 to work for his board and then attended the 
 public schools in Liberty township, in order 
 to get a better education, which he was de- 
 prived of while working for his father. The 
 next spring he was licensed to teach school 
 without ever having attended a high school. 
 The following winter he taught school and 
 worked on the farm in the summer, aiming to 
 save all the money possible in order to prepare 
 himself financially to attend a college. 
 
 In the fall of the year 1898 we find him at- 
 tending the college at Berea, Ohio,- a Methodist 
 school. He was graduated in the classical 
 course and received the degree of B. A. in 
 June of the year 1903. The year preceding 
 he was chosen by the Goethe society of which 
 he was a member to deliver the valedictorian 
 address. 
 
 It was during the difficult struggles while 
 working for his father that he first realized the 
 usefulness and power of the knowledge of the 
 law. So after being graduated at the college 
 at Berea, he at once took up the study of law 
 and completed a course in this science at the 
 Ohio Northern Ujiiversity at Ada, Ohio, and 
 was graduated at this. school in the fall of the 
 year 1904. receiving the degree of B. L. In 
 
658 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 December of the same year he was admitted to 
 the Ohio bar and has ever since been in the 
 active practice of law at Bucyrus, Ohio. 
 
 In June of the year 1907 the college at Berea 
 conferred upon him the degree of M. A., he 
 having first fully complied with all require- 
 ments for this honor. 
 
 Mr. Leuthold always took an active part in 
 the politics of the republican party which in 
 his county, at present is in the minority. With 
 an aim to do justice to all and with malice to- 
 ward none his judgment and principles are 
 respected by men of both parties, his charac- 
 ter being clean, his influence uplifting. He 
 was reared in the Methodist church of which 
 he has been a faithful member. 
 
 To consider the career of Mr. Leuthold in 
 all its bearings, it is indeed inspiring, his suc- 
 cess demonstrating what can be accomplished 
 through persistent effort and in the face of 
 difficulties and discouraging circumstances. 
 
 MICHAEL A. RICKSECKER, who now 
 lives retired at Gallon, O., after many years 
 of honorable connection with the great Erie 
 Railroad system as locomotive engineer, was 
 born October 19, 1839, in Springfield town- 
 ship, Richland county, O., and is a son of 
 Greenberry and Elenora (Firestine) Rick- 
 secker. 
 
 Greenberry Ricksecker and wife were born 
 at Hagerstown, Md., where they married and 
 after two children had been born to them — 
 Mary A. and Charles A. — they started for a 
 new home in Ohio. This was in 1835 and 
 they came overland to Springfield township, 
 Richland county, and. located on land which 
 was wild at the time, but which they developed 
 into an excellent farm. The old log house 
 which served as their first home is still one of 
 the landmarks of that section. Greenberry 
 Ricksecker was a whig in early political life 
 but later became a republican and, notwith- 
 standing his southern birth, was an anti-slavery 
 man. An underground railroad station, the 
 name given to sheltering places for escaping 
 slaves prior to the Civil war, was situated in 
 the home of a neighbor, John C. Finney, and 
 as Mr. Ricksecker was in sjTnpathy with the 
 movement, he often helped negroes on their 
 way to the Canadian border, where they were 
 safe from pursuit. Another neighbor who of- 
 
 fered a place of concealment to escaping 
 slaves was Joseph Roe and through the efforts 
 of these philanthropic men, many men, women 
 and children escaped from slavery. In many 
 ways Greenberry Ricksecker was an admirable 
 man and he was esteemed and respected in his 
 community, where he lived to be seventy-three 
 years of age, his wife passing away when aged 
 sixty-one years. They were members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. After reaching 
 Richland county, two more children were born 
 to'them — Michael A. and Helen. All the chil- 
 dren married and reared children of their own 
 and became respected and useful members of 
 society. 
 
 Michael A. Ricksecker is the only survivor 
 of his parents' family. He attended school in 
 Springfield township and helped his father, 
 after school, on the farm and also in his car- 
 penter shop and frequently assisted in the erec- 
 tion of log houses for other settlers. He thus 
 gained a practical knowledge of carpentering 
 while quite young. By the time he was four- 
 teen years of age he was anxious to provide 
 for himself and soon found a place where he 
 could work for his board and receive $4 a 
 month. When sixteen years of age he worked 
 at cutting cord wood for forty cents a cord and 
 also split rails, as did Abraham Lincoln in 
 early manhood, and while keeping busy and 
 contented in this way he also kept on assisting 
 his father as a carpenter. 
 
 On April 21, 1861, Mr. Ricksecker re- 
 sponded to the call of President Lincoln for' 
 75,000 men and entered Co. H, 15th O. Vol. 
 Inf., under Capt. Hiram Miller and Col. 
 Moses R. Dickey, and served through a first 
 enlistment of three months. On December 11, 
 1 86 1, he re-enlisted for three years in the First 
 Ohio Independent Battery, Light Artillery, 
 under command of Capt. McMullen, and was 
 honorably discharged December 13, 1864. 
 During the larger part of the time he served 
 in West Virginia with the Army of the Poto- 
 mac, taking part in such hard fought battles as 
 South Mountain, Frederick city and Antie- 
 tam. Ever at the post of duty, Mr. Rick- 
 secker made a record as a brave and efficient 
 soldier, and having faced the many hazards of 
 war without being wounded, returned safely 
 to his home. 
 
 He then turned his attention to railroading 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 659 
 
 and entered the service of the Atlantic 
 & Great Western Railway Company (now 
 known as the Erie Railroad) in the capacity 
 of brakeman, at a time when the company sent 
 out only one train a day, this being in March, 
 1865. In April following he made the trip on 
 the first through freight train that left Gallon, 
 and in July of the same year was promoted 
 and became fireman. Until January, 1868, he 
 was engaged in freight and passenger trans- 
 portation and then was promoted and made 
 engineer and operated both through and local 
 freight trains until June, 1880, and from that 
 time until October 23, 1910, when he was re- 
 tired on the age limit, his place was in the cab 
 of the passenger train on the Cincinnati divi- 
 sion, east. Mr. Ricksecker is still retained by 
 the company, which knows how to recognize 
 efficient service, and fills the position of assist- 
 tant train dispatcher, his duties making no 
 heavy demand oil his health. 
 
 On June 17, 1869, at Ontario, O., Mr. Rick- 
 secker was married to Miss Mary A. Rater, 
 who was born in Germany and was three 
 years old when her < parents brought her to 
 Richland county, O. She was born April 3, 
 1844, and died June 10, 1906. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ricksecker had no children of their own, but 
 they adopted a little seven-year old maiden, 
 Elizabeth Keiser, who was born at Mansfield, 
 O. She has been a real daughter to them and 
 her foster parents have had reason to take 
 much pride in her as a sweet and amiable 
 member of the household, as a good student, 
 being a graduate of the Gallon high school, 
 and as a singer in the choir and teacher in the 
 sabbath school of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, of which religious denomination Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ricksecker were long very active 
 members. 
 
 In politics Mr. Ricksecker is a decided re- 
 publican but has never had the politician's de- 
 sire for public office. He is yet, as always, in- 
 terested in the progress and development of 
 the city's various interests, where he has in- 
 vestments and almost lifelong friends. He 
 has been very active in Dick Morris Post, G. 
 A. R., No. 130, of which he is the present 
 commander — a dignity well deserved — and on 
 several occasions he has attended encamp- 
 ments held in other and distant cities. For 
 many years he has been identified with the 
 
 Masonic fraternity, uniting with the order in 
 young manhood and belongs to Gallon Lodge, 
 No. 414, F. & A. M.; to, the Chapter No. 142, 
 at Gallon, and to the Council, at Bucyrus. 
 Mr. Ricksecker belongs also to another organi- 
 zation, one that is known all over the United 
 States and numbers thousands of trained and 
 experienced men in its ranks — the Brother- 
 hood of Locomotive Engineers — he being con- 
 nected with Division No. 16. For forty years 
 he has preserved his membership in this rep- 
 resentative industrial body and in recognition 
 of this, at the termination of the above period, 
 he received a handsome gold badge, suitably 
 inscribed, which, it is needless to say he values 
 highly. Mr. Ricksecker is a valued member of 
 the Richland County Historical Society and 
 his reminiscences of former events have con- 
 tributed to the interest of its published reports 
 on many occasions. 
 
 MRS. SARAH A. DICE, a highly re- 
 spected and well known business woman of 
 Gallon, O., who, for twenty years has suc- 
 cessfully conducted a millinery business 
 here, was born in Crawford county, O., near 
 Gallon and is a daughter of Isaac and Susan 
 (Smith) Garberich. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Dice were of German 
 ancestry, but were born in Pennsylvania and 
 both accompanied their parents when 
 young, to Crawford county. The father of 
 Mrs. Dice engaged in farming in Polk town- 
 ship for many years and died there in 1897, 
 when aged 61 years. The mother of Mrs. 
 Dice still survives and lives on the old 
 homestead, hale and hearty, despite her 83 
 years. Isaac Garberich was a strong Re- 
 publican. He was a man of sterling charac- 
 ter, honest and upright, and was a leading- 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 to which his widow also belongs. Mrs. Dice 
 is one of a family of nine children born to 
 her parents, three sons and six daughters, 
 all of whom survive. 
 
 After creditably completing the public 
 school course, Mrs. Dice learned the millin- 
 ery business, for which she had a natural 
 aptitude and has been in business for the 
 past 26 years and for twenty years has been 
 at her present location, where she erected 
 her building. She carries the finest line of 
 
660 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 millinery and millinery goods to be found 
 at Gallon and caters to a very exclusive 
 trade. Her display of tasteful and attract- 
 ive milinery v^^ould do credit to any large 
 city, while her long experience and natural 
 artistic talent in the blending of colors and 
 materials and in adapting them to the lines 
 of head, face and figure are so well known 
 and appreciated that her taste and judg- 
 ment are depended upon by a very particu- 
 lar class of purchasers. Too much credit 
 cannot be given to Mrs. Dice for her energy 
 and enterprise in building up and enlarging 
 this business enterprise and her unusual 
 success reflects the high opinion in which 
 she is held by those who have known her 
 from childhood. Mrs. Dice has two chil- 
 dren : Clare D., a resident of Gallon, a ma- 
 chinist by trade ; and Gladys C, who is the 
 wife of John Scott Boyd, who is superin- 
 tendent of the Galion Iron Works Com- 
 pany. Mrs. Dice and daughter are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 REV. THOMAS J- SHEPPARD, well 
 known among Civil War veterans as the 
 "Andersonville Chaplain," was born at 
 Zanesville, C, June 22, 1834, being a son of 
 Thomas and Elizabeth (LeHue) Sheppard. 
 He was of Puritan and Huguenot stock, his 
 grandfather, Joseph Sheppard, having been 
 born at Attleboro, England. The family 
 came to the United States in 181 1, landing 
 at Boston. On his mother's side the LeHue 
 family came from France, and were Hugue- 
 nots, one of the founders of the American 
 branch coming to America with Marquis 
 de Lafayette as a volunteer in the American 
 Revolution. Others of the LeHue family 
 were already settled in Winchester, Freder- 
 ick county, Va. Thomas J. Sheppard, the 
 subject of this sketch, was practically born 
 into the Baptist church. His grandfather. 
 Rev. Thomas Sheppard, was a leader in the 
 denomination at Zanesville and on the for- 
 mation of the Market Street Baptist 
 Church, of Zanesville, in 1825, his parents 
 united there. Thomas J. Sheppard spent 
 his early life in Zanesville. His parents both 
 died there in 1853, his mother's death oc- 
 curring in July and his father's in Novem- 
 
 ber. He after that lived with his sister 
 EHzabeth, the wife of Capt. John Thomp- 
 son, north of Dresden. He spent six years 
 in the drug store of Capt. Thompson and 
 attended West Bedford Academy, where 
 he met Miss Margaret Collins of Mounds- 
 ville, W. Va., who became his wife June i, 
 1859, the wedding being at the Collins fam- 
 ily home, the residence of William Collins 
 at High Oaks • on the hills overlooking 
 Moundsville. After marriage he took up 
 the reading of law at Zanesville and his in- 
 terest in church work started at that time. 
 At the close of a revival service in 1854 he 
 was licensed to preach and thereafter con- 
 tinued to conduct religious services regu- 
 larly for 54 years. On Aug. 11, 1862, he en- 
 listed as a member of Co. E, 97th O. Vol. 
 Inf. under Capt. Eagan, being appointed 
 fifth sergeant. He was in eleven ijnportant 
 engagements including Murfreesboro, Mis- 
 sionary Ridge and Stone River. He was 
 captured June 27, 1864, during a night skir- 
 mish before the battle of Kenesaw Moun- 
 tain, while on picket duty. He was sent to 
 Andersonville where he was confined almost 
 eleven months. While in prison here he 
 conducted religious services and became 
 known as the "Andersonville Chaplain," a 
 term of endearment applied to him by men 
 he helped there. His naturally sunny dis- 
 position and firm religious conviction gave 
 him power to do good among the discour- 
 aged prisoners. At the close of their term 
 in prison a testimonial was prepared and 
 signed by 155 prisoners commending his 
 work and recommending him for appoint- 
 ment as a regular army chaplain. This tes- 
 timonial he has prized highly, but did not 
 desire to take up the work of an army chap- 
 lain, feeling he could do more good as a 
 minister, pastor of a church. Mr. Sheppard 
 was mustered out of the service at Camp 
 Chase, June 15, 1865. He was associated 
 with the United States Christian Commis- 
 sion after the war and took up his higher 
 education at Denison University, Granville, 
 Ohio, where he was graduated with the 
 class of 1870. His first pastorate was at 
 Kirkersville, Ohio, from 1865 to 1869. He 
 held pastorates in Ohio at West Jefferson 
 
WILLIAM BEMJER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 663 
 
 and Lisbon, Clyde and Sidney, and was spe- 
 cial asrent for Denison University from 1876 
 to 1884. He became pastor of the Baptist 
 church at Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1884, where he 
 remained until 1889, when he went to Ken- 
 ton as pastor and where he built a new 
 church. In 1892 he was appointed chaplain 
 of the Ohio State Soldiers' Home at San- 
 dusky, and from there went to Grass Lake, 
 Michigan, but in 1899 he retired from active 
 work and located at Granville, where the 
 family lived until the death of Mrs. Shep- 
 pard, July 3, 191 1, since which time he has 
 lived with his daughter, Mrs. James R. Hop- 
 ley at Bucyrus. His son, Thomas Hamilton 
 Sheppard, died at Los Angeles, Calif., April 
 3, 191 1. His son, William Collins Sheppard, 
 is a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan, 
 and his daughter, Mrs. James R. Hopley, 
 lives at Bucyrus. Many years ago the Ohio 
 association of Ex-Prisoners of War elected 
 him chaplain-for-life and it was while a resi- 
 dent of Bucyrus in 1887 that Keller Post 
 advocated his selection as chaplain of the 
 Ohio association of the G. A. R., a place he 
 filled with honor. 
 
 Rev. Mr. Sheppard has done much liter- 
 ary work, mostly of a religious and patriotic 
 nature. He has written a number of poems, 
 some of which have been set to music. His 
 lecture on "Battle Fields and Prison Pens'.' 
 has been heard in many towns and cities of 
 the country. It was in introducing Mr. 
 Sheppard to an audience at Lansing, Mich- 
 igan, that the late Governor Pingree, a 
 prison-mate at Andersonville, alluded to 
 him as "the man who preached to me in 
 Hell." 
 
 WILLIAM BENDER, who is a retired 
 farmer and one of the highly respected citi- 
 zens of Tiro, O., occupies his comfortable 
 home on North Main Street but still retains 
 his farm of 180 acres, situated in Auburn 
 township, Crawford county. He was born 
 in Richland county, O., March 26, 1850, and 
 is a son of Jacob and Catherine (Hoffman) 
 Bender. 
 
 Jacob Bender was born near Heidelberg,. 
 Germany, Oct. 5, 1816, where he was reared 
 to manhood and in 1840 married Catherine 
 
 Hofifman, who was born also in Germany, 
 Aug. 13, 1 81 6. In the year of their marriage 
 they emigrated to America, and on reaching 
 the United States settled in Richland county, 
 O. He purchased 40 acres of land near 
 Shelby, to which he later added 20 more acres, 
 and after clearing and developing both tracts, 
 purchased a farm of 160 acres, four miles 
 south of Shelby. In 1862 they came to Craw- 
 ford county and purchased 200 acres of land 
 from George Cummings. He was a large 
 landowner also in other states, having 300 
 acres in Iowa and 300 acres in Michigan. His 
 death occurred Sept. 26, 1897, when he was 
 aged 80 years. His wife died Jan. 15, 1885. 
 They were members of the Lutheran church, 
 in America, but he had been reared a Catholic 
 and she in the Reformed church. They were 
 good. Christian people in each organization. 
 To them the following children were born: 
 Jacob, Henry, Charles, Christina, Anthony, 
 William, Catherine, who died Aug. 31, 1886; 
 Lizzie, John Phillip, and one that died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 William Bender was his father's helper on 
 the home farm until he reached the age of 21 
 years. After marriage he located on 80 acres 
 of his present farm, then the property of his 
 father-in-law, and while renting the same for 
 II years, was an extensive stock dealer. In 
 1882 he purchased a tract of 104 acres ad- 
 joining on the east and in 1885 bought his 
 present homestead and now has land in both 
 Auburn and Vernon townships. He improved 
 his farm properties, erecting a handsome resi- 
 dence in 1889 and a substantial barn in 1890 
 and resided there until he retired to Tiro. 
 He is interested in the Seamless Tube Mills 
 at Shelby, O. 
 
 On Sept. 3, 1873, Mr. Bender was married 
 to Miss Cornelia Sawyer, a daughter of Al- 
 banus Sawyer. Albanus Sawyer was a na- 
 tive of this county while his wife was born 
 in P'ennsylvania. They had the following 
 children besides Mrs. Bender : Asa, Rule, Royal 
 E., John F., Erastus, deceased, Clara, de- 
 ceased, Anna and Lottie. Mr. and Mrs. Ben- 
 der have three children: Rilla May, wife of 
 John W. Hutt, of Richland county, O. ; and 
 Minnie Luella. wife of Walter Ervin; and 
 Ruth lone. While Mr. Bender has never been 
 very active in politics, he has always exerted 
 
664 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 his influence in support of movements that 
 have made this section law abiding and a de- 
 sirable place in which to live. Mr. Bender is 
 a member of the Knights of Pythias at Tiro. 
 He served as supervisor for 25 years. The 
 familv attends the Lutheran church and Mr. 
 Bender has been a liberal contributor to the 
 building of the church and to its support. 
 
 JOHN S. MURPHY^ a representative 
 farmer of Dallas township, who is the owner 
 of 80 acres of land, was born in Springfield, 
 Fayette county. Pa., June 23, i860, but came 
 to Crawford county in 1866. His parents, 
 William H. and Elizabeth (King) ^Murphy, 
 were natives of Fayette county. Pa. 
 
 William H. Murphy was a blacksmith by 
 trade but in later years devoted his atten- 
 tion to farming. He was a Democrat in 
 politics and he and his wife belonged to the 
 U. B. church. They made their home with 
 their son, John S. Murphy, for ten years pre- 
 vious to their decease. William H. Murphy 
 lies buried in Nevada, Ohio, and his wnfe in 
 Scotsdale, Pa. They were the parents of 
 the following children: John S., whose name 
 heads this sketch ; Mary, the wife of Zeph. 
 Chance ; Frederick, deceased ; and Lula, the 
 wife of Arizona Carmean. 
 
 John S. Murphy received a common 
 school education in the schools of Craw- 
 ford county and at the age of 19 years be- 
 gan to learn the carpenter's trade and fol- 
 lowed that occupation for 21 years. He 
 still does some of this work, having quite 
 recently built for White Brothers what is 
 the largest barn in this county. !Mr. Mur- 
 phy's main interests, however, lie in his 
 farming, and he has met with success in his 
 endeavors in this line. Besides his general 
 farming he raises some stock, but only 
 enough for his own use. In 1900 when Mr. 
 :\Iurphy bought his farm it was covered 
 with woods and swamp and he has cleared 
 all the land and has also built his house and 
 
 barn. . . 
 
 In 1885, Mr. Murphy was united m mar- 
 riage with :Miss Lucinda Heinlen. She is 
 the daughter of Mathias and Elizabeth 
 (Bickel) Heinlen, who were very early set- 
 tlers in Crawford county, but who were na- 
 tives of Germany. Their children were, 
 
 namely : Elizabeth, the wife of A. E. Bollin- 
 ger ; John ; Samuel ; Lena, the wife of Byrou 
 Kent ; Frank D. ; Matilda, the wife of James 
 Johnston; ^klathias; and Lucinda, the wife 
 of the subject of this article. To Mr. and 
 'Sirs. John S. Murphy have been born chil- 
 dren who were named as follows : Eliza- 
 beth (Mrs. D. C. Lust); Charles; Dora, de- 
 ceased ; Lloyd, who met his death from the 
 kick of a horse; Frank, deceased; Cooler; 
 Lula, deceased; Roy, John, Thomas and 
 Stella. 
 
 ^Ir. Murphy is a Democrat in politics. 
 He and his family attend the U. B. Church. 
 He belongs to the F. & A. M. at Nevada, 
 Ohio. 
 
 CHARLES A. GUISS, civil engineer at 
 Bucyrus, O., and formerly county surveyor 
 of Crawford county, is numbered with the 
 reliable men of his profession in this section 
 and has satisfactorily completed every con- 
 tract he has undertaken. He was born at 
 Sulphur Springs, Crawford county, O., Aug. 
 24, 1878, and was two years old when his 
 parents moved to Chatfield township, where 
 he was reared. He is a son of John and 
 Susan (Fry) Guiss, who are highly re- 
 spected retired residents of New Washing- 
 ton. 
 
 The Guiss family is of German ancestry 
 and it was founded in Ohio by the grand- 
 father, Abraham Guiss, who came to Craw- 
 ford county prior to 1838 and secured a 
 large tract of land from the Government in 
 Cranberry township. As soon as he had 
 secured a home here he sent for his family 
 and it is said that his wife drove with chil- 
 dren and household goods, an ox-team, the 
 entire distance from Columbia county. Pa., 
 to Crawford county. O. She was a typical 
 pioneer woman, strong and resourceful, and 
 outlived her husband, dying at New Wash- 
 ington in extreme old age. They were mem- 
 bers of the German Lutheran church. 
 
 John Guiss, father of Charles A., was 
 born in Cranberry tow^nship, Crawford 
 county, where he was reared and lived for 
 some years after his marriage, when he 
 moved to West Liberty and later to Sulphur 
 Springs, engaging in mercantile pursuits 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 665 
 
 and was a member of the firm of Albert, Fry 
 & Co. Afterward he engag-ed in farming 
 in Chatfield township and served in numer- 
 ous township offices, elected to the same on 
 the Democratic ticket. He was township 
 clerk and trustee and also a justice of the 
 peace. He married Susan Fry, a daughter 
 of John Fry, who was born in Switzerland 
 and came in early manhood to Chatfield 
 township, securing Government 1 .nd on 
 which he lived until his death when aged 89 
 years. He married a member of the Helm 
 family, in Crawford county. Six children 
 were born t John and Susan Guiss, namely : 
 William H., who is a physician at Tiro, O. ; 
 Melville O., formerly auditor of the Bir- 
 mingham & Nevada Railroad and general 
 manager of the Georgia & Alabama Iron 
 Company, now located at Memphis, Tenn. ; 
 Ethie R., who is the wife of Frank Derr. of 
 New Washington ; Charles A. ; Warren G., 
 who is in the oil business at Tulsa, Okla. ; 
 and Maude R., who lives with her parents. 
 Charles A. Guiss was graduated in the 
 State University at Columbus, in the class 
 of 1905, with his Civil engineer degree and 
 afterward was appointed deputy county sur- 
 veyor of Lake county, O., under County 
 Surveyor J. C. Ward, and continued his 
 duties there for about one year and then 
 came to Bucyrus. He followed his profes- 
 sion privately from 1906 until 1907, when 
 he was elected county surveyor of Crawford 
 county and satisfactorily served out his 
 term, retiring then to give his entire atten- 
 tion to his personal business. He is a Dem- 
 ocrat in his political leanings and frater- 
 nally is identified with the Elks and the 
 Eagles, both of Bucyrus. 
 
 JOHN MEUSER, deceased, was identi- 
 fied with the Erie Railway for a number of 
 years, for 19 of these operating a freight 
 engine and for more than ten years being 
 a passenger train engineer. He was born 
 in Richland county, O., Dec. 31, 1842, and 
 his accidental death occurred, while in the 
 path of duty, Dec. 30, 1901, the direct result 
 of the explosion of an engine pipe. 
 
 John Peter Meuser, father of the late 
 
 John Meuser, was born in Prussia and 
 served in Napoleon's Army at the Battle of 
 Waterloo, in 181 5, receiving a medal for his 
 bravery, which is still in the possession of 
 the family. He afterward came to the 
 United States and settled in Richland coun- 
 ty, O., where he followed the cabinetmaking 
 trade. Late in life he came to Gallon, where 
 his death occurred Aug. 11, 1869, when he 
 was aged 79 years. He was twice married, 
 his first wife dying without issue. His sec- 
 ond wife, Cathei'ine Swain, was born in 
 Switzerland, in November, 1823, and was 
 brought to America by her parents in child- 
 hood. She died at Gallon in 1863, the 
 mother of nine children, eight of whom 
 grew up, six of whom married and three of 
 whom survive. 
 
 John Meuser was the eldest born of the 
 above family of children and remained in 
 Richland county until 1865, when he came 
 to Gallon, entering the Erie Railway service. 
 Through ability and fidelity he rapidly 
 gained promotion and enjoyed the confi- 
 dence of both his superiors and his asso- 
 ciates in business. It was while running the 
 Wells Fargo Express train on the Fourth 
 Division, between Marion and Caledonia, 
 O., that the accident occurred that cost this 
 brave and experienced man his life. He was 
 quite prominent in railway circles, and for 
 many years had been a member of the 
 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. He 
 was fraternally identified also with the Odd 
 Fellows. Politically he was a Democrat, 
 while in his religious connection he was 
 active in the First Lutheran Church. 
 
 On July II, 1869, Mr. Meuser was mar- 
 ried at Gallon to Miss L. Agnes Sheaffer, 
 who was born in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., Aug. 8, 1852, but has 
 been a resident of Gallon for 56 years and 
 owns the valuable property on which he 
 lives. Her parents were William W. and 
 Savilla (Albright) Sheafifer, the former of 
 whom was born in Dauphin county, Pa., 
 April 16, 1827, and died May 20, 1889. He 
 came to Whetstone township, March 17, 
 1850, in the following year was married to 
 Savilla Albright, who was born in Whet- 
 
366 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 stone township, June ii, 1833, and died No- 
 vember 29, 1884. Her parents were John 
 and Sarah (Sheaffer) Albright, who were 
 pioneers in Crawford county, from Penn- 
 sylvania. Two children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Meuser: Letta L., who is the wife 
 of R. C. Case, of Richwood, O. ; and Wil- 
 liam W., a fireman on the Erie Railroad, 
 lives at. Gallon, who married Virda Nelson. 
 Mrs. Meuser is very active in the First Eng- 
 lish Lutheran Church, to which her parents 
 also belonged, and is interested in the For- 
 eign Missionary Society. 
 
 JOHN M. LEITZY, whose well culti- 
 vated farm of 80 acres is located in Dallas 
 township, is a son of Francis and Hannah 
 (Smith) Leitzy. He was born in Holmes 
 township, Dec. 26, 1855. 
 
 Francis Leitzy was born in Germany but 
 canie to this country when young. His 
 father, also named Francis Leitzy, resided 
 in Crawford county at his death. Francis 
 Leitzy, Jr., upon his arrival in the U. S., se- 
 cured land and followed his occupation as a 
 farmer. He married Hannah Smith, a na- 
 tive of Columbiana county, Ohio, and they 
 had seven children, namely : Catherine, who 
 is the wife of George Strohm ; Rose Ann, the 
 wife of Philip Strohm; Mary, the wife of 
 Jacob Staiger; John M., our subject; Eliza- 
 beth, the wife of Frederick Schiefer; Wil- 
 liam ; and Joseph. He was a Democrat po- 
 litically and in religious faith, a Lutheran. 
 He is buried in Crawford county, Ohio. 
 
 John M. Leitzy since completing his edu- 
 cation has spent his life in farming. His 
 first experience in the cultivation of land 
 was obtained while working for his father, 
 with whom he continued until about 25 
 years of age. He then went to Bucyrus 
 township, Crawford county, and rented a 
 tract of land there. After five years spent 
 at that place he went to Tod township, 
 where he also rented land but before long 
 he returned to Bucyrus township. Seven 
 years ago he bought his present farm from 
 M. M. McBeth and he has here successfully 
 followed general farming since that time. 
 He also raises stock for his own use. 
 
 In February, 1881, Mr. Leitzy married 
 Miss Barbara Staiger. Her parents, John 
 and Rickey (Klink) Staiger, were promi- 
 nent farming people of Crawford county, 
 but are now deceased. Their children be- 
 sides Mrs. Leitzy were: Samuel; Joseph; 
 Lena, the wife of Robert Rice; Rickey, de- 
 ceased; Elizabeth and Mary, twins, the for- 
 mer the widow of Jacob Beller and the lat- 
 ter deceased; and Lydia, the wife of William 
 Roaker. 
 
 To Mr. "and Mrs. John M. Leitzy there 
 have been born the following children: 
 Frederick, a music teacher and dealer in 
 musical instruments ; Laura, who is the wife 
 of Clarence Shroll; Irvin G. and Corvin C, 
 twins ; and Richard F. 
 
 Mr. Leitzy is a Democrat and has served 
 his township on the school board and as 
 road supervisor. He with his family are at- 
 tendants of the Martin Luther Church. 
 
 CHARLES A. BEILHARZ, the leading 
 contractor in painting and decorating at 
 Bucyrus, O., has been a resident of this city 
 since boyhood, but was born in Republic 
 township, Seneca county, O., April 16, 1853, 
 a son of Dr. Wilham and Maria B. (Crock- 
 ett) Beilharz, and a grandson of Rev. John 
 P. Beilharz. 
 
 Rev. John P. Beilharz was born in 1795 
 and was educated in Germany and for many 
 years after coming to America served pas- 
 torates in the German Lutheran church in 
 Ohio. It is remembered that he preached 
 the impressive sermon at the laying of the 
 corner stone of the present old German 
 Lutheran church edifice at Bucyrus. He 
 died in Seneca county in May, 1867, aged 72 
 years, honored and esteemed to the end. 
 His remains are buried in Fremont, O. 
 
 William .Beilharz, son of Rev. William 
 and father of Charles A., was born in 1819, 
 in Germany, and was a child when his 
 parents came to America and they settled 
 in Birks county, Pennsylvania. He became 
 a dentist and prior to the Civil War prac- 
 ticed dentistry at Tiffin, O., and from there 
 came to Bucyrus and opened an office on 
 Sandusky Street, where he continued in his 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 667 
 
 profession for some years and then retired, 
 his death occurring June 23, 1899. He was 
 married in Seneca county to Maria B. 
 Crockett, who was born in Thomaston, 
 Maine, March 30, 1824, and was a child 
 "when her parents moved to Seneca county, 
 O., and settled in Eden township. She sur- 
 vived her husband, dying May 14, 1903, at 
 the age of 79 years. Dr. and Mrs. Beilharz 
 were members of the English Lutheran 
 church. They had three children : Charles 
 A. ; Anna, who is the wife of F. L. Ingman, 
 a merchant, farmer and real estate dealer in 
 Iowa ; and Cassius M., who was accidentally 
 killed at Columbus, O., Aug. 29, 1891, while 
 attending to his duties of conductor, on the 
 T. & O. C. Railway. His widow, Henrietta 
 Beilharz, died June 20, 1900. 
 
 Charles A. Beilharz was educated in the 
 Bucyrus schools and learned his trade under 
 the supervision and direction of Samuel 
 Welsh, who was a very competent man in 
 his line. For 25 years Mr. Beilharz has been 
 engaged in contracting in painting and deco- 
 rating and has had important work to do 
 with both public and private buildings and 
 his judgment is pretty apt to be asked when 
 any work of especial magnitude is contem- 
 plated. 
 
 Mr. Beilharz was married to Miss Ella M. 
 Choate, who was born at Napoleon, Henry 
 county, O., a daughter of Col. William A. 
 and Rosina (McGill) Choate. Colonel 
 Choate was killed in battle while leadinp- his 
 regiment during the Civil War. In politics 
 Mr. Beilharz, like his late father, is a Re- 
 publican. He is identified with the Elks and 
 since 1883 has been a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 PERRY CHALMERS FULTON, a 
 highly respected retired resident of Bucyrus, 
 O., is a member of one of the early families 
 of this city, in which he was born, Dec. 26, 
 1849. His parents were Andrew and Eliza- 
 beth Harper (Scott) Fulton. 
 
 Andrew Fulton was born in Stark county, 
 O., in 1820, where he lived until 21 years of 
 age and then came to Bucyrus. Here he. fol- 
 lowed the cabinetmaker's trade, which in- 
 
 cluded the manufacturing of furniture, by 
 hand, and the making of coffins. Many of 
 the latter were constructed of walnut and as 
 they were usually ordered after the death of 
 an individual, it was no unusual thing for 
 Mr. Fulton to work sometimes the entire 
 night fashioning the last receptacles for the 
 dead, polishing and making them as attract- 
 ive as possible. For some ten years he was 
 in partnership with his brother, David Ful- 
 ton, but in 1863 David went into the gro- 
 cery business and Andrew became sole pro- 
 prietor of the former concern, but died in 
 the following year, on Nov. 13, 1864. He 
 married Elizabeth Harper Scott, a daughter 
 of Wilson Scott. She was born in West- 
 moreland county. Pa., in 1826, and was only 
 two years old when her parents moved to 
 Crawford county, reaching Bucyrus on Dec. 
 25, 1828, and camping over night on what, 
 vvas then the village square. Shortly after- 
 ward Mr. Scott secured 300 acres of Gov- 
 ernment land in Whetstone township, on 
 which he erected a log cabin and there he 
 and family spent many years. Late in life, 
 when aged 75 years, he went to Springfield, 
 Mo., and afterward all record of him was 
 lost. Mrs. Fulton survived until Oct. 28, 
 1898, passing away at the age of 73 years. 
 Both she and husband were members of the 
 Presbyterian church. Five children made 
 up their family. Perry Chalmers being the 
 first born. Anna Z. married Fred Tipple 
 and they live at Youngstown, O., and have 
 a family of children. James T. went out to 
 Fairbanks, Alaska, but his wife and daugh- 
 ter have not yet joined him. Estella E. died 
 at the age of 18 months. Andrew D. resides 
 with his wife and two sons at Somerville, 
 Mass. 
 
 Perry Chalmers Fulton attended the pub- 
 lic schools of Bucyrus and all his subsequent 
 business life has been passed here and since 
 June, 1888, he has been connected with the 
 T. & O. C. Railroad. He was married at 
 Bucyrus, Sept. 20, 1888, to Miss Mary 
 Heller, who was born in 1840, and died at 
 Bucyrus, Sept. 11, 191 1. She was a daugh- 
 ter of Jacob D. and Margaret (Daniel) 
 Heller. For some years she was connected 
 
668 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 with the U. B. church, but later became a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
 at Bucyrus and was always actively inter- 
 ested in its mission and charitable work. 
 Mr. Fulton has four children, namely : 
 Chalmers C, who resides with his wife, son 
 and daug-hter, at Bethlehem, Pa. ; Blanche 
 Estella, who married Homer Eggleston and 
 they live at Chicago, 111., and have one 
 daughter; Wesley J., who resides with his 
 family at Cardington, O. ; and Harvey Wil- 
 liams, who is in business at Dubuque, O. 
 Politically, Mr. Fulton is somewhat inde- 
 pendent but nominally a Republican, and is 
 connected fraternally with the order of For- 
 esters and Royal Home. 
 
 M. H. SCHILL, doing business under his 
 own name at New Washington, C, in the 
 clothing and gent's furnishing line, custom 
 tailor and representative of the Royal Tail- 
 ors, of Chicago, 111., is well known in this 
 part of Ohio and is a representative citizen 
 of New Washington. He was born Sept. 1 1, 
 1865, in Richland county, O., but was mainly 
 educated at Shelby, O. 
 
 Mr. Schill entered upon his business ca- 
 reer as a dry goods salesman, afterward 
 traveling for a firm for two and one-half 
 years through southern Ohio and West Vir- 
 ginia, and then went into the clothing busi- 
 ness and resided for the following seven 
 years at Shelby, being connected with the 
 Kennedy Clothing House. On Jan. 16, 1907, 
 he came to New Washington and here for 
 three years was manager for Kennedy-Robi- 
 son Company, of Shelby, on April 12, 191 1, 
 embarking in business for himself and his 
 trade name is Schill, the clothier. In addi- 
 tion to the stocks above mentioned, he 
 handles a fine line of suit cases and trunks, 
 having excellent business accommodations 
 on West Mansfield Street. Mr. Schill is 
 acknowledged to be a man of taste, skill and 
 practical knowledge in his special line and 
 attracts a very high class of patronage. 
 
 Mr. Schill was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 Fabian, who was born at Galion, O. They 
 are members of the Roman Catholic church. 
 Mr. Schill is identified with the Knights of 
 
 Columbus, Mansfield Council; with the 
 Eagles, at Shelby, O., and C. K. of O., of the 
 same city. 
 
 JOHN W. LOOMIS, a well remembered 
 educator in several sections of Ohio, has 
 been a resident of Bucyrus since 1904, when 
 he became connected with the U. S. Railway 
 mail service and at present is a railway 
 postal clerk on the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 between Crestline, O., and Chicago, 111. He 
 was born in Seneca county, O., in 1871, and 
 is a son of George and Susan C. (Beery) 
 Loomis. 
 
 The Loomis family is of New England 
 ancestry but has been established in the 
 State of Ohio for about 100 years. Reuel 
 Loomis was one of the early colonists from 
 Connecticut to settle in the Northwest Ter- 
 ritory and secured land in Sandusky county 
 shortly after Ohio became a State. In 1820 
 he moved to Tiffin and was one of the pio- 
 neer farmers of Seneca county. There his 
 son, Wildman Loomis, grandfather of John 
 W. Loomis of Bucyrus, was reared, his birth 
 having taken place in 1819 in Sandusky 
 county. He died on his farm in Eden town- 
 ship, Seneca county, when aged 83 years. 
 He was intensely loyal to the Union and 
 when civil war was precipitated entered the 
 Federal Army, accompanied by his son 
 George, and served as corporal of Co. B, 
 164th O. Vol. Inf., throughout a full term of 
 enlistment. 
 
 George Loomis was born in Seneca coun- 
 ty, O., in April, 1841, and died at Hicksville, 
 O., in 1905. He engaged in farming through 
 most of his active period and was well 
 known in his native state. He married 
 Susan C. Beery, who was born in April, 1847 
 and died at Hicksville, O., in 1892. They 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Their children were seven in num- 
 ber, as follows : John W. ; Mary C, who is 
 the wife of Noah Ames, residing at Hicks- 
 ville, O., and they have two children — Rich- 
 ard D. and Rachael N. ; Ella E., who died 
 unmarried at the age of twenty-two years; 
 H. Edward, who is engaged in the harness- 
 making business at Hicksville, married there 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 669 
 
 Ruby Coburn and they have three daugh- 
 ters — Susan L., Lulu M. and Alma L. ; 
 James W., who died in infancy; Lula M., 
 who died when aged seven years ; and Laura 
 E., who died in infancy. 
 
 John W. Loomis enjoyed excellent educa- 
 tional advantages in youth and early man- 
 hood, attending school both in Seneca and 
 Wyandot counties and completing the scien- 
 tific course at the National Normal Univer- 
 sity, at Lebanon, O. For some ten subse- 
 quent j^ears he taught school in Defiance 
 and Henry counties and for some time was 
 at the head of the schools of Florida, O., 
 and was jprincipal of the Hicksville High 
 School. After two years of travel in the 
 South he was connected for a few years 
 with the circulating department of the 
 Bucyrus Journal and Daily Telegraph. For 
 the past eight years as mentioned above, 
 Mr. Loomis has been in the Government 
 service. 
 
 Mr. Loomis was married at Bucyrus in 
 January, 1908, to Miss Maude May Minton, 
 who was born in 1881, at Bradford, O., 
 where she attended school and later per- 
 fected herself in music at Ada, O. She is 
 a daughter of Ellis and Bertha (Burt) Min- 
 ton, natives of Ohio and Kentucky, respect- 
 ively, and a granddaughter of Dr. Henry 
 Harrison and Elizabeth (Shellenbarger) 
 Minton. Dr. Minton was a prominent 
 physician at Bradford, where he practiced 
 for 32 years. Mrs. Loomis has one sister. 
 Alma G., who is supervisor of drawing and 
 music in the New Comerstown schools, in 
 Tuscarawas county, O. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loomis have one daughter, Grace Isabel, 
 who was born Sept. 6, 1910. They are 
 members of the Presbyterian church. In 
 politics Mr. Loomis is a Republican and 
 fraternally he belongs to Demas Lodge No. 
 108, Knights of Pythias. 
 
 H. O. DUTTER, manager of the 
 Bucyrus Telephone Company, a prosperous 
 business concern of Bucyrus, O., was born 
 at Garrettsville, Portage county, O., Jan. 
 16, 1873. 
 
 In 1891 Mr. Dutter was graduated from 
 
 the Garretsville High School, after which 
 he gave two years to electrical study and 
 practice at Athens, O., which prepared him 
 to fill a position of some responsibility in 
 the electrical engineering department of 
 the Electric Light and Power Company, of 
 that city. From 1893 until 1896 he was 
 connected with the Light and Power Com- 
 pany at Delphos, O., and from then until 
 1901 was superintendent of the Clyde, O., 
 Light and Power Company and for one 
 year was also city engineer there and after 
 that occupied a similar position with a 
 municipal plant at Bryan. From 1902 until 
 1905 he was superintendent of the gas de- 
 partment, with the Peoples Gas and Elec- 
 trical Company, at Defiance, O. In 1906 
 he was connected for some time with the 
 Light and Power Company at Alliance, O., 
 coming from there to Bucyrus, where he 
 became superintendent of the Light and 
 Power Company of this city, assuming the 
 management of the present company in 
 October, 1910. The Bucyrus Telephone 
 Company was incorporated in 1898, with an 
 authorized capital of $150,000. Its ofiScers 
 are: Dr. J. A. Chesnes, president; H. S. 
 Blair, vice president; A. D. Stoltz, secre- 
 tary and treasurer, the board of directors 
 including the officers and three additional 
 capitalists : Benjamin Shearer, J. Wentz 
 and E. Blair. The company operates 1000 
 automatic telephones and 500 farm tele- 
 phones and they also have long distance 
 connection with the Bell and Independent 
 companies. Constant employment is given 
 to twenty people. This is one of the most 
 successful local enterprises of this section. 
 Mr. Dutter was married at Delphos, O., 
 to Miss Katherine Florence Mahoney, who 
 was born and educated there. Mr. Dutter 
 is a Knight Templar Mason, belonging to 
 the Commandery at Marion, O., and to the 
 minor branches at Bucyrus. He belongs 
 to the Knights of Pythias at Defiance, O., 
 and is past chancellor of Clyde Lodge No. 
 146, Clyde, O. ; to the Elks, at Bucyrus ; to 
 the Maccabees at Defiance, O.; and is a 
 member of the American Gas Institute and 
 an associate member of the American Insti- 
 
670 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tute of Electrical Eng-ineers. Mr. Dutter 
 is a busy, practical, competent man and is 
 valued as a citizen. 
 
 ISRAEL ULMER, one of the represent- 
 ative farmers and good citizens of Craw- 
 ford county, who owns a fine farm in 
 Bucyrus township, in partnership with his 
 brother, William Ulmer, containing 113 
 acres, was born in Crawford county, March 
 18, 1853, and is a son of Adam and Cather- 
 ine (Bahler) Ulmer. 
 
 Adam Ulmer and wife were born in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, and they came 
 when young to Crawford county, married 
 here and had the following children : John, 
 William, Minnie, Israel and Mary. The 
 father of the. above family died in 1856 and 
 in i860 the mother married Henry Miller 
 and they moved to Henry county, O. They 
 had four children : Sophia, Jacob, Pauline 
 and Margaret. 
 
 Israel Ulmer obtained his education in 
 the public schools and afterward learned 
 the carpenter trade which he followed for 
 five years, all the rest of his mature life 
 having been spent as a farmer. In 1884 he 
 was married to Miss Mary Steiger, a 
 daughter of George G. and Magdalena 
 (Stohm) Steiger. The parents of Mrs. 
 Ulmer were farmers in Holmes township 
 where the father still lives, the mother be- 
 ing now deceased. Of their family of chil- 
 dren, Mrs. Ulmer was the second born, the 
 others being: Charles; Magdalena, wife of 
 Charles Unger; George Emanuel; David; 
 Moses; Emma, wife of Noah Lust; and 
 Martha, wife of Warren Dinnenger; Philip; 
 and Amelia, the wife of Casper Meyer. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Ulmer the following 
 children have been born: George F. ; 
 Emma, who is the wife of Arthur Luke and 
 has two children — Clinton and Leola ; and 
 Minnie, Otto, Milo, and Eunice. Mr. Ulmer 
 and family attend the German Lutheran 
 church. The Ulmers have always been 
 stanch in their support of the Democratic 
 party. Mr. Ulmer has served three years 
 as school director, taking much interest in 
 school matters in his township and in every 
 
 other way performing his duties as a re- 
 sponsible and reliable citizen. 
 
 HENRY A. BARTH, who is a member 
 of the business firm of William F. Earth 
 and Brother, barbers, at Bucyrus, O., is a 
 prominent Democratic politician of Craw- 
 ford county and is serving in the office of 
 city auditor. He was born in Chatfield 
 township, Crawford county, O., Aug. 4, 
 1862, and is a son of Frederick and Cather- 
 ine (Boll) Barth, who reared a family of 
 seven children. The father was born in 
 Germany and when he came to Ohio settled 
 on a farm in Chatfield township. His death 
 occurred in 1882. 
 
 Henry A. Barth was reared on his 
 father's farm and was educated in the 
 country schools. In 1880 he came to 
 Bucyrus and here learned his business and 
 in association with his brother, condticts a 
 large establishment. He has been for years 
 an active, interested and reliable citizen, 
 served one term as a member of the city 
 council representing the Third Ward, and in 
 1907 was elected city auditor. He is an 
 officer in the National Union and is a mem- 
 ber of the Barbers' Union and is treasurer 
 of the local organization. 
 
 Mr. Barth married Miss Amanda E. 
 Orthwein, a daughter of Jeremiah Orth- 
 wein, of Crawford county, and they have 
 two daughters: Stella V. and Helen R. 
 They reside at No. 325 S. Spring Street, 
 Bucyrus, and they attend the German 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 JOHN WEIRICK, a retired farmer and 
 highly respected citizen of Whetstone 
 township, where he owns 218 acres of valu- 
 able land, was born at Perrysville, Rich- 
 land county, O., June 6, 1840, and is a son 
 of Levi and Elizabeth (Broner) Weirick. 
 
 Levi Weirick and wife were both born in 
 Union county. Pa., both came to Ohio 
 when young and both died in Crawford 
 county, where their burial took place. By 
 trade he was a chair maker and he followed 
 the same all his life. In early days he was 
 a Whig but later identified himself with the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 671 
 
 Republican party. Both he and wife be- 
 longed to the United Brethren church. To 
 them the following children were born: 
 Charles H., who is deceased; Mary, who is 
 the widow of John Smith ; John ; Margaret ; 
 Clarine, who is the wife of Henry Stein- 
 helfer; William and Sabina. 
 
 John Weirick attended school through 
 boyhood and then worked on farms by the 
 month until he was 21 years of age. The 
 Civil War was then in progress and with 
 many other patriotic young men of the 
 neighborhood, he entered the Union Army, 
 enlisting in Co. C, 23rd O. Vol. Inf., in 
 which he served for three years, receiving 
 his honorable discharge at Cumberland, 
 Md., in January, 1865. He saw hard serv- 
 ice and in addition to participating in the 
 wearying marches and many skirmishes, he 
 took part in such important battles as 
 South Mountain, Antietam and Cedar 
 Creek. After the close of the war, Mr. 
 Weirick came to Crawford county, O., with 
 the intention of securing farm land and es- 
 tablishing a permanent home. For the first 
 seven years he rented land and then pur- 
 chased his first 100 acres of his present farm 
 and later added 118 acres more and for 
 many years carried on his agricultural in- 
 dustries by himself but now these responsi- 
 bilities are carried by his son. General 
 farming, including the raising of a good 
 grade of stock, occupies the attention of 
 Mr. Weirick. 
 
 In 1867, John Weirick was married to 
 his cousin. Miss Matilda Weirick, who is a 
 daughter of Aaron and Margaret (Clark) 
 Weirick, substantial farming people of 
 Whetstone township who had the follow- 
 ing children: Harriet, who is the wife of 
 Hiram Anton; Matilda; Lucinda, who is 
 the wife of William Miller; Clark M.; 
 Charles; Mary Ann, who is the wife of 
 Hiram Trautman; Nancy Jane, who is the 
 wife of Henry Tate; and Catherine, who is 
 the wife of John Brubaker. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Weirick have had the fol- 
 lowing children: Catherine Irene, who is 
 the wife of Charles D. Wise, and has one 
 son, Clyde DeWitt; Charles, who died at 
 
 the age of two years; Edna Viola, who is 
 the wife of James Heinlen and has three 
 children — Hilda, Mildred and Iva; Horace, 
 who married Ella Hilliss, and has one son, 
 Neal; Levi, who married Emma Bonner, 
 and has two children — Ivan and Harold; 
 Alberta, who is the wife of Simon Roberts; 
 Margaret, who lives at home; and Ida, who 
 is the wife of Charles I. Wise, and has two 
 children — Eugene and Geraldine. The pa- 
 ternal grandparents of both Mr. and Mrs. 
 Weirick were Henry and Mary Weirick. 
 During his active years, Mr. Weirick 
 served usefully in a number of local offices 
 and was school director and road super- 
 visor and for two terms was constable. 
 He is a man of pronounced temperance 
 principles and votes with the Prohibition 
 party. Both he and family have long been 
 active members of the United Brethren 
 church and they are all people who stand 
 very high in the esteem of their neighbors 
 and fellow citizens. 
 
 GEORGE W. NEUMANN, carpenter 
 contractor, is a well known business man 
 of Bucyrus, O., of which city he has been 
 a resident for 27 years. He was born in 
 Polk township, Crawford county, O., June 
 14, 1855, and is a son of George and Mary 
 (House) Neumann. 
 
 George Neumann was born at Berlin, 
 Germany, in 1824, and his wife at the same 
 place in 1822 and both died on their farm 
 in Tully township, Marion county, O., he 
 in 1892 and she in 1881. They came to 
 America in 1850, with their first two chil- 
 dren, Peter and Elizabeth, landed at New 
 York and from there moved to Polk town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O. There four 
 more children were born — George W., 
 Mary, Henry J. and Jacob R., four of the 
 family still surviving. 
 
 George W. Neumann was young when 
 his parents moved to Marion county and 
 there he was reared and attended a local 
 school in boyhood, afterward learning the 
 carpenter trade. In 1885 he came to 
 Bucyrus and here has continued to be act- 
 ively engaged in business ever since. He 
 
672 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 is a skilled workman and has been con- 
 cerned in the erection of many of the sub- 
 stantial structures of this city and vicinity. 
 In 1889. Mr. Neumann was married to 
 Miss Laura Lowmiller, who was born at 
 Bucyrus and is a daughter of Daniel and 
 Louisa (Kiefer) Lowmiller, and a grand-, 
 daughter of Adam Lowmiller. The latter 
 was of German parentage but was born in 
 Pennsylvania in 1808 and died at Bucyrus 
 in 1889. Daniel Lowmiller, father of Mrs. 
 Neumann, was born in Pennsylvania in 
 1838 and came to Ohio in early manhood. 
 In 1861 he enlisted for service in the Civil 
 War, entering the First 111. Bat. I. Light 
 Artillery, and served until the close of the 
 Rebellion. He participated in many battles 
 and in every situation displayed true cour- 
 age and patriotic spirit. After the war he 
 came to Crawford county and married here 
 and resided at Bucyrus until his death in 
 1896. The mother of Mrs. Neumann is a 
 well known resident of Bucyrus. She was 
 born in one of the Rhine provinces, Ger- 
 many, in 1842, and was nine years old when 
 her people came to Crawford county. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Neumann have four children: 
 Bessie Irene, born October 18, 1889; Mar- 
 tha Mildred, born July 7, 1896; Louise 
 EHzabeth, born March 26, 1901 ; and 
 George William, born July 30, 1908. Mr. 
 Neumann and family are members of the 
 German Lutheran church. In his political 
 views, Mr. Neumann denominates himself 
 an independent Democrat. 
 
 FRANKLIN ADAMS. Among the force- 
 ful and sterling citizens of Crawford county 
 who in recent years have passed to the Great 
 Beyond was he whose name begins this brief 
 notice. He was born at Alstead, N. H., Nov. 
 16, 1 81 3, a son of John and Susanna (Morse) 
 Adams. His paternal grandfather, Nathan 
 Adams, was a native of Massachusetts and a 
 colonial soldier in the American Revolution. 
 The name of Adams stands prominently out 
 in American history and the family of which 
 our subject was a member is the some which 
 furnished two presidents to the United States, 
 while the eloquence of another representative 
 of the family inspired the Declaration of In- 
 
 dependence. The Morse family to which Mr. 
 Adams' mother belonge'd has also been con- 
 spicuous in Bay State annals. The parents of 
 our subject were both born in Massachusetts. 
 They resided for some time in New Hamp- 
 shire, but in 1820 removed to Canadice, New 
 York, and thence to Michigan in 1836, in 
 which last named state both died. They had 
 four sons and five daughters. 
 
 Franklin Adams, after attending the com- 
 mon schools in early boyhood, entered an 
 academy at Middleburg, Wyoming county, N. 
 Y., and later continued his academic course in 
 Henrietta, Monroe county, N. Y. On attain- 
 ing his majority in 1834 he joined the general 
 trend of emigration westward, believing that 
 in a newer country he would find better op- 
 portunities of advancement. Settling in Ash- 
 land, Ohio, he made that place his home for 18 
 months, and it was while here that he began 
 the study of the law, under the direction of 
 Silas Robbins. He continued it subsequently 
 at Mansfield, Ohio, under James Purdy of 
 that city. At the July term of the Supreme 
 Court of Ohio, held in Bucyrus in 1836, Mr. 
 Adams was admitted to the bar and also li- 
 censed to practice by the District Court of the 
 United States, held in Columbus in 1839. 
 He began the practice of his profession at 
 Mansfield, in association with Mr. Purdy, his 
 preceptor, but on the loth of August, 1837, he 
 came to Bucyrus, of which place he subse- 
 quently remained a citizen until his death, 
 which took place on August i, 1909. From 
 1838 to 1845 he held the office of prosecuting 
 attorney, which was the only political office 
 ever held by him. From 1852 to 1854 he was 
 secretary and treasurer of the Ohio and Ift- 
 diana Railroad Company when it was first 
 built between Crestline, Ohio and Fort Wayne, 
 Ind., which road is now a part of the Penn- 
 sylvania Railway system. In politics he was 
 a stanch Democrat, but his undivided time and 
 attention were given to the practice of the 
 law and he never sought political preferment. 
 His character as a lawyer has been well 
 summed up in the following words : 
 
 "As a lawyer his has been a general prac- 
 tice, covering the usual variety of litigated in- 
 terests that make up the docket of nisiprius 
 courts in a country town. To chancery he 
 has given special attention, especially to the 
 
FRANKLIN ADAMS 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 675 
 
 administration of estates. He accomplished 
 much toward settlement of cases outside of 
 the courtroom. He has always advised com- 
 promises rather than settlement of difficulties 
 in the courts. In early days it was not un- 
 usual for disputants to bring before him their 
 respective grievances for arbitration, and thus 
 he became in the best sense counsel for both 
 parties, and in fact took the part of counsel 
 and judge. An amiable disposition, unques- 
 tioned integrity, unfailing tact, insight into 
 human nature and regard for equity as well 
 as law, enabled him to solve hundreds of dif- 
 ficulties and restore the relations of friendship 
 and confidence between men who had become 
 antagonistical over some point and were in- 
 clined to ruinous litigation. Always a stu- 
 dent, always thorough, and ever exact, Mr. 
 Adams has long held the reputation of being a 
 learned and able lawyer, accurate and exact 
 in his pleadings, alert in trial, logical and con- 
 vincing in argument." 
 
 Mr. Adams might well have been called the 
 Nestor of the Crawford county bar. At a 
 banquet tendered him by the bench and bar of 
 Crawford county at the time he had completed 
 his 70th anniversary as a lawyer he receiyed 
 from his professional associates and towns- 
 men- most complimentary and eulogistic ex- 
 pressions of their appreciation of his ability, 
 of his devotion to duty and of his character 
 as a man, among the principal speakers being 
 Col. Wilson C. Lemert. The proceedings 
 were published in pamphlet form making some 
 forty or more pages. 
 
 Mr. Adams was not only a lawyer of marked 
 ability, he was also an able business man. He 
 acquired a large amount of agricultural prop- 
 erty and had a beautiful home, with spacious 
 and well cared for grounds near the public 
 square in the heart of the city. He was never 
 married but left his large estate to Miss 
 Elizabeth Ostermier. It was about 1870 that 
 Miss Ostermeir became acquainted with Mr. 
 Adams. She was then employed at the Sims 
 Hotel (now the Deal House), where Mr. 
 Adams was living at that time. He was at- 
 tracted by her agreeable manners, her kind- 
 ness, and the efficient way in which she per- 
 formed her duties and soon made her an ofifer 
 to become his managing housekeeper, which 
 she accepted in 1878. She held this position 
 
 to the close of Mr. Adam's life and was as 
 faithful and efficient in it as she had been in 
 her duties at the hotel, and caring for him 
 tenderly in his last illness. As a reward for 
 this faithful service, he willed to her all his 
 valuable property in fee simple, and she has 
 since kept up and conducted the household in 
 the same neat and systematic manner that he 
 desired when living. Miss Ostermier is a 
 woman of natural refinement as well as busi- 
 ness and administrative ability and those who 
 know her best feel that she has met with a well 
 deserved reward. 
 
 Mr. Adams was a member of the Inde- 
 pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being in fact 
 a charter member of La Salle Lodge, of Bu- 
 cyrus. As a man his life was irreproachable 
 and at his demise there were many to mourn his 
 loss. 
 
 F. C. McGAUGHY, D. D. S., one of the 
 leading professional men of Gallon, who for 
 14 years has been engaged in the practice 
 of dentistry in this city, was born April 4, 
 1875, in Chesterville, Morrow county, Ohio. 
 He is a son of Hugh P. and Hannah L. 
 (Boner) McGaughy. 
 
 Hugh P. McGaughy was born in Penn- 
 sylvania and came to Morrow county, Ohio, 
 in early manhood, where he married, and 
 he and wife settled in Chester township, 
 where he engaged in farming and also 
 worked as a house carpenter. His death 
 occurred in 1910, at the age of 72 years, his 
 wife having passed away in 1904. He was 
 of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and was reared in 
 the Presbyterian faith. She was of Baptist 
 rearing, and her people were of Dutch and 
 Welsh extraction. 
 
 F. C. McGauhgy attended the public 
 schools in Chesterville, and then entered 
 The Ohio Medical University, at Colum- 
 bus, Ohio. The Ohio Medical University 
 has since been consolidated with The Star- 
 ling Medical College, to form The Starling 
 Ohio Medical Universitv- He was gradu- 
 ated from the dental department of said 
 university in the class of 1897. In the fol- 
 lowing year he came to Gallon, and has 
 built up a large and substantial practice. 
 He has a well equipped office, and keeps 
 
676 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 thoroughly abreast with the times in all 
 advancements in dental science. His resi- 
 dence is situated at No. 658 West Main 
 Street, Galiou. 
 
 Dr. McGaughy was married at Bucyrus, 
 Ohio, to Miss Eva A. Matthew, the only 
 daughter of Charles F. Matthews. She was 
 born at Bucyrus, in 1878, and was reared 
 and educated in her native city. Dr. and 
 Mrs. McGaughy are members of the Pres- 
 byterian Church. Professionally, Dr. Mc- 
 Gaughy is a member of The Central Ohio 
 Dental Society, component society of The 
 Ohio State Dental Society, and fraternally 
 is a Mason and Knight of Pythias. 
 
 DAVID C. GAIBLER, whose valuable 
 farm of 134 acres is well cared for and is a 
 profitable property, situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford' county, O., was born 
 in Germany, January 19, 1869, and is a son 
 of Gottlieb and Frederica (Schaaf) Gaibler. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Gaibler lived in Ger- 
 many until 1887, when they followed David 
 C. Gaibler to Ohio, and for six months lived 
 at Bucyrus. Gottlieb Gaibler and wife then 
 moved to Frontier county, Nebr., and there 
 the latter died in 1909, after which Mr. 
 Gaibler went to Oregon for several years 
 and then rettirned to his Nebraska farm. 
 His children were: Christian; David C. ; 
 Mary, wife of Christian Schurr, Gottlieb, 
 Pauline, Frederica and Nina. 
 
 David C. Gaibler attended the public 
 schools in Germany and afterward learned 
 and worked at the carpenter trade. He was 
 the first one of the family to come to 
 America, which was in 1884, and since then 
 he has engaged in farm work to the exclu- 
 sion of everything else. He purchased his 
 present farm from the heirs of his mother- 
 in-law, Mrs. Elizabeth (Kerr) Sennet, who 
 was born and spent her life on this place. 
 Mr. Gaibler carries on all kinds of farm 
 activities and is prosperous. 
 
 In January, 1896, Mr. Gaibler was mar- 
 ried to Miss Jennie Sennet, a daughter of 
 Elias and Elizabeth (Kerr) Sennet, the for- 
 mer of whom was born in Pennsylvania and 
 now resides with his children. The mother 
 
 of Mrs. Gaibler died Dec. 29, 1896. Mrs. 
 Gaibler has four sisters and one brother: 
 Sadie, wife of Dennis Miller; William; 
 Rosa; Delia, wife of David Gulp; and 
 Daisy. The grandparents were Oliver and 
 Elizabeth (Wooster) Sennet. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gaibler attend the Methodist Episco- 
 pal church. He is a Democrat in his po- 
 litical opinions, but takes no very active 
 part in politics, being a practical, hard- 
 working farmer and no seeker for office. 
 
 JOHN W. BIRK, M. D., was born in 
 Crawford county, Ohio, March 3, 1874, a 
 son of Christian F. and Martha S. (Volk) 
 Birk. He is a grandson of John G. Birk, 
 a native of Wurtemburg, Germany, who 
 came to the United States in 1845. After 
 residing for a time in Albany, N. Y., John 
 G. Birk removed to Tuscarawas county, 
 Ohio; but he did not remain there long, as 
 in 1847 he came to Bucyrus, where he es- 
 tablished a harness making business, which 
 he carried on for many years and which is 
 still flourishing. He became a prominent 
 citizen and served as treasurer of Crawford 
 county from 1874 to 1876. His death took 
 place Nov. 10, 1888. 
 
 In 185 1 he married Miss Joanna Kuhn, 
 who was also a native of Germany and a 
 representative of one of the pioneer fam- 
 ilies of Crawford county, her people having 
 come to this section of Ohio in 1836. She 
 died in October, 1893, having attained the 
 age of 65 years. In their family were the 
 following children: Christian F., father of 
 Dr. John W. Birk; George M., who is en- 
 gaged in the drug business with his brother, 
 Christian; Emanuel R., who is now propri- 
 etor of the harness shop established by his 
 father and is doing a very extensive busi- 
 ness ; Lewis C, who is foreman in the har- 
 ness store ; and Elizabeth, wife of F. P. 
 Donnenwirth, a retired citizen of Bucy- 
 rus, O. 
 
 Christian F. Birk was educated in the 
 common schools of Bucyrus, which he at- 
 tended until he was 14 years of age. He 
 then began assisting his father in the har- 
 ness shop, where he mastered the business, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 677 
 
 which he mastered in all its details. For 
 several years he was a partner with his 
 father in the enterprise, which was carried 
 on under the firm name of J. G. Birk & Son. 
 For 53 years the business has been contin- 
 ued as the Birk's Harness Store, and is one 
 of the most successful commercial institu- 
 tions of the city, being now conducted by 
 two of the sons of J. G. Birk, as above in- 
 timated. 
 
 In 1892 Christian F. Birk, in connection 
 with his younger brother, G. M. Birk, es- 
 tablished a drug store, which they are still 
 conducting. They carry a large and well 
 assorted stock of goods and conduct their 
 business so as to retain their patrons and 
 build up their trade. Their sales are con- 
 stantly increasing and the proprietors en- 
 joy a good income. Christian F. Birk is 
 also connected with the Board of Trade. 
 In Bucyrus, in 1873, he was married to Miss 
 Bertha S. Volk, a daughter of William F. 
 Volk, who came to Crawford county about 
 60 years ago. They had three children — 
 John W., Carrie Elizabeth and Edna, of 
 whom Carrie E. is the wife of G. W. Kerr, 
 of Wrightsville, Pa., and Edna, at one time 
 a teacher in the public schools, is now the 
 wife of Otho Kennedy. Mrs. Christian F. 
 Birk died Aug. 10, 1898, a month after her 
 son, John W., had sailed for Cuba on mili- 
 tary service and while he was on the island. 
 
 Mr. Christian F. Birk is connected with 
 the Knights of Pythias fraternity and with 
 the Benevolent and Protective Order of 
 Elks. He belongs to .the German Lutheran 
 church and in politics is a stalwart Demo- 
 crat. When only 23 years of age he was 
 elected to the city council and after an in- 
 terval he was chosen, in 1896, for a second 
 term of two years. He served as city mar- 
 shal from 1884 until 1890 and in the latter 
 year entered upon a four years term as 
 county sheriff. His fellow townsmen con- 
 ferred upon him the highest honor within 
 their power when in 1898 he was elected 
 mayor of Bucyrus, and two years later they 
 again called him to the same position, a fact 
 which indicates how faithfully he had 
 served them, his administration being prac- 
 
 tical, progressive and beneficial. His pub- 
 lic career has been epitomized as follows : 
 "Public spirited, he has withheld his sup- 
 port from no measure that he believes will 
 promote the welfare and substantial ad- 
 vancement of Bucyrus, and his discrimi- 
 nating mind enables him to judge correctly 
 of the value to the city of any measure in- 
 troduced. Over the record of his public 
 life and private career there falls no shadow 
 of wrong or suspicion of evil, and he is rich 
 in those qualities which win and retain per- 
 sonal friendships." 
 
 John W. Birk, the direct subject of this 
 article, was educated in the common 
 schools. He graduated from College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons, University of Illi- 
 nois, in 1901. Previous to this, however, 
 he had seen military service, being first 
 lieutenant in Company A, Eighth O. Vol. 
 Inf., during the Spanish-American War, 
 and was present at the surrender of San- 
 tiago. He began the practice of medicine 
 in 1903, locating in Bucyrus in that year. 
 He was united in marriage to Miss Mar- 
 garet Curtis, who is a daughter of Dr. Geo. 
 Curtis of Hawley, Pa., and the family con- 
 sists of one child, Margaret H. Dr. Birk 
 and his family are now residents of Chi- 
 cago, 111. He belongs to the Masons and 
 the Elks. 
 
 WESLEY SAMUEL COOK, who car- 
 ries on general farming and stock raising 
 to some extent in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., has 114 acres of well 
 cultivated land, this being the old home- 
 stead on which he was born, June 8, 1879. 
 He is a son of Jacob and ElizalDeth (Mutch- 
 ler) Cook. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Cook were both born 
 in Lycoming county, Pa., and both married 
 twice. The first wife of Jacob Cook was 
 Mary Kiess and she was survived by the 
 following children : Philip, Lena, wife of 
 Amos Meek and Mary, wife of Joseph Wag- 
 ner. His second marriage was to Mrs. 
 Elizabeth (Mutchler) Walter and Wesley 
 Samuel was the only child born to this 
 union. To her first marriage Mrs. Cook 
 
678 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 had three children, namely: Elmer; Addie, 
 who was twice married, first to a Mr. Ball 
 and second to John Cook ; and Emma, who 
 is the wife of Joseph Steinhilfer. Jacob 
 Cook died on this farm Feb. 17, 1907, on 
 which he had lived for many years. Polit- 
 ically he was a Democrat. Both he and 
 wife attended the Evangelical church, to 
 which his son also belongs. 
 
 Wesley Samuel Cook obtained his edu- 
 cation in the township schools and has al- 
 ways lived on the homestead, which he 
 owns, subject to his mother's dower right. 
 On June 8, 1904, he was married to Miss 
 Bessie Kelley, a daughter of Walker and 
 Hannah (Albright) Kelley, who live re- 
 tired at Bucyrus. Mrs. Cook has one 
 brother and one sister, Clarence and Hat- 
 tie, the latter of whom is the wife of Ernest 
 Steifel. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have three 
 bright boys, Robert, Carson and Richard, 
 who will be carefully reared and well edu- 
 cated. Mr. and Mrs. Cook are Christian 
 people, belonging to the Evangelical body. 
 A Democrat, like his late father, Mr. Cook 
 votes for his party's candidates in National 
 afifairs but in local elections uses his own 
 good judgment. 
 
 FOREST R. McFARLAND, who, for 
 the past eleven years has been a railway 
 mail clerk for the U. S. Government, on the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad between Pittsburg, 
 Pa., and Chicago, 111., in which connection 
 he has proved himself a dependable and ef- 
 ficient official, was born in Champaign 
 county, O., April 11, 1876, and is a son of 
 Robert I. and Agnes (Baker) McFarland. 
 
 The McFarlands were originally of Scot- 
 land and in about 1650 the branch from 
 which Forest R. McFarland came, moved 
 into Ireland, and in 1740 the first represen- 
 tative came to America. This ancestor lo- 
 cated first in Virginia and from there went 
 into Kentucky as a pioneer. Rev. Robert 
 McFarland, the great-grandfather of our 
 subject, was born in Rockbridge county, 
 Va., March 7, 1782, and moved to Kentucky 
 with his parents in 1796. He became wide- 
 ly known as a Methodist missionary and he. 
 
 with several other families, came to Ohio 
 under the guidance of Gen. Simon Kenton, 
 the noted Indian fighter, in 1807, and began 
 his ministry here among the Indian settle- 
 ments on the Mad River and was closely as- 
 sociated with those days of pioneer struggle 
 and hardship in this now peaceful valley. 
 He lived until 1864, having been born in 
 1782. For a long time his cabin was his 
 church but later Concord Chapel, which 
 still stands, was erected, and there he ex- 
 pounded Methodist doctrine for many 
 years and ministered up and down the val- 
 ley to all who needed spiritual help or in- 
 struction. 
 
 John McFarland, son of Rev. Robert, was 
 born February 18, 1824, and spent his life' 
 within one mile of his birthplace and fol- 
 lowed agricultural pursuits. His death oc- 
 curred May 7, 1895. For years he was an 
 official in the Methodist Episcopal church 
 and for thirty of these was the leader of 
 the church choir. In his native county he 
 married Sarah Ann Gibbs, who was possi- 
 bly born in Kentucky, in 1826, and died in 
 1883. Of their five children there are four 
 survivors, namely: Robert I.; William, 
 who is manager of a hotel, at Columbus, O., 
 who formerly was a school teacher; Eliza- 
 beth, who is the wife of Luther Myers, of 
 Columbus, and has one daughter; and 
 Harry L., who is engaged in the life insur- 
 ance business at Chattanooga, Tenn. 
 
 Robert I. McFarland, son of John and 
 father of Forest R. McFarland, was born 
 August 23, 1850, on- the old Mad River 
 Valley farm, in Champaign County, O., 
 where he continued to reside and followed 
 agricultural pursuits until some five years 
 since, when he retired to Bucyrus, where he 
 still lives. For a number of years he filled 
 township offices and gave his political sup- 
 port to the Republican party. Mr. McFar- 
 land has always been known as an upright 
 man and good citizen. He married Agnes 
 Baker, who was born near Natural Bridge, 
 Rockbridge county, Va., Dec. 30, 1847. 
 Her father, Isaac Baker, brought his family 
 to Ohio when she was quite young and for 
 ten years they lived in Allen county and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 679 
 
 then moved into Champaign county, where 
 he died in 1902, after passing his 91st birth- 
 day, having been born in 181 1, of Swiss- 
 German parentage. The mother of Mrs. 
 McFarland died in middle age. Both par- 
 ents were members of the German Re- 
 formed church. At the time of death, Mr. 
 Baker was one of the oldest Democrats in 
 Champaign county and was a well known 
 man. 
 
 Forest R. McFarland is an only child and 
 he was carefully reared by good parents 
 and taught to be thoughtful for others and 
 to be kind and courteous in his demeanor, 
 and these habits have not been detrimental 
 to his advancement in business or social 
 life. After graduating from the local Hieh 
 School he spent one term in the Ohio 
 Northern University, at Ada, O., and after- 
 ward taught school until he received his ap- 
 pointment to his present position, as men- 
 tioned above. 
 
 In 1900 Mr. McFarland was married at 
 Bucyrus to Miss Caroline Albright, who 
 was born and reared here and in 1898 grad- 
 uated from the Bucyrus High School, after 
 which, until her marriage, she was a teach- 
 er. She is a daughter of George W. and 
 Jemima (Scott) Albright, prominent fam- 
 ilies in Crawford county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 McFarland have three children: Martha 
 Marguerite, who was born May 13, 1902; 
 Isabelle Jemima, who was born January 6, 
 1906; and Agnes Georgiana, who was born 
 August 8, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. McFarland 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church and he is an official in the same and 
 in the Sunday school. 
 
 OSCAR K. SHARROCK, a contractor 
 and prosperous citizen of Bucyrus, O., was 
 born in a log hut near Iberia, Morrow 
 county, O., September 6, 1849. His par- 
 ents were Joseph and Mary (Woodside) 
 Sharrock, and he is a great grandson of 
 James Sharrock, who came to this country 
 as a captain in the English army during the 
 early years of the Revolutionary period, 
 probably about 1776 or 1777. While in 
 charge of a party succoring the wounded 
 on a field of action, after the battle, he as- 
 
 sisted a wounded American soldier, whom 
 he recognized as an old schoolmate. Their 
 acquaintance was renewed, they talked 
 about the war and the causes of difference 
 between the colonies and the mother coun- 
 try and Captain Sharrock finally became 
 convinced that the cause of the colonies 
 was a just one. He accordingly took an 
 early opportunity of terminating his rela- 
 tions with the English army and, with some 
 others, joined the Americans, serving under 
 Washington and Lafayette against his 
 former comrades. The principal scene of 
 his military activities, while in the Amer- 
 ican army, was in New York State and he 
 was engaged chiefly in patrolling the de- 
 batable ground between the advanced posts 
 of the two armies, which was overrun and 
 ravaged at frequent intervals by marauders 
 of semi-military character from both sides. 
 While engaged in these duties, he met and 
 married Constance Williams, who was a 
 sister of David Williams, one of the captors 
 of Major Andre. They resided in New 
 York State but later, after the war, settled 
 in New York City, where Capt. Sharrock 
 acquired a quarter section of land in the 
 heart of the citv, in the vicinity of Wall 
 Street. Here they both died when well ad- 
 vanced in years. They had a large family 
 consistinp- of eleven sons and one daughter. 
 Ten of the sons were sea captains, the ex- 
 ception being Benjamin, grandfather of the 
 direct subject of this sketch, who was the 
 second in order of birth. 
 
 Benjamin Sharrock, above referred to, 
 was born probably before the close of the 
 Revolutionary War in a log cabin in New 
 York State. He contributed to the military 
 record of the family, serving under Jackson 
 at New Orleans in the War of 1812-15. At 
 its close he returned home to New York 
 State, but soon after, and before his mar- 
 riage, removed to Ohio, settling in Guern- 
 sey county. Here he married a Quakeress 
 by the name of Cotwell, of Quaker City in 
 that county. This act seems to have been 
 displeasing to his parents, as we are told 
 that he was disinherited because of it. His 
 father James had previously forfeited valu- 
 able property in England on account of his 
 desertion of the Royal cause, which fact 
 
680 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 does not seem to have made him act gen- 
 erously towards Jhis son. However, the 
 latter exercised his right to select his own 
 wife, perhaps reflecting philosophicallv that 
 "true love never does run smooth." Ben- 
 jamin was a farmer by regular occupation 
 and also a preacher, being known as Rev. 
 Benjamin Sharrock. In 182 1 he came with 
 certain others to Crawford county, where 
 he had a very large tract of land, a part of 
 it being secured from the Government and 
 State for services as a surveyor, he having 
 laid out some of the earliest roads in north- 
 ern Ohio. His last years were spent quietly 
 near Iberia, Morrow county, where he wa? 
 a prominent citizen, being also widely 
 known throughout this section. He had 
 made a careful study of Indian life and na- 
 ture, and was resoected by the Indians, 
 whom he had always treated justly. He 
 died November 16, 1879, at the remarkable 
 age of 104 years and was buried at Iberia, 
 in Morrow county. Shortly before his 
 death he walked from near Iberia to four 
 miles west of Bucyrus. The stone that 
 marks his grave is a mill stone that he cut 
 in 1820 for the mill he owned at Rockford, 
 this county, and which was a famous old 
 time g-rist-mill. Benjamin Sharrock was a 
 remarkable man in more than one respect. 
 He never used intoxicating liquors, though 
 their use was almost universal during his 
 earlier years, and though he attained so 
 great an age, he never used elasses to aid 
 his sip-ht ; moreover at the time of his death 
 he still retained all his teeth, these last two 
 facts, toeether with his aee, indicatin'^ a 
 wonderful vitality. His wife, who had 
 passed away some vears before him, was 
 the daughter of a pioneer settler of this part 
 of Ohio, who also was familiar with Indian 
 life and customs and who was a well known 
 citizen. 
 
 Rev. Benjamin Sharrock and wife were 
 the parents of quite a large family, of whom 
 Joseph, father of our subject, was the 
 second born. The latter first 'saw the light 
 in Guernsey county, O., November 4, 1814. 
 When two years old he accompanied his 
 parents to the vicinity of Sandusky, where 
 they remained for a while. He was mar- 
 ried in Morrow county to Mary Woodside, 
 
 who was born in Pennsylvania, October 17, 
 1818. This marriage took place several 
 years before the Sharrocks located in Craw- 
 ford county. Joseph and his wife became 
 the owners of a fine farm in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, consisting of nearly 300 acres of good 
 land. Here they spent the rest of their 
 lives, Joseph dying in 1893 and his wife in 
 1883. They were regular attendants at 
 church, though not members and were 
 quick to support any good work. Joseph 
 Sharrock was a man of musical talent and 
 for a number of years took a leading part 
 in musical entertainments throughout the 
 county. He was a Democrat in politics. 
 
 The children of Joseph and Mary Shar- 
 rock were six in number, as follows: (i). 
 Gardner accidentally shot himself April 3, 
 1874, when 32 years old. (2). Garrett is 
 now a farmer in Crawford county. (3). 
 Charles died two years ago at his home in 
 Bucyrus, O. (4). Oscar is the direct sub- 
 ject of this article and will be further re- 
 ferred to herein. (5). Benjamin is a resi- 
 dent of Golden City, Mo. (6). James is a 
 resident of Morrow county, Ohio. 
 
 Oscar K. Sharrock, whose birth has been 
 already narrated, had some difficulty in ob- 
 taining an adeouate education, as his father 
 was opposed to his spending too much time 
 over his books or at school. Without the 
 latter's knowledge, however, and by dint 
 of earnest application, with the friendly as- 
 sistance of a Miss McCracken, he acquired 
 a fairly thorough knowledp-e of the or- 
 dinary branches of study, so much so that 
 for a time he followed the occupation of 
 teacher. He continued to improve himself 
 educationally, adding to his stores of 
 knowledge and giving particular attention 
 to language and rhetoric, also devoting 
 much thought to public questions. His 
 ability as a speaker and debater became 
 known, and with it there grew up a demand 
 for his services on the lecture platform. In 
 this sphere of intellectual activity he has 
 made a name for himself throughout this 
 section, having lectured on subjects of his- 
 toric interest, two of his most noted lec- 
 tures being on the subjects of Benedict Ar- 
 nold and the Expansion of the United 
 States, on the latter subject he taking the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 681 
 
 affirmative proposition that "It was right 
 for America to expand." On the platform 
 Mr. Sharrock has an agreeable and sym- 
 pathetic voice of commanding volume, and 
 an easy delivery that never tires his audi- 
 tors but holds their attention to the end. 
 As a contractor in the line of his regular 
 business he has been successful and is a 
 thoroughly skilled mechanic and a reliable 
 man of business. 
 
 He was married in Liberty township to 
 Miss Cynthia A. McMichael, a daughter of 
 David and Margaret (Anderson) Mc- 
 Michael and a grand-daughter of Daniel 
 and Mary (McDowell) McMichael. Grand- 
 father McMichael was born in Ireland and 
 came to America about 1794, when 16 years 
 of age. His family locating in Westmore- 
 land county, Pa., he there married, his wife, 
 Mary being a native of Scotland. Soon 
 after their marriage they moved to Ohio 
 and settled north of the Sandusky near 
 where Bucyrus is now located. He en- 
 tered 160 acres of land at a point up the 
 river and built a saw and grist mill — one of 
 the first in the county. Of his eight chil- 
 dren, David married Margaret Anderson, 
 daughter of John Anderson, a pioneer in 
 that locality. On his father-in-law's death 
 David McMichael moved to the latter's 
 farm, where he subsequently resided, dying 
 Nov. 3, 1857 and leaving a widow and seven 
 children — Rebecca ]., Daniel L., John A., 
 George W., Maria, Cynthia and David — of 
 whom, George W. and Maria removed to 
 Nebraska. Daniel McMichael, Mrs. Shar- 
 rock's grandfather, built the first white 
 man's cabin in Liberty township and was 
 the third settler in the county. Mrs. Shar- 
 rock was well educated and was for a num- 
 ber of years a teacher in the pubHc schools. 
 
 The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sharrock 
 are as follows: (i). Walter Scott, was edu- 
 cated in Crawford county and is a steam en- 
 gineer by occupation. He resides at home 
 with his parents. (2). J. Wayland, who is 
 a clerk in a hardware store in Bucyrus, mar- 
 ried Bessie Souder and has a son. Jack B. 
 (3), Maude Estella, was educated at Ohio 
 Northern University and was employed for 
 some years as a teacher. She is now in 
 Cuba and also travels Southern territory as 
 
 representative of the Crescent Mfg. Co. 
 of Seattle, Wash. She is unmarried. (4). 
 Mirian Thorne, a cultivated young woman, 
 educated at Ohio Northern University, is 
 residing at home. (5). Ross C, graduated 
 from the Ohio Northern University at Ada, 
 O., in the class of 1909 and is a civil en- 
 gineer and assistant surveyor residing in 
 Bucyrus. He married Lurlie Snavely and 
 has a son, Harold C. (6). Mabel B. is the 
 wife of Harry Ehrick, of Bucyrus and has 
 a daughter, Thelma Norine. (7). Raloh 
 Beaumont, who resides at home, is attend- 
 ing high school and will graduate in the 
 class of 1913. It will thus he seen that Mr. 
 and Mrs. Sharrock have a promising family 
 who are contributing to the good citizen- 
 ship of the state and upholding the family 
 reputation, of which fact they may well be 
 proud. 
 
 S. L. FRENCH, general farmer and well 
 known citizen of Crawford county, O., re- 
 siding on his well improved farm of seventy 
 acres, situated in section 11, Cranberry 
 township, belongs to one of the old county 
 families of substantial character. He was 
 born in Lykens township, Crawford county, 
 Jan. 14, 1864, and is a son of John and Eliza- 
 beth Jane French, who reside in Cranberry 
 township, on a farm that adjoins that of 
 their son, on the north. 
 
 S. L. French received primary instruc- 
 tion in Cranberry township and afterward 
 attended school at New Washington and 
 was a member of the class of 1883, the first 
 one graduated from the New Washington 
 High School. Afterward he took a course 
 in the Ohio Normal School at Ada, O., and 
 then became a teacher, both in Cranberry 
 and Auburn townships. Mr. French then 
 visited the Northwest and resided at Fort 
 Stellacoom, Wash., and for four years was 
 leader of the orchestra engaged to play at 
 the Insane Asylum. He also played in 
 orchestras in hospitals for the insane in 
 Jacksonville, 111., Columbus, O., Blackfoot, 
 Idaho, and for three years directed the 
 orchestra at the Toledo, O., State Hospital. 
 After coming back to Crawford county in 
 1895 he bought property in Cranberry 
 townships, parts of the old Robert Robin- 
 
682 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 son and Curtis farms, improved the same 
 and has here carried on a general agricul- 
 tural line ever since. Mr. French follows 
 progressive methods, keeping himself well 
 informed through attendance and interest 
 in the Grange and other agricultural bodies 
 and agricultural literature, and his success 
 proves that his system is entirely practical 
 and again demonstrates that an educated 
 man often makes the best farmer. The loca- 
 tion of his property gives it excellent drain- 
 age and the Northern Ohio Railroad run- 
 ning through it has proved to be of advan- 
 tage. 
 
 At Tacoma, Wash., on Jan. 12, 1893, Mr. 
 French was married to Miss Lena Unkrich, 
 who was born at Fairfield, la., a daughter 
 of Henry Unkrich, and they have four chil- 
 dred : Helen, who is a student in the New 
 W^ashington High School; and Florence, 
 George and Jeanette, all of whom, were 
 born in Cranberry townshin. Dail Robison, 
 a young man of 20 years, has lived with the 
 family since he was four years of age. Mr. 
 French and family are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. Politically Mr. 
 French is a Democrat. In some local organi- 
 zations he has been interested to some de- 
 gree and is on the directing board of the 
 Crawford County Fire Insurance Company. 
 Mr. and Mrs. French are members of Cran- 
 berry Grange No. 1435, also of the Craw- 
 ford County Pomona, the Ohio State and 
 National Grange. :Many years ago he 
 joined the Knights of Pythias and has 
 passed all the chairs in the local lodge. Mr. 
 French and family are representative people 
 of this section. 
 
 ADAM SHUNK, deceased, was one of 
 the best known and most highly respected 
 citizens of Bucyrus, O., for many years. He 
 was the founder of one of the large manu- 
 facturing houses here, the plow company 
 which bears his name, and he was also a 
 citizen whose sterling worth could not fail 
 of being appreciated. He was born in Som- 
 erset county. Pa., March 23, i797. pew to 
 the age of 21 years on his father's farm, 
 developed into a man of great usefulness to 
 his family, community and generation and 
 died October 30, 1892. 
 
 As a youth Adam Shunk had no edu- 
 cational opportunities. He dutifully per- 
 formed the labors assigned him on the farm 
 as long as he remained at home, but, when 
 the age of maturity set him free, he de- 
 voted himself to work as a carpenter, having 
 constructed his own tools. He was deft of 
 hand from childhood and it is said of him 
 that a wagon, perfect in all its parts, was 
 made by his boyish fingers, when he was 
 not more than eight years of age. He never 
 served an apprenticeship to any mechanical 
 trade, his aptness in the use of tools being 
 a natural faculty. His work of 21 years, in 
 his native section, compared favorably with 
 that of other carpenters, but this work did 
 not entirely satisfy himself and a part of his 
 time and all his leisure was given to experi- 
 menting. In 1843 he purchased a patent 
 right to manufacture a certain kind of plow. 
 In the following spring he opened his plow 
 plant at Xenia, O., and while engaged there 
 he also conducted a grocery store and for a 
 time he worked at Canal Fulton. In the fall 
 of 1854 Mr. Shunk came to Bucyrus, and 
 with the capital he had at command built a 
 brick shop and started into the manufacture 
 of plows. There are yet business men of 
 Bucyrus who recall the beginning of this 
 enterprise and others who know of its ex- 
 pansion, while the active business men of 
 today point with pride to the Shunk Plow 
 Company as an example of the commercial 
 importance of this city as a successful manu- 
 facturing center. In his day Mr. Shunk 
 made all the different patterns of plows 
 that he manufactured. The business has 
 been developed until not only the Shunk 
 New Model Steel Plow is manufactured but 
 the plant also turns out: the Handy Steel 
 Farm Wagons, steel plows, combination 
 plows, contractors' plows, single shovel 
 plows, potato diggers, steel plow shapes and 
 steel plow beams made to pattern, gas en- 
 gine trucks, steel scraper blades, corn har- 
 vesters and other steel implements. 
 
 Mr. Shunk was twice married, first, in 
 1816, to Miss Mary Banfort, of Somerset 
 county, who died in 1844, and second, in 
 1845, to Miss Catherine Bauch, of Spring- 
 field, O. Children were born to both 
 unions, the survivors of the second being: 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 683 
 
 Francis, Nelson F., Isaac, John Q. and Katie. 
 The Shunk Plow Company is owned and 
 operated by Nelson F. and John Q. Shunk, 
 the former of whom lives at No. 421 Mans- 
 field Street, and the latter at No. 603 Rens- 
 selaer Street. They are m,en of business en- 
 terprise and are worthy citizens. Should 
 they claim the honor, they are entitled to 
 membership in that org^anization. Sons of 
 the American Revolution, their grand- 
 father having served under General Wash- 
 ington. In many ways Adam Shunk was a 
 very remarkable man and his fellow citi- 
 zens of a younfer p-eneration remember his 
 wonderful activity in business even into old 
 age. From the age of seventeen years he 
 had been a faithful member until death of 
 the English Lutheran church. 
 
 HENRY P. REXROTH, deceased, for 
 many years was a well known citizen and 
 successful farmer in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., where he was born 
 April 4, 1859 and died in December, 1909. 
 His parents were John and Mary Ann (Geb- 
 hart) Rexroth, who were early settlers in 
 this section, locating in Whetstone town- 
 ship when they came from Germany. They 
 had five sons and one daughter, namely: 
 George, J. J., Daniel, Samuel, Henry P. and 
 Mrs. Guinther. 
 
 Henry P. "Rexroth was reared on his 
 father's farm and obtained a district school 
 education. Farming was his main business 
 through life but he also was a veterinary 
 practitioner. He was able to leave a valu- 
 able farm of 120 acres, well cultivated and 
 well stocked, to his family, and his widow 
 and son continue to operate it, carrying on 
 general farming and raising Duroc Jersey 
 hogs. 
 
 In 1882 Mr. Rexroth was married to 
 Miss Margaret Nungesser, a daughter of 
 Christian and Elizabeth (Helfrich) Nun- 
 gesser, and they had children born to them 
 as follows : Bertha, who is the wife of John 
 Eyler, and has four children — Marguerite, 
 Russell, Harry and Glenn; Mary, who is 
 the wife of Emanuel Fauser, and has two 
 children — Miriam and Wilbur; Carrie, who 
 is the wife of Harry Kurtz; Emma, who is 
 the wife of Walter Diebler and has one 
 
 daughter, Ernestine; Enomah and Harry 
 J. G. 
 
 Mr. Rexroth was a prominent man in 
 township poHtics and was frequently elected 
 to office, serving four years as township 
 clerk and fifteen years as constable. He was 
 a valued member and comrade in several 
 fraternal organizations, belonging to the 
 Eagles and the Royal Arcanum. With his 
 family he belonged to the German Re- 
 formed church in Whetstone township and 
 gave it liberal support. 
 
 JOHN M. DOSTAL, a member of the 
 firm of Dostal Bros., brewers, at Bucyrus, 
 O., was born at Iowa City, la., and is one 
 of the representative business men of this 
 city. His parents were John P. and 
 Johanna (Cerny) Dostal. 
 
 John P. Dostal was born in Bohemia, in 
 1840, and died April 17, 1912. When a 
 young man he accompanied his parents to 
 the United States and they all located at 
 Iowa City, la. He had his own way to 
 make in the world and the success which re- 
 warded his efforts was remarkable, consid- 
 ering that he had to contend with a strange 
 language, unaccustomed people, little cap- 
 ital and unknown customs. He became a 
 brewer and at Iowa City continued in busi- 
 ness until he accumulated a fortune of 
 $100,000. When laws went into effect that 
 limited his business he moved his plant to 
 Aurora, 111., in 1882, and continued until he 
 sold out to the Aurora Brewing Company. 
 In 1890 he embarked in the brewing busi- 
 ness at Denver, Colo., and his old plant is 
 now owned by the Neff Bros. Brewing Com- 
 pany. At Iowa City he married Johanna 
 Cerny, who was born also in Bohemia and 
 accompanied her parents when young, to 
 Iowa City, la., where she was reared. She 
 is a member of the Roman Catholic church, 
 as was her husband. In politics John P. 
 Dostal was a Democrat. Two sons and 
 four daughters were born to them. 
 
 John M. Dostal was educated at the 
 Jesuit College, at Prairie du Chien, Craw- 
 ford county, Wis., and both he and brother, 
 George A. Dostal, learned the brewing busi- 
 ness with their father. The present plant, 
 which occupies six acres at Bucyrus, was 
 
684 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 established many years aeo, the Dostal 
 Bros, taking- charge in September, 1902, suc- 
 ceeding Frank Dick, who had succeeded the 
 Donenwirths, the builders. The Dostal 
 Bros, have made the business a prosperous 
 one, introducing new methods and install- 
 ing modern machinery. Employment is 
 given to from fifteen to twenty employes 
 and the capacity, which is sold entirely in 
 Ohio, is about 20,000 barrels annually. The 
 firm of Dostal Bros, is made up of John M. 
 and George A. Dostal. The latter is widely 
 known in musical circles and at the present 
 time (1912) is a m,ember of an operatic 
 company touring the country. He ea,rly 
 displayed musical talent and three years 
 ago completed his musical studies at Rome. 
 He married Miss Gertrude E. Madden, of 
 Chicago, 111. 
 
 John M. Dostal was married February 
 14, 1912, at Columbus, O., to Miss Mar- 
 garet McCaffrey, of that city. They are 
 members of the Roman Catholic church. 
 He is identified with the Elks, the Deutsche 
 Gesellschaft and the Eagles and is a mem- 
 ber of the board of trustees of the Elks. 
 
 ALVA FRENCH, a substantial and 
 highly esteemed citizen of Gallon, C, now 
 living retired after many years of agricul- 
 tural life, occuoies his comfortable residence ■ 
 which stands at No. 645, Cherry Street; 
 Galion. He was born at Otsego, N. Y., 
 April 1=;, 1839, and is a son of Sampson and 
 Betsey (Seward) French. 
 
 Sampson French was born in Massachu- 
 setts and his wife in Connecticut, both fam- 
 ilies being old ones in New England. Thev 
 were married in New York and their home 
 continued to be in Otsego county until 
 1847, when they came to Ohio and settled 
 in what is now Morrow county, purchasing 
 land in Washington township and there 
 spent their lives, both passing away before 
 the Civil War. They were members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. They were of 
 the same class of people as the Shermans of 
 Ohio and were friendly with that family 
 and also with the older Garfields. For 
 fourteen years Sampson French was a jus- 
 tice of the peace and was an influential man 
 in many directions. While he lived in New 
 
 York he followed his trade of cloth weaver 
 and fuller, to some extent, and owned a 
 woolen mill, while he was also a millwright 
 and owned a saw mill. He was, in fact, one 
 of the well equipped, resourceful men of his 
 time and his useful activity covered many 
 fields. Eight of his children reached matur- 
 ity and all of his six sons and two daughters 
 married and had families of their own. The 
 two survivors are: Alya and Calvin. The 
 latter is a retired railroad man now living 
 at Bifighamton, N. Y. He is a veteran of 
 the Civil War, during which he was once a 
 prisoner at Andersonville, Ga., an expe- 
 rience which typifies the horrors of war. 
 
 Alva French remained at home assisting 
 in the cultivation of the family farm until 
 i860 when he entered the railroad employ. 
 He enlisted in Co. C, i8oth O. Vol. Inf., in 
 September, 1864, and was made color bear- 
 er, under Capt. Moses Abbott, and was hon- 
 orably discharged June i, 1865, in the mean- 
 while having participated in the battle of 
 Wise's Fork, N. C. After the war he re- 
 sumed railroad work, which he had pre- 
 viously been connected with to some de- 
 gree, and for ten years was with the Big 
 Four and Erie Railways. He then went 
 back to Morrow county and purchased 58 
 acres of desirable land and devoted himself 
 to its cultivation and improvement until 
 1912, when he retired and came to Galion. 
 In 1862, Mr. French was married in Mor- 
 row county to Miss Lydia A. Elder, who 
 was born and educated there. She is a 
 daughter of Samuel and Abigail (Noyer) 
 Elder, who were born in Bedford county, 
 Pa., but were married in Ohio and were 
 early settlers in Morrow county, the Elder 
 lands having been secured from the Govern- 
 ment by the grandfather of Mrs. French. 
 This family is one of the best known in 
 Morrow county, a long-lived people, thrifty 
 and virtuous. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. French have three children, 
 one son and two daughters : Chauncy C, 
 who succeeded his father in the manage- 
 ment of the Morrow county estate; Abbie, 
 who is the wife of J- F- Nichols, residing at 
 Galion; and Carrie, who is the wife of 
 Korah Mountz, of Morrow county, and has 
 two children: Ralph and Edith Marie. Mrs. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 685 
 
 French is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Mr. French has been a Re- 
 publican since he cast his first presidential 
 vote, that bein^ for Abraham Lincoln. He 
 is a valued member of Dick Morris Post No. 
 130, G. A. R. In 1867 Mr. French was 
 painfully injured in a railroad accident and 
 in the following' year went to Missouri and 
 spent five years thei-e before he was able 
 to resume his former active life. 
 
 SHERMAN R. HARMAN, a well known 
 resident of Dallas township, was born May 
 II, 1876, on the farm where he now lives 
 and which he and his father own. He is a 
 son of John and Lois (Burke) Harman. 
 
 John Harman and his wife were both 
 born in Ohio, where he has been a farmer 
 but is now living- retired at Nevada. He is 
 in sympathy with the principles of the Re- 
 publican party and attends the U. B. 
 Church. Mr. and Mrs. John Harman were 
 blessed with four children: Ida, the wife of 
 Charles L. Slagle; Sherman, the subject of 
 this article; and Mary and Jay, both de- 
 ceased. 
 
 After attending the common schools of 
 his district, Sherman R. Harman turned his 
 attention to farming and went to work on 
 the farm before referred to. He has been 
 associated with his father until last year 
 and since then he has successfully managed 
 the farm himself. He does general farming 
 and raises a good grade of stock. 
 
 In 1901 Mr. Harman was married to Miss 
 Bertha Mollenkopf, who is a daughter of 
 Philip and Emma (Cook) Mollenkopf. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Harman have a son and a daugh- 
 ter — John Milton and Mildred Gertrude. 
 
 Sherman R. Harman is, as his father, a 
 Republican politically and affiliated with the 
 U. B. Church. 
 
 JACOB COLTER, senior member of 
 the lumber firm of Colter & Co., saw mill 
 operators and manufacturers of all kinds of 
 house and building material in the way of 
 lumber, has been identified with the lumber 
 business all his life since early manhood. 
 He was born in Bavaria, Germany,, in 1842 
 and is a son of Jacob and Caroline (Leppla) 
 Colter, who emigrated to America in 1851, 
 
 crossing the Atlantic Ocean in a sailing ves- 
 sel that required 42 days to make the pass- 
 age. They landed at the port of New York 
 and from there came to Ohio and located 
 near Strasburg. There the father died six 
 weeks later, leaving his widow and two chil- 
 dren, Jacob and Henry. The latter is in the 
 saw mill business in Adams county, Ind., is 
 married and has four sons. The mother of 
 Mr. Colter is now in her ninetieth year. She 
 contracted a second marriage and six chil- 
 dren were born to it, her second husband 
 being now deceased. 
 
 Jacob Colter was reared in Tuscarawas 
 county, O., and obtained an excellent edu- 
 cation at Millersburg, one that fitted him 
 for teaching and he taught school sucess- 
 fully prior to entering into the lumber in- 
 dustry. In 1873, in partnership with a kins- 
 man, P. W. Smith, he bought a saw mill 
 at Areola, Ind., in which he continued to be 
 interested for twenty years. When he and 
 partner left that section of Indiana it was 
 with an earned capital of $50,000. In 1902 
 Mr. Colter came to Bucyrus and conducted 
 a saw mill until 1906, when a planing mill 
 was added to the other facilities and a large 
 business has been built up. Since 1905 Mr. 
 Colter has had a silent but active partner 
 in Peter Conkle. The plant of Colter & Co., 
 covers nine acres of land, a part of which is 
 covered with mills and their complete equip- 
 ments and a part is given to the storage of 
 lumber, they keeping an average of 400,000 
 feet on hand all the time. Mr. Colter is also 
 interested at Jonesboro, Ark., where his 
 lumber plant is worth $110,000, and addi- 
 tionally he is concerned in banks at Decatur 
 and Fort Wayne, Ind., and at Willshire, 
 Van Wert county, O. Mr. Colter is one of 
 the capitalists of Crawford county. 
 
 Mr. Colter was married in Indiana to 
 Miss Sarah Crawford, who was born in 
 1855, in Allen county, Ind. She died at 
 Areola, Ind., in 1902, survived by six chil- 
 dren: Blanche, who is the wife of Lee 
 Ellsworth, who is well known on the dra- 
 matic stage; William H., who is engaged in 
 the saw mill business at Upper Sandusky; 
 John, who lives at Jonesboro, Ark. ; Maude, 
 who is the wife of Robert Picking, of Bucy- 
 rus; Ethel, who resides with her father; and 
 
686 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Helen, who is a Higfh School student. Mr. 
 Colter resides at No. 222 South Poplar 
 Street, Bucyrus. He has never- taken any 
 very active part in politics but nevertheless 
 has always arrayed himself with the sup- 
 porters of law and order. He is a member 
 of the M. E. church. 
 
 JAMES RICHARD HOPLEY was born 
 at Bucyrus, O., Aug. i, 1863, the son of the 
 late John and Georgianna (Rochester) Hop- 
 ley. He is strictly a Bucyrus boy having been 
 brought up here and was graduated from the 
 Bucyrus public schools in the class of 1882. 
 In 1884 in company with five other boy 
 friends he organized the Bucyrus Evening 
 Times and was editor and manager of that 
 paper. In 1887 and 1888 he was located at 
 Fort Worth, Texas, engaged in railroad work. 
 On Nov. 15, 1893, he was married at Gran- 
 ville, 0., to Miss Elizabeth Sheppard, daugh- 
 ter of Rev. Thomas J. and Margaret (Col- 
 lins) Sheppard. At that time Mr. Hopley was 
 city editor of the Bucyrus Evening Telegraph. 
 In 1896 he became editor and manager of the 
 Sandusky Evening Telegraph at Sandusky, 
 Ohio, where he remained about a year. In 
 1897 he went to Columbus where he was asso- 
 ciated with Charles W. Harper for a number 
 of years as editor of The Advertising World 
 and Ad-Art, where his natural aptitude for 
 advertising was given full swing. During the 
 latter part of his work at Columbus he was 
 manager of the Harper Illustrating Syndi- 
 cate, continuing his work as editor of the Har- 
 per advertising publications. In 1902 he re- 
 turned to Bucyrus as manager of the Hopley 
 Printing Company and upon the death of the 
 late John Hopley he became editor as well as 
 manager of the newspapers belonging to the 
 family estate. Mr. Hopley has been a Re- 
 publican all his life and has taken a consider- 
 able part in the local politics. In December 
 of 1 910, he was appointed postmaster at Bu- 
 cyrus, O., by President Taft, taking up the 
 duties of the oiifice Feb. 15, 191 1. Mr. Hopley 
 has been a member of the Presbyterian church 
 since he was 16 years of age and in March, 
 1912, was elected a ruling elder of the church 
 at Bucyrus. 
 
 Mrs. James R. Hopley has taken much 
 prominence in club work, was chosen vice 
 
 president of the Ohio Federation of Women's 
 Clubs in 1899 and in 1900 was elected presi- 
 dent of the State Federation. In 1903 she 
 was the only woman speaker on the program 
 of the Ohio Centennial celebration at Chil- 
 licothe, O. 
 
 ROBERT LAIRD, deceased, for many 
 years was identified with the great Erie 
 Railway system at Kent and Galion, O., 
 and was quite influential in local politics in 
 Crawford county. He was born at Glas- 
 gow, Scotland, May 6, 1841, and was a son 
 of Robert and Mary (Laird) Laird. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Laird were of Scot- 
 tish birth and ancestry and of the Presby- 
 terian faith. In 1849 they took passage 
 with their children on a sailing vessel bound 
 for the United States, and after six long 
 weeks on the water, were safely landed on 
 the coast of Virginia. Later the father be- 
 came manager of mines at Mt. Savage, now 
 in West Virginia, and to him is attributed 
 the honor of discovering the beds of fire 
 clay in that section which he subsequently 
 assisted in developing. His widow sur- 
 vived him, dying at Parkersburg, W. Va., 
 in her 79th year. They had twelve children 
 born to them, a number of whom reached 
 maturity. 
 
 Robert Laird had but meager educational 
 opportunities. He learned the boilerma- 
 ker's trade at Peidmont, W. Va., and after- 
 ward worked at Zanesville and then entered 
 the shops of the Baltimore & Ohio Rail- 
 road, and while there enlisted for service 
 in the Civil War. He became a member of 
 Company D, 159th O. Vol. Inf., in which he 
 served for three months, when he was pros- 
 trated with rheumatism, from which he was 
 never afterward entirely free; When he re- 
 sumed work at his trade he remained with 
 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad for about 
 four years, having come first to Galion, in 
 1868, and here became foreman of the boiler 
 shops and for twenty years was connected 
 with the Erie Railway. He then went to 
 Mansfield, O., where he was at the head of 
 the J. Sullivan Boiler Works and three 
 years later returned to Galion and here 
 conducted a boiler shop of his own for five 
 
JAMES R. HOPLEY 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 689 
 
 years. His death occurred in this city 
 November 5, 1905. He was a man of ster- 
 ling traits of character, honest and upright, 
 industrious and faithful and was the type 
 of citizen that a community cannot afford 
 to lose. He was firm in his adherence to 
 the principles of the Democratic party and 
 was frequently brought forward as a party 
 candidate for responsible positions. Mr. 
 Laird was a Knight Templar Mason and 
 was master of the local lodge. He had 
 hosts of friends in Dick Morris Post No. 
 130, G. A. R., and it was while presiding as 
 commander that his death summons came 
 to him and he peacefully expired supported 
 by his old comardes in arms. 
 
 Mr. Laird was married at Zanesville, O., 
 to Miss Jennie Mcintosh, who was born at 
 Edinburgh, Scotland, a daughter of John 
 and Agnes (Russell) Mcintosh, and in her 
 infancy brought by her mother to America. 
 The mother died in 1868, she being then 
 aged 79 years. Mrs. Laird is the youngest 
 of five childi-en and she has one brother liv- 
 ing in Ohio, John Mcintosh, who is a re- 
 tired carriage blacksmith, residing at Mt. 
 Vernon, with wife, three sons and one 
 daughter. One son was born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lard, John R. He was carefully reared 
 and graduated with credit from the Galion 
 High School, afterward learned the ma- 
 chinist trade and became a skilled boiler- 
 maker. His death occurred November 27, 
 191 1, when aged 46 years. Mrs. Laird is a 
 woman of marked ability, a leader in sev- 
 eral distinctive lines. For some time she 
 was president of the Woman's Relief Corps 
 at Galion and for ten years its treasurer, 
 and she was the organizer of the Eastern 
 Star lodge here and its first matron. 
 
 CHRISTIAN SHONERT, dealer in 
 pianos and other musical instruments at 
 Bucyrus, O., who is known all through this 
 section as a musician of a high order of abil- 
 ity, was born in Saxony, Germany, April 13, 
 1832, and is a son of John H. and Frederica 
 (John) Shonert. 
 
 John H. Shonert followed the blacksmith 
 trade in Germany and was an excellent 
 workman but many of his customers were 
 
 people of small means and unable to pay 
 enough for Mr. Shonert's services to enable 
 him to take care of and provide for a rapidly 
 increasing family. In the hope that in 
 America he would find better opportunities, 
 Mr. Shonert decided to emigrate and in 
 1848, with his family left the port of 
 Bremen for the United States. After a voy- 
 age of six weeks the family was safely 
 landed at Castle Garden, New York City, 
 and from there made their way to Crawford 
 county, O., and settled on a farm in Lykens 
 township, where the father followed both 
 farming and blacksmithing. 
 
 Christian Shonert attended school in his 
 native land and was 16 years of age when 
 he accompanied his parents to Ohio. After 
 one year of toil on the farm in Lykens 
 township he left home and came to Bucyrus, 
 where he learned the tanning business, and 
 afterward, for a number of years, continued 
 in this line, during a part of the time alone 
 and also with a partner. The German peo- 
 ple are noted for their natural musical 
 talent and Christian developed this very 
 early although circumstances were such 
 that he had little opportunity to develop it 
 while young. Later he secured advantages 
 and it has long been said of him that he is 
 the finest musician in Crawford county. He 
 was the first real musical man in Bucyru.? 
 and has had much to do with the encourage- 
 ment of music in this city. He has been in 
 the musical instrument business at his pres- 
 ent location. No. 415 N. Sandusky Street, 
 since 1849. 
 
 Mr. Shonert was married October 30, 
 1856, to Miss Maria W. Miller, a resident of 
 Bucyrus, and they have had seven children, 
 all of whom have inherited their father's re- 
 markable musical gifts and have had them 
 cultivated and appreciated. The third son, 
 Edwin M. Shonert, has become a celebrated 
 pianist and at present is on the concert 
 stage. Mr Shonert has been one of Bucy- 
 rus' most useful citizens. He has served 
 with satisfaction and efficiency in city and 
 county offices and was four times elected 
 county treasurer, first in 1875 and again in 
 1877 and also served the two terms from 
 1884 to 1888. He retired from this office of 
 
690 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 trust and responsibility bearing with him 
 the respect, esteem and commendation of 
 his fellow citizens. He has also served a 
 number of years on the school board and 
 city council. 
 
 W. J. JUMP, farmer and teacher, is a 
 member of one of the old families of Craw- 
 ford county which has many representatives 
 in Tod township. He was born June i8, 
 1876, on the old homestead and is a son of 
 W. H. Jump. 
 
 W. J. Jump attended the local schools at 
 Lemert and later, Ada University, after 
 which he began to teach school. Not every 
 nominally qualified teacher finds himself 
 fitted for this work after he begins, but in 
 Mr. Jump's case, teaching seems to be a 
 natural vocation and for thirteen years he 
 has been engaged in educational work in 
 Crawford county, at present teaching at 
 Glen Eden, in School District No. 2, Tod 
 township. His farm of forty acres also 
 claims attention and he takes much interest 
 in its management. 
 
 Mr. Jump married Miss Anna Lecrone, a 
 daughter of Adam Lecrone, of Bremen, O., 
 and they have had two children, Carlton 
 and Harry, but both sons passed away in 
 infancy, the former when aged nine months 
 and the latter when but five months old. 
 Mr. Jump is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church at Plankton, O., while 
 Mrs. Jump is a member of the U. B. church 
 at Laurel in Hocking county, O. In his 
 political attitude he is a Democrat. He has 
 a wide acquaintance and is held in very high 
 esteem in Crawford county as an educator. 
 
 MISS JULIA AUMILLER, who is a 
 very highly esteemed lady of Bucyrus, C, 
 is a representative of one of the pioneer 
 families of Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, and here she has spent her active 
 and useful life. She was born in Holmes 
 township and is a daughter of Daniel and 
 Sarah (Boyer) Aumiller. 
 
 Daniel Aumiller and wife were both born 
 in Union county, Pa. He was just 19 years 
 of age when he accompanied his brother, 
 George Aumiller, to Crawford county, in 
 
 October, 1828. At that time the busy city 
 of Bucyrus was nothing but a hamlet on the 
 frontier and it was no unusual sight to see 
 bands of Indians in the neighborhood. 
 George Aumiller was a brick maker and in 
 this industry he was assisted by his brother, 
 Daniel Aumiller, the latter of whom worked 
 for three years and frugally saved almost 
 every dollar in order to be able to invest in 
 land. When he had sufficient capital to en- 
 ter an 80 acre tract, he walked the entire 
 distance to the land office at Tiffin, C, in 
 order to secure the property in Holmes 
 township that he had in mind. It was a dis- 
 couraging looking place at that time, little 
 resembling the improved farm that Miss 
 Julia Aumiller and a sister, Mrs. Nichols, 
 now own, but Daniel Aumiller not only 
 cleared that place and put it under cultiva- 
 tion, but later acquired 160 acres more, to- 
 gether with tracts of Western land. His 
 death occurred on the first 80 acres he had 
 bought, when he was in his 72nd year. In 
 addition to farming he also, for some years, 
 followed the brick mason trade and was 
 known all over Crawford county. His 
 widow survived him for 16 years, her death 
 occurring in 1900, in her 82nd year. In 
 early life she belonged to the Albright 
 church but later united with the English 
 Lutheran body. All of their eleven children 
 grew to maturity on the farm and three 
 sons and four daughters are yet living. 
 
 Miss Julia Aumiller was educated in the 
 local schools. She is a very capable busi- 
 ness woman and for a number of years con- 
 ducted a dressmaking business. In addi- 
 tion to her interest in the old homestead, 
 she owns two excellent houses at Bucyrus. 
 She is one of the active and interested mem- 
 bers of the English Lutheran church at Bu- 
 cyrus, has many pleasant social connections 
 and a very wide circle of friends. 
 
 OTTERBEIN P. BECK, who, as head 
 sales agent for the Galion Iron Works Com- 
 pany, at Galion, C, occupies a very import- 
 ant position, and is also a member of the 
 directing board of the company, has been 
 identified with this concern since its organi- 
 zation and a large measure of its success 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 691 
 
 may justly be attributed to his energy and 
 business capacity. He was born in Jeffer- 
 son township, Crawford county, O., and is a 
 son of John Beck and a grandson of one of 
 the pioneers of Jefferson township, Craw- 
 ford county. 
 
 John Bef;k was born in 1807 in Westmore- 
 land county, Pa., and in 1827 accompanied 
 his parents to Jefferson township, and his 
 father built the first grist mill in the county, 
 constructing it on the Sandusky River. 
 John Beck engaged in farming but pos- 
 sessed natural mechanical skill and was a 
 satisfactory carpenter and a capable mill- 
 wright, manufactured pumps for some 
 years and occupied his spare moments in 
 constructing such delicate musical instru- 
 ments as the dulcimer. He was well known 
 all over the county and in his way he was a 
 genius. Early in life he was a Democrat 
 but the issues involved in the Civil War 
 made him a Republican. For many years 
 he was a justice of the peace in Jefferson 
 township. He was twice married, first to 
 Mary Swisher, who left six children, three 
 of whom were soldiers in the Union Army 
 during the Civil War. His second wife was 
 Eliza Rhoads, who was born in Indiana but 
 was reared in Seneca county, O., by an un- 
 cle. She died in 1880 when aged 44 years, 
 leaving nine children, six of whom survive. 
 
 Otterbein P. Beck was reared and edu- 
 cated in Jefferson township and during al- 
 most all of his active business life has been 
 connected with manufacturing concerns and 
 more or. less of the time with his present 
 particular department. For nine years he 
 was connected with the Central Ohio Buggy 
 Company and for six years afterward was 
 sales agent for the Ohio Buggy Company. 
 He came to Gallon in 1880 and, as men- 
 tioned above, has been interested with the 
 Gallon Iron Works since the pJant was 
 established here. He has jobbers all through 
 the country who handle the products of this 
 company and in addition the company has 
 fifty active men on the road, while the office 
 business is so voluminous that nine, stenog- 
 raphers are required. Mr. Beck is thor- 
 oughly alive to business possibilities and 
 has the natural foresight and good judg- 
 
 ment that enable him to recognize advan- 
 tages when presented. 
 
 Mr. Beck was married in Crawford 
 county to Miss Mary H. Shumaker, who is 
 a daughter of John and Esther (Gledhill), 
 Shumaker. The father of Mrs. Beck died in 
 May, 1869, from the kick of an unruly horse 
 and the mother died in December, 1868. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beck have two children : 
 Loren Eugene, who was educated at Galion 
 and in the Ohio Business College, Mans- 
 field, O., and is a commercial traveler; and 
 Lois May, who is a member of the class of 
 1914 in the Galion High School. This 
 young lady has great musical talent and is a 
 member of the choir of the Presbyterian 
 church. Mrs. Beck was reared in the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church. Mr. Beck is a 
 Knight of Pythias and is a charter member 
 of the United Commercial travelers and a 
 charter member of the Commercial Club at 
 Galion. 
 
 WILLIAM MASON, who is one of the 
 leading business men of New Winchester, 
 O., owner and proprietor of a general store 
 and also owner of one of the finest resi- 
 dences in the town, was born in Dallas 
 township, Crawford county, O., May 16, 
 i860, and is a son of John and Mary (Line) 
 Mason. 
 
 John Mason was born in England and 
 came to the United States when a boy. He 
 worked at first on farms in different sec- 
 tions and later acquired land of his own and 
 at the time of death owned 280 acres of fine 
 land in Crawford county. He married Mary 
 Line, who was born in Ohio, and they had 
 the following children : Nancy, deceased, 
 who was the wife of Charles Saylor ; Fannie, 
 who is the wife of Z. W. Hipsher; James, 
 who is deceased ; Ellen, who is the wife of 
 Otis Brooks; Rose Ann, who is the wife of 
 John Hord ; William ; and Lottie, who is 
 deceased. John Mason and wife are both 
 deceased and their burial was in Marion 
 county, O. They were well known and 
 highly respected people. 
 
 William Mason was given public school 
 advantages and afterward assisted his fa- 
 ther until he was 18 years of age and then be- 
 
692 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 came a farmer on his own account and con- 
 tinued until 1898, when he purchased a busi- 
 ness at New Winchester, which he con- 
 ducted for 18 months and then sold, after 
 which he bought his general store and has 
 conducted the same for the past twelve 
 years. He carries a full and well selected 
 stock and enjoys a liberal amount of patron- 
 age. 
 
 In 1881 Mr. Mason was married to Miss 
 Maggie Cress, who is a daughter of Jacob 
 and Elizabeth (Lint) Cress, the former of 
 whom is well known all over Crawford 
 county as an expert blacksmith. Mrs. 
 Mason is the second in a large family, as 
 follows : Nora, who is the wife of G. W. 
 Schreck; Iley Bell, who is the wife of Sam- 
 uel Sharrock; Frances, of Chicago; Minnie, 
 who is the widow of Fred Daoust; Delia, 
 who is deceased; and Manford. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mason are members of the United 
 Brethren church. Politically Mr. Mason is 
 a Republican and has been a loyal party 
 worker for many years. He has served at 
 times in public oflice and for one term was 
 assessor of Dallas township and at present 
 is turnpike road commissioner for Whet- 
 stone township. For several years he was 
 postmaster of New Winchester. He is iden- 
 tified with the Masonic fraternity and be- 
 longs to Lodge No. 447, A. F. & A. M., at 
 Caledonia, O. 
 
 WILLIAM C. KIESS, vice-president of 
 the Second National Bank of Bucyrus, O., 
 is also largely interested in real estate and 
 conducts an extensive business along this 
 line, dealing in both city realty and farm 
 property. He has been a representative 
 citizen of Crawford county for many years 
 and has frequently been honored by elec- 
 tion to ofifices of trust and responsibility by 
 his fellow citizens. He was born on his 
 father's farm in Whetstone township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., in iS^y, and is a son of 
 Jacob and Catherine (Delker) Kiess. 
 
 Jacob Kiess was born in Lycoming 
 county, Pa., a son of Christopher Kiess and 
 wife, who were natives of Germany. Grand- 
 father Kiess was an educated man and first 
 taught school in his native land and after- 
 
 ward, for twenty years in Pennsylvania. He 
 thus was useful in his day and generation 
 although he never accumulated as much 
 property as have a number of his descend- 
 ants. In 1850, Jacob Kiess and wife settled 
 on a farm in Crawford county, improved it 
 and there he died in his seventieth year, in 
 1882. In early manhood he had married 
 Catherine Delker, who was born in 
 Germany, where she lived until fifteen years 
 of ages She survived her husband, passing 
 away in 1885, when aged 69 vears. They 
 were members of the Evangelical Lutheran 
 church and were worthy of their name and 
 profession of faith. Of their children there 
 are three sons and one daughter living, 
 namely: WilHam C, Simeon, Joseph F., 
 and Mrs. M. A. Butts, of Hiawatha, Kans. 
 William C. Kiess was reared on the home 
 farm and early took part in the necessary 
 toil that successful cultivation of land de- 
 mands. His education, however, was in no 
 way neglected and he was ambitious as well 
 as intelligent. After attending the public 
 schools he enjoyed higher training in the 
 university at Ada, C, where he was special- 
 ly prepared in the Normal classes for edu- 
 cational work. For seven years afterward 
 Mr. Kiess taught school, confining his ef- 
 forts to Whetstone township, and he met 
 with a large measure of success. He looks 
 back upon that period as a useful season of 
 his life, in which he did his best and felt re- 
 warded for his eflforts. Among his warmest 
 friends of the present are those who were 
 once his pupils. From the school-room Mr. 
 Kiess entered public office, serving as town- 
 ship clerk for four years and as land ap- 
 praiser in his township. On February 9, 
 1900, he entered upon the duties of probate 
 judge of Crawford county, to which honor- 
 able office he had been elected in the previ- 
 ous autumn, and his services on the bench 
 demonstrated his particular fitness for that 
 position. Judge Kiess subsequently turned 
 his attention to dealing in real estate and 
 has numerous additional interests. He is 
 a notary public and maintains his office in 
 the Rowse Building. 
 
 Judge Kiess was married in 1879 to Miss 
 Sarah E. Wagner, a daughter of John and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 693 
 
 Mary Wagner, old residents of Whetstone 
 township, who have long since passed to 
 their final rest. Two children living were 
 born to Judge and Mrs. Kiess, a son and 
 daughter, Thomas Clinton and Bessie Belle. 
 Judge Kiess and family are members of the 
 Evangelical church. Their pleasant and 
 hospitable home is at No. 475 Gallon Street, 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 GEORGE LEROY SHEMER, a suc- 
 cessful farmer of Dallas township, who is 
 also one of that township's prominent citi- 
 zens, was born in Crawford county, Ohio, 
 March 8, 1872, a son of Levi and Martha 
 (McKinney) Shemer. The parents of our 
 subject were early settlers in Crawford 
 county, the father, Levi Shemer, coming 
 here from Stark county, Ohio, when a child 
 of eight years; his wife, Mrs. Martha 
 Shemer, is from Richland county. They 
 are still living and reside in Dallas town- 
 ship, Levi being a farmer by occupation. 
 Their children are : George LeRoy, whose 
 name appears at tlae head of this sketch; 
 Mary Matilda, who is the wife of Daniel 
 Parcher; Charles Otis; Velma Maude, who 
 is the wife of Leo White ; and Earl. 
 
 George LeRoy Shemer in his boyhood 
 attended the common schools and was early 
 trained to agricultural pursuits. He has re- 
 sided in Dallas township for 29 years, and 
 is engaged in general farming, keeping 
 stock enough for his own use. A Republi- 
 can in politics, like his father, he is now 
 serving in his third term as clerk of the 
 township. 
 
 He was married Oct. 16, 1895 to Mary E. 
 Parcher, a daughter of John and Adelia 
 (Wilson) Parcher, farming people and 
 prominent residents of Dallas township. 
 John Parcher, Mrs. Shemer's father, was 
 born in Bucyrus township, this county, m 
 1846. His father, Daniel Parcher, was also 
 a native of this county, while his mother, 
 Mrs. Mary (McNeal) Parcher, came from 
 Pennsylvania. John Parcher was county 
 commissioner for six years and has also 
 served as township trustee. He is a man 
 highly respected in the community. Mr. 
 and Mrs. G. L. Shemer attend the Metho- 
 
 dist Episcopal church. They are industri- 
 ous thrifty people, good neighbors, and well 
 liked in the community and have a wide cir- 
 cle of friends. 
 
 DANIEL M. TOBIAS, a well known 
 resident of Bucyrus, is a member of the 
 firm of D. M. Tobias & Co., doing business 
 at Columbus, O., dealers and manufacturers 
 of fine blank books and legal stationery. 
 Mr. Tobias was born at Greencastle, Pa., 
 May 8, 1859. 
 
 Daniel M. Tobias was four years old 
 when his parents came to Crawford county 
 and settled on a farm in Liberty township 
 from which they later moved to another in 
 Holmes township, and there he grew to 
 manhood. His education was secured in 
 the district and Bucyrus schools and at 
 Oberlin College. After learning the cab- 
 inetmaker's trade he followed that for some 
 time and then acted as deputy for his broth- 
 er, Hon. James C. Tobias, who was judge of 
 the Probate Court. For ten years after the 
 termination of his term as deputy, he was 
 superintendent of the Bucyrus Stock Farm, 
 in which position he exhibited excellent 
 judgment and successfully handled and 
 drove the high bred horses for which the 
 farm was noted all over the state. In 
 November, 1903, after some time devoted 
 to pattern work in a cabinetmaking shop, he 
 entered the employ of the Dayton Blank 
 Book and Lithographing Company, and 
 after the second year became stockholder 
 and director in the company and for nine 
 years was a salesman for that concern, at 
 the end of that period establishing his own 
 business at Columbus, where he has con- 
 tinued to prosper until the present. He 
 has always been an active Democrat and 
 has frequently been a delegate to important 
 conventions, has served in numerous local 
 offices and is the present candidate of his 
 party for county auditor. 
 
 Mr. Tobias was married (first) at Bucy- 
 rus and by that marriage had two children : 
 Ray J., who resides in the West; and Jessie 
 M., Mrs. Smith, whose home is in California. 
 Mr. Tobias was married (second) at B'ucy- 
 rus, to Miss Sallie Stewart, who was born 
 
694 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 at Fort Wayne, Ind., but in childhood was 
 brought to Bucyrus by her parents, Joseph 
 and Mary (Snyder) Stewart, the former of 
 whom was born in Columbiana county, O., 
 March 9, 1839, and died Feb. 3, 1905. For 
 more than thirty years he was a railroad 
 engineer, in 1881 becoming identified with 
 the T. & O. C. Railroad and continuing with 
 that line until within a few years of his de- 
 cease. He was the instructor of Eugene 
 Debs, the labor leader, when the latter be- 
 came a fireman on his engine, and was well 
 known to railroad men all over the country. 
 His widow survives and resides at Bucyrus. 
 She is a member of the Lutheran church. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tobias have four children: 
 Ruth M., who was born May 24, 1894, and 
 stands at the head of the class of 1913, in 
 the Bucyrus High School; Russell Stewart, 
 who was born May 21, 1897; Daniel Milton, 
 who was born August 9, 1899; and Cath- 
 erine, who was born August 25, 1906. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Tobias attend the Lutheran 
 church. He is secretary of the Order of 
 United Commercial Travellers of America 
 and has represented this body as a delegate 
 to its national convention for several years. 
 Since 188.S he has been identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias at Bucyrus, with which 
 he has, at times, been officially connected. 
 Although Mr. Tobias carries on his busi- 
 ness at the capital, he has continued to 
 maintain his home at Bucyrus and his hand- 
 some residence is situated at No. 411 East 
 Mansfield Street. 
 
 J. P. WHALEN, proprietor of the 
 Whalen Laundry, a very successful busi- 
 ness enterprise of Gallon, C, doing busi- 
 ness at No. 241 East Main street, was born 
 in this city in 1867, a son of Richard and 
 Mary (Riester) Whalen. 
 
 Richard Whalen was born in New York 
 and was a young man when he came west- 
 ward and during the larger part of his after 
 life was connected in some capacity with 
 railroads, both at Gallon, O., and Indianap- 
 olis, Ind., being last identified with the Erie 
 Railroad. His death occurred in April, 1907, 
 when he was 68 years of age. He was mar- 
 ried at Gallon to Mary Riester, who was 
 
 born in Ohio, of German parents, and she 
 survives. She is a member of the German 
 Catholic church, as was her husband. 
 
 J. P. Whalen was reared at Gallon and 
 Indianapolis and attended school regularly 
 in boyhood. He has been identified with 
 the laundry business practically all his life 
 since then, or since 1882, and in 1888 
 started his present laundry. At first it was 
 a somewhat small concern, a hand laundry, 
 but Mr. Whalen had no idea of remaining 
 satisfied with what were then, necessary 
 conditions, and gradually made improve- 
 ments as his patronage increased and by 
 1900 had built up such a substantial income- 
 bringing business that he felt justified in 
 securing his present commodious quarters 
 and installing modern laundry machinery. 
 He gives continuous employment to ten in- 
 dividuals and guarantees the finest work in 
 the city. 
 
 Mr. Whalen was married at Gallon, O., 
 to Miss Nellie Mitchell, who was born and 
 reared at Urbana, O., and they have two 
 children : Eileen, an attractive little girl of 
 thirteen years who- attends the parochial 
 school; and Joel, who has not yet reached 
 his third birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Whalen 
 are members of the Roman Catholic church, 
 and he belongs to that world-wide organiza- 
 tion, the Knights of Columbus. He is an 
 energetic and enterprising business man 
 and reputable citizen. 
 
 LEO WHITE, who is one of the enter- 
 prising and successful agriculturists of 
 Dallas township, Crawford county, O., and 
 one of the representative and reliable citi- 
 zens, now serving in his third term as town- 
 ship trustee, was born in Dallas township, 
 July 17, 1870, and is a son of Willard T. 
 and Clementine (Swigart) White. 
 
 Willard T. White was born also in Dallas 
 township and has been a farmer all his life 
 and is one of the large landowners of Craw- 
 ford county, at present having 800 acres. 
 He has been twice married, first to Clemen- 
 tine Swigart, who died when her two chil- 
 dren, Leo and Ida Irene, were small; Ida 
 Irene is the wife of E. H. K. McComb, who 
 is assistant superintendent of the Manual 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 695 
 
 Training School at Indianapolis, Ind. After 
 the death of his first wife, Mr. White mar- 
 ried Ella Brown, who, like the first Mrs. 
 White, was a native of Wyandot county, 
 and two sons were born to them : Garrett 
 B. and Abraham Jay. 
 
 Leo White attended the local schools and 
 afterward enjoyed two terms at Ada, O., 
 since when he has devoted himself to gen- 
 eral farming and stock raising. He oper- 
 ates a large body of jand including 240 
 acres of his father's fai'm and an additional 
 160 acres, which he rents. He is progres- 
 sive and up-to-date in his methods and his 
 industries are prospering. 
 
 In October, 1898, Mr. White was united 
 in marriage with Miss Velma Maude 
 Shemer, who was born in Crawford county. 
 Her parents, Levi and Martha (McKinney) 
 Shemer, are residents of Dallas township. 
 They have the following children : G. L. ; 
 Matilda, wife of D. L. Parcher; Otis; Mrs. 
 White, and Earl. Two daughters have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. White: Helen 
 Lorena and Hazel Martha, The family be- 
 longs to the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Politically an ardent Republican, Mr. White 
 has been frequently tendered public office 
 by his party and has served as township 
 trustee with efficiency as well as township 
 treasurer for three terms. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Elks at Bucyrus, O. 
 
 JOHN T. LUSCOMBE, master me- 
 chanic for the Toledo & Ohio Central Rail- 
 road, at Bucyrus, O., was born in County 
 Cork, Ireland, thirty-seven years ago and 
 accompanied his parents, John and Eliza- 
 beth (Pitchford) Luscombe, to America, 
 in May, 1884, the family landed in the Do- 
 minion of Canada. 
 
 John Luscombe and wife reside, in com- 
 fortable retirement, at Belleville, Ontario, 
 he having served thirty years with the 
 Grand Trunk Railroad, for fifteen years of 
 this period being in charge of the car de- 
 partment. He is a pensioner of the British 
 Government, having served for 21 years in 
 the British army and held the rank of color 
 sergeant during a part of the time. He 
 served three terms of enlistment, each of 
 
 seven years. He and wife are members of 
 the Baptist church. Ten children were born 
 to them, as follows : John T. ; Langford 
 G., who died at the age of 23 years ; Henry 
 J., who died at the a^e of 25 years, and is 
 survived by his widow; Alfred P., who is 
 a prosperous farmer and wheat grower in 
 Alberta, where he married and has three 
 children; Reuben C, who is an engineer on 
 the B. & O. Railroad at Newark, O., and 
 has two sons; Maude M., who resides with 
 her parents ; Walter R., who is in charge 
 of a department in a large clothing house 
 in Canada, and who married there and has 
 twin daughters; Edith Clara, who lives at 
 home; E. Agnes, who also resides with her 
 parents; and William Oliver, who is in the 
 employ of a manufacturing company at 
 Belleville. 
 
 John T. Luscombe was graduated from 
 the Belleville High School and when only 
 fifteen years of age entered the employ of 
 the Grand Trunk Railroad and continued, 
 in various capacities until 1901, when he 
 became identified with the B. & O. In the 
 meanwhile he had not neglected his educa- 
 tion, in 1900 graduating from the National 
 Correspondence School, at Scranton, Pa. 
 He has filled important positions with dif- 
 ferent companies and when with the Chi- 
 cago & Alton Railroad, was machine fore- 
 man and with the B. & O., was general 
 foreman. Prior to March, 1908, when he 
 became master mechanic for the Toledo & 
 Ohio Central, he was general foreman of 
 the shops at Bucyrus. Mr. Luscombe fills 
 a very responsible position and enjoys the 
 entire confidence of the company. 
 
 Mr. Luscombe was rnarried at St. 
 Thomas, Can., to Miss Alberta Bradley, 
 who was born at Chicago, 111., a daughter 
 of George and Emma (Oxley) Bradley, 
 natives of England, who now reside in Al- 
 berta, Canada. Mrs. Luscombe is the eld- 
 est of four children, the others being: 
 George J.; Mrs. H. L. Emmet, of Chicago; 
 and Alice, wif* of George Martin, also of 
 Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. Luscombe have 
 two sons, Harold Btadley, who was born 
 in November, 1904, and Edgar Allen, born 
 September, 1908. They are members of 
 
696 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Lus- 
 combe belongs to the minor orders of Ma- 
 sonry at Bucyrus and to the Commandery 
 at Marion, O., and is identified also with 
 the Elks. 
 
 Note. — Since this sketch was made Mr. 
 Luscombe has resigned his position with 
 the T. & O. C. to accept a more responsible 
 position with the Big Four R. R. and is 
 now located at Bellefontaine, Logan county, 
 O. 
 
 EDWARD KAVANAGH, who has a 
 long and honorable record as an employe 
 of the Erie Railroad Company, having be- 
 come identified with the same in June, 
 1872, when it was known as the A. & G. W. 
 Railroad and the Broad Guage. He was 
 born at London, Canada, Feb. i, 1858, and 
 is a son of Thomas and Bridget (Shae) 
 Kavanagh. 
 
 Thomas Kavatiagh and wife were born 
 in Ireland, the former being a son of Mar- 
 tin and Juda (Delaney) Kavanagh, natives 
 of County Kilkenny. When Thomas Kav- 
 anagh was young he went to live with an 
 aunt, who apprenticed him to a shoemaker 
 to learn his trade. Four years afterward 
 he went to London and worked in different 
 English cities before coming to the United 
 States in 1846. For some time he worked 
 at his trade on King Street, New York City, 
 after which he went to Philadelphia and 
 from there to other places and finally 
 crossed the line into Canada and located at 
 London. There he met Bridget Shae, a 
 daughter of William and Johanna (Ken- 
 nedy) Shae, who spent their lives in Ire- 
 land, the daughter having come to Canada 
 in 1852. She lived at London, Canada, 
 some four years before her marriage to Mr. 
 Kavanagh. In 1863 Mr. and Mrs. Kav- 
 anagh moved to Cleveland, O., and after- 
 wards moved to Kent, where Mr. Kavanagh 
 died in May, 1904, his birth having taken 
 place March 5, 1819. Mrs. Kavanagh sur- 
 vives and resides at Kent. She was born 
 March 24, 1830. She is a member of the 
 Roman Catholic church as was her hus- 
 band. They had sixteen children born to 
 
 them, Edward being' the only survivor of 
 this large family. 
 
 Edward Kavanagh began at the bottom 
 when he entered the service of the Erie 
 Railroad, working at first in the mechanical 
 department, from which he was promoted 
 to be a hostler. In January, 1883, he was 
 given a position as fireman and continued 
 as such until December, 1886, when he was 
 made an engineer and has filled this posi- 
 tion ever since, for the past ten years be- 
 ing in the passenger service. Mr. Kav- 
 anagh has handled every known make of 
 engine, from the little primitive one that 
 was fed with wood, to the great giants of 
 the road that only men of real engineering 
 knowledge can control, be the motive power 
 steam or electricity. He is justly proud of 
 the fact that he has never received a repri- 
 mand for dereliction of duty since he came 
 to the road. He has witnessed many 
 changes in ownership and in operating and 
 has kept a record of these which makes in- 
 teresting reading concerning this very im- 
 portant line. 
 
 Mr. Kavanagh was married to Miss 
 Agnes King and they had the following 
 children: Arthur Lewis, a railroad con- 
 ductor on the Erie, who lives at Hunting- 
 ton, Ind., and has a family of one son and 
 two daughters ; George, who was acci- 
 dentally killed at the age of fifteen years, 
 by a switch engine, while working for the 
 Erie as a call boy; John E., who is in the 
 pattern department of a steel bridge manu- 
 facturing plant at Chicago; and Catherine 
 v., who is the wife of T. T. Glennor, re- 
 siding in Pennsylvania, and has one son. 
 Mr. Kavanagh was married (second) tQ 
 Mrs. Lydia A. Firstenberger, widow of 
 Jacob Firstenberger, who died in 1900. She 
 was born and reared at Marion, O., her 
 family name being Dutt. Mr. Kavanagh 
 is a member of Division No. 16, B. L. E., 
 and for twelve years was its chief and in 
 1898 was sent as a delegate to the Conven- 
 tion of Engineers held at St. Louis, Mo. 
 He has been chairman of the General Com- 
 mittee of Adjustment from Division 16 for 
 the past ten years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kavanagh have been ex- 
 
MAJ. EDMUND R. KEARSLEY 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 699 
 
 tensive travelers, having- visited almost ev- 
 ery state in the union and also Mexico and 
 Canada. He relates many stories of inter- 
 est of his travels as well as incidents rela- 
 tive to his work as an engineer but they 
 would occupy too much space to be given 
 here. 
 
 MAJOR EDMUND ROBERTS KEARS- 
 LEY, deceased, whose birth took place at 
 Harrisburg, Pa., May i8, 1816, died at his 
 palatial Residence, No. 309 East Mansfield 
 Street, Bucyrus, O., in January, 1901. His 
 long and busy life had covered an important 
 epoch in his country's history and his personal 
 experiences, in public and military life, form 
 an interesting and instructive record. De- 
 scended from military ancestors, all his life, 
 even in old age, he continued to be interested 
 in military affairs, favoring and substantially 
 encouraging a military organization at Bu- 
 cyrus, bearing his name, when past his four 
 score years and ten, in their spirit and en- 
 thusiasm living over again many of the events 
 of his own earlier life. 
 
 Edmund Roberts Kearsley was the first child 
 bom to Major Jonathan Kearsley and Mar- 
 garet (Hetich) Kearsley, and a grandson of 
 Captain Samuel Kearsley, with whom he lived 
 for some years after the death of his mother, 
 in 182 1. His father. Major Jonathan Kear- 
 sley, graduated at Washington College, Pa., 
 now ,called Washington and Jefiferson Col- 
 lege, in 181 1, and in the following year was 
 appointed by President Madison, a lieutenant 
 in the U. S. Artillery, and in 1814 was com- 
 missioned assistant adjutant-general, with the 
 rank of major. He was engaged in the bat- 
 tles of Niagara, Stony Creek and Chrysler's 
 Field, and in the sortie from Fort Erie, in 
 which latter engagement he was so seriously 
 wounded that it resulted in the loss of a leg. 
 In 181 7 he was appointed collector of revenue 
 in Pennsylvania, and in 1820, receiver of pub- 
 lic moneys for the District of Michigan, at 
 which time he removed to Detroit, where he 
 resided until his death. There his son, the 
 late Edmund Roberts Kearsley joined him in 
 182 c; and immediately became a pupil in the 
 public schools. His father then sent him to a 
 private school at Utica, N. Y., and from 1829 
 until 1832 he was a student at Kenyon Col- 
 
 lege, O. Upon his return to Detroit he became 
 assistant receiver in the Michigan Land Of- 
 fice, under his father, in which capacity he 
 attracted the attention of Major John Bid- 
 die, register of the Land Office, who re- 
 quested the transfer of so efficient a helper to 
 his department. As chief clerk of this im- 
 portant office, Major Kearsley continued until 
 1840, when failing health caused his resigna- 
 tion. From then until 1847 he resided on his 
 father's farm of 600 acres located in Oakland 
 county, Mich. About this time he returned 
 to Detroit and entered into business. He 
 superintended the erection of the Biddle House 
 at Detroit, which was one of the largest and 
 most complete hotels in the state of Michigan 
 for many years. 
 
 His first connection with military matters 
 was when he assisted in the organization of 
 the Brady Guards, a well drilled body of 
 young men that did excellent service during 
 the troubles along the Canadian and Michi- 
 gan border during the rebellion of 1837-8 in 
 the Dominion. During this time Captain Kear- 
 sley was appointed assistant adjutant with the 
 rank of major, a title he retained until the 
 close of life. Later he was appointed assistant 
 quartermaster-general of Michigan and while 
 in that position served, with Captain U. S. 
 Grant, who later became commander of the 
 army and subsequently President of the United 
 States. A warm personal friendship existed 
 between- them until the death of General 
 Grant. Major Kearsley's active participation 
 in military affairs was not so much on the 
 field as in the no less necessary official de- 
 partments which regulate and make possible 
 effective action on the battle ground, and his 
 sincerity, honesty and general efficiency, 
 which were ever placed at the service of his 
 country in time of need. Perhaps no man in 
 Crawford county, O., to which state he re- 
 moved in 1 85 1, could have so advantageously 
 and peacefully managed the difficult matter of 
 carrying out the law, in 1862, as did he as 
 draft officer. Where another equally patriotic 
 official might have brought about local trouble 
 as the minds of men were inflamed by partisan 
 feeling at that time, Major Kearsley's tact, 
 diplomacy, understanding of human nature, 
 together with his personal high character in- 
 spiring confidence, brought about satisfactory 
 
700 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 results and Crawford county sent in its full 
 quota. 
 
 As noted above, Major Kearsley came to 
 Bucyrus early in 1851 and this city remained 
 his home during the rest of his life. At that 
 time his maternal uncle, Hon. Charles Hetich, 
 was county treasurer of Crawford county, and 
 Major Kearsley became his assistant and in 
 the following year was made deputy auditor 
 and in 1853 was elected auditor. So popular 
 an official had he become that in 1855 he was 
 nominated for a third term by both parties 
 and elected, this being a notable occurrence 
 in Crawford county that has never since been 
 repeated. It was during his term of official 
 life that he superintended the erection of nu- 
 merous buildings of a public nature, including 
 the first brick jail ever built in the county. 
 He continued his interest in county affairs 
 after retiring from office, cheerfully giving 
 advice when consulted, his many years of ex- 
 perience making this particularly valuable. 
 Bucyrus is indebted to him in many ways for 
 he was ever awake to the city's needs and was 
 ready to lend his influence and give substan- 
 tial support to all measures which he deemed 
 worthy of th-^ sRine. Through his energy and 
 financial assistance the Bucyrus Memorial 
 Library became a fact and it was a pleasure to 
 him to continue his benefactions to this insti- 
 tution. From the time he reached manhood 
 until the closing years of his life, his gifts to 
 people in all walks were numerous and con- 
 tinuous, but in large part his benefactions 
 were given quietly and with no thought or de- 
 sire that public approval should mark them. 
 In early life a Whig, he later became a Dem- 
 ocrat although he gave political support in the 
 election of President Lincoln. 
 
 Major Kearsley was married in Illinois, to 
 Miss Susan Phillips, who was born April 5, 
 1827, at Salem, O., and was 18 months old 
 when her people came to Bucyrus, where she 
 has spent all her life with the exception of 
 three years, during which period she lived with 
 an aunt in Illinois. Her father, James Lewis 
 Phillips, was born in Ohio, Jan. 14, 1798, 
 and died Sept. 20, 1827. His father, Robert 
 P. Phillips, was born in Wales, July 21, 1773, 
 and came to America when a young man and 
 became a teamster and carrier, first in Penn- 
 sylvania and later at Salem, O., where he also 
 
 conducted a tannery. He married Susanna 
 Snyder, who was of Dutch descent. James 
 Lewis Phillips was married in Ohio, Dec. 16, 
 1824, by Rev. Kenneth Vallandingham, who, 
 it may be noted, later baptized their daughter, 
 Mrs. Kearsley, to Maria McCracken, who was 
 born April 25, 1796. Her parents were James 
 and Susan (Kelley) McCracken, the latter of 
 whom was a distant relative of General 
 Grant's maternal ancestors. The McCrackens 
 came from Scotland and the family was well 
 known in Wayne county, O., and at Colum- 
 bus. After the death of her husband, Mrs. 
 Maria Phillips left Salem and with her two 
 daughters, Samantha and Susan, came to Bu- 
 cyrus, where her kindred lived and here her 
 death occurred October 14, 1834. Mrs. 
 Kearsley's only sister died unmarried, Jan. 
 5, 1872. 
 
 Major Kearsley was married (first) July 
 2, 1857, to Martha C. Sweney, who was born 
 at Gettysburg, Pa., in 1824, and died at Bu- 
 cyrus, in 1874. Two children were bom to 
 that union: an infant daughter, who died on 
 the day of birth; and Rebecca M., who was 
 born Nov. 28, 1866, and who married Elmer 
 L. White, of Pittsburgh, Pa. They had one 
 daughter, Margaret Sara, who resides with 
 her grandmother, at Bucyrus. The family has 
 been identified with the Presbyterian church 
 for many years and in this relation Major 
 Kearsley was faithful and conscientious. He 
 belonged to the Sons of the American Revolu- 
 tion and was justly proud of this connection, 
 and he was also affiliated with the old fra- 
 ternities, the Masons and Odd Fellows. 
 
 DR. JAMES F. FITZSIMMONS, who 
 at the time of his death on April 12th, 1910, 
 was the oldest practicing physician in Bucy- 
 rus, was also a citizen widely known and 
 much esteemed. He was born on a farm in 
 Whetstone township, this county, Sept. 18, 
 1843, 3-i^d was therefore in his 67th year at 
 the time of his demise. His parents were 
 William and Anna E. (Holman) Fitzsim- 
 mons, who came overland to Bucyrus from 
 Huntingdon county. Pa., in 1831, settling 
 in Whetstone township. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was reared on 
 his parents' farm and there resided until 
 his nineteenth year, when he went to Up- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 701 
 
 per Sandusky, where he attended school for 
 several terms. In May, 1864, he enlisted 
 in the 134th O. V. I., and was discharged 
 with his comrades in August of that year. 
 In the fall of 1864 he attended the Vermil- 
 lion Institute at Hayesville, O., remaining 
 until the summer of 1865, when he entered 
 the office of Drs. Ferris and Byron at Upper 
 Sandusky. In the winter of 1865-66 he at- 
 tended his first course of lectures at Charity 
 Hospital Medical College at Cleveland, go- 
 ing thence to Ft. Wayne, Ind., where he 
 studied and practiced with Dr. J. S. Gregg 
 of that place until 1867. He then entered 
 Chicago Medical College from which he was 
 graduated in March, 1868. 
 
 Resuming practice in Ft. Wayne, he re- 
 mained there until 1871 and then engaged 
 in special practice in Cincinnati for a short 
 time. In June, 1871, he located in Bucyrus, 
 which place was his home and the scene of 
 his professional activities until his death. 
 Just previous to that final event he had 
 been appointed a member of the county 
 board of pension examiners. He was a 
 member of Keller Post, G. A. R., had served 
 as presiding officer of the Board of Health 
 in past years ; held membership and office 
 in the Crawford County Medical Society 
 and in the Royal Arcanum. He also held 
 membership in Summit City Lodge No. 170 
 A. F. & A. M. of Ft. Wayne, Ind., and in 
 Bucyrus Chapter, No. 160, R. A. M., and 
 was Past Worthy Patron of Bucyrus Chap- 
 ter No. 3, Order of the Eastern Star. 
 
 Dr. Fitzsimmons was married Jan. i, 
 1872, to Miss Ella Ryan, an adopted daugh- 
 ter of G. L. Saulsbury, a prominent busi- 
 ness man of Bucyrus, well known through- 
 out the county. Mr. Saulsbury was a native 
 of the State of New York and married there 
 Nancy R. Dedrick. He and his wife spent 
 their lives subsequently in Michigan and 
 Ohio, both dying in Toledo, this State, as 
 also their children. Mrs. Fitzsimmons was 
 born in Ireland and in 1861 came to Bucy- 
 rus, where she was educated and has since 
 resided. Her father, Michael Ryan, mar- 
 ried there Mary Cantwell, who was born 
 in Clonmell, the walled town in Tipperary 
 county and the scene of many early battles. 
 
 She was of French extraction. Michael 
 and Mary Ryan had ten children, all but 
 four of whom died in Ireland. The sur- 
 vivors accompanied their parents to Amer- 
 ica, the family settling first in Hartford, 
 Conn., and there the wife and mother died 
 in middle age. Mr. Ryan married a second 
 time and came to Ohio, locating in Marion 
 county, where he and his second wife died, 
 he at the age of about 70 years. They were 
 members of the Roman Catholic church. 
 Mrs. Fitzsimmons was the youngest of ten 
 children and is the only one now living. 
 Her children are three in number, namely: 
 Ralph J., a well educated young man, died 
 in 1909 unmarried. Nellie E. graduated 
 from the School of Oratory at Northwest- 
 ern University, Evanston, 111., later was for 
 eight years societor of the Bucyrus Forum 
 and a city reporter for three years on the 
 now resides in Spokane, Wash. Myra Les- 
 evening Telegram. She is unmarried and 
 lie is the wife of Walter M. Hubbell, as- 
 sistant secretary of the American Clay Ma- 
 chinery Co., of Bucyrus, O., and has a 
 daughter, Myra Leslie (2d). The family 
 are all members of the Presbyterian church. 
 Dr. Fitzsimmons' death was very sud- 
 den and was due to heart disease, which 
 had not previously troubled him to any 
 great extent. He was sweeping the ver- 
 anda of his home when he suddenly fell 
 back and in a few moments life was extinct. 
 We cannot sum up his character better than 
 to quote an extract from his obituary notice 
 in a local journal. The writer says : "Dr. 
 Fitzsimmons was a gentleman of the old 
 school, a man or irreproachable character 
 and strong moral uprightness. In char- 
 acter and personality he fulfilled in every 
 particular the requirements of the noblest 
 of professions and his heart was ever in his 
 work. A man of courtly bearing and manner, 
 he was one who justly earned the respect, 
 confidence and veneration of old and young 
 alike. No citizen of Bucyrus was more 
 generally esteemed and more genuinely re- 
 spected than Dr. Fitzsimmons. He was a 
 man of modest tastes, with a distinct lean- 
 ing for home life and for a period of years 
 he has lived busily yet quietly here among 
 
702 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the friends of his young manhood and of 
 his later years. He has come to the end of 
 the journey. The call, sudden though it 
 was, found him fully prepared, as he had 
 always been at all times, with a clean heart 
 and mind, to meet his maker wherever the 
 summons should call him. He leaves be- 
 hind the record of a clean life worthily lived, 
 than which a better monument to his mem- 
 ory could never be reared." 
 
 JOHN C. CRANER, township assessor 
 of Bucyrus township, Crawford county, O., 
 and a well known citizen, has been engaged 
 in farming in this section for a number of 
 years, renting land and since 1906 has 
 owned 29 acres which are highly productive. 
 He was born in Crawford county, Nov. 27, 
 1868, and is a son of Christian and Magda- 
 lena (Shaffer) Craner. 
 
 Christian Craner was born in Crawford 
 county and still survives, residing in Polk 
 township, but his wife 'passed away some 
 years ago and her burial was in Marion 
 county. They had the following children: 
 Malinda, deceased, who was the wife of 
 Jacob Sargel; Samuel W. ; Francis; Cassie, 
 who is the wife of William McCracken ; El- 
 mer J. and John C. Christian Craner has 
 always been a farmer and is well known in 
 the county. He is a member of the Ger- 
 man Methodist church as was his wife. 
 
 After his school days, John C. Craner as- 
 sisted his father and then engaged at farm 
 work by the month and continued for about 
 nine years, having, considerable experience 
 with all kinds of farm methods. He then 
 rented the farm on which he yet lives and 
 still operates but since 1906 has owned 29 
 acres. 
 
 Mr. Craner was married Dec. 29, 1892, 
 to Miss Margaret Stuckman, a member of 
 one of the well known families of this town- 
 ship, and they have five children: Archie 
 B., Reba, Rollin, Velma and Donald. Mr. 
 Craner and family attend the United Breth- 
 ren church. He belongs to the Knights of 
 Pythias lodge at Bucyrus and is one of the 
 active members of the Democratic party 
 in Bucyrus township. 
 
 WILLIAM J. SCHWENCK, prosecut- 
 ing attorney of Crawford county, O., and a 
 prominent Democratic politician, has been 
 a member of the Bucyrus bar ever since he 
 entered into legal practice in 1900. He was 
 born in this county, Oct. 18, 1874, and is 
 a son of Hieronymus and Anna M. (Zim- 
 mer) Schwenck, both parents being now de- 
 ceased. The father was a farmer and there 
 were eight children in the family circle. 
 
 William J. Schwenck began his education 
 in* the public schools and later attended 
 the Ohio Normal University, from which 
 he was graduated in 1898. Subsequent to 
 this he entered the law department of the 
 Ohio State University and was graduated 
 from that institution in June, 1900. Dur- 
 ing his vacation he read law in the office of 
 Phil M. Crow at Kenton, O., and shortly 
 after his admission to the bar, in April, 
 1902, he was elected city solicitor of Bucy- 
 rus, serving until 1906. On Nov. 8, 1910, 
 Mr. Schwenck was elected prosecuting at- 
 torney for the county and, as above stated, 
 has served in this office ever since, his of- 
 ficial record showing that he possesses in 
 high degree those qualities which are essen- 
 tial to the proper performance of its very 
 important duties. 
 
 Mr. Schwenck married Miss Ruth France, 
 a daughter of William France, who was 
 born in Pennsylvania. They are members 
 of the Lutheran church, and he is a promi- 
 nent member of the Bucyrus lodge of 
 Eagles. 
 
 M. A. WINEMILLER, treasurer and 
 general manager of the Gallon Handle & 
 Manufacturing Company, of Gallon, O., an 
 important business enterprise of this city, 
 is a thoroughly experienced man in this 
 line, having been connected with manufac- 
 turing industries since boyhood. He was 
 born at Wapakoneta, Auglaize county, O., 
 in 1861, and is a son of Michael and Matilda 
 (Lucas) Winemiller. 
 
 Michael Winemiller was born in one of 
 the Rhine provinces, Germany, and was six 
 years of age when his parents brought him 
 to the United States. The family located 
 in Auglaize county, O., in the early thirties, 
 
WILLIAM J. SCHWENGK 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 703 
 
 where Michael Winemiller passed the rest 
 of his Hfe, becoming a farmer and black- 
 smith, and dying at the age of 76 years. He 
 was married in the same county to Matilda 
 Lucas, who was born in Kentucky and from 
 there came to Ohio in young womanhood 
 and lived to be 75 years old. Her father, 
 Israel Lucas, died while serving as a soldier 
 in the Civil War. To Michael Winemiller 
 and wife five sons and one daughter were 
 born, all of whom survive and all are well 
 settled in homes of their own. 
 
 M. A. Winemiller entered a handle factory 
 after leaving school and worked at Win- 
 chester, Ind., and at Attica and Piqua, O., 
 being foreman of the plant at Piqua and 
 manager at Attica. He was a member of 
 the board of directors and treasurer of the 
 Winchester D. Handle Company, manufac- 
 turing D and long handles. Mr. Winemiller 
 was concerned in the establishing of the 
 Galion Handle & Manufacturing Company, 
 at Galion, in 1907, and has been treasurer 
 and general manager ever since. This is 
 an incorporated concern, capitalized at $15,- 
 000, its officers being: Anton Kahn, presi- 
 dent; Allen Miller, J. S. Winemiller and M. 
 A. .Winemiller, with a board of five direc- 
 tors. Employment is given to thirty peo- 
 ple and the output of farm tool handles, 
 about three car loads a month, are sold in 
 England and Germany. 
 
 Mr. Winemiller was married at New Bre- 
 men, O., to Miss Julia C. Staas, who was 
 born in Auglaize county, O., of German 
 parentage. They attend the Friends' 
 church. Fraternally, Mr. Winemiller is con- 
 nected with the Odd Fellows at Winchester, 
 Indiana. 
 
 JOHN J. KURTZ, one of the progressive 
 and successful farmers and stock dealers of 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 owning thoroughbred stock and registered 
 sheep, belongs to one of the old and sub- 
 stantial families of this section. He was 
 born in Whetstone township, Oct. 14, 1870, 
 and is a son of John George and Catherine 
 (Gaibler) Kurtz. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kurtz were born in 
 Germany and for a few years after coming 
 
 to the United States, John George Kurtz 
 lived in Pennsylvania and then came on to 
 Crawford county, O., being then 11 years 
 of age. He followed farming all his active 
 life and was a highly respected man. 
 John George Kurtz was married (first) to 
 Catherine Sherer and they had two chil- 
 dren, Jacob and Samuel, the latter being 
 deceased. He married (second) Catherine 
 Gaibler who was brought to Crawford 
 county by her parents and still survives, 
 making her home with a daughter, Mrs. S. 
 F. Sherer. They had the following chil- 
 dren: Isaac; Benjamin; Mary, wife of 
 Simon F. Sherer; Elizabeth, wife of Dr. C. 
 H. Senn; Laura, who is the wife of C. A. 
 Koppe; and John J. The parents of the 
 above family were members of the German 
 Methodist church. 
 
 John J. Kurtz attended the public schools. 
 He has spent his entire life on the home 
 farm, having an interest as an heir to the 
 200-acre tract, and is one of the prosperous 
 agriculturists of Whetstone township. He 
 is one of the leaders in the stock industry 
 and makes a specialty of American Delaine 
 sheep. In addition to farming the home- 
 stead he also manages 80 acres belonging 
 to his wife. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1901, Mr. Kurtz was mar- 
 ried to Miss Matilda Sherer, the only daugh- 
 ter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Haller) 
 Sherer, both of whom are now deceased. 
 Mr. Sherer was a prominent man in Whet- 
 stone township and served for many years 
 in public office. Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz have 
 one son, Harold, who was born June 7, 
 1903. They attend the German Methodist 
 church. Nominally Mr. Kurtz is a Demo- 
 crat but is somewhat independent in his 
 political tendencies. 
 
 WILLIAM M. REID, deceased, was 
 born in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., Nov. 23, 1834, and died at his 
 home in Bucyrus, O., July 30, 1909. His 
 parents were Rev. George and Mary A. 
 (Foster) Reid. 
 
 Rev. George Reid was born in the north 
 of Ireland, Jan. 7, 1812, a son of George 
 Reid. The family came to the United 
 
704 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 States in 1824, crossing the Atlantic Ocean 
 in one of the old sailing vessels that re- 
 quired three months to make a voyage that 
 is now completed in a week. The Reids 
 landed on the coast of Virginia, but moved 
 by degrees farther north, driving their 
 teams on up through New York until they 
 reached Jamestown, where. they tarried for 
 a time and then pushed into Ohio. Grand- 
 father George Reid died in Wayne county. 
 For some years the Reids lived at San- 
 dusky and then came to Crawford county, 
 where they secured four sections of Gov- 
 ernment land. They were not only pio- 
 neers but people of purpose and enterprise. 
 Their land was speedily cleared and put 
 under cultivation and while they flailed 
 their first yield of wheat, they were the first 
 to invest in a tread-mill thresher, which was 
 then considered a wonder of agricultural 
 machinery. The Reids brought the first 
 grass mower into the county and were ever 
 ready to test the utility of new inventions. 
 The bricks with which they built their 
 houses they burned and molded on their 
 own farm ; they tanned the hides of their 
 own cattle and made leather and also fash- 
 ioned their own shoes, while the women of 
 the family were no less busy and resource- 
 ful. From the flax raised on the farm, 
 mothers and daughters wove linen of amaz- 
 ing softness of texture and the heavy win- 
 ter clothing came also from their bus;^ 
 looms, the wool from their own sheep. 
 Pages might be written of the remarkable 
 accomplishments of both the fathers and 
 mothers of those early days and in consid- 
 ering them, their descendants must give 
 testimony of honor and praise. 
 
 While the settlement of a representative 
 family like the Reids was a benefit to the 
 county, it was particularly helpful to Whet- 
 stone township and there it became a prom- 
 inent factor in all affairs. Rev. George Reid 
 was a missionary preacher and paid his 
 own way when necessary, although in every 
 community a pioneer welcome awaited 
 him. He felt a special call to preach to the 
 Indians and established a mission church 
 in Wyandot county, the old structure being 
 a landmark, standing in the midst of an old 
 
 Indian burying ground. With the help of 
 his sons he developed a fine farm on which 
 he lived until after the death of his first 
 wife, who was the mother of his five chil- 
 dren : Robert, who was born July 15, 1832, 
 and died in i860; William M. ; Hugh, who 
 was born August 10, 1837, and died in 1844; 
 George, who was born August 30, 1841, 
 and who now resides on his farm in Iowa; 
 and Rachel, who was born April 3, 1843, 
 and died in 1845. After his second mar- 
 riage* Rev. George Reid located at Ada, O., 
 and later, while on a visit, died at the home 
 of his son, William M., at Bucyrus, when 
 aged about 68 years. 
 
 William M. Reid was given somewhat 
 better educational advantages than many 
 country boys of the period enjoyed, his 
 father having him attend the district 
 schools regularly and later sending him to 
 Columbus to take a course in a commercial 
 college. In the early fifties, with his 
 brother, Robert Reid, he came to Bucyrus, 
 where they embarked in the dry goods busi- 
 ness together. Later, William M. Reid, 
 about 1856, went into the general store 
 business under the firm name of Reid, But- 
 terfield & Co. In 1865 he became senior 
 member of the firm of Reid, Kaler & Malic, 
 dealers in grain, seeds and produce, and in 
 this line continued and became a prosper- 
 ous merchant. From early manhood he 
 was a Republican and at different times was 
 elected to public office and once was mayor 
 of Bucyrus. In all his enterprises and con- 
 nections he was honest, reliable and de- 
 pendable and no man was held in higher 
 esteem by his fellow citizens. He never 
 identified himself with many fraternal oi"- 
 ganizations but became interested in the 
 Knights of Honor and was a charter mem- 
 ber of this order at Bucyrus and belonged 
 also to the Royal Arcanum. He united 
 early with the Presbyterian church, in 
 which he long served as an elder, and for 
 twenty-one years was superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school. 
 
 Mr. Reid was married (first) December 
 31, 1861, to Miss^Mary E. Modewell, who 
 was born in Crawford county, August 10, 
 1863, and died when aged 25 years, five 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 705 
 
 months and nine days. Her parents were 
 Adam and Susan (Kelley) Modewell, who 
 were leading people of Bucyrus at that 
 time. Mrs. Reid was survived by one 
 daughter, Anna M., who is a teacher in 
 Honolulu. Mr. Reid's second marriage 
 took place at Bucyrus, August i6, 1864, to 
 Miss Emily McCracken, who was born at 
 Sulphur Springs, Crawford county, in 1844, 
 a daughter of John and Sarah Marian 
 (David) McCracken. The father was born 
 in Wayne county, O., of Scotch-Irish pa- 
 rentage. He came to Bucyrus and here met 
 and married, his wife having been a school 
 teacher here before any school-house was 
 built, having her classes in a part of her 
 uncle's store. Afterward Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
 Cracken moved to Sulphur Springs and she 
 died there at the age of 41 years. Mr. Mc- 
 Cracken married (second) Mrs. Huldah 
 (Kent) McCullough, and two children were 
 born : Genetta; who is the widow of Robert 
 Colmary and the mother of two children; 
 and Jay, who died at Fort Wayne, Ind., sur- 
 vived by his widow. To the first marriage 
 of Mr. McCracken the following children 
 were born : Rachel, who died in infancy ; 
 Margaret, now deceased, who was the wife 
 of David Lewis, also deceased; and Mrs. 
 Reid. John McCracken died at Bucyrus, 
 when more than 60 years of age. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Reid the following chil- 
 dren were born : Edward George, Mar- 
 garet, Lathrop Tracy, William Thane, 
 Charles Talmadge, Robert Scott, Susan 
 Mariman, Lois Emily and James McCrack- 
 en. Edward George Reid was born May 
 19, 1867, and was educated at Bucyrus. He 
 succeeded his father in business and is a 
 representative citizen of Bucyrus. On April 
 26, 1898, he enlisted for service in the war 
 with Spain, becoming sergeant-major in the 
 8th O. Vol. Inf., the other officers being, 
 Capt. M. A. Charlton, Lieut.-Col. (now 
 Senator) Dick, Col. C. V. Hard, of Woos- 
 ter, O., and Maj. Edward Follrath, of 
 Bucyrus, O. While with his regiment at 
 Santiago, Cuba, he was prostrated with the 
 yellow fever and he was sent to a hosptial, 
 where, through the efficiency of Miss Anna 
 Wheeler, the noble daughter of General 
 
 Wheeler, who was giving her services as a 
 nurse, he recovered his health. He was 
 honorably discharged with his regiment in 
 November, 1898, and resumed business, 
 deaHng in grain, hay, seeds and building 
 materials as before the war. He is past 
 commander of Charles Thoman Camp 
 Spanish American War Veterans and is 
 identified with a number of fraternal organ- 
 izations. Politically he is a Republican and 
 is serving as a member of the school, public 
 parks and library boards and the Board of 
 Health. In 1909 he was married to Miss 
 Maude E. McCarrell and they have one 
 daughter, Mary Emily. Margaret Reid was 
 born June 26, 1868, and died July 1, 1S70. 
 Lathrop Tracy Reid was born April 26, 
 1870, and is an engineer on the L. &: N. 
 Railroad, resides at Cloverport, Ky., is mar- 
 ried and has seven children. William 
 Thane Reid was born December 4, 1871, 
 and died in promising manhood, in Cali- 
 fornia. Charles Talmadge, who was born 
 November 19, 1873, is a commercial trav- 
 eler with the Hess, Clark Company, resides 
 at Ashland, O., married Virgie Laughbaum 
 and they have two children, Dorothy and 
 Robert. Robert Scott Reid was born July 
 16, 1876, and is a physician in practice at 
 Ocean Side, Calif., a graduate of the Co- 
 lumbus Medical College in the class of 1897. 
 He married Millie Hoover and they have 
 one daughter, Elizabeth. Susan M. Reid 
 was born July 27, 1879. She is a graduate 
 of Lewis Institute, in the department of 
 Domestic Science, Chicago. She is the wife 
 of J. H. Norton and they live at Riverside, 
 Calif., and have two sons, Richard and 
 John. Lois Emily Reid was born January 
 30, 1882. She is a trained nurse, a gradu- 
 ate of the Presbyterian Hospital Training 
 School, Chicago. James McCracken Reid 
 was born October 8, 1885, and is a resident 
 of Los Angeles, Calif., where he is connect- 
 ed with the Wells, Fargo Express Com- 
 pany. He married Gertrude Bean. Mrs. 
 Reid and family are all members of the 
 Presbyterian church. She is vice presideni 
 of the Foreign Missionary Society at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
706 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 HON. LEWIS H. BATTEFELD, who 
 is serving in his second term as a member 
 of the Ohio State Legislature and thereby 
 adding prestige to the city of Bucyrus, of 
 which he has been a resident since i860, 
 was born at Columbus, O., in 1842, one of 
 a family of four children born to his parents, 
 Lewis and Christina (Biber) Battefeld, the 
 latter of whom was a daughter of Conrad 
 and Christina (Utz) Biber, all of whom 
 were natives of Germany. 
 
 At the early age of seven years Lewis H. 
 Battefeld was left an orphan, both of his 
 parents having died of cholera in the epi- 
 demic of 1849. He was reared in the home 
 of his maternal grandfather, in Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, and attended 
 the country schools. After coming to 
 Bticyrus, in i860, he learned the trade of 
 saddle and harness making, which he fol- 
 lowed for 14 years, when he became inter- 
 ested in the manufacture of brick and drain 
 tile, in which line he continued for 35 years, 
 building up a large business from a small 
 beginning. There are many men so en- 
 grossed in business that public matters have 
 no interest for them but fortunately not all 
 are so absorbed, there being others who 
 have a wider outlook and more ambition. 
 Among these may be classed Mr. Battefeld. 
 A Democrat from principle from the time 
 of his majority, he soon made his influence 
 felt in Crawford county and eventually be- 
 came a leader of his party. In 1869 he was 
 appointed city marshal of Bucyrus and at 
 the same time was township constable. 
 From 1886 until 1892 he was a trustee of 
 Bucyrus township and in 1895 took up the 
 duties of a member of the board of county 
 commissioners, his election having been ac- 
 complished in the previous year, and three 
 years later was re-elected to this office and 
 for two years he was president of the Coun- 
 ty Commissioners' Association of Ohio. In 
 1900 he was a delegate to the Democratic 
 National Convention held at Kansas City, 
 from the 13th Congressional District of 
 Ohio, having previously served in the same 
 capacity in other political gatherings in 
 county, state and country, and for a num- 
 ber of years served as chairman of that im- 
 
 portant organization, the Democratic 
 county central committee. In 1909 Mr. 
 Battefeld was elected to the legislature and 
 approval of his course as a statesman was 
 shown by his subsequent re-election. He 
 is well known all over the state and his asso- 
 ciates and friends are men of equal promi- 
 nence and reliability. 
 
 Mr. Battefeld was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Phillipina Krebs, a daughter of Fred- 
 erick A. and Christina (Weibel) Krebs, na- 
 tives of Bavaria, Germany, but at that time 
 residents of Liberty township, Crawford 
 county. Two children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Battefeld: Cordelia S., who died 
 in 1886; and Lewis P The latter is a rail- 
 road and general contractor, doing a large 
 business at Bucyrus. Mr. Battefeld and 
 family are members of the Lutheran 
 church. He is identified with the Odd Fel- 
 lows and the Elks, while Lewis P. Battefeld 
 is a Mason. 
 
 CHARLES R. MILLER, one of the 
 leading farmers of Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., who numbers with his 
 many substantial possessions, two excellent 
 farms, one of 135 acres and the other of 
 seventy acres, was born in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Crawford county, Aug. 11, 1857, and 
 is a son of Daniel and Maria ^Lemon) 
 Miller. 
 
 Daniel Miller was born in Seneca county, 
 O., but spent the larger portion of his life 
 in Crawford county, where he was a suc- 
 cessful farmer. He was a quiet, steady, in- 
 dustrious man, a lover of his home and fam- 
 ily and a consistent member of the Luth- 
 eran church. He married Maria Lemon, 
 who was born in the State of New York 
 and in early life accompanied her parents 
 to Seneca county, O., where her death oc- 
 curred and both she and husband rest side 
 by side in Oakwood Cemetery at Bucyrus. 
 She was a devout member of the Baptist 
 church. They had the following children: 
 Hannah Jane, deceased, who was the wife 
 of Abel Dewalt; John D. ; Henrietta, who 
 is deceased; and Charles R., Frank E., Cas- 
 sius C. and Lemon S. 
 
 Charles R. Miller remained with his 
 
HON. LEWIS H. BATTEFELD 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 707 
 
 father on the home farm until he was 21 
 years of age, in the meanwhile attending 
 school in the winter months, and when he 
 started out for himself was quite well 
 equipped, his knowledge of farming secur- 
 ing him remunerative employment. When 
 the agricultural season was over he en- 
 gaged in teaming and when spring came 
 again resumed farming and through pru- 
 dence and industry has become a man of 
 independent means. He has been an active 
 and useful citizen, giving support to the 
 public schools and exerting his influence for 
 the betterment of his community whenever 
 opportunity has offered. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1879, Mr. Miller was married 
 to Miss Catherine Eichelberger, a daughter 
 of Isaac and Catherine (Bibler) Eichelber- 
 ger. They were farming people in Craw- 
 ford county, O. Mrs. Miller has two 
 brothers and two sisters: David, Noah, 
 Polly and Betsey. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller 
 the following children were born : Bertha 
 May, who died when aged five months ; 
 Clara Irene, who married Curtis Stofer and 
 has one child, Ethel Marie ; Orville B., who 
 married Mary Mullencupp, and has one 
 child, Desta Irene ; and Earl Roland, who 
 died at the age of thirteen months. Nomi- 
 nally Mr. Miller is a Republican but in some 
 campaigns he is inclined to be independent, 
 casting his vote rather for man than party. 
 He has served as township constable and 
 several times as supervisor and enjoys the 
 confidence and respect of his fellow citizens 
 very generally. 
 
 ALEXANDER M. KERR, a retired 
 farmer and highly respected resident of 
 Bucyrus, O., belongs to one of the old and 
 representative families of Crawford county, 
 of Scotch ancestry. He was born March 4, 
 1846, in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., and is a son of William and Jane 
 (Clark) Kerr. 
 
 In early days the great-grandparents of 
 Alexander M. Kerr migrated from Scotland 
 to near Dublin, Ireland, and reared their 
 children and died there. One son, William 
 Kerr, grandfather of Alexander M., came to 
 the United States in 1800 and shortly after- 
 
 ward settled in Juniata county. Pa. He was 
 married there to a lady by the name of 
 Stewart, who died in Pennsylvania and was 
 survived by a daughter, Nancy, who later 
 married and became the mother of several 
 children. William Kerr, Sr., was then mar- 
 ried to a widow, Mrs. Sarah (Abrams) 
 Elder, and they continued to reside in 
 Juniata county until after the birth of their 
 children, four in number — Alexander, 
 Sarah, William and James — and then de- 
 cided to come to Ohio. This was in 1832 
 and they made the long journey in wagons 
 and finally reached Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, the whole country being 
 then but a wilderness of forest and tangled 
 prairie. The land on which they settled had 
 been slightly improved by a former owner, 
 so that they found a shelter provided which 
 was better than was the fate of some other 
 settlers who came into this section about 
 the same time. Here WilHam Kerr, Sr., 
 died, prior to 1845, and his widow survived 
 him for seven years. They were among the 
 founders of the Presbyterian church in 
 Whetstone township and were people of ex- 
 emplary life and were widely known for 
 their pioneer hospitality. 
 
 William Kerr, Jr., father of Alexander M. 
 Kerr, of Bucyrus, was born August 24, 
 1808, and died September 23, 1888. He was 
 twenty-four years old when his parents 
 came to Crawford county, where his subse- 
 quent life was spent, farming being his main 
 interest. He was married in Whetstone 
 township, Feb. 14, 1837, to Miss Jane Clark, 
 who was born in Wayne county, O., Dec. 4, 
 1810, and died July 3, 1884. She was 
 brought to Crawford county by her father, 
 Archibald Clark, in 1821, after the death of 
 her mother, in Wayne county, O. Archi- 
 bald Clark was one of the first settlers in 
 Whetstone township, where he became a 
 man of importance and of large fortune. He 
 died there Dec. 30, 1875, aged 85 years. The 
 Clarks were of Scotch-Irish extraction and 
 were Presbyterians in religious faith. To 
 William Kerr, Jr., and his wife the follow- 
 ing children were born : Archibald C, 
 Sarah and Alexander M. Archibald C. 
 Kerr was born Feb. 6, 1838, and was reared 
 
708 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 in Whetstone township and remained at 
 home until he enHsted for service in the 
 Civil War, Aug. i, 1862, in the 8ist O. Vol. 
 Inf. ; he died from fever at Corinth, Miss., 
 Dec. I, 1862. He w^as unmarried. Sarah, 
 the only daughter, was born March 26, 
 1839. She married James Wise, and they 
 reside on their farm in Wyandot county. 
 They had one daughter, Daisey V., who 
 died after her marriage. 
 
 Alexander M. Kerr grew to manhood on 
 the home farm and continued to reside there 
 until after his marriage, when he settled on 
 a farm of 140 acres situated in Holmes 
 township. There he engaged successfully 
 in agricultural pursuits until he retired from 
 active business life, in March, 1906. Mr. 
 Kerr is a man of intelligence and observa- 
 tion and keeps well informed concerning all 
 that goes on in public affairs. He is inde- 
 pendent in politics, believing in personal 
 freedom of thought and is pronounced in 
 his attitude in favor of temperance. He is 
 a member of the Presbyterian church. 
 
 Mr. Kerr was married at Bucyrus, Dec. 
 23, 1874, to Miss Sarah J. Franz, who was 
 born April 17, 1852, the youngest of five 
 children born to her parents and the only 
 one surviving. She was very carefully and 
 thoroughly educated, graduating with the 
 first class after the new Union School build- 
 ing was completed at Bucyrus, at which 
 time the first certificates of graduation were 
 issued. She was chosen to deliver the first 
 class address. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Kerr were Col. John 
 and Jane (Burwell) Franz. Col. Franz 
 was born in Germany, Aug. 12, 1812, and 
 died of an attack of apoplexy, Nov. 14, 1870. 
 In his youth death removed his parents and 
 he was reared by an uncle until the age of 
 18 years. He then emigrated alone to 
 America and found his way to GaHon, 
 Crawford county, O., where he learned the 
 cabinetmaking trade, which he pursued 
 until 1857, in the meanwhile so impressing 
 his fellow citizens with his sterling char- 
 acter that in that year they elected him 
 sheriff of Crawford county. He served two 
 terms, four years, in this office. When the 
 Civil War broke out he became interested. 
 
 having previously been active in the state 
 militia, and was commissioned lieutenant- 
 colonel of the loist O. Vol. Inf. He served 
 for a. time but was forced to resign on ac- 
 count of the recurrence of an old ailment 
 which tendered military exposure impossi- 
 ble. After his return to private life he 
 was again called into public affairs, being 
 elected to the office of county treasurer, 
 and was serving in his second term when 
 his useful life was terminated as mentioned 
 above. He was an ardent Democrat all 
 his mature life and served in many local 
 offices including membership on the board 
 of education. He was widely known in the 
 Masonic fraternity and was a Mason of the 
 thirty-second degree. 
 
 Col. John Franz was married in Ohio to 
 Jane Burwell, who was born in Harrison 
 county, 0.,.May 21, 1815, and died at Bu- 
 cyrus, in 1902. Her people were old set- 
 tlers in Harrison county and came to Craw- 
 ford county when she was young. The 
 Burwells, like the Franz's and Kerrs were 
 Presbyterian in religious faith. Mrs. Kerr 
 had three brothers and one sister. Jay B. 
 Franz died in 1910. He was thrice married 
 but left no issue. William Franz was wide- 
 ly known as the inventor of the Franz 
 Knitting Machine, which has had a re- 
 markable sale notwithstanding the competi- 
 tion afforded by factory knitting. He real- 
 ized an ample fortune from this invention. 
 He was married in Ohio and had four chil- 
 dren, three of whom survive. John S. Franz 
 died at Jacksonville, Fla. He had early in- 
 terests of a substantial character at Tampa. 
 He married there and is survived by three 
 children. Kate E., the only sister of Mrs. 
 Kerr, died at Bucyrus. She was the wife 
 of J. R. Clymer, a prominent journalist of 
 Crawford county, who is also deceased. 
 They are survived by two sons and one 
 daughter. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kerr three sons have 
 been born, two of whom survive. William 
 Franz, the eldest, was born Nov. 6, 1875, 
 and died Aug. 24, 1876. Jay Alexander, the 
 second son, was born Oct. 25, 1882, was 
 given excellent educational advantages and 
 is now a prosperous farmer in Huron 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 709 
 
 county, O. He married Miss Maude G. 
 Carmean and they have two sons: Ernest 
 C. and Ralph W. The youngest son, 
 Franklin M., is unmarried and resides with 
 his parents. He is well educated and is 
 identified with the T. & O. Railroad, in 
 the freight department. 
 
 EARL W. CRALL, a resident of Bucy- 
 rus, Ohio, who is engaged in the railway 
 mail service, was born in Liberty township, 
 this county, just east of Bucyrus, in Oc- 
 tober, 1875. He is a son of John Raysor 
 Crall, and a descendant in the fifth genera- 
 tion of Mathias Crall, who was of Swiss 
 parentage and who resided in Dauphin 
 county. Pa. Mathias, who had served as 
 a soldier in the Colonial army in the Revo- 
 lutionary war, had a son, Henry, who vvas 
 born in Dauphin county, and who married 
 Elizabeth Henshaw, a native of Pennsyl- 
 vania, like himself. Among the children of 
 Henry and Elizabeth was John, known as 
 John Crall, Sr., who was born in Dauphin 
 county. Pa., December 18, 1809. When a 
 young man John Crall worked at the mill- 
 wright's trade. On April 16, 1835, he mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Raysor, a daughter of John 
 and Susanna (Fackler) Raysor. She was 
 born February 10, 1817, in the same county 
 as her husband. After their marriage they 
 lived with his father's family one year, 
 when they moved to the farm of her father, 
 where they remained nine years. He gave 
 them money to purchase the farm .of Mr. 
 Crall's parents, who were about to sell and 
 move to the West. 
 
 The Crall family moved to Ohio, settling 
 in Crawford county, and the flattering ac- 
 counts sent back by them of this country 
 induced John Crall to move here also. Ac- 
 cordingly with his wife and five children, 
 he left Harrisburg in a two-horse wagon 
 in April, 1852, arriving in Crawford county 
 in June. Here they purchased the Samuel 
 Foster place, in Liberty township, after- 
 wards occupied by their son, Elias, and in 
 this townshin both Henry and John Crall 
 died and were buried — the former at a 
 very advanced age. Their bodies rest in 
 the old Crall cemetery, connected with the 
 
 Crall United Brethren church, which they 
 had taken a leading part in founding, and of 
 which Henry Crall was one of the first 
 trustees. This church has been several times 
 repaired and remodeled and is one of the 
 best known churches in the county — being 
 in fact an old landmark. 
 
 John and Elizabeth Crall were the par- 
 ents of twelve children, three of whom died 
 in Pennsylvania in childhood, and two died 
 in childhood after they came here. The 
 others were : John R., who settled in Mi- 
 lan, Erie county, O. ; Elizabeth, who be- 
 came Mrs. E. M. Moore; William Elias, 
 who for some time taught school and who 
 settled on the old homestead, marrying Lo- 
 vina Spahr, but who later moved to Hicks- 
 ville, O., where he now resides; Oliver 
 and Susan, of whom, like William, we have 
 no special record; and David, who served 
 in the Civil war as a member of the loist 
 Regt., O. V. I., was captured at Chicka- 
 mauga, and died in Danville prison. May 
 24, 1864. John Crall, Sr., died Nov. 25, 
 1879. He and his wife were both members 
 of the United Brethren church, her father, 
 John Raysor, being a minister of that per- 
 suasion. She died at an advanced age and 
 was buried in the old Crall cemetery. All 
 were worthy people, prominent in the af- 
 fairs of the township and universally liked 
 and respected. 
 
 John Raysor Crall, father of the subject 
 of this sketch and son of John and Eliza- 
 beth Crall above mentioned, was born in 
 Dauphin county. Pa., in 1837, and was four- 
 teen years of age when he accompanied the 
 family to this county. He was brought up 
 to farm life and was thus engaged, for the 
 most part in this county, until about ten 
 years ago, when he removed to Wauseon, 
 Ohio, and later to Adrian, Mich., where he 
 resides at the present time with a daughter. 
 Like the majority of the Crall family, he 
 is a Republican in his political affiliations. 
 He was first married in this county to Cath- 
 erine Ferral, who died in the prime of life, 
 leaving one son, Clark Crall, who is now 
 farm manager for the Sciota Land Co., at 
 McGuffy, Ohio, and who is married but 
 has no children. John R. Crall married sec- 
 
710 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ondly in this county Catherine Stephenson, 
 who was born in Crawford county of Eng- 
 lish parentage paternally, and was here 
 reared and educated. On her mother's side 
 she is of Pennsylvania-German jancestry. 
 She died in the fall of 1883, in the prime 
 of life. She was a member of the Christian 
 church, as is also her husband. They were 
 the parents of six children, of whom one, 
 Maude, died in infancy, and another, May, 
 at the age of 25 years, unmarried. The 
 others are : Lawrence, a farmer in Wil- 
 liams county, who is married and has three 
 children — Fred. L., Lee and Mabel; Dilla 
 M. lives with her father in Adrian, Mich., 
 being in the employ of the Van Camp Com- 
 pany; she is unmarried; Earl W. is the 
 direct subject of this sketch; Lee S., who 
 resides at Sumner, 111., is in the employ of 
 the Standard Oil Company, is married and 
 has children — Donald H., Dorothy and 
 Glenn Robert. 
 
 Earl W. Crall was educated at Ada, O., 
 and at Alliance, O., and was for some years 
 a school teacher. In the fall of 1903 he 
 took a place as railway mail clerk and is 
 in class 4A of the department. He also 
 studied law and was admitted to the bar 
 in igoS. He is a broad-minded man of 
 scholarly tastes and has many friends 
 throughout the county. He was married 
 in Whetstone township to Mabel B. Camp- 
 bell, who was born in that township, April 
 4, 1875, a daughter of John Benton and 
 Jennie F. (Shanks) Campbell, and who, 
 after receiving a good education, taught 
 school in the county for some three years. 
 Mrs. Crall is a granddaughter of Edward 
 Campbell and a great granddaughter of 
 John Campbell, who was an early settler 
 in Wayne county, Ohio. In 1823 John 
 Campbell came with his family to Crawford 
 county, settling in Whetstone township, 
 where he took up government land and ap- 
 plied himself to the task of developing a 
 farm. For years he resided in a log cabin, 
 which he built himself. He was a man of 
 ability and became one of influence, dying 
 much respected at the age of 76 years. 
 
 Edward Campbell was reared on the farm 
 on which he continued to reside after his 
 
 father's death. He married Amanda Tupps, 
 who bore him four children. Their daugh- 
 ter, Catharine, married Frank KeifTer and 
 is now deceased. Their son, Samuel K., 
 became in his turn the manager of the 
 homestead farm. A daughter, Lettie J., 
 married Andrew J. Gibson and resides on 
 the old Campbell homestead in Whetstone 
 township, which, as has been stated by an- 
 other historian, " in the days of its founder 
 was the center, not only of a generous hos- 
 pitality, but of an influence which extended 
 in many directions, for that honored pioneer 
 served for many years in the office of jus- 
 tice of the peace, at one time represented 
 his district in the legislature, and was an 
 active and prominent member of the Disci- 
 ple church." 
 
 John B. Campbell was the third child of 
 his parents. He was born and reared on 
 the Campbell homestead and was educated 
 in the public schools near his home and at 
 Lebanon, Q. For some time subsequently 
 he taught winter school, working on the 
 farm during the remainder of the year. In 
 1872 he married Miss Jennie Shanks, a 
 daughter of David Shanks, and they had 
 two children — Mabel Campbell and Urias 
 Edward. After their marriage, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Campbell settled on Grandfather 
 Campbell's old home farm, where they lived 
 ten years, then locating on a farm of 160 
 acres, on which Mr. Campbell has made 
 some fine improvements. He has given his 
 attention to general farming and is a sue- 
 cessful breeder of shorthorn cattle and a 
 prominent sheep raiser. In 1892 he was 
 granted a premium for the largest yield of 
 scoured wool per fleece grown in the United 
 States during the year 1892, which was con- 
 ferred upon him at Boston, Mass. He is 
 a Republican in politics and an influential 
 and useful citizen. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crall are the parents of 
 two children — Muriel Bernice, born April 
 5, 1905, who is now attending the city 
 schools, and Clark Campbell, born April 7, 
 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Crall are members of 
 the Christian church; the former is a Re- 
 publican with independent proclivities. He 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 711 
 
 belongs to the Blue lodge of the Masonic 
 order. 
 
 DELMAN McCALLISTER, a leading 
 citizen of Crawford county, O., who now 
 devotes his entire time to the management 
 of his farm and its varied industries, for a 
 number of years was one of the most ef- 
 fective and popular teachers in both Seneca 
 and Crawford counties. He was born Jan. 
 i6, 1867, in Fairfield county, O., and is a 
 son af Albert and Maria (Spitler) McCalr 
 lister. 
 
 Albert McCaUister was born in Fairfield 
 county, O., in 1837, where he followed farm- 
 ing until about 1873, when he moved to 
 Seneca township, Seneca county, and con- 
 tinued as a farmer until his death, Novem- 
 ber 26, 1900, when aged 62 years. He was 
 of Scotch-Irish descent. In 1862 he mar- 
 ried Maria Spitler, who was of German 
 descent and was born and reared in Fair- 
 field county, her death occurring in Wyan- 
 dot county, December 2, 191 1, when she 
 was aged 74 years, 9 months and 24 days. 
 They had seven children, as follows : Theo- 
 dore, who is a farmer and resides in Wyan- 
 dot county; Mrs. Clara Wood, of Toledo; 
 Delman; Mrs. Sadie Ream, who died Feb. 
 2, 1904; Mrs. Minerva Chester, who lives 
 at Melmore, Seneca county; Mrs. Amanda 
 Meyers, who lives in Wyandot county ; and 
 Mrs. Irena Hackman, who also lives in Wy- 
 andot county. 
 
 Delman McCallister was brought up on 
 a farm in Seneca county, his parents hav- 
 ing moved to that place when he was a 
 small boy. Here amid stern surroundings, 
 he helped his parents at the general farm 
 work and attended the district school in 
 winter, until he reached the age of 19 years, 
 when he hired out to a neighbor farmer for 
 the summer season. The following winter 
 he again attended the district school, was 
 seized with a desire to teach and during the 
 following summer attended the Fostoria 
 Normal School, then taught school for a 
 time, before taking a higher educational 
 course at Ada, O. For some sixteen years 
 Mr. McCallister satisfactorily taught school 
 in Seneca county. As a teacher he was al- 
 
 ways mindful of the moral and spiritual 
 side of life, and tried to impress and enthuse 
 his pupils with the higher and loftier ideals 
 which trend to build up and make better 
 and more noble men and women. In 1903 
 he came to his present farm in Crawford 
 county and for one year afterward taught 
 school at Oceola, his last work in this line 
 being during the following winter when he 
 taught the school in his own school dis- 
 trict. He is now thoroughly interested in 
 his agricultural activities and carries on his 
 operations along modern lines and with a 
 large amount of success. In farming, as in 
 teaching, Mr. McCallister is thoroughly 
 progressive. He believes in making home 
 life pleasant by having pleasant surround- 
 ings and spends no little time in making 
 them so. 
 
 Mr. McCallister was married June 29, 
 1891, to Miss Ida May Peters, who is a 
 daughter of the late J. D. Peters, who was 
 born in Jefferson county, O., Sept. 16, 1828, 
 and came with his parents to Hancock 
 county in 1834, and settled on a farm where 
 Arcadia now stands. Later he bought and 
 moved to a large farm in Seneca county. 
 He was a member of the 197 regular O. 
 V. L, and a life-long resident of Hancock 
 and Seneca counties. He died in Fostoria, 
 O., June 4, 191 1, when aged 82 years, 8 
 months and 18 days. He was married first' 
 to Sarah J. Benham, and three children 
 were born to them: William, who is de- 
 ceased; Mrs. Josephine Whetson, of Find- 
 lay, O. ; and Mrs. Melvina Ferguson, who 
 is deceased. He was married (second) to 
 Nancy Roller, who left nine children, name- 
 ly: Emma, who is deceased; Ida May, who 
 is Mrs. McCallister; Ross, who is deceased; 
 C. J., who is a resident of Tiffin; Mrs. Alma 
 Shuman, who is a resident of Cary, O. ; 
 Harry O., who lives in Indianapolis, Ind. ; 
 Mrs. Anna Baker Cole, who is a resident 
 of Findlay, O. ; Mrs. Ada Meyers, whose 
 husband is a minister living at Caldwell, 
 Kans. ; and Mrs. Myrtle Moore, whose 
 home is in South Dakota. The third mar- 
 riage of Mr. Peters was to Ellen Clemens, 
 a resident of Findlay. 
 
 Mrs. McCallister was also one of the sue- 
 
712 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 cessful school teachers of Seneca county. 
 She received her higher education at the 
 Northwestern Normal School and the Fos- 
 toria Academy, and followed teaching for 
 several years previous to her marriage. She 
 was a lover of good literature and always 
 took great interest in literary work. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McCallister have one foster 
 son, Frank, who lives at home and teaches 
 school. In politics Mr. McCallister has al- 
 ways been a Democrat. While residing in 
 Seneca county he served two terms as town- 
 ship clerk and has also served as census 
 enumerator. He is identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias and the Jr. O. U. A. M. 
 For many years he has been a member and 
 active in the United Brethren church, tak- 
 ing a special interest in Sunday-school 
 work. 
 
 D. C. CAHILL, a well known member 
 of the Bucyrus bar, formerly clerk of the 
 courts of Crawford county, has been en- 
 gaged in the practice of law in this city, al- 
 though not continuously, since i860, when 
 he was admitted to the bar. He was born 
 in Vernon township, Crawford county, O., 
 Nov. 2, 1832, and is a son of R. W. and 
 Eliza (Cummins) Cahill. 
 
 Mr. Cahill spent his early years on the 
 home farm, and later, to assist his father, 
 passed more time there. He was educated 
 in the Wittenberg College, and completed 
 the entire term in that institution. In th? 
 fall of 1857 he came to Bucyrus and com- 
 pleted his course in law, was admitted to 
 the bar three years later and afterward en- 
 gaged in the practice of his profession in 
 this city until April, 1865, when he closed 
 his office in order to make a visit to the Pa- 
 cific coast. Traveling in a leisurely way 
 and stopping at interesting places, he 
 reached California and went from there ta 
 Oregon, and from April, 1866, until he 
 started back east, he served as deputy clerk 
 of the county courts of Linn county. In 
 his return to New York Mr. Cahill trav- 
 eled over what was then an interesting part 
 of the Western hemisphere and which is 
 doubly so at present, crossing the Isthmus 
 of Panama in the irregular and unsafe man- 
 
 ner of transportation of that time, without 
 ever a thought of the great Gatun Dam 
 that has eaten its way through miles of 
 that wilderness, or of the mighty water- 
 way that will invite the commerce of every 
 nation. 
 
 For a few months Mr. Cahill again prac- 
 ticed law at Bucyrus, but once more closed 
 his office in order to be free to accompany 
 an ailing brother to the warmer clime of 
 Texas, where the latter died three months 
 later. In June, 1869, Mr. Cahill resumed 
 his law practice at Bucyrus but shortly 
 afterward was incapacitated by a painful ac- 
 cident, which prevented further professional 
 efifort until 1872. In 1874 he was elected 
 county clerk of Crawford county and con- 
 tinued as such until 1880. After leaving 
 public life, Mr. Cahill once more resumed 
 his practice of law and has ever since main- 
 tained his office in the Quinby Block, being 
 in partnership with a brother, the firm" name 
 being Cahill Brothers. General law has 
 been his line and he has the reputation of 
 being one of the safest and most conserv- 
 ative advisers among the older members 
 of the Bucyrus bar. 
 
 FRANK MARION EAKIN, agent for 
 the Pennsylvania Company, at Bucyrus, O., 
 is not only popular with this corporation 
 but is known, valued and esteemed in rail- 
 road circles generally. He was born at Co- 
 lumbus Grove, O., July 28, 1870, and is a 
 son of Dr. Thomas and Ella (Frank) Eakin. 
 
 Thomas Eakin, the grandfather, was born 
 in Pennsylvania and was of Scotch-Irish 
 ancestry. He married in his native state 
 and a large family was born to him, his eld- 
 est son being given his name, Thomas, as 
 was the family custom. Thomas Eakin, Jr., 
 was born in Pennsylvania in 1816 and be- 
 came a physician. For some years he was 
 associated in practice with Dr. J. F. Fitz- 
 simmons, at Moundsville, Ind. Later Dr. 
 Eakin located at Columbus Grove, O., after 
 three years of medical service in the Civil 
 War, and continued to practice there until 
 within a short time of his death, in 1894. 
 He was a man of education and culture and 
 of splendid physical robustness and it was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 713 
 
 said of him that his mere appearance in 
 a sick room was as potent as his prescrip- 
 tions. He was widely known and was held 
 in very high esteem both personally and 
 professionally. He was thrice married, his 
 last union being with Miss Ella Frank, who 
 was born in Wayne county, O., not far from 
 Wooster. She is a lady of scholarship, a 
 former teacher, and has served as a mem- 
 ber of the Columbus Grove School Board. 
 She is interested not only in social matters 
 but in those of wider scope, especially in 
 relation to those concerning her own sex. 
 She is a member of the Presbyterian 
 church, as was the late Dr. Eakin. Four 
 children were born to the above marriage, 
 three daughters and one son, namely: Net- 
 tie, who is the wife of L. E. Maxwell, a 
 prominent citizen of Wooster, O., a mem- 
 ber of its board of aldermen; Frank Mar- 
 ion, our subject; Margaret, who resides 
 with her mother at Columbus Grove ; and 
 Mary, who is the wife of L. D. Bower, a 
 merchant at Geneva, O. 
 
 Frank Marion Eakin was educated in the 
 schools of Columbus Grove, after which, in 
 1888, he entered the employ of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Company as a telegraph operator and 
 served as such at different points until 1896, 
 when he was detailed as clerk for the same 
 system, at Englewood, 111., where he con- 
 tinued until 1899, at which time he was ap- 
 pointed ticket agent at Lima, O. After 
 coming to Bucyrus he was made agent, this 
 being a very important point on the Penn- 
 sylvania Lines, and here has displayed 
 marked efficiency, his executive ability be- 
 ing so tempered with tact and diplomacy 
 that he presides over an office of satisfied 
 employes and at the same time meets every 
 demand of often an unreasonable public. 
 
 Mr. Eakin was married in igoo at To- 
 peka, Kans., to Miss Eleanor H. Newman, 
 who was born in Chicago, 111., and was edu- 
 cated at Toledo, O., and in Kansas. They 
 attend the Presbyterian church. He is iden- 
 tified with the Masons and the Elks. 
 
 J. LEW GUGLER, who is prominent in 
 the commercial life of Galion, O., and pro- 
 prietor of one of the largest mercantile es- 
 
 tablishments in Crawford county and iden- 
 tified with numerous other successful busi- 
 ness enterprises of this section belongs to 
 that large number of prosperous business 
 men who can claim this city as their native 
 place. He was born in a log cabin in 1864 
 that still stands on North Union street, and 
 is a son of Louis and Louisa (Hessenauer) 
 Gugler. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Gugler were born, 
 reared and married near Heidelberg, Ger- 
 many, and came to the United States in 
 1848, on a sailing vessel that required 70 
 days to make the passage but nevertheless 
 safely landed its voyagers in the harbor of 
 New York. From there Louis Gugler and 
 wife made their way to Galion, O., where 
 Mr. Gugler engaged in work at his trade, 
 that of cooper, for 40 years, and his indus- 
 try would have been rewarded by a com- 
 fortable competency had not his faith in 
 some friends induced him to endorse notes 
 which he subsequently had to meet. His 
 death occurred when he was aged about 
 67 years. His widow survived until 1904, 
 she being aged 73 years. They assisted in) 
 ■founding the German Methodist Episcopal 
 church at Galion, Mr. Gugler being an of- 
 ficial for a long period. 
 
 J. Lew Gugler was educated in the Galion 
 schools and at one time had as his tutor 
 Jacob Menser, a well known character. 
 When fourteen years of age the youth com- 
 menced his business career and it was with 
 the fixed purpose of sometime being at the 
 head of a mercantile establishment of his 
 own, starting in the dry goods store of D. 
 W. Swaner. His ambition has been real- 
 ized, although many years of work and fi- 
 delity to employers went before and he has 
 had many handicaps at one time or another. 
 He spent ten years of service in dry goods 
 stores in Mansfield, O. His determination 
 and energy enabled him to overcome all 
 difficulties and at length, in 1893, he em- 
 barked in business with a partner, under the 
 firm style of Gugler & Davis, which was 
 continued until 1903, when Mr. Gugler be- 
 came sole proprietor. He has a fine loca- 
 tion with an 180-foot frontage at No. 121 
 East Main street. His stock is large and 
 
714 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 varied, including dry goods, cloaks, ready- 
 to-wear goods, carpets and rugs and house 
 furnishings, handling the finest fabrics and 
 catering to the most exclusive of the city's 
 buyers. He is a man of ideas and has in- 
 troduced many pleasing features which are 
 not to be found in every establishment. Mr. 
 Gugler has found also that it is better to 
 do a strictly cash business and he was the 
 first merchant in the city who established 
 and kept to this safe and, in the end, most 
 satisfactory system. Mr. Gugler has dem- 
 onstrated his business ability along still 
 other lines and is a member of the board of 
 directors of the Commercial Savings Bank 
 Company; also of the Galion Iron Works 
 Company, and of the Galion Building and 
 Loan Association, and is a stockholder in 
 numerous other concerns. 
 
 Mr. Gugler was married to Miss Ida C. 
 Hugo, who is justly proud of her descent 
 from the great French writer, Victor Hugo. 
 She was born at Mansfield, C, but was 
 mainly educated at Detroit, Mich. They 
 have two children, a daughter and a son, 
 Mildred Dorothy, who is aged 14 years; 
 and Robert Hugo, who is a school boy of 
 9 years. An older child, Helen Louise, died 
 when 5 years old. Mr. and Mrs. Gugler 
 are members and generous supporters of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church, Mr. Gugler 
 being a member of the official board. He 
 has always been an ardent Republican and 
 in 191 1 was elected a member of the school 
 board in a city of 8,000 that always gives 
 a Democratic majority of from 500 to 1,000. 
 He was one of the organizers of the Com- 
 mercial Club and is a director and an active 
 member of the renowned "Galion Boost- 
 ers," who never tire of working for Greater 
 Galion. 
 
 JOHN F. FISCHER, formerly a trustee of 
 Tod township, Crawford county, O., and one 
 of the honest, reliable and respected citizens 
 of this section, resides on his finely improved 
 farm of 100 acres, which is situated nine miles 
 northwest of Bucyrus, O. He was born in 
 Germany and is a son of Emanuel and Mag- 
 dalena (Rilling) Fischer. 
 
 Emanuel Fischer and wife were born in 
 
 Germany and when they came first to Craw- 
 ford county, 0., he bought a tract of 20 acres 
 west of Bucyrus, to which he subsequently 
 added 16 acres and followed farming there 
 until the close of his active life, his death oc- 
 curring in 1897, when his age was 72 years. 
 He married Magdalena Rilling, who was born 
 in 1840 and still survives. Of their ten chil- 
 dren, six grew up and five of these are living. 
 
 John F. Fischer went to school in the country 
 near his father's farm, first in Pennsylvania, 
 ancf after 1884, when the family came to 
 Crawford county, in the neighborhood of Bu- 
 cyrus. He then secured farm work and for 
 six years was engaged by the month as a farm 
 hand, in this way gaining a very thorough 
 knowledge of every phase of agricultural life. 
 For the next three years he rented land and 
 put into practice what he had learned when 
 working for others and succeeded so well 
 that he took a larger farm on the Tiffin road. 
 He remained there one year and afterward, 
 up to 1901, lived on other farms in the town- 
 ship, being a good tenant on all. In the above 
 year he purchased first 80 acres and then 
 added 20 acres, which together constitute his 
 present farm of 100 acres in Tod township 
 which he has so improved that it is one of the 
 best and most attractive in this part of the 
 township. 
 
 Mr. Fischer married Miss Sophia Streib 
 and they have three children: Mary, who is 
 sixteen years old; Clara, who is eleven years 
 old; and Jerome, a bright boy of seven years. 
 Mr. Fischer and family are members of the 
 Lutheran church. His political sentiments 
 have always been Democratic. 
 
 WILLIAM MAGEE, who enjoys the 
 distinction of being the oldest man living 
 that was born in Crawford, county, C, is 
 widely known and universally esteemed, 
 possessing traits of character which have 
 endeared him to those with whom he has 
 associated in any way during his long and 
 worthy life. He was born on his father's 
 farm in Crawford county, Sept. 19, 1827, 
 and is a son of James Washington and a 
 grandson of Alexander MaGee. 
 
 Alexander MaGee was born in Ireland 
 and came to America in early manhood, set- 
 tling in Washington county. Pa., prior to 
 
MR. AND MRS. JOHN F. FISCHER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 717 
 
 the Revolutionary War. He acquired 400 
 acres of land in Washington county and 
 lived on the same into old age, a well pre- 
 served man possessing all his natural facul- 
 ties except his eyesight, which faded some 
 years before his death. The family has 
 been one of unusual longevity. He mar- 
 ried in Pennsylvania an excellent woman 
 who belonged to an old Presbyterian fam- 
 ily of Washington county, and the following 
 names of their children have been pre- 
 served: Alexander, John, William, James 
 Washington and Nancy, the last named be- 
 coming the wife of John Ramsey. 
 
 James Washington MaGee was born in 
 Washington county. Pa., in 1789, and grew 
 to manhood in his father's house. In those 
 days a source of income was open to sturdy 
 young men in the business of hauling 
 freight over the mountains, there being no 
 great transportation lines yet constructed, 
 and James Washington MaGee made nu- 
 merous trips of this kind. Having thus 
 earned the capital he was anxious to invest 
 it in land and in 1821 came to Ohio, then 
 the far West to Pennsylvania, and in San- 
 dusky township, Crawford county, entered 
 160 acres of land for himself and also 160 
 acres for each of his three brothers-in-law, 
 a one-quarter section for William Moder- 
 well, another for John Clemens, and another 
 for John Magars. Having thus ensured a 
 little settlement in the wilderness he, with 
 the other families, in 1823 came with their 
 wagons and ox-teams, to Crawford county. 
 Here all established themselves and lived 
 out long and useful lives and all have de- 
 scendants in the county. James W. MaGee 
 cleared and improved his farm and re- 
 mained on it a contented man during the 
 rest of his life, his death occurring April 
 14, 1850. His father had been a Federalist 
 and he was a Whig. In the latter part of 
 his life he united with the Presbyterian 
 church. On May 10, 1814, he was married 
 in Washington county, Pa., to Miss Ann 
 Moderwell, who was of Scotch parentage, 
 but was born in Pennsylvania. She was 
 born February 21, 1792, and in loving trib- 
 ute to her her son, William, declares that 
 when she died on October 12, 1852, there 
 
 passed from earth the best woman that ever 
 lived. She was a devoted Christian wife 
 and mother and not only her family loved 
 her but the whole neighborhood. Mr. Ma- 
 Gee can conceive of no higher type of wom- 
 anhood than was this beloved mother. Nine 
 children were born to James W. and Ann 
 McGee, as follows : Eliza, who died at the 
 age of 70 years, leaving two children : Mary 
 A., who died at the age of 21 years; Robert, 
 who was survived by children, Isabel and 
 John, both of whom are deceased; Sarah 
 I. and Margaret E., twins, the former dying 
 at the age of 16 years and the latter when 
 aged 19 years; and Ethalinda, who died 
 when aged 18 years. 
 
 William MaGee passed his boyhood and 
 youth on the homestead farm and as oppor- 
 tunity was afiforded attended the district 
 school. He was industrious and provident 
 during his active years and accumulated a 
 large amount of property, the greater part of 
 which he has given to his children in order 
 to witness their enjoyment of it, but he 
 still retains a farm of 116 acres, which lies 
 in Bucyrus township. On Oct. 10, 1850, 
 Mr. MaGee was married to Miss Margaret 
 Jane Cleland, who was born in Vernon 
 township, Crawford county, O., Nov. 3, 
 1828, and died at her home in Bucyrus, Feb. 
 14, 1899, an estimable woman in every re- 
 lation of life. The following children were 
 born to them : an infant, deceased, who was 
 born September 13, 1851 ; Rachel Ann, born 
 March 31, 1853, who is a widow living at 
 Los Angeles, Calif. ; and William Wallace, 
 who was born August 28, 1856, and now 
 has charge of his father's farm in Bucyrus 
 township. He married Amanda Dirmeyer 
 and has had two children: James, who died 
 in childhood; and Florence A. When five 
 weeks old a niece, Rachel Emma Ann Cle- 
 land, lost her mother and she then became 
 a member of the household of Mr. and Mrs. 
 MaGee. She grew up a dutiful and loving 
 daughter and for eleven years was the chief 
 dependence of her adopted mother, Mrs. 
 MaGee, the latter of whom was an invalid 
 for thirteen years, being afflicted with 
 creeping paralysis. Since then she has been 
 equally dutiful to her uncle and adopted 
 
718 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 father, Mr. MaGee. On May 13, 191 1, she 
 was happily married to Ray H. Furister, 
 who was born June 17, 1878, in Michigan, 
 a son of the late A. J. and Susan Viola 
 (Hodges) Furister. In his views on public 
 matters Mr. MaGee is in sympathy with the 
 cardinal principles of the Republican party. 
 He has always been a Presbyterian in re- 
 ligious faith. 
 
 VICTOR McDOUGAL, owner and pro- 
 prietor of an important industry at North 
 Robinson, Crawford cofinty, O., a plant for 
 the manufacture of brick and drain tile, is 
 an experienced man in this business and 
 since purchasing this plant in June, 1909, 
 has worked his machinery to its fullest ca- 
 pacity every season. Mr. McDougal was 
 born Dec. 22, 1876, near New Washington, 
 0., and is a son of Hiram and Elizabeth 
 (King) McDougal. 
 
 The father of Mr. McDougal was born in 
 Auburn township, Crawford county and the 
 mother in Pennsylvania. The latter sur- 
 vives and resides at New Washington, but 
 the former died Jan. 22, 1908. He was a 
 veteran of the Civil War, having served 
 three years in Co. K, 45th O. Vol. Inf., and 
 was honorably discharged. Afterward he 
 followed agricultural pursuits. He was a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 His children were : Adrian, Warren, Vic- 
 tor and Inez, the last named being deceased. 
 
 Victor McDougal attended the commoij 
 schools of Cranberry township and spent 
 two years in the New Washington High 
 School, after which he went to Cleveland 
 and in one of the great machine shops of 
 that city learned the trade which he fol- 
 lowed for three years. On account of im- 
 paired eyesight Mr. McDougal was obliged 
 to give up his trade in which he was ac- 
 knowledged to be a skillful workman, and 
 then turned his attention to tile making, 
 this being an industry that demanded less 
 eye strain than work as a machinist. For 
 two years he was in the tile plant of Wil- 
 liam Seitter and for two years more was 
 with the Milliron Bros., and then went into 
 the business for himself, purchasing his 
 present well equipped plant from P. R. Fate. 
 
 During his busy season he gives employ- 
 ment to eight men. and has a satisfactory 
 local market for his brick and tile. He has 
 invested in other property here and owns 
 a comfortable residence. 
 
 On June 14, 1905, Mr. McDougal was 
 married to Miss Blanche Burd, a daughter 
 of Jeremiah and Mary Burd, farming people 
 in Seneca county. Mrs. McDougal has one 
 sister, Elsie, who is the wife of Monroe 
 Stephenson. Mr. and Mrs. McDougal have 
 three children: Homer R., Richard and 
 Norris. Politically he is a Republican, fra- 
 ternally belongs to the Maccabees, and he 
 and wife attend the United Brethren church 
 at North Robinson. 
 
 WILLIAM R. WISE, who, in associa- 
 tion with his brothers conducts a furniture 
 and undertaking business at Bucyrus, O., 
 is a representative business man of this city. 
 The Wise family was known in Clearfield 
 county. Pa., in the days of George Wise, the 
 grandfather. He died there and later his 
 widow came to Crawford county, O., accom- 
 panied by her sons, and afterward to Val- 
 paraiso, Ind., where she remained during 
 the rest of a long life. 
 
 William' Wise, father of William R. Wise, 
 was born in 1824, in Pennsylvania, and was 
 twelve years old when his mother came to 
 Crawford county. About 1845 the sons, 
 William, Adam, Jacob, John and Henry, 
 returned to Crawford county from Indiana 
 and all settled on farms in the county. Wil- 
 liam located first in Bucyrus township, but 
 afterward moved on a farm nearer the vil- 
 lage and still later became a resident of the 
 hamlet, where he started a cabinetmaking 
 shop. He had but the tools of his trade, 
 none of the present machinery for the mak- 
 ing of furniture having yet been invented, 
 and even the black walnut coffins were all 
 made by hand. He was one of the first in 
 this section to purchase machinery and had 
 the enterprise to keep abreast with the 
 times, and in 1847, in partnership with 
 Christopher Hoenstein opened a large shop 
 at No. 215 East Mansfield street, Bucyrus. 
 This continued until 1865, when the firm 
 name became William Wise, and later Wil- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 719 
 
 liam Wise & Sons, located at Nos. 215-17 
 S. Sandusky street. He first admitted his 
 son, Preston, who died in 1890, and his 
 death occurred October 14, 1901. Since that 
 time the business has been conducted by the 
 surviving- sons : WilHam R., George L., 
 Fred A. and Joseph D., all of whom have 
 been practically brought up in it. This firm 
 carries a large stock of furniture and house 
 furnishings and a complete line of under- 
 taking goods, including two funeral cars 
 and an ambulance. The present business 
 house was erected in 1884 and additions 
 made in 1895, the present frontage being 
 33 feet with a depth of 160 feet. Every de- 
 partment of the business is carefully at- 
 tended to and the patronage is heavy. Old 
 methods, in so far as business integrity is 
 concerned, are still maintained, confidence 
 in the name of Wise having been secured 
 a half century ago. 
 
 The late William Wise was a leading 
 member of the English Lutheran church at 
 Bucyrus for thirty years. He gave political 
 support to the Republican party but ac- 
 cepted no offices. For some years prior 
 to his death he was a member of the fra- 
 ternal organization, the Knights of Honor. 
 He was married in Crawford county to 
 Eliza Jane Deardorfif, who was born in 1827 
 and died in 1888. Her . father, Emanuel 
 Deardorff, was an early settler in Craw- 
 ford county, a tanner and farmer, who 
 spent his last years in comfortable re- 
 tirement in Bucyrus. None of his sur.- 
 viving children reside in this county. 
 To William Wise and wife eleven children 
 were born, two of whom died young. One 
 daughter, Lizzie, died in 1902, and one son, 
 Preston, in 1890. A daughter, Millie, who 
 died February i, 1910, was the wife of Ed- 
 ward VoUrath, an attorney at Bucyrus, and 
 was survived by three sons and two daugh- 
 ters. The surviving members of the family 
 of William and Eliza Jane Wise are : Mar- 
 tha, who is the widow of Rev. George 
 Hindle and resides at Wooster, O., with her 
 large family; Bessie, who is the wife of Seth 
 Hodges, who is at the head of the U. S. 
 Express Company at Cleveland, O., and 
 who has one son, William Preston; Wil- 
 
 liam R., the subject of this sketch; George 
 L., who married Fannie Shaw and has one 
 daughter, Mary; Fred A., who married 
 Maybell Beard and has two daughters, 
 Helen and Frances V. ; Joseph E., who mar- 
 ried Olive Greyer, formerly a successful 
 teacher of music at Bucyrus, and has one 
 son, William. 
 
 William R. Wise was reared and educated 
 with Jiis brothers in the city schools, and 
 also with them had the practical training 
 under their father that provided them with 
 a business as soon as they were able to take 
 responsibilities on themselves. He was 
 married at Bucyrus to Miss Stella Lauck, a 
 daughter of George Lauck, who for many 
 years before his death was a merchant here. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wise have two children : 
 Eleanor C, who was born April 18, 1901 ; 
 and Virginia, who was born July 29, 1905. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wise are members of the Eng- 
 lish Lutheran church. He belongs to the 
 Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Eagles 
 and the Order of Ben Hur. He and broth- 
 ers are all Republicans. From their father 
 they have inherited musical talent of a high 
 order and frequently they take care of the 
 musical service as well as the practical work 
 of funerals, this usually being more than 
 satisfactory. Mr. Wise and brothers are 
 all graduate embalmers. 
 
 JEFFERSON I. SMITH, ex-auditor of 
 Crawford county, O., who has been active 
 in Democratic councils in this county for 
 many years, is engaged in the insurance 
 business at Bucyrus and represents some of 
 the leading life companies of the country. 
 He was born in Lykens township, Crawford 
 county, April 24, 1863, and is a son of Fred- 
 erick and Lucy A. (Shupp) Smith. 
 
 Frederick Smith was born in Litenberg, 
 Saxony, Germany, April i, 181 5, later at- 
 tended a trade school and became a stone 
 mason. Between 1835 and 1840 he came 
 to America, voyaging on an old sailing ship 
 that was tossed on the Atlantic ocean for 
 sixty days before making harbor at New 
 York. From that city he made his way to 
 Columbus, O., where he secured work at 
 his trade and helped to build the stone 
 
720 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 bridge there and presumably secured the 
 capital by this labor which he subsequently 
 invested in i6o acres of land in Lykens 
 township, Crawford county. It was then 
 an unbroken tract of timber and presented 
 a hard task to its new owner, who imme- 
 diately went to work to clear it. Before 
 his death, in 1877, he had cleared 100 acres 
 of his place and had acquired cattle and 
 stock and was considered a substantial resi- 
 dent of his township. He was an intelligent 
 and interested man in public matters and 
 somewhat of a leader in Democratic poli- 
 tics in his section. In Germany he belonged 
 to the Lutheran church but later in life 
 united with the Evangelical Association. 
 
 Frederick Smith was married first at Co- 
 lumbus, O., to Christina Lippman, who was 
 a native of Germany and had come to the 
 United States when a young woman. She 
 died in Lykens township, leaving four chil- 
 dren, all living except the eldest. Mr. Smith 
 chose Lucy A. Shupp for his second wife. 
 She was born in 1830, in Dauphin county. 
 Pa., and after her parents died she came 
 to Ohio and was reared in the home of her 
 brother, the late Michael Shupp. She died 
 in 1890, in Holmes township, Crawford 
 county. She was a woman of many virtues, 
 a sincere Christian and a member of the 
 Evangelical Association. There were ten 
 children born to the second marriage, the 
 seventh in order of birth being Jefferson I., 
 of Bucyrus. The others were : Cornelius 
 W., who resides with his family at Bucy- 
 rus ; Matilda, who died when aged 38 years ; 
 . Katherine, who is the wife of Jacob Meek 
 of Holmes township; Frederick, who re- 
 sides with his family at Bucyrus ; Henry 
 W., who lives in Holmes township; Lucy 
 A., who died when aged 28 years; Emma 
 J., who is the wife of Abraham Schifer, liv- 
 ing in Crawford county, and has eight chil- 
 dren; and Serepta, who is the wife of Clar- 
 ence H. Flickinger, of Holmes township. 
 
 Jefferson I. Smith attended both the com- 
 mon and high school and aftei-ward taught 
 school very acceptably for some time, after 
 which he went into newspaper work. For 
 12 years he was the able editor of the New 
 Washington Herald and during this time 
 
 aroused interest in other sections in north- 
 west Ohio, being ever loyal to his own 
 part of the state. In 1897 he was appointed 
 deputy auditor of Crawford county and 
 served under Auditor J. F. Kimerhne 
 through the latter's term, and in 1901 was 
 elected auditor and served the county in 
 that important office until 1909. He is still 
 officially connected with county affairs in 
 a special way but his main business is life 
 insurance and he maintains his office at Bu- 
 cyrus. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married in Wayne county, 
 0., to Miss Linnie Breneman, who was 
 born there in i860 and is a daughter of J. 
 H. and Lydia (McNary) Breneman, early 
 settlers and continuous residents of Wayne 
 county until their deaths. Mr. Breneman 
 was a shoemaker by trade. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Smith have one son, Russell Breneman 
 Smith, who was born Aug. 23, 1894, and is 
 a student in the class of 1912 in the Bucyrus 
 high school. Mr. Smith and family belong 
 to the Methodist Episcopal church. Fra- 
 ternally he is identified with the Odd Fel- 
 lows and the Knights of Pythias and at- 
 tends both lodges at New Washington. 
 
 WINFIELD S. KIESS, who, as his 
 father's representative, successfully ope- 
 rates one of the large farms of Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., 390 acres 
 of very valuable land, belongs to a well 
 known and highly respected family of this 
 section. He was born in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Oct. 12, 1880, and is a son of Joseph 
 and Rebecca (Haldeman) Kiess. 
 
 Joseph Kiess came to Ohio from Lycom- 
 ing county, Pa., and now lives retired at Bu- 
 cyrus. He married Rebecca Haldeman, 
 who was born at Galion, O., and died March 
 19, 1902. They had two children: Winfield 
 S. ; Viola, who married J. A. Shearer and 
 has three children, namely: Catherine, Eve- 
 line, Joseph. The father of the above fam- 
 ily has always given political support \o 
 the Democratic party. He is a member of 
 the Evangelical church, to which his wife 
 also belonged. 
 
 Winfield S. Kiess attended the public 
 schools and afterward the Ohio Northern 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS . 
 
 721 
 
 University, at Ada, O. His business has 
 been farming but during six winter terms 
 he made use of his decided musical talent, 
 being director of music during that time 
 in the public schools of both Whetstone 
 and Liberty townships. His present farm, 
 known as the Joseph Kiess homestead, not 
 only now engages all his time and atten- 
 tion but makes it necessary for him to keep 
 two hired farmers and also to utilize the 
 services of a boy, all the year round. Mr. 
 Kiess is very enterprising, keeps thoroughly 
 posted as to crops, stock and other matters 
 pertaining to his business, and is numbered 
 with the most reliable farmers of this part 
 of the county. 
 
 In October, 1904, Mr. Kiess was married 
 to Miss Sadie Cook, a daughter of Philip 
 and Rachel (Nefif) Cook, the latter of whom 
 is deceased. Mr. Cook, who is a retired 
 farmer now living at Bucyrus, married 
 Mary Lust for his second wife, and three 
 children were born to them ; Minnie, Bessie 
 and Ethel. To his first marriage the fol- 
 lowing children were born: Ella, wife of 
 William Ronk; Sadie, wife of Winfield S. 
 Kiess; Clara, wife of William Hosterman; 
 Emma, wife of Clarence Kelly; and Frank. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kiess have two bright little 
 ones, Leona and William. They attend the 
 Evangelical church. Politically Mr. Kiess 
 is a Democrat and fraternally he belongs 
 to the Maccabees. Although his father still 
 owns this farm, its entire management and 
 direction is in the hands of Mr. Kiess. 
 
 RAPHAEL M. LONSWAY, who very 
 efficiently represents the well known firm 
 of Dostal Bros., brewers, in the commercial 
 field, all over Ohio, has been identified with 
 this Bucyrus business house since 1902, 
 when the present owners succeeded Frank 
 Dick. He was born December 6, 1875, in 
 Seneca county, O., and is a son of Emanuel 
 and Magdalene (Houck) Lonsway. 
 
 Emanuel Lonsway was born in Seneca 
 county, of Canadian parents and of French 
 ancestry. He grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm and then married Magdalene 
 Houck, also a native of Seneca county, who 
 was of German ancestry. For a number of 
 
 years they lived on their farm in Loudon 
 township and then retired to Fostoria, O., 
 where they still live. They are devout mem- 
 bers of the Roman Catholic church. Of 
 their family of fourteen sons and one daugh- 
 ter, Raphael M., was the fifth in order of 
 birth. 
 
 Raphael M. Lonsway, or, as he is best 
 known to his friends, Ray M. Lonsway, was 
 reared in his native county and at school 
 prepared himself for teaching, and for some 
 years before coming to Bucyrus was a very 
 acceptable educator in Seneca county. Since 
 identifying himself with his present firm he 
 has filled all the departmental official posi- 
 tions and thus prepared himself for the 
 work of a commercial traveler, in which he 
 has been quite successful. Through his close 
 attention to business he has won the appro- 
 bation of the firm and through his pleasing 
 personality has made many friends for him- 
 self. 
 
 Mr. Lonsway was married in Big Spring 
 township, Seneca county, O., to Miss Rose 
 M. Jacoby, who was born there in 1876, a 
 daughter of Michael and Mary (Reinhart) 
 Jacoby, who now live retired at Cary, O. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lonsway have three children : 
 Raymond, who is a very satisfactory pupil 
 in the parochial school; and Gilbert M. and 
 Gertrude S., attractive twin children, now 
 in their fifth year. Mr. and Mrs. Lonsway 
 are members of the Roman Catholic church, 
 in which both were reared. He is identified 
 with the Eagles, the U. C. T., of Ohio, and 
 the D. K. U. V. 
 
 SIMEON KIESS and JOSEPH F. 
 KIESS, retired farmers and respected citi- 
 zens of Bucyrus, O., are sons of Jacob and 
 Catherine (Delker) Kiess, and grandsons of 
 Christopher and Christina (Sheets) Kiess. 
 
 The grandfather, Christopher Kiess, and 
 his wife were both born in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, and after marriage lived at Stutt- 
 gart until January, 1806, when they emi- 
 ^•rated to America, landing probably at 
 Philadelphia, Pa., from that city moving to 
 Lycoming county. There Christopher Kiess 
 was a farmer and also taught school and for 
 many years resided near the present city 
 
722 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of Williamsport, where he died Mar. 26, 
 1866, when aged 88 years and 2 months, 
 having survived his wife for a few years. 
 They were members of the Pietist colony, a 
 body of religionists who came to the United 
 States in order to follow out their religious 
 beliefs in their daily lives. To Christopher 
 Kiess and wife the following children were 
 born: Rebecca, born Sept. 8, 1801 ; Abra- 
 ham, born Sept. 23, 1802; Catharine, born 
 Oct. 30, 1805; William, born Feb. 26, 1808, 
 in America; Dorothea, born Oct. 8, 1809; 
 Jacob, born Aug. 6, 1812; Salome, born 
 Sept. 6, 1813; Sophia, born Sept. 3, 1816; 
 Emanuel, born July 9, 1818; and Christina, 
 born July 23, 1820. 
 
 Jacob Kiess grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm and continued to reside in 
 Pennsylvania until 1852, when, with his 
 family he started for what was then the far 
 West, Crawford county having been little 
 settled previously in the neighborhood of 
 Whetstone township. He secured a wild 
 prairie farm, which, with the aid of his sons, 
 was converted into a productive and valu- 
 able one, and there he and wife enjoyed 
 some years of comfort. His death on Deco- 
 ration Day, 1882, was caused by accident 
 while crossing a railroad track. He was 
 twice married, first to a Miss Rote and sec- 
 ond to Catherine Delker. To his first mar- 
 riage two children were born : Jonathan and 
 Lydia. To his second marriage S sons were 
 born ; Simeon, Joseph F., Daniel, Samuel 
 and William C, and two daughters, Chris- 
 tina and Mary Margaret. The mother of 
 the last named family was born in 1813 in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, and was a child 
 when her parents emigrated to America and 
 settled in Lycoming county. Pa. She sur- 
 vived her husband for two years and died 
 at the home of a daughter in Kansas. Both 
 she and husband were devout members of 
 the Evangelical church, in which he was a 
 class leader. 
 
 Simeon Kiess grew to manhood on the 
 home farm in Whetstone township, having 
 been eight years old when the long overland 
 trip was made from Pennsylvania, where 
 he was born Jan. 31, 1844. He remained 
 with his father for some years and then pur- 
 
 chased the homestead and continued to 
 carry on farming and stock raising there 
 until 1906, when he shifted its heavy respon- 
 sibilities to the sturdy shoulders of his sons 
 and retired, moving then to Bucyrus. The 
 farm contains about 400 acres, all of which, 
 with the exception of 80 acres, has been 
 well improved. Mr. Kiess was a very en- 
 terprising and progressive farmer and han- 
 dled only first-class stock and made use of 
 improve4 and labor-saving machinery. 
 
 In 1867 Simeon Kiess was married in 
 Whetstone township to Miss Catherine 
 Kile, who was born there in 1845, ^ daugh- 
 ter of Tobias and Carrie (Nipp) Kile, na- 
 tives of Germany. They came to Ohio and 
 after marriage located in Whetstone town- 
 ship, where the father of Mrs. Kiess lived to 
 be 83 years of age, surviving his wife for 
 five years. To Mr. and Mrs. Kiess the fol- 
 lowing children were born : Sidney E., 
 Harvey E. and Verne E. Sidney E., who 
 operates a part of his father's farm, mar- 
 ried Amanda Cook and they have two chil- 
 dren — Raymond and Catherine. Harvey 
 E., who completed his education in the uni- 
 versity at Ada, O., is cashier of the Farmers 
 and Citizens Bank of Bucyrus; he married 
 Ida Sherrard, of Gibsonburg, O., and they 
 have two children: Helen Irene and John 
 Simeon. Verne E., who is a farmer in 
 Whetstone township, married Rebecca NefiE 
 of Martel, O., and they have two children: 
 Margaret and Marian. Mr. Kiess and sons 
 are Democrats in politics and the whole 
 family belongs to the Evangelical church. 
 
 JOSEPH F. KIESS was born in Lycom- 
 ing county. Pa., Sept. 15, 1849, ^^^ was too 
 young to recall the adventures incident to 
 the long trip over the mountains when his 
 parents came to Crawford county from his 
 native place. He grew to manhood in 
 Whetstone township and, with his brothers 
 and sisters, attended the district school. 
 When he left home he purchased a farm in 
 the vicinity of the old homestead and still 
 owns 390 acres of valuable land in Whet- 
 stone township, on which he made fine im- 
 provements. He was an extensive farmer, 
 stock raiser and sheep grower and for years 
 kept some 500 head of sheep. In April, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 723 
 
 191 1, he retired, having erected a handsome 
 residence on the corner of Lucas and East 
 streets, Bucyrus, and here enjoys all the 
 comforts that modern building now pro- 
 vides. Formerly he was quite active in 
 township affairs and served on the school 
 board and in other offices. 
 
 Joseph F. Kiess was married (first) to 
 Miss Rebecca Haldeman, who was born in 
 Morrow county, O., in April, 1856, and died 
 in her home on the farm in Whetstone 
 township, March 17, 1901, having been a 
 member of the Evangelical church for years. 
 She was a young woman vhen she accom- 
 panied her parents, Rev. Christophei" and 
 Susanna (Brickley) Haldeman, to Gallon, 
 O., where both died advanced in years. Mrs. 
 Rebecca Kiess was survived by two chil- 
 dren : Viola, who is the widow of John 
 Sherer, who died in October, 1910, leaving 
 three children : Catherine R., Evelyn and 
 Joseph N., and Winfield Scott, who man- 
 ages his father's large farming interests. He 
 married Sadie Cook and they have two chil- 
 dren: Leona and William H. Mr. Kiess 
 was married (second) at Bucyrus, Aug. 24, 
 1909, to Mrs. Elnora (Niebel) Heckman, 
 who was born in Wyandot county, O., and 
 completed her education at the Tiffin high 
 school. In early womanhood she was mar- 
 ried to Scott Heckman, who was born in 
 Wyandot county in May, i860, and died at 
 Sycamore, in November, 1903. He left no 
 children. The parents of Mrs. Kiess were 
 Abraham and Catherine (Haldeman) Nie- 
 bel, who were of German ancestry but were 
 born in Pennsylvania. They were married 
 in Morrow county, O., and then moved to 
 Wyandot county, where the mother of Mrs. 
 Kiess died. Her father resides at Sycamore 
 and is in his 72nd year. Her one brother, 
 Orval Niebel, is principal of the Sycamore 
 schools, married Marcella Musser and they 
 have one daughter, Catherine. The grand- 
 father of Mrs. Kiess, Enos Niebel, moved 
 from Pennsylvania to Wyandot county in 
 1829, and died at Sycamore, O., in May, 
 191 1, when 97 years of age. His father was 
 an early preacher in the Albright, now the 
 Evangelical church, to which Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kiess belong. 
 
 WILLIAM H. LOWMILLER, who is 
 one of the well known and substantial citi- 
 zens of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., residing on his farm of 150 
 acres, was born in Snyder county, Pa., May 
 19, 1840, and is a son of Adam and Cath- 
 erine (Baker) Lowmiller. ^ 
 
 Adam Lowmiller and wife were born in 
 Pennsylvania, married there and reared a 
 family of eight children, namely: Susan, 
 deceased, who was the wife of William 
 Straus; Daniel Henry, who is deceased; 
 William H. ; Mary, who is the wife of 
 Reuben Treaster; Eliza Ann, deceased, 
 who was married first to a Mr. Blaine and 
 second to a Mr. Martin; Catherine, who 
 is the wife of David Harmony; and two who 
 died in infancy. By trade the father of the 
 above family was a weaver and afterward 
 he was employed in a tannery. 
 
 William H. ..Lowmiller was reared to the 
 age of 19 years in Snyder county. Pa., and 
 attended school as opportunity ofifered but 
 as soon as he was released from home re- 
 sponsibilities he started for Ohio, reaching 
 Crawford county, Feb. 7, 1859, his capital 
 being the sum of nine dollars. He then 
 learned the carpenter trade and became a 
 good workman and followed it for about 
 eight years and then turned his attention 
 to farming. For two years he rented land 
 and then bought his first 20 acres, which 
 he sold to advantage two years afterward 
 and bought 85 acres of his present farm, 
 purchasing of Jacob Keister, his father-in- 
 law, who had entered it from the Govern- 
 ment in 1828. Mr. Lowmiller owes the 
 original deed which bears the signature of 
 Andrew Jackson, President of the United 
 States. For many years Mr. Lowmiller 
 labored on his farm and kept adding to it 
 and improving in many ways, but finally 
 shifted his heaviest responsibilities to the 
 shoulders of his capable sons, Edward C. 
 and Jeremiah E. Lowmiller. General farm- 
 ing is engaged in and some good stock is 
 raised but not for sale. 
 
 On April 6, 1865, Mr. Lowmiller was 
 married to Miss Sarah Keister, who was 
 born in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, June 29, 1839, and died in June, 
 
724 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1909. She was a daughter of Jacob and 
 Salome (Wize) Keister, natives of Union 
 county, Pa., who came to Crawford county 
 in 1828. They had the following children: 
 Mrs. Sarah Lowmiller, Mrs. Jacob Shu- 
 maker, Mrs. George Wingert, Joseph, Mrs. 
 Daniel Kehrer and Mrs. John Zimmerman. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Lowmiller four children 
 were born, as follows : Edward C, who 
 married Clara Kiefer; Jeremiah A., who 
 married Iva Gibson and has three children 
 — Roland, Helen and Earl; Ellen M., de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of Samuel Zim- 
 merman and had two children, Orrin and 
 Maud; and Ida E., who is the wife of 
 Charles Gehret and has two children, 
 Mildred and Frederick William. In addi- 
 tion to operating the home farm for their 
 father, the two sons of Mr. Lowmiller own 
 a tract of 8i/^ acres in partnership. The 
 family belongs to the German Reformed 
 church. Nominally Mr. Lowmiller -il" a 
 Democrat but frequently in casting his 
 vote, follows the dictates of his own judg- 
 ment. 
 
 IRA B. CHADWICK, assistant superin- 
 tendent of the Toledo & Ohio Central Rail- 
 way Company, at Bucyrus, C, has been 
 identified with railroad work for 26 years 
 and during this entire period has been with 
 the same corporation. He was born on his 
 father's farm near Alexandria, Licking 
 county, O., June 3, 1865, and is a son of 
 Lucius and Anna L. (Graves) Chadwick. 
 
 Lucius Chadwick was born in Central 
 New York, a son of Rufus Chadwick of the 
 same state. The family is of English ex- 
 traction. Grandfather Rufus Chadwick 
 married Experience Brickley, fn New York, 
 and when their eldest child, Lucius, was 
 two years old, they came to Ohio, traveling 
 by way of the Ohio Canal, this being in 
 1840. They settled in Licking county and 
 Mr. Chadwick established a tannery at 
 Alexandria or in the near vicinity, which 
 he conducted for a number of years. His 
 death occurred there in 1878, at the age of 
 63 years, his widow surviving until 1881 
 They were among the organizers of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church in their neigh- 
 
 borhood and their hospitable home was 
 ever ready to receive traveling or visiting 
 preachers. 
 
 Lucius Chadwick learned the tanning- 
 business with his father but later engaged 
 in the mercantile business at Alexandria, 
 returning, however, to the homestead when 
 his father died. He made improvements 
 and continued to carry on the farm until 
 the close of his life, on Sept. 24, 1906, when 
 his age was 66 years. In early life a Whig 
 he later became a Republican and was a 
 man of local importance, being mayor of 
 Alexandria at the time of death and for- 
 merly a justice of the peace. Lucius Chad- 
 wick married Anna L. Graves, who was 
 born in Licking county, O., and still sur- 
 vives, being now in her seventieth year. 
 Her father, V. A. Graves, was born in 
 Masachusetts and his wife in. Licking coun- 
 ty, O. They were strong Presbyterians and 
 were most worthy people in every way. To 
 Lucius Chadwick and wife three children 
 were born: Lorena, a resident of Alex- 
 andria, O., who was a teacher for some 
 years and who is a great Sunday-school 
 worker; Ira B., and Albert. The last 
 named was a merchant at Alexandria and 
 died there in 1904 and is survived by his 
 widow, Helen (Weed) Chadwick. 
 
 Ira B. Chadwick left school at the usual 
 age and then learned the art of telegraphy 
 and his first position with his present com- 
 pany was at Corning, O., after which he 
 was stationed at different points, in the ca- 
 pacity of agent and operator. He climbed 
 steadily upward through the positions of 
 dispatcher and for two years was chief dis- 
 patcher at Columbus and for three years 
 was assistant trainmaster at Bucyrus, but 
 three years later was sent back to Columbus 
 as trainmaster and continued until July i, 
 1909, when he was made assistant superin- 
 tendent of the road, with headquarters at 
 Bucyrus, under Superintendent C. L. Gard- 
 ner, whose headquarters are at Columbus. 
 This long period of uninterrupted service 
 speaks for itself. 
 
 On October 26, 1899, Mr. Chadwick was 
 married to Miss Gertrude M. Stiger, who 
 was born in this city, March 20, 1867, a 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 725 
 
 daughter of Jacob and Ellen (Monnett) 
 Stiver. Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick have one 
 daughter, Arnie Louise, who was born Feb. 
 
 8, 1903, at Columbus. They were members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is 
 prominent in Masonry, belonging to the 
 Shrine at Columbus and is identified also 
 with the Knights of Pythias, the Elks and 
 the Y. M. C. A. 
 
 FRANK C. WAGNER, proprietor of a 
 fine grocery* store and doing a large busi- 
 ness on the Public Square, Bucyrus, O., oc- 
 cupies a site on which a grocery store has 
 been conducted continuously for 40 years. 
 Mr. Wagner was born at Bucyrus, Sept. 
 
 9, 1872, and is a son of Robert and Mary A. 
 (Stiger) Wagner. 
 
 Robert Wagner was born in Saxony, Ger- 
 many, and came to America in 1863, where 
 he succeeded in establishing himself in 
 business and in 1867 returned to Germany 
 to be married to Mary A. Stiger. In 1868 
 they came to Bucyrus and here he followed 
 his trade as a mechanic until the close of his 
 life, his death occurring in the spring of 
 187s, when he was about forty years of 
 age. Mrs. Wagner subsequently married 
 Edward Meissner and they reside at Bucy- 
 rus, no children having been born to the 
 second union. To the first marriage there 
 were four children, Frank C. being the 
 youngest and the only son. One son died 
 in infancy and two daughters survive; 
 Clara, who is the wife of Otto Fearing, a 
 tailor in business at Bucyrus; and Anna, 
 who is the wife of M. A. Charlton, who is 
 an electrician employed in the Industrial 
 Home at Lancaster, O. They have two 
 children: Paul H. and Susie. 
 
 Frank C. Wagner obtained his education 
 in the schools of Bucyrus but since the age 
 of 13 years has been identified with the 
 grocery trade and has been connected with 
 the grocery people who did business here 
 since April, 1889. For ten years he was a 
 clerk, first for L. C. Hall and later for J. 
 E. Hall. On Sept. i, 1899, hfe purchased 
 the latter's interest and in partnership with 
 E. A. Ditty, conducted the business for two 
 and one-half years. In March, 1901, he 
 
 bought his partner's interest and since then 
 has been alone. He has commodious quar- 
 ters, his store space being 22 x 65 feet, 
 situated at No. 156 Public Square, and he 
 carries a carefully selected stock of both 
 staple and fancy groceries, catering mainly 
 to the best and most particular trade. He 
 is one of the busy and successful business 
 men of this city and takes pride in his justifi- 
 able reputation for business integrity. 
 
 Mr. Wagner was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Anna Schaaf, who was born and edu- 
 cated here. They have one son, William 
 Joseph, who was born Nov. 17, 1905. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Wagner are members of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. Politically he is a 
 Republican and is a willing party worker 
 but desires no political advancement for 
 himself. He belongs to Demas Lodge No. 
 108 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 JOHN LEWIS DIEBLER, who owns 
 and resides on the old family homestead 
 containing 121 acres, situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., was born 
 here Nov. 6, 1859, and is a son of John and 
 Magdalena (Heinlen) Diebler. 
 
 John Diebler was born in Union county, 
 Pa., Nov. 25, 1816, and was a son of John 
 G. and Mary M. (Wise) Diebler. In 1828 
 the Dieblers came from Pennsylvania to 
 Crawford county, journeying in a three- 
 horse wagon and accompanied by two other 
 families of pioneers, and all settled near the 
 center of Whetstone township, where they 
 found fertile and well watered land. The 
 Dieblers have been among the best citizens 
 of this township ever since. John Diebler 
 assisted his father on the farm and later 
 learned the carpenter trade. He became a 
 well known man in this section and fre- 
 quently was elected to public ofifice. He 
 was one of the leading members of the 
 Democratic party in this section and was a 
 liberal supporter of the German Reformed 
 church. 
 
 On Aug. 20, 1843, John Diebler was mar- 
 ried to Miss Magdalena Heinlen, who was 
 born in Pickaway county, O., June 20, 1822, 
 and they became parents of the following 
 children: Sarah R., Anna E., Rebecca L., 
 
726 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 John L., Amanda S., Mary M., George and 
 Samuel. 
 
 John L. Diebler attended the district 
 schools with more or less regularity until 
 he was seventeen years of age, mainly dur- 
 ing the winter seasons, and remained at 
 home with his father until the latter's death, 
 when he purchased the home place and has 
 lived here ever since. The land is fertile 
 and under Mr. Diebler's excellent methods 
 is very productive. He raises a good grade 
 of stock but not for the general market, and 
 grows the grains that do best in this sec- 
 tion. 
 
 In 1886 Mr. Diebler was married to Miss 
 Lydia Matilda Shumaker, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Matilda (Kester) Shumaker, 
 representative farming people of Crawford 
 county, whose other children were : Sarah ; 
 Mary, wife of F. W. Sholtz; J. E. ; Eliza, 
 wife of L. F. Heinlen; Catherine, wife of 
 George Gattner; Henry J. and J. S. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Diebler two sons were 
 born: Walter E. and Otto Milton. The 
 former married Emma Rexroth and they 
 have one daughter, Ernestine. The family 
 belongs to St. John's Reformed church of 
 Whetstone township. In pohtics always a 
 Democrat, Mr. Diebler has been a loyal 
 party worker. He has encouraged the de- 
 velopment of the public schools and for six 
 years has been president of the school 
 board, and has served two terms as road 
 supervisor. 
 
 LEWIS REITER, who has been a resi- 
 dent of Bucyrus, C, for a half century, now 
 lives in comfortable retirement at his home 
 which is at No. 865 South Poplar Street, 
 Bucyrus, and is known to a large body of 
 his fellow citizens. He was born in Schuyl- 
 kill county, Pa., Dec. 28, 1834, and is a son 
 of John and Sarah (Mathias) Reiter. 
 
 The Reiters are of Pennsylvania Dutch 
 stock, good, sensible, thrifty people. In the 
 thirties John Reiter with wife and children 
 came to Ohio and settled first on land east 
 of Bucyrus, but later bought land in Holmes 
 township, north of Bucyrus, where he de- 
 veloped a fine farm and there spent the re- 
 mainder of his life. Both he and wife were 
 
 members of the German Reformed church. 
 They had seven children born to them and 
 there are three yet living, namely: Lewis; 
 Elizabeth, who is the wife of Henry Brink, 
 residing in Henry county, O.; and Sarah, 
 who owns a home of her own at Bucyrus 
 and lives on the corner of Oakwood ave- 
 nue and South East street. 
 
 Lewis Reiter grew up on his father's 
 farm in Whetstone township and afterward 
 learned^ the carpenter trade and for many 
 years followed the same afte*r coming to 
 Biucyrus. He was married in this city to 
 Anna Myers, who was born in Columbiana 
 county, O., March 4, 1836, and was young 
 when her parents, Louis and Barbara 
 (Amon) Myers, moved to Bucyrus. Here 
 Mr. Myers died when aged 73 years and 
 Mrs. Myers at the age of 86 years. They 
 were of the German Lutheran faith. Of 
 their nine children all survive except two, 
 John and Rebecca, the former of whom was 
 a retired farmer at time of decease, and the 
 latter was the wife of Frederick Bittikofer, 
 also now deceased. The surviving mem- 
 bers of the Myers family are : Jacob, who 
 is a farmer in Henry county, O. ; Anna, who 
 is the wife of Lewis Reiter and the mother 
 of Mrs. J. J. Smith, of Bucyrus ; Lewis, who, 
 with his sister, Mrs. Mary Nedele, widow 
 of John Nedele, resides at No. 338 South 
 Main street, Bucyrus ; George, who is a re- 
 tired business man of this city, and resides 
 on East Warren Street; Barbara, who is 
 the wife of Benjamin Ernest, residing at 
 Ridgeville, Henry county, O. ; and Cath- 
 erine, who is one of the representative busi- 
 ness women of Bucyrus. For- many years 
 Miss Catherine Myers has successfully con- 
 ducted a millinery establishment, for a time 
 being associated with her sister, Mrs. Lewis 
 Reiter, and at present with her niece, Mrs. 
 J. J. Smith. This is the oldest millinery 
 establishment in the city and its continued 
 prosperity is assured as the business is still 
 carried on according to the honest and 
 capable methods with which it was started. 
 It has more' than a local reputation and the 
 most fastidious people need not leave their 
 own city in order to secure tasteful, modern 
 and fashionable millinery. Mrs. Reiter was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 727 
 
 connected with the business from May 6, 
 1881, until 1902, when her daughter, Mrs. 
 Smith, took over her interest. Four chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Reiter, as 
 follows : Mary Minerva, who was born at 
 Mansfield, O., Nov. 21, 1861 ; Leander, who 
 died in 1908, at Butler, Ind., where he was 
 engaged in business ; Annette, who conducts 
 a large millinery business on Euclid Ave- 
 nue, Cleveland, O. ; and John L., who is a 
 baker by trade, and who resides with his 
 parents. Mr. Reiter has always given his 
 political support to the Republican party. 
 
 Mrs. J. J. Smith, the eldest of the above 
 family, was given educational advantages 
 at Bucyrus, where she grew to womanhood, 
 and then learned the millinery trade with 
 Mrs. E. A. J. Cahill. Later she became in- 
 terested in the business with her mother, and 
 as noted above, since 1902, has successfully 
 conducted the same. She was married at 
 Bucyrus, to John Justice Smith, who was 
 born here March 17, 1857, a son of John 
 Clark and Mary (Myers) Smith. They 
 came to Bucyrus before marriage and after- 
 ward made this city their permanent home. 
 Mr. Smith is the only survivor of a family 
 of seven children, with the exception of one 
 sister, Mrs. Myra Sites, who is also a resi- 
 dent of Bucyrus. 
 
 Four children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Smith, namely: Anna M., born March 
 18, 1894; M. Geraldine, born May 16, 1897; 
 John Amon, born March 9, 1899; and 
 Thomas Clark, born August 10, 1906. Mr. 
 Smith and family are members of the Eng- 
 lish Lutheran church. By trade, Mr. Smith 
 is a carriage painter. He is a Republican 
 in politics, and fraternally he is connected 
 with the Modern Woodmen and the Royal 
 Arcanum. 
 
 CHARLES LAKE, one of the prominent 
 and substantial business men of Bucyrus, 
 O., who has been identified with the com- 
 mercial interests of this city for some 56 
 years, is owner and proprietor of the oldest 
 jewelry store in the State of Ohio, and the 
 oldest established business house in Bucy- 
 rus. Mr. Lake was born in Meigs county, 
 
 O., April 2, 1836, and is a son of Joseph and 
 Maria (Cassell) Lake. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Lake were natives of 
 Hartford, Conn. They married there and 
 then came to Meigs county, O., acquiring 
 a farm in Lebanon township. The father 
 was a quiet, industrious man, a Whig in 
 politics and a Baptist in religious faith. He 
 died at the age of 62 years. The mother 
 of Mr. Lake died at Hamilton, O., in her 
 6oth year. They had but one child. 
 
 Charles Lake remained at home, assisting 
 his father and attending the district schools, 
 until about nineteen years of age, when he 
 went to Cincinnati and became an appren- 
 tice to the jeweler's trade. After serving 
 the prescribed time he started out as a jour- 
 neyman and located in the village of Bucy- 
 rus. He became an employee in a store 
 which had been founded by a Mr. Fifener, 
 who, in 1850 was succeeded by William 
 Burkhardt and in 1855 ^^r. Lake entered 
 into partnership with the latter and they 
 continued together until 1865, when Mr. 
 Lake became sole proprietor. His hand- 
 somely appointed store is located at No. 104 
 Quinby Block, north side of the Public 
 Square. He has introduced modern fittings, 
 equipments- and conveniences and carries 
 a large stock of first class goods, the array 
 of silver ware, watches and clocks, china 
 and cut glass, diamonds and other precious 
 stones with or without setting, presents a 
 beautiful and attractive appearance, one 
 that would be entirely creditable in any city. 
 
 Mr. Lake was married in Bucyrus to Miss 
 Abaline Seizer, who was born in Crawford 
 county and died in 1890. They had three 
 children : Edward, who died at the age of 
 seven years ; Fannie, who died when aged 
 16 years; and Helen, who is the wife of 
 James Aylward, who is a native of Toledo, 
 O., and a prominent business man of Bucy- 
 rus, who is now manager of the jewelry 
 store owned by Mr. Lake. Mr. Lake has 
 never been very active along political lines, 
 business claiming the larger part of his at- 
 tention. He votes with the Republican 
 party. He owns the block in which he car- 
 ries on his business together with other 
 
728 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 property. He is a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. With interest Mr. Lake 
 has watched the growth of Bucyrus and at 
 all times has been ready to lend a helping 
 hand when opportunity presented or occa- 
 sion demanded. 
 
 WILLIAM L. FERRALL, a leading rep- 
 resentative in the real estate line at Bucyrus, 
 established his office in this city some eleven 
 years iago, from 1903 until 1906 being in 
 partnership with E. B. Foster but during the 
 rest of this period has been alone. He was 
 born in Liberty township, Crawford county, 
 O., Jan. 12, 1838, and is a son of Edmund 
 and Nancy (Eaton) Ferrall. 
 
 Edmund Ferrall was born in Ohio and his 
 wife in Washington county, Pa. She came 
 to Columbiana county, O., in young woman- 
 hood and was there married and soon after 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ferrall moved to Stark county. 
 From there, in 1835 they came to Crawford 
 county and settled on a farm in Liberty town- 
 ship, the same being known at present as the 
 Joshua Meyers farm on the Sulphur Spring 
 road, northeast of Bucyrus. A few, years 
 afterward they traded the farm mentioned 
 for another tract of unbroken land in Liberty 
 township. To the second tract Mr. Ferrall 
 kept adding until he owned a half section of 
 land and lived on the place until the death of 
 his wife, when she was 63 years of age. He 
 no longer desired to remain on the home- 
 stead and sold it to advantage, moving to a 
 small farm near Bucyrus, on which the closing 
 years of his life were spent, his death occur- 
 ring after his 8ist birthday. He was a man 
 of sterling character and was held in the high- 
 est esteem by his neighbors. In all his deal- 
 ings with them he showed his Quaker hon- 
 esty arid on certain occasions, when he had 
 escaped misfortunes that fell on others, he 
 displayed the generosity and true charity that 
 accorded well with his religious principles. 
 Of his nine children all but two reached matu- 
 rity. 
 
 William L. Ferrall was the fourth son and 
 fifth child in his parents' family. He grew up 
 on the old homestead in Liberty township and 
 after completing his education taught school 
 for about eight years during the wintef sea- 
 sons. In 1894 he came to Bucyrus and dur- 
 
 ing much of the time since then has been a real 
 estate broker and has handled many valuable 
 properties in Crawford county in this capacity. 
 Mr. Ferrall has long been one of the influen- 
 tial Democrats of this section of the state and 
 during some of his campaigns through Craw- 
 ford and Allen counties, was advertised as 
 the Farmer Orator, possessing a ready wit 
 and being a fluent and forceful speaker. He 
 has always been a loyal party man, ever ready 
 to work for his friends but never a seeker of 
 office for himself. He has also been a con- 
 tributor to the press for many years. 
 
 Mr. Ferrall was married first to Miss Re- 
 becca Kiefer, who was born in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, and died at the 
 age of 52 years, leaving five children, namely : 
 Frank K., who lives at Memphis, Tenn. ; Sam- 
 uel L., who is engaged in the real estate busi- 
 ness at Galion, O.; Hattie E., a resident of 
 Toledo, O., who is the widow of Harry A. 
 Sherer and has two children — Harold and 
 Viva ; Charles E., a carriage painter by trade, 
 who lives at Galion and has two sons; and 
 Almia, who is the wife of Arthur Gladhill, of 
 Galion. Mr. Ferrall was married (second) to 
 Mrs. MoUie J. (Songer) Foster, who has one 
 son born to her former marriage, Elzie B. 
 Foster, who is a resident of Bucyrus. Mrs. 
 Ferrall is a member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church while Mr. Ferrall belongs to the 
 Christian church. 
 
 EMANUEL HEINLEN, a member of 
 one of the old and leading families of Whet- 
 stone township, Crawford county, O., where 
 his farm of 46 acres is situated, was born 
 June 27, 1845, i'^ the old pioneer log house 
 that then stood on this farm, and is a son 
 of Lewis and Hannah (Wise) Heinlen. 
 
 Lewis Heinlen was born in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, and came to the United States 
 when a young man. He was a butcher by 
 trade, and also made pumps during his 
 earlier years but mainly followed farming 
 after settling in Whetstone township. He 
 erected the log house in which his children 
 were born and which stood until 1900, when 
 it was torn down to make way for the pres- 
 ent handsome brick residence. He married 
 Hannah Wise, who was born in Lycoming 
 county, Pa., and they had the following chil- 
 
WILLIAM L. PERRALL 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 731 
 
 dren born to them : Sarah Ann, deceased, 
 who was the wife of John Stump; Samuel; 
 George ; Elizabeth, who was the wife of 
 Isaac Stump; Reuben; Jonathan; Henry; 
 Mary Malinda; Emanuel, and Josiah and 
 Isaac. The parents were members of the 
 Reformed church. 
 
 During boyhood .Emanuel (Heinlen 'at- 
 tended the district schools when his help 
 was not required on the farm, and after- 
 ward continued with his father and re- 
 mained until the latter's death. In the dis- 
 tribution of the estate of 240 acres, Mr. 
 Heinlen received 46 acres of the homestead. 
 Here he carries on general farming, grows 
 fruit and raises poultry and stock sufficient 
 for family use. 
 
 In 1870 Mr. Heinlen was married to Miss 
 Catherine Bittikofer, a daughter of Fred- 
 erick and Barbara (Heimlich) Bittikofer. 
 The parents of Mrs. Heinlen were born in 
 Switzerland and the father was a weaver by 
 trade. To this first marriage of Frederick 
 Bittikofer three children were born: Abra- 
 ham Frederick, deceased; Lena, deceased, 
 who was the wife of Philip Heckler; and 
 Catherine, who is Mrs. Heinlen. His sec- 
 ond marriage was with Rebecca Myers and 
 three daughters were born to that union : 
 Sarah, who is deceased; Allison; and 
 Laura, who is the wife of Joseph Johnson. 
 
 A family of eight children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Heinlen, as follows: Eliza- 
 beth MaHnda, Samuel, Delia May, Allen, 
 Harvey, Alfred, Leo Howard and Bessie, 
 all surviving except Allen, Elizabeth Ma- 
 linda and Delia May. The youngest daugh- 
 ter is a student in the Bucyrus high school, 
 a member of the class of 1912. Mr. Heinlen 
 and family belong to St. John's Reformed 
 church of Whetstone township, in which 
 Mr. Heinlen has been both a deacon and 
 elder and a teacher in the Sunday-school, 
 as well as its superintendent. In his po- 
 litical principles he is a Democrat. Fre- 
 quently he has been chosen for public of- 
 fice by his fellow citizens and has served 
 many times on the school board, for seven 
 years was township assessor and for seven 
 years was one of the board of directors of 
 the Crawford County Tnfirmary. 
 
 ROBERT M. AURAND who for more 
 than twenty years, has been connected with 
 the government mail service, is second clerk 
 on the P. F. W. & C. Railroad on the route 
 running' west from Pittsburg to Chicago, 
 and first clerk on the route running east. 
 He was appointed from Monroeville, Allen 
 county, Ind., and came to Bucyrus, O., in 
 1891, this city being conveniently located 
 as to his business. He was born Jan. 23, 
 1863, in Wyandot county, O., and is a son 
 of Daniel and Mary A. (Deppler) Aurand. 
 
 The original spelling of the family name 
 was Aurandt and during the life of the 
 grandfather, Jonathan'Aurandt, this orthog- 
 raphy was preserved, after his time the final 
 letter being dropped. Jonathan Aurandt 
 was of German ancestry but he was born 
 in Pennsylvania. During his earlier years 
 he was a preacher in the German Reformed 
 church. He was twice married and shortly 
 after his second marriage came to Crawford 
 county, about 1830, and here he and his 
 wife lived into old age, their deaths occur- 
 ring on their farm two miles nOrth of 
 Oceola. They were among the early work- 
 ers in the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Jonathan Aurandt married sisters and all of 
 the ten children of his second union were 
 born in Crawford county, and of these the 
 following survive : Jonathan, a retired car- 
 riage upholsterer, living at Mt. Gilead, who 
 has one daughter; George, who is a farmer 
 on the old homestead, and who has four 
 children; Enoch, who lives in. Merrick 
 county. Neb., and has four children; and 
 Rufus, a retired farmer and justice of the 
 peace, who has seven children. 
 
 Daniel Aurand, son of Jonathan and 
 father of Robert M., was born in Crawford 
 county, O., Jan. 26, 1835, and died near 
 •Monroeville, Ind., Jan. 4, 1908. Some years 
 after his marriage he lived on a farm near 
 Logansport, Ind., and then returned to 
 Crawford county, where he resided for nine 
 years. In 1872 he moved to Allen county, 
 Ind. He followed farming all his life. His 
 father had been a Whig in politics and he 
 was a Republican. During the latter part 
 of his life he was a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. He married Mary A. 
 
732 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Deppler, who was born in Crawford county 
 in 1840, and died January 19, 1875. Her 
 father, John Deppler, was born in Ger- 
 many and when he came to the. United 
 States settled near Sulphur Springs, Craw- 
 ford county, O., where he engaged in farm- 
 ing, and was eighty years old at time of 
 death. He was thrice married and three 
 children were born to the first wife and one 
 to the third, the latter being George W. 
 Aurand, who is a resident of Michigan. Of 
 the first union two survive : Robert M. and 
 Mary A. ; the latter is the wife of John V. 
 Lutz, a farmer in Crawford county, and 
 they have two children, Esther and Maude. 
 One son, Daniel A., who was born in 1873, 
 died unmarried in 1893. 
 
 Robert M. Aurand was nine years old 
 when his parents moved to Allen county, 
 Ind., and there he attended the public 
 schools and prepared himself for education- 
 al work, and later taught school in Indiana 
 and also in Nebraska, spending three years 
 in that state. He then received his appoint- 
 ment to the railway mail service and 
 through fidelity and efificiency has been ad- 
 vanced to his present position. 
 
 Mr. Aurand was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Esther S. Shifley, who was born in 
 Crawford county and was educated at Bu- 
 cyrus and Toledo, and for five years was a 
 stenographer and bookkeeper in a large 
 business house in the latter city and for 
 two years in the former city. Her parents 
 were John and Anna (Krauss) Shifley, the 
 former of whom was of German extraction 
 but was born in New York, while the latter 
 was of Swiss parentage but was born in 
 Pennsylvania. They were married near Buf- 
 falo, N. Y., near which city they lived until 
 after the birth of five children, when they 
 came to Crawford county, where two more, 
 children were born. The father died at Bu- 
 cyrus in 1876, being then in middle age. The 
 mother of Mrs. Aurand passed away in the 
 latter's home, in 1907, when almost 82 years 
 of age. Both she and husband were mem- 
 bers of the Mennonite church, good, 
 worthy, virtuous people, the influences of 
 whose lives were beneficial to all with whom 
 they came in contact. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Aurand have two children: 
 Robert Ray, who was born March 4, 1895, 
 and is a member of the class of 1913 in the 
 Bucyrus high school; and Helen Magda- 
 lene, who was born December 10, 1896. 
 This young lady is the possessor of musical 
 gifts which are being developed under the 
 direction of Prof. Snyder, a well known mu- 
 sician of Bucyrus. Mr. Aurand and family 
 are members of the Baptist church. Mr. 
 Aurand is a Knight of Pythias and belongs 
 also to the Railway Mail Association. 
 
 CHARLES ARNOLD, who has been en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of native wines 
 at Bucyrus, O., for the past 20 years, en- 
 joys a wide business reputation as his bev- 
 erages are in demand all over the country 
 and have consumers wherever they have 
 been introduced. Mr. Arnold was born 
 Feb. 17, 1850, in the province of Baden, 
 Germany, quite near the division line be- 
 tween France and Switzerland. His parents 
 were John Jacob and Anna Mary (Schmidt) 
 Arnold, also natives of Baden. The mother 
 died when aged 40 years, but the father 
 lived to the age of 73 years. Like his own 
 father, also John Jacob Arnold, jie was a 
 man of impressive figure, six feet, two 
 inches in height and weighing 250 pounds. 
 Grandfather Arnold, with four of his broth- 
 ers, enlisted in the German army in 1813, 
 serving for six years. He survived to be 
 96 years old and died in his native neighbor- 
 hood. Of the six children born to the par- 
 ents of Charles Arnold, he is the eldest. 
 Anna M., the next in order of birth, lives 
 in Germany, unmarried. Ernest follows 
 the butchering business in Germany and 
 resides with his family there, a well known 
 citizen of Baden. Frederick still lives on 
 the old homestead on the Rhine. Herman 
 came to America and follows the butcher 
 trade in the city of Chicago, 111. He mar- 
 ried a lady from Kansas and they have chil- 
 dren. Elsie married Frantz Huber, a gold 
 engraver at Lahr, Germany, and they have 
 children. 
 
 Charles Arnold attended the schools near 
 his home in boyhood and then began to 
 learn wine waking as a trade. In 1869 he 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 733 
 
 emigrated to America and located at Bucy- 
 rus, O., reaching this city on Sept. 29th 
 of that year. Finding no attractive opening 
 in the wine business at that time, he learned 
 the machinist trade and worked along that 
 line for 26 years, during this time being em- 
 ployed in eleven different shops and work- 
 ing in every department. All these years, 
 however, he had been quietly making ex- 
 periments and taking note of the product- 
 iveness, the hardiness and the chemical 
 qualities of the native grapes in Ohio, and 
 after retiring from his hard work in the ma- 
 chine shop embarked in the wine making 
 business, in which he has prospered. He 
 has carefully studied the fruitage of the 
 Ohio vines and has come to a thorough un- 
 derstanding of the business from this point 
 of view. His plant consumes two car loads 
 of grapes to produce 8,000 gallons of wines 
 and his cellars have been specially con- 
 structed to store the same for its maturing. 
 His specialties are Delaware, Catawba and 
 Claret, and he produces a very fine line of 
 special table claret, not to be excelled in 
 flavor and wholesomeness by any exported 
 product. 
 
 Mr. Arnold was married first in this city 
 to Miss "Mary Flocken, who died at the 
 age of 42 years, the mother of two children : 
 Charles Frederick, who lives at Akron, O. ; 
 and William E., who is a dental surgeon. 
 Mr. Arnold's second marriage also took 
 place at Bucyrus, to Miss Mary Kraft, who 
 died in 191 1, leaving no children. Mr. Ar- 
 nold is a 32nd degree Mason and is promi- 
 nent also as an Odd Fellow. He casts his 
 political vote with the Democratic party. 
 He is a well known and highly respected 
 citizen, active in public charities and liberal 
 in supporting local enterprises. 
 
 JOHN PHILIP GERSTENSLAGER, 
 who is one of the representative men of 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 resides on his valuable farm of 87 acres, 
 which he purchased iji 1893. He was born 
 at Bucyrus, O., Jan. 14, 1858. 
 
 John P. Gerstenslager had but meager 
 educational opportunities and never went 
 to school after he was 13 years of age, his 
 
 time being engaged until his mother's death 
 three years later, in helping to clear up 
 the farm of his step-father. He then started 
 out for himself and for nine years worked 
 in the neighborhood where he was known, 
 for farmers by the month, and continued 
 for several years after his marriage, at the 
 end of that time renting the farm which he 
 now owns. It belonged to his father-in-law, 
 John Deebler, and after the latter's death 
 Mr. Gerstenslager purchased it and ever 
 since has carried on general farming and 
 done moderate stock raising, his many years 
 of experience giving him advantage over 
 younger men in the business, of whom there 
 are always examples in every neighborhood, 
 who work by theory instead of along prac- 
 tical lines. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Gerstenslager was married to 
 Miss Anna Elizabeth Deebler, a daughter 
 of John and Magdalena (Heinlen) Deebler, 
 both of whom are now deceased. Mrs. 
 Gerstenslager had three sisters and one 
 brother : Sarah, deceased, who was the wife 
 of Charles Lutz; Rebecca, deceased, who 
 was the wife of Isaac Albright ; John Lewis ; 
 and Amanda, who is the wife of Henry Ger- 
 stenslager. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Gerstenslager the fol- 
 lowing children have been born: Harvey 
 William, who married Delia Christman, and 
 has three children, Florence, Inez and Del- 
 ma; John Harry, who married Emma Shu- 
 maker and has one daughter, Edna ; Albert 
 Lewis, who married Carrie Laughbaum, 
 and has two children, Lucile and Irene; 
 Bertha, who married Otto Neumann, and 
 has three children, Harland, Edwin and 
 Frederick; and Nellie, who is the wife of 
 Philip Frank. The family attends the Re- 
 formed church in Whetstone township. In 
 politics Mr. Gerstenslager is a stanch Dem- 
 ocrat. He is a man who stands high in the 
 esteem of his fellow citizens and they have 
 testified to the same by electing him to a 
 number of important offices. For six years 
 he served as township trustee and for sev- 
 eral years was road supervisor, while for 
 two years he filled the office of township 
 health officer. 
 
734 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 L. FRANK HEINLEN, a prosperous 
 merchant of Bucyrus, C, who conducts a 
 large grocery store at No. 812 North San- 
 dusky Avenue, established the same in 
 February, 1908, for four years previously 
 having been a farmer. He viras born in 
 Wyandot county, O., Nov. 3, 1859, and is 
 a son of Samuel and Margaret (Keiss) 
 Heinlen. 
 
 ■Samuel Heinlen was born in Crawford 
 county, 0., in 1836, a son of Louis Hein- 
 len, who was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- 
 many, and came to America when aged 
 twenty years, locating in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county, C, southeast of Bu- 
 cyrus. He worked at his trade of tailoring 
 among the early settlers, according to the 
 practice of the times going with shears and 
 goose to one house after another and fitting 
 the: male members of the family with gar- 
 ments. He had married in Pickaway 
 county before reaching Crawford, a Miss 
 Starger,. also a native of Germany. Their 
 old farm in Whetstone township still be- 
 longs to the family and there they spent 
 their lives into old age, dying when about 
 eighty years old. They were members of 
 the Mennonite church. Of their children, 
 two sons and one daughter survive: John, 
 who lives with his family at Des Moines, 
 la. ; David, who lives on his farm near Bu- 
 cyrus; and Mrs. Sarah Wise, who lives in 
 Marion county, O. Samuel Heinlen followed 
 farming, locating in Whetstone township 
 after marriage and a few years before the 
 birth of their son, L. Frank, moved to Wy- 
 andot county, where they lived several 
 years and then returned to Crawford 
 county. He married Margaret Keiss, who 
 was born in Pennsylvania and was thirteen 
 years old when she accompanied her parents 
 to Crawford county. Five children were 
 born to them, namely: WiHiam A., who is 
 a dealer in sewing machines at Bucyrus and 
 has two daughters, Ruth and Gladys; L. 
 Frank ; Reuben, who is a railroad agent and 
 lives at Great Bend, Kans. ; Mary E., who 
 is the wife of William Stump, a farmer in 
 Dallas township, and has one daughter, 
 Vella; and Edward, who was accidentally 
 killed in an explosion in a saw mill at Bu- 
 
 cyrus. In 1887 Samuel Heinlen and wife 
 retired to Bucyrus and here his death oc- 
 curred in January, 191 1. His wife survives, 
 well and active in mind and body, at the 
 age of 75 years. 
 
 L. Frank Heinlen was small when his par- 
 ents returned to Crawford county and he 
 was reared to manhood here and obtained 
 his education in the local schools and the 
 university at Ada, O. He was connected 
 with several business houses in a clerical 
 capacity before he engaged in farming, after 
 which, as stated above, he embarked in his 
 present business at Bucyrus. Like his late 
 father he is a Democrat in politics and prior 
 to coming to Bucyrus was clerk of Whet- 
 stone township for six years. He is a good 
 citizen and as a business man is wide awake 
 to honorable opportunities. 
 
 Mr. Heinlen was married in Jefferson 
 township, Crawford county, C, to Miss 
 Eliza Shumaker, who was born there, a 
 daughter of Jacob Shumaker, of German 
 ancestry. Her parents came to Ohio from 
 Pennsylvania. They were members of the 
 German Reformed church. Mrs. Heinlen 
 is one of a family of eight children. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Heinlen have -three children : Clinton, 
 who not only has been well educated in a 
 literary sense but has a technical education 
 in wireless telegraphy and is an operator 
 on the vessels in the Great Lakes during a 
 part of the year and is with his father as an 
 assistant during the other months, a very 
 capable and reliable young man for his 
 twenty-two years; Hazel, who was credit- 
 ably graduated from the Bucyrus high 
 school in the class of 1910; and Grace, who 
 is a student in the city schools, and is now 
 nine years old. Mr. Heinlen and family 
 are members of the Evangelical Associa- 
 tion, to which organization his parents also 
 belonged from his childhood. 
 
 GEORGE W. FENNER, deceased. Per- 
 haps no old resident of Bucyrus, O., was 
 held in higher esteem than was the late 
 George W. Fenner, who was identified with 
 the material development of this city for 43 
 years. He was born at Delaware Water 
 Gap, Pa., April 26, 1825, and died at his 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 735 
 
 beautiful residence situated on the corner 
 of Charles and Poplar Streets, Bucyrus, O., 
 Oct. 9, 1900. His parents were Abram and 
 Eliza (Pickering) Fenner. 
 
 Both the Fenners and Pickerings bear 
 names linked with epoch-making events in 
 America history, the former tracing an an- 
 cestry from that stanch old skipper, Captain 
 Fenner, who successfully guided the May- 
 flower to the shores of New England in 
 1620, while during the War of the Revolu- 
 tion the Pickerings were financial support- 
 ers of the Patriot cause. In every succeed- 
 ing generation these names have been borne 
 by people of sterling worth whose lives have 
 reflected credit on the noble ancestry from 
 which they came. 
 
 Abram Fenner, father of the late George 
 W. Fenner, was born in Delaware county, 
 Pa., and died at Ashley, Pa., at the age of 
 82 years. He was a farmer and millwright, 
 a man of peaceful life and a member of the 
 Society of Friends. He was twice married 
 and both wives bore children. His eldest 
 daughter was the wife of Joseph Coleman. 
 Hiram, the eldest son, came to Bucyrus in 
 1852 and here followed the tailoring trade 
 during his active years, retiring before his 
 death, in 1894. Benjamin lived and died at 
 Almira, Pa. George W. was the youngest 
 of this family. 
 
 Of the boyhood of George W. Fenner 
 little is known, but it is possible that the 
 stern Quaker discipline of the household in 
 some ways chafed him and led him to leave 
 home and become a clerk in a store and 
 then to enlist for service in the Mexican 
 War, in which he performed so creditably 
 in several departments that he was espe- 
 cially honored by General Winfield Scott. 
 At first he was attached to the quartermas- 
 ter's department and it is evident that he 
 displayed rare soldierly qualities or he 
 would not have been selected to lead the 
 party of volunteers in the attempt to raise 
 the country's flag over the citadel in the 
 city of Mexico. It was indeed a hazardous 
 although successful expedition ; neverthe- 
 less all did not live to return. General Scott 
 was so impressed by the bravery of young 
 Fenner that he presented him with his 
 
 sword, which honorable trophy is carefully 
 preserved in the family. Not only was Mr. 
 Fenner thus distinguished, but when thp 
 war closed and he was discharged, it was 
 found that by a special provision, his com- 
 mission as an officer was permitted to ex- 
 tend to the end of his natural life. He re- 
 turned to Pennsylvania and from there 
 came to Bucyrus, where his older brother 
 was already estabHshed, in September, 1857, 
 having, in the meanwhile, learned the car- 
 penter trade and become a skilled mechanic. 
 He reached Bucyrus when it was awakening 
 to its needs and for many years he was en- 
 gaged here in the planning and erecting of 
 many of the fine business structures as well 
 as the handsome residences which adorn 
 this city. While he never became active in 
 politics because of his disinclination to bind 
 himself by any party tie, he was an alert 
 and interested citizen and gave hearty sup- 
 port to all measures of which his own judg- 
 ment approved. At one time he was iden- 
 tified with the Odd Fellows and also was 
 a member of the order of Royal Arcanum. 
 
 At Delaware Water Gap, Mr. Fenner was 
 united in marriage with Miss EHzabeth 
 Bush, who was born at Shawnee, on the 
 Delaware river. May 6, 1827, and died at 
 Bucyrus,- Oct. 21, 1894. She came also of 
 old Quaker stock and throughout life was 
 an exemplar of the simple unostentatious 
 faith in which she was reared. Her parents 
 were Benjamin Van C. and Sarah (DePuy) 
 Bush. Four children were born to this mar- 
 riage, namely: Frank, Foster, Amandus and 
 Eliza. The eldest son, who died Sept. 10, 
 191 1, was a carriage and sign painter by 
 trade and was engaged in business at Bu- 
 cyrus. Foster Fenner, the second son, was 
 born in Pennsylvania but was reared and 
 educated at Bucyrus. He resides with his 
 sister in the old home in this city. In pol- 
 itics, like his late father, Foster Fenner is in- 
 dependent, and fraternally he is connected 
 with the Modern Woodmen of America and 
 with the order of American Mechanics. 
 Amandus, the third son, who died at Bucy- 
 rus, Sept. 9, 1908, at the age of 52 years, is 
 survived by his widow and one son and 
 three daughters. The only daughter, Eliza, 
 
736 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was born in Pennsylvania, in 1857 and was 
 broug-ht to Ohio when but seven months 
 old. She has passed the larger part of her 
 life in this city and is well known through 
 her social connections and her womanly 
 charities. 
 
 ISAAC KURTZ, who in addition to be- 
 ing one of the heirs of the Kurtz estate in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, C, 
 consisting of 200 acres, owns a second farm 
 containing 108 acres, in the same township. 
 He was born Jan. 12, 1872, in Whetstone 
 township and is a son of John George and 
 Catherine (Gaibler) Kurtz. 
 
 John George Kurtz was born in Germany 
 and was eleven years old when he was 
 brought to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and 
 continued to reside in Whetstone township 
 until the time of his death. His burial was 
 in the Sherer cemetery. He married Cath- 
 erine Gaibler, who was also born in Ger- 
 many and now makes her home with a 
 daughter, Mrs. Simeon F. Sherer, in this 
 township. 
 
 After his school days were over, Isaac 
 Kurtz assumed farm duties on the home- 
 stead and the larg-er part of his life has been 
 spent on the old farm to which he came back 
 after a period spent at Bucyrus; "where he 
 was in the employ of M. C. Coulter in the 
 implement business and later in the harness 
 business under the firm name of Kurtz & 
 Hafifner. On the homestead are two resi- 
 dences and he occupies one and cultivates 
 140 acres of the land, while his brother, 
 John J., occupies the other and manages the 
 other part of the farm. They both are men 
 of energy and enterprise and their under- 
 takings are carried on with such good judg- 
 ment that they are usually successful. 
 
 On May 18, 1899, Mr. Kurtz was married 
 to Miss Laura Sherer, a daughter of Jacob 
 and Mary (Hurr) Sherer, who were early 
 settlers in Crawford county, both being now 
 deceased. They were members of the Ger- 
 man Methodist church. To the first mar- 
 riage of Jacob Sherer the following children 
 were born : Emanuel ; Sarah, wife of J. J. 
 Heverly; Emma, wife of Andrew Peters; 
 John; and Laura, wife of Isaac Kurtz. To 
 
 his second marriage, with Sarah -Beal, two 
 children were born: Bertha, wife of I. M. 
 Snyder ; and Ruth, a high school student at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz two children have 
 been born: Lloyd Sherer and Dorothy 
 Eleanor. They attend the German Metho- 
 dist church. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz are 
 members of the Grange at Bucyrus. In pol- 
 itics he is a Democrat. Mr. Kurtz is a stock- 
 holder in the Farmers & Citizens Bank of 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 JOHN KERR, who now lives somewhat 
 retired after a busy agricultural life of many 
 years, owns and occupies one of the com- 
 fortable homes and attractive residences 
 that may be found in the city of Bucyrus, O., 
 his being particularly marked on account of 
 its tasteful arrangement of flower beds on 
 the lawn and its great variety of choice 
 shrubbery. Mr. Kerr was born in Dallas 
 township, Crawford county, O., Sept. 6, 
 i84.'5. 
 
 James Kerr, the grandfather, was born in 
 Franklin county, Pa. He grew to ma^j^s- 
 tate there and was married to iBetsfey Ar- 
 buckle. Late in the twenties they came to 
 Ohio and settled in what was practically a 
 wilderness, hoping to develop a farm and 
 earn comfort for their old age. They lived 
 beyond four score and ten and were per- 
 mitted many years of comparative ease. 
 They were among the early members of 
 the Christian church in this section. They 
 had the following children: Robert, John- 
 son, who was a farmer in Wyandot county; 
 Alexander, who was a farmer in Allen 
 county; James, who was a farmer in Craw- 
 ford county, all of whom left descendants; 
 Jane and Martha, who were both married 
 and lived into old age; and Louisa, who 
 married Robert Urich and who lived and 
 died in Knox county, O. 
 
 Robert Kerr was born in Mifflin county, 
 Pa., in 1807 and was reared in Knox county, 
 coming there when 6 years of age. From 
 Knox county he came to Crawford county 
 when 20 years of age and here entered 
 eighty acres of government land in Dallas 
 township. This eighty acres was but the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 737 
 
 nucleus around which he built up a large 
 fortune in land, acquiring acre after acre 
 until he owned 4,500 acres of Ohio soil. He 
 began life in a primitive way, starting in 
 a log cabin that had a puncheon floor, and 
 in this humble dwelling a number of his 
 children were born, among whom was his 
 son, John, who still owns the original eighty 
 acres entered by his father. In the course 
 of time Robert Kerr provided a more com- 
 modious residence and resided in it up to 
 the time of his death, which occurred in 
 1889. He was known far and wide for the 
 success he reached in his agricultural opera- 
 tions and his growing of stock and he be- 
 came one of the largest sheep farmers in 
 Crawford county, having an annual flock 
 of 10,000 head for many years. His first 
 wife died in 1857 at the age of forty-one 
 years and twenty days. She was a devout 
 Christian, a member of the Disciples 
 church. Three sons and four daughters 
 were born to this marriage, three of whom 
 survive : John ; Mrs. Sarah Harris, who lives 
 on a farm in Wyandot county; and Mary, 
 viho is the wife of Philip Linn, of Marion, 
 O. His second marriage was with Mrs. 
 Martha Williams, and they had one daugh- 
 ter : Mrs. Adelaide Barr, who is a resident 
 of Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 John Kerr grew up on his father's farm 
 and had absolutely no educational advan- 
 tages. Although this has been, no serious 
 drawback to his success in life, Mr. Kerr has 
 given each one of his own children a college 
 education. While he was not permitted the 
 study of books, he learned many lessons of 
 value in the fields and forests of his father's 
 large estate and many of these he after- 
 ward practically applied. When he became 
 a farmer on his own account he put aside 
 many of the old, worn-out methods and 
 theories of former days, and through his 
 own experimenting reached conclusions 
 which resulted in the adoption of many of 
 the most modern methods of carrying on 
 agricultural pursuits. He reached success 
 in what he undertook and soon became rec- 
 ognized as one of the most practical and 
 enterprising farmers and stock men of the 
 township. In 1892 he retired from the 
 
 farm to Bucyrus after erecting his hand- 
 some brick residence at No. 215 South 
 Spring Street, already mentioned. He has 
 seen many changes take place in this part 
 of Crawford county and is well posted on 
 all the leading events. 
 
 On August 30, 1869, Mr. Kerr was mar- 
 ried to Miss Alice Chambers, who was born 
 and reared in Carey, Wyandot county, O. 
 Her father, William Chambers, was born in 
 West Virginia and was married in Wyan- 
 dot county, O., to Keziah Carr. They were 
 farming people in Wyandot county for 
 some years when they moved to Sedgwick 
 county, Kans., but later returned to Ohio. 
 He died in Marion county in 1890 and his 
 wife in Wyandot county, in 1900, aged re- 
 spectively 81 and 86 years. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kerr the following children were 
 born: Eva, the wife of Daniel Locke, who 
 resides at Everett, Wash., and has two 
 sons — Gormley and Wayne ; Maude, who is 
 the widow of William Sholaker, and re- 
 sides in Delaware; and Robert, a farmer in 
 Richland county, O., who married Jessie 
 Strawbridge and has three sons — John, 
 Harrold and Donald. Mrs. Kerr is a mem- 
 ber of the Christian Science church. Polit- 
 ically Mr. Kerr is identified with the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 MILTON R. LEWIS,* who is engaged 
 in an insurance and real estate business at 
 Bucyrus, O., in partnership with Chas. F. 
 Mathew, with offices in the Forum Build- 
 ing, was one of the pioneers in the fire in- 
 surance line here and has been identified 
 with insurance during many years of a very 
 active business life. He was born in Harri- 
 son county, O., in 1847, and has been a 
 resident of Bucyrus since 1849, being reared 
 and educated here. 
 
 David Lewis, ithe grandfather, was of 
 Welsh ancestry and was born in Maryland. 
 He was a pioneer in Harrison county, O., 
 but his last days were spent at Bucyrus, 
 where he died when aged 83 years. He 
 married Rachel Rogers and they had a 
 large family born to them, the third in order 
 of birth being James Lewis, who became 
 the father of Milton R. Lewis. He was 
 
738 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 born in 1813, in Harrison county and was 
 reared on the home farm near Cadiz. He 
 married Rebecca Gregory, who was also 
 of Maryland parentage. After the birth of 
 several children they moved to Bucyrus, 
 Crawford county, in which section he be- 
 came a very prominent man. In 1856 he 
 was elected to the State Senate, the first 
 and only Republican elected from this Sen- 
 atorial district. He had embraced the prin- 
 ciples of the Republican party as they were 
 in formation, having previously been a 
 Whig. During the Civil War James Lewis 
 was appointed United States district as- 
 sessor and served for seven years in the 
 office. For 65 years he was a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and during 
 much of this period served in an official 
 capacity. Of his twelve children ten grew 
 to maturity and five yet survive. 
 
 Milton R. Lewis for 26 years was a trav- 
 eling salesman for a Mansfield business 
 house and at the close of his long connec- 
 tion spent one year at Portland, Ore., and 
 then returned to Bucyrus. He then went 
 into the insurance business and has been 
 very active in the local field. In 1909 he 
 entered into partnership with Chas. F. 
 Mathew, formerly county recorder. The 
 firm handles a large amount of farm and 
 city property and represents many stan- 
 dard insurance companies. Mr. Lewis has 
 one daughter, Lucille, a talented young 
 woman who is a student in the Arts and 
 Crafts School, at Cleveland, O. One son, 
 James, died at the age of seventeen years. 
 Mr. Lewis is a Knight Templar Mason, be- 
 longing to the Commandery at Mansfield, 
 O., and to Blue Lodge, Chapter and Coun- 
 cil, at Bucyrus. He is identified also with 
 the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. He 
 is a highly respected citizen and is widely 
 known. Politically Mr. Lewis is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 WILLIAM KNELL, who is one of 
 Whetstone township's highly respected 
 German-American citizens, has been a resi- 
 dent of the United States since he was 22 
 years old but claims Germany as his birth- 
 place. His parents, George and Christiana 
 
 (Shookrnan) Knell, lived and died in Ger- 
 many as did his grandfathers, Andrew 
 Knell and Peter Shookman. 
 
 William Knell was the only one of his 
 family to come to America, his one sister 
 remaining with the parents. For three 
 months after reaching the United States 
 he lived at Chambersburg, Pa., but found 
 no opening in that section for a young man 
 who had his hopes settled on securing farm- 
 ing land on which he could establish himself 
 permanently. From Chambersburg he 
 walked to Mansfield, O., where he remained 
 for two months more, earning his living by 
 doing odd jobs and making friends wher- 
 ever he stopped, and then started on foot 
 for Crawford county. Here he found plenty 
 of farm labor, starting first on the farm of 
 Abraham Holmes and keeping steadily at 
 work for the next four years. He then 
 visited Nebraska and remained in the West 
 for nine months and then came back to 
 Crawford county, where he married. For 
 three years he rented land and for two more 
 worked for a railroad company and then 
 bought his first tract, 30 acres in Jefferson 
 township. Mr. Knell remained there for 
 ten years, in the meanwhile preparing for 
 further investment and in 1874 bought his 
 present valuable farm of 100 acres from 
 Jay Major, and has lived here ever since. 
 This property is very valuable and under 
 Mr. Knell's careful cultivation has been de- 
 veloped into one' of the best farms in this 
 section of Crawford county. 
 
 In i860, Mr. Knell was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Rettig, a daughter of Nicholas 
 and Elizabeth (Ketrost) Rettig. They 
 were born in Germany and were early set- 
 tlers in Crawford county, where they pros- 
 pered. They had the following children: 
 Catherine, Maria, Margaret, Elizabeth, 
 Gertrude, Caroline, George, Leonard and 
 Nicholas. Three sons were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Knell: Calvin, who lives in Jef- 
 ferson township, who married Clara Gear- 
 hart and has three children — Oleda, Paul 
 and Carl ; Harvey, who is a farmer in Whet- 
 stone township, who married Edith Smith 
 and has four children — Loran, Edwin, 
 Myron and Mildred ; and John, who married 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 739 
 
 Wilemina Wharton and has two children — 
 Roma and William. Mr. Knell and family- 
 are members of the Lutheran church. Mr. 
 Knell and his sons all belong to the Demo- 
 cratic party and all are men of high stand- 
 ing- in Whetstone to-wnship, quiet, self-re- 
 specting, law-abiding men, who profit 
 through their industry, and are helpful and 
 just to those with whom they are associated 
 in the public affairs of the community. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER WALTHER, one of 
 the highly respected citizens of Bucyrus, O., 
 now living retired after an active business 
 career that covered many years, is. a native 
 of Germany, born in Baden, June i6, 1833, 
 and is a son of Christopher and Elizabeth 
 (Doll) Walther. 
 
 Christopher Walther, Sr., was born in 
 Baden, Germany, in 1802, a son of Chris- 
 topher Walther, a weaver by trade, whose 
 entire life was spent in Germany, although 
 a part of his family came to America and 
 settled in Ohio. Christopher was married 
 in Germany to Elizabeth Doll, whose 
 parents were small farmers and spent their 
 lives in that land. Christopher Walther 
 and wife continued to live in their natiA^e 
 section until six children were born to them 
 and then determined to seek a land 
 where there were wider opportunities and 
 made preparations to immigrate to the 
 United States. Before they were ready to 
 embark on the sailing ship, however, in 
 1846, two of the children had died and it 
 was with wife and four children that Chris- 
 topher Walther started on the long sea voy- 
 age that then consumed thirty-six days. 
 They reached the harbor of New York and 
 then, by the old tedious ways of transporta- 
 tion, finally made their slow journey to 
 Sandusky, O., where relatives had already 
 established themselves. They remained 
 there for eight weeks and then came by 
 wagon to Crawford county, where, in Lib- 
 erty township, Mr. Walther bought a small 
 farm. They lived to see many years of pros- 
 perity, retiring to Bucyrus in the closing 
 years of their lives. In Germany they had 
 belonged to the Lutheran church but in 
 their new home no organization of that 
 
 faith had yet been established and they 
 united with the Methodist Episcopal church 
 and were among its worthiest members. 
 They had the following children beside the 
 two that died in Germany: Christopher; 
 Magdalena, born October 14, 1836, who is 
 the widow of August Kuntzman, and lives 
 at Sandusky, O. ; Philip Jacob, who was 
 born October 17, 1838, and who lives on the 
 old homestead in Liberty township and 
 married Rosina Knappenberger ; Carolina, 
 born June 6, 1841, who is the wife of Chris- 
 tian Bertsch, a shoe manufacturer at Grand 
 Rapids, Mich. ; and Henry, born in America, 
 December 12, 1849, who is a carriage 
 builder by trade and lives at Sandusky, O. 
 It is somewhat remarkable that no death 
 has occurred among the children of Chris- 
 topher and Elizabeth Doll since the family 
 came to America. 
 
 Christopher Walther, eldest son of Chris- 
 topher and Elizabeth Walther, remained on 
 the home farm until he was sixteen years 
 of age, when he learned the carpenter trade, 
 serving an apprenticeship to the same for 
 three years. In 1853 he came to Bucyrus 
 and with the exception of the period from 
 1856 until 1861, which he spent in Iowa, he 
 has been a continuous resident of this city. 
 He has been a busy man, becoming a skilled 
 mechanic in early manhood and later adopt- 
 ing building as his chosen line of work and 
 as a builder erected many of the important 
 structures in this city and vicinity. Many 
 of the handsome public school buildings 
 now standing give testimony as to his taste 
 and skill, including the Union School build- 
 ing, while the large German Lutheran 
 church edifice on Poplar Street, shows 
 what he accomplished in that line of con- 
 struction. For the past twelve years Mr. 
 Walther has been more or less retired but 
 there is probably no citizen of Bucyrus who 
 more closely watches the city's material de- 
 velopment and extension than he, having 
 so long been closely connected with the 
 same. 
 
 Mr. Walther was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Margaret Schuler, who was born June 
 17, 1838, at Rome, N. Y., and died at her 
 home in this city, April 5, 1900. This es- 
 
740 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 timable lady was a daughter of Frederick 
 and Ava (Stoll) Schuler, natives of Ger- 
 many, who emigrated to the United States 
 and lived in New York until 1840, when 
 they came to Bucyrus. They were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church. The only sur- 
 vivor or their family is Jacob Schuler, a re- 
 tired business man of this city. Seven chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Walther, 
 namely: two who died in infancy; Annetti, 
 who is the widow of Paul Barraider, of Fort 
 Wayne, Ind. ; Frank A. ; Fred E., who died 
 at Grand Rapids, Mich., in 191 1; Lena, who 
 is the wife of Charles Flocken, of Bucyrus ; 
 and Lizzie, who is the wife of Philip Mar- 
 quart, of Cleveland, O. 
 
 FOREST CASEY, junior member of the 
 well established firm of Resch & Casey, 
 plumbers, tinware manufacturers and deal- 
 ers in hardware, at No. 123 East Ninth 
 Street, Gallon, C, was born at Gallon, Jan. 
 9, 1869, and has spent his life in his native 
 city. His parents were James and Hattie 
 (Shumaker) Casey. 
 
 James Casey was born in Pennsylvania 
 in 1842 and was brought to Gallon in boy- 
 hood by his parents, grew up on a farm and 
 spent his life in Crawford county, his death 
 occurring at Gallon in June, 1909, having 
 survived his wife since 1871. They were 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Of the five children born to his 
 first marriage, James Casey has two sur- 
 vivors, Forest and Susie, both of whom re- 
 side at Gallon. His second marriage was to 
 his sister-in-law, Miss Clara Shumaker, who 
 died in August, 1910, leaving three chil- 
 dren : Earl, who is assistant cashier of the 
 First National Bank of Galion; Floyd, who 
 is a bookkeeper in a Cleveland business 
 house; and Mary, who is the wife of John 
 Wiggs, of Chicago, III., and has two chil- 
 dren. 
 
 Forest Casey was educated in the public 
 schools and afterward learned his present 
 business. In 1892 he entered into partner- 
 ship with the Resch brothers, William T. 
 and Harry P., which continued until 1904, 
 when the second Resch brother withdrew 
 and the business has been successfully con- 
 
 tinued ever since by the present firm, Wil- 
 liam T. Resch and Forest Casey. They 
 carry a large line of hardware sundries in- 
 cluding wire fencing, and manufacture tin- 
 ware and attend to plumbing. The firm 
 stands high in pubhc regard, both partners 
 having been known here from youth. 
 
 Mr. Casey was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lydia Schloss, who was born at Galion 
 in 1875, a daughter of Jacob Schloss, who 
 died in this city some 15 years ago. The 
 motlier of Mrs. Casey is now in her eigh- 
 tieth year and resides with her daughter. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Schloss were both born in 
 Germany and after coming to Galion were 
 married and spent their lives here. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Casey have one son, Kenneth De 
 Forest, who was born February 6, 1903. 
 They are members of the German Reformed 
 church. In his political views Mr. Casey 
 is a Republican, and fraternally he is identi- 
 fied with the Elks and the Odd Fellows. 
 
 JOHN C. AUCK, whose fine farm of 121 
 acres is situated in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., is a successful farmer 
 and representative citizen of this section. 
 He was born in Whetstone township, three- 
 fourth miles west of his present farm, Nov. 
 29, 1868, and is a son of Michael and Caro- 
 line (Ehmann) Auck. 
 
 Michael Auck was born in Lycoming 
 county. Pa., and now is a retired farmer 
 living at Bucyrus. His parents were John 
 Christopher and Rachel (Wagner) Auck. 
 He married Caroline Ehmann, who was 
 born in Germany and is a daughter of Chris- 
 topher and Frederica (Fritz) Ehmann. 
 They are members of the German Re- 
 formed church at Bucyrus. Six children 
 were born to them, namely: Mary Jane, 
 who is the wife of David S. Schieber; John 
 C. ; Lucy Ellen, who is the wife of J. E. 
 Myers ; William H. ; Celia, who is the wife 
 of Harry G. Hoover ; and Samuel E. 
 
 John C. Auck obtained a common school 
 education in Whetstone township and then 
 assisted his father on the home farm until 
 he was 23 years of age. On Dec. 24, 1891, 
 Mr. Auck was married to Miss Orie Ellen 
 Andrews, who is a daughter of Lemen and 
 
ABSALOM M. VORE 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 743 
 
 Lettie (Kiefer) Andrews, and a grand- 
 daugter of Jacob and Ellen (Montgomery) 
 Andrews and of Samuel and Catherine 
 (Jones) Kiefer. Mrs. Auck was born on 
 this farm March 3, 1872, and both parents 
 were born in Crawford county. The mother 
 died Feb. 4, 1901, but the father survives 
 and lives retired at Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Andrews attended the Church of Christ. 
 They had the following children : Allen C, 
 Mrs. Auck, George Franklin and Elsie 
 Catherine, the two last named being de- 
 ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Auck have two chil- 
 dren: Lemen Paul, who was born June 25, 
 1893; and Ralph Michael, who was born 
 Jan. 19, 1898. Mr. and Mrs. Auck are mem- 
 bers of St. John's German Reformed church, 
 in Whetstone township. In politics he is a 
 Democrat and has frequently been elected 
 to local offices, serving as township trustee 
 from igo8 until 1912, one year as road 
 supervisor and also as a member of the 
 school board. 
 
 ABSALOM M. VORE, a retired farmer 
 and highly respected resident of Bucyrus, O., 
 was born in Center county. Pa., Dec. 22, 1840, 
 coming of old Pennsylvania Dutch stock. He 
 is a son of Jesse and Catherine (Musser) 
 Vore. 
 
 In the days of the grandfather, who was 
 Absalom Vore, the name was spelled Wohr 
 but later was anglicized. The grandfather 
 spent his life in Pennsylvania and was a 
 farmer. After marriage he lived in Berks 
 county, where he died and his widow subse- 
 quently married a second time and reared a 
 second family. 
 
 Jesse Vore, father of Absalom M., was 
 born Aug. 15, 1805, in Berks county. Pa. 
 Later in life he moved to Center county and 
 for some years followed the tailoring trade at 
 Millheim. All his children were born in Cen- 
 ter county, where he later became a farmer, 
 moving with his family to Ohio in 1859. He 
 bought a farm of 100 acres, situated in Holmes 
 township, Crawford county, and there spent 
 the remainder of his life, his death occurring 
 May 3, 1892. He married Catherine Musser, 
 who was born in Center county. Her death 
 occurred July 23, 1885. Jesse Vore and wife 
 were members of the Reformed church and 
 
 were people whose Christianity was shown in 
 their daily walk and conversation. They had 
 eleven children, two of whom died young. 
 Nine grew to maturity and of these, Julia, 
 Harriet and John, all died unmarried in Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 Absalom M. Vore, who was the sixth of the 
 family in order of birth, is the oldest of the 
 survivors. He was in early manhood when 
 the family came to Ohio and proved of the 
 greatest assistance to his father after moving 
 on the large farm in Holmes township. He 
 continued at home and finally succeeded to the 
 homestead and there followed farming with a 
 large amount of success until in September, 
 1908, when he retired from active labor, pur- 
 chased a fine residence at No. 517 E. Rens- 
 selaer street, Bucyrus, and has been a resident 
 of this city ever,since. Politically a Democrat 
 he has always been interested in the success 
 of his party and has frequently served in im- 
 portant public offices. During his two terms 
 as trustee of Holmes township, much desirable 
 progress was made in its affairs, and he was a 
 justice of the peace there for two years. For 
 22 years he was a director of the agricultural 
 society and for six years a director of the 
 Crawford County Mutual Fire Insurance 
 Company. He is serving in his second term 
 as one of the directors of the Crawford 
 County Infirmary. 
 
 On Dec. 27, 1866, Mr. Vore was married 
 to Miss Louisa F. Kanable, who was born in 
 Holmes township, April 4, 1844, a daughter of 
 Enoch and Rebecca (Gordon) Kanable. Her 
 parents were born in Bedford county, Pa. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Vore have one daughter, 
 Clyde L., who was born Jan. i, 1868, in 
 Holmes township. She married Curtis L. 
 Dobbins, and they reside on his farm in Ma- 
 rion county, O. They have two sons : Ray V. 
 and Earl Keith. Mr. and Mrs. Vore are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
 is a charter member of the Holmes Grange, 
 Patrons of Husbandry, and later identified 
 himself with Bucyrus Grange, No. 705, of 
 which he was master for four years, and in 
 December, 1892, he received the seventh and 
 highest degree in the Grange. 
 
 JACOB W. STIGER, a well known citi- 
 zen of Bucyrus, O., who now lives retired 
 
744 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and occupies his handsome residence at No. 
 883 Soutla Poplar Street, has been a resident 
 of Ohio since childhood, but his birth oc- 
 curred at Williamsport, Pa., February 22, 
 1838. His parents were Abraham and 
 Rosina (Clineman) Stiger. 
 
 The Stigers belonged to Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, and there the grandparents lived 
 into old age, their two sons, Abraham and 
 Jacob Frederick, both coming to the United 
 States. Prior to this Abraham served three 
 years in the standing army and later for 
 four years held a commission on the Ger- 
 man emperor's staff. When honorably dis- 
 charged he was married in the village of 
 Myring, nine miles from his native city, to 
 Rosina Clineman. She had one brother, 
 John Clineman, who also came to the 
 United States, where he engaged in hotel 
 keeping and farming and died at Calumet, 
 Cook county. 111., leaving six sons. 
 
 Abraham Stiger and wife set out for 
 America on the day following their mar- 
 riage, taking passage on a slow-going sail- 
 ing vessel that required 75 days to make the 
 harbor of New York. From there they 
 went to Lycoming county. Pa., early in the 
 twenties, and resided there for some years 
 and then went to Illinois and in Cook 
 county made a purchase of five lots in the 
 swampy village of Chicago, along the slug- 
 gish river. Mr. Stiger built a house for his 
 family but the climate proved detrimental 
 to their health and they remained but two 
 years. The land that he once owned is now 
 valued at many thousands of dollars, this 
 being the site of the Northwestern Railroad 
 station, Chicago, a busy section of the 
 second largest city in the country. In 1844 
 Mr. Stiger brought his family to Bucyrus 
 and here he resided until his death on 
 June 15, i860. While living in Pennsyl- 
 vania he engaged in farming and was also 
 a charcoal burner but he had artistic talents 
 and these he put to use after locating per- 
 manently at Bucyrus. He was a member of 
 the German Reformed church, while his 
 wife, late in life, united with the German 
 Methodists. They had four daughters and 
 one son born to them: Mary, who is the 
 wife of John D. Alcott, of Milwaukee, Wis., 
 
 and has one son; Jacob W. ; Catherina, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of Dennis Man- 
 ning, also deceased; Minnie, who is the 
 widow of John G. Carpenter, and resides in 
 the city of Chicago ; and Rosina, the widow 
 of OHver C. Carpenter, formerly of Chi- 
 cago, who has three sons and two daugh- 
 ters. 
 
 Jacob W. Stiger received his early school 
 instruction from Miss Anna McCracken, 
 who £aught in a little building that then 
 stood on the site of the present Park Hotel, 
 at Bucyrus. When sixteen years of age, not 
 being subject to military service as had his 
 father in his youth, he was ready to learn a 
 trade and chose harnessmaking, which he 
 learned under John Sins, one of the early 
 business men of the place. In 1857 Mr. 
 Stiger left Ohio and traveled through the 
 West, working at his trade, until the death 
 of his father recalled him home. He spent 
 some time in Chicago and two years at St. 
 Paul, Minn., and a short period at Free- 
 port, 111., and then he went back to Bucyrus 
 and started into business here in his trade 
 line and was prospering when the Civil 
 War broke out. On July 16, 1861, he en- 
 listed for service in Co. E, 34th O. Vol. Inf., 
 of which he was commissioned a corporal, 
 and served with this regiment for 21 
 months, when he received his honorable 
 discharge at Cincinnati. He returned then 
 to Bucyrus and resumed his harness and 
 saddlery business, in which he continued 
 until 1876, when he became a farmer in 
 Scott township, Marion county, and in 1882 
 he purchased a farm in Bucyrus township, 
 Crawford county, where he followed agri- 
 cultural pursuits until 1910, when he re- 
 tired. He owns an entire block on the edge 
 of the city, in the midst of which stands his 
 fine residence, surrounded by beautifully 
 laid out grounds. 
 
 Mr. Stiger was married in Marion county, 
 O., May 3, 1864, to Miss Ellen M. Monnett, 
 who was born there Jan. 22, 1843, ^ daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Hannah (Belt) Mon- 
 nett. Mrs. Stiger is a cultured and edu- 
 cated lady and prior to her marriage was 
 a teacher. Six children have been born to 
 Mr. and ^Irs. Stiger: Charles W., who is 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 745 
 
 president and manager of the Motor Device 
 Company, an important enterprise of Chi- 
 cago, and who married Louisa Rathbone, of 
 Peoria, 111., and has two children — Marion 
 and Charles W. ; Gertrude M., who is the 
 wife of Ira B. Chadwich, superintendent of 
 the T. & O. Railroad at Bucyrus, and has 
 one daughter, Arnie Louise; John R., who 
 was graduated from the law department of 
 the State University at Columbus, and who 
 became a member of the law firm of Hills 
 & McCoy, Chicago, and died there in 1898, 
 when aged but 28 years; Arnie C, who is 
 the wife of Oscar F. Cretcher; Thomas A., 
 who is engaged in the practice of law at 
 Everett, Wash., and who married Anna 
 Raymond and has two children — Louise 
 and Thomas Raymond; and Cora, who is 
 the wife of Prof. Augustus Goldsmith, who 
 is an instructor in music in the public 
 schools at Bucyrus. Every educational ad- 
 vantage possible were afforded the above 
 family and all were creditably graduated 
 from one or more institutions. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Stiger are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. At their hospitable 
 home both friend and stranger find wel- 
 come and courteous greeting. 
 
 EMANUEL AUMILLER, one of the 
 best known citizens of Bucyrus, O., resid- 
 ing at No. 354 Warren street, has long been 
 numbered with the, leading men and sub- 
 stantial citizens of Crawford county. He 
 is the owner of numerous valuable farms in 
 this county together with improved land in 
 Nebraska. He was born in Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., Oct. 5, 1838, and 
 is a son of Daniel and Sarah (Boyer) 
 Aumiller. 
 
 The Aumiller family originated in France 
 and from that country the great-grand- 
 father of Emanuel Aumiller came to Amer- 
 ica with a body of British soldiery during 
 the Revolutionary War. After reaching the 
 colonies he became impressed with the 
 righteousness of their cause and, through a 
 clever subterfuge, managed to escape from 
 the English troopers and later became a 
 loyal and useful soldier in the Patriot army. 
 It is supposed that he died in Pennsylvania, 
 
 and it is certain that his son, John Aumiller, 
 died in that state. The widow of John 
 Aumiller came to Ohio and when an old 
 lady went to Indiana and died at the home 
 of her son, George Aumiller, in Elkhart 
 county. She had but two sons; George and 
 Daniel, both of whom were born in Union 
 county, Pa., the latter in 1810. In 1828 the 
 sons accompanied their mother to Ohio, 
 covering the distance to Crawford county 
 with a two-horse wagon and camping by 
 the roadside on the way to rest. For some 
 years they all lived together on a farm that 
 George purchased near Bucyrus, but the 
 latter subsequently moved to Elkhart 
 county, Indiana, and there became a man of 
 independent fortune. 
 
 In 183 1 Daniel Aumiller entered eighty 
 acres of wild land in Crawford county and 
 to the development and improvement of 
 this land th'e rest of his life was more or 
 less devoted. He married Sarah Boyer, 
 who was born in 1819, in Union county, Pa., 
 and she survived her husband for 18 years, 
 dying at the age of eighty-two. She was 
 an estimable woman and a devoted member 
 of the Evangelical Association. They 
 reared their family of eleven children to 
 man and womanhood and seven of these 
 survive. 
 
 Emanuel Aumiller was the second born 
 and the second son of the family. He took 
 advantage of the rather meager educational 
 opportunities offered children in his day in 
 the neighborhood of his father's farm and 
 very early became accustomed to the work 
 of the farm. Mr. Aumiller continued to 
 operate his land himself for many years, af- 
 ter which he reheved himself of some of 
 his responsibilities and retired to Bucyrus. 
 In addition to his handsome place in this 
 city, he owns 200 acres of improved land 
 in Holmes township, three farms of 112, 80 
 and 78 acres, all in Bucyrus township, and 
 480 acres in Nemaha county. Neb. 
 
 Mr. Aumiller was married in Holmes 
 township to Miss Lucy A. Heller, who was 
 born Dec. i, 1841, and died at her Bucyrus 
 home, Sept. 14, 1906. She was a consistent 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 to which her husband also belongs. Mr. 
 
746 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and Mrs. Aumiller had two sons, Daniel 
 and Jesse E. The former is a prominent 
 farmer in Bucyrus township, married Maria 
 Miller and they had an adopted daughter. 
 Jessie E., who was born in 1873, died in 
 191 1. His second wife is a resident of Chi- 
 cago, 111., and their two children, Lucile and 
 George E., both died young. Mr. Aumiller 
 is a Republican in politics. 
 
 HENRY J. STUMP, who is a leading 
 citizen of Whetstone township, and the 
 owner of 135 acres of valuable land here, 
 was born in this township, Jan. 23, 1867, 
 and is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Hein- 
 len) Stump. 
 
 Isaac Stump was born, in Pennsylvania 
 and came to Crawford county in young 
 manhood, where he subsequently married 
 and engaged in farming for a number of 
 years. He and his wife now live retired in 
 this township, their home being a short dis- 
 tance west of the one occupied and owned 
 by Henry J. Stump. Isaac Stump is a 
 staunch Democrat and in former years was 
 quite active in politics and public afifairs in 
 his township and served both as trustee and 
 treasurer. He and wife are members of the 
 German Reformed church. They have five 
 children, namely: Esther, who is the wife of 
 Emanuel D. Sherer; Sarah, who is the wife 
 of Daniel W. Hurr; Henry "J.; Amanda, 
 who is the wife of Edward D. Zimmerman ; 
 and Emma, who was married (first) to 
 Charles Lepp, and (second) to Simeon G. 
 Kurtz. 
 
 Henry J. Stump attended the public 
 schools of Whetstone township and worked 
 with his father on the home farm until his 
 own marriage, after which he engaged in 
 farming on the home place on shares and 
 three years later rented farm land from his 
 father for about ten years. He then pur- 
 chased 74 acres from his father, which he 
 put in fine shape, subsequently buying 61 
 acres more, all together making about as 
 large a farm as he cares to handle. He 
 raises the general crops of the locality, has 
 fine orchards and garden and grows his 
 own stock, not the fancy kinds, but never- 
 theless of good grade. 
 
 On Jan. 10, 1889, Mr. Stump was married 
 to Miss Elma D. Rorick, a daughter of 
 Samuel and Mary (Heinlen)- Rorick, for- 
 merly well known farming people living in 
 Whetstone township but now retired resi- 
 dents of Bucyrus. They had the following 
 children: Elizabeth, deceased, who was the 
 wife of John Snyder; William, who is de- 
 ceased ; Charles ; Elma D. ; Henry ; Amanda, 
 who is the wife of Morris Roberts; Anna, 
 who is*the wife of John Baumonk ; and Ora 
 and Rosa, both of whom are deceased. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stump have two daughters : 
 Chloe E., who is the wife of William M. 
 Wingert and has one son, Layton; and Ber- 
 nice, who attends the township schools. 
 Mr. Stump and family are members of the 
 Reformed church. He is a Democrat in pol- 
 itics and for four years served in the office 
 of township trustee and for two years was 
 supervisor. 
 
 J. GEORGE HIPP, a well known and re- 
 liable business man of Bucyrus, O., a builder 
 and contractor here for many years, was 
 born in this city, on what is now South San- 
 dusky avenue, Oct. 26, 1858, and is a son 
 of Sebastian and Elizabeth (Brand) Hipp. 
 
 Sebastian Hipp was born in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany and was 19 years of age when he 
 took passage on a sailing vessel for ,the 
 United States and after a voyage of many 
 weeks was safely landed at Castle Garden, 
 New York City, and from there came to 
 Bucyrus. Here he followed the weaving 
 of the beautiful German bedspreads which 
 many Americans would pay large prices 
 to obtain at the. present day and those who 
 are fortunate enough to possess them, 
 treasure them with care. He was an expert 
 in this line of manufacturing and knew how 
 to blend his colors and bring out the beauty 
 of the pattern. Like many other old in- 
 dustries, machinery soon replaced hand 
 work to such an extent that the latter be- 
 came unprofitable. He later became inter- 
 ested in a woolen mill at Butler, C, and still 
 later moved to Mansfield, where he now 
 resides, being in his 85th year. He was 
 married at Bucyrus to Elizabeth Brand, 
 who was born in Baden Baden, Germany 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVIi CITIZENS 
 
 747 
 
 and was a child when her people came with 
 her to America. The parents of Mrs. Hipp 
 located at Bloomville, Seneca county, where 
 she g'rew to womanhood and about that 
 time they came to Bucyrus, where they 
 later passed away. Mrs. Hipp died at 
 Mansfield, O., March 7, 19Q9. She was a 
 devoted member of the German Reformed 
 church. 
 
 J. George Hipp is the eldest of a family 
 of nine children, one of whom died in in- 
 fancy, eight reaching maturity. He at- 
 tended school at Bucyrus and then learned 
 the carpenter trade and subsequently went 
 into building and contracting. He has al- 
 ways been a steady, hard-working man, 
 practical in everything and well merits his 
 reputation for reliability. Mr. Hipp handles 
 a large amount of work in his line at Bu- 
 cyrus. 
 
 Mr. Hipp married Miss Elizabeth Beal, 
 whose birth in Bucyrus township preceded 
 his own by 24 days. She is a daughter of 
 Isaac Beal, once a well known farmer of 
 Bucyrus township, and they have the fol- 
 lowing children :. Raymond C., who fills a 
 very important position, being head of the 
 claim department of the John Deere Manu- 
 facturing Company, of Atlanta, Ga. ; Rufus 
 B., who is a commercial salesman for 
 George B. Barrett Jewelry Company, of 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. ; Mary Elizabeth, who is a 
 graduate of the Bucyrus High School ; 
 Naomi C, who is a member of the class of 
 1912, Bucyrus High School ; and Martha 
 L., who is also a student in the High School 
 of this city. These young ladies all take 
 part in the pleasant social life here and with 
 their parents belong to the German Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church. 
 
 JOHN GEBHARDT, president of the 
 city council of Bucyrus, O., and formerly 
 sheriff of Crawford county, has long been 
 prominent in public affairs in city and 
 county. He was born two miles north of 
 Bucyrus, Sept. 6, 1859, and is a son of Adam 
 and Susan (Brand) Gebhardt. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Gebhardt belonged to 
 old families of Baden, Germany. The 
 father, Adam Gebhardt, was born at Ep- 
 
 ping, in the above province, Sept. 15, 1815. 
 He was early left an orphan and from the 
 age of 15 years depended entirely upon 
 himself, for a number of years doing farm 
 labor in Germany and also being driver of 
 a stage. He was married in Germany to 
 Elizabeth Whittmer. In 1848 the country 
 became so disturbed with revolutionary 
 ideas that peaceful labor became difficult to 
 secure and thus he and family turned their 
 thoughts to America and finally started for 
 the United States. In those days the in- 
 spection of sailing ships was not very thor- 
 ough and the one on which this party em- 
 barked sprung a leak when along the Irish 
 coast and it became necessary to stop until 
 repairs could be made. Thus the voyage 
 consumed 68 days but the tired passengers 
 were finally landed safely at New York. 
 Their journey was not yet over, however, as 
 they intended to locate in Crawford county, 
 O., which entailed a further water trip as 
 far as Sandusky and a wagon journey before 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, was 
 reached. Adam Gebhardt secured 160 acres 
 situated two miles north of Bucyrus, of land 
 almost new, his being the second transfer 
 from the Government. There he spent a 
 laborious life, working early and late to de- 
 velop his land and make improvements. He 
 died on this farm August 17, 1897. He was 
 a worthy member of the German Lutheran 
 church and was a man of whom his neigh- 
 bors ever spoke kindly. His first wife died 
 six months after reaching America, leaving 
 two daughters: Eva, who died in 1911, who 
 was the wife of Philip Whittmer, of Pauld- 
 ing county, O., and left a large family; and 
 Elizabeth, who died some thirty years since. 
 She was married first to Jacob Defenbaugh, 
 and second to John Frey, both of whom she 
 sur\'ived, 
 
 Adam Gebliardt's second union was with 
 Susan Brand, who was then living at 
 Bloom^■ille, O. She was born at Fortsheim, 
 Baden, Germany, July 12, 1827, and was 
 brought young to the United States by her 
 parents. Christian and Elizabeth (Mussel- 
 man) Brand. They located in Seneca 
 county, O., where she was reared. Mrs. 
 Gebhardt survives and is a typical pioneer 
 
748 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 woman, one of those whose courage and 
 resourcefulness added so much to the com- 
 fort and happiness of the home in the early 
 days when privations had to be faced on 
 every side. She tells in an interesting way 
 of many expedients resorted to by careful 
 housewives of her day and has cooked 
 many a satisfying meal on coals from burnt 
 . log^ in the open, and has done it all the year 
 round. She is a member of the Mennonite 
 church. Personally she is greatly beloved, 
 her sympathy and neighborly kindness 
 never failing when trouble falls on those 
 within her reach. Five children were born 
 to this second marriage, as follows : Cath- 
 erine, who died in 1906, who was the wife of 
 John C. Krauter, and left three sons and five 
 daughters ; Caroline, who is the wife of Wil- 
 liam Krauter, a farmer in Bucyrus township, 
 and has five children; Jacob, who lives in 
 Oregon ; John ; and Susan, who is the 
 widow of August Michileus, and who re- 
 sides at Bucyrus and has five children. 
 
 John Gebhardt grew up on the home 
 farm, which yet belongs to the family, and 
 obtained his education in the local schools. 
 In 1893 he began to cry sales and from his 
 first effort it was predicted that he would 
 be unusually successful as an auctioneer, 
 which judgment was later confirmed and 
 undoubtedly he has a greater popularity 
 along this line than any one else in this part 
 of Ohio. He is a general auctioneer and it 
 makes no difference to him what kind of 
 property is for sale, as his knowledge is 
 extensive, his ready flow of wit can be ap- 
 plied alike to any commodity and his voice 
 can be modulated to suit any occasion. Af- 
 ter coming to Bucyrus in 1893 he was asso- 
 ciated with John Snavely in the meat mar- 
 ket business in which he continued for 
 about five years. For six months afterward 
 he devoted himself entirely to auctioneering 
 and then purchased a market business of his 
 own, which he conducted until 1901, when 
 he was elected sheriff of Crawford county 
 and served most acceptably through two 
 terms. For more than 21 years he has been 
 a member and during the greater part of 
 the time vice-president of the Crawford 
 Countv Agricultural Society and both in 
 
 city and county is recognized as one of the 
 live men of this section. He has served on 
 the school board and is now president of 
 the city council in his second term. 
 
 Mr. Gebhardt was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Emma Caroline Vollrath, born April 
 27, 1862, a daughter of F. August and Caro- 
 line (Ashbaucher) Vollrath, natives of Ger- 
 many, who lived and died on their farm in 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county. 
 Mrs. Gebhardt is one of a family of eleven 
 children. Mr. and Mrs. Gebhardt have 
 two children: Janet Susan, born Nov. 20, 
 1882, who is the wife of Louis F. Ronfeldt 
 of Bucyrus; and Cleo Edward, who was 
 born May 24, 1886. He has been connected 
 with the Bucyrus City Bank since he was 
 fifteen years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Geb- 
 hardt are members of the German Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 MICHAEL D. BAIR, farmer, owning 90 
 acres of good land in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., was born in this town- 
 ship, Oct. 26, i860, a son of John and Re- 
 becca (Shearer) Bair. The father of our 
 subject, John Bair, was a native of Stark 
 county, Ohio, where he spent his life in 
 farming. He was a Republican in politics 
 and was affiliated religiously with the 
 Lutheran church. As above intimated, he 
 married Rebecca Shearer, who was born in 
 Whetstone, Crawford county, and they be- 
 came the parents pf seven children, namely : 
 George W., Samuel M., Rachel Ann, who 
 married George Ness; Michael D., subject 
 of this sketch; Adam, now deceased; Sadie 
 J., also deceased, who was the wife of John 
 Seifert, and Lilly, wife of Lawrence Mc- 
 Michael. Samuel M. resides on a farm in 
 Whetstone township, which is a part of 
 the old Bair homestead. 
 
 Michael D. Bair acquired his education in 
 the common schools and then took up farm- 
 ing, which he has since followed as an oc- 
 cupation. After starting in for himself, he 
 rented a farm for eight years and then 
 bought his present tract of 90 acres from the 
 Bair heirs. He has convenient and substan- 
 tial buildings, does general farming and 
 keeps enough stock for his own use. In 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 749 
 
 politics he is a Republican and for the last 
 six years has served the township as school 
 director. 
 
 He was married Dec. 19, 1886, to Clara 
 Shumaker, a daughter of John and Cather- 
 ine (Dickerhoof) Shumaker, who were for- 
 merly farming people in Polk township. 
 Mrs. Shumaker has passed away but Mr. 
 Shumaker, Mrs. Bair's father, is living in 
 Gallon, being now retired from the active 
 business of life. He is a Democrat and in 
 religion a member of the German Lutheran 
 church, as was also Mrs. Shumaker. Their 
 children were as follows : Belle, wife of Ira 
 Morrow; Clara, who is now Mrs. Bair; 
 Mary, wife of Frank Tracht; and Andrew, 
 who is deceased. Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Bair 
 have on son, Andrew W., who was born 
 Oct. 18, 1893, and who lives with his father 
 on the farm. The family attend the Eng- 
 lish Lutheran church, and are people well 
 known and respected throughout this lo- 
 cality. 
 
 JAMES THROUPE, a highly respected 
 citizen of Bucyrus, O., who now lives retired 
 from active business, for 35 years held the 
 responsible position of general foreman of 
 the shops connected with one of the largest 
 industrial concerns of the country, the 
 American Clay Machinery Company, at 
 Bucyrus, O. He was born at Bradley, in 
 Yorkshire, England, October 28, 1830, but 
 in his erect carriage and robust health, he 
 might be credited as much younger. He 
 comes of sturdy Yorkshire folk, his parents 
 and grandparents living there into old age. 
 He is a son of John and Maria (Sugdin) 
 Throupe. 
 
 John Throupe was born near Stilson and 
 Bradley, England, in 1800, a son of WilHam 
 Throupe, and he had one brother, William, 
 who lived and died in Yorkshire. John 
 Throupe was a miller and operated a grist 
 mill, utilizing water power for the same. 
 He married Maria Sugdin, a daughter of 
 Jonas and Maria Sugdin. Her death oc- 
 curred in England in 1880, when aged about 
 eighty years. She was a devout meiiiber of 
 the Church of England. To John Throupe 
 and wife ten children were born and almost 
 
 all lived to marry and rear children of their 
 own. Of this family James is the only sur- 
 vivor. 
 
 James Throupe was reared in his native 
 shire and attended the village school. He 
 left home for America when eighteen years 
 of age, but previously had learned the ma- 
 chinist trade and, while he believed the 
 United States would offer him a better in- 
 dustrial opportunity, he had no idea of 
 coming to this country empty handed and 
 helpless. In 1848, when he boarded the 
 sailing vessel, the Benjamin Adams, for the 
 harbor of New York, he scarcely antici- 
 pated the discomforts that attended the 
 long voyage of six weeks on a stormy sea, 
 but finally safely reached port and started 
 for Ohio as his objective point. From 
 Cleveland he went to Alliance and about 
 the first work he found was sawing wood to 
 feed the engines that were then used on the 
 old Fort Wayne Railroad. Within two 
 years, however, he had a remunerative posi- 
 tion in the railroad shops and after eighteen 
 months at Alliance he came to Bucyrus and, 
 in connection with a Mr. William Burkhart, 
 started a repair shop which was the nucleus 
 or beginning of the present American Clay 
 Machinery Compan3^ Afterward he be- 
 came general foreman and as mentioned 
 above, for many years afterward was con- 
 tinued in that position and was one of the 
 most valued and trusted employes. Al- 
 though for a number of years sadly handi- 
 capped by an accident, he nevertheless pos- 
 sessed the efficiency, the unerring eye and 
 the executive ability that made his services 
 very valuable. During the Civil War he 
 was enthusiastic in his support of the Union 
 cause and when General Grant accom- 
 plished the surrender of Vicksburg and the 
 citizens of Bucyrus proposed a celebration 
 in honor of this victory, Mr. Throupe was 
 given charge of the cannon used on the oc- 
 casion. Through a premature explosion an 
 accident occurred which caused the break- 
 ing and subsequent loss of Mr. Throupe's 
 right arm. This accident was deplored by 
 the whole city and checked the festivities. 
 
 Mr. Throupe was married at Bucyrus 
 to Miss Helen Kirkland, who was born in 
 
FdO 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Liberty township, Crawford county, in 1838, 
 and died at the family home here, January 
 19, 1882, at the age of 44 years, 6. months 
 and 18 days. She was a daughter of Robert 
 and Roxy (Stone) Kirkland, the former of 
 whom was born in England and the latter 
 in America. Thirteen children were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Throupe, all but five of 
 these dying when young, the others being 
 as follows : Martha, who is the wife of 
 Theodore Rhuark, a farmer in Jefferson 
 county, and has two children, William and 
 Blanche, both of whom are married, the 
 former being the father of Elwood and 
 Louis; Frances, who is the wife of Elijah 
 Clark, an engineer on the T. & O. C. Rail- 
 road, residing at Bucyrus, and has two chil- 
 dren, Victor and Ruth, the former of whom 
 is married and has one son; Ida, the widow 
 of Samuel Rule, who resides with her 
 father, and has two children, Orvie and 
 Nina; Jay, who is unmarried, and lives at 
 Columbus; and Carrie, who is the wife of 
 Benjamin Nickler, a farmer residing in Lib- 
 erty township, Crawford county, and has 
 six children — Martha, James, Edward, Rob- 
 ert, May and Roy. 
 
 JAMES W. GAMBLE, who has been of- 
 ficially connected with the law and order 
 department of Bucyrus, O., for some years 
 and at present fills a responsible position as 
 merchants' watchman, is a well known and 
 respected citizen whose reliability, effi- 
 ciency and courage has been put to the test 
 on many occasions. He takes a just pride 
 in the implicit confidence that is placed in 
 his fidelity by those whose property and in- 
 terests he has guarded so faithfully, some- 
 times endangering his life in so doing. 
 
 James W. Gamble was born in 1851, in 
 Franklin county. Pa. His grandfather, Fil- 
 son Gamble, was born in Pennsylvania and 
 his great grandfather was a soldier in the 
 Revolutionary war. The grandparents lived 
 and died in Pennsylvania and their children 
 who survived infancy were : Samuel, who 
 became a Presbyterian minister; Ezra, who 
 went to the far West and engaged in gold 
 mining; Calvin, who served in the Civil war 
 and afterward became a farmer; Frank, who 
 
 died from injuries received during his serv- 
 ice in the Civil war; Mrs. Amanda Blair, 
 who lived in Kansas; Tirzah, wife of Dr. 
 Mackey, of Colorado; and James Filson, 
 father of James W. 
 
 James F. Gamble was born in Franklin 
 county, Pa., in Path Valley, Feb. 11, 1826, 
 and died in t];ie state of New York. He 
 served an apprenticeship to several mechan- 
 ical trades in Cumberland county, Pa. He 
 was ni^arried Jan. 24, 1850, in Cumberland 
 county, to Bathsheba McCune Morrow, 
 who was born in Cumberland county, Dec. 
 II, 1826, and died in Franklin county. Pa., 
 May 24, 1905. Both she and her husband 
 were members of the Presbyterian church. 
 Her parents were William and Mary 
 (Bo3'd) Morrow, the former of whom was 
 born January 26, 1767, and died June i, 
 1843. Mary Boyd was born Nov. 11, 1781, 
 and died June 5, 1855. There were nine 
 children born to William and Mary Mor- 
 row, namely: Margaret M., who died April 
 19, 1884, at the age of 71 years, was the 
 wife of Thomas Lindsey; Agnes B., born in 
 1814, married Rev. John McCullough, and 
 died in 1894; Mary, born in 1815, who mar- 
 ried William Ferguson in 1843, died when 
 aged; Jane McCune, born in 181 6, died 
 April 5, 1887, who married Elias Asper; 
 William, Jr., born in 1817, died in 1883, and 
 who married Carolyn Wallace; Elizabeth, 
 born in 1819, died in 1884, the wife of Sam- 
 uel Shoemaker; James B., born Sept. 14, 
 1820, who died Oct. 12, 1869, while a miner 
 in the gold fields of California ; John B., who 
 was born Feb. 24, 1822, died Dec. 25, 1894, 
 married Rebecca Staufifer; Bathsheba Mc- 
 Cune, who married James F. Gamble, being 
 the youngest. 
 
 To James F. Gamble and wife the follow- 
 ing children were born : James W. ; Mary 
 C, who is the widow of George Alexander; 
 Wilbert Elton, an oil operator residing near 
 Parker's Landing, Pa., who married Sadie 
 Parton; Curtis L., who died June 18, 1906, 
 at Youngstown, C, and who is survived by 
 a widow and children ; Rosa Bell, who is the 
 wife of Putnam Doran, residing in Frank- 
 lin county. Pa., and has two daughters; 
 and Frank Elmer, a business man of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 751 
 
 Youngstown, who married Alice Dille and 
 has one son. 
 
 In 1863, when he was twelve years old, 
 James W. Gamble came to Crawford 
 county, O., with his uncle, Calvin. He at- 
 tended school for several years and then 
 became a farmer and continued until 1885, 
 when he came to Bucyrus. Here he fol- 
 lowed the carpenter trade for a few years 
 and then became a member of the city po- 
 lice force and still later entered upon the 
 duties of his present position as special 
 watchman. 
 
 On Oct. 21, 1873, Mr. Gamble was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth McCreary, who was 
 born Feb. 26, 1852, and died Nov. 17, 1904, 
 near Lincoln, Neb. She was a member and 
 active worker in St. Paul's Lutheran 
 church of Bucyrus. She was a daughter of 
 Thomas and Eliza (Boyer) McCreary. 
 
 Thomas McCreary was born July 15, 
 1826, and died at Bucyrus when over 80 
 years of age. ITe was of Scotch ancestry 
 and possessed manj^ of the characteristics 
 of that hardy and thrifty race. For a num- 
 ber of years he engaged successfully in 
 farming in Crawford county and was a man 
 of considerable worldly substance. His 
 Avife, Eliza Boyer, was born Jan. 30, 1829, 
 and died Dec. 24, 1867. She and husband 
 were English Lutherans. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Gamble four children 
 were born, namely : Mabel Grace, who died 
 in infancy; Curtis Guy, who was educated 
 at Bucyrus and is engaged in the oil fields 
 in Illinois as a contractor; and Ella M. and 
 Ina Imo, both of whom are highly educated, 
 cultivated and capable young women. The 
 former was graduted from the Bucyrus 
 high school in the class of 1900 and since 
 then has filled the position of confidential 
 secretary for the late Judge Beer and his 
 heirs, settling up his estate and then enter- 
 ing into business on her o\\n account. She 
 is a member of the literary club known as 
 Crocus Junior. The younger daughter 
 completed her high school course in 1903 
 and now has charge of her father's home. 
 Miss Imo is also a member of the Crocus 
 Junior Club. Both she and sister are active 
 Sunday-school workers and belong to the 
 
 King's Daughters and other church and so- 
 cial organizations. 
 
 Mr. Gamble is a Republican in politics. 
 He belongs to the fraternal order of Mac- 
 cabees. 
 
 SIMEON G. KURTZ, who is a worthy 
 representative of one of the old families of 
 high standing in Crawford county, O., re- 
 sides on his valuable farm of 121^ acres, 
 which is situated in Whetstone township. 
 He was born in this township, Dec. 10, 1875, 
 and is a son of Samuel and Margaret (Rex- 
 roth) Kurtz, and a grandson of George 
 Kurtz. 
 
 Samuel Kurtz and wife were both born 
 in Crawford county and for many 3'ears 
 lived in Whetstone township, where they 
 are pleasantly remembered, but now live in 
 comfortable retirement at Bucyrus. To 
 them the following children were born : 
 George, Aaron, Simeon G., Catherine, 
 Bertha, Harrison, Paul and Edwin. Of the 
 above. Bertha is the wife of Russell Meyers. 
 All survive except Catherine and Paul. The 
 parents are members of the Reformed 
 church. 
 
 Simeon G. Kurtz attended the public 
 schools in Whetstone township and one 
 term at Ada colleg-e, Ada, O., after which 
 he engaged in teaching school for three win- 
 ter terms and during the summers carried 
 on farm operations for his father. When 
 he married he rented his present farm from 
 his father-in-law and purchased it three 
 years later and has devoted his attention to 
 general farming and stock raising ever 
 since, keeping up his grade of stock but not 
 making calculations to have any to sell. 
 
 On Nov. 20, 1901, Mr. Kurtz was mar- 
 ried to Miss Emma Stump, who is a daugh- 
 ter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Heinlen) 
 Stump. Her father was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and her mother in Crawford county 
 and they now live retired on their farm but 
 one-fourth mile \vest of their son, Henrj' 
 J. Stump's farm in- Whetstone township. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kurtz have two children : My- 
 ron Clinton and La Verne Simeon. The 
 family belongs to the Reformed church and 
 Mr. Kurtz is superintendent of the Sunday- 
 
752 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 school and is also a member of the board of 
 trustees. Both he and wife belong to the 
 Grange at Bucyrus and take part in its work 
 and enjoy its social features. In politics 
 Mr. Kurtz is a Republican. 
 
 W. E. ARNOLD, D. D. S., who has been 
 professionally established at Bucyrus, C, 
 since 1905, is in the enjoyment of an ex- 
 cellent class of practice, having won confi- 
 dence and approbation through his techni- 
 cal skill, complete mastery of his science 
 and his honorable methods of business. He 
 was born at Mt. Vernon, O., June 24, 1878, 
 and is a son of Charles and Mary Ann 
 (Flocken) Arnold. 
 
 Charles Arnold was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, and is now 62 years of age and a 
 resident of Bucyrus. He came to America 
 when 19 years of age and for some years 
 followed the trade of a machinist, but for 
 the past 20 years has been engaged in a 
 manufacturing business. Politically he is 
 a Democrat and fraternally is an Odd Fel- 
 low and a 32nd degree Mason. He married 
 Anna Flocken, who was born at Bucyrus, 
 and they are parents of two sons : W. E. 
 and Charles F. The latter is a resident of 
 Akron, O., and married Myrtle Collins. 
 
 Since he was 18 years of age Dr. W. E. 
 Arnold has been interested in dentistry and 
 after graduating from the Mt. Vernon high 
 school, at the age of 18, he entered the 
 dental department of the Ohio Medical Uni- 
 versity, at Columbus, where he was grad- 
 uated in the class of 1901. Prior to 1905, 
 when he came to locate permanently at Bu- 
 cyrus, he practiced at Wheeling, W. Va., 
 and at other points. He makes a specialty 
 of crown and bridge work, does fine porce- 
 lain work also and keeps thoroughly abreast 
 with the times in a profession which is con- 
 tinually advancing along scientific lines. 
 
 Dr. Arnold was married at Wheeling, W. 
 Va., to Miss Blanche Smouse, a daughter 
 of Thomas Smouse. The father of Mrs. 
 Arnold was of German ancestry. His death 
 occurred in 1890 and that of his widow in 
 191 1, she being then over 70 years of age. 
 They were members of the Roman Catholic 
 church. Of their large family eight sur- 
 
 vive. Dr. and Mrs. Arnold have two sons : 
 Henry William, who was born April 8, 
 1908; and Robert Charles, who was born 
 May 21, 1910. Mrs. Arnold was educated 
 at Wheeling and Grafton, W. Va. Politi- 
 cally Dr. Arnold is a Democrat and frater- 
 nally he belongs to the Elks, at Mt. Vernon. 
 He was reared in the German Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 OTTO FEIRING, merchant tailor and 
 one of the representative business men of 
 Bucyrus, O., conducting his business on the 
 northwest corner of the public square, was 
 born at Bucyrus, March 11, 1867, and is 
 a son of Frederick and Elizabeth (Schuler) 
 Feiring, and a grandson of Frederick Feir- 
 ing. 
 
 Frederick Feiring, the grandfather, wai» 
 born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1818, 
 and died in Ohio in 1866. He came to 
 America and settled in Crawford county 
 about 1833 and his first work here was on 
 what was commonly called the Big Ditch, 
 or the Hahn Ditch, not far from Bucyrus, 
 the completion of which proved the advan- 
 tage of draining the low wet lands that then 
 composed a large part of the present most 
 valuable farming sections. With the money 
 thus earned he purchased a team of horses 
 and then went into the carrying business, 
 transporting merchandise between San- 
 dusky and Bucyrus. No railroads had yet 
 been constructed and for some years this 
 industry was very profitable. He then be- 
 came associated with William Hahn, in the 
 manufacture of brick and they did some of 
 the earliest brickmaking in the county and 
 continued together for four years. Mr. 
 Feiring then went into the meat business 
 and prospered, becoming a large cattle deal- 
 er and butcher and was in this business 
 until 1852, when he purchased the Western 
 Hotel of its former owner, Mr. Kingsinger. 
 This is now known as the old Royal Hotd. 
 and Mr. Feiring continued to be its pro- 
 prietor until his death, in the meanwhile 
 having improved the property to the value 
 of $7,000. He was a strong character and 
 is still remembered by the older residents 
 of Bucyrus. He was a very ardent Demo- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 753 
 
 crat and it is said that occasionally, when 
 he found that his gfuests were just as ardent 
 Republicans, he would suggest that they 
 find another place of entertainment. He 
 married Barbara Price, also of Wurtem- 
 berg, a woman of fine character, frugal and 
 resourceful, and she was of much assist- 
 ance to her husband. They had three sons 
 and five daughters : Frederick J., George 
 Henry, Charles, Mary, Callie, Emma, Mat- 
 tie and Ida. The mother died at the home 
 of a daughter, Mrs. A. J. Keller, of Kenton, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Frederick Feiring, Jr., son of Frederick 
 and father of Otto Feiring, was born at 
 Bucyrus, O., and when he went into busi- 
 ness, in mature life, became a butcher and 
 stock buyer and was one of the well known 
 bvisiness men of the city. Like his father 
 he was a strong Democrat and once was 
 a candidate for the office of city marshal, 
 failing of election by but four votes. His 
 death occurred in 1883, at the age of forty- 
 one years. He married Elizabeth Schuler, 
 who was born at Bucyrus in 1848 and died 
 in 1877, at the early age of twenty-nine 
 years. She was a daughter of Frederick 
 and Eva (Stoll) Schuler, natives respect- 
 ively of Baden and Wurtemberg, Germany. 
 They came to America in 1832 and landed 
 at the harbor of New York and remained 
 in that city for five years, when they mar- 
 ried, and in the following year, 1838, came 
 to Bucyrus. Frederick Schuler was a shoe- 
 maker by trade and this he carried on in 
 this city during all his active years, hi=; 
 death occurring in 1892. He and wife were 
 German Lutherans. One son survives, Ja- 
 cob Schuler, who follows his father's trade 
 and lives also at Bucyrus. Five children 
 were born to Frederick and Elizabeth Feir- 
 ing, three of whom died in infancy. The 
 two survivors are : Otto and Annetta, the 
 latter of whom lives with her brother. 
 
 ' Otto Feiring obtained his education in 
 the Bucyrus schools and at the age of eight- 
 een years began to learn his trade, and from 
 1885 until 1897, when he went into business 
 for himself, he worked at the same in this 
 city and at Crestline. His present location 
 is an excellent one and with the exception 
 
 of seven years, he has been here ever since 
 embarking in the business. He carries a 
 large stock and caters to the best trade. 
 
 On Nov. 16, 1898, Mr. Feiring was mar- 
 ried in this city to Miss Clara Wagner, who 
 was born in Bucyrus, Ohio, in 1869. Her 
 parents, Robert and Mary Ann Wagner, 
 were natives of Saxony, Germany where 
 they were married. After the death of Mr. 
 Wagner his widow married Edward Meis- 
 ner, of Bucyrus. Mrs. Feiring has one sis- 
 ter and one brother : Anna and Frank. The 
 former is the wife of M. A. Charlton, who 
 is at the head of a department in the State 
 Industrial School near Lancaster, Mrs. 
 Charlton being the matron in one of the 
 cottages. They have two children : Paul 
 and Susan. 
 
 Mr. Feiring is a Democrat in politics and 
 is serving in the office of treasurer of Bu- 
 cyrus township. He belongs to Demas 
 Lodge, No. 108, Knights of Pythias, of 
 which he is past chancellor, and is also 
 identified with the Modern Woodmen. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Feiring are members of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. 
 
 FRANCIS E. COOK, who has been 
 freight and passenger agent for the Erie 
 Railway, at Galion, O., since 1904, has spent 
 many years in the employ of this corpora- 
 tion and stands high with its officials and 
 with the traveling public. He was born in 
 Richland county, O., near the Crawford 
 county line, Aug. 19, 1865, and is a son of 
 Richard E. and Isabel (Sanderline) Cook. 
 
 Richard E. Cook was born in Richland 
 county, O., where he married, and then 
 moved to Wyandot county, where he en- 
 gaged in farming for a number of years, 
 afterward returning to Richland county, and 
 in 1883 retiring and coming to Galion, 
 where he died in 1903, aged 81 years. His 
 widow still resides at Galion, occupying her 
 comfortable residence on First Avenue, and 
 the family still owns the farm. She is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church 
 and has a wide circle of congenial friends 
 and seven of her children survive, as fol- 
 lows : Marion E., who lives at Painesville ; 
 Charles A., who lives at Mansfield: Arminta 
 
754 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 A., who married Adolph Bersinger of 
 Galion, and has three children ; Lawrence 
 R., who lives in California; Ida M.,who mar- 
 ried W. A. Townsend, of Galion, and has 
 four children; Sidney C, who married Wil- 
 liam Helscher, of Galion, and has two chil- 
 dren; and Francis E., who lives in Galion. 
 
 Francis E. Cook, after graduating from 
 the Galion high school in 1887, entered the 
 Spencerian Business College at Cleveland, 
 and after being graduated there accepted a 
 clerical position in the offices of the Erie 
 Railway Company at Galion, and for eight 
 years was bill clerk and later foreman at 
 Galion Transfer until being appointed to his 
 present position as general agent in 1904. 
 Since 1888 he has been continuously con- 
 nected with the freight and passenger de- 
 partment. Faithfulness and industry have 
 contributed to his frequent promotions, 
 and the mere fact of these testifies to his 
 efficiency and reliability. 
 
 At Galion, O., Mr. Cook was married to 
 Miss Etta J. Rinehart, who was born and 
 educated here, a daughter of Charles and 
 Clara B. (Wilhelm) Rinehart. The father 
 of Mrs. Cook was born in Pennsylvania and 
 the mother in Ohio, in which state they were 
 married. The father died near Galion in 
 which city the mother resides, being aged 
 about 65 years. Mr. and Mrs. Cook have 
 one son: Howard Edsel, who was born 
 February 12, 1894, graduated from the 
 Galion high school in 191 1 and is a member 
 of the class of 191 5 in the Wesleyan Col- 
 lege at Delaware, O. 
 
 Politically Mr. Cook is a Republican and 
 he is active in local matters as well as out- 
 side afifairs, belongs to the Commercial Club 
 and has served three terms in the city 
 council. He is a 32nd degree Mason, be- 
 longing to Blue lodge and chapter at 
 Galion, council at Bucyrus, commander}- at 
 Mansfield and the consistory at Columbus, 
 O. He and his wife are both members of 
 the Order of the Eastern Star, Mrs. Cook at 
 present being Worthy Matron. He is 
 a charter member of the Junior Order of 
 United American Mechanics and has held 
 several important offices in this organiza- 
 tion. Mr. Cook is also a member of the 
 
 National Association of Railway Agents, 
 with whose members he and his family have 
 traveled extensively, having visited cities 
 and other points of interest in almost every 
 state in the Union, also Cuba and Canada. 
 The Cooks are Methodists and a remark- 
 able incident in the family is that Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cook and son are all graduates of the 
 Galion high school. 
 
 ED^YARD C. HEINLA, an enterprising 
 and* successful business man, who is exten- 
 sively interested in the stock business, own> 
 260 acres of valuable land in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, and 160 equally 
 valuable acres in Marion county, O., and ad- 
 ditionally is a stockholder and director in 
 the Farmers and Citizens Bank at Bucyrus. 
 He was born in Whetstone township. May 
 27, 1875, and is a son of Lewis B. and Mary 
 Jane (Fink) Heinla. 
 
 Lewis Heinla was born in Germany and 
 came to Ohio in earlj^ manhood, where he 
 married and subsequently became a sub- 
 stantial farmer in Crawford county. He 
 was a member of the German Reformed 
 church but his wife was reared in the United 
 Brethren church. The following children 
 were born to them : Henry ; Lavina, whcr 
 is the widow of Byron Neish ; Amanda, who 
 is the wife of W. G. Roberts; James and 
 Edward C. 
 
 Edward C. Heinla attended the public 
 schools in Whetstone township, and for 
 about 18 months afterward was engaged 
 in a general mercantile business at New 
 Winchester. After disposing of his store 
 to his brother he enibarked in th* stock 
 business and has developed a large connec- 
 tion in this line, buying and selling, his 
 markets being Cleveland, Buffalo and Pitts- 
 burg, Pa. 
 
 Mr. Heinla was married in 1898 to Miss 
 Gertrude R. Loyer, a daughter of Henry 
 and Maggie (Gracie) Loyer, the latter of 
 whom is now the wife of fsaac Albright. 
 She is a daughter of James and Sarah 
 (Evans) Gracie, who were born in Ireland. 
 Air. and Mrs. Heinla have two children: 
 Floyd S. and Irma G. They attend the 
 United Brethren church. Mr. Heinla is 
 
T. B. CARSON 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 (.U 
 
 identified fraternally with the J. O. U. A. 
 M. and the F. O. E., both at Bucyrus, and 
 with the Owls at Galion. He is independ- 
 ent in his political opinions but is never 
 lacking in any quality of good citizenship. 
 
 T. B. CARSON, who now lives in comfort- 
 able retirement at his home situated on South 
 Kibler Street, New Washington, O., for many 
 years was a public official here, before which 
 he was a faithful soldier through the great 
 Civil War. He was born in Seneca county, 
 O., June 7, 1837, and is a son of Samuel and 
 Elizabeth (Willoughby) Carson. Both the 
 Carsons and Willoughbys originated in Ire- 
 land and both families came early to Ohio. 
 Grandfather Robert Carson served through the 
 Revolutionary \A^ar under General Washing- 
 ton, while Samuel Carson, the father of T. B. 
 Carson, served through the War of 181 2 and 
 survived all its dangers, subsequently settling 
 in Ohio, marrying and rearing his family of 
 eleven children in Seneca county. Of these 
 but two survive, the youngest son and the 
 youngest daughter. 
 
 T. B. Carson enjoyed better educational 
 advantages than did many of his companions 
 and associates, attending the district schools 
 at least during the winter sessions until 1858 
 and afterward was a student in the Seneca 
 County Academy. Whatever future plans he 
 had made, they were changed by the breaking 
 out of the Civil ^^''ar and in 1861 he enlisted 
 as a private in Co. H, 14th Vol. Inf., under 
 Captain Stafford, and participated in all the 
 engagements in which his company took part 
 up to the time of his discharge, Sept, 19, 1864, 
 at Atlanta, Ga. He never was captured and 
 never injured except on one occasion when he 
 was kicked by a mule at Camp Dick Robinson, 
 in Kentucky. 
 
 After his honorable discharge from the ser- 
 vice, Mr. Carson returned to Seneca county, 
 where he engaged in teaching school and in 
 farming. Samuel Carson, father of our sub- 
 ject, entered 240 acres of land three miles 
 north of New AVashineton. T. B. Carson 
 devoted his summers to his land and in win- 
 ter time taught school, five terms in Seneca 
 county, one term in Huron countv and eleven 
 terms in Crawford county. In 1869 he 
 bought 80 acres in Cranberry township, which 
 
 he cleared and improved and then sold, after 
 which he bought 160 acres one-half mile to 
 the east, to which he added 80 adjoining acres 
 and spent his time engaged in farming until 
 i886, in which year he moved to New Wash- 
 ington, where he was interested in the real 
 estate business until 1889. Samuel Carson 
 erected the buildings on his farm on what is 
 known as the old military road between 
 Mansfield and Tiffin, this road having been 
 laid out to run on west to the Ohio river. 
 The situation of his home made it a con- 
 venient depot for what was once known as 
 the Underground Railroad and as he had been 
 reared with a hatred of human slavery, he 
 often sheltered escaping slaves in the' old days 
 and on many occasions assisted them at night 
 throught the woods to the next stopping 
 place, Sandusky City, from which depot they 
 made their way to Detroit, Mich., and from 
 there, if fortunate, soon reached freedom in 
 Canada. There is no doubt but that many 
 prosperous and respected people live in the 
 Dominion of Canada at the present day whose 
 grandparents were once in American slavery 
 and were helped o\'er the border by such phil- 
 .anthropists as Mr. Carson. 
 
 As indicated above, Mr. Carson imbibed 
 anti-slavery views in his youth and later, 
 when the Republican party was formed he 
 became identified with it and has so contin- 
 ued. In 1889 he was appointed postmaster 
 at New Washington and served in that im- 
 portant office for over 18 years although not 
 qute continuously. He was postmaster from 
 1889 until 1893. In September, 1897 he was 
 reappointed and continued until March 21, 
 191 1, when he was succeeded by the present 
 official, S, A. Pugh. Many changes in the 
 service came about during Mr. Carson's long 
 incumbency, including the establishing of the 
 rural mail delivery service. He inaugurated 
 reforms and made improvements at different 
 times and through these raised the class of 
 the office and insured more satisfactor\- con- 
 ditions for the public. Mr. Carson has never 
 accepted any other public office although, as 
 one of the local party leaders, manv have been 
 tendered him. AVhen he came to New Wash- 
 ington he was one of the seven Republicans 
 in the voting precinct. 
 
 On May 2, i86t, in Seneca county, O., Mr. 
 
758 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Carson was married to a schoolmate, Miss 
 Sarah Rebecca Smith, who was a daughter 
 of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Bigam) Smith. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Carson had seven children, 
 three of whom are living, the others dying in 
 infancy. Those living are: John W., Violet 
 E. and Mabel. John W. married Lillie Smith 
 and to them have been born five children — 
 Lloyd, Nellie, Ethel, Irene and Robert. Vio- 
 let E. was married first to A. J. Schwartz and 
 they had two daughters, Mildred and Marie; 
 she was married secondly to B. F. Long. 
 Mabel O. is the wife of Edward Neis. The 
 mother of the above family died Dec. 24, 
 1904, and her burial was at Swamp Center 
 Cemetery, three miles north of New Wash- 
 ington. She was a faithful member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, to which Mr. 
 Carson also belongs. He is a member of the 
 G. A. R. Post at New Washington and for 
 many years has belonged to the Knights of 
 Pythias. 
 
 FRANK J. HOERIGER,* whose excel- 
 lent farm of 6oj4 acres lies in Liberty town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., four and one- 
 half miles northeast of Bucyrus, was born 
 at Ridgeton, Crawford county, in 1878, and 
 is a son of Christian W. and Catherine 
 (Trautman) Hoeriger. 
 
 Christian Hoeriger was born in Ohio. He 
 was twice married and two daughters, Alice 
 and Ida, were born to his first union. Alice 
 now lives with her second husband, John 
 Pitke, at Cleveland, O. Her first husband, 
 Elmer Sponseller, left two children at death, 
 Lloyd and Florence. Ida resides at home. 
 To his second marriage four children were 
 born : Laura, Lillie, Lee and Frank J. Laura 
 is the widow of John Cooper, who was ac- 
 cidentally killed in 1907, and she resides in 
 Liberty township with her two children, 
 Hartland and Mary. Lillie married C. H. 
 Kenzuli and they reside at Bucyrus and 
 have one daughter, Evaline. Lee is in busi- 
 ness at Bucyrus. 
 
 Frank J. Hoeriger has been engaged in 
 farming ever since he left school and has a 
 well cared for and productive property. He 
 married Miss Mary Beck, who is a daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Alice (Rittenhour) Beck, 
 who are well known and substantial people 
 
 of Liberty township. The Beck family is a 
 very old one in Liberty township, the 
 grandparents of Mrs. Hoeriger having been 
 brought to this section by their parents in 
 pioneer days, coming by wagon from Penn- 
 sylvania. Mrs. Hoeriger has three sisters 
 and two brothers, namely: Ida, who is the 
 wife of A. L. Hildebrand, of New Win- 
 chester, 0., and has two children, Maurice 
 and Cleo ; Alice, who is the wife of William 
 Smalls, of Liberty township and has one 
 son, Chester; Pearl, who is the wife of E. 
 J. Housberg, of New Winchester, and has 
 two children, Howland and Orval.; and 
 Harry and Russell, who live at home. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Hoeriger have one daughter, 
 Alice Catherine. Mr. Hoeriger is a Demo- 
 crat in politics. His standing in his neigh- 
 borhood is that of a substantial, honest and 
 useful citizen. 
 
 OLIVER K. CRALL, a general farmer 
 and well known citizen of Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., who owns 78 
 acres of valuable land in this township, was 
 born June 13, 1856, in Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, and is a son of John and 
 Elizabeth (Raysor) Crall. 
 
 John Crall was born in Pennsylvania and 
 was a son of Henry Crall. For many years 
 he was a respected resident of Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, where he car- 
 ried on farming, and there both he and 
 wife died and their burial was in the Crall 
 graveyard. They were members of the 
 United Brethren church. Their family was 
 made up of the following children : John R. ; 
 David, who was a soldier in the Civil war 
 and died while imprisoned by the Confed- 
 erates in an old jail at Danville, Va. ; Eliza- 
 beth, who was the wife of E. M. Moore, 
 both of whom are now deceased; William 
 H. ; Elias ; Oliver K. ; and Susan, who is 
 the wife of S. D. Meyers. 
 
 Oliver K. Crall attended school in Lib- 
 erty township and enjoyed one term in the 
 Normal school at Fostoria, O., following 
 which, before settling down as a farmer, 
 he taught one term of school. He remained 
 on the homstead for one year after mar- 
 riage but in November, 1881, came to Bu- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 759 
 
 cyrus township, where he has lived ever 
 since and has become one of the representa- 
 tive men of this section of the county. Al- 
 though the land of his present farm was 
 well situated and in every way desirable, 
 yet he was not satisfied with the buildings 
 and kept on improving until he had remod- 
 eled the house into a modern residence and 
 had built not only a substantial new barn 
 but machine sheds and other farm build- 
 ings. He has devoted himself to general 
 farming and moderate stock raising and is 
 generally regarded as one of the township's 
 capable and prosperous agriculturists. 
 
 On Dec. 21, 1880, Mr. Crall was married 
 to Miss Mary C. Kerr, who is a daughter 
 of David E. and Margaret (Dobbins) Kerr. 
 The father of Mi's. Crall is deceased, but 
 the mother, now in her eighty-fifth year, 
 lives comfortably at Bucyrus. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kerr the following children were born : 
 John A. ; Margaret, wife of Robert An- 
 drews; Belle J.; Mary C, wife of Mr. Crall; 
 and Celestia I., who is the wife of John 
 Eckard. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crall have had three chil- 
 dren, namely: Arthur K., who is deceased; 
 Homer Boyd, who is a farmer in Bucyrus 
 township, and married Susan Ebert; and 
 Nellie B., formerly a student at Wooster 
 College, who is now teaching, in her fifth 
 year, in grade No. 8 in the Union school 
 at Bucyrus. She is an educated and accom- 
 plished young lady and very successful in 
 her educational work. Mr. Crall and fam- 
 ily are members of the Presbyterian church. 
 Politically he is a Republican but is not 
 active in politics, taking the part only of a 
 good citizen who has the best interests of 
 the country at heart. He belongs to the 
 Royal Arcanum at Bucyrus. 
 
 FRANK J. QUILTER, superintendent 
 of the Broken Sword Stone Company, at 
 Bucyrus, O., was born in the province of 
 Ontario, Dominion of Canada, Nov. i, 1853, 
 a son of John and Bridget (Lawler) Quil- 
 ter. 
 
 John Quilter was of French extraction. 
 When he died, in the prime of life, he was 
 a foreman on the construction work of the 
 
 Grand Trunk Railroad, in Canada. He mar- 
 ried Bridget Lawler and both she and hus- 
 band were born in Ireland and married 
 there. She died at Bucyrus, in 1905, aged 
 85 years. Three children were born in Ire- 
 land — Catherine, Bessie and Matthew. 
 About 1848 the family came to America and 
 while living at Black Rock, N. Y., one son 
 was born, John, who lived to maturity, mai-- 
 ried and died in New York, where his chil- 
 di^en still live. After moving to Canada, 
 two more children were born : Frank J. and 
 Joanna, the latter of whom lives in Colo- 
 rado. 
 
 Frank J. Quilter was five years old when 
 he accompanied his widowed mother to Cat- 
 taraugus county, N. Y., and he was reared 
 in that state and learned the carpenter 
 trade. At the age of twenty-five years he 
 came to Ohio, since when he has been 
 largely connected with railroads. For one 
 year he was with the Lake Erie & Western 
 and prior to 1881, when he came to Bucy- 
 rus, he was located for a year at Fostoria, 
 with the T. & O. C. Company, and for 30 
 years was general foreman of the car de- 
 partment for that road. Since March 11, 
 191 1, he has been superintendent of the 
 Brokensword Stone Company, of which 
 Dr. John A. Chesney is president; P. J. Car- 
 roll is vice-president and general manager; 
 William H. Pickerington is treasurer. This 
 business is capitalized at $10,000 and is in 
 a prosperous condition. Employment is 
 given 65 men in the quarries, six miles 
 northwest of the city. A speciality is con- 
 crete and crushed stone for macadamizing 
 streets, and the trade territory is Ohio, to- 
 gether with West Virginia. Mr. Quilter is 
 a dii'ector in the Citizens Stone Coitipany 
 and also in the Peoples Savings and Loan 
 Company. 
 
 In 1877, in New York, Mr. Quilter was 
 married to Miss Bridget Keane, who was 
 born in Ireland in i860 and in girlhood ac- 
 companied her mother to New York City. 
 Her father, Patrick Keane, had died in Ire- 
 land but the mother survived until 1907. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Quilter have had five child- 
 dren: Margaret, who died when aged 21 
 years, an educated young lady and a grad- 
 
760 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 uate of the high school; John, a machinist, 
 who lives at Olean, -N. Y., and who mar- 
 ried Mary Martin; Frank S., who died in 
 1904, and was a young man of brilliant 
 promise; Blanche A., who is the wife of R. 
 O. Parrott, general secretary of the Amer- 
 ican Clay Machinery Company, at Bucyi-uS, 
 and has one daughter, Margaret M.; and 
 Harry K., who is with the T. & O. C. Rail- 
 road Company, at Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Quilter are members of the Holy Trinity 
 Roman Catholic church. Since the Civil war 
 he has been a Republican and has been act- 
 ive in public affairs and for seven years was 
 a member of the city council. His fraternal 
 afifiliations include : the Elks, Modern 
 Woodmen of America, Modern Woodmen 
 of the World and the American National 
 Association. 
 
 EDWARD E. COULTER, a well known 
 agriculturist of Crawford county, owns and 
 operates a farm of I57>4 acres in Whet- 
 stone township. He was born March 3, 
 1862, in Marion county just across the line 
 from where he now lives. His parents, 
 Harvey and jNIary A. (Carmean) Coulter, 
 were natives of Huntingdon county, Pa., 
 and Ross county, O., respectively. The 
 father died about 1895 but the mother still 
 survives and makes her home with her son, 
 Edward E. Coulter. She was 82 years old 
 on July 3, 1912. 
 
 Harvey Coulter was a farmer by occupa- 
 tion and politically adhered to the princi- 
 ples of the Democratic party. He and his 
 wife became the parents of the following 
 children: Malissa, the wife of Lewis Spiece; 
 Rachel, now Mrs. J. W Dowling; William; 
 Mathew; Sarah, deceased, who was Ihe 
 wife of S. G. Hurr ; Samuel ; Edward E. ; 
 John S. ; Efifie, wife of Thomas Gruber; 
 Orphia and Elger J. 
 
 After completing his common school eJ- 
 ucation, Edward E. Coulter began fanning, 
 his first experience in this occupation being 
 with his father. Farming has been his life 
 work since, but for three years he was in- 
 terested in the implement business in con- 
 nection with it. He has cleared his land 
 himself, it never having had a plow in it 
 
 before it came into his possession. Mr. 
 Coulter also raises very fine stock, having 
 Poland China hogs and full-blooded Dur- 
 ham cattle. He and his neighbors have 
 formed a company which owns two full- 
 blooded horses, one of which is a French 
 coach horse and the other a French draft 
 horse. Mr. Coulter has a modern residence 
 which he has erected, as well as up-to-date 
 farm buildings. 
 
 On Sept. 29, 1885, Mr. Coulter was mar- 
 ried to Miss Emma Ruff, a daughter of Mar- 
 tin and Jacobina (Weidner) Ruff, natives 
 of Germany, where they were married and 
 where the father was a tailor but in later 
 years owned a farm although he did not 
 operate it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ruff are 
 now deceased. They were the parents of 
 children as follows : Charles ; William Phil- 
 ip ; Mar)', deceased, who was the wife of 
 Philip Erb ; Jacob ; Henry, John, deceased : 
 Catherine, wife of James Lance; Emma 
 (Mi-s. Coulter) ; and Sarah, deceased. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Edward E. Coulter have raised 
 two orphans : Cora Eighty, wife of Pai'.l 
 Virgin; and Charles Eighty, who married 
 Hazel Lee. 
 
 Mr. Coulter is independent in politics. He 
 is serving as a member of the board of edu- 
 cation, on which he served first three years 
 and then was re-elected to serve four years 
 more. He and his wife attend the Reformed 
 church. 
 
 C. L. \\^HIT:MEYER.* whose excellent 
 farm of 120 acres lies in Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, O., nine miles northwest 
 of Bucyrus, was born in Lykens township, 
 Crawford county, three-fourth miles north 
 of Brokensword, O. His parents were Hen- 
 ry and Eliza (Shupp) Whitmeyer. 
 
 Henry Whitmeyer was born at Lan- 
 caster, Pa., and was four years old when 
 his people came to Stark county, O., and 
 twelve years old when he came to Crawford 
 county. He followed farming until 1903, 
 when he retired and still resides at Bucyrus. 
 He married Eliza Shupp, a daughter of 
 Michael Shupp, of Dauphin county, Pa., 
 and they have three children : C. L. ; Sarah, 
 who is a resident of Bucyrus; and Gather- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 761 
 
 ine, who is the wife of John Brown, of Bu- 
 oy r.us. 
 
 After completing his years of school at- 
 tendance in Crawford county, C. L. Whit- 
 meyer taught seven terms of school and was 
 considered an excellent teacher. After mar- 
 riage he engaged in farming and ever since 
 has resided on his present place and car- 
 ries on stock raising and general agricul- 
 ture. On April 2, 1895, he was married to 
 Miss Tillie M. Miller, a daughter of Joshua 
 and Catherine (Zeller) Miller, the former 
 of whom is deceased. Mrs. Whitmeyer 
 had one brother, John, who is now de- 
 ceased. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Whitmeyer five chil- 
 dren have been born, namely : Gertrude, 
 Lailah, Russell, AA'ayne and Ida Fay. The 
 family attend the Evangelical church. Mr. 
 Whitmeyer has ser\'ed nine years in the of- 
 fice of justice of the peace. Politically he 
 is a Democrat and fraternally is connected 
 with the Foresters. 
 
 STANSBURY LEMMON AIILLER, a 
 ])rominent farmer of Dallas township, owns 
 80 acres of well cultivated land. He was 
 born in Crawford county, May 10, 1864, be- 
 ing a son of Daniel and Maria (Lemmon) 
 Miller. 
 
 John Miller, father of Daniel and grand- 
 father of the subject of this sketch, was a 
 native of Little York, Pa., from which place 
 his parents removed to Perry county, Ohio, 
 when he was young, and there he grew up. 
 He became a cabinet maker and went to 
 work at that trade in Licking county, Ohio, 
 where he met and married Miss Lydia Mur- 
 dick. In 1825 they removed to Crawford 
 county and settled in the then small town 
 of Bucyrus and here worked at his trade 
 and also engaged in the hotel business and 
 dry goods trade. He was one of the most 
 prominent and successful men of his day 
 and it was he who built the first carding mill 
 which was for years one of the leading in- 
 dustries of the county. He was twice elected 
 sheriff of Crawford county. He died in 
 1858 and his -wife survived until 1871. 
 
 Daniel Miller was born in Perry count\-, 
 Ohio, June i, 1824, and was raised on a 
 
 farm. After completing his education in 
 the common schools he took up farming and 
 followed that all his life. In 1847 he was 
 united in marriage with Miss Maria Lem- 
 mon, as before indicated. She was born 
 May 20, 1827, in Seneca county, N. Y., but 
 came to Ohio when a child. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Daniel Miller the following children 
 were born : Jennie, deceased, who was the 
 wife of Abel De AValt; John D. ; Charles 
 R. ; Francis E. ; Nettie, who died at the age 
 of 18 years; Cassius M.; and Stansbury L., 
 whose name heads this article. 
 
 After having attended the common 
 schools of his neighborhood, Stansbury L. 
 Miller secured employment in a railroad 
 shop but remained there only one year 
 when he turned his attention to farming, 
 working with his father until the latter's 
 death. Mr. Miller continued farming the 
 home place until his mother died, when 
 this farm was sold, and in 1898 he bought 
 his present farm from Lorena Fisher, it 
 being known as the Fisher farm but it was 
 at first a part of the Wesley White farm. 
 Mr. Miller has built the new house and 
 barns and has greatly improved the prop- 
 erty since it came into his possession. He 
 does general farming and raises stock for 
 his own use. 
 
 Stansbury L. Miller was married in 1885 
 to Miss Clara E. Mehaffey. Her parents, 
 John and Margaret (Sulbff) Mehaffey, re- 
 sided in Juniata county. Pa., at the time of 
 her birth. John Mehaffey met his death 
 during the Civil war at Andersonville pris- 
 on. To him and his wife there were born 
 two children, named as follows: Ephraim 
 and Clara E. Mrs. John Mehaffey later mar- 
 ried Ephraim Mehaffey, a brother of her 
 first husband, who had also served in the 
 Civil war. To them was born one daugh- 
 ter, Anna. Mr. and Mrs. Stansbury L. Mil- 
 ler have one son, Stephen Lester, who lives 
 at home. 
 
 Mr. Miller is a Republican in his politi- 
 cal principles but votes for the man he 
 judges best rather than his party's choice. 
 He is a member of the Knights of Pythias 
 at Bucyrus. He and his family attend the 
 Baptist church. 
 
762 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 HON. EDWARD J. SONGER, mayor 
 of the city of Bucyrus, O., is a member of 
 one of the old famiUes of Crawford county. 
 He was born October 6, 1867, one of two 
 children born to his parents, Jonathan and 
 Ruth (Stewart) Songer. The father o.f 
 Mayor Songer engaged in farming until he 
 enlisted for service in the Civil war, be- 
 coming a. member of the 12th O. Vol. Cav., 
 and on the field of battle received wounds 
 which caused his death. 
 
 Edward J. Songer had no educational op- 
 portunities beyond those offered by the 
 public school, in early manhood learning 
 the trade of a molder, at which he worked 
 almost continuously until he was elected 
 mayor of the city, in November, 1897, on 
 the Democratic ticket, having previously 
 served as president of the city council. May- 
 or Songer is deservedly popular. He is di- 
 recting the afifairs of the municipality with- 
 out fear or favor, solving many important 
 problems, carefully looking after public util- 
 ities, and is promoting the city's develop- 
 ment by giving it a solid business adminis- 
 tration. 
 
 Mayor Songer married Miss Cora Risher, 
 a daughter of William Risher, who is a well 
 known engineer in charge of a passenger 
 train out of Bucyrus on the T. & O. C. Rail- 
 road. Mayor and Mrs. Songer have a very 
 attractive home at No. 720 E. Warren 
 Street. He is identified with the Elks and 
 the Odd Fellows. 
 
 CALVIN D. TUPPS, a member of one 
 of the old and substantial families of Whet- 
 stone township, Crawford county, O., re- 
 sides on his finely developed and improved 
 farm of 280 acres, which lies not far from 
 Gallon, O. On the old homestead part of 
 this farm Mr. Tupps was born, Oct. 5, i860, 
 and is a son of Jechonias Tupps. 
 
 On a groundwork of good, common 
 school education Calvin D. Tupps success- 
 fully pursued his course thus far in life, de- 
 voting himself almost entirely to agricul- 
 tural pursuits. When prepared to become 
 an independent farmer he purchased 80 
 acres of his present farm from George 
 Kraner and the balance from his father. 
 
 General farming occupies his attention, his 
 stock raising being only for his own use. 
 In 1903 he erected one of the fine residences 
 of this township, one that is architecturally 
 attractive while its comfort is assured by 
 the installation of a water plant and a sys- 
 tem of hot air heating. All his other build- 
 ings are equally substantial and well adapt- 
 ed for use on a large estate. 
 
 On Dec. 30, 1883, Mr. Tupps was married 
 to Miss Elizabeth Ellen Myers, a daughter 
 of highly respected retired residents of 
 Gallon, Charles and Catherine (Beach) 
 Myers. Mrs. Tupps has the following broth- 
 ers and sisters: Isaac, Laura, who is the 
 wife of Lewis P. Tracht ; Samuel ; Washing- 
 ton; George; and Malinda, who is the wife 
 of Edward Donbeck. Mr. and Mrs. Tupps 
 have two children: Luther C. and Mabel, 
 both of whom live at home. The family at- 
 tends the Lutheran church. Mr. Tupps is 
 a wide awake, intelligent citizen but no 
 seeker for office, and is identified with the 
 Republican party. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. COUTS, whose business 
 is the exacting one of railroad engineer, has 
 been a railroad man for the past 17 years 
 and for 1 1 of these has been an engineer on 
 the Toledo & Ohio Central Railroad. He 
 was born May 14, 1872, in the old family 
 homestead at Bucyrus, O., and is a son of 
 William H. H. and Harriet (Mead) Couts. 
 
 It is possible that the great-grandfather 
 of the Couts family of Crawford county, O., 
 was born in England and settled early in the 
 state of Pennsylvania. There his son, Hen- 
 ry Couts, was born and from there, 60 years 
 ago, he came to Crawford county and estab- 
 lished himself near the now flourishing city 
 of Bucyrus. Later he acquired land along 
 the Sandusky river, on which he erected 
 saw mills and from these mills came the 
 lumber used in early building through this 
 section. From his land he furnished all the 
 wood used by the railroads through here 
 when they were first constructed and his act- 
 ivities covered other fields. He was elected 
 a county commissioner and proved an able 
 and useful ofificial. It was through his ef- 
 forts that the earliest postal service was 
 
HON. EDWARD J. SONGER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 768. 
 
 established in Crawford county. His death 
 was caused by accident, he then being in 
 his 78th year. In public life he set an ex- 
 ample of public spirit, while in private life 
 he set one of self denial and temperance, his 
 objections to stimulating beverages extend- 
 ing even to tea and coffee. During the 
 Civil war he served in an Ohio regiment in 
 the capacity of a veterinary surgeon. He 
 gave his seven sons to his country's serv- 
 ice, five others being too young to shoul- 
 der a musket, and all — ^John, William, H. 
 H., Samuel, David, Hiram, Jacob and Jere- 
 miah, lived to return home. Several were 
 slightly wounded in the conflict and for a 
 time Jeremiah was confined at Anderson- 
 ville prison. Of his thirteen children only 
 one was a daughter, she being given the 
 name of Barbara. She survives and lives 
 in Kentucky, being the widow of Jacob 
 Schupp. Almost all of this large family 
 grew to maturity and the following are yet 
 living: William, John, Jeremiah and Sam- 
 uel, all at Bucyrus except John, whose home 
 is in Upper Sandusky. 
 
 William H. H. Couts was born March 
 16, 1839, and was quite young when his 
 parents came to Bucyrus. He had no op- 
 portunity to study or to learn the contents 
 of books until after he enlisted for service 
 in the Civil war. Fortunately for him a 
 comrade, who had enjoyed many education- 
 al advantages, took an interest in the un- 
 lettered young man and proposed teaching 
 him, a proposition gladly accepted and car- 
 ried out, and when the soldiering days were 
 over he had a good, practical education, 
 which he turned to account. He became 
 a contractor and a skilled workman, as 
 many of the structures at Bucyrus stand 
 to bear testimony. He now lives retired, 
 making his home with his son, Benjamin 
 F. Couts, but yet takes a large degree of 
 interest in everthing that pertains to the 
 growth and development of Bucyrus. He 
 is a valued member of Kelly Post, G. A. R., 
 of this city, having served for four years 
 and six months in the army during the Civil 
 war. He was a member of the 34th and 
 36th O. Vol. Inf., and participated in many 
 of the serious battles of that great war and 
 
 on two occasions was wounded and left on 
 the battlefield as dead, and once suffered 
 from sunstroke. He still carries scars of 
 his honorable service. 
 
 During a furlough home, Mr. Couts was 
 married to Miss Harriet L. Mead, who was 
 born in the state of New York, a daughter 
 of Isaac and Lydia R. (Lenard) Mead, who 
 came to Ohio in her childhood. For many 
 years afterward Isaac Mead and wife lived 
 at Bucyrus, and she died in this city when 
 aged ']J years, his death occuring one 
 year before at Welden Center, Mich. The 
 wife of William H. H. Couts died at Bu- 
 cyrus in September, 1907, at the age of 
 66 years. She was a consistent member of 
 the Baptist church, to which her husband 
 also belongs. _Their family consisted of 
 three sons and two daughters, as follows : 
 Addie B., who died Mar. 7, 1912, and who 
 was the wife of George Wolf, of Bucyrus; 
 William Lenard, who was accidentally 
 killed in September, 1892, while attending 
 to his duties as a fireman of the Missouri 
 Pacific Railroad; Frederick F., who is a 
 prominent citizen of South Milwaukee, 
 Wis., one of the board of aldermen, and 
 who is married and has two children, Maria 
 and Ada; Benjamin F. ; and Viola, who is 
 the wife of Edward Cosgrove, who is an 
 electrical engineer, living at Kalamazoo, 
 Mich. 
 
 Benjamin F. Couts was married at Stra- 
 kers, O., to Miss Edith Meade, who was 
 born at Homestead, Mich., Oct. 24, 1877, 
 where she was educated and lived until her 
 marriage. She is a daughter of Jerome and 
 Lucy (Kentner) Meade, the former of 
 whom was born in New York and the latter 
 in Michigan. Mrs. Meade died at Home- 
 stead in 1885, when aged 32 years. For a 
 number of years Mr. Meade was connected 
 with the Govenment Life Saving Station, 
 belonging to the Lake Michigan service, 
 but now is a farmer. He is a member of 
 the A/[ethodist Episcopal church, as was his 
 wife. In politics he is a Socialist. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Couts have one daughter, 
 Burdette Meade, who was born May 17, 
 1910. They attend the Baptist church, Mrs. 
 Couts being a member. Mr. Couts is very 
 
764 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 prominent in the order of the B. L. F. & 
 E., having served as financial secretary of 
 the org-anization for four years, and now is 
 the legislative representative of that order. 
 He is an earnest, clear-headed, competent 
 man. In his attitude on public questions he 
 is a Socialist, while his father remains a 
 Republican. 
 
 DAVID SHEARER, who owns and cul- 
 tivates his farm of no acres in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, was born in 
 this township Dec. 4, 1839. His father, John 
 Shearer, was a native of Lancaster county, 
 Pa., and his mother, who was in maiden- 
 hood Catherine INIiller, was born in Ger- 
 many, coming to this country when six 
 years old. 
 
 John Shearer, who was a son of j\Iichael 
 and Barbara Shearer, was a farmer all his 
 life and a Democrat in his political views. 
 He and his family attended the German 
 Reformed church. Both he and his wife 
 are now deceased and are buried in Shearer 
 cemetery in this township. Their children 
 were named as follows : David, Benjamin, 
 George, Isaac, Samuel, ]\Iary and Daniel, 
 the four last named being deceased. 
 
 David Shearer received his education in 
 the common schools of his native township, 
 and when the time came for him to choose 
 his life's occupation he began work with his 
 father on the latter s farm. He continued 
 working in this way until his 27th year, 
 when he purchased the farm from his father 
 and here he has spent his subsequent life. 
 He has cleared the land and has erected the 
 substantial house and farm buildings found 
 thereon. 
 
 ;\Ir. Shearer was united in marriage with 
 ]\Iiss Rachel Paulin, Xov. 30, 1865. She was 
 1)orn in Columbiana county. O., a daughter 
 of Peter and Rachel (Cox) Paulin. Her 
 father was a native of ^Maryland and served 
 in the war of 1812. Air. and Mrs. Pauhn 
 had a large family of children, all of whom 
 are deceased except a son named Solomon 
 and Mrs.' Shearer. The others were : Na- 
 than, Daniel, John. Samuel, Peter, Joshua. 
 Alary (Mrs. John Rupert), and Anna (Airs. 
 Jerry Hoag). 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. David Shearer have one 
 son, Samuel C, a resident of Denver, Colo., 
 and traveling passenger agent for the Den- 
 ver & Rio Grande R. R. He married Ella 
 Laughbaum, who is now deceased. He has 
 a daughter Clarice. 
 
 David Shearer is independent in politics. 
 
 E. E. HEINLEN,* one of the enterpris- 
 ing and successful agriculturists of Holmes 
 township, resides on his well improved farm 
 of 80 acres, which is situated nine miles 
 north of Bucyrus, O. He was born in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, in 
 1880, and is a son of Henry and Ehzabeth 
 (Auck) Heinlen. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Heinlen were born 
 also in Crawford county and the father en- 
 gaged in farming during life, his death oc- 
 curring at the age of 34 years. The mother 
 resides iij Whetstone township. They had 
 three children, namely: Cora, who is the 
 widow of Charles Aliller; E. E. ; and Caro- 
 line, who married E. Sury. 
 
 E. E. Heinlen obtained his education in 
 the public schools of Crawford county and 
 afterward engaged in farming on the home 
 place, and in 1900 came to his present farm. 
 Here he has made notable improvements, 
 including the building of a comfortable resi- 
 dence. He raises excellent stock and car- 
 ries on a general farming line. 
 
 Mr. Heinlen was married to Miss Hattie 
 Kellogg, a daughter of William Kellogg, 
 of Crawford county, and they have one 
 daughter, Mary. They attend the Evan- 
 gelical church. Mr. Heinlen is a Democrat 
 but is no political agitator, merely taking a 
 good citizen's intelligent interest in public 
 matters. 
 
 WILLIAAI L. TUPPS, a leading citizen 
 of Whetstone township, Crawford county, 
 0., township trustee and successful farmer, 
 resides on his well -improved place contain- 
 ing 97 acres, near the old Tupps homestead, 
 and he was born there Dec. 9, 1871. His 
 parents were Jechonias and Sarah 
 ( Schreck) Tupps. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Tupps were both born 
 in Crawford county.- the father on the pio- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 765 
 
 neer farm which his father, Jacob Tupps, 
 entered from the gfovernment when he came 
 here from Pennsylvania, and it has never 
 been out of the family. The father of Mr. 
 Tupps has been a farmer all his active life 
 and has spent his life in this township. His 
 first marriage was to Sarah Schreck, and 
 after her death he married Mrs. Rachel 
 (Shearer) Gibler, the widow of Adam Gib- 
 ler. To his first marriage the following 
 children were born : Dorothy, who is the 
 wife of Washington Bair; Calvin D., who 
 lives on the old homestead; Catherine, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of Joshua Preble ; 
 Homer I. ; Amanda, who is the wife of Sam- 
 uel W. Guinther; Samuel E. and William 
 L. The mother of the above children died 
 March 28, 1881, and her burial was in the 
 Whetstone cemetery. The father still sur- 
 vives and is in the enjoyment of good health 
 although he was born Dec. 19, 1832. In his 
 3'outh he attended the old Campbell school 
 and afterward, as noted above, settled down 
 to farming. His parents were Jacob and 
 Catherine (Whitmer) Tupps and he was the 
 youngest born of three children, the others 
 being: Amanda, who was the wife of Ed- 
 ward Campbell ; and Urias. Jechonias Tupps 
 is a Republican in politics and at one time 
 served in the office of road supervisor. He 
 resides with his son, William L. 
 
 William L. Tupps obtained his education 
 in the public schools of Whetstone town- 
 ship, and with the exception of three years, 
 during which he was a railroad employe, 
 he has been engaged ever since in agricul- 
 tural pursuits. He bought this farm in De- 
 cembei", 1899, and carried on general farm- 
 ing, raises stock for his own use and deals 
 in Delaine sheep. After coming to the place 
 he remodeled the house and built substan- 
 tial barns and these, with other improve- 
 ments, make this one of the most valuable 
 farms in the township. 
 
 Mr. Tupps was married on March 2}^, 
 
 1893, to Miss Bertha F. Holtshouse, a 
 
 daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Noblit) 
 
 Holtshouse, the former of whom was born 
 
 in Pennsylvania and is now deceased, and 
 
 the latter in Crawford county. To Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Holtshouse the following children 
 44 
 
 were born: Blanche Louellen, deceased; 
 John C. ; Bertha F. ; Amanda F., wife of 
 E. J. Line ; Delia, wife of Isaac Beach ; Ollie, 
 wife of Oliver Beach; William Franklin, 
 deceased; Jay L. ; and Warren W. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Tupps have four children : Chester 
 E., Bessie M., Harold B. and Dorothy Lou- 
 ellen. Mr. Tupps is a Republican in poli- 
 tics and is an intelligent and wide awake 
 citizen. As one of the township trustees 
 he looks carefully after public interests. He 
 is a member of Pope Grange, at Gallon, O. 
 
 SANFORD W. BURKHART,* who is 
 one of the well known farmers and stock 
 raisers of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., residing on his valuable tract 
 of 82 acres, was born in Marion county, O., 
 Oct. 7, 1866, and is a son of John S. and 
 EHzabeth (Shaffer) Burkhart. 
 
 The Burkhart family is a numerous and 
 respected one in Pennsylvania and there 
 John S. Burkhart was born. An enterpris- 
 ing spirit brought him to Ohio in youth 
 and in Morrow county he was married to 
 Elizabeth Shaffer. They reside on their 
 farm in Marion county, O., where they have 
 lived for many years and have taken part 
 in the useful activities and interests of that 
 section. The following children were born 
 to them : Sanford W. ; Louise, who is the 
 wife of Abraham Guinther; Ella, who is the 
 wife of John Lepp ; and Ora. 
 
 After his school days Sanford W. Burk- 
 hart assisted his father on the homestead 
 and remained with him until he was 32 years 
 of age and then purchased his present place 
 from Isaac Noblit. A new barn and- en- 
 tirely remodeled house changed the appear- 
 ance of the property in a very short time 
 and a pleasant air of thrift and prosperity is 
 very noticeable. Mr. Burkhart raises- some 
 excellent stock for his own use and grows 
 the grains that do best in this climate. 
 
 On March 4, 1898, Mr. Burkhart was 
 married to Miss Emma Christman, who is 
 a daughter of Henry and Lucinda (Speace) 
 Christman, both of whom are now deceased. 
 The father of Mrs. Burkhart was a farmer, 
 in Marion county and his children were as 
 follows: Sadie, who is the wife of Silas 
 
766 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Hill; Edward, who is deceased; Iva, who 
 is the wife of Rev. David Raiser, pastor of 
 the Reformed church at Tiffin, O. ; Bertha, 
 who is the wife of Ora Bensley; and Emma, 
 who is the wife of Mr. Burkhart. To the 
 last named have been born : Verda, Lester, 
 Joan, Mildred, and a babe that died. They 
 are members of the Reformed church. In 
 politics Mr. Burkhart is a Democrat. 
 
 ALBERT M. ENSMINGER, formerly 
 special examiner for the State Bureau of 
 Uniform Accounting, fofl: many years was 
 prominent in the public affairs of Bucyrus, 
 O., and was favorably known as a journalist 
 and as a member of the Bucyrus bar. He 
 was born in Perry county. Pa., Sept. 27, 
 1858, and died at his home on the corner of 
 East Rensselaer and Iron streets, Bucyrus, 
 Sept. 27, 1909. His parents were John Wil- 
 liam Henry and Susan (Jacobs) Ensminger. 
 
 John William Henry Ensminger was born 
 in Perry county, Pa., Feb. 2, 1826, and died 
 at Bucyrus, O., Feb. 24, 1892. He was a 
 son of David and Barbara (Messinger) En- 
 sminger, the former of whom was the second 
 son of Christian Ensminger, who was born 
 in America, June 8, 1762, and died March 6, 
 1836. A younger son of David and Barbara 
 (Messinger) Ensminger, George Benjamin 
 Franklin, was born in Perry county, Pa., 
 Nov. 26, 1845, and died January 2, 1869, in 
 Crawford county, O. He was married Nov. 
 4, 1868, to Miriam A. Ebert, a daughter of 
 Dr. Philip Ebert of Crawford county. No 
 children were born to this union. The widow 
 was married Dec. 12, 1876, to Dr. H. S. 
 Bevington, of Crawford county, and to this 
 union two children were born: Elwood and 
 Rebecca. 
 
 John William Henry Ensminger was mar- 
 ried April 13, 1854, to Susan, daughter of 
 Henry and Christina Jacobs, of Cumberland 
 County, Pa. She was born March 14, 1835. 
 Of this union there were born five children, 
 three sons and two daughters, namely : Frank- 
 lin Pierce, who was born Dec. 31, 181; 1^, mar- 
 ried April II, 1878 Anna E., daughter of 
 Hiram and Rachel Cross, born July 3, i8s6, 
 and they had one son, Edgar Albertus, born 
 March i. 1880, who died April 21, 1884.; 
 Albert Milton, the subject of this sketch; 
 
 Charles Edgar, who was born Nov. 2^, i860 
 married August 12, 1886, Emma, daughter 
 of Benjamin Beal, born June 7, 1866, and 
 they have three children— Gertrude Augusta, 
 born Aug. 22, 1887, Arthur Beal, born Jan! 
 8, 1890, and Charles Edgar, Jr., born Nov. 
 14, 1896; Anna May, who was born May 30 
 1868, died Dec. 28, 1871 ; and Alberta Etta^ 
 who was born Sept. 22, 1876. In 1866 John 
 William Henry Ensminger moved with his 
 famjly to Jefferson township, Crawford coun- 
 ty, O., and in 1879 the family home was 
 transferred to Bucyrus. 
 
 Albert M. Ensminger was educated in the 
 public schools of Bucyrus and afterward en- 
 tered the law department of the University 
 of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, where he was 
 graduated with the class of 1882. In the 
 same year he was admitted to the bar and 
 entered into the practice of law at Bucyrus. 
 In 1885 he was first elected city solicitor and 
 was subsequently re-elected and when his 
 second official term ended, he became editor 
 of the Daily Forum, at Bucyrus, and ably 
 upheld the policy of that newspaper from 
 1890 until he was appointed postmaster in 
 1894, during the second administration of 
 President Cleveland. He served as postmas- 
 ter at Bucyrus until September i, 1898, and 
 then resumed his newspaper connection, in 
 which he continued until 1901, when he again 
 turned his attention to other interests. Sub- 
 sequently, however, he was more or less con- 
 nected with the Bucyrus newspapers, being a 
 special reporter for the Evening Telegraph 
 and the Bucyrus Journal. In 1905 he was 
 appointed special state examiner, a position 
 for which he was eminently qualified and in 
 which he proved satisfactory to the fullest 
 extent. 
 
 Mr. Ensminger was married Dec. 16, 1886. 
 to Miss Carrie Blair, daughter of -Elias and 
 Anna (McCrory) Blair, a prominent family 
 of Bucyrus. The parents of Mrs. Ensminger 
 still survive and she was the third born in 
 their family of children. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ensminger one son was bom, Edward Blair, 
 who is attending school in Bucvrus. Mrs. 
 Ensminger is a member of St. Paul's Luth- 
 eran Church, to which Mr. Ensminger also 
 belonged, and is active in the work of the 
 missionary society. 
 
ALBERT M. ENSMINGER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 769 
 
 Fraternally, Mr. Ensminger was a member 
 of Bucyrus Lodge No. 156 Benevolent and 
 Protective Order of Elks, and of Demas 
 Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He belonged 
 also to the Crawford County Bar Association. 
 Few men of the city are remembered with 
 more sincere sentiments of regret, for in every 
 relation of life he was upright, honorable and 
 helpful. 
 
 WILLIAM R. SHADE, who has been 
 identified with the great Erie Railway for 
 the past 44 years, is probably one of the 
 best known engineers connected with this 
 line and is the oldest one in point of service 
 on the Cincinnati division, also known as 
 the Third division. Mr. Shade was born 
 at Harrisburg, Pa., Nov. 19, 1850, and is 
 a son of David and Ann M. (Sholey) Shade. 
 
 David Shade and wife were natives of 
 Pennsylvania and from there came to Ohio 
 in 1854 and located at Mansfield, where 
 the father operated a saw mill for some 
 years, afterward moving to Hartford, Ind., 
 where he died in 1872, when aged 45 years. 
 His widow, who was born Dec. 17, 1826, 
 survived until Jan. 2, 191 1, dying at the 
 home of her son, William R., at Galion. She 
 was a member of the English Lutheran 
 church. The family consisted of three sons 
 and two daughters, William R. being the 
 eldest. One son, Norton, lives in California, 
 and one daughter, Ida, who is the wife of 
 Amos Warner, lives at Battle Creek, Mich., 
 and they have three sons and one daugh- 
 ter. The others are deceased. 
 
 After his school days passed William R. 
 Shade entered into railroad life, in 1868 be- 
 coming a brakeman with the C. & G. W 
 (now the Erie) road; in the following year 
 he was promoted to be fireman and con- 
 tinued in that position until Oct. i, 1876, 
 when he was given an engine and entered 
 upon the responsible duties that make an 
 engineer one of the most important factors 
 in the whole operating department of a rail- 
 road. No mistake was made in according 
 this privilege to Mr. Shade as his record 
 as an engineer shows that his careful su- 
 pervision and thorough knowledge of rail- 
 roading has enabled him to avoid accidents 
 
 and thereby save lives and property through 
 a continuous period of service in this posi- 
 tion of 36 years. As a token of apprecia- 
 tion, in 191 1 his name was placed on his en- 
 gine as the oldest engineer of his division 
 and at the same time he was given a letter 
 of commendation from Charles A. Allen, the 
 division superintendent, who mentioned his 
 years of faithful service. For 13 years past 
 Mr. Shade has been assigned to the most 
 important passenger service. 
 
 Mr. Shade was married at Galion to Miss 
 Susie Gates, who was born in New York 
 in 1858, and died in this city in 1895 Three 
 sons were born to this marriage, two of 
 whom, Ellis and Elmer, died in early cWld- 
 hood. The third son, Arthur R., who was 
 born in 1876, is a commercial traveler. He 
 married Ella Epley and they have two chil- 
 dren, George and Paul. Mr. Shade was 
 married (second), also at. Galion, to Miss 
 Ella Warren, who was born in Meigs coun- 
 ty, O., her father being a veteran of the 
 Civil War. Mr. and Mrs. Shade attend the 
 Christian church, of which Mrs. Shade is 
 a member. In politics Mr. Shade is a 
 Democrat and fraternally belongs to the 
 Knights of Pythias and for more than 30 
 years has been identified with the Brother- 
 hood of Locomotive Engineers. 
 
 JACOB K. KLEINKNECHT, whose 
 one farm of 82 acres lies in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., owns an 
 equally valuable one of 93 acres, situated 
 in Jefferson township. He was born May 
 10, 1844, in what was then Richland but 
 now is Crawford county, O., and is a son of 
 Peter and Elizabeth (Kitch) Kleinknecht. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kleinknecht were 
 born in Pennsylvania, the father in Berks 
 county, a son of John Kleinknecht, and the 
 mother in Cumberland county, a daughter 
 of George Kitch. They came to Ohio in 
 youth and were married here. The father 
 followed farming. He was a member of 
 the United Brethren church and at the time 
 of death was living in Wells county, Ind., 
 where he was buried. The mother was a 
 member of the Church of Christ and her 
 death occurred in Crawford county. They 
 
770 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 had the following children : Jacob K. ; John ; 
 William, who is deceased; and Mary Jean- 
 etta, who is the wife of William Hillbolt, 
 of Bellefontaine, O. 
 
 Jacob K. Kleinknecht had district school 
 advantages in his boyhood and afterward 
 worked by the month on different farms for 
 two years, up to 1861, when he enlisted for 
 service in the Civil War. The company 
 he joined was one that was organized at 
 Bucyrus by James A. Marsh and became a 
 part of the 56th HI. Vol. Inf., in which he 
 served about four months. He reenlisted 
 in the First Batteiy, 111. Light Artillery, in 
 which he served for eighteen months under 
 Captain Boutin, who later organized the 
 S9th U. S. O. Vol. Inf., and Mr. Klein- 
 knecht remained in that regiment until the 
 close of the war and was finally mustered 
 out January 31, 1866. 
 
 Returning theji to Crawford county he 
 went to work on the farm of Rev. William 
 Nevill, remaining six months, and then 
 spent the winter in Minnesota and after 
 he again returned to Crawford county was 
 married and passed the following year on 
 his wife's folks' homestead. She inherited 
 26 acres and they moved on it, and in 1885 
 Mr. Kleinknecht bought his home farm 
 from Allen Scott. The second farm came 
 later to his wife as a part of the old Stine- 
 baught homestead. 
 
 On March 27, 1867, Mr. Kleinknecht was 
 married to Miss Permelia C. Stinebaught, 
 who was born in Crawford county, a 
 daughter of Adam and Catherine (Ash- 
 croft) Stinebaught. The father, a farmer 
 and saw mill man, was born in Virginia, 
 while the mother was born in Pennsylva- 
 nia, a daughter of Adam Ashcroft. They 
 had the following children: Mary Ann, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of Henry Brad- 
 ford ; Elizabeth and John, both of whom are 
 deceased; Margaret, who is the wife of 
 Henry Sheidler; George D., who died from 
 the effects of a wound received in the Civil 
 War: Harriet B., deceased, who was the 
 wife of a Mr. Pinkerton; Newton, and Per- 
 melia C, who is the wife of Mr. Klein- 
 knecht. To the last named the following 
 family has been born : Robert C, who mar- 
 
 ried Mary Crawford; Sylvia A., who is the 
 wife of John D. Snyder; and George G., 
 Henry H., Willis W., Charles F., John C, 
 Joseph O., Alfred E., and Elzie E. The 
 family attend the United Brethren church. 
 Politically a Republican, Mr. Kleinknecht 
 has been elected frequently to township of- 
 fices and has served on the school board 
 and as road supervisor. 
 
 SAMUEL W. GUINTHER, whose fine 
 farm of 170 acres lies in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county, Q., was born in 
 Marion county, O., April 15, 1861, and is a 
 son of John G. and Christiana (Delker) 
 Guinther. The parents were both born in 
 Pennsylvania and both are now deceased, 
 resting side by side in the old Shearer ceme- 
 tery. They were well known and highly 
 respected people. They had the following 
 children: Catherine, wife of John Witea- 
 mire; Rosena and 'Salome, both died in in- 
 fancy; George, deceased; Abraham; Mary, 
 deceased; and Samuel W. 
 
 Samuel W. Guinther attended the public 
 school in boyhood and assisted his father 
 until old enough to work as a farm hand 
 on neighboring farms and was thus engaged 
 for two years prior to 1884, when he bought 
 40 acres of his present farm. To the first 
 purchase he added and now is the justly con- 
 tended owner of 170 acres of valuable land. 
 He has done considerable improving which 
 includes the building of a fine new barn, 
 and carries on a general farming line, rais- 
 ing just enough stock for his own use. He 
 is a good manager and a practical and sensi- 
 ble farmer. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1884, Mr. Guinther was mar- 
 ried to Miss Amanda Ellen Tupps, a daugh- 
 ter of Jechonias and Sarah (Schreck) 
 Tupps, prominent people in Whetstone 
 township, where Mr. Tupps owns a fine 
 farm. To Mr. and :\Irs. Guinther the fol- 
 lowing children have been born : Oscar L. ; 
 John C, who married Ethel Sharrock; 
 Ethel May; and one who died in infancy. 
 The family attend the English Lutheran 
 church. Mr. Guinther is nominally a Demo- 
 crat but he is quite capable of thinking for 
 himself and frequently casts his vote for 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 771 
 
 the man rather than the party. He has 
 served as a school director and on one oc- 
 casion filled out the unexpired term of town- 
 ship trustee. 
 
 JOHN F. ECKSTEIN, who carries on 
 general farming in section 13, Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, O., wher'e he 
 owns 80 acres of valuable land, situated 
 two miles east of New Washington, O., was 
 born in this township, Aug. 25, 1876; and 
 is a son of Adam and Catherine (Fike) Eck- 
 stein. 
 
 Adam Eckstein was born in Germany, 
 Feb. 15, 1845, and at the age of three years 
 was brought to America by his parents, 
 George and Catherine Eckstein. They lived 
 for two years in Crawford county and then 
 moved to Richland county and resided there 
 for six years, but return'ed to Crawford 
 county, where George Eckstein died in his 
 69th year and his wife when aged 73 years. 
 Adam Eckstein attended the district schools 
 in boyhood and afterward worked as a hired 
 man until 24 years of age, an industrious 
 and willing helper at all times and one who 
 made friends and kept them, and about this 
 time was married to Miss Catherine Fike. 
 She was born in Germany and lived there 
 until she "was 24 years old, a daughter of 
 George Fike. After marriage Mr. Eck- 
 stein and wife settled on the farm of 120 
 acres, lying in section 12, Cranberry town- 
 ship, where he now lives retired. When 
 Mr. Eckstein came into possession he found 
 a great deal of improving and fertilizing 
 necessary and his years of experience on 
 dififerent farms had given him so excellent 
 a training that he soon was able to put his 
 own place into fine condition, and during 
 his active years was known as one of the 
 best farmers in this section. In politics he 
 has always been a Democrat, but has never 
 accepted any office except that of school 
 director. He is a member and an elder in 
 the German Lutheran church, and when the 
 present church edifice was erected, was a 
 member of the building committee. To 
 Adam Eckstein and wife six children were 
 born, namely: Mary, who died when aged 
 two years ; Catherine, who is the wife of 
 
 William Kessler, residing in Auburn town- 
 ship; John, who Hves in Cranberry town- 
 ship; Adam G., who follows the carpenter 
 trade and lives at N^w Washington; Will- 
 iam, who assists his father; and Julia, who 
 is the wife of Israel Steiger, of Cranberry 
 township. 
 
 John F. Eckstein attended what was 
 called the Brick or McDougal's school, in 
 Cranberry township, in his boyhood, and 
 was reared to farm life. When he started 
 out for himself he received a gift from his 
 father, the latter giving all his children cash 
 or its equivalent amounting to one thou- 
 sand dollars. Ever since marriage he has 
 lived on his present farm and has done con- 
 siderable improving and carries on his agri- 
 cultural operations more or less according 
 to modern methods, assisted by the latest 
 improved machinery. 
 
 Mr. Eckstein married Miss Margaret 
 Amelia Shafifer, who was born in Chatfield 
 township, Crawford county. O., a daughter 
 of Adam B. Shafifer, and they have four 
 children : Mary M., Elsie Amelia, Frederick 
 Adam and Esther Margaret. Mr. Eckstein 
 and family are members of the Lutheran 
 church. Life his father be is a Democrat 
 and has served Cranberry township one 
 term as supervisor and two terms as school 
 director. 
 
 ISAAC H. TUPFS, general farmer and 
 highly respected citizen of Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county. O., and a member 
 of one of the old and substantial families 
 of this section, was born on the old Tupps 
 homestead in Whetstone township, Nov. 
 24, 1864, a son of Jechonias Tupps. 
 
 After completing his period of school at- 
 tendance, Isaac H. Tupps assisted his father 
 until he was 21 years of age and then pur- 
 chased his present excellent farm of 80 
 acres, which was known as the Henry Low- 
 miller farm. Here he successfully carries 
 on general farming and raises blooded 
 horses, his stable including the five-year old 
 Belgian stallion Kronas, which Mr. Tupps 
 purchased in 1912, and the imported Bel- 
 gian mare, Sabine. 
 
 One Dec. 2. 1884. Mr. Tupps was married 
 
772 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to Miss Mary E. Snyder, a daug[hter of 
 Isaac and Rebecca (Albright) Snyder. The 
 parents of Mrs. Tupps are deceased. They 
 had the following children : Laura Ann, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of David Beach ; 
 Lucinda, who was married (first) to Eli 
 Beach, and (second) to Adam Beach; 
 Lewis ; John and Mary E., and two who 
 died young. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Tupps have one son, Ivor 
 Gillespie, who was born Nov. 8, 1894. They 
 attend the Luthei^an church. Mr. Tupps is 
 a Republican in politics, and he served two 
 terms in the office of township supervisor. 
 
 MISS LOUISE MILLER, who com- 
 mands universal respect at Gallon, 0., 
 where she is held in the highest possible 
 esteem, is widely known all over Crawford 
 county and in farther sections whither her 
 pupils have wandered as their life work has 
 led Ihem, for Miss Miller has devoted her- 
 self to educational work since she was 16 
 years of age. She was born at Gallon and 
 for many happy years her home has been 
 at No. 240 South Pierce Street. Her par- 
 ents were Casper and Margaret (Schnei- 
 der) Miller. 
 
 Casper Miller was born in Hesse-Darm- 
 stadt, Germany, and early in the forties 
 came to the United States, on a sailing ves- 
 sel, and subsequently worked at the plas- 
 tering trade at Gallon for a number of years 
 and in this city his death occurred in 1861. 
 He married Margaret Schneider, who was 
 also a native of Germany, and they had 
 one daughter, Louise. After the death of 
 Mr. Miller his widow contracted a second 
 marriasre, with John Baldinger. He was 
 born in the canton of Argau, Switzerland, 
 and came to the United States when a 
 young man. He died in early middle life, 
 leaving one daughter, Mary. Mrs. Bal- 
 dinger survived until 1908 when in her 86th 
 year, passing away at Gallon. Both she and 
 Mr. Miller were members of the German 
 Lutheran church, while Mr. Baldinger was 
 of the Reformed body. 
 
 Louise Miller still resides in the house 
 in which she was born. She attended the 
 Gallon schools, deciding to become a 
 
 teacher even in girlhood, and as early as 
 1879 taught in the public schools, in the 
 first grade, giving instruction in German. 
 The life of a conscientious teacher is one 
 that may not always be envied, and that 
 Miss Miller for so many continuous year, 
 longer than any other teacher in years of 
 service, has kept up her courage, enthusi- 
 asm and efificiency proves the possession of 
 rare natural talents for this profession. In 
 these days it is not only necessary for an 
 acceptable instructor to be well grounded 
 in the elements, broadened by reading and 
 widened in outlook by travel, but there are 
 so many technical studies required and so 
 many accomplishments demanded, that to 
 succeed in all these branches and for so long 
 a time, denotes high proficiency and unself- 
 ish devotion to the interests of others. All 
 these qualities Miss Miller combines, and 
 hence her place would be hai'd to fill, either 
 in the educational field or in the confidence 
 and affection . of those who have benefited 
 through her patience and scholarship. Miss 
 Miller as well as Miss Baldinger are mem- 
 bers of the German Evangelical Lutheran 
 church, in which they were confirmed when 
 young, and they take a deep interest in the 
 work of the Sunday-school. 
 
 LEVI BEACH, a retired farmer residing 
 at New Winchester, C, where he and wife 
 own valuable property, still retains his farm 
 of 92 acres, which is situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county. He v/as born 
 in that township, Aug 2, 1850, and is a son 
 of Peter and Magdalena (Meyers) Beach. 
 
 Levi Beach was 15 years of age when his 
 father died. He attended the district schools 
 and then remained on the home farm work- 
 ing for his mother until he was 21 years old, 
 when he left to make his own way in the 
 world as there were younger sons who could 
 carry on the farm. He was the third born 
 in the following family: Rebecca, wife of 
 John Price ; Mary Jane, wife of Lewis Kra- 
 ner; Samuel; Laura, wife of Andrew Mey- 
 ers; Elizabeth, wife of Frank Nungesser; 
 and Charles: At different times Mr.. Beach 
 owned farms in other sections, a valuable 
 one, in Ohio and another in Indiana, both 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 773 
 
 of which he sold to advantage. Farming 
 has been his main business in Hfe and he 
 carried it on very successfully for many 
 years. 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Beach was married to Miss 
 Matilda Albright, who is a daughter of 
 Henry Albright and a sister of Isaac Al- 
 bright, the latter of whom resides at New 
 Winchester. To Mr. and Mrs. Beach have 
 been born four children: John H., who mar- 
 ried Amanda Wise, and has two children — 
 Florence and Carl; William Lewis; Oliver 
 Francis, who married Ollie Holtzhouse, and 
 has one son, Francis Layton; and Charles, 
 who is a merchant at New Winchester, and 
 who married Daisy Katsimeyer. Mr. Beach 
 and sons are Democrats in their political 
 views. 
 
 WILLIAM G. GWINNER,* general 
 farmer and a well known citizen of Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, O., resides on 
 the old family homestead, six miles north- 
 east of Bucyrus. He was the second born 
 in his parents' family of eight children. His 
 father, John Gwinner, was born in Germany 
 and was a young man when he came to 
 Ohio, where he married Matilda Scott, a 
 native of this State. All their children sur- 
 vive with the exception of the youngest, 
 who died in infancy. Emma B., the eldest, 
 married C. Bear, and their two children 
 died in infancy. James A. married Zela 
 Smith and they live at Bucyrus and have 
 three children; Ernestine, Eldin and Cath- 
 erine. Isaac J. married Elizabeth Stribe 
 and they live at Sulphur Springs and have 
 four children : Velma, Benjamin, Lucile and 
 Florence. Rachel married George T. Timp- 
 son and they live at Bucyrus and have three 
 children : Nellie, Dorance and Alice. Cora 
 married Israel Fritz and they live in Whet- 
 stone township and have had five children : 
 Agnes, Stella, Delia, Hazel and Velma C, 
 Delia being deceased. 
 
 William G. Gwinner attended the district 
 schools in boyhood and has followed farm- 
 ing and stock raising ever since. He has a 
 large acreage under cultivation as he oper- 
 ates both his father's land and an adjacent 
 property. He has always been industrious 
 
 and practical and is considered one of the 
 most capable agriculturists of Liberty town- 
 ship. 
 
 Mr. Gwinner married Miss Hulda E. Wil- 
 son, a daughter of Richard Wilson, of Craw- 
 ford county, and they have six children, 
 namely: Chai-les H., a farmer in Liberty 
 township, who married Lulu M. Crum, and 
 have two children — Charles E. and Joseph- 
 ine M.; Carrie E., who married Ross W. 
 Spade, and lives in Liberty township; Will- 
 iam T., Russell M., Ruby D. and Rose M., 
 who still reside at home. Mr Gwinner and 
 family attend the United Brethren church. 
 Mrs. Gwinner was born in Crawford county 
 and had the following brothers and sisters : 
 Edward, who is in business at Bucyrus, 
 and who married Letta Schroll and has 
 four children — Sherman, Arnie, Nellie and 
 Stephen; Evaline, who is the wife of Will- 
 iam Mahafifey and lives in Marion county, 
 O., and has four children — Lester, George, 
 Pearce and Mary; Augustus, a resident of 
 Bucyrus, who married Daisy Winters and 
 has two children — Evaline and Archie; 
 Nancy, who is the wife of Joseph Albright, 
 of Attica, Ind., and has one son, Wilson; 
 John, who is deceased; and Mrs. Gwinner. 
 Both the Gwinner and Wilson families are 
 well established and highly i-espected ones 
 in Crawford county. 
 
 JOHN J. FALSER, one of the enterpris- 
 ing and successful farmers of Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., who resides 
 on his valuable farm of no acres, was born 
 in this township. May 21, 1873, and is a son 
 of Samuel and Catherine (Hager) Fauser. 
 
 The Fauser family is an old and respected 
 one of Crawford county, of German extrac- 
 tion. Both parents of John J. Fauser were 
 born in this county and now live in com- 
 fortable retirement at Bucyrus, where they 
 are among the liberal supporters of St. 
 John's Reformed church. Their family con- 
 sisted of the following children : Anna, who 
 is the wife of Eli Dinkle-; Emanuel ; Harry ; 
 Emma, who is the wife of Frederick Hou- 
 ser; John J.; and George, the last named 
 being a nephew but was reared as a son 
 
774 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and the family has never known any dif- 
 ference. 
 
 John J. Fauser obtained his education in 
 the public schools and afterward assisted 
 his father until he was 28 years of age and 
 then rented his present farm from his father 
 and in 191 1 purchased it. He has devoted 
 himself to general farming ever since and 
 raises enough stock for his own use. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1900, Mr. Fauser was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elsie May Guinther, a daugh- 
 ter of George and Malinda (Rorick) Guin- 
 ther, who are well known people of Marion 
 county, O., and live on their farm there. 
 Mrs. Fauser has one sister and four broth- 
 ers, namely: Lottie, who is the wife of Leo 
 Heinlen ; and Ezra, William, Cornelius and 
 Emil. Mr. and Mrs. Fauser are members 
 of St. John's Reformed church of Whet- 
 stone township, and for six and one-half 
 years he has served as Sunday-school su- 
 perintendent and as a member of the church 
 choir. For the past five years he has been, 
 general secretary of the Crawford county 
 Sunday-school Association. Nominally he 
 • is a Democrat, but is frequently inclined to 
 use his own judgment concerning issues and 
 candidates. He has never accepted any of- 
 fice except that of school director, in which 
 he served two terms. 
 
 HUGH LISSE,* proprietor of the Galion 
 Creamery, at Galion, C, is one of the enter- 
 prising business men of this city and a much 
 respected citizen. He was born in Ger- 
 many, March 9, 1869, and his parents were 
 Adam and Anna (Zunack) Lisse. They 
 spent their entire lives in Germany, where 
 the mother died in 1900, at the age of 59 
 years and the father in 1910, when in his 
 70th year. He was a machinist by trade. 
 They were members of the Roman Catholic 
 church. 
 
 Hugh Lisse obtained the public school 
 education that every German boy receives 
 and then learned the tinner's trade. He 
 came to the United States in 1891 and took 
 charge of a distillery and brewing plant, for 
 his brother-in-law, Charles Coppe, situated 
 at Cardington, Morrow county, O., where 
 he remained until 1908. in the meanwhile 
 
 having become its owner, about 1893. After 
 disposing of the brewery he came to Galion 
 and conducted a cafe at No. 105 East Main 
 street, until October, 1910, when he became 
 owner and proprietor of the Galion Cream- 
 ery. This plant had been established here 
 in 1905 by J. E. Brinnon and since it has 
 come under the business management of 
 Mr. Lisse, has developed into a prosperous 
 enterprise. He ships for eastern markets 
 and handles local goods and the high grade 
 of butter produced finds ready sale. 
 
 Mr. Lisse was married in Marion county, 
 O., to Miss Elizabeth .Ranroth, who was 
 born in Westphalia, Germany, in 1870, and 
 came to America with her parents and to 
 Marion county, O., in 1889. Her father, 
 Mangus Ranroth, now lives retired, in Ma- 
 rion county, his age being 87 years. The 
 mother died in 1904, in her 69th year. They 
 belonged to the Roman Catholic church. 
 Six children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Lisse, namely: Frank, who is a stu- 
 dent in the Galion High School; Gertrude, 
 who attends the parochial school; and 
 George, Anna, Robert and Paul. The fam- 
 ily belongs to the Roman Catholic church. 
 In politics Mr. Lisse is a Democrat. 
 
 DAVID ZIEGENFUS, general farmer 
 and a well known citizen of Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., residing on 
 his finely cultivated farm of 96 acres, was 
 born in Whetstone township, Nov. i, 1843, 
 and is a son of Philip and Elizabeth (Kem- 
 erer) Ziegenfus. 
 
 Philip Ziegenfus and wife were both born 
 in Germany and both came when young to 
 America, their marriage taking place in the 
 United States. For many years he was a 
 respected man and hard-working farmer in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, 
 where both he and his wife died, their burial 
 being in the Whetstone cemetery. They 
 weie good Christian people and members 
 of the Reformed church. They had three 
 children, two of whom died in infancy. 
 
 David Ziegenfus was the only one of his 
 parents' children to reach mature years. In 
 boyhood he attended the district schools 
 and later assisted his father on the farm and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 ( (0 
 
 inherited the same when his parents passed 
 away. He thoroughly understands the sci- 
 ence of farming and pursues those methods 
 which he has proved to be most profitable, 
 and raises, in good part, what is necessary 
 for family use, including cattle and stock. 
 In 1876 Mr. Ziegenfus was married to 
 Miss Eva Ribble, who was born in Vernon 
 township, Crawford county, a daughter of 
 John and Rachel Ribble, well known peo- 
 ple in Crawford county. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Ribble the following children were born: 
 Catherine, who is the wife of Peter Howe ; 
 Eva, who is the wife of David Ziegenfus; 
 Lena, who is the wife of John Huffman; 
 Christina, who is the wife of Jacob Mee- 
 nick; Mary, who is the wife of John Glower; 
 Elizabeth, who is the wife of Daniel Haag; 
 and Peter. Mr. and Mrs. Ziegenfus have 
 had four children, namely : Magdalena ; 
 Elizabeth, who is the wife of M. E. Otter- 
 man ; Mary, who is deceased ; and Jennie. 
 Mr. Ziegenfus and family are members of 
 the Reformed church. He is a Democrat 
 politically and served one term as school 
 director and one term as township super- 
 visor. 
 
 JACOB WHITEAMIRE, who is a pros- 
 perous farmer and respected citizen of 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 owns iS4j4 acres of very find land and de- 
 votes it to general agriculture. He was 
 born March 7, 1850, at Galion, O., a son 
 of Michael and Margaret (Bacht) White- 
 amire. 
 
 Michael Whiteamire and wife were born 
 in Germany. He was a small farmer there 
 and after marriage resided 'on his own land 
 until after the birth of four children and then 
 embarked with his family for the United 
 States. They came immediately to Galion, 
 O., where their youngest son was born and 
 the father died six months afterward. His 
 widow was thus left in a strange country 
 with a helpless infant and four other young 
 children, these being: John, George, Peter 
 and Catherine, the last named in later years 
 becoming the wife of Jacob Stump. 
 
 Jacob Whiteamire was as carefully reared 
 as was possible by his good mother and 
 
 went to school until he was about 15 years 
 of age, when he started to work on farms 
 by the month. For five years he worked in 
 this way in dififerent parts of the county 
 and then for four years rented land, at the 
 end of which time he was able to buy 76 
 acres of his present farm, to which he later 
 added 40 acres and subsequently 383^ 
 acres more, all of which has been secured 
 through persistent industry. It is excellent 
 land and responds to the careful cultivation 
 it receives. 
 
 On Oct. 5, 1873, Mr. Whiteamire was 
 married to Miss Christina Cook, who is a 
 daughter of John and Sarah (Diebler) Cook, 
 and they have the following children : Ida 
 Ellen, born Dec. 20, 1874, who is the wife 
 of William Hurrell and has three children 
 — James E., Alma A. and Ethel G. ; Emma 
 Amanda, born Jan. 15, 1876, who is the wife 
 of Jay Hurrell and has one son, Eugene 
 Edward; John Wesley, who was born 
 March 14, 1877, and who married Amanda 
 Beach and has two children — Floyd H. and 
 Gertrude A.; Wilson Edward, who was 
 born July 28, 1884, and married Ida Beach; 
 Jessie Lawrence, M^ho was born Nov. 5, 
 1886; Harvey Sylvester, who was born Aug. 
 2, 1888; and Sarah Alma, who was born 
 Sept. 4, 1890. Mr. Whiteamire and family 
 attend the German Reformed church. A 
 Democrat in politics, Mr. Whiteamire has 
 frequently been urged to accept public of- 
 fice and has served with general satisfaction 
 as school director and as road supervisor. 
 
 SAMUEL A. TUPPS, who belongs to 
 one of the best known families of Whet- 
 stone township, Crawford county, O., re- 
 sides on his well improved farm of 140 
 acres. He was born Aug. 22, 1869, on the 
 old family homestead which is now owned 
 by his brother, Calvin D. Tupps, and is a 
 son of Jechonias Tupps, who reared a large 
 and highly creditable family. 
 
 Samuel A. Tupps had public school ad- 
 vantages and afterward followed farming 
 for others until prepared to purchase land 
 for himself. When he started out wages 
 were low and sometimes he received only a 
 fraction of what is paid at the present time. 
 
r76 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 When 21 years old he rented 170 acres from 
 his father and later no acres and subse- 
 quently bought the no acres. A disastrous 
 fire destroyed his dwelling and he then sold 
 80 acres of his first farm and purchased his 
 present one on which he has carried on gen- 
 eral farming and stock raising and addition- 
 ally is interested in buying' and selling lum- 
 ber in Crawford and Marion counties. 
 
 On Aug. 16, 1890, Mr. Tupps was mar- 
 ried to Miss Ella M. Whiteamire, who was 
 born in Crawford county and is a daughter 
 of John and Catherine (Guinther) White- 
 amire. The father of Mrs. Tupps is de- 
 ceased but the mother survives. They had 
 the following children: Sarah, who is the 
 wife of Isaac Meyers ; Simeon, who is de- 
 ceased; Ella, who is the wife of Samuel A. 
 Tupps ; and Edward and William. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Tupps have four children : Zeno, Flor- 
 ence, Lester and Velma. Mr. Tupps and 
 family attend Trinity Lutheran church. Or- 
 dinarily Mr. Tupps votes with the Republi- 
 can party but sometimes occasions arise in 
 which he uses his own judgment irrespect- 
 ive of part}'. 
 
 ISAAC ALBRIGHT, who now lives re- 
 tired in his comfortable home at New Win- 
 chester, O., is one of the representative and 
 substantial citizens of Crawford county and 
 is the owner of three fine farms situated in 
 Whetstone township which aggregate 400 
 acres of valuable land. He was born in Whet- 
 stone township, Ang. 30, 1856, and is a son 
 of Henry and Sovena Albright, pioneers in 
 this section and people of high standing. 
 Henry Albright was married twice and the 
 children bom to his first union were : Isaac : 
 Xatilda, wife of Levi Beach ; Agnes, deceased, 
 who was the wife of George Kober; and an 
 infant son that died. To his second mar- 
 riage three children were born: Charles H., 
 George F. and Ida May, all of whom are de- 
 ceased. 
 
 Isaac Albright attended the district schools 
 in boyhood and then assisted his father on 
 the homestead until the latter's death, when 
 he purchased the property and for many years 
 carried on general farming and stock raising. 
 
 In 1877 Mc Albright was married to Miss 
 
 Rebecca Diebler, who died Sept. 9, 1906, and 
 was buried in the Whetstone cemetery where 
 rest the ashes of many of the former residents 
 of this section. To that marriage the follow- 
 ing children were born: Lyda, who married 
 Charles Nelson and has two children — Laura 
 and Mildred; Alta, who married Francis N. 
 Neuman, and has two children — Viola and 
 Harold; Ezra C, who married Clyde Low- 
 ery, and has one son, Myron; Warren W., 
 deceased, who was killed by a stroke of light- 
 nings Roy, who married Alta Love and has 
 one son, Doran W. ; Maggie, who married 
 Harry Fauser, and has two daughters — Helen 
 and Ethel; and Eva and Gertrude at home. 
 Mr. Albright's second marriage was with 
 Mrs. Maggie (Gracey) Loyer, widow of 
 Henry Loyer and daughter of James and 
 Sarah (Evans) Gracey. The parents of Mrs. 
 Albright were born in Ireland, and Mr. Al- 
 bright is the eldest of their children, the 
 others being: Mary, wife of George Kight- 
 linger; David, deceased; and Rebecca, the 
 wife of Isaac Wolfe. Mrs. Albright is a 
 member of the United Brethren church, while 
 Mr. Albright was reared in the Reformed 
 church. In politics he is a Republican and 
 fraternally he is identified with the F. O. E., 
 belonging to the lodge of this order at Bu- 
 cyrus. 
 
 CURTIS E. HILDEBRAND,* postmas- 
 ter and general merchant at Brandywine, 
 O., is a leading citizen of this pleasant vil- 
 lage and is a member of one of the old and 
 prominent families of Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, O. He was born on his 
 father's farm in Liberty township, in i888j 
 and is a son of John and Ida May (Shell) 
 Hildebrand. 
 
 On both sides Mr. Hildebrand comes of 
 German ancestry, but the families have been 
 of America during several generations, the 
 Hildebrands belonging to Ohio and the 
 Shells to Pennsylvania. Both parents were 
 born in Liberty township and still reside 
 there. Their family consisted of two chil- 
 dren : Curtis E. and Flossie, the latter of 
 whom resides at home. 
 
 Curtis E. Hildebrand attended the pub- 
 lic schools of his native township and re- 
 mained as his father's assistant on the home 
 
ISAAC ALBRIGHT 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 779 
 
 farm until he embarked in the mercantile 
 business at Brandywine. He carries a large 
 and well selected stock and supplies the 
 needs of a large surrounding territory. On 
 April 25, 1910, he was appointed postmas- 
 ter and attends to his public duties in addi- 
 tion to managing his business. He owns 
 considerable property here, including his 
 store building and comfortable residence, 
 and takes much interest in the development 
 of the place. 
 
 Mr. Hildebrand married Miss Lucy Li- 
 menstoll, daughter of Henry and Sophia 
 Limenstoll, who have other children, 
 namely : Christian John, Daniel Reuben, So- 
 phia, Lydia, Sarah, Anna Martha and Ja- 
 cob. Mr. and Mrs. Hildebrand have an at- 
 tractive little daughter, Helen Beatrice. 
 They are members of the Lutheran church. 
 Politically Mr. Hildebrand is a Democrat 
 and fraternally he belongs to the Order of 
 Owls. 
 
 GEORGE M. KUHN, one of Whet- 
 stone township's most respected citizens, 
 resides on his valuable farm of 90 acres and 
 has spent his entire life, with the exception 
 of four and one-half years, in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O. He was 
 born at Bucyrus, O., Oct. 31, 1844, and is a 
 son of Christian and Sophia (Stoll) Kuhn. 
 
 The parents of George M. Kuhn were 
 natives of Wurtemberg, Germany, and after 
 marriage they came to the United States. 
 By trade the father was a tailor and for 
 two years worked as such in New York 
 and then came to Bucyrus and continued 
 for a time in the tailoring and clothing busi- 
 ness and then engaged in farming. He was 
 a member of the Lutheran church. His 
 family consisted of the following children : 
 Hannah, wife of John Birk; Lewis; Fred; 
 George M. ; John; and Matilda, wife of 
 Abraham Shearer. 
 
 George M. Kuhn attended the district 
 schools when he was young and afterward 
 assisted his father on the farm until he was 
 24 years of age, at which time he married 
 and later purchased the homestead of 80 
 acres, to which he added ten more. He car- 
 ries on general farming and raises stock and 
 
 poultry for home use. He is a Democrat 
 in politics and has served as school director 
 and road supervisor and has been twice 
 chosen to administer on estates. 
 
 On Sept. 19, 1868, Mr. Kuhn was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Keifer, who was born 
 in Germany and died June 26, 1912, aged 
 one day less than 61 years. She was a 
 daughter of Adam and Elizabeth (Shock) 
 Keifer, the former of whom was a black- 
 smith and farmer. To Mr. and Mrs. Keifer 
 the following children were born : Elizabeth, 
 who married Lewis Kuhn; Margaret, who 
 married Fred Muntz; Catherine, who is the 
 wife of Jacob Carg; Louisa, who married 
 Henry Lowmiller; Jacob; Lydia, who is the 
 wife of Oswald Fritch ; John, and Mary, 
 who was the wife of George M. Kuhn. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kuhn had eight children : 
 Christian, who married Laura Nefif and has 
 two children — Isabella and George; Freder- 
 ick, who married Ida Brown and has five 
 children — Marie, Vera, Paul, Virgil and Ell- 
 wood; Elizabeth, who has been a teacher, 
 and a very successful one, since she was 17 
 years old ; Anna, who is stenographer and 
 bookkeeper for a Cleveland hardware firm; 
 Charles Edward, who is mail clerk on the 
 P. & W. Railroad; Elma, who is a clerk in 
 a store at Mansfield, O. ; and Edna and Ma- 
 bel, who are at home. The family attends 
 the Lutheran church. 
 
 SAMUEL A. ZIMMERMAN, who car- 
 ries on general farming on his valuable 
 tract of no acres, which is situated in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 was born in Polk township, Crawford 
 county, April 28, 1871, and is a son of Peter 
 and Philissa (Eichhorn) Zimmerman. 
 
 Peter Zimmerman was born in Whetstone 
 township, where his father, Daniel Zimmer- 
 man, was an early settler. He followed 
 farming all his active life and still owns a 
 farm of 95 acres in Polk township, but lives 
 retired with his second wife, at Gallon. 
 They are members of the First Reformed 
 church in that city. He married sisters, 
 first, Philissa Eichhorn, who died in 1875 
 and rests in the Fairview Cemetery at Gal- 
 ion, and married second, Catherine Eich- 
 
780 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 horn, both of them being daughters of 
 Adam Eichhorn, an early settler in Craw- 
 ford county. To his first union two sons 
 were born : Frederick and Samuel A. ; and 
 to the second, a son and daughter — Wal- 
 ter, and Lottie who is deceased. 
 
 Samuel A. Zimmerman obtained a com- 
 mon school education and before purchas- 
 ing land for himself, assisted his father for 
 two years, after which he bought his pres- 
 ent farm in Whetstone township, from Mag- 
 gie J. Shearer. He does general farming 
 and keeps good stock, carefully keeps his 
 buildings repaired and his farm machinery 
 sheltered and has the reputation of being 
 one of the very successful agriculturists of 
 this section. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1891, Mr. Zimmerman was 
 united in marriage with Miss Ellen Lowmil- 
 ler, who died Oct. 10, 1904, her burial be- 
 ing in the Fairview cemetery at Galion. 
 She was a daughter of William and Sarah 
 (Kester) Lowmiller, who were early set- 
 tlers in Whetstone township. Mrs. Zim- 
 merman was an admirable woman and was 
 a devoted member of the First Reformed 
 church at Galion. To Mr. and Mrs. Zim- 
 merman four children were born : Ada, Or- 
 lando, Melvin and Maud May, the eldest 
 being deceased. Mr. Zimmerman is a mem- 
 ber and liberal supporter of the First Re- 
 formed church at Galion. He is a Demo- 
 crat in politics like his father, and has served 
 three years on the township school board. 
 
 CARL HENRY HENKEL,* attorney at 
 law and city solicitor of Galion, O., was 
 born in this city, Oct. 25, 1880, and is a 
 son of Henry C. and Wilhelmina (Sames) 
 Henkel. 
 
 Henry C. Henkel and wife were both born 
 in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, and were 
 brought to America by their parents when 
 young. They were reared at Galion and 
 married here and the family has long been 
 a highly respected one in this section. 
 Henry C. Henkel followed the mason trade 
 during his active years and now, at the age 
 of 70, lives retired. He is a member of the 
 German Lutheran church. His wife died in 
 September, 1908, at the age of 56 years. 
 
 Their two children survive, Carl Henry and 
 Clara E., the latter being the wife of Henry 
 E. Lemon, of Galion. 
 
 After completing the public school course, 
 Carl Henry Henkel entered the law depart- 
 ment of the University of Michigan, at Ann 
 Arbor, where he was graduated in 1901, 
 before he had attained his majority and 
 afterwards was admitted to the. bar and 
 has been actively engaged in the practice of 
 his profession ever since. He has been a 
 very active Democrat and on many occa- 
 sions his party has recognized his efficiency 
 and, in addition to serving as a delegate to 
 state conventions, in 1908 he was sent as a 
 delegate to the National Democratic Con- 
 vention. 
 
 Mr. Henkel was married to Miss Olive 
 Barr, who was born at Galion, Feb. 14, 1880, 
 a daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth (Chand- 
 ler) Barr, natives of Ashland county, O. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Henkel have two children: Ja- 
 nette E. and Oliver C, aged respectively 
 eight and five years. They are members of 
 the Methodist church. Mr. Henkel is iden- 
 tified fraternally with the Masons, Knights 
 of Pythias, Elks and Independent Order of 
 Foresters and has served as a high state 
 official in the last named organization. Both 
 professionally and personally, Mr. Henkel 
 stands high in his native city and his influ- 
 ence may be confidently counted on in fur- 
 thering public spirited movements that are 
 for the purpose of advancing the general 
 welfare. 
 
 JOHN A. NOBLIT, an experienced and 
 successful general farmer of Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., where he 
 owns 120 acres of well-cared-for land, was 
 born in this township, Sept. 12, 1863, and is 
 a son of Robert and Susanna (Albright) 
 Noblit. 
 
 Robert Noblit and wife were born in 
 Pennsylvania, his birthplace being in Dau- 
 phin county. They came to Ohio and set- 
 tled in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, and through frugality and industry 
 accumulated a large property, the father 
 owning at one time as much as 300 acres of 
 fine land. He was a Democrat but was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 781 
 
 never a politician. Both he and wife were 
 members of the German Reformed church 
 and are worthy people in every relation of 
 life. The following children survive them : 
 John A., Samuel; Mary Jane, wife of Ben- 
 jamin F. Holshouse ; Sylvia, wife of Charles 
 Crising^er; and Isaac. 
 
 John A. Noblit attended the public school 
 that was nearest the old homstead, on which 
 he has practically spent his life, 40 acres of 
 his present farm being a part of it. This 
 land he inherited and added the remainder 
 by purchase. His farm shows the efifects 
 of intelligent cultivation and the stock in 
 his fields demonstrate that he is careful also 
 in that industry although he aims to raise 
 only enough for his own use. 
 
 Mr. Noblit was married to Miss Hannah 
 Morgan, who was born in Hancock county, 
 O., a daughter of Richard and Margaret 
 (Shira) Morgan. The father of Mrs. Nob- 
 lit was a blacksmith by trade. Her broth- 
 ers and sisters were : Angeline M., who is 
 the wife of Daniel Warner ; Mary Jane, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of George Baxter ; 
 Richard S. ; Susanna, who is the wife of 
 David Perkins; Mahala, who was the first 
 wife of Vet Erskin, and Julia, who became 
 his second wife, both wives being now de- 
 ceased; Robert F. ; and William M. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Noblit six children were 
 born, namely,: William, who married Anna 
 Wise, and has two children — Carma and 
 Flossie; Benjamin, who married Bertha 
 Shaftsall, and has one son, Denzel Dean; 
 Amanda Jane, who is the wife of John H. 
 Wise and has one daughter, Bernice Irene ; 
 Alta R., who is the wife of Charles H. Cris- 
 inger, and has three children — Thelma, Le- 
 ota and Theodore Jennings ; and two who 
 died young. Mr. and Mrs. Noblit are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
 is a Democrat politically but is no seeker for 
 public ofifice. 
 
 ISAAC COOK, one of the representative 
 men of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., who carries on general farming 
 and stock raising on his 205 acres of fine 
 land, was born in this township, March 25, 
 1854, and is a son of John and Sarah (Die- 
 
 bler) Cook, old and responsible families of 
 this section. 
 
 Isaac Cook attended the district school in 
 boyhood with his brothers and sisters and 
 then gave his father assistance on the home 
 farm and remained until he was 30 years 
 of age, when he purchased 85 acres of his 
 present farm and settled here, subsequently, 
 as suited his convenience, adding until it 
 reached its present large dimensions. Mr. 
 Cook is an experienced farmer and applies 
 practical and tried and proven methods in 
 his work. He cultivates the grains that are 
 most profitably grown in this section and 
 raises enough cattle and stock for home use. 
 He has a fine appearing property, new barns 
 and a handsome modern residence adding 
 to its attractiveness and value. 
 
 On Sept. 30, 1884, Mr. Cook was united 
 in marriage with Miss Lilah C. Nungesser, 
 who is a daughter of Christian and Eliza- 
 beth (Helfrick) Nungesser, and they have 
 one son, Irvin Lee, who assists his father 
 and also teaches school ; and a daughter, 
 Ada Malinda, who is a student at the Gallon 
 high school. Mr. Cook and family attend 
 the Lutheran church. He is a Democrat 
 in his political opinions and keeps well 
 posted concerning public afifairs. On numer- 
 ous occasions he has been chosen for town- 
 ship offices and has served acceptably as 
 school director, trustee and road supervisor. 
 
 DANIEL R. GORMAN,* a well known 
 business man of Gallon, O., who is engaged 
 in the real estate Hne, came to this city after 
 three years of honorable service in the Civil 
 war and has been identified with many of 
 its interests. He was born near Chambers- 
 burg, in Franklin county, Pa., Sept. 18, 1840, 
 and is a son of Daniel and Sophia (Kissell) 
 Gorman. 
 
 Daniel Gorman and wife were both born 
 in Pennsylvania, he in 1801 and she three 
 years later. Her death occurred in 1877, 
 while he survived until 1881. In 1853 the 
 family moved to Indiana and the parents 
 spent the remainder of their days on a farm 
 near Newcastle. They were highly re- 
 spected people and were members of the 
 Lutheran church. Of their family of six 
 
782 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 children, Daniel R. was the youngest born. 
 Two are deceased : Maria, who was twice 
 married, died in Indiana at the age of 74 
 years, leaving children. Fianna is survived 
 by husband and three children, her death oc- 
 curring at the age of 71 years. George W. 
 still resides in Indiana, a widower, and both 
 of his two daughters are married and reside 
 at Newcastle. John J. lives in Mills county, 
 la., a widower, with three children. Susan 
 is the widow of Joseph Rigle, has one son 
 and six daughters, all of whom have mar- 
 ried and reside near Newcastle, Ind. 
 
 Daniel R. Gorman was twelve years old 
 when his parents moved to Indiana, where 
 he had some school opportunities while 
 helping on the home farm, but had not 
 reached his 21st birthday when he enlisted 
 for service in the Civil war, on Aug. 5, 1861, 
 entering Co. C, 36th Ind. Vol. Inf., a pri- 
 vate soldier under Captain Woodward and 
 Col. William Gross. Although he remained 
 in the service until his honorable discharge 
 on Sept. 21, 1864, and was in the front of 
 battle at Shiloh, Stone River, Laverne, Wild 
 Cat and many other places, he escaped all 
 serious injury, although danger came very 
 near to him on many occasions. In one 
 battle a musket ball passed through his hat 
 so close to his head that it cut the hair and 
 passing on with its swift message of death, 
 killed a comrade immediately behind him. 
 
 After his return to Indiana, Mr. Gorman 
 worked at the plastering trade and followed 
 the same more or less until 1905, after com- 
 ing to Gahon becoming a plastering con- 
 tractor, and in this relation for years was 
 connected prominently with the building 
 trades here. Mr. Gorman has been a resi- 
 dent of Gallon since 1865 and with the ex- 
 ception of six years, during which he was 
 a conductor on the Big Four Railway, he 
 has been interested in the business above 
 mentioned, continuing up to seven years 
 ago, since when he has been in the real 
 estate business. 
 
 On June i, 1867, Mr. Gorman was mar- 
 ried to Miss Maggie Barrett, who was born 
 in Chester county, Pa., in 1848, and was 
 twelve years of age when she was accom- 
 panied by her parents, Lemuel and Ann 
 
 (Young) Barrett to Gallon. Her father 
 was a stone mason by trade and lived at 
 Gallon for some years and then went to 
 Kansas, where his death occurred at the 
 age of 70 years, his wife having previously 
 died at Gallon, in 1875, at the age of 63 
 years. They were members of the Presby- 
 terian church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Gorman have two daugh- 
 ters, Bessie and Madge C. The former is 
 the wife of Harry C. Tram, of Cleveland, 
 O. The latter is the wife of John Weiden- 
 kofer, and they have one son, Robert Gor- 
 man, and reside at Cleveland. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Gorman are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Mr. Gorman is a mem- 
 ber of Dick Morris Post No. 30, G. A. R., 
 of which he was commander for seven years, 
 and has filled other offices, including that 
 of adjutant. He has been officially con- 
 nected also for a number of years with the 
 Soldiers' Relief Corps. In politics he is a 
 Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Gorman have a 
 very pleasant home at Gallon and a visitor 
 there is sometimes favored with an exhibi- 
 tion of valuable and historic rehcs. These 
 include a handsome punch bowl and spoon 
 said to have been used by both General 
 Washington and General LaFayette when 
 entertained by the Barretts, and left as an 
 heirloom to Mrs. Gorman by a grandaunt. 
 Mr. Gorman is justly proud of being the 
 custodian of a volume that was pres'ented 
 to the Dick Morris Post by friends, in which 
 the G. A. R. records are carefully preserved. 
 
 HENRY A. KEHRER, a prominent citi- 
 zen of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, 0., residing on his valuable farm 
 of 120 acres, has been a public official for a 
 number of years and enjoys the confidence 
 and esteem of his fellow citizens. He is 
 a native of this township, born Nov. 30, 
 1868, and is a son of Daniel and Lydia (Kes- 
 ter) Kehrer. 
 
 The Kehrer family was established in 
 Crawford county by the grandparents, Mar- 
 tin and Nancy (Brooklaugher) Kehrer, who 
 came from Pennsylvania and lived in Whet- 
 stone township, where their son, Daniel 
 Kehrer was born and spent his life. He 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 783 
 
 was a carpenter by trade and also engaged 
 in farming. His death occvirred in July, 
 1908. In politics he was a Democrat and 
 he belonged to the Reformed church. He 
 married Lydia Kester, who was born also in 
 Crawford county, a daughter of Jacob Kes- 
 ter and she still resides on the farm in 
 Whetstone township. They had the fol- 
 lowing children: Samuel, Henry A., Ella, 
 William D.,_ Jacob M., Emma E., Joseph 
 A. and Reuben E. 
 
 Henry A. Kehrer obtained a common 
 school education and afterward gave his 
 father assistance on the farm for two years, 
 in the meantime beginning to work under 
 his father at the carpenter trade, and then 
 went to Gallon and completed his appren- 
 ticeship by working two years more. Fol- 
 lowing this he moved on his father-in-law's 
 farm, the Peter Beach place, and operated it 
 for two years and for five years prior to 
 moving on his present farm he cultivated 
 it. In 1896 he bought 75 acres from Wil- 
 liam Beltz and 45 acres from Samuel Stine- 
 helfer, immediately beginning to improve. 
 In 1900 he erected his handsome residence, 
 which is one of the finest in Whetstone 
 township, and three years later his substan- 
 tial, barn, adding fencing and tiling as nec- 
 essary. General farming and moderate stock 
 raising are the industries. 
 
 On Nov. 21, 1894, Mr. Kehrer was mar- 
 ried to Miss Matilda T. Beach, a daughter 
 of Peter and Amanda (Cook) Beach, and 
 a granddaughter of Adam Beach and John 
 and Sarah (Deibler) Cook. The parents of 
 Mrs. Kehrer now live retired at Gallon, 
 where they attend the Reformed church. He 
 is a veteran of the Civil war. Mrs. Kehref 
 has one sister, Ellen E., who is the wife of 
 Peter Neuman, of Whetstone township. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kehrer have two sons : Arthur C, 
 who was born June 23, 1895; and Clinton 
 G., who was born Feb. 12, 1903. The family 
 attend the German Reformed church. In 
 politics Mr. Kehrer is an influential member 
 of the Democratic party and at present is 
 serving his second term as township treas- 
 urer and has served five years on the school 
 board. 
 
 JACOB J. NEUMAN, who owns one of 
 the fine farms of Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., a tract of 80 well-im- 
 proved acres, was born Sept. 28, 1853, in 
 Crawford county, but was reared in Marion 
 county. His parents were Henry and Susan 
 (Young) Neuman. 
 
 Jacob J. Neuman attended the public 
 schools until he was 15 years of age and 
 then began to work on farms by the month 
 and continued until he was 24 years old, 
 taking care of his wages during this time 
 and after marriage settled on his present 
 farm. Here he carries on general farming 
 and stock raising, grows fruit for home use 
 and successfully carries on all the industries 
 which serve to make the modern farmer 
 one of the most independent men of the 
 day. 
 
 Mr. Neuman was married Feb. 17, 1878, 
 to Miss Salome Dinkle, a daughter of Chris- 
 topher and Catherine (Meyers) Dinkle, the 
 former of whom was born in Germany and 
 the latter in Pennsylvania. The father of 
 Mrs. Neuman was a farmer and a carpenter 
 and also worked as a millwright. In poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat. His children were 
 as follows: George; Joseph F. ; Salome, 
 wife of Jacob J. Neuman ; Lena, wife of John 
 O. Neuman; and Elizabeth, wife of John H. 
 Neuman. Mr. and Mrs. Neuman have had 
 six children born to them, namely: Christo- 
 pher H., who was married (first) to Delia 
 Guinther, who died after the birth of one 
 son, George Russell, and was married (sec- 
 ond) to Mabel Yeagley, and they have one 
 son, Emerson; Francis F., who married Alta 
 Albright, and they have two children, Viola 
 and Harold; Otto E., who married Bertha 
 Gerstenslager, and they have three chil- 
 dren, Harley, Edwin and Frederick Wil- 
 liam; Margaret, who is a trained nurse re- 
 siding at Galion; Pearl, who married Albert 
 Sellers and they have two children, Esther 
 and Christina; and Blanche, who married 
 Howard Heinlen, and they have two chil- 
 dren. Fiesta and Gladys Lavina. Mr. Neu- 
 man and family belong to the Lutheran 
 church, of which he is a trustee and in which 
 he has served both as deacon and elder. In 
 politics he is a Democrat and has frequently 
 
7h4 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 been chosen for public office and served 
 three years as township trustee, has also 
 been supervisor and school director, and 
 at present is a member of the township 
 board of Health. 
 
 GEORGE BE_\,CH,* who has been iden- 
 tified with one of the successful business 
 enterprises, of Gallon, C, since its organi- 
 zation in 1908, the Perfection Road Machin- 
 ery Company, of which he is foreman, was 
 born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, Jan. 21, 
 1871, and is a son of Michael and Barbara 
 ( Bormuth) Beach. Both parents were born 
 in Hesse Darmstadt. In 1881 the family 
 came to America, on the ship Persian, land- 
 ing- at New York City and from there com- 
 ing to Gallon, and here Michael Beach has 
 worked at his trade of millwright. His wife 
 died in 1897, when aged 53 years. 
 
 George Beach is the only surviving child 
 of his parents and was ten years old when 
 they came to America. He attended school 
 until he was 16 years old and then was ap- 
 prenticed, to the machinist's trade and 
 worked at the same with dififerent firms 
 from 1889 until 1908, for eight years before 
 accepting his present position, being with 
 the Schupe Carriage Works. He is not 
 only an expert mechanic but has ability as 
 an executive and manages the force of 30 
 workmen in the factory without friction. 
 
 In 1901, Mr. Beach was married at Gallon 
 to Miss Clara Kiess, who was born in this 
 city, June 16, 1871, a daughter of Emanuel 
 and Catherine (Hetter) Keiss, who have 
 lived in Gallon for the past 40 years. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Beach have one child, Esther N., 
 who was born Jan. 21, 1904. They are mem^ 
 bers of the First Reformed Church at Gal- 
 ion. In politics Mr. Beach is a Democrat 
 and for some years he has belonged to the 
 order of Knights of Pythias. He is recog- 
 nized as one of the reliable and useful citi- 
 zens of Gallon, exceedingly resourceful in 
 business and law-abiding under every cir- 
 cumstance. 
 
 ISAAC A. LAUGHBAUM, one of the 
 leading citizens of Whetstone township, 
 Crawford countv, Ohio, a member of the 
 
 board of directors of the Crawford County 
 Infirmary, resides on his farm of 160 acres, 
 vvhich he devotes to general agriculture. He 
 was born in Henry county, O., Nov. 17, 
 1853, and is a son of Joseph and Elizabeth 
 (Pfeifer) Laughbaum. 
 
 The father of Mr. Laughbaum was born 
 in Pennsylvania and the mother in Ger- 
 many. Farming was his occupation through 
 life. Both Joseph and Elizabeth Laugh- 
 baum are now deceased, their burial having 
 beeh in Sandusky township. They had the 
 following children : Nancy, who is the wife 
 of John H. Beltsing; Emanuel R.; Isaac A., 
 Allen ; Samantha J., who is the wife of Jo- 
 seph Parr; Amanda E., who is the wife of 
 Norman Palmer; Ida, who is the wife of 
 George Weaks; Clement L.; Winona, who 
 is the wife of William Walters; and Delia, 
 who is the wife of Samuel Cole. 
 
 Isaac A. Laughbaum went to school in 
 boyhood but was yet young when he began 
 to engage, to some extent, in farming and 
 has continued along the same line all his 
 life. His first purchase of land was 40 acres 
 of his present farm, which he bought from 
 his father-in-law and later the remainder 
 came to his wife throug-h inheritance. On 
 Oct. 9, 1875, he was married to Miss Susan 
 Shearer, a daughter of Adam and Hannah - 
 (Clark) Shearer. The father of Mrs. Laugh- 
 baum was thrice married and she is the only 
 surviving child of his second union, two hav- 
 ing died in infancy. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Laughbaum the follow- 
 ing children were born : Nettie, who married 
 Lewis Walter and has one son; Ralph ; Wil- 
 liam C, who married Mabel Dolbeer and 
 has one child, Naomi ; Edwin, who married 
 Julia Johnson and has three children, How- 
 ard, Ellen and Hattie ; Carrie, who married 
 Albert Gerstenslager and has three children, 
 Lucile, Irene and Donald L. ; Earl, who mar- 
 ried Edna Ross and has two daughters, 
 Helen and Lola Belle ; Erman, who mar- 
 ried Blanche Flowers and has one child. 
 Blossom; John; Ora, who married Rachel 
 Cook, and has one child. Marvel ; Harold and 
 Valma, who are at home. Mr. Laughbaum's 
 children have been given good educational ad- 
 vantages. William C, the eldest son, is a 
 
ISAAC A. LAUGHBAUM 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 785 
 
 graduate of Wittenberg college and seminary 
 and is pastor of the English Lutheran church 
 at Nevada, O. Edwin H. is principal of the 
 schools of Gallon and is also on the board 
 of county school examiners. Earl is also 
 a school teacher and additionally is a sub- 
 stitute mail carrier at GaHon. After grad- 
 uating from Wittenberg College, John, en- 
 tered upon his studies preparatory to becom- 
 ing a minister. The other sons have become 
 successful farmers and all are credits to their 
 parents and the community. Carrie was a 
 teacher in the public schools for a number of 
 years before her marriage, and Valma is now 
 a junior in the Gallon High School. 
 
 In politics Mr. Laughbaum is a Democrat 
 and has served four years as township trustee 
 and also as school director. He was twice 
 elected to the office of County Infirmary Di- 
 rector. He is a member of Polk Grange at 
 Gallon, being past master of the same and also 
 deputy master of the Ohio State Grange. The 
 whole family has membership in the English 
 Lutheran church. Mr. Laughbaum has served 
 for a number of years as superintendent of the 
 Sunday school at North Robinson, also as a 
 member of the church council, and also as sec- 
 retary of the joint council of the North 
 Robinson charge. 
 
 JAY L. HOLTZHOUSE,* a member of 
 one of the old and respected families of 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 and one of the heirs of an estate of 109 acres 
 of very valuable land, was born on the old 
 homestead where he still lives, Aug. 31, 
 1883, and is a son of Benjamin F. and Mary 
 G. (Noblit) Holtzhouse. 
 
 Benjamin F. Holtzhouse was born in 
 Pennsylvania and was of German parent- 
 age. He was a veteran of the Civil war 
 and for many years was a respected citi- 
 zen of Crawford county and carried on farm- 
 ing on his land in Whetstone township, 
 where his death occurred in 1894. He mar- 
 ried Mary G. Noblit, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county, and the following children were 
 born to them : John ; Bertha, who is the wife 
 of W. L. Tupps; Nettie, who is the wife of 
 Jay Line; Delia, who is the wife of Isaac 
 Beach ; Ollie, who is the wife of Oliver 
 Beach; Jay L. and Warren. Since his school 
 
 4B 
 
 days Jay L. Holtzhouse has worked the 
 homestead farm on shares with his mother. 
 He is an industrious and intelligent farmer 
 and in his agricultural operations shows 
 good judgment and thorough knowledge. 
 
 In 1903 Mr. Holtzhouse was married to 
 Miss Jessie Coulter, who is a daughter of 
 William and Margaret (Hager) Coulter, 
 well known residents of Gallon, O. Mrs. 
 Holtzhouse has one half-brother, George F., 
 and a half-sister, Etta, who is the wife of 
 Lewis Hallay, while her full sister and 
 brothers are : Roma, who is the wife of 
 Fred Robison; and Clyde and Howard. Mr, 
 and Mrs. Holtzhouse have one son, Floyd. 
 They attend the United Brethren church 
 and have many pleasant social interests in 
 the neighborhood. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, as was his father. 
 
 WILLIAM KRAUTER, who is one of 
 the leading men of Bucyrus township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., a very successful agricul- 
 turist and owner of large bodies of land in 
 the county, is interested also in several suc- 
 cessful industrial enterprises. Mr. Krauter 
 was born in Germany, April 8, 1849, ^^'^ 
 was six years old when his parents, John 
 and Catherine (Borner) Krauter, brought 
 him to this country. 
 
 John Krauter, with wife and five children, 
 came to America in 1854, crossing the At- 
 lantic ocean in a sailing vessel that afforded 
 few comforts and no luxuries to the passen- 
 gers but nevertheless safely landed them on 
 solid ground. From New York they came 
 to Crawford county, O., and John Krauter 
 was a farmer in Liberty township until 
 twenty-six years before death, when he 
 moved to Bucyrus and died there. His wife 
 died in Liberty township. They had seven 
 children, namely: Jacob, Christian, John C, 
 William, Gottlieb, Frederick and David, all 
 surviving except Gottlieb. They were good. 
 Christian people, strict members of the Ger- 
 man Methodist church. 
 
 William Krauter obtained his book edu- 
 cation in the common schools, but during a 
 long and busy life has learned many other 
 lessons. He helped his father clear ofif the 
 land and develop a productive farm and re- 
 
786 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 mained at home until he was 25 years of 
 age, and then started out for himself. On 
 April 9, 1874, Mr. Krauter bought 82 acres 
 of land from George Cook, to which he later 
 added until at present his home farm con- 
 tains 157 acres, situated in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, while he owns an additional 100 acres 
 in Whetstone township, all well improved 
 and fertile, productive farin land which he 
 devotes mainly to farming, raising only 
 enough stock for his own use. Mr. Krauter 
 has other sources of income, being a stock- 
 holder in the Carroll Foundry & Machine 
 Company, at Bucyrus, and also in the Inde- 
 pendent Telephone Company. 
 
 On April 2, 1874, Mr. Krauter was mar- 
 ried to Miss Caroline Gebhart, a daughter 
 of Adam and Susan (Brand) Gebhart, resi- 
 dents of Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, but natives of Germany. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Gebhart had five children: Catherine, 
 Caroline, Susan, Jacob and John. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Krauter five children have been 
 born, as follows: Amanda; Emma, who is 
 the wife of Rev. Blume, a minister in the 
 German Methodist church; Amos B., who 
 married Mary Yaussy; Charles E. ; and 
 Clara. Mr. and Mrs. Krauter are members 
 of the German Methodist church. In his po- 
 litical views Mr. Krauter is a Republican 
 and he gives hearty support to. that party 
 but has no fault to find with those whose 
 opinions differ from his own. He is widely 
 known and universally respected. 
 
 JEREMIAH NIMAN, for many years 
 was known as one of the far seeing business 
 men and reliable citizens of Bucyrus, O. He 
 was born in Richland county, O., not far dis- 
 tant from Mansfield, and died at Bucyrus, 
 Feb. I, 1900, when aged about 62 years. His 
 parents were John and Margaret (Bradley) 
 Niman. 
 
 John Niman was born in Pennsylvania and 
 his wife in England, but they were married 
 in Richland county, O., the Bradleys having 
 settled at Mansfield when the present city had 
 but three primitive huts and when the Indians 
 were still numerous in that section of the 
 country. Mrs. Niman was quite young when 
 her father took possession of one of these 
 
 huts and her experiences of pioneer life en- 
 abled her in after years to relate many in- 
 teresting stories to her descendants, especially 
 stories connected with the then fast dis- 
 appearing Indians. Her death occurred on 
 her ninetieth birthday, in 1895, she having 
 survived her husband for many years. They 
 were parents of five sons and two daughters, 
 namely: James, William, Jeremiah, John B. 
 and one not named, Margaret and Elizabeth, 
 all of whom have now passed away except 
 John B., who is proprietor, of the Union 
 Foundry at Mansfield, O. 
 
 Jeremiah Niman had such educational op- 
 portunities as the village afforded in his day. 
 When quite young he began to assist his 
 father in the latter's furniture and cabinet- 
 making shop and had practically learned the 
 business by the time he was eighten years of 
 age. He then determined to become a soldier 
 and enlisted for service in the Civil War with 
 his two brothers, one of whom, William, was 
 captain of his company, the other, John B., 
 being a musician in the regiment, which had 
 been raised by Col. McLaughlifiin, of Mans- 
 field. Jeremiah Niman, in spite, of his youth, 
 became a brave and efficient soldier, acting as 
 color bearer — a post of unusual danger- — and, 
 with the exception of an attack of typhoid 
 fever, passed through the war vmharmed and 
 received an honorable discharge. In 1865 he 
 came to Bucyrus and embarked in the furni- 
 ture and undertaking business and prospered 
 and some years later erected the Niman Block 
 at No. 130 South Sandusky street, in which 
 he carried on his business until 1896, when 
 he retired. The closing years of his life were 
 spent in the quiet way most congenial to old 
 age and he passed out of existence leaving 
 behind him a record of an honorable life dur- 
 ing which he had harmed no man by word 
 or deed. Politically he was a Republican. 
 For many years he was a member of Keller 
 Post, G. A. R. and the National Union and 
 Royal Arcanum. He was a Presbyterian and 
 gave liberally to religious movenients. 
 
 At Toledo, O., in 1870, Mr. Niman was 
 married to Miss Mary J. Seaman, who was 
 born at Woodville, Sandusky county, a 
 daughtet- of Capt. Ira Kent and Mary 
 (Swartzman) Seaman. The father of Mrs. 
 Niman was born in New Jersey and her 
 
JEREMIAH NIMAN 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 789 
 
 mother in Pennsylvania. They were married 
 at Fremont, O., where they lived until 1862, 
 when they moved to Toledo, where Mr. Sea- 
 man became a prominent member of the 
 bar and a representative citizen. He served 
 through the Civil War and raised Co. I, 21st 
 O. Vol. Inf., which was the first company 
 that went out of Sandusky county. He lived 
 usefully many years afterward, his death tak- 
 ing place at the home of Mrs. Niman, when 
 he was 89 years, seven months and six days 
 old. His wife had died previously at Toledo, 
 when aged 60 years. The family ancestry 
 has been preserved. His father was Daniel 
 Seaman and his grandparents were Micah 
 and Jemima (Ball) Seaman. The original 
 settler had been born in England and, with 
 a brother, had owned a whaling vessel that 
 probably was stranded on American shores, 
 as the earliest settlement of the family traced 
 was on Long Island. This ancestor par- 
 ticipated in the Revolutionary War under 
 General Washington. Daniel Seaman, Sr., 
 came from New Jersey to Sandusky, O., 
 where subsequently the family became one of 
 more than usual prominence. Mrs. Niman 
 has two surviving sisters — Mrs. M. Belle 
 Bushanan, who is a resident of Bucyrus (her 
 husband is a great nephew of President Bu- 
 chanan) ; and Mrs. Emily Kinnear, who lives 
 at Galesburg, 111. Jackson Daniel Seaman, a 
 brother of Mrs. Niman, served on the gun- 
 boat Ozark in the Civil War. Charles F., 
 another brother, was in the regular army and 
 was one of the guards placed over Sitting 
 Bull, when that bad Indian was captured. 
 Mrs. Niman is a member of the Presbyterian 
 church and is interested in the work of for- 
 eign missions. She is a lady of education 
 and culture, belongs to the Current Events 
 Club and to the Keller Post Relief Corps. 
 
 JOHN MESSNER, deceased, was one of 
 those worthy citizens and kind, good, Chris- 
 tian men whose death is not only a loss to 
 their community and family, but is felt in 
 a wider circle to which the influence of 
 their useful lives have extended. He had 
 but few advantages in his youth as his 
 father died when he was very young and his 
 mother had four other children to claim 
 her attention and be provided for. After 
 
 her second marriage to an excellent man, 
 Thomas Collier, the family came to Craw- 
 ford county, O., and here John Messner 
 spent almost the whole of his subsequent 
 life. 
 
 John Messner was born in 1818, in Penn- 
 sylvania, and it is possible that he served 
 his four years of apprenticeship to the shoe- 
 making trade before he came as a perma- 
 nent resident to Crawford county. Later 
 he became a farmer and still later, after 
 moving to Bucyrus, a business man here. 
 He was not only respected but highly 
 esteemed and it has been said of him that 
 his mere presence was a tonic, so cheerful 
 and happy was his temperament. Nomi- 
 nally he was a Democrat in his political 
 views but was very apt to cast his vote for 
 those candidates whose private life sus- 
 tained their public utterances. He never 
 identified himself with any religious body 
 although every act of his life proclaimed that 
 he possessed those characteristics which 
 make men true Christians. He found good 
 in all men, he forgave those who did him 
 wrong, he cheered the unfortunate and gave 
 to those in need. His life was, therefore, 
 one of beneficence, and his memory is ten- 
 derly cherished. His death occurred at Bu- 
 cyrus, O., June 20, 1902. 
 
 John Messner was married first to Miss 
 Maria Clapper, who was born in Crawford 
 county, O. She died following the birth of 
 her only child, Thomas William, now of 
 Allegheny, Pa. Some years later. Mr. Mess- 
 ner returned to Pennsylvania, and while 
 there married Margaret Gardner. She was 
 born there, a daughter of parents who had 
 crossed the Atlantic ocean from Scotland 
 and Ireland prior to the War of 1812, in 
 which the father of Mrs. Messner partici- 
 pated. Seven children were born to this 
 marriage, one son and six daughters, all of 
 whofn survive. Two daughters, both of 
 whom reside with their mother at Bucyrus, 
 are prominent educators in Crawford 
 county, one of them, Mjss Martha Messner, 
 being county school examiner and city ex- 
 aminer, the first woman ever appointed to 
 this office in Ohio. 
 
 Mary Ellen Messner was the eldest of the 
 
790 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 above family and was born and educated 
 at Bucyrus. She married Hersehel Quinby 
 Johnston, Feb. i6, 1875, ^''•^ they have two 
 children : Martha Pearl and Ida Blanche. 
 The former was born at Bucyrus, May 16, 
 1876, and was graduated from the Bucyrus 
 high school in 1895. Six years later she mar- 
 ried Hiram Benjamin Sears, who was born, 
 reared and educated in Crawford county. 
 Mr. Sears is a charter member of the Craw- 
 ford County Forestry Association and its 
 present treasurer. He is deeply interested 
 in the movement as applied to local sur- 
 roundings and frequently has exhibits at 
 county fairs in order to secure the attention 
 of other farmers to this very important mat- 
 ter. Mr. and Mrs. Sears have two sons : 
 Richard Elkanah, who was born April 21, 
 1903, and John Frederick, who was born 
 March 13, 1905. The second daughter of 
 Mrs. Johnston, Ida Blanche, was born Oct. 
 2"^, 1878, and was graduated from the Bucy- 
 rus high school in the class of 1896. She 
 married Judge Charles F. Schaber, and they 
 have 3 children:' Bertha Mary, who was 
 born April 15, 1905; Virginia May, who was 
 born Jan. 12, 1909; and Ruth Marion, born 
 June 8, 1912. Mrs. Johnston and daughters 
 attended the Methodist Episcopal church. The 
 venerable mother of Mrs. Johnston is in ex- 
 cellent health despite her 75 years. Her 
 favorite book is the Holy Bible and this she 
 has read and studied for so many years until 
 its precepts and promises are familiar and 
 she can readily apply them to almost every 
 problem of life. 
 
 W. S. DEERWESTER,* one of the rep- 
 resentative citizens of Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, O., a farmer and carpen- 
 ter and house builder, was born in Clermont 
 county, 0., in i860, and is a son of Peter 
 Deerwester, an early settler there. 
 
 W. S. Deerwester was given public school 
 advantages and afterward learned the car- 
 penter trade and also followed farming to 
 some extent. In 1876 he came to Crawford 
 county and located at Brokensword, and 
 since then has built more than 100 substan- 
 tial barns and a large percentage of the best 
 farmhouses in this section. He owns a small 
 
 farm located eight miles northwest of Bu- 
 cyrus and gives it attention, but still fol- 
 lows work at his trade. 
 
 Mr. Deerwester was married (first) to 
 Miss Ida M. Smith, a daughter of William 
 Smith, and an infant was born to them, now 
 deceased. After his first wife passed away, 
 Mr. Deerwester was married (second) to 
 Miss Adella George, who is now deceased, 
 neither of their two children surviving in- 
 fan(^. Mr. Deerwester is a very intelligent, 
 broad-minded man and has given much 
 study to public questions and has more or 
 less identified himself with .the Socialist 
 party. 
 
 LEWIS H. ASSENHEIMER, who suc- 
 cessfully operates a farm of 83 acres in Bu- 
 cyrus township, was born in this township 
 July 12, 1866, a son of Christian and Bertha 
 (Marggraf) Assenheimer. His paternal 
 grandparents were Ludwig and Rosena 
 (StoU) Assenheimer, the former of whom, 
 Ludwig, was born in Wurtemberg, Ger- 
 many, about 1802 and was a weaver by 
 trade. In 1832 he came to New York and 
 there, in 1833, he married Miss Rosena Stoll, 
 who was also a native of Wurtemberg, Ger- 
 many, born in 181 1, and who, it is thought, 
 came over in the same vessel. He brought 
 a large stock of clocks with him, which he 
 traded to his brother-in-law, George F. 
 Stoll, for the building of a house. He fol- 
 lowed his trade of weaver for many years 
 and afterwards kept a grocery store. His 
 death took place Oct. 19, 1855. He and his 
 wife had thirteen children. 
 
 Christian Assenheimer, was born in New 
 York City, Aug. 12, 1834, and was there- 
 fore little over a year old when his father 
 located in Bucyrus in the fall of 1835. He 
 attended school in the village until he was 
 twelve years of age, learning both English 
 and German, and worked at anything he 
 could find to do until his 17th year, when 
 he was apprenticed to Peter Shallenmiller, 
 a cabinet-maker, to learn the trade. Having 
 followed his trade as apprentice and jour- 
 neyman until 1859, he then bought out his 
 old employer, going in debt for a large part 
 of the stock. He carried on the furniture 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 791 
 
 business and undertaking for about twelve 
 years with good success, paying for his stock 
 and buying the property where C. M. Mat- 
 hews was afterwards located, where he car- 
 ried on business until 1871. He then ex- 
 changed his town property for 96 acres of 
 land, on which he resided until 1879, when 
 he purchased a farm on the Sandusky road, 
 five and a half miles from Bucyrus, on which 
 he made various improvements. After ope- 
 rating this farm for a number of years he 
 retired and is now living in Bucyrus with 
 his wife, to whom he was married Oct. 6, 
 1859. Her name in maidenhood was Bertha 
 Marggraf; she was born in Stadtilm, Sax- 
 ony, Germany, Oct. 17, 1837, and came to 
 America with her parents when but six 
 years of age, they settling in Bucyrus, this 
 county. They have had children as follows: 
 Emma C, born June 26, i860; Margaret 
 T., March 15, 1862; Frederick C, May 28, 
 1864; Lewis H., July 12, 1866; Franklin E., 
 Aug. 22, 1868; Edward C, July 26, 1871 ; 
 William C, March 15, 1875, and Otto A., 
 Oct. 5, 1877. The parents are members of 
 the German Lutheran church. 
 
 Lewis H. Assenheimer acquired his edu- 
 cation in the common schools of this local- 
 ity and in the meanwhile was initiated into 
 farm work by his father, whom he assisted 
 until his marriage. The farm of 83 acres 
 which he owns formed a part of the parental 
 homestead and he has resided here since 
 he was five years of age. It is a fertile and 
 well cultivated piece of land, well supplied . 
 with good buildings, and here he carries on 
 general farming, also keeping enough stock 
 for his own use. A Democrat politically, 
 Mr. Assenheimer has been somewhat active 
 in township affairs ; he is a member of the 
 board of education and is also road super- 
 visor, looking after 18 miles of road. 
 
 He was married January 23, 1895, to Mag- 
 dalena Stuckman, a daughter of Henry and 
 Elizabeth (Speigle) Stuckman, farming peo- 
 ple of Bucyrus township. Of this marriage, 
 four children have been born : Arno, Har- 
 old, Howard and Bertha Elizabeth. The 
 family attend the English Lutheran church. 
 
 HARRY MACKEY, a well known engi- 
 neer with the Erie Railroad, who has been 
 
 idehtified with this line since his 24th birth- 
 day, was born at Gallion, O., June 25, 1859, 
 and is a son of James and Mary (Pensinger) 
 Mackey. 
 
 James Mackey was born in Pennsylvania 
 but in childhood accompanied his parents 
 to Zanesville, O., and in 1850 to Gallon, 
 where his father, William Mackey, died. 
 While living at Zanesville James Mackey 
 learned the carpenter trade but after he 
 came to Gallon engaged in butchering and 
 meat packing for some years, after which 
 he became a very successful building con- 
 tractor here and continued in that line as 
 long as he was active. His death occurred 
 at Gallon in J900. He was married in Ohio 
 to Mary Pensinger, who was born in' Penn- 
 sylvania and had accompanied her parents 
 to Ohio. Her death occurred at Gallon in 
 1864. She was a member of the English 
 Lutheran church. The family consisted of 
 three sons, Thomas, John and Harry, and 
 one daughter, Jennie, who is the widow of 
 James Stewart, now of Montana. 
 
 Harry Mackey was reared and attended 
 school at Gallon, and afterward for a time 
 was with his brother, Thomas, in the meat 
 business and as a side interest learned to 
 operate a stationary engine. Mechanics 
 came to him naturally, and as he found his 
 bent was in that direction he decided to 
 enter upon railroad work, and on his birth- 
 day, June 25, 1883, became an employe of 
 the Erie Railway Company. He served for 
 three and one-half years as fireman and then 
 was given an engine and ever since has 
 been connected with the Cincinnati East Di- 
 vision. His promotion has been unusually 
 rapid, probably because he has never had a 
 single accident and because never a single 
 complaint has been entered against him. He 
 has had his name added to the Red Star 
 list, which indicates that he is one of the 
 most valued passenger engineers in the 
 service. 
 
 Mr. Mackey was married at Gallon to 
 Miss Katherine Pfefifer, who was born in 
 this city in 1857, a daughter of Frederick 
 Pfei¥er, and died here Jan. 8, 1904, leaving 
 no children. She was a member of the Pres- 
 byterian church. Mr. Mackey was married 
 (second) to Miss Anna Sames, who was 
 
792 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 born at Galion, July 29, 1861, a daughter of 
 Henry and Mary (Lanius) Sames. The par- 
 ents of Mrs. Mackey were born in Germany 
 but were married at GaUon, where their sub- 
 sequent lives were spent, the father dying 
 at the age of 63 years and the mother sur- 
 viving to be 71 years old. They were mem- 
 bers of the German Reformed church. Mrs. 
 Mackey had two brothers : Henry C., who 
 died at Brightwood, Ind., when aged twen- 
 ty-six years, survived by a widow and son; 
 and William H., who is a hardware mer- 
 chant at Mt. Gilead, O. 
 
 Since she was fifteen years of age, Mrs. 
 Mackey has been a member of the German 
 Reformed church, which Mr. Mackey also 
 attends. Since 1886 he has been identified 
 with the Brotherhood of Locomotive En- 
 gineers, and has filled almost all of the po- 
 sitions in the local lodge at Galion and has 
 recently as a delegate of Division No. 16, 
 the convention of the International Brother- 
 hood recently convened at Harrisburg, Pa. 
 He belongs also to the Junior Order of 
 American Mechanics, No. 106, at Galion, to 
 Lodge No. 186, Knights of Pythias, of this 
 city, and to Order of Owls, Nest No. 
 1700, of Marion, O. In politics he casts 
 an independent vote. 
 
 SIMEON G. BEAL,* who is a representa- 
 tive of one of the old agricultural families 
 of Crawford county, O., follows farming 
 and stock raising in Bucyrus township, ope- 
 rating two farms, one of 80 acres, which be- 
 longs to his father, and his own property, 
 where he has 40 acres. He was born in 
 Bucyrus township, Oct. 19, 1856, and is -a 
 son of Isaac Beal. 
 
 Simeon G. Beal attended the district 
 schools near his father's farm in his youth 
 and afterward was trained to be a practical 
 farmer and raiser of stock, and in order to 
 be successful there is a great deal to be 
 learned along both lines. Mr. Beal raises 
 only enough general stock for his own use 
 but devotes considerable attention to sheep 
 growing and through his excellent methods 
 makes this industry a profitable one. 
 
 Mr. Beal was married to Miss Catherine 
 Sherer, who died Dec. ,17, 1910, a daughter 
 
 of Samuel Sherer. Her burial was in the 
 Sherer cemetery in Whetstone township, 
 where other members of her family rest. 
 One son was born to Mr. and Mrs. Beal, 
 Milton Sherer, a bright youth who was 
 graduated from the Bucyrus high school in 
 the class of 1910. Mr. Beal is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church as was his 
 wife. He is a Democrat in his political 
 views. 
 
 ■i- 
 
 FREDERICK C. ASSENHEIMER, a 
 farmer of Bucyrus township, who owns 82 
 acres of land and also works 80 acres be- 
 longing to his father, was born in the town 
 of Bucyrus, May 28, 1864, a son of Chris- 
 tian and Bertha (Marggraf) Assenheimer. 
 His father. Christian Assenheimer, was born 
 Aug. 12, 1834, in Cherry Street, New York 
 City, and was a son of Ludwig and Rosena 
 (Stoll) Assenheimer. In i835_ Ludwig As- 
 senheimer brought his family to Crawford 
 county, Ohio, locating in Bucyrus, and 
 young Christian grew up in the village, 
 learning both German and English. He at- 
 tended school until twelve years old, at 
 which time he began to do odd jobs and 
 work at anything he could find to do. ] 
 his 17th year he was apprenticed to Peter 
 Shallenmiller to learn the trade of cabinet- 
 maker, remaining with him three years and 
 a half and subsequently following his trade 
 as a journeyman until 1859, when he bought 
 out his old employer. He carried on the 
 , furniture business and undertakingfor about 
 12 years and finally bought theproperty sub- 
 sequently occupied by C. M. Matthews & 
 Co., where he did business until 1871. He 
 then exchanged his town property for 96 
 acres of land in Bucyrus township, on which 
 he resided until 1879, when he bought a 
 farm of 160 acres on the Sandusky road, five 
 and a half miles from Bucyrus, on which 
 he made fine improvements and took up his 
 permanent residence. He was married Oct. 
 6, 1859, to Miss Bertha Marggraf, of Bu- 
 cyrus, who was born in Stadhilm, Saxony, 
 Germany, Oct. 17, 1837, and who came to 
 America with her parents when but six 
 years of age. Of this marriage six sons and 
 two daughters were born, as follows : Emma 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 793 
 
 C, June 26, i860; Martha T., March 15, 
 1862; Frederick C, May 28, 1864; Lewis H., 
 July 12, 1866; FrankHn E., Aug. 22, 1868; 
 Edward C, July 26, 1871 ; William C, 
 March 15, 1875; and Otto A., Oct. 5, 1877. 
 Christian Assenheimer and wife are mem- 
 bers of the German Lutheran church and he 
 is a Democrat politically, serving six years 
 as a member of the town council and three 
 years as township trustee. They now live 
 retired in Bucyrus. 
 
 Ludwig Assenheimer, the father of Chris- 
 tian and grandfather of our subject, was 
 born in Wurtemberg, Germany, about 1802, 
 and was a weaver by trade. In 1832 he 
 came to New York, where he married 
 Rosena Stoll, a native also of Wurtemberg, 
 born Aug. 11, 181 1, and who probably came 
 over in the same vessel. They were mar- 
 ried in 1833, and came to Bucyrus in 1835. 
 He brought a large stock of clocks with 
 him, which he traded to his brother-in-law, 
 Geo. F. Stoll, for the building of a house. 
 He followed his trade for many years, then 
 kept a grocery store until his death, which 
 occurred Oct. 19, 1855. He and his wife 
 had thirteen children. 
 
 Frederick C. Assenheimer acquired his 
 education in the common schools and was 
 trained to agriculture, becoming a practical 
 farmer. He started in for himself when 28 
 years old, working for a year and a half by 
 the month and then being associated with 
 his father, from whom he later bought his 
 farm, which he has operated alone. He does 
 general farming and keeps stock enough 
 for his own use. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat. He was married Feb. 28, 1907, to Mrs. 
 Viola (Mollenkop) Harmon, who is a 
 daughter of Philip Mollenkop and was mar- 
 ried previously to Jay Harmon, now de- 
 ceased. Of her first union there were two 
 children, Ward C. and Alice Ruth. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Assenheimer are the parents of one 
 child, Elsie Rowena. Mr. Assenheimer be- 
 longs to the German Lutheran church, while 
 his wife is a member of the United Brethren 
 church. They have a fine homestead and 
 are prosperous farming people, well known 
 and respected throughout the township and 
 vicinity. 
 
 JOHN HALEY, who entered into the 
 service of the Erie Railway Company as a 
 call boy, away back on Nov. 20, 1869, has 
 been identified with this road ever since, 
 and through regular promotions in 1902 was 
 made a passenger engineer and now fills that 
 very important position, one of the oldest 
 and most relied on engineers in the Erie 
 service. Mr. Haley was born at Cleveland, 
 O., April 4, 1855, and is a son of John and 
 Mary (Carroll) Haley. 
 
 Both parents of Mr. Haley were born in 
 1814, in County Cork, Ireland, and there 
 they were married in 1839 and a few years 
 later came to America and subsequently lo- 
 cated at Cleveland, O., and from there came 
 to Gallon, in 1857. The father was a rail- 
 road man and for some years he was con- 
 nected with the Big Four and the Erie Rail- 
 roads while living at Gabon, where his 
 death occurred Dec. 5, 1894. His widow 
 survived until Jan. 15, 1899. They were 
 members of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic 
 church. In politics he formerly was a Dem- 
 ocrat, but after the conclusion of the Tilden- 
 Hayes campaign, voted the Republican 
 ticket until the end of his life. He was the 
 father of a family of three sons and three 
 daughters, all of \vhom survive except one 
 daughter. 
 
 John Haley accompanied his parents to 
 Gallon in 1857, being then an infant, was 
 reared here and obtained his education in 
 the public schools, leaving at the age of four- 
 teen years in order to become a railroad 
 man, for which he had a strong natural in- 
 clination. In November, 1869, he became 
 call boy for the Erie and four years later 
 was made fireman on the Fourth Division 
 of what was then the Atlantic & Great 
 Western, in June, 1873, when it was also 
 called the Broad Gauge. Later the road be- 
 came the N. Y. & P. O., later changes be- 
 ing made until the present name of the Erie 
 Railway was adopted, and during all this 
 period of changing names and owners, 
 equally important changes were being made 
 in the methods of railroading and equipping. 
 He recalls the time when the engines were 
 fired with wood, and few, if any, of the 
 most fore-sighted railroad men could have 
 
794 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 pictured the present day steam eng^ines, su- 
 perheated with steam or electricity, which 
 often weigh 250 tons. On July 29, 1879, Mr. 
 Haley was made an engineer and in No- 
 vember, 1880, was given a crew, and now, 
 with one exception is the oldest engineer of 
 the Third Division, running from Marion 
 to Kent, O. He has an excellent record as 
 a train man, his caution and prudence being- 
 proverbial, and few engineers of this line 
 enjoy more fully the confidence of employ- 
 ers or comrades. 
 
 Mr. Haley was married at Sandusky, C, 
 to Margaret Mullen Manz, who was born 
 and educated at Sandusky. She is of French 
 and German extraction, a daughter of Jo- 
 seph and Frederica Manz. Joseph Manz 
 was one of eight brothers that enhsted in 
 the Union army and fought throughout the 
 War of the Rebellion. He was a member 
 of Company A, 32nd O. V. I., and served 
 under General Grant. He belonged to Mc- 
 Meens Post,'G. A. R., Sandusky, O. Joseph 
 and Frederica Manz were married in New 
 York City and it was there Mrs. Haley was 
 born. Mr. Manz was accidentally killed at 
 Sandusky by a Lake Shore engine, July 12, 
 1891, when sixty years of age. He was a 
 well known citizen of Sandusky and a mem- 
 ber of the Roman Catholic church. The 
 mother of Mrs. Haley survived until Febru- 
 ary 22, 191 1, for many years having been 
 a member of the Lutheran church. Mrs. 
 Haley has one brother, Anthony, and one 
 sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Larkin, both of whom 
 live at Sandusky. Mr. and Mrs. Haley are 
 members of St. Patrick's Catholic church. 
 He is an active and interested member of 
 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 
 In politics he votes independently. 
 
 GODFREY YAUSSY, proprietor of the 
 Willow Brook stock farm, a valuable tract 
 of 357 acres situated in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., is one of the well 
 known and substantial citizens of this sec- 
 tion, to which he came in 1905, from Mon- 
 roe county, 0., where he was born July 25, 
 1851. His parents were Christian and Eliza- 
 beth (Muhleman) Yaussy. 
 
 Christian Yaussy and wife were both born 
 
 in Switzerland but they were married in 
 America. He followed farming in Monroe 
 county, O., for some years and his wife 
 died and is buried there, &nd he then madei 
 his home with his son, Godfrey, where he 
 died May i, 1912. The family numbered 
 seven children, three of whom died in in- 
 fancy and one, Anna, who was the wife of 
 Joseph Winkler, is also deceased. The sur- 
 vivors are: Godfrey, Edward and Samuel. 
 The mother was a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church, while the father was a 
 Lutheran. He was a Democrat in his po- 
 litical sentiments. His parents were Daniel 
 and Mary Yaussy. 
 
 Godfrey Yaussy attended the common 
 schools in Monroe county in boyhood and 
 then went into a cheese factory, where he 
 continued for eleven years. There are no 
 people who understand the making of 
 cheese quite so well as the Swiss, and Mr. 
 Yaussy knows the manufacture of many 
 varieties of this food-dainty. After coming 
 to Crawford county in 1905 he purchased 
 197 acres of land from John Albright, 80 
 acres from a Mr. Miller and 80 acres more 
 from a Mr. Rowse. Prior to coming here he 
 sold his farm of 190 acres in Monroe county. 
 He carries on dairying and Js a breeder of 
 registered Holstein-Friesian cattle. 
 
 In October, 1874, Mr. Yaussy was united 
 in marriage with Miss Sarah Gehrig, a 
 daughter of Christian and Mary (Dahler) 
 Gehrig, who were natives of Switzerland. 
 They were married in that land and after- 
 ward came to the United States and en- 
 gaged in farming in Monroe county, where 
 both died. They laad the following children: 
 Sarah; John; Rebecca, deceased, who was 
 the wife of Edward Brenzikofer; Lydia, who 
 is the wife of Fred Roth ; Hannah, who is 
 the wife of Samuel Yaussy; Selma, who is 
 the wife of Carl Bock ; and Ernest and Net- 
 tie. To Mr. and Mrs. Yaussy fourteen chil- 
 dren have been born, all of whom survive, 
 namely: Clara H., who is the wife of 
 Charles W. Lutliy; Lydia, who is the wife 
 of John Fraley ; Ella, who is the wife of 
 Sanford Fraley ; Robert ; John ; Mary, who 
 is the wife of Amos Krauter; Henry; Sel- 
 ma; Otto; Edna, who is a teacher in Whet- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 795 
 
 stone township ; Esther ; Paul ; Clarence and 
 Verna, the younger members attending the 
 Bucyrus high school. Mr. and Mrs. Yaussy 
 have reared their children in the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Although he is inde- 
 pendent in his political views, Mr. Yaussy 
 has been so generally recognized as a good 
 citizen that he has frequently been elected 
 to office. 
 
 CHARLES ULMER,* general merchant 
 at Sulphur Springs, Crawford county, O., 
 and a public spirited and substantial citi- 
 zen, was born in Liberty township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., in 1868, and is a son of 
 Gottlieb and Barbara Ulmer, who were na- 
 tives of Wittenberg, Germany. After com- 
 ing to America they settled in Crawford 
 county, O. Eleven children were born to 
 them, namely: Henry, who married Anna 
 May, a daughter of Lewis May, is deceased 
 but his widow survives and lives in Vernon 
 township; Mary, who married John Kleop- 
 enstine, and they live at Mansfield, O.; 
 Rosa, who lives with her husband in Lib- 
 erty township; Jacob F., who is a resident 
 of Liberty township, married Nora Pfleid- 
 ener; John W., who is a farmer in Liberty 
 township, married Eliza Brown; David G., 
 who is a resident of Liberty township, mar- 
 ried first Tillie Knobenger and after her 
 death married Mrs. David Lutz ; Frederick, 
 who is a resident of Cranberry township, 
 married Anna Sanders; Charles, the subject 
 of this sketch ; and Lizzie, Katie and Eliza, 
 all of whom died in infancy. 
 
 Charles Ulmer obtained his education in 
 the public schools. After leaving the home 
 farm he went into the general mercantile 
 business and has continued and enjoys a 
 large trade. He is one of the active and 
 enterprising men of Sulphur Springs and 
 at present is serving in the office of treas- 
 urer of Liberty township. 
 
 Mr. Ulmer was married to Miss Amy 
 Striker, who died October 15, 1911, a daugh- 
 ter of Daniel and Mary Striker. They had 
 the following children : Harvey, Mabel, Ar- 
 thur, Robert, Edward, Sarah, all of whom 
 live with their father, and one who died in 
 infancy. Mr. Ulmer and children are mem- 
 
 bers of the Lutheran church. He is identi- 
 fied with the Order of Maccabees. 
 
 JOHN L. COOK, who was born Jan. 
 31, 1857, on his present valuable farm of 
 165 acres, which is situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., belongs to a 
 highly respected family of this section. His 
 parents were John and Sarah (Deeber) 
 Cook. 
 
 John Cook was born in Germany and 
 was a son of Peter Cook. By trade he was 
 a plasterer and for many years during the 
 season was steadily employed and also en- 
 gaged in farming. He always voted the 
 Democratic ticket and he gave liberal sup- 
 port to Trinity Reformed church at Gallon. 
 He married Sarah Deeber, who was born 
 in Pennsylvania, a daughter of Louis Dee- 
 ber, and they had the following chil- 
 dren : Elizabeth, deceased, who was the wife 
 of John Albright; Henry; George; Amanda, 
 who is the wife of Peter Beach ; Tena. who 
 is the wife of Jacob Whiteamire; Isaac; 
 John L. ; and Sarah, who makes her home 
 with her brother, John L. Cook. The par- 
 ents of the above family are deceased, their 
 burial beinsr in the Whetstone Cemetery. 
 
 John L. Cook attended the district school 
 in boyhood with his brothers and sisters 
 and afterward remained at home, as his 
 father needed his assistance in cultivating 
 his large estate of 335 acres. When his 
 father died, Mr. Cook bought 91 acres and 
 kept on adding until he now owns 165 acres 
 as stated above. He carries on general ag- 
 riculture here and is one of the prosperous 
 farmers of this section. 
 
 Mr. Cook was married in 1887 to Miss 
 Mary E. Gibler, a daughter of Adam and 
 Rachel (Shearer) Gibler, who came to 
 Crawford county very early and became 
 people of ample means and were highly 
 respected. Mrs. Cook has two brothers and 
 one sister: Isaac and John, and Sarah, who 
 is the wffe of James McPeak. Five chil- 
 dren have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Cook, 
 as follows: Rachel C, who is the wife of 
 Ora Laughbaum; and Ida S., Nettie J., 
 Elsie B. and Verdie B. The family attend 
 Trinity Reformed Church. A stanch Demo- 
 
796 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 crat, Mr. Cook has been elected to local of- 
 fices by his party and has served three 
 terms as school director and one term as 
 road supervisor. 
 
 SIMON J. DENZER, a prosperous farm- 
 er, ow^ning loi acres in Bucyrus township, 
 W2LS born in this township, Oct. 21, 1856, 
 son of Jacob and Matilda (McNeal) Den- 
 zer. His ^grandfather, Andrew Denzer, was 
 born in Baden, Germany, and served under 
 Napoleon in the disastrous Russian cam- 
 paign, where so many of the army perished. 
 Being lucky enough to escape death, he 
 afterwards — about 1833 — came to America, 
 dying in this country seven years after. He 
 and his wife had four sons and a daughter, 
 Andrew, George, Jacob, Marv and Simon. 
 Two of these children died in Germany and 
 were buried at Upfingen, Baden. Mrs. An- 
 drew Denzer survived her husband many 
 years, passing away in 1876 at the advanced 
 age of ninety-four. 
 
 Jacob Denzer was thirteen years old when 
 he accomoanied his parents to the United 
 States. They soon settled in Crawford 
 county, Ohio, the father (Andrew) pur- 
 chasing 15 acres of land in Liberty town- 
 ship. This he cleared and in the following 
 spring built a cabin on it. The same spring 
 — of 1834 — Jacob began work as a farm 
 hand, earning three or four dollars per 
 month, and was thus employed until he was 
 25 years of age. Until reaching his majority 
 he gave his earnings to his parents. At 
 the age of 25 he began farming rented land, 
 which he operated for three years. On 
 March 13, 1850, he married Matilda Mc- 
 Neal of Crawford county, who was born 
 in Huntingdon county. Pa., Dec. 6, 1826, 
 and she proved a most capable help-meet 
 to him. After his marriage he rented a 
 farm for six years and in the meanwhile 
 bought 38 acres of land. In 1863 he pur- 
 chased the homestead on which he resided 
 for the rest of his life, where he carried on 
 farming and stock-raising becoming in time 
 one of the prosperous and substantial citi- 
 zens of the township. For about ten years 
 he also operated a saw-mill. He and his 
 wife had thirteen children, of whom two — 
 
 Florence and an infant son — died in child-> 
 hood. The others were Mary L., Jennie, 
 Andrew, Esther, J. Anson, Simon J., Ella, 
 Alexander, Maggie, Lewis I. and Electa V. 
 
 Simon J. Denzer was educated in the 
 common schools and was brought up on 
 his father's farm, acquiring a competent 
 knowledge of agriculture methods. He 
 has since continued in this now profitable 
 line of industry and is now engaged in gen- 
 eral farming keeping enough stock for his 
 own use. A part of his farm belonged 
 originally to the Denzer homestead; the 
 rest he has acquired by purchase. He has 
 made substantial improvements in the prop- 
 erty, building the fine barn and residence 
 which stands on his land, and the general 
 aspect of his place is one of thrift and pros- 
 perity. He votes the Democratic ticket but 
 is not an active politician. 
 
 He was married Feb.. 15, 1888, to Clara 
 F. Miller, who was born in Holmes town- 
 ship, this county, a daughter of Samuel and 
 Mary (Lichtenwalter) Miller. Her parents 
 were early settlers in Crawford county and 
 cleared a farm there, the father coming from 
 Columbiana county and the mother from 
 Stark county. They were farmers. Their 
 children were Isaac L. ; Elizabeth, now de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of Martin ShafE- 
 ner; Sarah, wife of Andrew Gidley; Mary, 
 wife of Valentine Heiby ; Adeline, who mar- 
 ried Michael Shififler; Catherine, who mar- 
 ried William Lotzenheiser ; Clara F., the 
 wife of our subject; Daniel, now deceased; 
 and Laura, who is the wife of Peter L. Bash. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Denzer have two children, 
 both sons, namely, John Evan and Allen 
 D. The family attend the English Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 CHRISTIAN HOOVER, who is one of 
 the substantial citizens of Dallas township, 
 Crawford county, O., owning 244 acres of 
 finely developed land, was born in Craw- 
 ford county, in September, 1844, and is a 
 son of William and Phebe (Swisher) 
 Hoover. 
 
 William Hoover was born in Pickaway 
 county, O., but the greater part of his life 
 was passed as a farmer in Crawford county. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 797 
 
 He married Phebe Swisher, who was born 
 in Franklin county, O., and the following 
 children were born to them : John T. ; 
 Emma, who is the wife of Henry M. Welch ; 
 Christian ; George W. ; Margaret, who is 
 the wife of David E. Fisher; Marcellus; 
 Alice, who is the wife of Marks Tea; 
 Charles Fremont; Flora, who is the wife of 
 H. L. Weber; and WilHam. 
 
 Christian Hoover had public school ad- 
 vantages as they were offered when he was 
 a boy, and since then has devoted himself 
 entirely to agricultural pursuits and since 
 the age of four years has lived on his pres- 
 ent farm, which is generally known as the 
 old Hoover homestead. He no longer does 
 more than overlook his farm, having placed 
 all the practical responsibilities on the 
 sturdy shoulders of his sons, who are capa- 
 ble and thorough farmers. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Hoover was married to Miss 
 Lorenna Kirby, who was born in Crawford 
 county, a daughter of Samuel and Mary 
 (Welch) Kirby, old settlers here and well 
 known peoole. Mrs. Hoover died Nov. 8, 
 1909, and her burial was in Oakwood ceme- 
 tery, Bucyrus. Two brothers and one sister 
 survive her : John, George and Emma, who 
 is the wife of James Orr. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hoover the following children were born : 
 Ernest, who married Nona Flock, and has 
 four children, Hugh, Alice, Florence and 
 Lucile; Burdett K., who married Elnora 
 Quaintance, and has two children, Chester 
 and Hazel; Charles F., who married Nora 
 Kerr and has five children, Helen, Wayne, 
 Clififord, Marjorie and an infant; Maud; 
 and Madge, who is the wife of Arlington 
 Blair and has three children. Hoover, 
 Thomas and a child unnamed. Mr. Hoover 
 is a Republican in his political sentiments 
 and occasionally has consented to serve his 
 his township in public ofiSce, for three years 
 being a trustee, serving through an impor- 
 tant period of the township's history. With 
 his family he attends the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. 
 
 HARRY R. SCHULER,* one of the able 
 young professional men of Gallon, O., a 
 member of its bar and an important politi- 
 
 cal factor, was born at Indianapolis, Ind., 
 Feb. 24, 1877, and is a son of Philip and 
 Mary (Amann) Schuler. 
 
 Philip Schuler was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, and when eleven years of age came 
 alone to the United States. After a few 
 years in Michigan he came to Gallon, O., 
 where he engaged in the grocery business 
 for some time and then turned his attention 
 to insurance and real estate, and maintains 
 offices in the Schaffner Block. He was mar- 
 ried to Mary Amann, who was born in 
 Ohio, a daughter of George and Mary 
 Amann, who came to Ohio from Germany 
 in 1855. George Schuler followed farming 
 and dairying near Gallon. He survived his 
 wife, dying in 1906. They were members of 
 the Roman Catholic church, and to this re- 
 ligious body Philip Schuler and wife also 
 belong. He is one of the well known public 
 men of Crawford county, a member of the 
 General Assembly in 1867 and 1868 and 
 chairman of the city council of Gabon in 
 1880. He is one of the influential men of 
 the Democratic party and a loyal supporter 
 of its candidates. To Mr. and Mrs. Schuler 
 three sons and four daughters were born, 
 all of whom survive and are well known peo- 
 ple of this section. 
 
 Harry R. Schuler was the second born in 
 the above family and with his brothers and 
 sisters was given excellent school advant- 
 ages. In the 69th General Assembly of 
 Ohio he was a page, after which he entered 
 upon the study of law, and in 1902 was grad- 
 uated from the law department of the Uni- 
 versity of Georgetown, D. C, receiving his 
 degree of L. L. D. and in the following year 
 that of L. L. M. In May, 1904, he came 
 to Gallon, after being admitted to the bar, 
 to enter upon practice, and in 1909 was 
 elected city solicitor, in which office he 
 served until January i, 1912. On numerous 
 occasions he has been the delegate of his 
 party to State, Senatorial and Congressional 
 Democratic conventions and he is person- 
 ally on the friendliest terms with many of 
 the highest party leaders. His ability is 
 very generally recognized and his party 
 loyalty has withstood every test. 
 
 Mr. Schuler is unmarried. He is a mem- 
 
798 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ber of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church 
 at GaHon. Fraternally, he is identified with 
 the Elks, the Eagles, the Catholic Knights 
 of Ohio and the Knights of Columbus and 
 belongs also to the Commercial and the 
 Lambs' Clubs. 
 
 MELANCHTHON GEORGE NUNGES- 
 SER, a prominent farmer and politician of 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 residing on his valuable farm three miles west 
 of Gallon, was born at New Winchester, O.; 
 Jan. i6, 1863, and is the only son of Christian 
 A. and Elizabeth (Helfrick) Nungesser. 
 
 Christian Nungesser was born in Germany 
 and before coming to the United States he 
 learned the trade of shoemaking. He lived 
 in Cincinnati, O. but later located at New 
 Winchester in Crawford county and still later 
 purchased his farm of 100 acres five miles 
 west of Gallon. This farm he still owns al- 
 though he and his wife now live retired in 
 Gallon. They are members of the German 
 Lutheran church. They had the following 
 children born to them: Delilah C, wife of 
 I. A. Cook; Margaret C, widow of H. P. 
 Rexrith; Martha J., Wife of J. F. Guinther; 
 and Melanchthon G. 
 
 Melanchthon G. Nungesser availed himself 
 of the advantages of the county school of 
 those days but left this school at the early 
 age of 16 years and was thrown upon his own 
 resources. However, he determined to fur- 
 ther his educational training and he managed 
 under very adverse circumstances and with 
 much sacrifice to attend school at the Ohio 
 Central College at Iberia, O. for one year. 
 Later he spent several terms at the N. W. O. 
 University at Ada, O. He then made prac- 
 tical application of his knowledge by teach- 
 ing school, in which work he continued for 
 12 years. As a teacher, through his earnest 
 devotion, persistent efifort and close applica- 
 tion he was eminently successful, winning the 
 respect of his pupils, patrons and fellow 
 teachers. Through his teachers' institute 
 work and relations he was a very active and 
 useful member. 
 
 On Sept. 2Q, 1887, M. G. Nungesser was 
 married to Miss Matilda C. Burkhart, who 
 was born in Marion county, O., a daughter 
 of Abraham and Caroline (Schaffer) Burk- 
 
 hart. Mr. Burkhart was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and Mrs. Burkhart in Morrow county, 
 O. They now live retired in Gallon, O. Their 
 children were as -follows: Samuel; William; 
 Matilda; Amanda, wife of J. McKinistry; 
 John E. ; and Cora, wife of H. O. Smith. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Nungesser have had three 
 children born to them: Vesta Vanola, Virgil 
 Vinton and Cleoda D. The last named, who 
 is 12 years old, is the only survivor, the two 
 first ndmed dying in infancy. Mr. Nungesser 
 and wife are members of the English Luth- 
 eran church. 
 
 After marriage they located on a tenant 
 farm which was all but modern and in a state 
 of productiveness. Becoming discouraged at 
 the wasted efforts of his best days, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Nungesser concluded to buy a home for 
 themselves and in 1904 they bought an 80 
 acre tract of land from the Jacob Christman 
 heirs, located three miles west of Gallon, for 
 which he went heavily in debt. With renewed 
 interest and added efifort he set about im- 
 proving it and at once adopted his plan of 
 parallel tiling, which has since become so 
 popular, erecting modern and commodious 
 farm buildings, remodeling his residence and 
 installing the most modern comforts and con- 
 veniences. Now by his close application, 
 economy and thrift the encumbrance is can- 
 celled, improvements paid for and the farm 
 in a high state of productiveness. At present 
 Mr. Nungesser is erecting another residence 
 on West Main street, Galion, which he ex- 
 pects to occupy on completion. As a farmer 
 and stock raiser he is a fancier of pure bred 
 stock and raises registered stock as practical 
 with his operations. His flock of registered 
 American Delaine Merine sheep ranks among 
 the best in the state. His stock as a whole 
 well shows judgment in good breeding. 
 
 Mr. Nungesser is and always has been very 
 active in Farmers' Institute work and is rated 
 as one of the most progressive agriculturists 
 of his county. 
 
 In politics he is a Democrat and has always 
 taken a great interest in civil matters, thus 
 stands as an important factor in his county 
 and at the time of this writing is the candidate 
 of the leading party of his county for the of- 
 fice of county representative. He has served 
 on many very important committees and for 
 
MELANCHTHON G. NUNGESSER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 801 
 
 several terms served as justice of the peace. 
 He is also an active member of the Patrons 
 of Husbandry, the I. O. F. and also the 
 I. O. O. F. 
 
 Mr. Nungesser is as a whole a self-devel- 
 oped man, ambitious, persistent, known for 
 loyalty and integrity, which has won for him 
 a place of high regard in the minds of his 
 fellow men. 
 
 CLARENCE R. SNYDER, one of the 
 enterprising and successful young farmers 
 of Whetstone township, operates 133 acres 
 of valuable land, situated near Bucyrus and 
 belonging to his father-in-law, David Win- 
 gert. Mr. Snyder was born in Whetstone 
 township, Dec. 3, 1883, and is a son of John 
 D. and Mary Elizabeth (Rorick) Snyder. 
 The mother died on Jan. 2, 1905, but the 
 father survives and is employed by the 
 Gabon Vault Company and formerly was a 
 farmer. His children are: Clarence R., 
 Ira M., Melvin V., Gladys Amelia and 
 Margie Elizabeth. 
 
 ^ Clarence R. Snyder attended the pubHc 
 schools and spent several terms at the O. 
 N. W., at Ada, O. After completing his 
 studies he was a teacher in the public 
 schools for three years and then engaged in 
 farm work, to which he has since devoted 
 his attention. He is very industrious and 
 possesses excellent judgment- and has been 
 very successful in the management of the 
 property belonging to Mr. Wingert. Gen- 
 eral farming is his main business, although, 
 he raises some good stock, fully enough for 
 home use. 
 
 Mr. Snyder married Miss Nancy M. Win- 
 gert, who is a daughter of David and 
 Catherine (Kehrer) Wingert, the latter of 
 whom died April 22, 1910. Mr. Wingert re- 
 sides with Mr. and Mrs. Snyder, the latter 
 being the only daughter. Mr. Wingert has 
 one son, William M., who is a farmer in 
 Whetstone township. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder 
 have one daughter, Viola Lucilla, born June 
 6, 1907, and one son, Kenneth Willard, born 
 May 22, 1912. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat and is serving as a member of the 
 school board. He and wife belong to the 
 German Reformed church, attending in 
 Whetstone township. 
 
 CHARLES N. JUMP,* who is the pop- 
 ular teacher of the Frogtown school, in Dis- 
 trict No. 4, Tod township, Crawford county, 
 O., was born in 1873, near Lemert, O., and 
 is a son of William A. and Abbie (Dun- 
 lop) Jump. 
 
 The Jump family is an old one in Craw- 
 ford county and the grandparents came here 
 from New 'York when William A- Jump 
 was three years old. The latter survives 
 and has resided on his farm in Tod town- 
 ship for 40 years. He was married first to 
 Abbie Dunlop and second to Adeline Heft. 
 To the first union five children were born : 
 Charles N., John Wallace, Ralph, Bertha 
 and Denise, who married C. Burnshaw. To 
 the second marriage two children were 
 born : Theo and Fred, the mother of whom 
 survives. 
 
 Charles N. Jump attended school at Le- 
 mert and afterward took a course in the 
 university at Ada, O., and thus prepared, 
 began, in 1893, to teach school and has con- 
 tinued in educational work ever since. Mr. 
 Jump is considered a careful, conscientious 
 and efficient teacher and his best recom- 
 mendation is the fact that his pupils make 
 steady progress and when they go out into 
 the world for themselves find that the in- 
 struction he has given them is very valu- 
 able. 
 
 Mr. Jump was united in marriage with 
 Miss Iva Diffenbaugh. Politically, he is a 
 Democrat, and has served in the office of 
 township assessor. He was reared in the 
 United Brethren church. 
 
 WILLIAM M. WINGERT, general 
 farmer and stock raiser, operating 122 acres 
 of fine land which is situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford countv, O., was born 
 in Whetstone township, Nov. i, 1880, and 
 is the only son of David and Catherine 
 (Kehrer) Wingert. 
 
 David Wingert was born in Pennsylvania 
 but has spent the larger portion of his life 
 in Crawford county, O., where, for many 
 years, he was a prosperous farmer. He 
 now lives retired and since the death of 
 his wife, in April, 1910, has resided with his 
 daughter and son-in-law, Clarence R. Sny- 
 
802 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 der and wife, in Whetstone township, Mr. 
 Snyder renting one of his farms, and also 
 with his son, Wm. AI. Wingert, and wife. 
 He married Catherine Kehrer, who was 
 born and died in Whetstone township. 
 They had two children, William M. and 
 Nancy M., the latter of whom is the wife 
 of Clarence R. Snyder. In politics, Mr. 
 A^"ingert is a Democrat. He is one of the 
 older members and liberal supporters of the 
 Reformed church in this township. 
 
 AVilliam M. W^ingert obtained his educa- 
 tion in the ptiblic schools. Under the di- 
 rection of his father he became a reliable 
 and careful agriculturist and for some years 
 has rented from his father the farm which 
 he is successfully conducting. 
 
 On March 13, 1910, Mr. Wingert was 
 married to Miss Chloe Stump, who is a 
 daughter of H. J. Stump, a family of con- 
 siderable importance in this section of 
 Crawford county, and they have one son, 
 Layton H. Mr. and Mrs. AVingert attend 
 the Reformed church. In politics, he is a 
 stanch Democrat. 
 
 RUFUS AURAND, retired farmer and 
 highly respected citizen, and also an hon- 
 ored veteran of the great Civil AA^ar, has 
 been a resident of Bucyrus since 1903. He 
 was born in AMietstone township, Crawford 
 county, 0., March 28, 1837, and is a son of 
 Jonathan Aurand and a grandson of Henry 
 Aurand. 
 
 Henry Aurand, the grandfather, was born 
 in Pennsylvania and was a son of a Revolu- 
 tionary soldier who fought in the Battle of 
 Yorktown. Henry married ]\largaret Tre- 
 baugh, of German ancestry, and they both 
 died in Union county. Pa. Henry Aurand 
 and wife were members of the Reformed 
 church. 
 
 Jonathan Aurand was born in Beaver 
 township. Union county. Pa. He was mar- 
 ried there to Susan AA'hittemeyer and they 
 came to Ohio in 1827 and located in what 
 was then an unimproved part of the county, 
 although near Bucyrus. There the first 
 wife of Jonathan Aurand died, Aug. 20, 
 1828. Two children survived her, both of 
 whom are now deceased. On July 28, 1829, 
 
 Jonathan Aurand was married to his sister- 
 in-law, Rachel AA'ittemeyer, also a native of 
 Pennsylvania. They continued to live in 
 AA'hetstone township for a number of years 
 and then moved to Tod township, where 
 Jonathan Aurand died July 12, 1875^, ^^^ 
 widow surviving him until May i, 1892. 
 They were estimable people, active in the 
 Reformed church, valued neighbors and 
 worthy examples. After moving to Tod 
 township they united with the Methodist 
 Episcopal church and were equally inter- 
 ested in its good works. A familv of eight 
 sons and four daughters were born to them 
 all of the daughters and four of the sons be- 
 ing now deceased. All of the survivors 
 have married, and all, with the exception 
 of Emanuel, who resides in Nebraska, still 
 live in Ohio. Of these eight sons, five be- 
 came soldiers in the Union Army during the 
 Civil AA'ar : Emanuel, Rufus, John, Jona- 
 than and Enoch. Emanuel and Rufus were 
 members of the 56th 111. A/'ol. Inf., and after 
 this regiment was disbanded by order of the 
 Secretary of AA^ar, both served in other 
 regiments. John was a member of a Mis- 
 souri regiment; Jonathan served in the 
 First O. Cav. and the 174th O. A^ols., and 
 was wounded while in the service ; and 
 Enoch was a member of Co. E, 34th O. 
 A/^ol. Inf., and during his enlistment of 
 eighteen months was made a prisoner in 
 West Virginia and for a time was incar- 
 cerated in a Richmond prison. 
 
 Rufus Aurand grew up on the home 
 farm, attended the district school and as- 
 sisted his father and brothers until Sept. 
 7, 1861, when, with his brother Emanuel, 
 he enlisted in the regiment which was later 
 disbanded and he re-enlisted in the 61 st O. 
 Vol. Inf., becoming orderly sergeant of 
 Company B, and serving as such until after 
 the second battle of Bull Run, where he 
 was temporarily in command. He was pro- 
 moted for his soldierly Qualities at this 
 time, being made first lieutenant of Com- 
 pany K, a position he served in until serious 
 ill health compelled him to resign and re- 
 turn home to recuperate. As soon as he 
 was better and again able to take the field 
 he re-enlisted, entering the 3d O. Cav., with 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 803 
 
 which he continued until the close of the 
 war. He participated in many of the most 
 serious battles of the time, and in looking 
 back over the long list of engagements that 
 meant death or injury to so many of his 
 brave comrades, he is disposed to regard 
 the second battle of Bull Run as the one 
 most stubbornly contended. He was a part 
 of the command that took -part in Wilson's 
 Raid through Tennessee, Alabama and 
 Georgia in the last months of the war, and 
 was at Macon, Ga., when hostilities ceased. 
 After his military service was over he was 
 connected with the saw mill industry until 
 1896 and was also a farmer until 1903, when 
 he retired to Bucyrus, well entitled to a 
 period of ease and comfort. Politically, he 
 is a Democrat, but has consented to serve 
 but little in a public capacity except as a 
 justice of the peace, in which office he 
 passed 24 consecutive years. He has been 
 very active in Grand Army affairs and is 
 senior commander of Keller Post, No. 128, 
 G. A. R., at Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Aurand was married in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, O., to Miss 
 Eva L. Seibert, who was born in 1855, in 
 Holmes township. Her parents, Peter and 
 Catherine (Smith) Seibert, were well 
 known farmers in Holmes township, 
 where they lived into old age. Mrs. Aurand 
 is one of the six survivors of their large 
 farming. Mr. and Mrs. Aurand are mem- 
 bers of the U. B. church. 
 
 CHARLES F. UNGER,* who is one of 
 the representative men of Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., servine in his 
 second term as township trustee, has op- 
 erated what is known as the" Henry Flock 
 farm for the past five years and has brought 
 its 85 acres up .to a fine state of oroduction. 
 He was born in Liberty township, Craw- 
 ford county, Jan. 17, i860, and is-a son of 
 Frederick and Rosa (Bollinger) Unger. 
 
 Frederick Unger and wife were both 
 born in Germany and both came when 
 young to Crawford county, where they 
 were subsequently married. The mother 
 died June i, 1895, and her burial was in 
 Oakwood cemetery at Bucyrus. The fa- 
 
 ther engaged in farming during his active 
 life and now lives retired at the home of a 
 daughter in Richland county, O. They liad 
 the following children : Charles F., Caro- 
 line, wife of Charles Gearhart; William H., 
 Albert J. and Sarah A., wife of David 
 Croft. 
 
 Charles F. Unger obtained his education 
 in the public schools and then worked for 
 his father and remained at home until he 
 was 30 years of age. In 1890 he bought a 
 farm in Bucyrus township, which he sold 
 in 1900, and then moved to Holmes town- 
 ship, where he bought his second farm, but 
 in 1906 he also disposed of that property 
 and since then has been renting the farm 
 above referred to, carrying on farm indus- 
 tries here. He is one of the leading Demo- 
 crats in this part of the county, and while 
 living in Holmes township served two years 
 as ditch superintendent, and. as an official 
 of Bucyrus township, has served with ex- 
 treme efficiency. He is well known over 
 the county, in which he has lived his entire 
 life, with the exception of five years. 
 
 On March 21, 1890, Mr. Unger was mar- 
 ried to Miss Maggie A. Staiger, who was 
 born in Holmes township, Crawford county, 
 Jan. II, i86s, a daughter of John George 
 and Magdalena (Strohm) Staiger. They 
 were natives of Germanv who settled in 
 Holmes township many years ago and the 
 father engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Staiger had the following children: Will- 
 iam, Charles, Mary, wife of Israel Ulmer; 
 Mrs. Unger, George, Philip, Emanuel, 
 Amelia, wife of C. R. Meyers; David, Moses 
 and Martha, wife of Warren Dininger. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Unger have one son, Frederick G., 
 who was born in Bucyrus township in 1895, 
 and assists his father on the farm. The 
 family belongs to the German Lutheran 
 church. Mr. Unger is identified with two 
 fraternal organizations, the Eagles and the 
 Owls, attending both lodges at Bucyrus. 
 
 ELI KILE, a well known resident of 
 Whetstone township, engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits, was born on a farrri in this 
 township, now occupied by his son-in-law, 
 Sept. ID, 1851. His parents, Tobias and 
 
804 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Catherine (Knipp) Kile, were both natives 
 of Germany, the former a son of Peter Kile 
 and the latter a daughter of Christopher 
 Knipp. After emigrating to America and 
 settling in this section, Tobias Kile entered 
 the land on which the Kile homestead now 
 stands from the Government and began the 
 development of a farm. He and his wife are 
 both deceased and are buried in the Kile 
 cemetery. They were German Lutherans 
 in religion and he was a Democrat polit- 
 ically. They had a large family, namely: 
 Eva, wife of Jacob Helfrick; Philip, Peter, 
 Elizabeth, who married Peter Knipp ; Cath- 
 erine, wife of Simeon Kiess; Sarah, wife of 
 Joseph Dinkle; Fred, Eli, subject of this 
 sketch; Amanda, who married William 
 Beltz, and Ida, now deceased, who was the 
 first wife of William Beltz, 
 
 Eli Kile was educated in the common 
 schools of this locality and was trained to 
 farm work, in which he has since continued, 
 doing general farming and keeping enough 
 stock for his own use. Like his father, he 
 is a Democrat and has been somewhat 
 active in local affairs, as he was township 
 trustee for several terms and treasurer of 
 the township for three terms, completing 
 his service in that office in January last, 
 after having held office in one position or 
 another for about thirty years altogether. 
 As may be inferred, he is a man well 
 thought of by his fellow citizens — sagaciovis 
 and enterprising, with good business ability 
 and sound judgment in matters concerning 
 the public weal. 
 
 He was married in 1875 to Sophia Tracht, 
 a daughter of Peter and Mary (Johnston) 
 Tracht. Mrs. Kile's father is now deceased, 
 but her mother is still living and is now in 
 her 84th year, a resident of Jefiferson town- 
 ship, this county. Their family was as fol- 
 lows: Eva, wife of Daniel Christman, both 
 now deceased; Leonard, deceased; Lu- 
 cinda, who married Leonard Weber, now 
 deceased ; Rosetta, wife of Henry Hinkel ; 
 Henry, Michael, Sophia, who is now Mrs. 
 Eli Kile; Delilah, wife of Henrv Snyder; 
 Alfred and R. C. Mr. and Mrs. Eli Kile 
 have been the parents of six children, name- 
 ly: Minnie, Lula, wife of Peter Boehm; 
 
 Adella, wife of Fred Hildebrand; Myrtle, 
 wife of Harry Nelson; Lottie and Ollie. 
 The Kile family attend the Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 HOMER SIMPSON, who is a rural mail 
 delivery official, out from Gallon, O., and a. 
 well known and representative citizen of 
 Crawford county, was born in Mifflin town- 
 ship, Ashland county, O., Oct. i, 1871, and 
 is a son of Robert and Josephine (Keight- 
 ley) Simpson. 
 
 Robert Simpson was born in Richland 
 county, O., in 1848, a son of Pennsylvania 
 parents, who moved into Ashland county 
 among the pioneers. They died near to- 
 gether, during an epidemic of typhoid fever, 
 and beside two other sons and four daugh- 
 ters there was Robert, who was only two 
 years old, at the time. All survive with one 
 exception, and all have domestic ties of 
 their own. Robert Simpson married Jo- 
 sephine Keightley, and they still live on 
 their farm in Richland county. They are 
 members of the United Brethren church. 
 
 Homer Simpson was the eldest born of a 
 family of ten children, there being yet six 
 sons and three daughters of this familv 
 surviving. In 1892 Mr. Simpson came to 
 Gallon and for three and one-half years 
 afterward was a brakeman on the Erie Rail- 
 road, after which he was variously and 
 busily employed until he was appointed to 
 his present Government position by Presi- 
 dent Roosevelt, Sept. i, 1903. 
 
 On March 26, 1902, Mr. Simpson was 
 married at Gallon, O., to Miss Katherine 
 C. Swaney, who was born in Ashland 
 county, where she was educated and for 
 some years p-rior to her marriage was a 
 teacher in the Ashland county schools. 
 She is a daughter of John W. and Lydia M. 
 (Billings) Swaney, the former of whom was 
 born in Pennsylvania and the latter in New 
 York. The mother of Mrs. Simpson came 
 from Saratoga county to Ashland county, 
 O., when a young woman, and for some 
 years afterward taught school and subse- 
 quently was married to John W. Swaney. 
 They spent their lives on the farm in Mont- 
 gomery township, and there Mr. Swaney 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 805 
 
 died in 1894, aged 83 years, having survived 
 his wife for 16 months, her age being 73 
 years. They were members of the Baptist 
 church. In poHtics,- Mr. Swaney was a 
 Democrat. Mrs. Simpson has two sisters 
 and four brothers, all of whom have mar- 
 ried, two brothers being residents of Galion. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are members of the 
 Presbyterian church. Fraternally, he is a 
 Mason, being a member of Galion Lodge 
 and Galion Chapter at Galion, and belongs 
 to the Council at Bucyrus. He also is iden- 
 tified with the I. O. O. F. He is a prom- 
 inent memter of the Rural Letter Carriers' 
 Association of Ohio, of which he is secre- 
 tary. Mr. and Mrs. Simpson are also active 
 members of the Eastern Star. 
 
 SAMUEL M. BAIR,* a well known resi- 
 dent of Whetstone township, lives on his 
 farm of 40 acres, which is a part of the 130- 
 acre Bair homestead. Mr. Bair was born 
 in this township in 1857, being a son of John 
 and Rebecca (Shearer) Bair. 
 
 John Bair was born in Stark county, O., 
 where he was a farmer all his life. He 
 adhered to the principles of the Republican 
 party and was affiliated with the Lutheran 
 church. He married, as before indicated, 
 Rebecca Shearer, who was born in Whet- 
 stone township, Crawford county, and they 
 became the parents of children who were 
 named as follows: G. W., Samuel M., 
 Rachel Ann, wife of George Ness; Michael 
 D. ; Adam, deceased; Sadie J., deceased, 
 who was the wife of John Seifert, and Lilly, 
 wife of Lawrence McMichael. 
 
 Samuel M. Bair grew up on his father's 
 farm, and after his school education was 
 finished went to work on this farm with his 
 father. He later was employed by the 
 month, and so continued for ten years, 
 when he rented a farm and went to work 
 for himself. Eight years were spent in this 
 manner and then Mr. Bair bought his pres- 
 ent farm of forty acres from the Bair heirs 
 and here he has since successfully carried 
 on general farming. 
 
 In September, 1888, Mr. Bair was marr 
 ried to Miss Minerva Ellen Morrow, a na- 
 tive of Jefferson township. She is a daugh- 
 
 ter of William and Catherine Morrow, of 
 Crawford county, where William Morrow 
 was formerly a well known farmer. He is 
 now deceased and is buried in Biddle ceme- 
 tery, but his wife survives and still lives in 
 this township. Mr. Bair's brothers and sis- 
 ter are as follows : Harvey, Charles, Irvin, 
 Albert, Frank, Joseph and Maude, who is 
 the wife of Frederick Ritzhof. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Bair there 
 has been born one son, Ray Marion, who 
 lives at home. Mr. Bair is a Republican 
 and has served four or five years on the 
 school board and as road supervisor for 
 about seven years. He and his family are 
 attendants of the U. B. church. 
 
 JOHN C. MEYER, who may almost be 
 named as one of the pioneers in the ice busi- 
 ness at Bucyrus, has been continuously en- 
 gaged in the same since 1883 and has acquired 
 an ample competency through the handling of 
 this necessary commodity. Mr. Meyer was 
 born at Bucyrus, April 7, 186 1, a son of John 
 and Margaret (Bauer) Meyer. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Meyer were both born 
 in Gennany and came to the United States in 
 youth, crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the cum- 
 bersome sailing vessels of that day and after 
 long and tempestuous voyages, landing safely 
 at New York. They were married in Bucyrus, 
 O. Mr. Meyer was an industrious man and 
 was well known as a faithful and honest 
 laborer along many lines and was a very promi- 
 nent Democrat for many years. He was 
 elected a member of the board of Infirmary 
 directors, also of the board of Public Service 
 and once was city treasurer. His death oc- 
 curred August 6, igo8, when he was aged 76 
 years, 4 months and 12 days. His widow sur- 
 vived until Aug. 2, 191 1, her age being ^2 
 years. They had seven children, four sons and 
 two daughters yet living. They were mem- 
 bers of the German Lutheran church. 
 
 John C. Meyer was the eldest son and sec- 
 ond child in his parents' family. He attended 
 school in his native city and in boyhood was 
 variously employed but his main business in- 
 terest for the past 28 years has been the hand- 
 ling of ice. He married Miss Mary O. Bauer, 
 who was born in Lykens township, Crawford 
 county, in 1863, and died Sept. 5, 1902. She 
 
806 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was a daughter of Frederick and Henrietta 
 (Bauer) Bauer, natives of Saxony, Germany. 
 After they came to the United States, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Bauer lived first at Boston, Mass., and 
 then came to Crawford county, settling in 
 Lykens Township, where Mrs. Bauer died, 
 after which Mr. Bauer came to this city and 
 died here at the age of 84 years. They had 
 five sons and three daughters. Eight children 
 were born to IMr. and Mrs. Meyers, the surviv- 
 ors being: Carrie H., born Oct. 31, 1885, who is 
 the wife of Otis Shearer and has one daughter, 
 Mary Martha, their home being at Aberdeen, 
 S. Dak.; Odelia M., who was born in 1887, 
 and resides at home; Edwin F. B., who with 
 his wife Anna resides at home, he being in 
 business with his father; and Augusta C, John 
 and Adelaide, all of whom are at home. Air. 
 Meyer and family belong to the German Luth- 
 eran church. He is a Democrat in politics 
 and fraternally is connected with the Elks, 
 the Eagles, the Knights of Pythias and the 
 Junior Order of United American ]vlechanics, 
 and also has belonged to the Deutsche Gesell- 
 schaft since 1880, being a member in good 
 standing of all these lodges. 
 
 CHARLES JACOB SCROGGS, senior 
 member of the law firm of Scroggs & ]\Ion- 
 nett, was born in Bucyrus, O., July 14, 1863, 
 a son of Hon. Jacob and Julia A. (\^'alwork) 
 Scroggs. His paternal family is of Scotch 
 origin, and according to tradition, their name 
 is properly "]\Iurray." During one of the 
 border wars of the middle ages, Sir James 
 Alurray was on the losing side and he and 
 supposedly all his family were put to death, 
 except that after the battle, a child wrapped 
 in the Alurray plaid was found among the 
 "scroggs," the local name of a kind of under- 
 brush. Sir \A'illiam Murray, a younger 
 brother who had been on the other side in the 
 battle was perfectly willing the older branch 
 of the family should be extinct but was not 
 quite equal to killing an innocent child in cold 
 blood, and as a compromise, the boy, although 
 undoubtedly his brother's son and the right- 
 ful heir to the family title and estates, was 
 never formally recognized nor given the fam- 
 ily name, but was called "Scroggs" from the 
 place where he was found. This rescued child 
 was the ancestor of the Scroggs family under 
 
 present consideration. Among the family 
 annals also we find that a Sir W^illiam 
 Scroggs, born in 1623, was graduated from 
 Oxford University in 1639 and served as chief 
 justice under Charles II. He died in 1683. 
 
 The first ancestors of the Scroggs family 
 to seek their fortunes in the Xew World were 
 four brothers of the name — Alexander, Allen, 
 John and James Scroggs, who in 1743 set- 
 tled in Cumberland county. Pa. According to 
 family tradition, they were either grandchil- 
 dreri or great grandchildren of Chief Justice 
 Scroggs above mentioned. They became men 
 of mark and substance, but with three of them 
 our history has little to do, being concerned 
 chiefly with Allen. The latter was a farmer in 
 Cumberland county. Pa., where he died in 
 1776, leaving a numerous family. His second 
 son, John, born in 1766, made his way to Bal- 
 timore, where on May i8th, 1787, he married 
 Frances Hook. He died in 1796 at the early 
 age of 30 years. 
 
 His son, John Scroggs, Jr., who was born 
 in Baltimore in 1792, was a hatter by trade. 
 He continued to reside in that city until 1819 
 and saw military service in the War of 1812- 
 IS, being present at the bombardment of Fort 
 McHenry and at North Point. He then re- 
 moved to Cumberland county. Pa., and one 
 year later to Columbiana county, O. He was 
 married in Canton, O., to Aiin Shawke, a 
 daughter of Jacob and Dorothea (Kester) 
 Shawke. Her father was born in Lebanon 
 county, Pa., Xov. 15, 1753, and was of Ba- 
 varian ancestry, being able to trace his family 
 back to the 14th century. He w'as a soldier 
 of the Revolution, serving during portions of 
 seven years in a number of Pennsyhania com- 
 panies and dying at Lisbon, Ohio, in 1832. 
 
 John Scroggs, Jr., was a hatter, which trade 
 he followed at Lisbon and Canton, Ohio, and 
 afterward at Bucyrus, to which place he re- 
 moved in 1839 and settling on the site of the 
 present residence of the subject of this sketch. 
 Here he resided until his death in 1861. having 
 lived not an eventful life but one which won 
 for him the highest respect of all \vho knew 
 him. After his death his widow made her 
 home with her only living daughter, Mrs. W. 
 T. Giles, until her death in 1882, at the ripe 
 age of 86 years. Both ]Mr. and Mrs. Scroggs 
 were lifelong and faithful members of the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 807 
 
 Methodist Episcopal church, and the present 
 beautiful edifice in Bucyrus contains memorial 
 windows in their honor. 
 
 They were the parents of seven children: 
 Joseph R., who died in Freeport, 111., unmar- 
 ried, in 1867, a newspaper man by profession 
 and a prominent Mason and Odd Fellow. 
 William M., for two terms county auditor, 
 who married Miss Margaret Byron in 1849 
 and died at Bucyrus in 1874, leaving a widow 
 and two children, all since deceased; Jacob, 
 father of the subject of this sketch; Mary, 
 wife of W. T. Giles, one of the newspaper 
 men of the West, who died at Freeport, 111., 
 in 1898, his wife having passed away in 1889, 
 leaving two children — W. S., a railway mail 
 clerk, and Mira L., a teacher in the Chicago 
 schools, who died in 1904; Mira, wife of C. 
 W. Butterfield, died at Bucyrus, O., in 1859; 
 Amanda, who died young; John B., a promi- 
 nent lawyer of Kansas City, Kas., where he 
 died in 1899, leaving behind him a widow 
 and three step-children. 
 
 Jacob Scroggs father of Charles Jacob, 
 was born in Canton, O., Aug. 11, 1827. He 
 attended the frontier schools in his boyhood 
 and also learned his father's trade, but finding 
 it uncongenial employment, he taught school 
 for five terms, worked on the local newspapers 
 and in clerical positions in the court house. 
 He held a clerk's position in Toledo for a year 
 and also traveled a year for Winthrop Smith 
 & Co., the predecessors of the American Book 
 Co. He then applied himself to the study of 
 the law under the direction of Judge Hall and 
 D. W. Swigert, and was graduated at the 
 Cincinnati Law School in 1854. In the fol- 
 lowing year he opened an office in Bucyrus, 
 where for 40 years he occupied an honored 
 position at the Crawford county bar. His 
 character as a lawyer has been well summed up 
 in the following words : "Never sanctioning 
 the sharp practice which too many consider a 
 necessary concomitant of the practice of law, 
 others had more success than he in making a 
 jury believe 'the worse were the better cause;' 
 but in profound knowledge of the law, fine 
 reasonin"- powers, and in that integritv of 
 character which enabled and compelled him 
 on occasion to fearlessly tell a client he was 
 in the wrong, he stood easily in the front 
 rank." From the memorial to him adopted by 
 
 the Ohio State Bar Association we extract the 
 following : 
 
 "Upon his fair name the breath of suspi- 
 cion never dared to rest. His word was a bond 
 that was never forfeited and his rugged man-, 
 hood commanded confidence and won respect 
 from all. With few early advantages, he 
 made himself, by industry and energy, a peer 
 of the ablest lawyers of the state, a man of lib- 
 eral education, broad views and affluent cir- 
 cumstances. He was held in universal esteem 
 by men of all parties throughout the city, the 
 county and the state." 
 
 Jacob Scroggs was an active Republican 
 in politics, which circumstance prevented 
 him from ever holding high office, Crawford 
 county being strongly Democratic. He served, 
 however, as mayor of Bucyrus for four years 
 and for twelve years was a member of the 
 board of education, for ten years of that time 
 being its jJresident; and for nine years his 
 name was upon both tickets. He was a presi- 
 dential elector in 1864 and again in 1880, was 
 the Republican candidate for circuit judge in 
 1884, and two years later was an unsuccessful 
 candidate for the Republican nomination for 
 supreme judge. 
 
 On Sept. 22, 1859, Jacob Scroggs was 
 united in marriage with Julia A. Walwork, 
 who was born in Philadelphia, Pa., Aug. 4, 
 1833. She was a daughter of Thomas and 
 Mary (Stephens) Walwork, the former a 
 native of England and the latter of Glen Falls, 
 N. Y., her mother's family tracing their de- 
 scent from the early Puritan settlers. She 
 became a school teacher at the early age of 
 fourteen, teaching first near Syracuse, N. Y., 
 and she held a life certificate empowering her 
 to teach in any school in New York state. In 
 1855 she went to Georgia as a teacher, but her 
 anti-slavery views caused her to return north 
 in 1857. Coming to Bucyrus, she had charge 
 of the high school here, holding that position 
 until three years after her marriage, the rest 
 of her life being devoted to her home, family 
 and friends. She was a highly successful 
 teacher and was a prominent factor in the 
 social and intellectual life of the city, although 
 virtually confined to her home as an invalid 
 for many years before her death, which took 
 place July 23, 1901. She had survived her 
 
HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 husband several years, he having passed away 
 March 23, 1897. 
 
 Charles Jacob Scroggs, whose nativity has 
 been already given, was the only child of his 
 -parents. He was educated by his mother and 
 in the public schools, from which he was grad- 
 uated in 1877 at the age of fourteen, being 
 the youngest graduate on record. He attended 
 Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, O., 
 one year, after which he took a four years' 
 course at Michigan University, Ann Arbor, 
 graduating at that institution in 1884 with the 
 degree of A. M., being one of seven in a class 
 of 90 to receive the master's degree instead 
 of the customary A. B. Two years later he 
 was graduated at the Cincinnati Law School 
 with the degree of LL. B., and since then has 
 been actively engaged in the practice of his 
 profession at Bucyrus, being associated with 
 his father until the latter's death and since 
 then with his present partner, Mr. Wallace L. 
 Monnett. He has inherited many of his 
 father's characteristics and as a safe, accurate 
 advisor, particularly in matters of commercial 
 and corporation law, he is excelled by none in 
 the county. He has also been actively iden- 
 tified with the business life of the community. 
 He was one of the organizers of the Bucyrus 
 Loan and Building Association, of which he 
 has been attorney and director since its incep- 
 tion, and he helped to organize and is one of 
 the directors of the Home Mutual Fire Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 Mr. Scroggs is an independent Republican 
 in politics, his independence being so marked 
 that he has never affiliated with the regular 
 party organization or been a candidate for 
 office, and the only public position he has ever 
 filled has been vice-president of the sinking 
 fund commission, a place he has had since the 
 adoption of the municipal code of 1903. In 
 this capacity he at once on the organization 
 of the board, insisted that the bank handling 
 their account should pay the city interest on 
 daily balances, and it is largely through his 
 agitation and effort that all public funds of the 
 county are now deposited with the banks pay- 
 ing the highest interest, instead of, as for- 
 merly, being left in favored banks without 
 compensation. 
 
 Mr. Scroggs is a Free Mason of high stand- 
 ing, his official record in that order being as 
 
 follows: W. M., Trinity Lodge, No. 556, 
 1906-7; H. P. Bucyrus Chapter No. 160, 1908- 
 9; T. I. M., Gwynn Council, No. 83, 1902-3; 
 W. P. Bucyrus Chapter, No. 3, Order East- 
 ern Star, 1905. He is also a member of Ma- 
 rion Commandery, No. 36, K. T. ; Ohio Con- 
 sistory A. A. S. R., and Al Koran Temple 
 N. M. S. He is also a Past Chancellor of De- 
 mas Lodge No. 108, K. of P. and under Grand 
 Chancellor Young was his deputy for the six- 
 teenth Pythian district, composed of Craw- 
 for3, Seneca and Wyandot counties; was a 
 charter member of Bucyrus Lodge, No. 156, 
 B. P. O. E., and is a life member of the Grand 
 Lodge of that order. He also takes an active 
 interest in the Sons of the American Revolu- 
 tion and has been one of the board of man- 
 agers of its Ohio Society and was a delegate 
 to the national congress of the order in 1901. 
 He is also a man of strong literary tastes and 
 has one of the finest private libraries in Bucy- 
 rus. 
 
 He was married on June 5, 1912 to Miss 
 Mary E. Zouck, eldest daughter of the late 
 Peter G. and Mary E. (Myers) Zouck, of Bal- 
 timore, Md. Her father was born at Tren- 
 ton, Baltimore county. May 31, 1846 being of 
 French Huguenot descent; was educated at 
 Gettysburg College, of which in later life, he 
 was a trustee, and during most of his adult 
 life was a prominent figure in the business 
 circles of Baltimore and Baltimore county, be- 
 ing an extensive dealer in lime, lumber and 
 other contractor's supplies. He was also one 
 of the most prominent lay members of that 
 branch of the Lutheran church commonly 
 spoken of as the "English Lutheran" being 
 a frequent delegate to its general synod and 
 serving on a number of its boards. He died 
 at Glen Morris, Baltimore county, Nov. 19, 
 1906. His wife was a native of Hanover, 
 Pa., and is of "Pennsylvania German" and 
 Virginian ancestry, being a daughter of Col. 
 David Myers, whose mother was a second 
 cousin of General Washington; and a great 
 granddaughter of Col. Henry Schlegel of 
 Revolutionary fame. 
 
 SIDNEY ELLSWORTH KIESS, a gen- 
 eral farmer who has been very successful in 
 his agricultural operations, resides on his own 
 farm of eighty acres and is interested with his 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 809 
 
 father in i6o acres, both properties lying in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O. 
 He was born in Whetstone township, July 25, 
 1868, and is a son of Simeon and Catherine 
 (Kile) Kiess. 
 
 Simeon Kiess was born in Lycoming 
 county, Pa., a son of Jacob and Cath- 
 erine Kiess, of German extraction, and for 
 many years was a farmer in Whetstone town- 
 ship and now lives retired at Bucyrus. He 
 is a Democrat in his political views and both 
 he and wife are members of the Evangelical 
 church. He married Catherine Kile, who was 
 born in Whetstone township, a daughter of 
 Tobias and Catherine Kile, and they have three 
 children : Sidney E. ; Harvey E., who is cashier 
 of the Farmers and Citizens Bank, Bucyrus; 
 and Verne E., who is a farmer in Whetstone 
 township. 
 
 Sidney E. Kiess attended the public schools 
 and assisted his father on the home farm until 
 he was 22 years of age and afterward engaged 
 in farming for himself. In 1900, in partner- 
 ship with his father, he bought 160 acres of 
 the old Elias Lavely farm and in the spring of 
 191 1, purchased the remaining eighty acres. 
 This is considered a fine property, the land 
 being well situated for both farming and stock 
 raising and improved with substantial build- 
 ings including two houses and two barns. Mr. 
 Kiess is an intelligent and progressive farmer, 
 a member of the local Grange, and he is also 
 one of the leading Democrats of the township 
 and served for seven years as township trustee. 
 On Jan. 29, 1891, Mr. Kiess was married 
 to Miss Amanda M. Cook, a daughter of Fred 
 and Rosanna (Wagner) Cook. They were 
 both born in Lycoming county. Pa., their 
 parents being George and Margaret Cook and 
 John and Catherine Wagner, and they now 
 live retired at Bucyrus and are members of the 
 Evangelical church. They have three chil- 
 dren: Mrs. Kiess; Harvey W., who is a 
 farmer in Whetstone township; and Earl E., 
 who is assistant cashier of the Second National 
 Bank at Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. Kiess have 
 two interesting children, a son and daughter, 
 Harold Raymond, who was born Nov. 29, 
 1901, and Kathryne Rosena, who was born 
 June 13, 1910. They attend the Evangelical 
 church. Mr. Kiess is one of the township's 
 substantial as well as reliable citizens and is 
 
 a stockholder in the Farmers and Citizens Bank 
 at Bucyrus. 
 
 PETER L. BASH,: general farmer and 
 stock raiser, whose excellent farm of 140 acres 
 is situated four miles west of Bucyrus, O., in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, was born 
 in Liberty township, Crawford county, Feb. 
 9, 1856. He is a son of Peter and Susannah 
 (Cover) Bash, 
 
 Peter Bash was born in Pennsylvania and 
 there grew to manhood. When he started out 
 for himself he came to Ohio and afterward 
 made his home in Liberty township, and 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, where 
 he died when aged 80 years. He was a well 
 known man in his day, a successful farmer 
 and a worthy citizen in every respect. He 
 married Susannah Cover, who was also a na- 
 tive of Pennsylvania, and they had ten children 
 born to them, three of whom died in infancy. 
 Samuel and Jacob are farmers living in In- 
 diana. Mary, who is now deceased, was the 
 wife of Jacob Seibert. Elizabeth is the wife 
 of William Roister, of Holmes township. 
 Rebecca is the wife of Willis Noblet of Wyan- 
 dot county, O. Peter L. was the sixth in order 
 of birth. Susannah is the wife of S. A. Mc- 
 Bride and they live in Indiana. 
 
 Peter L. Bash was one year old when his 
 parents moved to Holmes township and here 
 he went to school and afterward became a 
 teacher. He taught five winter terms in 
 Holmes township and two terms in Tod town- 
 ship and then settled down to farming the 
 homestead, which he subsequently bought and 
 has always made his home here. His father 
 had kept the place in good conditioh, having 
 cleared the land when he first settled on it, and 
 with the exception of building a new barn, 
 Mr. Bash has not had to add improvements 
 except those which all good farmers provide 
 who take a pride in their possessions. 
 
 Peter L. Bash was married in 1883, to Miss 
 Laura Miller, who died in 1892, a daughter of 
 Samuel and Mary Miller. Mr. Bash has four 
 children, namely: Floy, who is the wife of 
 Carl Harvey, living in Holmes township ; Orlo 
 R., who married Flora Mutchler and lives in 
 Tod township, having one son, Cecil ; Roy E., 
 who married Ethel Kimbel and lives with his 
 father; and Russell D., who is a student in the 
 
810 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 township schools where he is making fine prog- 
 ress, having successfully passed the Boxwell 
 examination. Mr. Bash and family attend the 
 United Brethren church which is situated just 
 north of the homestead. He is a Democrat in 
 politics and has served on ihe township school 
 board very usefully and for two terms was 
 township assessor. 
 
 HARRY A. PAXTON,* proprietor of the 
 Paxton Garage, located at Nos. 310-12 South 
 Sandusky street, Bucyrus, has been in business 
 here since 1907, having succeeded the firm of 
 Rosina Bros., who founded the concern in 
 1905. Mr. Paxton was born at Iberia, Mor- 
 row county, O., July i, 1875 and obtained his 
 education in the public schools. 
 
 Mr. Paxton was married in this city to 
 learned his trade at Fostoria, 0., in the great 
 Seneca Machine shops. Afterward he was 
 connected with the Shunk Plow Company, at 
 Bucyrus, with which house he continued for 
 ten years and during this time became well 
 acquainted with the people of Bucyrus and 
 the business prospects in this city. Since tak- 
 ing charge of his present quarters he has in- 
 creased his floor space to three times the origi- 
 nal extent, now having 16,800 feet, the build- 
 ing being of concrete and steel construction, 
 favorably located within two blocks of the 
 public square. He has room for the display 
 of 45 cars and his plant is equipped with a 
 paint house and a machine shop. He has 
 shown himself a shrewd and reliable business 
 man and is prospering. 
 
 Mr. Paxton was married in this city ro 
 Miss Laura N. Rosina, who was born and 
 educated here, and they have one daughter, 
 Jessie R., who was born Dec. 29, 1903. In 
 politics Mr. Paxton is a Republican. Frater- 
 nally he belongs to the Elks, Modern Wood- 
 men and the Masons, in the last named organi- 
 zation belonging to the Blue Lodge, Chapter 
 and Council, all at Bucyrus. 
 
 ANDREW McINTIRE RUMER was 
 born near Rockland, in Newcastle county, 
 Del., Oct. 19, 1836, and comes of an old fam- 
 ily that was established at Whitely Creek 
 Hundred prior to the Revolutionary War. 
 His father was James Rumer, his grandfather 
 was John Rumer and his great-grandfather 
 was Henry Rumer. 
 
 Henry Rumer came to the American col- 
 onies from Germany before the Revolution- 
 ary struggle and secured the equivalent of a 
 while township of land in Delaware, where 
 he lived into old age. John Rumer, son of 
 Henry, was a man well educated for that day 
 and taught school and utilized a cherry desk 
 which his grandson now prizes and keeps in 
 repair, this heirloom being at least 150 years 
 old. John Rumer served in the War of 1812 
 and geems to have been a man of considerable 
 prominence, for years collecting the state 
 taxes and serving in other offices. He mar- 
 ried EUen Emma McGlade, who was born m 
 Ireland but was of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
 They were among the early members of the 
 Presb)^erian church in their section. Their 
 entire family of nine children survived to 
 maturity and all, with the exception of James 
 Rumer, who died at the age of 71 years, lived 
 to be more than 80 years of age; All mar- 
 ried and left descendants except Henry, who 
 succumbed to the injuries received in the Mex- 
 ican War, a short time after his return from 
 the same. 
 
 James Rumer, the eldest born of the chil- 
 dren of John and Ellen Emma Rumer, was 
 born about 1800, in Delaware, and died at 
 the home of his son Andrew. His life had 
 been an agricultural one and probably he 
 owned slaves to assist in the developing Of 
 his lands. He was a Democrat in politics bvit 
 never accepted public office. James Rumer 
 married Eleanor Biddle, who was born in 
 Newcastle county, in 181 1, and died in 1867, 
 when aged 56 years. She was reared by Pres- 
 byterian parents, who were rigid church dis- 
 ciplinarians. Nine children were born to 
 James and Eleanor Rumer, two of whorri died 
 in infancy. Seven grew to mature years and 
 married and the six survivors all reside in 
 Ohio. 
 
 Andrew Mclntire Rumer was the second 
 born in the above family and the eldest son, 
 and was reared in Delaware. His educational 
 opportunities were meagre and as soon as old 
 enough he learned the stone cutting and stone 
 mason trades, and in 1856 entered the employ 
 of the Pennsvhania Railroad Company and 
 was engaged in construction work for them 
 when the Civil War broke out. He soon de- 
 cided to enter the army and on May 26, 1862, 
 enlisted, entering Co. H, 130th Pa. Vol. Inf., 
 
ANDREW McINTIEE RUMER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 813 
 
 as quartermaster sergeant, and was mustered 
 out May 23, 1863. He re-enlisted, Feb. 1.864, 
 and was a second time honorably discharged 
 and mustered out Oct. 8, 1865. For some 
 time his battery had been stationed in front 
 of Petersburg, Va., and was at Fort Spring 
 Hill when General Lee surrendered to Gen- 
 eral Grant. Although Mr. Rumer saw hard 
 service and very often was in positions of the 
 gravest danger, he was permitted to escape 
 without injury although a heavy toll was ex- 
 acted from his regiment at Antietam and at 
 Bloody Angle. 
 
 After his return from the war, Mr. Rumer 
 soon became connected with the construction 
 department of the Western Division of the 
 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and was placed 
 in charge of all work calling for the use of 
 brick or stone. In 1880, when he came to 
 the T. & O. Railroad, he located at Bucyrus 
 and from then until 1908 was a contractor 
 with this road, at the head of the contracting 
 firm of A. M. Rumer & Co. 1909 Mr. Rumer 
 retired from business and his son, Charles 
 Victor Dupont Rumer, succeeded to the busi- 
 ness, which he now carries on at Columbus, O. 
 Mr. Rumer continues to be interested in it 
 as a director and he has other large interests, 
 including the Fulton Stone Company, in Mor- 
 row county and owns the Corning Stone 
 Quarry, in Perry county, O. During the win- 
 ter seasons Mr. Rumer and family live at 
 Bticyrus, but in the summer time they retire 
 to a beautiful farm of 118 acres, which Mrs. 
 Rumer owns in Portage county, O. 
 
 Mr. Rumer was married in Richland coun- 
 ty, O., to Miss Susan J. Cope, who was born 
 in 1843 and was reared and educated at Mans- 
 field, O. She is a daughter of John and Eliza 
 C. (Stough) Cope, who were natives of Penn- 
 sylvania and came from there to Ohio in the 
 thirties and settled in the vincinity of Mans- 
 field. John Cope became a man of large 
 means and was an extensive farmer and stock 
 raiser. His death occurred at the age of 48 
 years, while his widow survived to be 54 
 years old. They were worthy people and 
 were members of the German Lutheran 
 church. Nine children have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Rumer, namely: Frank Llewelyn, 
 who resides at Corpus Christi, Texas, and 
 who married Harriet Sagar and has three 
 
 children — Margaret Lucile, John Andrew and 
 Norma Ray; Charles Victor Dupont, who 
 married Rose Eichman, of Bucyrus. These 
 two sons are the only survivors. Charles 
 V. D. Rumer is a thirty-second degree Mason 
 and a Shriner, while Mr. Rumer is also an 
 equally advanced Mason. The latter belongs 
 to the Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council at 
 Bucyrus, to the Toledo Commandery and to 
 the Shrine at Cleveland and is a life member 
 and past high priest of Maumee Commandery. 
 In other fraternal bodies he has also been 
 prominent, having been identified with the 
 Odd Fellows for 35 years and is past noble 
 grand in that order; is a member of the East- 
 ern Star, the Royal Order of Scotland, the 
 Elks and the Knightg of Pythias. Mrs. Ru- 
 mer belongs also to the Eastern Star and is 
 past matron and also grand chaplain of the 
 Grand Chapter; belongs also to the order of 
 Rebecca and for some years has been a mem- 
 ber of the Ladies' Relief Corps. She is well 
 known in philanthropic movements here and 
 is very active as a member of the church mis- 
 sionary and aid society. 
 
 Mr. Rumer is a valued member of Kelley 
 Post, G. A. R., at Bucyrus and takes part in 
 its deliberations and is deeply concerned in 
 the pending legislation in reference to vet- 
 erans of the Civil War. His political attitude 
 has always been in accord with the Republican 
 party, but he has always felt too much occu- 
 pied with buisness affairs to feel at liberty to 
 accept public office which has many times been 
 tendered him. Frequently he has given ad- 
 vice and has willingly cooperated in further- 
 ing public spirited enterprises here. 
 
 W. L. SPRINGER, who resides on his 
 birthplace farm, a tract of eighty acres, which 
 lies in section 26, Cranberry township, Craw- 
 ford county, Ohio, belongs to an old Ohio 
 family which was established here in pioneer 
 days. Mr. Springer was born on this farm 
 October 23, 1877, and is the son of Samuel 
 S. and Annie M. (Tobin) Springer. 
 
 Samuel S. Springer was born near Big Hill, 
 in Richland county, Ohio, where he grew to 
 manhood and later settled one mile southeast 
 of New Washington, and after marriage set- 
 tled on the farm above described which he 
 completed clearing. Here he lived the life of 
 
814 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a busy farmer until his last sickness, his death 
 occurring Feb. 2, 1899, and his burial was in 
 the Goodwill cemetery. After his death his 
 widow continued for a time to carry on the 
 farm and still resides here. Mr. Springer was 
 an honorable and upright man and was widely 
 known. He was a good citizen and did not 
 seek public office but performed his duties ac^ 
 cording .to his conscience and' judgment. 
 Nominally he was a Democrat but before death 
 had become much interested in the Prohibition 
 party. He married Annie M. Tobin, a daugh- 
 ter of Thomas and Elizabeth Tobin, and four 
 children were born to them : Mrs. Etta Miller, 
 who lives at Decatur, Ind. ; Mrs. Zella May 
 Nye, who is a resident of Auburn township, 
 Crawford county; Mrs. Alma Ackerman, who 
 lives in Cranberry township; and W. L., who 
 has leased the homestead. The parents of the 
 above family reared their children in the 
 beliefs of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 In going to school and in helping on the: 
 home farm, and in taking part in the pleasant 
 social life of his neighborhood, Mr. Springer 
 passed from boyhood into youth and man- 
 hood and then settled down to the serious busi- 
 ness of cultivating his acres with successful 
 results. He has a near market at New Wash- 
 ington, which is but four miles distant in a 
 northwesterly direction. General farming is 
 engaged in and Mr. Springer raises his own 
 stock and fruit. 
 
 On Sept. 27, 1901, Mr. Springer was mar- 
 ried to Miss Edna Grace Bruce, who was born 
 in Auburn township, Crawford county, a 
 daughter of Robert and Jane (Keller) Bruce, 
 the latter of whom died when Mrs. Springer 
 was II years old. Mr. and Mrs. Springer 
 have had three children: a babe that died un- 
 named ; Elsworth, who is a school boy of nine 
 years ; and Roberta, who is in her seventh year. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Springer are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is 
 a trustee and is also secretary of the church 
 board. In his political views he is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 MISS LOUISE HOFSTETTER. After 
 devoting practically her whole life to educa- 
 tional work at Gallon, O., it is a matter of 
 justifiable pride to Miss Hofstetter to be able 
 to number among her former pupils so many 
 
 who have attained prominence in their various 
 careers, and also to recognize the great ad- 
 vancement made in educational standards in 
 the Gallon schools since she, figuratively, put 
 her girlish shoulder to the task of turning the 
 wheel of progress. She was born at Gallon 
 and this city has been her continuous home. 
 She is a daughter of Charles Hofstetter and 
 a granddaughter of Jacob Hofstetter, who was 
 the founder of the family in America. 
 
 Jacob Hofstetter was born in Germany and 
 was married there to Louise Holz, who died 
 in Germany, leaving children. Jacob Hofstet- 
 ter was married a second time in Germany and 
 with this wife and his children, came to 
 America in 1847 ^nd later reached Gabon, O. 
 His second wife died here and he married 
 one more and died here in old age. 
 
 Charles Hofstetter was born Nov. 22, 1827, 
 at Grossestadt, Baden, Germany, a son of 
 Jacob and Louise (Holz) Hofstetter. He 
 accompanied his father to the United States 
 and to Gallon, O., but soon afterward went 
 to Mansfield, where he became a clerk in a 
 hardware store and remained until 1857, when 
 he returned to Gallon and started the first 
 hardware store in the place, in that same year 
 erecting his own building at No. 104 East Main 
 street, one of the early brick structures that 
 still remain suitable for business purposes. He 
 remained in the hardware business for seven 
 years and then accepted a position as travel- 
 ing salesman for a large firm and afterward 
 came back to Gallon and went into the whole- 
 sale wine and liquor business and in this con- 
 nection compounded and put on the market a 
 medicinal preparation under his own name 
 that had a wide sale and became a standard 
 remedy. He was a foremost man in many 
 lines of activity and very public spirited and 
 during the long siege of the Civil War when 
 so much hardship was entailed on the families 
 of the soldiers at the front, he was generous 
 and resourceful in providing for their necessi- 
 ties. He was a charter member of both the 
 Masons and Odd Fellows at Gallon and until 
 the close of life remained active workers in 
 these organizations. After a long, useful and 
 honorable life he passed away at Gallon, April 
 5, 1872. 
 
 On April 2, 1858, Mr. Hofstetter was mar- 
 ried at Gallon, to Miss Lena Kraft, who was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 815 
 
 born in this city, Oct. 2.2, 1840, in a house 
 standing in sight of the present city hall, which 
 ground had been cleared of timber by her 
 father, John Kraft, who was born in Prus- 
 sian Germany and came young to the United 
 States and located at Galion, O., where he 
 married Margaret Ichhorn, who was a native 
 of Baden, Germany. In 1854, Mr. Kraft built 
 what was known as the Galion Brewery. 
 He built his first home, a log house, where now 
 stand the city public buildings, in 1836. He 
 was one of the founders of the German Re- 
 formed church here and his daughter, Mrs. 
 Hofstetter, has always been a member of this 
 religious body, and remembers many occasions 
 when the preachers were hospitably enter- 
 tained by her parents. 
 
 To Charles Hofstetter and wife the fol- 
 lowing children were born: Louise; John F., 
 who is a resident of Cleveland; Catherine, 
 who is in the millinery business at Crestline; 
 Lena, who is the wife of Charles Knight, of 
 Galion, and has two children; Naoma L., who 
 is the wife of Aldon Metheany, who is in the 
 insurance business at Galion, and Lorin C. 
 
 Miss Louise Hofstetter was graduated from 
 the Galion High School in 1876 and in 1877 
 began teaching school and has taught contin- 
 uously at Galion ever since. Her circle of ac- 
 quaintance takes in old and young and the 
 affectionate regard in which she is held in 
 many homes is indicated by the title of Aunt 
 Lou, given by those who have been the objects 
 of her affectionate care and instruction for so 
 long a time. Miss Hofstetter and the other 
 members of the family, are all communicants 
 of the Reformed church. 
 
 GILBERT FERRIS MALCOLM, a 
 prosperous farmer, who is now serving in his 
 third term as trustee of the township, is the 
 owner of 275 acres of good farm land in Dal- 
 las and Bucyrus townships. He was born in 
 Bucyrus township, this county, April 29, 1865, 
 a son of James Harvey and Elcy (Monnett) 
 Malcolm. His grandparents were James Har- 
 vey and Elizabeth Malcolm, and his great 
 grandfather on the paternal side, who was also 
 named James, was an aide to General Scott 
 in the War of 1812 and fell in the battle of 
 Lundy's Lane, being buried on the battlefield. 
 
 James H. Malcolm, father of our subject, 
 
 was born Oct. 18, 1827, in Ulster county, 
 N. Y. He lived on a farm and attended dis- 
 trict school. His father dying and leaving him 
 to fight the battle of life alone, he found em- 
 ployment in a mill, where he worked morning 
 and evening to pay his board, while he at- 
 tended school during the day. In the summer 
 he worked on a farm. At the age of 16 he 
 commenced buying cattle for his brother and 
 was thus employed for about three years, his 
 brother being one of the first to slaughter and 
 send quartered beef down the Hudson to the 
 New York markets. He next went to Wash- 
 ington, where he engaged in selling beef by 
 the quarter, which occupation he followed for 
 five years. During this time he formed the 
 acquaintance of some of the leading stock 
 dealers of the Sandusky Plains, among whom 
 were the Monnetts. In 185 1 he went to Cali- 
 fornia, taking the water route, the voyage oc- 
 cupying 36 days. While there he purchased a 
 tract of land in the Santa Clara valley and 
 kept a ranch for one year, then selling it at a 
 fair profit. He then located on the river 20 
 miles below Sacramento City, on the great 
 Vine ranch and here turned his attention to 
 the raising of vegetables. A large portion of 
 his crops were ruined, however, by an over- 
 flow of the river. In the winter of 1854 he 
 returned to New York, where he resumed the 
 handling of cattle. 
 
 In June, 1856, he came to Bucyrus and en- 
 gaged in buying and feeding cattle, in part- 
 nership with George Roberts. This business 
 union lasted three years and was productive 
 of fair success. He then continued in the stock 
 business alone, and rented the Abraham Mon- 
 nett "Mud Run" farm for one ye^r, when he 
 bought the homestead portion, consisting of 
 360 acres, living here nine years and adding 
 300 acres in 1868. In May, 1878, he removed 
 to Bucyrus to educate his children. His wife, 
 to whom he was married Nov. 4, 1862, was in 
 maidenhood Elcy Monnett, a daughter of A. 
 Monnett of Marion county, O. Their chil- 
 dren are Catherine E., wife of Mitchell Aye; 
 Gilbert F., subject of this sketch ; and Ella M., 
 wife of Dr. Kock at Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. 
 James H. Malcolm were members of the M. E. 
 church, which Mr. Malcolm served as trustee 
 and steward. 
 
 Gilbert Ferris Malcolm in his boyhood at- 
 
816 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 tended the common schools of Bucyrus town- 
 ship and was brought up on the farm acquir- 
 ing a good knowledge of agricultural methods. 
 In course of time he acquired land of his own, 
 as already described, and is now engaged suc- 
 cessfully in general farming. He also deals 
 extensively in mules, both buying and. selling 
 them. He owns a Percheron stallion. Cardan ; 
 also a Belgium stallion, Eclatant, and one road 
 stallion, Bert Wilks. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican, and the fact that he is now serving 
 in his third term as township trustee shows 
 that he has gained the confidence of his fellow 
 citizens and is a man of recognized ability in 
 business affairs. 
 
 Mr. Malcolm was married Feb. i8, 1897, to 
 Elizabeth Hinamon, of Marion county, whose 
 father is Frederick Hinamon, a farmer of 
 that county. Mr. and Mrs. Malcolm attend 
 Scioto Chapel. 
 
 ANSON WICKHAM, attorney at law at 
 Bucyrus, O., and president of the Bar Associa- 
 tion of Crawford county, has been prominent 
 in his profession for many years, during the 
 larger number of which he has been a resident 
 of Bucyrus. 
 
 He was born on a farm in Crawford county 
 in June, 1849, and grew to manhood thereon. 
 He is a son of Willard and Phoebe (Pen- 
 nington) Wlckham, the father being a native 
 of New York and of English ancestry. The 
 mother was from Virginia, being of Irish and 
 German ancestry. They had a family of 
 seven children. 
 
 Anson \\'ickham attended the district schools 
 and later attended the University of Otterbein 
 where he was graduated in May, 1873. In 
 July following he began the study of the law 
 in the office of Scott & Harris of Bucyrus, 
 O., a leading law firm of northwestern Ohio, 
 and on the i8th day of September, 1875, was 
 admitted to the bar at Kenton, Ohio. He 
 thereupon began the practice of the law at 
 Bucvrus and has continued to practice there 
 ever since. Shortly after he began the 
 practice of the law he was appointed 
 city solicitor and served for some time 
 in that capacity and subsequently elected 
 prosecuting attorney of Crawford county, in 
 which exacting office he served six years. Mr. 
 \\'ickham has always been an active and use- 
 
 ful citizen and has lei^ his influence to all 
 measures for the public good. 
 
 In May, 1893, Mr. Wickham was married 
 to Catharine Shellhase who was born in 
 Prussia. Her parents emigrated to this coun- 
 try when Catharine was of tender years and 
 settled in Jefferson township, Crawford county, 
 where she resided until the decease of her 
 parents which occurred in 1886-7, after which 
 she moved to the city of Bucyrus. For the 
 past few years ]Mr. and Mrs. \\'ickham have 
 been practically living under the eaves of the 
 courthouse. 
 
 JOHN EDGAR GIBSON, general farmer 
 and substantial citizen of \\^hetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., was born on his present 
 farm of 80 acres, all in one tract, Dec. 31, 
 1859, and is a son of John and Mary (Kerr) 
 Gibson. 
 
 John Gibson was born in Franklin county, 
 Pa., a son of George and Hannah (Buchan- 
 non) Gibson, and came to Crawford county as 
 a young man and entered the farm which is 
 still called the John Gibson place. He became 
 a prominent man in Whetstone township, 
 served many years as a justice of the peace 
 and in other offices especially those connected 
 with educational advancement. He was also 
 a leader in all moral movements, a strict Pres- 
 byterian and frequently visited over the county 
 in order to encourage the establishing of Sun- 
 day schools. He was married (first) to Mar- 
 tha Mathews, who left one daughter at death, 
 ^lartha, who married William Gregg and is 
 now deceased. His second marriage was to 
 Mary Kerr, who was born also in Pennsyl- 
 vania, a daughter of Andrew and Margaret 
 (Campbell) Kerr, and to this union the fol- 
 lowing children were born: Margaret Ann, 
 now deceased, was the wife of John Camp- 
 bell, deceased; Hannah, who was twice mar- 
 ried, first to Andrew R. \\^alker and second 
 to Peter Helfrick, surviving both and now 
 residing at Bucyrus: Andrew H., who mar- 
 ried Lettie J. Campbell; George B., who mar- 
 ried Hattie Shroll; IMary Belle, who is de- 
 ceased; James M., a practicing physician at 
 Suffolk, Va., who is a graduate of Columbus 
 Medical College, and who married Rachel 
 Stewart: Emma Aline, deceased, who was the 
 wife of William Stewart; John Edgar; Charles 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 817 
 
 E., who married Ella Woods; and Delia J. 
 and Leaffa L. Charles E. and his two younger 
 sisters had collegiate advantages, attending 
 the Central Ohio College at Iberia, and Delia 
 J. was also a student at the National Normal 
 School at Lebanon, O. 
 
 John Edgar Gibson attended the public 
 school and has devoted himself to agricultural 
 pursuits and has remained on the homestead 
 where his two youngest sisters also live. Mr. 
 Gibson and sisters attend the Presbyterian 
 church. In politics he is a Republican as was 
 his father, and has served one term as a mem- 
 ber of the school board. This family is known 
 all over the county and is held in high regard. 
 
 WILLIAM F. HOOVER, whose valuable 
 farm of 115 acres lies three miles west of 
 Bucyrus, O., was born on this place, July 27, 
 1872, and has spent his life there engaged in 
 farming and stock raising. His parents were 
 Jacob and Fredericka (Haffner) Hoover. 
 
 Jacob Hoover was one of the best known 
 and most highly respected citizens of Holmes 
 township, Crawford county, O. He was 
 born in Wittenberg, Germany, came to the 
 United States in 1851 at the age of 19 years 
 and settled in Crawford county, where he died 
 July 7, 1900, having spent all his life in this 
 county after emigrating to this country. This 
 section of the county was a wilderness when 
 he came here, he securing his land in Holmes 
 township, in 1868. Where now stands Roher's 
 planing mill was a burnt over tract with 
 stumps left and where other industries are 
 now carried on was still forest, swamp and 
 brush. For three years after reaching Craw- 
 ford county he lived at Bucyrus and afterward 
 for a time on another tract and then secured 
 the present homestead, which he cleared and 
 built the residence that still serves. He mar- 
 ried Fredericka Hafifner, who was born m 
 Germany and came to the United States when 
 14 years of age. Ten children were born to 
 them, the survivors being: Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Mollenkopf, who is a resident of Galion, O. ; 
 Mrs. Martha Quaintance, who lives at Bucy- 
 rus; Mary, who lives with her brother, Wil- 
 liam F., on the home place; and Mrs. Minnie 
 McGarry, who is a resident of Cleveland, O. 
 
 William F. Hoover obtained his education 
 in the public schools of Holmes township and 
 has devoted all his mature life to carrying on 
 
 his agricultural activities. He has brought the 
 land to a fine state of cultivation and has made 
 many substantial improvements here. Mr. 
 Hoover keeps well informed concerning all 
 that goes on in the world and does his full 
 duty as a citizen in local matters. In his polit- 
 ical views he is a Republican. Mr. Hoover 
 has never married. 
 
 WEBSTER H. SPROUT,* who is en- 
 gaged in the confectionery and ice cream busi- 
 ness at No. 124 South Sandusky street, Bucy- 
 rus, O., since 1902, has conducted a first class 
 establishment of this kind here and has one 
 of the best equipped confectionery stores in 
 the city. He was born at Fostoria, O., in 
 1884, and is a son of David and a grandson 
 of Samuel Sprout. 
 
 David Sprout, who resides at Fostoria, O., 
 an honored veteran of the Civil war, now in 
 his 77th year, was born in Ohio, a son of 
 Samuel and Mary (Good) Sprout. Samuel 
 Sprout was a farmer in Seneca county during 
 almost his entire life. David was one of a 
 family of 11 children, of whom six sons and 
 three daughters are yet living. He served 
 through the Civil war as a member of the 49th 
 O. Vol. Inf., and suffered imprisonment in 
 Libby prison. He is a member of the G. A. 
 R. Post at Houston, O. For some 50 years 
 he operated a sawmill in Seneca county. He 
 was married there to Ella Rosenberger, a 
 daughter of David Rosenberger, formerly the 
 owner of a large farm in Seneca county. 
 David Sprout and wife are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church as were their par- 
 ents. The following children were born to 
 them : Minnie, Marcella, Louis, Webster H. 
 and Harry. Minnie is the wife of Rev. Ar- 
 thur Chenneworth, a minister of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal faith. He is at the head of the 
 Methodist Publishing House in the Philippine 
 Islands and is postmaster and leading man of 
 the town in which he lives. They have two 
 sons. Marcella is the wife of Frank B. Kieb- 
 ble, of the large dry goods house of Kiebble, 
 Wilson & Co., of Fostoria. They have one 
 son. Louis is a machinist and is employed at 
 Fostoria. He married Maude Good and they 
 have children. Harry is engaged at Fostoria 
 with the mercantile house of Kiebble, Wilson 
 & Co. 
 
 Webster H. Sprout was educated at Fos- 
 
818 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 toria and there learned the confectioner's busi- 
 ness and is a practical worker and does all 
 of his own manufacturing of dainties with 
 the exception of chocolates. For a short time 
 before coming to Bucyrus he was in business 
 at Fostoria. He is in the enjoyment of a 
 liberal patronage and his special confections 
 ha^e quite a reputation and large sale. 
 
 ]Mr. Sprout was married at Van Wert, O., 
 Jan. 19, 1901, to Miss Nellie Cupp, who was 
 born and educated in that place. She is a 
 daughter of Peter B. and Edith (Penn) Cupp, 
 th£ former of whom was born at Ashland and 
 the latter at Zanesville, O. Mrs. Cupp was a 
 daughter of John Penn, who was directly 
 descended from the great Quaker settler of 
 Pennsylvania. He came early to Van ^Vert, 
 0., and conducted a furniture business there 
 for many years. Peter B. Cupp and wife were 
 married there and still live on the old Penn 
 property on Jefferson street, Mr. Cupp suc- 
 ceeding to the John Penn furniture business. 
 He is now retired. Mrs. Sprout is,the young- 
 est of their four children, the others being: 
 Cuta, wife of F. M. Gorham, of Mansfield, O. ; 
 Clara, wife of W. C. Terrill, a confectionery 
 dealer at Upper Sandusky, they having two 
 daughters; and Charles, a. confectionery dealer 
 at Fostoria, who married Grace Doe. The 
 father of IMrs. Sprout has a fine military rec- 
 ord, having served all through the Civil war 
 in the 49th O. Vol. Inf., and suffered im- 
 prisonment in Libby prison. On one notable 
 occasion, single-handed, he captured thirteen 
 Confederate soldiers. Mr. Sprout is a mem- 
 ber of Demas Lodge, No. 108, Knights of 
 Pythias, the Elks and Jr. O. U. A. M. 
 
 ISAAC SHEARER, whose death in No- 
 A'ember, 1907, removed from earth's scenes 
 one of Dallas township's substantial and re- 
 spected citizens, was born in Crawford 
 county, O., in 1847, a son of John and Cath- 
 erine (Miller) Shearer. John Shearer, who 
 was a son of Michael and Barbara Shearer, 
 was born in Lancaster county. Pa., and his 
 active years were devoted to farming. His 
 wife Catherine, the mother of Isaac, was born 
 in Germany and came to America when a child 
 of six years. Both are now deceased and 
 their remains rest in the Shearer cemetery in 
 \^'hetstone township. Mr. Shearer and his 
 
 fa,mily attended the German Reformed church. 
 Their children were David, Benjamin, George, 
 Isaac, Samuel, Mary and Daniel, the four last 
 named being now deceased. 
 
 Isaac Shearer was educated in the common 
 schools and became a practical farmer, own- 
 ing at the time of his death 177 acres of gpod 
 land, which now belongs to his heirs. He was 
 a Democrat politically and attended the Evan- 
 gelical church at Bucyrus. He was married 
 in November, 1872, to Vesta Elmira Shellen- 
 berger, who was born in Mahoning county, O., 
 a daughter of John and Rachel (Paulin) Shel- 
 lenberger of that county. Of this marriage 
 the children born were Charles Wesley, Mil- 
 ford Guy, Franklin Abraham, and two that 
 died in infancy. Three brothers of our sub- 
 ject are still living — David, Benjamin and 
 George; two — Samuel and Daniel — are de- 
 ceased, and a sister died when quite young. 
 The family is one well known in Crawford 
 county, there being various members, scat- 
 tered throughout the different townships, and 
 all are in general industrious, thrifty and sub- 
 stantial people, worthy members of the com- 
 munities in which they reside. 
 
 FREDERICK J. PHELPS,* a well known 
 citizen of Bucyrus, O., who has been associ- 
 ated with the firm of Nassbaum & Bach, lead- 
 ing clothiers of this city, since 1894, comes of 
 New England ancestry. His parents were 
 Andrew Henry and Helen Phelps, and his 
 grandfather was Julius Phelps on the maternal 
 side and Frederick Phelps on the paternal side. 
 Andrew Henry Phelps was born at East Ham- 
 den, Mass., and died at Ann Arbor, Mich., 
 Nov. 20, 1910, aged 69 years. He was a 
 ' stationary engineer. In 1885 he had moved 
 to Ann Arbor, after the death of his wife in 
 1882, four children surviving — Sadie, Fred- 
 erick J., Frank C. and Harold A., all residents 
 of Ann Arbor except Frederick J. 
 
 Frederick J. Phelps was reared in his na- 
 tive place and enjoyed excellent school ad- 
 vantages. The larger part of his business life 
 has been passed at Bucyrus, where for 17 
 years he has been connected with his present 
 firm, where he enjoys full confidence and has 
 a large amount of responsibility. Mr. Phelps 
 was married at Jackson, Mich., to Miss Clara 
 Butler, who was born at Indianapolis, Ind., 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 819 
 
 but was educated at Jackson. They have two 
 children: F. Norman, who is a student in 
 the Bucyrus high school, a member of the 
 class of 1913, and Helen M., a little maiden 
 of five years. In politics Mr. Phelps is a Re- 
 publican and fraternally is identified with 
 Demas Lodge, No. 108, Knights of Pythias. 
 Mrs. Phelps is a member of the Presbyterian 
 church. 
 
 PETER T. NEUMANN, a general farmer 
 and leading citizen of Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., resides on a farm of 80 
 acres and owns a second farm, containing 20J/2 
 acres, which lies southeast of the first one. 
 He was born Sept. 29, 1862, in Marion county, 
 O., and is a son of Henry and Susan (Young) 
 Neumann. 
 
 Henry Neumann and his wife were both born 
 in Germany, and after their marriage they came 
 to the United States and directly to Marion 
 county, O., and both are now deceased. Henry 
 Neumann was a wagonmaker by trade but in 
 his later years he became a farmer. He was 
 a Democrat in politics, and he and his wife 
 were members of the Evangelical Lutheran 
 church of Gallon, O., until 1894, when they 
 joined the Evangelical church at Olentangy, 
 O. They had the following children : Jacob 
 J., John O., Maria, George J., Peter T., Henry 
 A., Mary A., Harmon and Anna, three of these 
 surviving, namely: Jacob J., John O. and 
 Peter T. 
 
 Peter T. Neumann attended the public 
 schools and afterward Ada College for one 
 term and then assisted his father on the home 
 farm until he was 21 years of age. For the 
 next five years he worked by the day- and 
 month and was careful with his earnings. 
 For the next six years he rented farm land on 
 shares and at the end of that time was ready 
 to purchase a farm of his own, this transac- 
 tion with Peter Beach taking place in 1896. 
 The present buildings were all on the place but 
 Mr. Neumann has practically rebuilt the house 
 and has a handsome residence and attractive 
 surroundings. For eight years he also fol- 
 lowed threshing in partnership with his broth- 
 ers. Mr. Neumann has been a very busy man 
 all his life but notwithstanding he has found 
 time to make experiments and develop some 
 of his mechanical ideas into practical machin- 
 
 ery and has secured "two patent rights from 
 the government. His first patent was secured 
 on appliances to be used on traction engines 
 and threshing machines, and his second on a 
 convertible hay rack, the utility of which has 
 been recognized by a number of farmers in 
 this towniship who are using them. 
 
 On Dec. 13, 1888, Mr. Neumann was mar- 
 ried to Miss Ellen M. Beach, a daughter of 
 Peter and Amanda Beach, now of Gallon, and 
 they have three children: Nettie M., who is 
 the wife of Cornelius Guinther; Elmer C. and 
 Clara Mildred. They attend the Evangelical 
 Lutheran church at Olentangy, O., Mr. Neu- 
 mann having been assistant superintendent of 
 the Sunday-school for two years and superin- 
 tendent for twelve years, and at present is one 
 of the church trustees and treasurer of the 
 trustees' fund. Politically he is a Democrat 
 and has frequently been elected to responsi- 
 ble offices, serving five years as township clerk, 
 two terms as road supervisor, three terms as 
 school director and at present is ditch super- 
 visor of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O. 
 
 J. A. BITTIKOFER, proprietor of the 
 West Bucyrus City Dairy, at Bucyrus, O., has 
 other city property and additionally owns 332 
 acres of fine farming land in Crawford county, 
 was born in Liberty township, Crawford 
 county, in i860, and is a son of Frederick and 
 Rebecca (Myers) Bittikofer. 
 
 Frederick Bittikofer was born in Switzer- 
 land and in boyhood accompanied his parents 
 to America and assisted his father after the 
 latter settled in Crawford county and later 
 carried on farming for himself and also 
 started into the dairy business, founding the 
 industry which his son continues. He was 
 an industrious and enterprising man but 
 did not live into old age, his death occurring 
 when he was in his 58th year. He married 
 Rebecca Myers, who was born in Columbiana 
 county, O. 
 
 J. A. Bittikofer has been in the dairy busi- 
 ness for 28 years and has been a farmer ever 
 since he left school. His father was the pio- 
 neer in the dairy business in this section of the 
 county and during his lifetime operated a 
 wagon and faithfully served patrons at Bu- 
 cyrus. His son not only has continued what 
 
820 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 his father commenced but has greatly enlarged 
 the business, operates a wagon that requires 
 two men to handle the trade. He has a fine 
 location just outside the city limits and has 
 all modern improvements and sanitary dairy 
 appliances. Mr. Bittikofer is one of the busy 
 men of this county, what with his dairy, oper- 
 ating his farm, looking after his 85 head of 
 cattle and attending to numerous other inter- 
 ests which engage the time and attention of 
 leading citizens of a community. Politically 
 he is a Democrat but has never been a seeker 
 for office although well qualified to fill many 
 responsible positions, but nevertheless is a wide 
 awake and useful citizen. 
 
 Mr. Bittikofer married Miss Ellen Tobin, 
 and they have had six children, namely : Wal- 
 ter, Lee, Bessie, Mike, Florence and Esther. 
 Mr. Bittikofer attends the Reformed church 
 at Bucyrus, his family attending the English 
 Lutheran church. He belongs fraternally to 
 the M. W. A. 
 
 VORNDRAN BROS. Herman J. and Jo- 
 seph A. Vorndran, who own 160 acres of well 
 drained land, situated in section 22, Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, O., two and one- 
 half miles south and east of New Washington, 
 O., are successful farmers and stock raisers 
 and representative men of their neighborhood. 
 
 John Vorndran, the father, was born in 
 Bavaria, Germany, and from there he came 
 in early manhood to Ohio. At Tiffin, in this 
 state, he was married (first) to Rosa Barn- 
 holtzer, who was born also in Germany, and 
 died in Ohio, when aged 40 years. She was 
 a faithful member of the Catholic church and 
 her burial was in the Catholic cemetery at Tif- 
 fin. She was survived by six children, namely : 
 John, Michael, Catherine, Charles, Mary and 
 Joseph A. John Vorndran was married (sec- 
 ond) to Theresa, a sister of his first. wife, and 
 two children were born to them: Herman J. 
 and Clara. Both John Vorndran and wife died 
 at New Washington, he in 1908 and she in 
 
 1907. 
 
 Joseph A. Vorndran was born at Tiffin, O., 
 July 26, 1872, and, with his brother, Joseph 
 A. Vorndran, is half owner of the home farm 
 of 160 acres. The two brothers have lived 
 there for 15 years and have been in business 
 together for the past three years, taking charge 
 
 when the parents died. They successfully 
 carry on general farming and are giving spe- 
 cial attention to sheep growing, raising from 
 25 to 30 head of thoroughbred Rambouillet 
 and Merino sheep annually. They are thrifty, 
 hard working men, good citizens in every sense 
 of the wor^ and highly respected wherever 
 known. They are members of St. Bernard's 
 Catholic church at New Washington. They 
 have all their land under cultivation with the 
 exception of thirty acres of woodland and 
 pastufage for their Shorthorn cattle and Po- 
 land China hogs, which, together with sheep 
 raising, are profitably bred and raised here. 
 
 JOHN MARTINITZ,* a representative 
 business man of Bucyrus, O., who owns and 
 conducts a first class bakery on the southeast 
 corner of the public square, was born in Wur- 
 temberg, Germany, Jan. 24, 1875, and is a 
 son of Andrew and Rosa (Gekler) Martinitz. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Martinitz spent their 
 lives in Germany, where his mother died in 
 1887 and the father in 1904. The latter was 
 a small farmer. They were highly respected 
 people and members of the Lutheran church. 
 
 John Martinitz remained at home and at- 
 tended school until 1893, when he decided to 
 try his fortune in America, being the only 
 member of the family to have this ambition. 
 In that year he took passage at Bremen on a 
 steamer that safely landed him in the harbor 
 of New York and from there he came to Bucy- 
 rus and immediately set about learning the 
 bakery trade, entering the establishment of 
 Leander Reiger for this purpose. After com- 
 pleting his apprenticeship he worked for a 
 time as a journeyman and then started a small 
 bakery at Cary, O., which he operated until 
 1902, when he returned to Bucyrus and in 
 November, 1903, established his present busi- 
 ness in this city. He has prospered from the 
 first and in addition to his retail establishment 
 has his bakery plant, on Oakwood avenue, near 
 his home on Walnut street. This plant is 
 equipped with all kinds of modern machinery 
 and his ovens have a capacity of 600 loaves of 
 bread an hour, together with pies and cakes 
 of endless variety. He takes pride in the sani- 
 tary condition of his bakery and invites in- 
 spection. While all his products are invit- 
 
FERXA^T)0 J. XOETOX 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 823 
 
 ing and toothsome, his specialty of Sweet Home 
 Loaf bread is particularly so. 
 
 Mr. Martinitz was married at Bucyrus, to 
 Miss Rosa Goebelt, who was born at Baden, 
 Germany, Nov. 28, 1878, and was two years 
 old when her parents brought her to America 
 and she grew up in this city. She is a daugh- 
 ter of John and Lena Goebelt, residents of 
 Bucyrus. They are members of the German 
 Reformed church. Mr. and Mrs. Martinitz 
 have two children: Gladys Ruth, who was 
 born in 1902, and John Carl, who was born 
 in 1908. Mr. Martinitz is identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias, the Eagles, the Elks and 
 the Odd Fellows, and in the last named order 
 is past senior warden and chief patriarch of 
 Wyandot Encampment, at Cary, O. In poli- 
 tics he is nominally a Democrat but is inclined 
 to be independent in his views on many public 
 questions that now concern the country. 
 
 FERNANDO J. NORTON, florist, who 
 has been established in this business -at Bu- 
 cyrus, O., since 1882 and since 1888 has oc- 
 cupied his present desirable quarters on the 
 corner of Spring and Warren streets, is one 
 of the representative business men of this 
 city. He belongs to the oldest family of Bu- 
 cyrus, it being his grandfather who built the 
 first structures in the hamlet that was but a 
 frontier settlement at that time, erecting them 
 on his own land that he had secured from 
 the Government. Fernando J. Norton was 
 born in this city, Dec. 28, 1859, and is a son 
 of Jefferson and Eleanor (Byron) Norton, 
 and a grandson of Samuel Norton. 
 
 Samuel Norton was a very interesting fig- 
 ure in Crawford county history. At a very 
 early day he came to this section of Ohio from 
 New England and immediately recognized that 
 the land he had acquired was beautiful as to 
 location and ideal as a future place of homes. 
 Before long he had his land surveyed and laid 
 out into building lots by Col. Hilburn and 
 when the time came to give the proposed city 
 a name he chose the given name of a personal 
 friend, which was Cyrus, prefixing the ad- 
 jective beau, abbreviated, which indicated the 
 beauty of the landscape, surrounded as it is 
 by fertile plains and watered by the Sandusky 
 River. Hence came Beau-Cyrus, then short- 
 ened to Bucyrus, a city which in every way 
 
 has justified the hopes and ambitions of its 
 founder. He spent his remaining years here, 
 as did his wife, Mary (Butler) Norton. 
 
 Jefferson Norton, son of Samuel and Mary 
 (Butler) Norton, was born Feb. 22, 1824, 
 and he too became a prominent factor in the 
 development of the various interests of Bu- 
 cyrus. When he reached manhood he em- 
 barked in the business of carriage manufac- 
 turing and continued all through his active 
 life and for many years was also in the gren- 
 house business as the senior member of the 
 firm of Norton & Elliott. Although an ardent 
 Whig and later a Republican, he was a politi- 
 cian only so far as good citizenship demanded 
 and never accepted public office. He was lib- 
 eral in his contributions to public movements 
 and to charities and was generous in his su- 
 port of the Baptist church, of which he was 
 a member. His death occurred Aug. 20, 1876. 
 He was married at Bucyrus to Eleanor Byron, 
 who was born in 1822, who came of a noble 
 Irish family. Mrs. Norton died in 1878. Her 
 parents were of the Roman Catholic faith 
 but she was a Protestant. Six children were 
 born to them, namely: Flora, the widow of 
 Oswald E. Gravell, who resides at Cleve- 
 land; Charles, who resides in the far West; 
 Byron, who is ticket agent and telegraph op- 
 erator for the Rio Grande Railroad at Den- 
 ver, Colo.; Hattie, the wife of Charles Wy- 
 burg, who resides at Denver; Fernando J., 
 and one who died early. 
 
 Fernando J. Norton was educated in the 
 schools of his native city and very early dis- 
 played a taste for his present line of work. 
 For a time he was engaged in railroading and 
 became a qualified engineer on the T. 8: O. C. 
 Railroad. In the meanwhile his greenhouse 
 business developed so that he found it neces- 
 sary to give it his entire attention and from 
 a mere window garden it has grown to nearly 
 a whole city block and more than 15,000 
 square feet of glass. His trade is both retail 
 and wholesale and he supplies choice plants 
 and cut flowers for every occasion, having his 
 greenhouses fully equipped with modern ap- 
 pliances. 
 
 Mr. Norton was married first to Miss Anna 
 L. Adams, who was born near Galion, O., in 
 October, i8qg, and died at Mansfield, O., in 
 1910. Of their six children one died in in- 
 
824 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 fancy. The following survive: Myrtle B., 
 who is the wife of Dr. Joseph Daley, of Ober- 
 line, Tex. ; Arthur F., who is associated in 
 business with his father, and who has one son, 
 Edwin; Fairy E., a graduate of Neff College, 
 who is a teacher of elocution and conductor 
 of the Norton Concert Company and is a 
 matron in the order of the Eastern Star; 
 Mable, who resides at home; and Harry 
 James, who is with his father's business. Mr. 
 Norton was married (second) to Miss Helen 
 W. Roehr, a daughter of Charles Roehr, of 
 Bucyrus, an educated and accomplished lady. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Norton are members of the 
 Eastern Star, in which she has been an ofiScial. 
 Mr. Norton is a member also of Demas Lodge, 
 Knights of Pythias; of the Royal Arcanum; 
 is past commander in the Maccabees; is a 
 Mason in all branches here, and belongs also 
 to the I. O. U. A. M. and the Royal Home. 
 
 DAVID GRAHAM, who is well known as 
 a citizen and as a judicious and successful 
 farmer all through Crawford county, owns 197 
 acres of fine land situated in Bucyrus township, 
 on which he has lived for many years. He 
 was born in Seneca county, O., and is a son 
 of Richard and Mary Ann (Smith) Graham. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Graham were born in 
 Ireland and after coming to America lived in 
 Seneca county, O., where the following chil- 
 dren were born to them: David; Ellen, who 
 married Christopher Bowman ; Richard ; Mary 
 and Margaret, twins, the former of whom be- 
 came the wife of Charles Ebel; David; John; 
 Sarah E. ; Martha, who married Monroe Un- 
 derwood; and James. Richard Graham fol- 
 lowed farming as an occupation. Both he 
 and his wife are now deceased, their burial 
 being in the Episcopal cemetery at Bucyrus. 
 
 With his brothers and sisters, David Graham 
 attended the district schools in boyhood, after 
 which, as soon as old enough, he began to 
 take care of himself and worked by the month 
 on farms. He thus gained a great deal of 
 experience and finally rented a farm for three 
 years and then bought 40 acres of his present 
 estate to which he has added as opportunity 
 has been presented. It requires a great deal 
 of hard work and good management to suc- 
 cessfully cultivate almost 200 acres but Mr. 
 Graham accomplishes it. 
 
 On March 18, 1882, Mr. Graham was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary McHenry,- a daughter of 
 Caleb and Mary (Palmer) McHenry. To 
 Mr. McHenry's first marriage the following 
 children were born: Curtis, Emma, Milord, 
 Mary, Esther and Joseph. To his second mar- 
 riage, with Addie Rex, four children were 
 born: Mattie, Orpha, Myland and William. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Graham sons and daughters 
 have been born and some of these have estab- 
 lished homes of their own, while others still 
 remain under the safe old home roof with 
 father and mother. Anna Z. married Edward 
 Rogers. James married Cleo Wistman and 
 they have three children : Walter, Arthur and 
 Laverne. Richard Chloe married Belle Ober- 
 lander and they have two children : Ethel and 
 Inez. Mildred, Kenneth, Ivan, Burt, Mary 
 and David Elmine, live at home. The family 
 belongs to the United Brethren church. In 
 his political sentiments, Mr. Graham is a Re- 
 publican and fraternally he is a member of 
 the Knights of Pythias, at Bucyrus. 
 
 J. W. SPIEGEL, who resides on his well 
 improved farm of 180 acres, which is situated 
 six and one-half miles northwest of Bucyrus, 
 O., in Holmes township, Crawford county, 
 was born just one mile north and one east of 
 his present place, in 1869, and is a son of 
 John A. and Amanda (Miller) Spiegel. 
 
 John A. Spiegel was born in Germany and 
 was three years old when his parents brought 
 him to America. They came to Crawford 
 county, O., and were among its early settlers 
 and among its best class of citizens. John A. 
 Spiegel followed agricultural pursuits through 
 life, and at the time of death owned 120 acres 
 of land northeast of this farm, which he had 
 cleared up from the forest. He married 
 Amanda Miller, who was born in Crawford 
 county and they had five children, namely: 
 Ella, who is deceased; J. W., the subject of 
 this sketch; Edward and Winfield, both of 
 whom live in Holmes township; and Wesley, 
 who is deceased. 
 
 J. W. Spiegel grew up on his father's farm 
 and obtained his education in the township 
 schools. He has made farming his business 
 in life, early taking charge of affairs on the 
 home place and from there came to his pres- 
 ent farm in 1901. The excellent improve- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 825 
 
 ments seen on every side prove that Mr. Spie- 
 gel takes interest and pride in his home. Gen- 
 eral farming and stock raising are carried on 
 and all the farm industries are conducted in 
 so systematic a manner that they result profit- 
 ably. 
 
 Mr. Spiegel was married to Miss Nettie Fra- 
 lick, who is a daughter of Henry Fralick, who 
 still survives, now well along in life, and lives 
 on his farm north of here. Five children 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Spiegel : Amy, 
 Minnie, Charles, Dorothy and Hazel, all of 
 whom sufvive except Hazel, who was the sec- 
 ond born. The farnily attend the United 
 Brethren church. Mr. Spiegel gives his polit- 
 ical support to the Democratic party. 
 
 MARTIN F. SEIBEL, superintendent of 
 the Crawford County Infirmary, Crawford 
 county, O., and owner of 40 acres of excellent 
 land in Jefferson township, was born in that 
 township, March 4, 1862, and is a son of John 
 Nicholas and Margaret (Schellhass) Seibel. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Seibel were born in 
 Germany and came to the United States in 
 1846, previous to marriage. They then came 
 immediately to Crawford county, where the 
 father worked on farms and also in stone 
 quarries, an industrious and reliable man. Of 
 their family Martin F. was the youngest born. 
 The others were: Elizabeth, who is the 
 widow of Carl Lyon and lives at Oakland, 
 Cal. ; George, who is deceased; Philip and 
 John, twins, the former of whom is deceased, 
 while the latter lives at Los Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Martin F. Seibel attended school at Lees- 
 ville, O., in boyhood and afterward spent two 
 years as a student in college at Ada, O., and 
 thus prepared himself for teaching. For 20 
 years Mr. Seibel taught school, for 13 of these 
 in the country and for seven at Leesville, at 
 which place he taught for six years in the 
 high school. Although he was so continuously 
 engaged with his educational duties, Mr. Seibel 
 found time to pay some attention to farming 
 and poultry raising and also learned the stone 
 mason trade, engaging in this work during 
 his summer vacations. In 1906 he retired 
 from the educational field and also gave up 
 work at his trade, his industry having brought 
 him independence, and after that he gave much 
 attention to farming and poultry raising. In 
 
 1907 he was elected president of the Farmers' 
 Institute for a term of two years, in which 
 body he was very active, urging progressive 
 methods and increase of agricultural knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 On March 31, 1885, Mr. Seibel was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lucetta Ludwig, a daughter of 
 John and Maria (Rettig) Ludwig. The father 
 of Mrs. Seibel was born in Germany, in which 
 country he was a shoemaker, but became a 
 farmer after coming to Ohio. He married 
 Maria Rettig, who was born in Seneca county, 
 O., and both are now deceased. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ludwig the following children were born : 
 Caroline, who married Adam Hawk; John; 
 Leonard, who is deceased; Henry; Catherine, 
 who married Peter Bauer; Lucetta, who is the 
 wife of Mr. Seibel ; Elona J., who is the wife 
 of Oliver Jacobs; and Ettie, who is the wife 
 of John Fetter. Mr. and Mrs. Seibel have 
 five children : Fern, who is the wife of Elihu 
 Bogan; Vera Fay, who is the wife of Harvey 
 Pfahler and has one daughter, Marie; Haz- 
 lette; George Dewey and Voyle. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Seibel are members of the U. B. church 
 at Bucyrus. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Seibel is a Democrat and 
 served two terms as township clerk of Jeffer- 
 son township prior to being elected superin- 
 tendent of the Crawford County Infirmary, 
 an office that was tendered him without any 
 solicitation on his part. He is well qualified 
 for this position of responsibility, and as a 
 man, enjoys the confidence of his fellow citi- 
 zens, irrespective of party. He has served in 
 numerous important positions, was treasurer of 
 the Teachers' Institute for two terms, has been 
 trustee of the U. B. church and is president of 
 the cemetery association. He belongs to the 
 Patrons of Husbandry and to the Junior Order 
 of United American Mechanics. 
 
 CHARLES VOLLMER,* a highly re- 
 spected retired business man of Bucyrus, O., 
 for many years was active both in business 
 and in politics and served four years as sher- 
 iff of Crawford county, O. He was born in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, March 13, 1852, and 
 is a son of John and Dorothy (Stahl) Voll- 
 mer. 
 
 The father and mother of Mr. Vollmer were 
 both born in Germany, he in 1819 and she in 
 
826 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1818, both coming of sturdy and respected 
 parentage. John Vollmer was a son of John 
 VoUmer, who was a soldier in the Napoleonic 
 wars and was one of the 1,000 brave men 
 that marched with that mighty army to Mos- 
 cow, this handful being all that finally strag- 
 gled back. He survived however, to the age 
 of 70 years and left a large family of descend- 
 ants, one son yet surviving in the person of 
 Jacob Vollmer, a venerable citizen of New 
 Washington, O. With his brother, John Voll- 
 mer, he came to America after serving in 
 the German Revolution of 1848. 
 
 John Vollmer (2), father of Charles Voll- 
 mer, grew to manhood in Germany and learned 
 the family trade of miller, one that had been 
 followed by his father and grandfather. He 
 married and became the father of 12 chil- 
 dren and after some of the older ones came 
 to America, in 1868, he and wife also 
 crossed the ocean and finally reached Craw- 
 ford county, O., where the latter died in 1872, 
 he surviving to be 80 years of age. They 
 were German Lutherans in religious faith. 
 Of the children who came to the United States 
 there are but two surviving : Charles and Mrs. 
 Louisa Fritzmeyer, the latter of whom re- 
 sides at New Washington, O. 
 
 Charles Vollmer was 16 years of age when 
 he left Germany for America, with the inten- 
 tion of joining an older brother, John Voll- 
 mer, who had come to Ohio in 1866. The 
 latter died at New Washington when aged 
 42 years and was survived by one son and 
 five daughters. From Germany, Charles Voll- 
 mer went to Hull, England, and from there 
 to Liverpool, where he took passage on a 
 vessel for New York, where he was safely 
 landed and immediately made his way to New 
 Washington, O. He had already had two 
 years of experience in a blacksmith shop and 
 soon found work at this trade in his new home 
 and shortly afterward started his own shop 
 and continued until 1897, in which year he 
 was elected county sheriff. He made an ad- 
 mirable officer in that as in other positions to 
 which he was called by his fellow citizens, serv- 
 ing in the city council and for many years as 
 city marshal. In June, 1902, he came to Bucy- 
 rus and established a restaurant at No. 210 
 North Sandusky avenue, which he conducted 
 until October, 191 1, when he laid aside busi- 
 
 ness responsibilities and is enjoying well earned 
 rest. 
 
 Mr. Vollmer was married (first) at Lansing, 
 Mich., to Miss Catherine Roller, who was born 
 in Michigan, of German ancestry, and died 
 there June 6, 1877, leaving two sons: Fred- 
 erick, who is purchasing agent for the Carroll 
 Machine and Steel Works, at Bucyrus; and 
 Benjamin, who is a resident of Lansing, Mich. 
 Mr. Vollmer was married (second) at New 
 Washington, O., to Miss Elizabeth Walter, 
 who was born, reared and educated in Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county, and is a 
 daughter of Frederick and Barbara (Trem- 
 bler) Walter, the former of whom was born 
 in Germany and the latter in Crawford county. 
 The mother of Mrs. Vollmer died some 40 
 years since but the father survived until De- 
 cember, 1910. They were members of the 
 German Lutheran church. They had two 
 sons John and Jacob, both of whom live in 
 Crawford county, and two daughters, Mrs. 
 Vollmer and Mrs. Mary Brown, who resides 
 with her four daughters in Columbus. 
 
 Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Vollmer, namely: William, who lives at St. 
 Paul, Minn.; Rosa, who is the wife of George 
 Blumenschein, of Bucyrus, and has an adopted 
 son; Charles, who is associated with his 
 brother William, at St. Paul; John who is in 
 business at Bucjrrus; Ruth, who is cashier in 
 a business house at Buc3a"us; and Martha and 
 Elizabeth, both of whom are students. Mr. 
 Vollmer is a Knight Templar Mason and be- 
 longs also to the Knights of Pythias, the Mac- 
 cabees, the Elks and the Odd Fellows, being 
 past grand master of the last organization. In 
 politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 ULYSSES GRANT HARVEY, a well 
 known resident of Bucyrus township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., who resides on the old home 
 farm of 211 acres, being one of the heirs of 
 the late Andrew Jackson Harvey, was born in 
 Bucyrus township, March 4, 1867, and is a 
 son of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth (Price) 
 Harvey. 
 
 The Harvey and Price names are very fa- 
 miliar ones in Pennsylvania , in which state 
 Andrew J. Harvey and wife were born. In 
 early married life they came to Crawford 
 county and for many years Andrew J. Harvey 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 827 
 
 was a successful farmer in Bucyrus township 
 and one of its most respected citizens. His 
 death occurred in the fall of 1903 and his 
 burial was in the Bucyrus cemetery. He was 
 an intelligent and public spirited man in all 
 that related to the section in which he made 
 his home and he gave support to educational 
 and religious enterprises. His widow sur- 
 vives and still occupies the old homestead. 
 The children, six in number, were: Ollie, 
 Lawrence, Minnie, Ulysses Grant, Clay M. 
 and Nettie. 
 
 Ulysses G. Harvey obtained his education 
 in the public schools and has spent his life on 
 the homestead, where, under his father's di- 
 rection, he was trained along agricultural lines. 
 He still remains with his mother and carries 
 on the industries that are necessary on so 
 large an estate. His parents reared him in 
 the Presbyterian church. Like his late father 
 he is a Republican in National affairs but in 
 local matters frequently uses his own judg- 
 ment. For some years he has been identified 
 with the Knights of Pythias, at Bucyrus, and 
 takes much interest in the work and aims of 
 this world-wide fraternal organization. 
 
 EDWARD A. SPIEGEL, whose home 
 farm lies in Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, O., five miles northwest of Bucyrus, 
 O., was bom in this township, Feb. 21, 1869, 
 and is a son of John A. Spiegel, one of the old 
 settlers of this section. 
 
 Edward A. Spiegel attended the public 
 schools and then chose farming as his business 
 in life, preparing for the future on the home 
 farm. In 1892 he came to his present farm 
 of 80 acres and additionally has two other 
 tracts in this township, one containing 40 acres 
 and the other 39 acres. Mr. Spiegel is an 
 enterprising man and believes in improve- 
 ments, hence his lands have never been neg- 
 lected and his buildings are equal to any in 
 the township, his handsome residence having 
 been erected in 1899. This place is known 
 as Center Farm, and Mr. Spiegel engages 
 in general agriculture, raising excellent crops 
 and considerable stock, his market for his ex- 
 tra produce being Bucyrus. 
 
 In 1 89 1 Mr. Spiegel was married to Miss 
 Matilda Thatcher, a daughter of Thomas 
 Thatcher of Wyandot county, where he for- 
 
 merly was a farmer and lumberman. He mar- 
 ried Naomi Hall, who survives but he died 
 when Mrs. Spiegel was eight years old. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Spiegel the following children 
 have been born: Neal, born Nov. 19, 1895, 
 who is his father's capable assistant; Naomi, 
 who was born March 10, 1900; Esther, who 
 was born Jan. 11, 1902; Edith, who was born 
 March 20, 1904; and Catherine, who was born 
 Aug. 21, 1910 and died Sept. 17, 1910. Mr. 
 Spiegel and family are members of the United 
 Brethren church in Holmes township. In pol- 
 itics he thinks for himself and votes inde- 
 pendently. 
 
 JAMES O. CRIDER, owner and proprietor 
 of a general store at Leesville, O., is a mem- 
 ber of one of the old Crawford county fam- 
 ilies, his grandparents, Daniel Crider and wife 
 having come to this part of Ohio from Penn- 
 sylvania at a very early day. He was bom in 
 Jefferson township, Crawford county, in Au- 
 gust, 1878, and is a son of John and Mary 
 (Ashcroft) Crider. 
 
 John Crider was born in Crawford county, 
 O., and spent his life here mainly engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits. He was a man of 
 good standing in his community, a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a sup- 
 porter of law and order. His death occurred 
 in May, 1906. He married Mary Ashcroft, 
 who still survives, residing at Leesville, and 
 they had the following children: Frank; Ilo, 
 who is deceased; Lulu, who is the wife of 
 Frank Lutz; William; Nellie; Lyda, who is 
 the wife of Chauncy Channel; Sidney, who 
 is the wife of Charles Gledhill ; James O. ; and 
 Ressie, who is the wife of Allen Smith. 
 
 James O. Crider obtained his education in 
 the public schools and afterward leamed the 
 stone mason trade and followed the same un- 
 til October, 191 1, when he purchased the stock 
 and good will of J. P. Herr, a merchant at 
 Leesville, and has continued in the general 
 mercantile line ever since. He carries a very 
 well assorted stock and enjoys patronage 
 drawn from the town and surrounding coun- 
 try. He is a Democrat in his political views 
 but has no desire to hold public office. 
 
 On Oct. 19, 1905, Mr. Crider was married 
 to Miss Mary Herr, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county and is a daughter of J. P. and 
 
828 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Catherine (Reibel) Herr and a granddaughter 
 of John Peter Herr. The mother of Mrs. 
 Crider died on Aug. 20, 19 10, and her burial 
 was in Vernon township. The father still 
 carries on his farm industries. Mrs. Crider 
 was the third born in her parents' family, the 
 others being: John, who is deceased; Eliza- 
 beth, who is the wife of Harvey Hahn; and 
 Magdalena, William and Catherine, all of 
 whom are deceased. 
 
 ELLIOTT A. SMITH,* foreman in the 
 painting department of the Toledo & Ohio 
 Central Railroad main shops at Bucyrus, O., 
 has been connected with this corporation since 
 1885 and has filled his present responsible of- 
 fice since 1897. He was born July 20, 1845, 
 at Mansfield, O., and is a son of Cyrus A. 
 and Jane (Rowland) Smith. Cyrus A. Smith 
 was born in Broome county, N. Y. and from 
 there came to Ashland county, O., in young 
 manhood. There he was married to Jane Row- 
 land, who was born in Pennsylvania and came 
 to Ohio with her parents in 181 6. They lo- 
 cated on untilled land in a wild section and she 
 often recalled seeing Indians in her youth and 
 of sitting, on the knee of that strange old 
 philosopher, Johnny Appleseed, who, in her 
 day, went up and down the country, scattering 
 his apple seeds, that he had faith to believe 
 would fill the land with bounteous orchards. 
 
 A few years after marriage, Cyrus A. Smith 
 moved to Mansfield, O., where he engaged in 
 merchandising during the rest of his active 
 life, spending the closing days with his son 
 Elliott A., at Bucyrus, where his death oc- 
 curred in 1882. He had survived his wife 
 for two years, her death occurring at Savanna, 
 Ashland county, where they had lived for a 
 few years. Of their children, Ellott A., was 
 the only one to reach maturity. They were 
 Baptists in religious faith and practice. 
 
 Elliott A. Smith was mainly reared at Mans- 
 field and there learned his trade and in 1885, 
 when he came first to the Toledo & O. C. Rail- 
 way, it was as a letter and ornamental sign 
 painter. He thoroughly understood every 
 branch of the business, however, and so proved 
 his qualifications that he was rapidly pro- 
 moted and finally was made foreman of his 
 department. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married at Mansfield to Miss 
 
 Ella Chandler, who was born in that city, a 
 daughter of Dr. J. M. and Rachel E. (Mount) 
 Chandler, old residents there. Dr. Chandler 
 was born in 181 7 and died in 1863. His 
 widow survived into extreme old age, her 
 death occurring Jan. 10, 1912, in her 87th 
 year. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have two sons: 
 Rowland M., who is an artist on what is per- 
 haps rightly termed, the world's greatest news- 
 paper, the Chicago Tribune, and who is mar- 
 ried and has one daughter, Janet; and Charles, 
 a graduate of the Western Dental College, 
 Kansas City, who has been established in prac- 
 tice at St. Louis, for three years, and who 
 married Elizabeth Peckham. 
 
 Politically Mr. Smith has always been a 
 Republican. During the Civil war he served 
 four months in Co. A, 163d O. Vol. Inf., and 
 was present at the blowing up of the mines 
 in front of Petersburg, Va. He is a member 
 of Keller Post, No. 108, G. A. R., of which 
 he is adjutant. He belongs also to the Royal 
 Arcanum and formerly was identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 ALBERT L. BEASTON, who is a mem- 
 ber of one of the old and substantial families 
 of Crawford county, residing five and one- 
 half miles south of Bucyrus, O., on the Marion 
 road, where he has 120 acres of finely im- 
 proved land, owns a second farm, containing 
 84 acres, which lies to the west of his home 
 tract. He was born in Bucyrus township, 
 Jan. 13, 1870, and is a son of Thomas and 
 Mary (Drolesbaugh) Beaston. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Beaston were born in 
 Pennsylvania and came of German ancestry. 
 For many years they were well known and 
 highly esteemed residents of Crawford county, 
 where the father was a successful farmer and 
 a good citizen but was never willing to accept 
 public office. Both father and mother of Mr. 
 Beaston have passed away, their burial being 
 in the Mt. Zion cemetery in Bucyrus town- 
 ship. They had three children: John A.; 
 Anna, now deceased, who was the wife of 
 Harry Price ; and Albert L. 
 
 Albert L. Beaston has devoted the greater 
 part of his life to agricultural pursuits, be- 
 ginning to assist his father as soon as his 
 school days were over and continuing along 
 the same line up to the present. General farm- 
 
DAVID CHRISTIE 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 831 
 
 ing is his main industry, his raising of stock 
 being limited to just enough for his own use. 
 
 On Oct. 1 6, 1895, ^r. Beaston was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lavena M. Welsh, a daughter 
 of George H. and Amelia (Palmer) Welsh, 
 former very highly respected residents of 
 this township, where the father was a farmer. 
 They are survived by two daughters: Effie 
 M., who is the wife of E. E. Harvey; and 
 Mrs. Beaston. Mr. and Mrs. Beaston have 
 one daughter, Wilma A. The family belongs 
 to the Scioto Methodist Episcopal thurch. Mr. 
 Beaston has always believed in the principles 
 of the Republican party. 
 
 DAVID CHRISTIE, deceased, who, for 
 many years was a busy and highly respected 
 citizen of Bucyrus and an honorable man in 
 every relation of life, was born at Cross Gate, 
 Fifeshire, Scotland, Oct. 17, 1832, a son of 
 Ebenezer and Catherine (Anderson) Christie, 
 and a grandson of Captain Anderson, who 
 was, in his day, a well known military man 
 and Scotch patriot. 
 
 David Christie learned to be a blacksmith 
 and general machinist and with this knowl- 
 edge, in 1852, came to the United States after 
 serving three years in the shipyards at Grav- 
 enstock, Scotland. For some years he fol- 
 lowed his trades at St. Louis, Mo., and at 
 Cincinnati and Chillicothe, O. Later he trav- 
 eled over other sections of the country, work- 
 ing at Cochran, Ind., and at points in Ken- 
 tucky, and while residing at Maysville, in the 
 latter state, enlisted and served three months 
 in the Civil War. After that he returned to 
 the above mentioned Ohio cities, easily find- 
 ing employment in the different railroad 
 shops, as he was so skilled a workman. In 
 1879 he came to Bucyrus, being then in the 
 employ of the T. & O. Railroad and later 
 became foreman of the railroad shops here in 
 the blacksmith department, where he contin- 
 ued until 1892, when he resigned in order to 
 enjoy some years of ease and comfort after 
 many years of hard work. These were af- 
 forded him, his death occurring Dec. 16, 1908. 
 He was a man who was held in much esteem 
 for his many sterling qualities. Politically 
 he was a Republican and at one time was a 
 member of the city council. From boyhood 
 he had been a member of the Presbyterian 
 church. 
 
 Mr. Christie was married (first) at Chilli- 
 cothe, to Margaret Dickson, who died in that 
 city in February, 1865, leaving four children: 
 James and Anna Jane McCall, both of whom 
 are deceased; Ezenezer, who lives at E. St. 
 Louis; and David, who now lives at Toledo. 
 At Aurora, Ind., Mr. Christie was married 
 (second) on Jan. 24, 1866, to Mrs. Agnes 
 Laird, who was born near Belfast, Ireland, in 
 1833, a granddaughter of James and Nanna 
 Marshall, who left Scotland and settled in Ire- 
 land. Their second son, Samuel, was born 
 near Belfast in 1799, married Jennie Berk- 
 ley and after the birth of three children — 
 Agnes, Mary and Eliza — determined to come 
 to America. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean 
 in the sailing vessel, the Thomas P. Cope, and 
 after a voyage of seven weeks on a rough sea, 
 were safely landed at Philadelphia, Pa. They 
 located at Aurora, Ind., from which place 
 they later moved to a farm of 80 acres in 
 Dearborn county. There the father developed 
 a productive farm from very discouraging 
 original conditions and replaced the old log 
 cabin with a comfortable residence. He died 
 there in December, 1852, when aged 53 years, 
 having survived his wife, who died in 1849, 
 aged but 37 years. Additions were made to 
 their family after they settled in Indiana, as 
 follows: James, who died in infancy; Jane, 
 a resident of Bellefontaine, O., who is the 
 wife of Ebenezer Christie; and Sarah R., who 
 is the widow of Michael Tracy, residing in 
 Indiana. 
 
 The first marriage of Mrs. Christie took 
 place in 1854, to Robert Laird, who died in 
 1857, leaving two children: Jennie B. and 
 Mary E., who died in early life. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Christie the following children were 
 born, all of whom survived: Margaret, who 
 is the wife of John De Hart, of Bucyrus, and 
 has three sons — Laird, David J. and Andrew; 
 Catherine, who is the wife of George Stuck- 
 ert, and has four children — Nayvere, Robert, 
 Donald and Anna Jane; Mary, who is the 
 wife of William McKinley, a railroad con- 
 ductor, living at Toledo, O., and has three 
 children — Hobart, Walter and Agnes; Agnes, 
 who is the wife of Murray Lidey, and lives 
 with her mother; and Robert, who resides at 
 Toledo and who is married and has three 
 children — Robert, Don and Helen. 
 
832 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 PETER BAER, who is a prominent citizen 
 of Tod township, Crawford county, O., and 
 one of the successful agriculturists, resides 
 on his well improved farm of 130 acres, which 
 is situated one and one-half miles southwest 
 of Oceola, O. He was born in Allegany 
 county, Md., Feb. 14, 1846, and is a son of 
 Peter and Mary (Logsdon) Baer. 
 
 Peter Baer, the father, was born in Mary- 
 land, where his parents had settled when they 
 came to America from Germany. He was 
 a cabinetmaker by trade and also followed 
 farming and auctioneering. In 185 1 he moved 
 with his family to Marion county, O., where 
 he located on a farm but died in the follow- 
 ing year, at the age of 52 years. He married 
 Mary Logsdon, who was also a native of 
 Maryland, and she lived to see her 82d birth- 
 day. Six children were born to them, namely : 
 Jonas, who died at the age of 66 years, in Cal- 
 ifornia; Eli, who was a farmer in Marion 
 county and died there at the age of 82 years; 
 Herman, who died in Marion county, when 
 aged 70 years; John, who is a resident of 
 Marion county ; Mrs. Honora Ellen Hord, who 
 lives at Clinton, Hardin county, O. ; and Peter. 
 From this branch of the Baer family also de- 
 scended George F. Baer, the coal baron of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Peter Baer attended the schools of Marion 
 county and became proficient in his studies and 
 during his last term was called on to assist 
 the teacher. Afterward he worked as a farmer 
 on the home place until he moved to the vil- 
 lage of Wyandot, in Wyandot county, where 
 he was in business until 1873, when he came 
 to Tod township, Crawford county, and set- 
 tled on his present valuable farm. General 
 farming is his main industry but he also raises 
 some stock, poultry and fruit. Since early 
 manhood he has been an active and interested 
 citizen and his stability as such has been fre- 
 quently recognized. When only 21 years old 
 he was elected township clerk in Marion county 
 and continued in that oflfice as long as he re- 
 mained there. In Tod township he was elected 
 township trustee on the Democratic ticket and 
 served four terms, still later was made land 
 appraiser and at the present time (19 12) is 
 his party's selected candidate for county com- 
 missioner. 
 
 Mr. Baer married Miss Catherine Flock, 
 
 who was born at Bucyrus but was reared in 
 Wyandot county, and they have three chil- 
 dren: Henry Herman, who is a teacher in 
 a high school in Nevada, and who married 
 Grace Burnside, they having an infant un- 
 named; George P., who is a resident of Cleve- 
 land, a judge of the municipal court there, and 
 who married Elizabeth Wurtz ; and Mary, who 
 is the wife of Charles R. Snyder, residing one 
 and one-half miles east of the homstead, and 
 has one son, Wilfred. Mr. Baer and wife 
 attend" the Lutheran church. 
 
 FLAVIUS S. KEPLER, whose valuable 
 farm of 160 acres is situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., and who is 
 one of the stockholders in the Farmers and 
 Citizens Bank at Bucyrus, is a leading citizen 
 of this section of Crawford county, both as a 
 business man and as a politician. He was 
 born June 10, 1866, in Hocking county, O., 
 and is a son of Lucius and Margaret (Snyder) 
 Kepler. 
 
 Lucius Kepler is one of the substantial farm- 
 ers of Green township, Hocking county, O., a 
 prominent Democrat and a liberal supporter 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church in that 
 section. He married Margaret Snyder and 
 the following children were born to them: 
 Flavins S.; Julia, who is the wife of Crom- 
 well Nelson; Margaret, who is the wife of 
 Edward Hamlin; John; Jacob; Hannah, who 
 is the wife of James Lemon; Barnett; Hester, 
 who is the wife of Richard Herld ; and Frank 
 and Grover. 
 
 Flavius S. Kepler had common school ad- 
 vantages and remained on the home farm and 
 assisted his father until he was 19 years of 
 age. After leaving the farm he went into 
 railroad work and continued for seven years 
 but again resumed farming as his occupation 
 and for 13 years operated his present place 
 under rental before he purchased it from C. 
 F. Rexroth. It was the old John Brehman 
 homestead, a fine piece of property, which, 
 under Mr. Kepler's care and good manage- 
 ment, has been developed into one of the best 
 farms in Whetstone township. 
 
 In November, 1886, Mr. Kepler was mar- 
 ried to Miss Nora Shumaker, one of the fol- 
 lowing family of eleven children born to Joel 
 and Elmira (Weatherbee) Shumaker; Ange- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 833 
 
 line, who is the wife of William AUebach; 
 Sarah, who is deceased ; Margaret, who is the 
 wife of Isaac Read; Almeda, who is the wife 
 of Frank Benedict; Ella, who is the wife of 
 James Stoneman; and Albert, Charles, Ed- 
 ward, David and Nora, and Effie, who is de- 
 ceased. Mr. and Mrs. Kepler have four chil- 
 dren : Russell, who married Catherine Heiber 
 and has one son, William Flavius ; and Lucius, 
 Marie and Delia Alice. 
 
 In his political views Mr. Kepler is a stanch 
 Democrat, was reared in this party, his father 
 being a strong party man and an admirer and 
 supporter of the late ex-Pres*ident Cleveland. 
 For seven years Mr. Kepler served as town- 
 ship assessor arid at present is a member of 
 the school board. He belongs to that impor- 
 tant party organization, the Democratic Cen- 
 tral Committee. Mr. Kepler is an interested 
 member of the local Grange and with his fam- 
 ily attends the United Brethren church. 
 
 G. RAYMOND LICHTY,* freight and pas- 
 senger agent of the Toledo & Ohio Central 
 Railway, at Bucyrus, O., has been identified 
 with this corporation since 1901 and through 
 ability and fidelity in a comparatively short 
 time won his way from a clerkship to his 
 present responsible position. He was born in 
 1880, at Bucyrus, and is a son of Adam J. and 
 a grandson of Peter Lichty. 
 
 Peter Lichty was born in Alsace Lorraine, 
 when it was yet a French province and came 
 to the United States in the forties, shortly 
 afterward locating at New Washington, in 
 Crawford county, O. From there he came 
 to Bucyrus, where he followed his trade of 
 wagonmaking, late in life retiring to Toledo, 
 where he died at the home of his eldest son, 
 Peter Lichty, his wife surviving him but a 
 short time. They were members of the Luth- 
 eran church. They had four sons : Peter, 
 who resides at Toledo, la. ; Charles, deceased, 
 who is survived by children ; George, who is a 
 resident of Bucyrus ; and Adam J. 
 
 Adam J. Lichty was born at New Washing- 
 ton, Crawford county, O., 63 years ago, and 
 is a prominent citizen of Bucyrus, at present 
 serving in an official capacity. He learned 
 the wagonmaking trade with his father and 
 they conducted the business together at New 
 Washington until the older member of the 
 
 firm went to Iowa, after which Adam J. oc- 
 cupied himself for some years along the same 
 line. In the early part of the Civil war he 
 enlisted in Co. C, in an Ohio regiment of in- 
 fantry, in which he served for 90 days and 
 at present is an official member of Keller Post, 
 G. A. R., of Bucyrus. Mr. Lichty has always 
 been a Democrat and a working member of 
 his party. He was married at Bucyrus to 
 Anna Streib, who was born in Germany and 
 when five years old accompanied her parents 
 to America. Conrad Streib and wife were 
 members of the German Lutheran church. 
 Three children were born to Adam J. Lichty 
 and wife: G. Raymond; Marcus H., who is 
 in the restaurant business at Canton, O. ; and 
 Robert C, who is general superintendent of 
 the K. & M. Railroad, at Charleston, W. Va. 
 
 G. Raymond Lichty was educated in the 
 public schools and ever since has been en- 
 gaged in railroad work, in 1901 beginning as 
 yard clerk with the Toledo & Ohio Central. 
 Later he was employed in the freight depart- 
 ment and still later was bill clerk for the de- 
 partment as operated from this center to the 
 main offices at Columbus. In 1907 he was 
 advanced to his present position in which he 
 has given efficient and satisfactory service and 
 has five men in his department. 
 
 Mr. Lichty was married at Bucyrus to Miss 
 Ethel L. Frash, who was born here in 1882, 
 a daughter of Louis and Gertrude (Petero) 
 Frash, residents of this city. The father of 
 Mrs. Lichty was born in Ohio and her mother 
 in Germany. Mr. and Mrs. Lichty have one 
 daughter, Dorothea, who was born June 15, 
 1906. They are members of the Lutheran 
 church. Mr. Lichty is not very active in pol- 
 itics but he votes with the Democratic party. 
 
 ELMER ELLSWORTH HARVEY, whose 
 valuable farm of 166 acres is situated in Bucy- 
 rus township, is numbered with the prosperous 
 agriculturists of this section and is one of the 
 most highly respected citizens. He was born 
 in Bucyrus township, Dec. 30, 1865, and is a 
 son of George Washington and Elizabeth 
 (Failor) Harvey. 
 
 George Washington Harvey was born in 
 Pennsylvania and came in early manhood to 
 Crawford county, where he followed farm- 
 ing all his after life. He married (first) Eliza- 
 
834 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 beth Failor, who was born and died here and 
 her burial was in the Bucyrus cemetery. 
 They were faithful members of the Lutheran 
 church. Their family of children consisted 
 of the following: William F., Galen H., Effie, 
 Elmer Ellsworth. He was married (second) 
 to Elizabeth Neil and they have two children : 
 D. N. and E. R. 
 
 Elmer Ellsworth Harvey bears a name that 
 has been held in tender rememberance by the 
 loyal people of the United States since the 
 early days of the Civil war. His boyhood 
 was mainly devoted to school attendance and 
 since then he has been interested in farm pur- 
 suits. In 1906 he purchased his present farm 
 from the G. H. Welsh estate and carries on 
 general farming and stock raising as best suits 
 his convenience, being progressive and up-to- 
 date in his methods. He has improved his 
 property as he has considered advisable and 
 has recently built a substantial barn. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Harvey was married to Miss 
 Effie Welsh, a daughter of the late George 
 H. Welsh. She has one sister, who is the wife 
 of A. L. Beaston, a well known farmer in 
 Bucyrus township. Mr. and Mrs. Harvey have 
 three children: Imo, Mildred and Russell. 
 They are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Mr. Harvey is a very intelligent, well 
 informed man and as he is perfectly capable of 
 drawing conclusions for himself concerning 
 public questions, he is an independent voter. 
 
 MRS. ELIZABETH ROBERTS, Sr., one 
 of the best known residents of Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., residing on her 
 valuable farm of 40 acres, but owns 80 addi- 
 tional acres which is rented, this latter tract 
 being located nine miles northwest of Bucy- 
 rus, was born in that city and is a daughter 
 of Lewis and Elizabeth (Fetter) Trish. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Roberts were born, 
 reared and married in Germany. For two 
 years after coming to the United States they 
 lived in Pennsylvania and then moved to Craw- 
 ford county, 0., and the father followed 
 wagon making at Bucyrus, later moving on a 
 farm in Wyandot county, where he engaged 
 
 in agricultural pursuits until the close of his 
 life, when aged 58 years. Of his large family 
 of children, nine reached mature years. 
 
 Elizabeth Trish grew to useful young wo- 
 manhood under her parents' roof and obtained 
 a district school education. In 1854 she mar- 
 ried Daniel Roberts, who was born in Fair- 
 field county, O. When he reached manhood 
 he took charge of a tract of land in Tod town- 
 ship, which his father gave him and which 
 Mrs. Roberts still owns. He followed farming 
 with excellent success and provided well for 
 his family. During the Civil war he became 
 a soldier in the Union army, enlisting in Co. 
 H, 123d O. Vol. Inf., and some time after- 
 ward was captured by the Confederates and 
 sent to the terrible prison at Salisbury, N. C, 
 where neglect and hardship caused his death. 
 He left a widow and son to mourn his early 
 passing away. Three children were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Roberts: Robert Albert, an 
 infant and Clara, the last two named being de- 
 ceased. Robert Albert Roberts, locally known 
 as Colonel Roberts, was born on the present 
 farm which he rents from his" mother. He 
 married Elizabeth Blimm and they have three 
 children : Daniel, Glen and Daisy. The eldest 
 was named in remembrance of his grandfather. 
 He married Edna Lutz and they have one son, 
 Wilbur. Mrs. Roberts and family attend the 
 Protestant Methodist church. 
 
 BURDETT KIRBY HOOVER, who owns 
 and operates a farm of 80 acres in Dallas town- 
 ship, was born in this township, Dec. 7, 1870, 
 a son of Christian and Lorena (Kirby) Hoo- 
 ver. He is a grandson of William and Phebe 
 (Swisher) Hoover, the former of whom was 
 born in Pickaway county, Ohio, but who 
 passed the greater part of his life as a farmer 
 in Crawford county. By his wife, Phebe, 
 who was born in Franklin county, O., he had 
 ten children, namely: John T., Emma, wife 
 of Henry M. Welsh ; Christian ; George W. ; 
 Margaret, wife of David E. Fisher; Marcel- 
 lus; Alice, wife of Marks Tea; Charles Fre- 
 mont; Flora, wife of H. L. Weber; and Wil- 
 liam. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 835 
 
 Christian Hoover, father of our subject, was 
 educated in the public schools and was brought 
 up to agriculture. Since he was four years 
 old he has resided on the old Hoover home- 
 stead, which is operated now by his sons, un- 
 der his direction, he having retired practically 
 from active labor. He was married in 1868 
 to Lorena Kirby, who was born in Crawford 
 county, a daughter of Samuel and Mary 
 (Welsh) Kirby. Mrs. Christian Hoover died 
 Nov. 8, 1909. Two brothers and a sister sur- 
 vive her — ^John, George and Emma, the last 
 mentioned being the wife of James Orr. The 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Hoover were as 
 follows : Ernest, who married Nonia Flock 
 and has four children — Hugh, Alice, Florence 
 and Lucile; Burdett K., whose name heads 
 this article; Charles F., who married Nora 
 Kerr and has five children — Helen, Wayne, 
 Clifford, Marjorie and Dorothy; Maud; and 
 Madge, who is the wife of Arlington Blair 
 and has three children — Hoover, Thomas and 
 a child unnamed. Christian Hoover is a Re- 
 publican politically and has served the town- 
 ship as trustee, showing himself a capable man 
 of affairs. He attends the M. E. church. 
 
 Burdett K. Hoover after attending the com- 
 mon schools in his boyhood, turned his atten- 
 tion to farming. He worked under his father 
 until he was about 29 years old, after which 
 he rented land for six years, two years of this 
 time in Holmes township and four years in 
 Bucyrus township. He then bought his pres- 
 ent farm of A. W. Blair and is engaged in 
 general farming, keeping enough stock for his 
 own use. Like his father, he is a Republican, 
 and he served as township clerk for some 
 years and for two years as treasurer. 
 
 He was married in 1901 to Olive Quaint- 
 ance, a daughter of Aaron John and Mary 
 (Heller) Quaintance. Mrs. Hoover's par- 
 ents are farming people of Holmes township, 
 her father being a veteran of the Civil war. 
 Their children are J. B., Leroy, Daniel, Etta, 
 wife of J. W. Dobbins, Blanche, wife of B. 
 S. Kimmel, Oscar, James, Olive now Mrs. 
 B. K. Hoover, Orrel, and Ona, wife of Al- 
 bert Brown. Mr. and Mrs. B. K. Hoover are 
 the parents of two children ; Chester, Laverne 
 and Hazel Anita. The family attend the 
 United Brethren Mt. Zion church in Dallas 
 township. 
 
 HENRY S. KROHN,* one of the highly 
 respected retired citizens of Gallon, O., for 
 many years has occupied his comfortable resi- 
 dence at No. 430 Grand street, in front of 
 which he set out the maple trees which have 
 grown to luxuriance, is well known all over 
 Crawford county, for a long period having 
 been a popular educator. He was born in 
 York county. Pa., Sept. 22, 1840, and is a 
 son of John and Mary (Snyder) Krohn. 
 
 Both the Krohn and Snyder families orig- 
 inated in Germany, but for generations have 
 been of America and before coming to Ohio, 
 lived and prospered in York county. Pa., and 
 there John Krohn was born, a son of John 
 and Catherine (Kreitzer) Krohn. He was one 
 of a family of nine children and the eldest. 
 He became a farmer in York county. Pa., mar- 
 ried and died in 1852, at the age of 59 years. 
 After being left a widow, Mrs. Krohn came 
 to Crawford county, O., with her children 
 and purchased 80 acres of land on the out- 
 skirts of Gallon, her farm now being a part 
 of the city and laid out in streets and cov- 
 ered with buildings. Mrs. Krohn was mar- 
 ried after coming to Ohio to John Dice, and 
 both died here, Mr. Dice being buried in the 
 old Gallon cemetery. She survived to the 
 age of yy years. In every relation of life 
 she was an estimable woman and was a de- 
 his parents' children and is the only one liv- 
 ing. He was reared to farm pursuits but 
 was more than usually intelligent as a youth 
 and so applied himself to his books that he 
 became qualified for teaching and subsequently 
 taught 46 terms of school, 42 of these in Craw- 
 ford county. He has, at times, been otherwise 
 occupied, from 1874 until 1884 being con- 
 nected with the Big Four Railroad, and occa- 
 sionally has followed the carpenter trade to 
 some extent. He has been practically a con- 
 tinuous resident of Gallon since 1872, and 
 his general interests have been centered here. 
 
 Mr. Krohn was married in Crawford county, 
 to Miss Anna E. Swisher, who was born in 
 Jefferson township, June 18, 1839, and is a 
 daughter of John and Mary (Garberich) 
 Swisher. The father of Mrs. Krohn was born 
 in Crawford county and died here when aged 
 60 years. The mother was a native of Penn- 
 sylvania and survived to the age of 76 years. 
 They were members of the United Brethren 
 
836 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 church. Mrs. Krohn is the only one remain- 
 ing of their family of children. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Krohn have had the fol- 
 lowing children: Mary A., who has been a 
 teacher since the age of 17 years and is well 
 known in educational circles and has many 
 pleasant social connections here; Ida Jane, 
 who is the wife of Hanie L. Seif, residing at 
 Galion; Estella, who is the wife of Evan J. 
 Healy, of Delaware county, 0., and has two 
 sons — Elbridge J. and Russell Krohn ; William 
 Franklin, who married and removed to Chi- 
 cago, 111., and has had two children, Willard 
 and Henrietta, the latter of whom died at 
 the age of seven years; Iva May, who mar- 
 ried (first) John Cook, and (second) James 
 E. Mateer, and who resides at Mt. Gilead, 
 Morrow county, O. ; Ena J., who married 
 William G. Line, of Galion, and has two chil- 
 dren, Madge E. and Charles H. Mr. Krohn 
 and family are active in the United Brethren 
 church. In his political views Mr. Krohn is 
 a Republican. 
 
 JOHN I. MILLIKEN, one of the progres- 
 sive and enterprising agriculturists of Craw- 
 ford county, O., and one of its substantial 
 citizens, resides on his one farm of 120 acres, 
 lying in Bucyrus township, and owns a second 
 farm, containing 56 acres, situated in Dallas 
 township. He was born in Juniata county, 
 Pa., Jan. 6, 1871, and is a son of John and 
 Sarah (Innis) Milliken. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Milliken were born in 
 Pennsylvania and still reside there, the father 
 being a farmer and also a carpenter. He has 
 been identified with the Democratic party since 
 his early manhood but has never been a seeker 
 for public office. He and wife are members 
 of the United Presbyterian church. They have 
 reared a large family, as follows : Jennie, who 
 is the wife of William McGill ; Alice, deceased, 
 who was the wife of Neely Arnold; Sarah; 
 Charles; Etta, who is the wife of Warren 
 Gray; Emma, who is the wife of Charles Mc- 
 Cullough; John I.; Myrtle, who is the wife of 
 Joseph McLaughlin; Elizabeth, who is the wife 
 of John Hockenberry ; and Bertha, who is the 
 wife of Crawford Tilfer. 
 
 John I. Milliken received his educational 
 training in the public schools of Juniata county 
 and afterward assisted his father until he was 
 
 19 years of age when he decided to start out 
 for himself. He came to Crawford county 
 as a promising field and for the four succeed- 
 ing years worked on farms by the month, a 
 very excellent way in which to learn the dif- 
 ferent methods pursued by farmers in secur- 
 ing the best returns from the soil, and then 
 followed farming on shares for two years. 
 His present farm in Bucyrus township, was 
 formerly known as the James P. Beall farm. 
 He carries on all the usual farm industries and 
 has met with great success in his undertakings 
 and is numbered with the best farmers in the 
 township. 
 
 In November, 1893, Mr. Milliken was mar- 
 ried to Miss Nora E. Beall, who was bom on 
 the present farm, and belongs to one of the 
 old county families. Her parents, James P. 
 and Mary Ann (Keckler) Beall, are both de- 
 ceased, their burial being at Bucyrus. James 
 P. Beall was a leading Republican of Bucyrus 
 township and he and his wife were faithful 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Mrs. Milliken was the youngest born of their 
 children, the others being: James Perry and 
 John W., both now deceased; Mary M., wife 
 of Charles Henry; Laura E., wife of E. R. 
 Hill; Dorsey L. ; and Eva M., wife of Wesley 
 Beal. Mr. and Mrs. Miliken have one daugh- 
 ter, Edith Beal. They attend the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Mr. Milliken votes with 
 the Republican party. 
 
 H. W. SMITH, general farmer residing on 
 his well improved place of 65 acres, situated 
 nine miles northwest of Bucyrus, O., was born 
 in Lykens township, Crawford county, O., 
 Dec. 21, 1859, and is a son of Frederick Smith. 
 He was a native of Saxony, Germany, and 
 came to the United States when a young man. 
 
 H. W. Smith attended school in Lykens 
 township and afterward took up farming, first 
 on the home place and then in Holmes town- 
 ship, subsequently buying a farm in Tod town- 
 ship which he later, sold. In 1904 he bought 
 his present farm, on which he has placed all 
 the excellent improvements and carries on 
 general farming and stock raising. 
 
 In March, 1885, Mr. Smith was married 
 (first) to Miss Jane Smith, who died in 1888. 
 Mr. Smith was married (second) to Mrs. Es- 
 ther (Norris) Wilhelm, in 1891, who was 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 837 
 
 accidentally killed by a stroke of lightning, 
 July 16, 1907, while in church, on a part of 
 the home farm. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had one 
 child that died in infancy. Mrs. Smith had 
 one son by her first marriage, Clyde Wilhelm, 
 who is a teacher in Holmes township and in 
 September, 191 1, was married to Miss Hazel 
 Frost. His father, William Wilhelm, was a 
 •farmer in Holmes township and died prior to 
 the birth of his son. Mr. Smith is a member 
 of the Evangelical church and is one of Holmes 
 township's most respected citizens. In poli- 
 tics he is a Democrat, but uses his own judg- 
 ment when voting. 
 
 DAVID LUST, V. S. is one of the well- 
 known residents of Dallas township, Craw- 
 ford county, and the owner of 120 acres of 
 land, 80 of which are located in Dallas town- 
 ship and the remaining 40 in Tod township. 
 He was born in Crawford county, Nov. 17, 
 1847, being a son of Conrad and Magdalena 
 (Myers) Lust. 
 
 Conrad Lust came to this country from 
 Germany where he had been born, being but 
 nine years of age at the time of his arrival 
 here. His wife was born in Columbiana 
 county, O. Both have passed away and their 
 remains are buried in Chatfield township. 
 They reared a family of children who bore the 
 following names : Israel, Susannah, deceased, 
 who was the wife of Christopher Klink; John; 
 David; Catherine, the widow of William H. 
 Hunsicker; Sophia, the wife of Emanuel 
 Yeiter; Solomon; Daniel; and Elizabeth, who 
 is the wife of John Beal. Conrad Lust was a 
 Democrat in politics. 
 
 Dr. David Lust, after completing his com- 
 mon school education, turned his attention to 
 farm work but in connection therewith began 
 the study of veterinary surgery. After three 
 years spent with Dr. Keller he began practice 
 for himself and has since continued to attend 
 to his duties as a veterinary together with his 
 farming. Dr. Lust has lived on his farm about 
 40 years, having inherited the 80 acres on 
 which he resides from his father. The 40 
 acres located in Tod township he himself has 
 bought. His land is well improved and he 
 carries on general farming besides raising 
 what stock he needs. 
 
 Dr. Lust married Miss Elizabeth Hunsicker 
 
 in August, 1 87 1. She was born in Stark 
 county, her parents being Jacob and Otillia 
 (Nearing) Hunsicker, whose other children 
 were: Jacob, William, Catherine (Mrs. Henry 
 White), Peter, and Mary (Mrs. Jacob 
 Shearer). Mr. Hunsicker spent his life en- 
 gaged in farming. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Lust are the parents of three 
 children, namely : Noah L., who married Miss 
 Emma Stiger; Ida, the wife of Philip Stiger; 
 and Daniel C, who married Miss Bessie Mur- 
 phy. 
 
 In politics Dr. Lust adheres to the Demo- 
 cratic party. He has served as land appraiser. 
 He belongs to the Grange at Bucyrus and the 
 Reformed church. 
 
 H. N. OBERLANDER,* a leading business 
 man of Bucyrus, O., a reliable contractor and 
 for some four years largely engaged in build- 
 ing streets in this and other cities, belongs 
 to one of the old families of Crawford county. 
 His grandfather, Jacob Oberlander, came from 
 Germany to this county at an early date, tak- 
 ing up lands in Lykens township and estab- 
 lishing his family here on a sound foundation. 
 H. N. Oberlander was born on the family 
 homestead, in 1863, and is a son of Emanuel 
 Oberlander, the second born son in his grand- 
 father's family. 
 
 Emanuel Oberlander was three years old 
 when his parents came to Crawford county 
 and more or less spent his life on the home- 
 stead which comprised a three-quarter section 
 of land. He developed into a careful and suc- 
 cessful farmer and good business man and 
 from time to time added to the property he 
 had inherited. His death occurred in 1902, 
 wh«n he was 63 years of age. Politically he 
 was a Democrat. In his religious views he 
 was in sympathy with the religious body known 
 as the Albright Methodists. He married Ly- 
 dia Spade, a native of Crawford county, who 
 still occupies the old homestead in Lykens 
 township. Six children were born to them as 
 follows : Mary, who is the wife of George 
 Haines of New Washington Crawford county, 
 and has two children : Willis, who resides on 
 the old farm with his mother; Galen, who re- 
 sides with his family in Lykens township, 
 father of one son; H. N., who has resided at 
 Bucyrus ever since he was elected a county 
 
838 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 commissioner; George, who lives on the old 
 farm, and who is married and has one child; 
 and Jennie, who is the wife of Christopher 
 Miller, a farmer in Lykens township and has 
 two sons and one daughter. 
 
 H. N. Oberlander obtained his education in 
 the country schools and grew up on the home 
 farm and for a number of years devoted him- 
 self to agricultural pursuits. A man of force 
 and character he secured the confidence of 
 his fellow citizens all over the county and in 
 1893 was elected a county commissioner and 
 served for six years. During this time he 
 had become a resident of Bucyrus, where he 
 has resided ever since. His leading business 
 for some years has been street and road con- 
 tracting and building, and additionally he 
 deals in hay. In politics he is a Democrat and 
 at different times has been elected to about all 
 of the township offices, in every one of which 
 he has given efficient and honest service. 
 
 In Lykens township, Crawford county, on 
 July 10, 1884, Mr. Oberlander was married 
 to Miss Lillie M. Dellinger, who was born 45 
 years ago at Lima, in Allen county, O., the 
 youngest child of David and Amanda (Wil- 
 liam) Dellinger. Her father, David Dellinger, 
 was also born in Lykens township, a son of 
 Joseph and Susanna (Smith) Dellinger, pio- 
 neers in that section. David Dellinger was a 
 merchant at Lima, O., for ten years prior to 
 his death, which occurred when Mrs. Ober- 
 lander was young. Mrs. Dellinger when left 
 a widow came to Lykens township with her 
 three children and died here Feb. 2. 1905. She 
 was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Mrs. Oberlander has two sisters: 
 Mollie and Mattie. The former is the wife 
 of Alexander Flickinger, a farmer in Texas 
 township, Crawford county, and has two chil- 
 dren, Edith and Harry. Edith is the wife of 
 Ralph Larue and has two children. Harry 
 resides with his wife on a farm near Plank- 
 ton, O. Mattie is the wife of H. S. Shupp 
 and they live on a farm in Lykens township. 
 They have one' daughter, Maria, who is the 
 wife of Prof. Earl Hall, who is principal of 
 the public schools at Fowler, Colo. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Oberlander have had two 
 children: N. Winona and Chalmer L. The 
 daughter, who died in the flower of young 
 womanhood, when aged but 20 years, Oct. 26, 
 
 1905, was a beautiful and talented girl. Her 
 parents had given her educational advantages 
 and she had taught school for three years. She 
 was universally admired and beloved. Chal- 
 mer L. Oberlander was born Nov. 4, 1887, and 
 is associated with his father and has proven 
 a reliable business man. Mrs. Oberlander is 
 a member of the Free Will Baptist church. 
 
 LEVI SHEMER, a prosperous farmer, 
 owner of 127 acres of land in Dallas township, 
 was* born in Stark county, O., Oct. 14, 1845, 
 son of John and Mary (Wickard) Shemer. 
 The father of our subject was a native of 
 Switzerland and the mother of Pennsylvania. 
 They came to Crawford county early in mar- 
 ried life and John Shemer followed farming 
 here for many years. Their children were 
 Levi, Garrison, Delila, now deceased, who 
 was the wife of William McBride, Susan, wife 
 of John Aumiller; Emeline, wife of Neal 
 Spade; Priscilla, wife of Marion Spade; 
 Amanda, deceased ; Esther, wife of C. P. Shoflf- 
 stale; George and J. Corvin. John Shemer 
 was a Republican in politics and he and his 
 wife attended the United Brethren church. 
 
 Levi Shemer was quite young when he ac- 
 companied his parents to Crawford county. 
 He was educated in the common schools, and 
 in 1863, at the age of 18 years, enlisted in 
 Company A, 12th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, 
 serving until the close of the war, when he was 
 honorably discharged. He then returned to 
 Crawford county, where he was married 
 March 30, 1871 to Martha J. McKinney, a 
 daughter of John and Matilda (Rex) Mc- 
 Kinney. Mrs. Shemer's father was a native 
 of Richland county, O., and her mother of 
 Pennsylvania; they were farming people. 
 Their children were Mary Ann, wife of W. B. 
 Comstock; Martha J., who is now Mrs. 
 Shemer; Eleonore, wife of John Frost; and 
 John Henry. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Shemer the children born 
 are George LeRoy, Mary Matilda, wife of 
 Dan Parcher; Charles Otis, Velma, Maude, 
 Leo White and Earl. Mr. Shemer is a Re- 
 publican in politics. He has served Dallas 
 township as road supervisor and school di- 
 rector, and belongs to Lee's Post, No. 128, 
 G. A. R. at Liberty. 
 
ALBERT E. SHUMAKER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 841 
 
 FREDERICK TRISH, who is extensively 
 engaged in general farming and cattle and 
 stock raising in Tod township, Crawford 
 county, O., has a large body of land, amount- 
 ing to 858 acres, which lies in Crawford and 
 Wyandot counties. His present home is sit- 
 uated five and one-half miles south of Oceola. 
 He was born at Bucyrus, O., Nov. 13, 1840, 
 and is a son of Lewis and Anna Elizabeth 
 (Fetter) Trish. 
 
 Lewis Trish and wife were both born in 
 Germany . He came to America when young 
 and located first at York, Pa., and from there 
 made his way to Crawford county, in 1835 
 reaching Bucyrus, where, for 20 years he car- 
 ried on a wagon and carriage making busi- 
 ness. He moved then to Wyandot county and 
 became a farmer and died there July 4, 1859, 
 when aged 57 years. He married Anna 
 Elizabeth Fetter, who died in 1882, her age 
 being "jj years, 6 months and 3 days. Of 
 their nine children, three sons and two daugh- 
 ters are deceased. 
 
 Frederick Trish is the only surviving son of 
 his parents' family. He attended school at 
 Bucyrus and remembers many interesting 
 events of the early days in the city's develop- 
 ment. In June, 1853 he accompanied his par- 
 ents to Wyandot county and for 28 years 
 followed farming there, in 1884 moving to his 
 present fine property near Oceola. In addi- 
 tion to raising the crops that do best in this 
 section, Mr. Trish is successfully interested in 
 live-stock and raises cattle, horses, sheep and 
 hogs. 
 
 Mr. Trish married Miss Maria Shroll, who 
 is a daughter of Levi Shroll, this family be- 
 ing one of the oldest in Crawford county. 
 This marriage took place May 11, 1875 and 
 five children have been born to them, all of 
 whom survive, namely : George, Henry, Delta, 
 Ray and Bessie. They all remain on the 
 homestead, Henry being married, his wife 
 having formerly been Miss Gertie Lacount, of 
 Cleveland, O. Mr. Trish and sons are Demo- 
 crats. He has always been an active citizen 
 and while living in Wyandot county served as 
 a township trustee and in .other public 
 positions. 
 
 ALBERT E. SHUMAKER, one of the 
 substantial men of Whetstone township, 
 
 Crawford county, O., a general farmer and 
 buyer and shipper of stock, resides on his 80- 
 acre farm here and owns additionally ten acres 
 to the east and 14 more acres to the northeast 
 of the home tract. Mr. Shumaker was born 
 in Crawford county, July 18, 1862, and is a 
 son of Joel and Elmira (Weatherby) Shu- 
 maker. 
 
 Joel Shumaker was born in Pennsylvania 
 and was a son of Jonathan and Hannah 
 (Kuehner) Shumaker, the former of whom 
 was born in Germany and the latter in Hol- 
 land. Joel Shumaker learned the stone mason 
 trade in his native place and was married in 
 Pennsylvania to Elmira Weatherby, who was 
 born in Lycoming county. Afterward the 
 Shumaker and Weatherby families moved to 
 Crawford county, O. In a terrible railroad 
 accident on the crossing at North Robinson, 
 Crawford county, on Feb. 26, 1887, both Mr. 
 Shumaker and his father-in-law met death. 
 He was a good man, a devout member of the 
 United Brethren church and left a large family 
 and many friends. His children were as fol- 
 lows: Angeline, who married William Alle- 
 bach ; Margaret, who married Isaac Reed ; Sa- 
 rah, who is now deceased ; Almeda, who is the 
 widow of F. O. Benedict; Ellen, who married 
 James Stoneman; Albert E., the subject of 
 this article; Edward, who is deceased; 
 Charles; Nora, who married Flavius Kepler; 
 and David. Both the father and mother of 
 the above family rest in the Campbell cem- 
 etery, in Crawford county. 
 
 Albert E. Shumaker attended the public 
 schools of Whetstone township and afterward 
 was a student for 18 months in the university 
 at Ada, O. Following his return home he en- 
 gaged in farming through the summers for 
 the next three years and taught school dur- 
 ing the winters but since then has devoted 
 his attention largely to agricultural pursuits. 
 In 1 90 1 he purchased his present home farm, 
 formerly known as the Lininger farm, from 
 the Smith heirs, and has done a large amount 
 of improving including tiling, fencing, fer- 
 tilizing and building, a fine barn having but 
 recently been erected. In addition to the 
 land above mentioned, Mr. Shumaker has a 
 desirable building lot at Bucyrus in tlie Som- 
 mer Addition, of which section he is one of 
 the stockholders, and he also has a handsome 
 
842 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 residence at Galion. He is a man of much 
 public spirit as well as private enterprise but 
 he has not tied himself down to any particu- 
 lar political party, preferring to give his sup- 
 port to the men and measures his own judg- 
 ment approves of. His public usefulness has 
 been frequently recognized by his fellow citi- 
 zens and he has served in Office, in 1892 being 
 census enumerator of Jefferson township, in 
 1 910 was land appraiser in Whetstone town- 
 ship and for many years has been a member 
 of the school board. At present Mr. Shu- 
 maker is administrator of the Sarah Shu- 
 maker estate which is valued at $3,500, and 
 is also administrator of the Estate of Mary E. 
 Heckert, valued at $1,300. He also served as 
 administrator of the estates of his father and 
 father-in-law and for six years or until the 
 death of Eliza Stailey, served as trustee of her 
 Trust Fund, which was valued at $2,665. 
 
 Mr. Shumaker was married Nov. 3, 1886, 
 to Miss Ellen Smith, daughter of Jacob C 
 and Catherine (Stailey) Smith, and a grand- 
 daughter of Daniel and Christiana (Gel- 
 baugh) Smith, and of William and Elizabeth 
 (Whitmer) Stailey, all Pennsylvania people, 
 except the mother of Mrs. Shumaker, who 
 was born in Ohio. The father of Mrs. Shu- 
 maker served over three years in the Civil 
 War as a member of Co. K, 8ist O. Vol. Inf., 
 and afterward engaged in farming until his 
 death. Mrs. Smith survives and makes her 
 home with her eldest child, Mrs. Shumaker. 
 The other children are: John; Wallace; 
 Pearl, who is the wife of William Hancock; 
 and Amanda, who is the wife of W. M. Frost. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shumaker have six children: 
 Harry Guy, Mayme, Warren, Victor, Velma 
 and Anna. The eldest son married Viola 
 Bowers. The family attend the United 
 Brethren church. Mr. Shumaker is a leading 
 member of Pope Grange, at Galion. 
 
 CHARLES W. SHEARER, who is one of 
 the heirs to 180 acres of good farm land in 
 Dallas township, was born in the town of Bu- 
 cyrus, this county, in September, 1888, a son 
 of Isaac and Vesta (Shellenberger) Shearer. 
 His parental grandparents were John and 
 Catherine (Miller) Shearer, and his grand- 
 parents Michael and Barbara Shearer, of Lan- 
 caster county, Pa. John Shearer, the grand- 
 
 father, was born in that county and his active 
 years were devoted to farming. His wife, 
 Catherine Miller Shearer, was a native of 
 Germany who came to America when a child 
 of six years. Both died and are buried in the 
 Shearer cemetery in Whetstone township. 
 
 Isaac Shearer, father of Charles W., was 
 born in Crawford county, O., in 1847. He 
 was educated in the common schools and his 
 active years were spent in agricultural pur- 
 suits.. He was a Democrat in politics and at- 
 tended the Evangelical church. Industrious 
 and thrifty, he became the owner of about 180 
 acres of good land, and was a man respected 
 for his personal qualities as a man and citizen. 
 His death took place in November, 1907. His 
 widow still resides on the homestead farm. 
 The latter, Mrs. Vesta Elmira Shearer, was 
 born in Mahoning county, Ohio, a daughter of 
 John and Rachel (Paulin) Shellenberg, of 
 that county. Her marriage to Mr. Shearer 
 took place in November, 1872, and the chil- 
 dren born were Charles Wesley (subject of 
 this sketch), Milford Guy, Franklin Abra- 
 ham, and two that died in infancy. 
 
 Charles W. Shearer in his boyhood at- 
 tended the common schools of Dallas town- 
 ship and was trained to farm work by his 
 ■father. In company with his brother Milford 
 he now operates the home farm of 180 acres, 
 which is well stocked with full blooded Jersey 
 cattle. Charles W. Shearer was married in 
 October, 19 10, to Elma Wolf, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Emma (Mitchell) Wolf, farmers 
 of Wyandot county, whose children were 
 Harley, Bessie, Claude, Elma, Grace, Russell, 
 Hershel and Theodore. Mr. Shearer is inde- 
 pendent in politics. The family attend the 
 Evangelical church at Bucyrus. 
 
 JAMES E. HARROP,* of the firm of 
 Harrop & Faulkner, conducting the leading 
 livery business at Bucyrus and being heavy 
 dealers and handlers of stock, is a man of 
 long experience in this line. He was born Oct. 
 II, 1862, and is a son of Hugh and Catherine 
 (Cover) Harrop. 
 
 Hugh Harrop was born in Lancastershire, 
 England, in 1833, and when a young man 
 aged about 22 years, came to the United 
 States, the only member of his parents' family 
 of twelve children. He worked as a machin- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 843 
 
 ist in Philadelphia, for a time, having learned 
 the trade in England, afterward coming to 
 Ohio and finding employment in the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad shops at Crestline and was 
 thus engaged until his death in 1889. In 1864 
 he brought his parents, James and Ann Har- 
 rop, to America and they spent their declin- 
 ing years here under his filial care. He was 
 married at Crestline, in 1861, to Catherine 
 Cover, who was of Pennsylvania Dutch stock, 
 a daughter of Hiram and Margaret (Pfeier) 
 Cover, who were early settlers at Crestline. 
 Mrs. Harrop was born in 1843 and died in 
 1900. She and her husband were members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. Four chil- 
 dren were born to Hugh Harrop and wife, 
 namely: James E. ; George A., born in Sep- 
 tember, 1864, who resides at South Bend, 
 Ind., a contractor in very comfortable circum- 
 stances, and who has one son. Gale, a student 
 of Harvard College; Frank H., born in Oc- 
 tober, 1866, who resides at Crestline, where he 
 is foreman of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 shops, and who is married and has five chil- 
 dren — Robert, Noel, Russell and two daugh- 
 ters; and Bertha, who is the wife of R. E. 
 Miller, an attorney at South Bend, and has 
 one son, Russell. The three sons of Hugh 
 Harrop became skilled machinists like their 
 father and all worked for a time at that trade 
 and all have been successful as business men. 
 James E. Harrop was born at Crestline, O., 
 and obtained his education in the pub- 
 lic schools there. In that city he started into 
 the livery business in 1887 and has continued 
 in this line ever since. In 1890 he came to 
 Bucyrus and since 1895 has been active in a 
 commercial way here, entering into his pres- 
 ent partnership, with James E. Faulkner in 
 1903, the latter having been in the stock buy- 
 ing business prior to that date. They com- 
 bined the two and have since then done a very 
 large business. They purchase largely in the 
 West and sell in the East and manage their 
 undertakings with good judgment and along 
 practical lines and have met with a large de- 
 gree of prosperity. Their livery stables ac- 
 commodate some 40 horses, with outfits to 
 match, carry also undertaking outfits and ad- 
 ditionally have a central delivery system 
 which they operate in the city and a similar 
 system at Marion, O. 
 
 In June, 1886, Mr. Harrop was united in 
 marriage with Miss Erma Zink, who was born 
 in 1867, at Crestline, O. Her parents were 
 David L. and Mary J. (Hall) Zink, both of 
 whom were natives of Pennsylvania, born 
 near Philadelphia. For 44 years after locating 
 at Crestline, O., David L. Zink served as 
 ticket and freight agent there for both the 
 Pennsylvania and the Big Four Railroads. 
 He still lives at Crestline but his wife passed 
 away in 1900, when aged 70 years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kink had four sons and three daughters, 
 all of whom are living; all have married and 
 all have families of their own. Their relig- 
 ious connection was with the Presbyterian 
 church. To Mr. and Mrs. Harrop two sons 
 were born: Hugh J., in 1893; and Spencer 
 Howard, born in February, 1898. The older 
 son is a graduate of the Bucyrus High School, 
 while the younger is yet a student. Mr. Har- 
 rop and family belong to the Presbyterian 
 church. Politically he is a Republican but has 
 never been a politician. He is identified with 
 the Masons, Elks and Maccabees. 
 
 FREDERICK KUEHNLE, owner of 80 
 acres of land, 40' of which are located in 
 Whetstone township and the remainder in 
 Bucyrus township, Crawford county, was 
 born in Wurtemburg, Germany, in Novem- 
 ber, 1856, a son of Michael and Barbara 
 (Sager) Kuehnle. The father died in Ger- 
 many when our subject was six years old. 
 The mother came to this country and died 
 here. Their children were Christian, Carl and 
 Frederick. 
 
 Frederick Kuehnle came to this country 
 from Germany when 25 years of age and lo- 
 cated in Brooklyn, N. Y., where he remained 
 four months. He then spent a year in Phil- 
 adelphia, after which he came to Crawford 
 county and after working by the month for 
 seven years, bought his present farm. He 
 does general farming and raises stock for his 
 own use. 
 
 On Feb. 7, 1904, Mr. Kuehnle was married 
 to Mary Kober, a native of this county, whose 
 parents were farmers in Richland township. 
 Their children were as follows: Mary, Ben- 
 jamin and Emma, deceased, who was the wife 
 of August Minder. Our subject and his wife 
 are the parents of one son Paul. Mr. Kuehnle 
 
844 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 had been previously married, his first wife 
 having been Catherine Yearling, a daughter of 
 Peter and Elizabeth Yearling. She was the 
 mother of one child, Charles, who is teaching 
 school in Whetstone township. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Kuehnle is a Democrat. He 
 and his family attend the German Lutheran 
 Church. 
 
 JAMES MILLER, deceased, for many 
 years was a highly respected citizen and suc- 
 cessful general farmer in Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, O., and was a member of 
 one of the oldest families in this section, one 
 that has always been held in high regard. He 
 was born in Holmes township, Oct. 17, 1840 
 and died on his well improvefl farm of 160 
 acres, Aug. 17, 1898. His father, John 
 Miller, . was of German extraction and was 
 well known all over Crawford county. 
 
 James Miller grew up on his father's farm 
 and assisted in his father's agricultural activi- 
 ties until he married, when he came to the 
 farm on which he spent the remainder of his 
 busy and useful life. In leaving this fine prop- 
 erty to his family he provided well for their 
 future, having improved the place to a high 
 degree and erected all th* present substantial 
 buildings. In politics he was a Democrat but 
 was never very active in public matters and 
 the only oflfice he ever was willing to accept 
 was that of school director. For many years 
 he attended the Methodist Episcopal church 
 and contributed to its support. 
 
 On July 3, 1862, James Miller was united in 
 marriage with Miss Caroline Angene, who is 
 a daughter of Adam and Barbara (Shearer) 
 Angene. The father of Mrs. Miller was born 
 in Germany and after coming to America lo- 
 cated in Crawford county, O., where he lived 
 until his death, and Mrs. Miller was three 
 years old at that 'time and was reared near 
 Brokensword, O. She is one of a family of 
 II children and has two brothers and one 
 sister living. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Miller the following chil- 
 dren were born : Frank, who lives at Toledo, 
 O.; Charles, whose home is in Pennsylvania, 
 a commercial traveler, who married Minnie 
 Peck; Horace, who is engaged in the real es- 
 tate business at Geneva, O., and who married 
 Elva Dunlap and has three children — Earl, 
 
 Gorman and Beulah; Annie B., who is the 
 wife of Harmon Claussen, of Milwaukee, 
 Wis.; and Minnie May, who died December 
 II, 1890, when aged but 19 years. She was a 
 beautiful and talented young woman and had 
 just completed her college course. Mrs Mil- 
 ler and children belong to the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Since the death of her husband 
 she has had her farm rented to responsible 
 tenants. 
 
 FULTON N. STUCKMAN, who resides 
 with his mother, on the old homestead farm 
 of 40 acres, situated in Bucyrus township, 
 Crawford county, O., operating the same for 
 her, also carries on farming and stock raising 
 on his own farm of 44 acres. He was born on 
 the home farm, Aug. 16, 1879, and is a son of 
 Henry and Elizabeth (Speigle) Stuckman. 
 
 Henry Stuckman was a farmer in Bucyrus 
 township for many years and was a well 
 known and respected man. He died on his 
 farm and his burial was at Bucyrus. In 
 politics he was a Democrat and he attended 
 and assisted in supporting Mt. Zion church. 
 He was twice married, first to Elizabeth Sny- 
 der and after her death to Elizabeth Speigle. 
 Two children were born to the first marriage : 
 Irvin and Ottie, the latter of whom married 
 Elmer Cook, and is now deceased. Four chil- 
 dren were born to the second marriage, 
 namely: Lena, who is the wife of L. H. As- 
 senheimer ; Fulton N. ; and Regina and 
 Bertha, both of whom are deceased. 
 
 In these modern days of change there are 
 comparatively few people who have been able 
 to pass their busy, useful lives in the place of 
 their birth; but such has been the opportunity 
 of Fulton N. Stuckman, and the old home that 
 sheltered him as a child, continues to be his 
 chosen place of residence. He carries on his 
 farm industries here with success, raising ex- 
 cellent crops from his fertilized fields and 
 enough good stock to satisfy all home 
 demands. 
 
 On May i, 1901, Mr. Stuckman was mar- 
 ried to Miss Emma Sheff, who was born in 
 Ashland county, O., a daughter of Martin 
 Sheff and wife, who now reside on their farm 
 in Wyandot county. To Mr. and Mrs. Sheff 
 the following children were born: Mary, who 
 is the wife of Amos Hite; Mrs. Stuckman; 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 845 
 
 Edward; Caroline, who is the wife of Ziba 
 Beavers; and Albert, Elmer and Sarah. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Stuckman have three sturdy bright 
 little sons: Jesse, Park and Herbert. Mr. 
 Stuckman and family belong to the Mt. Zion 
 church. In politics he is a Democrat and has 
 served on the township school board. 
 
 JOHN E. FAULKNER,* a member of the 
 firm of Harrop & Faulkner, liverymen, at Bu- 
 cyrus, O., and one of the well known business 
 men of that city, is a member of one of the 
 old English families that came to the United 
 States in 1850 and since then has contributed 
 to the best citizenship of this country. Ed- 
 ward Faulkner, father of John E., was born 
 in England, in 1844, and died at Bucyrua, Jan. 
 II, 1909. His parents were Joseph and Mary 
 (Porter) Faulkner and prior to coming to 
 America the father conducted a hotel near 
 London. The family settled in Crawford 
 county, O. 
 
 The late Edward Faulkner was one of the 
 best known men of Crawford county. He 
 was a stock dealer and trader and had exten- 
 sive business connections and through up- 
 rightness of character and honest dealing, he 
 secured the respect and esteem of those with 
 whom he became associated. During the Civil 
 War he served as a soldier in Co. I, 150th O. 
 Vol. Inf., making several attempts to enlist be- 
 fore he was finally accepted and served until 
 about the close of the war, participating in 
 many engagements but being fortunate 
 enough to escape both wounds and imprison- 
 ment. Nature had endowed him with a 
 mathematical mind and his talent was culti- 
 vated and often proved of great value to him. 
 In his large dealings he frequently could cal- 
 culate the amount per pound of a herd of 
 cattle or flock of sheep, in a few seconds, 
 problems that would require hours of work 
 with both brains and pencil, in another less 
 gifted dealer. He was thoroughly posted on 
 the topography of the county, was familiar 
 with every highway, had knowledge of every 
 farm and its history and was personally ac- 
 quainted with the larger number of owners. 
 Politically he was as stanch a Republican as 
 his brothers were Democrats. He married 
 Mary Knisley, a daughter of John and Eliza- 
 beth Knisley, this being an old Craiwford 
 
 48 
 
 county family. Mrs. Faulkner survives and 
 resides at Bucyrus. Four children were born 
 to Edward Faulkner and wife, namely: 
 George W., who is engaged in the plumbing 
 business at Bucyrus; Irene, who is the wife of 
 J. C. Fisher, of Toledo, O. ; John E. and 
 Joseph, who represents a business house of 
 Dayton, O., at Oakland, Calif., and who is 
 married and has two sons. 
 
 John E. Faulkner obtained his education in 
 the Bucyrus schools. In partnership with 
 James E. Harrop he is doing a large business 
 in the shipping of horses and other stock and 
 they also conduct a first class livery stable. 
 They are men of enterprise and their stand- 
 ing in business circles is high. 
 
 Mr. Faulkner was married in Marion 
 county, O., to Miss Josephine Sickle, who was 
 born there in 1877, a daughter of Joshua 
 Sickle, who died before she was born. She is 
 the only survivor of the family now living in 
 this city. Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner have two 
 children: Edward, born Dec. 5, 1888; and 
 Marjorie, born Jan. 25, 1900. The family at- 
 tends the English Lutheran church. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Faulkner is a Republican and 
 fraternally he is connected with the Elks and 
 the Eagles. 
 
 CHARLES K. WELLER, superintendent 
 of Oakwood Cemetery, at Bucyrus, O., and a 
 well known and respected citizen, owning a 
 handsome residence on the corner of Spring 
 and Center streets, Bucyrus, was born in San- 
 dusky township, Crawford county, Aug. 19, 
 1873. He is a son of Peter and Melissa 
 (Kaler) Weller. 
 
 The father of Mr. Weller was born in Ger- 
 many but for many years has been a valued 
 citizen of Crawford county and now lives re- 
 tired at Bucyrus. For some 15 years he 
 served as postmaster at West Liberty and 
 afterward was engaged in clerical work until 
 he retired. He is a Democrat in politics and 
 is a leading member of the Lutheran church. 
 He married Melissa Kaler, who was born in 
 Crawford county, and died in March, 1902, 
 and her burial was in Oakwood Cemetery. 
 Peter Weller was married second to Mary 
 Jenner, but his children were both born to his 
 first union. They were two in number: 
 Charles K. and Vella May, the latter of whom 
 
846 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 died in November, 1910 and was the wife of 
 Frank Shell. 
 
 Charles K. Weller obtained a common 
 school training and for five years afterward 
 was engaged in clerical work in Bucyrus and 
 then learned the carriage painting trade, 
 which he followed for some years. In 1902 
 he was appointed superintendent of the Oak- 
 wood Cemetery and under his care this burial 
 place has become one of the most beautiful 
 gardens of the dead in the state. 
 
 On Dec. 29, 1897, Mr. Weller was married, 
 by Rev. Jacob Henry Cutter, pastor of St. 
 Paul's Lutheran Church, to Miss Laura L. 
 Kibler, who was born in Crawford county, 
 and is a daughter of Jacob and Rose (Hari- 
 ger) Kibler. Mr. Kibler was born in Ger- 
 many and was a well known farmer in Craw- 
 ford county. He was married here to Rose 
 Hariger and they had the following children : 
 Lucinda, who is the wife of Daniel Klink; 
 Matilda, who is the wife of Theodore Lyons, 
 and a twin sister of Lucinda; Emma, who is 
 the wife of William Miller; John; and Laura 
 L., who is the wife of Mr. Weller. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Weller have one son. Perry Robert. 
 They are members of the English Lutheran 
 church. He is an independent voter in politics 
 but is active in the Masonic body at Bucyrus. 
 
 A. M. ZOOK, one of the prominent citizens 
 of Tod township, Crawford county, O., who 
 carries on farming and stock raising, owning 
 160 acres of valuable land, was born in Dallas 
 township, Crawford county, within one and 
 three-fourth miles of his home place, Nov. 17, 
 1855, and is a son of J. B. and Samantha 
 (Spahr) Zook. 
 
 J. B. Zook was born in Pennsylvania and 
 was already a young man when he accom- 
 panied his parents to Crawford county, locat- 
 ing near Bucyrus, where he engaged in teach- 
 ing school for a time and then bought 80 
 acres of land, the same being now owned by 
 his grandson. With the exception of a few 
 years passed in the city of Bucyrus, he spent 
 the rest of his life on that farm, his death oc- 
 curring there when his age was 65 years. He 
 married Samantha Spahr, who was born m 
 Crawford county, and they had but one child, 
 A. M. After the death of his first wife he 
 married Nancy J. Good, and one son was also 
 
 born to that union, Lloyd, who is now a resi- 
 dent of Bucyrus. 
 
 A. M. Zook attended the country schools 
 and when the time came to choose an occupa- 
 tion, decided on farming. He located first on 
 a farm of 80 acres from which he moved, July 
 25, 1888, to his present place. He carried on . 
 agricultural operations here until the death of 
 his wife, after which he rented his farm for 
 five years. After his second marriage he re- 
 turned to the farm on which he has made ex- 
 cellent improvements, including the erection of 
 new and substantial buildings. 
 
 Mr. Zook was married first to Miss Sadie 
 Swartz, who died in 1903, leaving two chil- 
 dren: Vitellius, residing on his farm of 65 
 acres, situated in Dallas township, who mar- 
 ried Jeanetta Tate and has two children — 
 Merritt and Violet ; and a babe that died. Mr. 
 Zook's second marriage was to Miss Cathe- 
 rine Lust, a daughter of Israel Lust. They 
 are active members of the United Brethren 
 church. In politics Mr. Zook is a Republican 
 and for six years was a trustee of Tod town- 
 ship, the first one ever elected on the Republi- 
 can ticket, and for nine years was a justice of 
 the peace in Dallas township. Few men in 
 this section have traveled farther or more en- 
 joyably than has Mr. Zook, his journeyings 
 taking him to Newfoundland, Canada, and all 
 over the United States and even to Cuba. In 
 large part his trips have been hunting expedi- 
 tions and four times he has sought moose in 
 the Maine forests, twice has been after game 
 in Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Florida 
 and intermediate -points. He has many 
 trophies, each one of which has an interesting 
 history. 
 
 GEORGE SAND, who cultivates his fine 
 farm of 210 acres, situated in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., with a great deal 
 of care, was born in France, in 1864, and is a 
 son of George and Margaret (Witter) Sand. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Sand were also born in 
 France, where they were reared and married 
 and came to Ohio when their son George was 
 young. The other children born to this mar- 
 riage were Michael K. and John. The father 
 married again after the death of his first wife 
 and they now live at Nevada, O., and have the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 847 
 
 following children: Anna, wife of George 
 Guger, and Clara, wife of William Price. 
 
 George Sand had the usual school oppor- 
 tunities in his youth and has been engaged in 
 farming ever since and with an experience of 
 some 30 years may lay just claim to under- 
 stand his business, especially when he has 
 proved that success has followed his efforts. 
 He devotes his land to the crops that do best 
 in this section and raises some good stock. 
 
 Mr. Sand was married Feb. 11, 1892, to 
 Miss Grace Rosa Mayer, a daughter of Jacob 
 Mayer. Her parents never came to the United 
 States but she has one brother, George, and a 
 sister, Mary, wife of William Kline, living in 
 this country. To Mr. and Mrs. Sand the fol- 
 lowing children have been born: Alfred M., 
 Antonia B., William G., John H., C. Fred- 
 erick; Clarence M., Bertha A. M., Milford C, 
 and Irvin R. Mr. Sand and family attend the 
 German Lutheran church. He votes the 
 Democratic ticket. Mr. Sand is a well known 
 and highly respected citizen of Bucyrus town- 
 ship. 
 
 JOHN A. MECK,* justice of the peace and 
 a member of the Bucyrus bar, has long been 
 well known to the people of Crawford county, 
 in which section of Ohio may be found a host 
 of his friends. He is a native of Crawford 
 county, born in Lykens township, Feb. 19, 
 1858. 
 
 Mr. Meek was educated in the public schools 
 and at the Ohio Normal School at Ada, O., 
 and after completing the educator's course in 
 the institution, commenced to teach school. 
 For the following six years or more he alter- 
 nated school teaching and working on the 
 home farm. After coming to Bucyrus he 
 studied law with the late Hon. S. R. Harris, 
 formerly member of Congress from this dis- 
 trict. In 1902 he was appointed a justice of 
 the peace and so satisfactory has been his ser- 
 vice in this capacity that he has made many 
 friends who would like to see him elected to 
 the oi?ice of probate judge, believing that he 
 possesses in unusual degree the qualities which 
 are needed on the bench. He has been quite 
 active in political circles for a nvimber of years 
 and has been an efficient worker for the Demo- 
 cratic party. Formerly he was identified with 
 the Masonic lodge at Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Meek is unmarried. 
 
 T. JOHN LUTZ, who resides on his val- 
 uable farm of seventy-six acres, situated in 
 Bucyrus township, Crawford county, O., owns 
 a second farm, which contains 146 acres and 
 is located in Ashtabula county, O. He was 
 born in Chatfield township, Crawford county, 
 in December, i860, and is a son of Michael 
 and Sabina (Kalb) Lutz. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Lutz were born in Ger- 
 many but for many years they were well 
 known and highly respected residents of Chat- 
 field township, Crawford county, where the 
 father was a farmer and also followed the car- 
 penter trade. Both he and wife died in 
 Chatfield township and a number of their chil- 
 dren live in this section. Of these T. John 
 was the sixth in order of birth, the others be- 
 ing: William; Sabina, who is the widow of 
 Mathias Loyer; Michael; Catherine, who is 
 the wife of J. D. Loyer; Caroline; Lucy, who 
 is the wife of Frank Rush; David; Matilda, 
 who is the wife of J. H. Fox; and Daniel and 
 Jacob. 
 
 T. John Lutz attended the public schools 
 near his father's farm and afterward spent 
 three terms at college, at Valparaiso, Ind. A 
 well educated man makes no mistake when he 
 chooses farming as his life work and Mr. Lutz 
 has proved this true. When he started he 
 bought 100 acres of land in Cranberry town- 
 ship, which he bought from a Mr. Rader, but 
 since 1903 he has been on his present farm in 
 Bucyrus township, which he purchased from 
 C. F. Rexroth. 
 
 In June, 1882 Mr. Lutz was married to Miss 
 Mary Elizabeth Zeller, who died in 1904. She 
 was a daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth 
 (Bardon) Zeller, who came to Crawford 
 county from Germany and after many years 
 died on their farm here. They had the fol- 
 lowing children: Margaret, wife of N. F. 
 Shunk; Elizabeth, wife of John Q. Shunk; 
 Catherine; Christina, wife of M. J. Lutz; 
 Henry; Martha; August; Matilda, wife of S. 
 E. Miller, Mary Elizabeth, formerly wife of 
 T. John Lutz; and John, Albert and Etta. 
 Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lutz : Cyrus Pierce, Clifton D. and Ruth, the 
 last named being deceased. Mr. Lutz was 
 married (second) to Mrs. Ida (Lewis) Jack- 
 son, widow of Thomas J. Jackson, and she 
 had one child of her first marriage, Bertie 
 Elmyra. Mr. Jackson died in Huron county, 
 
848 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 O. In politics Mr. Lutz has always been a 
 Democrat and on many occasions has been 
 elected to responsible township offices on the 
 Democratic ticket. He has served as a mem- 
 ber of the school board and in Chatfield town- 
 ship served as road supervisor and three terms 
 as assessor. He is one of the valued members 
 of the Bucyrus Grange, and with his wife be- 
 longs to the English Lutheran church in that 
 city. 
 
 JOSEPH LEITZY, farmer, stock raiser 
 and leading citizen of Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, O., resides on his farm of 
 lOO acres and has an additional 40 acres in 
 Bucyrus township. He was born in Holmes 
 township, Aug. 7, 1876, and is a son of 
 Francis and Susanna (Smith) Leitzy. 
 
 Francis Leitzy was born in Germany and 
 was young when he came to the United 
 States and spent the larger portion of his long 
 life in Crawford county, O., settling first near 
 Bucyrus and later moving to the place now 
 owned by his son Joseph, four miles west of 
 that city. He carried on farming and raised 
 stock, was an honest, industrious man and one 
 who was highly respected. He lived to be 84 
 years old. He married Susanna' Smith, who 
 died in her 55th year, and they had eight chil- 
 dren born to them, as follows : Rosanna, who 
 is the wife of Philip Strohm; Catherine, who 
 is the wife of George Strohm; Mary, who is 
 the wife of Jacob Steiger; John, who lives in 
 Dallas township, Crawford county; Louisa, 
 who is the wife of Fred Schufer of Bucyrus; 
 William, who "lives at Bucyrus ; Joseph ; and 
 George, who is deceased. 
 
 Joseph Leitzy remained at home and as- 
 sisted his father and after the latter's death 
 bought the interests of the other heirs. He is 
 a practical, well informed .farmer with a 
 thorough understanding of the principles of 
 agriculture and their appliance to his own land 
 and has been very successful in his undertak- 
 ings. He has a very attractive place, having 
 erected substantial buildings and keeping 
 everything in excellent order. 
 
 Mr. Leitzy was married (first) to Miss 
 Elizabeth Wisman, who died in 1908, leaving 
 one daughter, Mary. He was married (sec- 
 ond) to Miss Verda Wisman. They are mem- 
 bers of the Martin Luther Church at Bucyrus 
 
 in which Mr. Leitzy is a deacon. In politics 
 Mr. Leitzy is a stanch Democrat. He served 
 three years as township supervisor, with the 
 greatest efficiency, and at present is a school 
 director. 
 
 ALFRED C. GEORGE, whose fine farm of 
 148 acres is situated in Dallas township, 
 Crawford county, O., has been a resident 
 of Crawford county for a number of years but 
 his Ijirth took place in Morrow county, Jan. 
 14, 1874, his parents, John and Elizabeth 
 (McCracken) George, being also natives of 
 Morrow county. They were well known peo- 
 ple, were members of the Baptist church, and 
 lived comfortably on their well improved 
 farm, which continued to be their home until 
 the close of life. They had the following 
 family of children born to them: Margaret, 
 deceased, who was the wife of Perry Purvis; 
 Julia, deceased, who was the wife of William 
 Reed ; Mary, who married Theodore Stafford ; 
 William-; Jennie, who is the wife of Thomas 
 Cluff; Benjamin; Thomas, who is deceased; 
 Abbie, who is the wife of Harry Clark; John 
 A.; Hannah, who married (first) James 
 Clark, and (second) a Mr. Fleming; Alfred 
 C, and Callie, who is deceased. 
 
 Alfred C. George obtained his educational 
 training in the public schools and remained on 
 the home farm with his father until he was 24 
 years of age. For about two years afterward 
 he rented land in Bucyrus township and then 
 bought his present farm, 68 acres from Daniel 
 Aumiller and 80 acres from Charles Dowdy. 
 He has improved his property and recently has 
 erected a substantial modern barn. A general 
 line of farming is carried on and he has every 
 reason to feel satisfied with his present agri- 
 cultural success and its future promise. 
 
 On April 4, 1906, Mr. George was married 
 to Miss Mabel Beall, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county, and is a daughter of John and 
 Annetta (Wentz) Beall. The father of Mrs. 
 George is deceased but the mother lives and 
 resides in Dallas township. The Bealls were 
 early settlers and substantial people of this 
 part of Crawford county. Mrs. George has 
 three brothers, one older, Arthur, and two 
 younger, Walter and Edgar. Mr. and Mrs. 
 George have one daughter, Elizabeth Annetta. 
 They are members of the Christian Church. 
 
JAIIES S. McCARRELL, D. D. S. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 851 
 
 Mr. George is a Democrat in politics and be- 
 longs also to the Knights of Pythias lodge at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 JAMES S. McCARRELL, D. D. S., de- 
 ceased, for 44 years was one of the leading 
 professional men of Bucyrus, where, also as 
 a citizen, he was held in respect and esteem. 
 He was born Feb. 14, 1835, in Armstrong 
 county. Pa., and died at Bucyrus, O., May 3, 
 1909. He was one of a family of three sons 
 and one daughter born to Rev. James Mc- 
 Carrell, who, at one time was a prominent 
 minister in the United Presbyterian church 
 in Pennsylvania. 
 
 James S. McCarrell had school advantages, 
 his father being a scholarly man, and early 
 became a teacher. When the Civil War broke 
 out he and his two brothers enlisted for serv- 
 ice but serious illness caused his discharge on 
 account of disability, while his brothers sur- 
 vived the early hardships of army life only 
 to die later of starvation in the stockade at 
 Andersonville, Ga. He resumed teaching and 
 later became superintendent of the public 
 schools of Beaver Falls, Pa. He completed 
 his studies in dentistry at New Brighton, Pa., 
 and in 1865 came to Bucyrus and established 
 himself here where his subsequent life was 
 spent. He was one of the most successtui 
 practitioners of dental surgery in this city, 
 his long experinece and scientific skill qualify- 
 ing him for all ordinary dental work and for 
 those delicate operations which, in his later 
 years, served to elevate the. profession to its 
 present high plane, with which he made him- 
 self thoroughly familiar. He was a member 
 of the Ohio State Dental Association and in 
 many lines of dental practice was considered 
 an authority. For many years he was identi- 
 fied with the Masonic fraternity. He called 
 himself a Democrat but was always independ- 
 ent in his views. 
 
 Dr. McCarrell was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Mary A. Matthews, who was born in 
 1837, at Utica, N. Y., and was three years 
 old when her parents moved to Sandusky, O. 
 Her grandfather, Rev. Robert Matthews, was 
 a native of Bath, England. He was possessed 
 of means and for forty years devoted his life 
 to the free ministery of the Baptist church. 
 Robert Matthews, Jr., father of Mrs. McCar- 
 
 rell was educated in England. He married 
 Mary Kelly, of Troy, N. Y. and afterward 
 settled permanently at Sandusky, O., where 
 Mr. Matthews continued in business until his 
 death. His widow subsequently married 
 James Paul and they had one son, Charles. 
 She lived into old age and died at Sandusky. 
 Mrs. McCarrell has one surviving brother, 
 William Matthews, of Sandusky. To Dr. 
 and Mrs. McCarrell three children were born: 
 James, who died when aged three years and 
 eight months; Maud, who is the wife of Ed- 
 ward George Reid, a prominent citizen of 
 Bucyrus; and Susan, who resides with her 
 mother. Mrs. McCarrell is a member of the 
 Presbyterian church and Miss Susan of the 
 Episcopal church. They are well known in 
 social circles here. 
 
 Mrs. McCarrell had an exceedingly trying 
 experience at one time in her life. She was 
 attending the performance at Ford's Theater, 
 Washington, D. C, on that memorable occa- 
 sion when President Lincoln was fatally shot 
 by the assassin, J. Wilkes Booth. 
 
 CHARLES H. LANIUS, passenger agent 
 at Galion, O., has been identified with the C. 
 C. C. and B. I. and now Big Four R. R., at 
 this point since 1870 and is one of the best 
 known railroad men on the line. He was born 
 at Kelshausen, Kreises Wetzlar, Prussia, Dec. 
 20, 1848, a son of Peter and Elizabeth 
 (Sames) Lanius. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Lanius were also of 
 German birth and parentage. During the 
 Revolution of 1848 Peter Lanius became in- 
 volved and in the spring of 1849 embarked 
 with his wife and infant son on a vessel sail- 
 ing for America. After a voyage of three 
 months the travelers were safely landed in the 
 harbor of New York and from there made 
 their way to Buffalo and then to Sandusky, 
 O. From that place, in a grain wagon, then 
 denominated a land schooner, the German 
 family reached Galion. At first Peter Lanius 
 accepted farm work at 35 cents a day, a small 
 wage but in that day it purchased more than 
 double the amount that it would at the present 
 time. Later, for many years he was in the 
 draying business at Galion and his death oc- 
 curred in this city in 1886, when he was aged 
 6^ years, having survived his wife for five 
 
852 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 years. They were members of the First Re- 
 formed church and were highly respected by 
 all who gained their acquaintance. The fam- 
 ily contained four sons and two daughters, 
 there being three sons yet living, namely: 
 Charles H. ; William P., who is general yard- 
 master with the B. & O. Railroad at Lorain, 
 O. ; and John, who is a car inspector for the 
 Big Four, at Gallon. 
 
 Charles H. Lanius was reared and attended 
 school at Gallon and in 1870 entered the em- 
 ploy of the C. C. C. and B. I. now Big Four 
 R. R. In 1878 he was made ticket and ex- 
 press clerk and continued until 1907, when he 
 was made passenger agent. 
 
 Mr. Lanius was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Catherine Sittler, who was born here, a daugh- 
 ter of John Sittler, who was born in Dodenau, 
 Hesse Darmstadt and married at Gallon, 
 where he died aged 44 years. By trade he was 
 a cooper. The mother of Mrs. Lanius, was 
 born at New Philadelphia, O., and died at the 
 age of 68 years. Mr. and Mrs. Lanius have 
 six children, namely: Frederick, agent of Big 
 Four R. R., at Gallon, who married Zula 
 Belle Cutchfield and has three children — 
 Ralph, Vivian and Dean; Mary, who passed 
 the grammar grade, and follows the dress- 
 making trade; Ora, who is a clerk in a dry 
 goods store and a graduate of Gallon High 
 School; Carl, train director for the Pennsyl- 
 vania lines at Pittsburg, Pa., who married 
 Cora Clark ; Otto, who is with the C. and E. I. 
 Railway, at Danville, 111., and Cleo, also a 
 graduate of Gallon High School, who is a 
 stenographer, in the Big Four Railway offices 
 at Gallon. All the children have been given 
 educational advantages and all stand well in 
 their communities. Mr. and Mrs. Lanius have 
 reared their family in the faith of the First 
 Reformed church. Fraternally Mr. Lanius is 
 a Blue Lodge Mason, and in his political senti- 
 ments he prefers to be free from party ties. 
 
 SAMUEL BAKER, whose death on Sept. 
 15, 19 10, deprived Dallas township of a 
 good and worthy citizen, was born in Whet- 
 stone township, this county, Sept. 22, 1845, 
 son of Benaiah and Mary (Houck) Baker. 
 His parents were natives of Pickaway county 
 and were farmers. They had nine children, 
 namely: Rebecca, who married Thomas Ken- 
 
 nedy; William; Phillip; John; Matilda, wife 
 of Marcus Hemphill; Samuel, subject of this 
 sketch ; Lucinda, wife of George Miller ; Polly, 
 who was the wife of William Crissinger; and 
 David, who perished in the Civil war. 
 
 Samuel Baker was educated in the common 
 schools and was brought up to farming, which 
 occupation he followed for the rest of his life. 
 Politically he was a Democrat and though not 
 particularly active in township affairs was rec- 
 ogmzed as a capable farmer and reliable citi- 
 zen, exercising usually a sound judgment on 
 matters of public interest. He was married 
 Oct. 14, 1869 to Lydia Jane Kennedy, a 
 daughter of William and Margaret (Shank) 
 Kennedy. 
 
 Mrs. Baker's parents were born in Pennsyl- 
 vania and both came to. Ohio when young. 
 After their marriage they took up farming in 
 Marion county. Their children were Lydia 
 Jane, above mentioned; Thomas S., a farmer 
 of Dallas township, where and elsewhere he 
 owns large tracts of agricultural property, be- 
 ing also a stockholder in the Farmers and 
 Citizens Bank of Bucyrus, and whose wife was 
 in maidenhood Esther F. Monnett; Martha, 
 now deceased, who was the wife of George 
 Watts; James William, of whom we have no 
 special record; Emma, who is the wife of 
 Madison Roberts; Zilla, who is the present 
 wife of George Watts; and Margaret Ellen, 
 who is the wife of John Hill. After the death 
 of Mrs. Margaret Kennedy, Mrs. Baker's 
 mother, William Kennedy married for his 
 second wife Mary A. Lance and they had born 
 to them a daughter, Samira, who is the wife 
 of Ellsworth J. Jones. Mrs. Baker's grand- 
 parents on the paternal side were Thomas and 
 Nancy Kennedy, and on the maternal side, 
 Jacob and Lydia Shank. 
 
 The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Samuel 
 Baker have been as follows : Delia, who mar- 
 ried Charles Garver and whose children are 
 C. Marion, Marvin J. and Jane Ermyntrude; 
 William P., who married Icy Birdilla Blowers 
 and has two children — William Carl and 
 Daniel Earl ; Thomas, who married Rose Shell 
 and whose children are Ernest, Cleo and Mil- 
 dred; David, who resides in the state of Cali- 
 fornia; Roda; Sylvia; Idro, wife of Jay Stoltz 
 has one child, Treva Fern; Vernon J. and 
 Hertha. The Baker family in general attend 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 853 
 
 the Methodist church. They are numbered 
 among the good citizenship of Crawford 
 county, in the development and upbuilding of 
 which they are taking an active and useful 
 part. Mrs. Baker herself owns 80 acres in 
 Dallas township, which came to her from her 
 father, William Kennedy. 
 
 JACOB LUST, whose well improved farm 
 of 150 acres lies in Holmes township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., on the Oceola road, four 
 miles west of Bucyrus, was born in Lykens 
 township, Crawford county, March 17, 1855, 
 and is a son of David and Catherine (Yeiter) 
 Lust. 
 
 David Lust came of German ancestry but 
 was born in Marion county, O., and in 1828 
 accompanied an uncle to Crawford county and 
 resided in Chatfield township until after his 
 marriage. He then moved to Lykens town- 
 ship and for many years carried on farming 
 but is now retired, being in his 84th year. He 
 married Catherine Yeiter, who was born in 
 New Jersey and was brought to Crawford 
 county in youth. Ten children, six sons and 
 four daughters were born to them and all sur- 
 vive except one daughter, Mrs. Lydia Stump, 
 the next to the youngest born. The others 
 are : Jacob ; Mrs. Elizabeth Heiber ; Simon, of 
 Liberty township; Noah, of Whetstone town- 
 ship ; Mrs. Mary Cook, of Bucyrus ; Wesley, of 
 Holmes township; Mrs. Sarah Hayden, who 
 resides with her father; Abraham, of Holmes 
 township ; and Amos, who is the home farmer. 
 Jacob Lust obtained his education in the dis- 
 trict schools and afterward engaged in farm- 
 ing in Liberty and Bucyrus townships prior 
 to coming to his present place, Aug. 17, 1893. 
 He has greatly improved this property since 
 it came into his possession and has a valuable 
 and well stocked farm. Mr. Lust married 
 Miss Amanda Brown, a daughter of John 
 Brown, who was born in Germany. They 
 have had six children, namely: Verne, who 
 married Ora Benson and has two children — 
 Florence and Fairy; an infant, deceased; Ef- 
 fie, who died at the age of fifteen years ; Roy, 
 who married Elsie Schifer and has two chil- 
 dren — Norma and Fred; and Leora and 
 Raymond, who remain at home. Politically 
 Mr. Lust is a stanch Democrat and he has 
 served in the office of township trustee and is 
 
 a member of the school board, the District No. 
 9 school-house being on his farm. Mr. Lust 
 and family attend the Lutheran church. They 
 are all well known and highly respected people 
 of this section. 
 
 SAMUEL F. WEIDEMAIER, who, for 
 25 years has resided on his present exceed- 
 ingly valuable farm of 280 acres, which is 
 situated in Bucyrus township, Crawford 
 county, O., is a representative man of this sec- 
 tion, one who is held in high esteem by all who 
 know him. He was born in Marion county, 
 O., March 28, i860, and is a son of Peter and 
 Christina (Diegle) Weidemaier. 
 
 Peter Weidemaier was born in Germany 
 and came to America in youth and became a 
 farmer in Marion county, O. There he mar- 
 ried Christina Diegle, who was born in Mar- 
 ion county, of German parents, and there they 
 lived until the end of their lives, being quiet, 
 good, thrifty and religious people. They had 
 the following children born to them: Samuel 
 F., Jacob, Daniel Joseph, Thomas and Minnie, 
 all of whom survive except Daniel and Minnie. 
 
 Samuel F. Weidemaier was trained to farm 
 pursuits by his father, with whom he remained 
 until he was 28 years of age. Since he has 
 been in business for himself many of the farm 
 methods have changed and improve'd machin- 
 ery has taken the place of former wearying 
 hand work, but the principles remain the same. 
 For 16 years Mr. Weidemaier rented the farm 
 he then bought, purchasing it from the heirs 
 of Daniel Stump, who was his father-in-law. 
 He has made improvements as he has deemed 
 them necessary and since taking charge of the 
 property has probably doubled its value. He 
 engages in a general farming line. In 1887 
 he was married to Miss Louisa Stump, a 
 daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Zimmer- 
 man) Stump, and they have two sons, Arthur 
 and Wesley. In politics Mr. Weidemaier is a 
 Democrat. With his family he belongs to the 
 German Methodist church, of which he is a 
 trustee and in which he has served as Sun- 
 day-school superintendent. 
 
 CHAS. F. MATTHEW, who served Craw- 
 ford county in the office of recorder for six 
 consecutive years and is now engaged in the 
 abstract, insurance and real estate business at 
 
854 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Bucyrus, O., has been a resident of this city 
 for over a half century. He was born in Sen- 
 eca county, O., July 3, 1854, and is a son of 
 Charles M. Matthew. 
 
 Charles M. Matthew was born in one of 
 the Rhine provinces of Germany and in 1847, 
 during the insurrection, left Germany and 
 came to America, locating in the Lake Super- 
 ior region and some time later removed to 
 Scipio, in Seneca county, 0., where he fol- 
 lowed the trade of cabinetmaker. There he 
 married Margaret Shock, who was born in 
 Bavaria, Germany, and had been brought to 
 America by her parents when she was a child. 
 After the birth of three of their seven chil- 
 dren, they moved to Bucyrus, where the re- 
 mainder of their quiet, virtuous, useful lives 
 were spent, the mother dying in 1885 and the 
 father surviving until 1905, he being then in 
 his 76th year. They were members of the 
 German Reformed church. Politically he was 
 a Democrat. Six of the family of children 
 still live and four reside at Bucyrus. 
 
 Chas. F. Matthew was the eldest born of 
 his parents' children and was six years old 
 when the family came to Bucyrus. Here his 
 education was attended to and he was usefully 
 employed in various ways until 1880, when he 
 went to work in his father's furniture store 
 and became a partner in 1885 and continued 
 in the business for the next ten years. In 
 1897 ^^ "was appointed deputy county recorder 
 and in 1903 was elected recorder and filled out 
 two terms in this office with marked efficiency. 
 In the meanwhile he had become interested in 
 abstract work and later opened an abstract of- 
 fice and, in connection with his other interests, 
 continues the same. In 1909 he became asso- 
 ciated with Milton R. Lewis in the insurance 
 and real estate business at Bucyrus and theirs 
 is a busy office in the News Forum Building at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Matthew was married in Pennsylvania 
 to Miss Kate B. Schack, who was born in the 
 state of New York but was reared at Wilcox, 
 Pa. They have two children: Eva A., who 
 was born in 1878 and is the wife of Dr. F. C. 
 McGaughy, a well known dentist of Gallon, 
 O., and Fred A., who is interested in mining 
 in Mexico. Mr. and Mrs. Matthew are mem- 
 bers of the Presbyterian church. Politically 
 he is a Democrat and formerly was active as 
 a Knight of Pythias. 
 
 ALBERT J. SEELE, whose excellent farm 
 of 93 acres lies in Bucyrus township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., was born in Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, Feb. 19, 1857, and is 
 a son of Emil and Catherine (Spade) Seele. 
 
 Emil Seele was born in Germany and was 
 16 years old when he came to America and lo- 
 cated in Crawford county. He learned and 
 followed the shoemaking trade for some years 
 but later became a farmer in Holmes town- 
 ship,- where he died. He was a highly re- 
 spected man, a faithful member of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church, and a Democrat in 
 politics. He married Catherine Spade, who 
 was born in Stark county, O., and she also is 
 deceased, through life having been a member 
 of the German Reformed church. They had 
 the following children : Malinda, who married 
 Charles Gerstenberger ; Edward; Matilda, who 
 married Abraham Ditty; George Delmar; Al- 
 bert J. ; Celestia, who married Daniel Smith ; 
 and William, Clarence, and Charles Westley. 
 
 Albert J. Seele attended school until he was 
 12 years of age and then began to help his 
 father on the home farm and remained until 
 he was 30 years of age, farming having been 
 his business through life. For 14 years Mr. 
 Seele rented land, having his present farm 
 rented for ten years before buying it, in Feb., 
 1 90 1, from David W. Nussbaum. He has 
 made improvements since becoming its owner 
 and still continues these and has a valuable 
 property. He carries on general farming and 
 raises stock but only enough for his own use. 
 
 On December 12, 1887, Mr. Seele was mar- 
 ried to Miss Ellen Rupert, a daughter of 
 Solomon and Lydia (Haas) Rupert. The 
 father of Mrs. Seele was born in Stark county, 
 O., and the mother is Lykens township, this 
 county. They lived on a farm in Lykens 
 township. They had three children: Aaron, 
 Ellen and Emery. Mr. and Mrs. Seele have 
 one son, James Carson, who was born Oct. 2, 
 1888 and assists his father. He is a member 
 of Co. A, O. N. G., at Bucyrus. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Seele attend the English Lutheran church. 
 Both Mr. Seele and son are Democrats, and 
 James C. Seele belongs fraternally to the Jr. 
 O. U. A. M., at Bucyrus. 
 
 C. R. SHECKLER, M. D., who is the old- 
 est resident physician of Brokensword, Craw- 
 ford county, O., to which place he came in 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 855 
 
 1882, was born at Bucyrus, O., in 1856, and is 
 a son of Edward F. and Adeline (Shawk) 
 Sheckler. 
 
 Edward F. Sheckler was of German par- 
 entage but was born in Pennsylvania and from 
 there came to Crawford county in young man- 
 hood. For many years afterward he con- 
 ducted a tailoring establishment at Bucyrus 
 and his death occurred at the home of his 
 son, Dr. Sheckler, when he was aged 67 years. 
 He married Adeline Shawk, who passed away 
 at Bucyrus some years before her husband. 
 They had four children, namely : C. R. ; Nettie, 
 who married E. J. Williams, a teacher and 
 fruit farmer in the State of Washington; J. 
 Thompson, who is also a resident of Wash- 
 ington, a carpenter by trade; and Edward, 
 who also follows carpentering in Washington. 
 
 C. R. Sheckler attended the public schools 
 of Bucyrus and with a local physician did his 
 preliminary medical reading and then entered 
 the Columbus Medical College, Columbus, O., 
 where he was graduated in 1877. He com- 
 menced practice at North Robinson, Crawford 
 county, where he continued for six years and 
 then came to Brokensword and made this 
 pleasant town his permanent home. His prac- 
 tice covers a wide territory and few men are 
 better known in this section. As a citizen he 
 has been active in advancing the interests of 
 the place and has taken much interest in educa- 
 tional matters and has served on the board of 
 education. 
 
 Dr. Sheckler married Miss Catherine Be- 
 gan, a daughter of Samuel Bogan of North 
 Robinson, and they have three children: 
 Ralph, a railroad man, who married Catherine 
 Gallagher of Fort Wayne, Ind., and has one 
 child; and Adeline and Archie B., both of 
 whom reside at home. In politics Dr. Sheck- 
 ler is a Democrat and fraternally belongs to 
 the order of Foresters. 
 
 JOHN PARCHER,* farmer, and one of 
 the leading citizens of Dallas township, was 
 born in Bucyrus township, Crawford county, 
 O., Sept. 16, 1846, a son of Daniel and Mary 
 (McNeal) Parcher. His father was a native 
 of this county, while his mother was from 
 Pennsylvania. Daniel Parcher was a car- 
 penter by trade and also followed farming to 
 
 some extent. In politics he was a Democrat. 
 He and his wife are both deceased and their 
 remains rest in Bucyrus cemetery. Their 
 children were : John, whose name appears at 
 the head of this sketch; Juliet, wife of Josiah 
 Keckler; Wellington, Benjamin, Allison, Edith 
 (deceased), George, Daniel, and Elizabeth and 
 Alexander, who are both deceased. 
 
 John Parcher was educated only in the 
 common schools so far as literary attainments 
 are concerned, but his education in the school 
 of life has been broader and more compre- 
 hensive, and in it he has learned many things 
 that are not taught by schoolmasters. Hav- 
 ing been trained to agriculture, from his 
 youth up he has followed farming as his reg- 
 ular occupation and now owns 120 acres of 
 excellent land in Dallas township, which is 
 well cultivated and cared for. His buildings 
 are convenient and supstantial and he is rec- 
 ognized as one of the prosperous citizens of 
 the community. He has owned his present 
 farm for about 15 years, but has lived on it 
 for about 34 years altogether ; it was formerly 
 known as the Wesley White farm. In con- 
 nection with his general farming operations, 
 Mr. Parcher keeps enough stock for his own 
 use. Hs is a Democrat in politics and has been 
 sufficiently active to serve in public office. He 
 was county commissioner for six years and 
 has also served as township trustee. 
 
 Mr. Parcher was married Jan. i, 1868 to 
 Adelia Wilson, a daughter of Daniel and Sarah 
 (Taylor) Wilson, the former a native of 
 Crawford county, while Mrs. Wilson was from 
 Ross county. Mr. Wilson was an active man 
 among the early settlers of this section; he 
 was both a farmer and merchant, his mer- 
 cantile operations including a considerable 
 trade in furs, which he bought from the 
 Indians. There were thirteen children in 
 the Wilson family, namely: John, Mary, 
 Richard, Susan, Samuel, Malissa, William, 
 Sarah, Daniel, Rachel, David, Adelia and 
 Olive — a good stock contributing to form 
 that high grade of citizenship for which the 
 state of Ohio is noted. The same may be said 
 of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Parcher, ten 
 in number, who are as follows: Jesse; Mary 
 E., wife of G. L. Shemer; Susannah, who is 
 now deceased; Clara, also deceased; Lewis; 
 Alma, wife of C. O. Shemer; John Grover; 
 
856 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Clarence; Calvin, deceased; and Delcie. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Parcher and family attend the Meth- 
 odist church, while Mr. Parcher is a mem- 
 ber of the Royal Arcanum lodge at Bucyrus. 
 
 JACOB GEIGER, a well known business 
 man of Bucyrus is the proprietor of the Bucy- 
 rus Copper Kettle Works, a large and well 
 equipped plant which gives employment to 
 many people. He was born in Rhenish Ba- 
 varia, 75 years ago, and was three years of 
 age when his parents with their family came 
 to this country, settling near Chatfield. At 
 the age of 14 Mr. Geiger came to Bucyrus, 
 where he was employed as a clerk by A. P. 
 Widman, then a prominent dry-goods mer- 
 chant. He remained with Mr. Widman about 
 four years, then accepted. a position as clerk 
 and bookkeeper in the dry-goods store of J. 
 P. Bowman. Later he went to Hayesville 
 where he attended school. Returning to Bucy- 
 rus Mr. Geiger clerked for several years, and 
 in the fall of 1863 with Daniel Picking formed 
 a partnership known as Picking & Geiger. 
 This firm bought out the former hardware busi- 
 ness of E. Blair, and conducted a hardware 
 store, with Mr. Geiger as manager. In 1874 
 this firm started the manufacture of Copper 
 Kettles for boiling apple butfer. 
 
 Mr. Geiger remained in this business until 
 the spring of 1879 when he sold his interest 
 to D. Picking & Co. He then erected the first 
 building of the Bucyrus Copper Kettle Works, 
 and in the fall of 1879 formed a partnership 
 with Philip E. Bush for the manufacture of 
 copper kettles. To increase the business, other 
 lines of kettles have been added from time to 
 time, and as it became necessary there were 
 additions built to the plant. Since the death 
 of Mr. Bush in 1907, the business has been 
 continued under the old firm name of Geiger 
 & Bush, but Mr. Geiger has been sole pro- 
 prietor. He is still actively engaged in man- 
 aging the business and is assisted by his son, 
 J. D. Geiger. 
 
 Mr. Geiger was married June 6, 1877, at 
 Bucyrus to Millie Fenner. They have two 
 children, Judson Dale, a graduate of Rose 
 Polytechnic Institute, who is associated with 
 his father in the business, and Alberta, (B. Lit., 
 Oxford College) who is the wife of Charles 
 W. Kern. 
 
 GEORGE BEARD, an agriculturist of Dal- 
 las township, where he operates his farm of 
 8iJ4 acres, came here on April 8, 191 1, from 
 Tod township, where he had lived since 1859 
 with the exception of one year spent in Wyan- 
 dot county. The family had previous to 1859 
 been located in Richland county, Ohio. Mr. 
 Beard was born in Germany, May 12, 1847, 
 but was brought to this country when seven 
 years of age. After a residence of seven years 
 in I^ichland county, O., which was his first 
 home in the United States, he came to Craw- 
 ford county, this being, as before stated, in 
 1859. Mr, Beard is a son of Jacob and Jo- 
 sephine (Reichley) Beard, natives of Germany, 
 who are both now deceased and buried at Ne- 
 vada, Ohio. 
 
 After coming to this country Jacob Beard 
 engaged in farming and in this way the rest 
 of his life was spent. He was a Democrat 
 in his political views and he and his wife were 
 Lutherans in religious faith. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jacob Beard reared a family of eight children, 
 as follows: John, George, Mary, Cresia, Hat- 
 tie, Fannie, Anna and Susan. Mary became 
 the wife of Barrick Holmes; Cresia is mar- 
 ried to A. D. Mulford; Annie is the wife of 
 George Christy; and Susan, who is now de- 
 ceased, was the wife of Reuben Wilcox. 
 
 George Beard grew up on the home farm 
 and received the common school education 
 generally afforded the youths of his day. He 
 has since that time spent his life in agricul- 
 tural pursuits with the exception of one year, 
 when he lived retired at Nevada, Ohio. He 
 does general farming and has been so success- 
 ful in his undertakings that he now needs the 
 services of hired men to help him. He raises 
 stock for his own use. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Beard was married to Mary 
 Feichner, who was born in Crawford county. 
 She is a daughter of John and Rose Ann 
 (Cafeir) Feichner, who were well known 
 farming people of Liberty township, Craw- 
 ford county. They are both deceased and 
 buried in Liberty township, one mile north 
 of Sulphur Springs. Mr. and Mrs. Beard have 
 had one child, I-ettie McHenry. 
 
 Mr. Beard is a Democrat in politics. He 
 and his wife are affiliated with the Lutheran 
 church. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 857 
 
 WILLIAM MERIT McHENRY, a well- 
 known resident of Dallas township, which he 
 is serving as township trustee, was born on 
 the farm on which he now lives, Nov. 21, 
 1874. This property comprises 100 acres of 
 well-improved land. Mr. McHenry is a son 
 of Caleb and Adeline (Rex) McHenry. 
 
 Caleb McHenry was born Nov. 15, 1829 
 in Columbiana county, O., his parents being 
 Malcomb and Elizabeth (Wickert) McHenry, 
 who had moved from Pennsylvania to Colum- 
 biana county, O., in 1812 and afterwards 
 moved to Richland county, O., where they re- 
 mained until 1838, in which year Malcomb 
 McHenry left his home to go west in search 
 of a better location. He was never afterwards 
 heard of and it is supposed that he was killed 
 by the Indians. His wife moved to Indiana 
 and died there Feb. 6, 1878. 
 
 Caleb McHenry, son of Malcomb, and father 
 of our subject, grew up on the farm and fol- 
 lowed agriculture all his life. He came to 
 Dallas township, Crawford county, O., in 1840 
 and all his subsequent life with the exception 
 of eight years when he was in Lake county, 
 Ind., was spent here. He was widely known 
 in Dallas township, having served as justice 
 of the peace for a great number of years and 
 also as township trustee and clerk to the chair- 
 man of the school board. He was first united 
 in marriage with a Miss Parmer, of Indiana, 
 and their children were : Curtis, deceased ; 
 Emma, deceased, who was the wife of R. L. 
 Hudson; Millard Esther, deceased, who was 
 the wife of Jacob Shupp; Joseph; and Mary, 
 the wife of David Graham. He married, sec- 
 ondly, Adeline Rex and they became the par- 
 ents of children as follows : Martha, the wife 
 of Willis Spade; Orpha, deceased, who was 
 the wife of Benjamin Grooves ; Milen and Wil- 
 liam M., the direct subject of this article, who 
 is the . youngest born. 
 
 William M. McHenry received the usual 
 common school education and then turned his 
 attention to farming which has since been his 
 life's occupation. His land is well improved 
 and Mr. McHenry successfully carries on gen- 
 eral farming on it and he takes pride in rais- 
 ing good stock though not registered. 
 
 On April 7, 1898, Mr. McHenry was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lettie Beard, who was born in 
 this county, a daughter of George and Mary 
 (Feichner) Beard, who were formerly resi- 
 
 dents of Tod township but who now reside in 
 Dallas township, where Mr. Beard is a farmer. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beard have had but one child, 
 Mrs. McHenry, but Mrs. Beard has three chil- 
 dren from a former marriage to a Mr. Mauer, 
 namely: Frank; Caroline, who was married 
 first to William Miller and secondly to Frank 
 Layman; and Malissa, the wife of Edward 
 Starner. To Mr. and Mrs. McHenry have 
 been born the following children: Eber 
 Wayne, Mary Eunice, Vera May and Maud 
 Fay. 
 
 Politically, our subject is a Republican but 
 votes for the man who in his judgment is most 
 capable of filling office, rather than his party's 
 choice. He is serving in his second term as 
 township trustee, having filled this office for 
 four years. He is fraternally affiliated with 
 the Knights of Pythias at Nevada, Ohio, and 
 religiously, he and his family are connected 
 with the U. B. Mt. Zion church in this town- 
 ship. 
 
 FRANK E. HAMAN, deceased, was a well 
 known resident of Bucyrus, O., for many years 
 and enjoyed the respect and esteem of his fel- 
 low citizens. He was born in the state of New 
 York, Dec. 13, 1834, a son of William and 
 Mary (Hopp) Haman. He was yet young 
 when his parents moved to Richland county, 
 O., where they spent the remainder of their 
 lives. They had a large family of children, 
 one daughter still surviving in the person of 
 Mrs. Fannie J. DeGraff, who lives near Strak- 
 ers, O. 
 
 Frank E. Haman spent his boyhood on his 
 father's farm and attended the district schools. 
 When old enough to learn a trade he came 
 to Bucyrus and apprenticed himself to a black- 
 smith and became a first class mechanic. Later 
 he became a member of the city fire depart- 
 ment and was a brave and efficient worker in 
 that admirable organization for full 18 years. 
 Politically he was a Republican and took an 
 active interest in local measures and served 
 for some years in the office of city marshal. 
 He was a dependable man in every relation 
 of life and his memory is tenderly preserved 
 by his family and friends. His death occurred 
 Feb. 17, 1905, and his obsequies were con- 
 ducted by the Masons, of which fraternity he 
 had been an active member. 
 
858 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 On March 2, 1852, Mr. Haman was mar- 
 ried to Miss Isabella Jane Cromleigh, who was 
 born at Middleton, Dauphin county, Pa., Oct. 
 II, 1830. Her father died in Dauphin county 
 when aged 37 years, 3 months and 7 days, hav- 
 ing been a well known man, a teacher, merchant 
 and lumber inspector. He was one of the 
 leading members of the Lutheran church in 
 his community and for years was superintend- 
 ent of the Sunday-school. After some time 
 his widow married a Mr. Stringfellow, but ho 
 children were born to the second union. Mrs. 
 Haman was 18 years old when she accom- 
 panied her mother to Richland county, being 
 the only child born to the first marriage. Her 
 mother died in Ohio when aged almost 60 
 years. She was a member of the Christian 
 church. 
 
 Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Haman, three sons, and five daughters. One 
 daughter, Josephine, died in far off Honolulu, 
 having gone to Hawaii as a teacher of music. 
 She was very talented and in girlhood had 
 been the organist in the Presbyterian church 
 at Bucyrus. She is survived by her husband 
 and two daughters. TWo other daughters died 
 in maidenhood, M. Jennie, at the age of 14 
 years, and Ida, at the age of 13 years. Effie 
 J., another child, died in . her fourth year. 
 There are three surviving members of the fam- 
 ily: Lewis C, who resides with his family 
 at Cleveland, O. ; Loring C, who resides with 
 his family at Warsaw, Ind., where he is in the 
 restaurant business; and Frances E., who is 
 the widow of Joseph Shanks and has two sons. 
 Mrs. Haman and daughter are members of the 
 Presbyterian church. 
 
 WILLARD T. WHITE, proprietor of a 
 farm of 800 acres in Dallas township, is one 
 of this township's best known and most pros- 
 perous citizens. He was born in Dallas town- 
 ship, Crawford county, Ohio, Aug. 8, 1845, 
 a son of Charles Wesley and Hannah (Hoo- 
 ver) White. His paternal grandfather, also 
 named Charles, was born and reared in Vir- 
 ginia, and, being about 16 years old when the 
 Revolutionary war broke out, was placed on 
 the muster roll of the militia and was in active 
 military service for several years during the 
 struggle for independence, serving for a part 
 of this period under the direct command of 
 
 General Washington. He also served for sev- 
 eral years in that branch of the service known 
 as "minute men." He inherited an estate from 
 his father, a part of which consisted of slaves, 
 and as the public conscience of those days had 
 not been generally awakened in regard to the 
 iniquity of a traffic in human beings, he con- 
 tinued to own them and afterwards added to 
 their number, settling subsequently in Fayette 
 county, Ky. Later, however, he adopted 
 more modern ideas with respect to the slav- 
 ery question and becoming disgusted with 
 the brutality of the .system, liberated his 
 slaves, some thirteen in number, and took 
 up his residence in Ross county, Ohio. This 
 act of self-sacrifice caused him to fall into 
 somewhat straightened circumstances, and at 
 the time of his advent in Ross county, which 
 was in 1812, he had barely enough pecuniary 
 resources to purchase a farm of 145 acres, 
 upon which he settled. By industry and per- 
 severance.^ however, he gradually improved his 
 condition. He resided in Ross county for 
 some 40 years, and died about the year 1856, 
 at the advanced age of 96 years, 6 months and 
 14 days. He was the father of three sons — 
 Samuel, George and Charles W. The two 
 elder were soldiers in the War of 1812. 
 
 Charles W. White, the youngest son, was 
 born in Fayette county, Ky., within a mile and 
 a half of Lexington, July 18, 1802. He was 
 too young at the time of the second war with 
 England to take any part in it. At the age 
 of 18 he left his home in Ross county and 
 visited the New Purchase for the purpose of 
 in seeking another home in this section of the 
 state. About the year 1820 he obtained a sit- 
 uation at the old Indian mill, located on the 
 Sandusky river, several miles about the pres- 
 ent site of Upper Sandusky. He was em- 
 ployed by the Government Indian agent, 
 received $15 a month, and boarded himself. 
 His assistant in the mill was Charles Garrett, 
 and at this time the nearest white settler was 
 at the Indian mission, then Upper Sandusky. 
 White assisted at the mill for some three years. 
 During this time he saved money enough to 
 purchase his first farm, consisting of 207 
 acres, now located in Dallas township, which 
 farm he owned for over half a century. After 
 working for different persons during the next 
 nine years, he removed to his land, and, by 
 
ALVERTIS D. SHAEEOCK 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 861 
 
 industry, economy and hard labor he acquired 
 a competence, and was the owner of some 1300 
 acres in Dallas township, besides 97 acres in 
 Bucyrus township. His principal occupation 
 was the raising of cattle, and from it he de- 
 rived the larger part of his income. 
 
 He was married Nov. 25, 1830, to Miss 
 Hannah Simmons Hoover and they were the 
 parents of five children, namely: Mary, wife 
 of S. D. Welsh; Lorena, who married first 
 Benjamin Welsh, and secondly J. J. Fisher; 
 Emma, wife of Dwight Welsh; Willard T., 
 subject of this sketch; and Charles W. 
 
 Willard T. White was educated in the com- 
 mon schools and was brought up to farm life 
 on the homestead, on which he passed his active 
 career engaged in agricultural pursuits. He 
 inherited from his father about 300 acres of 
 the land, acquiring the rest by purchase. For 
 some years he has been practically retired, his 
 sons looking after the farm, and during a 
 part of this time he has resided in Bucyrus. 
 The homestead property is in excellent condi- 
 tion, well cultivated, and enough stock being 
 kept for use on the farm. Mr. White is a 
 Republican in politics and attends the Baptist 
 church. 
 
 He was first married to Clementine Swigart, 
 a resident of this county, but who was born 
 in Illinois. They had two children — Leo and 
 Irene. The former, Leo White, is a prosper- 
 ous agriculturist of Dallas township, now serv- 
 ing in his third term as township trustee. He 
 operates 240 acres of his father's farm and 
 has an additional tract of 160 acres, which he 
 rents. In 1898 he married Velma Maude 
 Shemer, a native of Crawford county and has 
 two children — Helen L. and Hazel M. Irene, 
 the other child of Mr. White's first marriage, 
 is the wife of E. H. K. McComb, who is as- 
 sistant superintendent of the Manuel Train- 
 ing School at Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 After the death of his first wife, Willard T. 
 White married secondly Ella Brown, of Wyan- 
 dot county, and of this marriage there are two 
 children : Garrett B. and Abram Jay, the lat- 
 ter of whom married Bertha Beal, a daugh- 
 ter of Benjamin Beal of Crawford county. 
 
 ALVERTIS D. SHARROCK, who owns 
 two of the finest farms in Bucyrus township, 
 Crawford county, O., occupies one of 160 
 
 acres and also cultivates his other place, where 
 he has 93 acres and also owns a piece of tim- 
 ber land of seven and one half acres. He was 
 born in Bucyrus township, Aug. 9, 1871, and 
 is a son of Charles A. and Mary Ann (Stine- 
 man) Sharrock. His father was a native of 
 Morrow county, O., and followed farming 
 for many years in Bucyrus township and 
 owned a large body of land. His death oc- 
 curred April 21, 1909, and his burial was at 
 Bucyrus. He was a member of Mt. Zion 
 church, to which his widow, who survives, 
 also belonged. She continues to live on the old 
 homestead in Bucyrus township. They had 
 two children: Alpha, who is the wife of Tiro 
 E. Ditty, and Alvertis D. 
 
 After his school days were over, Alvertis 
 D. Sharrock assisted his father in his farm 
 industries and has always lived in his native 
 township. In addition to general farming he 
 raises Percheron horses and Mrs. Sharrock 
 takes much interest in her registered Jersey 
 cattle. In the summer of 191 1 Mr. Sharrock 
 built a very fine modern residence already 
 having other substantial farm buildings. 
 
 In 1893 Mr. Sharrock was married to Miss 
 Emma L. Mollenkopf, who was born in Bu- 
 cyrus township and is a daughter of John G. 
 and Christiana Mollenkopf, who were born in 
 Germany and later came to Crawford county. 
 Mrs. Sharrock has three sisters and one 
 brother, namely: Mary, who is the wife of 
 August Shefifler; Frederica, who is the wife 
 of Charles E. Wisman ; Otto F. ; Tena, who 
 is the wife of Alvin Brinkman ; and Elsie. In 
 August, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Sharrock's only 
 son, Leo C, was born, who is a school boy. 
 In politics Mr. Sharrock is a Democrat as 
 was his father. He and wife are members 
 of the Lutheran church. They belong to old 
 and highly respected families of this section 
 and are representative people. 
 
 TIRA EDWIN DITTY, who is one of the 
 substantial citizens and prosperous farmers of 
 Bucyrus township, Crawford county, O., pur- 
 chased his home farm of 100 acres in 1900, 
 and, in partnership with his wife owns this 
 tract, another farm one-half mile west, con- 
 taining 49 acres, a seven and one-half acre 
 timber tract and also a handsome residence 
 situated on the corner of Fisher and Reed 
 
862 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 streets, Bucyrus. Mr. Ditty was born in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, Feb. 13, 
 1872, and is a son of Abraham and Matilda 
 (Seek) Ditty. 
 
 Abraham Ditty and wife were both born 
 in Crawford county and he engaged in farm- 
 ing throughout life, his death occurring in 
 1908. He was a member of the Evangelical 
 church and his burial was at Brokensword. 
 His widow survives and resides at North Bucy- 
 rus and she also is a member of the Evangelical 
 church. They had the following children: 
 Clara, who is the wife of Frank Stineman; 
 Tira Edwin; Irene, who is deceased, was the 
 wife of William Drexel; and Laura, who is 
 the wife of Roy Linn. 
 
 Tira Edwin Ditty obtained a public school 
 education and grew to manhood on the home 
 farm, afterward working for some two years 
 on farms by the month and this practical train- 
 ing has proved valuable to him in the manage- 
 ment of his own large property. He carries 
 on general farming, grows fruit and poultry 
 for home consumption and sufficient stock also 
 for his own use. 
 
 On Nov. 14, 1894, Mr. Ditty was married 
 to Miss Alpha Sharrock, who is a daughter 
 of Charles A. and Mary Ann (Stineman) 
 Sharrock. The father of Mrs. Ditty was born 
 in Morrow county and died April 21, 1909. 
 His widow survives and still occupies the old 
 homestead in Bucyrus township. Mrs. Ditty 
 has one brother, Alvertis D., who owns 260 
 acres of fine land in Bucyrus township. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Ditty have two children: Cleland 
 Lemoin, who was born October 10, 1895; and 
 Reva Ilo, who was born January 17, 1898. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ditty attend the United Breth- 
 ren church. Nominally he is a Democrat, as 
 was his father, but frequently exercises his 
 own judgment in casting his vote. He is iden- 
 tified with the K. O. T. M. at Bucyrus. 
 
 WILLIAM F. CROWE, justice of the 
 peace, and one of the well known men of 
 Crawford county, who has been vit&lly inter- 
 ested in the city of Crestline for more than 
 40 years, was born in County Clare, Ireland, 
 Jan. 3, 1841, and is a son of John and Mary 
 (Flannery) Crowe. 
 
 William F. Crowe was left fatherless in his 
 boyhood, and, as it so often has been the case. 
 
 the seven children of the family owed their 
 rearing, education and encouragement to the 
 brave and devoted mother. In 1849 the fam- 
 ily set sail for Quebec, Canada, and after voy- 
 aging for seven weeks and three days, were 
 safely landed. From there they traveled to 
 Burlington, Vt., and in the fall of the same 
 year reached New Franklin, in Columbiana 
 county, O., and from there, in the autumn of 
 1 85 1, to Richland county, William F. then be- 
 ing ten years of age and picking up a knowl- 
 edge of books wherever and whenever oppor- 
 tunity offered. In the following year removal 
 was made to Mansfield and there he attended 
 school until 1853, when he came to Crestline, 
 finding employment with the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad as a driver. In 1854 his mother and 
 the younger children joined him and here the 
 remainder of her life was passed and it is a 
 satisfaction to her son, that each year it grew 
 more comfortable and less filled with care. 
 She passed away in 1895, when aged 81 years 
 and her burial was in St. Joseph's cemetery, 
 she having been a faithful Catholic all her life. 
 Of the family of seven children, the follow- 
 ing survive : W^illiam F. ; John, who served 
 all through the Civil war in the Federal Army 
 as a member of Co. E, loist O. Vol. Inf.; 
 Mrs. Ellen Purcell, who lives at Alliance, O., 
 and has three children ; and Jane, who is Mrs. 
 Francis J. Gosser, and lives at Crestline, the 
 mother of one son and one daughter. 
 
 In all essentials, William F. Crowe is a self- 
 made man. His early opportunities were lim- 
 ited and those he enjoyed he had to make for 
 himself, yet, before he reached the prime of 
 life he is found serving his fellow citizens in 
 honorable positions and respected and looked 
 up to as one in authority. For more than 40 
 years he has held official responsibilities at 
 Crestline, serving seven years in the council, 
 for two terms was county recorder, for ten 
 years was corporation treasurer, twice has 
 served the city as mayor and for the past 14 
 years has been justice of the peace. He has 
 been regardful of the city's interest in the per- 
 formance of all these public duties and his 
 record as a citizen not only shows unselfish 
 public spirit, but the ability and foresight of 
 a thorough business man, making his services 
 of permanent value. 
 
 Judge Crowe was married at Marion, O., to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 863 
 
 Miss Ellen Haley of County Kerry, Ireland, 
 who accompanied her parents, Bartholomew 
 and Ellen (Lynch) Haley, to America and 
 she and one sister Mrs. D. Cusick of Marion, 
 O., are the only surviving children. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Crowe have the following children: 
 Mary, who is the wife of H. L. Sossen- 
 heimer, agent for the Berger Manufactur- 
 ing Co., and lives at St. Louis,- having one 
 daughter, Colletta, at Cleveland, O. ; Ellen, 
 who is in the dressmaking business at Crest- 
 line; Anna M., who has been a teacher in 
 the Crestline union schools for some ten 
 years; Jane, deceased, who was the wife of 
 W. H. Bagley of Tulsa, Okla., and is sur- 
 vived by one son, Paul S. ; Frances, who is 
 the wife of Francis Charon, of Oklahoma, and 
 has two sons — Francis H. and William R. ; 
 Agnes, who occupies a clerical position at 
 Wagner, Okla. ; Florence who is in the mil- 
 linery business at Cleveland ; John W., who is 
 connected with a gas company in Oklahoma, 
 as a machinist; and Eugenia and Josephine 
 Hortense, who reside at home. Judge Crowe 
 and family belong to St. Joseph's Catholic 
 church at Crestline and his daughter Anna M. 
 is president of the L. C. B. A., a most worthy 
 charity connected with the work of the Cath- 
 olic church, one that was organized by Kate 
 Crowe, a daughter of Judge Crowe, and its 
 first president. She was the first president of 
 the emergency hospital maintained by the pub- 
 lic. In 1 86 1 Judge Crowe was active, with 
 others, in securing the erection of the first 
 church edifices for St. Joseph's congregation 
 and has always been hearty in its support. In 
 his political views he is a Democrat. 
 
 MRS. SAMUEL MILLER,* who in maiden 
 life was Mary Catherine Swartz, is a native 
 of this county, being a daughter of George 
 and Eliza (Staufer) Swartz. 
 
 George Swartz was born in Richland 
 county, Ohio, and his wife in Pennsylvania, 
 but came to Crawford county, Ohio, when 
 children, this region being then a wilder- 
 ness. Mr. Swartz as a farmer endured the 
 hardships of the early settlers and cultivated 
 his land successfully. To- him and his wife 
 were born the following children : Sarah 
 Jane, deceased, who was the wife of A. M. 
 Zook; Mary Catherine, the subject of this ar- 
 
 ticle, who on Dec. 28, 1887, was married to 
 Samuel Miller, of Wyandot county, and James 
 Benjamin, deceased. 
 
 Mrs. Miller owns 60 acres of well developed 
 land and has a modern, attractive home and 
 substantial farm buildings, which she has built. 
 Mrs. Miller does not make a specialty of rais- 
 ing any particular product on her farm but 
 rather lets her land yield the ordinary crops 
 that are most successfully raised in the sec- 
 tion of Ohio in which she resides. Stock suffi- 
 cient for her own use is also raised. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Miller are the parents 
 of six children, namely : Grace, Maud, Donna, 
 Lester, Garrett and Lena. Grace is the wife 
 of Grove Maley and they have three children — 
 Merl Allen, Maud Fern and Robert Edwin. 
 
 DAVID PETRY, whose well cultivated 
 farm of 132 acres is located in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, was born in Schuykill county, Pa., July 
 4, 1 84 1. His parents were Charles and Phoebe 
 (Knepper) Petry. They were natives of Penn- 
 sylvania and moved to Ohio about 185 1 or 
 1852, locating first east of Mansfield. There 
 they remained one year when they removed 
 to northeast of Lexington and from there came 
 to Richland county, where they spent the rest 
 of their lives. Mrs. Petry died on the home 
 farm but her husband's death occurred in 
 Mansfield, where he was living retired after 
 his life of farm work. He was affiliated with 
 the Democratic party and -with his wife be- 
 longed to the Lutheran church. Three chil- 
 dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Petry : 
 William; David, our subject; and Sarah, the 
 wife of George Stewart. After the death of 
 the mother of these children, Charles Petry 
 remarried, his second union being with Miss 
 Elizabeth Strater,-who was born in Germany. 
 
 David Petry received his education in the 
 common schools of his locality and after that 
 assisted his father in the farm work until he 
 was 21 years of age. He then rented the home- 
 stead farm but after eight years that was sold 
 and in 1872 David Petry and his father came 
 to Bucyrus township and together purchased 
 the farm on which our subject now lives and 
 which he successfully operates. 
 
 In 1862 David Petry was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Mary Ann Wert, a native of 
 Germany, who came to this country when eight 
 
864 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 years old and spent the last years of her life 
 in Crawford county. She died Feb. 13, 1910 
 and was buried in Bucyrus cemetery. She was 
 a daughter of Christian and Margaret Wert, 
 both natives of Germany, who had the follow- 
 ing children: John, Christiana, George and 
 Mary Ann (Mrs. Petry). One daughter was 
 born to David Petry and his wife — Amanda, 
 the wife of Joseph McHenry, a farmer of this 
 township. 
 
 Mr. Petry is a Democrat politically and in 
 religious faith, a Lutheran. 
 
 DAVID L. ZINK, who is secretary of the 
 Crestline Building & Loan Association, of 
 Crestline, O., is one of the well known and 
 most active business men of Crawford county, 
 long connected with railroad life and since 
 then keenly interested in other lines of activity 
 and usefulness. Mr. Zink was born at Mari- 
 etta, Lancaster county. Pa., Dec. i, 1833, a 
 son of Samuel and Sarah Zink, one of three 
 children. Mr. Zink has one brother, Samuel, 
 also a resident of this city. 
 
 Early in life Mr. Zink had spent some time 
 with his father at Pittsburg, Pa., and in the 
 early fifties went into the commission business 
 in that city with a relative, and from there, in 
 September, 1856, came to Ohio and located at 
 Crestline. Here he found his most promising 
 business offer in a railroad office and went to 
 work for the Pennsylvania line in the freight 
 department. On Feb. i, i86r, he was ap- 
 pointed agent for the Pennsylvania company 
 at Crestline, this point having become one of 
 great railway importance. Mr. Zink still re- 
 tains this official notice as it bears the signa- 
 ture of the late Augustus Bradley, once a rail- 
 road magnate and his friend, then being su- 
 perintendent of the eastern division of the 
 Pennsylvania lines. In May, 1865, he was 
 appointed ticket agent of the Big Four Rail- 
 road, serving for about 47 years for the Penn- 
 sylvania roa.d and jointly for both roads un- 
 til his age limit retirement, Dec. i, 1903. Dur- 
 ing this long period he handled railroad money 
 amounting to millions of dollars and his books 
 and records showed an accuracy that was per- 
 fect. When he retired he was the recipient of 
 many congratulatory messages and of personal 
 testimonials that would seem flattering if they 
 were not so thoroughly just. Many men after 
 
 so long and arduous a business life and re- 
 tirement on a pension, would feel justified in 
 putting aside business care and devote some 
 time to rest and refreshment, but this was not 
 the feeling that Mr. Zink had when released 
 for his railroad duties. From youth a hard 
 worker and still being in vigorous health of 
 mind and body, he merely turned his attention 
 in another direction and has devoted himself 
 closely to the interests of the Crestline Building 
 & Loan Association, of which he has been se- 
 cretary since its organization. This was on 
 Oct. 23, 1891, and business was begun Jan. i, 
 1892. The capital stock was $50,000, which 
 was increased to $300,000, on March i, 1892; 
 and was further increased, in 1906, to $600,- 
 000, a prosperous business having been done 
 from the beginning. The original officers con- 
 tinue: C. P. Frank, of Crestline, being presi- 
 dent; David L. Zink, being secretary; and 
 Jacob Babst, being treasurer. The board of di- 
 rectors is made up of the following reputable 
 and stable business men: C. P. Frank, W. R. 
 Boyd, F. M. Anderson, Joseph Ims, Jacob M. 
 Winter, John Marquart, Jr., and A. A. Reeve. 
 On Aug. 25, 1855, Mr. Zink was married at 
 Pittsburgh, to Miss Mary Jane Hall, who was 
 born at Chambersburg, Pa., June 30, 1830, 
 and of their family of eight children all sur- 
 vive except one son, Robert George, who died 
 in infancy. The others are: John E., who 
 is joint ticket agent for the Big Four and the 
 Pennsylvania Railroads, and freight agent for 
 the Pennsylvania Lines, at Crestline, and who 
 resides here with his wife and two sons; Sarah 
 Alice, who was educated at Oberlin College, 
 who married H. E. Atkinson, and lives at 
 Landsdown, Pa., and has three living daugh- 
 ters ; Jennie, who is the wife of Frank Snyder, 
 a machinist residing at Kankakee, 111., and has 
 one daughter; William H., who is freight 
 agent for the Pennsylvania Company at Ro- 
 chester, Pa., and lives there with his wife and 
 son; Emma F., who is the wife of James Har- 
 rop, of Bucyrus, O., and who has two sons: 
 Wesley S., who is storekeeper with the Rock 
 Island" Railroad at Chicago, and has one 
 daughter ; and Walter, who is a machinist with 
 the Big Four Railroad and lives at Bellefon- 
 taine, O., with his wife and one son. The 
 mother of the above family died on March 
 14, 1903. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 865 
 
 On Dec. i, 1908, his seventy-fifth birthday, 
 Mr. Zink was tendered a reception and spent 
 a long to be remembered evening surrounded 
 by his family and old friends who gladly 
 gathered to offer good wishes and recall old 
 memories. Mr. Zink has witnessed many 
 changes come over Crestline since he first 
 made it his home, and in every possible way 
 has contributed a share in bringing about its 
 present prosperity. 
 
 JOHN WENTZ, a retired farmer and 
 highly respected citizen of Bucyrus, O., has 
 long been prominent in the affairs of Craw- 
 ford county and for years has been very ac- 
 tive in all that pertains to the great agricul- 
 tural order, the Patrons of Husbandry. He 
 was born at Chambersburg, Pa., Sept. i, 1837, 
 and is a son of John and Mary (Manard) 
 Wentz, and a grandson of Philip Wentz. 
 
 Philip Wentz lived and died in the home 
 of his ancestors in Hesse Darmstadt, Ger- 
 many. He was a small farmer and inn 
 keeper. He was the father of four sons and 
 three daughters, all of whom except the oldest 
 came to America and settled mainly in Penn- 
 sylvania, Ohio and Indiana. John Wentz, the 
 second son, was born in Germany about 1810 
 and was a young man when he took passage 
 on a sailing vessel that landed him, 90 days 
 later, in the harbor and port of Baltimore, Md. 
 He was the pioneer of the family in the United 
 States. As a farmer in Franklin county. Pa., 
 he was satisfied at first to work for $10 per 
 month, and later accepted fifty cents a day for 
 railroad work and was offered what was then 
 considered a necessity, a certain amount of 
 rum a day. He was temperate in his habits 
 and made friends with some of his Irish fel- 
 low workmen by turning this allowance over 
 to them. He took care of his wages, small 
 as they were, and in the course of time he had 
 enough capital to warrant his looking for land 
 in which to invest it. In the meanwhile he 
 married and located at Chambersburg, from 
 which place, in 1839, with his small family and 
 household possessions, all packed in a one- 
 horse wagon, he journeyed as far as Black- 
 ford county, Ind., which was then practically 
 a wilderness. There he invested his savings 
 which amounted to $200, and on the land then 
 
 purchased both he and wife died. She also 
 49 
 
 was born in Germany, a native of Langstadt, 
 and had come alone in early womanhood to 
 the United States and lived at Chambersburg, 
 Pa., at the time of marriage. She died in 1871, 
 when aged 65 years, being survived by her 
 husband into his 85th year. They were mem- 
 bers of the German Lutheran church. Their 
 family record ^reads as follows : One babe 
 died in infancy. Elizabeth died when aged 17 
 years. Mary, deceased, was the wife of Louis 
 Schmidt. Tena died at the age of twelve 
 years. Jacob lives at Findlay, O., a retired 
 farmer. He married Elizabeth Kanable and 
 they have children. John was one of the 
 early born in the family. _ 
 
 John Wentz was 20 years of age when he 
 came to Ohio in October, 1857, having ob- 
 tained his schooling in Indiana. On Thanks- 
 giving Day of the above year he was married 
 to Miss Catherine Greenish, who was born at 
 Waynesboro, Pa., May 30, 1836, and the 
 daughter of Jacob and Christina Greenish. 
 Mrs. Wentz was reared from the age of six 
 years in Crawford county, where she died 
 June 21, 1908. She was a woman of kind and 
 loving impulses and a Christian, being a de- 
 voted member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Nine children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wentz, as follows : Mary, the widow 
 of Thomas Caldwell, who lives in Crawford 
 ■ county and has seven children ; Annetta, who 
 is the widow of John Bell and has four chil- 
 dren: Clement C, a resident of Bucyrus, who 
 married Mary Schaffner; Willis, a farmer in 
 Crawford county, who married Mary Miller; 
 Alice, who married H. M. Dobbins of Bucy- 
 rus and has three children; Ida M., who is the 
 wife of Henry Shafner of Galion, O., and has 
 two children; Emma P., who lives with her 
 father; John Earl, who manages the home- 
 stead farm, who married Lillie Florence Miller 
 and has three children. 
 
 Mr. Wentz was a very successful farmer 
 and conducted his agricultural operations along 
 the lines that have brought prosperity to men 
 in that line of business from early days — con- 
 stant industry, careful oversight, good seed 
 and good judgment, the last named being a 
 very necessary part of the farmer's equipment 
 as it is of any vocation. In the earliest days 
 of its organization, 1874, he became interested 
 in the Bucyrus Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, 
 
866 
 
 fflSTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 this, body being of considerable importance as 
 it is the only order in the county that has never 
 surrendered its charter. Mr. Wentz is the 
 only surviving charter member and he has 
 served in all its offices. He has also been 
 prominently identified with the Crawford 
 County Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany, which is, with but one exception, the 
 largest mutual fire company in Ohio, and for 
 24 years was its treasurer and later, for two 
 years was vice president of the compan)', re- 
 tiring from office in June, 19 10. In politics 
 he is a Democrat but has never accepted pub- 
 lic office to a large degree, although in 1890 
 he was appointed land appraiser of Holmes 
 township. 
 
 WILLIAM A. BILSING, proprietor of 
 Rock Brook Farm, a fertile tract of 163 acres 
 of valuable land, situated five miles north- 
 west of Crestline, O., has been interested in 
 agricultural affairs ever since his school days. 
 He belongs to a pioneer family of Ohio, his 
 grandfather having come from Germany and 
 settled in Crawford county at an early day. 
 At that time his father, Adam Bilsing, was a 
 boy of ten years. 
 
 Adam Bilsing grew to manhood in Craw- 
 ford county where he married first Lavina 
 Swisher, a native of Crawford county. To 
 them were born the following children : John* 
 H., Barnet C, Mary C, William A., Anna D., 
 Eliza, Samilda C, Flora A., and Margaret E. 
 Of these, John H. married Nancy Laughbaum 
 and lives in New Mexico. Barnet C, who 
 lives in Jefferson township, Crawford county, 
 married Elizabeth James, who is deceased. 
 Mary C. is deceased. Anna D., who married 
 John Rader, died in 1885. Eliza became the 
 wife of Allen Laughbaum and lives at Daven- 
 port, Wash. Samilda C. is the wife of Lin- 
 coln Hoover and they live in Vernon town- 
 ship, Crawford county. Flora A., now de- 
 ceased, was the wife of Prof. Franklin Brin- 
 ing, formerly a civil engineer in the employ 
 of the British Government and at present an 
 instructor at Thomason College, in India. 
 Margaret E. died at the age of two years. 
 Adam Bilsing married secondly Catherine Dap- 
 per and to them were born four children, 
 namely: Aaron, Augusta (wife of George 
 Brown), Franklin D. and Frances. 
 
 William A. Bilsing obtained a district school 
 education and then turned his attention to 
 farming and this has been his main interest 
 ever since. Rock Brook Farm is considered 
 one of the finest farms in Vernon township 
 and Mr. Bilsing has taken pride and pleasure 
 in improving it. 
 
 In early manhood Mr. Bilsing was mar- 
 ried to Miss Catherine A. Weaver, a daugh- 
 ter of Henry and Charlotte (Heis) Weaver, 
 the former of whom died in 1908. The mother 
 of Mrs. Bilsing survives, being now in her 79th 
 year and lives at Leesville, O. Mrs. Bilsing 
 had two sisters and one brother: Ellen, who 
 is the wife of Frank Cassel and lives at Crest- 
 line; Charles B., who died at the age of two 
 years; and Mary E., who died when aged 
 40 years. Mr. and Mrs. Bilsing have two 
 children: Alma E., who married Calvin B. 
 Parr ; and Sherman, who is a graduate of Ot- 
 terbein University and is now a student in the 
 Ohio State University preparing for a profes- 
 sion. Mr. Bilsing and family are members 
 of the United Brethren church, of which he 
 is a trustee and has held the office of superin- 
 tendent of the Sunday school and class leader. 
 In politics he is a Republican. He is well 
 known all over the county and is correspond- 
 ent for three of the county newspapers. 
 
 JOHN A. LAUTHERS,* one of the highly 
 respected citizens of Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., is also one of the most 
 substantial and owns 175 acres of fine land in 
 this township and 25 acres in Liberty town- 
 ship, and has additional interests. He was born 
 in Huntingdon county. Pa., July 8, 1858, and 
 is a son of Samuel and Sarah Jane (Seibert) 
 Lauthers. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Lauthers as well as the 
 paternal grandfather, James Lauthers, spent 
 their lives in Pennsylvania. They had the fol- 
 lowing children: James; Sadie, who is the 
 wife of Andrew Shearer; John A.; Anna, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of William Trego; 
 Samuel Morrison; and Belle, who is the wife 
 of Samuel Widney, she being the eldest of the 
 family. 
 
 John A. Lauthers obtained a district school 
 education in his native place and remained on 
 the home farm with his father until he was 
 21 years of age, when, in answer to a gen- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 867 
 
 eral call for help on western farms, he came 
 to Ohio and for two years following worked 
 on farrns by the month. Afterward, for three 
 years he rented land and then bought 80 acres 
 in Dallas township, from L. H. Ross and lived 
 on that place for seven years. In 1893 1"^^- 
 purchased his present home farm in Whet- 
 stone township from John Brehman and has 
 resided here ever since, having everything ex- 
 ceedingly comfortable about him. Later he 
 sold his farm in Dallas township and bought 
 154 acres in Sandusky township, and all told 
 owns about 354 acres of rich land in Craw- 
 ford county and also has stock in the Summer 
 addition of Bucyrus and in the Second Na- 
 tional Bank of that city. 
 
 In November, 1882, Mr. Lauthers was mar- 
 ried to Miss Celestia Carpenter, of Mount 
 Gilead, O., a daughter of Charles and Lydia 
 (Bingham) Carpenter, farming people in Mor- 
 row county. Mrs. Luthers has two sisters : 
 Carrie, who is the wife of Frank Pitman ; and 
 Jennie. Mr. and Mrs. Lauthers have two sons : 
 Walter L. and Charles W. The family be- 
 longs to the Presbyterian church and is a prom- 
 inent one in Whetstone township. While Mr. 
 Lauthers is a stanch Democrat he has no polit- 
 ical aspirations. 
 
 ABRAM C. MONNETT, deceased, was an 
 honored veteran of the Civil War and for 
 many years after its close was a successful 
 farmer and stock dealer in Crawford county. 
 He came of an old Ohio family of some mili- 
 tary distinction, and was born at Bucyrus, 
 March 31, 1839. His parents were Col. Wil- 
 liam and Elizabeth (Cahill) Monnett. 
 
 Col. Isaac Monnett, the grandfather, was 
 born in Pickaway county, O., and died at Bucy- 
 rus, Crawford county, when aged 92 years. 
 For many years he was identified officially with 
 the state militia. The family was an agricul- 
 tural one and he owned and cultivated large 
 tracts of land. With other members of the 
 family he was active in his support of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, being a lay 
 preacher in the same himself, while his 
 brother Thomas and son William, both be- 
 came accepted ministers in the same. He mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Fittenger, who was born in 
 Ross county, O., and died in old age at Bucy- 
 rus. 
 
 Col. William Monnett, a son of Col. Isaac 
 and father of the late Abram C. Mipnnett, was 
 five years old when he accompanied his par- 
 ents from Ross to Pickaway coimty and some 
 years after marriage he moved to the plains 
 of Crawford county, where he acquired 1,000 
 acres of land, mainly situated in Cranberry 
 township. When twelve years, old he united 
 with the Methodist Episcopal church and was 
 a militant Christian, accepting .election as col- 
 onel of the nth O. militia on the same day 
 that he was licensed as a Methpdist minister. 
 For II years he continued active ministerial 
 work, failing health then requiring his resig- 
 nation. He married Elizabeth Cahill and they 
 had five children: Abram C. ; Mary J., who 
 married Hon. S. R. Harris, both now de- 
 ceased; Rachel, who married William H. Kin- 
 near, both now deceased ; Sarah L., who is the 
 widow of L. L. Walker, of Whetstone, O. ; 
 and Isaac W., who died in Washington state, 
 when aged 43 years. The father of the above 
 family died in 1884, the mother surviving un- 
 til 1891. 
 
 Abram C. Monnett was reared; on his 
 father's large estate and attended the district 
 schools in youth. When civil war was pre- 
 cipitated he entered the Federal Army, enlist- 
 ing in the 34th O. Vol. Inf., in which he 
 served until the close of hostilities, escaping 
 wounds and capture but suffering all the rest 
 of his life from the exposure to which he had 
 been subjected. After he returned to peaceful 
 pursuits he resumed his agricultural activities 
 and continued the same during the remainder 
 of his active life. Like all his people he was 
 an interested and conscientious citizen, doing 
 his full public duty on every occasion but ask- 
 ing no political reward. He was a Republi- 
 can. His death occurred at his home in Bucy- 
 rus, April 17, 1879. 
 
 Abram C. Monnett was married at Bucyrus 
 to Miss Jennie E. Walwork, who was born at 
 Saratoga, N. Y., and is a graduate of the Al- 
 bany State Normal School. She came to Bu- 
 cyrus as a teacher and five years later was 
 united in marriage with Mr. Monnett. Hef 
 parents were Thomas and Mary (Stevens) 
 Walwork, the former of whom was born in 
 Liverpool, England, a son of Thomas Wal- 
 work. The younger Thomas Walwork came 
 to the United States in early manhood and was 
 
868 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 married near Philadelphia, Pa., to Mary Stev- 
 ens and they subsequently moved to Sara- 
 toga, N. Y., where Mr. Walwork established 
 and opterated a large woolen factory. They 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. They were people of social standing 
 and the father possessed an ample enough for- 
 tune to give his children excellent educational 
 advantages. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Monnett the following 
 children were born : Frank W., M. Elizabeth, 
 Julia A., Wallace L. and Rachel. All have 
 been given superior educational advantages. 
 Frank W., the eldest son, was a graduate of 
 the Cincinnati law school when he enlisted for 
 service in the Spanish-American War, and died 
 in the Philippine Islands, when aged 29 years. 
 M. Elizabeth, who was the wife of Rev. James 
 Cass, died at Bucyrus in 1902. She was a 
 graduate of the Bucyrus High School and also 
 a graduate in music and was not only a young 
 woman of great talent but was amiable and 
 engaging in social and domestic life. Julia 
 A. is a graduate of the Conservatory of Music 
 and Oratory at Cincinnati, is married to Rev. 
 James M. Cass, pastor of the First M. E. 
 church, at Westport, and has one daughter, 
 Ruth E. Her home is on Lake Champlain, at 
 Westport, N. Y. Wallace L. is a graduate of 
 Bucyrus High School and of the Cincinnati 
 Law School and at present is serving in the 
 office of referee in bankruptcy. He resides 
 with his wife and four children, at Bucyrus. 
 Rachel, the youngest member of the family, 
 is a graduate of the Bucyrus High School and 
 the Cincinnati School of Music and Oratory, 
 and is the wife of Edwin G. Beal, cashier of 
 the First National Bank of Bucyrus. 
 
 URIAS CRISTEE, who has resided on his 
 present farm of 120 acres, situated in Tod 
 township, Crawford county, O., for 42 years, 
 was born in Dauphin county, Pa., Feb. 16, 
 1831, and is" a son of Joseph and Hannah 
 (Grape) Cristee. 
 
 Joseph Cristee was born in Pennsylvania 
 and was of Scotch parentage. By trade he 
 was a blacksmith and he thought so well of 
 it as a means of subsistence that he taught all 
 his sons this trade. In 1833 he came to Rich- 
 land county, O., and there his death occurred 
 at the age of 70 years. He married Hannah 
 Grape, who was born in Germany and was 
 
 seven years old when her people brought her 
 to America. They had eight children, Urias 
 being the fifth born. 
 
 Urias Cristee was sent to school in boyhood, 
 his parents being concerned in the education 
 and welfare of their children. He was about 
 21 years old when he came to Crawford 
 county. For several years he was associated 
 with his brother-in-law in business at Bucyrus, 
 where they started the first real provision store, 
 and dealt also in grain and seed, purchasing 
 clover seed, oats and corn and has seen the 
 day when corn could be bought for 35 cents 
 and sold for seventy-five. After two and one- 
 half years in the grain and provision busi- 
 ness, Mr. Cristee sold out and for 30 years 
 afterward worked at the blacksmith trade 
 in Oceola, O. After selling his shop he spent 
 six months in Richland county and worked 
 as a horse shoer and was considered a fine one 
 although he never believed himself as skilled 
 a workman as was his father, the latter being 
 a natural born mechanic and without instruc- 
 tion was able to make a A\agon as well as one 
 who had learned the trade. Mr. Cristee pre- 
 serves many memories of his father, whom 
 he held in the highest respect and with great 
 affection. He had had no educational oppor- 
 tunities but could keep his accounts accurately 
 although he could not tell one letter of the al- 
 phabet from the other. From Richland county 
 Mr. Cristee worked one year for his brother 
 at Oceola and then returned to Bucyrus for 
 three months, and in 1870 settled on his pres- 
 ent valuable farm in Tod township, one mile 
 west of Oceola. He put up the substantial 
 buildings on this property and his residence 
 is a handsome brick structure. 
 
 Mr. Cristee was married to Miss Adeline 
 Failor, of Bucyrus, who died in 1902, when 
 aged 65 years, and 11 children were born to 
 them, the survivors being: Mrs. Ida Yost, 
 Frank, Mrs. Nellie Yost, Mrs. Clara Andrews. 
 Those deceased were: William, Lizzie. Mrs. 
 Emma Moore and four infants. Mr. Cristee 
 is a member and liberal supporter of the United 
 Brethren church at Oceola. In politics he is 
 a Republican and he keeps well posted concern- 
 ing public affairs. 
 
 JOHN E. GEISSMAN, who is one of the 
 successful young farmers of Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, resides in section 22, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 where he is profitably cultivating 114 acres, 
 which belongs to his father. He was born in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, July 30, 
 1882, and is a son of W. H. and Mary 
 (Leimenstall) Geissman. 
 
 W. H. Geissman was born in Chatfield town- 
 ship, Crawford county, where he was reared 
 and educated. When he came to the present 
 farm, 74 acres of which were bought of John 
 Nigh, and 40 acres of Jacob Millimaier, very 
 little improving had been done. In 1893 he 
 built the substantial barn and in 1896 he erected 
 the comfortable residence and made other ad- 
 ditions to the farm equipment and put all its 
 industries on a solid footing. In 1909 he re- 
 tired and moved to Chatfield and later became 
 mail carrier on Rural Route No. i, out of that 
 place. He married Mary Leimenstall, who 
 died June 2, 1904, the mother of six children. 
 The second marriage of Mr. Geissman was to 
 Mrs. Rosa Klink. 
 
 After his school period was over, John E. 
 Geissman determined to become a farmer. He 
 had been given excellent preparation for the 
 same for after attending the high school, he 
 had practical training in the Columbus Agri- 
 cultural School. For the past three years he 
 has been operating the home farm along 
 modern lines and has met with excellent re- 
 turns, and has brought Plain View Stock Farm 
 up to a high standard. Like the other enter- 
 prising agriculturists of this section, he is a 
 member of the Cranberry Township Grange. 
 
 On April 4, 1909, Mi". Geissman married 
 Miss Pearl Harrer, who was born in Lykens 
 township, Crawford county, the only daughter 
 of Caleb Harrer, and they have an infant 
 daughter, Fern Mary Ann, born April 29, 1912. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Geissman are members of the 
 Pietist and Evangelical churches respectively. 
 In political opinions Mr. Geissman calls him- 
 self an independent Democrat, and his neigh- 
 bors consider him a valuable citizen and a 
 wide awake business man. 
 
 G. F. ACKERMAN was born in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, Dec. 10, 1871, 
 and until he was 16 years of age attended 
 school and worked on his father's farm. The 
 next two years he continued his studies at 
 New Washington High School and in the fall 
 of 1890 he entered the Ohio Normal Univer- 
 
 sity at Ada, taking the scientific course. He 
 then became a teacher and taught school in 
 the winter months, working on the farm in 
 the summer until he returned to Ada and took 
 a course in stenography in 1893 and 1894. He 
 resumed teaching and farm life, and agam 
 in the spring of 1896 took a review course 
 at Ada. He then took up the study of law 
 under Judge Tobias, also acting as the Judge's 
 stenographer, but continuing to teach school 
 in the winter months. From 1898 to 1902 
 he served as Principal of the Third Ward 
 School of Bucyrus. On the ist day of Jan- 
 uary, 1902, he was appointed Deputy Sherifif 
 of Crawford county, which position he filled 
 until January, 1906. From 1906 to 1908 he 
 was engrossing clerk for the senate at the state 
 capitol, also acting as bookkeeper during the 
 interims between sessions for the American 
 Clay Machinery Co. In 1907 he accepted a 
 position as salesman for the Strine & Grinder 
 Manufacturing Co., of New Philadelphia, O. 
 In June of 1908, he was nominated by the 
 Democratic party for auditor without opposi- 
 tion and was elected the ensuing fall. As his 
 predecessor's term of office did not expire for 
 eleven months he became principal of the 
 Third Ward school of Bucyrus for the school 
 year of 1908 and 1909. He is considered a 
 very able and efficient auditor. He has served 
 on the county central committee and has been 
 delegate to judicial and senatorial conventions. 
 Also in 1907 he was a member of the city coun- 
 cil and was clerk of the county board of elec- 
 tions during 1903, 1904, and 1905. In 1896 
 he was secretary of the Bryan Free Silver Club 
 which had an enrollment of twelve hundred 
 members. 
 
 On Nov. 10, 1896, G. F. Ackerman married 
 Caroline E. Kuhn, daughter of August and 
 Catherine (Limbach) Kuhn, of Tuscarawas 
 county. They have two children living: Elva 
 Marie and Margaret Catherine. His father, 
 Caleb A., was born in Crawford county, Dec. 
 12, 1840. He married Margaret High, also a 
 native of Crawford county and born Sept. 4, 
 1844. Both were of German ancestry and of 
 pioneer families of Crawford county. They 
 are still living and reside in Bucyrus. Caleb 
 A. served in the War of the Rebellion in the 
 Forty-Ninth Ohio Regiment under Colonel 
 Gibson. Mr. G. F. Ackerman is a member of 
 
B70 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the Knights of Maccabees and of the Order of 
 Eagles. In 1908 he was sent as a delegate by 
 the Eagles to the national convention at Seattle, 
 -Wash. He is also a member of the Reformed 
 church and for 13 years has acted as treasurer 
 and trustee of that church in Bucyrus. His 
 chosen profession is the law which it is his in- 
 tention to follow after the expiration of his 
 term of office. 
 
 JOHN C. CAHILL, residing nine miles 
 north of Crestline, O., and one and one-half 
 miles south of Tiro, O., on the old homestead 
 farm of 160 acres, which he owns, is one of the 
 representative men of Vernon township, of 
 which he has been a trustee for some ten years. 
 He was born on this farm in 1862, and is a 
 son of R. W. and Catherine (Richards) Cahill. 
 
 R. W. Cahill was born in Pennsylvania and 
 after coming to Ohio and marrying, followed 
 an agricultural life until his death. The sur- 
 viving members of his family are : Eliza ; Jen- 
 nette ; Davis ; D. C, who lives at Bucyrus ; R. 
 W., who lives at Napoleon, O. ; John C. ; and 
 G. W. and James, who live at Tiro, O. 
 
 John C. Cahill attended the district schools 
 in Vernon township and later the Ohio Normal 
 School, at Ada, after which he returned to his 
 father, with whom he remained until the form- 
 er's death, when he purchased the homestead, 
 widely known as the Green Hill Farm. He 
 has made many improvements and is progress- 
 ive in his agricultural methods and is num- 
 bered with the most successful farmers of this 
 section. 
 
 Mr. Cahill married Miss Mary A. Weirich, 
 a daughter of Christian and Adeline (Miller) 
 Weirich, and they have had three children: 
 Allen W., John R. and Edith, the last named 
 being deceased. In politics, Mr. Cahill is a 
 Democrat and in addition to his long period of 
 service as township trustee, he was clerk of the 
 township for four years, and enjoys the very 
 desirable reputation of having conscientiously 
 performed every public duty. 
 
 CLAUDE A. LINGENFELTER, M. D., 
 physician and surgeon at Bucyrus, O., and a 
 specialist in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and 
 throat, was born at Loudonville, O., May 24, 
 1884, and is a son of Dr. James A. and Mary 
 (Petot) Lingenfelter. 
 
 Dr. James A. Lingenfelter was born in Bed- 
 ford county, Pa., of German parentage, and 
 lost his parents when young. He grew up on 
 a farm, having no opportunity to follow the 
 bent of his desires for a medical education, 
 and was already a young man when he came 
 to Ohio. He lived in Stark county for sev- 
 eral years and then came to Loudonville and 
 found work in a butcher shop as a meat cut- 
 ter, but he by no means had given up his 
 ambition to become a physician. Only he can 
 teir of the obstacles he overcame and of tlie 
 self denials he practiced before he was finally 
 able to secure his degree from a medical col- 
 lege at Cincinnati. He is known as a skillful 
 physician and has a large practice. In politics, 
 a Democrat he has held local offices but his 
 profession claims the larger part of his time. 
 He is identified with the Masons and other 
 fraternal orders. He married Miss Mary 
 Petot, who was born and reared at Loudon- 
 ville, a daughter of Claud and Catherine 
 (Specht) Petot, the former of whom was 
 born in France and the latter in Germany. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Petot were married in Paris 
 and soon afterward emigrated to the United 
 States, living first at Pittsburg, Pa., and later 
 moving to Loudonville, O. Mr. Petot was 
 one of the leading shoe merchants of Loudon- 
 ville at the time of his death. His widow still 
 resides there. They were of the Catholic 
 faith but later united with the English Luth- 
 erans and Mr. Petot was liberal in his sup- 
 port of all church demands made on him. 
 Three sons were born to Dr. James A. Lin- 
 genfelter and wife: Claude A.; Harry, who 
 is engaged in the jewelry business at Loudon- 
 ville; and Charles, who is in business at Los 
 Angeles, Cal. 
 
 Claude A. Lingenfelter attended school at 
 Loudonville and was graduated from the 
 High School in 1900, after which he spent a 
 student year at Oberlin College, and then he 
 entered the Cleveland Medical College, where 
 he remained for one year and Subsequently 
 was graduated after a four year course from 
 the New York Homeopathic College in the 
 class of 1906, with his well earned degree. 
 He engaged in a general practice at Loudon- 
 ville until 1908, when he came to Bucyrvis, 
 where, in answer to a general demand, he has 
 specialized in the diseases of eye, ear, nose 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 871 
 
 and throat, these so generally prevailing that 
 careful and scientific men following this 
 branch of medical practice are welcomed 
 almost everywhere along this line of practice. 
 Dr. Lingenfelter has been more than usually 
 successful. 
 
 Dr. Lingenfelter was married in New York, 
 to Miss Marian Gilmartin, who was born at 
 Scranton, Pa., an was educated at Mt. Mor- 
 ris, N. Y., completing her musical studies at 
 Oberlin College. Her parents were Frederick 
 and Rhoda (Jones) Gilmartin, of Welsh ex- 
 traction. The mother died in 1906, but the 
 father survives. Mrs. Lingenfelter has one 
 sister, Dollie, who is a professional nurse re- 
 siding in Philadelphia. Dr. and Mrs. Lingen- 
 felter have one son, William Qaude, born 
 June 3, 1908. Politically Dr. Lingenfelter is 
 a Republican and fraternally a Master Mason, 
 Royal Arch Mason, Royal and Select Master 
 Mason and a Knight Templar Mason, being 
 identified with the Commandery at Marion, O. 
 
 SAMUEL J. STUMP,* who carries on his 
 successful agricultural industries on three 
 tracts of valuable land, situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., resides on a 
 farm of 163 acres and owns a second one of 63 
 acres, and additionally, in partnership with 
 Professor Guinther, superintendent of the 
 schools of Gallon, O., he owns a third farm of 
 190 acres. Mr. Stump was born on his home 
 farm, July 9, 1857, and is a son of Daniel and 
 Elizabeth (Zimmerman) Stump. 
 
 Daniel Stump spent almost his entire life in 
 Crawford county, being only six years old 
 when his parents brought him from Lycoming 
 county. Pa. His death occurred in the spring 
 of 1897 and his burial was in the Sherer ceme- 
 tery. He married Elizabeth Zimmerman, who 
 was born in Crawford county and still sur- 
 vives, residing on the honiestead. The follow- 
 ing children were born to them : Samuel J. ; 
 Louisa, who is the wife of S. F. Whiteamire; 
 Joseph, who died at the age of 12 years; Sarah, 
 who died at the age of eight years ; Lydia, who 
 died when aged five years; and Clara, who 
 passed away at the age of 19 years. She was 
 an attractive and talented young woman, had 
 prepared herself for teaching and had just 
 completed her first term as a teacher when she 
 died. 
 
 Samuel J. Stump attended school near his 
 home and then helped his father on the home 
 farm and they remained together until the 
 father's death. At that time the latter owned 
 163 acres in Whetstone township and 174 acres 
 in Bucyrus township. Mr. Stump is a sensible, 
 practical farmer, devoting his attention to the 
 grains and tubers that he has proved are most 
 profitable to cultivate in«this soil and climate, 
 and to a good grade of stock that has proved 
 satisfactory, and he has prospered. 
 
 On March 16, 1897, Mr. Stump was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lottie Guinther, a daughter of 
 Jacob and Catherine (Shellenmiller) Guinther, 
 and a granddaughter of George and Margaret 
 Guinther. The parents of Mrs. Stump are 
 both now deceased, their burial being in the 
 Sherer cemetery. Her father was born in 
 Germany and was 15 years old when he came 
 to the United Ctates and for seven years after- 
 ward lived at Philadelphia, Pa., where he was 
 in a bakery business. After coming to Craw- 
 ford county he followed farming. He married 
 Catherine Shellenmiller, who was born in Ly- 
 coming county. Pa., and they had the follow- 
 ing children born to them: Mary, who is the 
 wife of George K. Ulmer; George; Sophia, 
 who is deceased ; Catherine, who is the wife of 
 Samuel Rexroth ; Isaac C, who is principal of 
 the Gallon public schools; Lottie, who is the 
 wife of Mr. Stump; and Jacob. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Stump the following chil- 
 dren were born : Gertrude Elizabeth, who died 
 when aged two years; Clarence Willard and 
 Howard James. Mr. and Mrs. Stump are 
 members of the German Methodist church, of 
 which he is a trustee and for three years was 
 superintendent of the Sunday-school. Mr. 
 Stump calls himself an Independent Democrat. 
 
 W. H. GARRIGUES, who owns one of 
 the best improved farms in Tod township, 
 Crawford county, O., containing 80 acres sit- 
 uated one-half mile west of Oceola, O., was 
 born at Oceola, in 1864, and is a son of R. T. 
 and Sarah A. (Wert) Garrigues. 
 
 R. T. Garrigues was born in Maryland and 
 came here before the town of Oceola was laid 
 out. Being a carpenter by trade he had much 
 to do with the erecting of the buildings at 
 Oceola and became a man of ample means as 
 the reward of a long and busy life, his death 
 
872 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 occurring at Oceola in 1910, when he was aged 
 84 years. He married Sarah A. Wert, who 
 survived until 191 1, passing away in her 76th 
 year. Three of their eight children died in in- 
 fancy, the others being: Mrs. S. D. Trout, of 
 Bucyrus ; Mrs. Minnie I. Fruth, of Oceola ; W. 
 H., subject of this sketch; Mrs. Mettie A. 
 Snavely, of Sulphur Springs; and Mrs. Sallie 
 N. Brown, of Oklahoma. 
 
 W. H. Garrigues attended the Oceola 
 schools and afterward became, a farmer, and 
 for 12 years lived on a place east of Oceola, on 
 which he made improvements and then moved 
 to the farm where he still lives, one-half mile 
 west of the town, and in March, 1907, having 
 bought his present property, where he carries 
 on general farming and stock raising. Mr. 
 Garrigues has very progressive ideas as to his 
 agricultural methods and is no less particular 
 concerning the way he lives. His fine residence 
 in which he has installed all modern comforts 
 and conveniences, and these include a complete 
 system of lighting, would do credit to a city 
 and surrounded as it is with a fine lawn and 
 concrete walks, attracts attention and favor- 
 able comment from every passer-by. It is a 
 type of home that here and there, through the 
 wealthy agricultural communities, is taking the 
 place of the uncomfortable and often unsani- 
 tary dwellings that the prosperous farmer of 
 the present day no longer feels satisfied to oc- 
 cupy, and this change brings a large measure 
 of comfort, happiness and content to the whole 
 family. 
 
 Mr. Garrigues married Miss Cora E. Peck, 
 who is a daughter of Taylor Peck, a well 
 known farmer of Bucyrus township. They 
 have one son, Harry W., who attends the pub- 
 lic schools in Oceola. Mr. Garrigues has fre- 
 quently been elected to public office in Tod 
 township and for two years was a member of 
 the Tod township board of trustees. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Garrigues are members of the United 
 Brethren church. For some years he has been 
 connected with Lodge No. 116 Jr. O. U. A. M. 
 at Oceola. He is an intelligent, liberal-minded 
 man, a capable farmer and a useful citizen. 
 
 JOSEPH A. BLUM, owner and manager 
 of a prospering business enterprise of Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county, O., to which 
 he ha^; given the appropriate name of the 
 
 Twentieth Century Hatchery, is one of the 
 wide awake, well informed and enterprising 
 young business men of Crawford county. He 
 was born May 22, 1888, on his present farm 
 situated in section 23, Cranberry township, 
 where he resides with his father, F. X. Blum. 
 Joseph A. Blum grew to manhood in his na- 
 tive township and obtained his education in the 
 public schools. In pushing out into a some- 
 what new field of industry, Mr. Blum has 
 shown commendable enterprise and he has a 
 growing investment. The Twentieth Century 
 Hatchery is located 3 miles southwest of New 
 Washington, O., where it was started in 1904, 
 with a 2,000 egg capacity. Its present capacity 
 is 30,000 eggs per hatch, and during the sea- 
 son there is a calculated hatch of 3,000 per 
 week. Shipments are made to all sections of 
 the country, special boxes being provided. Mr. 
 Blum's present plant contains two buildings, 
 one with dimensions of 22x75 feet and the 
 other of 42x24 feet. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat. He belongs to the Roman Catholic 
 church and is identified with the Knights of 
 Columbus. 
 
 CLEMENCE J. WILLIAMSON, V. S.,* 
 who is the oldest veterinary surgeon in Craw- 
 ford county, O., in point of professional serv- 
 ice, has been a resident of Bucyrus for a 
 number of years and commands a large prac- 
 tice. He was born in Crawford county, Jan. 
 14, 1872, and is one of a family of seven chil- 
 dren. His parents were Benjamin F. and 
 Mary (Auk) W'illiamson. The father was a 
 native of Pennsylvania, where he learned the 
 carpenter trade and came to Crawford county 
 in 1850, from which county he entered an 
 Ohio regiment and served in the Civil war. 
 
 Dr. \Villiamson attended the public schools 
 in boyhood and grew up on the home farm. 
 Later he attended the Ohio Northern Univer- 
 sity, where he was graduated in pharmacy, in 
 1893. Subsequently he entered the Ontario 
 Veterinary College, at Toronto, Can., where 
 he was graduated in 1897 and immediately en- 
 tered into practice at Springfield, O., in 1899 
 coming to Bucyrus. 
 
 Dr. Williamson married Miss Catherine 
 E. Reifif, a daughter of Herman ReiflF, and they 
 have three children. With his family he 
 belongs to the Lutheran church. Politically he 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 873 
 
 is a Democrat but the volume of his profes- 
 sional duties have always prevented his con- 
 sidering any invitation to accept political 
 office, but he is a reliable and interested citizen 
 and enjoys the confidence of professional 
 brethren and the public at large. 
 
 J. ERNEST WENTZ, who, for 33 years 
 has been a continuous resident of Bucyrus, O., 
 and until recently active in the business life of 
 the city, was born at Chambersburg, Pa., Dec. 
 7, 1840, and is a son of Anthony and Catherine 
 (Steak) Wentz. 
 
 Anthony Wentz was born in Germany prob- 
 ably in 181 5. He came to America when a 
 young man and located in Pennsylvania and 
 was married at Chambersburg in that state, to 
 Catherine Steak. They remained there until 
 after the birth of their first child, in the follow- 
 ing year, 1842, starting in a great covered 
 wagon for Crawford county, O. Mr. Wentz 
 opened his shoemaking shop at Bucyrus and 
 followed his trade until 1846 when his death 
 occurred. He was an official in the English 
 Lutheran church. His widow survived for 
 many years, her death occurring at Bucyrus in 
 her 75th year. Five children were born to An- 
 thony Wentz and wife, namely: J. Ernest, 
 George, who died in childhood; Albert, who 
 died May i, 1910, at the Soldiers' Home, San- 
 dusky, O., who had served during the Civil 
 War as a member of the loth O. Vol. Cav., 
 and was honorably discharged, and is survived 
 by two daughters — Florence N., wife of J. H. 
 Huff, D. D. S., Chicago, and Sarah L., who is 
 housekeeper for her uncle, J. Ernest Wentz; 
 William M., a machinist at Bucyrus, who is 
 married and has four children ; and Mary, who 
 died at the age of ten years. 
 
 J. Ernest Wentz was educated in the Bucy- 
 man in a general store, first at Bucyrus and 
 rus schools and afterward he became a sales- 
 later at Mansfield, O. In 1878 he returned to 
 Bucyrus and for ten years afterward was asso- 
 ciated with George W. Harris in the produce 
 business. In 1888 he opened up his own busi- 
 ness on the corner of Walnut and Charles 
 streets and continued until June, 1907, when 
 he sold out and since then has lived retired. 
 He has never married but his domestic affairs 
 are well looked after by his niece. Miss Sarah 
 L. Wentz, a very capable housekeeper and es- 
 timable lady. Both she and her sister, Mrs. 
 
 Huff, are Christian Science practitioners and 
 for some years she was First Reader in the 
 church of this organization at Bucyrus. Mr. 
 Wentz is in close sympathy with the tenets of 
 this reHgious body. Politically he is a Repub- 
 lican and fraternally is a Knight of Pythias. 
 
 CHARLES C. STEPHAN, a representa- 
 tive citizen of Vernon township, Crawford 
 county, O., residing seven and one-half miles 
 northeast of Crestline, where he owns 80 
 acres of fertile and well tilled land, was born 
 in Crawford county, in 1864, and is a son of 
 Adam and Anna (Frank) Stephan. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Stephan were born in 
 Germany, from which country the father came 
 to the United States when 15 years of age, and 
 the mother was brought when five years old, 
 by her parents, who settled in Crawford 
 county, O. To Adam Stephan and wife the 
 following children were born : Frank, residing 
 at Crestline, who married Barbara Paffenbach ; 
 George, who married (first) Mary Bauer, and 
 (second) Lizzie Bauer and survives them 
 both; John, who lives at Crestline, who mar- 
 ried Clara Swerer; Amanda, who is the wife 
 of Conrad Strauch, of Crestline ; Edward, who 
 resides at Mansfield, O., and who married 
 Hattie Gulp; Ida, who lives at Crestline, the 
 widow of Jacob Sleighberger, who died in 
 1912; Louis, who died in California, when 
 aged 23 years; and Charles C, whose name 
 heads this sketch. 
 
 Charles C. Stephan followed farming with 
 his father until he was 23 years of age and 
 then went to Crestline and was employed there 
 for two years, after which he resumed farm- 
 ing and purchased his present property. He 
 devotes his land to general agriculture, raising 
 the usual products of the soil that do well in 
 this climate and also gives some attention to 
 growing stock. 
 
 Mr. Stephan married Miss Catherine Kind- 
 inger, a daughter of John and Catherine (Kaf- 
 fenberger) Kindinger, her brothers and sisters 
 being: Charles, John, Mary, Julia, Emil, Al- 
 bert and Emma. Mr. and Mrs. Stephan have 
 seven children, namely: Wilbur, Velma, Ed- 
 gar,- Anita, Lester, Luella and Lloyd. ' Mr. 
 Stephan and family are members of the Re- 
 formed church, of which he is a trustee and is 
 also serving as church treasurer. 
 
w74 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 CHARLES SHELDON WERT,* post- 
 master at Monnett, O., and proprietor of a 
 general store, was born at Oceola, Crawford 
 county, Aug. 6, 1879, ^^^ is a son of James 
 and Mary (Neally) Wert. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Wert were both natives 
 of Ohio, he of Tod township, Crawford 
 county, and she of Wyandot county. The 
 father was a carpenter and contractor. Both 
 he and wife are now deceased, their burial be- 
 ing at Bucyrus. They had three children: 
 Rahland B., Charles Sheldon and Jessie, the 
 last named being the wife of Stewart Laune, 
 who is in the grocery business at Spring- 
 field, O. 
 
 Charles S. Wert attended the public schools 
 and for some years afterward engaged in 
 farming and then embarked in a general store 
 business at Mortimer, O., where he continued 
 for two and one-half years and then came to 
 ^klonnett, where he has built up a fine trade. 
 In addition to carrying the usual merchandise 
 of a general store, he handles farm imple- 
 ments. He has the leading place of business 
 in the town and for the past year has been 
 postmaster, being an ardent Republican. The 
 only other public ofiice he has held was that 
 of constable for one year while living in Dallas 
 township. 
 
 l\Ir. Wert was married Feb. 29, 1902, to 
 ^liss Agnes E. Linn, who was born in Marion 
 county, O., a daughter of Jacob and Mary 
 ( Martin) Linn, who were substantial farmers 
 there. Mrs. Wert is the youngest of their 
 three children, the others being: Vela, who is 
 the wife of Welcome Lewellyn, and Minor. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wert have a son and a daughter • 
 Raymond and Mary. The family belongs to 
 the Christian church at Bucyrus and ■Mr. Wert 
 is identified with the fraternal order of Junior 
 United American ]\rechanics of the same city. 
 
 CHARLES S. SPORE, one of the well 
 known men of Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, O., who carries on general farming 
 and stock raising on his farm of 62 acres, 
 which is situated six and one-half miles north- 
 west of Bucyrus, was born in Liberty town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., July 28, 1858, and 
 is a son of S. L. and Sarah E. (Brahman) 
 Spore, and a grandson of David C. Spore, who 
 
 made the record of teaching forty consecutive 
 terms in the schools of Crawford county. 
 
 S. L. Spore was born in 1834, in Canada, 
 and was t\\ o years old when his parents moved 
 to Crawford county and settled in Liberty 
 township. Prior to his enlistment in 1862, for 
 service in the Civil War, Mr. Spore engaged in 
 farming. He served out his first enlistmnt of 
 nine months and served nine months more un- 
 der his second contract and then received an 
 honorable discharge, on account of disability. 
 Subsequently he learned the cooper trade and 
 followed that with farming until again pros- 
 trated by ill health, after which he was in the 
 real estate business until his health failed en- 
 tirely and he retired to the Soldiers' Home, at 
 Marion, Ind., where he could have constant 
 care and medical attention and died there in 
 1906, his burial being in Crawford county. 
 Although he did not fall on the field of battle, 
 nevertheless he was a victim of the Civil War, 
 his hardships and exposure having under- 
 mined his health. At the time of death he 
 owned 80 acres of land. He married Sarah 
 E. Brahman, who was born in Huron county 
 and died in 1893, aged 56 years. Of their nine 
 children three died in infancy, the others be- 
 ing : Charles S. ; Mrs. Honora Linn, of Bucy- 
 rus; Aud David; Rufus D., who has a large 
 grocery business at Bellevue, O. ; Benjamin M., 
 who is a foreman in the Pennsylvania Railway 
 shops at Fort Wayne, Ind. ; and Mrs. Loretta 
 M. Goodwin, who is a resident of Bucyrus. 
 
 Charles S. Spore obtained a district school 
 education and afterward taught school in 
 Holmes and Chatfield townships for three 
 years. After marriage he settled on his pres- 
 ent farm and his main interests since have 
 been agricultural. He is a Republican in his 
 political sentiments and is a member of the 
 township school board. For two years he car- 
 ried the mail from Bucyrus to certain points 
 and in 1900, also 1910, was one of the census 
 enumerators. Mr. Spore is a reliable, trust- 
 worthy citizen and is universally respected in 
 this section. 
 
 On March i, 1883, Mr. Spore was married 
 to Miss Lucy A. Linn, who is a daughter of 
 William Linn, who is a resident of Holmes 
 township, and they have had four children, 
 namely: Lula G., who is the wife of R. A. 
 Rexroth, who is in the real estate business at 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 875 
 
 Rock Creek, O. ; Carrie E., who lives at Bucy- 
 rus; Harry W. B., who resides at Newell, W. 
 Va. ; and Ray E., who assists his father on the 
 home fann. Mr. Spore is connected by mem- 
 bership with the Odd Fellows, the Grange, the 
 Home Guards of America, the I. O. F., and 
 the Rebecca branch of the Odd Fellows, tak- 
 ing an interest in all these organizations and as 
 nearly as possible setting an example as to 
 their aims and benefits. 
 
 FREDERICK BEACH, whose finely 
 equipped farm of eighty acres lies five miles 
 northwest of Crestline, O., in Vernon town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., is one of the well 
 known residents, his whole life having been 
 more or less passed in this section. He was 
 born in Crawford county in 1837, and is a son 
 of Rinehardt and Louisa (Klahn) Beach. The 
 parents of Mr. Beach came to the United 
 States from Germany in 1829 and settled in 
 Crawford county. They had the following 
 children: Adam, Frederick, Margaret, Sarah. 
 Elizabeth, George, Caroline, William, Samuel. 
 Susan and Louisa, the last named dying at the 
 age of 15 years. 
 
 Frederick Beach attended the district schools 
 in boyhood although their advantages were 
 meager compared with those of the present 
 day, and remained at home assisting his father 
 until he was 1 5 years of age. Then he learned 
 the cabinetmaking trade and worked at the 
 same for six years and then returned to the 
 farm and has been mainly interested in farm- 
 ing ever since. He bought one farm and after- 
 ward sold it and then purchased his present 
 one on which he has made many improve- 
 ments. He carries on general farming and 
 raises stock, having always been a man of in- 
 dustry and good judgment and has prospered. 
 
 Mr. Beach was married to Miss Margaret E, 
 Feick, a daughter of John G. Feick, native of 
 Germany, and ten children have been born to 
 them, namely: Emma S., who married William 
 Harter and lives at Sandusky City, O. ; George 
 H., who married Ida Brendle and lives at 
 Toledo, O. ; John W., a physician practicing at 
 Arlington, O., who married Florence Rigle; 
 Samuel F., who lives at Sandusky, and who 
 married Hattie Takes; Minnie M., who is the 
 wife of Albert Bender, of Sandusky: Charles 
 C, deceased, September 21, 1907, who was a 
 
 physician in Indiana, and married to Emma 
 Cline; Callie A., the wife of William Beyers, 
 who lives at Shelby, O. ; Augusta, who died in 
 infancy; Cornelius, who is superintendent of 
 the Irondale schools in Jefferson county and 
 lives at home; and Luetta, the youngest, who 
 also lives with her parents. Mrs. Beach has 
 two sisters in Germany, Mary and Barbara, 
 while two, Elizabeth C. and Catherine, and a 
 brother, John G., are in America. Mr. Beach 
 and family are members of the German Re- 
 formed church and all are people who are held 
 in the highest esteem in their neighborhood. 
 
 CALEB B. FOSTER,* now living retired 
 after many years of successful business en- 
 deavor and efficient official life, occupies his 
 comfortable home which is situated at No. 510 
 Spring street, Bucyrus, O. Mr. Foster was 
 born May 17, 1831, in Stark county, O., and 
 is a son of William and Elizabeth (Croh- 
 minger) Foster. 
 
 William Foster was born in New York and 
 his wife in Pennsylvania and both came when 
 young to Stark county, O., where they married 
 and continued to live. By trade William 
 Foster was a shoemaker and he also conducted 
 a farm. He was a quiet, industrious, well 
 meaning man and was known all over the 
 county. In his political views he was a Jack- 
 sonian Democrat. He survived his wife, his 
 death occurring during the Civil War, when 
 aged about 60 years. They were members of 
 the U. B. church. Of their large family of 
 children three survive: Caleb B. and George, 
 the latter of whom resides at Lansing, Mich., 
 being now in his 76th year. The father was 
 twice married and one daughter of the first 
 union survives, Sarah A., who is the widow of 
 a veteran of the Civil War. 
 
 Caleb B. Foster was quite young when his 
 parents came from Stark county to Bucyrus 
 and here he was reared and schooled. He 
 learned the carpenter trade and later became 
 a building contractor and erected many of the 
 substantial structures of Bucyrus before he re- 
 tired from active life quite a long time since. 
 He was then elected a justice of the peace and 
 served in that office for 21 years during which 
 time his decisions were seldom reversed. He 
 has been a Democrat since he first exercised 
 his citizen's privilege and for some years was 
 
876 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a member of the Democratic county organi- 
 zations. 
 
 Mr. Foster was married first in Crawford 
 county to Miss Maria Simmons, -who died in 
 1862, aged 35 years, at Oceola, where Mr. 
 Foster lived for some 12 years. At Oceola he 
 \\ as married again, Miss Annetta Fox becom- 
 ing his second wife. Her death occurred in 
 March, 1908, at Bucyrus. Both wives were 
 estimable women but neither left issue. Al- 
 though Mr. Foster has no daughters he has 
 had the tender care of an estimable woman 
 during his declining years, in the person of 
 Miss Jennie Smith. She was born at Cham- 
 bersburg, Pa., 45 years ago, and came to Bucy- 
 rus when aged 19 years, and for some ten years 
 has been at the head of Mr. Foster's household. 
 
 WILLIAM GUNDRUM, who is one of the 
 leading men of Vernon township, Crawford 
 county, O., township trustee and a prosperous 
 farmer, owns 5i/4 acres of valuable land, sit- 
 uated eight miles north of Crestline, O. He 
 was born on his father's farm in Crawford 
 county, eight miles east of Bucyrus, O., and 
 is a son of Silas and Lavina (Buck) Gundrum. 
 
 Silas Gundrum was born in Pennsylvania 
 and was five years old when his parents moved 
 to Ohio and settled in Crawford county. Here 
 he grew to manhood and then married Lavina 
 Buck, who was born in Ohio and they had eight 
 children born to them, namely : John, who lives 
 two and a half miles east of Gallon, O., and 
 who married Maggie Ostermeyer; Anna, who 
 is deceased; Joseph, living in Sandusky town- 
 ship, who married Rule Fetter; Silas, who is 
 deceased ; Maggie, who married Albert Heller, 
 of Sandusky township; Emma, who is de- 
 ceased ; and Frank and AA^illiam. Silas Gund- 
 rum died March 9, 1902, his wife having 
 passed away some years before, the date of her 
 death being Oct. 2, 1898. 
 
 William Gundrum obtained his education in 
 the district schools and assisted his father until 
 he was 21 years of age. After that he engaged 
 in farm work for other agriculturists, by the 
 day or the month for a time and afterward 
 rented land for five years, at the end of which 
 time be bought his present place, on which he 
 carries on general farming. He has made all 
 the excellent improvements here and has 
 doubled the value of his property. 
 
 Mr. Gundrum married Miss Emma Fix, 
 who is a daughter of Andrew and Matilda Fix, 
 and they have three children: Grace, Blanche 
 and Zella. ]\Irs. Gundrum has one sister and 
 two brothers: Bert, Charles and Lilly. One 
 sister, Mary, is deceased. In politics Mr. 
 Gundrum is a Democrat and frequently has 
 been called upon to serve in local offices. For 
 a number of years he has been a member of the 
 township school board and at present is a very 
 efficient member of the township board of 
 trustees. He' belongs to the United Brethren 
 church. 
 
 L. H. NAGEL, a prominent business man 
 of Brokensword, O., who conducts the largest 
 general store in the place, was born in this 
 town in 1880 and is a son of John and Eliza- 
 beth (Gearhert) Xagel. 
 
 John Nagel was born in Erie county, O., and 
 from there came to Crawford county when 
 aged 21 years and for 21 subsequent years was 
 engaged in the hotel business at Brokensword. 
 He is now a manufacturer of soft drinks, at 
 Bellevue, O., being in his sixty-fourth year. 
 He married Elizabeth Gearhert, who was 
 brought to America when a child of four years 
 and spent her after life at Brokensword, 
 where she died in her 54th year. They had 
 three children: Esther, who is the wife of 
 Henry Shealy, of Bucyrus; Emma, who mar- 
 ried George Grower; and L. H., of Broken- 
 sword. 
 
 L. H. Nagel was educated in the public 
 schools and first entered into business at Bucy- 
 rus, in the clothing line, and continued until 
 May 16, 1904, when he opened his present 
 store at Brokensword, where he owns his own 
 building and has, by far, the largest patronage 
 of any business house in the place. His stock 
 includes a complete assortment of groceries, 
 dry goods, boots, shoes and hardware. 
 
 Mr. Nagel is a Democrat in politics and fra- 
 ternally is connected with the Maccabees, the 
 Foresters, and belongs to the National Protec- 
 ti^-e Legion at Bucyrus. Mr. Nagel is un- 
 married. 
 
 HENRY PHILLIPS, a representative citi- 
 zen and a native of ^^'^hetstone township, owns 
 274 acres of land located in this township, 100 
 acres of which constitute the farm on which 
 
A. X. PHILLIPS 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 879 
 
 he lives. He was born Feb. 26, 1850. His 
 father, Benjamin PhiUips, was born in North- 
 umberland county, Pa., but came to Ohio 
 when a boy of 12 years and spent most of his 
 life in Whetstone township, where he followed 
 farming. He married Sarah Null, a native of 
 Parks county. Pa., and to them were born four 
 children: Rebecca, Henry, Franklin and Sam- 
 uel, all of whom are deceased except Henry, 
 whose name heads this article. Benjamin 
 Phillips was a Democrat in politics and he and 
 his wife attended the Reformed church. They 
 are both now deceased and. their remains rest 
 in Whetstone cemetery. 
 
 After completing a common school educa- 
 tion, Henry Phillips went to work on the farm 
 with his father. He later owned a threshing 
 machine and a saw mill which he operated in 
 connection with his farm work. His first pur- 
 chase of land was a tract of 20 acres, which he 
 bought in partnership with his brother Samuel 
 and to this through his industry and ambition 
 he has added until now he owns 274 acres of 
 excellent land on which he carries on general 
 farming and raises stock for his own use. 
 
 Henry Phillips was united in marriage in 
 1883 to Miss Sarah Kunert, a daughter of 
 Charles W. and Mary (Franks) Kunert, farm- 
 ing people of this county. Their children 
 were: Charles, John, Frank, Jacob, Samuel, 
 Sarah, Josephine (wife of John Dapper) and 
 Anna (wife of William Crider). 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Henry Phillips have been 
 born children as follows: Ada P., wife of Wil- 
 liam H. Ruth; Edwin R., who lives on the 
 homestead farm; Ida, the wife of Arthur 
 Gearhart; Mary S., the wife of Fred Stiger; 
 Russell S., Luther H., Anna M., Paul B. and 
 Esther S. 
 
 Mr. Phillips is a Democrat in his political 
 views and has served several times as road 
 supervisor. Religiously, he is identified with 
 the Reformed church. 
 
 A. N. PHILLIPS, deceased, for many 
 years was a prominent and representative 
 man in Crawford county, O., and a useful, 
 respected and esteemed resident of his com- 
 munity. He was born in Frederick county, 
 Md., June 25, 1846, and died on his valuable 
 farm of 235 acres, situated in Tod township, 
 June I, 191 1. His parents were John and 
 
 Ruth Phillips, who were natives of Maryland, 
 where the father died in February, i860, she 
 in the following May coming to Crawford 
 county, and died in August of the same year. 
 
 A. N. Phillips attended the country schools 
 and later became a student at Heidelberg 
 University and was ever afterward consid- 
 ered a man of well trained faculties and ex- 
 cellent judgment, this general opinion making 
 his fellow citizens anxious- to secure his ad- 
 vice on perplexing questions and eager to 
 see him serving in responsible offices. For 
 18 months, soon after returning from the 
 university, he served as deputy auditor. In 
 1875 he went into the flour mill business on 
 his own place and continued until 1886 and 
 afterward, for many years, carried on the 
 usual farm activities. From his own quarries 
 he furnished the stone for the building of 
 many of the good roads in this section. 'For 
 30 years he was a notary public and he set- 
 tled up and administered many estates. Those 
 who knew him well remember him as a man 
 faithful and conscientious in the performance 
 of every duty, a man who was honest in all 
 business relations and was kind, thoughtful 
 and considerate of his friends. 
 
 In April, 1884, Mr. Phillips was married to 
 Miss Alice Teeterick, a daughter of Samuel 
 and Margaret Teeterick. Her father was 
 born in New York and her mother in Ger- 
 many, the latter having been brought to Am- 
 erica when six years old and lived for a time 
 in Pennsylvania and then came to Bucyrus, O., 
 where she was married to Mr. Teeterick on 
 Sept. 14, 1842. They have had eleven chil- 
 dren born to them and eight of these still live 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Phillips two children were 
 born: an infant that died early; and Charles 
 Albert, who was born July 4, 1897, and died 
 when aged five years, six months and eighteen 
 days. In his views on public questions Mr. 
 Phillips was a consistent Democrat. While 
 he never united with any particular church 
 body he was a Christian in faith and works 
 and gave liberally to every worthty cause, 
 and for 20 vears taught the Bible class in the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. Mrs. Phillips 
 owns the valuable farm left by her husband 
 and it is under the excellent management of 
 her brother, Frank Teeterick, a well known 
 farmer of Tod township. 
 
880 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 AMANDUS FENNER,* deceased, for 
 many years was a well known business man at 
 Bucyrus, O., where the larger part of his life 
 was passed and where he was held in high es- 
 teem. He was born April 25, 1855, at the 
 Delaware Water Gap, Monroe county. Pa., a 
 son of George and Elizabeth (Bush) Fenner. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Fenner came to Craw- 
 ford county, 0., in 1857, settling at Bucyrus, 
 where they spent the rest of their lives, the 
 mother dying at the age of 60 years and the 
 father, of heart disease, when aged 70 years. 
 He was a carpenter contractor and in his line 
 of business was well known all over the 
 county. There were five children in his fam- 
 ily, four of whom reached maturity: Frank, 
 Foster, Eliza and Amandus., George Fenner 
 and wife were members of the Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 Amandus Fenner remained at home and at- 
 tended school until he was 15 years of age, 
 \vhen he went to Cleveland in order to learn 
 fine house painting and decorating under com- 
 petent instructors and remained in that city 
 until he was 21, when he returned to Bucyrus, 
 where he followed the above trade during the 
 rest of his active life. He built up a large busi- 
 ness of his own in this direction, giving em- 
 ployment to from five to eight expert helpers, 
 and all over Bucyrus may be found examples 
 of his taste and skill. 
 
 On Nov. 7, 1878, Mr. Fenner was married 
 to Miss E. O. Hufrangle, who was born Dec. 
 II, 1865, at Bucyrus, O., which has always 
 been her home. Her parents were Frederick 
 and Frederica (Roch) Hufrangle, natives of 
 Germany. They came to Bucyrus when young 
 people, married and spent their lives here, the 
 death of the father occurring July 3, 1894, at 
 the age of 65 years, and that of the mother on 
 March 4, 1902, when in her 6ist year. For 
 some years he followed the trade of harness 
 maker and saddler and afterward successfully 
 engaged in the dairy business. Mrs. Fenner 
 lias the following brothers and sisters: Otto, 
 August. Frederick, Edward, Cora, William 
 and Elsie, all of whom are married and in com- 
 fortable circumstances. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Fenner the following children were born: 
 Maybell, who was born November 8, 1890, and 
 married Walter V. Bybee, who is in the elec- 
 trical supply business in Cincinnati ; Irene Julia, 
 
 who was born April 26, 1892, and resides with 
 her mother; Marie Elizabeth, who was born 
 August 23, 1898; and George, who was born 
 June 15, 1902. Mrs. Fenner and family are 
 members of the German Lutheran church as 
 were her parents. Both her father and hus- 
 band were Democrats in their political affilia- 
 tion. Mrs. Fenner owns considerable valuable 
 property in this city, including her handsome 
 residence at No. 718 Rogers street. 
 
 LOUIS EDWARD SHEALY, who is one 
 of the representative citizens and careful and 
 prosperous farmers of Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, O., resides on his highly im- 
 proved farm of 98^ acres, and was born in 
 this township in 1869. He is a son of Gottlieb 
 and Frederica (Bauer) Shealy. 
 
 Gottlieb Shealy and wife were both bom in 
 Wittenberg, Germany. He came to the United 
 States when aged 14 years and after marriage 
 lived in Liberty township, Crawford county, 
 O. They had the following children born to 
 them: George, who is a resident of Liberty 
 township as is his- next brother, Jacob, neither 
 of whom have married; Catherine, who is the 
 wife of Jacob Green, and lives in Liberty 
 township; Louisa, deceased, who was the wife 
 of Jacob Ackerman of Chatfield township; 
 Ricka, deceased, who was the wife of John 
 Green, of Mercer county ; Elizabeth, who keeps 
 house for her unmarried brothers; and 
 Louis E. 
 
 Louis E. Shealy secured a district school edu- 
 cation and continued to work on his father's 
 farm afterward until his marriage and for 
 four years longer and then bought the home 
 farm, it pleasing him better than any other sit- 
 uated in Crawford county. He remodeled the 
 barn and erected a modern residence and made 
 many other improvements which serve to 
 place this farm among the best in this section 
 of the county. He carries on stock raising and 
 general farming and is a practical and pros- 
 perous agriculturist. 
 
 Mr. Shealy was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lydia F. Hieber, who was bom in 1870, 
 in Liberty township, a daughter of Christian 
 and Christiana (Wagner) Hieber. Mrs. 
 Shealy had one brother, John G., who died in 
 1902, survived by his widow, Elizabeth (Shie- 
 ber) Hieber. Mrs. Shealy's sisters were: 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 881 
 
 Louisa, who married Emanuel Shieber, of 
 Liberty township; Anna, who died at the age 
 of 20 years ; and Bertha, ^Yho Uves in Liberty 
 township. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shealy have two children: 
 Luella Lydia and Alton Edward, both of 
 whom reside at home. The family belongs to 
 the Lutheran church, in which Mr. Shealy is 
 an official, being treasurer and also a member 
 of the board of trustees of this church. He 
 has served his township in the office of road 
 supervisor and is well informed concerning the 
 subject of good roads. 
 
 JOHN H. HARTER, deceased, who was a 
 well knqwn and highly respected citizen of 
 Crawford county, O., for many years was a 
 successful agriculturist and held numerous of- 
 fices of responsibility in his section and was a 
 veteran officer of the great Civil War. Cap- 
 tain Harter was born at Aaronsburg, Center 
 county, Pa., Aug. 11, 1838, and was a son of 
 William and Rebecca Harter, both of whom 
 are buried at Aaronsburg, Pa. 
 
 Mr. Harter had district school advantages 
 in boyhood and then learned the blacksmith 
 trade and was engaged at work in that line at 
 Mifflinburg, in Union county, Pa., when he en- 
 listed for service in the Civil War, in July, 
 1862. He entered Company D, 150th Pa. Vol. 
 Inf., as a private, and participated in 20 
 battles and had been promoted many times for 
 gallantry before his injuries when he was 
 forced to retire from military life on Oct. 20, 
 1864, on a surgeon's certificate. His company 
 was first detailed to do guard duty at the sum- 
 mer home of Abraham Lincoln and then was 
 sent to the front to partake in the battles of 
 Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness 
 campaign and Petersburg. Capt. Harter's 
 army record is the subject of frequent refer- 
 ence in a popular library book entitled "The 
 Recollections of a Drummer Boy," which ap- 
 peared first in St. Nicholas Magazine and later 
 was published by Ticknor & Co., of Boston, 
 Mass. The author of these recollections, Rev. 
 Harry M. Kieffer, was the drummer boy of 
 the company of which Mr. Harter was captain 
 and the two were bunk mates and personal 
 friends. 
 
 In July, 1862, Mr. Harter was made cor- 
 poral in rank and on May 3, 1864, had reached 
 the rank of first lieutenant and on June 26, 
 
 1864, was commissioned captain. He was 
 wounded at Spottsylvania on May loth, at 
 Petersburg on June i8th and again on Aug. 
 10, 1864, and these injuries so disabled him 
 that he unwillingly had to accept his discharge, 
 honorable although it was. He united with 
 the G. A. R. at Nevada, O., and was valued 
 as a comrade in that body . 
 
 After his first marriage, Mr. Harter settled 
 at Nevada, O., as a blacksmith and carriage 
 builder and was associated with his brother, 
 Thomas H. Harter, in the ownership of the 
 old Nevada enterprise, a weekly newspaper, 
 selling his interest in it on Jan. 3, 1879, to J. 
 N. Wilcox. In 1882 he bought a farm north 
 of Oceola, on which he resided until 1901, 
 when he retired to Oceola, where his death oc- 
 curred on March 9, 1912. Mr. Harter owned 
 182 acres and was an expert farmer. For a 
 number of years he had been vice president and 
 a director of the Crawford County Mutual 
 Fire Insurance Company, and a member and 
 official of the Crawford County Agricultural 
 Society. He became a Republican in politics 
 at the resumption of specie payments in 1879 
 and was steadfast in his political faith till his 
 death. He was many years a member of the 
 Masonic fraternity and belonged also to the 
 Jr. O. U. A. M. 
 
 At Oceola, O., Feb. 28, 1867, Mr. Harter 
 \\ as married to Miss Margaretta A. Forrest, a 
 lady of fine literary talents and the author of 
 som^ popular poems. They had four children, 
 namely : Frederick, who resides at Oceola, and 
 married Kittie Stiner, they having three chil- 
 dren; Marion, who married Albert Hauslaib 
 and has two children; James W., an attorney 
 and resident of Duluth, Minn., who married 
 Nellie Walters, of Akron, O., and Bessie, who 
 resides at Oceola. The mother of the above 
 children died March 2, 1895. In 1897 Captain 
 Harter was married to Mrs. Lena (Sharp) 
 Doty, of Oceola. Mrs. Doty had one son, 
 Harry, by her former marriage, and to her 
 second marriage one son was born, Robert. 
 Airs. Harter lives in the family residence in 
 Oceola. She is well known and has a wide 
 circle of friends in this section of Crawford 
 county, in which she has passed her life. 
 
 HERSCHEL V. FLICKINGER, deputy 
 county surveyor of Crawford county, O., and 
 formerly county sun^eyor, has been identified 
 
882 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 with the surveyor's office since 1895 and is rec- 
 ognized as one of the most capable men in this 
 Hne of work in North Central Ohio. He was 
 born in Holmes township, Crawford county, 
 O., July II, i860, coming from one of the old 
 county families. 
 
 Samuel Flickinger, grandfather of Herschel 
 V. Flickinger, was born in Bucks county, Pa., 
 and was one of the early settlers in Stark 
 county, O., from which section he came to 
 Crawford county, probably about 1822. He 
 secured 160 acres of government land situated 
 in Holmes township, four miles from the pres- 
 ent busy city of Bucyrus, a place of three 
 houses at that time. He kept his land and im- 
 proved it and died there when aged 72 years. 
 He was a man of influence in the Democratic 
 party and was a representative pioneer in the 
 best sense of the word. He married Malinda 
 Healy, who was born in Vermont, and she also 
 died in Holmes township. Their 12 children 
 all survived to maturity and all married with 
 one exception. The only one yet living is Mrs. 
 Horace Austin, of Ravenna, O. 
 
 Horace Flickinger, father of Herschel V., 
 was born in 1833, in Holmes township, Craw- 
 ford county, was reared on the homestead and 
 inherited a part of it. Later he purchased a 
 farm in Bucyrus township and there spent the 
 rest of his life, his death taking place in 1898. 
 In addition to farming he was also interested 
 in lumbering for some 25 years and owned a 
 saw mill. He was married in Holmes town- 
 ship to Catherine Fralick, who was born there 
 in 1843, and died in Bucyrus township in 1909. 
 She was a daughter of Henry Fralick, 
 formerly a farmer in Holmes township. To 
 Horace and Catherine Flickinger the follow- 
 ing children were born : Herschel V. ; Delia, 
 who is the wife of F. Lincoln Harvey of 
 Bucyrus, and has four children — Carrie, Har- 
 rison, Cecil and Maude; Clement L., who is 
 a farmer in Bucyrus township, unmarried; 
 Alvin G., who is a clerk in the county auditor's 
 office; and Carrie B., who is the wife of A. L. 
 Shumaker. 
 
 Herschel V. Flickinger attended the country 
 schools, later those of Bucyrus and afterward 
 was a student in the North Western University 
 at Ada, O. Well qualified for any line of busi- 
 ness, circumstances led to his becoming iden- 
 tified with official life in his native county and 
 
 his usefulness has been so recognized that 
 more or less he has been connected with pub- 
 lic affairs in the county ever since leaving col- 
 lege. In his many years of official life he has 
 been deputy county auditor and deputy treas- 
 urer under Treasurer C. F. Shonert. In Nov- 
 ember, 1895, he was elected county surveyor 
 and served for six years, and served six years 
 as deputy under Surveyor Bryant, and in Sep- 
 tember, 191 1, was appointed deputy under 
 Surveyor L. P. Michelis. He has administered 
 all*these offices carefully and well, performing 
 his duties with perfect accuracy and with sat- 
 isfaction to the public. He is a zealous Demo- 
 crat and has been appointed a delegate to 
 county, state and congressional conventions. 
 One of the charter members of the fraternal 
 order of Eagles, he has always taken a deep 
 interest in that organization and was its first 
 vice president and belongs also to the Elks. He 
 is unmarried. 
 
 JACOB J. SCHNEIDER, a general farmer 
 and well known and respected citizen of Craw- 
 ford county, O., who owns 100 acres of val- 
 uable land, in partnership with his brother, 
 Adam Schneider, situated in section 11, Cran- 
 berry township, was born two miles northwest 
 of Leesville, O. His parents were John Jacob 
 and Margaret (Loutenslater) Schneider. 
 
 John Jacob Schneider was bom in one of 
 the Rhine provinces, Germany, and was 18 
 years of age when he accompanied his parents, 
 Michael and Elizabeth Schneider, to America, 
 who settled with their three sons and one 
 daughter, in Pennsylvania. Later they came 
 to Leesville, O., and still later moved on a 
 farm in Chatfield township, Crawford county, 
 one mile northeast of Chatfield, and there they 
 died and their burial was in the cemetery at- 
 tached to the Reformed church. John Jacob 
 Schneider followed farming during the greater 
 part of his life. For two years after his mar- 
 riage he lived at Leesville and then moved on 
 the farm which is now owned by his sons, 
 Jacob J. and Adam. Here his death occurred 
 when he was aged 71 years and his burial was 
 in the Chatfield cemetery. In politics he was 
 a Democrat and was a man of influence in 
 Cranberry township and served one term as 
 road supervisor. He belonged to the Re- 
 formed church. His widow survives and lives 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 883 
 
 in Chatfield township. Nine children were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Schneider and all but 
 two, Mary and an infant son, survive, namely : 
 Margaret, Emma, Lewis, Hannah, Jacob J., 
 Adam and William. 
 
 Jacob J. Schneider obtained his early knowl- 
 edge of books in what is known as the Swiss 
 school, in Chatfield township and was about 
 five years old when his parents moved on the 
 present home farm. In association with his 
 brother Adam he has improved the place which 
 includes the building of the substantial and 
 comfortable farm house. Mr. Schneider was 
 married to Miss Caroline Huber, who was 
 born at New Washington, O., a daughter of 
 Charles Huber. They are members of the 
 Lutheran church. Mr. Schneider and his 
 brother are identified with the Democratic 
 party but neither have ever sought political of- 
 fice. They are practical farmers and quiet, 
 industrious citizens. 
 
 WILLIAM C. SCOTT, a prosperous 
 farmer and well known citizen of Dallas town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., resides on his well 
 improved farm of 80 acres, devoting it to gen- 
 eral agriculture. He was born in Harrison 
 county, O., Jan. 5, 1854, and is a son of 
 Andrew and Michel (Trickel) Scott. 
 
 The father of Mr. Scott was a native of 
 Ohio and was a farmer all his active life. The 
 mother was born in Maryland. They were mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Of 
 their children, William C, was the youngest, 
 the others being: Charlotte, wife of Samuel 
 Lelly; Wesley; Matilda, wife of John Gwin- 
 ner; Bishop; Nathan; Mary, wife of Miles 
 Murphy; and Jane, wife of Leonard Huffman. 
 
 William C. Scott has been interested con- 
 tinuously in farming ever since his school days. 
 He lost his father when he was only 15 years 
 of age and more or less has looked out for 
 himself since then, working for several years 
 by the month with neighboring farmers before 
 he went into business on his own account. 
 After renting land for 20 years he purchased 
 his present farm, from Dice Beers and im- 
 mediately set about improving it. It required 
 tiling and fencing and" before Mr. Scott was 
 satisfied he had also built a comfortable house 
 and substantial barn. His land is in fine con- 
 dition and satisfactorily productive, 
 so 
 
 In 1872 Mr. Scott was married to Miss 
 Anna Kimble, who was born in Crawford 
 county and is a daughter of Nicholas and 
 Sarah (Billings) Kimble, well known residents 
 of this section. Their children all survive with 
 the exception of three sons, William, James 
 and Nicholas. The others are : Mary, wife of 
 Thomas Woodruth; Lillian, wife of James 
 Cowells. ; Joseph; Charlotte, wife of Andrew 
 Claybaugh; Daniel; Amy, wife of William 
 Wilson ; Cora, wife of Duke Wells ; and Anna, 
 wife of William C. Scott. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Scott nine children have been born, namely: 
 Elmer, who married Laura Albright; Charles, 
 who married Laura Kearns ; Phebe, who mar- 
 ried Hanford Cline ; Alfred, who married Eva 
 Monnette; Gertrude, who married Jess Can- 
 ode ; Naomi, who married Clinton Shaw ; May, 
 who married. George Purviss; Sanford, who 
 married Anna Kiesling ; and Ray, who married 
 Jessie Kiesling. Mr. Scott and family attend 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. In politics 
 he is a Republican as was his father. He has 
 never been eager for political position but 
 as a matter of duty has served as school 
 director, being much interested in the public 
 schools and in every movement that promises 
 to advance the general welfare of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 JOHN NICHOLAS REXROTH. 1800- 
 1867. John Nicholas (Johann Nicholaus) 
 Rexroth was the first bearing that surname to 
 locate in Crawford county, O. He arrived 
 with his young family in 1833. 
 
 The name is a Latin-German derivation and 
 means "The Red-King." Relatives in the 
 fatherland adhere to a tradition that it dates 
 back to one of the Othos, an emporer of Ger- 
 many, from whom the family traces descent. 
 Another version comes from a member of the 
 family, who in his travels came upon the name, 
 in a city of southern Europe, where it was re- 
 corded, centuries ago, that the second syllable 
 or part was rath meaning counselor, in Ger- 
 man, and that the word meant "The King's 
 Counselor." Unfortunately his record is not 
 available and the name of the city is forgotten. 
 Either meaning points to some close connec- 
 tion with royalty. 
 
 The practice of giving a common prenomen 
 or given name, as occurred in the family, and 
 
884 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 which was, Johann to the sons and Johanna 
 to the daughter, suggests a custom of the last 
 days of the Roman republic. Whatever the 
 facts may be as to the remote ancestors, it is 
 certain the immediate ancestors of the subject 
 under review, were honest, industrious, relig- 
 ious people, who intended to meet life's needs 
 honorably and to the best of their ability. 
 
 John Nicholas Rexroth was born at Erbach, 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Nov. 6, 1800. 
 He was the eldest child in a family of eight 
 sons and two daughters born to John Conrad 
 Rexroth and wife. The names of the sons, in 
 the order of their ages, omitting the common 
 given name, only as by repetition it becomes 
 the real given name, were — Nicholas, Johan, 
 Karl, Eberhard, Johanness, George, Ludwig 
 and Conrad, and the daughters, Mary and 
 Sophia. These names, with the common given 
 name, were so blended in their use in the fam- 
 ily as to constitute a new list. The mother of 
 these children was a large woman of fine ad- 
 ministrative ability and a thorough disciplinar- 
 ian. System and order were the rule in her 
 home, though ever pervaded by the spirit of 
 kindness and the loving gentleness of the true 
 mother. Of her thriftiness, American descend- 
 ants were assured, when after her death and 
 by her previous order, the oaken, iron-bound 
 chests with their generous shipments of linen 
 sheets, shirts, etc., arrived for her loved chil- 
 dren in America. Of the above named chil- 
 dren, Nicholas, Johanness, Mary and Sophia 
 and descendants of Karl and Conrad emigrated 
 to America. There were about forty grand- 
 children, descendants of the original family 
 and the posterity is now a large company. The 
 American contingent is already widely distri- 
 buted and high school, college and university 
 graduates with their degrees are numerous 
 among them, and the emblem of Phi Beta 
 Kappa is also in evidence. They are engaged 
 in a variety of honorable and useful pursuits, 
 agricultural leading, and the so-called profes- 
 sions, teaching, ministry, missionary, medicine, 
 dentistry, have representatives from them who 
 are making good. 
 
 Each of the children of the elder Rexroth 
 received a common school education and all of 
 them were indoctrinated in the tenets of the 
 Lutheran faith and confirmed and received into 
 that church at the usual age. 
 
 The father was a blacksmith and trained all 
 but one of his sons in that trade; the son ex- 
 empt had met with an injury to one of his 
 hands. The smithy with its numerous forges, 
 was no small affair ; but an extensive establish- 
 ment and the leading one of its kind in that 
 locality and drew its patronage from a wide 
 area. There, were manufactured agricultural 
 implements and the iron parts of wagons and 
 vehicles of all kinds. Those sturdy sons of 
 vulcan drove a thriving business as they 
 wrought at the flaming forge, and not one ever 
 seemed to suspect that the world owed him a 
 living, only as he returned an equivalent in use- 
 ful labor. In addition to the home training, 
 each son traveled as a journeyman workman 
 through a prescribed territory, to learn best 
 methods, as pertaining to his art. The 
 "wanderbuch" (journal) is an interesting relic 
 of this practice. It was in this way that one 
 of them discovered the family name as refer- 
 red to above. The youngest son, Conrad, trav- 
 veled more extensively than the others, spend- 
 ing considerable time in Switzerland. He be- 
 came a highly skilled artisan and possessed the 
 taste and genius of an artist. Later he be- 
 came attached to the court of the Grand-duke 
 George II, of Saxe Meiningen and had charge 
 of all equipages, designing, drafting all designs 
 and superintending the construction of all 
 ducal coaches, carriages, etc., with their silk 
 and satin brocade upholstering and of these, 
 the fashions changed annually. Thus, the in- 
 ventive faculty of the superintendent was not 
 without exercise. The duke, who is living at 
 the age of seventy-nine, possesses several 
 palaces of great magnitude and has as a con- 
 fidential secretary, a son of Conrad Rexroth, 
 who among other duties, signs all orders on the 
 government pay-roll. The only member of 
 this branch of the family, in this country, is 
 Mrs. S. Kranich, North Sandusky Avenue, 
 Bucyrus, O. George, the sixth son of Con- 
 rad, Sr., became quite wealthy, being rated 
 near a millionaire before his death. The 
 homestead is in his family; the house 
 where all the children were born, built many 
 years ago, is still used as a residence ; he took 
 care of his aged parents — the mother survived 
 the father fifteen years and was an invalid for 
 several years and recei\'ed her daily outing in 
 a wheel-chair, propelled by a grandson. From 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 885 
 
 recent advices, a cousin, once removed, of our 
 subject is a government surveyor in the Ger- 
 man empire, resides at the imperial palace and 
 eats at the same table with the emperor. A 
 relative, Rev. George Rexroth, is at present 
 pastor of the First German Methodist church, 
 at Frankfort-on-the-Main. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was relieved from 
 military duty as his help would be needed to 
 raise the large family of younger sons, who 
 \vould contribute to the service of the state, 
 which each one did as he arrived at the proper 
 age. He was a most dutiful and industrious 
 son, whom the father affectionately called the 
 "Bread Winner." His influence in the home 
 and business was very salutary and in later 
 years members of the family took pleasure in 
 bearing witness to it, a common expression be- 
 ing: "He was so pleasant to be with or work 
 with." The young man's journal recites that 
 he left home on his journeyman tour, Aug. 28, 
 1822, and bears stamps of many places visited 
 and signatures of deputies or magistrates testi- 
 fying to his fidelity. After serving the required 
 time, he returned to help his father until early 
 in 1830 when he departed for America, where 
 the record states he arrived at Baltimore, Md., 
 May 24th, 1830. There he made the acquaint- 
 ance of and married Anna Maria Rittman on 
 the ninth day of January, 1831. The wedding 
 was solemnized in the "Old Otterbein Church" 
 by the incumbent pastor. The wife was born 
 Dec. 29, 1806, at Middle Mutchelbach, near 
 Manheim, Baden. Her ancestors came from 
 Denmark. The family had suffered hardships 
 on account of the wars of Napoleon, two un- 
 cles being in the Russian campaign, one of 
 whom perished at the siege of Moscow. The 
 father died when this daughter was an infant 
 and the mother when she was sixteen years 
 of age. When, after some years of indecision 
 as to her life course, a family of neighbors 
 and close friends decided to emigrate to Amer- 
 ica, she concluded to go with them and at once 
 converted her patrimony into money and joined 
 the company. They embarked on a sail ship 
 and were thirteen weeks on the ocean — all the 
 passengers being sea-sick but herself, but af- 
 ter arriving she was the longest in becoming 
 acclimated. They arrived at Baltimore in 1829 ' 
 where, later, she was married, as above stated. 
 She was a very comely young woman, with an 
 
 almost perfect complexion which never lost 
 its beautiful tint in spit of the hardships en- 
 dured, to the close of her more than 86 years. 
 She was fond of society, interested in business 
 and public affairs, possessed strong practical 
 sense, a fine sense of humor and readily made 
 apd retained friends. 
 
 Not being decided as to their future, perma- 
 nent location, the young couple went to Gettys- 
 burgh. Pa., on account of relatives, the Sch- 
 mucker family, prominent in the college and 
 the Luthern church at that place ; but the tide 
 of emigration had set strongly to the North- 
 west Territory and they were carried with it 
 and in company with others they endured the 
 hardships of the journey until they reached 
 Bucyrus, O., where they decided to locate. 
 Here, in 1833, Mr. Rexroth erected a good 
 frame house, still used as a residence, and a 
 forge at the corner of what are South Wal- 
 nut and Middletown streets, where he worked, 
 industriously, at his trade and rapidly accu- 
 mulated property, investing his earnings in 
 land. He was an extremely hard-working and 
 conscientious tradesman, all his activities be- 
 ing marked by celerity and energy, and a de- 
 sire to perform his work to the full satisfac- 
 tion of his patrons. Like all pioneer trades- 
 men, whose business required a fuel, that 
 would yield an intense heat, he must needs 
 burn his own charcoal. These occasions gave 
 the wife an experience of adventure, not quite 
 to her liking — in going into the deep forest to 
 carry meals to her husband who must stay by 
 the charcoal kiln until the product was finished 
 she frequently met Indians sometimes return- 
 ing from Bucyrus full of "Sandusky water," 
 which always was a cause of fright ; but as 
 they were the friendly Wyandottes, she was 
 never harmed. After about eight eight years 
 of residence at Bucyrus, Mr. Rexroth removed 
 with his family to New Winchester. The 
 reason for this change is not known unless it 
 was a desire to engage in brick-making and a 
 large tract of suitable land to be had there 
 induced him to make the venture. Possibly 
 he had wearied of the hard, unremitting toil 
 and thousfht the change would bring relief. 
 The question of the future value of the loca- 
 tion when all the settlements around were mere 
 villages and their future conjectural and when 
 Brokensword Avenue was laid out at Oceola 
 
886 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to accommodate the future county buildings, 
 did not seem to have influenced him to make 
 the change. But brick-making, other than 
 gold bricks, was a premature venture, pioneers 
 having plenty of building material and little 
 cash and after a few years the business was 
 abandoned and he again took up the work 
 of his trade and later, seeing Bucyrus advanc- 
 ing, he returned hither in the spring of 1849 
 and moved into his own house, which had stood 
 unoccupied. Here with the help of the older 
 sons and apprentices, whom he had trained, 
 he resumed business with the customary suc- 
 cess. In 1856 the forge was moved farther on 
 Middletown street and a new residence was 
 built on the corner, which, at the present time, 
 is spoken of as one of the best built houses 
 in the city, with its substantial oak frame- 
 work in contrast with the light-timbered build- 
 ings of to-day. 
 
 But the oldest son having died and the 
 younger sons desiring to engage in farming, 
 the father sold the town property and bought 
 land and in the spring of 1858 the family 
 moved to the new purchase, south of the city, 
 adjoining the corporation. From this location, 
 the younger children continued to attend the 
 town schools and the Ohio State Normal 
 School which flourished for a few years, but 
 was closed on account of the war. Some 
 years later another change was deemed ad- 
 vantageous — this was to the farm on the Ma- 
 rion road, known as the Riley Pettit farrrt, a 
 well-improved place with a coinmodious brick 
 residence. Here, on the 17th of June, 1867, 
 "life's labors ended" and the father passed 
 into the better life, in the sixty-seventh year 
 of his age. 
 
 Mr. Rexroth was a man with an ardent 
 religious nature, very candid and confiding and 
 financial reverses which came to him and de- 
 spoiled him of much of his hard earned prop- 
 erty are directly traceable to this fact, as 
 his personal and business habits were cor- 
 rect and almost ideal. He became surety for 
 others and lost, though never in any sense re- 
 duced to abject poverty as he always owned 
 his own home; but as the reverses interfered 
 with privileges for his family, which he had 
 fondly cherished, his regret was deep and sin- 
 cere. His tender sympathy, kindness of speech 
 and gentleness of manner disarmed prejudice 
 
 and his children and friends ever held him in 
 deepest regard amounting to reverence. He 
 looked upon life as a sacred trust and upon 
 himself as one who must give an account of 
 his stewardship. To him, success was the 
 meeting of moral obligations to his fellow men, 
 rather than the amassing of wealth by personal 
 shrewdness. The only true estimate of this 
 man must be based upon his personality, rather 
 than on his worldly achievements. To him the 
 character whose activities approached most 
 nearly the true standard of conduct, whether 
 of a rich man or a poor man, marked the suc- 
 cessful man, so in life much time and labor 
 were spent in exhorting men to keep their con- 
 sciences and their records clean and family 
 and friends ever saw that he conscientiously 
 practiced what he preached. 
 
 The influence of such a personality can never 
 die and the sentiment of a descendant, uttered 
 in a burst of enthusiasm : "Oh, how it wears," 
 was full of meaning. 
 
 Though reared and confirmed in the Luth- 
 eran church, he and his wife resolved to iden- 
 tify themselves with religious people, wher- 
 ever their lot might be cast, even if of an- 
 other denomination; thus we find them mem- 
 bers of the Evangelical Association and later 
 German Methodists. They helped to found 
 the first German Methodist church at Bucyrus 
 and Mr. Rexroth was the confidential corre- 
 spondent of the Reverend William Nast, the 
 founder of German Methodism in the United 
 States, and the organizer of the local church. 
 He was ever the sympathetic friend and ad- 
 viser of his pastors and they valued his spirit- 
 tual help and support. One of the most promi- 
 nent of them said, recently, "When I was pas- 
 tor at Bucyrus, I always felt that Brother Rex- 
 roth ought to be in the pulpit and I in the pew, 
 such was the impression his spiritual insight 
 and attainments made upon me." His ability 
 along this line was greatly appreciated in pi- 
 oneer days and brought into exercise by calls 
 to the homes of sickness and death and on 
 occasions of funerals when in the absence of 
 a pastor, he was invited to address the people 
 and speak the words of comfort. 
 
 An incident occurring during the residence 
 at New Winchester deserves a permanent rec- 
 ord, though the main features only can be 
 noted. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 887 
 
 A fellow-countryman had arrived and 
 erected his primitive abode in the dense woods 
 near the village. Mr. Rexroth had met him 
 and they had a long conversation — this was 
 the extent of their acquaintance. Several 
 weeks thereafter Mr. Rexroth had a vision 
 or a dream three times repeated in one night, 
 representing the new arrival as being in great 
 distress and needing his help and directing 
 him to go to the relief. He arose at dawn 
 intending to go to the home; but the wife 
 thinking it was only a dream due to indigestion 
 interposed objections which caused him to de- 
 lay, but later the wife noting his distress ad- 
 vised him to go and investigate which he did 
 and upon arriving found the man unconscious 
 from a fatal injury received that morning when 
 he had gone out to fell timber and he died be- 
 fore night. The remarkable feature was that 
 when Mr. Rexroth was passing a night of dis- 
 tress on account of this man and directed to 
 go to his relief — the victim himself was well 
 and resting peacefully in his bed. 
 
 The occurrence made a profound impres- 
 sion, as the people saw that the revelation to 
 Mr. Rexroth coming before the accident could 
 have had none but a supernatural source and 
 as showing the close connection between the 
 spirit world and this. 
 
 After the death of the father the family 
 home was transferred to Bucyrus and main- 
 tained there until all the children were mar- 
 ried, after which the mother chose to live with 
 her youngest daughter with visits to her other 
 children, this arrangement continuing for 
 many years, till within several years of her 
 death when she went to live with her son John 
 and family, where on March 2, 1893, she 
 passed into the spirit world in the eighty- 
 seventh year of her age. She had survived 
 her husband nearly twenty-six years. Her jov- 
 ial disposition and less intense nature were, 
 no doubt, conservators of the vital forces as 
 death was due to congestion of the lungs and 
 not to the infirmities of age. Her burial was 
 in Oakwood cemetery, in the family lot be- 
 side her husband. She was a devoted wife and 
 mother, sharing to the full the privations and 
 hardships of pioneer life, always inculcating 
 respect and obedience to high ideals of living 
 and ministering to the needs of others, to the 
 best of her ability. 
 
 The ten children born to this pioneer couple 
 are briefly sketched as follows : All but one 
 lived to maturity, all were reared in the Meth- 
 odist faith and united with that church in 
 early life, all had such school privileges as the 
 pioneer communities afforded, four, succeed- 
 ing the oldest in age, were born at Bucyrus, O., 
 the rest at New Winchester. Each of the liv- 
 ing is enjoying a material competency obtained 
 by observing the natural laws of success — pa- 
 tient industry, economy, sacrifice and good 
 management. In politics, the sons are Repub- 
 licans as their father was, who, previously, 
 had been a Whig. 
 
 Adam, born at Gettysburg, Pa., March 28, 
 1832, died at Bucyrus, O., Jan. 10, 1855; a 
 young man of superior mental endowments; 
 a faithful helper to his father, and devoted 
 to the welfare of the family. His leisure was 
 employed in acquiring knowledge, his books 
 showing a purpose to have a liberal education. 
 His last illness was protracted and full of suf- 
 fering. Incidents of the sickness and death 
 resulted in the conversion of his physician, a 
 highly educated German, who had been an 
 atheist. The last audible words of Adam Rex- 
 roth were a quotation from Shakespeare in 
 German: "Ende gut; alles gut," spoken to 
 his father. 
 
 Catherine, born Nov. 21, 1833, is living at 
 Nevada, O., at the age of seventy-nine ; is 
 well, with mental faculties unimpaired, sur- 
 rounded by most of her children. She mar- 
 ried Emanuel Albright, the children born of 
 this union being, William W., Joseph R., 
 George H., married Harriet Snyder; Maryi 
 deceased, married Lewis Kissling; Gertrude^ 
 married John Kissling; Grace, married John 
 W. Stuckman, president of the Crawford 
 County Agricultural Society; Nellie, married 
 George Fahl, deceased; Frederick married 
 Beril Kerr; Margaret M., married Henry 
 Gushman; and a deceased infant. Mr. Al- 
 bright was a great-nephew of Jacob Albright, 
 founder of the Evangelical church and served 
 the full time in the Civil war. He died in 
 1897 and is buried in Nevada cemetery. 
 
 John, born May 10, 1836, died May 8, 1895, 
 at his home on the Sandusky Pike; successful 
 farmer and stock raiser ; member of the M. E. 
 church, in which he held many official posi- 
 tions : director of the First National Bank, the 
 
888 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 officials being his pall-bearers; a man honored 
 and beloved. Dec. i8, 1867, he married Mag- 
 dalena Frey, a worthy lady, who survives. 
 Children : Charles married Catharine Kieffer ; 
 John, deceased ; Lillian I. ; Roy married Lula 
 Spore ; Clyde ; Elva married Edward Campbell. 
 
 Daniel, born Oct. 24, 1837, living at his 
 home on the Marion Road; successful agricul- 
 turist, helped to found Scioto chapel; many 
 years president of Crawford County Mutual 
 Insurance Company. Dec. 2, 1862, married 
 Mary Purkey, strong personality, now de- 
 ceased. Living children: Edward K. mar- 
 ried Margaret Montgomery; Anna married D. 
 N. Harvey; and Raymond C. married Maud 
 Chesney. Deceased, Charles, the first born, 
 at thirteen months ; Efifie Nina and Nellie Belle 
 in young womanhood; and several infants. 
 
 Elizabeth, born May 20, 1840, died in the 
 Methodist parsonage at Upper Sandusky, Oct. 
 19, 1889. Graduate of Mt. Union College, 
 teacher of drawing and oil painting at the 
 college, also teacher in Bucyrus public schools, 
 an almost perfect reader of human nature, and 
 a humorist of the first order. On Sept. 6, 
 1870, married the Rev. Gershom Lease, one 
 of the ablest ministers of the Central O. M. E. 
 Conference. No children. Mr. Lease had 
 been previously married and had three chil- 
 dren, Emma, Lura and Edward. He was a 
 General Conference delegate at Ne^^■ York 
 City, May, 1888; died Feb. 8, 1901, aged about 
 seventy-three years. 
 
 Sarah, born May 4, 1842, living at S. W. 
 corner Poplar and Charles streets, Bucyrus, 
 O., graduate of Mt. Union College, taught 
 in the college. At 16 years of age began 
 teaching, taught seven terms in the country, 
 about seven years in Bucyrus public schools, 
 from primary to principal of the high school. 
 Sept. 4, 1872, married the Rev. Thomas J. 
 ^Nlonnett, an able minister of the North Ohio 
 Conference M. E. church, with whose sketch 
 elsewhere given, appears other brief items. 
 
 Lydia, born Nov. 6, 1843, ^^^^ ^t her home 
 south of Bucyrus, April 30, 1889, educated in 
 Bucyrus public schools and O. S. N. S. Taught 
 school — gentle refined lady. In May, 1872, 
 married Benjamin Beal, farmer, secretary of 
 the Agricultural Society, secretary Crawford 
 County Mutual Insurance Company for many 
 years, Methodist ; held many official positions ; 
 
 died March 4, 1898 at Bucyrus. Living chil- 
 dren, Benjamin married Bertha Snyder; Mary 
 J. married Rev. Thomas H. Housel of Cen- 
 tral O. M. E. Conference; Edwin G., cashier 
 First National Bank, married Rachel K. Mon- 
 nett; ^^'illiam D., minister, missionary, mem- 
 ber Bengal M. E. Conference, on leave of ab- 
 sence from Belgaum, India, married Bessie El- 
 lice Robinson; Bertha E., history teacher Bu- 
 cyrus high school, married Abraham J. White. 
 Defeased children: Frederick Alexis and an 
 infant. Mr. Beal had been previously married 
 and had three children: Albert, who became 
 a minister of the North Ohio Conference, M. 
 E. church, died April, 1908, married Mary Mc- 
 Cully; Wesley, prosperous farmer, married 
 Eva Beall; Emma married Charles E. Ens- 
 miniger. 
 
 David, born June 4, 1846, living at Marion, 
 O., progressive farmer and able business man, 
 on building committee and generous giver M. 
 E. church, Oxford, Ind., Civil War veteran. 
 Feb., 1873, married Margaret Purkey, noble 
 wife, deceased February, 1896. Children, John 
 Nicholas, wealthy farmer, married Eleanor 
 Walters; Oliver Morton, deceased; Mary, do- 
 mestic science graduate; Bessie married Oscar 
 Hord, prosperous farmer; Elizabeth Lease, 
 graduate O. W. U. and Cincinnati Missionary 
 Training School, under appointment Woman's 
 Foreign Missionary Society, M. E. church, 
 missionary to North India. 
 
 Samuel, an infant, died early in 1845. 
 
 Margaret, born Aug. 24, 1848, is living at 
 Bucyrus, O., educated in local public schools 
 and O. S. N. S., taught; for many years cared 
 for her aged mother. February, 1873, mar- 
 ried Samuel Kurtz, now deceased. Living chil- 
 dren: George, S. Aaron, Simeon G., Bertha 
 R., Harrison and Edwin. Deceased, Catha- 
 rine and Paul. More complete data of this 
 family are given in the sketch of Samuel Kurtz, 
 given elsewhere in this history. 
 
 Rexroth relatives meet in Annual Reunion 
 on the last Wednesday in August, thus far at 
 Seccaium Park, as being most central. Ob- 
 ject,- mutual encouragement and helpfulness. 
 About one hundred have attended to enjoy a 
 short literary and business program, a bounti- 
 ful dinner and general exchange of greetings. 
 Last year a motion prevailed to undertake some 
 work in a united capacity and an annual do- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 nation to the missionary work of the Rev. Wil- 
 Ham D. Beal was agreed upon. 
 
 HARRY E. LOTT,* a successful general 
 farmer in Dallas township, Crawford county, 
 O., who operates his wife's farm of 215 acres, 
 known as the old Monnett homestead, was 
 bom in Clark county, O., Sept. 25, 1872, and 
 is a son of William Henry Harrison and Mary 
 (Yarnell) Lott. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Lott were born in Clark 
 county and the father follows farming there. 
 He was married first to Mary Yarnell, who 
 died after the birth of the following children : 
 Stella, who is the wife of Ernest Keyes; Jen- 
 nette, who is the wife of William A. White; 
 Louie, who is the wife of R. A. Garlough; 
 and Harry E., Walter and Charles. To his 
 marriage with Elizabeth Crampton four sons 
 were born : Fred, Frank, Crampton and Har- 
 vey. 
 
 Harry E. Lott attended the public schools 
 in Dallas township and the high school at 
 Selma, where he was graduated in 1888, after 
 which he perfected himself in the art of teleg- 
 raphy and was a telegraph operator for rail- 
 roads for 20 years. Since settling on the pres- 
 ent valuable farm, in March, 191 1, he has 
 devoted himself entirely to farming, and stock 
 raising and his agricultural undertakings have 
 proven judiciously planned and well carried 
 out. 
 
 In February, 1899, Mr. Lott was married 
 to Miss Emma Lois Monnett, a daughter of 
 Oliver and Mary (Raymon) Monnett, this 
 family being one of the old and best estab- 
 lished ones in the county. Mr. and Mrs. Lott 
 have three daughters : Mary Eloise, Bonnie 
 Lois and Bess Virginia. The family attends 
 the Presbyterian church. He is identified with 
 Lodge No. 402, Knights of Pythias, and Lodge 
 No. 32, Elks, both at Marion. Politically he 
 is a Republican. 
 
 JOHN SCHIMPF, one of the well known 
 farmers and respected citizens of Sandusky 
 township, Crawford county, O., residing on 
 one farm of 120 acres and owning a second 
 one, of 82 acres, lying also in the same town- 
 ship, was born at Bucyrus, O., in 1857, and 
 is a son of Frederick A. and Lizzie (Molen- 
 kofif) Shimpf. 
 
 Frederick Schimpf was born in Germany, 
 where he grew to the age of 18 years and 
 learned the shoemaking trade. He then came 
 to the United States and located at Bucyrus, 
 O., where he worked at his trade until he 
 moved on his farm first in Lykens township 
 and then in Chatfield township, after which 
 he engaged in farming until his death, at the 
 age of 56 years. He married Lizzie Molen- 
 kofif and they had 1 1 children. 
 
 John Schimpf attended the district schools 
 in boyhood and gave his father assistance on 
 the home farm, which was good land but re- 
 quired much improving. In 1888 he came to 
 his present home farm, making all the im- 
 provements on the place, and here has been 
 successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits 
 ever since. 
 
 Mr. Schimpf married Miss Eliza Layer and 
 they have one son, Clarence, who resides at 
 home and takes many, of the responsibilities 
 in the operating of the two farms. In poli- 
 tics Mr. Schimpf is a Democrat. He served 
 on the school board seven years. 
 
 H. J. ROOP, a successful farmer and highly 
 respected citizen of Sandusky township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., residing nine miles northeast 
 of the city of Bucyrus, where he and wife 
 own 389 acres of fine land which has been 
 highly improved, belongs to one of the solid 
 old families of this section and is a son of 
 John and Sarah Roop. 
 
 John Roop was born in Pennsylvania and 
 came to Ohio in early manhood, where he 
 lived until his death, for many years having 
 been a farmer and stock raiser in Crawford 
 county. He married after coming to this state 
 and a family of 13 children was born to him 
 and wife, all but two of whom, Rebecca and 
 Joseph, still survive. Those living are : Alice, 
 Marinda, Fancina, May, Laura, Frank, Ells- 
 worth, Wellington, Peter, Charles and H. J. 
 The parents of these children are both de- 
 ceased and are buried in Roop cemetery. Lib- 
 erty township. John Roop died June 18, 1912. 
 
 H. J. Roop obtained his education in the 
 public schools and his main occupation has been 
 farming. He is a progressive and intelligent 
 agriculturist and his operations are on an ex- 
 tensive scale. He has devoted much care and 
 attention to the improvement of his large prop- 
 
890 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 erty. and his residence is of- modern construc- 
 tion and very attractive from every point of 
 view. 
 
 Mr. Roop married Miss Angeline Songer, 
 who is a daughter of Jacob and Lydia 
 (Schreck) Songer, and they have two chil- 
 dren : Lester C. and Orlo E. Mrs. Roop has 
 one brother, WilHam H., who married Marie 
 E. Reiff and they have two children: Lloyd 
 W. and Delwyn E. Mr. Roop and family be- 
 long to the Lutheran church. 
 
 JOSHUA McNEAL,* one of Bucyrus' 
 most respected citizens, has been a resident of 
 Crawford county since he was 12 years of age 
 and has witnessed and taken part in much of 
 its material development during the past 65 
 years. He was born in Huntington county. 
 Pa., April 3, 1825, and is a son of Alexander 
 McNeal. 
 
 The McNeal family undoubtedly is of Irish 
 extraction but Alexander McNeal was born 
 in America, in Huntington county, in 1790, 
 and lived there many years afterward. He 
 married Jane Goshorn and in 1837 they came 
 with their children to Crawford county, pio- 
 neers in every sense of the word, and found 
 land that suited them in Bucyrus township, 
 on which they lived out long and useful lives. 
 Alexander McNeal died when aged 75 years 
 and was survived by his wife for several years 
 although she was some years his senior. They 
 were among the founders of the Presbyterian 
 church in Bucyrus township. Of their twelve 
 children, five were sons and seven were daugh- 
 ters and all grew to maturity except one, and 
 three yet survive : Joshua ; Alexander, who 
 resides north of Bucyrus with his children, his 
 wife being deceased; and Eliza, who is the 
 wife of William Young, of Ada, O. 
 
 Joshua McNeal was a sturdy boy of 12 
 years when he came with his people to Craw- 
 ford county and remained on the home farm 
 until he was 25 years of age. Farming was his 
 main business during all his active life and he 
 has spent it in Bucyrus and Dallas townships, 
 where he has owned property, residing in the 
 latter from 1865 until 1910, when he was pre- 
 vailed upon to come to Bucyrus and become 
 a member of the household of his son, Dennis 
 A. McNeal Although his 87 years preclude 
 any active participation in business, Mr. Mc- 
 
 Neal in mind or person gives no indication 
 of such a passage of time, being in excellent 
 health and interested in all that transpires not 
 only in the domestic and social circles but in 
 the larger life that takes in public enterprises 
 and outside affairs. 
 
 Mr. McNeal was married in Bucyrus town- 
 ship to Miss Loett Palmer, who was born in 
 1829, in Lorain county, O., and was ten years 
 old when she accompanied her parents, Den- 
 nis, and Olive (Terrell) Palmer, to Crawford 
 county. Dennis Palmer was born in England 
 and his wife in Massachusetts, where they were 
 married. They finally came to Bucyrus town- 
 ship and died there when aged about 70 years. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. McNeal the following chil- 
 dren were born: Esther, who is the wife of 
 Lawrence Murphy, and has children, Alfred, 
 Joshua and Daisy, the last named being mar- 
 ried; George and Anna, the latter being mar- 
 ried; J. Curtis, who lives at Detroit, Mich,, 
 who married Martha ^Vise and has three chil- 
 dren — Marvin J., Charles and Eula; Dennis 
 A. ; and Francis, who is a business man at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 Dennis A. McNeal was born on the old 
 homestead in Bucyrus township, July 15, 1859, 
 and attended the public schools through boy- 
 hood. For a number of years he engaged in 
 farming and lumbering and is a man of sub- 
 stantial fortune, owning a valuable farm and 
 also city realty. He was married in Craw- 
 ford county to Miss Hulda Beamer, who was 
 born in Perry county, O., and was ten years 
 old when her parents came to Crawford 
 county. She is a daughter of Henry and Re- 
 becca (Grove) Beamer, the former of whom 
 was born in Perry county, April 8, 1837, and 
 still survives. The mother of Mrs. McNeal 
 was born in 1846 and died Dec. 22, 1887. She 
 \\as a member of the old-school Baptist church. 
 Mrs. McNeal is one of the following family: 
 Calvin, who is a resident of Nevada, O. ; Corda, 
 who is the wife of John Starner, also of Ne- 
 vada, O. ; Noble B., who is a farmer in Wyan- 
 dot county; Myrtle, who is the wife of Wil- 
 liam Van Horn, of Crawford county; Elva 
 L., who is the wife of Charles Harvey, of 
 Bucyrus township; George, who lives in Cali- 
 fornia; a babe that died; and Mrs. McNeal, 
 who is the eldest born of this family. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Dennis A. McNeal have two 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 891 
 
 children: Frances C, born October 6, 1885, 
 graduating in the class of 1909 from the uni- 
 versity at Ada, O., who is principal of the East 
 Side public school at Bucyrus, and is married 
 and has one son, Webster M. ; and Orpha A., 
 born June 9, 1891, who has been given ex- 
 cellent educational advantages and holds a 
 teacher's certificate. Mr. and Mrs. McNeal 
 are members of the English Lutheran church. 
 
 SAMUEL KURTZ, whose well improved 
 and finely cultivated farm of 112 acres, lies 
 two miles northeast of Sulphur Springs, O., 
 in Liberty township, Crawford county, be- 
 longs to one of the highly respected old Ger- 
 man families of this section, his grandparents 
 having come to America with their families 
 when his parents were children. He was born 
 March 22, 1850, in Chatfield township, Craw- 
 ford county, where his parents had settled on 
 a farm of 40 acres. 
 
 Samuel Kurtz had district school advantages 
 in boyhood and grew up as a farmer, and has 
 continued to follow agricultural pursuits ever 
 since. In 1883 he settled on his present fine 
 farm which he has improved with excellent 
 buildings and here carries on his agricultural 
 operations with complete success. 
 
 Mr. Kurtz married Miss Kate Kessler, who 
 was born in Schuykill county, Pa., and three 
 children have been born to them, James Gar- 
 field being the only surviver, the two other 
 dying in infancy. This son has remained with 
 his father and gives him assistance, being a 
 competent agriculturist, trained to the business 
 under his father's supervision. He married 
 Miss Elizabeth Hoss and they have had three 
 children : Ruth, John Wesley and one that 
 died in infancy. Mr. Kurtz and son are Re- 
 publicans but neither are seekers for political 
 prominence. The family belongs to the Re- 
 formed church. 
 
 .G. FRANKLIN LASH, who resides on his 
 valuable farm of 120 acres, which is situated 
 in Sandusky township, Crawford county, O., 
 two and one-half miles northeast of Sulphur 
 Springs, was born in 1868, on his father's 
 farm northwest of Tiro, O., and is a son of 
 George and Eliza (Hutson) Lash. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Lash was born in Wayne 
 county, O., and the father was five years old 
 
 when his people came to Crawford county. 
 He was a farmer and resided northwest of 
 Tiro, where his death occurred at the age of 
 67 years. His widow, Eliza (Hutson) Lash, 
 now in her 79th year, lives at Tiro. George 
 F. Lash had three brothers, one survivor, Ben- 
 jamin, residing at Tiro, while William and 
 Elmer are deceased. 
 
 G. Franklin Lash obtained his education in 
 the district schools and then assisted his father 
 until he was 25 years of age. Since 1894 he 
 has lived in Sandusky township continuously 
 with the exception of seven months when he 
 resided at Sulphur Springs. He carries on 
 general farming and stock raising, having 
 made many excellent improvements. His sur- 
 roundings indicate good management and 
 thrift. 
 
 Mr. Lash married Miss Leila A. Stock, 
 daughter of George W. and Mary (Loudon) 
 Stock, both of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Lash 
 have two children: G. Nellis and O. Ells- 
 worth. Politically a Democrat, Mr. Lash is 
 a hearty party worker. He enjoys the confi- 
 dence of his fellow citizens, irrespective of 
 party, and has served seven and one-half years 
 as township trustee. 
 
 JAY F. SHAWK, a prosperous farmer and 
 well known citizen of Holmes township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., carrying on agricultural oper- 
 ations on 160 acres of finely improved land 
 situated seven miles north of Bucyrus, O., was 
 born on the old family homestead in this town- 
 ship, April 25, 1870, and is a son of Jennings 
 T. Shawk, a grandson of Thomas Shawk and 
 a great-grandson of Jacob Shawk, who was a 
 Revolutionary soldier. The family is one of 
 age and prominence in Holmes township and 
 the father of Mr. Shawk is the oldest native 
 born man here. 
 
 Jay F. Shawk was educated in the schools 
 of Crawford county and received his agricul- 
 tural training on the home farm and in 1894 
 took charge of his present one. General farm- 
 ing and moderate stock raising are the in- 
 dustries .engaged in and his methods are those 
 of the progressive agriculturists of the day. 
 
 On Feb. 21, 1883, Mr. Shawk was united 
 in marriage with Miss Lizzie Fralick, who 
 was born in Richland county, O., but came 
 with her parents to Holmes township when 
 
892 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 young. Four children have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Shawk, namely: Ruth, who mar- 
 ried Ralph Lahman, of Lykens township, and 
 has one daughter, Hilda; Willis, who is de- 
 ceased; Naomi; and Laverne, who is deceased. 
 In politics Mr. Shawk is a Democrat like his 
 father, and has served one term as township 
 trustee and also as road superintendent. He 
 takes much interest in the Patrons of Hus- 
 bandry and is a member of the Bucyrus Grange. 
 He and wife attend the Protestant Methodist 
 church at Broken Sword. 
 
 BLOOMER B. GILL, a representative and 
 enterprising business citizen of Galion, O., be- 
 longs to one of the early families of this part 
 of Crawford county, one that has had a great 
 deal to do in developing this section along 
 every line. Mr. Gill was born here, m iS5g, 
 and is a son of James Woodgill and Louise 
 (Baker) Gill, and a grandson of David Gill. 
 
 David Gill, the grandfather, was the found- 
 er of this family in Ohio, coming from an 
 eastern state, and was the first teacher in this 
 section of Crawford county. He married a 
 Miss Wood, whose people were of English 
 extraction. Of their family of children there 
 is but one survivor, Mrs. Catherine Monnett, 
 of Crawford county. 
 
 James Woodgill Gill, father of Bloomer B. 
 Gill, was the only son of the family. His 
 birth took place in 1824, on what is now the 
 site of Galion, and he died here April 24, 
 1866, at the age of 42 years. He secured 160 
 acres of land and lived to see a part of this 
 beautiful city built on this property, its rapid 
 development resulting largely irom his ef- 
 forts in securing the construction of the rail- 
 road. He was married here to Louise M. 
 Baker, who was born in Pennsylvania and 
 was brought to Ohio by her parents, who set- 
 tled near Galion but in Richland county. She 
 survived her husband and not only carried 
 forward the plans that were interrupted by 
 his death, but pursued a business policy of 
 her own and laid out what is known as the 
 Gill Addition to Galion. For the past 27 
 years she has been an esteemed resident pf 
 Dixon, 111., where she is interested in social 
 matters and church relationships, still pos- 
 sessing an active mind as well as perfect phy- 
 sical health although she is now^ in her 83rd 
 
 year. Her second marriage, after which she 
 removed to Dixon, was to the late I'heron 
 Cumins, for many years a prominent and re- 
 spected citizen of that city. Mrs. Cumins was 
 reared in the Society of Friends but in later 
 years united with the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Of her four children, two survive: 
 Bloomer B. and Mrs. Carrie G. Todd, of 
 Dixon, 111. One son. Jay, died, at the age of 
 18 months, and another, James Woodgill, Jr., 
 at^the age of 17 years. 
 
 After completing his High School course, 
 at Galion, Bloomer B. Gill engaged first in 
 the hardware business an later became a man- 
 ufacturer and as such is prominent in local 
 circles. He is secretary and treasurer of the 
 Howard Motor Car Campany which has re- 
 cently been merged and the new corporation 
 is known as the Cleveland- Galion Motor 
 Truck Company, which is capitalized at 
 $500,000. Mr. Gill, like both parents, has 
 great faith in the future of Galion and not 
 only invests in local enterprises himself, but 
 is ever ready to foster the interests of others 
 and has been the means of bringing much 
 outside capital here. He owns one of the 
 finest residences in Crawford county, which 
 he erected in 1884, patterning it after the old 
 southern colonial mansions, with wide veran- 
 das inviting to repose and broad pillars pro- 
 ducing a fine architectural effect. 
 
 Mr. Gill was married at Galion to Miss 
 Xellie Stewart, who was born, reared and 
 educated here, a daughter of A. M. and Han- 
 nah (McClelland) Stewart, the former of 
 whom came to Galion from Boston, Mass., 
 and for many years was livestock agent for 
 the Erie and the Big Four Railroads at this 
 point. His death occurred in this city when 
 lie was 58 years old, his widow surviving. 
 She is an active member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Gill have 
 four children, namely: Mary L., who is a 
 graduate of Galion High School and the 
 Phelps School of Columbus, O. ; Isabel Stew- 
 art, who was graduated at the Hathaway- 
 Brown School, Cleveland, in the class of iQio; 
 Mina Miller, w^ho, for several years has been 
 an art student at Chicago, 111., giving especial 
 attention to portraiture, for which she has de- 
 cided talent ; and Tames Cumins, who is sfudv- 
 ing mechanics and resides at home. Mrs. Gill 
 
JAMES W. GILL 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 895 
 
 belongs to that cultured body of ladies at 
 Gallon which torms the memoership ot tne 
 tortnigntiy CluD. Mrs. GiU is a member of 
 the Mcihooaist Episcopal church. Jr'olitically 
 Mr. Gui is a KepuDlican. 
 
 JEREMIAH HOPPLE,* one of the sub- 
 stantial retired farmers of Crawford county, 
 O,. resides in his comtortable residence at iNo. 
 321 bpring street, iSucyrus, but still owns his 
 valuable tarm of 242 acres, which is situated 
 near Sulphur Springs. He was born in INorth- 
 ampton county. Pa., Dec. 5, 1^48, and is a 
 son of Reuben and Christianna (Deal) Hopple. 
 
 Mr. Hopple comes of German and French 
 ancestors, many of whom came to America 
 and several served in the Revolutionary War. 
 Reuben Hopple was one of a family of six 
 sons and three daughters. He grew to man- 
 hood in Northampton county, Pa., and there 
 married Christianna Deal. 1 hey continued to 
 live in their native section until 1856, when 
 they came to Ohio and settled in Crawford 
 county. Reuben Hopple first bought land in 
 Liberty township and sold the same in 1861, 
 but purchased another tract in the same town- 
 ship and on that farm his wife died, and a few 
 years later he moved to a farm near Bucyrus, 
 where he passed the rest of his life, dying in 
 1898, at the age of 80 years. He was a mem- 
 ber of the German Reformed church, and was 
 a Democrat in politics. 
 
 The children born to I'J.euben Hopple and 
 wife were : Anna, deceased, who was the wife 
 of John Davison; Ephia, who married Joseph 
 Kneisley, both now deceased; Jeremiah, the 
 subject of this sketch; Emma, who is the wife 
 of Amos B. Charlton, of Liberty township. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Charlton have seven children : 
 Virgil, Parry B., Michael, Anna, Maybell, 
 Orlo and Donald H. 
 
 Jeremiah Hopple remained at home until 
 he reached manhood and afterward engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits for himself. His 
 finely improved farm is known as the old 
 Michael Charlton farm. In April, 1904, he 
 came to Bucyrus to reside and is one of the 
 well known and well informed citizens of this 
 place. In national movements he is identified 
 with the Democratic party politically while in 
 local matters he exercises his own judgment. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Hopple was married in Liberty 
 
 township, to Miss Mattie Sheiber, a daugh- 
 ter ot Christopher and Lydia (Hershberger) 
 Sheiber, the tormer of whom was born in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, and the latter in Penn- 
 sylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Sheiber were married 
 in the above state and then came to Crawford 
 county and they died on the same farm they 
 settled on in their early married life. Mrs. 
 Hopple has two brothers : Jacob, a farmer in 
 Liberty township, who married Elizabeth 
 Knabberger and has the following children — 
 Ella, Anna, Amelia and Pearle ; and J ohn, who 
 resides on the old homestead. He married 
 Caroline Klink and they have children — Henry, 
 Charles, Anna, Albert, Cora, Verne, Walter, 
 Irving and Mary. Mary was accidentally killed 
 at the age of 14 years, while on a railroad 
 crossing. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hopple have four children : 
 Myrtle, who married Ralph McCalacan, of De- 
 catur, 111., and has two children — Helen and 
 Myra; Otis Milton, who is a resident of Los 
 Angeles, Cal. ; Elden J., who is a member of 
 the business firm of McCullough & Hopple; 
 and Helen, who is a student in the Domestic 
 Science School, north of Decatur. 
 
 CHARLES M. WERT, general farmer, 
 who owns 80 acres of valuable land which is 
 situated ten and one-half miles northeast of 
 Bucyrus, O., in a productive section of San- 
 dusky township, Crawford county, was born 
 at Sulphur Springs, in Liberty township, and 
 is a son of J. H. and Elizabeth Wert. His 
 father and grandfather were born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, but his mother was born in Ohio. He 
 has one brother, Herbert B. Wert, who mar- 
 ried Minnie Markle and they have four chil- 
 dren : Logan, Harold, Paul and Warren. The 
 father, J. H. Wert, is deceased, but the mother 
 survives. 
 
 Charles M. Wert has devoted himself to 
 agricultural pursuits since he has been of suit- 
 able age. After his district school days were 
 over he assisted his father and in the course 
 of years became the owner of his present well 
 stocked and well improved farm. He takes 
 much interest in it as his many substantial im- 
 provements show, and is numbered with the 
 prosperous agriculturists of this section of the 
 county. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Wert married Miss Edith Darr, a 
 
896 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 daughter of Aaron and Mary Darr, and they 
 have four children : Eldon, who lives at Mar- 
 ble Head, O., and who married Miss Frances 
 McKean and has one daughter, Marian Luise ; 
 and J. Darr, Karl F., and Sarah N. Mrs. Wert 
 has three brothers, George, William, deceased, 
 and Frank, and two sisters, Harriet and Lu- 
 cetta. Air. Wert and family belong to the 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 JOHN GORDON, a well known and highly 
 respected resident of Tod township, Crawford 
 county, O., and one of the most successful 
 agriculturists, resides on his finely improved 
 farm of 165 acres, which is situated two and 
 one-half miles southwest of Oceola, O. He 
 was born in County Glamorgan, South Wales, 
 March 3, 1849, and is a son of Thomas and 
 Catherine (Morris) Gordon. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Gordon were farmers 
 in South Wales and in comfortable circum- 
 stances. The father died in 1869, when aged 
 61 years, but the mother survived to the age 
 of 72, years. They had the following children 
 born to them : Mary, who is the wife of 
 George Bevan and lives in Wales; Thomas, 
 who manages the old homestead farm in 
 \\'ales; Eliza, who lives in Wales, being the 
 widow of Lewis Bowen, who was a surveyor 
 and civil engineer; John, subject of this arti- 
 cle; Richard, who is deceased; Ann, who was 
 the wife of George Fleming, both of whom 
 are deceased; and George, who still lives in 
 Wales. 
 
 John Gordon obtained his education in the 
 schools of his native land. When 21 years 
 of age he decided to come to the United States 
 and after reaching an American port he made 
 his way to Trumbull county, O., where he 
 found employment on a dairy farm and con- 
 tinued for four years, when he married, and 
 then moved to a place near Bucyrus and two 
 years later came to his present farm in Tod 
 township. He found a large amount of im- 
 proving necessary and immediately began its- 
 renovation and has made of this one of the 
 finest farms of this part of Crawford county. 
 Mr. Gordon's methods have resulted in much 
 prosperity. He has always been a hard-work- 
 ing man and still looks carefully after his 
 farm interests. 
 
 Mr. Gordon married Miss Callie F. Flock 
 
 and they have had six children: -Luella, who 
 is the wife of Edward McLaughlin, who oper- 
 ates an elevator at Nevada, O., and has two 
 children — Velma and Gordon ; Henry, who as- 
 sists his father; Alice, who helps her mother; 
 and Florence, Elva and Letty, all three of 
 whom are now deceased. Mr. Gordon is a 
 Democrat in his political views and for a term 
 of six years was township road commissioner 
 and still keeps up his interest in the good roads 
 subject, his long experience in the above office 
 having made him an authority on the subject. 
 Mrs. Gordon is a member of the Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 JOSEPH KNISELY,* who is a member of 
 one of the old and substantial families of Craw- 
 ford county, O., now lives retired at Bucyrus, 
 \\hich city has been his preferred home since 
 1887. He was born Feb. 11, 1830, at Knisely 
 Spring, in Sandusky township., Crawford 
 county, O., and is a son of Samuel and Sarah 
 Knisely. 
 
 Samuel Knisely was born in 1782, in York 
 county, Pa., and was a young man when he 
 accompanied his German father to Ohio. The 
 name of the latter has not been preserved but 
 he was one of the enterprising pioneers of Tus- 
 carauwas county, where he entered 1,600 acres 
 of land and probably was the founder of New 
 Philadelphia. He died there in extreme old 
 age. It is said of him that with the old flint- 
 lock musket, which his grandson carefully pre- 
 serves, he made it a practice to kill just 100 
 deer each season, laying aside the fowling 
 piece then until the next year. Samuel Knisely 
 enlisted for service in the War of 181 2 and 
 assisted in the construction of the block-house 
 at Mansfield, built to preserve the settlers from 
 the Indians and took part in the battles there 
 with the savages and helped to inter the unfor- 
 tunate families who were slain. He was first 
 lieutenant of his company and the annals speak 
 of him as a brave and daring soldier. In 1823 
 he came to Crawford county and settled in the 
 isolated little log hut village of Bucyrus, secur- 
 ing later Government land lying eight miles 
 west of hpre, the place being still known as 
 Knisely Springs. Like his father he was a 
 great huntsman and made use of the old flint- 
 lock musket. The Indians learned to both 
 fear and esteem him, for he was a just as 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 897 
 
 well as kind, man, and on many occasions he 
 assisted savages and fed them and won their 
 good will. Thus he was able to travel far 
 without fear, both on his hunting trips and 
 also on his missions of mercy, for he was ever 
 ready to assist other settlers in the building 
 of their cabins, the sowing of their grain or 
 to give help in times of sickness and death. 
 He was so well known that people as far dis- 
 tant as Marion county frequently begged his 
 presence. In May, 1867, this admirable man, 
 who had been likened by his admirers to Daniel 
 Boone, passed out of life at the home of his 
 son Joseph Knisely. His wife died in 1859, 
 when aged 73 years. She was a member of the 
 Baptist church. They had 13 children, four of 
 whom survive. 
 
 Joseph Knisely grew up on the Crawford 
 county farm and has always resided in this 
 county with the exception of seven years prior 
 to his marriage, which he spent in Illinois and 
 Indiana. He acquired the old homestead of 
 160 acres and continued farm activities there 
 until 1887, when he traded the farm for a 
 large tract of land in the immediate environs 
 of Bucyrus. Much of this land has been dis- 
 posed of for building purposes as the city has 
 grown. Mr. Knisely has occasionally worked 
 at the mason trade and a large part of his 
 time has been occtipied with the duties of pub- 
 lic office, to which he frequently has been 
 elected on the Democratic ticket. 
 
 Mr. Knisely was married to Miss Minerva 
 Baughman, who was born Oct. 12, i839,. in 
 Putnam county, O., a daughter of Abram and 
 Jane (Book) Baughman, the former a na- 
 tive of Pennsylvania and the latter of Wayne 
 county, O. After Mr. and Mrs. Baughman 
 married they began housekeeping in a thatch- 
 roof log cabin in Van Buren township, Put- 
 nam county, on the 400 acres of land which 
 Mr. Baughman subsequently developed into a 
 fine farm. They were members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church and among the most 
 worthy and respected people in that section. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Knisely the following chil- 
 dren were born: Fannie, who was born in 
 1860 and died in 1881 ; Sabilla, born Feb. 
 26, 1861, who is the wife of George Dinkle, 
 of Bucyrus ; Florence, born Dec. 4, 1863, who 
 is the wife of David Knisely, of Goshen, Ind., 
 and has one son, Clyde; Lewis, born Dec. i, 
 1864, who resides with his wife at Bucyrus; 
 
 Sadie, who was born Oct. 25, 1868, and is 
 the wife of William Hizer, of Gallon, O. ; 
 Minnie, who was born Nov. 12, 1870, and is 
 the widow of Joseph Burger and has one 
 daughter, Imogene ; and Maude, who was born 
 April 10, 1873, who is the wife of Edward 
 Miller, residing at Columbus, O., and has two 
 children — George and Dorothy. Mr. Knisely 
 and family attend the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. 
 
 G. P. WELSHONS, whose finely improved 
 farm of 120 acres is located three miles north- 
 east of Sulphur Springs, O., was born in 1859, 
 at Crestline, O., and is a son of Stephen and 
 Lucinda (Rininger) Welshons. 
 
 Stephen Welshons was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, of German ancestry. He came to Craw- 
 ford county, O., in 1858, and selected Crest- 
 line as his home. He had learned the cabinet- 
 making trade in Pennsylvania. He spent five 
 years in California in the gold mines. He 
 was then employed by the railroad company 
 in Crestline and later worked in the Big Four 
 yards, during the remainder of his active life, 
 but was living on a farm east of Crestline, 
 his death occurring at the age of 76 years. He 
 married Lucinda Rininger and they had four 
 children, the two survivors being G. P. and 
 Elwood, the latter being a railroad engineer. 
 
 In the schools of Crestline, O., G. P. Wel- 
 shons obtained a common school education 
 and then went into railroad work, serving for 
 two and one-half years as a fireman and later 
 as an engineer. He tried farming for a short 
 time but returned to the railroad, but later re- 
 sumed farming and has made a success of his 
 undertaking. All the substantial improvements 
 on his place show a sensible interest and much 
 forethought and his modern residence is both 
 comfortable and attractive. He raises grain, 
 hay, potatoes, fruit, poultry and stock and is 
 one of the prosperous agriculturists of this 
 section. 
 
 Mr. Welshons married Miss Mary Peppard, 
 and they have two children: Samuel and Er- 
 nest. He is a good citizen but no seeker for 
 public office, and casts his vote with the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 ELIAS CRISSINGER, who is a leading 
 citizen of Dallas township, Crawford county, 
 O., active in its public affairs and successful 
 
898 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 in his agricultural activities, owns 120 acres 
 of very productive land and carries on gen- 
 eral farming. He was born Aug. 11, 1853, i" 
 Illinois, and is a son of William and Mary 
 (Baker) Crissinger, and a grandson of Benaiah 
 Baker. 
 
 The father of Air. Crissinger was born in 
 Crawford county and was a farmer and la- 
 borer prior to entering the Federal Army for 
 service in the Ci\'il W^ar and died while a sol- 
 dier. He married Alary Baker, who was also 
 born in Crawford county, and died when their 
 son Elias was but two years old. Their other 
 children were : James A. ; Alary, deceased, 
 who was the wife of Henry Zoll; Emma, who 
 is the wife of Elias Stiger; Isabel, who is 
 deceased; and Dora I., who is the wife of 
 John Lyons. The parents of the above family 
 were members of the German Reformed 
 church. 
 
 Since his school days, Mr. Crissinger has 
 been interested continuously in farm pursuits 
 and in late years has received assistance from 
 his son but still retains the general manage- 
 ment of his estate. He is largely a self-made 
 man, becoming an orphan when ten years old 
 and afterward living with relatives and strang- 
 ers until he made a home for himself. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1874, Mr. Crissinger \\as mar- 
 ried to Miss Harriet L. Houser, who was born 
 in Scott township, Marion county, O., a daugh- 
 ter of Anthony and Eliza (Wise) Houser. 
 The father of Mrs. Crissinger was a farmer 
 in Marion county, O., and also followed the 
 carpenter trade. Mrs. Crissinger was the 
 youngest but one of his children, the others 
 being: John, Eliza, who married (first) Mi- 
 chael Mathias, and (second) Christian Pom- 
 mert; Catherine, who married Robert Highley; 
 Sarah, who married Elliott Denman; and Ma- 
 linda, who married Jacob Spiece. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Crissinger the following children were 
 born: Manford Roy, who married Agnes 
 Keckler, and has two children, Julia and Frank . 
 Daisy Viola, who married Wallace Lindsay, 
 and has two children, Plites, and Reo May; 
 William A. ; Ray, who married Hattie Mollen- 
 koff, and has five children — Helen, Homer, 
 Raymond, Velma and Wilma ; Grover O., who 
 married Mary Oberlander, and has two chil- 
 dren, Harold and Eveline; Blanche E., who is 
 the wife of David Pierce; Mervin E. ; and 
 
 Florence. Mr. Crissinger and family are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church, in 
 which he served some years as steward and 
 for six years was a class leader. As a citizen 
 Air. Crissinger has been interested in all that 
 has promised to build up and make more stable 
 good laws and good influences in his com- 
 munity. Politically his opinions have made 
 him a Democrat and for many years both in 
 Alarion and in Crawford counties he has served 
 honestly and efficiently in township offices, be- 
 irig assessor for five years in the former and 
 for three years in the latter, and for six years 
 served Dallas township on its board of trus- 
 tees. 
 
 JOHN \ATLLIAAI EXLEY, one of the 
 highly respected residents of Bucyrus, O., who 
 is a well-known blacksmith, was born here, 
 Alay 19, 1858, and is a son of John Jacob and 
 Frederica (Krebs) Exley. 
 
 John Jacob Exley was born in 1825, in 
 Baden, Germany, and in childhood his father 
 died and shortly afterward his mother. In 
 1838, being then only 13 years of age, he 
 started for America in company with two 
 friends, the late Jacob Schoub being one of 
 these and Daniel Bauslinger, the other. These 
 youths embarked on an old sailing vessel that 
 required 42 days to transport them to New 
 York. They managed to make their way from 
 that city to Crawford county, O., and all came 
 to Bucyrus. They were too young to have 
 yet learned a trade but all three became re- 
 spected men and useful citizens. John Jacob 
 Exley died after a very short illness, on Sept. 
 12, 1868. He was a Democrat in politics and 
 was a member of the Lutheran church. He 
 A\-as married at Bucyrus to Frederica Krebs, 
 who was bom in ^^''urtemberg, Germany, in 
 1836, and died Dec. 4, 1904. She accompanied 
 her parents to America in 1854, landing at 
 New York, and came to Crawford county by 
 way of Buffalo. Her parents, Gottlieb and 
 Rica Krebs, subsequently moved to Wyandot 
 county where the mother died aged 68 years, 
 after which the father returned to Bucyrus 
 and lived to be 87 years of age. 
 
 To John Jacob Exley and wife the following 
 children were born: John William; Charles, 
 who is a blacksmith, living in this city; Gal- 
 lic, who died Aug. 28. 1897. who was the wife 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 899 
 
 of Joseph Nutter and the mother of two chil- 
 dren — WiUie and Georgia, both now of De- 
 troit, Mich. ; Emma, who is the widow of Al- 
 bert Miller, and lives at Bucyrus, having one 
 son, Carl ; and Katie, who resides with her sis- 
 ter, Mrs. Miller. 
 
 John William Exley attended school in boy- 
 hood and afterward learned the blacksmith 
 business with the late John Horvald, and fol- 
 lowed this trade in connection with other work, 
 being a natural mechanic. Through industry, 
 thrift and prudence he has accumulated a com- 
 l^etency and owns several valuable pieces of 
 city property. With the exception of four 
 years he has spent his life here and is well 
 known to the majority of the citizens. On 
 many occasions he has filled public office with 
 efficiency, for eight years has been a member 
 of the city council, of which he was president 
 two years and vice president four years, and 
 has been a member of all the committees. He 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Exley was married at Bucyrus to Miss 
 Augusta Petersilge, who was born here Nov. 
 22, ,i86i, a daughter of Ferdinand and Fred- 
 erica (Winegartner) Petersilge,. natives re- 
 spectively of Saxony and Wurtemberg, Ger- 
 many. The father of Mrs. Exley came to the 
 United States in 1852. He was born Jan. 21, 
 1836, and died Sept. 7, 1902. His widow sur- 
 vives and was 73 years old. May 22, 1912; she 
 has been a resident of the United States since 
 1854. Two of her children survive: Mrs. 
 Exley and Fred. The latter was born in 1865 
 and is a resident of Bucyrus and formerly was 
 engaged in the restaurant business. He mar- 
 ried Anna Trautman and they have two chil- 
 dren: Augusta P. and Ralph F. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Exley are members of the German Luth- 
 eran church. He is a member of a German 
 organization and for 28 years has been a 
 Knight of Pythias, this long connection en- 
 titling him to the order's gold medal. 
 
 J. H. KIESS,* who has lived on his pres- 
 ent farm of 160 acres, situated in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., for 42 years, 
 has owned this land for 36 of these, purchas- 
 ing from Jonathan Heinlein, it then being 
 called the old Burkhardt farm. Mr. Kiess was 
 born in Lycoming county, Pa., a son of Jacob 
 and Catherine (Roth) Kiess. 
 
 Christopher Kiess, the grandfather, was born 
 in Germany and came from there in 1806 and 
 settled in Lycoming county, Pa., where he was 
 one of the early school teachers. In 1850 the 
 family decided to come to Crawford county, 
 O., and it required two weeks for the loaded 
 farm wagons to make the long overland jour- 
 ney. They settled in Whetstone township and 
 among the good citizens of this section the 
 name is not an unusual one. The mother of 
 J. H. Kiess died after coming to Crawford 
 county, leaving two children : J. H. and 
 Lydia, the latter of whom is now deceased 
 and is survived by her husband, Lewis Cripes. 
 Jacob Kiess married Catherine Delker for his 
 second wife and they had the following chil- 
 dren: Simeon, Joseph, Daniel, Samuel, W. C, 
 Christiana and Mary Margaret. 
 
 J. H. Kiess had but meager school advan- 
 tages in the English language but in Penn- 
 sylvania attended a German school. His help 
 was needed by his father when he was yet 
 young and he has devoted his whole business 
 life to agricultural pursuits. He has enriched 
 his land and carefully cultivated it and it gives 
 bountiful returns, and his buildings are those 
 that are found on the farms of substantial and 
 self-respecting people, built and kept up not 
 only for shelter but for comfortable living. 
 Mr. Kiess makes no attempt to raise any great 
 aiTiount of stock but always has enough for his 
 own use. 
 
 In 1864, Mr. Kiess was married (first) to 
 Miss Elizabeth Cook, a daughter of Jacob and 
 Mary (Kiess) Cook, and to this marriage the 
 following children were born; Mary B., Frank- 
 lin J., Ella Lucinda and Matilda, all of whom 
 are deceased; Rebecca, who is the wife of J. 
 P. Crawl; and Ida E., who is the wife of Sam- 
 uel Keiser. Mr. Kiess was married second to 
 Miss Rachel Cook, a daughter of George and 
 Rebecca (Young) Cook, and they have had 
 five children : Reuben, who is deceased ; Wes- 
 ley, who is a mail carrier; and Olen, Charles 
 F and Bertha May. Mr. Kiess has frequently 
 served in public office but it has not been any 
 political reward as he votes independently. He 
 has been very useful and progressive in rela- 
 tion to educational matters and has been equally 
 concerned in giving the people good roads, for 
 some years serving as road supervisor. With 
 his family he attends the Evangelical church. 
 
900 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 EAIAXUEL NEFF, residing nine miles 
 northeast of Bucyrus, G., and two miles east 
 of Sulphur Springs, is the justly contented 
 owner of a well improved farm of 215 acres, 
 well located, well drained and exceedingly pro- 
 ductive. He is a son of Joseph and Sophia 
 (Yeiter) Neff, the oldest of nine children, 
 namely: Aaron, Amos, John J., Joseph C, 
 Elizabeth, Alary, Emma, Tillie and Emanuel, 
 all sur\iving except Tillie. Aaron married 
 Cora Orweiler and they live in Liberty town- 
 ship. Amos married Anna Schieber and they 
 live at Bucyrus, O. Jacob married Ella Schie- 
 ber and they live in Liberty township. Joseph 
 married Myrtle Schieber and they live in 
 Holmes township. Elizabeth married Joseph 
 Durr and their home is in Liberty township. 
 Mary married Abraham Scheiber and they re- 
 side at Bucyrus, while Emma is the wife of 
 Albert Scheiber and they live in Holmes 
 township. 
 
 Emanuel Xeff attended school at Holmes 
 township. He has devoted himself to agri- 
 cultural pursuits and has been very success- 
 ful, being progressive and enterprising in his 
 undertakings. He has greatly improved his 
 property since it came into his possession, has 
 two very fine barns and other substantial build- 
 ings and carries on his operations along mod- 
 ern lines with due regard to family comfort. 
 He has been a member of the township board 
 of education for some years and is much in- 
 terested in the public schools. 
 
 Mr. Xeff married ^Nliss Sarah Krauter, one 
 of a family of ten children born to Jacob and 
 Anna Krauter, the others being: Jacob, who 
 married Elizabeth Baker, and lives at Cleve- 
 land, O. : Otilla, who is the widow of Elias 
 Durr; Alartha, who married \\^illiam Baker, 
 of Galion ; Esther, who married Hershel Eshel- 
 man, of Seville, Aledina county, O. ; Elmer, 
 who lives at home; and John, Christianna, 
 Sophia and X^^etta, all deceased. Five children 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. X'eff; Lester 
 E., Ralph A., Herbert J., Elsie :sl. and Karl 
 F. j\Ir. Neff is identified with the Republican 
 party but is no seeker for office, just a sensible, 
 law-abiding, interested citizen. 
 
 CHARLES B. SCHUMACHER, who is 
 now numbered with the substantial citizens of 
 Galion, for many years was interested here 
 
 successfully in the real estate and insurance 
 business and is well known all over Crawford 
 county. He was born in Northumberland 
 county. Pa., and comes of Gennan people. 
 
 Johannes Schumacher, the grandfather, 
 was born in Pennsylvania, of German parents, 
 so that a number of generations back must 
 be followed to the little German village \vhere 
 great grand-father Schmnacher was born. He 
 came to the United States when young and 
 became a .farmer, he and wife passing their 
 later days in Schuylkill county, Pa., where 
 they died in advanced age. 
 
 John Schumacher, father of Charles B., 
 was born in Schuylkill county, Pa., and died 
 Sept.- 17, 1856, when aged 66 years. His first 
 marriage was to a Miss Hicks who died in 
 Pennsylvania in middle life leaving eight chil- 
 dren, all of whom are now deceased. His 
 second marriage was to Catherine Baker, who 
 died Sept. 20, 1873, aged 73 years, 10 months 
 and 6 days. To the second union the follow- 
 ing children were born: Catherine, Elvina, 
 Jane, Julia, \\'iiliam, Robert, Charles B., 
 Thomas and Sarah. 
 
 Charles B. Schumacher was born Dec. 15, 
 1835 and was reared and obtained his educa- 
 tion in his native county. Before coming to 
 Ohio in 1864, he had been variously employed, 
 and after reaching the state located for a 
 time in Fairfield county and then came on to 
 Galion. Here he began work as a blacksmith 
 in the Erie Railway shops, where he contin- 
 ued until 1874, becoming a master blacksmith. 
 After leaving shop work he was made con- 
 stable and served for four years, in that office, 
 when he was elected a justice of the peace 
 and continued in that responsible office foi" 15 
 consecutive years and after being out of office 
 for one year, was re-elected justice of the 
 peace and as such continued until 1885, termi- 
 nating this connection after serving for 24 
 years. In 1886 he was elected mayor of Ga- 
 llon and after the close of an admirable ad- 
 ministration, he was elected a member of the 
 city council for two succeeding years. Mr. 
 Schumacher has thus been a very hiehlv hon- 
 ored citizen and has always realized his re- 
 sponsibilities and has fearlessly and honestly 
 pursued his course in public life. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 18=; 7, Mr. Schumacher was 
 married in Pennsylvania to Miss Rachel A. 
 
CHARLES B. SCHUMACHER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 903 
 
 Smith, who was born Aug. 14, 1839, in Wil- 
 liams county, O., but was reared in Penn- 
 sylvania and died at Galion, March 7, 1908, a 
 woman of many virtues and excellencies. She 
 was the loving and careful mother of a large 
 family. Helen, Oliver, Harry and Walter, 
 all died young. Alice L., who died Jan. 28, 
 1901, was the wife of Theodore Stewart, and 
 the mother of two children, Charles and Helen, 
 the latter of whom died at the age of 16 years, 
 and the former, who lives with his grand- 
 father, a graduate of the class of 1912, in the 
 Galion High School and now employed by 
 United Fruit Company, of New York ; Thomas 
 M., who is general traffic manager of the 
 American Smelting Company, and resides in 
 New York; Clara T., who is the wife of 
 George Stoltz and lives at Dawson, Neb. ; S. 
 Emma, who cares for her father and is his 
 capable housekeeper; and Wilbert A., who is 
 general traffic manager of the United Fruit 
 Company — Steamship and Railway Service, of 
 New York. The last named is a very success- 
 ful business man. After graduating in the 
 class of 1894, from the Galion High School, 
 he was with the Illinois Steel Company for 
 two years and with the Armour people for 14 
 years, becoming assistant traffic manager for 
 them and later traffic manager for his present 
 Company. He has two children, Ruth and 
 Herbert. 
 
 Politically Mr. Schumacher is a Democrat. 
 For many years he has been very active in 
 Odd Fellowship, uniting with the order in 
 September, 1869, and has filled all the chairs 
 in the local lodge. For 15 years he was treas- 
 urer of Galion Lodge No. 215, and is the sec- 
 ond oldest past grand initiated in this lodge. 
 He is a member and an elder of the Christian 
 church, his family being of the same religious 
 faith. 
 
 JENNINGS T. SHAWK, who enjoys the 
 distinction of being the oldest native born man 
 of Holmes township, Crawford county, O., 
 now lives retired on his farm five miles north 
 of Bucyrus. He was born Sept. 11, 1835, in 
 an old log house that then occupied the present 
 site of the Opera House, at Bucyrus, and is 
 a son of Thomas Shawk and a grandson of 
 Jacob Shawk, who was a Revolutionary soldier. 
 
 Thomas Shawk was born in Columbiana 
 
 county, O., March 4, 1806, came to Craw- 
 ford county in 1829, and died Dec. 29, 1885. 
 After his marriage he moved to Bucyrus by 
 wagon, the state of the roads at that time 
 making the journey of three day's duration, 
 and at Bucyrus purchased the block on which 
 the Opera House now is located and went to 
 work as a blacksmith for a man named Gil- 
 more, whose shop was in this vicinity. Shortly 
 afterward the old Trimble House was erected. 
 Thomas Shawk spent the larger part of his 
 life at Bucyrus and died there. For three 
 years he lived in Whetstone township and for 
 some years in Holmes township, but Bucyrus 
 was his chosen home and he was identified 
 with its early enterprises and was considered 
 a valuable citizen. He rnarried Esther Al- 
 bright, whose father was the brother of Jacob 
 Albright who was the founder of the Evan- 
 gelical church in Pennsylvania. Daniel Al- 
 bright was a man of much prominence in Craw- 
 ford county during its early history. This was 
 his second marriage, his first one taking place 
 in Columbiana county, to which six children 
 were born. Jennings T. Shawk, son of Thomas 
 Shawk, is the only survivor of his father's fam- 
 ily and he was third in order of birth, his two 
 brothers and three sisters all being deceased. 
 Adeline was the wife of Edward Sheckler. 
 Aurelia was the wife of Alexander Ruhl, Ben- 
 jamin Franklin and Thomas as well as Mary, 
 the youngest, died early. 
 
 Jennings T. Shawk had educational oppor- 
 tunities that served to qualify him for teaching 
 school but he did not teach, working instead 
 at the blacksmith trade until his marriage, 
 when he came to his present farm, on which 
 his wife was born, and later bought the place. 
 For many years afterward he engaged in farm- 
 ing and stock raising, but has been retired for 
 some time and his son carries on the farm in- 
 dustries. He owns 320 acres, all situated in 
 Holmes township, and his improvements are 
 probably the best in the township. He erected 
 two comfortable residences and has built six 
 barns, three of which were destroyed by fire. 
 
 Mr. Shawk was married to Miss Sarah Lah- 
 man, a daughter of Charles Lahman, who was 
 born in Germany, May 30, 1810, and died in 
 Ohio, Feb. 10, 1892. When he came first to 
 Crawford county he entered 80 acres of land 
 and then returned to Germany, where he was 
 
904 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 married to Christina Gearhart and returned 
 with his wife to Ohio and they settled on the 
 present farm of Mr. Shawk and Hved there 
 through hfe. Four children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Shawk, namely: George E., who 
 lives in Sheridan county, Mo., and who mar- 
 ried Elizabeth Pfeifer and has five children — 
 Mary, Pearl, Sarah, George and Jessie ; • 
 Charles L., who lives in Holmes township who 
 married Laura Wilhelm and has three chil- 
 dren — Guy, Arthur and Grace; Jay, who is 
 his father's farmer, who married Lizzie Fra- 
 lick and has two children — Naomi and Ruth; 
 and Thomas, also a resident of Holmes town- 
 ship, who married Emma Meek and has three 
 children — Russell, Willard and Warren. In 
 politics, Mr. Shawk and sons are Democrats 
 and he has served as township trustee. He 
 is a member of the Evangelical Association. 
 
 HOWARD M. GREEN,* who is engaged 
 in the house painting and decorating business 
 at Gallon, O., and additionally, is interested 
 with his brother, in a 500-acres stock farm in 
 Washington township. Morrow county, O., be- 
 longs to one of the old Crawford county fami- 
 lies and is well known all through this sec- 
 tion. He was born at Gallon, in 1871, and is 
 a son of James Henry and Lenora H. (Mc- 
 Clain) Green, and a grandson of Henry and 
 Anna Green. He is the eldest of four sons, 
 the others being : Frank, Dahl and James. 
 
 Howard M. Green attended school at Gallon 
 and completed his education at Evanston, 111. 
 In May, 1898, he enlisted for service in the 
 Spanish-American War, entering Battery H, 
 First O. Light Artillery, under Captain Stew- 
 art and Colonel Brooks and was discharged as 
 head driver of his section. Later he became a 
 furniture finisher, displaying much skill in this 
 line of work and then learned decorating. For 
 the past 12 years he has been interested in the 
 Spring Grove Stock Farm, in Morrow county, 
 where horses, mules and hogs are raised for 
 market. 
 
 Mr. Green was married at Galion, to Miss 
 Grace Blazier, who was born at Chicago, 111., 
 but was reared and educated at Galion. She 
 is a daughter of Henry and Sarah E. (Slick) 
 Blazier, the former of whom died at Galion in 
 1887, at the age of 45 years. Mrs. Blazier re- 
 sides on East Main street, Galion. Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. Green have two children : Ruth Leanora, 
 who was born July 4, 1893, and is a member 
 of the class of 1913, at the Galion high school; 
 and Frank M., who was born October 27, 1899. 
 They belong to the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 have many pleasant social connections and Mr. 
 Green is a member of the Spanish-American 
 War Veterans. 
 
 CHARLES A. SHROLL, who is engaged 
 in general farming in Dallas township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., where he owns 80 acres of 
 excellent land, was born in Bucyrus township, 
 Crawford county, March 2^, 1859, and is a 
 son of Jacob and Elizabeth (McNichol) ShroU. 
 
 Jacob Shroll was of German parentage but 
 he was born in Pennsylvania, where his 
 wife was also born, she being of Irish an- 
 cestry. Both died in Crawford county, his 
 burial being in the old SchroU cemetery, while 
 her resting place is in Mt. Zion cemetery, in 
 Bucyrus township. They were members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. Eight chil- 
 dren were born to them, Charles A. being the 
 youngest: William; Mary, wife of Norman 
 Mount; Sarah, wife of Porter Leighbarger; 
 John; Nancy, wife of Noah Seitz; Louisa, 
 wife of Richard Kellar; and Matilda, wife of 
 R. P. Young. 
 
 Charles A. Shroll was left fatherless when 
 seven years of age and on this account had 
 fewer advantages in youth than had many 
 other boys of his acquaintance. His mother 
 was obliged to let the family be broken up and 
 he was placed with strangers with whom he 
 lived and as opportunity offered, attended the 
 district schools. He was naturally industrious 
 and before long was able to earn enough to 
 provide for his own necessities and afterward 
 continued to work on farms, by the month, 
 until he was 27 years of age. In all this time 
 he had never had a real home, living always 
 with strangers, but now he married and 
 founded his own hearthstone and has a happy 
 domestic circle of wife and eight children. 
 For some 20 years after marriage Mr. Shroll 
 rented land from different farmers, after which 
 he purchased his present place and to its culti- 
 vation and improvement has devoted himself 
 ever since. He is a self-made man and niay 
 be cited as an example of what may be accom- 
 plished through industry and persistent effort. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 905 
 
 Mr. ShroU was married July 19, 1884, to 
 Miss Ida A. Argrave, who was born in Mercer 
 county, Pa., a daughter of George R. and Mary 
 Argrave, who had three children: Henry; 
 Olive, wife of George Paup; and Ida A., who 
 became the wife of Mr. Shroll. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Shroll the following children have been 
 born : Reginald, who married Victoria Eckert ; 
 Clyde ; Frank, who married Effie Fillinger ; and 
 Walter, Dice, Beth, Theodore and Ivan K. 
 Mr. Shroll has always been a busy man but 
 never neglects his duties as a citizen and has 
 taken much interest in the public schools, serv- 
 ing as school director and giving his children 
 all the advantages within his power. 
 
 W. A. WATERS, who is one of the most 
 substantial citizens and the largest land owner 
 in Liberty township, Crawford county, O., car- 
 ries on general farming and stock raising on 
 his large estate of 400 acres and resides two 
 miles southeast of Sulphur Springs, O. He 
 was born in Wyandot county, O., March 11, 
 1862, and is a son of Philip A. and Mary 
 (Daugherty) Waters. 
 
 Philip A. Waters was born in Westmore- 
 land county. Pa., and by his parents was 
 brought to Crawford county, at the age of 
 four years. At a later date he moved to Wyan- 
 dot county and there engaged in farming for 
 a number of years, when he removed to In- 
 diana and died in that state in advanced age. 
 He married Mary Daugherty and one child 
 was born to them, W. A., the wife and mother 
 dying in 1864. 
 
 Being left motherless at the age of two and 
 one-half years, W. A. Waters was reared on 
 the present farm in his uncle's home, the later, 
 Reuben Waters, being now deceased. He ob- 
 tained his education in the district schools and 
 was trained from boyhood to be a farmer. 
 This farm has always been his home from in- 
 fancy and since he took possession as sole 
 owner, he has made a great many improve- 
 ments, including the erection of a handsome 
 modern residence. 
 
 Mr. Waters was united in marriage with 
 Miss Ella Caris, who was born in Wood 
 county, O., a daughter of Eli Caris, and they 
 have one daughter, Ada. She is the wife of 
 Delbert Butterfif, who resides on an adjoin- 
 ing farm, and they have five children : Zelma, 
 
 Bernice, Robert, Mendel and Richard. Mr. 
 Waters is a Republican in politics but has given 
 more attention to his agricultural activities 
 than to public matters, although he never neg- 
 lects the duties of good citizenship. 
 
 EMANUEL C. CRISSINGER,* carpenter 
 and builder, a well known citizen of Galion 
 and a reliable business man of this section, 
 was born in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., May 13, 1850, and is a son of 
 Jacob and Elizabeth (Knoble) Crissinger, and 
 a grandson of George Crissinger, who was 
 the founder of the family in Ohio, moving 
 to Crawford county from Northumberland 
 county. Pa. The father was twice married 
 and Emanuel C. was the sixth born of 
 the first family, there being two surviving 
 brothers: Charles J., a well known business 
 man of Galion; and Daniel, who is a farmer 
 and also a carpenter and lives in Whetstone 
 township. 
 
 Emanuel C. Crissinger was reared on the 
 home farm and worked with his father at car- 
 pentering and under his supervision became 
 an expert mechanic. In 1884 he moved to 
 Galion and three years later he erected the com- 
 fortable residence which he has since occu- 
 pied, at No. 334 North Market street. From 
 1903 until 1909 he was engaged in the grocery 
 trade at Galion, but with that exception, he 
 has been giving his attention exclusively, for 
 the past 38 years, to carpenter work including 
 building. In his political affiliation he is a 
 Democrat but he has never been what may be 
 called a politician, just a good, earnest and 
 interested citizen. 
 
 Mr. Crissinger was married in 1884 to Miss- 
 Susie E. Fail, who was born near Galion, Sept. 
 4, 1856, a daughter of John and Julia A. (Sny- 
 der) Fail. John Fail was born in Germany 
 and was eight years old when his parents 
 brought him to the United States. He was. 
 reared in Crawford county and was married, 
 near Bucyrus, to Julia A. Snyder, who accom- 
 panied her parents to this section, from Penn- 
 sylvania, when 17 years of age. Mr. Fail was^ 
 a farmer in Polk township, Crawford county, 
 until 1898, when he and his wife retired to 
 Galion, where his death occurred in 1899, when 
 aged 75 years. Mrs. Fail, now in her 8oth- 
 year, resides with a daughter at Galion. To- 
 
906 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Crissinger the following chil- 
 dren have been born: William A., born Sept, 
 15, 1887, who resides at Gallon and married 
 Ada Shaw; and Charles Addison, who was 
 born May 9, 1890, and lives with his parents. 
 He is a graduate of the Galion High School 
 and is now cashier for the Erie Railway Com- 
 pany at Galion. Mr. and Mrs. Crissinger are 
 active members of the United Brethren church, 
 of which he has been a trustee and for some 
 years was a class leader in the same. 
 
 WILLIAM I. MUTCHLER, one of the 
 progressive agriculturists of Tod township, 
 Crawford county, 0., residing on his well im- 
 proved farm of 160 acres, situated one mile 
 northeast of Oceola, O., was born on this farm, 
 in 1866, and is a son of Isaiah and Harriet 
 (Kisor) Mutchler. 
 
 In the death of Isaiah Mutchler, which oc- 
 curred in 1906, in his 83rd year, Crawford 
 county lost one of its most respected pioneers. 
 He bought the farm which now belongs to his 
 son, William I., in 1846, from the Government, 
 paying $2.25 per acre, and it has been carefully 
 preserved in the family ever since, and has 
 never had even a mortgage entered against it. 
 Isaiah Mutchler was born in Seneca county, 
 O., and took possession of his Crawford 
 county land in 1847. Subsequently he acquired 
 much other property, aggregating some 600 
 acres of land, and each one of his children 
 were given a farm by this generous and provi- 
 dent father. He was a member of the United 
 Brethren church and had filled almost every 
 church office, taking much more interest in 
 it than in the political life of the community 
 in which his long life was spent. He married 
 Harriet Kisor, who was born near Sycamore, 
 Wyandot county, and died in Crawford county, 
 when aged 73 years and 6 months. The record 
 of their children is as follows : Catherine and 
 Barbara, twins, the former of whom married 
 Adam Fisher, and the latter, Frank Karns; 
 Amanda, who married George Aurand ; Frank, 
 deceased, who married Dora Miller; Susanna, 
 deceased, who married John Beamer; George, 
 who married Susan Little; Harriet, who mar- 
 ried Samuel Lambert; Melissa, who is de- 
 ceased; twin infants, both deceased; Matilda, 
 who married Philip Hoker; William I., and 
 Leafy, deceased, who was the wife of William 
 Nicholson. 
 
 In the schools of Tod township, William I. 
 Mutchler secured a good, common school edu- 
 cation, and ever since has devoted himself to 
 farm industries on the homestead. Since the 
 farm has been his own he has done considerable 
 improving, replacing all the buildings with the 
 exception of one barn. He owns valuable 
 stock and improved machinery and is contem- 
 plating the building of a fine silo in the near 
 future. 
 
 Mr. Mutchler married Miss Rebecca Patton, 
 who was born in Mifflin county, Pa., and a 
 family of ten children has been born to them, 
 as follows: Flora, who married Orlo Bash 
 and has two children, Cecil and Laura; Fred; 
 Jesse, who married Bessie Cox; and Sylvia, 
 Russell, Mary, Goldie, Ethel, Paul and Dwight 
 L., all of whom survive with the exception of 
 Paul, who died in infancy. Mr. Mutchler is a 
 Democrat in politics and he has served as 
 school director. He is one of the leading 
 members of the United Brethren church and 
 has served as class leader and steward. 
 
 GEORGE W. SCHIEFER, who is one of 
 the enterprising and successful farmers of Bu- 
 cyrus township, Crawford county, O., where 
 he carries on modern agriculture on his farm 
 of 94 acres and operates additionally the 257 
 acres belonging to his mother-in-law, Mrs. 
 Ellen McKinstry, was born in Crawford 
 county, Dec. 19, 1878, and is a son of Isaac 
 and Margaret Ellen (Berry) Schiefer. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Schiefer were bom in 
 Crawford county, where they still reside, the 
 father being a farmer. They have the follow- 
 ing children: George W., James W., Weldon 
 S., Cordelia, Moody L., Grace J., and Mary. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Schiefer are members of the 
 Evangelical church. 
 
 George W. Schiefer completed the common 
 school course and then became a student in the 
 Ohio Northern University at Ada, O., after 
 which he taught school for eight terms during 
 the winter time while he devoted his summers 
 to the farm. Since then he has given all his 
 attention to his agricultural pursuits, doing 
 general farming and being an extensive stock 
 raiser, keeping only good grades and finding a 
 ready market. 
 
 Mr. Schiefer was married Oct. 2, 1901, to 
 Miss Mary E. McKinstry, the only child of 
 William Thomas and Ellen (Warner) Mc- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 907 
 
 Kinstry. The mother of Mrs. Schiefer sur- 
 vives but her father died in 190 1, leaving a 
 large estate. Mr. and Mrs. Schiefer and Mrs. 
 McKinstry attend the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Politically he is a Republican but has 
 never accepted any public office although well 
 qualified for the same, being an educated, well 
 balanced, reliable man. 
 
 HENRY R. KURRLEY,* a representative 
 business man of Gallon, 0.,-junior member of 
 the firm of Evans & Kurrley, proprietors of the 
 Boston Street Grocery House and also con- 
 ducting a store at Delaware, O., was born in 
 the latter city, Jan. 2, 1879, and is a son of 
 William and Fannie (Wittinger) Kurrley. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kurrley were born in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany. They were young 
 when they came to America and were reared 
 near Delaware, O., where they married and 
 now live in comfortable retirement. In 1859 
 William Kurrley started in the grocery busi- 
 ness at Delaware and continued active in the 
 trade until 1895, when he sold to his son, 
 Leopold D., and the business is continued at 
 the old stand. Mr. Kurrley and wife are both 
 in their middle seventies but are hearty and 
 well and there is promise of many years before 
 them. All their seven children survive and 
 four of these have domestic circles of their 
 own. 
 
 Henry R. Kurrley was reared and educated 
 at Delaware and learned the grocery business 
 in his father's store. In October, 1898, Mr. 
 Kurrley and Mr. Evans, the latter of whom 
 was born at Delaware in 1873, came to Gallon 
 and purchased the Boston street store from J. 
 E. Gelsanliter and have conducted it success- 
 fully ever since and subsequently bought the 
 Delaware store, which Mr. Evans mainly man- 
 ages. Both partners are young men of energy, 
 discretion and enterprise and conduct their 
 large volume of business along honorable lines, 
 such as have won them the confidence and 
 patronage of the public. 
 
 ;,^t Delaware, O., Mr. Kurrley was married 
 to Miss Amelia L. Osterly, who was born, 
 reared and educated in that city. They have 
 one daughter, Edna A., who was born at Dela- 
 ware, April 28, 1898, and is now attending 
 school at Gallon. Mr. and Mrs. Kurrley are 
 members of the German Lutheran church. 
 
 Politically he is a Democrat. The firm of 
 Evans & Kurrley has membership in the Com- 
 mercial Club in this city. 
 
 MISS INEZ MILLER, who has been a 
 teacher in the public schools of Gallon, O., 
 since 1889, and has been interested in and 
 identified with the remarkable advancement in 
 educational matters in this section during this 
 time, belongs to Gallon, for here she was born, 
 reared and educated and here has found her 
 chosen field of work. She is a daughter of 
 Charles R. Miller and a granddaughter of 
 Charles and Mary (Riblet) Miller. 
 
 Charles Miller, the grandfather, was born in 
 Pennsylvania and was young when he accom- 
 panied his parents to Richland county, O. 
 Later he married Mary Riblet, a daughter of 
 Daniel Riblet, who had also moved to Rich- 
 land county, from Pennsylvania. Daniel Rib- 
 let was a school teacher and later owned and 
 operated a stage coach line between Gallon and 
 Mansfield, with headquarters six miles east of 
 Gallon. For some years he was postmaster of 
 Gallon and was active in politics, serving in the 
 state legislature. After marriage, Charles Mil- 
 ler and wife lived for a time in Ashland county 
 and then settled in Sandusky township, Rich- 
 land county, on a farm adjoining that of the 
 Riblets, and remained there until their death, 
 when aged about 75 years. They were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church. Of their four 
 children who reached maturity, all married and 
 three sons survive : Charles R., William W. 
 and Henry F., the two younger brothers still 
 living on the old homestead. 
 
 Charles R. Miller was born in Ashland 
 county, O., and was reared on the home farm. 
 Afterward he served as assistant postmaster at 
 Gallon and later became a landscape decorator 
 and artist. He was married at Crestline to 
 Miss Mary Lowe, who was born in Denbeigh- 
 shire, Wales, and when ten years old accom- 
 panied her sister Elizabeth to the United States 
 to join their step-father and guardian, Charles 
 Charlton, who formerly was well known in 
 railroad circles in the United States and Can- 
 ada. To Charles R. Miller and wife the fol- 
 lowing children were born : Mary, who is the 
 wife of J. H. Barr, residing at Galion, Mr. 
 Barr being a rural mail carrier, they having 
 three children — Jessie, Howard and Ruth; 
 
908 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Inez L. ; Albert E., who is a merchant at Cleve- 
 land; and William H., who is in commercial 
 art work at St. Louis, Mo., and who married 
 Margaret DeNaux. 
 
 Miss Inez Miller was creditably graduated 
 from the Galion High School in 1887 and be- 
 gan teaching in 1889, and for the past four 
 years has been, also, elementary superintendent 
 of the Crawford County Sunday School Asso- 
 ciation. She is so eminently a teacher and so 
 thoroughly qualified in every way to be an in- 
 structor, that her availability is recognized 
 wherever educational work is proposed and on 
 many occasions she has been tendered positions 
 of responsibility. While she is progressive and 
 ambitious yet she is careful and understanding 
 and the advancement made by her pupils is on 
 a sound foundation. She is well known in the 
 city's pleasant social life and, with the other 
 members of her family, belongs to the English 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 MRS. FRANCES CRUM, a well known 
 and highly esteemed resident of Liberty town- 
 ship, Crawford county, C, residing on her well 
 improved farm of 90 acres, was born in Lib- 
 erty township and is a daughter of the late 
 Abraham Grogg, and the widow of D. O. 
 Crum. 
 
 D. O. Crum was born in Dauphin county. 
 Pa., and was brought in childhood to Craw- 
 ford county, his father locating in Liberty 
 township. He grew to manhood ^on his 
 father's farm and helped to clear and cultivate 
 it, in the meanwhile attending the district 
 schools and acquiring a fair knowledge of 
 books. For some three years after his mar- 
 riage, he worked his father-in-law's farm and 
 then settled on the property now owned by his 
 widow and here he lived as a busy and con- 
 tented farmer until his death, March 27, 1896, 
 at the age of 45 years. In everything pertain- 
 ing to this property he felt an interest and con- 
 tinued to make improvements which included 
 the erection of new and substantial buildings. 
 He was widely known and much resjjected. 
 
 In 1 87 1 D. O. Crum and Frances Grogg 
 were united in marriage. Her father, Abra- 
 ham Grogg, was born in Pennsylvania but 
 spent the larger part of his life in Crawford 
 county. Seven children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Crum, namely: Chester C, who lives at 
 
 Mansfield, O. ; Maude, who is the wife of I. 
 W. Rodgers, who resides at Bucyrus and has 
 three children — David, Donald and Mildred; 
 E. L., who rharried Emma Loyer, and lives in 
 the western part of Liberty township and who 
 has three children — Lawrence, Opal and Alice ; 
 Estella, who is deceased; Fred, who resides 
 with his mother; Lulu, who married Howard 
 Gwinner, and has two children — Elmer and 
 Josephine; and McKinley, who lives at home. 
 Mrs. Crum and family belong to the United 
 Brethren church. Mr. Crum was a Republican 
 in politics but he was a quiet, peaceful man and 
 never sought office nor engaged in political 
 campaigns. 
 
 CLAUDE B. SHARER, superintendent of 
 the sales department of the American Clay 
 Machinery Company of Bucyrus, O., has been 
 connected with this branch of one of the large 
 industries of the city since 1904, coming from 
 Philadelphia, Pa. Mr. Sharer was born July 
 30, 1871, at Delaware, O., and is a son of 
 George W. Sharer, whose name has been car- 
 ried to many sections of this and other coun- 
 tries as the inventor of modern brickmaking 
 machinery. He was also a valiant soldier in 
 the Union Army during the Civil War, a mem- 
 ber of Co. C, 40th O. Vol. Inf. He was the 
 patentee of the Sharer Brick-Dryer. 
 
 Claude B. Sharer was educated in the public 
 schools of Terre Haute, Ind., and then became 
 interested in brick machinery with his father, 
 and 20 years of his active life was devoted to 
 introducing and establishing modern brick 
 plants with improved machinery. He is a prac- 
 tical brick man and probably is as well known 
 in that trade as any man in the country, of his 
 age, and has also had foreign experience, hav- 
 ing visited the great brick centers of Europe 
 and introduced the Sharer and other patents. 
 For some time before coming to Bucyrus he 
 had maintained his headquarters at Philadel- 
 phia, which is one of the greatest brick mak- 
 ing centers of the country. His long experi- 
 ence as sales manager has made him a man .^ 
 great value to his present company and he has 
 charge of all the selling interests of this 
 concern. 
 
 Mr. Sharer was married in 1895, at Phil- 
 adelphia, to Miss Laetitia Call, who was born 
 at Philadelphia, a daughter of Morris Call, and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 909 
 
 they have four children : Beryl W., Claude B., 
 Jr., Harvey B. and Morris C, their ages rang- 
 ing from fourteen to eight years, and all are 
 pupils in the public schools. Mr. Sharer is a 
 Republican but no politician, nor is he addicted 
 to the club habit. His family, his home and 
 his business afford him contentment. 
 
 JACOB HILDEBRAND,* whose excel- 
 lent farm of 30 acres lies in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., has resided 
 here since 1907 and was born in Liberty town- 
 ship, Crawford county, Feb. 14, .1851, a son 
 of John and Margaret (Rapp) Hildebrand. 
 
 John Hildebrand was born in Germany and 
 died in Liberty township, Crawford county, O. 
 By trade he was a butcher and he also followed 
 farming and was a well known man in his day 
 in his neighborhood. He married Margaret 
 Rapp, who was born in Pennsylvania and both 
 are now deceased. The following children 
 were born to them : Solomon, George, Mary, 
 Emanuel, Jacob, Christian, Matilda, John, and 
 Sophia, the last named being the wife of Terry 
 Tupps. Mary, who is now deceased, was the 
 wife of John Green, and Matilda is the wife of 
 John Sheeley. 
 
 Jacob Hildebrand obtained his education in 
 the schools of Liberty township and farming 
 has occupied a large part of his time since then, 
 although he has also been engaged in saw-mill 
 work and also has traveled with a threshing 
 machine in the threshing seasons. Prior to 
 coming to Whetstone township he had lived 
 for three years in Cranberry township and five 
 years in Auburn township, and in the latter 
 served as road supervisor and as school di- 
 rector. He has always been an industrious 
 man and is one who enjoys the respect of his 
 neighbors. 
 
 In September, 1884, Mr. Hildebrand was 
 married to Miss Maria Utz, who was born in 
 Canada, a daughter of Frederick and Gertrude 
 (Hirnlein) Utz, natives of Germany. Mrs. 
 Hildebrand has two brothers and one sister: 
 Daniel, Augustus and Louisa. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hildebrand have four children, namely : Fred- 
 erick, who married Delia Kile ; Florence ; Har- 
 vey, who married Mabel Raiser; and Paul. 
 Mr. Hildebrand has the assistance of his sons 
 Florence and Paul on the home farm. The 
 family belongs to the German Lutheran church 
 
 at Bucyrus. Mr. Hildebrand and son are 
 Democrats in politics. 
 
 REV. THOMAS J. MONNETT, 1826- 
 190 1. From pioneer days to the present time 
 the Monnett family has been numerously and 
 honorably represented in the financial, educa- 
 tional and religious life of Crawford county. 
 
 Isaac Monnett was the first of the name to 
 arrive. In 1828 with his wife, Elizabeth Pit- 
 tinger Morris Monnett, and their family of 
 adult children, including a step-son, Jeremiah 
 Morris, he located on section 36, Bucyrus 
 township, four and a half miles south of the 
 county seat. The married children later 
 located on adjacent lands. They were indus- 
 trious, thrifty and religious people and while 
 seeking personal and family advancement, ever 
 had in mind the public welfare. Almost co- 
 existent with a place of abode for himself and 
 family, provision was made for religious serv- 
 ices at his home, which was continued until 
 better facilities could be arranged. 
 
 In 1835, the Rev. Jeremiah Monnett, a 
 brother of the above, arrived and located in 
 the vicinity near what is now Monnett Memor- 
 ial chapel. His family was composed of his 
 wife Aley (Elsie) Slagle Monnett and a num- 
 ber of adult children, most of whom after mar- 
 riage settled in the locality and thus in a brief 
 period of time a large element of desirable 
 citizens was implanted in the community. 
 
 These brothers had come from Pickaway 
 county, O., and were respectively the oldest 
 and youngest sons in a large family born to 
 Abraham and Ann (Hillary) Monnett, pio- 
 neers from Virginia to Pickaway county, O., 
 at the beginning of the last century. 
 
 For generations a tradition had been held 
 that the family had descended from Huguenot 
 refugees, who left the "vine-clad hills and 
 sunny vales" of their beloved France upon the 
 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and fled to 
 England and some of them afterward to 
 America, establishing themselves in Virginia 
 and Maryland from whence descendants emi- 
 grated to Pickaway county, O., and in 1828 
 and 183 s some of them to Crawford county, 
 as stated. 
 
 Within the past two years, a family history, 
 entitled : "Monnett Family Geneaology, A 
 Huguenot Lineage," has been compiled and 
 
910 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 edited by the Hon. Orra Eugene Monnett, 
 formerly of Bucyrus, O., but now of Los 
 Angeles, California. He brought to his task 
 an equipment, well-nigh perfect for such, an 
 undertaking — ^youth, health, enthusiasm, broad 
 culture, including a legal training and ample 
 financial resources to cover all expenses of 
 travel and necessary investigation to insure ut- 
 most accuracy in the history. Traveling, per- 
 sonally, over the grounds of the various re- 
 movals and migrations in America, back to 
 England and France, searching records, muster 
 rolls, records of historical societies, by such 
 earnest, devoted and intelligent services unre- 
 mittingly applied for several years, aided by 
 an able corps of expert assistants and contrib- 
 utors, he has established, incontrovertibly, 
 that the traditions were founded upon fact — 
 that the family belonged to the nobility, eligible 
 to the use of a coat-of-arms, with a most sig- 
 nificant motto : "Florens suo orbe Monet," and 
 in the services of ancestors in the land of their 
 refuge, in colonial and revolutionary days, en- 
 titled their descendants to qualify as Sons of 
 Colonial Wars, Colonial Dames, Sons and 
 Daughters of the American Revolution, Mem- 
 bers of the Huguenot Society of America, etc. 
 In view of this interesting and honorable in- 
 heritance, it is hoped, there will be nothing of 
 the parvenu in the kindred of this and later 
 times; and it is trusted, that fidelity to prin- 
 ciple; incorruptible integrity; self-sacrifice and 
 strong self-reliance which has made the name 
 honorable, down the centuries, wherever rep- 
 resentatives have lived for a considerable time, 
 will have an inspiring effect upon descendants 
 to live up to high ideals of life. 
 
 It is the object of this sketch to present, in 
 brief review, one of the representative mem- 
 bers of this family — the Reverend Thomas 
 Jefferson Monnett, the youngest son and thir- 
 teenth child born to the Rev. Jeremiah and 
 Aley (Elsie) Monnett. 
 
 He was born in Pickaway county, 0., Jan. 
 i6, 1826. In 1835, he came to Crawford 
 county, 0., with his parents, where they lo- 
 cated four and a half miles south of Bucyrus. 
 Here he grew to manhood. He early evi- 
 denced a keen intellect, a fine gift of language 
 and other endowments which gave promise of 
 a successful professional career. Officials of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church, which he had 
 
 joined in his boyhood, soon recognized his fit- 
 ness for the Christian ministry in her com- 
 munion, and at eighteen years of age, he was 
 licensed to exhort, and recommended for ad- 
 vancement in the ministry. His father, also 
 had noted with interest and pleasure the same 
 evidences of "a call to preach" and in further- 
 ance of a good foundation for the work had 
 the son read Clarke's Commentaries on the 
 Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. 
 This was mainly done in winter evenings. 
 Meanwhile, young Monnett taught the district 
 school, worked on the farm, attended a select 
 school in the neighborhood and for a time, the 
 Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio. 
 As the "fields were white to the harvest and the 
 laborers few," those in authority urged him to 
 enter at once, the active ministerial ranks and 
 trust to and utilize his opportunities for acquir- 
 ing academic knowledge while fulfilHng his 
 studies as a minister. This unwise policy made 
 his later work unduly hard and had much to 
 do with enfeebling his constitution, which had 
 never been robust. 
 
 Mr. Monnett joined the North Ohio Confer- 
 ence of the Methodist Episcopal church in 
 1852 and for the full period of time, served 
 successively, in the following order: Melmore 
 Circuit, Fostoria, Kenton, Upper Sandusky, 
 Latimberville Circuit, which at the time em- 
 braced a wide area and contained nine appoint- 
 ments. He was an extremely hard worker in 
 his pastorates, conducting revivals and church 
 building or repairing enterprises in all of them. 
 Finally, in the rigorous winter of 1860-61, 
 after an unusually prolonged series of meet- 
 ings, at most of the appoinments on the large 
 circuit, his health became seriously impaired, 
 especially from a siege of acute bronchitis. 
 This trouble afterward became chronic and 
 compelled his retirement from the active min- 
 istry. In taking up secular work from 1864 
 to the time of his death he was ever ready to 
 answer the calls of the church when health per- 
 mitted. He never ceased to regard the min- 
 istry as his calling and on the testimony of one, 
 who knew conditions better than anyone else, 
 his secular activities were largely incidental 
 and not studied voluntary business enterprises, 
 as business men pursue them. 
 
 The many calls for services at quarterly 
 meetings, Sunday-school conventions, farmers' 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 911 
 
 institutes, temperance and many other organi- 
 zations met with a ready response, if possible, 
 and his services were in recjuisition to the time 
 of his fatal illness. At that time he was clos- 
 ing his thirteenth consecutive year as president 
 of the Crawford County Sunday-school Asso- 
 ciation and held official relations to other relig- 
 ious and moral organizations. 
 
 Mr. Monnett's ministerial services were 
 without financial consideration, no moneyed re- 
 w ard excepting the occasional wedding fee 
 came to him, and no minister, in the region of 
 his residence rendered so much gratuitous min- 
 isterial service and for the long period of his 
 life, few, if any, were so popular. He could 
 only cope with his chronic malady by leading 
 an out-of-door life, so he continued on his 
 farm and by this course he maintained a fair 
 average of health and accomplished a larger 
 measure of work for the Master's Kingdom 
 than would otherwise have been possible. 
 
 In his secular work he was for twenty years 
 head of the woolen mills of Bucyrus ; for eigh- 
 teen years president of the Bucyrus Gas com- 
 pany, and principal owner of the plant; at the 
 same time he was interested in banking and 
 stock-raising and engaged in looking after his 
 landed estate. He spurned all sham methods 
 of accumulating wealth and in commercial and 
 business circles, his word was as good as his 
 bond. 
 
 His own accjuaintance with the hardships of 
 the business world, on account of the fluctua- 
 tions of the markets and the intricacies and 
 uncertainties of trade, greatly broadened his 
 sympathies for business men and they under- 
 stood and honored him for it. 
 
 Notwithstanding his attention given to 
 church and educational work he amassed a 
 comfortable fortune as well as endowing his 
 children with a liberal education and financial 
 opportunities. 
 
 Mr. Monnett died of bronchitis at his home 
 in Bucyrus, O., May lo, 1901, in the seventy- 
 sixth year of his age and was buried in Mon- 
 nett cemetery. His last sickness indicated a 
 complication of diseases, but an autopsy re- 
 vealed all organs normal but the bronchial sys- 
 tem and bronchitis was therefore the primary 
 cause of his death. 
 
 Thomas J. Monnett was married Oct. 17, 
 T847, to Miss Henrietta Johnston, daughter of 
 
 Esquire Thomas D. and Martha (Walton) 
 Johnston, wealthy and highly respected pio- 
 neers of Marion county, O. Seven children 
 were born of this union; two of them, Webster 
 and Agnes J., died in infancy. John Gilbert, 
 "Bertie," died in his young manhood, March 
 26, 1879. A daughter, Mrs. Effie Monnett 
 Bennett, in the early prime of a noble and most 
 beautiful womanhood, died Oct. 27, 1898, leav- 
 ing a husband, Hon. Smith W. Bennett and 
 two children, Hugh Monnett and Grace Liz- 
 etta. Mr. Bennett, who is a highly successful 
 lawyer and who was for ten years special coun- 
 sel in the attorney-general's office at Columbus, 
 by a second marriage, this time to Miss Anna 
 Drought, a beautiful and accomplished lady, 
 well-fitted for such a position, has had his 
 home sweetly reestablished and with his fam- 
 ily is living at Columbus, O. 
 
 The oldest surviving son, Orin Bruce, mar- 
 ried Anna - Hoffman, daughter of Charles and 
 Catharine (Snyder) Hoffman and they have 
 two children, Ethel and Bessie, both married. 
 Mr. Monnett is in the real estate business and 
 the family home is at Conroe, Montgomery 
 county, Texas. William Arthur married 
 Annetta Boyer, daughter of Joshua and Char- 
 lotte (Slough) Boyer and they have three chil- 
 dren, Kay, Grace and Charlotte. Kay married 
 Harriet Homes and they are the parents of six 
 children. William Arthur Monnett and fam- 
 ily live on the old homestead on the Sandusky 
 Pike. 
 
 Francis Sylvester, graduate of the O. W. U. 
 and National Law School, Washington, D. C. ; 
 was twice attorney-general of Ohio ; practicing 
 now in all the courts including supreme court 
 of the United States; married Ellen Kate 
 Gormly, daughter of James B. and Virginia 
 (Qwingley) Gormly and their home is at 
 Columbus, O. 
 
 The devoted, faithful wife, and mother of 
 this family, Mrs. Henrietta Monnett, lived 
 with her husband during his active ministry 
 and was a constant inspiration to him and the 
 work. She was ever honored and greatly be- 
 loved by all who made her acquaintance. Her 
 useful life came to a close, Nov. 20, 1871. 
 
 Mr. Monnett was twice married. His sec- 
 ond union was with Miss Sarah Rexroth, M. 
 S., a daughter of John Nicholas and Anna 
 Maria (Rittmann) Rexroth, a graduate of 
 
912 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Mount Union college and late principal of the 
 Bucyrus high school. She brought with her 
 into the family life a rich Christian experience, 
 a well-trained intellect and a mind and heart 
 full of noble inspirations. She gave the best 
 years of her life to the rearing of the family 
 and fitting them for the serious duties of life 
 and training them for high school and college 
 education along with her other arduous family 
 duties. She fully sympathized with her hus- 
 band in his religious activities and ever strove 
 to make his work successful. She was a de- 
 voted companion to Mr. Monnett in his de- 
 clining years. 
 
 The family home had been in Bucyrus, a 
 number of years before Mr. Monnett's death 
 and here Mrs. Monnett became identified with 
 various activities, helping to establish the Cur- 
 rent Events Club and in earlier years the for- 
 eign and home missionary societies of the First 
 M. E. church, and in recent years W. F. M. 
 society at Monnett Memorial Chapel; was one 
 of the nine women incorporators of the Bucy- 
 rus public library and served as trustee, was 
 chairman of the building committee of Mon- 
 nett Memorial Chapel and administered her 
 husband's estate. Mrs. Monnett lives at 
 Bucyrus, O. 
 
 ALBERT RENSCH,* market gardener and 
 proprietor of the Renschville Greenhouses, lo- 
 cated just outside the city limits of Galion, O., 
 is carrying on a business which was established 
 43 years ago by his late father, Jacob Rensch. 
 Albert Rensch was born July i, 1863, in the 
 large brick house which was erected here in 
 18^3, and is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth 
 (Deinkeldein) Rensch. 
 
 Jacob Rensch was born in Baden, Germany, 
 in 1828, and in 1833 accompanied his parents 
 to the United States, they locating on the pres- 
 ent site of the Renschville plant, just outside 
 of Galion, it then being covered with native 
 timber and entirely a wilderness. They had 
 two sons and one daughter: Jacob, Frederick 
 and Martha, all of whom are now deceased, 
 the death of Jacob Rensch occurring May 17, 
 1903. On the portion of the home land which 
 became his, he started a market garden and as 
 he prospered, enlarged the scope of his busi- 
 ness and in i88g built the first hot house. He 
 had a natural leaning in the direction and built 
 
 up a large business which he continued to be 
 interested in as long as he lived. He married 
 Elizabeth Deinkeldein, who was born in Hesse- 
 Darmstadt, Germany, and was seven years old 
 when her parents, Peter and Martha Dein- 
 keldein, came to Ohio and located near the 
 Rensch land, under similar conditions. She 
 survived until April 23, 1900. Jacob Rensch 
 and wife were members of the German Re- 
 formed church. Of their family of ten chil- 
 dren all survive except one, Clara, who died at 
 the age of 17 years, the others being: Henry, 
 Edward, Janet, Frank, Albert, Emma, Mary, 
 Emanuel and Amanda, all of whom have mar- 
 ried with the exception of Albert and all are 
 residents of Crawford county. 
 
 Albert Rensch with his brothers and sisters 
 attended the country schools and willingly gave 
 his father assistance in his farming and gar- 
 dening, having a taste in this direction, and 
 before his father's death became the practical 
 manager of the business. Since the property 
 became his own he has made many changes, 
 tearing down the old buildings and erecting 
 five greenhouses in which he has installed 
 modern equipments and carries on his under- 
 taking in a scientific way. He is a good busi- 
 ness man and a representative citizen, being a 
 member of the Commercial Club. With his 
 brothers he is identified with the Democratic 
 party, and with the other members of his fam- 
 ily, was confirmed in the Reformed church. 
 He has assistants in his brothers and they cul- 
 tivate 63 acres and in the greenhouses have 
 12,000 feet of glass and in the spring their 
 trade is very heavy, shipping their forced 
 plants to outside points, while their local trade 
 is very satisfactory. 
 
 JOSEPH HEINLE. One of the substan- 
 tial old families of Holmes township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., is the Heinle family and a 
 member of the same, Joseph Heinle, lives on 
 the old homestead which his father acquired as 
 wild land, some 60 years ago. Mr. Heinle 
 was born on this farm of 94 acres, which lies 
 four miles west of Bucyrus, May 26, 1857, and 
 is a son of John G. and Maria (Leittz) Heinle. 
 
 John G. Heinle was born in i8ig in Ger- 
 many and came to Crawford county, O., in 
 1837, engaged first in farming in Bucyrus 
 township and then came to Holmes township 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 913 
 
 and bought the present place. To the develop- 
 ment and improvement of this property he de- 
 voted many years of life and lived into old age, 
 dying in 1899, when 80 years old, his wife sur- 
 viving to be 75 years of age. They had eight 
 children, namely: Eliza, who is the wife of 
 Adam Brown; Frances, who lives in Bucyrus 
 township; George, who also lives in Bucyrus 
 township; Mrs. Kate Gibson, of Oceola, O. ; 
 Mrs. Mary Ann Meyers, of Van Wert, O. ; 
 John and Philip, both of whom live in Bucyrus 
 township; and Joseph. 
 
 Joseph Heinle obtained his education in the 
 schools of Crawford county and ever since has 
 been engaged in farm pursuits on the old home- 
 stead which he purchased. In addition to gen- 
 eral farming and some fruit raising he gives 
 attention to stock raising to a moderate degree, 
 and through his systematic methods produces 
 fine returns. 
 
 Mr. Heinle married Miss Emma Snavely, a 
 daughter of David Snavely and they have had 
 four children: Kate, who married Moses 
 Steiger, and has one daughter, Valeria ; Agnes ; 
 Mary and Stella, the youngest daughter being 
 deceased. Mr. Heinle and family belong to the 
 Martin Luther church in Tod township. In 
 politics he is a Democrat and has served in the 
 office of road supervisor. 
 
 JOHN GRAU, who owns 113 acres of finely 
 improved land situated three and one-half 
 miles northeast of Bucyrus, O., in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, is a careful and 
 competent farmer and has every reason to feel 
 satisfied with his agricultural success. He was 
 born in 1870, in Tuscarawas county, O., one 
 of a family of nine children born to his par- 
 ents, who were Gottlieb and Dora (Esterley) 
 Grau. Two of the children died in infancy, 
 but the following survive : John ; George, who 
 married Mary Crall, lives near Bucyrus ; Jacob, 
 who lives in Marion county, O., married Mary 
 Scherer; Edward, who lives two miles south 
 of Bucyrus, and married Anna Wise; Albert, 
 who lives at Cleveland; Mary, who is the wife 
 of Frederick Metzger, of Bucyrus ; and Emma, 
 who resides at Cleveland. 
 
 John Grau had the usual district school ad- 
 vantages of a farmer's son and very early be- 
 came acquainted with many of the practical 
 facts that are foundation stones in successful 
 
 farming. After purchasing the property on 
 which he lives he did considerable improving 
 and has one of the most valuable and attractive 
 farms in this section. 
 
 Mr. Grau married Miss Rachel McCullough, 
 who is a daughter of Thomas and Mary (Mc- 
 Cleland) McCullough, and they have two chil- 
 dren, Louise and Earl. Mr. Grau and family 
 are members of the Presbyterian church. He 
 is identified with the Democratic party but 
 takes no very active part in public matters. He 
 is interested, however, in having good schools 
 and good laws concerning the construction and 
 repair of the public highways, as becomes a 
 good citizen. 
 
 J. BERT ROBINSON,* one of the enter- 
 prising and active business men of Gallon, a 
 member of the transportation firm of Walford 
 & Robinson, proprietors of the Central Deliv- 
 ery company, with business stand on Ware- 
 house Alley, Gallon, was born in Polk town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., Jan. 23, 1876, and 
 is a son of J. Chalmer and Emma Robinson. 
 
 Hon. James Robinson, grandfather of J. 
 Bert Robinson, was born in Pennsylvania but 
 spent the greater part of his active life in 
 Crawford county, where he became a man of 
 large estate and considerable political prom- 
 inence, for years being a public official and a 
 member of the state legislature. He was the 
 founder of the thriving village of North Rob- 
 inson. His death occured at Gallon, when he 
 was 75 years of age. His son, J. Chalmer 
 Robinson, was born in Crawford county and 
 has been a successful farmer for many years, 
 in 1885 moving to North Bloomfield township. 
 Morrow county, where he now resides. His 
 family consists of four sons : James H., a prac- 
 ticing physician at Selma, Calif., who married 
 there and has one daughter; J. Bert, our sub- 
 ject; Richard W., a civil and mechanical en- 
 gineer with the American Bridge company, at 
 Chicago, who has one son; and Karl, a pro- 
 fessional ball-player with the Western League, 
 who has his home at Omaha, Nebr., and has 
 one daughter. 
 
 J. Bert Robinson attended school at Gallon 
 and later was a student in the Tri-State Nor- 
 mal school, at Angola, Ind., and at Ada, O., 
 and for a time taught school and very success- 
 fully. He then turned his attention to rail- 
 
914 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 reading and for ten years was fireman and 
 later engineer on the Erie railway, leaving the 
 road to embark in his present business and in 
 partnership with Mr. Walford has been pro- 
 prietor and half owner of the Central Delivery 
 Company here, succeeding the Central Deliv- 
 ery Company, a corporation. This company is 
 well equipped, having nine wagons and nine 
 drays, for the accommodation of the mer- 
 chants. They have so systemized the work by 
 dividing the city into five routes, their schedule 
 being for five daily deliveries of merchandise, 
 that both the public and the merchants are ad- 
 mirably served. 
 
 Mr. Robinson was married in Morrow 
 county, O., to Miss Ella Walford, who was 
 born, reared and educated there, and is a sister 
 of K. J. Walford, Mr. Robinson's partner. 
 Mr. Walford is in the transfer and dray busi- 
 ness, at Ashland, O. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson 
 have three sons : B. Austin, a manly lad of 
 eleven years ; J. Harold, aged nine years ; and 
 Clarence W., who is five years old. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Robinson are members of the Christian 
 church. He is a Democrat in his political 
 views but his tastes lie more in the direction of 
 business than politics. 
 
 O. J. KELLER, who is engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business at Sulphur Springs, Crawford 
 county, C, is one of the substantial citizens of 
 Liberty township and is an honorable veteran 
 of the great Civil War. He was born in North- 
 ampton county. Pa., in 1843, and is a son of 
 Joseph and Lavina Keller. There were 1 1 chil- 
 dren in the family, namely: O. J.; Jeremiah, 
 who lives in Pennsylvania; Josiah, who is de- 
 ceased; Reuben, who died at Lindsay, O., and 
 who was a Reformed Lutheran minister; Mary 
 Katherine, who is deceased; John H. and Ma- 
 tilda, both of whom died young, and four who 
 died in infancy. 
 
 O. J. Keller remained at home through his 
 school period and afterward until the age of 
 18 years, when he enlisted for service in the 
 Civil War, becoming a member of Co. C, 49th 
 O. Vol. Inf., under his cousin, Captain Keller, 
 and Colonel Gibson, and served from Aug. 15, 
 1 86 1, until his honorable discharge in Texas, in 
 November, 1865. He has a bright war record 
 which proves that he was ever at his post of 
 duty and participated in the hardships and dan- 
 
 gers of his comrades on every occasion. He 
 took part in the battles of Shiloh, Stone River, 
 Chickamauga, Nashville, Missionary Ridge 
 and the entire Atlanta campaign. At the bat- 
 tle of Stone River he was captured by the Con- 
 federates but was paroled six months after- 
 ward and later rejoined his regiment. 
 
 After his military service was over, Mr. 
 Keller returned to Crawford county and em- 
 barked in the mercantile business at Sulphur 
 Springs in which he has been engaged ever 
 since! He has invested in village property and 
 farm land in the vicinity and has additional 
 business interests. He belongs to the Grand 
 Army of the Republic and is held in high re- 
 gard by his brother veterans. Mr. Keller is a 
 life member of the Reformed church. 
 
 WESLEY BEAL, a substantial citizen of' 
 Crawford county, O., proprietor of a produc- 
 tive farm near Bucyrus, is president of the 
 Crawford County Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
 pany and is active in all public spirited move- 
 ments in his section. He belongs to a very 
 highly regarded old family of this part of 
 Ohio, one that has many representatives. He 
 was born in Bucyrus township, Crawford 
 county, March 10, 1865, and is a son of Ben- 
 jamin and a grandson of John George, and a 
 great-grandson of John George Beal. 
 
 Benjamin Beal was born in Lycoming 
 county. Pa., in 1840, and in 1843 accompanied 
 the family to Crawford county, where he was 
 reared and attended school to such good pur- 
 pose that he was a satisfactory teacher in early 
 manhood, afterward becoming a farmer and 
 when he moved to Bucyrus, in 1889, in order 
 to give his children better educational oppor- 
 tunities, he was the owner of two valuable 
 farms. Here he shortly afterward became sec- 
 retary of the Crawford County Mutual Fire 
 Insurance company, an office he retained until 
 the close of his life, in 1898. He was a Re- 
 publican in politics and was interested in the 
 election of suitable men to office but he never 
 countenanced irregular methods in that con- 
 nection nor in any other. He was known as an 
 honest and upright man. He was one of the 
 organizers of Bucyrus Grange, No. 705, and 
 was master and secretary for some years, and 
 was identified also with the Masons and the 
 order of the Eastern Star. In early life he wa-s 
 
PHILIP CRAMER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 917 
 
 a member of the German Methodist church but 
 at the time of death and some years before, he 
 was united with the EngHsh Methodist Episco- 
 pal church and was an official. He was also 
 secretary of the Crawford County Agricultural 
 Society for many years. 
 
 Benjamin Beal was married first in Bucyrus 
 township, Crawford county, to Mary Stoltz, 
 who was born in Whetstone township, her peo- 
 ple having come to this county from Pennsyl- 
 vania three generations ago. She died in iS68, 
 and in 1870 Mr. Beal was married to Lydia A. 
 Rexroth, who died in 1889, the mother of eight 
 children, the following of whom survive : Ben- 
 jamin, Jr., who lives in Bucyrus township and 
 has three childreh; Mary A., a graduate of the 
 Delaware University, who is the wife of Rev. 
 Thomas Housel, a minister in the Methodist 
 Episcopal church at DelaA\are and has two 
 children; Edward G., a graduate of the law 
 department in the Delaware University, who is 
 cashier of the First National Bank at Bucyrus, 
 and who married Rachel Monnett; William D., 
 who has but recently returned from a mission- 
 ary labor of seven years in India, being a 
 Methodist minister and. who married a daugh- 
 ter of Bishop Robinson, a missionary of the 
 Methodist church in India; and Bertha E., who 
 is a graduate of the Delaware University and 
 later a teacher in the Bucyrus High School. 
 To the first marriage of Mr. Beal three chil- 
 dren were born: Albertj Wesley and Emma. 
 The eldest son died in 1908. He was a grad- 
 uate of the Ohio Wesleyan University at Del- 
 aware and then spent four years in the Boston 
 Theological Seminary and subsequently served 
 the Methodist Episcopal church as a minister 
 for eight years in Massachusetts and then was 
 transferred to Ohio and continued in his relig- 
 ious, work until his death. He married Mary 
 McCully, who survives and resides with her 
 father at Crestline, 'and has one daughter, Bea- 
 trice. Emma, the only daughter, is the wife of 
 Charles E. Ensminger and they live on the old 
 Beal homestead. Their children are Gertrude, 
 Arthur and Edgar. 
 
 Wesley Beal, after completing his education, 
 turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. 
 In 1903 he purchased one of the Beal farms 
 and since then has carried on farming and 
 stock raising. For a number of years he has 
 been a director of the Crawford- County Mut- 
 
 ual Fire Insurance company and since igiohas 
 been its president. He is one of the influential 
 Republicans of the county and is a man of high 
 standing in business and politics, as well as 
 personally. 
 
 In 1888 Mr. Beal was married in Bucyrus 
 township to Miss Eva Beall, born in 1868, a 
 daughter of James P. and Mary A. (Keckler) 
 Beall, natives of Harrison County, O. They 
 came to Crawford county some 50 years ago 
 and settled in Bucyrus township, where he be- 
 came a man of consequence. He died in 1904 
 and was survived by his widow until 191 1. 
 They were members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Of their nine children, two died 
 in infancy, seven grew to maturity and five are 
 yet living. To Mr. and Mrs. Beal the follow- 
 ing children have been born: Ruth M., Dorsey 
 A., E. Naomi and James B. The family as a 
 unit, belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. 
 
 PHILIP CRAMER, who is one of Craw- 
 ford county's (substantial 'citizens '{and well 
 known and highly respected men, resides on 
 one of his seven farms, his home being located 
 in section 6, Auburn township. He was bom 
 on this farm. May 17, 1846, a son of Mathias 
 and Margaret (Smith) Cramer. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Cramer were born, 
 reared and married in Germany. When they 
 came to the United States they chose Auburn 
 township, Crawford county, O., as their home 
 and here Mathias Cramer secured 60 acres of 
 swamp and timber land. To the clearing and 
 subsequent cultivating of this land he devoted 
 the rest of his life and through his industry 
 made it into a farm which provided well for 
 himself and family. He died here at the age 
 of 56 years and his burial, as also that of his 
 wife, was in the Catholic cemetery at New 
 Washington. Both were devoted members of 
 the Catholic church. In Germany three chil- 
 dren had been born to them: Christina, and 
 two babes that died in infancy, and two more 
 were born after coming to America : Mrs. 
 Catherine Felter, who lives in Huron county, 
 O. ; and Philip, our subject. 
 
 Philip Cramer was only nine years old when 
 his father died and afterward, for four years, 
 he lived with his uncle, Peter Yocum, at New 
 Washington, and then worked on farms for 
 
918 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 eleven years, following which he bought an 
 old saw mill in Cranberry township. He then 
 invested in a horse-power threshing machine, 
 which he operated for three years and then 
 bought a steam thresher and operated that 
 through the county for five years. Mr. 
 Cramer continued to be enterprising, watching 
 for business opportunities and then taking 
 them. For 14 years he engaged in grain buy- 
 ing at North Auburn and for ten years has 
 been a buyer of stock and a raiser of high 
 grade stock and cattle. For several years 
 after the death of his parents, the home farm 
 was rented out but Mr. Cramer always wanted 
 to make it his permanent home and when the 
 chance came, be bought the interests of the 
 other heirs and has resided here ever since. 
 He is one of the heavy tax payers of the 
 county, his seven farms aggregating 1,017 
 acres, situated in both Cranberry and Auburn 
 townships. 
 
 Mr. Cramer married Miss Anna Hetzer, a 
 daughter of Anthony Hetzer, and they have 
 the following children: Andrew, Henry, Ed- 
 ward, Emma, John, Nora, Jacob, Frank, and 
 Fred, and Philip, who is deceased. Mr. Cra- 
 mer and family belong to St. Mary's Catholic 
 church. He has been almost a lifelong Dem- 
 ocrat but has not been a seeker for office, his 
 many business interests sufficiently occupying 
 his attention. He has built seven large barns, 
 one on each farm, two fine residences, and has 
 also built the elevator and two good store 
 rooms at North Auburn, besides other neces- 
 sary farm buildings. AH the farms were 
 without buildings and fences when he bought 
 them. 
 
 G. W. GRAUER, farmer and stock raiser, 
 is one of the leading agriculturists and sub- 
 stantial men of Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, O. He resides just north of Bucyrus, 
 on the old family homestead of 72 acres and 
 owns an adjacent farm, all told 103 acres of 
 valuable farming land. He was born on this 
 place in 1866 and is a son of J. George and 
 Mary (Armburster) Grauer. 
 
 J. George Grauer and his wife were both 
 born in Germany and she came to America in 
 1847 and he in the fifties. Mr. Grauer ac- 
 quired the farm that has ever since been in the 
 family and erected the buildings and cleared 
 
 it, spending the rest of his life on the place, an 
 honest, respected, hard-working man. He 
 died here in 1882, when aged 56 years. His 
 widow still survives and although in her 80th 
 year, is active in both mind and body. They 
 had the following children : Rickey, who is the 
 wife of John A. Knipp and lives in Henry 
 county; Christian, who lives in Colorado; 
 Mary, who is the wife of Henry Geiger; G. 
 W. ; and an infant, deceased. 
 
 After his period of school attendance was 
 over, G. W. Grauer took upon himself the 
 responsibilities which he has carried ever since, 
 the management, care and development of his 
 property. The improvements he has made 
 here are sensible and substantial and evidences 
 of thrift are seen in every direction. 
 
 Mr. Grauer married Miss Emma Nagel, 
 who is a daughter of John A. Nagel, who is a 
 resident of Bellevue, O., and they have five 
 children, namely: Filmore, Carl, Lawrence, 
 George and Thelma. Mr. Grauer and family 
 attend the German Lutheran church at Bucy- 
 rus. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 GEORGE F. LAYER, a leading citizen of 
 Liberty township, Crawford county, O., and a 
 representative of one of the oldest families, re- 
 sides on his farm of 220 acres, which is sit- 
 uated eight and one-half miles northeast of 
 Bucyrus and two miles northwest of Sulphur 
 Springs, O. He was born in Michigan and is 
 a son of John A. Layer. 
 
 John A. Layer was born in Wittenberg, Ger- 
 many, and was four years old when his par- 
 ents brought him to America. They located in 
 Liberty township, Crawford county, O., and 
 there he was reared and remained on the home 
 place until he married, when he moved to 
 Michigan and lived there until after the birth 
 of his son, George F., when he returned to 
 Liberty township. He had the following chil- 
 dren : Elizabeth, Louisa, George F., Frank E., 
 and one who died in infancy. 
 
 George F. Layer was yet a child when his 
 parents returned to Liberty township and he 
 remained on the home farm until he was 26 
 years of age, when he married and bought 70 
 acres of the homestead. After the death of 
 his mother he returned to the old home, bought 
 the remainder of the land and his-'father died 
 here. Mr. Layer has one of the best improved 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 919 
 
 farms in this part of Crawford county and 
 manages his land according to modern ideas. 
 His handsome residence is equipped with city 
 conveniences, having a complete water system 
 and an acetylene plant for lighting, and. other 
 buildings of substantial construction. 
 
 In 1 89 1 Mr. Layer was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Emma Ulmer, a daughter of 
 Gottlieb Ulmer, a native of Germany, and they 
 have three children : Florence, Harvey and 
 Frederick. Mr. Layer and family are mem- 
 bers of St. Paul's Lutheran church. In politics 
 Mr. Layer is a Democrat but he has never ac- 
 cepted any public office other than membership 
 on the school board. 
 
 CHARLES HENKEL,* who, for a quarter 
 of a century, has been an engineer with the 
 Erie Railway company, with home at Gallon, 
 O., was born March 4, 1853, at Brooklyn, N. 
 Y., and is a son of Conrad and Elizabeth 
 Henkel. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Henkel were born in 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and came from 
 there in 1850 to the United States and located 
 at Brooklyn, N. Y., where the father died in 
 July, 1853, aged about 40 years. In ,1866 the 
 mother and children came to Gallon, O., and 
 here she survived until in her 78th year. Both 
 parents were members of the German Luth- 
 eran church. Of their children there are four 
 survivors, namely: Conrad; John, who is in 
 the butchering business at Troy, O., who is a 
 widower with four children; Elizabeth, who is 
 the wife of Tobias Mockel; and Charles, who 
 was but four months old when his father died. 
 
 Charles Henkel is a self made man, having 
 to contend with many difficulties in boyhood 
 and youth, incident to the early death of his 
 father and the establishing of the family in a 
 strange city and country. After his school 
 days were over he applied for and secured 
 work with the Erie Railway company and his 
 faithfulness and industry were rewarded by 
 promotion from time to time, and in 1887 he 
 became freight engineer on the Fourth Divis- 
 ion running between Gallon and Dayton, O. 
 Mr. Henkel has met with few accidents, being 
 judicious and careful and never taking chances, 
 and enjoys the full confidence of his employers 
 and the respect and esteem of his comrades. 
 He is popular with the latter and is a member 
 
 of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 
 
 Mr. HenKel was married at Gallon, to Miss 
 Amanda Huffman, who was born in Morrow 
 county, O., in i8t)i, a daughter of Michael and 
 Susanna (Bortner) Huffman. The parents of 
 Mrs. Henkel were born in Pennsylvania and 
 came to Ohio in early married life, where the 
 father preempted 160 acres of land, in Morrow 
 county. That was the family homestead and 
 there the father died when aged 81 years and 
 the mother in her 79th year. They were kind, 
 good people and were faithful members of the 
 English Lutheran church. 
 
 Three children have been born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Henkel : Carrie, born in 1882, who mar- 
 ried Jesse Reinhart, a farmer near Gallon ; El- 
 mer, who follows the trade of carriage trim- 
 mer at Gallon, and who married Gertrude 
 Eichman; and Allen, who is a sailor in the U. 
 S. Navy and is now located at the Brooklyn 
 Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Henkel are members of the English Lutheran 
 church. In politics he is a Democrat. Some 
 years since Mr. Henkel built his handsome res- 
 idence at No. 563 Boston street. Gallon. 
 
 EMANUEL JOHNSON, a leading citizen 
 of Holmes township, Crawford county, O., 
 serving in the office of township treasurer, is 
 owner and proprietor of Fairview farm, a 
 valuable tract of 60 acres which lies four miles 
 northwest of Bucyrus, O. He was born in 
 Fulton county,. Pa., in 1851, and is a son of 
 David and Susanna (Masters) Johnson. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Johnson were both born 
 in Pennsylvania, the father in Fulton county 
 and the mother in Franklin county and both 
 died in Fulton county when aged about 80 
 years. They had a family of 12 children, as 
 follows: Martin, who is deceased; John F., 
 who still lives in Pennsylvania; Mary and 
 Luther, both of whom are deceased ; Emanuel ; 
 Daniel M., who lives south of Bucyrus ; Jennie, 
 who is deceased; Ruhammah; Gilbert, who 
 lives at Joliet, 111. ; Joseph, who is a resident of 
 North Ohio; Albert L., who lives at Williams- 
 port, Md. ; and Edward, who is a resident of 
 Shelby, O. 
 
 Emanuel Johnson attended the public schools 
 in youth, afterward taught school for two 
 years and assisted on the home farm. In 1882 
 he came to Holmes township, Crawford 
 
920 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 county and has resided here ever since, in 1900 
 purchasing his present farm on which he car- 
 ries on progressive farming and raises fine 
 stock. The improvements have been placed 
 here since he took charge and these include the 
 comfortable residence. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Hetty D. 
 Hiteshew, who was born in Maryland, and 
 three children were born to them: Millard, 
 who died at the age of five years ; Beulah, who 
 is the wife of D. E. Downing of Holmes 
 township, and has one son, Paul ; and Russell 
 Sage, who assists on the home farm. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Johnson has always been identified 
 with the Democratic party. He has been a 
 useful and representative citizen, always inter- 
 ested in public matters and particularly con- 
 cerned in the advancement of the public 
 schools. He has served as a school > director 
 and at present is township treasurer. Mr. 
 Johnson and family belong to the Evangelical 
 church in Holmes township. 
 
 CHARLES M. SHEEHE, conductor on 
 the Cincinnati East, the Third Division, Erie 
 railway, has been identified with this import- 
 ant transportation line since 1890 and is num- 
 bered with its most valued employes. He was 
 born at Mingo, Champaign county, C, Feb. 
 19, 1870, and is a son of Michael and Cathe- 
 rine (McGraw) Sheehe. 
 
 The parents of Air. Sheehe were born in Ire- 
 land but were married in New York city, he 
 having come to America when aged about 20 
 years and she when 16 years of age. A few 
 years after marriage they moved to Mingo, O., 
 where Mr. Sheehe was employed in railroad 
 construction, being foreman of a gang of 
 workmen, and there he died in 1879, when in 
 his 57th year. His widow survived until April 
 29, 191 1, being then 74 years of age. They 
 were members of the Roman Catholic church. 
 Their family colisisted of seven sons and two 
 daughters, three of the sons and one of the 
 daughters being now deceased. Two of the 
 sons are residents of Galion and railroad men : 
 Charles M. and Henry, the latter being a 
 brakeman with the Erie road. 
 
 As a brakeman with the road he still serves, 
 Charles M. Sheehe entered the service in 1890 
 and continued in that position until 1898, when 
 he was made conductor on a freight train with 
 
 a competent crew under his orders, for seven 
 years being with the Cincinnati West Division 
 and since then with the Cincinnati East. He 
 has a fine record as to carefulness and effi- 
 ciency, never having had any serious accidents, 
 and is also a respected citizen of Galion, now 
 his home. 
 
 At Galion Mr. Sheehe was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Wildenthaler, who was born at Ga- 
 lion, Jan. II, 1874, where she was educated in 
 St. Joseph's parochial school. Her parents 
 were Andrew and Amanda (Murray) Wilden- 
 thaler. After Mr. Wildenthaler s death, the 
 mother subsequently married a Mr. Slabauch- 
 and both are now deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sheehe the following children have been born : 
 Roy L., who is a brakeman on the Erie rail- 
 road ; Marie C. ; Charles J., who is call boy at 
 Galion for the Erie; George H. and Floyd P., 
 both of whom are in school ; Dorothy M., who 
 died at the age of eight months; and Frank A., 
 John E. and Jean E. Mr. Sheehe and family 
 are members of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic 
 church. He is identified with the Brotherhood 
 of Railway Trainmen and belongs also to the 
 Eagles, Maccabees and Elks and has served of- 
 ficially in some of these organizations. In 
 politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 WILLIAM J. WINANS,* a popular, 
 trusted and esteemed conductor on the Erie 
 railway, with home at Galion, C, was born in 
 Douglas township, Effingham county. 111., Oct. 
 25, 1865. Almost from boyhood he has been 
 connected with railway life and for a number 
 of years has been very prominent in organized 
 labor circles. 
 
 By the time Mr. Winans was 12 years old 
 his schooldays were over and he was practi- 
 cally thrown on his own resources. He worked 
 through the farming sections of Illinois until 
 he was 17 years of age when he came to Ohio 
 and until he was 23 was mainly engaged in 
 farming and brick making, in Richland and 
 Crawford counties. He then entered the ser- 
 vice of the Erie railroad as a brakeman and by 
 1896 had reached such proficiency that he was 
 entrusted with a freight train as conductor and 
 as such has watched over the safe transporta- 
 tion of millions of dollars worth of commod- 
 ities and has met with few accidents. He has 
 always been connected with the Third Divi- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 921 
 
 sion, which is also known as the Cincinnati 
 East. He early became a member of the or- 
 ganization kno\yn as the railroad trainmen and 
 since 1890 has been continuously its state rep- 
 resentative sent again and again, for six 
 successive terms as a delegate to the state leg- 
 islature to look after the interests of all rail- 
 road employes in Ohio and he has been faith- 
 ful to the trust reposed in him. He has served 
 on the city council at Gallon of which city he 
 has been a resident since 1889. In his political 
 affiliation he is a Democrat. In 19 10 Mr. 
 Winans was appointed by Governor Harmon a 
 member of a committee to draft a report per- 
 taining to labor compensation and in the sum- 
 ming up, Mr. Winans disagreed with the other 
 four members and sent in a minority report 
 and when the bill which it affected was passed 
 and became a law it was seen that Mr. Win- 
 an's report presented a perfect working plan. 
 
 At a recent meeting of the State Constitu- 
 tional Convention the following testimonial 
 was presented to Mr. Winans by the labor 
 group of 15 members of the convention, under 
 date of May 23, 1912 : 
 
 "We, the undersigned members of organ- 
 ized labor, delegates in Ohio's Fourth Con- 
 stitutional Convention herewith heartily com- 
 mend Mr. W. J. Winans for his efficient and 
 untiring efforts in behalf of the cause of labor 
 as presented to the convention. We recog- 
 nize that labor has been successful in having 
 adopted measures which will give the people 
 the greatest opportunity for progress and ad- 
 vancement, and we submit this testimonial to 
 you for having contributed so much to the 
 passage of labor measure. The labor group 
 in the convention congratulated the. Brother- 
 hood of Railroad Trainmen in having a rep- 
 resentative who has faithfully and intelligently 
 represented them at the convention. This 
 makes a new era in the advancement for the 
 benefit of mankind." This document bore the 
 signatures of the fifteen labor delegates. On 
 the day following the receipt of the above, 
 Mr. Winans was still further honored by the 
 receipt of a beautiful fob and gold watch 
 charm, suitably engraved, which gift was espe- 
 cially gratifying at this time as indicative of 
 the sincerity of its donors. 
 
 On June 27, 1893, Mr. Winans was married 
 at Hamilton, Canada, to Miss Mary E. Mar- 
 
 82 
 
 latt, who was born and reared in one of the 
 towns of the province of Ontario. She was 
 born Sept. 17, 1869, and died at Gallon, O., 
 May 9, 1909, the beloved and tender mother 
 of three children, namely: Hazel E., who was 
 born Feb. 28, 1895, who is a student in the 
 Gallon High School; Lawrence J., who was 
 born Dec. 8, 1897, who is also a high school 
 student; and Bernice J., who died when aged 
 ten months and nine days. Mr. Winans is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 to which his wife also belonged, and the chil- 
 dren are interested in Sunday-school work. 
 
 CARL E. COBB, a general farmer and well 
 known resident of Liberty township, Crawford 
 county, O., was born in 1881 in Liberty town- 
 ship and is a member of one of the old Pio- 
 neer families of Crawford county, residing on 
 the farm of 200 acres which his grandfather 
 entered from the Government. He is one of 
 three heirs to this property. His parents were 
 Charles C. and Hannah (Heckart) Cobb. 
 
 Charles C. Cobb was born in Ohio and was 
 a farmer during his entire mature life. He 
 inherited the present farm from his father 
 and kept it intact and passed it on to his chil- 
 dren. It is a fine property yet undivided. He 
 married Hannah Heckart, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania and they had three children : 
 Ora E., who married Philip Russman and has 
 four children — Russell, Pearl, Cyril and Don- 
 ald — and resides in Whetstone township; Otis, 
 who resides on the homestead with his mother ; 
 and Carl E., our subject. 
 
 Carl E. Cobb attended the public schools and 
 since then has devoted his time and attention 
 to farm pursuits. He owns one-third of the 
 undivided estate. The heirs have made num- 
 erous improvements on this property and have 
 recently completed the erection of a substan- 
 tial barn and are carrying out their agricul- 
 tural operations along modern and progressive 
 lines. 
 
 On Jan. i, 1905, Mr. Cobb was united in 
 marriage with Miss Elizabeth C. Sandham- 
 mer, a member of an old family of this sec- 
 tion, one of three children, the others being: 
 Maggie, who married James Maudsley and has 
 had five children — Maud, William, Georgia, 
 Joseph and an infant, deceased; and Ada, 
 who married Harvey Eaton, residing at Bucy- 
 
922 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 rus, and has two children — ^Joseph and Melvin. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cobb have two interesting little 
 sons: Wallace G. and Merril W. Mr. Cobb 
 votes with the Republican party and takes a 
 good citizen's interest in affairs pertaining to 
 his own neighborhood. 
 
 LEWIS MILLER, who enjoys the distinc- 
 tion of being the oldest teacher now living in 
 Crawford county, where his educational work 
 was carried on for a number of years, re- 
 sides on his excellent farm of i6o acres, sit- 
 uated two miles northeast of Lemert, O. He 
 was born in 1836, in Seneca county, C, and 
 is a son of Jacob and Phebe (Permington) 
 Miller. 
 
 Jacob Miller was born in Fairfield county, 
 0., and in young manhood went to Seneca 
 county and latter came to Crawford county. 
 He followed farming in both counties and 
 at one time owned almost 1,000 acres of land. 
 His death occurred in his 82d year. He mar- 
 ried Phebe Pennington and of their eight chil- 
 dren there are two survivors : Lewis and 
 Levi, the latter being a resident of Benton, O. 
 
 Lewis Miller attended school in boyhood 
 in both Seneca and Crawford counties and 
 afterward taught school for some years and 
 there are many yet living who recall him as 
 their able and helpful teacher. For four years 
 he served as school examiner, has been a school 
 director and has always taken much interest 
 in the public schools. After coming to his 
 present farm he made many improvements 
 and erected all necessary buildings and re- 
 paired the others. He still keeps up his in- 
 terest in his farming and stock raising indus- 
 tries and has the assistance of his son. 
 
 Mr. Miller married Miss Crilley A. Hous- 
 burg, who was born in Crawford county, one 
 mile west of the Miller farm, a daughter of 
 Leonard Housburg, and they have had seven 
 children, namely : Jesse, who married Daisy 
 Dewell, and has one son, Wesley ; Mary Effie, 
 who married A. Horton, and has four chil- 
 dren — Oscar, Donald, William and Nellie; 
 Ira J., who assists in the management of the 
 home farm; Ruphena, who is the wife of J. 
 Heinle; Arietta and Lawrence, both of whom 
 live at home ; and a babe that died. In politics 
 Mr. Miller is a stanch Democrat and has 
 served in public office at times and formerly 
 
 was township clerk. He is one of the coanty's 
 most highly respected citizens. 
 
 ALLEN W. OCKER,* who is connected 
 with the E. M. Freese Works, at Gallon, in 
 the capacity of blacksmith, a skilled man along 
 this line and one of large experience, was 
 born in Richland county, O., Nov. 16, 1859, 
 a son of Josiah and Mary A. (Winters) 
 Ocker. 
 
 Josiah Ocker and wife were born in Mary- 
 land and after marriage moved from Carroll 
 county in that state to Troy township, Rich- 
 land county, O., where the mother of Allen 
 W. Ocker died when he was 12 days old. The 
 father contracted a second marriage and one 
 son, also was born to that union. The father 
 died at the home of his son, Allen W., in 191 1, 
 when aged almost 78 years. 
 
 Allen W. Ocker remained in Richland 
 county and obtained his education in Troy 
 township, in 1876 coming to Gallon, where he 
 learned the blacksmith trade, later going to 
 Bucyrus where he entered the employ of the 
 Bucyrus Steam Shovel and Dredge Company 
 and remained with that concern for 12 years. 
 On Jan. 12, 1894, he came to Gallon and ac- 
 cepted a position with the firm of E. M. Freese 
 & Co. Mr. Ocker is a skilled workman along 
 the line of machine blacksmithing and tool 
 making. 
 
 Mr. Ocker was married in Crawford county 
 in 1888, to Miss Carrie Berger, who is a sis- 
 ter of Mrs. E. M. Freese. Mrs. Ocker was 
 born in Switzerland and came to the United 
 States with her parents when ten years of 
 age. To Mr. and Mrs. Ocker three children 
 have been born, namely: Earl J., who grad- 
 uated from the Gallon High School in the 
 class of 1909, who is a pattern maker; Olive 
 B. and Howard L. Mr. Ocker and family 
 are members of the First Reformed church. 
 In politics he is a Democrat and fraternally 
 he is identified with Gallon Lodge No. 15, 
 Odd Fellows. 
 
 MRS. LIZZIE HIEBER, who resides on 
 her well cultivated farm of 140 acres, situated 
 in Liberty township, Crawford county, O., be- 
 longs to one of the old and substantial fam- 
 ilies of this section, the Scheibers, and is the 
 widow of the late John G. Hieber, for many 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 923 
 
 years an esteemed and respected resident of 
 this section. 
 
 John G. Hieber was born in Crawford 
 county, O., April 8, 1867, and died on the 
 present farm, May 19, 1903. He was a son 
 of Christian and Christiana (Wagner) Hieber 
 and was reared on his father's farm and ob- 
 tained his education in the district schools. 
 He was a man of industry and excellent busi- 
 ness judgment and was very successful in his 
 agricultural operations and wise in his invest- 
 ments. At the time of death he was able to 
 leave a valuable farm and other property to 
 his widow and three children. In his death the 
 community lost a worthy citizen and his fam- 
 ily a kind, loving and careful protector, and 
 the Lutheran church a consistent member. 
 
 On Dec. 31, 1891, John G. Hieber was 
 united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Schieber, 
 who is a daughter of Jacob and Eva (Mauer) 
 Schieber, and a granddaughter of Gottlieb and 
 Magdalena Schieber. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hieber the following children were born: 
 Roy Ellis, who was educated in the Bucyrus 
 High School and in an agricultural college, 
 operates the home farm; Milo W., who is a 
 student in the Bucyrus High School; Grace 
 Elizabeth, who resides at home; and Mary 
 E., who died at the age of 13 months. Mrs. 
 Hieber and family are members of the Luth- 
 eran church. 
 
 ANDREW W. DENZER, who is a mem- 
 ber of one of the old and substantial families 
 of Tod township, Crawford county, O., lives 
 on his well improved farm of 100 acres ly- 
 ing one and one-half miles northeast of Oce- 
 ola, O., was born in Bucyrus township, Craw- 
 ford county, three and one-half miles from 
 the city of Bucyrus, on July 8, 1853. His par- 
 ents were Jacob and Matilda (McNeal) 
 Denzer. 
 
 Jacob Denzer was born in Germany and 
 was 13 years old when his parents brought 
 Him to the United States. For several years 
 he lived at Tiffin, O., and then came to near 
 Bucyrus and for several more years worked 
 for farmers in that neighborhood. After his 
 marriage he secured some land through his 
 own labor and to the original purchase kept 
 on adding, through his industry and prudence, 
 imtil he owned 500 acres and at the time of 
 
 his death was one of the largest land owners 
 in this section of the county. He lived to the 
 age of 81 years and was widely known and 
 much respected. His death occurred on the 
 farm on which his son, Andrew W. was 
 reared. He married Matilda McNeal, who 
 was born in Pennsylvania, probably of Scotch 
 parents, and was a child when she came to 
 Ohio. Of the 13 children born to Jacob Den- 
 zer and his wife, ten are yet living. 
 
 Andrew W. Denzer went to the district 
 schools in his boyhood and afterward 
 gave his father assistance on the home 
 farm in Bucyrus township In 1882 he 
 purchased the farm on which he has lived 
 ever since. It is well cared for and finely im- 
 proved and Mr. Denzer put up all the sub- 
 stantial buildings except the residence, which 
 he remodeled and made entirely comfortable. 
 The property is very valuable and Mr. Denzer 
 is a thoroughgoing and successful farmer. 
 
 Mr. Denzer married Miss Mary Jane ShroU, 
 who was born in Bucyrus township and is a 
 daughter of Samuel Shroll, who was one of the 
 early settlers here. Mr. and Mrs. Denzer 
 have had seven children, as follows : Violet, 
 who is the wife of William Flocken, and 
 has two children — Corinne and Donald; Wal- 
 don, who is engaged in farming one mile west 
 of his father, and who married Hazel Young 
 and has one son, Sherman A. ; Willis, who is 
 his father's capable assistant; Delia and Hul- 
 dah ; Ethel, who died at the age of eight years ; 
 and an infant, deceased. Mr. Denzer has al- 
 ways voted the Democratic ticket. On sev- 
 eral occasions he has served in local offices 
 with efficiency and has been school director 
 and turnpike road commissioner. 
 
 LEWIS DAY PICKERING,* proprietor 
 of one of the important and well established 
 business houses of Bucyrus, O., dealing in a 
 full line of agricultural implements and car- 
 riages and wagons, at No. 321 North San- 
 dusky Avenue, is a native of Bucyrus, born 
 here 36 years ago, and has been more or less 
 directly connected with city interests all his 
 life. His parents were William W. and 
 Martha J. (Phelps) Pickering. 
 
 The father of Mr. Pickering was born in 
 England and came to America when a young 
 man, while the mother, born in Carroll county. 
 
924 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 O., was of direct English ancestry. They 
 came to Bucyrus after the birth of their eld- 
 est child and spent the rest of their lives here, 
 the mother dying when agfed 45 years and 
 the father surviving her four years, passing 
 away in 1882. They were members of the 
 Lutheran church. The father owned farm 
 land near Bucyrus but his main business was 
 that of stock drover, in which he made many 
 long trips over the mountains to eastern mar- 
 kets. There were ten children in the family, 
 five sons and five daughters, and the following 
 survive : Emma, who is the wife of John 
 Dodge, of Haverhill, Mass., and has one son 
 and two daughters ; Joseph M., who is a farmer 
 residing in Michigan; Grove L., who is a 
 farmer in Henry county, O. ; Edward C, who 
 lives at New Comerstown, C, a machinist, 
 who has wife and two daughters ; Lewis Day, 
 our subject; Lula A., twin sister of Lewis 
 Day, who married Charles Young and lives 
 at Winchester, Mass. ; Mary, who is the wife 
 of S. Larkins, and who resides at Alliance, 0., 
 and has one daughter. The names of those 
 deceased were : Charles C, who died in 1910, 
 at Chicago, and is survived by a widow and 
 four children; Caroline, who died young; and 
 Gertrude, who is survived by her husband, J. 
 C. Brinkman. 
 
 Lewis Day Pickering was left an orphan 
 when eight years old and motherless when 
 only four years of age. He grew up partly 
 on the farm and partly in the city and was 
 educated here in the public schools. Since 
 1897 he has been proprietor of his present busi- 
 ness, one that was established many years 
 earlier by W. N. Koons, who was succeeded 
 by J. M. Pickering, a brother to the present 
 owner. Mr. Pickering has a first class estab- 
 lishment and while his stock is very large and 
 complete in every line, he carries only the best 
 goods. He takes pride in his business reputa- 
 tion for reliability and his methods have made 
 him a popular merchant with the class from 
 whom his patronage comes. Politically he is 
 a Republican but is active in politics only to 
 the extent of good citizenship. He is a mem- 
 ber of the United Commercial Travellers' As- 
 sociation. Mr. Pickering is unmarried. 
 
 JOHN WESLEY KRAUTER, one of the 
 representative men of Liberty township, Craw- 
 
 ford county, O., resides on his excellent farm 
 of 80 acres, which he devotes to general agri- 
 culture. He was born in Liberty township, Dec. 
 14, 1 87 1, and is a son of John C. and Cathe- 
 rine (Gebhardt) Krauter. 
 
 John C. Krauter was born in Germany and 
 his parents were John and Catherine Krauter. 
 For some years he has been a successful 
 farmer and stock raiser in Holmes township, 
 where he still resides. He is a Republican 
 in politics and is well known over Crawford 
 county. Mr. Krauter is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. He married 
 Catherine Gebhardt, who was born in Ohio 
 and died July 4, 1906, her burial being in 
 beautiful Oak wood Cemetery at Bucyrus. 
 To this marriage the following children were 
 born: Susan, who is the wife of John K. 
 Leimenstoll; Dora, who is the wife of Amos 
 Lust; William E. ; Lydia; Alma, who is the 
 wife of Herman Portman; Caroline; Harry 
 and John Wesley. 
 
 John Wesley Krauter attended the public 
 schools and afterward assisted his father un- 
 til his 25th year when he rented .the home- 
 stead for a period of seven years and at the 
 end of that time purchased his present farm. 
 It is a fine property situated three- fourth 
 miles east of the Columbus turnpike road and 
 is still known as the old Gottlieb Krauter home- 
 stead. Mr. Krauter's activities include farm- 
 ing and stock raising and he is numbered with 
 the prosperous agriculturists of this section. 
 
 Mr. Krauter was married to Miss Sarah 
 Leimenstoll, who was born in Crawford county 
 and is a daughter of the late Henry and So- 
 phia Leimenstoll, former residents of Chat- 
 field township, who lived and died there and 
 were buried in the Lust Cemetery. They had 
 the following children: Mary, who is de- 
 ceased, was the wife of Henry Geissman; 
 Christian; Sophia, who is the wife of Charles 
 Geissman; John; Jacob; and Sarah, who is 
 the wife of Mr. Krauter. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Krauter three children 
 have been born, namely: John Wesley Paul, 
 Carl Edwin and Arthur Harvey, the last 
 named dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Krauter are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church, and they take much interest in 
 the work of the Sunday-school, Mr. Krauter 
 serving as its superintendent for a number of 
 
CHRISTIAN S. CRIM 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 927 
 
 years. In politics he is a Republican but he 
 has never been willing to accept the responsi- 
 bilities of office, with the exception of those of 
 township trustee, in which position he is serv- 
 ing very acceptably to his fellow citizens. 
 
 GEORGE AURAND, one of the represen- 
 tative agriculturists of Tod township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., who owns a fine farm of 165 
 acres, situated two miles north of Oceola, O., 
 was born two miles southeast of Bucyrus, O., 
 and has spent his life in his native state. 
 
 After his school period was over, George 
 Aurand, in 1862, came to his present farm 
 where he has remained until the present. He 
 erected the comfortable residence here and 
 made all the other improvements, having com- 
 pleted the clearing of the land. He operates 
 all of his 165 acres with the exception of 25 
 acres, which he rents. 
 
 Mr. Aurand married Miss Amanda Mutch- 
 ler and they have had seven children, namely : 
 Georgia, deceased; Albert, who died young; 
 Tillie, who is the wife of S. Heft and has 
 two children — Russell and Laura ; Stella, who 
 is the wife of Albert Gingery and has four 
 children — Nora, Willis, Carl and Dorsey; Ira 
 B., who died when aged 18 years; Herbert I., 
 who assists his father on the farm and who 
 married Rosa Laipply, and has three children 
 — Ethel, Wallace and George; and Esther, 
 who is the wife of Virgil Starlin, their two 
 children dying in infancy. Mr. Aurand is a 
 Methodist in religious faith, Mrs. Aurand be- 
 longing to the U. B. church at Oceola. Mr. 
 Aurand votes with the Republican party. 
 
 CHRISTIAN S. CRIM, deceased, for 
 many years was a prominent business man of 
 Galion and widely known in banking circles. 
 He was one of the organizers of the First 
 National Bank, its . first president and was 
 continued at the head of that institution for 
 37 years, its prosperity during this time hav- 
 ing largely been due to his business sagacity 
 and careful and conservative banking meth- 
 ods. He was born in Lancaster county. Pa., 
 in 1820, and died at Galion in September, 
 1895. His parents were Jacob and Eliza 
 (Smith) Crim, who lived and died in Penn- 
 sylvania, both being of German parentage. 
 
 In 1839 Christian S. -Crim left his father's 
 farm and the local school. He made his way 
 
 to Lancaster, O., and engaged in merchandis- 
 ing there, later at Johnsville, in Morrow 
 county, and in 185 1 reached Galion. Here, 
 in 1854, with his brother, Levi S. Crim, he 
 went into the dry goods business and remained 
 a resident of Galion although his brother sub- 
 sequently went to Bucyrus and later to To- 
 ledo. Christian S. Crim decided that Galion, 
 even then, offered excellent business oppor- 
 tunities and he quietly kept seeking them and 
 built up a large trade in dry goods. Later he 
 built the first grain elevator here and became 
 a factor in the grain trade and during the 
 Civil War, in association with his brother, 
 they handled thousands of bushels of grain 
 and seed, including flax seed. They also 
 dealt in wool and in horses for the Govern- 
 ment. Mr. Crim was one of the organizers of 
 the First National Bank of Monroeville. Dur- 
 ing his many years of active business he gained 
 an enviable reputation, for, while he was 
 credited with great shrewdness, he was known 
 to be of unquestioned integrity. His judgment 
 on all questions was so invariably correct that 
 it was frequently sought and followed. He 
 believed in political parties and was a strong 
 Republican but business always interested him 
 to such an extent that no time was left for 
 acceptance of political positions. 
 
 Mr. Crim was married at Galion, O., to 
 Miss Martha Rosianna Casner, who was born 
 in 1 84 1, in Juniata county. Pa., and was four 
 years old when her parents, Thomas and 
 Sarah (Steese) Casner, came to Galion. 
 Later they moved to Missouri and Mr. Casner 
 served in a Missouri regiment in the Federal 
 Army until the close of the Civil War, sev- 
 eral times being wounded and probably on 
 this 'account his life did not extend much 
 longer. His widow, the mother of Mrs. Crim, 
 died in the same year, three sons and two 
 daughters thus becoming orphans. Mrs. 
 Crim and two brothers are the sole survivors. 
 Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Crim: Olie, Ella, Charles and Henry. Mrs. 
 Crim is an unusually capable business woman 
 as well as one deeply interested in benevolent, 
 philanthropic and educational movements. 
 For eight years she was vice president of the 
 First National Bank and since her husband's 
 death has continued a member of the board 
 of directors. She was the moving spirit in th6 
 organization of the Galion Public Library, 
 
928 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 which was incorporated March 26, 1901. 
 This community has much reason to be grate- 
 ful to Mrs. Grim in this connection. She was 
 a member and chairman of the library board 
 and largely through her efforts it was made 
 possible to accept Mr. Carnegie's gift of 
 $15,000 and in 1902 the beautiful and appro- 
 priate library building was completed. She 
 was the organizer of the Current News Club, 
 the first literary society in this city and has 
 been its president. Her enthusiasm and help- 
 fulness have been potent in the founding of 
 other organization designed for a better social 
 order and her charities have been generously 
 bestowed but are never exploited. 
 
 CHARLES F. BONEBRAKE,* manufac- 
 turer of all kinds of cement supplies, doing 
 an extensive business at Bucyrus, O., where 
 he occupies the building at No. 210 Jones 
 street, and who also takes contracts for stone 
 work and sidewalk making and additionally 
 has been in the plastering business for some 
 ten years, is one of the busy and representa- 
 tive men of this city. He is a native of Bucy- 
 rus, born Nov. 24, 1880, and is a son of 
 Samuel F. and Catherine (Schepp) Bone- 
 brake. 
 
 Samuel F. Bonebrake was born in Penn- 
 sylvania and accompanied his parents to 
 Crawford county during the Civil War. He 
 followed the plasterer's trade all his active 
 life and both he and wife still reside at Bucy- 
 rus. She was bom in Ohio, of German ex- 
 traction. They had two children : Nellie, who 
 died at the age of 20 years, and Charles F. 
 
 Charles F. Bonebrake obtained his educa- 
 tion in the common schools and the High 
 School at Bucyrus, after which he worked 
 with his father for a number of years be- 
 fore beginning business for himself. He has 
 been in the cement business for 15 years and 
 brought to this city the first cement block ma- 
 chine ever used in this section. Mr. Bone- 
 brake has been sole proprietor of his busi- 
 ness for two years and has been at his pres- 
 ent excellent location for four years, where 
 he has a plant fully equipped with modern 
 machinery for his line of work. He turns 
 out both plain and decorated cement blocks 
 and has a large dryhouse which ensures the 
 proper amount of drying that is necessary in 
 
 order to make his product perfect. His trade, 
 as yet, is largely local but there is every reason 
 to anticipate that it will not continue so, each 
 year with its progressive developments open- 
 ing up wider and wider fields for the use of 
 cement, and Mr. Bonebrake possesses the en- 
 terprise to take advantage of every oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 Mr. Bonebrake was married at Bucyrus, to 
 Miss Ida Deppler, who was born in Ohio, Feb. 
 4, 1880, and was educated in her native state. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bonebrake have no children. 
 They are members of the Presbyterian church. 
 Politically he is a Democrat and fraternally 
 he is identified with the Knights of Pythias, 
 the Eagles and the National Union. 
 
 AARON NEFF, whose valuable farm of 
 113 acres lies in Liberty township, Crawford 
 county, O., four miles northeast of Bucyrus, 
 is a member of one of the old county fam- 
 ilies and was born in Holmes township, Feb. 
 21, 1873, a son of Joseph and Sophia (Yeiter) 
 Neff. 
 
 Joseph Neff was born in Pennsylvania and 
 came to Crawford county, O., when about 25 
 years old, ever afterward residing here and 
 becoming a successful farmer and respected 
 citizen. He was married in early manhood 
 to Sophia Yeiter, who was born in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, and the follow- 
 ing children were born to them: Emanuel, 
 who resides in Sandusky township, and who 
 married Sarah Krauter and has one daugh- 
 ter, Elsie; Lizzie, who is the wife of Joseph 
 Durr and lives in Liberty township; Amos, 
 a twin of our subject, who is a resident of 
 Bucyrus, and who married Anna Sheiber; 
 Jacob, a farmer in Liberty township, who 
 married Ella, daughter of Jacob Sheiber; 
 Mary, who is the wife of Abraham Sheiber 
 and resides at Bucyrus; Tillie, who is de- 
 ceased; Emma, who is the wife of Albert 
 Sheiber and lives in Holmes township; Joseph, 
 a farmer in Holmes township, who married 
 Myrtle Sheiber; and Aaron, the subject of this 
 article. 
 
 Aaron Neff obtained his education in the 
 schools of Holmes township and with the ex- 
 ception of one year spent in the West, has al- 
 ways lived in Crawford county. On his well 
 improved farm in Liberty township he car- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 929 
 
 ries on general farming and raises some ex- 
 cellent stock and in the management of his 
 different industries finds enough work to make 
 him a very busy man. 
 
 On Feb. ii, 1904, Mr. Neff was married 
 to Miss Cora Orewiler, who is a daughter of 
 Jacob and Jennie (Steen) Orewiler, and they 
 have two children, son and daughter; Carol 
 Irene and Forest A. Mrs. Neff has one 
 brother, Harry N. Orewiler, who is a resi- 
 dent of Bucyrus. In politics Mr. Neff is a 
 Republican. He is a wide awake, intelligent 
 citizen and keeps thoroughly posted on public 
 affairs and well informed concerning agricul- 
 tural matters. 
 
 H. A. LEA, who is a leading and substan- 
 tial citizen of Tod township, Crawford county, 
 O., and a member of one of the oldest county 
 families, resides on his well improved farm of 
 80 acres, and, with his son, Don Lea, owns 
 and operates an additional 100 acres, the first 
 farm being situated one mile west of Lemert, 
 O., and the second farm north of the town. 
 Mr. Lea was born on the old homestead in 
 Tod township, in 1848, and is a son of 
 Thomas and Polly (Miller) Lea and a grand- 
 son of Zacheus Lea. 
 
 Zacheus Lea was born in the Isle of Wight, 
 England, and was 20 years old when he came 
 to the United States and took up his residence 
 near Jersey Shore, Pa., where he became a 
 farmer and large land owner. He married a 
 member of one of the neighboring German 
 families and about 1832 they came to Craw- 
 ford county, O., where he purchased a farm 
 for each of his children. He lived to the 
 age of 79 years. 
 
 Thomas Lea was born in Lycoming county, 
 Pa., and came with his parents to Crawford 
 county. He cleared and improved the farm 
 in Tod township that his father gave him and 
 continued to reside here until the close of his 
 life, dying at the age of 62 years. He mar- 
 ried Polly Miller, who was born in Union 
 county, Pa., and was ten years old when her 
 parents came to Crawford county and her 
 death occurred on the homestead, in her 51st 
 year. They had ten children, as follows : 
 Mrs. Sarah A. Armstrong; Mrs. Amanda 
 Pease Cook, who is deceased; Jane, who died 
 in 1869; H. A., our subject; Isaac, a resident 
 
 of Oceola, who is pastor of the United Breth- 
 ren church; James, who died in 1910, who 
 was a physician and for 27 years a minister 
 in the Methodist Episcopal church ; Mrs. Mar- 
 tha Cook, who died in 1879; Adella, who died 
 in 1887; Mrs. Carrie Coon, who is deceased; 
 and Lucy, who died in infancy. 
 
 H. A. Lea attended school at Lemert and 
 at Heidelberg College and prepared himself 
 to teach school and for the greater part of 15 
 years was engaged in educational work, mainly 
 in this section but also teaching for a few 
 terms in three different states. From 1878 
 until 1903 he lived on his present place and 
 then moved to Fostoria in order to give his 
 children the best of educational advantages 
 and remained in that city for seven years. 
 Afterward he resided for two years at Syca- 
 more and then returned to the home farm and 
 in association with his son general farming 
 and stock-raising is carried on by them on 
 both farms. 
 
 Mr. Lea was married to Miss Josephine 
 Eyestone, who is a daughter of George Eye- 
 stone, who was a pioneer in Wyandot county, 
 O., and they have two children: Don and 
 Clara, the former of whom is in business with 
 his father as indicated above, and the latter, 
 who is a graduate of the Fostoria High school, 
 resides with her parents. Don Lea married 
 Miss Cora Markley and they have children: 
 Jessie, Josephine, Arlene, Dorothy and Hattie. 
 In politics Mr. Lea prefers to be independent. 
 Being an educated and well informed man, 
 he feels that he can take a broad-minded view 
 of policies, principles and platforms for him- 
 self and therefor casts his vote as his own 
 judgment suggests. He has served on the 
 school board and for ten, years did serve as 
 township trustee. 
 
 GEORGE M. MARQUART, who carries 
 on farming and stock raising in section i, 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 where he owns 149 acres of fine land, situated 
 one and three-fourth miles north of New 
 Washington, O., was born and has always 
 lived on this farm. 
 
 Mr. Marquart obtained a good, common 
 school education and ever since has devoted 
 himself closely to his farm and stock inter- 
 ests, succeeding his father, Michael Marquart, 
 
930 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 on the place. He has done a large amount of 
 improving and has a set of substantial build- 
 ings and much of his land is tiled. All is cul- 
 tivated with the exception of 22 acres which 
 are still in timber. Mr. Marquart grows 
 grain, cattle, sheep and hogs, raising and feed- 
 ing many of the latter. 
 
 Mr. Marquart married Miss Caroline A. 
 Leonhart, a daughter of John Leonhart, and 
 they have six children, all of whom were born 
 on this farm. The three older ones, Estella 
 O., Edna M., and Lester G., are attending 
 school and are making rapid progress, while 
 the three younger ones, lona May, Ralph E. 
 and Lloyd C, remain at home. Mr. Mar- 
 quart and family are members of the Lutheran 
 church and he assisted in the building of the 
 present church edifice. He has always given 
 his political support to the Democratic party, 
 and has taken a good citizen's interest in all 
 local matters. 
 
 JEROME BLAND,. M. D., a well known 
 and highly respected resident of Bucyrus, O., 
 who is now living retired from the active prac- 
 tice of his profession, was born on a farm in 
 Muskingum county, O., July 22, 1840. He 
 was the eldest of the family of ten children 
 — three daughters and seven sons — of Ebe- 
 nezer and Harriet (Lane) Bland. At an 
 early day the Blands were prominent and rep- 
 resentative people in the states of Virginia, 
 Kentucky and Missouri, a conspicuous figure 
 in the last named state being Congressman 
 "Silver Dick" Bland. 
 
 John Bland, the paternal grandfather of 
 our subject, was a native Virginian and of 
 Virginian parentage. He came from his na- 
 tive state to Ohio as early as 1798, settling 
 in Muskingum county, and the land which he 
 obtained by patent from the general govern- 
 ment is still in possession of his descendants, 
 who are numerous in that county. The maiden 
 name of his wife is not now recalled. They 
 established a good homestead and both died at 
 an advanced age. 
 
 Ebenezer Bland, the Doctor's father, was 
 born in Muskingum county, O., in 181 1, and 
 died on his substantial farm in Muskingum 
 county in 1888. His wife, Mrs. Harriet Lane 
 Bland, was a native of Maryland. 
 
 Jerome Bland, our direct subject, spent the 
 
 first 23 years of his life on the farm, where 
 he learned most useful lessons of industry 
 and perseverance, which have been character- 
 istic of his entire career. At the age of 19 
 he began teaching in the country schools, and, 
 in all, he taught nine winter terms. In 1862 
 he became a student in Denison College at 
 Granville, O., where he remained until 1864, 
 after which date he taught several terms of 
 school. In 1864 he began the study of medi- 
 cine under the preceptorship of Dr. Joseph 
 McCaan, of Irville, O. Later he attended 
 one term of lectures in Starling Medical Col- 
 lege, of Columbus, O. He then began the 
 practice of his profession at Hanover, this 
 state, where he remained two years. He then 
 reentered Starling Medical College, where he 
 graduated in 1869. 
 
 Settling in Crawford county, he located at 
 Benton, now Poplar, where he was engaged 
 in a most active and lucrative practice for 14 
 years, being "on the go" almost day and night. 
 No other physician of the county even had a 
 larger, if as large a country practice as had 
 Dr. Bland while he was located at Benton. 
 From that place he came to Bucyrus in 1883, 
 from which time until 1905, the year of his 
 retirement, he was numbered among the most 
 active and successful physicians and surgeons 
 of the city. He gave up his practice only on 
 account of extreme ill health, which unfitted 
 him for the arduous labors of his profession, 
 with its urgent calls at all hours of the day 
 and night. As an item of family history, it 
 may be mentioned that Dr. Bland had two 
 brothers, Charles and John Bland, who stud- 
 ied medicine under him. Both entered med- 
 ical college and died of consumption during 
 the last year of their studies in college, and 
 both at the age of 28, though their deaths oc- 
 curred some eight years apart. A third 
 brother of the Doctor's also died of consump- 
 tion, though his other brothers and himself 
 were large and robust men. 
 
 In politics Dr. Bland is a Democrat. He 
 served five years as county coroner and was 
 a member of the Pension Board of Examiners 
 under the second administration of Grover 
 Cleveland. He has important business inter- 
 ests, being proprietor of Knisely Springs stock 
 farm, owning and breeding high-bred horses. 
 On his farm are also valuable mineral springs. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 931 
 
 the water from which is bottled for pubHc 
 consumption by the Knisely Mineral Springs 
 Bottling Works. The Doctor is a member 
 of the County, State and National medical 
 associations. 
 
 Dr. Bland stands high in the Masonic order. 
 Besides holding membership not only in the 
 Blue Lodge, Chapter, Council and Command- 
 ery, but also in the Mystic Shrine, Scottish 
 Rite (Al Koran Temple), at Cleveland. He 
 was a charter member and one of the organ- 
 izers of the Elk lodge in Bucyrus and was 
 voted a life member of that organization on 
 Dec. 23, 1909. 
 
 Dr. Bland was married in 1867 to Miss 
 Lucy Coon, who was born in Hanover, Lick- 
 ing county, O., Aug. 8, 1849, and who was 
 there reared and educated. Her parents were 
 Israel and Maria (Edwards) Coon, both na- 
 tives of Ohio, the father being of Pennsyl- 
 vania parentage and the mother of Welsh an- 
 cestry. Mr. Coon was for many years pro- 
 prietor of a hotel in Hanover, O., in which 
 place he and his wife were married, and where 
 he died at the age of 59 years. His wife had 
 preceded him to the grave a few years pre- 
 viously leaving two children, one of whom, Is- 
 rael, Jr., died when 16 years of age. The 
 other, Mrs. Bland, still survives. She is a 
 member of the M. E. church and is active in 
 its good work. 
 
 Dr. and Mrs. Bland have been the parents 
 of four children — Harriet Belle, Ebenezer, 
 Charles, who died in infancy, and Alice Bar- 
 bara, whose further record is briefly as fol- 
 lows: Harriet Belle was born in Benton, O., 
 June 21, 1870. She was educated in the Bucy- 
 rus High School and was married in this city 
 in 189-^ to A. J. Yawger, who was born in 
 Elmira, N. Y., of good parentage. May 26, 
 1866. He graduated from Cornell Univer- 
 sity with the degree of C. E. and later became 
 a contractor on railroad and municipal engi- 
 neering work in various parts of the United 
 States, but his headquarters for some time 
 have been at Indianapolis, Ind. He is a Ma- 
 son. Mrs. Yawger is a member of the Meth- 
 odist church. She is a lady of culture and 
 refinement and of stroner filial affection and 
 resides with her parents in Bucyrus. She has 
 no children. 
 
 Ebenezer, the Doctor's second child, was a 
 
 well educated young man. On the breaking 
 out of the War with Spain, he joined Com- 
 pany A, Eighth Regiment O. V. I., as a pri- 
 vate and accompanied his regiment to Cuba, 
 where he died from cholera, JBly 11, 1898, 
 when within a few days of being 24 years of 
 age. He is buried in Arlington Cemetery, 
 at Washington, D. C. 
 
 Alice Barbara Bland was born in Benton, 
 O., Dec. 14, 1882. She graduated from Bucy- 
 rus High School and has since remained at 
 home with her parents, to whom she is much 
 attached. She is unmarried. She, like her 
 married sister, is a member of the Methodist 
 church. 
 
 HON. J. R. MILLER, mayor of New 
 Washington, O., and president of the Miller 
 Merchandise Company, of this city, is a rep- 
 resentative citizen of Crawford county and 
 practically all his life has been identified with 
 many of her important interests. He was 
 born at New Washington, Jan. 19, 1861. 
 
 Mr. Miller attended school at New Wash- 
 ington and afterward took a Spencerian Com- 
 mercial course at Cleveland, O., and then went 
 into the grocery business under the firm style 
 of J. R, & G. Miller. In 1890 G. Miller re- 
 tired and a general store was opened, Mr. 
 Miller admitting A. P. Miller and the busi- 
 ness was continued under the name of J. R. 
 & A. P Miller until April 9, 1906. Mr. Miller 
 then opened his present store, under the style 
 of the Miller Merchandise Company, which is 
 one of the largest and most complete depart- 
 ment stores in this part of Ohio, the spacious 
 building being three stories high, including 
 basement and covering an acre of ground. 
 It is one of the largest business enterprises at 
 New Washington. J. R. Miller is president 
 of the company; A. O. Miller is vice presi- 
 dent; and Mrs. A. O. Miller is secretary. In 
 addition to the officers there are three other 
 directors: J. W. Kibler, Dr. C. E. Kimerline 
 and Frank Derr. The first officers and di- 
 rectors were: J. R. Miller, president and 
 manager; A. P. Miller, vice president; F. J. 
 Miller, treasurer; C. A. Miller, secretary, and 
 Jacob Uhl, J. W. Kibler and A. O. Miller, 
 directors. The officers and directors are elected 
 annually. J. R. Miller is additionally inter- 
 ested in the Toledo Life Insurance Company. 
 
932 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 He is a member of the Knights of Columbus 
 and was reared in the Roman CathoUc church. 
 Mayor Miller was married to Miss Anna 
 E. Uhl, who is a daughter of Jacob and Mag- 
 gie Uhl, old residents of New Washington. 
 In politics Mr. Miller has been a zealous Demo- 
 crat all his mature life and has held many 
 offices of responsibility and for the past three 
 years has been mayor of New Washington 
 and has given the city a business administra- 
 tion that has been very popular and decidely 
 beneficial. 
 
 JACOB F. GUINTHER,* a representative 
 farmer, who owns and operates 143 acres of 
 land, 53 of which are located in Marion 
 county and the balance in Crawford county, 
 was born on the homestead farm on which he 
 still lives, March 20, 1864. His parents were 
 Jacob and Catherine (Shalenmiller) Guinther, 
 the former of whom was born in Wurtem- 
 burg, Germany, and the latter in Lycoming 
 county, Pa. Both are now deceased and are 
 buried in Sherer cemetery. 
 
 Jacob Guinther was a farmer during the 
 time he spent in this country. He was a 
 Democrat in politics and attended the German 
 Reformed church. He and his wife were 
 the parents of the following children : Mary, 
 the wife of George K. Ulmer; John George; 
 Sophia, deceased; Catherine, wife of Samuel 
 Rexroth ; Isaac C. ; Charlotte, wife of S. J. 
 Stump; and Jacob F., the subject of this arti- 
 cle, who was the youngest born. 
 
 Jacob F. Guinther received a common 
 school education and then went to work on 
 the farm where he has spent his entire life. 
 His father died when he was 20 years of age. 
 After the death of his parents, he bought the 
 farm from the other heirs and here he carries 
 on general farming. 
 
 On Dec. 5, 1889, Mr. Guinther married 
 Jennie Nungesser, a daughter of Christian and 
 Elizabeth (Helfrich) Nungesser. Her father 
 was born in Germany where he learned the 
 shoemaker's trade. Upon coming to the 
 United States he located first in Cincinnati, 
 but later moved to New Winchester, Craw- 
 ford county, and purchased a farm of 131 
 acres in Whetstone township, which he still 
 owns. He and his wife live retired at Galion. 
 They belong to the German Lutheran church. 
 
 Their children, besides Mrs. Guinther, are as 
 follows: Delilah (Mrs. Isaac A. Cook); 
 Margaret, widow of H. P. Rexroth; and 
 Melancthon G. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob F. Guinther have had 
 the following children: Edith Catherine, 
 Ruth E., Laura M., and Clara M. 
 
 Mr. Guinther has served as township as- 
 sessor for two years and township trustee 
 for six years. They attend St. John's Re- 
 formed church. 
 
 LINCOLN HOOVER, who is one of the 
 substantial citizens and prosperous farmers of 
 Vernon township, Crawford county, O., suc- 
 cessfully carries on general farming and stock 
 raising on his improved tract of 60 acres, 
 which lies six miles northwest of Crestline, O. 
 He was born in Crawford county in 1864, and 
 is a son of Gideon and Nancy (Teeter) 
 Hoover. 
 
 Both the Hoovers and Teeters came origin- 
 ally from Germany and many of the name can 
 be found in different sections of the United 
 States. Gideon Hoover was born in Mary- 
 land and his wife in Richland county, O., the 
 Teeters having come to Ohio from Pennsyl- 
 vania. To Gideon Hoover and wife ten chil- 
 dren were bom : John, Moses, Lavina, Aaron, 
 Amos, Alice, Lincoln, Frank, Henry and 
 Lotta, and of the above, Moses, Aaron and 
 Amos, are all deceased. John married 
 Amanda Buck and they live in Vernon town- 
 ship and have five children: Wilson, Ladena, 
 Silas B., Anna and Fern. Lavina married 
 John Parr and they live in Sandusky town- 
 ship and have six children: Calvin, Nancy, 
 Gideon, Amanda, Bertha and Lotta. Alice 
 married Quinn Dewalt and they live in Craw- 
 ford county and have four children: Stella, 
 Clark, Nancy and Mary. Frank, who mar- 
 ried Nellie Dewalt, lives in Sandusky town- 
 ship and has four children: Vance, Lorin, 
 Mary and Amos. Henry lives in Richland 
 county and has two children: Nancy and 
 Frank. Nancy, the wife of Gideon Hoover 
 died Jan. 4, 1900. They were both well known 
 people, members of the LTnited Brethren 
 church. 
 
 Lincoln Hoover obtained a district school 
 education and continued on the home farm 
 with his father until he was 27 years of age 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 933 
 
 and then bought his first farm but sold it after 
 operating it for a time and then purchased 
 his present more desirable one. Here he has 
 everything convenient and in good shape, his 
 improvements including the erection of sub- 
 stantial buildings and keeping them in order, 
 and investing in good stock and improved 
 farm machinery. His time and attention are 
 mainly devoted to his agricultural operations 
 and he is numbered with the most successful 
 men in this line in this section. 
 
 Mr. Hoover was married to Miss Minnie 
 Bilsing, a daughter of Adam and Lavina 
 (Swisher) Bilsing. The parents of Mrs. Bil- 
 sing had the following children: John H., 
 who lives in Kansas; Barnett, who lives near 
 Crestline, O. ; Albert, who lives in Vernon 
 township; a son that died in infancy; Mollie 
 and Anna, both of whom are deceased ; Eliza, 
 who lives in Washington ; Flora, deceased, who 
 married Prof. Frank Brining, a college pro- 
 fessor in India; and Minnie. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hoover have three children: Bessie, Adam 
 and Ivan. Bessie is the wife of George Wert, 
 and they reside in Crawford county. Mr. 
 Hoover and family are members of the United 
 Brethren church, of which he is a trustee and 
 which he is serving as treasurer. Politically 
 he is a Republican but has never cared for 
 public office, serving, however, at one time, 
 as township constable. 
 
 MRS. CATHERINE GANGLUFF, who 
 for 45 years has resided on her valuable farm 
 of 6i acres, which is situated in section ii. 
 Cranberry township, Crawford couiity, O., 
 one and one-fourth miles west of New Wash- 
 ington, O., is well known all through this sec- 
 tion and is held in high regard. She was 
 born in Seneca county, O., Nov. 17, 1847, ^^'^ 
 is a daughter of Frederick and Barbara (Deis- 
 ler) Flexer, and the widow of Henry Gangluff. 
 
 The parents of Mrs. Gangluff were born in 
 Germany but they were married after coming 
 to America. They settled in Seneca county, 
 O., where the father engaged in farming and 
 died there in his 60th year. The mother sur- 
 vived to be 74 years of age. They were good, 
 virtuous, industrious and kind-hearted people 
 and were respected by all who knew them. 
 Of their family of five sons and three daugh- 
 ters there are but two survivors : Mrs. Gang- 
 
 luff and Mrs. Christine Blinn. The latter 
 was born in Seneca county and when she 
 reached womanhood married Charles Blinn 
 and they reside in Lykens township, Crawford 
 county. Mr. and Mrs. Blinn have had five chil- 
 dren: Nora, who has lived with her aunt, 
 Mrs. Gangluff, since she was eight years of 
 age; Pearl, who is the wife of Frank Shiefer, 
 residing in Cranberry township; and Bertha, 
 Harvey and Alvin, all living at home. 
 
 In girlhood Mrs. Gangluff attended school 
 with her sisters and brothers and was reared 
 to womanhood by a careful and loving mother. 
 
 In April, 1867, she was married to Henry 
 Gangluff, who was born on the farm she now 
 owns and occupies, a son of Philip and Annie 
 (Reel) Gangluff, who came from Germany 
 and settled here at an early day. Henry Gang- 
 luff grew up on his father's farm and became 
 a good judge of stock and a very capable 
 farmer and also engaged in threshing during 
 the season, until he met with an accident that 
 fractured his thigh and that more or less 
 crippled him until the close of his life. After 
 marriage the old log house on the home farm 
 was utilized and is still standing, but after- 
 ward Mr. Gangluff erected the present com- 
 fortable farmhouse. Here his death occurred 
 when he was aged 71 years, in September, 
 1908, and his burial was in the Lutheran ceme- 
 tery at New Washington, he having beeii a 
 member of the Lutheran church since youth. 
 He was a Democrat in his political opinions 
 and supported Democratic candidates, but he 
 was never willing to accept any office for him- 
 self although he was a man gifted with many 
 of the qualities which are needed in public 
 officials. To Mr. and Mrs. Gangluff the fol- 
 lowing children were born : George, who lives 
 near Attica, O., and married Rosa Schimpf; 
 John, who assists his mother in managing the 
 home farm; William, who lives in Chatfield 
 township, and who married Emmeline Leon- 
 hart; Christine, who is the wife of William 
 Shoup, and resides at New Washington; and 
 Lewis and Charles, who remain on the home 
 place with their mother. The family belongs 
 to the Lutheran church. 
 
 WILLIAM C. SEELE, a prominent citizen 
 of Holmes township, Crawford county, O., re- 
 siding on his finely improved farm of 108 
 
934 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 acres, which lies just south of Brokensword, 
 O., was born on this farm Aug. 6, 1863, and 
 is a son of Emil and Catherine (Spade) Seele. 
 
 Emil Seele was born in Germany, came to 
 America when a boy of 16 years and died in 
 Ohio in 1896, in his 73d year. For a num- 
 ber of years he followed shoemaking together 
 with farming in Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, and erected the present comfortable 
 farm-house on this place. He was a highly 
 respected man and reared a creditable family. 
 He married Catherine Spade, who was born 
 in Pennsylvania and the following children 
 were born to them: Mrs. Malinda Gersten- 
 berger, Edward, Airs. Matilda Ditty, Delma, 
 Albert J., Airs. Celesta Smith, William C. and 
 Charles W., all of whom survive. 
 
 William C. Seele was educated in the coun- 
 try schools and at Ada and Xew \\'ashington, 
 O., and afterward taught school for 12 terms 
 and during six summers engaged in the ice 
 business at Cleveland. After retiring from 
 the educational field he turned his attention 
 to farming and stock raising, follow^ing these 
 industries along modern lines and meeting 
 with excellent ■ results. He has been a lead- 
 ing factor in Democratic politics for many 
 years in Holmes township and has served with 
 the greatest efficiency in numerous important 
 public positions, for four and one-half years 
 being township clerk, for four years township 
 treasurer, for 15 years a member of the school 
 board and for nine years a member of the 
 turnpike road commission. 
 
 Mr. Seele married Aliss Aletta Margraff, a 
 daughter of Charles Margraff, who resides 
 just east of Mr. and Mrs. Seele. Mr. Seele 
 is a valued member of the Grange at Bucyrus 
 and is identified fraternally with the Foresters 
 and the knights of Alaccabee. 
 
 FRANK H. SPILLETTE, who is one 
 of the representative business men of Xew 
 Washington, O., the junior member of a com- 
 pany that owns and operates three elevators, 
 was born in Auburn township, Crawford 
 county. O.. Oct. i. 1875, and is a son of James 
 and Lucinda CGlosser) Spillette, old residents 
 of that township. 
 
 Frank H. Spillette attended school at Xew 
 \\"ashington and for eleven years taught 
 school in Auburn and Cranberry townships. 
 
 Later he went into the elevator business, 
 handling coal, flour, feed, seed and building 
 material in connection, starting first at North 
 Auburn, later becoming interested on the 
 X'^orthern Ohio Railroad and later at the pres- 
 ent elevator where he has his office just 
 across the track from the passenger depot of 
 the Pennsyhania Railroad. He has other 
 business interests, being a stockholder in the 
 Toledo Life Insurance Company; in the 
 Underwriters Security Company; in the Cran- 
 berry X'ursery Company at Xew Washington, 
 and in the local telephone company. He is a 
 wide awake business man and is well known 
 all through the county, his business partner 
 being Jacob Gottfried. 
 
 Air. Spillette was married to Miss Laura 
 Hoak, a daughter of Samuel and Amanda 
 Hoak, the latter of whom died in Auburn 
 township. Mr. and Mrs. Spillette have one 
 son, Gordon. In politics Air. Spillette is a 
 Republican but somewhat independent in his 
 views, but is no seeker for office. 
 
 GEORGE W. HARRIS, an honored citizen 
 of Bucyrus, O., has been engaged in the prod- 
 uce business since 1875. For the past seven 
 years he has been commander of Keller Post, 
 X'o. 128, G. A. R., of this city, being a veteran 
 of the great Civil War. He was bom X"ov. 
 25. 1847, at what is now AA'aterville, O., and is 
 a son of AA'illiam Henry and Sarah E. 
 (Hickox) Harris. 
 
 AA'illiam Henry Harris was born in 1812, 
 at Hoosick Falls, X'. Y., a son of Asa Harris, 
 who was born in 1780, in the north of Ire- 
 land. The latter was of Scotch-Irish ances- 
 try and came to America in early manhood 
 and settled in Xew Hampshire. He ^^ as one 
 of the early Baptists of that section and was 
 a man of good report. It was known that he 
 had five sons and possibly there were daugh- 
 ters. \\"illiam Henry Harris grew to manhood 
 in X'ew York State and learned the trade 
 of wagonmaker at St. Johnsboro, Vt., from 
 which place he moved to Ohio in 1833, and at 
 Loudonville, in Ashland county, established 
 the first wagonmaking shop in that section. 
 He was married there to Sarah E. Hickox, 
 who was bom at Cuyahoga Falls, O. in 1822, 
 of an old pioneer family. They lived in that 
 village until after the birth of their first daugh- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 935 
 
 ter, and then moved to Wauseon, Fulton 
 county, O., and lived there until 1857. Mr. 
 Harris then removed with his family to Mans- 
 field, O., where he established himself at his 
 trade and worked at the same until after the 
 close of the Civil War. He then spent ten 
 years at North Fairfield, O., after which the 
 family moved to Kansas, settling at Chapman, 
 and there Mr. Harris spent the remainder of 
 his life, his death occurring in 1898, at the age 
 of 86 years. In principle he was opposed to 
 human slavery and was a great admirer of 
 Abraham Lincoln. He was a man of exem- 
 plary life and a firm believer in the Baptist 
 faith. His widow survived until 1902, her 
 death occurring at Topeka, Kan. They were 
 parents of five sons and two daughters and the 
 following survive : Emma", bom in Ashland 
 county, O., who is the widow of William 
 Johns and is a resident of Newark, N. ]., hav- 
 ing a son and daughter; George W., subject of 
 this record; William H., who is a coal mer- 
 chant and owner of a wheat elevator at Rus- 
 sell, Kan., and who resides there with his fam- 
 ily; Grace, who is the wife of Charles 
 Schwarts, a prominent attorney of Belling- 
 ham, Wash., and has three children; Henry 
 Franklin, a prominent citizen of Mansfield, O., 
 who formerly resided at Bucyrus ; and Joseph 
 Asa, who is in business at Newark, N. J., and 
 has three children. One son, Charles, died at 
 the age of five years. 
 
 George W. Harris was nine years old when 
 he went to live with his grandparents and later 
 accompanied them to Mansfield. Those \\'ere 
 days of great public unrest and the gravity of 
 the danger threatening the country was not 
 only recognized by men of years and discre- 
 tion, but also by the young, a great wave of 
 patriotism sweeping over the country resulting 
 in the enlistment of thousands to suppress re- 
 bellion. That so youthful a candidate for en- 
 listment as was George W. Harris at that 
 time, should have been accepted as a member 
 of Co. I, 32nd O. Vol. Inf., may be explained 
 by the fact that he had the health and manly 
 bearing of a much older youth, but the fact re- 
 mains that when he was enlisted on Aug. 8, 
 1861, he was aged just 13 years, 8 months and 
 II days. His officers were Capt. J. Dyer and 
 Col. Thomas H. Ford. This regiment was 
 ordered to the front and on Oct. 4, 1861, Mr. 
 
 Harris participated in the battle of Greenbrier, 
 Va., and was honorably discharged Dec. 10, 
 1 86 1. He returned to Ohio and attended 
 school during the succeeding winter, but in the 
 spring determined to reenter the army and on 
 March 6, 1862, reenlisted, entering Co. B, 6ist 
 O. Vol. Inf., his commanding officers being 
 Capt. P. J. Duffy and Col. Stephen J. Mc- 
 Groaty. This regiment was attached to the 
 eastern army until after the battle of Gettys- 
 burg, when it was transferred to Sherman's 
 western army, and took a prominent part in 
 its military movements. On the first day of 
 the fateful battle of Gettysburg, Mr. Harris, 
 who had been made a corporal and color 
 guard, was captured by the enemy and for five 
 months afterward ■ was a prisoner at Libby 
 prison and Belle Isle. He was young, ingen- 
 ious and resourceful and as he had nothing to 
 occupy his mind during the terrible days and 
 still more terrible nights than a hope of es- 
 cape, he finally formed a plan that succeeded 
 and through a mistake of his guards succeeded 
 also in being paroled in December, 1863. In 
 May, 1864, he rejoined his company at Chat- 
 tanooga, Tenn., and continued throughout the 
 whole campaign, which ended with Sherman's 
 march to the sea. He saw much hard fighting 
 and on more than one occasion proved himself 
 a brave and ready man and at Kenesaw 
 Mountain, by ruse, aided by darkness, cap- 
 tured single handed, three Confederate sol- 
 diers. When he was honorably discharged, 
 March 31, 1865, he had served three years and 
 five months and was then not yet 18 years of 
 age. Although years of peaceful pursuits fol- 
 lowed he never lost interest in military affairs 
 and still retains something of the appearance 
 of a military man. From the first he has been 
 interested in the Grand Army movement and 
 has been identified with Keller Post, No. 128, 
 ever since its organization, has served in var- 
 ious capacities in this body and, as noted above, 
 has frequently been honored by election to the 
 position of post commander. 
 
 After his return from the army, Mr. Harris 
 embarked in the produce business at Shiloh, 
 O., in the employ of C. W. Wakefield, where 
 he continued until 187s, when he came to 
 Bucyrus and here established his own produce 
 business, which he has conducted since. Politi- 
 cally he is a Republican but he has never been 
 
936 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 much active in public matters, devoting his 
 time and attention closely to the successful 
 advancement of his private affairs. 
 
 Mr. Harris was married at Shiloh, 0., to 
 Miss Isabel R. Crawford, who was born in 
 Richland county, in 1853, a member of one of 
 the old and honorable families of that section. 
 Her grandfather, John Crawford, was 11 
 years old when he accompanied his parents 
 from Ireland to Cumberland county, Pa., 
 where he married a Miss Eckles and they came 
 to Richland county, O. James Crawford, 
 father of Mrs. Harris, was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania in 181 7 and died in Richland county, 
 from the effects of an accident, March 3, 1853. 
 He was married first to Lydia Guthrie, who, 
 at death, left two sons. His second marriage 
 was to Eleanor J. Torbett, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania, married in Huron county, O., 
 and died at Shiloh, O., in 1900, aged 81 years. 
 Of their five children Mrs. Harris is the only 
 survivor. She is a lady well known in social 
 life and is connected with numberless benevo- 
 lent activities and is prominent in many uplift- 
 ing organizations, religious, charitable and 
 literary. She is an active member of the mis- 
 sionary societies of the Lutheran church, was 
 one of the organizers and for a number of 
 years president of the North Side Reading 
 Club, is a charter member of the Woman's Re- 
 lief Corps, No. 225, of which she was the first 
 president, was one of the organizers of the Li- 
 brary Association, holding the office of presi- 
 dent for four years prior to January, 1906, 
 when the city took over the organization's in- 
 terests as a part of the city library, and is also 
 a member of the Bucyrus Hospital Association, 
 a member of the board of lady managers of 
 the Bucyrus City Hospital and a member of 
 the juvenile and Correction Visiting Com- 
 mittee of the county. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Harris four children were 
 born, the three survivors being : Fred C, who 
 is identified with the Standard Oil company, 
 and lives at Gore, O. ; Judson Gaylor, who is 
 manager of the American District Telegraph 
 and Messenger company, and resides at New- 
 ark, N. J. ; and Warren Dean, who is engaged 
 in the commission produce business at Toledo, 
 and makes his home at Bucyrus and has a 
 family. Guarda A., the third member of the 
 family, who was born Oct. 30, 1878, died in 
 
 1889. Formerly Mr. Harris was very active 
 in the leading fraternal organizations of the 
 country, being past noble grand in the order of 
 Odd Fellows and past chancellor commander 
 in the Knights of Pythias. He still retains 
 active membership in the Union Veteran Le- 
 gion and the United Commercial Travelers, 
 being chairman of the Executive Committee 
 of the latter council. 
 
 CHARLES A. MANN,* who owns 22 
 acres of finely cultivated land, situated in the 
 northeastern corner of Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, O., in section one, was bom 
 at Tiffin, in Seneca county, O., Nov. 2, 1884, 
 and is a son of August and Maggie (Hepp) 
 Mann. 
 
 August Mann was born in Germany and 
 came to America in early manhood, locating 
 in Seneca county, O. He was a shoemaker by 
 trade and for 14 years has been a shoe mer- 
 chant, at Attica, O. He was married at New 
 Riegel, O., to Maggie Hepp and ten children 
 were born to them, two of whom reside in 
 Cranberry township, Charles A. and a sister. 
 Rose, who is the wife of Henry Alt, who 
 operates the George Uhl farm. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Mann are members of the Catholic church. 
 
 Charles A. Mann attended school in Seneca 
 county and for six years afterward was en- 
 gaged there in farm work and for four years 
 more followed farming in Huron county. On 
 Jan. 9, 1900, he came to Crawford county and 
 settled on a 60-acre farm south of his present 
 one, and one year later purchased the farm 
 on which he lives, from John Forquer. Mr. 
 Mann has taken a great deal of interest in his 
 property, making many improvements and in 
 1910 erecting his comfortable residence and 
 remodeling the other farm buildings. 
 
 Mr. Mann married Miss Rose Phiefer, who 
 was born in southern Cranberry township, a 
 daughter of Joseph Phiefer, and they have one 
 son, Frederick Floran, who is a bright student 
 in the public schools. Mr. ]Mann and family 
 are members of St. Mary's Catholic church. 
 Like his father he is a Democrat in politics. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mann are well known and highly 
 respected in Cranberry township. 
 
 FRANKLIN P. DICK, ex-president qi the 
 board of county commissioners of Crawford 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 939 
 
 county, O., is one of the leading citizens of 
 Dallas township, where he owns a finely im- 
 proved farm of lOO acres. He was born Nov. 
 i8, 185s, in Cass township, Richland county, 
 O., and is a son of Jacob and Ann (Bushey) 
 Dick, and a grandson of George Dick, who 
 settled in Richland county in 1832. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Dick are long since de- 
 ceased, the mother dying early, on the old farm 
 in Richland county, and the father, when in 
 middle life, in Hancock county. The father's 
 death took place in February, 1870. Franklin 
 P. Dick was only seven years old when he lost 
 his mother and was 14 when he left home to 
 take care of himself. He had secured a coun- 
 try school education and was a youth of am- 
 bition and of steady habits, and for the next 
 13 years found a happy home with his uncle, 
 Levi Dick, who was a substantial farmer in 
 Richland county. After his marriage, in 1882, 
 he rented farm land in Dallas township for 
 some ten years and then purchased his present 
 farm, which was undoubtedly fine land but 
 was much in need of improving. Practical in 
 his ideas he soon made all needed improve- 
 ments, thereby doubling the value of his prop- 
 erty, and ever since has devoted himself to 
 general farming and stock raising. He is one 
 of the prominent Democrats of Crawford 
 county and frequently has been tendered pub- 
 lic office. He was first elected a member of 
 the board of county commissioners in 1905, 
 with a majority of 2,500 votes and was later 
 reelected, and during his second term was made 
 president of the board. In this position he 
 had many duties, all of which were carefully 
 attended to, Crawford county finding in him 
 an energetic and honest official. 
 
 Mr. Dick was married in 1882 to Miss 
 Lavina Noecker, a daughter of Benjamin and 
 Lavina (Van Horn) Noecker, early settlers in 
 Richland county. They have an interesting 
 family and all are members of the United 
 Brethren church. 
 
 The children are: J. J., May, Alwilda and 
 Ruth. 
 
 MOSES PUGH, who carries on general 
 farming and moderate stock raising on his 
 valuable tract of 74 acres, situated in section 
 I, Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 was born in Lykens township, Crawford 
 
 county, April 6, 1843, and is one of the justly 
 honored veterans of the great Civil War. His 
 parents were Aaron and Mary (Jackson) 
 Pugh. 
 
 Aaron Pugh was born in Virginia, 50 miles 
 from Wheeling, where he grew to manhood 
 and then came to Crawford county, O., and 
 here purchased 40 acres of land in Lykens 
 township, on which he erected a log cabin. 
 When he had provided this home he returned 
 to Virginia and was there married to Mary 
 Jackson, and then returned to Lykens town- 
 ship and in the following year his father-in- 
 law, William Jackson, came also to this sec- 
 tion. That farm continued to be the old 
 homestead until 1863, when Aaron Pugh 
 moved to Cranberry township and bought land 
 in the northeastern part and at one time owned 
 500 acres here and in Huron county. Later 
 he divided his land among his children and 
 bought property at New Washington, to 
 which he retired and died there when aged ']'j 
 years. Notwithstanding his southern birth 
 and parentage, he was deeply opposed to hu- 
 man slavery and early in the Civil War used 
 his influence to exterminate such traitorous 
 organizations as the Knights of the Golden 
 Circle. He became a man of consequence in 
 Lykens township and served as township 
 trustee and he and wife were active members 
 and liberal supporters of the Baptist church. 
 She died at the age of 68 years. They had 
 eight children, as follows : Elizabeth, who re- 
 sides at New Washington, Crawford county, 
 who is the widow of Wesley King; William, 
 who died in Huron county, when aged 36 
 years ; Moses ; James, who lived but two years ; 
 Anlason and Anson, twins, the latter of whom 
 lives in Plymouth, O., and. the former in Put- 
 nam county, O. ; Alfred B., who lives at Chi- 
 cago Junction, O. ; and John, who lives in 
 Deshler, O. 
 
 Moses Puejh attended the district schools 
 near his father's farm in Lykens township 
 and then assisted at home until he was 17 
 years and six months of age. The Civil 
 War \>'as then in progress and although so 
 young he determined to enter the Federal 
 Army and enlisted in Company H, c;c;th O. 
 Vol. Inf., in which he served two years and 
 three months. He then reenlisted and served 
 until the close of the Rebellion and was hon- 
 
940 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 orably discharged. Although he was injured 
 at Stephenson, Ala., in the right leg and after- 
 ward was twice slightly wounded, he accom- 
 panied his company and regiment into every 
 engagement while in the service. The injury 
 to his leg proved a serious matter and con- 
 tinued to trouble him for many years and 
 finally Mr. Pugh had to submit to amputa- 
 tion on Feb. 20, 1893. This was a heavy 
 price to pay for patriotism, but Mr. Pugh 
 complains little of it but has much to say of 
 his long march under Sherman to the sea. 
 The hero element is yet found in the ranks of 
 the veterans of every G. A. R. Post, and Mr. 
 Pugh is a valued member of this organization. 
 
 After his discharge from the army, on Aug. 
 20, 1865, Mr. Pugh returned to Crawford 
 county and on July 26, 1866, was married to 
 Miss Martha Johnston, a daughter of Jacob 
 and Mary (Reed) Johnston. The father of 
 Mrs. Pugh was born in Pennsylvania and the 
 mother, a daughter of Daniel and Mary Reed, 
 was born near Canton, O. They married in 
 Crawford county where they lived ever after- 
 ward, the mother dying in Cranberry town- 
 ship at the age of 36 years, her burial being 
 in the Sulphur Springs Cemetery. The father 
 of Mrs. Pugh died in Lykens township, when 
 aged 63 years. They were members of the 
 Methodist Protestant church, very active and 
 faithful in church work. All of their five 
 children survive, namely: Martha; Nancy 
 Jane, who is the wife of Samuel Miller, of 
 Shelby, O. ; D. D., who also lives at Shelby, 
 O. ; J. R., who is a school teacher and a justice 
 of the peace and lives in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county; and Enoch, who lives at 
 Findlay, O. For many years Mr. Johnston 
 served faithfully in the office of school director 
 and made it his business to visit the schools in 
 pursuance of what he deemed one of his duties. 
 He was a well read, intelligent man and was 
 widely known. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Pugh the following chil- 
 dren were born : Gertrude, Effie, Mary Jane, 
 Senate A., Harry Logan and William Bur- 
 dette. Gertrude, who died Aug. 22, 1905 at 
 that time was the widow of Hale Carpenter, 
 who died Oct. 2, 1904. Their burial was in 
 the Swamp burying ground at Mt. Pisgah 
 church. They left three children: Elwood, 
 Helen and Russell, who live with their mater- 
 nal grandparents. Effie, the second daughter. 
 
 lives at home. Mary Jane married V. B. Al- 
 spach, of Cranberry township and they have 
 two children: Martha Evelyn and Marjorie 
 Ruth. Senate A. is a prominent citizen of 
 Crawford county and is postmaster at New 
 Washington. Harry Logan, who was gradu- 
 ated first from the New Washington High 
 School, later completed a business course at 
 Oberlin College. He married Dora Miller 
 and they reside three miles from New Wash- 
 ington. William Burdette, the youngest son, 
 lives at home. Mrs. Pugh was carefully edu- 
 cated and taught school in Cranberry township 
 until the death of her mother and was mar- 
 ried in the following year. She was born 
 June 10, 1843 and is a woman of such amiable 
 character that she is universally beloved. 
 
 Since marriage Mr. Pugh has resided in the 
 northeastern part of Cranberry township, lo- 
 cating first on 80 acres which he improved 
 and then sold to advantage, afterward buying 
 a second tract of eighty acres and at present 
 lives on his farm of 74 acres situated in sec- 
 tion I, in the same township. This land is 
 finely cultivated and well improved, and its 
 management is largely carried on by his young- 
 est son. Mr. Pugh has always given his pol- 
 itical support to the Republican party and fre- 
 quently, as one of the township's substantial 
 and representative men, has been called upon 
 to serve in public office and has been very use- 
 ful as township supervisor and also as school 
 director. He and family are members of the 
 Baptist church, although Mrs. Pugh united 
 with the Methodist Protestant church when 
 she was 17 years old but at the time of mar- 
 riage, in 1866, joined the Baptist church with 
 her husband. She has always been very active 
 in church work, belongs to the Ladies' Aid 
 Society and for 38 years has been a member 
 of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society. 
 She belongs also to the Woman's Christian 
 Temperance Union and additionally to the 
 Woman's Relief Corps, in all these organiza- 
 tions showing womanly sympathy and tender- 
 ness coupled with the good judgment and 
 practical views that have assisted her in rear- 
 ing her family to respected and useful man 
 and womanhood. In every relation of life she 
 is an estimable woman. 
 
 ALBERT SHEIBLEY, who is a highly re- 
 spected resident of New Washington, O., a 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 941 
 
 retired farmer and a former superintendent of 
 the Crawford County Infirmary, was bom at 
 Baden, Germany, April 6, 1837, a son of John 
 B. and Mary Ann (Link) Sheibley. 
 
 John B. Sheibley was the only child of his 
 parents and was born in January, 1800, in 
 Baden, Germany, and on account of some per- 
 sonal characteristics, was called John the Bap- 
 tist, by his friends. In early manhood he 
 learned the tailoring trade and lived until the 
 spring of 1835 on his small farm in Baden, 
 where he worked also at his trade. In the 
 meanwhile he married Mary Ann Link, who 
 was born in 1802, and died May 15, 1888. On 
 March 6, 1843, Mr. Sheibley and family em- 
 barked for America, at Havre de Grace, tak- 
 ing passage on the St. Nicholas, and after a 
 voyage of 36 days, reached the harbor of New 
 York. This was the last voyage the old St. 
 Nicholas ever made, the ship being then con- 
 demned, it having, formerly been a war vessel. 
 The Sheibley family then traveled by canal to 
 Buffalo, N. Y., and by canal and lake and later 
 by wagon continued their journey until they 
 reached Galion, O. It required some time for 
 Mr. Sheibley to find what he considered de- 
 sirable farm land and for awhile he hesitated 
 between what is now the site of Crestline and 
 the forty-acre tract which he finally decided 
 upon. In a business way the former land 
 pleased him the better but he could speak but 
 little English and felt that he would be at a 
 disadvantage among those who could not un- 
 derstand German, so he located in a German 
 settlement, where his native tongue was the 
 general language. His 40 acres in Vernon 
 township was then in Richland county but is 
 now a part of Crawford county. He cleared 
 ten acres of his land and set out an orchard 
 and passed a number of years there, and was 
 the first farmer to introduce artificial drainage 
 in that section. He later moved to the south- 
 east corner of Cranberry township, where he 
 bought 80 acres which he improved and then 
 sold and afterward bought another 80 acres, 
 ' situated directly east of New Washington, on 
 which he lived until his death, in January, 
 1885. He was a faithful member of the 
 Roman Catholic church. 
 
 Albert Sheibley was six years old when his 
 parents brought him to America, one of a fam- 
 ily of eight children, one of whom is living. 
 
 He was the only son to survive childhood and 
 hence had to give his father assistance just as 
 soon as he was old enough" and strong enough 
 to assume responsibilities. His education was 
 not neglected, however, and as opportunity of- 
 fered, he attended both German and English 
 schools, and afterward learned the butcher's 
 trade with William Weaver, a neighbor. 
 After his marriage he resided for five months 
 at Shelby, O., and was with the Anderson 
 Slaughtering Company, and then returned to 
 the home farm, one and a quarter miles east 
 of New Washington, which he purchased and 
 his parents lived with him during the re- 
 mainder of their lives. In addition to the 
 above farm he owns 40 acres southeast of 
 New Washington, which is considered one of 
 the finest tracts of land in Crawford county. 
 Since retiring and turning over his farm duties 
 to his son Mathias, Mr. Sheibley has lived in 
 his exceedingly comfortable residence, located 
 on the corner of Main and Center streets, but 
 he keeps up his old interest in agricultural 
 matters and makes almost daily visits to the 
 farm. 
 
 On Sept. 29, 1862, Mr. Sheibley was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Karl, who was born in 
 Bohemia, a daughter of Christopher and Ann 
 (Mottlin) Karl, who brought her to the United 
 States when six years of age. Ten children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sheibley, as fol- 
 lows: a babe that died in infancy; Mathias, 
 who resides on the home farm, and who mar- 
 ried Katherine McMahon and has four living 
 children — Edward, Gertrude, Ida and Bertha, 
 and two deceased — Frank and Arthur; A. P., 
 who lives at Ottawa, O. ; Mary, who is the 
 widow of Joseph Miller ; Rosa, who is the wife 
 of Peter Heydinger; Catherine, who is the 
 wife of Frank Goodman; Fannie, who is the 
 wife of M. E. Lauerman, of Hammond, Ind. ; 
 John B. ; Margaret, who is the wife of Joseph 
 Miller, of Van Wert county, O. ; and Jacob. 
 
 All his mature life Mr. Sheibley has been a 
 Democrat and on many occasions he has been 
 tendered public offices of responsibility. He 
 was serving in the office of justice of the peace 
 when he was elected superintendent of the 
 Crawford County Infirmary andheld the latter 
 office for nine years and nine months, when 
 he resigned on account of failing health. It 
 was with many testimonials of regret that Mr. 
 
942 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Sheibley was permitted to retire to private life 
 for his faithful and honest performance of 
 public duty had been appreciated by his fellow 
 citizens. For 13 years he served as a trustee 
 of Cranberry township and also was township 
 supervisor for a long time. Mr. Sheibley was 
 reared in the Catholic church and has been a 
 conscientious member throughout life. In him 
 New Washington has a most worthy citizen, a 
 man of good influence, always a supporter of 
 law and order and one who has given much in 
 the way of benevolence. 
 
 HARRY J. ULMER. Crawford county, 
 O., has many old and substantial families here, 
 members of which are leading citizens of their 
 communities and live busy but independent 
 lives on their large properties which have been 
 acquired through honest industry. One of 
 these families is the Ulmers, which has been 
 in Crawford county through several genera- 
 tions. Harry J. Ulmer, a member of this re- 
 spected old family, was born in Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, in 1874, and lives 
 on his large farm containing 234 acres, which 
 lies eleven miles northeast of Bucyrus. His 
 parents are David and Catherine Ulmer. 
 
 David and Catherine Ulmer were both born 
 in Crawford county, their parents having come 
 here at an early day. They had six children 
 born to them, namely : Elsworth F., Elmer D., 
 Charles S., Louisa M., Ida E. and Harry J. 
 Of these Charles S. is deceased. Elsworth F. 
 resides at New Washington, O., married Clara 
 Bender and they have four children: Edna, 
 Florence, Helen and Orlo. Elmer D. lives at 
 home and assists his father. Louisa M. is the 
 wife of William Ulrich and they live at Gallon, 
 O., and have one child, Alta. Ida E. is the 
 wife of Howard Stough and they live near 
 Shelby, O., and have one daughter, Naomi. 
 
 Harry J. Ulmer secured a good, common 
 school education. He remained at home, giv- 
 ing his father help on the home farm, until 
 his own marriage and then purchased his pres- 
 ent farm in Sandusky township and has de- 
 voted himself to its improvement and culti- 
 vation ever since. He has erected substantial 
 buildings, has purchased all necessary machin- 
 ery and in every way has a well equipped and 
 up-to-date farm. 
 
 Mr. Ulmer married Miss Pearl M. Cleland, 
 
 a daughter of John M. and Martha M. 
 (Francis) Cleland, and they have one daugh- 
 ter, Lois F. Mr. and Mrs. Ulmer belong to 
 the English Lutheran church. He is not very 
 active in politics but always gives support to 
 the Democratic ticket. 
 
 ABRAHAM MONNETT, a former resi- 
 dent of Bucyrus, now deceased, was for many 
 years one of the most prominent citizens of 
 Crawford county, being closely connected with 
 its financial and business interests, which he 
 did much to conserve and promote. He was 
 born Oct. 12, 181 1, in the state of Virginia, 
 near the Maryland line, his parents being Jere- 
 miah and Alcy (Slagle) Monnett. He was a 
 grandson of Abraham Monnett, who with his 
 family moved from Virginia to Ohio in the 
 year 1800, settling near the village of Chilli- 
 cothe. Abraham's family numbered eight 
 children — Isaac, Thomas, Margaret, Jeremiah, 
 John, William, Osbom and Elizabeth. 
 
 Jeremiah Monnett, father of our subject, re- 
 turned to Virginia, where he married Alcy 
 Slagle, and they settled near Cumberland, on 
 the Potomac river, where they resided until 
 1814. Then, with his wife and five children 
 he removed to Ohio and settled in Pickaway 
 county. Their trip from Virginia was a very 
 hard one, and probably would not have been 
 undertaken but for the help of a widow Jones, 
 with whom Mr. Monnett joined teams. Jere- 
 miah Monnett was a regularly ordained min- 
 ister of the Methodist Episcopal church. On 
 his arrival in Pickaway county he had only five 
 dollars in money, his team, and a small supply 
 of household goods. He remained a resident 
 of Pickaway county until 1835, and then re- 
 moved to Crawford county, settling four and 
 a half miles south of Bucyrus, where he re- 
 sided until his death, which took place in Sep- 
 tember, 1863. One of his sons. Rev. Thomas 
 J. Monnett, became an earnest and successful 
 minister in the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 belonging to the North Ohio Conference; 
 further mention of him will be found in this ' 
 volume. 
 
 Abraham Monnett, our direct subject, had 
 but limited opportunities in early life for ob- 
 taining an education, but made the best of 
 those he had and subsequently improved his 
 education considerably by reading and self 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 943 
 
 study. Always active, energetic, and endowed 
 with great decision of character, he had before 
 leaving Pickaway county with his father, in 
 1835, taken an active part in all local matters, 
 and while residing there served as first lieu- 
 tenant in a company of militia. Shortly after 
 his father moved to Crawford county, Abra- 
 ham bought 40 acres of land lying in Scott 
 township, Marion county, Ohio. Here also he 
 joined the militia company, being elected first 
 lieutenant under Capt. Beckley. 
 
 In June, 1836, Mr. Monnett returned to 
 Pickaway county, where on the 9th of that 
 month he was married to Miss Catharine 
 Brougher, who had been an orphan from her 
 fourth year and by whom he received $2,500, 
 the proceeds of the sale of land of which she 
 was the heir. This, with the exception of 
 $120, given him by his father, was the only 
 money received by him and the only part of 
 his extensive fortune not accumulated by his 
 own energy and industry and economy. Soon 
 after his marriage Mr. Monnett took up his 
 residence in Scott township, Marion county. 
 In 1838 he began the handling of cattle, many 
 of which he bought in Illinois and drove to 
 his farm in Marion county, to do which some- 
 times required a thirty days' drive. Later he 
 became one of the founders of the Marion 
 County Bank, which afterwards became the 
 Second National Bank, and was its president 
 for thirty years. He was also president for a 
 number of years of the Farmers Bank of Mar- 
 ion, O., and was also at the head of the Craw- 
 ford County Bank of Bucyrus, where much of 
 his time was spent. Besides his interest in 
 these financial enterprises, he owned no less 
 than 11,000 acres of fine land in Crawford and 
 Marion counties, a vast accumulation for a 
 man whose early life was spent amid pioneer 
 surroundings and whose education was largely 
 self acquired. This wealth was chiefly the re- 
 sult of his operations in live stock and was well 
 earned by hard work and good business man- 
 agement. Indeed Mr. Monnett was one of the 
 best known business men in this part of the 
 state and was moreover a man of sterling 
 character and worth, respected by all who had 
 any dealings with him and sincerely esteemed 
 by a wide circle of friends. His death, which 
 took place March 19, 1881, caused a void in the 
 community which could not easily be filled. 
 
 By his first wife, Catharine Brougher Mon- 
 nett, he was the father of twelve children, all 
 of whom were reared to honorable manhood 
 or womanhood, and most of whom are still 
 living. They were as follows: Ephraim B., 
 a farmer living in Bucyrus; Martha, wife of 
 G. H. Wright of Marion, O. ; Oliver, now de- 
 ceased, who was a farmer of Marion county, 
 O. ; John T., farmer, residing in Marion 
 county, O. ; Alcy, wife of James Malcom of 
 Bucyrus; Augustus E., of Colorado; Marvin 
 J., farmer, stock dealer, miner and banker, also 
 interested in the oil business, living at Los 
 Angeles, Cal. ; Mary J., deceased, the wife of 
 George Hull, banker, Findlay, O. ; Madison 
 W., of Indianapolis, Ind. ; Nelson, residing on 
 the old homestead in Marion county; Amina 
 J., wife of Calvin Tobias of Bucyrus; and 
 Kate, wife of Louis Ross, farmer of Dallas 
 township. 
 
 Mrs. Catharine Monnett died on Feb. 8th, 
 1875, and on May 30, 1877, Mr. Monnett was 
 again married, his second wife being Mrs. Jane 
 L. Johnston. She was born Nov. 23, 1831, in 
 Bedford county. Pa., when her father, Samuel 
 Ludwig, was removing from Berks county, 
 that state, to Crawford county, O. It was 
 necessary to stop by the way, when the daugh- 
 ter was born, and the heavy wagons proceeded 
 to Crawford county, the mother being brought 
 later with the infant girl and arriving here but 
 two days after the wagons, or on December 
 14th. The history of the Ludwig family is an 
 interesting one and may be briefly sketched 
 here. Ancestors of the name were among the 
 500,000 Huguenots who were obliged to fly 
 from France on the revocation of the Edict of 
 Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685. Two Ludwig 
 brothers from the province of Alsace, man- 
 aged to make their way to the coast and took 
 passage to America. With gold that had been 
 sewed into the linings of their clothes, one of 
 them on arrival bought land in Berks county, 
 Pa. The other, a stone mason by trade, set- 
 tled in Philadelphia, where he built many of 
 the quaint brick buildings for which Philadel- 
 phia was noted prior to the Revolutionary 
 war. He married and had seven sons, one 
 named Michael. At the age of 22 years 
 Michael Ludwig married Sarah Hanks, a 
 Quakeress of English descent, and later they 
 moved to a farm in Berks county. Pa. Of 
 
944 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 their six children the youngest was Samuel, 
 born in Berks county, Jan. 25, 1788. When 
 he was three years old his father died and the 
 mother subsequently married a wealthy farmer 
 in the neighborhood, Nichalos Yochem, the 
 father of Nicholas and Moses Yochem, who 
 later became the heaviest iron masters in east- 
 ern Pennsylvania. Samuel Ludwig worked 
 on the Yochem farm and was educated chiefly 
 by his mother at night, who also taught her 
 step-sons. She also gave lessons to a young 
 teacher who came in 1805 to teach select win- 
 ter school and who boarded at the Yochems. 
 This teacher, Francis D. Shunk by name, 
 afterwards studied law and became governor 
 of Pennsylvania, and between him, Samuel 
 Ludwig and the two Yochem brothers a life 
 long friendship was maintained. 
 
 It was Samuel Ludwig's desire to study for 
 a profession, but he was too poor, so he was 
 apprenticed to a wheelwright and learned the 
 trade. At the age of twenty he married Eliza- 
 beth Redcah, daughter of Hon. John Redcah, 
 a member of the Pennsylvania legislature. 
 For 23 years after his marriage he was en- 
 gaged in the manufacture of wagons and 
 plows in Reading, Pa., building up an exten- 
 sive business. He became a prominent and 
 popular citizen and might have been elected to 
 the legislature but declined all public office. He 
 devoted much time to study and became a very 
 well educated man, even in some of the higher 
 branches of knowledge. In 1831 he came on 
 horseback to Bucyrus and bought a tract of 
 land just east of the city. He then returned 
 home, disposed of his business and brought 
 his family to Crawford county, arriving De- 
 cember 1 2th of that year. In the spring of 
 1832 he bought 80 acres of John Coleman, just 
 east of Bucyrus on the Mansfield road, and a 
 part of this has been the Ludwig home for 80 
 years. In 1849, at the age of 62, he went over- 
 land to California, returning by a sailing ves- 
 sel to Panama, crossing the Isthmus, and home 
 via New Orleans, his trip costing him $4,000, 
 but he was then financially comfortable, hav- 
 ing about 3,000 acres of land in Crawford 
 county, besides other investments. Mr. Lud- 
 wig and wife had eleven children. He spent 
 the closing years of his life with his daughter 
 Jane (Mrs. Abraham Monnett) and at her 
 home he died on Dec. 20, 1876, aged 88 years 
 and eleven months. 
 
 Jane Ludwig, whose marriage has been al- 
 ready narrated in connection with the biogra- 
 phy of Abraham Monnett, was first married to 
 Henry D. E. Johnston, a son of Thomas F. 
 and Martha Johnston, and three daughters 
 were born to this union — Nora, now a resi- 
 dent of Los Angeles, Cal. ; Zua, wife of Frank 
 A. Stivers of Ripley; and Mary Agnes, who 
 married Peter G. Powell of Lexington, Ky., 
 and died there Dec. 12, 1905. Mr. Johnston 
 died April 19, 1870, but his wife continued to 
 live on the farm seven miles south of Bucyrus, 
 which she managed with characteristic ability, 
 bringing up her young children and later giv- 
 ing them every advantage of home and colle- 
 giate education. Her subsequent marriage to 
 Mr. Monnett, May 30, 1877, has been already 
 recorded. This union, though a happy one, 
 was all too short, owing to Mr. Monnett's 
 death some four years later. Mrs. Monnett 
 was well qualified to preside over the most re- 
 fined household. Though reared amid pioneer 
 scenes and surroundings, she had developed in 
 a high degree an innate strength of character, 
 as an accompaniment to physical beauty and 
 grace, early the art of social conversation and 
 hospitality which made her so interesting up to 
 the very last days of her life. During her 
 later years her home was the center of social 
 interesti The entertainments given there were 
 lavish and elaborate, yet presided over with a 
 refinement that avoided all ostentation and 
 was pervaded with a sincere and genuine hos- 
 pitality. The elegant house sheltered many 
 noted guests who were alike charmed with the 
 gracious manners and pleasing personality of 
 their hostess. A broad reader and careful 
 thinker, Mrs. Monnett was a gifted conver- 
 sationalist and her views on public questions 
 were valuable. At her last birthday, Nov. 23, 
 191 1, she entertained a number of friends at 
 dinner, presiding at the table with a gracious- 
 ness that made the occasion a delightful one 
 to all present. A little more than five weeks 
 later, on December 31st, 191 1, she died after 
 litle more than a week's illness, at the age of 
 80 years, one month and eight days, her daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. F. A. Stivers, of Ripley, administer- 
 ing to her as she slipped away on the sea of 
 eternity. The funeral services were conducted 
 by her pastor, Rev. J. Frank Smith, and her 
 burial was in Oakwood cemetery. 
 
 Mrs. Monnett was a lavish giver to all 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 945 
 
 worthy enterprises. She also took a leading 
 part in many successful campaigns for the im- 
 provement of Bucyrus. Her life was one of 
 help for others, her counsel and judgment were 
 freely given when called for and her purse was 
 ever open to help along a good cause. Time 
 dealt kindly with her, her eighty years of life 
 and many years of exceptional cares and re- 
 sponsibilities had not darkened her view of her 
 surroundings or detracted from her interest in 
 others. She had a broad conception of duty 
 and was strong in her ability to encounter and 
 overcome obstacles. Her life was an inspira- 
 tion to all who knew her and her death brought 
 sadness to all. It will be long ere her memory 
 shall pass away, and still longer before her in- 
 fluence for good and the effect of her works 
 shall cease to be visible in the community of 
 which she was so bright an ornament, and so 
 strong a stay. 
 
 HENRY D. E. JOHNSTON, the first hus- 
 band of Mrs. Jane Monnett, subject of the 
 preceding sketch, was born in Lycoming 
 county, Pa., August 8, 1825, a son of Thomas 
 F. and Martha L. (Walton) Johnston. His 
 father, Thomas F. Johnston, was born in the 
 same county, Feb. 3, 1800, and was an only 
 child, his parents coming to Pennsylvania 
 from Ireland. Thomas F. learned the cabinet 
 making business. On Sept. 20, 1823, he mar- 
 ried Martha L. Walton, whose parents came 
 from England. After his marriage Mr. John- 
 ston continued in the business of cabinet mak- 
 ing until October, 1825, when he started for 
 Ohio one morning with a four horse covered 
 wagon. Besides Mr. Johnston and his wife 
 and their infant son, Henry, the party included 
 Benjamin Warner, a brother-in-law of Mrs. 
 Johnston, with his wife and one child. Their 
 objective point was Dallas township, where 
 George Walton, a brother of Mrs. Johnston, 
 had located in 1823. After three weeks dififi- 
 cult travelling they reached the eastern part of 
 the state, where, on account of the condition 
 of the roads, and also because Mr. Johnston 
 took sick, they were obliged to halt. Here 
 they remained until the spring, when they re- 
 sumed their journev. finally reaching the plain 
 in Dallas township, where the wagon became so 
 badly mired that they left it and proceeded to 
 the Walton cabin partly on foot, the women 
 
 and children riding the horses. The wagon 
 was rescued the following day. A few days 
 later the party started west, avoiding the 
 swamps as much as possible, and turning north 
 on the Claridon road (later the Sandusky 
 pike), came to Bucyrus, where Mr. Johnston 
 decided to remain and establish business at his 
 trade as a cabinet maker. The town then con- 
 sisted of a few log cabins surrounded with 
 water up to the steps. They stopped at Bishop 
 Merriman's store, which looked very like a 
 river boat anchored in the water. Wild ducks 
 were plentiful and also deer and the woods 
 were well supplied with wolves. Moving into 
 an abandoned cabin, Mr. Johnston began look- 
 ing up his cabinet-making business and found 
 that, with woods everywhere, it would be im- 
 possible to get a piece of lumber dry enough 
 to work up, so he determined to move to Col- 
 to work up, so he determined to move to Co- 
 lumbus. His neighbors, however, entreated 
 him to remain, Benjamin Warner promising 
 him a forty acre farm in Whetstone township, 
 it being a part of what is now the Jacob Hurr 
 farm. This offer he accepted on the under- 
 standing that he could raise wheat on the 
 farm.. He succeeded in raising the wheat, but 
 the difficulty of getting it ground and the im- 
 pure water, which caused much sickness in his 
 family, prompted him in 1829 to remove to 
 Findlay, where they promptly* elected him 
 county auditor, with a salary of $75 a year. 
 After one term in office, however, he moved 
 back to Crawford, this time settling in Dallas 
 township, where the water was somewhat 
 better. He now devoted his attention to stock 
 raising, in which he was very successful, at 
 one time having as many as 6,000 head. At 
 the time of his death, Nov. i, 1862, he had 
 about 1,300 acres of land. After his death, 
 and even before, his sons, Henry D. E. and G. 
 E., carried on the stock business, prospering 
 as had their father before them. 
 
 Henry D. Johnston was born in Lycoming 
 county. Pa., Aug. 8, 1825, and came with his 
 parents to Crawford county when but an in- 
 fant. On May 6, 1857, he married Jane Lud- 
 wig, youngest child of Samuel Ludwig. After 
 his marriage he continued farming and stock 
 raising in Dallas township until 18'^g when he 
 came to Bucyrus. Here he devoted his atten- 
 tion exclusively to the stock trade for three 
 years, when, on the death of his father, he re- 
 
946 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 turned to the farm in Dallas township, con- 
 tinuing in business there until his death on 
 April 19, 1870. At the time of his death the 
 father left his wife and daughters about 515 
 acres of land and other property. 
 
 SENATE A. PUGH, who was appointed 
 postmaster at New Washington, O., Feb. i, 
 191 1, and a member of one of the old and pa- 
 triotic families of Crawford county, C, was 
 born in Cranberry township, Crawford county, 
 two miles east and one mile north of New 
 Washington, Jan. 15, 1883. He is a son of 
 Moses and Martha (Johnston) Pugh. 
 
 Moses Pugh was born in Lykens township, 
 Crawford county, and there attended the dis- 
 trict schools and helped his father clear up the 
 farm until the age of 17 years, when he left 
 home and enlisted as a soldier in Co. H, 55th 
 O. Vol. Inf., and remained in the army all 
 through the Civil War, although so severely 
 wounded that he lost his right leg. On three 
 different occasions he was promoted on ac- 
 count of unusual bravery and when he was 
 honorably discharged and mustered out he was 
 second lieutenant of his company. He re- 
 turned home and cleared up a farm of eighty 
 acres in Cranberry township, south of Cran- 
 berry Chapel. He now owns 76 acres in Cran- 
 berry township. He is a valued member of 
 the G. A. R. -at New Washington. He mar- 
 ried in Crawford county and five of his six 
 children survive. 
 
 Senate A. Pugh attended the Cranberry 
 township schools and the New Washington 
 High School, graduated from Oberlin Business 
 College, and afterward taught school for eight 
 months at Auburn Center. For three years he 
 engaged in farming two and one-half miles 
 south of New Washington, where he owns 160 
 acres of land which he has under rental, it 
 formerly being owned by John Remmle but 
 Mr. Pugh has done the most of the improv- 
 ing. He is a stockholder in the Cranberry 
 Home Nursery Company of New Washington 
 and has resided in the city ever since his mar- 
 riage and since March 20, 1911, has been 
 postmaster. 
 
 Mr. Pugh was married to Miss Hazel Cas- 
 ner, who was born in Seneca county, O., a 
 daughter of William and Ella Casner. Po- 
 litically he is stanch in his adherence to the 
 
 Republican party. He belongs to the frater- 
 nal order Knights of Pythias. 
 
 SIMON MATHIAS HEINLEN, whose 
 fine farm of 84 acres lies in Bucyrus township, 
 Crawford county, O., is a native of this town- 
 ship, born June 3, 1853, and is a son of 
 Mathias and Elizabeth (Bickle) Heinlen. 
 
 Mathias Heinlen and wife were both born 
 in Germany and came young to Crawford 
 county and married here, spent their lives in 
 Bucfyrus township and now rest in the old 
 cemetery at Nevada. They were good and 
 virtuous people, members of the Lutheran 
 church. It is said that no call for help in their 
 neighborhood was ever disregarded by them 
 and on their farm friends and strangers found 
 a hospitable, German welcome. They had the 
 following children : Elizabeth, who is the wife 
 of A. E. Bolinger; John, Simon Mathias; 
 Samuel; Frank; Matilda, who was twice mar- 
 ried, first to Harry Ochse, and second to James 
 Johnston; Magdalena, who is the wife of 
 Byron Kent; and Lucinda, who is the wife of 
 Smith Murphy. 
 
 Simon Mathias Heinlen has spent his life in 
 Crawford county, a part of the time living in 
 Bucyrus township and a part in Tod township. 
 He has followed farming and stock raising 
 ever since his school days ended, and has 
 brought his land to a high state of cultivation. 
 On Dec. 31, 1889, he was married to Miss 
 Jennie McConnell. Her parents, Alexander 
 and Leanna (Wortman) McConnell, are both 
 deceased. They were born in Belmont county, 
 O., and after marriage settled on a farm in 
 Wyandot county. Mrs. Heinlen is a grand- 
 daughter of Isaac Wortman, who served in 
 the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. McConnell 
 had the following children: Nettie, deceased, 
 who married Josh Henry of Michigan ; Rachel, 
 who married John McAllister; Newton, Jen- 
 nie, who is the wife of Mr. Heinlen; and 
 Elmer. Two daughters and one son have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Heinlen: Edith E., 
 Ethel V. and Herman M. The family attends 
 the Martin Luther church. In his political 
 views Mr. Heinlen, like his late father, is a 
 Democrat. Since settling on his present farm 
 he has accepted no public office but served two 
 terms as assessor while residing in Todd town- 
 ship. He is one of the well known and repre- 
 
L. J. LINN 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 947 
 
 sentative men of this section of Crawford 
 county. 
 
 L. J. LINN, whose substantial improve- 
 ments and fine buildings add greatly to the 
 value of his beautiful farm of 355 acres, which 
 lies six miles north of Bucyrus, O., in a well 
 irrigated and fertile part of Holmes township, 
 Crawford county, was born in this township, 
 in November, 1858, and is a son of William 
 and Leah (Fralick) Linn. 
 
 William Linn is one of the venerable and 
 highly esteemed residents of Holmes town- 
 ship, in which he has spent a useful life. His 
 occupation has been farming and he found suc- 
 cess and contentment in caring for his fields 
 and flocks. He married Leah Fralick, who 
 also survives, and seven of their children, as 
 follows : W. G., who lives at Bucyrus ; and L. 
 J., Mrs. Alice James, Mrs. Lucy Spore, Mrs. 
 Melissa Brownshall, Mrs. Laura Heileman, and 
 Mrs. Clara Sawyer. The Linn family is one 
 of the oldest in Crawford county and early 
 pioneers in Holmes township. 
 
 L. J. Linn had the best educational advan- 
 tages the common schools offered in his boy- 
 hood and afterward he engaged in farming. 
 For the past 30 years he has resided on his 
 present farm, which he devotes to stock rais- 
 ing and general agriculture. He has erected 
 such substantial and attractive buildings that 
 favorable comment is made by passing visitors, 
 while they add greatly to the general appear- 
 ance of the neigborhood and satisfy a local 
 pride. He has always been an enterprising 
 and progressive man and takes a just pleasure 
 in the ownership of such desirable property. 
 
 Mr. Linn married Miss Lizzie Heileman and 
 they have three children : Roy, Jay and Vella. 
 The eldest son is a farmer in Holmes town- 
 ship. He married here Miss Laura Ditty and 
 they have two children : Leslie and Pearson.. 
 Jay, the second son, owns a farm adjoining 
 that of his father. He married Miss Alta Lust 
 and they have two sons: Marvin John and 
 Dorsey. Vella is the wife of Minor Schiefer 
 and they have one son, Ivan. In politics Mr. 
 Linn and sons are Republicans. The family 
 belongs to the Evangelical church at Broken- 
 sword. As a recreation, Mr. Linn enjoys 
 hunting and although he has never visited 
 game regions in other lands he has pretty well 
 covered those in his own country and has 
 
 trophies won from Maine to California, by his 
 trusty Winchester. He has visited states from 
 Maine to California and has seen much of 
 the country in his travels. 
 
 Several years ago — in 1904 — Mr. Linn took 
 his entire family to the St. Louis Exposition, 
 and then continued his tour to the West, look- 
 ing up the early settlers, who had left Craw- 
 ford county in the years that have passed to 
 make their homes beyond the Mississippi. In 
 Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, California, and 
 other of the western states, he met many of 
 those who had been associated with him in his 
 youthful days in the development of his native 
 county of Crawford, and with them, during 
 his six month's trip, he exchanged many inter- 
 esting reminiscences. 
 
 HENRY C. SARGEL,* who enjoys the dis- 
 tinction of being the oldest department head 
 connected with the Toledo & Ohio Central 
 railway shops, located at Bucyrus, O., is the 
 efficient foreman of the immense blacksmith 
 shops here having been advanced to his pres- 
 ent position in 1893, after years of faithful 
 service. He was born in Marion county O., 
 March 16, 1853. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Sargel were natives of 
 Bavaria, Germany, and when they came to 
 America settled at Marion, O., where the 
 father died. The mother, now 88 years of 
 age, resides with a son in Crawford county. 
 The family is of the German Lutheran faith. 
 Of the seven children, four are deceased : 
 Peter, Louise, Elizabeth and John. The sur- 
 vivors are : Henry C, Erhart and Jacob. 
 
 Henry C. Sargel was reared at Marion, O., 
 attended school there and when old enough for 
 railroad service, entered the employ of the 
 Erie railroad and learned the blacksmith trade 
 in the Erie shops. In 1881 he came to Bucy- 
 rus to work in the shops of the Toledo & Ohio 
 Central railroad and his skill and dexterity 
 soon won him advancement and, as mentioned, 
 he was made foreman of his department 19 
 years ago. In everything pertaining to the 
 blacksmith work of this road he is an authority 
 and he is very highly estimated by the com- 
 pany. He has been a careful, prudent man 
 and at times has made property investments 
 and owns a beautiful residence at No. 428 
 Gallon street, Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Sargel was married at Bucyrus to Miss 
 
948 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Louise C. Gerhart, who was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, Sept. 19, 1858, and in the same year was 
 brought to Galion, O., "by her parents, Angus 
 an4 Catherine (Kline) Gerhart. In that city 
 Mr. Gerhart was a mechanic in the shops of 
 the Big Four railroad, in earlier years being a 
 cooper. He was born Sept. 26, 1830, and his 
 wife in 1836, and they both survive and are 
 respected and esteemed residents of Gallon. 
 They have been almost lifelong members of 
 the German Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sargel have had the following children : Otho 
 Orlando, who died at the age of three and 
 one-half years; Edward Arthur, who lives at 
 home and is a postal clerk on the Pennsylvania 
 railroad; C. Irene, who is the wife of Carl 
 Bechtel, residing at Bucyrus ; and Roy Alonzo, 
 who is a machinist with the Big Four railroad, 
 at Bellefontaine, O. Mr. and Mrs. Sargel are 
 members of the German Lutheran church. He 
 belongs to the beneficiary order of Royal Ar- 
 canum, at Bucyrus. 
 
 JOHN EDWARD HOPLEY, second son 
 of John Prat and Georgianna Rochester Hop- 
 ley, was born near Elkton, Todd County, Ken- 
 tucky, August 25, 1850. His mother, writing 
 to a sister when he was eleven months old said, 
 "John Eddie has eyes as blue as the sky and as 
 bright as the stars ; he likes to play with books 
 and is only quiet when looking at the pictures." 
 This early love of books continued through 
 life; he not only owns a large library but with 
 a retentive memory possesses a knowledge of 
 its contents. 
 
 His parents returned north, to Logan, Ohio ; 
 then to Bucyrus when he was six years old, 
 his father being superintendent of the schools 
 at both places. He attended the Bucyrus 
 schools until the fall of 1867, when, his father 
 having purchased the Bucyrus Journal, he left 
 school and learned the printing business in 
 his father's office. He read law with Hon. Ja- 
 cob Scroggs, and was admitted to the bar in 
 1876. He spent several years in New York at 
 the printing business and in 1883 returned to 
 Bucyrus and was associated with his father on 
 the Journal. On October 17, 1887, he started 
 the Evening Telegraph. He was attracted to 
 politics early in life, as his home was a centre 
 of political activity, and before he was of age 
 he was mapping out plans, with his father, by 
 
 which majorities might be achieved. He was 
 one of the organizers of the League of Repub- 
 lican Clubs in the State, as well as the- Asso- 
 ciated Ohio Dailies ; was State Central Commit- 
 teeman for four years. In 1894 he managed 
 the campaign which resulted in the election of 
 Hon. S. R. Harris to Congress, and he was that 
 gentleman's private secretary for two years at 
 Washington; in 1895 he took charge of the 
 campaign which resulted in the nomination of 
 Hon. Frank S. Monnette for Attorney Gen- 
 eral. In 1897 he took an active hand in the 
 exciting campaign which resulted in the elec- 
 tion of Hon. M. A. Hanna to the United States 
 Senate, visiting every close legislative district 
 in the state. In 1898 he was appointed by 
 President McKinley as United States Consul 
 to Southampton, England, and five years later 
 was promoted to the Consulate at Montevideo, 
 South America. His parents both died in 
 1904, and in 1905 he returned to Bucyrus to 
 succeed his father as president of the Hopley 
 Printing Company, and editor of the Journal 
 and Telegraph. In 19 12 he was nominatsd 
 by the State Convention as one of the electors 
 at large on the Republican ticket. 
 
 His consular service made him an exten- 
 sive traveler; he has crossed the ocean fifteen 
 times. He possesses many souvenirs of his for- 
 eign travels, among them valued testimonials 
 given him in recognition of faithful and popu- 
 lar service, his first consular commission, bear- 
 ing the signature of William McKinley and its 
 acceptance, signed "Victoria R." He is a lover 
 of politics, poetry and romance, Joan of Arc 
 and Napoleon being his favorite characters in 
 history. His amusements are "whist" and puz- 
 zles. He is a member of the Masonic Frater- 
 nity and the Eastern Star ; also of the Elks, be- 
 ing the first exalted ruler of the present lodge. 
 He was never married but resides at the home- 
 • stead which has been his home for fifty-six 
 years. He values friends above money, and 
 his wealth is in his friendships. In June, 191 1, 
 he was engaged to write the History of Craw- 
 ford County, and for over a year he has de- 
 voted his entire time to the work. The result 
 of his research and labor are presented in this 
 volume. 
 
 T. T. TUPPS, who is numbered with the 
 successful agriculturists of Liberty township, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 949 
 
 Crawford county, O., owns a finely improved 
 farm containing 105 acres, on which he has 
 resided for some years. He was born in Craw- 
 ford county, O., and is the only child born to 
 his parents, who were Dr. Uriah and Melissa 
 (Jones) Tupps. 
 
 The father of Mr. Tupps was a physician 
 and was widely known. He lived in Chatfield 
 township, until his death and was survived by 
 his widow. Dr. Tupps had one brother and 
 one sister: Jaconiah, who lives in Whetstone 
 township; and Mrs. Campbell, who is now 
 deceased. 
 
 T. T. Tupps attended the district schools 
 and remained on the home farm until he was 
 14 years of age, when he learned the house 
 painting trade, which he follows in connection 
 with farming. After purchasing his present 
 farm he put in many improvements and built 
 a very handsome residence. 
 
 Mr. Tupps married Miss Sophia Hilde- 
 brand, a daughter of John Hildebrand, whose 
 other children were : Solomon, George, Jacob, 
 Emanuel, Christian John and Tillie. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Tupps the following children were 
 born: Tony R., who married Grace Baird, 
 and lives in Liberty township and has one 
 child. Milliard; Carrie, who died in infancy; 
 Howard, who died at the age of fourteen 
 years; and Idallas and Donald. The family 
 belongs to the German Lutheran church. In 
 politics Mr. Tupps has always given support 
 to the Democratic party and on that ticket he 
 has been, at times, elected to public office and 
 has served satisfactory to all concerned as 
 school director and supervisor. 
 
 J. B. ALT, general farmer, successfully 
 operating 160 acres of fine land situated in sec- 
 tion 2, Cranberry township, Crawford county, 
 O., devotes considerable attention also to fine 
 stock, having some registered animals. Mr. 
 Alt was born in Cranberry township, Sept. 2, 
 1865, and is a son of Lewis and Elizabeth 
 (Faeth) Alt. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Alt moved from Craw- 
 ford to Huron county when he was young and 
 he attended school there before the family re- 
 moved to Seneca county and it was in Reed 
 township, in the latter county, that the father 
 died. The mother continues to reside in the 
 old home in Reed township. They had a fam- 
 ily of seven sons and one daughter. 
 
 J. B. Alt remained in Seneca county until 
 1895, having grown up on the home farm, and 
 then came to Cranberry township once more 
 and afterward moved to a farm in Auburn 
 township. Later he determined to return to 
 his native part of the county and in 1902 lo- 
 cated on the farm on which he has resided 
 ever since, renting it annually from its owner, 
 Frank Wechter, of New Washington. Mr. 
 Alt is an industrious and experienced farmer 
 and through his practical methods and solid 
 agricultural knowledge, has brought this land 
 to a high state of cultivation and has done 
 much to bring about a raising of the standard 
 of stock in this part of the county. 
 
 Mr. Alt was married in Seneca county, O., 
 to Miss Anna L. Hitz, who was born in Michi- 
 gan, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Hitz, 
 and they have a family of seven children, four 
 daughters and three sons ; Esther, Albert. Ed- 
 win, Laura, William, Charlotte and Katherine. 
 Mr. Alt and family are members of the Roman 
 Catholic church and he is identified with the 
 Catholic Mutual Benefit Association. He is a 
 quiet, law-abiding man, anxious to work for 
 the good of the community and country at 
 large, but not seeking public office. In his 
 political views he is a Democrat. 
 
 DANIEL P. WINCH, a representative citi- 
 zen and prosperous farmer and stock raiser of 
 Dallas township, Crawford county, O., where 
 he owns 80 acres of well improved land, was 
 born in Marion county, O., Jan. 2, 1864, and 
 is a son of Frederick and Mary (Crissinger) 
 Winch. 
 
 Frederick Winch was born in Germany and 
 came to Marion county as a young man and 
 continued to live here and follow agricultural 
 pursuits until his death. He married Mary 
 Crissinger, who was born in Marion county 
 and now resides at Martel, Marion county. 
 They were parents of the following children: 
 Henry, John, Daniel P., James, Charles, Rich- 
 ard, Matilda and Etta, all surviving except 
 James. Matilda is the wife of Charles Dyson, 
 and Etta is the wife of William Kurtz. Frede- 
 rick Winch and wife were members and liberal 
 supporters of the Reformed church. 
 
 Daniel P. Winch obtained a district school 
 education and has always been interested in 
 the public schools of his neighborhood and for 
 eight years served as a school director. His 
 
950 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 business has been general farming, including 
 the raising of sufficient stock for his own use, 
 and through his intelligent methods and close 
 attention he has been quite successful. In 
 1901 he settled on his farm in Dallas township, 
 which he purchased from August Linn, and 
 has made many substantial improvements here. 
 On June 18, 1891, Mr. Winch was married 
 to Miss Amanda Stoltz, a daughter of David 
 and Elizabeth (Eckard) Stoltz. The parents 
 of Mrs. Winch were born in Pennsylvania and 
 came to Ohio when young. They had the fol- 
 lowing children born to them : Ella, George, 
 Mary, Amanda, Anna, Ida, John, Matilda, Jay, 
 Clarence, Samuel and Callie, the last named 
 being deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Winch have 
 three children : Edna, who is the wife of Orra 
 Linn; and Ralph D. and Zola Laverne. Mr. 
 Winch and family are members of the Re- 
 formed church. In politics he is nominally a 
 Democrat but frequently in casting his vote, 
 relies on his own judgment as to a candidate's 
 fitness for office. 
 
 GEORGE NEDOLAST,* who carries on 
 general farming on his well improved 80 acres, 
 situated in section 24, Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, O., was born in Auburn 
 township, Crawford county, Jan. 6, 1871, and 
 is a son of Thomas and Annie (Wenzelick) 
 Nedolast, natives of Germany. 
 
 The father of Mr. Nedolast was born in 
 Germany and came in early manhood to Ohio, 
 where he married Annie ^^^enzelick, who was 
 also a native of Germany. They settled in 
 Cranberry township when this land was in its 
 wild state and not only cleared off this tract 
 but an adjoining one of 80 acres and on both 
 of his farms carried on mixed farming. 
 George Nedolast is the .second born in a fam- 
 ily of eight children, the others being: John, 
 who lives south of New Washington; Nich- 
 olas, who is a farmer in Cranberry township; 
 Martin, who lives south of New Washington; 
 Peter, who resides in South Cranberry town- 
 ship; Mrs. Lena Raymond, who lives at Bar- 
 low, O. ; George, who lives at New Washing- 
 ton; and Joseph, who lives south of New 
 Washington. The father of the above family 
 died at the age of 56 years and his burial was 
 in the Catholic cemetery at New Washington. 
 The mother still lives on the home farm. 
 
 Since the ending of his school days, George 
 Nedolast has been engaged in farming and 
 has lived on his present place for about ten 
 years, having had six acres to clear. He mar- 
 ried Kate Siska, a daughter of Joseph Siska, 
 and they have four children: Helen, Martin, 
 Gerhart and Annie. Mr. Nedolast is a quiet, 
 industrious, law abiding man, one of good 
 principles and a faithful member of the Catho- 
 lic church, to which he is a generous contri- 
 butor. In politics he has always been 
 a Democrat. 
 
 BENJAMIN SHEARER, a well known 
 citizen of Bucyrus, O., where he has many in- 
 terests although is practically retired from ac- 
 tive business, was born in Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., and is a son of John J. 
 Shearer and a grandson of Michael Shearer. 
 
 Michael Shearer, the grandfather, was born 
 in Wertemmberg, Germany and there married 
 Anna Hipp. In 1805 they came to the United 
 States and settled in Lancaster county, Pa., 
 moving from there some years later to Lycom- 
 ing county, in that state, and in 1834 they 
 came to Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, purchasing land which is still in the 
 family. Michael Shearer survived his wife 
 and was 75 years of age at time of death. 
 
 John J. Shearer was born in Lancaster 
 county. Pa., in 1808, and accompanied his par- 
 ents to Lycoming county. About 1832 his 
 older brother, Jacob Shearer, ventured as far 
 west as Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, with his family, and in 1834, John J. 
 Shearer, accompanied by his young wife and 
 his parents, followed the other members of the 
 family to Ohio. The first wife of John J. 
 Shearer died early and he later married Cathe- 
 rine Miller and they lived on a farm of 300 
 acres, in Dallas township for 16 years. He 
 then sold his farm to his sons and retired to 
 Bucyrus, where he resided until his death, in 
 1884, having survived his second wife since 
 Jan. I, 1869. She was but 53 years of age at 
 that time but was the mother of six sons and 
 one daughter: Daniel, who died in Idaho, un- 
 married ; Mary A., who died at the age of nine 
 years ; Samuel, who died when aged ten years ; 
 Isaac, who died in 1907, at the age of 59 years, 
 and was survived by three brothers : David, 
 who is a successful farmer in Whetstone town- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 951 
 
 ship, and has one son, Samuel C. ; Benjamin; 
 and George, who is a capitalist at Portland, 
 Ore., and has a family of three children : Wal- 
 lace, Ruby and Alice. 
 
 Benjamin Shearer was reared on the farm 
 in Dallas township and attended the -neighbor- 
 hood schools and also the Bucyrus schools, 
 after which he became a teacher and spent 
 several terms in Dallas township schools as 
 the head where he had once been a pupil. In 
 the course of time he became the owner of 200 
 acres of the family estate which he later in- 
 creased by 100 more acres, and continued to 
 reside in Dallas township and carry on general 
 farming and stock raising until 1893, when he 
 came to Bucyrus, where he was more or less 
 interested in public matters and business affairs 
 until 1904, when he practically eased himself 
 of his larger responsibilities. He is a large 
 stockholder and a director in the Second Na- 
 tional Bank and in other enterprises and was 
 one of the interested capitalists that secured 
 the installation of the Automatic Telephone 
 Company. In his political views Mr. Shearer 
 is a Democrat and he was a director of the 
 county infirmary from January, 1888, to Jan- 
 uary, 1894. 
 
 Mr. Shearer was married in Marion county, 
 O., to Miss Anna Dawson, who was born, 
 reared and educated in that county, and is a 
 daughter of James and Eve (Miller) Dawson, 
 natives of Ross and Pickaway counties re- 
 spectively. James Dawson secured his land 
 during the administration of President Jack- 
 son and the deed, which was not recorded 
 until many years afterward, bears that execu- 
 tive's name. Mr. and Mrs. Dawson lived in 
 Marion county many years and then moved 
 to Ross county, where he died at the age of 
 87 and she died later at the home of Mrs. 
 Shearer, aged 86 years. Mr. and Mrs. Shearer 
 have had two children : Mary Ellen, who died 
 at the age of eleven years; and John J., who 
 is a resident of Houston, Tex. He was mar- 
 ried in New York to Mildred Faulter and 
 they have three children: DeWitt, Anna 
 Gladys and Floyd. Mr. and Mrs. Shearer are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET HEYDINGER, a well 
 known and highly esteemed resident of Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county, O., where 
 
 she owns a valuable farm of 100 acres, was 
 born in Auburn township, Crawford county, 
 and is a daughter of Peter and Eva (Heartzer) 
 Boblick, and the widow of Frank Heydinger. 
 The parents of Mrs. Heydinger were born in 
 Germany and grew up there and married and 
 afterward came to the United States and set- 
 tled in Auburn township, Crawford county, 
 O. The father was an industrious and highly 
 respected man. His death occurred in Au- 
 burn township, where his widow still lives, on 
 June 24, 1906. 
 
 Mrs. Heydinger was carefully reared by her 
 parents who were members of St. Mary's Ca- 
 tholic church, to which she and children be- 
 long, and attended the parochial and later the 
 public schools in Auburn township. On Nov. 
 27, 1895, she was married to Frank Heydinger, 
 who was born May 8, 1865, in Cranberry 
 township, a son of the late John Heydinger. 
 He grew to manhood on his father's farm and 
 obtained a public school education. About the 
 time of marriage, he bought his farm of 100 
 acres from his father and partly cleared it 
 and made many improvements. He carried 
 on general farming. His political vote was 
 always cast with the Democratic party but he 
 took no great interest in public matters. Mr. 
 Heydinger had a wide circle of friends and 
 his death, which occurred May 19, 191 1, was 
 regretted all over this section. He was a 
 member of St. Mary's Catholic church and 
 was laid to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery. He 
 left a family of six children, namely : Mary, 
 Anthony, Paul, George, Gertrude and Clara. 
 Mrs. Heydinger continues to reside on her 
 farm, which is situated four and one-half 
 miles northeast of New Washington, and has 
 her land cultivated for her. 
 
 EDWARD MILLER, general farmer and 
 stock raiser, who until recently resided on his 
 tract of 115 acres lying in Tod township. 
 Crawford county, O., one-half mile west of 
 Lemert, O., now resides near Chatfield, O., 
 on a tract of 200 acres which he has ex- 
 changed for the former. He was born in 
 1864, on his father's farm two and one-half 
 miles west of Bucyrus, and is a son of Henry 
 and Mary (Kissel) Miller. 
 
 Henry Miller was born in Dauphin county, 
 Pa., where he remained until he was 35 years 
 
952 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of age, when he came to Crawford county 
 and located on a farm of 80 acres west of 
 Bucyrus. In 1870 he moved to the present 
 homestead in Tod township, and the remain- 
 der of his Hfe was passed here, his death oc- 
 curring in his 82d year. He married Mary 
 Kissel, who was also born in Pennsylvania 
 and died in Crawford county, when aged j}^ 
 years. They had eleven children born to them, 
 namely: John C, Samuel, Henry, Mary, 
 Ellen, Elias, Hiram, Rufus, Edward, Grant 
 and Jacob; four of these — Jacob, Samuel, 
 Henry and Mary — being deceased. John C. 
 served three years in Company L, loth Ohio 
 Vol. Cav., and Samuel served 18 months in 
 Company A, 12th Ohio Vol. Cav., during the 
 Civil War. 
 
 Edward Miller attended the country schools 
 and assisted his father until he became of age 
 and then spent two years in Missouri. After 
 he returned he married and came then to his 
 present farm, making improvements here which 
 has greatly increased its value and cultivat- 
 ing it in such a way as to make it exceedingly 
 productive. 
 
 Mr. Miller married Miss Celia Dolon, a 
 daughter of William Dolon, who is in the 
 stone quarry business, and they have two chil- 
 dren: Clarence and Esta, both of whom re- 
 side at home. Mr. Miller and family belongs 
 to the Methodist Protestant church at Lemert. 
 In politics he is a Republican. He is an active 
 citizen in taking an interest in public affairs 
 in his neighborhood, but is no seeker for office, 
 his time being fully engaged in looking after 
 his large farm. 
 
 JAMES H. GREEN, deceased, for many 
 years was a prominent business man of Gallon, 
 O. He was born at Norton, near Cardington, 
 O., his parents being Aaron and Nancy 
 (Berry) Green. 
 
 The Green and Berry families both came 
 very early in Ohio from Pennsylvania. The 
 Berrys settled Berry Hill, which is now a part 
 of Marion, O. After marriage, Aaron and 
 Nancy (Berry) Green began life on a farm 
 near Cardington, O., in Morrow county, and 
 became well known and respected people and 
 leading members of the Protestant Methodist 
 church. They had two sons born to them, 
 James H. and Sanford, the latter of whom has 
 
 been engaged in medical practice at Carding- 
 ton, O., for many years, and is a veteran of 
 the Civil War. 
 
 James H. Green grew to manhood in Mor- 
 row county and had such educational advant- 
 ages as were obtainable at the time, and began 
 to provide for himself as a clerk in a mer- 
 chant's store at Mt. Gilead, O., and was so 
 engaged when the Civil War broke out. 
 Shortly afterward he enlisted for service, be- 
 coming a member of the 47th O. Vol. Inf., 
 an^ remained in the Federal Army for three 
 years, participating in all the hazards to which 
 his command was exposed but escaping cap- 
 ture by the enemy and receiving but one wound 
 which did not seriously incapacitate him. 
 
 After the close of the war, Mr. Green re- 
 turned to Mt. Gilead where he engaged in the 
 mercantile business for a short time and then 
 came to Galion. Here, in 1866, he established 
 the Citizens National Bank, of which he be- 
 came manager and cashier, and some years 
 lafterward assumed its presidency, subse- 
 quently devoting himself entirely to the in- 
 terests of this financial institution, building it 
 up into a high state of efficiency. Mr. Green 
 was recognized as one of the men of sterling 
 character and honesty and uprightness con- 
 tinues to be associated with his name as his 
 fellow citizens recall him. He was a Repub- 
 lican in his political opinions but was more of 
 a business man than politician. For many 
 years he took pride and interest in his Ma- 
 sonic connections and belonged to the high 
 branch of the fraternitv known as the Mystic 
 Shrine. 
 
 At Galion, O., Mr. Green was united in 
 marriage with Miss Leonora Hathaway Mc- 
 Clain, who was born at East Liberty, near 
 Bellefontaine, O., and was brought to Galion 
 when nine years old by her parents, Marcus 
 H. and Lucy (Reed) McClain. Both were 
 born in Ohio of Scotch-Irish parents, were 
 married on Darby Plains, near Milford, and 
 immediately afterward settled at East Lib- 
 erty. Mr. McCIain engaged there in a gen- 
 eral mercantile business and later was con- 
 nected with business enterprises at Upper San- 
 dusky and Wilmington prior to coming to Ga- 
 lion, in 1869. Here he engaged for many 
 years in the drug business and became a prom- 
 inent citizen. Dr. McClain still lives at Galion 
 
>- JAMES II, (iltKEX 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 955 
 
 and in spite of his 87 years, is a man of much 
 business ability and continues to be the presi- 
 dent of the GaHon Loan 'fend Savings Com- 
 pany, which is an incorporated body with cap- 
 ital of $2,000,000. Dr. McClain is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church and in pol- 
 itics is a Republican. Of his children two 
 daughters survive: Mrs. Green and Mary J., 
 who is the wife of Joseph Repine, who re- 
 sides at Ft. Wayne, Ind. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Green four sons were 
 born : Howard A., Frank R., Dahl and James 
 H., all prominent business men of Gallon. 
 
 ALBERT C. SCHAFSTALL, V. S.,* who 
 maintains his office in Mansfield street, New 
 Washington, O., has been engaged in the ac- 
 tive practice of his profession here since 1910, 
 one that covers a large territory and includes 
 every branch of veterinary practice. He was 
 born at Donaldson, Pa., Aug. 3, 1886, and is 
 a son of William A. and a grandson of Albert 
 Philip Schafstall. 
 
 Albert Philip Schafstall was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, of German ancestry, and there mar- 
 ried Eliza Minning, and they had four chil- 
 dren: Levi and John, both of whom are de- 
 ceased; William A.; and Minnie, who is the 
 wife of John Haverock. The grandfather of 
 Dr. Schafstall was a leading citizen of Donald- 
 son, where he and wife died, and was a mem- 
 ber of the first town council and the first board 
 of health. 
 
 WilHam A. Schafstall was a carpenter and 
 practical miner and for a number of years 
 before retiring, was manager of a large mine. 
 He married Elizabeth Long, who was a daugh- 
 ter of Charles and Esther Long, the latter be- 
 ing of English ancestry, and they have four 
 children, namely: Florence, who married Lee 
 Morgan and lives at Lincoln, Pa. ; Albert C, 
 subject of this article; Edith, who married 
 James Kissinger and lives at Lebanon, Pa. ; 
 and Roy, who resides with his parents. They 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Mr. Schafstall is a Republican in 
 politics and for a number of years has been a 
 member of the school board. 
 
 Albert S. Schafstall attended the public 
 schools at Tremont, Pa., and after graduating 
 from the High School went to Philadelphia, 
 where he secured a position as meat inspector 
 
 for the Government and in the meanwhile he 
 did his preparatory studying for entrance in 
 the Ontario Veterinary College, at Toronto, 
 Canada, where he was graduated in 1910. In 
 May of that year he established himself at 
 New Washington, O., and his regular prac- 
 tice covers the territory from Shiloh to Liver- 
 more and from Bucyrus to five miles north of 
 Attica, O. He is a member of the Ohio State 
 Veterinary Medical Association and of the 
 Erie Medical Association. He is a well trained 
 man in his school of medicine and keeps thor- 
 oughly abreast of the times in all scientific 
 study. In addition to his practice, Dr. Schaf- 
 stall is a charter member and a director of the 
 Cranberry township nursery. In politics he is 
 independent, while fraternally he belongs to 
 the Knights of the Golden Eagle and to the 
 Sons of America. 
 
 A. H. LAUGHBAUM, cashier of the Com- 
 mercial Savings Bank Company, at Gallon, O., 
 is one of the capable, energetic and public 
 spirited men of this city. He was born in 
 Crawford county, in 1853, ^^^ ^^ ^ ^^^ ^^ 
 Henry and Nancy (Pfeifer) Laughbaum. 
 
 Henry Laughbaum was born in 1828, in 
 Richland county, O., and died in Polk town- 
 ship; Crawford county. May 8, 1901. He set- 
 tled in Polk township as a real pioneer, spend- 
 ing a number of years in the woods, operat- 
 ing saw mills and manufacturing lumber. In 
 1865 he settled on a 'farm, on which he con- 
 tinued to reside until the close of his life and 
 which is yet the home of his widow. It was 
 their custom for many years to attend services 
 in the United Brethren church at Gallon and 
 Mrs. Laughbaum, although now 80 years of 
 age, still drives in from the farm, three miles 
 distant, every Sunday. 
 
 A. H. Laughbaum began to teach school 
 when he was but 15 years of age, having made 
 the most of his rather meager educational op- 
 portunities, and for a period covered by 24 
 years continued as an educator and during this 
 time was twice appointed school examiner. 
 In 1891 he was first elected county clerk, serv- 
 ing afterward for six and one-half years and 
 for two years as assistant to his successor, W. 
 B. Forest. He then became clerk in the Sec- 
 ond National Bank of Bucyrus and in 1907 
 came from there to Gallon, having been elected 
 
956 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 cashier of the Commercial Savings Bank Com- 
 pany of this place. He is widely known in 
 financial circles and is extremely popular in 
 his relations with the patrons of the bank. 
 Politically a Democrat he has frequently been 
 honored by his party with elections and ap- 
 pointed to office. For two terms he served as 
 president of the city council and has been a 
 member of both the county and executive com- 
 mittees that organize, manage and regulate 
 political movements in the party. A delegate 
 a number of times to county and state con- 
 ventions, his loyalty to his party and to his 
 friends is proverbial and his advice on party 
 measures is known to have been sound. 
 
 The Commercial Savings Bank Company 
 of Gallon, O., was organized in June, 1905, 
 with Mark Cook as president; R. W. John- 
 ston as vice president ; M. A. Curtiss as second 
 vice president; and Frank Stout as teller. 
 Since 1907, A. H. Laughbaum has been cash- 
 ier and E. B. Beall has been assistant cashier. 
 The report of the condition of the bank issued 
 Feb. 20, 19 1 2, shows a vast amount of busi- 
 ness done and that the bank is in a very pros- 
 perous condition. The board of directors are 
 men of capital and high standing, as follows : 
 Mark Cook, R. W. Johnston, M. A. Curtiss, C. 
 H. Henkel, W. V. Goshorn, Dr. E. D. Helf- 
 rich, C. S. Mooney, J. L. Gugler and Mell B. 
 Talmadge. 
 
 In 1874, Mr. Laughbaum was married to 
 Miss B. E. Shumaker, who was born and 
 reared in Crawford county. Her father, John 
 J. Shumaker, was the first white child born in 
 Crawford county, this event taking place in 
 Polk township, April 13, 1828, and he has al- 
 ways lived within one mile of his birthplace. 
 Although 84 years of age he has been kindly 
 treated by Father Time and his stature of six 
 feet and two inches has not been diminished 
 by the weaknesses of old age. His friends 
 and neighbors tell a story that he is too mod- 
 est to boast of, and that is that one year ago, 
 in one day, he husked fifty bushels of corn, 
 a feat that a much younger busker might 
 justly be proud of. He married Elizabeth 
 Smith, who died in 191 1, aged 80 years. Mr. 
 Shumaker is a member of the Reformed 
 church. Five children have been born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Laughbaum: Malcolm A., Thur- 
 man Ray, Gurney Y., Virgy E., and a son that 
 
 died in infancy. Malcolm A., who was a grad- 
 uate of the Bucyrus High School and of Ober- 
 lin College and president of his class (1901) 
 in the medical department of the Western Re- 
 serve College, died in 1904. He was a bril- 
 liant young man and apparently had a suc- 
 cessful and useful career before him. Thur- 
 man Ray is a graduate of Otterbein Univer- 
 sity, attended the Ohio State University at 
 Columbus and was graduated from Starling 
 Medical College in May, 1910, and is now in 
 active practice at Haysville, O. He married 
 Maude Seamster and they have one son, Mal- 
 colm A. Gurney Y. is a graduate of the 
 Northern Ohio University and is a pharmacist 
 with Caldwell and Bloor, at Mansfield, O., 
 Virgy E. is the wife of Charles T. Reid, 
 formerly of Bucyrus and now of Ashland, O. 
 They have two children: Dorothy E. and 
 John Robert. Mr. Laughbaum is a prominent 
 member of the U. B. church at Gallon, being 
 church treasurer and superintendent of the 
 Sunday-school. On three occasions he has 
 been a delegate to the general church confer- 
 ence, once at Fredericktown, Md., four years 
 later, at Topeka, Kans., and in 1908 repre- 
 sented the First United Brethren church at 
 Gallon, at Canton, O. Fraternally he is identi- 
 fied with the Odd Fellows. 
 
 MRS. HARRIET ZAEBST, who is widely 
 known in Cranberry township, Crawford 
 county, O., and very highly esteemed, resides 
 on her excellent farm of 78 acres, which lies 
 in section 14, in the western part of this town- 
 ship. She was born in Columbiana county, O., 
 Oct. II, 1839, one of five children born to 
 Joseph and Susann (Firestone) Harmon. 
 
 When Harriet Harmon was eight years old 
 her father died in Chatfield township, Craw- 
 ford county, where the family had been living 
 for four years. The mother was obliged to 
 find homes for the little ones when she was 
 left a widow and when she later married Jere- 
 miah Lloyd, of Mansfield, still left Harriet in 
 the home of the latter's uncle, David Harmon, 
 of Chatfield township. Mrs. Lloyd died in 
 Kaskaskia county, Ind., at the age of 63 years. 
 The child remained in her uncle's family and 
 was taught all manner of housewifely duties 
 but had little opportunity to go to school. On 
 April 3, i860, she was married to Adam Zaebst, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 957 
 
 who was born on the farm now owned by his 
 widow, a son of John and Margaret (Lantz) 
 Zaebst. After marriage they Hved on this 
 place, the young daughter-in-law assisting to 
 care for her husband's parents until the end 
 of their lives. To Mr. and Mrs. Zaebst the 
 following children were born : Frances, who 
 is the wife of Curtis Brown, residing near New 
 Washington; Aaron, O., who was accidently 
 killed by a railroad train in his 21st year ; John, 
 who married Katherine Huber and lives at 
 New Washington ; William, who married Ada 
 Reiter and lives at Bucyrus; Adam, who mar- 
 ried Alvira Gangloff and lives at Akron, O. ; 
 Frank, who married Jennie Gosshorne and 
 lives at Ashtabula, O. ; Ottis, who married 
 Rosa Mough and resides at Ashtabula ; Ruf us, 
 who married Lulu Fultz and lives at Gallon; 
 Nora, who is the wife of Eikes Gable and lives 
 at New Washington, and Fred E., who man- 
 ages the home farm and is in the third gen- 
 eration to occupy it, and who married Clara 
 Kessler. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zaebst passed many happy 
 years together on this old farm, carrying on 
 its industries, rearing their children and offer- 
 ing pleasant hospitality to many friends. Here 
 Mr. Zaebst died in his 66th year and his burial 
 was in the Lutheran Cemetery, he having been 
 a member of that church. He was a quiet, 
 home-loving man, careful about his business 
 affairs and a good neighbor as well as kind 
 husband and father. He believed in the prin- 
 ciples of the Democratic party and voted with 
 that organization. Mrs. Zaebst is a member 
 of the German Lutheran church. She has 
 witnessed many changes take place in this part 
 of the country and can recall interesting events 
 that have come under her own notice. 
 
 PETER BOEHM, furniture dealer and 
 undertaker, a member of the well known firm 
 of Roister & Boehm, at Gallon, O., is one of 
 this city's most respected citizens. He was 
 born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1845, 
 and is a son of George and Lizzie M. (Klinger) 
 Boehm. 
 
 George Boehm was born in Germany and 
 lost his own father when two years of age 
 but was reared by a kind step-father, became a 
 farmer and died in his native land in 1854, 
 when aged 57 years. He married the daugh- 
 
 ter of a neighbor, Lizzie M. Klinger, who was 
 born in 1800 and died in 1862. They were 
 members of the State Lutheran church. Their 
 family consisted of seven sons and one daugh- 
 ter, and the daughter and three of the sons 
 came to the United States. Of these, two 
 sons survive, Peter and Henry, both being 
 successful business men of Gallon and fathers 
 of families. 
 
 Peter Boehm grew to manhood in his na- 
 tive province and then fulfilled the law of his 
 country by serving three years as a soldier 
 and then learned the cabinet making trade, 
 working afterward as a journeyman. He 
 then determined to come to the United States, 
 Gallon, O., being the point where he proposed 
 to enter into business. He crossed the At- 
 lantic Ocean in the ship Vera Cruz, and was 
 landed at New York. Mr. Boehm secured 
 passage to Gallon on a coal train and gives 
 some idea of its velocity when he tells in an 
 amusing style, how he and other passengers 
 could jump off the car as it passed cherry 
 orchards, gather some fruit and then catch 
 up with the train by a little speeding. It was 
 fortunate that the fruit could be so obtained 
 as there was little food to be secured and he 
 paid as much as sixty-five cents for a loaf of 
 bread. 
 
 After reaching Gallon, Mr. Boehm worked 
 as a journeyman cabinet maker for some years, 
 for seven years was employed as a general 
 carpenter, and for two years engaged as car- 
 penter contractor. In 1882 he formed his 
 present partnership with Henry Roister and 
 the firm has been continued ever since and as 
 a business house is stable and reliable in every 
 way. In his political views he is a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Boehm was married (first) at Gallon, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Muth, who was born in this 
 city in 1853 and died in 1880, the mother of 
 three children, namely: Anna, who is the 
 wife of William Karg, residing at Shelby, O., 
 and has one daughter, Laura; Katie, who is 
 the wife of William Sickles, of Gallon, and 
 has four children — Lillian, Wallace, Magdaline 
 and Elizabeth; and Hammond, who died at 
 the age of twenty-five years. Mr. Boehm was 
 married (second) in September, 1882, to Miss 
 Felecedas Bohl, who was born Feb. 21, 1853, 
 at Gallon, a daughter of Henry and Felecedas 
 Bohl. The parents of Mrs. Boehm were born 
 
958 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and educated at Baden Baden, Germany, where 
 they married when they reached mature age. 
 They joined others, friends and kindred, who 
 were emigrating to America. Among the arti- 
 cles they brought with them was a comfortably 
 filled hay wagon and this supplied them with 
 a clean bed during the long voyage, and after 
 landing at the port of New York they still 
 found further use for it. Securing an ox-team 
 they attached the same to the hay wagon and 
 started on their slow way to Gallon, O. It 
 took some weeks to make the overland journey 
 but it was comfortably accomplished, camps 
 being made on the way as occasion or inclina- 
 tion demanded. This quiet journey over the 
 country gave them a better knowledge of its 
 topography than was ever afterward afforded 
 them, for Mr. Bohl soon bought a tract of 
 wild land and for years afterward the clearing 
 and cultivating of this land and the rearing of 
 their children centered their lives in one place. 
 On their old farm now is situated a part of the 
 Gallon Protestant Cemetery. Here Henry 
 Bohl and wife died, she in March, 1889, aged 
 '^y years, and he four years later, in his 8ist 
 year. They were among the founders of the 
 German Lutheran church at Gallon. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Boehm have two children: Carl and 
 Minnie. The former was born May 13, 1888, 
 attended the public schools and later the Barnes 
 Sanitary Science and Embalming School, at 
 Chicago, 111., securing his license from this 
 institution. He resides at home. The daugh- 
 ter, Minnie, is the wife of Harry Albright, 
 who is pay roll clerk for the Erie Railroad at 
 Gallon. Mr. and Mrs. Boehm with their chil- 
 dren, belong to the German Lutheran church. 
 
 J. F. SPONSELLER, who carries on mixed 
 farming in sections 11 and 14, Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, O., where he owns 
 120 acres of valuable land, resides in the 
 former section, his residence standing three- 
 fourth miles west of the center of New Wash- 
 ington, O. He was born in Seneca county, O., 
 Oct. 21, 1865, and is a son of John and Eliza- 
 beth (Kirgis) Sponseller. 
 
 John Sponseller and wife were born in 
 Seneca county. He followed farming for 
 some years but his death occurred at the early 
 age of '^,2) and his burial was in the Lutheran 
 cemetery in Chatfield township. His widow 
 
 survives and makes her home with her three 
 children. She is a member of the Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 J. F. Sponseller was 12 years old when he 
 came to Crawford county and has remained 
 here until the present and has always followed 
 an agricultural life. He bought his farm from 
 the heirs of old residents, a part being known 
 as the R. Smith farm and the others as the 
 Swope and Adam High farms. Under Mr. 
 Sponseller's methods of cultivation all the land 
 has been made very productive and he raises 
 cattle, sheep and hogs and grows grain and 
 hay. 
 
 Mr. Sponseller married Miss Emma Ott, 
 who was born at New Washington, a daugh- 
 ter of Gotfried and Caroline Ott and they 
 have one son, Floyd R., who is attending col- 
 lege at Columbus. In politics, Mrs. Sponseller 
 is a Democrat. He is a leading citizen of his 
 township, interested in all that concerns its 
 welfare and for ten years has been a member 
 of the village school board. 
 
 FRANCIS M. SCHRECK,* lumber manu- 
 facturer and dealer, with sawmill located at 
 Frederick, Knox county, O., is well known 
 in the lumber industry all through this section 
 of Ohio, having been interested in Knox, 
 Crawford and Morrow counties for 22 years. 
 He was born at Olentangy, O., Nov. 11, 1854, 
 and is a son of David and Belinda (Sherer) 
 Schreck. 
 
 David Schreck was born in 1829, in Penn- 
 sylvania and came to Ohio with his parents, 
 Andrew and Elizabeth Schreck. The family 
 located first at Bucyrus and later purchased 
 an unimproved tract of land in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county. Andrew Schreck 
 and wife both died in Ohio. They were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church. David Schreck 
 assisted his father on the place in Whetstone 
 township. He married Belinda Sherer, who 
 was born in 1832, in Crawford county, O., 
 a daughter of John and Sarah (Keiffer) 
 Sherer. She died at the age of 58 years but 
 Mr. Schreck lived into his 73d year. He was 
 a farmer and also a veterinary surgeon. They 
 were members of the Lutheran church. They 
 had eleven children born to them, six sons 
 and five daughters, and nine of these grew to 
 maturity and married and eight yet survive. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 959 
 
 Francis M. Schreck started to work in a saw- 
 mill after his school days were past and has 
 been a lumber manufacturer since 1890, and 
 prior to locating at Frederick, operated for a 
 time at Mt. Gilead, in Morrow county, but 
 for 27 years has maintained his home at Ga- 
 lion, where he is a representative and respected 
 citizen. 
 
 Mr. Schreck was married at Galion to Miss 
 Anna Rorick, who was born at Winchester, O., 
 Feb. 12, 1854, and they have had the follow- 
 ing children: an infant that died unnamed; 
 Lillian, who is the wife of Charles Kinson, a 
 farmer in Morrow county; Leslie, a sawmill 
 operator, who resides at Mt. Gilead and has a 
 family of one son and two daughters; Rosa, 
 who died when aged one year; Pearley, who 
 died at the age of four years; Toney, who is 
 the wife of Clifford Lacy, who is in the real 
 estate business at Shelby, O., and has one 
 daughter Bertha, who is the wife of Roy Sny- 
 der, and has one daughter, and resides at 
 Shelby; and Irvin, who operates his father's 
 fine farm of 240 acres, situated in Morrow 
 county, one of the best farms in Washington 
 township. Mr. Schreck and family belong to 
 the Martin Lutheran church and he and his 
 sons vote with the Republican party. 
 
 PHILLIP W. COYER, whose finely im- 
 proved farms of 116 acres and 81 acres of 
 productive land lie in Vernon township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., four and one-half miles north- 
 east of Crestline, is a leading citizen of this 
 section, prominent in agricultural, political and 
 chiu-ch circles. He was born in Crawford 
 county in i860, and is a son of Paul and Sarah 
 (Beach) Coyer. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Coyer were also born 
 in Crawford county, the father in 1838 and 
 the mother in 1840. Farming was the occu- 
 pation of Paul Coyer throughout life. His 
 family consisted of five children; Phillip W., 
 subject of this sketch; Henry, who lived on 
 the home farm until his death, Feb. 17, 1910, 
 married Maggie Mink; Frederick, who lives 
 in Vernon township, married Lizzie Heckler; 
 Lavina, who lives at Crestline, married David 
 Bloom ; and Louisa, who is the wife of Henry 
 Fisher, lives in Vernon township. 
 
 Philip W. Coyer attended the public schools 
 and lived on the home farm assisting his father 
 
 64 
 
 until he was 22 years of age, after which, for 
 one year, he worked by the month for other 
 farmers, then married and came to the pres- 
 ent farm which then contained 116 acres. He 
 has since purchased a farm of 81 acres and 
 now has two of the best farms in all this sec- 
 tion of Crawford county. He is progressive 
 and enterprising, has made many improve- 
 ments including the erection of a fine residence 
 and two substantial barns, and carries on all 
 his undertakings with a large measure of suc- 
 cess. 
 
 Mr. Coyer was married to Miss Caroline 
 Fisher, a daughter of Louis and Barbara 
 (Bauer) Fisher, and they have four children: 
 Lizzie, who is the wife of Roy Heckler and 
 lives at Crestline; Edna, who is the wife of 
 Frank Bilsing, and lives two miles east of Ga- 
 lion; and Mada and Esther who reside at 
 home. Mrs. Coyer has the following brothers 
 and sisters : John, Adam, Louis, Henry, Wil- 
 liam, Catherine, Anna and Elizabeth and one 
 half sister, Mrs. Margaret Snyder. Mr. Coyer 
 and family are members of the Luthean church, 
 of which he has long been a trustee and is a 
 deacon in the same. In politics he is a Demo- 
 crat and on numerous occasions has been 
 elected to local offices and has served with effi- 
 ciency as road supervisor and as township 
 trustee. 
 
 JEFFERSON MARQUART, who is serv- 
 ing in his second term as township trustee of 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., is 
 one of the leading citizens of this section and 
 a member of an old Ohio family. He was 
 born in Cranberry township, Crawford county, 
 Oct. 4, 1858, and is- a son of Michael and 
 Caroline W. (Longyear) Marquart. 
 
 Michael Marquart was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, April 27, 1 81 7. His parents were Mi- 
 chael and Margaret (Fechter) Marquart, and 
 at the time of death was the only survivor 
 of their five children. The older Michael Mar- 
 quart and wife spent their entire lives in Ger- 
 many. He was a farmer by occupation and 
 during the financial panic of 1817 lost his 
 property and afterward worked for wages as 
 a farm hand. The younger Michael remained 
 in his parents' home until 18 years of age, 
 when he apprenticed himself to learn the brick 
 and stone mason trade, and later, believing 
 
960 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 that he could better his financial condition in 
 the United States, started for America accom- 
 panied by a sister. They took passage on a 
 steamer that conveyed them down the River 
 Rhine to Havre-de-Grace, and there embarked 
 on a sailing vessel and were safely landed in 
 New York harbor Aug. 12, 1839, after a voy- 
 age of 51 days. 
 
 When Michael Marquart reached New York 
 he found his capital had dwindled down to 
 about two dollars but he was fortunate in hav- 
 ing made a friend of a fellow passenger who 
 offered him a loan if he would accompany 
 him on to Ohio. Accordingly young Michael 
 and his sister proceeded on their way to Tus- 
 carawas county, 0., where he found work in 
 the ore mines near New Philadelphia and with 
 his first wage he honestly returned the sum he 
 had borrowed from his new found friend. He 
 soon secured work at his trade and found 
 constant employment at one thing or another, 
 providently saving his money, until, when he 
 reached Crawford county he had enough cap- 
 ital with which to buy 69 acres of land in 
 Cranberry township. A log cabin had been 
 erected by the first settler but little clearing 
 had -been done, and that cabin served as his 
 home until 1861, when he erected a substan- 
 tial farm-house. In 1862 he bought 27 acres 
 adjoining his first purchase and later added 
 18 additional acres and still later he bought 
 other land : one farm of 'j'j acres and a second 
 one of 80 acres, both in Cranberry township 
 and one of 36 acres in Seneca county. He 
 improved his land, gave it careful tillage and 
 reaped abundant harvests. In 1844 he mar- 
 ried Catherine Streile, who was born in Ger- 
 many and they had five children, the only 
 survivor being Caroline, wife of William 
 Longyear. This wife died in 1854 and in 1855 
 he married Caroline W. Longyear, who was 
 born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and when 26 
 years of age accompanied her father, Michael 
 Longyear, to America. Her father died at the 
 home of Mr. and Mrs. Marquart. Seven chil- 
 dren were born to the second union, five of 
 whom are living, namely: August, who is a 
 farmer in Cranberry township ; Jefferson, our 
 subject; George, who lives on the old farm; 
 Wilhelmina, wife of William Beckstine, of 
 Cranberry township; and Emma, wife of Frank 
 Leonhart, of Chatfield township. The mother 
 
 of these children passed away March 13, 1900, 
 she being in her 72d year. 
 
 In politics Mr. Marquart was a Democrat. 
 He was a member of the German Evangelical 
 Lutheran church, in which he held office for 
 many years, serving as trustee, deacon and 
 elder. 
 
 Jefferson Marquart attended the district 
 schools in Cranberry township and after his 
 school days were over engaged in farming 
 and after his first marriage located on his 
 father's Seneca county land, where his wife, 
 Maggie Reidel Marquart, died in 1884. She 
 was born in Chatfield township, Crawford 
 county, a daughter of Conrad Reidel. The 
 only child born to that marriage is deceased. 
 Mr. Marquart was married second, Jan. 2, 
 1887, to Miss Mary E. Shade, who was born 
 in Seneca county, O., a daughter of William 
 and Anna (Deisler) Shade, and they have one 
 daughter, Rosa A. C, who is the wife of Wil- 
 liam Long, who is a resident of Cranberry 
 township, living on her father's farm of 80 
 acres, which lies northeast of town. 
 
 Mr. Marquart continued to live in Seneca 
 county for four more months and then moved 
 to Cranberry township settling in its northern 
 part, and now resides on a tract of eleven and 
 one-half acres, which is known as the Andrew 
 Smith farm and lies within the corporate 
 limits of New Washington. He erected the 
 buildings here and has an attractive, modern 
 residence at the end of East Mansfield street. 
 He is a member of the Lutheran church and 
 has served as a member of the church coun- 
 cil. In politics he is a Democrat but has never 
 accepted any office except that of school di- 
 rector in Cranberry township, in which he 
 served usefully and conscientiously for six 
 years. He is a stockholder in the New Wash- 
 ington Lumber and Manufacturing Company. 
 
 JACOB H. PETRI, a prominent clothing 
 man and merchant tailor, at Galion, O., doing 
 business at No. 133 East Main street, has been 
 identified with commercial affairs here under 
 his own name, for the past 37 years. He was 
 born Sept. 15, 1846, at Holtshossen, Hesse 
 Darmstadt, Germany, a son of John and Eliza- 
 beth (Yeider) Petri. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Petri were natives also 
 of Hesse Darmstadt and the father died there 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 961 
 
 in 1855, at the age of 48 years, and the mother 
 when aged "j^, years. They were members of 
 the Lutheran church. The father was a small 
 farmer. Of their family of six children, four 
 reached maturity but there are only two sur- 
 vivors: Jacob H. and John, the latter still 
 following farming in Germany. 
 
 Jacob H. Petri attended the German schools 
 until he was 14 years of age and then became 
 apprenticed to a tailor and continued working 
 at that trade until 1866, when he took passage 
 on the steamer America, for the United States. 
 He was safely landed at Castle Garden, New 
 York City, and from there came to Ohio, in 
 the city of Cleveland finding employment at 
 his trade. One year later he located at Hud- 
 son, O., from there going to Akron, where 
 he was employed as a cutter in tailoring es- 
 tablishments. He then came to Gallon and on 
 March i, 1875, started into business here on 
 South Market street, for the first ten years 
 confining himself to merchant tailoring and 
 then adding ready made clothing, hats and 
 caps, and also a general line of seasonable 
 goods to his stock, in 1897 removing to his 
 present excellent location. He is one of the 
 solid, reliable and representative business men 
 of Gallon. 
 
 Mr. Petri was married at Akron, O., to Miss 
 Margaretta Byrider, who was born at Akron, 
 and died at Gallon at the age of 55 years. 
 Her parents, John and Elizabeth (Strovel) 
 Byrider came from Bavaria, Germany, to the 
 United States in 1832, settling first at Cleve- 
 land and later moving to Akron, where both 
 died in old age. To Mr. and Mrs. Petri the 
 following children were born: Edward Wil- 
 liam, a business man of Gallon, who married 
 Lillie Miller, a daughter of Herman F. Mil- 
 ler, of Bucyrus, and has one son, Kenneth 
 Miller, a bright boy of five years; Otto G., 
 who is associated with his father and is an 
 expert cutter, and who married Louisa Crow- 
 ley of Galion and has one daughter, Elizabeth 
 M. ; Laura E., who resides with her father; 
 Stella Anna, who is the wife of William F. 
 Lauer, a resident of Memphis, Tenn., and has 
 one, daughter, Florence G. ; Florence, who re- 
 sides at home; and Richard, who died when 
 aged 16 months. Mrs. Petri and family be- 
 long to the German Lutheran church. He and 
 sons are all affiliated with the Democratic party, 
 
 in which he has been an important factor for 
 a number of years. For four years Mr. Petri 
 served on the city council, for six years was 
 a trustee of the township and seven years 
 served as county commissioner. He was one 
 of the organizers of the Galion Building and 
 Loan Association and is yet on its directing 
 board. 
 
 REV. JOHN P. KUNNERT, pastor of St. 
 Bernard's Roman Catholic church, at New 
 Washington, O., was born Oct. 2"], 1856, in 
 the grand-duchy of Luxemburg, Germany, 
 and is a son of Henry and Magdalena (Scheu- 
 rens) Kunnert. 
 
 Henry Kunnert lived and died in the prov- 
 ince in which he was born, married and reared 
 his children. Both he and wife were faithful 
 Catholics and were good and worthy people. 
 They lived into old age, the father dying in 
 his 76th year and the mother still lives, being 
 in her 85th year. Of their family of seven 
 children, six yet survive although scattered 
 in their homes, one son living in South 
 America. 
 
 John P. Kunnert remembers well the old 
 homestead in which he was born and which 
 had been the birthplace of his father, grand- 
 father and great-grandfather. He was of an 
 unusually bright mind in youth and was af- 
 forded excellent educational advantages, at- 
 tending school in Belgium and in France and 
 completing agricultural, commercial and philo- 
 sophical courses, prior to coming to America 
 to enter a theological seminary at Cleveland, 
 O. After completing his studies there he was 
 appointed pastor of the church at Harrisburg, 
 Stark county, O., where he remained for two 
 and one-half years ; then for one and one-half 
 years was assistant pastor at St. Peter's church 
 at Cleveland, O., when he returned to Harris- 
 burg and remained with the church there from 
 1890 until 1899. In September of that year 
 he was appointed pastor of St. Bernard's 
 church at New Washington and has continued 
 here ever since. 
 
 The church over which Rev. Kunnert pre- 
 sides has a very interesting history. In 1844 
 about twelve German Catholic families, living 
 in and near New Washington, were detached 
 from St. Stephen's congregation, in Seneca 
 county, and formed into a separate mission, 
 
962 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and Father Trawin Brunner was the first 
 priest to visit this now congregation. For 
 nearly two years mass was said in private 
 houses. In 1846 a small frame edifice was 
 erected for church purposes built on land 
 bought May 21, 1846. In these early days 
 the present site of New Washington was cov- 
 ered with swamps and trees and the first priest 
 who passed through here, Rev. F. N. Tchen- 
 hens, in 1840, said mass and administered 
 religious consolation in the house of a Mr. 
 Wurst, which stood where the town has since 
 been built. Mass was also said at different 
 times in the house of John Quit. The twelve 
 heads of families who composed the congre- 
 gation at New Washington were: Peter 
 -Young, John Fortner, Joseph Wurst, Mathew 
 Saehnhoff, John Quit, Timothy McCarthy, 
 Casper Dellos, Nicholas Kiefer, Peter Mueller, 
 Mathew Kramer, Peter Gonlong and Benedict 
 Uhl. They bought a lot from Mr. Meier, for 
 the sum of thirteen dollars and in 1842 hewed 
 the timber for the first St. Bernard church and 
 the first church was built in 1843 by B. Pratt, 
 he receiving one hundred dollars for framing 
 it. In the next year it was roofed and by 1845 
 the little church was completed and stood as 
 a record of Catholic zeal. 
 
 In 1844 the Right Reverend Bishop Purcell 
 paid his first episcopal visit and in 1850, the 
 Right Reverend Bishop Rappe visited the place 
 for the first time. The congregation had made 
 preparations to give their bishop a formal wel- 
 come but he had anticipated them and was at 
 the church before they started to meet him. 
 During his visit he baptized Margaret, daugh- 
 ter of Peter Young, who at present is a Sister 
 in the Sacred Heart of Mary Convent, at Cleve- 
 land, O. Almost immediately plans were made 
 for the establishing of a school in connection 
 with the church, for this congregation has al- 
 ways been an intelligent one and school ses- 
 sions were held in the church building until 
 1852. Among the priests who visited and re- 
 mained with the congregation for a time were 
 the following clergy. Rev. F. S. Brunner 
 came May 27, 1844, and remained until June, 
 1845. Rev. John Wittmer came in 1847. In 
 1848 came Rev. John Van Benbrock, and in 
 1852, Rev. Kreusch, who left May 27, 1852. 
 From that time until Oct. 14, 1852, the mis- 
 sion was visited by Rev. Willibald Willi and 
 
 from then until his return in the same year, 
 it was visited by Rev. P. A. Capeda. Also, 
 between 1841 and 1856 the following priests 
 are mentioned in the church annals as having 
 attended the New Washington congregation: 
 Rev. August Berger, Rev. Sebastian Gan- 
 ter. Rev. Clement Sweitzer, Rev. John Al- 
 bright, Rev. Andrew Heibstridt, Rev. Nicholas 
 Gales, Rev. Willibald Willi, from Thompson, 
 and Rev. Peter Kruesch, from Shelby settle- 
 ment. In May, 1856, Rev. Peter Wilhelmy 
 succeeded and in the same year. Rev. Rochus 
 Schnely became pastor. From December, 
 1856, until Oct. 4, 1857, Rev. Erhardt Glueck 
 attended the congregation, the three last named 
 priests coming from Thompson, O. 
 
 The first resident pastor of St. Bernard was 
 Rev. Andrews Dambach and he served from 
 Dec. 7, 1859, until May 9, 1865. He, like all 
 the priests who had preceded him, with two 
 exceptions, was a Sanquinist Father. Rev. M. 
 Becker was the next resident pastor and he 
 served from July 24, 1865, to June, 1881. Al- 
 most immediately after taking charge he began 
 taking up subscriptions for the building of a 
 new church, which was rendered necessary, 
 as the congregation by this time had far out- 
 grown the first little church which had been 
 erected by such hard work. He sold the old 
 place on March 31, 1868, and bought a five- 
 acre plat of ground, comprising ten town lots, 
 fronting on Mansfield street, New Washing- 
 ton, paying $1,400 for the same. In the same 
 year the work was started and the bride church 
 was completed by the end of the following 
 year. It is of Gk)thic architecture and its cost 
 approximated $25,000. It was dedicated by 
 Right Reverend Bishop Gilmour, Oct. 19, 1879. 
 Father Becker made many more improvements 
 in the parish before his departure. In June, 
 1 88 1, he was succeeded by Rev. Lawrence 
 Heiland and it was during his pastorate that 
 an acre of ground was bought for a cemetery 
 and he also improved the church property. In 
 1886 Rev. John George Vogt became pastor 
 and remained until 1899, in September of 
 which year he was succeeded by Rev. John P. 
 Kunnert. 
 
 Father Kunnert has not only continued the 
 work done for St. Bernard by his predecessors 
 but his plans have far outrun them. He has 
 improved every part of the church property. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 963 
 
 has put in a beautiful new altar, has enlarged 
 the school buildings and improved the parson- 
 age, and has introduced steam heating and 
 electric lighting. From this congregation a 
 new church at Honey Creek was formed but 
 the present congregation includes 85 families, 
 there are 94 pupils in the parochial school and 
 it is under the care of two Sisters of St. 
 Francis, from Tiffin, O., while Father Kun- 
 nert teaches the Bible and catechism. In addi- 
 tion to attending to the spiritual needs and 
 looking after the material welfare of his 
 church here. Father Kunnert developed a 
 church from a mission at New Auburn. He 
 owns a farm at Upper Sandusky and takes in- 
 terest in seeing good stock through the 
 country. 
 
 WILLIAM T. RESCH, senior member of 
 the well known hardware firm of Resch & 
 Casey, at Gallon, O., is a native of this city 
 and has been in the hardware trade since he 
 was 15 years of age. He was born Feb. 3, 1865, 
 and is a son of Adolph and Mary (Purkey) 
 Resch. 
 
 Adolph Resch was born in Baden, Germany, 
 in 1837, and was nine years old when he ac- 
 companied his parents to America. Early in 
 the forties they became residents of (jalion, 
 O., and here Adolph grew to manhood and 
 learned the tinner's trade, one that he fol- 
 lowed for the rest of his life, doing his last 
 bit of work for the firm of Resch & Casey. 
 He was a Democrat in politics, at one time 
 was connected actively with the Odd Fellows 
 and at the time of death, in 1904, was a mem- 
 ber of the English Lutheran church. He was 
 married at Gallon to Mary Purkey, who was 
 born in Pennsylvania and when young was 
 brought to Gallon by her parents, Joseph and 
 Margaret (Kern) Purkey. Joseph Purkey 
 was well known in business circles and dealt 
 extensively in horses for the eastern markets. 
 Nine children were born to Adolph Resch and 
 wife, two of whom died young, and all of the 
 seven survivors but one live in Crawford 
 county, and all married with the exception of 
 one son. 
 
 After his school days were over, William 
 T. Resch learned his business and is a practical 
 mechanic, entirely qualified as a tinner and 
 plumber and also thoroughly acquainted with 
 
 the entire hardware business. On April i, 
 1892, William T. Resch, with his brother, 
 Harry P. Resch and Forest Casey, formed a 
 partnership under the firm style of Resch Bros. 
 & Casey, which continued as such until 1904, 
 when Harry P. Resch withdrew and since 
 then the other partners have conducted the 
 business under its present name. The store 
 is located at No. 123 East Main street and 
 has a 24-foot frontage, with 196 back, run- 
 ning entirely across the lot to the next block, 
 the back part of the building being utilized 
 as a tin shop and warerooms. A heavy stock 
 is carried and the reputation of the firm is so 
 well established that its business continues pros- 
 perous year after year. 
 
 Mr. Resch was married to Miss Emma 
 Rensch, who was born at Gallon and is a 
 daughter of Henry Rensch, who came to this 
 city from Germany, in the fifties. By trade 
 he was a boilermaker and for many years was 
 in the employ of the railroad companies here. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Resch are members of the Eng- 
 lish Lutheran church, in which Mr. Resch is 
 a member of the choir, having sung in the 
 church choirs in Gallon since boyhood. Po- 
 litically he is a Democrat and fraternally is 
 a Mason, Knight of Pythias and Elk. 
 
 ADAM F. HIGH, one of the most progress- 
 ive and successful agriculturists of Crawford 
 county, O., owns 154 acres of fine improved 
 land, situated in section 25, Cranberry town- 
 ship, where he resides and has all the com- 
 forts and conveniences of modern life. He 
 was born northwest of New Washington, O., 
 Jan. 12, 1864, and is a son of Michael and a 
 grandson of Adam High, an old and substan- 
 tial family of this section. 
 
 Adam F. High started to school in Cran- 
 berry township and then attended the High 
 School at New Washington and was graduated 
 in the class of 1884, after which he took a 
 course in the Ohio Normal School at Ada, O. 
 For some ten years afterward he engaged in 
 teaching school, both in Cranberry and Lykens 
 townships, and then turned his attention to 
 insurance and undertaking, in which lines he 
 continued for nine years. At the end of that 
 time he sold to High & De Roche and then 
 engaged in farming on the place on which 
 Jacob Lererer now lives, in Cranberry town- 
 
964 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ship, and remained there for four years. After 
 selling that farm he removed to New Wash- 
 ington and for one year was engaged in sell- 
 ing farm machinery. Mr. High then pur- 
 chased his present property from the Harris 
 heirs. It is known as Cloverdale Farm and is 
 situated two miles south of New Washington. 
 One of the first undertakings he entered into 
 after taking possession was to remodel all the 
 buildings and perhaps there are no better farm 
 and stock structures in all Crawford county 
 than on Mr. High's place. He has built a 
 thoroughly modern and sanitary barn and has 
 introduced a water system so that his stock 
 can be watered in their stalls. He has the 
 reputation of being a farmer who can produce, 
 from his well tiled and scientifically fertilized 
 land, two bushels of grain where other less 
 enterprising agriculturists could raise but one, 
 but the main feature of the farm is the raising 
 and feeding of cattle, sheep and hogs, large 
 shipments being made annually. 
 
 Mr. High married Miss Caroline Asch- 
 bacher, a daughter of William Aschbacher, 
 and they have eight children: Laurie A., J. 
 Proctor, Russell F., E. Ferdinand, C. Milton, 
 Chester A., Herbert L. and Ruth P. Mr. 
 High and family are members of the Lutheran 
 church. He is a prominent factor in Demo- 
 cratic politics in Crawford county having 
 served as a delegate to state conventions, and 
 served two terms as a member of the New 
 Washington School Board, being clerk of that 
 body. He has served two terms as clerk of 
 the corporation. 
 
 ELI AS STIGER, who owns 122 acres of 
 some of the choicest land in Dallas township, 
 Crawford county, O., on which he successfully 
 carries on farming, is one of the self-made 
 men who can attribute his financial independ- 
 ence entirely to hi s own industry and good 
 management. Mr. Stiger was born in Lycom- 
 ing county, Pa., April 20, 1857, and is a son 
 of Jacob and Sophia (Entz) Stiger. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Stiger were also born 
 in Lycoming county and died on their farm 
 there, the mother in middle age and the father 
 when farther advanced. He was twice mar- 
 ried, first to Sophia Entz and second to Mary 
 Plankenhorn. The children of the first union 
 were: Elias, Levi, George W., Samuel, Wil- 
 
 liam and Julia, while those of the second mar- 
 riage were : Pierce, Henry, Mary and Lydia. 
 
 Elias Stiger was given common school ad- 
 vantages in his native section and remained 
 with his father until he was about 20 years 
 of age when he came to Ohio. He found 
 himself in Crawford county, among strangers, 
 with a capital of seven dollars in his pocket, 
 but he did not long remain a stranger, for he 
 readily made friends, and as he immediately 
 secured farm work with James Miller, he was 
 able to add to his capital. After one year with 
 Mr. Miller he engaged to work by the month 
 for Anthony Houser, with whom he remained 
 for three years and then worked for one year 
 for Dr. Miller. About this time Mr. Stiger 
 married and then rented land until 1896, when 
 he purchased his present farm from Oliver 
 Monnett. On the land at that time stood a 
 small house and barn but in his improving, 
 Mr. Stiger has repaired the former and re- 
 placed the latter with a very commodious and 
 substantial one. He carries on general farm- 
 ing and raises enough stock for his own use 
 and is numbered with the prosperous agricul- 
 turists of the township. 
 
 Mr. Stiger was married in 1881 to Miss 
 Emma Crissinger, who is a daughter of Wil- 
 liam Crissinger, and they have the following 
 children : Loma, who was a successful school 
 teacher before marriage, who is the wife of 
 Walter Schiefer, and has two children — Ellis 
 and Weldon; Bertha, who, like her sister, 
 taught school acceptably for several years, and 
 is now the wife of Loren Spiece and has one 
 daughter, Esther; and Gerald and Zella, both 
 of whom are at home. Mr. Stiger and fam- 
 ily attend the Methodist Episcopal church. He 
 gives his political support to the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 ROBERT W. JOHNSTON was born near 
 Hayes ville, Ashland county, O., where he re- 
 sided until 1876, when he became a student in 
 the law office of the late H. C. Carhart, at Ga- 
 lion. After the usual time spent at district 
 school, he attended Vermillion Institute, at 
 Hayesville, and pursued his professional studies 
 during the full course at the law school of Cin- 
 cinnati College. Upon admission to the bar in 
 Hamilton county, in May, 1879, he entered 
 into partnership with his preceptor, Mr. Car- 
 hart, and has continuously resided at Gallon, 
 
JOHN K. ZEEBE 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 967 
 
 but for several years has devoted much of his 
 time to business interests at Columbus. He 
 has served his city as solicitor and mayor. 
 
 His father, Thomas Johnston, vi^as born at 
 Frederick, Md., soon after the arrival of his 
 parents from County Fermanagh, Ireland, the 
 family later moving to Uniontown, Pa. In 
 1828, when eighteen, Thomas came to that 
 part of Richland county now included in Ash- 
 land county, walking the entire distance. Soon 
 after becoming of age he became what is 
 commonly known as a "Wagoner," and for a 
 number of years, and till the advent of the 
 railroad, engaged in wagoning, with six horse 
 teams, the products of the west to Pittsburg, 
 Baltimore and Philadelphia, returning with 
 merchandise from these cities to the merchants 
 of Ohio. Later, farming became his occupa- 
 tion, and he was among the first- in his part 
 of the state to engage in raising Durham or 
 Short Horn cattle. 
 
 Sarah (Workman) Johnston, mother of 
 Robert W., was born at Gettysburg, Pa., her 
 father settling in the eastern part of Richland, 
 now Ashland, county in 181 5, when he pur- 
 chased land from Baptiste Jerome, from whom 
 Jerome's Town, an Indian town or village lo- 
 cated near the present village of Jeromeville, 
 derived its name. She died at Galion, Jan. 27, 
 1893, in her eightieth year. Her father, Jo- 
 seph Workman, was born in County Mona- 
 ghan, Ireland, and came to America when quite 
 young with his father, who was one of a class 
 who holds an honored place in our country's 
 history, "The Irish School-Master." Joseph 
 Workman was justice of the peace in an early 
 day in Richland county, and was the first 
 president of the Ashland County Agricultural 
 Society. He served with a Pennsylvania regi- 
 ment in the War of 1812, and two of his 
 uncles, Hugh Workman and James Workman, 
 were with Col. Crawford in his disastrous 
 campaign against Sandusky. 
 
 JOHN K. ZERBE, one of the highly re- 
 spected retired citizens of Sulphur Springs, 
 Crawford county, O., and a valued member 
 of the Grand Army of the Republic post at 
 Bucyrus, was born in 1838, in Schuylkill 
 county. Pa., and is a son of George and Han- 
 nah Zerbe. 
 
 In 1856 Mr. Zerbe came to Crawford 
 county, O., and began to learn the carpenter 
 
 trade with Jacob Shull and continued work as 
 a carpenter and on his father's farm for five 
 years. In 1862 he began work in the coal 
 mines in Pennsylvania and in the fall of the 
 same year was drafted into service for the 
 Civil War on the nine-months call, was ac- 
 cepted and served as corporal of Co. F, 173rd 
 Pa. Inf., and at the expiration of ten months 
 received an honorable discharge and returned 
 home, but on Feb. 29, 1864, he enlisted in Co. 
 A, 50th Pa. Vol. Inf., which belonged to the 
 First Div., Ninth Army Corps. He remained 
 in the army until the close of the war and was 
 a second time honorably discharged, on April 
 30, 1865. During his second period of ser- 
 vice he took part in the battles of the Wilder- 
 ness, Nye River and Spottsylvania Court 
 House and at the last named place he was 
 made a prisoner and only by good fortune and 
 quick action escaped. When a squad of Union 
 soldiers, by chance met the Confederates by 
 whom he was held, he suddenly made a dash 
 frorn the ranks of prisoners and soon after 
 rejoined his regiment. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. Zerbe moved to Crawford 
 county, buying a farm of 76 acres and later 
 purchasing 120 acres and engaged in farming 
 and stock raising for some years and then 
 came to Sulphur Springs and here followed 
 his trade. In the meanwhile he bought the 
 hotel property of M. Heiby and three other 
 desirable properties, all of which he still owns. 
 In 1894 he was appointed postmaster of Sul- 
 phur Springs and during his term he was also 
 engaged here in the hardware business. He 
 then retired and spent three years at Bucyrus 
 but for the past four years has maintained 
 his home at Sulphur Springs. 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Zerbe was married to Miss 
 Elizabeth Mundinger, a daughter of Leonard 
 and Hannah (Wolf) Mundinger, and eight 
 children were born to them, as follows : Alvin 
 P., who married Emma Berry, who died in 
 1900, has one son, Charles Henry; Henry 
 Albert, who died Dec. 12, 1870, at the age 
 of 18 years; John Wesley, who resides at New 
 Washington, Crawford county, married Tillie 
 Gossman and their one son, Ora, married 
 Huldah Marks and have two children — Helen 
 and Beta Irene; Lewis Washington, who re- 
 sides at Cleveland, O., married Jane Flick- 
 inger; William P., who lives at Shelby, O., 
 married Letta Weidemyer and their one son. 
 
968 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Frank E., married Grace Overlander and they 
 reside at Bucyrus; Grant A., who is a resi- 
 dent of Sandusky City, O., married Frances 
 Teel and they have one son, Claude; Ida, who 
 died when aged one year and four months; 
 and Laura S., who married H. Frank Snyder, 
 and they Uve at Wadsworth, O. Mr. Zerbe 
 has always been a good and reliable citizen and 
 is known all over Crawford county and for 
 two terms was one of the directors of the 
 Crawford County Infirmary. 
 
 GEORGE H. KICHLINE, who is sole 
 proprietor and manager of The Old Honesty 
 Hatchery, which occupies over ten acres on 
 the town limits of New Washington, O., at 
 the end of East Mansfield street, and is an 
 important business enterprise of this place, 
 was born in Northampton county. Pa., Aug. 
 5, 1862. 
 
 Mr. Kichhne came first to Crawford county 
 in 1884 and spent two years as a farmer three 
 and one-half miles southeast of New Wash- 
 ington. He was unmarried and free to follow 
 his own fancy so he concluded to visit Florida 
 but six months convinced him that for a man 
 of his energy a different section of the coun- 
 try would be more congenial. He then went 
 back to Hellertown, his native place, and 
 worked there in the steel mill and a planing 
 mill, and also, for two years, was a brakeman 
 on a railroad. From there he drifted to Tiffin, 
 O., and in that city secured employment as 
 conductor on a street car line, that being be- 
 fore electricity had been introduced as a mo- 
 tive agent, and drove a car for three years. 
 After marriage he lived for seven years at 
 Northampton Heights and New Bethlehem, 
 Pa., and then moved to Rockaway, in Craw- 
 ford county, O., where he operated a farm 
 of 100 acres for a time. In the meanwhile 
 Mr. Kichline had been carefully looking into 
 the profits of the hatchery, or egg and poul- 
 try business, and had convinced himself that 
 the undertaking, if property conducted, could 
 not fail of success. He moved then to his 
 present place on East Mansfield street, where 
 he built his hatchery, doing all the grading 
 and constructing himself. He started with 
 P. F. Lantz as a partner, who did the office 
 work and correspondence, while Mr. Kichline 
 was general overseer and manager. Mr. Kich- 
 line bought this land in 1907 and since the 
 
 fall of 1910 has been sole proprietor, and 
 outside of his own family conducts an im- 
 mense business with the assistance of two 
 men. His two ell-shaped buildings are 20 x 
 50 feet, with an addition of 20 x 33 feet, all 
 under one roof, and another with dimensions 
 of 10 x 31. The business is providing pure 
 grade eggs for hatching and early chickens 
 for market and sales are made all over the 
 United States, in Argentine Republic, South 
 America and in Canada, the trade mark. The 
 Old Honesty Hatchery, bearing with it the cer- 
 tainty of goods being just as represented. 
 
 At South Bethlehem, Pa., in 1891, Mr. 
 Kichline was married to Miss Mary Hepp, a 
 daughter of George Hepp, who died at New 
 Washington, O. To Mr. and Mrs. Kichline 
 five children have been born: Gertrude, who 
 died in 1903, aged ten years ; Warren Wilfred, 
 who assists his father; and Catherine, Anna 
 Isabelle and Mary Elizabeth. This is a musi- 
 cal family and the home concerts, with piano, 
 violin and banjo selections, are worth going 
 many miles to enjoy. Mr. Kichline is a stock- 
 holder and director in the Cranberry Nursery 
 Company, of New Washington. In politics 
 he is a Democrat but has always been too much 
 of a business man to be willing to add to his 
 cares the responsibilities of office. The family 
 belongs to the Roman Catholic church. 
 
 JULIUS BRACHER, a retired merchant, 
 capitalist and useful citizen of Gallon, O., 
 owner of valuable real estate and vice presi- 
 dent of the Home Insurance Company of Ga- 
 llon, was born in the Prussian province of 
 Nassau, Prussian-Germany, Aug. 9, 1843, and 
 is a son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Krey) 
 Bracher. 
 
 Jacob Bracher was born also at Nassua and 
 when he reached the proper age entered the 
 army for the necessary term of military serv- 
 ice and after it was over engaged with a local 
 produce firm that supplied a number of cities 
 with its commodities. Three years after mar- 
 riage he decided to seek better fortune in 
 America and in 1854 set sail with his family 
 for the United States, embarking at Havre, 
 France and after many weeks on the ocean, 
 landed safely in New York harbor. From 
 there Jacob Bracher brought his family with 
 him to Alliance, O., finding employment in 
 that city and subsequently becoming a brick 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 969 
 
 contractor there, prospered and at the time of 
 death, in 1865, was on the highway to a com- 
 fortable competency. He was reared in the 
 Reformed church but at time of death was a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Shortly after reaching Alliance his wife had 
 died of cholera, an epidemic then sweeping 
 the country. She left three children: Julius, 
 subject of this article; Charlotte, who married 
 William Barr and has one daughter, Myrtle; 
 and Victor, who died in California, when aged 
 56 years. After the death of his first wife, 
 Jacob Bracher married Soloraa Binkert, who 
 died in 1907, at Alliance, O., when aged 76 
 years. She left two sons: John, a resident 
 of Alliance, who is married and has two chil- 
 dren; and Frank, who also resides with his 
 family at Alliance. 
 
 Julius Bracher was reared at Alliance, O., 
 and obtained his schooling there. When he 
 left school he learned the machinist's trade but 
 before he had a chance to establish a business 
 the Civil War broke out and in 1861 he en- 
 listed for service, entering Co. H, 19th O. Vol. 
 Inf., as a private under Capt. P. A. Lobby, 
 now Judge Lobby, of Salem, O. From the 
 battle of Shiloh, in April, 1862, until the fall 
 of Atlanta, in July, 1864, he participated in 
 all the battles in which his regiment took part, 
 including Stone River, Chickamauga, Mission- 
 ary Ridge and Kenesaw Mountain, his hon- 
 orable discharge being given him on Oct. 5, 
 1864, after the battle of Atlanta in which he 
 proved himself a brave and helpful soldier. 
 Although many of his comrades were either 
 killed, captured or injured, he was fortunate 
 enough to escape all these perils and returned 
 home practically unharmed. 
 
 Mr. Bracher then went to work at his trade, 
 continuing to live at Alliance until his mar- 
 riage, in 1876, when he moved to Gallon and 
 here went into the grocery business for three 
 years and afterward, for 25 years was in the 
 clothing business, at the end of which period 
 he retired from active business life. In all 
 his undertakings Mr. Bacher displayed excel- 
 lent judgment and prospered, and at the same 
 time, retained the respect and esteem of his 
 fellow citizens on account of his business in- 
 tegrity. He erected the Bracher Block in 1877 
 and still owns that property. In public matters 
 he has been active and influential, serving at 
 times in the city council and under a late law 
 
 was made a member of the board of sinking 
 fund commissioners. 
 
 Mr. Bracher was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Hattie Riblet, who was born at Galion in 1850, 
 her people being old settled ones in this sec- 
 tion, and they have two children: Ora and 
 Maybell. Both ladies have been carefully edu- 
 cated and the latter, after completing her col- 
 lege course at Springfield, taking first honors 
 in her class, engaged in teaching and was very 
 successful and exceedingly popular, both at 
 Bucyrus and McKeesport, Pa. Mr. Bracher 
 and family are members of the First English 
 Lutheran church at Galion. Mr, Bracher is a 
 Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge at Galion, 
 and is identified also with Dick Morris Post 
 G. A. R. 
 
 ANDREW KAPLE, general farmer and 
 highly respected citizen of Crawford county, 
 O., resides on his valuable farm of 81 acres, 
 which is situated in section 3, Cranberry town- 
 ship, one mile north of New Washington, was 
 born Nov. 9, 1836, in Germany, a son of 
 Andrew and Catherine Kaple. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kaple came to America 
 in 1850 and located in Ohio, acquiring a farm 
 in Cranberry township, Crawford county, on 
 which they lived for six years and then sold 
 and moved to Putnam county, where they 
 spent the rest of their lives. 
 
 Andrew Kaple was 14 years old when the 
 family came to Crawford county and the 
 larger portion of his life since then has been 
 passed in the same county. For one year after 
 marriage he continued to live in Cranberry 
 township and then moved to Huron county, 
 but eight years later came back to Cranberry 
 township, where he subsequently bought the 
 farm of Paul Miller. This is excellent prop- 
 erty and Mr. Kaple has it all under cultivation 
 with the exception of a valuable ten-acre tim- 
 ber tract, and the farm is drained by tiling. 
 He found the buildings in fair condition, the 
 residence only requiring remodeling. 
 
 Mr. Kaple was married to Miss Caroline 
 Wachter, who was bom at Rochester, N. Y., 
 a daughter of Joseph and Madeline Wachter, 
 and the following children have been born to 
 them: Catherine, who is the wife of Joseph 
 WeWe, of Henry county ; Frank, who is a resi- 
 dent of Crestline, O., Bernard, who lives at 
 New Washington; Albert, who lives on the 
 
970 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 home farm ; and Josephine, Cecil and Rose, all 
 of whom live at home, the youngest daughter 
 being engaged as a clerk with the Miller Mer- 
 chandise Company at New Washington. Mr. 
 Kaple and family are members of St. Bernard's 
 Catholic Church at New Washington. Mr. 
 Kaple has never accepted any political office 
 but he has been a strong Democrat all his 
 mature life. 
 
 ALFRED E. WISMAN, whose highly cul- 
 tivated farm of 8i acres lies four and one-half 
 miles west of Bucyrus, O., in Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, on the Oceola road, 
 was born in this township, Dec. 3, 1863, and 
 is a son of Frederick and Melissa (Aumiller) 
 Wisman. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Wisman were also 
 born in Crawford county, the family being 
 pioneer ones in this section. Frederick Wis- 
 man is now retired but still retains his farm 
 of 140 acres in Bucyrus township, on which 
 he led a busy life for many years. He mar- 
 ried Melissa Aumiller, a daughter of Daniel 
 and Sarah Aumiller, and they had three chil- 
 dren born to them, two sons and a daughter, 
 namely: Alfred E. ; Alice, who is the wife of 
 Joseph Starner, residing at Bucyrus; and 
 Charles, who lives in Bucyrus township. 
 
 Alfred E. Wisman went to school in Bucy- 
 rus township, where he grew up, and then 
 helped his father, remaining at home for some 
 time after his marriage and then lived for one 
 year at Bucyrus. In 1894 he came to his 
 present farm and on this place erected all the 
 substantial structures except the barn. He has 
 so enriched his land and so carefully culti- 
 vated it that it is numbered with the best 
 farms of the township. Mr. \\^isman raises 
 the usual crops of this section of the state and 
 each year puts out a fine lot of stock and if 
 he is more successful than many of his neigh- 
 bors it is because he devotes closer attention 
 to these industries, having made this his life 
 work. He is a Democrat in his political con- 
 nection but has never accepted any office ex- 
 cept that of being a member of the Board of 
 Education. 
 
 Mr. Wisman was married Dec. 6, 1888, to 
 Miss Kathryn Brown, a daughter of John 
 and Kathryn (Christman) Brown, who for- 
 merly lived just east of Mr. AMsman. Mr. 
 and ^Irs. AA^israan are members of the Luth- 
 
 eran church in Tod township, Crawford 
 county. 
 
 A. G. LEDERER, whose fine stock farm of 
 86 acres lies in section 14, Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., on the south side 
 of the east and west road, one-half mile east 
 of New Washington, O., is one of the pro- 
 gressive, enterprising and successful men of 
 this county. He was bom in Cranberry town- 
 ship, Dec. 19, 1852, and is a son of Jacob and 
 Magdalena (Domenwirth) Lederer, a grand- 
 son of Charles Lederer and George Domen- 
 wirth. 
 
 Jacob Lederer was born in Wurtemberg 
 and his wife in Alsace,, Germany, and they 
 about five years old when they accompanied 
 their parents to America. Jacob Lederer was 
 reared in Stark county and before coming to 
 the vicinity of New Washington, was em- 
 ployed in a livery stable at Wooster, O. Here 
 he entered 80 acres of land situated one mile 
 south and one mile east of New Washington, 
 and here he became a well known and highly 
 respected man and his death was felt a loss, 
 when it occurred Aug. 19, 1857. His widow 
 lived to be 81 years and six months. 
 
 A. G. Lederer attended school in Cranberry 
 township and afterward at Lexington and 
 Ada, O., folowing which he engaged in educa- 
 tional work and taught two terms in Chatfield 
 township and 13 terms in Cranberry township, 
 proving to be a very competent and popular 
 teacher. For some 15 years he was engaged 
 in a livery business at New Washington under 
 the firm name of J. & A. G. Lederer. In 
 1905 he came to his present farm which he 
 purchased from a Mr. Unger and which was 
 formerly known as the Jane Hopkins farm. 
 Here Mr. Lederer has pleased himself in mak- 
 ing extensive improvements, erecting modem 
 buildings and installing furnaces for heating 
 and electric light for illumination. He raises 
 Shorthorn cattle and Shropshire sheep and 
 carries on his operations in a scientific manner. 
 For 18 years Mr. Lederer has also been an 
 auctioneer. He is a stockholder in the Toledo 
 Life Insurance company of Toledo, O. 
 
 Mr. Lederer was married at Mansfield, O., 
 to Miss Ella A. Hartupee, who died at the age 
 of 55 years. She was a consistent member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and her burial 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 971 
 
 was in the Union cemetery at New Washing- 
 ton. She was the mother of five children, the 
 two survivors being : Ora D., who is the wife 
 of Dr. Sarbo, of New Washington; and Es- 
 tella A., who is the wife of Fred Assenheimer, 
 a druggist, at Woodville, O. Mr. Lederer was 
 married (second) to Mrs. Emma Barnes, of 
 Toledo, O., who in maiden life was Emma 
 Bell, being the widow of George Barnes, at the 
 time of her marriage to Mr. Lererer. The 
 father of Mr. Lederer was a Democrat as is 
 our subject but he prefers to keep an independ- 
 ent attitude, voting according to his own judg- 
 ment. He belongs to the Cranberry Grange 
 and is active in the Knights of Pythias. His 
 parents were of the Lutheran faith but he is a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 PHILIP HERBOLD, a well known busi- 
 ness man of Gallon, O., a member of the firm 
 of The Herbold Company, dealers in furniture 
 at No. 205 West Main street, was born, reared 
 and educated at Gallon and furthermore has 
 always lived in the same city block which con- 
 tinues to be his home. He is a son of Philip 
 and Fredericka (Feldman) Herbold. 
 
 Philip Herbold, the elder, was born in 
 Baden, near Heidelberg, Germany, Feb. 20, 
 1820, and died at Gallon, O., Jan. 18, 191 1, 
 when aged almost 90 years. His life was note- 
 worthy on account of his successful struggle 
 against adversity and his subsequent useful- 
 ness to his fellow citizens in his adopted coun- 
 try. Left an orphan at the age of six years, 
 he grew up in the careless hands of strangers 
 and early was thrown entirely upon his own 
 resources. He learned the cabinet making 
 trade and afterward traveled over a large part 
 of Germany working as a journeyman, ac- 
 cording to the law, and it was after his mar- 
 'riage that he determined to seek more favor- 
 able opportunities in America. On a sailing 
 vessel he and his wife crossed the Atlantic 
 ocean and were safely landed in the harbor of 
 New York city, in 184s, immediately crossing 
 the country to Buffalo, N. Y., where he found 
 work in a piano factory. Although his wages 
 there were but fifty cents a day, so careful and 
 frugal were he and wife that in the space of 
 three years they saved the sum of $65 out of 
 this small income and. despite the expenses in- 
 cident to a slight attack of cholera, during the 
 
 epidemic, this sum was kept intact and it was 
 Mr. Herbold's sole capital when he started into 
 business at Gallon, O. He opened a shop on 
 East Main street, near the present city hall, 
 but shortly afterward secured better quarters, 
 on West Main street and there he labored hard 
 for many years. At first the larger part of his 
 work was the making of cofiins and it often 
 entailed all-night and Sunday work. Later, as 
 people came to realize the excellence of his 
 furniture making, prosperity came to him and 
 in the course of time he acquired considerable 
 property and built the fine Herbold block on 
 West Main street. He was a quiet, industrious 
 man all his active life, reliable in every situa- 
 tion and liberal in the support he gave to the 
 Reformed church and at the time of death was 
 the only trustee left of the original board when 
 the church was organized. He survived his 
 wife many years, her death occurring in No- 
 vember, 1893, her age being 68 years. They 
 had eleven children born to them and the fol- 
 lowing survive: Sophia, who is the widow of 
 Conrad Bohl, who died in 191 1, having been 
 a prominent contracting carpenter at Gallon; 
 Philip; Mary, who is the wife of G. H. Sny- 
 der, a machinist at Gallon, and has two chil- 
 dren — Walter and Leona; Fredrica; and 
 Adam J., who is associated in business with 
 his brother Philip. One daughter, Rosa, died 
 at the age of sixteen years; one son, August, 
 was survived by wife and two children; and 
 another son, John, who died in August, 1910, 
 is survived by his widow, who continues his 
 undertaking business. The others died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Philip Herbold attended the public schools 
 at Gallon in boyhood and practically grew up 
 in his present business, giving his father as- 
 sistance and learning all the details of furni- 
 ture manufacturing and handling. He has fine 
 quarters, occupying two floors of the building 
 at No. 205 West Main street, his display room 
 having dimensions of 100x21 feet, and he does 
 an extensive business. 
 
 Mr. Herbold was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Mabel Wineland, who was born at Upper San- 
 dusky, O., but was educated at Galion. They 
 have one daughter, Muriel, who is the wife of 
 Rev. R. J. Riblet, who is rector of Christ Epis- 
 copal church at Oberlin, O. Mr. Herbold is 
 independent in politics and belongs to no fra- 
 
972 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ternal organization. He is a very practical 
 business man. The younger member of the 
 firm, Adam J. Herbold, belongs to the Elks. 
 Philip Herbold is of an inventive turn of mind 
 and has invented many things. 
 
 JOHN A. PUCHTA, who is a well known 
 and highly respected resident of Crawford 
 county, O., resides on his carefully cultivated 
 farm of 30 acres, which lies in the northeastern 
 part of Section 12, Cranberry township on the 
 east and west road, which he has owned for 
 the past 27 .years. He was born in Bohemia, 
 which is now a province of the Austria-Hun- 
 garian monarchy, Nov. 29, 1847, and was 20 
 years of age when he left his lofty mountains 
 and fertile plains for a home in a far distant 
 country. 
 
 John A. Puchta had learned the blacksmith 
 trade and when he reached New Washington, 
 O., found work at the same, working also at 
 Chatfield, O. After two years of blacksmith- 
 ing at New Washington, he went to Indiana 
 as a blacksmith, and from there to Michigan 
 and then back to Ohio and worked at his trade 
 at Waynesburg until 1885, when he bought his 
 present farm in Cranberry township. He built 
 a new house and made other improvements 
 including fencing his estate and has carried on 
 general farming here until the present but is 
 now somewhat retired. 
 
 Mr. Puchta married Miss Annie Levy, who 
 was born also in Bohemia, a daughter of Pow- 
 ell Levy, and they have the following living 
 children: Mary, Annie, Cecelia, Katie and 
 Frank. One son and one daughter died in in- 
 fancy, and Telia, Lena, and Lucy, before they 
 were 14 years old. Mr. Puchta and family be- 
 long to the Roman Catholic church. Since 
 coming to the United States he has been a 
 hard working man and through his own efforts 
 has gained a competency and comfortably 
 reared his family. He has never joined any 
 political party but may be counted on to 
 cast his vote in support of all law-abiding 
 measures. 
 
 MICHAEL LONG, a leading citizen of 
 Sandusky township, Crawford county, O., 
 township trustee and successful agriculturist, 
 owns 160 acres of fine land which is situated 
 ten miles northeast on the Bucyrus and 
 
 Shelby road. Mr. Long was born in 1879, in 
 Chatfield township, Crawford county, O., and 
 is a son of Daniel Long. 
 
 Daniel Long and wife were both born in 
 Ohio and for many years have been well 
 known and substantial farming people in Chat- 
 field township. They have had the following 
 children: George, Michael, Daniel, Mary, 
 Samuel, Katie, Regina, William, Lydia and 
 Frederica and John, twins. Of the above fam- 
 ily, George, who married Georgina Scheiber, is 
 a farmer in Midland county, Mich. Daniel 
 was killed by an accident, at the age of 
 23 years. Mary is the wife of F. B. Durr 
 and they live at Bucyrus. Samuel lives in 
 Michigan. He married Carrie Lust. Katie is 
 the wife of George Kalb and they live in Lib- 
 erty township, Crawford covmty. Regina is 
 the wife of Frederick Leonhard and they live 
 in Morrow county, O. The other members of 
 the family, with the exception of Michael, live 
 on the old homestead in Chatfield township. 
 
 Michael Long obtained his education in the 
 public schools and remained with his father 
 until his majority and then, before settling 
 down for himself, spent some time in travel 
 and visited Canada, New York and a number 
 of the western states but found no section that 
 pleased him better than Crawford county. 
 Since his marriage he has devoted himself to 
 agricultural pursuits and according to the land 
 appraiser's report, owns one of the best farms 
 in Sandusky township. It is well improved 
 and carefully cultivated. 
 
 Michael Long married Miss Sarah E. Kalb, 
 who is a daughter of Daniel and Magdalena 
 (Hoss) Kalk, to whom were born four chil- 
 dren: Calvin D., Milton M., Martha M. and 
 Clinton C. Mr. and Mrs. Long are church 
 people, and have a wide circle of friends and, 
 acquaintances. In politics he is a Democrat 
 and is serving as township trustee and also as 
 a member of the special district school board. 
 
 L. F.- MOLLENKOPF, who owns 157 
 acres of fine land, situated in section 23, Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county, O., is a na- 
 tive of Germany, where he was bom Nov. 29, 
 1870, a son of John and Katie MoUenkopf. 
 
 In his native land Mr. MoUenkopf attended 
 school until he was 16 years of age, when he 
 prevailed upon his parents to permit him to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 973 
 
 come to America where better chances might 
 be found for young men with little capital. 
 Thus he crossed the Atlantic ocean unaccom- 
 panied by any member of his own family and 
 landed in the harbor of New York, going from 
 there to Newark, N. J., where he remained one 
 year and then made his way to Cleveland, 
 O. In that city he remained for 17 years 
 and then settled west of Bucyrus for six 
 years and then left that farm and bought the 
 one he has ever since occupied, in Cranberry 
 township, from Jacob Lederer. He has taken 
 a great deal of pride in his property and has 
 put many improvements on it in the way of 
 building, repairing and fencing. His farm has 
 a fine situation, being located but one and one- 
 half mile from New Washington, O., on the 
 south side of the east and west road. He de- 
 votes his land to general farming. Mr. Mol- 
 lenkopf has made his own way in the world 
 and has secured his present independence 
 through his industry and perseverance. 
 
 Mr. Mollenkopf was married (first) to 
 Pauline Pfester, who was born in Germany 
 and who left four children : Lewis John, 
 Freda, Alma and Florence. He was married 
 (second) to Christine Streib, who was born 
 in Holmes township, Crawford county. They 
 attend the Lutheran church. Mr. Mollenkopf 
 is a Democrat in politics but is inclined to be 
 independent in his views on public questions. 
 
 JAMES W. COULTER, whose sudden 
 death on Sept. 2d, 19 10, caused a shock, not 
 only to the people of Galion, among whom he 
 lived, but also throughout Crawford county 
 generally, was a lawyer of prominence and 
 was highly esteemed as a man and citizen. He 
 was bom in West Bedford, Coshocton county, 
 O., July 4, 1846, a son of Richard M. and 
 Phoebe (Greer) Coulter. The father, long 
 since deceased, was a native of Cumberland 
 county. Pa., and of German ancestry. His 
 wife, Phoebe, whom he married in Ohio, was 
 born in Belfast, Ireland, her people being 
 prominent and well-to-do residents of that 
 city. Coming to America, they settled in 
 Coshocton county, O., where they spent the 
 rest of their lives, except that Mrs. Phoebe 
 Greer, after her husband's death, went to live 
 with her son-in-law, O. W. Aldrich, LL. D., 
 editor of the Monthly Jurist, at Bloomington, 
 Illinois. 
 
 James W. Coulter was educated at Spring 
 Mountain, Coshocton county, O., and later 
 at Mt. Vernon, O., He subsequently took 
 up his residence in Bucyrus and read law with 
 Hon. A. M. Jackson and Hon. Thomas Beer, 
 and was admitted to the bar in 1866. He im- 
 mediately located in Galion, where he subse- 
 quently practiced his profession until the close 
 of his life — a period of 44 years. He was a 
 highly successful lawyer and an active and use- 
 ful citizen, serving four years as prosecuting 
 attorney of the county, six years as a member 
 of the board of county school examiners, also 
 four years a member of the board of educa- 
 tion, being president of that body for a part 
 of the time. Several years previous to his 
 death he became associated professionally with 
 Attorney Frank Pigman, of Coshocton county, 
 the firm being known as Coulter & Pigman. 
 As a lawyer Mr. Coulter was keenly percep- 
 tive, incisive, logical, and spirited in debate, 
 yet courteous, and was generally recognized as 
 the head of the Galion bar. He is also an ex- 
 cellent business man, was the owner of several 
 farms, a director in the bank and a stockholder 
 in many of Galion's industries. His sound 
 judgment was manifested both in the conduct 
 of his own affairs and in those of others that 
 were entrusted to him. His opinions had much 
 weight with local capitalists and he uniformly 
 seconded his views by liberal donations on in- 
 vestments, and habitually helped to advance the 
 private enterprises of his fellow citizens, as 
 far as he could do so consistently with correct 
 business principles. 
 
 Previous to the last twelve years of his life 
 he was active in the management of the affairs 
 of the Democratic party, to which he belonged ; 
 was the choice of his county some years ago 
 for the congressional nomination and was fre- 
 quently suggested as an available man for a 
 judgeship, at one time declining to be the can- 
 didate, although nomination meant election. 
 He was a prominent member of the Masonic 
 fraternity, and a member and active worker 
 in the First Methodist church. On Friday 
 night, Sept. 2d, 1910, he attended a meeting of 
 the council board of the church and took part 
 in its proceedings. He complained of not feel- 
 ing very well and on the way home he and his 
 wife stopped at the office of Dr. G. C. Marsh. 
 While here he was taken very ill and in about 
 half an hour afterward expired on a couch in 
 
974 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 the Marsh home, in spite of the administra- 
 tions of Dr. Marsh and Dr. O. L. Hoffman, 
 who had been called in. The cause of his 
 death was a serious disorder of the stomach. 
 
 James W. Coulter was married Feb. 24, 
 1886, to Miss Flora Hetrick, a daughter of 
 Samuel and Parintha (Pancoast) Hetrick, 
 born April 14, 1865, the night that President 
 Lincoln was assassinated. Her paternal grand- 
 father was Jacob Hetrick, a native of Ger- 
 many, who with four brothers, came to the 
 United States more than a century ago, locat- 
 ing in Cumberland county. Pa. Jacob there 
 married Lydia Winter, daughter of John and 
 Catherine (Mickley) Winter, who were of 
 German descent. They had four sons and five 
 daughters — John, Jacob, Michael, Samuel, 
 Catherine, Mary, Elizabeth, Lydia (Mrs. Het- 
 rick) and Susan. 
 
 The family of Winter, Wintour, Gwyntor 
 or Wintor — according to the different spellings 
 of the name — descended from Winter, the 
 Castellan of Carnarvon, Wales. Their name 
 was originally Gwyntor, and their crest was a 
 falcon mounted on a white tower. The fam- 
 ily settled at Wynch, in the reign of Edward 
 I, eventually spreading to all parts of Great 
 Britain and to Germany. It numbers among 
 its descendants many famous personages — 
 statesmen, warriors, admirals, writers, divines, 
 bankers and many men of culture. There are 
 numerous coats of arms in the Winter family. 
 The Worcester branch has a crest consisting 
 of three ostrich plumes. The coat of arms of 
 the German branch is as follows : Argent — In 
 fess a bar bearing five helmets, proper. In 
 chief checquery, O, and azure — in base the 
 same wreath O, and azure. Crest — Three 
 ostrich plumes O, and azure. Motto — Omnia 
 Vincit Veritas (Truth conquers all things). 
 Helmets — war — peace. Ground banner — (yel- 
 low) and blue. Motto — yellow and blue. 
 Helmet — grey, blue and yellow. Paulet ban- 
 ner — red, blue and white. Feathers — ^blue, 
 shading to yellow. Long Bar — indigo blue. 
 Wreath of pink roses — rose mixed with scar- 
 let, very light grew for shading. 
 
 Jacob Hetrick and wife removed from 
 Pennsylvania to Morrow county, Ohio, where 
 they were among the pioneer settlers. They 
 subsequently settled in Johnsville, O., where 
 he followed the trade of blacksmith and wagon 
 
 maker until advanced in years. He died in 
 Johnsville at the age of 78 and his wife at that 
 of 83 years. They were members of the 
 United Brethren church, and in politics he was 
 a Democrat. Their children, so far as the rec- 
 ord shows, were Sarah, Eliza and Samuel. 
 
 Samuel Hetrick was born in Morrow county, 
 O., March 6, 1842. He was a stock dealer and 
 breeder, doing an extensive business along 
 these lines for many years. In 1865 he came 
 to Gallon and opened the first livery barn in 
 the place. So much interested was he in the 
 breeding of fine horses that he built a race 
 course here in 1876. For twenty years he was 
 chief of the fire department and broke the first 
 team of horses to the fire truck on the estab- 
 lishment of the department. By the fire lad- 
 dies he was known as Captain Hetrick and he 
 proved himself an able man in this line of 
 work and was universally respected as a useful 
 and enterprising citizen. He was a Republican 
 in politics and was the only man of his party 
 to be elected to office in this Democratic city. 
 Born March 6, 1842, he died in April, 1905, at 
 the age of 63 years.' 
 
 He was married in Morrow county to Miss 
 Parintha Pancoast, a daughter of Dr. Heze- 
 kiah Pancoast, who was prominent as a physi- 
 cian in the early history of this section. In. 
 her young womanhood Miss Pancoast taught 
 school at Rocky Fork, in Lincoln county, O., 
 and this school and its teachers were after- 
 wards made the subjects of a novel by Mary 
 Hartwell Catherwood, under the title of 
 "Rocky Fork." The teacher, Mrs. Hetrick, 
 died in Gallon May 6, 1898, at the age of 65 
 years. She was a member of the Methodist 
 church. Two of her children are now living — 
 Flora (Mrs. Coulter), and a son, C. S. Het- 
 rick, formerly city auditor of Gallon. The 
 latter is married but has no children. 
 
 Mrs. Coulter is an educated and cultured 
 lady and is prominent in Gallon society. She 
 is a member of the official board and at present 
 is president of the Ladies' Aid Society of First 
 Methodist Episcopal church. In 1893 she was 
 one of the organizers of the Current News 
 Club. She has no surviving children. 
 
 JOHN C. PFAHLER, who is a general 
 farmer residing in Cranberry township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., where he owns 80 acres of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 975 
 
 well improved land lying in sections 25 and 26, 
 is one of the leading citizens of this township 
 and was born here Aug. 25, 1861. He is a 
 son of Mathias and Margaret (Gossman) 
 Pfahler. 
 
 Mathias Pfahler was born in Germany and 
 was three years old when his parents brought 
 him to America, locating in Crawford county. 
 He grew up on his father's farm and at matur- 
 ity married Margaret Gossman, who was born 
 in Cranberry township, a daughter of John 
 Gossman. They became the parents of three 
 sons and two daughters, namely: Mary Jane, 
 Irene, John C, Jefferson and Charles M. 
 After marriage, Mathias Pfahler came to the 
 farm which his son, John C, now owns, and 
 here his death occurred at the age of 41 years, 
 his burial being in the Liberty township ceme- 
 tery. His widow survived to the age of 68 
 years. They were members of the United 
 Brethren church. 
 
 John C. Pfahler obtained his schooling in 
 Crai^berry township and in the meanwhile as- 
 sisted his father on the home farm and re- 
 mained with him and has followed farming all 
 his life. Forty acres of his land is a part of 
 the old homestead. Although his farm had 
 been cleared before he came into possession, 
 Mr. Pfahler found plenty of improving to do 
 and the substantial building, erected according 
 to modern ideas of comfort and convenience, 
 were put here by him. He is progressive also 
 in his farming methods and is a charter mem- 
 ber of the Cranberry Grange. His nearest 
 market is New Washington, his land lying 
 three and one-half miles southeast of that city. 
 
 Mr. Pfahler married Miss Ida B. Cooper, 
 who was born in Liberty township, a daughter 
 of Henry C. Cooper. They are members of 
 the Methodist Protestant church. In politics a 
 Democrat, as was his father, Mr. Pfahler has 
 frequently been elected to important local of- 
 fices on his party ticket and as township trustee 
 served continuously for six years and nine 
 months. He also filled the office of Central 
 Committeeman for four years. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Knights of Pythias and attends his 
 lodge at New Washington. 
 
 JAMES E. HEINLEN,* a dealer in but- 
 tci") eggs and livestock, at Gallon, O., belongs 
 to one of the old and substantial families of 
 
 Crawford county, and was born on the family 
 homestead in Whetstone township, Aug. 5, 
 1869. He is a son of Lewis B. and Mary 
 (Fink) Heinlen. 
 
 Lewis B. Heinlen was born in Pickaway 
 county, O., a son of Lewis Heinlen, but was 
 reared in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, where he followed farming all his ac- 
 tive life. He died on Easter Sunday, 1910, 
 when aged 86 years. In politics he was an 
 old-time Democrat, and in religious connection 
 he belonged to the United Brethren church. 
 He married Mary Fink, who survives, and, 
 now in her 77th year, resides at Winchester, 
 O. She is still interested in family affairs, 
 local happenings and church work. Of the 
 family of four sons and three daughters, the 
 following survive : Henry, who is now a wid- 
 ower, who lives with his mother at Winchester 
 and has one son and two daughters; Lavina, 
 living at Bucyrus, who is the widow of Byron 
 Neish, and has one daughter ; Amanda, who is 
 the wife of William G. Roberts, of Bucyrus, 
 has one daughter; James E. ; and Edward C, 
 a farmer residing in Whetstone township, who 
 has one son and one daughter. 
 
 James E. Heinlen grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm in Whetstone township and car- 
 ried on agricultural operations there until 
 1904, when he came to Gallon, where he en- 
 tered a grocery store as a clerk and remained 
 for three years and then went into business 
 for himself in his present line, dealing in the 
 staples for which there is a never failing 
 demand. 
 
 Mr. Heinlen was married at Bucyrus to 
 Miss Edna Warrick, who was born in Whet- 
 stone township, and they have three children : 
 Hilda L, who was born January 20, 1896; 
 Mildred Olefa, who was born January 28, 
 1900; and Iva W., who was born August 10, 
 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Heinlen are members of 
 the United Brethren church. Politically he is 
 identified with the Democratic party. As a 
 business man Mr. Heinlen has met with a large 
 degree of success, and as a citizen of his com- 
 munity commands general respect. 
 
 FRANK, SPROW, the leading general 
 merchant at Brokensword, O., and a repre- 
 sentative citizen of this place, justice of the 
 peace and owner of valuable real estate, was 
 
976 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 bom in Jackson township, Crawford county, 
 C, Oct. 24, 1852, and is a son of Martin and 
 Hannah (Rhodes) Sprow. 
 
 Martin Sprow was born in Germany and 
 was brought to America when one year old, 
 his parents settling in Vernon township, Craw- 
 ford county. After his marriage he moved 
 into Jackson township and later to Liberty 
 township, and died in the latter on his well- 
 improved farm, when aged 64 years. He mar- 
 ried Hannah Rhodes, who was born in the 
 state of Pennsylvania, and died in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, O., when aged 68 
 years. They had children as follows : Frank, 
 born Oct. 24, 1852; G. W., who was born in 
 May, 1855; W. F., who was born Aug. 2, 
 1858; Sarah, who was born Nov. 3, i860, and 
 died at the age of 28 years; H. J., who was 
 born July 2, 1863, and died in 191 1; Mary, 
 who was born Oct. 11, 1867, who married 
 Harry Sell; Flora, born April 26, 1871, who 
 married Samuel Gardner; and Ida, now Airs 
 Bender, who was born Oct. 2, 1874. 
 
 Frank Sprow secured a district school edu- 
 cation and afterward engaged in farming in 
 Liberty township for about 14 years and later 
 for seven years, in Chatfield township. After 
 four years in business in Bucyrus township, in 
 1903 he purchased his present store at Broken- 
 sword, from A. Muth, and is doing a large but 
 safe business. He carries a heavy stock of dry 
 goods, boots, shoes and groceries and supplies 
 the local demand and sells over a considerable 
 outlying territory. 
 
 Mr. Sprow was married in 1875, to ]\Iiss 
 Elizabeth Zimmerman, of Richland county, O., 
 a daughter of Peter Zimmerman, and a family 
 of seven children have been born to them, as 
 follows : Emma, who married AI. C. Muth, of 
 Cle^■eland, O., and has twin children, Victor 
 and Ethel ; Albert, who is now deceased ; Ellen, 
 who married Ellsworth Overlander, and has 
 one daughter, Bernice; Edward, who married 
 Alyrtle Gearhart ; John, who assists his father ; 
 Reuben, who is deceased; and Bertha, who is 
 the wife of W. H. Smith. 'Sir. Sprow is a 
 member of the Evangelical Association in 
 Lykens township while his wife is a Methodist. 
 For a number of years INIr. Sprow has served 
 in the office of justice of the peace, his decis- 
 ions being seldom reversed. In politics he is 
 a Democrat, and fraternally he is connected 
 with the order of Alaccabees. 
 
 F. X. BLUM, a well known general farmer, 
 residing in Cranberry township, Crawford 
 county, O., where he has two 80-acre farms, 
 both situated in Section 23, was born in 
 Alsace-Loraine, France, Dec. 27, 1853, a son 
 of Joseph and Mary Blum, the latter of whom 
 died when he was nine years old. 
 
 In 1872 F. X. Blum came along to the 
 United States and located at first in Seneca 
 county, O., and continued to live there for 
 three years after he married, when he came to 
 Crawford county. Here he bought one farm 
 of Horatio Markley, on which the only im- 
 provements were a house and stable, and the 
 other land of J. M. Beiber and Adam Zaebst. 
 He immediately began to improve his farms 
 and has built all the substantial buildings 
 which make them attractive and increase their 
 value. 
 
 Mr. Blum was married at New Washington 
 to Miss Madeline Kreim, who was bom in 
 Austria and was brought to America by her 
 parents when two months old. They were 
 Joseph and Barbara Kreim and they located 
 at Plymouth, O. To !Mr. and Mrs. Blum four 
 children were born, namely: John, who mar- 
 ried Josephine Hatzer, and lives on his father's 
 north farm, having two children — Agnes and 
 Qaude; Barbara; Joseph, who is proprietor of 
 the Twentieth Century Hatchery; and Frank, 
 who assists his father. Mr. Blum and family 
 are members of the Catholic church. On Sept. 
 6, 1904, the beloved wife and mother passed 
 away and her burial was at New Washington. 
 Air. Blum is a Democrat in politics, but uses 
 his own judgment in casting his vote; he has 
 served in the office of road superintendent in 
 Cranberry township. 
 
 JACOB F. ULAIER, who owns a valuable 
 and well improved farm of 120 acres, which is 
 situated seven miles northeast of Bucjttis, O.. 
 and one and one-fourth miles west of Sulphur 
 Springs, is a representative citizen of Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, and is a member 
 of the school board. He was bom in Liberty 
 township, in 1858, and is a son of Gottlieb 
 Ulmer, who was bom at \\'^ittenberg, Ger- 
 many, and came in early manhood to the 
 United States. 
 
 Jacob F. Ulmer remained with his father on 
 the home farm until he was 21 years of age, 
 after which he worked for other farmers by 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 977 
 
 the month, for two years, and then rented land 
 for two years more and later bought a farm 
 of 60 acres. For two years he operated that 
 farm and then sold it to advantage and pur- 
 chased his present one of 120 acres. Here he 
 has made many admirable improvements in- 
 , eluding the remodeling of house and barn, and 
 the place gives evidences of careful and intelli- 
 gent cultivation. 
 
 Mr. Ulmerv. was married to Miss Leonora 
 Pfleiderer, who is a daughter of David and 
 Mary Pfleiderer. The father of Mrs. Ulmer 
 was born in Germany and the mother in 
 Columbiana county, O. Mrs. Ulmer has seven 
 sisters and three brothers : Anna Mary, Mag- 
 daline, Margaret, Barbara, Lydia, Caroline, 
 Clara, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, all of who 
 reside in Liberty township, Crawford county, 
 O., with the exception of Abraham, whose 
 home is in Indiana. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Ulmer have three children: 
 Lester E., a resident of Whetstone township, 
 who married Miss Iva V. Meek and has one 
 daughter, Margaret; and Catherine E. and 
 John F., both of whom live at home. Mr. 
 Ulmer and family are members of the Evan- 
 gelical church. 
 
 The farm on which Mr. Ulmer is located 
 is known as the Pfleiderer homestead, having 
 first been owned by Mrs. Ulmer's grandfather. 
 Christian Pfleiderer, who entered it from the 
 government. 
 
 J. J. HIGH, whose excellent farm of 40 
 acres lies in section 10, in the southeast corner 
 of Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 three-fourths miles east of New Washington, 
 O., was born April 26, 1861, in the northwest 
 corner of this township, and is a son of Mi- 
 chael and a grandson of Adam High. 
 
 Adam High and his wife, Madeline, were 
 both born in Germany as were the following 
 children: Valentine, Michael, Adam, Margaret 
 and Elizabeth. In the fall of 1832 he came 
 with his family to the United States and settled 
 in Crawford county and cleared and cut the 
 logs with which he built his log house. He 
 was a shoemaker by trade and here he plied it 
 during his entire active, life afterward, mov- 
 ing late in life to the home of a daughter north 
 of New Washington, where he died. 
 
 Michael High was twelve years old when his 
 
 parents moved to Crawford county and after- 
 ward had little chance to attend school. He 
 learned the blacksmith trade at which he 
 worked for several years and then was forced 
 to give it up on account of an injury he had 
 received from an unruly horse. He then 
 'turned his attention to farming, locating in 
 the northwest corner of Cranberry township 
 and there his death occurred at the age of 63 
 years. He was a lifelong member of the 
 Lutheran church and his burial was in the 
 Lutheran cemetery. It was in the house of 
 his father that the Lutheran church organiza- 
 tion at New Washington was effected and 
 Adam High was one of the first members and 
 church officials. Michael High married Mary 
 Donnenwirth and they had nine children, eight 
 of whbm survive. She was born east of Can- 
 ton, O., near Waynesburg, and died on the old 
 homestead in the northwest corner of Cran- 
 berry township when aged 75 years, 70 of 
 which had been spent there. Michael High 
 was a very strong Democrat in his political 
 opinions but cared little for public office al- 
 though occasionally serving as a trustee of the 
 township. 
 
 J. J. High attended the Klein school in 
 Cranberry township and afterward settled 
 down to farm life and has continued his inter- 
 est. After marriage he resided on a farm that 
 he owned in Chatfield township, for 17 years, 
 and then came to Cranberry township and in 
 the spring of 191 1 bought his present farm 
 from Andrew Krebs. It was originally owned 
 by his uncle, George Donnenwirth, who paid 
 $400 for it but when Mr. High purchased it he 
 paid a large sum for the same property, al- 
 though it had in the meanwhile, been finely im- 
 proved, this of course being taken into consid- 
 eration. It remains a very valuable property 
 and here Mr. High, through modern methods 
 of agriculture, is continually adding to its pro- 
 ductive possibilities. 
 
 At New Washington, Mr. High was mar- 
 ried to Miss Ella Tribolet, a daughter of John 
 and Louisa Tribolet, and they have five chil- 
 dren: Bertha May, Carl Frederick, Marie 
 Louise, John Michael and Emma Margaret. 
 Mr. High and family are members of the 
 Lutheran church. In politics he has always 
 been identified with the Democratic party and 
 has been a prominent man in township affairs, 
 
97a 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 serving for nine years as a member of the 
 Chatfield township school board and at pres- 
 ent is road supervisor of the northeast side of. 
 Cranberry township. 
 
 JOSIAH H. G. KECKLER, who is one of 
 Bucyrus township's most respected and best 
 known residents, having spent a half century. 
 here,.aw:ns a large body of land, 331 acres,, 
 all of which is \-aluable and so situated that it 
 is adapted to general farming. He was born 
 in Adams county. Pa., Feb. 16, 1829, and is a 
 son of^John .and Rosana (Gordon) Keckler. 
 
 In 1837 the parents of Mr. Keckler decided 
 to move to Ohio and. the only means of trans- 
 portation over the mountains was by wagon. 
 ^Ir. Keckler was then a boy of eight years 
 and can remember the many adventures of 
 that long trip, the family being 15 days on 
 the way before reaching Harrison county, 
 where the father established himself on a 
 farm and opened his blacksmith shop. The 
 mother died in Harrison county and afterward 
 the father went to Kansas and there his death 
 occurred. They were members of the Pres- 
 byterian church. Their children were : Martha, 
 who married Jacob Barger; Mary Ann, who 
 was the wife of James P. Beall ; Josiah H. G., 
 subject of -this sketch; Rosanna, who married 
 John Rogers; and Alalinda, who married 
 Henry Vincent. 
 
 The schools in Harrison county, when 
 Josiah H. G. Keckler was a boy did not offer 
 the advantages that those of the present day 
 present, but he was grounded in the necessary 
 elements before he had to start out to take 
 care of himself. For nine years he worked 
 by the month for farmers in Harrison county 
 and then came to Crawford county and bought, 
 in partnership with James P. Beall, his 
 brother-in-law, 120 acres and they remained 
 together for about five years, when he sold to 
 his partner and bought 80 acres on Mud Run. 
 That land he traded for 320 acres in Pike 
 county. III. In 1862 ]\Ir. Keckler located in 
 Bucyrus township, purchasing his first land, 
 104 acres, and gradually adding to it until, as 
 stated above, he now has 331 acres. He has 
 been a careful buyer and has no useless land, 
 all being productive, and it is devoted to gen- 
 eral farming and moderate stock raising. 
 
 On April 3, 1872, Mr. Keckler was married 
 
 to Miss Juliet Parcher, a daughter of Daniel 
 and Mary (McXeal) Parcher. Mr. Parcher 
 was. born in Crawford county but his wife was 
 a native of Huntington county. Pa. They had 
 the iollowing children : John, Juliet, ^Velling- 
 ton, Benjamin, Allison, Edith, George and 
 Daniel. Mr. and Mrs. Keckler had four chil- 
 dren born to them, namely : John F., who is 
 deceased; Agnes, who is the wife of Roy 
 Crisinger and has two children — ^Julia and 
 Frank; Orie G., who married Maggie Rogers 
 arid has one son, Anderson; and George, who 
 married Flora Clark and has one son, Clark. 
 l\Ir. Keckler and family belong to the Method- 
 ist Episcopal church. In his early, manhood 
 ]\Ir. Keckler was a Whig in politics but later 
 identified himself with the Republican party. 
 He has seen many changes come over this sec- 
 tion since he first located here and in many 
 ways life is easier and more comfortable than 
 in the old days, but he does not believe that 
 all the modern methods, in farming or in other 
 directions, are more, sensible or reliable than 
 those which prevailed when he was a boy. 
 He can relate, many interesting tales of early 
 days in Ohio. 
 
 WILLIAM LAH:\IAX, residing eight 
 miles north of Bucyrus, O., operating his ex- 
 cellent farm of 108 acres, situated in Holmes 
 township, is widely known in Crawford county 
 as an educator, for 32 years having devoted 
 himself to work in that line. He was bom in 
 Holmes township, Dec. 2.^, 1861. and is a son 
 of Jonas and Phoebe (Uhl) Lahman. 
 
 Jonas Lahman was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, and after coming to the United States 
 passed his life mainly engaged in farming in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, O. Here 
 he died in honored old age, ha^"ing attained his 
 85th year. He married Phoebe Uhl, who was 
 born in Alsace Loraine and died at the age of 
 79 years, having passed her life from girlhood 
 in Ohio. Two of their children died in in- 
 fancy and six survived to maturity, six still 
 living: Mrs. Elizabeth Rupert; John; Mrs. 
 Caroline ^\'augh; George; ^Villiam, and ^Irs. 
 Sarah C. Hurless. 
 
 \\'illiam Lahman secured his primary educa- 
 tion in the schools of Holmes township and 
 afterward attended at both Lebanon and Ada, 
 O. Unusually intellectual he then turned his 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 981 
 
 attention to an intellectual profession and be- 
 came a teacher. In that field he met with such 
 success that for 32 years he continued as a 
 teacher in Holmes township, making a record. 
 It is doubtful if Mr. Lahman can tell how 
 many pupils have been under his instruction, 
 but it must be gratifying for him to realize 
 that many of these have gone from under his 
 care into successful and honorable life careers. 
 Mr. Lahman was married to Miss Emma J. 
 Fralick, a daughter of David Fralick, and they 
 have three children : Mamie Floy, Rollo G. and 
 Cloden J. D., thelast named being his father's 
 capable assistant. In politics Mr. Lahman has 
 always been a Democrat and for six years was 
 a justice of the peace and at present is a notary 
 public. Fraternally he is identified with the 
 Odd Fellows and the Maccabees. 
 
 JOHN W. FRENCH, who is a well known 
 citizen of Crawford county, O., and a re- 
 spected retired resident of Cranberry town- 
 ship, residing on his valuable farm of 11 1 
 acres, situated in section 11, on the west side 
 of the north and south road, was born at Col- 
 umbiana county, O., Nov. 8, 1832, and is a son 
 of Samuel and Rebecca (Welch) French. 
 
 Samuel French was born in Columbiana 
 county, O., and there was reared and married 
 Rebecca Welch, who was born at Wellsville, 
 on the Ohio river, a daughter of James Welch. 
 Her grandfather, Erastus Welch, was born in 
 Ireland and was the first white man to settle 
 near Rocky Creek church in Seneca county, 
 O., not far from Tiffin. After marriage 
 Samuel French and wife came to Crawford 
 county, with the family, in 1848, and settled 
 in Lykens township and lived there for 12 
 years and then moved to Huron county, O., 
 and he died on his farm there at the age of 57 
 years, his widow surviving to the age of 65 
 years and their burial was in Seneca county. 
 They were members of the Presbyterian 
 church. At the time of death Samuel French 
 owned no land in Crawford county. They had 
 the following children: Rebecca and Kathe- 
 rine, both of whom died in Wood county ; 
 James, who lived and died in Seneca county; 
 John W. ; Joseph ; Reason, who died in Craw- 
 ford county; Elizabeth, who is the wife of 
 Martin Corbett, and lives at Chicago Junction ; 
 and Esther, who died in Huron county. 
 
 John W. French wasi eight years old when. 
 his parents moved to Wood county, and after 
 that he had no chance to attend school and 
 when he was 24 years of age educated himself 
 by using the school books of his younger 
 brothers and sisters. He was the only one of 
 the sons to learn a trade, becoming a skilled 
 carpenter, and for a number of years worked 
 with a Mr. Waller in general building, partic- 
 in Lykens township and was in partnership 
 ularly barns. When Mr. Waller married, Mr. 
 French went to Tiffin and there was engaged 
 with a Mr. Chamberlain, a contractor there. 
 In 1 86 1 he married and then settled in Lykens 
 township once more, in 1866 moving to Huron 
 county. At the outbreak of the Civil war he 
 enlisted in a home guard organization, Co. E, 
 136th Regiment and served for four months, 
 when he returned to Lykens township and 
 went to farming. His health broke down two 
 years later so that work at his ' trade was im- 
 possible but after moving to Huron county he 
 steadily at the same for six' years. He then 
 sold his interests in Huron county and bought 
 his present farm in Cranberry township. He 
 again resumed carpenter i work and continued 
 had some of -the clearing and considerable 
 draining to do and put up the present substan- 
 tial. farm buildings and has a valuable property. 
 
 On Feb. 24, 1861, Mr. French was married 
 to Miss Elizabeth Jane Perky, who was born 
 in Seneca county, O., Nov. 17, 1837 and prior 
 to marriage was a teacher in Crawford county. 
 Her parents were David and Mary (Seitz) 
 Perky, the former of whom was born April 
 I, 181 1, in Westmorland county. Pa., and died 
 Feb. 13, 1896. He came to Seneca county in 
 1827 and married Mary Seitz, who was born 
 March 3, 1814, in Fairfield county, O., and 
 died July 15, 1853, a daughter of John and 
 Madelene Seitz. After their marriage they 
 lived in Seneca county until 1848 and then 
 moved to Lykens township, Crawford county. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Perky had eleven children, two 
 of whom are living: Mrs. French and Mrs. 
 Abigail Corey, who lives in Stone county, Mo. 
 Four of the sons served in the Civil war, two 
 in the 55th O. Vol. Inf., one in the 25th and 
 the other in the 136th and the only one who 
 returned was the one who belonged to the 25th 
 regiment. Ohio sent many volunteers into the 
 Civil war and in the school district in which 
 
982 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Mr. French then Hved, 28 men offered their 
 services. 
 
 Two sons were born to jSIr. and ]Mrs. 
 French : Sherman L. and David P. The latter 
 resides on the home farm. He married Cora 
 Cummins, a daughter of W^ilHam and Matilda 
 Cummins and they have two daughters : Mary 
 Elizabeth and Esther Matilda. Mr. French 
 and wife are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. He has always been a good, 
 law-abiding citizen but prefers to cast an in- 
 dependent vote, not identifying himself with 
 any political party and has never accepted any 
 office except that of school director. 
 
 JOHN ENGLISH, a retired merchant re- 
 siding in Gallon, C, who is also a veteran of 
 the Civil war, was born in Johnsville, Mor- 
 row county, Ohio, April 9, 1840, a son of 
 Samuel and Sarah (Hall) English. His pa- 
 ternal grandfather was Abel English, who was 
 bom in Lancaster county, Pa., as early as 1785, 
 and who died in his native county while still 
 a young man. Abel married Margaret !Mutch, 
 a Pennsylvania girl, who was afterwards three 
 times married, and who late in life went to re- 
 side in Xaperville, 111., where she died in 1866 
 at the age of 76 years. She had children by 
 each husband, except the last — Adam Shifler. 
 She w as a woman remarkable for her strength 
 and activity. 
 
 Samuel English, the father of the subject of 
 this sketch, was bom Aug. 7, 1813, in Elizabeth 
 township, Lancaster county. Pa. He grew up 
 in his nati\-e place and learned the trade of 
 shoemaker. At the age of 20 years he came 
 to Ohio, locating in Johns\ille, ]\Iorrow county, 
 where he followed his trade and was thus en- 
 gaged for some years. He then changed his 
 occupation and followed farming for several 
 years. Afterwards he engaged in the stone 
 quarrying industry, which was his final occu- 
 pation. He died in Gallon, O.. in 1896. When 
 48 years old, he enlisted as a private in Co. 
 K, 23d O. V. I., and as teamster and ambul- 
 ance driver he remained for three years in the 
 service, escaping injury. He was a man re- 
 markable for physical strength and was of a 
 religious disposition, a consistent member of 
 the M. E. church. At first a ^^'hig in politics, 
 he later became a Republican. In that section 
 of Ohio now know as Morrow county, he was 
 
 married to Miss Sarah Hall, who was born in 
 that locality in 1817, her father being William 
 Hall and her mother, in maidenhood, Mary A. 
 Cook. The latter was a New Jersey woman, 
 whose father, a life-long resident of that state, 
 had served in the Colonial army in the Revolu- 
 tionary war. William and Mary A. Hall were 
 pioneer settlers in Morrow county, where they 
 were probably married, and where they fol- 
 lowed farming. William died there in middle 
 life. His widow, surviving him many years, 
 died at Iberia, Morrow county, O., at the home 
 of her son Isaac, she being then past 85 years 
 of age. She was the mother of seven chil- 
 dren, a good woman and a life-long Methodist. 
 
 Samuel English and wife were the parents 
 of five sons and five daughters, all of whom 
 married and all but one had issue: Four of 
 the sons and three of the daughters are slill 
 living. The mother, Mrs. Sarah English, sur- 
 vived her husband and died near Gallon, O., 
 at the age of 90 years and four months. She 
 was a ^lethodist in religion. 
 
 John English was the second son and child 
 of his parents and is the eldest now living. He 
 was reared and educated in Johnsville, O. On 
 Feb. 26, 1862, when in his 22d year, he en- 
 listed in Company D, 23d O. V. I. and was or- 
 dered to the front with his regiment. In Sep- 
 tember of that year he took part in the battle 
 of Antietam and there received three gunshot 
 wounds within five minutes. At the hospital 
 he was found to be seriously hurt and on Octo- 
 ber 23d his leg was amputated. Discharged on 
 March 3. 1863, he returned to his home in 
 Gallon and has since resided in this city. He 
 was for some time engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness and for 35 years has been a notary public. 
 He is an active member of the Republican 
 party and belongs to Dick Morris Post, G. A. 
 R. Xo. 130, having served the Post as quar- 
 termaster two terms. 
 
 He was first married to Maria Xoblet, a 
 daughter of Adam Xoblet. She died in 1881, 
 leaving a child that is now living — Anna ^lay 
 Burgener, wife of Charles E. Burgener of 
 ^Marion. O. Mr. English married secondly 
 Mary C. ^^'est, who died Jan. 12, 1906, leav- 
 ing no children. 
 
 BERXARD YOUXG, who is one of the 
 representative men of Cranberry township. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 983 
 
 Crawford county, O., valued in public councils 
 and respected in private life, carries on large 
 agricultural operations on his valuable farm 
 of 97 acres, and is serving in his second term 
 as township trustee. He was born on this 
 farm, Jan. i, 1855, and is a son of Peter and 
 Mary (Stein) Young and a grandson of Lewis 
 Young. 
 
 Lewis Young, the grandfather, was the 
 pioneer of the family in America, coming from 
 his native land Alsace, then in France, in 
 1833, and settling in Crawford county, then 
 Richland, on the west township line of Auburn 
 township. In later years, after his wife died, 
 he went back to visit the scenes of his youth 
 and died in the neighborhood of his old home 
 and was interred there. 
 
 Peter Young, father of Bernard Young, 
 was 16 years of age when he accompanied his 
 parents to the United States and died in Craw- 
 ford county, in 1867, when aged 51 years, the 
 greater part of his life having been spent on 
 the present farm. His burial was in the Roman 
 Catholic cemetery at New Washington. He 
 left an estate of 320 acres of valuable land. 
 He married Mary Stein and they had ten chil- 
 dren, four of whom survive and two of whom 
 live in Crawford county. His wife died in 
 1886, when aged 67 years. 
 
 Bernard Young attended school with his 
 brothers and sisters in boyhood, after which 
 he helped his father and also worked for other 
 farmers by the month and additionally en- 
 gaged in teaming. After marriage he became 
 the home farmer and subsequent owner of 
 this property and has continued here, making 
 improvements as they have become necessary 
 and building and remodeling as he has deemed 
 advantageous. His father owned about one 
 square mile of land and made things comfort- 
 able about his home and the barn he built is 
 yet standing. The Northern Ohio Railroad 
 passes through his land and the station is lo- 
 cated on the next farm to the east. Mr. 
 Young is a stockholder in the Toledo Life In- 
 surance Company, of Toledo, O. 
 
 Mr. Young married Miss Catherine Kast- 
 ner, a daughter of Andrew Kastner, and they 
 have four children : Charles, Frank, Cecil and 
 Joseph, all of whom were born and reared on 
 his farm. Mr. Young and family belong to 
 the Roman Catholic church. In politics he 
 
 has always cast his vote with the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 GEORGE P. MARTIN, whose exceedingly 
 valuable farm of 219 acres, belonging to the 
 Bucyrus Development Company, lies in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, O., two and a half 
 miles northeast of Bucyrus, O., is one of the 
 reliable and representative men of Crawford 
 county. Mr. Martin has charge of the city 
 reservoir and leases the farm. He was born 
 in 1857, in Marion county, O., and is a son of 
 Benjamin F. and Elizabeth (Culver) Martin. 
 He has three sisters and one brother : Ruth, 
 Anna, Robert A. and Sarah. Ruth is the wife 
 of Clayton Andrews, residing at Hartford 
 City, Ind., and they have had four children — 
 Otto, Wanzo, Carrie and Bartlett, the last 
 named being deceased. Anna is the wife of L. 
 J. Pooler, also residing at Hartford City, and 
 they have one son, Phineas. Robert A., who is 
 in business at Hartford City, Ind., married 
 Eva Lockwood and they have had the follow- 
 ing children : Henry, Inez, Blanche, Claudia, 
 Robert, Goldie, Walter, James, Princess and 
 Rose, the last two being deceased. Sarah is 
 the wife of Frank Collins and. they live at 
 Bucyrus and have had five children: Benjamin, 
 Isaiah, Howard, Danzel and an infant, de- 
 ceased. 
 
 George P. Martin obtained his education in 
 the public schools and has been engaged in agri- 
 cultural pursuits ever since. His large estate 
 is devoted to general farming and stock rais- 
 ing. The Bucyrus City Reservoir is located 
 on his farm and he is overseer of the same. 
 
 Mr. Martin married Miss Emma Schurr, a 
 daughter of George and Mary (Koop) Schurr. 
 Mrs. Martin has three brothers and one sister : 
 George J., Christian F., Charles Robert and 
 Mary Catherine. To Mr. and Mrs. Martin 
 five children were born: Ora Cozetta, Lulu A., 
 Minnie, Ruth and George, and of these Ruth 
 and George still reside at home. Ora Cozetta 
 is the wife of Garfield McMichael, of Bucyrus, 
 and they have one son, Robert. Lulu A. mar- 
 ried Elger Pfleiderer, a farmer in Liberty 
 township and they have one son, Richard. 
 Minnie is the wife of Prof. Lycurgus Mar- 
 shall, who is principal of the Crestline, O., 
 High School. Mr. Martin and family belong 
 to the Lutheran church. He is a stanch Re- 
 
984 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 publican and is a useful and conscientious somewhat independent but nominally was a 
 member of the township school board. Democrat. 
 
 MRS. MARY UTZ, whose valuable farm 
 of 105 acres lies in section 12, Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., is one of the best 
 known and mqst, highly, esteemed residents of 
 this section, in which she has practically passed 
 her entire life. Mrs. Utz was born in Cran- 
 berry township, on what was known as the 
 George M. Klein farm, July 16, 1854, and is 
 a daughter of Conrad and Margaret (High) 
 Klein. 
 
 As a girl, Mrs. Utz attended the Cranberry 
 township schools near her home and was care- 
 fully reared by a capable mother and reached 
 young womanhood proficient in all housekeep- 
 ing arts. On Feb. 13, 1873, ^^^ ^""'^^ married 
 to John L. Utz, who was born on the farm 
 'that she now owns, July 19, 1850, and died 
 here May 30, 191 1. His parents were Jacob 
 and Helena (Fredericks) Utz. After mar- 
 riage, Mr. and Mrs. Utz settled on this farm 
 and many years of happy wedded life fol- 
 lowed. Mr. Utz completed the clearing of the 
 farm which his father had commenced, made 
 many improvements here and successfully car- 
 ried on farming and stock raising, remaining 
 active until the time of his death, in his 6ist 
 year. He was one of the influential men of his 
 township and was often called upon to give ad- 
 vice concerning public movements and fre- 
 quently has offices tendered him, serving at 
 times as school director and as township trus- 
 tee. 
 
 Seven children were born to Mr. and ]Mrs. 
 Utz, as follows : Jacob F., who married .Amelia 
 Loy, a daughter of Jacob Loy, of Chatfield 
 township, who resides in section 2, Cranberry 
 township, and has had two children — Paul and 
 Carl Franklin, the latter dying when aged but 
 five days; Louisa, who is the wife of Patrick 
 McCarty, living in Cranberry township, and 
 has three children — Lewis, George and Edna 
 Isabella; Margaret E., who married Theodore 
 Kahler, of Seneca county, and has two chil- 
 dren — Clarence and Glendo; and Adolph; Al- 
 bert, Franklin Carl, deceased; and Adam, last 
 three living residing at home and operating 
 the farm for their mother. Mrs. Utz is a meni- 
 ber of the Lutheran church, to which Mr. Utz 
 also belonged. In his political views he was 
 
 THOMAS W. LOXGSTRETH, monument 
 maker and dealer, who has occupied his busi- 
 ness quarters at No. 134 West Main Street, 
 Galion, O., for 43 years, is one of the city's 
 best known and most respected citizens. He 
 was born in Muskingum county, O., March 4, 
 1848, and is a son of John and Mary A. (Pat- 
 ten) Longstreth. 
 
 •John Longstreth was born March i, 1816, 
 in Morgan county, O., and was a son of Bar- 
 tholamew Longstreth, who was a son of John 
 Longstreth. The last named died in Pennsyl- 
 vania but his four sons, Bartholamew, Mi- 
 chael, James and Philip, all came to Ohio in 
 1 81 2 and settled in York township, Alorgan 
 county, and were among the first permanent set- 
 tlers in that section. Bartholamew died in 
 1824, when aged 35 years. He had been mar- 
 ried in Pennsylvania to Margaret O'Hara, who 
 sur\'ived him many years, dying in Morgan 
 county in 1866. They were interred in the 
 old family burying ground. They were par- 
 ents of five sons and four daughters, the last 
 child being posthumous, and all lived to be 
 heads of families. Although all have passed 
 away in the course of Nature, nine of the chil- 
 dren survived to the age of 70 years and sev- 
 eral were in the eighties at time of death. 
 
 John Longstreth settled on 80 acres of Gov- 
 ernment land that he received from his 
 mother, in Brush Creek township, Muskingum 
 county, and spent his entire subsequent life 
 there as a farmer, his death occurring April 
 19, 1887, when he was aged 81 years. He was 
 a Democrat in his political opinions. He mar- 
 ried !Mary A. Patten, who was born in Morrow 
 county, O., Sept. 22, 1822, and died inDecem- 
 ber, 1892. She was a daughter of Thomas and 
 Elizabeth (Porter) Patten, the former of 
 whom was a native of Ireland and the latter of 
 ]\Iaryland. They were married in Chester 
 county. Pa., and came to ^lorrow county, O., 
 in pioneer days and spent long and useful 
 lives in that section. Of their children but one 
 survi\es, he being James Patten, a venerable 
 resident of Des Moines, la., who is now in 
 his 87th year. To John and Mary A. Long- 
 streth six children were born, two of whom 
 died as infants. The survivors are : ^Margaret, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 985 
 
 who is the wife of Lewis Miller, residing on a 
 farm in Morrow county and has six children; 
 Tamzen, who is the widow of George Brown, 
 and resides in Morrow county and has six 
 children; Thomas W., our subject; and Abi- 
 gail, who is the widow of Porter Kirkpatrick, 
 and is resident of Galion, having one son. 
 
 Thomas W. Longstreth had district school 
 opportunities until he was i6 years of age, 
 when he left home and went to Mt. Gilead, in 
 Morrow county, where he served an appren- 
 ticeship to a marble cutter. Five years later, 
 December, 1868, he came to Gabon and started 
 in the marble and monument business, as noted 
 above, and his stand is one of the city's land- 
 marks. In 1880 he introduced the first granite 
 monuments and at present this stone replaces 
 almost every other for monumental purposes. 
 Mr. Longstreth favoring it for his most beauti- 
 ful designs. 
 
 In Muskingum county, in 1873, Mr. Long- 
 streth was married to Miss Euphemia Ann 
 Swingle, who was born and reared there, a 
 daughter of old pioneer settlers. They have 
 two sons; E. Homer, the older, learned the 
 marble cutting trade with his father but at 
 present is bookkeeper for a gas company oper- 
 ating at Dunkirk, N. Y. He married Miss 
 Maybell Atkinson and they have one son, Mer- 
 rill, a bright lad of five years. Earl, the 
 younger son, is a graduated pharmacist and at 
 present is in the drug business at Sacramento 
 City, Calif. He married there and has one son, 
 Roy. Mrs. Longstreth and her two sons are 
 members of the English Lutheran church. The 
 name is a well known one in Pennsylvania to 
 this day and many of those bearing it are prom- 
 inent in the Society of Friends. Mr. Long- 
 streth has seen many changes come about 
 since he first selected Gabon as his home and 
 he has done his part in assisting general prog- 
 ress and is an interested member of the Com- 
 mercial Club. In politics he has always been 
 affiliated with the Democratic party. 
 
 JACOB LEDERER, proprietor of the Jacob 
 Lederer & 3on's livery, feed and sales stables 
 at New Washington, O., is one of the best 
 known men of Cranberry township, Crawford 
 county, where his valuable farm of 53 acres, 
 known as Middlebrook Farm, is situated, ly- 
 ing in section 11, along its western border. He 
 
 was born April 30, 1848, in Cranberry town- 
 ship, two miles southwest of New Washington, 
 and is a son of Jacob and Magdalena (Don- 
 nenwirth) Lederer, 
 
 Jacob Lederer the=younger remained on the 
 old homestead for 62 years but in the spring 
 of 191 1 he purchased and moved on the old 
 Adam High farm, which had been well im- 
 proved. With the assistance of his sons he 
 carried on general farming but has additional 
 interests. On Aug. 11, 1910, he purchased his 
 livery and feed and sale barn at New Wash- 
 ington, succeeding Edward Donnenwirth, and 
 is here associated in business with his son, un- 
 der the firm name of Jacob Lederer & Son. 
 The livery business is carried on with all kinds 
 of vehicles, including automobiles, two men 
 are kept busy at the barn and the business is 
 prospering under the direct management of 
 the junior member of the firm. 
 
 Jacob Lederer was married to Miss Mary 
 Guiss, who was born in the same school dis- 
 trict in Cranberry township as himself, a 
 daughter of Henry Guiss, and they have the 
 following children : Ada Matilda ; Ella, who 
 for 15 years has been a successful teacher in 
 the public schools of New Washington and 
 also for four years in Cranberry township, a 
 highly educated lady; Glenn T., who resides at 
 Toledo, O., where he is connected with the 
 American Express Company ; Elmer, who lives 
 on the home farm ; Lee, who, in addition to 
 managing the livery stable and feed and sales 
 barn, is an auctioneer; L. W., who is employed 
 at Tiffin, O. ; and Ivan, who lives at home. Mr. 
 Lederer is a member of the German Lutheran 
 church. He has never considered himself a 
 politician but usually votes with the Demo- 
 cratic party, although occasionally inclined to 
 be independent in his choice as to public rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 DANIEL W. HOOT,* who has been in 
 the employ of the Erie Railway for the past 
 34 years and is now conductor on one of its 
 speedy passenger trains, with home at Gabon, 
 O., has won promotion by close attention to 
 his duties and faithful service in every posi- 
 tion to which he has been assigned. He was 
 born at Reedsburg, O., Nov. 30, 1854, and is 
 a son of Nathaniel and Susan (Zewmy) Hoot. 
 
 Nathaniel Hoot was born in Pennsylvania, 
 
986 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 May 17, 1817, and died at Galion, O., about 
 1885. He was a custom shoemaker and was 
 considered very skillful. After leaving Penn- 
 sylvania he lived in different parts of Ohio, in 
 Ashland, Richland, Morrow and Crawford 
 counties, coming to Galion, April 6, 1879. He 
 was married first to Phebe Ostadit, who, at 
 death, left one son, J. B., who is a resident of 
 Columbus, O., and has a family of eight chil- 
 dren. The second marriage of Nathaniel Hoot 
 was to Margaret Frye, who died without chil- 
 dren. His third marriage was to Susan 
 Zewmy, who was born in Ohio in 1823 and 
 died in 1856, leaving three children, namely: 
 E. N., who is a resident of Warsaw, Ind., 
 where he married and has one son ; Anna, who 
 is the wife of Shunk Youngblood, of Nankin, 
 O., and has two sons and two daughters; and 
 Daniel W. Nathaniel Hoot's fourth marriage 
 was with Mary Golady, who died without 
 issue. 
 
 In his boyhood, Daniel W. Hoot had the 
 usual school opportunities and as soon as old 
 enough began to take care of himself. For 
 three years he worked as a fence-maker before 
 becoming a brakeman on the Erie Railroad, in 
 1878, being assigned to what was called the 
 Cincinnati Division. In 1880 he was made 
 freight conductor and in 1884 became passen- 
 ger conductor and is one of the best known 
 and highly valued conductors in the employ of 
 the company, relied on by his employers and 
 esteemed for his courtesy and efficiency by the 
 traveling public. 
 
 Mr. Hoot was married at Galion, to Miss 
 Emma Myers, who was born in 1859, at Mans- 
 field, O., but was reared and educated at Gal- 
 ion. Her parents were Jeremiah and Sarah 
 J. (Long) Myers, both of whom were born in 
 Pennsylvania, the former Nov. 24, 1819. 
 After marriage, in 1841, Jeremiah Myers 
 came to Mansfield, O., where he later became 
 well known, a pioneer railroad man. He was 
 one of the oldest railroad engineers in the state 
 and ran the first engines on the Baltimore & 
 Ohio and on the Bee line, now known as the 
 Big Four. He closed his railroad life as fore- 
 man of the round-house of the Big Four Rail- 
 road, at Galion, where he died Jan. 21, 1875, 
 when aged 75 years and two months. Al- 
 though never an aspirant for public office, he 
 was in sympathy with the principles of the old- 
 
 time Republican party. The mother of Mrs. 
 Hoot survived until Dec. i, 1897, dying when 
 aged 74 years, three months and two days. 
 She was a devoted member of the Baptist 
 church. Ten children were born to Jeremiah 
 Myers and wife, three of whom died in in- 
 fancy. One son, Samuel, was killed in a rail- 
 road collision at Mansfield and was survived 
 by a widow and three children. The survivors 
 are the following: Elizabeth, who is the 
 widow of Zibp Huntington, a railroad en- 
 gineer, who was killed in the line of duty; De- 
 witt, who is a railroad engineer, living at 
 Toledo, and has one son; Mrs. Hoot; and 
 Daniel N., who is an engineer and resides at 
 Gary, Ind., and has wife and two sons. All 
 of the sons of Jeremiah Myers became en- 
 gineers when they reached maturity and after 
 serving a proper apprenticeship all became men 
 of reliability and trustworthiness. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hoot have had four children : 
 Burt O., Harry Clayton, Melvin C. and Wade 
 Morris. Burt O., who was born October 25, 
 1 88 1, completed the high school course at Gal- 
 ion and then studied practical mechanics and 
 is employed in West Virginia. Harry Clay- 
 ton, who was born June 26, 1883, after grad- 
 ating from the Galion High School entered the 
 employ of a railroad company and is yard- 
 master at Joliet, 111. Melvin C, who was born 
 July 26, 1887, is an automobile chauffeur, and 
 resides at Adena, O. He married Nellie Ham- 
 ilton, of Galion and they have two sons, Ken- 
 neth and Lorain. Wade Morris, who was born 
 Oct. 29, 1900, died Aug. 25, 1910. He was 
 a natural musician and had he lived, no doubt 
 would have been heard of in the musical world. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hoot attend the Baptist church. 
 He is a Republican in politics and fraternally 
 is an Odd Fellow and a member of the 
 O. R. C. 
 
 CHARLES HEYDINGER, who conducts a 
 furniture and undertaking business at New 
 Washington, O., was born in Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., March 24, 1883, 
 and is a son of John and Mary (Gullong) 
 Heydinger. 
 
 John Heydinger was born in Germany and 
 came to Crawford county and settled in Cran- 
 berry township when he was 20 years old. In 
 early manhood he married Mary Gullong, a 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 987 
 
 native of that township, a daughter of Peter 
 and Barbara GuUong, who came to this county 
 in about 1834 or 1835. In Germany, John 
 Heydinger worked at the trade of nailsmith 
 but after coming to America engaged always 
 in farming. After marriage he and wife con- 
 tinued to Hve in Cranberry township and there 
 their, family of ten children were born, 
 Charles being the youngest. John Heydinger 
 was a highly respected man, a faithful member 
 of the Roman Catholic church at New Wash- 
 ington, and always gave support to the Demo- 
 cratic party because he believed in its prin- 
 ciples. His death occurred on his farm of 109 
 acres, in his 67th year. For 35 years this farm 
 has been the family homestead and the mother 
 and three of the sons still live on it, one of 
 whom is married. 
 
 After attending the country schools and 
 graduating from High School at New Wash- 
 ington, Charles Heydinger took a short busi- 
 ness course at Toledo, O., and then became a 
 clerk in a business house at New Washington 
 and. continued from the spring of 1904 until 
 November, 1907, when he bought a one-half 
 interest in the Miller hardware and furniture 
 business at New Washington. This partner- 
 ship was continued for 18 months when a di- 
 vision was made, Mr. Heydinger taking over 
 the furniture stock and Mr. Miller the hard- 
 ware stock. In November, 191 1, Mr. Hey- 
 dinger came to his present excellent business 
 location and now occupies the first and second 
 floors of the Bordner Block, which was for- 
 merly the old Lutheran church building. He 
 has a fine stock of furniture on hand at all 
 times, including sewing machines, while his 
 undertaking department is specially fitted for 
 that purpose and he has graduated embalmers 
 in charge. 
 
 On Feb. 24, 1908, Mr. Heydinger was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Kanney, who was born in 
 Seneca county, O., a daughter of John and 
 Mary (Book) Kanney, and they have two chil- 
 dren : Dorothy and Earl. Mr. and Mrs. Hey- 
 dinger are members of the Catholic church. 
 In politics he is a Democrat, while fraternally 
 he belongs to the Knights of Columbus and the 
 Catholic Mutual Benefit Association. The 
 family has an attractive home situated on the 
 corner of Mansfield and Center streets. New 
 Washington. 
 
 CHARLES E. TRIMBLE, M. D., physi- 
 cian and surgeon and specialist in diseases of 
 the eye, ear, nose and throat, has been in ac- 
 tive practice at Crestline, O., for more than 20 
 years and has a professional reputation that 
 extends all through this section of Ohio. He 
 was born in Richland county, O., Nov. 15, 
 1863, and is a son of James S. and Lucinda 
 (Murphy) Trimble. 
 
 Davis S. Trimble, grandfather of Dr. 
 Trimble, was born in 1793, in Lancaster 
 county, Pa., where he married Margaret Ster- 
 rett, who was born there in 1795. In early 
 married life they came to Ohio and settled in 
 Richland county, taking up Government land 
 near Mansfield, and there their subsequent lives 
 were spent, the death of Mr. Trimple being oc- 
 casioned by an accident, but his wife survived 
 into old age. They had a family of 13 child- 
 ren. 
 
 James S. Trimble, father of Dr. Trimble, 
 was born in 1826 and still survives, being one 
 of the venerable residents of Richland county, 
 where, for many years he successfully engaged 
 in agricultural pursuits and took a good cit- 
 izen's part in advancing the welfare of his com- 
 munity. In Richland county he was married 
 to Lucinda A. Murphy, who was born there 
 Nov. 8, 1825, and died in the old home in 
 Springfield township, Feb. 16, 1902. Her 
 parents were John and Rachel (Gedis) Mur- 
 phy, natives of Pennsylvania, but of Irish ex- 
 traction. They came to Madison township, 
 Richland county, at an early day and their 
 farm is the present site of the State Reform- 
 atory. 
 
 Dr. Charles E. Trimble of Crestline, is the 
 third youngest in a family of seven sons and 
 two daughters, four of whom are yet living, 
 namely: David F., who lives in the State of 
 Washington, and is engaged there as a stock 
 raiser and dealer; Willard L., a farmer in 
 Springfield township, who is married and has 
 ten children; Delia, who married W. S. 
 Brooks, a farmer in Springfield township, and 
 has six children; and Charles E. The stvidies 
 of the last named, from youth, were more or 
 less directed in the line of his profession and 
 he is a graduate of Starling Medical College, 
 at Columbus, 0.,-and in 1905 was graduated 
 from the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College, 
 
988 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 at Chicago, 111., and has been in active practice 
 at Crestline since 1891. 
 
 Dr. Trimble was married in Richland 
 county, O., to Miss Cora A. Condon, who was 
 born there Feb. 13, 1868, a daughter of Mar- 
 shall and Maria (Walters) Condon, who were 
 natives of Richland county, the father being a 
 prosperous farmer there for years. He died 
 in Springfield township when aged 84 years, 
 and his wife at the age of 57 years. Formerly 
 they were Presbyterians but later united with 
 the Methodist church. To Dr. and Mrs. 
 Trimble two children were born : Cecil Maria, 
 who was born April 10, 1891, and Starling F., 
 who was born May 6, 1893. The daughter 
 completed the High School course and a busi- 
 ness college course, while the son, after grad- 
 uating with the class of 1912, from the Crest- 
 line High School, has entered the medical de- 
 partment of Wooster University. Dr. Trim- 
 ble is identified with the Elks at Bucyrus. In 
 politics he is a Republican. 
 
 LOUIS KIEFFER, whose death in Galion, 
 Aug. 28, 1902, removed a worthy and re- 
 spected citizen from the community, was a 
 native Ohioan, born in Stark county, July 3, 
 1827, a son of Adam and Elizabeth (Rine- 
 hart) Kieffer. The parents of our subject were 
 of Pennsylvania-German stock, coming to 
 Stark county at an early day and soon after 
 their marriage. They later removed to Craw- 
 ford county, settling on a farm on "the 
 plains," where they resided for some years. 
 Subsequently, however, they went to Wyan- 
 dot county, where Adam Kieffer bought 100 
 acres of land near the town or village of 
 Nevada, which he improved into a fine home- 
 stead, and where he died at the age of 86 
 years. His wife died at the age of eighty- 
 four. They were hardworking, thrifty people 
 and their efiforts to succeed in life were re- 
 warded by prosperity. They were members 
 of the Lutheran church. Their children were 
 seven in number, of whom five are still living. 
 All married and had issue. 
 
 Louis Kiefifer, the direct subject of this 
 notice, was yet a young man when his father 
 gave him a good farm in Wyandot county, 
 which he cultivated and improved. Later he 
 became the owner of substantial farm prop- 
 erty in Crawford county and took up his resi- 
 
 dence here. From his parents he had learned 
 the lessons of thrift and industry and, like 
 them, he attained success. He was a member 
 of and an officer in the Luthern church and in 
 politics he was a Democrat. 
 
 He was married in Whetstone township to 
 Mary Ann Christman, who was born near 
 Salem, N. J., April 3, 1835, and who was six 
 years old when she came to Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county, with her parents, Adam 
 and Elizabeth (Snyder) Christman, they ar- 
 riving here in 1841. Her parents were born 
 and married in Germany and came to the 
 United States after the birth of their three 
 first children. Their daughter, Mary Ann 
 (Mrs. Kieffer) was the only one of the family 
 born in New Jersey. After coming to Craw- 
 ford county, they purchased a farm, on which 
 Mr. Christman subsequently died before at- 
 taining the age of 50 years, his death being 
 the result of an injury. His widow took up 
 her residence in Galion, living to be over 79 
 years old. They were earnest Christian peo- 
 ple, active in good works, and exemplifying 
 their religion in their lives and character. 
 They were the parents of 13 children, of whom 
 five are still living, all being married. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kieffer have been the parents 
 of seven children, as follows: Franklin, a 
 Crawford county farmer, is married and has 
 three children — Hazel, a school teacher, Gladys 
 and Mercil. William H. lives at Battle Creek, 
 Mich. David W., who is conducting his 
 mother's' farm of 152 acres, is married but has 
 no children. Lewis M. is a photographer in 
 Toledo, O. He is married and has five chil- 
 dren — Don, Mabel, Russell, Harland and Mary 
 C. Clara E. is the wife of Edward Lowmil- 
 ler, a farmer residing near Bucyrus ; has no 
 children. Mrs. Kieffer is a devoted member 
 of the English Lutheran church. She is a 
 lady well known in Galion and the vicinity and 
 is as highly esteemed. She has brought up 
 a worthy family, who are creditable mem- 
 bers of the communities in which they respec- 
 tively reside and has the right to feel that she 
 has well and faithfully performed her task in 
 life. 
 
 HENRY POISTER, proprietor of a fur- 
 niture store and also engaged in the under- 
 taking business at Galion, O., in connection 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 989 
 
 :with Peter Boehm, has been established in this 
 .city for some 30 years and stands high in com- 
 mercial circles and as a private citizen. He 
 was. born Oct. 16, 1845, in one of the Rhine 
 provinces, in Prussia, and is a son of Theodore 
 and Margaret (Schmidt) Poister, and a 
 .grandson of Christian Poister. 
 
 Christian Poister was born in Prussia and 
 .was a quiet, peaceful, hard-working man when 
 he was conscripted and went as a soldier from 
 his country when it made the compact with 
 Napoleon and marched to Moscow. He sur- 
 vived the horrors of that unfortunate cam- 
 paign and returned for a few years to his 
 cabinetmaking business in his old home, but, 
 in 1856, with his wife came to the United 
 States and joined the sons who had come to 
 Gabon, O., two years previously. Both died 
 at Gabon in old age; worthy and respected 
 people and devout attendants of the Peace 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 Theodore Poister was born in Prussia in 
 1822 and learned his father's trade and then 
 served three years in the regular service in 
 the Prussian army. In his own neighborhood 
 he married Margaret Schmidt, who was born 
 in 1828, and in 1854, with their three children, 
 Henry, Sophia and Catherine, they set sail 
 for America in search of more favorable liv- 
 ing conditions. The vessel, the Rio de Ja- 
 neiro, landed them safely in the harbor of 
 New York, after a voyage of seven weeks. 
 They yet had quite a long distance to travel 
 for transportation facilities were not then so 
 numerous and a round about way had to be 
 taken in order to reach Gallon, O., their ob- 
 jective point. They sailed up the Hudson 
 River to Albany, then crossed the state to Buf- 
 falo on the Erie Canal, then to Cleveland by 
 lake and then over the Big Four Railroad, 
 which had but lately been constructed, to 
 Galion. Theodore Poister secured work in the 
 railway shops and later bought a farm which 
 he operated for 11^ years and then retired to 
 Galion, where his death occurred in 1894, hav- 
 ing survived his wife some years. Her father, 
 Philip Schmidt, had served with the German 
 army, under the Duke of Wellington at Water- 
 loo. Theodore Poister and wife were fnem- 
 bers of the German Reformed church. Of 
 their family of children three sons and two 
 daughters are yet living. 
 
 Henry Poister learned the. trade of cabinet- 
 maker and was employed in the shops of the 
 Big Four Railroad for 15 years and assisted 
 in building and finishing the first sleeping 
 coaches put out by that company. Afterward 
 he went into business for himself, purchasing 
 the interests of Campbell & Bryant, who had 
 started the business in 1876. The present 
 firm, Poister & Boehm, has been in existence 
 for 30 years. Its location has always been 
 on East Main Street and in 1889, Mr. Poister 
 erected the present commodious building, di- 
 mensions being 44x80 feet, at Nos. 243-45, 
 East Main, where a fine stock of furniture is 
 carried, and in which are located the funeral 
 directing parlors. 
 
 In 1870, in this city, Mr. Poister was united 
 in marriage with Miss Louisa Beck, who was 
 born in Ashland county, O., in 1849 and died 
 in 1 90 1. Two daughters were born to them: 
 Clara F. and Laura N., both of whom are 
 graduates of the Galion High School. Mr. 
 Poister is a Democrat in politics and has 
 served as a member of the city council and 
 in other offices. Fraternally he is a Royal 
 Arch Mason. 
 
 HUGH O. DOBBINS,* deceased, for many 
 years was a well known citizen of Bucyrus 
 township, Crawford county, O., where he 
 owned and conducted the old Dobbins home- 
 stead farm. He was born in Wayne county, 
 O., Feb. II, 1830, and died on the above farm. 
 His parents were John and Annie (McCul- 
 ■ lough) Dobbins. 
 
 John Dobbins was born in Pennsylvania and 
 accompanied his parents when young to Ma- 
 honing county, O. He was married in Har- 
 rison county to Annie McCullough, who was 
 also a native of Pennsylvania, and six chil- 
 dren were born to them. From Harrison they 
 moved to Wayne county, where John Dob- 
 bins secured 72 acres of land, on which he 
 lived until 1834, although, two years pre- 
 viously, he had entered 160 acres in section 4, 
 Bucyrus township, Crawford county. To this 
 land the family came in 1834. A dense for- 
 est surrounded this pioneer home and the 
 family endured many of the hardships inci- 
 dent to life in a new section to which civiliza- 
 tion had scarcely penetrated. In 1858 John 
 Dobbins and his wife retired to Bucyrus and 
 
990 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 there he died in 1859, his widow, of more 
 robust constitution, surviving until 1880. 
 They left descendants who have perpetuated 
 the family and have maintained its reputation 
 for the solid virtues that marked their lives. 
 
 Hugh O. Dobbins, the eldest son of John 
 and Annie Dobbins, had but indifferent edu- 
 cational opportunities in his youth but he had 
 much practical teaching as to the management 
 of a farm and the carrying on if its various 
 activities, and this acquired knowledge he put 
 to good use and brought the old homestead 
 farm to a fine state of cultivation. He was 
 a man of quiet tastes, was honorable in his 
 business transactions and was kind and neigh- 
 borly in his community. While thoroughly 
 identified with the Democratic party, he never 
 was willing to accept political office. 
 
 Hugh O. Dobbins was married in 1859 to 
 Miss Rachel Cleland, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county in 1836, a daughter of William 
 Cleland, who was an early settler' in Vernon 
 township. Eight children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Dobbins. One of the surviving 
 sons, Hugh M., is a substantial farmer and 
 stock raiser and is a valued member of the 
 board of county commissioners of Crawford 
 county. 
 
 GEORGE DOXNEXWIRTH, president of 
 the Bucyrus City Bank, of Bucyrus, O., has 
 been identified with the business interests of 
 this place for over a half century and occupies 
 an enviable position in the esteem of his fel- 
 low citizens that he has won through his per- 
 sonal characteristics. He is a man of broad 
 and abundant sympathies, keeping ever in 
 memory the struggles of his own youth, and 
 has so built up his own fortunes that the path 
 he has traveled lies plain for another to fol- 
 low, through the exercise of the same industry, 
 frugality and integrity. The life of such a 
 man is always interesting. 
 
 George Donnenwirth was born Jan. 28, 1835, 
 at Columbus, O. His parents were George and 
 Sophia (Anthony) Donnenwirth, and his 
 grandparents were George and Magdalene 
 (Ruth) Donnenwirth. It was in 1827 that the 
 grandparents left France and came to Amer- 
 ica, making their first stop at Buffalo, X. Y., 
 and from there moving to Stark county, O. 
 The grandfather was seeking farm land and 
 
 this he secured to his satisfaction when he 
 came to Crawford county, in 1834, settling" in 
 Cranberry township. 
 
 Of their five children, one son, George, was 
 born at Strasburg, France, (now in Germany) 
 in 18 10, and in 1827 accompanied his parents 
 to the United States. Prior to 1833 he worked 
 as a blacksmith at several points and also as- 
 sisted in the construction of the Ohio Canal.' 
 In 1838 he came to New Washington, Craw- 
 ford county, where he opened his blacksmith 
 shop and also invested in property, and ere 
 long was recognized as an enterprising and 
 worthy citizen, 1846 being elected a repre- 
 sentative to the state legislature. Subse- 
 quently, in 1855, when elected county treasurer, 
 he moved to Bucyrus, where the remainder of 
 his life was spent and there he was twice 
 elected mayor. 
 
 Until he was 14 years of age, George Don- 
 nenwirth, Jr., attended school, but his father 
 was a very practical man and in accordance 
 with his decision the son began to learn a 
 self-supporting trade and spent four years at 
 his father's forge. He then went to Sandusky 
 and worked in a grocery store for almost two 
 years and afterward became a clerk at Bur- 
 lington, la., from there returning to Ohio and 
 locating in Bucyrus. Deciding to make this 
 city the seat of his business efforts he shortly 
 afterward entered into partnership with Henry 
 Anthony in the establishing of a brewery. 
 This partnership continued for but a brief 
 time, however, Mr, Dormenwirth's father then 
 buying the Anthony interest and becoming the 
 senior partner. The business was conducted 
 under the style of George Donnenwirth & Son 
 until 1875, when the senior partner retired. 
 At this time the junior member of the firm 
 became the senior; he admitted his half- 
 brother, Frank P. Donnenwirth, and the busi- 
 ness was continued until 1889. 
 
 In the meanwhile, George Dormenwirth had 
 become a banker in a small way, and in 1881 
 was one of the organizers and vice president 
 of what was known as the Monnett Bank of 
 Bucvrus. January i, 1892, the investment was 
 increased and the style of the concern was 
 changed from the ^lonnett Bank to the Bu- 
 cyrus Cit\' Bank. Mr. Donnenwirth was 
 elected president of the institution Jan. 2, 1888 
 which position, as above indicated, he still 
 
GEORGE DONNENWIRTH 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 993 
 
 holds. He has been a member of its directing 
 board from its organization. Aside from the 
 importance of his business interests, Mr. Don- 
 nenwirth has been in other ways a foremost 
 citizen. For years he has served as a city 
 councilman; he was a member of the school 
 board 25 years and treasurer of the same for 
 20 years ;and at all times has been ready to 
 heartily cooperate with other citizens in pro- 
 moting the general welfare. In politics a 
 Democrat, his influence in party councils has 
 been valuable on many important occasions. 
 He is a Mason and an Elk. 
 
 C. C. COYLE, secretary and treasurer of 
 The Gabon Lumber Company, and a member 
 of the board of education, of Gabon, O., is 
 one of the reliable and representative business 
 men of this city. He was born in 1863, in 
 Jefferson county, O., but was brought to Gabon 
 when a child of two years and largely the 
 business life of Mr. Coyle has been associated 
 with Gabon interests. He is a son of Dr. C. 
 L. and Julia (Rinehart) Coyle. 
 
 Dr. C. L. Coyle was a native of Ohio and 
 died at Gabon in 1892, when aged 65 years. 
 After completing his medical education at 
 Philadelphia, he returned to Ohio and in 1865 
 opened his practice at Gabon where he became 
 a physician of high standing. He married a 
 daughter of Rev. John Rinehart, a minister 
 of the Lutheran faith who was also a farmer 
 in Jefferson county. Mrs. Coyle survives and 
 resides with her son, C. C. Coyle. He has two 
 sisters : Estella, who is a highly educated lady 
 and is city librarian, at Gabon; and Cordelia, 
 who is the wife of Ross W. Funck, who is an 
 attorney at Wooster, O., and has one son and 
 three daughters. 
 
 C. C. Coyle attended school in Gabon. He 
 was with the Citizens National Bank and later 
 was a bookkeeper in a wholesale house in 
 Cleveland and subsequently was southern agent 
 for five years for the Stirling Water-tube boil- 
 ers, with headquarters in Cincinnati, and after 
 returning to Gabon he entered into the lumber 
 business. When The Gabon Lumber Com- 
 pany was merged from a firm into a corpora- 
 tion in 1902, Mr. Coyle was made secretary 
 and treasurer and became one of the five di- 
 rectors. The business is an extensive one, is 
 well financiered and ably managed, the manu- 
 
 facturing output being all kinds of builders' 
 supplies and store and bank furniture, employ- 
 ment being "given twenty workmen, trade be- 
 ing largely local. The company deals also in 
 masons' supplies and coal. 
 
 Mr. Coyle was married at Toledo, O., to 
 Miss Lulu Winter, who was born at Bucyrus, 
 O., and they have two children: Elizabeth 
 Eleanor, who was born July 8, 1905 ; and 
 Charles Winter, who was born August 8, 1908. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Coyle are members of the Pres- 
 byterian church. In politics he is a Republican 
 and fraternally belongs to the Knights of 
 Pythias. He is president of the Commercial 
 Club. 
 
 ADAM DONNENWIRTH, a highly re- 
 spected citizen of Cranberry township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., a retired farmer residing two 
 miles south and east of New Washington, O., 
 where he owns 70 acres of well improved land, 
 was born at Columbus, O., Jan. 28, 1835, and 
 is a son of George and Sophia Donnenwirth. 
 
 Adam Donnenwirth attended school at Co- 
 lumbus and also in Cranberry township after 
 his father moved here with his family, and 
 then decided to devote his attention to agri- 
 cultural pursuits and ever since has been en- 
 gaged in farming and stock raising, retiring 
 from the active management of his industries 
 after many years of success. After marriage 
 he settled one-half mile east of New Washing- 
 ton and remained on that farm for ten years, 
 when he came to his present one and operated 
 it until 1907, when he practically retired. He 
 not only followed farming methods that en- 
 riched his land and made it more productive 
 but he took a deep interest in improving his 
 surroundings and after erecting a handsome 
 residence, turned his attention to bis other 
 farm buildings and a substantial bank barn 
 soon replaced the earlier one. 
 
 Mr. Donnenwirth married Miss Elizabeth 
 Shaffer, a daughter of George Shaffer, and a 
 member of one of the old county families. 
 Mrs. Donnenwirth died in April, iqii ,and her 
 burial was at New Washington. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Donnenwirth 11 children were born, as 
 follows: Jefferson, who lives in California: 
 Charles, who died at Bucyrus ; John, who died 
 in 1908; Annie, who is the wife of Jacob 
 Biber and resides in Cranberry township ; Ed- 
 
994 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ward, who lives in Holmes township; Martin, 
 who lives near Crestline; Robert, who carries 
 on the home farm; and the others' died in in- 
 fancy. Air. Donnenwirth and family attend 
 the Lutheran church. 
 
 EAIERY RUPERT, who resides on the old 
 Rupert homestead situated in Lykens town- 
 ship, Crawford county, a valuable tract of 
 eighty acres, was born here Dec. 12, 1866, and 
 is a son of Solomon and Lydia (Haas) Rupert. 
 
 Solomon Rupert was born in Stark county, 
 O., and after coming to Crawford county, O., 
 followed farming in Lykens township. He 
 married Lydia Hass, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county, and here their three children 
 were born, namely : Aaron ; Ellen, wife of A. 
 J. Seele; and Emery. Air. Rupert and wife 
 were members of the Pietist church in Chat- 
 field township. Their burial was at Broken- 
 sword. 
 
 Emery Rupert attended the public schools 
 in Lykens township and then during one term 
 was a student at Ada, O., after which he 
 returned and gave his father assistance on the 
 farm until the latter's death. A few years 
 later he purchased the homestead and has con- 
 tinued here. He carries on general farming. 
 He is enterprising and progressive in his meth- 
 ods and succeeds in making every acre of his 
 land profitable. 
 
 On March 19, 191 1, Air. Rupert was mar- 
 ried to Airs. Alice (Angene) Hawkins, widow 
 to \\^alter Hawkins, and daughter of Adam 
 and Alary (Gerhart) Angene. To her first 
 marriage, Airs. Rupert had five daughters born, 
 namely: Irene, Ruth, Irma, Elizabeth and 
 Helen. Air. Rupert and family attend church 
 at Brokensword. In politics he is a Democrat 
 and he has served two terms as township as- 
 sessor. He belongs to the Patrons of Hus- 
 bandrv at Broken s^^•ord and to the Knights of 
 Pj-thias at Likens. 
 
 TOHX LUST, a retired farmer and highly 
 respected citizen of Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, O., where he owns 104 
 acres of verv valuable land which is situated 
 in section i ; and lies two miles southeast of 
 Xew \\'ashington, O., was born in Chatfield 
 township, Crawford county, June 5, 1845. 
 His parents were Conrad and Alagdalena 
 rAIyer) Lust. 
 
 Conrad Lust was born in Germany but came 
 to -the United States when about five years 
 old, his. parents settling first in Pennsylvania 
 and later coming to Ohio, where Conrad at- 
 tended school in Alarion county. He married 
 Alagdalena Myer, who was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, but was reared in Columbiana county, 
 O. After marriage. Air. and Airs. Lust settled 
 in Chatfield township, and continued to live 
 there throughout hfe, the death of Conrad 
 Lust occurring in his 64th year, while his 
 widow survived to the age of seventy-three. 
 They were members of the Pietist church. 
 Of their nine children, eight reside in Craw- 
 ford county, Daniel and Solomon, together 
 with John Beal, a son-in-law, residing on the 
 old homestead of 333 acres. 
 
 John Lust has been engaged in farming all 
 his mature life, first on the home place and 
 later for himself. For seven years he re- 
 mained in Chatfield township, but in 1875 
 moved to the present farm in Cranberry town- 
 ship, from which he moved to Liberty town- 
 ship in 1886 and remained for five and one- 
 half years and then returned to his Cranberry 
 township property. 
 
 Air. Lust married Aliss Susanna Pfleiderer, 
 a daughter of Jacob Pfleiderer of Liberty town- 
 ship and two children were born to them: an 
 infant son, deceased; and \\'^illiam, who lived 
 to the age of eight months. Air. and Airs. 
 Lust are members of the Pietist church. 
 While Air. Lust has never been active in pol- 
 itics, he has always been interested in the sub- 
 stantial progress made by his community and 
 has lent his influence in the direction of tem- 
 perance, education and religion. 
 
 A. W. AIOXROE, one of Gabon's able and 
 representative business men, secretary of the 
 Home Savings & Loan Company, at Galion, 
 O., a capitalized concern of $2,000,000, and 
 for many years additionally interested in en- 
 terprises of large importance, was bom in 
 Ohio, and in 1877 was graduated from the 
 Galion High School. 
 
 His business career began early and for a 
 long period he was cashier of the First Na- 
 tional Bank of Galion, severing his relations 
 in 1905 in order to devote more attention to 
 his many other interests. He is secretary and 
 treasurer of the Galion Metallic \''ault Com- 
 pany, which is capitalized at S 100,000, and 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 995 
 
 has been manufacturing, steel burial vaults 
 since 1905, a successful business being done 
 all over the country, seven traveling men be- 
 ing on the road and employment being af- 
 forded 50 persons. Mr. Monroe is concerned 
 officially ,or otherwise, with numerous other 
 manufacturing concerns but probably is best 
 known in his- connection with the Home Sav- 
 ings & Loan Company of Gallon. The organ- 
 ization of this company took place in 1891, 
 with a capital of $300,000, \\hich was first 
 increased to $600,000, and in 1903 was again 
 increased to $1,000,000 and since then has 
 again doubled its capital. It was organized 
 as a State institution under State laws and 
 under its original officers has made remark- 
 able progress and in all that has been done, 
 Mr. Monroe has been the- moving spirit. He 
 came to Gallon in 1870, from Norwalk, where 
 he was born in 1859, in company with his 
 parents, Orin and Julia (Pettis) Monroe, and 
 has occupied a representative position here for 
 many years, not only in the business world but 
 as an interested and responsible citizen. 
 
 In 1880, Mr. Monroe was married at Gallon, 
 O., to Miss Mary E. Armacost, who was born 
 in Darke county, O., attended the Gallon pub- 
 lic schools and pursued her musical and artistic 
 studies in the Wesleyan University at Dela- 
 ware, O., and Baldwin University near Cleve- 
 land and for some time prior to her marriage 
 was a teacher of music, possessing great nat- 
 ural ability in this direction. Her early life 
 was partly spent in Indiana. Her parents were 
 William M. and Hannah Britton (Young) 
 Robbins Armacost. Her father was born near 
 Baltimore, Md. For a number of years he 
 was a merchant tailor in the city of Washing- 
 ton and many notable names were on his books 
 as patrons. He was twice married, his second 
 wife beino- the mother of Mrs. Monroe. He 
 was born in 1800 and died in Darke county, 
 O., in i86t;. The mother of Mrs. Monroe was 
 born in 18 19, at Lancaster, Pa., and died in 
 1900, at Gallon, O. She was married first to 
 Isaac Robbins and the two children born to that 
 union survive. To her second marriage two 
 children were born : Mrs. Monroe and James 
 Murray, the latter residing with his family at 
 Barberton, O. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Monroe have two sons : Otho 
 Lee and E. Paul. Otho Lee Monroe was 
 
 graduated from the Galion High School and 
 then entered the Ohio Wesleyan University at 
 Delaware, O., where he was graduated in the 
 class of 1904, and four years later was grad- 
 uated from the medical department of Colum- 
 bia University, New York, with his degree. 
 Subsequently he took a post graduate course 
 of two years in St. Luke's Hospital, New 
 York City. He is at present engaged in pro- 
 fessional work, having a large practice in the 
 metropolis. The second son, E. Paul Monroe, 
 was graduated from the Galion High School 
 in the class of 1903 and from the Ohio Wes- 
 leyan University in the class of 1907, both he 
 and brother taking high honors as students. 
 He is, at present, occupying a clerical position- 
 with the Galion Metallic Vault Company and 
 with the Home Savings & Loan Company of 
 Galion. He married Miss Georgetta Pavey, of 
 Leesburg, O. Mr. and Mrs. Monroe are mem- 
 bers of the First Methodist Episcopal Church 
 of Galion, with which he has been connected 
 as Sunday-school superintendent for 21 years, 
 while Mrs. Monroe has been church organist 
 for 18 years. They have many social duties 
 to perform, beins^ leaders in many circles, and 
 Mrs. Monroe has been a trustee of the Public 
 Library since its incorporation in 1901, a very 
 active and efficient member of this body. 
 
 JACOB UHL, who is one of the highly re- 
 spected citizens of New Washington, O., re- 
 siding in his comfortable home, which is sit- 
 uated on East Mansfield Street, has been re- 
 tired from agricultural activities since 1907, 
 but still retains valuable properties in Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county. He was 
 born at Offenbach, Bavaria, Germany, Jan. 
 25, 1833, and was brought to Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., when three and 
 one-half years old, by his parents, Benedict 
 and Anna Mary (Mesmer) Uhl. Jacob Uhl's 
 paternal grandfather was John Uhl and the 
 maternal grandfather was Benedict Mesnier; 
 the former died in 1801, never having come to 
 the United States. 
 
 Benedict Uhl and a fellow countryman pur- 
 chased 80 acres of land in partnership and 
 when an equal division was made, Mr. Uhl 
 took that portion which is the present site of 
 New Washington and he lived in one of the 
 seven cabins in the place, his home being one 
 
996 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 mile north of town. There is always some 
 particular reason to account for the naming of 
 a village and in the case of New Washington 
 it perpetuates the name of George W'ashmg- 
 ton Meyer, who laid out the plan and secured 
 the services of a surveyor to divide the land 
 into lots and then gave his name to the set- 
 tlement. It might, with good reason, have 
 been named for the Uhl family as this one has 
 been identified with its development from the 
 beginning. Benedict Uhl was a \\'heelwright 
 by trade and in many a household in this 
 neighborhood may be found spinning wheels 
 of his constructing, this domestic industry be- 
 ing one of importance in almost every family in 
 his day. He resided north of New Washing- 
 ton for two years and then moved on his farm 
 of 40 acres, which he cleared and here built a 
 round log house which was later replaced by 
 a large frame one, and to his original pur- 
 chase subsequently added fifty acres of the 
 Daniel Murphy farm. His death occurred on 
 the first farm, in August, 1863, and was sur- 
 vived by his wife for a few years, their burials 
 being at New Washington. They had the 
 following children born to them: Appleonia, 
 Catherine, Benedict, Jacob, Daniel and Mary 
 Ann, the last named dying at the age of 18 
 years. The parents were members of the Ro- 
 man Catholic church. 
 
 Jacob Uhl with his brothers and sisters 
 were reared near New ^^'^ashington and there 
 attended the early schools. He spent a busy 
 boyhood and youth, working at the carpenter 
 trade and on the home and neighboring farms 
 and worked also as a farm hand in Huron 
 county before the outbreak of the Civil \\'ar, 
 when he enlisted for army service and served 
 through the Rebellion as a member of Co. C, 
 49th O. Vol. Inf. His first enlistment was in 
 1 861, he reenlisting in 1863 to serve through 
 the war. His commanding officer was Captain 
 Keller of Sulphur Springs. He was seriously 
 wounded at Atlanta, Ga., June 27, 1864, by a 
 shot through the neck, which kept him in the 
 hospital until the following February, when 
 he reioined his regiment and received his hon- 
 orable discharge in January, 1866, at Colum- 
 bus. 
 
 Mr. Uhl returned then to New \\''a5hine:ton 
 and was married here to Miss ^Margaret Nedo- 
 last, who was born in Rocheway, Bohemia, a 
 
 daughter of John and Elizabeth Nedolast, who 
 settled in Cranberry township in 1854. They 
 became well known people there. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Uhl the following children were bom 
 Elizabeth, who is the wife of J. R. Miller 
 George Jacob, who married Mary Shell 
 Michael B. ; Joseph, who is a teacher at Day 
 ton, 0.; Lawrence, who married Mary Ray- 
 mond ; and Mary, who is the wife of Cornelius 
 Miller, of Toledo, O. 
 
 After marriage, Mr. Uhl settled on his 
 farm of 80 acres one mile north east of New 
 Washington and to his first farm added twenty 
 adjoining acres and later ninety acres, situated 
 near Waynesburg, and still later the eighty- 
 acre farm now owned by his son, George Uhl. 
 As noted above Mr. Uhl has lived retired from 
 business care for the last five years. He has 
 never been a very active politician but served 
 one term as supervisor of Cranberry township, 
 elected on the Republican ticket. Mr. Uhl and 
 family belong to the Roman Catholic church. 
 
 WTLLIA:M H. SONGER, a thoroughly 
 representative citizen of Crawford county, a 
 man of large means and public prominence in 
 his community, resides on his finely improved 
 farm of 160 acres, which is situated in San- 
 dusky township, ten and one-half miles north- 
 east of Bucyrus. His other 269 acres in this 
 county lie in Whetstone and Liberty town- 
 ships. He was born in 1873, ™ Sandusky 
 township and is a son of Jacob and Lydia 
 ( Schreck ) Songer. 
 
 Jacob Songer was born in Pennsylvania and 
 he had eight brothers and sisters, namely: 
 Daniel J., John, Jonathan, Rose, Elizabeth, 
 Sophia, Sarah and !Mary, the surviving ones 
 being: Daniel J., Rose, Elizabeth and Sarah. 
 
 ^\'ilIiam H. Songer was reared on his 
 father's farm in Sandusky township and at- 
 tended the public schools. He married ^liss 
 Marie E. Reiff, who was one of the following 
 family born to her parents : Charles A. F., 
 living in Holmes township, who married !ilin- 
 nie Snavely and has four children — Lulu, 
 Floy, Arthur and Clan; Marie E., wife of our 
 subject; Paul O., deceased; John C, who lives 
 in Holmes township and who married Estie 
 Frost and has two children — Chester and Rus- 
 sell; Hannah M., the wife of W. O. Taylor, 
 who lives in Andrews, Ind.. and has three chil- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 997 
 
 dreii — Earl, Ralph and Mary; Henry J., who 
 married M. Miller and lives in Bucyrus ; Rosa, 
 widow of Lawrence Messnard, who lives in 
 Andrews, Ind., and has one son, Donald; and 
 Lewis W., who married Hazel Schotield, and 
 lives in Andrews, Ind., and has a daughter, 
 Edith. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Songer have two children: 
 Lloyd and Delvvyn, both of whom live at home. 
 In politics Mr. Songer is a stanch Democrat 
 and is an influential man in many directions 
 in the county. He is one of the trustees of 
 Sandusky township and is also treasurer of 
 the township school board. His farm home is 
 considered the finest rural residence in San- 
 dusky township, being beautifully situated and 
 fitted with modern comforts and conveniences. 
 
 CAPT. WILLIAM R. DAVIS, a veteran 
 of the Civil war, who was formerly engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits but is now living retired 
 in Galion, is a native of Crawford county, born 
 in Sandusky township, April 7, 1835. He is a 
 son of John and Mary (Hamilton) Davis, 
 the former of whom was born in Maryland in 
 1797, and the latter in Pennsylvania in 1802, 
 she being a relation of Alexander Hamilton. 
 They were early settlers in Columbiana county, 
 Ohio, where they lived until after the birth of 
 their ninth child. In 1829 or 1830 they set- 
 tled in Crawford county, locating in Sandusky 
 township on partly improved land, where they 
 built up a substantial home. His land con- 
 sisted of 240 acres, which he brought to a 
 high state of cultivation. During their early 
 residence here they had many hard experiences, 
 being obliged to haul their grain to the Lakes 
 to market it, and drive their live stock to 
 Philadelphia. John Davis died in Sandusky 
 township, this county, in 1883 at the age of 
 88 years, his wife having previously passed 
 away, in 1878. They were Methodists in 
 religion and he was a Whig and later a Re- 
 publican in politics. They were the parents 
 of 13 children — seven sons and six daughters 
 — all of whom married and had children, ex- 
 cept one daughter. All, however, are now de- 
 ceased, except the subject of this sketch. 
 
 William R. Davis was the eleventh child of 
 
 his parents. He was reared and educated in 
 
 the district schools and when 21 years of age 
 
 entered the employ of the Big Four Railroad 
 
 se 
 
 as conductor, residing at Galion. In 1885, 
 he removed to Marshall county, Ind., where 
 he was engaged in farming trom that time 
 until 19 10. He then returned to Galion and 
 took possession of his present residence at 314 
 Orange street, where he now lives retired. 
 
 On Aug. 15, 1862 he enlisted from Galion 
 in Company E, loist Regt., O. V. I., under 
 Capt. William C. Parsons and Col. Leander 
 Stem, and was made corporal of his company. 
 The regiment formed a part of the Army of 
 the Cumberland, under Gen. Rosecrans, after- 
 ward under Gen. George H. Thomas, and 
 after the battle of Chickamauga, on the reor- 
 ganization of the army it was assigned to the 
 First Division, First Brigade and Fourth 
 Corps. With it Mr. Davis did gallant service 
 until his discharge on June 12, 1865, remain- 
 ing a member of the regiment from muster in 
 to muster out, was never on the sick list a 
 day, and was never wounded or captured, be- 
 ing the only member of the regiment living 
 today who can say as much. He took part in 
 the battles of Perryville, Ky., Oct. 8, 1862; 
 Stone River, Dec. 31, 1862, Jan. ist and 2nd, 
 1863, where the colonel and lieutenant-colonel 
 were both killed; afterwards was in several 
 minor engagements; then in the great and 
 bloody battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 19-20, 
 1863 ; and afterwards in the battles at Rock 
 Face Ridge, Ball Knob, Resaca and Atlanta, 
 Love joy Station, Franklin and Nashville, be- 
 sides many skirmishes. He was made com- 
 missary sergeant, in November, 1862; first 
 lieutenant, Sept, 29, 1864, with the rank of 
 captain, and held this rank at the time of his 
 discharge. At the battle of Franklin he cap- 
 tured a dozen Confederates with the men under 
 his command. He had many marvelous es- 
 capes, some so narrow that at times he almost 
 thinks he must have had a charmed life to 
 have avoided death, injury or capture. As 
 may be supposed, Capt. Davis can tell many 
 interesting stories of the war — stories the in- 
 terest of which is enhanced by the fact that 
 they describe a part of his own personal ex- 
 perience and are therefore of unimpugned 
 veracity. 
 
 Capt. Davis was married in Galion, O., Oct. 
 14, 1856, to Miss Leah M. McCrady, who 
 was born in Polk towttshio, near Galion, this 
 county, June 8, 1838, and who was brought 
 
998 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 up in this locality. Her parents were Isaac 
 and Margaret (Parsons) AlcCrady, of Lan- 
 caster county. Pa., who were there married 
 and who resided there until 1837, when, after 
 the birth of three children, they came to Craw- 
 ford county, Ohio, where the remainder of 
 their lives were spent. Mr. McCrady died at 
 the Old Olentanga Tavern, near Gallon, in 
 1841 when in the prime of life. His wife sur- 
 vived him many years, being married 25 years 
 after his death to Jesse Perkypile, with whom 
 she -lived for 18. years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Davis have been the parents of 
 eight children — Frank D., Charles, Henry, 
 Belle, Louisa Lee, James J., Augusta, and 
 Jean, of whom the following is a partial rec- 
 ord. Frank died in early manhood. Charles 
 died at the age of three years. Henry died in 
 early manhood. Belle is the widow of Andrew 
 Mould and lives in Omaha, Xeb. She has 
 three children^Mabel, Addison and Harriet, 
 of whom the last mentioned married a Mr. 
 Jaschka. Louisa Lee is a widow ; has no chil- 
 dren. James J. resides in Columbus, O., is 
 married and has a son, Robert. Augusta is 
 the wife of ^^'illiam 'M. AlcXeil, and lives in 
 Marion, O. She has a daughter, IMarian. 
 Jean is the wife of Dr. ^Morton W. Bland of 
 Bellevue, O.. and has a daughter, Florence. 
 Capt. Davis is a charter member of Dick Mor- 
 ris Post, no, 130, G. A. R., which he served as 
 first adjutant and later as senior vice com- 
 mander. He is a Republican in politics and 
 attends the Presbyterian church. 
 
 JOHX I. \\'EXTZ,* one of the enterprising 
 and educated men and progressive agricultur- 
 ists of Holmes township, Crawford county, 
 O., resides on his fine farm of 138 acres, which 
 lies one and one-half miles west of Bucatus, 
 this being the old ^'\'^entz homestead. He was 
 born here, X'ov. 27, 1878, and is a son of John 
 W'entz, formerly a well known man of this 
 township. 
 
 John I. ^^^entz completed the common school 
 course in Holmes townshio and then spent one 
 year as a student at the Ohio State University 
 at Columbus and after^vard took an agricult-' 
 ural and eneineering course at the Ohio X'or- 
 mal Universitv at Ada. ^Ir. ^^^entz was thus 
 well equipped for farming, just as he would 
 have been had his intentions been for law or 
 
 medicine, and in the success that has attended 
 his farm activities, there is proof that his time 
 was well employed. He assisted his father 
 until his own marriage, when he purchased 
 the homestead and has carried on farming 
 and stock raising here ever since. With the 
 exception of erecting the farm residence, Mr. 
 Wentz has made all the other substantial im- 
 provements on the place and has a well kept, 
 up-to-date farm. 
 
 Mr. Wentz was united in marriage with 
 Miss Lillian Florence Miller, a daughter of 
 Frank and Effie Miller, the latter of whom 
 survives. Frank Miller was born in Richland 
 county, O., came in early manhood to Craw- 
 ford county and engaged in farming, his death 
 occurring at the age of 42 years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. ^liller had eight children born to them, 
 namely: Irvin, who lives in South Dakota; 
 ^Irs. Wentz ; Carl, who is a resident of Bucy- 
 rus and Harry, of Chicago ; Ina who lives with 
 her mother; Mrs. Samuel Lenthold; Frank 
 and Eleanor, both of whom live at home. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wentz have three children; 
 Richard George, Florence Eleanor and James. 
 Mr. ^\'^entz and family attend the Presb}'terian 
 church at Bucyrus. In his views on public 
 questions he maintains an independent atti- 
 tude and the only political office he has ever 
 accepted was that of justice of the peace, in 
 1906, and served one term. His interest in 
 agricultural interests is hearty and he is a 
 valued member of the local Grange. 
 
 CHARLES E. STIXE, cashier of the 
 Babst Banking Company, at Crestline,- O., was 
 born here, July 3. 1868, and is a son of Adam 
 and Hannah (\^'entz) Stine. 
 
 Adam Stine was bom in Bucks county, Pa., 
 and came to Shelby, O., and was reared in 
 Richland county from youth. In Richland 
 county he married Hannah Wentz, who was 
 born in Pern,- county. Pa., and then came to 
 Crestline, about the time the railroad now 
 known as the Big Four line was being built. 
 He was a carpenter by trade and assisted in the 
 construction of the bridges and station build- 
 ings then being constructed by the railroad 
 company. Later he went to Delaware. O., 
 and helped to build the old coUeee buildings 
 there, and in I8^_t returned to Crestline and 
 started a planing mill here, which he operated 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 999 
 
 until he retired in 1892, about the time of 
 death which occurred in 1892, his wife surviv- 
 ing until 1901. They were charter members 
 of the English Lutheran church. Of their 
 seven children, five were sons and two daugh- 
 ters and all survive. 
 
 Charles E. Stine attended the public schools 
 at Crestline until the age of 16 years and then 
 entered the Babst Banking House as an em- 
 ploye and has continued to be identified with 
 this firm and is held in such very high regard 
 by Mr. Babst, that he fills the office of cashier 
 without any bonds. He is well known in 
 financial circles throughout the country and 
 has proven himself an accurate and astute 
 business man. 
 
 Mr. Stine was married to Miss Grace A. 
 Reed, who was born and educated here. They 
 have one daughter, Dorothy, who was born 
 Aug. 9, 1903. Mr. Stine is a responsive cit- 
 izen but ia not particularly active in politics. 
 
 C. P. FRANK, for many years connected 
 with the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago 
 Railway Company as foreman of the copper 
 shops, at Crestline, now retired from railroad 
 life but still active in business affairs, is presi- 
 dent of the Crestline Building and Loan Asso- 
 ciation, one of the city's important commer- 
 cial enterprises. Mr. Frank was born in But- 
 ler county. Pa., Jan. 21, 1839, and is a son of 
 John G. and Mary (Schneider) Frank. 
 
 John G. Frank was born and reared in Ger- 
 many and came to the United States in 1835, 
 locating at Saxonburg, in Butler county, Pa., 
 where he engaged in farming and also con- 
 ducted a tannery. He died there in 1870, in 
 his seventieth year and was a member of the 
 German Lutheran church during the greater 
 part of his life. He married the widow of 
 Carl Hahn and a daughter of Christian 
 Schneider. She also was a native of Germany 
 and was the mother of ten children, five born 
 to her first and five to her second union. 
 
 C. P. Frank was the eldest son and second 
 child of his parents and in boyhood attended 
 the district schools for about three months dur- 
 ing the year, in the meanwhile making him- 
 self useful to his father. When 17 years old 
 he went to Pittsburg and there entered a 
 foundry to learn the trade of coppersmith and 
 served an apprenticeship of four years, after 
 
 which he entered the employ of Prior, Har- 
 beck & Co., a Cleveland firm. He continued 
 work at his trade there for nine months and 
 then came first to Galion, where he was en- 
 gaged with the old Bee line railroad company 
 for four years, and from there, in 1863, came 
 to Crestline and this city has continued his 
 home ever since. For 45 years Mr. Frank was 
 foreman of the coppersmith department in the 
 shops of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago 
 Railroad Company, now the Pennsylvania 
 Lines west of Pittsburg, a fact which speaks 
 for itself in proving his capacity in his trade. 
 He had a long and successful business career 
 with this corporation and reliance was placed 
 on his skill and experience while personal 
 esteem was felt for him by his employers. 
 Since retiring from railroad work, Mr. Frank 
 has continued his active interest in the opera- 
 tions of the Crestline Building and Loan As- 
 sociation, has displayed excellent judgment, a 
 thorough knowledge of realty values and an 
 energy that might be envied by a much younger 
 man. 
 
 On Feb. 4, 1862, Mr. Frank was married 
 to Miss Elen A. Keen who was three years old 
 when she was brought to America by her par- 
 ents, who settled among other German pio- 
 neers in Crawford county and became well 
 known and respected people of this section. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Frank have four children living, 
 namely: John E., who is assistant to the chief 
 clerk in the general freight office of the Pere 
 Marquette Railroad at Toledo, O. ; Mary M., 
 the widow of I. W. Tarkworthy, who lives in 
 Cleveland, O. ; Willard A., machinist, living 
 at Galion, O. ; and Frederick G., who suc- 
 ceeded his father as foreman in the Pennsyl- 
 vania Lines shops at Crestline. Two children 
 died, Nelly C. and Alice J., aged two and six 
 years respectively. Mr. Prank and family 
 are members of the Presbyterian church. 
 Politically he is a Republican and fraternally 
 is identified with the Masons and Odd Fel- 
 lows. 
 
 JOSEPH GILBERT SMITH, a retired 
 farmer and well known citizen, residing in 
 Galion, O., was born in Jefferson township, 
 Crawford county, O., Dec. ik,, 1839, a son of 
 Joseph and Mary (Kirkpatrick) Smith. His 
 paternal grandfather, John Jacob Smith, was 
 
1000 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 a native of Germany, who married in his na- 
 tive land and came to America, settUng in 
 Perry county, Pa., about 1798, he and his wife 
 dying in that state at an advanted age. They 
 were farmers by occupation, Mrs. Smith be- 
 ing a Presbyterian in rehgion. 
 
 The parents of our subject were both born 
 in Perry county. Pa. Joseph Smith (the 
 father) was brought up to farming and mar- 
 ried his first wife, Mary Kirkpatrick, in Perry 
 county. After the birth of their first two chil- 
 dren — Leonard and Mary E. — they removed, 
 in 1837, to Ohio, making the journey with 
 teams, and stopping here and there by the 
 wayside. \yhen they reached Crawford 
 county, Joseph Smith selected and entered 150 
 acres of solid timber land, in Jefferson town- 
 ship, and, being a practical carpenter, he cut 
 out timber and built himself quite a comfort- 
 able home. There were no roads in the local- 
 ity at that time, so for some years the family 
 liver a real pioneer existence in the wilder- 
 ness. His first wife Mary, who had accom- 
 panied him to this section, did not long sur- 
 vive, dying on the day that her last child, the 
 subject of this sketch, was born, Dec. 17, 1839. 
 She was only 23 years old. Joseph later mar- 
 ried in this county a cousin of hers, Nancy 
 Kirkpatrick, who was born in Pennsylvania, 
 and she died on the homestead at the age of 
 58, leaving two children, Alvin and Matilda, 
 the former of whom now resides on the home- 
 stead, is married and has a family. Matilda 
 married William Michaels, who is now de- 
 ceased, and died herself when over 69 years 
 old, leaving two children. Joseph Smith, after 
 the death of his second wife, contracted a 
 third marriage, this time to Sarah Welsh, nee 
 Kirkpatrick, who was a sister of his second 
 wife. She died without issue, and her hus- 
 band Joseph, died April 26, 1870. 
 
 Joseph Gilbert Smith grew up on his father's 
 farm and was trained to agricultural pursuits. 
 He conducted a farm for his father until 1870, 
 when he came to Gallon, where he remained 
 five vears. He then purchased a farm near 
 No. Robinson, in Whetstone township, this 
 county, which was his home until October, 
 191 1. He then sold 64 of the 84 acres he 
 owned there and took up his residence again in 
 Gallon, purchasing his fine home at No. 225 
 No. Union street, where he is enjoying a well 
 earned respite from hard labor. 
 
 He was married in Jefferson township, this 
 county, Nov. 8, 1863, to Miss Amanda Van 
 Voorhis, who was born at Olentazie, this 
 county, April 20, 1843, a daughter of William 
 R. and Almeda (Johnson) Van Voorhis. Her 
 paternal grandparents were Samuel N. and 
 Sarah (Meyers) Van Voorhis, who came to 
 this section in the second decade of the 19th 
 century, locating at the early settlement known 
 as Olentazie, south of Bucyrus, and on the 
 plains. Samuel N. Van Voorhis assisted in 
 laying out the city of Bucyrus, the site of 
 which lay partly on his early farm. He helped 
 to organize the first Christian (or Campbell- 
 ite) church in this county, and was a member 
 of that faith at the time of his death, which 
 took place when he had attained an advanced 
 age. His wife died several years before him. 
 
 William R. Van Voorhis was born near 
 Schuylkill, N. Y., May 25, 1802, the early 
 Dutch ancestors of the family having settled 
 on the Hudson and Mohawk rivers several 
 generations before. After coming to Ohio 
 with his parents he grew up on the homestead 
 in Bucyrus township, where he remained until 
 after his marriage. He then purchased a new 
 timber farm in Whetstone township, where he 
 lived for several years. He then went to 
 Michigan and while living there, not far from 
 St. Joseph, he lost hiswife, who was in maid- 
 enhood Miss Hannah Jones. She left him with 
 five children. He returned with them to Craw- 
 ford county, O., where later he married his 
 second wife, Almeda Johnson. Here they 
 spent the rest of their lives, Mr. Van Voorhis 
 dying Aug. 4, 1893, and his wife at the home 
 of her daughter, Mrs. Smith, on July 7, 1910. 
 She was over 92 years old, having been born 
 March 19, 1818. They were lifelong members 
 of the Christian church and he was a strong 
 Democrat in politics. They had a family of 
 twelve children, of whom five are still living 
 and one is yet unmarried. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been the parents 
 of eleven children, as follows : ( i ) Lora A., 
 born Aug. 11, 1864, is the wife of Henry S. 
 Evert, of Galion and has three children — 
 Beatrice, Stewart and Arthur. (2) Alice E., 
 born Oct, 2, 1867, is the wife of Newton 
 Evert, a farmer of Whetstone townshin and 
 has two children — Marion A. and Paul G. 
 (3) Bertha, who has been a public school 
 teacher in Galion for some years and who re- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1001 
 
 sides at home. (4) Jessie E., born 1872, July 
 12, who is the wife of Charles A. Throckmor- 
 ton and lives in Columbus, O. Her children 
 are Warren S. and Maxwell H. (5) Eva E., 
 born Nov. 5, 1875, who is the wife of Michael 
 Eusey and lives in Galion. She has three chil- 
 dren — Cora, Fred and Gordon. (6) Charles 
 B., a farmer in Chatfield township, who is un- 
 married. (7) Lettie E., a school teacher, un- 
 married, who resides at home. (8) Helen M., 
 who married Orvin Braden, resides in Woo- 
 ster, O., and has a son Donald. (9) Ethel T., 
 who died at the age of eleven years. (10) 
 Edna L., unmarried, who is a stenographer 
 and resides in Cleveland, O. (11) Josephine, 
 bom in September, 1878, who is the wife of 
 Dorsey Littler and resides in Galion, has no 
 children. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are members 
 of the English Lutheran church. They are 
 well known and have a wide circle of friends. 
 Mr. Smith is a Republican in politics. 
 
 PEARL J. HILLS, whose well cultivated 
 farm of 100 acres is situated in section 21, 
 Auburn township, Crawford county, O., is a 
 native of Auburn township, born June 24, 
 1878, and is a son of Julius and Alvira Hills, 
 both of whom are now deceased. 
 
 Pearl J. Hills was reared in Auburn town- 
 ship and attended the public schools and began 
 his farm training on his paternal grandfather's 
 estate, where he grew up. For four years 
 after his marriage he rented land, after which 
 he purchased his present valuable place. He is 
 an up-to-date, progressive agriculturist and 
 has drained and tiled his land at an expense of 
 hundreds of dollars and has it all under till- 
 age except 14 acres woodland and pasture. He 
 devotes some attention to raising fine Jersey 
 cattle, feeds from eight to twelve horses a 
 year and never sells hay, finding it more prof- 
 itable to feed the crop and in this way return 
 to the soil what is taken out of it. Mr. Hills 
 is one of the well informed farmers who own 
 and value a silo and he is confident that it 
 saves him three hundred dollars worth of feed 
 a year. He has taken pride in the appearance 
 of his property and all the buildings have been 
 remodeled and all surroundings are attractive. 
 Mr. Hills is also agent for the Overland Auto- 
 mobile for Auburn, Vernon and Cranberry 
 townships and has disposed of a number of 
 these fine cars. 
 
 Mr. Hills married Miss Mary E. Melick, 
 who was born in Richland county, O., and they 
 have four children : Harry, Florence, Otis and 
 Ross. In politics Mr. Hills is a Democrat and 
 is a member of the Board of Education at the 
 present time and served previously in the same 
 office for two terms. He belongs to the local 
 Grange and also to the Knights of Pythias and 
 to the Odd Fellows, at Tiro. With his family 
 he attends the Baptist church. 
 
 FRANK E. LAMB, a representative and 
 substantial citizen of Bucyrus,. O., property 
 owner and civic official, was born in Ingham 
 county, Mich., March 11, 1850, and is a son 
 of George S. and Laura (Silsby) Lamb. 
 
 George S. Lamb was a well known man in 
 several sections of the country. He was born 
 in Ohio and for a number of years engaged in 
 farming, after which he became an Indian 
 trader and subsequently located in Murray 
 county, Minn., his being the eighth 'family to 
 settle there. It was a wild region at that time 
 and Mr. Lamb's business often left him un- 
 protected and on one of his trips he was killed 
 by the Indians, this occurring in what is 
 known as the Little Crow massacre. He mar- 
 ried Laura Silsby, who was born in New 
 York, a daughter of Felix Silsby, and three 
 children were born to them : Frank E. ; 
 Emma, deceased, who was the wife of San- 
 ford Peck; and a child that died when five 
 years old. 
 
 Frank E. Lamb had but meager educational 
 opportunities, growing up on a farm that was 
 65 miles distant from any town. He was only 
 a boy of 14 years when he succeeded in enlist- 
 ing for service in the Civil War and was out 
 for nine months and fifteen days as a mem- 
 ber of Co. C, 195th O. Vol. Inf., from Wil- 
 liams county, O. He then returned to 
 Williams county and was but 18 years old 
 when he was married, on Nov. 19, 1868, to 
 Miss Mary Ogle. She was born in Williams 
 county, where her grandfather, Robert Ogle, 
 was the fifth settler in its early days. Her par- 
 ents were Thomas and Jerusha (Clark) Ogle, 
 the former of whom was a native of Colum- 
 biana county, O., a civil engineer and a farmer. 
 The mother of Mrs. Lamb was born in Penn- 
 svlvania. They had three children : Robert, 
 Eliza, deceased, who was the wife of Henry 
 Champion; and Mary. 
 
1002 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Lamb the following chil- 
 dren were born: Cora, the widow of Neal 
 Sullivan, who has four children — Eunice, 
 Frank, Clyde and Russell; Edgar F., who 
 married Mary Quinn, and has ten children — 
 Herbert, Cora, Howard, Elsie, Maurice, Ed- 
 gar, Hilda, Vivian, Ralph and Glen; Laura, 
 who married Milo R. Haynes, and has two 
 children — Donald and Naomi; Nellie, who is 
 the wife of Clarence N. Haynes, and has one 
 daughter, Lila; and Mary, who is a popular 
 and successful teacher at Bucyrus. 
 
 For many years Mr. Lamb has been prom- 
 inent in political life at Bucyrus and at pres- 
 ent is serving in his second term as a member 
 of the city council. He is also in his fourth 
 year as probation officer and formerly offici- 
 ated as constable and for a long time as a jus- 
 tice of the peace. He has property invest- 
 ments at Bucyrus that include two handsome 
 and valuable residences. He is a member of 
 Keller Post No. 128, Grand Army of the Re- 
 public, of which he is the present quarter- 
 master, having been interested in this post ever 
 since it was organized. His family attends 
 the United Brethren church. He is identified 
 politcally with the Democratic party. On 
 August 3, 19 1 2, Mr. Lamb was appointed 
 justice of the peace in Bucyrus township. 
 
 GEORGE R. FOSTER, whose well culti- 
 vated farm of 79 acres lies in sections 14 and 
 23, Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 two and one-fourth miles southeast of Xew 
 \\'^ashington, was born in Richland county, O., 
 Jan. 25, 1877, a son of Reuben H. and Sarah 
 E. Foster, who still reside in Richland county. 
 
 After his school days were over, George R. 
 Foster lived for five years in Richland county, 
 following farming. In March, 1907, he set- 
 tled on his present farm, which he bought 
 from his father-in-law and the Cox heirs. He 
 has greatly improved his property, erecting 
 the substantial buildings, fencing and drain- 
 ing, and raises hay, grain, cattle and hogs. 
 He follows modern methods and believes in 
 the best kind of farm machinery. Mr. Foster 
 is a stockholder in the Toledo Life Insurance 
 Company, of Toledo, O. 
 
 On Oct. 24, 1 89 1, Mr. Foster was married 
 to Miss Maude E. Hageman, who was born on 
 this farm, a daughter of Henry and Martha 
 
 Hageman. Mrs. Foster is a member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church, which Mr. Fos- 
 ter attends and liberally supports. He is iden- 
 tified with the Knights of rythias and belongs 
 also to Cranberry Grange. He is not very 
 active in politics Out has always been identified 
 with the Democratic party and never fails in 
 the duties of a good citizen. 
 
 T. E. HILBORN,* who is serving in his 
 second term as trustee of 1 od township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., residing on the old Hilborn 
 homestead, situated two miles south of Oce- 
 ola, O., was born here in 1874 and is a son of 
 Samuel and Mary (Rhinehart) Hilborn. 
 
 Samuel Hilborn was born in Ashland 
 county, O., and came to the present home farm 
 when a young man, cleared it, developed its 
 agricultural possibilities and erected the sub- 
 stantial buildings. His death occurred here 
 when he was aged 68 years. He married 
 ^lary Rhinehart, who is now in her 70th year 
 and resides at Nevada, O. Ten children were 
 born to them, namely: Mrs. Krickbaum, of 
 ^^'yandot county; Charles and Joseph, both of 
 Bucyrus; Clara, deceased; ;Mrs. Stella Gregg, 
 of Nevada; Z^Irs. Floe Gingery; T. E. ; Mrs. 
 Hilborn, of Iowa; Royal, of Nevada; and 
 Mabel, living at home. 
 
 T. E. Hilborn has been engaged in farming 
 ever since his school days and operates the 
 home place of 120 acres for his mother. He 
 is known as a capable and successful farmer 
 and as a good business man. He married 
 Mabel Todd, of Tiro, O., whose mother re- 
 sides at Akron. In politics Air. Hilborn is a 
 strong Democrat and as township trustee is 
 a valuable township official. He is identified 
 with the Junior Order of American Mechanics 
 and with the Knights of Pythias. \\'ith his 
 wife he belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
 church at Nevada, O. 
 
 WILLIAM J. GEER, one of the oldest 
 practicing lawyers at Gallon, O., may easily 
 be numbered with the leading members of the 
 bar and at the same time is more or less prom- 
 inent in other lines of business. He was born 
 at Clermont county, O., Oct. 8, 1858, and is a 
 son of Rev. John J. and Sarah (Smith) Geer. 
 
 Rev. John J. Geer was borii in 1833, in 
 Rockbridge county, Va., where his fathier and 
 
WILLIAM J. GEMR 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1005 
 
 grandfather were native born, the family 
 having been established there prior to the Re- 
 volutionary War. Grandfather Geer became 
 convinced of the injustice of slavery and after 
 liberating his negroes came to Ohio and in the 
 late 30's settled near Sidney, in Shelby county, 
 where he died in 1870. He and wife were 
 Wesleyan Methodists. Their son, John J. 
 Geer, grew up mainly in Shelby county and 
 when he united with a religious body it was 
 with the Protestant Methodists, in which he 
 became a preacher and was pastor of the old 
 George Street Church, Cincinnati, when the 
 Civil War broke out. In May, 1861, he en- 
 listed as chaplain in the 48th O. Vol. Inf. At 
 the battle of Shiloh he was captured by the 
 Confederates and with his unfortunate com- 
 rades was afterward incarcerated in Anderson- 
 ville Prison. In some way he managed to es- 
 cape but was pursued by the blood hounds 
 kept by Capt. Werz for tha!t purpose and was 
 recaptured and again made to suffer within that 
 terrible stockade. When he was finally ex- 
 changed there was little hope entertained by his 
 friends that he would recover his health, but 
 his constitution at that time was strong and in 
 1863 he determined to again face the dangers 
 and hardships that so many of his fellow men 
 were bravely enduring. Although he had en- 
 listed as chaplain it was his own wish that he 
 be given an active place in the command and 
 the company elected him captain and later be- 
 came adjutant general on the staff of General 
 Buckland. He enlisted a second time as a 
 member of the 183rd O. Vol. Inf. and at the 
 close of the war was made chaplain and sup- 
 erintendent of the Geer Hospital at Wilming- 
 ton, N. C, and was honorably discharged in 
 1865. He was the author of a stirring story 
 of those memorable days, relating his per- 
 sonal experiences, the title of it being "Beyond 
 the Lines" or "Yankee Prisoner Loose in 
 Dixie." These hardships had shattered his 
 health to such an extent that he never recov- 
 ered and two years after the close of the war, 
 on Aug. 25, 1867, this brave and good man 
 passed away, a true martyr in the cause of his 
 country. 
 
 John J. Geer married Sarah Smith, who was 
 ■born Jan. 25, 1836 and died on the old farm 
 o'n which she was born in Clermont county, 
 O., July 7, 1880. She was a woman of suc'h 
 
 rare qualities that she impressed her personal- 
 ity on all who knew her and in loving, rev- 
 erent remembrance her son, William J. Geer, 
 bears testimony that all he is and has been of 
 good is due to her. She came of worthy an- 
 cestry. Her parents were David and Sarah 
 (Conklin) Smith, who came from New Jersey 
 to Ohio in 1798, and settled at what is now 
 known as Walnut Hill. The Smiths of Smith- 
 ville and the Conklins and Cranes of Crane's 
 Mills, N. J. were kindered through intermar- 
 riage and their ancestors were Revolutionary 
 soldiers. David Smith was an early pork 
 packer, a pioneer in that great industry and 
 formerly it was his custom to take his meats 
 down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers on 
 rafts. Late in life he retired to a farm in 
 Clermont county, O., where he died. His wife 
 subsequently remarried but her last days were 
 spent with a daughter at Gallon. To John J. 
 Geer and wife four children were born, the 
 two survivors being: William J. of Galion, 
 and Charles E., of Cincinnati, O. 
 
 William J. Geer was an ambitious boy and 
 is largely a self made man. While still on the 
 farm and facing many early problems relating 
 to his future advancement, he determined in 
 some way to secure an education in the law. 
 His opportunities were meager indeed, but he 
 secured some law books and absorbed the 
 foundation principles before he ever left the 
 farm. He then earned the money which in- 
 sured him a course in the Normal School at 
 Lebanon, O., and afterward, for seven years 
 he taught school, in the meanwhile devoting 
 all possible time to his law studies. On May 
 27, 1886, he was admitted to the bar and im- 
 mediately opened his law office at Galion and 
 has occupied the same quarters in the Citizens 
 Bank Building since June of that year. For 
 many years Mr. Geer has stood at the head of 
 the bar here and many honors have been ten- 
 dered him by his associates during this long 
 period. They recognize his personal as well 
 as professional qualities and know that no 
 lawyer in the State is readier with his legal 
 knowledge nor better qualified for professional 
 advancernent. At one time he was the nominee 
 for Common Pleas judge for three counties and 
 for four years he served as city solicitor. Pol- 
 itically he is a Republican and for six years he 
 was mayor of Galion, his long administration 
 
1006 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 being nqted for its many admirable things ac- 
 complished; 
 
 Mr. Geer w as married at Plymouth, O., to 
 Miss Edith Katherine Drenan, who was born in 
 Richland county and- educated at Delaware 
 University. She is a daughter .of- W. W. and 
 Hannah (Brinkerhoff) Drennan and a niece 
 of the late General Roeliff Brinkerhoff, for- 
 merly of Mansfield, O., well known for his 
 philanthropies. Mr. and Mrs. Geer have two 
 sons : William Drenan and David Smith. Mrs. 
 Geer was reared in the Presbyterian church 
 but Mr. Geer retains his Methodist member- 
 ship. He is identified fraternally with the 
 leading organizations, is a Knight Templar 
 Mason, has been exalted ruler of the Elks at 
 Gallon since its organization, and is one of the 
 oldest members of the Knights of Pythias in 
 this city, having united with this body in 1887. 
 He belongs to the Commercial Club and is 
 secretary of the Gallon Building & Loan As- 
 sociation. He has numerous other business in- 
 terests and belongs to various charitable and 
 benevolent bodies. 
 
 FRANK J. KREIM, who resides on his 
 well improved and carefully tilled farm of 
 100 acres, which lies in section 23, Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, O., one mile 
 south and one mile west of New Washington, 
 is one of the enterprising agriculturists of this 
 section of the county. He was born in Huron 
 county, O., March 31, 1861, and is a son of 
 Joseph and Barbara (Holley) Kreim. 
 
 Joseph Kreim was born in Germany and 
 there learned the trade of nailsmith. He mar- 
 ried in Germany and when he came to Amer- 
 ica he was accompanied by his wife and their 
 three children: Catherine, Philip and Made- 
 line. After reaching the United States he 
 worked as a general laborer for a time and 
 then bought 40 acres of the present home 
 farm, on which his family lived during the 
 nine months he served as a soldier in the 
 Union Army during the Civil war. After his 
 safe return he resumed farming and continued 
 until he retired, some 15 years before his 
 death, when aged 75 years. His widow sur- 
 vived into her 84th year, for some ten years 
 before her death having made her home with 
 her daughter, Mrs. Shell, in Cranberry town- 
 ship. They were devout members of the 
 
 Roman Catholic church at New Washington. 
 After reaching America they had six other 
 children born to them: Joseph, Frank J., 
 Amelia and Annie, and two that died in 
 infancy. 
 
 Frank J. Kreim remained on the home farm 
 after his school days, his father adding 40 
 more acres and as fnuch of it was swampy 
 there was a great deal of work to be done be- 
 fore it was ready for cultivation and the serv- 
 ices of the sons were needed. Later Frank J. 
 bought the homestead and alSo an additional 
 20 acres that adjoins it and has put the greater 
 number of the improvements here, including 
 buildings, fences, laying drains and putting 
 down tiling. All the land is now under culti- 
 vation except eight acres still in valuable tim- 
 ber. A general farming line is carried on and 
 Mr. Kreim has every reason to be satisfied 
 with the prosperity he enjoys. 
 
 Mr. Kreim married Miss Elizabeth Nieder- 
 meier, a daughter of Peter and Barbara 
 Niedermeier, of Cranberry township, and they 
 have eight children, namely: Clemens L., Ed- 
 ward M., Petronilla, Alphonse A., Reinald J., 
 Rozena A., Marie C. and Walter A. Mr. 
 Kreim and family are meinbers of the Cath- 
 olic church and he belongs to the Knights of 
 Columbus. He has always given his political 
 support to the candidates of the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 JOHN S. ZIMMERMAN, who is some- 
 what retired from business activity although 
 he keeps interested in many former avenues 
 of activity, gives considerable attention to su- 
 perintending his well improved farm of 118 
 acres, which is situated in Whetstone town- 
 ship, Crawford county. He was born in that 
 township, Dec. 28, 1840, and is a son of Rev. 
 Daniel and Charlotte (Schneider) Zimmer- 
 man. 
 
 Daniel Zimmerman and wife were born in 
 one of the Rhine provinces, Prussia, and were 
 married before starting for the United States 
 in 1834. They took passage in one of the 
 old-time sailing ships that offered no luxuries 
 but took 60 days to make its slow way across 
 the mighty Atlantic and safely landed its pas- 
 sengers at Baltimore, Md. Their objective 
 point being Crawford county, 0., they made 
 the land journey by means of ox-teams per- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1007 
 
 haps, as the roads were difficult to travel over 
 at that time, but they finally reached Whet- 
 stone township with the babe that had been 
 born on the ocean. It did not long survive. 
 
 Daniel Zimmerman was the only member 
 of his family to come to America but there 
 was quite a party made up of members of his 
 wife's people, the Schneiders, who had been 
 of consequence in Germany and who became' 
 good citizens of Ohio. At the head of the 
 family was John Schneider, the father of 
 Mrs. Zimmerman, and he was accompanied by 
 his wife, four sons and four daughters. Two 
 of these sons, John and Peter J., both became 
 widely known as preachers in the German 
 Methodist church in Ohio. The father of 
 Mrs. Zimmerman was a man of such fine char- 
 acter that in 1852 his son, Rev. Peter J. 
 Schneider, published a memorial book of 325 
 pages setting forth his life as an encourage- 
 ment and inspiration to others. The Zimmer- 
 mans and Schneiders finally settled on a tract 
 of 160 acres which is now in Polk township, 
 for which they paid the sum of $350. 
 
 Shortly afterward, however, Daniel Zim- 
 merman purchased a separate farm, in Whet- 
 stone township, all of which was wild land, 
 and this he cleared and on this property he and 
 his wife lived for many years, moving to 
 Galion late in life, where she died in 1882, in 
 her 70th year and he in 1884, when aged 72 
 years. During the entire period of his life in 
 Ohio he was a minister in the Reformed 
 church and continued to preach up to within a 
 year of his death. He was a man of high 
 character and consistent in every relation of 
 life. He was the father of ten children, four 
 of whom survive, namely: Elizabeth, who is 
 the widow of Daniel Stump, of Whetstone 
 township, and has two children; John S., 
 whose name heads this sketch; William, who 
 resides with his family on West Main street, 
 Galion, and has one son; Anna, who resides 
 with her brother, John S., at Galion. 
 
 John S. Zimmerman grew up in Whetstone 
 township and attended the district schools, 
 afterward assisting his father. For twelve 
 years prior to 1877 he engaged in farming 
 and then moved to Galion, where, in partner- 
 ship with a brother-in-law, Wendell Helfricb. 
 he went into the shoe business and continued 
 for seven years. Failing health then caused 
 him to retire and prudence has made him give 
 
 considerable attention to interests that require 
 his being in the open air. On his farm he has 
 made many improvements and it is one of the 
 fine properties lying adjacent tp the Win- 
 chester road. 
 
 Mr. Zimmerman was married in Whetstone 
 township, to Miss Eliza J. Kester, who was 
 born there May 13, 1844, a daughter of Jacob 
 and Salome (Wise) Kester. They were born 
 in Pennsylvania and came to Crawford county 
 in the late thirties and spent the rest of their 
 lives in Whetstone township, the mother of 
 Mrs. Zimmerman dying at the age of 62 years 
 and the father when aged 82 years. They 
 were good. Christian people, members of the 
 Reformed church. Of their eight children 
 two died young, six grew to maturity and two 
 survive. To Mr. and Mrs. Zimmerman three 
 children were born, namely: Mary E., who 
 died in infancy; Sarah C, who is the wife of 
 Louis Martin and has three children, Carl, 
 Aurelia and Mary; and Clara E., who is the 
 wife of Rev. Benjamin Stern, a minister in 
 the Reformed church, in Philadelphia, Pa., 
 and has one son, Adiel, who is a student of 
 architecture. Mr. Zimmerman and family are 
 all members of the Reformed church. 
 
 MRS. PHEBE GRAFMILLER, one of 
 the well known and highly esteemed residents 
 of Auburn township, Crawford county, O., 
 who, for 38 years has lived on her present 
 farm of 100 acres, situated in section 5, was 
 born in this township, and is a daughter of 
 Enoch and Sarah (Hutchinson) Baker, the 
 former of whom died in Knox county, O., 
 and the latter in Auburn township, Crawford 
 county. 
 
 Mrs. Grafmiller was reared to womanhood 
 in Auburn township and attended the public 
 schools. She was married on Nov. 5, 1878, 
 to August Grafmiller, who was born at Can- 
 ton, Wayne county, O., a son of Andrew 
 Grafmiller, who was born in Baden, Germany. 
 In Stark county, O., Andrew Grafmiller was 
 married to Salome Weisard, who was also a 
 native of Germany. They settled on a farm 
 in Auburn township, Wayne county, and they 
 had six children: Andrew, August, Christian, 
 Jacob, Adolphus and Caroline. Andrew 
 Grafmiller died at the age of 76 years and his 
 burial was in Auburn township. His wife 
 
1008 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was 66 years old at time of death and her 
 burial was at New Washington. 
 
 To August Grafmiller and wife the follow- 
 ing children were born: Frederick, who car- 
 ries on the industries of the home farm; Otis, 
 who is a rural mail carrier ; Etta Matilda, who 
 is the wife of George Coffee, of Creston, 
 Wayne county. After marriage, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Grafmiller lived for one year on the 
 Baker homestead and then came to the present 
 farm, where Mrs. Grafmiller has lived ever 
 since. Mr. Grafmiller was an industrious and 
 judicious farmer and was very successful in 
 his business, carried on general farming and 
 made many substantial improvements on his 
 land. He died in November, 1907, at the age 
 of 66 years, and his burial was at Plymouth, 
 O. He was a well known and much respected 
 man and was a member of the Church of God. 
 He was interested in supporting the laws and 
 in assisting in making his neighborhood one of 
 moral influence but was never active in pol- 
 itics, although, as a citizen he cast his vote, a 
 Republican in his preferences. Mrs. Graf- 
 miller and family belong also to the Church 
 of God. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER ALBRECHT, a repre- 
 sentative business man of Gallon, O., who 
 established himself in the grocery business at 
 No. 123 Parsons street, Galion, some 15 years 
 since and has continued at the same location, 
 was born Nov. 18, 1856, in Neckarbischofs- 
 heim in Baden, Germany, a son of Johann and 
 Margaret (Kessler) Albrecht. 
 
 Johann Albrecht spent his entire life in his 
 native village in Baden, a cabinetmaker by 
 trade and a Lutheran in religious faith. He 
 died in February, 191 1, when aged 92 years. 
 His father, Henry Albrecht, was with Na- 
 poleon's Prussian Army and assisted in the 
 storming ■ of Moscow. He was one of the 
 comparatively few soldiers of that unhappy 
 and disastrous campagn that lived to return. 
 He survived into old age, being in his 90th 
 year at time of death. Johann Albrecht mar- 
 ried Margaret Kessler, who was born in 
 Hessen, Germany, and died in Baden, in Oc- 
 tober, 1904, being then aged 87 years and the 
 mother of 14 children. Eight of this family 
 grew to maturity, all of these married and six 
 are yet living. 
 
 Christopher Albrecht was reared in a home 
 of considerable comfort and was given good 
 educational opportunities. When he decided 
 to come to the United States in 1881 he was 
 25 years of age, reaching Ohio and joining his 
 brother, John Albrecht, who had come ten 
 years previously. This brother carried on a 
 baking business for some years afterward, at 
 Louisville, Ky., where he died and is survived 
 by his widow and seven children. Christopher 
 Albrecht came to Galion in 1883 and for sev- 
 eral years was connected with a business house 
 here in a clerical capacity and for two years 
 was with the Erie Railway Company, after- 
 ward establishing his present grocery business 
 and has carried it on with very satisfactory 
 results. He has a large trade and necessarily 
 carries a well assorted stock both in staple and 
 fancy goods in his line. 
 
 Mr. Albrecht was married at Galion, Craw- 
 ford county, O., in 1884, to Miss Marie Eliza- 
 beth Kehrwecker, who was born at Carding- 
 ton, May 24, 1864, a daughter of Christian 
 and Sophia (Benz) Kehrwecker. They were 
 born, respectively, in Schuetzingen in Wer- 
 temberg and Neckarbischofsheim, Baden, 
 Germany, and both came to the United States 
 when young people and were married in Mor- 
 row county, where they spent their subsequent 
 lives and died so near together that their burial 
 was in one grave, on Jan. 7, 191 2. They 
 were members of the German Lutheran 
 church. In politics the father was a Demo- 
 crat. Mr. and Mrs. Albrecht have one son. 
 Henry Ludwig, who was born Feb. 16, 1889. 
 After graduating at the Galion High School, 
 he became a railroad man and now fills the 
 important position of chief timekeeper for the 
 Erie Railroad Company, at Marion, O. He 
 was married, however, at Galion, to Miss 
 Minnie Boehm, who is a daughter of Peter 
 Boehm, one of this city's highly respected 
 citizens and one of the head men in the Ger- 
 man Lutheran Peace church. Mr. Albrecht 
 and son are both identified with the Demo- 
 cratic party. The family belongs to the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church, where the son Harry 
 is still superintendent of the Sunday school. 
 He has from his boyhood up taken an especial 
 interest in his church affairs, filling the place 
 as organist and choir leader at different times. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1009 
 
 A. A. LOUDON, whose valuable farm of 
 J 20 acres lies in section 14, Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., was born near 
 Wayneburg, O., and is a son of James and 
 Sarah Loudon, both of whom died in Auburn 
 township, Crawford county. 
 
 A. A. Loudon was about 15 years of age 
 when his parents moved to Auburn township 
 and he completed his school attendance there. 
 Since his marriage he has resided on his pres- 
 ent farm and here carries on a general agri- 
 cultural line, working according to modern 
 methods, as Mr. Loudon is a thoroughly in- 
 formed farmer and a very progressive man. 
 
 On Jan. 18, 1885, Mr. Loudon was married 
 to Miss Cora M. Cox, who was born on this 
 farm and was educated in the local schools, 
 and also the High school at New Washington. 
 She is a daughter of Luther and Lucinda Cox, 
 old residents of this section. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loudon have four children : Ray E., now 
 at Toledo, O. ; Vera ; Ivan W., and Wil- 
 lard C. Both Mr. and Mrs. Loudon have 
 been prominent in the Grange movement in 
 this section and are charter members of the 
 Cranberry Township Grange, assisting in its 
 organization in the winter of 1895. At that 
 time the membership was about 28 but the 
 interest has spread and at present the lodge is 
 in a prosperous condition, with a membership 
 of fifty. Mr. Loudon is grange lecturer and 
 Mrs. Loudon is an ex-official. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Loudon have given their hospitable residence 
 as a meeting place for the order for the past 
 three years. Nominally Mr. Loudon is a 
 Republican. 
 
 PROF. SIMEON R. WACHS, one of the 
 best known and most highly respected citizens 
 of Crawford county, O., who now lives in 
 comfortable retirement on his farm in Jackson 
 township, not far from Crestline, O., for 
 many years was a valued and successful edu- 
 cator and for five years ser^^ed with the great- 
 est efficiency as superintendent of the Crest- 
 line schools. He was born on his present 
 farm, April 26, 1840, a son of Peter and 
 Lydia (Bell) Wachs.' 
 
 Peter Wachs, the first of the name known 
 in America, was a native of Switzerland and 
 crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled in 
 Pennsylvania prior to the Revolutionary war, 
 
 spending his subsequent life as a farmer in 
 Perry county. Of his family of sons, Philip, 
 the grandfather of Simeon R. Wachs, was a 
 farmer in Perry county, and died there when 
 aged 60 years. His widow subsequently mar- 
 ried a Mr. Bruner, all natives of Pennsylvania.. 
 Philip Wachs left four sons and four daugh- 
 ters, the eldest child, Peter, being the father 
 of Prof. Wachs of Crawford county. 
 
 Peter Wachs (2) was born in Perry county, 
 Pa., Dec. 2, 1807, ^"d grew up on his father's 
 farm. In those days work in the woods, lum- 
 bering and logging, was usually a part of a 
 young man's industrial training, in Perry 
 county, and Peter Wachs was somewhat noted 
 for his strength and skill in wielding his axe, 
 thinking nothing of cutting down a tree and 
 making it into stove wood or preparing it for 
 the fireplace, for 25 cents a cord. He also 
 skillfully made use of the flail and through 
 thus threshing out rye, for three cents a 
 bushel, secured enough money to enable him 
 to accompany Rev. Mr. Smith to Ohio, in 
 1832. Here he subsequently purchased 80 
 acres of wild land, situated in Jackson town- 
 ship, from the man who had entered the same 
 from the Government, and here he continued 
 to live until his death, July 31, 1884. He was 
 well preserved in mind and body notwith- 
 standing a very laborious life, with the excep- 
 tion of being quite deaf and it was through 
 this misfortune that his death was caused by 
 a railroad train, not far from his home. He 
 was widely known among the pioneers and 
 had helped to build the first log house that 
 was ever erected in the city of Gallon. His 
 own land was mainly cleared by himself, with 
 the aid of his trusty axe. In politics he was 
 a Democrat and all his life held connection 
 with the United Brethren church, with which 
 his people were associated in Pennsylvania. 
 
 Peter Wachs was married near Galion. O., 
 to Lydia Bell, who was born in 181 3, in York 
 county. Pa., a daughter of John and Sarah 
 (Ritchie) Bell. She was one of a large fam- 
 ily, and as she was a twin, she was taken by 
 an aunt to be reared, who brought her to Ohio 
 when young, all the other members of the 
 family remaining in Pennsylvania. She died 
 in Jackson township after the celebration of 
 her Golden Wedding anniversary with her 
 husband, A lifelong member of the United 
 
1010 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Brethren church, she was noted for her nat- 
 ural gifts as a vocaHst and could remember 
 lOO hymns and sing them in church or for the 
 pleasure of family and friends. She was the 
 mother of eight children, six of whom grew 
 . to maturity and four of these survive : Philip, 
 a farmer in ^lichigan, who has lost his wife 
 but has a married daughter and three grand- 
 children ; Daniel C, living retired at Grand 
 Haven, ^lich.. who for years was a justice of 
 the peace and city recorder, and has a married 
 daughter and two grandsons; Sarah E., who 
 now owns and occupies a part of the old home- 
 stead, who has been twice married and twice 
 widowed. She has no children. 
 
 Simeon R. W'achs is the third child of his 
 parents' family of those who survived infancy. 
 In his boyhood and youth this was yet a new- 
 country, to a large extent, and Jackson town- 
 ship still was included in Richland county. 
 He early showed a quickened intellect and was 
 given educational opportunities, attending the 
 local schools and afterward the Gallon High 
 School, and in 1872 was graduated from the 
 Xational Xormal School at Lebanon, O. He 
 began to teach school in Vernon township, 
 Crawford county, and his activities as a 
 teacher covered about 51 years, mainly in 
 Crawford county and, with one exception, he 
 is the oldest teacher in years of service here. 
 In 1876 he went to ^Missouri and spent one 
 year teaching in Johnson county, later uas 
 principal of the schools of Upper Sandusky; 
 for one year, in the seventies was superintend- 
 ent of the schools of Crestline and continued 
 acti\-e in the educational field until 1908. He 
 has served on the board of school examiners 
 and in 1864 was one of the organizers of the 
 Crawford County Teachers' Institute, and its 
 first secretary, and ever since has been more 
 or less a leader in local educational bodies. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. \\'achs was married (first) in 
 Crawford county, to ^^liss Ruth A. Reinehart, 
 who was born Oct. 8, 1843, and died at Crest- 
 line, Sept. 6, 1878. Their one child. Tycho C, 
 died at the age of eight months. Mr. \\''achs 
 was married (second) at Crestline, to Miss 
 Ida J. Newell, who was bom at- Elyria. O., 
 March 13, 1857, where she was reared. She 
 was of English and Irish ancestry, a daughter 
 of Edmund and ■Margaret (Gafifney) Xewell. 
 Her father was born in Ohio and her mother 
 
 in Ireland and they were married at Lorain, 
 O., and after some years at Elyria they moved 
 to Oberlin, \\here the father died in 1909, 
 when aged 82 years. The mother still lives 
 there and is now in her 77th year. 
 
 To ^Ir. and Mrs. Wachs the following chil- 
 dren were born: Victor H., Ferriden N., 
 El Rito, Ruth, Milo, and Paul. The eldest 
 son prepared for an active and useful life. 
 After graduating from the Crestline High 
 School he spent five years at Oberlin College 
 and three years at the University of Boston, 
 ^lass., and in 1905 was ordained a minister in 
 the Alethodist Episcopal church and volun- 
 teered to go as a missionary to the Orient and 
 is stationed in Korea. He married Sylvia 
 Allen, who was also educated at Oberlin Col- 
 lege and they have a daughter. El Rito, and a 
 son. Miller Allen, who was bom in Korea, 
 Alay 13, 19 1 2. The second son, Ferriden X., 
 adopted a trade as his life work and is a skilled 
 machinist residing' at Crestline, but he also is 
 a great student of the Scriptures and is deeply 
 interested in his brother's missionary work. 
 He married Byrda Richey and they have three 
 living children : ^Mildred and Wilbur and Dale, 
 twins. El Rito, the eldest daughter, who is a 
 High School graduate, is the wife of Daniel 
 Pry, a farmer in \'ernon township, and they 
 have an infant daughter, Florence Ruth, 
 Milo and Paul, all reside at home, Ruth and 
 Paul being High School graduates and Milo, 
 still a High School student. Mr. and [Mrs. 
 ^^'^achs have always been hearty church work- 
 ers and supporters of all moral movements in 
 which opportunity has been aflforded them to 
 exert influence. He has long been a class 
 leader and other official in the church at Crest- 
 line. In his political sentiments he is nom- 
 inally a Democrat but considers favorably the 
 claims of the Prohibition party. 
 
 E. J. BREHMAX,* a well known agricul- 
 turist of Liberty township, Crawford county, 
 who lives on his farm of 50 acres located two 
 miles south of Sulphur Springs, was bom in 
 W^hetstone township, this county. April 28, 
 1875. His father, Stephen Brehman, owns a 
 farm of no acres adjoining that of our sub- 
 ject. 
 
 E. J. Brehman was one of eight children 
 bom to his parents and was brought up on the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1011 
 
 farm. After completing his education in the 
 district schools he went to work on a farm 
 two miles west of where he lives at present. 
 He also worked two years for Mr. Jerry 
 Hopple and then bought his present farm, on 
 which he has successfully carried on general 
 farming and stock raising since. He has built 
 a new house and barn and other buildings. 
 
 Mr. Brehman was united in marriage with 
 Miss Hattie Grogg, a native of Liberty town- 
 ship. To them have been born two children, 
 Mary and Belva May, the former of whom is 
 deceased. 
 
 Our subject is a Democrat in his political 
 views and with his wife belongs to the 
 Lutheran church of Sulphur Springs. 
 
 ALBERT HAWORTH, who has served 
 continuously as postmaster of Crestline, O., 
 since April, i8g8, has been a resident of this 
 city since boyhood, but his birth took place in 
 Manchester, England, March 22. 1848, a son 
 of Benjamin and Martha A. Haworth. 
 
 When Benjamin Haworth brought his fam- 
 ily to the United States in 1848, he settled at 
 Providence, R. I., subsequently moving from 
 there to Cleveland, O. In 186 1, when the call 
 was issued for volunteers for army service for 
 three months, Mr. Haworth went to Massa- 
 chusetts and there enlisted as a private soldier 
 in the First Mass. Vol. Inf., later reenlisting 
 and at the close of the Civil War, a veteran 
 through three enlistments, started for home, 
 in 1865. While crossing the State of Tennes- 
 see, he, with others, met death from the 
 muskets of bushwackers, not far from the city 
 of Chattanooga. He had been a brave and 
 cheerful soldier throughout the long struggle 
 and on several occasions had been wounded, 
 and it was a sad ending to the career of one 
 who had so continuously done his dutv to his 
 adopted country. On account of the disorder 
 of the times, his assailants, border ruffians as 
 they were, were never brought to jtistice. The 
 widow of Benjamin Haworth survived until 
 June, 1892, dying at Cleveland, when aged 
 about y^ years, having been a faithful member 
 of the Catholic church all her life, while Mr. 
 Haworth was a member of the Episcopal 
 church. They were parents of eleven chil- 
 dren, seven of whom grew to maturity and six 
 of whom survive. One son, Joseph Haworth, 
 
 who died unmarried, was a well known actor 
 and for many years was connected with the 
 Boston (Mass.) Museum. The four daugh- 
 ters all live in the city of Cleveland, the eldest, 
 Kate, being unmarried. Martha is the wife 
 of George Schneider; Nora is the wife of 
 John E. O'Conner; and Emma, the wife of 
 M. Kelly. 
 
 Albert Haworth came to Crestline when 
 Cleveland capitalists opened the Continental 
 Hotel, and he became its manager in 1886, 
 conducting it until 1891. Prior to becoming 
 manager he had been chief clerk for many 
 years and was interested in other activities, in 
 the meanwhile completing his eudcation in the 
 night schools and for some years being the 
 chief support of the family. Later Mr. 
 Haworth purchased and operated the Central 
 Hotel for some time, closing out his hotel in- 
 terests one year before he became postmaster. 
 He has always been active in the Republican 
 ranks and for 20 years has been a member of 
 the county organizations. For 41 years he 
 has been identified with the Knights of Pythias 
 here and belongs also to the Elks, at Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Haworth was married at Youngstown, 
 O., to Miss Magdaline McCutcheon, who was 
 born at Montreal, Canada, being of Scotch an- 
 cestry, and they have two children; William 
 Joseph and Effie A. William Joseph 
 Haworth, who is in the marble and mosaic 
 business at Cleveland and a representative 
 business man of that city, is a graduate of the 
 Crestline High School and also of Kenyon 
 College, of the class of 1896. He married and 
 has two children, Martha and Marion. He is 
 a Knight Templar Mason, belonging to the 
 Commandery at Cleveland. The daughter of 
 Mr. and Mrs. Haworth, is the wife of Carl 
 Martin Babst, a son of Judge Daniel Babst, a 
 prominent jurist of Crawford county. Mr 
 Babst is a graduate of Oberlin and Kenyon 
 Colleges and is a member of the Crestline bar. 
 Mr. Haworth is paymaster for the railway 
 mail clerks on the Pennsylvania Railroad be- 
 tween Pittsburgh and Chicago. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Haworth are members of the Presbyterian 
 church and he is serving on its board of trus- 
 tees. He has been a citizen of activity and 
 public spirit, and is a marked example of self 
 made man. 
 
1012 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 WILLIAM SIEFERT, one of the substan- 
 tial and well known citizens of Crawford 
 county, 0., resides on his valuable farm of 224 
 acres, situated in section 11, Cranberry town- 
 ship, on the north side of Angling road, one 
 and one- fourth miles northwest of New 
 Washington. On this farm he was born, Oct. 
 26, 1863, and is a son of Michael and Christine 
 (Hoffses) Siefert. 
 
 Michael Siefert was born in Stark county, 
 O., Oct. 8, 1830, and died at New Washing- 
 ton, O., June 17, 1904. He was a son of John 
 and Salome (Lantz) Siefert, both of whom 
 were natives of Germany. They were mar- 
 ried in Stark county, O., and had four sons 
 and two daughters: Michael, George, John, 
 Jacob, Anna and Catherine. From Stark 
 county they came to Crawford county, when 
 Michael Siefert was four years old, and here 
 John Siefert secured land from the Govern- 
 ment, located in Cranberry township, which 
 was then the home of many Indians. At that 
 time New Washington was little but a hamlet. 
 When Michael Siefert entered into business it 
 was first as a farmer in Cranberry township, 
 where he lived until 1882, moving then into 
 New \\^ashington, where he had an elevator 
 and conducted a large grain business and also 
 baled hay. He was an excellent business man 
 and an honorable and upright citizen. In his 
 political preference he was a Republican. 
 
 In January, 1856, Michael Siefert was mar- 
 ried to Christine Hoffses, who was born in 
 Germany, Aug. 12, 1834, attended school 
 there and was 19 years of age when she ac- 
 companied her mother to America. Her par- 
 ents were George Jacob and Catherine Hoff- 
 ses. The father died in Germany and it was 
 in 1853 that the mother and daughter crossed 
 the Atlantic Ocean and began life in a new 
 country. The mother had also a son, 
 Matthew, who is deceased. From Shelby, O., 
 Mrs. Hoffses and daughter walked . to New 
 \\'ashington and within two days the latter 
 secured a situation at Plymouth, O., in which 
 she remained until her marriage with 'Mr. 
 Siefert, when she was reluctantly parted with 
 by those who had become her attached friends 
 as well as her employers. The mother sur- 
 vived to be 8r years old, dyin^ at New \\'ash- 
 ington and her burial was in the Lutheran 
 Cemeterv, she having been a devout member 
 of the Lutheran church for years. 
 
 To Michael Siefert and wife the following 
 children were born: Jacob, a resident of 
 Gallon, O., who married Mary Rhoades and 
 has three children — Dora, Malinda and 
 Josephine; John, who died when aged four 
 and one-half years; Michael, who died when 
 aged three years; Caroline, who is the wife of 
 John Knodle, of New Washington, and has 
 eight children — Emma, Ella, William, Ralph, 
 Nora, George, Paul and Frederick; George, 
 who resides at New Washington, and married 
 Sarah Sutter and has had four children — Or- 
 lando, Sylvester, Alva, deceased, and Chris- 
 tian; William, the subject of this sketch; 
 Anna, who is the wife of Frederick Michael- 
 felder, of New Washington, and has three 
 children — Carl, Lydia and Walter; John (2), 
 who married Ada Sheets, and has four chil- 
 dren — Christine, Ernest, Carl and Esther; 
 Michael, who died when one year old; Adam, 
 who died when aged two years; Clara, who is 
 the wife of George Sheets, of New Washing- 
 ton, and has four children — Mary, Margaret, 
 Jacob and Martin; Emma, who is the wife of 
 A. F. Donnenwirth, of Tiro, O., and has four 
 children — Oliver, Helen, Walter and Ruth; 
 and Frederick, who married W^ilhelmine 
 Mohrhoff and resides at New \Vashington, 
 and has three children — David, Mildred and 
 Paul. 
 
 ^^^illiam Siefert attended school in Cran- 
 berry township and later at New \\'^ashington, 
 in the meanwhile performing the usual duties 
 that fall to youths on the farm and in this way 
 securing the training that prepares them for 
 the very serious business of later years when 
 they assume the management of large estates 
 of their own. For nine years Mr. Siefert 
 worked as a farm hand and then settled for 
 himself on the homestead, of which he is the 
 owner, in the third generation. His grand- 
 father secured the original 80 acres from the 
 Government, in 1826, and this 80 is included 
 in Mr. Siefert's present farm of 224 acres. 
 He has done a great deal of improving here 
 and built the first brick house in the north- 
 western part of this township, a modern resi- 
 dence with city comforts and conveniences, 
 including a hot and cold water system and 
 electric lighting. ]\Ir. Siefert carries on gen- 
 eral farming and makes something of a spe- 
 cialtv of producing hay. 
 
 Mr. Siefert was married to Mrs. Elizabeth 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1013 
 
 (Schafer) Mohrhoff, who was born in Chat- 
 field township, Crawford county, a daughter 
 of Jacob and Catherine Schafer and widow 
 of William Mohrhoff. The latter was sur- 
 vived by two children: David, who married 
 Louetta Sutter; and Wilhelmine, who is the 
 wife of Frederick Siefert. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Siefert have two sons : Freeman and Arnold, 
 both of whom reside at home. Mr. Siefert 
 and family are members of the Lutheran 
 church. He casts his political vote with the 
 Democratic party. 
 
 THOMAS BENTON BURGERT, who has 
 been a continuous resident of Gabon, O., since 
 about 1856, and for many years a prosperous 
 business man here, now lives in comfortable 
 retirement but has not lost interest in all that 
 contributes to the progress and development 
 of this city. He was bom in 1838, at Paris, 
 in Stark county, O. and comes from German 
 stock and old and responsible settlers of Penn- 
 sylvania. 
 
 John Burgert, grandfather of Thomas B., 
 was born in Pennsylvania and in early man- 
 hood married there and early in the twenties 
 came as a pioneer to Stark county, O., where 
 he and wife both died in their seventies. He 
 was a weaver by trade, an excellent one in 
 those days, but by the time his sons had reached 
 manhood other occupations paid them better 
 and David, his eldest son, who subsequently be- 
 came the father of Thomas Benton, became a 
 wood worker and established the Burger Fan- 
 ning mills. He was yet youthful wnen the 
 family came to Stark county, where he lived 
 until i860, when he moved to Crestline, and 
 worked for the Pennsylvania railway company, 
 and there his life was lost through an accident 
 when he was aged 55 years. He was an active 
 and enterprising man, highly respected by his 
 business associates and useful as a citizen. He 
 was married in Jefferson county, O., to Mar- 
 garet Shultz, who died at Tiro, O., in her 76th 
 year. Thev were members of the Christian 
 church. Eight sons and one daughter were 
 born to them, all of whom reached maturity 
 and married, and four sons and the daughter 
 still survive, Thomas Benton being the eldest 
 born. 
 
 Thomas Benton Burgert had the usual 
 school advantages that were afforded children 
 in his bovhood, and then was apprenticed to a 
 
 tinner at Canton, O., where he learned the 
 trade. In 1856 he came to Gallon and worked 
 at his trade until i8bo, when he went to Crest- 
 line with his father's family, but five years 
 later returned to Gallon and then established 
 himself in business here, as tinner and hard- 
 ware dealer, subsequently admitting L. W. 
 Banister as a partner. They continued this 
 business association for 17 years, but in 1906 
 sold out to the Diamond Hardware Company, 
 both partners then retiring. Mr. Banister re- 
 moved to Springfield, O., where his death oc- 
 curred in 1909. For many years the firm had 
 led the trade in their line and both partners 
 enjoyed the confidence of all dealers and their 
 fellow citizens as honorable business men. 
 
 Mr. Burgert was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Mary A. Riblet, who was born in 1840, in 
 Richland county, O., and three children were 
 born to them, namely: Harley J., Lulu and 
 Olie. Harley J. Burgert is in the hardware 
 business at Cleveland, O. He married Maude 
 Flagel and they have two children, Mary L. 
 and Ruth. Lulu is the wife of Henry Hause, 
 a conductor on the Erie Railway. Olie, who 
 died in 1907, was the wife of Charles Hall, 
 and is survived by two children, Howard B. 
 and Mildred. 
 
 In politics Mr. Burgert, like his deceased 
 father, is a Republican and served one term 
 as a member of the city council. He was in- 
 terested in many of the earlier enterprises of 
 the city of a public nature and belonged to 
 the Gallon Fire Department when the com- 
 pany was organized as the Phoenix Fire Com- 
 pany and continued with it under its later title 
 of the Niagara Fire Company, and is still in 
 the service as fireman. His period of service 
 covers 57 years, he first joining in Canton, the 
 father of President McKinley's wife being the 
 secretary of that company and then later while 
 in Crestline he organized the fire department 
 there. For many years he has employed his 
 spare moments in working out inventions of 
 different kinds and a railway lantern that he 
 invented and patented in 1862, is still in use 
 on many railroad lines, no later invention hav- 
 ing displaced it, its utility being so evident. 
 On Feb. 22, 1910, Mr. Burgert was granted a 
 patent for water cut off for cisterns with a 
 special feature to filter the water before it goes 
 into the cistern. 
 
1014 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 JAMES M. SPILLETTE, one of the sub- 
 stantial citizens and successful farmers of Au- 
 burn township, Crawford county, 0., where he 
 owns 60 acres of well improved land, is a na- 
 tive of the Dominion of Canada, born Jan. 31, 
 1849, a son of Samuel and Lydia (Laddich) 
 Spillette. 
 
 Samuel Spillette was born and reared in 
 England and left his native land for Canada 
 in early manhood, and later learned the manu- 
 facture of brick. He was married in Canada 
 to Lydia taddich, also a native of England, 
 and they had eight children, all but the young- 
 est being born in Canada : Charlotte, Richard, 
 Martha, Samuel, Stanley, James, Amy and 
 Laura. From Canada the family moved to 
 Buffalo, N. Y. and from there to Cleveland 
 and afterward to Bucyrus, O., Mr. Spillette 
 working at his trade and in other lines, for 35 
 years his main business being brick making. 
 For two years he made brick and also followed 
 ditching at Sulphur Springs. In 1861 he came 
 to the present family farm in Auburn town- 
 ship and improved the place to a considerable 
 extent and at the time of death, in his 75th 
 year, owned about 200 acres. He \\as a man 
 of sterling character, honest and upright and 
 was a member of the Church of God. His 
 wife died at the age of 54 years and both were 
 buried in the Goodwill Cemetery. 
 
 James M.. Spillette obtained his education in 
 the district schools and afterward assisted his 
 father and later, when farming became the 
 family occupation, took the most of the re- 
 sponsibility on himself, as, bv that time, his 
 father was past middle life. Mr. Spillette has 
 remained here and has always given his main 
 attention to agricultural pursuits. 
 
 On Dec. 25, 1874, Mr. Spillette was mar- 
 ried to Miss Lucinda Glosser, who was born 
 in Wyandot county, O., Sept. 10, 1855, a 
 daughter of John and Barbara f Graffmiller) 
 Glosser. The parents of Mrs. Spillette were 
 born in Germany and were married in Wayne 
 county, O., afterward moving to ^^^vandot 
 county, where they died, the father at the age 
 of J7 years and the mother when aged 54 years. 
 Their burial was in Salem Cemetery, near San- 
 dusky, in Wyandot county, O. They were 
 good. Christian people, members of the Ger- 
 man Reformed church. Thev had the follow- 
 ing children: Elizabeth, Barbara. Rosanna, 
 
 Henry, Catherine, Caroline and Lucinda. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Spillette the following children 
 were born : Frank H. who is married and has 
 a son; Olive May, who is the wife of Jacob 
 Godfried and has two children — Norman and 
 Theora; and Pearl and Ina Merl, twins. The 
 former married Ethel Carson and they have 
 two children — Elaine and Vivian L. The lat- 
 ter is the wife of Daniel Bordner of Auburn 
 township, and they have three children — Gra- 
 don S., Thoburn E. and Evelyn A. Mr. 
 Spillette and family are members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church. Politically he is affi- 
 liated with the Republican party. 
 
 PHILIP TRAUTMAN,* who occupies the 
 important office of chief of police, at Bucyrus, 
 O., has been identified with the public guar- 
 dianship of this city, for the past 14 years, 
 gaining merited promotion at different times 
 and during the administration of Mayor Val- 
 entine, in 1903, was appointed to his present 
 position. Chief Trautman was born 50 years 
 ago, in Bavaria, Germany, a son of George 
 and a grandson of George Trautman. 
 
 The grandfather of Chief Trautman was a 
 small German farmer and he married in Bava- 
 ria and both he and wife died there. Three 
 of their children lived to maturity, two daugh- 
 ters who spent their lives in Germany, and 
 George, the only son. They were of the Ro- 
 man Catholic faith. 
 
 George Trautman, Jr., was born in 1835, 
 attended the village schools and then learned 
 the milling trade. He there married Catherine 
 Becker and after the birth of two sons, George 
 and Philip, decided to emigrate to America 
 where he believed existed better business op- 
 portunities for a man of family. Hence he 
 reached the United States, in 1862, and al- 
 most immediately secured a position as an 
 army cook in a New York regiment serving 
 in the Civil \^zx, and he continued with this 
 military body for two years, when he came to 
 Bucvrus. Here he engaged first in the milling 
 business and then, with rare foresight, opened 
 up an ice business, being the pioneer in what 
 is now one of the important industries of the 
 city. He continued to handle ice as long 'as 
 he was engaged in business, his death occur- 
 ring in 1877, having survived his wife for two 
 years. When he found his business prospects 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1015 
 
 promising, he sent for his wife and sons to 
 join him at Bucyrus and they crossed the At- 
 lantic Ocean in the steamer Harmony. Three 
 more children were born to George Traut- 
 man and wife, in America, making five in all, 
 Philip being the eldest of the family. The 
 second son, George, is yard master at Bucyrus 
 for the T. & O. C. Railroad, and has two sons, 
 George and Fred. John, who was born in 
 America, died in 1896, at Denver, Colo., his 
 widow being a resident of Chicago, 111. Anna, 
 the only dauhgter, is the wife of Fred K. 
 Petersilge, and they have two children: Au- 
 gusta and Ralph. Frank, the youngest of the 
 family, is a plaster contractor doing business 
 at Bucyrus. 
 
 Philip Trautman was about four years old 
 when his mother brought him to America and 
 was 16 years of age when this good mother 
 died. Four years later he lost his father. He 
 attended school during the life of his mother, 
 who was concerned in the education of her 
 children, and afterward learned the plastering 
 trade, which he followed continuously for four 
 years. He was engaged in contract plastering 
 during the building of the beautiful White 
 City of Chicago, for the World's Fair. After 
 his business was concluded there he returned 
 to Bucyrus accompanied by William Lutz, his 
 partner of Chicago, and together they con- 
 tinued in business at Bucyrus. When the part- 
 nership was dissolved, Mr. Lutz returned to 
 Chicago, and in 1897, Mr. Trautman was ap- 
 pointed a patrolman of the police force at 
 Bucyrus. He served on his beat until 1902, 
 when he was elected city marshal by a major- 
 ity of 500 votes, and in the following year, on 
 account of a change in the law, the mayor ap- 
 pointed him to a second term as marshal and 
 in 1904 made him chief and head of the force. 
 Since taking full charge Chief Trautman has 
 introduced many changes, all for the good of 
 the public, and all progressive in character. 
 He not only gives extreme satisfaction to the 
 citizens of Bucyrus, but impresses strangers 
 with his efficiency, the following being a quo- 
 tation from a leading newspaper in another 
 part of the state : "Perhaps no man in the 
 State of Ohio, who holds the position of chief 
 of police of a city, is more higfhlv respected 
 and more universally esteemed than Philip 
 Trautman of Bucyrus." It is gratifying for 
 
 B7 
 
 a public official to read such words of sincere 
 praise, for often an elevated position is a 
 thankless one, while, at the same time, it is 
 heavy with responsibility. 
 
 Chief Trautman was married at Bucyrus, 
 in 1882, to Miss Lucy Metzger, who was born 
 in Bucyrus township, Crawford county, a 
 daughter of Charles Metzger, formerly a well 
 known farmer in Bucyrus township. He and 
 wife had come to this section from Baden, 
 Germany, and the mother of Mrs. Trautman 
 died when her daughter was but two years old. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Trautman have two daughters : 
 Blanche and Mazie. The former graduated 
 from the Bucyrus High School in the class 
 of 1902 and afterward attended the Ohio Nor- 
 mal University at Ada, O. She is an accom- 
 plished and capable young woman and for the 
 past four years has been a stenographer in the 
 Fort Wayne, Ind., Electric Works. Mazie, the 
 second daughter, is a graduate of the class of 
 1904, Bucyrus High School, and is a stenog- 
 rapher in the employ of the American Clay 
 Machinery Company, Bucyrus. The one son, 
 a youth of ten years, Robert Trautman, is a 
 bright student in the city schools. The family 
 attends the German Lutheran church. 
 
 Politically Chief Trautman is a stanch 
 Democrat and is a member of the Crawford 
 County Democratic Committee. From 1882 
 until 1900, he was identified with the Ohio 
 National Guards and was a sergeant in the Stli 
 Infantry from the time of its organization in 
 1884. His fraternal connections are with the 
 Eagles and the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 PETER BAUER, who, for seven years 
 served with honesty and efficiency as a county 
 commissioner of Crawford county, O., is one 
 of the well known and highly respected cit- 
 izens of this section of Ohio and a substantial 
 retired farmer of Jackson township. He was 
 born in Vernon township, Crawford county, 
 Feb. 23, 1837, and is a son of John Philip and 
 A. Catherine (Fike) Bauer. 
 
 John Philip Bauer, the father, was a soldier 
 under Napoleon, suffered capture and as he 
 was put in the ranks to fight against his own 
 people and country, took advantage of the first 
 opportunity to desert and made good his es- 
 cape. John Philip Bauer, father of Peter 
 Bauer, was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- 
 
1016 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 many, and in his' native section learned the 
 cabinetmaker's trade. He married in his 
 neighborhoood and he and wife remained 
 there until after the birth of all but their young- 
 est child. In order to secure better opportu- 
 nities for these children, 'Sir. and Mrs. Bauer 
 decided to undertake the long journey to the 
 United States, which, at that time, when only 
 sailing vessels ^-entured on the ocean, was a 
 formidable enterprise and very different from 
 the camparatively easy conditions under which 
 people of other lands now reach America. 
 After y2 days of buffeting on the water, the 
 Bauer family was safely landed at Baltimore, 
 Md. Their objective point was Crawford 
 county and many miles had to be covered be- 
 fore it was reached. The small capital that 
 the family possessed was pretty well exhausted 
 by the time the city of Pittsburg was attained 
 and from there, to Leesville, O., the distance 
 was covered on foot. They paused long 
 enough here for the mother to recuperate from 
 the birth of their youngest son, Peter, and then 
 moved to the 40-acre wild land which Mr. 
 Bauer secured in \'"ernon township. By this 
 time they were so accustomed to hardships and 
 depri\ations that they patiently awaited the 
 building of their first log cabin shelter, the 
 gradual clearing of their land and its subse- 
 quent cultivation. A comfortable hewn-log 
 house supplanted the first one, more land was 
 alcquired and through German industry and 
 thrift, they prospered and saw many years of 
 ease in their old age. This land is still owned 
 by the family and the old hewn-log house yet 
 stands. Of their children the youngest is the 
 qrih- survivor. 
 
 Peter Bauer grew up on his father's farm in 
 \'ernon township and had district school op- 
 portunities. For many years he successfully 
 carried on farming and stock raising and, al- 
 though retired for some years, still owns many 
 acres of valuable and productive land, mainly 
 situated near Crestline. He has been a very 
 active and useful citizen, a lifelong Democrat, 
 and frequently has been called to public of- 
 fice. In 1873 he was. elected a county commis- 
 sioner and served continuously until 1880. 
 ^^'hen he retired from this office, a mark of 
 confidence and appreciation was shown him 
 by the presentation of a fine gold-headed cane, 
 which he values very highly. 
 
 jNlr. Bauer was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 Cook, who was born in Richland county, O., 
 Aug. 4, 1842, and died Aug. 14, 1900. Mrs. 
 Bauer attended a picnic and afterward was at- 
 tacked by what was probably ptomaine poison- 
 ing, which caused her death. She was be- 
 loved by family and friends and was a faith- 
 ful member of the German Reformed church. 
 
 Six children were born to ^Ir. and ^Irs. 
 Bauer, namely: Alargaret, who is the widow 
 of Jacob Eichorn, and has one son, George 
 Tred, a resident of Crestline; Elizabeth, who 
 is the wife of Frank S. Shepard, a conductor 
 on the Pennsylvania Railroad, and has six chil- 
 dren; Mary, who is the wife of William T. 
 IMuntis, a farmer in Jefferson township, and 
 has two sons and one daughter; Carolina, who 
 is the wife of Joseph E. Winters, a rural mail 
 carrier, and has three daughters; Catherine, 
 who is the widow of George B. Scott, a resi- 
 dent of Crestline and has one child ; and 
 Emma L., who is the wife of Joseph E. ^lit- 
 chell, a railroad man, and has four children. 
 ilr. Bauer is a leading member of the Ger- 
 man Reformed church and has been a liberal 
 contributor to all its different benevolent and 
 charitable movements. He is recognized as 
 one of the sterling men of Jackson township. 
 
 AIRS. THOMAS XEDOLAST, who is a 
 well known and highly esteemed resident of 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 residing on her farm of 152 acres, located in 
 section 13, owns 470 acres of land. She was 
 born in Germany, in June, 1856, and is a 
 daughter of Andrew and Lena (Schiefer) 
 ^^'enzelick, and the widow of Thomas Xedo- 
 last. 
 
 Andrew \\'enzelick, father of Mrs. Xedo- 
 last, was born in Germany, Feb. 28, 1808. and 
 died on his farm two miles north of Xew 
 ^^^ashington, O., Xov. 30, 1867, and his bur- 
 ial was in the Catholic Cemetery at Xew 
 ^^'ashington. He married Lena Schiefer, and 
 after the birth of their children they came to 
 the United States and spent the rest of their 
 lives in Crawford county, O. They were well 
 known people, kind and hospitable, and were 
 liberal supporters and faithful members of 
 the Catholic church. To them were bom the 
 foUowingr children : ^Marearet, who became the 
 wife of George Hepp; Barbara, who married 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1017 
 
 Peter Rtiebuck; Mary, who is the wife of 
 Martin Durnwald; Barto, who married Mar- 
 tin Durwent; Anna, who married Thomas 
 Nedolast; Lizzie; and Lena, who is the wife 
 of PhiHp Studer. 
 
 In January, 1872, Anna Wenzelick' was mar- 
 ried to Thomas Nedolast, who was born in 
 Germany, a son of John and Mary (Yocka- 
 land) Nedolast, the former of whom was born 
 in 1812. He settled east of New Washing- 
 ton, in Crawford county, O. He and family 
 were members of the Catholic church. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Thomas Nedolast the following 
 children were born; John, who resides on the 
 home farm; George, who lives in Cranberry 
 township, who married Kate Schister, and has 
 four children — Helen, Martha, Gerhart and 
 Anna; Nicholas, who married Elizabeth Yack- 
 land, and has three children — Lucy, Dora and 
 Albert; Martin, who lives on the home farm; 
 Peter, who married Dora Studer, and has two 
 children — Gilbert and Frederick; Lena, who 
 is the wife of Joseph Raymond, and has two 
 children — Isabel and William; and Leo and 
 Joseph, who remain with their mother on her 
 farm. After marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Nedo- 
 last lived for a time four miles southeast of 
 New Washington and then came to this place, 
 on which his death occurred. He was a well 
 known and highly respected man, a good far- 
 mer, kind neighbor and loving husband and 
 father and gave faithful service to the Cath- 
 olic church to which he and all his family be- 
 longed. 
 
 CHRISTIAN P. SHAFTSTALL,* a well 
 known agriculturist of Bucyrus township, is 
 the owner of 82 acres of land. He was born 
 Nov. 23, 1845, being a son of Peter and 
 Elizabeth (Frantz) Shaftstall, both of whom 
 were natives of Pennsylvania, where they 
 were married but came to Crawford county, 
 being among the early settlers. Both are now 
 deceased and are buried in Mt. Zion cemetery. 
 
 Peter Shaftstall was a farmer all his life 
 and a Republican in his political views. To 
 him and his wife were born a number of chil- 
 dren, namely : Susan ; Elizabeth, who was mar- 
 ried first to James Banks and second to J. S. 
 Cook ; Christian P. ; Frederick ; Rebecca, the 
 wife of John Marvel; Catherine; Mary El- 
 len, the wife of T. J. Williams; and Sarah, the 
 wife of Frank Sweitzer. 
 
 Christian P. Shaftstall grew up on the home 
 farm and was given a common school educa- 
 tion. He then learned the carpenter's trade 
 and was engaged in this occupation for nine 
 years when he turned his attention to farm- 
 ing, in which he has since been interested. He 
 bought 28 acres of land in 1874 and 2'jy2 
 acres in 1880 and in 1883 he added to this so 
 that he now owns 82 acres and on this land- 
 he successfully carries on general farming. He 
 has remodeled his house and built a new barn 
 after the first burned down. 
 
 Christian P. Shaftstall was married first in 
 1873 to Miss Irene Morehead who died in 
 1874. To them was born one child who died 
 in infancy. Irene Morehead was a daughter of 
 George Morehead. Mr. Shaftstall was mar- 
 ried secondly in 1885 to Miss Esther Shemer, 
 whose parents, John and Mary Shemer, were 
 farmers in this county, and had the follow- 
 ing children, besides Mrs. Shaftstall; Levi, 
 Garrison, George, Corvin, Priscilla, Delilah, 
 Anna and Amanda. To our subject and his 
 wife were born: Clarence Otto, who married 
 Blanche Wilson and has a son, Russell; and 
 Lester Earl, who is at home. 
 
 Mr. Shaftstall is a Republican in politics 
 and he and his family attend the U. B. church. 
 
 JOHN A. QUIG, who is one of the prom- 
 inent men of Auburn township, Crawford 
 county, O., a member of its school board for 
 ten years and during seven of these president 
 of this body, resides on his excellent farm of 
 80 acres, which lies in section 30, Auburn 
 township. He was born three miles northeast 
 of New Washington, O., Nov. 12, 1849, and is 
 a son of John and Hannah (Dickson) Quig. 
 
 John Quig was born in Ireland and was a 
 young man when he accompanied his mother 
 to the United States, locating in New Jersey. 
 Later he came to Crawford county, O., and 
 went to work for John Dickson, a substantial 
 farmer in Vernon township, whose daughter, 
 Hannah Dickson, he subsequently married. 
 They became parents of seven children, two 
 of whom died in infancy, John A. being the 
 third in order of birth. After marriage John 
 Quig and wife lived in Cranberry township 
 for ten years, during which time John A. was 
 born, and then moved to Sandusky township, 
 where he died when his above named son was 
 nine years old, his age being 52 years. His 
 
1018 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 widow survived to the age of 66 years. They 
 were members of the Presbyterian church 
 and were people who were highly respected in 
 their neighborhood and long were remembered 
 for their many good qualities. 
 
 John A. Quig attended the district school in 
 Sandusky township and ever since then has 
 been engaged in farming. After he married 
 he lived for six years in V^ernon township and 
 then moved to his present place which he bought 
 from Thomas Bear. It was partly improved 
 and he remodeled the buildings and added 
 others as his farm industries demanded and 
 now has all his land under cultivation except 
 twelve acres which are in valuable timber. 
 
 Mr. Quig married Miss Maggie Smith, who 
 was bom in Ashland county, a daughter of 
 Jacob Smith, and they have the following chil- 
 dren: F. J., L. M., C G., A. E., O. L., and 
 C. L. Mr Quig and family belong to the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. He has been 
 practically a lifelong Democrat and has been 
 one of the most interested citizens of his town- 
 ship in educational matters. 
 
 DAVID F. ABGER, M. D., deceased, who 
 was once a well known physician in several sec- 
 tions of Ohio, and \\hose descendants are rep- 
 resentative people of Crawford county, was 
 born in New Jersey, in 1829. The early rec- 
 ords of his fainily have not been preserved 
 but they were substantial people and he en- 
 joyed educational advantages and was grad- 
 uated from a medical college, following w hich 
 he entered into practice at Wapakoneta, in 
 Auglaize county, O. At the commencement of 
 the Civil War, Dr. Abger entered the Federal 
 Army as a surgeon, enlisting at McComb, in 
 Hancock county O., and served out a first 
 enlistment of three months. During this 
 period he so fully realized the pressing neces- 
 sity of skilled medical men in the army that 
 at Galion, O., he reenlisted and after serving 
 as a surgeon again for six months, was sent to 
 a Western post and after that was lost to his 
 family, the disturbed condition of the whole 
 country at that time easily explaining this dis- 
 appearance, which was harrowing in the ex- 
 treme to wife and children. 
 
 In Crawford county, O., Dr. Abger was 
 married to Miss Mary Shawber, who was born 
 in this county, Sept. 11, 1831, a daughter of 
 
 John and Rebecca (Rhinehart) Shawber. The 
 lather of Mrs. Abger was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, where he grew up on a farm and then 
 came to Columbiana county, O. Here he mar- 
 ried /Rebecca Rhinehart, who, like himself, 
 was of German ancestry. After they had two 
 children born to them they left Columbiana 
 county and in the early twenties moved into 
 Crawford county, settling in a great belt of 
 imbroken timber, which is now a part of Jack- 
 son township. Their first house was built of 
 iogs with a mud and stick chimney, all hastily 
 put together as it was necessary to get ground 
 cleared on which to plant com. The rich soil 
 easily responded and, although the hills of 
 corn were located here and there between 
 stumps of trees, a fair crop was harvested and 
 thus life began for them in the wilderness. 
 Wild game abounded" and for this reason 
 many Indians came into their neighborhood. 
 Mansfield, 14 miles distant, was the nearest 
 purchasing point. The first log cabin was suc- 
 ceeded by a comfortable brick house, built in 
 1835, which still stands and is at present oc- 
 cupied by a grandson. Grant Shawber. After 
 many years John Shawber and wife left the 
 farm and retired to Wapakoneta, where his 
 death occurred at the age of 68 years, while 
 his widow survived to be 83 years of age. 
 They were faithful members of the Lutheran 
 church an he was one of the organizers of the 
 First Lutheran Church at Galion. Of their 
 12 children, all reached maturity and married 
 and one daughter became the mother of 12 
 children like her own mother. Of this fam- 
 ily there are but two survivors: Mrs. Abger 
 and Mrs. Margaret Shick, wife of John Shick, 
 substantial people of Bellefontaine, O. 
 
 Four children were born to Dr. and Mrs. 
 Abger, namely: John V., who died at the age 
 of 20 years; Eugene, who died in California; 
 survived bv a widow and two children: Ed- 
 win, who died in Indiana ; and M. Olivia, who 
 is the wife of Rev. George Butterfield, who is 
 a missionary minister of the Presbyterian 
 church, with home at Los Angeles, Calif. 
 They have one daughter, Dorothy C, a grad- 
 uate of the Occidental College, a music teacher 
 and church organist. ^Irs. Abger has traveled 
 considerably and has lived in Iowa, Kansas, 
 Missouri, Califomio and Ohio. Additionally 
 she is well informed in young womanhood 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1019 
 
 having prepared herself for a teacher's career 
 and for some years prior to her marriage with 
 Dr. Abger taught school with marked success. 
 When young she was baptized and confirmed 
 in the Evangelical Lutheran church and has 
 ever since retained her membership. 
 
 ANDREW FRAZEE, one of the leading 
 citizens of Auburn township, Crawford 
 county, O., who is chairman of the township 
 board of trustees, on which body he is serving 
 in his third year, resides in section i6, where 
 he owns a well cultivated farm of 5254 acres. 
 He was born in Cranberry township, Crawford 
 county, Sept. 28, 1867, and is a son of George 
 and Caroline (Goodyear) Frazee. 
 
 George Frazee was reared in the southwest 
 comer of Auburn township and after marriage 
 resided on several different farms and owned 
 the one ^adjoining Andrew Frazee's farm on 
 the west. After the death of his wife, who 
 was a daughter of Andrew Goodyear, George 
 Frazee moved to Gabon, where he now lives 
 retired. Of their seven children five survive. 
 
 Andrew Frazee attended school in Auburn 
 township and his first wage-earning work was 
 cutting stone, which he continued for two 
 years, since when has mainly been engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits. He has his farm well 
 drained and tiled and all is under cultivation 
 with the exception of eight acres in valuable 
 timber. He is progressive in his ideas and 
 follows modern methods in cultivating his land 
 and selecting his stock. 
 
 Mr. Frazee was married June 16, 1898, to 
 Miss Temperance Wilt, who was born July 6, 
 1873, at Oceola, O., a daughter of James and 
 Melvina fCanable) Wilt and a granddaughter 
 of John Wilt, all of Fulton county. Pa. Dur- 
 ing the Civil War, James Wilt served one 
 year as a member of the i68th O. Vol. Inf., 
 and until the close of his life was a member of 
 Marker Post, G. A. R., at Defiance, O. While 
 living at New Washington, O., Mr. and Mrs. 
 Wilt had two children born to them and later, 
 after moving to Oceola, four more children 
 were born. The family lived at Oceola when 
 Mrs. Wilt died, at the aee of 42 years. For 
 some eight years Mr. Wilt lived at the home 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Frazee. He was a black- 
 smith bv trade and worked at different places, 
 his death occurring in January, 1909, at Day- 
 
 ton, O., and his burial was in the Greenlawn 
 Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Frazee have one 
 son, George Rowland, who is attending the 
 public schools, a bright and satisfactory pupil. 
 The family belongs to the United Brethren 
 church at Tiro, O. He is somewhat prominent 
 in local political circles and is a valued office 
 holder as above indicated. Both he and wife 
 are interested in the order of Patrons of Hus- 
 bandry and for two years Mrs. Frazee has been 
 master of the Auburn Township Grange, of 
 which Mr. Frazee is the present treasurer. 
 
 HENRY LEPP, a retired farmer and for 
 many years a successful agriculturist in Ma- 
 rion and Crawford counties, O., has been a 
 resident of Gallon for about 13 years but re- 
 tains possession of a large body of valuable 
 farm land in the latter county. He was bom 
 June 14, 1830, in Baden, Germany, where his 
 father died in middle age. The mother, late 
 in life, came to America and died at Gallon, 
 O., when aged 72 years. 
 
 Henry Lepp grew to manhood in his own 
 German province and became a small farmer 
 and then was married to Elizabeth Ikon, who 
 was born on a neighboring farm, in April, 
 1830. In 1853 t'lsy set out for America, 
 crossing the Atlantic Ocean in one of the old- 
 time sailing ships, and after 42 days on the 
 water, were safely landed on American soil, 
 in October of the above year. Their objective 
 point was Crawford county, O., and when 
 they reached here Mr. Lepp and wife both 
 found work, his wages being six dollars a 
 month and hers one dollar a week. Both were 
 industrious and frugal and little by little their 
 combined capital grew sufficiently until they 
 were able to rent a farm. On that farm they 
 again combined their efforts and after nine 
 years of saving and hard work had $1,200. 
 and with that money Mr. Lepp bought 157 
 acres of land in Marion county. He kept that 
 farm for 18 years and then traded it for 270 
 acres situated in Crawford county, five miles 
 from Gabon and later increased the acreage 
 to 700 acres. This land was all placed under 
 the finest possible cultivation before Mr. Lepp 
 consented to retire, which he did in 1899. In 
 addition to his acquisition of land Mr. Lepp 
 has been so excellent a manager of finance that 
 he has saved an additional $10,000. He gives 
 
1020 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 credit to his faithful wife, who was a help- 
 mate indeed, for a part of his success. She 
 lived long enough to share in the ease that 
 came to herself and husband as a result of 
 their industry and saving, her death occurring 
 Sept 22, 19 ID. Five sons and two daughters 
 were bom to Mr. and Mrs. Lepp, namely: 
 John, of Morrow county, 0., who mar- 
 ried there and has one son and two daugh- 
 ters; Henry H., who owns an excellent 
 farm in Morrow county, who is married 
 and has one son and three daughters; ^^'il- 
 liam, also is an independent farmer in Mor- 
 row county, who is married and has two sons ; 
 George, who also owns much land in Morrow 
 county, who is married and has one son and 
 six daughters; Charles, who is also a success- 
 ful farmer; Margaret, the wife of Leopold 
 Long, a farmer in Crawford county, who has 
 two sons and one daughter; and Elizabeth, 
 who is the wife of Wesley Messmore, a sub- 
 stantial farmer in Morrow county, and has 
 three sons. The five sons and one daughter 
 own 1,175 acres in Morrow county, in pol- 
 itics Mr. Lepp and sons are Democrats. He is 
 a member of the Reformed church. 
 
 JOHN J. HEIXLEX,* a retired farmer and 
 highly respected citizen of Holmes township, 
 Crawford count}-, O.. residing on his farm of 
 80 acres, situated three miles north of Bucy- 
 rus, O., was bom in ^^'urtemberg. Germany, 
 in 1845. 
 
 In his own land Air. Heinlen attended school 
 and lived until he was 24 years of age and 
 then he came to the United States and on com- 
 ing to Ohio, located in Bucyrus township, 
 Crawford county. There he engaged in gen- 
 eral farming until 1902. when he moved to 
 his present place in Holmes township. He 
 married Aliss Catherine Rilling, who was also 
 bom in Germany and died in Ohio, in 191 1, 
 when aged 58 years. They had the follow- 
 ing children bom to them: Frederick. Jacob. 
 Emanuel, Mrs. [Mary Spade, [Mrs. Catherine 
 BurAvell. Alartha and John, the last named mar- 
 rying Marie Rapp, of Cincinnati. Since his 
 father's retirement. Jacob Heinlen has been 
 operating the farm and also follows the car- 
 penter trade. His birth took place in Bucyrus 
 township in 1886. In politics the Heinlens 
 are Democrats and as a family they belong to 
 the German Lutheran church at Buc^nnis. 
 
 AMOS BAER, who was a conductor in the 
 service of the Pennsylvania Railroad for al- 
 most 40 years, retiring on account of age limit 
 on July I, 1909, and is also an honored veteran 
 of the Civil War, has been a resident of Crest- 
 line, O., since 1870, in which city he is quar- 
 termaster of Snyder Post Xo. 129, Crestline, 
 Department of Ohio. He was bom near Ma- 
 pleton. Stark county, O., [March 31, 1844, a 
 son of David and Mary (Doll) Baer, both of 
 whom died on their farm in Stark county. 
 
 Amos Baer was a little over 17 years of age 
 when he enlisted for service in the Civil \\'ar, 
 Sept. 6, 1861, entering Co. I, 19th O. Vol. Inf., 
 as a private, and when he was honorably dis- 
 charged and mustered out at San .\ntonio, 
 Tex., on Oct. 24, 1865, he held the rank of 
 second sergeant in his company. He took 
 part in the great battles of Shiloh and Corinth, 
 Murfreesboro and Chickamauga, went through 
 the Atlanta campaign, fought at Franklin, 
 X'ashville and Missionary Ridge and all other 
 points where his company was engaged, ever 
 being at the post of duty, but was fortunate 
 enough to escape both wounds and imprison- 
 ment. In 1866 he came to Crestline, where he 
 entered the Pennsylvania Railway senice and 
 from December 31st of that year until Sept. 
 13, 1869, served as local freight brakeman, 
 when he was made freight conductor. During 
 his long term of service, which was 42 years 
 and 6 months, he had almost a clear record, 
 several minor and unavoidable accidents only 
 occurring, none of these in any way reflecting 
 on his carefulness or lack of railroad knowl- 
 edge. His retirement, with the usual pension 
 accorded faithful employes, came according 
 to the established railroad law. and it was with 
 regret that he severed connections with em- 
 ployers, with whom mutual esteem existed, and 
 with the comrades of many years. 
 
 On Oct. 2. 1870. at Crestline, Air. Baer was 
 married to Aliss Margaret C. Lienstarger, who 
 was born in Richland county, O., but was 
 reared and educated at Crestline. Mr. and 
 Airs. Baer have the following children: Olive 
 A., who was educated here in the common and 
 High schools and resides at home; E. Pearl, 
 who conducts a milliner\- business at L^rbana. 
 O. ; Edgar G.. who is a freight conductor on 
 the Pennsylvania line and lives at home: and 
 Curtis C. who married Laura Cummings and 
 has a daughter, Alargaret L.. who was bom 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1021 
 
 July 26, 191 1. Mr. and Mrs. Baer have also 
 reared Myrtle Brownsburger, who is now 14 
 years of asfe. The family belongs to the Luth- 
 eran church. Mr. Baer and son are members 
 of the Railway Association of Conductors and 
 of the Volunteer Relief Society. All are peo- 
 ple of high standing at Crestline and are widely 
 known. 
 
 D. C. BOYD, secretary and general man- 
 ager of the Gallon Iron Works Company, of 
 Gabon, O., a prosperous manufacturing con- 
 cern, was born and reared in Mercer county. 
 Pa. He obtained his education in his native 
 county and at the age of 18 years began to 
 teach school. His first business experience 
 was gained as salesman in a local store, and 
 subsequently he was for seven years a dealer 
 in hardware and machinery. He then went 
 to Orville, Wayne county, O., where he 
 established a large trade in road machinery 
 and supplies and developed a very good busi- 
 ness. While here he also invented an im- 
 proved culvert or sluice-pipe device possessing 
 unusual strength and efficiency, with a min- 
 imum of parts — a simple and valuable con- 
 trivance. He has also invented and patented 
 other useful inventions. He organized the 
 Gallon Iron Works Company with which he 
 is now connected, it being incorporated in 
 February, 1907, with a capital of $100,000, 
 which was increased in 19 12 to $150,000. 
 The company started with a small plant, hav- 
 ing a building 200x60 feet, which was in- 
 creased the second year by the addition of 50 
 feet more. The third year another addition, 
 of 100 feet in length was added and again, 
 in 191 1, an extension of 108 feet was con- 
 structed, these buildings all being two stories 
 high, with fire-proof out-shops for oils, paints, 
 etc. Another larger building is used for a 
 pattern storage house. The works are sup- 
 plied with a powerful electric plant to operate 
 the massive machinery used in the manufact- 
 ure of their heavy road machines, their large 
 corrugated drainage sluice-pipes and Mr. 
 Boyd's own patent culvert, or sluice-way pipe 
 of all sizes. All these products find a readv 
 market. Their road machines are sold all 
 over America. Every practical device is used 
 in the shops to promote the convenience and 
 safety of the employees. The company now 
 employs 200 people, with ten salaried men 
 
 on the road. They have branch offices at 
 Pittsburg, Pa., Memphis, Tenn., and Atlanta, 
 Ga. The officers of the company are H. Got- 
 tinger, president; Frank W. Faber, vice presi- 
 dent; D. C. Boyd, secretary and manager; 
 and G. L. Steeffel, treasurer. 
 
 Mr. Boyd married Miss Lizzie May Find- 
 ley, a native of Mercer county, Pa., and they 
 are the parents of six children, namely: Hazel, 
 John Scott, Findley, Ruth, Ralph and Theo- 
 dore. Hazel, who was well educated in Orr- 
 ville, O., is the wife of George E. Stenson and 
 resides in Cleveland, O. She has no children. 
 John Scott, who was graduated from the We- 
 nomona Technical Institute at Indianapolis, 
 Ind., took a business course at Mansfield, O., 
 and is now shop superintendent of the Gallon 
 Iron Works Company; he married Gladys 
 Oice. Findley is attending the Gabon high 
 school. Ruth, Ralph and Theodore are attend- 
 ing school in Gallon. Mr. Boyd is a capable 
 business man and an active, enterprising cit- 
 izen. He has great mechanical ability, as his 
 various patents prove. He and his family 
 are well known and highly respected residents 
 of Gallon. 
 
 JOHN P SHECKLER, one of the well 
 known retired residents of Crawford county, 
 O., resides on the farm on which his birth 
 took place, in section 22, Auburn township, on 
 March 3, 1829, this property lying three and 
 one-half miles northeast of Tiro and consist- 
 ing of 222 acres. His parents were John and 
 Rachel (Pettit) Sheckler. 
 
 John Sheckler was born in Huntington 
 county, Pa., and remained with his father until 
 he was 21 years of age, when he, in company 
 with his brother. David Sheckler. left home 
 and started for Ohio on foot, passing through 
 Mansfield, then a village, in 1812. They 
 worked at carpentering or farming or anv- 
 thine' that came their way, and finding the 
 people friendlv and plenty of fine land to be 
 secured, decided to return to Pennsvlvania 
 and make arrangements to return and become 
 home builders in Ohio. Thev returned on 
 foot to Pennsylvania but in 181Q came back, 
 again on foot, and David secured his land 
 south of Mansfield, while John entered 160 
 acres, a part of the farm no"' owned bv his 
 son. It was then covered with forest and he 
 secured it for $i.2q per acre. His first log 
 
1022 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 cabin was built southeast of the present house 
 site on account of a large spring being sit- 
 uated there, to which the deer came to slake 
 their thirst in those early days. He married 
 Rachel Pettit, who was born in Virginia, a 
 daughter of Thomas Pettit, later a resident of 
 Richland county. She was the mother of 
 eight children, four of whom survive : Thomas, 
 John P., George and Christina. Here John 
 Sheckler lived from 1821 until his death in 
 1859, being then aged 69 years and his burial 
 was in the Hanna Cemetery in Auburn town- 
 ship, where his wife rested, she having died at 
 the age of 35 years. They were members of 
 the Baptist church. In his earlier years Mr. 
 Sheckler was a Democrat but later approved 
 of the principles on which the Republican 
 party was founded. 
 
 John P. Sheckler and his brothers and sis- 
 ters had such educational opportunities as the 
 Center school, in Auburn township, offered at 
 that time. He remained with his father and 
 has followed an agricultural life and spent it 
 all in this section with the exception of a few 
 months passed in Indiana. About 50 acres of 
 his land is yet timbered, all being exceedingly 
 valuable. 
 
 Mr. Sheckler married ]\Iiss Leonora Ashley, 
 who was born in Auburn township, a daughter 
 of Ebenezer and Mary (Aumend) Ashley. 
 The Ashley family came to America from Eng- 
 land in 1630, the first of the name being Robert 
 Ashley, who had the following sons : Elkanah, 
 John, Jonas, Thomas, Solomon, and a daugh- 
 ter, Sylvia. 
 
 Jonas Ashley married Elizabeth Eaton and 
 they had the following children: Jonas, Jr., 
 born ;May 20, 1797, who married Sarah 
 Hawks; Salmon, born Dec. 13, 1799; Horace, 
 born Dec. 23, 1801 ; Ebenezer, bom May 6, 
 1804, in Xew York, who came unmarried to 
 Ohio, and in 1830 married Mary Aumend. 
 born in Pennsylvania in 1812, and died July 
 28, 1843 ; Almira, born Aug. 29, 1806, died 
 May 6, 1886; Clarissa, born Dec. 23, 1809, 
 died May 4, 1886; Eaton, born June i, 181 1: 
 Elisha and Elijah, twins, born Dec. 31. 181J., 
 the former of whom died in 1894 and the lat- 
 ter in 1850; Elizabeth, born July 6, 1817, who 
 died in 1820: Delilah, bom Scot. 22, 1819, 
 who died Ausfust 20, 1820: Phila Ann, Avho 
 was born Xov. 4, 182 1, and died Aug. 28, 
 
 1 901; and William Henry Harrison, who was 
 born May 5, 1824, and died Sept. 18, 1856. 
 This was one of the best known families of this 
 section of Crawford county, O. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Sheckler the following 
 children were born: Rachel Elida, who died 
 when aged one and one-half years; Mary, 
 w ho resides at home ; and Edith Blanche, who 
 is the wife of D. F. Grove, who carries on the 
 farm for Mr. Sheckler. Mr. and Mrs. Grove 
 have seven living children and one deceased. 
 For many years Mr. Sheckler has been a mem- 
 ber of the Auburn Baptist church. Formerly 
 he was interested in the Grange and in all 
 other movements that promised to benefit his 
 neighborhood. He belongs to the progres- 
 sive wing of the Republican party but has 
 never accepted any public office except that of 
 supervisor. In his long life he has seen many 
 changes take place in his immediate com- 
 munity as well as in the country at large, his 
 years having bridged a very important period 
 in the history of the world. 
 
 JONATHAN F. KIMERLINE,* formerly 
 county auditor of Crawford county, O., for 
 many years has been prominently identified 
 with public affairs and business interest of 
 Bucyrus as well as other places of former 
 residence, and may be said to bear a name that 
 is a household word in educational circles 
 throughout the county. And yet no man ever 
 had to face more difficulties or overcome 
 harder conditions than he in his efforts to se- 
 cure an education for himself. He was born 
 December 6, 1855, at Wooster, O., and is a 
 son of John and Hannah (Derr) Kimerline. 
 
 John Kimerline was born at Stuttgart and 
 his wife at Baden, Germany, and after their 
 marriage in the latter place and the birth of 
 four children — \\'illiam, Louis, John and IMar- 
 garet — they decided to emigrate to America. 
 In 1854 they left Hamburg, Germany, on 
 board a sailing vessel which landed them, 52 
 days later, in the harbor of New York. A 
 brother had already established himself at 
 \\'ooster, O., and to that place the German 
 family proceeded. John Kimerline followed 
 the shoemaking trade during the rest of his 
 acti^•e life at Wooster. He came to Bucyrus 
 in 1804 to spend his last days with his son, 
 Jonathan F., and died there in 1895 ™ his 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1023 
 
 79th year, having survived his wife since 1881. 
 Both he and wite were members of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. They had seven chil- 
 dren, three having been born in America. 
 William, the eldest son, became a confectioner 
 at Findlay, O., where he died in 1865. Louis, 
 who is a retired drover and butcher, resides 
 at New Washington, O., and has a family of 
 two sons and four daughters. John died at 
 Cleveland, O., in 1889. He had been assistant 
 cashier for 14 years with the Cleveland Pro- 
 vision Company. Margaret married Anthony 
 Gillis, a provision dealer at Half Moon Bay, 
 Calif. Christina died at New Washington, 
 Crawford county, while her parents were 
 visiting there. Jonathan F. was the sixth in 
 order of birth. The youngest child, Elizabeth, 
 died in 1866, when aged seven years. 
 
 Jonathan F. Kimerline was the one member 
 of the family that determined to have a 
 thorough education and living in a college town 
 but stimulated this ambition. He attended the 
 common schools regularly until he was 16 
 years of age but his father was not able to 
 help him on the way to further education and 
 for a time the youth had to contend with many 
 obstacles. However, he later made arrange- 
 ments by which he was able to clothe himself 
 decently and pay his way through college, and 
 long ago has settled all the obligations he 
 then assumed. He passed through Smith- 
 ville College and then took a course in the Ohio 
 Normal School at Ada, O., and in 1874 was 
 called to Chatfield township, Crawford county, 
 to become principal of the schools and this 
 position he satisfactorily filled for two years 
 and then became principal of the schools of 
 New Washington and for 20 years thereafter 
 he was principal and superintendent. During 
 this time he made many changes all progres- 
 sive ones and when he left that city a fine 
 school building and many graduates testified 
 to his educational an executive ability. In 
 1895 ^i"- Kimerline was elected county au- 
 ditor of Crawford county and served efficiently 
 in that ofiice for six years and afterward for 
 seven years was deputy auditor, under his 
 brother-in-law, J. I. Smith. Later he became 
 clerk of the board of county commissioners, 
 an office he holds at the present time. While 
 still engaeed in aducational work he was a 
 member of the State Board of State Examiners 
 
 and at present is clerk of the Bucyrus Board 
 of Education. He is interested in everything 
 along educational lines and for the past five - 
 years has been a member of the Public Library 
 Board. For four years he has had charge of 
 the educational department of the Crawford 
 County Agricultural Society and is a member 
 of the board of directors of the Bucyrus Y. 
 M. C. A., of which he was one of the organ- 
 izers. 
 
 Mr. Kimerline was married in 1881, at 
 Congress, O., to Miss Ida M. Brenneman, a 
 popular teacher and accomplished lady, a na- 
 tive of Wayne county, O., and a daughter of 
 J. H. and Lydia Brenneman, formerly of West 
 Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Kimerline have had 
 four children, two of whom, Florence and 
 Clifford Dale, died on the same day, in 1890, 
 aged respectively five and six years. The 
 two survivors are Marie L. and Harry B. 
 Marie L. graduated in the class of 1908 from 
 the Bucyrus High School. She is talented in 
 music and makes use of her gifts as a teacher. 
 Harry B. Kimerline is making a name for 
 himself as a mining chemist and at present is 
 prospecting in the Altai mining district of 
 Mexico. He graduated from the Bucyrus 
 High School in the class of 1904 and later 
 took a course in applied science at Case Col- 
 lege and then spent one year at Ann Arbor, 
 Mich., and subsequently graduated at Perdue 
 University of Ind., taking his degree. Mr. 
 Kimerline is prominent in two fraternal or- 
 ders, having filled all the chairs of Lodge No. 
 661, Knights of Pythias, at New Washington, 
 and being past chief of the order of Ben Hur. 
 
 CHARLES FREMONT MONROE, pro- 
 prietor of the Commercial Printing Company, 
 at Galion, O., is a well known newspaper man 
 of this section and is widely known all over 
 Crawford county. He was born in Franklin 
 county, O., Oct. 18, 181; 7, and is a son of Isaac 
 and Mary (Vorys) Monroe. 
 
 The name Monroe has been one of distinc- 
 tion in the United States and in all probability 
 the bearers of this name descended from three 
 brothers who came together from across the 
 Atlantic Ocean, one of these locating in New 
 England, one in Virginia and the tliird in 
 what is now Ohio. Leonard Monroe was the 
 name of the Ohio settler. Possibly he was 
 
1024 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 born in 1755 and it is known that he served in 
 the War of the American Revolution and that 
 he died in Delaware county, 0., where he had 
 long been a resident. Names of his children 
 as follows have been preserved: Lemuel 
 Franklin, Alonzo, Samuel, Isaac and Elsie. 
 
 Lemuel Franklin Monroe was born in Dela- 
 ware county, O., May 18, 1790, served in the 
 War of 1 81 2 and later became a Universalist 
 minister. On Dec. 29, 1814, he married Mar- 
 garet Brown, who was born ^larch 7, 1798, 
 and to this union twelve children were born. 
 
 Isaac ^lonroe, the eldest son of Rev. Lemuel 
 Franklin and Alargaret Monroe, was born in 
 Delaware county, O., July 17, 1816, and died 
 April 28, 1887, in Knox county, O. He be- 
 came a school teacher and even at that day this 
 profession was considered one of extreme im- 
 portance and formidable contracts were drawn 
 up between teacher and patrons. From school 
 records of that day the following is copied as 
 an interesting bit of family history. 
 
 "An article of agreement made and con- 
 cluded this i6th day of April, 1824, between 
 Isaac Monroe of the county of Delaware and 
 the State of Ohio of the one part and we, the 
 undersigned subscribers of the other part, wit- 
 nesseth that the said Monroe doth agree to 
 teach a regular English school, for the term of 
 one year, consisting of reading, writing and 
 arithmetic, in a school house in the district 
 near Leonard Monroe's where the majority 
 of the subscribers may think proper, in con- 
 sideration of which we, the subscribers do 
 agree to pay the said ^lonroe one hundred and 
 twenty-five dollars, to be paid in wheat, rye, 
 corn, linen, tallow or beeswax, to be paid at 
 the expiration of each quarter, at cash price, 
 also to furnish a sufficient supply of fire wood 
 for the use of said school, likewise to make and 
 keep said house comfortable. Said teacher is 
 to keep six hours in each day and five days 
 and one-half each week, school to commence 
 the third day of ]\Iav next. The trustees of 
 said school may discharge the teacher at the 
 expiration of any quarter if he neglect his 
 duty in any respect. Said teacher may quit 
 the school at the end of any quarter if he 
 thinks proper." This paoer was sigjied by a 
 dozen patrons who agreed to pay sums ransr- 
 insf from fiftv cents to Sji. Educators of the 
 present dav might hesitate to sien documents 
 
 like the above and it is doubtful if many of 
 them would be led from other occupations by 
 the compensation offered. For a number of 
 years, however, Isaac Monroe appears to have 
 engaged in teaching and he also became prom- 
 inent in the work of the Union Sunday-school, 
 He married Mary Vorys, who was born March 
 26, 1824, in Washington county, Pa., and 
 died at Gallon, March 6, 1907. They were the 
 parents of nine children. 
 
 Charles Fremont Monroe was well in- 
 structed in boyhood and youth and at the age 
 of 19 years began to teach school, later at- 
 tending Prof. Holbrook's Normal School at 
 Lebanon, O., and was graduated in the teach- 
 ers' class from that institution in 1881. For 
 15 years Mr. ^lonroe was superintendent of 
 the Taylor Township High School in Union 
 county. For seven years he resided at !Mil- 
 ton Center, O., where he was mayor and editor 
 and proprietor of the "Milford Center 
 Ohioan," and from there, in 1904, came to 
 Gallon, where, in association with John \\' 
 Cupp, he embarked in the newspaper business. 
 He became editor of two old established jour- 
 nals, the "Daily Leader" and the "Sun-Re- 
 view," then operated by the Sun-Review Com- 
 pany. The former newspaper was established 
 by Christian F. Else, in 1891 and in 1896 had 
 been taken over by the Sun-Review Company. 
 In 1909 Mr. Monroe and ^Ir. Cupp sold their 
 newspaper interests and organized the Com- 
 mercial Printing Company, of which Mr. 
 Alonroe became sole proprietor in 19 10. 
 
 Mr. Monroe was married Dec. 21, 1886, to 
 Miss Mary Josephine Burson, and they have 
 had the following children: Florence Olive, 
 who was born at Broadway, L'nion county, 
 O., ^larch 13, 1887, and is the wife of E. 
 Flickinger, Jr., of Gallon; Willard Taylor, 
 who was bom at Broadway, July 31, 1891, 
 and died at Gabon, Nov. 17, 1894; Rovvena, 
 who was born Oct. 3, 1901, at Milton Center, 
 O. ; and Charles Fremont, who was born Dec. 
 8, 1903. 
 
 Ever since reaching manhood ^Ir. Monroe 
 has been an interested and active citizen and 
 has been prominently identified with the Repub- 
 lican partv. During 1908 and iqo9 he served 
 as chairman of the Crawford County Repub- 
 lican Central Committee, and in igio became 
 a member of the State Republican Central 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1025 
 
 Committee representing the 13th Congres- 
 sional District. He is a past master Mason 
 and a member of Galion Lodge No. 414 F. & 
 A. M. and belongs also to the Elks and Knights 
 of Pythias. He takes a public spirited inter- 
 est in everything tending toward the develop- 
 ment of Galion and looking to the welfare of 
 the people, and is a needed and valued citizen. 
 
 JAMES M. HANNA, one of the leading 
 growers and shippers of thoroughbred stock 
 and cattle in Crawford county, O., resides on 
 his farm of 115 acres, which lies in section 21, 
 Auburn township, was born on a farm that 
 adjoins his own on the east, June 27, 1852, and 
 is a son of James and a grandson of Samuel 
 and Elizabeth Hanna. 
 
 When Samuel Hanna came to Crawford 
 county from Harrison county, O., he entered 
 160 acres of land in Auburn township, the rec- 
 ord of which is preserved at Wooster, O. His 
 subsequent life was spent on his property and 
 he died there, having lived retired for some 
 years previously. Both he and wife were laid 
 to rest in what is known as the Hanna Cem- 
 etery, land that he donated for cemetery pur- 
 poses. His children were : James ; Samuel, 
 who resides on the east half of his father's 
 old farm; John, who followed the blacksmith 
 trade at Decalb, O. ; Margaret, who married 
 Andrew Dixon of Vernon township, Craw- 
 ford county; Thomas, who died while serving 
 in the Civil War; William, deceased, who lived 
 on a farm in Hancock county; Archibald, de- 
 ceased, who also lived in Hancock county ; 
 and Eliza Jane, who died and is buried in 
 Hancock county. 
 
 James Hanna, son of Samuel and father of 
 James M., was six months old when his par- 
 ents came to Crawford county and he grew to 
 manhood in Auburn township and later se- 
 cured 80 acres of the western part of the old 
 farm and lived there until within a few years 
 of his death, when he retired to Tiro. He was 
 a leading member of the United Presbyterian 
 church, there and was a member of the build- 
 ing committee which erected the church ed- 
 ifice. He was one of the solid and reliable 
 men of both township and town and was held 
 in great esteem. He married Clarissa Scott 
 and all their children were born in Auburn 
 township, namely: Catherine, now deceased, 
 who was the wife of James Cahill; James M., 
 
 subject of this article; and William Scott, who 
 is the present owner of the old homestead of 
 his father and is a resident of Tiro. He com- 
 pleted his education at Ada, O., while his 
 brother and sister attended the Savanna High 
 School, all having enjoyed excellent advan- 
 tages. 
 
 After completing his education James M. 
 Hanna married and then settled on his pres- 
 ent farm, which was then known as the Jonah 
 Ashley farm, although Mr. Hanna had pur- 
 chased the property from his father. He has 
 his land all under cultivation with the excep- 
 tion of 15 acres fenced ofT as a woodland past- 
 ure, and this is needed as Mr. Hanna has made 
 a specialty of raising fine cattle and stock and 
 owns the only herd of thoroughbred Short- 
 horns in this section. He devotes consider- 
 able attention to raising Chester White hogs 
 and for some twelve years has grown Shrop- 
 shire sheep that have become so standard that 
 he is called on to ship them all over the state. 
 His place shows that many substantial im- 
 provements have been made here and that Mr. 
 Hanna is a careful as well as successful agri- 
 culturist. 
 
 On Sept. 29, 1874, in Plymouth township, 
 Mr. Hanna was married to Miss Harriet I. 
 Chambers, who was born in Morrow county, 
 O., March 30, 1853, ^ daughter of William 
 Park and Mary Jane (Dougal) Chambers. 
 They were born and reared in Springfield 
 township, Richland, county, and during life 
 made several removals, living mainly in Rich- 
 land county. Mrs. Chambers died in Jackson 
 township, when aged 52 years and her burial 
 was at Shiloh, O. Mr. Chambers survived 
 her, dying at Cleveland, when aged 69 years 
 and six months. They were members of the 
 United Presbyterian church. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Hanna the following chil- 
 dren have been born : Jennie Wilson, who is 
 the wife of John F. Sawyer; Charles M., who 
 resides two miles south of his father, and who 
 married Jenette Carouthers and has two chil- 
 dren — Sarah Harriet and Robert Laird ; 
 Grace Dora ; Martha May, who is the wife of 
 Orian Armstrong of Youngstown, O. ; and 
 Robert R. and Ida Marie, both of whom live 
 at home. The family belongs to the United 
 Presbyterian church at Mansfield. In politics 
 Mr. Hanna is a Republican. 
 
1026 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 A. A. STARNER, M. D., proprietor of the 
 Starrier Hospital, at Galion, O., and a well 
 known general practitioner of medicine and 
 surgery, was born at Glenmont, Holmes 
 county, O., and is a son of Alexander and 
 Margaret (Ulrich) Starner. 
 
 Alexander Starner was born on the Atlantic 
 Ocean during the voyage of his parents from 
 Germany to America, and he died in Ohio, 
 Dec. 21, 1894. In this state he married Mar- 
 garet Ulrich, who was also of German par- 
 entage but was born in Ohio. On March 17, 
 1912. Mrs. Starner celebrated her 70th birth- 
 day. 
 
 In the schools of Glenmont, Millersburg and 
 Ada, O., A. A. Starner received his early edu- 
 cational training, afterward teaching school 
 two years. He then entered the office of the 
 late Dr. Joel Pomerene, of Mt. Hope, O., who 
 was one of the best known surgeons of that 
 part of the state and with him received his 
 preliminary medical reading, continuing there 
 for two years. In 1892 he became a student 
 in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at 
 Chicago, 111., where he was a brilliant student 
 and was graduated in 1896. At the end of his 
 first year. Dr. Starner was the head of his class 
 in anatomy and at the end of his third year re- 
 ceived the Byford prize in gynecology, and at 
 the end of his senior year was one of the six 
 graduates of his class who carried off the high- 
 est honors. At the end of his junior year he 
 practiced to some extent in Chicago, having 
 one district in Cook county, and at the end of 
 his senior year, by competitive examination, 
 won the desired position of interne in the 
 Alexian Brothers Hospital, Chicago. Prior 
 to coming to Galion, in 1892, Dr. Starner 
 practiced his profession at Danville, O. In 
 1906 he opened his private hospital in this 
 city, erecting a commodious building in a fa- 
 vorable situation, fitting it up with all modern 
 conveniences and appliances for hospital pur- 
 poses. Here patients are treated with pro- 
 fessional skill and they come from every sec- 
 tion of the country. Dr. Starner keeps fully 
 abreast with scientific progress, having taken 
 two post graduate courses under the famous 
 Mavo Brothers, surgeons of world-wide fame, 
 at Rochester, Minn., since opening his hospital, 
 and prior to this time took two courses in the 
 great medical centers of Chicago. 
 
 Dr. Starner was married to Miss Emma C. 
 Snyder, who was born and reared at Mt. 
 Hope, O., and completed her musical education 
 at Evanston, 111., after which she taught music 
 for a time. Dr. and Mrs. Starner have five 
 children: Genevieve, Kathleen, Joel, Virginia 
 and Mary. The eldest daughter was so pro- 
 ficient in her studies that last year at school 
 she was awarded a gold medal. Dr. Starner 
 and family are members of St. Patrick's Ro- 
 man Catholic church. He belongs to the 
 Knights of Columbus and is identified with the 
 leading medical organizations of county and 
 state. 
 
 JOSEPH NIEDERMEIER, who carries 
 on general farming on section 23, Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, O., where he 
 owns 80 acres of valuable land, situated on the 
 south side of the East and West road, was 
 born on this farm, June 28, 1866, and is a son 
 of Peter and Barbara (Rauner) Niedermeier. 
 
 Peter Niedermeier was born in Australia 
 and married there and then came to America 
 and settled in Auburn township, Crawford 
 county, O., where they lived until they moved 
 to the farm above mentioned. When Peter 
 Niedermeier took possession of this farm it 
 was covered with a native forest growth and 
 it took much hard work and a number of 
 years to place it in its present high state of 
 cultivation, it now being one of the best farms 
 in the township. Mr. Niedermeier and wife 
 finally retired to New Washington and lived 
 there for four years, and there his wife died, 
 June -zy, 1898, aged 76 years. After her 
 death he returned to the old homestead and 
 his last years were spent with his son Joseph, 
 and here he died June 27, 1903, his birth hav- 
 ing taken place May 23, 1825. Both he and 
 wife were faithful members of the Roman 
 Catholic church and they were interred in the 
 church cemetery at New Washington. There 
 were seven children in the family and five of 
 these survive. 
 
 Joseph Niedermeier, with his brothers and 
 sisters, attended school in Cranberry town- 
 ship. While the others left home when they 
 formed domestic ties of their own, he re- 
 mained with his parents and later purchased 
 the farm and has continued here ever since. 
 He has already done much improving and at the 
 
A. A. STARNER, M. D. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1029 
 
 time of writing (1912) is erecting a fine brick 
 residence, with modern improvements which 
 will be a beautiful home. 
 
 Mr. Niedermeier married Miss Rosa Big- 
 lin, who was born in the Shelby Settlement, a 
 daughter of John and Margaret Biglin, and 
 they have five children: Frank, Linus, Clar- 
 ence, John and Edward. The family belongs 
 to St. Bernard Catholic church. In politics he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 Andrew Niedermeier, a brother of Joseph, 
 has recently purchased 90 acres in section 11, 
 Cranberry township, two and one-half miles 
 northeast of New Washington. He married 
 Margaret Bigley of Richland county, a daugh- 
 ter of John Bigley, and they have ten chil- 
 dren: Rosa, Roman, Blanche, George, Mary, 
 Clara, Joseph, Alfred, Carl and Arthur. Mr. 
 Niedermeier resided on a 40-acre farm west 
 of the homestead, for 20 years. Like his 
 brother Joseph, he is a Democrat in politics and 
 a member of the Catholic church. The Nie- 
 dermeier family is known and highly respected 
 all over Cranberry township. 
 
 JOHN W. STUCKMAN,* who owns and 
 operates 160 acres in Bucyrus township and 
 40 acres in Tod township, Crawford county, 
 and who is also a stock holder in the Farmers 
 & Citizens Bank, was born in Bucyrus town- 
 ship, Feb. 23, 1867, a son of Peter and Mar- 
 garet (Bickel) Stuckman. Mr. and Mrs. Peter 
 Stuckman had the following children : George 
 P.; Anna, the wife of Rev. J. H. Patterson, 
 a minister of the U. B. church, who is an elder 
 of the Eastern Ohio Conference ; John W. ; 
 Maggie, the wife of John C. Kraner; Aaron 
 A. ; and Esther, deceased. 
 
 After his education in the common schools 
 of his locality was over John W. Stuckman 
 entered the Ohio Northern University at Ada 
 and spent one year there. He then learned 
 telegraphy and for two years was engaged in 
 that work in the Pennsylvania Railroad of- 
 fice in Bucyrus. He then turned his attention 
 to agriculture and has since devoted himself 
 to that occupation in connection with stock 
 buying. His live stock trade is carried on the 
 markets of Buffalo and Pittsburg and he also 
 deals extensively in poultry in the eastern 
 markets. 
 
 On March 27, 1895, Mr. Stuckman was mar- 
 
 ried to Grace L. Albright, a native of this 
 township and a daughter of Emanuel and 
 Catherme (Kexroth) Albright. Emanuel Al- 
 bright was born in Pennsylvania and his wife 
 m Germany. He was a Republican in politics 
 and with ,his wife attended the Methodist 
 church. They were the parents of the follow- 
 ing children: William, Joseph, George, Mary 
 (the wife of Lewis Kissling), Gertrude (the 
 wife of John Kissling), Grace L. (the wife of 
 our subject), Nellie (the wife of George 
 Fahl), Frederick and Margaret (the wife of 
 Henry Gushman). 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. John Stuckman have the fol- 
 lowing children: Hazel, Harlan, Helen and 
 Hester. He is a Democrat in politics. He 
 served as central committee man of this dis- 
 trict for several terms, was a member of the 
 school board for about 20 years and is now 
 president of the Agricultural Society of Craw- ■ 
 ford county. He is a member of the F. & A. 
 M., K. of P. and F. O. E., all at Bucyrus. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stuckman are members of the 
 U. B. church. 
 
 MRS. CATHERINE SHELL, who is a 
 well known and very highly esteemed resident 
 of Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 was born in Germany, Nov. 28, 1849, ^^^ ^^ 
 a daughter of Joseph and Barbara (Holly) 
 Kreim. 
 
 Joseph Kreim was born in Bohemia, Aus- 
 tria, a son of Joseph and Mary Ann Kreim, 
 the youngest of their five children. He and 
 his brother Philip came to America and the 
 latter lived two miles west of Plymouth, O. 
 on the VVestfall farm. He was a weaver of 
 cloth in Germany and after coming to the 
 United States learned to weave rag carpets. 
 
 In Germany Joseph Kreim was married to 
 Barbara Holly, who was born there June 1 1 , 
 1826, and died Aug. 17, 1910. For six years 
 after marriage they lived in Germany and then 
 came to America and joined his brother 
 Philip, near Plvmouth. Afterward he moved 
 to Sandusky, O., prior to the Civil War, and 
 there assisted to build the Ohio Canal. For 
 five years afterward he and family lived on a 
 small farm near Ripley and then moved on 
 the Westfall farm near Plymouth. He then 
 bought 40 acres of land in Cranberry town- 
 ship on which his family lived during his ab- 
 
1030 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 sence of nine months in the army, during the 
 Civil War. After he received his honorable 
 discharge he was so anxious to reach home 
 that he walked the entire distance from Shelby 
 and Mrs. Shell remembers how she was the 
 one that met him at the door in the middle of 
 the night. Later he erected another house on 
 the place and it was in that residence that he 
 died on Feb. i, 1897. Both he and wife were 
 devoted members of the Catholic church and 
 it was a source of great pleasure to them that 
 all their children became devout church mem- , 
 bars. 
 
 The eldest child of Joseph and Barbara 
 Kreim was an infant that lived but four days. 
 Catherine was the second born. Philip, who 
 was twoyears old when his parents came from 
 Germany, married Caroline Weis and they live 
 near Cleveland, 0., and have nine children: 
 Leo, Louisa, Frederick, Fredericka, Rose, 
 Theresa, William and John. Mary Madeline, 
 who was three months old when the family 
 came to America, married F. X. Blum, of 
 Cranberry township. Joseph, the fifth in or- 
 der of birth, never married. He died in Penn- 
 sylvania on April 25, 1909, at the age of 53 
 years and was buried by his family in the 
 Catholic cemetery at New Washington. Frank 
 J., resides in Cranberry township. Amelia, 
 deceased, was the wife of John Muhr, who 
 lives in Cranberry township. Anna Mary 
 married Joceph Lang, of Crestline, O., and 
 they have two children, Walter and Anna. 
 Two children, Anthony and Mary, died in in- 
 fancy. 
 
 Catherine Kreim was educated at Ripley and 
 at Plymouth, O., and under a good mother's 
 supervision, learned all housekeeping mys- 
 teries. On Nov. 12, 1868, she was married 
 to Joseph M. Shell, who was born in Austria, 
 Sept. 17, 1845, and they had ten children born 
 to them, the survivors being: Mrs. Rose B. 
 Alt, Edward W., Mrs. Mary M. Uhl, Mrs. 
 Catherine Emlinger, and Frank Joseph and 
 Leon Francis, both of whom live at home. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Shell lost the following chil- 
 dren: an unnamed infant; Joseph A., who 
 died when aged three years and nine months; 
 Mary Celesta, who was but two weeks old; 
 and Amelia Josephia, who lived to the age of 
 18 years. 
 
 Joseph M. Shell is a son of Joseph and 
 
 Catherine (Lautner) Shell. His father was 
 born in Austria in 1824, a son of Frank Shell,, 
 a potter by trade. Joseph Shell, Sr., came to 
 America in 1872 and located in Venice town- 
 ship, Seneca county, O., where he bought 26 
 acres of land, on which he lived until his 
 death, April i, 1877. He was a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Catholic church. His wife was born 
 in 1825, a daughter of John Lautner, who 
 was a potter by trade. She died in 1896, the 
 mother of eleven children. 
 
 Joseph M. Shell attended school before com- 
 ing to the United States and afterward at- 
 tended three months in order to learn the 
 language. In 1865 he came to America, land- 
 ing at New York and when he reached Cleve- 
 land, O., he had two dollars as his sole capital. 
 He immediately found work as a potter, and 
 after two years at his trade, embarked in the 
 pottery business for himself, at Shenandoah, 
 Richland county, O., where he remained until 
 the spring of 1868, when he came to New 
 Washington, where he erected a residence and 
 shop and engaged in the pottery business. 
 By this time, however, industrial life and 
 methods had been changed by the concentration 
 of capital and he found his venture unprofit- 
 able. He then went to work on the railroad 
 then in course of construction here, and con- 
 tinued until 1874, when he bought 40 acres of 
 land situated one mile west of his present farm 
 in section 24, Cranberry township. He sold 
 his first land for $100 per acre, and in 1884 
 purchased the first 80 acres of his present farm, 
 to which he has added two adjoining tracts 
 and now has no acres, situated three miles 
 southeast of New Washington. Mr. Shell 
 has always been an industrious and enterpris- 
 ing man and a good, law abiding citizen. He 
 is a Democrat in politics and has served as a 
 trustee of Cranberry township for six years 
 and in 1900 was appointed land appraiser. He 
 is a member of the Catholic church. 
 
 CHRISTIAN A. NUNGESSER, who, for 
 many years contributed to the agricultural 
 prosperity of Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., where his farm of 100 acr^s is 
 situated, has lived retired since 1898, and has 
 occupied his comfortable residence on the cor- 
 ner of West Main Street and Klymer Avenue, 
 Gallon, O. He was born at Auerbach, Ger- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1031 
 
 many, in the province of Hesse Darmstadt, 
 Feb. i6, 1833, and is a son of George and 
 Eva (Kyle) Nungesser. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Nungesser lived and 
 died in Hesse Darmstadt. The father fol- 
 lowed the shoemaking trade and by that 
 means was able to take care of his family al- 
 though he could afford them no luxuries. The 
 parents were members of the Lutheran church. 
 Three sons were born to them: Peter, who 
 learned his father's trade, and spent his en- 
 tire life in Germany; Christian A., our subject; 
 and George, who spent his life as a farmer in 
 Germany. 
 
 Christian A. Nungesser was taught the 
 trade of shoemaker by his practical father and 
 before he left his native land had become a 
 skilled workman. Those were the days when 
 all footwear was made by hand and the de- 
 mand was greater in many sections than the 
 supply. In June, 1852, the youth embarked 
 for America on a sailing vessel and, although 
 he was compelled to be on the water for 47 
 days, he was safely landed in the harbor of 
 New York. He soon made his way to Cincin- 
 nati, O., where he worked at his trade for three 
 years, after which he located at Winchester, 
 in Crawford county, where he conducted a shop 
 until he was married, when he moved on a 
 farm in Whetstone township and developed 
 his land into one of the fine farms of that 
 section. 
 
 Mr. Nungesser was married in Whetstone 
 township, to Miss Elizabeth Helfrich, who 
 was born at Gallon, May 22, 1840, and has 
 always been a resident of her native county. 
 She is a daughter of Peter and Margaretta 
 (Barmouth) Helfrich, natives of Wurtem- 
 berg, Germany, who came to the United States 
 and became farmers in Whetstone township, 
 settling there in 1833. They had a family of 
 three sons and two daughters and two sons 
 and two daughters still survive. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Nungesser four children were born : 
 Lila, who is the wife of Isaac Cook, residing 
 in Whetstone township and has a son and a 
 daughter; Maggie, who is the widow of Henry 
 Rexroth, and who lives in Whetstone town- 
 ship and has six children; Jennie, who is the 
 wife of Jacob Guinther and resides on a farm 
 near Winchester and has four daughters ; and 
 M. G., who is a prominent citizen and well 
 
 known farmer in Whetstone township, a 
 leading Democratic politician and his party's 
 nominee for state representative. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Nungesser are valued members of the 
 German Lutheran church. They are kind and 
 hospitable people and have a wide circle of 
 friends both at Gabon and in the country where 
 they lived so long. 
 
 A. R. CRIDDLE, a leading citizen and 
 representative business man of Tiro, O., man- 
 ager and owner of the Tiro Handle Factory 
 of this place, one of the town's most important 
 industrial enterprises, was born at Coal Brook, 
 Ashtabula county, O., Dec. 30, 1867, and is 
 a son of Robert F. and Charity (York) Grid- 
 dle. Of their nine children there are seven yet 
 living. 
 
 A. R. Griddle was reared and educated in 
 his native county and was engaged there in 
 business until he came to Tiro, in August, 
 1 910, and built his present plant, locating in 
 the northwestern part of the town, employ- 
 ment being given 16 men and the product being 
 all kinds and sizes of wood handles, a sta- 
 tionary boiler being used and the motive power 
 being steam. Mr. Griddle is a very enterpris- 
 ing and far sighted business man and has 
 much manufacturing experience. 
 
 In Ashtabula county, Mr. Griddle was mar- 
 ried to Miss Carrie B. Fobes, who was born 
 in Wayne township, Ashtabula county, a 
 daughter of Riveris and Dila (Albridge) 
 Fobes, and they have five children : Robert 
 Carl and Riveris, both of whom are employed 
 in the factory; Ethel, who is a student in the 
 Tiro High School; Ruby, who still is in the 
 common school ; and Raymond. Mr. Criddle 
 and family are members of the Brethren 
 church. He belongs fraternally to the Odd 
 Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Re- 
 beccas. Mr. Criddle is not actively interested 
 in politics. 
 
 HENRY BIEBIGHAUSER, for a number 
 of years an active business citizen of Gallon, 
 O., now practically retired, was born in 
 Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, March 10, 1848, 
 and is a son of John and Ephra (Rauth) Bie- 
 bighauser. The father, a horseshoer by 
 trade, spent his life in Hesse-Darmstadt, 
 where he died in 1857, aged 55 years. His 
 
1032 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 widow survived until 1880, dying when aged 
 70 years. Ihey were members of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. Of their family of 
 two sons and five daughters, Henry was the 
 youngest. One sister, Kate, who is the widow 
 of John Sozten, and his brother, August, also 
 came to the United States and all live at 
 Gallon. 
 
 Henry Biebighauser was nine years old 
 when his father died. He attended a German 
 school in boyhood and then learned the shoe- 
 making trade and in 1866 came to America and 
 joined his brother at Upper Sandusky, O., 
 and in 1867 they came to Gallon. He worked 
 for one year at his trade and for another year 
 was with his brother in the blacksmith busi- 
 ness, but in 1869 he went into the butchering 
 business and successfully continued in the 
 same until 1905, when he retired, turning 
 over his heaviest responsibilities to his son. 
 In business circles he gained the respect of his 
 fellow citizens for his honest and upright 
 methods and in all that has concerned the pub- 
 lic good of the city since he has been a resi- 
 dent, he has been enterprising and public 
 spirited. 
 
 On Feb. 6, 1873, Mr. Biebighauser was 
 married to Miss Margaret Helfrich, who was 
 born in Crawford county, O., where her life 
 has been passed. Her parents were Philip and 
 Catherine (Rhinemuth) Helfrich, who came 
 from Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, to the 
 United States and settled on a farm in Whet- 
 stone township, Crawford county. The 
 father was a blacksmith by trade. He and his 
 wife died at Gallon. Nine children were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Biebighauser, the survivors 
 being: Carl, who operates the meat market 
 located at No. 322 East Main Street, which 
 his father established, and who married at 
 Gallon and has three children — Helen, Fred- 
 erick and Isabel; Emma, who is the wife of 
 Leon Zigler, of Gallon, and has two children — 
 Margaret and Ida; Ida, the wife of Harry 
 Beach, who is in the employ of the Erie Rail- 
 way Company; and Elizabeth, the wife of 
 Clyde Smith, who is associated with her 
 brother in the meat business. They have one 
 son, Henry. The family belongs to the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church. In politics Mr. Bie- 
 bighauser and sons are Democrats and fra- 
 ternally he is identified with the Odd Fellows 
 and the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 MRS. AMELIA WECHTER, a property 
 owner and a very highly esteemed resident of 
 Auburn township, Crawford county, O., her 
 farm of 150 acres lying in section 7, was born 
 at Milan, O., and is a daughter of Anthony 
 and Josephine Fisher, both of whom died at 
 Milan, O. 
 
 Amelia Fisher was reared at Milan and at- 
 tended school there. On Oct. 10, 1872, she 
 was married to Joseph A. Wechter, who was 
 born at Rochester, N. Y., a son of Joseph and 
 ^ Magdalena Wechter, and died at Toledo, O., 
 suffocated by gas. He was buried at New 
 Washington, Crawford county, Dec. i, 1897. 
 At the time of his death he was aged 48 years, 
 six months and fourteen days. After mar- 
 riage, Mr. and Mrs. Wechter settled on a farm 
 in Cranberry township, two miles east of New 
 Washington, and after the birth of two of their 
 children, moved to east of Norwalk, O., where 
 there were three children born. They moved 
 then to Chatfield township where they re- 
 mained 16 years, when they came to the pres- 
 ent farm, known as the old Curtis place, which 
 was partly improved, but Mrs. Wechter and 
 children remodeled the buildings and made 
 many additional improvements. All the farm 
 is under cultivation except 30 acres still in 
 valuable timber. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Wechter the following 
 children were born : Josephine, who is the wife 
 of John Fries and lives near Norwalk, O. ; 
 John, who also lives near Norwalk; Elizabeth, 
 who is the wife of Martin Kramer, and lives 
 near Milan, O. ; Mary, who is the wife of Au- 
 gust Heydinger, of Auburn township; Frank, 
 who married Clara Pifher and lives in Auburn 
 township; Rose, who is the wife of Searl 
 Daugherty and lives in Huron county; Willie 
 and Millie, twins, the former of whom married 
 Rose Landoll, of Huron county, and the latter 
 of whom married Phillip Mellein and lives at 
 Milan; Charles, who operates the home farm; 
 Patronillia, who is a successful teacher in Au- 
 burn township ; Linus, who assists on the home 
 farm; and Gertrude, who lives with her 
 mother. Mrs. Wechter and family are mem- 
 bers of the Catholic church, as was Mr. Wech- 
 ter. In politics he was a Democrat and while 
 living in Chatfield township, served two terms 
 as road supervisor. He was an industrious 
 and successful farmer and was well known all 
 through this section and had many friends. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1033 
 
 JOHN FAILE, deceased, was a member of 
 one of the old German families that came early 
 to Crawford county, O., where through in- 
 dustry, sobriety and thrift they became people 
 of substance and of esteem in the commu- 
 nities in which they lived. He was born in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, Jan. i8, 1822, and 
 was eight years old when he accompanied his 
 parents, William and Mary Faile, to the 
 United States. 
 
 In 1830, when the Failes came to America 
 the only means of reaching the Aemrican 
 shore was by way of the slow sailing ships 
 and the family spent two long months on the 
 water. After landing, as rapidly as possible, 
 they came on to Crawford county and settled 
 on wild land in what is now Chatfield town- 
 ship. There his first wife died and he married 
 Mrs. Caroline Jacob, who had two children : 
 Hester and Caroline, who reside in Iowa. To 
 the first marriage of William Faile five chil- 
 dren were born, all of whom are now deceased. 
 John Faile was the eldest born. Christian 
 was accidentally" killed by a fractious horse 
 when aged 30 years. Adam was accidentally 
 burned when young, at a maple sugar camp. 
 Daniel was a soldier in the Civil War and was 
 accidentally killed by an exploding shell. 
 William followed his trade of brickmaker, at 
 Gallon, where he died in middle life. To the 
 second marriage of William Faile a daughter 
 was born, who now resides in Iowa. Late in 
 life William Faile retired to Galion, where his 
 death occurred when aged 80 years, his wife 
 surviving to the age of 75 years. 
 
 John Faile was a quiet, industrious man and 
 followed farming all his active life, meeting 
 with a large degree of success. At the time 
 of death, which occurred at Galion, April 1.3, 
 1899, one year after retiring to this city, he 
 was able to leave to his widow a valuable farm 
 of 100 acres, which is situated in Polk town- 
 ship. In politics he had always been a strong 
 Democrat and as a man of good judgment and 
 high standing in his community, had been 
 elected at times to township offices. He was a 
 faithful member of the German Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 On April i, 1851, Mr. Faile was married in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., to 
 Miss Julia Ann • Snyder, who was born in 
 York county, Pa., Oct. 15, 1831, a daughter 
 
 58 
 
 of Rev. Jacob and Elizabeth (Spotts) Snyder. 
 The parents of Mrs. Faile were born and mar- 
 ried in Pennsylvania and the father was a 
 teacher and also a preacher in the United 
 Brethren church. He was born in York 
 county, Oct. 30, 1794, and spent his entire 
 life of 60 years there. His wife was born 
 Oct. 23, 1794, and died in 1870. Mrs. Faile 
 was carefully educated by her father and in 
 the public schools. She was 18 years of age 
 when, in 1849, she accompanied her married 
 sisters, Sarah and Elizabeth, to Galion and 
 with the exception of her years of married life 
 spent on the farm, has ever since been a resi- 
 dent of this city. She is well known and 
 greatly esteemed, being an active Christian 
 worker wherever she sees her services needed. 
 She has been almost a lifelong member of the 
 United Brethren church. Of her ten children, 
 eight grew to maturity and six survive. Ida 
 M., who is now deceased, was the wife of Al- 
 bert Newhouse and left one son. Amanda, 
 who is now deceased, was the wife of Frank 
 Ness, a carpenter at Galion, and she had two 
 sons, Luther Ness, and Roy, deceased. Those 
 living are : Mary, who is the wife of Daniel 
 Dye, of Galion, and has had two children — 
 Archie Leroy, and one who died when aged 
 14 months; Lucinda Ann, who is the wife of 
 John Raymond, of Alvordton, O., and has 
 one daughter, Olive, who is married and has 
 two children; Susan, who is the wife of 
 Emanuel Crissinger, of Galion, and has two 
 sons, William and Addison; Henrietta, who is 
 the wife of Samuel Christman, of Galion, 
 and has one daughter, Julia I., who was born 
 Sept. 3, 1900; Ella Elizabeth, who is the sec- 
 ond wife of Frank Ness; and William, who 
 conducts a boot and shoe business at Bucy- 
 rus, and married Elizabeth Andrews. All 
 these children were given good educational op- 
 portunities and are representative people who 
 reflect credit on their parentage. 
 
 JACOB ANSON DENZER,* a prosperous 
 farmer of Bucyrus township, who in company 
 with his sister Jennie, owns 126 acres of land, 
 the latter being one-third owner of same, was 
 born in this county, Dec. 31, 1857, a son of 
 Jacob and Matilda (McNeal) Denzer. He is 
 a grandson of Andrew Denzer, who was born 
 and reared in Baden, Germany, and who 
 
1034 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 fought as a soldier under the great Napoleon, 
 taking part in the disastrous Russian cam- 
 paign. Andrew survived the horrors of that 
 campaign, where so many thousands of his 
 comrades fell or perished from cold, and about 
 1833 came to America with his family. Here 
 he lived seven years, dying about 1840. He 
 married in Germany, Hester A. Finfgelt and 
 they had four sons and one daughter, namely : 
 Andrew, George, Jacob, Mary and Simon. 
 Two of the number died in the Fatherland and 
 were buried in Upfingen, Baden. The mother" 
 survived her husband many years, passing away 
 in 1876 at the age of ninety- four. 
 
 Jacob Denzer, father of our subject, was a 
 lad of 13 years when he accompanied his par- 
 ents to the New World. Not long after their 
 arrival they became residents of Crawford 
 county, the father (Andrew) purchasing 15 
 acres of timber land in Liberty township, 
 which he cleared and on which he build a log 
 cabin. In the following spring Jacob began to 
 earn his own living by working as a farm hand. 
 He was thus employed until he was 25 years 
 of age, giving his wages to his parents until 
 he attained his majority. At the age of 25 he 
 began farming on rented land, which he oper- 
 ated for three years. On March 13, 1850, he 
 married Matilda McNeal, of Crawford county. 
 She was born in Huntingdon county. Pa., Dec. 
 6. 1826, and was a woman of energy and 
 thrift, proving of great assistance to her hus- 
 band. After his marriage Mr. Denzer rented 
 a farm for six years and in the meanwhile 
 purchased 38 acres of land. In 1863 he pur- 
 chased his fine homestead — one of the best 
 farms in the county — as a result of his energy 
 and thrift and that of his wife. Besides car- 
 rying on general farming he operated a saw- 
 mill for some ten years. He was prosperous 
 and became one of the representative fanners 
 and stock raisers of the county. He was con- 
 tinually improving his farm and erected all 
 the substantial and commodious buildings 
 which stand on it today. When well advanced 
 in vears he retired from active labor and he 
 and his wife spent their last years on this 
 homestead, seeing their children growing up 
 around them and becoming worthy and re- 
 spected members of the community. These 
 children were Mary L., Jennie, Andrew. 
 Esther, Simon J., Anson J., Ella, Alexander, 
 
 Maggie, Lewis I. and Electa V. Two died in 
 childhood — Florence and an infant son. 
 
 Jacob Anson Denzer attended the common 
 schools in his boyhood and was brought up 
 on the farm, being trained to agricultural pur- 
 suits. He has spent all his life up to the pres- 
 ent time on the farm on which he now resides 
 with the exception of three years when he was 
 farming in the West. His sister Jennie, who, 
 as already stated, owns one-third of the prop- 
 erty, has charge of the household, which she 
 manages capably, there being no idlers in the 
 Denzer family. The other children are mostly 
 married, Mary being the wife of Stephen 
 Brehman, Esther, the wife of James Dobbins, 
 Ella, the wife of Myron Andrews, Margaret, 
 the wife of Ira Quaintance, and Electa, the 
 wife of Lewis Beard. Mr. Denzer is a Dem- 
 ocrat politically, as was also his father, but 
 is not an active politician. 
 
 CHARLES HESS, one of the leading 
 business men of Gallon, O., a member of the 
 firm of Hess Brothers, conducting a large 
 meat market at No. 229 South Market Street, 
 successors of their father who established the 
 business at this location, was born at Gallon, 
 July 29, 1864, a son of Henry and a grandson 
 of Henry and Mary (Snyder) Hess. 
 
 The grandparents of Mr. Hess were born 
 in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, and came from 
 there with their children in 185 1, on a sailing 
 vessel to New York City, and from there by 
 team, to Gallon, O. They prospered and 
 owned a small farm which is now included in 
 the city limits, on West Main Street, which 
 property is yet owned by their descendants. 
 Only one of their sons survive, Daniel Hess, 
 who lives retired. 
 
 Henry Hess, jr., father of Charles Hess, 
 was born in 1832, in Germany, and was 19 
 years old when he came to Gallon. For some 
 years he was in the grocerv business in part- 
 nership with Jacob J- Schafifer, but afterward 
 went into the meat business and for more than 
 40 years conducted his market, being probably 
 one of the first men in the city to conduct the 
 same along modern lines. He was a useful and 
 respected citizen. He survived his wife, dying 
 in 1905, she having passed away in 1876. She 
 was a member of the Lutheran church. Of 
 their children two died iii infancy and one 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1035 
 
 daughter, Mary, some years after her marriage 
 to William Weisterman and is survived by 
 two daughters. The survivors are : Henry, - 
 who resides at Galion; Charles, our subject; 
 Emma and Lizzie, all of whom reside together 
 on the old homestead on West Main Street 
 and all are members and liberal supporters of 
 the German Lutheran church. 
 
 Charles Hess obtained his education in the 
 public schools of his native city, grew up in 
 his father's business and in 1888, in partner- 
 ship with his brother, succeeded to the busi- 
 ness, at which time the present firm name was 
 adopted. Both partners are practical meat 
 men and carefully supervise their output and 
 direct their 15 helpers. Both brothers, like 
 their late father, are Democrats. Charles 
 Hess is identified with the fraternal order of 
 Elks, while Henry belongs to the Eagles and 
 also to a German order. They stand high as 
 reliable and enterprising business men. 
 
 HENRY A. KINSEY, fpreman of the 
 erecting department of the Erie Railway shops 
 at Galion, O., came to this city in 1874 and 
 has been identified with these shops since 1888. 
 He was born in Morrow county, O., Dec. 7, 
 1855, a son of Christian and Mary (Kinsey) 
 Kinsey. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kinsey were born in 
 Switzerland and the father came to the United 
 States when a young man and the mother, 
 with her parents. Her father, John Kinsey, 
 was a well known pioneer and gunsmith in 
 Morrow county, O., and there he and wife 
 lived and died, members of the Reformed 
 church. The parents of Henry A. Kinsey 
 were married in Bloomfield township, Morrow 
 county, and began married life there and passed 
 the remainder of their days in that neighbor- 
 hood, becoming people of property and known 
 and respected far and wide. They were not 
 long separated by death, only a few weeks in- 
 tervening, the father passing away in March, 
 1907, when aged 80 years, and the mother in 
 May following, when aged 76 years, their 
 burial being in Fairview Cemetery. They 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. They had three sons : Daniel, who 
 still lives in Bloomfield township, who is mar- 
 ried and has two children — Frank and Lulu ; 
 Jacob, who is unmarried; and Henry A., our 
 subject. 
 
 Henry A. Kinsev was reared and obtained 
 his education in his native place and in early 
 manhood came to Galion desirous of learning 
 the machinist's trade, and entered the shops of 
 the C. C. & I. Railroad. In 1876 he decided 
 to return to farming and was engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits until 1880, when he went 
 to work for Squires & Horner, foundrymen. 
 In 1888 he entered the employ of the Erie 
 people and has continued here, being gradually 
 advanced until he now fills a position of recog- 
 nized responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Kinsey was married in Morrow county 
 to Miss Anna A. Cronnenweth, a granddaugh- 
 ter of Frederick Cronnenweth, who was born 
 in Germany, May 19, 1793, and came to the 
 United States and settled in Morrow county 
 in 1848, where he died Sept. 19, 1884, one of 
 the Old Guard of Napoleon, under whom he 
 had enlisted for the Russian campaign, in 
 181 5. He served 14 years and was at the battle 
 of Waterloo. His son, Frederick, was the 
 father of Mrs. Kinsey and was born in Ger- 
 many. He married Elizabeth Baker in Mor- 
 row county, who died there when aged 75 
 years, her husband passing at the age of 72 
 years. They were members of the German 
 Lutheran church. Two sons were born to 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kinsey: Harry G. and Roy E. 
 The former, after graduating from the Galion 
 High School in 1898, learned the machinist 
 trade and later became editor of the Galion 
 Leader, a position he resigned in order to be- 
 come advertising man for the Canton Republi- 
 can-News, of which he later became editor. 
 Roy E. graduated from the Galion High 
 School in 1909 and in the same year became 
 teller in the Citizens National Bank. Mr. 
 Kinsey and sons are all Republicans. The fam- 
 ily belongs to the English Lutheran church 
 and the sons are both identified with the fra- 
 ternal order of Elks. 
 
 JOHN F. SAWYER, who is one of the 
 leading men of Atiburn township, Crawford 
 county, O., treasurer of Special School Dis- 
 trict at Maple Grove, resides on his farm of 
 160 acres, situated in section 21, one and 
 three-fourths miles north and one mile east 
 of Tiro, O. He was born in Auburn town- 
 ship, Crawford county, Jan. 31, 1871, and is 
 a son of Albanus and a grandson of Erastus 
 
1036 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Sawyer, who came to this section in very 
 early days. 
 
 John F. Sawyer was reared on the home 
 farm in Auburn township and in boyhood at- 
 tended the pubHc schools, afterward the 
 New Washington High School and completed 
 his education in the_ Normal School at Ada, 
 O., where he profitably spent two terms. Mr. 
 Sawyer returned to Auburn township and 
 has carried on his agricultural activities here 
 ever since, general farming and raising hogs 
 and sheep. He remodeled the old residence ' 
 which had been built by his father and also 
 built a house on the adjoining 80 acres and 
 has everything in good .shape around him. 
 He cultivates all his land with the exception 
 of about 30 acres yet in timber. 
 
 On. Jan. i, 1900, Mr. Sawyer was married 
 to Jennie Wilson Hanna, who was born 
 March 6, 1876, a daughter of J. M. and Har- 
 riet Adora (Chambers) Hanna, and they have 
 three children : Waldo Verne, Dwight Frank- 
 lin and Mildred Winona. Mr. Sawyer and 
 family are members of the Lutheran church 
 at Tiro. Politically he is a Republican and 
 fraternally a Knight of Pythias, attending 
 the lodge at Tiro, O. 
 
 AUSTIN F. LOWE, cashier of the Citi- 
 zens National Bank of Galion, O., with which 
 institution he has been identified in his pres- 
 ent relation, since 1880, is a native of Ohio 
 and was born at Galion, in 18 q8. His parents 
 were Lloyd and Elizabeth (Mason) Lowe. 
 
 Lloyd Lowe and wife were both born in 
 Pennsylvania and in 1834 they were married 
 near York, Pa., and at once started by team, 
 for Galion, O., where he went into the con- 
 tracting business. Here his death occurred 
 in 1883, at the age of 76 years, his wife sur- 
 A^ving him for two years. They were well 
 known and highly respected people. Of their 
 family of six children, Austin F. was the 
 youngest born, the others being as follows: 
 John W., deceased, who ser\-ed four years in 
 the Confederate Army during the Civil war; 
 Isabel, who is the wife of Clinton Payne, re- 
 siding at Decatur, 111. ; Isaac, who died at De- 
 catur and who was a veteran of the Union 
 army in the Civil war; Lewis S., who enlisted 
 for service in the Civil War in 1862, and was 
 killed at the battle of Stone River, in 1863, 
 
 being the first enlisted soldier of Galion to 
 give up his life for his country; and Mary, 
 who is the wife of Alvin P. Paul, residing at 
 Santa Anna, Calif. 
 
 Austin F. Lowe was educated in the public 
 schools of Galion and from the school room 
 entered the Citizens National Bankli» a cleri- 
 cal capacity and has been connected continu- 
 ously with this institution up to the present. 
 The Citizens National Bank of Galion was 
 established in 1866 and was chartered as a 
 National bank in 1872, with ample capital. 
 John Beatty, now a resident of Columbus, O., 
 was its first president and J. H. Green, its 
 first cashier, the latter succeeding Mr. Beatty 
 as president, and dying in 1894* The present 
 condition of the bank is prosperous and its 
 officers and board of directors are all men of 
 capital and known responsibility. 
 
 Mr. Lowe was married at Galion, O., to 
 Miss Emma E. Cave, who was born at Crest- 
 line, O., a lady of culture and education, who 
 had been a teacher for several years prior to 
 her marriage. 'She is a daughter of Francis 
 and Margaret Ca\'e, former residents of 
 Crestline and later of Galion. The father of 
 Mrs. Lowe served in a Pennsylvania regiment 
 in the Civil War. His death occurred at Galion 
 in January, 191 1, where his widow resides, 
 being now in her 80th year. She has been a 
 lifelong member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, having been reared in the faith. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lowe have one daughter, Edna E., 
 who was educated at Roanoke, Va., and at 
 Washington, Pa., and is a college graduate. 
 Politically Mr. Lowe is zealous in his support 
 of the principles of the Republican party but 
 has never been willing to consider any political 
 office for himself. In his fraternal, connec; 
 tions, Mr. Lowe has long been identified with 
 the Masons and Knights of P)d;hias at Gallon; 
 having been senior warden in the former or- 
 ganization and a charter member since the 
 founding of the latter order here, in 1884. 
 
 R. E. SAWYER. Among the old and 
 substantial families of Auburn township, 
 Crawford county, O., may be counted that of 
 Sawyer, a worthy member of which is R. E. 
 Sawyer, who resides on his well improved 
 farm of 105 acres, which is situated in sec- 
 tion 21, and who -is known throughout the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1037 
 
 county additionally as an insurance agent, 
 representing . a number .of . mutual insurance 
 companies. He was born on a farm that ad- 
 joins his own on the west, June 4, i860, and 
 is a. son of Albanus and Anna Maria (Winn) 
 Sawyer. 
 
 Albanus Sawyer was born in Auburn town- 
 ship, where he spent his long and useful life, 
 his death occurring Feb. 7, 1903, when aged 
 79 years, four months and twenty-one days. 
 His parents were Erastus and Sally Sawyer, 
 the former of whom was born in Schuyler 
 county, N. Y., Oct. 10, 1800, and died July 
 12, 1870. His wife was born in Cayuga 
 county, N. Y., April 27, 1802, and died Aug. 
 22, 1873, and their burial was in the Auburn 
 Cemetery.- At one time Albanus Sawyer was 
 a very large landowner, having 100 acres in 
 Henry county and a very large body in Craw- 
 ford county, and a great deal of this land is 
 still held by- his heirs. He was a man of ster- 
 ling character and was held in the highest 
 regard by his fellow citizens. In earlier days 
 he was a Whig but later became a Republican 
 and at different times served in township of- 
 fices with credit to himself and with advan- 
 tage to the community. He was interested in 
 the public schools and donated the land which 
 is known as Maple Grove Special School land. 
 He was one of the leading members and lib- 
 eral supporters of the Methodist Episcopal 
 thurch -in Auburn township. He married 
 Anna Maria Winn, who was born in Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county, a daughter 
 of John and Rebecca Winn, natives of Penn- 
 sylvania. She died July 7, 1890, when aged 
 70- years, 7 months and 18 days. The fol- 
 lowing children were born to them : . Cornelia, 
 who married William Bender; R. W., who 
 lives at Richmond, Ind. ; Asa, who died Dec. 
 5," 1884, aged 27 years, 11 months and 15 
 days; R. E. ; Clara, who died Jan. 4, 1885, 
 aged 20 years, 8 months and 12 days; Anna, 
 who married I. W. Loudon, of Liberty Cen- 
 ter, O. ; Lottie E., who is the wife of James 
 Morrow; Erastus, who died when two years 
 old; and John F., who resides on the home 
 farm. 
 
 R. E. Sawyer attended the local schools 
 through boyhood and then spent two years 
 in the Ohio Northern University at Ada, O., 
 and after his return to Auburn township 
 
 taught the winter school for" nine successive 
 terms in the home district and taught also in 
 the Tiro High School, 13 terms in all. Dur- 
 ing all this time he had resided on his present 
 farm, on which he has made the improvements 
 including about five miles of tiling. With the 
 exception of 12 acres, which he devotes to 
 pasturage, his farm is all under fine cultiva- 
 tion. He is a stockholder in the Shelby Tele- 
 phone Company. To his insurance business 
 he devotes usually the first three days of the 
 week and writes risks for the Crawford 
 County Mutual Fire and Lightning Company, 
 and the Ohio Mutual Wind, Storm and Tor- 
 nado Insurance Company, his territory cover- 
 ing four townships in Richland county, two 
 in Crawford and four in Huron county. 
 
 Mr. Sawyer was married to Miss Eunice 
 L. Trago, who was born in Auburn township, 
 a daughter of S. W. and Amelia Trago, and 
 four children have been born to them, namely : 
 Huron E., who resides with his family at 
 Dayton ; Porter, who operates the home farm, 
 and married Carrie Mae Bender, of Sandusky 
 township; Kenneth E., who formerly was a 
 teacher in Crawford county and is now in the 
 employ of the First National Bank at Port- 
 land, Ore. ; and'Milo B., who is a student in 
 the Tiro High School. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer 
 belong to the Lutheran church at Tiro. In 
 politics he is a Democrat, of the progressive 
 type. For many years Mr. Sawyer has been 
 prominent in the work of the Crawford 
 County Grange and has been county deputy 
 for twelve years and served as first chan- 
 cellor of Tiro Lodge No. 593, Knights of 
 Pythias. He has filled numerous responsible 
 positions, for six; years . being a member and 
 director of the Crawford County Mutual In- 
 surance Co., and for ten years was president 
 of the Northeastern Ohio Farm Institute As- 
 sociation. For several years he served as a 
 member of the township board of education 
 and was clerk of that body. 
 
 WILLIS PRENTICE KIMBLE, a well- 
 known resident of. Gallon, O., is the oldest 
 division, engineer in term of service on the 
 Erie Railroad. He was born at Paris, Edgar 
 county, HI., April 6, 1858, a son of George W. 
 and Sarah J. Kimble., 
 
 Mr. Kimble attended public and private 
 
1038 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 schools in Paris, and in 1879 graduated from 
 the College of Engineering, University of Illi- 
 nois. In August of that year he entered the 
 engineering department of the Atchison, To- 
 peka and Santa Fe Railroad at Las Vegas, 
 New Mexico, and continued in various posi- 
 tions with that railroad until January, 1881, 
 when he became connected with the Mexican 
 Central Railroad, remaining with that line 
 until August, 1884, during this time being 
 principally employed as locating and division 
 engineer in charge of construction. It was 
 while he was with the Mexican Central that * 
 they ran the first line of railroad from the 
 United States acrpss the line into Mexico. 
 From August, 1884, to Jan. i, 1886, Mr. 
 Kimble was engaged in municipal and county 
 engineering at Paris, 111., but on the latter date 
 he reentered the service of the Atchison, 
 Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad on the Kan- 
 sas City to Chicago extension, filling the posi- 
 tion of locating engineer and division engineer 
 in charge of construction. He afterwards 
 was division roadmaster, Kansas City east, 
 and later general roadmaster from Chicago to 
 Kansas City and St. Joseph, Mo. In March, 
 1894, he entered the service of the New York, 
 Lake Erie & Western Railroad (now the Erie) 
 as division roadmaster and in 1897 he was 
 made division engineer of the Cincinnati 
 Division of the Erie and has continued in that 
 capacity until the present time. 
 
 Mr. Kimble was married on Nov. 8, 1888. 
 to Miss Sara S. Gates, of La Platta, Mo. 
 
 G. M. KLEIN, who carries on general 
 farming in section i, Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, O., where he owns 107 
 acres of valuable and well improved land, is 
 one of the representative citizens of this part 
 of the county. He was born on this farm, 
 Jan. 23, 1849, and is a son of Conrad and 
 Margaret (High) Klein. 
 
 Conrad Klein and wife were both born in 
 Wittenberg, Germany. They came to Amer- 
 ica and were married in Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, on the day preceding Mr. 
 Klein's 30th birthday. They then settled on 
 the farm above mentioned, all of which Con- 
 rad cleared, and here he engaged in farming 
 for many years and then, with his wife retired 
 to New Washington. There he died some 
 
 four years later, at the age of 'j't^, she surviv- 
 ing to the age of 74 years. They were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church and their burial 
 was in the Lutheran cemetery. They were 
 parents of four daughters and two sons, 
 namely: Elizabeth, who is the wife of John 
 Lederer, residing near Toledo; Matilda, de- 
 ceased, who was the wife Of Benjamin 
 Guiss; Mary, who is the wife of John Utz; 
 Caroline, who is the wife of Jacob Michel- 
 f elder; Adam, who died at the age of five 
 years; and G. M., who was the second in 
 order of birth. 
 
 G. M. Klein attended the district school 
 when his father could spare him and remained 
 at home as the only son to grow to maturity. 
 This property has undergone much improve- 
 ment and in 1900 Mr. Klein erected his com- 
 fortable residence, his other buildings being 
 equally substantial. 
 
 Mr. Klein was married (first) to Miss Mary 
 Herr, a daughter of George Herr. Mr. Klein 
 was married (second) to Miss Mary Vollmer, 
 a daughter of Jacob Vollmer. Mrs. Klein 
 died Sept. 18, 1905, when aged 44 years, 5 
 months and 23 days. She was a member of the 
 Lutheran church and her burial was at New 
 Washington. No children were born to his 
 first marriage, but Mr. Klein has five children 
 of his second union: Theodore, who married 
 Jennie John, and lives at Mansfield, O. ; and 
 Lydia, Emma, Alfred and Paul. The family 
 belongs to the Lutheran church. In politics 
 Mr. Klein is a stanch Democrat and on the 
 Democratic ticket he has frequently been 
 elected to important offices. For some years 
 he served as school director, four successive 
 years was road supervisor and two terms 
 was township trustee. 
 
 ANDREW HETICH GIBSON, who owns 
 and manages his own farm of 80 acres and also 
 attends to his wife's farm of 356 acres, both 
 situated in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., is one of the representative citizens 
 of this section and a member of one of its old 
 and substantial families. He was born in 
 Whetstone township. May 27, 1846, and is a 
 son of John and Mary Ann (Kerr) Gibson. 
 
 John Gibson, who is now deceased, was 
 born in Franklin county, Pa., and was a son 
 of George and Mary (Buchannon) Gibson. 
 
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 O 
 I— I 
 
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AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1041 
 
 For many years John Gibson was a farmer in 
 Crawford county and died on his farm in 
 Whetstone township. He married Mary Ann 
 Kerr, who was also born in FrankHn county, 
 a daughter of Andrew and Margaret (Camp- 
 bell) Kerr, old Pennsylvania families of 
 Scotch extraction. To John Gibson and wife 
 the following children were born: Margaret 
 Ann, who married John Campbell; Hannah E., 
 who was married (first) to A. R. Walker, and 
 (second) to Peter Helfrick; Andrew Hetich; 
 George B. ; J. M., who is a physician engaged 
 in medical practice in West Virginia; Mary 
 Belle, who is deceased; and John Edwin, 
 Charles E., Delia J. and Leaffe L. 
 
 Andrew H. Gibson attended the district 
 schools in Whetstone township and the Bu- 
 cyrus High School for one term, afterward as- 
 sisting his father on the home place and lived 
 on the homestead until he was about 30 years 
 of age. During this time he had served in the 
 Civil War in Co. E, 136th O. Vol. Inf., and 
 was out for 100 days. Farming and moderate 
 stock raising have ever since engaged his at- 
 tention and along this line he is considered 
 one of the successful men of Whetstone town- 
 ship, his judgment in agricultural matters be- 
 ing generally accepted as the result of mature 
 experience. 
 
 On April 18, 1877, Mr. Gibson was mar- 
 ried to Miss Letta J. Campbell, who is a daugh- 
 ter of Edward and Amanda (Tupps) Camp- 
 bell, and a granddaughter of John and Mary 
 (Jones) Campbell. The parents of Mrs. Gibson 
 were among the leading people of Whetstone 
 township and it was from her father that 
 Mrs. Gibson inherited her large estate, being 
 the youngest daughter. Other members of 
 her family were: Catherine, deceased, who 
 was the wife of Franklin Keifer; Samuel 
 K., who is deceased; and John B. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Gibson the following children were 
 born : Iva May, who is the wife of J. A. Low- 
 miller and has three children — Roland A., 
 Florence Helen and Earl Gibson; Mervin J., 
 who married Austie Sife, and has one daugh- 
 ter, Edith Carrie; Amanda Vianna, who is 
 deceased; and Claud M., who resides at home. 
 Mr. Gibson and family attend the Presbyterian 
 church at Bucvrus. He is a Republican as was 
 his father, and has served as a member of the 
 township school board and as road supervisor. 
 
 LEROY McMICHAEL,* one of Whet- 
 stone township's well known and highly re- 
 spected men, was born Sept. 19, 1874, on the 
 farm on which he lives and of which he is 
 half owner, 230 acres situated five miles east 
 of Bucyrus, Crawford county, O. He is a 
 son of John A. and Mary A. (Trimble) Mc- 
 Michael. 
 
 John A. McMichael and wife were both 
 born in Crawford county, O., he in Liberty 
 township and she on the present farm, the old 
 Trimble homestead, which has been in the 
 family since it was entered from the Govern- 
 ment. John A. McMichael was a veteran of 
 the Civil War, having served in Co. E, loist 
 O. Vol. Inf., afterward engaging in farming 
 until his death, in April, 1901. He was quite 
 prominent in local politics and was widely 
 known. His widow survives and resides on 
 East Mansfield Street, Bucyrus. They had the 
 following children : Mary Jane, deceased, who 
 was the wife of Frank E. Miller; Eugene T. ; 
 John Lawrence ; Emma, deceased, who was the 
 wife of Leonard F. Quaintance; Ernest Way- 
 land ; Leroy ; Bessie, who lives with her 
 mother; and Garfield and Oren A. 
 
 Leroy McMichael had school advantages in 
 Whetstone township until he was about 20 
 years of age, attending mainly during the win- 
 ters and assisting his father in the summers. 
 He continues his agricultural activities during 
 the growing season and in the winter time is 
 mainly interested in contract work on turn- 
 pike roads and in street paving. He is a man 
 of much energy and business enterprise and 
 counts largely as a useful and dependable citi- 
 zen. He is a Republican in politics but in 
 local elections reserves the right to vote in- 
 dependently. 
 
 On May 19, 1898, Mr. McMichael was 
 married to Miss Daisy L. Beck, a daughter of 
 William and Sarah (Kelley) Beck, the former 
 of whom, in life, was a farmer in Jefferson 
 township, Crawford county, and the latter of 
 whom lives at Leona, Mich. Mrs. McMichael 
 has brothers and sisters as follows : Shannon, 
 who is deceased ; Verna, who is the wife of 
 Mack Gledhill; Clark; Harold; Carrie, who is 
 the wife of Orlo Charlton ; and Elizabeth, who 
 is the wife of Harry Middlebrook. Mr. and 
 Mrs. McMichael have three sons : Ralph Em- 
 mett, who was born March 17, 1900; Harold 
 
1042 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Glenn, who was born August 7, 1903 ; and 
 Maurice- Eldon, who was born June 7, 1906. - 
 
 C. F. FIKE,* one of the leading business 
 men of New Washington, conducting a 
 plumbing, heating and lighting establishment 
 and dealing in plumbing supplies, was born 
 in Seneca county, O., Jan. 31, 1879, and is a 
 son of David and Mary Fike, who now reside 
 at New Washington. 
 
 After his school days were over, C. F. Fike 
 made himself generally useful up to 1900, 
 when he came to New Washington and learned 
 his trade with S. J. Kible and remained with 
 that firm for ten years, when he started into 
 the plumbing business for himself with 
 Thomas Klein as partner, under the firm name 
 of Fike & Klein, which cpntinued from June 
 until January in the following year. Mr. 
 Fike then operated under the firm name of 
 C. F. Fike & Company in a general contract- 
 ing business with one helper, in the Bordner 
 Block until Nov. i, 191 1, when he secured his 
 present large quarters which are well situated 
 and equipped for the volume of business that 
 he commands. Mr. Fike has been a member 
 of the town council since January, 1912, a 
 good, reliable, dependable business man, but 
 is identified with no particular political party. 
 
 Mr. Fike married Miss Lydia Schwab, a 
 daughter of Christian and Sarah Schwab, 
 residents of Sulphur Springs, and they have 
 six children: Elsworth, Helen, Odeal, 
 Charles, Alice, and Ruth, the fourth in order 
 of birth, who died in infancy. Mr. Fike and 
 family are members of the Lutheran church. 
 The family residence is on East Main Street. 
 
 JOHN B. SHUMAKER, a retired farmer 
 residing in Gabon, was born in Polk town- 
 ship Crawford county, O., Jan. 11, 1841. His 
 parents were John and Lydia (Beltz) Shu- 
 maker, and he is a grandson of Jonas Shu- 
 maker, who at an early day came to this sec- 
 tion from Pennsylvania, making the journey 
 overland by team and accompanied by his 
 family.. This region was at that time entirely 
 uncultivated and the Wyandot Indians were 
 still residing here. For their meat supply the 
 family depended largely, if not entirely, upon 
 the wild game which fell before the pioneer's 
 rifle. Jonas Shumaker died when 85 years 
 
 old, living long enough to see many changes 
 and improvements in the county. His first 
 wife had died in early life, and he was twice 
 married subsequently. 
 
 John Shumaker, father of our subject, came 
 to Ohio with his parents in the early thirties 
 of the last century, and here, when arrived at 
 years of maturity he married Lydia Beltz, 
 beginning domestic life in Polk township. 
 He was not, however, destined to long enjoy 
 the fruits of his labors, as he died at the early 
 age of 23 years, when his only son, John B., 
 the subject of this sketch, was four months 
 old. 
 
 John B. Shumaker was reared on a farm in 
 Polk township. In addition to acquiring a 
 competent knowledge of agriculture, he became 
 a carpenter, but abandoned this latter trade 
 after following it for a few years. He pur- 
 chased his first land— a tract of 46 acres — in 
 Polk township, where he resided for some 
 years, or until the spring of 191 1, when he 
 retired from active labor and took up ' his 
 residence in Gallon. He owns land also in 
 W^hetstone township and has been successful in 
 his business and agricultural operations. A 
 Democrat in politics, he has held several local 
 offices. 
 
 He was first married in Defiance county, to 
 Catherine Dickerhoof, who was born in De- 
 fiance, O., June II, 1840. She died in Gallon 
 in 1903. She was a member of the German 
 Lutheran church. Of this marriage there 
 were four children born, namely: Belle, wife 
 of Allen Morrow, a farmer in Crawford 
 county; Clara, wife of Michael Bair, a farmer 
 of Bucyrus township; Mary, wife of Frank 
 Tracht, also a Crawford county farmer; and 
 Andy, who died unmarried when 26 years of 
 age. 
 
 July 21, 1904, Mr. Shumaker married for 
 his second wife, Jemima Kieffer, nee Beltz, 
 who was born in Polk township^ this county, 
 and was here reared and educated. By a 
 previous marriage to Charles Kieffer, now 
 deceased, she had a daughter, Cora, who mar- 
 ried and had a daughter, who is now Mrs. 
 Bessie Filsinger. They all reside in Toledo 
 and the Filsingers have a son, Levern. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Shumaker attend the Lutheran 
 church. They have many friends in Gallon 
 and elsewhere throughout the county and are 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1043. 
 
 people of substance and worth — good neigh- 
 bors and -faithful to their duties in life. 
 
 F. L.- KEMP, a leading citizen of Auburn 
 township, Crawford county, O., formerly a 
 justice of the peace for a period covered by 
 ten -years, resides on his valuable farm of io8 
 acres, which is situated in section 3, Auburn 
 township. He was born in Venice township, 
 Seneca county, O., May 3, 1859, a son of 
 Thomas and Elizabeth E. (Moor) Kemp. 
 
 Thomas Kemp was reared in Seneca county 
 and married there, the Moor family being 
 among the earliest settlers. Nine children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Kemp and two 
 sons saw service in the Civil War. F. L. 
 Kemp was the sixth born in the family and is 
 the only one living in Crawford county. 
 
 F. L. Kemp attended the district schools in 
 Seneca county and afterward the Normal 
 School at Ada, O., turning his' attention then 
 to teaching school, a profession he followed 
 more or less continuously for 25 years, in 
 Huron and Crawford counties. In 1885 he 
 came to. settle permanently in the latter county 
 and was married to Miss Clara West, who was 
 born on the present home farm in Auburn 
 township^ a daughter of H. A. and Ellen 
 West. H. A. West was born also on this farm, 
 a. son of, John .and Elizabeth (McFarland) 
 West, the former of. whom was born in Eng- 
 land and the latter in 'Scotland. Grandfather 
 West secured this, land and his deed, dated 
 Aug. 6, 1834, vvas signed by Andrew Jack- 
 son, President of the United States. He died 
 here but.- his widow survived until 1884 and 
 died in Richland county, O. Mrs. Kemp was 
 the .third born of her parents' five children 
 and is the only one living in Crawford county 
 at the present time. Mr. and Mrs. Kemp have 
 one son, Harry, who was born in Plymouth 
 township, Richland county, Oct. 13, 1888. 
 He has been . thoroughly educated and after 
 graduating from the Tiffin High School', took 
 a course in civil engineering at the Tri-State 
 College and then, located at 'Winchester, Ind., 
 where he follows his profession as civil en- 
 gineer. 
 
 Since locating on this farm, Mr. Kemp has 
 engaged in general agriculture and has done a 
 large amount, of improving. He has been a 
 lifelong Republican and has frequently been 
 
 called to public office by his fellow citizens. 
 He has served as a member of the school 
 board of Auburn township and in every way 
 has demonstrated his interest in his commu- 
 nity which is a part of good citizenship. 
 
 Vera De Vail, when nine. years old, was. 
 taken into the home of F. L. Kemp and was 
 reared as carefully as his own child. She was 
 educated in this township and is still regarded 
 as one of the Kemp family. She was born 
 Feb. II, 1895. She was a daughter of Joseph 
 and Jennie De Vail. 
 
 CURTIS J. BAKER, a prominent con- 
 tractor and builder at Gabon, O., is one of the 
 successful self-made men of this city and one 
 who commands the respect of the business 
 world and enjoys the esteem of. his fellow 
 citizens in general. He was born in Morrow 
 county, O., in May, 1866, and lost his par- 
 ents when 13 years of age. 
 
 An orphan has fewer early opportunities 
 than are afforded those in happier circum- 
 stances and while Curtis J. Baker had some 
 educational opportunities at Blooming Grove, 
 the necessity of earning his own living when 
 only a boy in years, greatly curtailed his 
 school attendance. On being questioned as to 
 the main element that contributed to his suc- 
 cess, he replied that when he had work to do 
 he did it well, from boyhood to manhood. 
 The terse reply explains the situation. For 
 eight years he worked to learn the building 
 trade, under M. B. Henderson, at Mt. Gilead, 
 and after coming to Gabon, in 1890, worked as 
 a journeyman for eight years more and then 
 went into the building and contracting busi-r 
 ness for himself. His good work inay be 
 pointed out in many parts of the city,' a "re- 
 cent handsome structure being the' Enquirer 
 building. He has erected many of the hand- 
 some private residences, built the Ebenezer 
 Methodist Episcopal church near Gabon and 
 at Crestline erected the Newman' block and the 
 parochial school and parish house. He erected 
 his own handsome modern residence which 
 stands at No. 336 South Market Street. 
 
 Mr. Baker was married at Bellville, in Rich- 
 land county, to Miss Ada A. Grogg, who was 
 born and educated in Morrow county', and 
 died at Gabon, March 12. 191 1, when aged 35; 
 years. She is survived by three sons : Fleet 
 
1044 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 L., Jay and Charles C. Mr. Baker was mar- 
 ried second to Miss Myrtle Faine, who was 
 born and reared in Crawford county. She is 
 a member of the Baptist church, but Mr. Baker 
 belongs to the United Brethren body. He is 
 a Democrat in politics. 
 
 MICHAEL UHL, who is manager of the 
 Uhl Hatchery, at New Washington, 0., and 
 widely known as a poultry raiser and fancier, 
 was born in Cranberry township, Crawford 
 county, July 30, 1871, and is a son of Jacob 
 and Margaret (Nedolast) Uhl. Jacob Uhl 
 came to New Washington in boyhood and his 
 four sons all live in this place. 
 
 Poultry raising has been a successful in- 
 dustry on the Uhl farm since Michael Uhl 
 was a boy. He is now associated with his 
 brothers, George and Lawrence, in the poultry 
 business which has assumed large proportions. 
 In 1900 the firm of Uhl Brothers started the 
 Uhl Hatchery in a small way, with one incu- 
 bator, while their present plant covers five 
 acres and has a 120,000 egg capacity in their 
 three buildings. On an average from 30,000 to 
 35,000 chickens are hatched a week, all pure 
 bred, of 18 different breeds and for these they 
 get fancy prices, sometimes $25 per hundred. 
 Chick shipments are made by express, in spe- 
 cially prepared boxes, and they begin about 
 Feb. ist of each year to cover their territory 
 which includes the New England states and as 
 far south as Tennessee and Kentucky and as 
 far west as Nebraska, their shipments closing 
 about the first of September. This enterprise 
 has been successful from the start and the busi- 
 ness is constantly growing. Michael Uhl lives 
 at the hatchery and employment is afforded 
 eight girls and seven men. 
 
 Mr. Uhl married Miss Mamie Strausbaugh, 
 a daughter of James and Eva Strausbaugh, 
 former residents of Tiffin, O., but now of New 
 Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Uhl have one 
 son, Robert. They are members of the Roman 
 Catholic church. 
 
 CHARLES EDLER, a retired farmer now 
 living quietly at Galion, O.. where he has very 
 comfortable surroundings and many warm 
 friends, was born near Heidelberg, Baden. Ger- 
 manv, June 24, 1830. a son of Martin and 
 Margaret (Shrake) Edler. 
 
 For many generations the ancestors of Mr. 
 Edler, lived and died in the province of Sins- 
 bein, Germany. There Martin Edler followed 
 mechanical pursuits during his active life, liv- 
 ing to the great age of 95 years. His wife 
 died when aged 53 years. Of their family of 
 nine sons and three daughters, but two sur- 
 vive : Charles and a daughter, the latter a resi- 
 dent of Germany. 
 
 Charles Edler was the second born of his 
 parents' children and attended school in his 
 own province and when 18 years of age, ful- 
 filled the law of the land by entering the Ger- 
 man army. When released from this patriotic 
 service, being then 21 years of age, he took 
 passage on a steamer to Havre, and from there 
 on a sailing vessel for America and 27 days 
 later ^^'as landed at the port of New York. 
 He came on to Crawford county, this being in 
 1852. Charles Edler secured farm work at 
 which he continued for four years and then 
 rented land for himself, subsequently pur- 
 chasing a tract in Whetstone township. Dur- 
 ing the Civil War he sold his Crawford county 
 land and bought 120 acres, situated in Tully 
 township, Marion county, on which he lived 
 for ten years and then returned to Crawford 
 county and bought 120 acres in Jefferson town- 
 ship. This land he greatly improved and still 
 owns, continuing his residence on it until 
 March, 1904, when he retired to Galion. Al- 
 though Mr. Edler has always been an inter- 
 ested citizen and law abiding in every partic- 
 ular, he has never desired public office, his 
 political activity being covered by his vote, cast 
 with the Republican party. He is one of the 
 leading members of the Lutheran church at 
 Galion. 
 
 On July 31, 1856, four years after reaching 
 Crawford county, Mr. Edler was married to 
 Miss Martha Beach, who was bom within 
 four miles of Galion, May 8, 1836, and has 
 spent her life in this part of the county. Her 
 parents, George and Mary (Zimmerneaker) 
 Beach, were natives of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ger- 
 many and came to the United States before 
 marriage, both locating in Richland county, 
 O., where they were subsequently married. 
 The father was a carpenter by trade and as- 
 sisted in the erection of many of the first frame 
 houses in Richland county. He also was a 
 coffin maker and on many occasions he would 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1045 
 
 carry the completed coffin on his back to the 
 house of bereavement. The Beach family ex- 
 perienced and overcame all the ordinary hard- 
 ships of pioneer life. The father died in 
 October, 1862, his birth having taken place in 
 February, 1812. When Mrs. Beach died in 
 1840, two children survived her: Mrs. Edler 
 and a son, John, who resides in Marion county. 
 Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Edler, three of whom died in infancy and one 
 daughter, Irena, at the age of 17 years. The 
 survivors are as follows : Amelia, who is the 
 wife of William Ricker, residing at Bucyrus; 
 Mary, who is the wife of Samuel Ickhorn, a 
 farmer living in this county, and has two 
 sons; Katie, who is the widow of Levi Smith, 
 who lives at Gallon and has one son ; Amqnda, 
 who is the wife of Henry Ise, and lives at 
 Newcastle, Pa. ; Edward, a resident of Gallon, 
 who has one son; George, who is a musician, 
 and with his two sons are leaders of a band at 
 Gallon; Maggie, who is the wife of William 
 Dickerhoof, and lives at Bucyrus, having 
 three children; and Karl, who resides with his 
 family, at Gallon. Mr. Edler has witnessed 
 many changes take place since he first came to 
 Crawford county and his recollections of early 
 days are very interesting. 
 
 JOSEPH PIFHER, whose fine farm of 
 135 acres is situated in section 6, Auburn town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., is one of the well 
 known citizens of this section and is a veteran 
 of the great Civil War. He was born in 
 Thompson township, Seneca county, O., Aug. 
 7, 1842, and is a son of Mathias and Otella 
 (Zenk) Pi f her. 
 
 The father of Mr. Pifher sold his farm of 
 20 acres in Seneca county and then bought 62 
 acres in Cranberry township, Crawford county, 
 which, at that time was all swamp and wood- 
 land. With the help of his son the father 
 cleared and improved the place and lived there 
 until his death, at the age of 86 years and three 
 months. He was a member of St. Mary's 
 Catholic church at North Auburn. The 
 mother of Mr. Pifher died in her 80th year and 
 she also was a faithful member of the Catholic 
 church. 
 
 Joseph Pifher did not have many advan- 
 tages in his youth as he was obliged to assist 
 his father and as soon as old enough he learned 
 
 the carpenter trade, mastering every detail so 
 that all kinds of carpenter work came easy to 
 him. He assisted to build the largest hotel at 
 New Washington, O., and continued to follow 
 his trade for 21 years. During the Civil War 
 he served almost one year as a member of Co. 
 F, 64th O. Vol. Inf. Mr. Pifher was ten 
 years old when his parents moved to Cranberry 
 township and he lived there until marriage, 
 since when he has resided on his present place 
 in Auburn township, and has made many im- 
 provements here. 
 
 Mr. Pifher was married Feb. 22, 1870, to 
 Miss Elizabeth Dewitt, who was born on the 
 present farm, a daughter of Alfred and Sarah 
 (Frey) Dewitt. The father of Mrs. Pifher 
 was of German extraction, while the mother 
 was born in Pennsylvania. She was a child 
 V, hen her parents moved to Ohio and spent the 
 remainder of her life here. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Pifher three children were born, namely : 
 Charles, who married Frances Forquer and 
 has had three children, two of whom survive 
 — Clarence and Grover — and who resides on 
 the home farm and assists his father; Rose, 
 who is the wife of Charles Mann; and Mary, 
 who is the wife of Peter Alt, who lives in Au- 
 burn township. Mr. Pifher and family are 
 members of St. Mary's Catholic church. He 
 is a good citzen and in every public matter 
 acts for the general welfare, but he casts an 
 independent vote. 
 
 GEORGE J. DIETRICH, deceased, was 
 born at Shippensburg, Pa., in 1837, a son of 
 Philip and Margaret Dietrich, who were na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania but of German ancestry. 
 They were good people and belonged to the 
 German Lutheran church. 
 
 George J. Dietrich was an only son but 
 there were two daughters, both of whom mar- 
 ried dukes. Mr. Dietrich grew to manhood 
 in his native section and about the close of the 
 Civil War, embarked in the hardware business 
 and continued until 1874, when he disposed of 
 it and came to Gallon. O. Here he established 
 the hardware store with which he was cout 
 nected for so many vears and in this city be- 
 came a well known citizen and successful busi- 
 ness man. acquiring valuable propertv in real 
 estate and securing the confidence of his fel- 
 low citizens. His death occurred March 7, 
 
1046 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1904. Although thoroughly in sympathy 
 with all public movements that meant progress 
 and reform and never failing to give support 
 to the Republican party, -he never consented to 
 accept any public office for himself. In his 
 fraternal connections he was a Mason and an 
 Odd Fellow.- 
 
 Mr. Dietrich was married at Shippensburg, 
 Pa., to Miss Josephine Boher, who was born, 
 reared and educated there, and is a daughter 
 of Samuel and Mary (Pague) Boher. The 
 parents of Mrs. Dietrich were of German ex- 
 traction but were born- in- Pennsylvania.-'" ^he 
 father was a coOper by trade* and for many 
 years conducted a large cooperage plant at 
 Shippensburg, where whisky and flour and oil 
 barrels were manufactured. He died in 1895, 
 when aged 78 years, his widow surviving 
 until 1904, when then being aged 81 years. 
 They attended the German Reformed church. 
 Mr. Boher was a Democrat. Of their 13 chil- 
 dren there are four sons and three daughters 
 living, Mrs. Dietrich being the only one, how- 
 ever, who resides in Ohio, her residence being 
 situated at No. 231 Boston Street, Gabon. 
 
 Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Dietrich, two of whom, Harry and Clarence, 
 died in early childhood. Mary, the eldest 
 daughter, is the wife of Harry W. Brown, a 
 commercial traveler, and they reside at Logan, 
 O., and have one son, Clarence Mert, who is 
 a registered pharmacist, a graduate of the 
 Ohio Southern University at Columbus. 
 Myrtle, who is the widow of Frank Dehn, lives 
 with her mother. Josephine is the wife of 
 William O'Neil, a hardware merchant of 
 Columbus, O. Mrs. Dietrich is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church as was Mr. 
 Dietrich. 
 
 JAMES WILLIAM MILLER,* a well 
 known member of the Bucyrus bar and for six 
 years secretary of the Bucyrus Loan and 
 Building Association, an important enterprise 
 of this section, was born at Bucyrus, Aug. 5, 
 1878, and has always maintained his home in 
 his native city. 
 
 The grandparents of Mr. Miller were Joseph 
 and Sarah (Henry) Miller, and while they 
 were of Scotch extraction they were born in 
 Londonderry, Ireland. They married and 
 lived there until 1844, when, with their three 
 
 children, they -crossed -the Atlantic Ocean to 
 Canada and established themselves in Strat- 
 ford, Ontario; and both died on their farm 
 there, the grandmother in 1895 ^"^ the grand- 
 father in 1905, he being then in his 92nd year. 
 They were members of the Presbyterian 
 church. They had six sons and three daugh- 
 ters born to them, some of whom still reside in 
 Canada, while others are residents of- the 
 United States. 
 
 John Robert Miller, the eldest son, was born 
 ip Ireland, Nov. 13, 1839, and was about eight 
 years old when his parents came to Canada, 
 where he grew to manhood and assisted his 
 father in farming and dealing in horses. As 
 his father's representative he came to Ohio 
 for .the purpose of buying horses to send-to 
 Canada, and on one of his numerous visits he 
 met Miss Mary E. McKinstry, who was then 
 a teacher at Bucyrus. She was born Jan. 28, 
 1849, in Marion county, O., and still survives, 
 residing at No. 856 South Sandusky Street, 
 Bucyrus, which city has been her home for 50 
 years. She is a daughter of James and Re- 
 becca (Garberson) McKinstry, the former of 
 whom was born in Pennsylvania, June 18, 
 181 r, and in 1831 came to Knox county, O. 
 He was of Scotch ancestry while his wife was 
 of German extraction. In 1861 they moved to 
 Bucyrus, where Mr. McKinstry died in 1902, 
 the death of his wife haVing occurred ih 
 1869. They were members of the Presby- 
 terian church. Three of their' children are yet 
 living, namely : Amanda, who is the wife of 
 T. F. Shotwell, who is an attorney at Detroit, 
 Mich. ; Mathew, who is in the real estate busi- 
 ness in Colorado, and who married Kaitherine 
 Mealer and has one daughter, Myrtle Amanda ; 
 and Mrs. Miller. On May 5, 1874, John R. 
 Miller was married to Mary E. McKinstry and 
 then came to Bucyrus to live, establishing hiin- 
 self in the lumber, carpenter and building 
 business. His death was caused by an acci- 
 dent, on Aug, 21, 1884, he being injured on 
 his father-in-law's farm by some Jersey cattle. 
 His children all survive. Gertrude, who was 
 born June 7, 1878, is the widow of Frank W. 
 Cory and resides at Cleveland, O. James 
 William is the second born. Sarah, who" was 
 born in December, 1880, married" G.''M. 
 Meridith, of Indiana, and he is now a book- 
 keeper with the American Clay Machinery 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 
 
 1047 
 
 Company, at Bucyrus. John Robert, Jr., who 
 was born May 23, 1884, is a civil engineer on 
 the West Division of the Ohio Central Rail- 
 road, with headquarters at Columbus. 
 
 After completing the High School course at 
 Bucyrus, James William Miller entered the 
 law department of the Ohio State University 
 at Columbus, where he was graduated in 1901 
 and was admitted to the Ohio bar. He has 
 been interested in the Bucyrus Loan and Build- 
 ing Association since its organization in Feb. 
 ^■uary, 1887. Its present officers are: W. F. 
 Earth, president; Frank L. Hopley, vice presi- 
 dent; George C. Gormley, treasurer; and 
 James .William Miller, secretary: The busi- 
 ness is capitalized at $200,000, and the com- 
 pany operates mainly in Crawford county. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married at Bucyrus to Miss 
 Edith Tapling, who was born June 23, 1880, 
 at Lindsay, England, and was two years old 
 when she was brought to Bucyrus by her par- 
 ents, Francis E. and Elizabeth (Rose) Tap- 
 ling. They reside at Bucyrus, the father be- 
 ing a carpenter by trade. Mrs. Miller grad- 
 uated from the Bucyrus High School in 1898 
 and was a successful and popular teacher pre- 
 vious to her marriage. They have one daugh- 
 ter, Elizabeth Mary, who wa:s born June ir, 
 1910. They are active members of the Pres- 
 byterian church. Mr. Miller belongs to the 
 Masonic Blue Lodge, Chapter and Council, at 
 Bucyrus, and for six years was secretary of 
 the Blue Lodge, and also is past chancellor of 
 Demas Lodge, No. 108, Knights of Pythias. 
 
 D. M. PEPPARD, one of the retired en- 
 gineers of the Pennsylvania system, residing 
 at Crestline, O., may be numbered with the 
 old railway men of the State as his connec- 
 tion with railroading began in 1853, about the 
 time the Pennsylvania Hne was completed to 
 this place, then known as the Ohio & Penn- 
 sylvania. He was born near Crestline, Dec. 
 25, 1834, and has always lived in or near this 
 city, a son of Francis and Mary A. (Morri- 
 son) Peppard. 
 
 Francis Peppard was born in- Pennsylvania 
 and in 1831 came to near Mansfield, O., where 
 he married Mary A. Morrison, who was of 
 Irish extraction, her people being pioneers in 
 Richland county. After marriage Mr. and 
 Mrs. Peppard lived mainly at Crestline, where 
 
 his death occurred when almost 78 years of 
 age, she having passed away at the early age of 
 36 years. They were of the Methodist faith, 
 worthy people in every relation of life. Their 
 family consisted of two sons and three daugh- 
 ters, all of whom survive, are married and 
 have families. 
 
 D. M. Peppard was the eldest born of his 
 parents' children and soon after his school 
 days in 1853 went to work in the yards of the 
 old Ohio & Pennsylvania Railroad; and in 
 1854 was made a fireman and in 1859 was 
 promoted to the position of engineer, first on 
 freight trains and after more experience, a 
 passenger engineer. From 1873 until 1882 
 he had charge of the round house at Crestline 
 and in the latter year .was promoted to be a 
 master mechanic, a position he filled until 1891, 
 having had charge of Division B of the Eastern 
 lines and control of the lines from Toledo to 
 Crestline. In 1892 he took an engine again 
 and continued until 1897, when he became an 
 engine shifter, which place of responsibility 
 he held until his age retirement, Sept. i, 1902. 
 In Feb. 1893, Mr. Peppard met with a serious 
 accident in a collision between Perrysville 
 and Leonardsville, resulting in injuries that 
 confined him to his home for seven months, 
 and this, with one other, were the only disas- 
 trous ones in his long career and neither were 
 because- of any lack of care or caution on his 
 part for he was known to have a thorough 
 knowledge of every signal used in the service 
 and to be unusually observant of every detail 
 of his work. 
 
 At Crestline Mr. Peppard was married to 
 Miss Maria A. Huffman, who was born in 
 Knox county, O. and was four years old 
 when her parents, Nathan and Electa (Par- 
 rott) Huffman, came to Crestline. Mr. Huff- 
 man was born in Ohio and his wife in New 
 Jersey. After marriage he engaged in work 
 at the blacksmith trade and engaged in farm- 
 ing. He was born in 18 1 3 and died at Crest- 
 line in 1870, while his widow survived until 
 1900. They were members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. Sixteen children were born 
 to them, Mrs. Peppard being the second in 
 order of birth, and ten of these grew to ma- 
 ture years, and eight married and have fam- 
 ilies of their own. 
 
 Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 
1048 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Peppard, as follows: Mary, who is the wife 
 of George Welshons, a farmer in Crawford 
 county and has two children; Kate, who mar- 
 ried E. West, who is connected with the Tube 
 Works at Shelby, 0., and has three children; 
 Frank, who died at the age of 26 years, sur- 
 vived by a widow and one child; William E., 
 a merchant at Marysville, O., who married 
 Lillian Gardner and has six children; Grant, 
 who resides with his wife and seven children 
 at Shelby, 0.; Edwin, who owns a claim on 
 which he resides, in Mexico; Harry, who died 
 as the result of an accident when 39 years of 
 age ; and Samuel, who is a house decorator and 
 still'lives with his parents. Mr. Peppard and 
 family are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. In politics he is a Republican but 
 has never accepted public office. He is a mei-n- 
 ber of the F. & A. M., at Crestline; and is a 
 charter member of Division No. 306, formerly 
 No. 8, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers 
 and in 1866 was a delegate to a convention of 
 this body. 
 
 RENO R. SEERY, general farmer and one 
 of the representative citizens of Lykens town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., who is operating 
 156 acres of land for his father, which is the 
 old homestead on which he was born June 2, 
 1872, and is a son of Jacob and Lavinia 
 (Coon) Seery. 
 
 Jacob Seery was born in Ross county, O., 
 and during his active life carried on farming. 
 He has always been a Republican in his polit- 
 ical views and a prominent man of his sec- 
 tion. He married Lavinia Coon, who was born 
 in Canada, and four children were born to 
 them : Alvaro, who is deceased ; D. B. ; L. M. 
 D., who is now deceased; and Reno R. 
 
 Reno R. Seery attended the public schools 
 in boyhood and before he took upon himself 
 his present responsibilities, traveled all through 
 the West, visiting points of interest and hav- 
 ing a very enjoyable pleasure trip. He is a 
 progressive, well informed agriculturist, suc- 
 cessfully cultivating the land and raising some 
 excellent stock. Sugar making is also one of 
 the farm industries, a fine grove of sugar 
 maples being on the fann. 
 
 Mr. Seery was married Sept. 18, 1894, to 
 Miss Caroline Heinlen, a daughter of Henry 
 and Elizabeth (Auck) Heinlen, who were sub- 
 stantial and respected people of Holmes town- 
 
 ship and parents of three children; Emanuel, 
 Clara and Caroline. To Mr. and Mrs. Seery 
 a son was born, Orlo Dale, who died when six 
 months old. They are members of the United 
 Brethren church. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican and has served several terms on the 
 school board. He is a member of the Grange 
 at Brokensword and of the K. O. T. M. at the 
 same place. 
 
 EDWIN G. BEAL, cashier of the First 
 National Bank of Bucyrus and an official who 
 has had much to do with the prosperity of this 
 institution was born near Bucyrus on his fa- 
 ther's farm Sept. i, 1876. He is a son of Ben- 
 jamin and Lydia (Rexroth) Beal both of 
 whom were members of prominent pioneer 
 families of this community. 
 
 Edwin G. Beal was graduated from the Bu- 
 cyrus High School in 1893. In the same year 
 he became assistant to his father in the office 
 of the Crawford county Farmer's Mutual Fire 
 Insurance Company of which company his 
 father was then secretary. Upon the death 
 of his father in March, 1898, he was appointed 
 secretary of this company which position he 
 filled acceptably until the end of the com- 
 pany's fiscal year. In 1896 he began his train- 
 ing in practical banking in the Second Na- 
 tional Bank of Bucyrus being made assist- 
 ant cashier of that institution in January, 
 1898. In September, 1898, he entered the 
 Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, O., 
 where he was graduated from the classical 
 course in 1901 with his A. B. degree. From 
 this institution he received the A. M. degree 
 in 1904. After his graduation from the Ohio 
 Wesleyan University he entered the senior 
 class of the Law School at Ohio State Uni- 
 versity in September, 1901, from which insti- 
 tution he was graduated in 1902 with the de- 
 gree of LL. B. In June, 1902, Mr. Beal was 
 admitted to the bar of Ohio. After complet- 
 ing his education he accepted a position with 
 the First National Bank of Bucyrus and con- 
 tinued until January, 1903, when he was elected 
 assistant cashier of the bank. In November, 
 1904, Mr. Beal was appointed cashier of the 
 same institution and has continued in this 
 important position ever since, being now also 
 a member of the Board of Directors of the 
 bank. 
 
 On Sept. 20, 191 1, Mr. Beal married Miss 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1049 
 
 Rachel Monnett, who was born at Bucyrus, 
 was graduated from the Bucyrus High School 
 and later from the Cincinnati School of Ora- 
 tory. Mrs. Beal is favorably known as an 
 elocutionist, having frequently appeared in 
 public and on many occasions has given en- 
 tertainments for charitable purposes. She is 
 a daughter of Abram C. and Jane (Walwork) 
 Monnett, a granddaughter of Col. William 
 Monnett and a great-granddaughter of Isaac 
 Monnett, who came to Crawford county in 
 1828. Since its establishment in Ohio the 
 Monnett family has been prominent in the af- 
 fairs of the communities in which they have 
 lived. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Beal are interested members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and both are 
 active and appreciated workers in the Sunday 
 School, Mr. Beal at present being its Super- 
 intendent. Mr. Beal is a member of the Phi 
 Kappa Psi college fraternity. Mrs. Beal is a 
 member of Hannah Crawford Chapter, 
 Daughters of the American Revolution. 
 
 E. C. ASSENHEIMER, merchant tailor, 
 one of the prosperous and representative busi- 
 ness men of Crestline, O., who established his 
 present store in 1906, has been connected with 
 tailoring interests here, however, since 1895. 
 He was born at Bucyrus, O., in 1872, and is a 
 son of Christian and Bertha (Marggraf) As- 
 senheimer. 
 
 Christian Assenheimer was born in the city 
 of New York, Aug. 12, 1834, his parents be- 
 ing Germans. As a young man he came to 
 Bucyrus and has ever since lived in Crawford 
 county, being now in his 78th year. He mar- 
 ried Bertha Marggraf, who was born in Ger- 
 many in 1838, but has spent the greater part 
 of her .life in Crawford county. They are 
 faithful members of the German Lutheran 
 church. Eight children were born to them, 
 seven of these still surviving. 
 
 E. C. Assenheimer was reared on a farm 
 and attended the public schools prior to learn- 
 ing his trade, at Crestline, after which he 
 worked at his trade and for three years was in 
 partnership in the merchant tailoring business 
 with Jacob Sutz. In igo6, Mr. Assenheimer 
 embarked in business for himself and has a 
 commodious store well situated, the dimen- 
 sions of which are 80x16 feet, on Railroad 
 
 Avenue. He carries a large stock of both 
 foreign and domestic goods and has every 
 facility for doing a first class business in his 
 line. He has a wide city acquaintance and 
 his patronage comes from the most fastidious 
 class. Like his father, Mr. Assenheimer has 
 always been a stanch Democrat. Mr. Assen- 
 heimer is unmarried. 
 
 JAMES B. GORMLY, president of the 
 First National Bank, of Bucyrus, O., and for 
 years identified with numerous very impor- 
 tant business enterprises of this section, has 
 been connected with this financial institution 
 since its organization, and has been at its head 
 for a period of 53 years. He was born at Bu- 
 cyrus, Nov. 23, 1836, and is a son of John A. 
 and Louisa (Bowman) Gormly. 
 
 John A. Gormly was born at Pittsburg, Pa., 
 July 19, 1804, a son of John and Elizabeth 
 (Gill) Gormly, the ancestry being Irish on the 
 paternal side and Scotch on the maternal. 
 John A. Gill, the maternal grandfather, 
 served in the War of the Revolution. In 1830 
 John A. Gormly removed from Pittsburg to 
 Brownsville, Pa., where he embarked and 
 continued in a mercantile business until 1836, 
 when he moved to Bucyrus and conducted a 
 store on Sandusky Avenue. He was a man 
 of excellent business perception and his fore- 
 sight was shown in his acquisition of much 
 property, both in the growing town and in 
 "the adjacent region, and in addition to his 
 subsequent holdings in city realty, he had 
 1,000 acres of land which became valuable for 
 farming purposes. He established one of the 
 earliest financial institutions here, founding 
 the Peoples' Deposit Bank, in 1859, in asso- 
 ciation with his son, James B. Gormly, and 
 continued the same until he found the time 
 ripe for still broader business dealings, and in 
 1864 organized the First National Bank of 
 Bucyrus. His business acumen and sterling 
 honesty contributed to the success of this in- 
 stitution as they had to his other undertak- 
 ings, and he continued at the head of this bank 
 until the time of his death, which occurred May 
 8, 1878. He was a ruling elder in the Pres- 
 byterian church and served in public capac- 
 ities at important conventions of this religious 
 body, both in Ohio and in other parts of the 
 country. In 1833 ^^ married Louisa Bowman, 
 
1050 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 who died Alay 6, 1872. They had three chil- 
 dren: James B., George C. and Mary L., the 
 last named becoming the wife of Rev. James 
 .G. D. Findley. 
 
 James B. Gormly was educated at Bucyrus 
 .and continued at school until he was 17 years 
 -of age,, when his uncle, James P. Bowman, 
 offered him a clerkship in his mercantile store, 
 and he remained there for one year. Later 
 he entered Bartlett's Commercial College, at 
 .Cincinnati, >vhere he wa.s graduated in 1856, 
 -and then became bookkeeper and teller of the 
 .Exchange Bank at Bucyrus, ^yhere he gained 
 .his first banking experience. ..He continued 
 ;thete .until. 1859, when he became asspciated 
 -with his father in . financial affairs, which, 
 .under careful and. conservative rnanagement, 
 developed into enterprises of vast importance. 
 .Mr. Gormly's name and activities .haye been 
 .of great value to many_other business con- 
 .cerns. He served for spme .years officially 
 with the Gas and Electric Light Company of 
 .Bucyrus and later .as president of the Bucyrus 
 Water Company; in 1893 was made and served 
 as assignee of the estate of the late Governor 
 .Foster, of Ohio;. from 1871 until 1875 was 
 .secretary and treasurer of the Ohio Central 
 Railroad Company ; and was one of the organ- 
 izers of what is now known as the American 
 -Clay \\'prking Machinery Company, of which 
 he also served as treasurer. In local affairs, 
 where the public welfare is a matter of con- 
 cern, Air. Gormly has never failed to per- 
 form a good citizen's duty, and has served on 
 many charitable boards and has liberally con- 
 tributed to benevolent movements. 
 
 In iSqg 'Sir. Gormly was married to Miss 
 E. A'^irginia Swingly, a daughter of Dr. Fred- 
 erick and Alary (Denman) Swingly, and two 
 daughters and one son have been born to 
 them : Ella K., who became the wife of F. S. 
 Monnett, of Columbus, O., a prominent public 
 man, once attorney-general of the state; 
 Susan E., who became the wife of W. H. 
 Pickering, a representati^'e business man of 
 Bucyrus; and James B., who is now deceased. 
 Mr. Gormly and family attend the Presby- 
 terian church and they are people of social im- 
 portance, not only at Bucyrus, but also at the 
 state capital and in other cities. 
 
 JAMES SO^^'ASH. general manager of 
 the Crestline Pump ^^■orks, very important 
 
 business enterprise of Crestline, O., one that is 
 well financed and ably officered, was born at 
 Mansfield, O., in the spring of 1872, where he 
 was educated. 
 
 Mr. Sowash has been in his present line of 
 business since he was 19 years of age and after 
 learning his trade was foreman for some years 
 for the Humphrey Company of Mansfield and 
 afterward, for seven years, was with the 
 Barnes Manufacturing Company of the same 
 city, coming from there to Crestline in 1903, 
 when the Crestline Pump W'orks business was 
 started. This company has officers as follows : 
 Judge Daniel Babst, president and a director; 
 Jacob Babst, treasurer and a director; John 
 H. Warden, secreta:ry; and James Sowash, 
 general manager. In addition Mr. Sowash 
 has been chief designer of all the pumps, 
 which include 250 varieties, manufactured by 
 this company. Additional directors of the 
 company are: J. W. Ross, who is also vice 
 president; Jacob Flowers, Abraham Seib, R. 
 M. Taylor, and John H. Warden, all men of 
 capital and high business standing. They 
 manufacture and handle as jobbers all water 
 supply goods and utensils and in addition to 
 manufacturing hand, power and spray pumps, 
 they cast sinks, traps, brackets, etc. The 
 plant is extensive, 135 pumps alone bfeing 
 turned out per day, and employment is af- 
 forded 65 skilled men. In advancing the in- 
 terests of his house, Air. Sowash displays 
 those • enterprising qualities which mark the 
 successful American business man all over the 
 eWorld. 
 
 Air. Sowash was married at Mansfield, O., to 
 Aliss Alice Burns, who was born and reared 
 there and their one son, Russell, now 16 years 
 of age, is a student in the Crestline High 
 School: Air. and Airs. Sowash are piembers 
 of the Presbyterian chtu-ch. Politically Air. 
 Sowash is a Republican and fraternally be- 
 longs to the order of Knights of Pythias, the 
 Blue Lodge at Crestline and Council and 
 Chapter at Alansfield. 
 
 ALBE MCE, vice president of the Home 
 Savings & Loan Company, at Gallon, C, of 
 which city he is a leading business man, was 
 born at French Creek, Lorain county, C Alay 
 22, 1840, and is a son of Husted and Hannah 
 Aloe and a descendant of an old French family 
 that came to the L'nited States very early, set- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1053 
 
 tling in Vermont before the Revolutionary 
 War. 
 
 Husted Moe was born in Genesee county, 
 N. Y., and was young in years when the fam- 
 ily settled in what was then the wilderness of 
 Lorain county, O. He engaged in farming 
 and later conducted a stage route hotel at 
 French Creek. His death occurred in 1850, 
 when aged about 45 years. He married Han- 
 nah Moe, who was born also in New York and 
 was a daughter of Isaac Moe, who engaged 
 in farming near French Creek. Both he and 
 wife lived into extreme old age. Mrs. Husted 
 Moe survived her husband for many years, be- 
 ing aged almost 89 years at the time of her 
 death. She was a devoted member of the 
 Baptist church. Of her five children four lived 
 to maturity and all married and had children. 
 
 Albe Moe was reared and attended school at 
 French Oreek. He and his older brother, 
 Perry Moe, who still survives and resides at 
 Cleveland, entered the Union Army in May, 
 1 861, the latter enlisting while Albe became a 
 teamster and after one year in the transporting 
 department, became team foreman in the com- 
 missary department and later was made as- 
 sistant superintendent of the horse corrals at 
 Washington, D. C. Mr. Moe has a record of 
 sending out more than 25,000 horses during 
 the time this important assisting office to the 
 efficiency of the Government was in his charge. 
 After the war was over he was tendered a posi- 
 tion in the quartermaster's department but by 
 that time he was tired of war and its trappings 
 and a home in the North, amid peaceful sur- 
 roundings appealed to him a:nd finally he locat- 
 ed at Gallon and for some years afterward was 
 in the restaurant business here. Afterward he 
 began to deal in real estate and carry insur- 
 ance risks and subsequently entered politics 
 and served in the city council in 1888-9. In 
 1890 he was appointed city appraiser and in 
 1892 was elected mayor; in 1894 was elected 
 county commissioner and served six years in 
 that ofiSce. In 1900 he was made, a member 
 of the city board of Review, a position he has 
 continued to fill, being remarkably well quali- 
 fied for the same. He was one of the organ- 
 izers of the Home Loan & Savings Company, 
 with a capital of $2,000,000, of which he is a 
 director and for the past 11 years has been 
 vice president. Mr. Moe has been exceedingly 
 
 active along many lines and has so conducted 
 his undertakings that they have been success- 
 ful. 
 
 At Gallon, O., Mr. Moe was married to 
 Miss Sarah C. Blosier, who has always lived in 
 Crawford county and is a daughter of David 
 and Leah (Rex) Blosier, who came from 
 Pennsylvania and settled in Vernon township, 
 Crawford county. One son, Ralph, was born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Moe, but he died early. Mr. 
 Moe is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 JACOB F. ROSS, one of the leading citi- 
 zens of Lykens township, Crawford county, 
 O., where his valuable farm of 119 acres is 
 situated, was born in this township, Sept. 4, 
 1 87 1, and is a son of Peter and Elizabeth 
 (Schimpf) Ross. 
 
 Peter Ross and wife were both born in 
 Germany and he yet survives and resides on 
 his farm in Lykens township. She passed 
 away in 191 1. They had the following 
 children born to them: Philip, who is de- 
 ceased; Jacob F. ; Charles; Matilda, who is 
 the wife of Chirstian Brown; Adam; Chris- 
 tian; Henry; and Martha, who is the wife 
 of Jacob Kalb. 
 
 Jacob F. Ross attended the district schools 
 when he was a boy and ever since then has 
 given a large part of his time to general farm- 
 ing, prior to his marriage working by the 
 month but since then has operated his own 
 land. He is a practical, industrious man, not 
 given to experimenting but rather keeping to 
 methods which he has proved to be sensible 
 and safe, and is recognized as one of the 
 successful agriculturists of this section. 
 
 In 1884, Mr. Ross was married to Miss 
 Anna Shafer, a daughter of Valentine and 
 Elizabeth (Schaaf) Shafer, formerly farm- 
 ing people in Chatfield township but now liv- 
 ing retired in Chatfield village. The parents 
 of Mrs. Ross had the following children: 
 Catherine; William Leonard; Mary, who was 
 married (first) to Benjamin Zucker, and 
 (second) to Daniel Koch; Anna, who became 
 Mrs. Ross; Sophia, who is the wife of Albert 
 Hartchue; Henry; Arlena, who is the wife 
 of Harrison Kibler; and Frank, George and 
 Harvey. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rotes have one daughter, 
 Marie. They are members of the Lutheran 
 
1054 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 church. In politics Mr. Ross is a Democrat 
 and has served as supervisor of Lykens 
 township. 
 
 REV. A. H. SCHRIENER, pastor of St. 
 Joseph's Roman CathoHc Church at Galion, 
 O., has been an active and earnest worker 
 in his present field for a number of years and 
 has been permitted to witness both spiritual 
 and material growth in his congregation as 
 a compensating result. Father Schriener was 
 scarcely i8 years of age when he entered St. 
 Mary's Seminary, at Cleveland, O., com- 
 pleting his classical course at St. John's Col- 
 lege, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 Father Schriener was appointed assistant 
 priest at St. Peter's, Cleveland, later was pas- 
 tor of the Immaculate Conception Church at 
 Port Clinton, Ottawa county, O., where he 
 remained two years and then had charge of 
 the Catholic church at Bowling Green, O., 
 for four and one-half years, coming from 
 there to Galion in January, 1899. St. Jo- 
 seph's German Roman Catholic Church or- 
 ganization is one of the oldest in the city, 
 having been founded in 1854 and ever since 
 has been administered to by a regular priest. 
 At present Father Schriener has a congrega- 
 tion of 500 souls and the flourishing parochial 
 school has 85 pupils. He is deeply beloved 
 by his own people and commands the respect 
 of the citizens of Galion, irrespective of 
 religious faith, who recognize his spiritual 
 influence and his zeal in the cause of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 WILLIAM W. BUCK,* chief clerk of a 
 division of the railway mail service, is a well 
 trained and experienced man in his line and 
 in January, 1905, was appointed chief clerk 
 of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne & Chicago 
 Division on the Pennsylvania road, his juris- 
 diction covering a wide territory, with office 
 at Crestline, O. He was born at Philadel- 
 phia, Pa., in February, 1855, where he was 
 reared and was graduated from the High 
 School. 
 
 In his native city Mr. Buck was appointed 
 a postal clerk, and has been in the Govern- 
 ment service for 23 years, serving with 
 efficiency in every department into which 
 he was promoted, his first run being between 
 
 Pittsburg and Chicago. The work of thci 
 Crestline office, as above stated, covers a 
 wide territory, there being 260 postal clerks 
 under its direction. When he was appointed 
 to his present position he succeeded W. L. 
 Poe, who became assistant superintendent 
 with headquarters at Cincinnati. Mr. Buck 
 has been very loyal to both employers and 
 comrades and is justly held in high esteem. 
 He is prominent in Masonry, belonging to 
 Blue Lodge, No. 2^2, at Crestline, and to 
 , Chapter No. 88 of this city, being treasurer 
 of both branches; belongs to the Command- 
 ery at Mansfield and the Shrine at Dayton. 
 
 In the city of Philadelphia, Mr. Buck was 
 married to Miss Sara K. Hayes, who was 
 born at Camden, N. J., and at that time was 
 a successful teacher in the public schools. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Buck have one daughter, Leah 
 M., who graduated in music from the Wes- 
 leyan University, at Delaware, O., in the class 
 of 19 1 2. Mr. Buck and family are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a 
 Republican in his political affiliation. 
 
 GEORGE J. STRAUCH, one of the rep- 
 resentative men in the hardware line at Crest- 
 line, O., a member of the firm of Strauch 
 Bros., the oldest hardware dealers in this city, 
 with commodious quarters on the corner of 
 Main and Seltzer Streets, was born in Rich- 
 land county, O., Aug. 19, 1862, a son of 
 Conrad and Elizabeth (Lippert) Strauch. 
 
 Christian Strauch, the grandfather, was 
 born in 1802 in Germany, and in 1848 came 
 to America with his family and settled in 
 what is now Crawford, then Richland county, 
 O., where he and wife died, about 1888, hav- 
 ing been farmers ever since coming to Ohio. 
 
 Conrad Strauch was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, and was 14 years of age when his 
 parents came to the United States and had 
 followed agricultural pursuits ever since. In 
 politics he is a Democrat and was reared in 
 the German Reformed faith. He married 
 Elizabeth Lippert, who was born and reared 
 in Ohio, of German parentage. They died of 
 cholera, in Auglaize county, O., when she 
 was two years old. Mrs. Strauch still sur- 
 vives, the mother of ten children, eight of 
 whom survive and seven of these have mar- 
 ried. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1055 
 
 George J. Strauch was two years old when 
 his parents came to Crawford county, where 
 he was reared and educated and later fol- 
 lowed the carpenter trade for 15 years, when 
 he went into the hardware business with his 
 brother, Michael Strauch. The latter is a 
 graduate of a business college at Ada, O., and 
 is bookkeeper for the present fimi and serv- 
 ing in his second term as city clerk. In 1892 
 George J. and Michael Strauch embarked in 
 their present business, succeeding a Mr. Frye, 
 which business was founded by Mr. Frengel 
 in 1862. They have commodious quarters, 
 their main store having dimensions of 160x22 
 feet and additionally have two warehouses 
 for storage and exhibition of buggies and 
 farm wagons. They carry a full line of 
 heavy and shelf hardware, tin roofing and do 
 gas and sanitary plumbing, carrying all sup- 
 plies. 
 
 George J. Strauch was married in Craw- 
 ford county to Miss Sarah E. Schwarer, who 
 was born in Vernon township, in 1864, a 
 daughter of Jacob Schwarer, and the follow- 
 ing children have been born to them : Estella, 
 who is the wife of Charles Pry and lives at 
 Crestline, having one son, Harold ; Erie E., 
 who was educated in the Crestline schools 
 and Wooster University, and who is a teacher 
 in the public schools ; Frank B., who is a 
 clerk for his father; Clarence J., a student 
 at Wooster University, who is agent for the 
 Cleveland Press, at Crestline; and Ruth, 
 Eleanor M., Alvin and Jacob, all at home. 
 Michael Strauch is unmarried. Both broth- 
 ers belong to the Knights of Pythias and 
 the latter also to the Elks. They are Demo- 
 crats politically and for some years George J. 
 has been a township trustee and a member 
 of the school board. In their various busi- 
 ness relations and in public ofifice, both men 
 command the respect and have the confidence 
 of their fellow citizens. 
 
 REV. G. M. SCHMITZ, first resident 
 pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church, at 
 North Auburn, Crawford county, O., was 
 born at Luftelberg, Germany, Sept. 13, 1880, 
 a son of Joseph and Margaret (Welter) 
 Schmitz. The parents of Father Schmitz 
 were born in Germany and the father died 
 there when his son was nine years old. The 
 
 mother came to America in igo6 and resides 
 with Father Schmitz at North Auburn. 
 
 St. Mary's Catholic Church, like other 
 congregations, was developed from a mission 
 and attained its present standing and impor- 
 tance through the zealous Christian efforts of 
 its priests and the generosity of its faithful 
 members. It was in the spring of 1879 that 
 the Catholics living in the neighborhood of 
 Waynesburg, O., called a meeting to en- 
 deavor to make some plans whereby services 
 could be held on Sunday and a Sunday-school 
 started nearer than New Washington, to reach 
 which place was often a tax on both sick and 
 well. The decision was to erect a suitable 
 building, hence arose a frame structure on a 
 corner of the old Faeth farm and from 1880- 
 81 Rev. Amadeus Dambach was pastor of 
 what was the beginning of St. Mary's Church. 
 He was called away in the summer of 1881 
 and the church was then made a mission of 
 the New Washington Church and from 1881 
 to 1888, Rev. Laurence Heiland administered 
 to the two congregations. The summer of 
 1888 brought Rev. George Vogt, who, while 
 serving as priest inaugurated many improve- 
 ments and it was during his term as pastor 
 that the church was frescoed and the stained 
 glass windows replaced the old plain glass 
 panes, Father Vogt donating one window and 
 Father Horstman another. In 1899 Rev. Vogt 
 left for a larger field and Rev. John Kunnert 
 took charge of the church at New Washington 
 and the mission of St. Mary's and during 
 his administration a basement was dug and 
 the building equipped with a furnace, the 
 roofs of both church and priest's house were 
 slated and the church tower, which had for- 
 merly been too high for safety, was somewhat 
 lowered. 
 
 On July 5, 1906, the members of St. Mary's 
 heard the welcome news that they were to 
 have a resident priest, a favor they had long 
 besought of the Bishop, and Rev. G. M. 
 Schmitz was sent and as been in charge ever 
 since. He met with a hearty reception from 
 the majority of his parish, although there 
 were a few who doubted, at that time, the 
 financial ability of the congregation to give 
 adequate support, but long since then all 
 these fears have been dispelled and the parish 
 is in an exceedingly prosperous condition. He 
 
1056 
 
 mSTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 has not only looked carefully after the spir- 
 itual welfare of his people but has been a 
 wise executive and the improvements that 
 have been brought about under his direction 
 and encouragement, have added greatly to 
 the value of the property. Under his foster- 
 ing care various church organizations have 
 become a part of St. Mary's life. The Chris- 
 tian Mother Society was canonically estab- 
 lished with the sanction of the Rt. Rev. 
 Bishop Horstman and a membership of 37 
 enrolled. In May, 1907, the young ladies 
 and young men of the parish were enrolled 
 into the Sodality of B. M. V. under the name 
 of St. Agnes Sodality and St. Aloysius 
 Sodality, respectively. At different times 
 eloquent members of the Catholic clergy have 
 visited the parish and have carried away 
 good reports. 
 
 Father Schmitz has about 60 families in 
 his parish and also supplies St. Anthony's 
 Church, which he organized three years since. 
 In connection with St. Mary's there is a 
 successful parochial school. The church owns 
 two and one-half acres of land, which is 
 conveniently located and on which stands 
 the church, the priest's house and the ceme- 
 tery. Father Schmitz is one of the younger 
 members of the Catholic clergy in this section 
 and is a man of scholarly attainments. He 
 was educated in Europe and completed his 
 theological studies at Washington, D. C, and 
 was ordained at Baltimore, Md., Dec. 17, 
 1904, by Cardinal Gibbons. Prior to coming 
 to St. Mary's' he was in charge at Cleve- 
 land, O. 
 
 BURT E. PLACE, general manager for 
 the firm of E. M. Freese & Co., Brick, Tile 
 and Fire Proofing machinery manufacturers 
 at Gallon, O., has been identified with this 
 concern for 23 consecutive years. He was 
 born Sept. 7, 1870, at Grand Rapids, Mich., 
 and is a son of Rev. Horace Place. The fam- 
 ily is of old New England stock and Rev. 
 Horace Place was born in Vermont. From 
 there, in early manhood he came to Ohio, 
 where he worked at the trade of cabinetmak- 
 ing and later became a preacher in the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal body, in which work he con- 
 tinued for 30 years, his death occurring at 
 Cleveland, O. He was married while in 
 
 charge of a church in Michigan, and his wife 
 died in Shelby county, O. Of their family 
 three yet survive. 
 
 Burt E. Place was educated at Bellevue, O., 
 and attended school also at other points where 
 his father was located. When he first entered 
 the business house with which he has ever 
 since been identified, it was in a minor posi- 
 tion and through ability, intelligence and 
 fidelity he has steadily advanced and not only 
 is indispensable to the firm of E. M. Freese 
 & Co., but is also interested in other business 
 enterprises which indicate his reliability as a 
 citizen and business man. He is vice presi- 
 dent of the First National Bank of Gallon 
 and a member of its board of directors. 
 
 Mr. Place was married at Plymouth, O., to 
 Miss Mabel Swope, and they have three chil- 
 dren: Lawrence, Margaret and Horace. The 
 eldest son is employed in the First National 
 Bank in this city. Mr. Place and family at- 
 tend the Methodist Episcopal church. He is 
 identified with a number of the leading frater- 
 nal organizations and belongs to committees 
 appointed to promote commercial progress, 
 and, with other leading men accepts the re- 
 sponsibility of citizenship along the line of 
 charity and benevolence. 
 
 BENJAMIN HEFFELFINGER, deceased, 
 was one of the early business men and prom- 
 inent and useful citizens of Crestline, O. He 
 was born in Washington township, Richland 
 county, O., Dec. 26, 1833, and died at his 
 home in Crestline, Dec. 30, 1908. He was a 
 son of Jacob and Esther (Lime) Heffelfinger. 
 
 Jacob Heffelfinger and wife were of Ger- 
 man ancestry and Pennsylvania parentage. 
 Soon after marriage, about 1820 they came 
 to Ohio and settled on wild land in Washing- 
 ton township, Richland county, securing 40 
 acres, and to the clearing, cultivating and im- 
 proving of this property, Jacob Heffelfinger 
 devoted his after life. He was an honest, 
 upright, industrious man, qualities which be- 
 long to his descendants. She lived to the age 
 of 72 years and he until about 78 years old, 
 both dying in the faith of the German Luth- 
 eran church. Of their eight children all sur- 
 vived to be about 70 years of age, with the 
 exception of one who died in his i6th year. 
 The one survivor, Jacob, Jr., a millwright 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1057 
 
 living at Brighton, la., has passed his 86th 
 birthday. 
 
 Benjamin Heffelfinger remained on the 
 home farm until 21 years of age and then 
 learned the trade of shingle maker. In April, 
 1 86 1, he embarked in the grocery business 
 on East Main Street, Crestline, where he con- 
 tinued for 30 years, during this period erect- 
 ing his own business house and investing in 
 other property, including five acres of valu- 
 able realty and owning a handsome residence 
 situated at No. 716 West Bucyrus Street, 
 where he spent the closing years of his life, 
 in comfortable retirement. He was identified 
 with many of the progressive movements that 
 contributed to the city's advancement, was 
 one of the early members of the city council 
 and for years served as treasurer of the school 
 board. In his political views he was a Dem- 
 ocrat. 
 
 Mr. Heffelfinger was 27 years old when he 
 was married, in Washington township, Rich- 
 land county, to Miss Mary E. Kerr, who was 
 born at Rensselaer, Jasper county, Ind., April 
 II, 1843, 3. daughter of John and Susan 
 (Piper) Kerr, natives of Richland county, of 
 Scotch-Irish extraction. They were married 
 in Ohio and in the thirties moved to Jasper 
 county, Ind., where they both died early, the 
 father of Mrs. Heffelfinger when aged but 
 36 years and his wife, when but 35. They 
 left one daughter and two sons, Thomas and 
 John, both of whom married and died when 
 aged about 66 years. 
 
 A family of eight children was born to Mr. 
 and Mts. Heffelfinger, namely: Melvin C, 
 who resides with wife and children at Bu- 
 cyrus; Martha J., who died at the age of 40 
 years, who was the wife of Henry Foltz and 
 was survived by four children; Elihu E., who 
 is a resident of Crestline and a conductor on 
 the Pennsylvania Railway; Charles A., who 
 is an engineer on the same road lives at Crest- 
 line and has a family of wife, son and three 
 daughters; Thomas D., who died at the age 
 of eight months; Lavina B., who is the wife 
 of John Cook, of Pensacola, Fla. ; and Dora 
 and Rosa, twins, who died near together, 
 when aged 19 months. Mrs. Heffelfinger 
 and family are members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. 
 
 HORACE J. SMITH, a leading citizen of 
 Lykens township, Crawford county, O., who 
 owns 160 acres of well situated land, which 
 he devotes to general agriculture, was born 
 in Holmes township, Crawford county, July 
 3, 1869, and is a son of John F. and Malinda 
 (Shupp) Smith. 
 
 John F. Smith and wife were born in 
 Crawford county, members of old families of 
 this section, and spent their lives here into 
 advanced years. Mr. Smith still resides in 
 Holmes township but his wife died in 1887. 
 They had the following children born to them : 
 Lulu, who is the wife of W. E. Pf etcher; 
 Laura, who is the wife of Wesley Lust; Hor- 
 ace J. ; Edith and Sylvanus, both of whom are 
 deceased; Leary, who is the wife of George 
 Lecrone; Lottie, who is the wife of Edward 
 Pfeifer; Celesta, who is the wife of Harry 
 Chester; and Lena, who is deceased. 
 
 Horace J. Smith attended the public schools 
 and remained at home giving his father assist- 
 ance on the farm until he was 22 years of 
 age, after which, for 14 years, he rented land 
 from his father. In 1908 he purchased his 
 present farm from his father and here suc- 
 cessfully engages in farming and raising some 
 excellent stock, not much more, however, that 
 he needs for himself. His surroundings show 
 thrift and good management, an interest in 
 public affairs, schools and good roads and the 
 presence of reading matter, go far to prove 
 the opening statement, that Mr. Smith is a 
 leading citizen in his community. He is a 
 member of the Grange at Brokensword, is 
 serving as school director, and for three con- 
 tinuous terms was a trustee of the township. 
 
 In 1 89 1, Mr. Smith was married to Miss 
 Ida C. Fralick, a daughter of David and Eliza- 
 beth (Hass) Fralick, one of the old families 
 of the county. Mrs. Smith died Feb. 29, 
 1912. The other members of her parents' 
 family were: Emma, wife of William Lah- 
 man; Benjamin; Elizabeth, wife of J. Shawk; 
 and Edward and Harrison. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Smith four children were born, namely: Al- 
 fred, Lula, Mabel and Alton. In politics Mr. 
 Smith is a Democrat. He and family attend 
 the Methodist Episcopal church at Broken- 
 sword. 
 
1058 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 DAVID H. CASSEL, a retired merchant 
 of Crestline, O., occupying a beautiful resi- 
 dence which is situated at No. 211 Pearl Street, 
 has made this place his continuous home for 
 the past 17 years and has been active in both 
 business and political circles. He was born 
 on his father's pioneer farm, in Sandusky 
 township, Crawford couity, O., Aug. 6, 1844, 
 and is a son of John and a grandson of Fred- 
 erick Cassel. 
 
 Frederick Cassel was of German parentage 
 but was bom in the United States, not far 
 from Pittsburg, Pa. He grew to manhood 
 there and married Sarah A. Steel, and late 
 in the thirties the family came to Richland 
 county, 0., settling in Springfield township 
 and both Frederick Cassel and wife died there, 
 in advanced years. They were members of 
 the Lutheran church. 
 
 John Cassel, son of Frederick and father 
 uf David H. Cassel, was the eldest born of 
 his parents' large family, his birth taking place 
 in Pennsylvania, in 1821 and he was in early 
 manhood when he accompanied his parents to 
 Ohio. He learned the carpenter trade under 
 John Stough, completing his apprenticeship 
 before he was 21 years old. The Stough fam- 
 ily came to Richland county at the same time 
 as the Cassel family and they became ac- 
 quainted while crossing the mountains and 
 settled on adjacent farms in Springfield town- 
 ship. The families prospered together and 
 both were well thought of in Springfield town- 
 ship, where the Stoughs also lived to be old 
 people. John Cassel married Sarah Stough 
 and continued to work at his trade in Rich- 
 land county until 1843 when he bought a farm 
 in Sandusky township, all of which was un- 
 cleared but se\'en acres and on which the only 
 improvement was a log cabin. Here the 
 Cassel family increased and thrived and the 
 parents lived into honored old age, passing 
 away with the neighborly esteem that their 
 kind and useful activities during life had won 
 for them. Ele\-en children were born to them 
 and all but one grew to maturity, nine of these 
 married and four sons and two daughters are 
 vet living. 
 
 David H. Cassel was the fourth child and 
 carlv became inured to hard work, his father 
 needing his almost constant assistance. As 
 opportunity afforded, he went to the^ district 
 
 -school, but had but meagre advantages. When 
 he secured work from neighboring farmers, 
 his wages were 25 cents a day and they were 
 well earned. In May, 1862, he left the farm 
 and came to Crestline and became an appren- 
 tice to the tinner's trade, with G. W^ Pierce, 
 receiving for his first year's work the sum of 
 ?35> $50 for the second year, and $75 for 
 the third year, this including his board. For 
 five years afterward he worked as a journey- 
 man and in 1871 embarked in business on his 
 own account and at that time established a 
 hardware store, which he continued until 
 1908, when he retired after a long and pros- 
 perous business career. A strong Democrat 
 all his life, he has been active in party move- 
 ments in the county and city and has served 
 as a member of the city council. 
 
 Mr. Cassel was married (first) at Upper 
 Sandusky, O., to Miss Maggie Cramer, who 
 was born in Seneca county, O. Her death 
 occurred in 1869, from the effects of a fire 
 which attacked the home. She was the mother 
 of two children, one of whom died in infancy, 
 the other being the wife of H. C. Cotner, of 
 Crestline, and they have one son, Robert, who 
 is a promising student in the public schools. 
 Mr. Cassel was married (second) in Richland 
 county, to Miss Maggie ^McGuire, who was a 
 teacher. They have two children: Daisy AL, 
 who is a graduate of the Crestline High 
 School; and Dotty D., who is the wife of E. 
 E. Meister, ^^•ho is connected with a large 
 mercantile firm at Columbus. Mrs. Cassel and 
 daughters are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. 
 
 GEORGE SXYDER, a retired business 
 man of Gallon, O., and one of the city's most 
 respected citizens, was born at Washington, 
 Pa., Feb. 7, 1835, and is a son of John M. 
 and Anna (Heist) Snyder. 
 
 John M. Synder was born at W'inkle, Hesse 
 Darmstadt, Germany, and his father had 
 sen-ed under the great Napoleon for six 
 years. In early manhood John 'SI. Snyder de- 
 cided to emigrate to America and after com- 
 pleting his trade of custom boot and shoe 
 maker, he joined his brother-in-law, George 
 Bower, who had established himself in Wash- 
 ington, Pa., in the blacksmith business. It 
 was while living at Washington that John M. 
 
AND REPRESE'NTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1059 
 
 Snyder was married to Anna Heist, who was 
 from his own German province, and they re- 
 mained at Washington until their son, George 
 Snyder, was one year old, when a family re- 
 moval was determined on, to what was then 
 the far West. Mr. Snyder and Mr. Bower 
 provided the heavy wagons and strong teams 
 that hauled the household goods over the hills 
 and mountains between Washington and Ga- 
 llon, O. They were disappointed in the ap- 
 pearance of the latter place, at that time only 
 a few scattered dwellings making up the ham- 
 let, and as an encouraging business point they 
 found it totally deficient. In considering 
 whether to choose Columbus or Mansfield for 
 a perinanent home, they tossed up a penny 
 and as Mansfield was indicated they started 
 on foot to have a view of the place before 
 moving their families. Apparently they were 
 satisfied with the appearance of that village 
 for they concluded to make it their home and 
 shortly afterward found employment and in 
 the course of time were well established in 
 their trades. George Bower lived to be 92 
 years old, grew wealthy and locally important. 
 Both Mr. Snyder and Mr. Bower were musical 
 and both were fine singers and their musical 
 gifts served to introduce them to the hos- 
 pitable people and for a long time no enter- 
 tainment at Mansfield or in the vicinity was 
 considered complete without their attendance 
 and songs. 
 
 After some years John M. Snyder and wife 
 moved on a farm in Congress township. Mor- 
 row county, O., and there they passed the 
 rest of their lives. The land was unimproved 
 when Mr. Snyder purchased it but persever- 
 ance and industry soon changed the wild land 
 into cultivated fields. They were devoted 
 members of the Reformed church and while 
 living at Mansfield, through Mr. Snyder's 
 efforts a church was built. He lived to the age 
 of 76 years and three months but his wife 
 passed away at the age of 64 years. They 
 were people who were well beloved, their 
 sympathy and kindness to every one arousing 
 affection and respect. They had four sons 
 and four daughters born to them and four 
 sons and one daughter still survive. 
 
 George Snyder was the second child of his 
 parents and was a babe when the family came 
 to Ohio and was 17 years old when removal 
 
 was made to Morrow county. Under his fa- 
 ther, who was a man of great skill in the 
 trade, he had learned to manufacture custom 
 boots and shoes, his father having made the 
 first pair of stitched boots ever used at Mans- 
 field. For some years George Snyder worked 
 at the trade and then was married, after which 
 he became a farm,er, continuing until Sept. i, 
 1865, when he came to Gallon and embarked 
 in the grocery business near the Public Square, 
 on West Main Street, and carried it on until 
 his sons had grown old enough to succeed 
 him and they still conduct it. Mr. Snyder 
 was one of the organizers of the old Hayes 
 National Bank and was its first president and 
 later its vice president. 
 
 In Morrow county, O., Mr. Snyder was 
 married to Miss Harriet Mitchell, who was 
 born near Iberia, O., Jan. 12, 1840. More 
 than 52 years have passed with their joys 
 and sorrows but the tie has never been severed 
 and on April 12, 1910 these good people cele- 
 brated their 50th anniversary, an occasion 
 long to be remembered with pleasure by all 
 who were permitted to attend. The follow- 
 ing children have been born to them; Frank 
 J., who conducts the grocery business which 
 was established by his father, and who mar- 
 ried Nina Wineland and has two daughters, 
 Naomi and Maud; Alonzo M., who gradu- 
 ated from Kenyon College and took first 
 honors in the class to which he belonged in 
 the Cincinnati Law College, and who is en- 
 gaged in practice at Cleveland, and is married, 
 having one son, Gaylord; Charles A., who 
 is superintendent of the iron works of Piatt 
 & Crady, at Hartford, Conn., and has two 
 sons, Russell G., who lives with his grand- 
 parents, and George Barry, who lives with 
 his father. 
 
 Mr. Snyder and his brother were both sol- 
 diers in the Civil War, Mr. Snyder serving 
 for 100 days. He has always been a patriotic 
 and useful citizen and in local affairs has been 
 continuously active, serving as a member of 
 the city council and as a member of the school 
 board for two terms, and when made the can- 
 didate of the Republican party for county 
 treasurer, ran far ahead of his ticket. He is 
 a member of the board of Review for the 
 county. Both he and wife attend the Presby- 
 terian church. He is a Mason of high de- 
 
1060 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 gree, a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter, 
 Council and Commandery at Mansfield and 
 the Shrine at Cleveland. 
 
 JOSEPH E. SUTTER, who is in the meat 
 and grocery trade at Crestline, O., located on 
 the corner of Bucyrus and Seltzer Streets, 
 a member of the firm of Sutter Bros., is one 
 of the enterprising young business men of this 
 city. Both he and brother. Otto Sutter, who 
 is his partner, are natives of Vernon town- 
 ship, Crawford county, and there he was born 
 June 29, 1885. The parents are Joseph F. 
 and Theresa (Becker) Sutter. 
 
 Joseph F. Sutter was born at Crestline, O., 
 in 1856 and has been a farmer all his life. 
 His people came from Switzerland and died 
 in old age in Crawford county. Joseph F. 
 Sutter was married in Shelby county, O., to 
 Theresa Becker, who was born in Bohemia, 
 Germany, in 1858, and was five years old 
 when her parents came to Ohio and spent the 
 rest of their lives in Shelby county. Nine 
 children were born to Jacob F. Sutter and 
 wife, Joseph E. being the fourth in order of 
 birth, all surviving with one exception: Al- 
 bert, Susanna, Joseph E., Dorothy, Otto, 
 Herman, Olivia and Henrietta, and Alfonso, 
 who died at the age of 18 months. 
 
 The firm of Sutter Bros, has been operating 
 at Crestline since 1910, the partners purchas- 
 ing their present store and market from W. 
 D. Cover. Through a careful study of the 
 demands of their patrons, through honest and 
 courteous dealings and the handling of su- 
 perior stock only, this firm has been success- 
 ful from the beginning and occupies a recog- 
 nized position in commercial circles here. 
 
 At Crestline, O., Mr. Sutter was married 
 to Miss Agnes Link, who was bom at Gallon, 
 April 13, 1886 and was educated at Dayton 
 and Crestline. Her father, John Link was 
 born in Montgomery county, O., and for 
 many years has been in the meat business at 
 Crestline. He married Anna M. Rock, who 
 was born in Germany and came alone to the 
 United States, when 19 years of age. Both 
 families are members of the German Roman 
 Catholic Church. 
 
 JOHN H. ZIMMERMAN,* a well known 
 business man at Gallon, O., his hardware and 
 
 plumbing establishment being located at No. 
 218 East Main Street, was born at Williams- 
 burg, New York, in December, 1855, and is 
 a son of John A. and Anna M. (Miller) Zim- 
 merman. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Zimmerman were born 
 in Baden, Germany, and both came to Amer- 
 ica in 1850, and were married in the State 
 of New York. After they came from there 
 to Gallon, O., the father followed his trade 
 of cabinetmaker with the Big Four Railroad 
 and for other firms. He was a careful, re- 
 liable and skilled workman. Both he and wife 
 lived to be 81 years of age, and they both 
 were members of the Lutheran church. Of 
 their four children, three survive and \ll live 
 at Gallon. 
 
 John H. Zimmerman was one year old when 
 his parents came to Gallon and here he was 
 reared and attended school. He served his 
 apprenticeship to his trade of tinner and 
 plumber and for several years worked as a 
 journeyman but otherwise has always resided 
 in this city. In i8gi he established himself 
 as a plumber and tinner and three years later, 
 admitted F. H. Eise as a partner and at the 
 same time added a hardware department, and 
 for II years a prosperous business was car- 
 ried on under the firm style of Zimmerman & 
 Eise, since when Mr. Zimmerman has been 
 sole proprietor and former conditions con- 
 tinue. 
 
 Mr. Zimmerman is a well known Mason, 
 belonging to the Blue Lodge and Council at 
 Gallon and the Chapter and Commandery at 
 Mansfield. He is identified also with the 
 Knights of Pythias and the Elks and is a 
 member of the Country Club. Politically he 
 is a Democrat. He has never married. 
 
 JACOB R. BISHOP, an enterprising and 
 successful farmer and stock raiser, owns a 
 large body of valuable land, resides in section 
 15, Cranberry township, his property border- 
 ing the southeast side of the corporation limits 
 of New Washington, O. He was born in 
 Peru township, Huron county, O., Feb. 11, 
 i860, and is a son of Arsaineus and Theresa 
 Bishop, natives of Huron county and both 
 now deceased. 
 
 After his marriage in 1891, Mr. Bishop 
 bought yj) acres in Cranberry township. Craw- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1061 
 
 ford county, of the Springer heirs, paying fifty 
 dollars an acre for the same. It was good land 
 but was not improved to please Mr. Bishop 
 who immediately began his own improve- 
 ments, including a system of drainage, in 1903 
 erecting a new barn, with other structures, and 
 the entire remodeling of the house which had 
 been erected in 1858. Mr. Bishop, in 1905, 
 bought "jy acres, from his father-in-law, 
 George Miller, a well improved body of land 
 adjoining his other farm on the west. All of 
 it had been cleared by Mr. Miller with the ex- 
 ception of eight acres of maple grove and 
 every year a large quantity of maple sugar is 
 made on the place. Mr. Bishop raises grain, 
 especially wheat, having at the present date 
 of writing 17 acres of as fine wheat as can be 
 found in Cranberry township, and has a large 
 acreage in hay. He also raises cattle, horses 
 and hogs, disposing of $800 worth of the lat- 
 ter every year. A large number of fowls are 
 produced here yearly also, Mrs. Bishop taking 
 just pride in her Barred Plymouth Rocks and 
 White Orphingtons, thorough-bred stock. She 
 sells eggs to the Uhl Hatchery Company, of 
 New Washington, O., and has made this an 
 important feature of the farm industries. 
 
 Mr. Bishop was married Jan. 27, 1891, to 
 Miss Mary Miller, who was born in Cranberry 
 township, north of New Washington, O., a 
 daughter of George and Margaret (Heydinger) 
 Miller. George Miller was bom in Germany, 
 Feb. 2, 1835, and came to Crawford county and 
 settled one-half mile north of New Washing- 
 ton, where he lived for four years and then 
 bought a farm south of that place and there 
 built a brick house for hotel purposes in 1871, 
 naming it the Washington House, which he 
 conducted for 20 years, then retired and now 
 lives at Chicago, III. His wife, Margaret Hey- 
 dinger, was born in France, a daughter of 
 John Adam Heydinger, who probably came to 
 New Washington in 1835. She was one of 
 three children : John, Margaret and Mary, the 
 brother marrying Mary Gulong, and the sister, 
 Frank Wechter. Mrs. Miller died July 7, 
 1905, and her burial was in the Catholic cem- 
 etery at New Washington. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Miller the following children were born : Mary, 
 who married Jacob R. Bishop; John R., who is 
 manager of the Miller Department Store at 
 New Washington; Catherine, who is the wife 
 
 of Matthew Burger, residing east of New 
 Washington; Ignatius, who lives in Cranberry 
 township; Rosa, who lives at Chicago, 111.; 
 Adam, who is interested at New Washington 
 in the Miller Merchandise Company, and who 
 married Amelia Burger; Cecelia, who is mar- 
 ried and lives in the city of Chicago; and Til- 
 lie, who is the wife of George Schmidt, of 
 New Washington. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have two children : 
 Verona and Otto, the latter of whom is a stu- 
 dent in the New Washington High School. 
 The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bishop is tal- 
 ented in music and devotes a part of her leisure 
 time to teaching music. She graduated from 
 the New Washington High School when only 
 16 years of age and afterward attended col- 
 lege for one year at Tiffin, O. She then taught 
 school for two years and at present is book- 
 keeper for the Uhl Hatchery Company. Mr. 
 Bishop and family are members of St. Ber- 
 nard's Catholic church at New Washington. 
 Mr. Bishop votes with the Democratic party 
 but is not unduly active in politics and has 
 never accepted any public oflfice except that of 
 road supervisor, in which he served two terms. 
 
 JOHN F. MORKEL, who justly claims the 
 distinction of being the oldest grocer, in point 
 of service, doing business at Crestline, O., es- 
 tablished himself here in 1887 and has con- 
 tinued uninterruptedly ever since. He was 
 born in Crawford county, one mile west of 
 Crestline, Dec. 7, 1853, and is a son of Chris- 
 tian and a grandson of Peter Morkel. 
 
 About 1829 or 1830, grandfather Morkel 
 and family came from Germany to the United 
 States and located in Franklin county, Pa., and 
 from there, in 1832, started for Crawford 
 county, O. The means of transportation was 
 a wagon, drawn by a blind horse, and naturally 
 but slow progress was made over the moun- 
 tains and through uncleared lands, dense tim- 
 ber tracts and unbridged streams, and it took 
 many weeks for the pioneers to reach their 
 proposed home. They settled on virgin land, 
 in what was called the wind fall, and there a 
 log cabin was erected and life was begun 
 anew. Many Indians were visitors to this 
 section, attracted by the abundance of wild 
 game and the pioneers soon learned wood 
 craft from them and in the early days partly 
 
imi 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 sustained life by hunting, trapping and fish- 
 ing. A valuable farm w as developed through 
 jjersevering labor and Peter Morkel and wife 
 l!\"ed long enough to enjoy peace and comfort 
 in their last days. 
 
 Christian Morkel, son of Peter and father 
 of John F. Morkel. was born in Hesse Darm- 
 stadt, Germany, July i8, 1823, the eldest of 
 seven children, and died in Richland county, 
 O., in Febraury, 1906, when aged 83 years. 
 He learned the trade of wagonmaker and was 
 able to construct an entire wagon from the 
 cutting down of the tree to its completion as 
 a useful vehicle, and in addition owned and 
 operated a saw mill and engaged in farming. 
 He spent his closing years in Richland county, 
 near Crestline, a man widely known and very 
 highly respected. In Crawford county he mar- 
 ried Mary Ann Purkey, who was bom in Lan- 
 caster county. Pa., Dec. 10, 1835, and was 
 brought to Crawford county by her parents 
 in the forties, they settling also in the wind 
 fall, where her father followed farming. She 
 died April 30, 1898, in Richland county. She 
 was reared in the German Reformed faith but 
 after marriage united with her husband's 
 church, the German Lutheran. Thirteen chil- 
 dren were bom to this marriage, twelve of 
 whom reached maturity, ten of whom mar- 
 ried and all these survive. 
 
 John F. Morkel was the eldest bom of his 
 l^arents' children and was reared and educated 
 in his native county about two miles east of 
 Crestline. After some years on the farm he 
 learned the blacksmith trade at Mansfield and 
 for two years followed the same in Delaware 
 county and then came to Crawford county on 
 a farm for seven years, and then came to 
 Crestline and embarked in the grocery busi- 
 ness, for the first eleven years being located 
 on Main Street and since then has occupied 
 his commodious store, with dimensions of 
 22x67 f^ct, on the corner of Crestline and 
 Bucyrus Streets. He carries a full line of 
 staple goods and all fancy goods for which 
 there is a demand, and does a safe and satis- 
 factory business being able to meet all com- 
 petition without recourse to any questionable 
 methods. He is one of the reliable and rep- 
 resentative business men of the city. 
 
 Mr. Morkel was married at Massilon, C, to 
 ^fiss Helen Mathien who was born in A\'ayne 
 
 county, July 8, 1853, and was there reared and 
 educated. Mr. and Mrs. Morkel have three 
 children: Edith Dora, who is the wife of 
 Lewis Smith, a Pennsylvania Railroad en- 
 gineer residing at Crestline, and has one son, 
 Neil; Clarence Lee, who lives at Galion, and 
 who married Daisy Snyder, who died when 
 their daughter Ruth was eight days old; and 
 Estelle May, who is the wife of Howard 
 Ackerman, of Mansfield, and has one son, 
 Franklin Kenneth. Mr. Morkel and family 
 attend the Lutheran church. In politics Mr. 
 Morkel is a Democrat and he has been active 
 and useful as a citizen, serving for nine years 
 as a member of the school board and serving 
 also on the water works board. He is prom- 
 inent in Ohio Masonry, belonging to the Blue 
 Lodge and Chapter at Crestline and the Council 
 at Mansfield and serving officially at different 
 times. 
 
 RICHARD HOLCKER, senior member of 
 the firm of Richard and Herman Holcker, suc- 
 cessful hardware merchants and represent- 
 ative business men of Crestline, O., was born 
 in Germany, Oct. 26, 1866, and is a son of 
 George and Elizabeth (Huebsch) Holcker. 
 His brother, Herman Holcker, the younger 
 member of the firm, was born in 1868, also in 
 Bavaria, and there the brothers grew to man- 
 hood and both learned trades, the older becom- 
 ing a machinist and the younger a carriage- 
 smith. 
 
 The parents, George Holcker and wife, were 
 born and reared in the same Rhine province 
 and married there and for many years Mr. 
 Holcker followed the machinist trade. In 
 1901 he and wife came to America and joined 
 their children at Crestline, O., where the 
 father of Richard and Herman Holcker died in 
 Februarv, 1912, when aged 75 years, having 
 lived retired after reaching this city. His 
 widow, now in her 73rd year, resides with her 
 children at Crestline. They had ten children 
 and all came to the United States and all but 
 one, to Crawford county, O. and all married 
 but two. 
 
 The hardware business now conducted by 
 the firm of Holcker Brothers, is one of the 
 old established ones of Crestline, having been 
 founded about 60 years ago, on the comer of 
 Seltzer and Main Streets. The present firm, in 
 
THOMAS S. KENNEDY 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1065 
 
 1892, succeeded Jacob Sosenheimer, and a 
 large business has been built up here, an im- 
 mense stock of goods being carried, including 
 all kinds of hardware, tin roofing and farm 
 implements. Business honesty is the watch- 
 word of this firm and it has proved good policy. 
 
 Both members of the above firm have mar- 
 married and each household has children. 
 Richard Holcker was married at Crestline to 
 Miss Catherine (Gehrisch), who was born in 
 Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, in 1874, and was 
 18 years of age when she came to Crestline. 
 She is a member of the German Lutheran 
 church. One child has been born to Richard 
 Holcker and wife, Frederick, who is two years 
 old. 
 
 Herman Holcker was married at Crestline to 
 Miss Ida Eckstein who was born, reared and 
 educated here. They have one son and one 
 daughter: Albert G., born March 31, 1896, 
 who is a student in the Crestline High School ; 
 and Martha, who was born June 19, 1900. 
 Mr. Holcker and wife are members of the Ger- 
 man Reformed church. In politics both broth- 
 ers are nominally Democrats, but with inde- 
 pendent tendencies. Both brothers are identi- 
 fied with the order of Macabees and both are 
 stockholders in many of the successful local 
 industries of the city, while Richard is also a 
 director of the First National Bank.- 
 
 HORACE ANGENE, one of the represent- 
 ative citizens and large tax payers of Craw- 
 ford county, O., was born in Lykens township, 
 June 2, 1861, and is a son of Jacob and Louisa 
 (Barrett) Angene. The father is now deceased. 
 He was a native of Germany and after coming 
 to Ohio engaged in farming. The mother, 
 who is now in her 73rd year, resides in Lykens 
 township. They had two sons : Horace and 
 Albert. 
 
 Horace Angene obtained an excellent public 
 school education and then attended the Nor- 
 mal School at Lebanon, O., for one term, and 
 before settling down to agricultural pursuits, 
 taught five terms of school. Although he was 
 entirely successful as an educator, he had de- 
 termined on an agricultural life and ever since 
 has devoted his attention to general farming 
 and stock raising. He owns 370 acres of fine 
 land situated in Crawford county and a body 
 of 1840 acres, situated in Texas. 
 
 In 1883, -Mr. Angene was married to Miss 
 Sarah Kalb, a daughter of Jacob and Mary 
 Kalb, substantial farming people in Chatfield 
 township. Mrs. Angene has two brothers: 
 Daniel and Emanuel. Four children have been 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Angene: Orestus, who 
 married Mabel Meek ; and Sylvanus, Anita and 
 Amy. Mr. Angene and family attend the 
 Pietist church at Chatfield. In politics a life- 
 long Democrat, Mr. Angene has frequently 
 been elected to public offices, in which men of 
 high personal standing and education are re- 
 quired, and he has served on the school board 
 and also as a justice of the peace. 
 
 THOMAS S. KENNEDY, who is one of 
 Crawford county's leading citizens and sub- 
 stantial and representative men, resides on one 
 of his farms in Dallas township, containing 280 
 acres, and owns a second one, comprising 80 
 acres. Additionally he has 175 acres in Ma- 
 rion county, and 139 acres in Trumbull county, 
 and is one of the stockholders in the Farmers 
 and Citizens Bank of Bucyrus. Mr. Kennedy 
 was born in Tully township, Marion county, 
 O., Oct. 23, 1848, and is a son of William and 
 Margaret (Shank) Kennedy. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kennedy were born in 
 Pennsylvania and both died in Marion county, 
 O. They came to Ohio when young and were 
 reared and educated here and later married 
 and settled down to an agricultural life in 
 Marion county. The mother was a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and they were 
 respected and esteemed in the section which 
 was their home for many years. They were 
 parents of a large family. After the mother 
 of Mr. Kennedy died the father married 
 Mary A. Lance and they had one daughter 
 born to them, Samira, who is the wife of Ells- 
 worth J. Jones. Thomas S. Kennedy was the 
 third born of his father's first family, the 
 others being: Nancy, who died aged three 
 years: Lydia Jane, who is the widow of Sam- 
 uel Baker; Martha, deceased, who was the wife 
 of George Watts ; James William : Emma, who 
 is the wife of Madison Roberts, Anzila, who is 
 the wife of George Watts: and Margaret 
 Ellen, who is the wife of John Hill. The 
 paternal grandparents of the above children 
 were Thomas and Nancy Kenedv, and the 
 maternal were Jacob and Lydia Shank. 
 
1066 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Thomas S. Kennedy attended the district 
 schools in boyhood and improved his opportu- 
 nities so that afterward he taught a term of 
 school in Marion county. He found, how- 
 ever, that his natural inclinations led more in 
 the direction of an agricultural life and there- . 
 fore became a farmer, in which line of activity 
 he has continued and has been exceedingly 
 successful. In 1882 he bought the farm on 
 which he lives, from J. George Heinlen, and 
 this land as all the other that he owns has been 
 improved and brought to a high productive, 
 state. 
 
 In 1874 Mr. Kennedy was married to Miss 
 Esther F. Monnette, a daughter of Thomas 
 and Esther Ann (Gulp) Monnette. The par- 
 ents of Mrs. Kennedy were early settlers and 
 for many years prominent people of Marion 
 county. Mrs. Kennedy has but one sister: 
 Vansanelia, who is the wife of G. W. Sipe. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy the following chil- 
 dren have been born : Mervin, assistant cashier 
 of The Farmers & Citizens Bank, at Bucyrus, 
 who married Juna Ethel Newland, and has 
 had three children — Evelyn Lucile, Frances 
 Bernice and an infant, deceased; William, a 
 farmer in Marion county, O., who married 
 Mary Mertie Heinlen, and the following chil- 
 dren were born to them — Flossie Marie, an in- 
 fant, deceased; Clarence Eugene, Harold 
 Stephen, Melvin Oben, Mabel Mertie and an 
 unnamed infant; Otho W., city solicitor of 
 Bucyrus, O., who married Edna Burke ; Orarige 
 D., a farmer in Marion county, who married 
 Blanche Fink, and has the following children 
 — Milford, Almeda, Vancenella Catherine; 
 Myron G., who is in the drug business at Niks, 
 Trumbull county, 0., who married Daisy 
 Knowles, and has the following children — 
 James Thomas, Marion Elizabeth and Richard 
 Knowles; Amy Elva, who married Samuel 
 Stump, a farmer in Whetstone township; 
 James Corbin, a farmer in Trumbull county, 
 who married Eleanora Culler, of Indiana, and 
 has three children — Myron Samuel, George 
 William and Pauline Esther; Olive Edna, who 
 is a member of the class of 19 13, at college, at 
 Ada, O. ; Ralph C, who is a student at Fort 
 Wayne, Ind. ; Myrtle Flossie, who is a student 
 at Ada; Almet E., who lives at home; and 
 Jay Monnette, who died at the age of two 
 years. This is one of the representative fam- 
 
 ilies of Crawford county, not only in numbers 
 but in intelligence and business capacity. Mr. 
 Kennedy and his sons are Democrats in their 
 political allegiance and are deeply interested in 
 public affairs at the present time of writing 
 (1912). Mr. Kennedy has served on the 
 township school board, of which he has been 
 clerk and has been land appraiser for one term 
 and also trustee. Both he and wife were 
 reared in the Methodist faith and in this church 
 their children also have received their religious 
 instruction. 
 
 AUGUST MARQUART, one of the well 
 known citizens of Crawford county, O., own- 
 ing 238 acres of valuable land in section 12, 
 Cranberry. township, has been a member of the 
 school board for four years and during three 
 of these has been its president. He was born 
 in Cranberry township, one mile north of the 
 old homestead of Michael Marquart, July 31, 
 1856. 
 
 August Marquart obtained his education in 
 the public schools of Cranberry township and 
 has devoted many years to agricultural pur- 
 suits. The farm located three-fourth miles 
 from New Washington, on which he lives, 
 contains seventy-eight acres. He also owns 80 
 acres which he purchased from A. G. Lederer, 
 this being previously the Anderson farm and 
 he has also bought the Rapp farm of 80 acres. 
 His home farm was formerly owned by Daniel 
 Uhl. All this land Mr. Marquart has im- 
 proved as he has thought desirable and has 
 lived on the 78-acre farm since Oct. i, 1880. 
 He carries on a general farming line and also 
 raises hogs, sheep and Durham cattle, all 
 good stock, and his methods are those which 
 experience has taught him to be most satis- 
 factory. 
 
 Mr. Marquart married Miss Mary Jane Til- 
 ton, who was born in Cranberry township, a 
 daughter of Arthur Tilton, and they have 
 seven children, namely: Ida, Minnie, Elmer, 
 Ora, Emma, Arthur and Lilly. All have been 
 given educational and other advantages. The 
 family belongs to the Lutheran church. Mr. 
 Marquart is not bound by politics to any partic- 
 ular party, preferring to use his own judg- 
 ment as to the worthiness of candidates when 
 he casts his vote. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1067 
 
 HON. FRANK MILLER, whose prom- 
 inence and usefulness both in public life and in 
 business affairs justifies the assertion that he 
 is one of the leading men of Crawford county, 
 O., served with distinction for five years in the 
 Ohio State Legislature, and from 1896 until 
 1900, was mayor of the city of Crestline, dur- 
 ing which period municipal growth and prog- 
 ress was notable. Mr. Miller was born at 
 Cresthne, March 11, 1863, and is a son of 
 C. H. Miller, long a prominent citizen here. 
 
 Frank Miller attended the Crestline schools 
 and the State University at Columbus, O., and 
 in 1887 was admitted to the Ohio bar and prac- 
 ticed law until 1892. While he has been very 
 active in politics he has been no less so in the 
 business world. He is a director of the First 
 National Bank of Crestline and also of the 
 Burch Plow Works, and is vice president and 
 treasurer of Schil Bros. Co., manufacturers 
 of stoves and steel ranges. The above busi- 
 ness was incorporated in 1900, with a capital 
 of $150,000, and the present officials are: W. 
 H. Weaver, president; Frank Miller, vice 
 president and treasurer ; and W. D. Cover, sec- 
 retary and manager. The board of directors 
 is made up of the following capitalists : W. H. 
 Weaver, C. F. Frank, J. M. Martin, J. A. Mc- 
 Callum, C. A. Simeonton and John Schil. Mr. 
 Miller owns and operates the stockyards at 
 Crestline and has the contract for the manag- 
 ing and cleaning of the stock cars on the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad. Mr. Miller was reared a 
 Democrat and has always been a loyal party 
 man and for years has served as a delegate to 
 all important conventions and been prominent 
 in county organizations. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Miller was married in Logan 
 county, O., to Miss Short, who was born, 
 reared and educated there. Fraternally he is 
 identified with the Knights of Pythias, at 
 Crestline, and with the Elks, at Bucyrus. 
 
 BENJAMIN L. SITES, pharmacist, who 
 conducts a well equipped drug store at No. 138 
 South Market Street, Gallon, O., has had a 
 wide experience in his profession and in un- 
 usually well qualified for the important posi- 
 tion the pharmacist fills in a community. He 
 was born at Dakota, Stephenson county, 111., 
 but was mainly educated in Ohio and after 
 spending some years at Wooster and Heidel- 
 
 berg Universities, entered the Ohio Normal 
 University at Ada and was graduated from 
 the School of Pharmacy in the class of 1896. 
 He then became a clerk in the drug store of 
 C. E. Ashbrook, at Ada, where he remained 
 for five years, as prescription clerk for this 
 house. 
 
 In 1 90 1, an opportunity presented for a po- 
 sition in his professional capacity, under the 
 Bureau of Medicine & Surgery, U. S. Navy. 
 After passing a very satisfactory examination, 
 he was attached to the recruiting party as as- 
 sistant to the medical examiner, and later was 
 sent to New York where he was given his 
 first assignment, aboard the U. S. Training 
 Ship "Aliance." This vessel made a number 
 of lengthy foreign cruises, not being hampered 
 by the usual fleet routine. 
 
 When military occupation was made of the 
 Panama Canal Zone, he was one of the two 
 pharmacists, out of 40, selected for duty there 
 in the establishment of marine hospitals. In 
 this capacity, he was professionally associated 
 with the most skilful medical men in the ser- 
 vice and enjoyed experiences which were ex- 
 ceptionally valuable in following work. At the 
 time his enlistment expired, he was serving 
 with Dr. J. D. Gatewood, formerly head of 
 the Bureau at Washington, and then attached to 
 the U. S. S. "Yankee." 
 
 Dr. Sites then came to Galion and in 1905 
 succeeded one of the oldest druggists of this 
 city — L. K. Reisinger — and has continued in 
 business here ever since. He is an enterpris- 
 ing citizen, an active member of the Commer- 
 cial Club, having served as one of its presi- 
 dents and at present is chairman of the in- 
 dustrial committee. He is a member of the 
 State and National Pharmaceutical Associa- 
 tions, is treasurer of the Crawford County 
 Pharmacists Association and belongs to nu- 
 merous fraternal bodies including the Elks and 
 Knights of Pythias. 
 
 WILLIAM DITTY, who is serving in his 
 second term as township clerk of Lykens town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., is well known all 
 over the county, for 15 years having been a 
 prominent and popular school teacher. He 
 was born in Lykens township, Feb. 17, 1874, 
 and is a. son of Levi William and Catherine 
 (Haas) Ditty. 
 
106b 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Levi William Ditty, whose death occurred 
 Aug. 8, 1901, was well known all through 
 LyKcns township, where he followed fanning. 
 His widow survives and resides with her son 
 William, who was the second born in the fam- 
 ily ot children, the others being: Susan, now 
 deceased, who was the wife of Arthur Jay 
 Stevenson; Conrad M., who is deceased; and 
 Mattie M., who resides with her mother and 
 brother. 
 
 William Ditty completed the common school 
 course in Lykens township, after which he took 
 a commercial course at Ada, O. Teaching has 
 been his main interest for many years and as 
 an educator he is held in high esteem in Craw- 
 ford county. During the summer season he 
 cultivates his two acres of fertile land, at- 
 tached to his comfortable residence, and does 
 gardening and trucking. He is identified with 
 the Democratic party and was elected on that 
 ticket to the office of township clerk and gives 
 intelligent attention to his official duties. He 
 belongs to Lodge No. 859, Independent Order 
 of Foresters, at Brokensword, and with his 
 mother and sister, attends the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Mr. Ditty is unmarried. 
 
 THO^L\S H. B. CLUTTER, M. D., who 
 stands at the head of the medical profession at 
 Crestline, O. and is the oldest physician and 
 surgeon here, has been a resident since boy- 
 hood, but was born in Washington county. 
 Pa., and is a son of John P. and Margaret 
 (Andrews) Clutter. 
 
 The Clutter family can be clearly traced as 
 far back as 1623, in Holland, from which 
 country his forefathers came and settled at 
 New Amsterdam, X. Y. From Morristown, 
 N. J., his great-grandfather, John Clutter, en- 
 listed for senice in the Revolutionary War, 
 in which he was a soldier for seven years and 
 was with General Washington during the 
 memorable winter at Valley Forge, his son, 
 John Clutter, being also an enlisted soldier 
 from the same place. After the trouble with 
 Great Britain was settled the great-grandfather 
 located in a wild section of \\'ashington county. 
 Pa., one of the first settlers there, his estate 
 lying within 12 miles of the present county 
 seat. The Clutter familv experienced the most 
 of the dangers and hardships of pioneer life, 
 being driven to block houses for shelter from 
 
 Indians — these houses being the first thing 
 they were compelled to build. They also suf- 
 fered loss of stock from wild animals and had 
 to surround their cabin at night with blazing 
 fires to drive off hungry and voracious wolves. 
 They lived through all these trials, increased 
 in numbers and prospered in their business en- 
 terprises, accumulating much land and many 
 herds of cattle. 
 
 John Clutter, son of John, and grandfather 
 of Dr. Clutter, became famous locally as an In- 
 diana fighter. He was a robust man even up 
 to 80 years and possessed as much knowledge 
 of woodcraft as the most wily savage and 
 when one of the latter had committed some 
 depredation, John Clutter pursued him for 
 weeks until he had brought the Indian to 
 justice. He married Phebe Headley, who also 
 survived into old age. 
 
 John P. Clutter (3), son and grandson of 
 John Clutter and father of Dr. Thomas H. B. 
 Clutter, was bom in Washington county. Pa., 
 Jjan. I, 1806, and lived and died on his grand- 
 father's farm, when aged 80 years. He was 
 one of the younger members of a family of 12 
 children, all of whom have now passed away. 
 He married Margaret Andrews, who was born 
 near the old block-house in \A'^ashington county, 
 in 1816, and died Oct. 10, 1885, a daughter of 
 James and Anna (Van \'oorhees) Andrews, 
 who came from Xew Jersey to Washington 
 county, Pa. John Clutter, grandfather of our 
 subject, was a carpenter and wagonmaker and 
 was skillful with tools. He was a busy and 
 useful man in the neighborhood at the time 
 when the hand was the only machine. The 
 Andrews were all members of the Cumberland 
 Presbyterian church, while the Clutters were 
 Baptists. Thomas H. B. Clutter is one of 
 se^■en children born to his parents, namely: 
 Jasper, who left a widow at death: Thomas 
 H. B. ; Samuel, who lives with wife and two 
 children, at Akron, O. : John P.. Jr., who lives 
 with his family in Charleroi, Pa. ; Robert Mor- 
 ris, who is a resident of \A'aynesburg and has 
 one son and one daughter ; and two deceased. 
 
 Thomas H. B. Clutter came to Crestline in 
 1 86 1, was reared here and served an appren- 
 ticeship in a durg store, after which he studied 
 medicine for a time with Drs. A. & A. E. Jen- 
 ner, with whom he prepared for Starling Med- 
 ical College, where he was graduated in 1865. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1069 
 
 Later he returned to Crestline and with the 
 exception of a period of practice at Leesville, 
 Crawford county, has been at Crestline. In 
 February, 1889 he purchased the practice of 
 Dr. C. W. Jenner, of this place and has been 
 actively engaged here ever since. 
 
 Dr. Clutter was married (first) in 1867, in 
 Pennsylvania, to Miss Joanna Day, who was 
 born there in 1842, and died in the Columbus 
 Hospital, Nov. 15, 1886. Dr. Clutter was 
 married (second), to Miss Ida L. Mapes, who 
 was born and reared at Bucyrus, O., a daughter 
 of Richard Mapes. Dr. and Mrs. Clutter at- 
 tend the Presbyterian church. He is prominent 
 in Masonry, belonging to the Blue Lodge and 
 Chapter at Crestline; the Commandery at 
 Mansfield, the Consistory at Cincinnati and the 
 other branches at Dayton. He is a charter 
 member of the Dayton Consistory, S. P. R. 
 S., No. 32, and a charter member of the Home 
 for Masons at Springfield, being one of the 
 first contributors of one hundred dollars to this 
 worthy object. Professionally he is widely 
 known, financially he is independent and per- 
 sonally is a man of sterling character. 
 
 HENRY HAGEMAN, who is one of the 
 most progressive agriculturists of Crawford 
 county, O., resides on his finely improved farm 
 in Cranberry township, where he has 100 acres 
 situated in section 24, and an additional 100 
 acres adjoining the home farm on the north, 
 was born here March 13, 1848, and is a son 
 of Charles and Catherine (Fredline) Hage- 
 man. 
 
 Charles Hageman was born in Somerset 
 county, Pa., and was twelve years old when 
 he accompanied his parents, Barnett and Susan 
 Hageman, to Wayne county, O. Barnett 
 Hageman served as a private in the Revolu- 
 tionary War and died in Crawford county and 
 his burial was in Goodwill Cemetery. Charles 
 Hageman grew to manhood in Wayne county 
 and then married Catherine Fredline. He was 
 a house carpenter and a skilled workman and 
 after marriage he built a residence in Wayne 
 county which his son Henry visited in later 
 years and was surprised to see how skillfully 
 and substantially it had been constructed, all 
 its finishing having been done by hand. After 
 the birth of three children — Sarah, Mary and 
 Catherine — Charles Hageman and wife moved 
 
 to Crawford county, in 1842 reaching the 
 present farm of Henry Hageman, in Cran- 
 berry township. It must have been a stern 
 sense of duty that made Mr. and Mrs. Hage- 
 man willing to give up their comfortable home 
 in Wayne county and settle here, where but 
 three acres of the 100 had been cleared and 
 the only house was a log cabin. In the course 
 of time, however, Mr. Plageman erected the 
 frame residence which is yet standing and 
 cleared 70 acres of the land and here the rest 
 of the children were born, namely: William, 
 Martha, George, Henry, David and John. The 
 survivors are William, John and Henry, the 
 last named being the only one living in Craw- 
 ford county. The father died on this farm 
 when aged 81 years, one month and 21 days, 
 and the mother when aged 76 years. They 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. 
 
 Henry Hageman had the school opportu- 
 nities then offered in Cranberry township, these 
 being somewhat meager in his boyhood, and 
 afterward followed farming and the carpenter 
 trade, acquiring a farm of 40 acres situated 
 northwest of the homestead. When his mother 
 died he came with his family to the home farm, 
 which he purchased, and here the aged father 
 had kind care until the close of his life. Mr. 
 Hageman cleared off the remaining 30 acres of 
 the land and made the repairs to the buildings 
 which he deemed necessary and has added many 
 improvements. He is a self made man, never 
 having received any portion of his father's 
 estate which he did not pay for. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Grange and in his agricultural 
 methods follows modern teachings and with 
 great success. His residence is situated on 
 the East and West road, four and one-half 
 miles south and east of New Washington, O. 
 In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Hageman married Miss Martha A. 
 Garberich, who was born in Crawford county, 
 west of Galion, a daughter of Isaac and Susan 
 Garberich, and they have six children : Ger- 
 trude Pearl, who married Orval Stern and 
 lives at Helena, O. ; William, who married a 
 Laura Cole, and lives at Shelby, O. ; Maude, 
 who is the wife of George Foster; Howard, 
 who married Cora Derfler; Eva, who was a 
 teacher for five years, and is in a nurse's train- 
 ing school ; and Anna, who has been a success- 
 
1070 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 f ul teacher for some years. Mr. Hageman and 
 family belong to the M. E. church in which 
 he is a steward and one of the trustees. 
 
 GEORGE JACOB BAUER,* whose fine, 
 well stocked farm of 47 acres is situated in 
 Vernon township, Crawford county, O., has 
 been a lifelong resident of this township and 
 was born near his present place, July 12, 1858, 
 a son of John J. and Julia (Harrience) Bauer. 
 
 John J. Bauer was born in Germany, Nov. 
 19, 1828, and came to the United States with 
 his parents in 1836. They were John Philip 
 and Catherine (Frick) Bauer, who settled as 
 pioneers in Vernon township, where they 
 cleared and improved land and occupied it 
 into old age. This same farm was owned by 
 their son, John J., for a period of 45 years and 
 on that place his death occurred May 6, 191 1. 
 He was a well known and highly esteemed 
 man, well read and possessed of the sound 
 judgment that led others to consult him on 
 matters important to themselves and the com- 
 munity. Politically he was a Democrat and 
 a worthy member of the German Reformed 
 church. By trade a carpenter, he assisted in 
 the erection of the first Reformed church 
 building in Vernon township. 
 
 At Sandusky, O., John J. Bauer was mar- 
 ried to Julia Harrience, who died in 1856, in 
 the prime of life, in Vernon township, the 
 mother of the following children : Emma, who 
 married William Beach, of Vernon township, 
 and has eight children ; George Jacob, our sub- 
 ject; and Phebe, who is the wife of Charles 
 Pauffenbach, a carpenter in Toledo, G., and 
 has six children. Mr. Bauer was married (sec- 
 ond) in Crawford county, to Julia Unckrich, 
 who was born at Massillon, O., and died in 
 Vernon township in February, 1904, when 
 aged 63 years, the mother of eight children, 
 all of whom married but one : Mary, deceased ; 
 John F. ; Elizabeth, deceased ; Frederick, un- 
 married; Amelia; Theodore; and Alice, a 
 widow. 
 
 George Jacob Bauer attended the district 
 schools in boyhood and youth and has fol- 
 lowed general farming and moderate stock 
 . raising ever since, with satisfactory results. 
 The farm on which he lives is well improved, 
 Mr. Bauer being progressive in his ideas, and 
 he has one of the fine orchards of the town- 
 
 ship. He also has an interest in his father's 
 farm of 240 acres and in a farm of 200 acres, 
 which is owned by five people. 
 
 Mr. Bauer was married in Jefferson town- 
 ship, Crawford county, to Miss Mary Ni- 
 graiench, who was born in this county, Dec. 
 25, 1867, a daughter of Christian and Mar- 
 garet (Steffhom) Nigraiench. He was a sol- 
 dier in the German army but found condi- . 
 tions so hard that he deserted and managed 
 to hide himself for three days in the sails of 
 a vessel, in which he escaped to America, and 
 on the same vessel Margaret Steffhom came 
 to the United States. After reaching Crawford 
 county, O., they were married and afterward 
 spent a long and happy life on their farm in 
 Jefferson township. In 1861, when civil war 
 was declared, he again became a military man 
 and displayed all the qualities of a good sol- 
 dier during his four years of service in his 
 adopted country. Both he and wife were 
 members of the German Lutheran church at 
 Crestline. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Bauer the following chil- 
 dren have been born: Julia, who is the wife 
 of Samuel Beach, a groceryman, at Crestline; 
 and Hattie, Mada, John P. and Boston N. F., 
 all living at home. In politics Mr. Bauer is a 
 Democrat and has served in local offices and 
 while trustee of Vernon township had much to 
 do in the matter of ditching and building the 
 excellent turnpike roads for which Vernon 
 township is justly noted. For three succes- 
 sive years, Mr. Bauer, his father and his uncle, 
 Peter Bauer, were drawn to serve as jurors, 
 in the State Supreme Court, at Cleveland, the 
 whole family having high standing in Craw- 
 ford county. Mr. Bauer and family are mem- 
 bers of the Reformed church. 
 
 P. C. THOMAS. Among the substantial 
 and representative business men of long stand- 
 ing at Galion, O., is P. C. Thomas, who has 
 been in the hardware line here for the last 30 
 years, his store being one of the largest and 
 best stocked in this section of the state. He 
 was born at West Becket, Berkshire county, 
 Mass., and is a son of George Milton and Al- 
 meda (Baird) Thomas, and a grandson of 
 George Milton Thomas, Sr. 
 
 George Milton Thomas, Jr., was born also 
 in the Berkshire hills and died in 1862, when 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1071 
 
 aged 56 years. He was a carpenter by trade 
 and also managed a small farm. In early 
 days he was a Whig and later a Republican. 
 He married Almeda Baird, who was a mem- 
 ber also of an old Massachusetts family. After 
 her husband died, Mrs. Thomas moved to 
 Lorain county, O., where her death occurred 
 in 1876, when aged 68 years. She had two 
 children, a son and a daughter. The daughter 
 died in infancy and the son accompanied his 
 mother to Ohio. 
 
 P. C. Thomas was eight years old when his 
 father died and the larger part of his school 
 period was passed at Wellington, O. As soon 
 as he was old enough he worked for neighbor- 
 ing farmers and then learned the carriage 
 blacksmith trade, in which he engaged until 
 1 88 1, when he came to Gallon, immediately 
 becoming connected with the store of which 
 he is proprietor. For 19 years he was on the 
 road for its owners, O. R. Cox & Company, 
 they doing a jobbing business. Since 1901 
 Mr. Thomas has been sole proprietor. His 
 quarters are commodious, the dimensions of 
 his store being 24x196 feet, and the stock he 
 carries includes shelf hardware of every de- 
 scription together with all lines of general 
 hardware known to the trade. He has many 
 of the qualities credited to his old Welsh an- 
 cestors, among these being a fine sense of 
 business integrity which has been no small 
 factor in his success. 
 
 At Wellington, O., Mr. Thomas was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Daughterty, who was born 
 in Medina county, O., a daughter of William 
 and Adelaide (Mariam) Daughterty, the for- 
 mer of whom died at the home of Mrs. 
 Thomas, at the age of 78 years. The mother 
 of Mrs. Thomas survives. She is a member 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Thomas have the following children: 
 Frank, born at Wellington, O., who is a sales- 
 man for his father and who married Fay Cole- 
 man and has two daughters — Ethel and Helen ; 
 George Milton, named after both his grand- 
 father and great-grandfather, who is book- 
 keeper for his father, and who married Nellie 
 Bland of Gallon and has one daughter, Ruth 
 Lilian; Addie, born at Gallon, who is the wife 
 of Stewart Booth, of Greenwich, O. ; and 
 Ralph R., who lives at home. Mr. Thomas and 
 his two older sons are all members of the Blue 
 
 60 
 
 Lodge in Masonry, of which Mr. Thomas is 
 past master and treasurer, and he belongs also 
 to the Chapter at Gallon, and Council at Bu- 
 cyrus, in all of which he has- been an official. 
 With his sons Mr. Thomas is also a Republi- 
 can, all being strong party men. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Thomas are members of the First M. E. church. 
 
 HARVEY G. ZELLNER, owner and pro- 
 prietor of the Lykens Township Tile Factory, 
 together with 17 acres of adjacent land, was 
 born in Lykens township, Crawford county, 
 O., Feb. 22, 1879, and is a son of Edward and 
 Emma (Ohl) Zellner. 
 
 The father, Edward Zellner, was born in 
 Pennsylvania, has followed an agricultural 
 life and now lives retired at Brokensword, O. 
 His wife is deceased, her burial having been 
 in Baseline Cemetery. They had the following 
 children born to them: William, Charles A., 
 Henry, Laura, Harvey G., Anna and Walter. 
 Laura is deceased and Anna is the wife of 
 William Park. 
 
 Harvey G. Zellner had no other educational 
 advantages than those offered by the public 
 schools. In early manhood he began farm 
 work, by the month, which he continued for 
 about ten years and then purchased his present 
 plant from Harvey Candel. The enterprise is 
 an important one in this section, employment 
 being given to from five to ten hands, the 
 product being building blocks and tile from 
 three to fifteen inches. The business is pros- 
 perous. 
 
 On Feb. 22, 191 1, Mr. Zellner was married 
 to Miss Clara Laipply, a daughter of Emory 
 Laipply, a general farmer in Crawford county, 
 Mrs. Zellner has the following brother and 
 sisters : Amanda, who is the wife of George 
 Green; Emma, who is the wife of John Smith; 
 and Laura, Grace and Jonas. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Zellner are members of the Reformed church. 
 In politics he is a Democrat and at present is 
 serving acceptably in the office of road com- 
 missioner. 
 
 PETER ECKSTEIN, deceased, for many 
 years was a leading business man at Crestline, 
 O., and was the founder of the grocery store 
 now conducted by his sons and successors, 
 Henry E. and George P. Eckstein, at Nos. 
 from 106-112, West Main Street. He was 
 
1072 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 born in Kleinbieberau, Hesse Darmstadt, Ger- 
 many, April 8, 1848, and was but two months 
 old when his parents, George and Mary Cath- 
 erine Eckstein, brought him to the United 
 States, following his baptism in his father's 
 church, in the village where he was born. 
 
 George Eckstein settled first with wife and 
 child in Richland county, O., and afterward 
 moved into Crawford county, securing land in 
 Vernon township, on which he and wife spent 
 the rest of their lives. They were quiet. God- 
 fearing people, devout members of the Re-, 
 formed church. 
 
 When Peter Eckstein had reached his i6th 
 year, he left the home farm and went to San- 
 dusky, O., where he learned the carpenter trade 
 and afterward followed the same for a num- 
 ber of years at Crestline. In 1875 he embarked 
 in the grocery business, conducting the same 
 for the first year with Benjamin Spell for a 
 partner, but after that until he retired in igo6, 
 was sole proprietor. He was a man of busi- 
 ness integrity and a most worthy and useful 
 citizen and his memory is held in universal 
 esteem. Although he never sought public 
 office his judgment and business qualifications 
 were so approved by his fellow citizens that 
 they desired the benefit of these in civic mat- 
 ters and elected him a member of the city 
 council. In his political views he was a Dem- 
 ocrat. His death occurred in his home at Crest- 
 line, May 10, 1910, a member of the German 
 Reformed church. 
 
 In 1872 Peter Eckstein was married at Crest- 
 line, to Miss Catherine B. Huber, who was 
 born near Leesville, Crawford county, Nov. 
 15, 1849, and is yet a resident of this city. 
 Her parents, Peter and Christiana (Knapp) 
 Huber, came to the United States from Ger- 
 many and afterward lived on their farm in 
 Crawford county and died there in old age. 
 Seven children were born to Peter Eckstein 
 and wife: John, who died in infancy; C. Wil- 
 liam, who is in the grocery business at Gallon 
 and has a family; Ida, who married Herman 
 Holcker, who is in the hardware line at Crest- 
 line, and has two children — Albert and Martha ; 
 Julia, who resides with her mother; Henry 
 E. ; George P., who, with his older brother, 
 is a member of the firm of Eckstein Bros., and 
 who married Lulu Hetrick, of Shelby, O. ; and 
 Fred O., the youngest, who is a student in the 
 Ohio State College. 
 
 Henry E. Eckstein, the older member of the 
 firm of Eckstein Bros., was born at Crestline, 
 ■Sept. 9, 1 88 1 and obtained his education in 
 the schools of this city. He practically was 
 reared in his father's store and learned the 
 grocery trade at first hand, as may also be said 
 of his brother and partner, George P. When 
 the father retired, July i, 1906, after his long 
 and honorable business career, it was with 
 feelings of satisfaction that he turned his in- 
 terests, over to sons so capable and well quali- 
 fied to succeed him. A very large volume of 
 trade is handled here, there being customers 
 who dealt with the father and continue their 
 patronage to the sons, the enterprise of the 
 younger men having opened up new avenues 
 that have contributed to business expansion. 
 
 Henry E. Eckstein was married May 5, 
 1909, to Miss Blanche Topping, who was born 
 at Gallon, O., in 1884 and was educated in that 
 city. Mr. and Mrs. Eckstein have one son, 
 Robert E., who was born June 14, 1910. As a 
 family the Eckstein's are members of the Ger- 
 man Reformed church. Both members of the 
 firm of Eckstein Bros, are Democrats in their 
 political sentiments, while fraternally they be- 
 long to the order of Elks, at Gallon. They 
 are not only able business men but public 
 spirited and progressive, proud of the extent 
 and high standing of their business interests 
 and ever ready to assist 'in fostering that local 
 spirit that arouses emulation and results in 
 more general prosperity. Crestline, as every 
 other city, values such citizens. 
 
 WILLIAM J. STUCKEY, a representative 
 business man of Lykens township, Crawford 
 county, O., owner and proprietor of the ele- 
 vator at Plankton, where he deals in feed and 
 grain and all kinds of farming implements, 
 was born in this township, Jan. 20, 1870, and 
 is a son of Carl and Louisa ( Keller) Stuckey, 
 both now deceased. 
 
 Carl Stuckey was of German extraction and 
 his business was farming and for many years 
 he lived in Lykens township, where occurred his 
 death and burial. He was twice married and 
 to his first union were born : Henry, and Mary 
 who is the wife of John Ohls. To his second 
 marriage the following children were born: 
 Lena, who is the wife of Frank Dennis; 
 Charles; Elizabeth, who is the wife of Lewis 
 "^^oung; Hattie, who is the wife of Charles 
 
A.\l) REPRESliiXTATlVE CITIZENS 
 
 107:3 
 
 Moore ; George ; William J. ; Laura, who is 
 the wife of Cyrus Ohls; and Janela, who is 
 the wife of L. J. Shoots. 
 
 William J. Stuckey attended the public 
 schools and then spent five terms in the Ohio 
 Normal University at Ada and after this 
 taught school for five years in Crawford and 
 Seneca counties. For ten more years he fol- 
 lowed farming but in 1908 bought his elevator 
 and has been engaged in business at Plankton 
 ever since. He shows an active and intelligent 
 interest in public matters, aiding all movements 
 that promise to be beneficial to the village and 
 is valued as a citizen. 
 
 In 1893 ^^- Stuckey was married to Miss 
 Mattie Mesnard, who was born in Seneca 
 county, a daughter of William and Eliza (Mc- 
 Claughlin) Mesnard. To the parents of Mrs. 
 Stuckey the following children were born: 
 Emma, wife of Charles Stuckey; Edward; 
 Delia, deceased, who was the wife of Daniel 
 Stuckey; Cora, wife of Donald Swalley; Mat- 
 tie, wife of William J. Stuckey; and Lloyd and 
 Duff. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Stuckey have two children: 
 Verle, who is associated with his father; and 
 Velma. They attend the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Politically Mr. Stuckey is a Democrat 
 and is serving in the office of clerk of Texas 
 township. He is identified with the Odd Fel- 
 lows at Melmore, Seneca county. 
 
 MRS. MINNIE C. BECHSTEIN, who is 
 a member of one of the old families of Cran- 
 berry township, Crawford county, O., where 
 she was born, reared and educated, resides 
 two and one-half miles northeast af New 
 Washington, her valuable farm of 116 acres 
 being situated in section 2 of this township. 
 She is a daughter of Michael and Caroline 
 Marquart, both of whom died in Cranberry 
 township, and the widow of William C. Bech- 
 stein. 
 
 Mrs. Bechstein grew to young womanhood 
 in her parents' home and in girlhood attended 
 school at what is called the Klein school-house, 
 in Cranberry township and also attended Ger- 
 man school at New Washington, O. On May 
 22, 1891, she was married to William C. Bech- 
 stein, who was born in Germany, a son of Ern- 
 est and Louisa Bechstein. After marriage, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bechstein lived on J. Wright's 
 
 farm near Bellevue, O., afterward moving to 
 the Yingling farm north of Monroeville, and 
 from there came to the present farm, which 
 Mr. Bechstein bought from Henry Rapp, in 
 1899. The land had been partly cleared but the 
 only attempts at improvement were two log 
 stables. Mr. Bechstein was a very industrious 
 man and an excellent farmer and soon had 
 many improvements under way, his death, at 
 the comparatively early age of 44 years inter- 
 rupting many of the plans he had in view. He 
 was a highly respected citizen of Cranberry 
 township, a good neighbor and kind husband 
 and father.' A son and daughter survive him, 
 Elmer and Ora, both of whom live with their 
 mother. Since Mr. Bechstein's death, on Feb. 
 20, 1910, Mrs. Bechstein has erected the pres- 
 ent comfortable farm residence and the farm 
 industries are carried on under her capable 
 management. She is a member of the Luth- 
 eran church as was her husband. 
 
 GEORGE WOOD NICKELS, postmaster 
 at Gabon, O., to which place his parents came 
 in i8s4, was born in this city July 10, 1869, 
 and is the sixth son of George Wood and Mar- 
 garetta R. (Webber) Nickels. The elder 
 George Wood Nickels was born in Marion 
 county, O., in 1820, and was a soldier in the 
 Mexican War in 1846. In 1854 he was mar- 
 ried at Mansfield, O., to Margaretta R. Web- 
 ber, a native of Cumberland county. Pa., and 
 they came then to Gabon, where he followed 
 his trade of carpenter and car builder and for 
 a number of years was one of the most highly 
 valued mechanics in the (now) Big Four Bee 
 Line Railway employ. He died at Gabon, O., 
 in 1873. Politically he was a Republican and 
 fraternally a Mason. His widow, who was 
 born in 1834, still survives. Three of their 
 children are living: George W., subject of 
 tlys sketch ; Webber, who is a sheet metal 
 worker, resides at Gabon with his mother; 
 and Guy, who is an upholsterer and carriage 
 trimmer, resides also at Gabon. 
 
 At the age of 18 years George Wood Nick- 
 els, Jr., left school to learn the trades of boiler- 
 maker and machinist with the Erie Railway 
 Comoany and was so employed until he was 
 appointed assistant postmaster under Post- 
 master J- W CuDO, who filled the office for 
 seven years. Mr. Nickels has always been an 
 
1074 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 active Republican and on July i, 1905, was ap- 
 pointed postmaster by President Roosevelt 
 after a special election to determine the peo- 
 ple's choice and was reappointed by President 
 Taft. He has devoted all his energies to ad- 
 vancing and improving the efficiency of his 
 office, paying particular attention to expediting 
 the mails in order to give satisfaction to the 
 citizens and also carefully regulating the rural 
 mail service. This is an office of the second 
 class and a large volume of business passes 
 through it, some 12,000 residents being served. 
 He has a competent force and the office is con- 
 ducted carefully and economically. 
 
 In 1896, Mr. Nickels was married to Miss 
 Laura Case, a daughter of Philip Franklin and 
 Dora (Monnett) Case, the latter a native of 
 Gallon. The former died here in 1884. The 
 mother of Mrs. Nickels lives at No. 222 Gill 
 Avenue, Galion. Mr. Nickels is a charter 
 member of Star Council of Junior American 
 Mechanics, chartered in 1890, and for many 
 years has been identified with the Masonic 
 bodies, being past master of Galion Lodge 414, 
 F. & A. M., is active as an officer in Galion 
 Chapter 142, and belongs to the Commandery 
 No. 21, K. T., at Mansfield. In large measure 
 Mr. Nickels is a self made man and is entitled 
 to the respect and esteem in which he is uni- 
 versally held. 
 
 FRANK B. KEHRER, proprietor of the 
 largest and most complete jewelry store at 
 Bucyrus, C, a business house that was founded 
 by his father some 40 years ago, was born in 
 Ohio, in 1862, and is a son of George J. and 
 Leah (Haller) Kehrer. 
 
 George J. Kehrer was born in Wurtemburg, 
 Germany, in 1839, and died at his home in Bu- 
 cyrus, in 1 89 1. He was born possessing many 
 talents and, probably, with training would 
 have become a musical genius, and all his li^ 
 was naturally proficient in mechanical arts. 
 In 1850 he came to America but after a few 
 years returned to Germany but came back to 
 the United States before the Civil War and in 
 the latter part of this struggle served as a pri- 
 A^ate in an infantry regiment under command of 
 Captain Diller of Bucyrus. About 1872 he 
 went into the repair business, on Sandusky 
 A\'enue, Bucyrus, beginning in a small way as 
 a tinker and mender of clocks, watches and 
 
 jewelry. In his spare moments he constructed 
 a wonderful clock that worked automatically 
 and that not only recorded the passing of the 
 hours but had many devices that made it a re- 
 markable piece of workmanship. This clock 
 still is exhibited in the store which his sons 
 conduct and probably is unique as a sample of 
 inventive skill along this line. He was what, 
 in these days, is called a wizard, when he un- 
 dertook the manipulating of clocks and 
 watches. All his skill in this direction was a 
 ■natural gift as he had never been instructed 
 in mechanics of any kind, his education, which 
 was liberal, having been directed more in the 
 line of a profession. In politics he was a 
 Democrat and in religion was a member of the 
 German Lutheran church. Fraternally he was 
 identified with the leading German organiza- 
 tions of the city. 
 
 George J. Kehrer was married in Colum- 
 biana county, O., to Leah Haller, who was of 
 German ancestry but was born in Ohio. She 
 still survives and is now in her 70th year. 
 They had the following children: Frank B., 
 Laura, Charles, George J., Frederick, Emma 
 and Harry, the last named dying in 1890, at the 
 age of five years. The eldest daughter as well 
 as the youngest reside with their mother. 
 Charles, who is a member of the jewelry firm 
 of Kehrer Bros., married Desta Sprow. 
 George J. was bom at Bucyrus in 1876 and 
 since his graduation from the Bradley Poly- 
 technic School of Peoria, 111., has been in the 
 jewelry business at BUC3TUS. In 1898 he en- 
 listed for sen'ice in the Spanish- American 
 \'\''ar and with the 8th O. Inf., went to Cuba, 
 from which island he returned with the com- 
 mand in 1899. He became second lieutenant 
 of Co. A, O. N. G., resigning in 1901. He is 
 a member of the firm of Kehrer Bros. Fred- 
 erick, who is a graduate of the Ohio Medical 
 University of Columbus, is a well known prac- 
 titioner of this city, a specialist in diseases of 
 the eye, nose and throat. He married Cady 
 Coxgrove, and they have one son, Harry. 
 
 Frank B. Kehrer began to work in his 
 father's shop as soon as his school days were 
 over and thus acquired a thorough knowledge 
 of the trade. In 1887 he succeeded to the busi- 
 ness and immediately began its expansion and 
 within five years found his quarters inad- 
 equate and after several removals, in 1897, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1075 
 
 with Mr. Blicke, purchased what is now the 
 Kehrer Block, on Oct. 5, 1905, becoming sole 
 owner. This is a handsome and valuable prop- 
 erty situated at Nos. 112-114 North Sandusky 
 Avenue, with dimensions of 48x72 feet. He 
 carries a very large stock including jewels, gold 
 and silver and silverware, clocks and watches 
 and choice objects of art and his trade rela- 
 tions make it possible for him to procure for 
 his customers any jewel or desired object of 
 value or fine workmanship that he may not 
 have among his own treasures. Mr. Kehrer 
 is looked upon as a dependable man in his line, 
 to which he has devoted his attention con- 
 tinuously for 38 years. In 19 12 he admitted 
 his brothers, George J. and Charles, to the 
 firm. 
 
 MiTi. Kehrer has never married, residing 
 with his mother and sisters. He is identified 
 with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and 
 the Elks. Politically he- is a Democrat but 
 has never accepted any tender of public office. 
 
 CHARLES H. MILLER, whose long, effi- 
 cient and honorable service made him one of 
 the best known railroad men for many years 
 connected with the Pennsylvania system, has 
 been a resident of Crestline, O., since i860, 
 and now lives retired, his home being located 
 on the corner of Seltzer and Main Streets, 
 Crestline. He was born in the city of New 
 York, June 9, 1829, and is a son of John F. 
 and Barbara (Giunder) Miller. 
 
 John F. Miller was born at Hamburg, Ger- 
 many, Oct. 5, 1805, and died at Carrolton, O., 
 July 2, 1897. When 12 years old he came to 
 the United States on a cattle ship. For a 
 number of years he lived in the city of New 
 York and became a custom tailor, later in 
 life moving to Carroll county, O. In New 
 York City he married Barbara Giunder, who 
 was born on the Atlantic Ocean when her par- 
 ents, Jacob Giunder and wife, were coming 
 from Switzerland to America. The mother 
 died after the birth of her child and her burial 
 was at seat. The father continued the journey 
 with his motherless children, to Philadelphia, 
 from there coming to Carrol county, O. In 
 Switzerland he had been a linen manufacturer. 
 His death occurred there when he was almost 
 100 years old. Mrs. Miller was reared by her 
 brother and sister, mainly in New York State. 
 
 Her death occurred in Carroll county, O., when 
 aged 84 years. She was a member of the Luth- 
 eran church. Four sons and three daughters 
 were bom to John F. and Barbara Miller. 
 One son, Benjamin, died at the age of 75 years. 
 Thomas J. left a son at death. John F. died 
 without issue. All the sons and daughters 
 reached maturity and the two survivors are: 
 Charles H. and Mary, the latter of whom 
 never married and who still occupies the old 
 homestead in Carroll county. 
 
 Charles H. Miller grew to manhood in Car- 
 roll county and secured his education there. 
 In 1 85 1 he entered railroad life, becoming con- 
 nected with the C. & P. Railroad, and worked 
 on a construction train until 1853, when he 
 went to Pittsburgh, where he engaged in mer- 
 chandising- for four years. He then returned to 
 railroading and was conductor on a Penn- 
 sylvania line road until i860, when he came to 
 Crestline. Here he was placed in charge of the 
 company's business with the title of dispatcher, 
 but at that time his duties included a much 
 wider territory than at present. In February, 
 1868, he was assigned to the position of live- 
 stock agent at Chicago, 111., but still retained 
 his home at Crestline. The company appre- 
 ciated his services and gave him full credit for 
 what had been accomplished. When he left 
 the railroad service an elaborate dinner was 
 tendered him by his fellow livestock agents of 
 the Union Stockyards, at Chicago, on Dec. 29, 
 1900. He stood high in the regard of both 
 employers and comrades and was given the 
 privilege of naming his successor, his son-in- 
 law, Ernest A. Oliver being subsequently 
 named to succeed him. He has a thorough 
 knowledge of railroad history running back 
 'sixty-one years. Politically Mr. Miller is, 
 like his father before him, a Democrat. He 
 is a third degree Mason. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married at Carrolton, O., 
 to* Miss Caroline Jackson, who was born there 
 May 26, 1833, and died at her home in Crest- 
 line, Jan. 8, 1908. Although quiet and domes- 
 tic in her tastes she was widely known for her 
 sympathy and charity were given wherever 
 needed and the circle of those who sincerely 
 mourn her is large. She was the beloved 
 mother of the following children: Ada, who 
 married A. J. Wire, and died twelve years 
 later; Carrie, who is the wife of Ernest A. 
 
1076 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Oliver; Frank, who formerly was a member 
 of the Ohio State Legislature, and is now en- 
 gaged in the livestock business at Crestline; 
 and Fannie, who is her father's housekeeper 
 and devoted attendant. 
 
 CAREY A. MICHENER, postmaster ai 
 Lykens, O., and, in partnership with his 
 brother, Alva J. Michener, owner and .pro- 
 prietor of a general store here, was born in 
 Venice township, Seneca county, O., in 1881, 
 and is a son of William and Laura (Richie) 
 Michener. The parents and their two sons all 
 live in Crawford county, Alva J. being also a 
 school teacher in addition to being associated 
 with his brother in the store enterprise. 
 
 Carey A. Michener attended the^ local 
 schools and afterward enjoyed three terms of 
 Normal School training at Ada, O., and then 
 went into educational work, for ten years 
 afterward being a teacher in Lykens to\\n- 
 ship. After retiring from the educational 
 field he turned his attention to merchandising 
 and embarked in his present business on Dec. 
 I, 1909, when he bought the same from M. 
 L. Aurand, in association with his brother. 
 The firm enjoys a large volume of patronage, 
 their honest methods and pleasant personality 
 contributing largely to this prosperity. For 
 the past three years Mr. ikichener has served 
 also as postmaster and as a public ofificial has 
 given entire satisfaction. 
 
 On Sept. I, 1909, Mr. Michener was married 
 to Miss Hattie Hartzell, who was born at 
 Bloomville, O., a daughter of Alvin and Sav- 
 annah (Miller) Hartzell. The father of Mrs. 
 Michener was a boiler maker by trade. His 
 death occurred in 1908 and his burial was in 
 Bloom township, Seneca county. Mrs. Mich- 
 ener has sisters and brothers as follows: 
 Agnes, wife of Albert Owen; Elizabeth, wife 
 of Reed Marquis ; and Cora, William and Ed- 
 ward. Mr. and Mrs. Michener attend the 
 Evangelical church. In politics he is a Re- 
 publican and fraternally is identified with the 
 Knights of Pythias at Lykens, O. 
 
 GEORGE W. MILLER, president of the 
 Farmers and Citizens Bank and Savings Com- 
 pany, at Bucyrus. O., and also president of the 
 Home Mutual Fire Insurance Company, has 
 long been a leading citizen of Bucyrus and of 
 
 Crawford, his native county. He was born 
 in 1^59, m i'oda township, and is a son of 
 John D. and Mary (Kahlj Miller. 
 
 John D. MiUer was born in 181 3, in Cum- 
 berland county. Pa., a son of George and 
 Catherine (Kex) Miller, who moved in 1837 
 to Richland county, O. Farming was the oc- 
 cupation of father and sons. John D. Miller 
 continued to reside in Richland county until 
 1852, when he moved into Crawford county, 
 securing a farm north of Oceola, to the culti- 
 \ation and improvement of which he devoted 
 the rest of his active years, surviving until 
 1896, passing away at the age of eighty-three. 
 His first marriage took place in 1840, to Mary 
 Deal, who died in 1852, having been the 
 mother of five children. In 1855 Mr. Miller 
 married Mrs. Mary (Kahl) Barga,-a daughter 
 of Henry and Susan (Rank) Kahl, a widow 
 vv'ith two children. To this marriage was born 
 one son, George W. Miller, now of Bucyrus. 
 
 After securing a fair common school edu- 
 cation, George W. Miller attended the North- 
 western Normal School at Fostoria and then 
 engaged in teaching school, continuing in edu- 
 cational ^^•ork for a part of each year, for a 
 protracted period. During the last three 
 years of his career as an instructor, he had 
 charge of the Oceola, O., schools. He has 
 always been greatly interested in the educa- 
 tional advancement of his county and in order 
 to further it has frequently consented to serve 
 on educational bodies. For a number of years 
 his business interests have been important, and 
 as the head of the Farmers and Citizens Bank 
 and Savings Company, he has become relied 
 on as a financier. The security felt by the 
 public in this institution is largely due to his 
 careful )and conservative attitude. He has 
 been officially connected with local fire insur- 
 ance organizations since 1898 and is now 
 president of one of the prosperous and sub- 
 stantial companies of Crawford county. In 
 politics Mr. Miller was reared a Democrat by 
 a father w-ho took a deep interest in the success 
 of Democratic principles. He has frequently 
 been elected to important township offices and 
 served two terms as treasurer of Crawford 
 county, and in the fall of 191 1 was elected a 
 delegate to the Constitutional Convention, and 
 made chairman of the Agricultural Committee. 
 
 Mr. Miller was married in 1880 to Miss Dell 
 
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 GEORGE W. MILLER 
 
AND REPKKSEXTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1079 
 
 A, Sigler, a daughter of George E. and Har- 
 riet (Horrock) Sigler, who were highly re- 
 spected residents of Todd township. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Miller lost their only child. They are 
 interested in the quiet social life of the city, 
 are hospitably inclined and have a wide circle 
 of attached friends. 
 
 JACOB BOLLERER, who is engaged in 
 the bakery business, at No. 740 East Church 
 Street, Gallon, O., is a thoroughly experienced, 
 practical baker, having been in the business 
 for more than 30 years, learning his trade at 
 Wiesloch, in Baden, Germany, where he was 
 born Feb. 10, 1863. He is a son of Jacob 
 and Catherine (Metz) Bollerer. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Bollerer were lifelong 
 residents of Baden and the father was in busi- 
 ness there during the entire space of his active 
 life. His death occurred in 1888, in his 74th 
 year, he having survived his wife since 1877. 
 They were members of the German Lutheran 
 church and in that faith they reared their 
 three sons and three daughters, all of whom 
 survive, only two of them, however, living in 
 the United States : Jacob and George, the lat- 
 ter being with the Erie Railway Company, in 
 the Gallon shops. 
 
 After completing his apprenticeship to the 
 baking trade, in his native land, Jacob Bollerer, 
 entered the German Army in which he served 
 faithfully for three years as the laws of his 
 country demand. Believing that the United 
 States offered better business opportunities to 
 young men than Germany or other countries 
 of Europe, in 1888 he left Germany and landed 
 at the harbor of New York and from there 
 came on to Gabon. With the exception of 
 seven years he has been continuously in the 
 baking business. He carries on a wholesale 
 and retail business, arranging for an output of 
 700 to 800 loaves of bread daily, the excel- 
 lence of which has carried his name over a 
 wide territory and has caused frequent en- 
 largement of his original plant. He has first- 
 class ovens and all the equipment which go to 
 make up a modern bakery according to sanitary 
 regulations. In 1903 he purchased two acres 
 of land on which site stand his buildings and 
 he thus has space for still further expansion. 
 
 Mr. Bollerer was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Johanna Schnautz who was born near the 
 
 birthplace of her husband, Nov. 29, 1865, a 
 daughter of Lonkin and Marie (Steinbrenner) 
 Schnautz, who came from Baden, Germany, 
 to America in 1883 and located at Gallon, O., 
 where the father died at the age of 73 years. 
 He was a blacksmith by trade and both he 
 and wife were faithful members of the Ger- 
 man Catholic church. They had a family of 
 three sons and four daughters, all of whom 
 married. Nine children were born to Mr. 
 and Mrs. Bollerer, as follows : Catherine, who 
 lives at home; Frederick, who assists his 
 father in the business; Albert, who also as- 
 sists in the same business; and Emily, Edna, 
 Mary, Johanna, Loretta and Esther. Mr. Bol- 
 lerer and family are members of the Roman 
 Catholic church. Politically he is a Democrat, 
 while fraternally he is identified with the Owls 
 and the Moose. As a business man Mr. Boll- 
 erer stands very high in the city and equally 
 so as a citizen. 
 
 DAVID BATCHELDER, president of the 
 Citizens National Bank, at Gallon, O., has hon- 
 orably and ably filled this position for the 
 past 17 years. He was born in Richland 
 county, O., March 22, 1839, where he was 
 reared and had school advantages. 
 
 Mr. Batchelder was 23 years old when the 
 Civil War opened and he was one of the 
 patriotic young men who answered the first call 
 of President Lincoln for soldiers, enlisting as 
 a private and being continuously promoted 
 until he was commissioned captain on Nov. 18, 
 1864, being mustered out on Nov. 23, 1864. 
 He has a fine record and participated in the 
 battles of Chickasaw Bayou, Siege of Vicks- 
 burg, Jackson, Grand Couteau, Sabine Cross 
 Roads, Cane River, and Forts Gaines and Mor- 
 gan. After the war was over he engaged in 
 the shoe business at Johnsville, O., until 1870, 
 when he came to Gallon, where he embarked 
 in the fire insurance business, in which he con- 
 tinued until he became identified with the Citi- 
 zens National Bank of 'Gallon. For eight 
 years he traveled as adjuster for the Pacific 
 Fire Insurance Company and then admitted 
 the late A. M. Mathena to a partnership, the 
 latter's son continuing the old business. 
 
 The Citizens National Bank of Gabon was 
 established in 1866 and on March 9, 1872, 
 was chartered, its present capital being $60,000, 
 
1080 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 with $41,000 as surplus. For some time prior 
 to being elected president of this old institu- 
 tion, Mr. Batchelder was vice president. The 
 report of its condition at the close of business 
 on Feb. 20, 1912, shows that the affairs of the 
 bank are in a very prosperous condition. The 
 officers are all capitalists, the cashier being A. 
 F. Lowe, and the board of directors : D. Batch- 
 elder, J. J. Schafer and H. Gottdiener. 
 
 Mr. Batchelder married Miss Anna E. Ross, 
 who was born in Wyoming county. Pa., and 
 they have two children : Alice Adelia, who is . 
 a graduate of a college at Painesville, O., and 
 is the wife of C. S. Northrup, formerly city 
 solicitor of Toledo, O., where they reside, 
 they having two children — Katherine M. and 
 John D. ; and Henry J., who is in business at 
 Gallon. Mr. and Mrs. Batchelder are mem- 
 bers of the Baptist church. He is a Knight 
 Templar Mason and belongs to the Blue Lodge 
 and Chapter at Gallon. He is a Democrat in 
 National politics but in local matters exercises 
 his own judgment. Mr. Batchelder is num- 
 bered with the public spirited citizens and be- 
 longs to the Commercial Club. 
 
 WILLIAM H. McWHERTER, who is con- 
 nected with the blacksmith department of the 
 Erie Railway shops at Gallon, O., was born in 
 Marion county, O., Sept. 5, 1846, a son of 
 Peter and Mary (Swisher) McWherter. 
 
 Peter McWherter was born in Marion coun- 
 ty, 0., where his Scotch parents had settled as 
 pioneers. He grew up on the old home farm 
 and was 28 years of age when he married 
 Mary Swisher, a native of Cumberland county, 
 Pa., who was brought to what is now Crawford 
 county in 1823. After the death of her first 
 husband she married Henry Bilsing and sur- 
 vived until 1905, dying at the age of 81 years, 
 the death of Mr. Bilsing occurring in 1909, 
 when aged 83 years. In 1867 they had moved 
 to Gallon. To Peter McWherter and wife 
 three children were born, two daughters and 
 one son. One daughter, Ellen, was the wife of 
 John Seanor and at death left seven children. 
 The other, Samilda, resides at Gallon. 
 
 William H. McWherter was married (first) 
 to Miss Alice Nefif, who was born at Gallon, a 
 daughter of Henry and Isabel (Buckingham) 
 Nefif, who came to Galion in 1841, after their 
 marriage in Pennsylvania. Mr. Neff was a 
 
 member of the Lutheran church which he at- 
 tended until his death, in 1884, when aged 71 
 years. Mrs. Neff was 69 years old when she 
 died in 1882, a member of the United Brethren 
 church. Mrs. McWherter was born in 1854 
 and died in 1896, the mother of one daughter. 
 May, who was born in 1878. She married 
 Charles King and died in the State of Wash- 
 ington after a residence of 16 months, leaving 
 no issue. Mr. McWherter was married (sec- 
 ond) in 1908, at Baltimore, Md., to Miss Flor- 
 ence A. Reagle, who was born at Manchester, 
 Md., in 1872, a daughter of Henry Reagle. 
 The latter was born at Manchester, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1819, and worked there as a carpenter 
 until 1909, when he came to the home of Mr. 
 and Mrs. McWherter, where he died June 3, 
 191 1. Mr. and Mrs. McWherter are mem- 
 bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 Politically he is a Republican and for 23 years 
 he was active in the order of Odd Fellows. 
 
 PETER H. KEIFER, whose fine farm of 
 76 acres lies in Lykens township, Crawford 
 county, O., is one of the representative citizens 
 of this section, a veteran of the Civil War and 
 a man who, through industry and prudence, 
 has been successful in his various undertak- 
 ings. He was born in Bavaria, Germany, Nov. 
 12, 1843, ^"d is a son of Jacob and Anna 
 (Bool) Keifer. 
 
 Jacob Keifer and wife were natives of Ger- 
 many and the former died in that country when 
 his son, Peter H., was eight years old. By 
 trade he was a millwright. In 1853 the mother 
 came to America with her children and subse- 
 quently located in Ohio. 
 
 Peter H. Keifer was ten years old when he 
 accompanied his mother to the United States. 
 He was one of the following children born to 
 his parents: Emma, deceased, who was the 
 wife of Charles Stuckey; Mary and Jacob, 
 both of whom are deceased; Adam; Louise, 
 who is the widow of John Wax; Peter H. ; 
 and Margaret. 
 
 While attending school, Peter H. Keifer 
 provided for himself by working for his board 
 and lived on a farm until January, 1864, when 
 he enlisted for service in the Civil War, enter- 
 ing Co. H, 55th O. Vol. Inf. in which he served 
 until the close of the war and was honorably 
 discharged in June, 1865, at Louisville, Ky., 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1081 
 
 having participated in the great march to the 
 sea under General Sherman. He then learned 
 the carpenter trade, which he followed about 
 25 years. Mr. Keifer then bought 40 acres of 
 land in Lykens township and began farming 
 for himself and later added 40 more acres, 
 but subsequently sold four acres to the rail- 
 road company, which reduced his farm to 76 
 acres, all of which, with the exception of three 
 acres, is tillable. He carries on a general 
 farming line and raises sufficient good stock 
 for home use. 
 
 On June 28, 1870, Mr. Keifer was married to 
 Miss Sarah Feighner, who was born in Stark 
 county, O., but was reared in Crawford county, 
 a daughter of John and Margaret (Gratz) 
 Feighner, both now deceased. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Feighner the following children were 
 born: Sarah; Ellen, deceased, who was the 
 wife of Lewis Angene ; James ; L. C. and El- 
 len. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Keifer have two sons Richard 
 and Charles. The former who is superin- 
 tendent of the Upper Sandusky schools, mar- 
 ried Ida Sanford and they have had the fol- 
 lowing children — Herbert, Homer, Walter, 
 Paul and Helen, deceased, Charles, the younger 
 son, is ticket agent with the Big Four Rail- 
 road, and he married Nettie Rhodes and has 
 one son, Herold. Mr. Keifer and family at- 
 tend the Baptist church. Politically he has 
 always been a Republican and for 18 con- 
 secutive years served as a justice of the peace 
 and has held other responsible offices, for two 
 years being assessor, three years township 
 clerk and one year constable. He belongs to 
 Robert's Post, G. A. R., to the Odd Fellows 
 at Lykens and to the Masons at Bloomville, O. 
 
 HOMER COX, one of the trusted and val 
 ued employes of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Company, a corporation that is noted for the 
 care with which it selects its men and also for 
 the just treatment it accords them, has been in 
 the service since August, 1890, when he began 
 as a fireman, being steadily advanced until he 
 now is engineer on the longest run in the whole 
 system. He has spent the greater part of his 
 life at Crestline, and was born in Crawford 
 county, April 23, 1862, a son of William and 
 Elizabeth (Bleeks) Cox. 
 
 William Cox and wife were born in Wayne 
 
 county, O., both being of Pennsylvania parent- 
 age. They were reared in Ohio and married in 
 Crawford county and spent the rest of their 
 lives on their farm in Crawford township, 
 where his death occurred in December, 1900, 
 at the age of 70 years. His widow survived 
 him four years, being then aged about 75 
 years. They were parents of five children: 
 Maria, who died after marriage, leaving no 
 issue; Mary, who married Madison Flohr, 
 lives at Newton Falls, O. and has two daugh- 
 ters — Maybell and Hazel ; Adelaide, who is sur- 
 vived by her husband, Henry Orewiler; 
 Homer, our subject; and Everett, who resides 
 in the far West. 
 
 Homer Cox attended school in Liberty town- 
 ship and then entered railroad life with which 
 he has been identified continuously ever since. 
 After serving for eight years as a fireman for 
 the present company, he \yas promoted to be 
 an engineer and has continued his connection 
 with the freight department, and his appoint- 
 ment, two years ago, to the Pitcairn run, was 
 an evidence of confidence and appreciation. He 
 has never had a serious accident and has never 
 been injured and his record speaks for itself 
 of his carefulness, caution and railroad effi- 
 ciency. He is an active and valued member of 
 the B. L. of E., belonging to Division No. 
 306, and for four years has been chief of this 
 division and has been a delegate to the last two 
 Biennial Conventions. He is also a member 
 of the General Committee of the Adjustment 
 of the entire northwest system of the Penn- 
 sylvania, and this indicates that he is a broad 
 minded and well informed man. 
 
 Mr. Cox was married in Richland county, 
 O., to Miss Carrie Brown, who was born in 
 Crawford county in 1864 but was reared and 
 educated in Richland county, a daughter of 
 G. C. and Caroline (Richardson) Brown. The 
 father of Mrs. Cox is a retired merchant liv- 
 ing at Shelby, O., but her mother died in 1908, 
 at the age of 67 years. Mr. and Mrs. Cox 
 have two children: Harry A. and Ethel May. 
 Harry A., who will celebrate his 27th birthday 
 in February, 19 13, is chief engineer of the heat- 
 ing and electric lighting company of Middle- 
 town, N. Y., married Myrtle Shumaker of 
 Crawford county, and they have one daughter, 
 Mary E., who was born Aug. 9, 191 1. Ethel- 
 May, who was born at Richmond, Va., gradu- 
 
1082 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ated with her brother from the CrestHne High 
 School in the class of 1908. She is the wife of 
 VVilber Jones, who is an engineer with the 
 Pennsylvania Railway, on the Conway Divi- 
 sion. Mr. Cox erected the first residence in the 
 block in which he lives, his home being at No. 
 623 West Bucyrus Street. 
 
 A. A. ARNOLD, superintendent of the 
 Gallon Metallic Grave Vault Company, of 
 Gallon, O., and one of its organizers, in- 
 corporators and directors, was born at Mt. 
 Vernon, O., Aug. 7, 1862, and is a son of 
 George William and Elizabeth (Austin) 
 Arnold. 
 
 Both parents of Mr. Arnold were born in 
 England, the father in the great city of 
 London, and the mother in beautiful County 
 Kent. They were married in the city of 
 London and when they started for the 
 United States in 1856, they had one daugh- 
 ter, Ellen, the eldest of their children. She 
 is the wife of John Dice, a locomotive engi- 
 neer, and they reside at Gallon and have two 
 children. Four more children were born, the 
 two survivors being: Mamie, who is the 
 wife of Frank Brown, a barber, and lives 
 at Muncie, Ind., having two daughters; and 
 A. A., of Gallon. The Arnold family resided 
 at first in Cleveland, O., and from there 
 moved to Mt. Vernon, and in 1864 to Ga- 
 llon, where the father died in 1876 and the 
 mother in 1894. They were members of 
 the Episcopal church. 
 
 A. A. Arnold attended school at Gabon 
 until he was 14 years of age and then en- 
 tered upon an apprenticeship to the ma- 
 chinist's trade, afterward entering the Erie 
 Railroad shops and two years later was pro- 
 moted to be foreman of a department, after- 
 ward general foreman and still later re- 
 ceived his deeree of master mechanics. In 
 1904 Mr. Arnold became interested in his 
 present enterprise and the Gabon Metallic 
 Grave Vault Company was organized as a 
 corporation, its business being the manufac- 
 turing of steel grave vaults and was the first 
 to construct an open end grave ^-ault. 
 These vaults are made of the best steel 
 and in sizes ranging from a child's body to 
 what is called the Mammoth, the last named 
 weighing as much as 500 pounds. Fifty 
 
 people are given employment at the plant 
 and in the business, and sales are pushed 
 all over the country, Mr. Arnold finding his 
 time fully occupied in looking after the 
 same. 
 
 At Gallon, O., Mr. Arnold was married to 
 Miss Ella Johnson, who was born in Ontario, 
 Canada, in i8b8, came to Gallon in her 19th 
 year and died here Aug. 30, 1910. She was 
 a devout member of the Episcopal church, to 
 which Mr. Arnold and their one son also be- 
 long. The latter, Roy J., is a graduate of the 
 Gallon High School. Mr. Arnold was mar- 
 ried (second) to Mrs. Emma Louise (Biehl) 
 Fox, who has been a lifelong resident of Ga- 
 llon. By her first marriage she had one son, 
 William Fox, who is a student in the Gallon 
 High School. In politics Mr. Arnold is mod- 
 erately active and votes with the Republican 
 party. He beldngs to the Masonic Blue Lodge 
 and Chapter. 
 
 CHARLES ODER, who, in association 
 with his wife, owns a fine farm of 160 acres, 
 which lies in Texas township, Crawford 
 county, O., was born in Seneca County, O., 
 a son of Edward and Elizabeth (Chamber- 
 lain) Oder. 
 
 One of the early settlers in Seneca county 
 was Edward Oder, who was born in Logan 
 county, O. After marriage in Seneca county 
 he followed farming there and as a respected 
 and reliable man, a member of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church and one of the leading Dem- 
 ocrats in his neighborhood. His family con- 
 sisted of the following children : Nancy, who 
 is the wife of D. M. Eastman; and Charles, 
 the subject of this article. The mother of 
 these children died in March, 1865, and later 
 he married Elizabeth Pfau and they had two 
 children: Jennie, who is the widow of Elmer 
 Rhodes, and Frederick. 
 
 Charles Oder has devoted himself entirely 
 to his farm pursuits since his school days and 
 for the past 17 years has lived on this farm, 
 which he purchased from his father-in-law, 
 H. Shakers. He cultivates the grains which 
 experience has proved do best in this section 
 and sufficient stock is raised for his own use. 
 He is an industrious, sensible man, well in- 
 formed as to public matters and interested in 
 all things that are important to this particular 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1083 
 
 part of his native state. He votes the Re- 
 pubHcan ticket, and is serving in his second 
 term as township trustee. 
 
 In 1884 Mr. Oder was married to Miss 
 Laura hhalters, a daughter of H. and Mary 
 (Clark) Shalters. Mrs. Oder has one brother, 
 Frank. To Mr. and Mrs. Oder three chil- 
 dren were born, namely : Glenn, who mar- 
 ried Florence Sponseller, and has two chil- 
 dren — Kenneth and Evelyn; Mary, who is the 
 wife of Albert Gregg; and Clark, who mar- 
 ried Hazel Lee, and has one son, Lee Albert. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Oder attend the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. 
 
 PORTER F. RHOADS, whose connection 
 rtith the great Pennsylvania Railroad system 
 dates back to May 17, 1872, has a clear record 
 for fidelity and efficiency during all these years 
 and the confidence and esteem that he feels 
 for his company is mutually felt by its officers. 
 He was born at Haney Creek Junction, Sen- 
 eca county, O., Nov. 19, 1853, and in 1859 
 was brought to Crestline, by his parents, Wil- 
 liam and Julia A. (Shade) Rhoads. 
 
 William Rhoads was born in Pennsylvania 
 and his wife in Columbiana county, O. They 
 were married in Seneca county and afterward 
 he followed his trade of carpenter at Haney 
 Creek until 1859, when, as noted above, he 
 came to Crawford county and continued to 
 work at his trade here almost to the time of 
 his death, in 1900. He as a stanch Repub- 
 lican and with his wife belonged to the Eng- 
 lish Lutheran church. His widow, born in 
 1829, survived him for eight years. They 
 had five children, as follows : Eliza, who is 
 the wife of Frank Reeves of Columbus, O., 
 and has six children; Porter F., subject of 
 this article; Frank, who has been with the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad at Crestline since 1879, 
 and who is married and has a family; Ella, 
 deceased, who was the wife of John Sears of 
 Mansfield; and Sherman, who is a resident 
 of Mansfield and a commercial traveler. 
 
 Porter F. Rhoads attended the public 
 schools of Crestline and since then has been 
 continuously connected with the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad. In 1872 his name went first on the 
 books of this road, in 1873 he was made a 
 yard brakeman and in 1875 began as brake- 
 man of Division B, Crestline to Alliance. On 
 
 May 17, 1 881, he was made conductor on Di- 
 vision B, and eight years afterward was given 
 a crew and a run from Crestline to Conway, 
 Pa. In June, 1910, appreciation and con- 
 fidence was shown him by his appointment to 
 what is considered the best run on the road, 
 that being to Pitcairn, Pa., consisting of 208 
 miles. Railroad life, at best, is one of hazard 
 and to avoid accident year after year, under 
 all conditions, including weather, indicates a 
 caution and measure of judgment that marks 
 the highest type of railroad man. 
 
 Mr. Rhoads was married (first) to Miss 
 Lucretia Dodane, who was born and reared 
 in Crawford county and died at her home at 
 Crestline, in 1901, at the age of 42 years, sur- 
 vived by no issue. Mr. Rhoads was married 
 (second) to Mrs. Carrie (Perman) Carlin, 
 who was born in 1856, in Morrow county, O., 
 where her parents, Michael and Margaret 
 (Fisher) Perman, had settled when theycame 
 from Germany. The Permans secured Gov- 
 ernment land and the father developed it into 
 a valuable farm. Mrs. Rhoads was reared 
 by her parents in the German Reformed 
 church. She was married (first) to Edward 
 Carlin and the following children were born 
 to them: Margaret, who is the wife of Albert 
 Menes of Crestline and has one daughter. 
 Norma; Bertha, who is the wife of George 
 Gresmer, of Crestline, and has one son, Roy; 
 Nora, who is the wife of Barley Neff, resid- 
 ing in Canton, and has five children — Ray, 
 Harold, Maria, Ralph and Donald; Abaline, 
 who is the wife of Richard Freeman, of Crest- 
 line; Charles, who lives at home; Lena, who 
 is the wife of Clyde Kirby, and has one son, 
 Kenneth; Agnes, who is the wife of Robert 
 Nelson, of Pittsburg, Pa. ; and Louis, who 
 died at the age of 21 years. Mr. Rhoads and 
 wife have no children. He belongs to the 
 English Lutheran church. Since 1882 he has 
 been a member of the Railway Conductors' 
 organization and belongs also to the Knights 
 of Pythias. 
 
 ALLEN A. CRAWFORD, a member of 
 the board of county commissioners of Craw- 
 ford couity, O., was born near Mt. Gilead, 
 Morrow county, O., May 20, 1856, six months 
 after the death of his father. His parents 
 were Allen and Ann (McAtee) Crawford and 
 
1084 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 on both sides of the family his ancestry is 
 Irish. 
 
 Alexander Crawford, the grandfather, who 
 was one of the pioneers of this family in Ohio, 
 was born in Ireland. His parents came to 
 America and settled in Licking county, O., 
 and moved from there to Morrow county, at 
 a very early day, Alexander crossing the At- 
 lantic Ocean some years afterward and join- 
 ing the other- members of the family. He 
 followed an agricultural life and lived to the 
 age of 75 years. His wife, Mary Eckles, 
 probably was born in West Virginia, and they' 
 had a family of four sons and three daughters. 
 The only survivor of that family is the young- 
 est born, Joseph, now in his 87th year, resid- 
 ing at Cameron, Mo. 
 
 Allen Crawford, the eldest son of Alexan- 
 der Crawford, was born in 1818, either in 
 Licking or Morrow county, being reared in 
 the latter and at the age of 23 years was mar- 
 ried at Mt. Gilead, O., to Ann McAtee, who 
 was bom in 1817, in Loudoun county, Va., a 
 daughter of Colley and Delia (Ashford) Mc- 
 Atee. They moved from Virginia to Morrow 
 county in 1829. Allen Crawford died in 
 Boone, Boone coimty, la., Oct. 4, 1855, leaving 
 four sons : Theodore, who is engaged in farm- 
 ing in Holt county. Neb., and who married 
 Sarah Berry, and has five sons and one daugh- 
 ter ; James, who owns a fine farm on the state 
 line between South Dakota and Nebraska, who 
 married Nancy Johnson and has two sons 
 and two daughters; William, who is located 
 near his brother, in South Dakota, and who 
 married Mary Sparks; and Allen A., the sub- 
 ject of this sketch. 
 
 Allen A. Crawford was reared by an uncle, 
 Floyd McAtee, and obtained a good, common 
 school education. A natural inclination di- 
 rected his early business efforts to agricultural 
 pursuits, including the raising of stock, par- 
 ticularly horses, and in the course of years 
 he became widely known over the state as a 
 successful breeder of fine livestock. He gave 
 much attention to the improvement of horse 
 stock in his section and for a long period was 
 considered an authority along this line, and 
 has been officially connected with agricultural 
 associations and those bodies that encouraged 
 the development of speed in horseflesh, and 
 in this connection has owned many valuable 
 
 animals. Mr. Crawford is an ardent Dem- 
 ocrat and his party in Morrow county first 
 elected him a county commissioner, where he 
 overcame a large Republican majority, and in 
 November, 19 10, he was elected a county 
 commissioner of Crawford county. 
 
 Mr. Crawford was married first in 1877, 
 to Miss Jennie James, who died in 1883. In 
 1888 he married Miss Cora Thomas, who was 
 born and reared near Mt. Gilead, O. They 
 enjoy a beautiful home at Gallon, O., and they 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church in that city . Mr. Crawford is identi- 
 fied with the Knights of Pythias, the Odd Fel- 
 lows and the U. T. C. 
 
 JACOB HOLCKER, carriage manufac- 
 turer, vice president and secretary of the 
 Holcker Bros. Buggy Co., at Crestline, O., 
 is one of the solid, substantial and representa- 
 tive citizens and a member of a family that 
 has contributed largely in the last quarter of 
 a century to the prosperity of this section, 
 along industrial lines. He was bom in Ba- 
 varia, Germany, April 26, 1846, and is a son 
 of Philip and Charlotte (Dietz) Holcker. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Holcker lived and died 
 in their native neighborhood, the father pass- 
 ing away on his estate, at the age of 78 years 
 and the mother when aged 68 years. He was 
 a man of industry during his active years 
 and understood and followed both blacksmith- 
 ing and carriage and wagon making. 
 
 Jacob Holcker grew up in his native place 
 and secured a fair German education and then 
 learned the trade of carriage smith. He early 
 cherished a desire to come to the United States 
 but remained in his own land until after he 
 had complied with the law in regard to army 
 service, then secured his passport and in 1868 
 set sail for America and was safely landed in 
 the harbor of New York. From there he 
 came to Bucyrus, O., there to join his brother, 
 Louis Holcker, who had preceded him by two 
 years, and the brothers went into business 
 together at North Robinson, in Crawford 
 county. In 1870 their brother, Charles Holc- 
 ker, joined them and since then has been 
 closely connected with their joint manufactur- 
 ing interests. 
 
 The history of the Holcker Bros. Buggy 
 Co. dates back to 1873, when the three 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1085 
 
 brothers above mentioned, Louis, Jacob and 
 Charles, established themselves as a firm at 
 Crestline, coming from North Robinson. Here 
 they first put up a frame shop on Seltzer 
 street, in the heart of the town, and in the 
 course of a comparatively short period had 
 to enlarge their facilities, a brick addition be- 
 ing first added to the plant and this being sup- 
 plemented with still further additions until 
 now a half block is covered with substantial 
 buildings, the plant extending 300 feet back 
 from Seltzer street to the Big Four Railway. 
 The product of this plant is sold all over the 
 country, their traveling men covering the main 
 business sections of the United States. Con- 
 stant employment is afforded 35 skilled work- 
 men for no buggy or carriage ever leaves this 
 factory unless a careful inspection proves that 
 it is first class in material and perfect in 
 mechanical construction. The firm has built 
 up a name for honest workmanship that is a 
 valued asset. In 1888, Louis Holcker with- 
 drew and went to Kansas City, Mo., where he 
 embarked in a similar business and prospered, 
 continuing until recent years, when he re- 
 tired. The business at Crestline was contin- 
 ued by Jacob and Charles Holcker and had 
 a steady growth and in 1902 was incorporated 
 with a paid up capital of $50,000, and was 
 officered as follows: Charles Holcker, presi- 
 dent and treasurer; and Jacob Holcker, vice 
 president and secretary. The board of di- 
 rectors include the above officers and addition- 
 ally, William Monteith, C. F. Frank and Joe 
 Schill, all of Crestline. At the present date 
 of writing (191 2) Jacob Holcker has prac- 
 tically retired but retains his official position, 
 his name having great weight in the commer- 
 cial world. Like his brothers, Mr. Holcker 
 is a member of the German Reformed church. 
 They all are of the same political faith and 
 Charles Holcker has been quite prominent in 
 Democratic circles and has served as a mem- 
 ber of the city council and for some years on 
 the board of Public Affairs. 
 
 Jacob Holcker was married at Crestline, O., 
 to Miss Magdalena Plocher, who was born 
 in Wurtemberg, Germany, Nov. 19, 1855, and 
 came to the United States and to Crestline, 
 in 1872. She died at her home here, Jan. 31, 
 1900- In every relation of life she was an 
 
 admirable woman and is tenderly remembered 
 by family and a wide circle of friends. She 
 was a devoted member of the German Re- 
 formed church. Three children were born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Holcker: a babe that died 
 early; Charlotta Maria, who completed her 
 education in the Crestline High School, and 
 who married Charles E. Brown, who is an 
 engineer with the Pennsylvania Railway and 
 has two children — Olive Magdalena and David 
 Holcker; and Louise C, who is the wife of 
 Dr. D. W. Peppard, a successful physician at 
 Mansfield, O. Dr. and Mrs. Peppard have 
 three children : Gretchen Louise, Ruth Bettina 
 and Heloise. After graduating from the 
 Crestline High School, Mrs. Peppard taught 
 German in the public schools for some years. 
 The family is socially prominent. 
 
 HENRY W. HUNSICKER, a well-known 
 farmer of Lykens township, who is at present 
 serving his township as treasurer, operates a 
 160-acre farm owned by his mother. He was 
 born in Lykens township, Aug. 12, 1884, be- 
 ing a son of William and Catherine (Lust) 
 Hunsicker. 
 
 Jacob Hunsicker, father of William and 
 grandfather of Henry W., was born in Ger- 
 many. After emigrating to America he lo- 
 cated first in New York state where he met 
 and married Miss Matilda Knerieman, also a 
 native of Germany. From New York they 
 removed to Stark county, O., and it was there 
 on April 15, 1842, that William Hunsicker 
 was born. In 185 1 the family again moved, 
 this time coming to Crawford county and lo- 
 cating in Chatfield township. 
 
 William Hunsicker grew up on the farm 
 and all his subsequent life was spent in tilling 
 the soil together with threshing. He was 
 married on Nov. 24, 1874, to Miss Catherine 
 Lust, who was born Dec. 30, 1850, and was 
 a daughter of Conrad and Magdalena Lust. 
 In April of the year following their marriage 
 Mr. and Mrs. William Hunsicker moved to a 
 farm of 160 acres in Lykens township, on 
 which he erected good buildings and made 
 many improvements. To him and his wife 
 were born the following children: Peter 
 Franklin, Madalena Elizabeth, John Wesley, 
 Charles Simon, Henry W. and Laura Ellen. 
 
1086 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 William Hunsicker is now deceased but his 
 wife still lives on the i6o-acre farm in Ly- 
 kens township, owning also a tract of 80 acres 
 in this township. She is, as was her husband, 
 a member of the German Methodist church. 
 
 Henry W. Hunsicker, the direct subject of 
 this sketch, after completing a common school 
 education, spent one year at the Ohio North- 
 ern University at Ada, Ohio, and one term 
 in the Ohio State University at Columbus. 
 He then went to work on his mother's farm 
 and has since operated it for her. He has 
 also become well known in his locality as an 
 auctioneer. 
 
 Henry W. Hunsicker is a member of the 
 Knights of Pythias at Lykens and of the 
 Grange at Brokensword. He attends the Re- 
 formed church and in politics is a Democrat, 
 as was also his father. 
 
 E. W. HADLEY, one of the best known 
 citizens of Crestline, O., with which place 
 he has been identified since its founding, is 
 yet one of its active business men, for a num- 
 ber of years since retiring from railroading, 
 having been engaged in the grocery business. 
 He was born in Richland county, O., Jan. 16, 
 1833, a son of Savannah and Martha (Rid- 
 dle) Hadley. 
 
 Smith Hadley, the grandfather, was born 
 and grew to manhood in New York and there 
 married Mary Van Norman, probably of Hol- 
 land birth. They were very early settlers in 
 Richland county, O., where they lived into 
 old age. 
 
 Savannah Hadley, father of E. W. Hadley, 
 \\as also bom in New York and was a young 
 man when his parents came to Richland 
 county, where he followed farming until late 
 in life, when he moved to Noble county, Ind. ; 
 where he died at the age of 83 years. In 
 Richland county he married Martha Riddle, 
 of Scotch-Irish descent, whose parents, James 
 and Margaret (Marshall) Riddle, were pio- 
 neer settlers, the former being born in Ire- 
 land in the latter in Scotland. Twelve chil- 
 dren were born to Savannah Hadley and wife, 
 five of whom are yet living, E. W. being the 
 fourth born of the family. 
 
 E. W. Hadley was reared in Richland 
 county and there attended the district schools. 
 In 1852 he came to what is now Crestline, it 
 
 then being but a flag station surrounded by 
 heavy timber. For some years he worked 
 at getting out heavy timber and in a saw mill 
 for the Big Four Railroad, then in course of 
 construction, and afterward became a brake- 
 man on the road and in three months was 
 given a place as conductor and for 26 years 
 he worked as a conductor on the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad. After retiring he purchased his 
 present store and has continued in the grocery 
 business ever since. In politics Mr. Hadley 
 is a Republican and has been an active factor 
 in his party in the county, for about 12 years 
 a delegate to the county conventions and at 
 jiresent is serving as a member of the county 
 central committee and as a member of the 
 board of elections. 
 
 Mr. Hadley was married in Richland county 
 to Miss Eliza P. Garver, who was born in 
 Ashland county, O., and died at Crestline, 
 April 22, 1901, aged 62 years. She was an 
 admirable woman in every relation of life and 
 the mother of five children : Augusta A., who 
 is her father's housekeeper; Horace G, who 
 v.as accidentally killed in a railroad accident 
 at Lucas, O., when aged 24 years; Martha 
 E., who resides at Crestline; Frank E., who 
 was a railroad man for a time and died at 
 St. Louis, Mo., when aged 46 years ; and Min- 
 nie May, who taught school for some years 
 and at present assists in her father's store. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. LAUCK, a representative 
 business man of Bucyrus, O., dealing largely 
 in wool, was born May 27, 1839, in Craw- 
 ford county, O., hot far from this city, and 
 is a son of George and Mary (Deardofl) 
 Lauck, and a grandson of Peter Lauck. 
 
 Peter Lauck was born in Holland, married 
 there and together he and wife came to Amer- 
 ica about the time of the Revolutionary War, 
 locating in Lancaster county, Pa., where he be- 
 came a successful farmer. His wife died there 
 at the age of 78 years and afterward, Peter 
 Lauck came to Ohio and died at the home of 
 his son, near Bucyrus. His family consisted 
 of two sons and two daughters: George; 
 Lydia, who married a Mr. Diller, of York 
 County, Pa., where their son lived and died; 
 Mary, who married a Mr. Fries; and John, 
 who was a farmer and miller in Perry 
 county. Pa. 
 
AND REPRESEiXTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1087 
 
 George Lauck was born in Lancaster coun- 
 ty, Jr'a., in 1800 and died in 1852 on his farm 
 in Crawtord county, O., to which state he had 
 come in 1827. He married Mary Deardoff, in 
 Lancaster county, a member of a well known 
 old Pennsylvania Dutch family, and her death 
 occurred in 1859. They were members of the 
 Lutheran church. George Lauck was prom- 
 inent and influential in the Democratic party 
 in Crawford county and served in local offices 
 and three terms as county treasurer. To 
 George and Mary Lauck the following chil- 
 dren were born: John, who died at the age 
 of two years; Jane, who married Andrew 
 Failor, formerly a merchant at Bucyrus but 
 later a resident of Iowa, where both he and 
 wife died, leaving seven children — Emma, 
 Andrew, George, Mary, Samuel, Charles and 
 Frank; Amanda, who was the wife of Judge 
 Josiah S. Plantz, both now deceased, who had 
 four children — Justinian, Gailor, Frank and 
 Anna; Henrietta, deceased, who was the wife 
 of C. W. Fisher and left six children — Mary, 
 deceased, Edwin, Charles, Frank, Blanche and 
 Grace, deceased; Nettie, who married L. B. 
 Lyday and died in Texas, while Mr. Lyday 
 died at Indianapolis, Ind., they having had four 
 children, the one survivor being Mary, who 
 lives with her family in California; Benjamin 
 F., whose name heads this article ; and George, 
 who died at Toledo, O. For some years he 
 was a merchant at Bucyrus. He and wife 
 were survived by four children : Qarence, 
 Stella and Ella, twins, and Mary. 
 
 Benjamin F. Lauck was educated at Bu- 
 cyrus, later was a student at Wittenberg Col- 
 lege and still later had educational advantages 
 at Newton, la. In i860 he went into the 
 grocery business but closed it out shortly after- 
 ward in order to become a soldier in answer 
 to President Lincoln's call for volunteers. He 
 enlisted in Co. I, 86th O. Vol. Inf., and served 
 four months under Captain Stone and Col. 
 Burns, in this connection, and then reenlisted, 
 becoming a member of the 57th O. Vol. Inf., 
 under Captain Skelton and Colonel Munyon, 
 and one year later was honorably discharged 
 at Black River, Miss. He participated in the 
 siege of Vicksburg and the following battles : 
 Deer Creek, Haines' Bluff, Jackson, Chapin 
 Mills, Blue Ridge, Chickamauga, Holly 
 Springs, Black River Bridge and many others 
 
 and saw hard and continuous service. He 
 was ever at the post of duty and was a cheer- 
 ful, efficient and dependable soldier. 
 
 For some years following his army experi- 
 ence, he was a clerk in business houses and in 
 1866 he embarked in the dry goods business 
 with a partner, under the firm name of Fisher 
 & Lauck, which continued for nine years. 
 Flailing health caused Mr. Lauck to retire 
 from the above firm and for some years after- 
 ward he traveled as a representative of a 
 grocery house. In 1880 he became a partner 
 in a grain buying house and continued for 21 
 years and then went into the wool buying 
 business, purchasing largely for Jeremiah 
 Williams & Co., of Boston, Mass. He has the 
 northwestern part of Ohio as his territory and 
 in 191 1 handled the enormous amount of 
 700,000 pounds of wool. He is widely known 
 and has both business and personal friends jn 
 every section. 
 
 Mr. Lauck was married at Plymouth, O., 
 in i860 to Miss Laura E. Bodine, who was 
 born in Cayuga county, N. Y., Feb. i, 1838. 
 She was one year old when her parents, Peter 
 and Susan (Erving) Bodine, moved to Ply- 
 mouth, O. Peter Bodine was born in 1784, 
 in Pennsylvania, and his wife in 1796, in New 
 Jersey. They were married in 1814 at Niles, 
 N. Y. Her father, Peter Erving, was a na- 
 tive of England and later came to the colonies 
 and served as an officer in the Patriot army. 
 Peter and Susan Bodine came to Richland 
 county in 1837 and he acquired much land 
 and became a man of substance. His death 
 occurred there Sept. 20, 1849. His widow 
 survived until Oct. 28, 1868, her death oc- 
 curring at the home of Mrs. Lauck. They 
 were members of the Presbyterian church. 
 Of their 12 children, three are living. One 
 daughter is the widow of D. R. Locke, the 
 author of the Nasby Letters, once editor of 
 the Bucyrus Journal, founder of the Plymoutli 
 Advertiser and later owner of the Toledo 
 Blade, which she yet owns. One daughter, 
 Martina, who is the widow of Alfred Parks, 
 was married first to Daniel Locke, a brother 
 of D. R. Locke. She resides at Bucyrus and 
 has a family. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Lauck have had three chil- 
 dren: Anna L., who is the widow of James 
 Franey, and has one daughter, Marion Alice, 
 
1088 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 who was born Nov. 13, 1896; Frank B., a 
 machinist by trade, who is shop superintend- 
 ent in one of the large plants at Bucyrus ; and 
 James L., who died in 1908. He was a mer- 
 chant. He married Grace Reed, of Mansfield, 
 0., who survived him for two years. 
 
 In politics Mr. Lauck is a Republican and 
 has always been an active and interested citi- 
 zen. He served five terms, eleven years, as 
 a member of the city council. He is past com- 
 mander of Keller Post, No. 128, G. A. R., 
 Bucyrus, and is a Royal Arch Mason. 
 
 HARVEY CANDEL, one of the represen- 
 tative citizens and public officials of Lykens 
 township, Crawford county, O., resides on his 
 excellent farm of 130 acres and belongs to 
 one of the old county families. He was born 
 in Whetstone township, Nov. 12, 1875, and 
 is a son of Elias and Sarah (Shupp) Candel. 
 
 Elias Candel was well known in Crawford 
 county. By trade he was a tile maker and he 
 established the Candel factory in Lykens town- 
 ship, which is now operated as the Zellner 
 factory. He died and was buried at Broken- 
 sword by the side of his wife in the Evan- 
 gelical church cemetery. They were parents 
 of the following children: Harvey; Clarence; 
 Cora, wife of Marion H. Kline; Ada, wife 
 of Robert Reamsnyder; and Florence, wife 
 of Roy Gatchell. 
 
 Harvey Candel attended the public schools 
 and after the death of his father, when he 
 was 18 years of age, took charge of the tile 
 factory and conducted the same for his mother 
 for five years. He then purchased 50 acres 
 of land and cultivated it and when his mother 
 died, he bought the tile plant and operated it 
 for seven years. After disposing of the tile 
 works he bought 80 acres of land adjoining 
 his first purchase and has continued here as 
 a general farmer and moderate stock raiser. 
 He is also engaged, to some extent in con- 
 tracting in concrete work. In politics he is 
 a Democrat and is now serving very satisfac- 
 torily in the office of turnpike road commis- 
 sioner. 
 
 In 1899 Mr. Candel was married to Miss 
 Louisa Laipply, who was born in Lykens town- 
 ship, a daughter of Simeon and Matilda 
 (Bower) Laipply, who still reside on their farm 
 in Holmes township.. Mrs. Candel has the fol- 
 
 lowing brothers and sisters: Adam; Eliza- 
 beth, wife of John Volkmer; Frederick; Abra- 
 ham; Rosa, wife of Herbert Aurand; Wil- 
 liam; and Pearl, wife of Lloyd Zellner. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Candel have six children, 
 namely: Edison, Arthur, Alverta,_ Gladys, 
 Harry and Lloyd. They are members and 
 active workers in the Evangelical church. 
 
 FRANCIS MARION FOSTER,* who has 
 been a resident of Crestline, O., where he now 
 lives retired, for 40 years, for 36 of these was 
 a faithful and valued employe of the great 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He was 
 born in Bracken county, Ky., in July, 1841, a 
 son of James and Prudence (Knight) (Walk- 
 er) Foster. 
 
 On the paternal side Mr. Foster's ancestors 
 came from Scotland and Ireland and were 
 early settlers in Tennessee. Grandfather Fos- 
 ter was born in Tennessee and was married 
 seven times and survived all his wives, the 
 fourth one being the grandmother of Francis 
 M. Foster of Crestline and was the mother 
 of four children, one of whom was James 
 Foster. He was born near Knoxville, Tenn., 
 in 1817. In early life a farmer, he later be- 
 came mate on a Mississippi River steamboat, 
 but afterward returned to his farm and died 
 at St. Louis, Mo., in 1869. Prior to the Civil 
 War he was a Democrat but afterward was 
 identified with the Republican party. He mar- 
 ried Prudence Knight Walker, who was a 
 first cousin of Hon. James G. Blaine, and was 
 born in Westmoreland county. Pa. After the 
 death of her husband she came to Crestline 
 and for 32 years was a member of the house- 
 hold of her son, Francis Marion Foster, where 
 her death occurred in January, 1900, when 
 her age was 82 years, 2 months and 18 days. 
 Her grandfather Knight died while serving 
 in the War of 1812. During the life of her 
 husband she attended the Baptist church, to 
 which he belonged, but later she united with 
 the Presbyterian church. She was the revered 
 mother of four sons, all of whom grew to 
 manhood and three married, Francis Marion 
 being the eldest arid the only one living. 
 
 Francis M. Foster was 1 5 years of age when 
 his parents moved to Indiana and later to 
 Illinois. When he started out for himself he 
 entered railroad life as an employe of the old 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1089 
 
 I. & St. L. line and engaged in construction 
 work for one year and then became fireman, 
 later a brakeman on the Illinois Central Rail- 
 road and still later, on the O. & M. Railway, 
 which is now the B. & O., southwest. In 
 1872 he came to Crestline and accepted a po- 
 sition as freight conductor with the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad, beginning a connection that 
 lasted for 36 years, when he retired with a 
 clean record, this move being made at his 
 own request, when he was 68 years of age, 
 his pension being dated August i, 1909. Mr. 
 Foster is well and favorably known to all 
 railroad men in this section and is highly es- 
 teemed by the company he served so long and 
 by his comrades who had confidence in his 
 skill and knowledge and affection and admira- 
 tion for him as a man. Since 1885 he has 
 been a member of the order of Railway Con- 
 ductors and was a charter member of the di- 
 vision order at Alliance, O., known as Divi- 
 sion No. 177, with which he has always been 
 in good standing. From 1875 until 1885 he 
 was chief conductor in the old order of Bro- 
 therhood Conductors, when that organization 
 had its headquarters at Crestline. Aside from 
 his own business, Mr. Foster has also been a 
 progressive and energetic worker and a use- 
 ful and public spirited citizen. In politics he 
 has been a supporter of the policies of the 
 Republican party since the close of the second 
 administration of President Cleveland. In 
 1881 he became a Mason and belongs to the 
 Blue Lodge and Chapter at Crestline, actively 
 interested in the fraternity and living up to its 
 teachings. 
 
 On June 20, 1872, in Knox county, O., Mr. 
 Foster was married to Miss Mary E. Wertz, 
 who was born in Holmes county, O., where 
 she was reared and educated. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Foster had three children: Charles H., whose 
 lamented death occured in his 26th year, and 
 who married Josephine Dunlap who survives 
 with their daughter, Marion, now 14 years 
 old; Ira G., a funeral director at Crestline, 
 who married Almira Geiger, and has one son, 
 Eugene Francis; and Benjamin, who died at 
 the age of seven months. Mrs Foster died 
 Dec. 23, 1906. Mr. Foster is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church, as was his 
 
 wife, 
 ei 
 
 ABRAHAM SCHIEFER, one of the en- 
 terprising farmers of Lykens township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., who owns 93 acres and also 
 operates 80 acres for his father, was born in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, O., April 
 16, 1866, and is a son of Christopher G. and 
 Sarah Ann (Miller) Schiefer. 
 
 Christopher G. Schiefer was born in Ger- 
 many, July II, 1824, and is one of Lykens 
 township's venerable and respected citizens. 
 He married Sarah Ann Miller, who was born 
 in Texas township, Crawford county, O., who 
 died in 1907, her burial being in the Broken- 
 sword Cemetery. They were parents of the 
 following children : Sarah, deceased, who 
 was the wife of Lewis Schiefer; Jacob F., 
 Isaac and Abraham; and Amanda, who is the 
 wife of C. H. Ahlefield. Mr. Schiefer is one 
 of the oldest members of the Evangelical 
 church in this section, in which he and wife 
 were active for many years. He is identified 
 politically with the Republican party. 
 
 Abraham Schiefer attended the local schools 
 during boyhood and one term at New Wash- 
 ington in the High School, and afterward, for 
 one term was in the Normal School at Ada, 
 O., since when he has given the home farm 
 attention and has devoted himself almost ex- 
 clusively to agricultural activities. In 1887 
 he was married to Miss Emma J. Smith, who 
 was born in Crawford county, a daughter of 
 Frederick and Lucy Ann (Shupp) Smith. 
 The father of Mrs. Schiefer was a substantial 
 farmer and a well known man. He was mar- 
 ried (first) to Christabel Lipman, who was 
 born May 15, 1815, and died June 2, 1846, 
 the mother of four children : Louis F., Her- 
 man, John F. and Adolphus G. He was mar- 
 ried (second) to Lucy Ann Shupp, and to 
 that marriage the following children were 
 born : Clara, who is the widow of Joseph 
 Laipply; Christabel, who is deceased; Cor- 
 nelius W. ; Martha and Matilda, both of whom 
 are deceased; Catherine, who is the wife of 
 Jacob Meek ; Frederick T. ; Henry W. ; Lucy 
 Ann; Jefferson I.; Emma J., who is the wife 
 of Mr. Schiefer; L. Melanchton; and Sarepta 
 G., who is the wife of Clarence H. Flickinger. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Schiefer have eight children, 
 as follows: Guy Arden, Charles Richard, 
 Harry Edwin, Christopher Frederick, James 
 Gerald, Russell Washington, Helen Camile 
 
1090 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and Dorothy Rebecca. They have been given 
 excellent educational and other advantages 
 and are intelligent and interesting young peo- 
 ple. The family attends the Evangelical 
 church. Nominally Mr. Schiefer is a Repub- 
 lican but there are occasions when he is led 
 into depending entirely upon his own good 
 judgment in casting his vote. He has served 
 his township on the school board and as land 
 appraiser and for two terms was assessor. He 
 is now representing the Crawford County In- 
 surance Company as its agent in this section. 
 For some years he has been an active member 
 of the Grange, at Brokensword. 
 
 FREDERICK STAIR,* manager and sup- 
 erintendent of the Western Union Telegraph 
 Company offices and also of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company offices at Crestline, O., was 
 born near Orville, O., Jan. ii, 1865, attended 
 the public schools there and spent one year in a 
 Normal School, after which he became a tele- 
 graph operator. 
 
 After learning his profession at Orville, 
 Mr. Stair accepted a position in 1885 with the 
 Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad and later be- 
 came connected with the Pennsylvania system 
 at Pittsburg, three years was with the same 
 corporation at Wooster, O., and in 1893 came 
 to Crestline as an operator under C. N. Frye. 
 In 1899 he succeeded Mr. Frye, who then be- 
 came manager of the District Telegraph Com- 
 pany at Columbus. Mr. Stair thus became 
 manager of the Crestline office and addition- 
 ally, is wire chief of the Pennsylvania lines 
 from Crestline to Alliance. Mr. Stair is an 
 interested and active citizen of Crestline and 
 for some time has been clerk of the city school 
 board. 
 
 At Crestline, Mr. Stair was married to Miss 
 Flora Hoffman, who was born in this city in 
 1869 and has survived her parents. Four 
 children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stair : Ethel, who is a member of the class of 
 1 913, in the Crestline High School; Helen, 
 who is a Junior in the High School; Madge 
 and Charles, both of whom are in the High 
 School; and F. Wayne, who is preparing for 
 the same in the grade schools. Mr. Stair and 
 family are members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church, of which he has been treasurer 
 for some years, and for three years was Sun- 
 
 day-school superintendent and at present is 
 teacher of the Bible class. In politics he is 
 affiliated with the Democratic party. 
 
 FRANK LA RUE, an honored veteran of 
 the great Civil War and one of the best known 
 and most highly respected citizens of Lykens 
 township, Crawford county, O., in which sec- 
 tion lies his valuable farm of 140 acres, was 
 born in Seneca county, O., July 22, 1842, a 
 son of J. B. and Jane (Gray) La Rue. 
 
 The parents of Mr. La Rue were both born 
 in the State of New York and did not come 
 to Crawford county but settled in Seneca 
 county after marriage and there the father be- 
 came a substantial farmer. They were mem- 
 bers of the Free Will Baptist church, most 
 worthy people in every relation of life. Their 
 ashes rest in the Rock Creek Cemetery in Sen- 
 eca county. Seven children were born to them : 
 Frank, Charles, C. W., Levi G., George, Jan- 
 ette, and Albertus, of whom all are deceased ex- 
 cept Frank and C. W. 
 
 Frank La Rue attended the public schools 
 and afterward spent one year at Hillsdale Col- 
 lege and then taught one term of school. He 
 then enlisted for service in the Civil War, be- 
 coming a private in Co. K, 45th O. Vol. Inf., 
 and remained a soldier for three years, less 28 
 days, during this time bravely facing death 
 on many a battle field. He survived, however, 
 to return home although numerous comrades 
 were left behind, many in unknown graves. 
 Mr. La Rue very soon afterward settled down 
 to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and con- 
 tinued a farmer and stock raiser as long as he 
 remained in active life and then turned over 
 his responsibilities to his capable sons. A gen- 
 eral farming line is carried on, stock for home 
 use is raised and something of a specialty is 
 made of Delaine sheep. A combination of 
 fertile land and careful methods of cultivating 
 it, has resulted in bountiful crops and financial 
 independence. 
 
 Mr. La Rue was married Feb. 20, 1868, to 
 Miss Ardella Waller, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county and has passed her life here. Her 
 people, L. M. and Arietta (Cory) Waller, were 
 old settlers and her father became a man of 
 large estate. After the death of his first wife, 
 Air. Waller married Ann Jane Yingling and 
 they had one child that died in infancy. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1091 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. La Rue the following chil- 
 dren have been born : Charles, a civil engineer, 
 who married Gertrude Blazer and has one son, 
 Baxter B. ; L. W., who is one of the home 
 farmers; Cora, who is a successful school 
 teacher, having taught for five years and after- 
 wards graduated from college at Ada, O. ; 
 Ralph W., who married Edith Flickinger, and 
 has two children — Forest and Stanley; Guy 
 G. ; Harry G., who married Mabel Caldwell, 
 and has two children — Ellen G. and Lois 
 Marion; James O. ; Edna; F. E. ; and Ger- 
 trude. Mr. La Rue and sons are Republicans as 
 was the father of the former from the organ- 
 ization of the Republican party. He is a mem- 
 ber of the Grange at Brokensword and belongs 
 also to the G. A. R. and the Knights of Pythias. 
 The family attends the Baptist church. 
 
 JOHN W. RONDY, who has numerous 
 business interests in Crawford county, O., and 
 is a director and stockholder in the Weaver 
 Bros. Company, extensive dealers in grain 
 and other commodities at Crestline, and one of 
 the incorporators of this company, was born in 
 Richland county, O., Feb. 28, 1873, and is a 
 son of Jacob and Catherine (Sutter) Rondy. 
 
 Jacob Rondy was born at Nassau, Germany, 
 in 1840, and was three years old when his par- 
 ents came to the United States. They secured 
 Government land in Sharon township, Rich- 
 land county, O., and Mathias Rondy cleared 
 and improved the same and it subsequently be- 
 came the property of his son Jacob, who still 
 resides there, being now in his 72nd year. 
 His father lived to the unusual age of 96 years, 
 retaining all his faculties to the day of his 
 death. To Jacob Rondy and wife nine chil- 
 dren were born and seven of these are living 
 and all have married but one, John W., our 
 subject, was the third of the family in order 
 of birth. The parents are members of the 
 Roman Catholic church. 
 
 John W. Rondy was reared in Sharon town- 
 ship, Richland county and obtained his educa- 
 tion in the public schools. He was married at 
 Mansfield to Miss Mary A. O'Rourke, who 
 was born at Spring Mill, Richland county. 
 May 2, 1876, a daughter of Christopher and 
 Mary (Brannon) O'Rourke. They were born 
 in Ireland and came to Richland county when 
 young and married there, where the mother 
 
 of Mrs. Rondy still resides, the father being 
 deceased. Mr. and Mrs. O'Rourke reared 
 their children in the Roman Catholic faith. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rondy have an adopted daughter, 
 a child of three years, who has been named 
 Mary Dorothy. In his political affiliation 
 Mr. Rondy, like his father, is a Democrat. He 
 belongs to the Knights of Columbus, the 
 Knights of Ohio and the Eagles. Mr. Rondy 
 and wife are members of St. Joseph's Catholic 
 church at Crestline. 
 
 VICTOR D. CAMPBELL, who is a leading 
 citizen of Texas township, Crawford county, 
 O., who is serving in his tenth consecutive 
 year as township treasurer, and is owner and 
 proprietor of a general store at Benton, O., 
 was born in Wyandot county, O., July 30, 
 1859, a son of Curtis and Isabel (Caldwell) 
 Campbell. 
 
 Curtis Campbell was born in Washington 
 county. Pa., and during the greater part of his 
 life was a school teacher. He married Isabel 
 Caldwell, who was born at Bucyrus, O., a 
 daughter of John and Martha (Martin) Cald- 
 well, the former of whom was once sheriff of 
 Crawford county. They died in Wyandot 
 county and their burial was in the Union Cem- 
 etery. Their family consisted of four sons : 
 Fremont and John, both of whom are deceased ; 
 Victor D. ; and Elmer E., who is a resident of 
 Los Angeles, Calif. 
 
 Victor D. Campbell attended the public 
 schools of Wyandot county, and with the ex- 
 ception of seven years has been in the mer- 
 cantile business all his mature life. In 1901 
 he came to Crawford county and bought his 
 present store from R. O. Seery and now con- 
 ducts the only mercantile establishment at 
 Benton, serving a wide territory and carrying 
 a very large stock of well selected goods. He 
 is an active citizen, in every way possible ad- 
 vancing the interests of the town. Politically 
 a Republican he has frequently been called on 
 to serve in local offices, his fellow citizens hav- 
 ing great confidence in his integrity and busi- 
 ness ability. 
 
 Mr. Campbell was married in 1891 to Miss 
 May Caldwell, who was born in Crawford 
 county, a daughter of David S. and Sarah 
 Jane (Doyle) Caldwell, the former of whom, 
 now deceased, was a native of Maryland and 
 
1092 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUXTY 
 
 a minister in the Reformed church. The 
 mother of Mrs. Campbell \vas born in Canada 
 but was reared in Crawford county. To Mr. 
 and Mrs. Caldwell four children were born: 
 Ellsworth ; May ; Blanche, who died at the age 
 of 14 years; and Alpha O., who is the wife 
 of R. E. Hillborn. The father of Mrs. Camp- 
 bell was a veteran of the Civil War, having 
 served as captain in Co. H, 123rd O. Vol. Inf. 
 For eight months he was a prisoner at Libby 
 Prison and was one of the fortunate unhappy 
 men who managed to escape from that vile 
 dungeon by tunnelling his way to freedom. 
 He served all through the war in the company 
 which was organized at Benton. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Campbell four children have been born: 
 Beth, Dale, Roscoe and Faythe, of whom 
 Roscoe is now deceased. The eldest daughter 
 is a teacher of Stenography in the Lorain Busi- 
 ness College, at Lx)rain, O., in which Dale is 
 at present a student. Mrs. Campbell and 
 daughter Beth are members of the United 
 Brethren church. Mr. Campbell is identified 
 with the Odd Fellows at Upper Sandusky, O. 
 
 REV. JOSEPH R. WAECHTER, pastor of 
 St. Joseph's Catholic church, at Crestline, O., 
 has charge of one of the most important and 
 prosperous parishes in the diocese. He was 
 bom at New W^ashington, O., where his peo- 
 ple still reside, Aug. 9, 1876. 
 
 Father Waechter attended the parochial 
 schools at New Washington and completed his 
 theological training at St. Mary's Seminary. 
 On May 24, 1902, he was ordained to the 
 Priesthood by Bishop Horstman, after which 
 he was assigned as assistant priest under the 
 presiding priests at Tiffin, O., where he re- 
 mained until Sept. 14, 1909, when he took 
 charge of St. Nicholas' church, at Ber\vick, 
 Seneca county, O., and continued in charge 
 there until Dec. 25, 191 1, when he came to 
 Crestline and took charge of St. Joseph's 
 church, succeeding Rev. H. E. Boesken, who 
 had been sent to Toledo after a pastorate of 
 nine years at Crestline. Father Waechter en- 
 tered upon his duties with characteristic zeal 
 and has aroused fresh interest in every 
 branch of church work. This is one of the 
 old strongholds of the Catholic church and for 
 years has been steadily advancing both spirit- 
 ually and materially. There are few better 
 
 established congregations in the Toledo diocese 
 and Father Waechter is a man well qualified to 
 carry on the present church enterprises and to 
 add still further to their efficiency and useful- 
 ness. His parochial school is flourishing, with 
 130 pupils and is in charge of a niunber of 
 Catholic Sisters. 
 
 HENRY M. HEER,* whose well cultivated 
 and very productive farm of 80 acres is situ- 
 ated in Lykens township, Crawford county, 
 p., was bom in Lykens township, Jan. 29, 
 1873, and is a son of Philip C. and Catherine 
 (Herrwagon) Heer. 
 
 Philip C. Heer was well known in Lykens 
 township where, for many years, he followed 
 the shoemaking trade. Afterward he went to 
 Missouri and died there. His wife died in 
 Crawford county and her burial was in Chat- 
 field township. They had the following chil- 
 dren bom to them: Henry M., our subject; 
 Louisa M., who is the wife of Jacob Bower; 
 Emma E., who is the wife of William Huse- 
 mann; Matilda C, who is the wife of Daniel 
 F. Long; Edward M. ; and Rosena C, who is 
 the wife of William Marquis. 
 
 Henry M. Heer attended the public schools 
 in boyhood and since then has practically taken 
 care of himself. For 1 1 years he worked for 
 farmers by the month and thus accumulated 
 the means to purchase 40 acres of his present 
 farm, this being about 1888. The second 40 
 acres he bought in February, 191 1, and now 
 has about as much land as he cares to give 
 attention to. He carries on general farming 
 and raises some good stock but only for his 
 own use. Mr. Heer was reared a Democrat 
 but uses his own judgment when he casts his 
 vote, frequently putting men before party 
 when he gives support. He attends the Luth- 
 eran chiu-ch. yir. Heer has never married. 
 
 GEORGE F. NESS, one of the well known 
 citizens of Galion, O., where he has been con- 
 nected with the building of many of the sub- 
 stantial structures, and also owns a tract of 
 farming land, was bom at Tipton, la., July 
 16, 1856, and is a son of Charles and Phebe 
 Jane (Auten) Ness. 
 
 Michael Ness, the grandfather, was of Ger- 
 man ancestry but was bom in York county, 
 Pa. In 1835, accompanied by his wife, he 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZJiNS 
 
 1093 
 
 came to Galion, O., when it was but a small 
 place and finally became a landowner and 
 farmer in Polk township, Crawford county. 
 He died in 1870, when aged 75 years and his 
 wife survived him for eight years. They 
 were industrious, respectable, thrifty people 
 and were consistent members of the German 
 Lutheran church. To them were born three 
 sons and one daughter; the last, Rebecca, who 
 has been twice married, lives at Waterford. 
 All three sons, Jacob, Michael and Charles are 
 now deceased. 
 
 Charles Ness was born in York county. Pa., 
 Dec, 16, 1833, and was two years old when 
 his parents came to Crawford county. He 
 grew to early manhood here and learned the 
 carpenter trade, afterward married and then 
 moved to Iowa and for a few years lived at 
 Tipton, in Cedar county. He was always a 
 hard-working man, mainly at his trade but 
 he also engaged to some extent in farming and 
 it was said of him that few could excel him 
 in the use of the old cradle in a wheat-field. 
 His death occurred in 1890. He was married 
 in this city to Phebe Jane 'Auten, who was 
 born west of Galion, in 1833, and was two 
 months younger than Mr. Ness. She accom- 
 panied him to Iowa but willingly returned to 
 Crawford county after a few years in the 
 western state and here her death occurred in 
 January, 1885. Of their five children the fol- 
 lowing survive : James H., living six miles from 
 Galion, in Marion county, who is a barn car- 
 penter, and who is married and has nine chil- 
 dren; George F., whose name heads this 
 sketch ; Mary, the youngest, who is the wife of 
 Sidney Hill, a railroad man, living at Spring- 
 field, O., and having six children. 
 
 George F. Ness was young when his parents 
 returned to Crawford county and his education 
 was secured in the district schools. Under 
 his father he learned the carpenter trade and 
 is considered an expert workman. In politics 
 he has always been a Republican but is not in- 
 terested beyond the demands of good citizen- 
 ship. 
 
 On Feb. 8, 1880, in Whetstone township, 
 Mr. Ness was married to Miss Rachel Bair, 
 who was born in Whetstone township, Jan. 5, 
 1859, and was reared and educated there. Her 
 parents were John and Rebecca (Sherer) 
 Bair, the former of whom was born in Penn- 
 sylvania and the latter in Whetstone township 
 
 and all their married life they spent in that 
 township. John Bair died there in 1896, at 
 the age of 65 years. His wife, who was born 
 March 12, 1835, died on the farm on which 
 she was born, Oct. 12, 1888. Her father had 
 entered the land from the Government and 
 it has been kept in the family and is now owned 
 by the two brothers of Mrs. Ness, Michael and 
 Samuel Bair. To Mr. and Mrs. Ness two 
 sons and one daughter were born, which died 
 in infancy. One son, Sherman H., born Nov. 
 14, 1888, who died Nov. 7, 1910, was a bright 
 and promising young man. The other, Cloyd 
 L., born Oct. 4, 1882, who operates his fath- 
 er's farm in Marion county, married Bessie 
 Geiger and they have two children: Willard 
 C. and Geraldine. Mr. and Mrs. Ness are 
 members of the United Brethren church. 
 
 FRANK A. NEFF, proprietor of the lead- 
 ing barber shop at Crestline, O., and an enter- 
 prising business man of the city, is a native 
 of Crestline, born July 4, i860, a son of John 
 and Catherine (Burkhart) Neff. 
 
 The grandparents of Mr. Neff, on both 
 sides, were natives of Germany, but both par- 
 ents were born in Germany and were married 
 at Marion, O. They afterward took up their 
 residence in Galion, coming later to Crestline, 
 spent the rest of their lives here. The father, 
 who was a car finisher with the Big Four Rail- 
 road for some years, was a skilled cabinet- 
 maker and also manufactured delicate musical 
 instruments. He was well known to the peo- 
 ple of his adopted city and universally re- 
 spected. In his religious faith he was a Luth- 
 eran, while his wife was a Roman Catholic. 
 They had four children: Catherine, John, 
 Frank A. and Edward, the last named being a 
 dry goods merchant at Crestline. 
 
 After his school days were over, Frank A. 
 Neff learned the barber trade in 1871 and has 
 been in business for himself since 1886, after 
 spending about ten years in New York state, 
 and has established himself here, having a 
 modern tonsorial parlor, with three chairs and 
 skilled attendants to care for patrons. Through 
 his courtesy, skill and careful attention to de- 
 tails, Mr. Neff has built up a heavy patronage 
 and conducts a place that compares very fa- 
 vorably in its equipments with these found in 
 a much larger city. 
 
1094 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Mr. Neff was married at New York city to 
 Miss Elizabeth Cohan who was born in 
 Rochester, N. Y., and who losing her 
 parents was reared by an aunt. They have 
 the following children : Bertha, who is the 
 wife of Gran Blanford, of Crestline; William 
 L., who is a factory worker at Crestline; and 
 Alfonso, who is a brickmason by trade, both 
 sons living at home. Mr. and Mrs. Neff are 
 members of the Evangelical Lutheran church. 
 In politics Mr. Neff is a Democrat and frater- 
 nally he belongs to the Knights of Pythias, the 
 Maccabees and the Modern Woodmen. In ad- 
 dition to his business location, Mr. Neff owns 
 some valuable residential property here. 
 
 ROBERT U. WALCUTT,* one of the pub- 
 lic officials of Texas township, who owns and 
 resides on the old homestead farm, was born 
 on this farm, one of the best in Crawford 
 county, 0., Nov. 20, 1868, and is a son of 
 Mason and Susan (Walters) Walcutt. 
 
 Mason Walcutt and wife were born in Ohio, 
 she being a native of Wyandot county, surviv- 
 ing her husband and residing with her son, 
 Robert U. All his active life Mason Walcutt 
 \\'as a farmer. He voted with the Republican 
 party and was a member and liberal contrib- 
 utor of the Methodist Episcopal church. To 
 Mason Walcutt and wife the following chil- 
 dren were born: Daniel; Alverta, who died 
 when aged 20 years ; Amelia, who is the widow 
 of John Smith; Jane, deceased, who was the 
 wife of James Brown; Laura, who is the wife 
 of Frank Bower; William and Robert U. 
 
 In the public schools of Texas township, 
 Robert U. Walcutt secured his education and 
 since then has devoted himself to his agricult- 
 ural industries, carrying on general farming, 
 dealing in Durham cattle and buying and 
 selling horses. About four times yearly, Mr. 
 Walcutt makes a business trip to the West and 
 ships by car load his market being Crawford 
 and adjoining counties. 
 
 On Feb. 2, i8qo, Mr. Walcutt was married 
 to Miss Alice Klase, who died in 1897, her 
 burial being at Benton, O. She was survived 
 by four children: Raleigh, Mason. Inez Floy 
 and Zelma Merl. In IQOO, Mr. Walcutt was 
 married (second) to Miss Rose Merbaugh, 
 and they have two children: Ralph Edward 
 and Mercy Dell. Mr. Walcutt and wife attend 
 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. He is inde- 
 pendent in politics but is a respected and re- 
 lied on citizen and has been elected to the 
 school board and is serving also in his first 
 term as township trustee. 
 
 FRANCIS M. ANDERSON, a substantial 
 and representative citizen of Crestline, O., 
 where, for many years, he has been interestecl 
 in fire insurance, has been a resident here for 
 50 years and has a financial interest in many 
 of the prospering enterprises of this city. He 
 was born in Fairfield county, O., Feb. 12, 1830, 
 a grandson of James and Priscilla (House) 
 Anderson. 
 
 On account of the stormy times in which 
 they lived, the ancestors of Mr. Anderson 
 succeeded in preserving but few of the family 
 records. Among these may be found proof 
 that William Anderson, who was born in 
 Scotland in 1693, was a supporter of the 
 claims of one of the pretenders to the British 
 throne and was obliged to fly in disguise, on 
 account of political troubles and first reached 
 England and from there crossed the Atlantic 
 Ocean to Virginia. He located in Hampshire 
 county, Va., and his estate is still known as the 
 Anderson Bottoms, although at that time, it 
 was a wild and unsettled region by white men. 
 He became a well known warrior, took part in 
 the French and Indian campaigns and served 
 under General Braddock. He died in Virginia 
 when aged 104 years. His family consisted of 
 two sons and two daughters. 
 
 Mention is also made of Capt. Thomas An- 
 derson, who was born in 1733 and died in 1808. 
 
 James Anderson, probably a grandson of 
 William Anderson, was born in England, Feb. 
 17, 1768, and died Oct. 24, 1844. He entered 
 the cavalry branch of the military, with the 
 rank of second lieutenant, and assisted in put- 
 ting down the Whiskey Insurrection and after- 
 ward served under General Anthony Wayne, 
 and for meritorious services was made a cap- 
 tain. In 1808 he came to Fairfield county, O., 
 late in life moving to Lafayette, Ind., where he 
 died at the home of a son. He married Pris- 
 cilla House, in Virginia, who survived him for 
 a few years, passing away also in Indiana. 
 They had eleven children and ten of these grew 
 to mature life, married and reared families of 
 their own. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1095 
 
 John Anderson, son of James and Priscilla 
 Anderson and father of Francis M. Anderson, 
 was the third born child in the above family, 
 his birth taking place in Virginia, March 4, 
 1803, but he was reared in Fairfield county, O. 
 Subsequently he learned the cooper's trade, 
 which he followed for eight years and then 
 moved to Marion county and in 1838 pur- 
 chased 120 acres of wild land there. This land 
 he cleared and cultivated and occupied it until 
 his death, on Jan. 4, 1888. In Fairfield county 
 he married Martha Roult, who was born in 
 Ohio of Pennsylvania parents who were of 
 Irish extraction. Mrs. Anderson died in 
 Marion countv in 1847. The Andersons were 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church in 
 this generation. In politics they were Whigs 
 until the formation of the Republican party, 
 when thev became identified with it. 
 
 Nine children were bom to John and Martha 
 Anderson, five sons and four daughters, and 
 eight of these grew to maturity. One son, 
 Thomas T., enlisted for service in the Civil 
 War, in the 12th Ind. Vol. Inf., and was 
 stricken with an illness from which he died 
 before arriving home. John, the next son, 
 died in 1859, while Levi died in 1864, all be- 
 ing unmarried. Three daughters survive, 
 Susan, Ellen and Margaret. Susan is the wife 
 of Rev. Walter Scott, a retired Episcopal min- 
 ister, residing at Oberland, O., and they have 
 four children. Ellen is the wife of John Blue, 
 of Belleplaines, la., and they have six children. 
 Margaret is the wife of John B. Hines, 
 of Marion county, O., and they have three 
 children. 
 
 Francis M. Anderson had common school 
 and academic advantages, and afterward, for 
 eleven years was a school teacher, and for five 
 years was in the mail service on the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad. In 1862 he reached Crestline 
 and shortly afterward became agent for lead- 
 ing fire insurance companies and has continued 
 in the business, one of the oldest and most suc- 
 cessful agents here. He is a director in the 
 Crestline Building and Loan Association and 
 owns stock in many of the industrial plants 
 in this section, his investments having been 
 made judicially. He has been very active as 
 a citizen and has served as mayor of Crestline. 
 For some 15 years he was a justice of the peace 
 and for many years was a member of the 
 
 school board. He is identified with the Re- 
 publican party. 
 
 Mr. Anderson was married (first) in Marion 
 county, O., to Miss Sarah E. Geiger, who was 
 born in Marion county, in 1834, and died at 
 her home in Crestline, in 1899, leaving one 
 son, Harry W. For a number of years he was 
 in the furniture business at Crestline but now 
 lives retired, a man of ample fortune. He 
 married Mary Etsinger, and they have two 
 children: Bertha and Frank M., the latter of 
 whom fills a clerical position with the Penn- 
 sylvania Railway at Crestline. In 1900 Mr. 
 Anderson was married (second) to Miss 
 Elizabeth A. Thrush, who was born in Craw- 
 ford county. Mr. and- Mrs. Anderson are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 TOBIAS MORCKEL, who is a highly re- 
 spected retired citizen of Gabon, is a native of 
 Ohio, bom at Windfall, Crawford county, 
 April 16, 1838. His parents were Peter and 
 Anna M. (Stuber) Morckel. 
 
 Peter Morckel and wife were born in Hesse- 
 Darmstadt, Germany, where they grew to 
 maturity and married. It was after the birth 
 of three children. Christian, Katherine and 
 Elizabeth, that they decided, in the later twen- 
 ties, to come to the United States. They took 
 passage on a sailing vessel and after 76 days 
 on the Atlantic Ocean, were safely landed on 
 American soil. They made their first home 
 in Pennsylvania and while living there another 
 son, George, was born. About 1832-3 the 
 family came over the mountains with teams, 
 accompanied by other immigrants, and when 
 they reached Jefferson township, Crawford 
 county, found land which seemed desirable, al- 
 though it was in what seemed to be a cyclonic 
 section and was named Windfall on that ac- 
 count. Here they bought many acres of land 
 and erected a log cabin that withstood all sub- 
 sequent storms. With land clearing and im- 
 proving climatic changes were evidently 
 brought about and the parents of Mr. Morckel 
 lived peacefully and undisturbed until the end 
 of their lives, the mother dying when aged 65 
 years and the father surviving to his 82nd 
 year. They were of the German Lutheran 
 faith and assisted in building the Windfall 
 church. After coming to Crawford county the 
 following children were born : Tobias, whose 
 
1096 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 name heads this article; Maria, deceased, who 
 married here ; Leah, who lives with her family 
 at Cleveland; and Elizabeth C, who lives three 
 miles west of Gallon. 
 
 For the first 23 years of his life, Tobias 
 Morckel lived on the old home farm. Later he 
 went to Crestline and for ten years afterward 
 was with the Pittsburg and Ft. Wayne Rail- 
 way, subsequently moving to Cardington in 
 Morrow county, where he operated an engine 
 in a grist mill for some time for his father-in- 
 law. Still later he went to Upper Sandusky 
 and from there to Columbus, where he engaged 
 in a business enterprise and was also engaged 
 in this way at other points prior to coming to 
 Gallon, in 1876, in which city he was success- 
 ful in business ventures for years. He had the 
 foresight to buy some valuable tracts of city 
 property and these he has improved, much of 
 his improved realty being on East Main 
 Street, right in the heart of the business cen- 
 ter, and he also has valuable holdings at Crest- 
 line. He occupies his leisure in looking after 
 his property interests. 
 
 Mr. Morckel was first married to Miss 
 Matilda Purkey, who was born in Ohio but 
 was of Pennsylvania parentage. Her death 
 occurred in 1873 and she was survived by two 
 children : Augustus J. A., who resides with his 
 family at Tacoma, Wash., and has two chil- 
 dren — Ruth and John Allen; and Lilian, who 
 is the wife of Rev. J. Fred Miller, a Lutheran 
 minister of Baltimore, and has four children 
 — Ernest, who has been well educated and is 
 an electrician; Carl, who is a resident of Co- 
 lumbus, O. ; and Leona and Harold. 
 
 The second marriage of Mr. Morckel was 
 to Miss Elizabeth Hinkle, who was born in 
 Hesse, Germany, March 11, 1849, and was 
 three years old when her parents, Conrad and 
 Mary E. (Eckel) Hinkle brought her to Am- 
 erica. The voyage consumed 68 days and after 
 landing at New York the father was taken sick 
 and died three months later. Mrs. Hinkle 
 and her five children remained in New York 
 City for five years and then came to Gallon, 
 where she lived for many years afterward, her 
 death occurring in 1899, when she was aged 
 81 years. Mrs. Morckel was the youngest but 
 one of the children, the others being: Henry, 
 who died in Ohio, leaving a family; Conrad, 
 a stonemason by trade, who lives at Gallon 
 
 now retired ; John M., who is in the meat busi- 
 ness at Troy; and Charles, who is an engineer 
 with the Erie Railway, lives with his family 
 at Gallon. Mr. and Mrs. Morckel are mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church. In politics he 
 is a Democrat and fraternally is identified' with 
 a German organization. 
 
 SAMUEL HEINLEN,* one of the highly 
 respected retired citizens of Bucyrus, O., re- 
 siding in his comfortable residence on Wallace 
 Avenue, owns an excellent farm of 92 acres, 
 which lies in Bucyrus township, Crawford 
 county, O. Mr. Heinlen was born in this town- 
 ship, April 4, 1855, and is a son of Mathew and 
 Elizabeth (Beckel) Heinlen. 
 
 Mathew Heinlen was born in Gerinany and 
 there learned the weaving trade but later set- 
 tled in Crawford county, O., and followed 
 fanning in Bucyrus township. He was mar- 
 ried to Elizabeth Beckel, in Crawford county^ 
 and they had the following children : John, S., 
 M. and Frank; Elizabeth, wife of Absalom 
 Bolinger; Matilda, wife of James Johnson; 
 Lena, wife of B3Ton Kent; and Lucinda, wife 
 of J. S. Murphy. 
 
 Samuel Heinlen attended the district schools 
 in boyhood and then began to work on farms, 
 first by the day and later by the month, and 
 thus, by hard labor acquired enough capital 
 to buy 40 acres of land. This tract he subse- 
 quently sold and purchased the 92-acre farm 
 which he still owns and on which he lived and 
 carried on farming for a number of years and 
 then shifted his responsibilities in large de- 
 gree to younger shoulders and retired and 
 took up his residence in Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Heinlen was married April 12, 1881, 
 to Miss Elizabeth Catherine Speigle; who was 
 born in Crawford county and died April 28, 
 1908, a daughter of William and Barbara 
 (Myers) Speigle. The children of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Speigle are well known people of Craw- 
 ford county. To Mr. and Mrs. Heinlen the 
 following children were born: Lewis, Law- 
 rence, Leroy and Dora Alvena. Leroy mar- 
 ried Ermina Eckert, a daughter of George 
 Eckert, and they have one son, William Lee. 
 Mr. Heinlen and sons are identified with the 
 Democratic party. The whole family attends 
 the United Brethren church. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1097 
 
 WILLIAM H. WEAVER, member of the 
 firm of Weaver Bros., the well known grain 
 firm at Crestline, O., has been secretary and 
 treasurer of this corporation for about 12 
 years and is numbered with the careful and 
 astute business men of this section. He was 
 born in Wyandot county, O., in 1867, a son of 
 John and Mary B. (Rininger) Weaver. 
 
 John Weaver, the grandfather, came to the 
 United States from France and purchased 
 Government land in Jackson township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., on which he and wife spent 
 their subsequent lives. His wife was also a 
 native of France and they were members of 
 the French Catholic church. They had 12 
 children, ten of whom lived to marry and eight 
 survive. 
 
 John Weaver, father of William H., was 
 bom on the old homestead in Jackson town- 
 ship and spent the greater part of his life in 
 the German settlement, his death occurring 
 July 17, 1890. His widow survives and re- 
 sides with her son, William H., bein? now in 
 her 71st year. Four sons and two daughters 
 were born to them, namely: William H., our 
 subject; Frank and John E., both members of 
 the above named firm; Rose, who is the wife 
 of William Gosser, residing on a farm in Ver- 
 non township; Anna, who is the wife of Peter 
 Keller, a farmer in Darke county ; and Charles 
 D., who is a farmer in Sharon township, Rich- 
 land county, on the old homestead. 
 
 William H. Weaver came to Crestline from 
 Vernon, where he had been in the grain and 
 stock business for six years previously. The 
 present business is one of large volume, incor- 
 porated for $100,000, its officers being: 
 Charles Kindinger, president ; Peter Huth, vice 
 president; and William H. Weaver, secretary 
 and treasurer. The company has branches at 
 three points. Gallon, Vernon and Crestline, 
 John B. Weaver being manager at Vernon and 
 J. J. Patterson at Galion. They handle hay, 
 grain and livestock, give employment to five 
 men at Galion, eight at Crestline and two at 
 Vernon. 
 
 Mr. Weaver was married in Richland 
 county, O., to Miss Mary E. Frye, who was 
 born there in 1864, of German parents, now 
 deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver have the fol- 
 lowing children: Leo E., who was educated at 
 Crestline and Dayton, and resides at home; 
 
 Wilfred F., similarly educated, who is asso- 
 ciated with his father; and Norbert R. and 
 Angeline H., both at school. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Weaver are members of St. Joseph's Roman 
 Catholic church. He is identified with the 
 Knights of Columbus, the Elks and the Eagles. 
 
 A. H. KINSEY, who is the present propri- 
 etor of what was the first established drug 
 store at Crestline, O., has been in the drug 
 business for 32 years, having had experience in 
 several cities and a resident of Crestline since 
 1891. He was born at Galion, O., in 1862, a 
 son of Samuel and Catherine (Claes) Kinsey. 
 
 Samuel Kinsey was born in Canton Berne, 
 Switzerland. After coming to the United 
 States he settled near Galion, O., where he 
 first engaged in farming and later was a ma- 
 chinist in the shops of the Big Four and Erie 
 Railways, his death occurring in 1893, when 
 he was aged 63 years. He was a Republican 
 in his political views and was a member of the 
 Reformed church. He married Catherine 
 Claes, who was born in Germany and was 
 young when her parents came to the United 
 States and settled at Galion, where both died. 
 Mrs. Kinsey survives and resides in her com- 
 fortable home which is situated on Atwood 
 Street, Galion. Her people secured and im- 
 proved land near Galion, the deed for the same 
 bearing the signature of President Andrew 
 Jackson. 
 
 After graduating from the Galion High 
 School, A. H. Kinsey became a drug clerk in 
 that city and later entered the Philadelphia 
 College of Pharmacy at Philadelphia, the old- 
 est institution of its kind in this country, where 
 he was graduated in 1884. For five years be- 
 fore coming to Crestline, Mr. Kinsey was in 
 the drug business at Xenia, O. The first drug 
 store at Crestline, the one that Mr. Kinsey now 
 owns, was started here by Dr. Alexander Jen- 
 ner, a half century ago. He was succeeded by 
 the firm of Spencer & McCullough, which did 
 business for a few years, when Dr. Spencer 
 became sole proprietor and continued until 
 1 891, when Mr. Kinsey succeeded. Dr. Spencer 
 moving to Colorado. Mr. Kinsey has been im- 
 proving his property ever since. In 1907 he 
 erected the Kinsey block, a two-story brick 
 structure, with basement, of modern construc- 
 tion throughout, one of the most substantial 
 
1098 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 business blocks in the city. Mr. Kinsey enjoys 
 the confidence of his fellow citizens in his pro- 
 fession and is numbered with the representative 
 men along all stable lines, of this city. 
 
 In 1892, Mr. Kinsey was married at Crest- 
 line, to Miss Irilla Rooks, who was born and 
 educated in Illinois. Her parents, Levi L. and 
 Anna (Frye) Rooks, are residents of Crest- 
 line, where Mr. Rooks is a coal dealer. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Kinsey have two sons : Herbert S. 
 and Albert R., both students. Mr. Kinsey be- 
 longs to the National Association of Retail • 
 Druggists, the Ohio State Pharmaceutical As- 
 sociation, the United Drug Company, of Bos- 
 ton, and the American Druggists Syndicate, of 
 New York. 
 
 MRS. FRANCES M. SOURWINE, who is 
 one of the highly respected residents of Au- 
 burn township, Crawford county, O., the 
 mother of Frank A. Sourwine and the wife of 
 Henry Sourwine, deceased, was born in Seneca 
 county, O. Her maiden name was Link and 
 her parents moved from Pennsylvania to Sen- 
 eca county. She resides on the farm of 103 
 acres with her son, this farm being located in 
 section 5, Auburn township, Crawford county. 
 
 In 1874 Frances M. Link was married in 
 Seneca county, to Henry Sourwine, who was 
 born one mile north and one-half mile east 
 of Attica, 0., a son of William Sourwine. 
 Henry Sourwine died in December, 1909, at the 
 age of 64 years, 3 months and 21 days, and 
 his burial was in Green Lawn Cemetery, at Ply- 
 mouth, O. In 1873, Henry Sourwine and his 
 brother, William, Jr., bought this farm in 
 partnership, and when they subsequently di- 
 vided the land, Henry took 103 acres and Wil- 
 liam, Jr., took 92 acres and both improved 
 their properties. The substantial buildings now 
 standing on the farm of Frank A. Sourwine 
 were put there by his father, who also drained 
 and tiled the land and continued to be inter- 
 ested in its cultivation until his death. In pol- 
 itics he was a Republican, and from 1898 until 
 1901, served his township as one of its trustees, 
 an honest and tipright man in all his official 
 acts. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Sourwine but one child 
 was born, Frank A. He was carefully reared 
 and is now one of the township's solid, reliable 
 men, a Republican like his late father. He mar- 
 ried Myrta M. Keller, a daughter of George 
 
 M. and Ella Keller, of Crawford county, now 
 residents of Attica. They have three children : 
 Carl G., Wanda L. and Gerald K. Henry 
 Sourwine and wife were members of the 
 Church of God. 
 
 JEREMIAH ERRETT, who, after many 
 years of active agricultural life on his valu- 
 able farm in Polk township, Crawford county, 
 O., came to Gallon, since 1906 has occupied his 
 handsome residence at No. 638 West Main 
 Street. He was born on the old Errett home- 
 stead in Polk township, Jan. 14, 185 1, the 
 youngest but one of a family of nine children 
 born to his parents, John and Nancy (Bud- 
 lin) Errett. 
 
 The founder of the Errett family in Craw- 
 ford county was Rev. Henry Errett, who was 
 of German ancestry but was born in Penn- 
 sylvania, where he grew to manhood and mar- 
 ried Catherine Fox. In 1835 they came to 
 Crawford county, O., accompanied by their 
 three children, Polly, Susan and John, the last 
 named being 13 years old at that time. The 
 grandfather was a good judge of land and 
 selected a heavily timbered tract in Polk town- 
 ship, well situated as to water, and there built 
 a log cabin, gradually cleared the land as his 
 ministerial duties permitted and both he and 
 wife spent their remaining years here. They 
 were among the most venerable people of this 
 section at time of death, although they had 
 passed through many of the dangers and hard- 
 ships of pioneer life, he reaching the age of 91 
 years, while she was 86 years old. He was 
 the first minister of the United Brethren 
 church in this part of Crawford county and 
 was the means of organizing churches in many 
 neighborhoods and in visiting them traveled 
 hundreds of miles back and forth on horse- 
 back. He was widely known and was held in 
 great esteem by all. His son John succeeded 
 to the homestead and spent his long life of 75 
 years here. He married Nancy Budlin, who 
 was born at Marion, O., and was young when 
 her parents settled in Polk township, where she 
 lived at the age of 84 years. Both she and 
 husband were members and active workers in 
 the United Brethren church. They had five 
 sons and two daughters born to them, all of 
 whom became respected members of society 
 and became well settled in life. 
 
B. 6. HAETLE 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1101 
 
 Jeremiah Errett grew to manhood on the 
 old homestead and attended the country- 
 schools, atter which he devoted himself until 
 1906 to farming and stock raising. He still 
 retains his finely improved fann of 100 acres, 
 in Polk township, the management and opera- 
 tion of which now rests with his son Charles. 
 During his many years as a farmer he was 
 considered judicious and resourceful and 
 brought his land to a high state of fertility and 
 raised excellent stock but never went largely 
 into the stock business. 
 
 Mr. Errett was married in Polk township, 
 to Miss Lyda N. Traxler, who was born in 
 1854, in Morrow county, O., but was reared 
 and attended school in Polk township, Craw- 
 ford county. Her parents were John and 
 Margaret (Kriner) Traxler, who moved from 
 Morrow county to near Ada, O., and from 
 there to Polk township, Crawford county. 
 There the father of Mrs. Errett died at the 
 age of 84 years and the mother when aged 76 
 years. They were members of the English 
 Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Errett have 
 three children: Charles, who resides on the 
 homestead in Polk township, and who married 
 Elizabeth Riskey; Nellie, who is the wife of 
 Harry Quigley, an engineer on the Big Four 
 Railroad, residing at Belle fontaine, O. ; and 
 Burton, who is a fireman with the Big Four 
 Railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Errett are members 
 of the United Brethren church and they have 
 a very pleasant social circle and are respected 
 and esteemed people of their neighborhood. 
 
 E. G. HARTLE, secretary and general man- 
 ager and a member of the board of directors of 
 the Perfection Road Machinery Company, of 
 Galion, O., is an experienced man in this line, 
 having been connected with road machine wofk 
 throughout his entire business career. He was 
 bom in Ohio and is a son of Americus and 
 Margaret (Hastings') Hartle. 
 
 The father of Mr. Hartle was born in 
 Hardin county, O., in which he yet lives, being 
 one of the progressive farmers and well known 
 men of that section of the State, a graduate of 
 two colleges and a camoaien speaker of note. 
 He married Marearet Hastings, also of Hardin 
 county, who still survives, and they are the 
 parents of four sons and one daughter. 
 
 E. G. Hartle was educated in the public 
 
 schools and was about 21 years old when he 
 gave full rein to his inclinations in the direc- 
 tion of mechanics. He has been with the pres- 
 ent company since its organization in January, 
 1908, and is the draughtsman and chief de- 
 signer of practically all the machines of this 
 company. The Perfection Road Machinery 
 Company was incorporated with a capitaliza- 
 tion of $200,000, with the following officers : 
 Ernest Klopp, president ;J. A. Petrie, vice 
 president; W. T. Resch, treasurer; and E. G. 
 Hartle, general manager and secretary, all be- 
 ing Galion business men. Miss Grace McCool 
 has been employed as private stenographer 
 and bookkeeper for the company ever since 
 its organization; and also Mr. George Beach 
 as it foreman. The output includes three 
 styles of road scrapers, seven styles of road 
 drags, and several styles of road dump boxes 
 and land pulverizers. A specialty is made of 
 custom work, employment is given 30 people 
 and they sell all over the world. The business 
 has been successful from the start and Mr. 
 Hartle has been its manger for four years, 
 coming here in this capacity from Colum- 
 bus, O. 
 
 Mr. Hartle was married, at Felicity, O., to 
 Miss Isadora Riley, and they have four chil- 
 dren : Chester C, who is an assistant to his 
 father; Hadessa, Imo and Margaret M., the 
 ages ranging from seventeen to nine years. 
 Mr. Hartle is a member of the Odd Fellows 
 and the U. C. T., of Ohio. 
 
 CARL J. GUGLER, attorney at law and 
 city solicitor of Galion, O., is a prominent mem- 
 ber of the Crawford county bar and a sub- 
 stantial factor in Republican politics. He was 
 born at Galion, O., April 29, 1883, and is a son 
 of Jacob and Katherine (Herzog) Gugler. 
 
 Jacob Gugler was born in 1844, in the 
 Rhenish province of Baden Baden, Germany, 
 and from there came to the United States in 
 1865 and attended school in the city of New 
 York and at St. Louis, Mo., and afterward at 
 German-Wallace College at Berea, O., where 
 he studied for the ministry. In 1875 he came 
 to Galion, where he was a merchant for some 
 years and also was interested in retailing oil 
 and gasoline. His death occurred April 17, 
 1903. In politics he was a Republican and 
 fraternally he was an Odd Fellow. In 1875 
 
1102 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 he married Katherine Herzog, who was born 
 at Russville, Lucerne Canton, Switzerland, 
 April 5, 1852 and came to America with her 
 brother a short time before her marriage, re- 
 siding at Elmore, O., before coming to Gallon. 
 She still survives and is a well known and 
 much esteemed resident of this city. She is 
 a member of the Methodist church as was her 
 husband. Of their nine children there are 
 seven survivors: Mary, who is the wife of 
 George Kunkler, of Gallon; Louise, who is 
 the wife of James Lindley, of Gallon; Bertha, 
 who is a teacher in the public schools at Ak- 
 ron, O. ; Carl J. ; Anna, who is engaged as a 
 stenographer; Edna, who is employed in the 
 clerical department of the Gallon Iron \Vorks ; 
 and Carrie, who resides with her mother. 
 
 Carl J. Gugler did not wait until his school 
 days were over to become useful and self sup- 
 porting for he was only eight years old w hen 
 he became a newspaper carrier for the Gallon 
 Leader and also handled the Cleveland and 
 Cincinnati journals. After graduating from 
 the public schools in 1900 he worked for one 
 year in the superintendent's office of the Erie 
 Railroad and then for four years was clerk 
 in the master mechanic's office at Crestline. 
 Having cherished a laudable ambition for a 
 legal career, by 1904 he was able, through his 
 own efforts, to enter the University of Michi- 
 gan, where he was graduated high in his class 
 and was admitted to the bar in December, 
 1906, immediately opening his office m his 
 native city. In 1907 he was elected a justice 
 of the peace and in 1909 was his party's chosen 
 candidate for prosecuting attorney. Although 
 not successful in that contest he is plenty 
 young enough to wait for still higher pro- 
 fessional honors. In 191 1 he was elected city 
 solicitor and his thorough knowledge of both 
 English and German, has assisted him greatly 
 in public office as well as in his private prac- 
 tice. He is legal advisor for the Ohio State 
 Legislative Board of the B. of L. F. & E., an 
 appointment received early in 191 2. He is iden- 
 tified fraternally with the Knights of Pythias. 
 It is almost impossible in these days for in- 
 telligent and broad minded men to ignore 
 lX)litics even if they so desired, and Mr. Gug- 
 ler has not been backward in announcing his 
 convictions and his thorough identification 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 JOHN HARVEY BROWN,* deceased, 
 was a well known, respected and industrious 
 citizen of Gallon, O., in which city he was 
 born March 5, 1867, while his death occurred 
 May 21, 1897, at Vicksburg, Miss., his burial 
 being at Gallon. He was a son of Harvey 
 and Lucy (Harper) Brown, both of whom 
 were natives of Ohio. 
 
 John Harvey Brown attended the public 
 schools of Gallon and as he had natural tal- 
 ent in that direction, learned the machinist 
 trade and was employed in different railroad 
 shops as a competent machinist, until the time 
 of his death. He was a member of the trade 
 organization known as the Machinists' Union, 
 and politically was identified with the Repub- 
 lican party. He had many friends as he was 
 pleasant and genial in manner and was ever 
 ready to do others a kindness. 
 
 Mr. Brown was married at Gallon, O., to 
 Miss Mary Boehm, who was born at Gallon, 
 Feb. 27, 1870, a daughter of Henry and Mar- 
 garet (Price) Boehm. The mother of Mrs. 
 Brown was born in Ohio but her father was 
 born in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, June i, 
 1 84 1, and came to Gallon in June, 1866, where 
 he followed shoemaking, having learned his 
 trade in his native land, for more than 40 
 years. He now lives retired at the home of 
 his daughter, Mrs. Brown, at No. 514 South 
 Market street. She also owns a valuable prop- 
 erty on Boston street and her father has nine 
 acres of productive land near the city. The 
 mother of Mrs. Brown died in 1907, when 
 aged 68 years. She was a member of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church, to which her husband 
 and daughter also belong. Mr. Brown is sur- 
 vived by two sons, Peter Henry and William 
 I. The older son is learning his father's 
 trade in one of the big city shops, while the 
 younger is yet a student in the Gallon High 
 School. 
 
 FREDERICK G. BOWERS, a successful 
 general farmer and stock raiser, a member 
 and supporter of the Grange and a man of 
 progressive agricultural ideas, owns 50 acres 
 of excellent land in Lykens township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., and also cultivates a tract of 
 80 acres belonging to his father. He was 
 born in Lykens township, March 23, 1878, 
 
AMOH F. KELLER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1103 
 
 and is a son of Frederick W. and Caroline 
 (Brown) Bowers. 
 
 Frederick W. Bowers followed farming 
 during his active life and now lives retired, 
 making his home in Michigan. He was mar- 
 ried (first) to Caroline Brown, who died May 
 25, 1891 and was buried in tthe Brokensword 
 Cemetery, the mother of the following chil- 
 dren: Lafayette, Frederick G., Esther and 
 William, Esther being deceased. He was 
 married (second) to Amelia Huff, who, at 
 death, left one daughter, Velma. His third 
 marriage was to a Miss Jane Smith, who was 
 born in Michigan. 
 
 After completing the common school course, 
 Frederick G. Bowers spent two terms in the 
 Ohio Normal School, at Ada, O., after which 
 he taught school for two terms, but finally 
 decided to turn his attention entirely to ag- 
 ricultural pursuits. His well cared for land 
 and abundant harvests testify that his decision 
 was a wise one and that there are few careers 
 in life which give the same amount of per- 
 sonal independence, a possession so dear to 
 Americans, as does that of a successful farmer 
 
 On Nov. 5, 1 901, Mr. Bowers was married 
 to Miss Lena Aydt, who was born in Marion 
 county, O. She has two sisters : Christina, 
 who is the wife of George Rentschler; and 
 Catherine, who is the wife of William Lau- 
 cher. Mr. and Mrs. Bowers have two bright 
 little daughters, Eleanor and Evelyne. In 
 politics Mr. Bowers is a Democrat and is 
 serving in his first term as township trustee, 
 taking his duties seriously and as an official 
 reflecting credit on the board. He and wife 
 are members of the United Brethren church 
 at Olive Branch, Lykens township. 
 
 FERDINAND BLEILY, deceased, for 37 
 years was in business at Gallon, O., where he 
 was numbered with the honest and reliable 
 men and generous and public spirited citizens. 
 He was born at Grutzing, Baden, Germany, 
 May 26, 1827, and died at Galion, Nov. 28, 
 1888. 
 
 Ferdinand Bleily was 28 years of age when 
 he came to America, crossing the Atlantic 
 Ocean on a sailing vessel, and in 1854 was 
 landed at New York. From there he came on 
 to Galion, C, where he remained only a short 
 time and then went to Columbus, but several 
 
 years afterward returned to Galion and made 
 this city his permanent home. He was a 
 painter, glazier and decorator and had thor- 
 oughly learned his trade in his native land, 
 and for three years was foreman of the paint 
 shops for the Big Four Railway, at Galion. 
 Subsequently he went into the saloon business 
 and continued until his last illness. He was 
 a man of good fellowship and kind heart and 
 was exceedingly charitable. He was a strong 
 Democrat in politics and in religion was a 
 member, with all his family, of St. Joseph's 
 Roman Catholic Church. 
 
 Mr. Bleily was married at Galion, May 12, 
 
 1855, to Miss Veronica Frank, who was born 
 in Baden, Germany, March 18, 1837, a daugh- 
 ter of George and Margaret (Heegel) Frank. 
 They came to the United States from Baden, 
 Germany, in 1841, locating first at Erie, Pa., 
 from whence they came to Ohio and purchased 
 a farm in Morrow county, cleared and im- 
 proved it and lived there during the remam- 
 der of their lives. The father was 'j'j years 
 old at time of death and the mother was aged 
 70 year. To Mr. and Mrs. Bleily two children 
 were born: Pauline C. and William A. The 
 former married Joseph F. Lampert and they 
 both died at Cleveland, O. One son, William 
 A. Lampert, survives and lives at Cleveland. 
 William A. Bleily who was born Feb. 13, 
 
 1856, succeeded his father in business but how 
 lives at Galion. 
 
 AMOS F. KELLER, vice president of the 
 Farmers and Citizens Bank and Savings Com- 
 pany, of Bucyrus, O., is one of the foremost 
 men of Crawford county in many lines, the 
 professions of teaching and law having claimed 
 a large jjart of his time in the past, while pol- 
 itics and public affairs have also interested 
 him. He was born in Crawford county, O., 
 and has had the satisfaction of occupying the 
 old family homestead throughout his life up 
 to the present time. He is a son of Phillip and 
 Hannah (Stucker) Keller, old residents of this 
 section, who were well and widely known and 
 were held in much respect by their neighbors. 
 
 Amos F. Keller in boyhood displayed a love 
 of learning' that was somewhat unusual among 
 his school-boy comrades, and the result was 
 that he soon outstripped them all. He took up 
 the scientific course under Professor Churchill, 
 
1104 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 then of Oberlin University, and by the time he 
 was nineteen years of age, he had solved every 
 problem in mathematics that belonged to the 
 district school course. When he began to teach 
 school it was probably with no idea of the real 
 interest the work would have for him, but 
 later he continued as an educator because of 
 the opportunities it gave him of arousing am- 
 bition in others, as many of these have since 
 testified. He continued in the educational 
 field for more than eighteen years. In the 
 meanwhile he was acquiring knowledge for 
 himself along other lines and not only equipped 
 himself for the practice of law, but made a 
 study of the great questions of the day, becom- 
 ing deeply concerned on the subject of the re- 
 lations of capital and labor. Possessing a well 
 trained mind and the gift of oratory, Mr. Kel- 
 ler came to the front in political campaigns, 
 and identified himself with the Labor party, 
 becoming a party worker under the organiza- 
 tion of Hon. T. V. Powderly. In 1894 Mr. 
 Keller was a candidate for Congress on the 
 People's ticket, and, although not elected, 
 showed remarkable strength. He subsequently 
 became an admirer and supporter of Hon. 
 William Jennings Bryan for the Presidency, 
 and in the campaigns of 1896 and 1900 
 traveled through Ohio speaking in his behalf. 
 W^hile all the people did not have the same 
 confidence in the political wisdom of the 
 Democratic candidate, a large proportion were 
 always willing to go long distances to listen 
 to Mr. Keller, on any subject, his popularity 
 being very general all over his native state. 
 
 Mr. Keller was married Oct. 30, 1895, to 
 ;\Iiss Hattie Maudesta Carrothers, a daughter 
 of James B. Carrothers, a substantial farmer 
 of Vernon township. They have four chil- 
 dren. As mentioned above, the old home .farm 
 has continued to be the chosen place of resi- 
 dence by Mr. Keller and family, he having 
 been its owner since he was twenty-three years 
 of asre. In addition to being second officer in 
 the Farmers and Citizens Bank and Savings 
 Company, he is associated with its president, 
 George W. Miller, in the Farmers' Mutual In- 
 surance Company, on Jan. 2, igii, Mr. Kel- 
 ler was appointed deputy sherifif of Crawford 
 county. He is now the Democratic candidate 
 for Probate Judge and is certain to be elected, 
 nomination on the Democratic ticket in this 
 county being equivalent to election. 
 
 DANIEL KREITER, county treasurer of 
 Crawford county, O., is widely known as a 
 reliable and representative citizen and also as 
 a successful business man. He was born in 
 Crawford county, Sept. 22, 1854, one of three 
 children born to his parents, who were Wil- 
 liam and Elizabeth (Hess) Kreiter, who are 
 now deceased. 
 
 Daniel Kreiter was educated in the schools 
 of Gallon, O. and also attended school at the 
 Capitol University at Columbus and the Le- 
 banon, O. Normal School. He had learned 
 the shoemaking trade, although his father had 
 been a tailor, and had worked at that before 
 entering upon his college education. Inter- 
 vening his school course at Columbus and Le- 
 banon, he taught school one year in the pub- 
 lic schools at Gallon. After his graduation in 
 the commercial course at Lebanon, he was em- 
 ployed about seven years in the freight and 
 ticket office of the Erie "Railroad Company at 
 Gallon. Later he served for many years as 
 bookkeeper in Kreiter & Schaefer's grocery 
 store and while in this service was elected for 
 and served two terms as city treasurer of his 
 home city. He continued as bookkeeper in 
 the grocery business until he was elected coun- 
 ty treasurer of Crawford county on the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket, this election being held in No- 
 vember, 1908. He assumed the office in the 
 following year and has served two terms with 
 the greatest efficiency. 
 
 Mr. Kreiter married Miss Margaret Bohl, 
 a daughter of Ludwig Bohl, and they have 
 three children, namely: Clio, Fred W. and 
 Elfrida. They attend the Lutheran church. 
 
 JESSE G. BROWN, one of the live busi- 
 ness men of Gallon, O., progressive in his 
 ideas and enterprising in his undertakings, is 
 proprietor of the Old Reliable Piano Store, 
 \\hich is situated on the corner of Walnut 
 and South Market streets, and has additional 
 business interests. He was born on a farm 
 in Champaign county, O., near Kingston, in 
 1858, and is a son of John and Anna (Myers) 
 Brown. 
 
 John Brown and wife were born in Berks 
 county. Pa., of old Dutch ancestry, and were 
 reared and married there. In the forties they 
 came to Champaign county, O., locating on a 
 farm and spent their subsequent lives there. 
 well known and highly respected, his death 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1105 
 
 occurring at the age of 58 years. After being 
 left a wiuow, JVlrs. Brown moved to urbana 
 and died there in 190S, when aged 89 years. 
 Both she and husband were members of the 
 Methodist lipiscopal church. 1 hey had eleven 
 children and of these one son and three daugh- 
 ters died in early childhood and seven reached 
 maturity. Elizabeth is a resident of Urbana, 
 Champaign county. Sallie J. resides at Ur- 
 bana and is the widow of E. M. Most and she 
 has four sons. David H., a county oificial, 
 lives at Urbana with his wife. Eliza is the 
 widow of E. B. Kiser and lives at Urbana 
 with her four daughters. James and John, 
 twins, the former of whom is a business man 
 of Springfield, O., unmarried, while the latter 
 is a railroad man and is married and has one 
 son. 
 
 Jesse G. Brown was reared in Champaign 
 county and obtained his education at Urbana. 
 When 19 years of age he accepted a commer- 
 cial position and went out on the road and 
 for about 20 years traveled over the country, 
 his business taking him into almost every State 
 of the Union, his line being the selling of 
 pianos. He was thus engaged until he deter- 
 mined to go into business for himself and 
 chose Gallon, of which city he had already 
 been a resident for six years, as a good busi- 
 ness field, establishing his present store in 
 1889. He carries a fine line of high grade 
 musical goods, including the Ivers-Pond pi- 
 anos of Boston, the Adam Schaafer, of Chi- 
 cago, together with a special make of piano, 
 with new and admirable features, the J. G. 
 Brown piano, which is specially manufactured 
 for him in New York City. He also has the 
 exclusive agency for the Edison phonographs, 
 for which the demand is large. Mr. Brown 
 has been public spirited in promoting many of 
 the business enterprises of Galion and owns 
 stock in many of them. As a pastime Mr. 
 Brown interested himself some 20 years ago 
 in horticulture and fruit growing but the 
 pastime has developed into a large business 
 and he is known all over the state for the 
 products of his fine orchards and his success 
 in the growing of all kinds of fruit that will 
 mature in this climate. Mr. Brown still finds 
 enjoyment in his experiments and has solved 
 many horticultural problems. 
 
 At Galion, O., Mr. Brown was married to 
 
 Miss Minnie Gledhill, who is a daughter of 
 Joseph and Elizabeth (Hershner) Gledhill. 
 This substantial family of Crawford county 
 is well known and is one of the old settled 
 ones of Jefferson township, members of the 
 United Brethren church, to which religious 
 body Mr. and Mrs. Brown also belong. They 
 have three children; Claudia O., a graduate 
 of the Galion High School, who married E. 
 Landis Miller, an Erie Railroad official, re- 
 siding at Galion; Hazel F., who is a graduate 
 of the Galion High School in the class of 
 1908; and Jesse Gledhill, who is yet a school 
 boy. 
 
 In politics Mr. Brown is a Republican. 
 While he has not accepted any political office 
 he is a charter member of the Commercial 
 Club, of which he has been president and 
 otherwise officially connected, at present being 
 chairman of the entertainment committee. 
 He has been the chief mover in many of the 
 recent successful enterprises organized to 
 make this city more widely known as a de- 
 sirable place in which to establish both a home 
 and business. He belongs to Lodge No. 186 
 Knights of Pythias and is a past official of 
 the State Grand Lodge, and belongs also to 
 the Odd Fellows at Galion. 
 
 WILLIAM E. MILLIRON, who is a mem- 
 ber of the firm of Milliron I3ros., manufac- 
 turers of drain-tile and brick, with plant lo- 
 cated five miles northeast of New Washing- 
 ton, just across the Huron county line, in 
 Richmond township, is half owner of this 
 large business enterprise and is a very active 
 and successful business man. He was born 
 in Crawford county, O., and is a son of John 
 and Helen (Page) Milliron. 
 
 John Milliron was born in Pennsylvania 
 and came to Ohio in boyhood. Later he 
 learned the carpenter tracle and worked at 
 the same until 1882, when he turned his at- 
 tention to the manufacturing of drain tile and 
 brick, came to near New Washington and pur- 
 chased 25 acres of land, subsequently adding 
 ten more acres. In the above year he erected 
 the present plant, two buildings with dimen- 
 sions of .-?oxi45 and 40x40 feet and also built 
 a saw mill for custom sawing. Here he re- 
 sided and manufactured from three to 12-inch 
 tile building blocks. In 1890 he took his 
 
1106 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 three sons into partnership and the firm name 
 became J. Milliron & Sons, and a large busi- 
 ness was done, trade being drawn from Huron, 
 Richland and Seneca counties, as well as 
 all over Crawford county. After the death 
 of the founder, in 1902, the three sons con- 
 tinued under the style of Milliron Bros., un- 
 til 1 9 12, when Harry L. Milliron retired and 
 sold his interest to his two brothers, John R. 
 and William E., who are sole owners. The 
 present firm has enlarged the facilities of the 
 plant, erecting two new buildings, one with 
 dimensions 54x54 feet and the other of 32x40 
 feet. They are prepared to make every size 
 of tile and their annual output approaches 
 50,000 building blocks and 50,000 bricks, and 
 give employment to four steady men who un- 
 derstand the business. 
 
 John Milliron was married at New Wash- 
 ington, O., to Miss Helen Page, who was 
 born in Guernsey county, and they had twelve 
 children born to them, the survivors being: 
 Mrs. Jeremiah Lewis, who lives in Garfield 
 county, Okla. ; Mrs. John Beamer, who lives 
 four miles north of the above mentioned 
 plant; Mrs. Newton Carson, who lives at Ply- 
 mouth, O. ; Charles, who married Lottie Rapp 
 and lives in Auburn township; Harry L., who 
 lives at Plymouth, O. and who married Nora 
 Jones; William E., subject of this sketch; 
 John R., who resides at the plant and who 
 married Minta De Witt; Mrs. Isaiah Kem- 
 mery, residing near the plant ; and Mrs. Hen- 
 rietta Yarnell, who resides at Norwalk, O. 
 
 William E. Milliron makes his home at his 
 place of business. He married Miss Matilda 
 E. Warner and they have two children: Alta, 
 who lives at Plymouth, O. ; and Inez B., who 
 is attending school. 
 
 HARRY L. BODLEY, cashier of the First 
 National Bank of Gallon, O., and one of the 
 progressive and energetic citizens, wide awake 
 to public conditions and well qualified as a 
 citizen and business man, was born at Bucyrus, 
 O., Nov. 16, 1877, and is a son of \\'illiam A. 
 and Frances (Miller) Bodley. 
 
 William A. Bodley was born near Ply- 
 mouth, O., and his wife near Olney, 111. They 
 were married at Olney, III, and shortly after- 
 ward moved to Bucyrus, where Mr. Bodley 
 engaged in business as a merchant until 1882. 
 
 In that year he came to Gallon and resumed 
 merchandising here and for 30 years has con- 
 ducted a book, stationery and wall paper store 
 on the Public Square. He is a well known 
 and respected citizen, has served as a member 
 of the board of education and is a leading 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 His family numbered but one child, Harry L. 
 The latter was a child of five years when the 
 family came to Gallon and as youth and man 
 he has been identified with this city ever 
 since. After he completed the public school 
 ♦course, in 1893 he became a messenger in the 
 First National Bank, being then 17 years of 
 age, and through fidelity and efficiency has 
 won promotion all along the line, serving as 
 assistant cashier prior to being made cashier 
 in 191 1, being elected to this office in January 
 of that year. 
 
 The First National Bank of Gallon, O., was 
 organized in 1864 and its present officers are: 
 E. M. Freese, president; B. E. Place, vice 
 president; H. L. Bodley, cashier, and J. E. 
 Casey, assistant cashier. The following cap- 
 italists make up the board of directors : E. M. 
 Freese, B. E. Place, H. W. Todd, R. W. 
 Johnston, M. R. Crim, W. A. Bodley and H. 
 R. Schuler. This institution is the oldest bank 
 in Crawford county and its first president 
 was C. S. Crim and its first cashier, J. S. 
 Bloomer. The report of the condition of this 
 bank at the close of business, Feb. 20, 1912, 
 showed a very prosperous condition. The 
 original capital of $50,000, in 1903 was in- 
 creased to $100,000. 
 
 Mr. Bodley was married at Columbus, O., 
 to Miss Margaret L. Beelman, who was born 
 in Richland county, C, and they have one 
 son, Herbert D., who was born in January, 
 191 1. Mr. and Mrs. Bodley are members of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a 
 Knight Templar Mason, belonging to Mans- 
 field Commandery, Blue Lodge and Chapter 
 at Gallon, being past high priest of the Chap- 
 ter and junior warden of the Blue Lodge, and 
 to Gwynn Council, No. 83, at Bucyrus. He 
 belongs also to Gallon Lodge, Knights of 
 Pythias. 
 
 SAMUEL EDWARD AUCK, an enter- 
 prising business man of Bucyrus, 0., who is 
 associated with his brother, William H. Auck, 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1107 
 
 in the real estate and general insurance line, 
 was born in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., Aug. ii, 1876, and is a son of 
 Michael and Caroline (Ehmann) Auck. The 
 family is an old and very prominent one in 
 this section and for many years the parents 
 of Mr. Auck resided in Whetstone township 
 on their large estate but now live retired at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 Samuel Edward Auck was afforded excel- 
 lent educational advantages, from the public 
 schools entering the Ohio Northern University 
 and later taking a business course in a Toledo 
 commercial school, where he was graduated 
 in 1898. He then taught school for one year 
 and then came to Bucyrus and associated him- 
 self with his older brother, William H. Auck, 
 in their present line of business, under the 
 firm style of Auck Bros., purchase having 
 been made of the business of F. M. Kerr. 
 This firm handles farm and city properties 
 in Crawford and adjoining counties and deals 
 in investment and security bonds and repre- 
 sents the best old line insurance companies. 
 During his father's second term as county 
 treasurer he served as deputy and continued 
 with Treasurer Wm. L. Alexander, his fa- 
 ther's successor, until April i, 1901, when he 
 resigned in order to accept a position as cash- 
 ier for the American Clay Machinery Com- 
 pany of Bucyrus, O., and remained with this 
 well known business concern until Dec. 17, 
 1908, when, as noted above, he joined his in- 
 terests with those of his brother. They are 
 men well qualified in every way for successful 
 business, energetic, honest and reputable and 
 their standing in commercial circles is equally 
 high with that won by them personally. 
 
 Mr. Auck was married Dec. 25, 1900, at 
 Bucyrus to Miss Lulu V. Knoedler, who was 
 born Jan. 6, 1879 and educated here, graduat- 
 ing from the Bucyrus High School with the 
 class of 1898. She is a daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth (Volk) Knoedler. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Knoedler reside at Bucyrus, the former being 
 a retired business man, and both he and wife 
 are members of St. John's Reformed church, 
 to which Mr. and Mrs. Auck also belongs. 
 The latter have two children : Carol Elizabeth, 
 who was born Feb. 22, 1902, and Donald 
 Knoedler, who was born Aug. 23, 1907. Mr. 
 Auck is a member of the Blue Lodge, F. & 
 A. M. In politics he is a Democrat. 
 
 C. P. DEERWESTER,* who is in the 
 iron roofing business at Brokensword, O., re- 
 siding on the edge of the town, is well known 
 all through this section as for many years he 
 has been at work at the carpenter trade, in 
 Holmes and adjacent townships. He was 
 born in Defiance county, O., Sept. 10, 1854, 
 and is a son of Peter and Julia Ann (Hall) 
 Deerwester. 
 
 Peter Deerwester was born in Clermont 
 county, O., and was a farmer all his life, his 
 death occurring at the age of 56 years. He 
 married Julia Ann Hall, who was also a na- 
 tive of Clermont county, and they had two 
 sons born to them : C. P. and W. S. ; both 
 of whom are residents of Holmes township, 
 Crawford county. 
 
 The parents of the subject of this sketch 
 died when he was but a babe and with the 
 family of Isaac Heller the homeless little child 
 was brought to Crawford county and here he 
 was educated and afterward followed farm- 
 ing for about ten years and then began work 
 as a carpenter. For some 20 years he fol- 
 lowed that trade and has assisted in the erec- 
 tion of a large number of the most substantial 
 buildings in this section. Since 1900 he has 
 given his attention mainly to the iron roofing 
 business. 
 
 Mr. Deerwester married Miss Rebecca 
 Shupp, a daughter of Rev. Samuel Shupp, a 
 representative of one of the old county fam- 
 ilies, and they have two children : W. E. and 
 Grover P. The older son married Carrie J. 
 Hattick and they are the parents of one son, 
 Lloyd A. Our subject's younger son assists 
 him in his business. 
 
 C. P. Deerwester has been active in local 
 political circles and has served six terms as 
 township assessor being elected to ofifice on 
 the Democratic ticket. He and his wife are 
 members of the Evangelical Association. For 
 a number of years he has been identified with 
 the fraternal order of Foresters. 
 
 FRANK M. CAIRNS, foreman of the 
 Pennsylvania Railway Company's round 
 house, at Crestline, O., is a valued employe of 
 a corporation with which he has been con- 
 tinuously identified for 35 years. He was born 
 at Fort Wayne, Ind., in October, 1861, a son of 
 James and Mary (Young) Cairns. 
 
 James Cairns and wife were born in Perth- 
 
 62 
 
1108 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 shire, Scotland; the old family estate in Scot- 
 land, belonged to the Cairnes for 300 years. 
 In 1 85 1 James Cairns and wife and their one 
 son, James, came to the United States and 
 located at Dunkirk, N. Y., where he secured 
 work as a machinist, having learned this trade 
 in his native land. In 1853 the family moved 
 to Fort Wayne, Ind., where James Cairns 
 entered the machine shops of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad and remained there until he was re- 
 tired on the age limit, after a connection of 
 41 years. Later he came to Crestline and his 
 death occurred here at the home of his son, 
 Frank M., on March 27, 1909. He was a 
 charter member of the Blue Lodge, F. & A. 
 M., at Fort Wayne and past master of the 
 same and was one of the organizers of the 
 Caledonian Society of that city. He assisted 
 in the organization of the Congregational 
 church there and in all matters pertaining to 
 good citizenship and true manhood he was a 
 leading factor. His wife passed away at Fort 
 Wayne, in November, 1903. She was a wo- 
 man of admirable qualities and through these 
 won recognition and esteem wherever she 
 lived. She was a charter member of the East- 
 ern Star, a charter member of the Congrega- 
 tional church and was president of the Ladies' 
 A^uxiliary of the Caledonian Society. Three 
 sons were born to James and Mary Cairns : 
 James, John S. and Frank M. James Cairns, 
 who is a building contractor at ^^'ichita, Kans., 
 was city marshal for nine years of Wichita; 
 he married there and has two daughters, Edna 
 and Nellie. John Cairns was a machinist with 
 the Pennsylvania Railroad at Fort Wayne and 
 died there when aged 27 years. His widow 
 survived with two children — ^James, who was 
 killed in a railroad accident at Butte, Mont.; 
 and Mary, who became the wife of W. J. Hess 
 of the Fort Wayne Post Office and has two 
 children. 
 
 Frank M. Cairns has been connected with 
 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company since 
 August, 1877, first as an apprentice in the 
 machine shops at Fort Wayne. He worked 
 his way steadily upward until 1897, when he 
 left that city for Chicago, 111., where he was 
 foreman in the Pennsylvania shops until 1900, 
 when he came to Crestline. Prior to leaving 
 Fort Wayne much responsibility had been 
 given him, as he had charge of the erecting 
 
 department and more or less had charge of 
 the machine department up to 1900, when he 
 was appointed to take charge of the round- 
 house at Crestline. This is a jjosition of great 
 responsibility as may be understood even by 
 those not well informed concerning railroad 
 affairs, while all railroad people, from the bot- 
 tom to the top, understand that a man must 
 have a pretty clear record and be deemed 
 sober, reliable, experienced and skillful in 
 order to secure a position of this kind. Mr. 
 . Cairns has every qualification for the place and 
 has faithfully performed his duties here for 
 the past twelve years. 
 
 Mr. Cairns was first married at Fort Wayne 
 to Miss Sadie Kline, of that city, who died at 
 Crestline, Nov. 1,-1904, The children born 
 to that marriage were: Frank, who married 
 Blanche Foltz, who is a machinist at Crest- 
 line and has four children — Nellie, William, 
 Lloyd and Geneva; and Wibert E., who is 
 employed in the Pennsylvania Railway shops. 
 Mr. Cairns was married, secondly, to Miss 
 Mary Adams, who was born at Anderson, 
 Ind., Sept. 8, 1876, a daughter of Ephraim 
 and Nancy (Rector) Adams, of Anderson, 
 where Mr. Adams still lives. The mother of 
 Mrs. Cairns died July 29, 19 12, at the age 
 of 61 years and eleven months. Mr. Adams 
 is a Democrat in politics. He is a member of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church as was his 
 wife. Mr. and Mrs. Cairns have no living 
 children. They attend the Presbyterian 
 church. A Republican in politics in National 
 issues, Mr. Cairns votes according to his judg- 
 ment in local matters. He belongs'to the Crest- 
 line Lodge, F. & A. M. 
 
 ADAM NEFF, carpenter, builder and con- 
 tractor at Crestline, O., has been in this line 
 of business, including the operating of a plan- 
 ing mill, for more than 50 years. He was bom 
 near the city of Darmstadt, Germany, March 
 22, 1844, and is a son of Peter and Barbara 
 (Pfeifer) Nefif. 
 
 Peter Nefif was born about 1822, in Ger- 
 many, was reared there and married and after 
 the birth of several children, he and his wife 
 decided to emigrate to America where better 
 advantages could be secured for their fam- 
 ily. Taking passage on a sailing vessel they 
 were safely landed at New York after 49 
 
AXD REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1109 
 
 days on the sea, a storm nearly wrecking their 
 ship on the last day, carrying away the masts. 
 By water and wagon they finally reached 
 Crestline, O., and then secttred no acres of 
 virgin land, situated in Hancock county, on 
 which they built a log house and there spent 
 the remainder of their lives, subsequently de- 
 veloping this wild land into one of the finest 
 farms in Hancock county. This property re- 
 mains a possession of the family. The mother 
 died on that place in 1875, when aged 48 
 years, the father surviving until 1893, passing 
 away when aged 71 years. They were mem- 
 bers of the Lutheran church and were leaders 
 in the same in those early days. By trade 
 the father was a weaver but he was more than 
 a skilled workman at that trade, having some 
 knowledge of medicine and enough dental 
 science to enable him to pull teeth without en- 
 dangering life. He is recalled as a kind, gen- 
 erous, neighborly man, one who was unusually 
 well qualified to be a member of a pioneer set- 
 tlement. Of his sixteen children, ten grew to 
 maturity and all married and became heads of 
 families and five of these yet live. 
 
 Adam Nefif was the eldest born of his par- 
 ents' children and was but three years old 
 when they came to America. He assisted on 
 the home farm in boyhood but preferred a 
 trade rather than an agricultural life and 
 learned that of a carpenter. In 1864 he came 
 to Crestline and was engaged here for 12 
 years and then went to Hardin county, where 
 he became owner of, and foreman in, a plan- 
 ing mill and remained 12 years, going then 
 to Lima, Allen county, where he was engaged 
 as foreman in a planing mill. After an ab- 
 sence of 15 years, Mr. Nefif returned to Crest- 
 line where he has become one of the leading 
 men in his line of business and has been iden- 
 tified with a large part of the building opera- 
 tions which, in recent years, have enlarged 
 and beautified Crestline. 
 
 On Dec. 20, 1866, at Crestline, Mr. Nefif 
 was married to Miss Catherine Poth, who was 
 born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, in 1847, 
 and in the same year came to the United 
 States with her parents, George and Maria 
 (Mathias) Poth. The family landed at New 
 Orleans, La., and came up the Mississippi and 
 Ohio rivers to Cincinnati and then to Crest- 
 line, locating on a farm near this city. The 
 
 father of Mrs. Nefif died in 1893, aged 71 
 years, and the mother passed away at the 
 home of her dauhter, Mrs. Nefif, in 1901, at 
 the age of 82 years. They were Lutheran 
 church people, sturdy, honest, industrious and 
 virtuous. 
 
 Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Adam 
 Nefif, three of whom survive: Henry W., 
 who is connected with the general offices of 
 the Buckeye Pipe Line Company at Lima, O., 
 and who is married and has one daughter, 
 Lelia W. ; John Adam, who is married and 
 is manager of the shoe department of the 
 J. L. Hudson Company at Cleveland, O. ; and 
 Charles F., a dry goods merchant at Gallon, 
 O., who is married and has three children — 
 Lillian M., Bertha G. and Charles A. One 
 son, Philip E., died in 1909, when aged 32 
 years. 
 
 Mr. Neff and family have always been more 
 or less prominent in the Lutheran chtirch and 
 he has been a church official for many years. 
 In politics 'he has always been a Democrat; 
 for six years he was a township trustee, for 
 seven years was a member of the town coun- 
 cil for five years has been on the board of 
 Public Afifairs, and at the present time is 
 serving as president of this civic body. Fra- 
 ternally he is identified with the Odd Fellows, 
 and belongs also to several insurance or- 
 ganizations. 
 
 GEORGE L. JENNER, whose r6o-acre 
 farm, lying eleven miles northeast of Bucyrus, 
 O., is a very valuable property and one of the 
 best cultivated and productive farm in San- 
 dusky township, Crawford county, belongs 
 to a highly respected old German-American 
 family of this section. He was born in 1852, 
 in Liberty township, Crawford county, and 
 is a son of John G. and Mary A. (Ackerman) 
 Jenner. 
 
 John G. Jenner was born in Wittenberg, 
 Germany, probably about 1832, and was 16 
 years of age when he came to the United 
 States. After living for one year in Pennsyl- 
 vania, he came to Ohio and lived in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, until after the 
 birth of his children, when he bought the 
 farm in Sandusky township which is owned 
 by his son, George L. His other children 
 were: Benjamin F., Mary, Elizabeth, Erne- 
 
1110 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 line, Emanuel and Amelia. Mary married 
 Peter W'eller and they live at Bucyrus. 
 
 George L. Jenner married Aliss Louise 
 Marie Soldan, who was born in Germany, 
 A\here she was reared and went to school. 
 Her parents are IMichael and Bertha (Bohl) 
 Soldan, and she has four brothers, only one 
 of whom left Germany. He is Julius J. Sol- 
 dan and is a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y. He 
 married Elizabeth Grimm and they have five 
 children: Louise, born May 14, 1900; Peter, 
 born Dec. 26, 1901 ; Lillian, born Aug. 20, 
 1904; Alice, born Nov. 10, 1906;- and Dor- 
 othy, born Sept. 14, 1908. Mr. and Mrs. Jen- 
 ner are members of the Lutheran church. Al- 
 though never active in politics, ^Ir. Jenner is 
 a good citizen and aims at all times to do his 
 full duty. 
 
 most prosperous enterprises of this section. 
 The ofificials of the company are all farmers 
 belonging to the capitalist class, including 
 Messrs. Musselman, Brandt, Charles Coons 
 and R. M. Taylor, all of Richland county. 
 This , company manufactures all mill prod- 
 ucts and makes a specialy of the Sweet Home 
 brand of flour, and they have a market all 
 over the State of Ohio, the capacity of their 
 mills being 90 barrels a day. 
 
 Mr. Otto was married at Oberlin, O., to 
 Miss Eleanor B. Bell who was born at 
 Youngstown and educated at Cleveland, O. 
 They have had three children, two of whom 
 died in infancy, Carl Louis surviving. He is 
 identified with the Knights of Pythias but 
 otherwise belongs only to business organiza- 
 tions. 
 
 CARL L. OTTO, manager of the Farmers' 
 Milling Company, a business of considerable 
 importance in Crawford county, the headquar- 
 ters being at Crestline, is a man well qualified 
 for a position of this kind, being a practical 
 miller and since the age of 13 years, interested 
 in this industry. He was born at Mansfield, 
 O., Feb. 7, 1880, and is a son of Franz and 
 Caroline (Kames) Otto. 
 
 Franz Otto was born in Germany and when 
 he was old enough to enter business, became 
 a miller as was his father and grandfather, 
 this having been the family trade for genera- 
 tions. He married in Germany and after the 
 birth of two children, he and wife came to 
 the United States just after the close of the 
 Civil War and settled first at Mansfield. O. 
 and afterward lived in Richland county until 
 his death in the fall of 1909, at the age of 
 65 years. His widow still resides at Mans- 
 field, being now in her 68th year. To Franz 
 Otto and wife four children were bom: Ed- 
 ward, who died at the age of 36 years ; Eliza- 
 beth, who resides with her mother at Mans- 
 field ; Helen, who is bookkeeper for the Farm- 
 ers' Milling Company; and Carl L. 
 
 Carl L. Otto was reared at Mansfield and 
 in Richland county, working under his father 
 in the milling business and receiving a thor- 
 ough German training in the same. The 
 Farmers' Milling Company at Crestline was 
 established in 1903 and under Mr. Otto's able 
 management has developed into one of the 
 
 WILLIAM M. BECK, who is one of the 
 substantial and representative citizens of 
 Crawford county, O., owning 97 acres in 
 Polk township and 90 acres in Jefferson 
 township, was born in the latter township, 
 March 16, 1858, and is a son of Isaac W. and 
 Catherine (Henry) Beck. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Beck were born in Penn- 
 sylvania. For many years the father was a 
 farmer in Jeflferson tow-nship, Crawford coun- 
 ty. Both he and wife were members of the 
 English Lutheran church, and when they 
 passed away their burial was in Fairview 
 Cemetery, at Gallon. They were parents of 
 the following children: Mary E., who mar- 
 ried George B. Morrison, Simon H. ; Mahala 
 J., who married William IModerwell; Mar- 
 garet, who married John K. Shearer; Eliza 
 E., who married J. A. Schreck ; Sina Bell, who 
 married I. K. Umbarger; William M. and 
 John. 
 
 ^^^illiam M. Beck attended the public schools 
 in Polk township, and later the Mansfield 
 Normal School and also studied one term 
 in a school at Fostoria, O. After that he as- 
 sisted his father on the home place until he 
 reached his majority and then worked for 
 his father until the latter's death. He has 
 spent his entire business life, with the excep- 
 tion of nine years, on his present farm. For 
 some 20 years he conducted a dairy in con- 
 nection with his other farm industries but 
 does little in that direction at present. Mr. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE QTIZENS 
 
 1111 
 
 Beck has one of the best improved properties 
 in this section, a handsome residence with a 
 modern system of heating and acetylene light- 
 ing. His buildings are situated on the Gallon 
 and Bucyrus highway, a very desirable loca- 
 tion. 
 
 On Sept. 27, 1887, Mr. Beck was married 
 to Miss Lydia M. Grimes, who was born in 
 Perry county, O., a daughter of Josiah and 
 Lydia Sparr (Wheatcraft) Grimes. Mrs. 
 Beck is one of the following family: Eliza, 
 wife of Charles Schofield; Nancy, wife of 
 Richard Adcock; Sarah, wife of Robert Ad- 
 cock; Mary, wife of Evi Brown; Media, wife 
 of F. L. Beck; Lucy, wife of Frederick Wolfe. 
 Cordelia, wife of Thomas Sherod; Hannah, 
 wife of John Guthrie; Joseph and Lydia M. 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Beck six children have been 
 bom, namely: Ethel S., who is the wife of 
 Roy Kishler; and Irving G., Whitney S., Ruth 
 C, Clara E. and Oliver Thoburn. Mr. Beck 
 and family attended the United Brethren 
 church. He casts his political vote with the 
 Prohibition party. Mr. Beck is a progressive 
 farmer and is a member of Polk Grange, at 
 Gallon. His ballot will be cast for "Equal 
 Suffrage" Sept. 3, 1912. 
 
 THOMAS SNODGRASS, deceased, was 
 one of the pioneer business men of Crestline, 
 where he was engaged in the meat business 
 for 43 years and was a representative, reput- 
 able and substantial man of this city. He 
 was born in Washington county. Pa., April 
 29, 1832, and is a son of Williahi and Mar- 
 garet (Chambers) Snodgrass. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Snodgrass were also 
 born in Washington county and were of 
 Scotch and Irish ancestry, the Chambers fam- 
 ily in Ireland belonging to the gentry class. 
 The families were established in Pennsylvania 
 prior to the Revolutionary War. In 1840, 
 William Snodgrass with his wife and three 
 children, Thomas, Sarah J. and Mary, started 
 with teams attached to big wagons to make 
 the overland journey to a new home in Jack- 
 son township, Crawford conuty. To Thornas. 
 who was then eight years old, and his sisters, 
 who were younger, the journey was a great 
 adventure, but it was a grave matter to the 
 father and mother. In part they realized the 
 hardships they would probably have to face 
 
 and the dangers they would encounter, but 
 it was a long and tiresome trip. At night they 
 camped by the road side and in the morning 
 plodded on, their courage keeping up until 
 they reached the forest within which their 
 selected home lay, when Mr. Snodgrass had 
 to chop a road before the spot could be 
 reached. Afterward he cut down trees and 
 thus secured a site for the first log cabin, 
 which served until a better one could be built, 
 which later was supplanted by a handsome, 
 comfortable frame one which, with barns and 
 other farm buildings, are yet standing. Al- 
 though far removed from all the pleasures and 
 comforts of civilization, to which they had 
 been accustomed, the family led a happy, busy, 
 contented life and through industry and fru- 
 gality increased their possessions and at the 
 time of death, Williaw Snodgrass was able 
 to leave an estate of 200 acres of improved 
 land. They were members of the Presbyterian 
 church. The first wife of William Snodgrass 
 died in 1849, i" the prime of life, her young- 
 est child being only one year old at that time. 
 His second marriage was to Rachel Warden, 
 who, at death, left five children. 
 
 Thomas Snodgrass grew to manhood in 
 Jackson township and gave his father assist- 
 ance on the home farm. He preferred an 
 active business life rather than an agricultural 
 one and left the farm and came to Crestline, 
 which, at that time, was but a hamlet. Here 
 he established his meat market and continued 
 in the same line until the close of his life on 
 Feb. 10, 1 901, having been continuously in 
 business since 1858. Mr. Snodgrass at times 
 had invested in real estate and had become 
 one of the men of ample fortune here. A Re- 
 publican in his political sentiments, he voted 
 according to his conscience and judgment and 
 rarely was willing to consider public office for 
 himself, although, at one time, he served as 
 city assessor. 
 
 In Jefferson township, Crawford county, 
 Mr. Snodgrass was married to Miss Eleanor 
 Walker, who was born in Crawford county, 
 Sept. 8, 1830, and died at Crestline, Jan. 22, 
 1887. She was a daughter of Joseph and 
 Esther (Garven) Walker, natives of Ohio, 
 and very early settlers of the county, where 
 they died in 18.S4 and 1855 respectively. A 
 sister of Mrs. Snodgrass, now over 80 years 
 
111-2 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 of age, still survives and lives at Blairsville, 
 Pa. Five children were born to Thomas 
 Snodgrass and wife, namely: Margaret A., 
 who was born, reared and has always lived at 
 Crestline; Josephine, who is the wife of Frank 
 P. Drake, of Massillon, 0., and has three 
 children; Mary F. and William F., twins, the 
 former of whom is the wife of F. D. Steffey, 
 of Blairsville, Indiana county. Pa., and the 
 latter of whom died at Crestline, unmarried, 
 in 1908, when aged 49 years; and one babe 
 that died unnamed. 
 
 Miss Margaret A. Snodgrass devoted her- 
 self to the care of her parents in their old 
 age, unselfishly putting aside personal ambi- 
 tions that might have interfered with the 
 tender care she desired to give them, and finds 
 compensation in the realization of duty faith- 
 fully performed. She is well known through 
 Crestline and Jackson township and is much 
 esteemed. She attends the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church at Crestline. 
 
 MARCUS H. McCLAIN, one of the ven- 
 erable and honored citizens of Gallon, O., vvas 
 born in Highland county, O., Dec. 5, 1826. 
 His grandfather, David McClain, was born in 
 Scotland, and before coming to the United 
 States was united in marriage with an Irish 
 lady. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean in the 
 days when such a voyage was a test of courage, 
 and after reaching the United States, located 
 in Beaver county. Pa., where at least a part of 
 their family of children were born. 
 
 Daniel McClain, son of David McClain and 
 wife, was born in Beaver county. Pa., in 1798, 
 and in the early twenties came to Ohio. He 
 was a hatter by trade and worked as a hat 
 manufacturer at various places. He married 
 Mary A. Robinson, who was born in North 
 Carolina and from there was taken in child- 
 hood to Culpepper county, Va., by her par- 
 ents, Joshua Robinson and wife. In the early 
 twenties the Robinsons came to Ohio, settling 
 first in Highland county and moving later to 
 Logan county. Joshua Robinson was married 
 twice, his second wife having been an Antrum. 
 They were Quakers in religious belief. Both 
 lived into old age, Joshua Robinson surviving 
 to the age of 94 years. 
 
 Daniel McClain carried on business at dif- 
 ferent places and proved and enterprising and 
 
 resourceful man. For some years he was en- 
 gaged in locating on and improving farms 
 which he would sell to later settlers, but sub- 
 sequently established his permanent home in 
 Logan county. He was able to see and take 
 advantage of business opportunities and for 
 some years made the butter contracting busi- 
 ness profitable. Some of the older residents 
 often contend that former days were more 
 satisfactory to live in, in the light of the pres- 
 ent high cost of both necessities and luxuries, 
 .and in this connection it is interesting to note 
 the cost of butter in the days when Mr. Mc- 
 Clain considered it a lucrative business to 
 handle it. He purchased his butter for six cents 
 a pound in Delaware, Union and Knox coun- 
 ties, and sold it at Bellefontaine for twelve 
 cents a pound, the advance rate being suffi- 
 cient to pay handsomely for its handling. He 
 was also in the wool buying business, and 
 prior to i8=;o was engaged as a merchant at 
 East Liberty, Logan county. His activities 
 were curtailed some two years before his 
 death, in 1856, through loss of eyesight. He 
 was a pronounced anti-slavery man and his 
 home was an underground station for escaping 
 slaves during that period of great unrest in 
 the country concerning human slavery. Daniel 
 McClain was one of the first men in Ohio to 
 be made a Freemason and he took pride and 
 pleasure in the fraternity. 
 
 To Daniel McClain and wife five children 
 were born, all of whom grew to maturity and 
 all, save one who died when aged 20 years, 
 married and had families. The only survivor 
 is Dr. Marcus H. McClain, the first born, for 
 many years a resident of Gallon. The mother 
 survived the father for some years and died in 
 Gallon. Both were members of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal church. 
 
 Marcus H. McClain was variously employed, 
 mainly in assisting his father, until he was 30 
 years of age, when he entered a drug store at 
 Wilmington, O. At that time, as he humor- 
 ously asserts, he did not know the difference 
 between salt and salts, but he had a natural 
 taste in the line of this profession and an am- 
 bition that caused him to apply himself 
 strenuously to the studies which finally made 
 complete his knowledge of pharmacy. In the 
 fall of iSqg he came to Gallon and here, for 
 40 years, he continued in the drug business, 
 
MARCUS H. McCLAIN 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1115 
 
 not only acquiring an ample fortune in the 
 same but also building up a reputation for re- 
 liability in this line that led to his earning his 
 title of Doctor. Some ten years ago Dr. Mc- 
 Clain retired from active business participa- 
 tion as far as his drug store is concerned, but 
 he still continues president of the Galion 
 Building, Loan and Savings Corporation, 
 which was established in 1881. He was one 
 of the organizers and still is president of the 
 Galion Cemetery board, and for several years 
 was a member of the city council. 
 
 Dr. McClain was married (first) in Union 
 county, O., to Miss Lucy A. Reed, who died 
 in 1868, when aged 45 years. Two daughters 
 and three sons were born to them : Mrs. L. H. 
 Green, who is a resident of Galion; Mrs. Joseph 
 an infant son that died unnamed; William W., 
 who died at the age of seventeen years; and 
 Howard B., who died when aged six years. 
 Dr. McClain was married (second) to Mrs. 
 Malinda (Sanford) Bassett, who was the 
 widow of Dr. Bassett, of Ravenna, O. She 
 died at Galion, July 7, 1889, and was survived 
 by a daughter born to her first marriage, Helen 
 Bassett, who is now married and resides at 
 Belle fontaine, O. Dr. McClain later married 
 Mrs. Mary A. (Walsh) Boure, who was born 
 at Bellville, O., a daughter of James and Sarah 
 (Bell) Walsh, former residents of Crawford 
 county. Dr. and Mrs. McClain are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church. For 64 
 years he has been a member of both the Ma- 
 sons and Odd Fellows and has served officially 
 in both local lodges. 
 
 WILLIAM COOK,* deceased, who was 
 widely known in railroad circles in Ohio, hav- 
 ing been connected with the leading systems 
 for many years, was held in the highest es- 
 teem by the traveling public, with whom he 
 came into association as a passenger conduc- 
 tor, and also by the different officials who rec- 
 ognized his efficiency and fidelity. He was 
 born in the city of New York, in 1852, and 
 died at Cleveland, O., in 1890. Mr. Cook 
 came to Galion in early manhood and for some 
 time afterward was with the Erie Railroad, 
 for some subsequent years was a passenger 
 conductor on the Wabash Railway, still later 
 was with the Big Four Railway Company, and 
 at the time of his accidental death, was with 
 
 the Lake Shore Railway, His burial was ir^ 
 Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland. 
 
 Mr. Cook was married to Miss Delia At- 
 wood, who was born at Galion and educated 
 in this city and has made it her home since 
 the death of her husband, her residence being 
 located at No. 442 South Main street. She 
 is a daughter of Alpheus and Cynthia (Tracy) 
 Atwood. The father of Mrs. Cook was born 
 at Dunkirk, N. Y., a son of Alpheus Atwood, 
 who died there. After his father's death, 
 Alpheus Atwood, Jr., accompanied his mother 
 to Ohio, and following her death, at Mans- 
 field, came to Galion, in the early fifties, where 
 he became a prominent banker and merchant. 
 He owned a large amount of property here 
 and Atwood street was named in his honor. 
 He was very public-spirited and favored new 
 business enterprises as a means of develop- 
 ing the city, and at one time donated 13 acres 
 of land on which the Big Four Railroad 
 erected its railroad station. He was an ardent 
 Republican but was too busy a man to enter 
 very actively into politics. His death occurred 
 at Galion in 1881, at the age of 68 years. He 
 married Cynthia Tracy, who was born near 
 Galion and for the past 16 years has been a 
 resident of Cleveland. Her parents were early 
 settlers in Crawford county, John and Julia 
 (Green) Tracy, who were natives of Penn- 
 sylvania. Mr. Tracy at one time was pro- 
 prietor of the old Galion Hotel and later built 
 the commodious Capital House, on the corner 
 of East Main and Washington streets, near 
 the Big Four Railway station. This hotel 
 was destroyed by fire in 1893. His widow 
 survived him and at the time of death was in 
 her 93rd year. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Cook two children were 
 born : Grace, who is a graduate of the Galion 
 High School ; and George Edward, who is in 
 the automobile business at Detroit, Mich. 
 Mrs. Cook and daughter are members of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church and she is active 
 in the Ladies' Aid Society and is one of the 
 interested and valued members of the W. C. 
 T. U., at Galion. 
 
 GEORGE F. ALTAFFER, who conducts 
 a large meat market at Crestline, O., with 
 quarters at No. 367 Seltzer street, is one of 
 the prosperous and fully occupied business 
 
1116 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 men of this city. He was born at Mt. Ver- 
 non, O., July 24, 1878, and is a son of John 
 and Sigourney" (Cassel) Ahaffer. 
 
 John Ahaffer was born in Columbian coun- 
 ty, 0., and died at Toledo, O., Oct. 8, 1910, 
 after an honorable service of 40 years in the 
 employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad as 
 freight and passenger conductor. He was 
 widely known and stood high with railroad 
 men, belonging to the leading organizations 
 and possessing the courage and fidelity to duty 
 that arouses esteem and admiration. In poli- 
 tics he was a Republican and belonged to the 
 order of Knights of P)d:hias at Mt. Vernon 
 and to the Odd Fellows at Crestline. He mar- 
 ried Sigourney Cassel, who survives and who 
 was born on the old Cassel homestead within 
 two miles of Crestline, Oct. 19, 1848. She 
 is a member of the English Lutheran church. 
 Eleven children were born, as follows : John 
 and James, both of whom died in childhood; 
 Anna M., who is the wife of H. M. Brown, 
 of Crestline, and has two children — Helen and 
 Ruth; Margaret V., who resides at home; 
 William C, who lives at Crestline, and who 
 married Gertrude Jenkins; Rufus B., who is 
 a conductor with the Pennsylvania Railroad; 
 George F., subject of this sketch; Catherine 
 T., who is the wife of William A. Smith, a 
 merchant, and has one son, Wilbur; Bessie 
 v., who is the wife of Earl Spelman, a rail- 
 way mail clerk at Crestline; David Henry, a 
 polisher, who resides at Crestline; and Frank 
 Cassel, who is a flagman with the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad. 
 
 George F. Altaffer was four years old 
 when his people came to Crestline, where he 
 attended school and then learned the machin- 
 ist trade and followed the same for ten years, 
 since when he has been in the meat business. 
 He started his present market in July, 1907 
 and has met with much success in his under- 
 taking. He caters to the very best trade and 
 does his own slaughtering, having an abattoir 
 near the city. His careful selection and hand- 
 ling of meats and his sanitary quarters, com- 
 bined with business methods of entire honesty, 
 have and still continue to contribute to his 
 prosperity. He attends to the details of his 
 business himself and requires the assistance of 
 three helpers. 
 
 Mr. Altaffer, like several other members of 
 
 his family, has never married. He and 
 brothers are Republicans in their political af- 
 Ifiliation and he is identified with the leading 
 fraternal organizations, being a thirty-second 
 degree Mason, a captain in the Uniform 
 Rank of the Knights of Pythias, a member of 
 the order of Eagles and of the Elks, the latter 
 at Bucyrus. Additionally he is vice president 
 of the Masonic Club and is serving in the city 
 council. 
 
 EUGENE E. FRY, one of the enterprising 
 and successful farmers of Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., who lives on his 
 valuable farm of 152 acres, situated in sec- 
 tions 27 and 22, was born in this township, 
 June 30, 1864, and is a son of John C. and 
 Mary (Becker) Fry. 
 
 John C. Fry was born Sept. 27, 1836, near 
 Sulphur Springs in Crawford county, and 
 died on- his old farm in Cranberry township, 
 Feb. 3, 191 1, when aged 74 years, four months 
 and six days. He was one of ten children 
 born to his parents, John H. and Catherine 
 Fry. He grew up on the farm and during 
 1858-9 he was a student at Oberlin College, 
 preparing for teaching and also cultivating his 
 marked musical talents. Afterward he taught 
 school for one year in Wyandot county and 
 then went to Missouri, where he taught until 
 the outbreak of the Civil War, ^yhen he re- 
 turned to Ohio. On Nov. 12, 1862, he mar- 
 ried Mary A. Becker, who died Jan. 4, 1898, 
 the mother of three sons and one daughter: 
 Eugene, Elmer, William and Minnie. After 
 marriage they located on unimproved land in 
 Cranberry township, which, through the in- 
 dustry and perseverance of Mr. Fry was devel- 
 oped into a fertile farm. He was one of the 
 founders and one of the main financial sup- 
 porters of the Tabor church near his home. 
 In 1889 when Mr. and Mrs. Fry retired to 
 Tiffin they identified themselves with the 
 Methodist Protestant body there. Following 
 the death of his wife, Mr. Fry spent his time 
 with his children, ever being a welcome pres- 
 ence. He was a man widely known and uni- 
 versally respected. Both he and wife rest in 
 the Union Cemetery near Sulphur Springs. 
 
 Eugene E. Fry has been engaged, in agri- 
 cultural pursuits ever since his school days, and 
 is one of the progressive farmers of this sec- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1117 
 
 tion, a charter member of Cranberry Town- 
 ship Grange. He married Miss Ida Elizabeth 
 McKeehen, who was born in Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, a daughter of Samuel A. 
 McKeehen, and they have four children : Nina 
 May, who is the wife of Milton A. Ulmer, of 
 Tiro, O. ; and John E., Carl Elsworth and 
 Edith Marie, all living at home. Mr. Fry and 
 family are members of the Christian church. 
 He is a Democrat when he casts his political 
 vote, but otherwise takes but little interest in 
 political matters. 
 
 W. F. L. BLOCK, a retired merchant of 
 Gallon, O., where he was active in the business 
 field for many years, was born at Gallon, Nov. 
 6, 1854 and was reared and educated here. 
 Mr. Block is a son of Julius F. Block, a na- 
 tive of Greiswald, Prussia, who came to the 
 United States in 1853 when a young man 
 and located at Galion ' where he was a car- 
 penter and contractor. He married Susanna 
 Peusch, a native of Germany, who also came 
 to the United States in 1853. To them were 
 born one child, W. F. L. Block, the subject of 
 this article. Julius F Block died at Galion, 
 Feb. 16, 1903, aged 75 years, his wife surviv- 
 ing until Dec. 8, 191 1, when aged 85 years. 
 
 After his school days were over, Mr. Block 
 worked at the carpenter trade for seven years 
 and then became a clerk in a local dry 
 goods establishment and continued until he 
 embarked in the grocery and dry goods 
 business for himself, in 1885. After some 
 years of successful trading he enlarged the 
 scope of his business, adding carpets and wall 
 paper to his stock, and continued without in- 
 termission until 1907, when he retired. 
 Through good judgment and natural aptitude 
 for business, Mr. Block prospered and became 
 one of the representative men of Galion. With 
 pride he has watched the development of his 
 native city into one of the important business 
 centers of the State and has born no insignifi- 
 cant part in much of the material progress 
 made. 
 
 Mr. Block was married at Galion to Miss 
 Louisa S. Ricker, lifelong resident in the near 
 vicinity of Galion, and they have the following 
 children-: Amelia, who married Peter Wiener, 
 of Galion and has three sons — Edward, Rob- 
 ert and Julius ; Bertha, who resides with her 
 
 husband, A. W. Bradfield, dealer in art sup- 
 plies, at Columbus, O., and has two daughters, 
 Mary Louise and Margaret; Arthur W., who 
 is proprietor of several drug stores at Colum- 
 bus, O., and who married Florence Fisher, of 
 Columbus, O., and has one son. Nelson; Carl 
 F., who is located at Columbus and who is 
 connected with the Marion Publishing Com- 
 pany, of Springfield, Mass. ; and Oscar M., who 
 is an artist connected with the Art Institute of 
 Chicago, 111. Mr. Block and family belong 
 to the Reformed church. He and sons were 
 Republicans in their political affiliation, and 
 he is identified fraternally with the Masons. 
 The family is one widely known at Galion and 
 in every way is held in esteem. 
 
 GEORGE LAFAYETTE WAGONER, 
 who is a valued employe of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company, and the oldest freight 
 conductor on the main line between Pittsburg 
 and Chicago, has been connected with this 
 road for 41 years and has witnessed many 
 changes and a remarkable growth in this great 
 system. He was born in Stark county, O., 
 March 3, 1850, a son of Henry and Sarah 
 (Nolan) Wagoner. 
 
 Henry Wagoner and wife were both born 
 in Pennsylvania, he being of German an- 
 cestry and she of Irish. They were married in 
 Stark county, O., having accompanied their 
 parents there when young, and afterward they 
 secured Government land which they devel- 
 oped into a valuable property and on their farm 
 spent 47 years of married life. Mr. Wagoner 
 was born in 1801, a son of Johanus Wagner, as 
 it was then spelled, and died in 1882, the 
 death of his wife following in 1884, her birth 
 having been in 181 5. They found their 
 church home in' the Reformed body. Fifteen 
 children were born to Henry Wagoner and 
 wife, seven of whom reached maturity, all 
 married and five became heads of families. 
 Of these three sons and one daughter are yet 
 living. 
 
 George L. Wagoner was the third youngest 
 of his parents' children and he grew up in 
 Stark county and attended the country schools. 
 In 1871 he came to Crestline and on Sept. 23, 
 1 87 1, entered the employ of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad, first as a brakeman. On Jan. 19, 
 1874 he was promoted to the office of con- 
 
1118 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ductor and has served continuously in this 
 capacity ever since and with one exception 
 has never had any serious accident, in which 
 he fortunately escaped with his life but lost 
 his fireman. From 1871 to 1892 his run was 
 between Crestline and Alliance, O. and after- 
 ward from Crestline to Pittsburg. For 32 
 years he has occupied the same "caboose" and 
 undoubtedly would feel homesick should an- 
 other car of this kind be substituted. While a 
 fireman probably has to possess more muscle 
 and endurance than a conductor, it is largely 
 the latter's good judgment that ensures the' 
 safety of the train. 
 
 At Crestline, O., Mr. Wagoner was mar- 
 ried Sept. 19, 1876, to Miss Cornelia Fecher, 
 who was born at Columbia, Lancaster county, 
 Pa., Feb. i, 1853. When she was 14 years of 
 age she came to Crestline with her parents, 
 Oliver P. and Catherine (Ort) Fecher. Her 
 father was born in Germany and her mother in 
 Pennsylvania and they were married in Lan- 
 caster county. Mr. Fecher began railroad life 
 in Pennsylvania and for some years was yard- 
 master at Allegheny, Pa., before the Civil 
 War closed, and prior to coming to Crestline, 
 where his death occurred at the home of Mrs. 
 Wagoner, on Sept. 8, 1905, the death of his 
 wife having occurred at Crestline Jan. 8, 
 1890. They were members of the German 
 Lutheran church. In politics he was a Dem- 
 ocrat while fraternally he was a Freemason. 
 Of the seven children of Mr. and Mrs. Fecher, 
 Mrs. Wagoner was the third eldest and two 
 sons and two daughters are yet living. Mrs. 
 Wagoner's grand-uncle was a military man 
 and served in the War of 1812, and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wagoner carefully preserve the sword he 
 carried and no doubt bravely wielded it on 
 many a battle field. They take an interest in 
 heirlooms and have a number of souvenirs 
 with interesting histories. They have no chil- 
 dren. 
 
 In politics Mr. Wagoner has been allied 
 with the Republican party since early man- 
 hood. He is one of the oldest members of 
 the Order of Railway Conductors and now be- 
 longs to Alliance Division No. 177, and for 
 22 years he has been identified with the fra- 
 ternal order of Knights of Pythias. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wagoner are faithful members of the 
 English Lutheran church, and they have many 
 
 friends at Crestline, both in and outside of 
 railroad circles. 
 
 WILLIAM JONES, a well known and re- 
 spected citizen of Crestline, O., a retired rail- 
 road man, was born at Watertown, Litchfield 
 county, Conn., July 4, 1840. Beyond the fact 
 that his grandfather came to New England 
 from Wales and that his parents lived and 
 died in Connecticut, Mr. Jones knows little of 
 the early history of his people. He was an 
 orphan, when, in childhood, he was taken by a 
 brother and sister of New York State and as 
 far as he knows, has survived them. 
 
 On a farm in New York William Jones 
 grew to the age of 20 years and then made his 
 way to Pittsburg, Pa., and in i860 entered the 
 railway shops at Allegheny, Pa., in the painting 
 department, where he continued for ten years, 
 during a part of this time being assistant 
 foreman of the shops. In 1870 the company 
 sent him to Crestline to take full charge of the 
 car painting department at this place and he 
 continued as foreman until August, 1910, 
 when he was retired on a liberal pension, hav- 
 ing been a faithful employe for 50 years. As 
 a further testimonial of appreciation he was 
 presented with a pass over all the company's 
 lines. It is a matter of justifiable pride to Mr. 
 Jones that his well rendered services were ap- 
 preciated. He has a circle of friends at Crest- 
 line that includes all the old railroad men as 
 well as neighbors of many years' standing and 
 a birthday celebration was arranged in 19 10, 
 his 70th anniversary, which was a memorable 
 occasion for all present. Mr. Jones was pres- 
 ented by his railroad and other friends with a 
 handsome leather reclining chair and an em- 
 blematic Knight Templar pillow, tokens of 
 afifection which could not fail of appreciation. 
 For 45 years Mr. Jones has been a master 
 Mason and for 42 of these he has belonged to 
 the Commandery at Mansfield. He takes a 
 deep interest in the stirring public events of the 
 times and in his political views maintains an in- 
 dependent attitude. 
 
 Mr. Jones was married (first) at Allegheny, 
 Pa., to Miss Catherine Van Winkle, who died 
 at Crestline in 1880, at the age of 40 years, 
 the devoted mother of five children, four of 
 whom died young. One daughter, Lillie B. sur- 
 vived until Feb. 23, 1907, and she is survived 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1119 
 
 by her husband, Marion Jones, and two daugh- 
 ters. Mr. Jones was married (second), ai 
 CrestHne, in October, 1881, to Miss Mary 
 Clark, who was born in Knox county, O., 
 Dec. 9, 1844, and was reared and educated in 
 Richland county, a daughter of Willis and 
 Anna (Speer) Clark. The father of Mrs. 
 Jones was of Welsh ancestry but was born 
 in New York, while her mother, of Irish par- 
 entage, was born in Pennsylvania. They came 
 young to Ohio, where they subsequently were 
 married and settled down as farming people 
 in Richland county. Mr. Qark was born 
 Aug. 10, 1810 and died at Butler, O., in 1877. 
 Afterward his widow came to Crestline, where 
 her death occurred June 19, 1899, her birth 
 having taken place June 19, 1810. She was 
 a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 but Mr. Clark was of the Universalist faith. 
 Of their children two daughters are living: 
 Mrs. Jones and her sister Lucy, who is the 
 wife of A. B. Eicher, a retired farmer of Jef- 
 ferson, Greene county, la. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Eicher have no children. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Jones one daughter was 
 born, Maybell, who was born, reared and edu- 
 cated at Crestline, being a graduate of the 
 Crestline High School, in the class of 1904. 
 In 1905 she was married to Paul H. Blum, 
 who is in the employ of the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 way Company, having charge of the oil cars 
 and oil house. Mr. and Mrs. Blum have the 
 following children: William David, who was 
 born April 27, 1906; Mary Winnifred, who 
 was born Dec. 28, 1908 ; and Robert Paul, who 
 was born May 21, 19 12. Mr. Jones and fam- 
 ily are members of the Presbyterian church. 
 
 WILLIAM M. BELTZ, a native son of 
 Crawford county, was born in Polk township, 
 Oct. 29, 1853. He is the owner of 107 acres 
 of land, 80 of which are located in Polk town- 
 ship and 2^ in Whetstone township. His 
 father, John C. Beltz, is still a well known 
 resident of this county, but his mother, who 
 was in maidenhood Nancy Reed, died Dec. 26, 
 1899. 
 
 John C. Beltz was born in Center county, 
 Pa., coming to Ohio with his parents, where 
 he grew up and married. To him and his 
 wife were born the following children : Sarah 
 Jane, who became the wife of William 
 Shearer; Elias, deceased; Jemima Jane, who 
 
 was married first to John Keifer and upon his 
 death became the wife of John Shumaker; 
 William M., the subject of this article; Alonzo 
 Perry; Elizabeth, the wife of WiUiam Wiggs; 
 Willard J., deceased; and Nancy Margaret, 
 who lives at home with her father. 
 
 After attending the common schools of his 
 locality, William M. Beltz spent two terms at 
 the normal school at Fostoria and after spend- 
 ing two terms in teaching turned his attention 
 to farming and has since made this his life's 
 occupation. He first bought 35 acres of land, 
 to which he added 45 acres ten years ago and 
 it is on this latter tract that he has built his 
 comfortable home. The 27 acres in Whetstone 
 township he has owned for 18 years. 
 
 William M. Beltz was first united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Ida J. Kile, a daughter of 
 Tobias and Catherine (Knipp) Kile. She 
 died April 6, 1889 and he then married her 
 sister Amanda. Tobias Kile was a well known 
 farmer of Crawford county. Both he and his 
 wife are now deceased and are buried in Kile 
 cemetery, in Whetstone township. Tobias 
 and Catherine Kile were natives of Germany, 
 who emigrated to America where they entered 
 land from the government. They were in 
 religious faith German Lutherans and Tobias 
 Kile was a Democrat in his political views. 
 To them were born the following children: 
 Eva, the wife of Jacob Helfrick; Philip; 
 Peter; Elizabeth, who married Peter Knipp; 
 Catherine, the wife of Simeon Kiess; Sarah, 
 the wife of Joseph Dinkle ; Fred ; Eli ; Amanda, 
 the wife of our subject; and Ida, now deceased, 
 who was the first wife of William M. Beltz. 
 
 In politics William M. Beltz is a Democrat 
 and has served four years as school director. 
 He is a member of Polk Grange at Gallon. 
 
 JOSEPH MOTSCH,* who is in the brick 
 and tile making business at Galion, O., with 
 plant on East Main Street, has been in the 
 butcher business here since 1868 and controls 
 the leading meat and fish market in the city. 
 He was born in Baden, Germany, Oct. 14, 
 1847, ^nd is a son of John and Mary Anna 
 (Thoma) Motsch. 
 
 The Motsch family, father, mother and the 
 child, Joseph, the latter being the only one of 
 several to survive, left Germany in 1854 and. 
 took passage on the sailing ship Ravens worth, 
 for the United States. Thirty-two days were 
 
1120 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 passed on the Atlantic Ocean and after land- 
 ing they came immediately to Gallon, O. 1 he 
 father was a stone mason by trade and fol- 
 lowed the same for many years and he was a 
 good business man up to the time of his death 
 m 1 87 1, both he and wife dying at the age of 
 58 years although he survived her two years, 
 ihey were Roman Catholics in religious be- 
 lief. 
 
 Joseph Motsch grew to manhood at Gallon 
 and attended both the parochial and public 
 schools and afterward went into the meat 
 business and continued for 18 years, closing 
 up that line in 1900, when he went into the 
 brick business, to which he added tile manu- 
 facturing in 1908, and recently reopened his 
 market and placed it under the management 
 to his son Bernard Motsch. Mr. Motsch is a 
 man of enterprise and his dififerent undertak- 
 ings have prospered because of the close at- 
 tention he devotes to them and the foresight and 
 good judgment with which he entered into, 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Motsch was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Louise Reister, who was born in this city and 
 died here when aged 40 years, the mother of 
 iour children : Clara, who lives in Ohio, and 
 is married and has two children; Emma, who 
 is the wife of Edward Englehart, residing at 
 Cuyahoga Falls, and has one daughter, Louise ; 
 Henrietta, who is the wife of Charles Mc- 
 Laughlin, and who lives at Tucson, Ariz., and 
 has three daughters; and Bernard, who man- 
 ages the meat business as before mentioned, 
 and lives at home. Mr. Motsch was married 
 (second) to Miss Catherine McLaughlin, who 
 was born at Ashland, Pa., and has lived at 
 Gallon since she was ten years old, and they 
 have three children: Mary Carmel, Joseph, 
 Jr., and Paul, all of whom are students in the 
 public schools. Mr. Motsch and family are 
 members of St. Peter's Roman Catholic 
 church and he belongs to the Knights of Co- 
 lumbus. In his political views he is a Dem- 
 ocrat and has served two terms in the city 
 council, where his practical business way of 
 looking at things has made him a very useful 
 official. 
 
 HARRY M. McJUNKIN,, assistant post- 
 master at Crestline, C, a reliable, well known 
 and representative citizen, v^'as born at Ne- 
 vada, Wyandot county, 0., June 18, 1870, and 
 
 is a son of John A. and Mary (Montgomery) 
 Mcjunkin. 
 
 John A. Mcjunkin was of Scotch-Irish an- 
 cestery. During the Civil War he was a sol- 
 dier in the Federal Army, serving in Co. C, 
 163rd O. Vol. Inf., and after his return en- 
 gaging in farming and subsequently in mer- 
 chandising at Nevada, O., and still later be- 
 came a stationary engineer with the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad. At the age of 70 years he 
 retired from active life and is one of Crest- 
 line's well known and respected citizens. In 
 politics he has long been a stanch Republican. 
 He married Mary Montgomery and two sons 
 were born to them: Horatio and Harry M. 
 
 Harry M. Mcjunkin was brought to Crest- 
 line in 1 87 1 by his parents and attended the 
 Crestline schools, afterward serving an ap- 
 prenticeship of three years in a pottery situ- 
 ated in southwestern Indiana and one year as 
 kiln placer. Afterward he was a clerk in a 
 grocery store at Crestline and was then ap- 
 pointed assistant postmaster, on April i, 1898. 
 The Crestline office belongs ^to the second 
 class and does a large volume of business. 
 Three carriers cover the territory, with three 
 daily deliveries. 
 
 In 1898 Mr. Mcjunkin was married at 
 Crestline to Miss Grace Hunt, a daughter of 
 Nelson D. and Laura B. (Howten). Hunt, 
 residents of this city. The father of Mrs. Mc- 
 junkin was born in Ohio and his wife in In- 
 diana. They were married at Crestline, where 
 Mr. Hunt is an employe of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company. They are members of the 
 English Lutheran church. Mr. Hunt is iden- 
 tified with the Republican party. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Hunt have three children: Walter, who 
 lives at Cleveland, O. ; Jessie, who is the wife 
 of Walter Mans, of Cleveland, and has two 
 children; and Mrs. Mcjunkin. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Mcjunkin five children have come, the 
 record being as follows : Robert, born July 
 13, 1899; Albert, Aug. 10, 1902; Marion, 
 Aug. I, 1904; Kathleen, Oct. 26, 1906; and 
 Winifred, Oct. 2, 1909. Mr. Mcjunkin was 
 reared in the Presbyterian church. He is a 
 Freemason and is past master of the lodge at 
 Crestline. 
 
 HOLLISTER F. DOLL, who is one of the 
 prominent men of Crawford county, widely 
 known through family connections and busi- 
 
HOLLISTER F. DOLL 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1121 
 
 ness interests, is making a success of a very 
 necessary industry, the growing of farm 
 seeds, to which he devotes a part of his 190 
 finely cultivated acres, his place being situated 
 seven miles north of Crestline, O. and four 
 miles west of Shelby, O. He was born in that 
 part of Crawford county, which was formerly 
 in Richland county, in 1853, and is a son of 
 John and Mary (Rogers) Doll. The parents 
 were born in Adams county, Pa., and came 
 from there to Ohio by wagon in 1836. The 
 father was a carpenter by trade and after serv- 
 ing a four years apprenticeship in the city of 
 Baltimore, he entered in association with Rev. 
 Joshua Crause, they being the only carpenters 
 in the vicinity. They erected most of the 
 pioneer residences in the Dixon settlement. 
 Later John Doll became a farmer in Crawford 
 county. He and his wife were the parents of 
 the following children: Horatio, Wesley, a 
 soldier in the Civil War, Luther, John, Sarah 
 J., Mary A., Lucinda, Caroline and Almira. 
 The survivors are : Mrs. Sarah J. Hershiser ; 
 Mrs. Mary A. Baker, Mrs. Elmira Dixon and 
 Hollister F. 
 
 Hollister F. Doll followed an agricultural 
 life for 25 years after leaving school, and then 
 embarked in the insurance business and dealt 
 also in real estate. For a number of years he 
 was connected with the Crawford County 
 Fire Insurance Company as a director and ad- 
 juster, and during this time was also notary 
 public. Failing health compelled him to re- 
 tire from that line of work and since then he 
 has devoted himself exclusively to his farm 
 interests together with attending to the duties 
 that public office frequently entail. He con- 
 ducted a dairy business in connection with his 
 farming for 12 years. He built the first two 
 silos in Crawford county and at that time was a 
 member of the Ohio State Dairy Association. 
 For ten years Mr. Doll served as a member of 
 the election board, was Supervisor for a num- 
 ber of years and also member of school board 
 being president of said board a part of that 
 time. He has written many articles for news- 
 papers on political, dairy and agricultural 
 topics. 
 
 Mr. Doll married Miss Eveline Markley, a 
 native of this countv and a daue:hter of Joseph 
 and Elizabeth (Stough) Markley. Her 
 grandfathers were Horatio Markley and John 
 
 G. Stough of this county. To her parents were 
 born the following children : John G. ; Ho- 
 ratio W. ; Jonas, deceased ; Jennie, wife of 
 James L. Lauker; and Fenia, wife of R. T. 
 Bower. Upon the death of Joseph Markley, 
 Mrs. Markley married Peter Rutan and to 
 them was born one daughter, Anna, who is 
 the wife of Oliver Horton, superintendent of 
 the steel plant at London, Canada. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Doll have two daughters : Jennie Z., who 
 married Jacob Stevens, of Toledo, O. ; and 
 Bessie J., who is the wife of Ora Taylor, a son 
 of Dr. Taylor, of Marietta, O., and has four 
 children — Thurman Hollister, James E., Donna 
 E. and Kathleen M. Mr. Doll and family 
 belong to the Lutheran church. 
 
 WILLIAM LAUER, mason contractor in 
 business at Gallon, O., who bears the repu- 
 tation of being one of the most thoroughly re- 
 liable men in his line in Crawford county, is 
 a native of Germany, born in Wurtemberg, 
 Feb. 27, 1849, a son of Mathias and Mary 
 (Hild) Lauer. 
 
 Mathias Lauer and wife spent their lives in 
 Germany, where they died aged respectively 
 50 and 64 years. They were consistent mem- 
 bers of the German Lutheran church and they 
 lived on a small farm all their lives and reared 
 their seven children carefully and frugally. 
 One son, David, was killed in the French and 
 German War of 1871, and when but 20 years 
 of age, their soil William became a soldier 
 for the same service. 
 
 For seven years William Lauer fought for 
 the Fatherland in the wars and campaigns of 
 that period and before he returned home had 
 seen much danger and hardship, and before 
 Paris fell received a dangerous wound in the 
 jaw. In 1878 he set sail for the United 
 States, landing at the port of New York and 
 going from there to join his brother Mathias, 
 who had reached this country ten years before 
 and subsequently died in Indiana. In 1880 
 William Lauer came to Gabon, went to work 
 at the trade he had learned in his own land be- 
 fore becoming a soldier, and for the past 18 
 years has been in the contracting business on 
 his own account. In a large part of the build- 
 ing work that has contributed to make Gallon a 
 city of homes as well as of commercial struct- 
 ures, Mr. Lauer has been interested in a. busi- 
 
1122 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ness way and so creditably that he is natur- 
 ally considered when anything of importance 
 along this line is proposed. 
 
 Mr. Lauer was married in Germany to Miss 
 Elizabeth Scheifer, who was born, reared and 
 educated in the same town as himself, a daugh- 
 ter of Frederick and Mary (Reiley) Scheifer. 
 Mrs. Lauer was also reared in the German 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Lauer the following chil- 
 dren were born: William, who now resides at 
 Memphis, Tenn., is a master mechanic with 
 the Illinois Central Railroad, married Estella 
 Petri, of this city and they have one daughter, 
 Florence; Mary, who is the wife of Edward 
 Neuman, of Gallon, a machinist, and they 
 have two children — Harriet and Robert; Karl 
 F., who is a Lutheran minister and pastor of 
 a church at St. Clair, Mich., was educated at 
 Capital University, Columbus, married Flor- 
 ence Gotchal, and they have one son, Roland; 
 and Albert, who lives at Alliance, 0., a ma- 
 chinist by trade, who married Blanche E. 
 Williams. On election day Mr. Lauer and 
 his sons assist in swelling the Democratic 
 majority, when possible, all being identified 
 with that party, and as a family they are all 
 well established in life. 
 
 JACOB GOTTFRIED,* a member of the 
 firm of Gottfried & Spillette, who are in the 
 grain and elevator business at New Washing- 
 ton, O., and manager of the Gottfried elevator, 
 near the Northern Ohio Railroad, is a well 
 known business man of New Washington. 
 He was born in Chatfield township, Crawford 
 county, O., March 20, 1867, a son of Philip 
 and Barbara Gottfried, who were born in 
 Germany. The father came to Crawford 
 county when 27 years of age, was twice mar- 
 ried and lived to be 71 years old. His second 
 wife, the mother of Jacob Gottfried, died at 
 the age of 61 years. They were members of 
 the Reformed church in Chatfield township. 
 
 Jacob Gottfried attended school near his 
 father's farm and later at New Washington 
 and afterward engaged in farming and school 
 teaching up to iqo2, when he bought the 
 Anem farm in Auburn township, from W. A. 
 Kessler. It contained 60 acres and he operated 
 it one year. In iqo^ he bought the elevator 
 at North Auburn, which he operated for fifteen 
 
 months, in 1904 purchasing his second ele- 
 vator and in the spring of that year admitted 
 Frank H. Spillette to partnership, and to- 
 gether they do a large business with their 
 chain of three elevators. 
 
 Mr. Gottfried married Miss Olive Spillette, 
 a daughter of James and Lucinda Spillette, 
 and they have two children : Norman and 
 Theora. Mr. Gottfried is a stockholder in 
 the Toledo Life and Underwriters Insurance 
 Company. He votes with the Democratic 
 party but is not very active. For some years 
 he has been identified with the Knights of 
 Pythias and is vice chancellor of the local or- 
 ganization. With his family he belongs to 
 the Methodist Episcopal church. Since 1904 
 he has lived at New Washington, his residence 
 standing on Center Street. 
 
 WILLIAM H. BESSINGER, one of the 
 stable and representative business men of Ga- 
 llon, O., who does a large business as a sad- 
 dler and harnessmaker, located at No. 121 
 South Market Street, was born at Gallon, 
 Sept. 2, 1870, and is a son of John and Susan 
 (Errett) Bessinger. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Bessinger were born 
 and reared in Crawford county, the father be- 
 ing of German and the mother of English 
 extraction. The latter survives but the for- 
 mer died in Polk township, Crawford county, 
 in February, 19 10, at the age of 67 years. He 
 was one of the leading Democrats of that sec- 
 tion and for many years served as township 
 trustee and in other offices. The two chil- 
 dren survive : William H. and Anna, the latter 
 of whom resides with her mother on the old 
 homestead in Polk township. 
 
 William H. Bessinger attended school at 
 Gallon and learned his trade here and is a 
 skilled mechanic in his line. He has been es- 
 tablished in a business of his own in this city 
 since 1895 and has one of the largest and best 
 equipped stores on his street, the dimensions 
 of which are 20x66 feet, with a work shop of 
 equal space. He carries a large stock of re- 
 liable goods and has steady patronage. Mr. 
 Bessinger was married at Bucyrus, O., to Miss 
 Emma Keller, who was born there in 1876 
 and is the onlv surviving child of her parents 
 who were Philin and Lovia (Fink) Keller. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Bessinger have one daughter, 
 
EEV. FRAXCIS J. KEYES 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1123 
 
 Susan Keller, who was born Jan. 5, 191 1. 
 They are members of the English Lutheran 
 church. Politically Mr. Bessinger is a Dem- 
 ocrat and fraternally belongs to the Knights 
 of Pythias. 
 
 JOHN SIEFERT, who is a successful 
 merchant at New Washington, O., where he 
 deals in poultry, seed and agricultural imple- 
 ments, is one of the well known and reliable 
 business men of this place. He was born in 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 one mile northwest of New Washington, July 
 26, 1866. 
 
 After attending the public school in Cran- 
 berry township, John Seifert took a business 
 course in the Spencerian College, at Cleveland. 
 In 1889 he embarked in the grain and seed 
 business at New Washington as a member of 
 the firm of George Siefert & Bro., which as- 
 sociation continued for 18 years, during the 
 last three years eliminating the grain line and 
 dealing only in implements. After the old 
 firm was dissolved, John' Siefert started into 
 the implement business for himself and has 
 prospered. He does about all his soliciting 
 himself, occasionally having some help from a 
 salesman, and has steady patronage from the 
 most progressive and substantial agriculturists 
 and he carries the very best grades of machin- 
 ery. He has erected a new and substantial 
 two-story building of modern pattern, on 
 Mansfield Street. He is a practical mechan- 
 ician, can repair all the machinery he sells, 
 and as a side line puts up lightning rods. An- 
 other line in which he has prospered is the 
 handling of poultry. 
 
 Mr. Siefert was married to Miss Ada M. 
 Sheetz, a daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth 
 Sheetz, of New Washington. They have four 
 children: Christine E., Ernst G., Carl F. and 
 Esther M. Since his marriage, Mr. Siefert 
 has been a resident of New Washington. He 
 is a member of the Lutheran church and for 
 27 years was a teacher in the Sunday-school. 
 In his political views he is a Republican. 
 
 JESSE J. PATTERSON, manager of the 
 Gallon branch of the Weaver Bros. Co., a cor- 
 poration of which he is a director, is an en- 
 terprising and representative business man of 
 this city, in which he was born July 22, 1872, 
 
 a son of Capt. W^illiam G. and Sarah 
 (Hershey) Patterson. 
 
 Capt. William G. Patterson was born in 
 Massachusetts and came to Ohio when 16 
 years of age. When civil war was declared 
 between the North and the South in 1861, he 
 enlisted in the 64th O. Vol. Inf., and his ser- 
 vice covered four years, three months and 
 three days. He was with the great army that 
 marched with Sherman to the sea and for 
 meritorious conduct was again and again pro- 
 moted until he was commissioned captain of 
 his company and afterward led his comrades 
 on many a field of battle. When he received 
 his honorable discharge he returned to peace- 
 ful pursuits, a scar across the bridge of his 
 nose being the only permanent mark of an 
 enemy's musket. Crestline had been his 
 earlier home and there he returned and re- 
 sumed work with the Pennsylvania Railroad 
 Company and became an engineer and followed 
 railroading some years longer and then be- 
 came proprietor of a hotel at Crestline. Some 
 years later he sold this property and retired to 
 a farm in Richland county, where he was en- 
 gaged in farming for 18 years. Captain Pat- 
 terson came then to Gabon and became inter- 
 ested in buying, selling and shipping horses, 
 continuing in this line eight years, when he 
 retired and his death occurred at Ontario, 
 Richland county, Jan. 13, 1912, when in his 
 8 1st year. In politics he was affiliated with 
 the Republican party and at times had served 
 in local offices in Richland county. For a 
 number of years he was commander of G. A. 
 R. Post No. 156 at Gabon and later became 
 a member of McLaughlin Post at Mansfield. 
 
 Captain Patterson was married at Crestline 
 to Sarah Hershey, who was born in Spring- 
 field township, Richland county, in 1836, and 
 died in March, 1904, at Ontario, O. She and 
 husband were members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church. They had three children: 
 Minnie, who is the wife of Charles Mounder, 
 and has one son, Dale; Harriet, who is the 
 wife of Robert Jessom, residing at Washing- 
 ton Court House, O., and has three children — 
 Walter, Harriet and Gladys ; and Jesse J., the 
 subiect of this article. 
 
 Jesse T- Patterson was reared on a farm in 
 Springfield township, Richland county, O., 
 from the age of two 3'ears and engaged there 
 
1124 
 
 HISTORY OF 'CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 in farming after his school days until he came 
 to Gallon and became connected with the 
 Weaver Bros. Co. He still owns 109 acres of 
 well improved land in Springfield township. 
 Since January, 1910, Mr. Patterson has had 
 the management of the Gallon branch of a 
 business which is also carried on Mt. Vernon 
 and Crestline, its activities covering the han- 
 dling of hay, grain, horses, cattle and poultry, 
 Mr. Patterson has seven men in his employ at 
 this place, the volume of business being heavy 
 at this point. 
 
 Mr. Patterson was married in Springfield* 
 township, Richland county, Feb. 16, 1893, to 
 Miss Altha B. Cotter, who was born in Ash- 
 land county, O., Feb, 16, 1870, and was young 
 when her parents, James and Elizabeth 
 (Br indie) Cotter, came to Springfield town- 
 ship, where they still live, aged about 65 years. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Patterson have one son, George 
 C, who was born in Richland county, 0., June 
 16, 1896, and is now a student in the Galion 
 High School. Mr. Patterson and family are 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 In politics a Republican, he has always looked 
 ahead of party ties in his citizenship and for 
 a number of years was a faithful member and 
 honest worker on the school board. He is a 
 charter member of Highland Grange, Patrons 
 of Husbandry, No. 1410, of which he was 
 overseer for three years and a director for five 
 years. 
 
 REV. FRANCIS J. KEYES, pastor of St. 
 Patrick's Roman Catholic church, at Galion, 
 O., is one of the scholarly and zealous members 
 of the Catholic clergy, who, notwithstanding 
 comparative youth, has been entrusted with 
 great responsibilities and has proved his abil- 
 ity to bear them. Father Keyes was born at 
 Columbus, O., and is a son of Edward and 
 Helen Keyes. 
 
 The parents of Rev. Francis J. Keyes were 
 born in Ireland and both accompanied their 
 parents in youth to the United States. They 
 were reared and educated in Canada and were 
 married in the city of London, Canada. Both 
 died at Tiffin, O., the father in 1897 and the 
 mother in 1907. They had eight children, 
 seven of whom survive: Francis J., Edward, 
 Mrs. Frank Shaff, Minnie, Lula, Albert and 
 Sister Mary Grace, who is a teacher in an 
 
 academy at Pittsburg, Pa. The brothers of 
 Father Keyes are engaged in the wholesale 
 tobacco business and are residents of Cleveland, 
 O. The father, Edward Keyes, was a success- 
 ful and substantial business man, for many 
 years being connected with the Indianapolis 
 Hedge Fence Company, Indianapolis, Ind., 
 and was president of the Belgium Glass Com- 
 pany, at Tiffin, O., and its largest stockholder. 
 In his boyhood. Father Keyes, attended St. 
 Mary's parochial school of Tiffin, O., and was 
 graduated in 1896 in the classics, from St. 
 Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wis., and in 
 the class of 1903, from St. Mary's Theological 
 Seminary, at Cleveland, O. For four years 
 prior to coming to St. Patrick's, Father Keyes 
 was assistant priest of St. Patrick's church at 
 Toledo, O., which is one of the largest churches 
 in the Northern Ohio diocese. He came from 
 that charge to Galion, succeeding Rev. L. A. 
 Brady as pastor of St. Patrick's, Oct. 26, 1906 
 and since then has labored effectively for the 
 advancement of his people both spiritually and 
 materially. The handsome brick edifice was 
 erected in 1873 and its capacity is taxed from 
 the fact, that he has a parish that includes an 
 average membership of one thousand souls. 
 The parochial school connected with it is in a 
 most encouraging condition, there being 100 
 students. Father Keyes has won the warm 
 affection of his parishoners and at the same 
 time has gained the respect, confidence and 
 esteem of the people of Galion, irrespective 
 of religious faith. 
 
 ISAIAH S. MONNETTE, a well known 
 man in both Marion and Crawford counties, 
 O., now living retired on his valuable farm of 
 100 acres, situated in Dallas township, Craw- 
 ford county, was born in Marion county, O., 
 Oct. 16, 1845, and is a son of Jeremiah and 
 Mary Jane (Shank) Monnette. 
 
 Jeremiah Monnette was a son of Jeremiah 
 Monnette, and was born in Pickaway county, 
 O., later lived on his farm in Marion county 
 for many years and died in middle life, his 
 burial being at Monnette Chapel, in Crawford 
 county. He married Mary Jane Shank, who 
 was born in Northampton county. Pa., and 
 died in Marion county, O., and her burial was 
 at Kirkpatrick, in that county. _ They had but 
 two children, one of whom died in infancy. 
 
ISAIAH S. MONNETTE 
 
AND. REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1127 
 
 They were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Jeremiah Monnette's second mar- 
 riage was to Sarah Saylor, who became the 
 mother of two children and subsequently died 
 in Iowa. The daughter, Mary, lived to the 
 * age of 39 years. She was the wife of the late 
 Bernard Brockshus. 
 
 Isaiah S. Monnette went to live with his 
 grandfather when he was about eight years 
 old and attended the district schools and re- 
 mained on the old homestead until he was 21 
 years of age. After spending a year in Iowa, 
 he went on to Missouri and looked over busi- 
 ness prospects there for six months but de- 
 cided to return to his native state to find a 
 permanent home and in 1871 bought his pres- 
 ent farm, from Abraham Monnette and has 
 resided here ever since. For many succeeding 
 years he devoted himself closely to agricultural 
 pursuits but now lives somewhat retired. 
 
 On Oct. 13, 1870, Mr. Monnette was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Miller, who was born in 
 Marion county, a daughter of Jacob and Maria 
 (Dawson) Miller. Mrs. Monnette died Jan. 
 10, 1904, and her burial was at Monnette 
 Chapel. She was one of the following family 
 born to her parents : Anna, wife of William 
 Conrad; Eliza, wife of Jonathan Famuler; 
 Sarah, wife of Willis Van Meter; Elizabeth, 
 wife of Mr. Monnette ; Bartlett ; Malinda, wife 
 of Samuel Campbell; Nancy, wife of Mellison 
 Shank; Charlotta, wife of George Conrad; 
 and Amanda, wife of Henry Gibbs. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Monnette the following 
 children were born, all of whom except the 
 eldest, survive their beloved mother : Addie, 
 who was the wife of Lewis Hill ; Princess, who 
 married Charles Wattering; Lottie, who mar- 
 ried Christian Smith; Ella, who married Chris- 
 topher Kerr; and Eva, who married Alfred 
 Scott. Mr. Monnette and family are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church. Like his 
 father, Mr. Monnette has always been identi- 
 fied with the Republican party but has never 
 taken part in public matters as a politician. 
 He has lent his influence in the direction of 
 all law and order movements and has helped, 
 as able, the cause of education and of religion, 
 but has never entered into any struggle for 
 office. In the everting of life he is surrounded 
 by many comforts and has a wide circle of well 
 wishing friends. 
 
 63 
 
 GEORGE BURGER, who is one of the 
 prosperous and contended farmers of Auburn 
 township, Crawford county, O., where his 
 valuable farm of 165 acres lies in section 6, 
 was born in this township, one mile east and 
 one-half mile south of North Auburn, and is 
 a son of John and Mary (Scharry) Burger. 
 
 John Burger and wife were born in Ger- 
 many and when they came to Crawford county, 
 O., he bought and improved 40 acres of land in 
 Cranberry township, which he later sold to 
 Peter Young and bought 80 acres south of 
 North Auburn and on that place both he and 
 wife died, his death occurring at the age of 65 
 years and she surviving to be 78 years old. 
 Their burial was in St. Mary's Cemetery, they 
 being members of St. Mary's Catholic church. 
 They had the following children: Horace, 
 Margaret, George, Mathias, John and Peter. 
 
 George Burger attended the district schools 
 in Auburn township and ever since has been en- 
 gaged in farming, after marriage settling two 
 and one-half miles east of North Auburn, 
 moving later to his present place. He found 
 it necessary to drain this land and spent con- 
 siderable money putting down tile and now has 
 it in fine condition, has remodeled the dwelling 
 and erected substantial barns. In politics Mr. 
 Burger is a Democrat and for six years has 
 served on the board of Education. He is a 
 wide awake citizen and excellent farmer, hav- 
 ing progressive ideas and is a member of the 
 Auburn Township Grange. 
 
 Mr. Burger married Miss Emma Ruff, of 
 Norwalk, O., and on the first farm four chil- 
 dren were born to them : Isabel, Frank, Peter 
 and Catherine, and on the second farm, the 
 present one, six more have been added to the 
 family: Julius, Rose, Benedict, Paul, Loretta 
 and George. Mr. Burger and family belong 
 to St. Mary's Catholic church. 
 
 LOUIS K. REISINGER, whose death on 
 April 6, 191 1 deprived Galion of one of its 
 foremost citizens, was born in Galion, O., 
 Jan. 4, 1852, a son of Dr. John and Sarah 
 (Ditzler) Reisinger. His parents were na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania, in which state also they 
 were married. Previous to this latter event 
 the elder Reisinger had followed the trade of 
 hatter, but immediately after their marriage he 
 and his wife removed to Mansfield, O., where 
 
1128 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 John Reisinger studied medicine and was ad- 
 mitted to practice. He then settled in Galion, 
 where he subsequently practice his profession 
 until his death, building up a large and suc- 
 cessful practice. His end was almost tragic, 
 being directly due to his parental love for a 
 soldier son, Samuel, who, near the close of the 
 war, had been attacked by cholera and was in 
 a hospital in Cincinnati, where that disease 
 was then epidemic. The father went to Cincin- 
 nati to care for his son and took the disease, 
 both dying within a short time of each other, 
 the son at the age of 21 years. The wife 
 and mother then went to reside with a daugh- 
 ter, Mrs. Sarah Leibert, she being at the time 
 65 years old. This daughter is now a resident 
 of Pasadena, Calif., being a widow with two 
 daughters; she is the only surviving member 
 of her parents' family. Dr. Reisinger and 
 wife were members of the German Reformed 
 church of Galion. Their family was large, 
 numbering eleven children, of whom several 
 died when young; five grew to maturity, were 
 married and had families of their own. 
 
 Louis K. Reisinger acquired a good educa- 
 tion and became a chemist and pharmacist, 
 which avocation he followed all his life. He 
 was a man of enterprise and organized the 
 Reisinger Chemical and Extract Company, 
 which is now conducted by his son-in-law, 
 Arthur G. Shumaker. It has developed into a 
 large and prosperous business. Mr. Reisinger 
 was not only a successful man but was a highly 
 respected citizen. A Democrat politically, he 
 served on the Board of City Appraisers for 
 one term and was a member of the Board of 
 Education for 13 years. He was a 32d degree 
 Mason, belonging to the Commandery at Mans- 
 field, 0., and to the Temple, M. S. at Cleve- 
 land, O. He also belonged to the Knights of 
 Pythias. 
 
 Mr. Reisinger was married in Fremont, O., 
 to Miss Emma B. White, who was born in 
 Tiffin, 0., Dec. 23, 1853, a daughter of Wil- 
 liam and Sarah (Brahm) White. Her par- 
 ents were natives of Loudon, Pa., where they 
 were married, coming soon after to Ohio. 
 Later they went to Illinois, their daughter 
 Emma (Mrs. Reisinger) being then a small 
 child. They next resided at Mt. Carroll, 111., 
 for two years, after which they returned to 
 Pennsylvania, at the beginning of the Civil 
 
 War settling in Fremont, O. Mr. White was 
 drafted as a soldier and served in the war, ac- 
 companying Sherman on the march through 
 Georgia and to the sea. Honorably discharged 
 on the close of the war, he returned to Fre- 
 mont, where he died in 1867, his end being due 
 to the hardships he had suffered during his 
 military service. He was 41 years of age. 
 His widow is now residing with her daughter, 
 Mrs. May Freese at Bloomington, and is 78 
 years old, and somewhat feeble. She and her 
 husband were members of the English Re- 
 formed church. Mrs. Freese and Mrs. Rei- 
 singer are the only children of the family now- 
 living. 
 
 Mr. and Mrsj Reisinger were the parents of 
 four children — Estella M., Alice B., Rowlin 
 D. and Ethel M., of whom the following is a 
 brief record. Estella M. was graduated from 
 the Galion high school in the class of 1893. 
 She married Roy Lovette and resides in Cleve- 
 land, O. She has a son, Russell. Alice B. 
 Reisinger was graduated from the city high 
 school in the class of 1895 and is now the wife 
 of Arthur G. Shumaker. Mr. Shumaker was 
 born in Marion, O., in 1878 and was educated 
 in Galion, being graduated from the high 
 school in the class of 1895. He became a drug- 
 gist but was subsequently a clerk in the office 
 of the superintendent of the Erie Railway 
 until 191 1, when he took up the management of 
 the business left by Mr. Reisinger. Rollin D. 
 Reisinger was graduated from the Galion high 
 school in the class of 1899 and is now a 
 pharmacist at Barberton, O. He married 
 Blanche Sponhauer. Ethel M. graduated from 
 the high school in the class of 1902 and now 
 resides in Los Angeles, Calif., being connected 
 with a music store in that city. Mrs. Rei- 
 singer and family belong to the Presbyterian 
 church. They are highly esteemed in Galion 
 and have a wide circle of friends. 
 
 MICHAEL AUCK, who has been a lead- 
 ing citizen of Bucyrus, O., for the past 15 
 years, and a resident of Crawford county 
 since he was six years old, is a member of an 
 old peasant family of Germany, his ancestors 
 having lived in the village of Moeringen, Wur- 
 temburg, near the present noble city of Stutt- 
 gart, as far back as 1600. The Aucks were of 
 the class that is rightly named the backbone 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1129 
 
 of the country to which it belongs — sturdy 
 people in all their characteristics, quiet, in- 
 dustrious, religious and law abiding. For gen- 
 erations they tilled the soil but in more recent 
 times they have entered the trades and pro- 
 fessions and have proved their quality in 
 every line of activity. 
 
 The Auck family of Crawford county, O., 
 traces its direct line to George Auck, who was 
 born in Germany, in 1775, and died in 1830. 
 He was a small farmer and he gave generous 
 support to the Lutheran church. His wife was 
 named Rosina Frank, whose family ancestry 
 and circumstances were similar to his own, and 
 she also died in Germany. One of her broth- 
 ers, Jacob Frank, came to America and lo- 
 cated in Medina county, O., where his de- 
 scendants still reside. Two sons and three 
 daughters were born to George and Rosina 
 Auck and with the exception of one daughter, 
 all came to America. The first of the family 
 to cross the Atlantic Ocean was Christopher 
 Auck and he was followed by his brother 
 Michael and his two sisters, Christina and 
 Dorothea, the former of whom was then the 
 wife of Jacob Ulmer and they died in Penn- 
 sylvania. Dorothea Auck never married but 
 lived into advanced age and died in Crawford 
 ^ county. 
 
 Christopher Auck was born Ja;n. 31, 181 3, 
 and died Jan. 20, 1896. He grew to the age 
 of 18 years in his native province, before that 
 time realizing that in the closely settled dis- 
 trict of his birth it would be almost impossible 
 for him to secure enough land to enable him 
 to live as a farmer, hence he learned the tail- 
 or's trade and made use of the first money he 
 was able to earn thereby and save, in the pay- 
 ment of his passage to America, the land of 
 opportunity. He had made his way to 
 Havre, France, undoubtedly working as a 
 journeyman as he traveled, and at that port 
 embarked on one of the old-time sailing ves- 
 sels which voyaged from European harbors to 
 the United States in the emigrant service. Al- 
 though for 57 days he was on the ocean, suf- 
 fering greatly from sea sickness and from the 
 hardships that made a sea voyage at that time 
 sometimes a terrible experience, he reached 
 land safely in 1831, landing at the port of 
 New York. From that city he traveled to 
 Philadelphia in a coasting vessel and there 
 
 found employment at his trade and worked in 
 different tailor shops for two years. He was 
 just 21 years old when he started on foot from 
 Philadelphia for Lycoming county. Pa. and 
 after reaching there turned his hand to any- 
 thing that came his way in the line of honest 
 work, all the time cherishing the hope of being 
 able to secure farm land. 
 
 In Lycoming county, in 1841, he was mar- 
 ried to Rachel Wagner, who was born April 
 I, 1820, and died in Crawford county, O., 
 Sept. 2, 1875. Her parents were John and 
 Rosa (Stroble) Wagner and they were old 
 neighbors of the Aucks in Wurtemburg, Ger- 
 many, where they married and afterward 
 emigrated to America and spent their subse- 
 quent lives in Lycoming county, Pa. They 
 were members of 'the religious [sect called 
 Pietists, a name given to a body of reformers 
 in the Lutheran church in Germany. The 
 leader of this movement was Philip Jacob 
 Spener, pastor of a Lutheran church at Frank- 
 furt, whose teachings were adopted as rules 
 of life by a considerable number of pious peo- 
 ple, and whose written work, named, Three 
 Desirable Things in Religion, was something 
 of a text-book with the Pietists, as similar 
 publications of belief are acceptable to many 
 people of the present day. At one time there 
 was a flourishing Pietist colony in Lycoming 
 county, many of the sect having found religious 
 freedom in America, the observance of their 
 religious freedom in America, the observance 
 of their religious rites not being permitted in 
 Germany after Pastor Spener's death. To 
 this body of good people, for self denial and 
 close adherence to the Scriptures marked their 
 life and conversation, the Strobles belonged. 
 After the death of his first wife, Christopher 
 Auck was married to Mrs. Catherine (Pat- 
 terson) Flick, Sept. 6, 1876. 
 
 About the time of his marriage, Mr. Auck 
 acquired 100 acres of land in Lycoming 
 county and he and wife continued to live there 
 until 1848, when, with their three children — 
 Michael, Elizabeth and Mary, the last named 
 dying at the age of six years, they started in 
 wagons to seek a new location in Ohio. For 
 three weeks they journeyed before they 
 reached Crawford county, where, shortly after- 
 ward, Mr. Auck purchased 80 acres of land in 
 Whetstone township and this place continued 
 
1130 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to be his home as long as he Hved and to its 
 development and cultivation he devoted the 
 larger part of his subsequent life. He became 
 a well known and highly respected man and 
 in the course of years added to his possessions 
 until he became one of Whetstone township's 
 men of ample fortune. While still living in 
 Lycoming county he had become naturalized 
 and afterward was an interested citizen. From 
 conviction he was a Democrat and gave con- 
 stant and hearty support to his party but never 
 desired political office for himself.. He was ^ 
 an earnest member of the Lutheran church up 
 to the time of death, which occurred Jan. 20, 
 1896. 
 
 Michael Auck, only son of Christopher 
 Auck, was born July 23, 1842, in Lycoming 
 county. Pa. From the age of six years until 
 the present (1912) he has been a resident of 
 Crawford county, for a half century living on 
 the old homestead in Whetstone township, 
 which property came into his possession in 
 1876 and of which he is still the owner. In 
 addition to managing and operating this farm 
 he has had additional farm lands and during 
 his long career as an agriculturist he justified 
 all the old traditions of the family. He has, 
 by no means, however, confined his energies 
 to farming, his activities in other directions 
 proving him to be one of the progressive men 
 of his community. In public matters he has 
 been very active, a strong Democrat like his 
 father, and is recognized as the possessor of 
 those desirable qualities which determine good 
 citizenship. In 1880 he was elected treasurer 
 of Whetstone township and served as such 
 until 1887, and in 1895 he was elected county 
 treasurer, an office of great responsibility, in 
 which he acquitted himself with credit 
 throughout his two terms. In 1896 he moved 
 to Bucyrus, where he is one of the elders of 
 St. John's Reformed church, having been ac- 
 tive in this religious organization for years. 
 
 Mr. Auck was married in Whetstone town- 
 ship to Miss Caroline Ehmann, who was born 
 Feb. 9, 1845, in Wurtemburg, Germany, a 
 daughter of John and Frederica (Fritz) 
 Ehmann. In 1853 the family came to Craw- 
 ford county but some years later moved to 
 Wyandot county, where the father of Mrs. 
 Auck purchased 80 acres of land and con- 
 tinued to live there' ufttil his death, on Oct. 12, 
 
 1870, when aged 68 years and ten days. The 
 mother of Mrs. Auck died in Wyandot county, 
 Jan. 28, 1884, aged 69 years, one month and 
 29 days. In Germany the family belonged to 
 the Lutheran church but united with the 
 Evangelical Association in America. Mrs, 
 Auck is one of a family of two sons and five 
 daughters. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Auck six children were 
 born: Mary J., who is the wife of D. S. 
 Schieber, oJ Bucyrus, and has two sons, Ar- 
 thus L. and Harold L. ; John C, a farmer re- 
 siding in Whetstone township, who married 
 Orie E. Andrews, and has two sons, L. Paul 
 and Ralph M. ; Lucy E., who is the wife of 
 J. E. Myers, of Bucyrus, and has two children, 
 Miriam C. and Cyril E. ; William H., a pros- 
 perous and respected business man of Bucyrus, 
 who married Teressa E. Syphrit, and has one 
 son. Dale Kenneth; Priscilla S., who is the 
 wife of H. G. Hoover, residing at Chicago, 
 111. ; and Samuel E., who is associated with his 
 brother William H., in the real estate and in- 
 surance business at Bucyrus, and who married 
 Lulu V. Knoedler, and has two children, Carol 
 Elizabeth and Donald K. Fraternally, Michael 
 Auck is identified with both the Masons and 
 the Odd Fellows. 
 
 JEFFERSON GANSHORN,* who, for 
 the past ten years has been foreman for the 
 Big Four freight department at Galion, O., one 
 of the reliable and well known employes of 
 this road, was born in Marion county, O., 50 
 years ago, and is a son of John and Eva 
 (Healey) Ganshorn. 
 
 John Ganshorn was born in Germany and 
 in 1843 accompanied his parents to America, 
 while his wife, who was also born in Germany, 
 came alone to the United States and they met 
 at Bucyrus, O. They were married in Marion 
 county and in 1869 the family came to Galion 
 and here the father embarked in the grocery 
 business and continued until his death in 1893, 
 when aged 66 years. In Germany he had been 
 known as a fine musician. He was survived 
 by his vvife until 1900, her death taking place 
 at Galion when her age was 75 years. They 
 were members of the German Reformed 
 church. Five sons and one daughter were 
 born to them, the latter of whom was married 
 first to James Tracy and after his death, to 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1131 
 
 William Ludington, both of whom she sur- 
 vives and lives at Dayton, O., with her two 
 daughters. Jefferson is the .only surviving 
 son. 
 
 Jefferson Ganshorn grew to manhood at 
 Gallon and after his school days entered the 
 employ of the Big Four Railroad and for 20 
 years was switchman and yard master at this 
 place, being promoted then to his present po- 
 sition. Mr. Ganshorn owns some valuable 
 city property that has been in the possession of 
 the family since 1871 and he has other invest- 
 ments. 
 
 At Galion, in 1884, Mr. Ganshorn was mar- 
 ried to Miss Josephine Baumgartner, who was 
 born in Elk county. Pa., a daughter of Joseph 
 and Christiana (Didlaw) Baumgartner, na- 
 tives of Germany. The parents of Mrs. Gans- 
 horn were abut 14 years of age when they came 
 to the United States and were married at 
 Philadelphia, Pa. and later lived in Elk county. 
 About 1864 the father came to Crawford 
 county with his family and settled in the Ger- 
 man settlement near Crestline, where he con- 
 ducted a hardware store until 1874. Mr. 
 Baumgartner then moved to Galion and con- 
 tinued merchandising until his retirement a 
 few years before his death, on June 16, 1906, 
 when aged 81 years. He was born in Alsace 
 when it was a French province. The mother 
 of Mrs. Ganshorn died in 1889, when aged 63 
 years. They were members of the German 
 Catholic church. Mrs. Ganshorn is one of a 
 family of eleven children. Five children have 
 been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ganshorn, namely : 
 Clara, who is the widow of Earl Helfrick; 
 Laura, who is the wife of Joseph Gall, of 
 Bucyrus, and has one daughter, Ruth ; Richard, 
 who lives at Galion, and is a brakeman on the 
 Erie Railroad, and who married Josephine 
 Carras; and Iva and Gertrude, who live at 
 home. Mrs. Ganshorn and children are mem- 
 bers of the German Catholic church. Mr. 
 Ganshorn is a Democrat in politics and be- 
 longs to the Railroad Men's Association. 
 
 JOHN R. ECKERT, who is one of the well 
 kown men of Crawford county, O., and a 
 prominent citizen of Jefferson township, lives 
 on his valuable farm of 161 acres situated 
 here and owns a farm of 35 acres, adjoining, 
 which lies in Sandusky township. He was born 
 
 in Lancaster county, Pa., Oct. 3, 1849, and is 
 a son of John and Anna Margaret (Renter) 
 Eckert, and a grandson of John Eckert. In 
 1847 the parents of Mr. Eckert emigrated 
 from Germany, settled in Lancaster county, 
 Pa., resided there for 19 years, and in 1866 
 they came to Crawford coimty, O., and lived 
 here until death. They were of the Lutheran 
 faith and the father gave his political support 
 to the Democratic party. 
 
 John R. Eckert is an only child and he re- 
 mained at home with his father until the lat- 
 ter 's death which occurred in 1886, at which 
 time he inherited 105 acres of his present land, 
 purchasing the remainder as it suited his con- 
 venience. For many years he operated his land 
 himself and was counted a very successful 
 farmer, but his sons have relieved him of his 
 heaviest responsibilities and he is now prac- 
 tically retired. Mr. Eckert has been an active 
 and useful citizen since .early manhood, and, 
 as one of the leading men has frequently been 
 elected to offices of responsibility, on the Dem- 
 ocratic ticket. For several years he served 
 as assessor of Jefferson township, was land 
 appraiser for two terms, in 1900 and 1910, for 
 six years was township trustee and at present 
 is serving in his fifth year as turnpike com- 
 missioner. He has thus been in the public eye 
 for many years and his services have been so 
 satisfactory to his fellow citizens that he is 
 held in universal esteem. 
 
 In 1 87 1 Mr. Eckert was married to Miss 
 Barbara Volkmar, who was born in New 
 Jersey, and died in October, 1909, her burial 
 being at Leesville. She was the eldest born 
 child of Frank P. and Elizabeth (Herr) Volk- 
 mar, the others being: Phoebe, wife of Joshua 
 Crouse; Anna, wife of Albert Holsaple; and 
 George Henry. To Mr. and Mrs. Eckert the 
 following children were born : Jacob, who mar- 
 ried Emma Glower and has three children — 
 Irvin, Fern and Forest; George H., who mar- 
 ried Philomena McKean, and has two chil- 
 dren, Oliver and Evalene; Anna M., who mar- 
 ried William A. High, and has two children, 
 Martha and Luther; Eva E., deceased; Wil- 
 liam J., who married Ruth C. McKean, and has 
 three children — Bessie, Robert and Leila; Al- 
 bert C, who married Louise Strauch, and has 
 one son, Michael ; Ernest P. ; Maud M., who is 
 the wife of Clarence Ott, and has one son; and 
 
1132 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Ruth O. Mr. Eckert and family are members 
 of the Lutheran church. 
 
 FREDERICK K. BERRY, general man- 
 ager of the Gahon Brewing Company, at Ga- 
 Hon, O., is a business man of recognized abil- 
 ity and one of the representative men of this 
 city. He was born at Upper Sandusky, Wy- 
 andot county, O., in 1864, and is a son of 
 Curtis and Emma (Kirby) Berry. 
 
 Curtis Befry was born in April, 1831, in 
 what was then a part of Crawford, but is 
 now Wyandot county, the county being named 
 after the Wyandot tribe of Indians, then nu- 
 merous in this section. Of Irish ancestry, he 
 possessed the genial temperament and bright 
 intellect of his race, and became a lawyer of 
 acknowledged ability and a citizen whose 
 judgment was frequently consulted in the de- 
 veloping of this section. He was twenty-one 
 years old when he was elected to the office of 
 county clerk and subsequently became probate 
 judge and a member of the Ohio State Senate, 
 for fifty years being influential in political 
 life. His death occurred when he was seventy- 
 three years old. He married Emma Kirby, 
 who was of English ancestry and was born at 
 Columbus, O., p. daughter of Hon. Moses 
 Kirby, who was secretary of state during the 
 administration of President Arthur. In early 
 manhood Mr. Kirby had served in the state 
 legislature and fifty years later, when aged 
 eighty-three years, he Avas elected a member 
 of the state senate and served with ability 
 through two terms. He was born in 1798, in 
 Virginia, and died at Upper 'Sandusky in 1889, 
 at that time being yet upright of figure and 
 well preserved in both body and mind. For 
 twenty-one years Senator Kirby served as pro- 
 secuting attorney in Wyandot county and for 
 fifty consecutive years held political office. In 
 early life he was a Whig but later became a 
 Democrat, and for years was one of the most 
 influential men of his party in Ohio. He took 
 much pleasure in his Masonic connection and 
 after he was eighty years old took his Knight 
 Templar degree. He belonged also to the Odd 
 Fellows and continued to attend the meetings 
 of his lodge after he was ninety years old. In 
 every way Senator Kirby was a remarkable 
 man. He survived his daughter, Mrs. Curtis 
 Berry, who died in 1883. 
 
 Frederick K. Berry was reared and educated 
 in Wyandot county. He began his business 
 life by entering the Government railway mail 
 service during the administration of Presi- 
 dent Cleveland, and was thus occupied until 
 1889, when he went to St. Mary's, O., where 
 he embarked in the hotel business. He after- 
 ward removed to Bucyrus, where he operated 
 the Stull Hotel, now the Royal Hotel, for two 
 years. Mr. Berry then re-entered the railway 
 mail service and so continued until 1898. 
 Since 1901 he has been connected with the 
 Gallon brewery, of which he has been man- 
 ager since 1906. 
 
 The brewing business now represented by 
 the Gallon Brewing Company, was established 
 just outside the city, in 1854, by John Kroft, 
 who began in a small way, with few con- 
 veniences and in great contrast to the present 
 immense plant. In 1886 the business was 
 taken over by Henry Altstaetter, who ope- 
 rated the brewery until his death, in May, 
 1900. He had made many improvements, in- 
 cluding the erection of a fine brick residence 
 on the grounds and under his management the 
 enterprise proved a lucrative business concern. 
 In 1901 the Gallon Brewing Company secured 
 the plant and at present the owners are: Mr. 
 Berry and wife and a sister of the latter, Miss 
 Emma Altstaetter, the home of the last named 
 being Waynesville, N. C. The property is 
 located on an elevation which gives one of the 
 finest and most extended views in all this 
 section. Mr. Berry has been very successful 
 in his management, although the business was 
 new to him when he took charge, and a large 
 force of men are employed, the output amount- 
 ing to 15,000 barrels of a high grade of beer 
 annually. 
 
 In 1889 Mr. Berry was married in the beau- 
 tiful residence he now occupies, to Miss Hen- 
 riette A. Altstaetter, who was born in Allen 
 county, O., but was reared and educated at 
 Upper Sandusky. She is a daughter of Henry 
 and Hedwig (Jettinger) Altstaetter. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Berry have been born two 
 children, Henry C. and Florence. The for- 
 mer, a young man of twenty-two years, is now 
 associated with his father in business. He 
 was educated in the Gallon schools and the 
 New York Military Academy at Comwall- 
 on-the-Hudson, where he was graduated in 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1133 
 
 the class of 191 1. The daughter, who was 
 graduated from the Galion High School in 
 the class of 1909, subsequently entered the 
 Dwight School for Girls, an exclusive sem- 
 inary conducted at Englewood, N. J., and was 
 graduated in the class of 191 1. She is a mem- 
 ber of the younger social set at Galion and 
 has many pleasant connections in this and 
 other cities. Mr. Berry is a member of the 
 fraternal order of Elks and the National As- 
 sociation of U. C. T., and belongs also to the 
 orders of Moose and Eagles. He was a char- 
 ter member of the Elks at Upper Sandusky and 
 also of Galion; is past president of the order of 
 Eagles, and is present senior councilor of 
 Lodge No. 476, U. C. T., at Galion. He is 
 one of the active members of the Galion Com- 
 mercial Club. In addition to his other in- 
 terests, Mr. Berry is on the directing board 
 of the Cleveland-Galion Moter Truck Com- 
 pany. 
 
 Although he is credited with being one of 
 the city's best citizens, Mr. Berry has never 
 been a seeker for public office. He was reared 
 in the Democratic party and naturally his 
 preference lies in that direction, but political 
 activity has been more or less distasteful to 
 him, and he has contented himself with cast- 
 ing his vote and giving loyal support to his 
 friends. He is public spirited and ever ready to 
 lend his influence to support movements for 
 the city's welfare, and takes pride in her prog- 
 ress and substantial development, contributing 
 with liberal hand to her charities and assisting 
 in advancing benevolent enterprises which 
 promise to be permanent in character and suf- 
 ficiently useful. In all that goes to make up a 
 worthy citizen, Mr. Berry stands the test. 
 
 M. F. HASSLER, whose finely improved 
 farm of 40 acres is situated in section 24, 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 may be numbered with the prosperous agricult- 
 urists of this part of the county and also is one 
 of its solid, reliable and representative citi- 
 zens. He was born April 16, i860, at Bloom- 
 ville, Seneca county, O., being the only son of 
 Henry F. and Sarah (Watson) Hassler. 
 
 Mr. Hassler attended the public schools of 
 Bloomville and later the Ohio Normal School, 
 after which he entered into educational work 
 and devoted about 19 years to the profession 
 
 of teaching. For four years he was an in- 
 structor in the Bloomville High School, 
 taught for two years in Illinois, and the rest 
 of the time in Seneca county, O. In 1904 he 
 came from Bloomville to Crawford county 
 and purchased his farm from R. N. Sears. 
 At that time this land was entirely undevel- 
 oped but to its clearing and subsequent im- 
 provement Mr. Hassler has devoted much at- 
 tention and scientific knowledge. He not only 
 operates his own land but rents 80 adjoining 
 acres, carrying on general farming and dairy- 
 ing, breeding Jersey cattle and handling cream 
 for the Medina Creamery Company, of Me- 
 dina, O., his volume of business being very 
 large and constantly expanding. He is also 
 general agent for the Everlasting Silo, and 
 through his efforts farmers in this section 
 have been awakened to the desirability of add- 
 ing this adjunct to their farm equipment. He 
 is a member of the Cranberry Grange and is 
 considered an authority on things agricultural. 
 Politically he is a Republican but has never 
 called to public office although qualified for the 
 
 same. 
 
 Mr. Hassler married Miss Mary Prouse, a 
 daughter of Philip and Sarah Duffy Prouse, 
 of Bloomville, and they have four children 
 with ages ranging from eleven to two years : 
 Eva Pearl, Leon Prouse, Donald Fillmore and 
 Mildred Fay. Mr. and Mrs. Hassler attend 
 both the United Brethren and the Methodist 
 Episcopal churches. The grandfather of Mrs. 
 Hassler was Rev. John K. Duffy, a minister in 
 the M. E. church: 
 
 WILLIS E. MUTH,* a prosperous busi- 
 ness man of Galion, O., interested in lumber 
 and saw mills and owning a handsome resi- 
 dence at No. 1265 East Main Street, Galion, 
 was born here Feb. 20, 1879, and is a son of 
 Henry and Sophia S. (Balliett) Muth. 
 
 Henry Muth was born at Crestline, Craw- 
 ford county, O., about 59 years since and is 
 a son of George Muth, the latter of whom 
 was born in 1820, in Hesse Darmstadt, Ger- 
 many, and came to the United States soon 
 after his marriage. He was a tailor by trade 
 and worked as such first at Mansfield, O., and 
 later at Galion. George Muth died at the 
 home of a daughter, in Morrow county, O., 
 at the age of 79 years. Of his five children 
 
1134 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 there are four survivors. The eldest, Henry 
 Muth, has spent the larger part of his life as a 
 farmer, mainly in Crawford county but at 
 present is a resident of Morrow county. He 
 was married at Gallon to Sophia S. Balliett, 
 who was born and reared near this city and is 
 a daughter of Enoch and Elizabeth (Klop- 
 fenstein) Balliett. Enoch Balliett was born in 
 Germany and his wife in Switzerland and her 
 father, John Klopfenstein, came early to 
 Crawford county and took up i,ooo acres of 
 land in the vicinity of Gallon. To Henry 
 Muth and wife the following children were 
 born : Willis E. ; Francis, who is deceased ; 
 Otto, who is a farmer in Crawford county; 
 Pearl, who resides with her parents; Adessa, 
 who is deceased; and Lloyd, who is a resi- 
 dent of Gallon. 
 
 Willis E. Muth obtained a good public 
 school education, one that qualified him for 
 teaching school had he so desired, but after 
 reaching his majority he turned his attention 
 to lumbering and saw milling and along these 
 lines has been a very successful business man. 
 While in no sense a politician, he takes a good 
 citizen's interest in all that concerns the wel- 
 fare of city, state and nation, and, like his 
 father and brothers, is a Democrat in politics. 
 
 Mr. Muth was married at North Bloomfield, 
 Morrow county, O., to Miss Estella A. Spade, 
 who was born in Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, a daughter of Marion and Priscilla 
 (Schemer) Spade. The family is of German 
 extraction and the parents of Mrs. Muth were 
 born in Pennsylvania. After the birth of Mrs. 
 Muth they moved to Morrow county and Mr. 
 Spade is a prominent farmer there. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Muth are the parents of two children: 
 Maude L., who was born March i6, 1899; 
 and Harold A., who was born June 8, 1909. 
 They are members of the Lutheran church at 
 Gallon. 
 
 FRANK NUNGESSER, who is serving in 
 his second term as a trustee of Jefiferson town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., owns 40 acres of 
 very valuable land here and carries on general 
 farming. He was born in Polk township, 
 Crawford county, a son of Peter and Delilah 
 (Ditty) Nungesser. 
 
 Peter Nungesser was born in Germany but 
 lived many years in Crawford county, where 
 
 he married Delilah Ditty, who now resides at 
 Gallon. During life he was a well known 
 man, having followed the carpenter trade all 
 over this section. His family consisted of the 
 following children : Washington ; Frank ; Cath- 
 erine, wife of Daniel Ricker; Ida, widow of 
 Daniel Knause; Ellen, wife of Albert Christ- 
 man; Neeley; Viola, wife of Lewis Kluppraan; 
 and Eli and Raleigh. The parents of this fam- 
 ily reared their children in the Lutheran faith. 
 
 Frank Nungesser obtained his educational 
 ^ training in the public schools and remained at 
 home and mainly followed farming until he 
 was 25 years of age, when he secured em- 
 ployment with a railroad company and fol- 
 lowed railroading for 18 years. Mr. Nun- 
 gesser then purchased his present farm in 
 Jefferson township from Nicholas Wallbillick, 
 this being in 1903, since when he has followed 
 farming to some extent, but as his land is very 
 fertile he has found it advantageous to devote 
 the most of it to truck gardening, having a 
 ready market for his produce at Crestline. 
 
 In October, 1884, Mr. Nungesser was mar- 
 ried to Miss Elizabeth Beach, who was born 
 in Crawford county and is a daughter of Peter 
 and Magdalena (Meyers) Beach, who were 
 well known farming people here for many 
 years. Mrs. Nungesser has the following 
 brothers and sisters : Levi ; Samuel ; Charles ; 
 Rebecca, wife of John Price ; Mary Jane, wife 
 of Lewis Cramer; and Laura N., who is the 
 wife of Andrew Meyers. Mr. and Mrs. Nun- 
 gesser have three children: Henry, who is in 
 the employ of the Big Four Railroad Com- 
 pany; Malinda, who is the wife of Otto Blazer; 
 and Carrie, who resides at home. Mr. Nun- 
 gesser and family attend the German Luth- 
 eran church. In his political views Mr. Nun- 
 gesser has always been a Democrat and has 
 frequently been chosen by his party for im- 
 portant public positions. While living in 
 Polk township he served two terms as road 
 supervisor, and was a member of the city 
 council of Crestline, for two years, while in 
 Jefiferson township he has been an equally ac- 
 tive citizen. He belongs to the order of M. 
 W. A., at Crestline. 
 
 ZEN WILSON SEIBERT, V. S., who has 
 been established in his profession at Crest- 
 line, O., since April, 1901, following his grad- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1135 
 
 nation from the Ontario Veterinary College, 
 at Toronto, Canada, is in the enjoyment of a 
 large and lucrative practice brought about by 
 his thorough education and an enthusiasm for 
 his work that has kept him fully abreast of all 
 scientific discoveries in his particular depart- 
 ment of medicine. He was born in Mohican 
 township, Ashland county, O., Aug. 2'j, 1869, 
 was reared on a farm and gained his early 
 education in the public schools. 
 
 From boyhood Dr. Seibert had a leaning 
 toward his present profession and even then 
 had success in treating the mild ailments of 
 the farm stock and as he grew older his prac- 
 tice extended. He had no financial assistance 
 and only through his natural talents, his per- 
 sistent efforts and close study was he able to 
 finally enter the above college, an institution 
 that stands first in the land in vetinary science. 
 His reputation extends far beyond Crawford 
 county and there have been many exhibitions 
 of confidence shown him when owners of valu- 
 able animals have consulted him and relied on 
 his judgment, which has seldom been at fault. 
 He maintains a veterinary hospital and owns 
 other valuable property, including a very 
 handsome residence at No. 207 Thoman 
 Street. He is identified with a number of 
 medical bodies. 
 
 Dr. Seibert was married in Holmes county, 
 O., to Miss Abbie Bitner, who was born near 
 Lakeville, in January, 1869, and to her inter- 
 est and sympathy in his aims, Dr. Seibert at- 
 tributes a large degree of his success. The 
 mother of Mrs. Seibert is a member of the 
 family, her father, James Bitner, who was a 
 soldier in the Civil War, having been accident- 
 ally killed afterward, in 1875 a tree falling 
 on him. Dr. and Mrs. Seibert are members 
 of the Methodist Episcopal church. Politic- 
 ally he is a Republican and fraternally belongs 
 to the Knights of Pythias, in which order he 
 is vice chancellor of the Crestline lodge No. 
 266. As a citizen Dr. Seibert stands in line 
 with the temperate, broad-minded, reliable 
 men who make the back-bone of a community. 
 
 JAMES L. ANGELL, deceased, for many 
 years was a respected resident of Galion, O., 
 and an honored veteran officer of the Civil 
 War, in which he won distinction. He was born 
 at Rochester, N. Y., Sept. 10, 1832, and was 
 
 a son of Israel Angell, who spent his entire 
 life in New York, a machinist by trade, and 
 died there when aged 70 years. 
 
 James L. Angell lived at Rochester and ob- 
 tained his schooling there and his training in 
 a machine shop. When 25 years old he went 
 to Laporte, Ind., and worked there at his 
 trade and some years afterward was a ma- 
 chinist in railway shops in Chicago, and after 
 the Civil War, in 1877, he came to Gallon* and 
 was employed in the shops of the Erie Rail- 
 road continuously afterward until his death, 
 Nov. 23, 1899. When the Civil War opened 
 he was at Laporte, Ind., and there he enlisted 
 in the 29th Ind. Vol. Inf., was made adjutant 
 of the same and served with the rank of col- 
 onel. He was a brave and efficient officer and 
 saw hard fighting, at Shiloh and elsewhere, 
 and, although a number of horses were shot 
 from beneath him and his clothing was prac- 
 tically riddled with bullets, he never was 
 wounded. He not only was a brave soldier 
 in battle but was worthy in every relation of 
 life, a good citizen and a kind husband and 
 father. 
 
 Colonel Angell was married at Laporte, Ind., 
 to Miss Lydia A. Robinson, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania but was reared in Indiana. 
 They had one son, Alexander L., who was born 
 May 30, 1874, at Laporte, Ind., but was edu- 
 cated at Galion and after a commercial course 
 in a business college here accepted a clerical 
 position in a business house. He was mar- 
 ried at Akron, O., to Miss Mary Eva Dyer, 
 who was born at Cleveland and educated at 
 Creston, O. Her parents were John A. and 
 Emeline (Hastings) Dyer, both now deceased. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Angell have one son, 
 James Ellsworth, who was Iborn Nov. 21, 
 1900. Mr. Angell is a Republican in politics 
 as was his late father. Col. Angell and family 
 attended the Presbyterian church. He was 
 prominent in G. A. R. circles and was a 
 valued and beloved member of Dick Morris 
 Post No. 30, at Galion. Although undoubtedly 
 deserving of a pension, he always refused to 
 accept one and, although somewhat active in 
 politics, declined public office for himself. 
 
 HUGH CALDWELL, general farmer for 
 many years but now practically retired, re- 
 sides in section 3, Auburn township, Crawford 
 
1136 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 county, O., on 60 acres of excellent land which 
 was owned by his wife. He was born in Ply- 
 mouth township, Richland county, 0., Jan. 17, 
 1835, ^ son of Thomas and Mary (Miller) 
 Caldwell. 
 
 Thomas Caldwell was born at Martinsburg, 
 Va. and after he came to Crawford county, C, 
 rented a farm in Auburn township, situated 
 one-half mile north of the one above men- 
 tioned. There he died when aged 43 years. 
 He married Mary Miller, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania and died in Indiana, in her 79th 
 year. There were eight children in the fam- 
 ily, the survivors being: Hannah, Catherine, 
 Hugh and William ; and those deceased being : 
 George, Elizabeth, James and Susanna. 
 
 Hugh Caldwell remained with his mother 
 on the farm until he was almost 23 years old, 
 when he secured work at other points and for 
 sime time split rails and cut wood, receiving 
 25 cents a hundred for rail splitting, 50 cents 
 a hundred for cutting and splitting and 25 
 cents a cord for wood. After his marriage he 
 settled on his wife's farm of 60 acres and 
 practically did all the clearing himself, the 
 larger part of the place being under cultiva- 
 tion although there is yet a valuable timber 
 tract untouched. He made many improve- 
 ments that tended to comfort and convenience 
 and until 1900 directed all the farm indus- 
 tries himself, since when these responsibilities 
 have been taken over by his son. During the 
 Civil War Mr. Caldwell served as a member 
 of Co. B, 60th O. Vol. Inf., from Feb. 23, 
 1864, until he was honorably discharged July 
 28, 1865, having been fortunate enough to 
 escape all permanent injury although he was 
 ever at the post of duty during this time and 
 then returned to his farm duties and to those 
 of a good citizen of his community. 
 
 Mr. Caldwell was married to Miss Elizabeth 
 A. Bevier, who was born in Plymouth town- 
 ship, Richland county, O., and died at the age 
 of 74 years, her burial being in New Haven 
 township, Huron county, O. She was the 
 mother of five children, namely: John, who 
 resides on the home farm and manages its 
 industries, and who is married and has a fam- 
 ily; Franklin, who lives at Plymouth; Wil- 
 liam, who lives at Chicago Junction; and two 
 babes that died in infancy. Mr. Caldwell has 
 been a lifelong^ Republican. He attends the 
 
 Church of God, of which religious body his 
 wife was a faithful member. 
 
 WILLIAM B. MITCHELL,* deceased, 
 for a number of years was connected with 
 the Erie Railway shops at Galion in the ca- 
 pacity of master carpenter and was considered 
 one of the most skillful men in his line of 
 work in the service. He was born in Jeffer- 
 son county, O., Sept. 18, 1838, and met death 
 through an accident, while working on a rail- 
 road bridge, at Akron, O., Oct. 31, 1902. 
 
 William B. Mitchell attended school in Jef- 
 ferson county in boyhood and afterward 
 learned the carpenter trade and after his mar- 
 riage moved to West Salem, in Wayne coun- 
 ty, and still later to Galion. Here he entered 
 the employ of the Erie Railway Company, 
 with which he continued until his death, a 
 period of 34 years. He became a master 
 builder and was entrusted with many of the 
 important structures that required skilled 
 work in their building or repairing and it was 
 while attending to a very important contract 
 that he met his death. His loss was deeply 
 deplored by the company, and his fellow citi- 
 zens united in their grief with his family. 
 Mr. Mitchell was twice married, first in Jeffer- 
 son county, to Miss Isabel McLane, who died 
 at West Salem when aged 28 years, survived 
 by one daughter, Florence, who is the wife 
 of Frank Beuberger, of Galion, and has three 
 children. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was married (second), at 
 West Salem, O., to Miss Rebecca Handwork, 
 who was born there, Oct. 31, 1862, a daugh- 
 ter of Abraham and Mary (Esselbum) Hand- 
 work. The father of Mrs. Mitchell was born 
 in Lehigh county. Pa., and the mother in Ger- 
 many. Both came young to West Salem, O., 
 where they were subsequently married and 
 the following children were born to them: 
 Amaryllis, who died when nine years old; 
 Rebecca, who became Mrs. Mitchell; Ella, 
 who married Park Williams, a farmer near 
 Salem; Jennie, who married C. F. Camp, of 
 Homerville, O. ; William, who resides at 
 West Salem, with wife an two sons; Edward, 
 who lives on a farm near New London, 0., 
 and has wife and four children; Alice, who 
 is the wife of Harry Webber; and Frank, 
 who lives in the Northwest. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1137 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell the following 
 children were born: Mary Kate, who was 
 graduated from the Galion High School in 
 the class of 1900, and who for some years 
 has been an acceptable teacher and has a wide 
 circle of friends at Galion; Edna May, who 
 is the wife of Arthur J. Shumaker, and re- 
 sides on a farm in Polk township, Crawford 
 county; Hugh William, who, after attending 
 the public schools at Galion, spent one year 
 in the Ohio Normal College, received an ap- 
 pointment as a member of the class of 1910, 
 at West Point Military Academy, from the 
 Thirteenth Congressional District; Fanniel 
 Belle, who was graduated from the Galion 
 High School in the class of 191 1, and now 
 fills a position with the Galion Inquirer that 
 permits her to live at home; and Ruth F., 
 who is a student in the Galion High School. 
 Mrs. Mitchell is a member of the Lutheran 
 church, Hugh W., of the Babtist church, Kate, 
 Fannie and Ruth, of the Presbyterian, while 
 Edna belongs to the First Reformed church. 
 Mr. Mitchell was a member of the National 
 Building and Bridge Association. He was a 
 man of sterling character, honorable and up- 
 right in his business life, charitable to those 
 who were worthy of help, and considerate to 
 his family and loyal to his friends. 
 
 JOHN WILLIAM ROSS, who is a retired 
 business man of Crestline, O., for many years 
 was among the foremost men in the lumber 
 industry in this section and is well known 
 throughout Crawford county, having been 
 identified particularly with the business ac- 
 tivities of Crestline. He was born in Hessen 
 Darmstadt, Germany, May 25, 1847, a son 
 of Peter and a grandson of Peter Ross. 
 
 The father of Mr. Ross was born also in 
 Hessen Darmstadt, in 1803, one of a family 
 of six children and one of the two to come 
 to America, the other one being his brother, 
 John Ross. The latter came also to Crawford 
 county and after marriage lived in Lykens 
 township, where he and wife died and his des- 
 cendants still live there. Peter Ross, Jr. grew 
 tip on his father's small farm in Germany and 
 in early manhood was married to Margaret 
 Simmermacher, who was born in an adjoin- 
 ing province, in 1807. In 1853, after the 
 birth of their children: Catherine, Peter, 
 
 George, Margaret, Philip, Lizzie and John 
 William, Mr. and Mrs. Ross made prepara- 
 tions to emigrate to America, led to this step, 
 undoubtedly, by a desire to provide better op- 
 portunities for the future of their children, 
 in an industrial way, than they could command 
 in the crowded old country. The family em- 
 barked at Havre, on the sailing ship, William 
 Tell, and after a safe and enjoyable voyage 
 of 38 days, having fine weather, were landed 
 safely in the harbor of New York, in June, 
 1853. From there, by way of boat, they 
 reached Cleveland and proceded on to San- 
 dusky City, O., and from there to Shelby, 
 where a kinsman met them and transported 
 them to Vernon township. From there they 
 came to Lykens township and heire very soon 
 Mr. Ross purchased 80 acres of wild land, a 
 discouraging appearing property at that time 
 but one, which, after developing, proved that 
 Mr. Ross' judgment and foresight were not 
 at fault. This fine land, now highly im- 
 proved, belongs to his son and namesake, 
 Peter Ross, the third in the family of that 
 name. On this farm in Lykens township the 
 parents lived until they died, he in 1856, prob- 
 ably of one of the malarial diseases that at- 
 tacked the early settlers in almost every sec- 
 tion and were responsible for many sudden 
 deaths. His widow survived him for many 
 years, her death occurring when within three 
 months of her 84th birthday. They were 
 members of the Evangelical church. One of 
 their children, Lizzie, died in infancy, but six 
 accompanied them to America and of these 
 there are three still living. 
 
 John William Ross grew to manhood on 
 the home farm and in the meanwhile went to 
 school and in association with English-speak- 
 ing children, soon learned the language. He 
 was only 22 years old when he was acknowl- 
 edged to be a competent saw mill operator, 
 and in 1884 came to Crestline to go into the 
 lumber business. Here he entered into part- 
 nership with William Eckstein, also a practical 
 man in the business, and success attended them 
 from the first. From their saw mill, planing 
 mill and lumber yards came a large portion 
 of the material that went into the material 
 upbuilding of this city. The above partner- 
 ship continued for seven years, when Mr. Ross 
 became sole proprietor and carried on the 
 
1138 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 large enterprise alone until 1905, when he 
 leased his plant and retired to private life, 
 but still retains ownership. In many ways 
 Mr. Ross has been a useful citizen, investing 
 his capital in different concerns which in their 
 infancy needed a little help_and encouraging 
 others by his enterprise, energy and public 
 spirit, and today he stands as one of the city's 
 representative men, enjoying to the fullest ex- 
 tent the esteem of business associates and 
 competitors and a wide circle of personal 
 friends. 
 
 Mr. Ross was married at Crestline, to Miss 
 Mary Foltz, who was born here Sept. 12, 1856, 
 a daughter of Bartholomew and Catherine 
 (Helfrich) Foltz. In early life they accom- 
 panied their parents from Germany and were 
 reared in Holmes township, Crawford county, 
 where they attended school and after mar- 
 riage at Bucyrus, moved to Crestline, where 
 Mr. Foltz became connected with the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad Company. Both he and 
 wife died in this city when aged about 71 
 years. They were members of the German 
 Lutheran church, to which Mr. and Mrs. Ross 
 also belong and in which Mr. Ross has been 
 a deacon for 15 years. To Mr. and Mrs. Ross 
 was born one son, who died in infancy. Mr. 
 Ross is a Democrat in his political views. 
 
 DERR BROS. & CO., proprietors of a 
 large meat business at New Washington, O., 
 are prominent business men of this city who 
 have been in this line of trade for many years. 
 The business was founded here in 1869, hence 
 is one of the old and solid houses of the city, 
 and throughout its whole existence, with 
 slight changes in ownership, has deserved the 
 large volume of patronage it has received. 
 
 In 1869 L. J. Kimmerline embarked in the 
 meat business at New Washington and contin- 
 ued under his own name until 1885, when he 
 sold out to J. W. Derr and brothers, the firm 
 then being made up of J. W. and Frank Derr, 
 who continued the business until 1901-, when 
 F. A. Kimmerline was taken in as a partner 
 and the firm style since then has been Derr 
 Bros. & Co. 
 
 J. W. Derr and Frank Derr were born, 
 reared and educated in Crawford county, sons 
 of John and Barbara (Fissel) Derr. John 
 Derr was born in Germany and after coming 
 
 to America married Miss Barbara Fissel, a 
 daughter of John Fissel, of English extrac- 
 tion. John Derr died at the age of 37 years, 
 after which his widow, Mrs. Barbara Derr, 
 married L. J. Kimmerline. Mr. Kimmerline 
 was born in Germany and was brought to the 
 United States and to Wayne county, O., by 
 his father, John Kimmerline. Later he re- 
 moved to Crawford county, where he still 
 resides. Mr. Kimmerline has the following 
 children : C. E., a physician at New Washing- 
 ton, who married Mary Scott; Frederick A., 
 a member of the firm of Derr Bros & Co.. 
 who married Lela Hawblits, resides at New 
 Washington and has three children — (Charles 
 W., Ruth L. and Alberta B.) ; and Maud F., 
 Ida L., Jennie and Clara, all of whom reside 
 with their mother, Miss Jennie being book- 
 keeper for the above named firm. To Mrs. 
 Kimmerline's first marriage two sons were 
 born, J. W. and Frank, both of whom, as 
 previously indicated, are members of the firm 
 of Derr Bros. & Co. J. W. Derr married 
 Miss Emma Martin, and Frank Derr married 
 Miss Etha Guiss. All are well known people 
 of New Washington and are prominent in 
 social as well as business life. 
 
 WILLIAM HENRY AUCK, a representa- 
 tive and reliable business man of Bucyrus, O., 
 who is engaged in the real estate and general 
 insurance business, belongs to one of the old 
 and substantial families of Crawford county. 
 He was born Sept. nth, 1871, in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, O., and is the 
 son of Michael and Caroline (Ehmann) AuCk, 
 a grandson of Christopher and Rachel (Wag- 
 ner) Auck, and a great-grandson of George 
 and Rosina (Frank) Auck. The parents of 
 Mr. Auck survive and reside at Bucyrus, O., 
 where they are numbered with the city's most 
 respected and esteemed citizens. 
 
 William Henry Auck obtained his educa- 
 tion in the public schools of Whetstone town- 
 ship and at the Ohio Normal University, at 
 Ada, O., entering that institution in the Fall 
 of 1 89 1 and was graduated with the degree 
 of B. S., in 1896, having also taught school 
 during the winter seasons in the vicinity of 
 Bucyrus. His father having been elected 
 county treasurer in the spring of 1897, he be- 
 came his deputy and served as such with en- 
 
JOHN J. SCHAEFER 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1141 
 
 tire efficiency for i8 months. In August, 
 1898, he accepted the position of assistant 
 cashier of the Second National Bank of Bu- 
 cyrus, O., and filled the same until January, 
 1904, when he resigned in order to become 
 cashier of the American National Bank of 
 Barberton, O., and continued in the banking 
 business there for five years. When his resig- 
 nation from the latter institution was accepted 
 he returned to Bucyrus and in January, 1909, 
 in association with his brother, Samuel E. 
 Auck, embarked in his present business. The 
 firm deals in farm property in Crawford and 
 adjoining counties as well as city real estate, 
 writes fidelity and surety bonds, and carries a 
 general line of fire, life and casualty insur- 
 ance with some of the oldest and best com- 
 panies in the country. Both as a firm and 
 individually the Aucks have a high rating. 
 
 Mr. Auck was married June 20, 1899, at 
 Brookville, Pa., to Miss Terressa E. Syphrit, 
 who was born Oct. 23, 1877, in Jefferson 
 county. Pa., a daughter of Christopher and 
 Mary M. (Plotner) Syphrit, the former of 
 whom was born in Jefferson county. Pa., on 
 Feb. 9, 1846, and the latter in the same county 
 and state on March i, 1850. The grandfather, 
 Joseph Syphrit, was born in the Dominion of 
 Canada, Feb. 16, 1814, and in 1816 his father 
 moved to Westmoreland county, Pa. Joseph 
 Syphrit was there married in 1837 to Mary 
 Campbell and in 1841 they moved to Jeffer- 
 son county, where she died early in 1884. He 
 then married Caroline Allison, in 1885, who 
 survives him and resides at Reynoldsville, Pa. 
 Thirteen children were born to his first union, 
 one of whom was Christopher Syphrit. Jo- 
 seph Syphrit died April 8, 1895, aged 81 
 years, i month, and 22 days. Mary M. (Plot- 
 ner) Syphrit was the daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth (Bowersox) Plotner. John Plot- 
 ner was bom Sept. 20, 1803, in Center county, 
 Pa. About 1828 he was married to Elizabeth 
 Bowersox, who was born Dec. 15, 181 1, in 
 the same county and state. Later they moved 
 to Jefferson county, where they resided until 
 their death. Grandfather Plotner died Oct. 
 23, 1869 and his wife, Elizabeth, died May 
 4. 1900. 
 
 In his early business life, Christopher Syph- 
 rit was a lumberman and later became a farm- 
 er. He was married in 1869 and three chil- 
 
 dren were born to him and wife. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Auck have one son, Dale Kenneth, who 
 was born Jan. 3, 1902, and who is now a 
 bright pupil in his classes in the public school. 
 Mrs. Auck is a cultured and accomplished wo- 
 man and was graduated in music from the 
 Ohio Normal University at Ada, O., in the 
 class of 1897. Both are members of the Pres- 
 byterian church,, of which he is a trustee, and 
 while a resident of Barberton, O., an elder. 
 Politically Mr. Auck is a Democrat and fra- 
 ternally is identified with the Masons. 
 
 JOHN JACOB SCHAEFER, a retired 
 merchant and highly respected citizen of Ga- 
 lion, O., owner of the Schaefer Block, No. 
 133 and i35>^ East Main Street, Gallon, was 
 born Feb. 3, 1831, in Hesse Darmstadt, Ger- 
 many, and is a son of Johanas and Elizabeth 
 (Gosz) Schaefer. 
 
 The Schaefers were well known and highly 
 thought of people in their native province, 
 small farmers, church supporters and law- 
 abiding citizens. The four sons of Johanas 
 and Elizabeth Schaefer all grew to manhood 
 and all inherited the leading family traits. 
 
 John Jacob Schaefer was the eldest born in 
 his parents' family and during his school days 
 he lived on the home farm and afterward 
 learned the tailor's trade. In 1857 he decided 
 to come to the United States and took passage 
 on the steamer Indiana, which took two weeks 
 to make the passage but safely landed the voy- 
 agers at the port of New York. He found 
 work in that city among his fellow country- 
 men and after the completion of the railroad 
 to Gallon, came here and found such encourage- 
 ment in the line of business that he determined 
 to make the growing city his permanent home. 
 For some time he worked at his trade and 
 then embarked in the grocery business in 
 which line he continued for 25 years, at the 
 end of which period he retired. Through en- 
 terprise and industry he prospered and with 
 great public spirit he invested in land here 
 which he improved, the Schaefer Block on 
 East Main Street being one of the well built 
 and attractive business blocks of the business 
 district. He also owns a block on South Mar- 
 ket Street. He is one of the directors of the 
 Citizens National Bank of Gallon. Politic- 
 ally he has always been a Democrat and at 
 
1142 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 one time he was a member of the city council. 
 His judgment has often been consuhed in re- 
 gard to civic affairs and he has long been con- 
 sidered a representative man. 
 
 Air. Schaefer was married at Galion to 
 Airs. Elizabeth (Tracht) Heis, who was born 
 and reared in Jefferson township, Crawford 
 county, and was married there to George 
 Heis. He is now deceased as are the three 
 children of that union. Airs. Schaefer is a 
 daughter of George and Eve Elizabeth (Ding- 
 ledine) Tracht, natives of Prussian Germany, 
 who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in one of the 
 old slow-moving sailing vessels, long since 
 swept off the waters, from which they were 
 safely landed on the American shore. They 
 came to Crawford county, O., where the father 
 of Mrs. Schaefer secured wild land which he 
 cleared and improved and there both he and 
 his wife died in advanced age. They were 
 members of the German Lutheran church. Of 
 their nine children all reached maturity, eight 
 of these married, and four are yet living all 
 residing in Crawford county. Air. and Mrs. 
 Schaefer have no children but Air. Schaefer 
 was also previously married and three of his 
 four children survive. Their mother, Eliza- 
 beth (Crider) Schaefer was born in Germany 
 and died at Galion at the age of 45 years, 
 leaving the following children: Charles, a 
 business man of Galion, a member of the gro- 
 cery firm of Crider & Schaefer, who is mar- 
 ried and has three sons and one daughter; 
 August, a machinist in business at Canton, O., 
 who is married and has five children; Jacob, 
 who died when aged 43 years, leaving one son 
 and three daughters; and Frederick, a dry 
 goods merchant at Galion, who married and 
 has two daughters. Air. Schaefer and sons 
 are all men of high personal standing. He 
 and wife belong to the German Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 JEROAIE AI. BROXKAR.* who is well 
 known in the business life of Crestline, where 
 he conducts a shoe repair shop and also, in 
 partnership wMth John Russell, manufactures 
 a special chair, which is particularly adapted 
 for use in hotel lobbies and other public places, 
 is a native of Crawford county. O., and was 
 born near Crestline, July 20, 1856. He is a 
 son of James and Lucina (Thorp) Bronkar. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Bronkar were born in 
 Muskingum county, O., and were reared and 
 married there, afterward moving to Craw- 
 ford county, in 1850 locating on the line be- 
 tween Crawford and Richland counties. 
 James Bronkar died in 1908, when aged 84 
 years and six months, having survived his 
 wife since 1892, she being 66 years and eight 
 months at the time of her death. They were 
 members of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 They had four sons and five daughters born 
 to them. 
 
 Jerome AI. Bronkar was educated in Craw- 
 ford county and has been a continuous resid- 
 ent of the same with the exception of 20 
 years, during which time he was engaged in 
 business at Huntington, Ind., and Elyria, O., 
 in the contracting and building line in the 
 former city and in the laundry business at the 
 latter place, which industry he also carried on 
 for four years at Crestline. He then estab- 
 lished his present repair shop, installing a 
 large Champion shoe-repairing machine, and 
 does an extensive business aside from the 
 manufacturing of the comfortable chair above 
 alluded to, the sale of which is rapidly in- 
 creasing. 
 
 In politics Air. Bronkar is an Independent 
 Republican. 
 
 CHARLES A. SIMOXTON, superintend- 
 ent of the Schill Bros. Co., manufacturers of 
 furnaces, stoves and ranges, doing a large 
 business at Crestline, O., was born in Lau- 
 rence county. Pa., in December, 1865, and 
 since 1899 has been identified with his present 
 company. 
 
 Mr. Simonton enjoyed exceptional advan- 
 tages, attending Grove City College where he 
 received a degree and in 1891 was graduated 
 from the Oregon State Normal School at 
 Alonmouth, with his B. S. degree. For 13 
 years he followed educational work and dur- 
 ing five years of this period was principal of 
 Greersburg Academy at Darlington, Pa. and 
 for one year was principal at New Galilee, in 
 Beaver county. Pa. 
 
 For five years after becoming connected 
 with the Schill Bros. Co., at Crestline, Mr. 
 Simonton was a salesman and then became 
 assistant secretary and a director and since 
 January, 191 1 has been superintendent of the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1143 
 
 plant. This is an important industry of this 
 section, loo people being given constant em- 
 ployment. 
 
 Mr. Simonton was married at Darlington, 
 Pa., to Miss Elsie B. Wells, who was born at 
 New Galilee, Pa., in 1866. She was educated 
 at the State Normal School at Slippery Rock 
 and for seven years before marriage was a 
 teacher. Mr. and Mrs. Simonton have two 
 children : Sarah Dorothy, who was born Aug. 
 17, 1899, and Ruth Evelyn, who is seven years 
 old. Mr. and Mrs. Simonton are members of 
 the Presbyterian church. He is prominent in 
 Masonry, belonging to the Blue Lodge and 
 Chapter at Crestline, of which he is past mas- 
 ter and past high priest, and to the Council 
 and Commandery at Mansfield, O. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simonton take part in the pleasant social 
 life of the city. He is somewhat independent 
 in politics, looking upon public questions from 
 the stand point of an educated, broad minded 
 man. 
 
 A. F. DONNENWIRTH, who is railroad 
 agent for the Pennsylvania lines at Tiro, O., 
 was born at New Washington, O., Dec. 9, 
 1872, and is a son of John and Malinda Don- 
 nenwirth. 
 
 A. F. Donnenwirth was reared and educated 
 at New Washington and after his school days 
 learned the art of telegraphing and for a time 
 was in the offices of the Pennsylvania road 
 there, was then transferred to Waldo and be- 
 fore coming to Tiro had a large amount of ex- 
 perience at Bucyrus and other points. At each 
 place he has been interested in the raising of 
 poultry and is a member of the Tiro Poultry 
 Association and is treasurer of this body. Mr. 
 Donnenwirth not only raises poultry as a 
 diversion but makes it very profitable, handling 
 mainly the White Orpingtons. His residence 
 on Homer Street is one of the most modern 
 and best fitted in the town, in which he has 
 a hot and cold water system and an acetylene 
 light plant. 
 
 In November, 1898, Mr. Donnenwirth mar- 
 ried Miss Emma Sief art, a daughter of Michael 
 and Christine Siefert, of New Washington, 
 O., and they have four children : Oliver, Helen, 
 Walter and Ruth. They are members of the 
 German Lutheran church at New Washington. 
 While a stanch Democrat, Mr. Donnenwirth is 
 
 not in any sense a politician, his main interest 
 in public matters being the carrying out of the 
 will of the people and the furthering of move- 
 ments that will be of permanent benefit to this 
 section. He is a member of the Tiro Fire De- 
 partment. 
 
 EGBERT MORTON FREESE, president 
 of the First National Bank of Gallon, O., and 
 one of the leading business men of this section 
 of the State, is president of the firm of E. M. 
 Frefese & Co., manufacturers of clay-working 
 machinery. Mr. Freese is now in the prime 
 of life. He was born in 1845 in Medina coun- 
 ty, O., and belongs to one of the old pioneer 
 families of this state. 
 
 Mr. Freese's paternal grandfather, B. W. 
 Freese, was born at Lee, Mass., where he grew 
 to manhood and married Sally Beaumont. In 
 18 1 8 they set out with their children to make 
 the long overland trip to Ohio, in the hope of 
 carving out a home in the wilderness, pausing 
 in Medina county, and within a mile of 
 Brunswick, O., acquired 1,000 acres of un- 
 broken land. Their efforts to better their con- 
 dition resulted in success, and they attained a 
 good old age, being surrounded in their latter 
 years with the comforts to which they were en- 
 titled by reason of their industry and per- 
 severence. They were people of thrift and in- 
 telligence and, while looking after material 
 things, as was necessary, gave careful atten- 
 tion also to the moral and educational rearing 
 of their large family of children. 
 
 Harlow Freese, eldest child of B. W. and 
 Sally Freese, and father of the subject of this 
 sketch, was eight years old when he accom- 
 panied his parents from Massachusetts to 
 Ohio, and spent the larger part of his subse- 
 quent life as a farmer on a portion of the land 
 secured by his father. His death took place 
 in 1890, when he was about eighty years of 
 age. He had never identified himself with 
 any political party, but gave unqualified sup- 
 port to law and order. He and his wife were 
 both active in the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 He was married in Medina county, in 1840, 
 to Almira Morton, who was born at Pittsfield, 
 Mass., in 1817, a daughter of Erastus and 
 Prudence (Butler) Morton. From Pittsfield 
 the Mortons came to Medina county in 1833, 
 where Erastus Morton became a brick manu- 
 
1144 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 facturer. He was also a lay preacher in the 
 Methodist Episcopal church. The Butlers 
 were of Wethersfield, Conn, ancestry. All 
 these families were among the early and sub- 
 stantial people of Medina county. Harlow 
 Freese and wife were the parents of two chil- 
 dren — M. L., born May 12, 1852, who died in 
 1882, and Egbert Morton, whose name ap- 
 pears at the head of this article. Mrs. Har- 
 low Freese died in 1886, at the age of 68 years. 
 Egbert Morton Freese attended the country 
 schools in Medina county. As his inclinations 
 lay in the direction of mechanics rather than 
 farming, he was permitted to learn a trade and 
 became a skilled workman. In 1881, with 
 John D. Fate and George Wilson as partners, 
 he started in the business of manufactturing 
 clay-working machinery. In the following 
 year the firm became Fate & Freese, which 
 style was continued until January, 1890, at 
 which time Mr. Freese became sole proprietor 
 of the business. Since then he has built up 
 what is one of the largest and most important 
 business enterprises in Crawford county. It 
 was established at Plymouth, C, removal be- 
 ing made to Gabon in 1891. The present 
 plant, one of the largest of its kind in this sec- 
 tion of the state, ships its products to every 
 part of this country and also to many foreign 
 countries, and affords remuneratiAC employ- 
 ment to a large number of people. The extra- 
 ordinary growth of this enterprise and the im- 
 portance to which it has attained is due to the 
 business and mechanical ability of Mr. Freese, 
 which has also been displayed in other direc- 
 tions. Although now interested in banking, 
 he is still active in the management of the 
 manufacturing business and spends a consid- 
 erable part of each day at his office at the 
 plant. He has been identified with the First 
 National Bank since 1903 and during that 
 period the capitalization of the bank has been 
 increased from $50,000 toSioo,ooo. As a 
 banker and manufacturer, Mr. Freese occupies 
 a prominent place. He has done much to ad- 
 vance the business and commercial interests of 
 the city and has been a leader in various move- 
 ments for the common good. His business 
 sagacity is widely recognized and his counsels 
 are sought and his advice acted upon with re- 
 spect to many of the important commercial en- 
 terprises of Galion and the vicinity. 
 
 Air. Freese was married at Galion, in 1882, 
 to Miss Rosina Berger, who was born in Can- 
 ton Bern, Switzerland, in November, 1853, 
 and who accompanied her parents, Joseph and 
 Barbara (Burgener) Berger, to America in 
 1869. They located on a farm near Galion, 
 where both parents died when aged about 70 
 years. They reared their family of eleven 
 children in the faith of the Reformed church, 
 to which Mrs. Freese belongs. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Freese have three children — Herbert H., Ar- 
 thur J. and Horace E. 
 
 Herbert H. Freese, who was bom in 1884, 
 attended school in Galion and then entered 
 Case School of Applied Science, of Cleveland, 
 O., and was graduated in the class of 1905. 
 He is associated with his father in business. 
 Arthur J., born in 1887, is a graduate of the 
 University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, of the 
 class of 1909, and is active in his father's 
 plant. Horace E., who was born in 1888, was 
 educated in the city schools and in Case School 
 of Applied Science and is also associated with 
 his father in business. - The three young men 
 are fine types of educated and interesting young 
 American business men. 
 
 HON. JAMES C. TOBIAS, a lawyer of 
 eminence in Crawford county, formerly judge 
 of the Common Pleas Court, was bom in 
 Franklin county. Pa., Nov. 11, 1856, a son of 
 \\'illiam B. and Catherine (MiUs) Tobias. The 
 father was born near Carlisle, Cumberland 
 county. Pa., Oct. i, 1815, and was a son of 
 Benjamin and Sarah (Qouse) Tobias. 
 
 When James C. Tobias was a mere lad, re- 
 siding on his parents' farm about four miles 
 from the Maryland State line, General Lee's 
 army marched through that country, destroy- 
 ing much of their property and helped 
 themselves without scruple to the stock, taking 
 all but six of the horses. James C. was an in- 
 terested spectator of these stirring scenes, visit- 
 ing both camps and conversing with the sol- 
 diers. The military operations around Cham- 
 bersburg in 1863 created so much uproar and 
 confusion together with destruction of property 
 that a removal to Crawford county was decided 
 on and James accordingly accompanied his par- 
 ents, at the age of seven years, to this vicinity. 
 His preliminary education was acquired in the 
 common schools, and he subsequently attended 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1145 
 
 Cold Run Academy and in the spring of 1872 
 entered Oberlin College, where he studied 
 until the following September. He then en- 
 tered Mt. Union College, remaining there three 
 years. He thus acquired a broad literary edu- 
 cation to serve as a foundation upon which to 
 rear the superstructure of professional knowl- 
 edge. During the period of his college days 
 he taught school during the winters and all his 
 vacations he labored upon the farm, earning 
 money to assist in paying his collegiate ex- 
 penses. 
 
 He had by this time decided to adopt the 
 law as his .vocation, and accordingly, in the 
 fall of 1876, he became a student in the office 
 of D. W. Swigert, a highly esteemed attorney 
 of Bucyrus. On July 2, 1878, at the age of 21 
 years, he was admitted to the bar at Delaware, 
 0., and immediately afterward began the prac- 
 tice of his profession in Bucyrus, soon winning 
 a fair share of public patronage. Important 
 litigated interests were entrusted to him and 
 he soon demonstrated his ability to success- 
 fully handle the intricate problems of juris- 
 prudence. In 1881, F. S. Monnett, later ex- 
 attorney general of Ohio, entered into partner- 
 ship with him, under the firm name of Tobias 
 & Monnett, their relationship being maintained 
 until 1888, when Mr. Tobias was elected pro- 
 bate judge of Crawford county, a position he 
 continually filled until 1894. In 1896 he was 
 elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas 
 for the district comprising Crawford, Marion 
 and Wyandot counties, and held that position 
 until February, 1907, being re-elected in 1901, 
 without opposition, for a second term. He 
 made an able, fair and impartial judge, his 
 decisions, being generally sustained by the 
 higher courts. From 1885 to 1900 he was a 
 member of the City Board of Education, ten 
 years of which he was its president, and in that 
 capacity rendered good service. He is a promi- 
 nent member of the Democratic party and is 
 active in its councils. He was a delegate to the 
 National convention of 1884 that nominated 
 Grover Cleveland for the presidency, has been 
 frequently a delegate to the State convention 
 and was secretary of the State Committee in 
 1883 and 1884. He was also chairman of the 
 county committee for many years. 
 
 In 1879 Judge Tobias was united in mar- 
 riage with Miss Amina J. Monnett, a daugh- 
 ter of Abraham and Catherine (Braucher) 
 
 Monnett. They have had two children — 
 Dean A., who was educated in the Bucyrus 
 public schools and the Ohio State University 
 at Columbus, and Helen M., a graduate of the 
 Bucyrus High School and Ohio Wesleyan 
 University at Delaware, O. Judge Tobias 
 is fraternally connected with the Benevo- 
 lent and Protective Order of Elks and with 
 the Knights of P)rthias, being Past Chancellor 
 in the latter organization. He and his wife 
 are members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, of which he is one of the trustees. It 
 has been said of him that, "endowed by nature 
 with high intellectual qualities, to which have 
 been added the discipline and embellishments 
 of culture, h^s is a most attractive personality. 
 Well versed in the learning of his profession 
 and with a deep knowledge of human nature 
 and of the springs of human conduct, he is in 
 the courts an advocate of great power and in- 
 fluence and on the bench a judge who ever 
 commands the respect of the lawyers and of 
 the public by reason of his dignity in office and 
 extreme fairness in decision." 
 
 In December, 1 881, he assisted in the organ- 
 . ization of the Monnett Banking Company, 
 " subsequently the Bucyrus City Bank and served 
 as a director in both institutions continuously. 
 Only two of the original stockholders of the 
 Monnett Banking Company continue to hold 
 stock in the Bucyrus City Bank and he is one 
 of that number. The Bucyrus City Bank is 
 known as a state-wide, strong, financial insti- 
 tution and has grown from the smallest to the 
 largest banking institution in Crawford 
 county. 
 
 CHARLES E. KLOPP,* deceased, for 
 many years was an important factor in the busi- 
 ness life of Gallon, O., a successful merchant 
 and a valued and useful citizen. He was born 
 Feb. 15, 1829, in a Rhine province of Prussia- 
 Germany, and was a son of Carl and Mary 
 Anna (Berkenthal) Klopp. 
 
 Carl Klopp was born and died in Prussia 
 and was thirty-six years old when his only 
 child, Charles E., was born, and died six 
 months later. He was a dealer in cutlery. 
 After a few years of widowhood, Mrs. Klopp 
 married Daniel Busch, and in i860 the fam- 
 ily came to America, landing in the harbor of 
 New York and from there made their way later 
 
 64 
 
1146 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to Galion, where they resided during the rest 
 of their lives. Mr. Busch hved to the age of 
 seventy-two years, while Mrs. Busch died in 
 her sixty-eighth year. They were people of 
 the highest respectability and were members 
 of the Reformed church. < 
 
 Charles E. Klopp was a young man, still 
 unmarried, when he accompanied his parents 
 to Galion, where, shortly afterward he went 
 into business in association with Daniel 
 Greverath, who was a fellow countryman, in 
 the dry goods business. Several years later 
 this partnership was dissolved and Mr. Klopp 
 continued alone for awhile and then admitted 
 Jacob Weiler to a partnership and this con- 
 nection continued for fifteen years, when Mr. 
 Weiler retired. Mr. Klopp continued the 
 business under the firm name of L. Klopp (his 
 wife and silent partner), until his last illness, 
 his death occurring May 19, 1901, Mrs. Klopp's 
 interests since then having been under the man- 
 agement of her son, Ernest IF. Klopp. It is one 
 of the old and stable business houses of the 
 city. 
 
 In 1864, at Galion, Mr. Klopp was married 
 to Miss Lisetta Martin, who was born at Nas- 
 sau, Germany, Oct. 20, 1844, a daughter of 
 Ludwig and Henrietta (Busch) Martin, na- 
 tives of Germany and Prussia, respectively. 
 They were married at Warsaw and there the 
 father of Mrs. Klopp followed the stonema- 
 son's trade until 1856, when he decided to em- 
 igrate to America in search of better indus- 
 trial conditions than the average man could 
 then find in Germany. The family took pas- 
 sage on the sailing vessel, "John Langley," a 
 three-masted ship, and after a voyage of thirty- 
 two days were safely landed in the port of New 
 York and at once came on to Galion. Mr. 
 Martin was a reliable man at his trade and soon 
 found constant work and had much to do in 
 the construction of many of the present sub- 
 stantial edifices of this city. He was bom in 
 1808 and died in 1874, his widow surviving 
 him two years. They were worthy members 
 of the German Reformed church. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Klopp the following chil- 
 dren were born: Hulda, who died at the age 
 of seven years; Carl William, who died when 
 four years old; Ernest P., a well educated 
 young man, who capably manages his mother's 
 store; Charles William, who is professor of 
 
 music in the public school of Newark, O., is 
 married and has one daughter, Virginia ; Hulda 
 Bertha, who resides with her mother; Fred 
 William, who is a machinist, lives at Galion, 
 married here and has one son, Kenneth ; Alma 
 H., who married Capt. R. G. Sayers, of the O. 
 N. G. and a mail carrier at Galion, and they 
 have two children, Howard Martin and Ma- 
 rian; and Herbert J., who died when aged 
 eighteen months. Mrs. Klopp and family are 
 members of the German Reformed church and 
 she is active in church organizations. 
 
 JOHN M. McCLELLAN,* part proprietor 
 of the Emmerson Hotel, at Crestline, O., is an 
 experienced hotel man and both he and his 
 partner, Walter F. Noggle, are widely known 
 and are very popular hosts. He was born at 
 St. Louis, Mo., March 19, 1864, a son of Frank 
 and Jane (Haines) McClellan. 
 
 Frank McClellan, Sr., the grandfather was 
 born in the Highlands of Scotland, where he 
 married Mary Haines, a native of Ireland. 
 They came to the United States and settled 
 first in Maryland and then moved to New 
 Brighton, Pa., where he became a man of 
 financial independence and lived to the age of 
 94 years. His wife died in her 80th year. 
 They were of the United Presbyterian faith. 
 Of their children two survive: Frank Jr., and 
 William, the latter being a retired resident of 
 New Brighton, Pa. 
 
 Frank McClellan, Jr., was born in Mary- 
 land and was yet quite young when his father 
 moved to Pennsylvania, where he secured his 
 education and for some years he and his 
 brother William were clay workers and brick 
 makers. Later he became a farmer and now 
 lives retired at Swissvale, Pa., and on Jan. 2, 
 19 1 2, celebrated his 92nd birthday. He mar- 
 ried Jane Haines, who was of Irish ancestry 
 but was born in Ohio and died in Pennsylvania, 
 the mother of four sons and four daughters, 
 all of whom survive except Frank, who was ac- 
 cidentally drowned in boyhood while on a 
 barge on the Mississippi River. 
 
 John M. McClellan attended the old Seventh 
 Ward school in St. Louis until he was 13 years 
 of age, when he started to earn his own liv- 
 ing, beginning in the cook house of his broth- 
 er's steamboat, afterward securing a practical 
 training in the candy making business. When 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1147 
 
 he was young the name of Candy John was 
 given him by his associates and this has clung 
 to him and there are business houses which re- 
 gard the sobriquet as his real name. As a 
 candy maker he was in the employ of Charles 
 Gunther of Chicago for years and also was 
 with Edward McGinn of Philadelphia. Mr. 
 McClellan has a natural faculty in the line of 
 cooking and has served as chef in large restau- 
 rants. His health failing in his in-door in- 
 dustries he became a railroad man and for sev- 
 eral years was on runs between Crestline and 
 Pittsburg, after which he became connected 
 with the Central Hotel at Crestline, where he 
 remained for ii years. In 1910 he became as- 
 sociated with Mr. Noggle in the operation of 
 the Emmerson House. 
 
 Mr. McClellan was married at Crestline to 
 Miss Eva L. Burnison, a daughter of William 
 and Lavina (Snyder) Burnison, both now de- 
 ceased, for many years having been farming 
 people in Jefferson township. Mr. McClellan 
 belongs to the Elks, at Bucyrus and for 18 
 years has been a member of the Uniform Rank, 
 Knights of Pythias, at Crestline. There are 
 few men in Crawford county better known 
 than Candy John McClellan. 
 
 L. G. F. UHL, a member of the firm of 
 Uhl Brothers, proprietors of the Uhl Hatch- 
 ery, a very important and prosperous business 
 enterprise of Crawford county, O., was born 
 on the old homestead in Cranberry township, 
 Nov. 14, 1859. 
 
 L. G. F. Uhl was reared in Cranberry town- 
 ship and went to the parochial school and Hi- 
 ram College at New Washington and after- 
 ward followed farming in his native town- 
 ship, living on the corporation line of New 
 Washington, until 1907, when he moved to 
 his present home on West Mansfield Street. 
 Here the firm erected their plant of three build- 
 ings with dimensions of 957x1,257 ft., all under 
 one roof and maintain their offices here, L. G. 
 F. Uhl being the general superintendent. The 
 poultry and egg business of the Uhl Brothers 
 firm has been developed from a modest begin- 
 ning and has assumed very large proportions, 
 their shipments covering a wide territory to 
 the east, west, south and north. The seven 
 brothers making up the firm are all recognized 
 as men of business capacity and also of busi- 
 ness integrity. 
 
 Mr. Uhl was married to Miss Mary Brown, 
 a daughter of Martin and Catherine (Pohl- 
 man) Brown, of New Washington. They are 
 members of the Roman Catholic church. Mr. 
 Uhl uses his political influence for the Bull 
 Moose, irrespective of party. In addition to 
 his firm interests, Mr. Uhl owns a farm of 
 1000 acres north and east of New Washington. 
 
 CARL C. MILLER,* who conducts a livery 
 business at Crestline, O., having fine quarters 
 with at 60- foot frontage on Thoman Street 
 and an 150-foot extension and ell on West 
 Bucyrus Street, was reared on a farm and has 
 been associated with horses and in the stock 
 business the greater part of his life. He was 
 born in Richland county, O., Sept. 28, 1885, 
 a son of Martin and Emma (Eichorn) Miller. 
 
 Christopher Miller, the grandfather, was 
 bom in Baden, Germany, and was six years 
 old when his parents, in 1837, emigrated to 
 America and came to Richland county, O., 
 where Mr. Miller still lives on the old home- 
 stead in Sandusky township, at the age of 81 
 years. Of his five children three are living. 
 
 Martin Miller, the eldest born of the fam- 
 ily, his birth taking place in Richland county 
 in 1855, continued to live on the homestead 
 and went extensively into the breeding of fine 
 horses, mainly Percherons and is still so oc- 
 cupied. He married Emma Eichorn, who was 
 born in 1862 on a farm in Jackson township, 
 Crawford county but was reared in Richland 
 county, a daughter of Frederick and Chris- 
 tina Eichorn, who came also from Baden, 
 Germany. They settled first in Crawford 
 county but afterward moved to Sandusky 
 township, Richland county. They were life- 
 long members of the German Reformed 
 church. Two sons and five daughters were 
 born to Mr. and Mrs. Eichorn, three of the 
 daughters yet surviving. To Martin Miller 
 and wife seven children were born : Carl C, 
 William, Albert, Christina, Laura, Howard 
 and John, all of whom have been well educated. 
 
 On April i, 1909, Carl C. Miller purchased 
 his present business and property at Crestline, 
 from Edward Miller, and has prospered in his 
 undertaking. He stables about 50 horses and 
 keeps 20 conveyances of all kinds, his trap- 
 pings and equipments being entirely up to date 
 and in good taste. 
 
1148 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 At Crestline Mr. Miller was married to 
 Miss Laura Newkirk, who was born in 1883, 
 in Wayne county, O., where she was reared 
 and educated but lost her parents when young. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Miller have one daughter, Ruth 
 Lucile, who was born April 25, 1912. Mrs. 
 Miller was reared in the Methodist church, but 
 Mr. Miller belongs to the Reformed church. 
 He is a Democrat in politics, as is his father, 
 and fraternally is connected with the Knights 
 of Pythias at Crestline and the Elks at Gallon. 
 
 KELLY R. SMITH,* who is manager and 
 buyer for the firm of Smith Bros. & Co., pro- 
 prietors of a general store at North Robinson, 
 O., was born two miles east of North Robin- 
 son, in Jefferson township, Crawford county, 
 July 23, 1879, and is a son of I. W. and Susan 
 (Secrist) Smith. 
 
 The Smith family has been identified with 
 the mercantile interests of this place since 
 1888, when I. W. Smith came here as a pioneer 
 merchant. He was born in Perry County, Pa., 
 and practically has been engaged in Mercan- 
 tile business all his life, during the Civil War 
 being established at Leesville, Crawford coun- 
 ty. The other members of the firm of Smith 
 Bros. & Co., are H. G. Smith and J. E. Mor- 
 ton. Kelly R. Smith is a member of the fol- 
 low family: Mary, wife of T. J. Morrow; 
 William; Verta, wife of J. E. Morton; Delia, 
 wife of William Kibler; Edith, wife of H. A. 
 Knell; Alice, wife of Dr. J. B. Kring, a prac- 
 ticing physician of Caledonia, O. ; Pearl, wife 
 of L. C. Ness; Kellv R. ; L. M. ; Bessie, wife 
 of R. L. Bogan, cashier of the City National 
 Bank of Gallon, O. ; and H. G., of the firm 
 of Smith Bros. & Co. 
 
 After completing the common school course, 
 Kelly R. Smith entered a business college at 
 Mansfield, O., where he was graduated in 
 19 10. For some two years he was employed 
 at Crestline, O., and then embarked in the gro- 
 cery business at Gallon, where he continued 
 for three years, selling out to go into the hard- 
 ware line, in which he remained interested for 
 eight years, in 191 1 coming to North Robinson. 
 He is a shrewd and able business man and 
 keeps his firm well to the front among the 
 commercial houses in this section. 
 
 In October, 1902, Mr. Smith was married 
 to Miss Daisy E. Shauck, a daughter of A. 
 
 M. and Ella (Hostler) Shauck, residents of 
 Norwalk, O. Mrs. Smith has three sisters: 
 Grace, who is the wife of Fred F. Fletcher; and 
 Bertha and Alma. To Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
 two children have been born, an attractive lit- 
 tle son and daughter, respectively bearing the 
 names of Arthur Lyndon and Donna Eileen. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Smith attend the United Breth- 
 ren church. He is a Republican in politics but 
 has never been willing to consider election to 
 public office, his entire life having been one 
 .of too much business responsibility to afford 
 him leisure for political activity. 
 
 RT. REV. WILLIAM MONTGOMERY 
 BROWN, D. D., bishop in the Protestant 
 Episcopal church, with jurisdiction until re- 
 cently in the diocese of Arkansas, is a resi- 
 dent of Gallon, O., where he is now engaged 
 chiefly in literary work. He was born near 
 Orrville, Wayne county, O., Sept. 4, 1855, a son 
 of Joseph M. and Lucinda E. (Carey) Brown. 
 He comes of a long established American fam- 
 ily, whose immigrant ancestor, William Brown, 
 a native of Scotland, came to the American col- 
 onies in the early part of the eighteenth cen- 
 tury. This early ancestor of our subject, six 
 generations removed, settled in Pennsylvania, 
 where he spent the rest of his life. His son 
 George, also a direct ancestor of Bishop 
 Brown, . served in the Colonial army, during 
 the Revolutionary war, with the rank of lieu- 
 tenant, and rendered valiant service to the 
 cause he had espoused. 
 
 Skipping several generations, of which we 
 have but meagre information, we come to 
 Joseph Morrison Brown, the Bishop's father, 
 who as a young man settled in Ohio, and who, 
 after his marriage and while his childrden were 
 still young, removed to lona, Michigan. He 
 was opposed to the coercion of the Southern 
 States, but was drafted into the Federal army 
 and served as a soldier for one year, after 
 which he returned home with a fatal illness, 
 from which he died a little later. His wife, 
 who was still young, returned to Ohio with 
 her three small children, and, being in very 
 poor circumstances, was obliged to find homes 
 for them among friends. Accordingly, Wil- 
 liam M. was at the age of seven years bound 
 out to a German family, residing near Smith- 
 ville, with whom he remained for the next 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1149 
 
 seven years of his life. But being unkindly 
 treated, at the age of fourteen he was removed 
 by the county authorities and placed with an- 
 other family, where he recived better treat- 
 ment. During most of this time and until he 
 attained his mapority, he worked very hard 
 and was at first deprived of and later took but 
 little interest in educational opportunities. Not 
 content to remain a mere drudge, however, he 
 now determined to gain an education, and to 
 this end went to Omaha, Neb., where he se- 
 cured a place as a coachman, at the same time 
 entering a school composed of children who 
 did not average more than twelve years of age, 
 and by whom he was doubtless regarded at 
 first as a big dunce. In a short time, however, 
 they had cause to change their opinion, for he 
 made such rapid progress in his studies as to 
 gain the admiration and sympathetic help of 
 his teachers, who encouraged him to work hard 
 and advanced him as rapidly as possible, in ac- 
 cordance with his progress. With this help 
 in four years he had reached the high school, 
 completed a course in business college and been 
 granted a teacher's certificate. After teaching 
 tor a term, in order to acquire means to pay 
 off some indebtedness to the proprietors of the 
 business college, he went to Cleveland, O., for 
 the purpose of taking a course in the excellent 
 high schools of that city. By this time his 
 energy and remarkable progress had won him 
 friends, who assisted him financially and en- 
 abled him to have the benefit of private tutors. 
 He pursued his theological studies at Bexley 
 Hall, a department of Kenyon College, at 
 Gambier, O., which course he finished in 1883. 
 In the same year he was ordained to the Dea- 
 conate of the Protestant Episcopal church and 
 a year later was advanced to the Priesthood. 
 Until 1 89 1 he served as circuit missionary, 
 with head-quarters at Galion, O. He was 
 then made the general missionary of his dio- 
 cese, his headquarters being at Cleveland. He 
 continued in active missionary work, and was 
 appointed special lecturer at Bexley Hall. In 
 1898 he was consecrated to the episcopate, with 
 jurisdiction as bishop coadjutor of Arkansas. 
 A year later, on the death of the Rt. Rev. Dr. 
 Henry Niles Pierce, he became bishop of the 
 diocese. In this position he labored earnestly 
 and conscientiously, and with visible results, 
 until May, 1912, at which time on account of 
 
 broken health, he resigned. He is especially 
 interested in the cause of Church Union and 
 is now doing literary work on its behalf. He is 
 the author of works which have attracted at- 
 tention among churchmen and others by the 
 clear and scholarly presentation of the subjects 
 treated, among which may be mentioned, "The 
 Church for Americans," published in 1895, 
 which had an extensive sale; "The Crucial 
 Race Question," published in 1907, and "The 
 Level Plan for Church Union," published in 
 1910. As a writer, Bishop Brown is earnest, 
 clear and forceful; his subjects are well 
 thought out and presented in a manner to in- 
 terest and command the attention of the most 
 careless reader. That his books have a high 
 educational value and will have a permanent 
 influence for good will be doubted by none who 
 are familiar with their contents. He has many 
 friends and admirers in Galion, some of whom 
 date the beginning of their friendship to the 
 time he first came among them as a young 
 missionary nearly thirty years ago. 
 
 Bishop Brown was married in Cleveland, O., 
 April 9, 1885 to Miss Ella Bradford, a native 
 of Ohio and a cultured and refined lady, who, 
 with her mother, has been much assistance to 
 him in his life's work. They have a beautiful 
 home in Galion, where on suitable occasions 
 they extend a generous but unostentatious hos- 
 pitality to their more intimate friends and ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 HENRY E. BORMUTH,* a member of 
 the board of county commissioners of Craw- 
 ford county, O., is a prominent and substan- 
 tial citizen of this county who was born July 
 II, 1865, in Sharon township, Richland county, 
 O., and has spent his life in his native state. 
 He is one of a family of three children born 
 to his parents, George and Barbara (Arnold) 
 Bormuth, the former of whom was identified 
 for many years with the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road. 
 
 Henry E. Bormuth obtained a good, common 
 school education and since reaching manhood 
 has been engaged in a general contracting busi- 
 ness. In these modern days every intelligent 
 man takes a more or less active interest in pub- 
 lic affairs and Mr. Bormuth is no exception. 
 He is a stanch Democrat and on the Democratic 
 ticket has been elected to numerous important 
 
1150 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 offices and has served on the school board and 
 on the Water works commission at Bucyrus. 
 He is widely known and has many friends and 
 in 1908 when he was elected a member of the 
 board of county commissioners, it was by a 
 majority of more than 1,500 votes. 
 
 Mr. Bormuth married Miss Maggie L. 
 Prick, a daughter of William Frick, and they 
 have three children. 
 
 ARTHUR C. NEWKIRK,* who is an em- 
 ploye of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company 
 at Crestline, 0., of many years standing, since 
 1899 having been freight conductor with his 
 own crew, was born in Wayne county, C, 
 Nov. 28, 1865, and is a son of Faxton and 
 Helen (Pocock) Newkirk. 
 
 The Newkirks and Pococks were pioneer set- 
 tlers in Wayne County, and the parents of 
 Mr. Newkirk were born and reared on neigh- 
 boring farms. After marriage they settled 
 on the Newkirk homestead and three children 
 were born to them : Arthur C. ; Francis F., who 
 was a railroad man and was accidentally killed 
 while on duty, being survived by a widow and 
 daughter; and Emily J., who married Dr. J. 
 A. Dalton, of Pasadena, Calif. The father 
 of Mr. Newkirk died at the age of thirty-five 
 years and afterward the mother contracted a 
 second marriage, becoming the wife of J. D. 
 Cameron of Loudonville, O. To that marriage 
 two children were born: Florence and Harry. 
 
 Arthur C. Newkirk attended the public 
 schools in Wayne county and remained in that 
 section until he entered railroad life, when he 
 came to Crestline and on April 3, 1883 entered 
 the service of the Pennsylvania Railroad as a 
 brakeman and was on the run from Crestline 
 to Alliance for some ten years. He then was 
 made a flagman and later a freight conductor 
 as mentioned above, and has continued with the 
 company, with which his record is excellent, 
 his care and good judgment having prevented 
 accident and loss to the company on many an 
 occasion. 
 
 Mr. Newkirk was married at Shreve, C, to 
 Miss Lyda Bruce, who was bom, reared and 
 educated in Holmes county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Newkirk have two sons : Bruce Faxton, who is 
 a graduate of the Crestline High school of the 
 class of 1912 ; and Rex, who is a member of 
 the class of 1914, in the High school. The fam- 
 
 ily belongs to the Presbyterian church. In 
 politics Mr. Newkirk is a Republican. He is 
 identified with several railroad organizations, 
 both at Alliance and Crestline, and belongs to 
 the fraternal order of Maccabees. 
 
 JAMES DECKER, one of the prominent 
 men and successful agriculturists of Whetstone 
 township, who is serving with much efficiency 
 in the office of road corrimissioner, was born 
 in Sandusky township, Crawford county, dot. 
 29, 1850. His parents were Aaron and Nancy 
 Y. (Bishop) Decker. 
 
 Aaron Decker was born at Patterson, N. J., a 
 son of James and Jane (Luke) Decker. After 
 coming to Ohio he engaged in carpentry in 
 Crawford county for many years and finally 
 became a very successful farmer. He mar- 
 ried Nancy Y. Bishop, who was born in Ash- 
 land county, O., a daughter of Joseph and 
 Elizabeth (Young) Bishop, and the following 
 children were born to them; Melvina, who is 
 the wife of E. L. Swonger; Elizabeth J., who is 
 the wife of D. B. Eichelberger; James and John 
 B. 
 
 James Decker obtained his educational train- 
 ing in the public schools in Whetstone town- 
 ship, the grammar school at Bucyrus and at 
 Oberlin College, where he remained through 
 one term. With this preparation, Mr. Decker 
 began to teach school and succeeded so well 
 that he continued a teacher for five years, after 
 which he returned to agricultural pursuits and 
 gives careful and intelligent attention to his 
 fine farm of 200 acres, which is well stocked 
 and suitably improved. Mr. Decker is on the 
 directing board of the Farmers and Citizens 
 Bank and Savings Company, and is one of 
 the stockholders. He has been more or less 
 prominent in politics for a number of years, 
 and on two occasions was his party's choice 
 for representative. For eleven years he has 
 been commissioner for Road District No. i ; for 
 a long period has served on the school board; 
 for twelve years has been a member of the 
 Fair board and for many years was a director 
 of the Crawford County Insurance Company. 
 His many interests have served to widen his 
 acquaintance fend in many sections he has 
 cemented lasting friendships. 
 
 In September, 1876, Mr. Decker was mar- 
 ried to Miss Alice C. Briggs, a daughter of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 T151 
 
 Albert R. and Sylvia Ann (Blowers) Briggs, 
 and a granddaughter of John O. Blowers. The 
 father of Mrs. Decker was a farmer in Liberty 
 township. He was married three times, first 
 to a Miss Smalley, and the two children of 
 this union died young. His second marriage 
 was to Sylvia Ann Blowers and they had two 
 children : A. R. and Alice C. The third mar- 
 riage was to Sarah Elizabeth Andrews and 
 two children were born to them : Ida Jane, who 
 is deceased; and F. M. Briggs. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Decker have one daughter, Eva A., who mar- 
 ried W. H. Albright. The latter was accident- 
 ally killed by a railroad train at North Robin- 
 son, Crawford county. The family belong to 
 the English Lutheran church. Mr. Decker is 
 a Republican in politics, as was his father. 
 
 WALTER L. NOGGLE,* proprietor of the 
 Emmerson Hotel, a well kept hostelry at Crest- 
 line, O., and one of the oldest in the city, was 
 born at Jeromesville, Ashland county, O., Oct. 
 14, 1866, and is a son of John and Rebecca 
 (Ridgeley) Noggle. 
 
 John Noggle was born in Wayne county, 
 of Pennsylvania parents and German ancestry, 
 while his wife came from English people. They 
 were married at Jeromesville and Mr. Noggle 
 engaged first in farming but in 1865 took 
 charge of the Wetherbee House in connection, 
 retaining his farm largely for the breeding of 
 race horses, in which industry he became widely 
 known and at different times owned some 
 noted racers, the names: Jim Crow, Baxter, 
 Whistler and others being familiar to all in- 
 terested in racing or trotting horses. In 1862 
 he went to Mansfield and for two years was 
 in the wholesale tobacco and cigar trade and 
 also for some years was an extensive dealer 
 in provisions at Jeromesville. In 1872 he re- 
 turned to the hotel business and operated the 
 Noggle House, later the European and still 
 later the Park Ilotel, now known as the South- 
 ern Hotel, which he conducted until he took 
 charge of the Emmerson Hotel at Crestline in 
 which he continued to be interested until within 
 a few years of his death, in February, 1907, 
 at the age of 69 years. At one time he was 
 prominent in Democratic politics, both in Ash- 
 land and Richland counties. His wife died in 
 1905, an estimable woman and a faithful 
 "member of the Christian church. Of their 
 
 children, three sons survive : B. Frank, who is 
 a farmer in Medina county, O. ; John W., who 
 resides at Norwalk, O.; and Walter L., of 
 Crestline. 
 
 Walter L. Noggle's early training prepared 
 him for a successful career in the hotel busi- 
 ness. The Emmerson Hotel building was 
 erected 50 years ago and a hotel has been con- 
 tinuously operated. Under different propri- 
 etors many changes have been made and it is a 
 very popular hostelry, especially for transients 
 and for railroad people, who find here com- 
 fortable quarters and an excellent table at a 
 very moderate price. In 1898 R. J. and Walter 
 L. Noggle took charge and conducted the same 
 until 1908, when Walter L. Noggle became 
 sole proprietor and continued alone until 19 10, 
 when he admitted J. M. McClellan to a part- 
 nership and this continues. This hotel has 
 32 well furnished sleeping rooms and all other 
 hotel equipments and is kept open day and 
 night. 
 
 At Bucyrus, O., Mr. Noggle was married to 
 Miss Caroline Derfler, who was born in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, in 1867. 
 Mr. Noggle is a member of the Knights of 
 Pythias, Uniform Rank and belongs also to 
 the Crestline lodge of the order of Eagles. 
 He is a Democrat in politics but has never 
 been willing to entertain any offer of public 
 office. 
 
 LEWIS L. KNOBLE, V. S.,* who has been 
 professionally established at Gallon, O., since 
 1890, and after an exceedingly successful 
 period of practice is on the eve of retirement, 
 was the pioneer in veterinary surgery in this 
 city and became the leading practitioner in 
 Crawford and Morrow counties. Dr. Knoble 
 was born near Wooster, in Wayne county, O., 
 March 27, 1856, a son of Anthony F. and a 
 grandson of Anthony Knoble. 
 
 Both the father and grandfather of Dr. 
 Knoble were born in Switzerland, in Can- 
 ton Bern, the former in 1831. When the fam- 
 ily came to the United States it was on a 
 sailing vessel that required three months to 
 cross the Atlantic Ocean and after landing 
 in the harbor of New York, he came imme- 
 diately to Mt. Eaton, in Wayne county, O. 
 Land was cleared and improved and the fam- 
 ily grew and prospered. Anthony Knoble 
 
1152 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 and wife had four sons and three daughters, 
 all of whom married. One son, Charles E., 
 served all through the Civil War, was twice 
 wounded in battle and is now an inmate of 
 the Soldiers' Home at Sandusky, O. Another 
 son, Alexander, lives in Loudenville, O. ; 
 Ellen is the widow of Peter Graber and lives 
 at Wooster, O.; Josephine lives at Apple 
 Creek, Wayne county, O. ; and Lena died in 
 young womanhood. 
 
 Anthony F. Knoble was two years old when 
 his people settled in Wayne county and dur- 
 ing his active life was a farmer and auction- 
 eer. He had the gift of language and could 
 speak French, German and English equally 
 well .and could cry sales in all three tongues. 
 In advanced age he retired to Canton, O., 
 where he died January 12, 191 1. In Wayne 
 county he married, November 2, 1851, Celes- 
 tine Cueine, who was born in a French set- 
 tlement in Switzerland, August 13, 1829, of 
 French parentage. Her people came to the 
 United States in 1842 and settled on land 
 near Mt. Eaton and lived there until the close 
 of their lives. They belonged to the Reformed 
 church. After marriage Anthony F. Knoble 
 and wife resided in Paint township, A^^ayne 
 county until they retired to Canton, as men- 
 tioned, and there the mother of Dr. Knoble 
 died February 26, 19 10. They were faith- 
 ful members of the Reformed church. They 
 had nine children: Edward, Cecelia, Lewis 
 L., Albert A., Charles C, Lyda E., Edmund 
 E., Lee and Alma A., all surviving except 
 Eward who died at the age of nine years. 
 
 Lewis L. Knoble was reared in AA^ayne 
 county and assisted his father in the indus- 
 tries pertaining to the home farm and in this 
 way became interested along the line of vet- 
 erinary science, seemingly having a natural 
 talent in that direction. Almost from boyhood 
 he practiced to some extent and after locating 
 at Galion he continued a student and in 1892 
 was graduated from the Chicago Veterinary 
 College. Dr. Knoble has often been called in 
 a professional way long distances from home 
 and his opinion has carried weight on many 
 occasions, when public inspection was being 
 carried forward, according to law. There 
 are many who will learn with regret of his 
 retirement from a field in which he had shown 
 such marked ability. His immediate succes- 
 
 sor will be found in Dr. Joy C. Wickham, a 
 native of Delaware county, who is a graduate 
 of the Ohio State Medical College in the vet- 
 erinary department, in the class of 1912. 
 
 Dr. Knoble was married at Mt. Eaton, O., 
 Dec. 26, 1877, to Miss Felicia P. Pinkerton, 
 who died at her home in Galion, Dec. 20, 1910. 
 She belonged to the ^ell known family that 
 has made the name of Pinkerton known all 
 over the world. She was a daughter of James 
 Y. and Lydia (Beam) Pinkerton, natives of 
 Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish ancestry. 
 After their marriage in Pennsylvania they 
 came to Wayne county and invested in land 
 in Paint township, where they owned a whole 
 section and were people of local importance 
 there, living into old age. 
 
 To Dr. and Mrs. Knoble five children were 
 born : Grace P., who is the wife of Homer 
 Jacobs, who is in the tailoring business at 
 Battle Creek, Mich. ; Carl R., who is a prac- 
 ticing physician at Sandusky, O., being a 
 graduate of Starling Medical College, is mar- 
 ried and has two children — Ross and Grace; 
 George Warren, who died at the age of four 
 years, and Clyde Leroy at the age of t\AO 
 years, both being victims of diptheria; and 
 Glenn G., who is a graduate of the Galion 
 High School and is in the transfer business 
 at Galion. The mother of the above children 
 was a member of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, to which body Dr. Knoble also be- 
 longs. He is fraternally identified with the 
 Foresters at Galion, in which he has held high 
 official position and belongs also to the Mod- 
 ern W^oodmen. Politically he is a Democrat 
 and has served two terms in the city council 
 and once was president of that civic body. 
 
 JOSEPH KING, one of the highly re- 
 spected citizens of Galion, O., who lives in 
 his handsome residence which stands on the 
 corner of Columbus and Sherman Streets, Ga- 
 lion, has been retired from active business life 
 since 1907 but for many years previously had 
 been identified with the building trades. He 
 was born near Lewistown, Mifflin county. Pa., 
 July 12, 1845, and is a son of Joshua and a 
 grandson of Jonathan King. 
 
 Jonathan King was born in Berks county. 
 Pa., married there, reared his family on his 
 
JOSEPH KING 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1155 
 
 farm and died there in old age. Joshua King 
 was reared in Berks county and he became a 
 woolen manufacturer, making yarns, blankets 
 and flannel. After removing to Mifflin county 
 he married Catherine Miller, a daughter of 
 John Miller, and they continued in Miffln 
 county until i860, when, with their three chil- 
 dren : David M., Michael H. and Joseph, they 
 came to near Sidney, O., purchasing 160 acres 
 of land in Shelby county, on which both died. 
 Joshua King was born in 1808 and died in 
 1872 and was survived ten years by his widow, 
 who was then aged 70 years. They were most 
 worthy people in every relation of life, faith- 
 ful members of the.Dunkard church and kind 
 and sympathetic neighbors. Of their children, 
 David M. died on the old farm near Sidney, on 
 Sept. 20, 191 1, when aged almost 71 years 
 and is survived by his family. Michael H. is a 
 resident of Sidney, while Joseph belongs to 
 Crawford county. 
 
 Joseph King was 15 years of age when the 
 family moved to Shelby county and there he 
 grew to manhood. For two years he worked 
 at the carpenter trade when his enlistment for 
 service in the Civil War interrupted, he in 
 1864 becoming a member of Co. K, 134th O. 
 Vol. Inf., under Col. Armstrong and Capt. 
 Rhinehart. Mr. King took part in the battles 
 of Waltham and before Petersburg, during 
 his four months' service, at the close of his en- 
 listment being honorably discharged, with the 
 rank of corporal. After completing his ap- 
 prenticeship, after the war, he came to Galion 
 and worked as a carpenter, subsequently as a 
 contractor and in this relation took part in the 
 erection of many of the handsome buildings 
 of this city. In 1905 he erected a planing mill 
 which he operated until 1907, when he retired. 
 An honest business man and a reliable, sub- 
 stantial citizen is his reputation at Galion. 
 
 Mr. King was married first in the vicinity of 
 Galion to Miss Catherine Shindler, who was 
 born at Bucyrus, O., and died at her home in 
 this city, at the age of 45 years. She was the 
 devoted mother of the following children: 
 Edward, a mechanic, who is a resident of 
 Cleveland, where he married and has one 
 daughter; John H., who lives on his farm in 
 Richland county, O., and who is a contractor, 
 and has a wife, three sons and two daughters ; 
 Lewis F., a carpenter, who resides at Galion; 
 Catherine, who lives at home ; and Clara, who 
 
 now deceased, who was the wife of Clarence 
 Kinsey and is survived by a granddaughter, 
 who lives with her grandparents. Mr. King 
 was married second, to Miss Catherine Swine- 
 forth, who was born and reared in RichlancT 
 county, and they have two sons : Clarence W., 
 who is a machinist in business at Galion; and 
 Wilbur, who lives with his parents. Mr. King 
 and sons are Republicans in their political 
 leanings and all are men of dependable qual- 
 ities. The family belongs to the First Re- 
 formed chruch at Galion. Mr. King is a mem- 
 ber of Dick Morris Post, No. 130, G. A. R. 
 
 JOHN SCHILL, hardware merchant, at 
 Crestline, O., senior member of the firm of 
 John Schill & Sons, is one of the reliable, 
 representative and substantial business men of 
 this city. He was born in Sharon township, 
 Richland county, O., Oct. 9, 1859, a son of 
 George and Rose (Horning) Schill. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Schill were born in 
 Baden, Germany and the father, George Schill, 
 was three years old when his parents, Lauder- 
 line and Theresa (Hummel) Schill came to 
 the United States and located in Sharon town- 
 ship, Richland county, O., being among the 
 earliest settlers. George Schill grew to man- 
 hood on the home farm and became a farmer 
 and lumber manufacturer. He came to Crest- 
 line in 1892 and here his death occurred July 
 14, 191 1, when aged 81 years. His widow sur- 
 vives, being now aged 72 years. Her parents, 
 Joseph and Catherine (Melcher) Horning, 
 were very early settlers in Liberty township, 
 Crawford county, from which section they 
 subsequently moved to Richland county and 
 both died in old age in Sharon township. 
 They were members of the German Catholic 
 church. To ;George Schill and wife eight 
 children were born, namely : John ; Cathe- 
 rine; Joseph, who was formerly a business 
 partner of his eldest brother, and who met an 
 accidental death on Nov. 9, 1909, while walk- 
 ing on a railroad track and is survived by 
 his wife and son; Peter, who is a hardware 
 merchant at Cleveland ; Jacob, who is a farmer 
 near Alberta, Canada; Sarah, who is the wife 
 of Joseph Metzger, a farmer in Sharon town- 
 ship; Lena, who is the wife of Edward Etts, 
 of Mansfield; and Henry, who is connected 
 with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Crestline. 
 
1156 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 John Schill was reared and attended school 
 in Richland county. In 1876 he came to 
 Crestline to learn the trade of tinner, and 
 afterward, with his brother the late Joseph 
 Schill, started a hardware store under the 
 firm name of Schill Bros., a number of years 
 afterward disposing of their interest to the 
 firm of Brown & Trimble. In 1892 Mr. Schill 
 and brother started a foundry to manufacture 
 heating furnaces, after their own pattern and 
 patent, and two years later added the manu- 
 facture of steel ranges. In 1899 the business 
 was incorporated, the name becoming Schill 
 Bros. Co., of which John A. Schill is a stock- 
 holder and director, \\'. H. Weaver being 
 president. They work with a capital of $200,- 
 000. Since January, 191 1, Mr. SchiU has been 
 additionally interested as a merchant, with 
 quarters on the comer of Thoman and Bucy- 
 rus streets, a full line of hardware, stoves of 
 all descriptions, and farm implements, being 
 carried and the firm also are tinners and 
 roofers. 
 
 At Xew Washington, O., Mr. Schill was 
 married to Miss Louisa Mutt, who was bom 
 in Aubiun township, Crawford county, cind 
 their children range in age from twenty-one 
 to four years: Charles E., Clement A., Helerie 
 R., ^^"illiam Joseph, George A.. Maria I.. Leo 
 F. and Paul E. They have been educated 
 in the parochial school of St. Joseph's Roman 
 Catholic Chiu-ch and also in the public schools. 
 'Mr. Schill is a Democrat in politics and is 
 identified with the fraternal orders of C. K. 
 of O., and the W\ O. W. 
 
 AAROX [MAPLE, a general contractor and 
 builder at Galion, O.. whose activities in this 
 direction have covered a period of 18 years, 
 was bom near Richmond, Jefferson county, 
 Ohio, May 20, 1866. 
 
 The first Maples came from England to 
 Princeton, X. J. Six brothers emigrated to 
 Huntington, Pa., in the year 1761. ^^'illiam 
 Maple and his brother Thomas came from 
 Port Homer, Jefferson count}-. Ohio, they 
 being t^vo of the six brothers above mentionel. 
 coming here from Huntington. William Ma- 
 ple married Kessiah Larrison in the year 1791. 
 ^^'hen the state was admitted to the Union in 
 1803 he bought a farm, pa)ring for it with 
 Continental monev. He was a farmer and 
 
 veterinary surgeon by occupation. To this 
 union were bom four sons — William, George, 
 Benjamin and Jacobs, and five daughters — 
 Abbie, Polly, Sarah, Clara and Kessiah. Wil- 
 liam emigrated to Bourbon county, Kentucky. 
 George emigrated to Coshocton county, Ohio. 
 Benjamin married Mary Rick and was the 
 father of 23 children and was captain on the 
 northem lakes in the War of 1812, but still 
 retained his residence in Jefferson county, 
 Ohio. Jacob married Catherine Adams and 
 lived in Jefferson county, Ohio. Polly mar- 
 ried Robert ilaple and lived in Jefferson coun- 
 ty, Ohio. Sarah married John McClain and 
 also lived in Jefferson county, Ohio, of which 
 marriage there were eleven children bom. 
 This John ^IcClain was the grandfather of 
 the mother of the subject of this sketch, con- 
 sequently a maternal great grandfather. Clara 
 married James McQelland. Kessiah married 
 George Gulp. Abbie, who was the eldest 
 daughter, married her cousin, Aaron Maple, 
 son of Thomas, this .\aron being our sub- 
 ject's great grandfather in the direct paternal 
 line. To them were bom tvvo sons — Thomas, 
 who died in infancy, and Aaron (2nd), the 
 latter being the grandfather of the present 
 Aaron ^laple. 
 
 Aaron ]MapIe (2d), above mentioned, was 
 bora May 19, 1798. In 1822 he married Cath- 
 erine Bowers, who was of German descent 
 and bom in Jefferson county. In 1826 he 
 secured land from the Government, the deed 
 being dated Oct. 6th and signed by President 
 J. O. Adams. This document is now in the 
 possession of his grandson, [Mr. Aaron [Maple 
 of Galion. Aaron Maple (2d) died in 1873, 
 having attained his 75th year. His wife Cath- 
 erine lived to the advanced age of 86, dying 
 in 1888. They were good people in every 
 relation of life and worthy members of the 
 English Lutheran church. To them were bom 
 three sons and three daughters: Abbie died 
 Jtme 6, 1850. Thomas [Maple married Eliza- 
 beth \\'right of Jefferson count\-, Ohio and 
 moved to Alexandra, Kansas in 1878. ^\'il- 
 liam B. [Maple married Anna [Maple and 
 moved to Pawnee, Kansas in 1881 ; to them 
 were bom nine children. Sarah [Maple mar- 
 ried William Heisler and moved to [Harrison 
 count)'. Ohio; to them were bom two sons — 
 John T. and Henrj- A. Anna [Maple married 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1157 
 
 George Maple and to them were born ten 
 children. TiUie Maple moved to Columbiana 
 county, Ohio and resided with her niece, Mrs. 
 Thomas Randolph. 
 
 George B. Maple was born January 4, 1826. 
 He grew to manhood on his father's farm, of 
 which he came into subsequent possession and 
 where he continued to live until his death, 
 which took place in 1893, when he was 67 
 years old. He was married Sept. 10, 1857 
 to Jane McClain, by the Rev. L. Grier, a 
 United Brethren minister. She was of Scotch- 
 Irish ancestry, her people having been early 
 settlers in Jefferson county. She died there 
 in 1889, when aged 57 years. Both she and 
 her husband were members of the Lutheran 
 church. To them were born four sons and 
 one daughter : Lewis H. Maple married Moody 
 McClain of Harlem Springs, Carroll county; 
 in 1888 they moved to Gallon, O., where he 
 worked on the Erie Railroad for 22 years in 
 the carpenter and interlocking department. 
 In 191 1 he resigned, to take a position with 
 his brother Aaron in the building line. To 
 them were born five sons — John R., Lewis 
 M., Dean P., Joseph D. and Roderick W. 
 Etta Maple married George W. McClain and 
 lives on the old homestead. William M. and 
 Olive C. died in infancy. 
 
 Aaron Maple, the direct subject of this 
 sketch, whose nativity has been already given, 
 attended country school and worked on the 
 farm for his father until he was 21 years old. 
 He then learned the carpenter's trade, at which 
 he was employed until 1891, when he went 
 to Galion, O., and worked four years there 
 for the Erie Railroad in the carpentering de- 
 partment. In 1895 he resigned this position 
 and 'entered into his present occupation as 
 contractor and builder. He is a competent 
 and reliable contractor and for many years 
 has done a large share of this work in Galion. 
 
 Mr. Maple was married at Galion, May 21, 
 1896, to Miss Bertha M. Aukerman, of Ga- 
 lion, who was born in this city and graduated 
 from the Galion High school in the class of 
 1895. Her parents, James L. and Sarah C. 
 (Cockrell) Aukerman, were natives of Wayne 
 county, Ohio, where they lived before coming 
 to Galion. Mr. Aukerman was identified with 
 the Erie Railway from the time it was built 
 until his dfeath in 1898, at the age of 53 years. 
 
 Mrs. Maple's mother resides in Cleveland, O., 
 and is now in her 66th year. A brother of 
 hers, Clayton E., succeeded his father with 
 the Erie and resides at Galion, with wife and 
 son, James McClure. Mrs. Maple has one 
 sister, Winifred, now the widow of William 
 Ritzhaupt, who left five children — Roy, Laura, 
 Catherine, Mary and Hazel. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Maple have one daughter, 
 Georgetta, who was born March 26, 1899. 
 They are all members of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Mr. Maple is identified with 
 the Knights of Pythias, the Modern Wood- 
 men and the Order of Ben Hur, and he be- 
 longs also to the Commecrial Club. 
 
 JAMES L. MORROW,* secretary of the 
 Burch Plow Works Company, at Crestline, O., 
 has been connected with this important busi- 
 ness concern since 1907, and is recognized as 
 one of the able young business men of this 
 city. He was born in February, 1883, a son 
 of Truman J. and Mary M. (Smith) Morrow. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Morrow were born in 
 Crawford county, O. Among the early set- 
 tlers near Leesville, came James and Aseneth 
 Morrow, his grandparents, who were natives 
 of Pennsylvania. They secured land there 
 and James Morrow operated a stone quarry 
 for some years, in after life moving to a farm 
 near what is known as Porchers' Corners. 
 There he and wife died in advanced age. Of 
 their children, Truman J., father of James L. 
 Morrow, was born Oct. 17, 1859 and now 
 resides on his farm in Jefferson township, hav- 
 ing always lived in Crawford county. He was 
 married in Jefferson township to Mary M. 
 Smith, a daughter of Isaac W. and Susan 
 (Sechrist) Smith, and three children were 
 born to them: James L., Oscar C. and Hazel 
 E. ; Oscar C, who was born in 1889, operates 
 a stone quarry on his farm near Leesville. 
 He married Olivia Retting, daughter^ of Nich- 
 olas Retting, and they have one son, Burwell; 
 Hazel E. is the wife of John K. McKean and 
 they reside at Bucyrus. James L. Morrow 
 and wife are members of the United Breth- 
 ren church. 
 
 James L. Morrow was educated at Crest- 
 line and at the Northern Ohio University at 
 Ada, O. He afterward became bookkeeper 
 for the Leesville Stone Quarry Company dur- 
 
1158 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ing the summer seasons and taught school 
 during the winters for five terms. In Decem- 
 ber, 1907 he became bookkeeper for the Burch 
 Plow VVorks Company at Crestline, later as- 
 sistant secretary and in December, 1908, was 
 elected secretary, a position that he Ells with 
 the greatest efficiency. 
 
 Mr. Morrow was married in 1905, in Jef- 
 ferson township, Crawford county, to Miss 
 Jessie S. Hart, a daughter of Salmon and 
 Elizabeth (Helfrich) Hart. Mrs. Morrow 
 was born in Jefferson township, March 30, 
 1885, and lost her father when quite young. 
 Her mother subsequently became the wife of 
 Henry Dopper and they still reside in Jeffer- 
 son township. They are members of the Ger- 
 man Lutheran church, while Mr. and Mrs. 
 Morrow belong to the English Lutheran 
 church. The latter have one daughter, Lucile 
 E., vvho was born Dec. 7, 1906. Mr. Morrow 
 is a Republican in his political affiliation. 
 
 ELMER J. FRY,* who lives on the old 
 homestead farm of over 140 acres, which is 
 situated in section 27, Cranberry township, 
 Crawford county, O., belongs to an old Craw- 
 ford county family that was established in 
 Cranberry township by the grandfather, John 
 Fry, who secured this land during the admin- 
 istration of President Andrew Jackson. Elmer 
 J. Fry was born here June 24, 1867, and is 
 a son of John C. and Mary A. (Becker) Fry. 
 
 John C. Fry w^as born in Crawford county, 
 one mile north of Sulphur Springs and did 
 not settle on this farm until after he married, 
 when he purchased it from his father. He 
 was an educated man, having attended Ober- 
 lin College in youth, afterward engaging in 
 farming. He continued to live in Cranberry 
 township until he retired, when he moved to 
 Tiffin, O., but subsequently returned to the 
 farm to end his days among early surround- 
 ings. He married Mary A. Becker, who was 
 born near Harrisburg, Pa. Her people later 
 moved to Crawford county and her father 
 lived one mile south of Sulphur Springs for 
 a number of years and then moved to Michi- 
 igan. She died Jan. 4, 1898, her husband sur- 
 viving until Feb. 3, 191 1. They had three 
 sons and one daughter, namely: Eugene, who 
 was born June 30, 1864, married Ida McKee- 
 hen, and they live in Cranberry township north 
 
 of the home farm; Elmer; William, who was 
 born July 24, 1872, married Catherine Bozen- 
 ville and live at Toledo; and Minnie, who is 
 the wife of Clarence Hathaway, and they 
 live at Lansing, Mich. The father of the 
 above family was a lifelong Republican, and 
 he and his wife were faithful members of the 
 Methodist Protestant church. 
 
 Elmer J. Fry not only remained at home 
 through a happy boyhood but was able to at- 
 tend school without leaving his father's land, 
 the old log building utilized for school pur- 
 poses then standing eighty rods south and 
 west of the present residence.. His tastes 
 proved to be agricultural and after his school 
 days were over he decided to remain with his 
 parents and cultivate the home estate and 
 has continued here, purchasing the property 
 when his parents died. He still has twenty- 
 five acres in valuable woodland but all the 
 rest of the land is under a high state of cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 Mr. Fry married Miss Leeanna McCam- 
 mon, who was born in Sandusky township, a- 
 daugrhter of R. B. and Sarah McCammon, 
 former well known residents of Sandusky 
 township. Mr. and Mrs. Fry have had three 
 children, the youngest. Bertha, alone surviv- 
 ing. She is a bright little seven-year old school 
 girl. Robert R. died when almost two years 
 old and the second born, a son, died in infancy. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Fry attend the Lutheran church, 
 Mrs. Fry being a member. Mr. Fry has al- 
 ways been a citizen interested in public mat- 
 ters and enjoys the confidence of his fellow 
 citizens. He has been a school director and 
 for six years served as a trustee of Cran- 
 berry township. 
 
 JOHN CHRISTOPHER BELTZ, one of 
 the old and well known residents of Craw- 
 ford county, lives on his farm of 84 acres, in 
 Polk township, three miles west of Gallon. 
 
 His father, Christopher Beltz, was a son 
 of Christopher and Wilhelmina (Barkins) 
 Beltz, and was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on 
 the morning of July 8, 1791. He was married 
 to Elizabeth Wetzel, who was born near Sun- 
 bury, Pa., Aug. 8, 1789. By this union were 
 the following children: Elizabeth, born June 
 23, 1814 in Center county,, Pa., died Aug. 31, 
 1903; Lydia, born April 4, r 8 16, ■ died Feb. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1159 
 
 8, 1889; Isaac, born Sept. 30, 1818, died 
 Aug. I, 1889; Catherine, bom Dec. 11, 1820, 
 died Oct. 10, 1895; John C, our subject, born 
 April 19, 1823; Margaret, born Jan. 25, 1826, 
 died Feb. 16, 1879; William W., born Oct. 
 28, 1827, died Aug. 16, 1874; Eliza, born 
 April 20, 1830, died Oct. 5, 185 1; Sarah, born 
 March 28, 1832; and Elias, born July 4, 1834. 
 
 Christopher Beltz came to Crawford county 
 with his family in 1829, spending the first win- 
 ter in Gallon, and in 1830 he purchased 160 
 acres of John Brown for $450, and on a part 
 of this land the subject of this sketch still 
 resides. 
 
 John C. Beltz came to this county with his 
 parents when a boy of six years. He was 
 born in Center county. Pa., April 19, 1823. 
 He assisted his father on the farm and re- 
 ceived his schooling in the old log school house 
 which stood on his father's farm, attending 
 school when the weather was too bad to work. 
 He has lived on the farm ever since he came 
 to the county, a period of .83 years. On 
 April 19, 1845, his 22nd birthday, he mar- 
 ried Miss Nancy Ree, who died Dec. 26, 1899 
 and was buried at Gallon. She was a daughter 
 of David and Elizabeth (Pletcher) Reed, who 
 had the following children : Jacob, Catherine, 
 wife of Jacob Ramer; Elizabeth, wife of Sam- 
 uel Pletcher; Andrew; Nancy, the wife of our 
 subject; and David. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. John C. Beltz had the follow- 
 ing children born to them: Sarah Jane, the 
 wife of William Shearer; Elias, who died in 
 1864; Jemima Jane, who was married first to 
 John Kiefer and secondly to John Shumaker; 
 William M., Elizabeth, who married William 
 Wiggs; Willard John, who died in 1864; and 
 Alonzo Perry and Nancy Margaret, who live 
 at home with their father. All these children 
 were born in Polk township. 
 
 Mr. Beltz is a Democrat in politics and was 
 trustee of Polk township several terms. He 
 belongs to the English Lutheran church. 
 
 FRANK A. WALTHER,* one of the rep- 
 resentative business men of Bucyrus, O., who 
 has been engaged in the hardware line at No. 
 201 Sandusky street, for the past sixteen years, 
 was born in this city, May 23, 1862, and is 
 a son of Christopher and Margaret (Schuler) 
 Walther. 
 
 Christopher Walther, was born in 1839, in 
 Baden, Germany, and was ten years old when 
 he accompanied his parents to America. His 
 father, Christian Walther, settled in Liberty 
 township, Crawford county, O., and there he 
 and wife died in old age. They had three 
 sons and two daughters, all surviving, Chris- 
 topher being the first born. He grew to man- 
 hood in Liberty township, where he learned 
 the carpenter's trade and afterward moved 
 to Bucyrus, where he later became a well 
 known contractor. He built many business 
 blocks and other structures in this city, in- 
 cluding the Union schoolhouse, but has been 
 retired for some years. He still takes much 
 interest in local matters, especially in the ma- 
 terial development of Bucyrus, and occupied 
 a comfortable residence on the corner of Pop- 
 lar and Charles streets. In politics he is a 
 Democrat and at times has served in civic 
 offices very satisfactorily. At the time the 
 city charter was granted he was a member 
 of the city council and served two terms. 
 
 Christopher Walther was married at Bu- 
 cyrus, to Miss Margaret Schuler, who was 
 born in New York in 1833, being an only 
 child. Her parents were born in Germany, 
 married in New York and later were residents 
 of Bucyrus. Mrs. Walther spent her entire 
 life in this city, where she died in 1902. She 
 was a member of the Lutheran church. To 
 Christopher Walther and wife five children 
 were born, namely : Metta, who is the widow 
 of Paul Bovaiter and resides with her son at 
 Fort Wayne, Ind. ; Frank A. ; Fred E., who 
 died at Grand Rapids, Mich., in January, 191 1, 
 and is survived by his widow; Lena, who is 
 the wife of Charles Flockeri, of Bucyrus, and 
 has one child; and Lizzie, who is the wife of 
 Philip Marquart, residing at Crestline, O. 
 
 Frank A. Walther obtained his education 
 in the public schools of his native city and then 
 learned the carpenter's trade with his father, 
 although he has devoted but little time to it. 
 For some five years before he became inter- 
 ested in the hardware business, he operated a 
 flax mill. The hardware store with which Mr. 
 Walther has so long been identified was started 
 in 1895, by the firm of Fisher & Howe, Mr. 
 Walther later taking over the Howe interest 
 and still later assuming the position of head 
 of the concern, when the style became F. A. 
 
1160 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 \^'alther & Co. which continued until 1905, 
 when he bought the other interests and since 
 then has been sole proprietor. He carries a 
 complete line of shelf and builders' hardware, 
 stoves, furnaces and tinware, together with 
 roofing of all kinds and all goods connected 
 with the roofing business. As one of the sub- 
 stantial business men who has proved his re- 
 liability, Mr. Walther easily leads the hard- 
 ware trade in this city. 
 
 Mr. Walther married Miss Otilla Renkert, 
 who was born at Bucyrus, Sept. 21, 1864, a 
 daughter of Christian and Helen (Wolrath) 
 Renkert. They were born in Germany, came 
 to America when young and were married in 
 this city. For many years Mr. Renkert was 
 in the shoe business here. Mr. and Mrs. ^^^al- 
 ther have two children: Harry George F., 
 who was born Feb. 18, 1883 and \\-as grad- 
 uated from the Bucyrus High School in the 
 class of 1903. Since leaving school he has 
 assisted his father in the hardware business. 
 He is also active as a citizen and has served 
 two terms as a member of the city council. 
 He married Miss Nellie Bachman, of Galion, 
 O. The second child of Mr. and Mrs. \\'^al- 
 ther, Cora E., was born at Bucyrus, November 
 30, 1887, and was graduated from the Bu- 
 cyrus High School in the class of 1906. She 
 is her father's capable bookkeeper. She is 
 well known in social circles and is also an 
 earnest church worker and belongs to the Y. 
 \\^ Missionary Society and the Young Peo- 
 ple's Society of the German Lutheran church, 
 to which her parents and brother also belongs. 
 Mr. Walther and son are Democrats in politics 
 and both have been useful to the city as mem- 
 bers of its board "of aldermen. Mr. Walther 
 belongs to the Elks and the Knights ot Py- 
 thias, at Bucyrus. 
 
 JOHN B. DECKER, who has lived in com- 
 fortable retirement in the city of Bucyrus, O., 
 for a number of years, for a long period was 
 a successful agriculturist and still owns an 
 excellent farm of 120 acres which is situated 
 in Liberty township, Crawford county, O. 
 Mr. Decker was bom in Sandusky township, 
 Crawford county, Sept. 17, 1852, and is a son 
 of Aaron and Nancy (Bishop) Decker. 
 
 The Decker family is of German ancestry. 
 Previous to becoming residents of Crawford 
 
 county in 1830, the Deckers lived in New Jer- 
 sey and many of the name still may be found 
 there. Aaron Decker was bom in New Jer- 
 sey, a son of James Decker, who established 
 the pioneer home in Liberty township, Craw- 
 ford county and died soon afterward. His 
 widow survived until 1856 and perhaps it was 
 through her thrift and industry that the farm 
 continued the property of the family. As 
 evidence of her frugal housekeeping, her des- 
 cendants preserve several implements that she 
 used in weaving cloth from flax and wool. 
 She was the mother of seven sons and six 
 daughters and one of the latter survives in 
 the person of Mrs. Emma Trimble, widow of 
 \Mlliam Trimble. She has long since passed 
 her four-score and ten years and owns and 
 lives on the old homestead in Liberty town- 
 ship. 
 
 Aaron Decker, father of John B. Decker, 
 \\as bom at Paterson, N. J., but was reared 
 in Crawford county where he helped his 
 mother on the farm for a time and then learned 
 the carpenter trade, after which he located 
 in ^^'^hetstone township. He was a skilled 
 workman and accumulated capital which he 
 invested in land and thus acquired 430 acres 
 which he put under a fine state of cultivation, 
 devoting his personal attention to it after mid- 
 dle life. His death occurred on his large farm, 
 July 17, 1887. In politics he was a stanch 
 Republican and gave active support to the can- 
 didates of that party. He married Nancy 
 Bishop, who was born in Ashland county, O., 
 in 1826, and died July 29, 191 1, being then 
 within six weeks of her 86th birthday. Both 
 Aaron Decker and wife were members of the 
 English Lutheran church. They were unpre- 
 tentious, virtuous and worthy people who 
 faced every situation that life presented to 
 them, with an abiding faith that all was for 
 the best. Four children were born to them, 
 namely: Melvina, who is the widow of E. L. 
 Swonger, and who now resides in Arkansas 
 and has eleven children; Elizabeth, who is the 
 wife of David Eickelberger, residing on a farm 
 in Sandusky township, and has three sons and 
 three daughters; James, a farmer living and 
 owning a part of the old estate of his father 
 in Whetstone township, who married Alice 
 Briggs and has one daughter; and John B., of 
 Bucyrus. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1161 
 
 John B. Decker obtained his schooling in 
 Whetstone township and afterward engaged 
 in farming on the home place and later on a 
 farm given him by his father. That prop- 
 erty he subsequently sold and bought 120 
 acres in Liberty township, on which he re- 
 sided until 1 89 1, when he moved to Bucyrus, 
 where he served some years as superintendent 
 of streets but is now entirely retired from 
 both business and ofifice. In politics he is a 
 Republican. 
 
 Mr. Decker was married in Holmes town- 
 ship, Crawford county, to Miss Mary Steifel, 
 who was born in Huron county, O., April i, 
 1853, and was seven years old when she ac- 
 companied her parents to Crawford county. 
 They were Dr. John and Catherine (Brubach) 
 Steifel, natives of Fryeburg, Baden, Germany, 
 where they were reared and well educated and 
 subsequently married. Fully 63 years ago. 
 Dr. Steifel, wife and one child Louis Philip, 
 left Germany on a sailing vessel and after a 
 voyage of three months, reached the United 
 States in safety. He had been educated as 
 a physician but after reaching America he 
 endeavored for a few years to become a suc- 
 cessful farmer. In this profession he was 
 scarcely successful for it requires training and 
 knowledge just as surely as do other profes- 
 sions. Dr. Steifel then moved to Crawford 
 county and for some time engaged in the prac- 
 tice of medicine in Holmes township, after 
 which he came to Bucyrus and here became a 
 well known practitioner of medicine. He died 
 March 17, 1903, being then 78 years of age, 
 having survived his wife since March, 1901. 
 She was within one month of being 76 years 
 old. They were active and liberal members 
 of the German Lutheran church and were 
 examples of the sure reward in love, respect 
 and esteem, that is given to those who live 
 worthy and estimable lives, marked with use- 
 fulness and unselfishness. They had nine chil- 
 dren and six of these live in Ohio. 
 
 Five children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Decker, as follows : George E., a railroad 
 man, who lives at Enid, Okla., and who mar- 
 ried Emma Heinlen; Clara A., a graduate of 
 the Bucyrus High School in the class of 1897, 
 who married H. C. Field, of this city, and has 
 two sons — James Edward, born June 20, 1904, 
 and Robert Eugene, born Feb. 18, 1910; W. 
 
 Ernest, who manages and operates his father's 
 farm in Liberty township, who married Flor- 
 ence F. Heft; and Lewis Leroy, who resides 
 at home and is in the employ of the Bell Tele- 
 phone Company. Mr. Decker and family are 
 all connected with the Lutheran church. 
 
 Harry Wayne Decker, a son of John B., 
 was born Aug. 29, 1888 and died in February, 
 1891. 
 
 JAMES FREER,* who is an engineer 
 with the great Erie Railway system, an ex- 
 perienced man in this exceedingly responsible 
 position, and well known in railroad circles 
 all through this section, was born at Dundee, 
 Scotland, in March, 1856, a son of Robert and 
 Elizabeth (Hunt) Freer. 
 
 Robert Freer and wife were born in Scot- 
 land and in 1870 the family came to America 
 and settled at Kent, in Portage county, O., 
 where Mr. Freer became connected with the 
 Erie Railway and continued with that cor- 
 poration for many years. Later in life he 
 retired to a small farm near Kent and there 
 his death occurred in 1902, when he was aged 
 eighty years, having survived his wife, who 
 died in her fifty-fourth year. They were good 
 people, faithful members of the Wesleyan 
 Methodist church. They were parents of a 
 large family but only three survive, namely: 
 James; Isabel, who is the wife of Charles 
 Brown, who is a resideftt of Kent, O., and 
 they have one daughter, Maybell; and Anna, 
 who is the wife of James Bradley, residing 
 at New Castle, Pa., and has one son, Paul, 
 and a daughter, Bessie. 
 
 James Freer was fourteen years of age when 
 the family came to the United States and 
 shortly afterward he entered the employ of 
 the Erie Railway Company with which he has 
 remained ever since. In 1892 he came to 
 Galion where he has since resided and is a 
 valued citizen here. Mr. Freer has been an 
 engineer with the above company since 1885 
 and it is a tribute to his carefulness and re- 
 sourcefulness that he has avoided accidents, 
 never having had a serious one and seldom 
 having been brought face to face with a dan- 
 gerous situation from which his quick judg- 
 ment and ready action have not sufficed to ex- 
 tricate him and safeguard the lives and prop- 
 erty committed to his charge. 
 
1162 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 At Akron, .Ohio, Air. Freer was married to 
 Miss Minnie Coffey, who was bom at Greens- 
 ville, Pa., a daughter of Patrick and Ellen 
 (Conners) Coffey. The parents of Mrs. 
 Freer were bom in Ireland and came when 
 young to the United States and settled at 
 Greenville, Pa. INIr. Coffey was a shoemaker 
 and followed his trade at Greenville and Ak- 
 ron until 1902, when he came to spend his 
 declining years with his daughter, Airs. Freer. 
 He died at Galion, in February, 1910, when 
 aged seventy years. The mother of Mrs. 
 Freer survives and is a beloved member of 
 the latter s household. There were seven chil- 
 dren born to Mr. and Mrs. Coffey, Mrs. Freer 
 being the only survivor. Two sons died from 
 accident : " Frank, from inhaling gas, and Ed- 
 ward, who was killed while performing his 
 duties as brakeman on the Erie Railroad, at 
 Girard, O. Both left widows and children 
 who live at Akron, O. 
 
 Mr. and Airs. Freer have three daughters: 
 Xellie J., Isabel B. and Jean. Xellie J. Freer, 
 born Jan. 3, 1893, graduated from the Galion 
 High School in the class of 1910 and then 
 entered Aleadville College, at Aleadville, Pa., 
 as a member of the class of 1914. Isabel B. 
 Freer was bom March 22, 1894, and was 
 graduated from the Galion High School in 
 the class of 191 1. She now occupies a posi- 
 tion in the office of Air. Gimther, who is super- 
 intendent of the public schools. Jean Freer 
 was born Xov. 29, 1897 and is a student in 
 the Galion High School. The family belongs 
 to the Presbyterian church. Air. Freer be- 
 longs to Rockton Lodge X"o. 316, F. & A. AI. 
 at Kent, O. and to the Brotherhood of Loco- 
 motive Engineers, while Airs. Freer is a mem- 
 ber of the latter's auxiliary order and of the 
 Eastern Star. 
 
 WILLIAAI HENRY^ GEISSAIAX, who 
 in the fall of 191 1, entered the service of the 
 U. S. Govemment as a mail carrier, working 
 from Chatfield, C, is a w-ell known and sub- 
 stantial citizen of Crawford county, O. He 
 was bom in Chatfield township, Crawford 
 county, 0., June 14. i860, and is a son of 
 S. \\'. and a grandson of Christian \\'illiam 
 Geissman. 
 
 Christian ^^'illiam Geissman was bora in 
 Saxonv. Germanv, attended the old time Ger- 
 
 man sehools and learned the blacksmith's trade. 
 He was married there and with his wife 
 Sophia and his two sons, S. W. and Charles, 
 emigrated to America in 1852 and subsequent- 
 ly — in 1854 — settled in the southern part of 
 Chatfield township, Crawford county, O. 
 There he bought sixty acres of land on which 
 the family lived for some years, when he sold 
 and moved to another place situated one and 
 a half miles south of the village of Chatfield. 
 He and wife spent their closing years of life 
 with a son, S. W. Geissman, where the latter 
 died at the age of 75 years, he surviving to 
 be 82 years of age. They attended the Luth- 
 eran church and her burial was in the old 
 Lutheran cemetery. 
 
 S. W. Geissman was eighteen years of age 
 when the family came to America. He as- 
 sisted in his father's blacksmith shop and then 
 learned the cooper's trade, at Bucyrus, O., and 
 later engaged in farming, now being retired 
 but still owning a 60-acre farm. He is a Dem- 
 ocrat in politics and formerly served as a mem- 
 ber of the board of township trustees. He 
 married Caroline Baldosser, who was bom at 
 Pittsburg, Pa., a daughter of Christian Bal- 
 dosser, and the following children were bom 
 to them, all in Chatfield township: W. H. ; 
 Matilda, who died at the age of twelve years ; 
 Charles F., who married Sophia LenstoU, and 
 has five children — Leo, Reuben, Alilo, Daniel 
 and Frederick; Lewis, who died when two 
 years old; Gustave, who died when aged 
 twenty-eight years ; Emma, Annie, who is the 
 wife of William Hoffsis, and has four chil- 
 dren ; Clara, who is the wife of Christian Leu- 
 tholt, and has eight children; Edward, who 
 married Edna Bacon, and has five children — 
 Alarcella, ^^'^illiam, Milton, Ethel and Robert; 
 Alinnie, who is the wife of Clarence C. Alar- 
 graft, and has four children; .Albert, who 
 makes his home in Portland, Ore. ; Callie, who 
 lives at home; and an infant daughter, de- 
 ceased. The mother of the above children 
 died in 1900, aged fifty-nine years. 
 
 \\illiam H. Geissman obtained his educa- 
 tion in the public schools and chose farming 
 as his business. He was married to Mary 
 A. SeimenstoU in 1881. After marriage he 
 resided for one year in Holmes township and 
 for nine years in Chatfield township, moving 
 then to his farm of 114 acres, south of New 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1163 
 
 Washington, where he resided until the fall 
 of 19 lo. He then rented his farm in Cran- 
 berry township and retired to Chatfield, one 
 year later accepting his present position. He 
 owns also twenty acres in Auburn township. 
 His first wife died in 1904, at the age of 
 forty-one years, the mother of the following 
 children: John E., Bertha Louisa, Lizzie 
 Matilda, Washington Irving, Lillie Alvina, 
 May Ruth, and two now deceased. He was 
 married secondly to Mrs. Rose Klink, widow 
 of Daniel Klink. Mr. Geissman has always 
 been a Democrat in politics. He is a member 
 and, liberal supporter of the Pietisten church, 
 located two and a half miles south of Chat- 
 field. 
 
 LOUIS H. SUTTER,* who is engaged in 
 the plumbing business at Crestline, O., with 
 quarters at No. 141 Seltzer street, is an expert 
 workman along a line that is one of the most 
 useful and necessary factors in all modern 
 building. Mr. Sutter was born near Crest- 
 line, in Jefferson township, Crawford county, 
 O., in March, 1879, and is a son of Henry 
 and Matilda (Bigland) Sutter. 
 
 Henry Sutter was born and reared near 
 Sutter Hill, in Richland county, O., where 
 several families of the name settled when the 
 country was yet wild, sometime in the thir- 
 ties. The older members died there while 
 some of the younger ones established homes - 
 in other sections, Grandfather Henry Sutter 
 coming to Crawford county and locating in 
 what was then Vernon township, and there 
 spent the rest of his life, he and wife dying 
 when aged people. Henry Sutter married Ma- 
 tilda Bigland and they survive and reside on 
 Mr. Sutter's fine farm situated in Jackson 
 township. They are members of the Settle- 
 ment Roman Catholic Church, of the same 
 faith as their parents. Of their eleven chil- 
 dren all survive except one, who had been born 
 a twin. Of the ten survivors all have reached 
 maturity, Louis H. being the eldest, and three 
 have married and have families of their own. 
 
 Louis H. Sutter secured his education in 
 the public schools near his father's farm and 
 afterward learned his trade at Crestline and 
 at Mansfield, for a number of years afterward 
 working as a journeyman. Since 1909 he has 
 been in business for himself and has a well 
 
 equipped shop and does plumbing and installs 
 heating and lighting apparatus under contract 
 for the best builders in this city. He is known 
 to be an honest, experienced and capable work- 
 man. 
 
 Mr. Sutter was married at Bucyrus, O., to 
 Miss Anna Fisher, who was born at Kirby, O., 
 but later accompanied her parents to Bucyrus, 
 where they still reside. Mr. and Mrs. Sutter 
 have one daughter, Dorothy Marie, who was 
 born July 15, 191 1. Mr. and Mrs. Sutter are 
 members of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic 
 Church at Crestline. In his political views, 
 Mr. Sutter is a Democrat. 
 
 WILLIAM R. CUNNINGHAM,* super- 
 intendent and master mechanic for the Amer- 
 ican Clay Machinery Company of Bucyrus, 
 O., is one of the clearheaded, rapid-thinking 
 men demanded by modern industries in their 
 responsible offices, and his years of experience 
 have amply qualified him for his present work. 
 He was born at Lafayette, Ind., in January, 
 1854. 
 
 Although not so many years have passed 
 since Mr. Cunningham was a small boy sell- 
 ing papers on the railroad train between La- 
 fayette and Fort Wayne, Ind., carrying water 
 and wood and running errands for passengers 
 and train men, it seems far back in the light 
 of improvements along every line of industry 
 and the strides made by Mr. Cunningham 
 along his path of self imposed toil until the 
 present time when he finds himself the right 
 hand man in one of the largest industries in 
 the state of Ohio. He was only ten years old 
 when he began to work in a woolen-mill and 
 later was employed in a box factory and also 
 in a printing office and he probably faced every 
 problem that comes to a boy dependent upon 
 himself at a tender age. While he had thus 
 tried different lines of work as circumstances 
 guided him, he had a natural aptness for 
 mechanics, together with an ambition to im- 
 prove himself and it was fortunate that about 
 the time of making a choice of life work that 
 he met a man who sympathized with him and 
 was able to give him judicious advice. This 
 was John Black, who was a master mechanic, 
 a native of Lima, O. Following the advice 
 of this friend, Mr. Cunningham bought such 
 books as he could afford and studied the tech- 
 
1164 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 nical points of mechanics while he learned 
 practical details in the Union Machine \\'orks, 
 at Lafayette, where he became an apprentice 
 in 1869 and remained connected more or less 
 with these works until 1886. In the mean- 
 while, from 1875 until 1878 he was superin- 
 tendent of the foundry of John Barret, of 
 Lafayette and also was at the head of the 
 city fire department and also had worked in 
 a foundry both at Lima and Dayton, O. For 
 fourteen years before coming to Bucyrus and 
 accepting his present position, he had been 
 with the Wallace Manufacturing Company of 
 Frankford, Ind. 
 
 Mr. Cunningham became superintendent of 
 the American Clay Machinery Company in 
 May, 1900, and here, as in every other posi- 
 tion he had filled, he has rendered satisfactory 
 service. He enjoys not only the confidence of 
 his employers but also the respect and esteem 
 of the workmen he has in charge, his manner 
 with the latter not being that of a hard task- 
 master but of a firm manager who thoroughly 
 understands all industrial conditions and de- 
 mands only what is just both to the firm and 
 the employes. This has resulted in quiet and 
 contentment with no interruption of business. 
 
 Mr. Curmingham was married at Lafayette, 
 Ind., to ^liss Priscilla E. Moore, who died in 
 1903, survived by three children: Arthur F., 
 who resides in California where he is manager 
 of a brick plant, married a lady there and has 
 two children; M. Elizabeth, who resides with 
 her father ; and Auburn S., who is at the head 
 of one of the departments of the American 
 Clay Machinery Company and married a 
 daughter of John H. ]\Ieyers, of Bucyrus. 
 Miss Cunningham is a member of the Pres- 
 byterian church. Politically Mr. Cunningham 
 is a Republican. Fraternally he is an Odd 
 Fellow, Elk and ]Mason, having been admitted 
 to the Scottish rites in the Masonic order at 
 Indianapolis. 
 
 ISAAC \y. SMITH, a retired farmer re- 
 siding in Galion, O., was born in Broomfield 
 township, Perry county, Pa., Oct. i, 1834. 
 His parents were Christian and Nancy (Kirk- 
 patrick) Smith, both natives of Pennsylvania, 
 and he is a grandson of John Jacob Smith, 
 who was born in Germany, July 25, 1767. 
 The given names of the latter's wife was Mar\- 
 
 E., but her family name has not been ascer- 
 tained. She was born May 14, 1765 and in 
 her native Germany was married to John Jacob 
 Smith. Sometime before the beginning of the 
 nineteenth century they came to the United 
 States settling in Perry county. Pa. on a farm, 
 where they resided until they both died, each 
 at an advanced age. They belonged to the 
 German Reformed church. They had eight 
 children — Catherine E., Jacob, Christian, 
 George, Mary E., Daniel, Henry and Joseph 
 — ^all of whom grew up, were married and had 
 families, and all are now deceased. 
 
 Christian Smith, father of the subject of 
 this sketch, was born in Perry county. Pa., 
 April 29, 1 801. He grew up in his native 
 county and there married Nancy Kirkpatrick, 
 who was born in that locality Oct. i, 1806, 
 and who died Oct. 27, i860. He died in Jef- 
 ferson township, Crawford county, O., Dec. 
 29, 1 87 1, when in his 71st year. They were 
 substantial people, and were consistent Chris- 
 tians, belonging to the Presbyterian church. 
 He was a Whig and later a Republican in poli- 
 tics. Christian and Nancy Smith were the 
 parents of nine children, whose record in brief 
 is as follows: .Anna married W'illiam Osbom 
 and had five children. Catherine, now de- 
 ceased, married George Hiltner and had chil- 
 dren. Isaac W. is the direct usbject of this 
 sketch. Richard B. married Jane Brokaw and 
 both are now deceased; they left children. 
 Ellen J. married Harney Brokaw and died, 
 leaving issue; her husband is also deceased. 
 Wilmina married \\'illiam McKain and both 
 are now deceased; they left children. Amelia 
 Jane, a twin sister of Wilmina, became the 
 wife of James B. ^Murray and both died, leav- 
 ing no issue. Hiram F. is a well to do busi- 
 ness man, residing in North Robinson, this 
 county. He married Harriet Slatterbeck and 
 they have a family. Edwin G., the ninth mem- 
 ber of the family, is a business man in North 
 Robinson. He married Alice IMajor and they 
 have children. 
 
 Isaac \\'. Smith grew up on the farm, but 
 from 1862 to 1874 was associated with his 
 brother Richard B. in a mercantile business 
 at Leesville, this county. In the year last men- 
 tioned he purchased 100 acres of fine land in 
 Jefferson township, which he still owns, and 
 on which he resided until 1888, in which year 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1165 
 
 he went into business at North Robinson, 
 where he remained thus engaged for 15 years, 
 meeting with fine success. He then retired and 
 took up his residence at No. 229 Erie street, 
 Galion. In 1873 he was commissioned by Gov. 
 Edward F. Noyes, as a justice of the peace, 
 but held office only one term. 
 
 Mr. Smith was married in Galion, O., June 
 29, 1862, to Susanna Sechrist, who was born 
 in Franklin county, Pa., March 27, 1844, a 
 daughter of George and Mary A. (Jackson) 
 Sechrist. Her parents, natives of Pennsyl- 
 vania, came to Ohio and located in Wayne 
 county on a farm when she was only six 
 months old. Mr. Sechrist, who was bom in 
 Franklin county. Pa., Sept. 19, 1808, met his 
 death suddenly in 1848, being killed by a run- 
 away team. After his death his widow mar- 
 ried for her second husband. Dr. Jacob Schaf- 
 fer, of which union there was a son, Alonzo 
 E., born, who is now deceased. Dr. Schafifer 
 dying, his widow married for her third hus- 
 band Peter Snyder, by whom she had no chil- 
 dren. She died in North Robinson, O. (Craw- 
 ford county) Nov. 8, 1902 at the age of 85 
 years, having been born in Washington county, 
 Md., Aug. 23, 181 7. She was a member of 
 the United Brethren church. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Isaac W. Smith have been the 
 parents of twelve children, as follows : ( i ) 
 Mary M., born in Crawford county, O., mar- 
 ried Truman Morrow and lives on a farm 
 near Leesville. She has three children — Roy, 
 Clifton and Hazel. (2) William S., resides 
 on the homestead. He married Alice Rhine- 
 hard and they have two children — Glenn and 
 Wayne. (3) Alverta A. married James Mor- 
 ton, a merchant of North Robinson, and has 
 two children — Orpha and Lelia. (4) Luna 
 P. died at the age of fifteen months. (5) 
 Delia L. is the wife of William Kibler, a 
 Crawford county farmer; her children are 
 Ralph, Harold and Louis. (6) Edith G. mar- 
 ried Harry Knell, a farmer in Whetstone 
 township; has fotir children — Lorin, Edwin, 
 Myron and Mildred. (7) Alice M. is the 
 wife of Dr. J. B. Kring of Calidonia ; no issue. 
 (8) Pearl married Luther Ness; they reside 
 in Galion and have a daughter, Alice I. (9) 
 R. Kelley is a merchant in North Robinson; 
 married Daisy Shank and has two children — 
 Linden Arthur and Donna. (10) Leslie M. 
 
 married Tacy Gladdle, and they live on a farm 
 in Jefferson township ; no issue. (11) Harri- 
 son G. is a merchant at North Robinson ; mar- 
 ried Retta Ehrickson and they have a son, 
 Norwood. (12) Bessie N. is the wife of 
 Robert Bogan, assistant cashier of the Citizens 
 National Bank of Galion, in which place they 
 live. The mature members of the Smith fam- 
 ily are all connected with the United Brethren 
 church, in which Mr. Isaac W. Smith is an 
 official. He is a Republican politically and is 
 a sterling citizen, widely known and respected. 
 
 EPHRAIM H. BAKER,* who is one of 
 the best known residents of Auburn township, 
 Crawford county, O., a retired farmer owning 
 96 acres situated in section 5, was bom in 
 this township, three quarters of a mile south 
 of his present farm, Jan. 22, 1839, a son of 
 Enoch and Sarah (Hutchinson) Baker. 
 
 Enoch Baker was of Scotch-Irish ancestry 
 and Virginia parentage and in early manhood 
 came to Crawford from Licking county, O. 
 Here he married Sarah Hutchinson, a native 
 of Virginia, and they had eight children, the 
 three survivors being: Mrs. Phebe Grafmiller, 
 who lives in Auburn township; John, who is 
 a resident of Shelby, O. ; and Ephraim H. 
 Enoch Baker entered eighty acres of land in 
 Auburn township, on which he lived for many 
 years. He then sold and moved first to Rich- 
 land and later to Knox county, where his death 
 occurred when he was aged ninety years, his 
 burial being in Auburn township, by the side 
 of his wife, who died in 1850. They were 
 members of the Methodist Protestant church. 
 
 Ephraim H. Baker attended the district 
 school in boyhood and remained at home with 
 his father until the outbreak of the Civil War, 
 when he enlisted for service in the Union 
 Army, entering Co. C, loist O. Vol. Inf., in 
 which he served faithfully for three years and 
 received an honorable discharge. He returned 
 then to Crawford county and resumed farm- 
 ing in Auburn township and shortly afterward 
 was married to Miss Averta Osburn, a native 
 of Van Wert county, O., and since then has 
 lived on his present farm. He continued to 
 actively superintend the work until 1906, since 
 which time he has been retired. His land is 
 well drained by a ditch which was started 
 by his father, who finished it in one season. 
 
1166 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 with the help of one hired man, a pretty big 
 undertaking when it is remembered that this 
 ditch is 12 feet wide, 6 feet deep and a mile 
 in length and now is a part of Honey Creek. 
 This farm lies one and one-half miles north 
 and five miles east of New Washington and 
 thus both country and town life can be enjoyed 
 by Mr. Baker and family. 
 
 To Mr. Baker's first marriage the following 
 children were born : Margaret, who is the wife 
 of Wentz Becker, of Auburn township ; Annie, 
 who is the wife of William Robinson, of Cran- 
 berry township; Mary, who lives at home; 
 Elda, who is the wife of Andrew Wenslick, 
 of Plymouth, O. ; and an infant son, deceased. 
 Mr. Baker's second marriage was to Miss El- 
 vira Hills and they have had three children: 
 Irene, who is the wife of William Fourquer, 
 of Richland county, O. ; Carney, who died at 
 the age of eighteen months ; and Ross E., who 
 lives in British Columbia. Mr. Baker casts 
 his vote with the Republican party. 
 
 JOHN GOLDEN BARNEY,* now a prom- 
 inent and honored retired citizen of Crestline, 
 O., for many years was active both in business 
 and in public matters in this section of the 
 state. He was born in the village of Clyde, 
 near Galen, N. Y., Oct. 6, 1833, a grandson 
 of a Revolutionary patriot and of Irish- Welsh 
 ancestry. 
 
 William Barney, grandfather of John G. 
 Barney of Crestline, was bom in New Hamp- 
 shire. He served as a private soldier in the 
 beginning of the Revolutionary struggle, took 
 part in the battle of Concord and continued 
 until the termination of the war, receiving 
 wounds at the battle of Cowpens. After 
 peace was declared he lived in New Jersey, 
 later in New York and in his 82nd year died 
 at Galen, N. Y., April 20, 1839. He was one 
 of the early members of the religious de- 
 nomination known as the Free Will Baptists. 
 William Barney married Ruth Golden, who 
 was a granddaughter of Governor Slade, of 
 New Hampshire, and died at Galen, N. Y., 
 in 1836, at the age of 65 years. They had the 
 following children: Jacob, Nathan, Benjamin, 
 Moses, John and Deborah, all of whom, with 
 the exception of John, who served in the War 
 of 1812 and died from sickness then con- 
 tracted, married and reared families of their 
 own. 
 
 Moses Barney, son of William and father of 
 John G. Barney, was bom Feb. i, 1795, in 
 Cattaraugus county, N. Y. During the War 
 of 1812 he belonged to the reserved military 
 force but saw little of active service, being 
 only once called out, and then returned to the 
 activities of his farm, situated near Galen, 
 N. Y. His accidental death occurred ten days 
 before that of his aged father, when he was 
 44 years old. In politics he was a Whig and 
 for many years he was a deacon in his church. 
 At Galen, N. Y., he married Matilda Powers, 
 who was born in Herkimer county, N. Y., and 
 died at Cooperstown, when aged 78 years. 
 They had the following sons and daughters 
 born to them: Clarissa, who died in 1904, 
 who was the wife of John Hines also deceased, 
 and is survived by one son; Eliza, who died 
 in 1907, who married Nelson Rase and is sur- 
 vived by one son and four daughters ; William, 
 who died at the age of 18 years; Benjamin, 
 who died in infancy; Lavina, who was the 
 wife of Burton Banhan, also deceased, and 
 left two sons; and John G., subject of this 
 article. 
 
 John Golden Barney lost his father when 
 he was five and one-half years old. He ob- 
 tained a district school education and then ap- 
 plied himself to farm work until 1858, when 
 he came to Ohio. For a number of years 
 afterward he was associated with V. L. Mar- 
 shall in the fruit juice trade, with headquarters 
 at Mansfield, Mr. Barney maintaining his res- 
 idence tmtil 1868, at Butler and Bellville, at 
 that time coming to Crestline. For some 
 years afterward he was engaged here as a mer- 
 chant and then turned his attention to fire in- 
 surance and real estate and continued active 
 in these fields until 1908, in which year he 
 retired from business. Prior to coming to 
 Crestline, however, Mr. Barney had been a 
 very prominent citizen of Bellville, an ardent 
 Republican, a delegate to all important con- 
 ventions, a justice of the peace for three 
 terms and mayor of that city for one term. 
 
 In August, 1862, Mr. Barney enlisted for 
 service in the Civil War, and as he had already 
 established a record as a marksman, he was 
 assigned a branch of the Sharpshooters under 
 command of Capt. Pierce, in the ii6th N. Y. 
 Vol. Inf. Shortly afterward he was detailed 
 as a recruiting officer. On Feb. 14, 1864, he 
 reenlisted, entering Co. A, 187th O. Vol. Inf., 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1167 
 
 under Capt. W. W. Copley, and two days later 
 was sent to the front, having been made 
 orderly sergeant. At Dalton, Ga., he was pro- 
 moted to be sergeant-major and two months 
 later was commissioned second lieutenant of 
 Co. I, and afterward was made first lieutenant 
 of Co. D, and continued with that rank until 
 the close of the war, when he was appointed 
 commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, suc- 
 ceeding General Wilder. Mr. Barney contin- 
 ued in that difficult position until January 29, 
 1866, having had 29 counties under his juris- 
 diction. Mr. Barney was an enthusiastic sup- 
 porter of Abraham Lincoln in i860 and 
 stumped the state, making his maiden political 
 speech at Bellville. Since coming to Crestline 
 he has continued his activity in public affairs 
 and served as postmaster under the adminis- 
 tration of President Harrison and until re- 
 cent years has been active in party councils. 
 
 Mr. Barney was married in Schoharie coun- 
 ty, N. Y., to Miss Elizabeth Clemens, who was 
 born there March 29, 1830, of an old Presby- 
 terian family. Mrs. Barney died at her home 
 in Crestline, Aug. 22, 1887. She was a highly 
 educated, cultured and refined lady, was a 
 graduate of the State Normal School at Al- 
 bany, N. Y., in the class of 1850, and possessed 
 a life certificate as a teacher. Two children 
 were born to Mr. and Mrs. Barney : William, 
 who died in infancy; and Emma F., who is 
 the wife of Dr. W. P. Bennett, a well known 
 physician and surgeon at Crestline. They 
 have one son, John B., who after graduating 
 from the Crestline High School, went into 
 business in New York City, where he married 
 and has one daughter. Since 1865 Mr. Bar- 
 ney has been a member of the Presbyterian 
 church. 
 
 DAVID MACKEY, who was for many 
 years up to the time of his death, Dec. 11, 
 1906, one of the most prominent citizens of 
 Galion, O., was born in Franklin county, Pa., 
 April 3, 1835, a son of William and Katharine 
 (Leonard) Mackey. William Mackey, the 
 father of our subject, was of Scotch parent- 
 age; his wife, the latter's mother, was of 
 English ancestry. They were married in 
 Pennsylvania, and Mrs. Katharine Mackey 
 died there when her son David was about 
 three years old. A few years later William 
 
 Mackey, with his small family, removed to 
 Zanesville, Ohio, where for some time he was 
 engaged in business as a builder and contrac- 
 tor. He later returned to his old home in 
 Pennsylvania and was there married to his 
 second wife, Rose Ann Gingerly, whose father 
 was a prosperous miller. Accompanied by her, 
 William Mackey then returned to Zanesville 
 and continued in business there as a contractor 
 and builder until his two sons by his first wife 
 — James and David — were grown to manhood. 
 Then, not long before the Civil War, they 
 came to Galion and established a prosperous 
 business here as contractors and builders, be- 
 ing kept pretty busy most of the time. Wil- 
 liam, the father, died here at the age of 84 
 years, a well known and much respected citi- 
 zen. His second wife had passed away some 
 years before when not so old. They were 
 both members of the English Lutheran church, 
 were prominent in the work of the church and 
 supporters of many worthy enterprises. In 
 politics he was a Democrat. 
 
 The two sons, James and David, after the 
 death of their father, which occurred in Au- 
 gust, 1887, continued the business and were 
 thus associated together until the death of 
 James in 1890, after which it was continued 
 by David alone. The latter, in addition to his 
 other activities, also became president of the 
 Galion Lumber Company, a flourishing con- 
 cern, and held this position at the time of 
 his death. He had then for years been one 
 of the most prominent citizens of Galion and 
 was as highly esteemed as he was widely 
 known. He built and owned the Mackey 
 block on South Market street, the City Na- 
 tional Bank building, the Commercial and 
 Savings Bank building, besides other business 
 blocks and many fine residences. He was also 
 largely influential in bringing various import- 
 ant industrial enterprises to the city or in caus- 
 ing them to locate here, and was a large prop- 
 erty owner. An active Republican in politics, 
 he served conscientiously and ably on the city 
 council. He was also a director of the old 
 Galion National Bank. To sum up, it may 
 be said that he was the type of man that is 
 a help and inspiration to any community in 
 which he may reside and in his death the city 
 of Galion suffered a loss not easily made good. 
 
 David Mackey was married in Galion to 
 
1168 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Miss Sarah Traul, who was bom in New 
 Philadelphia, Ohio about 1837 and who, at 
 the age of three years came with her parents 
 to Gallon, O., where she has since resided, 
 having witnessed the growth of the city to its 
 present size and prosperity. Her parents were 
 Conrad and Rachel (Knisely) Traul, both na- 
 tives of Pennsylvania and of German ances- 
 try. Her mother was a daughter of Abraham 
 Knisely, who came at an early day to Ohio 
 and purchased a farm on what is now the site 
 of the thriving city of New Philadelphia, 
 which he originally laid out. There he and 
 his wiie lived for many years and many of 
 their descendants are now scattered through- 
 out Tuscarawas county and the vicinity. 
 
 Conrad Traul, Mrs. Mackey's father, on 
 coming to Gallon established the first tannery 
 here and conducted it until his death at the 
 age of 47 years. His widow subsequently 
 married George Money Smith and died in 
 1888, when 89 years of age. She left no issue. 
 They were members of the English Lutheran 
 church. Mrs. Mackey was one of eleven chil- 
 dren — four sons and three daughters yet liv- 
 ing, all of whom are married and have issue. 
 She, herself is the mother of two daughters, 
 Martha and Sarah. Martha is the widow of 
 Homer Reisinger, D.D.S.. who was a son of 
 Dr. Reisinger, a well known Galion physician. 
 Homer Reisinger died in early manhood, leav- 
 ing two children — Elton, who is now a sales- 
 man in the employ of the Cleveland Lumber 
 Co., and Bertha, who is married and lives in 
 Galion. Sarah, Mrs. Mackey's other daugh- 
 ter, like her sister, graduated from the city 
 high school and completed her literary educa- 
 tion in the North Ohio University at Dela- 
 ware, O. She is the wife of Harry A. Poun- 
 der, who was born in England, and who is 
 now manager of the Galion Lumber Co. They 
 have two sons, Reuben and Donald, the former 
 of whom is a graduate of the Galion High 
 School, class of 1908. Mrs. Mackey and her 
 family are all members of the Presbyterian 
 church. 
 
 HARRY A. POUNDER, manager of the 
 Galion Lumber Company, is a well known and 
 enterprising citizen of Galion, O. He was 
 bom in Staffordshire, England in 1862, being 
 the scion of a good family, with a long line of 
 worthy ancestors. He was educated in the 
 
 public schools of Hull in his native country and 
 was later graduated from the Technical depart- 
 ment of the Government schools in that city 
 as a marine engineer. Afterwards he worked 
 under his father, Edward Pounder, who was 
 manager of the Earl Shipbuilding and Engi- 
 neers Company, of Hull. Subsequent to this 
 he entered the employ of the Portugese Gov- 
 ernment as an expert marine engineer, was 
 made a subject of that country and was sent 
 to Africa, where he was engaged for some 
 time in the exercise of his profession. He then 
 returned to England and in 1883 came to the 
 United States, locating in Buffalo, N. Y., 
 where as an expert engineer, he was employed 
 by the Atlantic & Western (now the Erie) 
 Railway Co., and remained with them four 
 and a half years. He then took charge of the 
 engineer's department of the Cleveland (O.) 
 Forge & City Iron Co. In 1890 he became 
 vice president of the Galion Lumber Co., in 
 1890 he became vice-president of the Galion 
 Lumber Co., in which position he has shown 
 marked business ability. He has been 
 especially active in locating enterprises to 
 help build up the city. He was one of the 
 chief promoters and organizers of the Com- 
 mercial Club (the leading and most active 
 business men's association of the city) and 
 has since served as a director and in other 
 official capacities, being chairman of one of 
 the active committees. He is a prominent 
 member of the Masonic order and of the 
 Knights of Pythias. Mr. Pounder married 
 Miss Sarah Mackey, daughter of David and 
 Sarah (Traul) Mackey, of Galion, O., and 
 they have two sons, Reuben and Donald, the 
 former of whom is, as elsewhere stated, a 
 graduate of the Galion high school. 
 
 SAMUEL \V XUXGESSER,* a leading 
 citizen of Jefferson township, Crawford coun- 
 ty, O., a prominent Democrat who is at pres- 
 ent serving in the office of township assessor, 
 owns property at Crestline but carries on farm- 
 ing on a 40-acre tract which belongs to his 
 mother. He was bom in Polk township, 
 Crawford county, June 16, 1861, and is a 
 son of Christian and Elizabeth (Morkel) 
 Nungesser. 
 
 Both parents of Mr. Nungesser were bom 
 in Germany where their families were neigh- 
 
EPHEATM B. ilOXXETT 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1171 
 
 bors. They were five years old when their 
 parents came to America on the same boat, 
 settled near each other in Pennsylvania for 
 five years and then came together to Crawford 
 county, and here Christian Nungesser and 
 Elizabeth Morkel were married. He learned 
 the shoemaking trade but later engaged in 
 farming in Polk township, where he died in 
 September, 1902. His widow still lives on the 
 old homestead and in September, 1912, will 
 see her 84th birthday. She is widely known 
 and is much beloved by family and friends. 
 The following children were born to Christian 
 Nungesser and wife : Mary Ann, who is the 
 wife of Samuel Beach; Lucinda, who was the 
 wife of William Freeze ; Sarah, deceased, who 
 was the wife of Daniel Waterbeck; Samuel 
 W. ; and Albert, Christian, John, Emma and 
 Henry. The parents of this family reared 
 their children according to the German Luth- 
 eran faith. 
 
 Samuel W. Nungesser attended the public 
 schools with his brothers and sisters and has 
 devoted himself mainly to agricultural pur- 
 suits. He gives considerable attention to mar- 
 ket gardening and poultry raising, favoring 
 the Black Orpington strain, and finds a ready 
 market both at Crestline and Bucyrus. As 
 an active member of the Democratic party, Mr. 
 Nungesser has become well and favorably 
 known all over the county, has served in all 
 the minor township ofifices and at present is 
 township assessor, in which bfifice he served 
 continuously for five years, on a former oc- 
 casion. Mr. Nungesser is a member of the 
 Crawford County Democratic Central Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 In 1885 Mr. Nungesser was married to Miss 
 Jennie Schaad, who was born in Crawford 
 county, O., a daughter of John and Margaret 
 (Uhl) Schaad. The father of Mr. Nungesser 
 was an undertaker and cabinetmaker at Lees- 
 ville, O., where his death occurred. The 
 mother, now in her 86th year, lives at Dela- 
 ware, O. They had the following children : 
 Benjamin, Brice, John, George, Lewis and Ed- 
 ward; Catherine, wife of Albert Graham; 
 Savilla, wife of John Buchanon; Elizabeth, 
 wife of William Radford; Rosa, wife of 
 Lewis Hurr; Jennie; and Emma, wife of Wil- 
 liam Price. Mr. and Mrs. Nungesser have 
 four children, namely: Ralph; Bessie, who 
 
 married Frank Bogan, and has one son, Ralph ; 
 Hazel, who is the wife of Delbert Plotner; 
 and Edna. Mr. Nungesser and family attend 
 the English Lutheran church at North Robin- 
 son. For six years, in addition to his other 
 public duties, Mr. Nungesser served as one 
 of the board of directors of the Crawford 
 County Infirmary and during all that time was 
 secretary of the board, with the exception of 
 a few months. He belongs to the M. W. A., 
 at Gallon, the Eagles, also at Gallon, and the 
 Elks at Bucyrus. 
 
 EPHRAIM B. MONNETT, for many 
 years one of the active business men of Bu- 
 cyrus, O., traces his ancestry back to French 
 emigrants who landed in the American col- 
 onies prior to the Revolutionary War. He 
 was born March 21, 1837, in an old log cabin, 
 in Scott township, Marion county, O., the 
 family having been established in this state 
 by his grandfather, who was a pioneer preach- 
 er of the Methodist faith. 
 
 Rev. Jeremiah Crabb Monnett was born in 
 Maryland. His religious activities covered 
 sections in many states, including Virginia, 
 Maryland and Ohio, and in very early days 
 he traveled to points then regarded as frontier 
 posts. From Pickaway county, O., he came 
 to Crawford county and here continued his 
 ministerial work into old age. He married 
 Aley E. Slagle, who was born in Ireland and 
 was brought to this country in youth. She 
 was reared a Roman Catholic but later joined 
 the religious body with which her husband 
 was always connected. She was a woman of 
 force of character and her descendants show 
 many of her admirable characteristics. 
 
 Abraham Monnett, son of Rev. Jeremiah 
 and father of Ephraim B. Monnett, was born 
 in Maryland, Oct. 12, 181 1, and was one of 
 a family of 14 children. After coming to 
 manhood he traded a wagon and horse and 
 $40 for a tract of 160 acres of land, subse- 
 quently purchased 80 acres more, and kept 
 adding to his land until at his death he was 
 the owner of 4400 acres in Marion and Craw- 
 ford counties. He first moved into a primitive 
 log cabin, which stood on his place, but later 
 built a larger and more comfortable house and 
 otherwise improved his property, on which he 
 lived until he retired from active life, moving 
 
1172 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 then to Bucyrus. Here he died in 1887, re- 
 spected and esteemed by all who knew him 
 and leaving behind him the record of a blame- 
 less life. In his early years he was a Whig 
 and later affiliated with the Republican party. 
 He refused public office but his advice was 
 frequently asked and his judgment relied on 
 in matters concerning the public welfare. He 
 was a constant and liberal contributor to the 
 Methodist church. Abraham Monnett mar- 
 ried Catherine Braucher, who was born near 
 Circleville in 181 5 and died in 1875. Twelve 
 children were born to this happy union, all 
 of whom survive except three — Oliver, John 
 and Mrs. Mary Hall. The others are married 
 and have children. 
 
 Ephraim B. Monnett is the eldest of his par- 
 ents' family. He had admirable home sur- 
 roundings which tended to the development 
 of character. His first employment as a boy 
 was to pen up his father's sheep to protect 
 them from the wolves, the woods at that time 
 being filled with wild game and Indians. 
 While his educational opportunities were 
 somewhat limited, on account of lack of early 
 school privileges, his life has associated him 
 with developing events and wide awake peo- 
 ple and he is a man of well rounded knowl- 
 edge. In early manhood he assisted his father 
 in the latter's business of shipping cattle and 
 be became one of the largest shippers of live- 
 stock in the county. He has been promin- 
 ently identified also with financial institutions 
 for many years and through his business fore- 
 sight and excellent judgment, has been one of 
 the main organizers of at least two successful 
 banking concerns in Crawford county and one 
 in Marion county. He was one of the found- 
 ers and for many years was vice president of 
 the Caledonia Bank, helped to organize the 
 Bucyrus City Bank, of which he was president 
 for seven years, and also is identified with the 
 Second National Bank of Bucyrus, of which 
 he has been a director for 22 years. He has 
 always been credited with being a shrewd 
 business man, but his integrity has never been 
 questioned and he takes pride in the fact that 
 notwithstanding his large volume of business 
 dealing, he has never had a law suit brought 
 against him, nor did he ever consent to bring 
 one against any debtor. Politically a Repub- 
 lican, he held many of the local offices while 
 
 living in Dallas township and in the execu- 
 tion of public business he showed the same 
 fidelity and efficiency that he displayed in his 
 own. 
 
 Mr. Monnett was married first in 1859, at 
 Bucyrus, to Miss Ellen C. Barton, who was 
 born at Pittsburg, Pa., July 6, 1840, and died 
 Jan. 13, 1888. She was a daughter of Wil- 
 liam and Esther (Booklacker) Barton. She 
 was survived by five children, namely: Rich- 
 ard O. and Clarence D., who died young; 
 Ephriam Guy, who died when aged twenty- 
 two years; William A. who died March 7, 
 1910, and is survived by his widow and one 
 daughter, Edna G., who are residents of Mon- 
 nett Station; and Annetta G., who is a resid- 
 ent of Cardington, O. Mr. Monnett's second 
 marriage was to Miss Cornelia Yost, who was 
 bom Oct. 8, 1852, a daughter of Jeremiah N. 
 and Elizabeth (Woodside) Yost, natives of 
 Dauphin county. Pa., who came early to Bu- 
 cyrus. The father was a saddler and was a 
 highly respected citizen. His death occurred 
 March 4, 1908, he having lived to the rather 
 unusual age of ninety years. He was a Meth- 
 odist in religious faith, while his wife was a 
 Lutheran. The latter died in January, 1892, 
 aged about sixty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Monnett have one daughter, Nellie Lorie, who 
 was born Dec. 19, 1892. She is a bright, 
 engaging young lady and a favorite in her 
 class in the High School, where she will be 
 graduated in 1913. With her parents she 
 belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
 which her father has ben a trustee since 1882. 
 The family home is a hospitable one and its 
 members enjoy much of the quiet, social life 
 of the city. 
 
 PETER DRUMM,* one of Crestline's cap- 
 italists and representative citizens, was born 
 in Summit county, O., in 1850 but has been 
 a resident of this city since boyhood. He came 
 of German and French ancestry, for over 200 
 years his forefathers living on the same estates 
 in Alsace-Loraine, where his parents, Peter 
 and Magdalena (Babst) Drumm were born 
 and married. 
 
 In the early forties the parents of Mr. 
 Drumm came on a sailing vessel to the United 
 States and settled in Summit county, O., 
 where the father first followed his trade of 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1173 
 
 cabinetmaker, and later was connected with 
 the car building department of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railway Company, and in this relation 
 came to Crestline, where he lived some 40 
 years, his death occurring Dec. 2, 1905, when 
 he had passed his 90th birthday, having sur- 
 vived his wife since Dec. 11, 1887, she being 
 then aged 67 years. They were members of 
 the German Reformed church. Of their four 
 children, three grew to mature years and two 
 survive : Peter and Lena, who reside together, 
 neither having married. 
 
 Peter Drumm, Jr., was young when his par- 
 ents came to Crestline, where he attended 
 school and later learned the art of photography 
 and for many years conducted a studio in this 
 city but retiring from business to a large de- 
 gree fully 20 years ago. His time is fully 
 occupied in looking after his large property 
 interests, he being one of the heavy tax payers 
 of the city. In politics a stanch Democrat, 
 he has been active in party matters and has 
 been loyal in his support of party measures 
 and candidates. 
 
 J. O. HARER, whose valuable farm of 154 
 acres is situated in section 25, Cranberry town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., was born in 
 Holmes township, Crawford county, July 14, 
 1878, a son of Caleb and Mary Harer, whom 
 he accompanied, when six years old, to Lykens 
 township where they still live. 
 
 J. O. Harer remained at home and gave his 
 father assistance until he was twenty-three 
 years of age, in the meanwhile doing contract 
 work on the turnpikes in the township, after 
 which he was in the livery business at New 
 Washington for five years. He then sold his 
 stables and went more largely in the horse 
 business, buying and selling, in which he is 
 yet interested. In 1909 he bought his pres- 
 ent farm, on which he has resided since his 
 marriage, all of which is well tiled, and all 
 but one acre, still in woodland, is under cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 Mr Harer married Miss Bertha Geissman, 
 a daughter of Henry and Mary Geissman, of 
 Cranberry township,* and they have two chil- 
 dren, Lulu May and Herbert. In politics Mr. 
 Harer is a Democrat but has too many busi- 
 ness interests to make him a seeker for ofifice. 
 He belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to 
 
 the Cranberry Township Grange, taking much 
 interest in these organizations. 
 
 JOHN ROBERTS,* deceased. Among the 
 old and substantial families of English ex- 
 traction who have assisted in the developing 
 of many of the interests of Ohio, may be men- 
 tioned that of Roberts, and the pioneer of this 
 family in Crawford county was John Roberts, 
 a man of broad mind, enterprising spirit and 
 financial independence. He was born in Ly- 
 coming county. Pa., April 7, 1805, and died 
 near Bucyrus, O., in 1884. His father, George 
 W. Roberts, was of English birth and was in 
 early manhood when he came to Lycoming 
 county. Pa., in 1800. He was a fine specimen 
 of physical manhood, a fact to be noted as 
 his descendants inherited, with many of his 
 worthy qualities, his noble stature and abound- 
 ing health. After the death of his wife, in 
 Lycoming county, he started out to see some- 
 thing of what was then the great West and 
 on this trip visited in Ohio but subsequently 
 located in Iowa, where he went into the bank- 
 ing business with a son-in-law, and died at 
 Brighton, in that state, when more than 80 
 years of age. 
 
 John Roberts was one of a family of seven 
 children and all but two of these spent their 
 lives in Pennsylvania. He remained in Ly- 
 coming county until late in the twenties, when 
 he decided to come to Ohio. He had married 
 Lavina Walton, who was born in Lycoming 
 county, Dec. 30, 1799, and died near Bucyrus 
 when aged about 72 years. When the deci- 
 sion was made to break up the old home ties 
 in Pennsylvania, Mr. Roberts found in his 
 young wife a ready helper and she cheerfully 
 assisted him in all his undertakings although 
 at that time she had the responsibility of an 
 infant. Mr. Roberts in the course of time 
 became one of the wealthy men of Crawford 
 county, the owner of 1500 acres of land and 
 one of the shrewdest and most successful stock 
 buyers and dealers in the country. In those 
 days there was much to contend with in his 
 business but he was endowed with perfect 
 health and indomitable courage and was never 
 known to be defeated in any of his many un- 
 dertakings. He identified himself with every- 
 thing of public interest although he refused 
 public ofifice and being a man of such excellent 
 
1174 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 judgment was a leading factor along almost 
 every line of development during his active 
 years. Finally he consented to accept a life 
 of ease but it was only when old age had 
 reached him, and he died in his comfortable 
 home, his residence being located just north 
 of Bucyrus, in 1884. In early days a Whig, 
 he later became a Republican. He and wife 
 were members of the Methodist Episcopal 
 church, their conversion having been accom- 
 plished at the same time when they were in 
 attendance at a camp meeting on the banks 
 of the Susquehanna river. 
 
 To John Roberts and wife four sons and 
 one daughter were born. The daughter, Mary 
 Jane is the widow of James Cobb and is a 
 resident of Bucyrus, being now in her 78th 
 year. The eldest son, Fleming, was the babe 
 brought to Ohio by his parents. He died early 
 leaving a widow and one son in Marion coun- 
 ty, O. Another son, George W^ashington, who 
 was born in 1835, is a wealthy retired stock 
 dealer and large landowner in Marion county. 
 Edwin, the youngest son, was born in 1840 
 and died in Harrison county in 1908, survived 
 by a family. 
 
 Wesley Roberts, father of Thomas E. and 
 Charles W. Roberts, of Bucyrus, was the sec- 
 ond son in the above family and was born in 
 1829, in Crawford county, O., and he was 
 reared in Whetstone township. In a remark- 
 able degree he inherited his father's appear- 
 ance and characteristics. He loved hard work 
 and in endurance could excel any of his asso- 
 ciates from boyhood. At one time he owned 
 2800 acres of land in Crawford county, while 
 his fields and pastures showed herds of fine 
 cattle and horses, droves of fattening hogs 
 and flocks of sheep. He was, like his father, 
 a careful and judicious business man and in 
 a business in which there is large opportunity 
 to fail, he met only with prosperity. For 
 years he was designated as the leading breder, 
 feeder and buyer of stock in this section of 
 the state. His perfect health continued into 
 advanced life and the slight digestive trouble 
 that caused his death was at first looked upon 
 as of little consequence, so unaccustomed had 
 he been to illness. Like all strong men he had 
 settled opinions of right and wrong and he 
 had the courage to live up to his convictions. 
 In politics he was a beliver in the superiority 
 of the principles of the Republican party and 
 
 when he worked for a candidate he did that 
 task as he did every other, with all his 
 strength, but was never willing to accept 
 political preferment for himself. He was a 
 Methodist in religion. 
 
 Wesley Roberts was married first to a Miss 
 iVEonnett, a member of a very prominent old 
 family of the county. She died in Whetstone 
 township, survived by two sons: Isaac, who 
 is a prominent stockman in Nebraska; and 
 Madison, who is a farmer in Scott township, 
 Marion county, O. His second marriage took 
 place in Morrow county, O., to Miss Eliza- 
 beth Xewson, who was born there in 1832. 
 She died at the home of a daughter, in Bu- 
 cyrus, Feb. 7, 1889, and her memory is ten- 
 derly preserved by the following surviving 
 children: Frank H., Joseph, Charles, Mar- 
 cellus M. and Ida. Belle died at the age of 
 seven years. Frank H. and Willis G. are both 
 prominent in the livestock industry at Bucyrus. 
 Marcellus M. is part owner of a fine farm in 
 Dallas township. Ida is the wife of Harry 
 Keil, \\ho is a large landowner and stock 
 dealer in Illinois. 
 
 JOSEPH \X. ROBERTS was the eldest 
 born son to his father's second marriage, and 
 was born in Dallas township, Crawford coun- 
 ty about i860. He inherited the tastes and 
 business acumen of his father and grand- 
 father, along with their "physical build, and 
 has devoted his attention since reaching man- 
 liood to agricultural activities and handling 
 of stock. During the larger part of his life 
 he has resided within the borders of Craw- 
 ford county. In 191 1 he established a resid- 
 ence at Bucyrus, where he is in partnership 
 with his brothers in a livery business and 
 standing stables. Politically he is a Repub- 
 lican but is active only as a voter. He is a 
 man of large means, is charitable and public 
 spirited and has many personal as weU as busi- 
 ness friends. In Marion county he married 
 Flora B. Miller, who died there without issue 
 in 1901, at the age of 35 years. Mr. Roberts 
 was married (second) at Bucyrus to Miss 
 Pansy G. Neish, a daughter of the late Byron 
 Xeish. 
 
 CHARLES WESLEY ROBERTS was 
 born in Scott township, Marion county, O., 
 Jan. 15, 1862, but was mainly reared in Craw- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1175 
 
 ford county. He scarcely required the hardy 
 discipHne that prevails on a large farm, to 
 develop his muscles and ensure his health, for 
 he, like his brothers, father and grandfather 
 and even farther back, possessed these gifts 
 from kind Nature. At one time it pleased the 
 five sons of the family to test their added 
 weight, each claiming some 200 pounds, and 
 the aggregate was iioo pounds. With sound 
 constitution, clear mind and steady habits, Mr. 
 Roberts, like other members of this rather re- 
 markable family, has been very successful in 
 his business undertakings, which have been 
 along the line of the family industry almost 
 exclusively. In 1901 he came to Bucyrus, 
 from his farm in Caledonia township where 
 he had sold and bought stock for six years 
 previously, having moved from his former 
 farm in Marion county. For some years he 
 has associated his business interests with those 
 of his brothers. 
 
 Mr. Roberts was married near New Win- 
 chester, Crawford county, to Miss Malinda 
 Loyer, born in Marion county, a daughter of 
 Henry and Catherine (Heinline) Loyer, of 
 German stock. The father of Mrs. Roberts 
 died at the age of 40 years but the mother 
 lived to be 70 years old. They were German 
 Reformed church people. Four children have 
 been born to Charles W. Roberts and wife: 
 Earl W., who was accidentally killed in Mon- 
 tana, at the age of 24 years ; George W., who 
 owns and successfully operates a sheep ranch 
 in Montana; and Helen and Franklin Harry, 
 who resides with their parents. • 
 
 CHARLES E. SWITZER,* one of Ga- 
 llon's leading business men, senior member of 
 the wholesale and retail firm of Switzer & 
 White, dealers in grain, hay and seed and 
 operators of elevators at both North Robin- 
 son and Monnett, O., was born in Miami 
 county, O., Dec. 3, 1869, and is a son of Jacob 
 and Mary C. (Kunkle) Switzer. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Switzer were born and 
 married in Pennsylvania and for many years 
 after coming to Ohio were farming people in 
 Newton township, Miami county. In 1910 
 they left the farm and now live in comfort- 
 able retirement at Covington, 6., where they 
 are attendants and supporters of the Brethren 
 church. Their family consists of five children. 
 
 After attaining his majority and complet- 
 ing an educational course at Ada, O., Charles 
 E. Switzer went to Columbus and began work 
 in the clerical department of the grain and 
 hay iirm of J. B. McAllister & Company, and 
 remained with that house for twelve years, 
 coming from there in 1900, to Galion, to go 
 into business with Mr. White. The present 
 company was established in 1906 by Charles 
 E. Switzer and George M. White and is one 
 of the important business enterprises of Craw- 
 ford county. In their elevators they carry 
 more than 30,000 bushels of grain and in all 
 other commodities are large dealers, their mar- 
 ket being anywhere in the state. Their meth- 
 ods are those of a progressive firm and their 
 prosperity is assured. 
 
 Mr. Switzer was married at Columbus, O., 
 to Miss Margaret J. Evans, who was born in 
 Wales and was nine years old when her par- 
 ents brought her to America. They settled at 
 Columbus, O., where her mother died, and 
 after working at his trade — that of stone- 
 mason — until some twelve years since, her 
 father went to Montana. There he married 
 again and still resides. Mrs. Switzer was one 
 of a family of six children. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Switzer have three children: Edith M., born 
 May 10, 1905; Herbert C, born June 20, 
 1907; and Malcolm Evans, born Feb. 25, 191 1. 
 The family belongs to the Methodist Episcopal 
 church. Mr. Switzer is a good citizen but 
 is not particularly active in politics. He votes 
 with the Republican party. 
 
 ALEM MOORHEAD,* who is one of the 
 well known citizens of Crestline, now living 
 retired, for a number of years was in the 
 real estate business here and owns valuable 
 city property. He was born on a farm in Jack- 
 son township, then in Richland now in Craw- 
 ford county, July 7, 1847, and is a son of 
 Robert and Elizabeth (Barber) Moorhead. 
 
 Robert Moorhead and wife were born at 
 Milton, • Pa., and when they came to Ohio 
 they settled in Jackson township, when all that 
 section was a wilderness. Mr. Moorhead was 
 forced to cut down trees in order to make a 
 space on which to build his log cabin. He per- 
 severed, cleared land and improved it, and 
 he and wife spent their subsequent lives here, 
 the mother passing away shortly after the 
 
1176 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 birth of their son Alem, when aged 50 years, 
 but the father lived into advanced age, dying 
 when nearing his 94th birthday. They were 
 members of the Presbyterian church and a 
 brother of Mrs. Moorhead, Rev. Daniel Bar- 
 ber, was a prominent divine of that body. Of 
 their family of 12 children, nine reached 
 maturity and eight married. The survivors 
 are : Alem and Mrs. Clarissa Courtright, who 
 is a childless widow and a resident of Mans- 
 field, O. 
 
 When 18 years of age, Alem Moorhead 
 heard the call for soldiers issued by the Presi- 
 dent of the United States, to assist in putting 
 down rebellion, and he was one of the first 
 to enlist, in April, 1861, in Co. I, ist O. Vol. 
 Inf., under Capt. McLaughlin and Col. Cook. 
 This regiment was rushed to the front and 
 took part in the first battle of Bull Run, which 
 Mr. Moorhead survived and served out his 
 enlistment. Soon after his honorable dis- 
 charge he came to Crestline, which city has 
 been his chosen home ever since. In politics 
 Mr. Moorehead is a stanch Democrat. 
 
 In early manhood Mr. Moorhead was mar- 
 ried to Miss Margaret Miller, who died at the 
 age of 54 years, leaving four children : Charles 
 A., who is with the Pennsylvania Railway 
 Company; Flora I., now deceased, who was 
 the wife of William Bagley, and who is sur- 
 vived by x)ne daughter, Genevieve ; Elizabeth, 
 who is the wife of Everett Sutton, residing 
 at Bloomington, 111., and has two daughters, 
 Effie and Beatrice, and an infant son; and 
 Howard, who was accidentally killed by a rail- 
 road train on a grade crossing, when aged 
 2"] years, and is survived by a widow and one 
 daughter, Margaret. Mrs. Moorhead was a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 and was an active worker in the Woman's 
 Relief Corps, Mr. Moorhead being identified 
 with Snyder Post, No. 97, G. A. R. He be- 
 longs also to the Knights of Pythias. 
 
 JOHN HARRISON TRAGO, who is a 
 retired farmer and well known citizen of 
 Crawford county, O., resides on his excellent 
 farm of 120 acres, situated in section 17, Au- 
 burn township, was bom in this township, on 
 an adjoining farm, May 31, 1840, and is a 
 son of Daniel and Sarah (Waters) Trago. 
 
 Daniel Trago was born in Honeybrook 
 
 township, Chester county, Pa., May 8, 1796, 
 and died in Ohio, Jan. 3, 1876. After com- 
 ing to Ohio he lived for five years in Colum- 
 biana county and then located on 160 acres, 
 which tract at that time was in Richland coun- 
 ty, but is now included in Auburn township, 
 Crawford county, later buying the 120 acres 
 on which his son resides, paying eleven dol- 
 lars an acre for the same. Still later he pur- 
 chased eighty more acres and for that tract 
 paid $35 per acre. All this land was heavily 
 timbered at the time of purchase and each 
 fal-m was cleared and improved by Daniel 
 Trago. On December 20, 1826, he was mar- 
 ried to Sarah Waters, who was born in Ches- 
 ter county, Pa., Jan. i, 1806, and died May 
 22, 1 87 1. Ten children were born to them, 
 the family record being as follows: Samuel 
 Waters Trago, who was born in Honeybrook 
 township, Chester county. Pa., Nov. 3, 1827; 
 Ann Elizabeth Trago, who was born Sept. 
 21, 1829, died Feb. 21, 1841 ; Elmira Trago, 
 who was born Feb. 12, 1831, was married to 
 John Griffith, Dec. 28, 1852, and died July 
 12, 1878; Agnes Trago, who was born in 
 Smith township, Columbiana county, O., in 
 Nov. 1833, died Jan. 27, 1854; Francis Marion 
 Trago, who was born in Smith township, Co- 
 lumbiana county, O., Dec. 17, 1835, enlisted 
 for service in the Civil War as a member of 
 the 64th O. Vol. Inf., and was killed at Peach 
 Tree Creek, near Atlanta, Ga., July 20, 1864; 
 Vincent T. Trago, who was bom in Smith 
 township, Columbiana county, O., Feb. 28, 
 1838, enlisted in Co. I, 15th O. Vol. Inf. and 
 served four years in the Civil War, living to 
 return, his death occurring April 14, 1880 
 (was married first to Laura Carlisle on Dec. 
 25, 1866, and secondly to Mary E. Dull, May 
 5, 1870); John Harrison Trago; Alice Ann 
 Trago, who was born July 14, 1843, died in 
 1852; Mary Trago, who was born April 22, 
 1846, married William N. Keller, April 17, 
 1870, and lives at Monroeville, Ind. ; and 
 Morris Winfield Trago, who was born Jan. 
 24, 1848, died in March, 1849. 
 
 John Harrison Trago remained on the home 
 farm with his father and has always been in- 
 terested in farming and stock raising. For 
 some time he has been retired from active 
 labor and now rents out his farm on shares, 
 finding this plan satisfactory. From early 
 
COL. WILSOX C. LEMERT 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1179 
 
 manhood he has given his political support to 
 the Republican party, but has never been par- 
 ticularly active in politics— just an interested 
 citizen who has exerted his influence to make 
 this a law-abiding community. 
 
 Mr. Trago was married, first, Oct. 21, 1866, 
 to Miss Nancy Mount, who was born in Rich- 
 land county, a daughter of James Mount, of 
 Irish ancestry. She died Feb. 9, 1892, and her 
 burial was in Oakland Cemetery, near Tiro, O. 
 She was the mother of four children; Fannie, 
 who was born Sept. i, 1867, was a success- 
 ful teacher at New Washington, for seventeen 
 years; James Justus, who was born May 23, 
 1873, is a civil engineer residing at Mt. Ver- 
 non, 111. ; Andrew Edmund, who was born 
 Aug. 18, 1876, died May 10, 1892; and John 
 Henry. The last named was born July 9, 1879 
 and was accidentally killed while at work in 
 a saw-mill, on June i, 1900. The mother of 
 the above named children was a faithful mem- 
 ber of the Lutheran church. 
 
 On Oct. II, 1902, Mr. Trago was married 
 secondly to Mrs. Mary (Baker) Reed, at 
 Bloomdale, Wood county, O. Mrs. Mary 
 (Baker) Trago was born at Fredericksburg, 
 near Wooster, in Wayne county, O. 
 
 COL. WILSON. C. LEMERT was bom 
 in what is now Texas township, on March 4, 
 1837. His grandfather, Joshua Lemert, was 
 an officer in the War of 1812, and with his 
 family had settled in Coshocton county just 
 before that war. Lewis Lemert, son of 
 Joshua, was bom in Loudon county, Va., 
 Aug. 4, 1802. He came with his parents to 
 Coshocton, where, on Jan. 2, 1823 he married 
 Jane Perdew. In 1826, he came with his 
 bride to what is now Texas township, then a 
 dense forest. Here he raised a large family 
 of children; was one of the prominent men 
 in that section; assisted in building the first 
 church in 1834, and was one of its first trus- 
 tees, and remained a member until his death, 
 which occurred on the 80th anniversary of 
 his birth, Aug. 4, 1882. His son, Wilson C. 
 Lemert, assisted his father on the farm, at- 
 tending school in the little log school house; 
 later he taught school, attended the Ohio Wes- 
 leyan University at Delaware, graduating in 
 the class of 'f,8. While here he was one of 
 the ten charter members of the Sigma Chi 
 
 fraternity; more than half a century passed, 
 and ripe in years, on June 11, 191 2, he was 
 one of the three charter members still living 
 when the handsome new structure of the so- 
 ciety was dedicated. Leaving college he read 
 law, graduated from the Cincinnati Law 
 School, was admitted to the Bar, practiced 
 for a year in Bucyrus, and then removed to 
 Greensburg, Ind. He had only commenced to 
 practice there when the war broke out, and 
 he promptly relinquished what was already a 
 lucrative practice and responded to the Presi- 
 dent's first call for troops. His patriotic en- 
 thusiasm secured the enlistment of two com- 
 panies, and of one, Co. G, Seventh Indiana, 
 he was elected lieutenant, declining the cap- 
 taincy. But promotion speedily followed, and 
 he was given his captain's commission for 
 bravery on the field at Winchester. He visited 
 home, and being a brilliant speaker and a 
 soldier from the front, addressed meetings, 
 stirring up enthusiasm for the Union cause. 
 At one of these meetings at Mansfield he 
 spoke from the same platform with Ohio's 
 great war Governor, David Tod, who finding 
 he was an Ohioan, promptly commissioned 
 him as Major, and later as Colonel of the 
 Eighty-sixth Ohio. In 1863 his regiment was 
 sent to Zanesville to stop the course of the 
 Morgan Raiders. Here they became mounted 
 infantry, horses being secured from every 
 available source, and the wild chase began 
 without rest, day or night, after the daring 
 Confederate leader, the exciting race never 
 ending until the final surrender of Morgan at 
 Salineville, in Columbiana county. The raid 
 ended, he returned to the front, and was en- 
 gaged in the campaigns in eastern Tennessee, 
 and was placed in charge of the strategic point 
 of Cumberland Gap, as commander of the 
 Third Brigade, Second Division, Ninth Army 
 Corps, an organization of 7,000 men, with 30 
 pieces of artillery and when Gen. Grant visited 
 the post, the taciturn warrior commended the 
 commander for his skillful handling of the 
 important post. 
 
 After the war he turned his attention to 
 industrial channels, organizing and managing 
 railroads and manufactories, and in the 22 
 years that followed he raised over four mil- 
 lion dollars to place in successful operation 
 the many companies with which he was con- 
 
1180 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 nected. His first venture was the Bellefon- 
 taine Cotton Company, to re-establish the cot- 
 ton industry in the south, and in spite of the 
 floods and the devastated condition of the 
 country made the venture a success. VV^hen 
 the T. & O. C. was built, he was the general 
 manager in its construction, and when 
 troublous times came, in the spring of 1880, 
 he went along the line, and almost unaided, 
 enthused the despondent, made 40 speeches at 
 as many different points, and raised $100,000 
 which tided the road over its difficulties, and 
 it was built, and later he secured the shops of 
 the road for his home town of Bucyrus. In 
 1881 he built a road 51 miles long from Corn- 
 ing to the Ohio river; in 1882 he built the St. 
 Louis & Emporia railroad; in 1883 he began 
 the construction of a railroad from Findlay 
 to Columbus, and was also connected finan- 
 cially with the building of the Nickle Plate, 
 which afterward was sold to the Vanderbilts. 
 During the building of the T. & O. C. he pur- 
 chased the land and laid out and started the 
 towns of Coming and RendviUe in Perry 
 county. In 1878 he organized the Moxahala 
 Iron and Coal Companies, opened mines and 
 built furnaces, and was president and general 
 manager of both. He became interested in 
 natural gas, and under his management the 
 Northwestern Natural Gas Company was or- 
 ganized, which supplied all northwestern Ohio 
 with this fuel, and later he had general super- 
 vision of the Brice-Thomas interests in the 
 gas fields of Ohio and Indiana. In 1887 he 
 became the owner of the gas and electric light 
 plants at Bucyrus, consolidating the two com- 
 panies into one. When the T. & O. C. was 
 building a company was organized to build 
 cars in the old Buckeye Reaper and Mower 
 Works. The company failed, and Mr. Lemert 
 purchased and reorganized it, and it later be- 
 came the Bucyrus Steam Shovel and Dredge 
 Works. He organized and managed the Buck- 
 eye Wood Works. In 1889 he bought the 
 brick machinery plant, which resulted in the 
 organization of the Frey-Sheckler Company, 
 he arranged for its consolidation with the 
 Penfield & Son brick machinery plant at Wil- 
 loughby, and the American Clay Company was 
 the result. In his half century of industrial 
 development he has been interested in many 
 other companies. 
 
 On Aug. 2, i860, he married Miss Mary L. 
 
 Jones, only daughter of Dr. A. M. and Eliza- 
 beth Jones, Mrs. Jones being a daughter of 
 Samuel Norton, the founder of Bucyrus. By 
 this union there were two children, Katie E. 
 Lemert, and Mrs. Blanche L. Wise. 
 
 For the past ten years Col. Lemert has re- 
 tired from the active management of any of 
 the many industries he founded. He is at 
 present vice president of the First National 
 Bank. He has a cottage in Florida where 
 he spends his winters, and the summers he 
 passes in Bucyrus which is indebted to him for 
 more of its progress than any other of its citi- 
 zens. He has made several trips to Europe 
 and the continent, into Africa and Asia, leis- 
 urely visiting the out-of-the-way-places, and 
 last year made a tour around the world. 
 
 Notwithstanding a life of strenuous com- 
 mercial activity. Col. Lemert for more than 
 half a century has taken time to devote con- 
 siderable attention to politics in every cam- 
 paign. For years he was the head of the Re- 
 publican party in this county, later took charge 
 of the first campaign which sent Charles Fos- 
 ter to Congress from this district, and in 
 1879 managed the campaign which gave that 
 gentleman the nomination for Governor, after 
 the most brilliant fight that ever occurred in 
 Ohio politics, Mr. Foster winning the nomina- 
 tion by only 6j4 votes. In his later 
 years, while his more active party work has 
 ceased, his loyalty to the principles of his 
 party have become more intense. He has 
 never been an aspirant for political office. On 
 March 19, 1867, he was appointed postmaster 
 at Bucyrus, only serving until a postmaster 
 could be selected, and on July 19, 1867, he 
 retired in favor of the man recommended by 
 him. In 1884 he was delegate from this dis- 
 trict to the National Convention at Chicago, 
 casting his vote for James G. Blaine for the 
 Presidential nomination. He has been dele- 
 gate times innumerable to state and district 
 conventions. State Central Committeeman, 
 declined the office of Adjutant-General of the 
 state under Gov. Foster, and now that 191 2 
 has arrived, after 50 years of political con- 
 tests, in which he has fought a straight fight, 
 respecting his legitimate adversaries and being 
 respected by them, neither asking nor receiv- 
 ing quarter, he is still championing the cause 
 of true and regular Republicanism. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1181 
 
 GEORGE M. HOOVER,* who is identi- 
 fied with one of the great industries of Bu- 
 cyrus, O., being connected with the ordering 
 department of the American Clay Machinery 
 Company, was born in Delaware county, O., in 
 the city of Galena, in 1858, and is a son of 
 Isaac M. and Sylvia (Pond) Hoover. 
 
 Isaac M. Hoover was born in Pennsylvania 
 and his wife in Maryland, and their families 
 moved to Granville, O., where they met and 
 were married in 1836. When a young man 
 he learned the marble and stone cutting trade 
 but later he became a cooper and found the 
 cooperage business a profitable one while liv- 
 ing at Chillicothe and Galena. This was be- 
 fore the day of machine-made barrels and Mr. 
 Hoover was able to secure his raw material 
 from the forest and perform every operation 
 that turned it out a completed barrel or hogs- 
 head. He was a very deft worker in wood 
 and made a specialty of manufacturing meas- 
 ures of various capacity, all of his work bear- 
 ing the stamp of the honest craftsman. His 
 death occurred from an attack of heart fail- 
 ure, at Columbus, in 1885, when he was aged 
 74 years. His widow survived him for three 
 years, her death occurring at the Home of a 
 daughter, Mrs. J. J. Mazurie, at Urichsville, 
 O. Formerly they were identified with the 
 Baptist church but later became Presbyterians. 
 Three of their sons served as soldiers in the 
 Civil War. 
 
 George M. Hoover enjoyed excellent edu- 
 cational advantages, attending school at Ga- 
 lena; later at Scio College he pursued higher 
 branches and subsequently was graduated 
 from the Eastman Business College at Pough- 
 keepsie, N. Y. For some years he was inter- 
 ested in the hotel and restaurant business and 
 afterward engaged in raising high grade stock 
 at Bradford Junction, in Miami county, and 
 in partnership with Abner Jennings, at Ur- 
 bana, O. Mr. Hoover then conducted the Sea 
 Side Hotel at Delmar, Calif., for twelve years 
 and then returned eastward, purchasing a stock 
 farm near Terre Haute, Ind., which he man- 
 aged for five years. In 1893 he became agent 
 for the Pennsylvania Short Line Railroad, a 
 position he filled for eight years. This road 
 was built by the firm of Frost, Stearns & 
 Hoover (the junior partner being Mr. Hoov- 
 er's brother), as contractors, and when the 
 
 road was entirely completed, Gilbert C. Hoover 
 served as treasurer of the operating company 
 until his retirement from business in 1900, 
 his death following later. He was one of the 
 substantial and representative men of the city. 
 In July 1 90 1, George M. Hoover came to the 
 American Clay Machinery Company and since 
 then has been the efficient head of the order- 
 ing department. 
 
 Mr. Hoover was married to Miss Rachel A. 
 Grass, who was born and educated at Coving- 
 ton, O., and they have two sons : Harry G., 
 who is office manager of the Gulbranson Piano 
 Player Company, of Chicago, 111., and mar- 
 ried Celia Auck, of Bucyrus; and Herbert R. 
 B. Mr. Hoover and family belong to the Pres- 
 byterian church. In politics, with his sons, he 
 is a Republican. 
 
 FRANK R. GREEN,* who is manager 
 and part owner of an exceedingly valuable 
 property, consisting of 500 acres of finely im- 
 proved land, situated in Washington town- 
 ship. Morrow county, O., not far from Ga- 
 llon, is a member of one of the prominent 
 families of this section. He was born at Ga- 
 lion, O., the second in a family of four sons, 
 his parents being James Henry and Leonora 
 Hathaway (McClain) Green, and his grand- 
 parents, Aaron and Nancy (Berry) Green and 
 Dr. Marcus H. and Lucy (Reed) McClain. 
 
 Frank R. Green, with his brothers, Howard 
 A., Dahl and James H. Green, were educated 
 in the schools of Galion. The eldest brother, 
 Howard A., is a contracting decorator at 
 Galion. He married Grace Blosier and they 
 have two children, Grace Leonora and Frank. 
 His next younger brother, Dahl Green, is 
 secretary and directing manager of the Galion 
 Shoe Company, of Galion, O., doing business 
 on Main street, has been in the shoe business 
 for the past sixteen years. He married Bessie 
 Gates, of Fort Wayne, Ind., and they have 
 two children, C. Gates and Helen Louise. 
 James H. Green, the youngest brother, is a 
 director of The Galion Shoe Company, of 
 which he was one of the organizers. He mar- 
 ried Addie Crowley and they reside at Galion. 
 The father of the above family for many years 
 was president of the Citizens National Bank 
 of Galion, which he organized. His death oc- 
 curred Aug. 7, 1894. 
 
1182 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 After his school days were over, Frank R. 
 Green assisted his father in the bank for some 
 years and then went to Cleveland, where he 
 accepted a position as chief clerk in one of 
 the leading hotels and continued there for 
 twelve years. Failing health caused his physi- 
 cian to order an outdoor life and this led to 
 his assuming the management of the highly 
 improved farm of 500 acres, which is jointly 
 owned by himself and brothers, it having been 
 a family possession for a great many years. 
 Under Mr. Green's intelligent and judicious 
 management this property has been a source of 
 large revenue, and in devoting himself to its 
 development and improvement, Mr. Green has 
 regained his normal health. He considers 
 Gallon his home and is identified here with 
 many pleasant social organizations and is in- 
 terested in the public movements which are 
 bringing Galion prominently forward as a 
 most desirable city in which to carry on busi- 
 ness or in which to make a permanent home. 
 He is active in Masonry and, with his brother, 
 Dahl Green, belongs also to the Knights of 
 Pythias. All four brothers are stanch Repub- 
 licans. 
 
 CHARLES F. ETSINGER,* who con- 
 ducts a large and well arranged meat market 
 at Crestline, O., where he has been in the busi- 
 ness for the past 12 years, was born in this 
 city, Feb. 16, i860, and is a son of John and 
 Eba (Smith) Etsinger. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Etsinger were bom, 
 reared and married in Germany and three of 
 their children — ^Jacob, Adam and John — were 
 born prior to 1858, when the family came to 
 the United States and located at Crestline. 
 Both died here, the father when aged 73 years 
 and the mother at the age of 69 years. The 
 father became a strong supporter of the Dem- 
 ocratic party and he and his wife were mem- 
 bers of the German Reformed church. One 
 son, Charles F., was born after the family 
 came to America and he and John are the 
 only survivors, the latter being connected with 
 the Big Four Railroad at Indianapolis, Ind. 
 Both Adam and Jacob married in Ohio and 
 at death left families. 
 
 Charles F. Etsinger has spent his life as a 
 resident of Crestline and received a good, pub- 
 lic school education. When 19 years of age he 
 
 became a fireman for the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 way and continued for three years, when he en- 
 tered the meat market of Fred Fidler, where 
 he learned his trade and then went into busi- 
 ness for himself after working as a butcher 
 for 14 years. He is thus a fine judge of meat 
 and a practical man in every detail of the busi- 
 ness. He does a large business at his present 
 location. No. 207 East street, which property 
 he owns. 
 
 Mr. Etsinger was rnarried at Galion, O., to 
 Miss Katie Cook, who was born in Crawford 
 county in 1869, a daughter of William Cook. 
 The father of Mrs. Etsinger was born in Ger- 
 many and in young manhood came to Craw- 
 ford county and purchased land in Jackson 
 township on which he resided for many years 
 and then rnoved to Richland county, where 
 both he and wife died. They were members 
 of the German Lutheran church. To Mr. and 
 Mrs. Cook three children were born: Adam, 
 who is a resident of Canton, O. ; Mrs. Etsing- 
 er; and Maude, who is the wife of William 
 Krichbaum, of Crestline. Mr. and Mrs. Et- 
 singer have one daughter. Bertha, who was 
 born April 19, 1893, and resides with her par- 
 ents. The family belongs to the German Luth- 
 eran church. Like his father, Mr. Etsinger 
 has been identified with the Democratic party 
 and formerly served as a member of the city 
 council. He is a member of the Brotherhood 
 of Locomotive Firemen. 
 
 WILLIS H. BRAUSE, a prominent citi- 
 zen of Crawford county, O., and one of the 
 substantial men of Lykens township, of which 
 he is a trustee and is serving in his second 
 term, was born in this township, March 13, 
 1 86 1, and is a son of Rudolph and Catherine 
 (Klink) Brause. 
 
 Rudolph Brause was born in Saxony, Ger- 
 many, and was brought to the United States 
 when six years of age. In 1830 he came to 
 Crawford county, O., and spent the remain- 
 der of his life in Lykens township, becoming 
 a prosperous farmer. He frequently related 
 how, in his youth, he would accompany his 
 mother when she walked from two miles 
 south of Lykens village to Bucyrus, carrying 
 her butter and eggs, and receiving three cents 
 a pound for her butter and four cents a dozen 
 for eggs. Game was still plentiful and there 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1183 
 
 were many wild turkeys. He learned many 
 wood-craft expedients and possessed a certain 
 bone secured from a raccoon and fashioned 
 into a whistle, with which he attracted the 
 early flying turkeys and frequently he would 
 shoot several turkeys before breakfast. He 
 was known far and wide as a successful hunter. 
 
 Rudolph Brause married Catherine Klink, 
 whose parents came from Wertemberg, Ger- 
 many, to the United States when she was six 
 years old, and in 1828 they came to Liberty 
 township, Crawford county. A few words 
 suffice to tell that one of the early settlers 
 entered land, but in almost every case, at that 
 time, the entering was accomplished through 
 considerable hardship. Mr. Brause has heard 
 his Grandfather Klink tell of some of his ex- 
 periences. When ready to enter land he found 
 there was no Government station at Bucyrus 
 and that entailed a long trip to Tiffin and as 
 he had no means of conveyance, he walked 
 the whole distance from Ridgton to that city. 
 He had carefully carried his purchase money, 
 $96, with him but when he reached the land 
 office he was confronted with the statement 
 that he had four dollars too little, the sum 
 of $100 being needed for the purchase of 
 eighty acres, the smallest tract on sale. For- 
 tunately he was carrying two watches and by 
 pawning these he secured the required capital 
 and received his deed for eighty acres of land. 
 This left him, however, with no means with 
 which to purchase food for the long journey 
 back home, but, feeling that the sooner he 
 reached there the better, he set out over the 
 uncleared country, following Indian trails, as 
 there were no roads, until, finally, worn out, 
 he rested on a log and gave way to tears. In 
 some mysterious way, after again resuming 
 his homeward journey, he was led into a path 
 where some former traveler had lost a twenty- 
 five cent piece. This was a fortune to Mr. 
 Klink and at the first log cabin he came to 
 he spent it, one-half for potatoes and the other 
 half for pancakes. 
 
 To Rudolph Brause and wife the following 
 children were born : Caroline, who died when 
 aged twenty-one years; George A.; John; 
 Fidelia, who is deceased, was the wife of Jacob 
 Zeigler; Willis H. ; and Emma, who died when 
 aged four years. The parents were members 
 of the Lutheran church. 
 
 66 
 
 Willis H. Brause attended the district 
 schools during a part of each year until he 
 was twenty years old and was his father's 
 main helper three years longer. He then 
 rented land for eight years, after which he 
 bought 160 acres, which he subsequently sold. 
 In 1895 he bought his present farm of 470 
 acres. He carries on general farming and 
 deals extensively in Shorthorn cattle, Per- 
 cheron horses and Delaine sheep, having some 
 500 head of sheep annually. He owns three 
 registered Percherons — ^Hindu, Lyman and 
 Idoic — their total value being estimated at 
 $4,000. Additionally he has a farm of forty 
 acres situated in Seneca county. 
 
 In December, 1884, Mr. Brause was married 
 to Miss Mary Susannah Zeigler, who was born 
 in Seneca county, a daughter of Henry and 
 Louisa (Keller) Zeigler, natives of Germany. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Zeigler had a family of eight 
 children, namely : Jacob, Henry, John, Mary 
 S., George, Christian, Adam and Emma. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Brause seven children have been 
 born, as follows : Earl George, Lloyd, Wil- 
 liam, Virgil, Emma, Ida and Raymond. Mr. 
 Brause and family attend the Reformed 
 church. In politics Mr. Brause is a Democrat. 
 He has many business interests but is a con- 
 scientious citizen and tries to do his part in 
 public position when called upon. In him 
 Lykens township has a reliable and honest 
 official and he has brought business methods 
 to the board of trustees which have been of 
 value in the considerations of that public body. 
 
 WILLIAM A. LEONHART,* one of the 
 leading citizens of Chatfield township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., president of the board of 
 Education and owner of 100 acres of valuable 
 land situated in section 10, situated two and 
 one-half miles west and one-half mile north 
 of New Washington, was born in this town- 
 ship, Oct. II, 1866, on a farm adjoining his 
 present one. He is a son of John and a grand- 
 son of George and Margaret (Zabst) Leon- 
 hart. 
 
 George Leonhart and wife were both born in 
 Germany and soon after marriage came to the 
 United States and for the first four years 
 lived in Stark county, O., and then moved 
 into Chatfield township, Crawford county, 
 where he purchased a tract of wild land which 
 
1184 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 he cleared and improved. Six children were 
 born to George and Margaret Leonhart : John ; 
 Elizabeth, wife of Adam Reichart, of Chat- 
 field township; George, residing in Kansas; 
 Catherine, wife of Conrad Hamer, both de- 
 ceased ; Adam, of Bucyrus, O. ; and Gustave 
 A., of Chatfield township. George Leonhart 
 resided on his Chatfield township farm until 
 his death, at the age of 76 years and was sur- 
 vived by his wife who lived to be 86 years 
 old. Their burial was in the Lutheran cem- 
 etery at New Washington. 
 
 John Leonhart grew up on the home farm 
 and taught school for some time before mar- 
 riage and afterward settled on 40 acres of 
 land in Chatfield township, which he rented 
 from his father, subsequently acquiring the 
 home farm and adding to his possessions un- 
 til at the time of death, when aged ^2 years, 
 he owned 380 acres, all in one body, situated 
 in Chatfield township. He was a leading man 
 in the Lutheran church and prominent also 
 in public matters in the township, serving sev- 
 eral terms as township trustee and in other 
 capacities. All his land remains in the family 
 and all of it has been cleared by the Leonharts. 
 He married Elizabeth Ackerman, a daughter 
 of David and Catherine Ackerman, and the 
 following children were born to them : Cath- 
 erine, who married Lewis Carrick and moved 
 to Kansas and has five children — Lloyd, Wal- 
 ter, Ross, Mabel and Goldie; Jefferson; G. 
 W., who married Anna E. Gaugluff and has 
 two children — E. L. and Maud A. ; F. E., who 
 married Emma Marquart, and has two chil- 
 dren — Minnie and Clarence ; W. A. ; Matilda, 
 who is the wife of C. W. Foster, of Mansfield, 
 and has four children — ^Ethel, Ray, Helen and 
 Harry; Caroline, who married George Mar- 
 quart of Cranberry township; G. A., who mar- 
 ried Minnie Shade and has two children — 
 Charles and Anna; and Emma, who is the 
 wife of W. A. Gaughufif, of Chatfield town- 
 ship. The mother of this family died at the 
 age of 73 years and her burial was in the 
 Lutheran cemetery at New Washington. 
 
 William A. Leonhart attended the public 
 schools in Chatfield township and three years 
 in the New Washington schools, and after- 
 ward taught school for seven terms in Chat- 
 field township. He decided then to turn his 
 entire attention to agricultural pursuits and 
 
 began for himself on his present farm, where, 
 as time has passed he has made numerous im- 
 provements which include the erection of sub- 
 stantial buildings of modern construction. 
 He carries on general farming and has all his 
 land under cultivation with the exception of 
 eighteen acres of woodland. 
 
 Mr. Leonhart married Miss Catherine 
 Schafifer, who is a daughter of Valentine 
 Schaffer, a farmer in Chatfield township. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Leonhart have two children: Mar- 
 yin W. and Alma E. In politics Mr. Leon- 
 hart has always been a stanch Democrat but 
 the only public office he has ever accepted has 
 been membership on the school board of which 
 body he is the very efficient president. With 
 his family he belongs to the Lutheran church 
 at New Washington, O. 
 
 JAMES A. CASEY,* assistant cashier of 
 the First National Bank of Gallon, O., was 
 born in this city Feb. 3, 1882. His parents 
 were James and Clara (Shumaker) Casey, the 
 former of whom was bom in Crawford coun- 
 ty, 0., and the latter in Fairfield county, O. 
 They were married in Gallon. James Casey 
 was a railroad engineer on the Big Four Rail- 
 road for 42 years. He served in the Civil 
 War as a non-commissioned officer in Com- 
 pany K, 8ist O. Vol. Inf., and escaped the 
 more deadly perils of war, but was once cap- 
 tured, later, however, making his escape. He 
 was with Sherman on his march to the sea 
 and on the close of the war took part in the 
 Grand Review at Washington, D. C He sub- 
 sequently resumed his occupation as railroad 
 engineer. He died in Gabon at the age of 
 69 years, June 27, 1908. He was a Republican 
 in politics and belonged to Dick Morris Post, 
 No. 130, G. A. R. His wife died here July 
 27, 1911. She came to Gallon as a child with 
 her parents, Joseph and Susan (Felton) Shu- 
 maker, who later died here when quite ad- 
 vanced in years. They were farmers by oc- 
 cupation. Mrs. James Casey was 52 years 
 old at the time of her death. They were the 
 parents of five children, all of whom are now 
 living. They are as follows : Forest, who is 
 a member of the firm of Rush & Casey, is 
 married and has children. Susan A. was edu- 
 cated in the Gallon schools and is residing at 
 home. James is the subject of this sketch and 
 
EDELBERT A. BRYAN 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1187 
 
 will be further mentioned herein. Mary is 
 the wife of John C. Wigg and they reside at 
 Morgan Park, 111., where Mr. Wigg has been 
 commandant of the Morgan Park Military 
 Academy for some four years. They have 
 two children — ^James and Robert. Lloyd At- 
 well, who was educated in the Gallon schools, 
 is now in the employ of the Eastern Ohio Gas 
 Company, in the clerical department. He is 
 unmarried. 
 
 James E. Casey was graduated from the 
 Gallon high school in the class of 1900. He 
 then obtained a position as clerk in the hard- 
 ware store of Resch & Casey. In 1902 he en- 
 tered the First National Bank as teller, becom- 
 ing assistant cashier in January, 191 1, in which 
 capacity he has proved himself a capable 
 man. He is also secretary and treasurer of 
 the McCoy-Raviland Company, confectionary 
 manufacturers, having been one of the or- 
 ganizers of this company. He is a Blue Lodge 
 Mason and belongs also to the Knights of 
 Pythias and the Elks, having been secretary 
 of the last mentioned lodge since its organiza- 
 tion. He is unmarried. 
 
 EDELBERT A. BRYAN, one of the rep- 
 resentative business men of Gallon, O., who 
 is proprietor, with his wife, of the Bryan Coal 
 Company of this city, with quarters on the 
 Big Four Railroads and South Market street, 
 was born in Polk, Ashland county, O., June 21, 
 1850 and belongs to one of the old and solid 
 families of this state. The record of the 
 Bryan family is as follows : 
 
 "John Bryan was born Oct. 18, 1777, noth- 
 ing being known of his parents, except that 
 they were probably of English stock and that 
 they came from West Virginia to Ohio. John 
 Bryan was married on Sept. 22, 1801, to Ra- 
 chel Younger Mackrill, who was born Aug 
 17, 1 781, where, not known. She was a 
 daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Younger) 
 Mackrill, who were married Feb. 16, 1754. 
 He was born Feb. 16, 1730, and she was born 
 Jan. 12, 1737. Their children were: Ruth, 
 born near Lancaster, O., Sept. 12, 1802; 
 Shadrach, born Sept. 14, 1804; John S., born 
 April 19, 1809; Silas A., born May 28, 1812; 
 Caleb, born June 25, 18 14; and Calvin, who 
 was born July 28, 18 17, in Mohican township, 
 Ashland county, the parents having removed 
 
 from Fairfield county to Ashland county in 
 181 5. They remained in Mohican township 
 until 1824 and then moved to Jackson town- 
 ship, settling on a tract of land on which the 
 village of Polk is built. They cleared up 
 enough of the land to do considerable farming, 
 but much work had to be done before the 
 ground was in condition to raise crops. The 
 father and mother were members of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church and were devoted to 
 its interests, their home being always open to 
 traveling preachers of that faith who came 
 into the neighborhood. The only daughter, 
 Ruth, married William Millington but they 
 had no children. They lived until Mr. Mill- 
 ington's death, at Ashland, O., where he was 
 engaged in the drug business. She remained 
 a widow and for some years previous to her 
 death, lived with relatives at Polk, O. 
 
 "Shadrach Bryan, father of Edelbert A. 
 Bryan, was reared on the home farm and his 
 early life was not one of ease, but a life of 
 many hardships and constant toil. His school 
 privileges were very limited, one term of 
 school being all he was permitted to attend, 
 during which he managed to complete Green's 
 Arithmetic and to secure enough learning, with 
 what he had acquired at home and what he 
 gained afterward, to teach several terms of 
 school. Of course the demands made on a 
 teacher in those days are not to be compared 
 to the present, but, if he had had the educa- 
 tional advantages of the present, he would 
 have been an intellectual giant. His especial 
 delight was mathematics, and at the age of 80 
 years he was more proficient in this branch 
 than any of his children, although some of 
 them had taught school. He had an analytical 
 mind and loved to debate, and for several 
 years was a member of the literary societies 
 of the neighborhood. In appearance he was 
 a well built man, measured six feet and one 
 inch in height and weighed about 220 pounds. 
 His muscles were well developed and he was 
 strong and active, had a well formed head and 
 a good-looking face. 
 
 On June 9, 1829, Shadrach Bryan married 
 Persis Goff. They were both Christians and 
 when they began housekeeping they established 
 the family altar the first day and kept it up as 
 long as they lived. They were membei's of 
 the Methodist Episcopal church and their home 
 
1188 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 was headquarters for the circuit preachers who 
 came to hold meetings. Shadrach was one of 
 the leading men in the. local church and for a 
 good many years held a local preacher's license 
 and also served as recording steward of the 
 Circuit for several years. In politics he was 
 a Republican and during the fifties and sixties, 
 during the fierce anti-slavery agitation, was the 
 leading Republican in his township. His party 
 being in the minority, was held in contempt by 
 the Democrats. He was fearless and outspoken 
 in the cause of abolition and was often bit- 
 terly reproached for his attitude. His last vote 
 was cast with the Prohibition party, in 1886." 
 
 Shadrach moved from Polk to Gallon in 
 1871, where he died in 1877 at the age of 
 eighty-two. Persis, wife of Shadrach, died 
 in 1877. 
 
 The children born to Shadrach Bryan and 
 wife, were the following: Rachel, March 29, 
 1830, who died without issue in 1900, was the 
 widow of Dr. Campbell who for several years 
 was a prominent physician of Gallon; Myra, 
 born December 10, 1831, was a school teacher 
 for many years, married Samuel Elliott of 
 Edinburg, Portage county, a railroad contrac- 
 tor, and later a farmer. He died in 1889. Mrs. 
 Elliott moved to Gallon in the same year and 
 died there in 1907, without children. For sev- 
 eral years Mrs. Elliott was a member of the 
 Bryan Coal Company. Abner G., born De- 
 cember 15, 1835, who died without decend- 
 ants, in 1902, was a member of McKinley's 
 Regimental band for three years during the 
 Civil war, after which he entered the service 
 of the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad as 
 fireman, and in due time was promoted to the 
 position of engineer, which he held for eigh- 
 teen years. In 1879 he left the road and 
 formed a partnership with his brother, E. A. 
 Bryan and went into the coal and builders' 
 supply business. Abner G. was a resident of 
 Gallon for thirty-seven years, most of which he 
 was an active member of the Methodist Epis- 
 copal church. Martha, who is the wife of Al- 
 vin Beymer, of Warren county, Iowa, was 
 born May 5, 1838, they have three living chil- 
 dren, two being now deceased. Charles H., 
 born March 20, 1840, who served in the Civil 
 war, was connected a good many years with 
 the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad, and 
 was for several years a member of the Bryan 
 
 Coal Company, but is now retired; has lived 
 in Gallon for about forty years. Irena and 
 Benson, both died young. Sarah A., born 
 June 26, 1854, is the wife of William Sloane 
 of Gallon; they have been residents for about 
 forty years. They have three sons, Ralph C, 
 Supervisor of Music in the public schools of 
 Sullivan, Indiana; Hugh L., telegraph opera- 
 tor for the Big Four Railroad at Gallon; Clin- 
 ton B., employed by the American Express 
 Company at Gallon. 
 
 On the maternal side of the family record 
 ' has been gathered as follows : 
 
 "Abner Goff, the maternal grandfather of 
 Mr. Bryan of this record, was born November 
 4, 1782, in Rutland county, Vt, a son of Dan- 
 iel and Elizabeth Goff, Scotch people. On 
 June 4, 1800 he married Patty Hudson. In 
 1813, with his family and his brother, Christo- 
 pher and his family, they left Vermont in cov- 
 ered wagons, for Ohio and in their journey 
 to Licking county they passed through Wheel- 
 ing, Pittsburgh and Zanesville. The brothers 
 purchased, each, 100 acres of forest land near 
 what is now the village of St. Louisville, of 
 William Stanberry, also a native of Vermont, . 
 who owned a strip of land about fifteen miles 
 long between Newark and Utica. Abner Goff 
 was an itinerant preacher of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church and in his early ministry 
 traveled a six weeks circuit which covered sev- 
 eral counties, his children in the meanwhile, 
 clearing and cultivating the land. He lived to 
 be seventy-five years old, and during his long 
 life of useful self-sacrifice, accomplished a 
 great amount of good. His wife, Patty Hud- 
 son, was an admirable woman in every way. 
 She was born at Boston, Mass., November 9, 
 1782, and had two brothers and one sister, one 
 of the former serving as a captain and the other 
 as a lieutenant in General Washington's army. 
 After the close of the Revolutionary War they 
 settled in North Carolina. Mrs. Goff often told 
 her children of seeing both General Washing- 
 ton and General LaFayette. After the death 
 of her husband she lived with her daughters, 
 her death occurring at St. Louisville, O., 
 November 9, 1871. in her ninetieth year. For 
 sixty years she was a faithful member of the 
 Methodist Episcopal church." 
 
 Edelbert A. Bryan was educated in the pub- 
 lic schools of Ashland county. In 1870 he 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1189 
 
 came to Galion and for nine years was con- 
 nected with the Atlantic & Great Western, now 
 the Erie Railroad Company. He began as 
 fireman, was promoted engineer after a few 
 years, which position he held until he left the 
 road. 
 
 In Edinburg, Portage county, O., August 8, 
 1872, Mr. Bryan was married to Miss Ada E. 
 Hudson, a daughter of John and Emma (El- 
 liott) Hudson. Mrs. Bryan lost her father 
 when she was thirteen years old, and her 
 mother died in 1905. She has two living sis- 
 ters: Mrs. Portz of Loudonville, Ashland 
 county, O., and Mrs. (Rev. Stowell) Bryant 
 of Windham, Portage county. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Bryan have one daughter, Grace E., who was 
 born July 30, 1873, and was graduated from 
 the public schools, and after her graduation 
 taught in the same schools until her marriage. 
 She is the wife of Reuben O. Morgan of Gal- 
 ion, who is superintendent of the Crawford 
 County Gas and Electric Company, which 
 operates the electric light plant at Crestline. 
 They have one daughter, Eleanor Persis, who 
 was bom March 6, 1902. Mr. Morgan's fam- 
 ily are members of the Presbyterian church of 
 Galion. Mrs. Bryan is a member of the Pres- 
 byterian church, also, while Mr. Bryan is a 
 member of the Free Methodists and for sev- 
 eral years did considerable evangelistic and 
 pastoral work. For the past twenty years he 
 has been chairman of the Prohibition County 
 Committee of Crawford county. 
 
 Mr. Bryan is a great enemy to the liquor 
 traffic; he does not give any quarter nor ask 
 for any. He has demonstrated to the public 
 that a business man does not have to compro- 
 mise principle to make a success in business. 
 Not only this, but he is rigid in his manner of 
 keeping the Sabbath ; all business is laid aside, 
 with all work not actually necessary until the 
 Sabbath is past, and he believes he is better off 
 in every way for his attitude in this. 
 
 JACOB KNAPP,* deceased, for many 
 years was a successful farmer and highly re- 
 spected citizen of Vernon township, Crawford 
 county, O., and he was born in Vernon town- 
 ship, Oct. 13, 1841, and died June 4, 1901, 
 on the same farm. He "was a son of George 
 W. Knapp. 
 
 The parents of Jacob Knapp were natives 
 
 of Wurtemberg, Germany, where George W. 
 Knapp was born in 1797. There he was 
 reared and after a certain period of schooling, 
 learned the tailor's trade, and when he reached 
 manhood married in his neighborhood and 
 settled down to domestic life. After the birth 
 of four children, George, Christine, William 
 and Emanuel, he and wife discussed the mat- 
 ter of finding a more lucrative way of gain- 
 ing a sufficient income to take care of the 
 increasing family, and finally decided that 
 emigration to the United States would be the 
 wisest move, opportunity perhaps awaiting 
 them there to secure land and thus bring their 
 children up as farmers. This was the dream 
 of many devoted fathers and mothers about 
 that time, when thousands of acres of land in 
 Ohio and other states could be secured for a 
 small amount of capital and under the indus- 
 trious and thrifty working of Germans, have 
 been developed into richest agricultural sec- 
 tions of any land. It was in the thirties that 
 George W. Knapp and family reached Craw- 
 ford county, O., and from the Government 
 secured a tract of virgin land in Vernon town- 
 ship. He was no trained farmer but he was 
 very ambitious and industrious, and as he was 
 an excellent tailor soon built up a large line 
 of customers, reaching even as far as San- 
 dusky and Mansfield. According to the cus- 
 tom of the day he traveled to his customers 
 instead of their coming to him but made it 
 profitable and was able to take excellent care 
 of his family while his boys were growing 
 up, built a comfortable log house and little by 
 little cleared, cultivated and improved his farm. 
 There his death occurred in 1879, he having 
 survived his wife for 20 years. They were 
 members of the German Lutheran church. 
 After reaching America three more children 
 were born to them, Jacob, Fred and Mary, the 
 whole family now being deceased except 
 Emanuel, who resides in Henry county, O., 
 where he married and has a family. 
 
 Jacob Knapp was reared on the home farm 
 and had comparatively few educational op- 
 portunities. After he married he purchased 
 the homestead, to which he added 70 acres, 
 erected new dwelling and barns and spent 
 time and money in making improvements. His 
 widow owns the old farm of no acres. He 
 was one of the leading members of the Luth- 
 
1190 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 eran church in Vernon township and was an 
 upright. Christian man. 
 
 Jacob Knapp married Miss Elizabeth 
 Weaver, who was born in Vernon township, 
 Crawford county, Aug. 21, 1848. She contin- 
 ued to live in her native township until she 
 came to Crestline, where she built her hand- 
 some residence which she occupies, at Xo. 215 
 William street. Her parents were John and 
 Elizabeth (Derr) Weaver, who were natives of 
 Hesse Darmstadt, Germany. In his native 
 land, John Weaver married in early manhood 
 a German lady who left four children at death. 
 His second marriage was to Elizabeth Derr 
 and in 1843 the family came to America, sub- 
 sequently settling in Vernon township, Craw- 
 ford county, 0., securing wild land and living 
 at first as pioneers. They died in Vernon 
 township, in advanced age, well known and 
 much respected people, German Lutherans in 
 their religious faith. Two children were born 
 to Mr. Knapp's second marriage before the. 
 family left Germany, and two more after 
 reaching Crawford county. The surviving 
 children are one daughter of the first and two 
 of the second marriage and all have families. 
 To Jacob Knapp and wife four children were 
 born, namely: Anna M., who is the wife of 
 Bradley Fletcher, who is proprietor of a hotel 
 at Atlantic City, N. J., and at St. Augustine, 
 Fla. ; Samuel, a dry goods merchant at Crest- 
 line, who married Emma Freed and has three 
 children — -Lucile, Stanley and Bedford; John 
 G., a resident of Toledo, O., who married 
 Maria Sacridge; Cora N. C, who is the wife 
 of Alvin Farber, a clothing merchant at Crest- 
 line, who make their home with her mother, 
 Mrs. Knapp. They have one son, Alvin Mon- 
 roe, who was bom July 19, 191 1. Mrs. Knapp 
 and family are members of the German Luth- 
 eran church. 
 
 WILLIAM BURGBACHER, who for 
 29 years has been a member of the board of 
 education of Chatfield township, Crawford 
 county, 0., and one of the well known men 
 of the county, was born in Chatfield township, 
 one mile north of his present farm, Sept. 9, 
 1856, a son of John and Susan (Koenig) 
 Burgbacher. 
 
 John Burgbacher was bom in Wurtemberg, 
 Germany, June 23, 1824, a son of Johannes 
 
 and Rosina (Bippus) Burgbacher. In June, 
 1835, Johannes Burgbacher with wife and 
 children set sail for America and were safely 
 landed in the United States after 62 days on 
 the ocean, making harbor at New York. From 
 there they proceeded by river, canal and lake 
 to Sandusky and from there by team to Craw- 
 ford county. By trade he was a wagonmaker 
 but after reaching Ohio devoted his attention 
 mainly to farming. He bought 80 acres of 
 partly cleared land on which stood a log cabin. 
 The country was yet so wild that deer came 
 •from the heavy timber and fed with the cows 
 at the hay rack. The grandfather of Mr. 
 Burgbacher died in 1842, when aged 67 years 
 and was survived by the grandmother until 
 1850. They were parents of five children. 
 
 When he assumed the management of the 
 home farm, John Burgbacher was 18 years of 
 age but, notwithstanding his youth, carried on 
 the farm development with success. He be- 
 came a very prominent man in this section, in 
 1862 being elected a county commissioner and 
 served three terms of three years each. In 
 1853 he was a justice of the peace and a trus- 
 tee of the township, also a school director for 
 some forty years. He was a liberal member 
 of the Lutheran church. On July 3, 1849, 
 he married Susan M. Koenig, who was bom 
 in Germany, a daughter of William and Maria 
 L. (Fay) Koenig and the following children 
 were bom to them : Otto P., Mary, John, Wil- 
 liam, Rosa, Henry, Jacob, Elizabeth and Her- 
 man. John Burgbacher died March 28, 1909, 
 aged 84 years, nine months and four days; 
 Susan M. (Koenig) Burgbacher died March 
 24, 1905, aged 75 years, three months and 24 
 days. 
 
 William Burgbacher was reared and secured 
 his schooling in Chatfield township. After- 
 ward he was engaged for eight years in the 
 saw mill business in Defiance county and also 
 spent six months in Illinois and then returned 
 to Chatfield township, Aug. 5, 1880, marrying 
 Miss Helen GoUer in Defiance county. After- 
 ward he settled on his farm of 120 acres in 
 section 7, Chatfield township, one mile west 
 and one-half mile north of Chatfield, and all 
 his children were born on this farm. He has 
 made many improvements here and has a mod- 
 em residence and substantial bam and other 
 buildings and has all his land with the excep- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1191 
 
 tion of 15 acres, well tiled and under a high 
 state of cultivation. Mr. Burgbacher grows 
 some of the finest fruit in the county and has 
 a herd of valuable Polled Angus cattle. 
 
 The first wife of Mr. Burgbacher died June 
 14, 1904 and her burial was in the Windfall 
 Lutheran Cemetery. She was the mother of 
 seven children, namely : Frank I. and William 
 Earl, twins, the former of whom is bookkeeper 
 for the T. O. C. Railway Company, at Ken- 
 ton, O., the latter being deceased; Rosa B. 
 Schwarzbek, who is deceased; Emma E., who 
 is Mrs. Willson, residing at Bloomville, O. ; 
 Charles H., senior partner of the firm of Burg- 
 bacher & Willson, proprietors of the City 
 Meat Market, at Bloomville, O., and Fred G. 
 and Lorena H. On May 20, 1908, Mr. Burg- 
 bacher was married (second) to Mrs. Caroline 
 (Straley) Kauffman, widow of William 
 Kauffman. Mr. and Mrs. Burgbacher are 
 members of the German Lutheran church. He 
 has held many public offices — constable, town- 
 ship trustee, and was elected justice of the 
 peace but declined to serve. On three occa- 
 sions he has been sent as a delegate to state 
 conventions and has served on many important 
 committees in the councils of the Democratic 
 party. 
 
 WILLIAM McCarthy,* one of the old, 
 tried and trusted employes of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad Company at Crestline, O., entered 
 the service in April, 1869 and has been con- 
 tinuously connected with it with the exception 
 of one year, which he spent attending the 
 Crestline High School. He was born at 
 Derry, Ireland, April 15, 1849, and is a son 
 of John and Ellen (Burns) McCarthy. 
 
 John McCarthy, the father, was born in 
 Ireland and was twice married in his own 
 land. Three children were born to his first 
 union: Ellen, Dennis and Jeremiah. Three 
 of the children of his second marriage are liv- 
 ing, namely: William; Deborah, who is the 
 widow of John Marooney, resides on East 
 Scott street, Crestline and has three children; 
 and Elizabeth, who is a resident of Chicago, 
 111. In 1847 John McCarthy and family took 
 passage on a sailing vessel which safely landed 
 them in the port of New York eleven weeks 
 later, and from there they came to Freedom, 
 O., where Mr. McCarthy settled for some 
 
 years and followed railroad construction, 
 moving then to Lucas county and in 1851 to 
 Crestline. Here he assisted in the building 
 of the Pennsylvania Railroad as a small con- 
 tractor. His subsequent life was spent here, 
 where his death occurred at the age of 83 
 years, his wife surviving a few years longer. 
 They were members of the Roman Catholic 
 church and faithful in all religious observ- 
 ances. 
 
 William McCarthy obtained his education 
 in the parochial and later the Crestline High 
 School and early decided on a railroad career. 
 In April, 1869 he was made a fireman and 
 continued as such until February, 1873, when 
 he went into a shop preparatory to taking 
 charge of an engine, and on May 15, 1873, 
 took out his first engine as an engineer, mak- 
 ing the run on the Alliance Division known as 
 Division B, the beginning of a long and sat- 
 isfactory term of service in this line of work. 
 Since 1892 he has been detailed over the whole 
 division, at times running from Pittsburg to 
 Chicago. Until 1889 his services were con- 
 fined to the freight department, but since then 
 he has engineered passenger trains. 
 
 Mr. McCarthy was married at Crestline to 
 Miss Rosanna Finnegan, who was born, 
 reared and educated in this city, a daughter 
 of James and Ann (O'Neil) Finnegan. They 
 came from Ireland to the United States early 
 in the fifties, with four children, locating at 
 Crestline and here Mr. Finnegan became con- 
 nected with the construction department of 
 the Pennsylvania Railroad. Both he and wife 
 died in this city well advanced in years, and 
 faithful members of the Roman Catholic 
 church. They had eight children, Mrs. Mc- 
 Carthy being the first one born after coming 
 to America. One sister, Maggie, is the widow 
 of Jerry Wallace and lives at Columbia City, 
 Ind. ; another sister, Bridget, is the wife of 
 W. K. Moore, of Carnegie, Pa. ; and the third 
 sister, Jennie W. married David A. Clark and 
 they live at Cincinnati and have one daughter. 
 
 Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 McCarthy: Anna, who died young; Maude, 
 who is the wife of W. S. Zink, of Chicago, 
 and has one daughter, Rose Mary; and Wil- 
 liam Francis, who is a machinist with the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad Company and lives at 
 home. Mr. McCarthy and family all belong 
 
1192 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 to St. Joseph's Catholic Church. He and son 
 are nominally Democrats but are quite in- 
 dependent in their political views. 
 
 PETER F. HERR,* for many years a well 
 known and highly respected citizen of Galion, 
 O., and a veteran of the Civil War, was born 
 at Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1846, and died at his 
 home in Galion, in 1897. His parents were 
 Henry and Elizabeth (Snyder) Herr, and the 
 family came to this city when Peter F. was 
 a young man. They were members of the 
 Reformed church. 
 
 Peter F. Herr learned the carpenter's trade 
 after his school days were over, partly under 
 the instruction of his father, who was a skilled 
 mechanic, and during the greater part of his 
 life he followed this trade, in his later years 
 becoming a contractor. W hen the Civil W ar 
 broke out he immediately left home and en- 
 listed but as he was still under age his parents 
 requested that he return home. He remained 
 with his father until he reached his majority 
 and then enlisted a second time, from Galion, 
 and served faithfully until the close of the 
 war, being continuously with his regiment 
 with the exception of a period when he was 
 confined in a hospital, suffering from small- 
 pox. Mr. Herr was never very active in 
 politics but was a good citizen and lived up 
 to every public responsibility. He was a Dem- 
 ocrat in his political view. 
 
 Mr. Herr was married in Morrow county, 
 O., to iliss Margaret M. Shafer, \yho was 
 bom in that county April 2, 185 1, a daughter 
 of Conrad and Catherine (Snyder) Shafer. 
 The parents of ^Nlrs. Herr were bom in Ger- 
 many and came to America in 1833, landing 
 at Baltimore after 53 days on the Atlantic 
 Ocean. They were sturdy and resourceful 
 German people and the necessity of walking 
 the entire distance from Baltimore to Mans- 
 field, O., where they wished to locate, was not, 
 to them, an undertaking of unusual difficulty, 
 for they had beeti reared to labor and take 
 exercise and throughout the whole of their 
 long lives were examples of strength and 
 hardihood. In Marrow county Mr. Shafer 
 bought an improved farm and at the time of 
 death owned 210 acres of valuable land. In 
 1897 they came to Galion. Both passed away 
 at the home of Mrs. Herr, in 1899, Mrs. Sha- 
 
 fer dying Oct. 29, at the age of 85 years and 
 Air. Shafer surviving until Nov. 4, being then 
 in his 90th year. They had been reared in the 
 Reformed church but for many years had been 
 united with the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 They had four daughters and one son: Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Burkhart, who lives with her family 
 in iMarion county, O.; Caroline, who is the 
 wife of Abraham Burkhart, a retired farmer 
 residing on Jefferson street, Galion; Louisa, 
 who is the widow of Jacob Sifer, residing on 
 Gill avenue, Galion; Mrs. Herr; and John, 
 who resides with his wife and three children 
 in Morrow county. A son and daughter were 
 born to Mr. and Airs. Herr, the latter, Louisa, 
 dying immarried at the age of 32 years. John 
 H. Herr now resides on his farm in Morrow 
 county and is a contractor. He married Mercy 
 Swinfelt and they have one son, Edwin, who 
 is a bright student in the Galion schools. Mrs. 
 Herr owns some very valuable residence prop- 
 erty at Galion. She is a member of the Meth- 
 odist Episcopal church. 
 
 FREDERICK SOLZE, a general farmer in 
 Lykens township, Crawford county, C, where 
 his no acres of valuable land are located, 
 was bom in Lykens township, Jan. 20, 185 1, 
 and is a son of John Frederick and Frederica 
 (Fotenhaver) Solze. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Solze were natives of 
 Germany who came to America probably after 
 marriage and settled on a farm in Lykens 
 township, Crawford county, O., where both 
 died in advanced age. They rest side by side 
 in the Brokensword Cemetery. They were 
 estimable people and were members of the 
 Grerman Lutheran church. Frederick Solze is 
 the youngest of their family, the others being 
 as follows: Christian, who was killed in the 
 Civil War ; Ferdinand ; Louisa, wife of Henry 
 Bliim; Charles; Gotfried and Caleb (twins) 
 Adam and Tillie. 
 
 Since his school days ended, Frederick Solze 
 has been occupied with farm pursuits on the 
 old homestead, with the exception of two 
 years during which he was in the livery busi- 
 ness at Tiffin, O. He bought the interests of 
 the other heirs and in 1891 secured his title. 
 In addition to the homestead he owns a resid- 
 ence at Brokensword. In 1875 he was mar- 
 ried to Aliss Caroline Baldaser, who died 
 
FKAXK LEWES HOPLEY 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1195 
 
 March lo, 1912. She was a daughter of Con- 
 rad and Sophia (Menlen) Baldaser and had 
 two brothers, August and WilHam. 
 
 To Mr. and Mrs. Solze six children were 
 born: Louisa, who is the wife of Frank 
 Haller; Frederick; Charles F., who married 
 Clara Bower and has two children — Carl and 
 Alice; Lawrence; Hattie, who is the wife of 
 Harry Lahman and has one child, Helen ; and 
 Albert. Frederick, Lawrence and Albert died 
 of diphtheria in 1891. Mr. Solze and family- 
 attend the Protestant Methodist church. In 
 politics he is a Democrat but has never sought 
 public office. He is one of the township's most 
 reliable and respected citizens. 
 
 WILLIAM D. BAUER,* one of the repre- 
 sentative men of Chatfteld township, Crawford 
 county, O., whose well improved farm of 170 
 acres is situated in section 7, was bom in this 
 township, Feb. 26, 1868 and is a son of Peter 
 Adam and Catherine (Fike) Bauer. 
 
 Peter Adam Bauer was bom in Germany 
 and probably was about 18 years of age when 
 he came to the United States and in New York 
 learned the shoemaking trade. After coming 
 to Crawford county he followed his trade first 
 in Lykens township and afterward in Chat- 
 field township, in the latter also becoming a 
 farmer. He bought 180 acres, on the most 
 of which stumps were still standing, and after 
 clearing up engaged in farming until he re- 
 tired, after which he lived on a tract of 80 
 acres, adjoining on the east. He was a Dem- 
 ocrat in politics but had no desire for public 
 office. He died when aged 63 years, his 
 widow living to the age of ^2 years. They 
 were members of the German Lutheran church 
 and their burial was in the Windfall cemetery. 
 Five children were bom to them, namely: 
 Elizabeth, who is the wife of Frank Lutz, re- 
 siding in Chatfield township; Laura, now de- 
 ceased, who was the wife of Fred Leonhart; 
 Emma, who is the wife of Jacob F. Knecht, 
 living in Chatfield township ; William D. ; and 
 Louisa, who is the wife of Daniel Schimf, of 
 Chatfield township. 
 
 William D. Bauer attended school in Chat- 
 field township and assisted his father^ being 
 the only son, and has always lived on the 
 home farm which owes its fine improvements 
 to him. It is well drained and tiled and all the 
 
 buildings now standing have been placed here 
 by the present owner. General farming is 
 carried on and some high grade stock and cat- 
 tle are raised. 
 
 Mr. Bauer was married to Miss Malinda 
 Knieriemen, a daughter of John and Rosetta 
 (Koehler) Knieriemen, residents of New 
 Washington, and four children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Bauer; Edwin S., Clayson 
 E., Hilda M. and Carl. Mr. Bauer and family 
 are members of the German Lutheran church. 
 In politics he is a stanch Democrat and he has 
 served for five years on the school board and 
 for several years has been road superintendent. 
 
 FRANK LEWES HOPLEY was born in 
 Bucyrus Oct. 29, 1866, and has always made 
 Bucyrus his home. He is one of the "live 
 wires" of the town. He talks Bucyrus and 
 works for Bucyrus with an ease and efficiency 
 which have made him generally recognized as 
 the leading "booster" of the city. His educa- 
 tion was obtained at the Bucyrus public schools. 
 Of a naturally bright mind, and being early 
 introduced into the newspaper work because of 
 association with the papers of his father and 
 brother, he took much interest in, and gave 
 great thought to the matter of effective adver- 
 tising. His work for the Bucyrus Evening 
 Telegraph was so markedly clever and excel- 
 lent that Col. W. C. Lemert, head of the old 
 Frey-Sheckler Company, employed him to 
 take charge of the advertising end of that 
 manufacturing business. He continued with 
 the company when it became the American 
 Clay Machinery Company, and he has studied 
 and talked his line so persistently and with 
 such good effect that his friends say he is all 
 wrapped up in clay-working machinery and 
 clay products in general. He believes in brick 
 and originated a campaign of nation-wide 
 scope which stimulated brick for building. 
 He has great ability in other lines, and the 
 productions of his pen have made popular 
 many departments in his newspaper. In ad- 
 dition to his work as advertising manager of 
 the American Clay Machinery Company, he 
 was, in 191 1, elected secretary and manager of 
 the Clay Products Exposition at Chicago, 
 and was one of those responsible for the tre- 
 mendous success of that educational event. 
 Being the first thing of the kind ever held in 
 
1196 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 this country it naturally required much origi- 
 nality of thought and intelligent direction to 
 accomplish the success of the exposition which 
 was held in March, 1912, and many of its at- 
 tractive features were due to the efforts of Mr. 
 Hopley. He was elected secretary and mana- 
 ger of the Clay Products movement for their 
 second exposition to be given in February- 
 March, 1913. Mr. Hopley is secretary of the 
 Buc)Tus Industrial Association, a position in 
 which he has done much good for Bucyrus, and 
 in fact in some campaigns for Bucyrus better- 
 ment he has mastered important affairs almost 
 entirely alone. In early campaigns for more 
 lawns, more trees, better walks and improved 
 streets he gave direction to public thought to 
 an extent that shows results in the beauty of 
 the city of Bucyrus. It was through his in- 
 dividual initiative, persistent and intelligent 
 effort that the Marion-Bucyrus electric rail- 
 way was built and his energy and far-sighted 
 enthusiasm bids fair to bring to Bucyrus other 
 traction enterprises and other substantial ad- 
 vancements for the city. Mr. Hopley is un- 
 married. 
 
 GEORGE T. CARPENTER,* superintend- 
 end of the Burch Plow Works Co., at Crest- 
 line, O., has been identified with this import- 
 ant business concern, in one capacity or an- 
 other, since 1891. He was born near Crest- 
 line, but in Richland county, O., June 28, 1866, 
 and was only two years old when his parents, 
 Jeremiah J. and Lydia (Fox) Carpenter, 
 came to Crestline, the family moving on a 
 farm in Jefferson township, two years later. 
 
 Jeremiah J. Carpenter was bom also in 
 Richland county, 72 years ago, and for 23 
 years has been in the woodwork department 
 of the Burch Plow Works, being a skilled 
 mechanic. He married Lydia Fox, who was 
 born in 1839 and died in August, 1897. She 
 was a member of the Presbyterian church, as 
 is her husband. To them three sons and five 
 daughters were born, as follows: Edwin B., 
 who is employed in the Burch shops ; George 
 T;'; and three daughters yet surviving, of 
 whom we have no record, the others being de- 
 ceased. 
 
 George T. Carpenter attended school and 
 made himself useful at home until about 18 
 years of age when he went to the West and 
 
 spent about eight years working on railroads 
 as brakeman and engineer, in several western 
 states. When he returned to Crestline he ac- 
 cepted a minor position with the Burch Plow 
 Works Company and has continued, being ad- 
 vanced from one position to the other and like 
 his father and brother, is a practical mechanic. 
 The combined years of service with this com- 
 pany of the three Carpenters, father and two 
 sons, aggregate 66 years. When present 
 plant was founded by Nicholas Burch but 
 since January, 1896, the business has been con- 
 ducted by the present management, Jacob 
 Babst being president of the company, while 
 Mr. Carpenter has entire control of all the 
 departments, employment being given to from 
 43 to 45 men and no period of business depres- 
 sion has ever caused a closing of this plant. 
 Mr. Carpenter was married at Crestline to 
 Miss Elizabeth Frye who was born at Mans- 
 field, Feb. 9, 1874, a daughter of John and 
 Anna (Pletcher) Frye, natives of Ohio. The 
 father of Mrs. Carpenter died here when aged 
 more than 60 years, but the mother still lives 
 at Crestline. Politically he was a Democrat 
 and he was a member of the Presbyterian 
 church. Five children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Carpenter: Grace, who is 16 years of 
 age, and who attends the High School ; Helen, 
 Mildred and Bertha, all of whom are in school ; 
 and Edna, who is aged two years. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Carpenter attend the Presbyterian church. 
 Politically he is a Republican, and for the 
 past 16 years he has been identified with the 
 fraternal order of Maccabees. One of the 
 fundamental principles of success in any un- 
 dertaking is assiduous application to hard 
 work and this combined with technical knowl- 
 edge, good judgment and firmness of charac- 
 ter, have been valuable factors in keeping Mr. 
 Carpenter in the responsible position which he 
 has so long and capably filled. 
 
 WILLIAM A. McCLENATHAN, who is 
 one of Gallon's well known and highly es- 
 teemed retired citizens, was born Aug. 2, 1837, 
 in what was then Marion county but is now 
 Morrow county, O., a son of Samuel and 
 Rachel C. (Dalriple) McClenathan, and a 
 grandson of William McClenathan. 
 
 The McClenathan family originated in Ire- 
 land and prior to the Revolutionary War the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1197 
 
 great-grandfather of William A. McClenathan 
 came to America and became a resident of 
 Berks county, Pa. He followed an agricul- 
 tural life and lived on his farm in that fertile 
 section of Pennsylvania until death, passing 
 away when aged 80 years. The names of all 
 of his children have not been preserved but 
 one son named William and he became the 
 grandfather of William A. McClenathan, of 
 Gallon, O. He was born in Dauphin county 
 in 1780 and in early manhood married Mary 
 Colson, who was born in Pennsylvania and 
 was of English parentage. After marriage 
 William McClenathan and wife moved to 
 Washington county, where he entered 160 
 acres of Government land, improved the same 
 after clearing it and there he and wife spent 
 their lives. They were members of the Pres- 
 b)d;erian church. Their family of eight sons 
 and three daughters grew to mature years and 
 all married and reared families of their own. 
 
 Samuel McClenathan, the eldest son of Wil- 
 liam and Mary McClenathan, was born in 
 Amwell township, Washington county, Pa., 
 Feb. ic;, 1803, and grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm. He married Rachel C. Dal- 
 riple, who was born in Amwell township, 
 Washington county, in 1809, a member of an 
 old New Jersey family that was of English 
 ancestry. In 1832, Samuel McClenathan, wife 
 and their one child, came to Ohio. He entered 
 eighty acres of land in Marion county, pur- 
 chased eighty more and an additional eighty 
 acres in Richland county. He thus became 
 a large landowner and engaged in farming 
 during all his active life. He died on his 
 well improved farm on the day following his 
 70th birthday. His widow survived some years 
 longer, passing away in her 86th year. They 
 were people who were held in high regard by 
 all who knew them and were devoted members 
 of the Presbyterian church. They were par- 
 ents of the following children : Mary A., who 
 married John Dalriple, a farmer residing in 
 Kansas; William A.; Sarah E.,.who married 
 Chester Rhodebeck, resides at West Point, 
 Morrow county, and has three sons and two 
 daughters, all of whom are married, and John 
 McClenathan, who is a farmer in Morrow 
 county and has a family of two sons and four 
 daughters. 
 
 William A. McClenathan grew up on the 
 old homestead and obtained his education in 
 
 the public schools. After his first marriage, 
 he located at Huntington, Ind., in 1862, and 
 went into the furniture business, moving from 
 there to Goshen in 1870, where he resided 
 until 1890. He then sold out and traveled 
 until 1896, when he returned to Ohio. For 
 some years Mr. McClenathan has lived re- 
 tired at Gallon. 
 
 Mr. McClenathan was married first to Miss 
 Martha A. Robinson, who was born in Mor- 
 row county, O., March 26, 1838, and died Jan. 
 24, 1885. She was the mother of the follow- 
 ing children: Florence, who married and re- 
 moved to Kansas and is now a resident of 
 Topeka; John, who is connected with the 
 U. S. Express Company, lives at Buffalo, N. 
 Y., and has a family of two sons and two 
 daughters; Nettie C, who married John B. 
 Rust, of Elyria, O. ; William S., who is a 
 resident of Chicago, 111., where he is secretary 
 and treasurer of a labor organization; George 
 F., who died at the age of one year; Ida, who 
 married George Davison and is now deceased, 
 being survived by one daughter; and Maybell 
 B., who is the wife of Dr. J. W. Boss, of 
 Birmingham, O., and mother of one son and 
 one daughter. 
 
 After returning to Ohio following several 
 years of absence, Mr. McClenathan was mar- 
 ried to Miss Violet G. liams, who was bom in 
 Morrow county, O., Oct. 26, 1844, a daughter 
 of Thomas and Mary (Hardesty) liams. The 
 father of Mrs. McClenathan was born at Bal- 
 timore, Md., but was reared in Washington 
 county. Pa., and died in Morrow county, Feb. 
 16, 1862, when aged 72 years. Mrs. Mc- 
 Clenathan's mother was born in Belmont 
 county, O., and lived to the unusual age of loi 
 years, seven months and twenty-seven days. 
 Mr. and Mrs. liams were pioneers in Congress 
 township, now Morrow county, and he devel- 
 oped a fine farm from an absolute wilderness. 
 They had three sons and ten daughters born to 
 them, all of whom survived early youth and 
 four of whom are yet living. Mrs. McClen- 
 athan was reared in the Christian church, 
 while Mr. McClenathan, like his parents, is 
 a Presbyterian. He maintains an independ- 
 ent attitude in politics. 
 
 EDWIN DEISLER,* whose valuable farm 
 of 50 acres lies in section 8, Chatfield town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., has additional 
 
1198 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 business interests and is well known all through 
 this section of Ohio. He was born in Seneca 
 county, O., Xov. 12, 1862, and is a son of 
 Conrad and Emeline Deisler, the former of 
 whom died Jan. 5, 1912. The latter survives 
 and resides at Attica, O. 
 
 Edwin Deisler was reared and attended 
 school in Seneca coimty and engaged in busi- 
 ness there for some years. On April 9, 1902 
 he came to Chatfield township and as a renter, 
 settled on the Lutz farm, which property he 
 subsequently bought from the Lutz estate. He 
 is enterprising and progressive and soon be- 
 gan the improvements which make this one 
 of the finest in this section, erecting a hand- 
 some, modem residence which stands one 
 and one-half miles north of Chatfield on the 
 east side of the Columbus turnpike road. His 
 other buildings are of substantial construc- 
 tion, his land is drained by tiling and he has 
 a fine silo, which adds materially to the suc- 
 cess which attends his dairy enterprise, ship- 
 ments of cream being made to Cleveland. He 
 raises considerable stock all of excellent grade. 
 Mr. Deisler has been in the threshing business 
 for a number of years and in this enterprise 
 owns, keeps in order and operates two trac- 
 tion engines, doing custom threshing all 
 through this section in adjacent counties, and 
 he also owns two hay balers and operates a 
 saw mill. He is one of the busy men of the 
 day and has always considered himself too 
 fully occupied to accept political office, al- 
 though he has been, practically, a lifelong 
 Democrat and intelligently interested in pub- 
 lic matters. 
 
 Mr. Deisler married INIiss Lucinda Shell- 
 horn, who was born in Chatfield township, a 
 daughter of John Shellhom, and they have 
 three children: Lester, Hadee and Helen, all 
 of whom were bom in Seneca county. Mr. 
 and ^Irs. Deisler are members of the English 
 Reformed church. He is identified with Lodge 
 Xo. 651 Knights of P}-thias. at New Wash- 
 ington. 
 
 CHALMER DE\'OE MORGAN. M. D.,* 
 specialist, is owner and proprietor of a finely 
 equipped general hospital at Galion, O., and 
 is an eminent practitioner in diseases of the 
 eye, ear, nose and throat, and a surgeon of 
 such acknowledged skill that his reputation 
 
 extends all over the coxmtry. Dr. Morgan is 
 a native of Ohio, born at Upper Sandusky, and 
 is a son of Charles and Jennie E. (Henry) 
 Morgan. 
 
 Charles Morgan was bom in Wyandot 
 county, O., Dec. 15, 1841, and died at Galion, 
 Dec. 22, 1899. He was a prominent Repub- 
 lican and a leading Mason in the state and 
 for some years was proprietor of the Central 
 Hotel, at Galion. He married Jennie E. 
 Henry, who was bom and reared at Upper 
 Sandusky, O., and died at Galion, Jime 8, 
 19(39, when aged 64 years. She was a mem- 
 ber of the Presb)rterian church. 
 
 Following his graduation from the High 
 School of Mt. Qemens, Mich., Chalmer D; 
 Morgan kept right on with his studies, al- 
 though he was almost entirely dependent upon 
 his own efforts to secure further advantages, 
 and succeeded in securing his M. A. degree 
 at Ann Arbor, University of Michigan and 
 later a degree from the Northern Ohio Uni- 
 versity at Ada, after which he pursued his 
 medical studies and in the class of 1896 was 
 graduated from Starling Medical College, Co- 
 lumbus, O. This, however, was merely a be- 
 giiming as regards his medical education. He 
 attended as a post graduate, the Physicians 
 and Siu-geons Medical College, Chicago, 111., 
 during 1898 and 1900; the Roosevelt Hospital, 
 New York City, in 1901; the great schools 
 of Vienna, Austria, in 1910; studied also at 
 Guy's Hospital, London, England; the Berlin 
 University, Germany; worked with those 
 world-wide known surgeons at Rochester, 
 Minn. ;. under Kelley at Baltimore, Md. and 
 under Deaver, at Philadelphia. Dr. Morgan 
 makes a specialty of major surgery. 
 
 After graduating and receiving his medical 
 degree. Dr. Morgan bought the practice of 
 Dr. Kelly, then a prominent practitioner at 
 Galion, and shortly afterward foimded his 
 hospital, this being the first one established 
 as such at Galion. Since then many changes 
 have been made, its size has been more than 
 doubled and its equipments brought up to the 
 latest devices in hospital furnishings. The 
 present large brick building utilized for hos- 
 pital purposes is located at Xos. 227-229 
 Columbus street, Galion. Patients come from 
 every part of the country and receive careful 
 scientific attention and with such beneficial 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1199 
 
 results that Dr. Morgan's name has become 
 as a household word in many families. Dr. 
 Morgan has associated with him Dr. D. W. 
 Brickley, a competent and experienced surgeon 
 who had charge of the hospital after 1901 
 while Dr. Morgan was pursuing his investiga- 
 tions abroad. Dr. Morgan is a member of the 
 American Medical Association and the state 
 and county organizations, and for many years 
 has been surgeon for the Big Four Railroad 
 Company and the United States Marine Corps 
 here. 
 
 At Findlay, O., Dr. Morgan was married 
 to Miss Fannie E. Allie, who was born, reared 
 and educated in that city. They have one 
 daughter, Ruth Eleanor, who is a student in 
 tlie Gallon High School, preparatory to en- 
 tering the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, 
 being a young lady with much talent in the 
 direction of music. Dr. Morgan and family 
 are members of the Presbyterian church. He 
 is a Knight Templar Mason and a Shriner 
 and belongs also to the Elks and the Knights 
 of Pythias. Politically he is a Democrat. 
 
 HOWARD B. PORTER, whose exacting 
 profession is that of a railroad engineer, has 
 been so identified with the Pennsylvania Rail- 
 road Company since 1898, his first run being 
 from Conway, Pa., to Crestline, O. Later he 
 was given the coveted long run of 208 miles 
 between Crestline and Pitcairn, Pa., which he 
 has operated since June, 1910, being one of 
 the first engineers to be entrusted with this 
 duty. He was born at Canal Fulton, O., Nov. 
 8, 1864, and is a son of Richard A. and Sarah 
 (Whitecraft) Porter. 
 
 The Parents of Mr. Porter were born and 
 reared in the neighborhood of Lawrence town- 
 ship, Stark county, O., where they married. 
 Richard A. Porter was a son of John and 
 Mary (Scott) Porter, who came early to 
 Staric county, from Pennsylvania. They set- 
 tled on a farm in Lawrence township on which 
 they died and the estate then came to their 
 son, Richard A. Porter. The latter continued 
 to live on the farm until 1909, when he sold 
 it and retired to Canal Fulton. He is now 
 living atlhe age of 84 years, though crippled 
 as the result of a fall he had some months 
 ago, at which time he broke his hip. His wife 
 passed away April 3, 1901. She was, as he 
 
 is, a member of Presbyterian church. Of their 
 children, one son, William O., was accidentally 
 killed in a railroad accident, in April, 1902. 
 Two daughters and one ' son, Howard B., 
 survive. 
 
 Howard B. Porter was reared on the home 
 farm above mentioned and remained there 
 until he was 26 years old, when he came to 
 Crestline and entered the employ of the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad. Like all his people he is 
 well fitted physically for the strenuous life 
 of a railroad man, being six feet in height and 
 thus easily carries his weight of 208 pounds. 
 He is one of the best known railroad men in 
 his division and deserves the popularity he 
 enjoys. 
 
 Mr. Porter was married near Fort Wayne, 
 Ind., to Miss Emma Kline, who was born in 
 Stark county, O., a daughter of Martin and 
 Fannie (Wingeter) Kline, the latter of whom 
 died when Mrs. Porter was young. The 
 father of Mrs. Porter, formerly a farmer and 
 merchant, now lives retired at Auburn, Ind., 
 in his 70th year. Mr. and Mrs. Porter reside 
 in their handsome residence which stands at 
 No. 615 West Bucyrus street, which Mr. Por- 
 ter erected in 1903. Mrs. Porter is a member 
 of the Lutheran church. For many years he 
 has been identified with the B. L. E. and be- 
 longs also to the Junior Order of American 
 Mechanics and to the Protective Home Circle. 
 
 CARL M. BABST,* attorney at law and 
 an active member of the bar at Crestline since 
 1901, was born in this city, Feb. 19, 1875, 
 and is a son of Hon. Daniel Babst, the well 
 known jurist. 
 
 After graduating from the Crestline High 
 School, Carl M. Babst spent two terms at 
 Oberlin College and two years at Kenyon Col- 
 lege, and after returning to Crestline, read 
 law in his father's office and at the same time 
 engaged in civil engineering work, being chief 
 engineer for the Street Railway Company be- 
 tween Mansfield and Galion. Since being ad- 
 mitted to the bar he has somewhat divided 
 his time. He was elected a justice of the 
 peace for a term of three years but resigned 
 after serving for a time in order to accept 
 engineering work with a construction company 
 in the West, and since resuming practice is 
 serving in his second term as city solicitor. 
 
1200 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 He is a prominent factor in Democratic poli- 
 tics and for ten years has served as a delegate 
 to Congressional conventions, and at present 
 holds position in county, city and ward. 
 
 In 1 90 1, at Crestline, Mr. Babst was mar- 
 ried to Miss Effie A. Harworth, a daughter of 
 Albert Harworth, of Crestline. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Babst are members of the Episcopal church. 
 He is a member of the Blue Lodge, F. & A. M. 
 and Chapter at Lima, C, and the Commandery 
 at Mansfield, the Elks at Bucyrus and the 
 Eagles at Crestline. He has retained mem- 
 bership also with his Greek letter fraternity 
 at Kenyon College. 
 
 LAFAYETTE YEAGLEY, secretary of 
 the Crawford County Farmers' Mutual Fire 
 Insurance Company, has devoted himself more 
 or less exclusively to this important business 
 enterprise since 1904, prior to which date, for 
 some 20 years, being a teacher and a farmer. 
 He is a native of Crawford county, born near 
 Bucvrus in 1856. 
 
 Mr. Yeagley enjoyed only such educational 
 advantages as the public schools afforded but 
 reading an active intelligence early qualified 
 him for work as a teacher and for two dec- 
 ades he devoted his winters to educational 
 work, while his summers were spent in agri- 
 cultural pursuits. In 1904 he left the farm and 
 school room and accepted his present position 
 which he has filled w ith efficiency ever since. 
 
 The Crawford County Farmers' ^Mutual 
 Fire Insurance Company was organized and 
 incorporated in 1877, under an act passed in 
 March of that year. It is one of the substan- 
 tial, sound and reliable companies of the state, 
 giving insurance at a lower rate than any 
 other company but having the financial backing 
 and stringent laws together with admirable 
 management, that makes this a great feature. 
 Its officers are all dependable men, farmers 
 with substantial properties. The president is 
 Wesley Beal and vice president, Joseph H. 
 Beard, while Mr. Yeagley is secretary and man- 
 ages the affairs of the company from Bucyrus. 
 The board of directors is made up of five 
 farmers, there is one insurance adjuster and 
 ten agents represent the company. The com- 
 pany has 6300 members, has issued 22.400 
 policies and has risks amounting to 815,000,- 
 000. 
 
 Mr. Yeagley was married to Miss Jennie 
 
 Ross, who was born and reared in Bucyrus 
 township. They have three children: Bertha 
 M., who is the wife of D. C. Holtsberry, of 
 Buc)Tus, and has one daughter, Dorothy J.; 
 Mabel A., who is the wife of C. H. Newmann, 
 and has one son, Emerson; and Etha A., who 
 is the wife of Charles Schmidt, a druggist of 
 Marion, O. Politically Mr. Yeagley is a Re- 
 publican and was candidate for mayor on 
 the Reform ticket, but Buc)tus is largely 
 Democratic and he was defeated by a small 
 majority. As an able business man and public 
 spfrited citizen he is well qualified for any 
 office. Mr. Yeagley is a Knight Templar Ma- 
 son, belonging to the Commandery at Marion, 
 O., and is past master of the Blue Lodge at 
 Buc)rrus. Both he and wife are active in tlie 
 Methodist Episcopal church and he is financial 
 secretary and a steward in the same. The fam- 
 ily takes part in the pleasant social life that 
 a large contingent of intellectual, earnest and 
 cultured people make possible in this city. 
 
 ERWIN S. BAGLEY, freight and station 
 agent for the Big Four Railway at Crestline, 
 O., locally known as the Cleveland Division, 
 has been connected with this road at this 
 point since August, 1866, occupying the same 
 quarters. From 1866 until 1875. he was a 
 clerk and was then advanced to his present 
 position. He was born in Clinton county, X. 
 Y., Oct. 19, 1852, and is a son of William 
 W. and Agnes f Richmond) Bagley. 
 
 W'illiam W. Bagley was bom in Vermont, a 
 direct descendant of a Revolutionary soldier. 
 He was married in his native state to Agnes 
 Richmond, who was of Scotch descent. In 
 the early fifties he was connected with the 
 Central Ohio Railway Company at Zanesville 
 and Columbus, and in 1861 he came to Crest- 
 line to assume the duties of agent for the 
 C. C. & C. Railroad, now the Big Four, and 
 all through that period during which Crest- 
 line was one of the leading railroad centers 
 of the country, he served as freight and passen- 
 ger agent here. He died in 1866, when aged 
 forty-two years. During the Civil \\"ar he 
 was an outspoken Union man and more than 
 once his life and liberty were threatened by 
 Northern sympathizers with the secessionists 
 of the South, but he possessed moral as well 
 as physical courage and never retracted or 
 disguised his opinions. He attended the Pres- 
 
LAFAYETTE YE AG LEY 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1203 
 
 byterian church with his wife. She survived 
 him many years, her death occurring at Crest- 
 line in February, 1909, when her age was 81 
 years, she at that time being one of the oldest 
 residents. Of their family of four sons, Er- 
 win S. was the eldest, the others being : James 
 E., who makes his home at Washington, D. C, 
 and who is prominent in musical circles ; Frank 
 J., traveling auditor for the Big Four Rail- 
 road, who resides at Indianapolis, Ind., mar- 
 ried Emma, daughter of George Stull, of 
 Crestline; and William H., who has charge of 
 Standard Oil interests at Tulsa, Okla., and has 
 two children. 
 
 Erwin S. Bagley, since he was fourteen 
 years of age has been identified with railroad 
 affairs and with his present company and has 
 practically grown up with it, and with almost 
 a proprietary interest has watched the wonder- 
 ful growth and extension of this system. 
 Changes has come about, new roads have been 
 constructed, other transportation lines have 
 to some degree relieved Crestline traffic but 
 the road itself has made wonderful progress. 
 No one is better informed concerning all this 
 than Mr. Bagley. After his father's death 
 George H. Lee succeeded as agent, he being 
 a son of the late Judge Lee. Mr. Lee contin- 
 ued in the office until 1875, when he was pro- 
 moted and sent to Indianapolis and subse- 
 Cjuently to Columbus, where his death occurred 
 after his retirement, a man well known in 
 railroad circles. Mr. Bagley succeeded Mr. 
 Lee. He has been a resident of Crestline 
 since he was ten years old, completing his edu- 
 cation here and subsequently identifying him- 
 self with the best interests of this city, marry- 
 ing her and investing in property. He stands 
 as one of the stable, reliable and representa- 
 tive citizens, for ten years serving on the 
 board of equalization and cheerfully bearing 
 all the responsibilities which provide for the 
 enjoyment of the privileges of high class citi- 
 zenshio. 
 
 At Crestline Mr. Bagley was married, in 
 1880, to Miss lone Reynolds, a daughter of 
 F. B. and Margaret (Gauweiler) Reynolds. 
 The parents of Mrs. Bagley were married in 
 Morrow county, O., and came to. Crestline in 
 1873, where the father died, the mother still 
 surviving. Mr. and Mrs. Bagley have one 
 son, Erwin E., who is a graduate of the Crest- 
 
 line High School and is his father's chief 
 clerk. He married Miss Jennie Lolcus of 
 Crestline and they have two children; Edwin 
 M. and Marion L. The family belongs to the 
 Presbyterian church. 
 
 JACOB BABST, sole proprietor and cash- 
 ier of the Babst Banking House, at Crestline, 
 O., is one of the prominent and progressive 
 men of this city, his intimate connection with 
 the banking interests of this part of the state, 
 making him influential in financial affairs, 
 while, additionally he is identified with all 
 those movements which contribute to the sub- 
 stantial advancement of this section along 
 other lines. He was born at Canal Fulton, in 
 Stark county, O., Feb. 11, 1846, and is a 
 son of Daniel Babst, who founded the Babst 
 Banking House, in May, 1871. 
 
 Jacob Babst came to Crestline with his par- 
 ents, in 1853 ^iid has resided here ever since. 
 After his school days were over he learned the 
 trade of a tinner, and as a journeyman trav- 
 eled all over several states. In 1862 he was 
 with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and 
 at the end of 12 months was offered an engine 
 but declined the promotion, by the advice of 
 his parents and continued work at his trade un- 
 til January, 1867. In January, 1868, he went 
 into the stove and tinning business and was 
 thus occupied for three years. He then in May, 
 1 87 1, became connected with his father's bank- 
 ing house. The father conducted the business 
 for seven years, with Jacob Babst as cashier 
 and in 1878, Jacob and Daniel Babst, Jr., took 
 charge of the bank, Jacob continuing as cash- 
 ier, and they operated it together until 1886, 
 when he became sole proprietor, retaining the 
 old name and signing, Jacob Babst, Banker. 
 Mr. Babst has many additional business in- 
 terests. He is president of the Burch Plow 
 Works, started in 1887 and incorporated in 
 1897; president of the Crestline Telephone 
 Company, since its incorporation in 1902; 
 treasurer of the Crestline Building & Loan As- 
 sociation since its incorporation in 1891, treas- 
 urer of the Crestline Manufacturing Company, 
 an enterprise eight years old ; a director of 
 the Crestline Publishing Company for many 
 years ; and a director and member of the ex- 
 ecutive committee of the Ohio State Life In- 
 surance Company, of Columbus, O., which has 
 
1204 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 resources amounting to half a million dol- 
 lars. In politics, Mr. Babst is a Republican'^ 
 and is a member of the Crawford County Ex- 
 ecutive Committee and many times has been a 
 delegate to important conventions. He has 
 taken an active part in shaping public sentiment 
 when the welfare of the city has been at stake, 
 and is a representative of the best type of cit- 
 izen. 
 
 Mr. Babst has been identified with the Ma- 
 sonic order since 1868 and also belongs to the 
 Order of Elks. He has long been a member 
 and trustee of the Presbyterian church. He is 
 a thorough master of every detail of his many 
 business interests and yet finds time to keep in 
 touch with the life of the outside world, doing 
 his part and bearing his share of responsibility 
 in making life better and of fuller meaning 
 than the ordinary individual who works only 
 for selfish ends ever understands. 
 
 Mrs. Jacob Babst was a daughter of George 
 Frederick and Caroline Stoll the seventh of a 
 family of twelve children, being born at Upper 
 Sandusky, March 20, 1848 and christened Ma- 
 thilde Caroline Stoll. He father and mother 
 were natives of Germany and came to America 
 in 1832, after three months' sailing voyages. 
 From New York they drove over the moun- 
 tains to Pittsburgh, Pa., where they remained 
 a short time before again taking up their mi- 
 gration to Ohio, which they did in 1838, fi- 
 nally settling with other members of the Stoll 
 family at Upper Sandusky. 
 
 Her father was a man of prominence among 
 the pioneers of Wyandot and Crawford coun- 
 ties, not only as the builder of the earliest pub- 
 lic buildings, but as a leader in public and re- 
 ligious afifairs. He was an accomplished 
 musician and possessed one of the few collec- 
 tions of books among the pioneers of the thir- 
 ties. During the earlier years of Mrs. Babst's 
 childhood at Upper Sandusky, some of the 
 Wyandot Indians were still a part of the com- 
 munity life. Her father's home, with its own 
 large family, was the center of a still larger 
 family circle long prominent in both counties. 
 
 Such was the childhood and girlhood sur- 
 roundings of Mrs. Babst, much of which she 
 passed in the companionship of her father, who 
 inspired her with a desire for reading and edu- 
 cation, which may be said to be the dominant 
 purpose which influenced her entire life. Her 
 
 own education was obtained in the Bucyrus 
 union schools, where she became a teacher, as 
 well as later teaching in the district schools of 
 The county. Upon the death of her father in 
 1867 she became a teacher in the Crestline 
 imion schools, resigning her place to marry 
 Jacob Babst of Crestline, on April 22, 1869. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Babst resided in Crest- 
 line continuously, with the- exception of the 
 year 1872, when they were residents of Berea, 
 Ohio, where Mr. Babst went to found the first 
 bank of that town. Mrs. Babst died at Crest- 
 line on April 30, 1912, survived by her husband 
 and their three children — Earl D., Jessie B. and 
 Bertha S. Earl D. Babst, born July 6, 1870, 
 graduated in law at Ann Arbor, Mich., in the 
 class of 1894, and is now general counsel for 
 the National Biscuit Company, of New York. 
 He married Edwina Uhl, daughter of Edward 
 F. Uhl, a prominent citizen of Grand Rapids, 
 Mich., who was ambassador to Germany under 
 President Cleveland's administration. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Earl D. Babst have two children — 
 Catherine De Gormo and Alice Edwina. 
 
 Jesse B. Babst, born March 2, 1871, is the 
 wife of Harry H. Cockley, formerly Secretary 
 of the Shelby Tube Company, of Shelby, Ohio, 
 but who is now engaged in the orange growing 
 industry at Nordhoff, California. They have 
 three children — Harriet B., Edith P. and Clay- 
 ton B. 
 
 Bertha S. Babst, born December 6, 1878, was 
 educated at Detroit, Mich. She married 
 Henry E. Freeman, who is secretary and treas- 
 urer of the American Trust and Banking Com- 
 pany of Springfield, Ohio, and now resides in 
 that city. 
 
 Mrs. Babst never tired of her kindly interest 
 in young people and, in addition to maintain- 
 ing a generous hospitality for the wide circle 
 of personal and family friends, always found 
 opportunity for stimulating others, especially 
 young people, with an interest in literary and 
 historical subjects. Her own children, under 
 her immediate supervision, received their edu- 
 cation in the Crestline public schools, and after- 
 wards in the University of Michigan, for her 
 son, and in the best girls' boarding schools of 
 the larger cities for her daughters, supple- 
 mented by European travel. 
 
 As a member of the Presbyterian church of 
 Crestline, she took an active interest in the 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1205 
 
 work of foreign missions and for many years 
 took a leading part as an officer of the Woman's 
 Missionary Society of the Bellefontaine Pres- 
 bytery, reading many original papers, based on 
 wide reading and requiring technical, histori- 
 cal and literary research. 
 
 As the constant companion and advisor of 
 her husband through forty-three years of mar- 
 ried life, in which he was the recognized 
 leader in Crestline financial and commercial 
 enterprises, she won wide respect and admira- 
 tion, worthy of her inheritance. In the re- 
 membrance of her high ideals, her work for 
 church and rriissions, her devotion to family 
 and friends, there is an inspiration and exam- 
 ple, which will long stimulate all who knew her 
 forceful and commanding character. So high 
 was the affection and esteem in which she was 
 held that on the day of her funeral, for the 
 only time in the history of Crestline, every 
 business house was closed out of respect to her 
 memory. 
 
 CHARLES M. HERSHNER,* stock 
 dealer and livery man, conducting sales stables 
 in the old Sam Hedrick barns, on Liberty 
 Street, Galion, O., has been established here 
 since 1897 and does a large business along each 
 Hne. He was born in Morrow county, O., 
 June 4, 1886, a son of Jacob and a grandson of 
 Andrew Hershner. 
 
 Andrew Hershner was born in Pennsylvania 
 and when he came to Morrow county, O., se- 
 cured virgin land in Troy township, which he 
 developed into a valuable farm, on which he 
 died in his 86th year. In early life he was a 
 school teacher. He married Mary Edinger, 
 who died in Morrow county when aged 70 
 years^ They were members of the United 
 Brethren church. Of their nine children seven 
 still survive. 
 
 Jacob Hershner was born in Troy township, 
 Morrow county and spent his whole life on the 
 old homestead there, where he died in 1905, 
 when aged 56 years. He was a successful 
 farmer and dealt in stock. He married Emma 
 McCune, who was born in Morrow county, a 
 daughter of Joseph McCune, the family being 
 of Scotch ancestry. She died on the old home- 
 stead in 1899. They had three children: 
 Charles M.; Bert, a street car conductor liv- 
 ing at Columbus, who married there and has 
 
 one son, Avery; and Verda, now deceased, 
 who was the wife of Irvin Colver. 
 
 Charles M. Hershner was reared on the 
 home farm and before he reached his majority 
 had proved a shrewd stock dealer and carried 
 on a large business in handling stock while he 
 still made his headquarters on the farm. Since 
 coming to Galion he had added other business 
 features and conducts one of the best livery 
 stables in this section, having fifteen horses 
 with complete outfits, together with all kinds 
 of modern conveyances for hire. He has be- 
 come one of the representative business men 
 of the city. 
 
 Mr. Hershner was married in Troy town- 
 ship, Morrow county, to Miss Emma Meek- 
 ley, who was born there and was a daughter of 
 Andrew Meckley, who is one of the substan- 
 tial farmers of Troy township, now in his 70th 
 year. Mrs. Hershner died at Galion, Dec. 10, 
 1908, and is survived by two clildren: M. 
 Adelaide, who is nine years old, and Laura 
 M., who is in her seventh year, both little ma,id- 
 ens being pupils in the public schools. Politi- 
 cally Mr. Hershner is a Democrat and frater- 
 nally is identified with the Elks and the Eagles. 
 
 EDWARD LIBINS,* bank clerk for the 
 Babst Banking House at Crestline, O., was 
 born in this city, Jan. 24, 1874, and is a son 
 of John and Margaret (Kile) Libins. 
 
 John Libins was born in Germany and came 
 to the United States in early manhood, locating 
 at first in Maryland, where he married Mar- 
 garet Kile. Some years later they came to 
 Crestline, O., where John Libins died when 
 aged about 45 years. His widow survives. 
 They were members of the English Lutheran 
 church. Six of their children survive, four of 
 whom are married and all but one reside at 
 Crestline. 
 
 Edward Libins obtained his education in the 
 public schools and then became an employe of 
 the Babst Banking House where he has con- 
 tinued for 23 years and is bookkeeper for the 
 bank. He is held in high esteem by Mr. Babst 
 who has watched his upward rise with interest 
 and is not slow in showing appreciation of the 
 honesty and fidelity of those in whom he feels 
 he can repose the utmost confidence, Mr. Lib- 
 ins being one of these. 
 
 Mr. Libins married Miss Margaret E. Pow- 
 
1206 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ell, who was born and educated in Morrow 
 county, O., and they have one daughter, Mar- 
 ian K., who was born March 23, 1907, at Crest- 
 line. Mr. and Mrs. Libins are mernbers of the 
 Presbyterian church. He holds an independent^ 
 attitude as to politics. 
 
 WILBUR GRIFFETH, a successful busi- 
 ness man of Crestline, 0., has been a dealer 
 in livestock for the past 20 years and for the. 
 past eight years has also conducted a meat 
 market in this city. He was born at Plymouth, 
 0., was reared and educated there and some 
 13 years since came to near Crestline. 
 
 Levi Griffeth, father of W'ilbur, was of 
 Welsh ancestry, and lived on the farm in Ohio 
 on which he was born and died there in 1899, 
 when aged 73 years. He married Nancy Kel- 
 ley, who. was born at Plymouth, O., of Irish 
 parents, and died when aged 63 years. They 
 had four children: Ida, who died at Tiffin, O., 
 who was the wife of Harold B. Adams ; Wil- 
 bur, our subject; Benjamin F., a Baptist min- 
 ister located at Granville, O., who has two 
 daughters and one son; and Charles, who owns 
 and operates the old home farm, and who has 
 one son. 
 
 Mr. Griff eth owns a farm near Crestline an(i 
 on that is located his slaughter house. He has 
 been interested in the livestock business almost 
 his entire active life and at times has shipped 
 as much as a car load a week. He maintains 
 his home on his farm which he carefully cul- 
 ti^ates in addition to attending to his other 
 business. 
 
 At Plymouth, O., Mr. Griffeth was married 
 to :Miss Phebe Smith, who was born at Crest- 
 line but was reared and educated at Plymouth, 
 a daughter of Charles J. and Mary (Taylor) 
 Smith. Air. Smith was an engineer on the 
 Pennsylvania Railroad for some years and then 
 engaged in farming and died at Plymouth, O., 
 at the age of "Ji years, being still survived by 
 his widow, who is now in her 72nd year. ^Mr. 
 and Mrs. Griffeth have one daughter, Ruth M., 
 who was educated at Crestline and resides 
 with her parents. In politics Mr. Griffeth is 
 a Democrat but is no seeker for office. He is 
 identified with the Knights of Pythias at Crest- 
 line. 
 
 JOHN L. HAZLETT,* one of Crestline's 
 best known citizens, for many years a rail- 
 
 road engineer and a veteran officer of the 
 great Civil War, was born in County Derry, 
 Ireland, in May, 1844. Mr. Hazlett can 
 lecall nothing of his very early life, his father 
 dying when he was very young and his mother 
 coming to the United States shortly afterward. 
 He was reared by an uncle, with whom he re- 
 mained until he was sixteen years of age, when 
 he came to America and joined his mother, 
 that being his earliest recollection of her. 
 Landing at Philadelphia, Pa., he went to his 
 mother at Wilmington, Dela. Later in life 
 she came to Ohio and died in advanced age, 
 in Perry County. 
 
 In i860 Mr. Hazlett came to Crestline, O.,, 
 and entered the service of the Pennsylvania 
 Railway. On October 6, 1861, he enlisted for 
 service in the Civil War, entering Co. K, 64th 
 O. Vol. Inf., and was honorably discharged in 
 January, 1866, having been made a veteran 
 by re-enlistment in 1864, his rank being ser- 
 geant and orderly sergeant. He may well be 
 proud of his record which shows him to have 
 been a courageous, cheerful, obedient and 
 active soldier, ever at the post of duty ana un- 
 complainingly bearing the many hardships 
 which fall to a soldier's lot. He was in the 
 entire campaign from Shiloh to Nashville and. 
 the names of the historic battlefields are very 
 familiar to him, his memory recalling their 
 dangers, terrors and triumphs as he fought on 
 their sites. He was never captured and but 
 once was wounded, that being by a minie ball 
 in the hip at the battle of Chickamauga. On 
 many occasions he won hearty commendation 
 from his superior officers, one of these being 
 Captain, now General E. B. Finley. of Bucy- 
 rus. After the war closed Sergeant Hazlett 
 returned to Crestline and resumed work with 
 the railroads, becoming an engineer, and thus 
 remaining until he was retired. 
 
 At Crestline, Mr. Hazlett was married to 
 Miss Susan Fate, who was born in Crawford 
 County, February 22, 1846, was reared in 
 Jackson township, a daughter of John and 
 Elizabeth (Baker) Fate. Her father was of 
 German extraction but was born in Pennsyl- 
 vania, while hef mother was born in Baden, 
 Germany. At the age of sixteen years Eliza- 
 beth Baker accompanied her parents to Rich- 
 land county, O. She was married at Crest- 
 line to John Fate and they secured and im- 
 proved land in Jackson township, where both 
 
GEORGE W. ALBRIGHT 
 
 DANIEL ALBRIGHT 
 
 JOSEPH ALBRIGHT 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1209 
 
 died. They were among the charter members 
 of the German Lutheran church in Jackson 
 township but later in Hfe united with the Meth- 
 odists. Of their eight children three are yet 
 living, one of these being Mrs. Hazlett. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hazlett foijr children were born, 
 namely : Charles, who is a railway conductor 
 residing at Newark, O., married and has one 
 daughter, Florence; Orlando J., who is a con- 
 ductor with the Santa Fe line, lives in New 
 Mexico, and has two children — Nellie M. and 
 Beatrice; Huldah V., who is the wife of Bruce 
 Frank, who is a railroad man in California, 
 and has two sons — Carl W. and Charles H. ; 
 and August, who died when about five years 
 old. Mr. Hazlett is a member of Snyder Post 
 No. 129, G. A. R. Mrs. Hazlett tells in a 
 very interesting manner of the building up of 
 Crestline and relates many incidents connected 
 with railroad building in this section, her mem- 
 ory going back to the commencement of these 
 great industrial developments. 
 
 GEORGE W. ALBRIGHT, a retired 
 farmer and highly esteemed citizen of Bucyrus, 
 O., was born in Whetstone township, Craw- 
 ford county, O., May 15, 1842, and is a son 
 of Joseph Albright and a grandson of Daniel 
 Albright. 
 
 Daniel Albright was born in Berkes county. 
 Pa., about 1776, and was a brother of Rev. 
 Jacob Albright, who was the founder of the 
 religious body known as the Albright Metho- 
 dists, which, to all intents and purposes, is 
 now the Evangelical church and numbers many 
 thousand in its membership. The father of 
 Daniel and Rev. Jacob Albright, was born m 
 Germany and he was the first of the family to 
 come to America. He settled in Pennsylvania 
 and died there in old age. Daniel Albright 
 learned the brickmaking trade and also engaged 
 in farming. He married Esther Wagner, who 
 belonged to another old German family of 
 Pennsylvania, and afterward resided in Berks 
 and Juniata counties, Pa. From Pennsylvania 
 Daniel Albright and family, in 181 3, moved to 
 Ohio, bringing their household ^possessions 
 with them in wagons, and made settlement on 
 new land near New Lisbon, Columbiana 
 county, O. There he followed the trade of 
 brickmaking and there the wife died, his death 
 taking place in Crawford county. 
 
 Joseph Albright, son of .Daniel Albright, 
 was born in Juniata county,. Pa., May 15, 1801 
 and thus was 12 years old when the family 
 reached Ohio. In 1829, after marriage, he 
 left Columbiana county and came to Crawford 
 county, bringing his wife and their one child, 
 together with an eight^day clock and another 
 cherished piece of furniture, in an ox-cart. 
 He purchased 20 acres of land of James Scott, 
 who had secured great tracts of Government 
 land at an early, day,, paying the sum of $100 
 for the same. Here he started a brickyard and 
 manufactured the first bricks ever made in 
 Crawford county, and sold the first bricks 
 used in the construction of the old Boyer res- 
 idence, which is now within the city limits. It 
 is now the property of the Crawford County 
 Agricultural Society. Subsequently Joseph 
 Albrightj purchased 20 iadditional acres of 
 land and still later, 40 more acres, and this 
 continued to be his home until the close of his 
 life, his death occurring May 27, 1884. He 
 had also, at times, bought timbered tracts 
 which were very valuable.. After 1840 he de- 
 voted his attention to farming and stock rais- 
 ing. In early life he was 'a Whig but later be- 
 came a Republican. All his life he was a man 
 of sterling character and after he experienced 
 religion, at a religious gathering held under 
 an oak three on his own farm, was a consistent 
 member of the Albright Methodist body and 
 did much to advance its work in this section. 
 At his hearthstone all the preachers were wel- 
 come and when they went on their missionary 
 way it was not only with his assurances of good 
 will but with substantial assistance that often 
 was sadly needed. 
 
 About 1828 Joseph Albright was married in 
 Columbiana county, O., to Hannah Jury, who 
 was born March i, 181 2, a daughter of Silas 
 and Anna (Thorp) Jury, of Welsh ancestry 
 but natives of Virginia. Silas Jury died in 
 his native state and his widow married a Mr. 
 Banks and they moved to Crawford county, 
 O. Mrs. Albright died Oct. 4, 1890. To 
 Joseph and Hannah Albright the following 
 children were born: Sarah A., deceased, who 
 was the wife of D. J. Sheckler, also deceased ; 
 Daniel B., deceased, who was survived by two 
 sons and two daughters — Charles, James, 
 Cora and Flora; Emanuel, deceased, who was 
 a farmer and was survived by nine children — 
 
1210 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 William, Joseph, George, Mary, Gertrude, 
 Grace, Nellie, Fred and Margaret; Hester A., 
 deceased, who is survived by her husband, 
 James Ludwig, and who was the mother of an 
 infant, also deceased; Joseph, Jr., who is a 
 resident of South Bend, Ind., and has three 
 sons and one daughter — Edwin, Zuah, Silas 
 and Bertrum; George W., whose name heads 
 this sketch; John Thompson, who is a farmer 
 in Holmes township, Crawford county and has 
 three children — Franklin, Anna, deceased, and 
 Hannah; Marcia, deceased, who was the wife 
 of W. T. Minnich, of Bucyrus, and has one 
 child, Orris; Hannah, who is the wife of W. C. 
 Kelly, of Bucyrus, and has three children — 
 Hetty, Clarence and Bessie; and Frank, who 
 resides at Bucyrus and has one son and one 
 daughter — Cassius and Desdamonia. 
 
 George W. Albright was reared on the old 
 home place and the larger pa,rt of the home- 
 stead finally became his own property. He 
 engaged there in agricultural pursuits until 
 1910, when he retired to Bucyrus and in the 
 following year erected his fine business block 
 on South Sandusky street, his residence being 
 at No. 210 on the same thoroughfare. Mr. 
 Albright is independent in his political senti- 
 ments to a large degree but nominally is a Re- 
 publican. 
 
 Mr. Albright was married in Whetstone 
 township, Crawford county, in 1866, to Miss 
 Jemima Scott, who was born in that township, 
 Jan. 22, 1845, and is a daughter of James 
 Scott and a granddaughter of James Scott. 
 
 James Scott, the grandfather of Mrs. Al- 
 bright, was born in Pennsylvania and was 
 there married to Esther Halstead, and in 1822, 
 with their family they came to Crawford 
 county, making the long overland journey in 
 the great covered wagons drawn by oxen. In 
 Crawford county James Scott entered 320 
 acres of Government land and it was from this 
 far-sighted pioneer that Joseph Albright 
 bought his first 20 acres of land. - On this tract 
 Mr. Scott developed a fine farm, made all nec- 
 essary improvements and lived long enough to 
 enjoy them, passing away \\hen aged 60 years. 
 His widow lived to be ^2 years of age. 
 
 James Scott, Jr., son of James and father 
 of Mrs. Albright, was born about 1796, near 
 Wilkesbarre, Pa., and died in 185 1. He ac- 
 companied his parents to Ohio and in Holmes 
 
 township, Crawford county, was married to 
 Caroline Martin. She was born in 1816, in 
 England and in 1822 accompanied her parents 
 to the United States and to Crawford county, 
 O. They were James and Sarah (Hawks) 
 Martin, the former o«f whom was born in Ire- 
 land and when 16 years of age made his way 
 to England. There he entered the British 
 Navy and while serving for 14 years as a 
 sailor, through his own efforts acquired a good 
 education and became a man of religious con- 
 viction. When he came to Crawford county 
 he settled in Holmes township, on what is now 
 the Gephart estate. He taught school and 
 also was a preacher for a time and was one of 
 the first auditors of Crawford county. He 
 died when aged 66 years and was survived by 
 his wife for eight years. After the death of 
 James Scott Mrs. Scott married James Boner 
 and died in Crawford county at the age of 48 
 years, Mr. Boner subsequently passing away 
 at the home of a daughter, by a previous mar- 
 riage. Mrs. Albright has one brother, Joseph 
 Martin Scott, who resides with his family on 
 his farm in Holmes township. 
 
 Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Albright: Georgianna, a popular teacher, who 
 was educated in the schools of Bucyrus and at 
 Berea College; Grace, who died at the age 
 of 38 years, unmarried, a highly educated, 
 cultured woman and a graduate of Baldwin 
 University and of the Northwestern Univer- 
 sity, Chicago, 111. ; Mercy, who died at the age 
 of 27 years, was also highly educated and a 
 college graduate; Silas J., who died in infancy; 
 Carrie, who is the wife of Forest R. McFar- 
 land; and Roscoe D., who died at the age of 
 14 years. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Albright and all their chil- 
 dren have been members of the Methodist 
 Episcopal church and active and interested 
 workers. Mr. Albright was a charter member 
 of the old order of Patrons of Husbandry, in 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county. 
 
 CHARLES GALLINGER. Among the 
 lawyers of Crawford county Charles Gal- 
 linger stands as one of the most successful. 
 He has won his standing at the bar by his care- 
 ful attention to the legal phases of his cases 
 and bv bringing to his work an understanding 
 of right and justice which enable him to make 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1211 
 
 convincing arguments and to present his cases 
 either to court or jury in a thoroughly con- 
 vincing way. 
 
 Charles Gallinger was born near Wingert's 
 Corners, in Lykins township,. Crawford county, 
 Ohio, on June 26th, 1869. His parents were 
 Philip and Louisa (Angene) Gallinger. His 
 father was a Bavarian, and his mother was 
 born in French (now German) territory. His 
 father died in 1879, and his mother in 1905. 
 The parents are intered in the Brokensword 
 Cemetery. 
 
 Charles Gallinger is the youngest of five chil- 
 dren, all living. He received a common school 
 education, and was an applicant for a teacher's 
 certificate when only 13 years old, but was 
 refused a certificate on account of his age; 
 he secured one the following year, however' 
 when H. J. Tracht, Reuben Stable and J. R 
 Kimerline were the county school examiners. 
 He_ regularly attended each annual county ex- 
 amination, securing certificates, although he 
 did not teach school until he was 18 years of 
 age when he taught his home school three 
 consecutive terms. Immediately thereafter he 
 attended the Ohio Normal University at Ada, 
 Ohio, for one year, at the end of which time 
 he returned home for want of funds with 
 which to complete a collegiate course, and while 
 . at home he continued to assist his brother on 
 the farm, reading law during his spare hours. 
 In September, 1893, he came to Bucyrus and 
 commenced reading law in the office of Finley 
 & Bennett, and in the following June he passed 
 the law examination and was admitted to the 
 bar at Columbus, standing third highest in a 
 class of 63 applicants. 
 
 He did not commence the practice of law 
 until December, i8g6, when he started alone, 
 but two months thereafter, on the expiration 
 of the term of Gen. E. B. Finlev as Circuit 
 Judge, a partnershio was formed under the 
 name of Finley & Gallinger, which has con- 
 tinued ever since in the legal practice in all 
 the courts. State and Federal. 
 
 In igoo Mr. Gallinger was elected Prosecut- 
 ing' Attorney of Crawford county, and held 
 the office for six years. He has been an inde- 
 fatigable worker in his chosen profession and 
 has built up a large and verv lucrative practice. 
 He has been engaged in some of the most im- 
 portant cases in the courts, and his firm is 
 
 counsel for the New York Central lines in the 
 county, and for a great many of the leading 
 manufacturing plants. 
 
 Mr. Gallinger brought to his chosen profes- 
 sion a natural love for study and the mastery 
 of intricate problems. It was by conscientious 
 devotion to a study of the principles of law 
 that he has been able to attain and hold the 
 high position as a practicing attorney. He 
 gives to every case a care and determination to 
 win which have naturally resulted to the advan- 
 tage of his clients and he has won success for 
 them by understanding their cases and applying 
 his legal talents for their benefit. 
 
 Mr. Gallinger was married July 14, 1903, to 
 Miss Clara Hoffman, daughter of John and 
 Anna (Burns) Hoffman, and she has been 
 active in good works in and for the upbuild- 
 ing of Bucyrus, her work as head of the Kings 
 Daughters being especially noteworthy. Mr. 
 Gallinger has always taken a firm stand in 
 helping his home town and with both counsel 
 and cash he willingly helps the city. 
 
 JOHN H. SHEETZ, cashier of the Farm- 
 ers Exchange Bank, of New Washington, O., 
 is a member of one of the old and substantial 
 families of Crawford County, one that has 
 been identified with many leading interests and 
 activities of this section. Mr. Sheetz was born 
 at New Washington, Ohio, August 29, 1852, 
 a son of John A. and Margaret (Donnen- 
 wirth) Sheetz. 
 
 John A. Sheetz was born in Wuertemberg, 
 Germany, Sept. 6, 1809. In 1830 he came to 
 America, landing in New York City. From 
 New York he went to Columbiana County, 
 Ohio. For several years he was employed as 
 a farm hand and at various occupations which 
 would vield him an honest living, receiving but 
 six dollars per month in the first capacity. 
 From Columbiana County he went to Dayton. 
 Ohio. About 1835 he came to Crawford 
 County to visit his sister and while here be- 
 came so favorably impressed with the agricul- 
 tural possibilities of this section that he bought 
 ninety acres of land situated in Auburn Town- 
 ship which tract includes the present site of 
 the villaee of Wavnesburg. He erected a log 
 cabin and besran the task of clearing his land 
 and cultivating crops. John A. Sheetz was a 
 man of enterprise and became one of local 
 
1212 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 importance. He was the first postmaster at 
 New Washington and for several years prior 
 to the establishment of the office here, carried 
 the mails, once a week walking to a point four 
 miles west of the village to meet the stage, its 
 route not taking in New Washington. Dur- 
 ing his later years he was engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business at New Washington. He was 
 a sturdy, honest, self reliant man, whose whole 
 life was an exemplification of the meritorious 
 qualities which belong to the race from which 
 he came. 
 
 At Dayton, Ohio, John A. Sheetz was mar- 
 ried in May, 1836, to Margaret AVeisenbacher, 
 who died in July following. In October, 1837, 
 he was married secondly to Margaret Weaver, 
 who was born in Auburn township, Crawford 
 County, and lived but a little over one year 
 after marriage, being survived by a daughter, 
 Catharine Agatha, who is the wife of William 
 H. Donnenwirth, of Canton, Ohio. His third 
 marriage took place at New A\'ashington, Ohio, 
 in 1842, with Mrs. Margaret (Donnenwirth) 
 Hesse, daughter of George Donnenwirth and 
 widow of Ehregott Hesse. ]\Irs. Sheetz was 
 born in Alsace, Germany. Her first husband 
 was a merchant at New Washington, and after 
 his death she continued in the business until 
 after her marriage with Mr. Sheetz, when he 
 took charge of the same and carried it on un- 
 til 1866, when his son Jacob became a partner 
 under the firm name of John A. Sheetz and 
 Son. In 1876 he went into the banking busi- 
 ness, in which he remained until his death, 
 which occurred Dec. 7, 1889. To the above 
 marriage six children were born, four of whom 
 are yet living, namely : Jacob, president of the 
 Farmers Exchange Bank of Xew \\'ashing- 
 ton, Ohio ; Caroline, the wife of John L. As- 
 senheimer, of Bucyrus, Ohio; John H. Sheetz, 
 cashier of the Farmers Exchange Bank, and 
 Louisa P., widow of the late John M. Guiss, 
 of New Washington, Ohio. 
 
 John H. Sheetz attended the public schools 
 at Xew \\^ashington, and later at Oberlin Col- 
 lege. He learned the principles of banking at 
 Mt. Union business college, Mt. Union, Ohio, 
 where he took a business course. During the 
 last two years of his school life he spent the 
 summer motiths on his father's farm. Agri- 
 cultural pursuits being congenial to him, he 
 desired to engage in farming, but in 1872 at 
 
 the earnest solicitation of his father, he be- 
 came a clerk in the latter's store and served 
 in that capacity until 1874, when he pur- 
 chased his father's interest in the business and 
 became a partner of his brother Jacob, under 
 the firm name of Jacob Sheetz and Brother. 
 This firm continued in business until 1904, 
 when they sold their stock of goods to William 
 Foos. 
 
 In 1876 the Farmers Exchange Bank was 
 organized and our subject became cashier and 
 financial manager. The success of the bank 
 is 'largely due to his efforts, which have re- 
 sulted in making this one of the leading finan- 
 cial institutions of the county. On Oct. 2, 
 1889, he was married to Miss Theresia \^^ 
 Michaelis, who was born at Bucyrus, Ohio, and 
 is a daughter of Rev. August Michaelis. The 
 latter was born in Prussia and came to America 
 about 1840, when a young man, subsequently 
 entering the ministry of the Lutheran Church. 
 To John H. Sheetz and wife the following 
 children were born: John A., who is a student 
 at Capital University, Columbus, O., a mem- 
 ber of the class of 1913; and Walter F., who 
 is attending the same educational institution 
 and is a member of the class of 19 15, both 
 promising students and fine types of young 
 American manhood. In addition to his bank- 
 ing interests, Mr. Sheetz is a director in the 
 New \\'ashington Lumber and Manufacturing 
 Company. He is a member of the Lutheran 
 Church. In political sentiment he is a Demo- 
 crat. 
 
 FARMERS EXCHANGE BANK, of Xew 
 Washington, O., was organized in 1876 and 
 thus is one of the oldest financial institutions 
 of the county and has enjoyed unusual pros- 
 perity. Its officers were : John A. Sheetz, presi- 
 dent; Jacob Sheetz, vice president; and John 
 H. Sheetz, cashier, and this board continued 
 to operate the bank until the death of John A. 
 Sheetz in 1889. The business was then re- 
 organized with Jacob Sheetz as president ; John 
 M. Guiss, vice president, and John H. Sheetz, 
 cashier, the directors and stockholders, in ad- 
 dition to the officers, being Mrs. ^largaret 
 Sheetz and Mrs. Louisa P. Guiss. The death 
 of John M. Guiss in 1910 and of Mrs. Mar- 
 garet Sheetz in i8q2, called for changes and 
 accordingly Jacob Sheetz continued as presi- 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1213 
 
 dent, Mrs. Louisa P. Guiss became vice presi- 
 dent, John H. Sheetz continued as cashier; 
 George H. Seitter became assistant cashier in 
 1904 and in 1910 Miss Ida L. KimerHne be- 
 came bookkeeper. 
 
 This bank was organized with a capital stock 
 of $25,000.00. It now has a surplus account 
 of $25,000.00 and its undivided profits ag- 
 gregate $10,082.71. 
 
 The earliest location of the bank was in the 
 back part of the J. Sheetz & Bro. store, which 
 mercantile business was sold in 1904 to Wil- 
 liam Foos, and in 1905 the present commodi- 
 ous and modern bank building was erected. 
 Its dimensions are 25x64 feet, two stories high, 
 of brick construction, the entire first floor be- 
 ing devoted to the banking departments and 
 the second floor occupied by the local telephone 
 exchange and by tenants. The bank is 
 equipped with a burglar and fire proof vault, 
 with inside dimensions of 7x11 feet and an 
 automatic time-lock door weighing three tons. 
 Conveniences for the patrons of the bank have 
 also been provided and the interests of all 
 customers are carefully conserved. The of- 
 ficers of the concern are members of the 
 American Bankers' Association; the Ohio 
 Bankers' Association, and of the Ohio Private 
 Bankers' Association. 
 
 GEORGE A. BRAUSE,* who owns 705 
 acres of land in Lykens township, Crawford 
 county, was born in this township. May 29, 
 1855, ^ son of Rudolph and Catherine (Klink) 
 Brause. 
 
 Rudolph Brause was a native of Germany 
 but at the age of six years came to the United 
 States and in 1830 located in Lykens town- 
 ship, Crawford county, where he became a well 
 known farmer. He married, as before inti- 
 mated, Catherine Klink, who was also born in 
 Germany, in Wurtemberg, and who at the age 
 of six years came with her parents to the United 
 States, they in 1828 settling in Liberty town- 
 ship, Crawford county. To Rudolph Brause 
 and his wife were born the following children : 
 Caroline, who died when aged 21 years; 
 George A.; John; Fidelia, deceased, who 
 was the wife of Jacob Zeigler; Willis H., 
 a resident of Lykens township; and Emma, 
 who died when aged 46 years. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Rudolph Brause belonged to the Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 George A. Brause received his educational 
 training in the common schools of Lykens 
 township and then turned his attention to farm- 
 ing. He at first assisted his father in the culti- 
 vation of the home place, but when he was 25 
 years of age he had through his industry and 
 frugality acquired enough capital to be able 
 to purchase a tract of 80 acres with but little 
 help from his parents. To this tract he has 
 added until he now has 705 acres of valuable 
 land, on which he carries on general farming 
 along scientific lines, also raising some stock. 
 
 On February 12, 1889, Mr. Brause was 
 united in marriage to Miss Mary Anna Green, 
 who was born in Chatfield township, this 
 county. Her parents, Jacob and Magdalena 
 (Drefts) Green, were natives of Germany but 
 came to this country when young and were mar- 
 ried here. Jacob Green was a farmer. Both 
 he and his wife are now deceased and are 
 buried at Sheely cemetery near Sulphur 
 Springs. To them were born the following 
 children: John; Catherine, wife of Emanuel 
 Ulmer; Daniel; Benjamin; Gottlieb; Edward; 
 Louisa, deceased, who was the wife of John 
 Bower; Sophia, the wife of Jacob Feightner; 
 Mary Anna, the wife of our subject; and Eliza- 
 beth, deceased, who was the wife of of Abra- 
 ham Clopftesteen. To Mr. and Mrs. Geo. A. 
 Brause have been born children as follows: 
 Edward Rudolph, Walter George, Clarence Al- 
 bert, Rosa Anna and Hattie Magdalena Cath- 
 erine. 
 
 A Democratic in politics, Mr. Brause is serv- 
 ing as a member of the school board. He and 
 his family are affiliated with the German Luth- 
 eran church. 
 
 EDWARD VOLLRATH has been a life- 
 long resident of Bucyrus. He was born of 
 German parentage, 54 years ago, at the old 
 homestead on the northeast corner of Mary and 
 Walnut streets. He attended the public schools 
 at his native city, graduating from the High 
 School in the class of 1878. Part of his youth 
 was spent in learning the trade of the cabinet- 
 maker and joiner in his father's wood-working 
 establishment at Bucyrus, and when he resumed 
 his studies in the local schools he had become 
 an expert wood worker. After graduating 
 from the Bucyrus schools he entered Witten- 
 berg College at Springfield, Ohio, in the fall of 
 1878, and remained at this latter institution 
 
1214 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 until the close of his junior year in the spring 
 of 1881. He subsequently entered Princeton 
 College and graduated from that institution 
 in the classical course with the degree of A. B. 
 in 1883. He afterwards received the degree 
 of A. M. from Princeton. After leaving col- 
 lege Mr. Vollrath began the study of law in 
 the law office of General E. B. Finley at Bucy- 
 rus and was admitted to practice by the 
 Supreme Court of Ohio in the fall of 1885. 
 He immediately entered upon the practice of 
 his profession at Bucyrus and has continued 
 in the practice of the law in this city since that 
 time. In December, 1904, Mr. Vollrath was 
 appointed Circuit Judge by Governor Myron 
 T. Herrick for the Third Circuit of Ohio to 
 succeed Judge Mooney who had died. Judge 
 Vollrath occupied this position for a period of 
 one year, being defeated at the ensuing election 
 by Judge Michael Donnelly, of Napoleon. 
 Judge Vollrath made a second campaign for 
 this same position in the fall of 1906, but was 
 again defeated by Judge Donnelly, who had 
 an overwhelming democratic plurality behind 
 him. Although defeated. Judge Vollrath had 
 the satisfaction of reducing the normal demo- 
 cratic plurality of ten thousand to three tliou- 
 sand. 
 
 Mr. Vollrath was united in marriage June 
 27, 1888, with Miss Millie Wise, daus;hter of 
 William and Eliza J. Wise, of said city. To 
 this union were born five children, Jeanne Eliz- 
 abeth, Edna Grace, Charles Victor, Carol Per- 
 milla and Edward Wise Vollrath. Mrs. Voll- 
 rath died February i, 1910. 
 
 Mr. Vollrath became identified with the Ohio 
 National Guard in April, 1884, enlisting as a 
 private in Company "A" of the Eighth Regi- 
 ment. He was elected and commissioned cap- 
 tain of -his company in 1886. became major in 
 1892 and in that capacity served with his regi- 
 ment during the Spanish-American war. The 
 regiment saw service in the siege of Santiago 
 in Cuba and assisted in the reduction of the 
 province of that name. Mai or Vollrath was 
 present at the surrender of Santiago and, re- 
 turning to the states with his regiment at the 
 close of the war, was commissioned lieutenant- 
 colonel in the fall of 1899- I-'pon the organi- 
 zation of the Division. Ohio National Guard. 
 Colonel Vollrath was elected and commissioned 
 colonel of his regiment, the Eighth Ohio, with 
 
 rank dating from December 23, 1899, and has 
 remained in command of his regiment since 
 that date. This regiment, under Colonel Voll- 
 rath's command, has been called upon by the 
 governor of Ohio on various occasions in aid 
 of the civil authorities. 
 
 Colonel Vollrath has always been a Repub- 
 lican in politics. Socially and fraternally he 
 is a veteran member of the Knights of Pythias. 
 In his church relations he has been a member of 
 St. Paul's Lutheran church of Bucyrus, Sun- 
 day school and church, since early childhood. 
 
 '' Colonel Vollrath, whose full name is Charles 
 Edward Vollrath, is the son of Charles and 
 Elizabeth (Hocker) Vollrath. The? father was 
 a native of Schwartzburg-Rudelstadt, Saxony, 
 and the mother is a native of the grand duchy 
 of Baden. The father, Charles Vollrath, who 
 died December 26, 1902, was for long years 
 prominent in manufacturing circles in Bucyrus 
 and the head of the manufacturing firm of 
 Vollrath Brothers. The manufacturing estab- 
 lishment on the corner of Mary aud Walnut 
 streets, Bucyrus, and the lumber yards in con- 
 nection therewith, were long and well known 
 to the older citizens of Bucyrus. 
 
 THE BRINKMAN FAMILY* of Tod 
 township, Crawford county, O., is one well 
 known and highly respected and was estab- 
 lished here by the grandfather of the present 
 representatives, William F., Edward F. and 
 Jesse R. Brinkman. The grandparents came 
 from Germany but the father, Jacob Brinkman, 
 was born on the farm known as the Brinkman 
 homestead, on which he passed his life as a 
 farmer, and died March 17, 1895, when aged 
 52 years, four months and twelve days. 
 
 Jacob Brinkman did much to develop and 
 improve his farm of fertile land, leaving to his 
 family an estate of 229 22-100 acres, with 
 substantial buildings, stock and machinery. He 
 was a man of sterling character and com- 
 manded the respect of all who knew him 
 either as a business man or as a neighbor. He 
 married Augusta Smith, who was born in Ger- 
 many and still survives, residing with her 
 youngest son. Three sons were born to them : 
 ^^'^illiam F., Edward F and Jesse R. William 
 F married Sarah Ferrall and they have had 
 four children: Nina Harper, deceased, Clar- 
 ence and Henrietta. Edward F. married Delia 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1215 
 
 Shell and they have three children: Hazel, 
 Lela and Robert. Jesse R. was married first 
 to Gertrude Pickering, who died without issue, 
 and second to Tornette Wingert. William F. 
 follows the carpenter trade while the other sons 
 carry on the farm industries and all are reliable 
 and respected business men. It is a Democratic 
 family and all the sons are active and interested 
 citizens. William F. served for a number of 
 years in the office of constable; Edward F 
 was township trustee for six years, while Jesse 
 R., at the present writing, is his party's candi- 
 date for county commissioner. The brothers 
 are closely united in all their interests. They 
 belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
 JAMES D. FERREE, newspaper reporter 
 and historical writer, Bucyrus, Ohio, is a de- 
 scendant from an old French Hugenot family 
 and traces his ancestry back to Robert La Fer- 
 ree, who in A. D. 1265 was confirmed to an 
 extensive estate at Forchamos in lower Nor- 
 mandy and became the founder of the family. 
 During the troubled period following the re- 
 vocation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, Daniel 
 Ferree and wife, whose maiden name was 
 Mary Warembur, with their family, escaped 
 from France, made their way to Strasbourg, 
 where they resided for some time, then went to 
 Lindau in Bavaria, where the father, who was 
 a silk manufacturer of wealth, died in a few 
 years. A short time after his death his widow 
 decided to emigrate to America with her chil- 
 dren — three sons and three daughters. Her 
 passport dated Bittingheim, March 10, 1708, as 
 well as the family's certificate of standing and 
 withdrawal from the French Reformed church 
 at Pelican, of which thev were members, under 
 date of May loth, 1708, are still in the pos- 
 session of her descendants. They came via 
 Holland and England; in the latter company 
 they remained several months. Madam 
 Ferree and family were introduced to Queen 
 Ann by William Penn, both of whom extended 
 many favors that greatly assisted the Madam 
 in bringing her family to the new colonies. 
 Her patent of naturalization and permission 
 to colonize in America bear the date of August 
 27th, 1708. Upon the family's arrival at New 
 York in the fall of 1708 they went to Esopus 
 about 100 miles north of that place on the Hud- 
 son river, where they had relatives. In the 
 
 spring of 1712 they emigrated to the Pequea 
 valley, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania and 
 located upon a land grant of 2,000 acres, 
 granted to the family by William Penn, the 
 warrant bears the date of September loth, 
 1712. There it was that the Madam with her 
 children established their home in the new 
 world and became the progenitors of all of the 
 name in the United States. Shortly after her 
 arrival in the Pequea Valley, Madam Ferree 
 vested in the care of trustees a plot of ground 
 for burial purposes for the use of the settlers. 
 In early times it was known as the "Ferree 
 Graveyard," but the farm upon which it was 
 located eventually became the property of the 
 Carpenter family and at the present it is known 
 as the "Carpenter Graveyard." It is located 
 near the village of Paradise, Lancaster county, 
 ■and in it the Madam and many of her descend- 
 ants are buried. Her posterity is numbered 
 by the thousands and are to be found in nearly 
 every state in the Union. Many of them have 
 attained distinction in the various walks of 
 life. The archives in the War Department 
 at Washington contains the records of more 
 than thirty of the name that were in the Revo- 
 lutionary war, among the more prominent were 
 Col. John Ferree, who cammanded the Tenth 
 Pennsylvania Rifles; Col. Joel Ferree, who 
 commanded the First Battalion of Lancaster 
 Associators; Major Michael Ferree and 
 twenty-nine others who served as non-com- 
 missioned officers and privates. The Madam's 
 descendants were also prominent in the war 
 of 1812, among them was Col. Joel Ferree, 
 who commanded the Pennsylvania troops that 
 built the fort at Upper Sandusky and named it 
 Fort Ferree in his honor. In the Rebellion 
 large numbers were conspicuous, but we will, 
 pass them all by but one, whose great military 
 talents and glorious achievements have not 
 only shed a lustre on his Huguenot ancestry 
 but covered his memory with undying glory — 
 Major General John F. Reynolds, commander 
 of the First Army Corps at the battle of Get- 
 tysburg. 
 
 Again in the Spanish-American War her de- 
 scendants were conspicuous. Admiral Win- 
 field S. Schley, the hero of Sanitago, was a 
 great grandson of Rebecca Ferree, who was 
 a great-granddaughter of Madam Ferree. 
 
 Our subject traces his lineage from Madam 
 
1216 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Ferree through Philip, her youngest son, who 
 died in the Pequea Valley and is buried in the 
 old Ferree graveyard. Jacob, Sr., born in 
 Lancaster county, died in York county. Jacob, 
 Jr., born in York county and died in Adams 
 county and was a Revolutionary war soldier. 
 William, born in Adams county, July 14th, 
 1779, died in Richland county, Ohio, October 
 14th, 1846. He married at Carlisle, Pa., Feb- 
 ruary nth, 1808, Mary L. Le Boob, who was 
 born in Adams county. Pa., March 2d, 1779, 
 died in Richland county, Ohio, January 27th, 
 1849. She was of French and Swiss descent, 
 her grandfather, Michael Le Boob, having been 
 a Huguenot refugee and married a Swiss wo- 
 man and came to America prior to 1760 It 
 might be mentioned that the Le Boobs were the 
 last of our subject's ancestors, on both paternal 
 and maternal side to come from a foreign coun- 
 try. In 1826 William and Mary M. Ferree emi- 
 grated with their family of eight children from 
 Cumberland county. Pa., to Franklin, now 
 Weller, township, Richland county, Ohio. 
 Their eldest son, James B. Ferree, born No- 
 vember 14th, 1808, in Cumberland county, 
 Pennsylvania, died August 2d, 1862, in Rich- 
 land county, Ohio. Married March 22d, 1842, 
 at Mansfield, Ohio, Miss Elizabeth Davidson, 
 born January ist, 1803, at Carlisle, Pa., died 
 March 8th, 1864, at Shelby, Ohio. They were 
 the parents of twins, one died in infancy the 
 other being the father of our subject. Wil- 
 liam Henry was born in Richland county July 
 26th, 1843, received his education in the coun- 
 try schools and the "Shelby Institute." Was 
 married November 17th, 1863, at Shelby, Ohio^ 
 to Miss Eliza Dickerson, who was born Janu- 
 ary 29th, 1844, at Martinsburg, Knox county, 
 Ohio, and died June 9th, 191 1 at Bucyrus. Her 
 ancestry is traced back to \\^illiam the Con- 
 queror's invasion of England, when Walter de 
 Coen was given the manor of Kenson in York- 
 shire, by the Conqueror as a reward for valor 
 on the field of battle. Philemon Dickerson 
 came over from England in 1630 with Win- 
 throp's colonists. In 1643 he moved to the 
 north shore of Long Island. His grandson, 
 Peter, located in Morris county. New Jersey, 
 in 1741 ; his son Silas lived and died in that 
 state and among his children was Peter, who 
 resided many years at Doylestown, Pa., and 
 married Addie Kahl, of Egg Harbor, New 
 
 Jersey. Their last born, a son, was named for 
 his uncle, Mahlon, who at that time was gov- 
 ernor of New Jersey and later Secretary of 
 War. 
 
 Mahlon Dickerson came to Ohio in 1838 and 
 worked at the carpenter trade at Newark, where 
 he married on September 23d, 1839, Miss Mary 
 Cochran, who was born January 12th, 1823, 
 at Winchester, Frederick county, Virginia, and 
 died at Shelby, Ohio, February 4th, 1884. Her 
 ancestry were the Cochrans, Langleys, Stuarts, 
 all noted pioneer families of old Virginia. 
 Tiiey were the parents of eleven children, 
 seven of whom grew to woman and manhood. 
 After the marriage of William H. Ferree and 
 Eliza Dickerson they resided for some years 
 in Shelby, where he was engaged in the lumber 
 and planing mill business, then moved to a 
 farm in Richland county, where they lived a 
 few years, then moved to Gallon in 1873, and 
 in 1 88 1 to Bucyrus, where the family has since 
 made their home. Five children were born to 
 them: James D. (the subject of this sketch); 
 Edna J., died at the age of nine years; Agnes 
 L., married John C. Doll, and resides at In- 
 dianapolis, Ind. ; Lois D., married Frederick 
 J. Heine, resides at Klein, Montana; William 
 F., died at the age of eight years. 
 
 James D. attended the public schools at Gal- 
 ion and was a member of the graduating class 
 of 1882, but was compelled to leave before 
 graduating by the removal of the family to 
 Bucyrus in the spring of 1881. He learned the 
 painter's trade under Samuel D. Welsh, which 
 he followed until 1888, when he became a 
 brakeman on the Toledo and Ohio Central 
 Railway; he was promoted to freight con- 
 ductor, July 7th, 1890. Was promoted to 
 yardmaster at Columbus, September ist, 1901, 
 and resigned that position in 1902. Was en- 
 gaged as superin.tendent of construction for the 
 Crescent Lumber Company on a lumber rail- 
 road in West Virginia in 1907, and held a sim- 
 ilar position with the Algoma Central and 
 Hudson Bay Railroad Company in Ontario, 
 Canada, for several months in 1909. He was a 
 member of the Order of Railway Conductors 
 for several years while actively engaged in rail- 
 road work and filled the responsible position of 
 general chairman of the first federated general 
 committee for the Ohio Central lines during 
 the years 1899, 1900 and part of 1901, and it 
 
FREDERICK L. KOPP 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1219 
 
 was through his exertions and endeavors that 
 the agreement and schedule of 1900 was 
 granted the employes by the railroad company. 
 He was the recipient of complimentary letters 
 from Grand Chief Conductor E. E. Clark, of 
 the O. R. C, and other leaders of railroad 
 orders interested; also was highly compli- 
 mented by the officials of the Toledo and Ohio 
 Central Railroad for the businesslike manner 
 in which the grievances were handled and pre- 
 sented. He was presented with a fine arm- 
 chair by the Bucyrus Division, No. 193, O. 
 R. C, as a token of appreciation for the serv- 
 ices he rendered in their behalf. 
 
 He has served ten years in Company A, 
 Eighth Regiment, O. N. G., under three enlist- 
 ments and has a first-class record as a militia- 
 man. He served nearly four years on the Bu- 
 cyrus police force, and was considered by his 
 superiors a first-class man. He some time ago 
 took up newspaper work and is making a suc- 
 cess of it. He was married April 3d, 1912, to 
 Mrs. Helen M. Bressler, daughter of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Adam Reichard, pioneer settlers in Chat- 
 field township, Crawford county. William H. 
 Ferree, our subject's father, resides with them 
 at 837 North Sandusky avenue. 
 
 FREDERICK L. KOPP, one of Gallon's 
 best known and highly respected retired citi- 
 zens, occupying his comfortable residence at 
 No. 125 East Main street, for many years was 
 active in business in this city, and is an hon- 
 ored veteran of the Civil War and a valued 
 comrade in Dick Morris Post, No. 130, G. A. 
 R., at Gallon, O. Mr. Kopp was born in 
 Wurtemberg, Germany, Feb. 27, 1846, and is 
 a son of Frederick and Catherine (Menner) 
 Kopp. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kopp grew to mature 
 years in Wurtemberg and were married in the 
 city of Stuttgart, Germany. Their one son and 
 three daughters were born before they decided 
 to make the great change in their lives of leav- 
 ing their native land for one across the At- 
 lantic Ocean, and they were led to this measure 
 because they believed their children would 
 have better opportunities than appeared possi- 
 ble, at that time, in Germany. After a voyage 
 of 60 days the travelers reached New York 
 and from there proceeded to Sandusky City, O., 
 and from there^ two years later, moved to 
 
 Marion county. It was there, in 1856, that the 
 mother died and afterward the father went to 
 Jay county, Ind., and his death occurred there, 
 in the home of a daughter, in 1868, when he 
 was aged 60 years. He had followed the shoe- 
 making trade all his active life. Both he and 
 wife were members of the Evangelical Luth- 
 eran church. 
 
 Frederick L. Kopp was six years old when 
 his parents, in i8'^2, came to America. He 
 attended school as opportunity was afforded, 
 in his boyhood, and grew up into sturdy and 
 self respecting youth, so well developed phy- 
 sically that in the early days of the Civil War 
 he had no difficulty in being accepted as a sol- 
 dier, although he was aged but fifteen years 
 and three months. He enlister on June 21, 
 1861, in Co. K, 4th O. Vol. Inf., in which he 
 served for three entire years, reenlisting in 
 September, 1864, in Co. H, 7th N. J. Vol. Inf., 
 in which he served until the war terminated, 
 and was honorably discharged, with the rank 
 of first sergeant, in June, 1865. He partici- 
 pated in many of the important battles of that 
 great war. He was at Rich Mountain; was 
 all through the Shenandoah Valley campaign; 
 was at Petersburg, Gettysburg and Mine Run, 
 and in innumerable skirmishes in which a 
 brave comrade often lost his life. He was 
 once seriously wounded, on Nov. 28, 1863, 
 receiving a gun shot in his right foot. 
 
 After the war was over and his military 
 duties well performed for his adopted country, 
 Mr. Kopp returned to Gallon and engaged in 
 the bakery business here on East Main street, 
 for many years and through his honest business 
 methods prospered greatly. In 1892 he built 
 the Phoenix Hotel which he operated for ten 
 years and then retired. He erected a three- 
 story brick building on East Main street which 
 he rents for business purposes. He is promi- 
 nently identified with the Democratic party at 
 Gallon and for six years has been a member of 
 the city council. 
 
 In January, 1867, Mr. Kopp was married at 
 Gallon, to Miss Margaret Schneider, who was 
 born in Crawford county in 1847 and has 
 spent her life here. Her grandfather, John 
 Schneider, was born in Germany and was mar- 
 ried there to his first wife who died and left 
 five children — William, Peter, Charlotte, Eliza- 
 beth and Catherine. The grandfather mar- 
 
1220 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 ried (second) Margaret Simond and they 
 had three children born to them — John, Henry 
 and Catherine. They came to the United 
 States when WilHam Schneider, Jr., was i8 
 years old and landed at Baltimore, Md. From 
 there they came to Crawford county and lo- 
 cated in Whetstone township. William 
 Schneider became a well known minister in 
 the Reformed church but late in life they 
 united with the Methodists. 
 
 William Schneider, Jr., father of Mrs. 
 Kopp, grew to manhood in Whetstone town- 
 ship. He was first married to a Miss Behler, 
 who died one year later, with her infant. 
 Later he married, in Morrow county, O., Miss. 
 Sophia Eichhorn, who was born in Baden, Ger- 
 many, and was four years old when her par- 
 ents brought her to America. Her father, 
 John Eichhorn, followed his trade as a harness- 
 maker in Morrow county, later became a 
 farmer and still later moved to Mansfield, O., 
 where he died aged about 70 years. The fam- 
 ily is of the German Lutheran faith. The 
 mother of Mrs. Kopp died at the latter's home, 
 in March, 1905, when within a few months of 
 her 85th birthday. Of her 11 children, eight 
 grew to mature years, all married and the fol- 
 lowing survive : Catherine, who is the widow 
 of John Betts and resides with Mrs. Kopp; 
 Margaret, who is the wife of Frederick L. 
 Kopp; Mary, who is the wife of Frederick 
 Starr, residing at Belief ontaine, O., and has 
 two children, Paul and Clara B. ; and Calvin 
 H., who is pastor of a Reformed church at De- 
 catur, Ind., his family including three sons 
 and three daughters. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kopp have had the following 
 children: Clara Belle, who was born Aug. 31, 
 i86q, died April 22, 1899, aged 22 years, a 
 beautiful and talented girl, who had graduated 
 from the Galion High School in the class of 
 1887; and Willard F., who was born May 12, 
 1872 and is now a resident of Salt Lake City, 
 Utah. He married Hattie Shaw, who, at 
 death, left one daughter, Margaret Helen, who 
 was born Feb. 3, 1901, and is now in school. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Kopp are members of the First 
 Reformed Church at Galion, O. 
 
 CHARLES ROEHR,* proprietor of the 
 lumber and planing mill business of The C. 
 Roehr Company, with plant and offices on the 
 
 corner of Lane and Railroad streets, Bucyrus, 
 O., is one of the enterprising and representative 
 business men of this city. He was born July 
 26, 1835, in Saxony, Germany, and is a son 
 of Henry and Caroline (Gresky) Roehr. 
 
 Charles Roehr attended school in his native 
 land until he was 14 years of age and then 
 became a clerk in a store where he remained 
 for six years and gained his first ideas of busi- 
 ness. He decided then to come to America and 
 sailed from Hamburg in the summer of 1855, 
 the sailing vessel on which he embarked taking 
 six weeks to cross the Atlantic ocean, but 
 landed him safely at the port of New York. 
 His intended destination was Bucyrus, O., and 
 when he reached here he became an apprentice 
 under a German carpenter by the name of 
 George Stoll, with whom he learned his trade. 
 He remained two years with Mr. Stoll and 
 then went into business for himself and had al- 
 ready become known as a reliable and capable 
 contractor before he became a member of the 
 firm of Stoll Brothers & Company, which as- 
 sociation continued from 1868 until 1873. At 
 that time John Stoll, one of the brothers, re- 
 tired from the firm, after which Charles Roehr, 
 Jacob Stoll and John Shealy became equal part- 
 ners in a lumber and planing mill business. 
 This concern was small at its beginning, but 
 within ten years had more than doubled its 
 force and had added to its plant. The members 
 of the firm as above mentioned continued until 
 1880, when reorganization took place and since 
 then Charles Roehr has been proprietor. He 
 has acquired a large amount of realty in every 
 part of the city and has shown commendable 
 public spirit and local pride by improving it. 
 In November, 1858, Mr. Roehr was married 
 to Miss Lizzie Eberth, of Bucyrus, and they 
 have the following children: Kate, Edward, 
 Emma, William, Helen, Henry, Carl and 
 Alma. Mr. Roehr and family are members of 
 the German Lutheran church. The family 
 residence is located at No. 434 S. Sandusky 
 street, Bucyrus. 
 
 JOHN FREDERICK KERN, deceased, 
 for many years was a reputable and successful 
 business man of Bucyrus, O., and had lived re- 
 tired for sonie time prior to his death. He was 
 born in Wurtemberg, Germany, June 27, 183.5, 
 and was a son of John and Regina (Bender) 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1221 
 
 Kern. He came to America in 1854 and died 
 at Bucyrus, Jan. 31, 1897. His parents died 
 in Germany. 
 
 John Frederick Kern was the youngest of his 
 parents' children and he remained in his native 
 land until he was 19 years of age, when he 
 came to the United States landing at New 
 York City and from there coming to Bucyrus, 
 where he joined a brother and two older sisters, 
 who had preceded him to America. In Ger- 
 many he had learned the tailor's trade and this 
 he followed for some years and then went into 
 the clothing business and continued a clothing 
 merchant until he retired. He was an honor- 
 able business man and worthy citizen. In poli- 
 tics he was a Democrat but was never active in 
 public affairs but was ever ready to contribute 
 time and money in the cause of charity or in 
 times of public calamity. Mr. Kern was a 
 member of the Blue Lodge in the Masonic 
 order. 
 
 At Upper Sandusky, O., Mr. Kern was mar- 
 ried to Miss Caroline Rieser, who was born in 
 Baden, Germany, April 17, 1841, a daughter 
 of John George and Regina (Denzer) Rieser. 
 After the birth of five children, John George 
 Rieser and family came to America in 1846, 
 leaving the port of Hamburg on the sailing ves- 
 sel Victoria, and landing at New York twenty- 
 six days later. Mr. and Mrs. Rieser and chil- 
 dren — J. F., George, Mary, Sophia and Caro- 
 line — crossed the state of New York to Buffalo 
 and from there went to Upper Sandusky, near 
 which place the father bought a farm. There 
 both parents of Mrs. Kern died, her father at 
 the age of 73 years and the mother in her 84th 
 year. They were members of the German 
 Lutheran church. In every relation of life 
 they were good people, possessing the admir- 
 able traits for which the German nation is 
 noted. Mrs. Kern has one surviving sister, 
 Mrs. Sophia Myers, widow of Samuel Myers. 
 She has nine living children and her home is 
 at Cambria, la. 
 
 The following children were born to Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kern: John Edward, who is proprietor 
 of a drug store on the Public Square, Bucyrus, 
 and lives with his mother ; George F., who died 
 in infancy; Clara C, who died in infancy; 
 Joanna Laura, who was the wife of Otto Woll- 
 weber, and who died in 1910 without issue; 
 Jacob Frederick, who died in infancy ; Sophia, 
 
 who is the wife of Adna E. Foulke, of Bucy- 
 rus, and has five sons; Anna Elizabeth, v^'ho 
 died when five years old ; Charles William, who 
 is associated with his brother in the drug busi- 
 ness and who married Alberta Geiger; and 
 Mildred Anida, who is the wife of Charles F. 
 Keiss and has a son, Jonathan Edward ; Louisa 
 Caroline married Charles Rorick and resides 
 at New Winchester. She has one daughter, 
 Aileen Juanita. Mrs. Kern and family are 
 members of the German Reformed church at 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 GEORGE H. BECK, who conducts a bil- 
 liard parlor and cirgar stand in the Opera 
 House Block at Crestline, where he has been 
 established since November, 191 1, is one of 
 the representative business men here and has 
 excellent standing as a citizen. He was born 
 at Mansfield, Ohio, April 28, 1875, but has 
 lived in Crestline during most of his life. 
 
 He obtained his first employment when 
 about 12 years old as call boy for the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad Company, was afterward made 
 a brakeman and served as such until he reached 
 the age of twenty-five. Through an accident, 
 which caused him to lose a leg, he then retired 
 from railroading and went into the cigar trade, 
 for nine years conducting a cigar store on Selt- 
 zer street, just opposite his present location. 
 He takes an enthusiastic interest in all sports, 
 believing in the necessity of wholesome amuse- 
 ments, and in his well regulated establishment 
 he has installed a billiard table and four pool 
 tables, which are well patronized. Here he also 
 sells cigars, tobacco and soft drinks. His pres- 
 ent building is a commodious one, with dimen- 
 sions of 120 X 23 feet, and here his patrons 
 have opportunities for healthful relaxation. 
 In 1908 Mr. Beck completed one of the finest 
 residences in the city. It is of brick and stone 
 construction and located at No. 311 West Bu- 
 cyrus street. 
 
 Mr. Beck was married at Crestline to Miss 
 Alice B. Carrens, who was born, reared and 
 educated here, being a daughter of R. M. Car- 
 rens, a Avell known railroad engineer. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Beck have one son, Frank, a bright youth 
 of 14 years, who is now in his second year in 
 the high school. Mr. Beck is a member of the 
 Elks, the Knights of Pythias and the Masons. 
 For ten years he has been secretary of the 
 
1222 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Crestline Local No. ■^2y, A. F. of M. For 22 
 years he has been a member of the city band. 
 He is also a member of the executive board of 
 the Central Ohio Base Ball League, and for 
 two years has been manager of the local Basket 
 Ball Club, which has won every season game 
 in the state contests. 
 
 EDWARD A. WHITEAMIRE,* one of the 
 representative men of Whetstone township, 
 Crawford county, O., member of the school 
 board and township trustee, resides on his ex- 
 cellent farm of 70 acres, and was born Feb- 
 ruary 2, 1873, in Marion county, O. He is a 
 son of John and Catherine (Guinther) White- 
 amire. 
 
 John Whiteamire was born in Germany, a 
 son of Michael Whiteamire, and died in Craw- 
 ford county, O., April 15, 191 1. He was seven 
 years old when his parents brought him to 
 America and his subsequent life was mainly 
 spent in Ohio as a farmer. He was identified 
 with the Democratic party and was a man of 
 Christian life, a member of the German Meth- 
 odist church. He married Catherine Guinther, 
 who was born in Pennsylvania, a daughter of 
 John Guinther, and she still survives and re- 
 sides in Whetstone township, one mile south of 
 her son, Edward A. They had the following 
 children : Sarah, who married Isaac Meyers j 
 Simeon, who is deceased; Ella, who is the wife 
 of Samuel Tupps ; Edward A. and William. 
 
 After his school attendance period was over, 
 Edward A. Whiteamire remained on the home- 
 stead with his father until he was 21 years of 
 age, after which he rented farm land for one 
 year in Whetstone township and for five years 
 in Polk township, in the spring of 1899 pur- 
 chasing his present farm from Henry Lupp. 
 The old barn that stood on the place at the 
 time, later was destroyed by fire, and in its 
 place Mr. Whiteamire built the present sub- 
 stantial one, made repairs on other buildings 
 and has everything quite comfortable. He car- 
 ries on general farming and raises stock for his 
 own use. 
 
 On February 16, 1893, Mr. Whiteamire was 
 married to Miss Sarah Christman, a daughter 
 of Adam and Elizabeth (Beach) Christman. 
 They were natives of Crawford county but 
 later settled on a farm in Marion county and 
 both are now deceased, the father's remains 
 
 resting in the Whetstone Cemetery and the 
 mother's at Gallon. Their fathers were Adam 
 Christman and Henry Beach. Mrs. Whitea^ 
 mire had the following brothers and sisters : 
 John; Mary, wife of Fred Seiters; Ella, de- 
 ceased ; George and Francis. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Whiteamire three children have been born, 
 namely: Edith, born August 20, 1893; Esther, 
 born July 20, 1896; and«Layton, born January 
 21, 1906. Mr. Whiteamire and family attend 
 the Reform church at Gallon. In politics he is 
 a Democrat and is serving in his second term 
 as township trustee and in his third year as a 
 member of the school board. 
 
 JOHN A. CHESNEY, M. D., physician 
 and surgeon, whose death on August 31st, 
 1912, deprived Bucyrus of one of her foremost 
 citizens, was a man who had attained promi- 
 nence in his profession, although not devoting 
 all his energies to it, having also been actively 
 connected with various important business en- 
 terprises. He was born November 10, 1857, 
 at Marseilles, Wyandot county, O., a son of 
 John M. and Jumelia (Thompson) Chesney. 
 His paternal grandparents were John and 
 Elizabeth (Mahon) Chesney. 
 
 Dr. John M. Chesney, father of Dr. John 
 A., was born at Jamestown, Pa., of Scotch 
 parents. He was educated in an academy at 
 Jamestown, Pa., and later studied the science 
 of medicine with an older brother. Dr. Robert 
 Chesney. In 1853 he settled at Marseilles, O., 
 and remained there until 1876, when he came 
 to Bucyrus. Here he opened a drug store, 
 which he conducted until his death in 1883. 
 His wife was a daughter of James and Eliza- 
 beth Thompson, of Marion, O., to which place 
 they came from Lynchburg, Va. James 
 Thompson, who had served as colonel in a 
 Virginia regiment during the Mexican war, 
 became one of the leading citizens of Marion 
 and served as sheriff of the county. 
 
 John A. Chesney was mainly educated at 
 Wooster University, in Ohio. In the year 
 that his father moved to Bucyrus, he entered 
 the office of Dr. Cuykendall, a well known med- 
 ical practitioner, and after studying under him, 
 entered the Columbus Medical College, where 
 he was graduated with the class of 1879. In 
 1880 and 1 88 1 he was associated in medical 
 practice at Oceola with Dr. J. N. Richie, in 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1223 
 
 the latter year entering theXollege of Physi- 
 sians and Surgeons^ New York, .where he was 
 graduated in 1882.. Upon his return to Ohio 
 he entered into partnership with Dr. Thrift, of 
 Lima, who was then a professor in the Fort 
 Wayne Medical College, which institution ten- 
 dered Dr. Chesney the chair of physiology in 
 the following year. The death of his father 
 at this time recalled Dr. Chesney from Lima to 
 Bucyrus, and this city was the special field of 
 his professional and business activities from 
 that time until his death. He enjoyed a large 
 and lucrative practice, having patients from 
 near and far, and his success in both medicine 
 and surgery was very marked. He was sur- 
 geon for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 
 the West Virginia & Ohio, and the Cleveland & 
 Southwestern Railroad companies. He was 
 also widely known in business circles, being 
 president of the Bucyrus Telephone Company, 
 president of the Brokensword Stone Company, 
 and a director in the First National Bank of 
 Bucyrus; also a director in the Bucyrus Steel 
 Casting Company. He was identified officially 
 or otherwise with other important business 
 concerns. 
 
 Dr. Chesney was married June 30, 1887, to 
 Miss Cora A. Rowse, daughter of William and 
 Catherine (Finn) Rowse. She died November 
 I, 1892, being survived by a daughter, Edith. 
 In 1898 Dr. Chesney married for his second 
 wife Mrs. Celia B. Mulford, of Hanover, N. 
 J., who died February 18, 19 12. The family 
 residence at No. 255 East Mansfield street, 
 Bucyrus, was the scene of many pleasant social 
 gatherings, as both Dr. and Mrs. Chesney were 
 exceedingly hospitable. Dr. Chesney main- 
 tained his office in his residence. He was iden- 
 tified with the Masons, Elks and Knights of 
 Pythias. As a citizen he showed a marked in- 
 terest in the welfare and advancement of Bu- 
 cyrus, at all times faithfully performing a citi- 
 zen's duties, and giving freely both of his 
 counsel and cash to any good and worthy cause. 
 
 JOHN W. RUSSELL,* who is an honored 
 veteran of the great Civil War, residing at 
 Galion, O., and a retired engineer of the Erie 
 Railway, with which corporation he was con- 
 nected for 27 years, was born in Morrow 
 county, O., December 23, 1838, and is a son of 
 Charles and Margaret (Eners) Russell. 
 
 Charles Russell was born in Loudoun county, 
 Va., in 1773, and went from Virginia as a 
 soldier in the War of 1812, and afterward re- 
 ceived a pension from the government. He 
 married in Virginia and they had born to them : 
 Frances M., Robert T., Leedam, Sarah and 
 Barton T. After moving to Ohio the family 
 was increased, there being 13 children, fen of 
 \^•hom were sons and three daughters, and nine 
 grew to maturity and had children and homes 
 of their own. The only survivors are Barton 
 T. and John W., the former being a resident of 
 Mt. Gilead, O., and is now aged 85 years. His 
 four sons and two daughters are all married. 
 In 1849 the mother of the above children died 
 and Charles Russell married Mrs. Sarah 
 Dawson, who had no children born to this mar- 
 riage, but had two sons and four daughters 
 born to her first union. She survived her hus- 
 band for eight years, during which time she 
 drew her husband's pension, and died in 1878. 
 After moving to Ohio, Mr. and Mrs. Russell 
 and family lived for 11 years at Loudonville, 
 in Ashland county, and then Mr. Russell moved 
 to what was then Marion, but is now Morrow 
 county, this being in the 30's, securing 160 
 acres of unbroken land. Mr. Russell secured 
 an additional tract of 16% acres and that re- 
 mained his home until his death, in January, 
 1878. 
 
 John W. Russell was the youngest of his 
 parents' large family and he remained with, 
 his father, who, at his birth was a man past 
 middle life, until he was 25 years of age. In 
 1864 he enlisted for service in the Civil War, 
 entering Co. E, 26th O. Vol. Inf., commanded 
 by Capt. Kelly and Col. Clark, under General 
 Thomas, and survived to be honorably dis- 
 charged and mustered out, in Texas, October 
 23, 1865. He took part in many hard- fought 
 battles of those stormy years including Buz- 
 zard's Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Big 
 Sandy, fall of Atlanta, Nashville and Frank- 
 lin, a long list considering that his life was 
 endangered every moment on the battle field 
 and only less so during the long and toilsome 
 marches through the enemy's country. 
 
 When the war closed Mr. Russell returned 
 home and lived on the farm in Morrow county 
 until 1875, when he came to Galion and two 
 years later entered the service of the Erie 
 Railway in the capacity of brakeman. In 1885 
 
1224 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 he was promoted to the responsible position of 
 engineer and continued until December 26, 
 1904, when he was retired on a pension, as is 
 the rule of the Erie Company. He made a 
 fine record on the railroad as he had done in 
 the army and possessed the confidence of his 
 employers and the regard of his fellow-work- 
 men, during the whole period. Mr. Russell's 
 case was that of others. He passed safely 
 through all the perils of war and then, in times 
 of peace met with an accident that almost cost 
 his life, this occurring April 27, 1878, the in- 
 jury resulting in the loss of his right leg below 
 the knee, while at the same time his left arm 
 was broken in two places. Otherwise, during 
 his many years of railroading, he met with few 
 accidents and through fidelity and hard work 
 won favor and promotion. Politically he is a 
 Republican but his business has not been one 
 leaving him much time to perform duties per- 
 taining to public offices, although his qualifica- 
 tions have been many and frequently his ex- 
 perience would have made him valuable. 
 
 Mr. Russell has been twice married but has 
 no descendants. He is a member of Dick Mor- 
 ris Post, G. A. R., at Gallon, and for 28 years 
 has been a member of that sturdy organization, 
 the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. 
 
 DAVID E. TOBIN, who is a member of 
 one of the old pioneer families of Cranberry 
 township, Crawford county, O., resides on his 
 valuable farm of 120 acres, which lies in sec- 
 tion No. 34, was born in this township on the 
 old Tobin homestead one-half mile further 
 east, June 25, 1854, and is a son of Thomas 
 and Elizabeth (Shilling) Tobin. 
 
 Thomas Tobin was born in Ireland and came 
 to the United States while young. While 
 working at Mansfield, O., he was ambitious 
 to obtain an education and attended night 
 schools. When he had the opportunity he 
 learned the carpenter trade in Richland county 
 and after he came to Crawford county, he built 
 barns through Cranberry township. Later he 
 married Elizabeth Shilling, who was born in 
 Pennsylvania, a daughter of David Shilling, 
 then of Cranberry township, and eight chil- 
 dren were born to them, namely: Mrs. Anna 
 Mary Springer, William James, David E., 
 John Franklin, Mrs. Ellen Bittekofer, Thomas 
 Grove, Clement and Mrs. Eva Elmira Miller. 
 
 After marriage Thomas Tobin and wife set- 
 tled on a wild tract of 120 acres, which, with 
 the help of his children later on, was all cleared 
 and he quit carpenter work and devoted the 
 rest of his- life to farming, his death occurring 
 on Oct. 6, 191 1, in his 89th year, and his 
 burial was in the Union Cemetery in Liberty 
 township. His widow died May 29, 191 1, 
 her age being 82 years and she was buried in 
 the same place. They were members of the 
 Lutheran church, in Auburn township. 
 
 David E. Tobin was reared on the home 
 farm and attended the district schools. At the 
 time of his marriage he and his wife settled 
 on the farm on which he now lives but he did 
 not purchase it until 1907. His residence on 
 this farm has been continuous except for five 
 years spent on the old homestead, for in 1907 
 he went to live there on account of the ad- 
 vanced age of his parents, who both died in 
 191 1, when the homestead was sold by the ad- 
 ministrator and in 1912 Mr. Tobin returned 
 to his farm. He has made many fine improve- 
 ments here, in 1910 erecting his comfortable 
 modern residence and in 1912 putting up his 
 commodious barn. His land is all under 
 cultivation with the exception of about 15 
 acres, which is in valuable timber. He carries 
 on a general farming line and devotes some 
 attention to raising a good grade of horses 
 and sheep. 
 
 Mr. Tobin married Miss Clafinda Magner, 
 who was born in Western Ohio, and they have 
 five children : Ernie L., Elva B., Ira Otis and 
 Thomas Grove and Jane Elizabeth, who are 
 twins. Mr. Tobin is a stanch Democrat but 
 has never accepted any political office except 
 membership on the board of Education. He 
 is one of the representative men of Cranberry 
 township. The family attends the Methodist 
 church. 
 
 JOHN BENTON CAMPBELL, a resident 
 of Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 is the owner of 480 acres of land and is also 
 a stockholder in the Farmers and Citizens Bank 
 of Bucyrus. Mr. Campbell was born on the 
 farm on which he now lives, April 4, 1849, 
 a son of Edward and Amanda (Tupps) Camp- 
 bell and a grandson of John and Mary (Jones) 
 Campbell. The grandfather was born in Vir- 
 ginia, Oct. I, 1788, but moved with his parents 
 
MR. AND MRS. DAVID E. TOBIN 
 
AND REPRESENTyVTIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1227 
 
 when a boy to Wayne county, where he was 
 reared and where he married Mary Jones, who 
 was also a native of Pennsylvania, but who 
 had removed with her parents to Wayne 
 county, O. They became the parents of nine 
 children. Mrs. John Campbell died in 1857. 
 
 It was in the spring of 1824 that John Camp- 
 bell and his wife came to Crawford county, O. 
 He was at that time a poor man with only 
 enough money to enter 80 acres of land and 
 for the first few years he owned neither oxen 
 nor horses and his farming operations had to 
 be carried on without the use of these and 
 other implements so necessary to work on the 
 farm. However, his neighbors were good to 
 him and with what little help he received from 
 them, he prospered, and notwithstanding his 
 early poverty became one of the most promi- 
 nent and influential men in the county. For 
 27 years he was justice of the peace and during 
 that time his decisions were rarely reversed 
 when appealed to the higher courts, this fact 
 proving the accuracy and excellence of his 
 mind and judgment. In 1832 he was elected to 
 the legislature by the people of Fairfield county 
 and was reelected in 1834. While in this office 
 he advanced the interests of both the county 
 and state by his judgment and deliberation. It 
 was he that started what is known as the Camp- 
 bell graveyard which is located on the Camp- 
 bell farm and the first burial was that of his 
 infant son, John, who died Aug. 16, 1825. 
 John Campbell died Jan. 3. 1867. 
 
 Edward Campbell, son of John and Mary 
 (Jones) Campbell and father of our subject, 
 was born Dec. 16, 181 6, and was about eight 
 years old when the family removed to Craw- 
 ford county. This region was at that time a 
 wilderness and it became his duty to help clear 
 the home farm. He began the battle of life 
 when of age and by his own exertion and busi- 
 ness sagacity acquired much land. At the 
 time of his death he owned about 656 acres of 
 land, but he always resided on the home farm. 
 His marriage to Amanda Tupps took place 
 Jan. 4, 1838. She was born in Pennsylvania, 
 Sept. 20, 1820, but came to Crawford county 
 when a small girl and there was reared. Mr. 
 and Mrs. Edward Campbell had the following 
 children: Catherine, deceased, who was the 
 wife of Benjamin F. Keifer; Samuel K., de- 
 ceased; John Benton, whose name heads this 
 article; and Letta J., the wife of Andrew H. 
 
 Gibson. Edward Campbelldied Nov. 5, 1901. 
 He was a Democrat in politics but joined the 
 Republican party upon its organization. He 
 and his wife were members of the Disciples 
 church. 
 
 John Benton Campbell, the direct subject of 
 this article, attended the common schools and 
 then the Gallon High School. Later he spent 
 three terms in the Lebanon Normal School, 
 after which he spent his winter months in 
 teaching school and the summer time in farm- 
 ing. Following three years so spent, he gave 
 his entire time to farming, and this has been 
 his life work to the present time. He carries 
 on general farming and has one of the finest 
 homes and barns in the county, these buildings 
 being modern and equipped with all the con- 
 veniences of the city homes. 
 
 On Sept. 16, 1872, Mr. Campbell was mar- 
 ried to Jennie Shanks, a native of Edinburg, 
 Scotland. She is a daughter of David and 
 Jessie (Frazer) Shanks and was born in Edin- 
 burg, Scotland, coming to the United States 
 with her parents when 18 months old. They 
 landed in New York where they lived about 
 five years when they came to Crawford county. 
 David Shanks was a contractor all his life. He 
 and his wife had the following children: Jen- 
 nie, Andrew, Grace (Mrs. Charles Weisinger), 
 Devine (wife of Charles Gravelle), William, 
 Christian, Joseph and Charles. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. John Benton Campbell are 
 the parents of two children : Mabel, who is the 
 wife of E. W. Crall and has two children — 
 Muriel and Clark; and Edward, who married 
 Elva Rexroth. 
 
 Our subject is a Republican in politics. He 
 has served as supervisor and school director. 
 He and his wife attend the Christian church, 
 
 D. N. WEITHMAN, who is one of the rep- 
 resentative business men of New Washington, 
 is general contractor for all kinds of concrete 
 work, and manufacturer of cement building- 
 blocks and brick, and a dealer in stone, coal 
 and all kinds of building materials. He has 
 been a resident of Crawford county, O., since 
 June 23, 1885. He was born in Bavaria, Ger- 
 many, Feb. 17, 1864, and was three years 
 old when he accompanied his parents, Frank 
 and Barbara Weithman, to the United States. 
 They settled in Erie county, Pennsylvania. 
 
 D. N. Weithman attended school in Erie 
 
1228 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 county and there learned his trade. He has 
 five brothers and two sisters — Aloysius, Mar- 
 tie, Frank, Louie, Jacob, Barbara and Marga- 
 ret, all of whom still reside in Erie county. 
 After coming to Crawford county, Mr. Weith- 
 man was married to Elizabeth Durnwald, a 
 daughter of Martin Durnwald, a well known 
 and retired citizen of New Washington. To 
 Mr. and Mrs. Weithman the following children 
 have been born: Cecilia, born Aug. i8, 1889, 
 was married Jan. 11, 1910, to Julius Wurm, 
 who is a business man of New Washington 
 and a leading carpenter; they have one child 
 named Albert, born Nov. 5, 19 10. Edward, 
 born July 22, 1890, is a dealer in slate, with 
 slate roofing a specialty, the firm being Weith- 
 man & Wurm, he being in partnership with 
 Julius Wurm ; both are members of the Knights 
 of Columbus, C. M. B. A., and, besides, carry 
 accident insurance. Josephine, born Aug. 30, 
 1892, died the same year. Alfred, born April 
 3, 1894, works with his father, and is also 
 a member of many Catholic organizations. 
 Rose, born June 12, 1895, is employed at her 
 father's office and also does much sewing; she 
 is a member of the L. C. B. A. and Prudential. 
 Aloysius, born June 21, 1896, for the past 
 three years has been working at one of the 
 leading dry goods stores in this city. Mary, 
 born Dec. 18, 1898, at present is working at 
 home. Cornelius, born March i^, 1899, is at- 
 tending New \\^ashington High School. 
 Agnes, born April 10, 1900, is attending St. 
 Bernard's Catholic school ; as also are George, 
 born May 30, 1901 ; Walter, born March 6, 
 1902; Cyrill, born Feb. 8, 1904, and Mildred, 
 born Aug. 30, 1906. The remaining children 
 are Lina, born Jan. 22, 1908, and Carl, born 
 May ID, 1910. Mr. Weithman and his fam- 
 ily are members of the Catholic church. His 
 father died in his 70th year and his mother is 
 still living in Erie countv and is 78 years old. 
 Since marriage Mr. Weithman has resided 
 and carried on business at New Washington, 
 of which place he has been an active and useful 
 citizen. Politically he is a Democrat and has 
 served in the citv council for nine years. As 
 a business man he is held to be prompt and 
 reliable, and has done a large amount of the 
 important mason work in and adjacent to New- 
 Washington, all the stone work on the hand- 
 some Lutheran church of this city, and has 
 
 done a large amount of turnpike road and 
 bridge contracting in the county. He is one 
 of the stockholders in the Cranberry Nursery 
 Company at New Washington and takes an 
 interest in having capital invested here. He 
 is a worthy member of that widespread Cath- 
 olic organization, the Knights of Columbus, 
 and belongs also to the C. M. B. A. In the 
 spring of 1912 he embarked in the business of 
 mariufacturing cement blocks and this enter- 
 prise has proved very successful. 
 
 IRA E. QUAINTANCE,* proprietor of 
 Oak Valley Stock Farm in Dallas township, 
 was born in Holmes township, Crawford 
 county, Ohio, Aug. 30, 1861. He is a son of 
 Joseph W. Quaintance and a grandson of 
 Fisher Quaintance, who was born in Germany, 
 and who, after coming to the United States, 
 settled first in Jefferson county, O. In 1829 
 Fisher Quaintance came to Crawford county, 
 settling in Holmes township, where he became 
 the owner of 167 acres of land, wh'ch, after 
 clearing off the timber, he improved into a 
 good farm, erecting substantial buildings there- 
 on. He married Sarah Iry and they became 
 the parents of a large family, numbering ten 
 children, namely: Eli, Ira, Dawson, Joseph 
 W., George, Charles, Ann, Susanna, Bessie 
 and Sarah Jane, of whom Joseph W. and 
 Charles are the only survivors. 
 
 Joseph \Y. Quaintance was brought up on 
 the parental homestead. He attended the little 
 log schoolhouse and assisted his father on the 
 farm, finally becoming a practical farmer him- 
 self. On reaching manhood he bought 80 
 acres, which he cultivated for some years, after 
 which he purchased another farm — the one on 
 which he now lives, which he improved with 
 substantial buildings, including a comfortable 
 residence, where he now lives retired from 
 active labor. On his farm is an apole-tree, 
 which grew from seed distributed by "Johnny 
 ADoleseed," the quaint traveling philosopher, 
 whose life forms a part of the early history of 
 Ohio and other states and whose deeds live 
 after him. Joseph W Quaintance married 
 Lucina G. Gridlev, who was born near New 
 Bedford, Mass. Thev have been the parents 
 of nine children, namelv : Bashie, wife of John 
 Eaton, an attorney of Kansas City, Mo. ; Isa- 
 dora B. ; Edith M. ; Ira E. (subject of this 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1229 
 
 sketch) ; Leonard and Cora E., both of whom 
 are deceased ; H. J. ; and Charles and Edward, 
 who are both also deceased. 
 
 Ira E. Quaintance was educated in the com- 
 mon schools and at Ohio Northwestern Uni- 
 versity, which he attended for one term. 
 After his school days were over, he turned 
 his attention to farming in Crawford county. 
 Holmes township, and has since been thus en- 
 gaged. Besides cultivating the soil, he deals 
 extensively in Jersey cattle and is now the 
 owner of a very fine herd of animals of that 
 breed; he keeps about 25 head yearly. Mr. 
 Quaintance is a man of literary tastes and has 
 contributed various articles to farm journals, 
 and also to the Bucyrus Daily Telegraph. He 
 is a Republican in politics and has been a jus- 
 tice of the peace since 1904. 
 
 Mr. Quaintance was first married to Ella 
 Martin, of Holmes township, this county, in 
 February, 1909. She died Nov. 29, 1910, hav- 
 ing borne him two children — Truman and 
 Thelma. After his first wife's death, Mr. 
 Quaintance contracted a second marriage, with 
 Miss Martin, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth 
 Martin, of Holmes township, this county. Her 
 father, Henry Martin, a carpenter by trade, 
 was for a number of years a justice of the 
 peace in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Quaint- 
 ance attend the Methodist church and the 
 former has served as steward of the Sunday 
 school. They are well known people and have 
 many friends. 
 
 Their farm contains 170 acres and is a fine 
 piece of agricultural property, well supplied 
 with substantial and commodious buildings 
 and kept in the best of condition, the surround- 
 ings indicating thrift and prosperity. 
 
 LORENZO DOW WILLFORD, who is 
 filling the important office of assistant state fire 
 marshal of Ohio, serving under State Fire 
 Marshal John W. Zuber, has been a prominent 
 citizen of Crawford county for many years. 
 He was born May 8, 1864, in Auburn town- 
 ship, Crawford county, O., and is a son of 
 Jeremiah and Elizabeth (Graffmiller) Will- 
 ford. 
 
 Tn changes incident to crossing the Atlantic 
 ocean and penetrating into wild and unsettled 
 sections of the United States to found new 
 homes, old records, in many families, were 
 
 entirely lost, but in others were preserved as 
 most valued possessions and are still carefully 
 treasured among the family archives. These 
 possess an interest and value not only to the 
 owners, but to all those who cherish a love of 
 country and pride in what the early settlers, 
 handicapped as they were, accomplished for 
 posterity. In this connection the Willford 
 family of Ohio may be cited. 
 
 Samuel Willford, the first of the name asso- 
 ciated with settlement in America, resided in 
 Leicestershire, England, married there and 
 had three sons. The eldest, born in 1742, be- 
 came a physician in the city of London. The 
 second son, born in 1744, went to Germany. 
 
 Joseph Willford, the third son of Samuel 
 Willford, was born in Leicestershire, England, 
 in 1746, and studied medicine with his eldest 
 brother, in London, in 1765, and in the fol- 
 lowing year migrated to the American colonies. 
 He landed at Philadelphia, Pa., and estab- 
 lished his home in the Tuscarora Valley, in 
 Cumberland county, in the same year. In 
 1770, in Mt. Pleasant township, York, now 
 Adams county, he was married to Mary Camp- 
 bell, who was born in Cumberland county. 
 Pa., in 1750. She had passed through thrill- 
 ing experiences. When only seven years old, 
 with her brother William, she started from 
 her father's cabin on Penn's Creek, to bring 
 home the cows from the pasture. A marauding 
 band of Delaware Indians captured the chil- 
 dren and took them to their camp on the banks 
 of the Muskingum River, in Ohio. All trace 
 of little Mary was lost and her parents finally 
 gave up all hope of ever seeing the child again. 
 In 1764, Col. Bouquet took command of an 
 expedition against the Indians, and in a treaty 
 signed near Coshocton, stipulated that all 
 white captives held by them should be released, 
 and about 300 were surrendered to Col. Bou- 
 quet, Mary Campbell being one of the number. 
 Either at the time of marriage or previously, 
 Joseph Wilford removed to York county as 
 the tax duplicate of Mt. Pleasant township, 
 York county, shows that Joseph Willford was 
 a tax payer there in December, 1771, and in 
 1778 he removed to Washington county, Pa. 
 the record stating that his first wife, Mary 
 Campbell Willford, died in Greene county, Pa., 
 in 1 80 1, it then being Washington county. 
 Her husband, Joseph Willford, survived until 
 
1230 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 1828, his death occurring in Monongalia 
 county, Va., now West.Va. His second mar- 
 riage was to a Mrs.: Garlow, but his seven 
 children were born to his first union and the 
 record stands thus : Samuel, born in York 
 county, in 1771; Daniel, born in York county, 
 in 1 773 ; William, born in York county, March 
 15, 1775; Dougal, born in York county, in 
 1777; Joseph, born in Washington county, 
 in 1779, died in Greene county, in 1796; and 
 Betsey and Peggy, born in Washington 
 county. Pa., in 1781 and 1783, respectively. 
 William Willford, son of Joseph, who was 
 bom March 15, \77S' died Oct. 6, 1842. After 
 the War of 1812 he came with his uncle, Sam- 
 uel Willford, to Greene township, Wayne 
 county, O., and the records show that Samuel 
 Willford was. treasurer of that township from 
 1819 to 1824, Before leaving Pennsylvania, 
 William Willford married Sarah Rich, who 
 was born Feb. 12, 1780, and died Sept. 9, 
 .1844, and to them were born the following 
 children: Catherine, born Nov. 4, 1800, died 
 July 25, 1837; Daniel, born Feb. i, 1803; 
 Jacob, born Feb. 8, 1805; Samuel, born Jan. 
 7, 1807; Anne, born July 25, 1809; Margaret, 
 born Dec. 22, 1810; Elizabeth, born Oct. 5, 
 1812; Mary, born Nov. 12, 1814; Jeremiah, 
 born Oct. 5, 1816, died May 9, 1887; and 
 John R., bom Oct. 9, 1818, died Feb. 6, 1892. 
 Jeremiah S. Willford was born in Wayne 
 county, O., and was about 15 years old when 
 his father settled in Cranberry township, 
 Crawford, then Richland county. Here, on 
 Oct. 19, 1843, Jeremiah Willford was married 
 to Elizabeth Graffmiller, who was born Sept. 
 24, 1824, in Baden, Germany, and was brought 
 to America by her parents, who settled in 
 Auburn township, Crawford county, where her 
 death occurred Jan. 22, 1904. Her parents 
 were Andrew and Elizabeth Graffmiller. both 
 of whom were natives of Baden, Germany, 
 where the mother was born Nov. r, 17^2, and 
 died in Crawford county, Dec. 3, 1857. In 
 1834, Andrew Graffmiller, with his wife and 
 six children — George, Barbara, Christian, 
 Anna Mary, Andrew and Eliz-abeth — em- 
 igrated from Germany and settled in Craw- 
 ford county, O., where he died Oct. 4, 1839, 
 aged 64 years. To Jeremiah and Elizabeth 
 Willford the following children were born: 
 William, born Aug. 22, 1844, died Aug. 22; 
 
 Caroline, born Nov. 22, 1845, who is the wife 
 of E. M. Keller, of Plymouth, 0.; Samuel, 
 born Nov. 28, 1847, who resides with his fam- 
 ily in Cranberry township; Elizabeth D., who 
 is the wife of W. O. High, a farmer in Au- 
 burn township, and who was born June 9, 
 1849; Mary M., born Jan 22, 1852, who is 
 the wife of John Kemp, a farmer in Seneca 
 county; John W., who was born Dec. 30, 
 1854; and Lorenzo Dow, who was born May 
 8, 1864. The two sons last named live on the 
 old homestead, of which they are joint owners. 
 The parents of this family were among the 
 leaders of the Methodist Episcopal church in 
 Auburn township, good, virtuous people, 
 whose influence in their neighborhood was 
 marked, and whose memory is tenderly cher- 
 ished by their children. 
 
 Lorenzo Dow Willford was reared on the 
 home farm and attended the township schools, 
 subsequently becoming a student in the State 
 Normal School, at Ada, O., and the New 
 Washington High School. In 1884 he was 
 graduated from the latter institution and later 
 took a business course in the Tri-State Busi- 
 ness College. For nearly 20 years Mr. Will- 
 ford taught school in Crawford county, never 
 going very far from the old home because of 
 his affection for his parents, and his anxiety 
 for their health and comfort. He became well 
 and favorably known all over Crawford coun- 
 ty, however, as an able educator. From early 
 manhood an interested factor in public affairs- 
 in his native county and prominently identified 
 with the Democratic party, on numerous occa- 
 sions he has been called to public office and has 
 served frequently as a delegate to important 
 Democratic conventions. In 1892 he was 
 elected secretary of the Crawford County 
 Democratic Committee and with the exception 
 of one year has served continuously in that 
 position or as chairman of the committee until 
 1910, when he was elected chairman of the 
 Crawford County Democratic Executive Com- 
 mittee, and was reelected in 1912. Twice he 
 has been elected county clerk, first in 1903 and 
 again in 1906, serving five years in all. In 
 June, 1909, Mr. Willford was appointed assist- 
 ant fire marshal of the State of Ohio, by Gov- 
 ernor Harmon, a position that involves duties 
 of grave importance to the public. 
 
 In addition to his educational and political 
 
HOWARD H. SMITH, M. D. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1233 
 
 prominence, Mr. Willford is well known in 
 a number of fraternal organizations. He is a 
 Blue Lodge Mason, an Odd Fellow, Eagle, 
 Knight of Pythias, Maccabee and Elk, and is 
 or has been officially connected with several 
 of the above orders. He is a member of Cran- 
 berry Lodge No. 441, Odd Fellows, at New 
 Washington, and at present is representative 
 to the Grand Lodge of the state for the 19th 
 District. For more than ten years he has 
 filled the office of record-keeper for the K. O. 
 M. at New Washington. 
 
 VERNE E. KIESS,* who is one of the 
 enterprising and successful agriculturists of 
 Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 operating 200 acres of farming land belonging 
 to his father, was born in Whetstone town- 
 ship, April 30, 1880, and is a son of Simeon 
 and Catherine (Kile) Kiess. The father was 
 born in Pennsylvania and the mother in Ohio, 
 and they now live retired at Bucyrus. Three 
 of their children died in infancy and three 
 survive : Sidney, Harvey and Verne E. 
 
 Until he was 19 years of age, Verne E. 
 Kiess attended school every winter and a por- 
 tion of the time the summer sessions as well, 
 but as he became strong enough his help was 
 needed on the home farm, where ploughing, 
 seeding, haying and harvest taxed the endur- 
 ance of his father and brothers. He remained 
 at "home until his marriage, in 1904, and then 
 took charge of the farm that he has been man- 
 aging ever since. Like other members of his 
 family he is a Democrat in politics but has 
 never been a seeker for office. 
 
 On Oct. 20, 1904, Mr. Kiess was rnarried 
 to Miss Rebecca Nefif, who is a daughter of 
 John and Emma (McKinstry) Neff, farmers 
 in Marion county, O. Mr. and Mrs. Neff had 
 seven children: Rebecca, Kinsel, Lena, Laura, 
 Paul, and two who died in infancy. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Kiess have two daughters: Marjorie, 
 who was born Dec. 7, 1905 ; and Marion, who 
 was born July 14, 1908. They attend the 
 Evangelical church. 
 
 HON. P. W. POOL,* who is a prominent 
 member of the Crestline bar and for many 
 years identified with important movements, 
 political and legal, in Crawford county, O., 
 was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., in 
 
 1847, and is a son of Joseph M. and Mary 
 (Woodsworth) Pool. The parents were of 
 German extraction. The father died in Penn- 
 sylvania and the mothelr some years later, in 
 Summit county, O. 
 
 P. W. Pool enjoyed educational advantages 
 of a high order, first attehding Greensburg 
 College, in Trumbull county, O., and later, 
 Hiram College, where he became well ac- 
 quainted with James A. Garfield, later Presi- 
 dent of the Uniter States. Mr. Pool was an 
 exceptional student in several branches, lan- 
 guages and mathematics in particular, and 
 afterward, when he entered the University of 
 Michigan, led his class in law and was gradu- 
 ated there in 1865. In the same yfear he came 
 to Crawford county, where he was admitted 
 to the bar. For two years he taught German 
 at Bucyrus, coming to Crestline in 1867, where 
 he has resided until the present; He has been 
 a most active citizen, serving six years as 
 prosecuting attorney of Crawford county, and 
 for 17 years as mayor of Cresthne. Neces- 
 sarily politics have more or less engaged his 
 attention and since early manhood he has been 
 identified with- the progressive* vwhg of the 
 Democratic party, on many occasions servmg 
 with party zeal as a delegate to both State and 
 Congressional conventions. 
 
 Mr. Pool married Miss Augusta Frye, who 
 died in 19O1, leaving one son, Charles W., 
 who is a commercial traveler who makes his 
 home at Gabon, O. Mr. Pool belongs to the 
 various branches of Masonry, has been a dele- 
 gate to the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows, from 
 Crestline, and is a member of the Elks at Bu- 
 cyrus. 
 
 HOWARD H. SMITH, M. D.,* physician 
 and surgeon at Bucyrus, O., has been estab- 
 lished here since 1895, making a choice of -this 
 city as his field of professional effort imme- 
 diately after his graduation from the Cleve- 
 land University of Medicine and Surgery. He 
 was born in 1869, at Wooster, 0., and is a son 
 of Cornelius and Elizabeth TBeerbower) 
 Smith and a grandson of Jacob Smith. 
 
 Jacob Smith came to Ohio as a pioneer from 
 Pennsylvania, in 1806, and located in Wayne 
 county, taking up virgin land near Wooster 
 and that land he improved and lived on during 
 the remainder of his life. He married an 
 
1234 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 estimable woman, the daughter of an Irish 
 neighbor, and six children were born to them, 
 all of whom became creditable members of 
 society. Jacob Smith and wife were early 
 supporters of the Presbyterian church in their 
 neighborhood. 
 
 Cornelius Smith, father of Dr. Smith, was 
 born in Wayne county in 1820 and continued 
 to live on the old homestead and carry on its 
 industries until within seven years of his death, 
 when he moved to Wooster where he passed 
 away April 25, 1901. He was recognized as 
 a man of sterling character, for 18 years served 
 as a justice of the peace, and for many years 
 spent much of his time attending to the settle- 
 ment of estates. In politics he was an un- 
 flinching defender of Democratic principles. 
 He was married in Wayne County to Elizabeth 
 Beerbower, who was born in Wayne County 
 in 1827, and died there March 10, 1910. Her 
 father, Jacob Beerbower, was of German 
 ancestry but was born in Pennsylvania. Like 
 Jacob Smith, he came early to Wayne county, 
 and secured unimproved and uncleared land 
 in the vicinity of Fredericksburg, on which he 
 made his home, married and reared his family 
 there. To Cornelius Smith and wife the fol- 
 lowing children were born: Benton D., who 
 is in the livery business at Wooster; Kansas, 
 a man of family, who is a retired farmer at 
 Wooster ; Emma, who is the wife of Brandon 
 McClure, who is a large dealer in small fruits; 
 Howard H. ; Kate May, now deceased, who 
 was the wife of Harper McDonald; James 
 Wiley, who, at death, left a widow, one son 
 and two daughters ; and two who died young. 
 
 Howard H. Smith had excellent educational 
 advantages in his youth, the fact of his home 
 being in a college town contributing to this, 
 and when he entered medical college had 
 already a trained literary understanding. He 
 is engaged in a general practice and has built 
 up an enviable reputation for professional effi- 
 ciency. He is identified with all the leading 
 organizations of the Homeopathic School of 
 Medicine and keeps fully abreast with the times 
 in scientific discoveries. 
 
 Dr. Smith was married at Wooster, O , 
 April 4. iSgg, to Miss Ida Marie Smith, who 
 was born in Wavne county, in 1872, and is a 
 daughter of William N. and Adaline (John- 
 son) Smith. The father of Mrs. Dr. Smith 
 
 was born at Steubenville, O., and was a son 
 of N. W. and Maria (Waits) Smith, who 
 were pioneers in East Union township, Wayne 
 county. The old home place, where Mrs. Dr. 
 Smith was born, is now the Ohio State Ex- 
 perimental Station. William N. Smith was 
 a stock raiser and dealer. He died in May, 
 1898, aged 68 years. He married Adaline 
 Johnson, who survives. Her parents were 
 Isaac and Rachel (Ernst) Johnson, old Penn- 
 sylvania pioneers of Wayne county. All these 
 families have had much to do with developing 
 that. section of Ohio and for years public 
 record will show that they have been leaders 
 in agricultural progress and in educational and 
 religious movements. Mrs. Dr. Smith was 
 carefully educated and is a graduate of 
 Wooster University and also of the Conserva- 
 tory of Music, taking both degrees in 1891. 
 In music she was a pupil of Prof. Carl Mers 
 and of Prof. Conrad, both of national reputa- 
 tion. To Dr. and Mrs. Smith one daughter 
 has been born. Pleasant Jeanne, an attractive 
 little maiden of nine years. Dr. and Mrs. 
 Smith are members of the Presbyterian church 
 and are well known in the pleasant social life 
 of the city. 
 
 SAMUEL KURTZ, a highly respected citi- 
 zen of Bucyrus, a retired farmer, was born 
 in Whetstone township, Crawford county, O., 
 Sept. 8, 1848, and is a son of George and 
 Catherine (Shearer) Kurtz. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Kurtz were natives of 
 Germany, where the father was born in 1821 
 and the mother in 1827. They came to Amer- 
 ica when young, the father of George Kurtz 
 locating with his family in Lycoming county. 
 Pa. About 1842 George Kurtz came to Craw- 
 ford county and here was married some time 
 later to Catherine Shearer, whose parents had 
 also come to Ohio from Pennsylvania. The 
 newly married couple settled on the Shearer 
 farm and continued to live there, Mr. Kurtz 
 assisting in its clearing. Mrs. Kurtz died 
 there in 1868, at the age of 5 s years. The 
 second marriage of George Kurtz was to 
 Catherine Geibler, who still resides on the 
 old homestead in Whetstone township. There 
 George Kurtz died in 1903, at the age of 87 
 years. To his first marriage two sons wer^, 
 born : Jacob and Samuel, the former of whom 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1235 
 
 is a prosperous farmer in Tully township, 
 Marion county, O. He was married (first) 
 to Caroline Stoltz and they had one son, who 
 survives. His second marriage was to Christi- 
 ana Cover and they have two sons and two 
 daughters. 
 
 Samuel Kurtz, in many ways, has been a 
 very fortunate man, growing up on his father's 
 farm with comfortable home surroundings and 
 being afforded an education that included both 
 English and German studies. In the course of 
 years he became the owner of 78 acres of the 
 old homestead and he also acquired 79 acres 
 in another part of Whetstone township, and 
 on these two farms he spent many prosperous 
 years, carrying on large agricultural opera- 
 tions until age and inclination led him to retire 
 from further activities. In October, 19 10, he 
 and his wife took possession of their com- 
 fortable residence at No. 947 Prospect street, 
 Bucyrus. 
 
 It was in this city that Mr. Kurtz was mar- 
 ried to Miss Margaret Rexroth, who was born 
 near Bucyrus, Aug. 26, 1848, a daughter of 
 John Nicholas and Anna Maria (Rittmann) 
 Rexroth, one of a family of ten children. 
 Eiffht children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 Kurtz, namely: John George, a graduate of 
 the Ohio Northern University at Ada, O., 
 who is a clerk in the Government service, re- 
 siding on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in 
 Montana, married Mary Myers and has three 
 chilren — Loneta, Lowell and Kenneth; Sam- 
 uel Aaron, also a grauate of the Ohio North- 
 ern University, who is now science teacher 
 in the Bellevue, O., High School, married 
 Nellie Beldon and has four children — Russell, 
 Marguerite, Wilbur and Elizabeth. Simeon 
 Gershom, who also completed a course at the 
 university, at Ada, O., now a successful farmer 
 in Whetstone township, married Mrs. Emma 
 (Stump) Lepp' and has two children — Byron 
 and La Verne; Mary Catherine, a handsome 
 young woman and a most lovely character, 
 who had musical talent of a high order and 
 who had served the church as organist for 
 several years, died on Feb. 23, 1897, in the 
 twentieth year of her age; Bertha Rexroth, 
 a graduate of expression and oratory at Ada, 
 O., is the wife of Prof. Russel Myers, also a 
 graduate of the Ohio Northern University and 
 who is now principal of the High School at 
 Columbus Grove, O. ; Harrison, who also pur- 
 
 sued a course of study at Ada, O., has charge 
 of the home farm, married Caroline Mildred 
 Rexroth; Paul, who died in infancy; and Ed- 
 win Charles, who attends school at Bucyrus. 
 
 Mr. Kurtz and family attend the German 
 Reformed church. Politically, Mr. Kurtz is 
 a Republican with independent tendencies. 
 
 Since the above was written and before it 
 was in print Mr. Kurtz died. The end came 
 suddenly while he was engaged in doing some 
 light work on the form. Death was due to 
 heart failure and occurred on the 13th of April. 
 
 Brief funeral services were held at the home 
 with extended and impressive services at the 
 Whetstone Reformed church, of which he had 
 been a member most of his life and where he 
 had held official relations as treasurer, sec- 
 retary of the board, deacon and elder for many 
 years, and Sunday-school superintendent for 
 16 years. Fitting eulogies were given by 
 former pastors while Rev. Mr. Keller gave the 
 main discourse. The choir rendered touching 
 and appropriate music. The interment was in 
 the Shearer cemetery. 
 
 HENRY C. DYE,* superintendent of the 
 municipal light and power plant, at Galion, 
 O., has been identified with this public utility 
 since before he was 21 years of age. He is 
 a native of Galion, born here in September, 
 1874, and is a son of Samuel and Rebecca 
 (Ness) Dye. 
 
 Samuel Dye was born at Sidney, O., and for 
 36 years has been in the service of the Big 
 Four Railrod Company, and as he has reached 
 the age limit of about 60 years, will probably 
 soon retire on a pension, which is the method 
 employed by this great corporation to reward 
 fidelity and efficiency. He and wife are mem- 
 bers of the English Lutheran church and he 
 belongs to the leading railway social and fra- 
 ternal organizations. Nine children were born 
 to Samuel Dye and wife and Henry C. is the 
 eldest of the six survivors. 
 
 Henry C. Dye attended school at Galion but 
 from boyhood was more interested in me- 
 chanics than in any other study and this nat- 
 ural leaning determined his life work. His 
 studv of engineering secured him a license and 
 for nineteen years he has been connected with 
 the light and power plant here and for ten 
 years has been superintendent. 
 
 Mr. Dye was married at Galion to Miss 
 
1236 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 Emma Helfrich, who also was born, -reared 
 and' educated here, axid they have one daugh- 
 ter, Marjorie, a school-girl of ten years.- ■ Mr. 
 atid Mrs. Dye are members of the First Re- 
 f orfned Church. Politically he is a Republi- 
 can and fraternally is a Master Mason, is past 
 chancellor in the Knights of Pythias, and is 
 a charter member of the local lodge of Elks. 
 Hebelongs also to the National Association of 
 Stationary Egineers. 
 
 CYRE FIELD, was a veteran of the great 
 Civil War, and for many years afterward was 
 an honorable and successful business man of 
 Bticyrus, O. He was born in Delaware county, 
 O., May. 12, 1840, and died Jan. 17, 1895. 
 His parents were James and Mary (Landon) 
 Field. 
 
 James Field was born in Canada, a son of 
 Roswell Field, who came to the American 
 colonies prior to the Revolutionary War and 
 about that time moved to Canada, in order to 
 escape fighting the army of his own land. It 
 was during the war between the United States 
 and Canada that he was forced to fight against 
 his counti'y. He finally located in Delaware 
 county, O., where he lived into old age. James 
 Field grew to manhood in Delaware county 
 and became a farmer. His birth took place 
 in 1806 and his death, at St. Louis, Mo., on 
 May 7, 1875. He married Mary Landon, who 
 was born in 1810, and died July 27, 1889. 
 They were members of the Christian church. 
 Of their nine children two survive : Rev. Sam- 
 uel Field, who resides with his family on his 
 farm near Francisville, Ind. ; and Rev. Nicho- 
 las Field, who now lives in the State of 
 Washington. As the same family names 
 appear it is reasonable to infer that the late 
 merchant prince of Chicago, Marshall Field, 
 belonged to a branch of this family, and also 
 the poet, the late Eugene Field, together with 
 many others of name and note in this country. 
 
 Cyre Field grew to manhood on the home 
 farm. Early in the Civil War, with his 
 brother Roswell, he enlisted for service, enter- 
 ing the 49th O. Vol. Inf., on the first call and 
 serving for three months, and later served 
 out a second enlistment. He was well edu- 
 cated and successfully taught school for a 
 time and then accepted a clerical position with 
 the Erie Railroad and still later was with his 
 
 brother, James A. Field,- a well known manu- 
 facturer at St. Louis, Mo. In 1883 he came 
 to Bucyrus and embarked in the mercantile 
 business in which he continued until failing 
 health made retirement obligatory and his 
 death occurred two years later. He was, like 
 the majority of the Fileds, of fine manly 
 appearance. His manner was pleasant and his 
 -speech agreeable to the ear, while his kind- 
 ness of heart was daily exhibited to those 
 around him. For some years he was com- 
 mander of the Kelley Post, G. A. R., at Bu- 
 cyrus ''and always an interested member. ■ Po- 
 litically he was identified with the Republican 
 party. 
 
 At Marion, O., June i, 1873, Mr. Field 
 was married to Miss Margaret C, Brinker, 
 who was born in Westmoreland county. Pa., 
 in 1850, and was brought to Ohio at the age 
 of two years by her parents, Jesse and Jane 
 (Eagle) Brinker. Mr. Brinker was a car- 
 penter by trade and after locating at Marion 
 continued active in this trade until within a 
 few years of his death, in May, 1895, when 
 in his 73rd year. His wife passed away in 
 1854, when Mrs. Field was a child. They 
 were members of the Free Will Baptist church. 
 To Mr. Br inker's second marriage, one daugh- 
 ter was born, who still survives. Mrs. Field 
 was one of four children and she has two 
 sisters: Mary, who is the wife of Henry 
 Crosby, living near Cuyahoga, O., who has one 
 son and two daughters; and Kate, who is the 
 wife of J. L. Showen, of Grand Rapids, Mich., 
 and has one daughter. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Field the following children were born: Lil- 
 lian E., who is the wife of James Queeney, 
 residing at Knoxville, Tenn. ; Elva Florence, 
 who is the wife of Clarence R. Corey, residing 
 at Seattle, Wash., and has one daughter', 
 Eleanor C. ; Herbert C, an electrician, resid- 
 ing in Southern Ohio, who married Clara 
 Decker, and has two sons — James and Her- 
 bert C, Jr. ; and Catherine Estella, who resides 
 with her mother. Mrs. Field is a member of 
 the Christian church, as was her husband. 
 
 CHRISTOPHER W. DENNIG, builder 
 and owner of the Dennig business block, at 
 Galion, O., a commodious structure with di- 
 mensions of 22x120 feet, and proprietor of 
 an old established business here, his grocery 
 
.AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1237 
 
 store occupying the entire first floor, a part' 
 of the second and the entire basement, has been 
 a resident of Gabon since 1876. He is a 
 veteran of the great Civil War, in which he 
 bore an honorable part both as a private soldier 
 and later as an officer, and is known and re- 
 spected the entire length of Crawford county. 
 He was born in Baden, Germany, Feb. 9, 
 1839, and is a son of Francis and Magdalena 
 (Schentenhart) Dennig. 
 
 Francis' Dennig and wife were natives of 
 Baden and prior to marriage he learned the 
 wagonmaking trade. In 1852, with their one 
 child, Christopher W., they started for Amer- 
 ica, taking passage on a vessel that required 
 29 days to make the voyage across the Atlan- 
 tic Ocean but which landed them safely at 
 Castle Garden, New York. From there they 
 continued their journey to Galion, O., Francis 
 Dennig finally selecting a location for his 
 small shop between Waldo and Marion, in 
 Marion county, along what he deemed a well 
 traveled road. His judgment proved correct 
 and through hard work he accumulated some 
 capital which he later invested in another part 
 of Marion county but he died soon afterward, 
 when aged 55 years. His widow and only son 
 then moved to Marion and from there came 
 to Galion, where the former died in 1900, 
 when aged jt^ years. They were worthy peo- 
 ple and their son recalls them with respect 
 and affection. They belonged to the German 
 Methodist church. 
 
 Christopher W. Dennig learned the wagon- 
 making trade under his father's supervision 
 and assisted in his father's shop until he de- 
 cided to enlist for service in the Civil War. 
 On Nov. II, 1861, he enlisted in Co. D, 82nd 
 O. Vol. Inf., which regiment was sent to the 
 front, in West Virginia, and, with very little 
 preparation found itself in active service. It 
 was called on to face the forces under Gen. 
 Stonewall Jackson, and participated in such 
 hard fought battles as Cedar Mountain, the 
 second battle of Bull Run, Chancellorsville, 
 Gettysburg, Missionary Ridge, Knoxville, 
 Dallas, Bentonville and Goldsboro. His service 
 all through the war covered two enlistments 
 and during the second period he held the rank 
 of second lieutenant. He took part in that 
 remarkable triumphant review at Washington, 
 D. C, after the close of hostilities, and re- 
 
 ceived his final honorable discharge on May 
 24, 1865, from a regiment that had lost over 
 500 members. Although he was ever. at the 
 post of duty, whether marching or fighting, 
 Mr. Dennig escaped all injury and was never 
 made a prisoner, while comrades fell by, his 
 side and many were captured who never , lived 
 to return. On numerous occasions he .had 
 close calls, once a bullet singing his hair as 
 it sped through his cap, while often shells ex- 
 ploded near his path and enemies lay in wait 
 when crossing streams. 
 
 After he returned from the army to Ohio, 
 Mr. Dennig was married in Marion county, 
 to Miss Mary Haberman, who died at the age 
 of 43 years. In 1876 he came to Galion, hav- 
 ing previously, for four years, been in the 
 grocery business at Marion, and for four years 
 was in the machine shops of the Big Four 
 Railway. In 1880 he returned to the grocery 
 business, and in 1893 he erected the Dennig 
 block at Galion, his business having outgrown 
 his first Quarters, and he, in association with 
 his sons, has been established here ever since, 
 conducting one of the largest stores of this 
 kind in this section of the county and carrying 
 a complete stock of fancy and staple goods. 
 
 Mr. Dennig was married second to Miss 
 Mary De Vour, who was born in Columbiana 
 county, O. She is a member of the Method- 
 ist Episcopal church while he retains his mem- 
 bership in the German Methodist church in 
 which he was reared. Politically he is a Re- 
 publican. He is much interested in Grand 
 Army matters and is a member of Dick Mor- 
 ris Post, No. 130, G. A. R. 
 
 WILLIAM HEIBERTSHAUSEN,* de- 
 ceased, for many years was engaged in busi- 
 ness at Crestline, O., where his life was mainly 
 spent and where he was universally respected 
 and much esteemed. He was born at Crest- 
 line, Dec. 7, 1862, a son of John and EHza- 
 beth (Pepper) Heibertshausen. 
 
 John Heibertshausen and wife were natives 
 of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and were 
 young when they came to America and later 
 to Crestline, where Mr. Heibertshausen was 
 one of the first to embark in the furniture arid 
 undertaking business, having learned the trade 
 of cabinetmaker before leaving Germany. He 
 continued in. business at Crestline until his 
 
1238 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 death, in 1889, when aged 56 years, his wife 
 surviving him but a few months. They were 
 members of the German Lutheran church. 
 The family consisted of the following chil- 
 dren : Charles, who lives in Indiana ; William ; 
 Kate, who is the wife of Elmer Gilson of 
 Crestline, and has two children; and Henry, 
 who died at the age of 21 years. 
 
 William Heibertshausen attended the public 
 schools at Crestline and assisted his father 
 from boyhood, practically growing up in the 
 business, and succeeding to it when his father 
 died in 1889, and continued until his own 
 death, in March, 1909. He was an honorable 
 business man and public spirited citizen, and 
 at times served in the city council. He was 
 a strong Democrat all his life as his father 
 had been before him. 
 
 On Nov. 22, 1887, Mr. Heibertshausen was 
 married to Miss Lena Weber, who was born 
 in Bavaria, Germany, April 4, 1867, a daugh- 
 ter of Christian and Caroline (Busche) Weber. 
 The Weber family came to the United States 
 in 1867, landing in the harbor of New York 
 and from that city removing to Erie, Pa., and 
 soon after to Crestline, where Christian Weber 
 entered the Pennsylvania Railway shops. His 
 death was caused by an accident in the round- 
 house, Dec. 8, 1899, when aged 56 years. He 
 was an industrious man and was respected by 
 all who knew him. His widow still lives at 
 Crestline, the mother of seven children, name- 
 ly: Lena, who is the widow of William Hei- 
 bertshausen; Mary, who is the wife of Martin 
 Wilkinson, proprietor of the Gibson House, 
 Crestline; Henry, a railroad man, who mar- 
 ried Irene Helfrich and has three children; 
 Caroline, who died unmarried, at the age of 
 21 years; Minnie E., who is employed in a 
 store at Cleveland ; Charles, who is an engineer 
 in a steel plant at Lorain, O. ; and Edward, 
 a machinist, who lives with his mother at 
 Crestline. To Mr. and Mrs. Heibertshausen 
 two children were born : Alma Mary, who was 
 born March 11, 1890, and who was graduated 
 from the Crestline High School in the class 
 of 1908; and Robert William, who was" born 
 Nov. 29, 1893, and who was graduated from 
 the Crestline High School in the class of 1912, 
 and is employed in the offices of the Pennsyl- 
 vania Railroad Company in this city. The 
 family belongs to the German Lutheran 
 church. 
 
 JONATHAN SONGER,* deceased, was 
 born in Ohio in 1834, a son of George and 
 Sarah Songer, of German extraction, who 
 settled in Whetstone township, Crawford 
 county, O., at an early date. They were par- 
 ents of seven children, five of whom survive, 
 and were devoted members of the German 
 Lutheran church. 
 
 Jonathan Songer grew to manhood on his 
 father's farm in Whetstone township, and 
 there passed his life, following farming and 
 stock raising and giving attention to public 
 affairs and private duties as became a worthy 
 man and good citizen. He died on his farm 
 in the above township, March 4, 1872, at the 
 early age of 38 years. 
 
 Jonathan Songer married Miss Ruth Stew- 
 art, who was born some 60 years ago, on a 
 farm two miles east of Bucyrus, O., a daugh- 
 ter of Joseph and Jane (Stean) Stewart, and 
 a granddaughter of Hugh Stewart. Grand- 
 father Stewart was born in Pennsylvania, of 
 Scotch ancestry, and later married Barbara 
 Stean, also of Scotch parentage. She died in 
 Pennsylvania and he came in advanced age to 
 Ohio and spent his last years at the home of 
 his son in Whetstone township. He had three 
 sons, Joseph, James and John, all of whom 
 married sisters, members of the Stean family. 
 John Stewart died in Pennsylvania but the 
 other brothers came from Carlisle, Pa., to 
 Ohio and settled in Crawford county, living 
 and dying on adjacent farms in Whetstone 
 township. Of the eight children born to 
 Joseph Stewart and wife, two survive: Mrs. 
 Songer and Charlotte, who is the wife of Dan- 
 iel Sheckler. Mr. Sheckler was one of the 
 early proprietors of the Bucyrus foundry, 
 which later was merged into the American 
 Clay Machinery Company. To Mr. and Mrs. 
 Songer two children were born: Edward J. 
 and Ursula Gertrvide. The former is one of 
 the leading citizens of Bucyrus and is mayor 
 of the city (1912). Ursula Gertrude was 
 reared and educated at Bucyrus and was grad- 
 uated from the High School in the class of 
 1888. She is the wife of Owen Leon Bradley, 
 who has been superintendent of the Carroll 
 Machine Works at Bucyrus for the past ten 
 years. Mr. Bradley is exalted ruler of the 
 Elks in this city and is identified also with the 
 Knights of Pythias. Mrs. Songer and family 
 belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1239 
 
 A. W. LEWIS,* attorney-at-la\v, educator 
 and formerly superintendent of the public 
 schools of Gallon, O., is one of the representa- 
 tive men of Crawford county. He was born 
 in 1868, in Richland county, O., but has been 
 a resident of Gallon since he was two years 
 old and obtained his educational training here. 
 
 Mr. Lewis prepared himself for the pro- 
 fession of teacher previous to engaging in his 
 law studies, and began as a public school 
 teacher here in 1875. From 1883 to 1888 he 
 served as principal of the city schools and 
 in the latter year was elected superintendent 
 and continued in that office until 1896. Al- 
 though another profession has claimed his 
 time and attention in large measure since then, 
 he has never lost his interest in the schools 
 and for more than 20 years has been a mem- 
 ber of the board of school examiners. In 
 1890, while still engaged in educational work, 
 he was admitted to the Ohio State bar and in 
 1896 he became associated with R. W. John- 
 ston in the practice of law. Additionally, 
 from 1903 to 1909 he had charge of the claim 
 department of the Erie Railway Company and 
 satisfactorily adjusted many accident and 
 death claims. Since then he has devoted him- 
 self exclusively to his large practice. 
 
 Mr. Lewis was married in Richland county, 
 O., to Miss Florence C. Speel, who was born, 
 reared and educated at Shelby, Richland 
 county, and previous to her marriage was a 
 successful and highly valued teacher in the 
 public schools. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis have 
 three children : Georgiana, Wade A. and Ro- 
 bert. The eldest child was thoroughly edu- 
 cated, completing her school course at Lake 
 View Seminary, at Painsville, O., afterward 
 becoming a teacher at Gallon and later at 
 Tacoma, Wash. In February, 1912, she was 
 married to Charles W Fucht, of Mansfield, 
 O., where he is connected with the Citizens 
 National Bank. The eldest son, Wade A., 
 was graduated from the Gallon high School 
 and then entered the medical department of 
 the Western Reserve College, where he was 
 graduated with his degree, in 1902, before he 
 was 21 years of age. He then spent three 
 years in hospital work, after which he came 
 to Gallon, where he practiced for one year 
 and then became assistant surgeon for the 
 United States Steel Company, at Lorain, O. 
 
 Robert H., the youngest of the family was a 
 member of the 1912 graduating class of the 
 Galion High School. Mr. Lewis and family 
 are members of the First Presbyterian Church 
 at Galion. He is identified with the Masonic 
 fraternity and is past master of the Blue 
 Lodge at Galion. In politics, Mr. Lewis is a 
 leading Republican of this section and has 
 frequently served as a member of the Craw- 
 ford County Republican Executive Committee. 
 
 WILLIAM J. DENNIG, proprietor of the 
 large grocery establishment at No. 134 South 
 Market street, Galion, O., succeeding his 
 father, who established the business 30 years 
 ago, was born in Marion county, O., in 1867, 
 and is a son of Christopher W. and Mary 
 (Haberman) Dennig. 
 
 Christopher W. Dennig was born in Baden, 
 Germany, in 1839, and came to the United 
 States with his parents, in the 50's, locating 
 at Marion, O., where the father died a few 
 years later. The mother lived to be jt^ years 
 old and died at the home of Christopher W. 
 Dennig, at Galion. When the Civil War broke 
 out, Christopher W. Dennig entered the Fed- 
 eral Army, becoming a member of the 82nd 
 O. Vol. Inf., in which he served for four 
 years and when he was honorably discharged 
 he was a second lieutenant. He participated 
 in a large number of the important battles 
 of that long struggle, including Bull Run and 
 Gettysburg but was never seriously injured 
 although on two occasions his clothes were 
 penetrated by bullets. On one occasion he 
 was captured but was shrewd enough to effect 
 his escape before he was shut up in prison. 
 
 When the war closed Mr. Dennig returned 
 to Marion, O., and remained there until 1876, 
 when he came to Galion, where he worked in 
 the shops of the Big Four Railway until 1882, 
 when he embarked in the grocery business on 
 Market street and continued active in busi- 
 ness until 1906, when the Dennig Grocery 
 Company was formed, William J. Dennig be- 
 coming manager, Christopher W. Dennig 
 retiring to a large degree although still taking 
 an interest in the affairs of the company. He 
 accumulated a substantial fortune during his 
 30 years in business and owns a comfortable 
 residence on Union street. He has long been 
 numbered with the reliable and representative 
 
1240 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 men of the city, is a stockholder in several 
 banks and has always been a liberal con- 
 tributor to public spirited enterprises. He is 
 a valued member of Dick Morris Post, G. A. 
 R., at Gallon. 
 
 In 1866, Christopher W. Dennig was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Haberman, who was born 
 in Hesse Darmstadt, Germany, and was 
 brought to America by friends when a child 
 of 12 years. She grew up at Marion, where 
 she was married, and died at Gallon, in 1890, 
 when aged 43 years.' She was a member of 
 the German Methodist church, as is her hus- 
 band. They had the following children : Wil- 
 liam John; Dora, deceased, who was the wife 
 of C. A. Koppe, of Gallon; Carl H., who is 
 a resident of Gallon; Edward E., who is in 
 the clothing business at Gallon, and who mar- 
 ried Lulu Frank and has a son, Edmund; 
 and Emma, who is the wife of Samuel J. 
 Gommel, a member of the firm of the Dennig 
 Company, and has a son, Robert D. 
 
 William J. Dennig completed his education 
 at Gallon, to which city his parents moved 
 when he was young and when 12 years old he 
 became a clerk in his father's store. In 1880 
 -he embarked in the dry goods business in 
 which he continued until 1898, in which year 
 he went into the grocery line and, as noted 
 above, is now the active proprietor of the Den- 
 nig Grocery Company. He is a man of sub- 
 stantial character and business experience and 
 is numbered with the city's representative 
 men. He is a charter member of the Gallon 
 Commercial Club and one of its board of 
 directors and is vitally interested in all that 
 concerns the progress and development of 
 this city, lending his influence and financially 
 assisting in public spirited enterprises of 
 evident merit. 
 
 Mr. Dennig was married at Gallon to Miss 
 Nettie Gugler, who was born here in 1868. 
 They had one son, Harold, who died in early 
 infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Dennig are members 
 of the German Methodist Episcopal church, 
 Mr. Dennig being a trustee of the same. In 
 his political affiliation he is a Republican. 
 
 CHARLES W. BECHTOL, a well known 
 and highly respected retired citizen of Gallon, 
 0., occupying his handsome residence which is 
 located at No. 250 South Columbus street, be- 
 
 longs to one of the old families of Knox 
 county, O., where he was born in 1850. 
 
 MARTIN DURNWALD, one of the 
 highly respected citizens of New Washing- 
 ton, .0., a retired farmer, living in his com- 
 fortable home which is situated on Williacker 
 street. New Washington, was born in Essen, 
 Germany, Oct. 16, 1834, and is a son of Wen- 
 zel and Mary (Hiesel) Durnwald. 
 
 The parents of Mr. Durnwald emigrated 
 with their children to the United States about 
 1854, coming directly to Crawford county, 
 O., where they cleared 18 acres of cranberry 
 marsh land, southwest of the present city of 
 New Washington. Like other pioneers they 
 endured many hardships and carried on the 
 early farming operations with ox teams and 
 hand implements but developed a good farm 
 and lived here into old age, their later years 
 being made very comfortable. The mother 
 died in her 80th year and the father when 
 aged 86 and both were interred in the Catholic 
 cemetery at New Washington, having been 
 faithful members of the church there. They 
 had eight children, all of whom were born in 
 Germany, namely: Margaret, who died in 
 Germany; Anna and Elizabeth, both of whom 
 are deceased; Mary, who lives at Toledo, 
 O. ; Magdalena, who is deceased ;. Martin, sub- 
 ject of this sketch; Peter, who lived in Chat- 
 field township; and Joseph, who lives at 
 Clyde, O. 
 
 After his school period was over, Martin 
 Durnwald learned the principles of farming 
 in his native land and after coming to America 
 remained at home until he was 32 years of 
 age, doing a large part of the clearing and 
 cultivating of the home farm. Following his 
 marriage he settled on 60 acres situated in 
 section 23, range 17, Cranberry township, 
 which he improved and to which he later 
 added 80 adjoining acres, and continued the 
 active management of this farm until 1903, 
 in which year he sold his farm and moved to 
 New Washington. 
 
 Martin Durnwald married Miss Mary 
 WentzHck, who was born in Germany and 
 died at New Washington, Feb. 19, 1905, her 
 burial being in the Catholic cemetery here, 
 she having been a devoted member of the 
 Cktholic cluifcliall her life. She was a daugh- 
 
CHARLES W. BECHTOL 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1243 
 
 ter of Andrew and Elizabeth Wentzlick, and 
 the mother of 14 children, all of whom were 
 born in Cranberry township. Joseph resides 
 with his family in Cranberry township; 
 George, who is unmarried, lives at New 
 Washington; and Thomas resides with his 
 family in Cranberry township. Elizabeth 
 married D. N. Weithman and they live at 
 New Washington. Cecelia married John 
 Hiler, who lives on a farm in section 3, Cran- 
 berry township, and they have had 12 chil- 
 dren: Louisa, Alfred, Bertha, George, 
 Charles, Rosa, Fred, Ida, Leona and three 
 who died infants. Anna married Louis Roth- 
 child, who was born at Gallon, O., Nov. 8, 
 1869, and was killed by a stroke of lightning, 
 June 16, 19 1 2, while walking from his barn 
 to his house, during an electric storm. His 
 widow and four children survive him: Ger- 
 trude, aged 12 years; Emma, aged 11 years; 
 Fred, aged nine years; and Lucile, aged four 
 years. Magdalena is the wife of Albert Karl, 
 of Cranberry township. Frederick resides 
 with his family in Huron county, O. The 
 other children died in infancy. Mr. Durn- 
 wald and family are all members of the Cath- 
 olic church at New Washington. He has 
 always been a strong Democrat in his political 
 views and has conscientiously supported his 
 party but has never accepted any township 
 office although well qualified for the same. 
 
 G. K. ZEIGLER,* vice president and a 
 member of the board of directors of the Sec- 
 ond National Bank of Bucyrus, O., and a 
 member of the firm of Zeigler & Company, 
 proprietors of the Main Street Mills, is one 
 of the older business men of this city, where 
 he is still active in the milling industry with 
 which he has been long associated. He was 
 born in Montgomery county, Pa., Dec. 4, 
 1834, and is a son of Abraham and Rachel 
 (Kroutz) Zeigler. 
 
 G. K. Zeigler had few educational oppor- 
 tunities in youth and the whole period of his 
 school attendance was covered by a part of 
 one winter session. When he was 19 years 
 of age he left the farm and became an appren- 
 tice in a mill at Perkiomien, Pa., where he 
 proved so apt in learning details and methods, 
 that within a year he was made foreman, and 
 in two years he made a grinding record, 
 42,000 bushels of grain having been passed 
 
 by him through his hopper. In the summer 
 of 185s he came to Bloomville, O., and was 
 in the employ of Simon Keller, a well known 
 miller there, for six months, when he went 
 back to Pennsylvania. There he was induced 
 to embark in the dry goods business but as he 
 was entirely without experience in that line, 
 he lost his entire investment. He took a prac- 
 tical view of the matter and knowing that he 
 could succeed at mill work, he returned to 
 Crawford county, O., and secured work in a 
 mill at New Washington. Fifteen months 
 later he came to Bucyrus, where he was em- 
 ployed by a Mr. McClain for more than two 
 years, and for the next two years had charge 
 of the Honey Creek mills, and then returned 
 to Mr. Keller where he remained for three 
 years. By this time Mr. Zeigler had estab- 
 lished a reputation as a very competent miller 
 and he was anxious to go into business for 
 himself, this resulting in a partnership with 
 Mr. Keller and they conducted a mill for five 
 years, afterward purchasing and operating the 
 Honey Creek mills. Mr. Zeigler's next move 
 was to go into business with Mr. Keller at 
 Napoleon, O., where they not only conducted 
 mills but also built an elevator at a cost of 
 $10,000. In April, 1876, Mr. Zeigler returned 
 to Bucyrus and became proprietor of the Main 
 Street Mills, where the capacity is 150 barrels 
 of flour per day, and since 1877 these mills 
 have been continuously operated by Zeigler & 
 Company and the enterprise is one of large 
 importance in this section. 
 
 Mr. Zeigler was married in 1857, to Miss 
 Ann M. Keller, who was born in Seneca 
 county, O., and three children were born to 
 them. Mr. Zeigler has never been active in 
 politics but is a Democrat in his political con- 
 victions, and his vote as an honest and well- 
 meaning, law-abiding citizen is always to be 
 counted on. He can recall many changes in 
 the methods of milling, his memory going 
 back to the old water-wheel mill race mill, 
 until the present when he can show interested 
 visitors his own plant where the latest im- 
 proved complicated mill machinery is more 
 easily governed, working like clock-work un- 
 der steam, power. 
 
 HENRY C. SPONHAUER,* boiler and 
 machine manufacturer at Galion, O., and for 
 many years prior to 191 1, when he retired, 
 
124i 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 proprietor and manager of his establishment 
 at No. 316 East Main street, occupies the im- 
 portant office of chief engineer of the GaHon 
 Fire Department, with which organization he 
 has been connected for 47 years. He was 
 born Aug. 12, 1851, in Juniata county, Pa., 
 and is a son of Martin and Lydia (HilUard) 
 Sponhauer. 
 
 Martin Sponhauer, who is one of GaHon's 
 most venerable and respected citizens, was 
 born in Pennsylvania in 1822 and came to 
 Galion in 1854, where he engaged in business 
 as a druggist and continued until 1875, when 
 he retired. Time has been gentle in its pas- 
 sage and in a very remarkable degree he pre- 
 serves both physical and mental vigor. He 
 was twice married, his first wife dying in 
 1853, leaving four children, namely: Ida, who 
 is the wife of R. A. Williams, of Cleveland, 
 0., and has two children — Morris and Ida; 
 Stephen, who is a retired hardware merchant 
 at Fort Wayne, Ind., and has a family of two 
 sons and two daughters; Henry C, subject 
 of this sketch; and Martin, who died unmar- 
 ried, at Chicago, 111., when aged 54 years. 
 The second wife died in 1875, the mother of 
 two children, Edward and Retta. The former 
 was a railroad man and was accidentally killed 
 at Hamilton, O., in his 26th year. The latter 
 is the wife of John Smith and they reside at 
 Cleveland, O. 
 
 Henry C. Sponhauer was three years old 
 when his father brought the family to Ga- 
 lion and here he was reared and educated and 
 learned the machinist trade with a local foun- 
 dry and machine company. In 1882 he went 
 into business for himself and for almost 30 
 years carried it on with success, .frequently 
 during this time expanding, re-equipping his 
 quarters and adding to his office and shop 
 force until now a dozen skilled workmen are 
 required. In addition to boiler and machine 
 manufacturing, a general tinning business is 
 carried on. Mr. Sponhauer continued at the 
 head of affairs until April, 191 1. when he 
 turned over his heaviest responsibilities to his 
 son William, who is the present manager. It 
 would seem strange to not find the name of 
 Henry C. Sponhauer identified with the fire 
 department of this citv, for very nearlv a half 
 centurv has passed since he assumed duties 
 as a volunteer in this protective body. Few 
 
 of the old names or personalities remain but 
 Mr. Sponhauer has continued his active inter- 
 est and has had much to do with building up 
 the present strong and efficient organization, 
 for 36 years having been its engineer and 
 chief engineer. 
 
 In 1847, 3.t Galion, Mr. Sponhauer was 
 married to Miss Mary DeVore, who was born 
 at Cardington, O., and was reared and edu- 
 cated in Morrow county and at Galion. The 
 following children were born to this marriage : 
 Florence, who is the wife of M. McDonald, 
 of Rochester, N. Y., and has two children — 
 Mary and Harland ; William, who learned the 
 plumbing trade and for some years was con- 
 nected with his father's business, of which 
 he became manager in April, 191 1; Jennie, 
 who is the wife of Frank Martine, of Galion, 
 and has three children : Grace, who is the wife 
 of Daniel Connors, foreman in a boiler shop 
 at Elgin, 111., and has two children — Robert 
 and Mary; Blanche, who is the wife of Rollin 
 Reingert, a druggist at Barberton, O. ; and 
 Verna, who resides at home. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Sponhauer are members of the Lutheran 
 church. Politically he and his son are Demo- 
 crats, while fraternally he is connected with 
 both the Masons and the Odd Fellows, being 
 a Shriner and a member of Al Koran Temple, 
 at Cleveland and past grand in the latter or- 
 ganization. 
 
 WILLIAM H. SNYDER,* who is one of 
 the reliable and representative business men 
 of Crestline, for the past 15 years has con- 
 ducted a department store at No. 134 Seltzer 
 street, where he has a commodious building, 
 his store room of 23x101 fet giving him ade- 
 quate space for the display and sale of his 
 large and well selected stock. He was born 
 at Crestline, June 13, 1879, and is a son of 
 Adam and Louise (Scott) Snyder. 
 
 Adam Snyder was born in Germany, July 
 17, 1830, and was eight years old when his 
 parents, John A. and Mary (Helfrich) Sny- 
 der, brought him to the United States. They 
 settled at Shippensburg, Pa. but later came 
 on to Crestline, where the father died in 1878, 
 when aged 78 years and her death followed 
 at the age of 79 years. Thev left Hesse 
 Darmstadt, Germany, May 14, 1837 and made 
 a quick passage for those days, being but three 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1245 
 
 weeks on the ocean. They were members of 
 the EvangeHcal church. Of their four chil- 
 dren Adam was probably the eldest. One 
 died in childhood and one, Christopher, died 
 at the age of 27 years. The other son, John, 
 who is a veteran of the Civil War, lives with 
 a daughter, at Chicago, 111. Adam Snyder 
 learned the painter's trade and during the 
 summers worked as a decorator, while he 
 made chairs in the winter time, having a shop 
 of his own. He now lives in comfortable 
 retirement and both he and his wife are aged 
 about 76 years. He married Louise Scott and 
 seven children were born to them, namely : 
 Mary J., who is the wife of J. N. Kyser, of 
 Crestline, and has one son, Ernest R. ; Frank 
 E., a painter by trade, who lives at Crestline, 
 and who married Anna Libens and has the 
 following children — Clarence, Albert, Mar- 
 garet and Chester; Daniel, who died unmar- 
 ried at the age of 36 years; Ella, who is the 
 wife of Charles Hazlett, a railroad man at 
 Newark, O., and has one daughter, Florence; 
 Rosa, who is the wife of David L. Churchill ; 
 Minnie R., who resides at home ; and Wil- 
 liam H. 
 
 William H. Snyder was reared and edu- 
 cated at Crestline. When 17 years of age he 
 became a clerk in a local store and displayed 
 talent also as a window decorator and then 
 went into business on his own account. Mr. 
 Snyder began in a small way on the same 
 street where he has continued, nearly opposite 
 to his present building, in 1900 moving into 
 larger quarters and in 1903 taking possession 
 of his present three-story building. He has 
 built up a very satisfactory business, making 
 something of a specialty of novelties but also 
 carrying a full line of staple goods. 
 
 Mr. Snyder was married in this city to Miss 
 OIlie B. Steward, who was born in 1880 at 
 Cardington, O., where she was reared and 
 educated. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder have three 
 children: Louis E., Carl E. and Ruth L. 
 They are members of the Lutheran church. 
 Mr. Snyder was reared in the Democratic 
 party but in late years has assumed an inde- 
 pendent attitude as to political principles. He 
 has been a resident of Crestline since May, 
 1856 and has done his part in building up 
 the city's present prosperity. 
 
 LEVI L. ROOKS, a well known business 
 man of Crestline, O., a coal dealer and also 
 engaged in the teaming industry, was born in 
 Huron county, Ohio, in 1845, a son of Ezekiel 
 and Sophia (Tubbs) Rooks. 
 
 Ezekiel Rooks, the father of our subject, 
 was born near Painted Post, Steuben county, 
 N. Y., perhaps as early as 1790, as it was at 
 a time when Indians still lived in that section, 
 and the youth made friends with them and 
 became familiar with their ways and speech. 
 In 18 14, with other adventurous men, he 
 started on foot for Ohio and after his arrival 
 purchased land in Huron county, about two 
 miles from what is now the city of Plymouth, 
 Ohio. For some years he lived in a log house 
 or cabin, but later, after he had become more 
 prosperous, he moved into a large two-story 
 brick residence, which he erected in 1832, and 
 the upper story of which he donated for a 
 district schoolroom. This schoolroom was 
 well lighted with eight windows and heated 
 with a fireplace, and it is probable that Mr. 
 Rooks furnished the wood for fuel, on the 
 condition that the big boys should cut it, as 
 was then the general custom in district schools. 
 This was the first public school in the vicinity, 
 the pupils coming from miles around. Ac- 
 cording to early custom, the teacher "boarded 
 around," and was paid by subscription or by 
 the united contributions of the parents of the 
 pupils. The bricks of which this house was 
 constructed were made from clay found on 
 Mr. Rook's farm, and that the work was well 
 done is proved by the fact that the house is 
 still standing and in good condition. 
 
 On his farm Mr. Rooks planted an apple ' 
 orchard that became known far and wide for 
 its fruitage. In this one way, if not in many 
 others also, he was a benefactor to Huron 
 county, for from this orchard spread others 
 and thus horticulture received early attention 
 in that section. To the land he first purchased 
 he added until he owned about 1000 acres. In 
 every situation of life he displayed a resource- 
 ful character, and when he died in 1872, at 
 the age of 85 years, Huron county lost a man 
 of more than ordinary worth. It is sad to 
 record that his life was terminated by a rail- 
 road accident. Politically he was a Democrat 
 and always adhered firmly to the old time 
 principles of his party. He never used in- 
 
1246 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 toxicating liquor or tobacco, with the excep- 
 tion of some home-made bitters for medicinal 
 use, to which the members of his family had 
 access, and his example in this respect was 
 followed by all his sons, including the subject 
 of this sketch, in whose house no filthy spit- 
 toon may be seen. 
 
 In Richland county, Ohio, Ezekiel Rooks 
 was married to Sophia Tubbs, who was born 
 in New York and came to Ohio at an early 
 day.. She died in Huron county when aged 
 49 years, a good and virtuous woman, whose 
 memory is tenderly cherished by her son. The 
 family of Ezekiel Rooks and wife numbered 
 five sons and six daughters. One of the 
 former, Alonzo, enlisted as a soldier in the 
 Union army during the Civil War and died in 
 the service. 
 
 Levi L. Rooks remained at home in Huron 
 county until he was 25 years of age, assisting 
 his father on the farm. He was then engaged 
 for two years in mercantile business at Ply- 
 mouth, Ohio, and at the end of that time 
 moved to Richland county, 111., where he fol- 
 lowed farming for 15 years. He then re- 
 turned to Ohio and settled on a farm in Rich- 
 land county, this state, where he spent six 
 years, coming to Crestline in 1891. Here he 
 subsequently went into the coal business and 
 since 1902 has been engaged also in teaming. 
 He has always been a man of action, both in 
 business and in promoting the best interests 
 of the community. In politics he is somewhat 
 independent, often casting his vote without 
 regard to party lines, as he deems expedient. 
 
 Mr. Rooks was married at Plymouth, Ohio, 
 to Miss Annie E. Frye, who was born, reared 
 and educated in that place. She is a woman 
 of amiable- character and is still capable of 
 looking after her household affairs and enjoy- 
 ing social life. Three children have been born 
 to Mr. and Mrs. Rooks,, one son and two 
 daughters, namely: Abraham E., Irilla Isa- 
 dore, and Mary L. Abraham E. Rooks, who 
 is now engaged in the grocery business at 
 Crestline, for 17 years previously was a skilled 
 machinist in the employ of the Pennsylvania 
 Railway Company. He is married and has 
 two children — Kenneth P. and Lethia G. He 
 and his wife are members of the M. E. church 
 at Crestline. Irilla, familiarly called "Rilly," 
 is the wife of Albert H. Kinsey, who is en- 
 
 gaged in the drug business in Crestline; they 
 have two children — Herbert Samuel and Al- 
 bert Rooks Kinsey. Mrs. Kinsey is a member 
 of the Presbyterian church and her two sons 
 attend the Sunday school. Mary L. Rooks 
 married Edward D. Miller, who is a telegraph 
 operator for the Pennsylvania Railway Com- 
 pany; they have a daughter. Bertha Isadora 
 Miller, who attends the Presbyterian Sunday 
 school and who is the best pianist of her age 
 in the town. Mrs. Mary L. Miller is a mem- 
 ber of the Presbyterian church. Mr. Rooks 
 is a member of the M. E. church, to which his 
 wife also belongs. 
 
 ISAAC F. SWOPE, formerly a very active 
 business man of Gallon, O., now living re- 
 tired, is a representative of an old Swiss fam- 
 ily of Canton Bern. His grandfather was 
 David Samuel Swope, a blacksmith by trade, 
 who lived into old age but was survived by 
 his wife, who lived to the age of 116 years. 
 They had eight children and all of them lived 
 and died in Switzerland except one son, David, 
 who was the father of Isaac F. Swope of 
 Gallon. 
 
 David Swope was born in Switzerland in 
 1800 and by the time he was 14 years of age 
 had so continually assisted his father at the 
 forge that he knew all the practical details of 
 blacksmithing. It is not known if his father 
 gave consent, but, at any rate, the boy took 
 passage in 1814 for America, crossing the 
 Atlantic Ocean in one of the old-time sailing 
 vessels but reaching New York in safety. He 
 made his way to Black Fork, Richland county, 
 O., where he was one of the early settlers. He 
 must have been a youth of unusual parts and 
 ready for adventure, for in this strange coun- 
 try his first friends were the Indians, who 
 admired his skill in tipping their arrows and 
 and as he was kind and friendly with them 
 they treated him in the same manner. In fact 
 they became very helpful to him, assisting 
 him in clearing ofif his land and as long as he 
 remained in that neighborhood these friendly 
 relations were maintained. In the early 20's 
 he came to the vicinity of what is now Ply- 
 mouth but was at that time called Paris in 
 Richland county, Crawford county not being 
 organized until 1823. Here he acquired a 
 farm and built a shop in the northeast corner 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1247 
 
 of Crawford county. Here again he was sur- 
 rounded by Friendly Indians, he using the 
 same tactics as formerly and never had any 
 cause to regret the fellowship he extended to 
 his brethren of a darker color than his owii. 
 Here he improved a farm and as his black- 
 smith shop was one of the earliest, he had 
 much custom. In the course of time he 
 erected a handsome brick residence and put 
 up a large barn, with dimensions of 80x40 
 feet. He had started an orchard very soon 
 after locating there and later as many as 90 
 bushels of apples were gathered from a Rhode 
 Island Greening tree that he had set out. He 
 was a very progressive and resourceful man 
 and was the inventor of the first threshing 
 machine in his day, a one-cylinder machine 
 that threshed the grain that went out with the 
 straw. This ingenious invention was the cause 
 of his death, for while operating it very sat- 
 isfactorily, his clothing was caught accident- 
 ally and his death was instantaneous, this hap- 
 pening in October, 1852. He had accom- 
 plished a great deal totally unaided and at the 
 time of his death had a competency and had 
 he lived no doubt would have improved his 
 crude threshing machine until, in all prob- 
 ability, he might have made a vast fortune 
 as have other experimenters along the same 
 line. In politics he was a Whig and in re- 
 ligion he was a member of the German Re- 
 formed church, a most worthy man in every 
 relation of life. 
 
 He was married first in Stark county, O., 
 to a young woman who had been born in Con- 
 necticut and when she died she left six chil- 
 dren, the three survivors being residents of 
 Ohio. His second marriage took place in what 
 is now Auburn township, Crawford county, to 
 Margaret Blum, who was born in Frankfort, 
 Germany, in 1827 and was brought to Stark 
 county, O., when young. She survived her 
 husband for many years, her death occurring 
 in 1876, when aged 69 years. She was a mem- 
 ber of the German Lutheran church. Two 
 sons' are yet living: Isaac F. and Abraham, 
 the latter being a resident of Shelby, O., where 
 but one grandchild remains of his family. 
 
 Isaac F; Swope is the younger of the two 
 brothers and he was born Jan. 30, 1846, in 
 Auburn township, Crawford county, and was 
 only a small boy when accident removed his 
 
 69 
 
 father. His mother kept him at home until 
 he was 14 years of age, when he learned the 
 painter's trade, which he followed for a few 
 years but this seemed to "bring ill health and 
 he then learned the carpenter's trade and had 
 a natural leaning toward architecture arid later 
 became a contractor. In this line he became 
 very successful and completed contracts all 
 bver the northern part of the state, erecting 
 buildings ift different cities and through the 
 country. He purchased a small farm on 
 which he finds much enjoyment in growing 
 fruit. 
 
 Mr. Swope was married at Plymouth, O., 
 to Miss Emily J. Solinger, who was born at 
 Belleville, O., where she was educated and 
 was graduated from the High School. They 
 have one daughter, Mabel Estelle, who is the 
 wife of Bert E. Place, and Mr. and Mrs. Place 
 have three children: Lawrence Earl, Mar- 
 garet E. and Horace Frederick. In politics 
 Mr. Swope is a Democrat but he has never 
 been a politician, just a fair-minded, law- 
 abiding, good citizen. 
 
 FREDERICK E. UHLE,* of the firm of 
 Crooks & Uhle, machinists, at Bucyrus, O., 
 and manufacturers of the Crooks' go-cart run- 
 ner, have a fine plant and do a large volume 
 of business, and Mr. Uhle has been connected 
 with it from the first. He was born in Hesse 
 Darmstadt, Germany, April 29, 1844, attended 
 school in his native province and then learned 
 the shoemaking trade. Every German youth 
 gives military service to his country in some 
 department, and in 1864, when the Prussian- 
 German War was in progress, Mr. Uhle be- 
 came identified with the army hospital service 
 and continued until the close of that war. In 
 1871 in the war between France and Germany, 
 he volunteered. He saw hard service, his du- 
 ties frequently being continued both day and 
 night, when he had charge of froin 60 to 70 
 disabled soldiers. Finally he received his hon- 
 orable discharge and a vote of thanks for his 
 valuable services. 
 
 In the spring of 1872, Mr. Uhle decided to 
 see something of other countries of the world 
 beside his own and took passage on the 
 steamer Simpare bound for the harbor of 
 New York. After a short time spent there 
 he made his way to Attica, O., where at first 
 
1248 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 he worked at his trade and through prudence 
 accumulated enough capital to enable him to 
 go into the grocery business, where he con- 
 tinued for many years, in the meanwhile be- 
 coming interested also in other enterprises 
 and investing in property which he still owns. 
 Prior to coming to Bucyrus he retired for a 
 period from business care but later became 
 interested in the invention of the go-cart run- 
 ner, by his son-in-law, Earl G. Crooks, a prac- 
 tical and skilled machinist, and in 1908 the 
 present partnership was formed, Mr. Uhle 
 becoming then a resident of this city. The 
 manufacture of this invention, which is a run- 
 ner that can be adjusted to any kind of a go- 
 cart, has been developed into a large business. 
 The machine shop operated in connection is 
 mainly for repair work of every description 
 and it is equipped with machinery of all kinds, 
 the motive power being supplied by electricity. 
 In the fall of 1871, Mr. Uhle was married 
 in Germany, to Miss Wilhelmina Kramer, 
 who was bom in May, 1849, of Nassau, Ger- 
 many, parentage. All of their children were 
 born at Attica, C, and are seven in number. 
 William, the eldest, is a prominent citizen of 
 Attica, formerly a hotel-keeper and now town 
 clerk and president of the local Fair Associa- 
 tion. He married Jane Courtright and they 
 have an infant daughter, Wilhelmina. Anna, 
 the eldest daughter, is the wife of Rev. George 
 Smith, who is a Lutheran minister stationed 
 in Indiana. They have four children. Carl 
 is engaged successfully in the practice of den- 
 tistry at Springfield, O. He married Helen 
 Eckerson and they have one son, Robert. Ed- 
 win conducts a large meat market at Attica. 
 He married Minnie Bookman and they have 
 two sons: Clyde and Frederick. Albert C. 
 is manager of a large cement plant at Colum- 
 bus, O. He married Louise Farion and they 
 have three children: Frederick, Louise and 
 Nicholas. Eugenia is the wife of Earl G. 
 Crooks, Mr. Uhle's talented partner in busi- 
 ness. They have two children: Dorothy and 
 Eleanor. Freda, the youngest of the family, 
 is the wife of Philip Seifert and they live at 
 Bloomville, O. and have one daughter, Al- 
 berta. Mr. Uhle and family are members of" 
 the Grerman Lutheran church. Politically he 
 is a Democrat. 
 
 PROF. THOMAS N. JOHNSON,* for 
 many years was a prominent educator in Ohio, 
 a man of scholarly attainments and of high 
 personal character. He was born in 1846, in 
 Harrison county, O., and died in 1892, at 
 Cleveland, O. 
 
 Thomas N. Johnson had district school ad- 
 vantages in his youth and displayed the mental 
 gifts that led his father to encourage his am- 
 bition for a higher education and consequently 
 he became a student in a Babtist college and 
 later was graduated from Dennison Univer- 
 sity, at Granville, O. His subsequent life 
 was devoted to educational work and after 
 some years of teaching in Normal schools in 
 Maryland, he became superintendent of the 
 schools in Canal Dover, O., and from there 
 was called to Cleveland, where he was an in- 
 structor in the public schools and also was a 
 Normal school teadier. He was identified 
 with the Masonic fraternity. 
 
 Professor Johnson married Miss Anna E. 
 White, a daughter of the late Prof. Thomas 
 Fuller White. The father of Mrs. Johnson 
 was also a very prominent educator and for 
 years was connected with the public school 
 system of Pennsylvania, his death occurring 
 at the age of 55 years, in Allegheny county. 
 To Professor and Mrs. Johnson two sons 
 were born, Alfred T. and Reginald G. Mrs. 
 Johnson and sons are members of the Epis- 
 copal church. She is a leading member of the 
 Current News Club, at Gallon, and at one time 
 was its president. 
 
 MAJOR J. CHARLES BIGELOW, de- 
 ceased, for many years a well known resident 
 and prosperous business man of Gallon, O., 
 and a veteran and honored officer of the great 
 Civil War, was born April 10, 1841, in the 
 State of New York, and was a son of John 
 and Maria (Stout) Bigelow. Major Bigelow 
 came of the old Bigelow family of Massachu- 
 setts which has contributed many distin- 
 guished citizens to the United States. His 
 father died in advanced age at New London, 
 O. In New York he was married to Maria 
 Stout, who died at Canton, O. They were 
 members of the Adventist church. Of their 
 large family there are two yet livingj: Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Wood, now of Alton, Pa.; and 
 Frank, whose present place of residence is 
 
JOHN G. HERBOLD 
 

 C 
 
 S3 
 
 5 
 
 c 
 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1251 
 
 not known. Two of the sons, John and Silas, 
 served in the Civil War from 1861 until 1865, 
 in a New York regiment and both held the 
 rank of lieutenant. 
 
 J. Charles Bigelow was 21 years old when, 
 in 1 86 1, he enlisted for service in the Civil 
 War, contracting for 90 days^ Later he raised 
 a company at Syracuse, N. Y., which became 
 a part of the 15th N. Y. Cav., and he was 
 advanced to the rank of major, filling that 
 office when he was honorably discharged and 
 mustered out in 1865, at the close of the war. 
 He was in many battles and saw much hard 
 service, being ever at the post of duty and 
 danger, but he escaped all serious injury and 
 at the close of the Rebellion returned to his 
 parents at New London, O. Later he settled 
 in Richland county and from there came to 
 Galion. For nine years he was in the Gov- 
 ernment mail transfer business here and con- 
 ducted a livery and transportation business of 
 his own. His death occurred at Hamilton, O., 
 in July, 1908. 
 
 Major Bigelow was married at Cumberland, 
 Md., to Miss Eugenia White, who was born, 
 reared and educated in Maryland, and is a 
 daughter of Prof. Thomas Fuller White, who 
 was born near Boston, Mass., and died in Al- 
 legheny county. Pa., at the age of 55 years. 
 He was a college graduate and for some years 
 was professor of languages at Charlotte Hall, 
 Cumberland, Md., after which he went to Al- 
 legheny county, where he practically organ- 
 ized the public school system. His widow 
 survived to the age of 78 years. She was a 
 member of the Methodist Episcopal church, 
 while he belonged to the Episcopal church. 
 Ten daughters were born to them and the fol- 
 lowing survive: Mrs. Anna E. Johnson, wid- 
 ow of Prof. Thomas N. Johnson; Mrs. Bige- 
 low; Mary E., who is the wife of Dr. F. L. 
 Brown, of Galion; and Alice and Jessie, both 
 of whom reside in Maryland, Miss Jessie 
 White being a well known teacher. Mrs. Bige- 
 low and Mrs. Johnson reside together at Ga- 
 lion. Mrs. Bigelow, like her sister, is a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal church. Major Bigelow 
 was a Republican in politics. He was identi- 
 fied with the Masonic fraternity and with the 
 G. A. R. Post at Hamilton, O. 
 
 JOHN G. HERBOLD. Closely identified 
 from his early youth with Gallon's business 
 
 life, was John G. Herbold, the well known 
 funeral director, the character of whose work 
 brought him prominence dnd easily accredited 
 him with being an artist in his profession. 
 Mr. Herbold was born in Galion, Ohio, his 
 life-long home, on July 3, 1866, and passed 
 away there on Aug. 16, 1910. He was the 
 son of Philip and Frederica (Feldman) Her- 
 bold, natives of Germany, and for many years 
 well known and highly respected citizens of 
 Galion. As a boy he attended school in Ga- 
 lion, his education being furthered by study 
 in Cleveland, Ohio. When a very young man 
 he became associated in the cabinet and under- 
 taking business with his father, the latter long 
 being one of the substantial business men of 
 the city. Purchasing his venerable father's 
 interest in 1899, he embarked in business for 
 himself, locating at 250 South Market street. 
 In 1909 he erected a combined residence and 
 business block at 218 South Market street. 
 The building, a handsome three story brick 
 structure, is one of the finest in the city. Its 
 first floor is fitted for the undertaking and 
 funeral business, and includes a reception 
 room, private offices, a chapel accommodating 
 one hundred and fifty people, a morgue and 
 embalming room. Mr. Herbold's equipments 
 for his business were always of the best and 
 his enterprise was noteworthy. He was the , 
 first embalmer in Galion, and owned the first 
 funeral ambulance used in the city. Through 
 his efforts the business to which he devoted 
 his life was brought up to the present standard 
 in which it is found in Gallon, 
 
 Mr. Herbold was married June 4, 1895, to 
 Miss Esther Burgener, who was born near 
 Galion, March 23, 1867. She was a real help- 
 mate during her husband's lifetime, learning 
 the business in order to assist him, and since 
 his death, continuing it, being capable and 
 efficient in every way. 
 
 Mr. Herbold was highly esteemed and held 
 in tender regard by many, his kind and sym- 
 pathetic manner gaining and retaining for him 
 the friendship of those with whom his exten- 
 sive business brought him in contact. Mr. 
 Herbold was an Elk, a Pythian, an Odd Fel- 
 low, a Modem Woodman, a member of nu- 
 merous Embalming Associations and also of 
 the National Association of Funeral Direct- 
 ors. He was associated with the Presby- 
 terian Church, as is also Mrs. Herbold. 
 
1252 
 
 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 JEFFERSON PFAHLER,* who owns 
 lOO acres of fine farming land situated in 
 Cranberry township, Crawford county, O., 
 lives on the 6o-acre farm which lies in sec- 
 tion 25, range 18, the other 40 acres being 
 located in section 24, same range, the home 
 place lying six miles southeast of New Wash- 
 ington. He was born in Cranberry township, 
 April 30, 1864, and is a son of Mathias and 
 Margaret (Gossman) Pf abler, and a grand- 
 son of John Pf abler. 
 
 Jefferson Pfahler attended school in Dis- 
 trict No. 5, Cranberry township, and after- 
 ward remained on the home farm with his 
 mother, his father having died when he was 
 not more than four years old. He continued 
 to live at home until 1888, when he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Mary Amanda Hilborn, a daugh- 
 ter of William Harrison Hilborn. In the 
 spring of the following year he rented a farm 
 of R. T. Geiger which he operated for a time 
 and then located on his present farm which 
 hcv worked for ten years for his father-in-law 
 and bought the place two years after the lat- 
 ter's death. In a general way Mr. Pfahler 
 found the buildings on the place satisfactory 
 but since taking possession has added to them 
 as he has deemed necessary and has carried 
 on a general line of improvement. He has 
 a valuable sugar maple grove on his land and 
 makes this profitable. He is much interested 
 in high grade cattle, hogs and horses and owns 
 a valuable stallion, which, as a colt, broke all 
 weight records at the county fair at Bucyrus. 
 Since May, 1912, Mr. Pfahler has been prac- 
 tically retired from many of his former in- 
 dustries. On Oct. 7, 191 1, he met with a 
 heavy bereavement, in the loss of his beloved' 
 wife, who is survived by three children: 
 Royal Emerson, Oran Harris and lona Irene. 
 The eldest son showed musical talent and was 
 given advantages at the Dana Musical School 
 and also in Chicago and now is on the road 
 for musical firms. Oran Harris, the second 
 son, taught school for several terms and now 
 is foreman in the Fort Wayne Electric Works 
 at Madison, Wis. The daughter is the wife 
 of Melvin Hartman, who rents and operates 
 Mr. Pfahler's farms. Mr. Pfahler is a mem- 
 ber of the Methodist Episcopal church and 
 has served as trustee of the Tabor and Good- 
 will churches. In politics he has always been 
 
 a Democrat and with other responsibilities of 
 citizenship, at one time accepted the office of 
 rodd supervisor. He is one of the well known 
 men and substantial citizens of Craw-ford 
 county. 
 
 A. G. KIBLER,* who is vice president of 
 The S. J. Kibler & Brother Company, whole- 
 sale dealers in hides, at New Washington, O., 
 belongs to an old and representative family 
 of this section and was born at New Washing- 
 ton, Aug. I, 1877, son of S. J. Kibler. 
 
 A. G. Kibler attended the New Washington 
 schools in boyhood and afterward took a 
 course in the Tri-State College and upon his 
 return home became associated with his father 
 in the present business. When the company 
 was organized he became one of the officers 
 and travels for the company. He is president 
 of the associated concern, the Lake Erie Hide 
 and Leather Company, of Sandusky, O. The 
 business is one of volume and importance in 
 Ohio and is largely in the hands of the 
 Kiblers. 
 
 On Nov. 6, 1900, A. G. Kibler was married 
 to Miss Mildred Donnenwirth, a daughter of 
 John and Malinda (Hosier) Donnenwirth, the 
 former of whom is a resident of Bucyrus, 
 while the latter is deceased. Three children 
 have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Kibler: Al- 
 fred G., Jr., Beatrice Elizabeth and Eunice 
 Winnifred. Mr. Kibler built the handsome 
 family residence on Main street. The family 
 attends the Lutheran church. Mr. Kibler has 
 long been identified with the Democratic party 
 although he has independent tendencies, never- 
 theless has served as a member of the Dem- 
 ocratic Executive Committee of the county 
 and for some six years has been president of 
 the school board. 
 
 L. MELANCTHON SMITH, principal 
 owner and managing director of the Bucyrus 
 Publishing Company, was born in Lykens 
 township, Crawford county, Ohio, Sept. i, 
 1868, a son of Frederick and Lucy Ann 
 (Shupp) Smith. The father, Frederick 
 Smith, was a native of Saxony, Germany, who, 
 on coming to America, first took up his abode 
 in Columbus, Ohio, whence he came to Craw- 
 ford county in 1840. He did contract work 
 on the National pike and afterward purchased 
 
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 
 
 1253 
 
 a quarter section of land in Lykens township, 
 which he brought under a high state of culti- 
 vation. He first married Christina Tipman, of 
 Saxony, Germany, who died in 1846, leaving 
 four children, namely: Louis F., formerly of 
 Lykens township, who died several years ago, 
 after having served as justice of the peace and 
 notary public ; John F., a farmer of the same 
 township; Adolph G., a contractor at Aurora, 
 111.; and Clara, the widow of Joseph Laipply, 
 of Bucyrus. 
 
 After the death of his first wife, Frederick 
 Smith married Lucy Ann Shupp, a daughter 
 of Michael Shupp, a native of Pennsylvania 
 and a pioneer of Crawford county. She was 
 born June 3, 1830. The children born of this 
 marriage were as follows : Cornelius, of Bucy- 
 rus ; Matilda, who is now deceased ; Catherine, 
 wife of Jacob Meek, of Holmes township; 
 Frederick, who is in the Walther hardware 
 store; Henry, a farmer of Holmes township; 
 Lucy Ann, now deceased ; Jefferson I. ; Emma 
 J., wife of Abraham Scheifer, of Lykens town- 
 ship; L. Melancthon, subject of this sketch; 
 and Sarepta, wife of C. H. Flickinger, of 
 Holmes township. 
 
 The father of this family was a prominent 
 and influential citizen of Crawford county and 
 from 1862 until the time of his death served 
 as justice of the peace. His rulings were fair 
 and impartial and his wisdom and honesty 
 were so generally recognized that his counsel 
 in law matters was sought far and near. He 
 was also township clerk for many years and 
 during a great part of the time was a member 
 of the school board and actively promoted the 
 educational interests of his community. He 
 was also a leading member of the Grange and 
 in all things an active and progressive citizen. 
 He died Dec. 3, 1877, at the age of 61 years; 
 his wife passed away in 1891, when also 61 
 years of age. 
 
 L. Melancthon Smith spent his childhood 
 days on the home farm in Lykens township 
 and acquired the elements of knowledge in the 
 district schools. He was only nine years old 
 at the time of his father's death and at the 
 age of 16 was obliged to begin the battle of 
 life on his own account. He worked in the 
 country store of his brother, where he acquired 
 a taste for business and where he came into 
 contact with human nature. He later at- 
 
 tended the Bucyrus High School and the 
 Mansfield Business College. After graduat- 
 ing from the latter, he was engaged in business, 
 and in 1891 bought an interest in the New 
 Washington Herald and was associated there 
 with his brother, J. I. Smith, deputy county 
 auditor. In 1898 he desired to come to the 
 county seat and accordingly bought an inter- 
 est in the Crawford County News and be- 
 came its business manager, filling that f lace 
 so successfully that the consolidation of his 
 paper with the old party organ, the Forum, 
 was a logical result. He made many improve- 
 ments in the Daily Forum and in the semi- 
 weekly issue, which, since the consolidation 
 has been called the News-Forum. One of his 
 most notable improvements was the installing, 
 in 19 1 2, of a Goss Comet perfecting press for 
 the more rapid printing of his papers. The 
 Forum under its old management was scrappy, 
 peevish and arbitrary in party affairs. Mr. 
 Smith changed this and declined to enter into 
 party bitterness. He believed in the right of 
 everyone to express honest opinions and did 
 not call names editorially nor speak disre- 
 spectfully of those whose opinions did not coin- 
 cide with his own. If there was an argu- 
 ment to make, he made it, and if only nasty 
 talk would suffice, he neglected the opportunity 
 to use it. He has given to his papers a great 
 deal more popularity than they ever had be- 
 fore. In party councils he has had an impor- 
 tant place. For four consecutive terms he was 
 chairman of the Democratic County Executive 
 Committee. In March, 1908, he was appointed 
 a member of the Ohio State Board of Peniten- 
 tiary Managers, by Governor A. L. Harris, 
 where his ability was used to the advantage of 
 that important state institution, As a citizen 
 he is public spirited and enthusiastic for the 
 prosperity of Bucyrus. 
 
 L. M. Smith was married in 1892, at New 
 Washington, Ohio, to Miss Bessie Sexauer, 
 a daughter of Frederick and Mary (Zeigler) 
 Sexauer. Mrs. Smith's paternal grandpar- 
 ents were Christian and Caroline (Schindler) 
 Sexauer, both natives of Baden, Germany, 
 who came to America in 1827, locating at Sul- 
 phur Springs, this county. After the death of 
 her first husband, Mrs. Sexauer married J. G. 
 Kinniger, who opened a wagon shop at Sul- 
 phur Springs, being associated in this indus- 
 
1254 HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY 
 
 try by his step-son, C. F. Sexauer, and together prominent physician in pioneer times. Mr. 
 
 they carried on the business for a number of Smith belongs to the Elks and the Knights of 
 
 years. Mrs. Mary (Zeigler) Sexauer was a Pythias, and he and his wife hold membership 
 
 daughter of Dr. G. L. Zeigler, who was- a in the Methodist Episcopal church. 
 

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